golden scales

Zhu Cihong did not believe that Emperor Chongzhen could escape from his grasp.According to his understanding of the palace and his pre-reading of the historical script, there was only one Wang Chengen who was still with the emperor during the Jiashen Incident.Many people didn't even know whether the emperor was dead or had fled. There were so many rumors that the emperor's body was found the next day.

In this case, only two guards are enough to take Chongzhen away, not to mention there is a team of eunuchs and female officials arranged by Liu Ruoyu in the palace, who are willing to follow Huang Ming.These people are mainly responsible for taking away necessities such as seals, accounts, and national treasures in the palace. Otherwise, just saying that the imperial power belongs to me will not be convincing enough.At least the Manchus did not recognize this. They vigorously searched for the clan of the Ming Dynasty, saying that they wanted to perform sacrifices, and once they found it, they would be beheaded on the charge of "impersonating".

The key issue focuses on what to do after the emperor is held hostage.

If it is a powerful minister, it is natural to take the emperor to order the princes, from the prime minister to the king, and then to abdicate.If it is the crown prince, there are also Tang Suzong's precedents to follow.

Zhu Cihong knew that the throne was a great halo, and once he ascended to the throne, a loyal official like Cai Maode would definitely be loyal to him consciously.However, this halo will also attract thieves, manchus, and teammates like pigs - you can't drive away and kill them, otherwise you will be a stupid tyrant.Even if the whole country is restored, it will be smeared by all kinds of anecdotes and wonders fabricated by these literati.

If you don't need to care about your posthumous reputation, then all kinds of harassment and entanglement when you are in office will also distract most of your energy.It's okay to live in peace and prosperity, just play politics with those bureaucrats slowly.In today's chaotic world, where there is danger of destruction at every turn, it is really hard to spare energy to waste on balancing the game.

And there is a hidden contradiction that has been overlooked by many throughout the ages:

As long as Zhu Cihong does not become emperor, the East Palace system has a common point of interest, and all internal conflicts can be resolved because of this.

If ascend to the pole and become the emperor, the contribution from the dragon will be distributed, and the goal of working together will disappear.At that time, these civil servants and military generals in the Eastern Palace will inevitably fall into endless struggle again for their own reputation and family.

The relationship between Zhu Cihong and these ministers has also changed from a monarch and a comrade-in-arms to a pure relationship between a monarch and a minister.

This is why after many dynasties established their country and established their foundations, all kinds of chaos will appear instead.

"Using ministers to rule the emperor and sons to rule the father, I will not do such indiscriminate behavior!" Zhu Cihong righteously ruled out the option of "the narrow emperor orders the princes".He immediately said again: "The foundation is not stable, I can rashly proclaim myself emperor, and lead a group of thieves to attack me, I can't do such a stupid thing."

Wu Zhen browsed through the history and policies, but he saw only these two kinds of actions. For a while, he didn't know whether Zhu Cihong already had a third way out in his mind.

"If you really can't think of a way, then don't think about it for now." Zhu Cihong sighed, after all, he is not just a mortal who inevitably wanders between benefits and harms.Moreover, this kind of matter related to the great destiny of the nation cannot be decided in a short time.He immediately asked again: "How should I write the reply to the Holy One?"

It is certain that I will not go back, but it is impossible not to reply to the last letter.

Emperor Chongzhen was still considered a normal person when Zhu Cihong left the palace, but these days he lost Luoyang, Tongguan, Shanxi, and the Yellow River one after another... probably fell into paranoia, almost insane.

Before Wu Tong and Sun Chuanting could reply, Zhu Cihong shook his head and said, "Forget it, let's ignore it. Time is limited, we have to take Shandong first, and we can't wait any longer."

Anyway, the fall of Yanjing will not exceed March at the latest, and when there is such a major event as the fall of the capital, no one will pay attention to their small mistakes of ignoring the imperial decree.Judging from the stimulation Li Zicheng is receiving now, he might reach Yanjing sooner than the original historical script.

"Is Your Highness going to lead the army into Shandong?" Sun Chuanting asked.

"Indeed, this is the fastest way." Zhu Cihong said: "Even if there is no Shang Fang and Long Jie, how can my guard battalion not listen to me?"

"But what if Shandong officials... don't know the general idea?" Wu Sheng asked.

Zhu Cihong was also worried that there were many "Feng Shikong" waiting for him in Shandong, and he had already made arrangements, and said seriously: "It depends on whether they can hold Shandong. I got a secret report that there was a bandit army of about [-] last year. At the end of the year, we will go east along the Yellow River, and we will soon reach Shandong."

Wu Tong was still thinking about whether that bandit army could capture Shandong, but Sun Chuanting was stunned, and thought to himself: If there is such a bandit army, why didn't they go directly to Baoding to besiege the capital, but went to Shandong instead?After Li got the Pingyang mansion, why did he order Liu Fangliang to lead the troops from the left battalion to advance along the Yellow River?

From a military point of view, unless Li Zicheng had a brain twitch, he would not have made such a decision. Even if he wanted to include Shandong, he would have to divide a division in Jinan.

5000 people...

Sun Chuanting's eyes lit up: the Sichuan soldiers lost in Xi'an happened to be 5000!

Although Sichuan soldiers were not as brave and good at fighting as Qin Liangyu's white-armed soldiers back then, generally speaking, their combat effectiveness was still better than that of Central Plains soldiers, not inferior to frontier soldiers.The reason why the crown prince fell in love with Shandong was precisely because there was no strong town stationed in Shandong.Although Liu Zeqing's subordinates also claim to have [-] people, in fact, everyone knows that having [-] is already very impressive.

Moreover, Zhu Cihong has never looked down on Liu Zeqing. He has carefully checked the military history of this general officer, and the only time he can be regarded as not fleeing in fear of the enemy is the Battle of Kaifeng.

At that time, Liu Zeqing led 3000 people across the river, set up camp on his back, surrounded by water, hoping to wait for the veterans of Li Zicheng's division to get tired before attacking.As a result, Li Zicheng directly besieged with artillery from three sides, and Liu Zeqing's troops scrambled across the river to flee, causing heavy casualties.It is definitely a model of the incompetence of the general and the exhaustion of the three armies.

The reason why such a person can sit on a town is purely because he knows how to stand in line and understands the result of drilling camps. In terms of fighting, it is simply impossible.As long as the generals of the Sichuan soldiers are not too stupid, it is absolutely no problem to take down a few counties.

……

"I'm dizzy!"

"You're dizzy all day long." Xu Dun was already used to the mantra of the Sichuan army battalion officer.

Sitting in the county government hall, Luo Yukun yelled and cursed when he saw Xu Dun: "I'm an officer and soldier! Brothers are here to serve the country loyally! You say you take care of food and lodging, why are we attacking the city all the way?" Stronghold! Playing the banner of trespassers! Ge Laozi's..."

"Don't scold." Xu Dun pulled up a chair and said calmly, "It was said that it was a siege, but in fact it was a real fight in Xinxiang. Isn't it useless for your people to help?"

Speaking of this, Luo Yukun was even more dizzy.He received the secret decree of the Eastern Palace, came out of Xi'an, detoured across the Yellow River, and entered Henan under the name of a bandit.I really don't know if I don't go, I'm shocked when I go.Originally thought that Henan was being robbed by the imperial court and intruders, but who knew that they encountered dozens of bandits along the way.

These thieves were not under Li Chuang's subordinates, but they also used various banners to occupy states and counties.When they saw Luo Yukun and the others under the banner of King Chuang, they either entertained them with good food and drinks, or they wanted to join the gang, or they ran away far away, but none of them wanted to fight with them.

In this way, under the care of the "brothers" all the way, Luo Yukun recruited the strong and strong refugees to serve as auxiliary soldiers. Not only did they put on winter clothes, but they also ate a lot of wine and meat.The officers and soldiers became more powerful as they went east, but these officers and soldiers did not dare to provoke Luo Yukun at will, and obediently offered money to redeem the city and sent the "big army" out of the country as a gift.There are also some small county towns. I heard that the vanguard of Chuang Wang is coming, and they really prepared enough wine and meat to welcome Chuang Wang.

Luo Yukun was still at a loss at first, and under Xu Dun's guidance, he also learned the two stunts of "chasing stolen goods" and "opening warehouses to release grain". No one would suspect that they were officers and soldiers.

After entering the border of Shandong, it is even more unbearable than Henan!

At any rate, Henan could still see people, while Shandong was a barren land; when the counties in Henan surrendered, they had to provide Luo Yukun with enough military supplies; the counties in Shandong also surrendered in anticipation, but they begged Luo Yukun to provide them with military rations.

However, once Luo Yukun played the banner of officers and soldiers, all the county towns he passed by would be as if they were facing a big enemy, and would rather die than open the city gates.

Not to mention Luo Yukun, even Xu Dun was "very dizzy".

"Let's stop in Yanggu County first." Xu Dun didn't have much military experience, "We will fight wherever Your Highness tells us."

"Yanggu County can't afford to support so many of us." Luo Yukun said angrily.

"How many of us are there?"

"Counting those who came to join the army today, [-] will be zero." (To be continued.)