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

Chapter 217 Chongzhen hangs himself on Bagong Mountain (please subscribe for monthly tickets)

Bagong Mountain in the north of Shouzhou is a famous historical and cultural mountain with steep mountains, overlapping peaks and beautiful scenery!

The cemetery of Huainan King Liu An is here, and it also witnessed the birth of Tofu and "Huainanzi"!

It is rumored that Huainan King Liu An and Bagong buried gold here. There is also the cemetery of Lian Po, a famous Warring States general, at the southwest foot of Bagong Mountain.

But Chongzhen was not in the mood to look at these beautiful scenery at the moment.

Although Cao Wenzhao tried his best to hold back Zuo Liangyu's army, Liaodong's cavalry quickly blocked their southward retreat to Shouzhou with the speed of their horses.

After a bitter battle, Yang Sichang, Cao Bianjiao and others finally gathered more than 3,000 remaining soldiers and retreated to Bai'e Mountain, the main peak of Bagong Mountain.

Although the dangerous terrain temporarily stopped the enemy, they did not carry much dry food with them, and most of it was left on the horses.

Even if they only eat one meal a day, they will run out of food after five days!

Fortunately, there are many springs and streams on the mountain, so the water source is not cut off.

If you collect some wild vegetable leaves, you can hold on for a while longer.

Yang Sichang said: "Your Majesty, please rest assured. I have sent many envoys to break out and ask for help. Now that we have arrived in Fengyang, reinforcements from Luzhou will arrive in two days at most, and troops from Yangzhou and Nanjing will arrive within ten days." arrive."

Although there is a small road in Bagong Mountain that can lead to other places, the Liaodong Army has many cavalry. Even if Chongzhen can stand out, he will soon be overtaken by the enemy's cavalry. He does not dare to take this risk.

At this time, we can only stay on the mountain and wait for reinforcements.

Zuo Liangyu originally went south from Fengyang to attack Shouzhou, but unexpectedly he collided with Chongzhen's troops.

It was learned from the prisoners that Chongzhen and others were in the team.

This is really hard to find, and it takes no effort at all.

However, he only had more than 10,000 troops around him, and the fierce battle with Cao Wenzhao also resulted in more than 2,000 casualties.

In order to prevent Chongzhen and others from fleeing into Shouzhou, Zuo Liangyu sent Li Guoying to lead 2000 people to occupy Shouzhou first, while he personally led 6000 people to block the passage down the mountain.

If it was a great achievement to capture Chongzhen, even being awarded a title would not be impossible.

So he mobilized surrounding troops to come to Shouzhou and reported the victory to Li Xianzhong.

Li Xianzhong had previously received news of Chongzhen's breakthrough from Kaifeng, so he urgently ordered Zuo Liangyu and Mao Wenlong to go south.

Although he was unwilling to kill Chongzhen personally, he could not let the tiger go back to the mountain at this moment.

This Chongzhen was really lucky, and he survived from desperate situations again and again, allowing him to run all the way from Taiyuan to Shouzhou.

But this time he hit his hand and he definitely couldn't let him run away again!

In addition to the original 2 people under Zuo Liangyu's command, he also ordered Zhang Zhiji to lead cavalry south to Shouzhou.

Zhang Zhiji said in confusion: "According to Zuo Liangyu's report, he has defeated Cao Wenzhao's main force, and Chongzhen only has three thousand troops at most."

"Zuo Liangyu's 2 troops are enough to cope with it, so why should General Mo go with 2 troops?"

Li Xianzhong said with a smile: "Chongzhen has a tough life, and I am afraid that he will run away again!"

Zhang Zhiji naturally didn't believe this. He knew that Li Xianzhong actually didn't want Chongzhen to fall into his hands.

If he really wants to kill Chongzhen, Chongzhen will have no chance to escape from the capital.

He guessed that Li Xianzhong must have wanted Zuo Liangyu to kill Chongzhen by himself, so as to avoid having such dirty water spilled on him.

But if the relationship was to be cleared, then why did the prince let himself go through this muddy water?

Looking at Zhang Zhiji who looked confused, Li Xianzhong stopped joking with him.

He asked someone to take out a picture of "Chickens and Dogs Ascending to Heaven", and then said: "Bagong Mountain is a good place. Legend has it that it was the place where Liu An, the king of Huainan, gained his way to immortality."

"The allusion about a man who achieved enlightenment, a chicken and a dog ascending to heaven, comes from here."

"Bring this painting to Zuo Liangyu and tell him what I just said."

Liu An, the king of Huainan, was originally suspected of rebellion and died in the West. How could this mean that he had achieved enlightenment and ascended to heaven?

Li Xianzhong's intention was very clear, that is, he wanted Chongzhen to "achieve enlightenment and ascend to heaven" at Bagong Mountain!

Zuo Liangyu is a big boss, so it seems that he needs to be given some guidance by himself.

Zhang Zhiji took the "Picture of Chickens and Dogs Ascending to Heaven" and said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, the general will definitely take your words to heart!"

Li Xianzhong said: "Chongzhen will not sit still and wait for death. Nanzhili will definitely send reinforcements. I asked you to bring 20,000 people to destroy the reinforcements. Don't join forces at Bagong Mountain!"

Zhang Zhiji said loudly: "The last general takes orders!"

At this time, the city of Nanjing was in a state of turmoil.

After Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty moved the capital to Beijing, he still retained Nanjing's status as the capital and a set of central institutions for various reasons.

Like the capital, Nanjing has six ministries, the Metropolitan Inspectorate, the General Administration Department, the Fifth Military Governor's Office, the Hanlin Academy, the Imperial College and other institutions, and the levels of officials are also the same as the capital.

The prefecture where Beijing is located is Shuntian Prefecture, and the prefecture where Nanjing is located is Yingtian Prefecture, collectively known as the two Beijing Prefectures.

However, the various agencies in Nanjing have fewer staff, and their jurisdiction is limited to Nanzhili.

The "two capital system" implemented by the Ming Dynasty actually prevented the current situation. If the capital fell, the Ming emperor could immediately use Nanjing as the capital.

All state institutions can be put into use immediately, and Ming Dynasty can use Jiangnan's manpower and material resources to make a quick comeback!

Nanjing has served as a backup capital for more than two hundred years, and now it is finally coming into use.

This also made those politically frustrated people who stayed in Nanjing feel that their opportunity had come.

Especially those Donglin Party members who lost power in the capital and the newly rising Fushe Party wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to seize power.

Of course, the most important thing at this time is military power.

Whoever has military power has the right to speak.

There is no capital commander in the Southern Zhili region, so the power to mobilize troops in Southern Zhili is actually under the direct jurisdiction of the Nanjing Ministry of War, while the power to command troops is the responsibility of Nanjing military generals and Nanjing garrison eunuchs respectively.

Feng Quan, the Minister of War in Nanjing, Cui Wensheng, the garrison eunuch, and Xu Hongji, Duke of Wei, controlled the military power in Nanjing.

Feng Quan can be said to be very proud now. In addition, he has the support of Cui Wensheng, the garrison eunuch, and has entered the cabinet twice, so he still has a great say.

But he also suffered a disadvantage, that is, he was from the north and could not get the support of the local Jiangnan gentry.

The Donglin Party in Jiangnan also formed an alliance with Fushe.

Although Zhang Pu, the leader of Fushe, also passed the Jinshi examination, due to Wen Tiren's suppression, the career of Fushe members was not very smooth.

Although Fushe has considerable influence among the people, it is difficult for it to have a say in the court.

With the help of Fushe and the Donglin Party, Qian Qianyi, the leader of Donglin, came out and served as the Minister of Rites in Nanjing.

Donglin Party members understand the importance of military power.

Not only did they have Shi Kefa, the right minister of the Nanjing Ministry of War, but they also attracted Zhu Dadian, the governor of Fengyang and the governor of water transportation.

Zhu Dadian also has tens of thousands of troops in his hands, and is a force that cannot be underestimated.

However, now that the Liaodong Army was marching southward, Zhu Dadian did not dare to resist. In just a few days, he lost Huai'an and Fengyang.

He fled to Yangzhou with more than 10,000 defeated soldiers.

Zhu Dadian's defeat also put the Donglin Party at a disadvantage in the game with Feng Quan. Feng Quan appointed Shi Kefa, the right minister of the Ministry of War, as the governor of Yanghuai, and commanded the Ming armies in the north of the Yangtze River to resist the Liaodong army's southward march.

It seemed that Shi Kefa was given considerable military power, but in fact he was placed on the front line against the Liaodong Army and kicked out of Nanjing's core power circle.

If Li Xianzhong had not come up with the "Hongguang New Deal", then Li Xianzhong and Cui Wensheng could easily have made Jiangnan directly declare allegiance to the Hongguang court.

But now the gentry in the north were either killed or forced to compromise with Li Xianzhong, offering money and land, and supporting "the gentry receiving food as one body".

This was difficult for the southern gentry to accept.

So they still have illusions about Emperor Chongzhen.

When the news of Chongzhen's request for help reached Nanjing, the Donglin Party members headed by Qian Qianyi and Hou Xun strongly demanded to go north to Shouzhou to rescue his majesty.

Although there are some rational voices, such as Ma Shiying, the Minister of Household Affairs, who believes that Li Xianzhong's army has approached Yangzhou, and sending troops north at this time will make the already precarious Yangzhou area even more dangerous.

As the saying goes, "To defend the Yangtze River, you must defend the Huaihe River". Once the Yanghuai area is lost, it will be difficult for them to defend the Yangtze River.

After all, the Liaodong Army is different from the traditional northern army. In addition to powerful cavalry, they also have a powerful Liaodong Navy.

Not only was it easy for the Liaodong Army to break through the Yangtze River, they could also use the Yangtze River to quickly deliver troops to various places along the coast.

However, rescuing Chongzhen was politically correct, and Ma Shiying spoke softly, so his suggestion naturally did not cause much trouble.

Under the impassioned speeches of the Donglin Party members, Feng Quan had to make compromises.

After all, this hat is too big for anyone to bear unless he saves His Majesty.

Feng Quan finally mobilized 3 troops from Nanjing, Suzhou, Changzhou and other places, and appointed Shi Kefa, the right minister of the Ministry of War, to command the army, and Hou Xun, the former minister of the Ministry of War, as the supervisor of the army, and went to Shouzhou to rescue His Majesty!

However, Feng Quan was not stupid. He took this opportunity to send all the troops around Nanjing who did not obey his orders to Jiangbei.

Now that Li Xianzhong personally led an army of 100,000 people to march south, these idiots actually dreamed of bringing Chongzhen back so that they could take the opportunity to ascend to power.

As long as Shi Kefa sends this wave of people away, when the warships of the Liaodong Navy sail into the Yangtze River, the only way for Nanjing to surrender is to surrender.

The Donglin Party attaches great importance to this dispatch of troops. Once Shi Kefa successfully welcomes Chongzhen back to Nanjing, they will surely rise again!

So Qian Qianyi, the boss of Donglin, went to Yangzhou in person to see off this army and boost their morale!

Wealthy businessmen in Yangzhou also donated money and food. Yangzhou city was full of people paying farewell, so the morale of this team was still very high.

After all, the future of the Donglin Party and the interests of the entire Jiangnan gentry all depend on them. If Li Xianzhong crosses the Yangtze River, then they will have no choice but to obediently pay taxes and let others take advantage of them!

It was a full five hundred miles from Yangzhou to Luzhou. Shi Kefa and others traveled day and night and arrived at the capital city of Luzhou in just six days.

After investigation, it was found that Zuo Liangyu's tribe is still surrounding Bagong Mountain.

At least it means that His Majesty is safe for the time being, which also makes Shi Kefa and Hou Xun breathe a sigh of relief!

Although Shi Kefa has little actual combat experience, he is not stupid, and he is still very aware of the gap between his men and the Liaodong Army!

He said: "Hou Shangshu, the hundreds of thousands of troops in the north may surrender or be defeated. Can we, thirty thousand, really rescue your majesty?"

Hou Xun had directly fought against the Liaodong Army. He naturally knew that these 30,000 people were just a mob and there was no way they could defeat Li Xianzhong's Liaodong Cavalry.

But it was Zuo Liangyu who was besieging Chongzhen at this time. With his teacher-student friendship with Zuo Liangyu, he might be able to persuade him.

So he sent someone to deliver a letter to Zuo Liangyu.

Zuo Liangyu had already received the "Picture of Chickens and Dogs Ascending to Heaven" brought by Zhang Zhiji and knew what Li Xianzhong meant.

Although he was a rough man, he also knew that regicides in history would not end well, which gave him some doubts.

It happened that Hou Xun's letter arrived at this time. Hou Xun's letter not only contained the righteousness of the emperor and his ministers, but also contained many practical promises.

As long as Zuo Liangyu goes ahead and rescues His Majesty, he will not only be granted the title of Marquis of Ningnan, but a wealthy businessman from Jiangnan will also give him 100 million taels as a reward.

To be honest, Zuo Liangyu was a little excited!

At this time, Li Guoying said: "Congratulations to General Zuo, Hou Shangshu has given us a shocking wealth!"

Zuo Liangyu said: "Although this money is easy to come by, it won't last long!"

"Even if we rescued His Majesty, this world belongs to the Hongguang Court sooner or later. The Liaodong County Prince will not let us go. We have a life to make money!"

"What's more, these are just promises made by Hou Xun and the Donglin Party members. It's hard to say whether we can actually get them!"

Li Guoying said: "General Zuo has misunderstood. The general is not asking you to betray the king of Liaodong."

"We only need to pretend to agree to Hou Xun and eat their troops. When the time comes, we will hand over this surrender letter to the King of Liaodong. Is General Zuo still worried about his future?"

Li Guoying's suggestion was good, but Zuo Liangyu was still hesitating at this time. After all, Hou Xun had been very kind to him, so it was a bit ungrateful for him to cheat him like this.

But in the end, my own utilitarianism prevailed!

After seeing Zuo Liangyu agreeing to fight anyway, Hou Xun and Shi Kefa quickly led their troops northward.

After all, it is a title and 100 million taels of silver.

It is difficult for ordinary people to resist the temptation of fame and fortune.

Of course they can ask Zuo Liangyu to send Chongzhen over, but then their rescue efforts will basically be ruined!

In the end, Hou Xun chose to take the risk and go north!

But they were ambushed by Zhang Zhiji's army when they passed near Wabang Lake.

Ten thousand infantry stood in front of them, while ten thousand Liaodong cavalry rushed out from both wings.

Shi Kefa and Hou Xun's 30,000 people were originally a ragtag group of people gathered from all over the country. When they saw a large number of Liaodong cavalry coming out, they quickly collapsed!

But how can two-legged infantry outrun the cavalry behind them?

Soon they became the prey of Liaodong cavalry.

In the end, of the 3 troops, 7 were killed and surrendered.

Hou Xun saw Zuo Liangyu's betrayal and knew that he had betrayed the emperor's favor, so he drew his sword and killed himself in the midst of the rebellious army.

Shi Kefa only gathered 3,000 remaining soldiers and fled back to Luzhou.

When Zhang Zhiji defeated the reinforcements at Wabang Lake.

Zuo Liangyu also launched the final siege against Chongzhen.

These three thousand people have been without food for eight or nine days and have long since lost their strength.

Zuo Liangyu's men quickly attacked the mountain, and at this time Chongzhen was also separated from Yang Sichang and others!

Only Wang Chengen is left beside him!

At this time they came to a crooked neck tree.

Wang Chengen held a sword in front of Chongzhen's chest.

This scene seems familiar, it is exactly the same as in Chongzhen’s dream!

Zuo Liangyu did not want to bear the reputation of a regicide, so his men did not step forward at this time.

After Wang Chengen's tragic death, Zuo Liangyu's Yulin camp shouted: "Your Majesty, please ascend to heaven!"

Finally, Chongzhen took off his belt and hung himself on the crooked-neck tree!

On October 28th of the first year of Hongguang, Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian hanged himself from a crooked tree in Bagong Mountain at the age of twenty!

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(End of this chapter)