The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

The Qing army's iron cavalry had been ravaging the interior of China for a year.

Battle reports from within the Great Wall came as erratically as kites with broken strings.

Eight imperial edicts from the capital, ordering the emperor to come to Liaodong, arrived in succession, each bearing increasingly urgent imperial approval.

The situation of the battle within the pass remained unclear.

However, Qing troops were also attacking from Ningyuan, leaving them with very little spare capacity to reinforce the capital.

Outside Ningyuan City, war clouds were also gathering.

The troops in Liaodong were already stretched thin, having to defend against the Eight Banners cavalry outside the pass while also sending troops to reinforce the capital. They were truly stretched thin.

The soldiers in Liaozhen had been short of pay for three whole months, and their morale was already starting to wane.

Worse still, the military pay had been in arrears for three whole months, and the soldiers in Liaozhen were already getting restless. The soldiers were full of complaints, and when they heard the imperial edict to go south to defend the emperor, most of them just sneered.

With its limited resources, Liaozhen could barely hold its own against Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan.

If we were to actually use them to fight the more than 100,000 Qing troops inside the Great Wall, we probably wouldn't even be able to make a ripple, and it would be of no help to the overall situation.

Anyway, this wasn't the first time the Qing army had entered the border.

They would retreat once they had plundered enough grain, gold, and silver.

This is the opinion of most soldiers and civilians in Liaozhen.

After all, this was how the Qing army had previously entered the border region.

The capital city had 60,000 to 70,000 troops defending the city, and the Grand Secretary Zhou Yanru had more than 30,000 troops under his command.

The capital city was well-fortified and its defenses were solid. They had seen this when they came to its aid in the second year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign. Ningyuan paled in comparison to the capital, and with so many troops assisting in its defense, how could it possibly fall?

Therefore, despite the court's repeated urgings, the people of Liaozhen remained unhurried, feeling that this time was no different from before.

However, a final urgent report arrived from the capital shortly afterward.

It was no longer a reprimanding imperial edict, nor an urgent document from the Ministry of War, nor an order from the Cabinet.

The last urgent report contained only eight words: "The rebels have besieged the capital; the city is in imminent danger!"

Then, all news came to an abrupt halt.

At first, no one took it seriously.

But as the days went by, not a single word came from the direction of the capital.

The generals of Liaodong panicked and began to worry about the situation in the capital, and hurriedly began to mobilize troops.

But who will lead the troops into battle? How many troops should be deployed? And how should the advance proceed?

After several more days of arguing, a compromise was finally reached.

It was finally agreed that Wu Sangui would lead 5,000 elite cavalry from Guan Ning to reinforce the capital.

However, just as Wu Sangui led his troops from Ningyuan into Shanhaiguan, before they even stepped out of the gate, a large number of defeated soldiers poured in from the direction of the capital.

Shortly afterward, the scouts who had been dispatched earlier returned from inside the pass one after another, all of them pale as death.

Immediately afterwards, a series of changes occurred at Shanhaiguan. First, the opening and closing time of the city gates was shortened, and the inspections became suddenly more stringent, with careful screening of defeated soldiers and their acceptance into the pass.

Then the number of soldiers stationed on the city wall increased several times over, and everyone looked serious and solemn.

Rumors were circulating in the streets that the Qing army had captured the capital and was about to attack this place.

On the afternoon of the third day, the soldiers stationed at Shanhaiguan spotted dark shadows moving about on the vast plain in the distance.

At first, there were only a few scattered figures, but in just a few breaths, the dark shadows merged into one, transforming into a surging torrent of iron cavalry in everyone's sight.

Not long.

A black wave of tens of thousands of iron cavalry swept across the plains as swiftly as water overflowing the Milky Way.

Countless helmets and banners billowed in the headwind, forming a white wave, like the snow that has never melted on Changbai Mountain.

Bright yellow banners fluttered in the breeze, and snow-white helmets gleamed in the sunlight.

Having fought for many years, how could the soldiers of Liaozhen not recognize those bright yellow banners?

That was undoubtedly the Plain Yellow Banner, which belonged directly to the Qing Khan Huang Taiji!

The brocade dragon banner fluttered in the wind, and the cavalry of the Plain Yellow Banner stood in formation as if cleaved by a knife and axe. The white breath exhaled by the horses condensed into a thin mist in the cold wind.

The Mongol light cavalry on both flanks, like the outstretched wings of an eagle, their sabers gleaming coldly, swept in swiftly from both sides.

The dense array of spears and lances gleamed coldly in everyone's eyes, appearing from afar like a moving steel forest.

And at the edge of the plain as far as the eye could see, more and more cavalrymen were pouring out from below the horizon.

"Where did the Jurchens get so many soldiers?"

Zu Kuan's face was deathly pale, and he gripped the blue bricks of the crenellation in front of him tightly.

He stared intently at the overwhelming cavalry beyond the pass, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, his voice trembling.

"What exactly is Chen Wang doing in the south?!"

Zu Kuan turned around, grabbed Ma Jinzhong's collar from behind, and questioned him angrily.

"Wasn't it said that the main force of the Jurchens was in the south? Where did their troops come from?!"

Ma Jinzhong was sent by Chen Wang to contact Liaozhen. After the Battle of Yangzhou, he boarded a ship from Zheng's fleet to reinforce the north, and landed in Ningyuan with more than a thousand soldiers. Then he went south and entered Shanhaiguan.

Ma Jinzhong was not angry. His expression had not changed at all from the beginning. He ignored Zu Kuan's rudeness and simply said indifferently.

"General Zu, have you forgotten that when I arrived in Ningyuan, I already told you all that the main force of the Jurchens was confronting our army on the Yellow River, and that the country's military strength was depleted and unable to continue. In order to take Guanning, they would probably conscript a large number of foreign Mongol vassals to enter the pass."

"General Zu, would you like to take another look at the troops outside the pass and see if there are more Jurchens staring at their helmets and banners, or more Mongol cavalrymen wearing fur coats?"

Zu Kuan was slightly stunned. He had lost his mind when he saw the large number of Qing troops sweeping in.

Only after hearing Ma Jinzhong's words did he remember the message that Chen Wang had already sent.

Just now, in his field of vision, he could only see the Qing army's central army with its banners standing tall, while the cavalry sweeping in from both flanks did not have many banners.

The Qing army inside the Great Wall was not the main force of the Qing army; rather, it consisted more of recruited Mongol cavalry.

Zu Kuan let go of Ma Jinzhong's clothes weakly and slumped back a few steps.

"The night scouts report that the Jurchens have a strong army this time, with a total force of over 80,000. The central army is mainly composed of the Plain Yellow and Plain Red Manchu and Mongol cavalry, with a total number of over 10,000, and the Green Standard Army infantry numbering 20,000."

The scouts returning from beyond the Great Wall have brought back the latest intelligence.

"The vanguard consisted of the troops of the Three Shun Kings, with a total strength of over 20,000 men. Judging from the banner of their commander, it should be Kong Youde, the Gongshun King of the Jurchens."

"Wasn't it said that the Three Princes' troops were all in Shandong? Why are they now outside the Great Wall?"

Zu Kuan frowned and rebuked angrily.

The night watchman who came to report kept his head down; his only responsibility was to report the intelligence he had gathered to Zu Kuan.

He had no idea about the specific troop movements of the Qing army and could hardly answer Zu Kuan's question.

Wu Sangui, who was leading his troops from the nearby horse path, happened to hear this scene.

Wu Sangui, with a slightly gloomy expression, slowly walked over from the side.

“The Manchu and Mongol troops are not good at attacking cities, and attacking Shanhaiguan would be extremely difficult. The troops of the Three Princes should have been transferred from Shandong.”

“I heard that the Jurchens trained 40,000 Green Standard Army soldiers in the capital, but there are only 20,000 here now. I’m afraid the other part of the Green Standard Army soldiers have been transferred to Shandong to join the Jurchens’ Three Princes’ troops.”

Wu Sangui slightly raised his hand, signaling the kneeling night scout to continue reporting.

"The two flanks are composed of Mongol cavalry from the outer vassal states, totaling over 30,000 men." "The Jurchens have a combined force of 80,000, stationed in the area west of the Xiluo City River."

That night, not accepting the goods was like a pardon. He immediately reported the final situation and then turned and left the fortress.

"Eighty thousand people..."

Zu Kuan's expression was cold and desolate; he was speechless.

The Qing army actually amassed 80,000 troops to attack Shanhaiguan.

Currently, within Shanhaiguan Pass, he only has two thousand elite cavalry, ten thousand infantry, and three thousand surrendered soldiers under his command. Even with the addition of militia willing to assist in the defense, the total number of usable troops is only thirty thousand.

On Zu Zefu's side, he heard some time ago that a lot of Mongol cavalry had appeared around Ningyuan, making the siege situation even more severe.

The Qing army outside the pass was mainly composed of cavalry. Although they surrounded the area without attacking, they made it difficult for Ningyuan to send troops to reinforce Shanhaiguan.

Zu Zefu could only hold Ningyuan, and now both Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan are actually in a state of isolation.

Even with the addition of Wu Sangui's 5,000 elite cavalry, victory in this battle would still be difficult.

Seeing Zu Kuan's loss of composure, Wu Sangui shook his head inwardly. Zu Kuan had lost his composure, and it would be difficult to get an answer from him no matter what he asked.

"Now the Jurchens are attacking Guan Ning, and our army is unable to withstand them. Our demise is imminent, it's just a matter of time."

Wu Sangui turned to look at Ma Jinzhong and asked.

"Is the Earl of Jingnan perhaps residing in the Southern Kingdom, calmly watching my Guan Ning fall?"

Wu Sangui's words were something that all the generals of Guan Ning wanted to ask.

Therefore, after Wu Sangui finished speaking, all the officers and soldiers of Guan Ning turned their attention to Ma Jinzhong.

"When I was heading north, the Earl of Jingnan had already told me this frankly."

"In order to consolidate the situation in the north, Huang Taiji will spare no expense to conscript the Mongol vassals and seize Guan Ning."

Ma Jinzhong tilted his head slightly, looking at the Qing army pressing in from within the pass, and slowly spoke.

"A message came from the South on February 30th."

Ma Jinzhong remained calm as he raised his hand and composedly straightened his slightly disheveled clothes.

He did not answer Wu Sangui's question, but instead began to talk about the situation in the south.

"The Shun army, led by Liu Zongmin, joined forces with the Qiang and Mongol troops to attack and capture Chengdu, taking over the city and killing the King of Shu in the palace."

"Nine places, including Songpan, Long'an, Chengdu, Tongchuan, Jiading, Xuzhou, Mahu, Wumeng, and Luzhou, have fallen, and the local chieftains have submitted."

The Sichuan Provincial Administration Commission governed thirteen prefectures and six directly governed states.

Most of these nine collapsed areas are located in central and western Sichuan.

The Shun army's advance has reached southern Sichuan. Because of Chen Shiqi, the troops in Sichuan have either scattered or been defeated.

“Except for the four prefectures of Kuizhou, Chongqing, Shunqing and Baoding in eastern Sichuan, which were controlled by the six Pacification Commissioners, and the Zunyi Military and Civilian Prefecture, which was guarded by Hou Liangzhu.”

"The fall of the rest of Sichuan's prefectures is only a matter of time."

The Shun army's offensive was fierce and powerful. The fall of the Ming capital caused the situation in the country to become unstable again, and the local chieftains in the southwest were shaken.

Li Zicheng issued an edict to preserve the rights of these chieftains, requiring them to send only a small number of troops to support them when they went to war, while the rest would remain as before.

Therefore, when the Shun army marched south, many chieftains in Sichuan chose to surrender without a fight.

Because of the defection of the local chieftain, Hou Liangzhu, who had been recruiting soldiers to defend Xuzhou Prefecture in southern Sichuan, had no choice but to lead his troops to retreat to Zunyi.

Zunyi Military and Civilian Prefecture, formerly known as Bozhou Pacification Commission.

After the Battle of Bozhou, Bozhou was reorganized into Zunyi Military and Civilian Prefecture and placed under the direct jurisdiction of the central government. The local chieftains' power was weak, but the imperial court's authority remained.

Hou Liangzhu spent all his wealth and raised 8,000 soldiers in Xuzhou, controlling the key roads in Zunyi Prefecture.

The Shun army launched several attacks, but Hou Liangzhu defeated them all by taking advantage of the terrain.

Zunyi is close to Huguang, and Chen Wang sent people to transport a batch of military equipment to it. At the same time, he sent staff officers to Zunyi to guide the construction of fortifications based on the mountain terrain and establish a defensive line.

At the same time, Hou Liangzhu was remotely appointed as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Sichuan garrison.

Hou Liangzhu was originally the General of Sichuan, but after a falling out with Chen Shiqi, the former Governor of Sichuan, he resigned in anger.

Chen Wang had already appointed Ma Xianglin as the Sichuan General, so naturally he could not appoint another Sichuan General.

Hou Liangzhu didn't have much of an opinion on this arrangement.

If it were merely for the sake of an official position, Hou Liangzhu wouldn't have resigned in the first place.

Ma Jinzhong's voice was unhurried, but Guan Ning's officers all frowned, wondering why Ma Jinzhong suddenly brought up the situation in the southwest.

However, Ma Jinzhong ignored everyone's gaze and continued talking to himself.

"The situation in the southwest changed three times a day. On the thirtieth day of the first month, Wu Bikui, the chieftain of Wuding, took the opportunity to launch a rebellion. The rebel army successively captured cities such as Dayao, Dingyuan, and Yao'an, and captured prefectures and counties one after another, which shocked the whole of Yunnan."

"The world is in turmoil, the land is divided, war rages everywhere, and chaos reigns. The nation is on the verge of collapse..."

On the city wall, the officers and soldiers in charge of Guan Ning could no longer contain their anger and interrupted Ma Jinzhong, shouting angrily.

"What are you trying to tell us after saying all this irrelevant stuff?!"

"With the Southwest in turmoil, does the Earl of Jingnan not care about the North, not about Guan Ning?"

A look of surprise flashed in Wu Sangui's eyes, and he raised his hand to stop the clamor of the Guan Ning generals.

"Even if the southwestern border region falls, it can be swept away in the blink of an eye when the Central Plains are restored to power."

"In this world, there has never been a case of conquering the world from the southwestern region of Sichuan and Chongqing."

"In this world, there has never been a case where the loss of the southwest led to the downfall of the entire realm!"

Wu Sangui pressed down on the goose-feather saber at his waist, and the end of the saber's scabbard curled up slightly with Wu Sangui's movement.

"Does the Earl of Jingnan intend to stand by and watch Guan Ning fall, and the Jurchens seize all of Yan and Yun, occupy the entire northern territory, repeating the mistakes of the Song Dynasty?"

Wu Sangui's voice was cold and clear, like ice that never melts.

"The Liao dynasty seized Yan and Yun, thus gaining access to the Central Plains; the Jin dynasty acquired the northern kingdoms, thus gaining a glimpse of the Central Plains."

"I have heard that the Earl of Jingnan has lofty ambitions, aspiring to conquer the eight wastelands and advance into the world. Does he only wish to divide the land with the Jurchens and rule as two separate dynasties, the North and the South?"

"The Earl of Jingnan is well-versed in history and knows all the events of the previous dynasty!"

Wu Sangui's words caused the atmosphere on the entire fortress to plummet to freezing point.

All the officers and soldiers of Guan Ning stared intently at Ma Jinzhong, who stood alone atop the city gate.

"General Wu is a man of profound knowledge and insightful views; his words are indeed wise and cautionary."

Ma Jinzhong sneered, remaining calm and composed despite the oppressive gazes of Guan Ning's officers and soldiers.

He raised his head, grinned, and looked at Wu Sangui, whose expression was gloomy, with a cold smile.

"The commander-in-chief is right."

Wu Sangui's expression darkened; he saw the mockery in Ma Jinzhong's eyes.

When Ma Jinzhong mentioned Chen Wang, I felt inexplicably flustered.

And then Ma Jinzhong’s next words completely confirmed the accuracy of this sign.

"General Wu has indeed made preparations to surrender to the slaves..." (End of Chapter)