Li Zicheng is worthy of being a great hero in the world. Even though he was at a disadvantage at this time, and both Jingzhou and Xiangyang were likely to be lost, he was still able to sit firmly in Tongguan without a trace of trouble. He patrolled the city defenses during the day and took an early rest when it got dark.
.
Song Xiance did not keep him waiting too long. On the third day after Li Zicheng returned to Tongguan, fast horses rushed straight into the city from the north of the city along the Yellow River bank. These were people sent by Song Xiance from the capital.
This stage is still in the negotiation stage, and Li Yan does not intercept them or do anything difficult.
Song Xiance sent people here for three purposes. First, to confirm whether Li Zicheng was safe, secondly, whether the situation on the Yellow River defense line was as stated in Li Yan's secret letter, and thirdly, to convey the imperial court's conditions.
Seeing that Li Zicheng was safe and sound, the messenger was overjoyed and kept talking about the situation in the capital: Except for Song Xiance, who could freely enter and leave the capital and the camp, everyone else was under house arrest and had no food, but they killed horses and ate meat and drank soup.
No one can starve to death.
Li Zicheng had no time to pay attention to the stumbling block of the imperial court, so he only asked: "Does the military advisor know what is going on in Jingxiang?"
The messenger shook his head: "The military advisor didn't mention it."
Li Zicheng frowned. Song Xiance didn't mention what happened there, which meant that he didn't expect that the little eunuch had such a big appetite and stretched out his hands so long, not only causing chaos in the Yellow River, but also in Jingxiang.
When he read Song Xiance's secret letter to him mentioning the court's conditions, Li Zicheng immediately laughed angrily!
He had long been mentally prepared for the harsh conditions of the imperial court, but how harsh they were was astonishing. As early as when he had the idea of peace talks, he had discussed it with the thieves' leaders and drawn red lines, such as retaining the army. He had also thought that the imperial court would
He was used to deal with Zhang Xianzhong, but the imperial court actually wanted him to fight with the Tatars to regain Jinzhou.
Of course, since he has surrendered, he is a member of the court and can be beaten by anyone. But the problem is that his bottom line is that the court must first make him king and then surrender.
But now, the court's condition is that you have to surrender first to recover Jinzhou or defeat Zhang Xianzhong before I can make you the vassal king, and you can't keep the troops. This means that I will work for you without even a basic salary, and I will have to work for you.
You will get salary only after you have completed your performance. After you have completed your performance, you will be taken away from your job. If the court turns against you at that time, you will be at the mercy of others.
The imperial court is asking for free prostitution!
The candlelight flickered in the hall, and Li Zicheng remained silent for a long time with a dark face, while Li Guo stood at the door of the hall with his hands behind his back, looking up at the sky.
After a while, Li Guo turned around and walked to Li Zicheng: "Father, the imperial court is pushing people too hard."
Huh... Li Zicheng got up and walked slowly to the yard, looked up at the night: "Forget it, but accept it."
"Father!" Li Guo was startled and opened his mouth to speak but Li Zicheng waved his hand to stop him: "I know you are very dissatisfied, and so am I, but the situation is compelling and I have to obey..."
"Is the situation what my father said is this side of the Yellow River or that of Jingxiang?" Li Guo angrily said: "If these two places are not the end of the road, Li Yan in the north has no power to send troops. We only need to repel Wu Sangui in front of us, and the situation will be settled.
Turn, there is a natural chasm over Jingxiang, Zuo Liangyu may not be able to capture it in a short time, and his father also said before that the court is also willing to negotiate peace, and they will not care about it! What's more, as his father said, Dashun
The country has dozens of cities, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, and enough capital to bargain with him! Why did my father accept it in a hurry?"
"Tired!" Li Zicheng sighed, turned around and walked into the room, sitting down slumped. Li Guo was shocked. At that moment, he actually saw something he had never seen before. Although he and Li Zicheng were similar in age, they were father and son.
They are like brothers and have always regarded him as an idol and role model. In the past ten years of their fierce fighting career, they have had victories and tragic defeats, but he has never seen Li Zicheng have such a sense of defeat and inadequacy.
Is he old?
No, he is only in his forties.
Then he is really tired.
Is this what the so-called twilight years of a hero are like? Li Guo felt sad, as the era of a generation of heroes was about to come to an end.
"If at that time, even if the vassal king is granted as he wished, the military power has been removed and the vassal king has been reduced to a piece of meat. How many days has this vassal king been doing this? Father, think twice." Li Guo sighed, and Li Zicheng smiled slightly and waved his hand: "
Although the conditions of the court are harsh, they are still within the scope that I can accept. Of course, the overall situation can be considered, but the details have to be discussed. I have never been slaughtered by anyone in my life."
Li Guo breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Li Zicheng had other things to think about. In addition to what Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu, and other big guys put on the table at that time, there were other things Xiao Jiujiu said.
The father and son discussed it very late and did not fall asleep until early in the morning.
At three o'clock in the morning, Tian Jianxiu and Liu Fangliang came here secretly from Dali. Since Ma Huabao withdrew his troops to go north to Li Yan to suspend military operations on the central and northern lines, Dali had finally solved the siege and restored contact with other cities. He also knew that Li Zicheng had returned safely.
Arrive at Tongguan and ask the two of them to meet in secret.
Naturally, there was a sigh of relief when they met each other. After briefly talking about the process of escaping, they got back to business and returned to the important matter of peace talks.
The situation is the current situation. The imperial court also put forward conditions, which were very harsh, but Li Zicheng gritted his teeth and accepted them. As his cronies, Tian Jianxiu and Liu Fangliang followed his lead. Since Li Zicheng accepted them, there was nothing to say, but
He put forward his own opinions and suggestions on the details in the framework. At sunset, Li Zicheng personally wrote a secret letter and sent it to Song Xiance's office in the capital.
Coincidentally, Chang Yu happened to be leaving Beijing on the day Li Zicheng fled back to Tongguan. Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Li Zicheng straightened the boards in the general affairs office in Tongguan, while Chang Yu slowly walked all the way to Hejian Prefecture.
There are twenty riders in a carriage. Although it is a bit eye-catching along the way, it is not very eye-catching. After all, there are many convoys of merchants and goods on the road. In other words, the commercial economy is beginning to gradually recover.
Chang Yu didn't walk very fast, but he wasn't just traveling around. Every time he passed a city, he would stop and wander around the village and take a look at the fields. What made him relieved was that the village was no longer what it was a year ago.
It is desolate. I recall that during Li Zicheng's Eastern Expedition and when the Tatars entered the customs, the villages at that time were empty and the fields were overgrown with weeds. Now after more than half a year of recuperation, the village has become alive and there are people working in the fields.
, the weeds in the fields also turned into crops.
However, the people are still poor. It is normal for their families to be penniless. They are all ragged, skinny, and have sallow complexions. They are obviously malnourished. To put it bluntly, the people still have no food to eat. It is still a period of famine, even if the court exempts them.
Taxation of war-torn areas in Gyeonggi Province.
When it prospers, the people suffer; when it dies, the people suffer.
Anyway, no matter who is in the world, the common people will suffer the most, but even so, Chang Yu would rather stay away from the suffering of the common people than the suffering of happiness, because the suffering of death is not only suffering, but also difficult!
In an inn in Hejian City, Chang Yu and Zheng Zhilong, who were dressed in casual clothes, were drinking and eating dinner by the window facing the street. Tu Yuan and his brothers performed their duties and lurked around while eating, drinking and keeping watch.
I don’t know who Zheng Zhilong is, but he met a carriage traveling with him on the way, and the two of them had a very good chat, and then they started on the road together.
Zheng Zhilong is a person who has seen the world, and he is a person who knows a lot about the world. He knows what to say and ask, and what not to say and ask. Therefore, he rarely talks along the way, even when chatting with Chang Yu.
He didn't talk too much about asking questions, but Chang Yu couldn't stop talking. He asked about his years at sea, listened to him talk about things at sea, and inquired about various things about the Japanese country. His eyes were always full of yearning.
Over time, Zheng Zhilong had a strange feeling in his heart. In fact, many high-ranking officials in the imperial court looked down on his pirate background, but they were afraid of his strength before dating him. However, this little eunuch never looked down upon him at all, and even
He always showed admiration and admiration, which made him feel that being a pirate was not as exciting as being a pirate.
He likes to listen to naval battles, fights against the Dutch fleet, fights against other pirates, and fights against the Spanish fleet...
Of course, Chang Chang not only asked about his affairs, but also talked about his own affairs. For example, every time he passed a place with memory points, he would talk about what happened when he led his troops here...
It just so happened that Zheng Zhilong also liked what he said.
So after getting along for a few days, Zheng Zhilong began to doubt himself. In the past, he always felt that he had read all kinds of things in life, but he had never seen anyone like the little eunuch!
It is astonishing that he can become the governor of Dongchang at such a young age, but he is also a strong soldier, and his invincible strategizing is even more astonishing. But as the governor of Dongchang, he... is too awesome
He is so strange, there is no official airs, no eunuch temperament or habits, and as we get along with him for a long time, I feel more and more extraordinary about him, but it is so indescribable.
He still has little life experience, Zheng Zhilong always laughs at himself. But he also feels very lucky to have met such a magical person. It is this person and not the identity of the governor of the East Factory.
In other words, he originally intended to make friends with Chang Yu because he was interested in his identity as the governor of the East Factory and regarded Chang Yu as his backer, but now he is attracted to this man.
This is a very interesting person.
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