At the beginning of May of the fifth year of Ruiyuan, the battle on the periphery of Shenyang began.

When Zheng Jinhong deployed in April, he asked the emperor whether it was when he deployed 200,000 troops, and by the way he started the peripheral battle, but the emperor did not agree, the emperor's intention was very clear, the larger the place controlled by the Eight Banners of Shenyang, the better, so that the strength of the Eight Banners could be more dispersed, according to the information collected by the Investigation Bureau, the total strength of the Eight Banners was only more than 80,000 people, plus the Manchu people who could participate in the battle in the city, The total strength is about 100,000 people, even if Dolgon only deploys a small number of troops on the periphery, the Eight Banners Army stationed outside Shenyang always needs to consume food and grass, which is also a dispersion of the overall force.

After the overall deployment was completed, according to the time determined by the emperor, Zheng Jinhong decided to start a battle outside the city, at this time the emperor did not have any other opinions, only asked Zheng Jinhong to fight according to the battle deployment.

The battle on the periphery did not last long, nor was it particularly intense, and the Eight Banners Army seemed to be deliberately avoiding the edge of the army, and often within a short time of fighting, they would withdraw in the direction of Shenyang City as a whole.

However, the battle on the periphery completely aroused the anger of many soldiers.

A lot of ditches were dug outside the city of Shenyang, these ditches are not very deep, but to a certain extent, they can stop the charge of the cavalry, and also make the artillery difficult to deploy, these are nothing, after all, the double anti-anti is a life-and-death fight, and any method on the battlefield can be used, but the soldiers found a large number of Han corpses that were hastily buried in some ditches, and some of the corpses were even directly exposed in the ditches, and it was too late to bury.

There is no doubt that the Eight Banners forced the Han Chinese to dig these ditches. And after the ditch was excavated, I didn't think about letting these Han people live at all, judging from the corpses of these Han people, some of them were covered with scars, obviously beaten to death, and some were skinny. Only a handful of bones remained, apparently exhausted and starved to death.

Manchurians bullying Han people, this is something that everyone knows, but it is still rare to be ruthless to such an extent.

Even the emperor was speechless for a long time after hearing Zheng Jinhong's report and seeing some of the buried corpses.

As a result, when the outer battle was carried out in the later stages, many soldiers began to become vicious. In the process of fighting with the Eight Banners Army, they did not want to be taken prisoner at all, as long as the soldiers of the Eight Banners Army who were surrounded and had no time to evacuate to Shenyang City, they were all killed, and surrender had no effect.

This situation lasted for a few days, and the emperor opened his mouth and asked many soldiers to stop this kind of killing, and the emperor's intention was very clear. When fighting on the battlefield, you can burst out with the most powerful combat power. Don't give the Eight Banners any chance, but once the opponent lays down his arms and surrenders, he can't continue to kill, the Manchus are indeed cruel, killing unarmed Han people at will, but the imperial army can't do this. Otherwise, there would be no difference between it and some Manchu people who have no humanity.

Although many soldiers felt aggrieved in their hearts and always had a raging anger when they fought, they resolutely carried out their orders, but the treatment of those captured soldiers of the Eight Banners was not very good. It's normal to receive scolding.

In the face of such a situation, the emperor also turned a blind eye, perhaps the cruelty of the people also angered the emperor.

In the course of the battle, Zheng Jinhong was not in a hurry at all, and sometimes he advanced only a few hundred meters a day, and all the attacks were carried out during the day, and he never launched an attack at night.

Such a speed of advancement made many soldiers involved in the battle anxious, including officers at all levels who directly commanded the battle, when they couldn't help it, they would ask for battle, but such a request for war was often reprimanded by Zheng Jinhong.

Finally, May passed, and by the beginning of June, all the periphery of Shenyang had been cleared.

The 200,000-strong army completed the encirclement of Shenyang.

The emperor rushed from Liaoyang to the temporary Chinese military tent outside Shenyang.

Zheng Jinhong gave a detailed report on the deployment and fighting in April and May.

The emperor's face is very calm, has been quietly listening to Zheng Jinhong's report, during this time, it is basically difficult for the Investigation Bureau to obtain all the information in Shenyang City, since the army began to deploy in the periphery of Shenyang, there is basically no source of intelligence in Shenyang City, Shenyang has been completely blocked by the Eight Banners Army, outsiders can't get in, and people inside can't get out, so Zheng Xunrui also needs to analyze the relevant situation from Zheng Jinhong's report.

After Zheng Jinhong finished reporting, Zheng Xunrui was silent for a while.

The 200,000 army has firmly surrounded Shenyang from the southeast, northwest and four directions, not to mention the sergeant of the Eight Banners Army, even a small bird does not think that it can fly away from Shenyang, the time is June, although the climate of Shenyang is much cooler than that of the Guannei, but it has also entered the summer, this time to attack, the Eight Banners Army stationed in Shenyang basically has nothing to rely on.

Zheng Jinhong also suggested that the 200,000-strong army had enough grain and grass, besieging Shenyang for a period of time, and launching an offensive in September, it was also possible, and waiting for a few months, the Eighth Banner Army would consume a lot of grain and grass, and I am afraid it would be even more difficult to maintain.

Zheng Xunrui was accompanied by Zhou Yanru, deputy assistant to the cabinet, and Xiong Wencan, a cabinet minister and secretary of the Ministry of War.

Zheng Xunrui didn't make a decision right away, and looked at Zhou Yanru beside him.

Zhou Yanru didn't think too much before he spoke.

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the time is ripe for the attack, and there is no need to continue to besiege Shenyang, judging from the information obtained by the Investigation Bureau, Shenyang's grain and grass reserves are a lot, even if it is besieged until September, or even later, the grain and grass of the Eight Banners Army can still be maintained, and the Investigation Bureau has also found that the Horqin tribe and the Transkhalkha tribe in the grassland have abnormal movements, if the army continues to besiege Shenyang, the Horqin tribe and the Transkhalkha tribe in the grassland will come to help, which will distract the energy of the army."

Zhou Yanru's meaning is very clear, that is, to launch a general attack immediately.

Xiong Wencan, who is the secretary of the military department, also spoke.

"Your Majesty, the minister agrees with Lord Zhou's suggestion."

Zheng Xunrui nodded slightly.

Zheng Jinhong's proposal is not unreasonable, the city of Shenyang is unusually strong, if the posture of a strong attack is adopted, the loss of the army must be very large, continue to besiege the Eight Banners Army in Shenyang City, so that its military spirit is even more discouraged, it is very advantageous for the general attack, after all, the Eight Banners Army was lost by the peripheral positions, retracted back into the city of Shenyang, and has become a frightened bird.

Zhou Yanru and Xiong Wencan believed that it was feasible to launch a general offensive immediately, and from the brutality of the Manchus to the Han people, it can be seen that the Eight Banner Army stationed in Shenyang would not care about the lives of the people in the city, and at the last moment, the Eight Banner Army may even take the initiative to slaughter the city, eliminate the Han and North Koreans in the city, minimize the consumption of grain and grass, and allow the Eight Banner Army to hold out longer.

From April to May, from the deployment of troops, to the start of the peripheral battle, more than two months have passed, the battle should be said to be in the final stage, in fact, from the beginning of the first month, the overall battle began, nearly half a year has passed, the double anti is to know the roots, the imperial army to completely exterminate the Eight Banners Army, destroy the Qing Dynasty, and the Eight Banners Army is desperately dying, thinking of being able to protect the Qing Dynasty.

Judging from the situation, the imperial army has an absolute advantage.

Zheng Xunrui finally spoke.

"After such a long time, all the battles on the periphery are over, and I see that it is feasible to launch a general offensive in June, and there is no need for further delay."

The surroundings quieted down, and the time for the attack on Shenyang was determined.

"How to attack Shenyang, I see that Zheng Jinhong's opinion is feasible, the main attack from the south gate, the attack of the artillery battalion is the mainstay, the Eight Banners Army has widened the moat, and built a tall city wall, these actions are useless in my opinion."

"In the battle of attacking the city, the situation has changed a long time ago, not based on the attack of foot soldiers, I see that the artillery bombards day and night, one day does not work for two days, two days does not work for three days, half a month does not work for a month, and the south gate and the city wall are completely blown up, and it is okay to leave no pieces of tiles left, and the time when the army launches a general attack is the time when the south gate and the city wall are all blown up."

"What artillery can blow up is only the moat and city wall, but don't think that the combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners Army is weakened, the dying and struggling Eight Banners Army will definitely fight to the death, and will not retreat and surrender to the death."

"My idea is that since the attack has been launched, it is necessary to completely wipe out the Eight Banners Army and completely destroy the Manchurian noble group cleanly."

"I need to emphasize one point, the brutality of the Manchurian nobles has made many soldiers have a lot of anger in their hearts, and I am worried that after the army invades Shenyang, they will not be able to hold back their inner anger, and even resort to slaughtering the city, which will never happen, and many soldiers need to restrain their inner anger."

All deployments are complete.

Zheng Xunrui stayed in the Zhongjun tent, but he had already made it clear that Zheng Jinhong was in charge of the overall battle, and he would not intervene, and Zhou Yanru and Xiong Wencan and others also stayed here.

The emperor is here, and it is the greatest encouragement to many soldiers.

Zheng Jinhong began to mobilize the artillery battalion, concentrating all the 1,000 artillery pieces in the area around the south gate, and arranging the deployment of soldiers in the east, west, and north directions, and not allowing any Eight Banners Army to withdraw from these aspects, and the army began the general attack on Shenyang City from the south gate.

Anyone can predict that once the battle begins, it will be an extremely tragic battle, and the dying and struggling Eight Banners Army will never admit defeat easily, they will persist until the end, and many soldiers who are full of anger will never easily let go of any Eight Banners Army. (To be continued.) )