HLnovel Chapter 687 Race against time
Chapter 687 Race against time
"The border troops' stance must not waver in the slightest."
"Or rather, they may waver in their stance, but they must never side with an external enemy!"
Regardless of the dynasty, the border troops were always an inviolable bottom line.
If defecting to the rebels means that being suppressed would at most result in the death penalty.
Therefore, the ultimate result of those who surrender to the enemy outside the pass and are eventually suppressed should be the extermination of their entire clan!
No emperor would disagree with this point!
"So Emperor Gaozu did indeed intend to be humble at first, right?"
"But in the end, I just couldn't hold back."
Zhao Kuangyin asked, somewhat uncertainly.
Liu Heng nodded without hesitation.
"That's without a doubt, yes."
"If you hold back for a moment, you'll only get angrier; if you back down, you'll only feel like you've lost out."
"If nothing unexpected happens, Father Emperor has only humbled himself halfway; he simply can't swallow this insult."
After considering the situation for a while, and deciding that even if he could only recruit a small number of people he could tolerate, he could barely get through the current crisis, Liu Bang completely lost his patience to be humble.
Forgive them?
That was something only the common people who died at the hands of the Tartars were entitled to do around important border towns.
All Liu Bang could do was send them to meet the common people!
"However, this would put a lot of pressure on us."
"The number of guards here cannot be reduced. At the same time, the small number of men who went with him should also be kept in watch to prevent anyone from feigning surrender."
"It may seem like an increase of 5,000 troops, but in reality, it only meets the minimum requirements for guarding the border."
"Even so, it's all on the premise that those five thousand soldiers don't cause any trouble and can truly go all out to help defend the city."
Looking at what Liu Bang did and said, it was undoubtedly satisfying.
Who wouldn't give this a thumbs up?
The problem is that their thumbs don't solve anything.
The real predicament Liu Bang faced still exists!
Apart from the remaining guards, there were 5,000 plus 3,000, plus the less than 500 personal guards that Liu Bang had brought.
Of the more than 8,000 people, after deducting the more than 1,000 who were to be handed over to Xiao He for logistical support, only 7,000 remained.
These 7,000 men will face a Manchu army of nearly 80,000!
Even though the morale of these 80,000 troops has already declined, and they may even be on the verge of collapse.
But these are 80,000 people, not 80,000 pigs!
If it were to be deployed in a truly extensive manner, it could even be able to completely surround the entire border town and launch a general offensive from all directions simultaneously!
As long as Dorgon chooses this ruthless method of attacking the city, there is no way these 7,000 men can stop him.
"Right now, we can only hope that Dorgon has some wisdom and is not just a brute."
Everyone witnessed Liu Bang's capriciousness.
Or rather, in every challenge, Liu Bang would make some decisions that were unexpected by ordinary people.
He doesn't look quite like him anymore, not quite like the Emperor Gaozu of Han described in historical records as having caused a great upheaval.
Indeed, most of the time, such skill is impeccable.
But at times, he is more like Liu Ji, a street urchin who values loyalty and is also somewhat willful.
Perhaps that's where his true charm lies.
“If it were an ordinary brute, or someone like Xiang Ji who was so confident in his own bravery, this city would certainly not have been able to be defended.”
"But Dorgon doesn't seem like that kind of person. On the contrary, the several raids after entering the pass have already caused heavy losses to his Qing army. Now what he wants to do is to minimize his losses as much as possible."
"Little did he know that if he made such a choice, he would be playing right into Emperor Gaozu's hands."
"Perhaps from the beginning until now, everything has been under the control of the Gaozu Emperor."
If Liu Bang had been able to control his temper and humble himself one last time when persuading Liu Bang to surrender, things would have gone much more smoothly.
Of course, as long as things develop as he expects, his impulsive act won't affect the overall situation.
"If they could be controlled so easily, how did the Qing army manage to conquer the Central Plains under such a commander?"
"Was it really just luck, that the empire was simply picked up from Li Zicheng?"
"Then how dare that dog emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty spout such arrogant and provocative remarks against us?"
"Does he truly believe he has governed the world well enough, or does he genuinely disregard us?"
Liu Yu understood some of it, but also didn't quite understand it.
He understood Liu Bang's plan, but he couldn't understand why the so-called Qianlong dared to provoke them like this.
"Why should I even bother with you? Do you really think that I, the loyal prince of the Great Qing, have lost?"
"This battle has only just begun. Once we can retreat from the border, the sky's the limit. What can they do with their small force?"
"joke!"
"As for whether these seven or eight thousand men can defend this important town, that's utter nonsense!"
"Don't forget, this strategically important town exists precisely to resist us. It is indeed impregnable from the outside, but attacking it from the inside is much simpler!"
"To expect this important town to stop Prince Zhong and the brave warriors of our Great Qing is a joke!"
Emperor Qianlong didn't care at all, and his tone remained disdainful.
In his view, although the Qing army did suffer heavy losses in the recent surprise attack.
However, Liu Bang and his men also suffered heavy losses of their elite troops, and the beggar's most elite force of over four hundred men was also wiped out in battle.
In his view, the losses for both sides were not much different.
At this critical moment, those despicable emperors of the Central Plains on the sky were certain that the Qing army would lose.
It’s simply unreasonable!
"Don't you think so, Fu Heng?"
Fu Heng: "..."
Your Majesty, should I say yes or no?
To say no is to defy the emperor; to say yes is to go against one's own conscience.
Honestly, if he were in that position, he wouldn't be able to launch a full-scale attack on the city at this juncture either.
They will certainly try every means to minimize the losses that follow.
But as soon as you think that way, you've completely fallen into the trap set by Liu Bang.
As long as the Qing army did not launch a general offensive immediately and did not apply defensive pressure to every part of the city wall, they would have a chance to maneuver.
The Qing army was also racing against time.
Once they were dragged out until Xiang Yu led his army to attack from behind, and Han Xin's encirclement gradually shrank to its limit, all that awaited them was the fate of total annihilation!
What Liu Bang needed to do now was to give Han Xin time to narrow the encirclement and give Xiang Yu a few days to recuperate.
"Your Majesty, time is running out for Prince Zhong."
"If Prince Zhong can seize this opportunity, he will naturally be able to lead his troops out of the border. At that time, the area outside the border is so vast that these people will be unable to do anything to them."
"If we can't catch it..."