A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 881 Claim
After Li Zicheng entered Beijing, he did not become emperor for a long time. Unofficial rumors say that usurpers and thieves can't open their eyes.Or dizziness and headaches, even the carved dragons on the golden platform came alive and wanted to devour the thief.

Therefore, although Li thief frequently gathered in the court for three, six or nine days, he has not been able to face the emperor in the south for a long time.

The result of the fact is that Li Chuang lacked authority and the reason why he failed to negotiate with his subordinates.

At that time, a eunuch descending from the palace came out of the palace, and secretly said that although Li thief was the leader, there were always more than [-] people, all contending against each other, and they all conspired in everything, especially Ru Hou Liu Zongmin was the most arrogant at that time.In other words, although Li Zicheng occupied the capital, he did not have the authority and prestige of the emperor, so he was unable to perform the ascension ceremony for a long time.

His situation at this time is quite similar to that of Washington back then. The reason for this can be traced back to the time of the old Chuang Wang Gao Yingxiang.

It's similar to creating a martial arts leader, but it can't override the factions, and if they unite, they will gather and if they don't, they will disperse, and they come and go very freely.

They are also practicing the principle of democratic consultation, and everyone discusses things together, and the relationship between them is more of an ally relationship than a superior-subordinate relationship.

So at this time, Li Zicheng wants to ascend the throne and become a dictator. How can everyone be convinced?As soon as you become the emperor, I will become a courtier, and I want to kowtow to you, how is this possible?
Liu Zongmin said openly: "I am a thief with him, why do you worship him?"

All the thieves also said: "Who is willing to bow his knees when a thieves worship a thieves?"

Even when the generals tortured innocent people and caused resentment, Li Zicheng persuaded Liu Zongmin, but Liu Zongmin said: "The power of the emperor belongs to you, and the power of torture and robbery belongs to me. Don't worry about it."

His implication is that you are in charge of the emperor's affairs, and I am in charge of the silver copying. Everyone has a different division of labor, but they are still equal to each other.

All his subordinates refused to recognize his authority as the emperor, and Li Zicheng had no choice but to do so.

Of course, for the civil servants under Li Chuang's command, they very much hope that Li Zicheng will ascend to the throne.

Niu Jinxing used this to form a private party all over the world, and since March 22, he has persuaded him seven times.

He also did the things that have been done in the past dynasties, such as making a fake box, engraving the year, month and day of Yongchang in the middle, and putting it in a secret place, so that people can get it by chance, falsely calling it a fate.He also falsely pretended to be a few monks, calling a certain country in the Western Regions, knowing that the new emperor would congratulate him on his ascension to the throne.

It's just that the civil servants continued to toss, and the warriors under his command did not reach a consensus. Li Zicheng's dream of becoming the emperor is still delayed.

Li Zicheng was distraught by all this. When he first came to Beijing, the treasury did not receive any money, and his subordinates could not receive rewards. The morale of the army was shaken, so Li Zicheng ordered the recovery of stolen goods to pay, which regularly plunged the people of the capital into dire straits and filled with grievances.

Even if he is in the deep palace, he feels like sitting in the crater of a volcano.

How many years has this feeling been gone?

Wherever he went in the past, the people lined up to welcome him, scrambling to open the door and surrender first.

just now……

Compared with ballads such as "When the King Chuang came, he didn't pay the food", I find it ironic.

Not to mention the torture of Beijing officials, because of the delay in carrying out the grand ceremony, the surrender of the Ming Dynasty's request for rewards based on merit was also shattered, and they all looked for opportunities to abscond, internal and external.

When Li Zicheng saw Mingchen sometimes, he seemed to feel that they had words like "bath the monkey and crown" in their eyes, which made him feel painful, as if he had become the object of everyone's ridicule and jokes.

At this time, the morale of the army was slackened. Because of the plundering of the people, many soldiers had heavy pockets: "Those who have a lot of money have more than a thousand, and those who have less have no less than three or four hundred gold. Everyone has the idea of ​​being rich and relaxing."

So Li Zicheng became more and more uneasy. He thought about how to change all this, but finally felt that he had to "move".

Therefore, in order for the subordinates to always maintain a strong fighting spirit, it is necessary to move and not stay in one place for a long time.Even when he was fleeing, when he was in danger, when he was being chased and beaten by others, that was the time when his subordinates had the strongest fighting spirit and the most united.

Of course, he can't give up the capital, but he can mobilize his subordinates so that they don't have nothing to do in the capital.

The lack of food and rice in the capital was also an important reason for Li Zicheng's worry. When the stolen money was being chased to help pay, the people in the capital were not only robbed of their money, but many people's food and rice were also robbed. News came that more and more people starved to death.

Not long ago, Li Zicheng sent people to take stock of Lumi warehouse, Datongqiao Guanglu Temple and other warehouses, and found that it would not take long to accumulate rice and grain.

If the capital runs out of food and rice, what will his hundreds of thousands of troops eat?What to drink?
So it is inevitable to let the subordinates move, and it is just to use this to divert the conflict.

Li Zicheng also chose the target, which was Xuanfu Town, Shanxi Province, which happened to be rich, and it would provide food and drink for his army for a long time after it was captured.

As for what to do if the local food is full, that is not what Li Zicheng considers. Anyway, Xuanfu Town is full and goes to Shanxi Province, Shanxi Province is full and goes to Shaanxi Province, Shaanxi Province is full and goes to Sichuan Province, Sichuan Province is full Let's go to Huguang Jiangnan.

No matter what the future holds, at least the grain and rice laid down will be enough for his subordinates to eat and drink for a long time.

While Li Zicheng was making plans, the news of Liu Zeqing's defeat happened, Li Zicheng was shocked and hurriedly summoned all the officials and generals under his command to discuss the matter.

……

Li Yan, Marquis of Yi rode his horse and passed by on Qipan Street. In the past, there were many department stores here, and it was extremely prosperous, but at this time the street was lifeless, and the hustle and bustle of the past was completely gone.Occasionally, I saw a few common people, and their eyes were filled with deep-seated hatred.

Li Yan didn't know what was going on in his heart. That day he took refuge in Li Zicheng, compiled various songs for him, and achieved very brilliant results, but he didn't expect it to be this kind of result.

He remembered the four remonstrances he had given at the beginning of his stay in Beijing, and said four things:
One is that Chuang Wang retreated to the public factory, and after the six palaces were cleaned up, the officials welcomed him into the palace.The second is that the recovery of stolen goods should be divided into three classes, not one size fits all.The third is that the soldiers and horses of each battalion are not allowed to borrow residential houses, and they should withdraw from the fortress outside the city and wait for dispatch to go out.Fourth, it is advisable to ascend to the pole early and appease all the officials who have been demoted.

In the end, King Chuang only approved three words: "Got it."

Afterwards, it proved that all the four opinions on his post were on point, but it was a pity that King Chuang didn't use them.

When the matter developed to this point, it had completely deviated from his original intention. Looking at everything around him, he sighed in his heart: "My lord will soon be the emperor."

He rode his horse into Daming Gate, if King Chuang ascended to the throne, it should be changed to Dashun Gate, but King Chuang has not been able to ascend the throne for a long time, this Daming Gate is still Daming Gate.

He entered the imperial city and headed towards the Chengtian Gate of the palace city. At this time, various generals kept rushing towards him. They cheered and shouted strangely, and they regarded the palace as a horse farm.

After entering Chengtian Gate, Li Yan saw Qihou Yang Shaofan, who was calm and peaceful at first, hiding his secrets, but after entering Beijing, he also became complacent.

When Li Chuang founded the country in Shandong, he conferred great feudal titles on all the generals, most of whom were generals of power and generals of control, and generals such as Guo Yi were granted uncles, sons, and males.At that time, there were nine Marquises: Liu Zongmin, Marquis of Ru, Tian Jianxiu, Marquis of Ze, Li Guo, Marquis of Bo, Yang Shaofan, Marquis of Qi, Yuan Zongdi, Marquis of Mian, Liu Fangliang, Marquis of Ci, Li Yan, Marquis of Yi, Liu Xiyao, Marquis of Huaihe, and Gao Yi, Marquis of Yue. achievement.

There are also Taiping uncle Hu Tiande, Wenshui uncle Liu Zeqing, Taoyuan uncle Liu Liangzuo and others, and Hou Bo's sons are nearly two hundred.

Yang Shaofan's blunderbuss battalion has repeatedly made great achievements, so although his army is not as many as other generals, he is still named Marquis.

Li Yan strategized and worked hard. He was also the deputy general of the Fifth Battalion, so he was named Yihou.Of course, each battalion is controlled by the commanding general of each battalion, and the powerful general Liu Zongmin is above him. In fact, his power is very small.

Li Yan greeted Yang Shaofan, and Yang Shaofan nodded slightly, with a haughty and indifferent expression.

Li Yan secretly sighed, everyone has changed after entering Beijing, don't look at Yang Shaofan's reserved and indifferent look now, but if he meets the powerful Ruhou Liu Zongmin, he will definitely change into a completely different expression.

Another general, Hu Tiande, came over and greeted Li Yan, Yang Shaofan and others heartily. He likes to make friends and has never been stingy with gold and silver, so he has a very good relationship with all officials and generals.

He fought bravely, and his mountain patrol battalion was extremely sharp. Therefore, after Li Chuang founded the country in Shandong, he was named Taiping Bo, and his subordinates, Kong San and Batiaoren, were also named Ninglingzi, Linqu males and so on.

Li Yan saw that Hu Tiande's subordinate Kong San smiled and bowed to him, he hurriedly returned the salute, but he always felt that Tai Ping Bo, a capable subordinate, always gave people a deep and unpredictable taste.

They rode their horses into Duanmen and Meridian Gates. At least after reaching Chengtian Gate, the generals were not allowed to ride horses.The Forbidden City is an important place for palace prohibition. Only old and respected ministers can ride horses in the Forbidden City with the emperor's special permission, as a kind of grace and honor.

Or older people, who are inconvenient to ride a horse, can be allowed to ride on the shoulders, and the two of them will walk straight.

However, at this time Li Chuang occupied the capital, and all the generals rode their horses swaggeringly in the palace city. It was obvious that Li Chuang's prestige in the hearts of the generals was insufficient.

When they arrived at the Jianji Hall, there were still a lot of people running wildly, and many of them even rushed to the steps outside the hall before swaggering off their horses.

Li Yan just shook his head and sighed in his heart, at least he, Hu Tiande and others got off their horses and walked after the Meridian Gate, maintaining their respect for King Dashun, these officials are too outrageous.

Everyone entered the Jianji Hall, and after the Huangji Hall burned down, they have been discussing affairs here and performing various ceremonies.Entering the wide hall, you can see that there are dark crowds gathered inside, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Gu Junen, Song Qijiao, Zhang Linyan, etc. These are civil servants.

Then Liu Zongmin, Li Guo, Yuan Zongdi, Liu Xiyao, Liu Fangliang, Gao Yigong, Tian Jianxiu, Liu Rukui, Liu Guochang, Liu Zhong, Wang Liangzhi, Chen Jin and other generals.

They were noisy and noisy, and everyone had a seat, spreading along the two sides of the dragon chair, looking like the Juyi Hall of a cottage, only a statue of Guan Gong was placed behind it.

Li Zicheng sat on the throne, still wearing a blue cloth arrow jacket and a red tasseled felt hat. He looked at the noisy officials below with a helpless look in his eyes.

Li Yan looked at Li Zicheng on the dragon seat, and for some reason, the words "I don't look like a gentleman" flashed in his mind.

He saw Wang Dehua, the chief eunuch, standing obediently beside the dragon chair, not saying a word. He wondered if it was his illusion. He looked down at Wang Dehua, with a hint of contempt in his eyes.

There was also Changping's guard with a pale face, Uncle Wen Shui and Liu Zeqing stood beside Danbi in a daze, as if his whole body was still trembling.

Li Yan saluted Li Zicheng, Li Zicheng waved his hand, and Li Yan sat down in his seat.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Li Zicheng coughed and said, "Bo Wenshui reported that today the Jingbian army suddenly came out in large numbers, and they attacked Changping City at Chenshi. Wenshuibo led the troops to fight, but was caught off guard and was defeated by the cavalry of the Jingbian army. Now that Changping City is lost, it may not be long before the Jingbian army will approach the city."

There was a commotion among the people in the hall, they only knew that the king summoned them to discuss matters, that there was an urgent military situation, which seemed to be related to Changping, but they didn't know what was going on, they didn't expect that it was Liu Zeqing who was defeated and even lost Changping City.

If Changping is abandoned and the Jingbian army occupies the city, it will indeed soon force the capital.

Liu Zongmin stood up abruptly, walked up to Liu Zeqing, stared at him and said, "Chen Shi attacked, it's noon, I remember you and Qiu Lei had [-] soldiers, your mother is stupid, how long have you been fighting with them? How many soldiers did they send against you?"

Liu Zeqing has always been afraid of this chief sentinel, Mr. Liu. In the past, he had soldiers in his hands, so he had some confidence, but now he only has a few hundred riders, a bare earl. People eat.

He was afraid in his heart, took a step back involuntarily, and said in a trembling voice: "Back to Ruhou, the general now thinks back, the Jingbian Army's forwards this time are estimated to have 1 people... all of them are elite cavalry, by the way, or Ming Guohan Lead You Shiwei, the last general has seen him before... He used the technique of luring the enemy, and only sent three thousand riders outside the city, and the remaining seven thousand were in ambush, so the last general was beaten by him in a hurry Great defeat, lucky enough to escape with more than a hundred riders, Guangshanbo Qiu Lei even disappeared..."

Liu Zongmin touched his face. If so, it is understandable that Liu Zeqing was caught off guard and was defeated.Although the generals of the old battalion were vague about how many soldiers there were in the foreign battalion, they were still concerned about how many cavalry they had under their command.

Liu Zongmin also knew that although Liu Zeqing and Qiu Lei combined had [-] troops, the number of soldiers in the army was only [-].If the Jingbian army dispatched a [-] cavalry team, and they attacked suddenly and ambushed, Liu Zeqing was likely to be defeated by surprise.

Not to mention that the team leader is You Shiwei.

Of course You Shiwei knew that, after all, it was all in Shaanxi, and Yulin was not very far from Mizhi and other places, so it had long been famous far and wide.

He murmured: "When did You Shiwei listen to Wang Dou? And when did Wang Dou have so many horse teams?"

General Zuo Yingzhi, Ci Hou Liu Fangliang was also addicted to drinking and sex after he entered Beijing, but the foundation was still there. He sat on his seat, his eyes flashed with thought, as if he remembered his experience of fighting against Wang Dou at the beginning.He suddenly remembered something: "No, Uncle Wen Shui, even if you are defeated, you can still retreat into the city. Didn't you say that you only set up an formation outside the west gate?"

Everyone looked at Liu Zeqing, and they also thought about this problem. Indeed, if you fight against the city, even if the battle is unfavorable, you can quickly retreat into the city.Not to mention the pawns, but his and Qiu Lei's cavalry can basically be preserved.

Liu Zeqing said fearfully: "The last general also wanted to retreat, and then stood firm in the city to warn the capital for help. But at that time, a large number of rioters suddenly broke out in Changping City. They cooperated with the outside and opened the city gate. The last general was also powerless."

"what?"

Many people in the hall stood up, and Liu Fangliang no longer had that calm look, and turned pale with shock.

Everyone looked at each other, and they all saw the fear and panic in each other's eyes. What they are best at is internal response, and then use internal response to take away the city.Historically, at least [-]% of siege battles have been won in this way, and it is rare to really take the city hard.

If the Jingbian army also learned this trick, and the people in the capital now really...

Liu Zeqing even shouted: "The last general still remembered that when You Shiwei confronted the last general, he also said that the prince was already in the Xuanfu to supervise the country, and spread the news everywhere, and sent troops to fight against the general and the governor Wang Dou for 20 days. Come here... come to suppress...let me surrender quickly..."

"what?"

Everyone in the hall was shocked again: "20?"

Prime Minister Niu Jinxing stood up abruptly, and he said decisively: "It must be called without a doubt!"

He said: "Wang Dou is no more than a commander-in-chief. Even if Crown Prince Ming fled to Xuanfu Town and appointed him some kind of general who conscripted captives, such as a great governor, he is still the commander-in-chief. How many people can he have under his command? At most twenty to thirty thousand is a big deal." .And Bo Wenshui just said that the crown prince will be spread everywhere, which can also explain why You Shiwei appeared in the Ming army."

He said: "I, Dashun, captured the capital on the [-]th of last month. It is estimated that Prince Ming fled to Xuanfu Town at the end of last month, and then he spread his message to various places in the remnant Ming Dynasty, and sent troops in the past few days. In this short period of time, How many soldiers can they gather? At most, the officials and generals will gather some cavalry teams, and then Wang Dou will order them to be the vanguard, and they will attack Changping City in one go, creating a great momentum, but the actual number of their soldiers and horses is estimated to be at most [-] to [-]."

Li Zicheng looked at Yang Shaofan and said, "Qihouyan has been to Xuanfu Town, how many troops do you think Wang Dou has?"

Everyone in the hall looked at Yang Shaofan. They had always been blind to Wang Dou's information. Chuangjun followed the army to dispatch spies to Xuanfu Town, and they sent as many dead as they wanted. Always been a fan.

Yang Shaofan looked a little dazed. He went to Xuanfu Town in the 12th year of Chongzhen, which left a deep impression on him, but he couldn't describe it in words.

He said: "In the 14th year of Chongzhen, the last general fought with Wang Dou in the Songjin Battle. At that time, he sent 5000 troops. The last general estimated that he had [-] soldiers at that time, but he also practiced a lot under the rule. Tunting."

Li Zicheng heaved a sigh of relief, and Niu Jinxing also smiled contemptuously. He said, "Twenty thousand, three years ago Wang Dou had 20 soldiers, and now he has [-] soldiers?"

He sneered and said, "The guards stationed in various parts of the Ming Dynasty also claimed to have drills, but what was the result? He may have recruited more than [-] villagers as soldiers and civilians, but can these people be counted as soldiers?"

He said: "Even if I have 4 or 6 people, I still have horses and horses. Then, in the name of Prince Ming, he recruited soldiers and horses from Shanxi, Shaanxi and other places, and gathered another 20 horses. Finally, there are [-] to [-] people. Add ten Five or sixty thousand people, oh, there are indeed [-] troops!"

Everyone in the hall laughed, relieved, the loss of Changping really shocked them, and hearing Liu Zeqing's rumor that the Jingbian army had 20 troops made them even more shocked, but thinking about it now, it's nothing more than that.

Indeed, when the army goes to battle, how can there be no claim to it?

Their rebel army, oh, it's Dashun now, no matter how many people are dispatched, 20, 30, 50, they are all called millions.

The Jingbian army claims to be 20. How much water will there be?

According to their estimates, Niu Jinxing may have talked too much, saying that it was 20 yuan, and if there is [-] to [-] yuan in the real amount, it is already very good.

But even if there are [-] to [-] soldiers...

Moreover, there are quite elites among them. According to what Liu Zeqing said, the capture of Changping City should only be the vanguard. There will be almost [-] cavalry elite cavalry, and most of them will appear again and again soon.

Changping City is not far from the capital, but only sixty or seventy miles away. If there is no emergency treatment, the Jingbian army may come to the city in the next day, or even tomorrow. This will be an extremely strong blow to the new Dashun regime.

Li Zicheng looked expectantly at Liu Zongmin, Yuan Zongdi, Liu Fangliang, Liu Xiyao and others, hoping that they would volunteer to lead the army to fight.

Liu Zongmin has been standing beside Liu Zeqing, glaring at Liu Zeqing with a bull's eye, making him restless, and pretending that he didn't see Li Zicheng's look.How refreshing is it in the capital?Joy with prostitutes every day, this day can be described as desire. Immortal. Desire. Death.

Compared with going out to fight in the city, he prefers to stay in Beijing. He still has many beauties to enjoy, so how can he have time to go out to fight?
Yuan Zongdi, Liu Fangliang, Liu Xiyao and others looked up at the ceiling or down at the floor. Even Li Zicheng's wife and brother Gao Yigong and his nephew Li Guo turned their heads away. They didn't want to lead troops out to fight.

The disappointment in Li Zicheng's eyes became more and more intense. Niu Jinxing looked at the generals with different expressions in surprise, and said hesitantly: "Why don't you send an envoy from the lower officials to use a three-inch tongue to subdue others without fighting?" Bing. Presumably that Wang Dou also knows..."

Li Yan stood up suddenly and said: "Your Majesty, Wang Dou is coming in a fierce manner, and the strength of the army is unknown. The general thought that it is better to stick to the city and wait for work at ease..."

At this moment, one person suddenly laughed, and Li Yan turned his head to look, but it was Uncle Taiping, Hu Tiande, the general of the Patrol Battalion, and he said: "Mr. ..."

He shook his head: "My Dashun has 60 to 20 soldiers, and Wang Dou claims to be 60, and the real number is at most [-] to [-]. The [-] is against [-] to [-]. In the end, we are going to shrink the city. If it gets out, Where is my Dashun face?"

Everyone in the hall showed expressions of concern, and Li Zicheng nodded in approval.

Hu Tiande continued: "I think Dashun started from the righteous soldiers, attacked Henan, Shaanxi, Huguang, and Shandong. The momentum was like a broken bamboo. In two days, I fell into the capital, and the ugly people were wiped out at the point of the banner. how?"

He roared: "I, Dashun, can capture the capital in two days, and I can also destroy the Jingbian army in two days!"

"it is good!"

Everyone in the hall cheered loudly for Hu Tiande's remarks.

Li Guo's face was full of color, the patrol camp was under his control, Hu Tiande's words made him look good.

Li Zicheng also showed appreciation in his eyes, he needed such a hero in the Dashun camp.

A bull in Wuyang Bojin shouted: "Master Hu is a good man, I support you!"

He has a fleshy face and a ferocious appearance, especially when he speaks, his voice is very ugly, as if his nails are scratching on an iron plate.However, he is also a rare and fierce general in the camp. Like Hu Tiande, he rises step by step.His battalion was called the Jinniu battalion, and at this time it was under the command of Liu Fangliang, the general of the Zuo battalion system.

At the same time, there were many earls from different battalions in the hall, and the viscount supported Hu Tiande and applauded his heroism.

(End of this chapter)