The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 796: Entering the Pass
On April 15, the fourth year of Chongzhen's reign, an army of 100,000 soldiers marched to western Liaoning, with the Grand Marshal personally in command.

The cavalry were like clouds and the flags were like the sea. On April 20th, Jinzhou fell without a fight. Under the powerful military pressure of the Jingnan Army, the garrisons in various forts in western Liaoning either surrendered or fled.

On April 20th, the Grand Marshal returned to Wu Sangui and ordered him to surrender immediately, otherwise the army would capture Shanhaiguan and leave no one alive.

Zhu Youjian clearly wanted to use Wu Sangui as cannon fodder. No external aid arrived, so he only sent a few eunuchs to supervise the army.

Wu Sangui became increasingly shaken, and General Pingze's loyalty to the Ming Dynasty gradually disappeared as the Jingnan Army approached.

However, Chongzhen knew nothing about these changes in Shanhaiguan.

However, when the eunuch who announced the imperial edict back to the capital patted his chest and guaranteed in front of him that with General Wu guarding Shanhaiguan, no Liao bandits could set foot in, Zhu Youjian knew that the eunuch must have accepted bribes in Shanhaiguan.

As a time traveler, Zhu Youjian was really worried about Wu Sangui's character.

Wu Sangui, a general who had jumped back and forth many times during the Ming and Qing dynasties, once again stood at the critical point of the historical balance by chance.

Shanhaiguan, nestled against Jiaoshan Mountain to the north and the Bohai Sea to the south, boasted high, fortified walls, with Luocheng and Yicheng serving as support towers, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. In addition to Wu Sangui's troops, the defenders also included 10,000 men under the command of Gao Di, the Shanhaiguan general, and approximately 30,000 local militia.

If this force surrenders to the Jingnan Army, the Ming Dynasty will perish; if it turns to Zhu Youjian, Liaodong will be in danger.

Since before the war, both sides have been trying to win over Sangui.

This was actually a combination of coercion and inducement, unlike Qi Mengxiao's rational and emotional appeal. Zhu Youjian issued an imperial decree to escort Wu Xiang and his family out of the border and bring them to the battlefront. If Wu Sangui dared to make any rash moves, the emperor would order their execution.

As the saying goes, investment cannot pass Shanhaiguan, and for Zhu Youjian, intelligence could not pass Shanhaiguan either. Before the war, Emperor Chongzhen had no idea about the situation outside the Shanhaiguan, and basically only knew about various reports and memorials.

Fortunately, the time traveler still had a powerful Beijing battalion at his disposal. As long as they made no mistakes and continued their steady advance, it should be easy to capture Shenyang and put down the rebellion. Therefore, even if the intelligence gathering was insufficient, it would not affect Emperor Chongzhen's determination to sweep the palace.

On April 21, Tang Tong, the general of Miyun, led the vanguard of the Beijing camp to the foot of Shanhaiguan and confronted Wu Sangui's troops on the west bank of Shihe River.

Tang Tong sent Tang Ma to convey a message to the defenders, ordering General Pingzei to join forces with him and march eastward to fight the rebels.

Unexpectedly, Wu Sangui detained Tangma and ignored General Tang's request. Instead, he dispatched additional troops to fortresses such as Yipanshi and Xiluocheng, refusing the Ming army passage.

Tang Tong was furious. His troops, together with the Beijing camp, totaled more than 30,000 people, and they had a hundred artillery pieces. He thought that they were enough to crush the defenders of Shanhaiguan, so without reporting to Emperor Chongzhen, he fought fierce battles with Wu Sangui in Yipanshi and Xiluocheng.

Wu Sangui hurriedly sent people to ask for help from the Grand Marshal of the Jingnan Campaign.

That night, Qi Meng led the Jingnan army to assemble on a line fifteen miles outside Shanhaiguan.

The next day, Zhu Youjian also arrived at Shanhaiguan. Upon seeing that the general who had been ordered to suppress the rebels had defected and surrendered, he was furious and executed the two civil servants who had previously advocated for peace, using their heads as a sacrifice. He also issued an ultimatum to Wu Sangui, demanding that he immediately abandon his evil ways and join the light, or the lives of all 108 members of the Wu family would be in danger. At three minutes past three on April 22, the fourth year of the Chongzhen reign, Wu Sangui, dressed in mourning, stood on the top of the Shanhaiguan city wall. Looking at the crowd of family members kneeling below the city walls, he pulled out a piece of pitch-black brocade from somewhere and wept bitterly over Wu Xiang, who was tied up not far away:
"Father, since ancient times, it has been difficult to be both loyal and filial. Everyone knows that Zhu Youjian was a fake emperor! He was a traitor who murdered his brother and mother and stole the country. This is the late emperor's secret decree! Now I follow the Grand Marshal Jingnan to suppress the rebels, avenge the late emperor, and fulfill my filial duty to the Ming Dynasty. I will surely leave my name in history, and you can rest in peace in your grave."

Wu Xiang's mouth was stuffed with horse manure, and he knelt on the river bank, uttering a mournful whine.

A general came up and helped him dig out the horse manure, handing him a coconut ladle. Wu Xiang drank some water and rinsed his mouth.

"Lord Wu, please persuade General Pingzei. If he can turn back from his wrong path, your Wu family will be saved."

Wu Xiang nodded repeatedly, tilted his neck and shouted to the top of the city wall:
"Sangui! Don't be confused anymore. One misstep can lead to eternal regret. Our Wu family has been loyal ministers and generals of the Ming Dynasty for generations. What's wrong with you? Are you possessed by a demon? Stand up straight, you bastard. Don't be fooled by that traitor Qi Meng again. This traitor Qi Meng is scheming and not only killed Emperor Guangzong and Emperor Tianqi, but now he is going to make a move on Emperor Chongzhen. This is bad and you deserve to be punished. Don't believe his lies. Open the city gate quickly. The emperor said that we can let bygones be bygones for what happened yesterday. After we destroy the traitor Qi, the Wu family will continue to guard Liaoxi. The emperor will even marry the princess to you..."

When Wu Xiang shouted, the Ming army was already pushing them slowly towards the moat. Behind them were two sturdy shield carts and more than a dozen red cannons.

Standing on the city wall, Wu Sangui turned and looked at the gunners on the battlements, saying with tears in his eyes:

"Fire! Fire at me!"

boom! boom!
The rumbling sound of cannons drowned out the shouts and neighs of all the people on the battlefield. The artillery behind the Ming army formation also began to fight back. The two sides bombarded each other for half an hour. When the smoke cleared, there were dead and wounded in front of the moat. The first batch of Ming soldiers who were preparing to cross the river and climb the city were either killed or fled. Wu Sangui's father had been blown in two by a cannonball.

Wu Sangui knelt on the top of the city wall and cried loudly.

"Dad, I will avenge you and kill Zhu Youjian with my own hands!"

~~~~~
On the hillside three miles away, Zhu Youjian put down his telescope and stared at the Shanhaiguan city wall with a dark face.

Wang Chengen gritted his teeth and said, "As Your Majesty expected, this Wu Sangui is untameable. He even killed his own father and turned against us to such an extent. It's really eye-opening!"

Zhu Youjian sighed deeply and secretly felt lucky that he had not yet had time to provide silver and food to these three slaves.

"A dog will always eat shit, so let him be a dog."

"Order Tang Tong and Bai Guangen to lead 20,000 troops to set up camp at the edge of Yipanshi to cut off Wu Sangui's retreat. I will use my main force of 60,000 to launch a fierce attack on Xiluo, Beiyi, and Dongluo City respectively. We must seize these areas before the Qi bandits reach Shanhaiguan!"

On that day, Wu Sangui deployed his main forces on the line west of Shihe River in Xiluocheng to prevent the Beijing army from attacking the pass.

Fierce fighting ensued near Xiluocheng. To escape their predicament, the Liao army feigned surrender, luring a thousand Beijing troops to the city walls, where they launched a barrage of artillery fire. The Beijing troops suffered heavy casualties and were forced to retreat. At Beiyicheng, Zhu Youjian personally led his army, taking advantage of the high ground and storming the city walls. The fierce battle lasted until dawn the following day, and a portion of Wu Sangui's troops surrendered. However, as the other cities remained uncaptured, the Beijing troops were unable to capture Luocheng.

On the night of the 23rd, Tang Tong's troops were defeated at Yipanshi by the Jingnan army, and the remaining troops retreated into the pass. After a day of fierce fighting, Qi Meng knew Zhu Youjian's strengths and weaknesses, so he adopted a cautious strategy of waiting for the enemy to tire and then striking back. He launched a surprise attack, won the battle in one fell swoop, and entered the pass to conquer the capital.

(End of this chapter)