Li Laiheng stood on the wall of Zhending City and smiled helplessly. The news that Sun Chuanting and the Qin army were killed by Guan Ning's army had spread all over the world. Huang Taiji's move was indeed a masterstroke. It seemed that the Ming court was attacking without any resistance.
fell under the control of the Qing army.
But the thing that put Li Laiheng in a dilemma was another matter.
Sun Chuanting died, and both Gao Jie and Li Chengdong were killed by Guan Ning's army at the Huailai banquet. However, the Qin army still had more than 20,000 troops stationed outside Huailai. Although they were leaderless and unprepared, they were suddenly attacked.
In the sudden attack by the Ming and Qing allied forces, most of the troops were absorbed by Wu Sangui, but a few troops still broke out.
This remnant of the Qin army that broke out from the encirclement was of course desperate in the Gyeonggi area. To the west was Datong guarded by Dorgon, to the north was beyond the Great Wall, and to the east was the city of Beijing under the control of Huang Taiji.
It seems that they really have no other way out except going south to join Li Laiheng.
Li Laiheng never imagined that after going round and round, the last essence of the Qin army would actually come to Zhending... He realized that fate was unpredictable and bizarre. The Chuang army and the Qin army were both armies dominated by Shaanxi people.
The army fought for more than ten years, but the Qin army was finally destroyed at the hands of Huang Taiji, the last enemy of the Chuang army.
The perverseness of fate is truly unpredictable.
The city wall of Zhending City is majestic. After the founder Zhu Di established the capital in Beijing, Zhending Palace was directly under the capital and was an important place in Kinki to defend Beijing. At that time, Zhending Palace was not only the political center that controlled five states and eleven counties, but also controlled Yan
The transportation center at the throat of Jin Dynasty became the main stronghold to defend the capital, and together with Beijing and Baoding, it was known as the "Three Heroic Towns in the North".
"The ancient Heshuo River, rebel ministers came and went here during the Tang Dynasty, and the Khitan went south from here during the Five Dynasties... Unexpectedly, the Liang-Jin pattern has reappeared today!"
Fang Yiren was equally worried. He was really positioned in the Jizhong Plain, which was relatively undefendable. Now he was under direct threat from the Ming and Qing allied forces with superior military strength.
Although Chu Chuang's potential strength is strong, there are still many troops in Huguang, and it will be difficult to mobilize them to Hebei in a short time. Once Huang Taiji quickly moves south, the fragile defense line deployed by Li Laiheng will be extremely difficult to resist the Eight Banners cavalry.
During the Five Dynasties, the feudal towns in Hebei often became the key to determining the outcome of the world. For example, Zhu Wen, Taizu of the Later Liang Dynasty, surrendered Zhao and Wei towns in Heshuo, and was able to surround Li Ke and use it in Taiyuan. Emperor Zhuangzong of the Later Tang Dynasty, Li Cunxu, surrendered the town of Wei Bo.
Then you can surprise Bianjing and destroy Hou Liang.
The Hebei Plain, which was undefeable, was also conducive to the control of captives and cavalry. It was from here that the Khitan people went south, invaded Kaifeng, and captured Jin emperor Shi Chonggui outside the pass.
Fang Yiren couldn't help but feel extremely worried about Li Laiheng's situation today.
The spring breeze gradually awakened, and the city wall was much warmer than during the previous Battle of Baigouhe. Li Laiheng took off his helmet, looked at the remaining Qin army under the city that came to join him, and said helplessly:
"With the death of Chuan Ting, the Qin army has no way to go. Surrendering to Chuang is indeed the only way out, but why not go to His Highness or to me, Master Liu, instead of coming to Zhending to go to me!"
Liu Fangliang was arranging defenses in the Nanpi area at this time and was not sure yet. Gu Junen, who was traveling with Li Laiheng, said bluntly:
"Your Majesty, even if the Qin army wants to surrender to Taiyuan, there is no way out. Datong is still under the control of the Qing army, and the rest of the Qin army can only go south through Zhending."
Li Laiheng sighed and said: "Sun Chuanting killed a lot of people in Henan. His death can be said to be karma. There is nothing more to say. But most of these Qin troops are just ordinary officers and soldiers. They come to surrender. I can't really do it."
Should we trap and kill them all under Dingcheng? But the leader, Mrs. Xing... wants me to do something about it!"
The Qin army came to Zhending to surrender. It was not a serious problem in the first place. They were leaderless and desperate. Li Laiheng only had to send a few generals to break up the Qin army and integrate it into the invading army.
But what makes Li Laiheng particularly troublesome is that the leader who led the remnants of Sun Chuanting's troops to the south... turned out to be Mrs. Xing!
"Mrs. Xing...how dare she come to join the Chuang Army? Aren't you afraid that His Highness will kill her?"
Mrs. Xing is Gao Jie's wife... In other words, she is Li Zicheng's ex-wife. Mrs. Xing was in charge of logistics in the camp and was also a shrewd and authoritative figure.
However, she and Li Zicheng's general Gao Jie had been together for a long time, and the two had an affair. As a result, Gao Jie and Mrs. Xing surrendered to the Ming army, which dealt a huge blow to Chuangying's development that year.
It was also because of this historical issue that Gao Jie became the most hostile figure among the Ming army generals towards the Chu army because he knew very well that once he fell into the hands of Li Zicheng, there would be no way out.
After Sun Chuanting, Gao Jie, Li Chengdong and other Qin army leaders were all killed by Wu Sangui at the Huailai banquet, Mrs.
Nephew Li Benzhen and Li Chengdong's son Li Yuanyin persuaded them to withdraw their troops urgently.
Unfortunately, Guan Ning's army and the Eight Banners soldiers had already laid a dragnet. Even if Mrs. Xing made the right decision at the opportunity, most of the Qin army's troops were disarmed under Wu Sangui's siege. Only a thousand remaining soldiers, led by Li Benzhen and Li Yuanyin, fled south.
Really determined.
The Qin army's idea of going to Zhending to surrender should have come from Mrs. Xing's consideration, but it was difficult for Li Laiheng to figure it out. Did she think that Li Zicheng would miss his old relationship and spare her life?
Gu Junen said with a cold face: "Your Majesty, the Qin army only has more than a thousand men, so we can send troops immediately to break them up and reorganize them. Mrs. Xing has insulted the army to the extreme, and she should be killed immediately."
Send it to Taiyuan...otherwise what will Taiyuan think?"
Fang Yiren asked in return: "If Mrs. Xing does not go south to Zhending, but goes directly to Taiyuan, does the palace master think that His Highness will kill her?"
Li Laiheng thought of Li Zicheng's character. After hesitating for a while, he whispered: "Maybe... no, it is very likely that the Generalissimo will pardon Mrs. Xing's sins."
Fang Yiren nodded and said: "That's right! Your Highness is a generous man, not to mention that now that the Donglu have taken control of Beijing, the Chuang army is eager to compete with the Donglu for their hearts and minds. At this critical moment, killing Mrs. Xing will only cause the Qin army to alienate. If our Highness can forget the past.
, if even Mrs.
Gu Junen sneered and said: "Huh, that's what I said... Is Your Highness generous? No matter whether he is really generous or not, if Mrs. Xing really goes to Taiyuan, Your Highness cannot kill her. This woman is very scheming, about
If you have reached this level, you will go straight to join the Chuang Army. But!"
"But what?" Li Laiheng asked.
"But His Highness was so humiliated. Even if he pardoned Mrs. Xing for the sake of the overall situation, wouldn't His Highness hold a double grudge for it? At that time, His Highness will probably remember it very deeply and remember who Mrs. Xing defected to and who was sent to Taiyuan.
of!"
Li Laiheng narrowed his eyes: "Hao Zhi means... we should still kill Mrs. Xing now?"
"If Mrs. Xing is sent to Taiyuan, His Highness can only pardon her...but he will definitely complain to the envoy. If the envoy kills Mrs. Xing now and returns to Taiyuan, His Highness will at most reprimand the envoy.
But I will definitely feel extremely surprised in my heart...because I have helped His Highness get rid of a dilemma."
Gu Junen spoke bluntly, while Fang Yiren restrained his expression and said in a deep voice: "The palace master thinks that surprising His Highness is more important than the life of a woman? In the name of Mr. Li, the palace master can enjoy the honor of benevolence and righteousness.
The reputation of a soldier, but killing a woman, doesn't it destroy the name of benevolence and righteousness? What is more important, great righteousness or small profit?"
Gu Junen smiled and said: "A woman's life, or a runaway bitch, is more important than His Highness's favor. Do you still need to ask such a question?"