Liu Zongmin replied: "Yes." There are some allusions used in the letters, which we, the generals, find inexplicable, but after General Deqi's explanation, we understand them all. Wu Sangui, this bastard boy, this letter of his is clearly sent to provoke our Dashun Imperial Court!"

Li Zicheng nodded and said, "You are very right. Wu Sangui stated that he would never surrender, but he was afraid that I would immediately send troops to levy him, so he left a little room for manoeuvre. ”

He suddenly turned to the prime minister and asked, "What do you think?"

Niu Jinxing hurriedly stood up and said: "Your Majesty is wise and wise, the candle shines on everything, and you can see Wu Sangui's heart. After reading Wu Sangui's letter, the minister was also very angry. Then he thought about it repeatedly, thinking that since there was still room for maneuver in Wu Sangui's affairs, he might as well postpone the crusade, prepare for the use of troops on the one hand, and hold the enthronement ceremony on schedule on the other hand, so as to correct the world's hearing and hear, and comfort the hearts of all the people who have been thinking about curing the chaos for a long time. If Your Majesty does not ascend the throne as soon as possible after arriving in Beijing, he will lose hope from all over the world!"

Li Zicheng's heart moved, and he felt that Niu Jinxing's words were also reasonable, and asked Song Xiance again: "How about the discussion in the military division's mansion?"

Song Xiance stood up and said: "Feng aims at the ministers of the Military Division's Mansion, in addition to the ministers and Li Yan, Prime Minister Niu Cheng, Yu Shangshu, and Gu Bachelor have all arrived. The meeting came to the letter sent by Wu Sangui. After everyone circulated it, they were filled with righteous indignation. However, because it is a major military matter, the stakes are not shallow, and it has not yet been quickly decided. ”

Li Zicheng asked sternly: "The main thing is what do you think about sending troops to fight?"

Song Xiance was shocked and replied: "Bachelor Gu Junen is a strong advocate of crusade, and Yu Shangyou Shangshu is also advocating a crusade. However, the stakes are serious, and the minister cannot help but have doubts. Prime Minister Niu Cheng believes that it is extremely important for the emperor to hold the enthronement ceremony, and if it is rescheduled, it will lose the hope of the subjects of the world, and also expose the lack of our Dashun troops and its own weakness, which will instead fuel Wu Sangui's arrogant momentum and disobedience from far and near. ”

Li Zicheng asked angrily: "Don't you dare to crusade against Wu Sangui's army, can you suppress Wu Sangui's arrogant momentum and eliminate the disobedience of people from far and near?"

Song Xiance understood that the emperor had already prejudiced the crusade against Wu Sangui, and the Sacred Heart was very annoyed, so it was not appropriate to make a direct admonition at this time. He stopped talking and sat down with Bull Venus. Li Zicheng knew that Gu Junen advocated a crusade against Wu Sangui, so he turned his gaze to Gu Junen and said.

"When I was in Xiangjing, the civil and military had different opinions about the next strategy for using troops, and it was you who suggested that I break through Xi'an first, and then march into Youyan to break through Beijing. After arriving in Xi'an, do you want to follow the Northern Expedition to Youyan, the civil and military people have different discussions, and you advocate striking while the iron is hot, and quickly cross the Northern Expedition. I took your advice on both occasions to get to where I am today. As for how to deal with Wu Sangui's affairs, it is a very urgent militaristic plan at the moment, and we cannot make constant decisions and hesitate to make mistakes. I've made up my mind, what do you think?"

Gu Junen understood that the emperor had decided on Wu Sangui's crusade with troops, and at this moment he was praised by the emperor, thinking that this was another excellent opportunity for meritorious service, so he immediately stood up and said: "Your Majesty, recently because it was rumored that Wu Sangui has tens of thousands of soldiers, and he is in Shanhaiguan, and he has a heart not to surrender. ”

If he waited for that time to send troops to recruit and suppress, his preparations for battle and defense would have been invincible, and all localities would have responded, and the number of victories and defeats would have been unpredictable. Therefore, the minister's repeated thinking, bold performance, please Your Majesty resolutely decide, after the enthronement ceremony, the same day to the east. With the prestige of His Majesty's victory in a hundred battles, carrying the thunderous momentum of our army, sweeping away the mountains and seas in one fell swoop, so that people who want to advocate chaos everywhere do not dare to move, and those who want to take the opportunity to go south must wait and see and stop. The soldiers are fast, don't hesitate to make mistakes, and dare to ask Your Majesty to make a judgment!"

Gu Junen's opinion is very much in line with Li Zicheng's thoughts. When he did not enter Beijing, he received many military documents on the road every day, and after entering Beijing, he read more military documents every day. Most of these important documents were transferred by Zehou Tian Jianxiu, a general who stayed in Chang'an, and some came directly from Huguang by 600 miles of Tangma, and some came from Henan, sent from Chen Yongfu, a Wenshui Bo stationed in Taiyuan, and sent from Liu Fangliang, a general stationed in Baoding.

Many of these documents, which were sent from far and near, made Li Zicheng feel upset and worried. In Huguang, according to the 100,000 urgent reports of Yin Niu Yan of Xiangyang Prefecture, although Zuo Liangyu garrisoned Wuchang and trained troops every day, there was no move to move westward, but Wang Guangen and Guangxing brothers, who surrendered to the governor of Yunyang in the Ming Dynasty two years ago, have been very arrogant recently, and have besieged Gucheng from the east of Junzhou, claiming to attack Xiangyang.

Xiangyang has been renamed Xiangjing, is the control of Huguang all over the military town, is the ancient soldiers must fight for the place, if lost, not only Huguang De'an, Jingzhou, Yiling all over the place is not protected, and Nanyang also lost the barrier. Nanyang is dangerous, and the road from Shangluo to Guanzhong will be frequent, and Wuguan and Shangzhou will not be able to sleep peacefully.

Li Zicheng nodded and said: "At present, all parts of Henan are also very unstable. ”

Gu Junen continued: "Henan is located in the Central Plains and has been a place of war since ancient times. At present, the garrisons of various prefectures, prefectures, and counties are empty and unable to suppress them, and it can be said that there are many dangers lurking and they are very worrying. Moreover, Liu Hongqi, a local tyrant who seized Xiping and Suiping, was appointed by Zuo Liangyu as the deputy commander-in-chief, recruited troops, expanded his territory, and completely became an enemy of my Dashun. ”

"Li Jiyu, who seized Dengfeng, took advantage of the emptiness of our Dashun army's garrison in Henan, sent Tuzhai soldiers to plunder everywhere, threatening Luoyang and Zhengzhou, and becoming a major hidden danger in the Central Plains. What the minister said is only an obvious disaster for our dynasty. The minister thought that the situation in the vicinity of Beijing was a matter of hearing from all over the world, and that those who should be used to crusade with troops must be quickly attacked so that the situation can be clarified as soon as possible, so as to deter the opposition of various localities, so that they will not dare to openly rebel, and the Qing troops will not dare to invade the south. ”

Li Zicheng's expression became more serious, but he did not speak immediately. His eyes swept over the faces of Liu Zongmin and other generals and Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and other scholars, but his mind suddenly remembered many situations that were enough to upset him at the same time. Recently, he knew that the important place of Runan, Henan, had been occupied by the inferior gentry and ruffians, and that the suburban county town that he had sent troops to break through and appointed magistrates had recently fallen into the hands of the local gentry of the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, since October last year, relying on his prestige and not relying on military strength, he has sent people to spread cards to various parts of eastern Henan and Shandong, and the people everywhere have driven away the original officials and opened the city gates to welcome the surrender. Recently, however, the situation has changed, and the gentry are not convinced, rumors have swarmed in various localities due to the lack of troops and ammunition, and the state and county officials sent to the country are powerless to govern the government, and the day is precarious. He couldn't help but think that if Wu Sangui was ready, contacted the Mingchen in Jiangnan, mourned for Chongzhen Su, proposed the restoration of the country, and called on the world, from Huguang to Henan to Shandong to Xu Dang, and the prefectures, prefectures and counties of Jifu in the north, there would be commotion everywhere and Dashun as the enemy, how would it be good?

Thinking of this, he suddenly made up his mind, and said in his heart: "We must hurry up to the east, defeat Wu Sangui in a battle, seize Shanhaiguan, and don't recuperate!"

The situation in various places that Li Zicheng thought of in a moment was also clear to the ministers of civil and military affairs in front of the emperor because they were all people who participated in the pre-war and could see the military intelligence reports from all over the country. But because of their own worries, no one spoke for a while. Li Zicheng didn't wait, looked at Liu Zongmin and asked, "Marquis Ru, what do the generals say?"

Liu Zongmin knew that Li Yu advocated being serious, but he didn't pay attention to it, and sat down and replied: "The generals all advocate crusade. The faster the better. ”

Li Zicheng looked at Li Guo again and asked, "What do you think?"

Li Guo stood up respectfully and said, "Wu Sangui called me a thief in his family letter, and he is determined to be my enemy, and he will definitely fight." The minister thinks that it is better to fight late than to fight quickly, and to delay the time is not good for me. After our army was stationed in Beijing, military discipline was no longer as good as before, and although the Marquis of Ru had ordered strict orders and beheaded a few people who had violated military discipline, the corruption of military discipline continued to occur. ”

"If you hurry up and go out to the east, the whole army will share the same hatred and hatred, and the morale of the army can be lifted immediately. Ren Chen was secretly worried that if it dragged on, after a month, our army would be in deep twilight, and the military discipline would be much worse than today, and if you want to fight a vicious battle, I am afraid it will be too late, so the Marquis of Ru resolutely fights, and the nephew agrees very much. This matter is imminent and cannot be avoided. As for the enthronement ceremony, please forgive the nephew for the death penalty, you might as well postpone one a step. ”

When Li Zicheng heard Li Guo suggest that he postpone the enthronement ceremony, his face suddenly turned cold and his heart was shocked. However, he couldn't make up his mind for a while, thinking that Gu Junen must have a clever plan to solve this problem, so he immediately asked Gu Junen: "Postponing the enthronement ceremony again will shake the government and the opposition, and it will also greatly disappoint the hopes of the soldiers of the three armies." Master Gu, do you have a better proposition?"

Gu Junen stood up and said: "The minister thinks that on the one hand, the army will march eastward, and it must not be delayed, and on the other hand, the enthronement ceremony will be held as scheduled, so as to correct the world's hearing and hearing." These two things are not incompatible and can be done at the same time. What does Your Majesty think?"

Although in Li Zicheng's opinion, Gu Junen's suggestion was not unreasonable, but he saw that Li Guo and Liu Zongmin were shaking their heads, and they were obviously extremely disapproving. They were two extremely important generals in the Great Shun Dynasty. Li Zicheng couldn't help but pay attention to their attitude, and then said to Liu Zongmin: "Ruhou, you say what you want!"

Liu Zongmin was very dissatisfied with the attitude of the ministers, glanced at Gu Junen and Yu Shangyou arrogantly, still sat on the chair, and said coldly: "Your Majesty, you can ask the ministers to express their opinions!"

Li Zicheng said: "No, you can say it." You are at the top of the civil and military hundred officials in my Dashun Dynasty, and you are full of words. Although I want everyone to express their opinions, I am waiting for you to make a final decision. ”

Liu Zongmin stood up from the chair, his burly body, his bony brows showed a firm and resolute expression, and his prominent cheekbones seemed to move slightly. He clasped his two big hands into fists on his chest, and said in a categorical tone: "Your Majesty, when we first arrived in Beijing, our heels did not stand firm, and we met Wu Sangui and I as enemies. For the sake of the war, the ministers had to speak out if they had opinions, and if they didn't say it, they would be disloyal to the emperor. ”

"You say, 'I was about to listen to your advice.' ”

Liu Zongmin continued: "The number of people and horses of our army who came to Beijing is claimed to be 200,000, but in fact, there are only 60,000 elite soldiers, and the Ming soldiers who surrendered along the road add up to more than 70,000 people. These 60,000 elite soldiers are the capital of our family when we come to Beijing, and the morale of some of them is not as good as before. Wu Sanhang's more than 30,000 elite soldiers in Ning, plus Ding Zhuang, who had recently been recruited from the Liao people in the Guanguan, totaled more than 40,000 people. ”

"If we send all 60,000 elite soldiers to fight, leaving more than 10,000 horses to defend Beijing, there are only more than 10,000 more than Wu Sangui's Guanning soldiers. So this is a big war with similar forces, and it is also a bitter battle. But we must hurry up to victory, and we must not delay our time by stationing our troops under a fortified city. If the war drags on, once the Qing troops move south, all parts of Kifu will respond to Wu Sangui, which will be very unfavorable to our army. ”

"What's more, according to Liu Tichun's report, Wu Sangui's grain and grass accumulated on the beach can support more than half a year, and we can only carry ten days' worth of grain at most, and we can't count on the support of the people in nearby prefectures and counties, which is different from the situation when we were in Henan and Huguang. Therefore, this crusade against Wu Sangui is imperative to go all out, and Wu Sangui must be defeated in one battle. defeated Wu Sangui, captured Shanhaiguan, and then quickly returned to the division, ran Beijing, Fang Hao was invincible, so that the Manchu Tartars did not dare to go south, and also made the officials and gentlemen in Hebei, Henan, and Shandong dare not rebel against Dashun. Advice, you're a military advisor, do you say yes?"

Song Xiance was very shocked, but when the emperor, Liu Zongmin, Li Guo and others all advocated a military crusade against Wu Sangui, he did not dare to openly oppose it. Don't object, and know that using troops is not the best policy. He stood up and said: "For Wu Sangui to steal Xiongguan like this, support the army to resist, it has become a problem for me to fight against the elbow, and it is righteous to use the army to fight." But the minister still advocated thinking more and acting. If you have the right to fight a major war, please don't decide immediately......"

Liu Zongmin sneered and said: "Offer advice, the soldiers are fast." When the interruption continues, it is chaotic. If the decision is delayed, once Wu Sangui colludes with Manchuria, the gentry of Hebei and Shandong will respond and openly raise the banner of restoring the country for the Ming Dynasty, and the situation will change greatly, and it will be too late for us to crusade. ”

Li Zicheng asked Niu Jinxing again: "Prime Minister, you are usually full of wealth and wealth, and you must have farsightedness in this matter, why don't you say what you want?"

Although Niu Jinxing also advocated acting cautiously in his heart, seeing that the emperor and Liu Zongmin had already made up their minds, he didn't dare to say different opinions. He stood up respectfully and replied to Li Zicheng: "When it comes to fighting with soldiers, the minister is not as good as the military advisor, and even less as the Marquis of Ru. Your Majesty is wise and thoughtful, and the ministers are less than one. For such a big event, please don't ask your majesty the ministers, and you can do it from the bottom of your heart. ”

Li Zicheng turned to Song Xiance and asked, "Military advisor, look, how should this battle be fought?"

Song Xiance replied: "Your Majesty is not asking whether the minister should fight this battle, but asking the minister how to fight this battle, which shows that Your Majesty's plan for the eastern crusade has been decided, and other words are not what Weichen should say." However, as a military advisor, the minister should give advice wholeheartedly, and ask His Majesty to deal with it separately, so that the foolish minister will make another performance after a thousand considerations. ”

"It's okay, tonight, the lone general will summon you and Li Yan separately in the Wenhua Palace, and the other ministers will not participate. ”

Li Zicheng turned to Liu Zongmin again: "Ruhou, what else do you have to say?"

"Your Majesty, treat Wu Sangui for resisting and not surrendering, the ministers and all the generals are out of righteous indignation, and for the sake of the country's safety, they will crusade against the lord, and the soldiers will be fast, and do not delay time. But he also knew that the difficulties were very great, and it was not comparable to the situation of fighting with Zuo Liangyu in the past. ”

"Our army sent 60,000 troops, only more than 10,000 more than Guanning soldiers. Wu Sangui has a strong city to rely on, there is no shortage of grain and grass, and he uses Yi as a substitute for labor, and first occupies land and two people. After our army entered Beijing, the morale of some of them was not as good as before, there were not many men and horses on the expedition, and there was little grain and grass, so they had to fight desperately and bloody to win. Please ask Your Majesty to drive the expedition in person, boost morale, and strengthen the prestige of our army. As long as the soldiers see His Majesty immediately supervising the battle, they will be able to be unstoppable with one as ten!"

Li Zicheng was excited, nodded and said, "I want to personally supervise the battle, personally supervise the war!"