As the destined gravedigger of the Ming Dynasty, Li Zicheng has now embarked on the path arranged by God.

Perhaps Li Zicheng himself could not have imagined that he, a postman who was forced to revolt to demand wages from Emperor Chongzhen's armed forces due to the drought in Gansu and Shaanxi and the loss of his job, would bring about the downfall of the Ming Dynasty after three hundred years.

Just like Zhu Chongba, a cowherd boy who was born into poverty, he would not have thought that the great Qianyuan Mongolian and Yuan Dynasty could be overthrown by a right-wing commoner like him.

When Li Zicheng led his postmen brothers into the county town and killed the county magistrate who had deceived them, honest people, Li Zicheng took advantage of the situation and quickly attracted thousands of people to defect to him, which expanded to 3,000 in a short period of time.

The team of people has taken root deeply in the place.

And this incident also represents that the uprising of the people in Gansu and Shaanxi has become more and more intense and has reached the point of being unstoppable.

When the news reached the capital, Zhu Youjian still didn't care much.

A group of rebellious farmers really thought they could overthrow the Ming Dynasty with hoes and rakes?

joke!

The 280,000 imperial troops in the capital can be easily destroyed by dispatching 30,000 to 50,000 troops!

The peasant uprising army, which had no organizational discipline, no military experience and no knowledge of military strategy and tactics, was simply powerful but unable to shake any foundation.

Zhu Youjian was very confident. He did not take the uprising in Gansu and Shaanxi seriously. After all, Gansu and Shaanxi were just the same place. His Ming Dynasty was now flourishing!

After Zhang Haogu learned about Li Zicheng's uprising, he pondered for a moment: "Ning Ren, tell everyone to have a meeting."

In the Qinzheng Hall, everyone was holding teacups and sipping tea hotly.

The winter of the fifth year of Chongzhen was extremely cold, the Little Ice Age officially showed its power, severe drought in the Central Plains, and bitter cold in the border areas all showed that the Ming Dynasty would still have difficult days in the future.

Huang Zongxi distributed the information about Gansu and Shaanxi to everyone. Zhang Haogu waited for everyone to look it over before he said: "The great disaster in Gansu and Shaanxi caused the imperial court to be stupid and reckless. The government took the opportunity to make money, and the people had no choice but to rise up. This shows that the people have no choice but to revolt."

The court's patience has reached its limit.

The reason why we have called everyone here today is not to denounce the governors of Gansu and Shaanxi and the prefects and county magistrates, nor to talk about the behavior of the imperial court. We are here to discuss what we can do about the uprising of the people in Gansu and Shaanxi.

Lu Xiangsheng said: "It is certainly gratifying to have people's uprisings, but through the ages, how many cases have simple people's uprisings succeeded? People's uprisings have impure minds and different ideas and many internal problems. The biggest problem with small farmers' thinking is that they are not far-sighted enough and their thinking is not comprehensive enough.

It's easy to fall into the ditch.

Zhou Yuji took over: "Yes, and after all, the people are just farming and have not received formal and comprehensive military training. They do not have military literacy or tactical thinking. When they encounter the soldiers and horses of the imperial court, they don't even need to use the Beijing camp. Those guards who have experienced some training

All can be defeated with less, and it is not an exaggeration to say that the enemy is a mob.

Zhang Haogu nodded: "What you said is right. This is also what I am worried about."

This peasant uprising, in my opinion, is a cluster of flames that can form a prairie fire and ignite the world.

It can make people all over the world realize that in the face of corrupt officials, injustice in the court, and all kinds of oppression, people can stand up and resist.

Since the imperial court in this world cannot ensure that the people have enough food and clothing, cannot guarantee that the people live and work in peace and contentment, and may even force the people to have their families destroyed, then when the people are desperate, there is still another way to go.

Therefore, this Gansu-Shaanxi uprising must not be punished by the imperial court.

"And what I'm worried about is the people's small-peasant mentality. They tend to be greedy for small profits, don't have a long-term vision, and don't have a sense of the overall situation. They are easy to get rich just because they are small, etc. In addition, the uprisings in Gansu and Shaanxi are not under each other's control, so it is easy for them to happen.

Internal bleeding.

Moreover, there will inevitably be bandits and bandits taking advantage of the chaos, and ordinary people will still suffer.

Fang Yunchu said: "Yuanfu, do you mean that we should intervene?"

Zhang Haogu said with a smile: "Yes, since Gansu and Shaanxi have such a good situation now, we don't want to make peace with them."

It doesn’t make sense either.

Aren't there a large number of officers in the army who are clamoring for war and are panicking all day long? I will give them this opportunity now and let them go to Gansu and Shaanxi to set up the framework of our Datong Society and go to the insurrectionary armies to guide them.

Go on the right track and lead them to victory.

Zhou Yuji added: "In my opinion, our movement can be a little louder."

Tell me what you think." Zhang Haogu strongly supports these generals expressing their opinions at this time. After all, meetings are for discussion. As long as it has not been finalized, everyone can speak freely, but once it is finalized, they must work hard to the end.

Zhou Yuji said: "Yuanfu, we are in the land of Gansu and Shaanxi, but we still have a large army.

During the Tianqi Dynasty, Shi Kefa was the governor of the three sides and commanded 30,000 elite new troops in Gansu and Shaanxi.

Even now, this elite group is still guarding the northwest on three sides.

In the final analysis, where the Ming Dynasty will go is its own problem. There is no need for outsiders to interfere. Not to mention the northwest, the Western countries and the Southeast Asian countries are not qualified to interfere with the Central Plains' own affairs. This is also Zhang Haogu's.

bottom line.

Therefore, Shi Kefa, Huang Degong, and Zhao Yuqi led their troops to guard one side to prevent those who were interested in causing unnecessary trouble.

Now Zhou Yuji mentioned the elites from the three sides led by Shi Kefa, which really caught Zhang Haogu's attention. It was naturally impossible to mobilize all the elites from the three sides, but if some of these elites were put into the rebel army, they would become proper mid-level officers.

Zhang Haogu also knew what Zhou Yuji was thinking, which was just to go big and go straight to seize Gansu and Shaanxi.

How many people support Zhou Yuji's idea and how many people oppose it? Let's vote by a show of hands." Zhang Haogu said.

Twelve generals, three generals, and twelve out of fifteen people supported it. It was obvious that everyone had wanted to get involved in the Central Plains affairs for a long time.

Wang Dashan said: "Yuanfu, we have been hiding our strength and biding our time here in Liaodong for three years. Now that the world is in turmoil, people are displaced, and people everywhere are filled with resentment. It's time for us to take the stage."

Zhang Ruitu said: "Yes, the emperor and those Donglin Party members have been singing this big show for five years, and it's our turn to take the stage."

Zhang Haogu looked at the excitement of everyone, felt the almost unbearable flames of everyone, and smiled slowly: "Okay, since everyone agrees, then we will show our hands and let the emperor and all the princes in the court see it."

Look, our Datong Party has developed great abilities in the past few years of hard work in Liaodong.

During this period, several powerful forces emerged in the rebel forces in Gansu and Shaanxi, such as Li Zicheng who was born as a postman, Zhang Xianzhong who was born in the border army, and Gao Yingxiang who was a horse dealer.

These rebel leaders, old or young, with different backgrounds, all have one common characteristic. They were all forced to rebel by the world. They were oppressed by the local landlords and gentry and had no way of living. They were corrupted by corrupt officials.

The officials oppressed and lost hope, so they embarked on the path of rebellion.

As for the path of rebellion, it seemed to them that this was the profession chosen by God, and each of them performed extremely well. At the beginning of the sixth year of Chongzhen, various rebel armies gave Emperor Chongzhen a big surprise.

Thirteen families including Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, Gao Yingxiang and other rebels joined forces to capture the important town of Xi'an in Shaanxi Province. None of the wealthy and distinguished families in Xi'an who were governors of Gansu and Shaanxi provinces escaped and all fell into the hands of the rebels.

Most of the corrupt officials in Gansu and Shaanxi did not escape. Their corrupt money and grain became the rapidly expanding supply package for the rebel army.

Suddenly, the anti-king momentum of the thirteen families became stronger and stronger, and they launched a million-strong army to clean up the world!

Xi'an!

An important town in Shaanxi and even the entire northwest!

It connects Shanxi, Henan, Huguang, and is an important town in the northwest and even in the world.

Such a major town was captured by the rebel army, and the momentum it created was extremely huge. This allowed people all over the world to see the power of the rebel army for the first time, and to see what earth-shattering capabilities the ordinary people who could not survive would unleash.

The people of Gansu and Shaanxi revolted, millions of troops rebelled, and the important city of Xi'an fell!

For a time, the Central Plains was shaken. Even now, people in Jiangnan, where people are still extravagant and feasting, know that Gan

Thirteen families rebelled against the king in Shaanxi. To the Chongzhen Dynasty, which had little information now, it was like dropping a big stone into a pool of stagnant water, smashing out a group of smelly fish in the swamp.

When the news reached the capital, Zhu You kicked the table angrily and did not even attend the court meeting that day!

Zhu Youjian, such a diligent and hard-working emperor, did not even attend court meetings!

This is not only because Zhu Youjian is angry, but also because Zhu Youjian finds that the North Korean meeting is really useless, and it is easier to solve the problem than holding a small cabinet meeting.

A noisy court meeting is more like a vegetable market, and people are disturbed by your comments. A cabinet meeting is like a few people sitting at a table, which is much quieter and makes communication easier.

So in the Wuying Hall, the cabinet ministers gathered together. Zhu Youjian looked at these cabinet ministers with a sullen face: "The rebels captured Xi'an. Do you have anything to teach me?"

Sun Chengzong said very directly: "Your Majesty, now the rebels are powerful and their momentum has shocked the world. They must be wiped out with thunderous means to conquer the people of the world. Otherwise, if it takes too long, it will not only be difficult to pacify Gansu and Shaanxi, but also people in all parts of the world will have different thoughts."

ah.

Zhu Youjian looked at this veteran who had been in charge of Liaodong for many years: What can Senior Sun Ge do?"

Sun Chengzong said: "We cannot count on the guards for this matter. We must use the elite of the border army and the main force of the Beijing camp to quell the rebellion. Another general is needed to sit in and lead the war. There should be no constraints on suppressing the rebellion, and the court must provide enough money and food. Then first

After the difficulty comes the easy, first attack the most powerful rebels such as Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, Gao Yingxiang, etc., and finally deal with the rogue bandits.

When Zhu Youjian listened to Sun Chengzong's clear and logical solution, he couldn't help but praise him: "He is indeed the pillar of the imperial court. The words of Mr. Sun Ge are very popular in my heart. Who can lead the rebellion?"

Looking at Zhu Youjian's expectant eyes, Sun Chengzong was determined but powerless. At his age, it was really difficult for him to quell the rebellion.

Zhu Youjian seemed to be aware of this. Yu Baba comforted Sun Chengzong with a few words, and then appointed General Xungui to go out to control Gansu and Shaanxi, and asked General Xungui to bring 50,000 elite troops from the Beijing camp to quell the rebellion in Gansu and Shaanxi.

At the same time, the command of the Gansu-Shaanxi border army was also handed over to the noble generals, hoping that these noble generals could quickly put down the Gansu-Shaanxi rebellion.

But mobilizing troops and horses requires money. If you don’t give money to mobilize troops, how can you expect these troops and horses, which have been receiving no money for months and months, to move?

Originally, Zhu Youjian planned to confiscate the homes of the governors of Gansu and Shaanxi and those corrupt officials to settle the deficit. After all, if these bastards hadn't embezzled money and food for disaster relief, there might not have been a rebellion among the people.

But now it's better. Xi'an is gone, and most of Gansu and Shaanxi are gone. Those corrupt officials and their money have fallen into the hands of the rebels. Now the rebels are not short of money or food, and a large number of people are coming.

However, the imperial court has completely lost control in Gansu and Shaanxi. How long can the remaining half of Gansu and Shaanxi support it?

Is it possible that these rebels can still break into Shanxi and Henan?

In order to curb the arrogance of the Thirteenth Route to rebel against the king, and to prevent the rebellious people from affecting Shanxi and Henan, Zhu Youjian became ruthless and asked the cabinet to find a way to pay for the army's deployment costs so that the army could go to quell the rebellion.

Qian Qianyi took the lead, Wen Tiren, Yang Changsi, Shi Fenglai, Liu Hongxun and Qiao Yunsheng came up with the idea. The six of them tried their best to move things around, and first came up with the departure fee of 500,000 taels.

Later, he ordered the collection of thieves' tax and the people's peace tax, asking the merchants and gentry to spend money to solve the court's shortage of funds.

But in the end, these taxes, whether they are taxes to subsidize thieves or to calm the people, still fall on ordinary people.
To be continued...