The World Online

Chapter 1089 – Home in Danger

The sudden loss of Shanhai Pass was a huge hit to the face for the Qing Dynasty.

“How did this happen?”

They had just endured the pain and gave up on the territory in the north. Now, they had lost their only way toward their old land.

With the matter developing to such a stage, there were finally officials who raised their doubts, “Giving up cities and not bothering about the lives of a large number of our people only to start up internal problems in the Southern Alliance Army. Was that worth it?”

“Was the price a little too large?”

Shanhai Pass could be called the last line of defense in the hearts of the Manchu people. With Shanhai Pass there, they felt confident that even if they lost in Zhongyuan, they could back off and rise up again.

The moment Shanhai Pass was lost, the Qing Dynasty had no way out.

Hence, the fall of Shanhai Pass had a huge psychological impact on the Qing Dynasty.

Dorgon learned about the fall of Shanhai Pass whilst traveling. His first reaction was that the pros were more than the cons, and he could use it to raise the morale of the soldiers.

An army with no way out would explode out incredible strength.

Before leaving, many of the soldiers could not understand why they were holed up in Yanjing. When the northern territories fell one by one, the troops in the army were filled with annoyance and anger.

Even if they set out, the morale was not ideal.

The fall of Shanhai Pass might actually be an opportunity. However, what occurred after that far exceeded his expectations and made all his plans useless.

…

33rd day of the Battle Map, the Divine Martial Guards entered the old Qing Dynasty land.

Their actions there were like the wind, entering and leaving like ghosts. They suddenly appeared on the north side and suddenly at the west of Shenyang.

The damage they caused was really terrifying.

When the special forces like the Divine Martial Guards faced the not sturdy structures of the old Qing Dynasty land, they used special forces equipment like hook claws to enter the city really easily.

Even to say that the Divine Martial Guards could use high technology makeup to sneak into the city.

The moment they entered, they destroyed the core structures. They would do things like igniting treasuries, killing officials, or wiping out nobles. No matter what, it was really lethal.

All of a sudden, the Qing Dynasty people were terrified.

The three thousand Divine Martial Guards were like a bunch of cold-hearted spirits, raising the scythe of the grim reaper and claiming life after life, spreading fear.

“Quick, report to Yanjing!”

Once the surrounding territories faced trouble one after another, the officials in Shenyang could not take it anymore and sought help from Yanjing.

Since the Qing Dynasty had moved over to Yanjing, the officials staying in Shenyang were either not ambitious people or people not trusted by Dorgon. Instead of saying they were people left behind to defend it, it would be more correct to say that they were people that were sidelined.

Even so, the position of Shenyang could not be shaken.

The reason was that the Machu eight banner elders lived there. Although they did not interfere in dynasty manners, every move they made would shake the dynasty.

One could foresee how the Imperial Court would react when they received the emergency report.

Shanhai Pass falling had already caused waves within the court. The emergency message from Shenyang was like pouring oil onto a fire, making more and more people unhappy toward Dorgon.

The Imperial Court situation was unstable.

This time, many heavyweight officials opposed Dorgon. Those supporting the protection of the Shunzhi Emperor took the chance to point their spears at Dorgon.

All of a sudden, the popular Dorgon suddenly became the person everyone targeted.

To make matters worse, Dorgon had not only personally led the troops, but even his right hand men like Ajige had followed the army out and were not in the Imperial Court.

Facing more and more intense accusations, there was actually no one who spoke up for Dorgon. Even people close to him did not step out because they wanted to save themselves.

The plotting against Dorgon like what had happened in history seemed to be occurring once more.

Luckily, the Shunzhi Emperor was still young and could not rule personally yet. If not, he would have really wiped out Dorgon and his supporters. Even so, some wariness was needed.

The Imperial Court ordered the army to immediately stop.

Compared to crushing the Southern Alliance Army, reclaiming Shanhai Pass and saving Shenyang was more important.

When Dorgon received the order, his face sunk. He realized that all of this was a trap by the enemy to stop the Qing army from going down south.

As for the attacks toward him in the Imperial Court, it was enough to raise his guard. Although the Shunzhi Emperor was willing to give him the title of Prince Regent, he definitely would not allow himself to be a puppet emperor.

When the emperor grew up, he would bare his fangs.

These were not the most important things right now. The crucial thing was, facing the orders from the emperor, who should the Qing army follow?

As they say, when the general is outside, the ruler’s orders do not apply to him. Immediately, there were eight banners army generals who suggested they ignored the decree and head down south. Once they crushed the South Alliance Army, all the words in the Imperial Court would stop.

“The enemy crafted such plots because they are afraid of facing off against us. More so we cannot fall for it,” said some experienced generals.

When Dorgon heard that, he was indeed really tempted.

However, going against imperial decrees was not a small matter. And this time, there were many officials against Dorgon, and their statuses were all really high, which was rare.

Even someone as powerful as Dorgon might fall if he was not careful.

If they went against the imperial decree, it would undoubtedly give those people things to say like he was not loyal. When things reached that stage, even if he crushed the Southern Alliance Army and won, he would not be able to wash off that sin.

An emperor, even one that had not personally started ruling, could accept a failure during a war. However, he could not accept his men challenging his authority.

Even without considering that point, from a military standpoint, the fall of Shanhai Pass threw the Qing Dynasty into the flames of war. This would definitely affect the morale of the army.

First, they did not know the number of enemies that were in the old Qing land. If it were a huge army, the enemy could continue down south of Shanhai Pass and take down Yanjing.

Yanjing only had 50 thousand soldiers defending it and was facing a precarious situation.

With their home being unstable, the soldiers would not be able to fight at ease. Especially the Meng and Man eight banner armies, as 90% and above were from Yanjing.

In Yanjing, there were their wives and children.

Yanjing was unstable, and so were their hearts.

“No!”

Dorgon went against the temptation of disobeying the decree. Although the enemy’s plot was simple, there was no way for him to break it. As such, he could only follow it.

“Since it is the emperor’s decree and also involves the safety of Shenyang, we cannot sit still and do nothing. Spread my orders, stop going down south and rest up right here.”

Dorgon was going to evaluate how many men he should send back to assist.