Azig lost all his pants in the Shanhai Pass, and fled back to the Manchu military camp outside the pass single-handedly, reporting the defeat to Dolgon.

At the time of the battle, Azig led 10,000 Qing warriors, but he didn't bring any of them back, and even the Gushan Ezhen Turg with the white flag was also lost, and it can be said that he died a clean death.

Of course, what made Dolgon even more furious was that the 10,000 people who died in Shanhaiguan were not the soldiers and horses of the Zhenghong and inlaid red lines, but the thirty cattle of the Zhengbai Banner.

The reason why Dolgon was able to usurp the throne of Huang Taiji's son before was also because of the power of Huang Taiji's lineage, and the three banners of Shangsanqi, Zhenghuang, and Zhenglan lost to the Xuanjia Army twice in the Battle of Shandong and the Battle of Liaodong, and even the old capital of the Three Banners was lost.

In the battle of Liaodong, Dolgon relied on his private transaction with Fang Yuan to preserve the strength of the two flags of Zhengbai and Bai, and then won over Jierharang with the blue flag, and subdued the two flags of Zhenghong and Hong, so that he took advantage of the loophole and ascended to the throne of the emperor.

Now that history is repeating itself again, before he and Fang Yuan have confronted each other, thirty Niu Lu died in Zhengbai Qi. If the strength of the white flag and the inlaid white flag is weakened, how can we suppress the other six flags that are about to move, especially the three flags of the Huang Taiji series, which are yellow, yellow and blue?

With such a heavy loss, Dolgon's heart was bleeding from pain!

Dolgon immediately drew his war knife and wanted to cut the defeated soldiers back, but Azig, who knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, was instructed by Fan Wencheng to command several subordinates to stop Dolgon.

Dolgon was supposed to be a showman for outsiders, how could he kill Azig, a fierce general, and break his arm? He was happy to borrow a ladder to get off the stage, pretended to be angry and sat back on the dragon chair, and asked coldly, "Azig! How did you lose this battle?! If you don't explain clearly, I can spare you, but the other banner owners of the Six Banners can't spare you! Military law can't spare you! ”

Although Azig lost a clean game, he still didn't understand why the arsenal in Dongluo City suddenly exploded, and how could he answer Dorgon's question? However, he couldn't admit that it was because of his negligence, or the defeat in the frontal battle with the Xuanjia Army, otherwise how could he explain it to Dorgon?

The burial of 10,000 Qing warriors overnight can be said to be the most painful defeat since Nurhachi's thirteen pairs of armor rose up. Not only did he have to give an explanation to the other six banners, but even Dolgon had to give an explanation, otherwise, the emperor's throne would not be stable.

Azig thought about it, and the only answer that could pass the test was to exaggerate the mystery of the Xuanjia Army, if the Xuanjia Army knew witchcraft, then this explosion was not his responsibility for defeat, so as to truly save his life. Although this statement will affect the morale of the Manchu army, it is also related to the success or failure of this expedition. However, his life can't be saved, what kind of morale is there to talk about?

Azig made a small calculation in his heart, and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this, this, this is the Xuanjia Army's demon magic!" ”

"Smack!"

Hearing this absurd explanation, Dolgon slammed the dragon case and angrily rebuked, "Nonsense! Evil words confuse the public, where does the witchcraft come from in this world?! ”

Azig's face was like death, and he said hesitantly, "Your Majesty, it's really demonic art, and the Xuanjia Army has more than this trick of demonic art." There are also strange birds that fly in the sky, magic that explodes when it encounters water, and chariots that can move on their own on the battlefield. Although I can't see through what kind of magic Fang Yuan used to detonate the arsenal, I can conclude that Fang Yuan must have used magic to detonate the arsenal. ”

What he said was indeed the truth, and Dolgon had already received information from the spies of the Jin merchants when these Fang Yuan had fought before.

Dolgon was still about to be scolded, but Fan Wencheng took the opportunity to stand up and say, "Your Majesty, Zhengbai Banner has suffered such a fiasco, which has never been seen before, if the Xuanjia army is not demonic magic, what is it?!" Could it be that the warriors of the white flag are not as good as the southern barbarians in battlefield fighting? ”

Under Fan Wencheng's reminder, Dolgon already knew the power involved, and Azig's explanation of the witchcraft was also the only explanation that Dolgon could give to the other six banners at present. Any other explanation would shake the foundations of his emperor.

Huang Taiji was defeated by the Xuanjia Army, and the descendants lost the emperor's position, what is the difference between him Dolgon and the Xuanjia Army and Huang Taiji, and he lost even more, why can he sit on the emperor's throne?

Dolgon sighed deeply, and could only agree with Fan Wencheng and Azig's statement, attributing the reason for this defeat to the fact that it was not the incompetence of the Qing warriors, but the Xuanjia army's sudden use of strange magic and detonated the arsenal.

In the next two days, Dolgon solemnly paid tribute to the 10,000 Manchu soldiers who died in Shanhaiguan outside the barracks, while Azig explained the reasons for the defeat to Shuotuo, the owner of the Zhenghongqi Banner, and Terhu, the owner of the Red Banner who accompanied the army.

Shuotuo is the grandson of the old banner lord Daishan, Telhu is the third son of Dudu, and the two banners of Zhenghong and inlaid red are to follow Dolgon.

After paying tribute to the fallen soldiers, Dorgon once again fell into a dilemma, that is, he continued to send troops to attack Shanhaiguan to avenge the fallen soldiers; Or take a detour to Jizhen to enter the customs and take the capital directly; Or, it was to sign a peace treaty with Fang Yuan, retreat in the face of difficulties, and lead the army back to Liaotu to rest.

There are pros and cons to these three options.

Forcibly attacked Shanhaiguan.

Shanhaiguan has the reputation of being the first pass in the world, and its defense capability is impregnable, and it is unparalleled in the world. There are the lessons of Azig's past, plus the Guan Ning army, which was still vacillating before, has completely surrendered to Fang Yuan. Now in Shanhaiguan, it is not the Guanning army riding the wall, but Fang Yuan's Xuanjia army. The sea route to Shanhaiguan was completely controlled by the naval divisions of the Xuanjia army, and the Xuanjia army could land from the sea at any time and attack the weak points of the Manchu camp.

With the strength of the Xuanjia Army and the excellent artillery, the chances of winning the storm at Shanhaiguan are very small.

Take a detour to Jizhen to enter the customs.

Attacking the capital, if there is no fiasco at Shanhaiguan, may still work. However, Fang Yuan still had tens of thousands of Xuanjia iron cavalry under his command, which was by no means comparable to the previous Ming army, and if he really wanted to start a war in Gyeonggi, the losses would inevitably be heavy. Zhengbai Qi lost 10,000 soldiers and horses in Shanhaiguan, and it is difficult to predict how many soldiers and horses will be lost if they force their way into the customs.

What's more, when entering the customs by detour, grain and grass cannot be supplied, and the tactics of using war to feed war must be adopted. This method of warfare is only useful for the Ming army that only dares to dare to fight on the city wall, and does not dare to come out of the field to fight the tofu soldiers.

Negotiate peace with Fang Yuan and retire back to Liaotu.

Dolgon's original intention was that he was unwilling to make this choice, how could the blood feud of 10,000 Qing warriors swallow this breath? He couldn't wait to slaughter Shanhaiguan immediately, and he couldn't understand the hatred in his heart. But blood feud to blood feud, reason to reason. From a realistic point of view, if the fight continues, the losses of the two flags of Zhengbai and inlaid with white will only continue to increase, and there is no upper limit, and it is not impossible to lose all of them in Gyeonggi. This will only be cheap and gloating waiting to watch the show, and the blue flag Zilharang is ready to move, as well as the three flags of yellow, yellow, and blue.

But even if you want to negotiate peace and withdraw from the army, who should you send to communicate with Fang Yuan?! Moreover, what are the conditions for peace talks? After working hard and returning in vain, he, the Manchu emperor, was completely disgraced. The Manchu Qing Dynasty was able to subdue the Mongols and the Han people of Liaotu, but it was because of the aura of the Manchu Eight Banners that won a hundred battles. If you return from a crushing defeat in front of the Xuanjia Army, the myth of victory in a hundred battles will be shattered immediately.

Dorgon had no choice but to wait and see.

He also had hope, and that was the war situation on the Korean side. If the Gyeonggi side was deflated, if they could get a vote back on the Korean battlefield, and the record of the two routes was one victory and one defeat, there would be a saying to deal with public opinion.