Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 172 Conspiracy
"Your Majesty, no, the cabin is flooded!"

Emperor Chongzhen was startled when he saw a captain in Jinyi running up to the deck in panic to report, and immediately asked: "Can it be blocked? Where is Lu Rongchun, the deputy general of the Navy?"

"Back to Your Majesty, he went to the cabin to check the situation. I wonder if it can be blocked!"

Fang Zhenghua beside him was already panicking after hearing these words.In this winter, what if the ship sinks?
The sky will fall!
So, regardless of whether he could stop the leak, he quickly asked Emperor Chongzhen for instructions: "Long live the Lord, we must move the boat quickly!"

However, this is said simply.

Emperor Chongzhen immediately asked: "Where to move?"

Fang Zhenghua was a little dumbfounded after hearing this.

Although it is a fleet, each boat is filled with soldiers from the Beijing camp and are crossing the river!Where can the people on this big ship move?
However, he had been an eunuch for so many years and had served the emperor for a long time. Naturally, he had his own ideas. He responded immediately: "Ignore others, long live my lord, it's better to find another boat first!"

After finishing speaking, he didn't even wait for Emperor Chongzhen's consent, and immediately said to the imperial guard beside him: "Quickly, let the ship next door come over, long live the Lord to change the ship!"

On the river, it is difficult to connect two floating boats to pass people.

Although Emperor Chongzhen did not stop him from doing this, because he knew that this was Founder's responsibility, what he hoped more was to reach the shore as soon as possible.

Even if the boat is going to sink, once it reaches the shore, everyone will be ashore, so you won’t be afraid if the boat sinks.Moreover, this is the No. [-] lucky ship. Even if it takes in water, it will definitely not sink easily.

Oriental ships, such as this lucky ship, are not designed to be fast, but to resist wind and waves. They have sealed cabins and are not easy to sink.

However, the development of things far exceeded Emperor Chongzhen's expectations.

Standing on the deck, he could see that the end of the ship was heading towards the underwater city, and the tilt of the ship's hull was obvious in just a short moment.

The people who accompanied the emperor on the same ship were all imperial guards in imperial robes. Without exception, they were all from the north. To be precise, they were from the capital, and they didn't know how to swim at all.

Facing bandits and even Jianlu, they might fight and fight without changing their expressions, but at this moment, when they saw that the ship was about to sink, they all panicked and didn't look like elite men at all.

They all ran away from the sinking bow, then grabbed the side of the ship and yelled at nearby ships.

"Quick, come and save me!"

"The ship is sinking, the ship is sinking!"

"..."

These men who were fighting did not change their expressions when faced with the broken walls and bloody battlefield, but at this moment, all of them were pale and frightened.

Emperor Chongzhen's expression also changed, because he could already confirm that if this trend continued, the ship would definitely not reach the other side and would sink in the river.

But he didn't panic, because he knew that panic was useless. When he saw him, he immediately shouted: "Everyone is looking for floating objects. Once they fall into the water, grab the floating objects and wait for rescue."

Hearing the emperor's shout, the imperial guards immediately scattered around to look for floating objects, and they became a mess again.

Emperor Chongzhen ignored them and turned to look at the nearby boats. Seeing them approaching in panic, he shouted to them: "Prepare bamboo poles and ropes to save those who fall into the water at any time!"

At this moment, Lu Rongchun had already rushed out of the deck and reported to Emperor Chongzhen with a pale face: "Your Majesty, this ship cannot be saved. The places damaged by the wind are leaking. We must abandon the ship!"

At this moment, there was no need for him to say anything at all. Everyone knew that the ship was about to sink.

The surrounding boats came closer and tried to throw ropes to the No. [-] Fortune Ship. However, the waves in the center of the river were so big that it was not possible to throw them over at once.

Jin Zhensun, the commander of the Biaoying camp directly under the imperial court, rushed to the emperor with a water belt in his hand and said: "Your Majesty, take this and it will float."

The water belt is the most primitive lifebuoy. Generally, those who live on the water will be prepared.

Emperor Chongzhen was not pretentious and took the water belt immediately.However, most of the people on the boat had nothing in their hands. Watching the boat sinking deeper and deeper, and the cold river water getting closer and closer, many people felt like they were going crazy and hurriedly squeezed towards the stern of the boat, trying to stay as far away from the sinking bow as possible. Farther away.

When Emperor Chongzhen saw this situation and the tall erected mast, his heart moved. He immediately pulled out the Xiuchun Dao from the Jin Yiwei beside him, then roared and slashed at the thick mast.

Generally speaking, even if you use an ax to cut the mast, it will take many axes to cut it off; however, Emperor Chongzhen only used the Xiuchun Dao, and with one cut, more than half of it was cut in immediately.Then he shouted loudly again and bumped his shoulder against the mast.

There was a "pop" sound, and the mast fell toward the bow of the ship.

Fang Zhenghua, who was beside him, was so anxious that he was sweating. He advised Emperor Chongzhen: "Long live Lord, don't worry about this. You can take care of yourself first."

Emperor Chongzhen ignored him and shouted loudly: "Those who can't swim should hold on to the mast. Don't let go and wait for rescue!"

Upon hearing this, the captain of the Jinyi Guards, who had nothing in his hands, quickly went to hold the mast.

But this is a big ship, and there are still a lot of people with nothing to use. Emperor Chongzhen was helpless and could only shout: "Don't panic after falling into the water. Someone will rescue you later and follow the command!"

While he was speaking, most of the ship's hull had sunk, and many Jin Yiwei soldiers fell into the water.

At this time, many surrounding ships had already gathered around.However, the officers and soldiers on the ship, or in other words, the officers and soldiers in the Beijing camp, were all northerners and did not know how to swim at all. They could only watch in horror as their comrades fell into the water but could do nothing.They felt unstable even standing on the side of the boat. When the boat rocked, it felt like it was about to fall.

Moreover, this is winter, the weather is cold and freezing, and human beings are instinctively afraid of water.

However, someone stood up.

I saw the boatmen from Yangzhou Prefecture, one by one, without saying a word, without knowing who jumped first, directly jumped into the roaring river, and then swam towards the struggling soldiers who fell into the water.

one, two, three...

Emperor Chongzhen saw with his own eyes that of the boats that came around, most of them were people wearing ordinary clothes jumping off the boats.On the contrary, the officers and soldiers belonging to the Nanjing Navy were hesitant.

On Emperor Chongzhen's side, he had already reached the stern of the ship that was still above the water, and only a few people were still crowded here.

At this time, the approaching ship finally threw a rope, which was caught by Fang Zhenghua. He quickly handed it to Emperor Chongzhen and said: "Long live the Lord, grab the rope quickly, quickly..."

Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and asked, "Are you not good at water?"

Fang Zhenghua really didn't know how to deal with water, but he didn't have time to say this. He quickly said: "Long live Lord, please leave me alone. It is not a pity for me to die. Long live Lord, you must not..."

Before he finished speaking, Emperor Chongzhen said to him: "Grab the rope, take them all with you, hold them, and let them save them."

As he spoke, he jumped into the river holding the water belt and swam towards Jin Zhensun who had just fallen into the water.

The moment Emperor Chongzhen jumped out, Fang Zhenghua turned into stone. He really couldn't believe what he saw. The emperor actually jumped into the river!
When he came back to his senses, the water had reached his legs and neck. Fang Zhenghua, who was holding the rope in his hand, shouted hysterically with a crying voice: "Long live the Lord..."

Then, he was dumbfounded again when he saw that Emperor Chongzhen was not dead, but swimming in the river like a fish.

Fortunately, the stimulation of the cold river water brought him back to his senses, and he quickly shouted to the few remaining imperial guards around him: "What are you doing standing still? Hurry up and hug us!"

Emperor Chongzhen often swam in later generations. Although he had never swam in winter, he saw familiar people falling into the water and struggling in front of him. He still had a water belt in his hand. He couldn't remain indifferent, so he rescued people first.

No, he picked up Jin Zhensun who was drinking water from the river and shouted loudly: "Don't move, I will rescue you!"

So, Jin Zhensun allowed the emperor to hold him under his armpits and drag him to swim to the nearest boat.

More and more boats came around, and more and more people jumped into the river to save others.Everyone on the boat also tried their best to help.

Suddenly, the river was full of boats, and all the people were concentrated on the river. When they saw heads popping up wherever they were, they quickly shouted out where there were people.However, more people's eyes were looking at their emperor, watching their emperor saving people.

On the north bank of the Yangtze River, the soldiers waiting to set off and the people watching saw a sudden chaos on the river. Then, the big ship the emperor was riding sank. They were all frightened to death. Shi Kefa even collapsed to the ground.

I never dreamed that the current emperor would lead troops to conquer the world, defeat the army of Li thieves, and defeat the army of Jianlu, but in the end he would die on the Yangtze River!

The Ming Dynasty finally saw some glimmers of resurgence, and the current emperor finally became wise and powerful, but he died like this?

Really, Shi Kefa couldn't accept such a result!
A group of generals, including Wu Sangui, Tang Tong, Ma Ke and others, all arranged to cross the river at the back, and saw the sinking of the fortune ship No. [-] on which the emperor was riding.They could also see clearly that the boats that surrounded them did not have time to rescue them.

At this moment, they were all dumbfounded!
In fact, they had worried that the current emperor was so brave that he even led the charge. If he was unlucky, he might be injured or even die on the battlefield.

Unexpectedly, the emperor was fine on the battlefield, but fell into the Yangtze River and died!

As for why they all thought that the emperor would definitely die if he fell into the water, it was not because the Ming Emperor had already fallen into the water and died, but because the emperor was born in the north, in the Forbidden City, and he couldn't swim!This is still the Yangtze River. If you fall into the water and the weather is freezing, how can you survive?

They really don't know what to do!
This is true for generals, and even more so for ordinary soldiers.Especially since they have never met an emperor who values ​​them so much and considers them in every way.Whether they are disabled or killed in battle, they all have a place to go. You don't have to worry about everything, you just need to fight well.

Such a good emperor, they could only watch helplessly.At this moment, they wished they could swim. If so, they might be able to save people!

The people of Yangzhou Prefecture were also shocked.

When they discovered that the current emperor was really a good emperor, they discovered that the good emperor was so short-lived and disappeared before their eyes!
Why is this happening?

Is it because the emperor refused to obey God and brought his imperial army to fight against God and save the people of Yangzhou?

Otherwise, why would God take away such a good emperor?
At this moment, God has been cursed by the people of Yangzhou!

On the south side of the Yangtze River, the ship that had arrived found that something was happening behind it, so it immediately emptied the people on the ship and rushed back to rescue them.

The No. [-] Fortune Ship on which the emperor was riding was very large and very conspicuous. You could see at a glance that the accident was the warship where the emperor was on. Similarly, these people were also shocked and couldn't believe that something would happen to the emperor.

"Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and set up the tent, boil hot water, and prepare dry clothes!"

Seeing this scene, the boatman from Yangzhou Prefecture rushed back to rescue people while shouting loudly at the soldiers on the shore.

They live by the Yangtze River and see shipwrecks and people falling into the water every year. They know some emergency measures better than the landlubbers on the shore.

Upon hearing this, the soldiers from the Beijing camp who came ashore first quickly got busy.

Everyone’s hearts were clenching, and they were praying secretly in their hearts, hoping that God would bless the current emperor, and that Emperor Taizu would appear again and bless the current emperor!

In the middle of the river, there were already many boats parked, and many people jumped off the boats to save people. It is said that there is strength in numbers, and it didn’t take long before there were no more drowning people floating on the river.

Emperor Chongzhen rescued three people in one go. Feeling a little tired, he asked the people on the boat to pull him up.

As soon as we stepped out of the river, we felt the biting cold wind.

Fortunately, the people on the boat already have experience in rescuing people. Anyone who has fallen into the water and is rescued ashore is immediately let into the cabin.

The same thing happened when Emperor Chongzhen boarded the ship. After the cold wind stopped blowing, he felt better.

This was a painting boat. The soldiers on board had already found the quilt and quickly wrapped it in the emperor's body, but there were no extra clothes.Emperor Chongzhen signaled that wet clothes should not be taken off in a hurry as they would retain body heat and prevent hypothermia.

Only half of the soldiers who fell into the water could be rescued in the end.Many of them fell into the water and sank directly into the river, and those that could not be saved could not be saved.

In the rocking boat, it felt like the boat was heading towards the shore. Emperor Chongzhen's expression was stern, and he frowned thinking about the shipwreck.

There is a saying in later generations that the Ming Emperor is easily soluble in water!
Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen's first thought was that there was a conspiracy and someone wanted him dead!

Thinking about what he had done, Emperor Chongzhen felt it was not surprising at all.

Since traveling through time, the sword has been slashed at powerful people, including royal family members, civil servants and eunuchs, wealthy businessmen and powerful people, etc. A large number of them have their homes confiscated and beheaded, so they have the capital to start a business and form a company. Build a strong army.

This time he led his troops south and defeated the Confucius family in Qufu, the spiritual leaders of the scholars. When they arrived in Yangzhou Prefecture, they wiped out the big salt merchants.

With all this, I don’t know how many capable people and forces I have offended.

He is about to go to Nanjing City, and there are many civil servants and nobles there. Are they not worried that he will attack them again?Or maybe your previous behavior has affected their interests, and you are afraid that you will affect their interests again?
Ming Ming definitely can't do it. He has [-] elite troops in the capital, and he has the title of emperor. Who can compete with him?
So, it’s the dark side?
Of course, this is just speculation.

If it wasn't a conspiracy theory, it might make sense.

The previous storm disaster was indeed severe, and it was also mixed with heavy snow. It is reasonable that the warships of the Nanjing Navy were damaged.

Liu Kongzhao, the admiral of Caojiang, fell into the water while supervising the repair of the warship. If he is sick, he can find out by looking back.

The quality of various things in the late Ming Dynasty was worrying, and it was also very famous.

Guns and artillery are easy to explode because of poor quality, corruption of officials, poor craftsmanship, etc., all related.

He had rectified the situation in the capital, but he had no control over Nanjing.

It is possible to repair the ship haphazardly and cope with the situation above according to the nature of the late Ming Dynasty.

Due to bad luck, it is not impossible that he happened to encounter such a bad thing!

However, if you want to have doubts, there must be some!

Why is it not that other ships have problems, but my own ship has problems?

Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly felt something in his heart.

There was only one big ship from the Nanjing Navy, No. [-] Fortune Ship, which was particularly conspicuous.

From a general logic point of view, if the emperor wants to take a boat, he must take this big ship.If someone tampered with this big ship, wouldn't it just happen that something would happen to him, the emperor?

However, if you just happen to get on the boat, and something happens after the boat reaches the center of the river, it must be manually operated, not set up in advance, which is too inaccurate.

In other words, if there is a conspiracy theory, every person in the Nanjing Navy on the No. [-] Fortune Ship is suspected, not just the Navy Vice Admiral Lu Rongchun.

In addition, there is another doubtful point, that is, this lucky ship has a watertight compartment system. Under normal circumstances, even if the hull leaks, the ship will not sink.This is just crossing the Yangtze River, not sailing on the ocean. An ordinary water leak can be carried to the other side without sinking.

However, based on the experience just now, this lucky boat sank extremely fast, and it was far from an ordinary damage.

It's a pity that the ship has sunk to the bottom of the river, so we can't check the damage situation?Also, how many people belonging to the Nanjing Navy on the No. [-] Fortune Ship survived, and will the people who did the tricks die in this shipwreck?This is also an unknown!

Emperor Chongzhen was recalling the experience just now and thinking about the possibilities, when he felt the ship shake, and then heard Fang Zhenghua's crying voice coming from outside: "Long live Lord...Long live Lord... Long live the Lord..."

Emperor Chongzhen knew that at this time, people's hearts were in turmoil and everyone was worried about their own safety.

In order to stabilize the morale of the army, he wrapped himself in a quilt, walked out of the cabin, and immediately shouted loudly: "I am here!"

On the shore, there were all anxious soldiers from the Beijing camp. When they heard that the emperor was already in a boat, they all gathered around the boat and wanted to see with their own eyes whether the emperor was okay?
When Emperor Chongzhen appeared, he seemed to have nothing to do. Suddenly, the eyes of all the soldiers in the Beijing camp turned red with excitement, and they immediately roared: "Long live my emperor!"

They almost lost their best emperor. The moment they thought they lost the emperor, they discovered that they really couldn't live without this emperor!
If it was the emperor before this year, he probably wouldn't feel the same if he was gone. Whether the emperor is replaced or not is none of their business!

However, at the beginning of this year, the wise and wise emperor not only paid off their salary arrears, but also ensured that their salaries were paid on time. Not to mention, all their benefits were improved as never before.

It can be said that soldiers have never been so valued by the emperor, not in all dynasties!

The most important thing is that this emperor can lead them to victory!The seemingly powerful enemy, even the Jianlu army, which was said to be invincible in the field, was still defeated in front of this emperor!
They followed the emperor to fight the war, and their confidence in winning the war was unprecedentedly high!And they also saw whether the emperor was good to the people or not.

No matter in every aspect, he is the best emperor in the world!
They just didn't expect that they might lose such a good emperor all of a sudden. It really scared them!

Now that the emperor is safe and sound, there is nothing more important than this!

At this moment, they have realized that the emperor in front of them is really more important than their own lives!
The shouts of "Long live our emperor" are not just slogans, they really want their emperor to live long!
There are less than [-] soldiers from the Beijing camp who have crossed the river.However, the shout they shouted together was earth-shattering and reverberated throughout the world!

On the north bank of the Yangtze River, the anxious and anxious soldiers of the Beijing camp and the people of Yangzhou Prefecture heard the huge roar coming from the other side. They knew that the emperor should be fine. Suddenly, everyone , no matter men, women, old or young, soldiers, civilians, or government officials, all were relieved!

The emperor is fine, it’s good that the emperor is fine!

Suddenly, everyone looked at each other, all beaming with joy!

Emperor Chongzhen immediately entered the tent that had been pitched in advance, took off his wet clothes, took a bath in hot water, and drank ginger water to relieve the cold.

The same goes for other people who fell into the water, including those who jumped into the river to save others, and they all rushed to protect themselves.

Knowing that the emperor was fine, the fleet returned to the north bank to pick up other soldiers.

Crossing the Yangtze River at this time is not a straight line, but because the river flows eastward, it is diagonal.Therefore, a round trip will take a lot of time, and it will take several days for all [-] troops to cross the river.After all, it was not just people crossing the river, but also horses, grain and grass supplies, ordnance and artillery, etc.

And because there was such a big accident, all the ships were inspected first to prevent further problems, which was even more delayed.

About half an hour later, Emperor Chongzhen had changed his clothes and reappeared in front of everyone.

However, the first thing he did was to visit the soldiers who fell into the water and the people of Yangzhou Prefecture who rescued them, as well as the people of the Nanjing Navy who later jumped into the water to rescue people.

About fifty people from Yangzhou Prefecture, that is, people from the fleet, jumped into the cold river water to save others.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at them and immediately said to them: "You dare to jump into the freezing cold river and risk your life to save others. You are indeed a model for the people. In this way, I will arrange for you to enter the salt factory and sell salt collars on the shop floor." Salary."

This is equivalent to being a member of the imperial court. Selling salt is an easy commodity. It is an iron rice bowl, which is better than living on the river by boat.

Among the people who were rescuing people in Yangzhou Prefecture, an older one looked at the others, then turned to Emperor Chongzhen, and said: "Your Majesty, the brothers from the Jingying camp braved the wind and snow to save our people in Yangzhou. We It is the right thing for the people of Yangzhou to save them again, and they do not deserve His Majesty's reward!"

After hearing his words, others also started talking.

"Yes, Your Majesty, this is what we should do!"

"If my brothers were soldiers, my mother would be dead. It would be nothing to save people by diving into the water!"

"My son and daughter almost died too. Thanks to His Majesty's Royal Guards, we are too late to be grateful and dare not ask for rewards!"

"..."

Listening to their chatter, Emperor Chongzhen felt a little moved.Perhaps the common people may be cunning, but more importantly, they will be nice to anyone who is nice to them!

After their voices quietened down, Emperor Chongzhen turned and looked at the generals behind him, at the guards and other soldiers in the capital camp behind him, with a serious expression on his face, and said very seriously: "Did you hear this? This is our Ming Dynasty. People! The duty of our soldiers of the Ming Dynasty is to protect the people and protect them! No matter it is a man-made disaster or a natural disaster, our soldiers of the Ming Dynasty must stand in front of them and protect them, do you hear me?"

People are not plants, how can they be ruthless!
The soldiers in the Beijing camp had seen them brave the severe cold and jump into the roaring river to save people and their robes, and they were already very grateful.Then I heard that they did not want the emperor's reward, just because these people were grateful for their original efforts.

Listening to these words and looking at the honest faces, no one will be moved.

After hearing the emperor's words, they responded seriously in unison: "I heard it!"

At this moment, they may understand a little more about why they are fighting!

In order to be a wife and shadow, yes, in order to protect the family and the country, it was also done, and in order to protect the people, now I also understand it!

After hearing their answers, Emperor Chongzhen saw Liu Lanyu from Lanling Camp there, and ordered her: "What happened in Yangzhou Mansion, and what you saw with your own eyes, made Lanling Camp praise it! The good relationship between the military and civilians. , can you understand?"

"The general understands!" Liu Lanyu's eyes were red and she immediately responded, "The general obeys the order!"

Afterwards, Emperor Chongzhen turned around again, looked at the people of Yangzhou Prefecture in front of him, and said seriously: "I lead the troops in war, I rule the world, and pay attention to rewards and punishments. If you are brave enough to save people, I must reward you to commend your efforts. Heroic deeds! So, you don’t need to refuse, you deserve it!”

Having said this, he paused and then added with emphasis: "If you find it difficult to accept it, then keep this moral character and pass it on to others. I hope that we, the people of the Ming Dynasty, can be like this You are the same, friendly and helpful to each other, in this way, I believe everyone will be proud to be a Ming Dynasty person!"

Hearing this, the people of Yangzhou Prefecture were a little moved and immediately expressed their feelings.

"Your Majesty, the common people are proud of the people of Ming Dynasty!"

"Me too, I'm from Ming Dynasty!"

"Your Majesty, don't worry, the common people will definitely do more good deeds!"

"I also want to do more good deeds!"

"..."

After condolences to them, Emperor Chongzhen returned to the central military tent, and Fang Zhenghua presented a summary of the casualties of the No. [-] Fortune Ship.

About 260 Jinyi Guardsmen were lost, and 78 Nanjing Navy crewmen on the Yuanfu ship were lost, including Navy Vice Admiral Lu Rongchun.

These missing people would most likely have disappeared in the Yangtze River in the cold winter months.

Sighing, Emperor Chongzhen ordered: "Send people to collect ships on the south bank, pay them afterwards, and let them go to the lower reaches to have a look. It would be best if they can save a few more people. If they are gone, it would be good to find the remains." .”

"My slave obeys the order!" After hearing this, Fang Zhenghua quickly agreed, and then ordered people to do it.

Emperor Chongzhen, on the other hand, looked at the list and fell into deep thought.

Finally, I saw Lu Rongchun, the naval adjutant, who came to tell me that the ship was sinking. Judging from his appearance, he looked panicked, and it seemed that he was not pretending.If there was something fishy on this ship, didn't he know about it?Or, was it really an accident?

Or should I say, who is actually responsible for this? If the person is gone and the ship is gone, there will be no proof!
Thinking about this, Emperor Chongzhen certainly couldn't just think about it.

If he couldn't swim and was the original emperor, and he suddenly encountered a shipwreck in this cold winter month, even if he could be rescued in the end, he would be flooded by the cold river water, and Zhu Cihong might have ascended the throne early.

There were so many drowned army lieutenants, and they must also be given an explanation.

Thinking of this, he happened to see Fang Zhenghua coming back, so he ordered: "Send the detectives from the Jinyi Guards to investigate the specific reasons for the sinking of the Fu Ship, from Admiral Cao Jiang, from the navy, and from the shipyard. The craftsmen are investigating!”

After hearing this, Fang Zhenghua looked angry and immediately responded: "Don't worry, long live my lord, this matter is definitely not over!"

He almost fed the fish and shrimp, but the emperor gave him the rope, and he became the person who was supposed to protect the emperor, but was saved by the emperor instead.

No matter what the reason is, even if he is a careful eunuch, he will definitely not let it go without investigation.

The army first set up camp here in Zhenjiang Prefecture. After hearing the news, the magistrate of Zhenjiang Prefecture led his officials and hurried over to meet him. They also increased their manpower. Not only did they have more people to salvage downstream, but they also had more boats to cross the river.

By the time the army had crossed the Yangtze River, a total of sixteen bodies were found downstream, all belonging to the Jinyi Guardsmen.

Emperor Chongzhen issued a decree, asking the prefectures and counties downstream to send more manpower to continue the search. In addition, he also sent people to Jiangyin to find someone.He was not sure whether the man was still in Jiangyin, so he just went to look for him, not to pass on the message.

Then, he led the army to Yingtian Mansion, that is, to Jiangning. It was expected that it would be almost New Year's Eve when they arrived in Jiangning.

………………

Luzhou Prefecture, which also belongs to South Zhili, was already Li Zicheng's territory at this time. It was approaching the New Year and the weather was freezing. Li Zicheng could not force others to continue fighting, so he stationed in Luzhou Prefecture to prepare for the New Year.

He was unsatisfied in the north, but finally found his feelings again after going south.Especially after joining Yuan Zongdi's troops, their power increased greatly, and they immediately swept through the states and counties in the south that were still under the control of the imperial court.

Upon hearing the arrival of his army, local rebels came to join him one after another, making him even more powerful.

Then, Zuo Liangyu sent someone to negotiate with him.

If it had been the past, how could Li Zicheng, the man who wanted to overthrow the imperial court and replace the Zhu family as emperor, negotiate with Zuo Liangyu.After so many years of beatings to death, it is even more of an inextricable hatred.

However, in the 17th year of Chongzhen, he first advanced and then suppressed. He originally entered the Jin Dynasty with high spirits, but the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty heard the news and surrendered, which really made him proud.Unexpectedly, after arriving at Ningwuguan, the bad luck started.

Not to mention the loss of soldiers and generals, the shit basin originally prepared for the current emperor was finally placed on his own head, making his hard-fought idea of ​​clearing his name become difficult to realize.

What's even more disgusting is that the Ming Emperor actually shouted all over the world, saying that he caused the people in Taiyuan to suffer from famine, and that he could pardon the people of the world, but not Li Zicheng!
Originally, there was no point in yelling. The key was to see who had the toughest fists.As long as the fist is strong enough, anything can be rewritten.Just like when I was a bandit, this kind of thing is not normal!
However, what Li Zicheng did not expect was that his fists did not seem to be as strong as the current emperor's. When he united with the Qing army, he was tricked by the barbarians, so that he lost 7 troops. His vitality was severely damaged and he could only be defeated. Sliding southward.

This continuous incident told Li Zicheng that his biggest enemy was still the current emperor.Other enemies can become allies in front of this greatest enemy.

Not only did he think so, his military advisor also suggested so.

Therefore, he finally negotiated with Zuo Liangyu.

The result of the negotiation was that he made Zuo Liangyu the Yizi Bingjian King. Whether it was the King of Lu, Zuo Liangyu still commanded the army himself, but in name they were all Dashun troops and had to obey Li Zicheng's will.Negotiable, not forced.

In other words, Li Zicheng is the eldest and Zuo Liangyu is the second. This ranking is also determined by their strength.

As soon as the results of the negotiations came out, Dashun's momentum surged.

Adding up all the mixed soldiers and generals, Dashun's army numbered about 50, which was said to be one million, and it immediately began to sweep away.

In the Ming Dynasty at this time, it can be said that there was no state or county without rebels. The biggest difference was the size of the rebels.It can range from a few people robbing homes and houses to tens of thousands of people occupying mountains and becoming kings.

When the Dashun Army began its southward offensive, these rebel armies, large and small, responded one after another, and the momentum became even greater.

As a result, many county and capital cities in state capitals have not yet been captured, but from the outside it sounds like the Dashun Kingdom has already taken over this territory.

In short, the situation is very good.

The former magistrate's Yamen in Luzhou Prefecture City has a stormy and snowy outside, but it's warm as spring in the lobby of the Yamen!
Li Zicheng and his right-hand men were drinking and having fun, waiting for the New Year.

At the banquet, in addition to Li Zichen himself, there were also his "Xiao He" Niu Jinxing, "Zhang Liang" Song Xiance, "Han Xin" Liu Zongmin, "Fan Kuai" Li Guo, etc., all of whom were his close brothers.

When he got drunk, he saw Niu Jinxing raising a glass in his hand, smiling at Li Zicheng and saying: "Yingtian Mansion is just around the corner, and then we can sweep across the southern barbarians, and then we go north to the capital. Just like Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, your highness will be able to sit in the capital sooner or later." Enter the Jinluan Palace!"

When I said this half a year ago and was forced to go south by the current emperor, no one would believe it, not even Niu Jinxing would dare to mention it.But another half year passed, and the situation was indeed very good, so the Bull Venus began to flatter him again.

Li Zicheng was very pleased with what he heard. He immediately laughed, picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Then, the beautiful maid next to him filled the cup for him.

When Liu Zongmin saw that Niu Jinxing had finished his toast, he also raised his glass, but instead of toasting to Li Zicheng, he looked at Song Xiance and said with a smile: "I, Liu, admire the talents of military advisors the most. I can't beat the emperor." , but with your resourcefulness, I will definitely be able to kill the emperor in the end!"

He was really shocked during the Battle of Changping.

The Emperor of the Ming Kingdom was simply not a human being. He actually held up such a big iron shield and charged forward with a blazing gun, like a madman!
Deep in Liu Zongmin's heart, he was also frightened.Although he escaped back, the shadow of the emperor charging with a shield remained deep in his heart.

However, after Song Xiance presented his strategy to Li Zicheng, Liu Zongmin came back to life.Because he knew that Song Xiance's strategy was definitely feasible, as his experience had proven.

No matter how powerful the Ming emperor was, he was still invincible against Song Xiance's move.

At this time, Song Xiance saw Liu Zongmin toasting and listened to what he said. He just smiled slightly and raised his glass. However, he did not drink. Instead, he said to Liu Zongmin: "My wisdom must be appreciated by His Highness." No. Your Highness, I, Song Xiance, am nothing. This glass of wine should be given to Your Highness!"

When Li Zicheng heard this, he burst out laughing silently.He loved hearing Song Xiance's words!

After hearing this, Liu Zongmin did not hesitate and toasted to Li Zicheng: "Then I will offer a toast to His Majesty. When I defeat the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, I will offer his head to His Majesty as a wine pot!"

When Li Zicheng heard what he said, he laughed immediately, drank it all in one gulp, wiped the wine beads stuck on his beard, and said with a smile: "This wine is good!"

When everyone heard this, they all laughed and drank happily.

Mianhou Yuan Zongdi also joined in the fun. He immediately picked up his wine glass and was about to speak with a smile. Unexpectedly, the door of the lobby was pushed open, and a gust of cold wind suddenly rushed into the warm banquet.

When everyone heard the sound and looked around, they found that it was General Bai Wang of Dashun Chao Yi who pushed in through the door.Judging from his expression, it seemed like something bad was going on.

The guard at the door quickly closed the door again, and the cold wind immediately stopped.

Then Bai Wang reported to Li Zicheng: "Your Highness, we have just received a report from Kuaishou that the Wenshui Bo Chen Yongfu who is stationed in Guide Mansion has surrendered to the court again!"

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the lobby became cold again, as if the cold wind outside had not been cut off and was still blowing.

Liu Zongmin was the first to come to his senses, and immediately cursed: "An unfamiliar white-eyed wolf is really not a thing!"

The others hadn't spoken yet, but suddenly, Li Zicheng burst into laughter.

(End of this chapter)