Liaodong, in Shengjing City.

Zhishun Palace, in the secret room, the three Shun kings under Huang Taiji gathered together, Zhishun Wang Shang Kexi, Huaishun Wang Geng Zhongming and Gongshun Wang Kong Youde sat around a round table, with a hot tea in front of them.

"Two brothers, I don't know if you have received any news about Guannai? Have you ever heard of the Great Shun Dynasty? ”

After saying a word, Geng Zhongming looked at the two of them meaningfully, and smiled silently.

At this time, Kong Youde and Shang Kexi glanced at each other, and both saw some common look in each other's eyes, the former hesitated for a moment, turned around, met Geng Zhongming's meaningful gaze, and finally gave a tentative answer.

"Brother Geng, although Kong doesn't know much about the situation in Guannei, he has also heard some news, Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide on the coal mountain in Beijing City, and many areas north of the Yangtze River are almost occupied by Li Zicheng's Li Jiajun, which can be said to occupy half of the country, ascend the throne and claim the emperor, and establish a Dashun Dynasty with the country name Yongchang."

Shang Kexi nodded slightly when he heard this, and then echoed: "Yes, Shang also understands something, it is said that the 100,000 elite iron horsemen who entered the pass were all destroyed, that is, they were lost to the hands of the Dashun army." ”

Geng Zhongming nodded secretly, he already had some kind of judgment, I am afraid that the two of them are like themselves, and they also have some kind of thoughts, otherwise, they would not have understood so much in detail, so they have some confidence.

"Two brothers, we are all Han Chinese, we have all worked under Mao Shuai, and we will not hide it in the next, open the skylight and say bright words, half a year ago in the invasion of the pass, Huang Taiji can be said to have suffered heavy losses, the elite lost more than half, and now it is barely defending, and it is no longer able to go south."

"Moreover, the Mongolian tribes that belong to them are even more ready to move, if it weren't for you and my brothers sitting here to assist in defense, I'm afraid they would have rebelled a long time ago, and they would have invaded Shengjing. Don't the two brothers have some ideas? ”

"Brother Geng, what do you mean...?" Despite the speculation in his heart, Kong Youde couldn't help but ask such a sentence, quite knowingly.

"Hehe... Brother Kong, why do you ask so knowingly? Don't you understand what you mean? Geng Zhongming didn't want to be too picky, and still had some scruples.

To the surprise of the two, Shang Kexi said it very bluntly, without much scruples, and said frankly: "Yes, the situation of the Qing court is getting worse and worse, once Li Zicheng cleans up the remnants of the Ming court in the south, he will wave his army to the north and attack Liaodong, with the combat effectiveness of the Dashun army, the number of firearms equipped and the power, not to mention that the Mongolian departments have two hearts, even in the heyday, I am afraid that Huang Taiji will be difficult to resist the iron cavalry of the Dashun Dynasty." ”

Some people opened the first and unraveled the cover, and others were also able to let go, and Kong Youde followed closely and also expressed his views and analysis.

"According to the news from Ningyuan City, Li Yan, the general who scared Huang Taiji away and killed thousands of Qing troops last time, is one of the top ten marshals of the Dashun Dynasty, and this time he led an army of 200,000 to the north, all with firearms and equipment, and his combat effectiveness is amazing. Moreover, the firearms were all the latest and most advanced kinds, extremely powerful, and the firing range was extremely long, and the cavalry of the Qing army could not play a role at all, and almost became a moving target. ”

Listening to these words, Shang Kexi and Geng Zhongming's expressions became more and more solemn, and the latter echoed faintly: "This is not the worst news, it is said that this Li Yan is not simple, and he easily absorbed the Guanning Iron Cavalry of Zu Dashou and others, scattered them all, and mixed them with the Dashun Army to form a new army. Although it is still led by Zu Dashou, it is impossible for Zu Dashou to do whatever he wants with the team as before. ”

"Moreover, judging from all sources, even the most conservative estimate is that the Dashun army in Liaodong must have 300,000 people, which is more than all the armies of the Qing Dynasty combined."

In an instant, the three of them stopped talking at the same time, their expressions were all embarrassed, they solemnly glanced at each other, nodded lightly in tacit understanding, inserted their fingers into the teacup, dipped them in water, and wrote two words on the table together, and wrote the same two words respectively.

At this moment, the three of them silently reached a consensus and established a potential offensive and defensive alliance.

In the palace, Huang Taiji sat on the dragon chair, his temples were white, his face was full of wrinkles, his eyes were cloudy and hazy, showing a tired and old posture, and his back had become a little rickety.

Fan Wencheng stood respectfully below, and said cautiously: "Emperor Qiqi, our eight lines in the pass have all been broken, the eight major merchants in Shanxi have no news, the defense of the Great Wall is extremely strict, and our people can't get into the pass at all, and they can't learn too much news." ”

"However, Your Majesty, one thing is certain, two years ago, the 20,000 troops of Prince Dolgon, Hauber Belle and Sakha Ling and others may have fallen into the hands of Li Zicheng and were attacked and assassinated by him. Otherwise, no one in the customs can do this, with this strength, quietly slaughtering 100,000 people, without leaving the slightest trace. ”

Huang Taiji waved his hand, stopped Fan Wencheng's words, shook his head vigorously, and the old voice sounded: "Now there is no point in talking about that, I have long guessed that Dolgon must have died in battle, but I don't know who did it." ”

"The most regrettable thing is that the line of the eight major merchants in Shanxi is broken, they are not only the way for me to buy rice and weapons in the Qing Dynasty, but also the main source of information to understand the situation in the Central Plains. Without them, I am afraid that the situation will be even more difficult in the future. ”

Between speaking, Huang Taiji's brows were furrowed together, his expression was very ugly, Fan Wencheng hesitated for a moment, and finally said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, these are not the worst, for this time, the most dangerous thing is that the Mongolian tribes of Chaha, Horqin, Karaqin and other tribes are ready to move, and they have the intention of separating out. ”

As the founder of the Qing Dynasty, the first generation of emperors, how could the eloquent Huang Taiji not know the current situation? How could it be that they did not learn about the gradual instability of the Mongolian ministries?

"Hey... Master Fan, how can I not know? ”

Huang Taiji let out a long sigh, and after asking a rhetorical question, he continued quietly: "What can I do? 100,000 elites were lost in the pass, and the Manchurian army was less than 50,000, and the reason why we were able to stabilize the situation now and barely be able to suppress the Mongol tribes, in addition to my prestige in the past, was the result of the union of the Manchu Eight Banners and the Han Eight Banners, and it was already a good result to be able to maintain the current situation, which was also mixed with a lot of luck elements. ”

In an instant, as if poking at something sad, the painful place, vaguely, Huang Taiji was a little older, and he seemed so helpless, quite a feeling of heroic end.

At this time, at the junction of Huguang and Sichuan, Gao Yigong was sitting in the tent of the commander, and was listening to a soldier say: "Marshal, Shao Jiechun, the governor of Sichuan, sent a secret envoy to the camp to ask to meet you. ”