"Lianyu Pingkou" is Wu Sangui's consistent rhetoric to the officers and men of the Guan Liao Army and Chen Hongfan and others, and it is also where his confidence lies in his determination to defend Shanhaiguan. If this happens, he will undoubtedly be regarded by the subjects of the Ming Dynasty as a hero who can turn the tide, and his martial arts will reach the peak; This thing didn't work out, he died on the battlefield, and he didn't lose an iron-clad loyal servant.

However, Dolgon's letter disrupted his overall plans.

Dolgon, who defeated Tang Tong's soldiers and horses and marched to the north of Shanhaiguan, roughly understood through scout reconnaissance that the strength of the two sides involved in the Shanhaiguan battle was relatively different, and judged that without the help of his own army, the Guanliao army would not be able to escape defeat. He didn't go to Shanhaiguan before, and he was generally worried that Wu Sangui, who had repeatedly failed to surrender, would eventually fall to Dashun and join forces with the Shun army to block the road to Guancheng. Now that the Guan Liao army took the initiative to form an alliance against the Shun army, it was a blessing from heaven, but he believed that the situation had changed, and it was completely possible to strive for further benefits for the Qing army.

Wu Sangui's letter to Dolgon's "beggars" from beginning to end regarded himself as a Ming courtier, regarded the Qing army as a "Northern Dynasty", and hoped that "the army would be combined to reach the capital gate and destroy the Liukou in the court". Dolgon was not satisfied with this, and changed the wording in his reply, changing the phrase "joining forces" to "luring thieves to come quickly" for the Qing army, changing Wu Sangui's self-proclaimed "weeping blood rescue" to "inheriting the king's edict", and ignoring Wu Sangui's guarantee of after-the-fact rewards, and reverting to "the east and west of Beijing can be passed on", "the people are convinced and the wealth and land are also virtuous, nothing can be done", and even bluntly advised Wu Sangui to "lead the people to return" and "must be sealed with his homeland and promoted to the vassal king", and the meaning of recruiting Wu Sangui was fully revealed.

"100,000 soldiers are in the north of Guanbei, just wait for Wu Ye to nod, and immediately wave his army to kill the thief!" Dolgon's brother-in-law wasted no time in saying this.

The cannon outside the city rang out, and Wu Sangui's hand holding the letter paper trembled involuntarily, and his lips moved but he couldn't speak. The reinforcements he had been thinking about day and night finally arrived, but at this moment, he didn't know whether he should be happy or worried. He knew very well the combat effectiveness of the Qing army, the Shun army that attacked Shanhaiguan was more than 100,000, and his own 50,000 people alone must be overstretched, but if there were 100,000 tigers to help, the victory or defeat was still unknown. It's just that if he wants to turn his back on the Ming Dynasty and return to the Qing army, and bend his knees to such a mortal enemy who has turned into foreign barbarians and killed each other for decades, he really can't make up his mind.

"I have friendship with your country, but because of some enmity, we are fighting endlessly and hurting each other. At present, the emperor of our country is wise and lenient, and he is willing to let go of the old hatred, clear out the thieves for your country, and rebuild the old good, what is the hesitation of Wu Ye? Dolgon's wife and brother said, "Could it be that Master Wu watched the bones of the first emperor of your country humiliated and the imperial capital lost but was indifferent?" Although Dolgon basically made it clear in the letter that he would not send troops until Wu Sangui surrendered, this matter has not yet been made public, so saying this on the table is to give Wu Sangui a step first, and at the same time secretly knock him to make a decision early.

Wu Sangui's face was embarrassed, and Guo Yunlong approached at this time and said, "No matter what reason the Tartar puts forward, he has the right to respond." The thieves are in a hurry, so they will guard the Shanhaiguan Pass first, and then talk about other things. ”

Wu Sangui listened, pondered for a moment, sighed briefly, and said to Dolgon's wife and brother: "I am tired of replying to your king, what your king said is reasonable, I Wu Sangui deeply thinks so, together with tens of thousands of Guan Liao soldiers are looking forward to the help of the soldiers!" ”

Dolgon's wife and brother were overjoyed when they heard this, nodded again and again, and praised: "Wu Ye is a true hero of the Ming Dynasty!" He immediately saluted and turned back to Guanbei to report the news.

"Let's go!" Wu Sangui shook his head and sighed a few times, listening to the increasingly intense sound of Jin Ge's horn in his ears, and tightened his armor hard.

"It's a war." A cannon sound still exploded in his ears, and Chen Hongfan, who was sitting quietly in the wing of the south wing of the city, shuddered, and clenched the rosary in his hand. His side was empty and deserted, but the ups and downs in his heart were no less than those of the thousands of soldiers of the Guan Liao Army who were about to fight.

50,000 Guan Liao troops, life and death in this move.

"Gong Chen, there is a situation!"

Zhao Yuanheng's rough voice came from the outer court. Chen Hongfan got up suddenly, and only then did he push open the door, and saw Zhao Yuanheng, whose clothes were already soaked with sweat, running in front of him.

"There is a war outside the city, and the main force of the thieves in the west temporarily divided one to attack the north wing city, and the rest are fighting with the Guan Liao army in Shihe on the outskirts of Xiluo City, and the thief troops in the east have also begun to storm Dongluo City!"

"The thieves were cunning, and they used field battles to drag the soldiers of the Guan Liao army, but they divided their troops to attack various strongholds. Most of the strongholds stationed everywhere are village warriors, and their combat strength is embarrassing, and I am afraid that they will not be able to stop the battle-hardened thieves. Chen Hongfan said as he pinched the rosary in his hand, "In the end, the thieves took advantage of the many soldiers, and Wu Ye was greatly disadvantaged." "The disadvantage of doubling the number of 50,000 Guan Liao troops against 100,000 Shun troops is not only reflected in the durability of battlefield fighting, but also in the passivity of deployment.

Zhao Yuanheng wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead, exhaled and said, "But there is good news!" ”

"What's the good news?" Chen Hongfan frowned, "Could it be that the Tartars have arrived?" ”

"Exactly!" Zhao Yuanheng nodded vigorously, "I heard that the Tartar soldiers and horses are stationed in Guanbei for ten miles!" ”

Chen Hongfan didn't expect his slightly banter words to become a prophecy, and he couldn't help but hold Zhao Yuanheng's shoulder and said, "Is this true?" Why did the Tartars arrive all of a sudden? ”

"I don't know, but it's here. There were quite a few of them, and I asked a few scouts who had returned to the city, and there were tens of thousands of them. ”

Chen Hongfan stopped pinching the rosary, instead held it tightly in the palm of his hand, and said, "If this is the case, there is still room for this battle!" ”

Zhao Yuanheng then went back to the front line to inquire about the news, while Chen Hongfan sat alone in the court with a pot of turbid wine, listening to the noise that resounded through the world, pouring himself a drink and waiting for the result.

This whole day, Zhao Yuanheng didn't know how many times he ran back and forth, his feet were weak, and the news reported was both happy and worried, but none of them had the nature of a final word. What made Chen Hongfan most pleased was that in the morning, the main forces of the Shun army and the Guan Liao army fought in Shihe, and there were some loopholes in the northwest corner of the Guanning army for the Shun army to take advantage of. It can be seen that with the Qing army on the side, the psychology of the Guan Liao army must have stabilized a lot, and they fought bravely and fearlessly.

The two sides fought fiercely until dusk, and the Shun army took the initiative to withdraw its troops. There were countless corpses inside and outside the strongholds such as Xiluo City, North Wing City, and Dongluo City, and they were full of devastation. Only the southern wing of the city, because the south will be facing the sea, the Shun army thought that the Guan Liao army would not retreat to the south, so it was safe and sound, and Chen Hongfan was able to sit firmly in the city.

That night, Wu Sangui did not return to Guancheng, and the southern wing of the city was also under martial law, Chen Hongfan and Zhao Yuanheng wanted to find out some information, but they were suffering from no way, Wu Guogui was ordered by Wu Sangui to visit Chen Hongfan.

"There are no thieves in the southern wing of the city to attack, and Chen has nothing to worry about here." Chen Hongfan smiled and said, "It is reported that General Bai Ri Wu bravely crowned the three armies and annihilated a thief soldier, which greatly increased the prestige of our army!" ”

Wu Guogui, who had been fighting for a day, had already changed into a neat military uniform, but his demeanor still couldn't hide his tiredness. He waved his hand and said, "100,000 thieves, thousands of dead, just a dime." It was okay to revitalize our army for a while, but it couldn't force the thieves back completely. ”

"Now that the Tartars have arrived in Kanbei, why don't they kill the thieves together?"

When Wu Guogui heard this, his face sank and said: "Who knows, before nightfall, the Tartars entered the Weiyuan Platform of Huanxi Ridge, two or three miles north of the city, which is a stone's throw away from here, maybe the war will start tomorrow, and it will help." ”

"There are tens of thousands of Tartars, and they are all elite soldiers in a hundred battles, and when they join, our army's chances of victory have greatly increased." Chen Hongfan nodded.

"The thieves are not yet aware of the arrival of the Tartars. Although I Guan Liao'er Lang is all brave, there are few people after all. can block the thief's momentum, but it is difficult to turn defense into offense, it depends on when the Tartar strikes. Wu Guogui gritted his teeth and said. He learned from Wu Sangui that the Qing army had arrived, and once thought that victory was in sight, but after fighting all day, Wu Sangui repeatedly sent people to Guanbei to urge Dolgon to lead the army to support to no avail, so he couldn't help but suspect the Qing army's intentions.

"The Tartar is right under your nose, why don't you stand still today?" Zhao Yuanheng walked the front line several times and had a better understanding of the battle situation, and he was very puzzled before, if the Qing army took advantage of the stalemate between the two sides to quickly advance from the north, maybe this battle would have a great turn for the better today.

"It's unpredictable, and let's see what he moves tomorrow." Wu Guogui said in a sullen voice, quite unhappy.

Chen Hongfan said: "The Tartars are cautious, they must be afraid that our army and the Shun army will set up a bureau to win him, and they dare not rush forward on the sidelines." He added, "Maybe Tartar and Wu Ye have put forward any conditions, and they haven't negotiated yet?" ”

Wu Sangui did not tell anyone about the content of Dolgon's letter, including Wu Guogui, who was closest to his subordinates. Chen Hongfan's speculation, Wu Guogui is also difficult to judge, can only be perfunctory. Chen Hongfan couldn't find any favorable information, so he didn't ask any more. Several people had their own concerns, and fell silent for a while.

In the quiet courtyard, only crickets chirp in the gentle evening breeze.

In the early morning of the next day, Chen Hongfan, who had been sleepless all night, had just felt sleepy when he was awakened by the rumbling sound of cannons in the distant sky. When I pushed the door, the sky was still gloomy and misty. He took a pot of wine as usual and sat in the court, who thought that it would not take long, Zhao Yuanheng ran over in a hurry and said: "Chen Gong is not good, the thieves suddenly attacked the northern wing of the city, defending the city and the countryside bravely and needy, and the city was sacrificed to the thieves!" ”

When Chen Hongfan heard this, his face changed in shock, and even the wine jug in his hand fell to the ground and shattered. The north wing of the city is located at the throat of the Shanhaiguan defense line, if this city falls, then the Shun army on the east and west sides of Shanhaiguan will be connected as a whole, supporting each other, and the plan of the Guan Liao army to rely on the support of Shanhaiguan to resist the enemy will disappear in an instant, and it will fall into a more unfavorable situation.

"Hasn't the Tartar moved?" Chen Hongfan said eagerly. The Guan Liao army was originally small in strategic deployment at a disadvantage, and the northern wing city was lost again, and it was only a matter of time before it was defeated, and now the only thing that could turn the tide of the war was the Qing army to help the war.

Wu Sangui was more anxious than him.

After the outbreak of fighting yesterday, Wu Sangui sent seven or eight groups of envoys to invite Dolgon to march into the army. Dolgon stood at Huanxi Ridge to watch the battle, and saw that the Shun army bombarded Shanhaiguan with artillery, and the Guan Liao army also fired back with artillery, but he still had doubts in his heart and did not move. Wu Sangui was helpless, and led the Liao army to fight desperately, relying on the momentum of Wu Guogui's annihilation of the Shun army's strange soldiers, and barely held the situation deadlocked, but in fact, people were extremely sleepy. Today's war resumed, and the North Wing City changed hands in an instant, directly giving Wu Sangui a blow to the head. Wu Sangui had no choice, knowing that this battle would be defeated without the help of the Qing army, so he had to take five gentry from Shanhaiguan and twenty cavalry to Huanxiling to personally ask Dolgon to help.

Sensing that the time was ripe and deciding that Wu Sangui was credible, Dolgon first made Wu Sangui swear to the gods, and then asked him to shave his hair and braids like a man. Wu Sangui was drowning in the deep sea at that time, and there was no other way than to hold on to the straw of the Qing army, and he was forced to do it one by one due to the situation. Only then did Dolgon change his face, and he persuaded him with kind words, and asked him to go back first, "Ke Ling'er soldiers use white cloth to tie their shoulders as a number", as a distinction from the Shun army, "Otherwise, how can you distinguish between the same Han people?" Fear of manslaughter".

Soon after Wu Sangui left, the Qing army moved. Dolgon had a great deal to do with this battle, and most of the Mongol and Han armies stayed behind in Huanxi Ridge and did not advance, and sent Manchurian troops to the battle. Prince Azig of England and Prince Duoduo of Yu each led 10,000 horsemen, and Dolgon led 30,000 horsemen to enter the pass in three ways, with great momentum.