The temptation to form an alliance with Dorgon and join forces to enter the customs was quite great.

Coupled with the incompatibility with Queen Zhou and the crown prince, Fang Yuan was not very annoyed.

When Chongzhen is still there, of course, there is no need to worry about it; If Chongzhen has a change and the crown prince sits on the throne of the emperor, the current favorable situation will take a sharp turn for the worse.

I have to say that Dolgon's suggestion inevitably gave birth to a stirring in Fang Yuan's heart.

Such a major decision is not only related to the future of Fang Yuan's person, but also to the honor and disgrace of the entire Xuanjia Army, and the decision should have been made after consulting with the brothers of the Xuanjia Army. But at present, the original brothers Jing Jie, Qin Zhan, and a number of high-level generals are not there, and there is only Chigutai, a Mongolian man who only knows how to charge on the battlefield, and asking him about these military and political affairs is roughly equivalent to playing the piano to the cow.

At present, time is in a hurry, and there is no room for Fang Yuan to continue to hesitate, and he must make an important choice in an arbitrary manner.

In his mind, Chongzhen, Kunxing, Liu Rushi, Xiaoyuan, Jingjie, Qin Zhan, Zhu Cihuan, Empress Zhou, and the crown prince flashed one by one......

After a long time, after weighing the pros and cons, Fang Yuan finally had the upper hand in the righteousness of the family and the country, if the Manchu Qing Dynasty was allowed to enter the customs, even if he could finally expel the Tartars and return the rivers and mountains of my Han family, the entire land of China would inevitably fall into a protracted war and devastation.

The Han family and their children had to bear such a painful price, and thinking about it made Fang Yuan shudder.

Fang Yuan sighed deeply, shook his head and said, "Prince Rui, I think about it, I still prefer the princess of the Ming Dynasty, I'm sorry!" ”

He politely rejected the offer of an alliance with Dorgon and an equal division between the two sides.

Dolgon was slightly surprised, and asked in amazement, "Governor Fang, those who have achieved great things, must not look ahead and backward, the opportunity to achieve hegemony is fleeting, have you really thought about it clearly?" ”

Since Fang Yuan had made up his mind, he put aside all his doubts, "Prince Rui, I am not Hong Chengchou, Fan Wencheng and the like, and we should put righteousness first. ”

Dolgon pondered for a while, his eyes flashed, and he said lightly, "Governor Fang, since this deal is not negotiable, let's talk about the next deal." ”

Fang Yuan nodded and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you." ”

Dolgon said in a deep voice, "Governor Fang, this deal is, you hand over the hostages, I will let you go to Dongningwei, and then we will have a showdown on the battlefield!" ”

This condition was what Fang Yuan really wanted to talk about.

Huang Taiji's strategy was clear at a glance, deliberately hanging behind Fang Yuan but not fighting, but forcing the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry south to Dongningwei step by step. At the same time, he sent Dolgon to defend the fortress heading south, apparently to kill people with a sword, so that Fang Yuan's Xuanjia Iron Cavalry and Dolgon's and Duoduo's two white flags were fired, and he sat behind him to reap the benefits of the fisherman.

If Dolgon dared to allow Fang Yuan'an, who was wreaking havoc in the hinterland of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, to cross Dongningwei, Huang Taiji would nominally gain the support of the other banners, punish Dolgon for dereliction of duty, and take the opportunity to weaken the power of the two white banners, so as to ensure that the Manchu throne would still fall into the hands of his son after his death.

Dolgon is also an old fox, and he knows Huang Taiji's calculations. Based on his assessment of the combat strength of the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry, in order to forcibly merge Fang Yuan, he must be prepared to lose at least two white flags and more than forty Niu Lu. Such a large loss of troops was enough to make the two white flags lose the right to compete for the throne.

That's why Dolgon invited Fang Yuan to come to the secret talks late at night, and first proposed the most beneficial deal for him, which was to take the opportunity to unite with Fang Yuan to plot against Huang Taiji, and then let him ascend the throne.

If this deal cannot be negotiated, there is an alternative deal, that is, as long as Fang Yuan hands over the seized hostages, they will go their separate ways. Retrieving these important hostages, Dolgon, will be able to win the hearts and minds of most of the old Manchurian nobles, and his prestige in the royal family will definitely increase day by day.

And Huang Taiji, as the supreme decision-maker, even lost the old capital Hetuala because of his troops in Ningyuan City this time, and his prestige can be said to have plummeted.

Before the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, although the centralized power of Huang Taiji for more than ten years, the imperial power was far from being consolidated, and the general military affairs were the Eight Banners joint discussion system. After this battle, the prestige of Huang Taiji and Dolgon was one and the other, and Dolgon had enough prestige to fight back against the Huang Taiji line.

Fang Yuan's purpose was just to break through to the south, these hostages of the old Manchu nobles were left in their hands, in fact, it was useless, Dolgon had already calculated and understood that this deal could not be agreed by Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan listened to Dolgon's suggestion, which was exactly what he wanted, he went south with so many hostages, that is, with this thought, this win-win deal was really done, so he smiled, "Prince Rui, this is said to my heart, you and I are both big things, so you don't need mother-in-law and mother-in-law." As long as Prince Rui allows our army to travel a hundred miles south of Dongningwei, I will only leave thirty hostages, and the rest will be returned to Prince Rui. ”

He left thirty hostages to return to the court to offer prisoners, and most of the hostages were returned to Dorgon, which was not less than thirty.

As long as Fang Yuan was willing to hand over the old Manchu nobles, Dolgon's strategic goal had been achieved. He was not afraid that Fang Yuan would regret it after passing the Dongning Guard, because with so many hostages, he would not be able to escape the pursuit of the two white flags at all.

Dolgon said happily, "Governor Fang, deal, Governor Fang can go south tomorrow!" ”

Fang Yuan gave a military salute to Dolgon on his horse, and rode his horse back.

Behind him, Dolgon's voice of regret came from behind, "In the future, I will not be able to become a brother with Governor Fang and fight side by side, this king deeply regrets." ”

He said with deep regret, still hoping that Fang Yuan would choose the plan of joining forces with him to enter the Central Plains at the last moment.

Fang Yuan Lerma turned around, looked at the generation of heroes under the moonlight, and sighed, "Prince Rui, you and I don't agree with each other, and we can't force anything. I also deeply regret that I was not able to meet the demeanor of Prince Rui and the first Baturu of the Manchu Qing Dynasty on the battlefield this time! ”

Dorgon smiled at him, giving birth to a heroic sympathy.

After Fang Yuan rode away, Dolgon stared coldly at his back.

A horse behind him slowly stepped forward and stood side by side with him, "Brother Wang, did you really let Fang Yuan go like this?" With the combat power of the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry, will the tiger return to the mountain if he lets it go this time? ”

This man was Dolgon's fifteenth brother, Duoduo, the prince of Yu, about thirty years old, and also a fierce general with great military achievements.

Dolgon said lightly, "I have already calculated this section, and the most urgent threat at the moment is not Fang Yuan, but Huang Taiji. He was already suspicious of me, and this time he wanted to use my white flag and white flag as cannon fodder. If we don't act again and seize the throne, we will die without a place to bury, and Fang Yuan's trouble is secondary. ”

"Moreover, the outflanked Han and Mongolian Eight Banners have arrived at Dandongkou, and Abatai has also gone to Korea to supervise the war. At this moment, the sailor who received Fang Yuan's return flight was afraid that he had been defeated by the Korean national sailor. I just let Fang Yuan pass through Dongningwei, and it will be difficult for him to return safely nine times out of ten. Fang Yuan's thousands of elites must do a battle of trapped beasts before they die, that is to bite and bite people to death. It is Huang Taiji who should be in a hurry to extinguish the fire, why should our two white flags bear this kind of crazy counterattack before death? ”

Duoduo bowed his hand, "It's still Brother Wang's thoughtfulness." ”

Dolgon looked up at the cloudless night sky and sighed, "This Fang Yuan, I wanted to conspire with him in the world, but he had to go to his own death, so I couldn't complain anyone." ”

Duoduo was a little unwilling to be defeated yesterday, and said unconvinced, "I wanted to fight with him again with his real skills to wash away the shame of yesterday's defeat, but now it seems that there is no such opportunity." ”

Dorgon reined in the reins and said in a deep voice, "Let's go! What we have to do is to prepare to contact the other flag owners, as well as the elders of all ethnic groups. Once Huang Taiji failed to encircle and suppress Fang Yuan this time, or the two yellow flags suffered heavy losses, the throne would no longer have anything to do with his family. ”

Duoduo snorted coldly and said, "Huang Taiji is also too cautious, after the Songjin War last year, if you follow Brother Wang's suggestion, you will not send Abatai to Shandong to plunder without pain, but the army will directly enter the customs, and now I am afraid that the entire Central Plains will be captured by my Qing Dynasty!" ”

"Huang Taiji, he was afraid that the hundred-legged insects of the Ming Dynasty would die but not stiffen, and he was afraid that Liukou Li Zicheng would reap the benefits of the fisherman!"

Dolgon looked up to the sky and sneered a few times, "All in all, he is old and has become less courageous, and the one who can bring Daqing into the customs is not his Emperor Taiji, but only me Dolgon!" ”

Fang Yuan returned to the barracks, it was already dawn, and he immediately ordered Chigutai to send an order to the whole army, rest for another day, and tomorrow the whole army will go south.

Since it was a win-win deal, the deal with Dorgon went off without a hitch.

In the early morning of the next day, Fang Yuan led the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry to cross the Dongning Guard, and the elite of the two white flags stationed in the Dongning Guard watched the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry move southward, but only sent a team of 3,000 cavalry to follow.

According to the previous agreement, Fang Yuan released most of the hostages at a place a hundred miles south of the Dongning Acropolis, and immediately waved his army south, heading straight to the last pass of the trip, preparing to land at the Danjiang Estuary for return.