Cao Yue's men and horses took a northeasterly route, and he was ready to retreat to North Korea when the situation was not right.

Although Korea had been conquered by the Manchus, the effects of thousands of years of submission to the Han regime could not be eliminated at once, and it was certainly more dangerous to go around the Mongol territory and return to Guannai than to retreat into Korea.

Cao Yue knew that Shengjing City must have sent a signal that first aid was needed, and in his estimation, it would take at least a day for the emergency to arrive in Songshan, and Huang Taiji organized forces to rescue Shengjing, and it was already very good to arrive in two days. This adds up to at least three days, which is enough for him to deal with the aftermath of Shengjing.

Just when Cao Yue estimated that it would take at least more than a day for the Qing army to arrive at the rescue, he led his troops to leave Shengjing, first to the northeast, and then to the south, using the cover of mountains and rivers to hide the traces and avoid the possible pursuit of the Qing army.

Cao Yue's arrangement was very calm, and his arrangement happened to miss the people of Huang Taiji's department who hurried back to Shengjing.

After Cao Yue left Sheng for nearly two hundred miles, the men and horses led by Huang Taiji had just arrived at the Liao River, which was about one hundred and fifty miles away from Shengjing City. The men and horses were already exhausted from the continuous march, and many horses died from overwork.

Under the repeated persuasion of Chebai, Kubilong and other cronies, Huang Taiji, who had already lost his body, agreed to dismount and rest.

As soon as the order to rest was announced, all the bannermen of the two yellow flags rolled off their horses, and many of them lay down on the ground and did not want to move, and many horses could not support them, so they fell to the ground at once.

"Your Majesty, if you march like this, even if you return to Shengjing, the warriors of the two yellow flags have no combat effectiveness, and we will definitely not be able to defeat the Ming army that is waiting for work," Seeing that the Jurchen banner soldiers under his command were so tired, Che Bai couldn't help but worry, "Your Majesty, the slave thinks that we should take a good rest, and the emperor's dragon body also needs to rest well, don't really get tired." ”

Seeing the exhausted appearance of the sergeants, who were also top-heavy, Huang Taiji reluctantly agreed to Chebai's suggestion.

"Your Majesty, you better hurry slowly, the minions will lead a group of men and horses, go back to Shengjing first, and the minions dare to raise their heads and promise that they will definitely destroy the Ming army that attacked Shengjing," Che Bai once again persuaded bitterly, now Huang Taiji's health is already very bad, and he is very worried.

Huang Taiji is very obese, weighing at least one hundred and eighty pounds, before the continuous counting of blood, and in the past two days, he often has hemoptysis, and he is very tired from continuous marching, not only Chebai is worried, but other people are the same, listening to Chebai say this, they also immediately came to persuade him, "Your Majesty, you are weak now, you need to rest more, in case you are tired of your body, it will be the misfortune of the Qing Dynasty." The minions will lead the army back to Shengjing first, and the emperor can come slowly. ”

"No way!" Huang Taiji shook his head resolutely, panting and saying, "I want to rush back to Shengjing to personally command this battle." ”

Seeing that Huang Taiji still insisted like this, Chebai and the others were very puzzled.

"You don't understand," of course Huang Taiji will not say that he can't let go of Hai Lanzhu in his heart, but said another reason, "This sneak attack on Shengjing's Ming army is not simple, in the case of the great victory of my Qing army in the Battle of Songshan, he dared to go deep into the hinterland of Liaodong and sneak attack the capital of my Qing Dynasty, this is something that has never happened since the first Khan raised his army, and this person's courage should not be underestimated!" ”

"Your Majesty, are you worried that Shengjing will be completely captured by the Ming army?" Chebai cautiously interjected.

Huang Taiji looked at the north with a solemn face, and finally nodded lightly, "I believe that Shengjing is more than auspicious. ”

Hearing Huang Taiji say this, everyone's hearts sank to the bottom.

In these years, when the Qing army fought against the Ming army, the Ming army was defeated, so there is a saying that the Jurchens are invincible. The victory of Lian Zhan made Chebai and others proud and strong, they looked down on the Ming army, and never thought that their country would be captured by the Ming army.

If the Ming army captured Shengjing, no one dared to imagine what it would do.

Although it is said that the report has been received that the Ming army has broken through Shengjing, most people still hope that Dai Shan can lead the garrison army of Shengjing to defeat the Ming army.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Huang Taiji said with a more solemn expression: "If Shengjing is lost in the hands of the Ming army, it means that this person's strategy is far better than any Ming army commander we have encountered before, including Yuan Chonghuan and Hong Chengchou. Therefore, regardless of whether Shengjing fell into the hands of the Ming army or not, I must personally command this battle and eliminate this person. ”

"The emperor is wise," the expressions of Che Bai, Ta Zhan and Ji Bilong and others immediately offered their fart, and Huang Taiji's foresight made them admire.

Huang Taiji didn't say anything more, and ordered everyone to hurry up and rest, and after half an hour, they had to set off and rush to Shengjing in one go.

Just when the two yellow flags led by Huang Taiji were about to end their rest, there was a fast horse newspaper, saying that the latest news from Shengjing came.

The messenger from Shengjing was soon brought to Huang Taiji, and after seeing Huang Taiji, the messenger knelt down, touched his head to the ground, and cried: "Your Majesty, Shengjing was broken by the Ming army, and the palace was also occupied by the Ming army. The Ming army destroyed Shengjing City, and the palace was burned down...... The Ming army also killed all the men, Prince Li was captured by the Ming army, and several elder brothers of the emperor, except for the ninth elder brother, were all ...... castrated, all the property in Shengjing City was robbed by the Ming army...... The Ming army has fled from Shengjing......"

"What?" When Huang Taiji heard this, he got up, and suddenly, several mouthfuls of blood spurted out of his mouth like arrows, and his body slowly fell.

Seeing Huang Taiji like this, Chebai, Tazhan and Kubilong and other cronies were all frightened, and hurriedly helped Huang Taiji to lie down and brought him water to drink. The two imperial doctors who came back with the army were also urgently called to their side and hurriedly treated Huang Taiji

In fact, there have been several batches of people who have reported the news and Huang Taiji, otherwise Huang Taiji would have known about the news earlier than now.

After shouting and treating for a while, Huang Taiji, whose face was pale, slowly woke up. After waking up, another mouthful of blood sprayed out directly from his mouth, spraying the face of Chebai who was standing on the side, and Ta Zhan and Ji Bilong also had it.

"Hurry up, I will rush back to Shengjing immediately," Huang Taiji commanded very weakly.

Seeing this scene, Chebai, Turai, Tazhan and Kupilon did not dare to dissuade them, and hurriedly asked for a carriage at a nearby post station, and drove Huang Taiji to the direction of Shengjing in a carriage.

Knowing that the Ming army had fled from Shengjing, Huang Taiji ordered Chebai and Turai to rush to Shengjing with a thousand horsemen each to avoid greater trouble.

When Huang Taiji's car arrived outside Shengjing City, it was already a day after receiving the last message. Huang Taiji, who was weak, lifted the curtain door, and when he looked out, he saw something that he would never forget.

The originally tall and majestic Shengjing City has been basically destroyed, several major city gates have been blown up, and only a few sections of the broken city wall stand there alone. Inside the ruins, there was charred black everywhere, and there were still many places where green smoke was still rising.

The bustling and neat Shengjing neighborhood, as well as the large-scale imperial palace, are almost in ruins.

Seeing this scene, Huang Taiji only felt that his eyes were dark, his chest was tight, his throat was suddenly full of sweet taste, and a mouthful of blood gushed out uncontrollably, spilling on the soldiers who came to help him get out of the car.

The "Emperor's ......" car was already kneeling before the car was full of people who had come to greet him, including the two Yellow Banner sergeants who had returned to Shengjing one step ahead of Chebai and Turai, as well as the surviving concubines and the relatives and children of Huang Taiji.

In addition to the bannermen of the two yellow flags, there are very few men in the remnants of Shengjing, and those who are fortunate to survive are all people who fled outside the city to hide after the Ming army attacked them.

Seeing that the once prosperous Shengjing City had become a ruin, and his concubines were all embarrassed, Huang Taiji's heart was dripping blood, and he swore that he must regroup and defeat more Ming troops, especially to capture this person named Cao Yue alive, and he must kill Cao Yue in front of the spirit of the first Khan, and hang the head on the newly built Shengjing City for a few days.

"Your Majesty, almost all the houses in the city have been burned down by the Ming army, and the remaining houses cannot be inhabited, Your Majesty, you should stay in the military camp outside the city for a few days," Che Bai and Tulai cautiously stepped forward and saluted Huang Taiji.

Huang Taiji looked blankly at these people who were still kneeling in front of him, and closed his eyes in pain. Chebai also immediately ordered all the horses to go to the military camp on the east side of the city. Huang Taiji was helped back into the car, and the carriage did not stop, and went to the military camp in the east of the city.

After arriving at the military camp in the east of the city, Huang Taiji, who was extremely weak, was helped to rest in the largest military tent.

Empress Zhezhe, Bumu Butai, and Namu Zhong were waiting by their side, and they all looked worried.

There is too much unfortunate news, just last night, after Hai Lanzhu, who had been ill for a long time, suffered a strong stimulus, she finally couldn't resist it and returned to the west. But they didn't dare to tell Huang Taiji the news, for fear that Huang Taiji would not be able to stand the stimulation and aggravate their condition.

They also had a letter written by Cao Yue in their hands, they didn't read the content of the letter, but now they didn't dare to hand the letter to Huang Taiji, for fear that Cao Yue would write some humiliating words in it, which would further stimulate Huang Taiji.

After lying down for a few hours, Huang Taiji finally woke up, and when he saw Zhezhe and Bumu Butai and Namu Zhong kneeling on the side, his eyes were still searching. Everyone knew who Huang Taiji was looking for, but no one dared to tell Huang Taiji that Hai Lanzhu had passed away.

"Empress, tell me what has happened in Shengjing in the past few days, and who is Cao Yue who led the army to attack!" While saying this, Huang Taiji's brain flashed, and he rushed out: "Cao Yue should have a letter for me, right?" ”

Seeing Huang Taiji ask like this, Zhezhe, who had always been frightened, ignored the gesture in the eyes of Bu Mu Butai on the side, and replied in a low voice: "Your Majesty, that Cao Yue has a letter for you, the concubine thought...... You'd better watch it in a few more days and take care of your body first. ”

"Give me the letter and tell me everything!" Huang Taiji's tone was irresistible, and Zhezhe had to hand over the letter to Huang Taiji.

Huang Taiji unfolded the letter and slowly looked at it, the more he looked at it, the more passionate he became.

At this time, Bu Mu Butai said softly: "Your Majesty, Sister Hai Lanzhu has gone to ......"

Hearing Bu Mu Butai say this, Huang Taiji's body trembled a little, but he didn't seem to come back to his senses and continued to read the letter. Soon, his face turned red, he looked at Zhezhe, then at Bumu Butai and Namu Zhong, and then continued to read the letter. At last he coughed violently, and when he saw the end, he sat up straight suddenly, coughed violently in succession, and then vomited blood in large gulps.

In the anxious call of Zhezhe and Bumu Butai, Huang Taiji couldn't get up in one breath, so he returned to the west with his life.

He was by Cao Yue!