The dark clouds pressed heavier against the ground, covering the vast fields and roads. The snowflakes were first small flowers, fluttering gently like catkins, and then falling bigger and bigger, a burst of tightness, the wind wrenched the snow, clumps of pieces, one after another, and the whole world was lost.

Sukh Saha wrapped himself in a mink fur and withdrew his gaze from the vast snowy field, feeling the same sight in his heart, feeling confused and cold.

As the auxiliary minister of His Royal Highness, Sukh Saha can be said to be entrusted with important tasks, or it can be said that he was excluded and neglected. Because the queen is important, but it is also a very dangerous thing.

Now, this danger is already real, and as time goes by, it is getting closer and closer, and it is urgent to become a matter of life and death.

When the Ming army had just been given the occupation of Yuguan and cut off the road to retreat eastward, although Sukh Saha was frightened, it was not yet time to despair. In his opinion, the number of troops transported by sea by the Ming army was limited, but it was just a cold attack on its own side, and it was also because his army dispersed to escort the people who retreated from the east. In other words, the enemy seems to be hitting your own vital point, but most of the time it is just a bluff.

Besides, don't stop returning to the teacher, this is the truth in the art of war. The clansmen who are anxious to return to Liaodong and return to a safe place, facing the enemy who is blocking the way, will inevitably burst out with a strong desire to survive, and they will fight desperately one by one, so it is naturally not difficult to defeat the enemy and reopen the road to retreat eastward.

Therefore, when the enemy situation was not clear, Sukh Saha sat in Qian'an and sent orders everywhere, gathered more than 7,000 troops, led by the capital commander Ge Chuha and the imperial guard Nemo, and went to Funing to fight and fight.

Just yesterday, an urgent report came from the front, describing the failure of the battle, the Ming army had many generals, and the battle formation was strictly organized. Having the advantage of geographical advantages, although Ge Chuha and others attacked fiercely and suffered heavy losses, they could not advance an inch, so they had to temporarily retreat to Lulong County, asking for reinforcements, or another order.

Sukh Saha was taken aback. Knowing that his judgment was wrong, the Ming army was not biased, but did have heavy troops to intercept it. And three days have passed since this toss, and he doesn't know where the pursuing Ming army has arrived, whether it is still far away, or it is coming soon.

At the same time, a dilemma was also placed in front of him. It is really difficult to decide whether to continue to transfer troops to open up the road to Shanhaiguan or to change the route. Based on current intelligence. The Ming army is very strong, and it may be difficult to attack on one side alone. However, the information is blocked, and if you want to contact the friendly forces in the east to flank the front and back, you have to send people to sneak through, and when the contact is proper, I don't know how long it will be delayed. If you turn around, you can only go north to Zunhua and enter southern Mongolia through the border wall. Then turn back to Liaodong.

It was a cold winter, and it was snowing heavily. Needless to say, the road is far away, and the attitude of the Mongol tribes in southern Mo is also worth worrying. In the process of retreating eastward, many Mongols have shown an unkind attitude, or are unwilling to be driven, or flee after plundering. Not to mention the Chahar Mongols, there have long been signs of hatred against the Qing court. It is very likely that they will take the opportunity to gather forces and kill and plunder.

Sukh Saha was a little undecided, and the following was also divided into two factions to argue fiercely, constantly putting pressure on him. Ge Chuha and Nemo and others were obviously a little timid after the battle with the Ming army, anyway, they were cavalry, and they returned to Liaodong from Monan. The road is long, but the impact on them should be within a tolerable range; Most of the people still want the army to fight bravely and open the way home so that they don't have to brave the wind and snow and travel thousands of miles.

Qian'an County was already overcrowded, and those who retreated from the east and caught up from the west included Manchu officials, relatives, and ordinary clansmen, as well as Han officials and family members. Every day, there are noisy fights over houses, food, and firewood, and there is a scene of chaos, which makes Sukh Saha very annoyed.

"Your Excellency, your Excellency." The imperial guard Tai Bitu shouted and broke in, he was a close confidant of Aobai, and staying by Sukh Saha's side was more monitoring than helping, "It's east or north, hurry up and stop your trip!" They are all nested here, and when the Ming army catches up, it will be all over. ”

Sukh Saha snorted coldly, to the east is a desperate bet, to the north is to die a life, it is easy for him to give the order, but the consequences will have to be borne by him alone.

After a deep groan, Sukh Saha asked in a deep voice, "How many centaurs have been gathered now?" If there are no more than 10,000 soldiers, it may still be difficult to do anything to rush eastward. ”

Tai Bitu relied on the momentum of worship, and he didn't have much respect for Sukh Saha, and when he heard the question, he couldn't help but curse and vent: "It's not me." Hearing the news that the Ming army was blocking the way in front of them, that our army's initial battle was unfavorable, and that they were going to increase their troops and fight again, those Mongolian bastards ran away most of the night, and also stole a lot of horses and property. Now, now, there are only more than 4,000 people. ”

"If the clansmen also fight with knives, how many men can be scraped together?" Sukh Saha gritted his teeth, and a vicious look shot out of his eyes, "Plus those Han people, it's good to let them take the lead and waste the enemy's bullets, right?" ”

Tai Bitu was shocked in his heart, and couldn't help but feel a chill, paused for a long time, and said hesitantly: "Duke Su, the Ming army is very powerful, although it is possible to break through the interception if you are desperate, how many people will be left after the battle?" As the saying goes: stay in the green mountains, not afraid of no firewood. If you go out of the side wall in Zunhua, the road is a little farther, but it's better than hitting the enemy's guns, right? ”

"On the surface, it seems." Sukh Saha said coldly, "But in reality it could be worse. The Mongolian tribes have a tendency to centrifugal, and I am afraid that there will be no peace in the south. Moreover, in the ice and snow, thousands of miles away, the clansmen will not die from swords and guns, but will also die in large numbers on the road. ”

Tai Bitu thought for a while and said, "We have thousands of warriors, and if we mobilize our clansmen, we can always get nearly 10,000 soldiers, and we can ensure a safe journey." If the food brought is not enough, it can be exchanged with the Mongol tribes in southern China. If you decide to advance eastward, it will be a decisive battle, and there will be no way back. In any case, a decision must be made as soon as possible, so as not to chase the Ming army. ”

Sukh Saha sighed secretly in his heart, Taibitu didn't say it directly, but the tendency in his words was obvious, that is, he didn't want to fight to the death.

"The Ming army is blocked, Shanhaiguan must have gotten the news, and will definitely send troops to the rescue." Su Ke Saha thought about it again and again, and decided to wait for two more days for the friendly forces in Shanhaiguan to act, after all, this was the nearest way home, and the odds of winning from both sides were greatly increased.

"Transfer the assembled troops and prepare to cooperate with friendly forces to break through the Ming army's block." Sukh Saha gave an order beyond doubt, "All the clansmen are mobilized into an army, and both men and strong women are armed to take charge of the defense of Qian'an and suppress the chaos. ”

Seeing that Suke Saha was so resolute, Tai Bitu was timid, he sighed helplessly, and said, "Okay, I will also select the strong Han people and let them go to Lulong County with the army. In addition, the assembled army will be drawn out of two thousand and stationed in Fengrun County, what does Su Gong think? ”

"Well, that's a fool's errand." Sukh Saha has no mercy for these Han people, the tribesmen are mobilized, how can they be idle? As for Fengrun County, it was they who could not return to the east, so they retreated and moved to the important place of Zunhua, and it was understandable to send troops to defend it.

As soon as the order was given, there was chaos in Qian'an City, and the sound of crying could be heard everywhere. The Manchurians are okay, there are not too many rough methods, and the Han people are forced to pull, and if they don't obey, they will be kicked and beaten, or even whipped with a leather whip.

When retreating from Beijing, although a group of Manchu and Han officials were panicked, the situation was not corrupted to such a degree. The family servants followed, and the big carts and small cars were traveling, and they were not wolves. Now there are interceptions in front and chasing soldiers in the back, and everyone has a feeling that a great disaster is coming. Now the family servants have been forcibly requisitioned and the horses have been unloaded from the carts, leaving only the old and young women, crying helplessly guarding the family property that cannot be transported, and they are almost the same as refugees.

As soon as the people were taken away, Sukh Saha issued another order to collect all the grain and grass and distribute it uniformly in the future. At this moment, he pinched everyone's lives in his hands. In the ice and snow, without food is a dead end, and you can't run away if you want to.

If you knew today, why bother in the first place? These Han officials are old and young, and some of the old ones are old ministers of the Ming Dynasty, and after selling themselves and taking refuge, they became the new upstarts of the new dynasty; The few hold the creed of "learning literature and martial arts, goods and the emperor's family", who cares about the national righteousness, who cares who is in power? Now these Han officials and servants have nothing left, and the food they carry has also been looted, and they all feel miserable, but they are also self-inflicted.

shouting "Manchu and Han family" all day long, but now it is like bullshit. Although the Manchu relatives and dependents were mobilized and recruited, they still left a few subordinates to wait, and they were even more disdainful of the Han people, no matter what grade you are, what official rank, you are just a slave of the Manchus. Therefore, when fighting for houses and burning firewood, they were even more rude, and many Han officials' families were beaten and scolded out, and they had no room to live in, so they could only squeeze their families into firewood houses, livestock pens, shacks, or sleep outside.

……………

The wheels slowly rolled in the snow, creaking and creaking, and the mules and horses spewed out white mist and struggled through the snow.

Fan Yongdou lifted the curtain slightly, and the cold wind and snowflakes immediately hit his face, instantly making him feel suffocated. He hurriedly withdrew his hand, vaguely remembering the sparse little tree on the side of the road that he had glanced at.

After leaving the ancestral land to rest, hundreds of people from the Fan family and more than 20 carts rushed to Beijing, preparing to wait and see the changes first, and then make plans on whether to retreat to Liaodong. There were many people and things, and the Fan family did not go fast, and when they first arrived in Beijing, it was when the Manchu Qing began to retreat. Although the Fan family also wanted to escape quickly, but at this time, the name of the imperial merchant did not have the former glory, and the Manchurian relatives and high-ranking Han officials abounded.

Therefore, the Fan family's convoy had no choice but to stop in a small village and town along the way, and let the wolf-like Manchu people and the Han officials with high lords go first, and then gradually fell behind. Now, the convoy has passed through Fengrun County and is heading towards Lulong County.

A burst of shouting came from outside, Fan Yongdou hesitated, and finally didn't dare to reach out and open the curtain of the car. After a while, the noise faded away, and the car slowly stopped.

"Father." The curtain of the car was raised, accompanied by the cold air, Fan Sanba jumped up, with a panicked face, "Oh no, I heard what the group said just now that the Ming army blocked the road to Shanhaiguan in Funing, and the Qing army was unable to conquer it, and they were all nested in Lulong County." ”

Fan Yongdou gasped, feeling that he was in the middle of the ice and snow, and he shrank up from the cold.

……………… (To be continued......)