Bai Qi smiled and said, "It's just in time." [No pop-ups. Ask him to come in. ”

I only heard the footsteps outside, the curtain was lifted, Li Dingguo walked in, and after entering the tent, he first saluted Bai Qi, called him a general, and then bowed to Liu Zongmin. Although Liu Zongmin was very annoyed, when he saw Li Dingguo, he laughed and took his hand: "Dingguo nephew, it's great that you can come, who doesn't know that you are the most capable general under the account of the Eight Great Kings, who are we afraid of." ”

Li Dingguo and everyone in the tent met one by one, and then said to the dialogue: "General, it's not that the last general deliberately delays the date, it's really the road in central Sichuan that is difficult to walk, my tens of thousands of troops are inconvenient, and it took nearly half a month to get out of Sichuan, and when I walked near Luoyang, I heard that the coalition army had crossed the Yellow River, so I hurried over, but I didn't expect the general to be powerful, and within a few days, he beat the Manchu Tartars to the point of rolling N flow, and fled in embarrassment, and the last general was really happy for the general, so he couldn't stop catching up. ”

Bai Qi said: "The general came just in time, although our army has achieved a great victory at this time, but from Luoyang all the way here, it has long been exhausted, all the armies are unable to advance again, and need to recuperate for a period of time, and at this time the Qing army is also resting in Shanhaiguan, we can't give them a chance to breathe, we should be driven out of the pass." At this time, what is most needed is the new force. I heard that the general brought 50,000 horses, which was enough to be competent for this battle. I wonder if the general dares to lead the army to Shanhaiguan? ”

Li Dingguo smiled: "Dingguo is here to fight against the Manchu Tartars, how can he not dare to fight, and ask the general to give an order, Dingguo will go to the soup and fire, and he will never frown." ”

Bai Qi said: "Okay, this commander will order you to take the people of the headquarters all the way to Shanhaiguan, drive the Qing army and the Guanning army out of the pass, and withdraw to Jinzhou." ”

Li Dingguo received the order, but said: "If the battle of the last general goes well and the Qing army withdraws from the Guanwai, then will Shanhaiguan be guarded by the last general?" ”

Bai Qi said: "After you occupy Shanhaiguan, leave your subordinates to guard it, and come back quickly, we still have major matters to discuss." He didn't say it explicitly, and Li Dingguo also understood that what happened after the defeat of the Qing army was even more important than the war. In the vernacular, it means that you have planted the fruit and see how it is divided.

Li Dingguo did not delay in Beijing, returned to the camp, and immediately organized the army to attack, he personally led 50,000 iron cavalry, and went straight to Shanhaiguan.

At this time, Huang Taiji had returned to Shengjing (now Shenyang), he was the emperor, and it was impossible for him to stay in Shanhaiguan. After returning to Shengjing, he immediately summoned Dolgon.

Dolgon had just arrived at Shanhaiguan, and within three days, he received a summons from Huang Taiji, and he was very uneasy, but he had to go. Hong Chengchou and Wu Sangui were not mentioned in the summons, so the two did not go with them. This is Huang Taiji saving face for Hong Chengchou and Wu Sangui, and he doesn't want to reprimand them.

After arriving in Shengjing, Dolgon met with Huang Taiji, but he didn't expect that Huang Taiji was still very affectionate to him, and he didn't mention the defeat. Dorgon was even more uneasy. Kneel and plead guilty.

Huang Taiji shook his head: "The defeat in this battle is not due to you, but to me." I underestimated these Han people, and the lowest estimate was the King of Qin. He actually sent Zhang Yi to unite all the candidates. This is something we didn't expect. Although the big eagle is powerful, the cattle and sheep on the grassland are all gathered together, showing hard horns, and even the big eagle has no choice. ”

Dolgon hurriedly thanked him. Huang Taiji said: "At this time, it is not the time for my Manchu to enter and occupy the Central Plains, originally I thought that when the Ming Dynasty was dead and the Central Plains princes were in dispute, they would win the world, defeat the enemy one by one, and finally completely occupy the land of China, but I didn't expect that at this time, all the candidates in the Central Plains regarded my Manchu people as the biggest enemy, and they actually put aside their personal enmity and united to make enemies of my Manchus. It's rare to work together. There is nothing strange about our defeat. ”

Dolgon said: "Your Majesty, now we still have Shanhaiguan in our hands, as long as this pass is in my hands, we can go south at any time and attack the capital." Please give me the will of Your Majesty, let me go back to Shanhaiguan to rectify the people, and I promise that in less than half a year, I will definitely be able to take Beijing again. ”

Huang Taiji shook his head coldly: "Do you think they will let you settle down in Shanhaiguan?" And they're going to let you put things in order there? Every Han Chinese knows what Shanhaiguan means to the capital, which is the last barrier in the north. As long as Bai Qi has not been blinded by sheep fat, he will definitely continue to attack until he takes Shanhaiguan. ”

Dolgon gritted his teeth and said: "Then let him come, for several days, my Qing army soldiers have been holding their breath enough, and they can just come out." ”

Huang Taiji said: "Your men and horses are already too tired, this escape is thousands of miles, in a short time, are you still capable of fighting?" ”

Dolgon said: "We are tired, but these thieves are not iron-beaten, they arrived in Beijing, they should rest for some days, and when they come to rest, I have already been waiting for the Qing Dynasty iron horse." This defeat is because I underestimated Bai Qi, and from now on, I will never make such a mistake again. ”

Huang Taiji looked at him, his eyes were very complicated, this is the most capable prince in his court, and his prestige in the army is also extremely high, it can be said that the entire Manchu Qing Dynasty, in addition to Huang Taiji, the most capable and popular is Dolgon. The only thing he lacks is political acumen, but he's not a reckless man either. Huang Taiji has always been wary of him, and now he has sent Hong Chengchou and Wu Sangui to his tent to listen to his command, which is really not Huang Taiji's original intention.

Now that Dolgon is defeated, it is actually quite in line with Huang Taiji's heart, his defeat has lost his prestige in the army, and there will be a loss of popularity among the people, Huang Taiji wants to see this, so he has good words for Dolgon.

At this time, Huang Taiji was thinking, whether to defend Shanhaiguan, if Dolgon guarded Shanhaiguan, it would be very easy to attack Beijing City in the future, at that time he really recaptured Beijing, he would immediately be shocked, Huang Taiji really didn't want this kind of thing to happen.

However, if you don't defend Shanhaiguan, it will be easier said than done if you want to attack the Central Plains in the future. Wu Sangui led tens of thousands of horses, and he could firmly withstand his 100,000 army. If Shanhaiguan is reoccupied by Li Zicheng, Li Zicheng will definitely send heavy troops to guard this pass, and it will be difficult to enter the pass at that time.

Just when he was thinking about it and couldn't make up his mind, someone suddenly came to report that there was already a group of people under the city of Beijing, and they were killing Shanhaiguan with great momentum.

Dolgon was astonished when he heard this, and hurriedly asked, "Whose men are they?" How many people are there? ”

Detective reported: "Back to the prince's words, the banner of the people and horses is written on the word Zhang, according to the front newspaper, it is Zhang Xianzhong's men and horses in Sichuan." The general at the head is called Li Dingguo, with no less than 40,000 men and horses, all of whom are cavalry. ”

Dolgon was shocked, he knew that Zhang Xianzhong's men and horses did not participate in this battle, how could they arrive in Beijing, and an army of more than 40,000 people suddenly appeared.

When Huang Taiji heard this, he sighed in his heart, he knew that Shanhaiguan could not be defended.

At present, if troops were transferred from Shengjing to reinforce Shanhaiguan, plus the men and horses collected by Dolgon, it could have been defended, but in that case, it would cause an emptiness around Shengjing, and there would not be many men and horses in the entire Liaodong. The Mongols, on the other hand, are likely to take advantage of the opportunity.

Although the Qing Dynasty has conquered Mongolia, but the Mongols have not been completely convinced, maybe after the opportunity arises, they will suddenly kill, Shengjing is not too far from the Mongolian steppe, the Mongolian cavalry comes and goes, in just a few days, you can attack Shengjing.

And according to the news from Mongolia, since the defeat of Dolgon, there are already tribes in the Mongolian steppe ready to move.

Compared with Shanhaiguan, this worries Huang Taiji even more. He is not afraid that the Han army will attack Liaodong, because the climate, because of the terrain, are favorable to his side, so the Han army will not rashly attack, but the Mongols are different, how fierce the tribes on the steppe are, Huang Taiji knows very well. Once they see the emptiness inside them, this group of steppe wolves will definitely be like smelling blood, and they can't wait to show their fangs.

Therefore, Huang Taiji made a decision almost in the blink of an eye, and he patted Dolgon on the shoulder: "It's better to retreat, Shanhaiguan can't be defended." Our men and horses can't be hurt anymore. ”

Dolgon was anxious: "Your Majesty, if we don't guard the Shanhaiguan, how can we attack the Central Plains in the future......"

Huang Taiji led him to the map and pointed to the Mongolian steppe: "Don't you understand? ”

Dolgon was stunned, lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then raised his head: "The minister understands, compared to the Han and the Mongols, it is still easier to deal with. ”

Huang Taiji nodded: "You go back, withdraw all the people and horses in Shanhaiguan and go to Ningyuan to guard." ”

Dolgon immediately received the order, and rushed back to Shanhaiguan in the starry night.

At this time, Li Dingguo's vanguard was less than fifty miles away from Shanhaiguan.

Hong Chengchou and Wu Sangui are as anxious as ants on a hot pot, they are not the commanders here, they dare not act rashly without orders, the two of them have the same thoughts, that is, to withdraw the army quickly, Li Dingguo is menacing, and the soldiers are strong and strong, they are all fresh troops, and their own side is still recuperating, there are too many wounded soldiers in the army, there are many people who are sick, the horses are not complete, the weapons are lost countless times, and many people have fled empty-handed. How can such an army fight to the death with the enemy again?

Hong Chengchou had even ordered that as long as the enemy advanced for another thirty miles, he would not wait for Dolgon to arrive, and withdraw his troops directly, and he would bear the consequences by himself.

It was at this time that Dorgon finally returned, and brought with him the intention to withdraw his troops.

Hong Chengchou and Wu Sangui were overjoyed and immediately arranged for the withdrawal of the army. Fortunately, Hong Chengchou had made some preparations in advance, so he didn't seem so flustered, and the whole army and horses were still in order, and they withdrew from the customs in order.