"Back to Yanjing!"
This time, Dorgon did not hesitate and immediately ordered the army to head back north to assist Yanjing.
This order totally buried the Qing Dynasty.
Not long after the Qing army started to go up north, Li Jing and Guo Ziyi's forces were like hunters that had locked onto their prey. They struck out when the enemy showed panic and pounced on them.
Dorgon, Ajige, Lianpo, and the other Qing Dynasty camp generals were all experienced generals and were prepared for that. However, the Yanjing emergency meant they had to hurry up, so there would obviously be things that were not covered or planned for.
Next was that Li Jing and Guo Ziyi's forces were ready and had been waiting for a week or longer. Even if the Qing army was prepared, they would not be able to defend against it.
A huge final battle was suddenly sparked.
The Southern Alliance Army took the chance that the Qing army was in a rush to get up north to launch attack after attack. If the Qing army did not stop and forced their way up north, the Alliance Army would be able to tear away at their forces.
If they stopped to fight, the Alliance Army would retreat and not fight. If the Qing army arranged troops to cover them, the Alliance Army would swallow them without any hesitation.
Such a shameless tactic annoyed Dorgon.
If it were not Yanjing being in trouble, Dorgon was even tempted to play along with the Alliance Army. Helplessly, the moment they learned that the Qing army was going up north, the attacks of the Great Xi army grew in intensity.
Zhang Xianzhong was greedy, but he was also really clear-headed.
Regardless of whether he had fallen for a bait or not, the Great Xi army had no way out. If they retreated, they would only be destroyed by the Qing army. Even if the Qing army temporarily let them off, the two would become enemies with no chances of reconciliation.
Since that was the case, why not take it a step further and attack Yanjing before the Qing army arrived. With that, they could the city defenses as well as top prisoners like the Shunzhi Emperor to restraint the Qing army.
The fierce attacks of Great Xi army ignored sacrifices. As a result, the Qing army defending in Yanjing suffered heavy casualties. Even the guards of the palace were chased to the battlefield.
Even so, the city was trembling.
Although the Manchurians took up the highest level of the huge Yanjing City, the civilians including the civil servants and generals, were Han Chinese.
Naturally, there were no lack of weaklings, but there were also some patriotic souls.
Furthermore, even weaklings might step up sometimes. Like Jiangnan Noble leader Qian Qianyi, who started to oppose Qing again after surrendering for no reason.
A human's heart was complicated.
The fall of Shanhai Pass, the Qing Dynasty old land being attacked, the Qing army main force being delayed by the Southern Alliance Army, and Yanjing being surrounded; every matter was hitting at the minds of the Han Chinese within the city.
Something was seemingly about to break out.
The Imperial Court seemingly noticed these signs. Even at the darkest time of the city, they did not relax the control of the city and was wary at all times.
Unease and dark currents hovered around the entire city.
Just as Dorgon led the troops to assist Yanjing, the 180 thousand Qing troops that had arrived at Shanhai Pass got the order to not return but to take down Shanhai Pass.
The intentions of the Qing Dynasty Imperial Court were obvious.
They realized that Yanjing was facing its most dangerous moment and could be broken into at any time. More so at such a time was the position of Shanhai Pass really important.
If they took back Shanhai Pass, the Yanjing Imperial Court would still have a way back. If they could not, the Imperial Court would be finished.
What was important and what was not was immediately evident.
Hence, just as the Southern Alliance Army bit onto Dorgon's forces, a battle exploded out at Shanhai Pass.
The Qing army wanted to take back Shanhai Pass, but the Great Xia Emperor Squadron naturally would not let them. To protect the pass city, the three thousand Divine Martial Guards had already returned to help the defense.
Hence, the defenses became even stronger.
The attacks of the Qing army were decisive. They used cannons whilst relying on siege weapons to have close quarters combat to try to take down the pass.
Helplessly, in front of the P1 Type Cannons, the Hongyi cannons of the Qing Dynasty were just too weak. Be it in terms of range or firepower, they were far from that of the P1 Type Cannons.
Furthermore, the P1 Type Cannons were shooting down from above. The Hongyi cannons could only fire one or two rounds before they were destroyed. Furthermore, with the help of the mimicry flying devices, the effects of the Qing Dynasty god machine camp were weak.
This time, they were in for some trouble.
After a day and night of battling, 30 thousand of the Qing army died whilst Shanhai Pass still stood. To make matters worse, most of their cannons were already destroyed.
Without the help of the cannons, taking down Shanhai Pass was impossible.
Desperation, pessimism, fear...
Various negative emotions spread out in the Qing army and could not be controlled. Like the apocalypse, their morale fell. Some soldiers had already fled.
The first to flee were the surrendered soldiers in the Qing army.
They had the least amount of loyalty toward the Qing Dynasty. Moreover, when they saw that this boat could capsize at any moment, they did not have the determination to die with it.
During the starting parts of the Shunzhi Emperor's reign, before history was changed, and the atrocities of the Qing army were covered up.
In the eyes of the Han Chinese, few of them recognized the Qing Dynasty.
Furthermore, amongst the Qing army were people like Wu Sangui, who joined in because they sensed an opportunity. Seeing that the Qing Dynasty might not be able to survive this, they naturally held other thoughts.
With people leading, there naturally would be people who followed.
The escaping started one by one, and then squadron by squadron. In the end, an entire unit of troops disappeared within a night.
Amongst which included Wu Sangui's forces.
Along with these troops escaping, the Qing army morale had reached rock bottom. They knew that they had no chance to take down Shanhai Pass.
"What should we do?" The soldiers were all really uneasy.
At this crucial moment, the Qing army that had shrunk to 100 thousand split up once more. This time, the ones that escaped were actually the Meng eight banner, the elite cavalry of the Qing army.
As they say, 'When a calamity arises, everyone runs for their own lives.'
The Manchu and Mongol races were close, but in the end, they were not of the same family.
Seeing that the Qing Dynasty was close to being wiped out, the Mongols naturally would not be so foolish as to follow them. Although Shanhai Pass was the core pathway, it was not the only way.
The Meng eight banner army went around the pass and did not participate in this chaotic battle.
This was fatal for the Qing army.
First, they had lost half of their elite forces, and their combat strength was greatly reduced. Hence, they had no way of taking down Shanhai Pass. Secondly, the army soldiers started to waver, and even the Man 8 banner army started to waver.
Some wanted to go around the pass like the Meng 8 banner army, while some wanted to return to Yanjing to save their family.
The Battle of Shanhai Pass welcomed its most crucial turning point.