PDLP Chapter 630 Old 8 is becoming less and less useful
Chapter 630 Old 8 is becoming less and less useful
It is certainly reasonable for the commander to ask for rewards for those who have made contributions, but no minister would ask for titles for his subordinates right away, as this would seem very hasty and abrupt.
Even though Zhang Shikang was highly trusted by the emperor, he was always suspected of overstepping the bounds, so he had to use Xiao Zhu as a shield. After all, Xiao Zhu was the crown prince of the current dynasty, and his weight was definitely considerable.
Of course, the main reason is to boost morale.
"As for tomorrow's battle, oh, when Dorgon assembled his troops today, how far was he from our camp?"
Speaking of the war, Zhang Shikang suddenly asked a question off topic.
This made Sun Weifan and others a little confused, but as the actual commander of the Guards, Sun Weifan thought about it and said:
"About two miles."
The common French cannon in the Ming Dynasty had a range of more than one mile, but an effective range of less than one mile. Reorganizing the army within a range of two miles was a relatively safe position.
Of course, this is the inherent cognition of the Qing Dynasty.
"Well, maybe there is a way." Zhang Shikang said with a smile on his face.
……
On the same night, in the Qing army camp on the other side, the Qing nobles were also holding a combat meeting regarding today's battle.
In just one day, 6,000 Mongolian soldiers and more than 8,000 warriors of the Plain White Banner and the Plain Blue Banner were killed.
For the Qing Dynasty, this was not a serious blow, but it was painful enough to make its liver tremble.
You have to know that at present, there are only more than 50,000 people left in the Eight Banners of Manchuria, and more than 8,000 of them were gone in an instant.
Including Merlin and Suksaha, there were more than 10,000 wounded people, and the battle was extremely brutal.
But Huang Taiji's expression was exceptionally calm. Except for Merlin who was a little depressed, even Suksaha, Dorgon and others were very calm.
"Today's battle was mainly to find out the tactics of that bastard. Although we suffered some losses, we also gained something.
I am very pleased that you are all so calm."
After Huang Taiji finished speaking, he immediately picked up the tea bowl and drank a few sips of water to suppress the cough he was holding back.
His health was getting worse, but he didn't dare to fall down.
Suksaha finally said:
"Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. If we say that this bastard Zhang Shikang is indeed quite capable, not to mention his reforms to the Ming Dynasty court, his tactics today alone are truly unique."
His attack today was also very cowardly, but Suksaha is a very pragmatic person. He knows how to show his true strength on the battlefield. He will not make excuses or slander his opponent just because he suffered a defeat.
However, Suksaha's praise of Zhang Shikang still made some people feel uncomfortable. Wuying County Prince Ajige said:
"You don't have to flatter that bastard. The fighting methods of the two brothers today were also very wise. That bastard chose to fight us in close combat because he had no other options.
If we follow His Majesty's previous request, we will have disrupted the enemy's formation and made their firearms units ineffective.
But that bastard did bring artillery into the camp, and he even secretly hid a full 4,000 heavily armored cavalry, which was not reported in previous military intelligence."
Huang Taiji looked at Ajige with interest, feeling quite impressed. Ajige always had a bad temper.
"When the army is fighting, it's impossible to have complete intelligence. Didn't the Ming Dynasty court also not expect us to have red cannons?
But no matter what, in today's battle we have figured out all of the Ming Dynasty's cards.
We can wait until tomorrow, and perhaps launch a general offensive." Dorgon said after a moment's thought.
Huang Taiji nodded after hearing this, which was also the reason why they were so calm.
A merciful army cannot be commanded. As an excellent general, one must be ruthless and pay the price for the ultimate victory.
They may feel sorry for the dead Qing warriors, but if they had the chance to do it again, they would still do it without hesitation.
Huang Taiji pondered for a moment and said:
"Tomorrow we will have Prince Laoli, Prince Rui, Prince Yu, and Prince Wuying."
This was a direct military order. A four-pronged general attack would be launched tomorrow, and all of them were the absolute elite of the Qing Dynasty. The Mongolian soldiers were considered the reserve forces. They were showing an attitude that the outcome would be decided in one battle.
Judging from the current battle with the Imperial Guards, the two-pronged attack has made the enemy exhausted, and the Qing royal family present have enough confidence to defeat the Imperial Guards in one battle.
Dorgon was even thinking about whether he should order the capture of that bastard Zhang Shikang alive. He wanted to humiliate this guy to avenge the repeated humiliations he had suffered from him.
But before he could say anything, Merlin suddenly stood up.
"Your Majesty, I beg for battle! Please grant me the opportunity to wash away this shame!"
The decisive battle will be tomorrow. If he doesn't have the opportunity to fight, then the only thing he will get from this massive war may be humiliation, which he cannot accept.
Huang Taiji showed a trace of relief on his face when he saw this. The morale was commendable. Even the defeated generals had such morale, and tomorrow's battle would be more confident.
"I approve, but the wounded are not allowed to fight again. You may lead your healthy men and follow Prince Li in the attack."
Suksaha also wanted to ask for a fight, but was stopped by Huang Taiji with a look.
The meeting did not last long. Everyone was very tired, so Huang Taiji quickly ended the meeting and dismissed all his subordinates.
Dorgon and his companions had just walked out of the tent when they heard a violent cough from the central army tent behind them. Daishan suddenly sighed and said to Dorgon with a worried look on his face:
"Alas, Lao Ba's health is really getting worse and worse."
Daishan and others originally disagreed with the emperor leading the army in person.
But Huang Taiji insisted and reiterated that this was the founding war of the Qing Dynasty, and Zhang Shikang was the biggest threat since the founding of the Qing Dynasty. He felt uneasy if he did not lead the army in person.
Dorgon frowned upon hearing this and said:
"It's all his fault for not exercising restraint when he was young. Being so fat is never good. Those Han Chinese doctors are so incompetent. I really want to chop them all down!"
At this time, the Qing Dynasty had just been established not long ago, and there were not yet so many red tape after entering the Pass. In private, Dorgon and others still liked to call each other brothers.
Daishan was the oldest and the second son of Nurhaci. Ajige, Dodo and Dorgon were siblings from the same mother and were ranked twelfth, fourteenth and fifteenth respectively.
Huang Taiji was the eighth son, so his brothers called each other "Old Eight" or "My Eighth Brother".
In the eyes of his brothers, Huang Taiji was not known for his bravery, but for his strategy. In addition, he was very good to his brothers and was relatively prestigious, so everyone respected him.
However, Huang Taiji liked to eat fatty meat, which made him obese. When he was in his thirties, he often felt tired and exhausted. Now that he is over fifty, he is showing signs of running out of energy.
Daishan said to Dorgon with some dissatisfaction:
"Although this disease is rare, it does exist, especially among wealthy families. I have asked people to investigate, but no one has been able to cure it. So the doctor cannot be blamed.
Alas, I only hope that Your Majesty can end the war safely and return to the capital."
"I hope so too," Dorgon replied, and the two brothers returned to their camps.
The next day, the sun rose as usual, and the summer morning on the grassland was unusually cool and quiet.
However, the armies of the Qing Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, several miles away, were already on high alert.
Without any unnecessary greetings, Huang Taiji gave an order, and generals such as Daishan, Dorgon, Ajige, Duoduo, and Meilin each took the order and began to prepare to launch an attack from four directions.
Due to the large number of people in the four armies, it took about half an hour for the four armies to finally assemble and reorganize.
But just before launching the attack, two miles away from the Guards, Dorgon suddenly saw a flash of light in front of the Guards' formation.
Then came the deafening sound of artillery fire, a sound completely different from the tiger squat cannon of yesterday.
As soon as the huge sound of artillery fire passed, exclamations broke out from the troops behind him.
Several shells landed right in his team, leaving streaks of blood in the ranks like plowing the ground.
Dorgon's eyes suddenly widened, and he could hardly believe his eyes.
"How is this possible at this distance?"
……