At the same time as appointing Li Jiantai as the superintendent, Chongzhen issued a holy decree to Li Xiao to promote him to the king of Tang.

It is said that the Ming Dynasty now actually has a Tang king, that is, Zhu Yujiao, the Tang king in Nanyang. (Note: The famous Tang King in the history of the Ming Dynasty, that is, Zhu Yujian, who later became the Longwu Emperor, was eating in the clan prison in Fengyang at this time for the crime of not abiding by the ancestral system and using soldiers and horses without permission, and his prince was inherited by his younger brother Zhu Yujian.) ）。

However, in order to win over Li Xiao, Chongzhen considered that Li Xiao had been named the Duke of Tang and his subordinates had always been called the Tang Army, so he simply became an adult and crowned Li Xiao, the current king of Pingliao, as the king of Tang.

As for Zhu Yujiao, he was renamed the king of Qin. Anyway, the original Qin Wang clan has been wiped out by Li Zicheng's entire clan, and now Zhu Yuzhen has been renamed the King of Qin, and no one will raise objections.

The holy decree of sealing Li Xiao as the king of Tang was written by Chongzhen himself, and it was written for a long time. This holy decree, as if the sealing of Li Xiao is only a secondary matter, but it is more of a spit out of Chongzhen's heart, the infinite sadness and helplessness.

“…… I admired the mandate of heaven, followed the grand plan of my ancestors, and since Wuchen has been in Jiashen for ten or six years, I have failed to cultivate virtue and respect the virtuous, and turn into the sea, so that the war disaster has been years old, and the people have suffered from fire and water, all of which are my crimes. To the rogues, the self is naked, stealing soldiers, and poisoning the province. The imperial court had no choice but to use troops to exterminate it, and my heart was really painful, so what could I say......"

"Since the beginning of the dynasty, the thieves in the provinces have been peaceful for the people, but how can they turn thieves and poison the world, isn't it the fault of all of them? I am unconscious, my virtue is not known, I am ashamed of my ancestors, and I am ashamed of my ancestors. How innocent are the people of the world, who are born from this disaster of swords and soldiers, how miserable is it? Every time I think of this, I feel sad in my heart, how can I say it......"

“…… Li Xiao, the king of Pingliao, was not only a dragon horse, but also a member of the imperial family, raising the prestige of the country in the sea of whales and killing the Tartar chief Hongtai; He made great contributions to the Qing Realm and restored the old land in Liaozhong. Where the soldiers arrived, the Tartars were frightened, and the strong expeditions were all subdued. How can you describe all kinds of miraculous feats in one word? Every time I hear the report, I am very happy. Li Xiao worked hard to seek governance, and he relied on the ministers of the humerus; Worship Chen Mo with his hands, and he will rely on the pillar of the court. help the chaos and fight the chaos, and list the high merits and who is what; Drive for the king, and sing the glory of the country. ……“

”…… I did not avoid relatives, but I followed the will of the emperor and his ancestors for meritorious service, and the grass was awarded to the emperor as a feudal screen in the imperial family; Tong Gui favors the tin, and the macro belt is in the Wang family. Jiayu Ye's Fu Rong, En Chonglian; The distribution of Yan Tianhuang, the courtesy and the family, the grand ceremony and the mediocrity, and the new Lun life. Zitz added the title of Prince Li Xiao, promoted to the king of Tang, and awarded the crown prince and prince, and his meritorious soldiers were all paid to the division and the preferential discussion. I Xi's fate is in the play, and the body and the country are flattened. I hope that Li Xiao, the general of the city, Wei Zhenyidi, deeply admires the Jun Lie of Yuan Rong, and Xuanhua Huaxia, and smokes it with Zhaolu cloth. Temporary Xi Wu Ben, Jia Nai Pi achievements, efforts to prosper, to negotiate the lotus of the hope ......"

”…… Today, Shaanxi and Gansu are swinging, thieves stealing evidence, pseudo-country without authorization, and I am worried, how can I express it! Today, Li Xiao, the king of the Tang Dynasty, is personally recruited on behalf of me, drumming for loyalty and bravery, praising righteousness, rewarding incorruptibility, and selecting heroes. Its arrogant and cowardly generals, greedy and cruel officials who advocate escape, people who bewitch the public, and those who lack military rations, are really guilty, that is, they are engaged in Shangfang. All the rewards and punishments of scheduling between the lines are not in the system. ……“

”…… Looking at the Tang King's expedition, the strong soldiers went out to suppress, the spear was fierce, the thief Kou Xue disappeared, and the ditch was annihilated. Except for the thief, if there is a surrender, no one shall be killed in vain; Fu is really caressed, surrendered and dispersed, and all the people will live in peace from now on. ……“

”…… With my Tang Wang Zhongyou and strong strategy, the quality of the long, do this Yuru, Tezi Jianren, the temple to confer the festival, Zhengyang pro-food. May Qing flea swing demon atmosphere, spin master play Kai, the world Jingning, Ding Yi Minggong. Meritorious civil and military officials inside and outside the country are given preferential treatment. I welcome the celebration and share the peace. The general will act on behalf of my relatives to conquer the people and calm the chaos to the intention of the envoy, and the salty envoy will know about it. Edict, Chin this. ”

After this long canonization decree was written, Chongzhen stamped the dragon seal, and ordered the eunuch Cao Huachun to personally carry this decree and immediately go to Shandong to preach the decree.

Originally, now that Li Xiaoyuan was in Liaodong, if the imperial court wanted to deliver it quickly, it would have to immediately send someone from Tianjin Wei to cross the sea, which was the fastest way. However, Chongzhen considered that the sea route was not quiet now, and there were not only the Qing court's sailors as the obstruction, but also a large number of pirates to plunder along the coast, and the imperial court had basically no water division available since the fall of Dongjiang Town, so for the sake of safety, he did not dare to let Cao Huachun and others take the sea route without permission.

In addition, it is also very important that the crown prince is an extremely solemn and formal matter. Although Li Xiao is a concubine, but after all, he has a different surname, not the same clan, this kind of Ming Dynasty has never been a unique favor since the founding of the country, of course, it cannot be arranged at will.

Therefore, Chongzhen finally chose a more decent way, that is, first send Cao Huachun to Shandong to preach, and then from Shandong, take Li Xiao's sailor ship, and go to Liaodong again to proclaim, in this way, even if the proclamation is more formal, it can also make the road safe.

It's just that what Chongzhen never expected was that Cao Huachun had just left on his front foot, and only the next day, bad news came from the northwest.

That is, Li Zicheng was a guy, and immediately after the establishment of the Great Shun Kingdom, he immediately began to plan to cross the Yellow River east and take the Beijing Division directly.

Speaking of which, Li Zicheng's eagerness to launch the Eastern Expedition campaign is related to Gu Junen's offer.

On the same day, Gu Junen offered Li Zicheng a plan, so that he could defeat Sun Chuanting, seize the entire Shaanxi and Gansu, and finally successfully establish the country, so he was deeply trusted by Li Zicheng and was rewarded by Li Zicheng. Gu Junen was respected by this trust and thought more about effectiveness, so after the establishment of Dashun, he immediately proposed to Li Zicheng that he would launch a large army to cross the Yellow River east and attack the Beijing Division in the north.

"King Yuchuang, now the Ming army is defeated, the north is empty, and I am a new one, the soldiers use their lives, it is to take advantage of the victory and forge ahead, Weichen thinks that if my army crosses the Yellow River eastward and waves its division to attack, it will be able to sweep the Central Plains and take the Beijing division directly."

Li Zicheng hadn't replied yet, but Niu Jinxing on the side frowned and said: "Jun'en, if my army marches eastward, the Ming army is not worried, but the Ming Dynasty still has good generals like Li Xiao, the king of Pingliao, and his subordinate Tang soldiers are even more elite and well-equipped. ”

Gu Junen stroked his beard and smiled: "Juyan, I understand what you are worried about. It's just that now Li Xiao is leading the main force of his Tang army to attack Liaodong, and his soldiers and horses left in the Ming Dynasty are already very limited, and it is difficult to pose a substantial threat and obstacle to our army. ”

"However, if my army marches eastward, then Chongzhen will quickly recall the main force of Li Xiao's Tang Army from the Qing Realm, what should I do?" Niu Jinxing said with a frown.

"Hmph, Liaodong to Shaanxi, thousands of miles, he wants to come, where will it be so fast! Juyan, this is an important reason why Gu wants the emperor to immediately launch an attack on the Ming Court. Gu Junen sneered: "We just want to take advantage of the time difference between Li Xiao and his army from the Qing court to rush back, and let Li Xiao lead his troops to rush back from the Qing realm, but we found that our army has captured Shanxi, Xuanfu and Beizhili and other places, so that he understands that now the general trend of the Ming court has gone, and he is no longer able to return to the sky, even if he leads the people back to the Ming realm, it is unthinkable." In this way, what else can Li Xiao do except acquiesce to reality? ”

Gu Junen's words made Li Zicheng nod frequently, he slapped it on the dragon chair fiercely, and shouted: "Junen is right!" Fuck it! Li Xiao's guy, on the same day in Henan to block our army to attack Kaifeng, let us return from a big defeat, and had to retreat from Henan to Shaanxi, such a deep hatred, I have always remembered it! If our army can quickly send troops, capture Shanxi and Xuanfu, and then take the Beijing Division, and capture the Chongzhen child, then Li Xiao, even if he is the most capable of fighting, he has to give me obediently! “

The plan was set, and Li Zicheng sent Li You, Bai Minghe and other subordinate generals to take the lead in crossing the Yellow River and occupying Ronghe and other counties in Shanxi, making preparations for the army's eastward expedition.

Then, after the Dashun army obtained the vanguard stronghold of the eastward expedition to cross the river, it mobilized 500,000 elite soldiers and horses from the country, and the troops were divided into two ways to attack the east.

300,000 soldiers and horses on the North Road, led by Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin, planned to capture Taiyuan, Ningwu, Datong, Yanghe, Xuanhua, Juyongguan after occupying Pingyang, and arrived in Beijing. 200,000 soldiers and horses on the South Road, led by Liu Fangliang and Li Guo, planned to cross the Yellow River into Shanxi, that is, march along the north bank of the Yellow River, plan to occupy Huaiqing Mansion in Henan Province first, then occupy Lu'an Mansion in Shanxi, and then go east to collect Weihui and Zhangde Mansion in Henan, and then wave the army north to take the Daimyo Mansion, and at the same time divide the troops to collect nearby prefectures and counties, and then attack Baoding through Handan, Xingtai and Hejian, and join forces with Li Zi in Beijing.

The army of 500,000 Liukou, murderous and arrogant, swept down to the entire northern border of the Ming Dynasty like the Yellow River.

The soldiers and horses moved, and the text came, and Li Zicheng personally summoned to pass the cards to the counties and counties of Shanxi, and the text was as follows:

"The general at the head of the battalion was ordered to solicit things: since ancient times, the emperor has risen and fallen, and it is a sign of the people's hearts. In the Ming Dynasty, most of the numbers have ended, the punishment is severe, and the people are unbearable. Birth of my holy lord, benevolence and good life, the banner of righteousness is raised, and Haiyu returns to his heart. Crossing the south of the river and leveling Yu Chu, entering the west of the Guanxi and sweeping the three Qin. To pacify the officials and pacify the people, and to set up generals to defend the border, the great cause has been decided. There is Jin Yan, and he has been trapped in the soup for a long time. Unable to bear to sit idly by, the special volunteer division led 500,000 soldiers from Chang'an on the 20th of this month, and marched into the vanguard by separate routes. I, Emperor Dashun, hanged the people for the crime, drove the personal expedition, personally raised the elite soldiers, and did not commit any crimes. For the first card to the civil and military attachés, etc., the time is measured, the city is sealed, and the early picture is juelu; If obsessed with refusal, Xu Er's gentry and people are bound to offer, not only double the reward, but also protect the lives everywhere, such as the officers and soldiers resist together, the soldiers are broken to the city, and the jade is not divided, what is the regret? ”

When Li Zicheng's army was like a monstrous flood, Li Jiantai's 50,000 soldiers and horses of the Beijing battalion had just marched at Zhengyangmen, and Fang left the Beijing division and drove to Shanxi, completely losing the best opportunity to resist the Liukou Eastern Expedition.

The Ming court's indecision and sluggishness in responding made the Ming army in Xuanfu and other places in Shanxi panic and panic, like a bunch of headless flies. also let Li Zicheng's army go all the way down, it can be described as overwhelming, invincible, and no one can beat it.

After crossing the Yellow River in the east, how Liukou attacked the city and plundered the land, how he slaughtered the soldiers and civilians, and how he swept through the north of the Ming Dynasty in a thousand miles in one day, I will not repeat it here.

Let's say that Cao Huachun and others rushed all the way to Shandong, and arrived in Jinan ten days later, and met with Chen Zilong, the first praise painting of Li Xiao's subordinates.

Chen Zilong warmly entertained Cao Huachun and his entourage, and gave everyone a generous reward, which made Cao Huachun and others very happy. After the symbolic proclamation, Cao Huachun casually proposed that he would take Li Xiao's sailor ship to Qingjing to personally proclaim to Li Xiao and crown him as the king of Tang in person.

Cao Huachun's request made Chen Zilong feel embarrassed.

Because the sea has not completely thawed at this time, and the local ships in Shandong have been transferred by Li Xiao to the north to clear the border, and they have not returned since the sea has frozen. Therefore, for the sake of safety, he could only say good words and persuade Cao Huachun and others that if they wanted to go to Liaodong, they could only sail until the sea thawed.

Of course, Chen Zilong told them that he would first fly pigeons to pass the book to the Tang army's secret outpost in Shenyang, and then they would contact Li Xiao from time to time, so that after Li Xiao received the news, he would immediately prepare to meet the emperor's holy decree.

Listening to Chen Zilong's words, Cao Huachun was very helpless. But there was no choice but to live temporarily in Shandong and wait patiently for news from Liaodong.

Chen Zilong's flying pigeon message was received a few days later by Hao Zeren, the secret agent of the Tang Army in Shenyang. It's just that at this time, because Hauge and Dolgon were still in the midst of internal fighting, all the communication channels outside Shengjing City were cut off by Dolgon, so that Hao Zeren could not send this news to Li Xiao stationed in Haicheng in time.

It was not until the internal struggle of the Qing court eased and Hauge and Dolgon merged to jointly elect the Shunzhi Emperor as the lord of the Qing court that Shengjing regained the opportunity to contact the outside world. Hao Zeren, the leader of the Tang Army's secret agents, was able to send his secret staff to quickly report the news to Li Xiaoyu.

What Emperor Chongzhen, Cao Huachun and others did not expect was that after Li Xiao received this news, his reaction was very indifferent. He didn't have much joy about the fact that he would be promoted to the king of Tang by the imperial court, and he didn't pay much attention to it.

Because the current Li Xiao is already very pessimistic about these vain titles given by Chongzhen, it can even be said that he is completely unimpressed.

What he was most concerned about now and was planning with all his might was how to launch a further offensive against the Qing court in order to ultimately weaken the Manchus to the greatest extent and maximize his own interests.

Therefore, for Cao Huachun and his party, Li Xiao planned to let them stay in Shandong for a period of time first, and when the spring thawed, his own ships returned to Shandong to load grain, baggage, ordnance, and other things, and then carried Cao Huachun and them over by the way to meet their requirements for face-to-face announcements.

It seems that Li Xiao is so cold, as if he doesn't know much about the current situation in the northwest, but the real situation was not like that at that time.

Li Xiao now, from Hao Zeren, has learned that Li Zicheng defeated Sun Chuanting's troops and horses in Shaanxi and established the Great Shun Kingdom.

He almost subconsciously thought that after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Li Zicheng would definitely send troops and horses to cross the Yellow River east to take the Beijing Division, so that in the case that he could not return to defense, the Ming court would be in danger and Chongzhen would be in danger.