Desert Eagle Suletan Khan

Chapter 244: I’m the one who decided to rule Yanjing (Part )
Everything is going according to Dorgon's expectations.

Li Zicheng realized the seriousness of the situation and personally led an army of 100,000 people to Shanhaiguan to attack Wu on April 13th. However, he still had a chance to recruit him and the marching speed was quite slow. He deliberately brought the captured former Ming Taizi and his father with him. Wu Xiang arrived at Guancheng around the 19th. Wu Sangui frequently sent envoys to ask for help from the Qing army. The cunning regent simply stopped his march and waited to see what would happen. One hundred thousand Dashun's army and 50,000 Guan Ning's army fought fiercely near Shanhaiguan. Guan Ning's army gradually became exhausted. Li Zicheng captured the south city of Shanhaiguan. Wu Sangui had to rely on the north city of Shanhaiguan to barely support him. In desperation, he accepted the Qing court's shaving and changing clothes and became a Manchu. The request of the ministers.

The regent finally moved, and he named Wu Sangui King of Pingxi. Later, under the banner of "Chongzhen's Revenge", he led his troops into the Pass in large numbers. At that time, Li Zicheng was moving on a piece of stone outside Shanhaiguan. The three strongest armies in East Asia were fighting here. The winner would determine the pattern of East Asian history.

Li Zicheng was riding on a handsome yellow gelding, staring at the army that was marching like a long snake with piercing eyes. The scar under his left eye was eye-catching. This scar was shot by guard Chen Fu when he was attacking Kaifeng. The scar was very close to his eye and almost killed him. It reminded him of the difficulties of starting a business all the time.

On the surface, his army swept through most of northern China with a devastating force and occupied Beijing, which has political significance above all else. In fact, he was in a very difficult position.

The newly born Dashun regime expanded too fast, and various forces were intertwined. Because they extorted money from the scholar-bureaucrats, they were unable to gain the recognition and respect of the traditional Confucian scholar-bureaucrats. They also lacked an effective administrative team and could actually only control a very limited area. More importantly, after the capture of Beijing, internal contradictions in the peasant army emerged. Some generals were greedy for pleasure and were unwilling to fight harder. Originally, he planned to send General Liu Zongmin to lead an army to force Wu Sangui to surrender. If the surrender failed, he would attack him. Unexpectedly, Liu Zongmin, who was full of gangsterism, said, "We are all thieves. Why do you enjoy yourself in the capital and let me work on the front line?" In desperation, he led his army to fight in person on April 13th. Considering that Wu Sangui only had more than 50,000 troops, he did not mobilize more troops for this battle and only invested 100,000 troops.

Emperor Yongchang is not afraid of war. Having experienced hundreds of battles, he ordered the Ming Dynasty's surrendered generals Tang Tong and Bai Guang'en to set up a camp on the edge of a rock to cut off Wu Sangui's retreat. At the same time, he led the main force of 60,000 old Shaanxi soldiers who had followed him to attack from the front. They attacked Xiluo, Beiyi and Dongluo cities respectively, with another 20,000 soldiers and horses distributed throughout the periphery.

Suddenly, Li Zicheng felt as if something was staring at him in the distance. Out of the vigilance of a veteran soldier, he looked towards the mountains to the north and saw nothing but lush greenery.

Dorgon led the Eight Banners soldiers to lurk on a hilltop to the north of a rock, like a cheetah, ready to deliver a fatal blow to the enemy at any time.

This battle was difficult for Li Zicheng, and it was equally difficult for him. Ever since he decided to send troops into the pass, he had bet the fate of the Qing Dynasty and his own destiny on this battle. If he wins, he will seize the power of Ding Yanjing, completely suppress Jierhalang, Hauge and other opposition forces, and take sole control of the Qing Dynasty; if he fails, he will inevitably be liquidated by the opposition forces.

He could have stayed away and watched the Han people kill each other. But his keen political vision told him that the death of Emperor Chongzhen was a golden opportunity given to the Manchu people by God, and he must enter the border immediately, otherwise he may not have another chance in the future. Therefore, he took the gamble resolutely and bet his own destiny and that of the Qing Dynasty on a piece of stone.

In order to win this battle, he mobilized the 80,000 troops he could mobilize, but the forced march meant that the infantry and artillery of the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty could not keep up in time. In the end, only more than 40,000 cavalrymen arrived on a stone battlefield. The regent deliberately stopped and watched near the battlefield, not only to inflict damage on both Wu Sangui and Li Zicheng, but also to wait for more reinforcements to arrive.

The Battle of a Piece of Stone was the peak showdown between Dorgon and Li Zicheng, but the power of another hero Wu Sangui should not be underestimated. His more than 50,000 Guan Ning army was the elite of the Ming Dynasty.

The death of Emperor Chongzhen caused everyone from the commander-in-chief Wu Sangui to the ordinary soldiers to suddenly lose their allegiance. Not only did the army have no way to receive their pay, but the road to their hometown was also cut off. They must choose a refuge partner between the two groups of bandits and slave slaves that they both hate before the entire army is annihilated.

After years of bloody battles, the Guan Ning army and the Eight Banners soldiers had deep hatred. This army chose to surrender. But fate played a trick on people. After Li Zicheng successfully recruited and surrendered Wu Sangui who was unwilling to surrender to the Qing army, he caused a stupid incident of abusing the family members of the surrendered general because of the disorganization of the internal organization. Although Wu Sangui was unwilling to surrender to the Qing court, he could not bear the humiliation. All he thinks about now is how to keep the military power in his hands.
Li Zicheng is coming with his army. Shanhaiguan is too important to ignore!
Shanhaiguan is a great pass that the Ming Dynasty painstakingly managed. More than 50,000 Guan Ning troops defended it in danger, and they were by no means without the power to fight. Wu Sangui, who had been fighting for a long time, asked local militia groups with poor combat effectiveness to defend various fortifications, and at the same time led elite troops to line up under Xilao City to prevent the Dashun Army from attacking the key points.

Li Zicheng ordered his elite troops to suppress the formation, and hungry refugees and new vassals who needed to show their loyalty swarmed up and attacked the city. The former was led by Bai Guangen, an old subordinate from the Peasant Army era, and the latter was commanded by Tang Tong, who had recently surrendered. There were another 60,000 elite troops who separately attacked Xiluo, North Wing and Dongluo City in Shanhaiguan. Since they did not have reliable siege weapons such as red cannons, they were unwilling to spend time building complex siege equipment. The intruders were almost using their weapons and flesh and blood to force their way into Shanhaiguan.

Most of Li Zicheng's 60,000 veteran troops were from the Ming Dynasty's frontier army, and they fought extremely bravely. Near Xilao City, the defenders soon became unable to withstand the attack. In order to get out of the predicament, Wu Sangui ordered a false surrender, lured thousands of Dashun troops to approach the city wall, and fired artillery fire on the city wall. Dashun's army suffered heavy casualties and was forced to retreat. In Beiyi City to the north, Dashun's army took advantage of the commanding terrain and stormed the city wall, gaining an advantage. Tang Tong's former Ming army surrendered, carrying many firearms, and suppressed the defenders at the top of the city very well. A fierce battle continued until dawn the next day, forcing part of the defenders to surrender. However, because other cities had not yet been conquered, the Dashun army failed to enter Luocheng.

Seeing that Guan Ning's army was in danger, Dorgon, who was sitting on the mountain watching the fight between tigers and tigers, decided to help his allies and ordered the Eight Banners Army to attack Tangtong's barracks at night. As night fell, Tang Tong's troops, who had lost their vigilance, were attacked inexplicably. They collapsed in confusion without even knowing who was attacking them, and the balance of the situation was reversed.

On April 22, the city gates fell one after another. Seeing the critical situation, Wu Sangui led his followers to break out of the siege and went to Weiyuan Fort to ask for help from Dorgon who was stationed here.

"Prince Regent, Wu Sangui is here. I see that his expression is sincere and does not seem to be fake." University scholar Gang Lin rushed into Dorgon's tent in a hurry.

"Don't be impatient, Mr. Wu. The one who should be impatient should be Wu Sangui." Dorgon smiled slightly and said, "Call him in."

"At the end of my visit to the regent, I wish to raise Shanhaiguan to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. My heart can be seen in the sky, earth, sun and moon." As soon as he entered the tent, Wu Sangui fell to his knees and cried bitterly.

Dorgon saw that this man was several years older than him and had a handsome appearance. He had already shaved off his Ming Dynasty bun, and the money rattail hanging down handsomely on the back of his head.

Well, even his head was shaved. It seems that this person is sincerely surrendering!
"Oh, eldest uncle, please get up quickly. I have been thinking about my eldest uncle for a long time." According to the custom of the Han people, Dorgon affectionately called Wu Sangui by his cousin, helped him up personally, and ordered someone to hold out a gold seal. , "Chang Bo, please see, I have prepared the Pingxi King's Seal for you."

After comforting Wu Sangui, Dorgon immediately led Azig and Duduo generals to lead the powerful forces into the pass through Nanshuimen, Beishuimen, and Guanzhongmen respectively. He also ordered Wu Sangui's tribe to serve as the vanguard with the title of Baibu.

(End of this chapter)