Dolgon didn't expect Zuo Liangyu to be defeated so quickly, and he was full of hope that Zuo Liangyu's rebellion would make Cao Yue lose his square inch, so that Cao Yue would not be able to make a decision in time, and he could fish in troubled waters. In order to make Zuo Liangyu more confident, Dolgon sent a team of about a few hundred horsemen and horses to Hubei as a strategy after sending a secret envoy, in order to show his firm support for Zuo Liangyu.

But before the hundred or so horsemen and horses could meet Zuo Liangyu, Zuo Liangyu died of illness, and his son Zuo Mengeng had no confidence to confront the Ming court again and chose to surrender. Zuo Liangyu's massive rebellion came to an end just at the beginning. By the time Dorgon received the news, it had been many days later. Zuo Liangyu's rebellion was put down before it could be settled, which surprised Dolgon and hit him even harder.

The Red Lady has tens of thousands of horses, and the news of the rapid gallop to Shandong has also reached him at about the same time, and Dolgon is even more calm.

This is the news that Cao Yue deliberately released, and his purpose in doing so was to continue to coerce Dolgon, force him to recall Duoduo and Azig, and give Li Zicheng in Shaanxi a chance to breathe. He was also prepared to force Dorgon to abandon these cities in Shandong and retreat to the front line of Beijing. In this Northern Expedition, Cao Yue did not plan to attack Beijing, because he told the generals during the military situation discussion that the logistics supply could not meet the needs of the war.

As long as the whole territory of Shandong is reoccupied and the rule of the Ming Dynasty in Shandong is stabilized, then these state capitals in Shandong will also become the new logistics supply base of the Ming New Army, and the firearms workshop can also be re-established to produce ammunition and even muskets and artillery, and grain can also be raised in these places, or transported to Shandong from the south first.

If these preparations are made, the delivery of logistical supplies during the attack on Beijing will be much easier.

Now the victory is based on the gunpowder pile, if the ammunition is exhausted, the two armies must have the upper hand in the confrontation must be Jiannu, in the cavalry confrontation, the Ming soldiers are far from being Jiannu's opponents.

Cao Yue also knows. If Jiannu does not take the initiative to attack, but only confronts the Ming army, and the Ming army wants to achieve such a result, it is almost impossible to achieve it. Jiannu went forward to meet the charge of artillery and muskets, and this suicidal way of warfare was the main reason why the Ming army achieved such brilliant results. If Jiannu changed his tactics and avoided fighting, it would be impossible for the Ming army to achieve an overwhelming victory.

Now Dorgon seems to have learned his lesson, and instead of continuing large-scale active attacks, he has resorted to harassment warfare and medium-scale roundabout sneak attacks. Unless Jiannu continues to launch a large-scale active offensive every day as he did at the beginning. Otherwise, it would be unrealistic to want to eliminate these 200,000 Jiannu in one fell swoop. Cao Yue is now slowly advancing, that is, forcing Jiannu to take the initiative to attack, and the Ming army, which is equipped with a large number of firearms, can use the field fortifications to greatly kill and injure Jiannu, but the price paid by the side is very small.

However, Dolgon didn't fully understand Cao Yue's thoughts, and he felt great pressure in the face of Cao Yue's slow advance to the vicinity of the Liaocheng city wall. The Qing army has never retreated in a war, in the battle with the Ming army. The Qing army has always played the role of taking the initiative to attack and master the rhythm of war. In the face of the Ming army's pressing step by step, Dolgon could not bear it, and he would never show weakness, so it was impossible for him to flee without a fight.

Dorgon knew. There will be more Ming troops rushing to help Shandong, and even the Zuo Liangyu Division, which was originally in turmoil, may also become the main force to counterattack the Qing army. Duoduo's men and horses are still far away in Shaanxi, and far away water can't quench their thirst. There is no way to rescue Liaocheng. And Cao Yue's men and horses pressed forward step by step, slowly moving closer to Liaocheng, which made Dolgon feel at a loss for the first time. The personality of not admitting defeat and the overall strategic considerations made him understand that he must not lose Liaocheng so easily, take the initiative to retreat, and must fight to the death with the Ming army.

If the superior forces are unable to defeat the Ming army led by Cao Yue and keep Liaocheng, then his prestige as the regent of the Qing Dynasty will be seriously reduced, and those who oppose him can take the opportunity to jump out and oppose him. In addition, the members of the Qing imperial family have just moved to Beijing, and Beijing has become the capital of the Qing Dynasty. Either way, Dolgon had to find a way to defeat the Ming army.

It's just that how to defeat the Ming army, Dolgon can't think of it.

Just when Dolgon couldn't figure out how to crack the huge threat of the Ming army's firearms, and how to avoid the huge damage caused by the Ming army's firearms when the army charged, Cao Yue launched an active attack on Liaocheng.

The Ming army's attack on Liaocheng still used artillery bombardment first.

Several warships anchored on the canal closest to Liaocheng, as well as dozens of artillery pieces with a long range on land, launched a large-scale artillery bombardment of the defenders of Jiannu at the south gate of Liaocheng and outside the south gate.

Under the slow persecution of the Ming army every day, Dolgon retreated again and again, and finally retreated to the vicinity of Liaocheng.

Nearly 100,000 people retreated to Liaocheng City, including most of the Jurchen elite cavalry and about half of the Mongolian Eight Banners, and the rest of the horses including about 10,000 Jurchen elite cavalry and less than half of the Mongolian Eight Banners, and most of the Han army, the Ming army, and the Korean army were defending outside the city. The Jiannu defense line outside the city was mainly outside the city gates, and the largest distribution of troops was of course outside the south gate facing the canal.

Jiannu knew the great power of the Ming army's artillery fire, and after figuring out that the Ming army launched a large-scale artillery fire inside and outside the south gate, the men and horses on the city wall and outside the city all found a place to hide, so as not to be injured by the huge power of the artillery explosion. Jiannu still believed that the Ming army would always take this kind of long-distance attack, and did not dare to fight with the Qing warriors at close range, so he did not watch out for the possible charge of the Ming army, and after the Ming army began to bombard fiercely, they all hid, and there was not a single figure on the city.

Jiannu was also equipped with artillery, many of which were Hongyi cannons with a long range and relatively high power. But in the first few battles, their artillery had just been test-fired, and they were hit by the artillery of the Ming army, and after losing dozens of Hongyi cannons, in order to preserve their strength, they no longer dared to start an artillery battle with the Ming army. Their artillery could not hit the Ming army, but the artillery of the Ming army could hit them, and the difference in range and the difference in the accuracy of the strike made them only beaten. After hiding in Liaocheng City, their artillery was also hidden, ready to be used at a critical time.

The attack of the Ming army was really as Jiannu thought, but it only used artillery to bombard the inside and outside of the South Gate City, and the musketeers, cavalry and other infantry did not use the impact of the artillery. After three days, the Jiannu defending the city, including Dolgon, believed that the Ming army was just trying to use the advantage of artillery to further suppress the Qing army and buy time for the arrival of subsequent reinforcements.

But unexpectedly, after the more and more fierce artillery attacks on the fourth day, when all the Jiannu inside and outside the city hid to avoid the artillery bombardment, nearly 10,000 Ming soldiers used the cover of artillery to attack the city. (To be continued.) )