At this moment, Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, ran up the city wall in a hurry. When he saw the flags of the Manchu cavalry, his face turned pale.
Seeing Wei Guogong Xu Da and Yongchang Hou Lanyu both looking careless, Wu Sangui reminded:
"Wei Guogong, Yongchang Marquis, those people are the Manchu Eight Banners, plus the Mongolian Eight Banners and the Han Eight Banners who came one after another."
"The Manchu and Qing Dynasties are going to go to war this time."
Lan Yu leaned against the city wall and said nonchalantly:
"General Wu, no matter what the Eight Banners are, I will make sure they never come back."
Wei Guogong Xu Da looked at the Manchu and Qing camp in the distance and was silent.
…
Night falls.
Dozens of people quietly walked out of the Manchu camp and came to the foot of Shanhaiguan, near a sparsely guarded city wall.
"Cuckoo"
I saw the leader put his hands to his mouth, imitating the calls of birds, and called a few times in a low voice.
A few seconds later, someone poked his head out of the city wall and shouted in a low voice:
"Is this General Zu under the city?"
Zu Dashou raised his head, looked at Shanhaiguan in front of him through the moonlight, and said with a wry smile:
"Yes, it's me."
The deputy general turned his head cautiously and glanced behind him, turned his head, and threw the letter in his hand down the city wall.
After Zu Dashou picked up the letter, he read it over and over again, confirming that it was Wu Sangui's reply, and took a deep look at Shanhaiguan.
Then he turned around and left with his men.
…
at the same time.
The deputy general wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, turned around, and said with a flattering face:
"General, I am very loyal to the Ming Dynasty and have never thought of joining the Manchus. It was Wu Sangui, the traitor, who forced me to deliver the letter for him."
I saw Yongchang Hou Lanyu eating roasted lamb leg and said casually:
"I said that I would not kill you if I asked you to make meritorious deeds. It doesn't matter that Wu Sangui didn't fall for the trick."
"I really don't know what Emperor Chongzhen is thinking. His uncle has defected to the Manchus, but he still dares to let Wu Sangui, his nephew, guard Shanhaiguan?"
The deputy general stood aside with a forced smile and echoed.
…
After Zu Dashou returned to the Manchu camp, he walked directly into the Chinese army camp, saluted and knelt down, and said respectfully:
"Your Majesty, this is my nephew's reply."
The white-haired Huang Taiji took the letter, opened it, and said thoughtfully:
"General Zu, your nephew said that he will open the city gate tonight as planned. How credible do you think it is?"
"These days, the spies I sent into the Ming Dynasty brought back a lot of bad news."
"Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were defeated too suddenly, and the little emperor actually killed so many corrupt officials in Shuntian Mansion."
Zu Dashou twitched his lips and said:
"Your Majesty, this is the only chance we have for the Qing Dynasty. We can take advantage of the fact that the Ming Dynasty has just calmed down the internal troubles, the treasury is empty, and the army is tired, and we can break through the barrier in one fell swoop."
"If we miss this opportunity, the Qing Dynasty will have no choice but to wait for the Ming Dynasty to come knocking."
Huang Taiji knocked on the armrest of the dragon chair and said:
"I'll think about this carefully. You can go down first."
Zu Dashou bowed, turned around and bumped into Fan Wencheng, nodded, and left.
…
Inside the Eight Banners camp of the Han people.
Hong Chengchou was gently wiping his armor. Suddenly, Zu Dashou walked in carrying two pots of strong liquor.
After Zi Guzi sat down, he grabbed a pot of strong wine, took a swig, and said:
"Have you heard? Your Majesty, he... finally looks a bit like an emperor."
"Both Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were defeated."
Hong Chengchou froze slightly, then put his armor aside, picked up the liquor, and said:
"We have no way out. It's not like you don't know your Majesty's temperament. You're too suspicious."
"We have surrendered to the Manchus. If we go back, His Majesty will definitely get rid of us."
Zu Dashou thought of Zhu Youjian's suspicion, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and he was speechless.
…
late at night.
It was quiet inside and outside Shanhaiguan, with only a few patrolling defenders walking up and down the city wall.
In fact, since the Battle of Songjin, more than 100,000 troops died in the battle, and the commander-in-chief Wang Tingchen and others were defeated and executed.
Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, and his ancestors, Dashou and Dalue, returned to the Manchu Dynasty.
The defenders guarding Shanhaiguan had long lost their fighting spirit.
…
At some point, the Eight Mongolian Banners and the Eight Han Banners, totaling nearly 100,000 troops, quietly left the camp under the leadership of their generals.
Huang Taiji was wearing armor, riding on a tall horse, looking at Shanhaiguan, which looked like an empty city under the night sky, and said confidently:
"Mr. Fan, this time our Qing Dynasty will definitely be able to take over the Central Plains like Yuan Ting did!"
Fan Wencheng put his palms together and chuckled, echoing:
"Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty is over and the people have no support. It is a great time to change the dynasty!"
"The best thing is that the little emperor sent the 100,000 troops who had just defeated Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong to Shanhaiguan. His original intention was to stop us."
"But it just happened that Wu Sangui completely surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. The right time, place and people are all in the Qing Dynasty. This battle will be won!"
…
A moment later, Zu Dashou led tens of thousands of Han Eight Banners to the foot of Shanhaiguan Pass. According to the pre-agreed code, they were just about to imitate the singing of birds.
Suddenly, a soldier wearing a helmet and whose face could not be seen poked his head out and asked:
"Guanxia is Zu Dashou? General Zu?"
Zu Dashou heard that the man's voice was not that of a deputy general or Wu Sangui, and he suddenly became suspicious and asked:
"Who are you?"
While speaking, Zu Dashou whispered and ordered the army to retreat slowly.
The next second, a sneer sounded:
"This prince...Lanyu!"
"After this battle, I might be able to call myself the Duke of the Kingdom!"
"put"
The next second, countless torches lit up, and the city walls were filled with Ming soldiers wearing sharp armor.
Immediately afterwards, the deafening sound of artillery sounded.
"Boom boom boom"
With just one round of artillery, the tens of thousands of troops led by Zu Dashou suffered considerable damage. They quickly used firecrackers to fight back, but with little effect.
At the same time, when Hong Chengchou saw the movement in Shanhaiguan, a trace of confusion flashed in his eyes and he ordered:
"Someone... use artillery!"
The Manchu and Qing Dynasties were not without artillery. In other words, the Ming Dynasty's army suffered repeated defeats, and the Manchu and Qing Dynasties captured countless artillery pieces.
It was just that the tens of thousands of Han Eight Banners led by Zu Dashou did not bring artillery in order to cooperate with Wu Sangui inside and outside and ambush the 100,000 exhausted reinforcements.
…
Inside Shanhaiguan.
In the military camp.
The sound of artillery resounding in the night sky suddenly woke up Wu Sangui from his deep sleep.
Suddenly, Chang Sen lifted the curtain and broke into the tent, holding a brazier in one hand and a nearly roasted hare in his mouth.
Seeing the look of shock on Wu Sangui's face, Chang Sen put down the brazier, sat there majestically, roasting the hare, and said:
"Wu Sangui, on the first night we came to Shanhaiguan, your deputy general was caught by us."
"If I were you, I would just wait and see. Maybe Emperor Chongzhen is in a good mood and can let your nine tribes go."
Wu Sangui, who had already grasped the weapon, felt cold all over. Remembering that he saw the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty coming today, he said in horror:
"Your goal is Huang Taiji and the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty!"
