I have a cornucopia

Chapter 293 King Yang Presents Prisoners to Xiaoling Mausoleum

Faced with the pressure from Li Zicheng's army, the elders who fled back from the capital, led by Qian Shisheng, reorganized the Elders' Council in Suzhou, and on the pretext that Her Majesty the Queen was trapped in Nanjing, the Elders' Council elected a new cabinet...

Acting Cabinet.

After all, Nanjing was surrounded by rebels, and there was no communication between the inside and the outside. There had to be an imperial court to take charge.

Of course, we can just ignore the fact that Li Zicheng never actually surrounded Nanjing.

Mainly because of Jin Sheng's actions, the gentry in Suzhou, Songjiang and Zhejiang were also hurt. After all, this was tantamount to betraying them. They had classified him as a traitor like Ma Shiying, and then said that he coerced the empress and secretly colluded with Li Zicheng, and was ready to kidnap the empress and surrender to Li Zicheng at any time in exchange for wealth and glory.

Traitor!

An absolute traitor.

Therefore, the elders of Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou and Zhejiang nominated Gu Xichou and Qi Biaojia who had just fled back to Suzhou to form a new acting cabinet. However, because the Jingnan Army controlled eastern Zhejiang at this time, Jinhua and other prefectures did not join this acting cabinet. The latter, headed by Zhang Guowei who returned to Zhejiang, continued to obey the orders of the Nanjing Cabinet. After all, their rear was Huizhou, and Huizhou was definitely headed by Jin Sheng. In this way, the actual acting cabinet was composed of the six prefectures of Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou, which were also the six most prosperous and densely populated prefectures in the Ming Dynasty. Although there were only six prefectures, the actual population exceeded 10 million.

After all, the population of Suzhou alone is over two million.

The gentry were also pushed into a corner.

The problem now is that even if they surrender, there will be no good outcome. Both the Jingnan Army and Li Zicheng slaughtered the gentry in large numbers, whether they surrendered or not. Those who surrendered could not escape the clamp, and their wealth would inevitably be looted, and their land would inevitably be divided up by the unruly people.

The rabbit is in a hurry and even bites!

This is completely pushing them into a desperate situation.

Since you don't give them a chance to live, don't blame them for fighting.

And they also have the strength to fight hard.

Sun Shoufa's troops, who had occupied Danyang, tried to seize the opportunity to charge towards Changzhou, but were defeated by the militia at Benniu. The cavalry, which was invincible on the northern plains, was completely suppressed by the militia's firepower in the water towns of the south. The cavalry charging through the farmland divided by the water network were shot down by the militia, who used boats to maneuver, like cross-fire at targets.

Sun Shoufa's vanguard of 1,000 cavalrymen were divided and surrounded by the militia in the water network, unable to advance or retreat, and then almost wiped out by the dense fire of the banjiu muskets.

In addition, Wang Yuncheng's raid on Jintan also failed.

He originally wanted to take it by surprise attack, but Wang Qisheng, a former military doctor from Yixing, and Lu Xiangguan's younger brother Lu Xiangjin had already led their militia into the city in advance. Wang Yuncheng suffered heavy losses in his rash attack, and he himself was shot while supervising the battle.

In the final analysis, these old-style generals have fallen behind the times. They could not defeat the Qing army, but now the Qing army can no longer defeat the militia. They still fight with traditional cold weapons, but now the militia scholars play with firepower configuration, ballistic calculations, and new weapons...

He was shot with a rifle.

It's just that the distance was far, and today's rifles can only effectively aim within two hundred meters, so the bullet shot off one of his ears.

It is also difficult for old generals to switch to new tactics.

The gap in their knowledge level is too big. Sun Shoufa can fight one hundred in a melee, and dare to charge even the Eight Banners Manchus with an iron whip. In history, he was besieged by the Qing army and died after dozens of people were smashed to death. But if you ask him to calculate a parabola or a square formation, he can't do it even if he is exhausted, but most of the scholars in the militia can do it. Most of Li Zicheng's men are like Sun Shoufa. Although there are a lot of talents in the Jiangxi militia, he dare not use them. If he really uses them, they will only betray him.

He still has self-awareness.

Jiangxi was only forced to surrender, and in fact they hoped that he would die in Jiangnan. How could they truly be used by him?
At the same time, Shen Tingyang's navy also launched several counterattacks on Zhenjiang. Although it was only a diversionary force, it still caused considerable trouble to Li Zicheng. After all, this fleet was still very powerful.

And so the war began.

At least for the gentry in Suzhou, Songjiang and Changzhou, this was a good start.

Judging from the first few battles, they still have hope.

The money they spent over the years was not wasted.

Of course, the prerequisite is that the unruly people do not take the opportunity to rebel.

This is the most important issue. If the unruly people do not rebel, then they have enough confidence to hold on. But if the unruly people rebel, then it will be really over. So after a fierce meeting, the Elders' Council finally announced that rent and interest reductions will continue.

After all, they also understood that if they could not appease the unruly people, they would eventually lose everything. If they did not reduce the rent and interest now, then the wealth would belong to others in the future. But the problem now was that even if the rent and interest were reduced, it might not be enough! After all, whether it was Li Zicheng or the Jingnan Army, they all distributed the gentry's land to the unruly people. Of course, the gentry could not do this. What they protected was their own land, which they really could not do. Fortunately, Susongchang was not just farmers, but also a large number of workers.

Half of the people in Suzhou city are textile workers, and these people are not sensitive to land issues.

This can be considered a blessing among misfortunes.

Therefore, Suzhou and Songjiang are now often recruiting militia from urban industrialists and businessmen. This is because the war has caused a shortage of raw materials and those textile workers are unemployed. They are recruited as soldiers and given military pay, which is enough for them to support their families, and there is no need to worry that they will be bribed by Li Zicheng's land distribution.

They don't farm.

Li Zicheng distributed the gentry's land to the peasants and had nothing to do with them.

But when Li Zicheng captured Suzhou and his soldiers looted it, they were in trouble, after all, they usually had some money.

half a month later.

West River Estuary.

"What do you want to do?"

Li Laiheng looked at the tractor in front of him with a serious expression.

Of course, there were countless soldiers following behind the tractor.

These soldiers were wearing half-body armor, carrying various sizes of muskets, with cannons towing their horses, and vehicles carrying supplies. There were also cavalrymen wearing half-body armor, each carrying a spear and a short musket. This huge army almost blocked his vision, and countless flags fluttered in the air...

It's all the same flag.

Red, with a golden dragon holding the sun and the moon.

This flag represents their identity, and there is currently a Northern Expedition Army with a total strength of 35,000.

They are also the strongest legion in Jiangbei at present, but because of Yang Feng's order, they had to stay in Quanjiao and watch Li Zicheng sweep south of the Yangtze River.

"Send the captives to the court!"

King Yang pointed at Dorgon, who was dying beside him, with an innocent look on his face.

The latter is not dead yet!
I, the Regent of the Qing Dynasty, weakly raised my head and uttered incomprehensible words to Yang Feng with my tongueless mouth.

But now he should no longer fantasize about seeing Dayuer and her mother again. Relying on this fantasy, Dorgon survived the most dangerous days. Even though he was burned and confused, he still did not give up hope of life. So sometimes people's mental strength can still overcome injuries and illnesses. He did not die just like that. Instead, he woke up ten days later. But he also knew that he could not see Dayuer and her mother again, because Yang Feng had already taken him south to prepare to present the captives to the Xiaoling Mausoleum. So Dorgon then focused his main energy on scolding Yang Feng. Yang Feng was annoyed by scolding him, so he simply asked his entourage to cut off his tongue.

As for Suksaha, who was left behind to defend Linhuai, after seeing him being hung on the tractor, he immediately abandoned Linhuai and tried to flee westward.

But they were caught up by the Ming army.

Suksaha was beheaded by Liu Yuanqing, and Shen Zhixiang, who was with him, committed suicide.

The remaining Qing troops, including one thousand Plain White Banner Manchus and two thousand Plain White Banner Han troops, were completely wiped out, and even those who surrendered were buried alive.

As for Bolo and other troops, they were indeed retreating to Xinyang. Fang Yizhi, as the governor of Fengyang, quickly completed the acceptance of various places and joined the pursuit of them. Especially those gentry who originally followed the Qing Dynasty, now full of hatred, chased the Qing army and attacked continuously, venting their anger at being cheated and trying to grab as much property as possible.

In short, Yang Feng left the task of pursuing the Qing army to his generals, and he took Dorgon with him to Quanjiao and led the anxious Northern Expedition Army southward.

"I, following the order of the Empress, led the Northern Expedition Army and the armies in northern China to recapture Fengyang and capture the pseudo-regent of the Jianlu, Dorgon. That's why I came here to present the captives to the Xiaoling Mausoleum. Why won't you let me pass?

Then I’ll just have to force my way in.”

Yang Feng said.

The group of generals behind him immediately started to make a commotion, and some even drew their guns and aimed at Li Laiheng.

Most of these are scholars from Jiangnan.

However, Gu Jiang and his men had already fled and disappeared, because they were suspected of many crimes, such as assassinating the King of Qi, attacking the palace, etc. They were already on Yang Feng's wanted list, and they would probably have to flee in the future. After all, the gentry in Jiangnan had to give an explanation to Yang Feng. Let them flee, fleeing is most suitable for the identities of these thinkers. They realized the truth in Longchang, and it would be difficult for their thoughts to shine without the hardships of fleeing. Just look at Fang Yizhi, since King Yang learned that Fang Yizhi shouted out the survival of the fittest a few days ago, he has found a great explanation for his persecution of these thinkers.

This is for their own good.

Let them give birth to great ideas in the suffering of exile!
"Your Majesty, the Emperor of Ming Dynasty is in Zhenjiang now."

Li Laiheng said.

"How dare a traitor who usurped the throne call himself the Son of Heaven?"

Ge Lin sneered.

Li Laiheng ignored him completely. He thought that a mere censor was not worth my attention, the Prince of Jin of the Ming Dynasty.

The current King of Jin is Li Guo, and the original King of Jin was renamed King of Zhao.

"Your Highness, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is in Zhenjiang. If Your Highness presents the captives to the Xiaoling Mausoleum, you should report it to His Majesty. This is also a great event for the Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty should welcome him with courtesy and ask the Ministry of Rites to make arrangements. But before receiving Your Majesty's imperial edict, I have been ordered to stay in Jiangpu and prohibit the army from Jiangbei from crossing the river."

He said to Yang Feng.

"What I am following is the imperial edict of Her Majesty the Empress of the Ming Dynasty. I don't know where there is another emperor of the Ming Dynasty. If you are referring to the King of Qin, then I am not under the control of the King of Qin, and the King of Qin has no right to manage the affairs of Nanzhili. As for the so-called emperor of the Ming Dynasty, it is just a self-proclaimed title by you, and I don't recognize it. I am a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, and the one I am loyal to is Her Majesty the Empress of the Ming Dynasty. I only obey the will of the Empress. Her Majesty ordered me to offer captives to the Xiaoling Mausoleum, so I will cross the river to offer captives to the Xiaoling Mausoleum. Whoever dares to stop me is my enemy. The King of Qin's suppression of rebellion is the order of the Great Emperor, and Her Majesty the Empress has not issued an imperial edict to stop me, so it has nothing to do with me, but if you want to stop me from crossing the river to offer captives, then you are my enemy.

Do you want to be my enemy? "

Yang Feng said.

Li Laiheng looked at him deeply.

It is not important that Yang Feng went to Nanjing to surrender the prisoners. The real issue is that he finally intervened in the war.

This is troublesome.

But it is obviously not possible to fight with Yang Feng now. Li Zicheng's front-line army of 200,000 is fighting with the Susongchang militia many times. All supplies are transported by the Yangtze River. If they fight with Yang Feng, the Yangtze River shipping will be cut off. Not to mention that if a real fight breaks out, Li Zicheng may not win given his current situation.

"In that case, please do as you please, Your Excellency!"

He said.

After saying that, he turned around and left.

Of course, even if he wanted to do as he pleased, he had no obligation to prepare a boat for Yang Feng.

Yang Feng looked at Li Laiheng's back.

"Your Majesty, he has taken all the ships to the other side. There are no ships at Xijiangkou or Pukou."

Lu Xiangguan said.

"Then we can build a raft. The river is just a short distance away. Order all the troops to build a raft."

Yang Feng said.

He didn't really want to cross the river to offer prisoners.

Of course, his men were really anxious. They couldn't wait to cross the river and threaten Li Zicheng from the rear to force him to return to defend. Yang Feng brought them here to appease them. In short, he made his position clear and gave these subordinates a chance. The rest had nothing to do with him.

But in this current state...

"It will be hard for you to make it to Xiaoling Mausoleum!"

He looked at Dorgon beside him.

The latter looked at him dying, whimpering in his tongueless mouth.

"Forget it. We can see the Xiaoling Mausoleum from here. Let's just skin him slowly. After all, you don't seem to be qualified to enter the Xiaoling Mausoleum. Come on, take him down, nail him on a wooden frame, and stand it by the river, facing the Xiaoling Mausoleum. Then find a master of lingchi. I remember there is one in Nanjing. Or we can go to Yangzhou and call the one who skinned his brother last time. We can skin him here and feed the fish while we skin him."

Yang Feng said.

Prisoners offered as tribute do not necessarily have to be alive.

As long as we keep Dorgon’s head, we can put it in the Hall of Worship when the time comes.

After all, he really won't live for a few days.

If he had died from serious injuries instead of being tortured to death, it would have been too easy for him.

The attendants beside him hurried forward and took Dorgon off the mirror stand. Although it had been hanging there for half a month, the wounds had been healing and tearing due to constant shaking, so it looked like new. However, Dorgon was completely useless. After being taken off the mirror stand, he could only lie on the ground like a dead dog. The attendants then made a cross-shaped wooden frame, nailed his hands to the sides, and then nailed his feet on top of it...

The wooden frame was erected so that he could face the Purple Mountain in the distance and the Xiaoling Mausoleum.

An attendant walked up to Dorgon, carrying a bowl of freshly cooked ginseng soup.

"Live well, don't miss the Lingchi tomorrow!"

He said.

Dorgon struggled desperately, but in the end he had to force the liquid down with his nose pinched from behind.

He tried in vain to bite his tongue, but there was no tongue left to bite...

(End of this chapter)