Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 105 Chongzhen: Kill Li Yan?
Xinyang Prefecture, inside the mountain stronghold.

"Dog scholars, dog officials——"

"Look at him, he is fair and tender. He must be rich or noble. He is either a high-ranking official or the son of a wealthy businessman. Why doesn't the boss let the second in command kill him?"

"that is……"

Some people cursed Chongzhen, and some even threw things at him.

"Sir!" Some people also greeted Chongzhen with respect.

"Lord Dog!"

"Lord Dog!"

"..."

Everyone greeted a burly man who was walking towards them.

The big man said to the people in front of him, "What nonsense are you talking about? I heard that he is the first in the case of Xiangyang Prefecture? He is not an official, but...what is it, fuck, I forgot."

Chongzhen looked at the man who came. He had an arrogant look, was six feet tall, but had a waist of eight feet and a full beard.

The big man scratched his head, unable to think of what to address him for a moment.

As soon as he appeared, the atmosphere on the scene suddenly became tense.

"Sir, have you eaten?" The big man asked Chongzhen with a big laugh.

When he laughed, he gave people a feeling of wanting to eat people. Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming unconsciously stood in front of Chongzhen to make him feel better.

"..." Chongzhen looked at him with an unpleasant expression, then looked at the two people who had just scolded him.

I don't understand what he means.

"Scholars should not be insulted. It's okay. I'll help you vent your anger." The arrogant man dusted off his body with some interest and shouted to the guys who just cursed Chongzhen: "You guys... come and fight with me for a few punches?"

"Ah? Brother Gou, you..." Their eyes widened suddenly, and they turned around and wanted to run.

Before those people could react, they were grabbed by the collar and thrown out by this arrogant guy.

bang~
It smashed hard on a pile of firewood, scattering the stacked firewood all over the ground.

The next moment, the big man rushed in front of them, actually lifted them up, and then threw them out again, "Haha, cool, come again!"

The guy who was knocked away turned green with fear and begged for mercy: "Master Dog, I won't do it again, I won't do it again..."

"Master Gou, please forgive us this time and never scold us again." Another foul-mouthed guy also said.

The big man called Lord Dog shouted and threw the other man into the puddle, "You are a coward, you have no ability, and you have such a foul mouth? It's fine if you scold me, but you are wrong to scold the gentleman."

"If I hear you scolding the gentleman again, it won't be as simple as just beating you up."

The two guys who had cursed Chongzhen before quickly said, "Master Dog, we will remember this."

“Hahaha~” The big man called Lord Dog laughed like thunder, “Get lost!”

Watching the two people fleeing away, he turned his head to look at Chongzhen, but felt a little embarrassed, "Um... Sir, my child is also in your class. If you encounter such a thing in the future, just come to me directly."

After he left, Chongzhen came to his senses and asked someone next to him, "Who is this person?"

"The third leader of our village is nicknamed Tiangou, and we all call him Lord Dog." An old man said with a smile, "He is usually very friendly, but if there is a disagreement, he especially likes to spar with others. I didn't expect him to come to the school today."

"But with Lord Dog watching over us, no one should come here to cause trouble again."

An old man nearby said, "Please forgive me, sir. We are all from the underworld and have bad tempers. Our family members have died under the exploitation of corrupt officials and bureaucrats. So when we see someone like you who is going to be an official, we can't help but curse you."

Chongzhen nodded, then turned back to the classroom and continued his lecture.

"Today, we are going to talk about "The Rules for Being a Good Pupil and Child"..."

……

At about noon, Prince Xiang brought a bowl of brown rice with some green vegetables but with a little more minced meat, and whispered to Chongzhen:

"No, there's no chance."

Chongzhen also said: "There are too many people!"

He and Chongzhen had just gone out to check the terrain. They wanted to see if there was any chance to escape.

But after checking it out, he found that the stronghold was much larger than he had imagined and was heavily guarded. To leave the school, he had to pass through at least five layers of bandit defense posts.

In addition, the third in command who just arrived may have found their tracks suspicious, so he deliberately came out to show off his skills.

And since the third in command suddenly appeared, there are probably more people hiding in the dark around him.

"It seems that we can only look for another opportunity." Prince Xiang patted Chongzhen on the shoulder, "Keep calm, those who do great things must advance and retreat clearly and make decisions in an orderly manner."

Chongzhen, who was a little impatient, couldn't help but nodded at this moment.

As an emperor, it is impossible for him to collude with bandits, but if he cannot escape for the time being, he can only wait for another opportunity.

After dinner, he and Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming patched up a leaking spot on the roof of the school with some straw.

The school was not only a place for children to attend classes, but also a place for Chongzhen and Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming to rest at night.

They do this to ensure that their sleeping place is drier.

……

On the other hand, while Chongzhen was eating quietly, he didn't realize that he had already caught the attention of someone with ulterior motives.

Not far from the school, there was a man staring at them.

"Master Gou, I always feel like there's something wrong with this scholar!" A village manager brought over a bowl of rice and placed it in front of him.

"He is just a scholar, what else can he do?" Tiangou picked him up, scooped out some rice with a gourd ladle, stuffed it into his mouth, and asked vaguely.

"I can't really put it into words. I just feel like this person is not just a scholar. He has a kind of... nobility. Noble... should be the word for it."

"Noble?"

"Yes, it doesn't look like it comes from an ordinary family. Maybe it's a big fish."

"Big fish?"

The village manager nodded, but was slapped on the head by Tengu. "You are suspicious all day long. Can you use your mind to do the right thing? Build a few more houses in the village!"

"These days, more and more refugees are coming to us for shelter, and there are never enough houses for them. Why don't you pay attention to this?"

The village manager laughed and said, "What Lord Gou has taught me is right. So what should we do next...?"

But what he was thinking in his heart was, don't be in a hurry, because your tail will be exposed eventually.

……

In the evening, Chongzhen sent the students home and helped Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming collect the firewood outside.

Just then, they saw Hongniang coming back from outside. The two looked at each other, and no one spoke.

Hongniang's eyes were red. She called some people and went into "Zhongyi Hall" to discuss things.

While he was helping Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming cook, he suddenly heard a noise outside, the sound of people's footsteps and shouting, and the setting sun was quietly falling with the night.

The huge village suddenly became quiet.

Chongzhen suddenly felt that the whole world seemed to have quieted down all of a sudden, as if he was on an isolated island or in the countryside, enveloped in the vastness and silence.

After Zhu Changgan exchanged bodies with Chongzhen, he looked at the "rebels" who were cooking outside.

The light from the fire pit made their thin faces red. The crackling sound of burning firewood, the simple academy, the women's cursing, and the voices of the rebel men talking nonsense, were all heard by the mountain wind, sometimes near and sometimes far away.

Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming stared at him, "My son, what are you thinking about?"

"I didn't think about anything... I just thought about the essential differences between them and us." King Xiang sighed, "We can't even protect ourselves right now, what's the point of thinking about those essential differences?"

He suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Just now, when I went out, I heard that they were going to attack the county town. If they fail, maybe we will have a chance to escape."

"Attack the county? Them?"

"Attacking the county town would be a real rebellion." Zhu Changgan raised his head, "When?"

"Tonight, I heard that they wanted to rescue a scholar named Li Yan. Why would he, a scholar, join the rebellion..."

"It's actually him?"

Zhu Changgan concentrated and realized that the timeline before him was the key point when Hongniangzi rushed into the county government office, killed the county magistrate, and rescued Li Yan.

If Li Zicheng wanted to establish a peasant political organization and end the long-term "banditry" struggle method, he would inevitably need to absorb some educated intellectuals from the landlord class to discuss and participate in the work of governments at all levels. It would be almost impossible to rely solely on the uneducated peasant rebels to do this.

At this time, Li Yan appeared.

It was also under Li Yan's persuasion that Hong Niangzi defected to Li Zicheng.

It was with the assistance of Li Yan and others that Li Zicheng began to grow stronger.

Li Yan advocated: "Practice benevolence and righteousness to win the hearts of the people."

He also had people pretend to be merchants and spread the word everywhere that King Chuang was a benevolent and righteous army that "does not kill, plunder, or collect taxes."

Li Yan took advantage of the refugees' desire to obtain land and suggested to Li Zicheng, "Use false reputation to attract the support of the people and falsely propose equal distribution of land and exemption of taxation to confuse the people."

That is to say, they used the gimmick of equal distribution of land to deceive the poor into agreeing with them.

Because Li Zicheng had not yet established his regime, it was impossible to implement the equal distribution of land.

However, Li Yan's deception strategy was effective. The power of the peasant army expanded rapidly and they were able to defeat all enemies.

It also laid a solid foundation for Li Zicheng's subsequent attack on the capital.

In addition, Li Yan advised Li Zicheng to "respect the virtuous and respect the scholars" and select intellectuals from the landlord class as officials. He also offered Li Zicheng a suggestion: "Take over Heluo and conquer the world."

Heluo includes southern Shanxi, northern Henan and northwestern Anhui. The major cities are Kaifeng and Luoyang, and Kaifeng is particularly strategically located in the Central Plains.

As a result, more and more common people came to submit to Li Zicheng, and his power increased exponentially. Wherever Li Zicheng's army went, hungry people flocked to him, and the number of "local bandits" soon grew to more than 100,000, and morale was greatly boosted.

"This can't work!"

Zhu Changgan found a secluded place and quickly connected with Chongzhen.

"Hey, Chongzhen, you can't run away now. You have to do everything you can to stop Li Yan's next series of actions..."

Zhu Changgan explained to Chongzhen the importance of Li Yan and the necessity of dealing with him.

There is still a chance to save the Ming Dynasty.

Once we enter the twelfth year of Chongzhen, it is the year when local bandits rise up.

Not to mention refugees, even landlords and local tyrants would buy the status of county officials and collude with the rebels.

"The county officials act as his eyes and ears, and the officials dare not pass by and question him."

In Shaanxi, Henan, Hebei, Huguang and other places, these "collaborators" and forced laborers were all sons of landlords and local tyrants who "used yamen runners to protect themselves."

In addition, students who enjoyed certain feudal privileges would also participate in peasant uprisings, and countless juren and scholars infiltrated the peasant army.

……

In addition to Li Yan, there is another person, that is Niu Jinxing.

Niu Jinxing was from Lushi, Henan Province. He also passed the imperial examination but was dismissed due to the review of the provincial examination papers.

Because of a grudge against the county magistrate, he was sent to prison. After escaping from prison, he had nowhere to go, so he joined Li Zicheng's army.

Li Zicheng also attached great importance to him and would discuss matters with him. He would make plans for Li Zicheng.

But I don’t know where this person is right now, so I don’t need to pay attention to him for now. Li Yan is right in front of me.

In the Qianqing Palace, Chongzhen had not yet slept. After hearing what Zhu Changgan said, he immediately understood, "You mean I should not run away for the time being?"

"That's right. There is no immediate danger to his life. If we want to save the Ming Dynasty, Li Yan must be strangled in the cradle."

There was silence for a long time before Chongzhen's voice came again, "I know! But how can I stop him? Kill him?"

"It's best to kill him." Zhu Changgan thought for a moment and said, "Next he will persuade Hongniangzi to surrender to Li Zicheng. You should find a way to stop him. If he can be delayed for half a year, I can be free in the capital to solve the problem of the rebels."

"Okay!" Chongzhen's voice sounded again, "Don't let Prince Xiang know about this for now, I'm afraid he will worry."

“……” Zhu Changgan was stunned for a moment.

……

On the Liaodong battlefield, Huang Taiji continued to deploy tens of thousands of troops and press down on the cities of Jinzhou and Guanning.

He acted as if he was ready to attack the city at any time.

At this time, Hauge led a team of troops to destroy the border wall and enter the pass again from Qingshan Pass.

Even Zhu Changgan did not expect this. History has its inertia, but it also has its differences.

In the previous life, when the Qing army entered the pass for the fifth time, Dorgon was the commander of the left wing and Yuetuo was the commander of the right wing, but Hauge was also with the team, and now they entered the pass in this way.

However, he did enter the pass, but the speed of his march with 30,000 people was not fast.

Hauge was the eldest son of Huang Taiji. His biological mother was Huang Taiji's second concubine, Ulanara, who was from the Manchu Zhenglan Banner.

He followed his father Huang Taiji into battle at an early age, made some military achievements, and was named Beile by his grandfather Nurhaci.

After Huang Taiji inherited the throne, Hauge participated in many wars against Korea and the Ming Dynasty.

Last year, Huang Taiji proclaimed himself emperor in Shengjing and changed the country's name to Qing. Hauge was canonized as Prince Heshuo Su and was also in charge of the Ministry of Revenue.

Although Dorgon was the fourteenth brother of Huang Taiji, he was also conferred the title of Prince Heshuo Rui. He was originally the leader of the Bordered White Banner. After being conferred the title of king, he exchanged banners with his younger brother Duoduo and became the leader of the Plain White Banner.

Seeing that Huang Taiji's nosebleed was getting worse and worse, the most favorable competitors for the throne were Prince Su Haoge and Prince Rui Dorgon.

The ministers of the two yellow flags, some royal family members, and Hauge's Zhenglan Banner all supported Hauge to inherit the throne, while the two white flags supported Dorgon to ascend the throne.

Jirgalang's Bordered Blue Banner and Daishan's Two Red Banners also leaned towards Hauge.

The distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children was very obvious in the Qing Dynasty, and it could be seen from one's brothers and sisters that most of the sons born to concubines were not reused.

So he was not worried about his other brothers at all, but he was extremely wary of his fourteenth uncle.

So Huang Taiji actually had inexplicable emotions about this so-called support.

Hauge hoped that Dorgon's two white flags would suffer more losses.
But he was also afraid that Yue Tuo, who supported him, would suffer too many casualties among the Red Bannermen.

In addition, Dorgon also spied on Hauge's wife, and the two had a big fight over this.

Therefore, after entering the pass, the troops moved very slowly.

"Report!" The messenger came riding over and knelt down in front of Haoge. "Prince Su, urgent military information."

"Read!"

"Hey," a bondservant behind Haoge took the letter, "The Plain White Banner Cavalry and the Ming Army fought 40 miles outside Tianjin. Gushan Ezhen Erhe was killed in the battle, and more than soldiers were killed or wounded.

In addition, the troops from Xuanda, Jiliao are only 60 miles away from Tianjin, and the Ming troops from Shandong, Denglai are also rushing towards Tianjin..."

"Defeated again? When did the Ming army become so strong?" Haoge's eyes suddenly turned cold, and he took the map. "Encirclement? Does the Ming army have such a big appetite? Aren't they afraid of breaking their teeth?"

"Order all soldiers to advance as quickly as possible."

(End of this chapter)