Boom boom boom, three cannon shots!
Chongzhen led all the officials and soldiers to pay tribute to the Martyrs' Shrine.
After the ceremony.
Chongzhen took the imperial sword from Wang Chengen.
Wang Yongji walked up to Chongzhen with steady steps.
Wu Sangui, Gao Di, Huang Degong, Tang Tong, Li Xing, Liu Zhaoji, Yuan Shu, Huang Fei, Liu Fangliang, Gao Yigongjing, Yuan Zongde, He Jin and Liu Xiyao followed closely behind.
"Your Highness, your Majesty!"
Led by Wang Yongji, everyone saluted Chongzhen.
Chongzhen picked up the Imperial Sword and handed it to Wang Yongji with a solemn expression, saying: "Today, I grant you the Imperial Sword!"
"This sword is the imperial weapon! Anyone who disobeys military orders with this sword can be beheaded! Anyone who is afraid of the enemy and does not move forward can be beheaded! Anyone who commits a crime can also be beheaded!
"I hope you will live up to my trust!"
Wang Yongji knelt on the ground and took the imperial sword: "Your Majesty, I will never let you down!"
Chongzhen nodded and said to everyone: "This time, the task of pacifying Liao is long and arduous. I wish you all a triumphant return!"
"Triumph!"
"Triumph!"
Amid the soldiers' roars at the top of their lungs, Chongzhen walked down from the altar.
Wang Yongji turned around and faced the generals, raising the sword in his hand.
The generals saluted in turn and stood on the left and right.
Wang Yongji then ordered the use of black cows and white horses to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth and to the flag.
He also ordered the generals of the central army to reiterate military discipline and reward and punishment standards.
The oath-taking ceremony ended with the sound of cannon fire.
That afternoon.
Wang Yongji led nine generals and two commanders to Shanhaiguan.
Dengzhou Governor Yuan Shu and Guanliao Dengjin Navy Commander-in-Chief Huang Fei did not accompany him, but instead took a boat back to Dengzhou from Zhigu and deployed troops according to Wang Yongji's plan.
Six days later, Wang Yongji and his party arrived at Shanhaiguan.
130,000 infantry and cavalry have been assembled.
At this time, the Shanhaiguan area was full of people, with sleeping tents and cooking pits everywhere.
The generals dispersed immediately to find their own teams.
After finding the team, they entered the city and discussed the battle plan with Wang Yongji and Wu Sangui.
"Governor," Wu Sangui said first, "Five days ago, the Guanning Army scouts discovered Jiannu scouts fifty miles outside the city. According to yesterday's intelligence, the number and frequency of Jiannu scouts are still increasing."
Wang Yongji's expression was serious: "That is to say... the Jiannu already knew that our army was about to counterattack Liaodong?"
"That should be it," Li Xingzhong nodded. "The Jiannu are well-informed, so it's normal for them to have noticed something."
Wu Sangui rolled his eyes at him and asked, "General Li, do you think this is normal?"
"Isn't this normal?" Li Xingzhong asked back, "In the Xuanda area, our army's Yebushou are lurking near the Mongolian tribes day and night, and they will report back the slightest movement. Our army has Yebushou, and the Jiannu have spies!"
"The Jiannu invaded the pass several times to plunder, and while they robbed people and supplies, they also left behind countless spies. This time, the 130,000 troops drawn from the nine borders made a huge commotion, and the Jiannu spies must have already sent the news to Liaodong."
Wu Sangui laughed and said, "It seems that General Li knows a lot about spies."
Bang!
Li Xingzhong slammed the table and stood up. He pointed at Wu Sangui's nose and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Nothing serious," Wu Sangui said with a fake smile, "I just miss the days when General Li obeyed my orders."
Li Xingzhong previously served as the deputy general of the central army in the Guanning Army and was a subordinate of Wu Sangui.
Later, he was promoted by Chongzhen and transferred to become the commander-in-chief of a region, on the same level as Wu Sangui.
Although Wu Sangui felt uncomfortable being neglected by Chongzhen, he was even more worried about Li Xingzhong's success.
That's why I speak sarcastically.
Li Xingzhong was Li Rusong's son after all, so he had never been treated like this before. He immediately retorted sarcastically, "Yes, it's a pity that I don't have an uncle with the surname Zu."
"What do you mean?" This time it was Wu Sangui's turn to be angry.
"It's nothing special. I just miss the Liaodong Iron Cavalry back then. With the Liaodong Iron Cavalry here, no snake or rat dares to jump around!" Li Xingzhong
Wu Sangui was immediately furious and rolled up his sleeves to fight Li Xingzhong.
Tang Tong and Huang Degong were closest to them, the former stopped Wu Sangui and the latter stopped Li Xingzhong.
"General Wu, calm down and don't hurt the harmony."
"Don't be angry, General Li. Our enemy is the Jian Nu, not each other!"
"Yes," others followed suit, "The two generals have no grudges in the past or today, there is no need to create a conflict over a verbal dispute."
Under the persuasion of others, Li and Wu sat down.
Although the verbal dispute had stopped, it could be seen from their heavy breathing that the two were still angry.
Wang Yongji just looked at the two of them quietly and did not try to stop the fight from beginning to end.
Seeing that the two had stopped arguing, Wang Yongji stood up and took out the imperial sword from a box wrapped in yellow silk cloth behind him.
He gently placed the sword on the table, stared at the two of them and said, "Why don't you two go out and have a fight?"
"If all else fails, you can take your team and go to the open space outside the pass to line up and fight to the death!"
Li Xingzhong and Wu Sangui were like children who had done something wrong, they lowered their heads and said nothing.
Wang Yongji was still furious: "No matter what grudges you had before, as long as you are under my command, you should put aside your grudges and obey my command!"
"Otherwise," he gently stroked the imperial sword, "military law is ruthless!"
After a long silence, Li Xingzhong was the first to speak: "I know I was wrong, please calm down, Governor."
Wu Sangui then said, "Governor, please calm down. I dare not act rashly."
Seeing that both of them had admitted their mistakes, Wang Yongji snorted coldly: "If you do it again, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"Thank you, Governor!" Wu Sangui and Li Xingzhong thanked Wang Yongji.
After chatting for a while, Wang Yongji got to the point: "To pacify Liao this time, we must first open up the Liaoxi Corridor, and the key to opening up the Liaoxi Corridor is Ningyuan!"
"Ningyuan City is surrounded by water on three sides, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. According to reports, the Jiannu have stockpiled tens of thousands of soldiers and countless food and fodder in the city!"
"Is there anyone willing to volunteer to take Ningyuan?"
"I am willing to go!" Wu Sangui stood up in the surprised eyes of everyone.
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