Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 534 The end of the road (Part )

While the inner Shanhai Pass was in turmoil over the reform of the imperial examination system, Zhao Yongping, who was outside the Shanhai Pass, was already preparing to wipe out the remaining Qing troops in the mountains.

The Qing troops outside the Great Wall had not been destroyed, and even though the country continued to lose money and food, no one dared to say that the military action should not continue. The reason was that the damage caused to the Central Plains by the Qing troops entering the Great Wall was too great.

Therefore, no matter how great the cost, the Qian Dynasty must have complete control over the areas outside the Great Wall.

Meng Jun believed that if long-term stability was to be achieved, the population structure must be changed. Some of the Jurchen tribes must be relocated, while the Han people inside the Great Wall must be continuously relocated outside the Great Wall.

Zhao Yongping formulated several strategies for dealing with the remaining Qing troops. One of them was to trap the enemy. A big reason why Nurhaci became so powerful in the past was that the Ming court's blockade strategy failed, allowing him to obtain supplies continuously through Shanxi merchants. Therefore, Zhao Yongping blocked all the main roads leading into the mountains and issued command flags to the caravans in many nearby towns. Those who dared to pass through Fushun without flags would have all their supplies confiscated.

Second, envoys were sent to the Jurchen tribes in the mountains to persuade them to leave the mountains and accept the reorganization of the court. Those who were unwilling to come out were warned not to help Bolo, otherwise the court would wipe them out.

The third is to offer extremely high rewards in an attempt to undermine the will of the Qing army.

This three-day strategy lasted for more than two months. Due to the long-term blockade, the Qing army in the mountains gradually ran out of food and grass. From time to time, scattered Qing troops fled out of the mountains and surrendered to the Qian army because they saw no hope.

Zhao Yongping immediately put these people to use. He gave silk clothes and gold and silver jewelry to the Jurchens who surrendered first, and sent them into the deep mountains. He told them that if they brought out ten people, they would be made a sergeant; if they brought out more than a hundred people, they would be made a captain; if they brought out a thousand people, they would be made a thousand captain. In short, they would be given an official rank based on the number of people they brought out.

Those who followed Bolo were mainly the Eight Banners nobles who retreated from the interior. Many of them had followed Dorgon into the interior and had served as noble masters for many years.

These people were unwilling to lose everything, but they really had to endure hardships with Bolo and make a comeback. After a period of hard times, many of them could not bear it anymore.

…………

In a village in the mountains, a bonfire was lit in a thatched cottage. Bolo sat in the middle, surrounded by a circle of Qing army generals.

Bolo kept giving orders, either arranging generals to investigate whether the Qian army had entered the mountains, or arranging people to open up wasteland, cultivate, and hunt.

The Qian Dynasty was powerful, and the Qing Dynasty had reached its current state, so Bolo could only try his best to maintain it. During these days, the Qian army was not silent. At the beginning, the Qian army sent out small troops from time to time, trying to infiltrate the mountains, and Bolo took the opportunity to gather elite troops and killed nearly a hundred Qian troops in an ambush.

Although this ambush did not change the situation, it boosted the morale of the Qing army. After this battle, the Qian army's movements became much smaller and they switched to blockade tactics.

However, this move was a blatant conspiracy. Bolo had no good solution for it. He could not communicate with the outside world, supplies could not come in, and the tribes did not have much surplus food. Bolo had to either leave the mountains or plunder the tribes in the mountains. However, leaving the mountains was too risky, and plundering the tribes was like drinking poison to quench thirst.

After two months of blockade, seeing the food reserves decreasing day by day, Bolo was so anxious that his hair was almost falling out. He could only send people to various tribes to ask for food, arrange people to hunt and fish, and reduce the food rations for everyone.

The army's supplies were reduced, not to mention the civil officials and generals who were forced to retreat into the mountains. They only had one meal a day, and the food supply was reduced by half.

This kind of life was too hard and unbearable for everyone. People like Zheng Zhilong lost more than ten pounds and their stomachs became shriveled.

The little supplies that Bolo obtained from fishing and hunting were nothing but a drop in the bucket for the Qing army. And demanding money and food from the tribes in the mountains made the Jurchen tribes increasingly dissatisfied with the Qing army.

After the blockade of the Qian army took effect, with the joining of some Qing troops, the various tribes gradually began to turn to the Qian Dynasty. Zhao Yongping ordered each tribe to organize people and build strongholds to protect themselves. Once they found any trace of the Qing army, they should immediately report to the Qian army.

The longer time passed, the harder Bolo's life became. The Queen Mother, Bumbutai, was no longer as beautiful as before. She had been in the mountains for a long time, where there were many mosquitoes. She could not sleep or eat well. Her skin became dull and she looked listless.

Bumbutai asked Bolo, "I heard that the food can only last for more than a month. Prince Duan, do you have any solution?"

Bolo had no way to deal with this. The Qian army had blocked the area tightly, and the Qing army could not obtain supplies from the outside. Collecting food from the tribes in the mountains would cause the tribes to defect to the Qian Dynasty.

After a while, Bolo choked up and said, "Queen Mother, I am stupid!"

Bumbutai sighed and said, "There are still many Han officials in the village. If anyone wants to surrender, let them go!"

Bolo hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Bumbutai saw Bolo's expression, and his heart skipped a beat. He quickly said, "Prince Duan, don't think too much. The Qing Dynasty has come to this point. It would be good to make a good relationship with him!"

Bolo was a little surprised and a little sad. The Qing Dynasty was really going to perish, and even the Empress Dowager had to consider the last step.

He nodded solemnly and said, "Minister! Understood!"

However, even though Bolo made it clear that he was willing to let the Han officials leave, the officials were still worried and suspicious. They were all afraid that Bolo would deceive them and take the opportunity to find out whether they had ulterior motives and then kill them all.

Therefore, even though Bolo looked serious and his words were sincere, the ministers all shook their heads. For example, Feng Quan said righteously, "We will never forget the kindness of the Qing Dynasty. Even if we have to face dangers, we will accompany you and never leave you. Prince Duan's words are a great humiliation to us. As the saying goes, strong winds reveal strong grass, and turbulent times reveal loyal ministers. Our loyalty will be proven by the sun and the sky!"

Feng Quan's impassioned speech left Bolo speechless. Although he knew that Feng Quan, a man from the eunuch party, said this deliberately most likely because he was afraid that he would go back on his word and kill those who wanted to surrender, Bolo had no good solution for the time being.

After thinking for a while, Boro said in a bad tone: "I will say this just this time. If you don't want to leave, the food supply for you and your family will be halved again!"

(Wow, I just found out that a big guy actually sent me ten reminders to update. How embarrassing it is for a lazy guy like me⊙▽⊙)