Daishan led his troops toward Shengjing.
Li Ruolian and Qin Liangyu stayed in the same place for a few more days.
On one hand, they were capturing the scattered Jurchen cavalry; on the other hand, they were searching for Huang Taiji's remains.
If his body could be found, it would be considered a great achievement to kill the enemy leader on the battlefield.
But after searching for several days, they still found nothing.
"Sigh, it seems we're still just unlucky."
"Huang Taiji actually ended up with a body torn to pieces!"
Li Ruolian was somewhat disappointed.
However, Qin Liangyu smiled slightly.
"General Li, if the Jurchens heard you say that, they would probably be furious."
Li Ruolian shook her head and said, "Why should I care what they think!"
"Forget it, since we really can't find the body, let's hurry back to the capital so that His Majesty won't have to wait any longer."
The two men led their troops back, and as soon as they arrived at Shanhaiguan, they saw that the pass was very tense, with cannons already set up.
Who's outside the city?
Li Ruolian was so angry she laughed.
Are you blind?
"I am Li Ruolian, and this lady beside me is General Qin Liangyu!"
"Open the gate immediately and let us through!"
The garrison commander shook his head after hearing this.
"Hmph, you won't fool me!"
"It must be that after the Jurchens defeated the Beijing garrison, they secretly changed into Ming army uniforms, trying to take over our Shanhaiguan Pass, right?"
Those soldiers were probably used to listening to storytelling, and they always used slang.
Upon hearing this, before Li Ruolian could say anything, the soldiers behind him became displeased.
"You sons of bitches, I fought tooth and nail to finally win a battle, and you still look down on us, huh?"
At first, the soldiers guarding the city did not pay attention to the shouts and curses from outside the pass.
But soon someone noticed something was wrong.
"The accent of these soldiers from beyond the pass sounds like it's from Sichuan?"
"It's possible for the Jurchens to find some people from Liaodong to act in plays, but it's unlikely that they would find tens of thousands of Sichuan soldiers."
"So...they really are government troops outside the city?"
"They might just be the White-Spear Soldiers who will be heading to Beijing soon!"
"But when did they leave the country?"
Chaos erupted as soon as the door was closed.
After a moment, a middle-aged man stepped forward.
What are you all doing?
When the other garrison saw him, they immediately felt reassured.
"General Wu, you've finally arrived!"
"Those people outside the pass seem to really be our imperial army!"
"Oh? Is that so?" General Wu feigned surprise. "Let me see!"
In fact, he had been hiding to the side all along and had seen everything clearly.
But he only steps in to mediate when things get out of control.
After glancing down at the city walls a few times, he quickly shook his head:
"Oh dear, we really made a blunder! It really is government troops below the city!"
"Someone, open the door immediately! I want to greet you personally!"
General Wu jogged down the city wall, and as soon as the gate opened, he rushed out and came to Li Ruolian.
"General Li, please forgive me, please forgive me!"
"It is because our Shanhaiguan Pass is of utmost importance that we dare not be negligent in the slightest, which is why we have neglected you."
"I will apologize to you right away."
As he spoke, he actually bowed deeply to the ground.
Seeing this, Li Ruolian could no longer lose her temper, so she could only pull General Wu up.
"Since it's a misunderstanding, let's just let it go."
"Can we go through customs now?"
General Wu quickly replied, "Of course!"
He stepped back half a step, signaling the soldiers outside the city to enter the pass.
Then he introduced himself:
"General Li, actually I was also a military scholar in the second year of the Tianqi reign."
"To be honest, I'm actually your senior!"
Li Ruolian had previously left the pass twice, but both times he was busy with military campaigns and had not yet met with the garrison commander of Shanhaiguan.
That's why General Wu had to introduce himself at this point.
Upon hearing this, Li Ruolian indeed felt a sense of closeness to him.
"May I ask how you should be addressed, General?"
General Wu smiled and stroked his beard: "My surname is Wu and my given name is Xiang."
Li Ruolian has not yet had any contact with Gao Qingyun, nor has anyone spoiled the plot for her.
So he didn't know that Wu Xiang had a good son named Wu Sangui.
This will bring a huge blow to the Ming Dynasty.
Meanwhile, Li Zicheng was still fiddling with his Italian cannon, completely unaware of what was happening outside.
Otherwise, he would definitely have reacted upon hearing the name Wu Xiang.
After all, Li Zicheng had taken history classes with Gao Qingyun before.
When he met his father, his "lifelong enemy," he was unlikely to give him a pleasant look.
Li Ruolian cupped her hands in greeting to Wu Xiang, which was considered a formality.
Then Wu Xiang, without any hesitation, tentatively asked:
"General Li, did you suffer a defeat this time when you went out to fight?"
Li Ruolian was somewhat confused: "What do you mean by that?"
Wu Xiang hesitated, but ultimately remained silent.
He thought to himself, "The Beijing garrison was defeated not long ago, supposedly due to an attack by the Jurchens."
"Those Jurchens are extremely powerful. Even our Guan Ning Iron Cavalry wouldn't dare say we can easily defeat them."
"Although it now seems that the imperial court was prepared in advance and secretly sent White-Spear Soldiers to follow them."
"But those White-Clad Soldiers are probably no match for the Jurchens; at most, they can only protect you and help you retreat safely."
It's not surprising that Wu Xiang made such a guess, since Qin Liangyu had led the White-Spear Army north to assist in the battle several years ago.
At that time, they were only evenly matched with the Jurchens.
But he didn't know that this time the Ming Dynasty seemed to be blessed by heaven, and Huang Taiji was killed with a single cannon shot, leaving the Jurchen leaderless.
They were utterly defeated by the White-Clad Soldiers.
Li Ruolian felt a certain fondness for Wu Xiang after hearing that Wu Xiang had also been a military scholar.
He whispered, "General Wu, we actually won a great battle this time when we left the pass."
"However, we will have to wait until we return to the capital and report to His Majesty before we can announce the details to the outside world."
I can't go into details with you here.
Wu Xiang was unaware of these things and shook his head inwardly, wondering, "What else did he say that couldn't be explained in detail?"
"Clearly, they haven't finished crafting the details of their lie, which is why they dare not speak clearly!"
"Hmph, they've probably been cleaning up the mess outside the pass these past few days, hiding their defeated troops and only bringing back the uninjured soldiers to put on a show!"
But outwardly he nodded in admiration: "General Li is indeed a pillar of the nation!"
"And General Qin is also a heroine among women!"
"Please enter the pass quickly, I will arrange a banquet to welcome you!"
After the two entered the pass, Wu Xiang's eyes darted around, and he said to his trusted servant:
"You must hurry back to the capital and inform those high-ranking officials in the court of the news of the government army's defeat."
Wu Xiang was able to maintain his position as general because he had powerful backers.
"Remember, you must leave quickly, and you must get this message back before the White-Clad Soldiers return to the capital!"
Two days later, thanks to the servant's frantic efforts, he actually managed to deliver the message to the capital.
Upon receiving the news, the ministers in the capital became even more certain of their initial assessment.
"Hmph, the little emperor was lying after all!"
"This time, the imperial court has truly suffered a crushing defeat!"
"It's a pity the Donglin Party isn't here, otherwise they would definitely have stepped forward to remonstrate..."
"You don't want to live anymore? The Donglin Party are traitors!"
The ministers were discussing it amongst themselves.
Although the Donglin Party had its internal conflicts, it was generally united.
These ministers, however, were not organized at all; they were just gathered together haphazardly.
"Forget it, why should we worry about so much? Just focus on preparing for the victory presentation ceremony. The truth will out."
"Once the whole world knows that the court has turned a crushing defeat into a great victory, it won't be us who lose face!"
"Yes, let's just watch the show!"
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