While Dordor was struggling with the barbed wire, his brother Dorgon was also struggling with the attack on Pingyang (present-day Linfen). Since the dispatch of the army, Dolgon has been fighting all the way, and it seems that he has once again returned to the state of being invincible and invincible. The Ming troops along the road (such as Jiang Huang in Datong) either hid in the city and did not come out, sitting back and watching the Qing army plunder; Or they didn't even dare to defend the city, and went out of the city directly with the army, saying that they were going to meet Jianxuan, but they didn't know where to run when they left the city. In short, Dolgon and the others were in a no-man's land. The only problem is that the same generation has come more often, and now there are far fewer things that can be grabbed in these places. In the past, when the customs were broken, there were a lot of people and property to plunder in any village. Today, most of the villages are in ruins. Occasionally, some villages remain, and these villages are generally poor villages far from the main road and close to the mountains, the population of the village is very small, and because Datong has been invaded many times, most of the villagers are also very vigilant, and when they find that something is wrong, they often take what little belongings they don't have, and hide in the mountains. Obviously, Dolgon's people have no choice, and they don't have the time to play peek-a-boo in the deep mountains and old forests. So although the military was quite smooth, the gains were quite limited.

Dorgon then turned his attacks to smaller county towns. The Qing army traveled thousands of miles all the way, and naturally it was impossible to carry siege artillery. So some of the big fortified cities, Dolgon, they wouldn't fight. For example, Datong, guarded by Jiang Huang, even if it can be defeated, most of it will be a heavy loss, and the gains outweigh the losses. But some county towns are different, the walls are not very high, the defenders are mostly waste, and the number is often small. Generally speaking, as long as you carry a few ladders, the warriors of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty can take a county seat with just one charge. It's just that these county seats, in the past two years, are not the first time they have been looted. I Daqing, as well as Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, and all kinds of famous, not famous rogues, as well as my Ming officials and soldiers, have been looted here more than once, as a result, although these counties have also grabbed some things, but the income is still limited, compared with the previous few times, it is still a lot worse.

Naturally, Dorgon was not satisfied with this situation. And the Mongols who followed them into the customs also felt that they had grabbed too little. Naturally, Dorgon knew that in order to grab something, he would need to continue south. So he led the army south and approached Shuozhou.

Dolgon was busy with robbery, which allowed Wu Sangui to know the news of the Qing army's entry into the army quite a time in advance. At this time, his artillery was already in place, but the attack on Tongguan was still not smooth. The city of Tongguan was strong, and after many days of shelling, only one or two gaps were opened, but they were quickly refilled by the Shun army. However, Wu Sangui also felt that the morale and combat effectiveness of the Shun army had declined. He felt that if he persisted for a few more days, he should be able to win Tongguan. However, Dolgon was still far away, and Wu Sangui felt that it would be better to take Tongguan first, and then rely on Tongguan to protect himself.

But just when Wu Sangui was about to launch a general attack on Tongguan, the Tongguan guards of the Shun army sent people to contact Wu Sangui, saying that if Wu Sangui could give them a way out, they would be willing to surrender the city.

Wu Sangui listened, but he was very suspicious, and he was very worried that this was a delaying tactic by the Shun army. But he still sent personnel to contact Tian Jianxiu, the guard of Tongguan. When the envoy returned, he said that many of the generals he had seen were hungry. Wu Sangui believed Tian Jianxiu for wanting to surrender. But Wu Sangui did not relax because of this, but stepped up his attack.

Another day later, Wu Sangui received a message from the Zheng family, saying that Zheng Sen had led an army of 20,000 to the city of Xiangyang a few days earlier, and had won the field battle with the Shun army. Now that the Shun army has retreated into Xiangyang, Zheng Sen's army is preparing to attack the city.

"It seems that Li Chuang's situation is not good, no wonder Tian Jianxiu has a mind." Wu Sangui thought that Wu Sangui did not doubt the news that Zheng Sen had defeated Li Zicheng's army in a field battle outside Xiangyang City. After conducting some cooperative exercises with the Model Army, he was very confident in the Field Combat Ability of the Model Army. Wu Sangui even said to his younger brother in private: "The Zheng family army is well-equipped and well-trained, and today, including Jianxuan, there is no army that can match it, and even those strong armies in ancient legends have no rivalry." It can really be said that it is unprecedented, unparalleled. It's just that it costs too much, and the requirements for grain and straw are too high. It's just that their Zheng family can afford to raise such soldiers, and if we change them, they can't afford to starve to death. However, King Anping's family has opened up territory, and now they have built their own system, and I heard that all this was made by the prince of Anping. Sanfu, I think, this world is not only a talent of a famous general, but also a talent of a prime minister! ”

"I don't know if the prince has anything else to explain to Wu?" Wu Sangui asked the messenger with a grin.

"The things that the prince wants to tell the general are all in the letters." The messenger replied politely.

Wu Sangui sent the messenger away, and summoned all his generals to study the current situation together.

"In the letter of the prince, it was mentioned again that Jianzhi was enrolled." Wu Sangui said, "Now that the prince is in Xiangyang for a decisive battle with Li Zicheng, he can't take out the troops to resist Jiancheng for a while. The prince was worried that Jianshen and Liukou would attack our army, so he hoped that our army could solve the enemy at Tongguan as soon as possible, and then move north to defend Fenglingdu to prevent Jianxuan from crossing the river. And agreed to write to the imperial court to provide us with more military salaries. When it comes to poisoning places and harming the people, the worries of the prince are overflowing with words. Now Tian Jianxiu also sent people to surrender. I think Tian Jianxiu's meaning should be true. Therefore, Ben Shuai wanted to accept his surrender, and then transferred his troops to the north, and went to Linfen to block Jianshen before Jianxi. Do you think it's feasible for us to do that? ”

The generals below began to talk one after another, and one said, "Big handsome." Tian Jianxiu is Li Chuang's descendant, and he is quite cunning, but he is afraid that he will not be credible. Besides, even if our army takes Tongguan, our army will be extremely tired from fighting continuously along the way, and where will we have the spare strength to go north to resist Jianxuan? I'm afraid that the marshal just thinks of us as a model army, right? ”

Wu Sangui looked over, but saw that it was his deputy general Xia Dengshi. Then he asked, "Then we will sit back and watch the Jianzhi take captivity?" ”

"Dashuai, it's not like we're sitting idly by, it's really more than enough and not enough. Marshal, during this period of time, the military salaries and materials given to us by the imperial court are very sufficient, the military equipment is of high quality, and the strength of our army has increased considerably. Compared with the rogue, our army can do it even if it can't use one as ten, one as three, or even one as five. But can it be the same for the Eight Banners? Moreover, the prince of Anping only hoped that our army could hold Fenglingdu and prevent the enemy from crossing the river. Xia Dengshi replied.

The other generals below also expressed their support. Wu Sangui secretly shook his head in his heart, looked around, but saw the chief soldier He Jinzhong. He Jinzhong is a descendant of Wu Sangui, who is brave in battle and is favored by Wu Sangui. Wu Sangui saw that everyone was talking, but He Jinzhong didn't speak, so he asked, "General He, I don't know what you think." ”

He Jinzhong said: "The matter here is too complicated, I can't figure it out." But the big handsome said how to fight, I have nothing to say! ”

Wu Sangui nodded and said, "Do you know what is the difference between our Guan Ningjun and Zu Shuai now?" ”

Everyone shook their heads. Wu Sangui said: "If you want to talk about the difference, this difference is the sea." First of all, at that time of Zu Shuai, Liaodong was in our hands, and the areas of Jinzhou and Ningyuan, with thousands of hectares of fertile land, were all the industries of our Guanning Army. The people who work on those farmlands are all military households of our Guanning Army. It is with such a foundation that at that time, everyone had a good life. To be honest, even if we don't have the military salary of the imperial court, as long as we don't fight, we can live a good life. And if one day, if something changes in the world, this land may not be our Guanzhong Hebei. But nowadays...... Now there is only a little more land in Shanhaiguan? And these fields are much worse than those in Jinzhou. Now we, the Guan Ning Army, are no longer able to support ourselves. Not to mention other ideas. ”

Speaking of this, Wu Sangui paused and said, "Do you know who we are fighting against now?" ”

"Naturally, we are fighting for the imperial court." Xia Deng Shi replied.

Wu Sangui shook his head.

He Jinzhong spoke: "Our Guan Ning Army is naturally fighting for ourselves. ”

Wu Sangui nodded and said, "I love to hear this." We, the Guanning Army, are naturally fighting for ourselves, for the wealth of our own children and grandchildren. Where does the wealth we want come from today? ”

Without waiting for everyone to answer, Wu Sangui continued: "At that time of Zu Shuai, our Guanning Army was between the imperial court and Jianxuan. The court did not dare not give us wealth and nobility. But now, do you think there is any difference between today's court and the court at the time of Zu Shuai? ”

Everyone was silent.

"Today's imperial court ......," Wu Sangui shook his head and said, "Compared to the time of the first emperor, today's imperial court is a bit like ...... In short, today's imperial court wants money and money, and the army and army. How long do you think this troubled world will last? Where else can the wealth we wait for come from? ”

"This ......" everyone thought for a while, and finally the deputy general Yang Shen said, "Marshal, the last general thinks that the wealth of our Guanning Army can only come from the current imperial court." ”

"So whose court is this court today?" Wu Sangui asked again.