For this southern expedition, Dolgon has been stepping up preparations, from the news that Li Zicheng broke through the Juyong Pass, he began to transfer two-thirds of the Manchuria and Mongolian Eight Banners, and almost all of the Han Army's Banner Sanshun Wang, Xu Shungong and other infantry cavalry were concentrated in Shengjing and its vicinity. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

On the morning of the ninth day of the first month of March, the regent and the prince of Shuorui, Dolgon, led the prince of Dorayu, Duoduo, the prince of Dorowuying, Azig, as well as the Han army Sanshun Wang, Xushun Gong, the Manchurian nobles Beile and Beizi, as well as several Gushan Ezhen, Meler Zhangjing and other generals of the Eight Banners, played music and saluted in the hall, which was very solemn, just because the army was ready to go, eliminating the shaman and jumping gods. In the expedition team, there is also a special person, as a hostage of the Korean faction in the Qing Dynasty, the prince of Joseon. His march south with his army not only showed that Dorgon was sure of the victory of this army, but also made it possible for the 10,000 soldiers and horses recruited from Korea to work harder.

After bowing in the hall, they bowed to heaven in the square outside the hall.

After that, Dolgon gave an order, fired three cannons, and the sound shook the earth, and the Qing infantry cavalry waiting in the city and in the suburbs set off together.

This was the largest number of Manchurian troops marching into the Great Wall in more than a decade, and the sequence of marches and the route into the Great Wall were planned. The regent walked in the middle of the army with a group of courtiers, the princes of Joseon and the courtiers around them, and carried the most baggage. This is the "base camp" of the Qing army in the southern expedition, not only the actions of the troops are ordered from here, but in order not to lose power because of leaving Shengjing, the daily reports sent by the Shengjing court must also be approved by the regent before they can be handed over to the remaining Prince Li Daishan and others to carry out.

Walking in front of and behind the "base camp" are the three flags (the three flags are now the yellow flag, the yellow flag and the white flag. The men and horses, not only because Shangsanqi was the most elite in the Qing army, but more importantly, Shangsanqi was a force directly controlled by the Qing Emperor since the time of Huang Taiji, like the emperor's "Imperial Forest Army", which invisibly has a higher status than the other five banners, and now it is naturally under the direct control of the regent.

Since Shanhaiguan could not be passed, according to the original plan, the army left Shengjing and went due west, and then to the southwest, from Jizhou and Miyun to find one or two openings to enter the Great Wall, occupy a city and garrison troops, take a short rest, and then plan to attack Beijing.

Although the temperature in Liaodong is lower than that in Guannai, it is now in the middle of March, and the grass and trees in the field have been a little impatient to sprout, and the hills and hills near and far can already be seen everywhere tender green, a piece of vitality.

The Eight Banners of Manchuria, the Eight Banners of Mongolia, the Eight Banners of the Han Army, the soldiers and horses of each banner, according to the formation sequence, the team is neat, the infantry and horses are separated, although the color of the flag is different, but it is customary to wear plain white clothes, reflecting the turquoise hills and fields, which is particularly conspicuous. During the march, there was neither the sound of trumpets and drums, nor the sound of conch nails, nor the sound of talking, but the sound of hurried footsteps and horses' hooves, and occasionally the sound of war horses in the wilderness, echoed each other.

Dolgon sometimes rode a horse, sometimes in a sedan chair. In order to reduce fatigue and read documents on the road, I often take a sedan car. Since he was already the regent, he did not have the name of the emperor but the fact that he was the emperor, so he rode in a yellow sedan chair carried by four people, with a yellow umbrella in front of him. In addition, there is a large yellow sedan chair carried by 16 people, divided into multiple bundles, and carried by camels. A large felt tent, covered with yellow satin, is called a tent hall, and is also carried by camels. These yellow palanquins, sedan chairs, yellow umbrellas, and yellow tents were all ordered by the officials in charge to take out the old belongings of Emperor Taizong Huang Taiji from the royal treasury after he was officially proclaimed regent for his southern expedition. Before and after his yellow sedan chair, in addition to the coats of a few attendants, the most majestic thing was the three hundred specially selected Baya soldiers, all of whom wore Baturukan shoulders, rode snow-white high-headed horses, and guarded the front and back of the sedan chair with sophisticated equipment.

Messengers and officers constantly sent the military information from the front of the Guannai and the recital sent by Sheng Jing to the core of power in action in the Eight Banners.

The eyes of Shanxi merchants everywhere focused their main attention on the direction of Shanhaiguan, "Is there a movement of Wu Sangui's sailors to carry soldiers and horses to the sea?!" "On the Yongping front, how is the battle between Wu Sangui and Li Zicheng's soldiers and horses?!" These were all of Dorgon's concerns.

Walking all the way from Shengjing to Guannei, before the army arrived in Jinzhou, there was a series of urgent military information from the Tanma and Xizuo in front.

"Li Zicheng's army went out of Beijing and went east to fight Wu Sangui!"

"Li Zicheng sent an envoy Gao Yigong to negotiate with Nanban in Tianjin, and it is rumored that he is willing to admit a series of previous loans!"

"Li Huayu sent an envoy to Beijing to congratulate Li Zicheng!"

"Wu Sangui defeated Yutian!"

"Tang Tong was counterattacked by Wu Sangui's soldiers and horses, and he was killed in an ambush!"

A series of news presented a complicated military situation in front of Dolgon.

Nanban, it seems that he has temporarily hooked up with Da Shun for the time being. It was because of this that Wu Sangui's soldiers and horses, who were originally rushing all the way to the west, began to be a little depressed like a deflated ball. A group of Ming troops led by Tang Tong who surrendered to Dashun were defeated in Yutian for a while and lost Yutian County.

Dorgon rubbed his forehead, which had a headache, and got up and walked out of the tent, letting the wind in the early spring wilderness calm his mind and clear his mind.

At this time, the campfires dotted in the camp of the Eight Banners were scattered, the lights were dotted, and the marching camp that stretched for hundreds of miles was like a long fire dragon.

"Lord Regent, Prince Yu has an urgent military situation delivered!"

Dolgon had just taken a few breaths of fresh air mixed with the smell of burning firewood, and the henchman next to him knelt down to present a new military situation.

"What's the matter?!" Dolgon did not know many Chinese characters, and he also had two knives for Manchu, which abounded among the Manchurian nobles and the upper echelons of the Eight Banners. Therefore, in the Eight Banners official system, there is a so-called pen-post position, which is the work of reading and writing documents and letters.

"Lord Yu, Li Zicheng led the army out of Deshengmen and came in the direction of Yongping and Shanhaiguan!"

"How many soldiers and horses are there?"

"It's not easy to calculate in a hurry, the striker has passed through Tongzhou and arrived at Sanhe, and the guard has not yet left the capital! There are more than 100,000 soldiers and horses! The artillery baggage is innumerable! ”

"With those generals?"

"The vanguard is Luo Hu of the Zhenshan Battalion, the general of the army is still Liu Zongmin, the leader of the bandits, and Li Zicheng leads Li Guo, Li Yan, Zhang Nai, Liu Fangliang and others to carry the two princes of Qin and Jin in the Chinese army. Legend has it that Wu Xiang, the crown prince of Chongzhen and Wu Sangui's father, was also in the army! ”

This battle is not easy to fight!

Dolgon's forehead, which had been slightly soothed just a moment earlier, was now painful again. He originally planned to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, and suddenly plunged into the battlefield when the Dashun army and the Guanning army were fighting, so that the Qing soldiers and horses would become the weight that decided the victory or defeat on the battlefield. For the Qing Dynasty to gain a foothold in the customs.

However, now that Li Zicheng's pro-unified army is coming, he must also be the best of the best. When and from which position should the Qing soldiers and horses enter the battlefield is a serious problem.

"Go, see if Mr. Hong and Mr. Fan are asleep, if not, please come to this king!"

After a short time, Hong Fan and the others arrived in a hurry, and Dolgon did not say much, but only gave the two of them a report on the latest military information played by Dordor.

"You say, what is the purpose of Li Zicheng leading the army here? Did you find out about the movements of my Qing Dynasty soldiers and horses? So the Crusade? ”

Fan Wencheng did not know as much about Li Zicheng's situation and style of acting as Hong Chengchou, so Dolgon set his sights on Hong Chengchou.

Hong Chengchou hurriedly said: "Li Zicheng attacked Beijing, he didn't want to use Beijing as the capital, he just wanted to eliminate Emperor Chongzhen in Beijing, spread the word to the Quartet, and inform the world that the dynasty had changed." After that, he changed Beijing to Youzhou, and he returned to Xi'an. However, because the two places near Beijing have never been pacified, one is Tianjin, where the Southern Barbarian merchants are entrenched, and the other is the Shanhaiwei guarded by Wu Sangui, who resolutely refused to surrender, so his grand plan was always a mirror and could not be held. At first, he planned to send the general Tang Tong to Shanhaiguan to recruit Wu Sangui, but as a result, Nanban made the first move and funded Wu Sangui with military salaries and ordnance, which made Wu Sangui's waist strength a lot harder. With a large number of grain and grass in hand from the Nanban merchants, he naturally refused to surrender, but instead of surrendering, he went out of Shanhaiguan to destroy and annex most of the former Ming soldiers and horses who surrendered to Li Zicheng, and Tang Tong, who surrendered, fled back alone. In fact, from the minister's point of view, although Wu Sangui is strong and strong in front of him, his momentum is like a tiger, but he is just a pioneer and a chestnut for others! The stronger his soldiers and horses, the larger the place he occupies, and his firm refusal to surrender, Li Zicheng had to fight him. If Wu Sangui is not defeated, Li Zicheng is worried that he will be united with the Nanban merchants in Tianjin, Li Huayu in Shandong and other troops, and when his squad returns to Shaanxi, he will either chase and kill him, or set up a new monarch as an enemy after recovering Beijing. The second is afraid that Wu Sangui will surrender to our dynasty and seduce us to march into the army. Third, Li Zicheng came into contact with the forces of Liang Guogong and his faction in the south, and he was bound to appease. The two sides bargained, and Wu Sangui was a bargaining chip for the Nanyue Army. If they could not meet the demands of the Nanyue army, Li Huayu and Liang Guogong would inevitably support Wu Sangui with food and ordnance, stirring up the storm behind Li Zicheng's flank. Who is inferior to me in the wisdom of men? Therefore, Li Zicheng is bound to make up his mind and personally lead his troops to the east. In order to remove this stinger from the back of his own side, and increase the weight of his words when negotiating. ”

Dolgon hurriedly asked, "Mr. Hong, do you say, will Wu Sangui surrender to our court?" ”

After thinking about it carefully, Hong Chengchou replied very cautiously: "As long as the regent seizes the opportunity and uses it properly, Wu Sangui can hope to surrender to our dynasty." ”

"But after the Battle of Songshan two years ago, Jinzhou Zu Dashou also surrendered, and our court tried every means to persuade Wu Sangui to surrender, and even the first emperor also wrote twice to persuade him to surrender, but he ignored it and was indifferent. Now he still has tens of thousands of elite soldiers in his hands, willing to surrender to my court? ”

"As the saying goes, one time is the next, and the other is the other. At that time, the Ming Dynasty was not dead, and Chongzhen was not dead. Wu Sangui's father and son were both border guards in the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty also tried its best to supply food and salary, and Wu Sangui had strong reinforcements outside, and Liang Guogong was able to hold the front line of Guanning, food and ordnance were a steady supply. Therefore, Wu Sangui was able to wantonly annex dissidents and expand his strength. If you are loyal to the Ming Dynasty, the profit is far greater than that of submitting to our dynasty. Therefore, he was loyal to the Ming Dynasty and refused to submit to our dynasty. Now that the Ming Dynasty has died, Chongyu also hanged himself. Wu Sangui was trapped in a lonely city, with no reinforcements or food to help, and the troops were not as strong as the thieves. The minister thought that our dynasty had always wanted to enter the Central Plains for more than ten years and rebuild the prosperous situation of the Dajin Dynasty, but because Shanhaiguan was not in my hands, it cut off the way for our army to enter and exit. We should take advantage of this opportunity to force Wu Sangui to surrender to our dynasty and sacrifice Shanhaiguan. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and there is no need to hesitate. ”

Dolgon also had the same idea, but he did not show that he had considered a mature decision for the time being, but looked around the tent hall, forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart, and asked Fan Wencheng and Hong Chengchou: "How can we make Wu Sangui desperate and have to return to my Qing Dynasty, what is the opinion of the two gentlemen?" ”

Fan Wencheng said: "Master Hong is better than my ideas, please ask him to give him his new ideas. ”

The regent looked at Hong Chengchou and asked, "My Qing soldiers no longer go to Jizhou and Miyun to enter the Great Wall?" ”

Hong Chengchou replied: "Now that Li Zicheng has invaded the mountains and seas, our army should turn around and head south, advance lightly, and go straight to the mountains and seas. It turned out that we didn't know that Li Zicheng had pulled out the stinger of Wu Sangui and went east, and the minister only thought about how to enter the Great Wall in the first step; The second step is to occupy a strong city between Shanhai and Beijing; The third step is to defeat the thieves and occupy Beijing; The fourth step is to recruit Wu Sangui and force him to sacrifice Shanhaiguan and open up the avenue inside and outside the customs. Now that the military situation has changed, in the opinion of the minister, he asked the regent to move the originally planned moves into one step. In other words, Wu Sangui will be recruited, Shanhaiguan will be opened, Li Zicheng will be defeated, and he will move in one move. The prince is wise, and when he encounters this unexpected opportunity, why bother to take the difficult and dangerous roads in Jizhou and Miyun as in previous years, fight a strong enemy for Wu Sanzhi alone, and keep him to sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight? ”

Dolgon slapped his palms unconsciously, and blurted out, "Okay, you said it to my heart!" But he immediately asked: "If Wu Sangui is still loyal to the Ming Dynasty and refuses to surrender, won't our army be blocked from Shanhaiguan?" ”

Hong Chengchou already knew what to expect, and immediately replied; In Yichen's view, Wu Sangui was not a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, but only bargained with our dynasty in the name of loyalty to the Ming Dynasty. If the regent handles it properly at this time, so that Wu Sangui can sacrifice Shanhaiguan and surrender to our court, it will not take too much lip service. ”

"How do you know that he doesn't really have the heart to be a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty?"

"When the thieves crossed Datong and marched eastward, Chongzhen ordered Wu Sangui to go to Beijing to work, and Wang Yongji, the governor of Jiliao, also went to Ningyuan to urge. Chongzhen not only ordered Wu Sangui to go to King Qin, but also ordered him not to abandon the people of Ningyuan, which was a big mistake by Chongzhen. But at that time, Wu Sangui had 70,000 or 80,000 elite soldiers under his command, and he could divide 20,000 people to escort the people, and he personally led 50,000 people to gallop into the pass, and then drew 3,000 elite soldiers from the mountain and sea garrisons, and galloped to Beijing to defend the city instead of the eunuchs and citizens. If this can be done, first, Beijing must not lose, and second, the morale of the Ming army guarding Juyongguan and Changping will be boosted, and they will not switch to welcome thieves. Therefore, in the name of protecting the people of Ningyuan, Wu Sangui refused to go to the dangerous city quickly, and from the perspective of saving his father, can he be regarded as a loyal minister? ”

Dolgon nodded slightly, "Well said. Go on! ”

Hong Chengchou continued: "If Wu Sangui is really a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, when he knows that Chongzhen was martyred, he should immediately send three armies to mourn for Chongzhen, swear to fight for thieves, and on the other hand, call on righteous teachers from all over the country to join Yanjing City, without hesitation." However, Wu Sangui did not cry and mourn for Chongzhen, and did not call on the world to beg for thieves. It wasn't until the Nanban merchants sent grain and grass and military salaries that they ordered the whole army to wear filial piety! It can be seen that he has been indecisive, the first rat at both ends, his selfish desire to preserve his strength is true, and the empty talk about restoring the Ming Dynasty is false. The minister suggested that the prince take advantage of this opportunity to quickly march to Shanhaiguan and force Wu Sangui to surrender to me and sacrifice Shanhai City. If I don't force Wu Sangui to surrender quickly, once Shanhai City is captured by the thieves or Wu Sangui surrenders to the thieves, Li Zicheng will leave a small number of men and horses to defend the mountains and seas, and the army will quickly return to Beijing, and the purpose of our army's march this time will be frustrated. ”

Dolgon was shocked and asked, "Can Wu Sangui surrender to Li Zicheng?" ”

Hong Chengchou raised the urgent military report sent by Duoduo in his hand and replied: "This military newspaper said that when Li Zicheng led his troops from Beijing to Shanhaiwei to crusade against Wu Sangui, he took Chongzhen's crown princes, King Qin and King Jin, with him, and Wu Xiang with him, which shows that he prepared both civil and military hands for Wu Sangui. Therefore, if Wu Sangui knew that his troops were invincible after a battle, and then after the edict of the crown prince and the persuasion of his father Wu Xiang, it was not impossible to surrender Li Zicheng. Therefore, my army must be quick to rescue Wu Sangui, and it will be too late to enter the Great Wall from Jizhou and Miyun as originally planned. ”

Dolgon thought for a moment, and then asked, "The thief Li Zicheng led an army from Beijing to attack Wu Sangui, can he capture Shanhai City?" ”

Hong Chengchou thought for a moment and replied: "Wu Sangui can resist Li Zicheng for three to five days, and it is difficult to say in the future." ”

Dolgon was a little surprised and asked, "Why can Wu Sangui only resist for three to five days?" ”

Hong Chengchou said: "Li Zicheng must have been worried that Wu Sangui would borrow troops from our court, so he personally led the army to the east in a hurry. Although Beijing is only more than 700 miles away from Shanhaiwei, because none of the prefectures and counties near Beijing have really surrendered to the bandits, and Li Zicheng has no follow-up troops, it is not only a lone expedition, but also an expedition with a hanging army......"

"What did you say?"

According to the art of war of the ancients, the minister said that Li Zicheng was on an expedition this time. His men and horses are like hanging in the air, unable to reach the sky or the ground, and must win a battle, and defeat is out of control. For this reason, he will drive the soldiers to fight to the death, and he will not hesitate to sacrifice heavily, so that Wu Sangui is powerless to resist. ”

"Is it easy for Li Thief to break through Shanhai City from the Guannei?"

"It's easier."

"Why?"

"Before leaving the customs, the minister had garrisoned Shanhaiwei for many days, so he was more clear about the geographical situation of Shanhaiwei. During the Hongwu period, Xu Da led the Ming army to the north, drove the Mongol soldiers out of the Great Wall, and began to build Shanhai City. For generations, the north and south have been bounded by the Great Wall. The so-called Shanhaiguan refers to the east gate of Shanhai City, so the east gate of Shanhai City is very strong and majestic. There was another urn city outside the gate. Although the city was small, its walls were as high and thick as the main city. The gate is to the east, and the gate of the urn city is to the southeast, so the enemy who attacked the fortified could not shoot at the Zhongshan Customs Gate even if he used the red-clothed cannon. In addition to the urn city, another Dongluo city was built, which could be stationed. The system of the Ming Dynasty's guards, so for nearly three hundred years, there was no county here, called Shanhaiwei, and it was customary to only call Shanhai. The west city wall of Shanhaiwei is not important in Xu Da's eyes, but it was built in a hurry, the city wall is low and thin, and the city tower is relatively simple. Later generations added and repaired the city of Xiluo, only thinking about preparing for it and not using it, and did it hastily. If Wu Sangui fights a decisive battle with the thieves, he will be on both sides of the Stone River and on the Stone River Beach. Once defeated, the thieves will take the opportunity to chase after them, and they will enter Xiluo City with the defeated army of Guanning. Li Zicheng's army entered Xiluo City, and the Guan Ning soldiers were frightened, and it was not difficult to break through the acropolis. In the humble opinion of the minister, please ask the regent to quickly send a decree to Shengjing, transfer the artillery of Wuzhenchao Ha Battalion to come, and prepare to go to Shanhaiguan to fight a decisive battle with Li Zicheng's troops! At the same time, our Eight Banners turned south from here, day and night, and went straight to Shanhaiguan, which is really the best policy. Please consider it! ”

Dorgon slapped his knee hard and said happily, "Well, do as you say!" (To be continued.) )