Li Zicheng instructed the civil and military ministers to retreat and prepare for the official ceremony of the Emperor's Gate tomorrow and the enthronement ceremony on the sixth day of the first month, leaving Song Xiance and Li Yan alone. When the ministers kowtowed and withdrew, he was about to ask the two military advisors what new news there was in Shanhaiguan, when he suddenly heard a chaotic footsteps, and at the same time heard a timid voice of a young man pleading: "Don't be anxious, let me go to Your Majesty to plead." ”

An old voice scolded: "Get out of the way!" If you stop me again, I will knock you, the herald who has not retreated, down on the Danqi with one punch!"

Li Zicheng was taken aback, and shouted angrily: "Who is so bold, take it for me!"

Because Li Zicheng did not allow the eunuchs of the previous dynasty to wait by his side, there were four eunuchs in the East Warm Pavilion and the front eaves of the Wuying Hall in case the emperor called at any time. At this time, they all rushed to the door of Wuying Hall and saw three officials staggering over, and the one who rushed in front was General Shuangxi. They did not dare to stop them, and quickly avoided the threshold in panic.

Li Zicheng heard the footsteps and came in, staring angrily at the door of Xinuan Pavilion, and Song Xiance and Li Yan's eyes also turned to the same place, Li Shuangxi took the first step to lift the curtain and came in, knelt in front of Li Zicheng and said: "Father Qi, Wang Changshun has important words to plead for faces." ”

Before Li Zicheng could speak, he saw Wang Changshun with tears in his eyes, and rushed in with Shuangxi, and at the same time, the herald also came in side by side, but the young herald knelt on the ground in front of Wang Changshun because of his physical convenience, kowtowed again and again, and said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty, the minister failed to stop the Mumayuan and made Wang Changshun break into the palace, which is really guilty!"

Wang Changshun followed and said: "In order to meet the saint, the minister boldly broke into the palace, pushed the herald who blocked the way on the Danqi and staggered, and scolded him for not retreating, and really wanted to punch him again." Please allow the emperor to pour out the words that have been held in his heart for a few days in front of the emperor, and then let the emperor rule the ministers to recklessly break into the palace and offend the court. I'm not afraid of cutting off my head, it's just a big scar in a bowl. ”

Li Zicheng understood what was going on, and said with a belly of anger: "Double happiness, herald, you step down, there is nothing to do with you." ”

After Li Shuangxi and the herald kowtowed and withdrew. Li Zicheng looked at Wang Changshun and asked, "You are my old man when I rebelled, so you might as well say it directly." Say it!"

"Your Majesty! You are now isolated from above, and you don't know anything about the situation below, if you don't say anything today, and if something bad happens in the future, I won't be your loyal minister! The minister has not read a book, but the minister understands that since ancient times, loyal ministers are not those who blindly sing praises of merit and virtue in front of the lord and report good news but not bad news. ”

"Because he knew that the embankment of the Yellow River was about to burst, he brought an old river worker to the generalissimo to beg to see you, but he couldn't see you from morning to evening. If I had been able to see the generalissimo and quickly send heavy troops to protect the embankment, there would have been no Ming army digging a hole in the embankment in September, causing the flood to flood Kaifeng, drowning hundreds of thousands of people, and even our army drowned many people because it was too late to move the camp. ”

"Afterwards, it was rumored that our army was drowned 20,000 or 30,000, but in fact 3,000 or 4,000 people and more than 1,000 mules and horses were drowned. These thousands of soldiers were prepared for the Ming army on the north bank of the Yellow River to rescue Kaifeng, and they were all elite soldiers brought out from Shaanxi, and I know many of them. Speaking of this, Wang Changshun cried bitterly.

Li Zicheng thought that the thousands of soldiers stationed in the depression north of Kaifeng City had died unjustly, and he suddenly looked surprised, sighed, and ordered Wang Changshun to sit down and speak.

Wang Changshun was still kneeling, and then said: "On the second day of the flooding of Kaifeng, I found a small boat with a team of soldiers, and when I arrived in Kaifeng City, I saw dead bodies floating everywhere on the water, men, women and children, many of whom were not dead, crying for help on the roof. Wang Changshun couldn't say it anymore again, and cried.

Li Zicheng was even more unhappy when he heard Wang Changshun mention the flood flooding Kaifeng. But he also regretted his mistake afterwards, so he didn't get angry and waited for Wang Changshun to continue. Song Xiance and Li Yan usually thought that Wang Changshun was decent and dared to tell the truth, but at this moment they couldn't help but exchange a look, and they also respected the old horseman, hoping that Wang Changshun could tell them about the situation in the army that was inconvenient for them to talk about.

"After the flooding of Kaifeng," Wang Changshun continued, "I, I regret that I only relied on Shuangxi and Wu Ruyi to pass on the gift for me at that time, and I did not have the courage to break into your marshal's military tent." If I had broken into your marshal's tent at that time, saved the prosperous city of Bianliang in Tokyo, and saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, even if your generalissimo cut off my head, it would only be a big scar, not to mention that you would not necessarily cut off my head. ”

Li Zicheng suddenly smiled: "Yes, I will never blame you for breaking into my marshal's tent." In the twelfth year of Chongzhen, we were trapped in Shangluo Mountain, and the soldiers contracted the plague and fell ill six or seven out of ten, and I was also sick for several months, besieged by officials and troops on all sides. The mountain tiger rebelled in Shimen Village and surrounded Li You in a large temple. The official army was dispatched from Shangzhou City and Wuguan and was attacking us, if the mountain tiger surrendered to the Lantian official army, we would not be able to stand in Shangluo Mountain. ”

"Fortunately, you escaped back from the Pegasus of Shimenzhai and reported to me, so that I had time to go to Shimenzhai with illness to quell the rebellion. On that occasion, because my illness had not healed, the gatekeeper of the old camp refused to pass on the message to you, annoying you, arguing and scolding, pushing and shoving, and waving the old fist. That time, you broke into the old camp and made a great contribution. This time, if you boldly break into the palace gate and break into the Wuying Palace, there will be extremely important news for me. Did you hear that Wu Sangui had led troops to attack?"

"Your Majesty! In the past 10 days since you arrived in Beijing, you have lost the hearts of the people, and this is even more important than Wu Sangui's refusal to surrender. If Wu Sangui does not surrender, you can send a large army to conquer him and exterminate him; if the people are not convinced, you cannot exterminate the people. Killing against the people is getting worse and worse. Your Majesty, you are now isolated, and you have no idea what is going on in the city of Beijing, as if you are sitting in the dark!"

Li Zicheng could not help but be terrified, and Wang Changshun's sharp remarks could not help but make him perplexed: What happened in Beijing, and why did the ministers hide it from me? He thought that Wang Changshun was deliberately alarmist, and he could not help but be annoyed in his heart.

But he suddenly remembered that Concubine Dou read "Tongjian" for him last night, and read about Tang Taizong's tolerance of direct advice, he endured it for a day, and asked with a stern expression: "All major events, the ministers of civil and military affairs can come into the palace at any time to play to me, why do you say that I am like sitting in a drum?"

"Your Majesty! The minister risked his life today to tell the truth to His Majesty, can Your Majesty allow the minister to tell the truth?"

"Tell the truth, I want to follow Tang Taizong's advice. What do you have to say!"

Wang Changshun asked, "How many ministers dare to tell you the truth?"

He turned his head to look at the chief and deputy military advisors and said, "Please forgive me, I, Wang Changshun, am not talking about the two of you, but about those ministers who want to seek high-ranking officials and protect their wealth and wealth." They recited a sutra for promotion, and they would only sing praises of merit and say that the emperor listened to the words that were comfortable in his heart. When the emperor heard something unhappy, they didn't say anything, and they didn't say anything that could hurt the feelings of their civil and military colleagues. That's why the emperor didn't know the real situation in Beijing, so I risked the death penalty to break into the palace. ”

Li Zicheng's expression became even more serious, he looked at his old groom angrily, glanced at the chief and deputy military divisions again, and seemed to ask them: "Is this situation true? Why don't you say anything on weekdays?"

Song Xiance and Li Yan didn't dare to make a sound, waiting for the emperor to ask them. In an instant, on the one hand, they were worried that Wang Changshun would anger the emperor, and on the other hand, they were also willing to tell Wang Changshun about the situation in Beijing. Naturally, they also waited for the emperor's reproach to them.

Fortunately, Li Zicheng didn't say anything to them, and asked Wang Changshun: "Changshun, what do you want to do to me?"

"Please forgive the minister for the capital crime, my Dashun army is stationed in Beijing and robs everywhere, has the emperor ever known?"

"How so...... Robbing everywhere?"

"Yes, sometimes they forcibly borrow and do not pay it back, sometimes they say it is requisitioned, and sometimes they break into people's houses in the middle of the night and openly rob them. This kind of thing is constantly going on, has the emperor ever known?"

"Are you telling the truth?"

"If the minister is untruthful, please cut off my head!"

Li Zicheng was greatly surprised, but he still couldn't believe it: "On the second day after the army entered the city, the patrol caught a few soldiers robbing in the store outside the front gate, and the Marquis Liu Ye immediately ordered the small leader headed by him to be beheaded at the intersection of the street and hang the head on the tree, how could there be a robbery?"

"Three days after Liu Ye killed someone, there were more and more robberies. In the streets and alleys, the military and civilians are mixed, living together, it is not easy to inspect, and it is impossible to prevent it. Tens of thousands of horses, good and bad, killing one or two people is a! Ah, I said foul words in front of the saint, capital crime, capital crime!"

"Beijing is a rich place, how many of them have no ready-made gold and silver? There are no ready-made gold and silver jewelry and all kinds of soft things? The officers and soldiers all know that the army will not stay in Beijing for long, and after the emperor holds the enthronement ceremony, the army will return to Chang'an with the holy car, leaving only a few men and horses to guard Beijing. People have followed the emperor to fight the world, and have suffered for more than ten years, and their black eyes have not been able to see the silver, but the silver with white flowers is particularly shining, who is willing to miss this good opportunity that will not come again once it is lost? Your Majesty, the good military discipline that was praised by everyone in the past of our Dashun Army has disappeared in this prosperous city of Beijing!

Li Zicheng began to believe Wang Changshun's blunt words, broke out in a cold sweat, became angry in his heart, turned to Song Xiance and Li Yan and said: "Fortunately, Wang Changshun boldly broke into the palace today and spoke to me bluntly, so that I began to understand the truth of the military record after my Dashun army entered Beijing. Military discipline has been so corrupt for more than ten days, you two must know why you two are silent as the chief and deputy military advisors, why are you silent?"

Song Xiance and Li Yan guessed that the emperor would ask them this question, and they were prepared in their hearts. Not only did they have insight into the looting of the Dashun army in Beijing, but one of the more unpopular things that Wang Changshun had not yet mentioned was the rape of women. The two of them had a secret discussion several times, but they couldn't think of a way to save it. Li Yan once advocated a straightforward performance of the Ming Emperor, but was stopped by the thoughtful Song Xiance.

At this moment, Li Zicheng suddenly asked, they stood up at the same time, and Song Xiance, the division of the main army, said first: "The ministers have heard about it for a long time, but because the emperor has just arrived in Beijing, he has never told His Majesty the truth." Ruhou Liu Zongmin is the chief general of the whole army, in addition to commanding the use of troops to fight, he is also in charge of rectifying military discipline, pacifying the people, and setting an example for hundreds of officials, so the ministers and others have discussed with you how to rectify military discipline, and Ruhou also agrees. ”

"It's just that because I didn't stay in Beijing for a long time, I was busy with torture and looting every day, and I had to urge the generals to practice the emperor's enthronement ceremony, so I didn't pay close attention to how to rectify military discipline. In fact, robbery is only one aspect of military corruption, and rape of women also occurs from time to time. Beijing is a country of etiquette, and rape is more unpopular than robbery. ”

Li Zicheng was suddenly frightened, and immediately asked: "Do you dare to rape a woman...... should be beheaded!"

Wang Changshun continued: "It was fine for a few days that my Dashun army entered Beijing, but five days later, the rape of women was there. As soon as a few such incidents occurred, the whole city panicked. It is difficult to say exactly how many cases of rape there were. While some rumors are unfounded rumors, some things are true. ”

"It is rumored that more than 300 women died in the well and hanging beams in Anfu Hutong overnight, and after repeated visits by the ministers, there are indeed more than 100 people. There was also a fourteen-year-old girl who was dragged to the top of the city** and died. There was also a woman who refused to obey and scolded and was killed on the spot. ”

"Your Majesty! Those who have won the hearts of the people since ancient times will win the world. After your men entered Beijing, they robbed and raped again, ruining your good reputation. Your Majesty, the ministers followed you from birth to death to fight the world, but the people in Henan and Huguang are still living in dire straits, and they have not lived a good life, and they have quickly lost the support of the people after arriving in Beijing.

Wang Changshun couldn't help but burst into tears, choked up and said: "Your Majesty, this Beijing is not a small place, not a small village hidden in the mountains, not a victory village in the Funiu Mountains. People all over the country are looking at Beijing. Whether you can win the hearts of the people in the whole country or not, your reputation in Beijing is very important, whether it is good or bad, and it will immediately spread to all places. In the court, now they only talk to you about singing praises of virtue, and only I, an old horseman, speak directly to you!"

Li Zicheng was indeed very surprised when he heard the old horseman's blunt words, and he was indeed very angry, he punched him on the imperial case, and glanced at Song Xiance and Li Yan, which made them startled. Immediately, Li Zicheng asked Wang Changshun again: "After entering Beijing, the military discipline is so corrupt, why doesn't Liu Zongmin, the Marquis of Ru, care? Doesn't he know anything about it?"

"Liu Ye also killed a few people, but as long as the military and civilians live together, rape cannot be prohibited. As the saying goes: After three years of going out as a soldier, I saw a sow racing sable. What's more, when we entered the city of Beijing, our soldiers ......"

Li Zicheng said: "I thought about this matter, so I urged to pick out two thousand palace maids at the end of last month, and selected thousands of women from the house slaves of high-ranking officials and eunuchs, and rewarded meritorious generals and schools. ”

"Your Majesty, you have rewarded beautiful women to meritorious generals, this intention is understood by the minister, but Your Majesty, you also have times when you are not thoughtful. There were 60,000 or 70,000 people in our Dashun army who came to Beijing, and only a few were rewarded by the emperor's grace. The natural joy of getting a beautiful woman, and there are still tens of thousands of people who have not got a beautiful woman, how can they be willing?"