"But Ma Chongxi has defeated Huang Degong's troops?"
Li Zicheng showed off his military talents and smiled before Song Xiance could speak.
Song Xiance said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I have just received news that Ma Chongxi not only defeated Huang Degong, but also captured nearly 20,000 people."
"Now Huang Degong is fleeing towards Hengshui. I suggest that Guo Sheng from Shandong be immediately sent north to join forces with Ma Chongxi and others to completely annihilate Huang Degong."
"Then he will send his troops north to conquer Baoding and other places, and then threaten the capital. What do you think, Your Majesty?"
After hearing this, Li Zicheng was silent for a while and said: "Guo Sheng only has 30,000 troops. If he leaves Shandong, wouldn't it be troublesome for the Ming army in the south to move north?"
Song Xiance smiled and shook his goose feather fan, and said with a confident look: "Your Majesty, you don't know something. After Guo Sheng entered Shandong, he was very popular among the people. Many people took the initiative to join his command. Now his subordinates There are already 80,000 people.”
"Furthermore, Shi Kefa, the Minister of War in Nanjing, has led one hundred thousand southern troops to the north. There are currently no available troops in the south. If your majesty is still worried, you might as well ask Guo Sheng's general Zhao Yingyuan to lead some of his troops to stay behind."
"If the southern army really goes north and Zhao Yingyuan is there to guard it, it should be enough."
Li Zicheng was very moved after listening to Song Xiance's story.
At this time, Li Guo on the side said with some dissatisfaction: "Song Military Advisor, the movements of Shi Kefa's army are still unknown."
"If he suddenly breaks out while we are successfully encircling and suppressing Huang, wouldn't it make Zuo Liangyu's incident happen again, with you being so careless..."
"Marquis of Bo County!"
Li Zicheng saw that Li Guo was talking more and more outrageously, so he hurriedly stopped him.
At the same time, I also felt a little regretful. I shouldn't have been too close to Li Guo just now and made him have no scruples.
Song Xiance also knew that he insisted on transferring Liu Zhong and Liu Rukui. Not only Li Guo, Liu Zongmin and others were very dissatisfied, but even Li Zicheng also had doubts.
Therefore, as soon as he got the news, he rushed from Hengshan to report to Li Zicheng, hoping to take the opportunity to gain recognition from Li Zicheng, Li Guo and others.
At this moment, seeing that Li Guo still looked unhappy even though he was stopped by Li Zicheng, he smiled and explained: "Marquis of Bo County, you are worrying too much."
"I just got the news that Shi Kefa has gone south, presumably to deal with the pirates. The food in the south is of great importance. If Shi Kefa cannot handle the matter well, he will not come back."
"Pirates come and go without a trace, and are extremely difficult to find. In addition, the southern warships are old. Even if the pirates can be found, it will be difficult to defeat them in a short time, so we don't need to consider this matter for the time being."
Although Li Guo also felt that what Song Xiance said was reasonable, he still shook his head unconvinced and said: "Now the war situation is complicated, everything seems to be a mess, and one move often affects the whole body."
"Just like a few days ago, you kept saying that Mianhou would definitely defeat Zuo Liangyu, but it turned out that Zuo Liangyu made Mianhou suffer a big loss."
"Fortunately, Mianhou was alert and restrained Zuo Liangyu, so the overall situation was not affected. Therefore, I think it is better to be more cautious in this matter."
When Li Zicheng heard this, he was also a little worried and said: "Song Military Advisor, what the Marquis of Bo County said has some truth, since..."
"Your Majesty, the concerns of the Marquis of Bo County are indeed justified, but precisely because the war situation is changing rapidly, we cannot delay the opportunity to fight."
"The capital is now in turmoil due to the Nanliang incident. Many wealthy households have sold their properties and are preparing to flee south. Moreover, Chongzhen has also made a mistake at this moment."
"We claim that people come and go of their own free will, but the properties of the people who left were all confiscated into the state treasury, and there were even complaints. This is a good opportunity for us to besiege the capital again. Your Majesty, please think twice!"
Song Xiance didn't wait for Li Zicheng to finish what he said, and hurriedly added another word.
Li Zicheng pondered: "Even if Ma Chongxi and others can besiege the capital, we still cannot defeat the Ming soldiers in Yu County, and Zuo Liangyu is coming soon."
"I am worried that I may not be able to invade the capital. By then, Ma Chongxi will become a lone army. If Chongzhen takes the opportunity to defeat him, I may not own Shandong!"
"His Majesty!"
"His Majesty!"
Just as Song Xiance opened his mouth, a bodyguard suddenly ran in from outside the door and shouted anxiously: "Your Majesty, something bad has happened. Li Mou suddenly led his troops to evacuate, saying that he was going to kill Prime Minister Niu."
When Li Zicheng heard this, he immediately shouted angrily: "What are you talking about? Li Mou wants to kill Prime Minister Niu. Why?"
Seeing the angry look on Li Zicheng's face, the personal guard said in a panic: "The general doesn't know what's going on, but the soldiers guarding the pass just now came to report that Li Mou led three thousand soldiers to rush through the pass, and threatened to kill the national traitors! "
Li Zicheng was stunned for a moment, and then glanced sideways at Song Xiance. Seeing that the other party also looked surprised, he said to Li Guo: "Marquis of Bo County, you quickly send troops to take over Li Mou's defense area. Don't let the defense area be lost!"
After that, he shouted to the guard: "Go and prepare your horse quickly, and follow me to the level... and check the situation!"
After the bodyguard bowed in agreement, he hurried out.
"Song Military Advisor, please stay here and assist the Marquis of Bo County!"
When Li Zicheng was about to go out, he suddenly turned around and gave instructions to Song Xiance who was following him.
Song Xiance was stunned for a moment, then bowed and responded.
After Li Zicheng left the military camp, he galloped all the way.
Although it was already noon and the scorching sun was in the sky, he still felt cold all over his body and couldn't help but tighten his clothes again.
"His Majesty!"
Just as Li Zicheng was rushing to Hengshan Villa, an anxious voice came from behind him.
Li Zicheng reined in his horse and looked back, and found that Liu Fangliang was coming with a group of cavalry.
"General Zuozhi, if you don't guard the camp, what's the point of bringing troops here?"
Li Zicheng thought that Liu Fangliang was very close to Li Yan, and worried that he was going to help Li Yan, so he asked sharply before he could get close.
Liu Fangliang was stunned for a moment, then said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I heard that you misunderstood Li Mou, so I came here to explain the matter!"
"Have you misunderstood Li Mou?"
Li Zicheng frowned and shouted angrily: "Li Mou left his post without permission and threatened to kill the Prime Minister. Is this a misunderstanding?"
Liu Fangliang nodded and said: "Your Majesty, Li Mouchong is true, but he has not left. As for what he said about killing Prime Minister Niu, it is indeed a misunderstanding."
"Because Li Yan's family misunderstood others' words and hurriedly came to Li Mou without understanding the situation, saying that Prime Minister Niu had led an army to surround Li Mansion and wanted to capture Li Yan. Li Mou suddenly heard about this and was impulsive. , will there be a breakthrough."
When Li Zicheng heard that Li Mou had not left, he felt relieved, and then he said with some confusion: "What is going on? Tell me carefully."
Seeing that Li Zicheng's expression had softened, Liu Fangliang slowly told the story.
It turns out that rumors suddenly spread from Hengshan and other places yesterday that Li Zicheng knew that he was no match for Chongzhen, so he adopted the advice of Prime Minister Niu Jinxing and decided to form an alliance with the Jurchens.
At first, not many people talked about this matter, and most of them were skeptical, so it did not cause any turmoil.
But later, a letter written by Niu Jinxing to Jurchen Dorgon spread out from nowhere. Not only did the letter have humble words, but he also claimed to be a subordinate.
He also promised that if Dorgon helped Li Zicheng defeat Chongzhen, he would cede Hebei, Shanxi and other places to the Jurchens for herding horses and sheep.
The people in the north, who had been humiliated by the Jurchens, immediately became excited after seeing this letter and accused Niu Jinxing of forgetting his ancestors. Some impulsive people even ran directly to Niu Jinxing's mansion and cursed.
After Niu Jinxing learned about this, he hurriedly came out to clarify and swore to heaven that he had never written such a letter, which temporarily calmed the people's anger.
Who knew that the news came from nowhere this morning, saying that the letter came from Li Yan's mansion, which is absolutely true and trustworthy.
At the same time, it is also said that Niu Quan, the son of Niu Jinxing, had accepted Dorgon's edict and became a Jurchen slave through the introduction of Shanxi merchant Fan Beidou.
Because Li Yan had a high prestige in the eyes of the people, and the message clearly stated details such as when Niu Quan colluded with Fan Beidou and when he secretly went to meet Dorgon, the people's anger was once again ignited.
Although Niu Jinxing also came forward to clarify this time, the people who had lost their minds simply no longer believed his words.
Niu Jinxing had no choice but to go to Li Mansion under the escort of his family general, hoping that Li Yan would come forward to explain the matter.
Perhaps because Niu Jinxing brought too many people, and because he was so angry when he left, Li Yan's generals mistakenly thought that he was going to do harm to Li Yan, so they hurried to deliver a message to Li Mou.
Li Mou was originally dissatisfied with Niu Jinxing. After hearing this, he was immediately furious. After sending a message to Liu Fangliang, he rushed away with three thousand soldiers.
Liu Fangliang was shocked when he learned about this. He hurriedly sent someone to take over Li Mou's defense area, and then rushed to persuade Li Mou.
Just at this time, Li Yan also sent someone to explain. After Li Mou knew it was a misunderstanding, he returned to Guangling with Liu Fangliang.
Unexpectedly, Li Guo also arrived at Li Mou's defense area. Only then did Liu Fangliang know that Li Zicheng had arrived in Guangling, so he hurried over to explain to him.
After listening to Liu Fangliang's explanation, Li Zicheng couldn't help but feel relieved again.
