Dashun Yongchang

In April, Shanhaiguan is warm in spring and flowers are blooming. If there are no two military camps facing each other, it would be an excellent wilderness scenery.But a closer look reveals that some of the wilderness is actually abandoned farmland.The natural disasters in the north for more than ten years and the man-made disasters caused by the Manchus breaking the customs made the population of Hebei less than one in ten.

Sitting on the gentle slope covered with green grass in front of the big tent, enjoying a lunch under the blue sky and white clouds, if not in this era, it would be a very memorable spring outing in the countryside.

Prince Zhu Cihong was wearing a suit of casual clothes, and was brought over by Li Xi, followed by a middle-aged man. Li Xi whispered to Li Zicheng, who was sitting on the saddle, "This is Li Shichun, the attendant of the Eastern Palace. He must follow!" King Song is here."

Li Zicheng glanced at the prince. Obviously, the drastic changes in the past month or so had greatly impacted the 16-year-old boy raised in the greenhouse, and he became a little stupefied and lifeless.Of course, after his parents died one after another, and his sister died and then disappeared, it is not bad to be able to not go crazy.

Li Zicheng reached out and knocked on the table in front of him and said, "Go and get a set of tableware for Mr. Li, he is a guest, let's eat together."

Li Shichun bowed his hands to thank him, and then stood behind Zhu Cihong again.It was not the first time that Li Zicheng invited Zhu Cihong to dine with him at the same table, but the last time Zhu Cihong refused to eat with Li Zicheng at the same table, and then he was sent to Liu Zongmin's army to take care of him.

It's just that the last time was the boy's last bit of stubbornness. After these days of strict supervision, the boy's hatred for Li Zicheng has diminished. Coupled with the hint behind Li Shichun pulling his clothes, Zhu Cihong finally bowed his hand to Li Zicheng to thank him, and sat down. down.

The food on the table was quite plentiful. After conquering the city of Beijing, the cooks in the capital greatly improved the food standard of the Dashun army.After tortured and looted the officials and wealthy households in the capital, the Dashun Army did not lack supplies.Since last year, the climate in the north has started to improve. If it hadn't been for the outbreak of a plague, it would have been almost impossible for the Dashun Army to capture Beijing with such force.

Thinking of this, someone has to admit that, to a certain extent, Man Qing did gain some kind of luck.When the Mongolian ministries were unified, the profuse sweat recognized by the Mongolian ministries died; when the Ming army had the strength to wipe out the Houjin, the farmers in the north began to rebel; Empire; and when the Manchus decided to enter the customs, the climate in the north began to improve again.This shit is indeed a wave of shit luck, endless.

Li Shichun sat next to the prince, but he didn't move his chopsticks. He just waited nervously for Li Zicheng to speak. The only thing he wanted to do now was to preserve the blood of the prince and the late emperor, and he didn't care much about the rest.

In fact, if it wasn't for the Dashun army messing around in the capital, the world would have been a foregone conclusion, but now, Daming still has a chance.Because after the news of the capital city, even Wu Sangui, a military leader who was yin and yang, turned against him, not to mention the bureaucratic officials in the south, they would never give the Dashun army a copy of Beijing's style in the south .

In other words, as long as the prince can be rescued, the south will inevitably be unified under the prince's banner, because no one else is more qualified than the prince to re-establish the Ming's banner.

Li Zicheng didn't pay attention to the two of them. He was always very serious when eating, and this body seemed to have the same temper. Therefore, when he was filling his stomach, he only noticed that Zhu Cihong just moved a few chopsticks. .

While gesturing to the guards serving on the side to bring over water, he casually said to Zhu Cihong, "It seems that you are still not hungry enough. A few years ago, the hungry people in Shaanxi and Henan couldn't even eat grass roots and bark, they could only eat grass roots and bark. Avalokitesvara soil. Later, even the Avalokitesvara land was gone, so they had to eat people. Husbands ate their wives, parents ate their children. In the end, everyone became inhuman. Just like this, the government asked them to pay Liao rate."

Zhu Cihong couldn't help but walked to the side and vomited after listening halfway. Li Zicheng brought a glass of water from the soldiers and pushed away Li Shichun who wanted to come to get the water glass.He squatted beside Zhu Cihong, while patting the prince's back lightly with his hand, he handed over the water cup with the other hand.

After Zhu Cihong rinsed his mouth, he finally said thank you.Li Zicheng stood up and looked at the Ming flag erected in the distance at Shanhaiguan, and said leisurely: "I know you think that our group of rebels killed your parents and sisters, so tell me, who killed our brothers in the rebel army?" parents and sisters?"

Li Shichun on the side was sensitively aware that the soldiers of the Shun Army who had some sympathy for the prince before were unconsciously showing expressions of grief and indignation.He hurriedly kowtowed to Li Zicheng and said: "The first emperor loved the people like a son, he was definitely not that kind of cruel person, he was just deceived by the people below."

Although Zhu Cihong was a little ignorant, he said with red eyes at this moment: "Father is definitely not the kind of person who forces the people to eat their own flesh and blood. If you talk nonsense, you must be talking nonsense..."

Li Xi unconsciously took a step forward with the handle of the knife in his hand, but Li Zicheng stretched out his hand to stop him. He turned to look at Zhu Cihong, and said calmly, "I can deceive you, but can I deceive the world? Or Say, these brothers who followed me to Beijing were all tricked by me?"

Zhu Cihong fell down on the grass, trembling all over, unable to speak.Li Shichun finally stepped forward to protect the prince no longer patiently, and asked Li Zicheng, "What is your majesty's intention today? Humiliation of father in front of his son is probably not what the king did."

Li Zicheng stared at him for a long time without making a sound. Li Xi who was on the side had already put his hands on the handle of the knife. As long as he gave an order, he would cut off the two heads in front of him without hesitation.

But, unexpectedly, he didn't wait for the order to kill people.I saw Li Zicheng talking to the prince calmly and said: "I don't know why my father ended up like this? I don't know who the enemy of the first emperor is? This is the real injustice. The first emperor has been a muddle-headed emperor all his life. , does the son want to come again?"

Li Shichun seemed to have something else in his words. When he was pondering, Li Zicheng said again: "But even so, the late emperor's death is worthy of a strong word. Mr. Li, you are a learned person. Draw up a posthumous title for the first emperor for me, add this strong word, and send it up when you're ready.

In addition, the King of Song was rude before, and you drafted an order for me to abolish King Song's title and make him a commoner.Li Xi, from now on he will be your subordinate, teach him how to protect himself. "

Li Shichun was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed, and quickly pulled Zhu Cihong to thank Li Zicheng.Li Zicheng glanced at the two of them, and then ordered: "Go and get the luggage of Zhu Cihong and Mr. Li, and let them live in my personal tent. Also, go and invite Xueshi Chen..."

Chapter 4 The King of Benevolence and Righteousness

Before Chen Mingxia arrived, Li Xi brought a junior officer outside the big tent and reported to Li Zicheng: "The commander-in-chief Tang Tong sent someone to deliver a secret letter, saying that there is an extremely urgent military situation to report to Your Majesty."

Li Zicheng walked out of the big tent, sat on the saddle in front of the big tent, motioned for Li Xi to deliver the secret letter, looked at the sender and asked, "Who are you?"

The junior officer knelt on the ground, clasped his fists and replied, "The younger one is Tang Gan, the servant of Lord Zongbing. Last time, he followed Master Tang Hanfu to visit His Majesty, but the younger one was far away at that time. He didn't have the blessing to be accepted by His Majesty." see you."

Li Zicheng opened the secret letter in his hand and glanced at it. Fortunately, he had studied the traditional Taiwanese characters for a while. The so-called Chinese culture is not popular in Taiwan, so he can still understand the vertically typed traditional characters.

Looking at the secret letter in his hand, Li Zicheng didn't stay idle, and continued to ask the servant: "Where is your general soldier stationed now? Where is Bai Guangen and Bai general soldier stationed?"

The little principal replied: "My family's chief soldier is stationed at a stone, and the Bai chief soldier is stationed at Jiumenkou."

Li Zicheng asked in detail about the deployment of the two generals' troops. Although this junior was a close friend of Tang Tong, he was a little at a loss for most of Li Zicheng's questions, but he answered what he knew about the personnel in the army. Very meticulous.

Li Zicheng asked about Tang Tong's father and son's recent situation, and then he was taken down and rewarded with wine and meat.Li Xi saw that Li Zicheng asked so carefully about the situation of the two surrendered generals. After Xiaoxiao was taken away, he couldn't help asking in a low voice: "Does the adoptive father think Mr. Tang and Mr. Bai are suspicious?"

Li Zicheng put away the letter in his hand, and said casually: "It's not sure yet. I just let the two demoted officials take the troops out of our army's sight. I don't feel relieved. Why did no one remind me at the beginning that we have to arrange A team of people to supervise them?"

Li Xi replied in a low voice: "Military Master Song suggested it, but Your Majesty said: You don't doubt the employment. So you didn't put supervisors in the Bai and Tang armies."

Li Zicheng was silent, then suddenly put the letter in his arms, stood up from the saddle, and greeted him in one direction. Li Xi turned his head and looked, it turned out that it was Chen Mingxia, a scholar of the Hongwen Museum.

Li Xi took a step back silently, he really didn't like this Tanhualang in his early 40s.It's a bit shameless to get the benefits of Emperor Chongzhen, but not to be loyal to Emperor Chongzhen, but to take refuge in them, the ant thieves who are scolded by the scholar-bureaucrats all day long.

However, Chen Mingxia himself obviously didn’t think so. He claimed that he hanged himself when the city fell, but was rescued by his servants. Therefore, he had already done his loyalty to Emperor Chongzhen. Next, he would live for the people and assist Yongchang. The emperor is a good emperor.

In Li Zicheng's memory, this is a useful scholar, because when he was leaving the capital, Chen Mingxia kept begging him to hold the enthronement ceremony before leaving the capital, which shows that he is sincere towards him.

As for someone, this person is really a talent, but it is not suitable for him to use, but should be used by those scholars in the south.He grabbed Chen Mingxia and prevented him from kneeling down, and said to him with joy: "Seeing Mr. Chen, I feel that there is nothing in this world that I can't do. Please, sir, talk to me in detail. There is a Important matters require the support of Mr.

Chen Mingxia was surprised at first, then overjoyed.These civil servants who surrendered to Dashun urgently need to make some achievements to prove that their surrender to Dashun was not because they were greedy for life and fear of death, but because a good bird chose a tree to live in.The most important thing is to wash away the words that the late emperor said to his officials when he left, "The king is not the king of the subjugated country, and all the ministers are the subjugated ministers of the country."

If these civil servants prove to be subjugated ministers, how dare the new dynasty dare to use their family descendants in the future.It's just that the peasant army is a peasant army after all, and this insight is somewhat short-sighted.Even the city of Beijing has been obtained. As long as the status is corrected and the world is appeased, wealth from all over the world will flow to the capital in a steady stream. As a result, these peasant troops who entered the city came to be tortured and forced to give the status of the central government to the capital. broken.

The ministers of the four seas can bow their heads to a hero who has the ambition to run the world, but they will never kowtow to a group of thieves, because thieves will not establish rules, and without rules, the world will not be able to return to order.Next, if the Dashun Army can't convince the world's powerful, it will be impossible to have the prestige that just captured the capital.

Chen Mingxia has always wanted to find an opportunity to persuade Li Zicheng, so that he can display his talents. He only got the Tanhua after 20 years of exams, how could he bear to return to his hometown and become a villager?It's just that Li Zicheng has two major civil service systems around him, one is military counselors, headed by Song Xiance; the other is Dashun's civil service system, headed by Niu Jinxing.

Needless to say, Song Xiance's faction is completely the style of charlatans, and it is impossible for orthodox scholars like them to rely on it.As for Niu Jinxing, although many demoted officials went to praise this juren's stinky feet, those with a little bit of background refused to bow to him, and planned to form another faction.As far as the nondescript official system created by Niu Jinxing is concerned, the literati with a bit of a chest will look down on them.

Therefore, Li Zicheng pulled himself for the first time and wanted to ask for a big plan. Chen Mingxia was overjoyed, and now he would no longer have to be a minister.

However, Chen Mingxia soon discovered that it was not that simple to solve Li Zicheng's troubles.The two entered the tent, still sitting cross-legged on the carpet, Chen Mingxia was still a little unaccustomed to this way of talking regardless of superiority and inferiority, here Li Zicheng had already said to him impatiently: "What I want to say next, from Out of my mouth, into my sir's ears, if a third person finds out, sir, don't blame me for being intolerant."

Chen Mingxia hurriedly sat down on his knees, bowed to Li Zicheng and said, "Your Majesty will not dare to speak a word when you are out of this big tent. If there is such a thing, Your Majesty will cut off your head, and I will have no complaints."

Li Zicheng hurriedly helped him up, and said with a smile: "Then sir, let's read this letter first, Zongbing Tang sent it just now."

Chen Mingxia opened the letter, glanced at it, and suddenly changed his face and said: "Your Majesty, if what Tang Zongbing said is true, this battle will be lost. Manchu, this is planning to be an oriole. In my opinion, Your Majesty should return immediately The capital, and then summon soldiers from all directions to defend..."

Li Zicheng interrupted him and said: "I am not an emperor who grew up in a deep palace like Chongzhen, I am the emperor on horseback. If you run away without a fight, the hearts of the people will be shaken, where will reinforcements come? I want you to come here." , I didn’t want to ask you about the battle, I’m better than you in this matter. I’ve been in the army for 15 years, and I haven’t seen any storms. No matter how bad it is, can it be worse than when I took 18 cavalry and hid in the deep mountains of Shangluo?”

Seeing that Li Zicheng was so confident, Chen Mingxia, who was originally confused, finally settled down, and he bowed to Li Zicheng again: "Please tell your majesty clearly that if you want me to do anything, I will swear to the death."

"If you really want to die, you must run away. It is possible to leave without saying goodbye." Someone silently vomited in his heart, but said to Chen Mingxia with a serious face: "It is not a pity if I die. But There are two things but I can't worry about it, after much deliberation, I can only entrust it to my husband, and I ask him to take on this important task."

Seeing Li Zicheng bowing down to him solemnly, Chen Mingxia's eyes became a little straightened. He didn't know what this majesty could entrust to him. The other party didn't even have a biological son. If he died in Shanhaiguan, Dashun Dynasty would It's over, what else can I entrust?

He just wandered in his mind for a while, but he couldn't stop Li Zicheng from worshiping himself. After Chen Mingxia realized it, he immediately moved aside, threw himself on the ground, and said repeatedly: "Death crime, capital crime."

Li Zicheng helped him up again, and with some emotion brewing in his heart, he said to Chen Mingxia: "Chen Qing can't die, I have a great responsibility for you, the luck of China will rest on Qing's shoulders from now on, Qing How can you say death lightly?"

For Li Zicheng's trust, even Chen Mingxia, who had a lot of thoughts in his heart, was greatly moved at this moment. He had the idea that no matter what task Li Zicheng assigned, he would try his best to complete it.

The two sat down opposite each other again, and their expressions became strangely serious. Then Li Zicheng said slowly: "Manchu Qing soldiers appeared outside Shanhaiguan, and they obviously communicated with Sangui. What I am worried about in this battle is not Sangui is not Man Qing, but the elite of the nine borders who surrendered to me since the Eastern Expedition.

If I lose this battle, these officers and soldiers will inevitably betray Dashun and take refuge in Sangui and Manqing.It's all right to take refuge in Sangui, at least he is still a Han.But if they surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, it would be the reappearance of the story of Jin and Yuan entering the Central Plains.A bachelor reads more than I do. When I knew that the Jin army and the Mongolian army were galloping in China that day, I can be said to be more than one in ten Han people.

Now that the south is prosperous and prosperous, if the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, it would be impossible to stay in the dilapidated north, and they would inevitably concentrate their forces to go south.At that time, I am afraid that the tragedy of Nurhachi's extermination of the Han people in Liaodong will reappear in the south of the Yangtze River.If so, then my crime is serious. "

Although I don't know why Li Zicheng became so prosperous after claiming to be a member of the party, Chen Mingxia, who is a southerner, is also in a heavy mood.If possible, he also does not want to see his hometown encounter swordsmanship, especially a cruel military disaster like the north.

After ten years of fighting, except for Shanxi, the north is about to return to the miserable situation of thousands of miles of people in the early Ming Dynasty.Thinking of the densely populated villages in five miles and one township in the south, Chen Mingxia couldn't bear to see those Jiangnan scenery turned into ruins and ghosts.

Therefore, he replied sincerely for the first time: "Your Majesty is benevolent, and I congratulate the world."

Li Zicheng looked at him and continued: "You know, I don't have any sons under my knees. Once I am defeated and die, the Dashun Dynasty will be finished by itself, and it will be even more difficult to protect the south. Therefore, I want the prince to go south to restore the country. At least, before the Manchus wiped out my Dashun, there was a Han regime in the south that could confront the Manchus. After thinking about it, the one who can support the prince to restore the country is none other than you, Chen Mingxia..."

Chapter 5 Life and Death

Li Zicheng's words were like a thunderbolt hitting Chen Mingxia's head. Although a person like him has great ambitions and feels that he is underappreciated for his talents, the focus is on unrecognized rather than appreciating talents.If Li Zicheng reused him as the prime minister of the cabinet, he felt that he had really reached the pinnacle of his life, but Li Zicheng actually asked him to restore Daming, which made him tremble with fear, because he never thought of take on such responsibility.

Therefore, before Li Zicheng could finish his sentence, Chen Mingxia dropped his body to the ground again, and cried out in his mouth: "Your Majesty, absolutely not, absolutely not. This Ming Dynasty is really hopeless, and the little minister's talents are shallow, and it is really difficult for him to take on this important task." .I only wish to be a pure minister of Emperor Dashun, and I will never have any second thoughts. I also ask Your Majesty to take back my order, otherwise I will have to die to prove my innocence..."

"Damn, let you be my pure minister. Is this a curse that I will follow Chongzhen to hang myself? Sure enough, what Kaishen said is right. The crimes of party members who are obsequious, obsequious, and obsessed with obsession are worse than those of the enemy." What’s more. You are a pure minister of the Ming Dynasty, and you want to be a pure minister of the Shun Dynasty. It can be seen that the Manchus came over, and you were the first to surrender. People like you cannot be left to the Manchus. "

Li Zicheng looked at Chen Mingxia coldly and didn't believe a word of his cries. After all, someone has read Chang Gong's diary and knows what is unpredictable. It's not a rough guy like Li Zicheng who can be deceived and fooled by scholars at will.Don't you know that the most ruthless scholar? Forget it, this sentence seems inappropriate to be used here.

He put away the muttering in his heart, stretched out his hand to help Chen Mingxia with a heavy face, and said: "How can I not know the friendship between you and me, Mr. Since I got Mr., I feel that the world can be peaceful. If it is not for the livelihood of the people in the world, How can I be willing to let my husband go to restore Daming to the country.

However, this battle is far more ominous than good, even if our army is not defeated after the war, the situation in the world will be turbulent again, warlords and careerists will emerge in endlessly, and there will be no peace in the local area.

Until now, I was able to understand why Emperor Lie didn't run away.The first emperor couldn't bear the world's people to continue to fall into chaos, so he entrusted the country to me.Therefore, the first emperor did not die at the gate of the city, but died for the sake of the common people in the world.Although I am a rough person, I deeply admire the kindness and righteousness of the late emperor.

Therefore, if my body dies and my name dies, my destiny will naturally be returned to the Ming Dynasty. How can I be obtained by the barbarians outside the pass and Sangui, the slaves of the three surnames at the two ends of the head rat?Therefore, Mr. is not restoring the country for Ming Dynasty, but for me, for the former emperor, and for the people of the world to restore the country.If you can continue this life and death, and defend the great cause of our Chinese orthodoxy, after thousands of years, your name will surpass Zhuge Wuhou..."

Under Li Zicheng's persuasion and chicken soup, Chen Mingxia's mood was like a roller coaster, rolling up and down.Although he didn't think that the late emperor committed suicide for the common people in the world, and Li Zicheng's sympathy and other nonsense, but he was surprised to find that in this way, he could wash away his legal principle of being a minister of the two dynasties, or even the three dynasties.

He served Li Zicheng in order to follow the late emperor's ideals and restore the country for the Ming Dynasty. He was entrusted by the Emperor Dashun who was inspired by the late emperor. Therefore, he is indeed a true pure minister, which is better than the far-fetched explanation that a good bird chooses a tree to live in. Much more reasonable.Chen Mingxia subconsciously took a sneak peek at Li Zicheng. Is he still a vulgar person who can say such a truth?

However, such thoughts flashed in his mind and then disappeared, because it was too disrespectful, he just thought that Li Zicheng was indeed a man with talent and destiny, otherwise he would not have connected the late emperor, himself, and the prince so perfectly.

In some respects, Chen Mingxia's brain is still very flexible. He immediately figured out Li Zicheng's intentions in doing so. The great righteousness to clean up the old mountains and rivers, of course, was after Li Zicheng was defeated and died.

In this way, as long as Li Zicheng survived the battle at Shanhaiguan, the ministers everywhere lost the righteousness to retaliate against him, because he was no longer the rebel who forced the late emperor to commit suicide, but the new emperor who was entrusted by the late emperor to all the people in the world.Moreover, Li Zicheng's preparations for the prince's restoration of the country before the war also proved that the late emperor's vision was correct. This is called a win-win situation.No, it should be a win-win situation. If this matter is really going to happen, he, Chen Mingxia, will also be famous in history.

After trying to understand the reason, Chen Mingxia finally stopped crying, and asked Li Zicheng coyly what he should do.Li Zicheng didn't hesitate either, he had actually come up with a vague plan before, and now that he talked with Chen Mingxia, the plan in his mind became clearer.

So he earnestly borrowed a sentence that Mao Zuo often talked about, and said to Chen Mingxia: "If you want to restore the kingdom of Ming Dynasty, the first thing you need to do is to find out who is the enemy of Ming Dynasty. Who is Daming's friend.

For example, is it the Manchus who fabricated the seven major hatreds against the Ming Dynasty, created a miasma in the world of Ming Dynasty, and forcibly dragged down the great cause of the late emperor Zhongxing Daming, or are we Daming people who cannot survive being oppressed by corrupt officials? , is Daming's enemy?

Those who supported the former were naturally Daming's loyal ministers.Those who support the latter are either stupid or bad.Therefore, this question is a criterion. Those who support the former are the friends of the husband, and those who advocate the latter are the enemies of the husband.How to deal with Ming's enemies?In a word, it is better to be in vain than to indulge.Except for the prince who needs to be educated, other people, if you don’t change your mind, just change people..."

When Chen Mingxia walked out of the big tent, he was still dizzy. Looking at the blue sky and white clouds outside, he subconsciously chanted, "One day in the cave is a thousand years in the world."

Li Xi, who was standing behind him, asked him in surprise, "Scholar, what did you just say?"

Chen Mingxia turned his head and glanced at Li Zicheng's confidant, and immediately said flatteringly, "I want to ask, which tent did Li Shichun and the common man Zhu Cihong live in?"

Li Xi called a soldier over, took Chen Mingxia to find the tent, turned around and went to carry out Li Zicheng's order, summoned the battalion commanders and military adviser Song Xiance, and held an emergency military meeting.

Thinking that the big tent was too boring, someone asked the soldiers to place a few mats outside his big tent, and then asked the soldiers to disperse the surrounding guards, so that it was comfortable and did not have to worry about being overheard by others.

The first to arrive was General Quan Liu Zongmin, an old subordinate and old friend who had followed Li Zicheng since he started his army, and ran over naked.Seeing the wet hair on the opponent's head, Li Zicheng shook his head and scolded with a smile: "Jiexuan, at least I should wipe my body and wear a robe. Hi, bring a towel and my robe to your uncle, and let him wipe it off." Wear it on your body, so you don't catch typhoid in this weather."

Liu Zongmin, who was originally full of awkwardness when he was called to a meeting because he was half-bathed, immediately smiled when he heard Li Zicheng's words, and said, "My brother still loves me. I just set up camp and my body is covered in dust, so I just want to Is it comfortable to take a bath?"

Liu Zongmin sat down on the first mat on Li Zicheng's left hand, and unconsciously moved towards Li Zicheng's direction, so that he could talk to him more conveniently.

While Liu Zongmin was chatting with Li Zicheng, military adviser Song Xiance, deputy general Liu Xiyao of the left battalion, Gu Kecheng of the former battalion system, and Li Guo of the rear battalion system arrived one after another. They saw Liu Zongmin and Li Zicheng sitting together chatting and laughing , I was a little stunned for a while.Since entering the capital, the relationship between General Quan and His Majesty has obviously become estranged.

Li Zicheng often accused Liu Zongmin in front of them, saying that he would never change his life of being a thief until he died. Now that everyone has captured the Ming Dynasty, they should learn to obey the rules and be a Dashun noble who enjoys wealth all over the world, not They always use knives and guns to rob, completely treating the capital as a den of robbers. Even when they were kings on the mountain, the military discipline of the Dashun Army was not as bad as it is now.

And Liu Zongmin complained after drinking with them again and again, thinking that after his brother became the emperor, he looked down on his old brothers and disliked them for ruining his reputation. If the brothers hadn't risked their lives to support his brother, he, the emperor Could it be that those scholars who have no fart skills are promoting it?

Except for Li Guo who was able to persuade them in front of the two, no one else dared to say anything in front of the two. Neither the emperor nor General Quan could afford to provoke them, let alone the emperor. General Quan had a very high prestige in the army. Gao, even Li Zicheng was forced to stop him from robbing in the capital once, let alone them.

During the reform of Yongchang, Li Zicheng organized the soldiers and horses in his hands into five battalions of field troops and two troops of the defenders. However, Li Zicheng did not bring all the main forces during the Eastern Expedition.He Jin, Dang Shousu, and Xin Sizhong were ordered to wipe out the remnants of the Ming Dynasty in Gansu and Qinghai; Tian Jianxiu and Wu Ruyi were stationed in Xi'an; Yuan Zongdi, Bai Minghe, and Liu Tichun guarded Xiangyang and suppressed the Ming army in Wuchang; Li Yutian, Ma Ke This way the Ming army descended to Hanzhong, passing through Sichuan, and confronted Zhang Xianzhong.

It can be said that during the Eastern Expedition in the first year of Yongchang, Li Zicheng really did not think of capturing the city of Beijing at the beginning.It's just that after the Ming army in Shanxi surrendered, he had to take it to Beijing, because Shaanxi couldn't afford so many elites from the nine sides.This is also the reason why Li Zicheng didn't even think about attacking the city immediately when he attacked the city of Beijing, but asked Emperor Chongzhen to crown him king and pay him a military salary.

Even if it is the conquest of Wu Sangui this time, it is difficult to say that Li Zicheng is determined to fight, otherwise he would not have left Liu Fangliang in Baoding, walked from Beijing to Shanhaiguan for eight days, and left 2 surrendered Ming troops aside. This kind of mistake that Li Zicheng never made in the past shows that Li Zicheng is always hesitant in his heart.

However, after being possessed by another person, there was only one thought left in his mind, how to retreat from Shanhaiguan, which cut off Li Zicheng's other thoughts.After seeing the generals of the battalions arriving, Li Zicheng finally stopped talking to Liu Zongmin, then cleared his throat and said to everyone, "Call everyone here, mainly because there is a letter from Tang Tong..."

Chapter 6 Don't forget the original intention

Several generals couldn't believe it after Li Zicheng read Tang Tong's letter, because Li Zicheng was too calm.Liu Zongmin looked at Li Zicheng and said seriously: "Brother, I can't read. Are you telling the truth? Or, let Master Song read it again."

Glancing at everyone present, except for the old brother Gu Kecheng and his own nephew Li Guo, who were indignant at the content of the letter, Liu Xiyao and Song Xiance both looked shocked, as if they couldn't believe the content of the letter , but the former, like Liu Zongmin, did not believe why the Qing army appeared outside Shanhaiguan at this time, while the latter was shocked by the speed at which the Qing army came.

Li Zicheng then casually put the letter into Song Xiance's hands, and said with a smile, "We are all old brothers, so why should I still be joking with you at this time, then ask Junjun Song to read it to you again, so that you You are at ease."

Song Xiance took Tang Tong's letter and recounted it clearly, allowing everyone to confirm the fact that the Qing army had arrived outside Shanhaiguan.Liu Zongmin immediately got up and said furiously: "Wu Sangui, that bastard must have seduced Jiannu here, otherwise how could they have come so fast, thanks to that stupid king who said he is a filial son and loyal minister, I'm sorry."

A certain person had to admit that this black man with muscles all over his body was not all muscles in his head, but he revealed Wu Sangui's true face with a single sentence.

At this time, Li Guo stood up indignantly and said: "Wu Sangui, a rebel, actually colluded with Jiannu, he really deserves death. Your Majesty, we should attack Shanhaiguan before Jiannu can gain a firm foothold, otherwise, From here to Beijing, 700 miles away, there is almost a flat river, and there is no danger to defend. If the cavalry of the Jiannu and Guanning Army merged into one place, our army would be in danger."

Gu Kecheng and Liu Xiyao also echoed their voices, thinking that Li Guo's proposition is the most feasible at present, and the so-called survival from death is just a matter of watching.Song Xiance remained silent, not daring to confront the generals, and proposed to withdraw troops at this time.

It's just that Li Zicheng has obviously made up his mind. While he comforted the generals to sit down, he began to talk about those old people who fought with him back then. Someone searched for the most profound memories of Li Zicheng. Brother, then he turned to Liu Zongmin, Li Guo and other generals and said: "I have been in the army for 15 years, and I have never seen any storms. Can the current situation be more dangerous than when the officers and soldiers besieged us from ten sides? Can it be more dangerous than when we hid in Shangluo?" Is it more desperate to be a savage in the mountains?"

After being told by Li Zicheng, the anxious generals finally relaxed a little. Li Guo pleaded guilty to Li Zicheng, "I was so angry that I almost ruined your majesty's important affairs. Please give me instructions on the strategy. I will wait for you." Dare to lag behind others.”

"Fang Lue, my strategy is to withdraw as soon as possible. If it weren't for the fear that the cavalry of the Manchu and Guan Ning troops would not be able to escape, I would give the order to withdraw the troops now." Li Zicheng silently glanced at this man who was about his own age, but was very impressed. My loyal nephew waved him to sit back first, and then said solemnly.

"Speaking of Fang Lue, to be honest, ever since I entered Beijing, I've been thinking, why did we raise our troops in the first place? Jiexuan, why did you rebel?"

Liu Zongmin was silent for a long time, and said with red eyes: "My father was forced to pay taxes by the government and had to hang himself, and the land at home was taken away. My mother and I became beggars, begging all the way to find my uncle. On the way, my mother wanted to let me If I survived and died of hunger and freezing, if it wasn’t for the distance from my uncle’s house, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to survive. Lao Tzu is not a thief, the government and the landlord are the real robbers..."

Li Zicheng's eyes lingered on Liu Zongmin for a few seconds, then turned to Liu Xiyao and asked, "Zhiping, why did you rebel?"

Several generals had experiences similar to Liu Zongmin's, which made them undisguised their anger towards the government and the powerful.This is also the reason why Liu Zongmin tortured and plundered wantonly in the capital, and although the generals knew it was wrong, no one stood up to oppose it.Because in their view, this is exactly the purpose of their rebellion, to avenge these corrupt officials.