Chapter I

During Li Zicheng's visit to Mizhi to worship his ancestors, all kinds of important government affairs and important military information in various places were constantly sent to "Xingzai" through post stations or special envoys, and no matter where he stopped along the way, he had to review many documents from Chang'an. If it is necessary for the central government to immediately follow his instructions, the documents that have been approved and read shall be returned immediately. He could have done some routine official affairs without having to take care of them himself, and the central government's yamen in charge of the government could have handled them in his name, but he also had to personally approve them. For example, the promulgation of the almanac for the next year, which is also known as the "Jiashen calendar", was originally calculated and agreed upon by the Qin Tianjian and then promulgated by the government, but he also had to look at it himself before promulgating it. In feudal society, the almanac was promulgated in the name of the emperor every winter, commonly known as the imperial calendar. It is the prerogative of the emperor to promulgate the imperial calendar within a country, and it is a symbol of imperial power. Although he has not yet been proclaimed emperor, he is actually the identity of the emperor, and he only needs to officially ascend to the pole. Therefore, in late November, on the way to Mizhi, he was so happy that he got the engraved "Jiashen Calendar" and even looked through it from beginning to end under the lamp, despite the fatigue of the saddle horse. He looked at the yellow paper notebook "Dashun Qin awarded the first year of Yongchang Jiashen Imperial Calendar" in a line of red letters, a kind of joy and excitement for the first time to take the imperial power, full of heart, unconsciously intoxicated.

Large-scale and small-scale military activities continue to be actively carried out. During his departure from Chang'an to Mizhi, all the machines of the new imperial court continued to assemble parts, still running according to his will day and night. People saw that Li Zicheng was constantly planning military affairs, and he was already worthy of martial arts, and the victory in winning the world was not far off. And I also saw that he cared about the government and paid attention to the words. Just look at the fact that after he arrived in Xi'an, he held examinations in the middle of the Rong Ma Dynasty, repaired schools, recruited talents, promoted meritocracy, set the color of uniforms, changed the official system, until the promulgation of the imperial calendar, etc., all kinds of measures show that the new imperial court is determined to get rid of the old and cloth the new, or it will be brilliant in a few years, tracking the Tang Dynasty. In the short two months after he entered Xi'an, except for a few big eunuchs, corrupt officials, and big bullies who were severely punished by him, almost everyone had real respect and expectations for him, thinking that he was indeed the king of entrepreneurship. Especially ordinary people say that he is the true son of heaven.

When he returned to Chang'an from Mizhi, Liu Zongmin, Niu Jinxing, and Song Xiance greeted him a hundred miles away, and played various major events of the military and the imperial court. Tian Jianxiu and other generals led the high-ranking civil and military ministers, and they all went to 30 miles away to take over. The rest of the civil and military officials and gentry, more than 1,000 people, knelt outside the city to receive the car.

Li Zicheng rode an oolong horse and walked slowly. There is a guard of honor and instrumental music in front, and sandalwood is burned in the incense burner, and the light smoke is thick, and the incense is full of thoroughfare. A samurai rode a tall horse and carried a yellow umbrella ahead of him. On the way to the palace, the streets had long been widened, leveled, cleaned, and paved with yellow sand. Because the emperor wanted to return to the palace from these streets, the streets were cleaned along the roads and pedestrians were cut off. Of course, there were also fathers and elders who wanted to see them, so they knelt down on the side of the street, and did not dare to raise their heads.

In the face of this grand pick-up situation, Li Zicheng suddenly thought of the days when he was besieged in the Shangluo Mountain, one day he was not completely cured, and he rode out on horseback, and how the soldiers, the righteous and the poor people pulled his horse's head and surrounded him closely. Everyone saw him recovering from a serious illness, cheering, jumping, and shedding tears around him. The situation suddenly came back to his mind, but it was clear that it was far away. He couldn't help but think of the situation when he entered Luoyang, which was very majestic at that time, but how could it be compared with today's style? Today's scene, he knows that it is called "entry and exit police" in the book, which is a matter of course, and it is obtained from his more than ten years of arduous battles. Alas! It's not easy to come by.

Suddenly, his mind was excited by the scenery in front of him, and he felt very uneasy. He couldn't help but consider that part of the Eastern Crusade army had already begun to cross the Yellow River from the Hancheng area. Li Guo has already crossed the river, and Liu Zongmin will leave soon, and he will set off later. Thinking of the emptiness of Shanxi, it will advance victoriously all the way, and it will not be long before the matter of ascending to the pole in Beijing. The great cause of a thousand years has now clearly appeared in front of us. Although he had never been to Beijing, he was very familiar with all kinds of theories about Beijing's inner city, outer city, imperial city, and Forbidden City. He believes that in the future, Chang'an City must be built better than Beijing, and the scale of the Tang Dynasty must be restored. There are mountains and rivers here, and any kind of garden can be built as if it were heaven. He immediately looked at the widened streets, and a more ambitious plan came to him.

When he arrived at the noon gate, he got off his horse and ordered all the officials to go back to the yamen to do business, and the prime minister, the military advisor, and Liu Zongmin, the marquis of Ru, entered the palace after the first watch tonight.

Just after the first watch, Liu Zongmin, Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance came to the palace in accordance with the order. Li Zicheng was already sitting in the warm pavilion of the palace, waiting for them while reviewing the documents. After everyone kowtowed to Li Zicheng, they sat down to discuss the matter. In the major events of the DPRK and China, Li Zicheng continued to be entertained on the journey back to Chang'an. Especially Liu Zongmin, Niu and Song, who greeted him a hundred miles away, and played all kinds of important things to him, he knew very well. So at the beginning of tonight's meeting, he asked Liu Zongmin:

"Have you decided to leave in the next few days?"

Liu Zongmin replied: "The 20th of this month is an auspicious day for the zodiac, and it has been agreed with the military division and Prime Minister Niu Cheng to set off from Chang'an on the 20th. The men and horses of the Eastern Expedition are now concentrated in the Hancheng area and are on standby. A small number of troops have crossed the Yellow River in three ways. Buzhi came back from Mizhi escort, and when he arrived in Pucheng, the emperor ordered him not to return to Chang'an, so he turned east from Pucheng and went to Hancheng first. He was the pioneer general, and he thought that he would travel overnight, and now he may have crossed the river from the Hancheng area. ”

Li Zicheng turned to Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance and said, "The text you prepared for Jiexuan was already on the road a few days ago. Need to be changed? ”

The manuscript was drafted by Song Xiance and one of his aides. Hearing Li Zicheng's inquiry, he quickly stood up respectfully and replied:

"The draft was repeatedly scrutinized by the ministers, and Prime Minister Niu and Ruhou were also invited to read it, and then it was played in front of the emperor. It's just that this is the text of the first Eastern Crusade, and the relationship is extremely important, so we must wait for the emperor to personally consider and revise the imperial pen before daring to engrave and print. ”

Li Zicheng nodded slightly, picked up the manuscript from the imperial case, handed it to the military advisor, and said:

"Now we're thinking about it together. Okay, you sit down and read it slowly, and we'll all listen carefully to see if there's anything that needs to be changed. ”

Song Xiance sat down, picked up the neatly written manuscript with both hands, and read in a tone with an accent from eastern Henan:

"The general of the battalion of the Dashun Advocate Righteous Battalion was ordered to levy the ......"

Li Zicheng asked everyone with a smile: "How about giving Jiexuan such an official title?" This official title will be recorded in the annals of history, and you will consider it again. Qidong, you are familiar with the rules and regulations of the past dynasties, is there anything inappropriate about this official title? ”

Niu Jinxing stood up respectfully and said: "It is very important for the Marquis of Ru to go on this expedition to seize Beijing for the Great Shun Dynasty and establish a great cause for all generations. Therefore, this official title will surely go down in history and hang down to eternity. In accordance with the emperor's edict before leaving Chang'an, the ministers agreed on this title after several studies, and approved it by His Majesty. Although the previous generation did not have this name, but I was prosperous, and there was a cause for the previous generation, and those who did not have it in the previous generation might as well create a new one. The minister thought that there was nothing wrong with this official title, and there was no need to change it. After speaking, he sat down and waited for Li Zicheng to speak.

Song Xiance stood up and continued: "The minister thinks that the official title of Marquis Ru is very good, and there is no need to change it. At first, the ministers and others discussed, using the words "Dashun Qinzhi to mention the head of the battalion general", and the emperor used a red pen circle to "Qinzhi" to change the word "advocacy" to "advocacy", and the ministers and others felt that their knowledge was too shallow, and they deeply admired the emperor's wisdom and wisdom, and they had seen people ......"

Li Zicheng said with a smile: "This is not very wise. I just thought that now that I haven't entered Beijing and destroyed the Ming Dynasty, the word 'advocacy' can't be thrown away. After arriving in Beijing and holding a grand ceremony, it is not too late to change to the word 'Qin'. Okay, give advice, you move on. ”

Song Xiance continued: "Ruhou was originally known as the chief post in the old eighth team, and until recently, the soldiers still used to call him Liu Ye, the chief whistle, to express respect and cordiality. Now the situation has changed, if you still use the word "general whistle", it will be indecent, and second, this style is too small. Now that Jiexuan has been made a marquis, the emperor led all the men and horses of the Eastern Expedition, and it is more appropriate to use the word 'camp', which means to supervise the battalions. Originally, they should be collectively referred to as the general of the battalion, but the emperor said that the title of general should not be set up in a few years, so the ministers discussed using the name of the chief general, and the actual position was the same as that of the general. ”

Liu Zongmin said: "Luo Rucai was originally named a general, but he was beheaded a few months ago, of course we don't need the title of general." ”

Li Zicheng nodded and said, "I just mean not to use it again in a few years." Now, although it has been decided to use the title of the chief general of the battalion, if the soldiers feel uncomfortable and are not used to it, they should not prohibit it if they are willing to be called General Jiexuan, but they don't need it on various documents. Has the defense been controlled? ”

Song Xiance said: "After the decision is made in front of the emperor tonight, it can be cast tomorrow." The ministers discussed, although the defense was a temporary trust, but the position of the general was very respectful and could be silver. ”

Li Zicheng nodded in agreement. Then he said: "You read the text again, and if there is no change, send it down overnight, and quickly engrave it." It is necessary to print more to ensure that the prefectures, prefectures and counties along the road, the officials and gentry and the people are well-known. Sit down and read it, word by word, a little more clearly. ”

Song Xiance sat down, picked up the manuscript again, and read it from the beginning:

The general of the battalion was ordered to levy things: since ancient times, the emperor has risen and fallen, and the people are in their hearts. In the Ming Dynasty, most of the numbers have ended. The punishment was severe, and the people were unbearable. Birth to my holy lord, benevolence and good life. The banner of righteousness is raised, and Haiyu returns to his heart. Crossing the south of the river and leveling Yu Chu, entering the west of the Guanxi and sweeping the three Qin. To pacify the officials and pacify the people, and to set up generals to defend the border, the great cause has been decided. Jin Yan was sleepy for a long time, and he couldn't bear to sit idly by, so he sent the head of the special dispatch to lead 500,000 soldiers from Chang'an on the 20th of this month, and marched into the vanguard by different routes. My lord himself raised a million troops, and he did not commit any crimes in the autumn. I am the first to send a letter to the civil and military attachés, etc., judge the situation, dedicate the city to the seal, and plan the jue Lu early. If obsessed with rejection, Xu Er's gentry and people will not only be rewarded, but also protect all living beings. If the government and the people resist together, the soldiers will break the city, and the jade will not be divided, so how can I regret it!

The following date reads: December ×, Da Shun Guiwei. The date at the beginning of this manuscript is not written, and when it is printed in the future, it will be filled in with a red pen. Obviously, the Chongzhen era name is no longer used, but only the Ganzhi year.

After Li Zicheng heard this, he took the manuscript and looked at it, smiled and nodded, lifted the red pen, wrote the word "may" at the top of the back of the manuscript, and returned it to the military advisor. Xiang Niu Venus asked:

"Is the draft of the edict of the Northern Expedition ready?"

Niu Jinxing stood up and replied: "Your Majesty's draft of the edict of the Northern Expedition has been drafted by the ministers. Today, I discussed it again with the ministers, changed a few words, and it can be sent to the palace tomorrow morning. The edict will be promulgated on New Year's Day, and there are still more than 20 days to go, so His Majesty has time to consider it calmly. ”

Li Zicheng nodded, motioned for Niu Jinxing to sit down, and then turned to Song Xiance and asked, "I have already read the proclamation of the Northern Expedition on the road." When Jiexuan set out from Chang'an, this proclamation should also be engraved and printed to inform the whole army. ”

Song Xiance said: "The ministers believe that this expedition is the emperor's personal expedition, and the Marquis of Ru has only been in advance for more than ten days, so there is no need to send a salute. After the Marquis arrived in Hancheng, he could gather all the generals, perform the oath on behalf of the emperor, announce the proclamation, and then divide the army to cross the river. As for the generals who have already crossed the river, they don't have to return to Hancheng, they just need to hold an oath on the spot and announce the emperor's oath to their subordinates. ”

Niu Jinxing continued: "This time the emperor's expedition is different from the past. This was the last battle, which smashed Yanjing and destroyed the Ming Dynasty in one fell swoop. As soon as Yanjing was broken, His Majesty ascended to the pole and spread the word to the world, Jiangnan could be decided without a big war, so the oath of the whole army of the Eastern Expedition must be solemnly held. ”

Li Zicheng was excited, and he picked up the draft of the proclamation from the imperial case and read it carefully. When I saw it halfway, I suddenly read it out loud:

…… Not a small body, from Yinchuan, the power of the army, the pot pulp to welcome. The three Qin are determined to be in the middle of the country; Xingshi crossed to the east and went straight to Yanjing. Referring to the day to return to the pasture, the horse to release Huayang, Chang'an Dingding. Shall we not rest at the table with all the peoples!

All the soldiers should be loyal and angry, and use the collection of skills. It has the destruction of the front, the hard-working people, the tearing of the soil, the tin with the sharpening. Those who are treacherous and arrogant and disobey the order will be punished by the state, and the law will be difficult to repay.

All the soldiers, this is the meaning, don't burn my house, don't abuse my people. But now the covenant is sworn by, and each of them is reluctant.

Li Zicheng read the proclamation, nodded, and used a red pen to mark the word "may", and then said to Liu Zongmin:

"I would have liked to lead a large army to the east at once and cross the river with you. But Chang'an still has a lot of things to do, so let's go first. According to the established strategy, you will supervise the battalions for me and sweep the three Jins. We met in Pingyang, and together we went north from Taiyuan, from Datong to the east, and entered Juyongguan to the city of Beijing. Since the uprising, we have been fighting for 16 years, and we are about to conquer Beijing, and we are about to complete it. ”

Liu Zongmin said: "The Ming Dynasty's troops in Shanxi are empty, and there will be no big war in Taiyuan." If the journey goes smoothly and there is no delay, it seems that around the tenth day of the first month of March, you can go to the city of Beijing. There's only one thing I'm worried about right now......"

Li Zicheng asked, "What are you worried about?" ”

Liu Zongmin continued: "Will Chongzhen escape to Nanjing? That could be said. If he fled to Nanjing, things would be a little troublesome. ”

Song Xiance said: "As long as we march fast, Chongzhen will not have time to flee to Jiangnan, and the next step will be much faster to clean up Jiangnan." ”

Niu Jinxing said: "Judging from the ancient times of the previous dynasty, the emperor of a country fled to another place, called Mengchen. The emperor of the Tang Dynasty escaped from Chang'an twice, and Emperor Yuan Shun also fled. So for now, the only way to do this is to march as quickly as possible. It was not easy for Chongzhen to escape to Jiangnan. ”

Li Zicheng said: "I think Chongzhen has a lot of concerns, and he may not escape from Beijing easily. As long as our army marches quickly, by the time he decides to flee, it will be too late. ”

Song Xiance then said: "What's more, our army has been stationed in Shandong one after another and cut off the canal. After Dong Xueli surrendered to His Majesty, His Majesty promoted him from deputy general to chief soldier, and was preparing to escort Wu Su to Huaiyin and other places. Chongzhen heard that the situation in Shandong and Huaibei had changed, and he would not dare to flee to Nanjing. Unless he escaped from the sea, he would not dare to take the risk of such a storm. ”

Li Zicheng asked, "How is this Wu Su?" ”

Niu Jinxing replied: "Wu Su was born as a Jinshi, and although he did not have a prominent position in the Ming Dynasty, he also had some fame. Sending him as the defense envoy of the Huaiyin area, relying on His Majesty's prestige, he announced the decree of the new dynasty to the local military and civilians, and he will be able to clean up the chaos in that area. In the future, the matter of going to Jiangnan does not depend on him. Just wait for Beijing to break, Chongzhen to die, His Majesty ordered a general, lead the army south, and send a heavy minister to go with the army, Jiangnan can be passed on. ”

Li Zicheng said with a smile: "After pacifying Jiangnan, the next step is to send a large army out of Shanhaiguan to clean up the chaotic situation in Liaodong for many years." ”

After returning from Mizhi, Li Zicheng, with the assistance of Niu Jinxing and other ministers, dealt with military affairs, getting up early and sleeping late every day. The diligence of his deacons made it impossible for even the gentry in Guanzhong, who had always harbored prejudices against him, to change their opinion that he was indeed like a founding emperor.

It's less than a month away from the New Year. Many things must be carefully formulated, and they must be implemented from next year's New Year's Day. Therefore, before the Eastern Crusade, he stayed in Xi'an during this time, and he was particularly busy. According to the superstitious idea of the so-called "end of the five virtues" since the Warring States period, the Dashun Dynasty was designated as the king of Shuide, and the color of the clothes was still blue. The complement of the civil official is decorated with clouds, one product and one flower, until nine products and nine flowers. Now that it is the lunar month, regarding the founding of the country, the promulgation of the almanac, and the change of the color of clothes, the government must comply with the proclamation of the military and the people in all places, so that from the New Year's Day of Jiashen, they will obey it together. There is another important event that should be announced by the government. Avoided words, all the words that violated his three generations of names, must be forbidden, replaced by other words, or changed strokes. His own name, "Zicheng", is a very commonly used word, and if it is forbidden to use it, it will cause great inconvenience to the subjects of the world. Therefore, he announced: From the New Year's Day of the Jiashen year, the word "cheng" will be changed to the word with success at the bottom of the prefix, so that the successful word "cheng" does not have to be avoided. In short, everything that the feudal emperor should do when changing the dynasty, he and his ministers have taken it into consideration, made preparations, and will be promulgated immediately. As for the civil and military official system, it was formulated in Xiangyang, and now it has been revised to be more rigorous.

Reform of the currency system is also a major event at present. Although the coins of the Ming Dynasty can continue to be used, it is necessary to quickly make Dashun Tongbao to replace the coins of the Ming Dynasty. Since the Apocalypse, the Ming Dynasty has made a lot of light, thin, copper and bad, small copper coins with many eyes, which are called hemp money or leather money by the folk because the treasury has dried up. The so-called hemp money refers to the fact that the money is not bare and has sand holes, like the pockmarks on the face; The so-called leather money is because the currency system was chaotic in the Yuan Dynasty and there was a lack of brass coinage, so the money was made from sheepskin, which made people very disgusted. So nowadays for those thin and small money, it is also called leather money. Due to the poor quality of the coins minted by the central government during the Apocalypse, counterfeiting of coins in various places became more and more unprohibitive, and the price of silver became more and more expensive, and the price of money became lower and lower, which brought great suffering to the people. In the area of Suzhou, south of the Yangtze River, the people once refused to use the apocalypse money, which caused a great trend. Li Zicheng is well aware of this drawback, and he also deeply understands the wishes of the people. Therefore, when he was besieged in Shangluo Mountain, once he went to Majian with illness, and specially asked his soldiers to bring a lot of generous money cast by the three dynasties of Jiajing, Longqing and Wanli to the people of Majian. After entering Xi'an, he ordered the establishment of the Baoyuan Bureau, which was temporarily subordinate to the household government, and specialized in minting large and thick Yongchang money. Some of it has already been cast, and it will only be used after Jiashen changes the yuan. But the source of copper is difficult. After Li Zicheng came back from Mizhi, he read the book of the household government, and had to decide to collect folk bronzes and transport them to the Baoyuan Bureau, so that he could step up the casting day and night. Although this collection of bronze artifacts inevitably harassed the people, it had no choice but to do so.

Although many things, such as the founding regulations, various systems, political measures, sending troops and generals, and raising food and salaries, were carefully planned and conceived by Liu Zongmin, Niu Jinxing, and Song Xiance, he had to make a decision in the end. So from the day he returned to Chang'an from Mizhi, his daily life was not only full of eminence and pride, but also full of busyness and worry, so that there was no time to talk to the queen Gao Guiying.

On the eighteenth day of the lunar month, Li Zicheng came to Kunning Palace to sit for a while. Gao Guiying said to him in a complaining tone:

"Your Majesty, you are busy with military affairs every day, and you have forgotten all the important things that should be done."

Li Zicheng asked, "What did I forget?" Why don't you say it? ”

Mrs. Gao said: "As the saying goes: men should get married, and women should get married." Can you get a few couples married before you set out, but what we wish we had? ”

Li Zicheng suddenly remembered and said, "Huh? Are you talking about Double Happiness and Little Nail's marriage? ”

"Yes, how long will it be delayed? After getting Xiangyang this spring, I wanted to finish the marriage for these children, but you said you don't need to be busy, and I'll talk about it when I break Xi'an. Now that they have come to Xi'an, they don't do happy things for them, do they push it back again, and after they enter Beijing, do they come back to do it? ”

Li Zicheng couldn't decide for a while, and still felt that he was about to go on an expedition at present, and he didn't have time to deal with these small things. Seeing that he did not express an opinion, the queen urged again:

"The marriage of these children is certainly not as important as the military affairs. But the emperor, this is a big deal for these children, and it is a lifelong event for them. It doesn't matter if the boy is older, as long as he is not more than thirty years old, it cannot be considered too late to become married; But not with the girls. As the saying goes, a good flower can bloom for a few months. Do you have to wait for their youth to be over before they are sent to marry? Take Huiying as an example, she is twenty-three years old this year. If it was in the family of the gentry and the common people, it would have been time to get married a few years ago. Just because he was by my side and lived a career as a horseman, there was no peaceful life. Besides, I also need her by my side, so I delayed her marriage. She doesn't say it, but I can't help but think about it often. There are also Huiqiong and Huizhu, who are not much younger than Huiying, and they should all be sent away. Other girls' marriages can wait for you to come back from Beijing, and they will get married a year and a half late, and it doesn't matter much sooner or later, Huiqiong must get married quickly, so it's best to do it with Huiying. ”

Zicheng was still thinking about military affairs, and asked a little absent-mindedly: "Do you have to hurry up with Huiqiong's marriage?" ”

Gao Guiying said: "Not only because Huiqiong should get married, but also because of the little man. It turned out that he wanted to marry Hui Mei Xu to him. Later, hey, I didn't expect you to be the master of the military division, break up a good marriage, marry Huimei to Yuan Shizhong, and send her to death alive, can Xiao Naizi not be sad? If he sees a happy marriage now, and he can't get married, will his heart be better? ”

Li Zicheng did not pay attention to the matter discussed by the queen with him until this moment. Suddenly laughed, shook his head, and said:

"Today you mentioned the matter of consummating the marriage of Double Happiness and Little Nai, it is important, but how can you do it? Jiexuan was scheduled for the twentieth day of the lunar month, that is, the day after tomorrow, and he was going to leave Chang'an early in the morning to go on an expedition, and decided to order Zhang Nai to go with him. Double happiness waited for the fifth day to go out with me, and it was still too late to do the happy event, but how could Zhang Nai's happy event be in time? In my opinion, the expedition is big, so let's postpone the matter of Zhang Nai's marriage. ”

"Your Majesty, since you have decided to order Zhang Nai to go on an eastward expedition with Liu Ye, the chief outpost, I will only ask Zhang Nai for a few days off. Twenty-two is an auspicious day, and Shuangxi and Zhang Nai were married on this day. Zhang Nai's pro-military battalion went first with the brigade. Zhang Nai's marriage was completed on the 22nd, and on the 25th, he chased after him on horseback, and had time to participate in the oath in Hancheng, and then crossed the river with the army. I asked Zhang Nai for a few days off to cross the Yellow River with the army. I think Jiexuan will also smile and nod. Your Majesty, do you think this is okay? ”

"Twenty-two days...... It's only a few days, can you get ready? ”

Mrs. Gao said: "You don't have to worry about the preparations, as long as you nod your head." ”

"Okay. I'm so entangled in big things that I don't care about these things, so you can do whatever you want. ”

Li Zicheng stood up to leave, but said with a smile: "Wang Si has already become a relative to Miss Zuo, don't worry about it." Luo Hu is a promising child, and now he is also very powerful. After I enter Beijing, I will choose a beautiful and well-read palace maid among the many palace maids and give him a wife, which will definitely satisfy him. ”

Mrs. Gao said: "When the emperor arrives in the Forbidden City in Beijing, he sees outstanding beauty, so he might as well choose a few to serve the emperor." In the future, in the harem of our Dashun Dynasty, we will also need a group of concubines. ”

Li Zicheng didn't understand whether Gao Guiying's words were true or false, and it was difficult to speak again. Suddenly, he saw Wang Changshun standing outside the Zhenxiang Gate of Kunning Palace, and asked a palace maid:

"Is that Wang Changshun?"

The palace maid bowed and played: "It's Wang Changshun." He didn't dare to come in because the emperor was talking to the queen. I have been waiting outside the Zhenxiang Gate for a long time. ”

"Call him in and see what is going on with him."

Hearing the summons, Wang Changshun respectfully walked into the Zhenxiang Gate, came to the bottom of the steps of Kunning Palace from the left side of the white jade road, straightened his hat, and then climbed the steps from one side and moved to the front of Kunning Palace. Outside the threshold, he quickly knelt down and prostrate.

Li Zicheng said in a cordial tone: "Changshun, stand up." What gift did you bring for the Queen? What's the heavy stuff in the blue satin baggage? ”

Wang Changshun stood up, carefully crossed the threshold, walked into the main hall of Kunning Palace, knelt down again, and opened the blue satin baggage, revealing a pair of brand-new stirrups with golden dazzling colors. He picked up a stirrup in both hands and presented it to Li Zicheng, and held another one and presented it to Gao Guiying. This new stirrup has two dragons on each side, with the dragon's head facing upwards, joined together. The dragon's head and tail are connected to stirrups, and the dragon's mouth is half-open, and there are pearls in the mouth. The pearl can roll in the mouth, but it cannot be removed. Mr. and Mrs. Li Zicheng admired the new stirrup and were very happy, and praised the new stirrup for its exquisite production. Li Zicheng asked:

"Wow Changshun, who did you call to make this pair of golden stirrups? So exquisite. ”

Wang Changshun was still kneeling on the ground. Because of the compliment, he was so excited that he burst into tears, and said:

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten? After attacking Tongguan, I once touched the emperor's stirrup and said: 'This stirrup was originally an old thing used by others, and it was used again for almost 16 years since you rebelled, and it has been worn in some places. You're about to become emperor, and it's time for this stirrup to be renewed. The emperor smiled at that time and said, "You can change it, and you can change it after you go to Chang'an." I said, 'Your Majesty is the true son of the dragon, and the new stirrups cannot be so pure.' I think there should be a dragon on this new stirrup. His Majesty smiled again and said, 'That's a good idea, you can do it.' When I arrived in Chang'an, I handed it over to the government and asked the government to follow the order. ”

Li Zicheng smiled and said, "How can there be a will, I didn't make a will." ”

Wang Changshun said: "The emperor wants me to watch it, this is the holy decree." The emperor said a word that was Chrysostom and Yuyan, which was a holy decree. ”

Li Zicheng looked at him and nodded with a smile.

Wang Changshun continued: "When I come back from Mizhi with the emperor, ah, it's not called Mizhi, I will come back from Tianbao Mansion, and the official in charge of this matter of the industrial government will show me the drawing." I saw that it was very good, so I urged them to hurry up and cast it day and night, and add gilt to the outside. Your Majesty, do you like this stirrup? ”

Li Zicheng said: "I like it, I like it!" Changshun, on the way to Tongguan, I was very busy with things in my heart. When you told me about the new stirrup, I really didn't care, I just agreed casually, and forgot about it afterwards. But you did it seriously. After speaking, he looked at the queen and laughed.

Wang Changshun said: "The Son of Heaven has no jokes. Even if the emperor says a word, it is also a holy decree. After the minister arrived in Chang'an, how dare he forget it? ”

Li Zicheng said: "Okay, you don't have to do it yourself. You go and order someone to change the stirrups of the oolong horse, and give the old stirrups to the Baoyuan Bureau to make Yongchang money. ”

"Nope! Your Majesty, that pair of old stirrups should be treasured as treasures in the imperial treasury and passed down from generation to generation, so that future generations will know that Your Majesty has fought a bloody battle on horses for fifteen or six years, and it is not easy to win the world. ”

Li Zicheng suddenly restrained his relaxed smile, exchanged glances with the queen, and nodded unconsciously. The queen said to Wang Changshun:

"What you said is very true, this pair of old stirrups should be stored in the imperial treasury, as the heirloom of our Dashun Dynasty royal family, so that generations of emperors will not forget this hard-won country."

Wang Changshun said: "The minister has asked the government officials to cast a pair of gilded stirrups for Niangniang, and each stirrup has a pair of phoenixes on it. ”

Li Zicheng said: "Don't do the queen's stirrups. In the future, the world will be peaceful, the queen is the mother of a country, living in the palace, and in the Forbidden City, she will take the phoenix; Out of the Forbidden City, you have to multiply. No more riding horses and fighting with the army. ”

Wang Changshun suddenly realized, and quickly kowtowed and said: "The minister was confused for a while, forgetting that the queen will never have to fight on horseback from now on. I'm so confused! I beg your Majesty's forgiveness. ”

The queen smiled and said, "Don't be afraid. If it weren't for the emperor's reminder, don't talk about you, even I didn't think that I wouldn't ride a horse again in the future. Changshun, you can bring the emperor's new stirrup down. I still have something to say to the emperor. ”

Wang Changshun wrapped a pair of new stirrups and kowtowed to withdraw. He reproached himself fiercely in his heart: "Alas! How did I forget, in the future, the world will be peaceful, and the queen will not need to ride a horse. ”

Li Zicheng instructed Wang Changshun to reward him heavily. He then left Kunning Palace and summoned the ministers to discuss the expedition.

Gao Guiying quickly called Huiying and Huiqiong in front of her, told them about the wedding date, and told them to prepare quickly. He also sent someone to call Shuangxi and Zhang Nai, and also told them about the marriage that had been ordered to be completed for them. Immediately, he ordered people to prepare separately for the marriage of the two families. It is necessary to prepare for both the man and the woman, and everything must be abundant. As a result, the matter of marching to Beijing, the matter of the civil and military officials and the wives of the court, and the marriage of the two pairs of little marquis were all mixed together, from the court to the palace, it was not lively.

On the afternoon of the 19th day of the lunar month, Li Zicheng held a half-day imperial meeting in the palace. Present at the meeting were more than 10 people, including Liu Zongmin, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Yu Shangyou, Shangshu of the military government, Zehou Tian Jianxiu, Chen Yongfu, Wenshuibo, Bai Guangen, Taoyuan Bo, Li Yan, and Gu Junen, a newly promoted scholar of the former military government, to discuss the march to Beijing. At that time, the detailed strategy of how to march troops into Beijing had already been decided. This imperial meeting only said that Liu Zongmin's proposal to go on the expedition was of great significance, and there were no omissions that he had not thought of. The two generals Bai Guangen and Chen Yongfu attended the meeting for different reasons. Chen Yongfu is a decent person and a bloody man, and he is deeply respected by Li Zicheng. He also had to take his original two or three thousand men and horses to accompany Liu Zongmin on the expedition. His men and horses had already driven to the vicinity of Hancheng to wait, and his son, the deputy general Chen De, was now stationed in Huaiqing Mansion and had not yet surrendered to Dashun. However, it had been secretly agreed that when Liu Fangliang, the Marquis of Ci, led a partial division of the Eastern Expedition to cross the Taihang Mountain from between Jiyuan and Huaiqing, Chen De surrendered in Huaiqing and welcomed Liu Fangliang into northern Henan. As for Bai Guangen, he and Chen Yongfu are in a different situation. Chen Yongfu has been in Henan and has been guarding Kaifeng for many years, and he has little to do with the generals outside. In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, Hong Chengchou led eight general troops to rescue Jinzhou, and when the whole division was defeated in Songshan, Bai Guangen was one of the eight general soldiers. Li Zicheng took him on the expedition, not because he had soldiers in his hands and could establish meritorious services for the Great Shun Dynasty on the battlefield, but because he had deep or shallow friendships with the northern generals of the Ming Dynasty, such as Jiang Xuan, Tang Tong, and Wu Sangui's father and son. He was a very useful figure when it came to recruiting these generals.

Since Li Zicheng was about to personally lead his troops to capture Beijing, Liu Zongmin was only one step ahead, so he did not hold a "sending ceremony". Early in the morning of the 20th, the sky in Chang'an was not very bright, and Liu Zongmin entered the palace to resign. Li Zicheng gave a banquet in the palace, which was actually just a kind of etiquette, very simple and completed quickly. Li Zicheng personally sent him out of the noon gate and watched him get on the horse. At that time, although Niu Jinxing was a scholar of Tianyou Pavilion and occupied the position of prime minister, and Song Xiance was a military advisor, according to the traditional treatment of the Dashun Army, Liu Zongmin's status was above that of the civil and military ministers. Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance were ordered to lead hundreds of civil and military officials, sent Liu Zongmin out of Chang'an City, performed a simple "mutual salute", and watched Liu Zongmin lead a large group of generals and personal soldiers to gallop towards Baqiao in the cold mist.

Two days after Liu Zongmin left, that is, the 22nd day of the lunar month, it was another festive day. There are many families in Chang'an City who marry their daughters on this day, adding a layer of excitement to the upcoming New Year. However, the most sensational happy event in the city is not the happy event of the common people's families, nor the marriage of the official gentry's big family, but the two loving generals under the emperor and the queen of Dashun, and the two girls who have made many meritorious contributions to the queen, presided over by the emperor and the queen himself, and the prime minister and the military adviser are the media, and they are going to worship the church today.

The officials and gentlemen in Chang'an City know that Zhang Nai has been named a marquis, and Li Shuangxi is Li Zicheng's adopted son. Since Zhang Nai's acceptance of the title of Marquis of Yi, Li Zicheng gave him a large residence, worthy of his title, not far from the Forbidden City. Although the Hou Mansion is still in the initial stage, there are already many slaves, civil and military officials, and guards in the mansion, and they are often full of cars. Double Happiness still lives in the Forbidden City, ready to wait by the emperor's side at any time. In the past two years, his status by Li Zicheng's side has become more and more important day by day, and after arriving in Chang'an, because Li Zicheng is like a new son of heaven, the status of Double Happiness is even more important. In order to get married, Li Zicheng allocated him a residence, which was originally a county prince's mansion, which was also near the Forbidden City.

Two months ago, after the attack on Xi'an, Li Zicheng once rewarded the heroes. In addition to being knighted, he also rewarded many gold, silver, jewelry, silk and satin. Ordinary soldiers, even if their combat exploits are not significant, have received different rewards. Regarding the marriage of Double Happiness and Zhang Nai, although Li Zicheng once preached that extravagance and waste are not allowed, the current situation is very different from the past, and the happy event is still very beautiful. Mr. and Mrs. Li Zicheng naturally have many rewards for both men and women; And the generals and the families of the old ministers such as Niu and Song, needless to say, also gave generous gifts. Of course, the rest of the generals also had their own expressions. As for the Ming Dynasty ministers and gentry who recently surrendered in Xi'an, who doesn't want to take this opportunity to befriend the henchmen of Emperor Dashun? On their gift lists, there were not only gold, silver, silk and satin, but also many people gave them precious calligraphy and paintings, jade, Song porcelain and various antiques that Shuangxi and Zhang Nai could not appreciate.

On the 22nd day of the lunar month, the two families were very lively for a whole day. The next day, the two bridegrooms and brides came to the palace to kowtow to the bride. In advance, it was reported that the wives of the generals of various families, the elders and daughters of the two pairs of brides and grooms, and the older daughters of the two pairs, as well as Mrs. Deng, the master of the harem, and the red lady of the healthy women's camp, all came to the palace for a banquet and accepted the kowtow of the bride and groom. There were only two male guests who came to the palace for the banquet: one was the old doctor Shang Jiong, who had already been designated as the Tai Hospital Yin of the New Dynasty; The other is the predetermined horse herding garden to make the old groom Wang Changshun. They were able to be summoned into the palace by the mother to attend the banquet and kowtow to the two pairs of bride and groom, which was a great honor given to them by Li Zicheng and his wife. Even Li Zicheng's uncle, who was newly named a marquis from Mizhi, was not summoned to the palace for a banquet. Gao Guiying said to the two pairs of bride and groom in an emotional tone:

"No matter how much credit you have made for the Great Shun Dynasty, and how much of an official you have done, like Zhang Nai, who has already been crowned Marquis, but you are all juniors in front of the two old men. Today, you two young couples, you will prostrate to them three times, and you will give them three cups of wine. I snubbed them, and I didn't agree. ”

The two couples knelt on the ground and replied in unison, "Do what you want." ”

Despite the constant humility of Shang Shenxian and the old horseman, the two couples still kowtowed to them three times in the music. Everyone asked them to say a few words of encouragement to the two couples. In front of a large group of generals and the wives of old ministers such as Niu and Song, Shang Shenxian refused to speak at first, and then couldn't help but be excited, and said to Shuangxi and Huiying:

"Well, I am full of joy today, but I really don't know what to say. Now that the great cause of seizing the Ming Dynasty is about to succeed, you are married, and the state and family affairs are all satisfactory. Please don't say that I, a rural man, rely on the old and sell the old, and I don't know how to speak high or low......"

The two ladies Niu and Song both said: "If you have something to say, just say it." They all grew up right under your nose, and you should be taught. They have to listen to what is good and what is bad. When you talk to their juniors, you don't know what to say. ”

The queen also smiled and said: "They are all just married, and they will be husband and wife for decades until they grow old." You two old men, it would be good for them to say a few more words. ”

Shang Shenxian continued: "I said Shuangxi Young Marshal and Miss Huiying, you two have known to respect each other since childhood. Others praise you as the golden boy and girl beside the emperor and Niangniang, and now there are lovers who have become dependents, older than you, everyone is happy, younger than you, everyone is envious. What do you say? You must be kind and loving for a lifetime, and you will never forget the support and deep kindness of the emperor and your mother for your whole life. ”

Shuangxi and Huiying knelt down at the same time and said, "My nephew and nephew will never dare to forget." ”

"And you," Shang Shenxian turned to Zhang Nai and his wife, "My little Zhang Hou Wow, although you are not our emperor's adopted son in name, in fact, you are the same. Miss Huiqiong also grew up next to her mother, and she has a good personality and temperament, much like Huimei. When he said this, he suddenly felt regret, but it was too late, "You must live in harmony and love and consideration for each other for the rest of your life." The emperor and Niangniang are as kind to you as the sea, and they will personally make your happy marriage......" The old doctor actually thought of Huimei's misfortune, and Huimei's shadow shook in front of him. He knew in his heart that Zhang Nai didn't like Huiqiong. But when it comes to this, I don't know how to proceed.

Wang Changshun was afraid that he would mention Huimei again, so he quickly touched him with his arm, and then said:

"Their young couple is also a natural couple, and they are also the golden boy and girl next to the emperor and his mother. I will look at the appearance, their pair is quasi-blessed and longevity, and the house is full of children and grandchildren. In our Dashun Dynasty, he has achieved fame, and he has enjoyed endless glory and wealth. ”

Wang Changshun's words caused the ladies to laugh. The queen smiled at Zhang Nai and Hui Qiong and said:

"Hurry up and give you Uncle Wang another kowtow, knock quickly!"

That night, the family was busy with the sacrificial stove, which added to the joy of the wedding. In the Dashun Palace, the ancient folk customs are still followed, and the queen leads the palace dependents to happily sacrifice stoves in the imperial kitchen. Someone said to the queen that the position of the god of the stove was too low, and the queen of the Great Shun Kingdom would personally sacrifice the stove, and would scare the god of the stove away or hide in fright. It is also said that in the palace of the Ming Dynasty, there is no such thing as the emperor and the mother sacrificing the stove. Gao Guiying smiled and said:

"The emperor and I are both from peasant families, and we can't forget the old custom of sacrificing stoves in the common people's homes over the years. Let's sacrifice again this year, and next year the imperial dining room will send some officials to sacrifice the stove. ”

Stove Master and Stove Milk are a folk color print from the street and pasted on the back wall of the imperial kitchen. The god of the stove is painted as an old man with a white beard; Stove Milk is painted very young, with a round white face and black hair, sitting side by side with the old man. They were all dressed in red and green, and their faces were dyed with two pieces of carmine. Under the god of the stove, there is the Jiashen calendar of the Great Shun Dynasty. On both sides of the statue, there are green paper couplets pasted, and the upper couplet reads "Heaven says good things"; The lower couplet reads "Keep peace in the lower realm". On the top of the statue is a green strip of paper that reads "Head of the Family". On the tin wax table on the altar of God, a pair of thick and large butter red candles were inserted, and the candlelight was very bright. A copper incense burner in the middle, light smoke is swirling, and the fragrance is fragrant. In front of the incense burner is a plate of maltose, called stove sugar. The intention is to make the stove master stick to his mouth after eating, and he can't report it casually to the sky. On the brick floor under the table, on the left side of the table, there was a plate containing small grain stalks mixed with bran, which was forage for the horses of the god of the hearth. There is a palace maid squatting at the table, holding a red rooster, which is a "jujube horse" prepared for the god of the stove when he goes to the heavenly palace. Gao Guiying entered the imperial kitchen surrounded by palace dependents. The palace maid had prepared a prayer mat for her on the ground, and she respectfully bowed to the god of the stove, and then knelt down on the prayer mat and kowtowed. According to the rules of the palace, no matter what ritual is performed or who is sacrificed, music must be played. However, Gao Guiying should follow the old rules of the Li people to follow the old rules of the Li people, and only set off a string of firecrackers in the courtyard to increase the lively atmosphere. At this time, there were firecrackers everywhere in Chang'an City. The sound of firecrackers coming from the Forbidden City blended with the sound of firecrackers throughout the city.

In the homes of the common people and the wealthy eunuchs, when the head of the family sacrifices to the stove, the ladies and children can stand behind and watch. When the master gets up, it is okay for others to kneel down and prostrate, but it is okay not to kowtow. Due to the humble official position of the god of the stove, it is not okay to say a word or two of friendly jokes. But Gao Guiying is a mother, so when she knelt down, everyone knelt down. Everyone thought that like thousands of households, the queen would invite the god of the stove to go to the heavenly palace, and she would say more good things and not mention bad things. So they all waited with great interest for the queen to recite the congratulatory message. But after hearing two sentences, people unconsciously restrained their smiles. I heard the queen pray to the god of the hearth:

"Old Stove Master, although you are a lowly official among the gods, you can go up to the Heavenly Palace once a year and personally explain all kinds of things in the world to the Jade Emperor, so that the Jade Emperor can be deaf and know the bitterness and happiness of the world. Since the beginning of the Apocalypse, the people have been displaced, rivers of blood have flowed, and corpses have piled up. At present, the Great Shun State has occupied Chang'an and is marching to Beijing, and the people of the world are beginning to have hope. I hope that when you arrive in the Heavenly Palace, you must show the Jade Emperor all kinds of hardships in the world for the past twenty years, and you don't have to hide them. I implore the Jade Emperor to open his eyes in the sky, look at the world, bless the Dashun army to open the victory, successfully conquer Beijing, save the people in the world, and build a peaceful world as soon as possible. Old Stove Master, the jujube horses prepared for you have been fed, please board the journey early. ”

After speaking, she took a small tin wine jug and a porcelain wine cup from the hands of a serving palace maid next to her, poured a full glass of soju, and poured it on the ground. Then he handed the jug and glass to the maid, and kowtowed again before standing up. She looked left and right, but she didn't see Huiying, and she didn't feel a trace of melancholy in her heart, so she went straight to the dormitory to rest.

Since Chongzhen arrived in Henan in the winter of the thirteenth year, Gao Guiying has been celebrating the New Year and New Year's Day for several years, and Gao Guiying is no longer running around on horseback, nor is she worried about being besieged by the official army. Since the time when the garrison won the victory village, every year she has been in the new year, according to the custom of rice fat, the stove is happy. The girls around her were also very happy. Now this sacrifice stove is probably the last time she will do things according to folk customs, and soon she will be the real queen, and she will never sacrifice to the little stove god in person. Tonight, she was a momentary joy; Second, because he couldn't forget the folk life, he personally sacrificed the stove and knelt down and kowtowed to the little stove god. This matter is actually inconsistent with the "Great Shun Ritual System" being drafted by the Li government, so she did not tell the emperor in advance. When she sacrificed to the god of the stove, stood up and looked left and right, the original joy suddenly disappeared, and she remembered that the powerful girl around her had disappeared: Huimei died, Huiying and Huiqiong got married, and Huizhu and Huijian were also the girls she liked on weekdays, and they had already been transferred to the women's camp...... In particular, Huiying's marriage seems to have caused her to suddenly lose an arm. So, her mood suddenly became sad.

The next day was the twenty-fourth day of the lunar month. According to the custom of Mizhi County, every household must clean all parts of the house, and the beams and rafters must be cleaned. There is a folk saying: "Twenty-four sweep the house, twenty-five grind tofu." "It's like a fixed routine in life, passed down from year to year. Now in the palace, although the servants and maids who are in charge of cleaning every day clean the yard and wash the furniture, everywhere is clean, but the palace is too big, there are too many houses, there are too many houses, there are too many places, and there are still places that cannot be cleaned. Gao Guiying couldn't forget the folk life customs, and still sent a message to the palaces and courtyards early in the morning to clean the courtyards of the houses.

After breakfast, she thought that New Year's Day was coming, and she had to prepare for the wives of various families and Mrs. Deng to enter the palace to congratulate, and also to prepare rewards, etc., and all kinds of matters needed to be arranged urgently. However, now that the system of the Great Shun Dynasty has been created, there are only a few rough eunuchs left from the palace of the Qin Dynasty. There are also very few palace maids, some of them are palace maids left in the palace of King Qin, and some of them are maids who have been confiscated from the house of stolen officials and lawless eunuchs for more than a month. Gao Guiying once wanted Lu's second sister-in-law to be in charge of this class of maids in the palace. However, Lu's second sister-in-law does not know how to read, and second, she has her own family, and her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson need her to take care of her. Therefore, whether to order the second sister-in-law Lu to enter the palace to do business, is still hesitating. Although this difficulty was a temporary phenomenon, it made Gao Guiying feel that Huiying's marriage had messed up everything around her.

She was missing Hui Ying, and Hui Ying came into the palace. When the queen saw it, the tips of her eyes and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but smile. Hui Ying knelt down in front of her and kowtowed, and said in a gentle voice:

"Greetings to the Queen Mother!"

"Calm down, I have something to say to you."

Huiying got up and stood in front of the queen, waiting for orders. The queen smiled and looked her up and down. Seeing that although Huiying didn't wear much flowers and jewelry on her head, the gorgeous dress she got married was also replaced by the daily embroidered dress of the new daughter-in-law of a wealthy family, but from the eyes and the face of the thin fat powder, you can see the joy and happiness of the newlywed. The queen watched, smiled, and nodded. Huiying was embarrassed, lowered her head, and asked in a gentle whisper:

"What does the Queen Mother command?"

The queen smiled, and did not tell her serious things first, but asked her to sit beside her, and asked her whether she would ride a horse or a sedan chair when she entered the palace. Huiying replied that she came by sedan chair, and said that more than a dozen sedan chairs had been confiscated from the Qin Palace, including good and new, old and secondary. One of the sedan chairs that rewarded them with the new house was a new sedan chair, and I heard that it was taken by the county lord. In addition, there are several rides, which are taken by the palace maids and servants. The queen nodded and said:

"In the future, when you enter the palace every day, you don't have to ride a horse anymore. Living in this capital and entering the palace in a sedan chair is your identity. Now the emperor is busy, and the knighthood of Double Happiness has not yet been decided. When Beijing is broken, the emperor holds a grand ceremony in Beijing, and he will be awarded a suitable title for Shuangxi. At that time, the etiquette system of our Dashun Dynasty was also promulgated, you enter the palace every day, go out of the palace, what sedan chair should you take, what kind of attendant to wait in front of and behind the sedan chair, what deacon to take, whether to beat the gong and shout, naturally there are certain rules. Now that everything is created, it will be chaotic for a while, you can use the sedan chair of the county lord of Qin Mansion for the time being, and your sedan chair will definitely be better than this sedan chair in the future, much better. ”

Huiying knelt down again and said, "Thank you for your mother's kindness!" ”

Gao Guiying took Huiying's hand and said, "Get up." Listen to me, don't pay too much attention to the etiquette in the palace, we are not used to it. The etiquette is too elaborate, and I also feel troubled. ”

When Huiying stood up, she continued: "In the past, you and Huimei were by my side, and I regarded you all as daughters. In order to promise you double happiness, I did not accept you as my righteous daughter. Now that you are married, you are indeed my daughter-in-law. For more than ten years, Huiying! Many girls around me have died and survived, but only your life is good. Compared to you, Huimei is too pitiful. ”

Speaking of this, Gao Guiying's heart was sour. After a pause, he changed his smile and continued: "Alas, now that the court and the harem are full of joy, let's not mention Huimei's matter." I just said that your life is the best, and you are the most blessed. You and double happiness must be blessed and longevity, white heads and old age, children and grandchildren. Huiying, I'm waiting to hold my grandson, waiting for you to give birth to a white fat boy in your first child. ”

Huiying's face was flushed with shame, and she quickly lowered her head and called softly, "Queen Mother." ”

The queen laughed happily and said, "I am overjoyed to see you happy with your family." ”

Huiying said: "As long as the queen mother's heart is happy, the child will be satisfied." I wonder what important things the queen mother has to tell today? ”

"Yes, yes. There are a few important things that you must arrange quickly, so as not to make mistakes. I can't live without you by my side, and I can't live without double happiness by the emperor's side. From this day on, after breakfast, you will come to the palace and help me with my work, just as in the past. Shuangxi also has to enter the palace every day and listen to the emperor's call at any time. This is something I will discuss with the emperor soon. Huiying, alas, there is no one else, I have to ask you to do things in the palace every day during the day from today onwards. ”

"Obey the will."

"In a few days, it will be the first day of the Lunar New Year. This is the New Year's Day of the first year of Dashun Yongchang, and we can't be sloppy. Both the court and the palace will go to the court to congratulate Zhengdan, you know this. The civil and military officials congratulate Zhengdan, there is an emperor, we don't care; But the wives, the wives of the generals and above, and the harem master Mrs. Deng......"

As soon as the queen's words came to this, she suddenly heard someone at the door of Zhenji shouting:

"The emperor has arrived—take over!"

The queen hurriedly pushed Huiying and whispered, "You avoid." Command someone to call Huiqiong into the palace. She immediately walked outside the main hall of Kunning Palace to greet Li Zicheng. At this time, the palace maids, a few rough eunuchs, had already knelt in two rows in the Zhenji Gate and on both sides of the Yong Road in the courtyard.

Chapter II

Li Zicheng renamed a palace in the middle of the inner courtyard of the Qin Palace, as his own dormitory, and it was also the place where he worked and summoned the military generals. At night, he worked until late at night, and if he didn't go to another palace, a concubine would accompany him. He recently had three concubines. When Xiangyang was called the king of Xinshun, he chose a concubine Liu, who was born in a scholarly family and was coarse in writing and ink; After entering Chang'an, he chose a Concubine Chen, who was originally a palace maid in the palace of King Qin, and was sixteen or seventeen years old; Recently, I went to Mizhi County to worship my ancestors, because Mizhi Sichuan has been beautiful since ancient times, and I chose a new concubine, who was born in a well-off family, although she is very handsome, she is illiterate, and she does not understand the world at all. Fortunately, the girl is smarter, and she retreats in everything in the palace and does not dare to say much, so the other concubines are very good to her. Empress Gao Guiying deeply understands that since ancient times, in addition to the main palace, the emperor also has concubines and concubines of various names to serve in the harem, which is the case from the Zhou metric system; Second, she also hopes that some of the concubines in the harem can give birth to a prince and a prince early for Dashun Kingdom. So Concubine Liu and Concubine Chen were both selected by her to help Li Zicheng. She knew that the emperor went to Concubine Liu's palace very late last night, and this morning she went back to the Qianqing Palace to review the documents, and immediately summoned Wenchen and Zehou Tian to see Xiu after breakfast. The emperor's daily life in the Forbidden City was reported to her by palace maids at any time. When Huiying didn't enter the palace just now, she sighed in her heart and said, "Alas, it's not easy for the country to be created!" At this moment, while greeting the emperor, she asked in her heart:

"What is the matter with him coming to Kunning Palace in his busy schedule?"

After Li Zicheng sat down, he waved away the palace maids and the queen's female soldiers who were waiting on the left and right, and said to the queen:

"I can't sit for a long time when I come to Kunning Palace, but I just want to tell you one thing in person. Last night, he agreed with Prime Minister Niu Cheng, Song Junshi and others: On the first day of the Lunar New Year, hundreds of civil and military officials entered the palace and congratulated Zhengdan in the Qinzheng Palace; At the right time, the edict of the Northern Expedition was promulgated at the noon gate. This is also a big event, and it is the first time I have issued an edict. Early in the morning on the third day of the new year, I set out on my way. The civil and military officials above the sixth rank who stayed in Chang'an were sent to Baqiao. Zehou stayed in Chang'an, and presided over all affairs in the court. He is a loyal man, and if he can't make the decision on some things, he will come to the palace and ask you, and you will discuss and decide with him. ”

Gao Guiying was first surprised in her heart, and then said with a smile:

"Your Majesty, we have talked many times in the past, once the country is laid down and a new dynasty is established, the first is not allowed to reuse eunuchs, the second is to avoid the harem to interfere in politics, and the third is to restrain the nobles. So since you broke Luoyang and you were called the generalissimo of Fengtian and Yiyi, there are many things I don't ask. After you became the king of Xinshun in Xiangyang, I was even more reluctant to ask about military affairs. Now that Your Majesty has commanded this, is it not contrary to what we used to talk about? ”

Li Zicheng smiled bitterly and said, "It's hard to do things!" The central government and the six central yamen, almost all of the civil servants were newly surrendered Ming officials, some were current officials, and some were outgoing eunuchs. Our old Eighth Team originally had very few scholars, and the civil officials were not our own people, only Prime Minister Niu Cheng and Song Junshi were our own people, and that was the thirteenth year of Chongzhen's uprising with us. Li Yan is also a civil servant, and he can be regarded as an old man of the uprising, but he refuses to be an official in the central government. At present, the civil servants of the central government and the central government have all surrendered a few months ago, or in the past month or two. A few months ago, he was already an old qualification in Xiangyang. ”

He suddenly lowered his voice: "These ministers may not all be of the same mind as us, and many of them are here for their own fame and fortune. Now that the system of the imperial court is not complete, and I left Chang'an for the Eastern Expedition, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, and Li Yan all went with me, and many civil servants who stayed in Chang'an inevitably did not have their own personal interests. I was a little relieved. If Yufeng was a stern person, things would be much easier to handle in the court. But he is a well-known good man, and he is afraid that sometimes people will hide from him for personal gain and mess up the rules of the court. I'm worried that Zehou is more than generous and not majestic enough. Therefore I told him that if he could not decide on a difficult matter, he could come into the palace and consult with you. This is not considered harem politics. ”

He smiled again, and then said: "This is a temporary change, not a long law, and when I come back from Beijing, I won't let you bother with the affairs of the court." ”

"Your Majesty, you were originally scheduled to issue an edict on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year and set off on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, why did you suddenly decide to advance it?"

"I'm afraid that I will delay the time to break Beijing, and I will have many dreams at night."

"Is there a new twist?"

"I'm afraid of change. In the past two days, he has held constant meetings with his ministers, and he believes that it is best for our Eastern Expeditionary Army to rush to Beijing between the end of March and a half, in case the situation in Beijing changes. So I should have left early, as soon as possible. ”

"What unexpected wind did you hear?"

"I haven't heard any surprises now. However, there are three things that I should be worried about and should not be taken lightly. ”

"Your Majesty, what three things worry you?"

"First, we are all worried that Chongzhen will transfer some of the men and horses guarding Xuanhua and Datong back to Beijing to defend the city, so that our army will garrison the city. If Beijing cannot be conquered for a while, things will not go well. ”

"What about the second thing?"

Chongzhen did not hesitate to cede land to Mantar, and transferred back to Guanning to save Beijing. If this is the case, it will not be so easy for our army to break through Beijing in one go. ”

"And the third?"

"I'm afraid that when Chongzhen has no choice but to leave a few important ministers to guard Beijing, he will take the Shandong road and flee to Nanjing."

"If our men and horses have cut off the canal, can he still escape to Nanjing?"

If he decided to flee south, he could take a detour southeast of Jiaodong, or he could take a sea boat south from Tianjin. If he fled to Nanjing, he would have both the wealth of the south of the Yangtze River and the natural dangers of the Yangtze River, and the war would not be finished in the future. ”

Gao Guiying also felt that the worries of the emperor and the ministers were very reasonable. After thinking for a moment, he said:

"Your Majesty, I heard that you only led more than 200,000 people to Beijing, claiming to be 500,000, why don't you bring more people to it?"

"In the past six months or so, our men and horses have quickly occupied Henan, Huguang, and Shanxi, and then marched eastward into Shandong. It turned out that there were hundreds of thousands of horses, and it was enough to use them if they were not dispersed, but when they were dispersed, their strength was weak. Like after we left Huguang, didn't Detianfu, Chengtianfu, and Xiangyang Mansion disperse a lot of troops? At present, the situation in many prefectures, prefectures, and counties in Huguang and Henan is not very stable, and many people are looking left and right, waiting for an opportunity to move. If they can rebel, they will rebel. I know in my heart, Prime Minister Niu Cheng and Song Junshi also understand that the difficulty is that there are not enough troops and no money to raise soldiers. ”

Gao Guiying nodded and said, "Yes!" Nowadays, the cities and villages are in ruins, and disasters are everywhere. There are too many soldiers, and the burden on the common people is heavy, and there is no way to survive. ”

Li Zicheng continued: "You are very right. In recent years, the number of household registrations has been greatly reduced, and production has not resumed in many places, so it is not easy to raise more soldiers. So this time only taking more than 200,000 people to the expedition is also a helpless thing, so it can only be so. Fortunately, victory does not depend entirely on troops. Mainly by ......"

Gao Guiying continued: "I understand, it depends on the emperor's prestige, and also on the people's expectation that you will save them, just like when we arrived in Henan. Last spring, we entered Huguang, Xiangyang, Chengtian, De'an, and Jingzhou. This time the emperor's crusade must be the same. If this is the case, there are not many people and horses, and it seems that there will be no major difficulties. I am afraid that I will have troops stationed in Beijing for too long, and I am also afraid that Chongzhen will transfer Guan Ning's troops back to Beijing. A few days ago, I talked about this with the red lady, and she said that Lin Quan was worried, I don't know if she told the emperor? ”

Li Zicheng said: "When the ministers were discussing, Lin Quan once expressed his concerns. However, everyone disagreed with him, believing that as long as we advance quickly and do not delay our journey, there will be no problem in taking Beijing. As for the border soldiers of the Ming Dynasty in Datong, Yanghe and other places, according to Bai Guangen and several of their generals, they will surrender along the road. ”

Gao Guiying's heart relaxed, so she said: "Since they said that the guards along the road will surrender, I am relieved." ”

Li Zicheng said: "At present, the strength of the Ming Dynasty in Shanxi is very empty. Cai Maode, the governor of Shanxi, was also in Kaifeng when we attacked Kaifeng for the first time. At that time, he was the political envoy of Henan. This person has been fasting and reciting Buddha all his life, and he doesn't know how to fight. Therefore, after our army crosses the Yellow River, it will inevitably go all the way unhindered and surrender everywhere. Now, I heard that the people of Shanxi's various prefectures, prefectures, and counties have broken down, and they are all discussing privately to welcome our army. Therefore, after breaking through Taiyuan, our army will go to the areas of Datong, Yanghe, and Xuanfu, and enter Juyong Pass to attack Beijing, and there will be no major obstacles on the way. Chongzhen always wanted to stop the advance of our army on this road, so he would not transfer the defenders on this road back to Beijing. Song Junshi sees it this way, and Prime Minister Niu Cheng also sees it this way. Yu Shangyou and the others all agreed with the military advisor's view, and the operational strategy they had put forward and planned was very good and would surely succeed. I deliberately brought Bai Guangen and Zuo Guangxian, the old generals of the Ming Dynasty, with me, and it was precisely to recruit the guards along the road. Some people also suggested that I should go out of Wuguan, go to Zhending, and capture Beijing, which is a relatively short journey. But if he marched in that way, Chongzhen would transfer the troops from Xuanfu, Yanghe, and Juyongguan back to Beijing. It seems that the road is near, but it is not easy to attack Beijing. ”

Gao Guiying felt even more relieved, and said: "I didn't know this road before, and I don't understand it very well when you say it, as long as everyone sees it this way, I will be relieved." It seems that it is enough for you to lead these 200,000 people. ”

Li Zicheng said: "In fact, when I get to the city of Beijing, there will probably not be more than 100,000 horses. ”

"Huh? Won't it be more than 100,000? ”

Li Zicheng said: "After the Yang Peace, I will have to divide the troops - I don't have time to talk to you in detail at this moment." ”

"In case ......"

Li Zicheng said: "It's okay, I've discussed it with a few advisers. At present, marching to Beijing and destroying the Ming Dynasty in one fell swoop, of course, it cannot all rely on military strength, in addition to what you just said, relying on my prestige to appease the officials, gentry, military and people along the way, there is also the fact that the Ming Dynasty has become a trend of collapse and disintegration, and it is vulnerable. The ancients often said that this is the kind of situation. We expected that Chongzhen would look ahead and look backwards, and the imperial court would argue endlessly every time it encountered a major event, and before he could transfer back to Guanning elite soldiers, we would have already broken the city of Beijing. As soon as Beijing was broken, the Ming Dynasty's rivers and mountains changed owners, and Guan Ningbing did not dare to come. ”

Gao Guiying said with a smile: "I hope that God will take care of it, the emperor will go to victory, and he will succeed immediately, and he will be like a bamboo along the way, so hurry up and attack Beijing!" The edict of the Northern Expedition was issued on New Year's Day, is the edict ready? ”

"I'm ready to stop. However, the edict was written in too much language, and it was difficult for the common people to read it. ”

"Why not write it in a simple way, so that illiterate people can understand it at all times? Like when Luoyang was conquered a few years ago, Li Gongzi wrote "Nine Questions" and "Nine Persuasions", and even I could memorize them. ”

Li Zicheng smiled and said: "This is what people often say: 'This time, that time. Niu Qidong and several scholars must write the edict as elegantly as possible, and the more ancient and mysterious the better. Some of the sentences they say are imitations of the writing of the Book of Shang. They also said that they should not just think that the common people could read and understand it, but the important thing was that this edict should be like the edict of the founding emperor of Dashun, and that the scholars of the Ming Dynasty should not laugh at the fact that there was no one in the court. They also said that if this edict is to be recorded in the history of the country in the future, it must be written very elegantly. Niu Qidong: They also have a point in saying this. Now, as the head of a country, I have established a new dynasty, and I can only do things according to the rules of the court. If the common people don't understand, they have to forget it. ”

"Isn't it inappropriate not to let the people know the purpose of the emperor's teaching?"

"There is also a remedy, I have already told them. When Taiyuan is broken, I will issue another edict, which must be written so that the common people can understand it, as simple as "Nine Questions" and "Nine Persuasions". ”

"Yes, yes. Although the emperor is a true son of heaven, we have been farmers for ten lifetimes, and we are also from poor people. The purpose of the uprising was to save the people of the world, and to ask the emperor to go to Shanxi to issue another edict so that the common people could understand it. ”

"Now you are staying in Chang'an, although you live in the palace, there is no one in the court. You have a heavy burden on you, and you must not be surrounded by people who are powerful. Although Huiying is married, she still orders her to enter the palace every day to listen to you. ”

"That's what I thought, too. Just now I was discussing with her how to congratulate the New Year's Day in the palace. I heard that you came to Kunning Palace, so I told her to avoid it quickly. ”

"Why shy away? There are some things that she needs to know too. ”

"Your Majesty, you forgot, when she got married together, she became your daughter-in-law, how can a daughter-in-law not avoid seeing her father-in-law?"

Li Zicheng suddenly understood, and laughed unconsciously. Gao Guiying also laughed, and then said:

"The ...... of the Shodan Pilgrimage in the Palace"

"I'm very busy, so you don't need to ask me about this, you can discuss everything with Huiying and take care of it. Nowadays, everything is created in a hurry, and it is not necessary to follow the instructions drafted by the government. After saying that, he quickly got up and left.

After Li Zicheng left, two or three palace maids quickly came in and waited by the queen's side. Huiying, who was avoiding behind Kunning Palace, also came in. Hui Ying asked the queen:

"What do you have to tell you?"

The queen said: "The day when the emperor left Chang'an has been advanced. Now it is decided that as soon as the New Year's Day pilgrimage is over, after a short rest, the Northern Expedition edict will be promulgated. On the morning of the third day of the first lunar month, the civil and military officials who stayed in Chang'an all went to Baqiao to see them off. The clothes that Shuangxi wants to bring with him are quickly prepared for him. Also, the emperor ordered you to go into the palace every day to do errands, as usual. That's what I mean, but the emperor said it first. ”

Huiying heard that the emperor left ahead of schedule, and she was happy to drive, and she couldn't help but feel bad in her heart. But she didn't show any signs of it, and quickly asked:

"Queen Mother, how should I prepare for the matter of the palace to congratulate Zhengdan?"

The queen said: "Ten days ago, the government sent the ceremonial notes to the Zhengdan of the court, as well as the roster of the ladies of the various families who entered the palace to congratulate, you have seen it. Just now, the emperor said that it is up to you and me to decide. What I mean......"

Hye-young looked at the queen, waiting for orders. She couldn't help but remember that Shuangxi was going to go on an expedition with the emperor on the first day of the first month, and another melancholy mood came to her heart, and she sighed secretly:

"There are only a few days of affection, and you can't stay together during the day!"

Gao Guiying thought for a moment, and then said: "Most of the ladies of our new dynasty are from poor families, or have been in the army for many years, or have just come to Chang'an from their hometown, who knows how to salute in the palace?" It's like wrapping your little feet before getting on the sedan chair, and it's too late to wrap them, but it's hard to move an inch. What's more, there are no female officials in the palace, and the officials of Honglu Temple can't come to the harem, who can teach everyone to perform rituals? Now that everyone wants to enter the palace in accordance with the royal rules to congratulate Zhengdan, isn't it deliberately asking mothers-in-law, mothers-in-law, aunts, and sisters-in-law to come to Kunning Palace to make jokes? Speaking of this, she couldn't help but laugh herself, and even Huiying laughed.

"What the hell is going to do?" Huiying asked.

"What to do? We don't care about the etiquette drawn up by the government, and this year we will act according to the old rules of the people's habits. You have arranged it, on the first and fifth watches of the new year, the women of all families will enter the Xihua Gate, and the sedan chair will stop outside the Xihua Gate. Only a few ladies can get off the sedan chair in the Xihua Gate, take them all into the Zhenxiang Gate, and sit in the house to roast the fire. Then, in batches, they were brought into the main hall of Kunning Palace to worship me. He will not leave anything to eat or eat fruit. No matter who greeted me, they all knelt down and kowtowed, and I didn't return the salute or speak. Huiying, this is very different from previous years! But I have survived until today, sitting on the queen's throne, even if I want to return the courtesy, I want to pull them to sit together and talk and make love, but I can't do it. Huiying, do you say yes? ”

"Naturally, the mother can't return the courtesy, so you have to pay attention to the distinction between the monarch and the minister."

The queen then said, "You will arrange the list today and see how many classes there will be. There should be twenty people in each class, and there should be a leader, such as the wives of the military generals, and the first class should be led by the wives of the Ruhou Mansion; The wives of the ministers should be led by the wives of Prime Minister Niu Cheng's Mansion in the first class. After you have made the arrangement, send it to me to see, and then send it to the government to inform the ministries in advance so that we can prepare. It is said that this matter should be in the hands of the ministers and the yamen, and it is only reasonable for the ministers to send the ministers to the prefectures. But the team of ministers in our palace has not been set up, and no one has done anything. Also, there should be a reward for each family, and a list should be drawn up, and after presenting it to me, I should prepare it quickly. If the male civil servant does not enter the harem, there is naturally no reward; But there are young men who have grown up under my nose, and they ask to enter the palace to congratulate, so let's come to the palace. Young generals like Luo Hu and Wang Si, can they say that they will not be allowed to enter the palace? ”

"And Ryung."

"Yes, there's Lai Heng...... Whoever enters the palace will be rewarded. Such young generals have seen a lot now, their eyes are bigger, and the things they are rewarded are shabby, can they do it? can't be shabby, this is the first New Year's Day of our Dashun Dynasty. ”

"Queen Mother, how will the camp reward the healthy women?"

"You can do it at your discretion. However, your eldest sister of the red lady should be rewarded the same as the ladies of each family. ”

The queen watched Huiying walk out of the harem, and suddenly ordered a palace maid to call her back. Gao Guiying thought that in addition to the reward of the harem master Deng Taimiao on New Year's Day, he would also send a few gifts before the festival to show his respect for the teacher. She ordered Huiying to give a gift to Mrs. Deng immediately. And then we will do everything else. Hui Ying asked:

"Although Mrs. Deng is a harem master, after all, she is still a subordinate, can the queen reward her with things, can it be regarded as a gift?"

Gao Guiying glanced at Huiying, suddenly smiled and nodded, praising Huiying in her heart for understanding things and being worthy of being her good helper. Then he said:

"You can ask Second Aunt Lu to enter the palace quickly, and order Second Aunt Lu to go with the ministers, and Aunt Lu will pass the word......" She thought about it again and asked: "Huiying, how your Second Aunt Lu speaks in a proper manner, you teach her." I don't bother with that. ”

Hui Ying thought for a while, and then said: "Second Aunt Lu should say, 'Queen Yizhi, read Mrs. Deng's hard work in the harem, and on New Year's Day, she will be given colorful satin, antiques, calligraphy and painting, and the four treasures of the study. 'Queen Mother, do you want to do this to your mother's will?' ”

The queen smiled and said, "Alas, you girl has really practiced well, and she can even make a chapter." Okay, let Aunt Lu pass on the message. ”

It didn't take Hui Ying a moment to go down, and Hui Qiong came in. She kowtowed to the queen, knelt on the ground and asked, "I was called into the palace by my mother, I don't know what to order?" ”

Mrs. Gao smiled and said, "Get up, Huiqiong." Don't get on your knees. Come, let me take a good look at you. ”

Huiqiong kowtowed again, stood up and walked to the queen's side. The queen took her hand and said very emotionally: "You are married, and you have finished a lifelong event, and I have also finished a matter of my heart." But I can't help but miss you. I thought that you had only been married for two days, and in the past two days, Zhang Nai was busy with the expedition, and with the addition of congratulatory guests, the wine banquet was busy every day, and you were a young couple, naturally you couldn't be intimate and warm in the cave room. There are only two nights to treat each other, and today Zhang Nai went on the road to Hancheng without knowing the sky, and you can't help but feel sad. Although you are newly married and love each other, you also understand that state affairs are important. King Zhang Nai's life is in his body, what is the way for your little husband and wife to stay together? I'm afraid that it won't be a taste for you to stay alone in the Hou Mansion, so I called you into the palace to relax. Huiying is working in the West Side Courtyard as before, so go and play with her. ”

Huiqiong was told by the queen to bow her head, her face was flushed, and she didn't dare to roll out with tears. She had mixed feelings, both grateful for the queen's love and care for her, but also feeling that the queen did not know the bitterness in her heart. However, her bitterness could not be told to the queen.

Gao Guiying looked at Huiqiong's eyes, and said with a smile: "After all, they are newlyweds, and they are in tears when they mention parting." Alright, alright, don't be sad. I told you to come to the palace, there is nothing else, come to Huiying to relax. ”

Huiqiong knelt down and kowtowed again, and hurried away.

After a while, Huiying came in with two palace maids holding gifts for the harem master Deng Taimiao, and asked the queen to see it herself. After the queen saw it, she nodded, swung her chin, and the two palace maids stepped back, and then asked Huiying:

"Huiqiong came to you?"

"Yes, it's gone."

"Do you see her choking on her eyes? Advise her not to be upset. Newlyweds, when they leave at first glance, are inevitably a little sad, and they will get used to it after more days of parting. ”

Hui Ying returned to the west courtyard where she worked, and sent away the palace maid and Aunt Lu who went to give gifts to Deng Taimiao, and then, taking Hui Qiong's hand, looking at her eyes, and said with a smile: "Hui Qiong, I heard that when you mentioned your temporary departure with Xiao Zhang Hou, you burst into tears in front of the queen, and you are really not ashamed. ”

"Sister Ying......"

"Reluctantly? Is it important to have a major military matter, or is it important that you and Xiao Zhang Hou En stay together lovingly? ”

"Sister Ying, you don't know the pain in my heart at all."

"Huh?"

"You and Brother Shuangxi love each other, how do you know my suffering?"

Hui Ying guessed eight or nine points, and whispered, "Doesn't he love you?" In terms of appearance, you are similar to Huimei. ”

"No, Sister Ying, you don't understand."

"Doesn't he love you?"

"He still thinks of Sister Huimei in his heart, and he doesn't take me to heart. But it's been more than a year since Sister Huimei died. Because Sister Huimei died too miserably, it was even more difficult for him to forget her. ”

"Alas! I see, I see......"

Huiying lowered her head, and she didn't notice that her eyes were red. After a while, she raised her head again and said to Huiqiong: "The queen hopes that you will be harmonious and loving after marrying Xiao Zhanghou, don't say these words in front of the queen." You are quite handsome, smart and careful, so the emperor and the queen promised you to marry Zhang Nai. After a while, Xiao Zhanghou will definitely love you very much. ”

"Sister Ying, I'm afraid it's already fate. Don't say that to the queen. From now on, whether he loves me or not, I have married him, and I am his wife, and my heart and body are his. If he is in danger in the future on the two armies, let him understand my ...... as a wife" Huiqiong didn't continue, the tip of her nose turned red, and tears couldn't help but flow.

"Under the New Year, don't say unlucky things. In the future, the world will be peaceful, and you will not go into battle again. Wipe away your tears and let others see what to say? For the New Year, I was very busy. From today on, Huiqiong, you come into the palace every day to help me do things, okay? ”

Huiqiong choked up and said, "I wish I would come to the palace every day to help my sister do things, so as not to be sad in the center of the Hou Mansion." ”

"Okay, so I'll have a good helper. Quick, wipe your tears, and don't let anyone see it. Let's discuss the affairs of the palace......"

Because the New Year's Day of the Jiashen Year was the first New Year's Day of the founding of the Dashun Dynasty, the people of Chang'an were all looking forward to the prosperity of the new dynasty and the hope of peace, and paid more attention to the New Year's events than in previous years. The day before Chinese New Year's Eve, every house, temple, and temple in the city was plastered with Spring Festival Lian. From the second half of Chinese New Year's Eve, firecrackers are set off, and it is very lively.

As soon as the fourth watch arrived on this day, firecrackers were lit in the palace of the Dashun Dynasty. The sound of firecrackers mingled with the sound of firecrackers throughout the city. Li Zicheng worshiped the heavens in the courtyard of the Qianqing Palace, and worshiped the tablet of the ancestors in the temporarily renovated Fengxian Palace, and then hurriedly transferred to the harem, sat down with the queen in the main hall of the Kunning Palace, and accepted the congratulations of the inner palace. In the sound of fine music, first the princess Lanzhi, then several concubines, followed by Huiying and other girls who have served the queen for many years (Huiying came to the palace from her palace by special order), and finally the new palace maids, servants, retained palace maids and eunuchs of the Qin Mansion, who saluted the emperor and empress in shifts.

When the sky was about to dawn, Li Zicheng hurriedly turned to the Tongtai Hall in the front yard to accept the congratulations of hundreds of civil and military officials. After the emperor left, the wives of civil officials above the sixth rank began to enter the Zhenxiang Gate in batches and classes from Xihua Gate. Zhenxiang Gate is full of flowers for a while, the fragrant wind is full of courtyards, the ring is full of dingdong, and the drum music is bursting.

Today, according to Gao Guiying's instructions, there is no need to pay tribute to the government's etiquette, nor is it called Chaohe Zhengdan, but it is still called New Year's greetings. In this way, the constraints of etiquette were much relaxed. When the queen met with the wives of generals such as Liu Zongmin, Gao Yigong, and Hao Shaoqi, she still carried the old love of concubines or sisters for many years, and they were lively and lively, talking and laughing, forgetting all the pre-agreed practice of "not returning the courtesy and not talking". And the wives of these generals are even more inevitably tugging and pulling with each other, talking and laughing, and they are not at all bound by the etiquette of the imperial court.

But when the wives of the newly descended ministers and the harem master Madame Deng saluted, the situation was very different. Their husbands are all Jinshi in the Ming Dynasty, and they are all officials in the imperial court, and their maiden families are mostly official eunuchs and scholars, and most of them themselves have read books, and they understand the etiquette of the imperial court, and they deeply understand that there is a distinction between them and Gao Guiying, and etiquette must be emphasized. Therefore, with a solemn and awe-inspiring mood, they seriously bowed three times and bowed nine times to the queen, for fear of a little "loss of honor". The red lady saluted with this group of ladies, because she listened to Li Yan's guidance in advance, and she was also very careful.

The foreman saluted the learned, talented and beautiful Deng Taimiao, and she also gave a eulogy to the queen on behalf of everyone. According to the ritual note submitted to the palace half a month ago, when the woman was ordered to congratulate, after the foreman's wife gave a eulogy, the queen would reply, "The celebration of the end of the calendar, the palace and the ladies share it." This is a regular answer. The emperor replied to the civil and military officials and the lady to the ladies, all of them said the same thing. It's just that the queen calls herself "Bengong", and the emperor calls herself "I". Gao Guiying remembers this sentence very well, and she had rotted it in her chest a few days ago. All she had to do was say it with a straight face. However, she did not pay attention to the reply prepared by the government for the time being, but looked at Mrs. Deng, who was kneeling in front of her with a smile, and replied:

"Today is the beginning of the new year, I hope the wind and rain are smooth, the grains are abundant, the country is auspicious, and we are all auspicious."

After the ladies calmed down, Mrs. Gao said with a smile:

"Let's go down and have some tea."

Deng Taimiao was stunned, and the palace maids standing around the queen were also stunned. Then she understood in her heart: It turned out that there was no tea in the ritual note, and the queen couldn't help but say this sentence out of cordial hospitality to everyone and being accustomed to folk customs. The clever Madame Deng quickly knelt down again and said:

"The emperor will personally conquer Youyan tomorrow, and the queen is very busy today, and the concubines dare not stay longer, so they will resign from the palace."

Sure enough, as Mrs. Deng said, Gao Guiying had to leave Chang'an early tomorrow morning for Li Zicheng, and there were many miscellaneous things that needed to be taken care of personally. After the ladies who entered the palace kowtowed and retreated, Gao Guiying instructed Huiying to take the palace maids to pack up the clothes, shoes and socks and other daily necessities that the emperor needed to take with him, and let her personally see them, and then wrap them in different burdens.

Just after explaining this, Li Yan and Shuangxi came in. Li Yan first congratulated the emperor on Zhengdan in the Tongtai Hall and with the civil and military officials, and then came to Kunning Palace to congratulate the queen on Zhengdan with double happiness. According to general etiquette, he didn't have to come to the harem to congratulate. But because the red lady is the queen's daughter, he came in with double happiness. After kneeling three times and bowing nine times, the queen told him to sit down and speak. He bowed again in thanksgiving, then sat down sideways on a chair. Shuangxi didn't dare to sit down, and stood with his hands hanging on the side. queen says:

"Lin Quan, tomorrow you will follow the emperor on the expedition, I look forward to the early good news, breaking through Beijing, and destroying the Ming Dynasty. In the past few years, you have been around the emperor, and you have come up with a lot of ideas to help the emperor decide on a big plan, and you have lived up to the emperor's weight. As far as you can see, will there be unexpected difficulties in attacking Beijing? ”

Li Yan was secretly surprised, feeling that the queen was different after all. But at present, all the people are thinking that everything will go well, and they refuse to listen to different words, and he does not dare to express his worries. So he hesitated a little and replied:

"With the prestige of the emperor, the road must be like a bamboo, look at the wind and welcome the fall, and there will not be many difficulties along the way. As for what will happen after the destruction of Beijing, we can only talk about it when the situation comes. ”

Gao Guiying didn't understand what Li Yan was thinking in his heart, and he didn't hear that he was worried in his tone, so he said:

"Okay, you go down and rest. If you want anything, just feel free to meet the emperor on the road. The emperor will try his best to adopt it. ”

After Li Yan kowtowed and resigned, Gao Guiying looked at Shuangxi and was about to instruct him to say a few words, when he suddenly reported that Shang Jiong and Wang Changshun came to Kunning Palace to congratulate. She stopped talking, waved her hand to let Shuangxi withdraw, and said to the palace maid beside her:

"Pass them in."

According to the "Da Shun Yi Note" being revised by the Li government, the civil and military ministers can only congratulate the emperor in the outer court, and cannot enter the harem to congratulate the queen. However, this ritual system has not yet been promulgated, and Shang Jiong and Wang Changshun are different from other ministers, so after they participated in He Zhengdan's great pilgrimage outside, they asked to come to the harem to congratulate the queen. Gao Guiying was also nostalgic for the old, regardless of the royal rules, with a smile on her face, waiting for them to come in.

At the foot of the Kunning Palace, fine music was played. The whole palace was filled with the sound of music and the smoke of cigarettes. The palace ladies were very well-dressed, and stood in two rows on the stairs and at the bottom of the stairs. Shang Jiong and Wang Changshun walked up the steps (it should be called Danqi, but people were not used to calling it that way at this time) and entered the main hall of Kunning Palace. Wang Changshun took a step back and asked Shang Jiong to salute the queen first. According to the official rank, Shang Jiong is higher than Wang Changshun, so he did not shirk, and first bowed three kneels and nine bows to the queen. Gao Guiying can not stand up when she accepts other people's salutes, but Shang Jiong salutes her, she is very unaccustomed and very uneasy. She unconsciously stood up from her throne and bowed to Shang Jiong. But Shang Jiong didn't see it. Shang Jiong finished bowing, still kneeling on the ground, Gao Guiying ordered him to stand up, sit down and speak. She didn't call Shang Jiong's name, nor did she call Shang Jiong's expression, but still said according to the old habits:

"Brother Shang, sit down quickly, let's talk about family life."

Shang Jiong bowed down again and sat sideways on a chair prepared for him by the palace maids. At this time, Wang Changshun also began to bow. The queen didn't stand up, but she couldn't bear it in her heart. Wang Changshun kowtowed, and the queen said to him:

"Changshun, your legs and feet are inconvenient, you have cold legs for many years, and your waist has been injured again, you can kneel and kowtow three times, don't make a big salute."

Wang Changshun was excited, and while bowing, he said: "Today is New Year's Day, these three kneeling and nine bowing salutes cannot be discounted, and they must be finished." ”

Gao Guiying didn't stop it anymore, watching him finish the big salute, and made him stand up and speak. Wang Changshun stood up and said to the queen:

"This year is the first time to congratulate Zhengdan, and I can still come to the harem to pay New Year's greetings to my mother......"

Mrs. Gao smiled and said, "Yes! This is a New Year's greeting, and it is smoother to say than 'Asaga Zhengdan'. ”

Wang Changshun continued: "When the emperor ascends to the pole in Beijing and sets up the rules, the harem is strictly forbidden, and it will not be easy for the minister Wang Changshun to enter the palace to pay New Year's greetings to his mother." ”

Gao Guiying laughed, a little sentimental in her heart, and replied: "Changshun, don't worry, when that time comes, I will plead with the emperor and allow you to enter the palace to see me." ”

Changshun shed tears and said, "Thank you Niangniang for your grace." He knelt down again and kowtowed three times. The queen hastened and said:

"Get up, get up. Sit down, and I'll talk to you about my family. ”

Wang Changshun thanked him and sat down on another chair. Gao Guiying turned her face to look at Shang Jiong and said:

"Brother Shang, we have been ...... for more than ten years"

Shang Jiong immediately stood up and said, "Please don't call Weichen 'Brother Shang' anymore." Today I want to talk about the courtesy of kings and ministers. ”

Gao Guiying smiled slightly and said, "Okay, don't call you Brother Shang, I said Ziming, let's ...... for ten years."

Shang Jiong hurriedly continued: "Please call the queen by my name in the future, don't call my word again, and don't call my nickname." Calling me Shang Jiong is the courtesy of a monarch and a minister. ”

The queen said, "What kind of courtesy? We have been fighting together for more than ten years, so is it not proper to call your expression? ”

Shang Jiong said: "Yes, the royal family has royal etiquette. During the Western Han Dynasty, the emperor sometimes addressed his subordinates. However, since the Tang and Song dynasties, the monarch has been respected, and the monarch has become a system by calling the name of the minister instead of the word. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty only called the cabinet auxiliary ministers and the banquet speakers 'sir', which was a special etiquette of respecting the teacher. We all support the emperor to fight the world, although there are some merits and hard work, it is also justified, and we can't call our cousins because of this, nor can we have other titles. ”

Mrs. Gao said: "Alas, I have been used to calling you in the past, but now I have to change my words, an old brother like you, who is older than us, can neither call you Brother Shang, nor can I call you a cousin, and I am not at ease in my heart!" Let me ask you, Ziming, I heard that you are going to stay in Chang'an and not go to Beijing with the emperor? ”

Shang Jiong said: "Niangniang, you call me the word again." The emperor sometimes calls the minister of civil and military affairs, although it is an unforgettable old feeling, but it is not in line with the etiquette. I heard that Prime Minister Niu Cheng and Song Junshi have persuaded him several times, but the emperor still refuses to change his habits. I think that after the ascension to the pole in Beijing, this habit will have to be changed. ”

Gao Guiying laughed, sighed softly, and said, "They are all old brothers, and life and death are inseparable. Once I became a monarch and minister, the etiquette was strict, and I was not used to it. The emperor is not used to it. ”

Shang Jiong said: "The Zhou metric system, the monarch and the ministers, is the head of the five Lun. Although the emperor and queen miss the old, the title will have to be changed in the future. ”

The queen laughed and said, "Alas, don't say the title. Let me ask you, Ziming, I heard that you will stay in Chang'an and not go to Beijing with the emperor, have you already decided? ”

Shang Jiong said: "Yes, it has been decided. The emperor ordered me to stay in Chang'an and build the Tai Hospital, which requires the search for a doctor, which is not so easy. It is not entirely clear how many of the doctors in Guanzhong and Henan are skilled enough to work in the hospital. Besides, we must also choose those who are loyal to protect Dashun, otherwise how to let them work in the Tai Hospital? ”

The queen nodded and turned to Wang Changshun: "Changshun, you want to go out with the emperor, can the emperor allow it?" ”

Wang Changshun stood up and said, "The emperor said that I am almost fifty years old and does not want me to go with him. But how could I not go? I repeatedly pleaded with the emperor, as well as with Prime Minister Niu and Song Junshi, and finally agreed to let me go to Beijing with the emperor. Alas, Niangniang, I just need to see the city of Beijing with my own eyes, take a look at the imperial palace in Beijing, and look at the grand ceremony of our emperor's ascension, I will ...... even if I die" Speaking of this, he felt that he had missed his mouth, and smiled embarrassedly, "I will be satisfied in this life." ”

Gao Guiying also smiled and said, "Okay, you go and follow the emperor to see and learn." I heard the emperor say that in the future, our Chang'an will be better than Beijing. ”

Shang Jiong stood up again and said, "Queen, you are busy today, and the ministers have resigned." ”

Gao Guiying nodded and said, "Since you stay in Chang'an, you can enter the palace at any time." If you don't come, as long as I remember, I will send someone to pass you into the palace. ”

When Shang Jiong heard this, he was very moved, and quickly knelt down and kowtowed: "Xie Niangniang!" ”

Wang Changshun also knelt down and kowtowed, and then they stood up and turned around and withdrew together.

The queen looked at them affectionately, and watched them go down the steps and out of the Zhenxiang Gate. Then I was about to go to rest, when suddenly Luo Hu, Wang Si and Li Laiheng came. She saw that Luo Hu and Wang Si were already handsome young generals, and Xiao Laiheng had grown to the same height as adults. Although he looked childish, his eyes were attentive and polite. The queen sat firmly on the throne, and looked at the three of them with a smile and bowed three times and nine times. The three young generals were about to withdraw after saluting, when Huiying came in, and the queen asked Wang Si and Luo Hu:

"Have you paid New Year's greetings to Brother Shuangxi?" Xiang Laiheng asked again: "Have you gone to pay New Year's greetings?" ”

Luo Hu said: "We know that Brother Shuangxi went to the Tongtai Hall to take care of the affairs of the civil and military officials, and then went to the noon gate to take care of the promulgation of the emperor's edict, and we have not had the opportunity to pay New Year's greetings to Brother Shuangxi and Sister Huiying." At this moment, I was about to go to Brother Shuangxi's mansion. ”

Lai Heng continued: "I also didn't have a chance to pay New Year's greetings to Uncle Shuangxi and Aunt Huiying. ”

The queen said, "Huiying, you take out three ingots and give each of them one ingots as New Year's money." ”

Luo Hu said: "Niangniang, Wang Si and I have grown into adults, and you want to give us New Year's money?" ”

"You're only twenty years old, you're not married, and you're still a child in front of me. Although the fourth child has become a parent, he is one year younger than you and is also a child. ”

Huiying smiled and said to Luo Hu: "Don't be stupid, do you want the silver rewarded by the mother?" ”

Huiying then took out three ingots and gave each of them one ingot. The three young generals knelt down in front of the queen and kowtowed in thanksgiving. After standing up, Luo Hu asked Huiying:

"Sister Huiying, if you don't go back, we will give you New Year's greetings here."

"Nonsense, this is the queen's Kunning Palace, how can you kowtow to me here? Let's give you double happiness brother New Year's greetings. I'm almost back to the mansion. ”

After Luo Hu and the others left with a smile, Huiying asked the queen: "The New Year's gifts for the ladies of each family have been sent out of the palace, I don't know what else the queen mother has ordered?" ”

The queen smiled and said, "Go back to the mansion quickly, double happiness is waiting for you." Your young husband and wife have only been married for a few days, and he will go on an expedition with the emperor the morning after tomorrow, which is also a matter of no law. Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, you don't have to enter the palace in the afternoon, you little husband and wife will celebrate the New Year together. Alas, I hope that after this battle you will never be separated. Hurry back, go back. ”

Huiying listened respectfully to her mother's advice, her head bowed, her cheeks flushed, and her heart was full of happiness. After resigning, he sat in a sedan chair in Donghua Gate, his heart was full of sweetness, and he couldn't help but smile quietly from the corners of his eyes and mouth. Suddenly thinking that I would be parting with my husband the morning after tomorrow, I felt a bitterness in my heart, and my happy smile disappeared. But after a while, her mood returned to calm, thinking that this was only a temporary parting, and that he would soon be returning from Beijing. She pronounced the word "he" in her heart, and felt infinite sweetness and infinite tenderness.

Not long after Huiying left, Li Zicheng returned to Kunning Palace, and the queen knew that he was very tired and welcomed him to the bedroom to rest. She took care of him herself, helping him take off his courtesy clothes and put them into homely clothes. Said to him:

"Your Majesty, you have to prepare for the expedition, and you have to celebrate New Year's Day, it's really hard, let's rest and rest."

Li Zicheng said with a smile: "Although it is hard now, I am also happy. ”

"I have ordered the imperial dining room to be ready, and a family banquet will be arranged in Kunning Palace at noon today, one is to celebrate New Year's Day, and the other is to give the emperor a meal."

"Don't spread Double Happiness and Huiying to the palace for a banquet, let their young couple celebrate the New Year in their mansion."

"I have commanded that they should not be allowed to enter the palace and wait. Outside to celebrate the New Year's Day, I heard that the salute was very grand, do you think you are satisfied? ”

"It's fine. The civil officials know the gift of the pilgrimage very well, and the generals are worse. However, by next year, it will be very different. ”

The queen smiled and said: "Next year, the country will be unified, and the whole world will celebrate together, which will naturally be a different situation." But Wang Changshun is most worried that the royal etiquette system will be certain in the future, and the palace is strictly forbidden, and he can't come to the palace to pay New Year's greetings to me. ”

Li Zicheng laughed, then yawned, leaned back in the easy chair, and stopped talking. Gao Guiying waved his hand to make the palace maids withdraw, and said to Zicheng:

"You take advantage of this time to rest for a while, and I'll call you to dinner later." She walked out gently, and secretly said to herself in her heart: "Alas, my God, next year's New Year, it must be a national carnival, and I don't know how lively this Chang'an City is." ”

On the morning of the third day of the first lunar month, Li Zicheng led Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Yu Shangyou, Gu Junen and the newly surrendered generals in Xi'an, escorted by thousands of elite cavalry led by Li You, Wu Ruyi, Li Shuangxi, Li Qiang, etc., and set off from Chang'an to the east. The civil and military ministers who stayed in Chang'an, led by Zehou Tian Jianxiu, were sent all the way to Baqiao. Li Yan's detachment, led by Li Yu and Li Jun, had already arrived in Hancheng and had already crossed the Yellow River with the Eastern Expeditionary Army, but Li Yan himself stayed with the emperor in case he could consult at any time. The king of Qin and several county kings of the Ming Dynasty were brought in the army. In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, King Chong, who was caught when he broke Runing in Henan, was also brought with him in the army.

The vanguard of the Dashun Dynasty's eastward expedition crossed the Yellow River on solid ice in mid-December last year. The main army was divided into two routes: one route crossed the river by the sand vortex between Hancheng and Yumen; One route crosses the river from Hancheng to Pusaka. When Li Zicheng set off from Chang'an, the Ming Dynasty regimes in many prefectures, prefectures, and counties in Shaanxi Province had collapsed one after another, and some local soldiers opened their city gates to welcome the surrender, and some were preparing to surrender. Li Zicheng constantly received Liu Zongmin's flying music on the road, and sometimes it was Li Guo and Liu Fangliang and other generals transferred by Liu Zongmin, and he knew that there was no resistance everywhere. As expected: the momentum is like a bamboo. On the way, after the camp every night, if there was no urgent military situation that he needed to deal with, he still asked Niu Jinxing to bring the newly descended Wenchen to explain the scriptures and the "Zizhi Tongjian" to him. The first scripture lecture after leaving Chang'an was "The First Moon of the Spring King" in the "Spring and Autumn Period". Niu Jinxing believes that it is the first month of the first month of Emperor Dashun, so he chose the four words at the beginning of "Spring and Autumn Lu Yin A.D. Chronicle", and according to the opinions of "The Legend of the Ram", he gave full play to it and promoted the idea of becoming a unified emperor to Li Zicheng. Li Zicheng also hopes to be the master of the country. Now that the situation is going well, as long as Beijing is captured and Jiangnan is cleaned up, although it cannot be said that it can be "passed on", it will not go through a major war. Therefore, Niu Jinxing's explanation of these four words on "Spring and Autumn" is very much in line with his heart.

Li Zicheng and his surrounding ministers, in the joy of victory, rode horses to cross the Yellow River on solid ice, arrived in Puzhou on the 16th of the first month, sacrificed Guan Gong, went to Yishi on the 18th, Wenxi on the 19th, Jiangzhou on the 20th, Quwo on the 21st, and Pingyang on the 23rd, stopped in Pingyang for five days, held a military meeting with Liu Zongmin, Li Guo, and others, and issued an edict that the common people could understand and understand, and then marched to Taiyuan.

Everywhere the Eastern Expeditionary Army arrived, they restored the post stations that had been demolished, reorganized the post guards, and equipped them with horses. Therefore, Li Zicheng continued to send messengers and official documents along the road to Chang'an, and he also continued to report to Li Zicheng on major events in the DPRK and China, as well as on the situation in Guanzhong, Hanzhong, Henan, Huguang, and other places. If there is an important military situation, it will change horses at every station, day and night, although it is hundreds of miles apart, it can be reached in one day and night. In this first month, the Chang'an Imperial Court received many official documents from all over the world every day, and also issued many official documents, and the most important thing was the news that led to Taiyuan all the way. All official documents and news received by the Chang'an court from Shanxi must be reported to the palace to avoid the queen's suspense. Therefore, after Li Zicheng's Eastern Expedition, Gao Guiying and Huiying were more clear about the situation along the way.

Li Zicheng's civil and military ministers who stayed in Chang'an, and the gentry and common people who supported Li Zicheng to sit in the country, continued to get the news of the Great Shun Army's Eastern Expedition, and their mood was very excited. The palace was filled with the joy of victory. At the beginning of February, when the news of Li Zicheng's arrival in Pingyang came, Gao Guiying summoned Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and the wives of several generals into the palace, held a banquet to celebrate, and said to them with tears in her eyes:

"The holy car has arrived in Pingyang Mansion, and the Ming Dynasty's troops in Taiyuan are empty, and it is easy to break through. The Song military division calculated that Beijing would be broken at the end of March and a half, and the emperor and the Marquis Ru were very convinced, and it seemed that they would be able to do it. Alas, the days of all of us are bitter and sweet, and the people of the world will have peaceful days from now on. ”

According to the original decision: As soon as the news of Li Zicheng's ascension ceremony in Beijing was received, a grand celebration would be held in Chang'an City, and colorful archways would be erected in each street, and the gentry, military and people would celebrate for three days. Although Li Zicheng is still on his way to Taiyuan, the Chang'an Palace and the court have already begun to prepare for this matter.

Hye-young misses her husband every day and every night. Especially at night, she slept on the carved red lacquer bed, the embroidered tent, quilt, and mandarin pillow used when she got married, everything was still the same, but her husband was not around, she couldn't help but miss the groom with her heart, and couldn't help but call "Brother Double Happiness" in her heart. She called softly, shyly, sweetly, in a voice so light that she could only hear herself, not even herself. In this way, her cheeks will also be hot and red with shame, and at the same time tears of longing and happiness will roll out. For her husband's sake, she burned incense and prayed every morning:

"God, bless my father Real Madrid to success and break through Beijing. Once you've landed in Beijing, come back as soon as possible! ”

The Chang'an court often sent messengers to the army. Every time before the messenger departed, Zehou Tian Jianxiu always ordered officials to go to the palace gate to knock on the queen and ask if there was anything or a letter to bring to the emperor. At this time, Gao Guiying said to her daughter-in-law:

"Huiying, you can repair a book for Shuangxi, and you are also asking for peace."

Hyeyoung's face flushed. She wanted to write a letter, and felt that she had endless things to tell Double Happiness. But she replied:

"I don't have anything to say after I return to my mother."

The queen said, "Although there is no great matter, you are a newlywed husband and wife, and you are very affectionate, and you should write a letter to tell him that you are safe as usual, so that he will not be at ease outside." ”

"Alas, Queen Mother, I can't finish my business, how can I have the leisure to sit down and repair his books."

The queen smiled, not reluctantly. But in her letter to the emperor, she always had to write a stroke, saying that Huiying entered the palace every day to do business, was diligent and prudent, and wanted to be happy and not worry about home.

Since the Lantern Festival, the poetess Deng Taimiao has come to the Green Cloud Pavilion in the backyard of Kunning Palace to give lectures on the third, sixth and ninth days as usual. Therefore, she knew more and faster about the news of the Eastern Expeditionary Army, and of course she shared the joy of victory with the queen and Huiying more.

In the blink of an eye, in the middle of February, around the Green Cloud Pavilion, dozens of weeping willows have been softly budding, swaying with the east wind, like a cloud of green clouds. There are also two or three peach blossoms with buds waiting to be put on the rockery of Taihu Lake under the rockery, which is a place for women in the deep palace to read! It is no wonder that Gao Guiying, who has been in the horse for 16 years, felt that this was the life of the gods in the painting as soon as she sat in the Green Cloud Pavilion and listened to Deng Taimiao's lecture on "Mao's Poems".

On this day, Mrs. Deng finished the three chapters of "Pu Jia" and a Tang poem, and then rested for tea, and the topic turned to the news of the Eastern Expeditionary Army that she got two days ago. The army had already surrounded Taiyuan and shot the emperor's first edict and the second edict (also known as the "Edict of the Gentleman and the People") into the city. Mrs. Deng was able to memorize the first edict very well, and said:

"Niangniang, you once said that the edict of the Eastern Expedition drafted by Prime Minister Niu Cheng on behalf of the emperor is very well written and can be passed down through the ages, but it is a pity that it is too difficult for the common people to understand. However, the exact disadvantages of those words that scolded the Ming Dynasty are pleasant to read. ”

The queen smiled and asked, "Madam, what are your favorite sentences?" ”

Madame Deng bowed and replied: "The concubines are most pleased: 'The princes all eat meat and hakama and rely on the heart; The eunuchs are all chaff dogs and dolphins and borrow their ears and eyes. The prisoners are tired, and the soldiers have no heart to repay; There are many requisitions, and the people have the hatred of dying. ’”

The queen ordered Huiying to take out a copy of the copy submitted by the Ministry of War and spread it in front of her, nodding and smiling while looking at it, and then said:

These words are really scolding and to the point. However, alas, the words of the draft of this edict drafted by the emperor on behalf of the emperor still cannot firmly pretend to be the common people in his heart, and he insists on using these cold words, so that the people can neither recognize nor understand. ”

Mrs. Deng said: "Niangniang refers to ......"

The queen asked, "Look, all the eunuchs, all of them, all of them, all of them?" ”

Mrs. Deng replied: "Qi Niangniang, this word is the 龁 of 龁, which means to eat." ”

The queen said: "If it is written as 'eunuchs all eat chaff, pigs and dogs', is it not good for the illiterate people to understand it as soon as they hear it?" There are also the words 'with death', I don't understand, can't you use allusions? ”

Mrs. Deng was shocked, and quickly stood up and said, "Queen Shengming, the concubine was confused for a while, and she couldn't see this. ”

The queen smiled and said, "You are from a family of eunuchs, a scholarly family, unlike me from a peasant family." You don't know the suffering of the common people as well as I do...... Okay, sit down, sit down. The first edict of the emperor's crusade was not understood in the harem. A few days ago, Shang Shenxian came to the palace, and I asked him to explain, but he could only say a general idea. Today, please tell us more about it. Huiying, quickly put this edict in front of the harem master. She turned to the palace maid standing behind her and ordered, "Change a cup of hot tea for Mrs. Deng." ”

Deng Taimiao didn't dare to slack off in the slightest, quickly picked up the yellow paper edict, read it from beginning to end, and was about to explain sentence by sentence, when suddenly an old eunuch came to the courtyard and knelt down the steps to play:

Zehou Tian saw Xiu to report to the palace gate, saying that Taiyuan City had been breached at noon on the sixth day of the second month, and Cai Maode, the governor of Shanxi in the Ming Dynasty, refused to surrender and had hanged himself. Hundreds of members of King Jin's family were all caught. The great victory of the Eastern Crusade is specially for the start. ”

Gao Guiying's voice trembled with excitement, and she said softly, "Got it."

After the eunuch left, Gao Guiying said to Mrs. Deng: "Don't talk about it today, Taiyuan has been broken, and the next step is Beijing." Sure enough, it was taken care of by God, and as soon as he went out to conquer the whole of Shanxi, he fell into his hands. ”

In a few moments, from the street outside the Forbidden City, there were gongs and drums, cheers, and then crackling firecrackers. This sound became more and more intense, shaking the entire Chang'an City.

The queen said to Huiying: "Pass on my decree, and set off firecrackers in all palaces." ”

Chapter III

After crossing the Yellow River, more than 100,000 men and horses led by Liu Fangliang marched separately with the main force to southern Jin, chasing Gao Jie while occupying the prefectures, prefectures, and counties in southern Jinnan. Following Li Zicheng's orders, he went east from southern Jin, crossed the Taihang Mountains, entered the Huaiqing region of Henan Province, and then went north from Anyang to threaten Jifu. The vanguard cavalry led by Li Guo continued to advance along the road from Pingyang to Taiyuan.

At that time, the Ming Dynasty's troops in Shanxi were very empty.

The Fubiao battalion, which was directly commanded by Governor Cai Maode, was only about 3,000 people. He was originally stationed in Pingyang, but Shanxi Province was adjacent to Shaanxi from the beginning of Hequ City, only separated by a Yellow River, up and down for more than 1,000 miles, and all of them were frozen in winter, and they could be crossed at any time, let alone a small number of troops could defend them. Cai Maode was strictly ordered by Emperor Chongzhen to guard the river. But he had no soldiers or pay in his hands, and there was nothing he could do. When he was about to die in Pingyang, the king of Jin urged him to hurry back to Taiyuan and protect the provincial capital with all his might. Because at that time, not only was the Yellow River west of Pingyang in danger, but also near the meanders of the river, it was also rumored that the Dashun army crossed the river, that is, Li Zicheng's men and horses not only had to march from Pingyang, but also from the north to take the pass and surround Taiyuan from the north. Therefore, in the city of Taiyuan, when the wealthy gentry arrived from the Jin royal family, they were very scared and urged the governor Cai Maode to go back to defend the city. Cai Maode knew that if Taiyuan was lost, it would be even more difficult for him to apologize to the emperor. Therefore, when the Dashun army crossed the river with a small force from Hancheng, he hurriedly returned to Taiyuan with 2,000 pacesetters, and handed over the heavy responsibility of guarding the Yellow River to Chen Shangzhi, the deputy commander-in-chief who was originally stationed in Pingyang. On December 18, part of the Dashun army crossed the river from Shawu Town between Yumen and Hancheng, and Chen Shangzhi fled back to Pingyang, then to Zhaocheng and surrendered. There were no more Ming troops south of Taiyuan.

After the people from all over Shanxi arrived in Xi'an, they coaxed and spread the word about how benevolent and righteous Li Zicheng was and how strict the discipline of the people and horses was, and they waited for Li Zicheng's army to surrender as soon as he arrived. Sure enough, after the Dashun army crossed the river, the people in various places not only saw with their own eyes that Li Zicheng's discipline was indeed very good, but also read the proclamation of Liu Zongmin, the chief general of the battalion. Therefore, from 22 December, there has been a situation of welcoming and surrendering everywhere. The prefect of Pingyang, Zhang Phoran, surrendered and was reused. Shen Jiayan, the great squire of Pingyang, fled to the mountains, was captured by the house slaves, and sacrificed to the Dashun army. Liu Zongmin was very angry because he was rich and unkind, and ordered him to be severely tortured, forcing him to hand over all the gold, silver, treasure, and grain in his family, and then execute him. This incident made the people of Binh Duong Province very happy.

Li Zicheng entered Shanxi with the surrender everywhere, and there were two or three thousand mighty cavalry in front of him, followed by a group of cavalry waving various forms of flags and honor guards, and a band playing music on horses. The ministers in charge of the yamen, such as the cabinet of the Great Shun Dynasty, the six governments, and the Wenyu Yuan, each brought slaves, servants, and cavalry, and followed behind, followed by 2,000 cavalry. There were also five hundred crossbowmen and two hundred firearmsmen. These five or six thousand cavalry were the guards of the Dashun Emperor, with neat armor, clear banners, and strong horses. Then there were five hundred mules and a hundred camels, carrying food and grain. In the fifteen years since the uprising, Li Zicheng led a large army for the first time as an emperor. He and the military generals of Wenchen who followed him had expected to surrender all the way before leaving Chang'an. And now that's the case, so even though it's still a long way from Beijing, everyone thinks victory is in sight. A few years ago, Song Xiance's "Confessions" said "Eighteen Sons Master Artifact", and there were three words "Li Jizhu" in the poem. Now it seems that the general trend has been decided, and this "Proverb" has been fully fulfilled. The civil servants who surrendered in Chang'an or surrendered along the road were also glad that they had already known the destiny of heaven and became the ministers of the dragon.

The Eastern Crusade army only focused on moving forward, and generally did not leave troops to garrison the places. The newly appointed magistrates, in accordance with Li Zicheng's strict orders, searched for the Ming dynasty's clans and the eunuchs and wealthy people of various prefectures, prefectures, and counties, as well as the relatives of the eunuchs. As long as it is a place of fish and meat on weekdays, those who accumulate the anger of the people will be arrested, severely tortured, and forced to give gold and silver as military pay; Their stockpiles were confiscated, partly for military pay, and partly for distribution to the hungry. All the prefectures, prefectures, and counties that had surrendered were quickly appointed with the county orders of the Great Shun Dynasty. At that time, there were many years of war in Guanzhong, coupled with continuous natural disasters, not only to supply the army of the Eastern Expedition, but also to supply the people and horses of the Western Expedition to Xining and garrisoned Yulin, Ningxia and other places, so after the Eastern Expeditionary Army entered Shanxi, they searched for the Ming Dynasty clan and local eunuchs and large households, tortured them, and forced them to give up gold, silver, treasures and food, not only for the country and the people, but also to solve the army supplies and court expenses. It is not surprising that the newly appointed officials of the prefectures, prefectures, and counties used this incident as an excuse to search for mules and horses from the people as military salaries. However, Shanxi Province is also plagued by famines, production is destroyed, and urban and rural areas are withered. Li Zicheng only considered how to supply the army of the Eastern Expedition, drive into Yan for a long time, and quickly break through Beijing, and as for how to get the newly appointed officials to adopt some effective methods so that the people could live a stable life and recuperate, it was too late to consider.

When Li Zicheng arrived in Pingyang, Liu Zongmin had already arrived first, and led the civil and military ministers in Pingyang and the newly surrendered local gentry to greet the "holy car" in the suburbs. From the city gate to the palace, along both sides of the street, there were incense cases in front of their homes, and the people either hid in the doors, or knelt next to the incense cases to greet them, and no one dared to walk around the street or whisper to each other. There was only the sound of majestic horses' hooves in the streets, and they walked towards the prefect's yamen, where the temporary palace was arranged for the emperor. Outside the gate of the palace, with pine and cypress branches and colored silk, set up two tall arches facing east and west, hang a yellow satin regular book plaque on each archway, the plaque on the left reads "Gongmai Tangwu", the right side writes "Debi Yao Shun". There is also a pair of regular script couplets hanging on each memorial arch, although it is just a word of praise for merit, but these two couplets are compiled neatly and vigorously, the font is dignified, mellow, obviously from the hands of the learned and good calligraphy of the Dashun army.

Li Zicheng stayed in Pingyang for five days, summoned his father, visited the suffering, and gave relief to the hungry. Liu Fangliang's partial division has passed through Zezhou and is about to enter Henan. This partial division divided into a detachment of men and horses, and marched north from the west of Taihang, with the purpose of recruiting and surrendering Jindongzhou County, and then joining forces south of Baoding with the troops advancing north through Zhangde. Li Zicheng marched unhindered from all walks of life, feasted in Pingyang and recruited the ministers, and asked the ministers to rhyme and write poems at the banquet. These poems, like the poems that have always been prepared, are nothing more than works of praise for virtue, lacking poetry, and only blindly pursuing elegance and magnificence in form, as well as harmony and sonorous syllables.

Since Li Yan joined the rebel army, he rarely wrote poems, and at this time, he had to follow Niu Jinxing and others to chant a poem of seven laws.

Li Zicheng read the poems of the ministers singing praises of virtue, and he was very happy in his heart, and felt that this was the founding atmosphere of the country. He asked several of the ministers:

"There is a sentence in Tang poetry's 'The three Jin Dynasty clouds and mountains are all northward', which reads very magnificently, but I don't know how to explain it?"

The newly surrendered prefect of Pingyang, Zhang Furan, was born as a Jinshi, and hurriedly knelt down at this time and replied:

This is a poem by Cui Shu during the Tang Kaiyuan period. From the topography of the three Jin Dynasty, although it is mountainous, but the higher the terrain is the more north, to the Heng and the Dai area are all Beiyue, as if the mountains of the whole Jin Dynasty are continuous, all are towards the Beiyue. This is the usual commentary. However, in Weichen's view, the poet originally had no deep meaning, but only wrote about the scene in general, but unexpectedly coincided with today's situation. ”

Li Zicheng hurriedly asked: "How to secretly match?" ”

Zhang Furan continued: "The holy driver crossed the river from Puzhou, came all the way to the north, and now is stationed in Pingyang, and in two or three days will continue to go north, go straight to Datong, turn to the east, and capture Beijing; The fathers and elders of the three Jin Dynasty greeted each other one after another, kowtowed to the north, looked at the clouds, and waited for His Majesty to ascend to the pole in Beijing. The so-called 'three Jin Yunshan are all north-facing' unexpectedly coincides with today's personnel. ”

Li Zicheng nodded and said with a smile: "Good solution, good solution." ”

Because Liu Zongmin wanted to personally command the attack on Taiyuan and prevent the king of Jin from escaping, he set off to Taiyuan on the third day after Li Zicheng arrived in Pingyang. After staying in Pingyang for five days, Li Zicheng dispatched officials from various local governments, prefectures, and counties to arrive outside Taiyuan on the morning of 6 February, passing through Hongdong, Zhaocheng, Huozhou, Lingshi, and Fenzhou. At this time, the Dashun army had already surrounded Taiyuan the day before.

Before the arrival of the Dashun army, Cai Maode, the governor of Shanxi, had already returned to the provincial capital for not guarding the Yellow River, so that the prefectures and counties of western and southern Jin fell without a fight, and was severely impeached by Wang Zongyou, the governor of Shanxi. Emperor Chongzhen issued an order to reprimand, remove him from his post, and wait for questioning; At the same time, a bureaucrat named Guo Jingchang was ordered to take over. On the 23rd day of the first lunar month, that is, the day when Li Zicheng arrived in Pingyang, Cai Maode summoned more than 200 civil and military officials in Taiyuan, as well as Yangquzhi County and local officials, as well as more prominent figures among the scholars, to the back hall of the governor's yamen, and swore an oath in front of the tablets of Taizu Zhu Hongwu and the ancestors of the Ming family, determined to protect Taiyuan to the death. Because the situation was very critical, Cai Maode made a generous statement, and he didn't feel that he cried bitterly, and everyone cried too. Before the meeting was over, suddenly a divine decree arrived, announcing that he would be removed from his post and that he would be questioned for questioning.

Cai Maode's cronies and staff knew that Taiyuan would not be defended, and at the same time they were also dissatisfied with the disposition of the imperial court, so they advised Cai Maode to take this opportunity to leave it alone, quickly hide outside the city, and wait for the new governor to come and take over. Cai Maode resolutely refused, saying:

"I have decided to report Jun En with a death, that is, I will order Guo Jingchang to come, take the governor of the Great Seal, and I will also accompany him to die in the city."

Liu Zongmin arrived outside Taiyuan on the 5th day of the first month of February, and on the morning of the 6th day of the first month, he immediately commanded the siege of the city. The two thousand Yang soldiers who defended Nanguan almost did not resist, and they put up a white flag and surrendered. The Dashun army did not continue to attack the city, waiting for the defenders in the city to surrender, in order to conquer Taiyuan without a fight. On the seventh day of the first month, the weather was very gloomy, the hearts of the people defending the city had collapsed, and there would be changes. When Zhang Xiong left the new south gate, he quietly said to one of his henchmen:

"In the corner tower of the southeast corner of the city are gunpowder and firearms. Now that the general trend is over, when I get out of the city, you will set fire to this corner tower. Everyone surrendered to King Li, let's find a way to live. ”

At dusk, the wind blew up, and some of the trees were blown off. Zhang Xiong, with a few cronies, went down to the city in the dark night and surrendered to the Dashun army. In a few moments, the southeast corner tower caught fire, and the people defending the city fled in the fire, and the soldiers guarding the south gate opened the south gate and surrendered. Part of the Dashun army successfully ascended the city by means of a ladder, some of them entered the city from the open south gate and the new south gate, and the other gates were also opened. The Dashun army successfully broke through Taiyuan without a fight.

Cai Maode happened to be near the West Gate at the time, saw that the South Gate had been broken, kowtowed to the north in a panic, handed over the watch to a friend of his, Jia Shizhang, and asked him to escape from Taiyuan and send the watch to Beijing. Cai Maode sighed and said:

"I have studied the Tao for many years, and I have already seen through life and death. Now is the time for me to give my life for my country. ”

He was about to kill himself, but was stopped by people on the left and right, and the deputy commander-in-chief of the Chinese army urged him to go down to the city quickly: "Please get on the horse!" ”

The people on the left and right helped him into the saddle, and when he opened the way in front of him, he arrived at the entrance of the lamp market, and there were Dashun troops everywhere, and he could not advance. Ying Shisheng shouted:

"Get out of the West Gate!"

Cai Maode suddenly dismounted and said to the left and right: "I should die here, you should go by yourself!" ”

They couldn't bear to leave him behind, and pushed him onto the horse. When he arrived at Shuiximen, he knew that it would be difficult to get out, and at the same time he could see that someone wanted to pull him to surrender. He glared angrily and rebuked: "Are you trying to trap me for disloyalty? Suddenly he rolled off his horse, sat down on the ground, and refused to move.

Ying Shisheng's family lives outside the West Gate of Shui. He slashed all the way back home, killed his wife, turned around and disappeared the governor, and then killed back to Shuiximen, and saw that the people around Cai Maode had escaped. He said to Cai Maode:

"My lord, I can't get out, let me die with my lord for the court!"

Cai Maode said in a trembling voice: "Sanli Academy, Sanli Academy, help me to Sanli Academy." ”

Cai Maode is not only a believer in Wang Shouren's doctrine, but also a devout Buddhist, does not eat meat, people often call him "ascetic head", in fact, he is a complete pedantic master. He attached great importance to lecturing and once rebuilt Sanli Academy, so at this time he remembered that he chose this place to commit suicide. In the midst of the chaos, they turned two small streets and came to Sanli Academy. The gate was open, and the gatekeepers fled. Cai Maode went to the place where he lectured on weekdays, and Ying Shisheng helped him hang himself on the beam. Ying Shisheng saw that his body was too thin, and his body fluttered when he hanged himself, worried that he would not be able to breathe immediately and suffer in vain, so he took off his iron armor and pressed it on his shoulders, and then Ying Shisheng also hanged himself.

Because Taiyuan City was open to surrender, the Dashun army did not kill people in vain after entering the city, nor was it allowed to enter private houses at will, and it was not allowed to set fire, rob and commit adultery. However, because the women in the city did not know what Li Zicheng's military discipline was like, when the city was broken, many people still threw themselves into wells and hung beams to die.

Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin had three experiences in breaking Luoyang, Xiangyang, and Xi'an, and they were able to prepare in advance, so that the army entered the city with strict discipline. Especially this time is the first time after the establishment of the Dashun State, the first time to break through the provincial capital, and in the heyday of the Dashun State, everyone is bent on building a country and starting a business, so they attach special importance to military discipline.

That night, only a few thousand men and horses led by Li Guo and Li Yan entered the city of the Dashun army, occupied the important yamen and all eight city gates, and assigned soldiers to guard the residences of the Jin king's mansion and the county palaces of the Jin clan and the eunuchs and gentry at night, and did not allow the rebels and bad people to enter, nor did anyone in the palace enter or leave. Because Li Yan was ordered to give relief to the hungry people after breaking the city, most of his men and horses went to the Jin Temple to station, and he himself only led a thousand men and horses into the city with Li Guo. The entire Dashun army that entered the city was less than 10,000 people. The rest were stationed in the suburbs. Because Li Shuangxi had experience in raiding the Fu Wangfu, Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin were very satisfied, so he was ordered to lead five hundred soldiers and dozens of civil servants who could write and calculate into the city at dawn, and raided the Jin Wangfu and the Jin royal family in the city, as well as the families of the various gentry and wealth.

From that night on, cavalry patrolled the streets, beating gongs and proclaiming several prohibitions from the head of the battalion. After dawn, Liu Zongmin led a large group of civil and military officials and 500 cavalry into the city, and took the political envoy Yamen as his own line. At this time, the streets and crossroads were posted in his name and the two edicts of the king of Dashun. These three extremely important proclamations had been fired into the city from the south and east of Taiyuan in the past two days, but they were burned at any time due to the prohibition of the gentry guarding the city, and the citizens of the city could not read the originals, but only whispered them in private. Now the people know that the discipline of the Dashun army is indeed very good after breaking the city, and it can be called the "army of kings" as the ancients said. At first, people peeked out quietly through the crack in the door, and then some small civilian families or brave people opened half the door and poked their heads out. Then someone walked out, looked boldly, and asked the neighbors about each other. Later, a local armor knocked a gong and pold, saying: "Emperor Dashun will enter the city from the Great South Gate at midnight this morning, and the people must clean the streets, prepare incense cases, and welcome the holy car, and there must be no mistake." "There are also places where dignitaries personally knock on the doors of those who live in the courtyards of deep houses, lest these gentry families do not know the situation, miss the major matter of the driver, and cause trouble. So the city of Taiyuan was rejuvenated, and suddenly there was a scene of a change of dynasty. Civilians are uplifted, and the darkness is comfortable; The dignitaries are worried and afraid, waiting for the arrangement of fate.

Starting from the southern suburbs of Taiyuan City, passing through the South Pass, entering the South Gate, and leading to the Governor's Yamen, every household has cleaned the streets and filled the potholed streets with clean soil. If you can find yellow sand, you can also use yellow sand to pave the ground. There is an incense case at the door of each house, and there is a yellow tablet on the case, which reads: "Long live the Emperor Dashun!" Banzai! Hooray! ”

Everywhere the proclamation of the new dynasty was pasted, there were many people around, and the literate people were reading and reading the proclamation, and the illiterate people were listening to the proclamation attentively. People can understand the more popular edict issued by Li Zicheng in the name of the emperor and Liu Zongmin's inscriptions, whether they read or listen to it, and they always nod their heads and praise them; As for Li Zicheng's edict with elegant words, only a few learned people were shaking their heads and shaking their heads to read it, and sometimes they unconsciously expressed their heartfelt admiration, thinking that there were great talents in the Dashun Dynasty. Some people who used to think that Li Zicheng was just a "thief" no longer dared to have contempt after reading this edict of the Eastern Crusade.

When he broke through Taiyuan at night, Li Zicheng's mood was very excited, he braved the north wind, stood outside the yellow imperial tent, looked at Taiyuan City from afar, and at first saw that in addition to the southeast corner tower burning, there was also a fire on the south gate. Later, the fire was quickly extinguished, there was no shouting of killing in the city, and he knew that there was no street fighting, and everything went well, as he expected.

According to the most auspicious time to enter the city selected by the military advisor Song Xiance, Li Zicheng started from the southern suburbs at the whole time, and entered the south gate in the east at exactly three o'clock, named Yingze Gate, and took its direction auspicious. Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance led a large number of Wenchen who came from Chang'an and newly surrendered along the road, and first entered the city from the south gate of the west, that is, Cheng'en Gate, and followed Liu Zongmin to take over at Yingze Gate. Also coming to Yingzemen to pick up the driver were Li Guo and Li Yan. The streets along the road are all policed and pedestrians are prohibited. If the people want to see the demeanor of the new emperor, they can only stand in the closed door of the street and peek through the crack of the door. Li Zicheng is still riding his oolong horse. Not only is this horse still majestic, but it is also decorated. The saddle and bridle were all renewed, inlaid with gold, silver, and red and green gems, and with a gilt stirrup with two dragons offering pearls. Li Zicheng rode on a horse and looked forward, but saw neat flags, cavalry, drums, honor guards, and a yellow umbrella; Look left and right, but see the houses on both sides of the street, the closed gate facing the street, the incense case at the door of the house, every five zhang away on both sides of the street, there is a soldier holding a sharp spear, carrying a treasure knife at his waist, bright armor, facing outward, standing still. Not only could I not see the warm welcome of the fathers and elders, but not even a single ordinary person could see it. Although in Chang'an, he had already begun to make the people on the street silent and avoid him when he passed, but if some people could not avoid it, or did not want to avoid it, and wanted to look at him secretly, as long as they knelt on the ground by the street, it was not uncommon for them to secretly look at him. Now that he has entered Taiyuan, the matter of the police is so solemn, which Li Zicheng has never experienced. He thought that it would be better to spread the word and let the people boldly come to the street to meet him, because he himself was originally from a poor people. But then he changed his mind again, remembering that this was the arrangement made by Niu Jinxing and others according to the old system of the emperors of the past dynasties, and he dispelled the thoughts that flashed in his heart. He also thought that since ancient times, the emperor should have been like this. There are many emperors who inherit the ancestral industry in infancy, they don't know about the world, and they still go in and out of the police, not to mention that he should be trying to advocate righteousness in the sky, born and died, and the bloody war lasted for 16 years to get to where he is today! Thinking of this, his heart calmed down.

When he arrived at the yamen, which was the governor of the palace, Li Zicheng only left Liu Zongmin, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Li Guo and Li Yan because he had many things to deal with, and the rest of the civil and military officials kowtowed and withdrew. Although he had been constantly reported by the flying cavalry before entering the city, he still asked Liu Zongmin first:

"How's order in the city? Is there robbery, murder, rape? ”

Liu Zongmin replied: "After the city was broken, there were cavalry patrols everywhere, and the law enforcement was very strict, and the order in the city was very good. The officials and gentry who should be arrested were arrested just after dawn by Buzhi. ”

Li Zicheng asked Li Guo: "Did anyone escape?" ”

Li Guo replied: "There are a few who are hiding. But no matter how well they hid, they were caught. Some of them were their servants who led the way, and some of them were told by the people. ”

Li Zicheng nodded, and ordered the governor Cai Maode, who hanged himself, and his deputy commander-in-chief Ying Shisheng to be buried in coffins and parked in Sanli Academy. Then he turned to Li Yan and asked:

"Is there any difficulty in giving relief?"

Li Yan replied: "In the warehouse of the Jin Palace, there is not a lot of grain in stock, which is far inferior to the Fu Palace; Most of the grain of the rest of the eunuchs was hidden in the mountains, and not much was transported into Taiyuan, so they could only provide relief to the hungry. In addition, our army went north, the road was long, and the route was not a place to produce grain. In the humble opinion of the ministers, although it is important to give relief, military needs are even more important, so not only can we not give relief on a large scale, but we should also quickly collect grain in Taiyuan and nearby prefectures and counties and bring it to Beijing, which is a foolproof strategy. ”

Li Zicheng was silent, as if he had poured a scoop of cold water on his heart, and turned his head to look at the military division. Song Xiance hurriedly bowed and said:

"Lin Quan is very worried, since there is not much grain in Taiyuan City, the matter of relief can be relieved."

Li Zicheng remained silent. Over the years, wherever he went, he always cracked down on corrupt officials and local illegal eunuchs and heroes, and opened warehouses to give relief, so he was called a savior by the people of Limin. Now he has just established the Dashun Dynasty and broken Taiyuan, but he does not give relief to the people of Limin, and he can't say it in his heart. However, the opinions of Li Yan and the military advisor deserve attention. Especially Li Yan, who has always been responsible for the relief of the hungry, his words must be even more considerate. In his moment of hesitation, he suddenly remembered the past in Shangluo Mountain in the spring of the twelfth year of Chongzhen. At that time, the military rations were very difficult, so it can be said that the food was counted every day, and he resolutely decided to allocate half of the grain to help the hungry. Isn't the situation too good today to be compared? He was about to decide to give relief, but then he thought about it, the current army is crusading eastward, which is fundamentally different from the situation when a few people were hiding in Shangluo Mountain, and he wants to say today's words today. So he said softly to Li Yan:

"Let's discuss it again tomorrow."

At this time, Wu Ruyi hurriedly came in and handed over an urgent document. Li Zicheng looked at it, and it turned out to be a report from Tian Jianxiu from Chang'an. Tian Jianxiu reported that Zhang Xianzhong had led all his men and horses to leave Hunan and go to the Yichang area, claiming that he would enter Sichuan and establish the Great Western Kingdom in Sichuan. Tian Jianxiu also reported on the situation in Henan and Huguang. said that it had been found out that Li Jiyu of Dengfeng did secretly accept the title of "chief soldier" of the Ming Dynasty, but he did not dare to be an enemy of Dashun openly; He also said that Liu Hongqi, who was in the Suiping and Xiping areas, was awarded the rank of "chief soldier" by Zuo Liangyu, and was recruiting troops and horses, occupying several nearby counties. The situation in Runing Mansion was very chaotic, and the appointed magistrates were driven out of the city by the local gentry, and there was nowhere to stand; and Wang Guangen, who was in Junzhou, besieged Gucheng and claimed to march to Xiangyang, which was very arrogant......

Li Zicheng handed over Tian Jianxiu's urgent documents to everyone to circulate, and then asked:

"What do you guys claim?"

Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, and Liu Zongmin all believe that the current strategy for using troops has been decided and cannot be easily changed. Only by quickly breaking through Beijing can we turn around and march into Jiangnan on the one hand, and clean up the chaos in Henan and Huguang on the other. Moreover, at present, Shanxi Province is very important, although Taiyuan has been breached, but can not be divided into troops to defend, such as Pingyang Mansion, Taiyuan Mansion, Luzhou Mansion, Zezhou and other places, all need to leave people and horses, especially to ensure that the road between Taiyuan and Chang'an is unimpeded. We must not be like Henan, leaving behind troubles. If Shanxi is unstable, after the army arrives in Beijing, there will be worries. Li Zicheng agreed with this opinion very much, and decided that the army would not stay in Taiyuan for a short time, and within a day or two, a part of the troops would be dispatched, with Gu Ying as the vanguard, from Xinzhou and Daizhou out of Yanmen Pass, and march to Datong. Bai Guangen hurriedly sent a secret envoy to Datong to recruit the general army of Datong. At the same time, it is also necessary to immediately find a reliable person to go to Ningwu and recruit Zhou Yuji. Niu Venus Says:

"There is only one army in Shanxi Province, and that is Zhou Yuji, who is stationed in Ningwuguan. Although there are not many people in Yuji this week, he plays an important role among the generals in Shanxi, and he must be persuaded to descend quickly. Most of our army went out from Yanmen Pass and took Datong directly, and we also had to divide a part of our men and horses and go out from Yangfangkou. Yangfangkou is in the northeast of Ningwu Pass, so you don't have to go to Ningwu City. If Zhou Yuji refused to surrender, he would enter through Yangfangkou and besiege Ningwu to force him to surrender. ”

Song Xiance said: "As it should be, you can't leave worries. ”

After discussion, Li Zicheng left everyone to have lunch in the palace, and then went separately to do their own things.

Li Yan's three or four thousand men and horses did not have the task of attacking Taiyuan City, so they branched off from Qingyuan County five days ago, led by Li Yu, and drove to Taiyuan County, stationed near the Jin Temple. Li Yan was consulted by Li Zicheng at any time, so he led a small number of personal soldiers to the city of Taiyuan Mansion with the army, and entered the provincial capital with Li Guo. He had been away from his unit for a few days, and he was eager to rush to Taiyuan County to take a look at the troops.

Since the matter of relief has not yet been decided, he quit the palace after lunch and prepared to rush to the Jin Ancestral Hall. When he was about to get on the horse, he was stopped by Song Xiance, saying that the military adviser and the general would talk a few more words, and he would come out immediately, and he would ask him to wait for a while. Li Yan had no choice but to wait, but asked strangely in his heart:

"What do the military advisors have to trust?"

Jin Ancestral Hall is a birthplace of Jinshui, at the southern foot of the Hanging Urn Mountain, only five miles away from the county seat of Taiyuan. Taiyuan County is the place where Tang Yao built the capital in ancient times, and later King Zhou Cheng sealed his younger brother Taishu Yu here. From the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, this place has been called Jinyang. Although Li Yan was a general of the Great Shun Dynasty, he was born as a literati after all, and facing some places of interest and historic sites can best arouse poetry and evoke the nostalgia of the ancients. He can't wait to get to Taiyuan County as soon as possible, and it is best to take advantage of the sun to visit the Jin Temple. Song Xiance asked the friend he was looking for, if he could find it in the Jin Ancestral Hall, he would be even more wishful.

Taiyuan County is about 40 miles away from Taiyuan Fucheng, and the road is relatively easy to walk. Li Yan and his entourage rode dozens of horses, galloped with whips, and rushed to Taiyuan County at the end of the Shen Dynasty, and were welcomed into the old camp by Li Yan. After taking a short rest, I listened to Li Yuyu's report on the situation of calming down the people and collecting grain, mules and horses after arriving in Taiyuan County. Li Yan told Li Yan that because the emperor did not have much grain in Taiyuan Mansion, he had not yet decided whether to give relief. Later, he asked Song Junshi to find a friend and persuaded this friend to go out of the mountain to be an official. After hearing this, Li Yu said with a smile:

"Offering advice for half a life, making friends with grass and field heroes, but he also has friends in this Jin Ancestral Hall. What is this person's surname, and what does he do for a living? ”

Li Yan said: "The reason why Song Xiance is Song Xiance is that he has traveled a lot in the rivers and lakes, which is beyond your reach. He asked the person he was looking for to be surnamed Liu, with the same name as Chen, the word and light, and the self-named Jinyang Mountain People. This person is familiar with military books, proficient in Liuren Dunjia, and knows the way of medicine, and is indifferent to fame and fortune in his life, and does not care about anything. Because he saw the chaos in the world, he was even more reluctant to interact with the official gentry, so he lived in seclusion in the Jin Ancestral Hall, wandering among the mountains and rivers......"

Li Yu then said, "This person is in the city. ”

"Now in the city? Have you seen him? ”

He originally lived in seclusion in a small mountain village near the Jin Ancestral Hall. But his mother, one of his brothers, and a widowed sister-in-law lived in the city. The house in the city is his ancestral business. Ten days ago, he came to the city to wait because of his mother's illness. His mother's illness has not yet healed, so he has not returned to the countryside. After I came here, I visited him because the locals praised him for his learning and character, and he also bowed to me. However, brother, he never mentioned that he was friends with Song Junshi, how could he give advice and say that he was friends with him? ”

Li Yan said with a smile: "This is exactly Liu Heguang's high wind!" There is a world of difference from those who are inclined to become rich and noble. Since this Mr. Liu is now in the city, how about we go and talk to him quickly? ”

"Okay, I'll go now, and I'll have dinner when I come back."

Liu Heguang lives in a secluded alley, with a black-lacquered door and two courtyards. The two Li Yan brothers came here and were asked by the owner to sit in the west house in the front yard. After the scholar offered tea, Li Yan said:

"Song Junshi and the foot were originally old people, and today he specially instructed his younger brother to greet the foot on his behalf, and said that the foot is high and bright, which is admirable. At present, Dashun Longxing, my lord is thirsty for sages, and I look forward to the next step even if I go out of the mountain and participate in the great cause. Because Song Junshi entered the provincial capital for the first time today, he was entangled in all things, so he couldn't invite him in person, so he asked his younger brother to pay tribute first, and he would come to meet in person after a day or two. ”

Liu Heguang said: "A few years ago, I was recommended by a friend and got to know Mr. Zhuan. Now Mr. Xiance is the founding military division of the new dynasty, and his fame is great, and he still does not forget the friends of the cloth clothes, and he is very grateful. But when he was invited out of the mountain, his brother didn't dare to obey the order. ”

Li Yan asked: "Now that the general trend has been decided, what concerns does Mr. still have?" ”

"My brother has some concerns. Not to mention that the younger brother has no actual skills, he is mediocre in his life, he is already looking at the fifth year, his temples are pale, and there are two things that cannot be ordered to suffer: one is that the old mother is in the hall, and the illness has not been cured; The second is that the younger brother has a small illness and can't saddle the horse to work, so it is only suitable to be a person who is scattered in the mountains and forests, how can he follow Jiwei and do his best for the new dynasty? Please ask the general to give advice, my brother has nothing else to ask for, but I hope that the world will be peaceful as soon as possible, and I will have to bathe in the rain and dew of the new dynasty, and you can swim between the mountains and rivers of Jinyang, which is enough. ”

Li Yu said: "At present, the country is in urgent need of talents, since Song Junshi is sincerely invited, how can he not be able to stand out of the mountain?" ”

Liu Heguang said: "There is an existing talent, who is a hundred times better than his brother in knowledge and experience, why not ask him to do things for Dashun?" ”

Li Yan asked, "Who is the gentleman talking about?" ”

"This person is a monk, the name of the law is not empty, in the middle of December last year, from Wutai Mountain to this place, the order of the Jin Temple. I heard that due to the warmer weather recently, I want to go back to Wutai Mountain, and I probably haven't left yet. ”

Li Yu asked, "Can you meet him?" ”

"My brother is very familiar with several Taoist priests in the Jin Ancestral Hall, so he knows the monks. After a few in-depth conversations, I admired him very much, and it can be said that he threw himself on the ground. This person is not an ordinary so-called wise man, if he is willing to be hired by Dashun, he will be of great use. ”

Li Yan hurriedly asked: "If, as Mr. said, this person has extraordinary talents, why did he escape into the empty door?" Could it be that he is a generous and upright person, who has suffered a lot of sorrows, and has great sorrow in his heart? ”

Liu Heguang nodded with a smile and said, "The general is worthy of being the son of Li in Henan, beyond the reach of ordinary military generals." However, the ancients said: There is no greater mourning than the death of the heart. The sorrow of an empty monk lies in the fact that he cannot die in his heart, cannot detach himself from the world, and is like an ordinary monk. He is angry and a monk, often thinking about the current situation, taking pictures of the case, and singing sad songs. ”

Li Yan said: "The more you talk, the more I want to meet him immediately." Excuse me, what kind of character is he? ”

Liu Heguang told him the name and identity of this monk before he became a monk, and then told him how this person had been fighting horses for half his life and later became a monk. After Li Yan heard this, he asked again:

"In December last year, the vanguard of our Dashun began to cross the river into Jin, and the people of Jinjin were panicked. The families of the gentry and wealthy people of Taiyuan Mansion rushed to the mountains to avoid chaos, why did he leave the pure Buddha land of Wutai Mountain at this time? ”

"That's why I said he didn't want to be out of the world." Liu Heguang smiled, was silent for a moment, and then said, "To tell you the truth, although he is easy, when he talks about the corruption of the Ming Dynasty, he sighs, thinking that the Ming Dynasty will die and is incorrigible. And for this reason, he escaped into the empty door. But strangely, he couldn't bear to see the Ming Dynasty fall so quickly. He came to Taiyuan to try to suggest to the Daoist that Taiyuan could hold on for two or three months and stop the advance of the Dashun army, so that the city of Beijing could get the troops of the kings from all over the country. After he arrived in Taiyuan, he saw that Cai Maode was a pedantic and useless literati, and other local officials were also inadequate, so he was very disappointed, so he didn't show up at all, so he came to live in the Jin Ancestral Hall. General, do you think he's a strange person? ”

Li Yan nodded and said, "I can understand a situation like his." When you think about it, it's not surprising. ”

Liu Heguang said again: "The general might as well look for him tomorrow morning." If the general can say that he will serve Dashun, it will be of great use. In Yidi's view, there is a shortage of people like him in the new dynasty. ”

A fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl with unkempt clothes came in and told Liu Heguang that the grandmother's medicine had been decocted, and he was waiting for him to serve the grandmother to take the medicine in person. Li Yan saw that Liu Heguang had something to do, and it was inconvenient to stay for a long time, so he quickly stood up and said:

"I will go to the Jin Temple early tomorrow morning to visit the monk Bukong. As for the gentleman's departure from the mountain, I hope not to refuse. The Song military division will come to the invitation in person within one or two days to persuade him to go down the mountain to show his ambitions and participate in the founding of the Great Shun Dynasty. My brother took his leave. ”

Liu Heguang treated his mother's illness, every time he changed the medicine, after the decoction was done, he had to taste it himself before giving it to his mother to eat. This has been a habit in the family for many years, so he did not keep the Li Yan brothers, sent them out of the gate, and said goodbye.

The Li Yan brothers returned to the camp and discussed the matter of visiting the monk Bukong tomorrow morning while having dinner. Suddenly, Wu Ruyi sent a hurry, Pegasus came, and passed down the emperor's message:

"Please Gongzi Li rush to Taiyuan Mansion to enter the palace before tomorrow."

Li Yan was surprised, and he didn't know what the emperor asked him to discuss. He was afraid that the monk would leave the Jin Temple and go back to Wutai Mountain, so he immediately decided to go to the Jin Temple tonight without delay. After a hurried dinner, Li Yan instructed Li Yan to stay in the city and gallop to the Jin Temple with dozens of personal soldiers.

The monk Bukong felt a little comforted because he saw that the discipline of the Dashun army was very good and the trade was fair, and it was indeed like the style of the world. Today, the city of Taiyuan has been broken, and I understand that Li Zicheng will go to Beijing here, and he will inevitably be overwhelmed along the way. The glimmer of hope he had in his heart gradually fell short, so he was overwhelmed. My heart was full of sorrow, and I reluctantly meditated on the bed, but I still couldn't calm down. He simply got out of bed, ready to fill in a poem, and asked the question on the wall before leaving. Just came up with two sentences, Li Yan came.

Li Yan stationed a thousand men and horses in the small town of Jinci, led by Li Jun. Li Jun is already familiar with the old Taoist priest in charge of the Jin Ancestral Hall, and knows that there is an old monk who has placed orders, and he is a very learned person. It's just that he was busy collecting grain, mules and horses from large families in the mountains, and he hadn't talked to this monk from Wutai Mountain. Li Jun accompanied Li Yan to a secluded courtyard and knocked a few times on the door of a hallway. At the door opening, the monk folded his hands and asked serenely:

"Are you here to find the poor monk?"

Li Jun crossed his hands and said, "I came to meet the mage." My name is Li Jun, and I am the head of the garrison of this department. This is the commander of the camp, the general of the Dashun national system......"

The monk smiled and said, "It's Henan Li Gongzi, who has been admired for a long time." Please come in and sit down and talk. ”

Li Yan saluted the monk and asked, "How does the master know that I am Li Yan?" ”

The monk said: "Your soldiers have come to the Jin Temple for three days, how can the poor monks not hear it?" It's cold outside the door, please come in and talk. ”

Li Yan said to Li Jun: "You go and do your business." I talked to the mage alone, leaving only the soldiers who carried the lanterns to wait in the courtyard. ”

After Li Jun and a group of personal soldiers left, the monk let Li Yan into the Taoist room and sat down, and asked with a smile:

"What is the matter with the general's visit to the poor monk? Could it be that the general has a relationship with Buddhism and has always cared about it? ”

Li Yan said with a smile: "To tell you the truth, Yan has a very shallow relationship with Buddhism, although he has no idea of fame and wealth, but he has the heart of helping the world and the country." After the world is settled, the rock neither enters the Buddha, nor returns to the Tao, but seeks to relieve the armor and release the soldiers, lives in seclusion in the mountains and forests, and is long friends with the white cloud elk, and the farmer and woodcutter are together, which is enough to wish. ”

"The general has a high mind and is admirable. But I am afraid that the world is unpredictable, who knows when it will be peaceful? Now that the general has already left the mountain, it will not be easy to get out. What do you have to say about the general's visit tonight? ”

Li Yan secretly pondered the monk's words, and decided not to explain his intention for the time being, so he might as well ask him what he thinks of the current overall situation. So he said:

"From the mage's point of view, will the Dashun army be able to succeed when he goes to Beijing?"

The monk said: "The poor monk is a person outside the party, and he doesn't know anything other than chanting sutras and worshipping the Buddha. Why do you have to ask me about military affairs? ”

Li Yan smiled and said, "Please don't hide it from me, isn't the master Mr. Liu Zizheng, the praise painter in Hong Chengchou's army?" ”

"How does the general know?"

"Please, don't ask me how I know. It was precisely because I knew that the Master was originally Mr. Liu Zizheng, and he was rich in strategy, so I came to seek advice. ”

"Ahh

"What does the mage think the future holds for the big picture?"

The monk closed his eyes and groaned, as if he was thinking about Li Yan's inquiry. In fact, he was thinking about another problem, that is, how to slow down the Dashun army to Beijing, so that Emperor Chongzhen could wait for King Qin's army. After a pause, he looked up and said:

"Chongzhen is not the king of the dead country, but he has been terminally ill since Wanli and the Apocalypse, and there is no one in the court, so he has fallen to the point where he is today. The Dashun army went to Beijing, and it seems that there will be no major obstacles along the way. It's just that after arriving at the city of Beijing, I don't dare to predict whether it can quickly break the city; Even if Beijing is captured, it is even more difficult to say whether it will be considered a complete success. With the eastern expeditionary forces led by King Li, I am afraid that they may not be able to succeed in the first battle. ”

Li Yan said: "Beijing's military strength is empty, the so-called three battalions exist in name only, and they are vulnerable to a single attack. At present, my Dashun Dynasty has 500,000 troops to the east, are you still afraid that you will not be able to succeed in the first battle? ”

The monk smiled but did not say a word. Li Yan couldn't help but ask:

"Why is the mage smiling and not speaking?"

The monk slowly raised his head and said, "If the Great Shun Dynasty is really strong and has an army of 500,000 to the east, naturally there is no need to worry about success or failure. However, I am afraid that the number of troops is small, and in case of unexpected changes, how can we deal with them in a hurry? With all due respect, the people on King Li's left and right think that victory is in their hands, and they think that they are strong and invincible in the world. In fact, it can be said that the worries are here. Others are drunk and crazy because of their constant victories, but is the general a man of foresight, is it also like everyone else? ”

Li Yan was secretly surprised. For the first time in months, when he heard such words, he saw that the monk still had a smile on his face, but the smile was a little cold, so he unconsciously moved his chair forward and whispered:

"Please don't worry, mage, it's okay to say everything."

The monk nodded, and then said: "The way of using soldiers, virtual and real. I read General Liu Zongmin's writings, saying that he led an army of 500,000 to cross the river, and Prince Li personally raised a million people; Just now, the general also said that the Dashun army had 500,000 troops to the east, but this is all false, but this is not the case. So, I laughed and didn't say anything. In the view of the poor monks, there will not be 300,000 troops crossing the river now, and the troops will be divided into two routes, all the way from southern Jin to northern Henan, all the way to Taiyuan, and will come to the city of Beijing, but more than 100,000 people, and the soldiers are about less than 100,000. King Li has been fighting for many years, although he occupies a wide area, he has not gained a firm foothold, just like eating, only knowing that he has gobbled it up, and has no digestion, which is the biggest worrying thing. If an accident occurs, not only will you not be able to win the battle and stick to Beijing, but you will also have no place to retreat. At that time, you will see Jifu, Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, and all parts of the Central Plains, all of which are enemies of Dashun. Why? Gai Dashun has neither the deep benevolence of the directors nor the strong soldiers to defend the localities. Qin annihilated the Six Kingdoms, its momentum is ten times and a hundred times better than today's King Li, once Chen Shi is in trouble, the heroes of the Six Kingdoms rise together, and they are out of control. Today, King Li is left and right in the civil and military, just to break through Beijing as soon as possible. I thought that if Beijing was broken and King Li ascended to the pole, the overall situation could be determined, and Jiangnan could be passed on, and from then on, I could sit back and relax. But I'm afraid things may not be so easy. Has the general ever pondered? ”

The blunt words of the monk made Li Yan even more moved, and he leaned over and asked: "As soon as Quanjin is in control, Beijing is in sight, and there is no reason to break Beijing." However, in the opinion of the mage, what is the best policy? ”

The monk was silent for a while, secretly thinking about how to save Chongzhen's immortal country, and maybe there was a glimmer of hope. So he said:

"If you can seize Beijing without unexpected setbacks, it is the best policy. Once again, I beg your pardon for taking the liberty of saying that what you are doing today is only the middle policy, not the best policy. ”

Li Yan asked, "Why is it the middle policy?" ”

The monk said: "The Dashun soldiers traveled 2,000 miles on an expedition, and the hanging army went deep into the unfamiliar place of the people, so they could break through Beijing, but they could not cope with unexpected setbacks. On the temple, I only think about how many days I can go to Beijing, when I will reach the pole, and the rest is not within my reach. Everyone in the new dynasty thinks that this is a good move, but in my opinion, it is a dangerous move, and it is difficult to predict whether it will be a disaster or a blessing. Lao Tzu said: Misfortune and fortune are relied upon, and fortune and misfortune are lurking. Anzhi's attack on Beijing is a victory? ”

Li Yan was suddenly startled again, and asked, "What does the mage mean, could it be that the Dongyu will attack Beijing?" ”

The monk said, "Didn't the monarchs and ministers of the new dynasty think of this? ”

Li Yan sighed lightly and said, "It's not that no one thought of it, but I don't pay much attention to it." ”

The monk said: "The Manchurians have long been eyeing the south, waiting for an opportunity to invade the south. Why don't you pay much attention to the princes of the new court? ”

Li Yan could hear that the monk's tone contained a hint of sarcasm, even a lesson. But in his heart, he only felt admiration, and he was not angry. He smiled humbly and honestly explained:

"Master Bu said that everyone thought about how to succeed smoothly, but they never thought that they would encounter unexpected setbacks. When I had a private conversation with Prime Minister Niu Cheng and Song Junshi, I also talked about the matter of Dongyu, but none of them were as far-reaching as the mage's plan. ”

"What do you mean by that?"

"Prime Minister Niu Cheng and many civil and military ministers all think that the Manchurians only dare to invade the Ming Dynasty, and may not dare to be the enemy of our Dashun."

"You don't know who you are...... Any other ideas? ”

"We have heard that the captive chieftain Taiji died of a sudden illness in the autumn of last year, and Dolgon supported the young lord to ascend to the pole and proclaimed himself regent, and many kings were not satisfied. The Dongyu is a new mourner for the state, and the government is unstable, so he will never send troops to the south. ”

The monk sneered and said, "Your judgment is poor! ”

Li Yan asked, "How can you judge wrong?" ”

The monk said, "Dolgon, the youngest of the Manchurian kings, is quite eloquent. After Huang Taiji's death, it is said that Huang Taiji's eldest son, Hao Ge, should inherit the throne. At that time, there were also some princes and county kings who supported Hauge. With a near-parity of strength, Hauge was eventually defeated by Dolgon. On this basis, Dolgon is indeed not to be taken lightly. Now although there is a new mourning in Manchuria, and there is a struggle for the throne in the imperial court, the overall situation has been decided, and Dolgon undoubtedly wants to subdue the kings Baylor, so he must unify everything internally, so that others have no chance to resist; Externally, he must make great contributions to Manchuria, so that others cannot disobey him. Now Dashun wants to attack Beijing, whether it is the Dashun army stationed under the city of Beijing, the snipe and clam holding each other, or breaking through Beijing, the foothold has not yet been consolidated, it is a great opportunity for Dolgon to enter the south and invade. How can he sit still? So in my opinion, seven or eight out of ten captives are going south, which is the real enemy of the Dashun army, and its strength is far from comparable to that of the Ming Dynasty. ”

Li Yan asked, "Is there any way to prevent the invasion of the Eastern Captives?" ”

Monk Bukong secretly thought that it was time for him to speak out about his plan to delay the Eastern Expedition of the Great Shun Army. But he thought about whether to say it or not, because he understood that Li Yan was not the person in power. If it is said that after it comes out, Li Yan played Li Zicheng, Li Zicheng thought that this was a plan to obstruct it, and asked it, shouldn't it be destroyed? Or Li Zicheng has another way, change the route, no longer take the road of Datong, but quickly out of the solid pass, from the real direction to the north, the road is easy to walk, but also relatively close, first break through Beijing, to wait for work. By that time, Chongzhen had also perished, and the Manchurian soldiers might not be able to defeat Li Zicheng when they came in. In the end, the war ended in disaster, and the people suffered even more. He's thinking about it over and over again. Because Li Yan kept looking at him with his eyes, waiting for him to say a way, he finally replied:

"In the opinion of the poor monks, the Dashun soldiers do not need to rush north, they should stop in the mountains, mobilize 200,000 elite soldiers, and then attack Beijing, which is a foolproof strategy. But no one dared to say this, and the general should only keep it in his heart and not say it. ”

Li Yan felt that it made sense. But he also thought: To mobilize 200,000 horses and raise grain and grass, it must be prepared for more than half a year, and I am afraid that Li Zicheng will not agree. It also made sense for the monk to tell him not to say it. So he said:

"At present, all the people are waiting for our lord to ascend to Beijing, and he will not take such a suggestion. I really don't dare to make such a suggestion. I wonder if the mage has another plan? ”

The monk shook his head and said, "There is no good solution. Now that such people are coming to Beijing, the Manchurians will not come, and if they come, they will not be able to resist. And if Beijing can't stay for a long time, what can be done with food? Without food, the army scattered without a fight. Therefore, only if the general is asked to quietly tell Song Junshi this meaning, maybe there will be a way. ”

Li Yan shook his head and said in his heart: Isn't this a plan to thwart my lord's ascension? But he didn't say anything, and asked the monk again:

"In case the captives enter the fortress, can I fight them with the city?"

The monk shook his head: "The matter of using soldiers is ever-changing, how dare the poor monk predict it." However, one thing can be understood, today's Dashun is vigorous, and it is the time to be vigorous. If Beijing cannot be attacked for a while, under the fortified city, this sharp spirit will be over; Fortunately, when they invaded Beijing, the women's jade silk was inexhaustible, and it would not last long, and the sharpness would change. At that time, the sharpness of the Dashun army turned into twilight and inertia, while the Manchurian soldiers were sharp. Attacking the inertia of the Dashun army with the sharpness of the Manchurian soldiers, in my opinion, it is difficult for the Dashun soldiers to win. ”

Li Yan had to admire the monk's judgment in his heart, so he persuaded the monk to go out of the mountain and establish a meritorious career for the Great Shun Dynasty. Moreover, it is said that King Li is humble and respectful, and he will be able to treat each other with courtesy and obey his words. monk 正se says:

"The general is a person who reads, don't you know that I will no longer join the WTO? Since the defeat of Liaoyang, my whole family has died. Originally, I had no intention of using it for anything, but I just wanted to close my door and read the book and annotate the Art of War in detail. I don't mean that three years ago, Governor Hong was ordered to go out of the customs and lead the troops of the eight general soldiers to save Jinzhou, and the poor monks must praise the military affairs, and the result is clear. The imperial court insisted on going its own way, urging the battle, and the division of the Eighth General Army collapsed in Songshan. Fortunately, the poor monk left beforehand, and was never killed or captured. From then on, he became a monk in anger. Now that she is in her twilight years, all thoughts are lost, how can she be a Feng woman again? What's more, although I am very resentful of the corruption of the Ming Dynasty, after all, I was a minister of the Ming Dynasty, how can I be the second master? Fame and fortune, I have nothing to ask for; Take off your robe, it's not my wish. Please don't say that again, the general. Because I knew that the general was originally a scholar, I did not take the liberty to talk about the current situation without concealment. If the general wants me to follow King Li as an official and establish a meritorious reputation, he will misunderstand the poor monk's character. ”

Li Yan said, "Tomorrow I will go back to Taiyuan and introduce the master to talk to my master." ”

The monk sneered and said, "This matter must not be! Please don't say that there is a person like me in the world. That's the end of our conversation tonight. If there is a fate, there will be a period later. ”

Li Yan saw that the monk's expression turned cold, and he knew that it was not good to say anything else, so he got up and said goodbye.

Li Yan returned to Taiyuan County, and did not dare to tell Li Yu all the conversations of the monk Bukong. What I'm afraid of is that if Li Yu is not careful, he will reveal a few words to Li Jun and others, and it will spread and cause a big disaster. Therefore, he only talked about the monk's opinion in general terms, and then fell asleep. This night, Li Yan tossed and turned, and his bed was restless. At the fourth watch of the next day, he got up and called up the servants and hurried on the road. As soon as the sky was bright, he arrived at the place where Song Xiance lived. He retreated left and right, and quietly offered advice to Song, especially the words of the monk Bukong. Song Xiance's face was grim, and he said to him:

"You and I have thought of this, but we haven't said it thoroughly yet. Today, there is a sense of joy and victory in the court, the emperor is also anxious to go to Beijing to ascend to the pole, and the ministers are looking forward to this day as soon as possible. If you are not an empty monk, you must not say it to anyone. You know, I know, forget it. Once it is rumored, you and I will inevitably have unforeseen disasters. ”

Li Yan asked, "Offer advice, do you want to meet with the monk and talk about it in person?" ”