Dashun Yongchang

Hao Xiaoquan on the mountain is arranging personnel to clean up the battlefield, mainly to clean up the corpses aside, and then carry out the wounded for treatment, whether it is his own or Gao Jie's army.Although the Yangzhou soldiers couldn't understand why Gao Jie was rescued, the Shun Army defeated Gao Jie's army cleanly twice, which made them feel awe of the Shun Army, and naturally they dared not disobey the Shun Army's orders.

Regarding the message sent by Du Yonghe, Hao Xiaoquan did not immediately refuse. Instead, he asked which generals were in Li Chengdong's army at the foot of the mountain, and then asked him to take the message back, saying that he was from the Qingyang Army and did not know who was in Li Chengdong's army. Is there anyone from Qingyang?Regarding the two strikes, they replied that Li Jun should let go of the Shugang passage first, otherwise he didn't really want to strike.

Regarding Hao Xiaoquan's reply, Du Yonghe said to Li Chengdong: "It seems that the Shun Army has no grudge against our army, but just wants our army to get out of the way..."

After pondering for a long time, Li Chengdong said: "Get out of the way, it's very light, but where can we go if we get out of the way? If we go to Guazhou, we will still be regarded as the enemy by the Shun army. If we don't go to Guazhou, Going north and going west are all the territories of the Shun army, they will definitely not give way to us, won't they still fight?"

Du Yonghe looked around, and couldn't help but whispered: "Why don't we just surrender to Emperor Yongchang. Surrendering early is much better than being forced to surrender after going to Guazhou..."

Chapter 167 Yangzhou Five

Li Chengdong didn't reprimand Du Yonghe this time, it was just hundreds of Shunjun troops, or dismounted firecrackers, they couldn't gain the upper hand, when the Shunjun brigade arrived, how could they continue to fight?It is not the same thing to voluntarily surrender now and to surrender when the time comes to the brink of extinction.

However, Li Chengdong was a little hesitant in his heart. Unlike other Ming troops, they had a history of betraying Li Zicheng. Coupled with what Gao Jie had done to Li Zicheng, he was very worried that Li Zicheng would take revenge on him after surrendering.At that time, the people below will receive preferential treatment from Dashun, but he himself will lose his head for no reason, wouldn't it be wrong.

Just when Li Chengdong was hesitating in the shade of a tree, he saw a sentry coming from the north on horseback. Li Chengdong immediately ordered the soldiers around him to bring the sentry to him, wanting to know what news he brought. .

But he saw that the sentry ran to him in three steps and two steps, knelt on the ground, and then hurriedly reported to him: "The commander is not good, the Shugang camp has surrendered."

Not to mention that the generals who heard the news were in an uproar, and even Li Chengdong was almost overwhelmed by the news.He walked up to the scout a few steps forward, opened his eyes wide and gritted his teeth and shouted: "What happened? Tell me clearly. If you dare to talk nonsense, I will kill you with a knife."

The sentry swallowed a mouthful of saliva and moistened his throat before he said hoarsely: "It is General Li Shen who surrendered to the enemy. The Shun Army occupied the East Village guarded by General Li Shen, and then turned the cannons in the village to bombard the camp. , our army was defeated immediately, and the two villages in the west also surrendered to the Shun Army, and the other generals in the battalion persuaded Vice General Wu to surrender, and Vice General Wu took the time to let the young one out of the camp to report to the commander in chief."

"Fucking Li Zhizhen, you're selling out the brothers..." The generals at the side immediately started cursing, but none of them said they wanted to fight back to save the camp.

Li Chengdong's face was ashen, and he didn't bother to pay attention to the thoughts of these subordinates, so he asked the sentry again: "So how many people are there in the Shun Army?"

After thinking about it for a while, the sentry inspector said: "After Dashun left, the troops of the Shun army arrived. In addition to the previous cavalry, there were about a thousand people. However, when the young one ran out of the camp, he heard noise from the north. It seems that another large group of people has arrived. I thought that there are at least a few thousand Shun troops in the camp right now."

Hearing that the Shun army was arriving continuously, even the dullest general could sense the bad prospect.Yin Zhirong couldn't help but said aloud: "Marshal, now is not the time to hesitate. You can either leave, or... In short, staying here and doing nothing is the next strategy."

Yang Dafu, Zhang Daoying and other generals also echoed: "Yes, Commander, you should make up your mind."

"Make up your mind?" Li Chengdong asked himself in his heart. His mind was still clear at this time. His subordinates told him to make up his mind early. Guazhou is also meaningless, because the luggage and women are gone.What's more, if you can't cross the Yangtze River, Guazhou is also a desperate place.

Li Chengdong realized that if he fled back to Guazhou in such a desperate manner, these subordinates would probably be dissatisfied even if they went back with him, especially those subordinates from Shaanxi, because no one would follow a general with nothing in his pocket.Li Chengdong looked up at the sweeping mountain in front of him, looked at the Dashun flag erected above it and thought for a long time, before he said harshly: "Mr. Du, you send someone up to negotiate terms with that Shun army general. Surrender, but the women, children and belongings in my camp should be returned..."

When Ding Qiguang and Shen Bao rushed to the sweeping mountain with their reinforcements, the sun had already set on the distant mountain top in the west, like a big orange lantern.Seeing that Li Chengdong's men did not flee, but lined up neatly at the foot of the mountain, both of them were quite surprised.It wasn't until a Shunjun cavalry from the opposite side ran to spread the word that they knew that Li Chengdong's troops were not going to die here, but were unwilling to continue fleeing south.

The two discussed for a while, then accepted the surrender of Li Chengdong's department, and sent personnel to check the troops of Li Chengdong's department, and then took over the stone bridge on the south side of the sweeping mountain.At this time, the Stamina Battalion of Gao Jie's Ministry also noticed that there was no team here, and sent a team of cavalry to check, but quickly withdrew after taking a look at the situation on the other side of the bridge.

Early the next morning, Zuo Guang led a team of cavalry to Shougou Mountain. After talking with Li Chengdong and his subordinates to appease him, he asked Li Chengdong's troops to move back to Shugang Camp, and then took control of the western suburbs of Yangzhou.On this day, Gao Jie's army also sent an army to confront the Shun army on the other side of the canal, but did not take the initiative to attack the Shun army.

At this time, Gao Jie's army had also begun to be chaotic, because no one expected that Li Chengdong's troops would surrender to Dashun so soon, which made Gao Jie suspicious of other generals who were not from direct descendants.Under such a situation, he certainly would not rashly send troops to attack the Shun army in the north, because he did not know who was reliable.

Of course, the nephew Li Benshen and the old subordinate Hu Maozhen are still credible, but it is hard to say about the others at this critical juncture.By this time, Gao Jie was almost completely disappointed in Nandu, so he also began to be wary of Wanji, the supervising army in the army, and Zhang Tianlu, the garrison of Guazhou, who was not in the army system.

Now that he had to beware of Huang Degong's Ministry and the imperial court, he naturally didn't want to open up another battlefield.Since the Shun army went south and forced Li Chengdong to surrender so easily, it showed that the Shun army was an overwhelming force for Li Chengdong's troops. Otherwise, based on his understanding of Li Chengdong, this man would not have surrendered so easily.

Therefore, he only ordered Gao Jinku to set up a camp in the south of the canal to monitor the movement of the Shun army in the western suburbs of Yangzhou, and was not in a hurry to send troops to fight back.Gao Jie soon felt fortunate, because the main force of the Shun army in the direction of Huai'an finally went south, and arrived in Jiangdu County, east of Yangzhou, on September 9.Although this Lu Shun army did not immediately attack the south of Yangzhou, how could Gao Jie's army in the south of Yangzhou dare to mobilize easily.

The situation in Yangzhou became more tense, and Gao Jie himself felt that there was no credible force in the surrounding area.What Ma Shiying from Nandu said was very good, but the strict naval inspections on the river prevented even ordinary business travelers from crossing the river.Although the supervising army Wanji recruited him on behalf of Shi Kefa, Wanji couldn't even convince the people in Yangzhou City. Now that Yangzhou people are all voting for Li Zicheng, but Shi Kefa is still in Nanjing, what's the point of such a solicitation?

Of course, Huang Degong and Liu Liangzuo hated Gao Jie the most. They used to call themselves thieves every day, but in the end they really broke into the south, but they both knelt down very fast and made things difficult for him. There is nowhere to go.To the west is Huang Degong, to the north is Li Zicheng, to the south is the Zhenjiang Navy, and to the east is the vast sea. He is so sleepy that he can hardly even turn over.

Regarding Gao Jie's anxiety, his wife Xing couldn't help persuading him in private: "Otherwise, we should send someone to find out Li Zicheng's tone. Didn't he tell the outside world several times that as long as he is willing to give up the civil war and stick to the outside world, he will let the past go."

Gao Jie was still timid towards Li Zicheng in his heart. He looked at his son playing with the maidservants in the courtyard, sighed and said, "If it was someone else, I would have nothing to worry about. But Li Zicheng is too tolerant, What he decided was that even the nine cows could not be pulled back. Cao Cao and He Yilong just couldn't see Li Zicheng's character clearly, so they died in his hands. My life is nothing, anyway, this life is worth it, but What about Yuan Zhao? He's still so young."

The Xing family was dumbfounded for a long time, and couldn't help asking: "In the southern capital, can't they even accept the family members of the soldiers? We work hard for the imperial court, and the imperial court can't let us die?"

Gao Jie gritted his teeth with hatred, but soon he said discouragedly: "After all, the lieutenants and soldiers of the army went too far when they went south. Now the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River are more guarded against us than trespassers. Look at those Yangzhou people, they would rather fight with Li Zicheng. Hooking up with us and refusing to reconcile with us, this is retribution."

Mrs. Xing glanced at her husband before comforting him and said, "You can't be blamed for this matter. Our army fled from Shanxi that day, and the morale in the army was completely devastated. Looting the people, I am afraid that we will be disbanded if we can't even bring down Yangzhou. Just a few of us will leave the army and go south. As long as the local prefectures and counties send out a team of arresters, we will be taken down quickly. Who will we complain to? Liu Liangzuo, Huang Degong These people really want to use our heads to lead workers."

Gao Jie, who was sitting in the shadow, didn't speak, just stared at his son running in the sun in the courtyard in a daze.After a long time he said: "Otherwise, I'll go talk to Wanji again, if he can't come up with a solution, I can't bear it any longer..."

When Gao Jie was talking to the Xing family, Li Zicheng was staying in Shaobo Town to visit the Town God's Temple in the town, accompanied by local gentry Jiang Chunhe, Gong Lianjia and others.

"This Town God's Temple was originally built in the third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty. At that time, it was a salt search office. Later, the salt search office was moved to Yizheng. People in this town donated money to build a temple on the ruins to worship the city god..."

After listening to the local gentry's explanation, Li Zicheng said disapprovingly: "This town has a large population and many temples, but there is no official school. Although there are a few private schools, it is not reasonable after all. The Town God's Temple is so big, why not divide it into several schools?" What do you think, Monk, to build a government-run elementary school?"

The local gentry was speechless for a while, and turned to look at the master standing beside Li Zicheng, but Nan'an was silent for a long time before saying: "Your Majesty, the city god is not under the control of Buddhism. However, building a school is a good thing after all, whether it is the city god or the Buddha. Everyone will agree."

Li Zicheng looked up at the old town god who was carved out of wood. From this wooden statue, it can be seen that the people of this town built this town god's temple with care. It can be said that it is a work of art rather than a pure religious idol.

He continued unhurriedly: "It is said that there are many prostitutes in the south of the Yangtze River. I have seen it this way, and it is indeed the case. Buddhism and Taoism just have some unworthy children. Catholicism and Islam need normative teachings. As for Mazu It can also be regarded as a good expectation for those who go to sea, but other miscellaneous religions are just superstitious and money-defrauding cults.

I plan to establish a religious department, and you, monk, will be the director of the department. Let me rectify these obscene temples and illegal activities of various religions.Well, those confiscated temples and land properties should be used to build official schools.how do you feel? "

After Nan'an thought for a while, he still followed Li Zicheng. If he didn't do this, I'm afraid those foreign monks would be in power. This is absolutely unacceptable to Buddhism.

Chapter 168 Yangzhou VI

On September 9, Li Zicheng's fleet arrived at Baobao Lake outside the north gate of Yangzhou, and then settled in Daming Temple in the northwest corner of Baobao Lake.Later generations of Baobao Lake have a very famous name called Slender West Lake. In fact, it was the moat of Yangzhou City in the Song Dynasty. In the early Ming Dynasty, it became a reservoir for regulating the water volume of the canal, so it was named Baobao Lake.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the water surface of Baobao Lake was still very wide, and many places in the lake were full of lotus ponds. Although there were no lotus flowers at this time, most of the lotus leaves were still green, and it still looked like summer. .

Daming Temple was first built in the Ming Dynasty of Emperor Xiaowu of the Liu Song Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty. During the Wanli Period, Wu Xiu, the prefect of Yangzhou, rebuilt the Pingshan Hall of Daming Temple. In the 12th year of Chongzhen, Cao Yushi Yang Renyuan rebuilt it again.Therefore, the current Daming Temple is not only empty and beautiful, but also able to accommodate the various institutions of the Marshal's Mansion and a part of the army brought by Li Zicheng.

With the arrival of Li Zicheng's troops, Zhang Nai's department in Jiangdu and Zuoguangxian's department in the western suburbs of Yangzhou were connected through Li Zicheng's army stationed in the northern suburbs of Yangzhou. are surrounded.

On the day they arrived in Yangzhou, the Yangzhou gentry sent representatives to welcome Li Zicheng at the wharf of Baobao Lake. However, after getting off the boat, Li Zicheng just chatted with these representatives of the Yangzhou gentry, and did not make any remarks on the status of Yangzhou. The gentlemen were quite surprised.

Since Gao Jie's army looted the outskirts of Yangzhou, the social order these Yangzhou gentry used to get used to no longer existed. Almost every powerful warlord wanted to control Yangzhou in his own hands.If Yangzhou people protested, these warlords would put on a posture of fighting and killing. In fact, the warlords were not bluffing, as Gao Jie and Liu Zeqing's plundering of suburban villages has proved this point.

Therefore, when the people of Yangzhou decided to welcome Li Zicheng to the south, they were already mentally prepared to be extorted by Li Zicheng. Although the military discipline of the Dashun army was much better than that of the Ming army, the Dashun army was also human, and they had to eat However, it is impossible for Li Zicheng to feed this army with the northwest wind. For the wealthy Yangzhou city, it is impossible not to use money to support the Dashun army.

However, before the Shun army went south, the Marshal's Mansion still mainly comforted the people of Yangzhou, saying that the people of Yangzhou could talk about whatever they wanted.But now that Li Zicheng really went south and arrived in Yangzhou City, he began to keep a distance from the representatives of these Yangzhou people, which made the officials and gentry in Yangzhou City a little at a loss.

So that night, the Yangzhou gentry gathered in Ma Mingpao's yamen, and asked Tang Laihe, the official who accompanied Li Zicheng to the south, and Wang Fulong, the squire, and asked how the two Yangzhou city representatives talked with the Marshal's mansion in Huai'an. of.

Wang Fulong defended himself and said: "Yu and Tang Tuiguan went to Huai'an this time to discuss the terms agreed with you. Your Majesty did not disagree with our opinions. I remember that His Majesty was Reply to us in this way: the wishes of the people of Yangzhou are my wishes, as long as the opinions put forward by the people of Yangzhou do not harm the interests of others and the country, then I have nothing to object to."

The squire Wu Renzhi asked suspiciously: "Since the conditions have been negotiated, why did your majesty not accept our kindness today and insist on living in the Daming Temple? Although the environment of the Daming Temple is quiet, there is nothing to enjoy. No. And His Majesty also rejected our offer to send a female envoy to serve him. Does this mean that you don't trust us?"

Wang Fulong was at a loss for words for a while, and Tang Laihe next to him finally said: "It's not that your majesty does not accept our kindness, but that the representatives we sent today cannot represent all the people of Yangzhou. Therefore, he hopes that the people of Yangzhou can send real representatives to Meet yourself."

Tang Tuiguan's words were like throwing a stone into a pond, and the room suddenly became boiling.The dozens of gentry present were very dissatisfied and asked, why can't they be regarded as representatives of the people of Yangzhou?Yangzhou City was able to be preserved from Gao Jiejun, Liu Zeqing's army, etc., isn't it the result of their running around and paying money and food to recruit rural soldiers?

Regarding the dissatisfaction expressed by these gentry, Tang Laihe just closed his eyes and rested his mind, and did not pay attention at all, as if he was not the one who angered the gentry just now.At this moment, Ma Mingpao finally stopped the clamor of the gentry. As the owner of the yamen and the leader of the local gentry, everyone still had to give this Deputy Ma a face.

Ma Mingjue glanced at the crowd. Although his face was a little unhappy, he still warned: "The Li Chengdong army of Gao Jie's department is also known for its bravery, but he surrendered as soon as the Shun army arrived. Why? Because Li Chengdong's army besieged only The Shun army with hundreds of people suffered repeated setbacks and even lost their camp.

According to the township soldiers who participated in the battle, this battle was not because Li Chengdong's army sent out only old and weak soldiers to be frustrated, but because the Shun army was too strong, hundreds of people fought like one, so they were invincible.The leader of our township soldiers told me that the Shun army cannot be supported by manpower, and if the township soldiers were replaced to fight against the Shun army, the failure would be even worse.

A single Gao Jie has already made it difficult for us to resist, are you planning to offend His Majesty Yongchang who is stronger?What's more, the crown prince and His Majesty Yongchang are one, and His Majesty Yongchang is not without the name of forcibly taking over Yangzhou. If His Majesty Yongchang enters the city in the name of the prince, the people may not stop it at that time. Wouldn't we become criminals against the prince? "

Although Ma Mingpao was originally from Hanzhong, his family was a Shaanxi merchant who had operated the salt industry in Yangzhou for several generations. He had a deep relationship with the local gentry, so he was able to become the leader of the local gentry.At this time, although Ma Mingpao's words were not very pleasant to the ears, they still calmed down the gentry.

The rampage of Gao Jiejun in the outskirts of Yangzhou had a major impact on Yangzhou. The gentry and rich merchants in Yangzhou who were originally keen on fame or personal enjoyment began to unite to fight against the local plunder and control of the feudal town.And this kind of participation in local affairs also greatly stimulated the power desire of these gentry, which made them start to think that Yangzhou is the Yangzhou of Yangzhou people.

Tang Helai and Wang Fulong were sent to Huai'an to meet Li Zicheng. The intention of these Yangzhou gentry was not to let Li Zicheng take over Yangzhou, but to hope that Li Zicheng could help them expel Gao Jiejun. The cost of protecting Yangzhou by the Shun Army.

Li Zicheng's tolerant gesture before gave these gentry an illusion that they had reached some kind of agreement with Li Zicheng.However, Li Zicheng's attitude when he arrived in Yangzhou this time did not mean to recognize the agreement, and the disappointed gentry gathered here to question the two representatives.

However, Ma Minglu's warning finally made these gentry wake up. After all, Yangzhou is still the Yangzhou of the imperial court, although the imperial court was not really established before, so they were given the opportunity to control Yangzhou City.But now that Li Zicheng is bringing the prince south, it means that the court of Dashun has really been established. At this time, asking for Yangzhou's self-reliance in front of Li Zicheng is undoubtedly doing the right thing to the court.

After suppressing these gentry, Ma Mingpao turned to Tang Helai and asked, "Your Majesty Yongchang, what kind of representative do you want?"

Tang Helai thought for a while and said: "There are 72 workshops in Huai'an City, and each workshop has elected a representative to participate in the council meeting. Also, there are two major groups in Huai'an, Cao Jun and Yanding..."

After carefully listening to Tang Helai's introduction, some gentry couldn't help but heaved a sigh of relief: "It turns out that it is such a representative law. I thought it was a representative. But every public election, in the end, the most powerful and powerful The most famous gentry, doesn’t it still fall on our heads? It’s kind of like taking off your pants and farting.”

Ma Minglu frowned and said, "Let the common people nominate representatives? I'm afraid this is a bad start. In the future, if the common people follow today's precedent and nominate representatives to negotiate with the government, what kind of dignity would that be?"

Tang Helai glanced at Ma Mingpao, and opened his mouth and said: "Master Ma, let's focus on the present first, and we will talk about the future. If His Majesty Yongchang personally intervenes in the election of the Yangzhou Council, I am afraid that there will be more troubles."

Some gentry also thought that one more thing would be better than one less thing, and nodded in agreement: "Officer Tang Tui is right. Since His Majesty Yongchang meant this, let's quickly elect a representative to form a council to discuss with His Majesty. It's better than stalemate here." .Besides, it would be in my interest if the common people nominate representatives, at least those Anhui merchants would not get much support from the common people.”

Ma Mingpao, who was about to say something, fell silent when he heard the last sentence.Indeed, the newly emerging Anhui merchants in the salt industry used their money to build gardens and took the Yangzhou skinny horse business as a flourish.In the past, although Shanxi merchants and Shanxi merchants operated the salt industry in Yangzhou, they were still doing relatively well-regulated business in essence. However, after Huizhou merchants entered this industry, they began to use money and women to win over officials, and corrupted Kaizhongfa. It directly led to the decline of the conservative Shanxi merchants and Shanxi merchants in the salt industry.

For example, Brother Zheng Yuanxun, as the leader of Huizhou merchants, blatantly funded Gao Jiejun in exchange for Gao Jiejun's protection of Hexia Street.These behaviors of Huizhou merchants not only angered the Shanxi merchants and Shanxi merchants who operated the salt industry in Yangzhou, but also dissatisfied the local people in Yangzhou, thinking that they not only made money from Yangzhou, but also ruined the atmosphere of Yangzhou.

However, in the matter of welcoming Li Zicheng to the south, no matter how Ma Mingpao squeezed out Huizhou merchants, he could not completely shut them out.If he could use the election of the people of Yangzhou to exclude most Huizhou merchants from the council, then he would not refuse.

At the same time, Li Zicheng, who had settled down in Daming Temple, was also receiving Zuo Guangxian and other subordinates of the West Route Army, as well as surrendered generals such as Liu Liangzuo and Li Chengdong.In a side hall in Daming Temple, dozens of military generals sat opposite each other on the east and west sides, and Li Zicheng lived on the north side.

On behalf of the West Route Army, Zuo Guangxian reported to Li Zicheng the itinerary and achievements of the army since its departure from Xuzhou. Although there had been battle reports sent to the Marshal's Mansion before, this time Zuo Guangxian's report was more complete.

After listening to Zuo Guangxian's report, Li Zicheng said to the generals present: "The achievements of the West Route Army have been rewarded and punished by the Marshal's Mansion before, so I will not say more. Let's discuss the handling of the troops..."

Chapter 169 Yangzhou Seven

Although Li Chengdong was sitting below, Li Zicheng didn't feel anything wrong at all.Someone's impression of Li Chengdong's name is connected with Jiading Santu.In the online debate, the best offensive weapon against Little Pink is to discuss the historical view of ethnic integration of the Manchus going south.

The national policy that deviates from the standpoint of the proletariat is capitulationism in essence, and it is basically consistent with the class standpoint of the Ming gentry to unite the slaves and suppress the bandits.In order to defend the interests of the gentry and landlords, unite with foreign enemies to wipe out the peasant uprising army. This is the united front of the landlord class.If it continues to develop, by the end of the Qing Dynasty, there will be reactionary remarks by Manchu slave owners who "rather be with foreign enemies than domestic slaves."

Regarding the reactionary united front of the gentry and landlords, it is clear that the nationalism of fruit fans still needs to be improved.Therefore, Li Zicheng was able to accept Li Chengdong's surrender, but he did not accept his surrender in order to avoid a struggle, but to accept the opponent's surrender in order to reduce sacrifices and peacefully transform Li Chengdong's army.

Therefore, Li Zicheng would not think that as long as Li Chengdong surrendered, the crimes committed by this army before would disappear, and the people and property they looted would become legal.If it is such a unified policy, then being a robber first and then recruiting peace is the way for the warlords to maximize their profits.

Of course, for the general representative of the feudal landlord class, such a united front is also feasible. After all, can the common people be counted as human beings?People without united front value are nothing but cattle and horses.As long as Li Chengdong can surrender himself, it is just an extra helper who oppresses the people, naturally he and his subordinates can be forgiven for their crimes.

Although a certain person feels that the people need to be oppressed, he still admits that the people are human beings and not talking animals.After all, in addition to exploiting surplus value, capitalism still needs a sales market.Therefore, capitalism recognizes the existence of basic human rights. After all, only a free person can work and consume freely.

But obviously, most of the generals sitting here are not able to understand Li Zicheng's thoughts.These generals all lived in an era of agricultural economy. The closed nature of the small peasant economy and the shameless obscenity of Confucian morality made them not recognize the existence of a national bond besides family, fellow villager, teacher-student relationship.

After all, in a small-scale peasant society, the people in the next-door village are equivalent to foreigners, and Confucian kinship concealment makes blood ties greater than social morality.To put it simply, even if the family member is a robber, murder and arson are all evil, according to Confucian morality, you should stand on the side of the family member, not the victim.Therefore, the disputes in the villages are never about reason, but about how many brothers there are in the family.As long as I can beat you, my family is naturally right.

Some people spent their whole lives correcting this mistake, and put forward that "where there is oppression, there is resistance", and finally cleared some of the legacy of Confucianism in the countryside.However, some rebels have re-established the stink banner of Confucianism, advocating that no matter how oppressed they are, they must not resist, otherwise they will be vicious people who destroy a harmonious society.

For example, Zuo Guangxian, Li Chengdong's surrender still made him feel excited, because the fighting power of this army is still good, at least much stronger than Liu Liangzuo's subordinates, if he can use this army for his own use, then undoubtedly it will be greatly The strength in his hands has been enhanced.Although Zuo Guangxian felt that Gao Jie's army looted all the way from Henan to Yangzhou, it was a bit too much, but he thought that Li Chengdong could still make a contribution to the crime.

Therefore, for Li Zicheng's discussion on the disposal of Li Chengdong's army, he could not put forward any opinions for a while.Although Li Chengdong has not yet been brought under his command, he has subconsciously regarded him as his subordinate, so naturally it is difficult to put forward any words of defense.Although he wanted to strengthen his power, he was not foolish enough to challenge the mainstream of the Shun army.

For the Shun army, any surrendering general of the Ming army who joined after the Battle of Jiaxian is unreliable, because after the Battle of Jiaxian, the Shun army had no opponents, and Zuo Guangxian surrendered after that Shunjun.

After Tang Tong had an affair with Jiannu, and after Bai Guangen and other frontier generals surrendered to Jiannu, the generals of the Shun Army became more and more distrustful of them, the former surrendered generals of the Ming army.At this time, Li Zicheng could still use him to lead the army alone, Zuo Guangxian naturally wanted to show it.But he is also very clear that if he wants to develop his own power too much, he will definitely be suspected by the generals of the peasant army.

However, even if Zuo Guang didn't speak for Li Chengdong first, the others felt that Li Chengdong could be used as a golden bone, and that this army could be treated preferentially to further demoralize Gao Jie's army.It's just that Liu Liangzuo jumped out at this time. He didn't have a good impression of Gao Jie's army. After the surrender was too late, he even lost control of the army. own head.

So he got up and said righteously: "Since the military council allowed to speak, then I have to say a few words. Yes, Li Chengdong's troops did not flee south before our army arrived, but chose to surrender to our army. Of course it is creditable.

However, the regulations issued by the Marshal's Mansion made it clear that rewards and punishments cannot be offset. Excessive rewards and punishments are the basis of military law, and anyone who dares to violate military law should be punished by the public.

Gao Jie's army fled from Hebei to the south and fought all the way from Xuzhou to Yangzhou. Could it be that Li Chengdong's troops were not stained with the blood of the people?In the camp of Li Chengdong's army, those women and wives, as well as the belongings carried by the sergeants, can't they be regarded as evidence?

Since His Majesty has already rewarded Li Chengdong for his surrender before the battle, naturally he should not let him offend the crime of massacring the people.This is the minister's claim. "

Liu Liangzuo calmly sat back in his seat, completely indifferent to Li Chengdong who was glaring at his back angrily.Although Li Chengdong was full of anger, he held back when others accused him, but is Liu Liangzuo worthy of saying that about him?Liu's subordinates just killed less people than them.

However, when Li Chengdong's gaze turned to Li Zicheng, who was at the head, he met the indifferent gaze of the other party, and the anger in his heart was immediately quenched by a basin of ice water.After all, Liu Liangzuo could not convict him, but if he showed rebelliousness in front of Li Zicheng, the other party might not tolerate him.

Liu Liangzuo's words silenced some generals who thought they could forgive Li Chengdong, because he moved out of the military law issued by Li Zicheng, and accusing him became dissatisfaction with Emperor Yongchang. Naturally, everyone would not be so stupid to touch him. This moldy head.Besides, it is still unclear what Li Zicheng thinks about Gao Jiejun. Everyone also wants to clarify Li Zicheng's attitude through the treatment of Li Chengdong, and things will be easier to handle afterwards.

When all the generals remained silent, Ta Tianbao said with a smile: "General Liu has the eloquence of a civil servant, but he awakened us vulgar people who don't study. Your Majesty, I think that General Liu What you said is still reasonable. Rewards are rewards, and punishments are punishments. But right now, the war is approaching in the north, and we can't keep entangled with Gao Jie in the south. If we can get Gao Jie's entire army to surrender, it will save countless lives. Therefore, I beg Your Majesty to show mercy and spare them once..."

Following Ta Tianbao's statement, the generals finally clarified their attitudes one by one. Except for a few military judges who stood by Liu Liangzuo, everyone else advocated minor punishments and major punishments for Li Chengdong's troops.

After listening to everyone's speeches, Li Zicheng thought over and over again, and finally said: "Since the military law has been set, it should be implemented unless the military council approves a revised proposal.

However, what you said is not unreasonable, those innocent victims are dead, we have to think about the living people first.Abandoning the living for the sake of the dead is obviously against the foundation of our country, Dashun.

I can agree with you that the officers and soldiers who committed crimes before surrendering should not be held accountable, but they must confess their crimes first, because I cannot pardon a person who thinks he is innocent.

First, the officers and soldiers of Li Chengdong's department must write a statement of their looting and harming the people, and express their repentance, so that we can pardon them in the name of the Marshal's Mansion.

Second, according to their respective statements, the looted people and property should be handed over, and the Marshal's Office is responsible for sending these victims home and compensating them.

Third, since I have pardoned them, the evil they committed in the past has become an act of the state.I will govern the civil government and provide state compensation to all the families of the victims.

Now that the words have come to this point, I will reiterate again today, I am the Dashun of the people, what you wear, what you chew, and what you use on a daily basis, including the horses, armor, and weapons you use when you go into battle, All come from the supply of the people.Without the taxes paid by the people, we would not be able to exist.

It is self-destructive to try to kill people with the weapons they feed us.Even Jiannu knew that without the people, there would be no monarch, and with the people, there would be a monarch.So, don't let Dashun become less than a barbarian.The chance I will give you is only this time, no matter who dares to kill the people of my Dashun from now on, I will need his head..."

Someone did not threaten these generals with empty words, but calmly issued an ultimatum.Even Ta Tianbao, a general with senior experience in the Peasant Army, shut his mouth tightly. Although he has seniority, he is still ranked outside the 22nd general of the Fifth Battalion. It is also a surprise that Li Zicheng took him out to the south this time. .

From a certain point of view, most of the generals Li Zicheng led southward this time were the middle-level peasant army and some Ming army generals who surrendered, rather than the old battalion backbone who had been surrounding Li Zicheng in the past.This is of course a good thing for these middle-level generals and the generals of the Ming army who surrendered, which means that they finally have the opportunity to make contributions in front of Li Zicheng.As long as you still want to make progress in the Dashun Army, you will naturally not turn a deaf ear to Li Zicheng's warning.

Chapter 170 Yangzhou Eight