After the fall of the Liaoyang Fortress, the main force of the Second Route Army took Fengtian City directly, and just as they were pondering how to attack this larger fortress, Fengtian City surrendered on its own initiative.

Since the little emperor of Tongzhi was only 6 years old, the idea was definitely not his idea, so this decision to surrender was actually made jointly by the Empress Dowager Cixi and the Empress Dowager Ci'an, of course, it was mainly made by the Empress Dowager Cixi.

Of course, the decision to surrender was difficult, and the process was even more difficult.

In fact, since the rise of the Chinese Empire and the death of Emperor Xianfeng, the Empress Dowager Cixi has long had the intention of surrendering, after all, Cixi at this time is not like the history of another time and space, because fate will gain huge power, and reach the peak of power in one fell swoop, on the contrary, since the death of Emperor Xianfeng, whether it is Cixi or Ci'an, in fact, there is not much real power.

In other words, in the power struggle in the center of the Qing court, these rear parties are actually in a weak position, but it is the ministers who care for their lives left by Xianfeng who are the strong side.

Speaking of which, when Emperor Xianfeng fled to Chengde under the pretext of hunting, although he lost a lot of prestige, Prince Gong, who stayed behind after that? also fled in disgrace, and Li Yongji's army was strong, so it was difficult for everyone to say anything, but some people felt that Emperor Xianfeng was far-sighted and avoided it in advance, retaining more strength for the Qing Dynasty.

Of course, this is not the case, Emperor Xianfeng was not far-sighted and avoided in advance, it was really just an evasive behavior, sure enough, he was just addicted to wine in Chengde later, and he didn't pay attention to the affairs of the court and politics at all, it really didn't work, and Cixi helped him deal with it.

Later, when Li Yongji led his troops to break through Beijing, Emperor Xianfeng was frightened again, felt that Chengde was not safe, and hurriedly continued to escape. ran all the way to Mukden, and after that, continued to shut up in the small palace in Mukden.

Probably the fall of Beijing cleared his mind a little, or Cixi's exhortation played a little role, or the city of Fengtian has some special significance, in the case of understanding that the Central Plains has been lost, Emperor Xianfeng has reinvigorated himself and made a difference in Fengtian City.

For example, befriending the Russians, for example, building the Jinzhou defense line and the Liaoyang defense line, for example, winning over the Mongols. The suppression of the North Koreans, and even the large-scale formation and training of the new army, etc., etc., have done quite well.

It's a pity that it's too late, after all, the Northeast at this time is not the same as the Northeast of later generations, there is no industry, not to mention, agriculture is not good, the real big city is Fengtian City, and there are many Han people. Even the Han Chinese were more numerous than the Manchus.

In such a barren place, it is really easy to talk about development, and the Qing court has actually been eating the old book. If Li Yongji was not in such a hurry to move the Manchu Qing, it wouldn't take long for him to be consumed, not to mention anything else. Just one food problem is enough for the Qing court to have a headache, after all, there are still 300,000 troops to feed.

No matter what. When Xianfeng was there, he barely maintained the system of a Qing Empire, but Xianfeng's health was too poor and he was addicted to wine, so he finally didn't get through it, and he officially died not long ago, leaving a mess for his six-year-old son.

In fact, before Xianfeng died, as long as the Qing court was not a fool, they already knew that the Qing court could not defeat the Chinese Empire, unless China continued to have civil strife, just like the situation at the end of the Ming Dynasty, maybe the Qing court still had a chance.

However, although Li Yongji was very young, he was very strong, and he quickly subdued the Quartet, and saw that the chances of civil strife in the Central Plains were getting slimmer and slimmer, so at this time he was probably divided into two factions, one faction for peace and the other for defense.

That's right, there is no main battle, because they all know that they can't beat the Chinese Empire, as for the main peace and the main defense, in principle, they are both the main peace, but the side is different.

On the side of the main peace, he wanted to figure out Guò to go to the imperial name and become the Kingdom of Manchuria, and then negotiate peace with the Chinese Empire as a vassal state of the Chinese Empire, and never again use swords.

The main defense side did not want to remove the national name of the Qing Empire, and continued to talk with the Chinese Empire on an equal footing in the name of the Qing Empire.

Obviously, the side of the main defense is unable to wipe face, and it is a little whimsical, after all, you are weak, and the Chinese Empire is strong, and the Chinese Empire may not agree. But I can't bear this is what Emperor Xianfeng meant, so this has become the mainstream.

After the death of Emperor Xianfeng, Su Shun and other eight ministers took control of the government, and controlled the main force of Fengtian City, and this faction was still the main defense, so this policy continued to continue, but Prince Gong Yi? The forces represented by the representatives, as well as those represented by Cixi, were more inclined to surrender.

In other words, the surrender faction of the main peace is to figure out the conditional surrender of guò to gain a chance to breathe, and the hardliners of the main defense hope to make the Chinese empire retreat in the face of difficulties through a tight defense, so as to maintain a certain degree of dignity and peace, in essence, they all hope to make peace with the Chinese empire, but the method is slightly different.

Interestingly, the Lord and Paiyi? The forces are mainly in Jinzhou, while the hard-line Sushun forces are mainly in Mukden, and because of this, Cixi and Emperor Tongzhi are actually in a state of being held hostage.

Originally, Yiqiē was quite peaceful, and even Su Shun and others sent envoys to Beijing, hoping to take the opportunity to reconcile with the Chinese Empire, but who knew that Li Yongji still had the tail of the Manchu Dynasty, which really started the war against the Qing Dynasty.

The war was together, and the Qing court was in a panic, but fortunately, when they heard that Jinzhou City and Liaoyang City had blocked the attack of the Chinese Imperial Army, they were a little settled, but then the news that Liaoyang was broken and the troops went straight to Fengtian City collapsed.

According to Su Shun's meaning, Liaoyang is not afraid of being breached, they still have Fengtian City, Fengtian City has also been transformed, the city is high and the walls are thick, and there are 100,000 troops, the equipment is sufficient, and the grain and grass can be supported for more than half a year, so as long as you fight with them, there will always be a chance.

However, although Su Shun is very strong, the people up and down have no confidence, especially the people and grassroots officers and soldiers below, who are even more war-weary.

The reason is very simple, since Emperor Xianfeng and other large families moved to Fengtian, the locals were actually not happy at all, thinking that this was equivalent to bringing endless trouble and heavy burden.

I won't mention the trouble, but as for the burden, it mainly refers to the burden of taxes.

Not to mention raising the 300,000 soldiers, just repairing the Jinzhou Fortress and the Liaoyang Fortress. In addition, the expansion of Fengtian City, all of which cost money, but although the Qing court brought a lot of money when it ran at this time, it was too little after all, and it was not enough at all.

What if you don't have enough money? There is no way, it can only be the old way, one is to plunder, and the other is to raise taxes.

Plundering is easy to say, next to the weak but rich North Korea, send a few soldiers and horses over to fight. Scare and scare, the king of Joseon obediently sent money, food and coolies, and did not dare to resist at all, or rather, it was useless to resist.

It's not enough to just fight North Korea, after all, North Korea has such a little money, and it can't be too much, otherwise it can really force it to rebel, so it will have to raise taxes.

If it had been before. They can only raise taxes for Han Chinese, and tax exemption for Manchurians, but now the situation is not good, so they can only treat everyone equally. All Manchu and Mongol Han were taxed.

Fortunately, the emperor brought enough soldiers and horses, and he also gained some confidence in fighting North Korea. has a little bit of combat effectiveness, so the bullet pressure is quite powerful, and there is nothing to be done. As a result, the local people could only serve it obediently.

It was with this money that several fortresses could be built in such a short period of time, but as soon as Liaoyang was broken, and even the vanguard of the Second Northern Expeditionary Army came to the thirty miles outside Fengtian City, everyone finally discovered that the Western-style fortresses that had been built with so much money were simply vulnerable to the imperial army.

Come on, you can't beat it anyway, so it's still a fart? Besides, even if you surrender, the unlucky ones can only be you princes and nobles, and we ordinary people will never have a big problem.

That's right, don't look at Su Shun and others have been propagating the brutality of the Chinese Imperial Army, but after all, the communication and commerce between the Northeast and the Central Plains have not been completely cut off, and the common people can know a little bit about the situation outside, knowing that even the ordinary Manchus who stayed in Beijing and Tianjin have not been counted by the real counterattack, but what to do, and it is even said that life is better than before.

Therefore, as soon as the crusading army broke through Liaoyang, in fact, the minds of the people in Fengtian City changed, and Cixi and others did not want to continue to sit idly by, so they took advantage of this situation, and soon colluded with several low-level officers to launch a military coup d'état, killing Su Shun and others in one fell swoop, so that Cixi took the power of Fengtian City.

After taking power, Cixi was not happy for a few days, and before she could taste the taste of power, she found that the large forces of the imperial army outside the city had already moved one after another.

Cixi and Ci'an are in a hurry, Ci'an doesn't mention it, there are no six gods at all, although Cixi has a little means, but it is far from being compared with another time and space, at most there are some conspiracies and tricks, and there is no good way to encounter this kind of upright persecution.

In the end, Cixi sent an envoy out of the city, agreeing to surrender, and also agreed to go to the emperor's name, changing the Qing Empire into the Daqing Kingdom, and the emperor becoming the king, while also hoping to keep the property of the imperial family, and demanding that the imperial army not harass the Fengtian Palace after entering the city.

In other words, Cixi only agreed to hand over the military power, agreed to turn the empire into a kingdom, and the property in the palace must also be retained, and they could not harass their mother and son.

If the Imperial Army agreed, they opened the city gates, surrendered to the Imperial Army, and formally bowed down like Li Yongji.

"Humph!" After listening to the envoy's conditions, Feng Zicai, who was firmly seated in the big tent of the Chinese army, was full of spirits, "Now that our army has come to the city, what qualifications do you have to bargain with us now?" Go back and tell your master, just say that I only accept unconditional surrender, and as for what happens after you surrender, we have the final say. I will only give you three days to think about it, and if you do not agree to surrender unconditionally within three days, then I will start fighting. ”

"General!" The messenger raised his voice, and as soon as he heard it, he knew that it was a eunuch, "This is a big matter, don't you report the situation to your majesty before making a decision?" I'm ...... Qing Dynasty."

"Shut up!" Feng Zicai directly interrupted the eunuch's envoy's words, "Don't rub your tongue with me here, my conditions have been said, I will only accept unconditional surrender, and I will only give you three days, and as soon as the three days arrive, you will immediately attack the city." Okay, for the sake of you being the messenger, don't embarrass you, go back, make it clear to your master, if you dare to talk nonsense again, immediately beat you half-crippled and throw it back Believe it or not? ”

Since Feng Zicai said so, the eunuch stopped talking, bowed his hand, and then retreated.

After the envoy of the Qing court retreated, Shi Dakai next to him suddenly spoke: "Lord Feng, isn't it bad for you to persecute them like this?" This Fengtian City is easy to defend and difficult to attack, it is more troublesome than Liaoyang, we lack heavy firepower, and that kind of special ammunition is said to have been used up and can no longer be used. If we really fight at that time, we may not be able to take Fengtian City in the short term. ”

"Lord Shi doesn't know." Feng Zicai smiled at Shi Dakai, "This condition of unconditional surrender is actually the meaning of His Majesty, when we sent troops earlier, we received this opinion, that is, if we do not accept the kingdom, we must completely destroy the remnants of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and turn the entire Guanwai into a region directly under the jurisdiction of the empire." ”

"Even if that's the case, we don't have to be so direct." Shi Da opened the way. "What conditions do they have, we can come down first, and then change the hexagram when we occupy Fengtian, anyway, as long as we occupy Fengtian, it doesn't depend on us to say or do anything?"

"Nope." Feng Zicai shook his head, "Seriously, I also thought about your kind of trick, but then I vetoed it myself, do you know why?" ”

"Please make it clear." Shi Dakai hugged his fists helplessly.

"It's because of face." Feng Zicai laughed. "We were ordered to cut down the Qing this time, not only on behalf of ourselves, but more importantly, on behalf of His Majesty, on behalf of the empire. Other words. If we are upright teachers, we must do what we are right, so we must pay attention to the impact of everything we say and do. You can't just start with strategy. Moreover, although our army may not be able to break through this Fengtian City for the time being, its overall strength is still higher than theirs. It's really not good, the siege is enough. Therefore, at this time, we must not cheat and say anything, so as not to lose the reputation of our imperial army. ”

Knowing that this was the case, Shi Dakai silently despised Feng Zicai, and continued to hug his fists and said: "Lord Feng is far-sighted, his subordinates are not as good, ashamed, ashamed ......."

"Hahaha, Lord Shi doesn't have to be like this, it's just that we stand at different angles, if you were the commander-in-chief, you would think like me, wouldn't you, hahaha."

Seeing Feng Zicai happily brushing his hair, Shi Dakai shook his head secretly, but on the surface, he became more and more deferential, if it was an outsider present, especially if someone who was familiar with Shi Dakai before, he would definitely drop his jaw in shock, is this still the unruly Wing King Shi Dakai from before?

Otherwise, this person will change, especially after experiencing ups and downs, many things are actually not so heavy, Shi Dakai is like this.

In the past, Shi Dakai was very famous, and it was rumored that he was strong in martial arts, like a god in soldiers, with a tenacious personality, perfect personal morality, and proficient in all kinds of martial arts.

Since the age of sixteen, this Shi Dakai has been fighting on the battlefield with the Taiping Army, fighting for so long, there have been brilliance, setbacks, hardships, and have tried glory and wealth, it can be said that he has experienced ups and downs in life in just ten years.

Once this person has experienced big ups and downs, it is usually two results, either he is discouraged and depressed, or he is reinvigorated, but he will be more tactful, and Shi Dakai is obviously the latter.

The reason why Shi Dakai gave up a qiē in Nanning and surrendered unconditionally to the Chinese Imperial Army was because he knew that the general trend had gone, the Imperial Army was incapable of the enemy, and he had a special position, so he hoped to use this method of giving up military power to gain the trust of the other party.

However, like Chen Yucheng, his heart has not been extinguished, and he still hopes to find opportunities to make a big difference, but after experiencing so many incidents, his mind has begun to calm down, and it will not leak out lightly.

After that, after expressing his desire to participate in the Jingwu Army, after the emperor's special approval, he went to Beijing and joined the sequence of the Jingwu Army, however, he did not directly lead the troops, but advanced the Beijing branch of the Whampoa Military Academy, and after a period of short-term training as a senior officer, he received a lot of operational concepts of modern warfare, and learned the development history of foreign Europe and the current world shape.

This opened Shi Da's eyes and made him understand that his former self was just a frog at the bottom of a well, and his proud wars were not on the table at all in front of modern weapons and training troops, and the victories he fought in the past at home were as ridiculous as naughty boys fighting in the general battles of tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of world powers.

It was at that time that the seedlings of nationalism and nationalism began to take root slowly, and at the same time, he was more humble in learning the knowledge in the military academy, no longer as at the beginning, and the knowledge was obscure for Taoguang.

From this point, it can be seen that Shi Dakai's heart and courage are indeed a little broader than Chen Yucheng's, you must know that Shi Dakai completely gave up his power before he could directly enter the Beijing branch of the Whampoa Military Academy to study. Although Chen Yucheng was also in the Beijing Military Region at that time, he continued to lead some of his old brothers to carry out activities in the name of the National Defense Force.

On the surface, Chen Yucheng seemed to be better mixed at that time, but since Chen Yucheng was an incorporated national defense force, he had no time or qualifications to enter the military academy to study, and he could not learn more new knowledge.

In other words, although Chen Yucheng also knows a lot of knowledge about foreign affairs, compared with what Shi Dakai has learned, it is far behind.

The most important thing is that Shi Da has worked hard. He also wrote well, and he was famous, and he was also modest, and he soon stood out in the Beijing branch, and Emperor Li Yongji had always paid attention to him, and after hearing about his later changes, he decisively began to let people focus on cultivating him.

Later, when Li Yongji was determined to attack the Qing Dynasty, although the commander-in-chief of the Second Route Army was given to Feng Zicai. But the chief of staff of the Second Route Army gave Shi Dakai, on the surface, Feng Zi is the boss of this army, but in fact, it is the chief of staff who is the most trained, because the commander-in-chief is only responsible for how to fight. The chief of staff is responsible for a series of issues, such as how to fight the war, logistical support, and personnel arrangements.

Shi Dakai also cherishes this opportunity. After becoming the chief of staff, he never mentioned the past, but just followed Feng Zicai. I don't know that I thought I had changed people, but I didn't know that Shi Dakai was reborn from the ashes, his light was restrained, and he had become more mature than in the past.

It can be said that in terms of war strategy, Shi Dakai, who has experienced a hundred battles, is not lacking at all, what he lacks is only the basic quality of the modern army.

Not to mention Feng Zicai and Shi Dakai, just that after the eunuch went back to report to the Empress Dowager Cixi, Cixi was angry at first and smashed I don't know how many vases and tea bowls, but after venting, I was scared, afraid that the other party would go against the other party's will, and the other party really didn't leave a way for herself to live.

After not sleeping all night, when she heard that some troops had secretly surrendered out of the city, Cixi finally made a decision to surrender unconditionally and hand over everything to others.

In this way, Cixi hurriedly let her son abdicate, and then personally took her son out of the city, crying and surrendering to the Second Route Northern Expeditionary Army led by Feng Zicai, showing people with the image of an orphan and widow, but also won a lot of sympathy points, so that Feng Zicai also softened, and agreed to let them continue to live in the palace temporarily, and the imperial army would not disturb, as for where they will go in the future, they will be left to His Majesty to decide.

In this way, the Northern Expeditionary Army of the Second Route led by Feng Zicai took Fengtian City smoothly without a single shot or bullet, and then the army marched into Fengtian City and fully took over the city.

Fengtian City, coupled with the abdication edict issued by the Manchu Emperor, so this battle of cutting down the Qing Dynasty can be said to have been successfully completed, and the rest is nothing more than to send someone to inform Jinzhou City, which is still in the fierce battle, so that Prince Gong of Jinzhou City can be replaced? It's good to accept the fait accompli as well.

In other words, this situation is similar to the battle of destroying Shu that year, the rear country has been destroyed, the emperor has also announced his abdication, the country is gone, and there is no point in Jiang Wei in front of him if he can fight again.

"Lord Wang, the matter has come to this point, and it is enough." Wen Xiang tired to Prince Gong? "We've been holding out for so long, and that's enough." ”

"yes, you're right, that's enough." Prince Gong in military uniform? Clenched his fists, then slowly closed his bloodshot eyes, and suddenly, opened them again, "But, unwilling, really unwilling." Why can't Fengtian City hold on? Now that it is winter, as long as the weather is colder and the enemy army is tired, they will inevitably not be able to fight for a long time, and sooner or later they will have to retreat, why can't they hold on any longer? ”

"Lord Wang." Wen Xiang sighed, "Even if you can hold on, what can you do?" Can we survive this time, can we continue to survive? Or even if we can win this time, uh next time, next time? Then the Chinese Empire still occupies the orthodoxy of the Central Plains, with a large land and abundant resources, and a strong army, both in terms of troops, manpower, and financial resources, which are ten times that of me, where are we their opponents?

It may still be possible to change to someone else, but Li Yongji is arrogant and resolute, since he wants to fight us, it is an iron-hearted fight, and if this continues, we will still lose after all. ”

"I know we can't stop it." Prince Gong? "I also know that we will lose in the end, but if we win, we will at least get a little higher treatment, and it will definitely not be like this...... Hey, if you knew this was the case, why did you bother to build the city in the first place? ”

"Lord ......"

"More than 200 years of ancestral inheritance!" Prince Gong? Tears flowed down his face, "It's hateful, it's going to be destroyed at our hands!" ”

"Hey, the prince's day mourns." Wen Xiang was also a little depressed, "However, this is fate." I thought about it, although the emperor had a lot of mistakes, but even if he didn't make those mistakes, it would be sooner or later that the country would change hands. Prince, can't you see through it? Then Li Yongji's strength is too big, it is not something we can stop at all, no matter what method we used back then, he will rebel, at most it will be a matter of time or time. ”

"I know." Prince Gong? I closed my eyes again.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Wen Xiang opened his mouth, and finally persuaded: "Lord Wang, now that the Han people are powerful, it is better for us to give in first, and then look for opportunities later......

"Opportunity? Do we still have a chance? Stop kidding yourself. "Tearful Yi? Suddenly laughed, "Forget it, come down, we've done our best, really, at least I've done my best, but...... Destiny is like this, what can I do. ”

In this way, on December 1, 1861, the fifth day of the unconditional surrender of Mukden City, Jinzhou City also announced its unconditional surrender.

At this point, the Qing Empire was completely destroyed, and it officially became a historical term. (To be continued......)