The messenger sent by Zuo Liangyu was Huang Shu, the former superintendent of the army.

Li Zicheng has a hunch that under the general trend of the Mandate of Heaven Army sweeping the world, perhaps Huang Shu can bring the message he expects, after the surrender of the Hongguang Small Court, in the hometown of the Ming Dynasty, the Mandate of Heaven Army has occupied most of the rich land, except for Jiangxi occupied by Zuo Liangyu, only the southwest border land remains.

While he went to the south of the Yangtze River, he also issued an edict to Zuo Liangyu, ordering Zuo Liangyu to follow the way of heaven and lead his troops to return to China this morning.

Zuo Liangyubu nominally returned to the Hongguang small court, and now the entire Hongguang small court has surrendered to Huaxia, and it is reasonable for Zuo Liangyu to reply and surrender at this time!

As for the heinous crimes committed by Zuo Liangyu's department in Linying County, Henan Province before, most of the culprits of that day have already been punished, and if Zuo Liangyu takes the initiative to surrender, he can only be forgiven for the time being.

Li Zicheng pondered alone in the imperial study for a moment, and then summoned Huang Shu.

Huang Shu followed He Xiaomi into the imperial study, saw Li Zicheng, and hurriedly made a big salute, "Villain Huang Shu, knock on the emperor!"

Li Zicheng was secretly happy in his heart, since Huang Shu had met with the courtesy of a courtier, Zuo Liangyu should have no fighting spirit, he was not worried about how strong Zuo Liangyu's troops were, but worried about the disasters that the war would bring to the people of Jiangxi, and the time to delay the unification of China.

There are many things to do in Huaxia, and the most reluctant thing for Li Zicheng is the civil war, whether it is the casualties of sergeants or the destruction of agriculture, it is Huaxia who is injured!

He looked at Huang Shu's back and said, "Excuse yourself from courtesy, give a seat, and serve tea!"

"Thank you, little man!" After Huang Shu got up, he didn't dare to sit down at all, and only then did he sit diagonally under Li Zicheng's signal again.

Li Zicheng smiled faintly and said: "Mr. Huang came to Nanjing this time, is he a messenger?" ”

Huang Shu arched his hand and said carefully: "Back to the emperor, the villain was entrusted by the Marquis of Nanning to come to see the emperor......"

"Mr. Huang doesn't have to be nervous," Li Zicheng's face was like a spring breeze, which made people unspeakably comfortable, "Ning Nanhou has anything to say that Mr. needs to convey, Mr. might as well say it directly!"

"Your Majesty, the Marquis of Ningnan ......"

Li Zicheng said with a smile: "But what does Ning Nanhou want?" I might as well say it bluntly, if the Marquis of Ningnan asks me for the title of Marquis, I will not agree!"

Huang Shu hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, if the Marquis of Ning Nan leads the crowd to surrender, I don't know what the emperor will do?" ”

"I won't treat him badly," Li Zicheng said: "Anyone who takes the initiative to help Huaxia, I will remember his merits and give corresponding rewards, but if you want to get a knighthood, you need to make contributions to Huaxia, and Huaxia's titles will not be too much." ”

Huang Shu lowered his head slightly, thinking about something in his head, and didn't speak for a while.

Li Zicheng hopes to recruit Zuo Liangyu, but the current Zuo Liangyu is no longer the opponent of the Heavenly Mandate Army, Zuo Liangyu can surrender the best, if he puts forward too high requirements, even the generals of the Heavenly Mandate Army may not agree, he glanced at Huang Shu and said: "Mr. To tell the truth, what is the minimum condition offered by Ning Nanhou?" ”

"Title!" Huang Shu raised his head and said, "Ning Nanhou said that he is already old, everything will be seen, and he hopes to get a knighthood for Gongzi Mengeng!"

Li Zicheng gently tapped the table with his fingers, pondered for a long time, and said, "Ning Nanhou's subordinates, how many soldiers are there?" ”

"Back to the emperor, there are 200,000!"

Li Zicheng chuckled and said, "I have dealt with Ning Nanhou a lot, can Mr. Huang tell the truth?" ”

"This ......" Huang Shu bowed his head slightly, and said: "Back to the emperor, Ning Nanhou's subordinates, the actual soldiers are only 100,000 ......."

"Haha," Li Zicheng didn't wait for Huang Shu to finish speaking, then laughed out loud and said, "Mr. Huang, except for the families of the soldiers, the real soldiers should not exceed 60,000, right?" ”

Huang Shu's face suddenly changed color, and he muttered, "How could the emperor know?" ”

"Mr. Huang, the unification of the whole country in China is just around the corner, could it be that my manpower will neglect the army of Ningnan Hou?" Li Zicheng said with a smile: "When I left Beijing, I sent an edict to the Marquis of Ningnan, and it has been several months, and Mr. Huang arrived in Nanjing, it can't be a coincidence, right?" ”

Huang Shu said strongly: "Your Majesty, the villain has already left Jiangxi, but the waterway journey is too slow, and the road is not very safe......

Li Zicheng waved his hand and said, "Mr. Huang and I both know it by heart, and I don't plan to investigate it deeply!"

"That'...... Your Majesty, the matter of Meng Geng's son ......"

"Huaxia's Heavenly Mandate Army, if you want to be knighted, you must have military merits," Li Zicheng said: "If the Marquis of Ningnan is willing, I will send a general to reorganize 40,000 elite soldiers and combine them into the ninth battalion, of course, the Marquis of Ningnan is still the main general, and my people are the deputies, as long as the ninth battalion goes south, takes Guangdong, and joins the Heavenly Mandate Army in the south, I will be crowned the title of the prince of Menggeng," paused, and said: "Mr. Huang, with the strength of the Marquis of Ningnan, it shouldn't be difficult to take Guangdong, right?" ”

"It's not difficult, it's not difficult," Huang Shu understood, Li Zicheng This is an opportunity to give Meng Geng's son a knighthood, with the current strength of the Heavenly Mandate Army, there is no need for Ning Nanhou's army to go south, as long as he accepts the reorganization, he pondered for a moment, still shook his head, and said: "Ning Nanhou has been in poor health recently, and the south is high and densely forested, I'm afraid I won't be able to stand the bumps......"

"What does Mr. Huang mean......"

"You can let Meng Geng Gongzi lead the army on his behalf," Huang Shu said: "Everything else depends on the emperor!"

"Ning Nanhou is really not in good health?"

"The villain will never dare to expire the emperor, if Ning Nanhou is not in good health, these days, he will not nest in Jiangxi without moving......"

"In this way, I can't force Ningnanhou to fight," Li Zicheng frowned lightly, and said: "Ningnanhou is a battlefield general, I can trust him, and Menggeng's military talent, I have not seen or even heard of it...... If Meng Geng Gongzi is allowed to go on the expedition, the general I send must be the main general. ”

"Your Majesty, in this way, Ning Nanhou is probably a little worried," Huang Shu understood in his heart that Meng Geng's son was just a gentleman, and he had never independently led a large army to fight, if he handed over the 40,000 army to him, let alone fight, I am afraid that even the grain and grass would not work, "According to the villain, Meng Geng Gongzi can be the nominal chief general, and there is no shortage of generals in Ning Nanhou's army, with their assistance, plus the generals sent by the emperor......"

Li Zicheng pondered for a long time, and decided to agree with Huang Shu's idea, first agree with Huaxia as soon as possible, and then talk about it, as for the soldiers on the left, they will be dealt with according to the actual situation in the future, maybe it is a good choice to stay in the south and settle down as a citizen......

He bowed slightly, and said: "In this case, Mr. will go back first, I will send generals to accompany me, if Ning Nanhou agrees, let the generals immediately reorganize Ning Nanhou's soldiers, if Ning Nanhou rejects Mr. Sad's suggestion, we must ensure the safety of the generals I sent, otherwise it will ......"

"That's, that's," Huang Shu said again: "It's just that the Ningnan Hou Department is not rich in food......"

"100,000 taels of silver, 40,000 for the reorganized soldiers, 60,000 for the disbanded soldiers, and the families of the soldiers, and then there will be food with them, since the Marquis of Ningnan has returned to Huaxia, these soldiers are the army of Huaxia, and I will not let a soldier go hungry," Li Zicheng said: "However, Mr. and the Marquis of Ningnan must ensure that the money and grain will be sent to the soldiers, and my people will also supervise in secret." ”

"The emperor can rest assured, the villain absolutely guarantees the safety of the generals," Huang Shu said: "When the emperor is ready, the villain will immediately set off for home." ”

Li Zicheng nodded, and asked He Xiaomi to take Huang Shu down to rest first.

This time Huang Shu visited, Li Zicheng would rather believe Zuo Liangyu's sincere refuge, the Ming Dynasty has long perished, and even the Hongguang small court is gone, what else does Zuo Liangyu have to rely on? is inferior to Wu Sangui that day, he is just a general, does he dare to establish himself as a king? Unless the brain is in water!

As long as the Heavenly Mandate Army does not persecute Zuo Liangyu excessively, with Zuo Liangyu's heroic nature, he can definitely judge the current general trend.

Li Zicheng was alone in the imperial study, thinking about the current form.

The 9th Battalion, composed of Zuo Liangyu's Division, went south to Guangdong, and the 4th and 5th Battalions did not have to all go south.

He originally planned to let the Fifth Battalion be stationed in Jiangnan, and take advantage of this opportunity to let the Fifth Battalion take over Jiangnan and Zhejiang provinces as soon as possible, including Yangzhou, an important town in Jiangbei.

The 5th Battalion originally had only four regiments of gunners, which were combined into the 1st Division, with Hao Yongzhong as the division commander; Wu Sangui followed behind Zhou Bin and reorganized the strength of two divisions, with Wu Sangui as the commander of the second division, and transferred Chen Hongfan, the chief soldier from Nanjing, to take over the other division, numbered the third division; Jiang Xuan's department, which was stationed in Luzhou, was reorganized into the fourth division.

The new fifth battalion has reached the full strength of four divisions, and Zhou Bin is still the commander-in-chief.

Jiang Huang, the fourth division, remained in Jiangbei and was stationed in the areas of Luzhou and Yangzhou, and the remaining three divisions would cross the Yangtze River and be stationed in the southern part of Jiangnan Province, the richest Jiangnan, as well as all of Zhejiang Province.

During this southern expedition, Li Zicheng also recruited two divisions of surrendered troops, namely Zuo Guangxian's department stationed in Chuzhou and Yin Xianmin's department stationed in Fengyang, and when the situation stabilized, these two divisions would be included in the seventh battalion, which were the third and fourth divisions respectively.

The Fourth and Ninth Battalions will soon march south to Fujian, Guangdong, and Yunnan and Guizhou in the southwestern border, and Li Zicheng will once again appear in Li Zicheng's heart.

He combined the 8th Battalion and Qingtian Battalion stationed in Sichuan, and the Chengtian Battalion and Yingtian Battalion stationed in Huguang into the new 8th Battalion.

The original eighth battalion had only two regiments of white pole soldiers, and two more regiments of white pole soldiers were temporarily recruited and combined into the first division, with Qin Gongming as the division commander; The eight regiments of the Chengtian Battalion stationed in Wuchang were combined into the second division and the third division, with Zhuo Guangyu and Yang Chengen as division commanders respectively; The two regiments of the Fengtian Battalion, which were naturalized from foreign races in the western part of Huguang, plus the first and second regiments of the Qingtian Battalion stationed in Chengdu, were combined into the Fourth Division, with Zhao Guangrui as the division commander.

The Shajin Xun Division of the 3rd Regiment of the Qingtian Battalion will be transferred to the Chengdu City Defense Army, temporarily stationed and guarding Chengdu.

In this way, except for the ninth battalion, which is a temporary establishment, among the other six major infantry battalions, the third battalion is five divisions with 100,000 non-commissioned men, which has exceeded Li Zicheng's original setup, and the fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth battalions are all full of 80,000 sergeants from the four divisions, and only the sixth battalion of Ma Youshui is still the establishment of one division.

Li Zicheng considered that the Shuntian battalion stationed in Xi'an would be transferred out sooner or later, so he reorganized the Shuntian battalion into the second division of the sixth battalion.