Tang Tong and Zhang Ruoqi had already heard that Wu Sangui must have received a report that the Qing soldiers were about to go south, and understood that they had been sent by Li Wangqin to reward the army and persuade them to surrender, but they could only return in vain.

Zhang Ruoqi asked Wu Sangui: "Since you don't forget the Ming Dynasty and insist on not surrendering, we don't dare to stay here for a long time." Can you order the secretary of the account to write a letter to King Li tonight......"

Wu Sangui had obviously studied with his cronies before Li Zicheng's envoy arrived, so he replied immediately without thinking: "Please return to King Li, I mean that for a major matter like this, I must seriously discuss it with my generals before I can answer, and I hope that King Li will wait for a few days." ”

Tang Tong asked: "Wouldn't it be better if you could simply write a letter of reply, saying that 40,000 taels of silver and 1,000 taels of gold have been accepted, and express your gratitude to Li Wangqin for sending the two of us to come with a heavy amount of money to reward the army, and not mention the surrender for the time being?"

Wu Sangui replied with a smile: "Before the two of you came to Shanhaiwei, I had already carefully studied it with my cronies Wenwu, and I could only ask you to spread the word orally, and I could not communicate with King Li. ”

Zhang Ruoqi asked, "Why is this?"

Wu Sangui said: "Please think about what I call King Li in my letters? If I call him Your Majesty, will I not admit that I have called him a vassal? If I call him a traitor, will I not anger him?"

Tang Tong scolded in his heart: "This kid is really cunning enough!"

He regretted that he had gone out of Badaling for 30 miles to meet Li Zicheng that day, and he was very inconsiderate. If you rely on the Badaling Great Wall to hold on for a few days, and then bargain with Li Zicheng, you will never be as sloppy as you are today. He thought that since Wu Sangui resolutely refused to surrender, he and Zhang Ruoqi should immediately return to Beijing to resume their lives, lest King Li blame them for coming to Shanhaiguan to persuade them to surrender, but instead delay the opportunity.

After thinking for a moment, he said to Wu Sangui: "Ping Xibo, since I came with Master Zhang to persuade him to surrender to no avail, I dare not stay here for a long time, and I will leave for Beijing tomorrow to resume my life......

Before he could finish speaking, Wu Sangui replied: "The two adults are here, please rest for three days, and then return to Beijing before it is too late." ”

Zhang Ruoqi said: "King Li is strict, and his younger brother can't persuade him to surrender, so he will never dare to stay here longer, and he must set off tomorrow." As for the gold, silver, silk and other things of the army, since they have been stored in the uncle's treasury, please be sure to give a receipt as a proof. ”

Wu Sangui persuaded them to stay for three days, and on the surface he was very sincere, but in fact he concluded that the Qing troops were about to go south, so he wanted to delay Li Zicheng's arrival as much as possible, even if it could be delayed for a day or two. Tang Tong and Zhang Ruoqi also seemed to have guessed Wu Sangui's intentions.

When they set off from Beijing, they originally had a good dream, thinking that with so much gold and silver they brought with them, plus they and Wu Sangui were old people, and they had suffered in the Battle of Songshan, and now that Chongzhen has been martyred and the Ming Dynasty has died, it should not be difficult to persuade Wu Sangui to surrender Dashun. As long as they can successfully persuade them to surrender, relieve the elbow and armpit problems for the Dashun Emperor, and successfully hold the enthronement ceremony, the two of them will make great contributions to the Dashun Dynasty.

Unexpectedly, since their arrival, although Wu Sangui has been hospitable to them, he has not shown his intention in his words, and always said that he is the general of Liaodong Frontier, the special favor of Emperor Meng, and the earl of Jin, so he will try his best to defend the lonely city of mountains and seas, neither marching to Beijing, nor willing to surrender to the new lord. Tang Tong was also the chief military officer of the Ming Dynasty, and he was also sent to Longen by Emperor Chongzhen a few months ago, and was given the title of earl, and was ordered to guard Juyong Pass and block the thieves, but he went out of the pass for thirty miles to meet Li Zicheng.

Hearing Wu Sangui's refusal to surrender, he was secretly ashamed, he was not in the mood for drinking, and said almost in a pleading tone: "Ping Xibo, you have to be a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, and you will not surrender, everyone has their own ambitions, and my brother does not dare to ask for more." After my brother returns to Beijing, how will he reply to King Li?"

Wu Sangui said: "I don't want a penny of the gold, silver and soft things of the army, you two still bring them back to Beijing and return them to King Li, okay?"

Tang Tong was stunned for a moment, then laughed, and said after laughing: "Ping Xibo, do you want me and Master Zhang to die without a place to be buried?"

Wu Sangui said with a smile: "We are friends in trouble in Songshan, and we have no such intention. ”

Tang Tong said: "Even if you have no intention of leaving me and Master Zhang dead in Shanhaiguan, as soon as your soldiers hear that the gold and silver of the army have been brought back to Beijing, won't it provoke a mutiny, and we can still leave Shanhaiguan alive?"

Wu Sangui said with a smile: "Don't worry, remembering that the three of us were in the same boat through thick and thin on the Songshan battlefield, I sent five hundred cavalry to escort the gold and silver of the army out of the country safely, and sent it directly to a hundred miles away." ”

Tang Tong took advantage of the drunkenness and sneered: "Ping Xibo, I also came out of the ranks, and I am not an amateur in this play." You sent 500 cavalry to send me out, and there was a mutiny on the road, claiming that it was bandits or rebels intercepting the road, trying to rob and kill me, and no one would redress my grievances with Lord Zhang. It's better for us to stay with you, be a diner for a long time, don't go back to Beijing to resume our lives, and wait for news from King Li. ”

Zhang Ruoqi was afraid that Tang Tong would say something unpleasant again, so he quickly interjected with a smile: "What you two said is too off-topic. I know best what Ping Xibo thinks, he is not completely unintentional to surrender to King Li, but he has other bitterness, and the situation of Ding Xibo is comparable. Dingxi Bo, after you were made an earl, Emperor Chongzhen summoned you on the platform and ordered you to guard Juyong Pass and prevent thieves from coming east. After several wars in recent years, there are only three or four thousand people under your command, all of whom are soldiers who have followed you for many years, and your family members have also accompanied the battalion to Juyong Pass. Therefore, after King Li sent someone to persuade you, you will go out of the city thirty miles to meet the surrender, and there will be no difficulty. ”

"There are a lot of soldiers under the command of Ping Xibo, some from Ningyuan, some of them were originally stationed in Shanhaiguan, and a large group of general soldiers and deputy general soldiers, all of whom have eaten the imperial court for many years, and have received food and salary from the Ming Dynasty, and Chongzhen has the feelings of monarchs and ministers, and it is not easy for everyone to surrender to King Li immediately, which is very different from the situation of your Dingxibo. ”

He looked at Yang Shen and asked, "General Yang Shen, I said that Ping Xibo has a lot of trouble with the word "whether to surrender or not", do you say yes?"

Yang Shen hurriedly said: "Lord Zhang can be regarded as a hammer to the point. Before the two of you arrived, our generals Guan Ning had secretly discussed several times, but we were never able to decide on a final strategy. After all, everyone has eaten the Ming Dynasty for many years, and they still have the heart of not forgetting the old king. But we have only tens of thousands of horses left in this lonely city, and it will be very difficult in the future. And my uncle's family is in Beijing, and he was originally a hostage in the hands of Chongzhen, and now he is a hostage in the hands of King Li. ”

Tang Tong smiled and said, "It's not easy to oppose King Li, isn't it?"

Yang Shen continued: "There are also the dependents and people escorted by our army from Ningyuan into the pass, claiming to be 500,000, but actually there are more than 200,000, which are temporarily scattered and placed in several nearby counties, and there is no stability at all; Therefore, whether to descend or not to surrender, we cannot but consult with the generals. As long as you stay one more day, we will have to discuss it carefully. ”

Tang Tong said: "Ziyu, what you said is also reasonable, but we were ordered to come to persuade us to surrender, if we delay the opportunity, we can't afford to bear the guilt." ”

Wu Sangui stood up and said to the two guests: "Please drink a few more cups casually to the two adults, and the foolish brother will go to the inner house for a while, and he will come immediately." He arched his hand and went to the backyard. When he was about to leave the table, he asked Yang Shen to go with him.

Ping Xibo's temporary line in Shanhaiwei, the west wing room within the second gate is divided into two, which is the place where Wu Sangui usually discusses important matters with several cronies and subordinates, commonly known as the signing room, also known as the study. He sat down on the chair first and ordered Yang Shen to sit down on another chair.

He whispered: "Yang Shen, the few words you just said to Tang Tong are very decent, even if he understands that we have bitter intentions on the word "surrender or not", and also tells them that for such a big matter, I must discuss it with the important generals and civilian staff under my subordinates, and I have not yet made a final decision." Give the Tang Tong a little hope, and you can keep them here for two or three days. ”

"According to the Shenyang survey report obtained today, Dolgon will lead the Qing troops south and attack the Great Wall, this strategy has been decided, and the day of the army's departure is also very soon. We have to come up with an idea to keep them for two or three days. As long as they don't return to Beijing and give back to the Li thief, we will not surrender, and the Li thief will not come. Once the Qing troops moved south, the whole situation changed. On one side were the Qing soldiers, and on the other side were the Dashun soldiers, so that they could fight each other near Beijing. We are the Guan Ning soldiers of Daming Ping Xibo, and it is a great opportunity to restore the Ming Dynasty as a call. You have a lot of ideas, how can you let Tang Tong and Zhang Ruoqi stay here for three days?"

Yang Shen paused for a moment and replied with a smile: "Uncle, according to our report, Dolgon inherited the will of Huang Taiji and decided to raise troops to the south, and there will be a bloody battle with the Dashun army east of Beijing. As the saying goes, if two tigers fight each other, there will be an injury. Li Thief came from Xi'an alone, with no support, unstable foothold in Beijing, and lost the support of the people, so he was not the opponent of the Qing army. What the uncle said is extremely true, at present, we must find a way to make Tang Tong and Zhang Ruoqi come to persuade the two Dashun Qincha to stay here for three days. They stayed for three days, and another six or seven days on their way back to Beijing, by which time the Qing troops led by Dorgon had probably entered the Great Wall. ”

Wu Sangui asked, "How to keep the two of them?"

Yang Shen replied: "Please rest assured, uncle, I already have an idea." ”

"What's your idea?"

"From the conversation between Tang and Zhang's two great shun troops and the persuasion of Qin Cha, I have understood that although they surrendered to Li Zicheng, they were not of the same mind as Li Zicheng. That's something I didn't expect. Since Li Zicheng can use them to persuade him to surrender, the uncle can also use them to delay Li Zicheng's tactics. From now on, please ask the uncle to stop saying that he will never surrender to King Li, only that this matter is very important, and he has to seriously discuss with his generals and staff, and when the discussion is final, everyone agrees to surrender Dashun, and immediately pay homage to King Li and congratulate him on his accession to the throne. It is estimated that it is not difficult to keep the two Qincha with these words. ”

"Will they believe that?"

"Would believe. ”

"How do you know?"

"Uncle has always walked very steadily, Uncle has never mourned for the first emperor, never sworn to send troops to avenge the first emperor, and crusade against the rebels for the Ming Dynasty. These two things have left a lot of room for maneuver for the uncle, who can advance or retreat, and is relatively free. At present, between talking with them, the uncle might as well pull a hard bow to show that the world has received the favor of the country, and he has been crowned earl by the first emperor. Later, the situation was critical, the first emperor secretly edicted King Qin, and galloped to help Beijing in the starry night, but because of the delay on the road, Beijing was lost, and the first emperor was martyred, and the uncle was deeply saddened, so he refused to pay homage to King Li. ”

"Today, the two Qincha lords, carrying a sincere letter from Prime Minister Niu Cheng and carrying a heavy amount of money, declared Li Wang's virtue intentions, and came to persuade the army to surrender. Some of the generals in Guanning were deeply moved and began to change their minds. The first emperor had already hanged himself in the coal mountain, and the Ming Dynasty had died, as long as most of the generals and important staff were willing to submit to Dashun, the uncle would also act according to everyone's wishes. However, this matter cannot be decided in a hurry, and it must be discussed again with Guan Ning's important generals and important staff, and it is not possible to ask for it too hastily, which will cause discord among subordinates, which will not be good for the matter. ”

Wu Sangui smiled and nodded: "This is quite tactful." What do you say?"

"Uncle, I'm different from you, easy to talk to. You are the Ping Xibo of the Ming Dynasty, and the head town of the Guanning army, every word has weight. If you say that you will never surrender, Li Zicheng may immediately lead his troops to come; if you say that you are willing to surrender, you will not be able to do so if you do not hand over the surrender form to congratulate you on your accession to the throne, and the fighting spirit of the Guanning soldiers will immediately collapse, and the local gentry will still not forget the Ming Dynasty and will immediately regard us as a thief party. ”

"If this is the case, it will not only be detrimental to our army, but also even more detrimental to the Ningyuan villagers who are temporarily scattered and living in nearby prefectures and counties. Therefore, to descend or not to descend, the uncle can only say ambiguous words, and other words will be dealt with randomly by the humble position. ”

Wu Sangui has always regarded Yang Shen as a confidant, not only because he is loyal, but also because he is quite scheming. At this moment, after listening to Yang Shen's words, he nodded frequently, and then said, "Yang Shen, your opinion is very good. In any case, keep them for three days. In previous years, we were stationed in Ningyuan, and people went to the capital, regardless of whether they were big or small, and they all sent some silver. It seems that Tang and Zhang should not be an exception. In your opinion, how much do you give them each?"

"According to the humble position, each person will give twenty ingots, and there can be no less. ”

"A thousand taels per person?"

"One thousand taels per person, and it will be sent to the banquet tonight. Fortunately, there are no outsiders at tonight's banquet and there will be no leaks. ”

"Why are you in such a hurry? Can't you send them tomorrow?"

"When they take the money, it will be easy for them to speak privately. ”

"Will they take it?"

They will also say excuses, but their hearts will be happy. As the saying goes, black eyes can't see silver, let alone them?"

"Them?"

"Yes, they love silver more. ”

"How do you know?"