Chapter 1086 – Occupying Land
Just as the huge change happened with the middle army, Guo Ziyi with the east army was also facing similar problems. Maybe there was an explanation for the Great Shun army in the middle army showing less of an effort.
It was like both Great Shun armies had planned it beforehand, leaving the camp at the same time and disappearing into the wilderness. One could foresee that this sudden storm would wrap up Shaanxi and even the entire north.
Within a night, the 120 thousand Great Xi army was busy claiming land in Shaanxi, totally not caring about the north conquest. The 60 thousand Great Shun army similarly showed little foresight and was following behind the dust of the Great Xi army.
The Southern Alliance Army was about to collapse.
Being influenced by this, the 120 thousand South Ming troops were showing signs of being unstable. If it were not for Li Jing seeing this coming and restructuring the soldiers of the Jiangbei four generals, replacing people with his trusted soldiers, the outcome would be catastrophic.
The bait that Dorgon threw out successfully messed up the Southern Alliance Army.
The stirring northern conquest was not even halfway completed and layers of thick dark clouds already hung over it.
……
Capital City, Yanjing.
Dorgon looked at the intel, and the corner of his smile revealed a slight smile.
When Ajige standing at the side saw this, he smiled, “Should it be time for us to act and lead the troops to retreat back to the Capital City?” Ajige felt really wronged, and he was eager to fight back.
“No!”
Dorgon kept his smile, and his expression instantly became solemn, “Now is not the time. After Great Xi and Great Shun engage and Li Jing is unable to clean up the mess, that would be when we act.”
The Qing army had a good analysis of choosing when to strike.
Too early, and it was easy to reveal their intentions and cause the Southern Alliance Army to gather together once more; too late, and the pressure from the Manchu nobles would increase. If it exploded, the results would be unimaginable.
The grasp of time tested the standard of the commander.
Dorgon was really clear-headed, “Send my orders for various troops not to act. Without my orders, no soldiers can be sent. If not, do not blame me for flipping and for being heartless.”
“Yes!”
Ajige was not afraid of the heavens or of hell; he only respected Dorgon.
“To succeed, one must be patient and bear the pressure.” Dorgon looked at the skies above the south sky, and his gaze looked unhurried. His understanding of Confucian classic words was really worthy of praise.
…
Within Jianye City, there was one person who felt really complicated in his heart, and he could not sleep at night. This person was not the Prince Regent Ouyang Shuo but the South Ming master by name – Hongguang emperor.
There was no emperor who truly had no ambition.
Since the Battle of Jianye ended, and they started the north conquering, Hongguang Emperor’s heart had been burning up. He felt that this was a sacred mission that the heavens were giving him – return me my Great Ming land.
If there was no hope then so be it.
However, when he saw the chance of restoring the glory of the country, his heart was not as calm anymore. Every victory on the frontlines could make the Hongguang emperor really emotional, as it meant that they were getting closer and closer to the target.
“Your highness, the situation is great, and the Qing army is being forced back. The Alliance Army is invincible wherever they go. They are going to arrive under Yanjing City soon,” said the reporting eunuch.
Yanjing was the land that the Hongguang Emperor dreamt on trampling.
There were the foundations left by the ancestors, far more prosperous than Jianye with a really majestic palace.
The Hongguang emperor was drowning in the bliss.
But the news spreading out during these past few days made the Hongguang Emperor really uneasy and also really unhappy, “How did this happen? How did the north conquering mission become an internal battle?”
Hongguang Emperor could not understand.
He felt hate.
He hated Zhang Xianzhong’s greed, and he hated the Great Shun army for stepping out of hand.
“Traitors are still traitors in the end; a leopard cannot change its spot.” The Hongguang Emperor realized that they could not let this continue. The South Ming army could not allow these two groups of people to pick up easy pickings whilst the South Ming army was fighting on the frontlines.
Hence, the Hongguang emperor sent a secret order to the South Ming general behind Ouyang Shuo’s back, “For the current north conquering, encircling the city is the top priority and sieging is second. Try to occupy land in the north and not let the traitors take advantage of us. Remember it, remember this.”
It was this secret order that riled up the South Ming army and added a lot of problems for Li Jing and Guo Ziyi. The South Ming army generals had the emperor supporting them, so they spoke with gusto.
The human heart was hard to predict.
Apart from sending the order to the frontlines, the Hongguang emperor was slowly becoming more and more active in the Imperial Court, using the officials close to him to plan the Northern Territory matters.
In the end, Hongguang Emperor was still wary of Ouyang Shuo, this Prince Regent, but he did not make it too obvious.
No matter what, the Imperial Court was slowly changing. Furthermore, sending officials to reclaim lost land was a normal matter and helped to calm down local problems.
Ouyang Shuo had no reason to interfere.
In truth, Ouyang Shuo did not interfere and was just a bystander from start to finish.
If it were him of three years ago, when he faced such a tough problem, he might show some emotion. Now, Ouyang Shuo had trained up, becoming stone hearted. He was unmoved like a mountain.
Prince Regent manor.
The letters from Li Jing and Guo Ziyi had arrived a day ago.
In truth, long before the north conquering, Jia Xu had made various sorts of deductions. Although Dorgon’s strategy was really bold, in the end, it was quite predictable.
Facing such a situation, there was naturally a solution.
“In the end, they are a bunch of untalented and useless people.” Ouyang Shuo shook his head in disappointment.
In history, it was not without reason that the Qing Dynasty was able to rule China.
Great Xi, Great Shun, and South Ming were all shortsighted, busy fighting amongst themselves right when they saw a little bit of benefit. How could they be better than the Qing Dynasty, which was rising up like the sun?
Luckily, Ouyang Shuo had not put all their hopes on them.
Before the start of the north conquering, with the help of Jia Xu, Ouyang Shuo designed two strategies. If Great Xi and Great Shun did not do anything out of hand, it would naturally be for the best, and they would just make their way to Yanjing.
That would be the best outcome.
In this scenario, they would use the 450 thousand Southern Alliance Army with Li Jing at the command. Along with the entire land as a shield, no matter how well Dorgon prepared, Ouyang Shuo had confidence about surrounding Yanjing to finally take down this Battle Map.
A lone city was hard to defend; that was the law of the military.
The other method could be called an emergency one. Ouyang Shuo naturally could not hold high hopes for uprising soldiers like Zhang Xianzhong.
At the crucial moment, he still had to rely on the player forces.
Of course, Ouyang Shuo did not hope to rely on just the Guards Legion Corps and the blazing legion corps to take down Yanjing. That would not be confidence but arrogance.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
Thinking about this, Ouyang Shuo looked at Feng Qiuhuang and smiled, “I’ll leave Jianye to you!”
“Do not worry and go!” Feng Qiuhuang nodded.
+ Add to my favorites
← Previous
All chapters
Next →
lightnovel.world
Chapter 1087 – Special Sneak Attack
24th day of the Battle Map.
Prince Regent Ouyang Shuo and the three thousand Divine Martial Guards suddenly disappeared from Jianye.
At the same time, Player Feng Qiuhuang, who had been hiding, suddenly walked onto the front stage and replaced Ouyang Shuo. She started to take charge of the Jianye Imperial Court situation whilst being in charge of frontline resources and army matters.
Beside her were two thousand Fallen Phoenix City Personal Guards.
…
25th day of the Battle Map.
On the vast ocean surface, the Great Xia Emperor Squadron rode the waves forward.
On the deck of The Emperor, Ouyang Shuo stood firm as he looked out at the vast ocean and asked, “How many more days before the squadron reaches the Bohai Sea?”
Bohai Sea, the North Sea, was a portion of the Pacific. It was the inner river of China, located between Liao Ning, Hebei, Shan Dong, and Tianjing.
They went to Bohai River because of one pass.
This pass was located north of Yiyan Mountain, and its south connected to the Bohai Sea, which was why it was called Shanhai Pass.
Zhou Yu replied, “My king, the squadron is riding along with the wind, and if things proceed smoothly, we will arrive the day after at the latest.”
“Great!”
Ouyang Shuo was really pumped up and could not help but feel a little excited.
Shanhai Pass had the name of being the top pass in the world. It was built during Zhu Yuanzhang’s reign and was a key area to when the Qing army entered the land, which was why it was really meaningful.
After the Great Shun and Great Xi armies changed their plans, Ouyang Shuo immediately activated the backup plan. He went down Changjiang to meet up with the Emperor Squadron and entered the ocean.
Ouyang Shuo’s goal was to take down Shanhai Pass and break the only way back for the Qing army.
Since Dorgon was determined to not engage the Southern Alliance Army too early, Ouyang Shuo decided to force his hand.
After taking down Shanhai Pass, Ouyang Shuo did not mind taking a stroll outside of it.
Although the Qing Dynasty had shifted to Yanjing a year ago, outside of it, many Manchurians and even royal blood ones lived in their old capital, Shenyang. This was the foundations of the Qing Dynasty.
If their foundations were under siege, Ouyang Shuo did not believe that Dorgon would not be anxious.
Even if Dorgon could keep calm, the Manchu nobles would not agree to it.
…
Zhongyuan.
While Ouyang Shuo led troops up north, Li Jing and Guo Ziyi were not slacking around. After Li Jing led troops down to attack Kaifeng, he stopped going up north and rested on the spot.
Guo Ziyi’s forces chose to rest up at Jinan.
Using this time, both of them strengthened their control over the South Ming army. They kicked out the unstable or unskilled generals and promoted some that could fight well.
Gao Jie, Huo Degong, and Liu Liangzuo; these were all skilled people, and their forces did not lack skilled soldiers like Li Dingguo and Sun Kewang.
To promote these generals had many evident pros.
First, they were not outsiders and the South Ming soldiers would not oppose them. Secondly, they were good at war and were once main generals of various armies, so they were able to adapt quickly.
Even to say that the promotion of these generals helped raise the morale of the South Ming soldiers.
As for the reason behind the promotion, it was easy to find. The Alliance Army soldiers had won successive battles, so naturally they should be rewarded. The methods that Li Jing and Guo Ziyi used showed their intellect.
They did not directly demote the other generals. Instead, they promoted them into chief generals of governors. It looked like a promotion, but it was instead used as a chance to kick them out of the army.
Those generals who were kicked out were also really happy about it.
In their eyes, the occupied land was already South Ming territory, and it naturally needed people to defend it. Coincidentally, they also got the secret message from the Hongguang emperor to let them occupy territory, so everything linked up. As a result, they agreed.
Since they were chief generals, they needed men to lead.
This was also easy to settle. As the Qing army had left, and the local civilians had armed themselves, they became the best choice. To organize all of them together helped to stabilize the backlines.
Apart from the civilians arming up, every city the army passed, there would be huge amounts of hot blood young men who signed up.
These two points ensured that there were enough troops.
Even to say that Li Jing and Guo Ziyi could choose a batch of really hot blood soldiers to throw into the Ming army whilst kicking out some who lacked skill.
With that, both of them not only took total control of the South Ming army and wiped out the hidden problems, but they also improved the combat strength and unity of the army.
As for the Hongguang emperor, to him, since there was territory to claim, he did not mind these details. And no matter how the South Ming army changed, they were still under South Ming rule.
Hence, all sides were naturally happy.
Although Great Shun leaving and Great Xi not cooperating had in fact impacted the Southern Alliance Army, after this round of adjustment, their overall strength did not drop by too much.
This was the magic of reorganization.
If Dorgon misjudged the strength of the Southern Alliance Army and struck out now, be it the middle army or the east army, they would give the Qing army a huge surprise.
…
As they were busy reorganizing the army, in the next few days, the north appeared a little too calm. The first to explode was Shaanxi on the west instead.
26th day of the Battle Map.
60 thousand Great Shun troops traveled quickly and finally entered the Shaanxi land, bumping into the Great Xi army that was extending their territory.
No unneeded words were said as both armies directly fought one another.
At the start, as the Great Shun army gathered together whilst the Great Xi army was scattered around, in terms of numbers, the Great Shun army had the advantage and won a few battles.
After the victory, the Great Shun army was really pumped up and headed right for Xi An.
Receiving the news, Zhang Xianzhong, who was in Xi An, reacted and started to gather up troops and unhappily said, “Scoff, a bunch of cowards actually dare to act bold in front of me.”
If Li Zicheng was still alive, Zhang Xianzhong would have naturally let out Xi An. But what was the current Great Shun army? A bunch of remnant troops.
Toward these people, why would Zhang Xianzhong bother about them?
If the Great Shun army chose a stable method and ate slowly away at Shaanxi to increase their influence and strength, they would be able to gather up a huge army to go up against the Great Xi army.
When that happened, the victor of the battle would be really uncertain.
However, the Great Shun army was too arrogant.
After a few victories, the Great Shun army was so arrogant that they lost sight of themselves and did not even rest up before heading right for Xi An. Their tracks were totally exposed in front of Zhang Xianzhong.
Seeing that, he started to quietly spread his net and wait for the Great Shun army to take the bait.
+ Add to my favorites
← Previous
All chapters
Next →
lightnovel.world
Chapter 1088: Taking down Shanhai Pass
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.
+ Add to my favorites
← Previous
All chapters
Next →
lightnovel.world
Chapter 1089: Home in Danger
Translator: ryangohsff Editor: Nora
Chapter 1089 – Home in Danger
The sudden loss of Shanhai Pass was a huge hit to the face for the Qing Dynasty.
“How did this happen?”
They had just endured the pain and gave up on the territory in the north. Now, they had lost their only way toward their old land.
With the matter developing to such a stage, there were finally officials who raised their doubts, “Giving up cities and not bothering about the lives of a large number of our people only to start up internal problems in the Southern Alliance Army. Was that worth it?”
“Was the price a little too large?”
Shanhai Pass could be called the last line of defense in the hearts of the Manchu people. With Shanhai Pass there, they felt confident that even if they lost in Zhongyuan, they could back off and rise up again.
The moment Shanhai Pass was lost, the Qing Dynasty had no way out.
Hence, the fall of Shanhai Pass had a huge psychological impact on the Qing Dynasty.
Dorgon learned about the fall of Shanhai Pass whilst traveling. His first reaction was that the pros were more than the cons, and he could use it to raise the morale of the soldiers.
An army with no way out would explode out incredible strength.
Before leaving, many of the soldiers could not understand why they were holed up in Yanjing. When the northern territories fell one by one, the troops in the army were filled with annoyance and anger.
Even if they set out, the morale was not ideal.
The fall of Shanhai Pass might actually be an opportunity. However, what occurred after that far exceeded his expectations and made all his plans useless.
…
33rd day of the Battle Map, the Divine Martial Guards entered the old Qing Dynasty land.
Their actions there were like the wind, entering and leaving like ghosts. They suddenly appeared on the north side and suddenly at the west of Shenyang.
The damage they caused was really terrifying.
When the special forces like the Divine Martial Guards faced the not sturdy structures of the old Qing Dynasty land, they used special forces equipment like hook claws to enter the city really easily.
Even to say that the Divine Martial Guards could use high technology makeup to sneak into the city.
The moment they entered, they destroyed the core structures. They would do things like igniting treasuries, killing officials, or wiping out nobles. No matter what, it was really lethal.
All of a sudden, the Qing Dynasty people were terrified.
The three thousand Divine Martial Guards were like a bunch of cold-hearted spirits, raising the scythe of the grim reaper and claiming life after life, spreading fear.
“Quick, report to Yanjing!”
Once the surrounding territories faced trouble one after another, the officials in Shenyang could not take it anymore and sought help from Yanjing.
Since the Qing Dynasty had moved over to Yanjing, the officials staying in Shenyang were either not ambitious people or people not trusted by Dorgon. Instead of saying they were people left behind to defend it, it would be more correct to say that they were people that were sidelined.
Even so, the position of Shenyang could not be shaken.
The reason was that the Machu eight banner elders lived there. Although they did not interfere in dynasty manners, every move they made would shake the dynasty.
One could foresee how the Imperial Court would react when they received the emergency report.
Shanhai Pass falling had already caused waves within the court. The emergency message from Shenyang was like pouring oil onto a fire, making more and more people unhappy toward Dorgon.
The Imperial Court situation was unstable.
This time, many heavyweight officials opposed Dorgon. Those supporting the protection of the Shunzhi Emperor took the chance to point their spears at Dorgon.
All of a sudden, the popular Dorgon suddenly became the person everyone targeted.
To make matters worse, Dorgon had not only personally led the troops, but even his right hand men like Ajige had followed the army out and were not in the Imperial Court.
Facing more and more intense accusations, there was actually no one who spoke up for Dorgon. Even people close to him did not step out because they wanted to save themselves.
The plotting against Dorgon like what had happened in history seemed to be occurring once more.
Luckily, the Shunzhi Emperor was still young and could not rule personally yet. If not, he would have really wiped out Dorgon and his supporters. Even so, some wariness was needed.
The Imperial Court ordered the army to immediately stop.
Compared to crushing the Southern Alliance Army, reclaiming Shanhai Pass and saving Shenyang was more important.
When Dorgon received the order, his face sunk. He realized that all of this was a trap by the enemy to stop the Qing army from going down south.
As for the attacks toward him in the Imperial Court, it was enough to raise his guard. Although the Shunzhi Emperor was willing to give him the title of Prince Regent, he definitely would not allow himself to be a puppet emperor.
When the emperor grew up, he would bare his fangs.
These were not the most important things right now. The crucial thing was, facing the orders from the emperor, who should the Qing army follow?
As they say, when the general is outside, the ruler’s orders do not apply to him. Immediately, there were eight banners army generals who suggested they ignored the decree and head down south. Once they crushed the South Alliance Army, all the words in the Imperial Court would stop.
“The enemy crafted such plots because they are afraid of facing off against us. More so we cannot fall for it,” said some experienced generals.
When Dorgon heard that, he was indeed really tempted.
However, going against imperial decrees was not a small matter. And this time, there were many officials against Dorgon, and their statuses were all really high, which was rare.
Even someone as powerful as Dorgon might fall if he was not careful.
If they went against the imperial decree, it would undoubtedly give those people things to say like he was not loyal. When things reached that stage, even if he crushed the Southern Alliance Army and won, he would not be able to wash off that sin.
An emperor, even one that had not personally started ruling, could accept a failure during a war. However, he could not accept his men challenging his authority.
Even without considering that point, from a military standpoint, the fall of Shanhai Pass threw the Qing Dynasty into the flames of war. This would definitely affect the morale of the army.
First, they did not know the number of enemies that were in the old Qing land. If it were a huge army, the enemy could continue down south of Shanhai Pass and take down Yanjing.
Yanjing only had 50 thousand soldiers defending it and was facing a precarious situation.
With their home being unstable, the soldiers would not be able to fight at ease. Especially the Meng and Man eight banner armies, as 90% and above were from Yanjing.
In Yanjing, there were their wives and children.
Yanjing was unstable, and so were their hearts.
“No!”
Dorgon went against the temptation of disobeying the decree. Although the enemy’s plot was simple, there was no way for him to break it. As such, he could only follow it.
“Since it is the emperor’s decree and also involves the safety of Shenyang, we cannot sit still and do nothing. Spread my orders, stop going down south and rest up right here.”
Dorgon was going to evaluate how many men he should send back to assist.
+ Add to my favorites
← Previous
All chapters
Next →
lightnovel.world
Chapter 1090: Zhang Xianzhong Takes the Bait
Translator: ryangohsff Editor: Nora
Chapter 1090 – Zhang Xianzhong Takes the Bait
He would decide on how many troops to send based on how many enemies there were in the old Qing land. If they sent too little, it would be of no use, and if they sent too many, it would directly affect the battlefield.
However, the problem was that he was unable to confirm the number of enemies attacking the old Qing Dynasty land.
Reports from Shenyang stated that the enemies had entered and left like ghosts with three territories being attacked within a day. There was no way to know the overall enemy numbers, but conservatively, there would be above 50 thousand.
“Moreover, they are all elite forces.” The officials left in Shenyang swore.
Although they had never seen the Divine Martial Guards, they had to exaggerate the enemy’s skill. If not, wouldn’t it mean that they were useless?
Furthermore, since there was no way to confirm it, they were not exaggerating it blindly.
“50 thousand elites?”
If Di Chen was together with Dorgon, he would be able to see through this lie. With the strength of the Southern Alliance Army, there was no way they could send 50 thousand men up north.
However, Dorgon was unable to make such a judgement.
Logically speaking, to take down Shanhai Pass and massacre the eight thousand defending troops while also creating so much noise in the old Qing land, 50 thousand elites was not a large number.
“Now this is problematic.”
Assuming the enemy had 50 thousand troops, in order to take back Shanhai Pass and go back into their old land to crush the enemy, they had to send 150 thousand troops back to be safe.
There were 50 thousand Qing troops left in Yanjing, and one could not send them all up north.
This also meant that he need to send at least 130 thousand of his forces up, leaving only 370 thousand troops on the main battlefield. Compared to the 330 thousand southern alliance troops on the east and middle fronts, their advantage was not so evident anymore.
With such numbers, crushing the Southern Alliance Army was totally impossible. Dorgon was not arrogant, and since the player forces in the enemy camp could crush Dodo’s forces, they had to be skilled.
After thinking about it, Dorgon could only choose the safest solution.
Out of the two armies, they each sent 70 thousand along with 40 thousand from Yanjing to go up north to attack Shanhai Pass.
He planned to use an army that held an absolute numerical advantage to solve the problems in their back garden within a week.
As for the main battlefield, the Qing armies would halt their advance down south. Once the north army took back Shanhai Pass, they would make further plans.
Dorgon was still really confident if they stayed where they were and defended.
Strictly speaking, Dorgon’s plan was not wrong. However, when Di Chen received the news, he could not help but feel a chill run down his spine as uneasiness rose up in his heart.
Di Chen felt that things definitely would not be so simple.
…
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.
The 140 thousand Qing troops had returned to Yanjing. After gathering with the 40 thousand troops there, they went up north to Shanhai Pass. If things went smoothly, they would arrive near the pass the next morning.
The ones in charge of defending the Shanhai Pass was the Emperor Squadron, 15 thousand gunners, and 12 thousand sword-shield soldiers.
Helping them defend were hundreds of P1 Type Cannons.
With such a defensive lineup, even if the Qing army sent out 180 thousand men, they would still be able to defend for more than three days. Hence, in this battle, one could see that Ouyang Shuo had used the resources of the South Ming camp to the extreme.
Even so, with the current development, the Qing army would only take a little longer than the week that Dorgon had expected.
In terms of the big picture, it would not be much.
However, the problem was that the development of the situation would be a total nightmare for the Qing army. In just a week, the situation had turned on its head.
The change happened in a direction that Dorgon had disregarded – Great Xi.
Based on Dorgon’s analysis, as long as the Qing army did not attack, Great Xi would be happy with their current position and stay in Shaanxi and Shanxi.
This was originally a correct judgement.
The premise would be that Ouyang Shuo did not send a secret letter over to Zhang Xianzhong.
“A person’s greed knows no bounds.”
After occupying Xi An, wiping out Great Shun, taking over Shaanxi and subsequently Shanxi, Great Xi and Zhang Xianzhong had already achieved a huge victory.
It was enough to make them proud for their entire life.
Luckily, he still had the ambition to rule the world, which was how he was baited by Ouyang Shuo. His plan was actually really simple and did not look like much.
He only told Zhang Xianzhong, “Yanjing city will have a period where they lack troops, and the defenses will be really weak. If you want to rule the world, you need to take down Yanjing. Moreover, this period will be your only chance. If you miss it then too bad.”
When Zhang Xianzhong received the letter, he was naturally filled with doubts. With his personal experiences and life journey, he could not imagine that there would be someone who would do things for free without expecting returns.
The Southern Alliance Army had spent so much effort to restrict the Qing army, attacking Shanhai Pass to make them throw in the Qing army defending Yanjing. As a result, they created a defensive vacuum. And now, they would allow Great Xi to reap the rewards?
“That did not make sense!”
Although Zhang Xianzhong doubted the letter, he still took the bait in the end. Such free things were better to just believe in rather than not.
On the surface, Zhang Xianzhong did not reply Ouyang Shuo. However, in the dark, he had gathered up Great Xi troops and arranged them near Yanjing.
The moment Yanjing became truly empty, Zhang Xianzhong would not hesitate.
Just as Ouyang Shuo had said, be it due to influence or other considerations, occupying Yanjing was of irreplaceable value and meaning for a regime that wanted to rule the world.
Zhang Xianzhong had no way to resist such temptations.
39th day of the Battle Map, not long after the 180 thousand Qing troops left Yanjing, the 120 thousand Great Xi troops suddenly charged right at Yanjing.
As one of the most famous leaders of the end Ming peasant uprising, at the crucial moment, he did not mind going all out in a gamble. As long as he took down Yanjing, he was not afraid to bet the fate of Great Xi.
Facing enemy troops 12 times their number, even if Yanjing had the strongest defense in the world, it would still be in danger.
After the 120 thousand Great Xi troops arrived on the outskirts, they did not rest and attacked overnight. They wanted to take down Yanjing in the shortest amount of time possible.
Zhang Xianzhong was filled with confidence.
When Dorgon received the emergency letter sent by Yanjing through a pigeon, his expression changed for the first time, and he could not keep calm anymore.
“Was this the trump card of the enemy?”
The actions of the Alliance Army totally exceeded his expectations and broke his plan. Throughout the entire process, he was led around by Ouyang Shuo.
Ouyang Shuo had designed a series of battle plans that were all interconnected. Each step did not look like much and did not look like they were planned. However, when pieced together, it could shake the foundations of the Qing Dynasty.
+ Add to my favorites
← Previous
All chapters
Next →
lightnovel.world
Chapter 1091: Final Battle
Translator: ryangohsff Editor: Nora
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.
Hence, just as the Southern Alliance Army bit onto Dorgon’s forces, a battle exploded out at Shanhai Pass.
The Qing army wanted to take back Shanhai Pass, but the Great Xia Emperor Squadron naturally would not let them. To protect the pass city, the three thousand Divine Martial Guards had already returned to help the defense.
Hence, the defenses became even stronger.
The attacks of the Qing army were decisive. They used cannons whilst relying on siege weapons to have close quarters combat to try to take down the pass.
Helplessly, in front of the P1 Type Cannons, the Hongyi cannons of the Qing Dynasty were just too weak. Be it in terms of range or firepower, they were far from that of the P1 Type Cannons.
Furthermore, the P1 Type Cannons were shooting down from above. The Hongyi cannons could only fire one or two rounds before they were destroyed. Furthermore, with the help of the mimicry flying devices, the effects of the Qing Dynasty god machine camp were weak.
This time, they were in for some trouble.
After a day and night of battling, 30 thousand of the Qing army died whilst Shanhai Pass still stood. To make matters worse, most of their cannons were already destroyed.
Without the help of the cannons, taking down Shanhai Pass was impossible.
Desperation, pessimism, fear…
Various negative emotions spread out in the Qing army and could not be controlled. Like the apocalypse, their morale fell. Some soldiers had already fled.
The first to flee were the surrendered soldiers in the Qing army.
They had the least amount of loyalty toward the Qing Dynasty. Moreover, when they saw that this boat could capsize at any moment, they did not have the determination to die with it.
During the starting parts of the Shunzhi Emperor’s reign, before history was changed, and the atrocities of the Qing army were covered up.
In the eyes of the Han Chinese, few of them recognized the Qing Dynasty.
Furthermore, amongst the Qing army were people like Wu Sangui, who joined in because they sensed an opportunity. Seeing that the Qing Dynasty might not be able to survive this, they naturally held other thoughts.
With people leading, there naturally would be people who followed.
The escaping started one by one, and then squadron by squadron. In the end, an entire unit of troops disappeared within a night.
Amongst which included Wu Sangui’s forces.
Along with these troops escaping, the Qing army morale had reached rock bottom. They knew that they had no chance to take down Shanhai Pass.
“What should we do?” The soldiers were all really uneasy.
At this crucial moment, the Qing army that had shrunk to 100 thousand split up once more. This time, the ones that escaped were actually the Meng eight banner, the elite cavalry of the Qing army.
As they say, ‘When a calamity arises, everyone runs for their own lives.’
The Manchu and Mongol races were close, but in the end, they were not of the same family.
Seeing that the Qing Dynasty was close to being wiped out, the Mongols naturally would not be so foolish as to follow them. Although Shanhai Pass was the core pathway, it was not the only way.
The Meng eight banner army went around the pass and did not participate in this chaotic battle.
This was fatal for the Qing army.
First, they had lost half of their elite forces, and their combat strength was greatly reduced. Hence, they had no way of taking down Shanhai Pass. Secondly, the army soldiers started to waver, and even the Man 8 banner army started to waver.
Some wanted to go around the pass like the Meng 8 banner army, while some wanted to return to Yanjing to save their family.
The Battle of Shanhai Pass welcomed its most crucial turning point.
+ Add to my favorites
← Previous
All chapters
Next →
lightnovel.world
Chapter 1092: All Fronts Collapsing
Translator: ryangohsff Editor: Nora
Chapter 1092 – All Fronts Collapsing
In less than two days, only 40 thousand Man eight banner army troops remained from the 180 thousand Qing troops.
Just as this army wavered internally without knowing what to do, the Great Xia Army made the decision for them. With the Divine Martial Guards as the vanguard, they struck out.
The Qing army did not expect this.
The Qing army, whose morale was already really low, did not know what to do when faced with the sudden attacks of the Divine Martial Guard. Their opinions were not united; some chose to fight, while some chose to flee.
On the contrary, the Great Xia Army’s morale was soaring, and the commanding was all in place.
Although the Qing army had two times the number of the Great Xia Army, right from the get go, their formations were charged apart. A huge collapse was imminent, and no one could stop it from happening.
The Great Xia Army chased the win to collect the spoils of war.
This massacre lasted all the way into the evening before coming to an end. Once the sun set in the west, Shanhai Pass was surrounded by bodies, and one could not see a single standing Qing army soldier.
The Qing army had totally collapsed.
Just like that, in less than three days, the 180 thousand Qing troops that attacked Shanhai Pass with high morale ended up falling, either dying in battle or escaping.
This was a miracle in war history. The reason laid in the Qing dynasty’s foundations being too shallow, and they tried to use one border tribe to rule China. It was okay if they did not face challengers, but once they did, they would immediately collapse.
And the collapse started internally.
Once the Qing army faced trouble at Shanhai Pass, the fall of the Qing Army Camp started.
In order to not provoke the Great West army, after destroying the Qing troops, Ouyang Shuo did not lead his troops down south to attack Yanjing. Instead, he went north to attack Shenyang.
Even so, Yanjing still fell in the end.
The next afternoon, the remnant troops from Shanhai Pass returned to Yanjing, bringing the news of their defeat. This time, the shaky Yanjing could not hold on anymore and gave out its last breath.
At night, the Great Xi troops succeeded in making their way into Yanjing and captured the Shunzhi Emperor.
…
The moment the news of Yanjing falling spread to Dorgon’s forces, it immediately welcomed a new wave of fleeing soldiers. The surrendered soldiers directly chose to surrender to the Southern Alliance Army, and even a portion of the Meng eight banner army surrendered.
Hence, the number of Qing army troops decreased.
Just like that, the morale and strength of the Southern Alliance Army soared, and they tried to crush the main army of the Qing army. To repay their sins, the surrendered troops who had just joined the Douthern Alliance Army charged at the front.
Such an outcome was truly ironic.
No matter how amazing Dorgon was, he had no way to handle such a situation. More crucially, Dorgon had suddenly become confused, not knowing what he should do.
Yanjing was lost, and Shanhai Pass was in the hands of the enemy. Even Shenyang was about to be lost.
The earth did not have a place for them anymore.
Dorgon wanted to stop and go for an all-out gamble with the Alliance Army, “Even if I die, I want to bring some of them down with me.” For the Qing Dynasty to become the ruler of China from a small race showed that they were filled with courage and guts.
Dorgon’s idea was great, but if the Qing army really went all out, Li Jing might not dare to go head on with them. A desperate army when crazy was really terrifying.
However, someone did not want to.
That person was Di Chen.
He had already gotten what he wanted, so why would he let the Great Zhou soldiers die along with the Qing army? Not long after the surrendered troops left, Di Chen brought his army and broke away from the main battlefield to try to wait it out till the end of the battle.
This time, Dorgon was totally lost.
Even if he wanted to go all out, Li Jing would not play along. The Alliance Army chose to surround them and not attack.
On the other side, Guo Ziyi relied on their absolute numerical advantage to mercilessly kill Ajige’s forces. Although they were strong, the numerical difference was just too huge. They lasted for less than a day before being wiped out.
Following which, the entire battlefield welcomed its final moments.
After Guo Ziyi’s army destroyed Ajige’s troops, they rushed to gather with Li Jing’s forces. The gathered Southern Alliance Army along with the surrendered troops numbered over 500 thousand.
Facing such a huge army, there was nothing Dorgon could do. He quickly followed Ajige.
The final battle was really intense. Dorgon was determined to protect the last bit of glory of the Qing Dynasty and had a face off against the Alliance Army.
Unfortunately, he was facing a smart hunter.
Li Jing was really experienced and knew what he should do when facing a prey that was about to give a final gamble. He continuously switched up his formations, relying on their absolute numerical advantage to grind away at the enemy.
Once they were tired, the Alliance Army struck.
“It’s okay when they do not strike, but when they do, it would be fatal!”
The final blow of the Alliance Army crushed the entire Qing Army.
The dusk of the night was similarly a devilish red.
A leader of a generation died on the battlefield. Based on the Battle Map rules, Dorgon had no part to play in the wilderness, as the Qing Dynasty camp leader was Shunzhi Emperor and not Dorgon.
…
40th day of the Battle Map, the Alliance Army drew close to Yanjing.
Li Jing only sent out one force to head to Xi An. Zhang Xianzhong handed over the Shunzhi Emperor and also gave up Yanjing.
It was not Zhang Xianzhong being timid, but after crushing the Qing army main force, the Southern Alliance Army had become the strongest army. Facing such an opponent, Great Xi might not be even able to protect Xi An, much less Yanjing. Maybe at this moment, he truly realized that he was baited by Ouyang Shuo.
From the start, Great Xi was being used.
“His grandmother!” Zhang Xianzhong scolded out. However, he only dared to vent his frustration in the dark.
A person without foresight could only end up like this.
…
When the Shunzhi Emperor was handed over to the Alliance Army, the Battle Map finally came to an end.
Following which, the notification sounded.
“Battle Notification: Qing Destroys Ming battle has officially ended, Ming Dynasty has succeeded in changing history.”
…
“Battle Notification: Qing Destroys Ming battle has officially ended, now calculating bonus points based on player’s contribution and effect on the battle.”
…
A System Notification sounded out in Ouyang Shuo’s ear.
“System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi, Ming Dynasty camp player representative, uniting the various powers of the north and capturing the Shunzhi Emperor, awarded 80 thousand extra battle contribution points.”
As there were only three Lords, the rankings were quickly updated.
1st: Qiyue Wuyi- 2000000 points
2nd: Feng Qiuhuang- 1700000 points
3rd: Di Chen- 500000 points
At this point, the Battle Map ended.
Chapter 1093: King of the Battle Map
Translator: ryangohsff Editor: Nora
Chapter 1093 – King of the Battle Map
During this last Battle Map, the 100 thousand strong Great Zhou army were bystanders since the start. They did not fight a proper battle during the entire Battle Map, which was why Di Chen’s battle contribution points value was really low.
Of course, there was not any true loser in this Battle Map.
The happy thing would be that along with this Battle Map ending, Ouyang Shuo earned 200 thousand more merit points. He only needed 200 thousand more to achieve the highest rank of Son of Heaven.
Feng Qiuhuang similarly had huge gains. However, to get from duke to prince, she needed to double her merit points. As such, she needed to save up for a long period of time before she could promote once more.
Of course, even if she did manage to become a princess, with the surrounding situation of Fallen Phoenix City, she would not have the chance to upgrade to an empress dynasty.
Based on Feng Qiuhuang’s words, she had already started the country establishment quest. If things went well, within one to two months, Fallen Phoenix City would be able to establish their dynasty and welcome a new era.
The prosperous situation of having three dynasties in one region would probably only happen in China.
…
When the Battle Map ended, Ouyang Shuo was still in Shenyang.
After leading the attack on the Qing Dynasty old capital, Ouyang Shuo did not expect any surprises. In the palace, he obtained a special item that was really precious.
Soul of the Cavalry (speed): After use, permanently increases the speed of dynasty cavalry forces by 80%.
As the descendants of the Nuzhen race, the Manchu eight banner army cavalry was really exceptional.
Along with the Soul of the Cavalry (stamina) that he had gotten during the Battle of Yashan, once the two effects were stacked, the Great Xia cavalry would be pretty much invincible.
Even the famous Mongol cavalry would be nothing compare to them.
Just as Ouyang Shuo left Shenyang and was about to head toward Jianye to get the final reward, a System Notification sounded out, and it caused him to be stunned on the spot.
“System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi for spreading the glory of the Han Chinese in the Battle of Yashan and the Qing Destroys Ming battle, showing the spirit of the Chinese, specially awarded Soul of the Chinese as reward!”
Soul of the Chinese: after use, causes the dynasty to become the only orthodox Chinese dynasty, having the highest position.
The more Ouyang Shuo thought about it, the more shocked he felt.
The stats of the item was very vague, but each word had deep meaning. To a dynasty, its meaning was even greater than a million troops.
“What was orthodox?”
This word first appeared during the Spring and Autumn annals, which was also called the legally constituted authority, Confucian orthodoxy and rites orthodoxy. It meant that the dynasty followed and respected the customs and traditions of the kings and emperors before and was the legitimate ruler of China.
It was also termed as respecting the king and driving off the barbarians.
Some people said that, “Orthodoxy means that one is the most righteous.”
Since Great Xia held the position of orthodoxy, from now on, even Great Qin, Great Han, Great Sui, Great Tang, and Great Song would treat Great Xia with respect.
Of course, this was only in theory.
Even so, this was a huge achievement to Great Xia.
With this reward, the reward that South Ming gave was not so important anymore. Luckily, Gaia was really thoughtful and sent the gift over, saving him the time of having to make the trip back.
Ouyang Shuo looked at it and found that it was another talisman.
Mountain closing talisman: after use, one can choose to totally close up a mountain path or temporarily close three, each lasting for three months.
“Interesting!”
Ouyang Shuo seemingly thought about something, smiling as he chose to teleport away.
…
By the time he returned to Shanhai City, it was already the 7th month, 29th day.
The moment Ouyang Shuo appeared, a System Notification sounded.
“System Notification: Congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi, out of the 10 battles in China, being the camp representative of all and achieving the final victory, achieving the highest achievements in battle, specially awarded the title King of the Battle Map as well as one special reward, congratulations player!”
…
At that moment, the Chinese players were shocked to realize that unknowingly, Ouyang Shuo had created a miracle that was destined to never be surpassed.
In the Battle Map, the Yanhuang Alliance was stepped on from start to finish. No matter how either side chose their camps, Ouyang Shuo could turn around the situation in the end.
“Winning once was not much, what was difficult was winning every time.”
Ouyang Shuo being able to win 10 consecutive battles in the Battle Map was enough to engrave his name in the history books.
“Amazing!”
At the same time that the System Notification was released, at various corners of the wilderness were a bunch of special people. Their original identities were Lords, but now, they were many.
Some became causal players, some became combat occupation players, and some became merchants.
No matter what, they had a common point, which was that they had either worked together or fought against Great Xia in the Battle Map.
Only those who had participated could understand how amazing the achievement was, and it increased their respect for him.
Compared to the praise from the players, Di Chen felt dejected, and he even felt a huge sense of failure. In his battles against Ouyang Shuo, Di Chen had never obtained the upper hand.
Originally, this was not clear cut, and only after Gaia announced it did Di Chen come to a realization.
“Am I destined to be unable to beat him?”
Unknowingly, the image of Ouyang Shuo being invincible was carved into Di Chen’s heart.
Before Di Chen could think about it, a series of System Notifications followed.
“System Notification: Qing Destroys Ming Battle officially ends, Ming and Qing Dynasty historical people automatically enter the game progression!”
…
As the final two dynasties of the Chinese feudal era, although the Ming and Qing Dynasties were not really exceptional, they gave birth to many famous talents.
Just in Great Xia alone there was Zheng He, Yan Song, Li Hongzhang, Zhang Tingyu, Hu Zongxian, Hai Rui, Tian Wenjing, Wang Shouren, Shi Lang, Qin Jiguang, Yu Dayou, and more.
On the side of civil servants, they had Zhang Juzheng, who was one of the top 10 ministers in history. There was also the only person that had 10 generations of family wiped – Fang Xiaoru. There was also Liu Bowen, Shang Lu, and more.
In truth, each and every assistant to the emperor in the Ming Dynasty was a skilled civil servant.
On the Qing Dynasty side, there was Zhang Zidong, Zeng Guofan, and Zuo Zongtang. Apart from that, there was Oboi, Heshen, Liu Yong, Li Guangdi, and other such people.
On the general side, there was Yuan Chonghuan, Ding Ruchang, Deng Shichang, Yue Zhongqi, and more.
+ Add to my favorites
← Previous
All chapters
Next →
lightnovel.world
Chapter 1094 – Zhu Yuanzhang Kangxi
“System Notification: Qing Destroys Ming Battle has officially ended, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang moves into Jianye, Jianye Imperial Court becomes the Ming Dynasty Imperial Court. Li Shanchang, Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Li Wenzhong, Deng Yu, Feng Sheng, Tang He, Liu Bowen, Lan Yu, and other generals and civil servants move into the Great Ming Dynasty.”
…
Xu Da, one of the top 10 historical generals. Apart from Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Li Wenzhong, Deng Yu, Mu Ying, and Tang He were all top generals.
Ouyang Shuo coveted Xu Da.
Not because of other reasons, but simply because he was a rare God General that was good at firearms. The household Guards Legion Corps needed a commander like Xu Da.
Helplessly, Xu Da followed beside Zhu Yuanzhang, so Ouyang Shuo could only plot for him in the long run.
With such a glorious line up, the Ming Dynasty that had just entered Jianye would be really stable. Fortunately, Jianye was located within Great Zhou Dynasty’s Haidong Province, so Ouyang Shuo did not need to worry about it.
“System Notification: Qing Destroys Ming Battle has officially ended, Qing Kangxi emperor moves into Jingdu, Jingdu Imperial Court officially changes into Great Qing Dynasty,
Sonin, Suksaha, Ebilun, Oboi, Yao Qisheng, Cao Yin, Ming Zhu, Zhou Peigong, and other famous generals and civil servants automatically move into the Great Qing Dynasty.”
…
Sonin, Suksaha, Ebilun, and Oboi; they were the four regents of Kang Xi. Apart from Sonin, the other three did not meet good endings.
Even Cao Yin, Ming Zhu, and Zhou Peigong did not have good endings.
Along with these civil servants and generals appearing in Jingdu and into the Great Qing Imperial Court, who knows what kind of interesting situation would occur.
Next would be the princes of Kang Xi, who knows whether they would appear with him in Jingdu or not. In history, the nine dragons battle for the throne was the stuff of legends, and it was really intense and cruel.
In the chaotic wilderness, the Qing Dynasty camp was stronger than that of the Ming Dynasty. Great Qing had links with Jin country as well as a foreseeable cooperation with Great Zhou.
Along with the Ming and Qing dynasties appearing in the wilderness, there were emperors in all nine imperial cities. Even to say that with the destruction of Dali, eight were left.
At this point, the China region gamemode was completed.
The current China had Great Xia in the south, Great Zhou in the north, Fallen Phoenix City in the northwest, and Great Qin, Great Tang, and Great Han in the middle. Inside, there was Great Sui, Shu Han, Great Song, and Great Ming. Outside, there was Tibet, West Turk, West Xia, Mongol, and Jin Country. Overall, there was a total of 16 powers.
Only the China region had such a complicated situation.
Counting in the close to 100 million players scattered around, the complicated situation was beyond imagination. It was numerous times worse than during the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period.
As a result, there were people that said, “Whoever obtains China would obtain the world.”
Based on Ouyang Shuo’s plan, in the following period of time, whilst Great Xia continued to expand, it would also internalize China and merge the powers.
During the next half of the year, the main thing Great Xia attacked would be Shu Han and Jin Country.
Shu Han was enemies with Great Xia, and it was also located within Great Xia territory. It was a huge problem that needed to be taken care of. Furthermore, whether they could take down the Shu Han Dynasty or not concerned Great Xia’s expansion to the west.
If they did not get rid of Shu Han, they would not be able to attack Tibet and West Xia.
Luckily, before the New Year, after taking down the Shu Lands, they had already been planning for it.
Half a year had passed, and Great Xia built up an iron wall around Chengdu, building close to 300 cannon fortresses.
The Shu Han Dynasty was totally cornered in.
Summarizing the experience gained from Dali, Ouyang Shuo realized that to take down an imperial city, especially one in China, he had to ‘Attack the heart as the priority, next would be the battle, and last would be siege.’
Based on the reports from the Shanhai Guards, the current Shu Han was not in good shape.
Shu Han was facing all the same problems that Dali faced, and they were in even worse shape, and the time that they were facing the problems were also even longer. Different from Duan Zhengchun’s softness, Liu Bei was really determined and knew how to make his men remain loyal to him. As such, although Shu Han was in bad shape, it could still hold on.
In Liu Bei’s words, “No matter how hard it is, could it be harder than during the Three Kingdoms Period?”
Facing such an opponent, Great Xia needed to make a series of preparations to take down Chengdu. It would be better if they had some great tactics or took down Shu Han from the inside. If not, the price that they would have to pay would be huge.
Ouyang Shuo had some rough thoughts that needed to be looked through.
…
After returning to the Xia Palace, Ouyang Shuo finally had the time to redeem the title reward that he was given.
King of the Battle Map: unique title, when the dynasty goes out to war, raises morale by 15%, raises movement speed by 10%, and raises defenses by 15%.
It was a very practical title that was of great help to the Great Xia Army, and it fit into Ouyang Shuo’s idea of an elite army. At this stage, the elite troops of the various powers had closed the gap in terms of training, equipment, and organization.
The Great Xia Army still had an advantage over the other territory armies because of their strong buffs. As the number of buffs increased, it slowly became a physical change that could be seen and felt.
Recruitment Board: After use, increases attraction to wilderness historical talents by 300%, lasting for a month. The specific effect will be based on the territory specialty.
One must not look at how many historical talents Great Xia had recruited. When historical talents from five thousand years of Chinese history entered the game, there were numerous who still secluded themselves.
Just the Ming and Qing dynasties that had just entered had many people that Great Xia badly needed like the four famous officials of later Qing.
Next would be navy generals like Ding Ruchang and Deng Shichang.
Their understanding of firearms, especially the new types of firearms, was something that even Xu Da could not compare to.
Next would be like writers like Cao Xueqin. The moment they moved in, they would definitely bring in the school of writers and make the culture more prosperous.
There were also talents like Xu Wei and Yang Shen. Although they were unable to rule a land, they could enter the Secret Documents Pavilion to deal with documents.
Even putting them in the Administrative Mentor Court was suitable.
Now it was down to how many talents Great Xia could attract during this ‘super promotional period.’
+ Add to my favorites
← Previous
All chapters
Next →
lightnovel.world
Chapter 1095 – Mandarin House
One month came and went quickly.
Using the overpowered effect of the recruitment board, Ouyang Shuo was filled with happiness and worry during this month.
He was happy because the effects were exceptional. In just a month, Great Xia had attracted 40 different ranked historical talents. Amongst which, there was a god level steal like Zeng Guofan.
The moment Zeng Guofan arrived, Ouyang Shuo invited him into the Cabinet.
Name: Zeng Guofan (God Rank)
Title: Top 10 ministers in history
Dynasty: Qing Dynasty
Identity: Great Xia Cabinet elder
Occupation: Civil Servant
Loyalty: 75
Command: 80
Force: 40
Intelligence: 80
Politics: 98
Specialty: Famous Minister (raises territory honesty by 40%, raises territory efficiency by 25%, raises literary standards 15%, raises territory ruling standards by 30%)
Book: Nine Chapter Law
Evaluation: Zeng Guofan had the ability to read people, using his knowledge to promote talented people. He had great knowledge and foresight, working for the greater good of the public instead of himself, a rare skilled person in history. Although he was not good at fighting, he was able to promote many generals. His plans were really exquisite, which was how he was able to get a group of capable men to sweep the rogues and become the top minister of Zhongxing.
Zeng Guofan was born in a landowner family. Since a young age, he loved to learn. At eight, he could read the four classics and recite the five scriptures. At 14, he could read literary choices like The Rites of Zhou and Records of the Grand Historian.
In the 18th year of Daoguang, he became a Jingshi, becoming the disciple of Grand Council minister Mujangga. Then he became a Cabinet advisor, department of rites assistant minister, the minister of various departments, Provincial Governor, Zhili Province Viceroy, Wuying Hall Grand Secretary, and more roles.
When the Taiping Country started running, he established the Xiang army to wipe them out after many years of battles.
Zeng Guofan spent his whole life in politics, and his main belief was that one had to be diligent, honest, and humble and could not be arrogant because one was an official. He was a really disciplined person who focus on rites and politeness, using loyalty to do politics.
Under the suggestion of Zeng Guofan, the Qing Dynasty built China’s first steamship, their first ordnance school, printed the first batch of western books, and arranged for the first batch of students to study in America.
As such, one could say that Zeng Guofan was the pioneer for the modern constructions in China.
With such a person who was familiar with ocean work as well as having a deep influence in Qing, the benefits toward Great Xia were evident.
Zeng Guofan had many reasons for choosing Great Xia. Apart from the influence of the recruitment board, he was invited by his disciple, Li Hongzhang. Furthermore, his ancestor Zeng Zi was also in Great Xia, which was why he came.
Coming along with Zeng Guofan were Zeng Guoquan and Zuo Zongtang, who both came from the Xiang army.
Ouyang Shuo was planning to expand the Household Legion Corps, and both of them were the top choices for Legion General.
Currently, Ouyang Shuo just arranged for them to enter the Household Legion Corps 1st legion. Along with Legion General Oda Nobunaga, they would build and train the 1st full firearm legion in Great Xia.
Apart from Zeng Guofan and his group, Cao Xueqin also arrived in Great Xia.
Cao Xueqin’s great grandmother was once Emperor Kangxi’s nanny, and his great grandfather was once the tutor and guard to Kangxi.
During the Kangxi and Yongzheng rules, the Cao family three generations helped to run China for 58 years. Their family was really huge, having power and strength, really rich and becoming the top family in Nanjing.
Kangxi went down Jiangnan six times and Cao Yin led it four of those times.
In the 5th year of Yongzheng’s rule, Cao Xueqin was 13. In December, his hncle who was the Jiangning weaving department minister was jailed for disturbing the relay and polluting the air, shifting funds, and the like. In the Lantern Festival of the next year, his family was raided.
Cao Xueqin moved to Beijing along with his family, and since then, they were not as glorious as before, depreciating by the day.
Under such circumstances, Cao Xueqin obviously was not willing to return to Jingdu and live under the Qing Dynasty. On the contrary, Shanhai City had a great literary environment and did not restrict literary talents, and it was also a really open place that was suitable for him to stay in.
Along with Cao Xueqin moving into Xinan University, a System Notification spread across China.
“System Notification: Representative figure of the school of literary works – Cao Xueqin – has moved into Great Xia, fulfilling the three requirements for the school of thought to move in.”
…
“System Notification: School of literary works move into Great Xia. Awarding Shanhai City the title of home of literary works, congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi!”
…
“System Notification: School of literary works move into Great Xia. The current Shanhai City title Land of Philosophers covers the new title given, awarding Shanhai City hidden building – Mandarin House, congratulations player Qiyue Wuyi!”
…
Name: Mandarin House
Type: Hidden Building
Function: After hanging a portrait of a civil servant within, can revive them.
Specialty: increases attraction toward civil servants by 20%, increases territory reputation by 5%
Note: a building built specifically for civil servants. Lord can pay a certain amount of gold to hang a limited amount of civil servant portraits within to revive them once without any added cost.
The Mandarin House had a total of four floors, the lowest one had a limit of Gold Rank and 50 people, each 10 thousand gold. Second was King Rank and 20 people, each spending 50 thousand.
The third was for Emperor Rank, 10 people, each 200 thousand. The top was for God Rank civil servants, limit of three with each costing a million gold.
With the Mandarin House, the civil servants of Great Xia would have an added layer of insurance.
As there was a limited number, the main reason for getting into the Mandarin House would be the best person in the yearly evaluation.
At the same time, Ouyang Shuo specially left 10 spots for old civil servants like Gu Xiuwen and Zhao Dexian.
Zeng Guofan, Cao Xueqin, and the like were only a small portion. Out of the 40 historical talents, half of them came from Qing Dynasty.
This was understandable.
If it were not for them not having a choice, there were few Han officials, especially those with ambitions, who were willing to work under Qing Dynasty. After appearing in the wilderness and after Great Xia obtained the orthodoxy, he naturally became their top choice.
Needless to say, Li Hongzhang, Zhang Tingyu, Tian Wenjing, and the like also played a role.
As for the ones from the Ming Dynasty, they were mostly chancellors and great ministers like Shang Lu. Although they came from the Ming Dynasty, the Great Ming in the wilderness only took up one prefecture. Without a space for them to perform, they would naturally go elsewhere.
The arrival of this batch of civil servants greatly increased the foundations of Great Xia, pretty much levelling the power difference with the generals. Of course, there were other problems that came from it.
Apart from that, during this month, Great Xia also had an unexpected surprise.