Chapter 1081 – Rendezvous
Morning, Jianye.
As the darkness faded and dawn arrived, looking out at the hell-like battlefield outside of the city, only then did the people realize the cruelty and the intensity of the battle.
Hongguang emperor demanded that the surrendered Qing troops would also be executed.
On the east outskirts, the original Dodo Army Camp was flattened into flat land in just a night. Corpses were strewn around, and black smoke bellowed; a tragic and cruel sight.
In the sky, there were bald eagles circling, and on the ground, there were wild dogs roaming.
In front of these hunters were not only Qing army corpses but also Great Xia and Ming Dynasty ones. After all, they were fighting at night, and they were also not familiar with the camp. Hence, casualties were to be expected.
The Qing army was not a bunch of easy pickings.
Without the Divine Martial Guards opening the way and the Guards Legion Corps calming down everyone, the results of the battle would be difficult to predict. Dodo’s decision making was just on time, but their ability was lacking. In the end, they lost, losing their lives.
Especially on the north.
Facing Abatai’s attacks, the defending troops similarly suffered heavy casualties. Many times, the Qing army had charged up the city wall and nearly tore through their defensive line.
Luckily, with Li Jing there, all dangers were cleared.
If the Dodo army did not fall so early, the moment Abatai’s forces charged into the city, it would be really dangerous.
Looking at the battlefield, the South Ming troops felt fortunate and proud. The corpses of the enemy were their best achievement.
In the morning, Hongguang emperor personally held a cremation ceremony for the dead soldiers to raise the morale. After which, he rewarded those who did well; the scene was really warm and exciting.
Toward Hongguang emperor’s acts to buy loyalty, Ouyang Shuo smiled and did not interfere.
In the end, he was just a passing crowd and was not the main character. Naturally, he did not need to compete with the emperor.
If it was truly in history, a Prince Regent like Ouyang Shuo would not have a good ending. Even if he could live for long, after he died, there would be a lot of problems.
Dorgon was such an example.
An official that had helped the Qing Dynasty take over China and made many contributions was given the title of Prince Regent.
Two months after his death, Shunzhi emperor stripped him of his title and dug his grave.
As for the current situation, Ouyang Shuo just smiled.
…
That afternoon, the 60 thousand Great Shun remnant forces arrived outside of Jianye.
On the way here, they had learned that the Qing army main force was destroyed, which was why they quickened their speed to take a look. Originally, they had some doubts regarding the news. After all, they had fought the Qing army and knew how strong they were. Looking at the battlefield that had not been cleaned up, only then did they believe it.
“Well done!”
The Great Shun soldiers were in awe, and their moods were really good. Due to the destruction of Great Shun and the death of Li Zicheng, they too were enemies of Great Qing.
Getting the detailed battle news from the South Ming army, the Great Shun army that was originally really arrogant suddenly became really well-behaved. Only respect was left for Ouyang Shuo.
They looked toward the Great Xia Guards Legion Corps with respect.
“Prince Regent, please give us instructions. We will follow it without question.” The generals ensured.
Ouyang Shuo smiled and did not believe that.
The Great Shun army that had once swept through the Ming Dynasty was wiped in just half a year against the Qing Dynasty. Apart from the death of their king Li Zicheng, the main reason was the army itself.
After their peasant uprising army took down Yanjing, their backward nature revealed itself. They were corrupt and greedy, and such qualities spread through the army and ate at them.
Bad habits were hard to change.
Even if they acted so nicely now, why would Ouyang Shuo trust them?
Luckily, he was not fighting alone, as behind him was a really stellar command force. Ouyang Shuo smiled and introduced Li Jing to the Great Shun general.
Both sides had come into contact before, but this was their official meeting.
The name of the Great Tang military god had some weight in their eyes. If not, they would not have agreed to help after Li Jing sought them out.
After meeting, they were naturally going to go up north.
To stabilize the situation, Ouyang Shuo, this Prince Regent, had to temporarily stay in Jianye.
The next morning, Li Jing led the 35 thousand Great Xia Guards Legion Corps troops, 30 thousand South Ming, and 60 thousand Great Shun troops, a total of 125 thousand, up north.
Their main goal was to take back Yangzhou.
Just as the Qing army was attacking Jianye, Guo Ziyi’s forces were fighting battle after battle at the Huai River region. Not only taking back Huai An and Tongzhu, but he even suppressed Gao Jie’s forces.
The remaining Huang Degong and Liu Zeqing forces, upon learning that Dodo’s troops were wiped out, did not put up any unneeded resistance. Ouyang Shuo believed that Guo Ziyi could control these three generals well.
The four generals of Jiangbei had around 50 thousand troops each. After a few small battles, more or less they would have some losses, but their main force was still unharmed.
Even without Zhang Xianzhong’s Great Xi helping out, the Ming Dynasty had a total of 400 thousand troops. With such a huge army, it was enough to head toward Yanjing to reclaim their lost land.
…
10th day of the Battle Map.
Abatai led his remaining troops, rushing through the night to escape back to Yangzhou City.
Out of the 150 thousand troops that left, only 50 thousand remained. The remaining were buried outside the Jianye battlefield, and even the south conquering main general was killed.
This was undoubtedly a huge blow to the Qing army. The entire army felt lost, and they were not as confident and pumped up as when they left.
Di Chen, who was defending Yangzhou, got the news a day ago. Although he had expected it, he still felt quite shocked when he learned that the Qing army had actually fallen.
Think about it from another perspective.
Even if the 100 thousand Great Zhou army defended Jianye, they would not be able to obtain such stellar results.
“Military God Li Jing?”
Desire flashed in his eyes as well as jealousy. He was jealous. Why had so many famous God Generals joined Great Xia and not him?
Out of the 10 famous generals of China, just Great Xia alone had 6.
The only God General Great Zhou Dynasty had was Wuqi. Even so, Wuqi was not truly his and was loyal to Xiong Ba.
The only person that Di Chen could totally trust and rely on was Lianpo.
Obviously, he was jealous.
But jealousy aside, he did not lose his mind. The problem in front of him now was how should he choose.
Of course, he could lead his troops and leave and get away from the war.
However, he was not willing to just walk away. Not only would he not get anything if he did so, but it would also spoil his relationship with Qing Dynasty.
But if he stayed and fight, what were his chances of winning?
Yangzhou definitely could not be defended. Only by immediately retreating to the north and waiting for Dorgon to move more troops could the two sides have a true final battle.
