Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 504 Ping Liao (8)

When the smoke cleared, Yu Youtian looked carefully and saw a pile of horse carcasses in front of him. After so many rounds of shooting, there were still two people squatting there, obviously not hit by the muskets.

Yu Youtian was confused when he saw this. Was it that simple? However, he was confused. The gates of Lushun were already open, and the figures on the city wall were gone. Yu Youtian was worried that there was a trick, so he ordered people to bring the two lucky people over and prepare to interrogate them personally.

After a while, the two lucky ones were brought to Yu Youtian.

These two people were really lucky. So many bullets didn't hit them and they didn't even suffer any superficial injuries.

Yu Youtian asked in a bad tone: "Why did Sai'an leave the city?"

One of them replied tremblingly: "Beizi said that he would take advantage of your unpreparedness and drive you into the sea in one fell swoop."

Yu Youtian frowned when he heard this and asked, "How many people are there in the city?"

The two shook their heads and said in unison: "No one is left!"

"How dare Sai'an, with only a few hundred men, go out of the city and raid an army of tens of thousands?" Yu Youtian asked in surprise.

The two of them just nodded repeatedly, indicating that this was the fact.

For a moment, Yu Youtian didn't know what words to use to describe his current mood. After a while, he asked, "Has Sai'an always been so brave?"

Then Yu Youtian waved his hand, indicating that the two lucky guys should be taken as prisoners. Since they were so lucky, Yu Youtian had no intention of killing them.

Although the two men said that there were no more defenders in Lushun, Yu Youtian still sent a small team of soldiers to occupy the city gate first.

The process of capturing Lushun was smooth and uneventful. In less than half an hour, the Qian army occupied Lushun. A few Qing soldiers in the city still escaped, but this did not matter. It just let Jirgalang know that the Qian Dynasty was no longer attacking the Qing Dynasty on three fronts, but had opened up a new front.

Late at night, in Shengjing City.

Although the war was approaching Liaodong, Shengjing City had not yet been affected. At this time, Shengjing City was immersed in silence, and the occasional barking of dogs broke the tranquility of the night.

Just then, a cavalryman with a command flag on his back appeared near the city gate. He rode non-stop and his face was covered with sweat. Even so, he had no time to wipe it off.

After showing the badge, the guards lifted him up in a basket and told him that there was urgent military information that must be reported to the court immediately. Then several cavalrymen escorted the messenger and hurried to the palace.

The messenger held the document tightly in his hand. The sound of horse hooves echoed in the empty streets. He passed through numerous checkpoints and finally arrived at the palace gate.

At this time, even at night, there were imperial guards patrolling, but when they saw the messenger, they all looked aside and gave way. Soon, the palace gate slowly opened a gap, enough for a horse to pass through.

Jirgalang was still asleep when he heard the housekeeper's gentle shout from outside the door: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Someone is coming from the palace!"

Jirgalang's sleep was not good either. He was woken up not long after he fell asleep. His tone was not good. Jirgalang asked in a deep voice, "What's the matter?"

"Your Highness, someone from the palace is here to ask for your help. They say there is urgent military information!"

After a rustling of clothes, Jirgalang pushed open the door. He looked a little worried, but still walked quickly towards the gate of the mansion.

The butler had already prepared the carriage. As soon as Jirgalang got on, a team of guards galloped towards the palace.

Xiaozhuang sat at the desk, trying to be calm, but she couldn't hide the worry between her brows. When she looked up, she saw Jirgalang panting, and she gestured to him not to be polite.

Xiaozhuang took a deep breath to calm herself down, then said, "Prince Zheng, the Qian army has arrived from the sea, using the navy to transport the infantry to attack and capture Lushun."

Upon hearing this, Jirgalang's face changed suddenly. This meant that the war situation had changed again. The Qian Dynasty would no longer send troops in three directions, but in four.

In the night, the dim light of the oil lamp reflected on the faces of the two people, with uncertain brightness. Jirgalang's brows were furrowed, and the whole hall fell into silence.

Seeing that Jirgalang was hesitant to speak, Xiaozhuang asked, "Prince Zheng, the Qian army has landed in Lushun, and our army is already at the front line. Now there are only 18,000 bannermen left in the capital. What should we do now?"

After hearing what Xiaozhuang said, Jirgalang spoke slowly, "Queen Dowager, since Taizu started the army, we have been fighting constantly for so many years. After entering the Pass, we have also been fighting for years. People of our clan have been killed and injured repeatedly. Now, there are 80,000 soldiers, and we have been exhausted. We have to wear armor and become soldiers. It is difficult for our dynasty to squeeze out troops to stop the four routes of the Qian Dynasty."

Xiaozhuang asked: "Prince Zheng, are we just going to let the Qian army march straight in from Lushun? Can't we draw reinforcements from Jinzhou?"

Jirgalang shook his head and said, "Ten thousand men have been withdrawn from the Ningjin Line of Defense to stop Huang Cheng and the Sixteen-Division Allied Forces. Now there are only 40 thousand men left to defend it. We can't spare many more men. If there are too few men, we can't stop the Qian army in Lushun. If there are too many men, I'm afraid the Ningjin Line of Defense, which has cost so much, will be useless!"

Upon hearing this, Xiaozhuang could no longer sit still, and immediately stood up and asked sternly, "This is not okay, and that is not okay either. Do you want the emperor and I to go to the frontline in person?"

Jirgalang closed his eyes in pain for a long time before he opened them. He bowed to Xiaozhuang and said, "Empress Dowager, for now, the emperor, the empress dowager and the court should retreat to Hetunala first. The rest of the people should gather together and fight to the death with the Qian army. We must let Meng Jun see that if he wants to destroy the Qing Dynasty, he will have to pay a heavy price. Only by negotiating peace with the Qian Dynasty in the future can he survive!"

Upon hearing this, Empress Xiaozhuang sat down on a chair, tears welling up in her eyes, and said in a sad voice, "Has it really come to this? Is the emperor going to abdicate?"

Jirgalang left the palace, he was a little unsteady. The Qing Dynasty had been in a slump since its defeat in Huguang. What could Jirgalang do in the current situation?

Bumbutai sat alone in the hall for a long time, and then went to the bedroom of Emperor Shunzhi.

Emperor Shunzhi was fifteen years old at this time. According to the rules, he was old enough to rule the country. However, the situation of the Qing Dynasty was getting worse and worse. The kings of the Eight Banners believed that an elder was needed to control the Qing Dynasty at this time, and Empress Xiaozhuang had no objection to this. The Qing Dynasty was full of crises, and if the emperor ruled the country personally, it would probably cause another wave of unrest.

Emperor Shunzhi had already gone to bed, and Bumbutai had quietly come to his bedside, sat by the bed, and looked at Emperor Shunzhi, tears involuntarily flowing from the corners of her eyes.

The sound of her slight twitching startled Fulin. He sat down suddenly, looked at his mother at a loss, and shouted, "Mother, what's wrong with you?"

Bumbutai hugged Fulin, her tone was sad, but she didn't dare to make her voice too loud. She whispered: "Emperor, the Qing Dynasty, I'm afraid it will perish!"