Zhu Guoqiang in Nanjing was not the only one paying attention to Li Zicheng.

Entering the Jiashen year, Dorgon, who was on the Mongolian Plateau, was also watching the changes in the situation in the Ming Dynasty. After evacuating to the Mongolian grassland, he seemed to be conquering the Mongolian grassland from east to west, and even directed his troops towards the Western Regions.

When he reached the Tianshan Mountains and defeated the Mongolian Mongols and surrendered them to the Eight Banners, he did not give up his attention to the pass.

In addition to sending many spies to Beijing as in the past, spies who uncover particularly important information will not hesitate to give generous rewards. Regarding the busy actions and disputes in the Ming Dynasty court, as well as the important activities of the bandits, almost every day or every three or two

Every day there are reports of lurking details arriving on the grassland.

Dorgon seemed to be focused on consolidating the rule of the Qing Dynasty in Mongolia and Moxi. However, as he learned more about the Western Regions, he no longer thought about how to lead the army to regain Shengjing and defeat the Ming Dynasty as he did at the beginning.

. He even felt that the Ming Dynasty should take advantage of the fact that the Ming Dynasty was busy with itself and had no time to consider the opportunity of the Qing Dynasty to expand as far west as possible.

Thousands of miles to the west, there is a vaster land than Manchuria, and more importantly, there is no general Zhu Ciying. Especially in the face of continuous military victories since the Western Expedition. Dorgon even felt that the future of the Qing Dynasty lies in the west, and he

We even studied Genghis Khan. After the successful Western Expedition, he integrated the forces of the Western Regions and other places and destroyed the Xixia, Jin and Southern Song Dynasty.

Dorgon has never been a short-sighted person, so he will continue to expand westward, but this does not prevent him from eyeing the interior of the pass.

Sometimes, Dorgon even thought that the people of the Ming Dynasty knew little or nothing about the situation in the Western Regions, and they would definitely regret it when they came to their senses.

Around the end of the first lunar month, Dorgon Liande reported that a bandit leader named Li Zicheng had established the "Shun Dynasty" in Xi'an and changed its name to "Yongchang". From the end of December last year to the beginning of the first month of this year, he dispatched fifty

Thousands of troops crossed the Yellow River near Hancheng in batches. After entering Shanxi, they were invincible. They were marching towards Taiyuan, claiming to seize the Ming Dynasty.

This news came not only from the capital, but also from Shanxi merchants across Shanxi, who were still extremely important partners of the Qing Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty needed horses and cattle on the grasslands, and he also needed materials such as silk, cotton, and tea in the customs.

Bribery the Mongols.

Those Shanxi merchants provided him with a lot of information about the bandits. When he learned that the generals of Xuanda and Dazhou had surrendered to the bandits and that the bandits were marching towards the capital, Dorgon was stunned.

So Hong Chengchou and others were immediately invited to come over to discuss the matter. During the conquest of Mobei Mongolia and Mobei Mongolia, Hong Chengchou's performance made Dorgon look at him with admiration. Even if Hong Chengchou hadn't proposed using the contradictions between Mobei Mongolia and Mongolia, the Qing Dynasty

The Western Expedition would not have been so smooth. Now that the Ming Dynasty has undergone sudden changes, it is natural to listen to his opinion.

"In my humble opinion, Li Thief's claim that he had 500,000 horses crossing the river to enter the Jin Dynasty is just an exaggeration. The actual number of troops is definitely not that much. The number of soldiers and generals is probably between 200,000 and 300,000, and it will not be changed.

Many. Even if it is 300,000, the number of troops capable of fighting under the walls of Beijing will not exceed 200,000."

Dorgon asked:

"Why did you estimate so little?"

Someone else chimed in and said:

"Master Hong, I estimate that Li Zicheng came to the capital with more than 500,000 troops. Didn't he kidnap people as soldiers in Taiyuan and other places?"

"The captured soldiers will also flee. The people we captured will flee halfway, let alone the soldiers?"

Hong Chengchou thought for a moment and said with a smile:

"From the perspective of the Qing Dynasty, we certainly hope to make the bandits stronger. Only in this way will they fight with the Ming Dynasty and lose both sides. This idea is naturally good. However, this idea is just

It's just wishful thinking. I have been fighting against bandits for many years in the Southern Dynasties, and I know a little bit about the real situation among the bandits. Bandits are accustomed to using false threats and taking advantage of the weaknesses of the imperial court and provincial officials and soldiers to grow rapidly and continue to win until today. Recently.

In the past few years, the bandits were at their peak, and they were said to have millions of people. However, according to my opinion, there were no more than 500,000 people at the peak. I said that although Li Zicheng had about 500,000 people, he still divided his troops to garrison them everywhere, and there were many important ones.

There was no way to garrison anywhere. From this point of view, the actual number of soldiers that Li Thief crossed the river to march eastward would never exceed 300,000. Even if he captured the people as soldiers, he would still have casualties. In a single week, he would lose nearly 100,000 troops.

, even if he added troops and horses, it would probably be this number. Moreover, Li Zicheng established a false flag in Xi'an and crossed the river to the east in an attempt to formally proclaim himself emperor in the capital, so he would bring many important figures, including civil and military officials, with him.

Every bureaucrat must have a group of servants around him, and he must also have soldiers and horses to protect him. Besides, it is not easy for these 300,000 soldiers and horses to travel thousands of miles. Just to transport food, grass, and baggage, there are tens of thousands of people. So.

It seems that if he crossed the river east with 300,000 people and left troops stationed along the way, there would not be 200,000 people when he arrived at the gates of Beijing."

Although Dorgon believed that Hong Chengchou's opinion was reasonable, he still asked Hong Chengchou uncertainly:

"You are familiar with the situation in the Southern Dynasties, and you really have extraordinary insights. But what I still don't understand is that you said that Li Zicheng did not have many troops and relied mostly on threats. However, in the past few years, he has been galloping through the Central Plains, invincible, sweeping through Huguang, and driving into Shaanxi.

, easily occupied Xi'an and swept across the northwest, leaving the Ming Dynasty struggling to cope and on the verge of national collapse. How do you explain this situation?"

After that, Dorgon didn't wait for Chengchou to speak, and said:

"Let's have a good talk today. I've ordered someone to prepare lunch. Let's go, let's go to the lunch table and talk while eating!"

As soon as he stood up from the brazier, Dorgon said again:

"There is one more thing. I also want to discuss it with you to see if it is feasible. If it is feasible, of course the sooner the better. We should meet Li Zicheng while he is still on the way and get his reply."

"What clever move does the prince have?"

Hong Chengchou asked.

Dorgon answered with a confident smile.

"I want to send someone to meet Li Zicheng on the road in Shanxi with a letter from the Qing Dynasty. One is to find out whether he is an enemy or a friend of the Qing Dynasty, and the other is to see for myself how strong Li Zicheng is. What do you think?

How about this plan?"

Hearing this, Hong Chengchou said.

"Actually, it doesn't matter whether he is an enemy or a friend, and it doesn't matter whether you look at his strength or not."

Dorgon smiled meaningfully,

"Oh? Why is this?"

"Because no matter whether he is an enemy or a friend, strong or weak, Li Zicheng must fight Zhu Ciying first in the end. As long as they fight, it will be a hundred benefits and no harm to us, the Qing Dynasty!"

"What Mr. Hong said is true!"

Dorgon laughed loudly. Then he gently waved his right hand and said:

"Let's go and discuss important matters while having a meal!"

Dorgon picked up a large piece of meat from the hot pot, but his mind was not on the meat.

"As far as we are concerned, it doesn't matter who is in charge. As long as they fight, it will be beneficial to us, the Qing Dynasty. The longer they fight, the more beneficial it will be to us.

"

Dorgon paused and then said,

"What we need now is time. In the past, we only had the Central Plains in our eyes, but now, there is such a big place to the west, and there are so many people. Let's conquer these places, just like Genghis Khan did.

He was the Song Dynasty who first conquered a huge territory in the west and then came back to fight. We can be like him and conquer a large enough territory in the west, and then like Genghis Khan, lead the troops from the west to fight against the Ming Dynasty."

Dorgon's words made Hong Chengchou pause before using his chopsticks. He glanced at Dorgon and then praised:

"What the prince said is true. I heard that Li Zicheng made countless plunders along the way. Not only can we contact him, but we can also sell him red cannons. After all, we need money and a lot of goods from the Central Plains!"

Dorgon nodded in agreement with Hong Chengchou's suggestion.

"This is a good idea of ​​yours. The stronger Li Zicheng becomes, the more chaotic the Ming Dynasty will be. The more chaotic they are, the more opportunities we will have in the future, and we can also take the opportunity to exchange for a large sum of money. Yes, not bad."

After nodding in praise, he asked Hong Chengchou:
Chapter completed!