"Higher, higher! Damn it, it's hanging crooked, um, do it yourself..."
Liu Sheng stood on the steps of Prince Pingxi's Mansion in Luoyang with his hands in his sleeves, watching as several soldiers and servants hung lanterns, set up barriers, and wrapped strips of colorful cloth around the trees. In this way, the palace of Prince Yuanfu, which was bleak in the winter, was decorated with a rich and prosperous atmosphere.
The weather has improved a bit, but the soldiers and handymen in the yard all have long faces, and it's obvious from looking at them that they are not in a good mood to celebrate the New Year. But it’s no wonder, we miss our loved ones even more during the festive season! Although these people have become traitors, they still miss their relatives in Liaoxi.
It had been months since they left their hometown to fight, and their return home was far away. As the New Year approaches, there are rumors in the army that Guan Ning's entire army will move to Shaanxi!
Moving the town to Shaanxi means that the officers and soldiers of the Guan Ning Army will never be able to return to their hometown in Liaoxi... It would be fine if the town is moved to the south of the Yangtze River. Jiangnan is rich and Saibei is poor. At worst, they will take their parents, wives and children to enjoy their happiness.
The town can be moved to Shaanxi... What's so good about Shaanxi? I heard that people are poor and suffering, and there have been droughts for many years. The people are so poor that they have no food to eat, so they have no choice but to become bandits! It is better to stay in my hometown in Liaoxi than to move to Shaanxi!
How wonderful it is now in western Liaoning and eastern Liaoning. The Tatars have entered the customs, and countless black soils have been abandoned. You can have a good harvest of any kind!
They are not afraid of the cold weather at all. After all, there is only one season of wheat. As long as the land is plentiful and fertile, life will always be easy.
Therefore, no one is interested in leaving their hometowns to develop in Shaanxi. Besides, there are still rogue bandits in Shaanxi! I don’t know if I can survive even if I go there!
Now Li Zicheng's strength has not been completely reduced... In the previous battle at Shanhaiguan, the rogue bandits fought so hard in the face of so many Tatar soldiers, which shocked Guan Ning's army.
Later, winning the battle in Shanxi was a bit of a fluke. If the prince hadn't been clever and took the route of the bandits, the outcome would have been hard to say!
But such a clever battle cannot be counted on. That's the hometown of the homeless thieves. In order to protect their home, the homeless thieves have to fight tooth and nail!
Maybe after this new year is over, everyone will have to go to the gate of hell...
He used a long bamboo pole to hang several red lanterns high. Liu Sheng had no intention of celebrating the festival anymore. He looked around and thought it was okay, so he wanted to leave the palace and go to a brothel, where he and Jinyi Weibei The agents from the Zhenfu Division in Luoyang met. As soon as he reached the gate of the palace, he heard horses hooves clattering, and then an officer guarding the gate came in from the outside. When he saw Liu Sheng, he cupped his hands and said: "General Liu, the second grandfather has come from Beijing... has come... After entering the city, we will drive to the palace, please go and report it as soon as possible."
The second grandfather is Zu Zepu, who became a traitor after the Battle of Dagukou. At first, because of Zu Dashou, he was quite popular in the Manchus. He joined the Zhenghuang Banner of the Han Army and was awarded the rank of first-class bodyguard. Official title. At one time, he was sent to serve in Wu Sangui's army to perform meritorious service, as if he wanted to be reused.
However, this good life took a turn for the worse when Zukefa came back from the dead and became the "Four Ministers"!
This thing is too ugly. The good ministers who were originally good have doubled in the blink of an eye. Moreover, they were buried in great glory before, and they even had posthumous titles. Many Eight Banners nobles even became members. He was resurrected and became the Ming Dynasty's marriage envoy... making the descendants of the Zu family and Wu family lose face.
In the eyes of the masters of the Eight Banners, the servants of the Zu family and the Wu family are all candidates for the third minister and the fourth minister!
Of course, the children who were working for a living in Wu Sangui's army were not affected. Those who were traitors elsewhere had to quit their jobs and go home to eat old rice.
The second grandfather, Zepuzu, was no exception. He no longer had the shame to be a bodyguard, so he quit his job in December and went home to gnaw on his old age. However, Dorgon did not let him rest for too long. Before the end of the year, he gave him a job that he could never dream of, and went to Luoyang to deliver orders to Wu Sangui's army. Don't go back to Beijing after delivering the decree. Just work as an official here with Wu Sangui, as the prefect of Henan (Luoyang area belongs to Henan Prefecture), and you can make money!
But the regent didn't give Zu Zepu a job to make money for nothing, there were conditions! The condition is that Wu Sangui, the third candidate, must be coaxed to fight against Li Zicheng.
Not only must he be coaxed, but he must also make Wu Sangui believe that the most ruthless man in the Qing Dynasty who held the emperor hostage and slept with the queen mother, the regent Dorgon trusted Wu Sangui, and the battle of Guan Ning's army entering Tongguan from the west was certain to win!
...
"Uncle Chang, the regent really trusts our Guan Ningjun!"
"I know, I know," Wu Sangui nodded repeatedly and said seriously, "Guan Ningjun is also loyal to the regent!"
In the study room of the palace, there are only three people, Wu Sangui, Zu Zepu and Liu Sheng. Wu and Zu sat across from each other, and Liu Sheng unfolded a map including the terrain of the three provinces of Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi and spread it on the desk in front of them. After laying out the map, he did not leave, but stood behind Wu Sangui.
"Uncle Chang..." Zu Zepu looked at Wu Sangui and continued, "The regent has no other intention. He just wants you, the King of Pingxi, to go to Pingxi... The regent also explained that Pingxi The battle must be won! And Guan Ning’s army will not be left with casualties.”
"Really?" Wu Sangui responded lightly.
Seeing Wu Sangui's neutral expression, Zu Zepu added, "The regent has said that Hauge and Aobai are not allowed to march to Shandong and Henan, and Luo Luohun's army with red flags is not allowed to move!
This is the main force of the five banners... plus the troops left behind by each banner in Beijing, there are 40,000 people in True Manchuria alone who can be dispatched at any time. Uncle, our thin arms cannot twist the regent's thick legs. "
Wu Sangui shook his head: "But...Li Zicheng is not weak either!"
"Li Zicheng is easy to deal with!" Zu Zepu said, "The regent already has a way to deal with Li Zicheng... As long as you can station troops outside Tongguan and attract Li Zicheng's main force, the Eight Banners Army will be able to catch him off guard. !”
Wu Sangui frowned deeply and said thoughtfully: "Li Zicheng is not weak! Shaanxi is his home base... He will never give up easily."
Zu Zepu shook his head: "Chang Bo, Li Zicheng is not weak, and the Eight Banners soldiers are even stronger! Li Zicheng will not give up on Shaanxi easily, and the regent will not let us stay in Henan for a long time... It is our Guan Ning Army that marches westward. The only way out!"
"This..." Wu Sangui thought for a while, "How about going south to Xiangyang?"
Zu Zepu said: "Uncle, did you go to Xiangyang to return to the Ming Dynasty? Do you think the regent will give you this opportunity? Going west is our best way out! And you can rest assured that the regent will not let us Those who died on the way westward, because we died, Li Zicheng could live!"
Wu Sangui was stunned: "How do you say this?"
