Through this meeting with Zuo Mengeng and Fang Guoan, Liu Liangzuo basically believed that he had played a monkey trick on Ma Shiying, and he felt deep shame and anger. Although he didn't deal with Ma Shiying, he still revered this Ming minister who was born as a serious scholar in his heart, otherwise he wouldn't have gone thousands of miles to Jiangbei without asking the reason. However, Ma Shiying regarded his kindness as a donkey's liver and lungs, not only deceived him with clever words, but also almost pushed him into the fire pit.

Liu Liangzuo is so big, he has experienced ups and downs. There are people who insult him, and there are people who harm him, but there is no one other than Ma Shiying who harms him and insults him at the same time.

"How dare you do this!"

Liu Liangzuo completely left his smile on the south bank of the river, and the moment he boarded the boat, his face immediately tightened like iron. When he returned to Jiangbei Camp, he couldn't hold back his anger and threw out this sentence in public.

Zuo Mengeng mentioned to Liu Liangzuo that he was ordered by the emperor to go to Nanjing to assist in the defense and maintenance of stability, Liu Liangzuo was angry, calmed down and thought about it carefully, and the next day before dawn, he was anxious to let his cronies bring a message to Zuo Mengeng, asking to go to Nanjing together. His abacus is very simple, he has worked so hard to run such a long way, he can't always be empty, Ma Shiying can't count on it, and it's good to change his course and follow Zuo Menggeng to get some credit. Then he sent the horse to Fengyang day and night, planning to falsely report to Ma Shiying that the person had received it, and urged Ma Shiying to come to greet him quickly. According to his selfish analysis, Ma Shiying and Fan Jing's new court are nine times out of ten antagonistic relations, rather than blindly begging others to share the soup, it is better to do it yourself. As long as he can dedicate Ma Shiying's money to the new imperial court, even if Zuo Mengeng doesn't take him to Nanjing, he will not work in vain, and he can also fight against the army and avenge Ma Shiying's use of his arrows.

marched into Nanjing, ordered Zhao Dangshi, without Zhao Dangshi's nod, joining Liu Liangzuo and other major events, Zuo Mengeng couldn't get the idea alone. After discussing with Jin Shenghuan, Gao Jinku, Lu Guangzu, Xu Yong and others, he listened to the suggestions and told Liu Liangzuo to let him stay in Jiangbei with peace of mind, maintain the smooth flow of the riverway, and did not forget to promise that if he successfully entered Nanjing at that time, he would inevitably ask for a share of his work.

Liu Liangzuo was just about to tie up with Zuo Mengeng, when he heard this, he didn't dare to force it, he responded readily, and swore that he would sit in Jiangbei, at least starting from Jiujiang Mansion, passing through Anqing and Luzhou, and no half of Fengyang would hinder Zuo Mengeng and Fang Guoan's two armies. In addition to these, he sent his cronies, prepared rich gifts, and hurried to Huguang, one to congratulate Emperor on his accession to the throne, and the other to show favor to Zhao Dangshi. All of the above things were arranged, and he was at ease.

On 22 April, Zuo Mengeng and Fang Guoan's allied forces were divided into several parts, and successively took boats and boats down the river from Jiujiang Mansion to Nanjing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, thousands of miles away, the North Zhili Mountain Pass, a fierce battle is raging. Today is the second day of the battle between the attacking Shun army and the self-defending Guan Liao army.

On the way to Beijing on 26 March, Guan Liao's army suddenly changed its mind and turned back, and then it was divided into two parts. One was dominated by the army of Gaodi, the general soldier of Guanmen, and deployed the periphery of Yongping Mansion as an outpost, while Wang Yongji, the governor of Jiliao, and Li Yutian, the governor of Liaodong, sat in the capital to stabilize the morale of the army and began to pacify the gentry and recruit new soldiers; The other was dominated by the army of Wu Sangui, the general soldier of the Liaodong regiment, and counterattacked the army of Tang Tong, which was previously assigned by the Dashun Emperor Li Zicheng to take over the defense of Shanhaiguan, which was still named Dingxibo by Li Zicheng.

Tang Tong's army was only 8,000, but he did not expect Wu Sangui's army to come back and attack secretly, and he was defeated on contact, surrendered a stone pass northwest of Guancheng, and quickly notified Beijing of this matter.

The Guanliao army had already abandoned the land outside the pass before entering the pass, and from the moment it decided to oppose Li Zicheng, all it could rely on was a small corner of the territory inside and outside the Shanhai Pass, and there was neither strategic depth nor sufficient manpower and money and food supplies, so it was bound to be difficult to hold on for a long time.

Speed and priority implementation. Wu Sangui, the de facto leader of the Guan Liao army, told Chen Hongfan that he would send an envoy again to Beijing to negotiate with Li Zicheng again on the condition of demanding the crown prince and guaranteeing the independent status of the Guan Liao army. If Li Zicheng agreed, he would be able to take Guan Liaojun to temporarily join the Shun army with peace of mind, and wait for the opportunity to move later. After the envoy went to Beijing, there was no news, and Wu Sangui did not receive a reply from Li Zicheng. However, it turned out that his request was not agreed to by Li Zicheng, because on 13 April, Gao Di, who was stationed in the vicinity of Yongping Mansion, found out that the Shun army had been mobilized in Beijing and had pledged to march in the direction of Shanhaiguan.

Wu Sangui actually expected that his demands would be too harsh early on, and he was ready to bargain with Beijing, but Li Zicheng was very resolute and did not give him the slightest room for negotiation, and directly sent troops, which could not help but make him panic.

"Lianyu Pingkou" was Wu Sangui's hole card, but at least on April 13, he had not sent anyone to Shenyang to ask for help. According to the marching speed of the Shun army, I am afraid that before the Qing army arrives, he and tens of thousands of Guan Liao troops have become loess.

Regardless of whether it is "surrendering to shelter" or "uniting with Pingkou", an important mission entrusted by Zhao Dangshi to Chen Hongfan to come to Liaodong was to protect the vitality of the Guanliao army. Based on this, Chen Hongfan, who could have stayed out of the matter, weighed it up, but still gave Wu Sangui a trick, asking him to make peace with Li Zicheng and pretend to be obedient. The advantage of this is that Li Zicheng will first eat the fruit of "Guan Liao's army is willing to submit to submission", and Li Zicheng, who will have the advantage in negotiations in the future, will inevitably take the initiative to find Wu Sangui and put forward the conditions in turn, and it doesn't matter how strict it is, Wu Sangui can take this opportunity to delay the army.

Wu Sangui felt that it was feasible, and immediately sent his henchmen Sun Wenhuan and Li Kezhi to the Shun army, and Guo Yunlong, Yang Shen and others to the Qing army, and he and He Jinzhong, Wu Guogui, Dong Yongxian and other generals hurriedly arranged the defense of Shanhaiguan.

Li Zicheng met with Sun and Li on 14 April, and did not say a word about Wu Sangui's reasons for defending that he had been deceived by traitors, and bluntly proposed that if the Guan Liao army was sincerely attached, Wu Sangui and the Guan Liao officials must come to the camp in person within three days to pay homage, otherwise everything would not be discussed. Then it was revealed that there were still three sons of Emperor Chongzhen who accompanied the army this time - the crown prince Zhu Cihong, the king of Dingzhu Cijiong, and the king of Yong Zhu Cijiong - and the Qin king Zhu Cunji, the king of Jin Zhu Xianxuan and Wu Sangui's father Wu Xiang, who surrendered in Shaanxi, hoping to wake up Wu Sangui with the affection of the monarch and his son. Sun and Li were frightened, but Li Zicheng stayed with them for a while, and asked Wu Xiang to write a handwritten letter and asked the two to take it back to Wu Sangui to see.

After Sun and Li went, Li Zicheng did not stay because of this, and continued to lead the army to advance, which was not only to give Wu Sangui a dismount, but also to avoid delaying the progress of the final negotiation results.

Wu Sangui received the letter on 15 May and learned of the conditions put forward by Li Zicheng. Li Zicheng was obviously thoughtful and guarded, and he didn't mention anything else without leaving a gap, only mentioning a condition for Wu Sangui to ride alone to see him. Wu Sangui only has two choices: yes or no, and there is no room for maneuver.

Li Zicheng only left Wu Sangui three days to consider, and it had already taken more than a day for the envoy to come, and it would take more than a day to go, so the only time that Wu Sangui could really make a decision was the night he received the letter.

That night, Wu Sangui summoned He Jinzhong, Wu Guogui and other henchmen to discuss all night. Chen Hongfan had no way of knowing what the content was, but when he found Wu Sangui the next day, he saw that he was weak and slumped on the Taishi chair in the inner hall, his eyes were dull and motionless, and the ferocity of the fierce beast on the tiger and rabbit behind him set off his weakness.

"Master Wu......" Chen Hongfan cautiously stepped into the hall.

"Oh, Chen Gong is here." Wu Sangui suddenly changed his appearance, his depressed atmosphere was no longer there, his eyes were rejuvenated, and he looked extremely energetic.

"Chen pinched his fingers, Shunjun, when there is news......" Chen Hongfan put his hands in his sleeves, lowered his eyes and whispered, "I don't know how Wu Ye responded?" ”

Just this sentence, suddenly, like a sledgehammer, knocked Wu Sangui, who was like an inflated ball, back to its original shape. His originally straight back bent back uncontrollably, and the whole person fell on the table in front of him, his shoulders trembling.

"I ......" As soon as Wu Sangui's words came out, his eyes turned red.

Chen Hongfan sighed and shook his head, seeing this situation, he knew the result without asking.

"I, Wu Sangui, have become a fatherless and motherless person from today onwards!" There was no one else in the inner hall, and in the face of Chen Hongfan, Wu Sangui, who had been holding back for a night, finally couldn't help but burst out emotionally, tears fell, and soon wet the rice paper.

It can be said that last night was the most painful and torturous night in this young man's life.

On the one hand, the safety of the family members who are connected by blood, and on the other hand, the future interests of tens of thousands of soldiers, you can't have both, but no matter which side you abandon, it is enough to call it a heart-wrenching pain. Just like two mountains under great pressure pressing on Wu Sangui at the same time, all Wu Sangui can do is to take the initiative to bear one of them and avoid the other, although he can relieve half of it, but in this way, it is destined that there is a mountain that will always press on his heart.

Whether out of his own inclination or under the influence of external generals, Wu Sangui finally chose the latter.

Chen Hongfan just sighed, speechless. Wu Sangui's parents and relatives, including more than 30 other relatives, are in Beijing, and life and death depend on Shun Jun. The important reason why the Wu family is calm so far is that it is regarded by Li Zicheng as a chess piece to contain Wu Sangui, but when this chess piece loses its effect, Li Zicheng is furious, and with the fierceness of the Shun army, it is conceivable what the Wu family will have in the end.

"I have replied to my father and severed the father-son relationship, hoping that this move will save my family's life a little." Wu Sangui whimpered. At the moment, he looked more like a grief-stricken child than the commander who did not move tens of thousands of soldiers and horses.

People are in troubled times, and they can't help themselves. Even if he is as powerful as Wu Sangui, he will not be spared. is also like Emperor Chongzhen, who is the Son of Heaven, and in the end, the family is ruined and even cannot be buried with full ceremonies, what is the difference between Li Shu who suffered thousands of people?

"If it weren't for the coincidence, I'm afraid I would have folded in Huguang a long time ago." Listening to Wu Sangui's low sobbing, Chen Hongfan suddenly became distracted for no reason. He claimed that the turning point in his life was due to two important people, but the two people gave him the opposite turn. These two important people have been supported by him successively, one is Zhang Xianzhong, who he rescued under the ghost head knife and then almost let him wrap his body in advance, and the other is Zhao Dangshi, who he just wanted to use at first but didn't expect to become a close brother in the end. The world is so impermanent that it is so.

On April 16, the Shun army advanced into the territory of Yongping Mansion and engaged the Gaodi army, winning and losing each other. A day later, Li Zicheng, who learned that Wu Sangui was determined to resist to the end, led the main force to Yongping Mansion, and the Gaodi army could no longer support it and retreated eastward. The governor of Jiliao, who was the first to instigate Wu Sangui to fight against the Shun army, saw that the general situation had gone, abandoned his soldiers and horses, and secretly fled south with only 20 horsemen from his family. Gao Di and Li Yutian led the troops to fight and retreat, and on the 18th they were received by Wu Sangui's army in Funingwei, and the pursuing Shun army immediately retreated.

At this time, there were only three days left before the Shanhaiguan Battle broke out.