Translator: ryangohsff Editor: Nora
Chapter 1088 – Taking down Shanhai Pass
The Great Shun army got baited in the end.
On the 29th day of the Battle Map, just as the Great Shun army got close to Xi An, under the personal commanding of Zhang Xianzhong, with 120 thousand Great Xi troops as the main force, along with the 60 thousand local armed civilians and 20 thousand newbies, they surrounded the Great Shun army.
The following battle was intense and brutal.
The surrounded Great Shun army was resolute and did not surrender. They chose to defend the final honor of Great Shun, and they fought Great Xi with determination.
This battle lasted till the sky changed color.
Based on the memories of the survivors, the dusk that day looked really evil, fresh red like blood. The countless number of corpses were like malt, spread all around, looking really terrifying.
Both sides suffered heavy casualties.
Needless to say, apart from the 10 thousand that surrendered, the remaining Great Shun soldiers died in battle. The Great Xi army had it tough. Not mentioning the costs for hiring the new troops, but 15 thousand of the 120 thousand elites died too.
Both sides suffered heavy losses.
“Luckily, we won in the end!”
Standing on the hell-like battlefield, Zhang Xianzhong felt shaken.
After crushing the remnant forces of Great Shun, this was a milestone victory for Great Xi. From then onward, in Shaanxi, Great Xi would have no enemies.
Two big provinces, along with the Shu Lands where Great Xi was rooted in, slowly formed a new empire. Zhang Xianzhong stood at a new starting point, filled with ambition.
“Ruling the world is not a dream anymore!” Zhang Xianzhong was filled with confidence.
…
The news of the Great Shun army being totally destroyed spread across the north.
When Dorgon got the news, he was instantly tempted. He realized that the time for the Qing army to strike had arrived. Ajige and the other Manchu generals were all raring to go.
A huge final battle was imminent.
When Li Jing got the news, he regretfully shook his head. The Great Shun army could have walked a glorious path and completed a magnificent feat that Li Zicheng had not been able to accomplish – defeat the Qing army.
Helplessly, they had fallen because of their stubbornness.
At the same time, Li Jing also realized that the Qing army was about to attack. With how cunning Dorgon was, he would first leave the Great Xi army alone and focus on the middle and east armies.
The Qing army was familiar with all sorts of attack tactics.
With Zhang Xianzhong’s character, as long as the Qing army did not attack Shaanxi, the Great Xi army would be delighted. They would not choose to attack like how they promised Ouyang Shuo.
Not having foresight was the problem of uprising armies. To Zhang Xianzhong, putting the entire Shaanxi and Shanxi under Great Xi rule was the top priority now.
Without the help of the Great Xi army, the middle army and east army had a total of 270 thousand troops. Against 550 thousand, the pressure was indeed much.
Luckily, Li Jing had great ability to hold up under pressure.
…
30th day of the Battle Map, the Qing army finally acted.
The Prince Regent Dorgon led 250 thousand Qing troops to attack the Li Jing led middle army. Ajige along with Di Chen led 250 thousand to attack the Guo Ziyi led forces.
50 thousand Qing troops were left in Yanjing.
The two armies left Yanjing together; they were like two sharp arrows stabbing right into Zhongyuan. The largest scale battle in the Battle Map was officially opened.
Not long after the Qing army struck out, a change occurred in Shanhai Pass.
…
In truth, a few days ago, the Emperor Squadron had already entered the Bohai Sea. The squadron floated on the sea for numerous days but were not getting close to the pass.
That was because Ouyang Shuo was waiting.
Only after the Qing army left Yanjing could the sneak attack on Shanhai Pass work.
Morning, the sun rose from the east, and the orange sunlight shone on the ocean surface. It looked like a golden layer had covered the ocean, creating a really eye-catching sight. The ocean breeze blew as the flags shook in the air.
Since Shanhai Pass had the title of top pass in the world, it was naturally not simple.
Apart from the main city, on the south was the Bohai Sea, the north was Beiyi City, the east was Dongluo City, and the west was Xiluo City.
Even the nearby Bohai River had the Nanyi City, which stretched toward the ocean.
The target that the squadron chose to attack was Nanyi City.
Since making his way into the pass, Wu Sangui’s forces left the pass city and allowed the Qing army to take over. From the start, Dorgon arranged 30 thousand troops inside to guard this chokepoint.
The point was to defend the way out for the Qing army.
When the Qing army took down Yanjing, the troops were cut to 20 thousand. Following which, the Qing army took down Great Shun and badly needed troops, leaving only 10 thousand behind in the pass.
Even so, Dorgon did not find anything wrong with that.
As a result of the Qing Dynasty moving to Yanjing, moving down south, the position of Shanhai Pass was lowered to the lowest point in history. Just as Dorgon moved the army toward Yanjing, there were less than eight thousand troops in the pass, and they were not elites.
No matter how strong the defenses of such a pass was, it would not be easy for them to defend against the Emperor Squadron.
‘Hong! Hong! Hong!’
Along with a round of cannon fire, the Pass siege had started. The 600 meters high city walls were nothing in front of the cannon fire and instantly collapsed.
“Kill!”
Under the lead of the three thousand Divine Martial Guards, they all boarded the cima boats and swiftly headed for the shore.
Shanhai Pass that was suddenly attacked pretty much did not show any resistance, and they were forced back. Under the Asura like Divine Martial Guards, they could not even form up a decent defensive line.
In less than one and a half hours, Nanyi City fell.
Seeing that, 15 thousand Emperor Squadron gunners disembarked and charged at the main pass city along with the Divine Martial Guards. To destroy the sturdy city walls, the Emperor Squadron even shipped the cannons up onto the shore.
The P1 Type Cannons that the Great Xia Emperor Squadron was equipped with were much stronger than the Hongyi cannons.
‘Haula!’
After half an hour of consecutive cannon fire, a huge hole was blown in the city gates, and the pass city was broken into. The Qing army using Hongyi cannons to open up a path, and such a tactic was something that the Great Xia Army was familiar with.
As they say, use one’s poison against them.
“Kill!”
The Battle of Nanyi City was just a warmup to the Divine Martial Guards. Only the five thousand Qing troops in the pass city interested them.
Seeing the enemy troops that looked unstoppable, the Qing troops tried to surrender.
Helplessly, Ouyang Shuo was trying to fight a swift sneak attack and needed everything to proceed smoothly. Furthermore, this was a battle map, so why would he bother to deal with war prisoners?
“Do not leave anything!”
The Divine Martial Guards followed Ouyang Shuo’s orders. At 4 PM, not only the main pass city, but also Nanyi City, Dongluo City, and Xiluo City all fell.
Of the eight thousand Qing troops in Shanhai Pass, none of them survived.
After taking down Shanhai Pass, the Divine Martial Guards did not stop. Under the personal leadership of Ouyang Shuo, they continued to go up north into the old Qing Dynasty land and were ready to engage in a huge slaughter.
