Today is the third day of the fourth month, and there are only five days left before the date of the enthronement ceremony of the Dashun Emperor, Li Zicheng has just listened to Niu Jinxing's report on the preparations for the enthronement ceremony, and read the detailed notes on the ceremony, and his heart is very happy. But there were still two things that still swept his interest, hearing that the Manchu Tartar Dolgon had already mobilized men and horses in Shengjing and Shenyang to prepare for the southern attack, and there was also a rumor that Wu Sangui had no intention of surrendering, and wanted to unite with the Manchu Qing and wait for the Manchu army to come south to deal with him together, both of which were unexpected to him, so that he was busy in the Wuying Hall all afternoon to deal with these songs, but more often he was thinking, hesitant and helpless.

With the report of the little eunuch in the inner court, Li Yan also entered the Wuying Palace, and they came in with Tang Tong and Zhang Ruolin who went to Shanhaiguan to reward the three armies. ”

Zhang Ruoqi and Tang Tong hurriedly stood up, Zhang Ruoqi bowed respectfully and replied: "Your Majesty, the minister and General Tang were ordered to go to Shanhaiguan with gold and silver to sacrifice the army, declare the great Shun Deyi, and persuade Wu Sangui to descend from Shun as soon as possible." After Wu Sangui received the decree and rewarded the army silver, he was quite grateful, and had the intention of surrendering, and then offered Shanhaiguan, and entered the capital with his ministers, but when he arrived in Luanzhou, he suddenly heard the changes in Beijing, his father was detained and tortured, and his concubine was occupied by the general Liu Zongmin, Wu Sangui stopped, and in this case, Wu Sangui was very hesitant, hoping that His Majesty would forgive him for his hardships and dare not come in person! ”

When Li Zicheng heard this, he understood Wu Sangui's thoughts, and then thought about it again, and then asked: "Does Wu Sangui know that Gu will hold an enthronement ceremony on the eighth day of the fourth month?" ”

Tang Tong hurriedly replied: "As soon as the minister arrived at Shanhaiguan, he told him about the day of the emperor's enthronement ceremony, hoping that he could personally lead a part of the civil and military officials to Beijing to participate in the grand ceremony, Wu Sangui was very willing at the beginning, but it was still that thing that made him shaken now, and his ministers were worried about the fear of change!" ”

"He won't come?"

"Yes, please calm the emperor's anger!"

Zhang Ruoqi and Tang Tong were forced to ask and sweat on their backs, so they had to answer yes. In fact, they are also very sympathetic to Wu Sangui, Wu Sangui is also human nature to do this, he announced his surrender, and his relatives were treated like this, which is something that everyone will shake, unless he Li Zicheng is a ruthless and unrighteous person.

Li Zicheng continued to ask: "The two Aiqing are in Shanhaiguan, have you heard of the movements of the Tartars?" ”

Zhang Ruoqi replied: "The minister is in Wu Sangui's army, and it is rumored that Duoerbiao is mobilizing the people of the Eight Banners of Manchuria, and there will be a move from the south. But when the East invaded the south, there is no knowing. ”

Li Zicheng didn't believe in Zhang Ruoqi and Tang Tong's loyalty, and Qin sent them to Shanhaiguan to sacrifice the army and persuade them to surrender just because they had shared hardships with Wu Sangui, thinking that they could have a deep talk with Wu Sangui, and they were also willing to accept this mission and make meritorious contributions to Dashun.

Niu Jinxing saw that Li Zicheng's face was not good, so he quickly stood up at the moment, smiled and persuaded him: "Your Majesty, Wu Sangui is worried about his family and has concerns, it is also natural, it is not surprising, just send someone to declare the emperor's will again, it is not difficult to solve!" ”

Zhang Ruoqi and Tang Tong were both relieved, and kowtowed and withdrew at the signal of Niu Jinxing.

After Li Zicheng saw Zhang Ruoqi and Tang Tong withdraw from the palace, he looked at Niu Jinxing and Li Yan and asked: "At the beginning, Wu Sangui was ordered to come to the aid, but when he arrived in Yutian, the Jingshi had already fallen, so he hesitated to enter. I robbed his father Wu Xiang and wrote a book to appease him, Wu Sangui wanted to surrender, and now when he arrived in Luanzhou, he heard that his love was robbed by Liu Zongmin, and ran away angrily, which is not a good sign! ”

At this time, Liu Zongmin broke in in a hurry, arched his hand slightly, and said: "Your Majesty, Wu Sangui rebelled and led the army to attack me to receive the Shanhaiguan army, and only a few thousand of the 20,000 troops escaped. ”

Li Zicheng also sneered at this moment, he really didn't expect it, it came so quickly, they were still here to discuss, and the defeat report had already arrived!

"It's all a good thing you did, Wu Sangui has already surrendered, but you can't help but say that detaining Wu Xiang and occupying his beloved concubine forced him to rebel again, if he unites with the Manchu Qing Dynasty and takes advantage of our unstable foothold, the foundation of Dashun will be destroyed in your hands!"

When Liu Zongmin heard this, he also said politely: "Why did he rebel, I don't know why, why did I cause it, maybe he was originally a false and wronged snake?" ”

Niu Jinxing also hurriedly persuaded at the moment: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the Manchurians are still in Shenyang, thousands of miles away from me; However, Wu Sangui has tens of thousands of elite soldiers in his hands, occupying the mountains and seas, only a few hundred miles away from me, which can be said to be the trouble of my Dashun Dynasty's henchmen. If you ignore it, once Wu San hangs an example of rebellion, what will many generals and feudal officials who have surrendered in various places think? Who is not my enemy? I Dashun took advantage of the fact that the Manchu Qing had not yet invaded the south, and defeated Wu Sangui in a battle first. The elimination of Wu Sangui and the capture of Shanhaiguan can make the Manchurians dare not invade the south, and those who surrender dare not act rashly. Do not delay this matter, beware of long nights and dreams. It is necessary to be quick in the affairs of Wu Sangui's use of troops, and to defeat him before the Manchus attack. ”

Li Zicheng nodded frequently, and asked Li Yan again, "What does Mr. Li claim?" ”

Li Yan also stood up and said: "Your Majesty, today's matter is very important, and it is not appropriate to make a hasty decision. Please Rong Chen and the two military advisors discuss it repeatedly below, so as to make sure that it is appropriate, and then listen to it. In order to settle the Shanhaiguan in a war, and only to win a quick victory, not to station troops under the fortified city, delay the battle situation, so that the eastern captives can reap the benefits of the fishermen. ”

"Liu Zongmin, you lead the troops and exterminate Wu Sangui for me!" Li Zicheng also yelled at Liu Zongmin angrily, and he was really angry in his heart.

Who knew that Liu Zongmin actually collided and said unceremoniously: "Everyone is a thief, why are you enjoying yourself in the capital and letting me go to the front line to work hard?" I'm not going! ”

"Good! If you don't go, I'll go, okay! After Li Zicheng finished speaking, he also brushed his sleeves away.

Niu Jinxing hurriedly stepped forward, stopped Li Zicheng, and asked: "Your Majesty, it was originally arranged to hold a grand ceremony on the eighth day of the first lunar month, but now the military should be deployed quickly, and the army will go on the expedition today." What should be done about this enthronement ceremony? ”

Li Zicheng hesitated in his heart, ascended the throne in Beijing, that was to promote his determination to set the world on behalf of the Ming Dynasty, but he didn't expect that in addition to this matter, he also said helplessly at the moment: "Originally, the eighth day of April was a day of great luck, so the eighth day of the first month was chosen, and now since the military situation has changed, it may as well be changed to the 26th, and within this half month, Wu Sangui must be resolved, and the ceremony on the 26th will be held as scheduled and will not be postponed." ”

Since entering Beijing, Li Zicheng has never felt so depressed and heavy as he did this morning. In order to raise military salaries, he had to torture those officials, but he didn't expect Liu Zongmin to be so excessive, he didn't think about anything, and he messed around, and now the situation has made waves, coupled with Liu Zongmin's attitude just now, his mood is also extremely bad all of a sudden.