Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table
Chapter 187 Bet
Chapter 187 Bet
Emperor Chongzhen went south not just to find Zheng Zhilong.
Inspecting agriculture and understanding local people's conditions are also what he has to do.Therefore, when he led his army southward, he was spread out over a large area at night to inquire about the local people's livelihood, bandits, officials, etc.
In addition, when he went south this time, he also brought Yan Yingyuan with him.This purpose is quite simple, because Yan Yingyuan is the commander of the Nanjing Navy, and the reward for Dashengbo will not be given until the battle of Dashengguan is over, and all the imperial officers and soldiers who pursued Li Zicheng have returned, and he will not be rewarded based on his merits until he returns from Fujian. .
Emperor Chongzhen just wants to show Yan Yingyuan what the most powerful navy looks like today?
Along the way south, as news of the victory of the imperial army spread, Emperor Chongzhen also saw a large group of refugees heading west, returning to their hometowns.
No one is willing to leave their hometown. As long as there is a possibility of returning home, they will go home no matter how far they escape.
However, unlike the worries they felt when they fled their hometown, most of the refugees returning to the west are full of longing for the future.When they knew that the emperor was passing by with his army, they would even come over to say goodbye.
They didn't say anything, they just watched the emperor's team coming from the official road from a distance, and they knelt down by the roadside to express their gratitude to the emperor.If it was purely due to the emperor's grace and majesty, they would have fled as far as they could.
The purpose of Emperor Chongzhen's visit was to Quanzhou Prefecture in Fujian, which is very close to Guangdong.Walking on land is actually a bit hard.The most comfortable way is to take a boat from Nanjing along the Yangtze River to the sea, and then along the coastline to Quanzhou.
It's a pity that after the shipwreck, no one advised the emperor to do this unless the court had a powerful navy.Even Emperor Chongzhen himself did not want to take a boat.
Although he can swim, he is the king on land.
Whether traveling on land, Emperor Chongzhen could see Jiangnan in this era.
Prosperous places like Southern Zhili, Zhejiang, and Fujian also have banditry everywhere.But compared to the north, most of the bandits in the south are occupying the mountains and becoming kings, rather than plundering freely like in the north.
This difference is actually related to the amount of resources.
The north has more plains and fewer resources, while the south has more mountains and rivers and more resources. This is the difference.
Generally speaking, the chaos in the north may be caused by natural disasters and then man-made disasters, which make the people unable to survive before they rebel; while the chaos in the south is more caused by corrupt officials running rampant and squeezing the people.
Beginning in the 15th year of Chongzhen, the White-headed Army Rebellion broke out in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. The rebels wore white turbans on their heads.The leader was named Xu Du.
However, at the end of the 16th year of Chongzhen's reign, he was suppressed by the imperial army and had no choice but to surrender.At that time, Xu Du negotiated terms for the intermediary and the government to surrender through Chen Zilong, whom he knew.
At that time, he promised that as long as Xu Du surrendered, he would be pardoned from the death penalty.Xu Du was overjoyed, dismissed most of his tribe, and led more than 200 people to surrender.
Zuo Guangxian, the patrol commander of Zhejiang Province, thought that they surrendered because they were desperate and not sincere, so he ordered them to be killed.This also made Chen Zilong break his promise and he was very sad and angry for a while. Fortunately, he was reused by Emperor Chongzhen and went to grow sweet potatoes in northern Shanxi and Zhang Guowei.
After Xu Du was killed, his subordinates Xu Jiaying, Ding Ruzhang and others gathered together to fight against the government and defeated Jinhua, Tangxi, Wuyi and Yongkang counties, and repeatedly defeated Yiwu.This momentum is also very big.
If the original historical development were to follow, Nanming's power would have been concentrated south of the Yangtze River, and security was of paramount importance, so they concentrated their forces to suppress the White-headed Army.In this dimension, after Emperor Chongzhen arrived in Nanjing, he ordered all states and counties to suppress bandits to stabilize people's livelihood.Therefore, Zhejiang also concentrated its military power to suppress the Baitou Army.
However, although the large-scale White-headed Army has disappeared, there are still many scattered in various areas and continue to be enemies of the government.Even in Fujian, there were people who rebelled in the name of the White-headed Army.
When Emperor Chongzhen went all the way south, he could often hear through inquiring around the clock that bandits claimed that the Whitehead Army was responsible for the rebellion. However, they did not dare to attack the prefectures and counties. They usually occupied remote hills and were self-sufficient and did not have to pay taxes. , if you have the chance, go down the mountain to do some robbery or something like that.
Going south all the way, Emperor Chongzhen also understood a truth. To revive the Ming Dynasty, it is not just about annihilating Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and their like.They are just the biggest representatives of bandits in the world. All over the country, especially in places with high mountains and steep roads, there are still all kinds of banditry.
Although many of them are just evading the government's excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes, these are things that affect people's livelihood to some extent.If we don't clean up this phenomenon, we can't call it the Ming Dynasty's resurgence, nor can we call it another prosperous age.
In August of the 18th year of Chongzhen, when the weather was hot, Emperor Chongzhen finally led his army into Fujian. When he arrived at Jianning Mansion, he met Huang Daozhou, the imperial envoy returning from the north.
Huang Daozhou, who welcomed the Holy Emperor with the local officials, greeted the emperor in the government hall, and excitedly said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty is so powerful that millions of thieves can't stop your Majesty's attack. From now on, the world will be at peace." , it can be decided soon!"
Having said this, he paused and then reported the good news: "After hearing the news of His Majesty's victory in Quanzhou Prefecture, the minister finally raised [-] shi of grain and got it at a fair price. Zheng Zhilong, the commander-in-chief of the Fujian Navy, was in charge of it, and it was shipped by sea. Sent to Nanjing. At this time, it is already on the way."
Huang Daozhou was originally quite disappointed with Emperor Chongzhen, so he resigned and returned to his hometown, originally to specialize in learning.Unexpectedly, the current emperor actually led the troops to drive away the Jianlu, and then led the troops south to rescue Yingtian Mansion.
Against this background, he received the emperor's order and came to Nanjing out of curiosity to see the situation.Then the shipwreck happened. The emperor took action against nobles and forced Nanjing officials to donate money. Everything he did was different from before.
He was a little shocked, as if he was a different person.To be honest, he couldn't tell if this kind of behavior was courageous or if he was losing his mind and going crazy?
The biggest problem at the moment is, isn't it that Li's army is about to approach the city?
According to Huang Daozhou himself, the emperor at this time should recruit troops and food and prepare for war with all his strength.Unexpectedly, the emperor just squeezed money and food from the officials and gentry, saved the people, and focused on farming.People who don’t know would think the world is peaceful when they see it!
When he was ordered to leave Nanjing and go to Quanzhou to find Zheng Zhilong to raise food, he was actually very worried that Nanjing could not stop Li's army.If that's the case, everything he does here is in vain.
Unexpectedly, the army of Li thieves, which was said to be one million, was defeated by the emperor in one battle.It seemed that the war that he had been most worried about was actually not a problem at all, and the emperor didn't pay attention to it at all!
At this moment, he had to admit that the current emperor was full of military virtue. Even Zheng Zhilong praised him highly after hearing the news and took the initiative to transport grain to Nanjing.
However, Emperor Chongzhen frowned slightly after hearing his words.
One hundred thousand stones of grain seemed to be a lot to Zodiac Zhou.Thinking about it, this is just given to Quanzhou Prefecture by a navy commander who should not be responsible for raising food and grass. This is already a huge skill.
However, Emperor Chongzhen knew that Zheng Zhilong's ability went far beyond giving him [-] shi of food.He sold [-] shi of grain to the court at a fair price, which was just enough to deal with people who didn't know the details.
And it is only one hundred thousand shi of grain, which cannot support the food supply of so many newly recovered areas in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
While he was thinking about it, he heard Huang Daozhou say to him again: "Now that the world is about to be at peace, and the ministers have collected food, your Majesty is going to return to Nanjing?"
Emperor Chongzhen declared to the outside world that he was going south to suppress bandits, and he knew that the emperor was concerned about money and food, so he said this.
Emperor Chongzhen heard what he said, looked at him, frowned slightly and asked, "Why do you think there are no thieves in Fujian?"
Huang Daozhou was stunned for a moment, thought about it carefully, and then immediately replied: "At most, there are just some small thieves. We can just leave them to the local government to exterminate them. Your Majesty will not have to conquer them personally!"
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen asked with a serious expression: "Do you think there is any difference between there being little frog thieves in one place and little frog thieves everywhere? If I didn't come out, how could I know it?"
Under normal circumstances, in this case, local officials can hide it if they can, as long as it doesn't cause a big incident.However, some people will inevitably be affected, and some people will follow suit.
It is impossible for the emperor, who is high up in the palace to know these things.
At this time, the emperor suddenly raised this question. Huang Daozhou was a Qingliu and a scholar. He was good at chewing words. He was stunned for a moment after hearing this.
There are little predators everywhere. This matter needs to be taken seriously. It is actually serious.This shows that it is not the problem of a certain local official, but something is wrong as a whole.
After Huang Daozhou heard this, he quickly replied to the emperor: "Your Majesty, this is caused by corruption in the administration of officials. We should rectify the administration of officials!"
After finishing speaking, he immediately started talking about the usual methods of rectifying the administration of officials.I can’t be wrong, but many of the ideas are out of touch with the real world.
Emperor Chongzhen listened and sighed in his heart.Some people in later generations commented on him that he "kept upright" but could not change; he dared to offend his words and remonstrated but was broad-minded; although he was strict in self-discipline, it was of no use to the world.
This assessment, so far as it stands, is not unreasonable.
Emperor Chongzhen already knew what arrangements were made for the Zodiac Zhou, that is, he would arrange for them to go to the Metropolitan Procuratorate and give them specific regulations to supervise the local area; he could also let them engage in learning and correct the extravagant atmosphere of the late Ming Dynasty.
But at this time, he did not say anything. After Huang Daozhou finished speaking, he just said: "We must also make the people under the imperial government rich and live better than if they fled to the mountains. In this way, there will not be so many There won’t be so many people fleeing to the mountains!”
After hearing this, Huang Daozhou seemed to want to say something, but Emperor Chongzhen lost interest in talking to him, and just said to him: "I have reinstated Jie Xuelong as the governor of Jiangxi, responsible for destroying scattered bandits and restoring people's livelihood after the war. Please. Go to Jiangxi and other places on my behalf to inspect the areas, and the priority is to bring peace to the people as soon as possible."
Jie Xuelong once served as the governor of Jiangxi, and made great achievements such as pacifying the bandits in Duchang and Pingxiang, and joining forces with Fujian soldiers to defeat Zhang Puwei, the demon thief who sealed the mountain.The most important thing is that he and Huang Daozhou are good friends. Emperor Chongzhen once considered him a clique because he recommended Huang Daozhou. He was sentenced to eighty years by the imperial staff, stripped of his status, moved to imperial prison, and sent to Guizhou.
Later, when the Zodiac Zhou came back, he thought of rescuing Xuelong, but was rejected by Emperor Chongzhen.For this reason, Huang Daozhou reported illness and returned to his hometown, no longer accompanying Emperor Chongzhen.
At this time, Huang Daozhou did not expect that before he could mention the matter again, the emperor had already pardoned Jie Xuelong and appointed him as the governor of Jiangxi.At this moment, he couldn't help but feel extremely grateful, and immediately kowtowed to express his gratitude, without caring whether the emperor would misunderstand them as suspected of forming a party again.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and said nothing more. This Zodiac Zhou was probably the only one who dared to go his own way as long as he thought he was right.
So, he spoke and asked Zodiac Zhou to step back.
Unexpectedly, Huang Daozhou did not retreat immediately, but only asked the emperor about his return to the north.
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen said to him: "The matter in Fujian is not over yet, I still have to go there myself!"
Huang Daozhou listened and said doubtfully: "The battle of Nanjing has just been decided, and many matters are inseparable from your majesty. Li Zicheng, Zuo Liangyu and many other thieves have not yet been arrested. Why does your majesty insist on continuing south? I dare to guarantee it, There are no bandits in Fujian that are big enough for His Majesty to deal with them personally!"
After hearing his words, to be honest, Emperor Chongzhen disliked him a little.
However, he still showed patience and said to Huang Daozhou: "One hundred thousand shi of food is too little. All the lands west of Nanzhili were recovered and suffered from military disasters. No amount of food is too much. I still want to go south. Raise food for this year and for the future!”
There is no such thing as too much food!
Huang Daozhou also understands this truth.However, after listening to the emperor's words, he remonstrated: "Your Majesty is going to Quanzhou Mansion again? Wei Chen has already raised one hundred thousand shi of food, and Zheng Zhilong also told Wei Chen frankly that this was all he could do. Wei Chen is originally from Zhangzhou Prefecture on the edge of Quanzhou, so he naturally knows a lot about the local situation. The fact that he can produce so much food is beyond Wei Chen's expectations."
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly smiled and said: "Huang Qing, do you dare to make a bet with me? I bet that he still has food, and after this year, he will continue to donate food, sugar and other things to the court. Supplies!”
When Huang Daozhou heard this, he immediately said seriously: "Your Majesty is the emperor, how can you gamble? Zheng Zhilong really has no food. If he presses harder, he will rebel, which is not a blessing for the court!"
No matter what, as Zheng Zhilong's resident, the people in the next house, even if he has always been a scholar, have heard that Zheng Zhilong was recruited by pirates.And when he was a pirate, the imperial navy couldn't suppress him, so he had to recruit him.
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly sneered and said: "I will go to see him in person. If you dare to treat me as perfunctorily as you did, I will destroy him."
Huang Daoyi was stunned when he heard this on Monday.
Why did the emperor say that Zheng Zhilong was perfunctory with him, and why was he so sure?
This is not right!
Then Zheng Zhilong has always treated him with great respect, how could there be any sign of being perfunctory?And they have taken out so much food, how can it be just perfunctory?
To be honest, he really couldn't believe what the emperor said.
When he came back to his senses, he also turned serious and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, be careful what you say. I will do my best. Zheng Zhilong has always been very respectful to the court. How can I say it perfunctorily? Please take it back." !”
Damn it, are you trying to get into trouble with yourself?
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen really didn't like this Huang Daozhou. He didn't know the world at all, so he said to Huang Daozhou: "You don't dare to make a bet, and you don't listen to me. I didn't expect that. Is it really your fault?"
Some people are so stubborn and think they are right.Emperor Chongzhen had seen this kind of person in his past and present lives.
No, Huang Daozhou listened, thought about it seriously, and then said: "Wei Chen is not wrong!"
When Emperor Chongzhen saw his stubbornness, he became angry. He liked to slap such people in the face, so he said: "Facts speak louder than words. Just watch. I'm tired. Could it be that you miss me?" Are you sick from exhaustion?"
Huang Daozhou actually felt very helpless towards the current emperor. When he heard the emperor's words, he had no choice but to resign.
So, the next day, Huang Daozhou went north, and Emperor Chongzhen continued to lead the army south.
………………
Zuo Liangyu is so tired!
In the battle of Dashengguan, he saw the imperial army's victory, so he immediately ran away without saying a word.
When it comes to escaping, he is also experienced. Without the flag, he just ran away with a group of cronies around him.Not to mention, the imperial officers and soldiers didn't notice him at all and didn't chase him.In other words, all the officials and soldiers of the imperial court went after Li Zicheng, and no one cared about him.
Zuo Liangyu breathed a sigh of relief after escaping from the battlefield.However, he still did not dare to rest and continued to flee westward.
As someone who has been fighting for so many years, he knows very well that after being unable to defeat the imperial officers and soldiers in the Battle of Dasheng Pass, he will have no choice but to go around the imperial officers and soldiers in the future.
Therefore, his purpose was very clear, to escape back to Nanchang, his original base camp.After his son Zuo Mengeng took 50 taels of silver from Huizhou Mansion, he did not come to Yingtian Mansion, but escorted the silver back to Nanchang.
With such a large sum of money, the army left there, and the men who escaped with him, he should be able to go to some remote places to become king.
Unexpectedly, when he fled to Nanchang, Li Zicheng also ran to Jiangxi.
It's just that Li Zicheng went from Jiujiang Prefecture to Nanchang Prefecture, and he went from Raozhou Prefecture to Nanchang Prefecture.
What's even more terrible is that behind Li Zicheng, those imperial officers and soldiers are chasing after him!
Huang Degong, Wu Sangui, Gao Jie, Tang Tong, etc., none of them were left behind, they all chased after Li Zicheng like a race.
Zuo Liangyu wanted to curse: What did you want to do by bringing the soldiers here?
He didn't want to be chased by the imperial army, so after joining his son, he set fire to Nanchang. Then seeing Li Zicheng continuing to flee to the west, he fled to the southwest and ran to Dong'an where Huguang and Guangxi meet. Only then stopped to take a breath.
At this time, he counted the troops and found that there were only about 5000 people left.Many of his subordinates were running away on the road and then disappeared.
Zuo Liangyu looked at the people in front of him, his son Zuo Mengeng, deputy generals Ma Shixiu, Wang Yuncheng, Lu Ding, etc. Except for the two who rebelled, there were only a few major generals left under him.Moreover, everyone was in a state of embarrassment. Along the way, they almost slept and ran, and there was no peaceful day.
At this time, Zuo Liangyu said: "Everyone, now that we have retreated so far, it is safe. You have been following me, and I regard you as brothers. From now on, we will share weal and woe, and we will never be at odds with each other."
After hearing his words, Wang Yuncheng spoke first and said, "I had already decided when you protected me. No matter what, I will follow you in the future."
He was originally a subordinate of the Commander-in-Chief Deng Qi. When he was stationed in Fancheng in the eighth year of Chongzhen, he started a mutiny because he said Deng Qi was deducting military pay. After killing Deng Qi, he was subordinated to Zuo Liangyu and served as Deputy Commander-in-Chief. He was known as " King of Iron Cavalry."He also has some abilities, and has won many battles with bandits, but he is unruly.
In the 16th year of Chongzhen's reign, he actually broke through Jiande, plundered Chizhou, and even threatened to attack Nanjing.So Emperor Chongzhen ordered him to be killed, but Zuo Liangyu protected him.
What he just said was referring to this matter.
When Wang Yuncheng said this, others naturally expressed their opinions.However, at least Zuo Liangyu couldn't tell whether it was duplicity or not.
After they expressed their stance, Zuo Liangyu told his son: "I am no longer the prince of Dashun. We are all brothers. I said we share weal and woe, so I took out all the money and divided it among the brothers."
When Zuo Mengeng heard this, he felt a little reluctant to part with it.
When Zuo Liangyu saw this, he immediately glared and became angry.
Zuo Mengeng was afraid of his father, so he had to say: "It's time to divide, I don't want to worry about it anymore!"
When Ma Shixiu saw it, he quickly smoothed things over and said: "Your Highness... We all remember the Marshal's kindness to us, and it has nothing to do with the money or not. Marshal, tell me, what should we do next? As long as you Say, we have absolutely nothing to say!”
After Wang Yuncheng heard this, he also echoed: "Yes, Marshal, you say it!"
Lu Ding's lips moved, but he didn't speak.
After Zuo Liangyu heard this, he no longer insisted on dividing the money, and his expression became serious. He looked at these subordinates and said: "If we can defeat Dasheng Pass in this battle, I am afraid that I will not be able to fight against the imperial court in the future. Just stay away..."
In this battle, there is a huge disparity in military strength. Logically speaking, no matter how hard you fight, you will win, and you will be able to kill the few people in the imperial court.Unexpectedly, he was defeated by the imperial court!
The number of troops we can have in the future will never exceed this battle. In a future where there will be no changes, what else can we use to fight the imperial army?Even the rebellious Wang Yuncheng had to admit this fact.
Therefore, when Zuo Liangyu said this, no one objected.
So Zuo Liangyu continued: "I have thought about it. The current target of the imperial officers and soldiers is Li Zicheng. They have been chasing him to kill him. Maybe the emperor has offered a reward or issued a death order. Therefore, for the time being, , we will be relatively safer.”
Upon hearing this, Ma Shixiu showed an expression of gloating. This was a mistake, haha!
"At this time, I finally understood why the emperor would have people burn the ship to start a war. It was because he was sure of victory. Now, Li Zicheng could only escape westward along the Yangtze River, but he was unable to do so. Crossed the river and fled to the Central Plains!"
When Zuo Mengeng heard this, he said: "When we marched eastward, we collected all the ships. It's strange that he can still find ships when he runs along the Yangtze River!"
When Zuo Liangyu heard this, he glanced at him and ignored him. Instead, he looked at the other three people and continued: "Li Zicheng escaped like this. I suspect that he must have gone to Yunnan and Guizhou. And the imperial officers and soldiers will definitely do the same." I have been chasing Yungui."
At this point, he raised his voice and said: "We can't go back north, so it might be a good thing for us to go to Guangxi to find a foothold. This place is remote enough, and the imperial court will definitely not care about it for a while. .”
He fled to Dong'an with his people. Needless to say, others could guess that he was definitely going to Guangxi.
At this time, Zuo Mengeng heard his words and asked with some worry: "Then the imperial officers and soldiers will still come after me, so what should I do?"
"What should we do?" Zuo Liangyu heard this and immediately lectured, "Of course we are taking one step at a time. Is it possible that we can be captured here? This Guangxi is similar to Yunnan and Guizhou. There are many chieftains and it is a mountainous land. Form an alliance with the chieftains or kill them. What kind of chieftain occupies a place, and it is not difficult to defend it by taking risks! When the world changes again, we can make a comeback!"
When Lu Ding heard this, his heart tightened, and he quickly asked: "Commander, how can the world change again? The current emperor is so brave and brave, how can the world change again?"
What he said was a bit presumptuous to others and demoralized himself.
However, Zuo Liangyu knew that he was a scholar, not the kind who was good at both civil and military affairs, so it was reasonable for him to be frightened by the emperor.
So, he explained: "The current emperor has often personally charged into battle since he led the army. I believe you have all seen the battle of Dashengguan. If you do this kind of thing too much, sooner or later he will be plotted by his opponent and die. On the battlefield. As long as he dies, the world will definitely be in chaos again!"
When Lu Ding heard this, he immediately turned pale and said, "No way?"
It is precisely because of the wisdom and martial prowess of the current emperor that peace is possible in this world.How could the emperor die?If he dies, what will happen to the world?
As for the prince, no one really thought about it.
After hearing this, Zuo Liangyu sneered and said: "What can't you do? Not to mention that the Central Plains and Shaanxi are still in Li Zicheng's hands, and Liaodong, with the temper of the current emperor, will definitely be taken back by himself. In other people's territory Go up, those Qing soldiers have set a trap, and as long as he doesn’t really become a god and descend to earth, he will still be injured or die!”
As someone who has led troops to fight for many years, he is the best at fighting in the army.Even if there are ten thousand enemies, as long as they are targeted, they can be dealt with.
In the past, I just didn't know that the emperor's strength would be so great!Now that he knows it, is prepared, and takes targeted measures, as far as Zuo Liangyu himself is concerned, he can kill the current emperor.
This time, Li Zicheng was actually well prepared for the Battle of Dashengguan.I just didn't expect that the emperor would launch a surprise attack first, so I was caught off guard!
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little regretful. He didn't expect that the current emperor could still swim. Otherwise, drowning in the Yangtze River would not be such a big deal!
After answering Lu Ding's question, Zuo Liangyu looked at them and said: "Believe me, this world is about to change its dynasty. You have seen so many corrupt officials, and you have also seen so many natural disasters. I have personally experienced that this cannot be saved by the bravery of the current emperor. Let us hide and rest first, and secretly increase our strength, and there will be a day when we can come back again!"
When Wang Yuncheng heard this, he immediately nodded in agreement and said: "The commander-in-chief is right, it is easy to use a sword and a spear, but it is difficult to govern the world again. It does not require strength!"
After hearing this, Ma Shixiu even sneered: "Then if there are more natural disasters and those corrupt officials work harder, the world will soon be in chaos. Even if the current emperor does not die, what will happen?"
Lu Ding was very angry after hearing this, but he did not dare to be angry with them. He could only retort: "Didn't the current emperor kill many corrupt officials? All the hereditary Dukes, nobles, chief ministers, ministers and so on have already been killed. Killed a lot."
Zuo Liangyu laughed after hearing this and said: "Can you kill all the corrupt officials? Kill one group and then another. If nothing else, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty was really a murderer. He killed so many corrupt officials. Aren’t there always corrupt officials?”
Upon hearing this, Lu Ding stopped talking. Listening to their words, he felt that there was no hope in the world again!
It's just a pity that his wife and children are in the hands of Zuo Mengeng, otherwise he could just find an opportunity to escape back and give the current emperor a warning!If you can't see the emperor, go and beat the drum. In short, you can't let the world be in chaos again!
Seeing that Lu Ding was silent, Zuo Liangyu thought that he had been persuaded by himself, believing that the world would soon be in chaos again. They were just dormant for the time being, and it was not hopeless.
Even Lu Ding, a scholar, could convince him, let alone others.
With this in mind, Zuo Liangyu began to make arrangements before entering Guangxi, and then led his men to escape into Guangxi.
………………
As for Li Zicheng, Zuo Liangyu really guessed right. He had been escaping along the Yangtze River, but he couldn't find a boat to cross the Yangtze River.Sometimes he didn't even have the chance to stop and look for the boat. There was a group of life-seeking ghosts chasing him desperately.
In the end, he could only escape along the Yangtze River, escaped Jiangxi, fled into Huguang, and then fled to Guizhou.
Li Zicheng had never escaped before, but he had never escaped in such an embarrassing manner like this time.
Zuo Liangyu still slept and ran away; Li Zicheng, on his side, sometimes even ran away in his sleep.
There is no other way. If we don't escape like this, the imperial officers and soldiers behind will catch up!
Chasing from Nanjing to Guizhou, these people were really going to kill him!
Guizhou has many mountains, some of which are very steep. Many official roads are halfway up the mountains, with cliffs below them.
This kind of terrain is conducive to escaping here, leaving some people to block the attack, and the main force can put some distance away from the pursuers.
On this day, in the evening, Li Zicheng's troops occupied a mountain village for the night.
There were about less than [-] people lying everywhere. It was summer, otherwise there wouldn't be enough houses, and some would have to freeze to death.
The best house in the village is just a mud house covered with tiles.
Under the dim light of the oil lamp, there were several exhausted faces.
The one-eyed one is Li Zicheng, which is obvious. He looked at the shortest man, sighed and said, "If this continues, how can we be different?"
When Song Xiance saw Li Zicheng looking at him and speaking, he comforted him: "Your Highness, we still have ten thousand people, as well as Central Plains and Shaanxi. They are much better than before. How can we be discouraged?"
Upon hearing this, Li Zicheng couldn't help but be stunned.
Yes, in the past, I was chased by the imperial army until only eighteen riders were left with nothing, so I escaped by hiding in the mountains.But now, there are at least [-] people from Central Plains and Shaanxi, but they just can't cross the Yangtze River and run back to Central Plains.
Thinking of this, he realized that he was being chased by those mad dogs.
Although the officers and soldiers of the previous imperial court also pursued him, they did not pursue him so frantically. They really pursued him day and night. Was it the hatred they had forged for several lifetimes?
While he was thinking, Song Xiance was still comforting him and said: "As long as we pass through Yunnan and Guizhou and pass through Shu, we can return to Shaanxi. The danger of Tongguan is famous in the world. If Tongguan is defended, even if the Central Plains is lost, there will still be [-] Li Qinchuan can still become His Highness's asset in competing for world supremacy!"
Hearing this, Li Zicheng nodded, but he was still a little worried and said: "But if you want to return to Qin like this, not to mention the eight kings of Shu, it's just Yunnan and Guizhou. Our power has not reached here, how can we get through it?" ? How can you still reach Qin when you are being chased and intercepted by the imperial officers and soldiers?"
Niu Jinxing also escaped and was by his side, echoing Li Zicheng's words: "Not to mention Guizhou, just Yunnan, but the Mu family hereditarily guards Yunnan. They are in charge of military matters. They must be loyal to the imperial court. We have to pass through , the Mu family will definitely lead troops to intercept!"
Liu Zongmin was leading the cavalry in a charge. After being defeated, he escaped quickly. At this time, when he heard Niu Jinxing's words, he said nonchalantly: "So what, among these hereditary nobles, any one of them is capable." Just kill them, and kill anyone who dares to intercept them!"
Having said this, he subconsciously looked around him, but didn't see the figure he wanted to see, and couldn't help but feel a little sad again.
When Li Zicheng saw him like this, he immediately understood that Liu Zongmin was thinking of Li Guo.
He had seen Li Guo leading the heavy armored infantry to block the imperial army, and he seemed to have been hit by a hammer from the Ming Emperor.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: My husband, I have followed you for so many years, but I didn't expect that he would die in the hands of the current emperor.
He has no son, but treats his nephew as a son.Unexpectedly, he was still alive, but his nephew was dead!
At this moment, the door of the room was pushed open. Everyone looked around and found that Yuan Zongdi had walked in.
Most people are experienced in escaping, so it's not surprising that they can escape.
After Yuan Zong first entered, he sat next to Liu Zongmin, looked at Li Zicheng and said: "Your Highness, it seems a little strange. After we enter Guizhou, we should encounter the interception of the local imperial officers and soldiers, but this Guizhou is like Don’t you have any troops to intercept?”
Upon hearing this, Song Xiance became a little more excited and said: "Yes, I am also thinking about this issue, and I am a little confused. At first, I also wondered whether we retreated too fast, so the local officers and soldiers had no time to react. Now that I think about it, this seems unreasonable. It should be said that something might happen in this remote place!"
Li Zicheng listened and began to think about it.
Originally, they were worried that they would not be able to pass through Yungui, but if something happens in Yungui, then their chances of passing through Yungui would be great!
After a few people discussed it, they prepared to send someone to inquire ahead overnight.
………………
They guessed right. The turmoil in Yunnan and Guizhou did not change because of Emperor Chongzhen's time travel. This turmoil was known as the Shapu Rebellion in history!
Just when Li Zicheng led the army to attack Nanjing, Wu Bikui, the chieftain of Wuding, rebelled as in the original history and captured many places in succession, causing a great earthquake in Yunnan and Guizhou.
Therefore, the Duke of Guizhou, Mu Tianbo, and others hurriedly ordered the mobilization of Shiping chieftain Long Zaitian, Qiaogao chieftain Wang Yangzu, Mengzi chieftain Sha Dingzhou, Ningzhou chieftain Lu Yongming, Jingdong chieftain Diao Xun and other tribes to suppress the rebellion.
This matter went relatively smoothly. Just like in history, Mu Tianbo defeated the rebels and Wu Bikui and his party members were captured alive.
Then, each chieftain led his troops back to his own territory. As a result, Mengzi chieftain Sha Dingzhou stayed in Kunming and refused to leave.It was Mu Tianbo's own unlucky fate that he was unprepared in these troubled times. As a result, Sha Dingzhou suddenly launched an attack and invaded the government offices of the Duke of Guizhou and the Governor of Yunnan, and occupied the entire Kunming.
Due to an unexpected incident, Mu Tianbo did not even have time to take his wife and mother with him, so he escaped from Kunming with only his official seal, hereditary iron coupons and other items.As a result, his wife committed suicide, his two younger brothers were killed, and all the wealth accumulated since the founding of the country was lost to Sha Dingzhou.
Such a big thing is much more serious than the previous Wu Bikui rebellion.
The imperial court had no time to take care of itself. While running for his life, Mu Tianbo sent orders to chieftains from various places to suppress the Sha Dingzhou rebellion.
However, the reason why Sha Dingzhou did this was because he had capital.
He is a powerful chieftain himself. In addition, after the death of the chieftain of Ami Prefecture, Pu Famous, his wife Wan remarried him. The two chieftains merged into one, and their power increased greatly, and they were far stronger than other chieftains.In addition, Tang Jiajia, a member of Lin'an Prefecture, was the mastermind, and he launched this rebellion after planning for a long time.
Therefore, for a while, chieftains from all over the country were either afraid of Sha Dingzhou's strength and did not dare to fight with him, or they were defeated after fighting with Sha Dingzhou.
Moreover, with Tang Jiajia giving him advice, Sha Dingzhou also kidnapped the governor Wu Zhaoyuan, coerced him to write a letter to stop the troops coming to rescue, and chased Mu Tianbo.
Yunnan was already in chaos, which also affected Guizhou next door. When Li Zicheng escaped, it happened to be when Guizhou was affected by the chaos in Yunnan. All his attention was on Yunnan, allowing Li Zicheng to escape easily. Entered Guizhou.
The chaos in Yunnan and Guizhou will naturally become more chaotic due to the addition of Li Zicheng, and the general soldiers from all walks of life who came to hunt down Li Zicheng are new forces.
The land of Yunnan and Guizhou is in chaos.
However, Emperor Chongzhen at this time did not know what was going on here.
Even if he knew, he definitely wouldn't be able to control it because he was too far away.At this time, he has led his troops into Quanzhou Mansion, Zheng Zhilong's lair! .
Thanks to book friend 121204083244697 for the reward of 400 starting coins!
(End of this chapter)
Emperor Chongzhen went south not just to find Zheng Zhilong.
Inspecting agriculture and understanding local people's conditions are also what he has to do.Therefore, when he led his army southward, he was spread out over a large area at night to inquire about the local people's livelihood, bandits, officials, etc.
In addition, when he went south this time, he also brought Yan Yingyuan with him.This purpose is quite simple, because Yan Yingyuan is the commander of the Nanjing Navy, and the reward for Dashengbo will not be given until the battle of Dashengguan is over, and all the imperial officers and soldiers who pursued Li Zicheng have returned, and he will not be rewarded based on his merits until he returns from Fujian. .
Emperor Chongzhen just wants to show Yan Yingyuan what the most powerful navy looks like today?
Along the way south, as news of the victory of the imperial army spread, Emperor Chongzhen also saw a large group of refugees heading west, returning to their hometowns.
No one is willing to leave their hometown. As long as there is a possibility of returning home, they will go home no matter how far they escape.
However, unlike the worries they felt when they fled their hometown, most of the refugees returning to the west are full of longing for the future.When they knew that the emperor was passing by with his army, they would even come over to say goodbye.
They didn't say anything, they just watched the emperor's team coming from the official road from a distance, and they knelt down by the roadside to express their gratitude to the emperor.If it was purely due to the emperor's grace and majesty, they would have fled as far as they could.
The purpose of Emperor Chongzhen's visit was to Quanzhou Prefecture in Fujian, which is very close to Guangdong.Walking on land is actually a bit hard.The most comfortable way is to take a boat from Nanjing along the Yangtze River to the sea, and then along the coastline to Quanzhou.
It's a pity that after the shipwreck, no one advised the emperor to do this unless the court had a powerful navy.Even Emperor Chongzhen himself did not want to take a boat.
Although he can swim, he is the king on land.
Whether traveling on land, Emperor Chongzhen could see Jiangnan in this era.
Prosperous places like Southern Zhili, Zhejiang, and Fujian also have banditry everywhere.But compared to the north, most of the bandits in the south are occupying the mountains and becoming kings, rather than plundering freely like in the north.
This difference is actually related to the amount of resources.
The north has more plains and fewer resources, while the south has more mountains and rivers and more resources. This is the difference.
Generally speaking, the chaos in the north may be caused by natural disasters and then man-made disasters, which make the people unable to survive before they rebel; while the chaos in the south is more caused by corrupt officials running rampant and squeezing the people.
Beginning in the 15th year of Chongzhen, the White-headed Army Rebellion broke out in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. The rebels wore white turbans on their heads.The leader was named Xu Du.
However, at the end of the 16th year of Chongzhen's reign, he was suppressed by the imperial army and had no choice but to surrender.At that time, Xu Du negotiated terms for the intermediary and the government to surrender through Chen Zilong, whom he knew.
At that time, he promised that as long as Xu Du surrendered, he would be pardoned from the death penalty.Xu Du was overjoyed, dismissed most of his tribe, and led more than 200 people to surrender.
Zuo Guangxian, the patrol commander of Zhejiang Province, thought that they surrendered because they were desperate and not sincere, so he ordered them to be killed.This also made Chen Zilong break his promise and he was very sad and angry for a while. Fortunately, he was reused by Emperor Chongzhen and went to grow sweet potatoes in northern Shanxi and Zhang Guowei.
After Xu Du was killed, his subordinates Xu Jiaying, Ding Ruzhang and others gathered together to fight against the government and defeated Jinhua, Tangxi, Wuyi and Yongkang counties, and repeatedly defeated Yiwu.This momentum is also very big.
If the original historical development were to follow, Nanming's power would have been concentrated south of the Yangtze River, and security was of paramount importance, so they concentrated their forces to suppress the White-headed Army.In this dimension, after Emperor Chongzhen arrived in Nanjing, he ordered all states and counties to suppress bandits to stabilize people's livelihood.Therefore, Zhejiang also concentrated its military power to suppress the Baitou Army.
However, although the large-scale White-headed Army has disappeared, there are still many scattered in various areas and continue to be enemies of the government.Even in Fujian, there were people who rebelled in the name of the White-headed Army.
When Emperor Chongzhen went all the way south, he could often hear through inquiring around the clock that bandits claimed that the Whitehead Army was responsible for the rebellion. However, they did not dare to attack the prefectures and counties. They usually occupied remote hills and were self-sufficient and did not have to pay taxes. , if you have the chance, go down the mountain to do some robbery or something like that.
Going south all the way, Emperor Chongzhen also understood a truth. To revive the Ming Dynasty, it is not just about annihilating Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and their like.They are just the biggest representatives of bandits in the world. All over the country, especially in places with high mountains and steep roads, there are still all kinds of banditry.
Although many of them are just evading the government's excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes, these are things that affect people's livelihood to some extent.If we don't clean up this phenomenon, we can't call it the Ming Dynasty's resurgence, nor can we call it another prosperous age.
In August of the 18th year of Chongzhen, when the weather was hot, Emperor Chongzhen finally led his army into Fujian. When he arrived at Jianning Mansion, he met Huang Daozhou, the imperial envoy returning from the north.
Huang Daozhou, who welcomed the Holy Emperor with the local officials, greeted the emperor in the government hall, and excitedly said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty is so powerful that millions of thieves can't stop your Majesty's attack. From now on, the world will be at peace." , it can be decided soon!"
Having said this, he paused and then reported the good news: "After hearing the news of His Majesty's victory in Quanzhou Prefecture, the minister finally raised [-] shi of grain and got it at a fair price. Zheng Zhilong, the commander-in-chief of the Fujian Navy, was in charge of it, and it was shipped by sea. Sent to Nanjing. At this time, it is already on the way."
Huang Daozhou was originally quite disappointed with Emperor Chongzhen, so he resigned and returned to his hometown, originally to specialize in learning.Unexpectedly, the current emperor actually led the troops to drive away the Jianlu, and then led the troops south to rescue Yingtian Mansion.
Against this background, he received the emperor's order and came to Nanjing out of curiosity to see the situation.Then the shipwreck happened. The emperor took action against nobles and forced Nanjing officials to donate money. Everything he did was different from before.
He was a little shocked, as if he was a different person.To be honest, he couldn't tell if this kind of behavior was courageous or if he was losing his mind and going crazy?
The biggest problem at the moment is, isn't it that Li's army is about to approach the city?
According to Huang Daozhou himself, the emperor at this time should recruit troops and food and prepare for war with all his strength.Unexpectedly, the emperor just squeezed money and food from the officials and gentry, saved the people, and focused on farming.People who don’t know would think the world is peaceful when they see it!
When he was ordered to leave Nanjing and go to Quanzhou to find Zheng Zhilong to raise food, he was actually very worried that Nanjing could not stop Li's army.If that's the case, everything he does here is in vain.
Unexpectedly, the army of Li thieves, which was said to be one million, was defeated by the emperor in one battle.It seemed that the war that he had been most worried about was actually not a problem at all, and the emperor didn't pay attention to it at all!
At this moment, he had to admit that the current emperor was full of military virtue. Even Zheng Zhilong praised him highly after hearing the news and took the initiative to transport grain to Nanjing.
However, Emperor Chongzhen frowned slightly after hearing his words.
One hundred thousand stones of grain seemed to be a lot to Zodiac Zhou.Thinking about it, this is just given to Quanzhou Prefecture by a navy commander who should not be responsible for raising food and grass. This is already a huge skill.
However, Emperor Chongzhen knew that Zheng Zhilong's ability went far beyond giving him [-] shi of food.He sold [-] shi of grain to the court at a fair price, which was just enough to deal with people who didn't know the details.
And it is only one hundred thousand shi of grain, which cannot support the food supply of so many newly recovered areas in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River.
While he was thinking about it, he heard Huang Daozhou say to him again: "Now that the world is about to be at peace, and the ministers have collected food, your Majesty is going to return to Nanjing?"
Emperor Chongzhen declared to the outside world that he was going south to suppress bandits, and he knew that the emperor was concerned about money and food, so he said this.
Emperor Chongzhen heard what he said, looked at him, frowned slightly and asked, "Why do you think there are no thieves in Fujian?"
Huang Daozhou was stunned for a moment, thought about it carefully, and then immediately replied: "At most, there are just some small thieves. We can just leave them to the local government to exterminate them. Your Majesty will not have to conquer them personally!"
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen asked with a serious expression: "Do you think there is any difference between there being little frog thieves in one place and little frog thieves everywhere? If I didn't come out, how could I know it?"
Under normal circumstances, in this case, local officials can hide it if they can, as long as it doesn't cause a big incident.However, some people will inevitably be affected, and some people will follow suit.
It is impossible for the emperor, who is high up in the palace to know these things.
At this time, the emperor suddenly raised this question. Huang Daozhou was a Qingliu and a scholar. He was good at chewing words. He was stunned for a moment after hearing this.
There are little predators everywhere. This matter needs to be taken seriously. It is actually serious.This shows that it is not the problem of a certain local official, but something is wrong as a whole.
After Huang Daozhou heard this, he quickly replied to the emperor: "Your Majesty, this is caused by corruption in the administration of officials. We should rectify the administration of officials!"
After finishing speaking, he immediately started talking about the usual methods of rectifying the administration of officials.I can’t be wrong, but many of the ideas are out of touch with the real world.
Emperor Chongzhen listened and sighed in his heart.Some people in later generations commented on him that he "kept upright" but could not change; he dared to offend his words and remonstrated but was broad-minded; although he was strict in self-discipline, it was of no use to the world.
This assessment, so far as it stands, is not unreasonable.
Emperor Chongzhen already knew what arrangements were made for the Zodiac Zhou, that is, he would arrange for them to go to the Metropolitan Procuratorate and give them specific regulations to supervise the local area; he could also let them engage in learning and correct the extravagant atmosphere of the late Ming Dynasty.
But at this time, he did not say anything. After Huang Daozhou finished speaking, he just said: "We must also make the people under the imperial government rich and live better than if they fled to the mountains. In this way, there will not be so many There won’t be so many people fleeing to the mountains!”
After hearing this, Huang Daozhou seemed to want to say something, but Emperor Chongzhen lost interest in talking to him, and just said to him: "I have reinstated Jie Xuelong as the governor of Jiangxi, responsible for destroying scattered bandits and restoring people's livelihood after the war. Please. Go to Jiangxi and other places on my behalf to inspect the areas, and the priority is to bring peace to the people as soon as possible."
Jie Xuelong once served as the governor of Jiangxi, and made great achievements such as pacifying the bandits in Duchang and Pingxiang, and joining forces with Fujian soldiers to defeat Zhang Puwei, the demon thief who sealed the mountain.The most important thing is that he and Huang Daozhou are good friends. Emperor Chongzhen once considered him a clique because he recommended Huang Daozhou. He was sentenced to eighty years by the imperial staff, stripped of his status, moved to imperial prison, and sent to Guizhou.
Later, when the Zodiac Zhou came back, he thought of rescuing Xuelong, but was rejected by Emperor Chongzhen.For this reason, Huang Daozhou reported illness and returned to his hometown, no longer accompanying Emperor Chongzhen.
At this time, Huang Daozhou did not expect that before he could mention the matter again, the emperor had already pardoned Jie Xuelong and appointed him as the governor of Jiangxi.At this moment, he couldn't help but feel extremely grateful, and immediately kowtowed to express his gratitude, without caring whether the emperor would misunderstand them as suspected of forming a party again.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and said nothing more. This Zodiac Zhou was probably the only one who dared to go his own way as long as he thought he was right.
So, he spoke and asked Zodiac Zhou to step back.
Unexpectedly, Huang Daozhou did not retreat immediately, but only asked the emperor about his return to the north.
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen said to him: "The matter in Fujian is not over yet, I still have to go there myself!"
Huang Daozhou listened and said doubtfully: "The battle of Nanjing has just been decided, and many matters are inseparable from your majesty. Li Zicheng, Zuo Liangyu and many other thieves have not yet been arrested. Why does your majesty insist on continuing south? I dare to guarantee it, There are no bandits in Fujian that are big enough for His Majesty to deal with them personally!"
After hearing his words, to be honest, Emperor Chongzhen disliked him a little.
However, he still showed patience and said to Huang Daozhou: "One hundred thousand shi of food is too little. All the lands west of Nanzhili were recovered and suffered from military disasters. No amount of food is too much. I still want to go south. Raise food for this year and for the future!”
There is no such thing as too much food!
Huang Daozhou also understands this truth.However, after listening to the emperor's words, he remonstrated: "Your Majesty is going to Quanzhou Mansion again? Wei Chen has already raised one hundred thousand shi of food, and Zheng Zhilong also told Wei Chen frankly that this was all he could do. Wei Chen is originally from Zhangzhou Prefecture on the edge of Quanzhou, so he naturally knows a lot about the local situation. The fact that he can produce so much food is beyond Wei Chen's expectations."
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly smiled and said: "Huang Qing, do you dare to make a bet with me? I bet that he still has food, and after this year, he will continue to donate food, sugar and other things to the court. Supplies!”
When Huang Daozhou heard this, he immediately said seriously: "Your Majesty is the emperor, how can you gamble? Zheng Zhilong really has no food. If he presses harder, he will rebel, which is not a blessing for the court!"
No matter what, as Zheng Zhilong's resident, the people in the next house, even if he has always been a scholar, have heard that Zheng Zhilong was recruited by pirates.And when he was a pirate, the imperial navy couldn't suppress him, so he had to recruit him.
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly sneered and said: "I will go to see him in person. If you dare to treat me as perfunctorily as you did, I will destroy him."
Huang Daoyi was stunned when he heard this on Monday.
Why did the emperor say that Zheng Zhilong was perfunctory with him, and why was he so sure?
This is not right!
Then Zheng Zhilong has always treated him with great respect, how could there be any sign of being perfunctory?And they have taken out so much food, how can it be just perfunctory?
To be honest, he really couldn't believe what the emperor said.
When he came back to his senses, he also turned serious and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, be careful what you say. I will do my best. Zheng Zhilong has always been very respectful to the court. How can I say it perfunctorily? Please take it back." !”
Damn it, are you trying to get into trouble with yourself?
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen really didn't like this Huang Daozhou. He didn't know the world at all, so he said to Huang Daozhou: "You don't dare to make a bet, and you don't listen to me. I didn't expect that. Is it really your fault?"
Some people are so stubborn and think they are right.Emperor Chongzhen had seen this kind of person in his past and present lives.
No, Huang Daozhou listened, thought about it seriously, and then said: "Wei Chen is not wrong!"
When Emperor Chongzhen saw his stubbornness, he became angry. He liked to slap such people in the face, so he said: "Facts speak louder than words. Just watch. I'm tired. Could it be that you miss me?" Are you sick from exhaustion?"
Huang Daozhou actually felt very helpless towards the current emperor. When he heard the emperor's words, he had no choice but to resign.
So, the next day, Huang Daozhou went north, and Emperor Chongzhen continued to lead the army south.
………………
Zuo Liangyu is so tired!
In the battle of Dashengguan, he saw the imperial army's victory, so he immediately ran away without saying a word.
When it comes to escaping, he is also experienced. Without the flag, he just ran away with a group of cronies around him.Not to mention, the imperial officers and soldiers didn't notice him at all and didn't chase him.In other words, all the officials and soldiers of the imperial court went after Li Zicheng, and no one cared about him.
Zuo Liangyu breathed a sigh of relief after escaping from the battlefield.However, he still did not dare to rest and continued to flee westward.
As someone who has been fighting for so many years, he knows very well that after being unable to defeat the imperial officers and soldiers in the Battle of Dasheng Pass, he will have no choice but to go around the imperial officers and soldiers in the future.
Therefore, his purpose was very clear, to escape back to Nanchang, his original base camp.After his son Zuo Mengeng took 50 taels of silver from Huizhou Mansion, he did not come to Yingtian Mansion, but escorted the silver back to Nanchang.
With such a large sum of money, the army left there, and the men who escaped with him, he should be able to go to some remote places to become king.
Unexpectedly, when he fled to Nanchang, Li Zicheng also ran to Jiangxi.
It's just that Li Zicheng went from Jiujiang Prefecture to Nanchang Prefecture, and he went from Raozhou Prefecture to Nanchang Prefecture.
What's even more terrible is that behind Li Zicheng, those imperial officers and soldiers are chasing after him!
Huang Degong, Wu Sangui, Gao Jie, Tang Tong, etc., none of them were left behind, they all chased after Li Zicheng like a race.
Zuo Liangyu wanted to curse: What did you want to do by bringing the soldiers here?
He didn't want to be chased by the imperial army, so after joining his son, he set fire to Nanchang. Then seeing Li Zicheng continuing to flee to the west, he fled to the southwest and ran to Dong'an where Huguang and Guangxi meet. Only then stopped to take a breath.
At this time, he counted the troops and found that there were only about 5000 people left.Many of his subordinates were running away on the road and then disappeared.
Zuo Liangyu looked at the people in front of him, his son Zuo Mengeng, deputy generals Ma Shixiu, Wang Yuncheng, Lu Ding, etc. Except for the two who rebelled, there were only a few major generals left under him.Moreover, everyone was in a state of embarrassment. Along the way, they almost slept and ran, and there was no peaceful day.
At this time, Zuo Liangyu said: "Everyone, now that we have retreated so far, it is safe. You have been following me, and I regard you as brothers. From now on, we will share weal and woe, and we will never be at odds with each other."
After hearing his words, Wang Yuncheng spoke first and said, "I had already decided when you protected me. No matter what, I will follow you in the future."
He was originally a subordinate of the Commander-in-Chief Deng Qi. When he was stationed in Fancheng in the eighth year of Chongzhen, he started a mutiny because he said Deng Qi was deducting military pay. After killing Deng Qi, he was subordinated to Zuo Liangyu and served as Deputy Commander-in-Chief. He was known as " King of Iron Cavalry."He also has some abilities, and has won many battles with bandits, but he is unruly.
In the 16th year of Chongzhen's reign, he actually broke through Jiande, plundered Chizhou, and even threatened to attack Nanjing.So Emperor Chongzhen ordered him to be killed, but Zuo Liangyu protected him.
What he just said was referring to this matter.
When Wang Yuncheng said this, others naturally expressed their opinions.However, at least Zuo Liangyu couldn't tell whether it was duplicity or not.
After they expressed their stance, Zuo Liangyu told his son: "I am no longer the prince of Dashun. We are all brothers. I said we share weal and woe, so I took out all the money and divided it among the brothers."
When Zuo Mengeng heard this, he felt a little reluctant to part with it.
When Zuo Liangyu saw this, he immediately glared and became angry.
Zuo Mengeng was afraid of his father, so he had to say: "It's time to divide, I don't want to worry about it anymore!"
When Ma Shixiu saw it, he quickly smoothed things over and said: "Your Highness... We all remember the Marshal's kindness to us, and it has nothing to do with the money or not. Marshal, tell me, what should we do next? As long as you Say, we have absolutely nothing to say!”
After Wang Yuncheng heard this, he also echoed: "Yes, Marshal, you say it!"
Lu Ding's lips moved, but he didn't speak.
After Zuo Liangyu heard this, he no longer insisted on dividing the money, and his expression became serious. He looked at these subordinates and said: "If we can defeat Dasheng Pass in this battle, I am afraid that I will not be able to fight against the imperial court in the future. Just stay away..."
In this battle, there is a huge disparity in military strength. Logically speaking, no matter how hard you fight, you will win, and you will be able to kill the few people in the imperial court.Unexpectedly, he was defeated by the imperial court!
The number of troops we can have in the future will never exceed this battle. In a future where there will be no changes, what else can we use to fight the imperial army?Even the rebellious Wang Yuncheng had to admit this fact.
Therefore, when Zuo Liangyu said this, no one objected.
So Zuo Liangyu continued: "I have thought about it. The current target of the imperial officers and soldiers is Li Zicheng. They have been chasing him to kill him. Maybe the emperor has offered a reward or issued a death order. Therefore, for the time being, , we will be relatively safer.”
Upon hearing this, Ma Shixiu showed an expression of gloating. This was a mistake, haha!
"At this time, I finally understood why the emperor would have people burn the ship to start a war. It was because he was sure of victory. Now, Li Zicheng could only escape westward along the Yangtze River, but he was unable to do so. Crossed the river and fled to the Central Plains!"
When Zuo Mengeng heard this, he said: "When we marched eastward, we collected all the ships. It's strange that he can still find ships when he runs along the Yangtze River!"
When Zuo Liangyu heard this, he glanced at him and ignored him. Instead, he looked at the other three people and continued: "Li Zicheng escaped like this. I suspect that he must have gone to Yunnan and Guizhou. And the imperial officers and soldiers will definitely do the same." I have been chasing Yungui."
At this point, he raised his voice and said: "We can't go back north, so it might be a good thing for us to go to Guangxi to find a foothold. This place is remote enough, and the imperial court will definitely not care about it for a while. .”
He fled to Dong'an with his people. Needless to say, others could guess that he was definitely going to Guangxi.
At this time, Zuo Mengeng heard his words and asked with some worry: "Then the imperial officers and soldiers will still come after me, so what should I do?"
"What should we do?" Zuo Liangyu heard this and immediately lectured, "Of course we are taking one step at a time. Is it possible that we can be captured here? This Guangxi is similar to Yunnan and Guizhou. There are many chieftains and it is a mountainous land. Form an alliance with the chieftains or kill them. What kind of chieftain occupies a place, and it is not difficult to defend it by taking risks! When the world changes again, we can make a comeback!"
When Lu Ding heard this, his heart tightened, and he quickly asked: "Commander, how can the world change again? The current emperor is so brave and brave, how can the world change again?"
What he said was a bit presumptuous to others and demoralized himself.
However, Zuo Liangyu knew that he was a scholar, not the kind who was good at both civil and military affairs, so it was reasonable for him to be frightened by the emperor.
So, he explained: "The current emperor has often personally charged into battle since he led the army. I believe you have all seen the battle of Dashengguan. If you do this kind of thing too much, sooner or later he will be plotted by his opponent and die. On the battlefield. As long as he dies, the world will definitely be in chaos again!"
When Lu Ding heard this, he immediately turned pale and said, "No way?"
It is precisely because of the wisdom and martial prowess of the current emperor that peace is possible in this world.How could the emperor die?If he dies, what will happen to the world?
As for the prince, no one really thought about it.
After hearing this, Zuo Liangyu sneered and said: "What can't you do? Not to mention that the Central Plains and Shaanxi are still in Li Zicheng's hands, and Liaodong, with the temper of the current emperor, will definitely be taken back by himself. In other people's territory Go up, those Qing soldiers have set a trap, and as long as he doesn’t really become a god and descend to earth, he will still be injured or die!”
As someone who has led troops to fight for many years, he is the best at fighting in the army.Even if there are ten thousand enemies, as long as they are targeted, they can be dealt with.
In the past, I just didn't know that the emperor's strength would be so great!Now that he knows it, is prepared, and takes targeted measures, as far as Zuo Liangyu himself is concerned, he can kill the current emperor.
This time, Li Zicheng was actually well prepared for the Battle of Dashengguan.I just didn't expect that the emperor would launch a surprise attack first, so I was caught off guard!
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little regretful. He didn't expect that the current emperor could still swim. Otherwise, drowning in the Yangtze River would not be such a big deal!
After answering Lu Ding's question, Zuo Liangyu looked at them and said: "Believe me, this world is about to change its dynasty. You have seen so many corrupt officials, and you have also seen so many natural disasters. I have personally experienced that this cannot be saved by the bravery of the current emperor. Let us hide and rest first, and secretly increase our strength, and there will be a day when we can come back again!"
When Wang Yuncheng heard this, he immediately nodded in agreement and said: "The commander-in-chief is right, it is easy to use a sword and a spear, but it is difficult to govern the world again. It does not require strength!"
After hearing this, Ma Shixiu even sneered: "Then if there are more natural disasters and those corrupt officials work harder, the world will soon be in chaos. Even if the current emperor does not die, what will happen?"
Lu Ding was very angry after hearing this, but he did not dare to be angry with them. He could only retort: "Didn't the current emperor kill many corrupt officials? All the hereditary Dukes, nobles, chief ministers, ministers and so on have already been killed. Killed a lot."
Zuo Liangyu laughed after hearing this and said: "Can you kill all the corrupt officials? Kill one group and then another. If nothing else, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty was really a murderer. He killed so many corrupt officials. Aren’t there always corrupt officials?”
Upon hearing this, Lu Ding stopped talking. Listening to their words, he felt that there was no hope in the world again!
It's just a pity that his wife and children are in the hands of Zuo Mengeng, otherwise he could just find an opportunity to escape back and give the current emperor a warning!If you can't see the emperor, go and beat the drum. In short, you can't let the world be in chaos again!
Seeing that Lu Ding was silent, Zuo Liangyu thought that he had been persuaded by himself, believing that the world would soon be in chaos again. They were just dormant for the time being, and it was not hopeless.
Even Lu Ding, a scholar, could convince him, let alone others.
With this in mind, Zuo Liangyu began to make arrangements before entering Guangxi, and then led his men to escape into Guangxi.
………………
As for Li Zicheng, Zuo Liangyu really guessed right. He had been escaping along the Yangtze River, but he couldn't find a boat to cross the Yangtze River.Sometimes he didn't even have the chance to stop and look for the boat. There was a group of life-seeking ghosts chasing him desperately.
In the end, he could only escape along the Yangtze River, escaped Jiangxi, fled into Huguang, and then fled to Guizhou.
Li Zicheng had never escaped before, but he had never escaped in such an embarrassing manner like this time.
Zuo Liangyu still slept and ran away; Li Zicheng, on his side, sometimes even ran away in his sleep.
There is no other way. If we don't escape like this, the imperial officers and soldiers behind will catch up!
Chasing from Nanjing to Guizhou, these people were really going to kill him!
Guizhou has many mountains, some of which are very steep. Many official roads are halfway up the mountains, with cliffs below them.
This kind of terrain is conducive to escaping here, leaving some people to block the attack, and the main force can put some distance away from the pursuers.
On this day, in the evening, Li Zicheng's troops occupied a mountain village for the night.
There were about less than [-] people lying everywhere. It was summer, otherwise there wouldn't be enough houses, and some would have to freeze to death.
The best house in the village is just a mud house covered with tiles.
Under the dim light of the oil lamp, there were several exhausted faces.
The one-eyed one is Li Zicheng, which is obvious. He looked at the shortest man, sighed and said, "If this continues, how can we be different?"
When Song Xiance saw Li Zicheng looking at him and speaking, he comforted him: "Your Highness, we still have ten thousand people, as well as Central Plains and Shaanxi. They are much better than before. How can we be discouraged?"
Upon hearing this, Li Zicheng couldn't help but be stunned.
Yes, in the past, I was chased by the imperial army until only eighteen riders were left with nothing, so I escaped by hiding in the mountains.But now, there are at least [-] people from Central Plains and Shaanxi, but they just can't cross the Yangtze River and run back to Central Plains.
Thinking of this, he realized that he was being chased by those mad dogs.
Although the officers and soldiers of the previous imperial court also pursued him, they did not pursue him so frantically. They really pursued him day and night. Was it the hatred they had forged for several lifetimes?
While he was thinking, Song Xiance was still comforting him and said: "As long as we pass through Yunnan and Guizhou and pass through Shu, we can return to Shaanxi. The danger of Tongguan is famous in the world. If Tongguan is defended, even if the Central Plains is lost, there will still be [-] Li Qinchuan can still become His Highness's asset in competing for world supremacy!"
Hearing this, Li Zicheng nodded, but he was still a little worried and said: "But if you want to return to Qin like this, not to mention the eight kings of Shu, it's just Yunnan and Guizhou. Our power has not reached here, how can we get through it?" ? How can you still reach Qin when you are being chased and intercepted by the imperial officers and soldiers?"
Niu Jinxing also escaped and was by his side, echoing Li Zicheng's words: "Not to mention Guizhou, just Yunnan, but the Mu family hereditarily guards Yunnan. They are in charge of military matters. They must be loyal to the imperial court. We have to pass through , the Mu family will definitely lead troops to intercept!"
Liu Zongmin was leading the cavalry in a charge. After being defeated, he escaped quickly. At this time, when he heard Niu Jinxing's words, he said nonchalantly: "So what, among these hereditary nobles, any one of them is capable." Just kill them, and kill anyone who dares to intercept them!"
Having said this, he subconsciously looked around him, but didn't see the figure he wanted to see, and couldn't help but feel a little sad again.
When Li Zicheng saw him like this, he immediately understood that Liu Zongmin was thinking of Li Guo.
He had seen Li Guo leading the heavy armored infantry to block the imperial army, and he seemed to have been hit by a hammer from the Ming Emperor.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: My husband, I have followed you for so many years, but I didn't expect that he would die in the hands of the current emperor.
He has no son, but treats his nephew as a son.Unexpectedly, he was still alive, but his nephew was dead!
At this moment, the door of the room was pushed open. Everyone looked around and found that Yuan Zongdi had walked in.
Most people are experienced in escaping, so it's not surprising that they can escape.
After Yuan Zong first entered, he sat next to Liu Zongmin, looked at Li Zicheng and said: "Your Highness, it seems a little strange. After we enter Guizhou, we should encounter the interception of the local imperial officers and soldiers, but this Guizhou is like Don’t you have any troops to intercept?”
Upon hearing this, Song Xiance became a little more excited and said: "Yes, I am also thinking about this issue, and I am a little confused. At first, I also wondered whether we retreated too fast, so the local officers and soldiers had no time to react. Now that I think about it, this seems unreasonable. It should be said that something might happen in this remote place!"
Li Zicheng listened and began to think about it.
Originally, they were worried that they would not be able to pass through Yungui, but if something happens in Yungui, then their chances of passing through Yungui would be great!
After a few people discussed it, they prepared to send someone to inquire ahead overnight.
………………
They guessed right. The turmoil in Yunnan and Guizhou did not change because of Emperor Chongzhen's time travel. This turmoil was known as the Shapu Rebellion in history!
Just when Li Zicheng led the army to attack Nanjing, Wu Bikui, the chieftain of Wuding, rebelled as in the original history and captured many places in succession, causing a great earthquake in Yunnan and Guizhou.
Therefore, the Duke of Guizhou, Mu Tianbo, and others hurriedly ordered the mobilization of Shiping chieftain Long Zaitian, Qiaogao chieftain Wang Yangzu, Mengzi chieftain Sha Dingzhou, Ningzhou chieftain Lu Yongming, Jingdong chieftain Diao Xun and other tribes to suppress the rebellion.
This matter went relatively smoothly. Just like in history, Mu Tianbo defeated the rebels and Wu Bikui and his party members were captured alive.
Then, each chieftain led his troops back to his own territory. As a result, Mengzi chieftain Sha Dingzhou stayed in Kunming and refused to leave.It was Mu Tianbo's own unlucky fate that he was unprepared in these troubled times. As a result, Sha Dingzhou suddenly launched an attack and invaded the government offices of the Duke of Guizhou and the Governor of Yunnan, and occupied the entire Kunming.
Due to an unexpected incident, Mu Tianbo did not even have time to take his wife and mother with him, so he escaped from Kunming with only his official seal, hereditary iron coupons and other items.As a result, his wife committed suicide, his two younger brothers were killed, and all the wealth accumulated since the founding of the country was lost to Sha Dingzhou.
Such a big thing is much more serious than the previous Wu Bikui rebellion.
The imperial court had no time to take care of itself. While running for his life, Mu Tianbo sent orders to chieftains from various places to suppress the Sha Dingzhou rebellion.
However, the reason why Sha Dingzhou did this was because he had capital.
He is a powerful chieftain himself. In addition, after the death of the chieftain of Ami Prefecture, Pu Famous, his wife Wan remarried him. The two chieftains merged into one, and their power increased greatly, and they were far stronger than other chieftains.In addition, Tang Jiajia, a member of Lin'an Prefecture, was the mastermind, and he launched this rebellion after planning for a long time.
Therefore, for a while, chieftains from all over the country were either afraid of Sha Dingzhou's strength and did not dare to fight with him, or they were defeated after fighting with Sha Dingzhou.
Moreover, with Tang Jiajia giving him advice, Sha Dingzhou also kidnapped the governor Wu Zhaoyuan, coerced him to write a letter to stop the troops coming to rescue, and chased Mu Tianbo.
Yunnan was already in chaos, which also affected Guizhou next door. When Li Zicheng escaped, it happened to be when Guizhou was affected by the chaos in Yunnan. All his attention was on Yunnan, allowing Li Zicheng to escape easily. Entered Guizhou.
The chaos in Yunnan and Guizhou will naturally become more chaotic due to the addition of Li Zicheng, and the general soldiers from all walks of life who came to hunt down Li Zicheng are new forces.
The land of Yunnan and Guizhou is in chaos.
However, Emperor Chongzhen at this time did not know what was going on here.
Even if he knew, he definitely wouldn't be able to control it because he was too far away.At this time, he has led his troops into Quanzhou Mansion, Zheng Zhilong's lair! .
Thanks to book friend 121204083244697 for the reward of 400 starting coins!
(End of this chapter)
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