Emperor Chongzhen finally did not feel ruthless towards this veteran minister who had worked hard by his side for many years. Although he asked Wen Tiren to retire and go home, he still gave him the dignity he deserved. Before leaving, he gave him gold, silver, silk and satin, and ordered officials from the Department of Travel to
Escorted him all the way to his hometown in Zhejiang.
But without power, Wen Tiren also drained his life force. When he returned to his hometown, the former prime minister who had been vigorously suppressing political opponents a year ago fell ill and died the next year.
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Wen Tiren is a standard politician who has made no achievements in governing the country. During his tenure as prime minister, the situation inside and outside the Ming Dynasty also worsened step by step. Although there were objective factors such as natural disasters and disasters during this period, there was also Dong Lin.
The party members obstructed the government in every possible way for the sake of one party, but as the chief minister, Wen Tiren was indeed extremely unqualified. He was also one of the chief culprits for the demise of the Ming Dynasty.
In this political change, the officialdom of Nanzhili, the stronghold of the Donglin Party, did not join. It was not for other reasons, because they were currently being devastated by Liu Guoneng's peasant army.
At the beginning of the tenth year of Chongzhen, after Liu Guoneng led his more than 60,000 troops to the Dabie Mountains, he was not in a hurry to attack everywhere and seize supplies to supply his army with so many troops. First, he tore off the "loyalty of Jianghu".
With this mask, Wen Gong and Wu Wei began to integrate the remnants of the peasant army in the Dabie Mountains. It looked like those who obeyed me prospered and those who went against me perished.
Liu Guoneng also has Xiao Jiujiu. His future status in the Runing Army will only depend on how many people surrender to him. Whether Wu Butcher will kill the donkeys will also depend on how many troops he has, so he still orders troops from Han Xin.
——The more, the merrier! Therefore, with Liu Guoneng’s efforts, his men and horses suddenly expanded to more than 80,000.
After entering March, although there were secret supplies from the Runing Army, Liu Guoneng's Ministry could not just sit back and take advantage of the situation. For this reason, he must launch military operations abroad.
However, this military operation has only one direction, which is to go east to Chuzhou and Nanjing. Because to the west is the territory of the Runing Army. To the south is the Yangtze River, and to the north is the 20,000-strong army of Fengyang Governor Zhu Dadian.
At the end of February, Liu Guoneng led 50,000 elite troops to Tongcheng. Unsurprisingly, Tongcheng was captured in one attack. Then Liu Guoneng divided his troops again into Huaining. The magistrate of Huaining abandoned the city and fled, so Liu Guoneng captured the two cities without any blood.
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Then Liu Guoneng's troops began to move towards Lujiang County. He was going to pass through Luzhou from the south of Chaohu Lake and enter Chuzhou, Anhui. But at this time, an accident happened.
According to Wu Shigong's original plan, the direction of Liu Guoneng's movement was very flexible, and he could often make his own decisions. If he encountered a strong enemy, Liu Guoneng could avoid it, give way, change his route, or even retreat to the Dabie Mountains to recuperate. The key is to
Preserve Liu Guoneng's strength.
Wu Shigong wanted Liu Guoneng's troops to disrupt the Anhui area, and used his threats to attract the attention of the Beizhili officers and soldiers, waiting for the Nanjing Ministry of War to summon the Runing army to jointly suppress the bandits.
In this way, the Runing Army's troops are well-known and can gain great benefits in the Anhui area. In addition, it is logical to openly recruit Liu Guo's energy department. Moreover, if the surrendered peasant army is resettled on the spot, then this area
It was controlled by the Runing Army in disguise.
The projected influence can even reach Anqing, allowing the navy of the Runing Army to add another base on the Yangtze River. Therefore, the key is that Liu Guoneng has the strength, not to let him fight head-on with the army. So on this point
The requirements of Runing Army and Liu Guoneng's interests are the same.
However, as the imperial envoy Xu Mengqi failed to arrest Wu Shigong, the Runing Army's plan underwent major changes. First, the Runing Army's strength shrank and they would no longer pretend to pursue Liu Guoneng's troops. Then the supply of covert support also decreased.
The Runing Army must save every grain of ammunition and food and prepare to face the encirclement and suppression by the imperial court's heavy troops.
Then came the death orders to Liu Guoneng's men. Wu Shigong asked Liu Guoneng not to go to Chuzhou after passing Chaohu, but to change direction and go straight to Nanjing.
In fact, this completely regarded the Liu Guoneng Department as an abandoned son. Wu Shigong needed the Liu Guoneng Department to entangle Nanzhili, especially the capital camp in Nanjing City. It would be best if both sides suffered losses, so that they would be unable to attack the Runing Army again.
attack.
Although he felt a little uncomfortable when he received the order, Liu Guoneng still didn't think much about it. He couldn't help but think about it because his family was still in the hands of the Runing Army. But on March 22, Liu Guoneng's troops arrived
While here in Wuwei County, Wu Shigong was unsuccessfully assassinated by the imperial envoy, and news came that the Runing Army was preparing to rebel. This made Liu Guoneng stop immediately.
This hesitation allowed more than 1,300 officers and soldiers who rushed over to enter Wuwei County under the leadership of a guard. Together with the young men recruited from Wuwei County, the defense here was suddenly strengthened.
And by the time Liu Guoneng figured out that no matter how he acted, he had to protect Wuwei County's retreat, his actions were already too late. After that, he could only attack Wuwei County.
A bloody siege lasted for three days and resulted in more than 5,000 casualties. Only then did Liu Guoneng drive the army out of Wuwei County. And it was only an expulsion. The magistrate of Wuwei County and the garrison led more than 1,000 soldiers.
Bingding and Qingzhuang fled to Hanshan County.
This puts Liu Guoneng in a dilemma now. Whether he is going to Chuzhou or Nanjing, Hanshan County cannot be bypassed. But Liu Guoneng cannot retreat because his weak spot is being held by the Runing army.
So Liu Guoneng began to stand still. He sent supervision to the Runing Army. Lin Yufei who contacted him gave various reasons why he refused to advance towards Nanjing. In Liu Guoneng's mind, he also wanted to see clearly the further actions of the Runing Army.
, and then decide your own actions.
Therefore, the arrest incident has actually caused a chain reaction, especially causing great harm to the Runing Army. In addition to creating a huge rift with the imperial court, the Runing Army's strategy for Southern Zhili has also been greatly affected.
influence.
Although Liu Guoneng's current reaction was reasonable and did not result in the worst outcome, such as surrendering to the Nanjing army, his behavior also began to alienate the Runing army.
But for Liu Guoneng, he did not wait for the good news, because his stay also caused the Nanjing officers and soldiers to come up with reinforcements in time. So when Liu Guoneng discovered this situation, he had to fight with the Nanjing troops in Wuwei County.