I have a cornucopia

Chapter 286: Washing is Healthier

Just as the Zhejiang militia landed and rushed to Huzhou from Nanjing by land, the Susong militia that bypassed them also received the news that Zhenjiang was occupied by Gao Jie. They could only land in Longtan and join up with the Zhenjiang militia that also received the news and hurried back...

The latter was previously in Jiangbei.

The Zhenjiang militia has always been the main force in Jiangbei. Although its elite troops followed Ge Lin to join the Northern Expedition and were forcibly detained in Quanjiao by Yang Feng, there were still more than 3,000 people stationed in Jiangbei.

Before this, they had been fighting with Gao Jie.

Now I'm in big trouble.

At this time, the militias of various prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River that were fighting against the Qing army in the north of the Yangtze River were retreating. Except for the Zhenjiang militia and the Susongchang militia, which were joining forces to prepare for a counterattack on Zhenjiang, the others all retreated to Nanjing. After all, for prefectures like Huizhou and Ningguo, defending Nanjing meant defending their rear. However, the one they had to face was definitely not Gao Jie, but Li Zicheng who had already started to go downstream upstream.

The Jiangxi Elders Association has surrendered at lightning speed, no longer recognizing the empress of Nanjing, but instead recognizing the Ming Emperor Li Zicheng...

They are all emperors of the Ming Dynasty, and different surnames are always better than opposite sexes.

How could a princess succeed to the throne?
This is the moral code!

Do you understand the common sense?
In short, the Jiangxi Elders Association surrendered to Li Zicheng and recognized him as the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty in exchange for Li Zicheng not entering Jiangxi, but acknowledging that the Jiangxi Elders Association was supported by the people of Jiangxi and had the power to supervise court officials.

And they are allowed to retain no more than 50,000 militiamen...

Li Zicheng also made concessions.

After all, Yang Feng's taking advantage of the situation made him very anxious. Among the most important fat pieces, Zhejiang East had been taken by Yang Feng first. If he didn't quickly grab the rest, he would really lose a lot. In this case, Jiangxi was no longer important. In the final analysis, Jiangxi was just a place to grow food and provide minerals. The financial resources in the hands of the gentry alone could not be compared with those in the lower reaches.

The right thing to do is to appease the Elders in exchange for them not obstructing his march south and quickly seize Su Songchang.

The meal must be eaten in one bite.

If he solves Nanzhili and Zhejiang first, how can Jiangxi escape from his grasp?

He did the same with Huguang.

He allowed the Huguang Elders Association to supervise local officials, allowed Huguang to retain some militia, and even allowed the Jiangxi and Huguang Elders Associations to recommend local officials to him.

Of course, it is only recommended for clerical positions.

Li Zicheng was still very flexible. In fact, he was also using these conditions to lure other provinces. Since he had already satisfied his desire to be an emperor, he did not care about completing the formal unification first. The rest could be done slowly. He would first deal with the Nanjing court. In short, after the conditions were agreed upon, the Jiangxi Elders would withdraw from the war, and all Jiangxi warships on the Yangtze River would retreat into Poyang Lake. Of course, the Hukou Fortress could not be abandoned directly, but Li Zicheng's fleet was allowed to pass, and then the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty would lead his so-called 300,000 troops to attack Nanjing directly.

Then the Chizhou Elders Association announced the welcoming of the Royal Master...

The Susongchang militia ran away, the Zhejiang militia ran away, what else can the Chizhou Elders Association do if it doesn’t welcome the royal army?

Therefore, the Penglangji and Ma'an fortresses, which were regarded as the most important defense lines behind the Jiujiang fortress, opened their cities without bloodshed. After all, the only people garrisoning these fortresses were the Chizhou militia. There was originally also the Jiangxi militia, but they withdrew directly to Poyang.

Later, the Anqing Elders Association also welcomed Master Wang.

Li Zicheng had no interest in them, he was just passing by.

Then, the dragon boat of the Emperor of the Great Ming, with the elders of the Chizhou Elders Association kneeling to welcome him, passed through Chizhou on the pretext that the boat was too fast to dock, leaving behind a group of people cheering "Long live the Emperor"...

Really cheering for the event.

If he came ashore, everyone would be really scared!

After all, there were clamps on his boat.

Upon hearing the bad news, the city of Nanjing immediately fell into panic, because the Zhejiang militia had not yet completely left. Jin Sheng led his men to block Liu Zongzhou and asked him to order the Zhejiang militia to stay and defend Nanjing. Although Liu Zongzhou did again ask Xu Du and others to divide their troops to defend Nanjing, after all, if Nanjing was captured, it would only be a matter of time before Li Zicheng swept across the south of the Yangtze River, but he was rejected by Xu Du and Zheng Zunqian again, and they even accelerated their departure.

This also destroyed Prime Minister Liu's authority. After all, only when you have soldiers can you have power. Now that the army doesn't care about you, what authority do you have?

Then Jin Sheng went to find Gu Xichou and others.

The latter also sent people to Longtan, asking Du Yinxi to quickly dispatch troops to defend Nanjing.

But it was no use.

At this time, the Susongchang militia was not even interested in Zhenjiang. After all, Zhenjiang had already been captured. Instead, it was more important for them to rush ahead of Gao Jie to protect the other places. Therefore, they were also bypassing Zhenjiang and rushing to Danyang by land. As for Shen Tingyang, he still led the navy to continue to contain Zhenjiang.

After all, his navy was still very strong, enough to block shipping from Jingkou to Zhenjiang.

Therefore, the Susongchang militia no longer cared about Nanjing.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the Nanjing Elders Council completely scattered. Except for a few like Jin Sheng, all the others fled to avoid being trapped by Li Zicheng.

Nanjing.

Chengtianmen.

"They're acting again!"

King Yang, still in disguise, looked with great interest at the dignitaries kneeling before the door.

The common people around him were also watching with great interest, but judging from their relaxed expressions, they did not take Li Zicheng's army's approach too seriously...

Of course, it could also be numbness.

After all, this city has been in a state of changing flags since the fall of the capital, from the initial Nanjing court headed by Shi Kefa, to Zuo Liangyu occupying Nanjing, to King Yang's army recaptured Nanjing and then the princess became regent, to King Yang's disappearance and the emperor's arrival, to the emperor being beaten to death, and then the military coup and the empress succeeding to the throne, all in all it was less than three years, and last year was the 19th year of Chongzhen.

Although the reign should have been changed this year, the officials in the court had no time to think about these things because they had to face these chaos before the New Year.

The Chongzhen era name is still used temporarily.

So it was the twentieth year of Chongzhen.

So many things have happened in this city in just three years, and the people have long been numb.

Whoever wants can come!

So what if he is Li Zicheng? He is still the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
Gentlemen...

The gentry didn't care.

At least the local gentry were not really afraid of Li Zicheng coming.

The main reason is that they had been robbed long ago. The richest ones were only the nobles, but now those nobles are long gone. Except for the Chang family, all the noble families in Nanjing city are in name only. Each family has only one child who inherited the title. They have lost most of their wealth and live the life of ordinary landlords by relying on a small amount of land.

I guess even if Li Zicheng came, they would have no interest in taking action.

So let Li Zicheng come if he wants!

At worst, I can just kneel down.

The people of Beijing have already set a good example.

What I am really scared of are those who are kneeling in front of the city gate.

So they were inviting the empress to visit Suzhou.

Nanjing will definitely not be able to be defended.

After all, the militias that were truly capable of defending Nanjing had already fled. Now there were only three militias in the city, Yingtian, Huizhou, and Ningguo, with a total of less than 20,000 troops, and they were the least powerful among the militias. After all, they had always been in Nanjing and its surroundings, and had almost no actual combat experience. Rather than being a combat unit, they were more like a security force to maintain public order. The last time they besieged the palace, they suffered heavy losses from Yang Feng's followers and female soldiers, who only had a few hundred people. In the end, some of the Susong militias were urgently transferred from the north bank to open the city. Li Zicheng's 300,000 troops were indeed exaggerated, but there were still 200,000 troops, and they were well-equipped and had high morale. After all, the emperor was about to complete his great cause of unifying the world.

Can't hold it!
I can't hold it at all!
But the legitimacy of the Jiangnan regime comes from Her Majesty the Queen. If the Queen is gone, what banner can they use to resist?
Therefore, the best solution now is to take Her Majesty the Queen away with us.

"Your Majesty is here to receive the Holy Spirit through the Heavenly Gate. Your subjects are here to welcome you respectfully."

Suddenly, Han Zanzhou appeared on Chengtian Gate and shouted to the outside.

The common people outside were either kneeling or not, all in a mess to welcome their empress. In fact, since her succession, she had never appeared again after meeting the subjects at Chengtian Gate. In particular, she no longer ran out as often as before. After all, for the nobles, it was unbecoming for the empress to always go out and mingle with the common people.

The Queen!
And she is an unmarried girl!

Just be a mascot in the palace.

You always run away and who knows which troublemaker will tell you something that shouldn't be told?

Then Her Majesty the Queen appeared on the city wall.

And she also brought out a speaker at the back, because Yang Feng later found a lot of solar panels, and now all the things that need to be charged can be charged. Solar panels can be clearly seen on the roof of the palace behind. She should have asked Yang Xiu for it. The communication between these women no longer needs to go through Yang Feng. Besides, he is often not seen, so there is no way to go through him. So at this moment, Her Majesty, wearing a leather hat and a red dress, can already face a microphone, but the style of the painting is a bit weird.

She looked at the countless subjects waiting in front of Chengtian Gate...

"I am the Emperor of Ming Dynasty!"

She said.

The speakers carried her voice throughout the square.

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

The ministers below were the first to shout "Long live the emperor".

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

……

Then came the shouts of the people.

Even those who had not yet knelt down knelt down.

Her Majesty the Queen looked at this scene and nodded.

"Liu Zongzhou, the chief minister of the cabinet, was unable to defend himself against the enemy and unable to keep the people at home. He only spoke big words to confuse me. He was disloyal to the emperor and I ordered him to commit suicide."

She continued.

Prime Minister Liu looked at her in astonishment.

Then Han Zanzhou threw a sword down from the city wall with an expressionless face and threw it directly in front of him.

Liu Daru...

"Are you going to wait for me to send someone to help you?"

Her Majesty the Queen said.

Liu Daru picked up the sword with trembling hands. In fact, he had lost power since the Zhejiang militia no longer listened to him. He was able to govern not because of his ability and prestige, but purely because he had the support of the Zhejiang Group behind him. Now that things have come to this, someone must shoulder all the responsibilities, and who else could it be but him?

Besides, it's not like he was wrongly accused.

He really has nothing to do except talking nonsense, and the reason why things have gotten this far is simply because he is too stupid.

However, the direct execution did make people look at the empress with a new respect.

"I am incompetent and I have failed the grace of the Lord."

Liu Zongzhou said slowly.

Then he drew his sword, placed it across his neck, took one last look at the sky, and pulled hard.

Her Majesty watched his dead body fall.

Then she looked at the remaining ministers...

"I am the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Xiaoling Mausoleum is beside me. How can I abandon it? Anyone who talks about moving the capital will be executed. You are all my subjects. You eat my salary. You should live and die with me. Anyone who leaves the capital without permission will be executed. The people will be allowed to leave as we did last time. Those who do not want to abandon me, the young and strong, will go to the city to defend it and receive salary according to the militia rules.

You all thought I was more suitable to be the emperor, so you refused to let the late emperor in. Now that I am the emperor, do you want to abandon me again?
Will Li Zicheng really give you what you want?
That’s what those people in Beijing thought at the beginning.

They abandoned the late emperor, thinking that Li Zicheng would give them what they wanted. Wei Zaode and others even went to wait for Li Zicheng to give them official titles. Some even thought they had made contributions to Li Zicheng and waited for Li Zicheng's rewards. As a result, Li Zicheng put them all in a clamp. You want me to be the emperor. I know your intentions very well. But I am a woman and I don't want to care about anything else. I just want to protect this country for my Zhu family. Other than that, everything else is fine.

This is what you want.

You already got it.

But even if you get it, it is not yours. You have to keep it before it becomes yours."

Her Majesty the Queen said.

After saying that, she turned around and disappeared like a red cloud.

Han Zanzhou then stepped forward.

"The Imperial Edict appoints Jin Sheng as Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace and commander of the army in Nanjing."

he shouted.

Then he turned and walked away.

"This time she is truly the queen."

King Yang sighed.

He was just worried that the Empress would be forced to leave Nanjing by these ministers, so he came here first just in case. He could have fun, but the Empress was a matter of principle. As for doing so many things, he was just learning from Zhu Yuanzhang to clean up the Jiangnan Group. This group must be cleaned up, otherwise the Ming Dynasty will never be well. They are indeed entering a new era, but once this transformation is completed, they will be more harmful to the entire country!
In the past, the Jiangnan gentry group was already able to influence the country, but after completing its evolution, the Jiangnan gentry group can do more than just influence the country.

They will truly control the country.

After all, they even have military force. The gentry in the south of the Yangtze River, who have a purse in one hand and a gun in the other, can be more dangerous than those who only have a purse.

He did want a new Ming Dynasty, but not a new Ming Dynasty controlled by the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River.

You have to wash it first, it will be healthier if you wash it.

As for Li Zicheng, there is no need to worry at all. Even though Nanjing looks like a storm is coming, Li Zicheng will not waste too much time in Nanjing. He must hurry to seize Su, Song and Chang. Nanjing is dry now. This place has been plundered so many times. Where is the oil? If he really fights to the death in Nanjing, and Gao Jie takes the opportunity to seize Su, Song and Chang, Li Zicheng will regret it so much.

There is no problem with the Queen's current arrangement. Su Songchang no longer cares about Nanjing. Now Nanjing can only rely on the three regiments including Yingtian.

Jinsheng is the soul of these three groups.

His moral integrity was not a problem, and he was also the first to come to the king to defend him. He was the prime minister, leading the three regiments and the young and strong men in Nanjing to defend. As long as Li Zicheng knew that he could not take the city in a short time, Li Zicheng would naturally avoid Nanjing and head downstream.

(End of this chapter)