Not to mention these loyal guards were also wearing armor.
Zhu Ci said after hearing this, "Even if we can't kill him, it would be good enough if we could kill a few of his right-hand men. We should withdraw the troops soon after."
This sudden siege had already caused significant losses to the Qing Army, the city gates were nearly blasted open by the cannons.
It was just a pity that Dorgon reacted too quickly and held such high prestige; once he appeared, he swiftly stabilized the situation.
Wang Chang said with some regret, "Your Majesty, the Tartar Regent cannot be on the city walls day and night; as long as we continue the offensive, we can take it."
Zhu Ci felt fortunate that he had come out to take a look, otherwise Wang Chang might have truly been unwilling to withdraw the troops.
He glanced at Wang Chang and asked, "How do you know he isn't intentionally playing the fool to lure us into a trap?"
Wang Chang glanced toward the city walls, feeling a moment of hesitation; he felt that what the Emperor said didn't seem to have any real issues.
Zhu Ci was about to return to his camp, but at this moment, he felt uneasy about Wang Chang and decided to stay.
After getting down from the siege tower, he looked up and realized.. his current position seemed.. very suitable for sniping Dorgon.
The only drawback was that the distance was a bit too far.
But it didn't matter. Despite Fu's persistent efforts, he couldn't stop him from running toward the shooting range. When it came to the Long-range Matchlock, he might be even more familiar with it than the soldiers below.
Zhu Ci picked up the Long-range Matchlock, squinting his eyes as he used the crude crosshairs on top to take aim.
At this time, Dorgon was still on the front lines. He felt the Ming Army's offensive weakening, but he did not dare to leave just yet, fearing that the Ming Army might only be feigning weakness for a moment, waiting for them to let their guard down before making a comeback.
Was it not because the news was leaked that the Ming Army almost seized an opportunity just now?
Dorgon wiped the blood from his face, feeling the dull ache of his unhealed wounds, said coldly, "Execute everyone who leaked the information by death by a thousand cuts!"
Originally, he had intended to hold several deputy generals accountable.
He was injured and lacked sufficient energy, so he naturally could not attend to every detail; at a time like this, he needed his deputy generals to help him handle matters properly.
Now that such a major incident has occurred, the deputy generals cannot escape their responsibility.
However, considering the news he had just received, the people were already in a state of panic. To prevent these deputy generals from desperately defecting to the Ming Army, he could only let it slide for the time being.
After all, if even Dodo could surrender, what could stop the others?
Thinking of Dodo, Dorgon couldn't help but feel a surge of resentment. Had it not been for Dodo's surrender, he wouldn't have had to abandon Baoding and march all the way to Changping with his wounded body.
Dorgon turned and cut down a Ming soldier, when he looked up, he found that the Emperor of Ming's imperial carriage had already disappeared.
He felt a slight sense of relief in his heart, turned his head to say, "The Emperor of Ming is likely about to withdraw his troops.."
He had just said this when he heard a sharp whistling sound cutting through the air.
He had a bad feeling about this!
Dorgon was all too familiar with this voice; he even felt a sense of dread toward it.
His wounds had not healed after all these days, it was all thanks to the long-range matchlock.
He subconsciously grabbed the guard beside him, wanting to repeat his previous behavior of using human flesh as a shield wall.
It was just that he had been fighting on the city walls for a long time and was already somewhat exhausted.
If he hadn't been injured, he could have endured for a day and a night without any problem, but at this moment, he no longer had that kind of stamina.
He could even feel his body heating up slightly.
This resulted in Dorgon's movements not being quite so rapid.
The guard beside him was loyal, rushing forward the moment he noticed something was wrong, but it was already a bit too late for both Dorgon and him.
The bullet from the Long-range Matchlock struck Dorgon's chest, after a searing, intense pain, Dorgon seemed to lose all sensation in his body.
The sounds in his ears grew blurred, he faintly heard someone shouting, "My Lord!"
Immediately after, he heard someone shouting outside, "The Tartar Regent is dead! The Tartar Regent is dead!"
Dorgon was already somewhat semi-conscious at this moment, but he still said while spitting blood, "Help.. help this Prince up, this Prince.. this Prince is fine!"
He cannot be harmed; if he dies, the Qing Dynasty will truly be finished.
"My Lord!" the deputy general's face was filled with grief and panic.
Dorgon wanted to exert himself, but no matter how hard he tried, he could hardly support his own body.
He faintly heard a voice from outside again: "The Tartar Regent was shot dead by His Majesty!"
Was the one who just fired the shot the Emperor of Ming? But hasn't he already left?
No, his position was so far away, how did he hit it so accurately?
At this moment, under the admiring gazes of Wang Chang and his surrounding guards, Zhu Ci put down the Long-range Matchlock, nodded with satisfaction, said nonchalantly, "Continue the siege."
After he finished speaking, he handed the long-range matchlock to the guard beside him and departed with great elegance.
It carried quite the air of "completing the task and departing without a trace, hiding one's merits and fame."
However, Wang Chang and the others clearly would not let this propaganda opportunity slip away; it was both a boost to morale and a blow to the enemy's morale.
When Zhu Ci returned to the camp, a faint smile appeared on his calm face.
Let's just say that his inaccuracy wasn't his fault, but rather a lack of compatibility between him and the bow. Look.. the Long-range Matchlock is so crude, yet he still managed to hit Dorgon?
The only regret was that he failed to hit the opponent's heart directly, missing it by a bit instead.
But it didn't matter; Dorgon wouldn't survive anyway. If the shot had hit his heart directly, it would have been too easy for him to die.
When Dorgon fell, Changping was destined to be unable to be held.
Even if there were historical examples of desperate armies achieving victory, the Qing Army's morale had long been battered by successive blows to the point of being unable to recover.
The Imperial Uncle Regent, Dorgon, was their only hope, now that this hope has fallen, what other way do they have?
Except for the extremely loyal lieutenants by Dorgon's side, the other soldiers had already begun to hesitate.
Especially as Wang Chang sent people to spread news of Dorgon's death while shouting that those who surrendered would be spared, many Qing Army soldiers began to surrender one after another.
Dorgon's vice commanders and guards all died to protect him. By the time Zhu Ci entered the city, a barely breathing Dorgon was carried in.
Zhu Ci sat on his horse, looking down from a height at this once-illustrious Imperial Uncle Regent of the Qing Dynasty.
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Don't be obsessed with me, I'm just a legend! A cat wearing sunglasses with hands in its pockets. jpg
Next update at noon
Chapter 261
At this moment, Aisin Gioro Dorgon was already in a wretched state; his face was so covered in blood and dust that his original features were barely visible, the gruesome wounds on his body were still bleeding.
Only those eyes remained bright, staring fixedly at Zhu Ci.
The emotions within were very complex, not merely simple hatred.
Zhu Ci looked at him, feeling a sudden sense of regret.
He hadn't expected that their first meeting at such close range would be in this setting, but on second thought, it seemed this was the only way it could have happened.
Either Dorgon was dead or only had a single breath left, or he was dead or only had a single breath left; one side had to be in such a pathetic state for them to meet.
Otherwise, it would be a case of kings refusing to meet.
Thinking about it this way, Zhu Ci felt less regret; if he failed, millions of people in Jiangnan might fall back into the same old ways.
Ten Days in Yangzhou, the Three Massacres of Jiading.. Thinking of these, Zhu Ci felt less lamentful. He turned his head and said nonchalantly, "Take him away. Don't let him die, but don't heal him either."
Dorgon being captured might be more damaging to the Qing Court's morale than dying in battle. At this stage, the Qing Court only has two choices: first, to surrender; second, to resist to the bitter end and wait for him to march into Beijing.
Theoretically speaking, Zhu Ci would prefer the first option.
Anyway, since Jirgalang and Dodo have already surrendered, it wouldn't matter if the rest of them did as well.
Moreover, even if they surrendered, he would not allow the Manchus to return to Manchuria; for the time being, these people would have to serve as prisoners for a few years to work off their crimes.
While Zhu Ci sent someone to take stock of the grain and fodder within Changping City, he summoned Wang Chang and said, "Go and investigate exactly what has happened."
The chaos of the Qing Army came so suddenly; who knew what was happening over at the Qing Court? Had something happened in Beijing?
Did Li Guo and the others infiltrate Beijing?
This thought only flickered through Zhu Ci's mind for a moment before vanishing.
The Qing Court was not yet at the point of surrendering because of a single general like Dorgon; although Jirgalang and Dodo had surrendered, Haoge and Ajige were still there, these two had originally been with Dorgon in Baoding.
Although Baoding was not held, it was clearly impossible for Haoge and Ajige to allow Li Guo and the others to enter Beijing too easily.
Moreover, if such a major event were true, Zhu Ci should have been able to receive news of it.
By this time, the sky had already brightened, Zhu Ci, whose nerves had been taut all day, could not help but feel somewhat exhausted.
Just as he was contemplating whether to go straight to sleep and leave everything to his subordinates, Wang Chang rushed in, a look of joy on his face, said, "Your Majesty, there is news regarding Chuangwang."
“Ah?” Zhu Ci was rarely stunned like this.
To be honest, after so long without any news of Li Zicheng and his subordinates, Zhu Ci was about to conclude that Li Zicheng had lost his way in the grasslands and might already be dead; and yet, he was now being told that there was news?
Zhu Ci, whose spirits had been flagging, was instantly revitalized: "Where is he?"
He must be severely punished when I see him again. He's already getting cocky after winning just a few battles, not to mention he hadn't even fought Dorgon back then; I have no idea what he's so arrogant about!
Reporting to His Majesty, Chuangwang has captured Shenyang!
Eh?
Zhu Ci blinked, for a long while, he failed to react.
After a moment, he asked, "Shenyang? Why did he run all the way there? What is the situation now?"
How did he run off to the Manchurian stronghold without saying a word?
Shenyang is considered the ancestral land of the Manchus. Hong Taiji renamed it Shengjing, after entering Beijing, he treated Beijing as the capital, while Shengjing maintained a relatively important status as the secondary capital.
When Hong Taiji was around, generals would be stationed here to guard it. Now that Shunzhi has ascended the throne, neither the Empress Dowager Bumu Tai nor the Regent Dorgon would likely redeploy the troops from Shengjing.
However, Zhu Ci did not know exactly how many troops the Qing Court had stationed in Shenyang; it was not yet time to concern himself with such matters.
He had to take Beijing and Shanhai Pass before he could even think about Shenyang.