On March 15, the 25th year of Chongzhen, the northern army of the Ping Liao army had retreated from Sarhu to the vicinity of Fushun.
It seemed that the main force of the Ming army would enter the city in just one day.
Li Sizhong, who came to persuade the enemy to surrender but was detained by Wu Sangui, became anxious.
He shouted at the top of his voice: "I want to see Wu Sangui, I want to see him!"
The soldiers guarding him quickly informed Wu Sangui of the news.
In order not to attract attention, Wu Sangui came to meet him in person.
As soon as the two met, Li Sizhong asked, "Wu Sangui, Lord Wu! What are you thinking about?"
"I..." Wu Sangui hesitated to speak.
He also knew how to make his choice.
From the moment of retreat until now, he has been thinking about whether to surrender to the Jiannu.
After thinking about it for so long, I still haven't made up my mind.
"You've been exposed!" Li Sizhong said earnestly, "Surrendering to the Qing Dynasty is your only way out! Surrender now!"
"I don't believe it. Where is the evidence?" Wu Sangui asked.
Li Sizhong thought for a moment and said, "Wang Yongji is in front of you, right?"
"That's right."
Li Sizhong guessed: "If I'm not mistaken, he will enter Fushun City before you and lock you outside the city. The food and grass you bring with you are only enough for half a month. After half a month, you will have no food left."
"At that time, you can either surrender and become Wang Yongji's captive, or surrender to the Qing Dynasty and serve it."
"But I want to remind you that if you surrender now, you can still negotiate terms with the Qing Dynasty. But if you surrender after the food supply is cut off, you will not be eligible to negotiate terms."
Wu Sangui still had some doubts: "If...if he dares to do this, I will attack the city immediately."
"Just wait and see. You don't have much time left." Li Sizhong warned again, "Also, let me go quickly, otherwise you will bear the consequences."
Although Li Sizhong's words were harsh, they touched Wu Sangui's heart.
He immediately said to his trusted men, "We are about to arrive at Fushun City. Ask the Central Army whether to camp outside the city or go inside to rest."
"Yes." The confidant rode away on horseback.
Wu Sangui had just withdrawn his gaze when several scouts came running towards him from a distance.
As the sound of horse hooves got closer, they came to Wu Sangui and said, "Your Excellency the General, I have captured two Jiannu spies. They claim to be here to surrender and have brought important intelligence."
"Bring them here."
After the inquiry, Wu Sangui looked worried.
The so-called Jiannu spies were not spies at all, but messengers sent by Dorgon.
They brought two pieces of news.
The first message was to order Wu Sangui to release Li Sizhong immediately, otherwise the Eight Banners Army would launch an attack immediately.
The second message is about timing.
Dorgon gave Wu Sangui half a day. If he did not surrender, he would personally lead the Eight Banners Army to attack Wu Sangui.
In fact, Dorgon was also very embarrassed about whether to attack Wu Sangui.
Wu Sangui behaved like both an enemy and a friend.
Attack Wu Sangui?
Some of them are not quite suitable.
After all, the two sides have cooperated so many times before.
Moreover, the Guanning Army is very powerful, and attacking them will cost a great price.
Don't attack, he won't surrender.
Dorgon had no choice but to give Wu Sangui an ultimatum.
In order not to anger Dorgon, Wu Sangui immediately released Li Sizhong.
Then he began to wait.
Waiting for news from Wang Yongji.
Soon, the soldiers who were sent to the central army to inquire about the news returned.
Wu Sangui anxiously asked: "How did Wang Yongji arrange it?"
"Governor Wang has ordered you and the Guanning Army to station two miles east of Fushun City. Governor Wang will station to our south, and the rest of the troops will enter the city to rest and wait for reinforcements from the imperial court."
Wu Sangui breathed a sigh of relief: "It seems that Li Sizhong guessed wrong!"
But he soon became nervous.
Because he decided not to surrender to the Jiannu for the time being, this move would inevitably anger Dorgon.
In order to prevent Dorgon's revenge, he quickly issued an order: all troops should retreat in an orderly manner and send a large number of scouts to investigate the whereabouts of the Jiannu to prevent attacks.
Dorgon waited for a long time but got nothing.
With a bang.
He kicked the snow away and said through gritted teeth: "Wu Sangui actually dared not surrender. This really pissed me off!"
"Your Majesty, calm down," Hong Chengchou stepped forward and said, "Since Wu Sangui refuses to surrender, please send troops immediately to force him to surrender."
"Not appropriate!" Without waiting for Dorgon to express his opinion, Fan Wencheng rushed to say: "Tens of thousands of Guanning Army's family members are in the rear, and it is not easy to get them to surrender. This is also what Wu Sangui is worried about. Sending troops rashly will only complicate the situation."
"That's wrong!" Hong Chengchou immediately retorted: "The lower-level soldiers know nothing and believe whatever Wu Sangui says, so the key to whether to surrender or not is still Wu Sangui. And Wu Sangui is a fickle person. He will not surrender unless he is forced into a desperate situation."
Fan Wencheng glared at Hong Chengchou, then turned to Dorgon and said, "Your Majesty, please wait a moment and give Wu Sangui some time."
Hong Chengchou rolled his eyes at Fan Wencheng, then said to Dorgon, "Your Highness! We can't wait any longer. Waiting any longer will only waste time."
"Hong Chengchou, what do you mean?" Fan Wencheng pointed at Hong Chengchou's nose.
"What's the point of you saying yours and me saying mine?" Hong Chengchou asked back.
"How dare you be so stubborn!" Fan Wencheng was very annoyed: "Those words you said were against me in every way, weren't you doing it on purpose?"
Hong Chengchou sneered, "Your Highness, I am just speaking freely, but I am not targeting you. On the contrary, you... have been targeting me since before the Battle of Sarhu."
"Hong Chengchou," Fan Wencheng glared at him, "Don't think you can get ahead of others just by offering a few vulgar techniques to Prince Rui."
Hong Chengchou was not angry, but smiled and said, "Thank you, thank you!"
Fan Wencheng was completely anxious.
In the eyes of ordinary people, he and Hong Chengchou were arguing about reason.
In fact, he was vying for favor.
If he doesn't fight back, he will completely fall out of favor.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
