Gentry, what is a gentry?

The gentry were the intermediaries between the imperial power and the common people.

In the Ming and Qing dynasties, when imperial power was highly strengthened, there was a helpless fact that 'imperial power did not go to the countryside'. On the other hand, the privileges and status of the gentry also needed the protection of the imperial power, and only with the support of the imperial power could the gentry "legitimately" dominate and plunder the people. Therefore, the existence of the gentry class played a great role in stabilizing the social order at the grassroots level of the dynasty. For the court and the state, the gentry could use their prestige and status to represent the people, and for the people, the gentry played the role of "officials in the people".

From the middle of the Ming Dynasty onwards, the gentry class was a huge group with strong economic strength, political influence, and the ability to dominate the grassroots of society.

Whether it is Li Zicheng after the defeat and retreat in the capital, or the Manchu Qing who has just entered the customs, let alone the Ming Dynasty, who is not right to win over the gentry?

That is, Zheng Zhilong took the initiative to stand on the opposite side of the gentry.

However, now there seem to be a few more comrades-in-arms in the trenches on Zheng Zhilong's side, Gao Jie, Liu Liangzuo, Xu Dingguo, etc., so that the old image of the Ming Dynasty's 'good friend of the gentry' was quickly shattered in the hearts of the gentry class in the north.

Therefore, compared with the crying fathers and mothers of the gentry of the Central Plains and the Northern Zhili, the Qilu gentry have a really strong sense of superiority recently.

Even if Zheng Zhilong slapped them in the face and copied the Kong family and Yan family in Qufu, and they also suffered some losses in the process of Liu Zhaoji, Cao Bianjiao and others marching north, but everything has to be compared - it is still the Central Plains and Beizhili who are even worse.

Gao Jie, Liu Liangzuo and Xu Dingguo, three hungry wolves pounced into the sheepfold.

I can't wait to pull everything I can get in front of me into my arms......

Therefore, compared with the suffering gentry and landlords in the next province, the gentry of Qilu, especially the gentry in southwest and northwest Lu, those days were really happy.

It's just that not long after they tasted the taste of happiness, there was a huge bad news from the east - Zheng Zhilong is not a human being.

Ji Ding Qingtian, the confiscation of land is not over, he still has to pay the tax arrears, this is to force the gentry to death!

Although Zheng Zhilong now controls the territory in Ludong, not to mention that the matter of Denglai is not over yet, Qingzhou is a big problem. Not to mention that this world is Ming after all, no matter how horizontal Zheng Zhilong is, he is just a feudal town, and he will be an overseas feudal king at most in the future.

It seems that he will leave the Central Plains soon, and he may not have time to search the entire Qilu.

But Zheng Zhilong is now leading the army to suppress the Manchu Qing in Jinan, and he looks like he is about to sweep through Jinan Mansion. Let the gentry and bureaucrats in Yanzhou and Dongchang have their backs, and they are afraid for a while, and they can't help but miss the good of the Qing Dynasty.

The latter's looting in the Luxi region (Dongchang, Yanzhou and Jinan) is also very strong, much more 'harsh' than Zhu Mingke, but what about Zheng Zhilong? That's no comparison.

Just like comparing the fate of the gentry here with the gentry and landlords in the province next door, the gap comes out.

The Manchus only asked them for some more money and food, but Zheng Zhilong wanted to cut them down and eradicate the roots and raid their homes.

If so, I don't know how many gentry there are in Dongchang and Yanzhou, and they can't wait to see me right away.

Of course, the Qing Dynasty is a bit extravagant now, and the Ming Dynasty is their real backer. Don't look at Da Ming just slashed them, it's okay, Da Ming is still more reliable.

Qiu Zude, who was appointed as the governor of Qilu by Emperor Chongzhen for a while, felt that he had become the great savior of the gentry in Luxi. Since he entered Yanzhou Mansion, the sense of existence of him and the Ming Dynasty he represents is really strong.

First of all, the amount of money and grain donated by the local gentry, which was not a small number, made Qiu Zude, who was empty, immediately feel a lot more generous. Hong Chengchou also left him a lot of soldiers, so he didn't have to worry about money and food in the short term.

The second is the administrative order issued by Qiu Zude, which is really an order and prohibition, and there is no violation. He couldn't believe it. When did the gentry become so obedient?

Although Qiu Zude can only control Yanzhou and Dongchang now, he still feels that he is really the governor of his own department.

"Zheng Zhilong, Zheng Yiguan ......"

Qiu Zude knew very well that he had received a divine assist from Zheng Zhilong.

But in any case, the Ming Dynasty has been established in Yanzhou and Dongchang, and a large number of officials who followed the north have also taken place, and everything is developing in a good direction.

According to Qiu Zude's estimate, as long as there is no accident - that is, Zheng Zhilong is willing to let go of Qilu obediently, it will be half a year at most, and Qilu will still be the Qilu of the Ming Dynasty.

It's a pity that Qiu Zude, who was preparing to show off his skills with great interest, didn't know that just when he had already buried himself in the case and worked hard to deal with government affairs, a big change had already taken place in Beizhili.

The Ming Army's Northern Expedition has been going on for a while. The Manchu Qing Dynasty abandoned Li Zicheng, who was beaten by himself, and the main force of the army was divided into two sections, with the infantry army in the back and the vest soldiers in front, pinching the time point to move towards Yanjing City. And the vest soldiers have arrived in Yanjing at this moment.

"Brother Twelve!"

Dolgon personally greeted him at the Xizhi Gate, and couldn't help but be a little excited when he saw Azig returning with a layer of frost on his collar and hat and helmet.

At this critical time, his siblings are still reliable. Even though it was snowing heavily in Xuanda, Azig still arrived on time.

Compared with the bastards in the court who were clamoring to return to their hometown outside the Guanwai, in Xuanfu, despite the heavy snow blocking the road, Azig who went straight to Yanjing non-stop to return can make Dolgon much warmer.

Dorgon had already prepared for the defense of the city.

"Fourteenth brother, you bow to the great government and serve the country, how dare I, as an elder brother, waste state affairs?"

Azig and Dolgon are far less intimate than Dolgon and Dorgon, for the simple reason that Azig is the elder brother, but whether it is when the old slave is alive or when Huang Taiji is alive, the most outstanding of the three brothers is always Dolgon.

He, who was the elder brother, was pressed by his younger brother, which naturally made Azig a little unhappy. Coupled with the fact that the main owner of the white flag was out of place, Huang Taiji punished Azig and raised Dolgon instead, which was also a pimple.

At the same time, although Azig is brave, he has a rough temperament, and he can't pee in the same pot as Dolgon, who has a lot of bellies. On the contrary, it is Dordor, who can fight the same way, and has a flexible brain, and is a younger brother, and is even closer to Dorgon.

In addition, Dolgon had no son, Zheng Zhilong remembered that in his previous life, he had heard that Dorgon wanted to pass on the position to Dolgon's son Dolbo, and adopted Dolbo as his adopted son.

But aside, the three brothers are still very close. For all three knew what their power came from. And if they want to keep their power, the three brothers must be close.

Azig came non-stop all the way, which was really for the sake of the Qing Dynasty. Some wind and snow are nothing. But in the end, it was hard work, and it was also warm to see Dolgon treating himself so well at this moment. In the midst of the embarrassment, the two brothers threw aside some of the old knots.

The Azighs did not return to their own mansions, but went directly to Prince Rui's mansion in Dolgon.

After a little washing, the people entered the conservatory, and saw that there were wine and food on the small table on the couch, and Dolgon had already ordered someone to prepare food.

"In addition to Zhuozhou being breached, what else is new?" Azig grabbed a roasted golden leg of lamb and asked Dolgon directly as he chewed it.

On the way here, he received an urgent report from the capital that Zhuozhou had been taken by the Ming army.

"Fangshan and Liangxiang have all fallen. There was a great deal of confusion in the capital, many wealthy families had already gone out, and shops began to close. Dolgon knew the situation in the capital well, and said directly: "It is estimated that at least thirty percent of the Han officials have presented a letter of surrender to Nanming, and the price of rice and salt in the city has begun to rise ten days ago. ”

"These Nikans who saw the wind and steered the rudder have all killed them." Azig did not have a good attitude towards the Han officials, but he was even more dissatisfied with the changes in the prices of goods in the capital. "The news is spreading so fast, someone must be doing it." Then three words came to mind - Jin Yiwei.

Dolgon chuckled, but he didn't care, "It's just the brocade guard." Our current court is full of holes! "Especially when Daqing is looking like it's going to fail, that's even more so.

Things like where the Ming army has already arrived should have been temporarily blocked, so that the people would not panic when they found out.

But Dolgon saw that the people of the city were no slower than he was in getting the news. This only proves that the Qing Dynasty is riddled with holes, and the Manchu Qing's ability to control is weakening.

"Is there any news from Zhuozhou?" Azig asked again.

Although the army has not yet fully arrived, Azig believes that he will soon go south, so he naturally needs to know as much as possible about the enemy.

And the Manchu news network is also very well-informed, and any news from Jinling can be quickly transmitted to Yanjing. The Fan family is really a good minion.

As soon as the news arrived, it was Gao Jie's department that broke Zhuozhou, and then Xu Dingguo, Liu Zhaoji and Cao Bianjiao arrived. There were probably 60,000 or 70,000 troops. ”

Now Gao Jie, Xu Dingguo and Cao Bianjiao continue to move forward, and they are the ones who have captured Fangshan and Liangxiang, and Liu Zhaoji is following. There are also Wang Tingchen and Liu Liangzuo who led the army to besiege Baoding, and Huang Degong went up along Baiyangdian and captured Xiongxian and Bazhou. The purpose should be to unite the Zheng army of Jinmen and block the way for my Qing Dynasty to return to the outside of the customs. ”

It can be said that judging from the current situation, the Ming army's Northern Expedition plan has really reached the doorstep.

As long as Yanjing is successfully won, everything will be so beautiful.

The dream of Emperor Chongzhen and the dream of the courtiers of Jinling can all be realized.

However, just looking at the appearance of Dolgon's old god now, then you should know that the Manchu Qing Dynasty retreated step by step, except for one Baoding City along the way, almost let the Ming army kill under Yanjing City, then you should know that Dolgon must have a backhand.

Although Xuanda was not at that time, the heavy snow almost made him miscalculate. But even if the Ming army reached the bottom of Yanjing City, how could they quickly take Yanjing City?

There are still so many Eight Banner soldiers and Green Flag soldiers in this city, but it is not Yanjing when Emperor Chongzhen was in the past.

In fact, there were not many Eight Banner soldiers guarding Baoding City with Abatai, but more of them were the Green Banner soldiers of Beizhili, as well as a small number of Guanning troops, and even many of the gentry of the Central Plains and Beizhili who fled into Baoding City.

The Eight Banners soldiers of Beizhili, especially the Eight Banners soldiers who looked at Jinmen before, are now mostly in Yanjing. This is Dolgon's backhand.

And Baoding Mansion is a strong city, the Ming army went all the way north smoothly, and it took a month to kill Yanjing, not to mention that they didn't have too many cannons in the army, and now even the cannons are left behind. Liu Liangzuo is another waste wood, although Wang Tingchen dares to fight and can fight, but he really can't take Baoding for a while.

That's enough.

Although Qi Chongge had proposed to Dolgon, it would be too dangerous to do so. Beware of Prince Ying's military power, and sit back and watch the enemy soldiers come to the city without moving.

But Dorgon believed that Azig would not be so stupid no matter how stupid he was. And Azig is just stupid and irascible, not vicious and insidious.

Sit back and watch the Ming army take Yanjing, and they, the empress dowager emperor and regent, will all be finished, and then defeat the Ming army themselves and revive the Qing Dynasty......

Hehe, Qi Chongge really thinks too much. Don't forget, most of the relatives of the Eight Banners have already moved to Yanjing City.

The fathers, mothers, and children of the Eight Banners Army under Azig are all in Yanjing City, do you let Azig try to stay still?

"The good country is lost. Wouldn't the Nanban have already killed Lugou Bridge now? "Azig just knew that Zhuozhou was lost, and he didn't want the progress of the Ming army to reach the outskirts of Yanjing City. I was shocked right away.

When he reached Yanjing with his front foot, Zheng Jun arrived with his back foot, "You are too risky." ”

Even though Azig knew that Yanjing City was not broken with a single stab, it still felt very bad to be beaten under the capital by the enemy.

The latter laughed: "Zheng Zhilong has a good saying, reluctant to let the child trap the wolf." This brocade guard is dead but not stiff, and we will be killed in a short period of time. If I don't do it more realistically, how can I earn so many Ming troops? "I want the Eight Banners of Shanxi to arrive with a pinch, and I want the Yanjing City to always be empty, so that the Ming army will come forward boldly with confidence.

Even the snowstorm in Xuanda helped them a lot.

I'm afraid that Hong Chengchou and they all think that the soldiers and horses returned from the Manchu Qing Dynasty are still in Xuanda.

This is the truth of 'reluctant children can't trap wolves'.

There are more than 100,000 people on the front line of the Ming army, leaving 30,000 people in Baoding, and the remaining 100,000 people dare to divide the army into two ways.

From Yanjing to Baoding, more than 100,000 Ming troops. Now they have been divided into three major regiments, many small regiments, this will be able to be flattened in one go, and when the iron cavalry goes south, who can resist the morale of the Eight Banners warriors?