"Your Majesty, what should I do with the extra food?" Liu Wenbing asked.
Zhu Gaoyuan frowned and asked, "What, can't you take them all away?"
When we broke out yesterday morning, we didn't carry any baggage because we were too short on time and needed to pack lightly to break out. But now that we have broken out, we must bring enough baggage.
Next, we have to stay in the mountains for half a month.
If we don't have enough food, we won't be able to survive this half month.
Then there’s the blanket, it’s bitterly cold in the mountains, and without a blanket to keep you warm, you’ll really freeze to death.
"Each war horse already carries seventy or eighty kilograms of baggage, no more." Liu Wenbing said, "Any more will affect the marching speed, and the war horses will be unable to bear it."
"Aren't there more than a hundred pack horses?" Zhu Gaoyuan said.
Liu Wenbing said: "Each pack horse has carried more than three hundred kilograms of luggage, but even so, there are still more than a thousand stones of grain that cannot be taken away. What should I do?"
Zhu Gaoyuan fell silent.
Gong Yonggu said: "Your Majesty, the excess food cannot be left to the bandits. Let's burn it."
"You can't burn it," Wang Wenyan said urgently, "If you burn the food, you won't necessarily starve to the thieves. The people in the capital will suffer."
"What Wang Aiqing said is absolutely true, just leave the excess food to the people of the capital." Zhu Gaoyuan said with a sigh, "I have been in power for seventeen years, but I have not brought any benefits to the people of the capital."
"It actually brought them a lot of disasters."
"On the occasion of parting, this can be regarded as a little compensation for them."
Speaking of this meal, Zhu Gaoyuan got on his horse again and said in a deep voice: "Let's go to Tianshou Mountain."
Although they temporarily got rid of Dashun's pursuers and even captured Changping Prefecture City through a surprise attack, this had no impact on the current general trend of the world.
The Dashun Army still occupies an absolute advantage.
It is simply a fool's errand to try to reverse the general trend of the world with the help of these thousands of people.
Once the news of Changping's fall reaches Beijing, Li Zicheng will definitely send a large army to pursue him. Zhu Gaoyuan does not think that his mob of more than a thousand people can escape under the encirclement and interception of hundreds of thousands of Dashun troops.
A magical battle like crossing Chishui four times and capturing Zunyi twice could only be fought by Teacher Mao. He, Zhu Gaoyuan, did not have Teacher Mao's ability, so he had better go into the ravine honestly. So in the next half month, they would only
He can tuck his tail between his legs and hide in the depths of Yanshan Mountain, waiting for the battle to break out over a piece of stone.
…
When news of the fall of Changping reached Beijing,
Li Zicheng had just discussed with Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance how to deal with the civil servants outside Chengtian Gate.
Early in the morning, Wei Zaode, the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty cabinet, and thousands of officials, large and small, knelt outside the Chengtian Gate and demanded that the Great Shun Dynasty be hired as one.
During the national calamity in Jiashen, many officials died.
But more people were eager to surrender to the Dashun Dynasty.
After discussion, Li Zicheng decided that officials of third grade or above would not be used.
Those with grades below three can give priority to selecting a group of honest and self-reliant officials to entrust them with important responsibilities.
With one operation, the first batch of more than a hundred Ming Dynasty demoted officials were entrusted with important tasks. For example, Zuo Maotai, a former doctor in the Ministry of Civil Affairs, was directly promoted from a fifth-rank doctor to a third-rank military government official, Zuo Shilang, and was promoted to four ranks in a row!
As soon as Zuo Maotai took office, he received news of Changping's fall.
"Your Majesty, Changping has been lost, and the commander Guo Qi died in the battle." Zuo Maotai reported.
"What did you say, Changping fell?" Li Zicheng said in astonishment, "Who did it? Chongzhen's son?"
Zuo Maotai replied: "According to reports from the defeated army, some of the thieves who attacked Changping last night did shout "Holy Lord", so the thieves who attacked Changping should be the defeated soldiers of the false emperor Chongzhen."
"Is he really Chongzhen's son?" Li Zicheng's face fell.
"This is impossible." Liu Zongmin didn't believe it. "After Chongzhen's son broke the siege, he didn't go south or east, but went north to Changping? Is he stupid?"
"Yes, is Chongzhen a fool?"
Li Zicheng and Niu Jinxing also had the same doubts.
There is still a glimmer of hope in going south or east, but going north is a dead end.
After all, Juyong Pass is blocking it there. How can Chongzhen's children and hundreds of ragtag men capture Juyong Pass, which is heavily garrisoned? Even if Wang Yangming were to reincarnate, it would be impossible for him to do so.
…
"He is not stupid." Li Yan shook his head and said, "Not stupid at all."
"How can you not be stupid?" Li Nian disagreed. "If Mr. Chongzhen fled south directly after breaking the siege, although he would inevitably be caught up in the end, the Qiao Zhuang refugees might still have a chance to escape."
"After all, even if the Lord sends an official notice to catch him at sea, he may not be able to catch him."
"If we go east, we are very likely to meet up with Guan Ning's army."
"Guan Ning's army has 40,000 to 50,000 troops, which is enough to fight with our Dashun army."
"But to the north, there is Juyong Pass in front and pursuers behind. General Mighty on the right and his brother will definitely lead their cavalry northward to outflank them from the east and west wings after they find out that they have been defeated."
"When our Dashun army is surrounded on all sides, where can old man Chongzhen run?"
Li Mou also said: "Yes, isn't Mr. Chongzhen asking for his own death?"
"You are wrong." Li Yan waved his hand, "You have ignored one fact."
"What?" Li You and Li Mou asked in confusion, "What did we overlook?"
"Topography." Li Yan said, "Don't you remember that when the Ming Dynasty Governor Yang Sichang used the strategy of 'four squares and six corners, and ten sides of the net' to encircle and suppress our Dashun army, how did the Lord escape this disaster?"
Li You said: "Why don't you remember that at the most critical moment, the Lord only led seventeen cavalry to escape into Shangluo Mountain? It was precisely because of the terrain of Shangluo Mountain that we were able to escape the pursuit of the Ming army."
Li Mouran smiled and continued: "In the twelfth year of Chongzhen, when the Lord came back from Shangluo Mountain, there were only three thousand people. If it weren't for my brother's help, how could we be here today?"
"Shut up!" Li Yan suddenly changed his tone and said, "How many times have I told you, don't mention this kind of thing again in the future."
"Isn't this what you and I are talking about in private?" Li Mouran said calmly, "I promise not to say this in front of others."
"You are not allowed to say it in private." Li Yan said sternly, "If you say it smoothly, you will blurt it out accidentally. If this word reaches the ears of the Prime Minister and the Lord, it will be unclear."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Li Nian changed the subject and said: "Brother, what does this have to do with Mr. Chongzhen?"
"Why doesn't it matter?" Li Yan said, "Don't you realize that the situation of Chongzhen at this time is somewhat similar to that of the Lord back then?"
"Well, I understand." Li Nian suddenly said, "Brother, you are saying that as long as hundreds of Chongzhen's cavalry burrow into the ravines of Yanshan Mountain, our Dashun Army will be unable to do anything to them."
"Yes." Li Yan said, "As long as they enter Yanshan, the Ming army's small number of soldiers will actually become an advantage."
"But brother, it's still wrong." Li Nian said, "My lord fled to Shangluo Mountain back then to hide his strength and bide his time until the situation changed. What use can old Chongzhen do by hiding in Yanshan Mountain?"
"We at Dashun Dynasty are not hypocrites, and we cannot give him a chance."
Li Mou also said: "Yes, old man Chongzhen can still hide in Yanshan for the rest of his life?"
"No, you are too optimistic." Li Yan frowned and said, "There are still variables in the current situation. Let's not talk about anything else. Wu Sangui's Guan Ning Army is a huge hidden danger, and there are even Jiannu slaves outside the Pass who are watching covetously."
"That's true." Li Nian said, "That's why my brother wants to go north to Gubeikou?"
"Yes." Li Yan nodded and said, "Gubeikou is one of the ancient passages into Yanshan. If you are lucky, Chongzhen will be stopped by you and me. To say the least, even if Chongzhen did not enter through Gubeikou,
Mountain, there is a high probability that he will eventually come out of the mountain from Gubeikou to meet up with Guan Ning's army, so as long as we hold Gubeikou, we will be able to catch him."
"Understood." Li Mou laughed and said, "Old Chongzhen, don't even think about escaping from my brother's grasp."
…
Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.
Li Zicheng struck the case and said: "No matter whether the Chongzhen boy is really stupid or panic-stricken, since he is seeking death on his own, I have to help him."
"Immediately send flying cavalry and order Li You and Li Yan to go north to outflank the two wings of Changping."
"Let Lao Gu lead two thousand light cavalry to the north, and together with Li You, Li Yan will capture Chongzhen alive."
"I obey the decree." Zuo Maotai bowed his head, turned around and left the Qianqing Palace to draft the edict.
Li Zicheng then said to Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance: "Prime Minister, Zuo Military Advisor, let's discuss the matter just now. Should Wu Sangui's tens of thousands of Guan Ning troops be attacked or surrendered?"
Song Xiance said: "I think that if we can recruit surrender, we should do so."
Niu Jinxing said: "But Wu Sangui is different from Tang Tong, Bai Guangen, and Zhang Tianlin. The strength of Guan Ning's army is much stronger than that of Xuanfu Town and Datong Town."
Song Xiance said: "It is precisely because Guan Ning's army is strong that it should be recruited."
Niu Jinxing said: "If you caress me, will my tail be too big to fall off in the future?"
Song Xiance said: "My subordinates think that we should recruit as much as possible, because once the recruitment is successful, not only can we get a new force to resist the slaves outside the pass, but we can also give Zuo Liangyu, Liu Zeqing and other Ming army border towns in the south of the Yangtze a piece of cake."
It’s a reassurance that it will be much easier for my Dashun army to pacify Jiangnan in the future.”
"It makes sense." Li Zicheng agreed, "Then let's appease."
Niu Jinxing said: "Since the Lord has decided to recruit, it is best to send a few surrendered generals there. After Wu Sangui saw that the Lord treated the Ming Dynasty's surrendered troops well and entrusted the surrendered generals with important tasks, Wu Sangui would not
Doubts arise again.”
Li Zicheng said: "Then let Bai Guangen and Tang Tong go to Yongping Mansion, and bring 40,000 taels of silver with them."
To be honest, Li Zicheng also felt that forty thousand taels of silver was a bit shabby, but he couldn't afford more.
Song Xiance rolled his eyes and said: "Your Majesty, Wu Sangui's father Wu Xiang is in the capital. Why don't you ask Wu Xiang to write a letter of surrender to Wu Sangui. This letter can be worth one hundred thousand taels of silver."
Li Zicheng said: "It's good, just do it like this."
