The news that Huang Taiji proclaimed himself emperor quickly spread throughout the world.
All the commotion everywhere was stopped, and everyone's eyes turned to Liaodong.
Everyone understood what this move meant.
Throughout the Ming Dynasty, people in particular were in panic.
The loyal people are worried and thinking hard about good strategies; the depressed people have other ideas in mind.
Chongzhen sat there for three days and three nights, and held court for the first time.
The destruction of the ancestral mausoleum last year did not make him so uncomfortable.
When he thought that from now on, there would be someone in this world who could actually sit shoulder to shoulder with him, he felt miserable.
The emperor's strange behavior made the government and the public even more uneasy.
Han Chuan quickly entered the palace and wanted to ask to see Chongzhen, but was stopped by Wang Chengen.
"Your Majesty is ill and is taking a rest. As soon as the situation arises, Han Tongzhi will go find the elders."
Han Chuan stamped his feet and looked eager.
"My lord, there is news from Shandong. Zuo Menggeng will proclaim himself King Jianji in three days, and name him Xia. He will divide our territory in the Ming Dynasty!"
After hearing the news, Wang Chengen was a little shaken, and an unprecedented fatigue filled his body.
"Our family...understands."
Han Chuan wanted to say something more, but Huang Ping quickly jumped in front.
"Han Tongzhi is loyal to the country and fulfills his responsibilities. The emperor and ancestors see it. How to make a decision is yet to be discussed. Please be patient and don't be impatient."
Only then did Han Chuan realize that he had overstepped his authority.
He quickly apologized and turned to leave.
Huang Ping watched him leave, and when he turned back, he suddenly found that Wang Chengen's temples seemed pale. His face, which was usually red, now had several wrinkles.
He quickly ran over and helped Wang Chengen obediently.
"The situation is difficult and complicated, and we need our ancestors to calm down and help Emperor Zuo to stabilize the country."
Wang Chengen let him support him and staggered towards the harem.
"You call yourself king and he calls you emperor. None of them take Ming Dynasty seriously."
Although Wang Chengen felt sorry for Chongzhen, he did not dare to hide such a major event. He carefully approached Chongzhen and tried to speak several times, but he couldn't bring himself to do so.
Chongzhen didn't look up, but he felt something.
"But there's bad news again? Tell me, I can bear it."
Wang Chengen sighed secretly, and while observing Chongzhen's expression, he said cautiously: "The news from the Jin Yiwei is that Shandong Zuo Menggeng has become the king."
It was obvious that Chongzhen's hand holding the beads tightened, but on the surface he was very calm.
"Since Huang Taiji dares to proclaim himself emperor, what does it matter if Zuo Menggeng proclaims himself king? Everything depends on me, the Ming Dynasty. When will the northwest bandits be pacified, and when will the Ming Dynasty be resurrected? I warn Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng, no matter what, after this year, We must put down thieves inside."
Seeing that there was nothing wrong with Chongzhen, Wang Chengen felt somewhat relieved and quickly took orders to draft the decree.
As soon as he left, Chongzhen started coughing violently. When I wiped it with a handkerchief, I saw it was covered with blood.
On May 12th of the ninth year of Chongzhen, Zuo Menggeng took off the simple casual clothes he usually wore, put on a black embroidered dragon dress, and wore a nine-pin crown facing the sky. He ascended the altar in the presence of countless soldiers and civilians.
The process is basically the same as Huang Taiji.
Offer incense, offer gifts, inform the ancestors of heaven and earth, and issue edicts.
From now on, Zuo Menggeng will be officially crowned King of Xia. All territories under the Shandong regime officially call themselves "Xia".
On this day, all places where Ming Dynasty borders Shandong saw the dazzling red flags rising on the opposite side, with the sun and the moon shining brightly.
From now on, Xia Zheng is different from Ming Dynasty, stands on its own in the world, and forms its own entity.
Facing two independent forces at the same time, the Ming Dynasty had no choice.
As Chongzhen said, the Ming Dynasty itself was full of problems. If the internal strife is not quelled, the external troubles cannot be solved.
The more times like this come, the more people in the Ming Dynasty will feel the danger of the northwest rogue bandits.
Living up to Chongzhen's expectations, Lu Xiangsheng stood up at this difficult moment.
After more than three months of suppression, Lu Xiangsheng finally pacified more than 300 tributary bandit forces, large and small, in Henan.
The territory of Henan is safe.
With his worries relieved, Lu Xiangsheng knew that it was time to deal with Gao Yingxiang.
On May 30th, Lu Xiangsheng ordered his troops and horses in Ruzhou, marched westward, and began to press against Gao Yingxiang.
At the same time, he wrote to Hong Chengchou, hoping that the other party would cooperate and attack Gao Yingxiang completely.
At this time, Hong Chengchou had already fought more than ten battles with Li Zicheng in Shaanxi.
However, both sides have their own advantages and disadvantages, so no one can do anything about the other.
Li Zicheng could not conquer the major cities and passes of Shaanxi, and could only wander around the poor and remote areas of northern Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia.
Hong Chengchou had too few troops and did not dare to spread out too much, lest he be defeated one by one by Li Zicheng. They can only guard various traffic arteries and protect the safety of major cities such as Xi'an, Hanzhong, and Lanzhou.
Lu Xiangsheng invited him to attack Gao Yingxiang, which was exactly what he wanted.
Hong Chengchou knew very well that only by solving Gao Yingxiang, who was wandering between Hanzhong and Henan, could the large number of troops stranded in the Central Plains be transferred to Shaanxi to deal with other rogue bandits.
In order to complete this plan, Hong Chengchou simply abandoned all the poor and remote areas, leaving only a small number of troops to guard the big city.
He personally led the main force eastwards to compress Gao Yingxiang's space for activities.
During this period of time, Lu Xiangsheng began to pursue and beat Gao Yingxiang.
He has muskets and artillery purchased from Shandong in his hands, and his combat effectiveness is far beyond what Gao Yingxiang can match.
Finally, after the Battle of Nanshan, Gao Yingxiang's troops finally recovered some of their strength and suffered heavy losses again.
Seeing that there was nothing he could do, Gao Yingxiang could only lead the remaining troops to the west and enter Shaanxi.
Lu Xiangsheng took advantage of the situation to cover up the attack, completely blocking Gao Yingxiang's return to the Central Plains.
He seemed to have seen the scene where Gao Yingxiang's entire army was wiped out and he was captured without a fight.
But just when he was gearing up and wanting to complete his victory in one battle, an urgent military situation from eight hundred miles away came from the north, and the messengers crawled into his commander's tent.
"Your Majesty, the Jurchen army of 100,000 has broken through the barriers and entered many important places in Datong and Xuanfu. It is now approaching the capital. This is the edict of His Majesty King Qin. Please do not delay, Your Majesty."
Lu Xiangsheng's eyesight went dark and he almost wanted to vomit blood.
It was completely unexpected that at this critical moment, the Jurchens from Liaodong would come to join in the fun.
The opportunity to annihilate Gao Yingxiang is right in front of him. How can he be willing to let it go?
However, the capital was the seat of the Ming Dynasty, and the emperor's safety depended on it. If there is no timely rescue, once it is conquered by the Manchus, wouldn't it mean that the Ming Dynasty will be destroyed?
Lu Xiangsheng can still distinguish the importance of it.
In desperation, he could only lead his army north to the capital to rescue King Qin.
As for Gao Yingxiang who is right in front of us...
Lu Xiangsheng could only arrange for Zuo Liangyu and others to guard the main road to prevent him from returning to Henan.
He thought that if he left, Gao Yingxiang would relapse again.
However, he didn't know that a ruthless man was coming to Shaanxi at this time.
This ruthless man was currently staring at the map of Xi'an and Hanzhong, and began to plan.
