Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 225 Dorgon's Fear

After Dorgon calmed down, he was deeply worried. The land in the south was lost again, leaving only the devastated land in the north. Dorgon looked solemn. In his eyes, in addition to anxiety, there was also a trace of imperceptible fear. The loss of the south was not only the loss of land, but also a shake of his personal prestige.

In the council hall, the atmosphere was dull and no one spoke, but everyone knew that it was Dorgon's willful behavior that led to the current situation. However, Dorgon also led the Eight Banners and accomplished the feat of swallowing an elephant with a snake. Although he had faults, his achievements could not be concealed, so no one criticized him.

At this time, the door of the hall was closed, and there were only six people in the hall: Prince Li Daishan, Prince Rui Dorgon, Prince Zheng Jirgalang, Prince Yu Duoduo, Prince Chengze Shuosai (the fifth son of Huang Taiji), Prince Cheng Yuexun, and Prince Ying Sahalian.

Seeing the dull scene, Shuo Sai spoke slowly: "Regent, if the haircut had not been implemented, I am afraid that my Qing Dynasty would have been able to enjoy peace now. Why has it come to this point? Even Lekedehun was defeated by Meng Jun. Now Meng Jun has conquered Jiangning in one fell swoop, which has greatly lost the prestige of my dynasty!"

"Yes, why don't we stop the shaving order now? This shaving order is not only affecting the south, but also the north. Although it is not as serious as in the south, it is still chaotic everywhere. If the shaving order is stopped, maybe it will be better." Yue Xun saw that Shuo Sai spoke first, and echoed.

Before Dorgon could speak, Daishan, who had been resting with his eyes closed, spoke up: "Prince Regent, you have made great contributions to the country, establishing the capital in Beijing and suppressing all the rebellions. It's just that the order to shave the hair was a little hasty. Why not postpone its implementation and reissue it when the time is right."

Dorgon was silent for a long time after hearing this, with mixed feelings in his heart. He knew that the shaving order did cause great resentment in the south, but this showed that the shaving order was successful, and those who were stubborn showed up one after another. The haze of Hu's national destiny for a hundred years always surrounded Dorgon's heart.

He originally thought that the people in the south were weak and could be intimidated by the massacre in the city. As long as they shaved their heads, the Qing Dynasty would be able to maintain long-term stability. He did not expect that it would trigger such a great resistance, especially Meng Jun, who had defeated the Eight Banners so many times that now it was difficult to control.

Especially after hearing the news of Lekedehun's defeat, Dorgon almost fainted, and even his hands could not help shaking. Thousands of Eight Banners were killed. Even in the battle against the most elite Guanning Cavalry of the Ming Dynasty, there had never been such a tragic defeat. The loss of Jiangning and Hong Chengchou's self-immolation were like a hammer hitting Dorgon.

As for Li Chengdong and Jin Shengheng, they are people with insatiable greed, especially Li Chengdong. He had already captured and killed the two emperors of the Southern Ming Dynasty, but he dared to rebel against the Qing Dynasty and surrender to the Ming Dynasty again. His rebellion really caught Dorgon off guard. He did not expect that there would be such a stupid person. Even the slaves of three surnames could not compare to him in being so reckless.

Dorgon frowned and pondered for a long time. Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he said firmly: "The shaving order has been implemented for three years now. The north has gradually calmed down. As for the south, even if it stops, it is impossible for it to surrender. In the end, it still depends on the Qing cavalry to pacify it."

Everyone fell silent upon hearing this, for they knew that Dorgon was right. Now that things had come to this, even if the order to shave the hair was stopped, the South would still have to rely on military forces to continue the fight.

Dorgon knew that if he wanted to make these Han people completely submit to the Qing Dynasty, he had to use tough measures. Only in this way could he make them understand who was the master of this land.

Duoduo coughed twice and said in a weak voice: "The order to shave your head is correct. The only mistake is that Lekedehun was a little useless. If we had defeated the Meng bandits in one battle at the foot of Jilong Mountain, the world would have been pacified by now."

Daishan glared at Duoduo in dissatisfaction and said, "My grandson died for his country, how can you slander him like this? Moreover, he defeated the Shun bandits and recovered Hunan in the past, and was promoted to a prince for his merits!"

Upon hearing this, Duoduo remained silent, just lowered his head and did not answer.

At this time, Jirgalang said: "Regent, the land of tax revenue in the south has been lost, and the tax revenue in the north is barely enough to support the garrisons in various places. If we gather a large army and march south, where will the money and food come from?"

Dorgon sneered: "This king naturally knows the current situation of my Qing Dynasty, but if we want to get enough money and food, there are ways!"

Seeing everyone looking at him in confusion, Dorgon slowly said, "North Korea!"

Hearing this, Jirgalang hesitated for a moment, but could not help but say: "North Korea has already surrendered, is it inappropriate to attack it without any guilt?"

After hearing this, Dorgon casually said: "North Korea has evil intentions and is secretly allying with the former Ming Dynasty."

"This..." Everyone was speechless after hearing this, but since North Korea was a soft persimmon that was too easy to hit, it didn't matter.

Seeing that no one had anything to say, Dorgon continued, "Immediately issue an imperial decree, ordering Korea to collect 200,000 dan of grain and 10,000 soldiers, and to provide their own grain and fodder to conquer the Southern Dynasty."

…………

In Ganzhou, Jiangxi, there were countless corpses left outside the city.

Jin Shengheng was having a headache at this time. He originally thought that Ganzhou City would be easy to break through, but he did not expect that Ganzhou garrison commander Hu Yousheng would be so tenacious and hold his ground. The army had been besieging Ganzhou City for half a month, but still failed to capture the city. During the siege, Jin Shengheng's troops suffered heavy losses, with more than 10,000 dead and wounded. However, Ganzhou City was still as solid as a rock, with no signs of shaking.

Jin Shengheng secretly complained bitterly. He had originally planned to quickly capture Ganzhou and then march into Fujian. But now it seemed that this plan might fail. Moreover, after a long siege, Jin Shengheng's troops were exhausted and their morale was low.

Faced with the current deadlock, Jin Shengheng had no choice but to send someone to ask Li Chengdong in Guangdong for help.

After Li Chengdong rebelled, he quickly reorganized the Guangdong army, greatly expanded his followers, recruited surrenders and rebels, and forcibly conscripted young men. In less than a month, the paper strength of Li Chengdong's troops had reached 200,000. The troops gathered on the border between Fujian and Guangdong, ready to take action against Fujian.

After receiving Jin Shengheng's request for help, Li Chengdong laughed out loud. Thinking of the friendship they had once fought side by side, Li Chengdong personally led the army to rush to Ganzhou for assistance.

The defenders in Ganzhou City felt hesitant when they saw more reinforcements coming to the city. Hu Yousheng's repeated rewards from the treasury were not enough to boost morale.

On the third day after Li Chengdong's troops arrived, the commander of the east city of Ganzhou opened the city gate at night and surrendered. Li Chengdong's troops rushed in. Hu Yousheng was beheaded by the rebels, and Li's soldiers who entered the east city at night looted and killed people. There were countless cases of Li's soldiers killing each other for property. Only at dawn did they gradually withdraw their troops. In just one night, the population of Ganzhou City was reduced by half.

Li Chengdong's soldiers left Ganzhou City happily, leaving the city alone in a desolate and sad situation. Crying sounds echoed in every household, and all the people's eyes revealed resentment.

Jin Shengheng looked at Li Chengdong who was leaving with envy in his eyes. Jin Shengheng made up his mind to follow the example of his old boss Zuo Liangyu and recruit young men with great fanfare.