Just when Chongzhen and China's civil and military officials with different hearts continued to pay attention to Pang Gang, in Pang Gang's lair, in the Qingzhou General's Mansion, Pang Gang was also holding a major meeting.

The meeting was presided over by Pang Gang himself, except for a very small number of people who could not come for objective reasons, all the important figures of the Pang family came, including Pang Gang's father-in-law Wei Tongnian and Kong Wen, as well as Wang Zhi, Da Zhuang, Li Yuan, Bin Shiqian, Dong Guo, and Tu Hai, the commander of the sailors, Hua Yan, Meng Qing, Wen Renjun, and Li Xianfeng, the former governor of Henan who had just taken refuge in Pang Gang, also attended.

The reason for convening such a big meeting is very simple, as soon as Pang Gang's article attacking the old Zhu family was released, the relationship between Pang Gang and the Ming court had been completely broken, and there was no possibility of reconciliation, so the future path had to be reconsidered.

On this day, on August 1 of the 11th year of Chongzhen, outside the Qingzhou General's Mansion, the 2,000 personal soldiers under the command of Pang Gang descended under the leadership of Shi Bowen, the captain of the pro-army, and the periphery of the General's Mansion became an iron barrel, and countless sergeants guarded it tightly. At the entrance of the General's Palace, hundreds of sergeants were waiting in line, armed with Minnie rifles, guns off their shoulders, loaded bullets, and one by one closely watching everything outside.

In the hall of the General's Mansion, the heavily armed Pang Gang sat at the top of the hall, and below him were hundreds of civil and military officials gathered together, and everyone looked at Pang Gang intently, waiting for his lecture.

Feeling the eyes of everyone, it would be false to say that Pang Gang was not excited, it has been more than three years since he came to this era, and after hard work, he can be regarded as having a piece of territory here, a loyal subordinate and a cadre who loves his wife and concubines and children deeply, their fate has been closely linked with themselves, and their fate can be imagined if they fail.

Pang Gang stood up, looked around at everyone with bright eyes, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, today this official will gather you together, I think you also know the reason, yes, from now on, we will officially break off the subordinate relationship with the Ming court, that is to say, we and the Ming court officially parted ways, to stand on our own!" ”

Pang Gang's voice is not loud, but listening to everyone's ears is surging, from today they will officially break away from the Ming Dynasty to stand on their own, although it is possible that they may end up in a different place, but if they do well, they will become the heroes of the dragon, and it is not impossible to worship the Hou Hou, it is exciting to think about it.

Pang Gang's cheap father-in-law, Shandong Governor Wei Tongnian also looked at the hairy-footed son-in-law standing at the head of the lobby with a complicated expression, thinking that when he first met Pang Gang, he was still just a small military household, not even a small flag, but in a flash of three years, he has become a land with three provinces, tens of millions of people under his rule, 100,000 soldiers, and the princes of the current court.

There was silence in the lobby, and then everyone took a step forward and shouted in unison, "May I die for my lordship!" ”

Without everyone talking, Li Yuan took the lead and stood up and said loudly: "My lord, you should have parted ways with that bird court a long time ago, look at it, what kind of bird things the court has done all these years, the harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes are levied violently, and the people can't live happily, so it should have been against him a long time ago!" ”

Pang Gang shook his head and smiled, and said to Li Yuan helplessly: "You, seeing that things are still so one-sided, the problem here is not just as simple as expropriation and extortion, forget this problem and I'll talk to you later." After speaking, Pang Gang looked at everyone again: "Everyone, although we have decided to part ways with the imperial court, we can no longer continue to use the banner of the Ming Dynasty, think about it, what banner should we use instead?" ”

As soon as this question was raised, the people below, especially those civil officials, suddenly became excited, and determined the name for themselves, maybe this name would be the banner used for the founding of the country in the future, and if their opinions were adopted, then they would be too exposed.

Hua Yan thought for a while, and said: "My lord, you are now out of the Ming Dynasty, the original official position of the imperial court canonization can no longer be used, Shandong is known as the reputation of "thousands of miles of plastering soil", in the past, it was said that King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty, and the world was changed to the beginning, King Wu was the first to assist the meritorious Jiang Taigong Yu Qi, and the brother of King Wu Zhou was sealed in Lu. ”

"King Zhou?" Pang Gang frowned, and said to the officials who were going to do it: "What do you think of Huayan's proposal?" ”

At this time, Meng Qing stood up and retorted: "It's not good, at the moment, although the huge people just occupy the land of the three provinces, they are still surrounded by wolves, if we rashly claim the king, we will become the target of everyone, it's not appropriate!" ”

"Hmm!" Pang Gang nodded slightly: "Is there anyone else who has something to say?" ”

Wen Renjun also stood up and bowed and said: "As the saying goes, if the name is not right, the word is not good, and if the word is not right, it will not work, since we are no longer under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty, then it is natural to take a name, what is wrong with this, as for whether it will become the target of the public, are we still afraid that they will not succeed?" Speaking of this, Wen Renjun's face showed a look of pride, in recent years, the Qingzhou Army has won consecutive battles, and even a civilian official like Wen Renjun has developed an arrogance.

Wei Tongtong also brushed his beard and said, "Well, what Lord Wen said is very true, "Poetry. Lu Song. There are clouds in the palace: "Mount Tai is high, Lu Bang Zhan." There is a turtle and a desolate east. As for Haibang and Huaiyi to come to the same place", Shandong adheres to the rituals and rituals of the Zhou Dynasty, respects benevolence, ethics, and harmony, and is the "state of etiquette". ”

Seeing that even the boss's father-in-law voted in favor, no one said anything when he heard about it, it's just a name, and if it is established, it will be established, is there anything bad about it?

"King Zhou? Dude will be the king of Zhou in the future? Pang Gang was dumbfounded, it seems that the Ming Dynasty already had the title of King Zhou, right?

When Pang Gang raised his question, Wei Tongnian shook his head and said: "It is really unnecessary for adults to worry, it is clear that there is indeed the title of King of Zhou, but it is just the title of King Zhou Yi, King Zhou Hui and other vassal kings, at this time, this week is not another week, adults don't have to worry." ”

"Well, there's another one." Pang Gang was speechless for a while, could it be that he was the king of Zhou? It seems that the fate of the Zhou Dynasty is not very good.

Thinking of this, Pang Gang was about to object, but when he saw so many civil and military officials below looking at him with blank eyes, Pang Gang's heart moved, and then he realized that the important thing was not what name to take, but that everyone was just asking for psychological comfort now.

Since ancient times, rebellion has always been a high-risk, high-reward profession, although the victory is no problem, but there is only one end if you fail, that is, lose your head, everyone carries your head and follows yourself, for what, isn't it just for the glory and wealth of the future, now it's just to ask for a psychological comfort and a name, what is really important? Call the king of Zhou, just the king of Zhou, and our territory will be called Da Zhou in the future.

"Good! Big week is big week! In this way, Pang Gang set his name.

On August 1 of the 11th year of Chongzhen, Pang Gang officially established himself as the king of Zhou in Qingzhou, Shandong, commanded Shandong, Henan, and Hubei, and reorganized and canonized the army and officials.

Pang Gang reorganized the 100,000 army under his command, and Pang Gang organized it into five legions, each with 20,000 people, and the legion consisted of four battalions, each with 5,000 people, each battalion with 5,000 households, and each 1,000 households with 100 households, each with two general flags and 50 people under each flag, and five small flags under the general banner, each with ten people, so the small banner was also the smallest unit of the Great Zhou Army.

These five legions are numbered from the First Legion to the Fifth Legion. It's just that Pang Gang's lazy numbering is really opposed by everyone, and everyone has said, what do you think other people's armies are called the Flying Dragon Army and the Xuanwu Army, why are there only one, two, three, four, or five left in our place?

In the end, Pang Gang was annoyed, glared and said: "What's the use of those false names, is it possible that this army will become a strong army with a mighty name?" ”

Uh, okay, you are the boss, you say what you say, in the end, everyone was lured by the five big cakes thrown by Pang Gang, and finally Pang Gang made a big hand for a while, and the commanders of the five major legions from the first legion to the fifth legion were Wang Zhi, Huang Chunsheng (Da Zhuang), Li Yuan, Cheng Kai and Bin Shiqian, and five people. These five people were the first old men to follow Pang Gang, and this appointment was also expected by everyone, and no one objected, but when Pang Gang was about to appoint the governors of the three provinces under his rule, although the officials below pretended to be full of indifference, the expectant look in their eyes had already betrayed them.

Pang Gang thought about it, of the three provinces under his command, Shandong is the foundation, and the candidate for governor is naturally none other than Wei Tongtong, a cheap old man, and the remaining candidates for governor of Henan and Hubei must be carefully considered.

After a while, Pang just arrived: "Everyone, this official"

Before Pang Gang finished speaking, Wei Tongnian stood up and said: "Your Highness, since you have established yourself as a king and are no longer an official of the Ming court, then you should call yourself the lone king or this king, remember not to call yourself an official as before." ”

"Damn, is that anything more so?" Pang Gang nodded helplessly: "Okay, this king has decided that the governor of Shandong will continue to be served by Wei in the same year, the governor of Henan will be served by Huayan, and the governor of Hubei" Speaking of this, Pang Gang's words paused before continuing: "The governor of Hubei will be served by Li Xianfeng!" ”

"The ministers have thanked the prince for his grace!"

As soon as Pang Gang's words came out, Wei Tongnian, Li Xianfeng and Hua Yan immediately knelt on the ground and bowed to Pang Gang.

Seeing this scene in front of him, Pang Gang was also very helpless, he just proclaimed himself the king, and these guys in front of him became kowtowers, even Wei Tongtong's father-in-law was no exception, and finally Pang Gang had to say: "Get up, we don't pay attention to this in this big week." ”

"Thank you for your grace!" Wei Tongtong and the three of them happily got up and stood up, obviously very satisfied with Pang Gang's appointment.

Everyone has no resistance to Pang Gang's words, the relationship between the monarchs of the Ming Dynasty is not as bad as the historical Manchu Qing Dynasty after entering the customs, the scholars of the Ming Dynasty pay attention to the king and the minister to rule the world together, from this point of view, the Ming Dynasty scholars are to see themselves as the same as the king, can govern the country together, and not like the Manchu Qing courtiers as slaves.

Especially Li Xianfeng, he is still very satisfied that a courtier who surrendered to the Ming Dynasty can be entrusted with a heavy task by Pang Gang, although he also knows that the reason why Pang Gang appointed him as the governor of Hubei is also because there are not many officials available under his hands at present, but from this point of view, Pang Gang is still very broad-minded, and he will not be suspicious because he once served as an official of the Ming Dynasty.

After dividing the governors of several provinces, Pang Gang set his eyes on Wen Renjun again, and said with a smile: "Wen Qing, this king will appoint you as the prefect of Qingzhou today, so that you can do a good job, don't live up to the trust of this king!" ”

"Thank you, Lord Wang!"

Wen Renjun bowed deeply at Pang Gang, he also knew that with him who had just taken refuge in Pang Gang, it was really rare for Pang Gang to put him in such a position as the prefect of Qingzhou, and he didn't dare to ask for more

The news of Pang Gang's self-proclaimed king of Zhou soon spread, and the world couldn't help but make an uproar, but Pang Gang's behavior was scolded by countless scholars, some scolded him for his wolf ambition, some scolded him for his crime and deserved death, and even scolded him for being a chaotic minister and thief who asked the court to send troops to fight and so on. But what is surprising is that the Ming court, which is one of the parties involved, did not express any opinion unusually, but only expressed silence, which surprised many scholars in the Ming Dynasty.

In the imperial garden of the Shengjing Imperial Palace, the obese Huang Taiji, dressed in a bright yellow regular suit, without a hat, and revealing a money rat tail, strolled through the imperial garden, and next to him was his favorite concubine Da Yu'er, that is, Borzigit. Bumu Butai.

Different from history, the Manchu Qing in this time and space was ruthlessly attacked by Pang Gang several times, and the loss of troops was serious, and he could no longer attack the Ming border as unscrupulously as in history, and Huang Taiji, who was the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, was also heartbroken for this, at this time he looked much older than a year ago, and he was not yet fifty years old, and his temples were white, and the old age spots also quietly climbed on his face.

Walking slowly on the bluestone paved path, Huang Taiji said slowly: "Aifei, I got a tip, that Pang Gang has already established himself as the king in Qingzhou, officially out of the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty, do you know what it means?" ”

Da Yu'er thought for a while and said, "Your Majesty, isn't this very good?" That Pang Gang broke away from the Ming Kingdom, which means that the strength of the Ming Dynasty has been weakened a few points, and Shandong is separated from the territory of my Qing Dynasty by Hubei and Shanhaiguan, not to mention, since Pang Gang dares to establish himself as the king, first of all, the Ming Emperor will not tolerate him, and the two sides will inevitably clash, so that Pang Gang can no longer pose a threat to my Qing Dynasty. ”

Huang Taiji smiled bitterly: "You, how can your opinion be the same as that of Dai Shan." ”

Da Yu'er rolled her eyes and asked curiously, "Is there anything wrong with the concubine's words?" ”

"Your eyelids are shallow, after all." Huang Taiji sighed and said, "From a closer look, this is indeed the case, but don't you forget, did that Pang Gang come in from land last time he invaded my territory of the Great Qing Dynasty?" He also has a very powerful sailor, and Phi Dao is in his hands, he can invade the Qing Dynasty from Phi Dao at any time! Even if Pang Gang wants to start a war with the Ming Kingdom, he is unable to take care of my Qing Dynasty for a while, if he is destroyed by the Ming Dynasty, it will be fine, but if he dominates the Central Plains and sits in the world, will he let us go in the Qing Dynasty! ”

Da Yu'er was silent for a long time before she said softly: "Your Majesty, who can say clearly what will happen in the future, I think that since Emperor Taizu raised his army with thirteen pairs of armor, we have gone through countless hardships to get to this day, is this a fluke?" No matter how powerful Pang Gang is, he is also a human being, and the concubine doesn't believe that there is no way to deal with him. Your Majesty, if we join forces with the Ming Kingdom to destroy that Pang Gang, what do you think? ”

"Hehehehehe" Huang Taiji was amused and looked at Da Yu'er who was snuggling beside him.

Twenty-six-year-old Da Yu'er is in the golden age of her life, her black hair and phoenix eyes reveal a sense of intelligence and confidence, and her tall nose bridge shows that her owner is a very assertive person.

Huang Taiji smiled: "Ai Concubine, although you are a smart person, you take it for granted about national affairs." Not to mention whether the country is willing to join forces with our Qing Dynasty to deal with Pang Gang, even if he is willing, will they let go of the border pass and let our Qing warriors enter the customs? If the Ming Kingdom is unwilling to let go of the border gates, our Daqing and that Pang Gang will be separated by thousands of miles. ”

Da Yu'er said unconvinced: "We don't have to send troops in person, according to the concubines, the Ming Kingdom has hoarded tens of thousands of heavy troops in Guanning and Shanhaiguan, we can agree with the Ming State to allow them to mobilize Shanhaiguan and Guanning soldiers and horses to attack Pang Gang, during this period, our Daqing will never attack their border passes, isn't it okay." ”

"Hahaha" Huang Taiji couldn't help laughing anymore, pointed at Da Yu'er and said, "Da Yu'er, you, you are so naïve." Do you think that the ministers of the Ming Kingdom all eat dry rice, and they will do it as soon as possible, what do we say? ”

Da Yu'er also knew that her method was a bit wishful thinking, but because of the woman's natural surname, she still hugged Huang Taiji's arm coquettishly and coquettishly, "The concubine knows that she is stupid and not as good as you, so you can tell me what you can do to deal with Da Ming and Pang Gang." ”

Huang Taiji smiled mysteriously and said, "You're really right, of course I have a way to deal with them!" ”

With Huang Taiji's old and spicy experience, he naturally would not make such a stupid move, but he came up with another poisonous plan

(To be continued)