Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 154 Public Opinion War

"What, Li Thief and Jianlu joined forces to dig the Twelve Tombs?"

This news is very unbelievable and shocking!
The digging of ancestral graves is a matter of common indignation between humans and gods, and generally only barbarians and shameless people can do it.

For example, the imperial mausoleums of the Northern Song Dynasty were stolen and excavated on a large scale by the puppet Qi State supported by the Jin State in the late Northern Song Dynasty; the Jin State built by the Jurchens also destroyed the Song Tombs after occupying the Central Plains.However, Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty later repaired the imperial mausoleums of the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties. The Manchu and Qing Dynasties moved to the Central Plains to win over people's hearts and also repaired the Song Tombs and Ming Tombs.

It can be seen that digging ancestral graves is something that will never be recognized in the Han worldview.

Now that they knew that Li Zicheng's Dashun Army and Jianlu Army were going to do this, everyone in the capital was immediately angry!
It’s really the immoral thing that has been done. Don’t you know that you don’t have a butthole when you give birth to a child?
Civil servants wrote articles and cursed, and military generals asked for battle one after another.

Of course Emperor Chongzhen also wanted to show his anger, and immediately sent more Ye Bu Shou to spy on the enemy's situation in the Changping area, while preparing for war.

All kinds of craftsmen in the capital are rushing to work day by day and stepping up the preparation of weapons and armor; the soldiers in the capital camp are training even harder and their murderous intent is overwhelming.

However, some people, after getting angry, hurriedly reported it, pointing out that this was a treacherous plot by the bandits and Jianlu, in order to lure the imperial officers and troops out of the capital and annihilate them. They all advised the emperor to endure his anger for a while. The so-called gentleman's revenge will last ten years. It's not too late, sooner or later the thieves and captives who dug up the imperial mausoleum will be defeated!
However, Emperor Chongzhen sent back all these memorials and declared to everyone in the capital: Their ancestral graves are about to be dug up, and they must stop them even if they die. This is the responsibility of future generations!Only those who have forgotten their ancestors will ignore their ancestors' bones and let them rest in peace underground!

The emperor's attitude was very firm, and he was out of righteousness, so these people couldn't be persuaded. They were all very worried, feeling that the capital might be in danger!

They didn't know that Emperor Chongzhen was really not a fool. He had weighed the strength of the two sides and felt that a fight might not be possible, so he decided to take advantage of the situation and fight.

Others may think that the enemy has 12 troops and is a very elite army. It is impossible for the imperial army to defeat him.

但是，在崇祯皇帝的眼里，根本就不是1+1=2这种简单算法，而是1+1<2这种。

There will never be any gaps between Li Zicheng's army and Jianlu's army, nor will they truly cooperate sincerely.At least Emperor Chongzhen learned from the scouting battle that both Li Zicheng's army and Jianlu's army were willing to fight each other and consume the strength of the imperial officials.

There is another reason: the so-called teacher is famous.In the upcoming Battle of Changping, not to mention the Jianlu side, most of Li Zicheng's troops are Han people, so they must have a Han people's world view. They must know that they are wrong when it comes to digging up people's ancestral graves. , this understanding will definitely affect their morale; just as the imperial officers and soldiers heard about this incident and asked for a fight out of anger, this is also a manifestation of affecting their morale.

What is the most important thing on the battlefield?
It's not about whether the equipment is well-equipped or not, it's about morale!

High morale can exert twelve points of combat effectiveness; while low morale can affect the effectiveness of combat effectiveness.

Of course, Emperor Chongzhen did not just do nothing but lead his troops into battle. He first started a public opinion war.Not only the capital, but also the Changping area, the same is true.

No, in a hilly area near Changping, a scouting battle had just ended. The Ming army stayed up all night to rest and recuperate, and the Dashun army Tanma who was captured alive, whether injured or not, was tied together, and then stayed up for several nights. The boss is talking to them.The voice was a little loud, obviously filled with anger.

"Aren't you fucking Hans, so you can even do this kind of thing like digging up people's ancestral graves?"

"Fortunately, the current emperor also issued a decree saying that you were forced to rebel, so you can be pardoned. Is this how you repay the current emperor?"

"In the Battle of Zhending, we all reported to kill you bandits. It was the emperor who was merciful and pardoned them and let them go out of the city to reunite with their families. Feel your conscience and see for yourself, such a good emperor, are you beasts, digging the graves of your ancestors? I can do all the things I want to do, and the sky will strike me like lightning!"

"Those Jianlu were barbarians. They came to the pass and killed many Han people. It would be better for you to hang out with them. You should not be good Han people. If you want to become barbarians, don't you have any ancestors?"

"Then Li Zicheng regards the barbarians as his ancestors, do you also? He can dig up people's ancestral graves, so you also follow suit? Will you be happy if others dig up your ancestral graves in the future?"

"..."

These detective horses from the Dashun Army were obviously scolded so hard that they couldn't hold their heads up.They are wrong about this matter!
After all, how about the current emperor? They didn't know each other well before because they were too far away.

Then, it was their Highness who told them that the emperor was good, but traitors were in power, so they rebelled;

By this year, the emperor led his troops on an expedition, and they knew more about the emperor's affairs.

Not only did the emperor's loyalty shown during the Battle of Daizhou win their approval, but later on, the emperor actually released [-] prisoners, especially those from many small camps.Up and down the Dashun Army, how many soldiers shared the Emperor's affection!

In addition, the emperor also asked them to tell them that as long as they encountered the emperor leading the army and did not resist, they would not be killed, but they would be pardoned, and even let them choose to join the army or go home.

The emperor even personally took food and grass to Taiyuan to provide disaster relief!Most of the people in Dashun's army have experienced famine and know what it means.

But now, the famine in Taiyuan was caused by their Royal Highnesses, but the emperor can ignore the Confucius family in Qufu and go to rescue the disaster. It can be seen that the emperor values ​​ordinary people very seriously!

Also, in order not to let his soldiers suffer too many casualties due to attacking Guguan, the emperor even used his dignity as an emperor to decide the outcome in a duel with Guo Tianxing!

Whether such an emperor is a good emperor or not is a question in everyone's mind!

How many people would remain indifferent to digging the emperor's ancestral grave like this?
As a result, some Tanma from the Dashun Army wanted to surrender, or did not want to do it anymore, but few remained the same.

Seeing them like this, Ye Bushou softened their tone and spoke to them with a better attitude.

"If you have any conscience, go back and tell your brothers not to do such a thing!"

"The emperor will definitely lead the troops to kill the thieves. Tell your relatives and friends, don't resist, then you are still a human being. The emperor's decree has said that if you don't resist, you will not die!"

"..."

After a scouting battle like this, Ye Bushuang had the upper hand, and after a scolding, he let these Dashun army scouts go back.

And if Ye Bushou did not gain an advantage and was captured by the Dashun Army's Tanma instead, he would not be afraid and would still yell and curse, often to the point where the Dashun Army's Tanma could not hold his head up.Of course, there are also a very few Tanma who get angry and kill directly.However, more importantly, the Dashun Army's probing horse finally let them go all night.

As for the battle with Jianlu's Tanma, something similar would happen.If they find that the other party is not a Jianzhou Jurchen, especially a Han Tatar, they will scold them just like the Dashun Army. If they are a real Tatar, they will tell them that the emperor has sent troops to raid them. Lao Lao, wait until Lao Lao is gone!
In short, the war of scouts is accompanied by the war of hearts.

These situations will naturally spread to the upper levels.

Liu Zongmin, the commander-in-chief of Dashun Army, and his lieutenants were Li Guo and Gao Yigong. They were very depressed after receiving the news.

Liu Zongmin slapped the case and shouted angrily: "Damn it, what's the point of such talk? If you have the ability, lead the troops out to fight him!"

Li Guo also looked furious and said, "I have to separate Tanma from other battalions. Otherwise, if this continues, the morale of the army will definitely be messed up!"

Gao Yigong did not speak and remained silent.

When Liu Zongmin saw it, he couldn't help but shouted: "Lao Gao, you are His Highness's brother-in-law. What is your attitude?"

After hearing this, Gao Yigong scratched his head and asked Liu Zongmin: "If the emperor had killed all the 3 people who were really determined, would my sister still be the empress, and would I still be His Highness's brother-in-law?"

Liu Zongmin was stunned for a moment, then came back to his senses and shouted: "Isn't that why I didn't kill him?"

"So no matter what, do we all owe the current emperor a debt of gratitude?" After hearing this, Gao Yigong replied immediately, "You, and you, all have relatives and friends inside, and the emperor didn't go there at all. Differentiate, not single them out and kill them."

Liu Zongmin and Li Guo couldn't help but look at each other after hearing this, their expressions a bit ugly.

To be honest, for example, Liu Zongmin, for example, followed Li Zicheng to conquer the world and even killed his two wives. In the face of such a big goal of conquering the world, everything else is actually unimportant.

However, this cannot be said openly.Otherwise, even though he is favored by Li Zicheng, he is still a ruthless and unjust person, and there will be fewer people who will follow him.

People can be indifferent, but they must not be heartless.Li Guo looked at Gao Yigong and said, "How about you go back and persuade His Highness to withdraw this decree, so that we all don't have to be embarrassed?"

Hearing this, Gao Yigong stopped talking.If I could persuade them, they wouldn't come.

Moreover, why Li Zicheng sent the three of them here was because he was afraid that the people who came would be shaken, so they were either related or related to each other. The three of them were definitely Li Zicheng's confidants.

Liu Zongmin immediately said to Gao Yigong: "Didn't the Eight Kings also dig up other people's ancestral graves? What can happen? We just listen to His Highness and don't think too much about other things!"

What else could happen? Gao Yigong had nothing to say.

Subsequently, they ordered that no noise in the army was strictly prohibited and private talking was prohibited.Tanma was in a separate barracks and was not allowed to go out without military orders.

After this military order, it seems that no one is talking about it on the surface, but how can the so-called Youyou Mouth block people's hearts in this way?

On Jianlu's side, Dorgon also received the news, took it very seriously, and immediately asked: "Did the Ming army really say that they had sent troops to Liaodong?"

Liaodong is the foundation of the Qing Dynasty, and the struggle for hegemony has not yet begun. If there is a problem in Liaodong, then the problem of the Qing Dynasty will be huge!
However, in Dorgon's view, it was unlikely that the Ming Emperor would send troops to Liaodong.

After all, he is leading an army near the capital. Logically speaking, it would be too late for him to mobilize troops from elsewhere to serve the capital, so how could he send troops to attack Liaodong!
However, he himself also knew that the Qing Dynasty's military strength in Liaodong at this time was actually very empty.If the Ming Emperor really sends troops to Liaodong, then most places in Liaodong will be more dangerous.

In the past, he still would not have thought that the Ming army dared to go to Liaodong. After all, the Ming army had been taught by the Qing army that they only dared to hide in the city.

But things are different now. The Ming Emperor led his army to defeat the Qing army twice in field battles, which somewhat emboldened the Ming army!

Dorgon was somewhat worried after hearing the news.

Not just him, but other Jianlu, in fact.The idea is similar to that of Dorgon, and I am worried that the Ming army may attack Liaodong.

In fact, they are also human beings, and they are also worried about their wives, children, and children in Liaodong.

Dorgon saw that there seemed to be something wrong with the morale of the army. Thinking that the news had been released for enough time, he contacted Liu Zongmin and spread the news again that he was preparing to excavate the Twelve Tombs in three days.

As a result, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty must send out troops within these three days, otherwise he will wait to throw the bones of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty buried in the soil into the wild.

After Emperor Chongzhen received the news, he decided not to wait any longer and immediately held a court meeting. All officials in the capital went to the Jinluan Hall to discuss the matter.

The last time there was such a large battle, a large group of royal family members, nobles, and high-ranking civil and military officials were slaughtered. In the square in front of the Meridian Gate Tower, some people can still smell the smell of blood.

Now, with such a huge battle once again, the civil and military officials were not afraid, because they knew that the emperor's butcher knife was facing outside the city this time.

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

After shouting "Long Live the Mountain", Emperor Chongzhen looked at the civil and military officials who were kneeling on the ground. He did not let him stand, but glanced at them and shouted sternly: "Li Thief and Jianlu will dig out the Twelve Tombs in two days." , I can't bear it anymore, I plan to lead the troops to fight personally tomorrow morning, where is the prince?"

Zhu Cixiang stood next to him, with an angry look on his face, and immediately stepped out of the queue and responded: "My son is here!"

Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and shouted loudly: "I will lead the troops on the expedition. You will supervise the country and guard the capital. You must not make any mistakes!"

"My son obeys the decree!" Zhu Cixiang echoed loudly, but he was actually a little unwilling in his heart.

He actually wanted to follow his father on the expedition, but as he was the prince, he was definitely not allowed to do so.

Emperor Chongzhen shouted loudly again: "Where is Fan Jingwen?"

"Wei Chen is here!" the Chief Minister of the Ming Dynasty, who was kneeling at the front, immediately echoed.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and shouted coldly: "I will give you one day to coordinate the army and horse departments of the five cities and the officials of the capital. They will be responsible for the defense of the capital in sections. You can use the servants of each house and the people of each district to guard the capital!"

Fan Jingwen was stunned for a moment after hearing this. Why did the emperor use a patchwork of people to defend the city? And what about the Beijing camp? Could it be that they all accompanied him on the expedition?

However, he also has experience in leading troops. Since the capital is the strongest city in the world, as long as he has money and food, defending the city is not a big problem. After all, the enemy's army is not several times larger to attack the capital.

The rebels want to dig up the emperor's ancestral graves, which is absolutely intolerable.Since the emperor has made a decision, the more troops and horses he brings, the better.

So, he quickly echoed loudly: "I obey the order!"

Later, Emperor Chongzhen called his names one by one. The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and even the factory guards were all assigned tasks. To sum up, they all shared the same hatred. Unite as one and guard the capital.

After the distribution, Emperor Chongzhen said sternly: "When I return to Beijing in triumph, if anyone neglects his duties or spreads rumors to shake the morale of the military and the people, he will be severely punished!"

Then, he named the generals and the elite troops of the capital, mainly the reorganized capital camp, and ordered all the armies to prepare for battle early tomorrow morning.

Although the capital camp of the capital sent Tang Tong to the Hetao Plain and sent 3000 troops from Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming, there were still 7 cavalry and [-] infantry, for a total of [-] horse and infantry. .

After the court meeting, Emperor Chongzhen held a military meeting before the battle in Wuying Hall.

On the throne, Emperor Chongzhen looked serious, stared at the generals below, and said coldly: "Now we have found out the enemies of Changping. The Li bandit army has 12 cavalry and [-] infantry; the Jianlu army has [-] cavalry. Thirty thousand infantry, totaling [-] horse infantry.”

There were 7 imperial troops and 12 rebel coalition forces. There was a huge difference in strength, almost double.Moreover, Jianlu is indeed an elite, and Li's army is also an elite. This battle must be a very dangerous one.

Everyone knows this.

But, are you afraid?No one is afraid!At least none of the generals in Wuying Palace showed fear, but more of a fierce fighting spirit.

He dared to do such dirty things as digging up the emperor's ancestral graves. As a minister, especially a military commander, that is very humiliating!If the generals weren't incompetent, how could the enemy do such nasty things?

Emperor Chongzhen saw their expressions and was satisfied in his heart, so he loudly said: "The thieves never expected that I would pull out all the elites from the capital and personally lead the army in a decisive battle with their superior strength. This is unexpected!"

After hearing this, Zhou Yuji and others agreed in their hearts.

If the emperor does this, it is tantamount to fighting a desperate battle.If this battle is defeated, the emperor may be killed, and the capital will certainly not be protected.After all, without the army brought out by the emperor, the isolated city will be broken over time.

Placing such a big bet is indeed not something that ordinary people can do.

Generally speaking, in the face of such a situation, the emperor might send out an army, make a false shot, and once encountering a superior enemy attack, immediately flee back to the capital, so as to give an explanation to the world, and that would be fine.

At least from a practical perspective, this is the best response.

Li Thief and Jianlu also felt that this was the most likely possibility, so they had to pay attention to the fact that they only wanted to eat the troops sent out by this group.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen still had something to say and continued to summarize his own advantages to his subordinates.

(End of this chapter)