"Take it, take it... I'll see you later!"
"Chitose Master, veteran..."
Another official who had put on common people's clothes had tears in his eyes and looked like he was about to kneel down in front of Zhu Cixiang. Next to the stone bridge outside Chaoyang Gate. Zhu Cihong, Wu Sanmei, Wang Qi, Bi Jiucheng and dozens of other guards were all standing in front of a row of open wooden boxes containing silver coins, which were given to the officials, soldiers, common people and nobles who fled through the Chaoyangmen Stone Bridge. , and who else is giving money.
Everyone has a part to play!
Needless to say, the money sent was all moved from Zhou Kui’s house!
More than three hundred thousand taels of silver will be distributed while supplies last!
This money-burning courage is comparable to the subsidy wars of some Internet giants in later generations.
Zhu Cixiang's purpose of burning money is similar to that of later Internet giants. Others spend money to buy the market, while Zhu Cixiang spends money to buy people's hearts.
Zhu Cixiang, who left Beijing, will lack the most in the next month or so, people's hearts! And as long as Li Zicheng is defeated, people's hearts will slowly return to the side of the Ming Dynasty.
The reason is simple, because before Li Zicheng was driven out of Beijing, the Ming Dynasty was "subjugated", not "subjected to the world". These are two different concepts! The so-called subjugation of a country is nothing more than a change of dynasty.
To the scholar-bureaucrats and common people in the world, Li Shun's replacement of Zhu Ming was just the emperor's turn, and there was no difference.
It can even be said that after entering Beijing, Li Zicheng became the Chinese orthodoxy, while Chongzhen and Zhu Cixiang and his son were just remnants of the previous dynasty.
If Li Zicheng could get over the hurdle of the Manchus, he wouldn't have to destroy the Qing Dynasty. He could make a draw on a piece of stone and finally sign a peace treaty or something. Even if he was given a few coins, Dashun's world would be stable!
Chongzhen, Zhu Cixiang and his son may have no choice but to avoid overseas and struggle for a living.
Wanting to use the southern half of the Yangtze River to counterattack is simply a fool's errand!
But once Li Zicheng was defeated by Manchuria, he lost Beijing, the most virtuous capital in the world. Then the deadlock between Chongzhen, Zhu Cixiang and his son will be solved immediately.
Because the next step will not be the subjugation of the country, but the subjugation of the world!
The Ming Dynasty will represent the world of the Han people!
The Qing Dynasty, at least from the late Ming Dynasty until New China, meant foreign rule. The struggle against the Qing Dynasty and the restoration of the Ming Dynasty ran through the entire Qing Dynasty.
If Li Zicheng wins in Yiyishi, will there be rebellion and restoration of Ming Dynasty? It’s simply impossible!
Therefore, the Battle of a Stone was a disaster for Li Zicheng's Dashun, but it was a rare opportunity for asset reorganization for Zhu Cixiang's Ming Dynasty.
Historically, Li Zicheng's behavior of easily abandoning Beijing after his defeat in the Battle of Yiyishi caused him to lose his status as leader of the anti-Qing Communist Party.
In other words, the blame for losing the world belongs to Li Zicheng!
The world was not thrown by the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, but by Li Zicheng. The Ming Dynasty had already perished, so how could the Ming Dynasty be allowed to take the blame for Dashun?
This responsibility was very clear back then. At that time, the whole world knew that he had an army of millions! How much can a million troops lose in one stone? At most it's tens of thousands.
Behind a piece of stone, even in the capital area, Li Zicheng still had at least 30,000 to 40,000 old troops and at least 100,000 new troops. We still have the strength to stick to Beijing! Moreover, the city of Beijing is quite strong and it is entirely possible to hold on.
At least in the eyes of the world, Li Zicheng is completely powerful and should defend Beijing!
And abandoning Beijing when the troops are still sufficient is actually implementing the line of non-resistance... How can a "non-resistance" emperor of Dashun still unite people to resist the Qing Dynasty?
Of course, Li Zicheng's approach of abandoning Beijing and preserving his strength was understandable in his opinion. He has a very weak foundation in Beijing. He had previously robbed the army of military pay and lost the hearts of the people in Beijing. How could he dare to hold on to the city when there was no popular support inside and powerful enemies outside?
It would be better to retreat with the gold and silver looted from Beijing and return to Shaanxi to regroup... But with this departure, the situation is over!
In short, the city of Beijing was the trap of the century for Li Zicheng! Before being trapped, Li Zicheng was the new master of the world respected by hundreds of millions of people. They were waiting for him to destroy Zhu Ming, bring about great prosperity, and establish a peaceful world.
After Li Zicheng is eliminated, he will be the sinner of the world, a false emperor who rebels and refuses to resist!
But in the early morning of March 21st, the 17th day of the Chongzhen period, when Dashun Emperor Li Zicheng boarded the Yongding Gate Tower amid the cheers of tens of thousands of old camp soldiers. He never thought that the city of Beijing that he was about to take over would be a super "land mine" that would make him lose all his money. He never thought that the owners of Beijing City, Chongzhen and Zhu Cixiang, had already escaped under the cover of the fake Chongzhen. Ran away.
At this time, he was still worried that he might not be able to conquer the inner city of Beijing!
The cannons mounted on Zhengyangmen, Xuanwumen, and Chongwenmen roared all night long, and the soldiers guarding the city kept shouting long live the city, which was quite impressive!
But after daybreak, the cannons stopped firing and they stopped shouting "Banzai". They seemed a little wilted. Could it be that they were tired from all the fuss all night?
A man about forty years old, who looked somewhat similar to Li Zicheng, with high cheekbones, wide forehead, and a big beard, quickly came to Li Zicheng's side and whispered: "Your Majesty, are you sent to patrol the east of the city?" Report, saying that they found signs of the red thief breaking out of the encirclement!"
The person who came was Li Guo, Li Zicheng's eldest nephew, nicknamed Yihu, who was appointed as the general in charge of the camp. The cavalry patrolling around Beijing were all sent out by his rear battalion.
"The red thieves are breaking out?" Li Zicheng turned around and saw Du Zhizhi still holding a telescope in the direction of the Zhengyangmen Archery Tower?
"Lao Du, is the Zhu Thief Emperor still there?"
"Yes, I should be here..." Du Zhizhi said, "I can't see clearly, but I have a similar figure and the right clothes. There is an old eunuch next to me, Gao Yushun... He is the eunuch of the Chief of Ceremonies and the Emperor of the Red Thieves. The most trusted eunuch. Oh, I also saw Luo Yangxing, he is the commander of the Imperial Guard."
Li Guo said: "Your Majesty, the Red Thief Emperor may not have left, but many people must have escaped from Beijing last night!"
"Oh? What's going on?"
"The rangers sent by me outside Chaoyang Gate and Dongzhi Gate encountered a large group of red cavalry. There was also a group of rangers who reported that they had encountered a large group of iron cavalry!"
"What?" Li Zicheng was stunned, "A large group of cavalry? How many are there? From what direction are they coming?"
"More than a thousand riders!" Li Guo looked serious, "I can't say where I came from... but I'm heading towards Tongzhou!"
"Lao Du," Li Zicheng asked, "are there iron cavalry in Beijing?"
"No." Du Zhizhi shook his head, "Now the Ming Dynasty only has Guan Ningjun with some cavalry..."
He didn't regard the Han general as a soldier at all...
"Guan Ning Cavalry?" Li Zicheng narrowed his one eye, "Wu Sangui is here? Is there any news from Mantatar... Huang Hu (Liu Zongmin)?"
"No." General Quan Tian Jianxiu immediately reported, "I also received a military report from Zhongquan's pro-army this morning. The sentries and cavalry were stationed in the Sanhe and Pinggu areas, but no Guan Ning army was found. There is also news that Guan Ning's army was not found. The army did not pass Shanhaiguan until the 16th, and the vanguard did not arrive at Yutian until the 19th. As for the news of the Manchu Tatars sending troops, I have not heard of it."
"Military advisor, what do you think?" Li Zicheng asked Song Xiance, who was good at calculating.
Song Xiance was holding his fingers and pretending. When he heard Li Zicheng's question, he immediately replied: "Your Majesty, perhaps the crown prince of the Zhu family has left the city... Didn't it say the day before yesterday that the crown prince of the Zhu family was going to marry the Manchu Tatar auxiliary king Dorgon? Daughter? He can't get married in Beijing."
"It makes sense!" Li Zicheng didn't know the details of Manchuria and thought Dorgon's daughter was a big girl. In fact, she was only six years old, so it was impossible for her to marry Zhu Cixiang.
"Your Majesty, we can't let the crown prince of the Zhu family run out! Please lead the troops to chase him!" Tang Tong, the surrendered general, was also on the tower, and he hurriedly asked for a fight. It wasn't that he had any beef with Zhu Cixiang. The main reason was that he felt that he couldn't make money in Beijing, so it was better to go out of the city to try his luck.
"Okay!" Li Zicheng nodded and said with a smile, "A tiger, you go too... take 3,000 brothers with you, and be sure to capture the Zhu family prince alive!"
"I obey the decree!"
"I will live up to my orders!"
