1091 Final Battle (1/2)

Chapter 1091 – Final Battle

”Back to Yanjing!”

This time, Dorgon did not hesitate and immediately ordered the army to head back north to assist Yanjing.

This order totally buried the Qing Dynasty.

Not long after the Qing army started to go up north, Li Jing and Guo Ziyi's forces were like hunters that had locked onto their prey. They struck out when the enemy showed panic and pounced on them.

Dorgon, Ajige, Lianpo, and the other Qing Dynasty camp generals were all experienced generals and were prepared for that. However, the Yanjing emergency meant they had to hurry up, so there would obviously be things that were not covered or planned for.

Next was that Li Jing and Guo Ziyi's forces were ready and had been waiting for a week or longer. Even if the Qing army was prepared, they would not be able to defend against it.

A huge final battle was suddenly sparked.

The Southern Alliance Army took the chance that the Qing army was in a rush to get up north to launch attack after attack. If the Qing army did not stop and forced their way up north, the Alliance Army would be able to tear away at their forces.

If they stopped to fight, the Alliance Army would retreat and not fight. If the Qing army arranged troops to cover them, the Alliance Army would swallow them without any hesitation.

Such a shameless tactic annoyed Dorgon.

If it were not Yanjing being in trouble, Dorgon was even tempted to play along with the Alliance Army. Helplessly, the moment they learned that the Qing army was going up north, the attacks of the Great Xi army grew in intensity.

Zhang Xianzhong was greedy, but he was also really clear-headed.

Regardless of whether he had fallen for a bait or not, the Great Xi army had no way out. If they retreated, they would only be destroyed by the Qing army. Even if the Qing army temporarily let them off, the two would become enemies with no chances of reconciliation.

Since that was the case, why not take it a step further and attack Yanjing before the Qing army arrived. With that, they could the city defenses as well as top prisoners like the Shunzhi Emperor to restraint the Qing army.

The fierce attacks of Great Xi army ignored sacrifices. As a result, the Qing army defending in Yanjing suffered heavy casualties. Even the guards of the palace were chased to the battlefield.

Even so, the city was trembling.

Although the Manchurians took up the highest level of the huge Yanjing City, the civilians including the civil servants and generals, were Han Chinese.

Naturally, there were no lack of weaklings, but there were also some patriotic souls.

Furthermore, even weaklings might step up sometimes. Like Jiangnan Noble leader Qian Qianyi, who started to oppose Qing again after surrendering for no reason.

A human's heart was complicated.

The fall of Shanhai Pass, the Qing Dynasty old land being attacked, the Qing army main force being delayed by the Southern Alliance Army, and Yanjing being surrounded; every matter was hitting at the minds of the Han Chinese within the city.

Something was seemingly about to break out.

The Imperial Court seemingly noticed these signs. Even at the darkest time of the city, they did not relax the control of the city and was wary at all times.

Unease and dark currents hovered around the entire city.

...

Just as Dorgon led the troops to assist Yanjing, the 180 thousand Qing troops that had arrived at Shanhai Pass got the order to not return but to take down Shanhai Pass.

The intentions of the Qing Dynasty Imperial Court were obvious.

They realized that Yanjing was facing its most dangerous moment and could be broken into at any time. More so at such a time was the position of Shanhai Pass really important.

If they took back Shanhai Pass, the Yanjing Imperial Court would still have a way back. If they could not, the Imperial Court would be finished.

What was important and what was not was immediately evident.