Be the emperor from the postman

Chapter 1036 Marshal, why don't you call yourself emperor?
The news that Wang Qiaonian was caught by Li Zicheng before he had time to commit suicide, cut off his tongue, then cut off his head and hung it on a flagpole, was quickly spread to all parts of Henan and the city of Kaifeng.

Li Zicheng was extremely afraid of only two of Daming's so-called supervisors.

A Lu Xiangsheng who captured King Gao Chuang, but if he is dead, it doesn't matter.

There is also Hong Chengchou who has been chasing him and fighting. Now he is fighting against the Tartars outside the pass. Li Zicheng hopes that he can die outside the pass.

In this way, no matter what supervisor Da Ming sends again, he will not be afraid.

And Li Zicheng finally reached the point of He Jinchao, and city guards from all over Henan abandoned the city and fled.

"Henan people" fled to Hebei, Shandong and other places, day and night.

Li Zicheng's tactic for besieging Kaifeng this time is still "surround and don't attack, and must be conquered for a long time."

He camped his troops outside the embankment in the west of the city, only ten miles away from the city. Taking advantage of the turmoil in the city, he launched a propaganda offensive and shot leaflets into the city with bows and arrows.

On the leaflet was written Li Zicheng's proclamation, titled "Fengtian Advocates Righteousness, Civil and Military General Li Shi".

"Ding Qirui and Zuo Liangyu were all defeated by the camp, they ran away and scattered, and there was no reinforcements north of the Yellow River.

How can you be alive when you swim in the fish cauldron!
You can open the door and surrender, all crimes and merits will be pardoned, civil and military officials will still be hired, and no one will be killed.

If the crime is serious and the crime is still persistent, even though the camp likes to kill, it will put you in the stomach of a river fish!"

But Zhou Wang refused to admit defeat and refused to surrender. He not only took out the silver again, but also repeatedly asked the court for help.

In order to rescue Kaifeng and keep the royal family of the Zhou king, Chongzhen followed Yang Sichang's suggestion and took Hou Xun out of the imperial prison.

Hou Xun was originally the minister of the household department of the Ming Dynasty. He stayed in the imperial prison for seven years. His father died and was released by Chongzhen for the funeral. After a few months, he returned to the capital to continue his imprisonment.

In this way, the humanization of the "legal system" of Ming Dynasty is displayed,

The main reason is that Hou Xun once showed kindness to Zuo Genyu, Zuo Liangyu was very grateful.

Chongzhen released him from prison in order to take advantage of his special relationship with Zuo Liangyu to control the arrogant Zuo Liangyu and suppress Li Zicheng, the Chuang Wang.

But when Hou Xun understood the current situation in the world, he was very pessimistic about the prospects, and he was inclined to give up the broken land of Henan.

It's like giving up the land of Shanshan and Shanxi because of He Jinchao's power, and letting the Hammer bandits make trouble.

Anyway, the imperial court can't take it back now, so it's better to concentrate on confronting the Liaodong war.

That Huang Taiji will not hold on for too long, and then Hong Chengchou leads the victorious army back, leaving Li Zicheng to flee in embarrassment.

After he took office, he proposed to abandon Henan.

Hou Xun advocated that the imperial court order Yang Jin, the governor of Baoding, and Wang Yongji, the governor of Shandong, to defend the north of the Yellow River.

Ma Shiying, governor of Fengyang, and Shi Kefa, governor of Huaixu, controlled the Jianghuai in the south.

Hammer bandit He Jinchao Saitongguan, he specified that no one else would run into his territory, so he can be my Da Ming's help.

The minister led Zuo Liangyu to solidify Jingxiang!

Using this strategy to cut off Li Zicheng's escape route, caused millions of peasant troops to live in Henan for a long time due to insufficient food and wages, and were trapped and died in the Central Plains where there were thousands of miles of red land.

Then he led Zuo Liangyu and other troops from Huguang to the north, pretending to be Li Zicheng's men and horses to attack Tongguan, angering He Jinchao and leading the hammer bandits to the east, pinching King Chuang who was trapped in Henan, and winning the battle.

My Ming Dynasty can also sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight.

According to the current intelligence, He Jinzhao's land in Shanshan and Shanxi is suffering disaster, and he has no advantage in occupying the impoverished Henan.

It is not only to kill with a knife, but also to drive away wolves and tigers.

Although Hou Xun's statement is not unreasonable.

Whether this strategy will work is another matter.

But after Yang Sichang, it is rare to be able to propose a strategy to attack the peasant army.

Hou Xun can be regarded as a governor with a brain.

Because he believed that He Jinchao was so powerful that he would never sit back and watch Li Zicheng grow bigger, and appointed Li Zicheng to be killed before he rose.

, but of course Chongzhen would not give up the heartland of the Central Plains considering the overall situation, and ignored his strategy, and strictly ordered Hou Xun to adjust Zuo Liangyu to move closer to Kaifeng.

Chongzhen didn't believe that He Jinzhao would help him put down the rebellion. This year, the court didn't have any peace talks and money to give to the hammer bandits.

Even if there is money in the treasury, he is supporting Hong Chengchou's foreign wars through Wu Guojun's small-scale training of soldiers.

As long as Hong Chengchou can win the battle outside the pass, he will be able to deal with the rogues from all over the country after he returns, and gain enough strength to deal with the hammer bandits entrenched in the northwest.

Chongzhen has long been firm in his confidence, so he did not hesitate to bear the burden of humiliation, and he even learned to play badly.

So the emperor's order is nothing to say, especially when Hou Xun, who just got out of prison, wanted to perform well, he had to transfer Zuo Liangyu.

Zuo Liangyu first sent 5000 people as his guards, and said that 30 troops would arrive later.

Hou Xun knew that Zuo Liangyu was pushing the 30 troops who made it difficult for him to pay, so he had to give up.

Favors are just useless!
Zuo Liangyu had already seen through it, even if the savior came, Zuo Liangyu would not faithfully help the Emperor of Ming Dynasty.

This made Chongzhen's plan come to nothing.

What does it matter if the leader picks up the food and I turn the table?
The key is that they still need me!
What a fucking kindness, if I give you 5000 people to help, it's already great.

Zuo Liangyu's elite suffered heavy losses because of the battle in Zhuxian Town, and most of the remaining soldiers had no combat effectiveness.

Even if he beat Li Zicheng, he would not have the strength he used to.

All Hou Xun could call upon was Liu Zeqing, the General Soldier of Shandong, and Bu Congshan, the General Soldier of Henan, who were powerless to rescue Kaifeng at all.

Kaifeng has been besieged for nearly two months, and there is a shortage of food in the city.

Hou Xun tried his best to provide relief, and ordered Liu Zeqing, who was on the north bank of the Yellow River, to smuggle across the Yellow River with 5000 people.

But after Liu Zeqing's army crossed the river, they were violently attacked by King Chuang's troops.

After fierce fighting, the officers and soldiers failed to gain a foothold and fled back to the north bank. Many soldiers drowned, and the plan to rescue Kaifeng failed.

The situation in Kaifeng is precarious.

The imperial court sent censors to supervise the soldiers and horses of each town to rescue Kaifeng.

However, in view of the lessons learned from Zhuxian Town, the generals of the towns all stationed in Hebei, not daring to move forward, and just watched from the sidelines.

The isolated city of Kaifeng was cut off from foreign aid, and the governor Gao Mingheng ordered to "search for grain".

Unscrupulously collect the only food left in the city to pay for the army and ensure that the soldiers can eat.

As for the people, it doesn't matter.

So in Kaifeng, "ten rooms and ten empties, people began to eat each other".

The common people pick the green leaves from the trees, buy bait for medicine, and scrape the bark to make soup.

Or gouging out grass roots, searching for maggots in dung, and fishing for baitfish and bugs in rivers.

And leather glue, old paper, cotton padding, aquatic plants and the like.

All entrances, in order to continue their own life.

At this time, it is not easy for King Zhou to have money, and food is the hard currency!

Aquatic plants sell for one tael of silver per catty, while human flesh is sold for five taels of silver per catty!

The vase on the house is two hundred yuan per catty, and the small red worm in the puddle is eight hundred yuan per catty.

Horse meat counts in taels of silver per catty, and a horse can be sold for a thousand taels of silver.

The city of Kaifeng was in a desolate scene, with no pedestrians during the day and no rats or sparrows.

Twenty-three out of ten starved to death in the city, and there were no corpses left behind.

When a cup of silver is full, only a cup of rice is given.

The Hao family privately sought food from the veterans.

Because the veterans in the city have rice and more meat.

They slaughtered people privately and sold them as beef.

The scene of hell on earth is repeated again.

In this predicament, someone proposed to the governor Gao Mingheng to flood the city with the river.

The reason is that if the river is broken, the thieves will be exhausted, but the water will not enter the city.

The intruders who flooded the city had people build sheep and horse walls at the same time, not to mention that the city of Kaifeng is strong and high, which can block the water and protect the city.

Since ancient times, water and fire have been ruthless. Once this plan is implemented, the intruders will surely retreat.

The reinforcements on the north bank of the Yellow River also advocated breaking the embankment of the Yellow River, which could break Li Zicheng's old camp on the old course of the Yellow River, and relieve the urgency of besieging the city.

In short, it is impossible to let them cross the river to rescue and then fight the intruders!
So the governor Gao Mingheng, the Tuiguan Huang Shu and the inspector censor Yan Yunjing formally decided to "cut the river to fill the city" and dug the Zhujiazhaikou levee.

After Li Zicheng found out, he immediately moved his troops to high ground and prepared a lot of ships.

He decided to fight a tooth for a tooth, and sent tens of thousands of civilians to dig the Majiakou levee.

You want to flood me?
I simply want to flood the city of Kaifeng!
At this time, it was raining continuously for ten days, and the water level of the Yellow River rose sharply by two feet.

When the flood crossed the embankment, Zhujiazhaikou and Majiakou broke together, surging out, and it was heard hundreds of miles away.

The flood rushed down and rushed straight to Kaifeng City, and the newly cast sheep and horse walls could not stop the flood at all.

The water flows from the north gate, passes through the southeast gate, and flows into the vortex.

The entire city of Kaifeng was suddenly submerged in the endless flood, and the accumulated water was more than three feet deep.

All the official residences and residential buildings were destroyed.

Only the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, the roof of Xiangguo Temple, and the roof of the Forbidden City of Zhou Wangfu remained on the water.

There were hundreds of thousands of men and women in the city, and only tens of thousands of people escaped.

These tens of thousands of people mainly include the king of Zhou and his family and guards, as well as various officials, soldiers, and gentry in the city.

All in: Meat Eaters!
Anyway, the government doesn't need to publicize the matter of digging the Yellow River first to ordinary people. It doesn't matter whether they know it or not.

Of course, more than [-] people from King Chuang were also washed away by the flood.

Smashed!

In this battle, both sides have fucked it up!

There is a vast ocean in Kaifeng City, and Li Zicheng stands on the bow of the ship and observes it carefully.

Niu Jinxing and others believe that the flood will not recede in a short time, not to mention that there will be a major epidemic after the flood.

This place is no longer suitable as a place to seize the world and become king or emperor.

Li Zicheng's boat rowed out of Kaifeng City.

By the time news from Henan reached He Jinzhao one after another, he was already ready for the Eastern Expedition.

Because everywhere was smashed to pieces, it was a good time, and these tool people finally did not disappoint He Jinzhao.

Li Zicheng of the Central Plains is showing off his might.

Huang Taiji, who was far away in Liaodong, was released as a dove because of the peace talks with Chongzhen, and he was even more furious.

After all, he let Ma Shaoyu wait for the envoys to go back. After such a long time, he did not see a reply at all.

Huang Taiji already felt that he was being played by the "fool in the city", and he was even more furious. He was about to capture Songshan, cut off Hong Chengchou's head, and ordered someone to send it to Chongzhen!

He Jinzhao was in the government office, entertaining the generals under his command.

"Master." Liu Erhu sat aside with a smile, patted his chest and said:

"It's been a long time since I've fought a war, and this time I have to be the vanguard."

"That can't be done." Gao Yigong laughed quickly:
"Er Hu, it's my turn to take the lead this time, otherwise, wouldn't I be eating sand in the west for nothing?"

"Marshal, I must be the vanguard!"

Liu Zongmin, who had long been one-eyed, put down his wine glass and said:

"I have been guarding Taiyuan these years, and I have worked hard without credit. Seeing that my brothers are all going out to make contributions, I have been huddled in the city.

Neither Datong nor Xu Dingchen, the governor of Shanxi, was anything to worry about, and they couldn't stop the commander-in-chief from taking over the capital.

So this time, it's my turn, right? "

"I've been guarding the Great Wall." Tian Hu immediately yelled: "Last time the Mongols saw the opportunity and bowed their heads, but they failed.

This time the commander dispatched [-] Mongolian cavalry, I can lead them as the vanguard, none of you can speak Mongolian. "

Zhao Da didn't fight or snatch, because he knew that He Jinzhao attached great importance to artillery, and he would definitely take him with him this time.

He Jinzhao watched several generals quarreling, put down the wine glass in his hand, took a box from the side, and shook it.

Liu Erhu and the others stopped to look at He Jinzhao.

"Marshal, what's the meaning of this?"

"You are all talents, and you are all my favorite generals. Then it depends on whose luck is better."

He Jinzhao shook the box in his hand and said:

"I always believe that luck is also a kind of strength. Whoever draws the note of pioneer will be the pioneer. It is fair and just, and the probability is the same."

Liu Erhu licked his lips, he couldn't believe luck.

But compared to other people who were injured in combat, he has not had many new injuries.

"Master, I'll be the first to come."

All the generals stopped their chopsticks and looked at the first person to eat crabs.

Liu Erhu stretched out his hand, squeezed out a piece of paper from inside, opened it and saw it was blank.

"Master?"

"No winning, next one."

The third person did not leave, but Gao Yigong caught the vanguard note, he couldn't help but stood up and smiled at several people:
"Everyone, let's make a deal!"

No one can do anything about this kind of luck.

"Old Party, you're the housekeeper this time." He Jinzhao threw the box in his hand aside and instructed.

"Don't worry, handsome."

Dang Shousu quickly responded. Compared with others, he is not very outstanding in military affairs, but he is quite capable of rectifying the place and calming people's hearts.

"Go back and ask Xu Dingchen if he has the intention to surrender. If he doesn't surrender, he will be driven away. I will hold Yanmen Pass in my own hands."

He Jinzhao said to Dang Shousu that after planning for so long, it's time for the world to sing the name of Hammer Bandit again.

"Yes."

Dang Shousu expressed his understanding that after all, the commander-in-chief made such rapid progress in Shanxi in the early stage, mainly thanks to Xu Dingchen's "assistance".

That's why I'm willing to spare his life!

"Marshal, why don't you become emperor?"

Liu Erhu saw that he hadn't grabbed the position of pioneer, so he asked a new question.

"Yes."

Hearing about being emperor, several generals were a little excited.

After all, I thought that everyone was a poor boy back then, but suddenly my boss can become an emperor, and they can also be prosperous and rich, and their names will go down in history.

Who doesn't want to go one step further?

Hearing this, He Jinzhao also nodded and said, "When I lead the troops to conquer Nanjing this time, I will tell the world!"

"it is good."

"Hahaha." Liu Zongmin and others couldn't help but pat the table and applaud.

As for table manners and the like, none of these rebels have such awareness.

Now they just feel happy!
"If the commander-in-chief proclaims himself emperor, what kind of country name will he establish?"

In the end, it was Dang Shousu, a private salt dealer who read a lot when guarding the rear, that asked such a key question.

　I haven't figured out the name of the country yet. If you have any ideas, let me refer to it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)