Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Zhang Shikang's statement was so thought-provoking that Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting looked at each other and frowned slightly.

Thousands of years of Confucian tradition of etiquette have made them very sensitive to militaristic foreign invasions.

Before this, although Zhang Shikang occasionally mentioned to them his future ideas, such as maritime trade and overseas colonization, Lu Xiangsheng and others were almost as uninterested as Emperor Chongzhen.

They were not unfamiliar with the word "colonization". Simply put, it meant sending Han people from the Ming Dynasty to occupy other people's land, which was inconsistent with Confucian tradition.

At first they thought that the Grand Marshal was still young and might change his mind later, and the actual implementation of the plan might take many years.

But they didn't expect that the Grand Marshal was serious and would do what he said.

"General, if we're just going to the western desert to drive out the Mongols, I think the court won't interfere too much. But if those people in the court knew that General Li was going further west, I don't think they would..."

Although he was not optimistic about this plan, or even disliked it, Lu Xiangsheng decided to express his opinion tactfully from the perspective of a court official.

"They know nothing! In a few years, the Russians will attack us!" Zhang Shikang interrupted Lu Xiangsheng directly.

This is not an exaggeration at all. According to modern history books, the war between China and Russia happened only ten years later.

Zhang Shikang would never give up Siberia. Instead of waiting for the Russians to come to him, it would be better to attack them while they are still unstable.

Let's see who is the real owner of this land.

You Russians don't stay in Eastern Europe to grow potatoes, but come to our Siberia to beg for food. It is closer to China. Even if the Europeans' firearms are not inferior to those of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Shikang still feels confident.

“I will discuss this matter with Your Majesty after I return, but necessary preparations must be made in advance.

The Russian pioneers have reached the Yenisei River, and we don't have much time left."

Zhang Shikang sighed.

Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting looked at each other again and chose to remain silent, while Sun Weifan and Cao Bianjiao always followed Zhang Shikang's lead. They thought that the shit the Marshal pooped was fragrant, and what the Marshal said was definitely right.

Only Li Zicheng, the protagonist of the story, bowed to Zhang Shikang and said, after seeing all the big men express their opinions:

"If the Western Expedition requires 20,000 troops, I hope the Marshal can provide me with a 5,000-man firearms unit."

More than a year of wandering on the grassland gave Li Zicheng a deeper understanding of the grassland. The cavalry was indeed highly mobile, but it only caught up with the Mongols' fighting style.

And there is a big misunderstanding here: why should we fight the Mongols in the Mongolian way?

The Battle of Guanshan told him that muskets and artillery were the kingly way and the Ming Dynasty's way of fighting.

As long as the reconnaissance work is done well, they can choose positions in advance to launch defensive counterattacks. Even if they want to attack, as long as they have enough artillery, they can still defeat those Mongolian tribes that act independently.

After all, since the decline of the Golden Family, the Mongolian tribes have never been able to work together, and there are various conflicts between the tribes due to pasture issues.

Without the Jiannu to mediate, they would never be able to gather the elite troops of almost all tribes to fight together like they did in the Battle of Guanshan.

The Grand Marshal has never been defeated since he took over the military power, and the trump card of the Guards is the firearms unit.

The journey westward was destined to be full of difficulties, relying entirely on cold weapons. Even if his subordinates were good at fighting, they would be exhausted sooner or later.

"No problem. You can take thirty to fifty of the Guards' bronze cannons. I can also provide the musketeers. You'll need to train the musketeers yourself. I can only assign you one century for training."

After thinking about it, Zhang Shikang agreed to Li Zicheng's request.

He thought that Li Zicheng was indeed a connoisseur, and he immediately took a liking to the most advanced firearms unit of the Ming Dynasty.

The Tiger Guards were also very envious of these things, but since the production capacity had not yet been increased, everyone had to queue up.

The reason why Zhang Shikang was so generous to Li Zicheng was because he believed that nothing could benefit future generations more than expanding territory.

After finalizing this matter, everyone discussed the division of troops again, and finally decided that Li Zicheng would lead his remaining troops to Jinzhou and meet up with the Zui Camp there.

There he will explain to the members of the Sin Camp what they are to do next and the significance of this matter, so that they will give up the idea of returning to the interior.

In addition, the training of the Zui Camp firearms troops will also be carried out there until Zhang Shikang persuades the cabinet and the emperor to give them the order to march west.

Lu Xiangsheng led the Tianxiong Army, Qin soldiers and the imperial guard Cao Bianjiao's troops to march north to the Mongolian desert.

Zhang Shikang led the remaining guards and Wu Sangui's Tiger Guards to march into Yizhou.

This day is destined to be of great significance in history. The meeting was not conducted seriously. Led by Zhang Shikang, everyone sat on the ground, eating and drinking.

However, it changed the situation in the entire Mongolian region and even west of Siberia. Later generations called it the Conference Under the Tree.

……

On the same day, Yizhou City.

Some were happy and some were worried. While the Ming army was confidently discussing how to counterattack, the Qing Dynasty fell into an unprecedented depression.

In Yizhou City, the Eight Banners soldiers who had fled all the way from Guanshan burst into tears as soon as they entered the city.

Since joining the Eight Banners, they had never experienced a devastating defeat like the one at Guanshan. Too many people died under the guns and artillery of the Ming army.

Even so, the Ming army had no intention of letting them go. These days, everyone was on edge, waking up every day to run for their lives.

Now that they have entered Yizhou City, they have finally survived. Some are laughing, some are crying, some are laughing and crying, and some are crying and laughing. The military camp is in an uproar.

In the military tent, Dorgon and Daishan had sorrowful expressions on their faces and remained silent.

The armor on the two men had long disappeared, and their clothes were covered in dirt and a little torn. The majesty of the Qing imperial family was gone.

On the bed at one side of the tent, lay Huang Taiji with a bruised face. His eyes were wide open and he had already passed away. He ultimately did not die in Shengjing.

Dorgon and the other man didn't even know how Huang Taiji died, nor did they know what kind of resentment he experienced before his death, which made it impossible for him to close his eyes.

"Second brother, during the retreat, His Majesty was guarded by you the entire time. How come you didn't even notice His Majesty's passing?

If you return to Shengjing, how will you explain this to them?" Dorgon said to Daishan with a hint of anger.

In order to bring back as many bannermen as possible, Dorgon commanded his subordinates desperately along the way and didn't care about anyone else at all.

"It's better to die, so as not to be humiliated when returning to Shengjing." Daishan said after a moment's silence.

The retreat process was naturally dangerous. Those Han medical officers either fell behind or took the opportunity to escape. The bumpy journey was unbearable for seriously ill people.

What Daishan said was true. Given Huang Taiji's physical condition, even if he returned to Shengjing, all he would have was a humiliating death from illness.

Even though the Fourteenth Prince risked his life, he only brought back less than six thousand Eight Banners descendants.

The Battle of Guanshan destroyed everything for the Qing Dynasty.

It hurts, it hurts too much.

There was silence, a long silence, for a full half a moment, and finally Daishan spoke first:

"What are you going to do next?"

……