In real history, Wu Sangui had just surrendered to the Manchu and Qing Tatars during this period and became their executioner. Before that, except for the heroic feat of saving his father on the battlefield when he was young, he had nothing outstanding in fighting.
So in theory, Li Guo would regard him as an ordinary general of the imperial court. During the more than ten years of his rebellion, he killed as many as eighty if not a hundred of these generals!
But this is no longer true history.
But in the middle of their eastern expedition, the Manchu Tatars wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to fish. Dorgon led an army of 100,000 troops to the gate of Ningyuan City, but Wu Sangui and Chang Yu jointly killed them and routed the army.
Ningyuan's great victory made Wu Sangui famous throughout the world!
This victory was of great significance. The enemy they faced was not the bandit army, but the Manchu and Qing Tatar soldiers who were invincible with their cavalry. The gold content was abundant!
Therefore, Li Guo, who had always looked down upon the officers and soldiers, was wary of facing Wu Sangui's tens of thousands of troops!
But if I say I'm afraid, I'm not really afraid.
Guan Ning's cavalry were awesome, but Li Guo calculated that Wu Sangui could not pull all Guan Ning's army over. Ning Yuancheng's defense could not be empty and ordinary soldiers and horses were not capable of it, so the proportion of Guan Ning's army among the tens of thousands of troops was small. It can be ignored. As for the other soldiers and horses of the imperial court, the most capable Dongchang Guards are not on the Yellow River defense line. Li Yan has been held back in the north. Gao Jie and Huang Degong are thousands of miles away. The rest are not afraid. What Li Guo was afraid of was not Wu Sangui, but Ma Ke.
A once famous warrior who was one of the best!
But Li Guo guessed that there would not be too many direct troops belonging to Ma Ke, and Wu Sangui was on the defensive side of Ningyuan's victory, so this time he was on the defensive side.
So even though Wu Sangui and Ma Ke were approaching fiercely, Li Guo was still somewhat confident, but his men were a little frightened. The tens of thousands of troops approaching the city were like Mount Tai weighing down the top of the city, making the people unable to breathe. Rumors spread that King Chuang had been captured, the northern city had been completely captured, Dali was in danger, and Dashun was about to be doomed...
In such an atmosphere, the combat effectiveness and fighting spirit of the soldiers were greatly reduced. Once the war started, I didn't know what would happen. This was the source of pressure that made Li Guo live his life.
After more than ten years of fighting, Li Guo knew the importance of a stable military morale. For this reason, he went to the grassroots every day to boost morale, but with little success. No matter how hard he worked, he was always suspected of adding unnecessary unnecessary effort and not having enough silver. , knowing that there were rumors that Dali had been conquered, Li Guo was so angry that he killed more than a dozen soldiers who spread the rumors to no avail.
Just because he couldn't justify the most important part, which was why Li Zicheng showed up.
When the rumors first started, Li Guo, in order to stabilize the morale of the army, said that King Chuang was patrolling in Dali and would return soon. Then he went to Dali and came back and said that there was a war there. King Chuang was in charge and could not come to Tongguan. , and later planned to have Dali's substitute come over, but who knew that because Dali was at war and the city was sealed off, the substitute couldn't come either.
So no matter how much Li Guo denied it or how he tried to boost his morale, if Li Zicheng didn't show up, the soldiers wouldn't believe him, and everything was in vain.
It is no exaggeration to describe Li Guo at this time as being extremely anxious.
"Report, Marshal, Marshal." A bandit soldier outside the door hurriedly ran in, but with indescribable joy on his face: "Commander, King Chuang is here!"
Li Guo, who was frowning in thought in the hall, frowned when he heard this: "Where is it?"
"Just entered the city from the west gate..." Before he could finish his words, Li Guoceng stood up and rushed out of the lobby: "How brave! Have you ever confirmed your identity and then put it in without authorization... Send an order to seal off the west gate to prepare for war!"
No wonder Li Guo was so nervous and lost his temper. He knew in his heart that Li Zicheng had really gone to the capital and was being hunted by the court. There couldn't be a real Li Zicheng here. Maybe Li Yan sent someone to pretend to deceive the city gate. of.
Could it be that Li Zicheng escaped?
It is possible, but Li Guo does not believe that Li Zicheng can escape so quickly. Even if he escapes the pursuit of officers and soldiers there, he should hide immediately and wait for the situation to calm down before sneaking back. After all, the Yellow River defense line is tightly blocked. It's not that easy to run back.
However, when Li Guo rushed to the west gate with hundreds of soldiers in full force, he saw a middle-aged man who was extremely old and skinny but not angry or intimidating. He instantly broke through the defense, dismounted from his horse and came forward to greet him, crying with joy: "Father, you are back."
Yes, this person is Li Zicheng, the real Li Zicheng!
After more than a month of near-death, he finally escaped from the imperial court's pursuit.
Seeing Li Guo kneeling in front of him and crying, Li Zicheng smiled bitterly and sighed, caressing his head and reaching out to pull out a piece of Li Guo's white hair: "It must be very difficult for you during this time."
"My child... I am worried about my father's safety, and my days are like years... I wish I could lead my troops to kill him..." Li Guo was so happy that he couldn't help crying, and he couldn't even speak smoothly. He and Li Zicheng were both uncles and nephews as well as father and son. They had formed a bond between father and son in battle for many years. The family relationship is far deeper than the relationship between ordinary father and son, and the two are close in age and are more like brothers. (Looking at historical data, some say that Li Guo is five, six, seven or eight years older than Li Zicheng, while others say that the younger Li Zicheng is two years old. Whichever is the best, Probably ten years younger)
In the yamen, Li Zicheng had washed up and was devouring food. Not to mention having a full meal after being on the run for more than a month, Li Zicheng often couldn't eat a bite for several days.
Li Guo served him with tea and water respectfully, and asked carefully: "How did father escape? Where is Prime Minister Niu?"
Li Zicheng did not answer in a hurry. He wolfed down a cup of tea and burped before slowly arriving: "Niu Jinxing is still alive and is hiding in Zhongtiao Mountain on the other side."
Hey, Li Guo gasped, this is right under Li Yan's nose, but Zhongtiao Mountain stretches for hundreds of miles and there are so many people hidden there. Even if Li Yan knew about it, he would not be able to hunt him down.
Li Zicheng then told how he escaped. After having a bad premonition in the capital, he and Niu Jinxing hurriedly left the city to find a den, and asked the people who responded to flee north to attract the attention of the officers and soldiers, while they hurriedly Fleeing to the east, Chang Yu, who reacted at the time, sent people to pursue him. Sure enough, he was running to the north and south. He never expected that this guy would run east as soon as he left the city. This is where Li Zicheng's experience lies. He has extraordinary vigilance. With his special skills and judgment, he could escape from the capital before being exposed and predict Chang Yu's prediction. After all, people would normally think that he would have to take Shanxi Road or Hebei Road to escape.
The fog bombs were indeed effective and successfully led an elite pursuit team to the Yanqing Mountains. While the area around the capital was still being dug up and searched, he had already fled to Tongzhou.
According to his plan, he would directly take the canal and go south when he was notified, and then make plans after landing in Shandong. After all, he had more hidden mines there.
As long as I run fast, the officers and soldiers are always one step behind me!
However, Li Zicheng still underestimated Chang Yu's movements. Although he was slower than him, it was not much slower. Moreover, the pursuit team he sent was not one. They cast a wide net. In addition to several elites, they also mobilized the capital For example, when he was surprised that Li Zicheng was coming, Chang Yu ordered the pursuit. At the same time, Jinyiwei and Fanzi's messengers quickly notified the surrounding cities of Gyeonggi to guard against interception.
In other words, when Li Zicheng fled to Tongzhou, Baoding Prefecture received news and began to arrange for interception and arrest, not to mention Tongzhou, which is one step away from the capital. Although the pursuers have not followed here, Tongzhou Military orders have been received to block waterways and docks.
Here, Li Zicheng's plan to escape by water failed. He had no choice but to escape on a wild road accompanied by several dead soldiers. When he fled near Cangzhou, he was discovered by the pursuers. Then he began a life of escape with a near-death life, while thunderstorms While fleeing, he kept going in circles with the pursuers in Hebei and Shandong, sometimes hiding in busy cities and sometimes hiding in the wild mountains. He was frightened and suffered a lot...
However, his circling around also stunned the pursuers. At this time, the group of dead soldiers that Li Guo had eliminated attracted the attention of the pursuers. However, he took the opportunity to escape from the encirclement and entered Henan Province along the Yellow River. He fled all the way towards Tongguan, sometimes dressing up as a beggar, sometimes doing business, sometimes herding shepherds... and finally escaped.
Chang Yu did not expect this, so he made a wrong judgment. He even thought that Li Zicheng escaped from Yanqing and then entered Shanxi Road when he reviewed it with Chunxiang after the pursuit. In fact, Li Zicheng even escaped from Yanqing. Never been there.
Not to mention that Li Zicheng was the most professional escape expert in the Ming Dynasty.
