The old Wu Palace reopened its doors,
The first teacher in New Yangzhou is a thin horse.
Huaiyang drums and Kunshan string ropes,
Wuxi Kou Sujiaowa.
The spring breeze blows warmly one by one,
The clear smoke in the bucket, the cold sleeves drifting,
The palace maids are like hemp,
Red Mansion and Green Hall,
The scenery is beautiful and the horizon is beautiful,
They all serve me, Emperor Wuyou,
Talking, laughing and noisy. (Note 1)
In the first year of Wuding in the Qi Dynasty, the first year of Zhenbao in the Tang Dynasty, and the first year of Hongguang in the Ming Dynasty, in February and March, the capital (Nanjing) was established.
The palace towers cover up the swords and shadows of the North, and the arrogance and luxury in the capital conceals the hardships of the soldiers at the front.
Hongguang Emperor Zhu Changhui, who succeeded to the throne less than two months ago, like most vassal kings of this era, after decades of extreme repression, suddenly ascended the throne one day, so naturally he wanted to release his physical and mental desires to the maximum extent.
So when Beilu (the name Hongguang Junchen called Liu Zhaosun and others) was fighting fiercely with Zhang Chun and Li Xianzhong in Beijing, Emperor Hongguang was still concerned about the charm of his imperial garden and the exquisite costumes of the theater troupe in the palace.
Of course, the emperor also did not forget to have endless passionate battles with the more than ten Jiangnan beauties he had recently enthroned in the harem.
In the spring of the first year of Hongguang, the Yangzhou camp where Liu Zongzhou (then the scholar of Dongge University, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and the governor of the rebellion) was located attracted the most fanatical loyalists among the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River. They came from all over the south of the Yangtze River, especially from the Huaihe River Basin, to serve as aides in Liu Zongzhou's camp, eager to serve the court and kill the northern captives.
When Liu Zongzhou left Nanjing, he took with him the elite soldiers and generals he had recruited and trained during his fight against the pirates (Zheng Zhilong), such as Zhang Yichong, Li Biao, Zhou Zixin, Shi Kefa, Meng Zhenbang and other young men.
After arriving in Yangzhou, before Liu Zongzhou reported to Emperor Hongguang, he announced the establishment of a special institution, the Lixian Pavilion, and ordered the recruitment of scholars from all over the world to advise him as a staff.
While Emperor Hongguang was still having fun in Nanjing, Governor Liu was already fighting hard. Staff in the Yangzhou camp suggested that Governor Liu begin to consider forming an alliance with the Shaanxi bandit Li Xianzhong's tribe to jointly deal with the remnants of Daqi and those who still controlled the Qi Dynasty. There are other "Northern captives" in most areas of Shandong and Henan.
This kind of "genius" political and military alliance strategy created by the emperors and ministers of the Southern Ming Dynasty was called "Unioning the Bandits and Pinching the Captives" by later historians. Of course, the more official name is "April Countercurrent".
No matter how this military strategy was defined by later historians, in the spring of the first year of Hongguang, the initiative was proposed by Liu Zongzhou's adviser Shi Kefa and others, and it immediately received widespread support and support from both the government and the public in Nanjing.
The reason why the monarchs and ministers of the Southern Ming Dynasty supported the strategy of uniting the invaders and quelling the captives is actually easy to analyze. First of all, both Liu Zongzhou and Emperor Hongguang himself felt that using the power of bandits to destroy the main enemy Kaiyuan Army was a mature move for the country. Secondly, there is no doubt that the northern captives who committed regicide and usurped the country and killed the first emperor and the first emperor were obviously more dangerous and more hateful than the bandits who had just entered the pass (Tongguan). Finally, the king's father's revenge must be avenged, and the person who killed the king's father was none other than Liu Zhaosun, the rebellious minister and traitor.
The Donglin Party members in the south even wrote books and arguments on the topic of the pacification of Huangchao in the Tang Dynasty.
Since the Tang Dynasty put down rebellions like the Huangchao Rebellion, it not only relied on Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi, but also borrowed Li Keyong's Shatuo soldiers to recruit rebel traitors like Zhu Wen to surrender, so that it could hope to revive. Therefore, our court can also temporarily use Li Xianzhong's bandits to let the bandits and the Kaiyuan army consume each other, and then reap the benefits.
The Southern Ming Dynasty was extremely efficient. At the end of February, they received news of the changes in the capital. On March 2, Liu Zongzhou sent his general He Tao and the imperial censor to secretly go north to contact the bandit leader Li Xianzhong, and canonized Li Xianzhong as the Duke of Qin in the name of Emperor Hongguang.
At the same time, the Nanjing court learned that the Tang army had completely surrounded Liu Zhaosun in Beijing, and began to launch a fierce attack. The city of Beijing might be captured by the Tang army at any time, and the Nanming court was shocked. On March 12, the first year of Hongguang, Nanjing Fang Min received the "Book of Fighting Qi for the People of the World" written by Ma Jinxing himself.
In the eyes of the learned men of the Hongguang court, the writing style of this statement was obscure, and the meaning of the text was quite vague. The first part described the reasons why the Tang army sent troops to the north of Zhili, and stated that the Tang army hoped to eradicate the Qi tyrants and save the world.
Considering that the northern officials and gentry all welcomed the Tang army with "loyalty and righteousness", and have now taken the initiative to join the Tang Dynasty and become good citizens under the new dynasty, this proves the goodwill of the Tang Dynasty. Li Xianzhong said in his statement:
All those who cooperated with the Tang Dynasty would be promoted to official positions, and the Tang Dynasty would treat the people in the south of the Yangtze River who supported Nanming equally and protect them.
"It is also reasonable to remember those who do not forget the Ming Dynasty, assist in the establishment of virtuous vassals, and work together to protect the left side of the Yangtze River. I do not prohibit you, but you should make peace with each other and live up to this dynasty. He will continue to do so. Grace, to maintain good neighborly relations." (Note 2)
This part of Ma Jinxing's essay uses "two sides" as bait to paint a beautiful picture of peaceful coexistence and non-aggression between the north and the south for the emperors and ministers of the small court of the Southern Ming Dynasty.
This appeal was like a shot in the arm, completely dispelling the last concern of Liu Zongzhou and his staff about the bandits.
So the peace talks were officially put on the agenda. Shortly after General He Tao was sent as an envoy, Xia Zhiling, the envoy to Tongbei, set out again. His original Hu Ke was in charge, and now he was appointed governor of Nanjing under Emperor Hongguang. It happened that his mother had just passed away in Tianjin. Xia Zhiling, as a Shandong native, wanted to go back to the north to arrange his mother's funeral. Therefore, he requested to lead an envoy to Beijing.
This time the Nanming mission was on the one hand to supervise the sacrifices and funeral arrangements for the martyred Emperor Tianqi, and on the other hand to persuade Chuang King Li Xianzhong to form an alliance with Nanming.
In order to show sincerity, Nanming will cede more northwest land that was already controlled by the Tang army, and promised to pay 300,000 taels of silver to King Chuang every year in the future in exchange for the Tang army withdrawing to Guanxi (Tongguan).
Of course, all these peace talks can only be carried out after Liu Zhaosun has been killed, Kaiyuan's army has been annihilated, and the northern rebels have been expelled from Shanhaiguan.
In the first year of Hongguang's reign, this envoy was launched with great fanfare. In addition to Xia Zhiling as the principal envoy, there were also two deputy envoys, Ma Shao, Shaoqing of Taipu Temple, and Zuo Dudu, among others.
In addition, there were ten officials, twenty attendants, cavalry warriors, two hundred grooms, and three thousand guards.
Li Xianzhong rubbed his eyes and looked impatiently at the two "Envoys of Emperor Hongguang" standing in front of him.
"He is the emperor, and I am also the emperor. When you see me, you have to kneel down."
The two envoys reluctantly knelt down and bowed three times to Emperor Zhenbao.
"Emperor Hongguang's intention is to break into the army and strictly guard the border. No"
Note:
1. Kong Shangren: "Peach Blossom Fan", page 13
2. Tan Qian: "Guoyan", page 6118, and see Gu Cheng: "On Social Contradictions in the Early Qing Dynasty", page 141.
