In July of the first year of Dashun Yongchang (1644), there is a building complex that covers the widest area and the most majestic in the Dongcheng District of Xi'an City, this is the palace of Li Zicheng's Dashun Dynasty, this time is different from the past, here is the place of Longxing where Li Zicheng became famous, but with his lack of heat in Beijing, coupled with the relentless pursuit of the Manchurians, a stone battle outside Shanhaiguan Shun army elite loss of two or three percent, Tongguan City was defeated again and again, this battle really made Li Zicheng vitality greatly injured, the hard work of the past few years was almost ruined.

In the face of the pursuit of the Manchus and Wu Sangui, Li Zicheng had no power to parry, and retreated headlong into the city of Xi'an, not even daring to have the idea of recovering Tongguan to protect the barrier of Xi'an.

Faced with one defeat after another, Li Zicheng, who was blind in one eye, sat on the throne of the palace with his head down, like a defeated rooster, holding his cheeks with one hand, and looking at the civil and military forces in the hall with his eyes blankly.

I just received a war report, saying that Wu Sangui was crowned the king of Pingxi by the Manchu regent Dolgon, and he gathered 80,000 troops in Taiyuan, and there was also a military report that not only Wu Sangui, but also Dolgon in Beijing had ordered the British prince Azige, who had fought 56 battles in a row to take 63 cities, led 50,000 soldiers from the Eight Banners, and the army has been in Zhendingfu, Hebei, and will be able to meet Wu Sangui in ten days at the earliest.

Li Zicheng in the main hall has long since lost the vigor of the year, and he no longer has the momentum to throw himself after the big ups and downs, he glanced at His Royal Highness sitting Liu Zongmin, the No. 2 person in the Dashun Imperial Court, General Quan, who had spoiled a pot of porridge with rat feces, if he hadn't forcibly occupied Wu Sangui's concubine Chen Yuanyuan, he would not have ended up like today.

The hall is surprisingly quiet, the two classes of Shun Dynasty civil and military sit on both sides, from time to time you look at me, I look at him, and sometimes sigh at the bottom, most of the people are listless.

Li Zicheng said, "General Quan, you have said something, how to deal with the enemy?" ”

Liu Zongmin still has a little confidence, anyway, eight years ago, he was so poor that it was even a problem to eat, he hadn't enjoyed anything in these years, even the emperor of the Ming Dynasty he had spat on, what was he afraid of if he lost a few cities, what was it to lose hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, it was just to start all over again, and it was not that he had not lost it, and it was not a big deal that he was beaten by the Ming army and there were only eighteen people left.

Liu Zongmin said, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, in the past two months, our Dashun army has only suffered the loss of the enemy, and the successive victories have made the generals at all levels a little carried away, only to be taken advantage of by the dog traitor Wu Sangui and the Manchu Tatars, at present I can still mobilize 300,000 soldiers and horses, there is news that in Tongguan, only 20,000 Tatar soldiers are stationed, Dolgon must have thought that we will only blindly retreat west and south, and never thought that we would take the initiative to attack at this time, as long as we concentrate superior forces and recover Tongguan in one fell swoop, Then take Taiyuan before Azig meets Wu Sangui, and then go all out to meet Azig's 50,000 Tatar soldiers under the city of Taiyuan."

Over the years, Liu Zongmin has not only had a thick waist, but he has been promoted, his wealth has been made, and even the braggings have been blown bigger than one another, and the only thought that the Shun army can think of when he sees the banner of the Manchurians is to run, and there is not much possibility of even recovering Tongguan, let alone Taiyuan City, which is garrisoned by Wu Sangui's Guanning Iron Cavalry, is too unrealistic, and the current Dashun Dynasty is about to be unable to open the pot.

Li Zicheng only didn't say anything, so he simply didn't look at him, and instead looked at his nephew general Li Guo on the side, "Li Guo, what do you think?" ”

Li Guo also has no strategy, the Dashun army has been defeated again and again, the morale has fallen under the soles of the feet, attacking Tongguan and Taiyuan is a fool's dream, he got up from the chair and arched his hand, "Back to the emperor, what General Liu said is the best policy, but you must not be in a hurry, although there are still 300,000 people in our army, but the soldiers have no fighting spirit, if you want to recover Tongguan, the most important thing is to restore the morale of the soldiers first, but time is not waiting, the Tatar soldiers will not give us too much time, in my opinion, it is better to retreat to Huguang, temporarily avoid the edge, After entering Huguang, with the help of the rugged mountainous terrain there, he maneuvered with the Tatar Eight Banner soldiers, waiting for an opportunity to break the enemy, and after the vitality was restored, he would go north again."

When Li Zicheng heard this kind of marching strategy, the sadness on his face immediately dissipated a little, Li Zicheng still had some self-knowledge, saying that there were still 300,000 troops, and most of them were the people along the march who were coerced in by him, these people either had to join the army, or just to feed their stomachs, and really let them go into battle to kill the enemy, at best, they could scare the enemy with numbers.

Li Zicheng nodded slightly and said, "General Quan suggested recovering Tongguan, and General Zhi said that he would retreat to Huguang, one was too urgent and the other was too slow, and there was no other strategy."

There was a round of exchange in the hall, there were generals who had just made military merits to support Liu Zongmin, and some veterans who were honest and honest were more in favor of Li Guo's strategy of retreating to Huguang, and Yuan Zongdi, a veteran who retreated from the front line of Mingshun in Anqing Prefecture to Xi'an, was one of them, but he still did not fully agree with Li Guo's idea.

Yuan Zongdi looked at Liu Zongmin and Li Guo, in terms of prestige and status, he was inferior to these two, today's court meeting was a major matter related to the life and death of the Dashun Dynasty, and he was a little inclined to say something.

Li Zicheng noticed him, this person has been to the front line in Huguang, can he go to Huguang Yuan Zongdi has the most right to speak, Li Zicheng said, "Jinhou, you follow me to fight in the south and the north, you have also experienced a more dangerous situation than today, do you have different ideas?" ”

In fact, Li Zicheng has already made up his mind in his heart, it doesn't matter where he goes, the important thing is to get as far away from Wu Sangui's madman as possible, if it is still not safe to retreat to Huguang, then he can also surrender to the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing, and lead the Tatar soldiers and Wu Sangui to the Ming room in the south of the Yangtze River, and wait for them to lose both, and then raise the banner and make a profit, but he can't say these words clearly, it is best to run to the Jianghuai area first and hide behind the Ming army.

Yuan Zongdi saw Emperor Li asking, and hurriedly got up and said, "Back to the emperor, what General Quan said is the style of a general, the Great Shun Dynasty does need a big victory to boost morale, but Tongguan is too dangerous, it is too difficult to take, the general to retreat to Huguang, borrow the mountains to lead the Tatars to attack, look for opportunities to attack the enemy, set small victories for big victories, this strategy is also relatively safe, but the lake is narrow and the people are poor, the last general will march into Anqing Mansion through Huguang a few days ago, hungry people everywhere, if my Dashun Dynasty leads the people to go again, how can I rely on these places to feed my millions of people"

Li Zicheng's eyes lit up, this is to the point, "Well, Jinhou is really a veteran of seeking the country, I also have this concern, and then said"

Yuan Zongdi continued, "According to the end of the general's view, Xi'an is my place of Longxing, can not be abandoned, the last general thinks, first, for the livelihood of the world, please the emperor move to Huguang, find an opportunity to negotiate peace with the Ming court in the south of the Yangtze River and Zhang Xianzhong in Sichuan, and unite them to resist the capture, this is the great righteousness, I believe they will agree, second, leave a heavy army in Xi'an to attract Tatars to attack, with the strength of Xi'an City is enough to buy time for the emperor's peace"

General Li Guo was overjoyed when he heard this, and couldn't help but shout good, and he was overjoyed, "Okay, it is really a veteran who has survived a hundred battles, and the Tatar intends to seize the world, and regard the heroes of the world as enemies, as long as we can unite, why not be afraid of the little Manchu."

Liu Zongmin couldn't help but laugh contemptuously and said, "United? Whimsical, Emperor Chongzhen of the former Ming Dynasty was forced to die by us in the coal mountain, Zhang Xianzhong saw that his eldest brother was called the emperor, and the relationship was not what it used to be, so he almost didn't raise troops to commit, looking at the world, who can unite with us? ”

At this time, Song Xiance, the founding military division of the Dashun Dynasty, who had not spoken for a long time, said, "Your Majesty, this time is different from the past, the Manchu is a foreign race, the Central Plains Qunying is mostly the children of the Han family, and the thieves enter the customs, that is to seize the world of the Han family, it is for the national thieves, the common enemy of the world, there is this one, the union is by no means impossible, but once the court goes south, the cost is huge, how to appease the hundreds of thousands of military horses accompanying it is the top priority."

Speaking of which, the matter of the Dashun Dynasty going south is already a certainty, and Li Zicheng finally breathed a sigh of relief, stood up and said, "Since there is no objection to marching into Huguang, then it is decided, the former general Li Laixiang and Hao Yongzhong's army have been operating in the Jianghuai area for several months, laying the foundation for our dynasty to take over Jiangnan, listen to the order!" ”

All the civil and military forces stood up in an uproar, and said in unison, "Here!" ”

Li Zicheng crossed his hands on his waist and said, "The Tatar soldiers are strong, and I should avoid the real and the false, the right general Liu Zongmin, and the general Li Guo"

The two of them knelt down when they heard the voice, "The minister is here!" ”

"Order the two of you to lead an army of 40,000 to stay in Xi'an, be sure to hold on for a month, contain the Tatars, and then withdraw from the camera"

"Yes!" Although these two people have political disagreements, they both obey Li Zicheng.

Li Zicheng said again, "Jinhou Yuan Zongdi"

"The Last Will Be"

"Crowned you as the general of Pingnan, led 100,000 troops to set off first, cleared the way for our palace to move south, and met with Li Laixiang, there are war reports that Li Laixiang's attack in Anqing Mansion was blocked, you join forces with him, even if we want to negotiate peace with the remnant Ming, we have to hurt him, take Hezhou and Luzhou in Jiangbei, and deter Nanjing"

Yuan Zongdi said, "Obey!" , Qi to play the emperor, now the remnants of the Ming town military horses are not afraid, the last general a few days ago got the military report, indicating that the new Dingnan Marquis Wang Lanping has 60,000 troops, the limelight is strong, according to the last general, this person is not very old, but he is ambitious, look at his actions these days, it seems that he wants to hold the military power of the Ming army in his hands, at present he has collected 30,000 Huai'an army, the military power is greatly inspired, I heard that he has 8,000 troops stationed in the Taiping Mansion across the river from Hezhou, if you want the Ming court to abandon the previous suspicion and unite with our dynasty, the last general thinks, Defeating this person is the best negotiating condition"

Li Zicheng nodded and said loudly, "Accurate, after you saw Li Laixiang, the camera moved, I have already heard of this martial champion, take him down"

Yuan Zongdi retreated.

Li Zicheng then gave an order, "Bai Wang"

Veteran Bai Wang, the old subordinate of Li Zicheng, at this time the official to the commander of Xi'an in the Dashun Dynasty, he heard the voice and said, "The old minister is here!" ”

"Named you the general of Dingxi, led an army of 70,000, passed through Hanzhong, and the army marched to Sichuan, forcing Zhang Xianzhong to return to obedience"

"Yes!"

"Military Advisor Song Xiance"

"In!"

"Order you and the general of the left battalion system, Gao Yigong, to lead 30,000 troops and escort the palace to the south"

"Yes!"

Li Zicheng thought about it and saw if there was anything missing, everything was considered, but the most important link was exposed, there was no money! With such a scale of mobilization, the amount required all the way is an astronomical amount, there is no money to fight, and as soon as the military salary is cut off, the army mutinies halfway.

Li Zicheng looked around at everyone, almost all of them were in their places, oh no, there is one more person who can be of great use, that is, in the Dashun Dynasty, there are many stars known as Niu Jinxing, Niu Prime Minister.

"Scholar of the Heavenly Blessing Pavilion, Niu Jinxing!"

"The minister is here!" Niu Jinxing's eyes lit up, and he already expected what kind of beauty difference he would get.

"I order you to go south with me, raise food and grass for the armies of all walks of life along the way, and allow you to act on camera, and send them to all armies on time and in quantity, without delay."

"Obey the order!" Niu Venus was overjoyed, this is a big beauty difference, the camera acts, which is equivalent to saying that as long as you can get money and food, whether you rob or steal, you don't care, then the grain and silver figures obtained are a bottomless pit, and this is not a big fortune.

Originally, this Li Zicheng entered Beijing, fought all the way to rob the rich, and used the war to support the war, but the result was that even he did not expect the speed of the end of the war, and he fought from Xi'an to Beijing in just a few months, and he did not slip through Beijing to defeat him.

As soon as Li Zicheng sat in the country, the people of the world became his subjects, and he could no longer rob the people under his rule at this time.

At this time, Li Zicheng realized that what he said was too taken for granted, where did the money come from if he didn't collect taxes, and what emperor he would be if he didn't have money, so he went to Beijing and looted tens of millions of taels of silver from the officials of the former Ming Dynasty to solve the urgent need, but the current Dashun Dynasty was newly built, and there were millions of soldiers, so how could this money be spent.

When Li Zicheng was suffering from no silver, Wu Sangui led the Qing army into the customs, and then he retreated to Tongguan, followed by retreat to Xi'an, at this time the treasury of the Dashun Dynasty was almost empty, and the surrounding prefectures of Xi'an had already robbed it all over when they hit the country, and there was no oil and water to catch again, just when Li Zicheng was worried about the silver in Xi'an, Li Laixiang gave him a book from the Huaining front line through Li Guo, suggesting that the Dashun Dynasty should raise the country with taxes, and take it from the people for the people, which is the foundation of the country.

As a result, the Great Shun Dynasty promulgated the tax law, but the previous slogan had been said, and the people must be dissatisfied with the sudden tax, so the Great Shun Dynasty announced that the new tax law would be levied five years later, and it would be levied together with the thirty taxes of the previous Ming Dynasty.

Five days later, Li Zicheng felt that whether he could hold out as an emperor for another five years, and waiting for five years to levy taxes would not solve the urgent task of the moment, so he immediately made another decree to change the levy after three years.

After another seven days, Li Zicheng still felt slow, simply a year later.

As soon as the former holy decree came out of the palace gate, Li Zicheng was busy and asked someone to chase it back, and immediately set off to levy it, but it was indicated that the rich would not levy the poor.

As a result, half a month has passed, and the seventy-three counties of the nine prefectures of Dashun State have only collected a total of 50,000 taels of silver, and the is not the best.

It turns out that the rich family of this Dashun country has been running to death as early as when Li Zicheng was king, and Dashun country claims to have 30 million people, almost all of whom are ordinary people, what money can be collected.

In the end, Li Zicheng can't take care of this taxation law, in the end, he has to use money, so he simply comes to the simplest and most straightforward, one word, rob!

Therefore, when Niu Venus heard that he was ordered to raise the army of silver food, how did he not like it.

After Li Zicheng arranged everything, he waved his hand to everyone in the hall, "Everyone, move Wuchang with me, and I hope that everyone will work together to protect my Dashun Yongchang."

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The Forbidden City of Beijing, the former glory has been accompanied by a fire when Li Zicheng withdrew from Beijing, turned into a broken arm, and it is impossible to see that this was once the most majestic palace complex of the Ming Dynasty.

Fortunately, Li Zicheng was used for himself to ascend the throne, leaving a Wuying Hall that was not burned down.

At this time, the regent of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, like Li Zicheng of Xi'an, issued a battle order to seize the world of the Han family, and the little emperor Shunzhi sat on the dragon chair, like a puppet, without saying a word.

Dolgon held his back hand, looked around at the group of Manchu generals kneeling down, and said after a long time, "Now my Eight Banner warriors have rested and waited, and the British King Azig has entered Xi'an to exterminate Li Zicheng, looking at the world of the Han family, Dujiang is the richest in the area, and the remnants of the Ming Dynasty are not worthy of all, and our dynasty should immediately send troops, take advantage of its foothold to be stable, and when the political situation is not clear, seize Jiangnan, and Doduo, Prince Yu, order you to be the general of the southern expedition, command 100,000 troops, go south along the canal, and take Nanjing"

"Huh!"

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