In July, Huang Desheng's surrender to Tian Jianxiu finally came to fruition, and Tian Jianxiu led more than 20,000 men and horses to surrender to Daliang on the condition that he would not be held accountable for the crimes committed by his generals and ensure the safety of his subordinates' property. After Liu Zongmin got the news, he led 30,000 troops to continue to break through, and broke through Zuo Menggeng's defense line and fled in the direction of Jiangxi.

Fortunately, Zhou He was prepared in Jiangxi, and blocked Liu Zongmin's troops in the mountains again, and did not let Liu Zongmin harm the situation in Jiangxi, which had just settled down. In order to solve this scourge as soon as possible, Li Yan ordered Huang Degong and Jin Shengheng to lead most of the troops to continue to pursue Liu Zongmin.

But Zuo Mengeng was transferred to Kaifeng by Li Yan for an audience. Although Zuo Mengeng didn't want to go, he was powerless to resist, so he could only give in in the end. In order to alleviate the responsibility for letting Liu Zongmin escape, he also brought Zhu Changzhu and dozens of former Ming officials with him to give Li Yan a prisoner. And the troops are handed over to his henchman Jin Shengheng, who can give him courage outside.

When the two came to Kaifeng, everything went smoothly, Li Yan did not embarrass them, and set up a banquet to entertain them. After that, a reward for them was announced, Zuo Mengeng gave it to the earl because he offered the meritorious service of the former Ming Dynasty's prisoner, and Tian Jianxiu, who surrendered, only got a viscount, and then both of them were sent to the council hall as senators.

may feel that the courtesy received is not enough, Tian Jianxiu submitted his resignation and wanted to go back to his hometown in Shaanxi to retire. However, Li Yan did not agree, and persuaded Tian Jianxiu to do something for the new dynasty, even if he really wanted to retire, he could live in Kaifeng or Beijing. As for the mansion, there is no need for Tian Jianxiu to worry about it, as long as you choose a good place to go, everything will naturally be arranged.

Tian Jianxiu only figured out at this time that Li Yan was still not at ease with them. However, he didn't have many complaints, even if he changed his status, he would definitely not do much better than Li Yan. After careful consideration, he still chose to be a senator, so that in another decade or two, when the world is stable, he can still return to his hometown to retire. Otherwise, if you don't have a public office, you will settle down in Kaifeng or Beijing, and then you will want to return to your hometown, I am afraid it will not be easy.

As for the former Ming eunuch who was sent, Zhu Changzhu was explicitly ordered to abolish all his titles, and after bowing down to Li Yan to express his submission, he was imprisoned in Kaifeng City. Of course, this former dynasty's prison still got the title of Marquis of Nanning.

The Zuo Jiajun under the leadership of Jin Shengheng was undergoing reorganization at this time. By supplying Zuo Mengeng with money and food before, he had already completed the inspection of Menggeng's team. At this time, what should be done is to disperse the families of nearly 10,000 soldiers in Jiangxi and resettle them on the spot. For those soldiers who are old and weak and do not want to join the army anymore, they are also given some money, and let them return to their hometowns to settle down with the resettlement documents issued. Fortunately, Zuo Mengeng's soldiers are not as large as those in Yunnan and Guizhou, and their hometowns are all under the rule of Daliang, so it is not very difficult for these eliminated soldiers to return to their hometowns for resettlement.

Zuo Mengeng's generals did not have much resistance, they all knew in their hearts that the domination of the world by Daliang was in front of them, and they would not do brainless things for their future and wealth in the new dynasty. As for Zuo Mengeng, isn't he made an earl, and the treatment is not bad, they should also think about themselves.

Taking advantage of the reorganization of Zuo Mengeng's troops, Liu Zongmin and more than 30,000 people were finally able to rest in the Wuyi Mountains. However, the mountains are barren, and the big families have some silver, but the food is not enough for their tens of thousands of horses to eat for a few days. Therefore, they can't stay in one place for a long time, and they have to change places in a few days, not only to avoid the pursuit of the Liang official army, but also to find food to eat.

Liu Zongmin convened a meeting of the generals to discuss what to do next. The reason for this is not only to know the news that Tian Jianxiu has surrendered, but also to suspect Li Zicheng's death. If Li Zicheng is really dead, then is this Dashun banner still going to continue to fight? And in the current situation, he really doesn't have much confidence.

"Everyone knows it," Liu Zongmin said straight to the point: "Tian Yufeng (Tian Jianxiu) has surrendered to Li Yan. It is said that Zicheng also suffered an accident. Let's not talk about the truth of this news, let's discuss it now, what will we do in the future? Let's talk about it, what to say, at this time, don't have any scruples. ”

Several generals bowed their heads and didn't speak, so Liu Zongmin had no choice but to name him: "Prime Minister, let's talk about it first." ”

Niu Jinxing was named, so he had to speak: "Ruhou, in the current situation, there is nothing that can be done by despicable people." Whether it is walking in the mountains or going to Liangguang to occupy an area, it is only for a while. At this time, I will have something to say. Li Yan's troops are getting stronger and stronger, whether it is bows and crossbows or firearms, they are all high-quality and well-equipped, the soldiers are well trained, the army is strong, and they are flexible. Now it is the Qing Kingdom in the north, and I am afraid that it will not cause much trouble to Li Yan. So,"

Niu Jinxing smiled awkwardly and said helplessly: "Let's discuss." ”

Liu Zongmin looked at Gu Junen again.

Gu Junen's face sank like water, and said, "Whether Your Majesty's news is true or not, we should all go south to take a look." Even if His Majesty really encounters an accident, there is still the Marquis of Ru who presides over the overall situation. Now that Li Yan is going south, Fujian is the first to bear the brunt, Zheng Zhilong is the king of the sea dragon, no matter how powerful Li Yan is on land, his thousands of miles of sea frontier are all under the threat of Zheng Zhilong. There is the Qing State in the north, the threat of the sea frontier in the east, and the remnants of the Southern Ming in the south, as long as we persist, Li Yan is bound to not last. If you can unite with Zheng Zhilong, then the odds will be even greater. ”

Liu Zongmin nodded with satisfaction, and finally someone gave him an idea. As for Song Xiance, he has long been gone, whether he surrendered or ran away by himself, no one knows.

Shi Jincai interjected at this time: "There is some truth in what the military advisor said, but not all of it is reasonable. Li Yan allocated fields to all his generals, and even if he did not collect taxes from the people, his army could be maintained. It's definitely not a good way to stay up for time. If we want to have a glimmer of life, we still have to divide our troops into four parts, and each unit can go to various places to attack, harass, and sabotage. Only by making Li Yan unable to control the place can the purpose of consuming Li Yan be achieved. ”

Everyone knows that there is nothing wrong with his suggestion, after all, these are veterans of rebellion, and that's what they did back then. But in the face of Li Yan, they all knew the danger. Not to mention that they are almost thrown away by mules and horses now, even if there are some donkeys and mules, they can't outrun the cavalry under Li Yan's command. How many cavalry Li Yan has now, they have all seen it, and there are thousands of them when they make a move. If they are targeted by Li Yan, how many days can they hold on?

Besides, if you kill people and set fire to other people's land, will there be a chance to surrender in the future? He Shi Jin is Li Yan's rebel general, there is no turning back, they still think that they can live to ninety-nine, who wants to go crazy with him. So after Shi Jincai's suggestion, everyone didn't hear it, and none of them said anything.