During this period of time, he could see new troops from the Chuang army arriving in Taiyuan from Shaanxi and Henan provinces every day. The soldiers had all heard the news that King Chuang was about to proclaim himself emperor in Taiyuan.
Everyone cherished the hope of becoming a founding father, and ordinary soldiers rushed to Shanxi in a state of excitement, nervousness and busyness.
The gentry and people in Taiyuan City have not yet become fully familiar with the Chuang Army, and people from all over the country are inquiring about relevant news. Because some people heard that the Chuang Army values Shaanxi people in particular, so some Shanxi gentry specially invited their friends from Shaanxi.
I went out with my relatives and brought various gifts and specialties to visit the civil and military officials of Chuang Army, trying to find out the important event of King Li Chuang proclaiming himself emperor.
Although the military situation on the front line was still very tense, because Li Zicheng turned Taiyuan into a large military camp, most of the generals of the Chuang Army were summoned to the city in order to discuss the next decisive battle with Huang Taiji.
At Niu Jinxing's suggestion, Li Zicheng made a splurge for the first time and gave each of the generals a mansion. Most of the mansions were confiscated from the property of the feudal princes, and a small part.
It comes from the "payments" of some speculative gentry.
Li Laiheng, as General Quan, the most senior military attache in the Chuang Army, of course also received a luxurious villa from Li Zicheng.
In front of the gates of high-ranking generals in the army, there is an endless stream of people. Shanxi officials and gentry come and go to greet and see off, looking for relatives and friends, asking for help, marrying off daughters, sending children to join the army.
None of them are in the minority.
The decisive battle has not yet been decided, but Huang Taiji used deception to "cheat" the Ming court, making the world's justice seem to fall entirely on the side of the Chuang army. Some speculative gentry, therefore, were more optimistic about the future of the Chuang army, and naturally they did not
Not surprisingly.
After all, by this time Li Zicheng had already fully promoted the "nine-class salary system" established in Henan. At this time, the Chuang Army no longer implemented a simple and crude policy of over-extended torture and plunder, except for the property of the Ming Dynasty vassal.
In addition to confiscation and severe torture and crackdowns on some local tyrants and evil gentry with extremely bad reputations, most officials and gentry only need to pay different levels of "salary money" according to their property and official level, and they can pass smoothly.
Even for many lower-ranking Ming Dynasty clans, Li Zicheng gave them the freedom to study, take imperial examinations, farm and do business after abolishing their clan privileges.
With such relatively generous policies and treatment, the attitudes of Taiyuan officials and gentry are, of course, changing subtly as time goes by.
"Master of the Mansion, some local gentry has asked some folks from Mizhi to come to the Mansion to deliver gifts."
Fang Yiren held a list of gifts in his hand and reluctantly put them aside to count Li Laiheng's. The local gentry knew that Chuang Jun Yuan Cong mostly came from Yan'an and Mizhi area, so they wanted to ask for help or marriage, and most of them made a special trip.
Get someone from Mizhi to come to the door on your behalf.
The weather has been getting warmer recently. Li Laiheng was only wearing a simple scholar's green shirt. He was writing a letter to the Chu Chuang generals who were staying in Huguang. After hearing what Fang Yiren said, Li Laiheng raised his head and said,
Somewhat impatiently:
"We have only been in Taiyuan for a few days. There are already more than a dozen groups of people who have come to give gifts. I asked Song Xiance to tell His Highness about this a few days ago, but there must have been no response."
"Master, you are General Quan of the Chuang Army. The Lord's foster father is also General Quan of the Chuang Army, and you are a kin to His Highness. What's more, Tian'er Mansion was besieged by the Qing army in Taiyuan City some time ago and was in a state of embarrassment.
It's unbearable, but the replacement commander won a small victory at Tianmen Pass. Even the local gentry who are not familiar with the inside story of the invading army know which people are more valuable to them."
Fang Yiren said as he sat aside and folded the gift list on the table. There was already a list of gifts about the thickness of a knuckle on the table, all of which were delivered to the door by Li Laiheng and Fang Yiren after they arrived in Taiyuan.
thing.
Li Laiheng glanced at the list for a moment, but he couldn't help it, and he was so angry that he laughed:
"What kind of person do these gentlemen think of me, Li Laiheng? Leshan, you said they gave away gold, silver, pearls, calligraphy, paintings and antiques. What kind of things do they give to musicians, singers, and their own daughters?"
?Is it true that the intruders are not robbing enough now because they don’t have enough sticks? I should really call Waiqi and Waiqi to Taiyuan!"
After Li Zicheng led the main force of the Chuang Army to lift the siege of Taiyuan, most of the senior generals of the Chuang Army gathered in Taiyuan City. People in Jinzhong were all proud to make friends with the generals in the army. Those who were able to marry the generals of the Chuang Army felt that they were in their own family.
No. stable.
What's more, Li Laiheng is young, only about 20 years old, but he is already one of the most senior generals in the army. His status and authority are extremely illustrious. Many Shanxi gentry have heard some legends about "Master Li".
Who doesn't want to marry a handsome woman to stabilize his family in the new dynasty?
"It's ridiculous, ridiculous... Now that the decisive battle is imminent, our generals are busy repairing their mansions and getting married. This is not a good sign."
Li Laiheng felt a little unhappy, but Fang Yiren explained for him: "General Chuang Jun really can't see the situation clearly, and he is a fool who is thinking about pleasure now. But most of the generals, the palace master, you should have seen them a few days ago,
Didn't the commander-in-chief and commander-in-chief Gong give all the mansions given by King Chuang to the soldiers to live in? I heard that even Li Shuangxi was like this. Although he had newly married a woman from a local gentry family, he also gave up the mansion he received from the local gentry.
Many of the gifts that arrived were handed over.”
The 200,000 troops of the Ming and Qing allied forces still threatened the survival of the Chuang Army during the Yan Dynasty. Under such circumstances, although some of the generals of the Chuang Army were influenced by the "sugar-coated bullets" of the local gentry.
But most people, as Fang Yiren said, there are people like Li Guo and Liu Fangliang who don't care about material rewards at all and are busy training soldiers and preparing for military affairs every day. There are also people like Li Shuangxi who are young and proud, but they are not obsessed with wealth.
.
Judging from the overall proportion, the generals who relax their vigilance are in the minority; the generals who maintain vigilance and combat readiness are the majority.
"This is a trivial matter after all... Now that the Chuang Army has not reached the point where it can be regarded as a flower-wrapped brocade or a raging fire cooking oil, Huang Taiji has an army of 200,000 people. What kind of military power is this? He really wants to kill it with one sword.
, whether we can withstand it or not remains to be seen. The great cause has not yet been decided, but the atmosphere in Taiyuan City seems to be that the foundation has been established, and as soon as King Chuang becomes emperor, the world will be settled."
Fang Yiren immediately said: "King Chuang proclaimed himself emperor, and all the generals received promotions and titles. The generals of the Qin army who had surrendered to Chuang camp in Guanzhong, such as Bai Guangen, Zuo Guangxian and others, would also be granted the title of marquis or uncle. How many more?
Less can inspire morale and stabilize people's hearts. Before the decisive battle, proclaim yourself emperor first to boost the morale of the invading army and establish our righteousness and orthodoxy. Then we will not be inferior to others in the battle later... Palace Lord, His Highness will proclaim himself emperor in these few days.
Damn it, it’s definitely not a problem for the master of the palace to find a prince."
Li Laiheng naturally understood Li Zicheng's intentions in preparing to proclaim himself emperor in Taiyuan at this time. He was just unhappy with the slackness of some of the generals who invaded Taiyuan City.
When some generals of the Chuang Army reported the good news to their families and fellow villagers and married new wives in the provincial capital, villagers from all over the country, old friends and gentry from Taiyuan who were interested in making friends with the generals of the Chuang Army came to visit them one after another.
While there was a lively scene in front of each house, the houses of several generals looked unusually deserted.
Because of the defeat of Datong and Yanmen, Tian Jianxiu was temporarily put on the bench by Li Zicheng and received a certain degree of marginalization. The number of people who fawned over him naturally decreased a lot.
Yuan Zongdi is still in northern Shaanxi, and Liu Fangliang just arrived in Taiyuan yesterday. Like Li Guo, he has a jealous temper and can't stand those gentry who deliberately fawn over.
When Li Laiheng was a guest at Liu Fangliang's house, he saw with his own eyes that his Master Liu picked up a big sword and knocked out all the gentlemen who came to give gifts.
Although Li Guo's approach was not as drastic as Liu Fangliang's, he also resolutely expressed his attitude that he did not want to be rewarded, let alone accept gifts from anyone. Li Guo's place now has nothing but personal soldiers and a few servants coming in and out.
The house was deserted, no fellow countrymen came to visit, and no gentry from Shanxi dared to visit.
However, apart from the lack of visitors, Li Guo had to do a lot of things. Originally, all the chores in Taiyuan were left to Tian Jianxiu, but now that Tian Erfu has become a sideline, Li Zicheng sent Li Guo to temporarily share the work.