Wu Sangui was well versed in officialdom, and he made friends with officials inside and outside the court, and established close political relations, thus ensuring a smooth career and rising to the top. Wu Sangui served as the chief soldier, which was nominated by Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, and jointly recommended by Fang Yizao, the governor of Liaodong, and agreed by Gao Qiqian, the imperial horse supervisor and eunuch of the two towns of Guanning, and reported to the imperial court by him, and approved by Chongzhen.

The status of these three people is quite important, Fang Yizao is the highest administrative governor of Liaodong, Hong Chengchou is the commander of one party, and Gao Qiqian, although he is said to be the eunuch in charge of the imperial horse in the palace, is ordered by the emperor and is above the generals. Wu Sangui had a special relationship with them, and when Fang Yizao was governor of Liaodong, Wu Sangui worshiped under his disciple and formed an alliance with his son Fang Guangchen to become a forgetful friend.

Hong Chengchou served as the governor of Jiliao with the secretary of the military department, and Wu Sangui worshiped under his door. Hong Chengchou's aide Xie Sixin was erudite and won his credibility, and Wu Sangui had the deepest relationship with him. Gao Qiqian is a powerful backstage figure for Wu Sangui. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, eunuchs manipulated authority, and anyone who was an official or a general, if they did not get their support, it was difficult to gain a foothold in the imperial court. In particular, the eunuchs trusted by the emperor were sent to various places to supervise the army, and those in the border towns were all monitored. Gao Qiqian was known for his soldiers, and Emperor Chongzhen appointed him to monitor the armies of Ningyuan, Jinzhou and Shanhaiguan.

No matter what level of generals they are, their words and deeds are under the strict supervision of the prison army, and if they offend them slightly, they will not only lose their officials, but even risk losing their heads. Wu Sangui worships Gao Qiqian as his father-in-law, and the relationship between them must exceed the relationship between Tongfang Yizao, Hong Chengchou and others, there is no doubt that they will be extra sheltered, and it is only a matter of time before Wu Sangui is promoted to the rank of knight.

These powerful figures have become Wu Sangui's support, so Hong Chengchou nominated Wu Sangui as the chief soldier, which was in line with Gao Qiqian's intention, he personally wrote the inscription, which was immediately approved, and Liu Zhaoji was nominated at the same time as Wu Sangui as the chief soldier, but it was not approved, and it was not approved until the following year. Hong Chengchou went out of the customs to execute the thousand general manager Liu who had false money and food, this thousand always was Gao Qiqian's person, Gao Qiqian was very dissatisfied with Hong Chengchou, so Hong Chengchou nominated Liu Zhaoji, who had little to do with Gao Qiqian, Gao Qiqian did not support it, that is, it was a dismissal, which shows the great power of Gao Qiqian.

Due to the unanimous support of Gao Qiqian, Hong Chengchou, Fang Yizao and other three people, Wu Sangui easily ascended the general's altar and wore the handsome seal, reaching the position desired by the generals. Wu Sangui was selected as the general soldier, in addition to indispensable social relations, but also the needs of the military at that time.

Hong Chengchou was the former governor of the three sides of Shaanxi, and he dealt with Li Zicheng's peasant army for more than ten years, and when the military situation in Liaodong was deteriorating day by day and the defense of the Ming army was tight, he was transferred here and served as the commander of the Ming army. As soon as he took office, he inspected the training of soldiers, the allocation of troops, and the quality of the generals.

The reconnaissance information from the front made him feel that the situation was urgent, and the Ming soldiers must immediately complete their training as soon as possible to deal with the inevitable battle with the Qing soldiers. At this time, there is an urgent need to elect a general for military training in Liaodong, and to quickly reorganize the army and improve their combat capability. He, Gao Qiqian, and Fang Yizao selected Wu Sangui to be responsible for the training of Liao soldiers, including the practice of assassination, the skillful use of various weapons, the arrangement of formations, the methods of advance and retreat, and the mastery of battle orders, etc., which are very important for every soldier, and are also related to the victory or defeat of the battle.

The person in charge of training for this task must not only have actual combat experience, but also be proficient in the art of war, and from this point of view, Wu Sangui is a very suitable candidate. Hong Chengchou proposed a training plan, which was approved by Gao Qiqian and approved by the imperial court, that is, 10,000 of the existing Liao soldiers were drawn out of the existing Liao soldiers and stationed in two places, the Zhonghou Station and the Qiantun Guard, and they were living in a moderate place in the eight cities outside the Guan, and instructed Wu Sangui and the supervisor to sentence Zhu Guozi to carefully examine and place them, and to separate and practice together.

Wu Sangui's subordinate Liao guerrilla Dong Yongxian, in charge of the inner ding, brave and brave, repeatedly made meritorious contributions, was also selected, from the guerrilla to the logistics battalion management staff general. Hong Chengchou believes that Ningyuan and Jinzhou each have general military officers stationed, and then arrange strong troops in each important place, so that the Ningjin line is corresponding, the eight cities are not only empty, and Shanhaiguan is more secure.

Wu Sangui immediately followed his arrangements and trained the Liao soldiers separately with Zhu Guozi, and he carried out strict training, and the fighting quality of the soldiers was markedly improved; in just two years, Wu Sangui and other generals in charge of training had trained 30,000 troops, and became a strong force with combat effectiveness. Wu Sangui served as the chief soldier of the regiment training, not limited to training, but also participated in the battle against the Qing soldiers.

In the second year of Wu Sangui's promotion to the general army, the Ming and Qing soldiers had an encounter at Jiama Mountain near Xingshan. Originally, there were 30 Mongolian Dorote tribesmen living in Wulitai in Xingshan Mountain, with a total of 30 families and more than 60 people, who secretly surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and asked the Qing soldiers to come to meet them and protect them from being blocked by the Ming soldiers in Xingshan, Songshan, Jinzhou and other places. It happened that Huang Taiji personally inspected the area of Jinzhou, and immediately ordered a group of generals such as Prince Zheng Jierharang, Dorobelle Duoduo, and Adali, the king of Dorojun, to lead an army of 1,500 people to meet this group of Mongols.

In order to avoid the resistance of the Ming soldiers, the Qing soldiers secretly passed through Jinzhou City day and night, and before dawn the next day, they successfully arrived at Wulitai in the west of Xingshan to escort the Mongols to return quickly. At dawn, he was discovered by the Ming soldiers, and Liu Zhaoji, the general soldier of the Liaodong sub-training stationed in Xingshan, led the army out of the city to meet the battle. He was ordered to lead 5,000 elite soldiers and horses to set off from the front guard and rush to Xingshan to set up.

When he heard the alarm, he immediately transferred 3,000 men and horses from the 5,000 men in his department, and 300 men from the Ming soldiers who were originally stationed in the city, a total of 3,300 men, and threw them into battle. Wu Sangui was stationed near Songshan, which was more than ten miles north of Xingshan, and as soon as he received the alarm, he immediately dispatched 3,000 men and horses to drive straight across Xingshan.

Zu Dashouhui, the general soldier of Jinzhou, led 700 horse infantry to the battle, and soon the Ming soldiers gathered more than 7,000 soldiers and horses to force the Qing army. In order to avoid the Ming infantry under the city and lure the Ming cavalry to fight, the Qing general Jierharang retreated to the place of Jiama Mountain, which was nine miles away from the city, and set up his position, and the Ming cavalry followed closely and came to the front of the formation, and more than 100 cavalry of the Ming army attacked first, shouting and rushing. Zilharang fought back, the detachment rushed in, and then Zilharang waved the generals to rush into the formation to fight, the Qing guards were all elite cavalry, brave and abnormal, and there were also a group of fierce generals of Zilharang, Duoduo, and Adali, especially able to charge into battle.

Although Wu Sangui did not show weakness and showed superb combat skills, he could not resist the fierce attack of the other party. The Qing soldiers targeted him and quickly surrounded him in the middle, he desperately rushed to kill, fought with the thieves, but could not break through, but fortunately Liu Zhaoji rescued him in time to get him out of danger. The Ming soldiers fought and retreated, under the city of Xingshan, the Qing soldiers did not dare to fight, and took the opportunity to return to the army, and the Ming soldiers did not dare to intercept them, allowing them to pass.

In this battle, the Ming soldiers lost nearly 1,000 deaths, and the deputy generals Yang Lun, Zhou Yanzhou, and the staff general Li Dewei were captured and beheaded on the spot. Wu Sangui reported that the Ming soldiers won a complete victory in this battle, which was not entirely in line with reality, and from the capture of the deputy general Yang Lun and others, it can be seen that the losses of the Ming soldiers were not small, and the losses of the Qing soldiers were roughly equivalent to those of the Ming soldiers. Huang Taiji sent 10,000 soldiers and horses from Shenyang to reinforce them, but it was indeed due to the injury in Xingshan battle, which showed that the Qing soldiers paid a certain price for the protection of the Mongolian Dorot tribesmen.

Then, in July, Wu Sangui fought two more battles. At this time, Huang Taiji was actively planning to capture Jinzhou, and as early as March, he had taken the first practical step, sending Zilharang and Duoduo as the commanders of the left and right wings, and led the troops to Yizhou, ninety miles north of Jinzhou, as a strategic base for the Qing troops to advance into Jinzhou.

On the one hand, they built a city and planted crops on the other, and at the same time they continued to attack the Jinzhou area, attacking and harassing the garrisons of Mingningyuan and Jinzhou, and the military situation in the Jinzhou area became increasingly tense. The strategists of the Ming Dynasty were aware of the intentions of the Qing army, and Chongzhen instructed the governor of Liaodong and the retainers to quickly plan an emergency strategy. Qiu Minyang, the new governor of Liaodong, discussed with Wu Sangui, Zu Dashou, Liu Zhaoji and others to plan a strategy for war and defense.

Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, pointed out that the Qing troops could not be defended alone, but could only be defended by taking into account both the war, and that the battle could not always be fought head-to-head, and a variety of combat methods, such as surprise attacks and ambushes, could be effective. This strategy became the guiding principle for the Ming Army's operations.

Under the guidance of this policy, the Ming soldiers began to take the initiative to attack the Qing soldiers and launched various forms of attacks. Wu Sangui commanded 500 horse infantry to attack the Qing soldiers with blue flags near Jinzhou from Songshan, and the Qing general Beiziluotuo and others led their troops out of the camp in a hurry, and the two sides started a melee in the dark. Wu Sangui's intention was to harass the Qing soldiers, and when a large number of Qing troops were dispatched, he quickly led the troops to retreat. The Qing generals did not know how many Ming soldiers there were for a while, and they were afraid of being ambushed by mistake and did not dare to chase after them. The next day, I saw that there were eight corpses and nine horses left on the battlefield, but I only remember that night of fighting, the casualties of the Ming and Qing soldiers were very small, and the battle was short.

Following the night raid on the Qing army, Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, together with Wu Sangui, Cao Bianjiao, the commander-in-chief of ASEAN, Zuo Guangxian, and Liu Zhaoji, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, discussed and organized a new attack on the Qing army. In addition, Ma Ke, the chief soldier of the Shanhai Customs, led the troops to help in the battle. The Ming army dispatched 40,000 horse infantry to Xingshan, and the battle unfolded between Songshan and Xingshan.

At night, Wu Sangui, Cao Bianjiao and others each selected dozens of brave generals to lead the elite horsemen to ten miles away from Xingshan City, ambushed in the mountain depression, and sent sentinels to lurk and look out on the surrounding mountains.

In the early morning of the next day, Wu Sangui led more than 50 generals and officers below the rank of adjutant general to march out of Xingshan City in a whole line, so that the cavalry was in the front to facilitate the attack, and the infantry was in the rear with firearms to prepare for the blockade. There were about four or five thousand Ming soldiers at the moment, and more than 20,000 Qing soldiers rushed southwest from Tanghezi. When Wu Sangui heard the news, he immediately led the cavalry of Yongshou and Zhang Jian to Wudaoling, where they met with the Ming soldiers who were ambushed here first, and prepared to meet them. The Qing soldiers had already discovered the Ming soldiers, so they galloped towards Wudaoling and arrived at Zhangguantun.

This Qing army was led by the warlike Prince of Heshuorui, Dorgon, the Prince of Heshuosu, Haoge, and Dorao Yubel Abatai, and rushed towards the Ming soldiers. Wu Sangui gave an order, and the Ming soldiers, who were waiting for work, rushed forward with a shout, and the prancing horse rushed and slashed. The Qing soldiers retreated to Jiama Mountain, the officers and soldiers of each town galloped and attacked, Wu Sangui waved the army to rush and kill, the soldiers were brave and brave, the morale was boosted, and there was artillery bombardment, guns and arrows were exchanged, and the fierce battle was several rounds, and the Qing soldiers suffered many casualties.

Wu Sangui found that there were still a large number of Qing cavalry on the mountain, and it was expected to be to meet the front army. After a long battle, the Qing soldiers had already felt overwhelmed and gradually lost the battle, and the Qing soldiers who met on the top of the mountain did not dare to fight, so they hurriedly protected the dead body and fled north.

During the battle, Zu Dale, the deputy general who held Jinzhou, led dozens of generals out of Jinzhou for thirty miles, and joined Wu Sangui and other soldiers from the four towns to respond to them. Due to the wind and sand, it was inconvenient to pursue and suppress, so the troops were collected in turn and returned to Xingshan. In this battle, 11 Ming soldiers were killed, 65 were slightly or seriously wounded, and 56 horses were shot dead.

How many casualties were inflicted on the Qing soldiers? There is no official record of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Dolgon concealed the truth from Huang Taiji, and only said: "The Qing soldiers chased them to the Xingshan moat, covered and killed them, and captured seventy horses." "There is no mention of casualties among the soldiers.

It is evident that although the scale of the battle was large, and the casualties of each other were not heavy, they all exaggerated the victory of their own army to a certain extent. In fact, this battle is a joint attack of the Ming towns, and the troops have a clear advantage. After this blow, the Qing army was defeated and retreated to Tunyizhou.