Chapter 431 429 [Plague and Flood]
Being surrounded by the city and contracting the plague has a completely different psychological state than squatting outside the city facing the plague.
People in the city will think that as long as I rush out of the city, I can escape from the center of the plague. If I can't get out, I will die sooner or later if I stay in the city!
On the sixth day of the siege of Jinan, Qing army commander Azige took the initiative to leave the city.
Not to mention that the soldiers could not bear the psychological pressure, even Azig himself was going crazy. When he was leading troops to exterminate the rebels, a plague broke out in the army. Faced with the outflanking of Fei Ruhe and Zhang Tieniu, he could only temporarily withdraw to Jinan City for defense.
As a result, more and more people were infected with the epidemic, and the non-combat reduction of the Eight Banners Army was close to one-third.
Azig didn't know the purpose of masks until three days ago, so he searched the entire city for cloth and ordered the entire army to wear masks.
But he didn’t know that the masks had to be boiled every day. Otherwise, if worn for a long time, the masks would become a breeding ground for germs.
Moreover, Azig has a noble status and wears a silk mask.
Azig was very frightened because five of the generals he had been in contact with recently had died of the plague, including Gao Jie and Li Chengdong.
Thousands of Eight Banners troops and tens of thousands surrendered their troops and generals. Before the Datong Army could pull out its artillery, the entire army left the city early in the morning for a decisive battle.
"Run!"
I saw that those who surrendered their troops and generals did not form formation after leaving the city, but chose to scatter and flee.
Not to mention picking up weapons and fighting bloody battles, they didn't even want to be next to friendly soldiers. Everyone they looked at when they went out looked like they were infected by the plague.
Azig stood on the city tower, and he did not dare to be next to the soldiers. He planned to wait until the whole army left the city, and then lead the central army out of the city to command the battle. As a result, the fighting hadn't even started yet, and the soldiers under his command were scrambling to escape. What the hell kind of war was this?
"Let's go!"
Azig knew he would be defeated, so he didn't even want the Eight Banners infantry, and fled with only the Eight Banners' cavalry.
Fei Ruhe, Zhang Tieniu and others were also shocked and dumbfounded when they saw the situation on the other side. Thousands of dragoons immediately came into battle, and there were even missionaries. While riding horses, they took out their tin trumpets and shouted: "Surrender without killing, don't run around! Surrender without killing, don't run around!"
If these tens of thousands of deserters dispersed to various counties, the plague would ravage everywhere they passed!
There were too many defeated troops, leaving the city from all directions, and the dragoons couldn't even take care of them. The north was blocked and the south was mountainous. Azig led the Manchu cavalry and fled westward.
By the time the Datong Army discovered the situation, Azig had already escaped a mile away, and Ma Wannian quickly led his dragoons to pursue him.
You chased me for more than ten miles, and Azige suddenly fell off his horse and felt feverish all over his body.
"The Eight Kings are infected with the epidemic!"
Seeing Azig's symptoms, the Manchu Qing cavalry shouted in horror. They didn't dare to come over and help him onto the horse, or even get too close, and then they all abandoned Azig and left.
When Ma Wannian caught up, he was also frightened when he saw this situation, and quickly ordered: "Don't get close to this person, wait for the civilians to come and set fire to him. Continue to pursue!"
These Manchu and Qing cavalry had nowhere to escape.
To the north of Jinan City, hundreds of years later, there was the Yellow River, which is now called Daqing River. To the east is the Juihe River (also called Xiujiang), a tributary of the Daqing River, to the west is the Shahe River, a tributary of the Daqing River, and to the south are large areas of mountainous areas.
The Manchu and Qing cavalry fled to the banks of the Shah River and had no choice but to follow the river south and plunge into the mountainous valleys.
This river valley is eighty miles long, leading directly to Mount Tai. Beyond the valley is Tai'an.
Ye Chen rode up to Ild and shouted: "Escape like this is not an option. There are not many enemy riders chasing you. You can turn around and annihilate them first!"
Ild had fought with Dodo before, and finally escaped with more than a thousand cavalry. He was very experienced: "These fire cavalry are very difficult to deal with. Let's fight back and they will run away!"
"Kill him back and try!" Ye Chen was still unwilling.
Ye Chen's full name is Wanyan Ye Chen. He is over fifty years old and is a hereditary first-class viscount.
There were three thousand Manchu cavalry, and Ma Wannian only brought more than two thousand to pursue them. Seeing that the Manchu cavalry turned around and came to fight, Ma Wannian ordered the dragoons to fire their guns, and then immediately rode away. The enemy cavalry wearing armor would definitely not be able to catch up anyway.
Due to the distance, only a dozen enemies were hit in one salvo.
But Ye Chen roared angrily: "You bastard!"
Ild sighed and said, "I told you, those Fire Cavalry must flee."
Seeing that the Manchu and Qing cavalry stopped, Ma Wannian also asked the dragoons to stop and took the opportunity to dismount and reload ammunition.
Ild said: "It is better to order the soldiers to take off their armor. Our horses are better and we will definitely be able to escape out of the valley."
Ye Chen shook his head and said: "How can the elite of the Eight Banners take off their armor in the middle of battle?"
Ild pointed to the opposite side: "They loaded their ammunition and came back."
Ye Chen gritted his teeth and said: "Charge again, wait for the enemy to fire their guns, and take off their armor while they are reloading ammunition!"
The Manchu and Qing cavalry charged again, and the dragoons again fired from a distance. This time, they hit more than 20 enemies, and they quickly distanced themselves on horseback.
Taking this opportunity, all the Manchu and Qing cavalry took off their armor, and then rode their fast horses straight to Mount Tai.
Once dozens of kilograms of armor were taken off, the dragoons really couldn't catch up!
The war horses of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty belong to the Mongolian horse breed and were produced in the Maolian Pasture of the Muling River (Maolian River). The Wandashan Pasture of later generations was located there, the Wandashan of "Wandashan Milk Powder". As early as the Tang Dynasty, it was used by the Bohai State to raise war horses. Later Liao and Jin Dynasties also obtained their horses from this place.
The shoulder height of Mongolian horses varies greatly. The short ones are only 1.20 meters, while the tall ones can reach 1.35 meters.
No matter what, the Maolian horses selected by the Manchus are definitely stronger than the Jeju horses of the dragoons. Generally speaking, when marching quickly, armor is carried on inferior horses, and no one rides on horseback wearing armor.
When the real Manchu cavalry fought, if they faced a large number of infantry, they would also choose to dismount and fight on foot.
Except for the Ye He tribe, the cavalry of other tribes in the Qing Dynasty were all scum, and dismounted and infantry combat was their real specialty.
But it was said that Ye Chen and Yild led the Manchu and Qing cavalry who had taken off their armor, rushed to Mount Tai and left the river valley passage, throwing the Datong dragoons far away. Although they escaped alive, everyone was frightened because another person had a fever along the way.
In the early stages of plague outbreaks, most cases were mild and glandular.
The epidemic in Shandong has already reached its peak and has developed into pneumonic plague. High fever, chest pain, coughing, and then coughing up bloody sputum will occur within a few hours of the onset of the disease. If not treated in time, death from heart failure will occur within two to three days.
Europe called this the Black Death, which reduced the population of Europe by one-fifth in the Middle Ages. In some areas, such as Genoa, the population directly decreased by 60%.
Historically, in the last years of Chongzhen's reign in Beijing, a quarter of the people died due to the plague. The situation in the south of the Yangtze River was equally tragic. Wu Youke's "Treatise on Warming the Epidemic" was the result of his experience in treating the plague in the south of the Yangtze River. The worst among them is Tongxiang County, where the plague infection rate exceeds 90%. In Huzhou Prefecture next door, the population dropped sharply by 30%.
Fortunately, due to Zhao Han's timely occupation of Jiangnan, there was no more famine in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and there were no more corpses left unattended.
Jiangnan in this time and space escaped!
More than two thousand Manchu cavalrymen robbed food along the way and detoured from Tai'an to Dongping. When crossing the river, they were intercepted by local rebels. Because they had taken off their armor, they did not dare to fight with a large number of rebels, leaving hundreds of corpses behind and fled in panic.
Until they escaped from Shandong from Qiu County, there were only more than 2,300 of these cavalrymen left, and the cloud of plague continued to hang over them.
At this point, the entire territory of Shandong and Henan was recovered.
Daming Prefecture and Guangping Prefecture in Northern Zhili also changed their flags and became territories under Zhao Han's jurisdiction.
There is no way to fight anymore. Firstly, there is not enough food. Secondly, there is an epidemic of plague. Thirdly, there is a flood.
Kaifeng.
Zhao Han stood on the tower and looked at the flood in the north without saying a word.
Henan, which has suffered from drought for several consecutive years, finally stopped experiencing severe drought this year, but experienced continuous heavy rains in early summer. Huanglinggang in Guide Prefecture (later attached to Caoxian County, Shandong) broke out again, and Caoxian and Shanxian were submerged into a marsh.
The epidemic there was already serious, and this flood was driving the newly appointed magistrate crazy.
In the past few years, there were floods in the south and drought in the north, but now it has become floods in the north and drought in the south. Many areas in the south are suffering from drought this year and there is no rain.
"Your Majesty, it's time to eat." Li Xiangjun walked to the side and reminded.
Zhao Han didn't know that Li Xiangjun was a female official in the palace until he went on the expedition himself. This was a "several person". Zhao Han didn't think much and directly transferred Li Xiangjun to be the valet.
At this moment, the epidemic in Henan is also becoming serious, mainly due to the large-scale population movement caused by the war.
Zhao Han has ordered that all people in Shandong and Henan must wear masks.
Those who are unable to make masks can just cover their mouth and nose with a piece of cloth. They must be disinfected by boiling water every day.
Zhao Han and Li Xiangjun also wore cotton masks and tried not to come into close contact with each other.
Zhao Han had to return to Nanjing quickly. If he contracted the plague and died, he would really become a laughing stock in the world.
"A nation is built out of trouble, what kind of country is it?" Zhao Han couldn't help but sigh.
Li Xiangjun said: "What will be prosperous is a state of great unity in the world."
Zhao Han smiled helplessly and said to himself: "The Yellow River must be controlled, but there is not enough food, so it is impossible to mobilize manpower. The puppet Qing who fled back to Beizhili can no longer pursue it, everything is blocked by this flood Living."
Li Xiangjun flattered him and said: "Your Majesty's administration will definitely clear the sea, Yan and rivers within ten years. The pseudo-Qing Dynasty and the remnant bandits are already grasshoppers after the autumn, and their days are numbered."
"Haha," Zhao Han said with a smile, "you are good at flattering others."
Zhao Han was devastated by the plague and floods, and Dorgon was dumbfounded when he returned to Beijing.
Both Manchus and Han people in the inner and outer cities of Beijing began to be infected with the plague on a large scale. Many Manchu nobles were clamoring to leave Beijing, not only because of the crisis in Liaodong, but also because the plague in Beijing was too terrible.
This Beijing plague should have been faced by Chongzhen. The Manchus entered the customs too early!
Hauge, who was fighting with Li Zicheng in Shaanxi, also had close associates informing him of the news. Hauge left Li Zicheng alone and took the initiative to lead his troops back to Beijing. Li Zicheng took advantage of the situation to take over the entire Shaanxi and fought all the way into Shanxi.
King Chuang is back!