On the evening of May 18, the Eight Banners soldiers led by Man Dahai and the Eight Banners soldiers led by Sony met in the west of Liaoyang City.
To be cautious, they sent out several cavalry units to verify each other's identities.
There was no way out. The consequences of Li Dingguo impersonating an Eight Banners soldier were too serious.
If they don't verify it carefully, they will repeat the mistakes of the He Luo Society.
When cavalrymen from both sides meet to verify their identities, they will first question each other's identities.
Including but not limited to the other party’s name, general leading the troops, family members, place of residence, etc.
It took them a long time to confirm that the other party was a genuine Eight Banners.
After confirming his identity, Sony personally came to Man Dahai, dismounted, and knelt on the ground, "Your servant pays respect to Prince Li!"
"Get up," Man Dahai said helplessly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Have you found any trace of the Ming army?" Man Dahai asked first with a frown.
He spread his army out in an east-west direction, marching from north to south.
However, no trace of the Ming army was found along the way.
"No," Sony replied.
"Where are the other Eight Banners soldiers?"
“Neither do I.”
"This is a bit weird!" Man Dahai narrowed his eyes. "I went from south to north, and you went from north to south! We didn't find any trace of Li Dingguo. Where did Li Dingguo and the Ming army go?"
Sony is also puzzled.
He had fought on the battlefield for many years, and this was the first time he encountered a situation where he could not find the enemy.
(Sony was from the Haixi Jurchen tribe. Before the Qing Dynasty entered the Pass, Sony had always appeared in various historical materials as a military general. After entering the Pass, Sony was excluded by Dorgon and became frustrated. After Dorgon's death, Sony was reused by Fulin and his status was changed to a civil official.)
"By the way, why did you come to Liaoyang instead of in Shengjing to protect the emperor?" Man Dahai suddenly remembered this.
"Oh!" Sony sighed, and then told him everything Li Dingguo had done under the city of Shengjing.
When talking about the Ming army raising the national flag of the Ming Dynasty and shouting "Kill the Jiannu and recover Liaodong", Man Dahai almost fell off his horse.
"This...this..." Man Dahai opened his mouth and stammered, "Is this true? You didn't lie to me, did you?"
"It's absolutely true! I dare not talk nonsense about such an important matter." Sony sighed again: "The emperor was on the city wall at the time and witnessed everything!"
"This incident was a huge blow to the Emperor. He was full of confidence when he first climbed the city wall, but felt extremely disappointed when he walked down the wall!"
"It's over!" Man Dahai closed his eyes and lay on his back.
Li Dingguo was let go by him.
He could hide this matter for a while, but not forever.
When Fulin finds out, he will definitely punish him.
The title of Prince Li that he had just inherited might also be stripped away.
No!
Man Dahai suddenly realized that he still had a chance to save himself.
As long as he captured Li Dingguo alive or brought Li Dingguo's body to Fulin, he could atone for his crime.
Even if he cannot atone for his crime, he will most likely be able to keep his title of Prince Li.
Thinking of this, Man Dahai opened his eyes.
He stared at Sony and asked, "Where do you think... Li Dingguo is?"
Sony said confidently: "It is certain that Li Dingguo is south of Shengjing."
Man Dahai added: "I can also confirm that Li Dingguo is north of Haizhou."
After the two looked at each other, Man Dahai dismounted, took out the map he carried with him and spread it on the ground.
Sony pointed to the mountainous area east of the Liaohe Plain and said, "Did Li Dingguo go into the mountains?"
"No," Man Dahai shook his head. "Li Dingguo's men are all cavalrymen, and the mountains and forests are not conducive to cavalry marches. Besides, it is very easy to get lost in the mountains, and even an experienced hunter cannot avoid it."
"So... Li Dingguo is definitely not in the east."
"In that case," Sony pointed to Liaoze in the west, "Li Dingguo might be in this area."
"It's midsummer now and the Liaoze Lake is too muddy to march!" Man Dahai was a little confused.
"No," Sony shook his head, "What I meant is that Li Dingguo is very likely to be marching on the edge of Liaoze."
"Impossible!" Man Dahai denied Sony's guess: "The edge of Liaoze is the Great Wall, and there are sentries on the Great Wall. As long as Li Dingguo appears there, the sentries will send the news over."
Sony added: "There weren't many sentries to begin with, and after Prince Zheng's conscription, there were only a few left. Moreover, Li Dingguo had a fake Eight Banners Army under his command, so he could easily kill the sentries by surprise..."
hiss--
Man Dahai took a deep breath and pointed at the edge of Liaoze and said, "If what you said is true, where will Li Dingguo go next?"
"Two directions!" Sony guessed, "South or North! Going south means bypassing Liaoze and returning to the Ming army's territory on the west bank of the Liao River."
"What about going north?" Man Dahai had a bad feeling.
"If we go north..." Sony paused, his face suddenly became very serious: "It is very likely that they will come to Shengjing again."
"Ah?" Man Dahai swayed and sat on the ground.
He quickly stood up and said, "We must find him immediately!"
"Please give the order, Your Highness!" Sony clasped his hands and bowed very skillfully.
Li Dingguo's whereabouts remain a mystery.
If Li Dingguo once again came to the gates of Shengjing, or if Li Dingguo managed to escape unscathed.
The responsibility involved is huge.
Giving the command to Man Dahai at this time is equivalent to throwing the blame to the other party in advance.
When something went wrong, Man Dahai was the first to bear the brunt.
Even if the blame is put on Sony, he was just following orders.
When it comes to crime, the responsibility can be said to be minimal!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
