The Shun army suddenly crossed the Yellow River, Huaiqing and Weihui quickly asked Datong for help, the messenger broke into the prime minister's palace and cried and asked for troops, and Chen Yongfu, who also led the garrison of the two governments, also sent a letter to the prime minister's office in despair, the two governments only have militia, and they can hold out for three days at most, and then they will collect his body if it is too late. Datong two governments and one courtyard were caught off guard, the Datong army has been disbanded and went home for spring ploughing, many people are still on the way, at this time, you must not fight, when you are in a hurry, the good news came, the Shun army continued to go north after a short stop west of Weihui, the target was obviously Beizhili - it was the imperial court that was beaten, and the two governments and one courtyard breathed a sigh of relief and applauded to get rid of trouble.

"Beizhili is a famine, a great epidemic, what are the thieves going to do there, do they want to capture Jingshi, what should we do?"

Someone in the House of Representatives asked, this guy is really annoying, everyone tacitly acknowledges it, even the People First Party, which has royalist tendencies, avoids this topic, can Datong win the war now? It would be good to take care of Shaanxi. Xue Xianguang, the military affairs of the praise painting who attended the meeting, immediately responded: The thieves will definitely attack the Beijing Division, but you don't have to care, the city wall of the Beijing Division is wide enough to run horses, four feet high, and countless guns and crossbows have been erected.

"There are no less than 100,000 defenders in Beijing, young and strong are all over the streets, there is no problem in defending the city, you are welcome, you can drive 100,000 pigs up the city wall for a while, and the thieves must be hungry and faint before hitting the iron plate." Xue Xianguang said happily, the councilors laughed, let the emperor be busy for a while if it doesn't matter to him, anyway, the Jingshi is solid.

There are more important things in Datong, the main force of the Shun army is gone, and the trade route in Henan should also be restored - Henan is out of control, various forces compete with each other, and the Titang Division has opened up a trade route connecting Huguang and Shanxi through Wushengguan, Runing, Xuzhou and then through the Yellow River in Zhengzhou by winning over local tyrants and bribing Dashun officials. This is a federal election year, a constitutional law has to be drafted and the first Senate is to be elected, and many big figures in the South have been invited to participate in the Constituent Assembly.

Datong stood by and watched, allowing the Shun army commander to drive straight into the capture of Zhangde and Shunde, until the real decision, the Ming Emperor was anxious, and gave the scholar Li Jiantai Longjie and Shang Fang Jianjian, so that his supervisor would fight the thief, and at the same time issued an edict to Li Yu and Shanhaiguan General Soldier Ma Ke, Miyun General Soldier Tang Tong, Shandong General Soldier Liu Zeqing, and Aid and Suppression General Soldier Liu Liangzuo and other soldiers to raise troops and Qin Wang, all listened to Li Jiantai's orders, however, the heads of the various armies were basically indifferent, and even the 1,500 Beijing battalion officers and soldiers who escorted Li Jiantai were also panicked, and people continued to flee along the way. Li Jiantai finally led 500 people to hide in Baoding City, and never dared to take a step south.

When the edict arrived in Datong, the People First Party consciously shut its mouth - the Prime Minister's Office was so poor that everyone knew in their hearts that there was a tacit understanding on the issue of saving the people first or saving the imperial court first, but Li Jianji of the Liberal Party was clamoring to send troops.

"Hermes-Epitek, my brother is trapped in Baoding, his old man is also your elder, he has helped a lot over the years, you can't help but save your family!" Li Jianji went directly to the presidential palace to find Li Yu, waving Li Jiantai's letter in his hand and shouting, he became less and less an outsider.

"Li Erzeng, you have gone too far, sending troops for your brother, you dare to say this kind of thing in the council?" Chen Qiyu frowned and blamed.

"Why did you send troops for my brother, the thieves occupied Zhending and Baoding, and hindered our contact with Shandong, shouldn't we fight?" Li Jian's words are extremely reasonable, in fact, Datong and Shandong can also be connected through Nanzhili, but they have to take a detour.

Li Yu stared at the map and discussed with Xue Xianguang and Li Guoying in a whisper, Li Fugui thought for a while and said: "King Qin's posture still has to be done, use the Shandong army." ”

"I think it's okay, transfer Sun Fuhu to go up to train the troops, you don't have to fight, just let Master Li Jiantai explain the past." Xue Xianguang nodded.

Li Yu knocked on the map and replied: "Just south of Baoding, I also want to find out how much strength the thieves have,"

In February, Sun Fuhu led Sun Erkui, Liu Tichun, and Li Qingshan to rush to Wangdu in the south of Baoding, blocking the road for the thieves to go north - the power of the Shandong army has developed to Dengzhou and Laizhou, and the larger the territory, the more insufficient the troops, Du Hongguo's naval army wants to make money at sea, Hao Shaoqi and Peng Dashun have to guard the old nest, Sun Fuhu only drew out these 10,000 people, fortunately, Jiang Ping, the general soldier of Zhenbao, Liu Zeqing, the general soldier of Shandong, and Liu Liangzuo, the general soldier of the reinforcement and suppression, all came with troops, and these guys may not take the court in their eyes, But Shandong's business has its benefits, and the big boss Li Yu didn't dare not come.

50,000 troops gathered in Wangdu, there was a battle with a plank, the facts proved that the official army is better than the common people can fight, 100,000 thieves were defeated, the first battle of the official army beheaded nearly 10,000, Li Jiantai happily reported to the Beijing Division, and at the same time asked for a reward for the generals from all walks of life, but the situation soon took a sharp turn for the worse, and the main force of the Shun army arrived one after another to launch a counteroffensive against the official army. The two sides fought fiercely for two days, the thieves fought more and more, and the black pressure of the people almost surrounded the officers and troops, Liu Zeqing saw that the situation was not good and fled, Liu Liangzuo immediately followed and fled, Sun Fuhu was shocked, these two guys have long been jealous of Shandong's business, if the strength of the Shandong army is greatly damaged, they will definitely occupy Rizhao and Haizhou, then it will be a big loss! Sun Fuhu thought about the stakes, and immediately ordered the withdrawal of the army, Jiang Zhuangren was lonely, and was chased by the Shun army all the way back to Baoding. Li Jiantai sighed for a long time, and wrote to the emperor that he could not do anything, and that the Beijing division was about to be lost, so it was better to move to Nanjing as soon as possible, and sent a letter to his younger brother Li Jianji, asking him to save himself from the thief, and then surrender the city with Jiang Ping.

Li Zicheng captured Zhending, Baoding, and then went north without obstacles, five or six hundred thousand Shun troops and the people rushed to the Beijing Division, halfway through, Gong Yan, the secretary of the Li government, hurriedly entered the big tent of the Chinese army, and introduced the middle-aged scholar next to him to Li Zicheng, this is Datong to make Han Lin, the word Yugong, the person does not like the imperial examination, but entered the study of Western studies in Yee, "Shou Yuan Quanshu" and "Taixi Zhiluo" is written by him, is a great talent who knows China and foreign countries! Song Qijiao, Yu Shangyou, and Yang Yuming, several descended officials from Jinshi shouted and stepped forward to greet each other, and by the way, they praised Han Lin - this person is not small, and it seems that he is also a talented person, Li Zicheng knows Corporal Lixian very well, and immediately invited Han Lin to take a seat.

Han Lin and Li Jiantai are the same year, but also a good friend, this time by Li Jianji entrusted to come to the rescue, found that Father Tang Ruowang was also with Li Jiantai, so he explained to Li Zicheng the intention, hoping to take Li Jiantai and Tang Ruowang away, the Li family is willing to pay for ransom.

"Is the Quwo Li family very rich, how can it be reasonable, our army should respond to the people's crusade against the unreasonable, it is a teacher of etiquette and righteousness, what does Datong treat us for!" Niu Jinxing is wary of Li Jiantai, he is a bachelor from the Hanlin Academy, in case he gets Li Zicheng's appreciation, it is not good for him, the Western missionary also hates it, and he chatters all day long, so that the officers and soldiers of Shun also learn him to pray, these two people are the best, but Han Lin is too sought after, he couldn't help but say something sourly.

"May I ask Mr. Gao's surname, oh, you are Baofeng Niujuren, disrespectful, disrespectful!" Han Lin frowned, and bowed after listening to Gong Yan's whispered introduction, Niu Jinxing blushed a little, people disdain the imperial examination to become famous, but he can only mix in the small circle of Baofeng County, people are more ashamed than others, Han Lin turned his head and said to everyone, "Datong has no contempt for Dashun, on the contrary, I greatly appreciate you for raising up and destroying the tyranny, although our two families have been forced to fight a few battles, but the war is a war, and the love is right, in addition to food, other including war horses, ordnance and cloth can be sold to you, The president also asked me to remind you that if the attack on the Beijing division is unfavorable, you can withdraw to Henan, and we will never stop it, and if you are lucky enough to break through the Beijing division, you must quickly occupy Shanhaiguan and guard against the Qing army outside the customs from attacking, the strength of the Dongyu is too strong, you must press all your forces at the beginning, as long as you stick to the border wall for a month, we can sit down and talk about assistance. ”

"Datong has a good plan, beat us and kill us under the banner of respecting Emperor Ming, and you want to trick us into fighting with the Dongyu, you are the Beiyu who colluded with the Dongyu, and you don't want to step on us to usurp the world." Song Xiance said with a gloomy face.

Han Lin replied with a cold smile: "What have you done over the years, everything you have passed has been corrupted, and the people are even more miserable, how can you stabilize the place and save the people if you don't fight?" For example, in Shaanxi, you wantonly arrest people and torture people, which is worse than the government, and the middle families have also become abject poor, and when we enter Shaanxi, we have abolished all harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, set up a parliament to formulate laws, and publicize officials, and now the people are the masters of their own homes, the land endowment is self-supporting, and local affairs are subject to public opinion, and the landless and poor can work to earn a living or immigrate to grant land, including many of you in your hometown, Mizhi, everyone feels that life has a rush, can you do this? It is true that we have Han Chinese, Mongols, Manchus, Tibetans, and Hui people, but all of them have a common ethnic group - federal citizens, which is called 'the same race and different customs', you don't understand! The Datong Federation is not an imperial rule over the world, but a free country composed of free people, no representatives, no taxes, no public awards, every citizen can live with dignity, no more dog officials oppress the people, and no more people are forced to rebel, its ownership authority comes from the people's will, and regards the people's livelihood as the first priority, such a country is beyond your imagination, and has no interest in competing for the world. ”

Everyone in the big tent was thinking about Han Lin's words, and after a while, Niu Jinxing snorted and said: "Han Yugong, this is probably the fallacy you learned from Taixi, no son of heaven can not settle the world, no court can not rule the world, China's national conditions are like this, regardless of dignity and inferiority, let the people be free, will not the world be in chaos." ”

"There is nothing more than this in the world of Datong, but that is only mentioned in the book of the sages, we have not seen it, Yugong, are you too reckless to do this?" Song Qijiao also shook his head and said.

"China's national conditions are just an excuse for the traitorous party to monopolize power or enslave the people, the real situation is that the common people are sensible and sensible, and can live their own lives, with the emperor and the imperial court, there will be tyranny, harsh government, and there will inevitably be mobs and people. Han Lin replied solemnly.

The Chinese officials discussed and received mixed opinions about Han Lin's words, but the military generals listened to them with a half-understanding, surrounded Han Lin and kept asking questions, Han Lin explained the "freedom, equality, and benevolence" pursued by Datong - the so-called freedom is not enslaved, one's own affairs are the master, the so-called equality is no distinction between the noble and the inferior, no one can bully others, the so-called benevolence is "do not do to others what you do not want to do to others", mutual friendship and mutual help.

"Sounds good, is that really the case with Datong?" Li Guo was a little skeptical.

"Not yet, but at least there are no corrupt officials and corrupt officials, and the people have something to eat, you can go back to your hometown at any time to see, we guarantee that you can come and go freely."

Liu Zongmin clapped his hands and said: "What Mr. Han said is reasonable, the emperor and the court have a fart, in addition to reaching out for money and food, when will we care about our life or death, simply we don't want the emperor and the court to forget it, and the people should be in charge of their own homes." ”

Liu Zongmin's words attracted a round of applause from Li Guo and other generals, Li Zicheng felt uncomfortable, but in the face of the famous men and afraid of making ugly sacrifices, he changed the topic and said: "Mr. Han said that Dongyu is good at fighting, how are they better than the Datong army?" There are many generals, and it seems that there is no need to be too afraid. ”

"It's useless to have more people, the two countries are not as good as a civil war, whoever has stronger combat power, weapons, and supplies wins, and the soldiers of the tiger and wolf in the east are also, to be honest, my Datong army is also afraid of three points, you are not well trained, insufficient food, even if you seize the Shanhaiguan, it is difficult to say that you can defend it." Han Lin shook his head and replied.

Yu Shangyou, the secretary of the military government, stepped forward and said to Li Zicheng: "Your Majesty, Mr. Han is proficient in the art of attacking and defending the city, so it is better to ask him to stay for a few more days, so that he can guide him in the army to some useful tactics." ”

"It's okay, then there is Mr. Lao Han," Li Zicheng nodded, thinking that Li Jiantai was full of sage quotations, he couldn't do practical things at all, and the Western missionary was even more excessive, and actually persuaded him not to worship his ancestors and worship God, it was useless to raise these two people, it was better to send them away as a personal favor, and then said, "Dashun Jun is a dignified king, not a bandit who kidnaps tickets, I don't want your money, Mr. Han will take people away, President Li and I are both Yansui people, if you think of Xiangzi's affection, please sell me some war horses and ordnance." ”

Han Lin only stayed in the Shun army camp for three days, Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance complained to Li Zicheng, Mr. Han taught the tactics very carefully, and the soldiers did benefit a lot, but as soon as he was free, he talked about the new things of the Datong Federation, and the soldiers were fascinated when they heard it, and they also opened their mouths to talk about "freedom, equality, and benevolence", so where is the prestige of the Dashun Emperor? Where is the prestige of the Dashun court? Let him go quickly, lest he teach everyone badly. Li Zicheng shook his head and sighed, Datong has some different freaks, these people are best away from it, so Han Lin was politely sent away before he could teach the thief Congliang's addiction.

Shun the army to Zhuozhou, Shanhaiguan General Soldier Ma Ke, Miyun General Soldier Tang Tong surrendered without a fight, the south gate of the Beijing Division was opened, the fate of the Ming Dynasty hung by a thread, the emperor really became a widow at this time, no matter how he struggled, the ministers turned a blind eye and let him sink with the broken ship of the Ming Dynasty.

The emperor considered moving south, and the suggestion of naturalizing Hou Li Yu was not unreasonable, the north was already a dead place, and it was difficult to escape defeat if he held on to the remnants, and when Zhou Yanru was still the first assistant, the monarch and ministers had secretly discussed this matter, but Empress Yi'an (Emperor Zhang of the Apocalypse) did not agree - the mausoleum of the temple is here, where to move? The matter is closed. Shunde Mansion fell, the thieves forced the Beijing Division, Zuo Zhongyun Li Mingrui re-proposed to move south, the cabinet ministers resolutely did not express their position, and the emperor had to say "The monarch is dead", but his heart was on fire, and he said to the first assistant Chen Yan, "I don't want to do it, Mr. wants to do it; I want to do it, but I don't want to do it", and dismissed him the next day. When Li Jiantai's last letter was delivered, the situation was irreversible, Li Banghua, the imperial history of the left capital, asked the prince to supervise Nanjing, but the ministers still did not speak, and the military department gave the matter to the light Shiheng also condemned Li Banghua, Fan Jingwen and others who wanted to escort the prince to Nanjing, "To the south of the prince, what do the ministers want?" will want to be the story of Tang Suzong's Lingwu". The emperor looked up to the sky and sighed, "I am not the king of the dead country, and all the ministers are the ministers of the dead country."

King Qin's discussion also did not go well, and the naturalized marquis Li Yu was strong and strong, and he was closest to Gyeonggi, but the courtiers said that he had ill intentions and resolutely opposed the Datong army entering Gyeonggi. The other strong army was Wu Sangui's Ningyuan army, but the emperor and the ministers did not dare to take the responsibility of losing the territory, pushing each other back and forth without a conclusion, and finally it was Wang Yongji, the governor of Jiliao, who broke the deadlock, and hurriedly played the loss of Qiantun and Zhonghou, Ningyuan has become a lonely city and is about to be lost, and he asked to abandon Ningyuan and enter the king of Guanqin. There is Wang Yongji's sparse at the bottom, the emperor invited Wu Sangui's father Wu Xiang to enter the palace to discuss, Wu Xiang had no choice but to tell the truth, Ningyuan has 80,000 soldiers in the army book, there are 30,000 soldiers, and the available soldiers are only 3,000, the lion opened his mouth and claimed that the king of Guanqin needs at least one million, and the emperor also told the truth, only 70,000 silver is stored in the inner treasury, and the collection of other gold and silver sundries is only two or three hundred thousand taels.

The emperor had nothing to do, worried about state affairs and couldn't sleep at night, so he asked the master of ceremonies and eunuchs Wang Xinxin to ask - a few days ago, the emperor begged for military salaries, and the relatives and Wenchen were called poor, Chen Yan and Wei Zaode made up a hundred and ten taels of silver, even if they paid the difference, the richest Jiading Bo Zhou Kui only took out a few thousand taels, part of which was the private money of his daughter Queen Zhou, but this king's heart donated 10,000 taels of silver, which moved the emperor very much, and he was particularly fond of him.

"You tell me again how the Naturalized Marquis cleaned up Wenchen." The Emperor said.

Wang Zhixin replied: "According to the report of Liu Wenzhong, the supervisor of Datong, the naturalized uncle did not refuse to send the ministers sent by the imperial court, but he did not send them to the local council, and asked them to find the local council where they worked. ”

"Naturalized Hou is so smart!" The emperor sighed with emotion, waved his hand to beckon the king's heart to step forward, dipped his fingers in water and wrote a line of words on the table, "Wenchen everyone can be killed", and then sat down in front of the bookcase, picked up the pen and wrote a line of words to Wang Zhixin, and said with a slight smile: "You go to Datong and hand over this Zhongzhi to the naturalization marquis." ”

Wang Zhixin retreated, the emperor thought for a while, and loudly sent an edict: "Summoning the cabinet to draft a decree, Wang Yongji, the governor of Jiliao, and Wu Sangui, the general soldier of Liaodong, will enter the king of Guanqin, and add Wu Sangui as Pingxibo." ”