Wang Yongji had no confidence in the matter of rushing to Beijing, but as the governor, he was ordered to personally urge Wu Sangui to rush to the king, so he couldn't help but say a few words to encourage the soldiers to be loyal to the monarch and patriotism, and swear not to share the sky with the thieves. The soldiers listened to his words, apparently indifferent, and remained relatively silent.

Faced with this situation, Wu Sangui no longer delayed the meeting, he redeployed his military and ordered to set off in the middle of the night to march rapidly to Beijing. Leaving 2,000 infantry and Wang Yongji's battalion to garrison Yongping, so that when the situation is unfavorable, they can retreat here, relying on Shihe, and make another plan.

When Wu Sangui set off from Yongping, Wang Yongji came to see him off, and asked about the battle strategy during the conversation, Wu Sangui said: "According to my estimate, Li Zicheng will attack Xizhimen or Deshengmen. How our army will attack can only be determined temporarily, and it is difficult to plan it now. ”

Wang Yongji knew that Wu Sangui was unsure in his heart, so he suggested to him that it would be safer to garrison some of his men and horses outside the city to confront the enemy, and some of them to drive into the city of Beijing to assist in defending the city.

Wu Sangui shook his head and said, "The people of Guanning can only be stationed outside the city, and I am afraid they cannot enter Beijing." ”

Wang Yongji said: "No, no. If the thief were to attack Xizhimen, Deshengmen, or Fuchengmen, why didn't the general enter Beijing through Chaoyangmen or Dongzhimen?"

Wu Sangui sighed quietly: "The emperor is suspicious, isn't it clear to the adults? In the twelfth year of Chongzhen, Yuan Chonghuan supervised the division, went to Beijing to Qinwang, and held with the Manchurian soldiers outside the Chaoyang Gate. The emperor suspected that he wanted to surrender to the enemy and sacrifice the city, but when someone said that he was secretly colluding with Manchuria, the emperor arrested him and imprisoned him, and later killed him. Wouldn't that be happening today?"

Wang Yongji had no choice but to nod and stop talking. Wu Sangui continued: "Since the enemy is besieging Beijing, the Tongzhou area has been captured by thieves. I am worried that they will garrison Tongzhou with heavy troops to block the army of King Qin of Guanning. In that case, the war would not have been fought under the city of Beijing, but on the banks of the Tongzhou Canal, and it would have been even more difficult to save Beijing. ”

The two looked at each other and couldn't help but sigh at the same time. Wang Yongji had no choice but to say: "Please rest assured that Uncle will lead the army to set off, and I will do my best to do the things that will follow, but ......"

Although the army, under the leadership of Wu Sangui, got up in the middle of the night and set off in less than four watches, it seemed that it was indeed the king of the starry night. However, after setting off, they walked towards Beijing at the usual pace of marching.

On the afternoon of the 20th, the army arrived in Yutian County. There are many rumors here, all of which say that Li Zicheng had broken the imperial city of Beijing on the morning of the 19th, the queen hanged herself in Kunning Palace, and the whereabouts of the emperor and the crown prince were unknown. Wu Sangui and his generals were doubting whether this rumor was true, and then they ran back with another fine work sent to the vicinity of the capital, saying that the capital had indeed fallen, the queen had committed suicide, and the emperor and the crown prince had no whereabouts. After a while, another detail returned, and the content of the report was exactly the same.

This made Wu Sangui feel very sudden and shocked. He knew that the defenders of the capital were thin, and the people's hearts had been scattered, so he was afraid that it would be difficult to hold on, but he did not expect it to fall so soon. He immediately ordered the troops to stop advancing, and immediately summoned his close generals and staff to discuss countermeasures.

After the meeting began, Wu Sangui had tears in his eyes and said bitterly: "This town didn't expect to become a minister of the dead country, and my heart is full of grief at this moment. Now we can't advance, and it's difficult to retreat, so how good is it, please give me your opinions. ”

A chief military officer said first: "The capital has fallen, and our King Qin is useless, I don't know what the emperor's whereabouts are, and I don't know whether the general's family is safe or not." ”

Wu Sangui said: "The ancients often said: The country is ruined and the family is ruined. Now that we have met, now that the emperor is alive and dead, I think our family must have been slaughtered by thieves. ”

Speaking of this, he rolled out tears, and sighed again and again: "The country is ruined, the country is ruined, the country is ruined, and the family is ruined......"

Wu Sangui's cronies, generals, and staff were overwhelmed by the news of the loss of the capital, and no one could say a good idea. Some people suggested that Yongping should be quickly withdrawn, relying on Shihe, to resist Li Zicheng's attack. Some people advocate retreating from Shanhaiguan. There are also those who advocate simply returning to Ningyuan, borrowing troops from the Manchurian side, and recovering Beijing. But every suggestion was immediately met with opposition. Because neither Yongping nor Shanhaiguan have a long-term foothold, it is impossible to return to Ningyuan.

So some people asked if they could find another place to stand in the Guannai. But there is no such place in Kannai. In addition to the thousands of people who were originally in Shanhaiguan, their men and horses were all Liaodong soldiers from Ningyuan. They were familiar with the geography of Liaodong and the customs and customs, and as soon as they arrived at Guannai and became guests, where would they find a foothold? In the course of discussions, everyone also thought that Li Zicheng would inevitably send people to persuade him to surrender, and if he did not surrender, he would send troops to attack. These urgent questions swirled violently in Wu Sangui's mind, as well as in the minds of the generals and staff.

After a while, Wu Sangui saw that everyone really couldn't come up with a good proposition, so he stood up and said: "Now that the capital has been broken, the queen has been martyred, and the whereabouts of the emperor and the crown prince are unknown, we ......"

Suddenly, he choked up, and tears welled up. The generals also wept, and even if some people held back their tears, they couldn't help but bow their heads sadly. Although when he left Ningyuan, Wu Sangui was not able to go to Rongji quickly, and when he came from Shanhaiguan, he was also timid, worried that King Qin would be useless, but Li Zicheng would eliminate his Guanning family, but at this moment, the idea of loyalty to the monarch that had been passed down for thousands of years and had been deeply imprinted in his soul since he was a child suddenly became entrenched in his heart, making him deeply feel the pain of losing his country.

He shed tears for a while, and then said to the generals: "This town is ordered by the king of Qin, and I can't immediately wave my troops to Beijing, fight a decisive battle with the thieves, and recover the Beijing division." However, our troops are limited and we have no backup, and the food and salary of tens of thousands of soldiers has also become a problem. The opinions that you have just talked about are all out of a loyal and patriotic heart. However, this matter must be carefully considered for the sake of perfection. ”

The generals said: "It's all up to the uncle's opinion." ”

Wu Sangui continued: "The enemy is overwhelming, and we are single, so if we don't temporarily retreat, we naturally can't. It is only to retreat to Yongping, but it cannot resist the enemy, and to retreat to Shanhaiguan, it cannot resist the enemy. The enemy will inevitably enter in pursuit, how can we defend the isolated city alone?"

After hearing Wu Sangui's words, everyone nodded unconsciously. Some people thought of asking for help from the Northern Dynasties, but they did not dare to say it, because once Manchuria sent troops, no one was sure what the consequences would be. There was not a single sound in the tent, all eyes were on the manager's face.

Wu Sangui continued: "The emperor and the crown prince are not missing. According to the report, the thieves did not meet resistance when they entered the city, and there were no street battles, so it is clear that the emperor and the crown prince would not die in the chaos. Could it be that they escaped from the capital before the thieves entered the city and hid in the people......"

The generals and staff nodded their heads, and some of them had a glimmer of hope in their desperate hearts.

After a pause, Wu Sangui continued: "If the emperor and the crown prince can not die, change their clothes, and escape from the capital in chaos, as long as they are not found by the thieves, the Ming Dynasty will not be finished." Now half of China south of the Yangtze River is intact, with abundant wealth and a large number of people, and it will not allow the thieves to succeed in the south. ”

As long as the emperor and the crown prince can escape from the capital, the whole country will have a backbone, not only the southern subjects will always serve and rescue the holy driver, that is, the heroes of Jifu, Shandong, and Henan will inevitably rise up to serve the king, so that the thieves have no respite. Although we are in a difficult situation at present, it is at this time to save the country and save the emperor, and it is also at this time to make immortal contributions and leave a legacy for all generations. ”

Hearing this, everyone's hearts were slightly excited. Someone stood up and said anxiously to Wu Sangui: "Uncle, without further ado, how to find the emperor and the crown prince, after finding it, how to usher in the army, please ask the uncle for instructions." ”

Wu Sangui immediately ordered a close confidant of the Chinese army to immediately send a secret investigation to find the whereabouts of the holy driver and the crown prince as soon as possible. He said: "As far as I guess, the emperor knows that our army is the king of Qin, and he will escape from the capital from Chaoyangmen or Dongzhimen. Since there were robbers and patrols everywhere outside the city, they had to hide somewhere. If you send someone to visit the countryside in this area, maybe it will be in Tongzhou. ”

The Chinese army said, "Yes!" and withdrew from the tent.

"Loyalty and filial piety cannot be both. Since ancient times, those who have been loyal cannot fulfill their filial piety, and those who have fulfilled filial piety cannot be loyal, and when the country is in danger, it is really difficult to have both!" Wu Sangui sighed, rolled out two lines of tears, and then said: "I originally thought that even if the country was extremely difficult, it could drag on for decades, so I sent my family to live in the city of Beijing, so that the imperial court would not be suspicious of me, but I did not expect that I would become a minister of the country......"

It was getting dark. Wu Sangui likes to feast guests on weekdays, but now the national disaster is the head, the family is in trouble, although the wine feast is no longer held, but according to the past habits, a few generals and staff members will stay for dinner together. After the meal, most of the generals returned to their base camps and deployed military forces in preparation for emergencies, leaving only a few generals and confidants in the tents to continue to discuss.

At about the second watch, he suddenly reported that Emperor Chongzhen had hanged himself on a coal mountain when the city of Beijing was broken, and that the crown prince, King Yong, and King Ding were all found by Li Zicheng. Wu Sangui suffered a huge mental blow again and felt hopeless. What had been a glimmer of illusion is now shattered. He unconsciously cried bitterly, and then called the generals again and discussed countermeasures overnight.

At the meeting, some people suggested that the first emperor and the latter should be mourned immediately, spread the word from far and near, and call on the heroes of Gyeonggi to avenge the first emperor and the latter, drive away the thieves, and restore the Ming Chamber. But after discussing it for a long time, Wu Sangui did not adopt it. He knows better than ordinary generals in their hearts: if he finds Chongzhen and the prince, he can naturally call on the world, he is loyal to the monarch and patriotic, and Chongzhen and the prince are also equivalent to strange goods. But now that Chongzhen is dead, and the crown prince has fallen into the hands of Li Zicheng, with this amount of strength in his hands, he hurriedly mourned for the first emperor and the latter, and spread the news far and near, and the result will only be very unfavorable to him.

There are also people who advocate retreating to Shanhaiguan as soon as possible, away from the capital, so as not to be suddenly attacked by Li Zicheng. Wu Sangui shook his head when he heard this, because he concluded that Li Zicheng would not send troops to fight him immediately.

When someone boldly asked whether it was possible to borrow Manchurian power, Wu Sangui only looked up at the speaker sharply, and did not say no. On the contrary, everyone unanimously speculated that Manchuria might take the opportunity to enter the army. What should they do if Manchuria marches in and they are caught between the Manchurian soldiers and Beijing?

Everyone discussed it repeatedly for a while, but they couldn't come up with any good way for a while, so they only decided to temporarily garrison Yutian and wait and see. At the same time, many factions are sent to listen to the movements of Beijing and Shenyang at any time.

Three days passed. Although the Beijing city gate is very tightly guarded, and idlers are not allowed to enter, and the fine work sent by Wu Sangui cannot easily enter the city, there is still a lot of news in the city. The most widespread cases of torture and looting, rape, and robbery are still the most popular, describing the city of Beijing as very terrible.

Every news ignited Wu Sangui's new hatred for the Dashun army, and he often gritted his teeth and scolded: "The thief really can't succeed!"

Regarding Baoding, he also knew that Liu Fangliang broke Baoding on 15 March, and also broke some prefectures and counties along the way. Due to the dispersion of troops and the instability of the situation everywhere, after Liu Fangliang arrived in Baoding, there were only 10,000 or 20,000 men, and there was no strength to reinforce Beijing.

In addition, he also knew that the Dashun army sent people to Tianjin to urge grain, and encountered sporadic resistance everywhere. Day by day, the people of Gyeonggi no longer feared the Dashun army. Everyone became more and more dissatisfied with what Li Zicheng did in Beijing, and their thoughts about the Ming Dynasty became deeper and deeper.

What shocked him the most was the news from outside the gates. He knew that a few days earlier Manchuria had begun to rapidly concentrate its men and horses on Shenyang, apparently preparing to come south. This both exhilarated him and worried him. Because of Manchuria's intentions, he was not clear. If he wants to fight for Shanhaiguan, what will he do?

At this time, there were constantly detailed work back to report on the situation in Beijing, which also brought a lot of rumors and rumors. For example, the matter of torture and looting has been greatly exaggerated, as if Beijing has become a terrifying city. For example, Li Zicheng did not have the destiny to be an emperor at all, as soon as he sat on the emperor's throne, he immediately saw a person more than a foot tall walking in front of him in white clothes, which made him feel eerie and terrifying. He also couldn't wear the emperor's crown, and as soon as he put it on, he had a headache.

There are also rumors that Li Zicheng wanted to mint Yongchang money in Beijing after entering the city, but it failed. The imperial seal was cast with gold, but it could not be cast. All this increased the contempt of Wu Sangui and the soldiers for Li Zicheng, and they were confident that they would always have a chance to drive Li Zicheng out of Beijing and restore the Ming Dynasty.

Wu Sangui also sent people to inquire about his home in Beijing. However, the entrance of the alley is guarded by soldiers, and idlers are not allowed to enter or leave. So he has never been clear about the situation of his family. Only one thing he understood was that they were already under house arrest, in detention.

Since arriving in Yutian and knowing that Beijing was lost and the emperor was martyred, Wu Sangui often felt a pain of losing the country in his heart, and now the pain of the country being ruined is even more than a few days ago. A few days ago, he still had a lot of luck psychology, but now this luck psychology is almost in the past, and it is clear that his family's life is not guaranteed.

He felt a tingling in his heart, so he thought about it and pondered all kinds of situations, sometimes secretly wiping away tears, sometimes sighing, and sometimes couldn't help gritting his teeth and saying: "If you don't do it, you can't stop it, and now you have to deal with the thief to the end." ”