I was living at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and I dealt a brutal blow to the Eight Banners!

This success was attributed to Yuan Chonghuan's policy of "using Liaodong people to defend Liaodong territory and using Liaodong territory to support Liaodong people."

From then on, the main force of the Ming army in Liaodong was mostly composed of Liaodong natives, and it was these same people who fought bravely and tenaciously.

If Zhang Jingchuan could truly stay and lead these Liaodong youths to continue fighting the Qing army along the Donghaibao and Songshan line, they would undoubtedly become a force that the imperial court would not dare to ignore.

The imperial court ordered the troops from Songshan to retreat to Ningyuan, and Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu, the generals sent by the court, naturally agreed with it wholeheartedly.

Those soldiers who came to aid Liaoning were also eager to return home, wishing they could sprout wings and fly back.

As for some local generals in Liaodong, they were in a dilemma. Retreating to Ningyuan was no big deal for them; they could simply move their families south. However, their soldiers were unwilling to leave.

To put it bluntly, they were afraid of death, but they didn't want to abandon their troops, because the size of their army was their source of confidence.

When Zhang Jingchuan said these words, Zhang Ruoqi and Ma Shaoyu naturally did not object, because with Donghai Fort there, it was like having an extra barrier for them who had retreated to Ningyuan.

Some of the local generals in Liaodong were not happy, because it meant that their troops would have to be transferred to Donghai Fort.

Zhang Jingchuan knew that getting these local Liaodong generals to concede would be very difficult, but with the help of his two skills, "Persuasion" and "Unique Style," he was confident he could win over their troops.

After Zhang Jingchuan's long speech, which lasted from noon until evening, the Liaodong generals finally handed over their troops.

The next day at noon,

Since Wang Tingchen, the general of Liaodong, was killed in battle, Zhang Ruoqi appointed Zhang Jingchuan as the temporary general of Liaodong under the guise of supervising the army. The official documents would be completed after the Ministry of War was notified.

in the afternoon,

General Zhang Jingchuan of Liaodong led more than 35,000 Liaodong soldiers to escort the people of Songshan City and most of the grain and supplies to Donghai Fort.

By this time, Zhang Jingchuan had 40,000 troops under his command.

Fortunately, the outer city wall of Donghai Fort had already been completed, otherwise there would have been nowhere to house these tens of thousands of troops.

All the troops were housed in the barracks in the outer city, while the inner city was used to house the civilians. Zhang Jingchuan and Xu Fuzhao had planned this arrangement when Donghai Fort was being repaired.

Now that the troops have arrived, it's just the right time.

A large enough population is always a fundamental condition for a place to prosper.

With the influx of people, Donghai Fort became lively. Zhang Jingchuan bought all the food, clothing, and daily necessities from Jiangnan and then resold them to the people in the fort.

In order to make a living, these people worked in various workshops set up by Zhang Jingchuan, thus forming a virtuous cycle.

As for how Zhang Jingchuan would support these 40,000 troops,

On the one hand, they benefited from the supply provided by the imperial court, and on the other hand, they purchased a large number of jewelry and jade artifacts from the Su family and resold them to Tong Puhan in exchange for a large amount of gold and silver.

The Qing imperial family not only loved jewelry and jade artifacts from the Central Plains, but also enjoyed collecting antiques and calligraphy to enhance their cultural refinement.

Zhang Jingchuan was not surprised by this.

In the early stages of entrepreneurship, everyone was willing to shed blood and sweat in order to acquire enough initial capital.

However, once they gained some power and status, spiritual satisfaction became the pursuit of those princes, beile, and fujin in the Qing Dynasty.

Having lived as barbarians for hundreds of years, they were extremely fascinated by the culture and extravagance of the Central Plains.

Zhang Jingchuan certainly didn't mind selling the gold, silver, jade, jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, silk and brocade from Jiangnan to the Qing people at high prices.

Although Tong Puhan was a royal merchant, he was still a businessman at heart. He would do any business that made money, and he could also use these things to curry favor with the royal family.

These goods were all transported from the Fujian and Zhejiang coasts to Donghaibao by Zheng Zhilong's fleet, and then the ginseng, deer antlers, sable furs and other Qing Dynasty mountain products from Donghaibao were brought to Jiangnan one ship at a time.

As a transit point, Donghai Fort could earn 20-30% of the profits from each round trip, which not only solved the problem of paying the wages of 40,000 soldiers, but also provided them with surplus money every month.

After Ma Shaoyu and other Ming troops left Songshan, Songshan City was unsurprisingly occupied by the Qing army. However, when the Qing army arrived at Songshan, they found it to be an empty city.

The existence of Donghai Fort could not be hidden from the Qing army's scouts.

However, Donghai Fort is not of great strategic significance. It is garrisoned by tens of thousands of Ming troops, and the city is well-fortified with thick walls and dense artillery. It would be no easy task to launch a strong attack.

So they sent Prince Dorgon as an envoy to persuade them to surrender.

……

In December, the wind in Liaodong is biting cold.

Huang Taiji led the main forces of the six banners (Plain Yellow, Plain White, Bordered White, Plain Red, Plain Blue, and Bordered Blue), along with the Mongol Eight Banners and the Han Two Banners, totaling 80,000 troops, to Donghai Fort, a thorn in Huang Taiji's side.

"Cough cough cough..." Huang Taiji looked at the high city walls and deep moats of Donghai Fort and began to cough uncontrollably.

He never imagined that while he was focusing all his attention on the main force of the Ming army in Jinzhou, this inconspicuous Donghai Fort would become a force to be reckoned with.

Looking at the cannons every twenty steps and the towers every hundred steps on the city wall, Huang Taiji felt as if his heart was being pierced by needles.

With such an impregnable fortress as Donghai Fortress, who knows how many soldiers would be lost if we attacked it by force!

"Ao Bai," Huang Taiji said with a grim expression, "this is the Donghai Fort you spoke of?"

Ao Bai turned pale and hurriedly explained, "Your Majesty, when I left Donghai Fort, there was no outer city wall yet..."

Huang Taiji sighed, and then ordered Ao Bai to lead Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou forward to persuade them to surrender.

After receiving the order, Ao Bai led his entourage forward slowly and stopped a thousand paces away from Donghai Fort. He then gave Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou a look.

Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou both looked grim. After being besieged in Jinzhou for more than a month, they opened the gates and surrendered upon learning that the Ming army at Songshan had retreated.

The two men were unwilling to come to Donghai Fort to persuade Zhang Jingchuan to surrender, but they had no right to refuse.

After exchanging a glance, the two spurred their horses forward.

Arriving at the foot of Donghai Fort, and seeing the bright Ming Dynasty flags and the "Zhang" flag on the city wall, the two felt a mix of emotions.

On the city wall of Donghai Fort,

Zhang Jingchuan leaned against the wall, a cigar dangling from his lips, watching the Qing army in the distance with a contented expression. When he saw Hong Chengchou and Zu Dashou riding towards Donghai Fort, his expression became meaningful.

...In the end, they still surrendered to the Qing!

"Huai'an!" Hong Chengchou called out to Zhang Jingchuan on the city wall, "Could you open the city gates and let us in?"

however,

Zhang Jingchuan ignored Hong Chengchou's shouts from below, instead turning his gaze to Ao Bai and his entourage of Bordered Yellow Banner soldiers in the distance. Then, he loudly addressed the soldiers operating the Red Barbarian Cannons beside him:

"Target: Qing general, a thousand paces away. Fire!"

……