On June 24 of the new calendar, the flood in Henan gradually subsided, and the Datong Emperor Zhao Han triumphed.

To be precise, he only brought the pro-army back, and stopped when he took the boat to Dangshan. Including Zhao Han himself, all of them camped outside Dangshan City for quarantine, and confirmed that no one was infected with the plague before continuing to set off.

As for the various armies, each has its own arrangement.

The 1st and 2nd Divisions, the former was stationed in Dezhou, and the latter was stationed in Linqing, where they were isolated and rested in Shandong, while guarding against the Manchu Qing Dynasty moving south. The army's food and salaries were replenished along the Grand Canal to the north.

The 3rd Division was stationed in Quang Binh Province, the 4th Division was stationed in Chang Duc Province, and the 5th Division was stationed in Huaiqing Province to guard against the enemy in Shanxi and Northern Zhili. The army's food and salary went north along the Grand Canal, and then transported it through the Yellow River.

The Sixth Division was transferred to Yunyang, Hubei, to guard against Li Zicheng in Shaanxi.

The 7th Division was responsible for clearing out the bandits in Henan.

The Eighth Division remained in Luoyang and was supplied with grain from Hubei.

Shandong's Huang Fei, Ma Jinzhong and other meritorious generals, temporarily left 1,500 young and strong soldiers each, responsible for assisting the local officials in Shandong to suppress bandits, and the rest of the army was all disbanded for the people.

To tell the truth, tens of thousands of people are piled up in the north, and the local people are temporarily unable to provide for themselves, so all the military rations have to be transported from the south. Manpower had to be mobilized along the way, and the people had to consume a lot of food, which was not much different from fighting a war in solitude - just using work for relief, so that a large number of hungry people could carry food.

It's easy to fight, but it's hard to govern.

Zhao Han, a civil and military official in Shandong and Henan provinces, set them the following goals: in the first year, they will eliminate bandits, control the epidemic, and divide households and fields; In the second year, immigrants were admitted, and the local people were self-sufficient in food; In the third year, part of the grain and grass can be provided to the garrison.

Zhao Han plans to use ten years to restore Shandong and Henan to normal.

This speed has been amazingly fast, in history Sichuan was killed, tigers who like to live alone, actually come out in groups, and the Manchu Qing Dynasty has been immigrating to Sichuan for hundreds of years.

The Manchu immigration work was purely blind, and many of the early immigrants died. Either they will be eaten by wild beasts, or they will freeze to death and starve to death, and it is up to God to survive or not.

……

Shanxi, Taiyuan.

Li Zicheng, the emperor of Dashun, returned to the city again.

When the war situation in Shandong and Henan reached Shanxi, and he witnessed Haoge leaving with his troops, everyone knew that the Manchus would definitely not be able to win the world.

Since Li Zicheng returned to Shanxi, he chose to defect again. In addition to the generals who had a great feud, such as Li Zicheng who had backstabbed Li Zicheng or killed important officials such as Song Xiance, the rest of the Qing troops threw themselves into Li Zicheng's arms.

"Your Majesty," Niu Jinxing suggested, "Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces have had plenty of rain this year, and the drought of more than ten years has ended. As soon as His Majesty returns, there will be happy rain in the two provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi, and this will be the intention of God to favor Your Majesty. Your Majesty should select the best and use the talents, rectify the rule of officials, eliminate the warlords, organize the households, and encourage the farmers, and must not rush to attack the territory. There are major epidemics in Beizhili, Shandong, and Henan, and even if they are defeated, they are just a white land contaminated with plague. ”

Li Zicheng nodded and said, "I know what you said." Where do you find the talents who govern the place? ”

Niu Jinxing said: "You can learn from the puppet emperor in the south, and use a large number of poor scholars. If you are outstanding in learning, you are a civil official who has been demoted, and you should also be reused. Everything is to restore people's livelihood as the top priority, and the two provinces of Shanxi must recuperate. ”

"Aren't poor men greedy for money?" Li Zicheng asked.

Niu Jinxing said: "Everyone is greedy for money, even ministers are greedy for money." When the rules are set, they should not be changed overnight. It is also necessary to strictly restrain those who are corrupt and pervert the law, and even the brothers of the old camp who break the law must be severely punished! ”

Li Zicheng sighed: "I can do it, but I'm afraid that the corrupt officials will not be killed." ”

"It's one thing to not be able to kill, and it's another thing to kill or not to kill," Niu Jinxing said, "and after Shanxi is pacified, an envoy will be sent to Beijing to reconcile and reconcile with the puppet Qing." ”

Li Zicheng frowned, obviously unwilling.

Niu Jinxing persuaded: "Your Majesty, and today, the Three Kingdoms are in full swing." I Dashun occupies Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu, and the pseudo-Qing Dynasty has Northern Zhili, Liaodong, and Mongolia. The puppet Tong sat on the rich land in the south, and the strength was the most powerful, such as Cao Cao of the Three Kingdoms in the late Han Dynasty. Let's fight with the puppet Qing, just like Liu Bei beating Sun Quan, wouldn't Cao Cao be cheaper for nothing? ”

Li Zicheng shook his head and said: "Tartar is Tartar, where did Sun Quan come from?" But it's true that you can't fight the Tartars anymore. ”

Niu Jinxing said: "Before the Great Rule of Shanxi, you can't start a war with the puppets. ”

Li Zicheng smiled helplessly: "That Zhao Han in Nanjing, who has repeatedly defeated the Tartars, must be very powerful in governing the army." I look like this now, even Shanxi has not been pacified, where do I dare to start a war with the surname Zhao? ”

Niu Jinxing said: "On the one hand, we can reconcile with the pseudo-Qing, and on the other hand, we can express surrender to the pseudo-Qing." The eldest husband can endure what ordinary people can't bear, so what if he is a vassal to the pseudo-emperor? Does Your Majesty think so? ”

"That's right." Li Zicheng admitted.

Niu Jinxing said: "Your Majesty can sacrifice a daughter and marry the pseudo-emperor." ”

Li Zicheng adopted many orphans, both male and female. In Yuan Shizhong, who made meritorious contributions in Henan, he married Li Zicheng's righteous daughter in history, and it was also made into a legendary story in later generations.

Li Zicheng said: "There is no need to mention the matter of getting married. and sent an envoy to Nanjing to test the other party's tone. Otherwise, if I marry a daughter in my eyes and don't accept the kindness of the other side, won't it make everyone unhappy? Maybe there will be a war because of this. ”

After the negotiations, Li Zicheng selected envoys, one to Beijing and the other to Nanjing.

Li Zicheng and Zhao Han have never fought, and they still admire Zhao Han very much when there is no contradiction, after all, everyone is an "emperor" born as an anti-thief.

As for the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Li Zicheng was extremely disgusted, he sat on the dragon chair in Beijing, and was killed all the way to Shaanxi by the Eight Banners Army. If it weren't for the fact that the power was too weak at this time and the territory was unstable, Li Zicheng would not have reconciled with the Manchus.

According to Li Zicheng's original intention, he wanted to drive the Manchu Qing out of Shanhaiguan and then lead troops to fight Zhao Han!

……

Beijing.

Before the Eight Banners Army had completely withdrawn from Shaanxi, Haoge hurried back all the way, clamoring for the reopening of the Manchurian Eight Banners Noble Conference.

Aobai, Sony, Tan Tai and others, fully armed and following Hauge, fearing that Dolgon would plot.

Bumu Butai, also known as Da Yu'er, the historical Empress Xiaozhuang, is now titled the Queen Mother. She took the young Emperor Shunzhi and sat on the main seat in the conference room, and the nobles of each banner sat down in order according to their titles.

Ganglin was the first to ask Haoge: "Prince Su ignored the military order and led his troops back to Beijing without authorization, resulting in the loss of Shanxi and Shaanxi. There is already a big crime, why do you want to hold a conference in tandem? ”

Hauge didn't bother to pay attention to Ganglin, but looked to the other side: "When this junior speaks, does it mean Adali or Big Baylor?" ”

Da Beile is Dai Shan, the owner of the Red Flag Banner, and his son is the owner of the Red Flag Banner, which means that the family controls the power of the two flags.

Adali is the grandson of Daishan, and Ganglin was originally Adali's general.

In the Manchu imperial examination, Ganglin became the minister of parliament, and after being transferred to the Zhenghuang Banner, he completely took refuge in Dorgon.

Dai Shan seemed to be drowsy, and opened his faint old eyes: "This junior belongs to the Zhenghuang Banner, not my two red flag people." ”

Ganglin has offended Hauge miserably since he took refuge in Dorgon, and he must not let Hauge turn the tables, he asked: "Does Prince Su admit that he is guilty?" ”

Hauge did not answer directly at all, but scolded: "Am I guilty? Even if I'm guilty, it's not your turn to speak, what are you! A second-class Lazhangjing, allowing you to sit in on the matter is considered a promotion, and you still dare to really open your mouth to discuss the matter! ”

Hauge pointed to Dolgon again: "What if I lose Shanxi and Shaanxi?" The soldiers of the Eight Banners under my command did not lose a single bit, but it was you who were defeated in Shandong and Henan. This is the land of the Han people, and if you lose one or two provinces, as long as you still have the Eight Banners, you can fight back at any time. If the Eight Banners are dead, what's the use of occupying more territory? ”

As soon as these words came out, the Manchu nobles nodded their heads, thinking that what Hauge said was very reasonable.

The Manchus spoke by strength, and if Dolgon's strength was not damaged, then it didn't matter how big the mistake was. However, the deaths of Duoduo and Azig in Shandong were all Dorgon's siblings, and their line suffered heavy losses.

In the face of the menacing Hauge, Dolgon took the initiative to retreat: "The defeat of Shandong and Henan is a mistake in my command. I also didn't expect the epidemic in Beijing to forcibly move all the banners here, causing the emptiness of Liaodong to be taken advantage of by the enemy. I have decided to step down as regent and recommend Haug to this position, and Haug should be returned to him the oxen that Hauge had taken. ”

When Hauge heard this, he was instantly stunned.

This seizure of power is too smooth, right, Dolgon actually directly admits defeat?

"Ahem!"

Dai Shan coughed twice suddenly and said, "Although the regent is at fault, the defeat of Duoduo was caused by Duoduo's rash attack on the enemy. Azig was defeated because the whole army was infected with the plague, and Azig himself died of illness. The defeat of Shangqiu was due to Tong Yangjia's incompetence, and if he could hold on for another day or two, the regent would be able to annihilate the main force of the enemy. Moreover, although Shangqiu was defeated, the Eight Banners of Manchuria did not suffer any losses, but only the death of several thousand Han Army and Eight Banners. ”

Hauge suddenly changed color, and Dai Shan's speech represented the opinions of the two red flags.

Why did Dolgon admit defeat, and Daishan helped Dolgon speak instead?

Bumu Butai also hugged the little emperor and spoke: "Prince Li has a point. ”

Hauge only felt that his vest was cold, and the two yellow flags and two red flags all supported Dolgon!

The reason is simple, Dolgon was indeed arrogant before, but this time he has suffered heavy losses. Let him continue to be the regent, the queen mother can rest assured, and Daishan will no longer feel threatened.

If Dolgon is punished and Hauge, who is not damaged, takes over as regent, the queen mother and Dai Shan will be on their backs.

Of course, Hauge also had to be appeased.

After some discussion, it was decided to return all the cattle that had been deprived last time to Hauge.

Bumu Butai said: "Don't ask whose sin it is, what we want to discuss today is the plague in Beijing, whether we should move back to Liaodong." ”

Dai Shan said: "Beijing has no danger to defend, once the southern army is sufficient, there will inevitably be more than 100,000 troops outside Beijing." In addition, there is a severe drought in Gyeonggi this year, and there is no grain to be harvested, and there is a plague raging, so I think we should abandon Beijing and return to the west of Shanhaiguan. ”

"I'm for it!"

"I'm for it too!"

A group of Eight Banners nobles echoed it, and they were all frightened by the plague.

And the Datong Army in the south is obviously not a soft persimmon. If you can't capture the south, why do you have to live in Beijing? Retreating to Liaodong is the last word!

Dolgon, who was in danger of retaining his position as regent, could not stop this decision.

When Li Zicheng's envoy arrived in Beijing, he found that the Manchus were rolling back to their hometown in Liaodong.

So the plague everywhere, and the drought this year, should Beizhili send troops to occupy it?

Li Zicheng was a little unsure, and Zhao Han didn't know how to deal with it.