I

In fact, the Manchu Qing had no shortage of population, because tens of thousands of Han people were brought back from Northern Zhili, and many slaves were captured in North Korea and Mongolia.

Only the banners are missing, that is, the source of soldiers for the Eight Banners of Manchuria!

Dorgon retreated to Yaozhou, while raising military rations, while recruiting and reorganizing troops, the number of troops in the Eight Banners quickly recovered to 100,000.

But the 100,000 Eight Banners soldiers at this time are not the same as the 100,000 a few years ago.

Shandong, Henan, and Liaodong were defeated several times, and the Eight Banners of Manchuria and Eight Banners of Mongolia, although they were replenished to about 70,000 people. But firstly, the combat effectiveness of the army has declined, and secondly, there are fewer and fewer bannermen available for recruitment.

In the Eight Banners of the Han Army, the decline in combat effectiveness was even more obvious, and the loss was close to 20,000. After the replenishment and reorganization, many Han Eight Banners guarding the city have surrendered their troops and generals in the past two years.

The military and political system of the Manchu Qing Dynasty could not rest and recuperate, and it was necessary to maintain a large number of troops for a long time.

Especially in the face of a downturn, it is even more necessary to expand our troops and prepare for war. Only in this way can the savage Jurchen be subdued, the foreign vassal Mongolia be subdued, and the Korean monarchs and ministers be subdued.

To the north of the grassland, Khalkha Mongolia is eyeing.

The Mongolian tribe that the Manchu Qing attacked and plundered last time was only the Chechen Khan tribe in Khalkha Mongolia. This tribe alone was able to mobilize 30,000 cavalry (who were disabled a few months ago). In addition, the large tribes of Khalkha Mongolia, as well as the Tuxietuhan tribe and the Tuohuite tribe, all waited for the decline of the Qing Dynasty to make a vote.

In the area around Lake Baikal, there are also Buryat Mongols, and the Balahu tribe borders on the Manchu and Qing territories.

If Dorgon does not maintain the army, the outer Mongolia will rebel in minutes, and Khalkha Mongolia and Buryat Mongolia will attack with large armies!

It dragged on until the first ten days of October, when the reorganized main forces of the Qing Dynasty set off from Jinzhou to rescue Shanhaiguan—if they didn’t go to the rescue, the Eight Banners defenders in Shanhaiguan would have to kill the people for military rations. And when Dorgon besieged Gaizhou, more than 10,000 defenders in Ningyuan and Jinzhou had already gone to Shanhaiguan to rescue them once, losing more than 2,000 people and fleeing in embarrassment.

The Manchu Qing army marched to Shaheyi (near Suizhong), and Dorgon received a battle report from the vanguard: "Your Highness, the enemy is already withdrawing!"

Dorgon's face was gloomy, and he ordered: "The whole army stops, order the vanguard battalion to take back Weiyuantai, and immediately station there to prevent the enemy's counterattack."

The army came to the rescue, saved a lonely person.

Dorgon's main force is still nearly a hundred miles away from Shanhaiguan, and the vanguard is only 40 miles away from Shanhaiguan.

It's so far away, those damn southern barbarians actually ran away by boat!

It was completely a war of attrition of grain and grass. Fei Ruhe and Zhang Tieniu besieged Shanhaiguan without attacking it, wasting three months of military rations in vain. Dorgon brought a large army to the rescue, and even if there was no battle, he had to consume a lot of rations.

Let's see who can't hold it first.

Afraid that the Datong army would come again, the small Weiyuantai was deployed by Dorgon with 2,000 defenders. With so many soldiers, Weiyuan Terrace was crowded with people, and they had to be stationed nearby at ordinary times, and they could only retreat in and hold their ground in case of a war.

Just when Dorgon was done with the withdrawal, he received another message: "Your Highness, the Nanmans are looting the countryside of Yaozhou and Haizhou, and they are spreading lime everywhere in the plowed farmland!"

"Liming?" Dorgon didn't understand.

The messenger explained: "According to the nobleman who knows farming, if lime is sprinkled on the field, the crop yield will be reduced in the next year. If there is too much lime, the seeds will not germinate."

The lime mentioned here is quicklime!

Dorgon was stunned when he heard that, and then he gritted his teeth and said, "What a vicious heart, what's the difference between this and burning pastures in the grassland?"

...

The Liaodong Peninsula is mountainous, and there are limestone mines in the mountains east of Fuzhou City.

Zhao Han sent some craftsmen over to burn cement in Liaodong. Each town built a simple fortress, and most of the lime mining workers were prisoners of war.

After the Gaizhou Defense War, cement production was temporarily suspended, and quicklime was burned in large quantities!

Thousands of dragoons, each with two horses, set off with dozens of catties of quicklime. Just tie it horizontally on the horse's back like that, and poke a hole in the sack when encountering land with less weeds (cooked land), and sprinkle it along the way while the horse gallops.

At this time, it was already snowing in Liaodong, and quicklime was scattered on the snow, so it was guaranteed that there would be no way to grow food next year.

"The enemy army is coming!"

"Haha, let's go!"

Wu Huapu laughed and rode his horse away. In Haizhou and Yaozhou cities, there were thousands of Manchu defenders each. It is estimated that he was irritated by the actions of the Datong Army, and occasionally bravely went out of the city, and all of them chased after them on horseback.

However, the dragoons did not engage in battle at all, they spread out sentry cavalry far away, and ran away immediately when encountering the enemy, and never went deep into the hinterland of Manqing.

On the contrary, the population in the countryside was transferred further north, and the Datong Army did not take any prisoners this time.

Anyway, there is one meaning, Gaizhou, Yaozhou, and Haizhou, the three cities are more than a hundred miles away, and in the next two or three years, no one will be able to grow food again!

Dorgon returned to Shenyang and convened a meeting of the Eight Banners nobles.

This time they actually united, stopped mentioning past grievances, and focused on discussing how to develop in the future.

Dai Shan said: "The dragoons of the Southern Barbarians are very annoying when fighting. I, the Qing Dynasty, should also train one."

Ji Erhalang echoed: "The shotgun vest of the Han army flag can be converted into a dragoon."

Dorgon nodded and said: "This statement is reasonable, and it is time to practice in the beginning of spring."

The shotgun vest of the Eight Banners of the Han Army was included in the Qing Xiaoqi Battalion. They dispatched together with the Manchu Qing cavalry, rode horses to attack the battlefield, and then dismounted to fight in the posture of firecrackers, essentially no different from the Datong dragoons.

In terms of tactics, there is a big difference.

The shotgun vest and horse of the Han army flag are only used for traveling, and the formation of musket infantry is still used in combat.

Now being hurt by the Datong Dragoons, the Manchus began to learn new tactics, and they wanted to fully transform the shotgun vest into dragoons.

Ji Erhalang also said: "The southern barbarians are not Ming, and Gaizhou City cannot be attacked by force. Maybe we can send agents to the south to drive apart Nanjing's monarchs and ministers, and spread rumors that the guards of Gaizhou intend to rebel."

Tong Yangxing said: "I have already inquired. The generals of Gaizhou are Hu Dinggui, the generals of Fuzhou and Jinzhou are Li Zheng and Xiao Zongxian, and there is also Lu Xiangsheng who is in command of Xiaoqi. Hu Dinggui, Li Zheng, and Xiao Zongxian are all the emperors of the Southern Man. Only Lu Xiangsheng is the descendant of the Ming Dynasty, and it is best to start with Lu Xiangsheng for the plan of alienation. It is said that Lu Xiangsheng is trying to restore the Ming Dynasty, and he is arrogant and domineering in Liaodong, and often has words of yearning for the old master of the Ming Dynasty."

Dorgon said: "This Hu Dinggui is also a general, but if he forges his letter secretly informing us of the Qing Dynasty, he may be able to recruit him to surrender."

Dorgon has been learning from Huang Taiji, including this strategy of recruiting enemy generals.

Take Zu Dashou as an example. He once led his troops to feign surrender, and then left his son and his generals and ran away.

Instead of expressing anger, Huang Taiji wrote to Zu Dashou, saying that he would treat his son and generals kindly. He also asked Zu Dashou to pay attention to safety, and not to let Chongzhen know about the surrender. After asking for warmth, he said that the Qing Dynasty was waiting for Zu Dashou to return at any time.

In history, Zu Dashou feigned surrender and fled, and fought against the Manchus for ten years, killing many Manchu soldiers. In the end, he was forced to surrender, and Huang Taiji did abide by the agreement, entrusting Zu Dashou and his family with heavy responsibilities.

Putting aside the righteousness of the nation, do you feel any emotion in the face of such a "British Lord"?

Fortunately for Zu Dashou, at least he did well in Daming. People like Kong Youde, Shang Kexi, and Geng Zhongming were treated so badly in Daming, but when they went to Manchuria, they were treated auspiciously by Huangtai. Comparing the two, those guys can be moved to tears.

Dorgon has also started to play this trick now, and he plans to write letters to Hu Dinggui, Li Zheng, Xiao Zongxian, and Lu Xiangsheng himself.

Not to surrender, just to express admiration, to send a few leather jackets in winter, and to ask for warmth. On the one hand, it is a relationship with the generals of Datong, and on the other hand, it is a precursor to the estrangement. Using this method to disgust the monarchs and ministers of Datong.

Next, you can also quietly give gold and silver, and quietly give beautiful women and maidservants.

Especially in Nanjing, starting from the family members of Datong civil servants. Giving benefits to the family members bit by bit, unknowingly dragged into the water, thus creating an established fact. The civil servant got the property again, and was afraid of exposing his family's connection with the Manchu Qing Dynasty, so he might secretly help him become an insider.

These Manchu nobles are not only good at fighting!

"The most important thing now is food," Dorgon said. "The army first went to Gaizhou, and then went to Shanhaiguan. The army has been dispatched repeatedly, and the food consumption is huge. If we don't do something, we may survive this winter." , There will definitely be a famine next spring."

Hauge said: "It's windy and snowy in winter, and we can't go to the grasslands. The Han people in Beizhili are also so poor that they have no food to grab. Why don't we go to North Korea?"

"How much food can North Korea have?" Man Dahai asked back.

Hauge said: "It doesn't matter how much food he has, go grab it, you can always grab some. Moreover, North Korea is full of shrimp soldiers and crab generals, and they will flee when they see the Qing soldiers. It is much easier to go to North Korea to fight than to go to the grassland. You don’t need to bring the peasants, everyone sets off with a soldier, and you don’t need to prepare much food and grass. After the spring snow melts, kill all the way to the King’s City of North Korea, forcing the North Korean king to send the grain by himself. , In this way, the lost population will also be there, and next year's food will also be available."

"Good idea!" Zierhalang praised.

Going to the grassland to rob is somewhat risky, but going to North Korea to fight the autumn wind is extremely safe. You don’t even need to think about logistics. You dare to send troops with half a month’s food.

Poor North Korea has not recovered from the previous looting, and has been forced to sell grain by the Datong Army many times. Next year, it will usher in another looting by the Qing Dynasty.

The whole of North Korea will be emptied, and even the two classes of nobles will not be spared!

After discussing the matter of robbing food, Daishan suddenly said: "There are signs of rebellion in Outer Fan Mongolia. Gulu Siqibu, who took the lead in avoiding the war, must be dealt with according to the rules. But he cannot be killed directly, otherwise Outer Fan Mongolia will be forced opposite."

Dorgon had thought about it a long time ago, and immediately said: "Remove this man's military title and support his brother to replace him. It is best for the two brothers to kill each other."