The video takes us to ancient times; Li Er transforms into the Tongtian Emperor of Shu Han.

"clear."

"But given the current situation, it will be quite difficult to get the two of them out of Wu Sangui's residence."

"It's almost impossible, to put it mildly."

Although Wu Sangui was unaware of the details, he should have realized the importance of these two men.

"Holding these two people in his hands is the most suitable bargaining chip."

"I'm afraid His Majesty won't choose to release them until he truly compromises."

Wu Sangui may be a coward, but his principle of not acting without a clear objective is absolutely correct.

This is how it was when negotiating with the Manchus. Even though they had already made up their minds, they still deliberately kept Dorgon hanging.

He won't really make a decision until the very last moment.

If nothing unexpected happens, then the two of them will be in the same situation.

If they cannot truly gain his trust, then neither of them will be free.

As for how to gain his trust?

"Heh, he wants more than just compromise. Unless I let him take my troops to negotiate with the Manchus, and after we've negotiated, I'll join him in leading the Manchus into the pass."

“He will bear the same infamy as me, or even worse, he might push the blame onto me.”

"In short, the only time he would willingly release the people would be after the Manchus entered the pass."

"But by then the Manchus had already entered the pass, so why would you need him to release anyone!"

Liu Bang scratched his head in frustration.

But as he put it, he felt something was off.

The Manchu conquest of China?

"and many more?"

"I seem to have heard this idea of ​​letting the Manchus into the pass from more than just Wu Sangui!"

"Xiao He, if you remember correctly, what Han Xin said at the beginning was to let the Manchus enter the pass and encircle and annihilate them in one fell swoop, right?"

Liu Bang suddenly remembered the idea that Han Xin had given him when he first entered the challenge.

In the vast plains beyond the Great Wall, trying to encircle and annihilate the Manchu cavalry would have been a pipe dream.

Only by letting them into the pass can we have a chance to completely annihilate and eradicate them!

"Han Xin did say such a thing, but if he did, countless people would die a violent death."

"And there is another problem. Even then, the border was still under Wu Sangui's control. If he did not cooperate, the idea of ​​besieging the Manchus would not hold true."

Xiao He thought Liu Bang had already given up on this option, but seeing him suddenly bring it up, he quickly advised him against it.

"Then it depends on how you seize the opportunity. Anyway, if we proceed step by step, there's nothing else you can do."

"Wu Sangui is a coward, suspicious, cautious, and as timid as a mouse, with no ambition whatsoever."

"The kind of person he is would rather do nothing than make a mistake."

“But as long as he doesn’t make a mistake, I have no chance whatsoever.”

"Xiao He, you should understand that we are the ones who are at a complete disadvantage right now."

The elite army outside the Great Wall was chased away by the Manchus, and there is still no news of Han Xin and Xiang Yu inside the Great Wall.

As for the city itself, the overall situation was firmly under Wu Sangui's control.

If Liu Bang didn't take an unconventional approach, he wouldn't see any chance to turn the tide.

We can't possibly pin our hopes on Xiang Yu going mad and forcibly attacking the city, and taking down the border guarded by tens of thousands of elite troops, can we?

The rewards for the challenge are generous, but the more generous the rewards, the greater the difficulty.

In Liu Bang's view, it would be almost impossible to get through this predicament without taking risks and paying some price!

"Understood, Your Majesty. What should I do then?"

The two looked at each other for a moment, and then Xiao He slowly lowered his head.

Ultimately, Liu Bang was the ruler, and he was the subject.

Since the ruler has made his decision, he cannot object.

"Once Wu Sangui makes contact with the Manchus again, they should stop holding onto our army. Then you will be able to extricate yourself from the situation."

"Let's go inside the pass and find Han Xin and the others."

"After finding them, we should first evacuate as many people as possible from the area around the border."

"Although it is said that the success of one general is built on the bones of ten thousand, I still hope that we will not go too far in harming the harmony of Heaven."

Liu Bang thought for a moment and said.

This is the only thing he can do.

As Han Xin said, it is almost impossible to wipe out the Manchus without paying any price.

But given the situation, he could no longer remain naive.

"One wrong step leads to another, and in these few steps, you almost ended up losing everything."

"Damn it, we lost because of that scoundrel!"

In the end, he couldn't help but curse out loud.

If it weren't for that cowardly nature, he would never have gotten this far!

"You can go down now. Your father needs some time to calm down and put everything together."

"From today onwards, you need not come to see me again. Go and do what you are supposed to do, and evacuate the innocent people as much as possible."

"This area within the pass is not only the site of our decisive battle against the Manchus, but it may also be the site of our decisive battle against Wu Sangui's Guan Ning Iron Cavalry!"

……

"We still have to come to this point."

"All we can say is that Emperor Gaozu did his best."

"But once you take a wrong step, it's irreversible."

"But some mistakes weren't intentional on his part, like Nurhaci's blunder..."

From Liu Bang's perspective, who could have imagined that the challenge he chose to face, which was clearly Nurhaci, would actually occur during Dorgon's time?

"It's not that some mistakes are made, but that almost all mistakes are made out of necessity."

"But we can't say that his decision is wrong right now; it depends on how he implements it."

"If arranged properly, I believe that at least the casualties can be minimized, perhaps even lower than the casualties in the campaign against the Manchus outside the Great Wall."

Li Er thought for a moment and said.

What forces are currently surrounding Liu Bang?

Liu Bang's own men were naturally outnumbered, but there were Manchus outside the pass, Li Zicheng inside the pass, and Wu Sangui and a large number of deserters in the city.

There is a balance among these forces.

If you can find that absolute balance point, then break it.

Next, we'll have the opportunity to sit back and watch the tigers fight, and reap the benefits!

"You mean, should we use the Manchus to fight Wu Sangui? Or should we use deserters to resist both?"

"Clearly, both of these are difficult to achieve."

"No matter how outrageous Wu Sangui's demands are, as long as Dorgon is a smart man, he can agree to them first, and then change his mind later."

"It is almost impossible to sow discord between these two groups, so all that is left is a large number of deserters."

“But if they can desert once, they can no longer be trusted.”

"Indeed, these people are soldiers when they pick up a knife, but when they put down their knives, they are just civilians, and most of them are cowards whose courage has been worn away by the battlefield!"

"Emperor Taizong, you don't really think these people can change anything, do you?"

"If they can escape once, they'll escape a second time!"