In mid-April, a group of cavalry surrounded several four-wheeled carriages galloped towards Datong, Li Yu reclined in one of the cars, looking through the window of the car to look at the field of seedlings - after retreating from Changping, he has been sitting in Juyong Pass, where is the east gate of Datong, and it is also a knife on the neck of the Shun army, but Li Zicheng seems to have little confidence in attacking Juyong Pass, and retracted back to Changping after the sneak attack on the two failed, but instead sent a letter to buy a war horse, Li Yu wanted to coerce him to transfer the main force to the side wall, and at the same time handed over the Western books of the historical bureau, when the two sides were arguing, The four towns of the Datong army have been assembled, controlling the line from the south pass of Juyong Pass to the Badaling line of the north pass, and the first town of riding retreats to Zhangjiakou Fort to assemble, taking into account the two directions of inside and outside the pass, and the second town of the artillery is also opened to Huailai to do the response, the Xuanfu defense line is basically formed, and the Shun army also began to move to Shanhaiguan after buying a batch of war horses, Li Yu breathed a sigh of relief, and hurried to Xuanhua after receiving Zhang Shi'an's letter, and the command of the former enemy was handed over to Bai Xianzhi.

Zhang Zhiyao went to Taiyuan to replace Li Huai as the political envoy of Shanxi, Xue Zongzhou is now the secretary of the presidential palace, sitting opposite reading the latest military newspapers: Shengjing Titang Silai Bao, the Qing court suddenly infighting, Prince Su Haoge was cut to house arrest for the crime of rebellion, Dolgon accused Datong of instigating Haoge civil strife, and issued an edict to the Eight Banners and the Mongolian foreign domain to send troops to crusade against Datong; Shandong Xingtai commander Wang Fang, Admiral Sun Fuhu to report, Shun Junquan general Guo Sheng invaded Shandong, hungry people, bandits rushed to take refuge, along the way all the prefectures and counties fell, Jinan lonely city is difficult to protect, another report, the former university scholar Xie Cheng and Lu Shiyu, Zhao Jiding and other township officials, gentry launched the Dezhou Change, booby-trapped the thieves and puppet officials, and elected the clan as the leader of the alliance, mourning for the Chongzhen Emperor, playing the banner of "capturing the thief and restoring his sight" to raise troops to fight the thief, and seize the Dongguang, Gucheng, Jingzhou, Wuyi and other prefectures and counties of Hejian Mansion; Sichuan General Qin Yiming, assistant military affairs Ma Xianglin from Baoning sent a letter for help, the thief Sun Kewang rampantly invaded the west, defeated the general Zeng Ying, captured Futu Pass, defeated the general Qin Liangyu, captured Luzhou, Chongqing is in danger, Baoning, Suiding started Tuntian, the two are short of salaries and are unable to rescue, please send troops into Sichuan to suppress the thieves as soon as possible......

"What's going on in Nanjing?" Li Yu asked softly.

"It seems that Shi Kefa, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, can't control the situation, and the ministers of Nanjing have no action except for closed-door discussions." Xue Zongzhou flipped through the spy report of the Tang Division and replied.

"A bunch of rubbish!" Li Yu continued to look out the window, and after a while, he asked, "How is the situation in Datong?" ”

"Yu Yinggui, the governor of the three sides, Long Wenguang, the governor of Sichuan, Zeng Hualong, the governor of Denglai, and Song Yihe, the ruler of Huguang, all went to the tomb of Zhaojun. Xue Zongzhou replied angrily, Li Yu didn't say anything, closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.

The Flying Tiger Battalion galloped into a mountain col in the north of Datong City, which was the training camp of the Titang Division, and the sentry saw the familiar Flying Tiger Flag, hurriedly moved the barricades, and stood on the side of the road with fists and chests to salute. The convoy stopped in front of a compound, Li Yu got out of the car and clapped his hands, and You Shiwei and Xiao Dingwang also got out of their respective carriages one after another.

Zhang Shi'an was already waiting at the door, and leaned over to Li Yu's side and whispered: "President, everyone is here." ”

"Send someone to take His Royal Highness and the two princes to rest." Li Yu gave a few orders and walked towards the courtyard, and You Shiwei was very dissatisfied and pushed away the sentry and followed closely behind him.

In the main hall, Chief Judge Ortai, Consul General of the Presidential Office Li Fugui, Speaker of the House of Representatives Xiao Daiwang, Zanhua Administrative Affairs Li Huai, General Military Affairs Zhao Ji, Prime Minister of the Prime Minister's Office Wu Xian, Xiangli Administrative Yunrong, Governor of the Foreign Affairs Department Chang Shu, Governor of the Terracotta Division Jin Sheng, and Zanhua Military Affairs Department Chief Zanhua Xue Xianguang are sitting and talking—except for the naturalized Vice President Batu, other core officials of Datong are present.

"How is His Royal Highness King Ding? It is rumored that His Highness is in your hands, and this matter will not be hidden for long. Wu Yu and Jin Sheng saw Li Yu walk into the lobby, stood up and asked eagerly.

"Your Highness is very good, I brought him back," Li Yu replied as he sat down and waved his hand, "Invite someone to the lobby." ”

After a while, Xue Zongzhou and Mo Rige brought a scholar in Tsing Yi and a small hat who was about forty years old into the lobby, and this person held a seal letter and shouted as he walked: "Wang Yongji, the governor of Jiliao, you are so bold that you dare to detain this official, quickly call Li Yu and Wang Jimo to see me!" ”

"Li Yu is down there," Li Yu let the scholar sit down, and said with a smile on his face, "Lord Wang is frightened, Ben Shuai is guarding against thieves at Juyong Pass, I heard that the Lord is here and knows that there is a big thing, so I will come to meet you immediately, please forgive me!" ”

Wang Yongji, should be Tianfu Gaoyou, Tianqi year jinshi, with the right squire of the military department of the governor Ji Liao, Baoding military affairs, after the fall of the Beijing Division, he and Liaodong General Wu Sangui, Shanhai Guan General Gao Di led the troops to guard Shanhaiguan, the food and salary was cut off and hung on a line, when the situation was exhausted, Zhang Ruoqi, the puppet soldier government squire, suddenly ran over, boasted that Wang Xianming, replaced the Ming Dynasty should be Tianshun people, and showed them the way out - to take refuge in Li Zicheng.

Wu Sangui's family was in Beijing, and they were soon tempted, Gao Di was a native of Yulin, and he followed Li Bei and Ma Ke to suppress thieves, and he had concerns in his heart, and Wang Yongji hated the thieves to the bone, and proposed to borrow troops from the east to recapture the Beijing division. Wang Yongji's idea is too bold, and the slightest carelessness will cause a big disaster, including himself, he does not dare to take this step easily, or Zhang Ruoqi is the smartest, it is recommended to bet on both sides, and to pull Datong in, the more chaotic the situation, the more favorable it is, and he himself will secretly help his friends. The four guys conspired, Zhang Ruoqi returned to Beijing to restore Wu Sangui's willingness to surrender, and soon, Tang Tong led the army to Shanhaiguan, and brought a reward of 50,000 taels of silver, this is another old acquaintance, according to him, Bai Guangen may also join the gang. The deception was successful at the beginning, Wang Yongji took Gao Di and Tang Tong's two old subordinates to stay in Shanhaiguan, while Wu Sangui shouted slogans and posted slogans all the way, and swaggered to Beijing to join Li Zicheng.

However, Wu Sangui ran back within a few days, with red eyes, saying that the thieves were tortured in Beijing, and almost no one was spared by the gentry who stayed in Beijing, and even his father Wu Xiang was caught by the dog thief Liu Zongmin and used a clamping stick, forcing him to spit out hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. Wang Yongji was anxious and angry, the young man just couldn't hold his breath, you can't cheat anymore if you run, and now you can only see the poor dagger, and ordered Tang Tong to be driven out of Shanhaiguan, rectify the defense and prepare for the war, and at the same time write a letter to the Qing State in the name of Wu Sangui for help. Subsequently, Wang Yongji handed over the Great Seal of Customs and Defense to Wu Sangui, and ordered him to act in charge of Shanhaiguan and Yongping military affairs, and claimed that he was going to contact Datong, but he ran away as soon as he slipped away - he was a person who wanted to save face, and the infamy of leading thieves into the house could not be touched, and it was best to leave.

Wang Yongji has two Mongolian family members who are familiar with the road outside the Guan, and the group secretly rushed to Yanghe along the side wall, and walked to the Luanhe River and was captured by the Datong rangers, and the local Titang official found that it was a big fish, and immediately sent him to naturalization, and met Zhang Shi'an who heard the news on the way, and took him to Datong under house arrest.

Wang Yongji knew that Datong had a deep infiltration into the Ming and Qing dynasties, and he couldn't hide it if he wanted to, so when he saw Li Yu, he told the truth about the situation in Shanhaiguan, including the scandal of him writing a letter to the Qing State asking for help.

"This official invites the Qing army to enter the customs from the Jizhen Zhongxie and the Xixi, the Guanning army out of Shanhaiguan, and the Xuanda army out of Juyongguan, and the three-sided attack will be able to destroy the thieves in one fell swoop, the Qing army even has bad intentions, but also fears that my east and west will join forces to control each other and dare not act rashly, this battle can not only recover the Beijing Division, but also restore the Ming Dynasty, it is an immortal achievement, what does the naturalized Hou think?" Wang Yongji finally said.

"Why does Lord Wang believe that the Qing army will enter the customs from the Jizhen Central Association and the Western Association as promised, and if they suddenly arrive under the Shanhai Pass, what should you do?" Li Fugui asked lightly.

"Well, I promised a heavy reward, and the land outside the customs can also be ceded, and the East is greedy for money and profit, how can I not keep my promise." Wang Yongji replied disappreciatively.

Datong suggested abandoning the gate and immediately became the target of the public, but Wenchen cut the land but thought it was a plan, people are not the same - Zhao Ji sneered a few times and said: "My lord, I'm afraid I miscalculated, the Qing army has taken Ningyuan to the outside of the pass, if the soldiers enter the Shanhaiguan to hold the Guan Ning army hostage to break the thieves, the money and land in the pass are his, why should Daming reward, I must think so." ”

"Nonsense, the civil servants are in charge of military affairs, what do you know about martial arts!" Wang Yongji was on fire, but his heart was cold, he only cared about being a dead horse as a live horse doctor at that time, but he missed something.

"My lord, how many troops are there in Shanhaiguan? Can defending against danger stop the thieves? Xue Xianguang asked thoughtfully.

"This official withdrew 500,000 soldiers and civilians from Ningyuan, plus the defenders of Shanhaiguan, there are no less than 100,000 soldiers who can fight," Wang Yongji blurted out, but immediately felt that the bull had blown over, and changed his words again, "It's a pity that there are soldiers without pay, and Datong still has to allocate us food and ordnance?" ”

This guy not only wants soldiers but also money, Li Yu was a little dissatisfied, squeezed out a smile and said: "This matter is very important, we still have to plan carefully, Lord Wang has worked hard, please go and rest first!" ”

"This official is not tired, naturalized marquis, you are a minister of the Ming Dynasty, sending troops and food is a matter of duty, how can you be indecisive," Wang Yongji said loudly, but no one paid attention to him, and pointed at Wu Sacrifice with his hand and shouted, "Wu Sacrifice, you are the second assistant of the previous dynasty, have you forgotten that the first emperor knew that he was a great favor?" ”

"Lord Wang, we have just pacified Shaanxi, and there is a riot in Sichuan, what do you want me to send troops?" Wu Chu replied with a sad face.

Wang Yongji was just about to have a seizure when he remembered another important event: "This official heard from the people who fled from the Jingshi that His Royal Highness the King is in Datong, can this matter be taken seriously?" ”

"His Royal Highness King Ding is very good, and it's right here." Li Yu nodded.

"Naturalized Hou, it's up to you where to go, but Da Ming is still saved, long live my emperor!" Wang Yongji became excited when he heard this, turned his head and ran out.

Jin Sheng looked at Wang Yongji's back, shook his head and said softly: "Hanmin, let's send troops, we can't watch the fall of the country and be indifferent, Guan Ningjun is also a helper." ”

"No, the Guan Ning army is unreliable, I'm afraid it will be bad to pull us in, we Northwest people have suffered the loss of Liaodong people not once or twice." You Shiwei immediately objected, and everyone nodded in agreement - the people of Fengzhou turned their faces with the Guan Ning army for the competition for the smuggling market of the Qing State more than ten years ago, and the Guan Ning army killed the merchants of Fengzhou when they saw them, and the merchants of Fengzhou also reported to the imperial court that the merchants of Liaodong had passed the Kou, and many people had died on both sides, and the grudge had already been settled, and it was more likely that they would fight each other together.

"The thieves may be able to deal with the Guan Ning army, but they are by no means the opponents of the Qing army, and they are back to the old way, Liao'an, can they still improve relations with the Qing State now?" Ortai pondered and asked Changshu - after the death of Huang Taiji, Datong gave up Du Wenhuan's original plan to lure the enemy deeper, used the strength of the opponent in Shandong and Henan battlefields, and finally annihilated it in one fell swoop.

"We've done it to the fullest, Dolgon must be gritting his teeth with hatred, and we're talking about improving relations, and we're ready to go to war!" Chang Shu shook his head, as the chief planner of attacking the Qing State with soft power, he used the means of spreading rumors and slandering and buying and dividing to the extreme, and made up a lot of palace secrets that the common people liked to see and put them in Liaodong, which is said to have made Dolgon angry to death, and he had the heart to play with Datong.

"We must not negotiate peace with the Qing State, the silver, livestock, and property that Abataetto takes care of us are worth one and a half million taels to say the least, and Dolgon will definitely ask us to pay back the cash, let me explain first, I don't have this money there." Wu Xian interjected, what kind of money, Datong didn't think about it at all, the silver had already entered the silver treasury of the silver banknote bureau, and the cattle and property also came in handy, where to find money to pay off the debt, unless Dolgon was willing to accept the silver money.

"That is to say, we have to go to war in order to repay the debt, well, a day of delay is a day, but we have always enjoyed the shade under the big tree, Beijing is lost, Nanjing is still there, and those Nanjing courtiers will be thrown to Dolgon first." Li Fugui waved his hand and said, and the little king laughed when he heard it.

Li Yu had been pacing in the lobby, then stopped and beckoned to Xue Zongzhou, and then said loudly to everyone: "There are hundreds of thousands of thieves in Gyeonggi and millions of victims, what's the use of defeating Li Zicheng?" I will not wade into this troubled water, and record my orders: first, immediately inform Li Zicheng that the Qing army may enter the customs, ask him to be on guard in advance, as long as he fights well, I will pull him; Second, send a letter to Ma Shiying, the governor of Fengyang, and ask what is going on in Nanjing, after so long, he hasn't even let out a fart, and these courtiers will get out if they can't do it, and I will help him form a court with his old horse; Third, send a letter to Liu Zeqing and Liu Liangzuo, telling them that they must learn to speak with a knife in troubled times, and let the military generals do it if they can't do it well, be bold, and I will support them; Fourth, the four towns of Qisi in Chaolu were transferred to Yanghe, Zhang Chuanjie's three towns were transferred to Datong, and the six towns of Haishan were transferred to Dushikou. ”

Everyone discussed for a while and had no opinion, Yun Rong said worriedly: "I have no opinion on dealing with the Qing State according to the established strategy, but what about Sichuan?" ”

Li Yu replied with a wry smile: "What can I do, at least the army can't go out before the autumn grain comes down, let's solve the Huguang problem first, send a letter to Qin Yiming and Ma Xianglin, be sure to hold Baoning and Suiding, and then try to exterminate Sun Kewang in the next step." ”

"After the Constituent Assembly, I will go to Wuchang." Li Huai nodded and said that the meeting of the Constituent Assembly had already decided that he would be the commander of Huguang Xingtai and take charge of military affairs, but the affairs of the Constituent Assembly were complicated, and Ortai and Li Fugui insisted on leaving him to preside over the affairs of the conference.

Wu Xian continued: "That's fine, the Prime Minister's Office can concentrate on handling internal affairs, Datong is not calm now, the Constituent Assembly is making endless noise, and you can't do anything else if you don't understand it early, England's special envoy Gordon and Dutch envoy Newhoff have also arrived in Datong, and the president will meet them." ”

Li Yu nodded, turned to Zhang Shi'an, and ordered: "Mobilize the forces of the Titang Division, and closely monitor the movements of the Shun army, the Qing army, and the Guanning army." ”

Liaodong, the first year of Shunzhi was simply tormented by Dolgon, Datong set the rope around the neck tighter and tighter, the smuggling wave not only from the Mongolian steppe, Liaodong coast, but also through North Korea to the hinterland infiltration, the silver of the Qing Dynasty was swept away, the imperial court was forced to lose money to mint copper coins on the market, as a result, the copper was swept away by the smugglers, Datong silver money also took advantage of the Qing Dynasty money shortage to flock in, Dolgon was anxious but there was nothing to be done - the Qing Dynasty lacked food, lack of cloth, and could not make iron pots, iron needles and other iron tools, The common people are not only willing to buy Datong goods, but also actively participate in smuggling. The most terrible thing is that it is rumored in the market that he has a secret love affair with Concubine Zhuang, and murdered the first emperor after the adultery is revealed, this rumor is more and more bizarre in the Eight Banners, the old and young masters talk about noses and eyes, and secretly discuss whether the ninth elder brother is his wild species, Azig and Duoduo also believe it a little after hearing more, and persuade him to simply marry Concubine Zhuang home, anyway, according to Manchu customs, it is not a big deal for the younger brother to marry his sister-in-law.

Erlu, you are so ruthless, I fought with you - Dolgon hated the mastermind behind the scenes to grit his teeth, and stayed up until the beginning of April, the news that the thieves in the Guannai had captured the Beijing division came, and Fan Wencheng, who was recuperating in Qinghe Hot Springs, first asked to send troops to attack the Ming and fight for the world, and the old slave also cheered up and said: Although our country is fighting for the world with the Ming, it is really a corner with the Liukou, and the opportunity cannot be lost, and the loss will not come again.

Subsequently, Zu Kefa, Zhang Cunren and other Hanchen also asked for troops to be sent to Guannei, and Dolgon took the opportunity to gather the Eight Banners soldiers to Shengjing, with the military power in hand, and his sworn friend He Luo would immediately accuse Hauge and Zilharang of rebellion, and both of them were considered capital crimes. Dolgon was proud, Zilharang this ornament can not be missing, very tolerant to pardon, Hauge must not stay, but the ninth elder brother cried and made trouble to let his brother be executed, first demoted to a concubine and then calculated the general account, his cronies Yangshan, Omoktu, Yichengge, Luo Shuo, etc. were beheaded and abandoned the city - after this change, Hauge's power was uprooted, and Zilharang was also completely destroyed, Dolgon then angrily denounced Datong and Haoge in the court for colluding with each other, conspiring to subvert the Qing Dynasty, and the henchmen had to be removed, and the edict sent troops to crusade against Datong.