Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 439: Bolo’s Hair-shaving Order

After Suksaha left, Dorgon sat alone in the big tent until dawn. Yes, what Suksaha said was not without reason. Now that Tianjin had been broken, the Qing army at that time could not and would not be able to both break through the camp and cut off the canal.

Then at dawn, Dorgon issued an urgent secret order, ordering the empress dowager, the emperor, and the families of the royal family to evacuate the capital first.

Afterwards, all the families of the Eight Banners evacuated the capital, and countless materials of all kinds were transported to the outside of the Great Wall. As for the civil officials of various departments, Dorgon issued a strict order that no official would be allowed to hide in the capital privately, no matter what the reason was, even if they were about to die, they had to die on the way to the outside of the Great Wall.

A member of the Qing royal family sent an urgent document to Dorgon, saying that since the Qing Dynasty was going to retreat back to the outside of the Great Wall, the palace could not be left to the thief Meng, and that the Forbidden City should be burned down just like the King of Chu burned down the Afang Palace.

As for Dorgon, who enjoyed the glamorous world inside the Forbidden City, although he knew that the chance of coming back was slim, he still fantasized about returning to the Forbidden City one day.

Moreover, many ministers, both Manchu and Han, disagreed with burning down the palace. Some could not bear to see such a magnificent masterpiece destroyed, while others worried that doing so would inevitably lead to a life-and-death feud with the Central Plains, a feud that could never be eliminated. Therefore, in the face of opposition from the vast majority of people, Dorgon hesitated again and again and did not issue an order to burn down the palace, but he ordered all the treasures in the palace to be collected and shipped outside the Great Wall.

However, after issuing the evacuation order, Dorgon was still uneasy. Although he had great ambitions, the successive setbacks made him physically and mentally exhausted.

On the second day, Dorgon went out for an inspection under the protection of Goshaha, trying to relieve the depression in his heart. Galloping on horseback was his hobby in his youth, and after such a gallop, Dorgon seemed to feel a little relieved from the depression in his heart.

It seemed to be fate, or God's will, as the horse under Dorgon stumbled, the warhorse neighed, and the horse's head fell heavily to the ground, throwing Dorgon forward as well.

When Dorgon fell to the ground, Goshaha behind him rushed forward to rescue him, but found that Dorgon was pale and his forehead was covered with sweat, obviously he was seriously injured.

Everyone rushed to send Dorgon to the military camp. Fortunately, the military camp was not far away. In less than half an hour, Dorgon was sent to the central military tent.

The military physician came in a hurry. After the diagnosis, his face was solemn. He told everyone: "The regent accidentally fell off his horse and broke his left leg. For now, he must not stay in the army and must return to the capital to recuperate."

While lying on his sickbed, Dorgon ordered his confidant Suksaha to lead the Qing's only remaining cavalry inside the Great Wall, and repeatedly urged them to delay Zhou's army's entry into Beijing so as to buy more time for the Qing's evacuation.

Dorgon was lying on the couch with a haggard face, while Suksaha was standing beside the couch with a solemn expression.

Dorgon said in a weak voice, "I am seriously injured and cannot lead the army. You should lead the army and preserve your strength. Remember, this is the foundation of the revival of the Qing Dynasty and cannot be thrown away lightly!"

Suksaha bowed his head, tears in his eyes, and said, "I obey your command and will do my best to protect the army, slow down the Meng thieves' pace, and win a glimmer of hope for our Qing Dynasty."

Dorgon nodded slightly and continued, "The Qing Dynasty has not yet reached its end. As long as there is still a breath left, we must not give up easily. You should know that when Taizu started the rebellion, the situation was far worse than it is now." After that, Dorgon put his hand on Suksaha's shoulder, exerted a little force, and said, "The foundation of the Qing Dynasty is entrusted to you!"

Suksaha was fully aware of the heavy responsibility and solemnly promised: "I will follow the instructions of the Regent and will never let him down!"

After Suksaha left, Dorgon was filled with depression. The Qing Dynasty was already in turmoil, and Dorgon's eyes had lost their former sharpness, replaced by deep fatigue and pain.

When Dorgon was retreating to Beijing, among the bad news that came one after another, there was finally a piece of extremely good news for Dorgon, that is, Bolo had defeated the Zhou army's detachment in Liaodong, and Bolo took advantage of the situation to invade Korea again.

Just when Meng Jun had just begun to besiege Tianjin City, Gao Jinku's troops, far away in Liaodong, captured Liaoyang and marched towards Shengjing.

Before Gao's troops arrived in Shengjing, Man Dahai took the initiative to attack. Defending a city was not the cavalry's strong point, and those who were left outside the pass were all old, young, sick and weak, while the strong and healthy ones had already entered the pass to join the war. Therefore, after receiving the news that Bolo had left Shanhaiguan, Man Dahai immediately decided to go out of the city to meet the enemy.

Although the Battle of Liaoyang was a victory, it was because the defenders fled without fighting. However, Shengjing was an important city that the Qing court would not give up at all costs, so Hu Zhan proposed to request reinforcements.

Although Gao Jinku had doubts about this, he believed that he was sent here in an attempt to tie down the Qing army. It was unknown whether there would be reinforcements and whether the reinforcements could arrive in time.

Gao Jinku was the chief general, so since he decided to keep moving forward, Hu Zhan had no choice but to give up. During the march, the vanguard was only sixty miles away from Shengjing.

Scouts from the front line reported that Man Dahai led about 4,000 cavalrymen to launch a surprise attack on Gao Jinku's vanguard. The Zhou army's vanguard consisted of no more than 2,000 people. After holding out for more than half an hour, the vanguard had already collapsed before Gao Jinku's main force arrived.

Afterwards, Gao Jinku urgently ordered his troops to form a formation to defend themselves and to meet the attacking Qing army. Although the cavalry led by Man Dahai were not elite, they relied on their speed advantage to put considerable pressure on Zhou's army.

However, looking at the well-organized formation of Gao Jinku's troops, Man Dahai could not find a good opportunity for a while. But unwilling to give up, Man Dahai still selected more than 400 slightly stronger Qing soldiers. These people naturally could not wear double armor, not because there was not enough armor, but those who could wear double armor were all brave and strong men in the army, and Man Dahai's subordinates were obviously not brave.

Gao Jinku was ready for battle. He first bombarded with small cannons, then shot with bows and arrows, and then selected elite soldiers to charge at the enemy. For a time, Gao's troops were not at a disadvantage.

Just at this critical moment, Bolo's reinforcements arrived. Bolo was exhausted. Seeing that the war had already started and the Zhou army's attention was all on Man Dahai's front, he immediately led 5,000 elite cavalry to launch a surprise attack from the flank.

The Qing army formed a pincer attack, and whether it was a coincidence or Bolo's sharp eyes, the direction of the raid was the Korean imperial guards. Even though the Korean general Shen Liu led the troops, shouted fiercely and moved the flag forward, he was unable to stop the decline of the Korean soldiers.

Shen Liu was knocked down by a Qing cavalryman, and even his general's flag was taken away by several Eight Banners soldiers. For a moment, the Inner Forbidden Army collapsed first, and its flank collapsed, causing chaos in the entire formation.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Gao Jinku decisively ordered a retreat in an attempt to avoid a total defeat. However, in the melee, Du Yonghe and the Korean general Shen Liu were killed. Gao Jinku and Hu Zhan fought desperately to break through and led the remnants to escape by chance.

Gao Jinku led the remnants of his troops to flee all the way to the Laoling Mountain area. The road of retreat was full of thorns and blood and tears. Along the way, Bolo chased and killed them all the way, and corpses were everywhere. The soldiers were either separated, captured, or died in battle.

Whenever Gao Jinku looked back, he saw that the once vast army was now reduced to a few scattered troops. Gao Jinku looked dejected and said to Hu Zhan, "Your Majesty has never suffered a defeat since you started your army. I have brought shame upon your Majesty."

At this point, Hu Zhan was helpless and could only comfort them: "Victory and defeat are common in the military since ancient times. We are a small army, and even if we lose, it will not affect the overall situation!"

By the time Gao Jinku retreated to Phoenix City, only a hundred or so of the five thousand Korean imperial guards were left, and only less than two thousand of the more than ten thousand people in Wuwei Town were left.

After staying in Fenghuang City for one night and reorganizing himself briefly, Gao Jinku immediately led the remaining troops to retreat southward, crossed the river through Dandong, and retreated to Yizhou.

At the same time, in the Joseon royal palace, the news came like a bolt from the blue, making Lee Hao pale with fear. He immediately summoned the Prime Minister Song Si-yeol to discuss countermeasures.

Li Hao spoke in a hurried tone, his worry evident in his words: "Our Joseon has rebelled several times, but the royal army was defeated this time. The situation is critical. I don't know what to do?"

Song Shiye pondered for a moment, and said with a sad face: "Your Highness, don't worry too much. Although the current situation is dangerous, I think we should take two steps now. First, Your Highness can take the lead to escape to Jeju Island to ensure safety. Second, I plan to recruit volunteers in the country and organize resistance in the hope of delaying the enemy army."

Li Hao was not relieved when he heard this. He sighed and said, "The royal army is so powerful, but it was still defeated. Is it true that the enemy army is invincible?"

Song Shilie said sternly, "Your Highness is wrong. The King of Zhou has defeated the enemy army many times, and now he is approaching Tianjin and is about to recapture the old capital. The defeat in Shenyang was caused by the lack of troops under General Gao. How can you say that the enemy is invincible? Your Highness should regain your morale and try again!"

When Gao Jinku had just retreated to Yizhou, Li Hao fled Seoul again with his concubines and children.

After clearing the battlefield, Bolo joined forces with Man Dahai and recaptured Liaoyang, Fenghuang City, Dandong and nearby military forts of all sizes.

At this time, Gao Jinku had already led the remaining troops to retreat to Jeju Island. Along the way, the Korean people he met were all in a panic. There were volunteers, peasant soldiers, or bandits everywhere. The chaos was no less than that in Shaanxi during the Chongzhen period.

Bolo entered the court again, and the soldiers dispatched by Song Shiye to stop Bolo, whether they were government soldiers or volunteer soldiers and peasant soldiers, could not stop Bolo at all.

They collapsed at the first blow and fled. Bolo said to Man Dahai in confusion: "How did Li Hao get the courage to participate in the Qing-Zhou war with such a rotten army?"

Man Dahai snorted coldly and said, "Isn't it because I saw that the Qing Dynasty was in decline and thought I had a chance to flatter Meng Jun? I think this time Li Hao didn't flatter the horse's hoof, but the nail!"

After Bolo entered the court, Yizhou, Tieshan, Guoshan, and Dingzhou all surrendered without a fight. This was much easier than the last time Bolo entered the court. Although Bolo fought smoothly last time, he still captured many cities. But this time was different. Countless people surrendered and submitted to Bolo.

Less than a month after Bolo entered the Joseon Dynasty, he marched into Pyongyang. However, this time Bolo's purpose was different from the last time. He planned to completely destroy the Joseon Dynasty.

The Qing army rested in Pyongyang for three days, then quickly moved south and raided Seoul. To the north of Seoul, Song Siyeol gathered volunteers, peasant soldiers, and garrisons from all over the country, and even bandits and pirates, all of whom were given official positions just to increase the number of troops.

To the north of Seoul, Song Si-yeol gathered more than 70,000 soldiers and civilians. However, even though his troops were nearly ten times larger than the Qing army, Bolo was not afraid at all, and even felt that it was just an ordinary battle.

The Qing army came like a torrential rain, with horses galloping and the earth shaking. On both sides of the Han River, war drums thundered and smoke filled the sky.

Song Shiyeol tried to use his numerical advantage to turn the tide of the battle, because he had no other choice but to do so. Facts have proved that there has always been a huge gap between ideals and reality.

The Qing army's charge was like a sharp knife that easily penetrated Song Shilie's army formation. After observing the battlefield, Bolo even ordered the Eight Banners Cavalry to charge directly into the enemy formation. There was no need to harass or intimidate them, because as soon as the Eight Banners Cavalry appeared, the enemy formation would be shaken across the board.

The Eight Banners cavalry quickly broke through the infantry formation like a pack of wolves. Wherever they went, blood and flesh flew everywhere. No one could stop them. They could even weave back and forth in the army formation, dividing and encircling it.

Song Siyeol's troops lost effective command from the beginning of the battle, and the army was in chaos. The battle lasted only half a day, and the northern suburbs of Seoul had turned into a battlefield. The shouts and wailing even exceeded the sound of war drums.

The situation was already tilted and could no longer be reversed. The defense line north of Seoul completely collapsed. Song Si-yeol's army was completely routed and retreated like a tide. The soldiers fled in all directions and the situation was completely out of control. Song Si-yeol committed suicide under the commander's flag. After his suicide, even the guards fled. Only a loyal servant carried Song Si-yeol's body on his back in the chaos and buried it on a hill.

This war was undoubtedly disastrous for North Korea. Not only did it lose a large number of troops, but it also completely lost its fighting spirit. For a time, after the fall of Song Siyeol, the eight provinces of Hamgyong, Pyeongan, Hwanghae, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Chungcheong, Jeolla, and Gyeongsang surrendered. Even the officials of the Yangban in various places wrote privately to Bolo, saying: "In order to appease the anger of the superior country, we are willing to dethrone Lee Ho and re-establish the King of Joseon!"

The situation changed rapidly. After hearing the bad news, Li Hao was so scared that he boarded the ship of Zhou Jun’s navy on Jeju Island. He didn’t even dare to stay in Jeju. However, Zhang Shun, the general of the navy stationed in Jeju, did not dare to make a decision. He only said to write a letter to the king immediately and ask the king to make the decision.

Although Li Hao was helpless about this, he still strongly demanded that his children and palace wives be evacuated to Shandong first, while he himself stayed on the boat and did not dare to set foot on Jeju Island.

However, Bolo knew that the people's hearts were not with the Qing Dynasty, and that the Qing Dynasty's unstoppable victory was only due to the Qing Dynasty's military might. Therefore, after completely defeating Korea, he recruited a large number of defeated soldiers, used the Eight Banners as officers, quickly expanded the army, and immediately dispatched the Eight Banners soldiers to the eight provinces to control the officials in the capitals of each province.

Although each team of Eight Banners soldiers had no more than two hundred or a hundred men, under the power of the great victory, no official dared to resist.

After the dust settled, more and more officials wrote to Bolo every day, requesting to reconsider the candidate for the throne of Korea. After pondering for several days, Bolo decided to use Dorgon's old strategy and shave his head and change his clothes!

As for Bolo's decision, not only his subordinates but even Man Dahai expressed dissatisfaction, fearing that shaving his head would create a Korean version of Meng Jun.

In this regard, Bolo said bluntly: "The Eastern Country is small and has few people. How can it be compared with the Central Plains? Shaving the hair can immediately distinguish those who are loyal to us and those who are rebellious. If they are loyal, they will be used, and if they are rebellious, they will be suppressed!"

(I might as well write a long chapter, (o＞_＜o)!!!)