Zhang Cheng knew very well that there were many reasons for the destruction of Luoyang City. As early as when the bandits were ravaging the land of western Henan, Lu Weiqi, the Minister of War in Nanjing, who was still in Luoyang City, was deeply aware of the seriousness of the situation.
He hurriedly gave King Fu some advice: "Three years of famine have never been heard of before. The villages and towns were all starved to death, and the cities were killing people and eating them. Bandits were entrenched everywhere, and combined with tens of thousands of bandits, they destroyed Lushan, Jiaxian, and The three counties of Yiyang and within six days, they defeated the two counties of Yiyang and Yongning.
The thieves are surging, and they are eager to peep into Luo. Nothing is invincible, nothing is invincible. Moreover, there is a danger that the hungry people’s thoughts will be confused, and that the hearts of the people will be disintegrated. Moreover, none of the soldiers from Futai arrived. Although there were Cao and Yi soldiers, they had no food and pay, and the men on the battlements on the city walls were all in the shape of ghosts with dove faces and were dying. There is no one to rely on in the city, and there is a danger that all the eggs will be exposed in the morning. "
Lu Weiqi hoped that King Fu Zhu Yousong could urge Henan Governor Li Xianfeng to send troops to Luoyang to strengthen the city defense. He also suggested that King Fu, for the sake of his own wealth and life, use money and food to solve the salary arrears problem of the defenders in the city to motivate the sergeants.
Lu Weiqi even used the fall of Yongning City as a reference, saying that the clan officials and gentry in the two cities were careless, relying on the weather for their daily lives, making no plans, not giving up any money, and not listening to a word. Even though they are biting their navels now, they regret it. What's the benefit?
He fully hoped that Zhu Changxun would not act as a short-sighted miser and end up in a position where he could not reach his navel.
However, how could Zhu Changxun of the Fu clan, who wanted money rather than life, and was famous for his greed and stinginess, listen to him? Not only did he not take out any money, but he turned a deaf ear to the raging thieves and continued to sing and dance all day long, eating, drinking and having fun.
It was not until the intruders gathered troops outside Luoyang City and almost surrounded the huge Luoyang City that King Fu Zhu Changxun, who was used to being domineering and domineering, realized that he was worried.
He had to put down his arrogance and personally inspect the defense of Luoyang, encouraging the sergeants and people to defend the city. He also reluctantly gave out some silver and grain rice to boost the morale of the people and encourage the city defenders.
Although King Fu had no choice but to spend money to recruit death squads to resist desperately, how could such a rabble stop Li Zicheng's tiger and wolf army.
Regarding the death of King Fu, there have been three more famous versions in history.
But the third theory is the most widely circulated, that is, King Fu was cooked and eaten by Li Zicheng with venison, and it was also called the "Fulu Banquet".
Zhang Cheng, however, believes that this statement is simply nonsense. This statement is only popular in unofficial histories, and it is also widely popular in contemporary people and folklore in the early Qing Dynasty.
It was only because it was more interesting and could slander Li Zicheng and the Ming Dynasty vassal kings that it was connived by the Qing Dynasty officials and spread widely. Moreover, it was not concerned about the scarcity but the inequality. Hatred of the rich was the mainstream at that time. This kind of The explanation is more relieving.
In fact, it is not difficult to imagine how this "Fu Lu Banquet" rumor came about.
At that time, the Qing army had just entered the customs and occupied Beijing for the first time. The war had not yet subsided. The Nanming army was very powerful in Nanjing, and the remaining forces of the intruder Li Zicheng were also fighting fiercely with the Qing army in Huguang.
In order to divide the two anti-Qing forces, the Qing army used rumors about Li Zicheng's deeds of stewing King Fu for the "Fulu Wine Party". As a result, the legend quickly spread across the country, in order to win over the Southern Ming Dynasty and the Great Empire. Following the differences between the two anti-Qing forces.
In this way, a rumor carefully fabricated by the invaders gradually became habitually accepted by people and has been spreading to this day!
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Zhang Cheng prefers the second version!
After the city of Luoyang was destroyed, the overweight King Zhu Changxun had difficulty moving, so he had to hide quietly in Ying'en Temple. However, he was discovered by a young monk in the temple and became a prisoner of the intruder Li Zicheng.
At the same time, more than 400 officials and gentry, including Lv Weiqi, the Minister of War in Nanjing, and Kang Menghui, the prefect of the Ming Dynasty, were captured. On the second day, in front of the Zhougong Temple in the west of the city, Prince Fu and the officials and gentry were publicly interrogated. The officials and gentry were beheaded in public.
For example, Mengjin County squire Sun Tingsheng, Xin'an County squire Wang Chaoshan, Song County squire Wang Yiming, etc. had previously fled with their families into Luoyang City, and they also tried their best to organize resistance. After the city was broken, they were all killed by Li Zicheng in front of the Zhougong Temple in the west of the city.
According to historical records, after the death of King Fu, his body was found in front of the Zhougong Temple. Two ministers from the prince's palace lay over the corpse and cried, and shouted: "The king is dead and does not want to live, so he begs for a coffin to collect the king's bones. I have no regrets about the powder." "
Li Zicheng praised his righteousness and promised to collect Prince Fu's body for burial. The two ministers used a one-inch paulownia coffin to carry Prince Fu's body on a broken cart. The two hanged themselves next to the cart.
This fact is more in line with Li Zicheng's current situation. After he obtained Luoyang City, he did not implement the strategy of overwhelming the city as before. Instead, he left Shao Shichang to lead 500 new troops to guard Luoyang City.
At this time, both Niu Jinxing and Li Yan had attached themselves to Li Zicheng, and even Song Xiance had become Li Zicheng's adviser. Li Zicheng also changed his behavior as a rogue bandit and became more determined to defend his territory.
Precisely because he wanted to conquer the world, Li Zicheng was busy gathering the hearts of the people. How could he cook and eat people alive? That would be despised by the world. With such a record, how could he dominate the world in the future.
It is true that Li Zicheng is a thief, but he is not a fool!
After weighing the pros and cons, he would definitely not be able to do something as shameful as the "Fu Lu Banquet"!
After a long time, Zhang Cheng also felt tired. Today's history is changing, everything in the future is unpredictable, and the road ahead is getting increasingly difficult. Only by acting carefully can we build a career in this troubled world.
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At noon on the second day, the sun shone brightly, which made Zhang Cheng and other soldiers feel a little warm while galloping.
The distance ahead was less than ten miles away. Zhang Cheng personally led more than a thousand fine cavalry to rest behind a dense forest. The surroundings were densely surrounded by sentries, and the front was also covered by the fine cavalry of the Ranger Department sent earlier.
Chen Zhong personally led the three rangers of the Ranger Department to conduct sentinel inspections in the direction of Yanshi in the north, while the two sentry rangers in the south were responsible for sentinel inspections in the directions of Dengfeng and Mi County respectively.
More than a hundred elite riders from the outpost of the Ranger Department, led by the sentry commander Ma Sanzhuang, are responsible for the sentinel inspection in the direction of Mi County. They are either in groups of five or ten people, galloping back and forth, almost blocking the road from Zhengzhou to Mi County. direction of the entire battlefield.
"Commander, the sentries report that there are nearly 20,000 thieves outside Mi County. Looking at the elite ones, there are also four to five thousand people. There are nearly a thousand horse thieves inside, and the rest are all foot thieves." Ma Sanzhuang was squatting. Zhang Cheng reported in front of him.
Zhang Cheng did not comment, and was smoking Yunzhou brand cigarettes. Ma Sanzhuang continued: "The thieves surrounded the north, southwest and south of Mi County, leaving only the east side empty. Judging from their formation, the main camp should be located in West of Mi County."
Zhang Cheng had just finished his last puff of cigarette. He dropped the cigarette butt. Ma Sanzhuang hurriedly stepped down and stamped it out. Zhang Cheng said, "Go, ask Quangda and the others to come over. We should go meet Li Jiyu." !”
