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

Chapter 221: Lure the snake out of its hole (please subscribe for monthly tickets)

There are gains and there are losses. After Qian Qianyi got his lost title of No. 1 and the promise of joining the cabinet.

He also lost Liu Rushi, a confidante who had been with him all his life.

Although they relied on advance planning and strong force deterrence, they forced these noble gentry in Southern Zhili to temporarily bow to themselves.

However, the fundamental contradiction between the two sides has not been resolved.

Li Xianzhong knew that he would stay in Jiangnan for quite some time, and he was lucky to find a confidante.

There are many women around him, but most of them are the product of political marriages, and some are even just to satisfy temporary physiological needs.

Li Xianzhong had no feelings at all for most of them. They were nothing more than his means to win over various Jurchen Mongolian tribes.

In his eyes, the only women he recognized were Haziya, Hailanzhu and Bumubutai.

He also has feelings for Zhang Yan, but her status as empress dowager is still too sensitive.

His harem is almost entirely made up of foreign women, which does not have much impact in Liaodong. After all, this can stabilize the tribes around Liaodong at the minimum cost.

But if I want to seize the world in the future, I am afraid that this will be criticized by the people of the world and become an excuse for political opponents to attack me.

I had neglected this before, but now it was time to find a few suitable Han girls.

Although Liu Rushi was born as a singer, fortunately, she was not the famous Qinhuai oiran in the south of the Yangtze River. Chen Zilong, who was related to her, was also sent to the west by herself.

Her identity will not attract too much criticism.

Now that Chongzhen has passed away, and there is still a vacancy in Emperor Hongguang's main palace, it is time to recruit beautiful girls for His Majesty to expand the harem.

When Tianqi Emperor Zhu You was elected to the school, he selected a total of 5000 beauties from across the country.

Although the Ming Dynasty has not yet been completely unified, the territories controlled by the Hongguang Dynasty are only the towns of Liaodong, Monan, and Jiubian, as well as the capital, Shandong, Shanxi, the North and South Zhili, and some overseas places.

However, in order to demonstrate the orthodoxy of Hongguang Emperor Zhu Yousong, the scale must not be small. Li Xianzhong set the size of the audition at 6000 people.

Anyway, it was Zhu Yousong who was dissolute and immoral, so what did it have to do with him?

Historically, the Manchu Qing Dynasty wanted to discredit the legitimacy of the Hongguang court.

Describing Zhu Yousong as a lecher, he said that after he succeeded to the throne in Nanjing, he desperately searched for folk beauties.

He also asked people to collect toads everywhere to make aphrodisiacs for himself, and called him the "Emperor of Toads".

First of all, the Ming Dynasty did not need to forcefully select concubines among the people.

Because the Ming Dynasty was the only dynasty that insisted on choosing concubines among the people, as long as they were women from innocent families, of the right age, and good-looking, they could participate in the audition.

For ordinary people, this is a shortcut to change their destiny.

Once their daughter is chosen, they can be knighted and become a noble.

Even if a queen is not selected, if the concubine can be favored, her natal family will benefit a lot.

Therefore, when the Ming Emperor chose his concubines, there was no need to rob them by force. On the contrary, the common people would rush to offer their daughters.

Secondly, collecting toads to make medicine was a traditional practice in the Ming Palace. It was not Zhu Yousong's invention. The eunuchs just followed the old practice.

And toads are not a rare thing, they are everywhere.

Zhu Yousong alone, even if he supper every night, how many toads can he use?

Need to mobilize the entire city to arrest him?

This is very painful for Emperor Hongguang Zhu Yousong.

On the one hand, he has to be sidelined by Ma Shiying and other powerful officials with heavy military forces. He has no rights at all and can do nothing politically.

On the other hand, such a puppet emperor was lustful and shameless, running rampant in the south of the Yangtze River, arresting folk beauties everywhere, and seizing all the toads in the city to make aphrodisiacs for himself.

If Emperor Hongguang really had such great power, how could he become a puppet?

Although Zhu Yousong was not a promising master, he was definitely not as debauched and immoral as described by the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

Just because someone is fat, you can't let him take all the blame?

Li Xianzhong still has to give Zhu Yousong some sweetness. After all, the name of Emperor Hongguang is still very useful.

Of course, in addition to these territories already under his control, Li Xianzhong also asked Qian Qianyi, the Minister of Rites in Nanjing, to spread the edict to select beauties from the Hongguang Emperor Sea to nearby Jiangxi, Huguang, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi.

This is also equivalent to asking them to make a choice. If they accept the imperial edict and send the beauties selected from the audition to the capital, it is equivalent to expressing their recognition of the Hongguang regime.

If they refuse or are indifferent, then only the Liaodong Cavalry will greet them.

The five prefectures of Yangzhou, Nanjing, Changzhou, Suzhou and Songjiang are the most elite places in Southern Zhili and are also the tax centers of the Ming Dynasty. If the thieves ransacked it again, he would really be reluctant to do so.

As for other places, it doesn't matter.

Before leaving the capital, Li Xianzhong asked Mao Yuanyi to write a test question for his two legitimate sons.

Between abdication and conquest, which way to conquer the world is more conducive to long-term peace and stability?

The two sons gave completely opposite answers.

The eldest son, Li Shengzu, believed that abdication would reduce destruction, capture the world more completely, and achieve rapid economic development. Naturally, abdication would be more conducive to long-term peace and stability!

He also cited the example of the Sui Dynasty. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian, gained the power of the Northern Zhou Dynasty through abdication, which made the Sui Dynasty rapidly prosperous and powerful, and only then did he rule for 20 years.

If it hadn't been for the prodigal son of Emperor Sui Yang, the Sui Dynasty would never have been defeated so quickly.

However, Yang Guang's loss of family was a personal behavior, not a matter of surrender.

However, the second son Li Shizu believed that it was actually easier to achieve long-term peace and stability in the world through killing.

For example, the three long-lasting and powerful dynasties of Han, Tang, and Ming all conquered the world through conquests and conquests, and achieved long-term rule.

The dynasties that gained the world through abdication, such as the Xinmang, Western Jin, and Sui dynasties, were all short-lived dynasties, and the dynasties soon entered a period of great turmoil.

Only the Northern Song Dynasty existed for a relatively long time and did not enter major turmoil, but it was also very weak.

And the Northern Song Dynasty is a special case, because the Later Zhou Dynasty it inherited was too short-lived and was not a unified dynasty. After the Northern Song Dynasty inherited the Later Zhou Dynasty, it still went through a large number of conquests before officially establishing the country.

Obviously the second child has a more unique vision.

Although he couldn't fully explain the reason based on his experience, he had already figured out the way.

In the world gained through abdication, social contradictions are only temporarily alleviated, and it is a compromise of contradictions.

Social conflicts will naturally break out in a few years.

The emperor's personal ability can influence the course of the outbreak to a certain extent, but it cannot change this trend.

This was the case in Xinmang, Western Jin, and Sui dynasties.

In the world gained through conquest, social contradictions have been fully released, and it can be said that the old inherent contradictions have been completely broken.

In this way, the newly established dynasty will have a relatively more reasonable social distribution, and the accumulation of social conflicts will naturally take longer, and it will be relatively better equipped to achieve long-term peace and stability.

Of course, this does not mean that the world gained through conquest will definitely achieve long-term peace and stability. This also depends on the emperor's ability and the rationality and continuity of the policy.

However, in a world where abdication is achieved, society will enter into great turmoil more quickly, and naturally it will be impossible to achieve long-term peace and stability!

This is the reason why Li Xianzhong has been silent and watched the Ming Dynasty bandits rise.

He just wants the society to experience enough changes and turbulence, and even kills the gentry in the simplest and crudest way, so that the contradictions can be released. In order to establish a brand new dynasty.

This was the case with the conflicts in the Jiangnan area. The Jiangnan gentry were only frightened by Li Xianzhong's threat of force and temporarily compromised.

But it will eventually break out.

The selection of beauties for Hongguang Emperor Sea is progressing very smoothly. Jiangxi and Zhejiang, the two provinces closest to Nanjing, have expressed their full support.

Li Xianzhong estimated that the remaining Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Huguang regions would have no reason not to support it.

The Yunnan-Guizhou area is far away and there are a large number of local chieftains. They will definitely not give in easily.

But I can't care about it for the time being, so I can only let it go for now.

Now that he is personally in charge of Nanjing, and with a large army pressing down on the territory, the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River naturally do not dare to make any big moves.

It seems that we still have to lure the snake out of the hole.

If these people are not eradicated, Li Xianzhong will never be able to rest assured.

So Li Xianzhong asked Feng Quan to prepare military supplies and supplies with great fanfare, and released the news that he was going to conquer Huguang westward.

Then he made another major adjustment.

Li Sanshun, Minister of the Ministry of War, also served as the governor of Jiliao and controlled Liaodong and Jizhou.

Zhao led Jiao as the governor of Xuanda and took control of Xuanfu and Datong towns.

Xiong Tingbi served as governor of the five provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Zhili, Shandong, and Henan. He actively prepared for war and was ready to fight Li Zicheng's Dashun at any time.

Man Gui was appointed governor of Monan, replacing Xiong Tingbi's original position.

Zu Dashou was appointed governor of Shanxi, Lu Xiangsheng was appointed governor of Shandong, and Li Huaizhong was appointed governor of Zhili.

The five towns of Gansu, Ningxia, Guyuan, Yulin and Taiyuan are under the direct jurisdiction of Xiong Tingbi.

Hong Chengchou was transferred to the post of governor of Jiangnan, temporarily overseeing the three provinces of Southern Zhili, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang.

In addition, major changes were made to the cabinet.

Yan Mingtai, Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel, was officially appointed as the chief minister of the cabinet and a bachelor of Zhongji Palace.

Li Sanshun, Minister of the Ministry of War, was the second assistant and a bachelor of Jianji Palace.

Mao Yuanyi, the former Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice, served as the censor of Zuodu, commander of the Intelligence Department, and bachelor of Wenhua Palace.

Feng Quan, the former Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, was appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment and a bachelor of Wuyingdian.

Qian Qianyi, the former Minister of Rites in Nanjing, was appointed as the Minister of Rites and a bachelor of Dongge University.

The number of cabinet members was increased to 5, but Li Xianzhong, the prime minister, could still directly give orders to the cabinet, and all military-related matters could be implemented first and then the jade seal could be replaced.

The purpose of transferring Qian Qianyi and Feng Quan away from Nanjing was naturally to make the gentry in Jiangnan relax their vigilance.

After all, the two of them are the most supportive of Li Xianzhong's "Hongguang New Deal" in Jiangnan. Now that they leave, only the gentry in Jiangnan can take advantage of it.

They didn't know much about Hong Chengchou. They were limited to the "Chuzhou War" that year. Hong Chengchou annihilated nearly 300,000 rebels in one fell swoop and captured Gao Yingxiang, the king of Chuang, alive.

However, because Hong Chengchou used 20,000 Ming troops in Chuzhou as bait, he surrendered to Li Xianzhong in Shandong.

Those Donglin Party members who stand on the moral high ground naturally have a poor evaluation of it.

The situation between Henan and Huguang has also undergone tremendous changes.

First, the morale of the Ming army stationed in Kaifeng was very low after learning that Chongzhen had hanged himself on Bagong Mountain.

Although they have repelled the siege of Dashun Army several times, the food supply in Kaifeng City has become increasingly tense.

The price of food once rose to 60 taels of silver per stone, and there were even tragedies of people exchanging food for food in the city.

At this time, they had no food and grass inside and no reinforcements outside, so they had only one way to surrender.

In order to show his sincerity, Li Yan went to Kaifeng to negotiate with Yuan Chonghuan and others.

Li Yan guaranteed that the lives of the gentry in the city would be guaranteed as long as they handed over their land and property, and he would even allow them to keep some of their property.

On March 25000, the second year of Hongguang, Ming troops in Kaifeng led by Governor Yuan Chonghuan, Henan Governor Gao Mingheng, Kaifeng General Chen Yongfu, and Zhou Wang Zhu Gongzhen surrendered to Li Zicheng!

Zhou Wang Zhu Gongzhen also became the first Ming vassal king to surrender to the rebels.

After Zhang Xianzhong entered Sichuan, he was blocked by white pole soldiers led by Ma Xianglin in Kuizhou and was unable to enter the hinterland of Sichuan.

They had no choice but to retreat into Hunan, holding high the banner of dividing the territory, recruiting strength, and plundering various prefectures in western Hunan along the way.

In less than half a year, Zhang Xianzhong gathered another 200,000 troops and entered Kuizhou again.

Zhang Xianzhong ordered "Cao Cao" Luo Rucai to lead his troops to take advantage of Rao Xiaolu to attack Shizhu Xuanwei Division, the home of the Baigan soldiers, and Ma Xianglin had to return to rescue.

Sichuan Governor Chen Shiqi established a heavy garrison in Tongluo Gorge southeast of Chongqing.

Zhang Xianzhong adopted the strategy of attacking from the east and attacking from the west, and ordered some naval forces to engage in battle with the Ming army. After leading his elite cavalry to bypass the Ming army, they attacked from both sides and successively conquered Fotuguan and Tongluo Gorge, and reached the city of Chongqing.

The warriors were ordered to dig holes and blast, open up the passage, and capture Chongqing on December 21st. On the fourth day of January, he took advantage of the victory and led his army straight to Chengdu. Along the way, the prefectures and counties watched the wind and fell, and captured Chengdu on the ninth day of February.

And changed Chengdu to Xijing, officially becoming the capital of Daxi.

Chen Qiyu, who besieged Xiangyang for a year, still failed to capture Xiangyang.

During this period, Zhang Kewang once led his army to attack Fancheng in the north of the Yangtze River, bringing a lot of food and 8,000 reinforcements to the defenders.

Zhang Kewang's arrival greatly boosted Xiangyang's morale.

After Zhang Xianzhong occupied Chengdu, he immediately led his troops out of Sichuan to break the siege of Xiangyang.

On the eighth day of March, the Daxi Army defeated the Ming Army led by Chen Qiyu outside Xiangyang City.

The main force of the Ming army was completely lost, and Chen Qiyu only led 3,000 people to flee south.

Then Zhang Xianzhong ordered Zhang Kewang and Zhang Dingguo to lead the army separately.

Zhang Dingguo pursued Chen Qiyu all the way east, conquered Suizhou, De'an and other places and approached Wuchang.

Zhang Kewang went south from Xiangyang and captured Chengtian Mansion.

And on March 18th, Jiangling, an important town in Huguang, was captured.

And he went down the river and besieged Wuchang with Zhang Dingguo.

After news of the emergency in Wuchang came, Li Xianzhong personally led his army to the west.

He appointed Mao Wenlong as the governor of Huguang, and commanded 30,000 troops from his headquarters as the vanguard.

And he led Zuo Liangyu and Zhang Zhiji's 70,000 troops as follow-up, and ordered the Liaodong Navy to go up the river to support Wuchang!

This means that all the 100,000 troops that Li Xianzhong went south to the south of the Yangtze River participated in this Western Expedition!

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(End of this chapter)