The ruthless emperor in the late Ming Dynasty forced Chongzhen to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 21 Wu Sangui's Plan
Chuangjun claims to be in the millions, but in fact there are only about half a million.

Of course, if you count the soldiers and horses left behind in Henan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, there are really nearly a million.

These millions of people are not only good and bad, but also disorganized.

Although in Chang'an, under Li Yan's suggestion, Li Zicheng rectified, but he only unified the logistics of the army.

The independence of the ministries is still very strong, and it is only a little stronger than when the battalions were allied together.

For example, in the 50 army in the capital, Li Zicheng's real descendants are only 20.

Among them, the most elite [-] were commanded by his nephew Li Guo, and the remaining [-] were commanded by several old brothers.

Then there are Liu Zongmin and Liu Fangliang who are the most powerful. The former has 20 troops, and the latter has expanded his army to [-] in Baoding.

Fortunately, the two are loyal to Li Zicheng.

Then there is Hong Niangzi, when Hong Niangzi and Li Yan started an incident in Henan and later defected to King Chuang, they had already gathered tens of thousands of horses, and it was precisely because of their joining that the strength of the Chuang army increased greatly.

Since the Northern Expedition, although King Chuang suppressed them openly and secretly, the team of Hong Niangzi still expanded to more than [-].

Coupled with Li Yan, who knows military affairs, the Red Detachment of Women has the strictest discipline and the highest combat effectiveness in the entire Chuang army.

In the end, there are soldiers and generals, as well as bandit and bandit leaders, big and small. There are hundreds of scattered people, and the total number of troops is about two hundred thousand.

In a word, no matter who comes to Lao Li, he is welcome, and he can become as big an official as he brings with him, and continue to command the people he brings.

There is nothing but food, only for meritorious service will reward some wealth, women and even weapons.

It is precisely because of this loose and free policy that the Chuang army has grown from eighteen cavalry to one million in a short period of time.

This is also the reason why Li Yan always insisted on negotiating peace and returning to Chang'an for rectification.

It is also the reason why the generals hate him.

Now that the army is divided, we can see the strength and weakness, and also expose the many weaknesses of the Chuang army.

I saw that the entire camp was in chaos, and the 8 horses led by Hong Niangzi headed north after gathering, barely maintaining their formation.

Liu Zongmin's 1 troops left the camp, except for more than [-] elite confidants, the rest of the troops were completely herded. Obviously, they had no serious training at all.

It was not until the evening of the second day that the army finally completed the three-sided encirclement of the capital, and then began to fill in the moat while building siege equipment.

The moat outside the capital can reach 100 meters at its widest point, and the average width is about 40 meters. It would take more than half a month to fill it up even with a million people.

Therefore, only one of the three sides was selected for burial. During the burial, the defenders on the top of the city would naturally not watch.

Archers with bows, those with cannons fired cannons, and those without cannons fired blunderbusses. The Chuangjun also sent people to shoot and shoot arrows to cover.

However, the cannons of the Ming army frequently exploded, which caused morale to be low. No one dared to use them. In addition, there were not many bows and arrows. Zhou Yuji finally ordered them to be ignored and let the bandits bury them.

Seeing this, Chuangjun no longer wasted artillery and bows and arrows.

The two sides were deadlocked like this.

at the same time.

Shanhaiguan.

A group of soldiers and civilians, together with the old and the young, are pouring into Shanhaiguan from the east.

"Second brother, this is the last batch."

"Ok!"

At this moment, in the gate of the city, a burly, handsome and handsome young general in chain mail looked at the few soldiers and civilians in the gate, and heaved a sigh of relief.

This person is none other than Wu Sangui, General Ping Xibo of Ming Ningyuan.

Ten days ago, after receiving Zhu Cihong's imperial decree, he directly gave up Ningyuan City and the large area of ​​land east of Shanhaiguan, and retreated to Shanhaiguan with more than [-] soldiers and civilians.

In fact, Zhu Cihong did not give the order, and Wu Sangui also planned to abandon Ningyuan City and retreat, because Ningyuan has become an isolated city, and he will surely die if he stays there.

Once besieged, it is impossible to send reinforcements to rescue the pass.

If it weren't for the sudden death of Chief Qiu Huang Taiji, the internal turmoil in Jiannu, and the fear that Chongzhen would be held accountable for abandoning the land, Wu Sangui would have run away last year.

Half a month ago, Dorgon, the regent of Jiannu, began to gather troops on a large scale after he monopolized the power. In addition, Zhu Cihong issued another decree. How could Wu Sangui want to stay in the dead city of Ningyuan?
"Report, Marshal, there is a gentleman outside the customs who claims to be surnamed Fan, and he says he has a letter from Marshal's family."

A chief executive trotted along the stairs to Wu Sangui, and knelt down on one knee to pray.

"Take people to the Earl's Mansion first!"

Wu Sangui waved his hands calmly when he heard the words, obviously guessing who was coming.

After Mr. Qian went down, the third brother Wu Sangui whispered, "Second brother, the family letter from Guanwai, could it be uncle...?"

Fourth brother Wu Sanfu also whispered: "Second brother, does Jiannu want to...?"

"Don't guess!"

Wu Sangui's face was serious, and he looked around carefully before turning around and walking down the city.

The two brothers hurried to follow.

in the hall.

Wu Sangui had already changed into a set of regular clothes, picked up his teacup and took a sip, then looked at the middle-aged scribe who was attacking, and said coldly:
"Fan Wencheng, you are so courageous, aren't you afraid that the commander will tie you up and send you to the capital to ask for credit?"

"Hehe, General Wu was joking. I'm afraid it's unknown whether Chongzhen or Li Chuang is sitting on the dragon chair in the imperial palace at this moment?"

Fan Wencheng chuckled, picked up the teacup and took a sip as well, and then said unhurriedly, with no trace of fear on his face.

"Bold!"

Wu Sangui slapped the table angrily, shaking all the teacups to the ground.

"General Wu calm down, the next time I come here, the main reason is to deliver a letter for the general's mother, uncle, and ancestor..."

Fan Wencheng still unhurriedly took out a letter from his pocket.

"Humph!"

Wu Sangui snorted coldly, took the letter from his third brother and read it.

It wasn't until he finished reading that Fan Wencheng continued: "General Wu, Zongbing Zu always talks about you, looking forward to being reunited with you all the time!

The regent of my family also often praised and talked about General Wu, saying that the general was the No. "

"Hmph! I think your regent is not talking about Wu, but Shanhaiguan!" Wu Sangui sneered.

"General Wu, we people of the Ming Dynasty don't talk dark words. Now that Li Chuang is marching towards the capital with millions of people, whether the Ming Dynasty can stop it or not, I think the general knows better than me that the Ming Dynasty is in danger."

"Where my cavalry of the Qing Dynasty goes, no one can stop it. The soldiers are so powerful that they are as old as the past and the present. They leap over the Central Plains and unify China. It's only a matter of time."

"As the saying goes, a good bird chooses a tree to live in, and a good minister chooses a master to do things. The destiny is in the clear, not in the bright, nor in the order. It must be easy to see with the wisdom of a general!
If the general is willing to abandon the dark side...abandon the bright side and turn to the Qing Dynasty, the regent of my family is willing to treat him as a king and promise the general to open the house. "

"hiss!"

Wu Sangui and Wu Sanfu on the side gasped, their eyes stared straight.

Wu Sangui was also trembling, his throat felt dry for a while.

But then he adjusted, and said with a serious face: "Stop talking nonsense, loyal ministers don't matter to two masters, I, Wu Sangui, have been greatly favored by the emperor, I was born as a man of Ming Dynasty, and died as a ghost of Ming Dynasty. He wants me to join the Qing Dynasty. Impossible!"

"General Wu..."

"Don't need to say too much, the two countries are at war without killing each other, this time the commander will not care about you, please go back!"

Wu Sangui waved his hand, interrupting Fan Wencheng's continued temptation.

Fan Wencheng also knew that for a person like Wu Sangui, if he didn't surrender, it would be unnecessary to say more, so he had to get up and leave.

"Second brother, I'm afraid Daming is really going to end this time. I think the conditions offered by Nador can be considered."

"That's right, second brother, that little emperor is too stingy, he only named his second brother Ping Xibo, look at Dole."

As soon as Fan Wencheng left, the two brothers surrounded him and said anxiously.

"Confused, although the conditions offered by Nador are good, they are just a drawing on paper. If he doesn't honor it, what can we do?" Wu Sangui cursed.

"Second brother, what should we do then? The intruders are coming so fiercely this time, do you really want to lead troops to King Qin?"

"So what if we don't go? Shanhaiguan is like no other place. Once the capital is over and the money and food are cut off, we have only two choices, either to serve Dole Gun as slaves, or to surrender to Li Zicheng."

"But neither of these two options is a good choice. Li Zicheng's support of a million soldiers is no less than ours. Once he surrenders, even if he can get a high-ranking official and a generous salary, he will be squeezed out everywhere."

"Not to mention the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Although they may be reused at the beginning, they will definitely end up killing donkeys in the end, and they will also have to bear the reputation of traitors."

"But if we can repel the invading army and keep the capital, the imperial court can continue to collect taxes, and the money, food and materials from Jiangnan will be continuously supplied to us.

And we can support more soldiers and horses, His Majesty will only rely on us more, and your second brother and I will have higher and higher official positions. Wouldn't it be more enjoyable than being a slave to the Manchu Qing and surrendering to Li Zicheng?What's more, father and Yuanyuan are both in the capital! "

At the end of Wu Sangui's speech, there was also an inexplicable brilliance in his eyes.

He still didn't say a word, that is, three to five years later, who will be the last name in this world, and which one will be determined?
"Second brother, this is good, but the intruder is known as a million, and the generals from all over the country have not come to serve the king."

"The thieves are just a bluff, there can't be a million, not to mention that we are not fighting recklessly, the city wall of the capital is strong and tall, how can it be so easy to break through?
Once you can't attack for a long time, morale will drop. Even if there are millions, they are just a mob. I have [-] cavalry, why should I be afraid? "

Wu Sangui said disdainfully.

Obviously, he also knows the details of the Chuang army. As long as the capital can hold on for a month, he is sure to defeat the Chuang army, break the siege of the capital, and make a world-class feat.

"Second brother, are you going to take all the cavalry away?" Wu Sangui was shocked.

"That's right, this time the fourth brother will follow me to serve the king, and the third brother you stay behind, [-] infantry are enough to guard Shanhaiguan!
Remember, you must not relax and give the Manchus an opportunity. Shanhaiguan is the foundation of our brothers, and you must not lose it, otherwise everything will be lost! "

Wu Sangui exhorted with a solemn face.

"Second brother, don't worry, the city is alive and the people are there, and the city is dead and the people are dead. Brother promises that nothing will be lost."

Wu Sangui patted his chest.

After giving some instructions, on the second day, Wu Sangui took [-] Guanning iron cavalry and headed for the capital in a mighty way, but almost all of them traveled with horses, and the march was only more than ten miles a day.

(End of this chapter)