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The seventh day of the seventh month is the Qiqiao Festival.
A crescent moon hung on the top of the mountain, the Yichuan River flowed quietly between Longmen Mountain and Xiangshan Mountain, and a strong smell of blood wafted from the Yique Pass. Seventy thousand Qin troops, with twelve cannons, had been attacking Yique Pass for two days, and both sides had suffered heavy casualties.
What worried the Qing general Daur was that not only were the Qin army's attacks fierce, but even more terrifying was their propaganda and psychological warfare.
In the dim night, the Qin army shouted: "Brothers, we are all good men of the Han Dynasty. Why should we be running dogs for the Tartars? Our King of Qin has established the country in Wuchang and sent a million troops to the north to drive out the Tartars and restore China. What are you waiting for? Pick up your weapons, kill the Tartars, and restore our country's clothes and honor."
"If you can turn back from your wrong path, my King Qin will forgive you all your past mistakes, and those who kill the Tartars will be rewarded with great merit. If you insist on not changing your ways, wait until you are captured and executed as traitors. It doesn't matter if you die, but you will also bring trouble to your family."
"The Han brothers in Guan Shang, the Tartar prince Ajige could not withstand the attack of our powerful Qin army. One hundred thousand Tartars were wiped out. Ajige was so scared that he fled north in a panic. Think about it, how long can the Tartars survive? Wake up, don't risk your lives for the Tartars."
The several thousand Green Camp soldiers at Yique Pass had just surrendered to the Tartars and had no loyalty to the Qing Dynasty at all. After Ajige's defeat, their confidence in the Qing Dynasty's unification of the world had already begun to waver.
At this time, most people were still unwilling to shave their heads, wear strange clothes, and become the Tartars' running dogs. Now, after two days of fierce attack by the Qin army and heavy casualties, everyone's minds were further relaxed after listening to the Qin army's persuasion.
When the Qing general Daur saw thousands of Green Camp soldiers whispering to each other, he became more and more panicked. He only had 1,000 Manchu and Mongolian bannermen under his command. If 5,000 Green Camp soldiers turned against him, let alone defending Yique Pass, his 1,000 bannermen would probably die under the swords of the Green Camp soldiers without the Qin army taking action.
"Anyone who dares to discuss in private will be killed without mercy!" Daur showed a ferocious face and roared loudly. At the same time, he sent his flag soldiers to kill those Green Camp soldiers who were whispering, trying to use bloody killings to calm the shaken morale of the army.
The Green Camp soldiers at Guanshang were used to being bullied by the Tartars and were very afraid. No one dared to resist for a while, but watching their companions being slaughtered, they could not help but feel a sense of grief.
At this moment, the earth-shaking sound of war drums came from the pass. Daur could hardly believe his ears. The Qin army actually attacked at night? How could this be possible
Facts tell Daur that everything is possible.
There were bursts of roars coming from the pass, and cannons spewed out terrifying flames in the night, and huge projectiles whistled and hit Yique Pass hard;
Those who were hit were covered in blood and flesh, and no bones were left. Then, the 10,000 Qin soldiers who had been approaching in the darkness suddenly attacked and attacked fiercely. The tide-like shouts resounded through the night sky.
In this era, night battles are relatively rare, but the Qin army is different. Since the day when Qin Mu established the army, he has been practicing night battles, because infantry is inherently at a disadvantage against cavalry. Only in night battles can this disadvantage be offset to the greatest extent.
In order to eliminate the widespread night blindness, Qin Mu also ordered all Qin troops to take pine needle water regularly;
At this moment, the Qin army's amazing night combat capability was fully demonstrated, while the Green Camp soldiers at the pass passively resisted. Under such circumstances, the Qin army soon attacked Yique Pass;
The Daur was still resisting desperately, but the Green Camp soldiers next to him suddenly turned against him, turned around and killed the Tatars who were supervising the battle, and then rushed towards the Daur...
That night, not only was Yique Pass breached, but less than 40% of the 1,000 Manchu and Mongolian soldiers were able to escape, including their main general Daur, who became prisoners of the Qin army.
After taking Yique Pass, 70,000 Qin troops surged through Longmen like a tide and went straight down to Luoyang City.
Immediately afterwards, Ma Yongzhen divided his troops into four groups and rushed to seize Hangu Pass, Hulao Pass, Mengjin Pass, Huanyuan Pass and other passes around Luoyang.
At the same time, they sent troops to spread the message, and the people of Xin'an, Yanshi, Mengjin and other counties around Luoyang responded one after another, and the Green Camp soldiers stationed there also defected one after another;
For a time, the area around Luoyang was conquered by a single order, and even the people in Guanzhong quickly responded and began to spontaneously organize themselves to resist the rule of the Qing Dynasty. He Luohui, who was guarding Guanzhong, was busy suppressing the righteous people in Guanzhong and had no ability to take care of Luoyang.
It is not surprising that such a chain reaction has occurred. The Qing Dynasty occupied Guanzhong for only a few months, and now they have ordered people to shave their heads and wear different clothes. This has touched the bottom line of the Han people. Many people would rather die than shave their heads.
Although ordinary people had to succumb to the slaughter, the arrival of the Qin army brought hope to the people again. Aji was defeated, and the Tartars had no troops in Guanzhong and Heluo, which gave the people the courage to resist, not to mention that the people in Guanzhong were originally fierce.
The fall of Luoyang was like a sharp knife that stabbed deeply into the heart of the Qing Dynasty.
Dorgon in Yanjing was also shocked when he received the urgent report from the 800-li mission.
The thing he was most worried about happened. Because of the issuance of the shaving order, there were already many "mobs" resisting in Henan, Shanxi, Shandong, and even northern Zhili. The Qin army's advance into Luoyang would undoubtedly boost the morale of these mobs, and the people in the Central Plains would inevitably be shaken, and more and more people would resist shaving their heads and wearing different clothes.
Just at this time, bad news came from Queshan that 60,000 shi of grain and grass were burned by the "mob", and the Xinyang army was worried about running out of food. The areas occupied by the Qing army were mostly ravaged by years of war, and people's lives were extremely difficult. The people could not get enough food. It was already very difficult to raise 60,000 shi of grain and grass this time. If they did not want it to be destroyed, where would they go to raise more grain and grass for the Xinyang army
Dorgon was so overwhelmed that he had to order Duofeng to transfer troops to the north at an accelerated speed of 800 miles in order to stabilize the situation in the Central Plains.
At the same time, he ordered Lekedehun to lead 5,000 Manchu and Mongolian bannermen, 7,000 Han bannermen, and 20,000 Green Camp soldiers to launch an emergency counterattack on Luoyang.
He also ordered He Luohui in Guanzhong to kill indiscriminately to suppress the rebellion and to attack from the west as soon as possible.
In Shanxi, he ordered the Qing general Aobai and the Datong general Jiang Ge to raise an army of 15,000 people and march south through Shangdang to attack Mengjin.
Just when Dorgon was mobilizing troops to retake Luoyang and stabilize the situation in the Central Plains, Gan Nan, the head of the Supervision Department who had been organizing the battle behind enemy lines in Northern Zhili, suddenly flew the flag of the Qin Army and entered Yanjing as an envoy of the Qin State.
The people in the capital lined the streets to watch and discuss the matter. They looked at the big flag with yellow characters on a black background and the word "Qin" and watched Gannan and others riding their horses with high hats and wide belts. The noble and dignified demeanor that looked down on the barbarians made many people watching on the street shed tears quietly.
This is the clothing of the superior country. Yes, this is the clothing of the superior country that every Han Chinese is obsessed with.
After seeing the tall hats and wide belts worn by Gannan and others, and then looking back at the crowd of people around him, all of them had shaved their heads, left their hair in a tassel-like shape, and changed into tight-fitting clothes with horse-hoof sleeves. They looked like barbarians.
Under the sharp contrast, more and more people shed tears quietly, and some even couldn't bear to watch any longer and left crying with their faces covered.
The Manchu and Han ministers in the Golden Palace also felt it was particularly dazzling when they saw Gannan, wearing a tall hat and a wide belt, proudly stepping into the hall.
When Hongguang sent envoys, they didn't think much of it because they were the victors at that time.
But now, Gannan's arrogant eyes clearly told the Manchu and Han emperors and ministers in the hall that this was the posture of a complete winner.
"How dare you! Kneel down when you see the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty." Sun Zhixie, the right vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, was the first to shout. His voice made the Golden Palace buzz and even the little emperor sitting on the dragon throne was startled.
Gan Nan calmly looked around at the Qing emperors and ministers in the palace. Finally, his eyes fell on Sun Zhixie and he asked calmly, "Who are you?"
"I am the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites of the Qing Dynasty. You ignorant rat, why don't you kneel down and see the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty?"
Not only Sun Zhixie scolded, but many Manchu and Han ministers in the palace also shouted and scolded, glaring at each other, sparks flying.
However, Gan Nan showed no fear. He took two steps forward to Sun Zhixie and said contemptuously, "Are you Sun Zhixie? Do you have the qualifications to talk to me? You are a person who has betrayed his ancestors and is worse than an animal."
"You..." Sun Zhixie was insulted in the palace, his face was like a dye vat, changing colors constantly, "Your Majesty, this beast is arrogant and disrespectful, and treats our Qing Dynasty as nothing. He should be dragged out of the Meridian Gate and beheaded in public as a warning to others."
Chen Mingxia, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and the Imperial Academy Attending Scholar, and Feng Guozhu, the Grand Secretary, also came out to ask for the execution of Gannan. The seven-year-old emperor on the dragon throne knew how to give up? Seeing the great prince's noisy and aggressive voices, he almost cried.
Regent Dorgon had no choice but to come out and shout at Gannan: "How dare you! Are you really not afraid of death? Why don't you kneel down!"
Dorgon had been in power for a long time and had a terrifying aura. His eyes were cold and gleaming, as if they were real. His powerful aura gave people a heavy feeling of oppression.
Gan Nan spread his sleeves and answered frankly: "I am afraid, but I have more than 10,000 Tartars to take the blame for me. It's worth it! The Regent has killed more than tens of millions of Han people. I know you won't mind one more. If you want to kill me, just draw your sword. But if you want me to kneel down, you're dreaming!"
The Manchu ministers in the palace were instantly enraged. They shouted and scolded, their voices shaking the palace beams, and they surrounded Gannan. However, an unexpected scene occurred. The little kid on the dragon throne couldn't stand the fright and cried out "Wow!"
All the servants in the hall were stunned at first, and then they knelt down and apologized. Only Gannan was left standing in the hall, with a spring-like smile on his face!
After a busy procession, the little emperor was taken back to his mother to feed him and calm his nerves.
This time Gan Nan was very well behaved. Before the servants in the palace could come to their senses, he said, "Regent, I was sent by my king to exchange some captives with you."
After Gannan finished speaking, one could hear a pin drop in the hall. No one, including Dorgon, expected that Gannan came for this.
Everyone was too busy questioning Gan Nan, because the Banner Army was small in number, and now more than 10,000 people were captured by Qin Mu. If they could get back...
Dorgon didn't have time to think about it and asked, "Who do you want to exchange? How do you want to exchange?"
Gan Nan smiled and said, "It's very simple. We will release the five hundred prisoners of your army, and you will send the families of the Guanning Army to Xiangyang."
The Guanning Army had about 50,000 or 60,000 family members, and Qin Mu used 500 captives to exchange them. Most of the servants in the palace felt that they were being teased. Guaerjia Ganglin, a university scholar at the National History Academy, sneered, "One for a hundred, there is no such bargain in the world!"
Gan Nan's expression became serious, and he said solemnly: "It's not cheap at all. My king has already made it clear that not only prisoners will be exchanged for one hundred, but also on the battlefield, my king is also ready to exchange one hundred for one. Please think about it, my king is willing to exchange one hundred for one on the battlefield, and when exchanging prisoners, it is natural to exchange one for a hundred. Isn't this reasonable?"
Gan Nan was not joking at all, especially when he said that he would not hesitate to fight a hundred for one on the battlefield, he showed an extremely tragic and heroic expression, which frightened some of the Qing Dynasty's servants;
You know, if the Han people really have such determination, even if they really exchange one hundred for one, it would still be enough to make the Qing Dynasty disappear from this world!
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ps: I took a look and found that I’m ranked 110th on the monthly ticket list. Can I make it into the top 100
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.(To be continued..)
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