Zhu Changcheng tried his best to save Xiangyang from the emperor. He thought that Xiangyang would be safe if he could contain the emperor and the princes around Xiangyang no matter what. Unfortunately, he ignored an important incalculable variable, Zhang Xianzhong.
Zhang Xianzhong had already gained prominence in Xiangyang as early as the 14th year of Chongzhen, that is, 1641. It is well known that Zhang Xianzhong had four adopted sons, but among his four sons, the second one was the most capable.
Li Dingguo is here.
The eldest son, Sun Kewang, was honest about his duties, but he was not a general. The third and fourth eldest were Liu Wenxiu and Ai Nengqi. These two were clever, but their cleverness lacked the composure of a general, making them embarrassed for their big responsibilities.
The most outstanding among them is this second son, Li Dingguo, courtesy name Ningyu, from Yulin, Shaanxi. In the third year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong launched an uprising of hungry people in northern Shaanxi, and accidentally picked up a skinny but pleasant-looking child.
He just casually adopted Li Dingguo, who was still a young boy, as his adopted son.
In the tenth year of Chongzhen, the 17-year-old Li Dingguo led 20,000 men to follow Zhang Xianzhong in attacking Henan and Hubei. He was like a dragon entering the sea, fighting with ease despite the lack of supplies.
Four years later, in February, Li Dingguo disguised himself as an official and sneaked into Xiangyang and obtained a large amount of supplies. King Xiang made many compromises to maintain his position in Xiangyang.
On November 16, the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong proclaimed himself emperor in Chengdu and established the Daxi regime, which was named "Dashun". Not long after, Li Dingguo was named General Anxi and supervised sixteen military camps.
As a young man, Li Dingguo was not quickly dazzled by victory like most people. He studied seriously with his adoptive father and had a good reputation in the army.
Everyone said that this young general treated everyone equally with rewards and punishments, and had no airs, so they all liked him. Zhang Xianzhong was also very satisfied with this adopted son who was gentle, respectful, kind, intelligent and courageous.
Zhang Xianzhong was careless and suffered Zuo Liangyu's loss. He had already retreated towards Chengdu. He first divided a small group of people and fled north, then changed his direction calmly.
As soon as Zuo Liangyu defeated Zhang Xianzhong, who had always been a tough nut to crack, he was so excited and complacent that he didn't realize that what he was chasing was just a remnant of soldiers. Zhang Xianzhong had already returned home in a swaggering manner.
Not surprisingly, the first person to greet him was Ning Yu. Although Zhang Xianzhong thought that he had never suspected that his second son had any disloyal intentions, Ning Yuan had obviously been trying his best to avoid the possibility of this happening.
The boy in his twenties is tall and handsome. He always seems to turn back into a child in front of Zhang Xianzhong. He is always worried that he will do something wrong to make his adoptive father unhappy. Although he has grown up to be so old, he has never made Zhang Xianzhong unhappy.
So happy.
When Zhang Xianzhong was young, he was called "Huang Hu". Although he was not tall, he imitated Guan Gong and grew a beard.
This man was indeed brave, and over time he got the nickname "Yellow Tiger".
Although he is a tiger, he is not a tiger that cannot tolerate others, not to mention that this outstanding talent is his own son, so he was even more happy for him. When he saw him, he came out and patted his shoulder vigorously.
Li Dingguo lowered his head and smiled, then followed Zhang Xianzhong and looked around, reporting to him one by one everything that happened here during his absence, in detail.
Zhang Xianzhong listened patiently at first, but later he even spent dozens of copper coins and Li Dingguo came up with his talk. He couldn't stand it anymore, so he waved his hand and looked at his second son in a funny way: "Ning Yu!
, from now on, you can just deal with such small things, and there is no need to report everything to me in detail. You are my son, and as a father, I know your nature best, don’t you still believe me?"
Li Dingguo nodded and led Zhang Xianzhong towards the stable: "My child got a good horse a few days ago. I kept it specially for my father to come back and take a look."
Zhang Xianzhong followed Li Dingguo with his hands behind his back, then suddenly thought of something and ordered the people next to him: "Jin Zhong, have you bought all the things I asked you to buy last time?"
Liu Jinzhong, who had been silent all the time and just followed the father and son silently, didn't know what he was thinking. It wasn't until Li Dingguo pushed him with a small movement that he realized that Zhang Xianzhong was calling him, and he hurriedly came back to his senses to apologize.
Zhang Xianzhong asked him what was going on with an unhappy expression. Liu Jinzhong explained in a low voice that maybe he was a little tired these days. Zhang Xianzhong thought about it and thought that his subordinate was indeed tired these days, so he should be allowed to rest: "Well, Jinzhong
Please stop following me around during this period. Go to Jinshanpu to help me keep an eye on them for a few days, rest there for a few days and then come back and continue."
After Zhang Xianzhong finished speaking, he forgot that he had questions to ask, and followed Li Dingguo directly to the stables to see Li Dingguo's new horse.
After he left, Liu Jinzhong still stood there with a complicated expression, and he did not follow him at all. After listening to Zhang Xianzhong's words, his whole face was covered with a layer of blackness, and he looked gloomy.
Zhang Xianzhong saw the legendary horse. It was black and shiny, tall and strong. The most rare thing was that the horse's four hoofs were a circle of snow-white down. Together they looked very dazzling. It turned out to be dark clouds treading on the snow.
It's a good horse.
Zhang Xianzhong was full of praise for the horse, but when Li Dingguo offered to give it to him, he refused: "Ning Yu, this horse is indeed a rare good horse. Since you are destined to it, you should treat it well."
, as for being a father, am I still missing your horse? Okay, let’s take good care of it.”
Li Dingguo really liked this horse. Now that his adoptive father had spoken, he had nothing to worry about. He excitedly walked over and touched the horse's tall head. The horse was rarely docile and allowed him to touch it, minding its own business.
Eating grass.
When the father and son reached a position where no one else could see them, Zhang Xianzhong slowly put away his calm and unhurried look, showing a rare sad look on his face.
Of course, Li Dingguo could see that his father had something to say to him, and he specifically chose to say it when no one else was around. He stopped and said in a concerned tone: "Father, I think we have encountered some difficulty. Why don't you tell your son?"
Listen and see if you can share your worries with your father."
Zhang Xianzhong's eyes were serious: "Ning Yu, have you heard that the Manchus suffered a loss in the capital?"
Li Dingguo nodded: "I don't know what benefits Zhu Youjian promised to Li Zicheng. He originally came to the capital to be the emperor, but now he and Wu Sangui have sold their lives for the emperor."