Dashun Yongchang

Pan Zhai immediately became vigilant in her heart, and she quickly said defensively: "My husband meets the lord every day, and he naturally knows who the lord is. Even if someone has some purpose, my husband will not believe it."

But Xu Shanchi said after a while: "I didn't say that these gossips are directed at the Lord, but I think they are directed at our statistics office. To be honest, since the Tang Dynasty, we women have never participated in political affairs. This was originally the world of men. But now, our statistics office has faintly become the master's supervisor and East Factory.

Although they do not have such great power, they are already able to intervene in local political affairs.Although we manage the women's camp and collect various local reports, the memorials we submit to the Lord will be completed as long as the Lord signs and approves them. How inferior.

However, the Zhongshu Secretariat is subject to the constraints of the civil government, and we have no one to control it except the Lord. How can those officials willingly share the power of governing the country with a group of women?If we ignore these rumors, I am worried that their attacks on the Statistics Office will gradually escalate, and eventually force the Lord to disband the Statistics Office. "

Pan Zhai was originally an extremely intelligent woman, and she also presided over the family affairs for her father when she was at home, so she was not ignorant of outside affairs.Especially after experiencing the changes in the capital, she has matured rapidly. In order to allow the whole family to leave the capital safely, she once tried to entrust the eldest daughter to the noble family, and then with the help of those honorable Your power goes south.

However, as Li Zicheng returned to Beijing, she evacuated the nobles, officials, gentry and wealthy households in the capital to the south in an orderly manner, and established a men's and women's camp to manage them, and she eliminated this slightly selfish idea.Regarding the power in her hands, Pan Zhai actually doesn't care about it. Unlike Xu Shanchi, she doesn't need to hold everything in her own hands. As long as her husband and family are fine, she is very satisfied.

So after thinking about it, she couldn't help but blurted out: "This statistics room was originally set up temporarily by the lord for the purpose of withdrawing troops. If it is really useful, the lord will not allow us women to preside over it. Therefore, if If the lord really wants to disband the statistics office, I think it is normal and there is no need to think about it."

Xu Shanchi couldn't bear Pan Zhai's indifferent attitude, but she also knew that if she wanted to resist the gossip outside, she had to come forward from a ladylike family like Pan Zhai. It will become darker and darker.Although she doesn't mind being rumored about her affair with Emperor Yongchang, such rumors should be able to elevate her status, rather than become a weapon against her.

Xu Shanchi sat upright, turned his beautiful eyes to the left and right, and said to the girls and wives beside him: "You guys file these documents, and then go and send the news reported today..."

After sending away everyone around him, Xu Shanchi said to Pan Zhai seriously: "Madam Fang's words are hard to agree with, I don't know what Madam Fang thinks, in such troubled times, how can we keep weak women like us?" Mrs. Fang has been in the north for a year or two, and I think you have seen those bones on the road. What did these bones do wrong before they were alive to suffer such bad luck?"

Pan Zhai was speechless now. As a woman from a civil servant family, she hated the Supervisor of Rituals, Dongchang and Jinyiwei. Better than Xu Shanchi, he can foresee what kind of power monster the statistics room will become if it continues to develop.

However, what Xu Shanchi said is also quite right. It is precisely because the power of the statistics office is growing that these weak women can protect themselves and their families.Even if you get some news in advance, your family can avoid some risks.What's more, whether it is the Manchus or the peasant army, there is actually no real order to restrain them. This is why the gentry everywhere misses the Ming Dynasty more and more, because their rights can only be protected by the imperial court in the Ming Dynasty.

This time, why the local gentry in Hebei, Shandong, and Henan who had surrendered to Dashun so eagerly rose up to rebel against Dashun, was essentially because they were unwilling to lose their past local power.Dashun's policy of recovering stolen goods and subsidizing payment, in fact, looting property is a trivial matter, what is important is that it has shaken the power base of these gentry in the local area.

The reason why the squires of the Ming Dynasty were able to say the same thing in the local area was not that they had a lot of land and servants, but because the imperial court stood behind them, and resisting them was rebelling against the imperial court. Although the local people had more slaves than the squires, But it is also difficult to fight against the imperial court. They can drive the squire away today, and the squire returns with the imperial army tomorrow. Isn't everyone finished?

And Dashun's policy of recovering stolen goods and subsidizing payment directly destroyed the mutual support relationship between the court and the squires, and also made the local people lose their respect for the squires. Without this kind of awe, how could the servants of the squires dare What about going to the countryside alone to collect rent?The news gathered by the Statistics Office from all over the country has already described in detail the psychology of the country gentry's rebellion.

These news and judgments based on these news are invaluable treasures for the superiors.Pan Zhai, who has been in charge of family affairs, of course knows that when you know everything and everyone in the family, the servants will respect and fear you, and they will not dare to play tricks.This is true for a family, and it is also true for a country.

Just when the two fell into silence, a cheerful voice woke them up, "What are the two sisters talking about? So devoted?"

Xu Shanchi got up immediately, went up to the beautiful woman who was walking, and said to her with a smile: "My sister is getting more and more radiant now, I wouldn't dare to recognize you if I wasn't here."

Chen Yuanyuan and Xu Shanchi quarreled for a few words, then bowed back to Pan Zhai who stood up and bowed to him, then pulled the two sisters to sit down, and asked curiously what the two talked about, so seriously.Xu Shanchi concealed the importance of the statistics room, but only talked about some bad rumors outside, targeting them.

Chen Yuanyuan smiled and said: "So it's this. I was talking about it with His Majesty yesterday, but His Majesty gave me an idea. I just want to ask my two sisters to be my staff."

Not to mention Xu Shanchi, even Pan Zhai focused his attention on Chen Yuanyuan, and Chen Yuanyuan said, "Your Majesty means that rumors are rumors because they are not visible. Why are there so many rumors in the Ming Dynasty?" , because the common people lack an official source of information.

Why do those scholars like to spread rumors, because they need prestige, if the common people cannot listen to them, then who cares about their opinions?Therefore, even if it is a rumor, as long as it can attract the attention of the common people, they will be willing to spread it. Anyway, they don't have to bear the responsibility.

And no matter whether the government is trying to refute rumors or arrest these scholars, they will be suspected by the common people, who think that the imperial court is suppressing the public opinion.Therefore, we should run a newspaper, print one every two or three days, and tell the women’s camp and people outside what we are doing every day. As long as the news in the newspaper is what everyone cares about, after a long time, no newspaper The news in the newspaper is naturally a rumor. "

Chen Yuanyuan paused for a moment, and then said to the two sisters: "I plan to start a women's newspaper, and then select some talented sisters from the women's camp as editors, and the two sisters can help me too..."

Chapter 103 The Grand Ceremony

On July [-]st of the first year of Yongchang, officials, squires, scholars and many people in the city gathered at the Dongzi Reading Platform outside the west gate to listen to the speeches delivered by Emperor Yongchang and the Prince of Ming Dynasty, and held the Wenhua Hall to sort out the catalog of books in the world. , which became a grand event for a while.

Dong Zi is Dong Zhongshu. In the Yuan Dynasty, he was invited into the holy temple for "worship".In Jiangdu, where he worked, in addition to his former residence and Dong Jing, there is also a ceremony of offering sacrifices to Dong Zi Temple passed down from generation to generation. Later generations call him "Dong Zi" and "Dong Ersheng".

In the 43rd year of Wanli (1615), Zhizhou Ma Mingrui moved Dongzi Academy to the east bank of the canal outside Daximen. Many private schools and private academies have also been built on both sides, and this place has become a cultural and educational center in Texas.

Coupled with the years of severe drought in the north since Chongzhen ascended the throne and the ravages of the Qing army's entry into the customs, Dezhou is one of the few unaffected areas, and more people migrated from other places. Therefore, the scholars standing under the reading platform today On the contrary, it was a large area, which was also a rare event.

Standing on the stage, Li Zicheng looked at the scholars below and calculated silently. There were at least a thousand of them. No wonder there are so many academies and private schools here. They are all excellent and educated labor force.

Of course, he knew that he could not call on these scholars to go south, so he was very concise in his speech this time, only emphasizing two things.One is that even those scholars who are temporarily not qualified to join the Wenhua Palace can borrow manuscripts from the Wenhua Palace to read. Of course, they must also accept the work of copying or correcting the books; After they settle down, a special scientific examination will be held for them. The content of the examination will not exceed the content of the Wenhua Palace school education. Both Dashun and Daming will admit these qualified candidates to serve as officials.

The scholars who came to participate in the grand meeting today, on the one hand, because the Wenhua Palace, headed by the prince, is the most important cultural and educational event since Wanli. The two emperors after Wanli did not have the energy to engage in cultural and educational undertakings. I feel that the reason why the world is so corrupt is that the people above love power and money too much, allowing a group of shameless literati and uneducated eunuchs to control the power of this country.

After ignoring the background of Emperor Yongchang, the prince was able to convene the Wenhua Palace to sort out the catalog of the world's books, and prepared to build a large library of all kinds of books for people all over the world to borrow. Instead of hiding them in the palace, only the emperor can read them , This point has already touched many people who love reading.

Although the publishing industry in Ming Dynasty was developed, the book collectors in Ming Dynasty were stingy. They were unwilling to borrow books of real value, and even the female relatives at home were not allowed to touch them.And the Yongle Encyclopedia, which is known as "the books of the classics and history collections of hundreds of schools since the book contract, as for astronomy, topography, yin and yang, medicine and divination, monk Taoism, and skills, are compiled into one book", almost no one except the emperor can freely read them. check.

Today, the prince opened the Wenhua Palace to spread the books collected by the royal family. Not to mention the local scholars in Texas, even those scholars from other provinces heard about it, and came here with their own dry food.Because apart from such opportunities, they will not have a second chance to come into contact with these rare books, and they may not even know the titles of the books, let alone what these books are about.

Therefore, when Li Zicheng spread the news of the convening of the Wenhua Palace, those scholars who had been hiding in the countryside also ran out one after another, just wanting to know whether the news was true.If there is such an opportunity to get in touch with the knowledge monopolized by the aristocratic family, those poor scholars will naturally give it a go.

And Li Zicheng not only confirmed this, but also promised to give a special exam to the scholars accompanying the army, which improved everyone's impression of the Dashun Emperor a lot, at least this is not the kind of warrior who ignores knowledge.Because of this, when the prince came to the stage to give a speech on the opening of the Wenhua Palace, the scholars below were a little absent-minded, and they were all discussing with their companions whether they should go south with the Shun army.

It's not that the Prince's speech was not good. His speech was revised and polished by Chen Mingxia and Li Shichun. The words in the article are elegant and catchy. The only problem is that he only talked about the importance of cultural and educational undertakings, and did not mention other issues at all. .

If everyone is satisfied today just to pay their respects to the prince's beauty and participate in the grand ceremony, then he will feel that the prince's speech is very literary and indeed has the bearing of a nobleman.However, with Li Zicheng throwing out benefits in front of him, everyone felt that the prince's speech was too empty and tasteless.Speeches are also a new thing for Prince Zhu Cihong. After all, he can do things that he only needs to order in the past. Why should he tell the servants why he did it?

Therefore, the scholars in the audience ignored their whispers, and the young Zhu Cihong almost collapsed. He wanted to make the audience quiet down and listen to his reciting the article, but these scholars just talked to themselves and didn't notice it at all. How hard he worked on the stage, this made the article he had memorized very familiar, but in the end he forgot the words. Zhu Cihong could only finish hastily, and gave the seat to Chen Mingxia with an unhappy face.

After he walked to Li Zicheng's side, he heard the Emperor Yongchang, who was looking at the crowd with his hands folded on his chest, say to him: "That's right. It's the first time I'm giving a speech to so many people, and it's inevitable to be nervous. , but I will get used to it after giving a few speeches.”

Zhu Cihong said timidly: "In the future, will I still have to speak in front of so many people?"

Li Zicheng looked back at him and said, "It is these people who pay taxes to support you, and these people regard you as the foundation of the country's security. They love you so much, don't you even have the courage to speak to them?"

Zhu Cihong glanced at the scholar who was quiet now, and said a little discouraged for a moment: "But when you were talking with Mr. Chen, they listened very carefully. Why did they talk non-stop when I was talking there? Are you ignoring me?"

Li Zicheng said with a chuckle: "Isn't it you who ignored them first? You said what you wanted to say, not what they wanted to hear. They are not officials, and they don't receive salaries from the court, so naturally they don't pretend to be serious." Obligation to listen. When you understand them and can say what they want to hear, they will naturally calm down..."

When Li Zicheng was educating Zhu Cihuang, Tian Xuzong, who was standing behind the crowd, accidentally saw He Duiji standing under a silk tree, so he subconsciously walked over and greeted this friend who was hiding outside the crowd: " Zhenxian, where have you been these two days? I heard that you went to find you after you got home. Are you okay?"

He Duiji first stared at Tian Xuzong coldly, and seeing the doubts on his face instead of fake concern, his eyes softened, and he responded: "It's a copy, I went to the countryside to pay homage to my mother. , I’m going on a long trip, so I have to tell my mother.”

Because of He Duiji's refusing eyes, Tian Xuzong stood two steps away from him. After hearing He Duiji's words, he couldn't help asking curiously: "Have you decided to go south?"

A mocking smile appeared on He Duiji's face and said: "If you don't leave, should you still stay in Dezhou? Is there still a place for me here... Well, I have something to do, we will talk about it next time we meet."

He Duiji looked in one direction, suddenly interrupted the conversation, said goodbye to Tian Xuzong, then turned and left.Tian Xuzong stared blankly at his receding back for a while, then he glanced behind as if feeling something, but saw Cheng Xianzhen standing behind him, which made him startled.

Cheng Xianzhen didn't look at Tian Xuzong, but watched He Duiji's back disappear into the moon gate, and then said in a depressed mood, "Zhenxian is still blaming me."

Tian Xuzong, who was confused, couldn't help asking: "What happened? Isn't it a good thing that Zhenxian was released? Why do you seem to be having conflicts with him again?"

Cheng Xianzhen turned to look at Tian Xuzong, shook her head weakly and said, "Didn't he have a conflict with me, this matter is too complicated, haven't you heard anything in the past two days?"

Tian Xuzong shook his head and said, "I've been busy finishing my private school for the past two days, and then I'm packing up my belongings and preparing to go south. Is there something that happened that I don't know?"

Cheng Xianzhen pondered for a while and then said: "After Zhenxian was released, rumors began in the academy that Zhenxian betrayed Zhu Zhongwei and Li Sicheng, and he also took a reward of 20 taels of silver. Therefore, someone besieged Zhenxian out of righteous indignation. First of all, he was also thrown 40 taels of silver afterwards, saying that there will be no other He Duiji in Shilin, Dezhou from now on."

Tian Xuzong was shocked and said: "How could Zhenxian be such a person, I don't believe it. There must be a misunderstanding."

Cheng Xianzhen remained silent, he knew very well that this was not a misunderstanding, but that the major households in Dezhou did not want He Duiji to stay in Dezhou any longer.If Emperor Yongchang hadn't rewarded He Duiji with 20 taels of silver, making everyone confused about Emperor Yongchang's thoughts, He Duiji should have committed suicide in fear of crime.

Everyone pushed He Duiji to be the mastermind, because they let him stand in the way, not to drag everyone into trouble together.He Duiji, who was active and active on the street all day, was a hidden danger to those who had participated in the conspiracy. After all, there is no time limit for the crime of treason.If you find out in 20 or 30 years, everyone is still dead. If the prince really returns to the country, he will not let them go, because they are not flying the banner of the prince. After Fu Wang Nanzhong ascended the throne, this It is obviously difficult to get the prince's sympathy and understanding for such a thing.

After He Duiji left the reading platform, he took a boat across the ferry, ate a bowl of noodles outside the west gate, then wandered the west market for half an hour to digest his food, then turned his head and walked towards the south gate.

When the sun was setting in the west, he finally walked outside the "Ander Horse Station". He hesitated for a long time at the intersection, until the soldiers in front of the station came to question him. He pointed to the wall beside him and said: "I am here Applying for the Statistics Office..."

Chapter 104

On July 7, De Wang Zhu Youli and Tai'an Wang Zhu Youmubi rushed to Dezhou from Jinan. After paying homage to the Zi Palace of Lie Huang and his wife, they formally met with Prince Zhu Cihong.

After the arrival of these two clans, the clans from Henan and Shandong finally came to visit the prince one after another, in order to obtain the prince's protection.Since Li Zicheng captured Beijing, the Ming clan in the north had lost most of their farms, and some even couldn't stay in their own kingdom under the persecution of the rebel army.

For example, Zhu Yousong, the king of Fu, who is now supported by Ma Shiying and the four towns, has inherited the Fu Fan, but because Luoyang was captured by the Shun Army, he has been living abroad and cannot return to the feudal country. After Beijing was captured by Li Zicheng, he also He quickly fled to Huai'an, but was almost penniless, and only settled in Huai'an with the help of Lu Wang and other clans who went south.

Afterwards, King Fu's luck was not bad. He was first taken over by the people sent by Ma Shiying, so he was escorted to the southern capital to supervise the country, and then he simply ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor.However, there are still many clans in the north who are not so lucky. They are wandering around the feudal country and don't know where to go.

After Li Zicheng brought the crown prince and Emperor Lie's Zi Palace southward, some clans were already hesitant, thinking about whether or not to pay homage to Emperor Daxing's Zi Palace.The common man Zhu Shuaicui brought the prince's papers into Jinan and persuaded the king of Germany Zhu Youli. He knew that he couldn't defend Jinan City at all, and he had nothing to defend. Most of Jinan City was demolished by the Qing army. Even the place where he lives now is the mansion of a local official.

Realizing that if he didn't go to see the prince now, he might be thrown down to face the Qing army, Zhu Youli finally succumbed.At this time, King Fu ascended the throne as emperor, which blocked the way for other clans to advance, but the clans still in the north were not convinced, because they were still guarding the soil, so how could a fugitive Fufan succeed to the throne?These clans in the north felt that the civil and military officials in the southern capital were really nothing. The Zhu family didn’t even have a chance to express their opinions, so they made a decision. When Beijing was besieged, they never saw them go north to rescue so actively. .

The northern clan, which was not angry at King Fu's ascension to the throne, decided to go and serve the prince Zhu Cihong after confirming that the person next to Li Zicheng was the real prince.After all, the prince's legal principles are higher, and Li Zicheng's army can protect their feudal kingdom in the north. It is really hopeless to expect those ministers in the southern capital who don't even send troops to rescue Beijing to protect themselves.

Li Zicheng is also happy to see this. Although he is not interested in these clans of the Ming Dynasty, with the arrival of these clans, Zhu Cihong does not need to be recognized by the ministers of the Southern Capital as Zhu Cihong. Otherwise, the ministers of the Southern Capital can completely say that Zhu Cihong is a fake prince.But now, if the ministers of Nandu deny that Zhu Cihong is a fake prince, the political risk to be taken is too great.

On July 7th, Li Zicheng decided to personally take the Zi Palace of the prince and Liehuang couple to go south first, and let Li Guo lead the rear army to the rear.At this time, a detente zone of nearly 10 kilometers had been opened between Manchu and Dashun, and there was almost no chance of a big battle for the army in the rear, so Li Zicheng left very at ease.

As he and the prince went south, the great migration of Texas residents officially began. On July 7th, Li Zicheng and his prince arrived at Dongchang Mansion. Huaian Wang Zhu Youzha, Heng Wang Zhu Youfen, Yutian Wang Zhu Changze, Gaotang Wang Zhu Changze, Qidong Wang Zhu Changji, Pingdu Wang Zhu Changtuan, Ningyang Wang Zhu Yiyishu He also rushed to Dongchang Mansion to pay homage to Empress Lie and meet the prince.

On July 7, Li Zicheng's troops crossed the Yellow River. On July 8, Song Fan, Shaoqing of Taipu Temple, brought his third younger brother Song Wan, Shen Xun, Shen Qian, King Bagong and Chi of Xincheng, and other Shandong officials and gentry in Dongping County to pay homage to Emperor Lie And see Prince Edward.

After Li Zicheng and the prince received these Shandong officials and gentry, they appointed Song Fan as a scholar of Wenhua Palace, Wang Yuchi, Song Wan, Shen Xun, and Shen Qian as lecturers and editors, and appointed several young scholars. He is the secretary.So far, the Wenhuadian system has initially formed: Bachelor, Attendant, Editor, and Secretary.

The leaders of Shandong Rebel Army: Yang Wei, Qin Shangxing, Liang Min, Yang Sanwu, Ren Fuxing, Gong Wencai, Ma Yingshi, Li Wensheng, etc. also rushed to Dongping County, but they came to see Li Zicheng.After the Shun Army broke through Beijing, these rebels took over the local prefectures and counties under the banner of the Shun Army. Of course, they only used the banner of the Shun Army and did not really surrender to the officials of Dashun in Shandong.

This time, the Shun army withdrew from Hebei to Shandong. These rebels didn't know what kind of mentality Li Zicheng was in, so they came to see him one after another, in order to prevent the Shun army from finding excuses to wipe him out.

Li Zicheng hosted a banquet in Dongping City to entertain the rebels from all walks of life in Shandong. First, he affirmed that their uprising was just. However, he said that Dashun does not have the extra power to take over the areas managed by these rebels, so the rebels from all walks of life can continue to defend the state. However, in order to prevent all parties from causing misjudgments, he asked the rebels from all walks of life in Shandong to send people to the Marshal's Mansion to determine the boundaries of each party. The friction between the parties should be subject to the deliberation of the Military Council. For those forces that do not obey the decision of the Military Council, the Shun Army will cancel their autonomy.

Yang Wei, Qin Shangxing, Liang Min, Yang Sanwu, Ren Fuxing, Gong Wencai, Ma Yingshi, Li Wensheng and other leaders of the rebel army finally decided to join the Military Council after learning about the composition and rules of procedure of the Military Council and sent people to Li Zicheng. Under the urging of Li Zicheng, the leaders of the rebel army drew up their own activity boundaries one by one. After signing the agreement on the scope of defense of the military region, all the leaders of the rebel army took an oath in front of Li Zicheng that they would obey the laws formulated by Dashun and be loyal to Emperor Dashun.And Li Zicheng also made an oath to the leaders that the Dashun Army would not forcibly take over their defense zone if they did not violate the law and fail to fulfill their duties of defending the military zone.

After gaining the allegiance of these rebels, the southwestern Shandong area was finally temporarily under the control of the Shun Army.On July 7, news came from Jining that after a fight between the officials and soldiers in Jining City, the two sides finally decided to give up and surrender to the Shun Army, but the representatives of Jining City refused to surrender to the Liu Zongmin Army outside the city. , expressing his intention to surrender to Emperor Dashun himself and Prince Daming.

Although Liu Zongmin surrounded Jining City, he didn't want to attack this strong city surrounded by water at all.This is a city about the size of the Acropolis of Tianjin, but as the most important center of the canal, the canal flows from here to both sides. Where the water system is extremely developed, it is difficult for the army to gather a large force outside the city to attack the city.

Another point is that Jiningwei used to be the place where Western France made cannons, so the city was full of cannons of all sizes.According to the reports of Liu Zongmin and Ren Yumin, "on each side of the city, ten red cannons are used, one hundred cannons are used to destroy the enemy, and twice as many cannons are used for kidnappers and floating beam machines." The whole city is equipped with a total of 1240 large and small artillery pieces. There is a cannon.

There are also 28 forts built on the four towers, three enemy towers in the tomb of the champion in the northwest of the city, and more than 20 large and small earthen villages outside the city.Because Jiningwei was the workshop where Sun Yuanhua and other western law cast cannons, the local officials and gentry were very familiar with the use of firearms. Defensive equipment is ready one by one.

When the Qing army entered the customs and ravaged Shandong last year, Jining was the one city that held it.If it weren't for the internal strife between the officials and soldiers, Liu Zongmin thought that he had no choice but to take this city, because if he insisted on attacking, it would inevitably cause huge casualties.And he didn't want to destroy the city. He said to Li Zicheng: "If the people in the city can be persuaded to surrender, then Jining City will become the best fortress to resist the Qing army going south."

Li Zicheng then ordered Ren Yumin and Zheng Yuqiao who were born in Jining to take over Jining City as representatives of himself and the prince, while he took the prince behind.They set off from Dongping on July 7 and arrived at the city of Jining on July 15. The officials, gentry and village soldiers leaders in Jining city went out of the west gate to meet Li Zicheng and the prince.

Li Zicheng publicly pardoned the officials and people of Jining for the crime of rebelling against Dashun, and appointed Ren Yumin as Jining Road, Zheng Yuqiao as the prefect of Jining Prefecture; and established a council in the city, with the former prefect Zhu Guang and the retired servant Pan Shiliang as the chairman and deputy speaker to assist in the management of the local government. City civil affairs, after hearing the news, the residents of the city felt at ease.

As for the nine battalion soldiers in the city, Li Zicheng promoted Li Yunhe and Mi Jizong, the leaders of the town soldiers, as deputy generals, but transferred them to his side. , and ordered Baijiuhe and Xie Yinglong to station in Jining.In addition, Li Zicheng also allocated 18 grains of silver to repair the destroyed facilities in the city and to relieve the poor in the city.

At the dinner on the 20th, Li Zicheng said sincerely to Zhu Guang, Pan Shiliang and other local officials and gentry: "Last year the Qing army entered the customs and ravaged all parts of Shandong, but Jining never surrendered. I have to pay respect to the city of Jining just because of this." There were some misunderstandings between us in the past, but in the end it was still an internal contradiction in China. With the Manchurians entering the customs, I think we can let go of the internal contradictions and join hands to fight against the enemies of Chinese civilization. This is the top priority..."

Emperor Yongchang succumbed to the local people when he had the upper hand. Naturally, the local officials and gentry would not let this step down. Moreover, Li Zicheng returned 10 taels of silver to Jining in the name of relief funds, and everyone was relieved.After the severance of communication between the north and the south, Jining City also lost its income in trade. Agriculture alone could not support this city of more than 10 people.

Therefore, when Li Zicheng gave up asking for gold and silver from Jining City, Pan Shiliang asked Li Zicheng the most concerned question on behalf of other gentry merchants: "If Your Majesty goes south, how long will it take to restore the smooth flow of the canal? If there is no water transportation from the south, Many people in Jining City may not be able to make a living."

Regarding the concerns of Jining gentry and merchants, Li Zicheng replied sincerely: "I have no intention of going to the south this time to start a war with the south. As long as the southern provinces recognize the crown prince's right to inherit the Ming throne and support me in Dashun to defend Chinese civilization, then the water transport will soon be over. Can be shipped up.

As far as the current situation is concerned, Jining City may not be able to return to the trade center of the past. As long as we cannot restore Hebei, Jining will temporarily become a military fortress.Therefore, what I mean is that some merchants and some handicraft workshops in Jining City should be moved to Xuzhou and Huai'an areas. This will not only strengthen the defense of Jining City, but also ensure the safety of the people in the city.

Of course, after we have finished negotiating with the South and obtained the materials from the South to reorganize our armaments, we will inevitably send troops to the Northern Expedition to recover Hebei, and then they can return to their hometown..."

Chapter 105

Li Zicheng stayed in Jining for two days, and took Yang Shicong, Zhang Fengxiang and others who were stranded in Jining City into the Wenhua Palace. When he was about to go south to Xuzhou, Yan Shenggong Kong Yinzhi finally sent a letter. In the letter, he flattered Li Zicheng, while expressing that he had a sudden illness and it was really difficult to go out, so he apologized to Li Zicheng.

However, Li Zicheng, who had read the letter, did not believe Kong Yinzhi's nonsense at all. He threw the letter on the table aside while he was talking with Zhu Cihong, Yang Shicong and others, and said mockingly: "Why did Emperor Tianqi order such a East and west successor Kong Shangxian's heir?

Lao Tzu had just conquered the capital, but he was in a hurry to enshrine Lao Tzu's dragon seat, and sent people to offer horses and silver, and kneel down to accept the seal.As a result, Lao Tzu went south from Beijing, but he was nowhere to be seen. Does this mean that Lao Tzu can't go back to Beijing? "

Although Yang Shicong and Zhang Fengxiang felt shameful, even Zhu Cihong became resentful towards Kong Yinzhi, and he couldn't help but suggested: "Such a disloyal minister should abolish his title and install another one with integrity." Duke Yansheng is."

Yang Shicong and Zhang Fengxiang hurriedly persuaded: "Your Majesty can order Kong Yinzhi to order, but abolishing Yan Shenggong now may disturb people's hearts and give the North a chance for nothing."

Li Zicheng glanced at the people present, changed the topic and said: "I heard that Zhang Jinyan ran back to Henan to become the governor again? This person is as shameless as Kong Yinzhi. The Emperor Lie entrusted him to defend the capital, but he To open the door to welcome me.

In view of his contribution to opening the door, I also waived half of his salary.As a result, my side went out of Beijing to attack Shanhaiguan, and his side ran to the south in a hurry, as if I would never go back.

Now I don't know how he fooled the people in Nandu, and he was able to run back with the title of Governor of Hebei, Shanxi, and Henan Military Affairs.It can be seen that there are also a group of fools in the south.

However, Chen Qianfu, the inspector on the Henan side, and Yuan Shu, who participated in politics in Henan and patrolled Daliang soldiers, were still somewhat capable. They defended Qi County and Suizhou, but blocked the passage to attack the northwest of Xuzhou.What I mean is to find two people to persuade the two of them to be loyal to Zhu Cihong, or to go back to the south by themselves. I will not let unreliable people cut off the passage to Shaanxi. "

Yang Shicong and Zhang Fengxiang looked at the other people present and found that everyone's eyes were on them, so they knew that this errand could not escape.Both of them are smart people, and they didn't need to be forced by Li Zicheng, so they stood up and asked themselves to persuade them.Li Zicheng then asked Cao Youyi, the former Tianjin General Soldier, and Mi Jizong, the former Jining Township Chief, to accompany them on this trip.

On July 7, Li Zicheng took the prince and continued on the road. To the south of Jining is the endless Weishan Lake.In fact, someone is no stranger to the name Weishan Lake. After all, "the sun in the west is about to set, and Weishan Lake is quiet." Isn't the railway guerrilla all over Weishan Lake? It looks even more spectacular on TV.

Because Weishan Lake is not one lake, but four lakes.Moreover, these four lakes are still due to the long-term capture of Si and Huai by the Yellow River, flooding caused Si and Huai to be silted up, the riverbed was raised, floods entering the Huai River were blocked and stagnated, and sedimentation raised the ground elevation of the western plain. Forced to move to the east, the water system was disturbed, and the water from the east, north, and west rivers accumulated in the depression on the east bank of Surabaya, gradually forming a lake.

The four lakes are connected into one because of the canal. The sediment and water brought by the Yellow River silt up Weishan Lake while raising the area of ​​the lake. It looks like Taihu Lake in the south of the Yangtze River.Before arriving at Liguojian in Xuzhou, Li Zicheng admired the scenery of Weishan Lake.

He even said to the generals around him: "As long as we can stop the Qing army from going south in Jining, the east of Weishan Lake and the west of Mount Tai can be the places to resettle the people who migrated to the south. As long as we control Jining and Xuzhou One end and one tail, and then grasp the control of Weishan Lake, then this area can not only become a place to support the people, but also a logistics base for Jining and Xuzhou. Even if the Qing army is mobilized, our army will have no worries... "

But when he arrived at the exit of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal east of Weishan Lake, which is near the Liguojian, Li Zicheng was finally stunned, and he couldn't help asking the local township official who greeted him: "This Liguojian is not the iron smelter. Land? Why can’t I even see the black smoke, where are the local iron-making furnaces?”

The township official didn't know where to start Li Zicheng's question, but the local squire interrupted and said: "Your Majesty doesn't know, the iron yard of the Li Guojian ended before Jiajing, and now there are only a few left." A few small stoves were installed, and a dozen farm tools and kitchen knives were built for the surrounding area, but there are really no big stoves.”

Li Zicheng asked unacceptably: "Why? Have the local iron mines been exhausted?"

The squire on the side shook his head and said: "There are no trees anymore. Since the Song Dynasty, there have been no trees around Liguojian. At that time, coal was needed to make iron. Before Jiajing, all the big trees on the surrounding mountains Almost all of them were cut down, and the groundwater level was too high, so it was not cost-effective to dig coal, so the court simply shut down Tieye.

Right now, the trees on these surrounding mountains are enough for the daily needs of the people in Xuzhou City, and it is impossible to make iron.So, Your Majesty is late.If it had been 100 years earlier, maybe we could still see a little smoke and dust, but now there is nothing. "

Li Zicheng looked at the surrounding green mountains and green waters, and sure enough, the fields in Xuzhou were all planted with rice. No matter how you look at it, it is now the south of the Yangtze River instead of the dry north.He suddenly thought angrily: "There is really nothing to see in the green mountains and green waters. Now he would rather breathe the black smoke."

But when he turned his head and thought about it, he felt something was wrong, so he asked the local squire again: "The low-lying place by the lake has a high groundwater level, so can't coal be dug in the small hills to the south?"

The local gentry shook their heads and said: "There is coal in the mountains in the south, but it is too far away. It takes at least 3 or 4 days to come and go. There is no waterway. Who can afford the cost? What's more, the price of iron is cheap now. Guangzhou Railway and Fujian Railway are both It is smelted with charcoal, which is cheap but of high quality. The pig iron we smelt with coal can’t compare with them at all. Buying pig iron and processing it into farm tools is also cheaper than opening a furnace to make iron..."