On April 17, the 17th year of Chongzhen, Shenshi.

Shanhaiguan, General Military Mansion, Wing Room.

Wu Zongrui's expression had become serious. He looked at the people gathered in the wing and spoke slowly.

"Wen Ru, please inform everyone of the situation."

After Liao Wenru cupped his fists and saluted Wu Zongrui, he turned around and looked at everyone and spoke.

"According to your Lordship's arrangements, I will tell you about the current situation from three aspects."

"First, the 400,000 Dashun Army sergeants led by Li Zicheng have arrived at Laolongtou and are expected to launch an attack on Shanhaiguan tomorrow. The direction of the attack is expected to be divided into three routes, namely a stone pass, the south gate, and Shihe.

The three commanders of the Dashun Army's attack should be Li Zicheng, Liu Zongmin and Tang Tong. When the battle begins tomorrow, Li Zicheng should be sitting in Shihe, coordinating the command. Liu Zongmin and Tang Tong will lead the Dashun Army respectively to start from Yishi and South Gate.

attack."

"I won't say more about Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin. You all know that Tang Tong should be more familiar with you. Not long ago, he was the commander-in-chief of Miyun. He surrendered to Li Zicheng and now he is leading troops to attack Shanhaiguan."

"Second, the 100,000 Denglai New Army soldiers led by Liu Ning captured Wuqing on April 13th, Xianghe on April 14th, Tongzhou on April 15th, and launched a counterattack on April 16th.

Regarding the attack on the capital, the Intelligence Department has just received information. Liu Ning captured the capital at Chenshi today, captured Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others alive, and is currently stabilizing the situation in the capital."

"Third, the 40,000 Denglai New Army soldiers led by Zhang Dongtao and Li Yan arrived at Damingfu City on April 15th. On the 16th, they completed the encirclement of the 100,000 Dashun troops stationed here. According to the deployment of Zhang Dongtao and others

, they must first persuade the Dashun Army stationed in Damingfu City to surrender, and carry out a devastating blow to those Dashun Army sergeants who stubbornly resist."

"The Intelligence Department has tried to find ways to disseminate this information. I think Li Zicheng should have got the information. For Li Zicheng, this is an unbearable blow."

...

After Liao Wenru reported the relevant situation, everyone had a comfortable smile on their faces. Perhaps they were sighing in their hearts at this moment. Wu Zongrui's judgment was too accurate. The Dashun Army led by Li Zicheng set out from the capital on the tenth day of April and left the capital.

It took eight days to reach Laolongtou. Such a marching speed is unimaginable. No matter how good the fighter plane is, it will be ruined by this snail-like marching speed.

It was precisely because the Dashun Army's march was too slow that Liu Ning, Li Guohan, Zhang Dongtao and Li Yan were able to lead 140,000 Denglai New Army soldiers to fully complete the combat mission and block all Li Zicheng's retreat routes.

.

Hong Chengchou stood up first, clasped his fists at Wu Zongrui and spoke.

"My lord, I think that Li Zicheng must be very depressed after getting this news. The morale of the Dashun Army sergeants under his command will also be hit. The families of these Dashun Army officers and sergeants are all in the capital. Now they don't know about their families.

How will it end? Naturally, I have no intention of fighting properly..."

After Hong Chengchou finished speaking, everyone, including Liao Wenru and others, nodded, obviously agreeing with what Hong Chengchou said.

Wu Zongrui shook his head slightly.

"Everyone, the overall situation is very favorable for us. We have occupied the capital and controlled Henan Province. We will soon be able to control Shaanxi and Shanxi and other places. Together with Shandong and Liaodong, the entire north is under our control.

It is under the control of the Denglai New Army. As for the south, we have complete control of South Zhili and have a very good foundation."

"With the current situation, we are worthy of happiness and celebration, but we still have to calm down and deal with the brutal fighting that is coming tomorrow."

"You all think that Li Zicheng must have been frustrated and furious when he got the bad news. The sergeants under his command are likely to completely lose their desire to fight, so our Denglai New Army can easily defeat them."

"If you all think this way, then you are underestimating Li Zicheng."

"In the third year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng began to rebel. In the past fifteen years, Li Zicheng has suffered countless defeats. Each time, he escaped from death and rose again. He even led the Dashun army to capture the capital and destroyed it.

After losing the Ming Dynasty, such a tough man, do you think he would lose the confidence to fight because of the bad situation?"

"I do think that Li Zicheng will definitely make up his mind and fight to the death."

"Li Zicheng understands very well that in the current situation, he has no escape route. Only by defeating our Denglai New Army at Shanhaiguan can we make a comeback, otherwise everything will be lost."

"There are 200,000 Dashun Army sergeants stationed around the capital. Li Zicheng believes that these 200,000 people can compete with the 100,000 Denglai New Army soldiers who occupied the capital. To put it more bluntly, Liu Ning cannot rush to Shanhaiguan to aid. As for

On the one hand, Daming Mansion is a bit far from Shanhaiguan, and on the other hand, the Dashun army stationed in Daming Mansion can compete with the 40,000 soldiers of our Denglai New Army by virtue of the city."

"What Li Zicheng lost was that he lost the capital. Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others under his command were captured by our Denglai New Army, and his family was also detained by our Denglai New Army. If these factors are put aside, Li Zicheng attacks

Shanhaiguan was not affected at all, and he had no intention of dispatching troops from the capital to support the Shanhaiguan battle."

"I analyzed some time ago that Li Zicheng has indeed changed a lot. Before he occupied Kaifeng Fucheng, he was very cautious. Many times he personally led the troops in battle and charged at the forefront. At that time, he was even able to share the joys and sorrows with his sergeants. However,

After he became king in Kaifeng, Li Zicheng changed and became aloof. After entering the capital, he changed even more and assumed the airs of an emperor. He really thought he was the real Dragon Emperor."

"But you all remember that Li Zicheng will always be Li Zicheng. He is a generational hero. This essence will not change. Once he encounters a crisis situation, he will fight tooth and nail."

The room became quiet and everyone lowered their heads.

Wu Zongrui looked at everyone again.

"Our combat deployment remains unchanged. We will use a piece of stone as the main battlefield and firmly guard the south gate. As for Shihe, just pay attention to monitoring. Li Zicheng will never take it lightly in tomorrow's battle. He will launch the strongest offensive and try to

Defeat our Denglai New Army in a short period of time, so we don’t have to hide our strength and attack with all our strength."

"This is a head-to-head battle. The brave one wins when we meet on a narrow road."

...

Laolongtou, temporary military camp of Dashun Army, and Chinese military tent.

Li Zicheng's face was ashen as he looked at Liu Zongmin, Tang Tong and others.

The news from the capital, Damingfu and other places was like a sharp sword, piercing Li Zicheng's heart and making him furious. Less than a month after the Dashun Army occupied the capital, it was captured by the Denglai New Army.

The 100,000 troops who went to Daming Mansion to monitor Zhang Dongtao and Li Yan were also surrounded by Denglai's new army.

This is a chess game played by the Denglai New Army. It is a very big chess game. Whether it is Li Zicheng and the Dashun Army, or the Ming Emperor and the court, they are just pawns in this chess game. The Denglai New Army

Coach Wu Zongrui is strategizing and controlling the overall situation, and is almost on the verge of achieving the goal of controlling the world. Judging from the current situation, the one who benefits the most is the Denglai New Army, and it is Wu Zongrui, the coach of the Denglai New Army.

Li Zicheng had to face this problem squarely.

The so-called burning cauldron, the 400,000 Dashun Army, and Li Zicheng were all forced to this step.

If Li Zicheng wanted to win back, he could only attack Shanhaiguan with all his strength and defeat the Denglai New Army stationed at Shanhaiguan. Only in this way could he gain a slight initiative and avoid falling into complete defeat.

The situation has been clear, but news from the direction of the capital has spread among the army. This is unfavorable and fatal to Li Zicheng. After all, the families of many officers and sergeants of the Dashun Army are around the capital.

.

"Zong Min, your suggestion is to divide the troops and fight. You will lead 100,000 soldiers back to the capital, summon the nearly 200,000 soldiers stationed around the capital, and retake the capital."

Liu Zongmin stood up and cupped his fists at Li Zicheng.

"Your Majesty, this is what I mean. There are only 100,000 Denglai New Army soldiers stationed at Shanhaiguan, and there are only 100,000 sergeants of Denglai New Army occupying the capital. My 600,000 sergeants are divided into two groups, both of which are 300,000 people.

, in terms of military strength, it is far stronger than the Denglai New Army. I feel that it is completely capable of defeating the Denglai New Army. As for the 100,000 soldiers stationed in Damingfu City, as long as they stick to the city, we will wait until our Dashun Army defeats Denglai stationed in the capital.

With the new army, we can fully support Daming Mansion..."

Li Zicheng had no expression on his face. He looked at Tang Tong and did not continue to ask.

In fact, Li Zicheng did not completely trust Tang Tong. Although Tang Tong was once a strong general in the Ming Dynasty, he surrendered to the Dashun Army at a critical moment, which showed a lack of integrity.

"Zong Min, I think your idea is inappropriate. The most important thing at the moment is to capture Shanhaiguan. Our Dashun Army will use its superiority in military strength to capture Shanhaiguan and defeat the Denglai New Army stationed in Shanhaiguan. This way we can take the initiative.

, As long as our Dashun Army uses all its strength to capture Shanhaiguan and return to the army, it can naturally attack the capital. At that time, Wu Zongrui will definitely order the Denglai New Army stationed in the capital to withdraw, including the situation in Daming Prefecture."

"At the critical moment, the Dashun Army must not divide its forces. I immediately issued an order to the Dashun Army stationed around the capital, asking them to either stick to the city or concentrate in a certain city to avoid being defeated individually by Denglai's new army."

"When we attack Shanhaiguan tomorrow, we must go all out. There must be no cowardice. Those who are timid will be killed, and those who retreat will be killed. Everyone must rush forward, and no retreat will be allowed. I believe that as long as our army is united and united, we will succeed.

We will definitely be able to win Shanhaiguan."
Chapter completed!