A large army was traveling through the peaks and valleys between the Qinling Mountains. It was vast, with tens of thousands of people and horses. The former army had already passed under the towering Shaoxi Mountain and was heading west along the surging Wuguan River. The front army had already crossed Wuguan, while the rear army had just crossed the Qi River and was still outside the boundaries of Shaanxi Province.
Wu Sangui, the President of the Ming Dynasty and the Western King of the Ming Dynasty, was among the entry team. He was riding a Hexi horse paid tribute by Taijidash Batur of the Qinghai Mongolian Heshuote Tribe, and wore a Ming Dynasty hat on his head. The prince wore a bright red python robe and a jade belt around his waist. His face was full of pride.
The sound of horse hooves thundered, hundreds of Wu's servants and cavalry wearing expensive and beautiful fish scale waist-length armor and wine cups and helmets, as well as dozens of military and civilian officials wearing various official uniforms, gathered around Wu Sangui.
Leading the way in front of Wu Sangui and others were thousands of cavalrymen led by Ma Bao, the fierce cavalry commander under his command. They were all wearing red cloth-covered armor and holding dozens of red flags, billowing in the wind, majestic.
Behind Wu Sangui and others, there were countless red flags rolling, and endless infantry wearing red cloth masks and helmets followed.
The main force of the Ming Dynasty's Western Army finally entered the pass!
What I entered was not Shanhaiguan, but Wuguan!
However, for Wu Sangui, the significance of his entry into Wuguan cannot be overemphasized. Because Emperor Xiao Mazi of the Qing Dynasty had previously declared that he would follow the example of Emperor Wei Ming, Cao Rui, and lead a personal expedition to resist Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, so he settled in Xi'an to guard the country for the emperor.
And now Wu Sangui enters Wuguan as a winner, which means that he has defeated the Qing Emperor Kangxi who personally guarded the country, and won the home of the fourteenth dynasty emperors who conquered the world, and became the capital of Zhuge Liang's five Northern Expeditions. Things that couldn't be done.
What made Wu Sangui even more excited was that the defeated Qing Emperor Kangxi had to surrender to him in order to concentrate his efforts on dealing with his good brother, the "self-proclaimed regent" Fuquan!
The Emperor of the Qing Dynasty professed his vassalship to him, the Ming Dynasty vassal king!
What does this mean?
This shows that Wu Sangui is now older than the Little Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. He can naturally become the Great Emperor of the Zhou Dynasty!
At the same time, Kangxi's declaration of tribulation also allowed him to avenge the shame of being forced to shave his head and surrender to the Qing Dynasty after leading Qing soldiers into the pass!
If he brought in his own soldiers and brought in an emperor, even if he recognized six-year-old Shunzhi as his father, even if Wu Sangui had to cede more land than Yanyun's Sixteenth Prefecture, Wu Sangui would accept it. At most, people would scold Shi Jingtang as the second best emperor!
But in the end, the benefits he got were much worse than Shi Jingtang!
Not only did the son of the emperor not become the emperor, but he also became the slave of the little emperor Shunzhi. This is really a shame in the world of traitors!
A traitor like him would be ridiculed if he went down to see Shi Jingtang and Qin Hui. One of them was the emperor and the other was the executive deputy emperor. Although they were scolded after death, they were quite prosperous when they were alive. . How could it be like Wu Sangui, who should be sent to a place like Yunnan to be a traitor, which is almost the same as being exiled to the army. Finally, he wanted to be a big traitor in Yongzhen Yunnan, but the little emperor Kangxi actually refused!
Just thinking about it makes me angry!
Thinking of this, Wu Sangui coughed heavily.
Hearing his cough, the two dog-headed military advisors Liu Xuanchu and Wang Shirong immediately rode forward.
Wang Shirong said: "Your Majesty, it's getting cold. Do you want to put on some extra clothes?"
Liu Xuanchu also said: "My lord, everything is ready. I can handle important things for you at any time!"
It turns out that the yellow robe has been prepared for Wu Sangui a long time ago. This time, we must strike while the iron is hot and put Wu Sangui on the throne in one fell swoop!
But Wu Sangui was coughing now not because he wanted to put on more clothes, but because he wanted to get something from Kangxi!
"When I was outside Shanhaiguan, my head was shaved by Dorgon for no reason. It's not that I'm incompetent, but I must get this loss back! Xuanchu, Shirong, how do you think I should find it?"
Wang Shirong said: "Your Majesty, Dorgon cut your hair, you can also cut Kangxi's hair!"
Liu Xuanchu nodded: "Yes, we have to cut off their braids! We can't just cut one, we have to cut them all! They Manchurians killed so many of us with one hair and no head, we must get it back this time Come on. Give them pigtails and no hair!"
"Okay!" Wu Sangui nodded, "There's someone here, Xuan Ma Bao, come see me!"
Some people are entering the customs, and some are leaving the customs!
The people leaving customs are now heading towards Tongguan, the gateway to the east of Xi'an!
In the past two days, the small but dangerous Tongguan City has been crowded with troops and military family members, and the security is extremely tight. The four gates of Tongguan - the East Gate, the West Gate, the South Gate and the Upper South Gate. After the Emperor Kangxi's imperial chariot arrived the day before yesterday, they were taken over by people from his "West Eight Banners" guard camp. Each gate has a visitor. The leader led the flag soldiers to guard and strictly check the comings and goings. Outside Tongguan City, all locations where troops can be stationed are filled with horse and infantry troops and their families. Not only were the local people's houses occupied by the military family members, but tents were also lined up in the surrounding open space, and there were groups of war horses.
Although Tongguan is extremely dangerous and there are many troops gathered here, the tense atmosphere still spreads everywhere. Perhaps in order to relieve everyone's nervousness and avoid camp roars, countless bonfires would be lit around Tongguan at night. From a distance, they looked dotted, as if all the stars in the sky had fallen. Drums and trumpets were sounding to announce safety, and there were groups of patrolling knights galloping back and forth. No one knew how many people were working the night shift.
However, it is not unreasonable for these people to work extra night shifts, because in Huayin County, not far from Tongguan, the flag of General Wei, the leader of the Ming Dynasty's Western Army and the general manager of Ningxia Wu Shicong, is already flying high on the city wall!
Wu Shicong led 20,000 Shaanxi-Gansu cavalry from Wuzhangyuan five days ago and marched eastward without encountering any obstruction along the way. At dusk the day before yesterday, they entered Huayin County, which had just been abandoned by the Qing army.
The 20,000 Shaanxi-Gansu cavalry were recruited by Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong from the prefectures of Liangzhou, Ganzhou, Xining, Pingliang, Ningxia and Fengxiang in Shaanxi when they visited Gansu. Many of them are descendants of the Shaanxi-Gansu Ming Army. Some of them still retained a certain amount of power after the fall of the Ming Dynasty and were considered powerful in Gansu.
The main force of the Shanshanliu thieves under Wu Sangui were actually old frontier soldiers from Datong Town, Yulin Town, Ningxia Town, Gansu Town, and Shaanxi Town. They have so much in common with the descendants of the Ming Dynasty frontier soldiers who are still suffering in Shaanxi and Gansu. Many descendants of the Ming Dynasty frontier troops cried and surrendered when they saw the Western King's army wearing Ming Dynasty costumes - their own people were here! Hurry up and vote. If you want to conquer the world and become a hero, you must vote now. If it is later, there will be no place to make meritorious deeds!
Because this group of eager Shaanxi-Gansu cavalry moved too quickly, they ran from Wuzhangyuan to Huayin County in just three days, which frightened Kangxi. If the family members evacuated from Xi'an were not moving too slowly, there were not many ships at Fenglingdu, and the 48,000 bannermen and 78,000 family members could not be transported to Shanxi immediately. Kang Mazi did not want to wait for the Wu Sangui faction The envoys and reinforcements who come will just leave first.
Fortunately, Wu Shicong's army did not continue to move toward Tongguan after arriving in Huayin, nor did it prevent the family members who were gradually evacuating from Xi'an from moving to Tongguan through the official road north of Huayin County.
But Kangxi was still a little restless, fearing that Wu Sangui would suddenly turn against him after taking Xi'an City and send troops to raid his camp in Tongguan!
Although Kangxi has been telling the facts and reasoning with his subordinates these days, telling them that Wu Sangui will definitely support "Kang Ji Qing" to defeat Fu Quan, the pseudo regent - now the Qing Dynasty is "Fu is strong and Kang is weak", if Wu Sangui If we raid Kangxi, Kangxi will be defeated immediately, and the civil war in the Qing Dynasty will be over immediately. This is of no benefit to Wu Sangui. How could that old fox do it?
But who can guarantee that the old fox will not go crazy?
Perhaps Wu Sangui felt that it would be better to cut off Kangxi's head to relieve his hatred and win him more support from the Han people.
So Kangxi was very uneasy in Tongguan City these two days! Even the three governors of Shanxi and Shaanxi, Moro Luo, Shanxi Tuanlian Minister Chen Tingjing and Shanxi Tuanlian Assistant Minister Yu Chenglong, who came to see him, all felt that Emperor Kangxi was a little restless.
Moro Luo, Chen Tingjing and Yu Chenglong were all loyal slaves or ministers of the Qing Dynasty. They came from Shanxi together today. In addition to welcoming him, they also wanted to make peace with the two brothers Kangxi and Fuquan. These brothers were incompatible, and An Nengrong The world? At this moment, the three of them saw that Kangxi looked uneasy, and they all felt that something was wrong.
Both Moro Luo and Yu Chenglong glanced at Kangxi's teacher Chen Tingjing. Chen Tingjing also knew that he had a heavy responsibility, so he had to bite the bullet and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry too much. In fact, the regent, no, is Yu. The king has no plans to usurp the throne, at least not yet."
"Yes, yes," Moro said with a smile, "King Yu is actually not that strong. A while ago, General Mu Zhan under King An was defeated in Huaibei and lost Xuzhou, which shocked Henan and Shandong. King Yu had to Guanyinbao was sent to lead the new army from Fengtai camp south to Jining to resist the Northern Expeditionary Army of Liu Jinzhong, the puppet Northern King of Ming Dynasty. Now in the Zhili area there are only Yang Qilong's Zhili regiment training, Shi Lang's navy, and the Mongolian cavalry directly under King Yu. The number is not There are few, but most of them are not very fightable.”
Yu Chenglong, a capable official who is said not to make much money, also echoed: "Yes, King Yu also invited Prince Gong and Heilongjiang General Bahai to Beijing a while ago, hoping to mobilize the troops from outside the pass to enter the pass, but they were blocked by Prince Gong. and Bahai refused. Prince Gong and Bahai jointly proposed to hold a meeting of kings and ministers to discuss state affairs. In the end, King Yu had no choice but to agree to the invitation of Prince Gong and Bahai."
"Hmph!" Kangxi interrupted with a look of disdain, "What kind of battle is that that Fuquan fought? He lost 30,000 elite soldiers in Suzhou for nothing, and also lost Xuzhou too! Those 30,000 elite soldiers were in Huguang, Jiangnan and The counterfeit Ming rebels have fought bloody battles, and only the 40,000 elite soldiers of the Eighth Battalion, which I personally led, can compare. The so-called new army that Fuquan built in Beijing is nothing compared with these 30,000 elite soldiers! The little new army Guanyin protected So what if they are all in Beijing? So what if Bahai’s troops outside the Pass enter the Pass? They haven’t fought against King Wu Xi and Wang Ni, so they can’t be considered truly elite.”
Kangxi's words were full of confidence, and they also showed his determination to go to war with Fuquan!
As far as he knew, the so-called "New Army" under Fu Quan was not new at all. It was still the same as when Wang Fuchen was training at the small station. Weiyuan General Artillery (mortar artillery) and Zimu Artillery were used as the main artillery force, and the tactics of muskets were used. It is also an old-fashioned nine-into-ten series. It is difficult to coordinate such gun tactics and equipment on the battlefield.
Therefore, Fuquan's new army could not defeat Kangxi's Xi'an Banner Army - the Xi'an Banner Army was learned on the battlefield by paying tuition and competing with the Wu Jiajun!
The current Xi'an Banner Army has long abandoned the Weiyuan General Cannon and the weak-fired Zimu Cannon, which are only useful for hitting fixed targets, and instead is equipped with a large number of bronze artillery that can fire three-pound and six-pound units. At the same time, the nine-into-ten chain shotgun tactic was also abandoned, and instead the shotguns were placed on both sides of the spear and sword array, and the spear array was used to defend or cover the attack of the spearmen and sword soldiers.
Moreover, the old foundation of the Xi'an Banner Army is the Banner Army and Green Camp soldiers who suffered heavy losses at the hands of Wu Sangui in southern Sichuan. They have been practicing on the battlefield for several years now, and they are all tired of smelling gunpowder smoke and seeing too many mountains of corpses. How can Fuquan's army compare to the sea of blood?
Moreover, Wu Sangui will also provide up to 10,000 reinforcements. Although the reinforcements are not many, they may not actually go up to fight, but as long as they can help cheer and clarify their position, it is enough.
Seeing that Kangxi seemed confident, Moro, Chen Tingjing, and Yu Chenglong also quickly stated their positions.
"Your Majesty, since you have made up your mind, I am willing to lead the 20,000 elite Green Battalion troops from Shanxi Province as your Majesty's vanguard!"
"Your Majesty, I am also willing to lead the Shanxi regiment and train ten thousand people to follow your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, I also have a regiment of five thousand people, enough to fight against the thieves!"
After hearing the statements of these three people, Kangxi became more confident. Twenty thousand Green Battalion plus fifteen thousand regiment training plus forty thousand West Route Banner Army, the total was seventy-five thousand!
"Okay, I have 75,000 elite soldiers, so what should I fear?"
As soon as Kangxi finished speaking, as if someone was trying to make things difficult for him, Xiao Guizi's panicked voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty is not good, the Wu army from Huayin is coming to Tongguan!"
When Kangxi heard this, his expression changed. Where did his full confidence just now go?
Seeing Kangxi's sudden change of face, Moro Luo habitually expressed his loyalty: "Your Majesty, my slave's 20,000 green troops have arrived in Puzhou and Jiezhou, and can march into Shaanxi at any time to fight Wu Ni!"
Chen Tingjing and Yu Chenglong took a look and quickly wanted to follow up, but before they could say anything, Kangxi scolded him with a straight face: "Mo Luo, don't talk nonsense, who is Wu Ni?"
Mo Luo, Chen Tingjing and Yu Chenglong were all stunned. Kangxi gritted his teeth and loudly said to Xiao Guizi outside: "Xiao Guizi, send someone to summon the generals immediately. I want to go out with them to meet him!"
Going out to welcome? Moruo, Chen Tingjing and Yu Chenglong thought: Do you want to fight? It seems that the emperor is quite brave and is not scared by Wu Sangui!
"The Western King of the Ming Dynasty has issued an edict. Please ask Wu Xuanye, Lord of the Qing Dynasty, to come out and receive the edict!"
At the foot of Tongguan City, following Ma Bao's loud roar, Moruo, Chen Tingjing, Yu Chenglong, and all other soldiers of the West Route Banner Army who followed Kangxi to meet him all looked in the direction of Kangxi.
Some of them already know who "Qing Lord Wu Xuanye" is?
This is the full name of Emperor Kangxi after Wu Sangui gave Kangxi the surname "Wu" in the "Chang'an Covenant" signed not long ago. Kangxi is now Wu Xuanye!
Although Kangxi signed the "Chang'an Covenant", he also expressed his gratitude to Wu Sangui for bestowing a surname - now Wu Sangui is the king and Kangxi is the minister. It is a great honor for the king to give a surname to his ministers! Of course Kangxi would like to thank him. However, he was still a little worried about his face, so the surname "Wu" was not a common surname. Kangxi's common surname was Aisin Gioro.
But now Ma Bao came from Huayin with more than 10,000 cavalry, and also brought Wu Sangui's order, asking to see "Wu Xuanye" by name. Could Kangxi not agree?
"Xuan Ye is here." Kangxi had no choice but to answer bravely.
"What?" Ma Bao looked very dissatisfied, "Wu Xuanye, did you miss something?"
"Your Majesty Wu Xuanye is here!" Kangxi corrected through gritted teeth.
Now Moro Luo, Chen Tingjing, and Yu Chenglong, who had just arrived, were all shocked!
How did Kangxi become "Chen Wu Xuanye"?
At this time, Kangxi could not care about the disappointment in his ministers' hearts. He could only try to stick to the bottom line - he could not kneel down to greet Wu Sangui's order, nor could he leave the protection of his guards to receive the order.
Ma Bao glanced at the more than 10,000 Eight Banners soldiers who were brought out by Kangxi to suppress the situation - they had set up a large square formation at the foot of Tongguan City, and Kangxi, who was riding a horse and surrounded by a group of people, could retreat at any time.
Since this Kangxi was not easy to catch, Ma Bao did not consider the extraneous problems. However, he could not completely let Kangxi get his wish. He only saw him smiling and said: "Master of the Qing Dynasty, I see that you are neatly dressed. It is not convenient for you to get on and off your horse. This is not right." I am not conveying the edict too much, but I still want to tell you the contents of the edict."
As he spoke, he opened his throat and said: "His Royal Highness the King of the West said that since Wu Xuanye has surrendered to him, he should abide by his rules. The King of the West's rule for men to keep their braids is to leave the braids but not the hair, and to leave the hair but not the hair. Braid! Wu Xuanye, what kind of braid do you want?"
"Of course it's my head!" Kangxi breathed a sigh of relief, "Xiao Guizi helped me cut off my braids!"
In fact, this braid is not forbidden for Manchu people. The Manchu rule is "grow your hair but not your hair". Growing your hair is absolutely not allowed, but there is nothing wrong with shaving your head. It is much better than cutting off your hair and braids.
When Ma Bao saw Kangxi's attitude, he couldn't find any fault at all, so he had to continue: "The King of the West said that everyone here in Tongguan must cut their braids! Back then, Dorgon ordered his hair to be shaved and he changed his clothes. I don't know how many people were harmed. People! The King of the West wants to get some justice for them today. Whoever dares to keep pigtails will have his head cut off!"
Kangxi's braids had been cut off by Xiao Guizi, but his head was still there, so he could hold up his braids high and shout loudly: "My ministers and soldiers, I order you to cut off your braids immediately and save your head!"
(End of chapter)
