Chapter 231: Welcoming the Chuang King, He Doesn't Pay Meals, Anyone Who Doesn't Welcome Kills All
Two days after the defeat of the Baoji County invaders, in the city of Xi'an, near the former Shaanxi governor's office, there was a festivity based on human blood and flesh.
Li Zicheng has just completed most of the process of establishing the name Dashun. The original shogunate of Sun Chuanting was temporarily transformed into his own palace.
The red tape at the ceremony also made him a little confused.
"I didn't expect that setting up an account would require so much ostentation. If one day I really take it a step further, I don't know what it will be like. Life in Chongzhen must be quite boring..."
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After just completing a ceremony, Li Zicheng couldn't help but have such thoughts flashing through his heart.
Of course, he wasn't really impatient, it was just a fleeting thought subconsciously.
After all, I was born in a poor family and had little experience. I had barely gotten over the initial excitement of this kind of intense excitement.
Not to mention Li Zicheng, even Liu Bang was licked by Shusun Tong, who had surrendered to the Qin State, and restored the Confucian etiquette of monarchs and ministers. Liu Bang was also very happy, "finally realized the dignity of being an emperor."
If you really want to get tired of these etiquettes, you have to enjoy them for more than two years to develop the magnanimity of someone who has been in a position of power for a long time. After all, according to psychology, even if you just find a girlfriend, it will take eighteen months to get used to it.
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"Congratulations, Your Majesty, Congratulations, Your Majesty, now that we have established a so-called system, I, Da Shi, have the right to fight for the orthodoxy of the world. One day, we will invade Beijing and force Chongzhen's son to submit. We should be in harmony with heaven and man, and follow the rules of Yao and Shun, and then the world will be reunited!"
"
As soon as Li Zicheng's ceremony ended, "Prime Minister" Niu Jinxing rushed up to say more congratulatory words.
Although Li Zicheng did not claim the title of emperor, nor had he appointed a prime minister, Dashun State had already become a political entity, and its internal titles were relatively confusing. Everyone had privately changed their name to Niu Jinxing as "prime minister."
Even Song Xiance did not dare to be dissatisfied. Song Xiance was better than Niu Jinxing in prophesying auspiciousness and scheming, but he was far inferior to the right way of governing the country and the means of civil affairs. They gradually formed a tacit understanding: Song Xiance used to
Zhang Liang thinks of himself, while Niu Jinxing thinks of himself as Xiao He.
The most important thing is that Song Xiance was just a scholar when he was in the Ming Dynasty! But Niu Jinxing was already a juren when he was in the Ming Dynasty! Only those who were born in juren are qualified to be prime ministers! If you are born in a scholar, hehe, it is very good to be a military advisor.
At this moment, facing the flattery of his subordinates, Li Zicheng was somewhat self-aware: "Hey, Niu Qing is serious. Although I have established an account, my Dashun only has two or three provinces now.
I don't want all the people in the world to be in ruins. If Chongzhen's son recognizes me and is willing to recognize me as Dashun, it's not like I can't accept the recognition of Chongzhen as the emperor. I will grant him the title of king and rule the northwest forever. We can also help him block the Tatars from the northwest.
Guan, he won't lose either.
I only regret that Chongzhen is a child who is stubborn and refuses to give in even after being beaten so badly. He will most likely be forced to act cruelly alone in the future."
Li Zicheng exchanged a few words of modesty with Niu Jinxing, and then fell into a soliloquy.
Not to mention, even after he established his account, his action plan and goals were still not very clear.
Historically, after going all the way to the capital during the Northern Expedition, and even breaking through the Ningwuguan Pass and entering the Hebei Plain, Li Zicheng was still trying to write a letter to Chongzhen, asking for a title after seeing him first, recognizing him as the king of the northwest, gaining legitimacy and settling down, and then
Draw it again slowly.
In the end, Chongzhen refused to compromise, and Li Zicheng fought all the way to Beijing. Therefore, Li Zicheng was really lacking in the grand strategic plan. He took every step and did not have a clear idea of the ultimate goal he wanted to achieve early in the morning.
Niu Jinxing couldn't figure out Li Zichen's intention for a while, so he stopped flattering him for the time being.
Next to him, Song Xiance finally seized the opportunity and hurriedly took advantage of the opportunity to show off his character of knowing astronomy and destiny: "How can the king follow his own ambitions? I am watching the Qianxiang at night. I am extremely prosperous, and the sky is as high as the earth."
, It’s hard to say enough! This is exactly what the king will do sooner or later to replace Chongzhen’s son..."
Song Xiance was talking non-stop, but in the middle of what he was saying, there was a commotion outside the temporary palace. Li Zicheng frowned slightly and wanted to question him, but the person who came had already passed the interrogation by the guards outside and rushed in.
"Your Majesty! Governor Yuan has been defeated and returned to Yi County! The West Route Army lost 20,000 to 30,000 troops, and some of Sun Chuanting's old tribesmen were recaptured by the government and forced to land!" The messenger was out of breath and picked up the most important items first.
The message said.
"What? This is impossible! Even if Yuan Zongdi can't capture Baoji County and Dashan Pass, he won't be defeated miserably! Do the officers and soldiers still dare to pursue him?" Before Li Zicheng could speak, Song Xiance next to him jumped up first and jumped over to take over.
By sternly questioning him, he also took the opportunity to show his intelligence and quick response.
The messenger looked mournful, took a few breaths, and hurriedly explained: "Song Military Advisor, you don't know something. The general who led the army at Dashan Pass was actually Cao Bianjiao himself. He was not in Nanzheng. He personally went to Dashang Pass to supervise the battle, and he kept it secret.
, Governor Yuan was deceived by him and was not careful for a moment.
Cao Bianjiao seemed to have obtained the new firearms allocated by Zhu Shuren, and his combat power was extremely sharp. When Governor Yuan urged him to attack the city, he originally planned to use a digging wooden donkey to destroy the wall, and then bury more than a dozen coffins with gunpowder to blow up the wall.
Unexpectedly, the army had sharp artillery that could fire downwards, and its penetrating power was far beyond expectations. Large hardwood trees as thick as one person, tied side by side to form a dugout, could be blasted through the top of the slope, detonating the gunpowder inside.
Cao Bianjiao led the nine-sided cavalry, and while our front army suffered heavy casualties from the self-explosion of gunpowder, he suddenly opened the door and rushed out, covering up the enemy for dozens of miles, and was intercepted and surrounded by the Baoji County army, and some of them were annihilated."
It took Li Zicheng and his party a long time to finally roughly understand the causes and consequences of the bloody defeat. Li Zicheng was also stunned for a while, and then fell down on his big tiger-skin chair.
"How could it be like this...Cao Bianjiao personally defended Dashan Pass. This land in Hanzhong cannot be underestimated at all. Alas, Gu thought that after killing Sun Chuanting, he could dominate the north. This Zhu Shu man was actually like a ghost.
Got entangled again.
I heard that Zhang Xianzhong died two months ago. Now there is only one Sun Kewang left in Bashu, who can barely contain Zhu Shuren's fighting power. What if we give him some time to completely wipe out Sun Kewang and free up his hands to deal with me, Dashun?
response!"
Li Zicheng was really afraid of being targeted by Zhu Shuren. After all, the battle in Chenxian County last year was no joke. Hundreds of thousands of cannon fodder troops were defeated, wiped out, and captured, almost losing more than one-third of his troops.
Although cannon fodder can be caught at any time, and poor peasants who cannot survive the Ming Dynasty are everywhere, no one wants to experience that kind of miserable situation again.
Niu Jinxing, who regarded himself as prime minister, was worried that Li Zicheng's momentary revelation would damage his morale, so he quickly said some official words of encouragement:
"Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. Although Zhu Shuren is good at fighting, Sun Chuanting was not just as good at fighting back then! Sun Chuanting also killed Gao Yingxiang, the king who came first, but he didn't end up dead at the hands of your Majesty!
The battle in the world ultimately depends on whoever wins the hearts of the people wins the world. As long as Chongzhen doesn't know how to adapt, insists on fighting to the death and refuses to retreat, and plunders the people to maintain a useless land, then my army of Dashun will be endless!
Unless Chongzhen dies, the Ming Dynasty will never be saved! No matter how hard Zhu Shuren fights, as long as they reach the quagmire in the north, they will sooner or later be dragged to death by this useless emperor Chongzhen."
Niu Jinxing's words made Li Zicheng quickly regain his composure.
Indeed, his military defeats did not happen once or twice. In the seventh year of Chongzhen, he was almost driven into despair by Chen Qiyu. Two years later, when Sun Chuanting Cao turned into a dragon and killed Gao Yingxiang, he was also severely wounded.
When Chongzhen fled into the Shangluo Mountains in the 11th year, Cao Bianjiao killed at least a dozen cavalrymen around him. Of course, the other troops were not completely wiped out, but just scattered. Later, they fled back to the Shangluo Mountains and slowly returned to the Shangluo Mountains.
Gather some of them back.
Li Zicheng was able to recover from military defeats every time because of the Ming Dynasty's rigid taxation system in the north and its protection of land rent exploitation by landlords, officials and gentry.
After calming down, he quickly returned to the state of humbly accepting advice: "Even though Chongzhen is nothing to be afraid of, Zhu Shuren is good at fighting after all. At this moment, we must come up with a strategy to deal with it. I, Dashun, have just set up an account, and I was captured by the army.
If we counterattack, even the entire territory of Guanzhong will not be able to stand firm, and how demoralized the people will be!"
This question was too big for anyone to answer at once. Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance discussed it for a while, and then Niu Jinxing chose a point to state:
"Your Majesty, although our army suffered a small defeat, its foundation has not been damaged. The most important thing for our current plan is to win over the people's hearts and morale. I have been thinking about some strategies to win over people's hearts, but I have not dared to come up with them. Why not take advantage of this opportunity?
Make up your mind!"
Li Zicheng raised his eyebrows solemnly: "That's right! If you can be alone, you will naturally be able to do it!"
Niu Jinxing: "I thought of a slogan: If you are not on duty, you will not pay for food. Open the door early to welcome King Chuang! Kill the cattle and sheep and prepare wine. If King Chuang comes, you will not pay for food!"
While Dashun is being established, why not officially announce that all provinces, prefectures, and counties in the Ming Dynasty that submit to our Dashun will be exempted from taxes, money, grain, and corvee for three years. In some cases, they can even be temporarily deceived into thinking that they are in urgent need of power.
Just say that you will never be exempted from land tax!
In this way, wherever my army is, there will definitely be countless cities and civilians who will surrender at the sight of the wind. It is useless for the officers and soldiers to be good at fighting! They have no fighting spirit at all! Sooner or later, my good fighting skills will be used by me!"
Li Zicheng was startled: "Never pay for food? Then if we really promise like this and go out, even if we win the world, what will we eat in the future?"
Niu Jinxing: "Why do you think so far, Your Majesty? Let's obey the authority first. Besides, it will not be a year or two before our army threatens to massacre cities and force various places to submit. This old method can still be used. In the future, any city that directly submits will
, he really promised that they would not pay for food or perform corvee service, but they would be drafted into the army to fight.
As for those who refused to surrender, they slaughtered the entire city and looted all their property to provide for the army. I estimate that there are at least half of the cities and counties in the north that do not surrender. If this small half is slaughtered, the money and food taken will be enough to sustain the army for several years.
Already."
Niu Jinxing's words are a little rude, but the truth is indeed the same.
Li Zicheng's worries just now were too far-fetched and superfluous. He hadn't conquered the world yet, so why did he think about what would happen in the future for so long? That was what Chongzhen had to worry about. As for Li Zicheng, wait until he sat in Chongzhen's position before he could think about it again.
Not too late.
Before that, everything must give way to "how to sit in Chongzhen's position", no matter what the means. As for whether there will be hidden dangers, we can't worry about it for now.
When fighting for the world, the first priority is to ensure that you can win the world. If you don't win, the benefits of benevolence, righteousness, and trust will also belong to the enemy.
Li Zicheng's three views were very flexible and he quickly accepted this setting.
Then, on this basis, he asked about specific tactical responses and how to handle the current counterattack by the army.
Niu Jinxing was not very good at these tactical details, so he had to shut up. This gave Song Xiance a chance to perform.
Song Xiance quickly patted his chest and said, "Your Majesty, I just thought of a plan, but I'm afraid that Your Majesty doesn't have the determination to do it."
Li Zicheng said coldly and proudly: "Is there anything you can't make up your mind about?"
Song Xiance: "Then I would like to ask your Majesty to give an order. Taking advantage of the fact that it is almost half of August and the autumn grain harvest is about to begin, we should immediately urge the prefectures and counties in the central and western parts of Guan Dynasty to clear their fields. After the autumn grain harvest, we should immediately transport all the young and strong grains to Xi'an, Tongguan and other places."
Land, at most plus Xi County, which Yuan Zongdi is currently guarding temporarily.
But you can't keep too much food in Xi County, because you have to be ready to give up at any time - since ancient times, the most difficult thing in the northern expedition to Guanzhong was not the war, but the transportation of food. At the time, Zhuge Wuhou was so talented, but Sima Yi held him back from fighting.
, and can only retreat from exhaustion.
Even if Cao Bianjiao temporarily wins a small victory at Dashan Pass, it will not be easy for him to switch from defense to offense, break through Xi County, and even follow the Weishui River to Xi'an. If our army can completely clear the country, it will definitely defeat Cao Bianjiao and Zhu Shuren! Let's
They had to find another way, such as going north to Luoyang from Huguang and Nanyang, or attacking Xi'an from Wuguan Road.
But how can the transfer of a large army, which travels thousands of miles back and forth, be completed within a few months? In this way, our army can at least gain some breathing space in the middle of winter."
Li Zicheng frowned and asked closely:
"It's just a chance to breathe. It would be too much to kill a thousand enemies and lose eight hundred to oneself. Guanzhong is a place where lonely dragons flourish, and northern Shaanxi is a lonely hometown. Now it has been so dilapidated. How can the people's livelihood be tolerated if the walls are clear and the wilderness is like this?
?What do the folks think of Gu? Gu plans to make Xi’an the capital of the country in the future!”
Song Xiance: "Your Majesty, please don't hesitate! If you go back a few months and your Majesty wants to occupy Guanzhong for a long time, it may be a safe strategy. But now Zhu Shuren Cao Bianjiao is aggressive. We can only have long-term ambitions and far-reaching ambitions, and we can never settle for anything less."
A corner!
Now that Sun Chuanting is dead, Guanzhong, southern Shanxi, and most of Henan are all occupied by our army. The soldiers have also returned from the decisive battle with Sun Chuanting. The wounded soldiers have rested for more than two months and have recovered from their injuries. I heard that
In the north, Huang Taiji blocked the pass again and defeated Wu Sangui, Li Fuming, Tang Tong, and Bai Guangen, all of whom were unable to fight any more. Chongzhen called for Renqinwang, but none of them came!
In comparison, our army suffered a small setback, while Chongzhen suffered a greater setback! The only person the officers and soldiers feared was Zhu Shuren Cao Bianjiao! We established a strong wall in Guanzhong and cleared the fields, concentrated our strength, and made a desperate move out of the pass to the northeast! We went straight to the capital!
At that time, as long as we win a few great victories, even if it doesn't work, we can use the momentum to force Chongzhen to sue for peace, recognize the king's title, and allow Dashun to occupy the three provinces.
If we fight well, we might even be able to annihilate Chongzhen or capture him alive. Taking Chongzhen as a hostage would be like the Tatars who tied up Emperor Yingzong and went to the Great Wall to call the gate, forcing the Zhu Shu people not to attack our army.
.
If Zhu Shuren still dares to be rebellious, he will be disobeying the decree and killing your father! Even if the king kills Chongzhen, it was Zhu Shuren who forced him to do so!"
When Song Xiance mentioned this, Li Zicheng, who had little knowledge of history and culture, was deceived and felt that it did make some sense.
But Niu Jinxing next to him is still educated and understands history. He is a real official candidate. After hearing this, he immediately felt a little scared and couldn't help but argue:
"Song Military Advisor! What you said is wrong in the second half! Back then, the Grand Master kidnapped Yingzong, but he didn't help the Tatars break the city successfully! When Yingzong was kidnapped under the walls of Beijing, Yu Qian established a separate
Daizong!
Nowadays, Chongzhen is stubborn and stubborn, and would rather break than bend. He is like a reckless man whose arm is bleeding with sepsis, but he refuses to cut off his arm to save himself. He would rather that the septic arm drains all the blood from his body.
If it really comes to that point, if the high-ranking officials and dignitaries of the Ming Dynasty establish a new king, respect Zhen as the Supreme Emperor, and stop caring about the burdens of Hebei and Shaanxi, wouldn't it actually help the Ming Dynasty!"
Song Xiance spread his hands and said: "My plan is indeed not perfect, but does Prime Minister Niu have a better way now? Could it be that after a few months of hard work, he just wasted on sitting on the ground and not making progress?
?
You have already thought about how to use it after capturing Chongzhen, why not make sure to capture Chongzhen first?"
Li Zicheng also had a bad temper. When he heard this, he knew that Niu Jinxing had once again become scholarly and pedantic.
Indeed, Chongzhen hasn’t even been caught yet. Isn’t it nonsense to worry that the effects of using it after being caught will be insufficient?
Since Niu Jinxing’s reason for objection, the hidden risks, only broke out after he was caught, there’s no need to look at it now. Let’s catch Chongzhen first!
"I have made up my mind! Cao Bianjiao and Zhu Shuren are so arrogant that I can't just wait for them to come and kill me! Immediately strengthen the walls and clear the country to recruit more soldiers, announce that those who come to the king will not pay for food, and then march out of the pass!"