Listening to the reports and suggestions from his men, Emperor Dashun Li Zicheng also felt helpless in his heart.
When he quit Beijing, he still felt that he had plenty of means at his disposal. The people of the world are on his side, and the mountains and rivers inside and outside Shanxi are also in his hands. The Shaanxi side is even more solid in the mountains and dangerous in Qinchuan, where the foundation of the strong Han Dynasty and the prosperous Tang Dynasty lies. Even if they lose Shanxi, Hebei, and Henan, as long as Guanzhong is in hand, Dashun will have the capital to compete for the world.
But he never expected that just after he left Beijing, he would change from the co-owner of the world to a street rat that everyone yelled at. Not only that the people who were originally looking forward to and welcoming King Chuang were gone, countless Zhongliang of the Ming Dynasty also appeared in Shanxi Province, attacking officials and troops sent by the Dashun court everywhere! The most annoying thing is that many of the Ming Zhongliangs lined up to abandon the Ming Dynasty and surrender in February and March, hoping to become the founding heroes of Dashun.
How long has it been? Are they all repenting and going to be loyal ministers to the Ming Dynasty? What have you been doing so far? If you become a loyal minister earlier, the Dashun Army will not be able to reach Beijing, let alone fight bloody battles with the Tatars in a stone!
Now that things have happened, he, the Dashun Emperor, really regrets going to Beijing. If I had known this, it would be better to stay in my hometown in Shaanxi, run a good business, lay a solid foundation first, and then go eastward!
However, when his subordinates talked about abandoning Shanxi and leaving for Shaanxi, his blind eye suddenly twitched and began to hurt again.
What he experienced after withdrawing from Beijing made him doubt the position of his fellow Shaanxi people. Although he is from Shaanxi, he made his fortune in Henan and Huguang. In October of the 16th year of Chongzhen, he led his troops to attack Tongguan and swept through Guanzhong. The officers and soldiers of Shaanxi had always been his mortal enemy!
Can he really return to Shaanxi now and rely on those unreliable fellow villagers to fight against the Ming Dynasty and the Tatars?
If the Shaanxi people are as unreliable as the Shanxi people, where can he, the Dashun emperor, retreat to?
The people below looked at Li Zicheng and remained silent, but their expressions became increasingly ugly. Everyone shut up and didn't dare to say another word. Since Li Zicheng left Beijing, his temper has become a bit scary. In particular, the rebellion of Li Yan and Hong Niangzi made the Henan people in the Dashun army a little bit uncomfortable. Several Henan people have disappeared inexplicably... Now everyone is a little worried when facing Li Zicheng. , for fear of touching his reverse scales and losing his life in vain.
At the entrance of the main hall, two resourceful military advisors Song Xiance and Gu Junen came hand in hand. The two saw a large group of people in the palace, but no one spoke. Li Zicheng lowered his head and remained silent. The scene was a bit embarrassing, and they knew that Li Zicheng was worried about the future of the Dashun Dynasty again.
The two military advisors hurriedly kowtowed to Li Zicheng. After standing up, Gu Junen smiled and said: "Your Majesty, great news! The crown prince of the Zhu family has stabilized the position in Shandong, and has vigorously reorganized the Seven Denglai Guards. He also sent Li Yan, The Red Lady recruited heroes from Taiyi and sealed many mountain commanders. In addition, Yanshenggong Kong Yinzhi also issued a "Call to the Eastern Lu", claiming that the Eastern Lu came to destroy our Confucius Forest and demolish our Confucius Temple! Still more! Thousands of years of Chinese etiquette, ethics, poetry and books were swept away in one fell swoop..."
"What? What did you say?" Li Zicheng was startled when he heard this, staring at Gu Junen and Song Xiance with one eye.
"Your Majesty," Song Xiance smiled, "The prince made a miscalculation and is about to get burned!"
"The military advisor thinks that Kong was ordered by Zhu Cixiang to issue the "Exhortation to the Eastern Barbarians"?" Li Zicheng was a little puzzled, "But why did Zhu Cixiang do this?"
Song Xiance shook his head, "It's hard to say, maybe it's to treat the internal problem from the outside, right?"
"Treat the inside from the outside?" Li Zicheng still didn't quite understand.
Gu Junen explained: "Zhu Cihong used the position of prince to support the army and regent, and he has emptied Emperor Chongzhen. I am afraid that he will force his father to undergo internal Zen. Such behavior is considered unfaithful and unfilial to the scholar-officials! If Zhu Cihong does not create a big enemy for the scholar-officials, , I’m afraid he will be attacked by scholars all over the world.”
"So that's it!" Li Zicheng frowned, "But he doesn't really want to fight the Tatars, so what's the benefit to them?"
Gu Jun'en said: "Your Majesty, although he doesn't really want to fight the Tatars, we just have to make a plan and send an envoy to Jiangnan to make peace with the Ming Dynasty."
"But all the envoys sent to Datong never returned!" Li Zicheng frowned and said, "Are there no killings in Jiangnan?"
Song Xiance smiled and said: "Of course they won't kill our envoys in the south of the Yangtze River. After all, King Yong and the fifth prince of the Zhu family are still in our hands!"
Li Zicheng glared, "Then we have to kill him! Zhu Cixiang can't wait to kill all his brothers! Only when all his brothers are dead can he secure his throne!"
Gu Junen smiled, "But the emperor is kind-hearted. If Zhu Cixi dares to kill the envoys you sent, you will definitely repay evil with kindness and release his two younger brothers."
"Release his brother?" Li Zicheng thought about it and laughed. He stroked his beard and said, "Now that I think about it, he is indeed a good man who complains with virtue! But if he doesn't kill people, he may not be willing to do so. Let’s join forces!”
"The emperor can become a minister to the Ming Dynasty!" Song Xiance said, "Don't he want to replace Chongzhen? If he can become a minister to the emperor, his prestige will be greatly increased, and he will be able to replace his father as the emperor."
"Profess to be a minister..." Li Zicheng frowned even more tightly. He finally became the emperor, so why should he not do it before he shows his taste for it? Isn't it a pity?
"Your Majesty," Gu Jun'en continued, "Sending an envoy to be a minister does not mean to be a minister... As long as your Majesty does not accept the canonization of the Emperor of the Zhu family, he will still be the Emperor of Dashun."
Song Xiance also said: "Your Majesty, the top priority now is to divert the disaster to the south of the Yangtze River! Only when the Ming and Qing families fight, can we regroup in Shaanxi and watch the tigers fight from the mountain!"
Gu Junen further said: "Your Majesty, if we cannot make peace with the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty's vassals will join forces with the Tatars to attack Taiyuan by October at the latest. If Taiyuan is not protected, even Shaanxi will be in danger. Our foundation is too shallow. It’s been less than a year since I entered Guanzhong, and I haven’t taken root anywhere in Shaanxi. If we are suddenly attacked by Dai Fan and the Tatars, I’m afraid today’s Shanxi will be tomorrow’s Shaanxi!”
The Dashun Army only broke through Tongguan in the early October of the 13th year of Chongzhen. On the third day of October, Sun Chuanting was killed in battle. The Qin Army collapsed completely, and the Dashun Army immediately swept through Shaanxi. It is less than a year now, and there are only two or three months before Li Zicheng sets out for his eastern expedition to Beijing.
In such a short period of time, it was certainly impossible for the Dashun court to take root in Shaanxi. The construction of local political power was only superficial, and an effective system of conscription and food collection was not established.
Therefore, Li Zicheng's Dashun Dynasty simply could not support a long-term war against the Qing Dynasty. Once the old battalion soldiers, who were the main force, suffered heavy losses, the overall situation would collapse instantly.
Song Xiance said: "Your Majesty, the obstacle to our Dashun Dynasty is always the Tatars! The roots of the Zhu family have long been rotten. No matter how good the prince of the Zhu family is, he can only fix it and cannot revive it. Our Dashun It is a new dynasty that is prosperous and cannot be compared with Can Ming. What we lack now is the time to rectify Shaanxi and establish a foundation. Once we take root, all the strength of Guanlong will be used by us, and the cause of strengthening the Han Dynasty and prospering the Tang Dynasty can be completely achieved. Period!"
"What the military advisor said makes sense!" Li Zicheng exhaled, "It is indeed not easy for the Tatars to overcome this hurdle... So what conditions should be imposed?"
Gu Jun'en said: "Your Majesty, you can ask for the title of King of Qin and take over the whole territory of Shaanxi, Henan Prefecture, Nanyang Prefecture, and Ruzhou in Henan, Xiangyang Prefecture, Yunyang Prefecture in Huguang, Pingyang Prefecture, Fenzhou, Lu'an Prefecture, and Qinzhou in Shanxi." Zhouzhou, Zezhou, Taiyuan and other places.”
"Kaifeng Mansion doesn't want it anymore?" Li Zicheng asked.
"No!" Gu Jun'en said, "Kaifeng Mansion has been in ruins for a long time after the war, and it is adjacent to the Tartars to the north, making it easy to attack and difficult to defend. It is better to give it to the Ming Dynasty and let them fight with the Tartars."
Li Zicheng stroked his beard and said, "Good idea, then who can go to Jiangnan as an envoy?"
Gu Jun'en said: "Your Majesty, I can go to Nanjing with Wang Cheng'en to lobby Zhu Cihong. In addition, Your Majesty can also hand Zuo Mengmei, Zuo Liangyu's daughter, to me, and ask me to take her to Wuchang and return her to Zuo Liangyu. By the way, I made a secret agreement with Zuo Liangyu not to attack each other."
