There are gains and losses, after Qian Qianyi got the title he lost and the promise of entering the cabinet.

also lost Liu Ru, a confidant who had been with him all his life.

Although with the advance layout and strong military deterrence, these noble gentry of Nanzhili were forced to temporarily bow to themselves.

However, the fundamental contradictions between the two sides have not been resolved.

Li Xianzhong knew that he was going to stay in Jiangnan for a considerable period of time, and it was also his luck to find a confidante.

There are many women around me, but most of them are the product of political marriages, and some are even just to meet temporary physical needs.

Li Xianzhong had no feelings for most of them, nothing more than his means of encircling the Jurchen Mongolian tribes.

In his eyes, the only women he recognized were Hazia, Hai Lanzhu and Bumu Butai.

He also has feelings for Zhang Yan, but her identity as the queen mother is still too sensitive.

His harem is almost all foreign women, which has little impact in Liaodong, after all, this can stabilize the tribes around Liaodong at the lowest cost.

But if he wants to seize the world in the future, I am afraid that this will be criticized by the people of the world and become an excuse for political enemies to attack him.

I ignored this a little before, and now it's time to find a few suitable Han girls.

Although Liu Ru was born as a singer, fortunately, she is not the famous Qinhuai Oiran in the south of the Yangtze River, and Chen Zilong, who has a relationship with her, was also sent to the west by herself.

Her identity will not attract too much criticism.

Now that Chongzhen has died, and the queen of the main palace of Emperor Hongguang is still vacant, it is time for His Majesty to recruit beautiful girls and expand the harem.

When Emperor Zhu Youxiao was selected, he selected 5,000 beauties across the country.

Although the Ming Dynasty has not yet been completely unified, the territory controlled by the Hongguang Dynasty is only Liaodong, Monan, and the towns of Jiubian, as well as Jingshi, Shandong, Shanxi, and some overseas places.

However, in order to highlight the orthodoxy of Hongguang Emperor Zhu Yousong, the scale naturally cannot be small, and Li Xianzhong set the scale of the audition at 6,000 people.

Anyway, it's him Zhu Yousong, who is unscrupulous, what does it have to do with him?

Historically, the Manchu Qing Dynasty tried to discredit the legitimacy of the Hongguang court.

described Zhu Yousong as a womanizer, saying that he desperately searched for folk beauties after succeeding to the throne in Nanjing.

He also asked people to collect toads everywhere to make aphrodisiacs for themselves, and called him "the son of the toad".

First of all, the concubine of the Ming Dynasty does not need to be robbed by the people at all.

Because Daming is the only dynasty that insists on choosing a concubine among the people, as long as it is a woman from a pure white family, the right age, and beautiful appearance, she can participate in the audition.

For ordinary people, this is a shortcut to change their destiny.

Once their daughters are chosen, they can become knights and nobles.

Even if the queen is not chosen, if the concubine can be favored, her mother's family will benefit a lot.

Therefore, there is no need for the Ming Emperor to choose a concubine at all, but the people will compete to offer their daughters.

Secondly, the collection of toads and medicines is an old practice in the Ming Palace, not a creation and invention of Zhu Yousong, and the eunuchs just follow the old practice.

And toads are not a rare thing, they are everywhere.

Zhu Yousong is alone, even if he has a spring snack every night, how many toads can he use?

Need to mobilize the people of the whole city to arrest them?

This is bitter for Hongguang Emperor Zhu Yousong.

On the one hand, he has to be hollowed out by Ma Shiying and other powerful ministers with heavy troops, who have no power at all, and do nothing politically.

On the other hand, such a puppet emperor wants to be lustful and shameless, acting in the south of the Yangtze River, capturing folk beauties everywhere, and catching all the toads in the city to make aphrodisiacs for himself.

If Emperor Hongguang really wants to have such great power, why would he become a puppet?

Although Zhu Yousong is not a promising master, he is by no means so absurd and unscrupulous as described by the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

Can't just because someone is fat, you just let him carry any pot?

In Li Xianzhong, I still have to give Zhu Yousong some sweetness, after all, the name of Emperor Hongguang is still very useful.

Of course, in addition to these territories that were already in his hands, Li Xianzhong also asked Qian Qianyi, the secretary of the Nanjing Ministry of Rites, to spread the edict of the Hongguang Emperor's sea beauty pageant to the neighboring Jiangxi, Huguang, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Liangguang.

This is also equivalent to making them make a choice, they accept the edict to send the beauties selected by the sea to Jingshi, then it is equivalent to expressing their recognition of the Hongguang regime.

If they refuse or are indifferent, then they will only be greeted by Liaodong Iron Cavalry.

Yangzhou, Nanjing, Changzhou, Suzhou, and Songjiang are the most elite places in Nanzhili, and they are also the tax centers of the Ming Dynasty. If he let the thieves loot it, he would really be reluctant.

Elsewhere, it doesn't matter.

Before leaving Jingshi, Li Xianzhong asked Mao Yuanyi to give his two sisters-in-law an exam question.

Zen let the same expedition, which way to obtain the world is more conducive to long-term peace and stability?

The two sons gave diametrically opposed answers.

The eldest son, Li Shengzu, believed that Chan Rang reduced the destruction, could win the world more completely, and quickly achieved economic development, so it was naturally Zen Rang that was more conducive to long-term peace and stability!

He also cited the example of the Sui Dynasty, where Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian, gained the world of the Northern Zhou Dynasty through Chan Rang, which made the Sui Dynasty quickly rich and strong, and only then did it have the rule of the emperor for 20 years.

If it hadn't been for the defeat of Emperor Yang of Sui, the Sui Dynasty would never have been defeated so quickly.

But Yang Guang's defeat is a personal act, not a matter of Zen concession.

However, the second son, Li Shizu, believes that it is actually easier to achieve long-term peace and stability in the world obtained through killing.

For example, the three long and powerful dynasties of the Han, Tang, and Ming dynasties all won the world through conquest and killing, and achieved a long period of rule.

The dynasties that obtained the world through the form of Zen concessions, such as the Xinmang, the Western Jin Dynasty, and the Sui Dynasty, were all short-lived dynasties without exception, and the dynasties soon entered a period of great turmoil.

Only the Northern Song Dynasty existed for a relatively long time and did not enter the great turmoil, but it was also very weak.

And the Northern Song Dynasty is a special case, because the time of the Later Zhou Dynasty he inherited was too short and it was not a unified dynasty, and the Northern Song Dynasty was officially established after inheriting the Later Zhou Dynasty after a large number of conquests.

Obviously, the second child has a more unique vision.

Although he can't fully explain the truth with his experience, he has already found the way.

In the world obtained through Zen concession, social contradictions have only been temporarily alleviated, which is a compromise of contradictions.

After a few years, social conflicts will naturally erupt.

The Emperor's personal abilities could influence the course of the outbreak to a certain extent, but it could not change this trend.

This is true of Xinmang, Western Jin, and Sui.

The social contradictions of the world obtained through conquest have been fully released, and it can be said that the old inherent contradictions have been completely broken.

In this way, the newly established dynasty will have a relatively more reasonable social distribution, and the accumulation of social contradictions will naturally take a longer time, and relatively speaking, it will be more qualified to achieve long-term peace and stability.

Of course, this does not mean that the world obtained through conquest will be able to achieve long-term peace and stability, but it also depends on the emperor's ability and the rationality and continuity of the policy.

However, in the world that Zen has gained, the society will enter the great turmoil faster, and it will naturally be impossible to achieve long-term peace and stability!

This is also the reason why Li Xianzhong has been leading but not starting, and has sat back and watched the Ming Dynasty rise around.

He just wants to let the society experience enough changes and turmoil, even the simplest and rude killing of the gentry, so that the contradictions can be released.

In order to build a new dynasty for himself.

This is the case with the contradictions in the Jiangnan region, where the Jiangnan gentry were only temporarily compromised by Li Xianzhong's threat of force.

But it will break out eventually.

The matter of the beauty pageant for the Hongguang Emperor is going very smoothly, and the two provinces of Jiangxi and Zhejiang, which are closest to Nanjing, have expressed their full support.

Li Xianzhong estimated that the remaining Fujian, Liangguang, and Huguang regions should have no reason not to support it.

The Yunnan-Guizhou region is far away, and there are a large number of local fetters and toasts, so they will definitely not be easy to follow.

But for the time being, I can't take care of it, so I can only put it first.

Now that he is personally sitting in Nanjing, and there is a large army pressing the border, those gentry in the south of the Yangtze River naturally dare not make any big moves.

Looks like we'll have to lure the snake out of the hole.

If these people are not eradicated, they will be like mangs on their backs and like fish in their throats, and Li Xianzhong will never be at ease.

So Li Xianzhong asked Feng Quan to prepare military supplies and grass with great fanfare, and released the news that he was going west to conquer Huguang.

Then he made a major adjustment.

Li Sanshun, the secretary of the military department, concurrently served as the governor of Jiliao, controlling Liaodong and Jizhou.

Zhao led Jiao as the governor of Xuanda, controlling Xuanfu and Datong two towns.

Xiong Tingbi served as the governor of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Zhili, Shandong, and Henan provinces, actively preparing for war, and was ready to fight against Li Zicheng's Dashun at any time.

Man Gui served as the governor of Monan, replacing Xiong Tingbi.

Zu Dashou was appointed governor of Shanxi, Lu Xiangsheng was appointed governor of Shandong, and Li Huaizhong was appointed governor of Zhili.

The five towns of Gansu, Ningxia, Guyuan, Yulin and Taiyuan are directly governed by Xiong Tingbi.

Hong Chengchou was transferred to the governor of Jiangnan, temporarily supervising the three provinces of Nanzhili, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang.

In addition, significant changes have been made to the Cabinet.

Yan Mingtai, the secretary of the ministry, officially served as the first assistant of the cabinet and a scholar of the Zhongji Temple.

Li Sanshun, the secretary of the military department, was the second assistant and a scholar of the Jianji Palace.

Mao Yuanyi, the former secretary of the Criminal Department, served as the imperial history of Zuodu, and the commander of the Intelligence Department, and a scholar of Wenhuadian University.

Feng Quan, the former secretary of the Nanjing Military Department, was reappointed as the secretary of the Criminal Department and a scholar of Wuyingdian University.

Qian Qianyi, the former secretary of the Nanjing Ministry of Rites, was reappointed as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites and a scholar of Dongge University.

The number of cabinet members has been increased to 5, but Li Xianzhong, the prime minister, can still directly issue orders to the interior, and all military-related content can be implemented first and then stamped with the jade seal.

The transfer of Qian Qianyi and Feng Quan from Nanjing was naturally to let the gentry in Jiangnan relax their vigilance.

After all, the two of them are the most supportive of Li Xianzhong's "Hongguang New Deal" in Jiangnan, and now they can take advantage of the gentry in Jiangnan as soon as they leave.

They don't know much about Hong Chengchou, only in the "Chuzhou War" that year, Hong Chengchou annihilated nearly 300,000 anti-thieves in one fell swoop, and captured Gao Yingxiang, the king of Chuang.

However, because Hong Chengchou used the 20,000 Ming troops in Chuzhou as bait, he surrendered Li Xianzhong in Shandong.

Those Donglin Party people who stood on the moral high ground naturally had a very bad evaluation of them.

The situation in Henan and Huguang has also undergone tremendous changes.

First of all, the morale of the Ming army who stuck to Kaifeng was very low after learning that Chongzhen had taken Bagong Mountain from Hanging.

Although they repelled the siege of the Dashun army several times, the food in Kaifeng City has become increasingly scarce.

The price of grain once rose to 60 taels of silver and a stone, and there was even a tragedy in the city where children were eaten by changing children.

At this time, they had no food and grass inside, no reinforcements outside, and there was only one way to surrender.

In order to show his sincerity, Li Yan went to Kaifeng to negotiate with Yuan Chonghuan and others.

Li Yan assured that as long as the gentry in the city handed over their land and property, they could guarantee their lives, and even allowed them to keep part of their property.

On March 18 of the second year of Hongguang, the governor Yuan Chonghuan, the governor of Henan, Gao Mingheng, the general soldier of Kaifeng, Chen Yongfu, and the king of Zhou, Zhu Gongfang, led the 25,000 Ming troops in Kaifeng to surrender to Li Zicheng!

Zhu Gongfang, the king of Zhou, also became the first king of the Ming Dynasty to surrender to the rebels.

After Zhang Xianzhong entered Sichuan, although he was once blocked by the white pole soldiers led by Ma Xianglin in Kuizhou, he could not enter the hinterland of Sichuan.

They had no choice but to retreat into Hunan, holding high the banner of dividing the land, recruiting forces, and plundering the provinces in western Hunan all the way.

In less than half a year, Zhang Xianzhong pulled up another 200,000 horses and entered Kuizhou again.

Zhang Xianzhong ordered "Cao Cao" Luo Rucai to lead the army to Rao Xiaolu to sneak attack the old nest of the white pole soldiers, and Ma Xianglin had to return to the rescue.

Chen Shiqi, the governor of Sichuan, set up a heavy garrison in Tongluo Gorge, southeast of Chongqing.

Zhang Xianzhong adopted the tactics of attacking the east and attacking the west, so that part of the naval army and the Ming army were engaged, and after leading the elite cavalry to detour to its side, they attacked from both sides, successively conquered Fotu Pass and Tongluo Gorge, and entered the city of Chongqing.

Ordered the warriors to dig holes and blast them, open the way, and conquer Chongqing on December 21. On the fourth day of the first month of January, he led the army to Chengdu by victory, and the prefectures and counties along the way looked at the wind and surrendered, and captured Chengdu on the ninth day of February.

It was changed to Xijing and officially became the capital of Onishi.

Chen Qiyu, who besieged Xiangyang for a year, was never able to conquer Xiangyang.

During this period, Zhang Kewang also led the army to attack Fancheng in the north of the Yangtze River, bringing a lot of food and 8,000 reinforcements to the defenders.

Zhang Kewang's arrival greatly boosted Xiangyang's morale.

After Zhang Xianzhong occupied Chengdu, he immediately led the army out of Sichuan to relieve the siege of Xiangyang.

On the eighth day of the first month of March, the Great Western Army broke the Ming army led by Chen Qiyu outside Xiangyang City.

The main force of the Ming army was completely lost, and Chen Qiyu only led 3,000 men to flee south.

Then Zhang Xianzhong ordered Zhang Kewang and Zhang Dingguo to lead the army separately.

Zhang Dingguo pursued Chen Qiyu all the way to the east, and successively conquered Suizhou, De'an and other places and approached Wuchang.

Zhang Kewang went south from Xiangyang to capture Chengtianfu.

On March 18, he captured Gangneung, an important town in Huguang.

And went down the river to besiege Wuchang with Zhang Dingguo.

After the news of Wuchang's emergency came, Li Xianzhong personally led the army to the west.

He appointed Mao Wenlong as the governor of Huguang, and 30,000 soldiers and horses from the headquarters as the vanguard.

And he led Zuo Liangyu and Zhang Zhiji's 70,000 troops as a follow-up, and ordered the Liaodong Navy Division to go up the river to support Wuchang!

In this way, it also means that Li Xianzhong's 100,000 troops who went south to the south of the Yangtze River all participated in this western expedition!

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(End of chapter)