Chapter 378: Bad news came one after another, Huang Taiji fainted on the spot
On the south side of Yanqing City, on the banks of the Qingshui River.
A fleet consisting of more than a dozen treasure ships was preparing to transport the Later Jin soldiers across the river in batches.
"Whoosh!"
Huang Taiji raised his hand and released the spiritual pigeon in his hand. He picked up the secret letter he had just received and read it. His face became very ugly.
This is a letter sent by Dorgon via a spiritual pigeon.
The content focused on explaining the difficult situation encountered by their 600,000-strong army and requested Huang Taiji to provide timely guidance on how to act.
"Then Lu Xiangsheng has broken through to the primary level of level six?"
"He also recaptured two level five peak spiritual birds, the Emerald Peacock?"
Huang Taiji, who originally wanted to burn, kill and loot in various towns near the Ming capital, just felt that things were not going well for him recently.
It would have been fine if he had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Fuxing Army led by Li Dingguo, but that was because he had underestimated Li Dingguo.
But now even the Ming Dynasty officials have seen the emergence of a sixth-level strongman like Lu Xiangsheng, coupled with Hong Chengchou's ruthless calculations, Huang Taiji's wishful thinking will most likely fail again.
If we are not careful, it is not impossible that we will suffer another round of crushing defeat.
Huang Taiji now extremely regretted not bringing the Black Dragon King and his nine level six dragons, which led to such tragic situations happening again and again.
The main reason was that the last time he led his troops to invade the Ming Dynasty, it was too smooth, and because he underestimated the enemy, this situation that should not have happened occurred.
Only five years had passed, and such tremendous changes had occurred in the Ming Dynasty, which was beyond everyone's expectations.
"The root of everything is the rapid rise of Li Dingguo after he established the Renaissance Army!"
"This damn Li Dingguo has completely messed up my entire plan. Sigh..."
The more Huang Taiji thought about it, the more annoyed he became, and he couldn't help but sigh to himself.
He is now in a dilemma.
There was a million-strong army led by Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou blocking the way ahead, making it difficult to break through the enemy's interception.
However, he was extremely unwilling to retreat outside the Great Wall in such a disgraceful manner.
Several big Shanxi merchants have been sending him messages these past two days saying that the main force of the Fuxing Army, located on the northwest border of Shanxi Province, is deploying troops and seems to be making signs of a major advance into Shanxi Province.
Huang Taiji was very clear that the other party was coming for him.
The purpose is to force himself to order a retreat as soon as possible.
Otherwise, Li Dingguo would never sit idly by and watch Huang Taiji lead his army to burn, kill and loot in Jin Province and Xuanfu.
If the Ming Dynasty officials were unable to stop the Later Jin Tartars from wreaking havoc in these two places, Li Dingguo would certainly send troops immediately.
They quickly attacked the enemy's retreat in order to wipe out the remnants of the defeated troops led by Huang Taiji and the two white flag armies led by the brothers Dorgon and Dodo inside the pass.
Today, Huang Taiji is blocked by the Ming army in front and faced with the imminent threat of the Fuxing Army behind. It would be strange if he was not anxious and angry.
He dared to conclude that as long as his side had not left Jin Province and Xuanfu within a month, the million-strong army of the Fuxing Army would definitely pounce on these two places and block the retreat route of the Later Jin soldiers.
"Wen Cheng, please take a look at the intelligence sent by Dorgon first, and then tell us how we should deal with it."
He looked at Fan Wencheng who was silent beside him and handed him the secret letter.
Fan Wencheng, unlike other advisers under Huang Taiji, is a man of real talent.
In Huang Taiji's eyes, Fan Wencheng was the most qualified military strategist.
This military strategist Fan Wencheng has put forward many suggestions that have been of great help to the Later Jin clan over the years, and most of them have been readily adopted by Huang Taiji.
"Yes, Khan."
Fan Wencheng took the letter respectfully, quickly scanned it, and after a little thought, he came up with his own suggestion and said to Huang Taiji, "In my opinion, this time the Khan's army entered the pass, and there were many accidents. Now it is impossible to do anything."
"Then Li Dingguo's Fuxing Army is the biggest variable and the culprit for the current situation."
"For now, the Khan should recall the two white flags led by the brothers Dorgon and Dodo and return to Liaodong as soon as possible. This is the best policy."
"Once the Fuxing Army marches straight into Jin Province and Xuanfu, there is a great possibility that they will successfully block our army's retreat."
"If we allow them and the Ming Dynasty's army to attack us from both sides, it will be too late for us to escape unscathed."
Fan Wencheng is still in shock until now.
Although he was a man of both civil and military talents and had great ambitions, he had one extremely obvious shortcoming: he was extremely afraid of death.
In his heart, apart from the interests of himself and the Fan family, anything else, including face, can be sacrificed.
For example, his newlywed wife in Liaodong was so beautiful that some Later Jin generals, including Duoduo, often went to Fan Wencheng's house and forced themselves on her. Fan Wencheng still welcomed them with a smile and enjoyed it.
He is now only thinking about escaping from danger as soon as possible to avoid dying young.
However, his suggestion is very correct and is the only foolproof solution at the moment.
"But……"
Fan Wencheng's suggestion was good, but Huang Taiji was rarely embarrassed.
It would be a good idea to withdraw troops as soon as possible, however this time the Later Jin army came with a large army but was defeated and lost, and did not even get much spoils. None of the Later Jin soldiers were satisfied.
Once Huang Taiji chose to do this, it would be a huge blow to his prestige.
At this moment, Turge quickly flew over from afar, holding a third-level spirit pigeon in his hand. With a sullen face, he said to Huang Taiji, "Great Khan, Wang Dengku, who has been active in Jiaozhou Bay recently, sent us a letter using a spirit pigeon, and he brought us bad news!"
"About ten days ago, the Eastern Army led by Yuetuo, Shuotuo, and Manggurtai suffered an unprecedented defeat!"
"Not only were the navy and firearms battalion that we worked so hard to build destroyed in one battle, but even the 800,000 elite cavalry soldiers who attacked Lingshan Island from a distance suffered losses of more than 90%!"
"In the battle of Lingshan Island, after the defeat of Yuetuo's army, hundreds of thousands of defeated soldiers were forced to jump into the sea and escape. Under the pursuit of the enemy, only more than 60,000 soldiers were able to successfully land and survive!"
"It was only with the protection of Wang Dengku and other Shanxi merchants that we were able to escape the pursuit of several top-level spiritual birds of the Renaissance Army!"
"At present, more than 60,000 people, including generals such as Yuetuo, Shuotuo, Manggurtai, and Dahai, are fleeing day and night towards the north of Laizhou, preparing to board several large treasure ships of the Wang family and return to Liaodong."
"Great Khan! Yuetuo is also leading an army of one million!"
"Who would have thought that they would be defeated even more miserably than our Western Route Army!"
"It is said that Li Dingguo rode on the sixth-level golden eagle and rushed to Lingshan Island in time, and then personally commanded the war."
"The Fuxing Army has another sixth-level genius general on Lingshan Island, and they used similar tactics to our previous battle." "They took advantage of the time when Yue Tuo was commanding the soldiers to attack the enemy's island defense formation and the soldiers' blood and physical strength were mostly consumed, and formed a military killing formation to launch a counterattack, defeating our Eastern Army in one fell swoop!"
"Li Dingguo and another sixth-level Renaissance Army warrior each led a 100,000-strong elite force at their peak, forming a military killing formation to launch a counterattack. Yue Tuo and his men, who were already at the end of their strength, naturally couldn't resist, and thus suffered a tragic defeat in which their entire army was almost annihilated!"
Turge was now angry and anxious.
After receiving this secret letter, he was so angry that he almost fainted on the spot.
Unexpectedly, this time the Later Jin army entered the pass, and the two million-strong armies were both defeated by Li Dingguo.
This was like a bolt from the blue, and Turg still couldn't believe it.
"Ah! Li Dingguo!"
"puff!"
Upon suddenly learning of this bad news, Huang Taiji was stunned on the spot. After he came to his senses, he raised his head and roared angrily, then he felt a pain in his heart, a mouthful of blood spurted out of his mouth, and he fell down with his head raised!
He was so angry that as a level six warrior, he actually fainted from anger!
"Sweat!"
Abahai, who was standing nearby, was quick to move forward, and quickly supported Huang Taiji, shouting anxiously.
This devastating news was such a huge blow to Huang Taiji that he could no longer bear it.
This time, our army invaded the Ming Dynasty and suffered two consecutive defeats at the hands of Li Dingguo, causing the Later Jin clan to lose at least 20% of its combat soldiers.
For the Later Jin clan, which had a small population and a small number of warriors, although it was not a catastrophic disaster, it was bound to cause serious damage to their vitality.
This tragic loss cannot be compensated without several years.
Li Dingguo is cutting off the foundation of the Later Jin clan!
This was a fatal blow to Huang Taiji, who was determined to restore the supreme glory of the Jurchen clan.
If it weren't for his profound cultivation and high realm, he might have been angry to death on the spot.
Fortunately, he had an innate and top-grade divine artifact to protect his soul, so his spirit was not seriously damaged.
"puff!"
After Aobai used his own internal energy to help Huang Taiji regulate his breathing for a while, Huang Taiji slowly woke up, spat out the blood stuck in his throat, and finally stabilized his fluctuating breathing.
"Khan, are you okay?"
Aobai asked hurriedly with an anxious look on his face.
He had never seen Huang Taiji in this state before, and it was obvious that he was too concerned.
No matter what, Huang Taiji is also a level six warrior, and he is protected by his own innate divine weapon. Even if he just vomited blood and fainted due to anger, he could not be hurt at all.
"I'm all right."
Huang Taiji waved his hand dejectedly and said, "Aobai, Turg, send a message to Dorgon immediately and ask him to lead the two white flags and withdraw the troops as soon as possible."
"We will wait for him to join us in Yanqing Prefecture, and then we will leave together quickly."
"You two should explain to him clearly the disastrous defeat of the Eastern Route Army led by Yue Tuo, and make him act faster!"
"Once Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou learn that our two armies have suffered defeats and heavy losses, they will definitely seize the opportunity and take the initiative to attack and entangle us."
"If I'm not mistaken, the Fuxing Army has already learned the news and has begun to send a large army into Jin."
"Once the Restoration Army blocks our retreat, the situation will be extremely critical. It will be extremely difficult for the remaining hundreds of thousands of soldiers to evacuate home safely. We may suffer another round of disastrous defeat."
The eastern army led by Yuetuo was almost wiped out, which made Huang Taiji clearly understand that this time his army's entry into the pass was a complete failure.
If we don't retreat quickly, there will be a real danger of our entire army being wiped out.
Since nothing can be done, it is better to leave the Ming Dynasty as soon as possible.
At worst, I can start over again next year and seek revenge on the Fuxing Army.
He plans to formally establish his country tomorrow and confer the nine level six black dragons as guardian beasts of the country, completely binding their luck with that of the Hou Jin clan in order to offset the karmic backlash brought about by the other party's killing.
The imperial seal, which was the sacred artifact for establishing the country and suppressing the destiny of the ethnic group, had been taken away by Li Dingguo. This was another troublesome thing for Huang Taiji.
However, the establishment of a nation by the Later Jin clan was an imminent matter and could not be delayed any longer, lest the morale of the clan members become unstable, making it difficult to gather enough luck for the Later Jin clan to establish a nation in the future.
Even after the founding of the country, if they couldn't find another magical artifact to suppress the fortune of the Later Jin clan, it wouldn't matter much.
After all, Huang Taiji has decided that after establishing the country, he will immediately lead his army to the west again, and he will bring nine level six dragons with him!
As long as Li Dingguo is killed as soon as possible, the imperial seal and the Human Emperor Cauldron are seized, and then used to suppress the fate of the clan and the country.
Especially Li Dingguo's natal artifact, the big tripod. Huang Taiji was well-read and had guessed that it was the top-level innate artifact, the Human Emperor Tripod, in ancient mythology and legends.
The Human Emperor Cauldron is the best treasure for the human race to suppress its luck. It is much stronger than the acquired artifact Heirloom Seal of the Empire.
He just didn't believe that the next time he led an army of two or three million to the west, with the help of nine level six dragons, he would not be able to kill Li Dingguo!
Huang Taiji swore that he would make back the loss he suffered this time with interest next year!
No matter how powerful Li Dingguo was, he could not withstand the attacks of nine level six dragons, not to mention the presence of the Black Dragon King who had reached the peak level six.
Huang Taiji had enough confidence in this.
"Yes! Great Khan!"...
Aobai and Turg quickly agreed and left.
Not only did they need to immediately send a message to Dorgon and convey Huang Taiji's latest orders, but they also needed to make all kinds of preparations for the army to return north.
The city of Yanqing was captured by the brothers Dorgon and Dodo after they entered the pass.
However, when the people of this state capital learned that the Tartars had entered the pass, they knew very well that the government troops could not defend the city, so most of them had already left the city and hid.
Even the wealthy families in the city were no exception, resulting in the Tartar soldiers not gaining much and not being able to loot much property or food.
Fortunately, the Shanxi merchants were responsible for the supply of food and fodder for the Tartar army along the march, so there was no problem of shortage of food and fodder.
Before the army withdrew, Turg, Yangguli, Aobai and others needed to massacre and comb the city, collect as much property and supplies as possible, pack them up and take them away.
It has to be said that even the daring Tartar warriors like Oboi and Turg were shocked by the news that Yuetuo's army was almost annihilated, and they were even still frightened.
They also didn't want to be trapped in the territory of the Ming Dynasty and be tragically surrounded and killed by the enemy.
If they don't want to be surrounded by the Fuxing Army, their army of more than 100,000 and the army of 600,000 under the two white flags must get out before the Fuxing Army blocks the various passes of the Great Wall in the north.
Otherwise, there will be a danger of annihilation of the entire army, and we must act quickly.
(End of this chapter)
