Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 122

When Niu Jinxing heard this, he immediately took over the topic before Li Zicheng could speak and said: "Those guards are not doing a good job in protecting the city and are spreading rumors among the army. Why not let them be the vanguard of the army and enter Shandong to avoid the Ming Emperor?" Give them a chance to make up for their mistakes!"

After hearing this, Song Xiance couldn't help but nodded in approval, and echoed Niu Jinxing: "In addition, I will ask you to wait for the reliable army to break up and find a suitable place to ambush the Ming Emperor!"

The two of them, talking to each other, immediately showed a plan in front of Li Zicheng, making him nod repeatedly, obviously thinking that the plan was very good.

As for their previous secret agreement with Liu Zeqing from Shandong, no one mentioned it at all, and it seemed that it didn't exist.

Obviously, they didn't care about this agreement.

Finally, Li Zicheng made a decision. Based on the advice of Song Xiance and Niu Jinxing, he also asked Gao Guiying to lead Zhongjia Xiaoying back to the Shaanxi base camp to avoid dragging down the army again.

The reason why he wanted to bring this small camp with him before was because Li Zicheng felt that the prospects were very good, and it was possible to conquer the capital of the Ming Dynasty in one go and change the dynasty.

Now it seems that this idea is basically unrealistic, and there is no need to take that small camp with you.

After the plan was made, Li Zicheng asked Gao Guiying to lead the newly released primary school students southward that day, to Henan and then back to Shaanxi.Then he led the army to break camp the next day. Before leaving, he really looked at Zhending City for a long time, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

On the top of Zhending City, Emperor Chongzhen, who had already heard the news and rushed to the top of the city, was a little surprised.He couldn't understand why Li Zicheng left without even attacking the city once?

This should make no sense!
He came here angrily and launched a siege battle yesterday morning, but after he put the people back, he stopped fighting?

Regarding ancient wars, Emperor Chongzhen was naturally relatively modest. He immediately asked the experienced generals around him, what was going on?

However, this time even Zhou Yuji was confused and said uncertainly: "The general thought that this must be related to His Majesty's release of 3 people, but the general could not figure out what the connection was. ?If it is a lack of food, then we should attack the city to seize food and grass!"

Marco listened on the side and tried to ask: "Could it be that the bandits want to retreat in order to advance, to lure our army to pursue them, and then fight me in the wild?"

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen felt that this was a possibility, and then asked: "What else could it be?"

When He Zan heard his question, he also guessed: "It's impossible that those 3 people have eaten up the remaining food of the bandits, so they have to leave and go find something to eat, right?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Fang Zhenghua was inspired, and he immediately said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Long live my lord, I think this possibility is very high. Yesterday, the bandit army clearly wanted to attack by force, but as soon as 3 people were released, they changed their mind. The idea, it must be related to this. If they are released after being hungry for more than a day, they will definitely be able to eat. If the rebel army only has enough food for a day or two, it means they have nothing to eat. "

When Zhou Yuji heard this analysis, he shook his head and said: "The general saw that the bandits camped outside the city. They were orderly and without any panic. It didn't look like they were running out of food. The general thought that the bandits should at least have A few days’ worth of food.”

Basically, Emperor Chongzhen agreed with the possibilities they raised, and asked them: "Then how should our army respond?"

After hearing this, several generals still had the same opinion. They sent Ye Bushou out of the city to inquire about the news and confirm the movement of the rebel army before making a decision.

The emperor is here, and no general dares to lead the army to follow him immediately.

After Emperor Chongzhen watched Li Zicheng's army disappear outside the city, he adopted their advice and first sent Ye Bushou to inquire about the situation.Anyway, he captured the grain and supplies that Li Zicheng had looted, so there was no shortage of food at all.

But there was one thing that he was worried about.Defeating Li Zicheng's army was the main conflict before. He didn't want his men to be distracted, so he didn't say anything.

At this time, Li Zicheng's army retreated on his own, and he felt that it was necessary to prepare for a rainy day.

So, after he returned to the Yamen, he said to Fang Zhenghua: "Daban will leave tomorrow and go to Shanhaiguan to take charge. We must not let Liaodong Jianlu enter the customs at this time."

Because he remembered that in the original history, the Manchu Qing Dynasty had already integrated the power of a country before Wu Sangui sent people out to ask for help, and wanted to get a piece of the pie.

History has changed a lot, but the impact on Liaodong should still be relatively small.At most, Fan Yongdou fled to Liaodong and brought some news, or other news reached Liaodong. The Manchu and Qing Dynasties integrated the power of a country and wanted to enter the country. It was a big deal, and it was unlikely that the decision would be changed just because of a little bit of news. .

To use a pretentious saying, the wheel of history is rolling forward and is not easy to shake.

Fang Zhenghua was shocked when he heard this, and quickly replied: "Long live my Lord, I have to protect you by my side. I'm really worried about the others!"

If Zhou Yuji's requirements for the emperor's personal guards are followed, then the emperor's personal guards are obviously still unqualified. Although Zhou Yuji's personal guards are training, the time is too short, and the tacit understanding between the personal guards and the general cannot be established in such a short time. can be cultivated.

After all, Fang Zhenghua had a high level of force. When he was around the emperor, he felt more at ease than others.

Therefore, Zhou Yuji and others heard this and agreed, thinking that it would be better for Fang Zhenghua to accompany the emperor.

Hearing what they all said, Emperor Chongzhen himself was actually afraid of death, and having Fang Zhenghua by his side gave him some extra insurance.Even if we take a step back, in the previous Zhending siege battle, with Fang Zhenghua present, the first one to throw him on top of the city would be able to stand firm more easily, thus opening up a gap in the city defense.

Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen changed his mind and said: "In this case, the decree is drawn up and Wang Chengen is sent to Shanhaiguan to take charge. I am not worried about the others."

Wang Chengen is now the eunuch in charge of the ceremonial department and the admiral of the East Factory. It is actually inappropriate for him to leave the capital.

But the emperor has also said that if others are worried, there is nothing they can do.

After Zhou Yuji thought about Emperor Chongzhen's words, he asked with some surprise and a stern expression: "Your Majesty, according to Emperor Taizu's instructions, will there be any changes in Jianlu?"

When the other generals heard this, their expressions suddenly became serious.

In the distance, there are several armies mobilized during the Battle of Saerhu, all of which are famous generals and strong armies, as well as the remnants of the Baigan Army and the Qi Family Army. Nearby, there are Lu Xiangsheng's Tianxiong Army and various branches of the imperial court led by Hong Chengchou. Elite and so on.

It is undeniable that Jianlu's combat power is very strong. The powerful army of the imperial court is basically lost in the hands of Jianlu. After so many years of fighting, Jianlu is basically the winner.

Li Zicheng's army has not yet been defeated, and if the Liaodong Jianlu came to join in the fun again, the pressure on the imperial court, or simply the army led by the emperor, would be very great.Because so far, only this army can fight.

When Emperor Chongzhen saw them all looking at him, he immediately understood their worries and said, "It was not Emperor Taizu's suggestion, but my own guess. Jianlu has always wanted to covet the Ming Dynasty. Now that there is such chaos in the pass, To prevent it from adding insult to injury, just treat it as if the Jianlu were about to attack the pass and take precautions!"

The reason why he no longer said that it was Emperor Taizu who made the point, he mainly had two considerations.

The first one is, as mentioned before, this matter is not very certain. It is also possible that without Wu Sangui’s borrowing troops, Jianlu would not have entered the pass at this time. In this case, once Emperor Taizu’s advice did not work, , is not a good way to impersonate.Emperor Chongzhen guessed it himself, and if it was inaccurate, nothing would happen.

The second reason is actually simple. Emperor Chongzhen cannot always rely on Emperor Taizu to make suggestions. For some matters that are not related to the ancestral system, he must slowly transfer it to Emperor Chongzhen himself.Otherwise, this would not mean that Emperor Chongzhen was wise and mighty, but that Emperor Taizu was wise and mighty. This would not be good for Emperor Chongzhen in establishing his prestige.

Only some things about ancestral system, under the guise of the name of Emperor Taizu, can occupy the carelessness and leave others speechless.

No, Zhou Yuji and others were obviously relieved when they heard that it was not Emperor Taizu who made the point.

However, Emperor Chongzhen told Fang Zhenghua, who was drafting the decree: "The senior companion will treat Jianlu Zhenhui as he enters the pass to draft the decree. After Wang Chengen arrives at Shanhaiguan, he must not relax in any way and must guard and defend to the death!"

At this point, he thought for a moment, and then said: "In addition, I will report the victory to the capital and tell the story of our battle. I turned around and defeated the army of Li thieves, and then returned home in triumph."

"My slave obeys the order!" After hearing this, Fang Zhenghua immediately agreed and started drafting the order.

After feeling that there was no problem, Emperor Chongzhen sent the seal to the capital.In the following days, Ye Bushou went out in large numbers to search for traces of Li's army. Soon they got the news and reported to the imperial court.

In the lobby of the Yamen, the general in charge of sentinel inspection was Jin Zhensun, the general of Biaoying who was directly under the imperial command. He reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, the army of Li thieves has invaded Dongchang Mansion in Shandong and did not stop along the way. Towns along the way, If you can fight, fight. If you can't fight, the bandit army will bypass it and go all the way south. News is spreading on the road that Li's bandit army is going to attack Yanzhou Prefecture."

Dongchang Prefecture is on the border with Zhending Prefecture, which is okay. To the east of Dongchang Prefecture is Jinan Prefecture, the provincial capital; to the west is Daming Prefecture, which belongs to Beizhili, and to the south is Yanzhou Prefecture.

The movement of the rebel army is obviously abnormal. Instead of attacking Jinan Prefecture, they are going to attack Yanzhou Prefecture. What is this?

Emperor Chongzhen was a little confused and asked: "What is the situation in Shandong now?"

After hearing this, Jin Zhensun also told the information he collected: "Liu Zeqing rebelled and caused chaos in Jinan Prefecture. Other prefectures are okay."

After hearing this, Zhou Yuji went out to report to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, there is King Lu in Yanzhou Prefecture and Duke Yan of Qufu. Can our army enter Shandong?"

The vassal king granted to Yanzhou was King Lu, the tenth son of Zhu Yuanzhang.However, in the 15th year of Chongzhen, the Manchu army attacked Yanzhou Prefecture. The then King of Lu, Zhu Yipai, hanged himself and died. His eldest son and younger brothers Zhu Yihui and Zhu Yijiang were also martyred.

His younger brother Zhu Yihai took over as King of Lu just over a month ago, before Chongzhen crossed over.If historical development is followed, this Zhu Yihai would also supervise the country in eastern Zhejiang, and fight for the legitimacy of the throne with Zhu Yujian, the Tang king who proclaimed himself emperor in Fujian. The Tang-Lu war broke out, which consumed Nanming's own strength.

As for Qufu Yanshenggong, it goes without saying that he was valued by emperors in all dynasties and held high esteem, and he had great influence among scholars, that is, civil servants.

At least in the eyes of Zhou Yuji and others, rescuing King Lu and Duke Yan was very necessary for Emperor Chongzhen.

However, they were obviously wrong.

If these two people from Shandong were really important to Emperor Chongzhen, he would not have declared Liu Zeqing's crimes and forced him to rebel directly.

Since Emperor Chongzhen wanted to see Liu Zeqing rebel, what about having one more Li Zicheng?
No, Emperor Chongzhen thought for a while, and then asked the generals in the hall: "Did Li's army really go to Shandong? Isn't it just a false shot, and its intention is still to carry out the food, grass and baggage of Zhen Ding?"

Hearing this, Zhou Yuji and others looked at each other, really unsure.

Therefore, Jin Zhensun continued to send Ye Bushou to investigate the news.

Two days later, he quickly reported back, saying that Li Zicheng's army had entered Yanzhou Mansion and was far away from Zhending.

This can confirm that Li's army of thieves cannot be a false shot!

As a result, Zhou Yuji and other generals asked for battle one after another. Especially Ning Long and others who had not made many achievements before wanted to be the vanguard.

However, Emperor Chongzhen still did not agree. Instead, he frowned and said, "How about Guguan? Can we win it?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned. The emperor's intention was not to save Shandong, but to attack Guguan and seize Taiyuan?

Seeing them like this, Emperor Chongzhen showed a sad look and said: "Li thieves committed evil and emptied the food and grass in Taiyuan and other places, causing the people of Jin to fall into famine. If I don't know, let alone say it, since I know it, every day I am thinking about the people of Jin every day. Now that I have food in my hands, how can I abandon the people of Jin? There are defenders all over Shandong. As long as we work together, how can the bandit army easily succeed? We should clearly understand our priorities, right?"

Having said this, he immediately said to Jin Zhensun: "Immediately send Ye BuZhou to inquire about the situation of the people in Guguan and Jin!"

"General, I will obey the order!" Jin Zhensun quickly agreed upon hearing this.

The generals in the hall were moved when they heard the emperor's words and felt the emperor's benevolence and compassion, and stopped trying to persuade the emperor.

Naturally, they didn't know that the original emperor might have paid more attention to King Lu and Duke Yansheng, but of course the current Emperor Chongzhen paid more attention to the common people.

In addition, the more important reason is that Li Zicheng has already ruined his reputation in Taiyuan and other places. If Emperor Chongzhen can lead his troops to take it back, he can get twice the result with half the effort.His reputation will further spread throughout the world.

Moreover, Jin is actually a province that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It has many mountains and rivers and many checkpoints. As long as it is managed well, it will be easier to conquer the world again with Jin as the foundation in the future!
On the contrary, if we go to Shandong, even if we defeat Li Zicheng's army, it will not be easy to hold it.It is simply not cost-effective to waste troops and food and gain a place for four battles.As for King Lu and Duke Yansheng, what does it have to do with him?He even had plans to clean up the Kong family, otherwise he wouldn't have forced Liu Zeqing to rebel.

As far as Emperor Chongzhen's current situation is concerned, what he needs most is a base.That is to say, after running one place, you can clean up other places.Otherwise, if you keep going back and forth, you will only be exhausted and eventually be dragged down.

However, he couldn't tell others this reason, he could only know it himself.

………………

Li Zicheng wanted to achieve his goal, so he naturally attacked quickly and advanced slowly.In other words, it was to let people know that he had gone to Yanzhou Mansion.However, when approaching Yanzhou, he slowed down, so that the army could rest and recover, and the Yanzhou government could ask for help from everywhere.

For example, ask for help from the Ming Emperor, ask for help from the capital, etc. Only in this way can the Ming Emperor's army be mobilized and then act according to the situation.

At the beginning, things developed exactly as Li Zicheng had imagined.Urgent reports from Yanzhou Prefecture flew out like snowflakes.Li Zicheng even deliberately let his guard down, asking his sentry to pretend not to see the messenger when they encountered him.

As a result, Zhending began to receive urgent documents. Even Baoding Mansion also received the news and sent people to Zhending for instructions.

The capital also received urgent reports and knew that the emperor was leading the army in Zhending, so they all sent memorials to Prince Zhu Cihong.

Regarding this matter, Zhu Cixiang did not get an explanation from his father, and because he was taught a lot by Confucianism, respected his teachers, and also valued the land of Qufu in Shandong, he sent people to transfer all the memorials from those ministers to Zhending and let him Father makes the decision himself.

By the time Ye Busuo returned from Guguan to report the news, a thick stack of memorials had already fallen on Emperor Chongzhen's desk.

However, these memorials are gathering dust.After Emperor Chongzhen knew what these memorials were, he didn't touch them at all.

At this time, he was more concerned about the situation in Jin.

I heard Jin Zhensun report: "Your Majesty, Guguan is still in the hands of the bandits. Some brave men risked crossing Guguan at night and saw that the Jin side of Guguan was already full of people fleeing the disaster. There were so many people. If the Guanliu thieves do not open or close the gate, the victims of the Jin Dynasty will be trapped to the west of Guguan. People starve to death every day, and although the vegetation has revived, there is no green at all."

After a pause, he continued to report: "The Guguan bandits must have more than [-] troops. The leader of the bandits is Guo Tianxing Zhang Tianlin, who was captured during the Battle of Daizhou."

After hearing the report, Emperor Chongzhen immediately said heartbrokenly: "The people of Jin have suffered a great disaster caused by this man-made man. They are starving and dying everywhere. I am extremely anxious. How can I bear it!"

Having said this, he immediately turned serious and shouted: "Where is He Zhen?"

When He Zhen heard this, he quickly came out and said: "The general is here!"

Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and said sternly: "You lead two thousand cavalry and three thousand infantry to guard the truth."

"The general obeys the order!" He Zhen was a little reluctant after hearing this, but had no choice but to reply loudly.

Emperor Chongzhen then named Zhou Yuji again. Looking at Zhou Yuji who was waiting with his fists clasped, he said loudly: "You lead the troops, clear the way for the army, send troops to secure the pass, and open the way to the Jin Dynasty!"

(End of this chapter)