I have a cornucopia

Chapter 297 The Empire Must Be Unified

Wuying Palace.

"He was really not killed by his brother?"

Her Majesty the Queen asked Yang Feng with some confusion.

It can be seen that she is very happy now. After all, it was so easy to deal with Li Zicheng. Not only did she resolve the biggest crisis, but she also gained a large number of elite soldiers.

As for the imperial gift to Li Zicheng...

It really doesn't matter.

Using a cheap face issue to exchange for hundreds of thousands of elite troops and millions of subjects, this deal is really a good deal.

Besides, this is the minimum respect for a group with such strength.

In fact, it was not just her who completely accepted this matter. Even traditional civil officials like Jin Sheng had no objection to it. After all, Li Zicheng's army of hundreds of thousands was in Jiangnan. If they could not be reassured and made sure of the empress's respect for them and the future, they could easily turn Jiangnan into a sea of ​​blood.

They were originally a group of rebels and rioters, but they did not indulge themselves because of Li Zicheng's restraint. But now that Li Zicheng is dead, they have lost their restraint.

They are like hundreds of thousands of wild animals released from a cage.

Yang Feng did have the ability to suppress them, but the time consumed in this process was enough for them to turn Jiangnan into a sea of ​​blood and corpses.

Just look at those Green Flag Army soldiers and you will know that Yang Feng alone cannot suppress an out-of-control army.

The chaos caused by the Green Flag Army has not yet been completely resolved.

This group of bandits, who were initially recruited by Huang Degong and Gao Jie, and Liu Liangzuo's subordinates and bandits who were also recruited during the siege of Yangzhou, switched sides repeatedly in just a few years until they were incorporated by Dorgon. At most, they switched sides four or five times a year, and in the process they kept burning, killing, and looting, leaving Huaixi in chaos and leaving nine out of ten houses empty...

Yang Feng couldn't really deal with them.

They are not a group with a complete organizational system, but just countless small gangs. There is no such thing as controlling a group by capturing a leader. Moreover, the idea of ​​burning, killing and looting has been deeply rooted in their bones. Even if they are intimidated by Yang Feng, they will only be honest for a short time at most, but they will immediately show their true colors when they get a chance.

The only way to truly solve the problem is to kill them all. These are pure bandits. If we don't kill them all, it's impossible to expect them to mend their ways.

Now many of them were abandoned in Huaixi because the Qing army fled north, and have become bandits. It is estimated that it will take several years to completely wipe them out.

Most of Li Zicheng's hundreds of thousands of troops were originally of this kind. Hua Ma Liu was originally a bandit, and Sun Shoufa and Wang Yuncheng, who are now Li Zicheng's main thugs, are all from the official army of the Ming Dynasty, the kind that are shaved like razors. It's just that under the constraints of Li Zicheng, a leader with great prestige, and with the dream of a long-lasting noble family, they can still maintain their bottom line. Yang Feng can indeed do this kind of thing, but in order for them to maintain their dream of a long-lasting noble family, the only way is for the princess to recognize Li Zicheng's throne.

They were all princes and dukes conferred by Li Zicheng. Recognizing the legitimacy of Li Zicheng's throne meant recognizing the legitimacy of their official titles.

They are the princes and dukes of the Ming Dynasty.

Conferred by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

They are not stray dogs like bandits and rioters.

They are family dogs, and family dogs must obey their owners' rules and not act recklessly.

As for Her Majesty the Queen...

"Your Majesty, I don't need to go through so much trouble to kill him. When have you ever seen me go through so much trouble to kill someone?"

Yang Feng said.

Her Majesty was speechless.

That does make sense, because back then in the palace, she was caught and thrown to death in front of her father.

“Who did it then?
As far as I know, it shouldn't be those from the Elders Council.

The Elders' Council wanted to hold the Changzhou area and then force Li Zicheng to negotiate. At that time, they would pay some silver and agree to let me abdicate, but still stay in Nando. Li Zicheng could station troops in Nando, but the Nando court and militia would have to remain. I would guard Nando for generations, which would be considered as guarding the tomb of Taizu, but I would also supervise the Nanjing court and pay Li Zicheng a certain amount of grain every year.

As long as the militia can hold the defense line and prevent Li Zicheng from continuing to fight, and his brother mediates for foreign aid, it will be enough to make Li Zicheng agree.

After all, he can't fight for a long time.

Besides, he also allowed the Elders' Associations in Jiangxi and other places to make the decision.

This means that the Southern Capital Court or the Council of Elders still controls Southern Zhili, and the Council of Elders is stationed in Suzhou, but Southern Capital still has its own court as in the past, and has militia as its army. At most, Li Zicheng can have tens of thousands of troops stationed in Southern Capital, but in reality he is still surrounded by militia from various places.

This is what they planned, but if they killed Li Zicheng, there would be no one to negotiate with, and on the contrary it would anger Li Zicheng's subordinates and make the situation out of control."

The Queen said.

So the Elders are still very naive.

Or rather, they were still very confident, they were confident that they could defeat Li Zicheng...

It cannot be said that they were unfoundedly confident. After all, Li Zicheng could not fight for a long time. He only formally completed the surrender of some provinces, but it was only formal. If there was a chance, these provinces would stab him in the back. He had to ensure that his base would not be damaged. Even now, those provinces that surrendered to him did not send troops to help him. But if he suffered heavy losses in Jiangnan, it was very likely that these provinces would send troops to give him a fatal blow.

They didn't really submit to Li Zicheng.

Therefore, if the Jiangnan militia can successfully block the enemy and have the ability to bring Li Zicheng into a long-term war, then Li Zicheng will indeed negotiate.

But killing Li Zicheng is certainly not something the Senate would dare to do.

There was no point in negotiating now that Li Zicheng was dead.

Moreover, many loyal ministers will emerge from the dead Li Zicheng. After all, they all want to eat the fat meat of Jiangnan. If Li Zicheng is killed by them in this way, the Sichuan Group, Huguang Group, and even Jiangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou may all come. Zhang Xianzhong will not hesitate to raise the banner of revenge for his good brother, and then lead the Sichuan and even Yunnan and Guizhou troops to Jiangnan. Not only can he receive the troops left by Li Zicheng, but he can also lead them to continue to rob Jiangnan...

Jingnan!
Everyone can help to quell the rebellion.

Therefore, a living Li Zicheng is more beneficial to the Jiangnan Group than a dead Li Zicheng. Although this is a bit weird, it is actually true. A living Li Zicheng can negotiate with them, restrain his subordinates from massacring the city, and keep those hungry wolves away. But once Li Zicheng dies, everything is in chaos.

The situation is no longer under control.

"No matter who is behind this, it must be the Elders Council now. It doesn't matter to us who killed him. The most important thing is that he is dead."

Yang Feng said.

Indeed, it doesn't matter who ordered it.

Or the truth is not important at all, the truth that is needed is the truth.

After all, there are too many people who want to kill Li Zicheng. Even if it is not for the benefit of the group, it is possible that it is simply because of personal hatred.

After all, he had killed too many wealthy and powerful people, so it was not surprising that there was one who was full of hatred.

It is even possible that it was within Li Zicheng's own ranks. After all, his internal situation is not so clean now, especially since a large number of the original old bandits have married into the old gentry. The latter certainly do not like Li Zicheng. Instead, after Li Zicheng's fall, they would support his son and then rely on a weak monarch to regain control of power, corrupt these old bandits into a new generation of nobles, and integrate them with the old families. This is in the best interest of these people.

After all, Li Zicheng’s current systems are actually disliked by both the old families and the new nobles. The old bandits also want to turn the soldiers in the camp into serf households of the Ming Dynasty!
Even if those who were arrested confessed truly, it might not be true. If they were really assassins, they could just give a false confession to cover up their real mastermind.

So the truth is really not important. Yang Feng didn't really want to avenge Li Zicheng. In fact, since Li Zicheng proclaimed himself emperor, the two had been enemies. His death was a pleasant surprise for Yang Feng, otherwise he would have to do it himself sooner or later. Now it is the most perfect. Not only does Yang Feng not have to get his hands on Li Zicheng's blood, and thus become enemies with Li Laiheng and others, but he can also use this incident to gain their loyalty. So Yang Feng is not interested in who did it. Now it is most important to use Li Zicheng's death to achieve his own goals.

"Brother, why do you insist on cleaning up the gentry in Jiangnan?"

Her Majesty the Queen said.

Since it must have been done by the Senate, it means that the purge will continue. After all, Yang Feng has already promised to avenge Li Zicheng.

"Because what I want to give you is a real empire, not a late Tang dynasty with separatist regimes. Everything in the past was just a transition in the chaotic times. We need to ensure that we can get through the chaotic times smoothly. But after we get through this chaotic times, we must reunify the country. The empire must be unified, with one monarch and one court. This court manages the entire empire. Local officials must be appointed by the court and have absolute power in the local area. The army must also belong to the court, not every province, every prefecture, or even every county.

We did take advantage of this laissez-faire approach in the past to rapidly increase local strength, which helped us resist Li Zicheng and the Jian Lu. Otherwise, as in the past, we would not be able to resist the Jian Lu's southward advance.

But allowing local governments to expand their military power can turn every city into a fortress.

But the result of this laissez-faire approach was the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. We ended a chaotic era in this way, but it would usher in an even greater chaotic era, so it must be ended immediately after use.

Re-unification.

Not only the gentry in Jiangnan, but also Li Zicheng's men, those warlords in various places, Zhang Xianzhong, and even my own Confucius and Mencius Knights, all must be cleaned out. The methods are different at most. In fact, now I let the Confucius and Mencius Knights attack Zhejiang, which is to use the hands of Zhejiang gentry to clean up some of them. Up to now, nearly a hundred knights have died in Zhejiang. They and the Zhejiang gentry will perish together, which is what I really want.

Of course, I won't force them, it's just their greed.

Don't worry, I started all this, I will solve it myself, and then hand over a normal empire to you."

Yang Feng said.

"So what should we do next?"

Her Majesty said this with great emotion.

As she spoke, she instinctively moved closer to her brother Yang, but in the end she didn't dare to get close.

"The next step, of course, is to persuade them not to fight anymore."

Yang Feng said with a proud smile.

advise……

Her Majesty also laughed.

Indeed, we just want to persuade them not to fight anymore.

Although the people captured on the ship were still being tortured and did not confess who ordered them, Her Majesty sent the highly respected Duke of E and the equally respected Han Zanzhou to Zhenjiang to announce the imperial edict to Gao Yigong, Tian Jianxiu, Yuan Zongdi and others who were in charge of the place after Li Zicheng left. Although the imperial edict did not explicitly state that Li Zicheng was assassinated by the Council of Elders, it repeated the previous promises and tried its best to persuade them to exercise restraint.

Stop fighting!
Don't be impulsive just because Li Zicheng is dead, and don't launch a crazy attack on Changzhou again because of it.

But that same evening, Li Laiheng also arrived in Zhenjiang and briefed Gao Yigong and others on the ongoing interrogation.

Of course, at the same time, Zhenjiang’s 100,000 troops had already entered a state of frenzy.

These are all Li Zicheng's direct descendants, basically centered around the old camp and expanded in Shaanxi with the camp soldier system, similar to the military households under Zhu Yuanzhang.

These people were absolutely loyal to Li Zicheng.

They were satisfied with the Empress's treatment, but were extremely angry about Li Zicheng's death. They instinctively thought that it was the Elders' Council who did it. After all, the enemy was the Elders' Council, and the Empress's edict almost told them that it was the Elders' Council. Li Laiheng was surrounded by a 100,000-strong army when he was meeting with Gao Yigong and others. The furious soldiers directly held those who had received the edict hostage, and then raised the banner of bloodbath in Jiangnan to avenge Li Zicheng.

Soon after receiving the news, generals such as Sun Shoufa, Ma Qian, and Wang Yuncheng also responded. A total of 200,000 troops launched an attack on the Benniu and Jintan defense lines.

Before this, Li Zicheng had not actually launched a full-scale attack.

He also didn't want his own people to suffer heavy casualties, so he mainly attacked Sun Shoufa and others who were considered to be vassal states in his eyes. But this time, almost all of his imperial camp was deployed to the battlefield, and those elite soldiers who were filled with anger rushed towards the militia's defense line without caring about their own lives.

Especially the Bull Run as the core.

The militiamen, who were completely supported by military pay, were ultimately unable to withstand their crazy attacks that disregarded their lives.

Benniubao was captured, and the reinforcements were also defeated by Li Zicheng's imperial cavalry in the field battle. The latter quickly marched along the canal and immediately surrounded Changzhou. Because the cavalry arrived too quickly, although the Changzhou cavalry responded quickly and closed all the city gates, many of the elders and local sages in the gardens outside the city did not have time to enter the city. The unfortunate elder of the Changzhou Elders Association, former Hangzhou Military Preparations Dao Wu Jiansi, was captured in his own garden, and then dragged outside the city gate by Hao Yaoqi, who led the cavalry, and tore his body into pieces.

At the same time, Li Zicheng's imperial camp, which broke through the Benniu Line of Defense, was also sweeping the outskirts of Changzhou. Although they had strict military discipline and did not harm the common people, those powerful gentry were in trouble.

The mansions of powerful gentry were captured by these violent soldiers, and the elders and local celebrities were torn into pieces, tortured to death, or even burned to death.

(End of this chapter)