Dashun Yongchang

Yuan Zongdi naturally couldn't answer, so he could only shake his head and ask Li Zicheng for advice, Li Zicheng replied: "It's actually very simple, spread the new theory to the young people, and then wait for the old people who support the old theory to perish, and the new theory will come." It can replace the old learning. The academic battle has never been about the victory of truth over falsehood, but the victory of young people over old people."

This night's conversation benefited Yuan Zongdi a lot. If he was just a general with some political talents before, then through this night's conversation with Li Zicheng, he finally understood what politics is.At the end of the conversation between the two, Li Zicheng raised a question about his previous intention to establish a second line of defense.

"I think your suggestion is feasible. The Lu Yingbiao Division will be under your command. Tomorrow, I will ask the left staff officer to send a letter to Feng County and Xuzhou, and transfer the power to establish a second reserve line of defense to you. After our army solved the problem of Aji Before the problem of the Georgia Army, you and Xuzhou's General Staff will jointly preside over the defense in the east."

Yuan Zongdi got up and saluted Li Zicheng and said seriously: "I will definitely hold the line of defense and prevent the Qing army from threatening the fundamental place of Xuzhou..."

Xuchang belonged to the well-known Yingchuan County during the Three Kingdoms period, and most of the counselors of the Three Kingdoms came from here. However, by the Ming Dynasty, Xuchang had lost its former style, because Yingchuan County, which was lush with vegetation during the Three Kingdoms period, had become an over-developed county by the Ming Dynasty. agricultural area.Years of droughts in the late Ming Dynasty also did not let this place go, but compared with Luoyang and Kaifeng in the north and Nanyang in the southwest, Xuchang is still a bit more popular.

When the Qing army went south, several big cities in Xuchang quickly opened their doors and surrendered, and did not make any resistance moves. This kind of practical action prevented Xuchang from being much harassed by the Qing army.

But as the news of the defeat of the Qing army came, the gentry and tyrants who had already surrendered to the Qing army immediately had other thoughts.Ajay Raiwa

When He Jinzhong's troops arrived in Xuzhou, Han Jiadi who was stationed in Xuzhou did not open the city to meet them, but sent some wine and meat from the top of the city, expressing that the people in the city were not stable, and hoped that the two Qing soldiers would take the lead and rest outside the city One night, wait until tomorrow to discuss the affairs of entering the city.

The Manchus under Ajilai's command yelled at their morale, saying that if the Han people in the city did not open the city gate, they would enter.However, this kind of angry talk was quickly stopped by Ajilai. If there were no pursuers from the Shun army, then attacking Xuzhou might not be an option, but in this case, attacking the city is obviously not an option. possible.

Ajilai and He Jinzhong forced two villages on the outskirts of Xuzhou to open the gates, and ordered the soldiers to rest in the two villages for one night.Because the soldiers and civilians in Xuzhou hadn't formally raised the anti-Qing banner, in principle, this area was still ruled by the Qing army. Therefore, under the threat of force from the Qing army, the elders of these two villages still succumbed to the Qing army.

But Ajilai didn't really do nothing, just waited for the soldiers and civilians in Xuzhou City to open the city gate tomorrow.he found

He Jinzhong deliberated: "The cities in Xuchang capable of supplying the army, besides Xuzhou, are Yuzhou City in the northwest of Xuzhou and Xiangcheng in the west. As long as one of these two places is willing to accept us, then the other two The land dare not open the door to accept us, because as long as our army has a foothold, the surrounding cities will not be able to block our army."

He Jinzhong nodded in agreement with Ajilai's point of view, and put forward his own opinion, "Yuzhou was the Junping Mansion of the Shun Army before, and the influence of the Shun Army in Yuzhou is still quite large. Before, Yuzhou City surrendered to our army. It is also the latest one. Therefore, in my opinion, Kaicheng of Yuzhou has little chance of accepting our army, but Xiangcheng still has a chance. When Shunjun was in Xiangcheng, he cut the noses of many scholars who helped defend the city. Scholars here hate the Shun Army, and they are also one of the cities that took the initiative to open the city to welcome our army. In my opinion, we can just send a messenger to Yuzhou, and the personnel sent to Xiangcheng should be more cautious."

Ajilai followed He Jinzhong's suggestion, and sent a team to Yuzhou and Xiangcheng overnight, and asked his cronies to serve as envoys to Xiangcheng.However, when the Qing army sent envoys to Xiangcheng, Xiangcheng also received a surrender letter sent by Li Guo.

It was mainly the gentry in Xiangcheng who presided over the surrender of Xiangcheng to the Qing army. After the Henan incident in the late Ming Dynasty, the local tyrants took control of the power in the county.In Xiangcheng County, it is the gentry of Xiangcheng who have the final say.Just as He Jinzhong said, the gentry of Xiangcheng resisted the attack of the rebels at first, and then surrendered after seeing the situation was not good. However, after the rebels entered the city, they took revenge on the scholars who helped defend the city by cutting their noses, which made Xiangcheng The gentry in the city completely moved to the opposite side of the rebel army, so after hearing the news that the Qing army was going south, they sent people to contact the Qing army.

And Azige was also very satisfied with the gentle attitude of the Xiangcheng gentry, so he did not appoint another person to serve as the county magistrate of Xiangcheng, but let the gentry who came to contact him serve as the county magistrate of Xiangcheng, essentially nothing changed However, it is these gentry who have the final say in Xiangcheng, which is of course the best result for the gentry in Xiangcheng.

It's just that they didn't expect that the Qing army, which seemed to be in a torrent, would be killed by the Shun army so quickly.The news of the defeat of the Qing army from Suizhou and Chenzhou forced the gentry who originally advocated surrendering to the Qing army to invite those gentry who did not advocate surrendering to the Qing army to discuss what to do.

Chapter 415 Chasing Six

The gentry from all over the world usually choose the town god's temple when they gather, one is to avoid the intervention of officials, and the other is to ask the city god to be a witness, which is the so-called "man is doing it, and the sky is watching".

This time when the gentry in Xiangcheng were discussing the surrender letter sent by Li Guo, news of the defeat of the Qing army in Suizhou suddenly came from Xuzhou, so the already complicated situation became even more complicated now. The gathering in the Chenghuang Temple also lasted until the night when the lights were brightly lit.

The reason why the Xiangcheng gentry could not come to a conclusion as soon as possible is that the gentry who had advocated surrendering to the Manchu Qing were afraid of being retaliated by the Shun army and had hope for the strong and powerful Qing army. They always hoped to wait and see. At the last moment, he was unwilling to accept Li Guo's surrender.

Just like a certain gentry surnamed Huang said: "Last time we only defended the city for a few days, but after the opening of the city, the Shun army turned back and retaliated against everyone who defended the city. Could it be that after we surrender this time, the Shun army will not retaliate?" Have we? I'm not saying we won't surrender, but what's wrong with waiting for two days to see the situation thoroughly before making a decision?"

Although everyone present knew that this was just a fluke, if the Qing army really had a chance to come back, then it would be impossible for Li Guo to send them a letter of surrender.After all, according to the marching route of the Qing army, some of the Qing army should retreat before Li Guo arrived in Xiangcheng.But now south of Xiangcheng, there is no established Qing army withdrawing to Xiangcheng, and the southern tyrants who originally surrendered to the Manchus have now returned to the Dashun flag, which means that the Qing army has at least Part of it has been encircled and wiped out.

Now coupled with the news of the defeat of the Qing army in Suizhou, people with knowledge can naturally judge that the defeat of the Qing army in Henan is inevitable before more definite news comes. Whether the direction can turn the situation around will not help the people of Xiangcheng solve the threat of the Shun army that is right in front of them.

It's just that the truth is like this, but who will stand up and be the crow's mouth?After all, no one can guarantee that Shunjun will not overturn the old score after entering the city, after all, they have done this in the past.Therefore, even if he stands up now and advocates accepting Shunjun's surrender, it may not benefit his family. This is everyone's business, and naturally everyone should make a decision together.

However, at this time, two people stood up and made the final decision on the discussion of this gathering. One was Liu Hanchen, the most prestigious gentry in the city, and the other was Zhang Yongqi, the most famous scholar in the city.

Liu Hanchen opposed Kaesong's surrender to the Qing army, but he didn't like to see the Shun army, because when the Shun army attacked Xiangcheng before, he contributed a lot in defending the city, so his nose was cut off by the Shun army.Since then, he has rarely appeared in public. When the Qing army broke through the Yellow River, he was living in a manor outside the city. Shoushan lived in seclusion, and this time Xiangcheng faced a choice again, and the gentry and common people in the city invited him out.

Zhang Yongqi was a representative of the scholars who advocated Kaesong to welcome the Qing army. As the leader of the local scholars, he believed that it was impossible for the Shun army to unify the world after losing Beijing.Regarding the question of whether the Manchus would leave the customs after occupying Beijing, he believed that even if the Manchus occupied Hebei, it would at most be the Northern and Southern Dynasties in which the Liao and Song Dynasties confronted each other, because the Manchus did not have such a large population to annex the whole of China.

After listening to the arguments of the gentry for several days, Liu Hanchen said: "The reason why my Ming Dynasty died was because the Manchus rebelled outside the customs. After that, the Manchus entered the customs several times to kill my people and plunder my population and wealth. At this time I believe that the Manchus will help the Ming Dynasty to suppress thieves. How is it any different from seeking skins from tigers? How can Azig’s army have the demeanor of a king’s division in Henan? Otherwise, how can the people of Henan help the Shun army? At this time, they are cut off from the Qing army. It is not too late to choose a new position, do you have to wait until the soldiers of the Shun army approach the city before deciding to surrender?"

Zhang Yongqi, who had been advocating that the Manchus could help the Ming Dynasty to suppress the thieves before, also changed his position at this time and persuaded everyone: "I thought that Emperor Yongchang did not go west to Chang'an, but went south along the canal. He was in a daze.

Under the attacks of the Manchus and Wu Sangui, the Shun Army retreated from Shanhaiguan and lost its capital. Basically, I thought that the Shun army would not be able to defend the Central Plains and the Jianghuai area, and would only become rogues again in the end.

It is precisely because of this consideration that I urge everyone to welcome the Qing army and not to harm the people of Xiangcheng for a group of thieves.But judging from the series of defeats of the Azig army, the Shun army has at least gained a firm foothold in Henan. If we continue to support the Qing army at this time, we are making enemies of the surrounding Henan people.

In that case, we have no chance of winning, and it is for nothing that the people of Xiangcheng will suffer another war.Therefore, we should accept Li Guo's surrender letter and ask the Shun army to enter the city as soon as possible to appease the people.As for the previous preparations for welcoming the Qing army, I will do it myself..."

Liu Hanchen's power, coupled with Zhang Yongqi's explanation, finally made the Xiangcheng gentry accept their decision.And just after they sent someone to send a letter back to Li Guojun overnight, the Qing army's envoy arrived early the next morning.

After discussing how to treat these people, Liu Hanchen and Zhang Yongqi stood on the city gate and refused the Qing army envoy's request to enter the city.The envoys of the Qing army had to retreat to Xuzhou. In the afternoon, Ajilai and He Jinzhong received replies from the envoys sent to Yuzhou and Xiangcheng. The army envoy launched an attack.

After listening to the reports of his experiences by the two messengers, Ajilai said to He Jinzhong: "It seems that Xuchang can no longer be our army's garrison. Order to attack us."

He Jinzhong also said anxiously: "Han Jiadi still refuses to open the city, and even the people who come forward to talk to him are his subordinates. This is clearly prevaricating us. Moreover, my people also heard the news that our Chenzhou army was killed. The Shun army is surrounded, and the Shun army is now advancing from Chenzhou to Xuchang, so it is meaningless for the army to retreat to Xuchang."

Ajilai asked in surprise: "Is this news accurate? Our army in Chenzhou is finished?"

He Jinzhong was silent for a moment and then replied: "It's just a rumor, but I have already sent people to Chenzhou to inquire. However, if the news is true, is it necessary for us to stay in Xuchang?"

Ajilai didn't answer right away. He walked back and forth in the yard several times with his hands behind his back. This was the best family in the village, but it was just a low wall built with loess and pebbles to separate his house from the outside. .The holes in the wall indicate that the wall has been built for a long time.

Looking at the mottled loess wall, He Jinzhong felt a little emotional for a moment. From the high spirits when he went south to the bumping into walls now, the transformation process is really fast.If their army fails and retreats, can the Shanxi and Shandong armies continue to fight?If the two armies did not open up the situation, how long can the Manchus stay in the customs this time?And those Liaodong Ming troops who betrayed Da Ming and Da Shun, what should they do in the future?

While He Jinzhong was thinking silently, Ajilai finally made up his mind. He stopped and said to He Jinzhong: "By noon tomorrow, no matter whether there is any news from Chenzhou, we will retreat to Weishi County. But You need to continue negotiating with the city. No matter whether Han Jiadi opens the city gate or not, ask him to get some food. You send people to the surrounding suburbs to collect food. You can bring back as much as you can tomorrow. On the way back this time, I’m afraid It's hard to raise food and fodder..."

Ajilai and He Jinzhong did not wait until noon the next day, because the people who went to the south to spy that night picked up the Qing army stragglers who had fled all the way back from Chenzhou.Early the next morning, Ba Keyong and others also came over after hearing the news and joined their team.

At this time, the situation in Chenzhou became obvious. The more than ten thousand troops they left in Chenzhou were almost wiped out by the Shun army. This ten thousand refers to the troops who went south from Hebei, not including those who surrendered in Henan. , so the reason for the army to retreat to Xuchang to meet the Chenzhou troops no longer exists.As for the idea of ​​containing the Shun army in Chenzhou, it is also an unrealistic fantasy under the defection of the local people.

Considering that the Shun army in the south might appear under the city of Xuzhou at any time, Ajilai and He Jinzhong immediately decided to pull out their camp and return to Weishi. It happened to be the fourth day of their retreat from Suizhou.Just when Ajilai and He Jinzhong left their camp and headed north in the afternoon, Han Jiadi in Xuzhou City also came to the top of the city after being notified by his subordinates, watching the retreat of the Qing army.

Looking at this scene, he also let out a long sigh, and then said to his subordinates: "It seems that the Qing army really can't stay in Henan, so they don't even want Xuchang. Then why should we be Manchus?" I sacrificed my own life and picked out a team of cavalry. I want to write a letter to General Ge, asking him to send people to Xuzhou. From today onwards, we will return to Dashun's arms..."

Regarding Han Jiadi's decision, the subordinates around him did not object, but all of them praised Han Jiadi's wisdom.At the same time, the first-generation troops of the Shun Army stationed in Luohe also received a letter of surrender from the people of Xiangcheng, and the forwards of the Shun Army began to move forward to Xiangcheng.

Before Ajilai and He Jinzhong returned to Weishi County, Azig, who was stationed in Weishi County, had greatly weakened the idea of ​​going to Xuchang.Because the infantry of the Shun army appeared in Weishi County on the third day, the cavalry of the Shun army, who had been avoiding fighting the Qing army, started a tentative attack with the support of the infantry.

On the fourth day, after the two armies fought for a whole day, the generals of the Qing army began to complain to Azig that the cavalry of the Shun army, supported by their own infantry, was no longer a target they could eliminate.The cavalry of the Shun army could retreat behind the infantry to adjust when the situation was unfavorable, but the chasing cavalry of the Qing army suffered considerable losses.Therefore, without destroying the infantry of the Shun army, it would be difficult for them to destroy the cavalry of the Shun army.

For Azig, this is the right nonsense. If the infantry of the Shun Army can be wiped out, do they need to retreat?

Chapter 416

A woman's wailing came from Azig's bedroom, and the guards outside the room subconsciously moved a few steps away from the bedroom.As Azig's personal guards, they are very aware of Azig's habit. He likes to vent his anger on women. He will restrain himself a little when he is in China, but once he is on the territory of the Han people, he will start Became careless.

Listening to the woman's screams, they could feel how angry Azig was now.Of course, there are a few guards with smarter brains, but they can feel the powerlessness behind this anger.After all, Azig, who always shows off his bravery in front of everyone, is actually cowardly in his heart. When he was bullied by the four Baylors, he didn't dare to resist, so he could only transfer this humiliation and anger to his position Low-level people, or Han slaves, or guards with bad backgrounds around them, may become Azig's punching bag.

Therefore, when hearing Azig venting on the Han woman, it didn't give the guards on duty any sweetness. They only worried that Azig's anger had not been vented and fell on themselves.

Just to vent, Azig won't stay in the bedroom for too long.As the woman's voice stopped coming from the room, it didn't take long for Azig, who was wearing a mink fur, to open the door and come out.He called the guard at the side and said: "Have someone change the bedding in the room, deal with him by the way, and then ask someone to boil some hot water and bring it up. I want to take a bath."

Maha agreed, and called two companions to enter the room, and soon they came out carrying a quilt. The hair protruding from the quilt could tell that there was a person wrapped in it, but they didn't know there was another person inside. No breath.However, the guards on the side turned a blind eye to this, and seemed to be used to such scenes.

At this moment, Azige calmed down a lot. Before the hot water arrived, he stood in front of the steps and asked Jilai: "The messenger sent by Ajilai said, when will they leave?"

At this time, the sky was approaching dusk, Ji Lai estimated the time and then replied: "It is said that we will leave in the afternoon, but the slave thinks that he will not be able to return until midnight at least."

Azig stared at the sunlight reflected on the gray brick wall for a long time, before he said: "These barbarians are just untrustworthy. When we gained power, they bowed down one by one, for fear that we would not let us know their loyalty to the Qing Dynasty. But when we After a little loss of momentum, they couldn't wait to jump off our boat, just as eager as they jumped on board.

Forget it, let's let them be proud for a few days this time, and when we come back next time, I will find out those savages who betrayed us one by one and peel off their skins, and let them know the fate of betraying us.Wu Sangui, after reading the message sent back by the messenger, do you have anything to say? "

When Azig vented his dissatisfaction, Ji Lai could only lower his head and say nothing, because he felt that no matter what he said, he was wrong. After all, it was really unknown whether they could come back after the failure of the Southern Expedition this time.Even if the Manchus can fight back to Henan again, Azig should be unlikely to be the coach of the road, because for the Manchus, the loss of this battle is almost the same as that of the Songjin War.

Although Huang Taiji has always described the Songjin War as a turning point in decades of fighting between the Manchus and the Ming people, after this battle, the Ming army no longer had the force to threaten the Manchus outside the pass, and the remnants of the Liaodong Ming army led by Wu Sangui were barely It's just holding the Liaoxi Corridor from Zhonghou to Shanhaiguan, and it is no longer capable of confronting the Manchus across the river in Jinzhou during Zu Dashou.

However, the upper echelons of the Manchus actually knew that the Battle of Songjin was completely different from when Old Khan defeated the Ming Army’s Fourth Army. When Lao Khan defeated the Ming Army’s Fourth Army, his own losses were really minimal. A large number of Ming troops descended to greatly enhance their own strength, and easily occupied the area east of the Liaohe River.

Although the Manchus achieved great results in the Battle of Songjin and almost wiped out the backbone of the Ming army outside the pass, the Manchus suffered great losses.It was precisely because the losses of the Manchus were too great that Huang Taiji did not take advantage of the victory to pursue and drive the Ming army out of the Liaoxi Corridor, directly hitting Shanhaiguan as the boundary.

In order to scare the Ming people and the Mongols on the grassland, the Manchus could only cover up the losses in the Battle of Songjin to prevent the Ming people from continuing to increase their troops outside the pass and the Mongols on the grassland to rebel.The 1 troops brought by Azig to the south this time are actually about the same size as the Qing troops who entered the customs in previous times.But after a series of failures, in addition to more than [-] cavalry, there are nearly [-] horses in Zhengzhou and Luokou, and the other troops have been completely lost.

Even if you don’t count the more than 3 people who went south and surrendered, Azig lost nearly [-] troops alone. If most of the troops lost were from the former Ming army who surrendered, then this kind of war will last for two more years. Three times, the Qing Dynasty will perish.You must know that although the Manchus have been vigorously advocating the unity of Manchus and Mongolia, and tried their best to marry the Mongolian tribes, the Mongols are not really obedient to the Manchus, because the Mongols have always acquiesced to such a rule, only the blood of the Golden Family Only then can the Mongols be ruled, but the Manchus are not.

In other words, once the Manchus began to become weak, the Mongols on the grasslands would definitely fight against the Manchus. This is not a guess, but a reality known to all Manchus.

No matter how much the Nine Kings defended their elder brother, the meeting of kings and ministers would not allow the fate of the Manchus to be handed over to Azig, because the Manchus really couldn't afford such a war with huge losses.The reason why the domestic Manchu-Han dispute has not been intensified is because the Manchus need the Han people to fight and produce for themselves to make up for the shortage of Manchu population. It is precisely because of this practical demand that the Manchu supremacy There are always more words than actions.

Hearing that Azige changed the subject on his own initiative, Ji Lai breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly replied: "King Pingxi heard that the Chenzhou army might have been defeated by the Shun army, and his face changed a lot, but then he turned towards the slaves. Said: Since the Chenzhou army is no longer safe, it is meaningless to go to Xuchang, so I ask the general to reconsider the plan to go to Xuchang, or it is more appropriate to retreat to Zhengzhou."

But Azig said disapprovingly: "Retreat to Zhengzhou? Wu Sangui still didn't tell the truth. After the two armies of the Shun Army converged, Zhengzhou also couldn't hold it, because I couldn't change the food. When the Yellow River thawed in the spring, would everyone be there?" Is Zhengzhou waiting to die? If we want to retreat, we must retreat to the north of the Yellow River, and then defend according to the river, so that the army can do nothing against us."

Ji Lai agreed with Azig's judgment from the bottom of his heart. In addition to the food problem, the Shun army still had a lot of artillery, but the Qing army, which moved faster, never gave the Shun army the opportunity to use artillery.But if they retreated to Zhengzhou, they would be able to use artillery without any scruples when the Shun army surrounded them in the city.

But he didn't dare to answer this question, because the responsibility was too great for him to join as a bodyguard.After a moment of silence, Azig said, "Notify the generals, I will have a meeting here after dinner to discuss the retreat."

At this time, Azig still let go of other worries, and decided to take this little vitality back in his hands.Although the Southern Expedition failed this time, fortunately most of the dead were Han Chinese. If the Han Chinese went back and searched, they would be able to make up for it. However, one Manchu died and one less. He really couldn't continue to gamble with Li Zicheng.

For the purpose of Azig's convening of the military meeting, the Manchu and Han generals had expected it, but they really did not expect that Azige was determined to contain the Shun army in Xuchang before, but now he is not satisfied. Instead of withdrawing to Zhengzhou's conservative plan, it is necessary to withdraw to the north of the Yellow River in one breath.

However, everyone did not question Azig's claim, because during the two-day small-scale battle with the Shun Army's chasing troops, they already felt that the morale of the Shun Army began to increase, while the morale of their own side began to decline.This change was not only due to the previous failures of the Qing army. In fact, there was one thing that had a great impact on the morale of both sides, and that was the Qing army's looting and killing of the people in Henan on the way.

Even when the Qing army entered the customs in the past, the looting and killing of the Han people followed two principles. The first is that private looting is not allowed; the second is that massacres are allowed for those Han people who resist.Through these two principles, the looting and massacre of the Qing army actually became an organized activity, rather than a purely personal vent.

However, after Azig released the restraint on the soldiers during the retreat this time, it was tantamount to allowing the soldiers to plunder and kill in private, which also reduced the restraint of the generals of the Qing army on the soldiers.The harm that the Qing army did to the people along the way further proved the justice of the war Li Zicheng talked about. For the soldiers of the new army who accepted this statement, they felt that they were defending the people on this land and that they were justice. It is not the cannon fodder for someone to fight for the world.

Coupled with the welcome of the people along the way, the morale of the Shun army began to rise continuously, and the desire to attack the Qing army became stronger and stronger.On the other hand, because of the destruction of military discipline and the shadow of failure, the Qing army has less and less desire to fight. Not only the Han soldiers, but even the Manchus do not think that the battle is doomed to failure. What's the point of dying in a war like this?

However, Azig’s proposed time for the Yellow River to freeze is usually at the end of February or early March in previous years, that is, one month later.If the East Army cannot break the deadlock within one month, they will be alone in Zhengzhou.Of course, the most troublesome thing was the food. The food in Zhengzhou had already been raided by them once. It was obviously not possible for the Qing army, who was being chased by the Shun army, to find food for the defense of the city from the local people.

Therefore, the meeting reached a conclusion within less than an hour of discussion. The army should withdraw to the north bank of the Yellow River to regroup, and then wait for the East Road Army to open up the situation before making other plans.

Regarding the retreat plan, Azig still adhered to a policy of keeping Wu Sangui by his side, and then let the Manchus monitor Wu Sangui's subordinates to fight.As far as how to deal with the vassal troops, the Manchus have already mastered the game, that is, to watch the army leader and then supervise the use of his subordinates. Without Wu Sangui in the army, Wu Sangui's subordinates can only obey orders honestly and will not easily betray the Manchus. human.

Chapter 417 Chasing Eight

On the second day after Li Zicheng and Yuan Zongdi had a night talk, Li Zicheng entrusted Yuan Zongdi with Suizhou affairs, and then rushed towards Weishi County with nearly 3 troops.Different from the previous groups of pursuers who were mainly soldiers, the group led by Li Zicheng was mainly logistics and artillery units, so there were a lot of mules, horses and carts.

At the same time, the logistics line of the Shun Army was also re-adjusted. From Xuzhou to Guide and then to Suizhou, the original logistics line from Feng County to Guide became an auxiliary line, which not only greatly improved the safety, but also shortened the logistics line. Mileage of transportation.Of course, in the face of the continuous westward march of the Shun Army, the overall logistics route was greatly lengthened, which also brought increasing pressure on the logistics supply to the Marshal's Mansion.

When the news of Suizhou's great victory came back to Marshal Xuzhou's Mansion, Yang Chengyu, Zhang Jiayu, Zhou Lianggong and others who presided over the daily government affairs of the Marshal's Mansion were all overjoyed. However, this Suizhou victory really reversed the situation in Henan and gave them the hope of repelling the Qing army going south.

Yang Chengyu took the victory report sent from Suizhou, and said to his colleagues with a smile on his face: "Okay, okay, this great victory came at the right time. If we can usher in such a big victory before the beginning of spring, then all places will I can prepare for spring plowing with peace of mind, as long as I can survive this year, I predict that the Manchus will never be able to launch a war of this scale in the future, and the day of peace in the world can be expected."

Zhang Jiayu also agreed and said: "It is true that the previous war has been dragged on for a long time, and people everywhere are in panic. How can we produce with peace of mind? With such a good news, everyone does not have to worry about the Qing army breaking through Jining and going south. However, such a war, we I’m afraid we won’t be able to afford it in a short period of time. In order to prepare food and collect labor, the people in Shandong and Henan are almost exhausted. If the people in these two places cannot be given time to recuperate, the local government may not be able to survive.”

Zhou Lianggong, who is in charge of financial work, said with deep empathy: "Food and civilians are lucky to say that the sum of money lost in this battle has exceeded 1600 million taels, which is equivalent to the revenue of the treasury in the past four years. Time continues to drag on. The financial resources of the people will also be exhausted, and after this battle is over, they will indeed have to recuperate for a few years before considering going north to recover the capital."

Yang Chengyu did not agree with Zhou Lianggong's opinion. He sneered and said, "It is true that the people at the bottom have no money left, but how can the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River have no money? I am busy repairing the garden. A big tree costs a hundred taels, and a piece of Taihu Lake stone costs hundreds of gold, but these people can spend tens of thousands of taels to repair a garden without blinking their eyes, but they can delay the national tax. His financial resources have not been exhausted, but some people have hidden them at home and refused to take them out."

Regarding Yang Chengyu's cynical words, both Zhang Jiayu and Zhou Lianggong fell silent for a while, because they couldn't understand each other's words.Although everyone was born as a scholar, both Zhang Jiayu and Zhou Lianggong's family belonged to prominent families, and although Yang Chengyu had inherited the position of Qin Tianjian for generations, he was only slightly stronger than ordinary people.

People like Yang Chengyu can't enjoy the benefits that the gentry usually enjoy, but when it comes to his feelings for Daming, Yang Chengyu is actually much deeper than ordinary gentry.Although he surrendered to Li Zicheng, he didn't have any affection for those gentry who refused to take money to save Daming.

On

From Yang Chengyu's point of view, the reason for the fall of the Ming Dynasty was not because of Li Zicheng's rebellion or the betrayal of the Manchus, but because of those gentry who had been favored by the state but poached the corners of the court all day long.These people occupy the most affluent land in the world, control the most profitable business, but rely on their privileges to exempt themselves from the national tax they should pay, and even cover up common people to invest in it, so that the country's taxes are concentrated on people like Li Zicheng who were originally good people of the Ming Dynasty. On the body, these good people of Ming Dynasty were forced to become rebels.

Even if he is now a thief,

Yang Chengyu didn't feel any guilt towards Daming, because Daming was finished long ago, at the hands of those gentry who failed the country.Under Li Zicheng's proposition that "rebellion is justified", his thinking began to become more open.

Before Li Zicheng put forward the idea that rebellion was reasonable, the way for Li Zicheng's civil servants and generals to express their loyalty in front of Li Zicheng was to support or not to support Li Zicheng as emperor, and there was no other way to evaluate him.

Therefore, although Yang Chengyu invested in Li Zicheng, his main energy was still on how to help Li Zicheng conquer the world. As for the views and treatment of the great Ming gentry, he did not reach a real consensus.To a certain extent, cracking down on corrupt officials is not necessarily prior to supporting Li Zicheng as emperor.

Therefore, although Yang Chengyu believed that part of the privileges of the gentry should be abolished, he did not dare to express this position publicly, because it might offend the gentry all over the world, but it did not necessarily win the support of Li Zicheng. After all, in front of the throne, a Yang Chengyu Obviously, it is no more important than the gentry in the world.

It is precisely with this in mind that some scholars, including Yang Chengyu, can only hide certain views.But after Li Zicheng expressed his political views, scholars represented by Yang Chengyu, including those who did not support Li Zicheng's rebellion, all agreed with Li Zicheng's political views. There were too many problems in the old Ming system. It will not work without reform.

Scholars who supported or opposed Li Zicheng began to regroup on the issue of whether to reform the old Ming system.Supporting Li Zicheng or the Zhu family or someone else as emperor is actually only related to the interests of some people. It is actually difficult for most people to realize who will protect their own interests when they become emperor.

But on the issue of whether the old Ming system should be reformed, not a few people participated in the discussion, because since the Jiajing period, there have been discussions among the court and the people on whether the system should be reformed.The period when the reformists once had the upper hand was from the end of Jiajing to the death of Zhang Juzheng. After Wanli abolished the New Deal, the reformists began to decline and the conservatives began to come to power. decline.

When the reform faction was completely defeated in the court, it was the time when the rebel army rose up in the whole north.It can be said that although those in power at the court denied the idea of ​​reforming the system, the people below did not agree with this. They showed how dissatisfied they were with the old Ming system by defecting to the rebel army to resist the court.

The rebel army massacred corrupt officials and forced the gentry to provide money, food and land to sponsor the uprising, and exempted farmers from national taxes. In essence, it was a denial of the old system, but they did not find out how to establish a new one that would satisfy the majority of the people. The way in which the new system was demanded, that's why there was more destruction than construction.

After a certain person crossed over, he began to revise the meaningless killings of the rebels and the average thinking of small farmers, leading the rebels to the road of reforming the Ming system.As a result, those reformists who were afraid to support the rebel army because they were afraid of the destructive power of the rebel army began to move closer to the Marshal's Mansion and supported a certain degree of change to the old Ming system.

Even officials like Zhang Jiayu and Zhou Lianggong, who were born in gentry families, did not agree with the complete abolition of the old Ming system, but believed that the old system should be improved to a certain extent to meet the actual needs of the current society.At this time, officials from the north and south, scholars, and property owners who cared about politics began to put aside the question of who they supported as emperor, and instead focused on what changes should be made to the current system in order to restore peace to the world.

Compared with who is the emperor, the reform of the system is obviously related to the interests of more people. Even those who do not support Li Zicheng on this issue are based on the hope that certain social problems can be solved. Also adopted a partial supportive attitude.

And after the trend of reform began to return to the mainstream concept of society, Yang Chengyu was no longer afraid to express his position. As a close minister around Li Zicheng, he needed to express his reform position to gain the support of the people below.Just like before, Niu Jinxing's call for establishing the foundation of the country attracted a large number of scholars who hoped to become ministers of the dragon to surround him, but it was actually the same situation.

However, looking at Zhang Jiayu and Zhou Lianggong's embarrassed expressions, Yang Chengyu finally put aside his criticism of the Jiangnan gentry, and said instead: "This news must be sent to Huai'an and Yangzhou as soon as possible. Let those hesitant fools understand that this is the last chance to board the Marshal's Mansion."

Although Zhang Jiayu and Zhou Lianggong felt that Yang Chengyu's character was a little extreme, this decision was not bad. Although Li Zicheng had suppressed the southern gentry and forced King Fu to abdicate and become a vassal, as Li Zicheng led his army northward and started a decisive battle with the Qing army, However, there are quite a few people in the south who are on the sidelines or have other thoughts.

These people who kept saying that they were loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty eagerly pushed King Fu to the throne when the whereabouts of Chongzhen and the crown prince were still unclear. They did not consider how they would deal with the enthronement of King Fu if Chongzhen or the crown prince had not died. .Even the members of the Donglin Party, who were known as honest and gentlemen, did not object to recommending a new emperor, they just opposed the enmity of King Fu, who had a grudge against them.

In the face of personal interests, the southern gentry have clearly stated that their so-called loyalty to the monarch is actually loyal to a monarch who can protect their interests. If the monarch cannot protect their interests, then he is a villain who has fainted and stole the throne up.

This is not a slanderous word. Before Li Zicheng forced King Fu to abdicate, Jiangnan had already begun to spread about Emperor Hongguang's stupid actions. For example, Emperor Hongguang was busy repairing the palace and selecting beautiful women before Emperor Daxing was buried.The behavior of the Jiangnan gentry made the officials who came from the north to the south very dissatisfied. It was not because they had much public morality, but because the family properties of these officials were all in the north. Therefore, restoring the north became their main interest statement. The southern gentry who wanted to keep half of the south of the Yangtze River had conflicts.

This is also the reality that when Li Zicheng carried the prince out, the northern officials were immediately willing to use it for the Marshal's Mansion, because only Li Zicheng could help them restore their family business.Of course, some people just left and surrendered.However, the distrust of the southern gentry is the consensus of the entire Marshal Du's mansion, even for southerners like Zhang Jiayu and Zhou Lianggong.