Relying on the connections accumulated through years of close cooperation with the Jin merchants, the Liao thieves could not be said to have received the news of the military operations of Li Zicheng's Dashun army in Shanxi, but they would not be much later than Emperor Chongzhen in Beijing.

One after another, the emergency military situation was hidden by the Jin merchants and Liao thieves, and the eyeliner quickly went north. Crossing the border walls of the two towns of Datong and Xuanfu, under the relay relay of the Mongolian departments and beylers, they changed horses without changing people, and passed to Shengjing at an expedited speed of 800 miles.

However, unfortunately, this news not only shocked Dolgon and other Manchurian nobles, but also made Hong Chengchou's face crackle.

First of all, the Yellow River defense was broken through by the Dashun army in one day, not only crossing the Yellow River, but also taking Shilou, Xiaoyi and other places in one go. A consolidated territory was established in the Hedong region, which became a springboard for the Dashun army to attack Shanxi, and tens of thousands of troops could follow this springboard to kill in all directions.

Originally, the Yellow River, which could consume tens of thousands of elites in Dashun in the mouth of Hong Chengchou, just flowed quietly between the riverbed valleys.

"It's okay!" Holding the secret report from Shanxi in his hand, although Hong Chengchou's face was slightly hot, he still had words in his mouth in the face of the stunned and questioning eyes of Dolgon, Azig, Duoduo, Aobai, He Luohui and others. "I think it was because the generals guarding the river defense were bought by thieves early, or they were cowardly, and there were people who retreated without a fight."

This is a reasonable and reasonable explanation. Which of these banner lords and princes of Manchuria is not experienced in fighting the Ming army? They know better than anyone else about the urine nature of the Ming army. The so-called one-touch collapse is the superior soldiers, the one who looks at the wind and collapses is the medium-class soldiers, and the one who hears the wind and collapses is the normal soldiers. Come to think of it, the general who guarded the river defense was facing a large stream of thieves clamoring to cross the river. can still support it a little, and it can be regarded as a team that can fight in the Ming army.

However, no matter how capable the team is, the soldiers also have to eat and feed their families. You let a group of soldiers who have been owed wages for months or even more than a year go to kill the enemy desperately for those old men who have become pot-bellied and fat-brained by drinking the blood of soldiers, how stupid are they?! Just shout twice from the enemy on the opposite side. Immediately abandon the armor and drag the soldiers away, the brain is flexible, and there is a backbone in the back of the head, so he can't say that he will go to kill the official and rebel with the thief!

"Although the thief Li Chuang was lucky enough to cross the Yellow River, he harassed the Three Jins. It successively occupied Jiexiu, Lingshi, Huozhou, Puxian, Jixian, Guxian and other places, and the soldiers pointed directly at Pingyang Mansion, an important place in southern Jin. However, Binh Duong has always been known for its sturdiness. And there are many officials and gentry in the city, and Li Zicheng's department is bound to suffer heavy casualties under this Lying Niu City! ”

Hong Chengchou is very sure to give a definition of the upcoming Linfen attack.

But. Within a few days, under the fierce artillery fire of the Dashun army, the officials and gentry sacrificed the Linfen city wall, announced that they would return to Dashun, and work with the Holy Son of Heaven to hang the people and destroy the tyrant.

Rao is Inspector Hong has been in officialdom for a long time, and his face has already been trained very thickly. But it also shows a slight cinnabar color.

What also worries the princes and Baylors is another military situation. That is, Li Zicheng, the emperor of Yongchang in Dashun, personally commanded the army to cross the Yellow River. Rendezvous with Liu Zongmin in Linfen and prepare to launch an attack on Taiyuan, the governor of Shanxi.

"Kou Dazhi, three hundred miles, feathers and iron armor, dazzling. The dust rises, and the day is twilight; The horse neighed. The sea boils and the mountains destroy. ”

"The civil and military officials of the land are all looking for the wind to fall, or the gentlemen are fighting for the head of the chaos, dragging their clothes upside down, and hurrying away, and they are worthy of mercy and righteousness to welcome Allah."

Fan Wencheng, who was demoted to the third level and retained. Standing in the main hall, reciting to everyone the description of the situation of the Dashun army in Shanxi sent by the detailed work and friendly people in front of him, the princes of the Manchurian, Mongolian and Han Three Banners present were all frightened!

"God looks at it, and he only seeks it. The people returned, and only cut the Su. Life is normal, and love is especially visible. In the past generations of Yueji, we know the reasons for gains and losses; Learn from the past and know the present, and every time you know the reason. Advisor Ming Dynasty, Jiu Xi Taining, Prison Relaxation Discipline. The king is not very dark, isolated and eternal; Ministers do their best to do their own thing, and they are less loyal to the party than the party. even bribed the palace, and the prestige of the end of the day moved; The gentry is good at it, and the fat ointment of Lu Zuo is exhausted. The princes all eat meat, and they are the heart; The eunuch learned about the chaff dog and dolphin, and borrowed its ears and eyes. There are many prisoners, and there is no heart to repay the courtesy; There are many requisitions, and the people have the hatred of dying. The sky is poor and benevolent, causing the people to suffer from disasters. I picked up my cloth clothes and witnessed the haggard shape, and the pain of the body was cut and drooled. Nian Zi Putian led the land, and Xian was poor and poor; Patience is easy to water swallow mountain, not Su soup fire. Bow to Hengji and appease Qianli. He is still worried about Erjun Erchen, but he has not reached the emperor's heart, and he has not expressed his intentions. It is a righteous statement with questioning: Er can think of the ancestors, judge a few virtues, and I will benefit my predecessors, and I will not hesitate to make a difference. Such as the Song Dynasty, enjoy the eternal extinction, with the filial piety of Zhanger; There is a room and a home, and the people are celebrated, and the benevolence of Zhanger is used. Fanzi 100 workers, barely Bao Naipi, the Houlu of the cotton merchant Sun, the rest of the Jiake. Restraint and convulsion, friendship and friendship. But now the edict is allowed. Jun Qi thoughts, reckless resentment against the sect workers, don't be in danger of the ministers. He is cautious, loyal to his father, and has a wide range of valleys. The first year of Yongchang is hereby edicted. ”

Ning Wan, who was also demoted and punished, finished reading the edict issued by Li Zicheng to Emperor Yongchang of Dashun, and for a while, the hall was silent. People are already shouting to the world in the tone of the emperor, if they look at him as the leader of the thieves, wouldn't it be a joke?

At the same time, the Dashun army ordered Liu Fangliang, the general of the left battalion system and the Marquis of Ci, to lead tens of thousands of troops and horses to Jining Road and other places to accept the surrender of officials from all over the country, and at the same time, carefully monitored the headquarters of Li Huayu of the Nanyue Army in Zhangde Mansion, Huaiqing Mansion, Weihui Mansion and other places.

"A Liu Zongmin led Zhang Nai, Bai Wang, a second-rate general among the thieves, and beat the Shanxi Ming army to the head of the rat, and the situation collapsed in various places, if Li Chuang himself personally led the army to come, the fierce generals in the Shun army arrived, Shanxi and Datong two places, can they be defended?"

Yue Le, who rose to prominence in the Liaodong War, is now also the banner lord in charge, although there are many cronies of Dolgon in his subordinates, but his powerful position is not the same. His worries are precisely the worries of all the princes present. With such a strong army, if we enter the customs and accidentally go head-to-head with it, we will inevitably suffer heavy losses, so what will happen then?

Dolgon heard that everyone echoed Yue Le's words, and he didn't speak, just gestured to Hong Chengchou with his eyes.

"Ladies and gentlemen, listen to me." Hong Chengchou thinks very highly of himself on weekdays. Although he claimed to be a slave in front of Dolgon, Dolgon was the head of the entire Qing Dynasty, and his position of power was extraordinary. In front of these princes, he disdained to call himself a slave.

"The city of Taiyuan is strong, and there is a Jin king here. There are many officials. The gentry gathered, there were many soldiers and horses, and the food and salary were sufficient. And there is Shanxi Governor Cai Maode stationed here, thinking that the thieves may not be able to get benefits! ”

Cai Maode is a person who is more familiar to these Manchu nobles. Because he had served in Ningyuan for many years and fought many times with the Qing army, he could be regarded as a person who was good at leading troops.

At the beginning of Chongzhen, he became the deputy envoy of Jiangxi to learn from Jiangxi, so as to teach the students with Shouren's "Theory of the Source of the Extraction of the Book". Roughly the introduction of the Buddha's family. Moved to Zhejiang to participate in politics, and guarded Jiaxing and Huzhou. There are more than 1,000 thieves and ugly people, and they haunt Taihu Lake. Mao De said: "This can be captured." "Summoned the wealthy family near the lake, put his crime, Jian Zhuangshi and the same hair, and then arrested the ugly. They all said: "Maode knows the soldiers." "Internal hardship, subdued, and prepared for the well. Drought. Maud prays, i.e. rain. Others are vying to pray. It's raining again. Tune Ningyuan, to guard Songshan and repair the fort, a few narratives. There will be disasters and different words, and Maode is on the "Province" and "Zhiping", and the rules are cut to the monarch, and the salty laughter is roundabout for a while.

Maude is a good one. The discipline is like an ascetic head. Yang Sichang said that it was weak in Qing cultivation, and it was not suitable to be in the border area, so he changed Jinan Road. Jinan is newly dilapidated, and there is a shortage of officials, and Mao De has two divisions and three seals. Moved to Shandong Province as an envoy and Henan as a political envoy. The fields are barren and the valleys are expensive. The people are urging the department, and the thieves are instigated by the first service and not losing the rent. Maode urgently suspended the levy in Zhou County, and the upper sparse self-impeachment, and the edict engraved the seventh-level matter. In the winter of the fourteenth year, he was promoted to the right of the imperial history and patrolled Shanxi. Summon, give wine and food, silver coins. In the spring of next year, he will arrive and seek peace with the crown of the thief. In October, the commander of the army entered the Weijing Division, and the edict guarded Longquan and Guguan two passes.

It is because of his political achievements, not only good at governing civil affairs, but also accustomed to the use of soldiers, "the emperor is convinced, so there is this arrangement." And in Taiyuan City, there are talented Fu Shan and others, such as Zhao Jianji, the political envoy, Bi Gongchen of Xunning Dao, Mao Bingyi of Shouning Dao, Lin Gangzhong of Grain Dao, Sun Kangzhou, Taiyuan Prefect, Li Zhicheng of Shanxi Tixue Dao and others are all outstanding people, and they can deal with Li Chuang and others for several months! ”

Out of understanding Cai Maode and others, Inspector Hong once again swore that he had made a prediction of the Taiyuan Battle for the princes, and everyone was skeptical when they heard it, but they knew Cai Maode's ability and temperament. This guy who is usually as disciplined as an ascetic head can indeed be called tenacious.

However, Hong Chengchou only counted Cai Maode's personal character and ability, but he did not take into account the character of the clan, officials and gentry of the entire Shanxi and even the entire Ming Dynasty.

As the governor of Shanxi, Cai Maode faced not only the heavy pressure of the Dashun army, but also the huge pressure brought to him by various intricate interest groups such as Shanxi officialdom, clans, gentry, and magnates.

Originally, as a provincial governor, he personally went to Pingyang to deploy river defense matters, thinking of holding the Yellow River crossing and blocking the Dashun army outside Shanxi. However, there is a saying that the emperor does not send hungry soldiers, because of the lack of food and salary, the army has been in arrears for a long time, and the soldiers have no fighting spirit. So, he asked the two county kings of the Jin Domain, Xihe and Jiaocheng, who were sealed in Pingyang, to take the lead in "persuading the gentlemen and the people to donate", but he never thought that the scene in Luoyang would be re-staged in Pingyang. Not a single person in the whole city agreed to donate money.

The river defense plan has not yet been implemented, and the king of Jin sent people to urge him to return to Taiyuan to defend the city. When he returned to Taiyuan, Pingyang had already been sacrificed by the gentry. And the inspector Wang Zongyou impeached him for giving up Pingyang without authorization. Chongzhen got the performance, and immediately ordered him to be dismissed from the court without asking for reason, and Guo Jingchang was sent to take over as the governor of Shanxi. As soon as Guo Jingchang arrived in Guguan, he received the news that the rebels occupied Fenzhou, and he did not dare to go to Taiyuan to take up his post. Although Cai Maode has been dismissed, his replacement has not yet arrived, so he has no choice but to plan with Zhao Jianji, the political envoy, Bi Gongchen and others how to hold Taiyuan.

Cai Maode faced this difficult and embarrassing situation, and saw that the people everywhere were panicked and the people's feelings were boiling, and officials from all over the country were looking forward to the offensive of the Dashun army, and they were helpless for a while. However, after all, he was an official from a literati background, and there was a famous Fu Shan by his side, and after a little deduction between the two of them, they had an idea to calm people's hearts and stabilize the situation.

Soon, a post signed "Qin Min Kingdom Tai, Li Da'an" was posted everywhere inside and outside the Taiyuan Provincial City overnight, and the general content of the post was "The Misery of Thieves and Poison and Strangulation", telling the people of Taiyuan that if you can't defend Taiyuan City, then the land of Sanqin is today. It is the tomorrow of this ancient city of Jinyang! At the same time, a nursery rhyme was widely sung by children in and around the city.

"It's hard for horses to walk inside the door, and this year it's Bi Ma Wen again."

The gentlemen who dismantled the characters and told the fortune on the street thought that the horse was inside the door, it was a word and it was difficult to walk. It means that the goal is difficult to achieve. This year happens to be the Year of the Monkey again, and the ancestor of the monkey, Monkey King, has been given the official position of Heavenly Court. There are also many folk legends that monkeys can avoid horse plague. This also means that Li Chuang will not be able to achieve great things in the Year of the Monkey.

Finally calmed down all kinds of rumors in the city. However, the soldiers and horses of the Dashun army also appeared in the territory of Taiyuan Prefecture.

The army has already descended to the city, and Zhu Qiugui, the king of Jin, is also worried that he will follow in the footsteps of King Fu. So, he took out three thousand taels of silver with tears and sent it to the city to "recruit dead soldiers to kill thieves". However, those who are good at dying are generally stingy when they learn from the king. Officials are just as greedy in general! Li Zhichen, a scholar from Shanxi Province who handled this matter, deducted it from it and replaced the cash with Ji Gong paper tickets, and the morale of the Ming army, which was already without fighting spirit, was even lowered.

In the early morning of the camp of the Dashun army, the governor of the standard camp opened the new south gate and surrendered, and the Dashun army occupied Taiyuan. Zhu Qiugui, the king of Jin, was captured alive, Cai Maode committed suicide, and Zhao Jianji, the political envoy, Bi Gongchen of Xunning Dao, Mao Bingyi of Shouning Dao, Lin Gangzhong, and Sun Kangzhou, the prefect of Taiyuan, were all executed. After Li Zhicheng of Shanxi Tixue Dao was captured, he knelt in front of the generals of the Dashun Army and said: "This Dao has been in office for three months. has not yet entered the examination booth", trying his best to wash himself. Han Lin, a scribe who served in the Dashun Army, also interceded for it. "This world is also a scholar".

Under the mediation of Niu Jinxing, Li Zhixi, a Shanxi scholar who helped the Dashun army to capture Taiyuan, was hired by Dashun and stayed in Shanxi, organized and presided over the examination, and selected civil officials.

When this document was placed in front of Hong Chengchou, the many banner lords in the entire hall, the prince and the ministers of Baylor, were silent. All waiting to see how he explained it.

In addition, after the main force under the command of Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin conquered Taiyuan, an army was divided into an army led by generals Ren Jirong and Ma Chongxi to go east out of Guguan, echoing Liu Fangliang on the southern front and cooperating with the north and south. Liu Fangliang's department has tens of thousands of horses. In addition to continuing to guard the Nanyue army in the three provinces of Hebei, he also waved his army northward to capture Xingtai, Handan, Hejian and other places, all the way to the wind, and went north at an average rate of at least one city per day.

And Ren Jirong and Ma Chongxi are soldiers who are directly aiming at Zhending (now Zhengding) and threatening Baoding.

Li Zicheng, Liu Zongmin and others personally led the main force along the road of Taiyuan, Ningwu and Biguan all the way north to Datong and marched rapidly, the purpose of which was very simple and clear, that is, to eliminate the defenders of Datong and take the entire land of Sanjin into the bag.

Others are vested in Longfu Wangshu, coming from north to south, from east to west. Li Zicheng's Shun army was the opposite, marching from south to north and from west to east.

With his keen sense of officialdom observation and smell, Hong Chengchou realized the contradictions in the civil official system within the Dashun Army from the fact that Niu Jinxing protected Shanxi Tixuedao. The civil officials of the Kejia department, led by Niu Jinxing, who were educated in traditional Confucianism, were very dissatisfied with the administrative power of the civil officials of the Qin and legal systems. I want to expand my influence and strength by recruiting rebels and organizing exams.

"If Li Chuang also organized a scientific expedition in Shanxi, this person will definitely return to the heart of the world." Since ancient times, scholars have never looked at whether the person who sat on the dragon chair and called himself a lonely widow was a Chinese person, but whether he respected Confucianism. So it was with Kublai Khan, and so it was with Dolgon. As long as you respect Confucianism, you are the legitimate government of the Mandate of Heaven.

Prince Yu Duoduo didn't care that Hong Chengchou's mind was churning at this time, and when he was annoyed that Li Zicheng was about to determine his legal status among scholars, he opened his voice and asked Dolgon.

"Regent! This Taiyuan provincial city has not been defended, and those small cities in the future are still guarding a fart!? In the eyes of this king, it is better to tell the nomadic Mongolian tribes near the border wall to increase their precautions and retreat a little north, lest Li Zicheng fight to the side wall on a whim and let these Mongols cushion his horses' hooves! ”

Dolgon snorted, expressing some dissatisfaction with Duoduo's behavior of destroying his prestige, and then turned his head to Hong Chengchou and asked: "Mr. Hong, you are familiar with the affairs in Shanxi, this Taiyuan is on the same line, but what else is comparable to the danger of the Yellow River?" What famous generals can resist Li Chuang's army? ”

Hong Chengchou pondered for a long time in the dozens of eyes of everyone, racking his brains but he couldn't think of any dangerous passes, strong armies, and famous generals that could be compared with Taiyuan, the Yellow River and other passes, and comparable to the talents and conduct of Cai Maode and others.

However, he is also experienced and knows how to divert attention when confronted with such problems.

"Lord Wang, it's okay. According to the minions' expectations, even if Li Chuang's army succeeded in going north for a while, don't forget that there is still a tiger lying on his southern flank! His soldiers and horses attacked the city in the land of the Three Jin Dynasty, went out of the Taihang Mountain, took Zhending, Xingtai, Handan and other places, which can be said to be majestic. Could it be that Governor Li Huayu and Li Da in Jinan Mansion can swallow this breath? ”

"As expected by the minions, I am afraid that if Li Chuang's soldiers and horses on the northern line have not reached Datong, Liu Fangliang on the southern line will clash with Li Huayu's subordinates! At that time, the Shun army and the southern army will fight in the land of Jifu, and the prince will be able to carry out Bian Zhuang's plan to stab the tiger! ”

Hong Chengchou was there with his eyebrows fluttering to describe such a bright prospect for everyone, and Zhang Jing, who was on duty outside the hall, hurriedly ran in with a document that had just been delivered and handed it to Fan Wencheng.

"Master! Great joy! Fan Wencheng deliberately used an octave higher voice to embarrass Hong Chengchou, which can be regarded as a little revenge for his rapid popularity these days.

"The thieves got up from Taiyuan on the 16th, crossed the Yanmen Pass on the 20th, and the soldiers arrived in Ningwu on the 21st.

Along with this latest war report, there was also a description of the terrain of Ningwu Pass, as well as the situation of Zhou Yuji.

Zhou Yuji, the word Cui Bei, Liaodong Jinzhou Weiren. Straightforward, with little courage, he later entered the army, used more soldiers and resourcefulness, took the lead in battle, and accumulated merit to the Beijing camp guerrilla. The Beijing camp will be the children of many officials, and when they meet Ji Zhilu, they will be light. Yu Ji said: "The public is a disciple, how can it be a great enemy. Why don't you practice courage when you have nothing to do, and use it for a different day, and do it in vain!" Peers laughed at him.

Zhou Yuji successively followed Zhang Fengyi, Sun Yingyuan, Yang Sichang and others to fight with the peasant army in Henan, Huguang and other places.

Yes? Everyone turned their attention to Hong Chengchou, who was still saying just now that there would be no big war between Taiyuan and Datong.

Hong Chengchou's face was sweating like a spring. (To be continued.) )

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