Starting in Saarhu, it is a bit difficult to make a comeback.

Chapter 214 Still a turtle in a urn (please subscribe for monthly tickets)

Although Chongzhen was lucky enough to achieve a great victory in Taiyuan, the nine-border towns of Xuanfu and Datong had already fallen into the hands of Li Xianzhong.

Naturally, he did not dare to stay in Taiyuan City any longer.

Otherwise, Liaodong's cavalry may go south at any time.

Originally they had 28000 cavalry, and Yang Sichang and the others could use these cavalry to move south quickly.

Although they have defeated Li Zicheng now, their own casualties are not small.

In particular, Liang Tingdong has very few Xuanda cavalry left, and now there are only more than 10,000 cavalry left in total.

Chongzhen would never dare to go south with just 10,000 cavalry.

In the end, Chongzhen decided to go south with 5 soldiers and horses in the Taiyuan area.

At this time, they didn't have much money and food in their hands, so they had to go south with the gentry from Taiyuan. After all, these people are the core force currently supporting Chongzhen.

Previously, King Dai stayed in Datong, but he changed hands and joined Zhu Yousong.

So this time Chongzhen also made an exception and allowed Jin King Zhu Qiugui to go south with him.

In this way, he could legitimately use the money and food from the Jin Palace.

They had already had the experience of escaping from the capital. This time Yang Sichang and Wen Tiren also made requirements for the gentry who followed them south. They were not allowed to carry useless things, and they were required to bring their own food for their servants and their own carriages and horses.

The meaning is very clear. If you can keep up, you can follow. If you can't, no one will care about you.

With these people behind, the pursuers can be slowed down.

Going south from Taiyuan City, the first four counties controlled by Shanxi merchants were Taigu, Qixian, Pingyao and Jiexiu.

Since the Wang Er uprising in northern Shaanxi in the first year of Chongzhen, there have been continuous peasant uprisings in recent years.

The reason why Shanxi merchants were able to keep out all kinds of bandits was that they naturally relied on Fan Yongdou and others to provide supplies to the bandits. The bandits did not want to lose this trading channel.

Otherwise, how could the calligraphy, painting, and jewelry they snatched become the weapons and food they desperately needed?

But more importantly, the Shanxi merchants' team training is very strong.

Not only are they equipped with armor and fire guns, but they are also well-fed.

In addition, these people have the plot to defend the countryside and have a very firm will to fight. If they attack these counties, the thieves will not be able to take advantage at all!

Nowadays, these counties are actually independent. They neither rely on Li Zicheng's Dashun nor Chongzhen!

Historically, these Shanxi merchants made their fortune through smuggling with Tong Houjin.

After Li Xianzhong rose in Liaodong, the Shanxi Merchant Group headed by Fan Yongdou actually sold the stolen goods within the customs on behalf of Li Xianzhong.

First, they secretly sold armaments or other commodities produced in Liaodong to various places in the pass, and then traded with bandits.

Shanxi merchants admired Li Xianzhong's Liaodong Bank very much. If Liaodong Bank could set up branches throughout the Ming Dynasty, the efficiency of doing business would be greatly improved, while risks and costs would be greatly reduced.

And now that thieves are everywhere, it is really not safe to keep money in your cellar.

Not only is it safe to place it in Liaodong Bank, but it also earns 5% interest every year.

Shanxi merchants headed by Fan Yongdou currently have a deposit of 1500 million taels of silver in Liaodong Bank.

It was obvious that they had completely succumbed to the Hongguang regime.

Although in the field of overseas trade, Shanxi merchants were not as good as merchants from Liaodong and Jiangnan due to geographical disadvantages.

In the salt affairs of Huaihe and Huaihe Rivers, they were once again overwhelmed by the newly rising Huizhou merchants.

However, they still monopolized most of the trade with the Olat Mongols.

They bet on Li Xianzhong because Li Xianzhong promised them that in the future the imperial court would reoccupy the Western Regions and open up the Silk Road.

And their Shanxi merchants will serve as an important force for the imperial court to control the Western Regions.

The huge business opportunities in this are self-evident.

This is also the reason why they support Li Xianzhong. These Shanxi businessmen have all gone to Liaodong for field inspections. The business environment in Liaodong can be said to be the best in the entire Ming Dynasty.

Although the tariffs are not low, the officials are very efficient.

You don’t need to spend any effort to open up other joints. All taxes only need to be paid once.

This actually greatly improved the trade efficiency of merchants.

Moreover, the traditional concept of "scholars, farmers, industry and commerce" in Liaodong is very weak.

In addition to fixed monthly salaries, officials also receive bonuses linked to local taxes.

Therefore, merchants had a high status in the hearts of Liaodong officials and people. Not only were they not discriminated against, they were also valued by local officials.

In some remote places in Liaodong, the government even provides some tax reduction policies in order to attract businessmen!

Shanxi merchants certainly supported Li Xianzhong.

When Chongzhen passed through the border, these Shanxi merchants only provided him with 5 shi of food, but refused to let them enter the city!

Emperor Chongzhen was furious when he learned about it and said: "I give you two hours to capture Qixian County and let these Shanxi merchants know who is the real emperor of the Ming Dynasty!"

Yang Sichang and Yuan Chonghuan looked at each other helplessly, and finally Yang Sichang said: "Your Majesty, I have come to report from the expedition. The Liaodong Army Ancestor Dashou Division has moved south from Datong."

"The vanguard led by Wu Sangui has occupied Dingxiang and Xinzhou, and is approaching Shiling Pass. It is very close to Taiyuan City. At this time, we have to travel all night, and it is really not appropriate to make any extra trouble!"

Wen Tiren also said: "It is an unpardonable crime for these Shanxi merchants to despise the imperial power. As long as we return to Jiangnan, we will have plenty of opportunities to deal with them!"

Finally, under the persuasion of his ministers, Chongzhen had to march overnight.

Fortunately, after the defeat in Taiyuan, the main force of Li Zicheng's Dashun Army had withdrawn to Henan, and there were not many troops left in Shanxi.

Liang Tingdong, Yuan Chonghuan and others divided their forces to capture Qinzhou, Luzhou, Zezhou and other places, opening up the passage to the south.

At this time, news came that Cao Wenzhao led his army to support Kaifeng and defeated Liu Zongmin outside Kaifeng city.

This means that after crossing the Yellow River, they can go directly south from Kaifeng, and the road ahead is bright.

Just when Liang Tingdong was preparing to capture Yanjin, the ferry crossing the Yellow River from the south, he discovered that Hong Chengchou of Daming Prefecture had taken action.

The Yulin Battalion led by Hong Chengchou had occupied Weihui Mansion one step ahead of them and controlled the Yanjin ferry crossing.

The news that Hong Chengchou occupied Weihui and stationed in Henan not only frightened Chongzhen and others, but also made Li Zicheng restless!

Li Xianzhong's Liaodong Army had never had a conflict with his Dashun Army before. Now Hong Chengchou suddenly took over his Wei Hui Mansion. Is this the rhythm of Li Xianzhong's entry into Henan?

After Li Zicheng's Dashun Army suffered two major defeats in Taiyuan and Kaifeng, their current morale is very low.

He himself also wants to change the current predicament through a victory.

But the appearance of Hong Chengchou in Henan made the future war full of variables. After all, Li Xianzhong had never fought against the Dashun Army before.

Li Zicheng even felt that Li Xianzhong still wanted to support him.

Fan Yongdou made it very clear at the beginning that the source of his weapons was Liaodong. Without Li Xianzhong's nod, he would not have been able to obtain these weapons and equipment.

There are rumors that the pirate Zheng Zhilong invaded and occupied the Denglai area, and the mastermind behind it was Li Xianzhong.

The time when Zheng Zhilong appeared was critical. After the rebel army was defeated in Chuzhou, it was when the army was besieged in the Dabie Mountains and was almost unable to hold out.

It can even be said that Li Xianzhong deliberately supported the growth of the rebel army.

Could it be that he was preparing to fall out with him?

Song Xiance said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry too much. In my opinion, the reason why Hong Chengchou occupied Weihui was to intercept Chongzhen!"

"Zu Dashou had already captured Xuanda, but he still refused to send troops to Taiyuan. It is obvious that Li Xianzhong wanted to use our help to get rid of Chongzhen!"

At this time, Li Yan also said: "What the military advisor of the Song Dynasty said is true. It will be difficult for them to handle Chongzhen if it falls into the hands of Li Xianzhong and Zhu Yousong. If Chongzhen is killed, the Ming royal family will fight with each other, which will definitely leave people with a reason to talk about it. It's cold. The hearts of some of the world’s most important people.”

"If you don't kill him, confining him will cause future troubles. After all, Zhu Qizhen's 'gate-stealing coup' is a good example!"

"Even if Chongzhen died in the rebellion, people all over the world would guess that Zhu Yousong or Li Xianzhong secretly ordered people to kill Chongzhen. They can't argue."

"In my opinion, Li Xianzhong's move has two purposes. One is to prevent Chongzhen from going south, and the other is to remind us to intercept Chongzhen."

"If Li Xianzhong really wanted to seize the territory in Henan, he could have done it when the main force of our army moved north to Shanxi, so why wait until today?"

Li Zicheng said: "What a cunning Li Xianzhong, it seems that we can only be used as a weapon by him?"

Song Xiance said: "In fact, for us, there are many benefits to capturing Chongzhen. If Chongzhen knows his appearance, we can 'hijack the emperor to order the princes'; if he does not know his situation, after killing Chongzhen, the Ming army in the south will It will definitely be chaotic, which will help us quickly seize territory in the south."

"For the time being, we don't have the strength to fall out with Li Xianzhong, so we can only seize Chongzhen's territory as soon as possible!" Li Zicheng was able to stand out among the heroes in the late Ming Dynasty, which was naturally quite far-sighted.

He understood that if Chongzhen returned to Jiangnan, life in Dashun would be even more difficult.

He sent his nephews Li Guo and Li Yan to lead 5 troops to Huaiqing Mansion to prevent Chongzhen from crossing the Yellow River south.

Now Yang Sichang and Yuan Chonghuan were in trouble.

Hong Chengchou and Li Guo occupied Wei Hui and Huaiqing and blocked them at the line of the Yellow River.

Although Hong Chengchou had few soldiers, the 30,000 Yulin battalion under his command was an elite division. In the end, they chose Li Guo's Dashun army.

After all, they had just defeated the Dashun Army not long ago, so they still had a considerable psychological advantage.

Following Yuan Chonghuan's order, a large number of Ming troops holding shields pushed ladders and charged towards Huaiqing City.

The artillery on the city also continued to sound, and the Huaiqing officially kicked off!

Looking at the densely packed Ming army under the city, Li Guo said: "Chongzhen, this dog emperor, is really willing to spend money. It's obviously just a feint attack, but he actually has the momentum of tens of thousands of troops to attack the city!"

Li Yan said with a smile: "What they did is just to let us concentrate our forces to defend Huaiqing Fucheng so that they can seize the ferry going south."

"I had expected Chongzhen's move. There is not even a small sampan to be found on the north bank of the Yellow River in the entire Huaiqing Mansion. Chongzhen wants to get there unless he can fly across the Yellow River."

"The Ming army is in a hurry to go south and cannot bring Hongyi artillery. They can't attack Huaiqing City. As long as we hold on for a few days, when the morale of the Ming army is low and Shi Lao is under the city, that's the day we go out of the city and defeat them. "

At this time, the cavalry led by Liang Tingdong made great progress and successfully captured Wuzhi on the edge of the Yellow River.

Chongzhen and others could even see the rushing Yellow River in the distance.

Yang Sichang said excitedly: "Congratulations, Your Majesty, we finally arrived at the Yellow River smoothly. As long as we cross the river, we will be safe!"

This was the first time Chongzhen saw the Yellow River. At this time, he changed his previous gloom and looked at the river excitedly.

But soon they discovered a problem, why didn't they even see a small boat crossing the river?

At this time, Wang Pu said: "Your Majesty, we have searched for dozens of miles around, and we haven't found even a ferry!"

"According to local people, the intruders gathered all the ships on the south bank of the Yellow River a few days ago, and invited all nearby shipbuilding craftsmen to the south bank of the Yellow River!"

"The intruders also practice the method of sitting together. If any village provides ferries for the army or helps build ships, once they are discovered, the whole village will be massacred!"

"So at this time, all the craftsmen and boatmen have gathered on the other side. The general has sent people to the Weihui Mansion farther away to search. I believe that the ferry or shipbuilding craftsmen will be found."

Although Wang Pu said this, everyone knew in their hearts that with Hong Chengchou's cruelty, it was even more impossible to leave them ferries and craftsmen who could build ships.

Even though they were able to build some small boats themselves, the ferry in Zhengzhou on the south bank of the Yellow River was still controlled by the Dashun Army.

They want to break through the Yellow River with a few small boats, which is nothing more than a fantasy!

Just when their monarchs and ministers were in despair, they saw a large number of ships rowing towards them on the other side.

Could it be that the intruders from the south bank came for reinforcements?

Frightened, Yang Sichang quickly ordered the gunmen to set up defenses on the river bank to prevent the enemy from landing.

I never expected that it would be the Ming Army who came.

Soon a young Ming army general came to Chongzhen and said: "Qingzhou guerrilla Cao Bianjiao came specially to welcome your majesty across the river under the orders of Cao Wen, the commander-in-chief of the aid and suppression campaign."

Chongzhen said excitedly: "Where is Mr. Cao now?"

Cao Bianjiao said: "My uncle learned that the intruders wanted to prevent your Majesty from crossing the river. He led his army to capture Zhongmou overnight. Now he is blocking the enemy troops on the front line in Zhengzhou. Please don't hesitate and cross the river quickly."

After arriving at the ferry, Chongzhen was about to cross the river, but was stopped by Yang Sichang on the side. He said: "Your Majesty, the enemy situation on the other side is unknown. I am willing to lead the army across the river first to explore the way for Your Majesty!"

Chongzhen was also greatly moved at this time. He grabbed Yang Sichang's hand and said, "Yang Qing, you must take care of yourself!"

Most of the ferries captured by Cao Bianjiao were small boats, which could only transport more than a thousand people across the river at a time.

After three thousand Ming troops successfully crossed the river, Chongzhen finally reached the other side under the escort of Wang Chengen and others.

At this time, the horses had been prepared, and Chongzhen did not hesitate and rushed all the way to Kaifeng under the escort of Cao Bianjiao and others.

After Li Zicheng heard that Cao Wenzhao had raided Zhongmou, he knew something bad was going to happen.

Quickly gather the army and head to Zhongmou.

However, Luoyang is 350 miles away from Zhongmou, and even a galloping cavalry trip would take more than two days.

By the time he arrived at Zhongmou, it was already four days later.

Chongzhen had already reached Kaifeng City.

Of the 5 Ming troops on the north bank of the Yellow River, 3 have successfully crossed the Yellow River.

The 2 men and horses behind the palace were tightly entangled by Li Guo's troops and were unable to cross the river!

Fortunately, Yuan Chonghuan and others crossed the Yellow River.

Cao Wenzhao was once dismissed from his post by Chongzhen and was never hired.

Thanks to Yuan Chonghuan’s recommendation, I was able to recover!

This time, Cao Wenzhao first relieved the siege of Kaifeng and then saved the enemy.

Chongzhen granted him the title of Prince Shaobao, Commander-in-Chief of Henan Province, and Commander-in-Chief of the Left Command of the Chinese Army.

His nephew Cao Bianjiao was also promoted to deputy general.

Although Yuan Chonghuan's 20,000 direct descendants were abandoned in Huaiqing Mansion, Cao Wenzhao returned to his hands. Currently, he still has a great say in front of Chongzhen.

This also aroused the jealousy of Yang Sichang and Wen Tiren.

The two of them had already reached a political alliance with Wang Chengen before.

After the three of them arrived in Nanjing, they wanted to control the government and suppress Nanjing officials.

Now the rise of Yuan Chonghuan has broken this situation.

In particular, it had the greatest influence on Yang Sichang, the Minister of War.

So Yang Sichang said: "Kaifeng is extremely important to our Ming Dynasty, and we must not give up easily. If Kaifeng is lost, the Yellow River defense line will completely collapse, and we will have no choice but to retreat to the Yangtze River!"

Wen Tiren also took the opportunity to say: "What Yang Benbing said is absolutely true. I recommend Yuan Chonghuan, the loyal uncle, to be the governor of the five provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong and Zhili. He will control the officers and troops of the provinces in the Central Plains to stabilize the situation in the north."

Yang Sichang quickly said: "I second my opinion, only Governor Yuan can turn the tide and stabilize the situation!"

Yuan Chonghuan began to curse in his heart. Yang Sichang had already abandoned him once in Fangshan, and then wanted to leave him on the north bank of the Yellow River in Huaiqing. Now he wanted to stay in Kaifeng to serve as their queen.

It's really too much!

This governor of the five provinces of the Central Plains sounds like he has quite a reputation.

In fact, these territories had long been occupied by Li Zicheng and Li Xianzhong. They were said to be five provinces, but the Ming Dynasty actually controlled only parts of Henan and Shandong.

However, it turned out that Yuan Chonghuan was still optimistic. At this time, news came that Li Xianzhong had conquered Yanzhou, and that King Lu and the Kong family in Qufu publicly supported the Hongguang court.

This also means that Shandong has also fallen.

At present, Chongzhen can only control some areas around Kaifeng and Guide Mansion.

The so-called governors of five provinces can control less than two prefectures.

In particular, the betrayal of the Kong family caused another blow to Chongzhen's legitimacy.

Originally, Chongzhen was still hesitant. After all, the title of governor of the five provinces was too empty.

But now he has no time, because the south of Kaifeng and the Runing Mansion south of Kaifeng have long been controlled by Li Zicheng, and Fengyang Mansion, which borders Guide Mansion, is his only escape route.

If Li Xianzhong goes south to capture Fengyang at this time, Chongzhen will once again become the turtle in the urn.

Chongzhen finally appointed Yuan Chonghuan as the governor of seven provinces, and also placed Huguang and Sichuan under his jurisdiction.

However, Governor Yuan was still left in Kaifeng and was responsible for stopping Li Zicheng.

And he took Yang Sichang and others to escape to Guide Mansion overnight.

However, as soon as they reached Suizhou to the west of Guide, they heard that Li Xianzhong had marched westward from Yanzhou and occupied Shangqiu, the capital city of Guide, and Luyi to the south.

This means that Chongzhen is now surrounded again.

The city of Suizhou was small, so they decisively fled back to Kaifeng.

Fortunately, they escaped in time, because just two hours later, Li Zicheng's 15 troops surrounded Kaifeng again!

Thank you to all book friends for your support with monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and follow-up subscriptions!

　Thanks to book friends "ehe", "A smile is worth a thousand dollars", "zippoboy", "xxff", "2023081831_bA", "Even though that's me", "Zuoyou laughs", "Poetry style", "A little bit of cold light" Monthly ticket support!

　　

　

(End of this chapter)