Chapter 48 2.determined to go south

In the Hall of Martial Heroes, there was another imperial meeting. Li Zicheng did not sit down, he walked around the hall with his hands folded behind his back, his one-eyed piercing, glancing at the officials from time to time—Liu Zongmin was wounded to resist the pursuers; , Liu Fangliang and other generals, all wounded in bandages, looked at him sullenly. The lively atmosphere of the previous meeting was gone. Mansions, gold and silver, women, these most attractive topics, were mentioned in the past, and everyone spit. , happily, but no one talked about it today, what I heard by chance was a slight sigh.

Li Zicheng saw all this in his eyes. There was nothing to be discussed at the meeting, it was just to gather this group of people and announce the time of ascension to the throne and the specific arrangements for withdrawing from Beijing, but I didn't expect that the meeting had just begun, and this group of majestic generals was in such a mood low.He thought, defeating battles is also a common occurrence. In the eleventh year of Chongzhen, they were defeated by Sun Chuanting in Tongguan. Only eighteen riders escaped and lurked in the Shangluo Mountains. But what about them, but they broke through easily, never discouraged, never disappointed, why today?He suddenly felt that it was not good to just announce the withdrawal from the city of Beijing like this, and it would definitely make everyone more discouraged. Thinking of this, he smiled lightly and said:

"What's the matter, everyone seems to be dozing off? Isn't it because Shanhaiguan was defeated for a while? What is this? Wasn't it worse than this in Tongguan? But didn't we make a comeback and give this kid Sun Chuanting Cleaned up? What is the defeat of Shanhaiguan? A small border town is only as big as a palm. Even if Beijing is lost, there will still be a hundred and two Qinguan, and Chang'an. I dare say that a hundred Beijings are not equal to one Chang'an." Everyone reluctantly nodded and said, "What the emperor said is true." Seeing that everyone was still in a low mood, he said: "The defeat in Shanhaiguan this time was due to our lack of preparation in advance, and our failure to guard against Wu Sangui's surrender to the Manchus by acknowledging the thief as his father. China is the foundation, and Jin, Hebei, Henan, and Lu are the vassal guards. They are deeply rooted and strong. It is nothing to lose a battle by chance. Wu Sangui surrendered and even betrayed his ancestors. How many times can people’s crusades be tossed? Besides, Manchuria is only a place as big as a palm, how can it compete with China? Therefore, I believe that as long as everyone is united, turning defeat into victory is a matter of day, but we must not be discouraged. You know, You can get angry, but don't let it go!"

Although the emperor's words were tough, everyone still had lingering fears. They didn't know that the emperor had made up his mind to withdraw the troops. They were only afraid of the next battle—the massacre in front of Shanhaiguan was too terrible. Those braided soldiers with white guns, They are tall and fierce, and they look like gods. They can compare to you on horseback, and they are skilled in riding and martial arts. A gun and a knife can change endlessly in their hands, making it difficult to parry. No wonder they entered the mainland several times as if they were in a land of no one. No wonder there is a legend in the capital area that "the number of braided soldiers is less than 10,000, and there are no enemies." This is not comparable to the army of the Ming Dynasty.Now the braided soldiers are about to attack Beijing, how can they fight against the braided soldiers with their remnant soldiers?No matter how strong the city of Beijing is, it will never be able to defend it, let alone the people's hearts are unstable and they are outnumbered?

So the emperor said a lot of encouraging words, but everyone still couldn't cheer up. Seeing that everyone didn't answer, Li Zicheng nodded to Li Jin and said: "Zihou, talk about your opinion." Li Jin was granted the title of Marquis of Zi, commanded the commander-in-chief, and was the main force of the Chinese army. He didn't want to be injured by a cannon in front of Shanhaiguan, and retreated halfway. Once he left, the team was leaderless, and the loss was the biggest. There were less than 5,000 of the 30,000 horses left. wounded.Therefore, although he himself hadn't fought against the Qing soldiers, he was already a little afraid, and after listening to the defeated soldiers speak vividly about how the braided soldiers were, he already wanted to withdraw his troops. Seeing the situation now, he immediately understood that everyone was thinking the same as himself Almost, since the emperor asked by name, he bit the bullet and said:

"What the emperor said makes sense. Wu Sangui will eventually be defeated. However, he is gaining power right now. In addition to the new defeat of our army, more than half of the cavalry has been lost, and the infantry has been completely lost. In addition, many old brothers from Shaanxi who followed my emperor's life and death, Although the emperor recruited Baoding troops for reinforcements, he might be outnumbered. Therefore, according to my ministers, the city of Beijing cannot be defended. The southern line is mostly plains and there is no danger to defend. Coming from victory, with arrogance and arrogance, our army is afraid of difficulties and confrontation. For the current plan, it is better to withdraw from Shanxi and Henan, and Xu Tu counterattacks."

As soon as Zihou said to withdraw, all the generals couldn't help but echoed in unison. Among the generals, Li Jin not only has a special relationship with Li Zicheng, but also has outstanding military exploits.Li Jin's biggest characteristic is that he never complains of suffering or tiredness, and he can grit his teeth against the big difficulties. When he was in Chang'an, he was one of the people who firmly advocated the Northern Expedition. After entering Beijing, he really looked down on everything and underestimated the world. I don't think it's only been a few days, his heroic spirit has fallen from the crest to the bottom.Li Zicheng originally wanted his nephew to stand out and boost morale, but he didn't want to end up like this, so he couldn't help but feel deeply disappointed. At this moment, there was one person who didn't believe in evil.

Ma Shiyao is leading a fresh force of 20,000 troops, who have not yet fought against the Qing-Wu Allied Forces, so the fear of the braided soldiers is far less than that of the others. In addition, Ma Shiyao has another reason that cannot be explained, which is that his troops are stationed in Baoding Mansion. He didn't participate in the looting of Beijing, and now all the generals are rich in gold and jade, but he has nothing in his pocket. He felt very unbalanced. When he heard that Li Jin proposed to withdraw from Beijing, he immediately rushed to say: "I thought Zihou's words were too embarrassing, so I was defeated for a while. How could even Beijing be lost? Didn't the emperor say that Manchuria is only a place the size of a palm, and no matter how powerful the braided soldiers are, there is a limit. How can they compete with China? What? Besides, the braided soldiers did not enter the customs once or twice. People from Jiangshan, do they have the courage? Therefore, I think the most urgent thing is to concentrate our forces, and prepare to fight to the death with the braided soldiers right under the city of Beijing, not to mention driving them away immediately, at least they can hold the city of Beijing."

Hearing this, Li Zicheng still felt pleasing to his ears, but he didn't want to continue. Everyone discussed the battle and left, saying that it is still very abnormal that there are few main battles and many main withdrawals.Li Zicheng thought to himself, which one of these generals was not killed from the pile of dead bodies? Why did they become so nervous and vulnerable after losing for a while today?Did the braided soldiers completely destroy them mentally in the previous battle in Shanhaiguan? Thinking of this, he didn't want to act anymore, so he looked back at Niu Jinxing and said, "What's the prime minister's opinion?"

What can Niu Jinxing say?Just now, the monarch and his ministers had a private discussion, and the emperor had already confessed to him that he would withdraw to Chang'an after the enthronement ceremony. Today, everyone's discussions and discussions could not change the emperor's established policy. Thinking of this, he cleared his throat ,Say: "Everyone discussing the battle and defending is reasonable. According to my humble opinion, although the enemy army is coming fiercely, Wu Sangui has only a few troops. He relies on the Manchus. The Manchus are a small state, and the founding king Nurhaci It turned out to be Li Chengliang's domestic slave of the border general Li Chengliang of the Ming Dynasty. He raised troops with thirteen sets of armor. He had no great promise at first. So, General Ma said, they would retreat after being harassed for a while, this judgment is correct, they really came here for their children, and once they captured enough, they would surely return Withdraw the troops, what can the remaining Wu Sangui do? Although we accidentally miss and have to withdraw from Beijing for the time being, we will eventually fight back, but we don’t want to fight for this moment.”

Niu Jinxing's words were very appropriate, and Li Zicheng couldn't help nodding his head.Next, Niu Jinxing talked about the emperor's ascension to the throne, saying that there was a memorial from the Qin Tianjian, saying that the emperor's star is unknown, so it is advisable to take the throne quickly, so the emperor will hold the enthronement ceremony the day after tomorrow... Niu Jinxing wanted to continue to play, but at this moment, there was a sudden sound of horseshoes outside the hall, and everyone was deeply surprised. After a while, they saw a small school with blood-stained robes, hurried in, and saw After seeing the emperor, he fell to his knees and said incoherently: "Your Majesty, it's not good. I, our army, lost again." Hearing this, Li Zicheng hurriedly shouted, "Who told you to come?" The Xiaoxiao took out a crumpled letter from the front of his shirt, and presented it with both hands, Niu Jinxing took it, and unfolded it to read.This is an urgent military report delivered from the front line. It said that the enemy army, led by Wu Sangui, had already conquered Qian'an and Changli, went straight to Luanzhou and Kaiping, and was about to approach Fengrun and Jizhou.Yesterday, Liu Zongmin led Yuan Zongdi, Liu Tichun and others with injuries to a decisive battle with the 18th Battalion, but was defeated near Fengrun. Liu Zongmin was seriously injured again. There are less than 20,000 remnants left, and they have retreated to the Sanhe line under the command of Yuan Zongdi. All civil and military could not help but turn pale with shock. Facing the bad news from the police, Li Zicheng remained calm. In order to deal with sudden changes, he immediately announced several decisions: the whole army is scheduled to leave Beijing on April 30, the day after ascending to the throne, because Ma Shiyao's army is the most complete. , so leave behind, and the rest plan to go south via Baoding and Zhending, and withdraw from the three Jin Dynasties. Everyone made noises and split up.When the meeting was adjourned, Li Zicheng's heart suddenly moved. He looked at Li Yan who was walking out behind everyone, and said: "Please let it stay for a while." Li Yan stayed.After everyone dispersed, the hall was empty, except for the emperor, only Zhang Nai was standing under the altar with his sword in his hand. Li Zicheng glanced at the hall, and looked affectionately at Li Yan, who was standing far away in front of the pillar with a dull expression, and said: : "Let's go, let's find a quieter place to talk." After speaking, he stood up, Zhang Nai led the way, and the two monarchs and ministers came to Dongnuan Pavilion, and the distance suddenly shortened.Li Zicheng sat down in the middle. Seeing Li Yan standing there, he pointed to the seat beside him and said: "Let's just sit down." Li Yan was still a little cautious, and said "Thank you, Your Majesty." But he still didn't dare to sit down. Seeing this, Li Zicheng couldn't help but stretch out his hand to hold him down on the seat, and complained: "Ren Zhi, why have you become estranged from me? Isn't it like this before!" This demeanor was extremely cordial, and this tone was the same as before. Li Yan couldn't help being moved. He looked up at the emperor and said, "How dare you, just because the emperor has so many things to do and has no time to inquire, so I dare not speak in vain." Li Zicheng was still dissatisfied with this answer. He expressed his surprise with a long "hey" and said, "No, Ren Zhi, your character is not like this. If things don’t go well, you should know everything and remind me from time to time.” The emperor humbly asked about the strategy, and his affection was beyond words, but what did Li Yan say?He misfortunely predicted everything. The defeat at Shanhaiguan, the emperor's expedition, and the mishandling of Wu Sangui all seemed accidental, but they were inevitable. Right now, morale is low and people are panicking. The generals who had never spoken of timidity also said that their faces had changed, and that the court had withdrawn to Shanxi. This was a last resort. Li Yan raised his head and met the emperor's earnest eyes. He finally couldn't help it, but said carefully: "In my opinion, the emperor's decision to temporarily abandon Beijing and withdraw from the three Jins is a wise move. Backed by Guanzhong, the land is rich; the Taihang Mountains lie in between, which is a natural victory. In addition, Guanzhong is the backing, and Lu and Yu are the support. With the current strength of our army, the attack is insufficient and the defense is more than enough. Sun Wuzi said: Those who make good use of troops should avoid their sharpness , Hitting his lazy return. The emperor's move can exactly achieve the effect of 'hitting his lazy return'." This remark suits Li Zicheng's thoughts very well, so he couldn't help nodding his head again and again, and said: "Let's say this, it won my heart. The prime minister said it well, the Manchus are just guarding the border small barbarians, and they come here for the benefit of the atomic daughter. Can it last long? Once the Manchus withdraw, Wu Sangui will be powerless, so we still have a lot to do, but for some reason, our generals can't see this. Terrible, at today's meeting, everyone was downcast, and no one dared to speak up." Hearing the emperor's tone, Li Yan couldn't help but feel apprehensive. You must know that although he said something that the emperor liked to hear, it was just an excuse, and the next thing he wanted to remind the emperor was. He didn't want the emperor to misunderstand, but unexpectedly became optimistic again , Then, should I say what is in my heart or not? His hesitation was immediately discovered by Li Zicheng. Li Zicheng wanted to talk about his plan to make a comeback, and he wanted to ask Li Yan's opinion for further improvement. Seeing that Li Yan didn't seem to take it seriously, he hurriedly said in a mocking tone: "Ren Zhi, are you also afraid of Mantars and braided soldiers?" Li Yan couldn't help being anxious, and said: "The emperor's words are serious. Is this a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death? It's just that I just listened to the prime minister's discussion. It's far-fetched to say that people are full of people who want small gains and have no big ambitions." Li Zicheng said: "Could it be that Ren Zhi has decided that the Manchus entering the pass are to compete with me for the world?" The emperor had already asked, if he hesitated again, he would attract suspicion, so he said: "Your majesty, I think that the Manchus are indeed too shallow, because thirty or forty years ago, they were just guarding the small barbarians, and the people of the land Property, lost to our state in the Central Plains, a small country with few people, the Central Plains aspires to the throne, could it be that snakes want to swallow elephants? What's more, they are barbarians, descendants of Jin people, and they are enemies of the Han people. If they want to rule the Central Plains, there is an insurmountable racial threshold , Therefore, if they want to gain a firm foothold in the Central Plains, it is indeed difficult for them to imagine. However, if we look at history and compare it with the past and the present, we cannot completely rule out this possibility." Next, Li Yan talked about his own views. He is familiar with historical records, and he talked about foreign invasions in history. ——Through the efforts of two generations of Nurhaci and Huang Taiji, the Manchus not only achieved internal unification, but also subjugated North Korea and Mongolia, and invaded the Central Plains four times, each time achieving great victories. Right now, Wu Sangui is leading the way, and Chongzhen is dead This is a good topic, why not take advantage of the victory to enter the pass and aspire to the Central Plains?Which foreign invasion in history did not take advantage of China's civil strife?Finally, Li Yan said worriedly: "Just now the prime minister said that the Manchus had no intention of centralizing the Plains. I really disagree. According to the minister, although there is no Chongzhen right now, the situation is more serious than if there was a Chongzhen. The world is at the fingertips, and the Central Plains can be achieved overnight, this kind of thinking must not be possible." Although Li Zicheng was not happy when he heard the words, he still asked, "What is the long-term plan?" This is a big problem, so Li Yan started from reorganizing the hearts of the people, until he consolidated the Qin and Jin Dynasties, Fusui Yulu, recruiting talents, accumulating grass and grain—it was all about starting from scratch. Hearing what Li Yan said, Li Zicheng was like a person who had just walked out of the hot sun and was splashed with a large bucket of ice water, and felt the cold from the top of his head to the soles of his feet—he had been a full year since the vertical pole uprising. It has been sixteen years, and in the past sixteen years, he has endured countless failures and setbacks, gone through many dangers, narrowly escaped death, and finally came to today. Although Chongzhen is dead and the Ming Dynasty is over, he is also exhausted physically and mentally. , exhausted, once sat down, he didn't want to move any more, unexpectedly Cheng Yaojin killed him halfway.According to Niu Jinxing, the Manchus only come for their children, and they will withdraw after a full plunder, and he can follow behind and fight back to Beijing; according to Li Yan, it means that he has returned to sixteen years ago. Thinking back to the beginning of the year, Li Yan and Song Xiance's idea of ​​breaking the barriers first, and then gaining insight into Tang Ao, is the matter really so complicated? Making troubles, all depends on the literati's mouth! In the contest between emotion and reason, where does Emperor Dashun obey? ——Until Li Yan left, Li Zicheng still hadn't figured it out.