Chapter 38 2.Wu Sangui turned his face

Look at the mid-April, and preparations are underway for the enthronement ceremony of Emperor Dashun. Daming Gate has been changed to Dashun Gate according to the decree, and Huangji Hall has been renamed Tianyou Hall. Officials, under the training of former Ming Honglu Temple officials, have gradually become familiar with the procedure of the ceremony and every movement of the ceremony; and can complete a whole set of ups and downs, kneeling, and mountain calls in a uniform manner in accordance with the rhythm of the music. Action; when Li Zicheng ascended the throne, the crown was ready, and everything was ready, and when the time came, Pao Wat would appear on the stage, but at this moment, Tang Tong sent the news that persuading him to surrender failed.

Hearing that Wu Sangui's attitude was wavering and he had no intention of coming to the ceremony, Li Zicheng couldn't help being furious. He threw Tang Tong's memorial and said angrily to the ministers who came to attend the meeting under the imperial edict: "Wu Sangui surrendered and then rebelled. He has no court in sight. From the looks of it, it must be my own imperial conquest." When the ministers heard this, they were stunned for a moment. Ordinarily, Wu Sangui did not rebel after surrendering. When did he say he would surrender?Although he received gold and silver from your labor force, it was just for nothing. He did not kneel down to accept the edict.Everyone knew that the emperor said this just to save his own face - the ambitious Emperor Dashun couldn't allow his dignity to be challenged right now.But can Yu Jia's personal conquest really be as easy and overnight as he said?

Seeing that no one responded, Li Zicheng turned his one eye to Liu Zongmin.These days, Liu Zongmin can be said to have gained a lot. After more than ten days of torture, although the city of Beijing has become a hell on earth, the officials, relatives, imperial merchants and rich gentry of the former Ming Dynasty also spit out more than ten million taels of gold and silver. , plus the income from Chongzhen's inner treasury, there are more than 70 million taels of gold and silver. Liu Zongmin, a blacksmith, urged the craftsmen to dissolve all these gold and silver ingots together with the gold and silver vessels in the palace, and cast them into gold cakes weighing more than a hundred catties. The silver cakes were packed into boxes, numbered and registered, and transported to Chang'an by mules and horses.Liu Zongmin is very good at turning a blacksmith into a goldsmith, and a blacksmith into a foundry. Gradually, he is happy for the harvest, and the resentment in his stomach disappears invisible.Today, the emperor wants to conquest by the emperor himself, and the imperial conquest will be conscripted by the emperor, what do you expect us to do?But he turned his head to the side, pretending not to see it.

Seeing this, Li Zicheng turned his piercing eyes to the chief and deputy military advisers again, but he didn't want to but saw Li Yan and Song Xiance sitting far away and whispering. A few days ago, Li Yan and Song Xiance jointly wrote a memorial, stating four things: one is that the emperor should be upright quickly, otherwise there may be accidents; It is necessary to prepare for the past; three is that the soldiers should be withdrawn outside the city to avoid nuisance; four is that the recovery of stolen goods should be divided into grades, and the honest can only persuade them to donate; Too much, not conducive to the stability of the capital.

After reading the memorial, Li Zicheng felt that he was repeating the same old tune and had no new ideas, so he approved it as "I got it" and put it aside.Then, Niu Jinxing asked him for instructions on the six ministers. Li Yan had already been selected by Niu Jinxing as the minister of the military government, but Li Zicheng felt that Hou Xun, the former minister of the Ministry of household affairs of the Ming Dynasty, was more qualified for the job, so he crossed out Li Yan's name. up.He thought, Li Yan must be resentful for this, and the matter of recruiting Wu Sangui finally appeared in the way. Thinking of what Li Yan said before, everything was unfortunately taken by him, so, did he intend to watch the excitement or show himself intentionally? Woolen cloth?

Thinking of this, he fixed his one eye on the chief and deputy military advisers, and tried to hear what they were talking through the noisy discussion of the crowd.Song Xiance finally noticed the look in the emperor's eyes, he couldn't help being startled, he hurriedly turned his head to this side, Li Zicheng then added: "I have decided to go to the imperial conquest, do you think so?" How could it be possible for Yu Jia to conquest in person——Song Xiance and Li Yan were discussing this matter in low voices.In the opinion of the two of them, the best time to deal with Wu Sangui was when he was still lingering in Fengrun. At that time, Chongzhen had just died, Beijing had just fallen, the Dashun army was greatly strengthened, and the Ningyuan army was at a loss. At that time, as long as he was lured with Juelu and threatened with military power, would Wu Sangui submit obediently?But Emperor Dashun lost this best opportunity. Now Wu Sangui, the dragon has entered the abyss, the tiger has returned to the mountain, and the situation of waiting for work with leisure has been achieved. Compared with power, although he is still at a disadvantage, but the imperial conquest is very good. Dangerous chess, because of the hanging army expedition, there are too many variables in it, if there is an accident, the consequences will be unimaginable.

I don't want them to discuss privately, but they have already attracted the emperor's attention, and asked by name, Song Xiance was quite caught off guard, and it took a long time before he said in anticipation: "I believe that the emperor, with the honor of ten thousand chariots, should not be taken lightly. In addition, the capital's people's hearts are still uncertain, and there are few people to shock. As for Wu Sangui, judging from the situation played by Tang Tong, although he did not receive an edict, he did not. The meaning of a complete break with our Dashun court, therefore, the court should still lose no time, make full use of the bargaining chips in their hands, and send envoys to appease again. There is no pay for food, like a kite with a broken string, wandering indefinitely, so it is still possible for me to regulate."

Li Zicheng was still pondering, but Liu Zongmin on the side became a little impatient, and said with a sneer: "Several meetings, the prime minister advocated appeasement, and the two military advisers also advocated appeasement, so I followed your advice and sent someone to appease you. A lot of gold and silver were gone, but the meat buns beat dogs, and there was no return, so what else? You say he has no intention of breaking up, so why come to such a conclusion?" Liu Zongmin started, and Li Jin, Gao Yigong, Yuan Zongdi, Liu Fangliang, Hao Yaoqi and other generals spoke one after another, saying that Wu Sangui, a little idiot, won't lead the way, and we will beat his mother.Among them, some advocated the imperial conquest, and some volunteered to lead the conquest. Facing Liu Zongmin's accusation, Li Yan couldn't help but say:

"According to my conjecture, Wu Sangui did not intend to completely break with our court. Anyone with a discerning eye can see this. Why is this? First, his parents are in our hands, so Wu Sangui is not without scruples; second, if he If you really want to break with our dynasty, then, after learning about Chongzhen's bad news, you should immediately sue the three armies, mourn for Chongzhen, and call on far and near forces to crusade against us. He can do all these things, but he didn't do them. He also lacks influence. It must be known that Shanhaiguan is located in a corner after all. He only has a lone army in his hands and has no food supply. How can he fight against the court? Based on these three points, I concluded that this person can still be won. However, the ancients said it well, accepting surrender is like Waiting for the enemy is the only way to make peace, so the minister thought that even if he sent an envoy again, he would have to raise a large army in the rear, and it is most unacceptable to sit on the sidelines and wait for the rabbit to surrender."

After hearing this, Li Zicheng couldn't help but ponder, and turned to look at the prime minister. These days, Niu Jinxing has put all his energy into preparing for the enthronement ceremony and forming a cabinet. Seeing that the auspicious day is approaching, he is really itchy. He doesn't want Wu Sangui to interrupt him at this time.At present, it is difficult to unify the opinions of the main battle and the main care. Liu Zongmin’s words just now have the meaning of blaming himself. As the chief assistant, in this situation, how to balance the opinions of the two factions and cater to the emperor’s heart Woolen cloth?Carefully figure out the meaning of the emperor, after decades of hard work, he is tired of fighting, and his enthronement is imminent, and his dream is in full swing, how can he want to be distracted?The reason why you say that the imperial driver is in person is just to take into account your own face, and to dispel Liu Zongmin's hope. After clearing up your thoughts, Niu Jinxing said:

"According to my subject, the analysis of the two military advisers is reasonable, but this person is more tasteful than Tang Tong, and he is not willing to give in easily. Anyway, Wu Sangui is the only one left in the north. The emperor wants to quickly settle the overall situation. It doesn't matter. Deliberately detain him. Isn’t Wu Xiang in our hands right now? Isn’t his huge family belongings all in Beijing? You might as well ask Wu Xiang to write a letter to persuade him to surrender. As long as he is willing to submit, all his property, mansion, and servants , all returned, as officials, titles as nobles, and soldiers as belts, even if you want to still guard Shanhaiguan, there is nothing wrong with it.” Then, among the six governments, that group of civil servants all agreed with Niu Jinxing's proposal, and what they said actually made sense.Li Zicheng nodded while listening, but looked at Niu Jinxing thoughtfully, and said: "Then, my enthronement ceremony can only be postponed. As long as Wu Sangui surrenders, there will still be good days after May. I am determined to wait for him to come to court." This is a big event, it has already been decided, how can it be easily changed?But if Wu Sangui didn't surrender, there would be knots in everyone's hearts. Even this emperor would not be safe. Thinking of this, Niu Jinxing played again: "It is said in the art of war that a good fighter is a soldier who surrenders without fighting. Seeing that the world is united, it is naturally best not to fight hard. Moreover, my emperor has a broad mind and tolerates the world. Can Wu Sangui not be grateful and come back resolutely? The emperor is not as good as that." Wait patiently for him." Hearing what the prime minister said, Li Zicheng nodded repeatedly. Although the generals said "beat his mother", they couldn't let go of everything in front of them, so they glanced at General Liu and nodded reluctantly. In this way, the second appeal was in front of the imperial court again. The meeting passed. The letter from Wu Xiang to Wu Sangui finally reached Shanhaiguan.The person who sent the letter was a trusted servant of the Wu family named Ruxiao.He has traveled between Liaodong and the capital many times, and he is familiar with the roads inside and outside the pass. He went with Wu Ruxiao, and there was also a small school named Zhang Shunzi under Liu Zongmin's tent. The letter was in Wu Xiang's handwriting. ... You have been given special duties by the emperor's grace. It is not because of your military exploits and years of history. As soon as you see Han and Peng, you will reuse them, covering this kind of thing.Today, you have only ordered the army, and chose to wait and see, so that Li Bing can go straight in. There is no plot to criticize and bully, and he lacks the power to restrain the situation. for a moment.Alas, those who know current affairs can also know how to change tactics.In the past, Xu Yuan directly abandoned the Han Dynasty and returned to the Wei Dynasty, which was not disloyal, and his sons and disciples disobeyed Chu and went to Wu, which was not considered disfilial.However, taking the two together, it is difficult for Zixu, but easy for Yuan Zhi.For my own sake, it would be better if I hold the bi in my hand, carry the coffin on the anvil, and drop it this morning, without losing the reward of the prince, and I will be named as a filial son. However, the situation of the widows is invincible, the city is solidified, and it is wiped out in one day, so that my father is innocent and humiliated, his name is lost, and all his officials are lost. It is not too painful!The saying goes: 'Knowing a son is better than a father'.I can't be extravagant for Zhao, but you are almost suspicious of Kuo Ye, so I plan for you, from time to time. Finally seeing the family letter, Wu Sangui recognized his father's handwriting at a glance, so, over and over again, he couldn't help being overjoyed.First, he entertained Zhang Shunzi calmly, and after he was drunk and full of food, he was sent to the hotel, and then Wu Ruxiao was called aside to question the situation at home. "Bring it." Seeing that all the irrelevant people withdrew, Wu Sangui impatiently extended his hand to Wu Xiaoru.Because he was his own domestic slave, he cut straight to the point and made no secrets. Wu Xiaoru was startled, and said, "Master, what are you bringing?" Wu Sangui said: "Maybe Tailord only has this book, and didn't write another secret letter?" Wu Xiaoru hurriedly said: "Oh, master, how dare you, you don't know, the villain was only let in after repeated interrogations and explanations by those people. Yes, the old master originally wanted to write another letter from home, but weighed Again, I still dare not.” Wu Sangui thought about it rationally, and felt that this was also true, so he nodded and said, "That's right, Xiaoru, after the city was broken, the bandits murdered and set fire to it? What's the master doing?" Seeing that there was no one else around, Wu Xiaoru became more courageous, so he said bluntly: "Sir, don't talk about it, this is a catastrophe, everyone in the family was scared to death, and those officials and government officials around were all scared. Half-dead, those who hanged themselves, those who took poison, although the master did not reach that point, he still paced in the study all day long, and Mrs. Tai knelt in front of the Bodhisattva all day long, burning incense and making wishes. After ordering the words, they first went to seize the palace, and they have no time to take care of other things." Wu Sangui could have expected this situation, so after hearing this, his face was expressionless, and he asked again: "What happened later?" Wu Xiaoru shook his head and said: "Later, it was miserable. Almost all the high-ranking mansions were occupied, and even the officials who surrendered were arrested. Our house was occupied by General Liu, and the whole family was driven away. The West Courtyard. The man surnamed Liu is so hateful that he ordered all the people in the house not to take away anything except what they are wearing. All the gold and silver, calligraphy and painting antiques, and property deeds were all taken away by this man surnamed Liu. .” Then, he talked about the details of the Dashun army entering the city one by one, and mentioned that all the officials were tortured and looted, and Wu Xiang was also unavoidable.But the mansion was occupied, all property was confiscated, and where to raise money, so he was beaten and held until this time he was asked to write a letter to persuade him to surrender, and then he was released from under the stick. Upon hearing this, Wu Sangui's expression changed involuntarily.First, he gritted his teeth tightly, and walked back and forth in the room for a long time. After a long while, he finally restrained himself and said to himself, "Don't worry, it's nothing, as long as I go back, The old man will be fine, and the property will be returned." As he spoke, he thought of something, and suddenly said, "Apart from father, are everyone else well?" Wu Ruxiao said: "Okay, everyone else is fine, it's just—" As he spoke, he looked at the master with both eyes, hesitant to speak.When Wu Sangui saw it, he couldn't help becoming suspicious, and hurriedly said: "Just what?" Wu Xiaoru's complexion changed, and he said, "This, it's because my little lady is not very good." When Wu Sangui heard the word "Little Madam", he understood that he was referring to Chen Yuanyuan, so he couldn't help but tense up, and hurriedly asked: "Quickly tell me, what's wrong with Madam, don't hide it from me." Wu Ruxiao knew that he couldn't hide it, so he could only say: "The little madam has been forcibly called away by that General Liu. It was already late at night, and he led a large group of guards, holding a sword in his hand, and forced him at the door. He was about to enter the room, too. Master, Madam Tai, can you not comply?" Wu Ruxiao was lowering his head, trying to make his words more tactful, but at this moment, he suddenly heard a "ping!", and looked up, Wu Sangui's face was distorted very ugly, and a blue and white porcelain teacup in his hand was covered Hit the ground and become smashed.Wu Ruxiao was too frightened to make a sound, and just stared blankly at Wu Sangui.Wu Sangui was furious at this moment, stamping his feet repeatedly and cursing: "Rogues, rogues who can't stop being killed, I am incompatible with you!" As he spoke, he raised his sword and went straight to look for Zhang Shunzi, the envoy of the Dashun court.At this time, General Feng Youwei, Guerrilla Yang Kun, Guo Yunlong and several others were waiting in the hall. When they saw Wu Sangui like this, they couldn't help being surprised, and hurried forward to stop him: "My lord, what is this for?" Wu Sangui was in a hurry and was incoherent for a while, he just said: "I, Wu Sangui, am a dignified man, how can I surrender to bandits, wouldn't that make me an unfaithful and unfilial person?" In fact, Feng Youwei and others are very concerned about this matter.Their home is in Liaodong, and their fields and property are all in the Ningyuan area. The imperial court abandons Ningyuan, which they are very reluctant to do. Changing hands and never being theirs, that was what they had worked hard for half their lives. Therefore, Wu Sangui went back just to take advantage of their wishes. Coupled with the news that the Dashun Army was torturing hundreds of officials in the capital, it seemed that they had grown wings. It didn't take long for it to reach their ears, so when Tang Tong and Zu Dashou arrived at Shanhaiguan at the same time, they were obviously inclined to Zu Dashou, but the general's attitude was unclear, and it was inconvenient for them to express their attitude prematurely. He couldn't help being overjoyed, Feng Youwei immediately said: "My lord, you have finally made up your mind. This is what all our soldiers are thinking. We are dignified men, how can we be with the bandits?" Yang Kun said even more righteously: "The rogues stole artifacts, tortured officials, and raped women. In just a few days, they did all kinds of appalling things in the capital. How can this look like a successful founding king? If you vote Bandit, that will be infamous forever." Wu Sangui gritted his teeth and said: "You all agree, I'm going to kill that dog envoy here, in order to put an end to the bandits." Seeing Wu Sangui's steadfast attitude, Feng Youwei couldn't help but feel relieved, so he said: "There is no need to be in a hurry. We will kill the fake envoys and sacrifice the flag after we have done everything we need to do and are ready." Wu Sangui said: "What do you mean by what you should do?" Feng Youwei said: "If my lord refuses the puppet envoy, Li Zicheng will definitely come to attack. They have many soldiers, but we have few. Shanhaiguan is in a corner, how can we be attacked on both sides?" Wu Sangui nodded again and again, and said: "Of course, in this situation, we can only deal with one side, and at least reach peace with Manchuria. If we can use troops to quell the chaos like Tang Suzong did, that would be the best thing. " Yang Kun said: "Of course it's good. However, Manchuria is now ruled by Prince Regent Dorgon. This man is said to be very powerful. Whether he can submit or not is unknown." Wu Sangui thought for a while and said, "Isn't my uncle still waiting for a reply at the post?"