From heaven to hell, there is often only a thin line.
Before the Qing army appeared, all Li Zicheng received was good news.
On the front battlefield of Shanhaiguan, the Shun army is making good progress and is completely suppressing Guan Ning's army. Maybe one day, they can achieve complete victory.
On the flank battlefield, Li Guo and Li You attacked the northern wing city. As long as they occupied this place, they could spy on the main city of Shanhaiguan.
Farther north, Tang Tong, Bai Guangen, and Jiang Gan have already attacked the city.
Wu Sangui's troops deployed here were not many in the first place, but they were gradually unable to withstand the attack.
Yes, the main battlefield of this battle is not a piece of stone that will be talked about by later generations.
Because a piece of stone is also called Jiumenmenkou because it is halfway up the mountain.
The terrain here is narrow and it is impossible to deploy too many troops and horses, so they can only respond as flanks.
Everything went smoothly.
Li Zicheng is already waiting to reap the final fruits of victory.
As a result, the Qing army suddenly appeared and went down the mountain like a fierce tiger, catching the Shun army by surprise.
The Shun army was exhausted after fighting for a day. Moreover, due to the fierce fighting, the formation was already out of order. At this time, they were charged by the Eight Banners cavalry, and the whole scene was immediately in chaos.
"Cavalry, follow me."
Seeing that the situation was not good, Liu Zongmin immediately led the cavalry brigade to greet them.
He wants to buy time for the main force.
As long as the team can reorganize its formation, there will still be a chance of victory.
The old battalion cavalry of the Shun Army was the most powerful unit. Liu Zongmin was full of confidence and felt that they could definitely turn the tide.
As long as he defeated the Eight Banners cavalry, he would be the greatest contributor. Li Zicheng would probably not care about his misdeeds in the capital.
He led the old battalion cavalry into the battlefield and collided head-on with the Eight Banners cavalry.
He could clearly see that the group of Qing cavalry rushing over was flying a yellow flag.
At first, a general was riding on a tall horse, which looked like an iron tower. Especially the beard on his face was as fluffy as a lion, and his face armor could not cover it at all.
There is a large sword in his hand, which is six or seven feet long. It is definitely not light.
This made Liu Zongmin's blood boil, and he faced him with his big sword.
He is the most powerful general in the Shun Army. After so many years of fighting and meeting countless famous generals, he only thinks that the heroes in the world are just like this.
Now when you encounter a fierce person, if you can kill him off his horse, your morale will definitely be greatly improved.
His eyes were gleaming, and he rushed straight over.
The opponent felt the killing intent, and when he saw a tiger general covered in armor rushing forward, he was full of fighting spirit.
Seeing their main adversaries facing each other, the soldiers on both sides couldn't help but hold their breath and opened their eyes wide as they waited to see the result.
Although fighting generals before a battle is not the mainstream of war, the soldiers can still be inspired by the general's bravery.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the distance between the two sides became closer and closer.
As soon as he reached within 100 meters, the Qing general suddenly handed his sword to his left hand, and then pulled out the bow from the bag on his side.
Casually, an arrow flew into the air. When it fell again, he had already caught it on the string.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the hard bow was held open by the general's feet, so it could be operated with one hand.
Seeing that the opponent was about to shoot an arrow, Liu Zongmin became cautious.
He only regretted that his archery skills were not good enough and he couldn't fight back. Then he had to dodge carefully and wait to get close to fight.
The bow strings burst out, and the iron arrows were like lightning, coming straight towards him.
"Well done!"
Liu Zongmin shouted loudly. Seeing that the arrow was about to arrive in front of him, he suddenly swung his sword. He struck the arrow right in the center.
The feather arrow was chopped off on the spot and disappeared.
But Liu Zongmin looked surprised, and his body swayed, a little unsteady.
He had no idea that the power attached to this arrow would be extremely powerful.
In a duel between masters, the slightest accident can have serious consequences.
When the Qing general fired the arrow, he had already thought of Liu Zongmin's response.
When Liu Zongmin was unsteady, he was already approaching.
There was a roar out of thin air, a broadsword struck his head, and the loud sound of wind made the person's face hurt.
Liu Zongmin groaned secretly and could only hold up the sword and take the blow forcefully.
However, his body was unstable and his strength was nowhere to be used, so he naturally suffered a big loss.
Everyone could see clearly that his knife was knocked down abruptly and hit his shoulder blade. It also knocked him out of the saddle and fell heavily to the ground.
The morale of the Qing soldiers was greatly boosted and they shouted loudly.
"Batulu...Batulu..."
Liu Zongmin fell badly and his shoulder blade was broken. Moreover, because he could not understand the howling of the Qing army, he was extremely panicked.
Fortunately, the cavalry from the old battalion reacted quickly and rushed forward. They were divided into two waves, one to save him and the other to stop the Qing general.
However, more than twenty cavalrymen from the old camp were all chopped down by the general like melons and vegetables.
However, this time was enough. Liu Zongmin was helped onto the horse again, and was escorted all the way back by his personal guards.
Seeing that the most powerful generals in the army were defeated, the morale of the Shun army completely fell to the bottom.
At the same time, the situation on the battlefield became extremely critical.
This fierce general was not the only cavalryman who rushed out from the Qing army.
The attacks from other groups were equally swift and violent, quickly weaving in and out of the Shun army's formation, leaving no time for the Shun army to form a formation.
The Shun army was in chaos, and the command was completely ineffective. Each unit fought blindly, and was eaten bit by bit.
Li Zicheng saw this, secretly surprised by the ferocity of the Qing army, and anxiously waiting for Liu Zongmin's battle situation.
As a result, what he was waiting for was Liu Zongmin's embarrassed escape.
Seeing the general he relied on most slumped on a stretcher, his face white, dripping with blood, and unconscious, Li Zicheng finally understood that he was going to lose this battle.
"Command the entire army to retreat!"
Li Zicheng finally lost the most important battle in his life.
While retreating, he had already begun planning to evacuate the capital.
Just because he understands that with the troops he currently has, there is absolutely no way he can fight against the Qing army.
As the territory occupied became larger and larger, most of the troops were dispatched. He only had so many troops at hand.
Now more than two-thirds have been lost under Shanhaiguan, and it is no longer possible to defend the capital.
However, Li Zicheng was not too discouraged at this time.
In his life, he had been defeated so many times that he felt that this failure was just ordinary.
When he returned to Shaanxi and reorganized his troops, there was still room for maneuver.
Seeing the retreat of the Shun army, Dorgon and Wu Sangui were both excited.
One is that he feels that he has finally saved his wealth, life and wealth.
The other set his sights on the vast world of the Central Plains.
Decades have passed since Nurhachi raised his army, and they finally set foot on the land of the Central Plains.