Ming Empire

Chapter 141 How to Respond
In Dorgon's big tent, there was an oppressive silence. Everyone stood with sullen faces and hands down, and no one spoke.

The Qing army fought countless times, always winning more and losing less.When losing, not many people were discouraged, everyone was full of confidence to win.When fighting against the Ming army, especially when attacking the Ming army's strong city, even though the battle did not go smoothly at the beginning, or even suffered a major defeat, everyone believed that the victory would eventually belong to the Qing army.But now, almost most people have no hope of winning.

The situation on the battlefield is too favorable for the Ming army.The Ming army paid almost no casualties, and the Qing army had almost nothing to gain after paying a very heavy price.Tens of thousands of Han troops were killed, two of the Sanshun kings, Shang Kexi and Geng Zhongming, died, the Korean army lost more than half, the Mongolian Eight Banners also suffered heavy losses, and the Jurchen Eight Banners also suffered some losses.The Ming army paid a maximum of 2000 casualties.

What's more terrible is that after the red cannon was put into battle, it didn't achieve the expected effect, and was destroyed by the artillery of the Ming army a lot.

No one could figure out how to carry out an effective attack and how to severely damage the Ming army.Even Fan Wencheng and other counselors did not dare to make any more suggestions in front of Dorgon. The fighting power of the Ming army was so strong that it exceeded everyone's expectations. There is no place for slaves in the country, and Dorgon will also neglect them.

Therefore, after withdrawing troops, before and after Dorgon held an emergency military meeting, he and other counselors did not dare to raise any other opinions.

Duoduo was the most depressed today. The siege battle was a mess, and he also clashed with the Han army. He lost nearly a thousand cavalry and two white cavalry elites. The Mongolian Eight Banners also lost a lot. In several battles with Cao Yue, He was all fiasco.

Duoduo has always been conceited, and many years of battles have more victories than losses. He also thinks that he is very strategic, but the few battles with Cao Yue almost destroyed his self-confidence.When he rushed over to attend the meeting today, he privately told Dorgon about today's battle.He was not worried about being punished by Dorgon, but he was afraid of being attacked and used by Hauge.

Fortunately, today's attack was not smooth no matter which direction, Hauge was also disheartened, and so was Azig.

He didn't dare to say anything today, and was going to listen to Dorgon's direct orders.

The same is true for Hauge, and Azig was beaten so badly that he couldn't get to the top of the city with a hard attack. The firearms of the Ming army were too lethal.As long as the Ming army maintains such a strong firepower, the Qing army will have no way to break through Datong City, even if all the horses and horses are exhausted here.Some people are already wondering whether it is time to withdraw troops from Datong and attack other places to make up for this loss.

"Today's siege is not going well, and this king has seen it all. It's because the Ming army's firearms are too powerful," Dorgon finally spoke up, "Today's siege failed, and this king doesn't intend to punish anyone. .”

Dorgon's words made many people breathe a sigh of relief, especially Hauge and Duoduo. They were afraid of being punished in public, losing face and prestige.Especially Duo Duo, because of the conflict with Shang Kexi's department, he was very afraid of being used by others, and Duo Ergun couldn't help him.He was relieved to hear that Dorgon said that he would not pursue today, and that no one else would come forward to accuse him of dealing with Shang Kexi's missteps.

Dorgon said again: "This king discovered today that during the siege operation in the afternoon, the Ming army's musket shooting was not as intensive as it was at the beginning, and the intervals were longer. Depending on the situation, the Ming army's gunpowder is almost exhausted. As long as the gunpowder of the Ming army in Datong City is exhausted, it will not be so easy to stop my heroic Qing army from attacking the city with only [-] men."

Dorgon also immediately arranged the battle plan for the next day, continued to attack the city, consumed the gunpowder of the Ming army, and sent more troops to threaten the south gate of Datong, trying to capture all the guards in the direction of the south gate, and completely surrounded Datong. In the same city, cut off all ties between Datong and the outside world.

The generals saw confidence in Dorgon, and when they heard that the gunpowder of the Ming army in the city was almost exhausted, their depressed mood became better.

When Dorgon convened important people under his command to discuss the military situation urgently, Cao Yue in Datong City was also doing similar things.He and Sun Chuanting convened the main officials of Datong and the important generals of the Datong Army, and held an emergency military meeting in Xingyuan.

Today's battle was well fought, Jiannu was severely damaged, and many Jiannu's red cannons were destroyed. All the generals looked very happy, even Sun Chuanting was also happy.He has never commanded such a smooth battle. He has learned a lot from Cao Yue's command, especially the great power of firearms.He also knew that if he led an army to fight in person in the future, he would use firearms in the same way.

Although he is said to be the highest military officer in Datong this time, Sun Chuanting knows that he can't play a big role. The Datong Army will not listen to his command, and he can't do better than Cao Yue.As it is now, he is in charge of the matter, Cao Yue is in charge of the actual arrangement, and the credit is shared equally between the two, which is very cost-effective.

He wants to control the Datong Army in the end, but not now, and he doesn't want to argue with Cao Yue for power.

After a presentation and report on the situation of the battle, Cao Yue praised the generals who did meritorious service, and promised that after the war, all the generals who did meritorious service would be rewarded generously. .Cao Yue's promise made the soldiers very happy. They also repeatedly stated that they would fulfill their duties, fight the enemy bravely, and never let Jiannu set foot on the top of Datong City.

After talking about all the happy things, Cao Yue also told some harsh questions.

The biggest headache today is the shortage of gunpowder.Dorgon's judgment was basically correct. In today's Datong City, the stock of gunpowder is seriously insufficient.The bullets used for muskets are the most consumed. Now there are only [-] rounds left, and there are only more than [-] muskets that can be used.

There are still more than [-] grenades, and there are not many artillery shells.

That is to say, within one to two days at most, all the ammunition will be exhausted, and there is no way to make basic supplements for the ammunition produced in the future. What's more, it is difficult to transport the saltpeter outside the city, and the follow-up gunpowder Production can't go on.

The combat power of the Datong Army is supported by gunpowder. Without gunpowder, the combat power will drop significantly.

Cao Yue didn't announce the gunpowder stock situation, and the smiles on the faces of the generals disappeared immediately.Without muskets, they can fully imagine the cruelty of the war. As long as Jiannu continues to attack the city, the casualties of the Datong army will increase significantly, and the morale will definitely be hit by then.

How to deal with it?This is the idea that all participants came up with almost at the same time!
(End of this chapter)