Chapter 39: Wu Sangui's Heart

Chengdu Shu Wangfu.

However, at this time, the Shu Wangfu was already named Pingxi Wangfu.

The people of Sichuan in this time and space are a little happier than the people of Sichuan in history.

Although Sichuan did not escape the war, the war in Sichuan was not a warlord scuffle, but a confrontation between the two armies. Under the confrontation between the two armies, although the supply of military materials was difficult, it was much better to fight indiscriminately with countless warlords, large and small, and there was no distinction between the front line and the rear.

When the war broke out in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Wu Sangui was not idle, he confronted Li Dingguo on the one hand, and surrendered the Sichuan army on the other, with tens of thousands of Liaodong troops as the core and more than 100,000 Sichuan troops as the auxiliary. At one time, it had hundreds of thousands of troops, which was on par with Li Dingguo's troops.

No, it's a little stronger than Li Dingguo's troops.

The reason is simple.

Although Li Dingguo has many soldiers and horses, Yunnan and Guizhou have always been barren and cannot support these hundreds of thousands of troops.

Most of the food needs to be fed by two lakes.

However, Sichuan is a country of abundance, as long as it is well managed, it is not very difficult to raise hundreds of thousands of troops.

It can be said that now is Wu Sangui's highlight moment.

Since Wu Sangui defected to the Qing court, he has not gained much trust. Although Wu Sangui is capable, the Guan Ning army under his command can also be called elite. But there has been no chance to stand alone, so to speak, if it were not for the expedition to Sichuan, it was Hauge, most of the generals of the Eight Banners trusted Dolgon, not Duoduo.

Otherwise, it may not be Wu Sangui who stays to guard Sichuan.

Of course, even if Wu Sangui guards Sichuan, it is not too high in the sequence of the Qing court.

However, this situation changed after the Battle of Anqing.

Wu Sangui felt that his status had suddenly become higher. The holy decree of the Qing court was polite to Wu Sangui. It's a completely different attitude than before.

This is also Dolgon's adjustment of the Qing court's grand strategy, and under the condition that the Eight Banners are not fully competent for the main force, the powerful Han generals will naturally be greatly wooed.

Wu Sangui himself represents a faction, and he has a good relationship with his ancestral family. Therefore, the Qing court also had to be appeased.

However, this is not very effective.

Under the strong pressure of the Qing court, Wu Sangui naturally did not dare to have other thoughts, but now Wu Sangui saw the weakness of the Qing court. It may not be so peaceful.

Now Wu Sangui is faced with such a choice.

Wu Sangui had been seeking contact with the Xia Dynasty, and this kind of private contact, Wu Sangui may not have had any ideas at that time. At most, I want to have a little tacit understanding between the two sides.

However, Wu Sangui's appeal was on the side of the Xia Dynasty and could not be said to be ignored. But it's not taken very seriously.

But this summer, Chao took the initiative to come over there and wanted to buy Sichuan salt. Of course, but it's not that you don't give money.

Wu Sangui's raising troops or something is also very expensive, although Wu Sangui did not calculate the salt of Sichuan into Chu and Wu Sangui, but he wanted to make hundreds of thousands of taels a year.

This sum of money is also quite important to Wu Sangui.

Most of Wu Sangui's funds in Sichuan were self-raised. There is very little money and grain in the northwest to support Wu Sangui, and it is even said that Wu Sangui has to coordinate some grain and grass to the northwest.

And Wu Sangui still has to support an army of more than 100,000 people, and it is quite normal to be overstretched in terms of money and food.

These hundreds of thousands of taels of silver are also a great subsidy for Wu Sangui. It's not the first time he's done something like this.

When he was guarding Liaodong, he had a relationship with Houjin. What is the difference with today, the difference is that the management of the Ming Dynasty was too lax, while the management of the Qing court was somewhat strict, even in the city of Chengdu, there were eight banner soldiers to guard.

It's not easy to hide from them.

Wu Sangui called his two henchmen and strategists over. One is named Fang Guangchen. One is named Liu Xuanchu.

Both men come from very different backgrounds.

Fang Guangchen is the son of Fang Yizao, a scholar of the Ming Dynasty, and has a tacit understanding with Wu Sangui.

However, Liu Xuanchu was a clerk under Liu Wenxiu, and in the battle of Phoenix Mountain, the Great Western Army was defeated and fled, losing his armor.

I don't know how many people were taken prisoner. Liu Xuanchu was one of them, and later became a clerk under Wu Sangui. Because Wu Sangui guarded Sichuan and selected some people who were familiar with the local people in Sichuan, Liu Xuanchu entered Wu Sangui's eyes, and the formation was reused, becoming one of the two major strategists under Wu Sangui.

Wu Sangui handed over this problem to the two major strategists.

Fang Guangchen pinched his beard slightly and said, "Lord Wang, this matter is not big or small, but it is not small. This is an easy thing, there is no such thing as that generation, although the regent is in the ninth fold, he is also a person who understands, and this one thing alone will not be too difficult for the king. ”

"It's just this one thing, Hong Chengchou has already picked things on the bright side."

"Hong Chengchou is squatting on the north side of the Yangtze River, facing hundreds of thousands of troops of the Xia army, all the remnants of the army are defeated, and the court is also worried that he will not be able to support it, so there is the previous move to negotiate peace, and now because of the death of Prince Yu, the proposal for peace, Hong Chengchou's military expenditure is mainly based on two Huai salts."

"Once, we also have salt here, and we won't be able to hide it from people when the time comes."

"How will I explain to the court when the time comes."

"Nope." Fang Guangchen thought about it a little more and said: "After the defeat of Anqing in the imperial court, it seems that he has generously recruited Han soldiers and Han ministers, but in fact, the meanness in his heart has increased dramatically. It's just that the contempt and suspicion were placed on the bright side before, but now they are hidden. ”

"Now the prince is in Sichuan, and the court whip is long

Unexpectedly, even if the prince does something out of the ordinary, the court will definitely endure it for the sake of the overall situation. will not hold the prince accountable, but will be good at appeasing, but it has always been like this, and the stalemate between the two countries is good, once the court gains power, it will be difficult for the prince to deal with it at that time. ”

Wu Sangui nodded slightly.

Once it is decided that Sichuan salt will go out of the province, it will not be a few catties, dozens of catties, or even hundreds of thousands of catties, think about the amount of salt that can support the people of the two provinces, how much. Once the transportation begins, it is impossible to hide it, after all, no one is blind.

Doing such a thing at this time, silver is a trivial matter, and the most important thing is what the Qing court will think of Wu Sangui?

This is the most fatal weakness of the Qing court, and this weakness extends to all aspects. The lower echelons of the Qing court may have a sense of arrogance, but in the upper echelons of the Qing court, there is a feeling of walking on thin ice. In terms of politics, on the one hand, he emphasized the unity of the Manchus and the Han Dynasty, but in doing things, he maintained the special status of the Eight Banners everywhere.

This shows their lack of self-confidence.

They may know that the integration of the Manchus and the Han is the right way, but they dare not do so, for fear that after losing their special status, the throne will not be guaranteed.

It is best to describe it as a wide outer and a taboo inside.

Nevertheless, the upper echelons of the Qing court were quite sensible. When to do something, but it is also very clear, and the four words of settling accounts after the autumn are used very well.

Wu Sangui seemed to be unable to make a decision, and asked Liu Xuanchu: "But I don't know, what does Mr. Liu think?" ”

Liu Xuanchu was able to gain Wu Sangui's trust in just a few days, and he may have some flaws in other aspects, but in terms of observing words and feelings, he is an expert, and said: "Lord Wang, you have already made a decision. ”

Wu Sangui smiled slightly when he heard this, and said, "Yes, Lone already has some ideas. ”

"Alone can have today, what is the battle? Is it the one in Beijing who likes it? No, it's the sons and daughters under my command, and there are hundreds of thousands of Pingxi troops under my command. The imperial court did not dare to underestimate it. Therefore, this military strength, the army in my hands, is where I am fundamental. ”

"Only if the soldiers are strong and strong, even the court will treat me preferentially. Once I don't have the strength in my hands, even if I am loyal to the imperial court, I am just an idler in Beijing. ”

"Is this the work of a hero?"

"So this small section is nothing, as long as there is money and food, there are people and horses. What can the court tolerate me? ”

"Mr. Liu."

"The lower official is here." Liu Xuanchu immediately got up and said.

"You go to see Li Dingguo on my behalf, and then go to Chóng Qìng." Wu Sangui said: "How is it to explore the mind of the Southern Dynasty? ”

Wu Sangui is a typical warlord mentality. What kind of righteousness, loyalty and patriotism are all false, only the soldiers and horses in their hands are real. And Wu Sangui's thoughts about the Southern Dynasty are probably not only on Sichuan salt.

Liu Xuanchu said knowingly: "Please rest assured, the lower officials will definitely live up to their mission." ”