Dashun Yongchang

Standing in Xi Benzhen's position, he felt that the cooperation with the Marshal's Mansion still had a future.Because the Marshal's Mansion has opened up the Hanshui Waterway, it means that there is already a safe commercial route from Jiangnan to Shaanxi, and the Marshal's Mansion uses banknotes to settle orders. I don't think banknotes are worthless, and banknotes that can buy things in Dashun's treasury are money.

Xi Benzhen also knew that most of the cloth purchased by the Marshal's Mansion was for the production of autumn clothes for soldiers, so he suggested: "The labor in the south of the Yangtze River is cheap, so it is better to put part of the production of autumn clothes in Su Song, so that His Majesty can directly send autumn clothes to the soldiers. Soldiers, instead of soldiers, find someone to make autumn clothes."

Li Zicheng nodded in agreement and said: "Measure the size of the soldiers first, and then determine the clothing specifications. Order a batch to see the quality, and then continue to order. The quality of the clothes must be well controlled. Opinion, I will not be soft-hearted."

Xi Benzhen's heart tightened, but he still nodded in agreement.Li Zicheng was also afraid of scaring him, so he kindly put forward an opinion to him: "Actually, a large number of family members in the army are unemployed. My family members in the old camp are all in Shaanxi. It is quite difficult for the Shun Ming army to support their families with their military pay. I suggest that you choose some skilled tailors and set up a clothing factory with these military families, which can save a lot of trouble."

Xi Benzhen felt relieved immediately, and quickly replied: "Your Majesty's words are very true. I will definitely contact the Military Council to see how to set up this quilt factory."

Li Zicheng then turned his head to Zhou Zhikui and asked him about the transportation and storage of granaries.Zhou Zhikui first introduced in detail the water storage and storage conditions along the road from Jining to Huai'an, then talked about the current transportation capacity of the canal and the Yellow River and the room for improvement, and finally said: "The biggest problem at present is still Land transportation and sea transportation. Land transportation is subject to roads, and sea transportation is subject to the loading and unloading capacity of ports..."

For the two issues Zhou Zhikui raised, Li Zicheng can only persuade him to be patient for the time being, because the former is a technical issue, and the latter is an infrastructure issue, neither of which can be resolved in a short time.

After talking with several people in charge of civil affairs, Li Zicheng summoned Zhang Nai, Li Jing, Wu Ruyi, Li Xi, Ta Tianbao, Ren Guangrong, Chen De, Huang Fei, Ma Huabao, Bai Yongfu and other generals to discuss the matter of going south.

On the morning of the second day, Huang Fei and Shen Tingyang went to Haizhou, preparing to lead 3000 sailors south to Chongming to cope with Wang Zuntan, Liu Kong and the two armies occupying Nantong to force the Chongming defenders to surrender.On the same day, Zhang Nai led the leading troops to go south to Yangzhou along the canal to clear the way for Li Zicheng to go south.

After sending off the departing generals, Li Zicheng inspected the Qingjiang Shipyard again and talked with the stewards and craftsmen in the factory.The artisans who talked with Li Zicheng last time were obviously not so restrained this time, because some of the life problems they raised have been solved, and the sick artisans have also been treated, which made the artisans begin to trust Li Zicheng.

The stewards who faced Li Zicheng again were also much more honest, and gave detailed explanations and changes to Li Zicheng's questions.Before Li Zicheng left the shipyard, he asked Shen Tingyang's deputy Li Yunzhen, "Have the craftsmen's wages, benefits and working hours been worked out?"

Li Yunzhen said sincerely: "A temporary plan has been compiled and submitted to the Ministry of Finance of the Marshal's Mansion for review. Based on the rice price in Huai'an, a single man can maintain his basic life by consuming 2 liters of rice a day. A family of five The minimum daily living expenses of a family is about 5 liters of rice. Therefore, we finally came to the opinion that the daily wages of apprentices should not be less than 2 liters of rice, and the minimum daily wages of ordinary craftsmen should not be less than 5 liters of rice..."

After thinking for a while, Li Zicheng said: "The factory can set up a separate grain station, and then issue food stamps to the families of the working craftsmen to ensure that they can buy rice that does not exceed one tael. The quantity is based on the ration of each family..."

When Li Zicheng was preparing to go south to Yangzhou, Gao Jie's army was also in a state of panic. On August 8, the Zuoguang Xianjun captured Tianchang, only a hundred miles away from Yangzhou.Although Zuo Guang hadn't made any moves after taking down Tianchang, Gao Jiejun already felt a thorn in his back.

The Gao Jie army in Yizheng confronted Huang Degong's troops. If they divided their troops to go north, they would have to worry about the surprise attack of Huang Degong's troops, or if they did not divide their troops, they would have to worry about Zuo Guangxian's army going directly to seize Yangzhou.If Yangzhou is lost, Gao Jie's army will also lose room for maneuver and replenishment of population and supplies.

Gao Jie once sent someone to negotiate with the people of Yangzhou, hoping that the two sides can let go of their prejudices and jointly fight against the Dashun Army.It's just that the Yangzhou people at this time hated Gao Jie's army deeply, no matter what Gao Jie promised, the Yangzhou people ignored him.Even the salt merchants who were friendly to Gao Jiejun before did not dare to confront the anger of all Yangzhou people.

At the beginning, I heard that Zuo Guangxian's troops took down Tianchang, but the morale of Huang Degong's troops rose a lot. Several small-scale battles broke out with Gao Jie's army. Huang Degong also sent someone to invite Zuo Guangxian to flank Gao Jie with him.However, Zuo Guang first excused that the army was too tired and was stationed in Tianchang and refused to go south. This confused Huang Degong's troops, so he couldn't help slowing down the pace of attacking Gao Jie's army.

It is also because of this that Gao Jie's department did not completely lose hope, and was still asking for help from the southern capital, hoping to cross the river to defend Nanjing.At this time, Nanjing just learned of the fall of Liu Liangzuo and Liu Zeqing, and it became a mess. No one cared about Gao Jiejun's request for a while.To put it bluntly, it was not Li Zicheng's arrival that caused the chaos in Nanjing at this time, but the prince who followed Li Zicheng to the south.

With the removal of the third of the four towns in Jiangbei, and the upstream Chu town also declaring that it would not support Nanjing, the rule of the Hongguang Dynasty was already unsustainable.At this time, the Donglin party members and the southern gentry would certainly not let the Gao Jie army who supported Emperor Hongguang cross the river, otherwise what would happen if Emperor Hongguang went on a killing spree?

Chapter 161 The Money House

Although the Nanjing Lianhuaqiao Qian House is not as spacious and elegant as the Fushui Garden at the foot of Yushan Mountain in Changshu, it can be said to be a quiet courtyard hidden in the busy city.

During March and April, this place became the most popular place for scholars in Nanjing to visit, because the owner was Qian Qianyi, the leader of the Jiangnan literary circle and the old predecessor of the Donglin party members.When the thieves marched to Beijing, everyone wanted to ask this old man to come forward and write a letter to the court to save the time.After Beijing fell to thieves, everyone counted on the elders to come forward to stabilize the hearts of Jiangnan.

It's just that everyone didn't expect that it was obviously the home field of the Donglin Party members and Fushe, but in the end it was a Guizhou native and a warrior who won the victory in the decision-making, and it happened that Fu Fu, who had a long-standing grudge against the Donglin Party members, came to power. Fan.

Although the Lu Fan recommended by the old seniors failed to win the final victory, everyone still expects Qian Qianyi to unite with Shi Kefa, Gao Hongtu, Jiang Yueguang and other Donglin seniors to suppress Ma Shiying and Emperor Hongguang, and at least half of the country in the south of the Yangtze River must be kept. yes.

However, who would have thought that Ma Shiying didn't follow the rules, and everyone was a civil servant, but he actually colluded with generals and nobles, entered Nanjing by force, and forcibly joined the cabinet.As a result, some timid literati dare not continue to visit.

However, the Fushe scholars had always been very courageous, and they had a deadly feud with Ruan Dacheng and other eunuchs. Ruan Dacheng and Ma Shiying were good friends, and after Ma Shiying entered the cabinet, he intended to rehabilitate him.The scholars of Fushe did not want their enemies to come to power, so they mobilized public opinion to block Ruan Dacheng, and at the same time encouraged Qian Qianyi and Ma Shiying to fight again, so that Ma Shiying could not be allowed to take power alone.

It's just that Qian Qianyi is afraid at this time. Unlike these scholars who have returned to the society, he has already achieved success and fame, so there is really no need to go head-to-head with those warriors and nobles.In front of Emperor Hongguang, Liu Kongzhao was able to take out a knife to chase down ministers. Liu Zeqing not only killed civil officials who had conflicts with him, but also publicly impeached Minister Qingliu.

When he encountered this group of unruly warriors, Qian Qianyi himself had shit on his ass, and it was also unethical for him to secretly recommend King Lu. If Emperor Hongguang used this to attack him, he would be powerless to defend himself.Therefore, Qian Qianyi surrendered to Ma Shiying.

His behavior disappointed the Fushe scholars, and they all left him for a while, so the mansion suddenly became deserted.Of course, Qian Qianyi could still bear this little setback.It's just that when he saw the disciple who came to bid farewell to him today, he finally showed a little displeasure on his face and said, "Da Mu, you came to bid farewell to me, are you planning to return to Fujian?"

Zheng Sen looked at the teacher, feeling quite surprised. He was silent for a few breaths and then said: "If the teacher wants to let Damu clean up the evil, then Damu can stay. I am not afraid to sacrifice my life for righteousness."

Qian Qianyi was stunned for a moment, and his tone suddenly softened, "Damu, you are still young, and you don't understand the court affairs. Fighting and killing can't solve the problem. Besides, now Nanjing is full of Ma Shiying and Liu Kongzhao. People, what can you do alone? Stop talking nonsense."

Zheng Sen obviously didn't just say it casually, he had seriously considered it, so he replied to the teacher without hesitation: "I am willing to accompany the teacher into the palace to seek the will of Fu Fan, and then call two people into the palace, and lie down at the gate of the palace. Kill the two thieves. Once the two thieves are gone, the teacher and Mr. Shi can appease the general, and everything can be settled down.”

Qian Qianyi finally panicked, he didn't even want to hear about this kind of thing, it was too frightening.Sure enough, no matter how much he read the sage books, the pirate's son couldn't get rid of his banditry.He forcibly changed the subject and said: "Forget it, you should go back to Fujian. When you see your father, send him my regards."

Qian Qianyi picked up the tea bowl, indicating that Zheng Sen can leave.Facing such a teacher, Zheng Sen could only sigh in his heart, bowed deeply to Qian Qianyi, and then withdrew from the Xiaoxuan surrounded by flowers and trees.It's just that he walked along the path to the gate of the yard but was stopped by a maid who told him that his wife wanted to invite him to see him.

Zheng Sen replied coldly, "Mister, what can I say in front of the teacher, even if it is a relative of the master and student, there is no reason to meet with the female relatives of the teacher's family in private, and I don't think that the relationship between me and the teacher Is there any reason to meet in private. You can reply like this."

After finishing speaking, Zheng Sen was about to go around the maidservant and leave, but saw a noble lady who couldn't help but walked out of the flowers and trees and stopped him, saying: "I knew it was difficult for you, Damu, so let me say a few words here. "

Zheng Sen bowed to the lady with an unchanged expression, and said with a serious face: "What is the teacher's mother?"

The lady who stopped Zheng Sen was Qian Qianyi's stepwife Liu Rushi, also known as Hedong Jun.Because he was born in a brothel, he was not liked by Qian Qianyi's friends.Although before Qian Qianyi married her, these people had a good relationship with Liu Rushi, but making friends with a famous prostitute and marrying a famous prostitute as his second wife are two different things, and the one who married her was Qian Qianyi, the leader of the literary world , everyone thought that Qian Qianyi was worthless, so naturally they didn't like Liu Rushi, thinking that she was too clueless.

In the eyes of scholar-bureaucrats, Zheng Sen's background is actually no different from Liu Rushi's, even though his father has been recruited.In fact, from the fact that Dong Yangxian, a country official and gentry, was only willing to marry a niece who didn't value him to Zheng Sen, he knew that even the gentry in Fujian didn't take Zheng Zhilong, who controlled the sea power, seriously.

Therefore, Zheng Sen came to Nanjing Guozijian to study, and under the arrangement of his father, he worshiped under Qian Qianyi. Qian Qianyi was able to accept him as a disciple, which made Zheng Sen very grateful to this teacher.If it was someone like Shi Kefa, I'm afraid his father wouldn't even be able to send gifts.

Therefore, Zheng Sen was extremely cautious in front of Liu Rushi, the teacher's wife.After all, if other scholars in Fushe had anything to do with Liu Rushi, everyone would think it was a romantic affair, even if she was Qian Qianyi's stepmother.But if there is any gossip between him and Liu Rushi, no matter whether there is such a thing or not, he will be an adulterer.

Naturally, Liu Rushi knew Qian Qianyi's character and what he valued, so she didn't talk nonsense, and after signaling her maidservant to step aside, she asked Zheng Sen straightforwardly: "Are you going back to Fujian, or to Zhenjiang?"

Although Zheng Sen knew that the teacher called this little teacher Mr. Hedong, it was not all a joke, but at the moment he also felt a little pressure from the other party, and after a few breaths he replied: "It's Zhenjiang."

Liu Rushi frowned and said, "Is your father in Zhenjiang now?"

Zheng Sen glanced at her in surprise, then nodded slowly, not too much.Liu Rushi frowned and said softly, "Has the Zheng family decided to vote for the prince?"

Zheng Sen was silent for a longer time this time. After thinking for a long time, he replied honestly: "Ethics and order must not be violated. Since the prince is here, how can my father accept the favor of the Daxing emperor? And, Fufan ascended the throne Since then, it has been a big disappointment. I don't want to avenge the Daxing Emperor, but I only care about the famous theater troupe in Nanjing, conniving the four towns to cause trouble in the north of the river, making the people in the south of the Yangtze River fearful. The people fear the officers and soldiers more than the Dashun army Fear, how can the country survive? It was not my father who betrayed His Majesty, but His Majesty who betrayed his own people."

Liu Rushi pondered for a moment, thinking about what would have happened if King Lu had joined the Datong, but thinking of King Lu who had long fingernails and was only interested in antiques, she felt that it would not be any better than it is now.

Thinking of this, she took out a letter from her sleeve and handed it to Zheng Sen. Looking at the other party's puzzled eyes, Liu Rushi said angrily, "It's not for you, but I want you to give it to me when you cross the river." of a sister."

Zheng Sen looked down at the name on the cover of the letter, hesitated, and said, "How can Master determine that I will definitely cross the river? Or that Emperor Yongchang will bring Chen Yuanyuan by his side? Or, can I see Chen Yuanyuan?"

Liu Rushi sighed and said: "This is my reply to Chen Yuanyuan. Besides, the master is already standing under a dangerous wall because of Lu Fan's incident. Now the only one who can get the master out of this predicament is my sister. I The younger sister said: "Emperor Yongchang is also a hero. How can a hero make such unreasonable guesses, you can rest assured."

After being silent for a few breaths, Zheng Sen finally reached out to take the letter from Liu Rushi's hand, bowed to her, and walked past her and left the yard without saying a word.

When Zheng Sen's footsteps faded away, Liu Rushi suddenly heard a lonely voice behind him, "Hero, Chen Yuanyuan is also an outstanding figure in Jiangnan after all, she has met so many handsome young people and high-ranking officials, and she has brought a disaster to the world." The villain is considered a hero. Doesn't it make us feel ashamed?"

Liu Rushi turned his head, looked quietly at Qian Qianyi who was standing on the path for a while, and then said quietly: "Master is a literati, so it's fine to write lyrics and compose music, and let others do things like making meritorious deeds." Bar."

Qian Qianyi looked at the little lady, and said with surprise: "That's not what you said when you married me. You didn't expect me to do something to save the situation, so that people would know that you married rightly." person?"

Liu Rushi looked up at the sky and thought for a while and said: "I used to hate that I was not a man, so I couldn't do something big in this world where men are respected, so I expected the master to fulfill my dream.

But my sister told me now that women can do great things, so why do I still count on my master as a concubine?The concubine has decided that from now on, she will rely on her own strength to let the world know who I am, Liu Rushi. "

"..." Looking at the madam whose eyes seemed to be shining, Qian Qianyi suddenly felt that his future life might be a little sad.

Chapter 162

When Zheng Sen bid farewell to his teacher Qian Qianyi, a group of people gathered in Ma Shiying's house outside the Dong'an Gate of the Imperial City of Nanjing to discuss countermeasures.Ma Shiying sat on the east side of a small pavilion built in a pool. Opposite him was Uncle Chengyi Liu Kongzhao. On the right were Uncle Xincheng Zhao Zhilong and his brother-in-law Yang Wencong. On the left were Yang Wencong’s uncles Yue Qijie and Ruan Dacheng.

Obviously, today's discussion is fruitless, because everyone's face is either anxious, gloomy or depressed, and no one is in a good mood.Of course, in the face of Li Zicheng and the crown prince going south, three of the four towns in Jiangbei have gone, the Donglin party members in the city seem to be at odds with them, and Zuo Liangyu in Wuchang is about to move, how can the people sitting here feel comfortable.

The two nobles Liu Kongzhao and Zhao Zhilong were obviously more impatient. Seeing that the other three could not come up with a feasible proposition, the two couldn't help but said one after another, "We can't delay any longer. You have betrayed us, you should let Gao Jie's army cross the river as soon as possible." "How about sending someone to meet the crown prince?"

Liu Kongzhao turned his head and gave Zhao Zhilong a hard look, then said, "The crown prince is in Li Zicheng's hands now, what's the use of seeing him? Take a step back, even if the crown prince can make up his own mind, do you think the crown prince will forgive us?"

Zhao Zhilong, who had always been in favor of Liu Kongzhao, replied at this time not to be outdone: "Don't we go to see the prince, we have another way out? We have already gone to three of the four towns in Jiangbei, if it weren't for Gao Jie and Li Zicheng's hatred , he is also unreliable. The Marquis of Ningnan in Wuchang was not angry at His Majesty's ascension to the throne. How can we still expect him to come to Nanjing to save us? As the admiral of Caojiang, you can't even move the navy. We don't ask the prince for forgiveness. What else can I do now?"

Liu Kongzhao was very angry, and retorted loudly: "Is this my problem? Gao Jie's army wantonly killed the people in Jiangbei, plundered and raped all kinds of crimes, and the people in Jiangnan were frightened when they heard about it. Those gentry and Donglin party members controlled the navy. Can you move it?"

"Okay, stop arguing. Even if you win the fight, it won't solve our current problem. What's the use of a fight between emotions?" Yue Qijie finally couldn't help calling Liu Kongzhao and Zhao Zhilong to stop, but he I couldn't help but lamented in my heart, this Li Zicheng hadn't arrived in Yangzhou yet, and his internal chaos began, can this Hong Guangchao not be finished?

Yue Qijie's nephew, Ma Shiying's brother-in-law Yang Wencong, couldn't help looking at his brother-in-law and asking, "Brother Yaocao, what should we do now?"

Ma Shiying's heart was also at a loss, if only he knew what to do now, who would have thought that Li Zicheng would bring the prince south and get such a large number of scholars to follow him.If he had known that Li Zicheng would do this, of course he would not be so anxious to push Fufan to the top. Even if he made a deal with Li Zicheng to get the prince back, he would not be so passive now.

It's just that if you don't pay attention in your heart, you don't pay attention in your heart. As the pillar of the hero group in Nanjing, even if you don't have an idea, you can't show it. Otherwise, once the hearts of the people are gone, they will never come back.

But he glanced at the old friend next to him, and decided to let the old friend speak a few words first, and then make a detailed plan, so he leaned his body to his left hand and said, "Yuan Hai, what do you think?" ?”

Ruan Dacheng, who was stroking his beard, almost pulled some of his beard off when he heard Ma Shiying's question.After he stabilized his mind, he smiled wryly at Ma Shiying and the people around him and said, "What can I think now, we can't be beaten, and if we continue, we will be waiting for death.

If I have any opinions, I think we should find someone to explain to Emperor Yongchang that the idea of ​​uniting the slaves and suppressing the bandits is the idea of ​​the Donglin Party and Fushe, not ours.We just want to support King Fu to ascend the throne and make a contribution to making a decision.We have no enmity with Dashun. It is the hypocrites of the Donglin Party who are shouting for hatred against the emperor and father every day, and it is not us who are shouting. "

After Ruan Dacheng said this, everyone became thoughtful, Ma Shiying also seemed to see a light in the darkness, he nodded slightly and said: "Indeed, it is Yao Kang in Shi Kefa's curtain who clamored to unite the slaves and suppress the bandits. I also made a booklet called "Taibai Sword".

It is not enough to rely on generals like Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi to put down such a large-scale peasant uprising as the Huangchao Uprising. It is also necessary to borrow the Shatuo soldiers used by Li Ke to recruit traitors like Zhu Wen. Only then can there be hope for ZTE.

Thinking about it now, is this Yao Kang a spy sent by Jiannu?Who is Zhu Wen?Isn't it the traitor who killed Emperor Ai of Tang and established himself as Emperor Liang?This Yao Kang is not trying to kill the thieves, but to kill me, Daming.When Shi Kefa listened to him, he was completely confused. "

Hearing what Ma Shiying said, Ruan Dacheng's eyes lit up immediately, he would never let go of the opportunity to hit the Donglin party members.Since he begged for mercy from the Donglin Party several times but failed, his biggest goal in life now is to overthrow the hypocrites like the Donglin Party and Fushe.Because he really saw it, and if these hypocrites were not overthrown, no matter who became the emperor, he would not be able to get ahead.

Right now he can rely on the friends he knows to resist the oppression of the Donglin party members and the gentlemen of Fushe, but when he passes away, what hope does his Ruan family have?Anyway, it's all over, and now he is thinking about finishing with the Donglin party members and the Fushe gentlemen.Daming is not finished, but he can't care about it now.

Ruan Dacheng clapped his hands fiercely and said: "Brother Yaocao, you are right. Among the proclamations issued by Emperor Yongchang, the most disliked thing is the one about uniting slaves and suppressing bandits. As for who will be the emperor of Ming Dynasty, I think Emperor Yongchang actually I don't care that much.

At the beginning, Sangui borrowed slave soldiers to recover Shenjing. Shi Kefa said that Sangui was a righteous deed of the country. He wanted to promote Ping Xibo to be the Duke of Ji, and reward Jiannu with 5 taels of silver and [-] stones of rice.Isn't this the best evidence that they want to be enemies with Emperor Yongchang?We should send someone to explain this to Emperor Yongchang, and then tell Emperor Yongchang that we advocate good relations with Shunming. "

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Ma Shiying's face, but he quickly covered it up, because he also had a part in promoting Wu Sangui and rewarding Jian slaves.But now who cares about this, it seems that the way to get Li Zicheng's understanding is to blame Donglin Party and Fushe.

He nodded in agreement and said: "Shi Kefa did indeed say: the concubine's captives are not unknown, and the extermination of the bandits is done in one fell swoop. That's the case. And Liu Zongzhou also said: rise up to the king of barbarians and imitate Bao Xu's righteousness. These Donglin party members read it every day. With Qianlu, it’s no wonder they didn’t want to go north to rescue Shenjing before. The state affairs are ruined by these hypocrites.”

Even Ma Shiying's brother-in-law, Yang Wencong felt contemptuous when he heard Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng sang together and brought the hat of Liannu Pingkou to the Donglin Party members. He couldn't help interrupting their conversation and said: " Previously, it was wishful thinking to try to make Li Zicheng believe that we are advocating Shun Ming friendship. What if Li Zicheng wants to go south? Are we also open to robbers?"

Yang Wencong's question immediately made the room quiet again. After a while, Ruan Dacheng finally gritted his teeth and said: "Then let me cross the river to see Emperor Yongchang's attitude. If Emperor Yongchang really only supports the prince to cross the river , then we will cooperate with Emperor Yongchang; if Emperor Yongchang insists on crossing the river, we will split up and have a showdown with Shi Kefa, if he does not let Gao Jie's army cross the river, we will vote for the prince."

After hearing this, Yang Wencong asked in surprise, "Then what should His Majesty do?"

Everyone was silent for a few breaths, and Liu Kongzhao said: "Fufan can't convince the public after all, otherwise why would we have such a quarrel with the Donglin Party. Right now we have to protect the community first, and then consider Fufan. Can Fufan continue to be his emperor?"

Seeing the tense atmosphere in the room, Zhao Zhilong quickly changed the subject and asked, "Then Yuan Hai is here for the public? Or is it for private? How to win the trust of Emperor Yongchang?"

Ma Shiying thought for a while and said: "It's better to be public. Now that the Yangtze River navy is controlled by Shi Kefa and the others, even if we want to secretly send people across the river, we can't do it. What's more, if the Donglin Party and Fushe know Yuanhai Sneaking across the river to the north, maybe they can do something to ruin our plan.

As for how to win the trust of Emperor Yongchang, you can bring Shi Kefa's staff Yao Kang and the general Chen Hongfan. Aren't these two people the most active in advocating alliance with the slaves and suppressing the invaders? Let them be handed over to Emperor Yongchang to show our goodwill ..."

On September 9, Ma Shiying proposed at the cabinet meeting in front of the imperial court, "Li Zicheng claimed to take the prince and Emperor Daxing's Zi Palace southward, saying that he wanted Emperor Daxing to be buried next to Xiaoling Mausoleum.

We don't know the authenticity of the prince and Daxing Emperor Zigong, if we refuse directly, we will lose the support of the people in the world, and if we don't refuse, it will give Li Zicheng an excuse to go south.Therefore, the minister thought that people should be sent across the river to pay homage to the Daxing Emperor, and to distinguish the true and false princes.After that, no matter whether the court refused or accepted it, it had confidence. "

Emperor Hongguang was hesitant about Ma Shiying's proposal, and it was the first time that the Donglin party members did not unite against Ma Shiying's proposal in the court hall. Even Liu Zongzhou, who had a strong opinion on Ma Shiying, believed that sending people to worship Emperor Daxing was a mistake. As a due courtesy, the discussions on this issue were all the ideas of rebellious officials and thieves, and he immediately expressed his willingness to be the representative to pay homage to the Daxing Emperor and ask to see the crown prince.

But Emperor Hongguang refused, because he had no doubts at all about the authenticity of the prince. If it was a fake prince, how could so many northern officials and clans follow the prince south?This alone is enough to prove that the prince is real.Therefore, trying to eliminate Li Zicheng's righteousness by questioning the prince's falsehood is nothing but ridicule, and completely let those northern officials and clans label him as a traitor who usurped the throne.

Emperor Hongguang was not really stupid, he just wanted to detain those famous ministers in Nanjing, so that they would not vote for the prince after they ran out of the city, and he would be the only one who was unlucky in the end.So he immediately announced the adjournment of the meeting, and left Ma Shiying alone. The two talked alone for nearly an afternoon.

After a full three days of debate, everyone finally launched three main representatives in front of Emperor Hongguang: Ruan Dacheng, Zhou Bi, and Pang Tianshou.Among them, Pang Tianshou was an eunuch who fled south from Beijing, and he was quite familiar with the prince.

Chapter 163 Yangzhou One

From Shaobodai to the south, the terrain is high, and the hills and hills stretch for hundreds of miles, so that the Huaihe River cannot flow south into the river, but can only enter the river through the Grand Canal.These hills and mounds were cut off only 4 miles northwest of Yangzhou City. The hills and mounds stretching for more than 40 miles here are called Shugang. Except for the earth hills here, the other southeast and north are flat lands outside Yangzhou City, where rivers intersect vertically and horizontally, and the transportation is convenient. .

Therefore, whenever the northern soldiers go south, they must first take this mountain, and then wait and see the situation in Yangzhou City, and attack from a condescending height.When Gao Jiebing went south, he was stationed in Shugang and threatened Yangzhou City.However, after Emperor Hongguang ascended the throne and Gao Jie became an independent town, the rear of Gao Jie’s department was no longer in the north but in the south of the Yangtze River. Without being able to enter Yangzhou City, Gao Jie’s department could only move its main force to Guazhou between Yizheng and Yangzhou , backed by the Yangtze River for supplies.

When Li Zicheng's army took Liuhe, Tianchang and other places, Gao Jie sent his general Li Chengdong to garrison Shugang, trying to resist Li Zicheng's army going south.It's just that Zuo Guang was stationed there after taking Tianchang on August 8. Therefore, Li Chengdong's troops stationed in Shugang gradually relaxed from the tense atmosphere before the battle.

Tianchang is only 8 or 90 miles away from Yangzhou, and there is only land connection. After Li Chengdong sent a small group of troops to set up a police post between the two places, he was relieved.To be honest, he didn't actually want to fight Li Zicheng's army in Tianchang area, after all, this was just Li Zicheng's partial division.He also counted on Liu Zeqing to be able to block Li Zicheng's main force in Huai'an.

It's just that he didn't know until a few days after he was stationed in Shugang that Liu Zeqing had surrendered.By this time, Li Chengdong's subordinates had lost interest in sticking to Shugang, and they planned to retreat to the Guazhou base camp just waiting for the ever-changing Li Zicheng army to launch an attack.

This is not to say that Gao Jiejun is afraid of Li Zicheng like a tiger. Although he has such emotions, the main problem is that Yangzhou behind them is not a friend but an enemy.Not to mention that Gao Jie's army could not get supplies from Yangzhou City, even the news was blocked, otherwise Li Chengdong would not have known that Huai'an had surrendered until a few days after moving his army to Shugang.

Faced with this situation, no one of Li Chengdong's subordinates is willing to stick to Shugang, even Li Chengdong himself doesn't want to fight. He is very worried that he will fight Li Zicheng here, and the base camp will leave him to cross the river.It's not that Li Chengdong frightened himself, but that he was not Gao Jie's confidant in Gao Jie's army, but Li Benshen and Hu Maozhen were.Therefore, Gao Jie will not be reluctant to leave him to cross the river.

Of course, if Li Zicheng's army did not go south and he ran away, he would not dare.Although Gao Jie is quite popular in the army, because he never restrains his subordinates to prevent them from looting the people, but he will never forgive anyone who disobeys his military orders.Gao Jie asked him to guard Shugang, but he ran away before Li Zicheng's army came, and he probably lost his head when he returned.

Therefore, Li Chengdong didn't build any strong fortresses in Shugang. Apart from paying attention to the sentries in the direction of Tianchang and the passage to Guazhou all day long, he hardly cared about other things.In order to be able to retreat at any time, Li Chengdong restrained his subordinates in the camp and prohibited them from going out to loot the people. Although the people outside the city had been slaughtered and looted by them, isn't this the autumn harvest? People in the outskirts of the country still have to go home to harvest rice.

For the dissatisfaction of his subordinates, Li Chengdong, who has always been lenient, finally became impatient. After cutting off a few thorns in the army, the soldiers in the battalion finally calmed down.Therefore, Gao Jie's army, who had always had a bad military discipline, did not harass the people near the camp this time, allowing the people in the northwestern suburbs of Yangzhou City to live a stable life for a few days.

However, after being stationed in Shugang for more than 10 days, there was no movement of Li Zicheng's army. Not only did Tianchang's army not move, but Li Zicheng's main force in Huai'an did not move south quickly, which made Li Chengdong a little anxious.

In the early morning of September 9th, Li Chengdong was leading a team of soldiers to hunt in the forest of Shugang to relieve boredom. Although this place is close to Yangzhou City, because the people of Yangzhou protected it properly, it was not cut into a hill by the people of Yangzhou. A large forest.It's just that there is no big prey in the forest, only some pheasants.

Li Chengdong searched for a long time before he saw a huge pheasant with a red belly and bright feathers. When he was aiming with his bow, he heard the sound of hurried footsteps. He subconsciously turned around and aimed at the person coming. It is the adopted son Li Yuanyin.He put away his bow and arrow in great dissatisfaction and scolded: "You are trying to die, you can't even make a sound, do you want me to send you to see the Buddha?"

Li Yuanyin knelt in front of Li Chengdong on one knee and did not dare to speak out. After Li Chengdong finished cursing, he whispered: "Both Jiazi Squad and Dingmao Squad have sent messages saying that there is a large cavalry coming from the direction of Tianchang, and please come back to me!" The battalion presides over the overall situation.”

Li Chengdong's heart suddenly turned cold. He handed the bow and arrow in his hand to the soldiers around him, and while walking quickly towards the camp, he asked Li Yuanyin, "How many cavalry did they see? Where did they go?"

Li Yuanyin followed Li Chengdong closely, and said in a hurry: "The cavalry seen by the two teams exceeded hundreds. I am afraid that some of our outposts were wiped out by the Shun army without sending back the news. It is not yet possible to determine the exact number. The location, but it must be in the direction of Shugang.”

Li Chengdong, who was walking in front, said without turning his head: "Then you don't follow me, hurry up and find out, where are these cavalrymen? Where are their infantrymen..."

Li Yuanyin stopped in his tracks, agreed and left with his subordinates. On the other hand, after Li Chengdong returned to the camp, he recruited the Chinese army Du Yonghe, generals Wu Wenwen, Yin Zhirong, Yang Dafu and others.On a simple wooden platform, Li Chengdong took out a map of Yangzhou. Although the proportions were a bit out of balance, as the generals leading the army, they still had another map in their minds, so it was enough.

Looking at the map in front of him, Li Chengdong asked the generals: "Which side do you think the Tianchang Army sent cavalry to attack? Is it the Meihua Ridge to the east of us? The Shugang Passage occupied by the camp, or do you want to detour to the same side to the west?" Can Huang Degong get in touch?"

Du Yonghe said: "There are 3 people in this battalion, and the Tianchang Army's thousands of cavalry alone can't break through the camp we set up. In my opinion, they should want to occupy Meihualing and collude with the traitors in Yangzhou City. , then our army can only withdraw from Shugang.”