On a high slope fifteen miles away from Zhangyi Gate, a group of soldiers with bright armor and long spears stood around.
Among the soldiers stood three people. The leader was wearing a leather bean hat and a dragon robe. He was holding a telescope and looking resolutely in the direction of Changui Gate. He was the rebel leader Li Zicheng.
On the left side of Li Zicheng stood an old man about fifty years old, wearing an eight-beam crown and a crane scarlet robe. He was Niu Jinxing, the first prime minister of the Dashun Dynasty.
At this moment, he was secretly observing Li Zicheng's expression, and from time to time made eye contact with Song Xiance, who was wearing Confucian attire and holding a goose feather fan on the right.
"Military advisor, what do you think that is?"
Li Zicheng suddenly handed the telescope in his hand to Song Xiance on the right, and said in a panic.
Hearing this, Song Xiance calmly took the telescope and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I have already calculated Chongzhen's energy. Even if Monk Zhu is reborn at this moment, he cannot save the Ming Dynasty from defeat."
He said proudly, holding a telescope in one hand and looking forward.
When he saw a golden dragon soaring in the colorful glow, a look of panic flashed across his originally calm face.
When Li Zicheng saw this, he became even more worried and said: "Military advisor, is that a golden dragon? Is the Ming Dynasty not exhausted?"
Song Xiance suppressed the panic in his heart, pretended to be calm and put down the telescope, and said slowly: "Your Majesty, that is a golden dragon, but it is a great good omen!"
"good omen?"
Li Zicheng looked at Song Xiance with some suspicion and said: "If a golden dragon appears in the city, the opponent's military morale will definitely be strong. How can we capture the city?"
"Your Majesty, don't panic. Since the military advisor said it is a good omen, it must be a good omen. You have forgotten that the military advisor always makes perfect plans. When will he make a mistake?"
Niu Jinxing on the side saw that Li Zicheng was suspicious and tried to persuade him.
When Li Zicheng heard this, he was stunned and said: "The Prime Minister is right, I messed up the situation, please forgive me, military advisor!"
Song Xiance stroked his mustache, pretending to be an outsider, and said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to blame yourself. Most people have never seen this before, so it is inevitable to be surprised."
"The reason why I say it is a good omen is because the golden dragon appeared when we were attacking the city. This means that the Ming Dynasty's luck has been forced out by us. Isn't it a great good omen!"
When Li Zicheng heard this, the panic on his face faded slightly, but he still said worriedly: "As the military advisor said, most people have never seen such a situation. If they also think that Chongzhen is protected by a real dragon, wouldn't it be a big blow to our attack on the city? unfavorable?"
Song Xiance nodded and said: "Your Majesty is very worried. We have been attacking for more than an hour now. We might as well let the soldiers retreat first to rest."
"And we took this opportunity to convene a meeting with the generals, inform them of the matter, and let them convey it to soldiers at all levels, and then attack the city at dusk."
"As long as there is light rain in the early morning, we will be able to break the city on the 19th. Your Majesty does not need to worry too much."
Li Zicheng nodded and said: "What the military advisor said is that if the golden dragon appears at this moment, the morale of the army will inevitably be shaken, and it is indeed not suitable to fight again!"
"It's just that if there is no light rain tomorrow, we will not be able to take the capital, and the situation may be very passive."
"Because up to now, the recruitment and surrender of Wu Sangui has not yet been resolved. I think that Wu Sangui has been delaying. In addition to waiting for a price and selling, he may also be waiting to see the situation and waiting for an opportunity to act."
"Although Yuan Zongdi and Bai Wang's hundreds of thousands of people defeated Zuo Liangyu and put down the rebellion in Henan, they were still not enough to stop Zuo Liangyu from going north."
"Liu Fangliang, who was besieging Baoding, also sent news many times that the fighting in the Baoding area was very fierce. He also found that Huang Degong, Gao Jie and others had abnormal activities. I am afraid they also want to go north to King Qin."
"As long as there is a problem in any of these three places, it will affect our plan to attack the capital, and even make us fail."
When Song Xiance heard this, he flicked his goose feather fan a few times and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you are worrying too much."
"Wu Sangui's men could only fight 20,000 people. In addition to his greedy nature, he accepted many of the treasures sent by His Majesty. Moreover, he walked a full seven miles on the 200-mile journey from Ningyuan to Shanhaiguan. This shows that he has no ambition to be a diligent king."
"As for Zuo Liangyu in Wuchang, most of his men are surrendered soldiers. They see us like a mouse sees a cat. They don't dare to fight us at all, so there is no need to worry."
"Gao Jie of Xuzhou was defeated not long ago. Even if he gathered some troops, he would not be able to fight."
"Although the commander of Huang Degong in Yongcheng, Henan is an elite, he only has tens of thousands of troops, and he has to attack over a long distance. He may not be able to pass the test of Jirong and Ma Chongxi even if he is re-elected, let alone Liu Fangliang's army waiting for him."
After listening to Song Xiance's analysis, Li Zicheng felt a little calmer and said: "The military advisor's analysis is thorough, but apart from these three points, I have another worry."
"Even Jiang Gu of Datong and Wang Chengyin of Xuanfu each have tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. We came in a hurry and our troops are limited. We have not dealt with them. Once they cause rebellion, we will be attacked from both sides."
"Your Majesty, you are indeed worrying too much. Have you forgotten the batch of firearms that Li Mou spent more than one million yuan to buy in the city?"
At this time, Niu Jinxing on the side said with a genuine smile.
Hearing this, Li Zicheng looked at Niu Jinxing with some surprise and said, "I was very surprised at first, but the Prime Minister said that the firearms were very exquisite and would be worth the money, so I agreed. Is there any mystery in it?"
Niu Jinxing smiled slightly and said: "Actually, what is valuable is not the batch of firearms, but the relationship behind the firearms."
"relation?"
Li Zicheng looked at Niu Jinxing with some confusion and said, "Could it be a high-ranking official in the capital?"
Niu Jinxing shook his head with a smile and said: "Those dog officials in the capital are not worthy of being bribed by us. Even if they send money, it depends on whether we are happy to accept it!"
"The relationship I'm talking about is the Shanxi merchants in Shanxi. They have been secretly doing business with the Jurchens and have a very close relationship. By purchasing this batch of firearms from them, I asked them to use silver to bribe the Jurchens Chen Bing, Datong, Xuanfu and other places to prevent Jiang Wang Chengyin caused trouble."
When Li Zicheng heard this, he said with some displeasure: "Prime Minister, I have said before that this war is a battle between the Han people. How can the Prime Minister lead foreign invaders to invade and give them more than one million silver?"
Seeing this, Niu Jinxing hurriedly explained with a smile: "Your Majesty, please don't get angry yet. I am not trying to attract foreign invasion. This is a disguised plan to attack Guo."
"We are just temporarily storing these gold and silver with the Jurchens to prevent them from causing trouble to us. When we destroy Chongzhen and then deal with the Jurchens later, all the gold and silver will not be ours."
Li Zicheng said with some dissatisfaction: "Since the Prime Minister has a plan, let's leave it as it is."
"It's just that I heard that Li Mou's infiltration into the capital has been discovered, and Du Xun's route was turned off this morning. I don't know how the others are doing now. Otherwise, it may be difficult to break through the city with our strength alone!"
Hearing this, Niu Jinxing smiled and said: "Your Majesty, you are indeed worrying too much. Li Mou was originally an abandoned son. He was not discovered until yesterday. This shows that Chongzhen is incompetent."
"As for Du Xun, it's a pity that the road is broken, but we have sent many people into the city before, and some officials in the city promised to help us."
"So now our attack on the city is just to scare the dog Emperor Chongzhen, and at the same time, it also allows those who surrender to see our strength. At this moment, the goal has been achieved, and it is time to retreat and repair."
"After we have completed repairs, we will attack the Desheng and Zhangyi gates internally and externally. We will surely be able to enter the city on time. Please don't worry, Your Majesty!"
After listening to Niu Jinxing's words, Li Zicheng nodded and said, "Well, what the Prime Minister said makes sense. I am too worried."
"Actually, when I set out from Chang'an last year, I never thought that I would be able to reach the capital so soon. This shows that God has great blessings and we will definitely win this battle."
After that, he politely said to Song Xiance: "It's just that I have to trouble the military advisor again!"
Song Xiance gently waved the goose feather fan in his hand and said calmly: "Your Majesty is serious. Your Majesty is destined by fate. It is my honor to serve your Majesty!"
When Li Zicheng heard this, a smile finally appeared on his face, and he turned around to give orders for the withdrawal of troops.
After Li Zicheng turned around, both Song Xiance and Niu Jinxing had a look of panic on their faces, and then they quickly calmed down and followed Li Zicheng away.
