In November, the cold wind was biting, and Huai'an Prefecture was in charge of Shanyang City. At this time, it was immersed in panic.
The people who had already heard the news fled into the countryside overnight. The remaining people could only nail the doors of every house, dig cellars, and hide their wives, daughters, and families.
Even the watchman of the big watch has disappeared, and Nuoda's Shanyang City has fallen into darkness.
Dongping Bo's Mansion, which cost tens of thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to build, was now filled with trembling. Both the slaves and the concubines were trembling, waiting for their fate.
Uncle Dongping of the Ming Dynasty, Liu Zeqing, was restless in the study, his face was red, and he was pacing back and forth as if he was drunk.
It was late at night, and the whole city was filled with silence. The huge mansion seemed deserted at this time, and it was eerily quiet.
"Alas..." Liu Zeqing sighed deeply, his fat belly trembled, and he felt extremely regretful in his heart.
Liu Zeqing is a Shandong native from the famous Caoxian County. Although he suffered repeated defeats, he was promoted and made a fortune.
After Beijing was captured and the Manchus entered the customs, he quickly left Shandong and settled in the neighboring Huai'an Prefecture, thinking of being closer to Caoxian County and alleviating his homesickness.
But at this time, in the study room, he wished he could stay in Shandong and surrender early, so that he could become a county king like Wu Sangui.
Since last year, the situation in the Ming Dynasty has been stable, especially the King Yu's formation that killed the famous king, which greatly encouraged the entire four towns in Jiangbei.
Even the King of Yu, who has no hair in his entire body, has made such great achievements. How can we lose our prestige?
So, in the first two days, with longing in mind, he led an army of 80,000 people northward and waited for the arrival of the Manchu army in Pizhou on the border of Shandong.
Moreover, he also specially contacted Gao Jie who was stationed in Xuzhou, with a total of nearly 150,000 soldiers and horses, preparing to wait for work and defend instead of attack.
Going down from the canal, Xuzhou is a must-do location, so it is expected that Gao Jie will cooperate.
He thinks well.
Pizhou is an important place on the canal. The city is small but strong. They only need to sit here for ten days and then evacuate, which can be considered as fulfilling their responsibilities.
At that time, there will be an explanation to the court, and at the same time, a good price can be negotiated with the Manchus.
Unexpectedly, the Manchu Qing Dynasty directly pulled out dozens of red cannons and bombarded Pizhou City. In half a day, a gap of ten feet was made.
As a result, the army was defeated and fled, with countless casualties.
When he returned to Pizhou, there were only thirty to forty thousand people, barely guarding Shanyang City.
"Pizhou can't stop it, let alone Shanyang."
Recalling the tragic situation in Pizhou City in his mind, his face instantly turned pale, his fat body trembled, and he felt indescribable fear.
Even the city of Nanjing may not be able to resist it!
For a moment, his whole body trembled, his crotch was completely wet, and the golden liquid dripped down, but he didn't notice it.
For a long time, in this moment of waiting, the footsteps finally came.
Li Huajing, who was covered in cotton robes and looked embarrassed, but with sweat on his forehead, ran over happily.
"What? How is it?"
Liu Zeqing asked impatiently, holding his shoulders firmly with both arms, his face full of eagerness.
"The Prince of England agreed."
Li Huajing took a breath and said happily: "Uncle, as the Prince of England has said, as long as you present the city and surrender, the past will be forgotten, and you will not be stingy with the reward of a title."
Hearing this, Liu Zeqing breathed a sigh of relief. Then he felt his crotch was wet. He took off his pants without hesitation and sat back on the chair:
"If you don't be stingy with a title, what kind of title is it?"
The stone in his heart was relieved, and Liu Zeqing's greed burst out again at this time, and he had to look at Shu, nothing more than this.
Li Huajing also understood the relationship of loss and prosperity, and hurriedly said: "In short, it is no less than the earl in you."
"What?"
Liu Zeqing was stunned, his voice suddenly changed, and he said angrily: "What kind of virtue does Wu Sangui have? Now he has been granted the title of Prince of Pingxi County. I have 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers and horses under my command, and I have several mansions in Huai'an. If the prince is not good enough, how can the duke not allow it?"
Li Huajing was speechless. At this point, do you still dare to speak?
Helpless, he persuaded: "Wu Sangui was just an earl before, but he was promoted to a county king in less than a year. The uncle will definitely be the same when the time comes -"
After saying this, Liu Zeqing was finally convinced, and his body trembled: "Then, let's agree to them!"
That night, Liu Zeqing summoned the generals and told them his plan to surrender to the Manchus. He squeezed out a few tears:
"Now that the enemy is outnumbered, we are outnumbered. Gao Jie abandoned the city and fled, leaving us alone and helpless. We have fallen into a desperate situation. I will obey the destiny and return to the Qing Dynasty..."
After saying that, he pretended to cry: "I'm sorry for your humble position, Your Majesty..."
Liu Zeqing is a fastidious person and knows the truth. No matter what he says, he must have a reason to ease his emotions.
For example, in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen's reign, intruders approached the capital, and the emperor asked the troops from all over the country to serve the king. Liu Zeqing, as the commander-in-chief of Shandong, naturally did not dare to refuse on the surface, but he gave an excuse of breaking his leg.
No one can say otherwise.
The generals looked at each other. They were all Liu Zeqing's confidants, so they naturally obeyed.
So, one by one, they made great gestures and took turns to persuade, with various reasons, but in the final analysis, they had no choice but to surrender to the Qing Dynasty.
In the first year of Hongguang and the second year of Shunzhi, on November 25th, Liu Zeqing led 40,000 soldiers and horses to open Shanyang City and surrendered Huai'an Prefecture and a small half of Yangzhou Prefecture to the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
He Shuoying, Prince Azig, chiseled soldiers and stretched fiber along the way, and finally went south from the canal to Shanyang, Huai'an.
After accepting the city, Azig, a rough and simple man, prepared to send Liu Zeqing's family back to Beijing to be raised.
Liu Zeqing was stunned. Wu Sangui was able to ignore previous suspicions, so why was I imprisoned?
"General Liu, you have a long criminal record and are full of misdeeds. I really can't worry about you."
Azige's eyes were bright and his short stature was filled with fierceness. He stared at Liu Zeqing's fat body and said directly:
"I will definitely give you the position of earl that I promised you. The regent is very generous. Just don't do anything that exceeds the rules."
With that said, without waiting for a reaction, Azig waved his hand, and Liu Zeqing's family was forced to go north to Beijing.
Sitting in the splendid area, which was no less than the royal palace, Azige was very happy. He touched and looked around, and couldn't help but say:
"Come here, please move all the items here to my palace in Beijing. A mere earl has gone so far. How can there be any rules?"
"As for the silver, keep half of it, and you can divide the rest."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Generals including Wu Sangui, Beilenikan, Beizi Tunji, Beilebolo and other generals responded with smiles.
He glanced at the four Han generals Wu Sangui, Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, and Shang Kexi, especially the last three, who were veterans for many years and were trustworthy.
"As for Liu Zeqing's tens of thousands of people, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming, you two lost a lot last year, so just make up for it!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Kong and Geng were overjoyed. They knew they were trying to win people's hearts, but they had to accept it.
