In the blink of an eye, it has been autumn, and Zhu Jun's autumn corn (also known as summer corn, which is generally sown in late summer and harvested in late autumn, so it is also called autumn corn) has already been sown, and a lot of autumn corn has emerged at this time. In the small village inhabited by the Qiang people, the corn is growing well, and the 100 Qiang people who were left here to learn the corn planting technology have a happy face.

They were treated well in Zhu Jun's territory, not only giving them clothes, but also giving them furniture and kitchen supplies, and even Zhu Jun often invited them to listen to Han operas and storytelling, and it was only a few months, and they had become very similar to the Han people.

Because of their frequent dealings with Zhu Jun, they even used the Qiang language relatively little, and most of the time they used Sichuan dialect to communicate with Zhu Jun, and they gradually got used to the new life.

Rimai Muxi sent several people to inquire about the growth of corn, and received a satisfactory answer, so he sent people from the plateau to send many daily utensils used by the Qiang people. Unexpectedly, these 100 Qiang people now think that the things of the Han people are better, but they don't like to use the things of the Qiang people. This is just like some people in later generations who think that coffee is better than tea, they have been influenced and can't change it if they want to.

Take the pot as an example, when they were on the plateau, they used a shallow pot to smear oil and bake barley cakes, but at the bottom of the mountain, they needed to use a deep pot to cook water and rice and corn, so they were not used to the kind of pot of the Qiang people. As for the wine glasses made of horns, how can the wine glasses made of ceramics by the Han people be easy to use? Fur-sewn clothes. Although the warmth is good, the temperature under the mountain is not as low as on the mountain, and there is no need for fur clothes at all, but light linen and cotton clothes are better worn on the body. The sun's ultraviolet rays are not strong, and they no longer need to wear thick leather hats, they only need to tie a sweat towel on their heads.

The Qiang people suddenly found that their previous way of life had been completely denied, and it was obvious that the Han people were much more comfortable than they were, because the Han people were more adept at living a small life.

Zhu Yuanzhang had long expected such a situation. Some small businessmen were instructed. With more Han goods, they exchanged the Qiang goods in their hands, so that the hundred Qiang people had surplus goods in hand. People are creatures. Although it is selfish in its bones. But he is very selfless to his family. Once these Qiang people had extra possessions in their hands, they naturally thought of their families, so they wrote a letter to their families. Then attach some Han Chinese goods and give them to the messengers sent by Rimai Muxi, so that they can help bring them back to the tribe and hand them over to their families.

Once these Han goods are sent back to the high mountains, they will become very sought-after, and the families of these Qiang people have also become proud in the tribe, and their status seems to be a little higher.

This is a bit like the early days of the founding of our Celestial Empire, when everyone was still very poor, someone's relatives suddenly brought back a color TV from abroad, which was really envious of others. And this kind of thing will also become part of cultural aggression and economic aggression, making people think that the moon in a foreign country is really rounder than in China.

As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang's methods learned from later generations were used, the Qiang tribe was really a big earthquake, and the Qiang tribes in remote points didn't know about these things and didn't talk about them, but the tribes led by the three big leaders of Rimai Muxi, Tashi, and Marsi blew a Han wind, and the Qiang people were proud of using "Han things", and whoever had a few goods from the hands of the Han people, such as cups, bowls, pots, bronze mirrors, etc., would become the envy of everyone in the village.

The anti-Han mentality of the Qiang people began to fade, and many people began to advocate trade with the Han people, and the mentality of being closed and self-contained was also split little by little-

On this day, Zhu Yuanzhang was sitting in Guangyuan's yamen, dealing with some daily chores, but saw a spy running back and handing over a Tang newspaper with both hands: "General, we robbed a stagecoach in a small county town east of Bazhou, and got this Tang Bao, please take a look." ”

Zhu Yuanzhang knew that if it was an ordinary Tang newspaper, there was no important news in it, and the spies would not send it like this, it seemed that the information in this Tang newspaper was very small, so he put down his work and took the Tang newspaper and read it carefully.

Looking at this, I can't help but feel refreshed.

It turned out that the matter recorded in this Tang newspaper was really very important, after Zuo Liangyu captured Zhang Xianzhong's wife and concubine and military advisor, he was frightened by Zhu Yuanzhang again, so he fled eastward and went to Xiangyang, where Zhang Xianzhong's wife and concubine and military adviser were locked in the dungeon of Xiangyang City. Then Zuo Liangyu left Xiangyang and swayed back and forth at the junction of Sichuan and the two lakes, passively slacking off.

After Zhang Xianzhong learned of this news, he went out of Sichuan from Kuimen (now Fengjie County), entered Hubei through Wushan, conquered Xingshan, killed the officers and soldiers guarding Wu Guomao, and Liu Dingguo, the county governor, and then marched east to Dangyang County.

Dangyang County is also the place where Zhao Zilong entered and exited seven times and became famous, and it is very close to Xiangyang. Zhang Xianzhong temporarily stationed troops in Dangyang County, and found out that the defenders in Xiangyang City were weak, he personally led the light cavalry, galloped more than 200 miles in one day and one night, and quickly came to Xiangyang City, and ordered the general to lead 28 cavalry disguised as officers and soldiers, and took Yang Sichang's transfer documents captured from the officers and soldiers into the city.

Xiangwang Zhu Yiming was captured alive, and then beheaded by Zhang Xianzhong, Zhang Xianzhong rescued his wife and concubine and military advisor, and robbed all the property in the Xiangyang Palace, and issued 500,000 silver to help the hungry.

At the same time, Li Zicheng was not idle. Since he was broken up by Zhu Yuanzhang, he dared to flee north into the deep mountains of Shaanxi, and escaped the pursuit of the Zhu army, and soon Liu Zongmin also went to the mountain, and took the old eight team to find Li Zicheng in the mountains on the border of Shaanxi and Henan, so that Li Zicheng regained momentum, although he went through the last defeat, there are only more than 1,000 people, but these more than 1,000 people are the most elite old eight team, there are 1,000, can top 10,000 stupid thieves, Li Zicheng with this thousand people, and then go in and out of the mountain, east into Henan, Conquered the Itogu (not the same person as the previous Itogu) who revolted in Henan), and the crockpot. The anti-flag was re-raised.

Then, Li Zicheng broke through the three counties of Lushan, Jiaxian, and Yiyang, and then conquered Yiyang, not killing civilians, but only officials, and won the support of a large number of poor people, and soon had tens of thousands of people under his command.

Soon after, Li Zicheng's troops attacked the north gate of Luoyang, which was the fief of Zhu Changxun, the king of Fu. Zhu Changxun has a story about this person, he was born to Zheng Guifei, the favorite concubine of Mingshenzong. The son is more precious than the mother. Zhu Changxun was naturally favored by the Divine Sect. In a fierce struggle around Prince Li in the late Wanli period. Zhu Yijun could not resist the public opinion of the government and the opposition, and was forced to agree to make the emperor's eldest son Zhu Changluo the crown prince. Chang Xun's original intention of establishing his beloved son Chang Xun could not be realized, so he and Zheng Guifei gave Chang Xun preferential treatment financially in many ways, not only giving a large amount of property accumulated in the palace. Moreover, for the farmland, salt, and commercial taxes that King Fu asked for begging, they all "reported to the court".

Zhu Changxun took Luoyang. Compared with the kings who have been divided since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, although the time is much shorter. But the property he owns is "rich in the world". The poor and extravagant life that King Fu lived in Luoyang was in stark contrast to the disasters suffered by the people of Henan at that time. A wall of the Fudi Palace separates two worlds: inside the wall is a drunken gold fan, endless extravagance; Outside the wall, it was desolate and miserable. It's like hell.

Lu Weiqi, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department of the Ming Dynasty who lived in Luoyang at that time, described the criticality of the situation in a letter to King Fu as follows: "Three years of strange famine, unheard of. Villages and towns starved to death, and cities were killed and eaten. Bandits everywhere are entrenched, combined with tens of thousands of thieves, and the three counties of Lushan, Jiaxian, and Yiyang are broken, and within six days, the two counties of Yiyang and Yongning are broken. The thieves are surging, and the peeping is very urgent. Nothing is unbreakable, nothing is overcome. And the thoughts of the hungry people are in turmoil, and the disintegration of people's hearts is worrying. None of the soldiers in Futai came, although there were two soldiers of Cao and Yi, there was no food, and the battlemen at the head of the city were all ghost-shaped dove-faced and dying. There is nothing to worry about in the city, and there is a danger of exhausting eggs and morning dew. ”

(Note: In order to avoid the reader's discomfort when reading the ancient text, here is a special translation, which means that the soldiers are not paid and cannot fight well.) ）

On the one hand, he advised King Fu and urged Li Xianfeng, the governor of Henan, to send troops to Luoyang to strengthen the city defenses; On the other hand, he pointed out that the government treasury was full of treasures, and asked King Fu to think about his own net worth and life and take out money to solve the army's food and salary. Lu Weiqi especially cited the fact that the two cities of Yiyang and Yongning were breached by the rebel army as a lesson from the past. The clan officials and gentry in the two cities "flickered and flickered, relying on the sky to live, not drawing, not giving up money, not listening to a word, although they devoured the umbilicus, what could they do." ”

It's a pity that Zhu Changxun is a person who loves money like his life, and he can't listen to it at all.

The officers and soldiers defending the city knew that the money and property in the treasury of King Fu's mansion were piled up, but they told themselves to go hungry to defend the city, and they were indignant one by one. Some soldiers openly scolded on the road: "The palace has millions of money, and it is hungry for meat, and it makes my generation die of thieves? ”

When Li Zicheng's troops approached the city, the officers and soldiers defending the city, as well as some of the middle and lower ranks, had no fighting spirit and quickly switched to the side of the rebel army. The soldiers of the general soldier Wang Shaoyu revolted at the head of the city, arrested Wang Yinchang, the deputy envoy of the Ming army, and opened the city gate to welcome the rebel army into the city. The rebels soon occupied the whole city of Luoyang, and the blessed king Zhu Changxun and the prince Zhu Yousong hurriedly escaped from the palace and hid in Ying'en Temple. During the search and arrest of the rebels, Zhu Changxun was captured alive, and the prince Zhu Yousong escaped by exploiting loopholes, which was the Hongguang Emperor who later ascended to the pole in Nanjing. Lu Weiqi, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department of the Ming Dynasty, was also captured. When escorting these vampires to sacrifice prisoners to the leaders of the rebel army, Zhu Changxun shouted to Lu Weiqi: "Mr. Lu save me!" Lu Weiqi also lamented: "My life is also in the moment." Li Zicheng said sarcastically: "Lu Shangshu invites soldiers today, asks for salary tomorrow, and wants to kill me Cao, what is it going to be like today?" ”

After Li Zicheng captured Luoyang, he didn't immediately wander away as before, he thought of Zhu Ba, everyone can have a base, why can't I have it? So Li Zicheng began to try to establish his own power in Luoyang, he followed Zhu Ba's example, arrested a demoted official of the imperial court in the city, and appointed him as the Taishou of Luoyang, responsible for managing Luoyang's government affairs......

After reading this long report, Zhu Yuanzhang's heart was also a little funny, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were beaten so miserably by themselves in the battle of Agate Mountain, I didn't expect them to turn over so quickly.

Just thinking of this, I saw Li Yan, Xu Renjie, Wang Er, Red Lady and other leaders entering one after another, the soldiers who sent the Tang Bao handed over the Tang Bao to Zhu Yuanzhang, they went to inform these leaders again, everyone knew that this was a big deal, so they ran to the yamen to see Zhu Yuanzhang, wanting to hear the opinion of the eldest brother.

Xu Renjie was the first to speak: "This Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong are really troublesome. No wonder the imperial court has been chasing these two guys but they have been chasing them to death, and they can't be extinguished, if there is really a certain amount of truth, if you don't directly take their heads off, I'm afraid that these two guys will still be ghostly in the world. ”

Li Yan used to be Li Zicheng's subordinate, but when he heard this, it was inconvenient to interject, so he obediently shrank aside.

The red lady said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Eighth Brother Zhu, how do you think these two guys will die?" I gave them a little pain last time, but I didn't expect them to turn around and get up. One captured Luoyang. One captured Xiangyang, this is really getting stronger and stronger? ”

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at them lightly, put the Tang newspaper in his hand on the table, and then said: "Do you want to know the reason why Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong have been fighting but not dying?" ”

The leaders shook their heads. Only Li Yan's eyes flashed. But in order to avoid suspicion. But it was inconvenient for him to mix up the topic about Li Zicheng, so he had to keep his mouth shut.

But his expression did not escape Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, he waved his hand at Li Yan and said, "Li Gongzi, but it doesn't hurt to say it." ”

was named. Li Yan was no longer convenient to avoid suspicion, he coughed lightly, stood in the hall, and said seriously: "The fundamental reason why Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong can't fight is that the people are too poor...... Wherever they go, there will be people who can't survive who are willing to join them, and there are as many people in the world as there are reserve soldiers...... Therefore, if you want to extinguish them, it is useless to blindly pursue them, you still have to fight steadily and steadily, and do a good job in the lives of the people, which is the key. ”

As soon as Li Yan said this, the leaders finally understood, and said: "No wonder Bugling Zhu has been insisting on moving forward slowly, and he will first start agriculture in that place when he gets next, it turns out that this is the reason. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded at Li Yan, indicating that he said it well, and then said: "At present, we can't intervene in Henan and Hubei, so let Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong make trouble, one of them killed King Fu and the other killed King Xiang, and this time there was a lot of trouble, and Yang Sichang had to get busy again." ”

Zhu Yuanzhang did not guess wrong, Yang Sichang had also received the news that Luoyang and Xiangyang had been broken at this time, he was originally organizing the Sichuan soldiers and Tusi soldiers, contacting Zuo Liangyu, He Renlong and others who were passive and sluggish, and asked them to organize an encirclement again and enter Guangyuan and Bazhou, but he didn't expect that this side had not been organized, and the backyard over there was blooming again.

Poor Yang Sichang hurriedly returned to the army and rushed towards Xiangyang and Luoyang.

In other words, why did he put Zhu Ba, who was not moving, and the obvious target was not to fight, but to fight Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, who were wandering around? This is the advantage of Zhu Yuanzhang's choice of base in Shaanxi, Shaanxi is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the location is on the western border, which is very far away from Beijing. To put it mildly, even if Shaanxi is occupied by foreign races, the threat to the Ming court is relatively small.

However, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, who were wandering in the Central Plains, were different, and the two cities of Luoyang and Xiangyang were both extremely important core cities, and the imperial court could not allow these two cities to fall into the hands of thieves under any circumstances.

From the perspective of strategy and the situation in the world, Yang Sichang must first recapture Luoyang and Xiangyang, and break up Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, so as to free up his hands to deal with Zhu Yuanzhang in the west, otherwise the entire Ming Dynasty will be cut off by a line that echoes Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong in the north and south.

Everyone was discussing this matter, and suddenly saw a spy rushing in, seeing that his face was panicked, obviously more important than Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong's attack on Xiangyang and Luoyang, this spy arrived in front of the leaders, and rolled to the ground with a pop, and shouted urgently: "It's a big deal, the Manchu Tartars are detained again!" ”

"What?" The faces of the crowd changed dramatically.

The spy hurriedly reported: "On September 22 (the eleventh year of Chongzhen), the Qing army divided into two routes, entered the wall of Ziling, Qingshankou, Ming Ji, Liao governor Wu Aheng, and the general soldier Lu Zongwen were defeated and died, and the lieutenant Zheng Xizhao fled. The Qing army then drove straight in, and the soldiers were stationed in Niulan Mountain. Shi Mingxuan and the governor Lu Xiangsheng were worried, and the waiting for the dynasty was not done. Emperor Nai's edict and commander-in-chief Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, and Hu Dawei entered the guard. ”

"On the 24th, martial law was imposed in Beijing. On the fourth day of the first month of October, the emperor summoned the superintendent Lu Xiangsheng to the Wuying Hall to ask about the strategy. Xiangsheng replied 'the lord of the war', Emperor Chongzhen hesitated between the war and the peace, and the important ministers of the court, Yang Sichang, Gao Qiqian, and Chen Xinjia all advocated peace. On the fifth day of the first month, the emperor sent 40,000 gold to the army. On the sixth day of the first month, he gave him 100 horses, 1,000 horses, and 500 silver and iron whips. Decision-making debate. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang's heart sank, and he remembered that this was ...... Lu Xiangsheng is about to die in battle, right? It should be this battle, and the Ming Dynasty is about to lose a loyal and good general again.

Zhu Yuanzhang still has a good impression of Lu Xiangsheng, if the conditions allow, he also has the intention to keep this person to listen, but it is obvious that Zhu Yuanzhang has not been able to subdue this person, that is, this time the Qing army enters the customs, Lu Xiangsheng will die in battle, and Zhu Yuanzhang's current strength is still biased towards the west, and he can't control the affairs of Liaodong at all.

He couldn't help but sigh softly, looked at the northeast direction silently for a few breaths, and when he turned around, his eyes were shining, and he said in a calm voice: "Pass my order, the whole army is ready to attack the Sword Gate Pass...... We are running out of time, take Sichuan as soon as possible and win the Central Plains! (To be continued.) )