The red tile shop on the west side of the Shihe River was the core area of the battle between the Shun army and the Guanning army. Wu Sangui arranged the main field force of the Guan Liao army here to block the Shun army from approaching Guancheng. Tens of thousands of soldiers and horses of the Shun army lined up from the Beishan to the seashore, spreading horizontally like a long snake, taking advantage of the strength of troops and the width of the battlefield, and encircling the main force of the Guan Liao army from the left, center, and right.

Liu Zongmin, the Marquis of Dashun Ruhou and the pro-military general of the Zhongying, was responsible for the specific command of this battle. From the early morning, the Shun army and the Guan Liao army fought to the death in more than ten battlefields of all sizes. Li Ziyuan himself took the Ming prince Zhu Cihong and others to Gaogang to watch the battle. However, seeing that the battle on the right flank was particularly fierce, the Shun army gathered to besiege it, and the Guan Liao army drove the east and west, and the Shun army also lingered left and right, encircling and opening compound confrontations dozens of times. The Guan Liao army is inferior in numbers, supported by hard fighting, and is already tired, Li Zicheng has a good time, looks at Zhu Cihong and raises his whip and points directly: "The Guan Liao army is caught, and the victory or defeat today will be known. ”

Zhu Cihong looked at the smoke and dust billowing in the distance, pursed his lips with red eyes and said nothing.

Not long after, Li Shuangxi, the Marquis of Dashun Yinghou and the mighty general of the Zhongying Zheng, flew up on the horse, and Le Ma said to Li Zicheng: "The Guan Liao army is weak, but it is still fighting to the death, for some reason. "For most of the day, the battle on the whole front of Shanhaiguan is obviously in Shun, Wu Sangui is a hundred generals, according to common sense, should judge the situation, and focus on defense in order to drag the battle into the night to fight for respite, but now it is abnormal, completely open-minded.

Li Zicheng didn't think much about it, and said lightly: "Wu Sangui knows that he will lose after a long battle, and now he is just fighting the trapped beast." He also said, "The north wing city has been obtained by our army, and the two sides of Shanhaiguan have been opened, and the checkpoint is useless, and he still has a chance to fight hard." If it drags on any longer, I am afraid that if we don't wait for our army to make a move, our own people will be in chaos first. ”

After so many years of fighting, Li Zicheng is very familiar with the battlefield, and he knows that the military spirit of the Guan Liao army is unstable and it will be difficult to last. Wu Sangui's choice of a quick battle seems radical, but I'm afraid it's just a helpless move.

Sure enough, in less than half an hour, Li Shuangxi returned again, and said with joy on his face: "Father, great news, the right wing of the Guan Liao army is noisy, and in less than three quarters of an hour, its army will be defeated." ”

Li Zicheng nodded and said: "Very good, let the brothers in front work harder, and strive to annihilate the Guan Liao army here today." "The front is going well, the north and east are equally dominant, and it is not impossible to capture Shanhaiguan before nightfall.

"When you take Shanhaiguan, you will go south and dominate the country." Li Zicheng thought to himself. Earlier, his plan was to recruit Wu Sangui and drive him to conquer Jiangnan and other places. In order to cooperate with this action, the Dashun court drafted a lot of documents to the south to recruit local Ming officials, and sent Guo Sheng, Dong Tiancheng, Bai Bangzheng, Dong Xueli and other departments to attack Shandong, Huaibei and other places respectively. Today, although things have changed slightly, the overall situation is still impressive.

"Things are peaceful in the north, and the gentle township in the south can be determined, if not, there are Guo Sheng and others as the forward, and then send a battalion over to calm the scene." Li Zicheng fell into deep thought, as if he regarded the magnificent Jin Ge Iron Horse scene between heaven and earth as nothing, "Shaanxi and Henan are very important, I must go in person." ”

On the eve of leaving Beijing and marching into Shanhaiguan, there were battles between Shaanxi and Henan, and Li Zicheng already knew that the situation in Shaanxi and Henan was not good, but after all, he was calm and calm, and he still felt that the general trend of the world was under control.

"There is Lao Tian in Shaanxi, even if it can't be attacked, it should be no big problem to defend it for a while and a half. When I lead Brother Lao Ben to arrive, I will definitely be able to regain the initiative and force Zhao Dangshi, Sun Chuanting and other troops out of Shaanxi. The troops and horses that went south went straight to Huaibei from the north and Shandong, first annihilated the enemy in Henan from Shaanxi and Huaibei with me, and then turned to the south of the Yangtze River. I will work with the soldiers and horses of Shaanxi and Henan to go all out to forge ahead in Huguang and make a decision. Li Zicheng thought about this, and secretly gritted his teeth, "Brother Zhao, you and I will inevitably meet each other after all, and fight each other." ”

The victory has been decided, Li Zicheng was thinking about the follow-up military action of the Guan Liao army, and unexpectedly Li Shuangxi suddenly shouted: "Father, the enemy formation is different!" ”

Li Zicheng suddenly raised his eyes and looked into the distance, but when he saw the right side of the right-wing Guan Liao army, he suddenly circled out a white flag of soldiers and horses.

"Order the rear army to advance quickly!" Li Zicheng beckoned in wonder. Gu Ying, the former battalion commander and former battalion general, still had some troops as a reserve and had not been engaged, and they just made up for it.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the words fell, a person ran from the side, knelt in front of Li Zicheng's horse and said loudly: "Those who have a white flag are not the soldiers of Guanning, and they must also be built by the state soldiers, so they can be avoided urgently." The white flag soldiers are very sharp, so they can't do it! "Look carefully, it is the Ming Dynasty who demoted the original Tianjin soldiers and prepared the original Yuzong.

Li Zicheng was surprised, and secretly thought: "Why did the Tartar come so quickly? "Immediately turn around the horse's head and lead the crowd down quickly, and at the same time strictly order the soldiers to fight resolutely, and not to retreat for half a minute.

At that time, the west of Shihe suddenly swept into the wind and sand, and the two warring sides were difficult to distinguish. The Qing army waited for a long time, and then took the Guan Liao army in front and took advantage of the gap. After three blows and three shouts, the Qing army rushed straight to the backbone of the Shun army. For a time, the feather arrows on the battlefield were dense and the stars shuttled through the dust, tens of thousands of soldiers shouted like thunder, and the Shanhaiguan was like a collapse in the sky for several miles.

In the south wing of the city, Chen Hongfan stood tall and his heart beat violently. He heard the shouts and fights that suddenly erupted outside the gate, but he didn't know what the situation was. Is it that the Guan Liao army can't support it and is broken by the Shun army? Is it the Qing army that has been waiting for a long time to finally make a move? Or did the Guan Liao army turn defeat into victory on its own?

All he could do was wait.

I don't know how long it took, when the hustle and bustle outside the city gradually faded, and the familiar sound of boots outside the court became closer and closer, Chen Hongfan couldn't help but grab the burden on the stone table beside him.

"Gong Chen! Chen Gong! Zhao Yuanheng walked like a fly, and ran into the yard with a sigh. His face was drenched in sweat and turned ochre, "The city and outside the city are finished......

"How?" Chen Hongfan stepped forward and held him by the shoulders.

"The thieves are defeated and retreat westward!" Zhao Yuanheng's voice echoed in the courtyard, "Wu Ye and Tartar are leading troops to chase and kill!" ”

"Whew-" Chen Hongfan threw the burden in his hand on the ground, breathed a long sigh of relief, and sat down on the stone bench.

"The Guan Liao army and the thieves held out until the afternoon, and their strength gradually became exhausted, and there were several mutinies, and they were almost defeated on the whole line. At this time, however, the Tartars marched from the right side, and heard that there were 30,000 fine horsemen, led by the Tartar prince Dorgon. The thieves were tired and couldn't support it, so they wanted to retreat a little and regroup, but the golden drum in the thieves' formation intensified, and the thieves had no choice but to reluctantly resume the battle. Zhao Yuanheng spoke very quickly, "There are also two Tartar elite cavalry, which swept both sides, forcing the thieves to drive and suppress in reverse, and in only half an hour, the thieves were all routed. ”

Chen Hongfan listened to his verbal description, and it was still thrilling, and he really couldn't imagine how tragic the real battlefield was.

"But ......" Zhao Yuanheng suddenly changed his words, lost the coolness in front of his head, and became a little hesitant, "But I'm on the front line, but I heard some rumors, I don't know...... I don't know if it's true or not......"

"What rumors?"

"It is said that ...... It is said that Wu Ye has ...... in order to ask for help from the Tartars Already shaved and surrendered ......"

"Huh?" When Chen Hongfan heard this, he was dumbfounded on the spot.

Two days later, Nanzhili Nanjing City, the public office next to the Guozi Prison was solemn, and several officials in black yarn were sitting in the pavilion. This is the official private residence of Shi Kefa, the current secretary of the Nanjing Military Department. In addition to Shi Kefa, Gao Hongtu, the secretary of the household department in Nanjing, Zhang Shenyan, the right capital of the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate, Lu Daqi, the right attendant of the Nanjing Military Department and the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, Jiang Yueguang, the governor of the Nanjing Zhan Mansion, and Zuo Maodi, the governor of Yingtian Anqing, were all on the left and right.

"A few days ago, Wei Gong arrived in Beijing, and there was no change in Beijing." Shi Kefa said.

On the first day of the first month of this month, Shi Kefa, who received the edict of Emperor Qin of Chongzhen more than a month ago, put Nanjing in order and complete, and issued a public edict of the southern capital of "calling on the subjects of the world to revolt and donate to King Qin's urgent affairs", and then led the army to cross the river and arrive at Pukou on the seventh day of the first month. A person who fled from the north told Shi Kefa that Emperor Chongzhen and the crown prince had escaped by boat and went south on the seaway, Shi Kefa was overjoyed, but the next day there was news that Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide in Coal Mountain. Shi Kefa couldn't figure out the truth and reality, hesitated, and returned to Nanjing. It was not until the 17th that Wei Zhaocheng, a former scholar of Dongge University and a scholar of the household department, escaped from Beijing and came to Nanjing on foot, and told Shi Kefa the news that Emperor Chongzhen had died and that the crown prince and the two princes had been captured.

Shi Kefa and the first choice of Nanjing officials at the time of the national change were naturally Emperor Chongzhen and his sons, but it was up to anyone, none of the Beijing royal family escaped, Shi Kefa and others could only consider the alternative proposed by He Tengjiao, that is, to support Zhu Changying, the king of Gui, which was also the consensus of several central ministers in Nanjing.

It's just that things are impermanent, and now it seems that even this option is not in sight.

Shi Kefa couldn't sleep well for several days, and the already obvious bags under his eyes were even darker like ink, and he tapped his index finger and said, "You must have heard about Western affairs. Although Nanjing, the capital of the country, should stabilize the world after the fall of Beijing, but at present, how much better can the situation be compared to Beijing? ”

"The north is urgent, and the west is even more urgent." Lu Daqi sighed. On behalf of the Nanjing Ministry of Rites, he personally went to Jiujiang to meet King Gui by boat, but when he heard that the armies of Zuo Mengeng and Fang Guoan were advancing eastward along the river, he was shocked and retreated to Nanjing overnight. He, Shi Kefa and others are both smart people, and they roughly guessed the intentions of these two armies.

"Zuo and Fang are both Zhao Dangshi's lackeys. Zhao Dangshi set up the emperor in Huguang, and his ambitions were known to women and children. He even sent people to Nanjing to ask us to surrender to welcome King Dechang, how is that arrogant posture different from Sima Zhao and Er Zhurong's generation? If I fall into the hands of such people, I will never recover! Zhang Shenyan had a straightforward personality and said loudly.

Shi Kefa said: "Lu Gonggang said that Nanjing currently has two emergencies, one in the north and the other in the west. His face was deep as he spoke, "The northern affairs were originally urgent, but Master Ma and Master Lu blocked it, and there was a slight buffer for me in Nanjing." ”

The Shun army Guo Sheng, Dong Tiancheng and other troops were ordered by Li Zicheng to go south to occupy Shandong, Huaibei and other places, Bai Bangzheng and Fang Yunchang led 2,000 people to Huaishang to ask for wages, but saw that the Fengyang Ming army refused to defend. Dong Xueli wandered around Xu, Huai and other places, and was blocked by Lu Zhenfei, the governor of Huaiyang, and it was difficult to advance. Therefore, before the main force of the Shun army moved south, the threat to the north of Nanjing was not great.

"Yesterday, a fugitive official from Beizhili came to pay respect, saying that Wu Sangui of Liaodong Town and Gaodi of Guanmen Town are still fighting thieves according to Shanhaiguan, and they are contained in the north, and they can also be called support for Nanjing." Shi Kefa said, "Lord Wu and others are loyal, if I have more loyal ministers like this, and less traitorous ministers like Zhao Dangshi, why worry about the thief atmosphere!" ”

Lu Daqi responded: "Although Wu Sangui is loyal and brave, he is too far apart. But you can send people to go quickly and calm their hearts. Nowadays, the left and the side are moving, and the West has become an urgent need. ”

Shi Kefa nodded: "Exactly." It is not clear what the situation between Lord Huguang He and King Gui is, but the top priority is to quickly block the left and side armies. These two armies totaling tens of thousands, going down the river, if they sit back and wait to be killed, they are afraid that they will arrive in the near future. ”

Lu Daqi pondered for a moment and said: "Zhao Dangshi disregarded the law of the country, occupied Chu and Sichuan with his troops, and even won the vassals of the military leaders in various places with clever words. If you want to say that you are loyal and still on my side in Nanjing, not to mention the Nanjing Jiangfang and other departments, there are still Fengyang Ma Yaocao, Huaiyang Road Jianbai, Zhejiang Wang Zhiren, Huang Binqing, Weng Zhiqi, Guazhou Zhang Tianlu brothers, Anlu Zhang Bohua and Jiangxi Kuangshuhou, etc., really counted, no less than him Zhao Dangshi. ”

Shi Kefa said: "Ma Yaocao sent a letter last night, saying that he had sent Liu Liangzuo, the chief soldier of Xu Su, to lead troops to intercept the left and the side. Liu Liangzuo is a general in Huaibei, and with his shot, plus the Zhang Tianlu brothers in Guazhou and the Nanjing Jiangfang and other departments, the troops are much more than those of the left and the side, and it is not a problem to protect Nanjing. ”

Lu Daqi said solemnly: "What Shi Sima said is that these people can protect Nanjing, and everything can be guaranteed. But people need to have foresight, I am thinking, if either Li Thief or Zhao Rebellion attack Nanjing with all their might, these soldiers and horses are not enough. ”

Shi Kefa said: "There is Wu Sangui in the north, they are dragging Li Chuang, the Guan Liao army is strong and strong, and Li Chuang can't get out for a while. We can negotiate with Wu Sangui and others in the future, so that he can slowly negotiate with Li Chuang, preserve his strength and contain it, and don't fight a decisive battle because he is in a hurry to restore Beijing. As for Zhao Dangshi......"

Lu Daqi concluded: "Zhao Dangshi is ambitious, in order to swallow Jin and Shaanxi, it is reported that he is currently fighting fiercely with Li Chuang in various places. If the two tigers fight each other, one will be injured, and if Li Chuang does not destroy Zhao Dangshi, he will never be able to go south with all his strength. In the same way, if Zhao Dangshi didn't defeat Li Chuang, why did he march into Nanjing in a big way? We must take advantage of this opportunity to turn the passive and the proactive. ”

"How do you say that you turn passive into active?" The eyes of all the ministers sitting here gathered to Lu Daqi.

Lu Daqi said: "Although Nanjing is not heavily guarded than the north, it is not easy to take it with only the left and square armies. Zhao Dangshi has experienced a hundred battles, and he will not understand this truth. But he still did it, thinking that he had the heart of despise Nanjing, and because there were no extra soldiers to send. To deal with Li Zicheng, we have Wu Sangui to contain him for the time being, but to deal with Zhao Dangshi, we don't have another Wu Sangui, and the best policy is to attack as the defender. ”

"Offense as defense?"

"Yes. Li Chuang's strength is well known to everyone. No matter how strong Zhao Dangshi is, between Dingtian and Li Chuangbozhong, the situation between Shaanxi and Jin is unclear, and he must stake all his wealth to have a chance to win. In this case, how can he have the spare strength to take care of the southeast? He set up the emperor, and sent the left and side armies to come with great fanfare, thinking that we would wait for the wind to surrender, and the soldiers could take Nanjing without blood, which was his miscalculation. We just happened to plan and thwart his attempt first, and then turn the defense into the offensive and counterattack into Huguang, why not? ”

Shi Kefa couldn't help but hesitate in the face of the impassioned Lu Daqi, and said: "Lu Gong's words are reasonable......

Lu Daqi grabbed Bai and said: "Huguang is empty, and what adults can do for it, it is not difficult to take it!" ”

"However, for example, Ma Yaocao in Fengyang, who is mainly responsible for preventing the north, can send Liu Liangzuo to intercept the river, if Liu Liangzuo is allowed to stay away from the places and go deep into Huguang, I am afraid that there is a risk of taking care of one or the other." Shi Kefa muttered, "The same is true in Nanjing and other places, the military towns in the vicinity have their own defensive positions, and the enemy is coming, of course it is the duty to fight the thieves together, but if the light army rushes forward and causes the southeast to be empty, once something happens, the gains outweigh the losses." ”

Zuo Maodi said: "What Sima said is very true. Huguang is the old capital of Zhao Dangshi, the world is in turmoil, we must wait for Nanjing to be strictly guarded, and we must not lose the big because of the small. He also said, "The newspaper was cut off, folk rumors abounded, and there were great earthquakes at home and abroad, such as Nanjing, where there were outlaws who took advantage of the situation, which was very turbulent and difficult to calm down." ”

Since April, news of the Shun army's capture of Beijing and its sweep across the north has spread to the southeast, and there are many exaggerated claims based on false rumors. However, it was difficult for the people to distinguish the true from the false, and many poor people, tenants, and slaves were inspired and instigated to revolt, burn, kill, loot, and suppress endlessly. Zuo Maodi's work for most of the month has been maintaining stability, and he naturally opposes rushing out of the nest and making rash progress.

Lu Daqi sighed and said: "It's a great opportunity, it's a pity to sit idly by!" ”

Shi Kefa shook his head and said: "Those who serve the country are the first to stabilize the word, even if I tighten my belt in Nanjing and squeeze out my troops, I can only squeeze out 10,000 or 20,000 at most." At this point, isn't it a sheep in the mouth of a tiger? ”

When everyone heard this, some of them regretted the opportunity that Lu Daqi said, and some of them were worried about what Shi Kefa said.

Suddenly, Zhang Shenyan's loud voice overshadowed everyone: "How did you forget, I also have a Wu Sangui in Nanjing!" As he spoke, he raised his eyes and looked at Liu Kongzhi, who was sitting on the side and had not spoken, "Have you forgotten your sincerity?" ”

Liu Kongzhi was in a trance, and was suddenly clicked, but he didn't react. However, Shi Kefa and the others were astute, and immediately thought of the "Wu Sangui" in Zhang Shenyan's mouth, and they all nodded with their palms and said: "If you can invite this person, there is really some hope for counterattacking Huguang!" ”