Chapter 60 third chapter

If it is said that fate favored Wu Sangui and history chose Wu Sangui before, then Wu Sangui seized fate and put himself on the balance of history this time when he retreated to Shanhaiguan and became a pivotal weight. Shanhaiguan is a magical key to enter the customs. It is located in the embrace of mountains and mountains. It is known as the most majestic pass in the world. The east end of the Great Wall begins here.It faces the sea in the east, and Fuzhou Mountain and Rabbit Ear Mountain in the north. The mountains and the sea are interdependent, and the terrain is dangerous. Wu Sangui, who owns Shanhaiguan, knows very well that the 30,000 "Guanning iron cavalry" in his hands are not enough to form a third armed force independent of the Qing court and Dashun.In other words, he can only exist by attaching to one of them.In the past, although the Dashun Peasant Army and the Qing government had different interests, they cooperated tacitly and in essence constituted a north-south attack against their common enemy—the Ming court.The collapse of the Ming Dynasty and the drastic changes in the situation will inevitably lead to the confrontation between the two new and powerful military groups.And Shanhaiguan should be the first choice and the focus of the desperate struggle between the two sides.As a result, Wu Sangui suddenly became worth ten times more, and became extremely prominent.The history after the fall of the Ming Dynasty is like a balance, with the Qing government at one end and the Dashun Peasant Army at the other end, and he has become a weight, right at the center of the balance.As long as he tilts slightly to either side, the general situation of the world will undergo a fundamental change: submitting to Dashun can prevent the Qing army from entering the pass, so that the new regime that has just established its capital in Beijing will have enough time to successfully complete the task of replacing the Ming Dynasty. Historical mission; when the Qing Dynasty was surrendered, the Qing army would drive straight in, seize the fruits of victory of the peasant army, and take Beijing directly to win the Central Plains.

The handsome and unrestrained Wu Sangui stands on top of the Shanhaiguan Pass, looking at the two military groups in and outside the pass with uncertain future and in a hurry, looking a little bit up for grabs. Soon, Li Zicheng threw an "olive branch" to him, and sent his general Tang Tong to appease him, promising that he would have a "reward from Marquis Tong".Wu Sangui was naturally moved, but he didn't agree. At this time, the Qing court was still fighting for him, and the rewards were very generous and attractive.But Wu Sangui would not easily fall to the Qing court. The long-term border quarrels had caused him to have deep grievances with the Qing people, and his repeated refusal to surrender made him even more worried.

Wu Sangui is still weighing, comparing, choosing, and waiting. The situation is urgent and time is running out. What is he still waiting for? Specifically, he is still waiting for a reply from his father Wu Xiang. When Emperor Chongzhen initially planned to transfer Wu Sangui's Ningyuan garrison, he made a hint to the ministers of the government and the opposition - to promote Wu Sangui's father, Wu Xiang, to be the governor of the Chinese army and transfer him to the capital.When the capital fell, Wu Sangui once sent a letter to his father, to the effect that he would retreat outside the customs. If the whole family fell into the hands of the peasant army, for the sake of family affection, he would have no choice but to surrender to Dashun.That is to say, whether Wu Sangui can lean towards the peasant army, the attachment of his father and family has become an important "indicator".Within a few days, Wu Sangui received a reply from Wu Xiang.Then he learned that his father had surrendered to the Dashun regime, and that his parents' family and his concubine Chen Yuanyuan were both in the capital. In his letter, his father repeatedly urged him to surrender to Dashun as soon as possible, so that he could become a hero of the new dynasty and share the glory and wealth with his family.

Almost at the same time as he received his father's letter, Li Zicheng sent someone to send 40,000 taels of silver payment to the master and a letter of seal to the Marquis.Not only can he protect his family, but he can also be a high-ranking official and rich salary, as well as money and silver. Wu Sangui no longer hesitated, and finally made up his mind to surrender to Li Zicheng! The next day, he handed over Shanhaiguan to Tang Tong, the representative of the Peasant Army, and once again led the army on the road to the west.This time it was not King Qin, but a return to Beijing.Along the way, Wu Sangui imagined the grand occasion of Li Zicheng's grand welcome and the glory of being king and homage, imagined the joy of reuniting with his family, especially imagined the reunion with his concubine Chen Yuanyuan under the flickering candlelight after a long absence, and couldn't help feeling elated. , intoxicated and fascinated.

Here, it is necessary for us to expand our pen and ink a little bit, and describe the fiery love between Wu Sangui and Chen Yuanyuan. Chen Yuanyuan was born beautiful since she was a child, but because of her poor family, she was trafficked to Suzhou to become a singing girl.She is glamorous, good at Southern Opera, and can recite poems and compose Fu.Soon, her inner beauty and outer beauty won the favor of the stars, and she became a famous stunner along the Qinhuai River, and literati and celebrities competed to associate with her.Every time after singing and dancing, facing the lonely figure and thinking about the tragic fate, Chen Yuanyuan always felt sad.The only longing and hope in her heart is that one day she can find a good husband who can rely on her life and get rid of this despicable career of making jokes and low social status.

The first man who made her heart flutter was Mao Xiang, who was known as one of the four sons of Jiangnan at that time.The two fell in love at first sight, and both were intoxicated in romantic love.When Maoxiang parted, he also promised an auspicious day to marry Yuanyuan. However, it was not Maoxiang who waited for Chen Yuanyuan to come, but Tian Yuhong, the head of state.This year, Tian Yuhong was ordered to go to Putuo Mountain in the South China Sea to offer incense, and he came to Suzhou to buy a woman with both sex and art. go. The Tian family is rich, powerful and powerful. For an ordinary prostitute, it might not be a satisfactory destination.However, Chen Yuanyuan is a temperamental person, what she values ​​is the communication of hearts and the harmony of emotions.Tian Yuhong is old and vulgar; in addition, he has many concubines, and he likes the new and dislikes the old. Although he has Chen Yuanyuan's body, he can't win her heart no matter what.

While Chen Yuanyuan was thinking about Maoxiang day and night, the God of Destiny, who was high above and overlooking the world, inadvertently glanced at her. By chance, she met Wu Sangui by chance. In May of the 16th year of Chongzhen (AD 1643), Wu Sangui, who was ordered to lead an army to Gyeonggi to complete the task of sniping the Qing army, was about to return north when he suddenly received an imperial edict summoned by the emperor.The decline of the Ming Dynasty caused many people who were following the trend to look for a way out. Wu Sangui, who held military power, was suddenly favored by the emperor. Tian Yuhong couldn't help but regard him as a "protective umbrella", hoping to get his protection at critical moments.Therefore, after being summoned by the Holy Majesty, Wu Sangui received a warm invitation from the head of the state.

In order to win Wu Sangui's favor, Tian Yuhong summoned his "pet"—a beautiful lady of the generation, Chen Yuanyuan to sing and dance after drinking for three rounds. Warriors like excitement by nature, beautiful women and spirits are often their second battlefield and second life, and Wu Sangui is no exception.As soon as he saw Yuanyuan, he was deeply attracted by her fairy-like beauty, and the strings of beautiful notes spit out by her twitching cherry mouth made him unable to restrain himself, as if he had entered the paradise on earth, unexpectedly "Throw away the helmet and armor", surrendered, and obediently became Yuanyuan's prisoner.

When Chen Yuanyuan saw Wu Sangui, he was also intoxicated by his young, handsome, mighty and unrestrained image.This kind of powerful masculine beauty not only made Tian Yuhong who was sitting on the side eclipsed, but also Mao Xiang, a Jiangnan talent whom Chen Yuanyuan missed day and night, was incomparable. The two began to "pirate" and "copy" according to the story pattern that heroes love beauties and beauties love heroes that has been passed down for thousands of years.At first, they exchanged glances, then they saw an opportunity, and in a burst of whispers, they made an appointment for life.This kind of lightning speed is probably more "fast food" than the postmodern "fast food" prevailing today.

At the end of the banquet, when Wu Sangui was about to leave, Tian Yuhong expressed his thoughts: "If bandits come, what will we do?" Wu Sangui also said straight to the point: "If you can see the gift as round and round, I should report it to the public, before serving the country. "I didn't expect Wu Sangui to really disregard the great cause of the country and the nation for the sake of Chen Yuanyuan.Tian Yuhong heard that even though a hundred people were unwilling, he had no choice but to reluctantly part with her. Wu Sangui was worried that Tian Yuhong would go back on his word, so he immediately left a thousand gold dowry.

Soon after, Wu Xiang was transferred to Beijing, and according to his son's entrustment, he took Chen Yuanyuan to his home... Wu Sangui galloped non-stop on the way to Beijing, thinking of reuniting with his concubine Chen Yuanyuan after a long absence, he couldn't help but feel a surge of enthusiasm in his heart, and he was so excited that he shuddered from time to time. However, when Wu Sangui came to Shaheyi, west of Yongping, he suddenly met his family members who had fled from the capital, and things changed suddenly. It turned out that after the Peasant Army entered Beijing, they adopted a very strict measure of recovering stolen goods and paying salaries: all officials of the former Ming Dynasty had to pay corresponding silver taels according to their official positions, and those who did not comply would be punished with severe punishment.Although Wu Xiang had the merit of recruiting his son, he did not escape the punishment of chasing after him: he was imprisoned and his family property was confiscated. After Wu Sangui learned about it, he was shocked at first. Didn't he reply that everything was safe? How could there be such a sudden change?Followed by confusion, Li Zicheng made a wish for him to be an official and rewarded him with silver. How could he torture and detain his father and loot all Wu's family's wealth?What the hell is going on?Is it because the family members are walking in a daze and talking nonsense?Therefore, he couldn't help asking: "How is this possible? Did you make a mistake? When I arrive in the capital, my father will naturally be released, and the family property will be returned intact." Then he was about to set off to continue westward.However, the family continued to tell him: "Not only was the master arrested and his property was robbed, but even your concubine Chen Yuanyuan was robbed by Li Zicheng's general Liu Zongmin!" After hearing this, Wu Sangui immediately stayed where he was.Just now he was intoxicated in the imaginary love river, but in fact Chen Yuanyuan no longer belonged to him, what he thought was just a typical daydream.The father and property can be returned intact, but can the woman who was taken away be returned to him intact? What's more, this pursuit of stolen goods and subsidy is not a misunderstanding at all, but a major strategy of the Dashun regime. Can he, Wu Sangui, change the policy of the Peasant Army as a general?Thinking of this, Wu Sangui couldn't help being deeply disappointed.No matter what, you can no longer move forward. Once you reach the capital, you will be controlled by others, and there is no room for recovery. Slowly, Wu Sangui turned from disappointment to anger. Wu Sangui, who was thirty-three years old at the time, was in the prime of his life. Chen Yuanyuan's charming face was constantly shaking in front of his eyes, like gasoline being continuously splashed on the flames. He probably had never suffered such an embarrassing humiliation in his life, and he couldn't help gnashing his teeth. He shouted: "A man can't even protect a woman. How can he stand in the world? I, Wu Sangui, will not destroy Li Thief or Liu Zongmin. I will not be a human being!" This is what has been handed down to this day, "Being angry at the crown and becoming a beauty", Wu Sangui is known to future generations, and it is largely related to the wide spread of this romantic affair. For a woman, for the family, and for personal interests, Wu Sangui's previously exposed personality weaknesses "surfaced" again at a critical moment.At this time, he completely forgot about the great cause of the nation and national interests, as well as his own identity and pivotal position, and just acted on a momentary impulse and let his instinct decide. If the Dashun Peasant Army had strictly guarded his family and refused to allow him to leave Beijing, if Wu Sangui hadn’t met his family, or if he hadn’t met his family at Shaheyi, west of Yongping, which is a place that can turn around, then the subsequent historical development would have been different. What is it like? History cannot be assumed, we can only follow what has happened. After a burst of rage, Wu Sangui turned his horse's head and returned quickly the second time he came. He wants to recapture Shanhaiguan! The weight of history had already tilted towards the side of the Dashun peasant uprising regime, however, it was fleetingly tilted towards the side of the Qing government. The Dashun regime missed success and victory, missed it, and lost a rare god-sent opportunity forever.Taking this as a turning point, they began to go downhill, always being chased and entangled by some inescapable frustrations and failures, and gradually declined day by day until they were completely destroyed. Who is responsible for all these crimes? Could it be Li Zicheng's mistake?Obviously wrong, he has long been aware of the importance of Wu Sangui as a weight, even after missing this opportunity, he still wants to try his best to redeem it, recruiting Wu Sangui again and again, that is to say, he has done his best Do your best; is it Li Zicheng's subordinates?No, they are innocent, they just strictly implemented a policy formulated by the Dashun regime; then, Liu Zongmin, who took Chen Yuanyuan away, should bear the historical responsibility?Not necessarily, as a military general, snatching a woman is also considered "innocuous", and it seems to be reasonable; it seems that the blame for leading wolves into the house can only be counted on the head of the capricious villain Wu Sangui ?It seems impossible. If you put yourself in Wu Sangui's shoes and think about it, if you want to recruit him, but also torture his father, occupy his property, and rob his wife, wouldn't his anger and his choice be human?At that time, if he did not return to Shanhaiguan, but continued to enter Beijing, what kind of fate and ending would be waiting for him?It's really unpredictable... History is not a maid who can be dressed up by anyone, however, it will show some strange splendor and scenery from time to time to confuse future generations. In this series of characters and events, what went wrong?Who should bear the responsibility and fault of history? It should be said that these important figures are hard to shirk their responsibilities, and correspondingly bear certain unshirkable responsibilities.However, this historical account cannot be counted on a certain person.It is a series of accidental coincidences and complex and changeable subtle factors that constitute a powerful resultant force, which controls the displacement of the weight and changes the course of history.