It's so, so shameless!
After listening to Wu Sangui's words, a group of close officials below were speechless!
In order to find a legitimate reason for the Ming Dynasty to seize territory, this Wu Sangui could actually make up a lie that the ghost of Chongzhen asked him for help in revenge!
Chongzhen's sons are now the Republic Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. If Chongzhen wants to take revenge, he should ask the Republic Emperor for help, right? How could you ask for help from the Emperor of Zhou who rebelled four times and became the emperor himself?
Moreover, when Chongzhen comes to find you, won’t Emperor Yongli and his family also come to seek your life?
Wu Sangui's old face became a little cold when he saw that there was a bit of a cold atmosphere. At this moment, his confidant Wang Shirong finally reacted and said loudly: "Your Majesty, the spirit of Emperor Chongzhen must know that the Ming Republic and the Emperor are in name only. There is nothing we can do about Li Zicheng who is entrenched in Wuchang. Looking at the world, the only one who can avenge Emperor Chongzhen is your majesty! And if your majesty succeeds in avenging Chongzhen, you can naturally replace the emperor's nominal republic Ming Dynasty and become the orthodoxy of the world! "
Wang Shirong was still clever, and his words were quite sincere. The look on Wu Sangui's face had already relaxed. He figured out the story that Chongzhen asked him to help revenge in his dream. In addition to trying to find a legitimate reason for seizing the territory of the Republic of Ming Dynasty, he also wanted to compete with the Republic of Ming Dynasty for the world's orthodoxy.
Wu Sangui was the emperor who was appointed by Huangpao. His legitimacy was really lacking. Not only could he not be compared with the Republic of Ming Dynasty, but he was even inferior to Emperor Kangxi of the Northern Qing Dynasty. Kangxi now positioned the Qing Dynasty as the second largest emperor of the Liao Dynasty. This is tantamount to He completely abandoned his status as the emperor of the Central Plains and became the emperor outside the Great Wall of the Liao, Jin, Mongolian, Yuan, Beiyuan, and Qing (Later Jin) lines.
As the emperor outside the Great Wall, Kangxi still had some legitimacy. After all, the Mongolian ministries had given him the title of Enkh Amgulang Khan - this was the title of the Great Khan of Mongolia!
In comparison, what does Wu Sangui, the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, who rebelled against the Ming Dynasty, rebelled against obedience, rebelled against the Qing Dynasty, and rebelled against the Ming Dynasty, and finally ascended the throne as the Western King of the Ming Dynasty? This kind of behavior of going back and forth and finally becoming the emperor looks like a tyrant and pseudo-emperor no matter how you look at it.
That is to say, the people of China are now accustomed to the rule of "the emperor's soldiers and horses are strong." If it had been left to the late Han Dynasty when the heroes were fighting for hegemony, his behavior would be exactly like Yuan Jiujiu!
And if Wu Sangui didn't want to stop at being divided into three parts of the world, but wanted to fight for a "Wu Guan family" that still lacked a few corners to dominate the world in his lifetime, he would still have to compete with the Ming Dynasty for legitimacy.
After all, the current Republican Ming Dynasty is not the Nan Ming that fell at a touch, but a Ming Dynasty with strong military virtues including the Huaixi Red Scarf Army and the Guangdong Rural Army. If Wu Sangui didn't have enough legitimacy and faced off against the republican Ming Dynasty, which was full of military virtues, he might have little chance of winning.
Thinking of this, Wu Sangui immediately smiled and said: "Now the world is divided into four parts, who is the orthodox will be known when the world is unified in the future. However, as the emperor of the Republic, as a son of a man, he should avenge his father! Li Fuchen, Li Zhongshan, Liu Jinzhong and others are human ministers , we can’t let the king’s revenge go unrevenged! So after my troops arrive at Wuchang, I will send a letter to Jinling and invite the kings and ministers of the Ming Dynasty to hunt in Chu!”
Fang Guangchen, Wu Sangui's first assistant academician, was smart this time and immediately took over the conversation. His voice was as loud as a bell and full of energy: "Your Majesty, if the Republican emperor of Nanjing and the Li shogunate are not willing to draw a clear line between the rebels and the rebellious party, then They are unfaithful and unfilial people, and they should be punished by the whole world! And your Majesty, you first drove out the Tartars, then established the Han Dynasty, and then avenged Emperor Chongzhen. It is of course your destiny! When the time comes, the puppet emperor of the Zhu family and the Li family If the shogunate is unwilling to surrender with courtesy, the emperor can command the heavenly troops, pacify Jiangdong, and unify the world!"
These words were obviously an excuse for Wu Sangui to crusade against the Republic of Ming Dynasty - this is called a master's reputation! After all, Wu Sangui had been a minister of the third prince Zhu, and his title of Western King was still conferred by the third prince. "Long Live the King of the West" is inherently unfair and his words are inconsistent. Now we have to send troops to destroy Prince Zhu, who has become the emperor of the Republic. Doesn't this look like a traitor? We must find a way to whitewash him, and turn this capricious "rebellious minister and traitor of four dynasties" into the destined king of justice!
Wu Sangui nodded with a smile: "The Emperor of the Zhu family and the generals of the Li family still know the etiquette, justice and integrity, and they will never protect a traitor like Li Zicheng! When my troops arrive in Wuchang, they will definitely send troops to join us."
When he said this, his tone suddenly became serious, and he said proudly: "If they really decide on the world and protect the traitor Li Zicheng, then I will sue the world and deal with them on behalf of Emperor Hongwu and Emperor Chongzhen!"
After hearing Wu Sangui's words of determination, a group of ministers prostrated themselves and shouted long live the mountain. Wu Sangui laughed softly, and after the crowds had finished shouting, he said confidently: "Now all Li Zicheng's elite soldiers have been led by Li Laishun to fight in Jiangxi. Wuchang, Hanyang, and Hankou are all extremely empty. I have Wu Shijue, Gao Dejie, Lin Xingzhu and the others led 3,000 elites and headed straight for Jiangxia in 30 grain transport ships!
The 40,000 cavalry led by Wu Shifan, Wang Pingfan, Zheng Jiaolin, Wu Zhimao, and Zhang Guozhu have already lurked in Xinglongji near the border of De'an Prefecture. In a few hours, they will cross the border and attack directly where De'an Prefecture is located. Gone with the state!
That Li Zicheng thought that by blocking the Han River and the Yangtze River with more than a dozen forts, and at the same time building some forts along the Yangtze River and the Han River, he could stop our great Zhou Tianbing. What a wishful thinking!
This time I am going to surprise him and attack Jiangxia from land and water. At the same time, the army on land avoids the Yangtze River and Han River and marches between Tongbai Mountain and Dahong Mountain, so that Li Zicheng can attack Hankou directly! "
The ministers in the room, except for Wu Yingxiong, Wu Yingqi, and Wu Guogui, who were holding back the big move with Wu Sangui, everyone else was shocked. Wu Sangui actually deployed such a large-scale military operation without telling them!
Their confidants didn't know, and Li Zicheng, an old thief, had no way of knowing, so he would definitely be caught off guard by the Emperor of Zhou!
It seems that the Emperor Zhou's sword is not old yet!
The Wuchang section of the Yangtze River has been shrouded in heavy snow for the past two days. Only then did the heavy snow lighten down and turn into sleet. This wave of northwest wind and heavy snow almost accompanied this "good luck" from Jingzhou. Although it was a little colder throughout the voyage of "Grain Fleet", it was smooth sailing and the inspections along the way were also very lax. Often it was just a small boat carrying a petty official who was about to freeze into a popsicle. They would check it casually, collect some bribes and let them go. Although Li Zicheng was very strict with the officials who were in Hubei under the command of Prince Zhong's Mansion, However, it is still difficult to control these small officials on the Yangtze River who are conducting private tax inspections. After all, the regime of King Zhong of the Ming Dynasty is also a government that governs the whole world, and these days, taxation and taxation of commercial circulation are a worldwide problem. , so there is too much space for the officials below to operate.
And Wu Sangui had been planning for a long time. After Li Fuchen's "fighting incident" last time, Wu Sangui began to plan a raid on Wuchang! The people specifically responsible for the implementation are Wu Guogui and Lin Xingzhu.
The two of them knew that Li Zicheng would definitely deploy defenses along the Yangtze River and Han River, using fortresses and passes one after another to consume the Wu family's army's offensive momentum. If we have to fight one by one, we really don’t know that we will have to fight until the end of the year of the monkey! And it is impossible to raid one by one, let alone attack all the fortresses and passes along the way at the same time.
Therefore, the only feasible method is the most adventurous and unexpected method - relying solely on three thousand elites, disguised as merchants and boatmen, on a grain boat filled with grain, to launch a surprise attack on Jiangxia, the capital of Wuchang!
In order to ensure the success of this raid, these elite Wu family troops who were disguised as sailors and merchants on grain ships were not allowed to carry armor or long weapons to avoid being discovered by Li family officials.
Of course, artillery cannot be carried - who has ever seen someone driving a gunboat to sell rice?
In the past, an army without armor, long weapons, or artillery would not have much combat effectiveness. But since the introduction of flintlock guns that can be equipped with sleeved bayonets, the combat effectiveness of unarmored infantry has improved dramatically!
Wu Shijue and Lin Xingzhu stood on the front bow, both wearing raincoats.
Wu Shijue was holding an extremely precious rifled flintlock gun in his hand - this was a gift from Li Zhongshan to Wu Guogui and Wu Shijue. At that time, only ten guns were given to the two men for hunting. There are still five that have not been broken, and the one Wu Shijue is holding is one of them.
Lin Xingzhu was holding a machete, and there was a flintlock pistol on the belt under his raincoat.
Seeing the lights on Jiangxia Hanyangmen Pier becoming more obvious in the dusk, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.
Wu Shijue wiped the rainwater on his face and smiled at Lin Xingzhu: "Jiang Xia is watching and seems to be completely unsuspecting. We can succeed in one fell swoop this time!"
Lin Xingzhu counted the time in his mind and murmured: "We are one night early. I wonder if the response person is still there? Also, the northern line's raid on De'an Mansion will start in the early morning of tomorrow. Let's start here first." , if the Ming army in Suizhou knows about it, their actions on the northern front cannot be taken by surprise."
In fact, Wu Shijue was worried about this problem when he was making the plan. It was impossible for the northern and southern raids to agree on time. Therefore, if any one of them started first, the latter might lose its surprise!
Of course, it is possible but not certain.
Because who knows how efficient Li Zicheng's information transmission is?
He forced a smile and said to Lin Xingzhu: "Brother Lin, the arrow is on the bowstring, and we have to fire it. We have three thousand people, and Li Zicheng definitely doesn't have many soldiers in Jiangxia. We might be able to break into the imperial city of Jiangxia in one fell swoop and kill the old thief Li." Killed with one shot! Even if it fails, Jiangxia can be turned upside down! Jiangxia is Li Zicheng's old camp. The loyal king's army from all over the country accepts the command of the marching chief of the Zhongwang Mansion in Jiangxia Imperial City. Once the command fails, the loyal king's army will It is possible to fall into chaos, and then the northern line will be able to hit Hankou with overwhelming force! As long as Jiangxia and Hankou are captured by us, Li Zicheng's navy will easily be stuck downstream."
Lin Xingzhu was from the Zheng Jiajun, and he was good at water affairs. He nodded and said: "As long as we capture Hankou and Hanyang, it will not be difficult to block the Yangtze River. After all, Li Zicheng's naval forces have now gone downstream, and they are going upstream to attack the pontoon bridge of the Suojiang River. It’s very difficult.”
Wu Shijue smiled and nodded, and then watched the boat slowly sailing towards the dock outside Hanyang Gate of Jiangxia City.
Because of Li Zicheng's good management, the area around Hanyang Gate Wharf outside Jiangxia City is extremely prosperous. Not only have many wharves been built, but also many restaurants, shops and hotels have been built along the city. Even at night, it is a bustling scene. There are even few Hanyang Gate in Jiangxia City. It will be closed at night. In Li Zicheng's opinion, there was no need. There were many cannons placed on the city walls on both sides of Hanyang Gate, and a battalion of defenders were stationed. Moreover, although the city gate was not closed, there were wooden fences blocking the entry and exit of the crowd - this was Used to check taxes. Merchants have to pay taxes when they bring goods into the city! Moreover, the loyal king's army guarding the gate is also very elite and not so easy to deal with.
Therefore, there is no need to close the door every day and affect the city's commercial activities.
Amidst the rain and snow, many ships were crowded at Hanyangmen Pier. Only a few berths were empty on the west side of the pier.
Lin Xingzhu had a sullen face and ordered the people around him: "Send the signal!"
A soldier raised a lantern and flicked it three times to the left and three times to the right.
There was no movement at all on the other side.
Wu Shijue and Lin Xingzhu looked at each other, both a little nervous. After waiting again, Wu Shijue lowered his voice, his tone full of anxiety and urgency: "Send the signal again!"
At this moment, a lantern emitting pale light also appeared on the empty pier. It also swayed in the air for a few times, driving the surrounding rain and snow. From a distance, it looked like a swaying halo. generally.
Lin Xingzhu sighed: "It seems that our brothers are quite reliable! At least they can reserve a pier for us to land on. Later, I will bring the sword player to go first, and you will bring the shotgun soldiers to cover. Let's grab it in one go. Hanyang Gate!”
The fleet finally docked silently at the pier. There were not that many berths on the pier, so the hundreds of grain ships could only be connected side by side one by one, and then tied up with cables, just like Prime Minister Cao's chain ships.
At this time, the "sailors and merchants" on the ship took out their own weapons from the pile of food covered by oilcloth, most of which were flintlock guns, and a small number of them were swords.
Lin Xingzhu took dozens of sword players and set off to Hunchengmen first. I saw them using the round rattan shield as a rainproof bamboo hat, clasping it on their heads, holding a pistol in one hand and a machete in the other, and headed towards Hanyang Gate together. Because these people were all wearing raincoats, and it was already very dark at the moment, it was difficult for people from a little distance to see clearly these people holding machetes and flintlock guns, and the loyal soldiers guarding the Hanyang Gate. I saw a large group of customers in coir raincoats and bamboo hats approaching.
"Stop! What kind of person?"
A soldier of the loyal king's army, holding a spear and standing sentry outside Hanyang Gate, roared.
Lin Xingzhu acted as if he didn't hear anything and just kept moving forward with his head covered.
"stop!"
"If you don't stop, we'll shoot!"
The soldier on guard was accompanied by a shotgun soldier. At this time, he had leveled the shotgun in his hand, but the matchlock of the shotgun was not lit!
Of course Lin Xingzhu was not afraid of the musket without the matchlock, but he quickened his pace. The "guests in hats" following him also sped up and rushed forward at a trot.
At this time, there were some pedestrians outside Jiangxia Hanyang Gate, as well as some porters waiting in line to pass tax cards. Suddenly, they were rushed by Lin Xingzhu's people, and everything became chaos.
Others shouted: "What are you doing? Queue up! Why don't you guys queue up?"
"That's right! Are you in a hurry to reincarnate? Why don't you line up?"
Lin Xingzhu had already raised his pistol at this time and shouted: "There's a fight, get out of the way!"
Someone else said casually: "You have to queue up even when fighting!"
Then someone reacted: "Oh, no, the enemy is attacking."
"Bah! Bah! Bah"
"Kill!"
Then the gunshots and shouts of death became louder!
There were not many loyal soldiers guarding the gate, and they were not mentally prepared to fight the enemy. When they saw the chaos outside Hanyang Gate, they were ready to rush out to maintain order. However, they were met with a burst of gunfire, and they immediately knocked down several people. indivual!
But the remaining soldiers of the loyal king's army were still very brave. Instead of scattering, they rushed forward to fight with swords and guns. At this time, Lin Xingzhu had put away his pistol, took off the shield on his head, and with a knife in one hand and a shield in the other, like a "Fujian tiger", he pounced on a loyal king's soldier holding a spear. The soldier showed no sign of weakness and stabbed Lin Xingzhu in the chest with his spear.
Jiangxia, the imperial city.
Li Zicheng was having dinner at this time. The Wuchang Ramen he had tonight was made with mutton and mutton soup. It was so delicious!
Li Zicheng has regained a little bit of the feeling he had when he was the King of Chuang. At that time, his favorite thing to eat was a bowl of hot mutton noodles, preferably with Li Guo, Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu, Yuan Zongdi, and Liu Tiren. , Gao Yigong and this group of old guys eat together. While eating, they talked and laughed loudly, talking about how they would conquer the world in the future.
Thinking that these old friends from the past were no longer here, Li Zicheng couldn't help but burst into tears. While crying, he murmured to himself: "It's all my fault. It's all my fault. Why can't I stand firm in the world?" ? If I had sat down more firmly, the big guy wouldn’t have died so miserably."
This is not the first time that he has cried. The servants who guard him and the female officials in Prince Zhong's Mansion are used to it!
At this moment, Hu Yiqiang's roar suddenly sounded outside the door: "Old Emperor, Old Emperor, it's not good, Wu Sangui's soldiers are coming!"
Wow.
Li Zicheng stood up suddenly and accidentally knocked a bowl of Wuchang Ramen on the table to the ground.
"One shot, what do you mean?"
"Your Majesty, Wu Sangui's soldiers suddenly attacked Hanyang Gate in Jiangxia."
Li Zicheng snorted and his eyes widened angrily: "Well done, I was thinking of going to find that man named Wu to avenge my old brothers!"
(End of chapter)
