Chapter 43 7.cornered

When Wu Sangui returned to the city, he was very anxious. In a day's battle, although the casualties of both sides were roughly equal, due to the huge disparity in numbers, the proportion of the Wu army was greater than that of the Dashun army.He thought, right now the entire army is exhausted, the wounded cannot be treated in time, and the dead cannot be buried. If reinforcements cannot be waited for, the consequences will be disastrous. As dusk drew near, he still didn't have time to eat and drink, he just kept paced around the camp, even Gaodi, Feng Youwei, Guo Yunlong and other generals, all of them had nothing to think about, sighed and sighed by the side.

When the lights were on, the soldiers guarding the pass reported an even more disturbing news - the Dashun army had crossed the Great Wall and encircled Shanhaiguan from the northeast. Hearing this news, Wu Sangui was even more anxious, so he ran to Xiguan himself, looked to the northwest, and saw that the torches of the brigade were like a fire dragon, winding and circling from Beishan, gathering in the northwest area.However, due to the darkness, it is impossible to estimate the exact number of people. Wu Sangui thought, tomorrow's fierce battle will definitely be more tragic than today's. Why is the damned Dorgon still missing?At this moment, Wu Sangui couldn't help being overjoyed when he heard a sudden sound of horseshoes in front of the pass, and said:

"Could it be that Yang Kun has rushed back?" Sure enough, Yang Kun called to close the door, and he quickly ordered to open the door and let Yang Kun in. Yang Kun, who was busy in the world, heard that the general was waiting at the gate without taking a sip of water, so he rushed to see him and said, "My lord, the Qing soldiers have finally arrived at Ningyuan City, and it is only a day's journey away." When Wu Sangui heard this, he couldn't help being surprised, so he kept asking: "To be more specific, how many people arrived in Ningyuan? Have you seen Dorgon?"

Yang Kun glanced at the general, and said: "Biaoxia came to Ningyuan yesterday evening with the Prince Regent of the Qing army. More than 100,000 elite soldiers approached. As long as everything goes well, the army can be shut down tomorrow. Don't mention the excuse of borrowing troops. They don't want to enter the customs through the Central Association and the Western Association. Yes, for this reason, the Lord Regent only reluctantly believed it, and agreed to leave the camp and go west after saying that his lips were dry." Hearing what Yang Kun said, Wu Sangui couldn't help but fell silent.At this time, Gao Di and Guo Yunlong who came after listening to Yang Kun's narration turned their eyes to the general.Seeing this situation, Wu Sangui had no choice but to order Zu Dashou to be released first.Zu Dashou heard the news of Yang Kun's return on the way, and when he saw his nephew, he hurriedly said:

"Uncle, right now the soldiers are waiting for your words. Chongzhen is dead and the Ming Dynasty is dead. Who else will contribute to the Ming Dynasty that no longer exists? This is a stupid thing that no one wants to do. You But think about it clearly, in this situation, should you be proud of your personal reputation, or protect your life?" The facts are indeed as Zu Dashou said, unless the Qing Dynasty is surrendered, it is absolutely impossible to borrow troops.Although the Ming Dynasty is dead, Chongzhen is dead, but the Qing Dynasty is a barbarian, and I am a Han. Since I started studying, I have listened to my husband every day to talk about the defense of Yan Yi and Xia. I have fought bloody battles, and I have formed a mortal hatred with them. If I surrender, what will people think of me?What will they do to me?

He just felt that his thoughts were so complicated that he couldn't organize them for a while. At this time, Gao Di, Feng Youwei, Guo Yunlong, Yang Kun and others surrounded him without speaking.They understand the mood of the coach. Over the years, they have been together day and night, sharing weal and woe. They understand each other's ambitions and pursuits, and understand the weight of the hat of a traitor. , can you get this far?Why don't they want to borrow Qing soldiers to help them wipe out the bandits, but what a shrewd person Dorgon is, can he do the stupid thing of picking chestnuts for others?Right now, they are in a dilemma. If they reject Dorgon, they will perish among bandits;Fame is related, life is related.It's no wonder the coach is having a hard time making a decision...

The sky gradually became clearer. It was a yellow sandy day. On the top of the North Mountain, there were dark clouds rolling over, and the sea was covered with fog. Going to the west gate, Gaodi, Feng Youwei, Yang Kun, Guo Yunlong and other soldiers were all closing the gate. When they saw Wu Sangui, they all looked panic-stricken and stammered, pointing their fingers out of the gate. Wu Sangui looked out of the pass along their fingers, and saw that the Dashun army had already set up formation along the west bank of the Shihe River before the sunrise. There were seven or eight miles away from the pass. The narrow area where the Corps is difficult to deploy and rely on, and the east is a stone river. In the dry season, it is difficult for the defenders to act as a barrier, but the guest army can stretch at will, with a lot of room for maneuver.Liu Zongmin remembered the lessons of yesterday and readjusted his troops. Now the army is lined up from Beishan to the coast for tens of miles. Li Jin is in charge of the left wing, and he personally controls the right wing.

Seeing this situation, Wu Sangui knew that today's battle would be more dangerous than yesterday, so he called Gaodi, Yang Kun, Guo Yunlong and others aside, exhorting them to be careful.After speaking, he must give an order, lead the horse to do the knife, and lead the team out of the customs. I don't want to be at this moment, I suddenly saw the Dashun army, and suddenly came out a group of golden armored cavalry, holding a yellow umbrella, and a man under the umbrella was riding on a black barge, gesticulating and saying something to this side, and a few soldiers ran away Spread out before reaching the gate, make a trumpet shape with your hands, and shout loudly:

"Ask Wu Sangui to come out and speak." Wu Sangui understood that the man riding the black barge under the umbrella of Huang Luo must be Li Zicheng, but he didn't know what he was talking about when he singled him out?So, he stood up, clearly showing half of his body on the city disc.In the Dashun army here, someone knew that the exposed body was Wu Sangui, so he shouted: "The emperor has an order to restrict Wu Sangui to surrender immediately. If not, Wu Xiang will be beheaded immediately." After finishing speaking, another group of people ran over. They held one person hostage, pushed and shoved, and finally came to the front of the pass. Wu Sangui recognized his father Wu Xiang from a distance. Like a prisoner about to be executed.

Looking at his white-haired father, Wu Sangui was suddenly confused and anxious; Wu Xiang also looked up at his son on the tower, his lips were moving, but he couldn't make a sound, showing a pitiful and helpless cry. . Wu Sangui's heart tightened, tears immediately rolled in his eyes, and even the person who closed them held their breath.Seeing this, Feng Youwei on one side said: "My lord, you must be calm, the rogues are using aggressive tactics, we must not fall into the trap." But at this time, Wu Sangui stood there like a wooden man, motionless. The Dashun army shouted three times in a row, but it was still silent.Li Zicheng was furious, and with an order, the two soldiers of the Dashun Army beside Wu Xiang immediately shook their whips and whipped them fiercely at Wu Xiang. The flag of desperation was knocked down, and several blood marks appeared on Wu Xiang's body immediately. Finally, it fell to the ground, rolling again and again, and the wailing sound spread to the door.

Seeing this, Wu Sangui yelled loudly, shook off the support of Feng Youwei and Guo Yunlong, grabbed a big knife, and was about to leave the barrier to fight for his life.Feng Youwei and Guo Qulong on the side hurriedly held him down forcibly, and Guo Yunlong tried hard to persuade him: "My lord, don't be patient!" Wu Sangui was held by the two of them, struggled for a moment, cried out, and passed out. When Wu Sangui woke up and raised his eyes to look at his father, his father was gone. Inside and outside the pass, the sound of cannons was already shaking the sky, and the shouts of killing were drowned out.He immediately stood up and leaned out of the pass to look forward. He saw that the Dashun Army's attack had already begun. Relying on their superior strength, they formed a long snake formation and were spreading their wings to outflank this side. Yang Kun, The two troops led by Guo Yunlong formed a small phalanx in front of the pass, clashing left and right, trying to cut the long snake in half. Although Feng and Guo's two armies were small in number, they were all experienced in many battles and possessed tenacious combat effectiveness. Especially when they saw the commander's father being humiliated, they all had the same hatred against the enemy. Facing an enemy several times their own, they Not discouraged, not discouraged, cooperating and taking care of each other, although the Dashun army launched several charges, they just couldn't bear them. Seeing this situation, Liu Zongmin mobilized his army to continue to surround the phalanx, but sent Yuan Zongdi to lead his troops to the northwest. There is Xiluo City in the west, and the city is very thin, and there is a place outside Beiguan called a piece of rock, with huge rocks and rugged conditions, and the situation is precarious. Concentrate forces to attack Xiluo City.Although their red-clothed cannons failed to arrive, they still brought a lot of small cannons. Yuan Zongdi gathered all the small cannons, bombarded the city wall, and soon made a gap, and then organized a large number of troops to adopt the wheel warfare method. The batch fell down and went up again, stepping on the dead bodies and constantly climbing up.Although the defenders tried their best to kill the enemy back, Liu Zongmin didn't care that the brothers above had not retreated, so he ordered the cannons and crossbows to hit both sides of the gap, causing Wu Jun and some Dashun troops to be killed on the gap. The attention of both sides was almost focused on the gap in Xiluo City. Seeing the urgency here, Wu Sangui couldn't help but raise his neck to look here.At this time, the yellow canopy that marked Li Zicheng's location had moved to the big elm forest in the direction of Hongwadian, which was beyond the range of the red cannon.But just beside the stone river, there was still a group of people gesticulating there, he thought, this must be Liu Zongmin directing the siege.So, he ordered a cannon in red to be quietly moved over, loaded with shells, and aimed at the place where Liu Zongmin was. Then he personally held the torch and ignited the cannon. Flying over, flowers blossomed in the middle of the group of people, and after the black smoke passed, a large number of people fell down. However, the battle to siege the city was still going on, and Wu Sangui only had hatred in his heart at this moment. Seeing that there were too many casualties in the gap, he knew that the enemy's attack on Beiguan was only partial, so he ordered only a few militia groups to deal with the north, but transferred the main force to the west. Come on, concentrate the closed cannons in red and bombard the enemy's rear. This method really worked. The two sides held each other for two hours. Although Liu Zongmin invested a lot of troops in the gap and killed and injured countless people, he was still defeated by Wu Jun Throw away your armor and armor, and you will be defeated. Dashun Army finally retreated again, leaving behind piles of dead bodies and wounded; but the city also suffered heavy casualties. Wu Sangui didn't know whether his father was dead or alive, so he just sat blankly on the top of the city, staring at the front in a daze. Dashou came to his side and persuaded in a low voice: "Uncle, depending on the situation, we won't last until tomorrow. If you don't make a decision, it will be too late. The rogues have formed a deep hatred with us. If you make mistakes, who will avenge your bloody hatred!" Wu Sangui turned his head to see Zu Dashou, like an orphan seeing his relatives for the first time, hugged him, and cried bitterly: "Uncle, what do you think should be done?" What else can I do?Zu Dashou lowered his head and was speechless, but a huge braid slowly slipped from the back of his head to the front, dangling in front of Wu Sangui...