Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 106 Xiao He and Zhang Liang
At first, Kuai Ma's news was that the Ming Cavalry had ambushed Zhang Tianlin's troops.

This news is not particularly surprising.Yanmen Pass was recaptured by the Ming Dynasty, and I thought that the Ming Dynasty army would go south.

However, Li Guo, who had already set off, quickly sent a horse to report that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty personally led the cavalry to ambush Zhang Tianlin's tribe, captured Zhang Tianlin, exchanged prisoners, and retreated from Daizhou.

This news shocked Li Zicheng and others.

It is really unimaginable that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty personally led the army!
Finally, after discussion, Li Zicheng and his party decided to withdraw their troops from Ningwuguan and return to Daizhou to learn the specific details before making a decision.

On the Ningwuguan side, when they saw the bandits leaving their camp and heading east, they immediately reported to the Yanmenguan side.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen had finished summarizing the war, and just in time, Xuanfu Ninglong led [-] selected Xuanfu infantry troops and rushed to the front line with a large amount of grain and supplies.

Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen announced that he would reorganize the Beijing camp based on the Ningwuguan garrison and began to recount his achievements after the war.

First, Zhou Yuji defended Ningwuguan, blocked Li Zicheng's army and caused nearly [-] casualties. He also recaptured Yanmenguan and ambushed Zhang Tianlin's bandit army for his meritorious service. He was named Zhongyongbo by Emperor Chongzhen;

Later, He Zan and He Zhen, the commanders-in-chief of the two cavalry battalions, accompanied them on a personal expedition to the three places of Xuanfu, Yanghe and Datong. They also rescued Ningwuguan, captured Yanmenguan and ambushed Zhang Tianlin's bandits for their meritorious service. They were awarded the title of Prince Shaobao. , Zuo Dudu.

In addition, Zhu Sanle, the commander-in-chief, reinforced Ningwuguan and made contributions to the capture of Yanmenguan. Wei Shizhen accompanied him on the expedition, secured Xuanfu and Yanghe, and granted the title of Prince Shaobao.

Jin Zhensun, a guerrilla from the Biaoying camp directly under the imperial command, not only accompanied the commander, but also reported to Ningwuguan that he had made great contributions and was promoted to the rank of participating general.

Other officers, big and small, were also rewarded based on their merits. Those who deserved promotions and those who deserved rewards were cashed out immediately with the support of Xuanfu's supplies.

Suddenly, the morale of the entire army was high, and they were eager to fight.

However, Emperor Chongzhen listened to Zhou Yuji's suggestion and did not attack immediately. Instead, he continued to reorganize and train the army. At the same time, he sent out Ye BuZhou to spy on the movements of Li Zicheng's army.

A few days later, Li Zicheng led the army to Daizhou.

For ordinary people in the Dashun Army, Daizhou did not fall under the attack of the imperial army, which was a victory.

However, for Li Zicheng, it was a very annoying battle.

Regarding the news of the Battle of Daizhou, before the forward army led by Li Guo arrived, Gao Guiying had already issued a silence order, and no one was allowed to talk about the Battle of Daizhou.

After Li Zicheng arrived, she told Li Zicheng all the situation in private. Finally, she said to Li Zicheng with some worry: "I think this emperor is really powerful and can confuse people's hearts. It should be that the imperial officers and soldiers secretly It's a waste of time in a war, but he just won the morale of the army. If you fight him directly, you must be careful!"

Li Zicheng had already digested a series of news that was unbelievable to him, and he felt troubled when he heard his wife's words.

What is fought for in a war? Isn't it morale?
If the morale of the army is like a rainbow, then the soldiers will be brave and fearless of death!This kind of army is very difficult to deal with!
Just as he was thinking about it, he saw Gao Guiying seeming hesitant, so he frowned and asked, "If there is anything else, just tell me!"

After hearing this, Gao Guiying waved the maids in the room to leave, and then said to Li Zicheng with a bit of worry: "Bai Guangen escorted grain and grass from Taiyuan. It happened to be after the Battle of Daizhou that he noticed something abnormal. I I was specially watched and found that he had sent people to inquire about the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and he had also sent more than one person to inquire."

Speaking of this, she hesitated for a moment, and finally expressed her worries: "These generals who have served the imperial court, but were forced to surrender to us in the end, do you think they have any thoughts when they hear these things about the emperor? ?”

After hearing this, Li Zicheng's brows twisted into the character "Chuan", his face was gloomy, he looked down at the ground without saying a word.

At this time, he had already passed the age of loyalty, otherwise he would not have angered Luo Rucai and others who were kind to him in order to strengthen his own power.

As the king of Dashun, he was alone. It might be a lie to say that he didn't trust his old brothers who had been following him; but it was impossible to say that he completely trusted the court generals who surrendered to him.

A very simple reason. If it were him, and he had no choice but to surrender to the rebels, originally, the world would be over, and it might not be a big deal.However, it’s really hard to say what you would think if you suddenly know that the emperor has become wise and powerful!
Li Zicheng also had to admit that at this time, people in the world still regarded the Ming Dynasty as orthodox.As for his Dashun country, most people are still prejudiced.And similar to the Dashun Kingdom, Zhang Xianzhong established the Daxi Kingdom as early as last year, and occupied Huguang, a large grain and grass province, instead of living in the northwest.

In order to seize the world, Li Zicheng was very open-minded and accepted surrendered generals, even Chen Yongfu who shot him out of the eye, just to tell the people of the world that he, Li Zicheng, was thirsty for talents and had the qualifications to be a hero.

But why...why did the mediocre Ming emperor suddenly become so shrewd?
Originally, in his founding speech, he spoke favorably of the fatuous emperor and condemned corrupt officials, thereby providing rationality for his pursuit of stolen goods and subsidies.Unexpectedly, the fatuous emperor was no longer fatuous. Doesn’t this mean that he recognized that emperor!
In this case, what will your subordinates think?
Thinking about this, Li Zicheng felt a little headache!
Finally, he secretly summoned Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and other confidants to discuss the matter.

As soon as Li Zicheng explained the situation, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others couldn't help but fell silent.

The human heart cannot be solved by shouting and killing.

For a person like Bai Guangen, who can guarantee that he has no intention of rebelling in his heart?The emperor of the Ming Dynasty allowed them to surrender, and also stated that they could join the army or go home, but they could no longer defend themselves as thieves.They even performed a drama of rescuing an unknown soldier in front of the two armies, and even Zhang Tianlin was able to let it go.

However, if Bai Guangen is to be punished, at least so far, he has made contributions to the Dashun Kingdom. If he really needs to be punished, it will lose the support of the people!
However, we have to be on guard, what if he suddenly betrays him at the critical moment?
After a moment of silence, Niu Jinxing suggested to Li Zicheng: "Your Highness, if Bai Guangen doesn't seize his military power openly and covertly, then we won't worry about his betrayal!"

When Li Zicheng heard this, his heart moved. He looked at him and said, "What's the reason? I need a reason after all to touch him!"

Niu Jinxing had obviously thought about it, so he immediately replied: "Just say that he has made great achievements in escorting grain and grass, promote him to grain inspector, and let him go back to Shaanxi to collect grain."

After hearing this, Li Zicheng felt something was wrong, so he turned to Song Xiance and asked, "What do Song Qing think?"

When Song Xiance heard the question, he thought for a moment and replied: "Paper cannot contain the fire. The incident in Daizhou will spread sooner or later. In this case, how to deal with people like Bai Guangen? Therefore, Wei Chen thought, It would be better to transfer generals like Bai Guangen and others to the south to be under the command of Mianhou and attack the southern provinces of the Ming Dynasty. This has three advantages."

Hearing this, Li Zicheng showed an interested expression and motioned for him to continue.

So, Song Xiance continued: "First, when they are transferred to the south, the influence of the Ming Emperor on them should be minimized. If we can destroy the Ming Emperor, there will no longer be any influence; second, when they arrive In the south, the more contributions you make to the Dashun Kingdom, the harder it will be to turn back. If you can capture some clan members of the Ming Kingdom, preferably vassal kings and the like, and let them kill them, you will be able to cut off their escape route. Third, if we strengthen the military strength in the south, we will not only defeat Zuo Liangyu, but also preferably capture Yingtian Mansion. This will have a huge impact and bring even more benefits!"

Hearing this, Li Zicheng couldn't help but smile and immediately praised: "Okay, this is a good idea!"

Niu Jinxing next to him couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable after hearing this, but he also knew that he couldn't compare to Song Xiance in military affairs, so he didn't say anything.

So, several people discussed it and made this decision.

Afterwards, Li Zicheng looked at Song Xiance and asked directly: "What will the army do next?"

After hearing this, Song Xiance immediately replied without hesitation: "The army has been staying in Daizhou, and the pressure on food and grass is too great. Moreover, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is in charge, and he also controls Ningwuguan and Yanmenguan. For us, it is easy to defend but difficult to attack. So It is not good for our army to hold on for a long time. Therefore, Wei Chen thinks that we should quickly advance eastward and join forces with Cihou to capture the capital of the Ming Dynasty. This will also shock the world. We know that the Dashun Kingdom will be established and the Ming Kingdom will perish!"

Hearing this, Li Zicheng hesitated a little and said: "If our army advances eastward, what will happen to the Jin Dynasty? How many troops do we need to keep to defend the Jin Dynasty that we have captured?"

After hearing this, Niu Jinxing looked at Song Xiance to see what he said.

To be honest, at least in his opinion, this balance is extremely difficult to grasp.

But who knows, when Song Xiance heard this, he shook his head and said: "Our army only has about [-] troops. We will not leave the Jin area behind. We will all march eastward and strive to go south to the capital of the Ming Dynasty in one fell swoop. This is the most important thing. As for The Jin region has too few troops to defend it, so it is left to the Ming emperor. It is worth exchanging the Jin region for the Ming capital!"

If it were any other force, especially the Ming Dynasty, they would never dare to propose such a strategy that could lose the city and territory.

However, for Li Zicheng's troops, they just ran away and kept escaping.Although they may not have concluded that "if you save people and lose land, everyone and land will survive; if you save land and lose people, everyone and land will be lost", the truth contained in this sentence can be understood.Therefore, even though Niu Jinxing always wanted to compare with Song Xiance, she did not find fault with him at this time.

Li Zicheng was even more delighted after hearing this. He clapped his hands and said, "Okay, okay, okay, you are worthy of Zhang Liang!"

When Niu Jinxing heard this, he felt itchy in his heart and immediately said: "Since we want to give up the land of Jin, it is better to take away all the food and grass in the land of Jin and teach the emperor to take back the land of Jin, but he has to worry about the food of the people in the land of Jin. If there is starvation, We can take this opportunity to declare to the world that the emperor is still the same emperor as before!"

When Li Zicheng heard what he said, he burst out laughing and immediately praised: "I have Xiao He and Zhang Liang, so why worry about being unlucky in the world!"

Li Zicheng did not use Liu Bowen and Li Shanchang as metaphors, but quoted Xiao He and Zhang Liang, which made Song Xiance and Niu Jinxing very happy and quickly thanked them.

As a result, Li Zicheng began to deploy the army to march eastward, as well as the arrangements for Jin.

………………

At the same time, on the Shanhaiguan side, a group of imperial guards, led by a military academy officer, strode into the temporary Liaodong governor's office.

The reason why it is called the temporary Liaodong governor's office is because the Liaodong governor's residence is in Ningyuan.But now that the defenders outside the pass have been withdrawn and entered the pass, the governor's office of Liaodong has also temporarily moved to Shanhaiguan.

Li Yutian, the governor of Liaodong, heard the report from his subordinates and immediately rushed out to welcome him.

Shanhaiguan has received reports of the earth-shattering event that happened in the capital, and is naturally very shocked.At this time, the arrival of Jinyiwei made him very uneasy. He didn't know what the arrival of Jinyiwei would bring to Shanhaiguan. Is it a disaster or a blessing?
However, when the Jinyi Guardsman saw him, he just said to him: "The Emperor has a secret order for Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of Ningyuan. Where is he?"

Wu Sangui was responsible for moving the Liao people into Shanhaiguan. You need to ask the governor's Yamen to know his whereabouts.

When Li Yutian heard this, he was a little surprised that the person was not looking for him, so he quickly asked the angel to wait, and he immediately sent someone to tell Wu Sangui.

In fact, Wu Sangui was in Shanhaiguan at this time. He was surprised when he heard that Li Yutian sent someone to inform him.

He knew more about the affairs in the capital than anyone else through the newspapers and his father's secret letters.

The capital has undergone earth-shaking changes. Wu Sangui agrees with his father's idea that it is best to remain unchanged in response to changes and wait and see what happens before making plans.

He wanted to see what would happen next in the capital?
Also, didn’t the emperor personally conduct the expedition?Should he follow his father's guess and hide until he goes south later, or should he really go to conquer the bandits? What will be the result?

All of this will affect his decision no matter what the outcome is.

Unexpectedly, before any further news came, the emperor actually sent Jin Yiwei to look for him.

For a moment, Wu Sangui thought that the emperor had sent the royal guards to arrest him!

But he is not too afraid. Although he is not the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan, the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan only has [-] guest troops, and he has [-] elites, and another [-] militia composed of Liao people, who also listen to He, instead of listening to the court, has nothing to fear in his territory!

If the emperor is really stupid and actually sends those royal guards to arrest him here, then there is no other way but to break up!Even if he threatens his family, it will be useless!Anyway, his father has told him, so this is also based on his father's words.

Now that he was confident, Wu Sangui was also curious. The emperor had done such a big thing, so what did he say in his secret edict?
Thinking of this, he rushed to the governor's Yamen with a large group of guards.

Wu Sangui is a good person after all.Although it was only the end of February and the weather was still cold, he managed to break out into a sweat before entering the governor's office to see Jin Yiwei, as if he was really busy.

After Wu Sangui reported his family name, the leading Jin Yiwei ignored Wu Sangui's large group of personal guards and just gave Wu Sangui the secret decree and said to him: "If you have anything to report, give it to me today, and I will rush back early tomorrow morning. "

Li Yutian, who was accompanying Jin Yiwei, saw Wu Sangui's posture and was actually very worried, fearing that he would fall out on the spot.Therefore, he paid special attention to Wu Sangui.

What he didn't expect was that when Wu Sangui saw the secret decree, there were so many changes on Wu Sangui's face, which really opened his eyes: there seemed to be shock, fear, anger, etc.

This made Li Yutian curious, what did the emperor say in the secret order to Wu Sangui?
But one thing he was sure of was that Wu Sangui's expression definitely no longer showed anger.In other words, there should be no falling out.So, he felt a little relieved.

Sure enough, after reading it, Wu Sangui put away the secret edict and said respectfully to the current Jin Yiwei: "When the general returns home, he will write a memorial and ask the angel to forward it on his behalf."

This attitude was very good. After saying this, he seemed to be very concerned about the emperor's safety, so he asked again: "I wonder where your majesty is now. Is everything okay?"

Li Yutian was also very concerned about this issue and quickly listened.

The leading Jin Yiwei did not hesitate and immediately replied: "Your Majesty has led the army to rescue Ningwuguan, everything is fine!"

Hearing this, Wu Sangui seemed to be stunned for a while, a little surprised.

"Also, Your Majesty killed Wang Chengyun, the commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu, who wanted to surrender to the traitors, and Jiang Gu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, and killed the eight major Shanxi merchants who collaborated with the enemy and betrayed the country. The king of Datong donated all his family assets for military pay, and now he has been ordered to move to The capital has settled."

Needless to say, this was explained in advance. If Wu Sangui wanted to ask, he could tell the truth.

Therefore, seeing the people around him shocked, he told the story in detail.

When Wu Sangui heard the news, his shock and surprise became so obvious that he couldn't hide it at all.

Not only him, but also Li Yutian was very surprised.

Not only did I not expect that the current emperor would personally lead the army to conquer the rebel army, but he would also do so many things along the way!
On Wu Sangui's part, after he came to his senses, he became more respectful and said that he would go back home immediately and write a memorial and send it over, and then hurriedly left.

After returning to his mansion, he unfolded the secret decree and read it again, then put it away and locked it in a box.

His personal guards were very curious, but did not dare to ask.

Ningyuan Army deputy general Yang Kun and guerrilla general Guo Yunlong, who came after hearing the news, were Wu Sangui's confidants. As soon as they saw Wu Sangui, they asked about the situation.

They were worried that the arrival of Jin Yiwei would be detrimental to Wu Sangui.

For this reason, everyone was beating their chests and clamoring that it would be too late to turn against them.

However, what surprised them was that Wu Sangui ignored it at all and just remained silent. In the end, he even said to them: "I have decided to submit a petition to His Majesty to apologize!"

Hearing this, Yang Kun and others couldn't help but be shocked, and they were even more curious about what the emperor's secret decree said that actually made Wu Sangui make such a decision.

Wu Sangui knew that he would have to explain everything to his subordinates, so he spat out twelve words.

(End of this chapter)