Zhu Yuanzhang carefully recalled the Battle of Beidaihe and felt that Dorgon was a man with a strategic plan. Even if he wanted to be freed, he would not blame Kong Youde for the defeat.
Because the Jurchens were not good at water warfare, they had always relied on the navy of Kong Youde and others.
Although Kong Youde was defeated this time, his strength was still there. He only needed time to regain his strength.
In addition, after seeing the power of Zheng's navy this time, the Jurchens will definitely vigorously develop their navy, and they will definitely not break their arms at this time.
Moreover, even if Dorgon wanted to be freed and blamed Kong Youde, Mubu Mutai would never severely punish Kong Youde with his shrewdness.
What's more, Dorgon is not a stupid person, so how could he do such a thing and push Kong Youde and others to Bumbutai?
Then he thought that Ji'erharang was also considered a member of Bumbutai. Although he had failed, he had also entered the pass.
The Jurchens' delay in sending reinforcements was probably due to the unstable morale of the army after the defeat and Dorgon's unwillingness to perform meritorious service for Jirharang.
If this is the case, Dorgon will need a victory if he wants to stabilize the situation.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Wang Shoulin and said: "Wang Qing, please immediately pass the order and ask An Guogong... no, ask Li Guozhen to go to Shanhaiguan to reward the army and wait for an opportunity to find out Wu Sangui's true intention."
"Let An Guogong lead his army to Funing and other places on the pretext of rectifying the ferries in Beidaihe and other places. At the same time, let Zhu Chenggong lead his army to Beidaihe and rest."
Wang Shoulin heard this and said hesitantly: "Your Majesty, due to the tense situation in Datong, many Beijing soldiers were transferred to Datong."
"Now outside the capital, in addition to the more than 10,000 soldiers before, there are only more than 5,000 newly recruited troops in the field. If... I'm afraid it's not enough, should we bring back some troops from Datong?"
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "Although Datong has won, there are still many hidden dangers. The troops here cannot be touched."
"Ask Shen Zhanran to think of a way to send 3,000 elite soldiers from the defenders to An Guogong, and ask Jiang Yingkui to accompany him with 1,000 cavalry."
After Wang Shoulin agreed, he reported: "Your Majesty, there is one more thing. Just now, there was news from the Jin Yiwei that Bai Wang in Jingxiang has made some changes and may attack Wuchang."
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said, "Is the news reliable?"
Wang Shoulin nodded and said, "It should be reliable, because I learned about this from a general of the rebel army. It is extremely reliable."
"Furthermore, according to our news, Zuo Menggeng has now defeated Tian Jianxiu and occupied Weinan again."
"It's too late for Bai Wang to return to Xi'an at this moment. He probably wants to attack Wuchang and force Ning Nanbo (Zuo Liangyu) to divide his troops and rush for reinforcements. This can also reduce the pressure on Xi'an."
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered: "Bai Wang has never captured Wuchang before, and now that the rebels are weak, why does he think that Zuo Liangyu will divide his troops because of him?"
As he spoke, he looked at Wang Shoulin and said, "Have Zhang Xianzhong's rebels left Sichuan?"
Wang Shoulin shook his head and said, "The general has sent extra manpower to investigate, but there is no news yet."
"But I heard that four of Zhang Xianzhong's adopted sons have followed him into Guizhou. I think the remnant soldiers who came out of Sichuan are just disrupting the situation and won't do anything."
When Zhu Yuanzhang woke up, Zhang Xianzhong had already entered Sichuan, because he felt that the other party was just a bandit and could not achieve great things. In addition, he was busy dealing with Li Zicheng and did not pay attention to Zhang Xianzhong's generals.
At this moment, when Wang Shoulin specifically mentioned the other party's four adopted sons, he was slightly shocked and asked, "Are these four adopted sons of Zhang Xianzhong very powerful?"
Wang Shoulin was stunned for a moment and said: "It's not very powerful, just some martial arts..."
It turns out that Zhang Xianzhong was originally from Dingbian County, Yan'an Prefecture, Shaanxi Province. Although he came from a poor family, he had read some books when he was young.
Later, he served as a police officer in Yan'an Prefecture. Because of his righteousness and fighting against injustice, he was assassinated and dismissed from his post, so he went to Yansui Town to join the army.
However, not long after he joined the army, he broke the law again for fighting against injustice.
At that time, he should have been beheaded, but the general Chen Hongfan felt that his appearance was strange, and he cherished his talent. He pleaded with the commander-in-chief Wang Wei, and instead he was beaten with a hundred military sticks and removed from the army.
Zhang Xianzhong left the army
After the camp, Ben was wandering in the countryside. He happened to encounter a famine in Shaanxi and rebellions broke out. He also gathered farmers from the Eighteen Villages in his hometown to revolt.
Later, with the expansion of his power, Zhang Xianzhong adopted a group of adopted sons, among whom Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, and Ai Nengqi were the most brave and were called the "Four King Kongs"...
After listening to Wang Shoulin's story, Zhu Yuanzhang realized that he had underestimated Zhang Xianzhong before.
At this time, Zhang Dabiao came in again to report that Zhao Erhu had received Li Jing and would arrive in Linyi at noon tomorrow at the latest.
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he immediately felt relieved.
Then he thought that Zhang Dabiao and Wang Shoulin had made great progress recently, so he told Bai Wang's story and asked them for their opinions.
Zhang Dabiao thought for a while and said, "Your Majesty, do Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong want to join forces to capture Wuchang?"
Wang Shoulin shook his head and said, "This is impossible. You must know that Li Zicheng not only killed Luo Rucai, but also killed He Yilong, Lin Chengcheng, and Yuan Shizhong from the fifth battalion of Gezuo."
"When Zhang Xianzhong raised his army, he had taken refuge with Ma Shouying of the 5th Battalion of Ge Zuo. This time, Ma Shouying joined forces with him and entered Sichuan. How could Zhang Xianzhong cooperate with Li Zicheng?"
Zhang Dabiao obviously didn't know about these things. After listening to Wang Shoulin's story, he felt that it made sense, so he frowned and thought.
Zhu Yuanzhang originally suspected that Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong would join forces, but because he learned from Chongzhen's memory that Zhang Xianzhong had wanted to kill Li Zicheng, and he believed that Zhang Xianzhong was too weak to succeed, he didn't think much about it.
Now that he knew that Zhang Xianzhong was not an ordinary bandit, and seeing that Wang Shoulin was so sure, he became suspicious, so he asked Wang Shoulin about Ma Shouying. .z.
Wang Shoulin heard this and told what he knew.
It turns out that Ma Shouying was one of the earliest rebels. When he was in charge of the army, Li Zicheng was just a general under Gao Yingxiang.
Later, he joined forces with He Yilong, Lin Chengcheng and others to form the Fifth Army of the Hui Revolution. They fought in Shaanxi, Shanxi and other places, and they were very prosperous for a while.
But after Li Zicheng killed Luo Rucai, He Yilong and others, Ma Shouying did not rebel, but still helped Li Zicheng guard Jingzhou, while secretly communicating with Zhang Xianzhong.
This time Zhang Xianzhong entered Sichuan, Ma Shouying joined forces with him and entered Sichuan together.
After listening to Wang Shoulin's story, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Ma Shouying was a man who had the overall situation in mind and endured humiliation and heavy burdens.
If Li Zicheng could really capture the capital and dominate the world, he might not associate with Li Zicheng again.
But now that Li Zicheng is obviously at a disadvantage, he is very likely to persuade Zhang Xianzhong to cooperate with Li Zicheng.
Moreover, Zhang Xianzhong had hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, as well as brave men such as Li Dingguo. Even if he was attacked by Yuan Zongdi, he should not have fled in a hurry. He obviously had another agenda.
When Zhu Yuanzhang pointed out these situations, Wang Shoulin said with some worry: "Your Majesty, Uncle Pingnan (Zhang Huangyan) only has more than 3,000 people on his trip, and Uncle Weiwu (Li Ruolian) may not be able to arrive at that time.
"If the two thieves Zhang and Li join forces, I am afraid that even if Pingnanbo captures Wuchang, he will not be able to hold it. Now that Renyibo (Ma Jinzhong) has regained Weifang and wiped out a large number of rebels in Shandong, he wants to come to Shandong for the time being. Can he let him Go to support?"
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "Ma Jinzhong is originally a bandit. If he defected in the face of battle, wouldn't he be even more passive?"
Wang Shoulin was stunned when he heard this, and then looked at Zhu Yuanzhang anxiously.
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered: "Go to Shanxi immediately to spread the news, saying that Zuo Xianmei is willing to use Wuchang as a dowry in order to enter the palace..."
"Your Majesty, this is not allowed!"
Wang Shoulin interrupted Zhu Yuanzhang loudly before he could finish his words.
Then he saw Zhu Yuanzhang's brows furrowed and he hurriedly apologized: "Your Majesty, there were rumors in the capital a few days ago that you wanted to make Zuo Xianmei your concubine because you disliked the queen."
"At that time, there was a censor who wanted to submit a memorial. Later, Lord Shen asked Lord Fan to mediate, and the matter was temporarily suppressed. If this news is spread now, I will worry that someone will take the opportunity to cause trouble..."
Although Zhu Yuanzhang knew Wang Shoulin had good intentions, he still glared at him. Just as he was about to speak, another guard in Jinyi came in to report that Gao Wencai was here.
Seeking outside.
Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned when he heard the report, and then asked Gao Wencai to be brought in.
However, when he saw Gao Wencai's left sleeve was empty and his face was covered with scars, he couldn't help but be shocked.
