Outside the city, Wu Sangui's Chinese army tent, Wu Xiang, who was dressed in casual clothes, looked anxiously at Wu Sangui, who was sitting upright with his brows furrowed.
Seeing that Wu Sangui remained silent, he couldn't help but said: "Sangui, don't hesitate any more. It's better to write a letter to ask for a fight as soon as possible!"
Wu Guoping on the side felt embarrassed when he saw that Wu Sangui did not speak, so he smiled and said to Wu Xiang: "Old Master, these news come too suddenly, please let the commander think carefully!"
It turned out that the reason why Wu Xiang came in a hurry in plain clothes was because he had found out three important pieces of information.
The first is that Shi Kefa has led an army of 100,000 people to the north to King Qin, and is expected to arrive tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
The second is that Li Guozhen has persuaded Jiang Yu and Wang Chengyin to lead more than 50,000 troops from Datong and Xuanfu to attack Juyong Pass.
The third one is that Liu Wenbing, Duke of Anguo, has led his army to relieve the siege of Baoding, went south to join forces with Huang Degong, and will soon send his troops north.
Wu Xiang was shocked when he heard these three news. He knew that Wu Sangui was actively asking for war on the surface, but in fact he was supporting his troops and taking advantage of the opportunity to claim credit.
But now that these armies have arrived, Wu Sangui's advantage has disappeared. If he can't make a contribution before other reinforcements arrive, he is worried that with Zhu Yuanzhang's character, Wu Sangui will be punished after the war.
And the honor and disgrace of his Wu family lineage all belong to Wu Sangui. Once Wu Sangui is convicted, they will not be able to escape punishment.
So after he got the news, he hurried over.
Unexpectedly, after he told these things, Wu Sangui was still hesitant and felt a little angry.
Wu Guogui saw that Wu Xiang's face was getting more and more ugly, but Wu Sangui was still silent, so he smiled and asked: "Old Master, where did you get this information?"
Wu Xiang glanced at Wu Sangui and said with some dissatisfaction: "There is absolutely no problem with my news. You should think carefully about how to deal with it!"
When Wu Guogui saw this and realized that Wu Xiang was getting up, he smiled awkwardly and stopped talking.
At this time, a sentry came in and reported: "Commander, according to the news from the spy, Shen Zhanran has left the capital accompanied by Wang Shoulin. Judging from the direction they are traveling, they should be meeting Li Guozhen."
"In addition, An Guogong did lead more than 6,000 cavalry out of the capital from Yongding Gate last night. Since they left the city late at night, and the guard of Yongding Gate Liu Wenyao strictly ordered not to leak out, our talents did not discover this matter."
"In addition, according to some unconfirmed news, Ma Chongxi's army seems to have been defeated, and Huang Degong seems to have marched north."
When Wu Sangui heard this, he suddenly sat up straight, a flash of light flashed in his eyes, and said: "Is there still no news from Nanjing?"
The sentry shook his head and said: "Not yet, but according to some rumors, it seems that not only Nanjing has sent troops, but even the Zheng family in Fujian has also taken action."
"Fujian Zheng family?"
Wu Sangui looked at the sentry with some surprise and said, "What are they doing here? Did they also receive the order from King Qin?"
The sentry nodded and said: "According to the information from the spy, His Majesty did issue an imperial edict for the Zheng family to be diligent, but judging from the time, they should not have received it yet."
"It's just that these are just rumors and have not been confirmed. It may take two or three days to know the specific situation."
Wu Sangui nodded, asked the sentry to retreat, then looked at Wu Guogui and said, "How is the situation over there with Gao Jie?"
When Wu Guogui heard this, he said with some disdain: "Commander, you may have made a mistake this time. That Gao Jie is not a man with far-sighted plans."
"When the last general heard that he had seen Li Benzhen's body, he was immediately furious and even beat Li Chengdong dozens of times in public. Later, he let Li Chengdong go only after his generals begged for mercy."
Wu Sangui was silent for a while and said, "Did Gao Jie hang Li Benzhen's body in the camp to show the public?"
Wu Guogui nodded and said: "He did do this, but I think it was not his original intention. It should be the result of the generals' persuasion."
Wu Sangui shook his head and said: "Guogui, you just made a mistake. If I guessed correctly, Gao Jie should have deliberately acted like a big boss to reassure Chongzhen."
"If you know that when he besieged Li Zicheng with an army of 40,000, he was able to allow thousands of Li Zicheng's men to escape, you must know that he is a scheming person."
"What he did today is not only to vent his dissatisfaction, but also to warn his generals not to have two ambitions."
"In addition, he may also be taking the opportunity to explain to Chongzhen why he let Li Zicheng escape, because he is such a hot-headed and ill-considered person."
Wu Guogui listened to Wu Sangui's words and said with some doubts: "A general is the most hated person to look down on. If he belittles himself like this, wouldn't it be a great disadvantage to him?"
Wu Sangui shook his head and said: "You are wrong. Chongzhen has no soldiers now. He needs such simple-minded people to be controlled by him, not to mention..."
"Okay, Sangui, stop analyzing other people's affairs and think about our affairs first. You must know that since your uncle Zu Dashou turned to the Jurchens, people in the court have used this to attack us from time to time."
"Fortunately, our Wu family also has some influence in Liaodong, so His Majesty did not punish him. However, your efforts to serve the king this time are not only time-consuming, but also have no great achievements."
"Judging from His Majesty's refusal to let you participate in the encirclement and suppression of Li Zicheng, we know that he does not trust you. If you are not more active now, once other reinforcements arrive, you will have no chance."
Wu Sangui smiled and said: "Father, you are worrying too much. Xuanfu and Datong both surrendered their troops, and Li Guozhen is just a talker, not a general."
"They are not enough as suspected soldiers. If they want to attack the city, they will definitely fail miserably. I guess Chongzhen is afraid that Li Guozhen will rush forward greedily, which will destroy his troops and weaken his spirit, so he hurriedly sent people to dissuade him."
"And if Shi Kefa's army arrives in the next two days, then he should have set off three or four days ago. If this is the case, it is impossible for us to have no news at all, so I guess that even if he sets out, it should only be one or two days ago. It can’t be here soon.”
"As for Liu Wenbing, it is estimated that he has only arrived in Baoding now. It is still unknown whether he can rescue the siege, let alone reunite with Huang Degong."
"So these messages should just be released deliberately by Chongzhen to force us to be loyal to him. In fact, we still take the initiative. Father, just relax."
When Wu Xiang heard this, he shook his head and said, "No, His Majesty seems to have changed a person recently. Whether it is the battle of Zhangyi Gate or the suppression of the Chaoyang Gate rebellion, he has always planned to leave no stone unturned."
"And I heard that Shen Zhanran is also quite talented. If His Majesty just wants to dissuade Li Guozhen, just send Wang Shoulin, and there is no need to let Shen Zhanran go."
"There is also the matter of An Guogong. If the siege of Baoding had not been resolved, Your Majesty would never tell the news. Otherwise, if the rebels return, wouldn't An Guogong be in danger?"
"Judging from His Majesty's favor for Duke An, he would never do such a thing."
When Wu Sangui heard this, he shook his head and said: "Father, Baoding must be inaccurate. Perhaps Chongzhen hoped to use this news to let the rebels divide their forces."
"In this way, the pressure on the capital will be reduced a lot, and Liu Wenbing and his party are all cavalry. No matter whether he can break the siege of Baoding or not, the returning rebels will not be able to do anything to him."
Wu Xiang had not thought carefully before because he was worried. Now after listening to Wu Sangui's analysis, he couldn't help but nod secretly.
At this time, the previous sentry suddenly came in and reported: "Commander, according to the information from the spies, Ma Jinzhong, Wang Yuncheng and others have submitted a letter to encircle and suppress Li Zicheng. The army is now being prepared for war, and Gao Jie has just sent someone to send a letter to the palace."
Wu Sangui was shocked when he heard this, looked at Wu Guogui and said, "You haven't contacted them?"
Wu Guogui was stunned and said: "I hinted to them before, and they all agreed. I guess they also received the news, so they are so anxious."
Wu Sangui glared at Wu Guogui with some dissatisfaction, and punched the table hard.
"Sangui, this is fate, you'd better write a letter to fight as soon as possible!"
Seeing this, Wu Xiang persuaded with some helplessness.
Wu Sangui sighed and said: "That's all, Guogui, please quickly ask the master to send the previous letter of challenge to the palace. Remember to use the fastest horse and be sure to get ahead of Gao Jie."
Upon hearing this, Wu Guogui hurriedly walked out of the tent.
