Outside the Guanxi every year, Liaodong is full of old people.

On the third night of the first month of April, Zhu Cihong and Feng Yuanyang chatted for a night in the boat, and half of the topics were related to one person.

At the same time, hundreds of miles away in Yongping Mansion, Xishahe Station, the Guanning army led by Wu Sangui had just arrived here and was preparing to repair for a night.

This was the third day after Wu Sangui handed over Shanhaiguan to his 'former comrade-in-arms' Tang Tong, and he, as a general, did it himself and personally settled the army. When he returned to his room, he was exhausted, but he had no intention of resting, just washed up and prepared to write a letter to his father.

At the moment, he is still in a good mood, because he will soon see his family and the people he misses day and night...... As soon as he thought of Yuanyuan, he couldn't stop the smile on his face.

With a smile, he spread out the paper and prepared to write a letter, but before writing, he picked up his father's letter and browsed it again, when he saw that 'the incident has passed, the destiny of heaven is difficult to return, my monarch is gone, my father must be in a moment, and this morning will descend, without losing the position of the marquis, and the name of You Quan's filial son is ......', the smile on Wu Sangui's face still faded.

In fact, Wu Sangui didn't like his father's words very much, in his opinion, instead of surrendering to the thief, it was better to fight with the thief, and even if he committed suicide to serve the country, at least he also had the motivation to cry to avenge his father. But on second thought, maybe my father had a last resort to do this.

Wu Sangui understands his father's shrewdness, but for him, he would rather choose loyalty to the monarch than the calculation at that time, he knows that Tang Tong has been added to the official rank in the new dynasty, but he is not envious, the military general should die on the battlefield, and leave a name in history.

But at the same time, he also respected his father, even including his uncle Zu Dashou, who had already surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and always believed that his uncle was still struggling to resist when the Daling River was besieged, and he was forced to surrender the city to the Qing Dynasty in order to be able to be ashamed in the future, and the rebellion after the fall proved that he was loyal to the Ming Dynasty. After Jinzhou was besieged, my uncle still resisted vigorously until the 'cannibalism of the hungry people' before surrendering.

Therefore, Wu Sangui has always understood his uncle's behavior, if it is not hopeless, why surrender? And he himself has also considered attaching to Dashun, after all, the dream of loyalty is broken, but his relatives are still there, and he can't ignore them, not to mention Yuanyuan.

Just thinking of this, he still sighed, and couldn't help but say to himself: "Father, you can't be a loyal minister, and your son can be a filial son?" ”

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Now it is April in the world, and the little peach that wants to come to the capital has also bloomed, and at this time in Yongping Mansion, the night is still cold and windy, Wu Sangui wrote a letter and sealed it, put it on the desk, and then prepared to rest.

A burst of messy footsteps came, breaking the silence of the night at the post station and interrupting Wu Sangui's good dreams......

"General, general, someone from the Wu family is here, say ......"

In the middle of awakening, Wu Sangui got up from the bed, didn't care about picking it up, only put on a coat and came to the outside with a sword, and was about to ask what was going on, but suddenly saw a familiar face, it was the general of the Wu family.

The person who came was called Fu Haishan, thinking that it was a day and night, the wind and frost on his face were enough to prove it, but he still did not hide his sad expression, Wu Sangui looked at it, and his heart couldn't help but 'chuckle', and his heart immediately hung up.

"Why are you here? What happened? He asked in a deep voice, but there was still a hint of nervousness.

"Major General, our Wu family has been occupied by thieves!" Fu Haishan sobbed in a trembling voice.

Wu Sangui was stunned and couldn't believe it: "What did you say?" What about my father? ”

"The old general was taken away by them and tortured severely, saying that it was ......"

"What!" Wu Sangui only felt that his blood was surging, for fear that he had heard it wrong, and asked, "Who was tortured?" ”

Fu Haishan continued: "The old general was tortured by the thieves, I'm afraid he is about to die!" ”

The drowning feeling came to him, and Wu Sangui could barely breathe at the moment, but immediately thought of another question: "Then, what about Yuanyuan?" ”

"She, she was occupied by Liu Zongmin's thief!" Fu Haishan choked, and his trembling voice was no longer speechless.

"Hiss......" heard the last thing he wanted to hear...... Anger almost made Wu Sangui unstable, but just for a moment, he forced himself to steady, and a feeling that he had never felt before slowly occupied his entire body and mind, a great shame!

In such an instant, all of Wu Sangui's dreams and all illusions about the future were shattered......

Suddenly, he shouted and drew his sword: "I am disloyal and unfilial, what face do I have to stand in heaven and earth!" After that, he wanted to kill himself with his sword...... Seeing this, the generals were shocked and hurriedly stepped forward to stop: "Why is the general here?" We should be traitors to the death! ”

Wu Sangui was stopped by a group of soldiers, and gradually calmed down, and quickly regained his senses: "You are right, I am inseparable from the traitor!" A very handsome face became a little distorted at this moment, and with a pair of gloomy eyes, everyone present shuddered.

In the next half an hour,

Wu Sangui had already drawn up the next step, and he began to give the task calmly and clearly......

Half an hour later,

The Guan Ning army is ready and ready to go......

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The fourth day of the fourth month of April is destined to be a day that will go down in history.

Within one day, Shanhaiguan was again in the hands of the Guanning army led by Wu Sangui, and the gloomy sky was shouting in the wind. The human head was rolling, the grief was everywhere, the knife was still dripping blood, and in the blink of an eye, it was strung into a column of blood...... Wu Sangui has been numb to killing, but his heart is extremely sober, this is a rebellion, just like his uncle back then.

So what will greet him next is more violent revenge?

Wu Sangui stood on the majestic Shanhaiguan, his eyes lowered slightly, looking down on everything in the world like a god, and at this moment his heart was surprisingly calm, like a bloodthirsty monster satisfied after it was satisfied...... He knew very well what he wanted, it was nothing more than a high mountain, let himself climb with all his might, and the higher he climbed, the closer happiness became. The feeling that happiness was coming fascinated him, what money, fame, dignity, desire, etc., any of which were not enough to impress him, what he wanted Wu Sangui was to leave a name in history, loyalty and filial piety.

Behind Shanhaiguan, thousands of miles away, is where the Ming Jingshi is located, and at this time, Wu Sangui looked back again, his eyes were full of complexity......

The continuous rainstorm in late March made the city of Beijing solemn again, and it was no longer a piece of dust, and sure enough, as soon as April came to the fore, the appearance of spring was revealed.

Since a group of Ming Dynasty officials and ministers entered the new dynasty, Li Zicheng was gradually surrounded by flatterers, and became more and more disobedient to advice and more accustomed to singing praises.

Nowadays, Li Yan can hardly see Li Zicheng, and even the words need to be conveyed by Song Xiance and Niu Jinxing, he is a person who regards fame as a mustard and refuses to serve the king with words, so he is naturally even more unpopular and unpopular.

After he came back from Tianjin, he immediately raised his suspicions to Song Xiance, first, how did the rumors sow discord come about? Second, at a critical juncture, are Wu Xiang's 'disappearance' and Chen Yuanyuan's 'violent death' related to rumors? The third is that the crown prince of the previous dynasty has been thoroughly investigated so far without results, and now that all these changes can be determined that he is still alive, and what is his intention in leading all this? And Song Xiance only promised him to relay these words to Li Zicheng, but he did not guarantee the result.

Pity him for a truly loyal person, but he has become a traitor, Niu Jinxing is secretly fanning the flames, so that Liu Zongmin and others are extremely dissatisfied with him, and now Li Yan, although he has not reached the danger of himself, is not far away.

The red lady knew her husband's difficulties very well, and suggested: "Now that Your Majesty has ascended the throne and the overall situation of the world has been decided, why don't you and I retreat bravely and resign from the official position in the capital and return to our hometown?" ”

Li Yan's heart was gloomy, although his disappointment was increasing day by day, he never had the intention of retreating: "I will propose to the emperor that I am willing to take 20,000 elite soldiers to the land of Sangzi in Henan to stabilize the rear and the land of Sanqin, and take 10,000 steps back to talk about ......"

"Husband," although the red lady faintly felt that this matter was inappropriate, but her husband insisted, and she didn't persuade much, and said: "Be cautious, otherwise you and I will never recover!" ”

As everyone knows, her sentence of 'no return' has become a prophecy...... 'I remember the mouth of Wei Zhengzhong's direct advice back then, since the time has passed, who will be there?' Bow down and ask, talk with your heart, know the soldier and be good at Wolong. Kind and kind, not in the past heroic; Don't go by, always feel unforgettable old rain. Grace is broad, and the heart is always mourned. He is forbidden to be long, and he can be free of shortness of breath. Hu Tian does not hang, the mountain is broken and ......'

On the fifth day of the fourth month, the news of Wu Sangui's rebellion reached the capital.

Two days later, Li Zicheng again sent an envoy to Shanhaiguan.

On April 12, Li Zicheng received a 'generous gift' from Wu Sangui from Shanhaiguan: fresh heads, a farewell letter written by Wu Sangui to Wu Xiang, and a text that had already spread throughout the capital.

Niu Jinxing took the letter, spread it out and scanned it slightly, and then read:

"The unscrupulous male Sangui wept blood and worshipped, and went to the knees of his father: the son is in the shadow of his father, familiar with the righteous teachings, he has to treat sins and deeds, and he is inspirational day and night, hoping to be rewarded by the saints. The border police are in a hurry, and Ningyuan Juzhen is the gateway to the country, and it has fallen several times. The child tried to recover, thinking that Li ...... Uh-rampant, it won't be long before it will be extinguished......"

Li Zicheng heard this, anger swelled in his chest, and he secretly clenched his fists.

"I heard that the Holy Lord was driving, and the subjects were slaughtered, and I couldn't help it! I still remember that my father has always been loyal, although the general trend is gone, I still should fight hard and swear not to live. If not, he will be martyred in the country, so that the son will mourn and take revenge; If it is not good, it will be followed by death, is it not comparable to loyalty and filial piety! He is forbearant and stealing, willing to be unrighteous, that is, without filial piety and forgiveness, and the courage to scold thieves in the plains......"

"Bastard!" Li Zicheng's clenched fist slammed into Huang Huali's bookcase, and scolded: "What a bastard!" I was wrong about Wu Sangui! Wu Xiang's disappearance is obviously related to him, but now he is saying that he wants to avenge his father? Simply despicable! ”

Niu Jinxing added fuel to the fire: "This Wu Sangui simply doesn't know what to do, he doesn't know what to do if he doesn't say anything about receiving the money, he doesn't appreciate it, he turns his face when he says he turns his face, and treats Your Majesty's repeated concessions as weakness and can be bullied." And he designed to rob Wu Xiang, Your Majesty, you didn't bother with him, but he took a bite...... It can be seen that this person is insidious and cunning, and he cannot be left behind, otherwise he will become a big disaster in the future. ”

Li Zicheng listened to Niu Jinxing's slander, felt that he had been humiliated and his dignity had been trampled on, he could no longer hold back the anger in his heart, and even if he decided to send troops to attack Wu Sangui.

At this moment, Li Yan's heart only felt hopeless, he wanted to dissuade two sentences, but Li Zicheng, who was angry, how could it be so easy to listen to persuasion? Song Xiance persuaded him in a roundabout way, and in exchange for Li Zicheng's head and face, let alone him.

On April 13, Li Zicheng led his army to conquer Shanhaiguan, Liu Zongmin and Li Yan followed, and coerced King Yong and King Ding to crusade against the traitor Wu Sangui. Before leaving, the two kings Xuanwei were dressed in green and were placed on the horse, and the people watched it along the way, and they all wept. Although the crown prince is dead, these two are still the bloodline of the Ming Emperor.

On the same day, a large army led by Dolgon entered the Liao River.

Two days later, he unexpectedly received a letter from Wu Sangui inviting troops, which stated that the Manchu and Han troops would arrive at the capital gate, and then destroy the Liukou in the palace to show righteousness in China...... When the deed is done, the land will be split in return...... The sudden letter surprised and puzzled Dolgon, and he did not dare to believe it.

But by this time, the balance of history had tipped in favor of the Manchus, and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was fleeting, and he Dolgon finally seized it.

On April 19, Dolgon, who had changed course, led his army to Lianshanyi, and by this time Li Zicheng's army had left Yongping and went straight to Shanhaiguan.

After arriving at Lianshanyi, Dolgon received a second letter from Wu Sangui asking for help, the urgency of the letter was very different from the first, and he immediately realized that the situation was becoming dangerous, so he accelerated his march, braved the wind and sand for more than 200 miles day and night, and rushed to Shanhaiguan.

On the same day, Wu Sangui ordered a gathering in the martial arts hall to meet the generals and gentry of the two towns of Guan and Liao, and swore to reject Kou. On the second day, he sacrificed the flag, cut down a person, and made an alliance with the generals and gentry, and worked together.

On April 21, Li Zicheng's army arrived at Shanhaiguan, Wu Sangui's main force was ambushed to the west of Shihe, while Dashun's army launched an attack from Xiluo, the northern flank, and Dongluo City.

In the early morning of the 22nd, when the Qing army arrived at Huanxiling outside the Shanhai Pass, Li Zicheng and Wu Sangui had been fighting for a day and night, but at this time, Dolgon ordered to stop and let the army be stationed here.

On the 21st, Wu Sangui's elite had all gone into battle, and if Dolgon did not send troops again, the Guanning army was afraid that the entire army would be wiped out. However, the scheming Dolgon was determined to let Wu Sangui surrender in exchange for troops, rather than the status of a 'lonely minister in the dead country'.

How could Wu Sangui not know Dorgon's intentions...... But until it all settled, he didn't have time to think it through. The gentry he had sent to lobby had made eight trips back and forth, and it seemed that he could not wait to surrender.

If you want to ask him what he thinks at the moment, in fact, deep down, he doesn't think that the policy of borrowing Pingkou is wrong, nor does he think that it is a sin to open the Shanhai Pass to lead the Qing army into the customs, all because of his obsession with wanting to avenge the country and his father as a 'lonely minister who has lost his country'.

Wu Sangui is such a person, outstanding, loyal and filial, calm, talented, light and wealthy, and at the same time, he is also good at climbing, shrewd and quick-witted, and the city government is very deep...... He is an extreme egoist.

All his plans and calculations are based on his own 'highest feelings', and under this premise, even family love is a stepping stone for him to realize his 'self'. In fact, it doesn't matter whether it is betrayed or not, it is just that there are not enough bargaining chips for betrayal at that time.

On the 22nd, early in the morning, Wu Sangui led a light cavalry out of the pass, came to Dolgon's tent, and surrendered to the Manchus.

When he accepted the shaving, feeling the hair falling one after another, Wu Sangui's body shook, and for a moment he still hesitated...... At this time, he can finally empathize with the moment when his uncle Zu Dashou surrendered to Huang Taiji: the world has fallen into endless darkness, with cliffs in front and hell in the back.

In the morning, the east gate of Shanhaiguan was slowly opened, and it was greeted by a long darkness as in the Middle Ages in Europe.

On the battlefield of the North Wing City, the tragic battle continued, until ten o'clock at noon, the Guanning Iron Cavalry, who was fighting alone, had reached the point of exhaustion, even if there was one more minute, this 'famous' iron army would all die on the battlefield. War is so cruel, but what is even more cruel is people's ambitions.

Wu Sangui looked back at the majestic pass behind him, its still magnificent posture deeply pierced his eyes.

The Dashun army, which was also at the end of the strong crossbow, was cut off from the right side by the suddenly killed Eight Banners Iron Cavalry, and the word array was killed in an instant, and the defeat was like a mountain. Li Zicheng, who was supervising the battle on the mountain, saw that the general trend had gone, so he led the remnants of his army to flee in the direction of Jingshi.

At this time, Dolgon sat firmly on the Weiyuan platform of Huanxi Ridge, listening to the soldiers' military news like a running account, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face. In this big battle, he became the biggest winner.

——————————

Wu Sangui was not willing to give Li Zicheng too much respite, and he led the remnants of the soldiers in the two towns of Guanliao and the soldiers and horses given to him by Dolgon to pursue Yongping again.

Yongping is the starting point for Wu Sangui to be a 'lonely minister in the dead country', and this time, he will choose to end everything here.

During the short repair, the soldier carried a seriously injured person on a stretcher, and Wu Sangui looked at it indifferently...... The seriously injured person still has a breath of air, presumably there is still an unfulfilled wish. His lips twitched slightly, but he couldn't hear what was said, and he raised his hand with difficulty, pointed to the placket of his chest, and then hung down heavily, and when the soldier stepped forward to check, it was lifeless.

Wu Sangui frowned and asked, "What's the matter?" ”

The soldier replied, "The thief discarded him when he retreated, and he was seriously wounded at the time, and when I asked him at first, he was cautious and silent, but then he learned that we were the general's subordinates, so he spoke." He said that he was a member of the Wu family, and when he came, he unfortunately encountered thieves, and then he was detained in the army, and he saved his life in the war, but he was seriously injured...... He also said that it was sent by General Wu and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to deliver the letter. ”

Wu Sangui's face sank when he heard this, and he sneered: "His Royal Highness the Prince? ”

"The last general also thought it was incredible at first hearing, but he said that there was a personal letter from General Wu and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and, uh...... Such as Mrs. Chen Yuanyuan's token as evidence. ”

Wu Sangui's face changed slightly, he paused for a moment, and said, "Bring it." ”

The soldier quickly found a fully wrapped letter and a woman's token from the deceased, Wu Sangui took it and took a closer look, he recognized that it was indeed Chen Yuanyuan's belongings.

A hint of doubt flashed across his face, and he opened his father's handwritten letter, which simply told how he had been tortured and how he had been rescued by the prince's men...... It was written very simply, and the handwriting was sloppy, presumably in a hurry.

After Wu Sangui read it, he couldn't believe it, because he couldn't figure out where the trick was? Don't understand what it means for him either?

Then open the prince's letter, it is very thick and has a lot of writing, it should have been written in advance. Wu Sangui looked at it more carefully, and gradually he calmed down, and the tyranny accumulated in his heart since the war seemed to dissipate at this moment.

The soldiers couldn't guess what was written in the letter, but wondered why the general had suddenly quieted down.

Looking at Wu Sangui again, he seemed to be talking to himself: "Only one death? There is only one death...... Only ......"

Nearly an hour had passed before he closed the letter, burned it along with his father's, and then said quietly: "All the soldiers are on standby. ”

The generals were taken aback, and soon someone asked out loud: "General, if you don't pursue at this time, then you will miss the opportunity when Li Thief runs back to Beijing!" ”

Wu Sangui didn't explain, looked at the deceased Wu family again, and ordered: "Good life bury this person." ”

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As early as the first day of the fourth month, Shi Kefa, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, issued a public statement "Calling on the Subjects of the World to Revolt King Qin", but at this time, he had not yet received any definite news from the direction of the Beijing Division.

On the eighth day of the fourth month, the official Tang newspaper arrived in Huai'an, but the news of Chongzhen and the three princes was still confusing, and their lives and deaths were uncertain.

On April 17, Wei Zhicheng, a scholar who fled south, confirmed that Chongzhen had committed suicide and martyrdom, that the crown prince had been 'killed' and that the two princes had been captured by Li Zicheng...... It's too late to grieve, and at this time, for staying in Nanjing, the top priority is to set up a new king.

Before that, Zhu Cihong and Feng Yuanyang had already arrived at Dagu Port by sea, and once again switched to sea boats and went south by sea......

The boat sailed in Bohai Bay, and Zhu Cihong stood on the deck, overlooking the sky like the beginning of chaos, thinking, the butterfly's wings have been stirred, will the storm be far away?