Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 191 Chongzhen, have I become the "biggest threat" to the Ming Dynasty?

"Sir, since you are expected to surrender, you must submit a letter of surrender. There are still two cities in De'an Prefecture that have not been conquered. I have heard that the magistrate of Yingshan County is not worthy of his position and has been plundering the people. I am willing to lead the army as a vanguard."

As Sun Kewang said this, the old blind man, Old Han and others all looked at Chongzhen.

Several days had passed since the attack on Anlu County, and they were already impatient, but Chongzhen kept asking them to wait and wait, and not to rush.

The old blind man clasped his fists and said, "My lord is wise. I see you are waiting for Kawang to surrender."

"That's what I was wondering, why did the Lord keep us waiting? Turns out it's right here."

"My lord is wise!"

"My lord is wise..."

"Lord, give the order!"

"Give the order!"

The many generals under Chongzhen all had bright and shining eyes and praised him one after another.

Looking at the people in front of him whose eyes were red with excitement, the muscles on Chongzhen's face twitched. These days, he had been suppressing these people, trying to slow down their siege.

But no matter how much pressure there is, there is a limit. Now that Sun Kewang has surrendered, it is a fuse.

All of a sudden, these powder kegs were ignited. He realized that it was meaningless to stay in custody, and it would do more harm than good, so he could only grit his teeth and said, "Yes, I have been waiting for an opportunity, and now this opportunity has arrived."

"However, there are countless trenches dug outside Yingshan County, which are several feet wide and filled with river water. Even if our people are brave enough to jump in, if they want to swim across, they will be chopped to pieces by the government troops who rush over."

Although everyone was excited, Chongzhen still didn't want to capture the next city so quickly.

He had heard of the magistrate of Yingshan County. It was true that his virtue was not worthy of his position, but compared with the magistrate of Anlu County, this man was a rare official. At least he had repaired the river embankment.

Sun Kewang heard this and clasped his fists and said, "Don't worry, sir. We have already thought of a countermeasure before coming here. The soldiers have cut down hundreds of trees and built many rafts. As long as our people launch a charge, the government troops will surely be defeated."

"My lord, give the order!"

"My lord, let us go first..."

Except for Lao Han, the other eight generals all wanted to compete for the first merit.

Chongzhen had discussed with the old blind man, Prince Xiang, and Old Han before, and set the rules: for those who make the first entry, they will be promoted two levels and rewarded with ten thousand gold coins.

The reason for this regulation was that Chongzhen had no idea of ​​the level of the government army at the time. After fighting a few battles, he discovered that they were so vulnerable.

But the military order had already been issued, and he naturally understood that changing the order every day was a taboo. Moreover, the so-called promotion of two ranks and a reward of ten thousand gold coins were not unacceptable to Chongzhen.

The two ranks among the bandits are not the two ranks in the imperial court, and ten thousand gold is only a hundred taels of silver.

"..." Chongzhen wanted to say something else, but after opening his mouth, he could only swallow the rest of his words. He really couldn't find any reason to stop everyone.

……

The battle in Yingshan County started in the afternoon, and for some unknown reason, fog suddenly rose above the ground.

The fog on the river looked like a layer of pure white gauze.

Countless refugees, holding swords and guns, formed a battle formation and stared at the city wall.

Among the thousands of people in front, most were Zhang Xianzhong’s old camp soldiers, who were gathered by Sun Kewang. They were able to fight two battles with Zuo Liangyu and escape, which was enough to show their fighting power.

But now they are at the forefront. They have followed Zhang Xianzhong for several years until they want to integrate into other people's teams. They are either fellow villagers, relatives or friends, or they only have military merits.

Sun Kewang had already acknowledged Zhang Xianzhong as his adoptive father, so naturally it was impossible for him to acknowledge "Prince Xin" as his adoptive father. Although there was a teacher-student relationship between them, many of them knew that Zhang Xianzhong almost killed "Prince Xin" in the beginning. No one knew how much teacher-student relationship there was between them.

Now Sun Kewang asked them to take the lead, which was undoubtedly a token of allegiance and a display of their fighting power.

The key to this battle!
You can only win but not lose.

boom! !

With a loud bang, it exploded like a muffled thunder.

The earth began to tremble, and the walls of Yingtian City shook violently in the huge explosion.

On the Yingtian City, a soldier exclaimed, "What's going on? Is the earth dragon turning over?"

"do not know……"

Before they could finish their words, they heard another loud bang, bricks flew everywhere, rammed earth and soil surged, smoke suddenly rose, and a section of the city wall collapsed.

The soldiers standing on it fell down along with the bricks and stones.

"The city wall collapsed~~"

"It collapsed..."

"kill!"

Along with the rising smoke, there were shouts of killing.

Perhaps because the Ming Dynasty had fought several wars with the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty before, gunpowder and firearms became exponentially more popular among the Ming Dynasty's official army.

To the extent that the bandits now also began to use gunpowder, among Zhang Xianzhong's troops, Sun Kewang was the most enthusiastic.

He bundled the countless gunpowder he had accumulated into two large bags, then wrapped it in more than ten layers of waterproof kraft paper. He had someone take advantage of the fog to transport it to under the city wall and stuff it into the dug hole.

There was a loud crash. Until everyone started running, countless pieces of rubble fell from the sky.

Sun Kewang drew out his sword and said, "Brothers, charge!"

The government troops in the city were at a loss as to what to do in the face of the collapsing city walls. Now, they suddenly heard the deafening shouts of killing outside and were thrown into chaos.

The bandits, as powerful as a flood, rushed in howling along the collapsed part of the city wall.

Wherever the sword went, the government troops dared not confront it.

In just a blink of an eye, thousands of people rushed into the city. The government troops no longer had the will to fight and all fled without a fight.

It can be said that what these bandits faced was not the swords and guns of the government troops, but the backs of each and every government army.

In less than an incense stick of time, Prince Xin's flag was planted on the city wall of Yingshan City. At this time, the fog had dissipated a lot, and tens of thousands of refugees were all shocked when they saw the flag on the city wall.

More and more refugees rushed into the city, and within a quarter of an hour, Yingshan City was completely occupied.

The county magistrate, county secretary, legal advisors and others were all arrested.

The next day, the granaries were opened to release grain, 29 evil gentry and bullies were executed, and more than 50,000 acres of land were distributed.

Tens of thousands of young and strong men from Yingshan County joined the team of "Prince Xin".

At this point, Chongzhen's original army of more than 80,000 people, plus Sun Kewang's 10,000 troops... the number of soldiers under his command exceeded 100,000.

As the news of the fall of Yingshan City came out, "Prince Xin" became famous throughout the world.

One hundred thousand!

If the number exceeds this, it means that the title of "Prince Xin" has become a "major concern" for the Ming Dynasty.

The reason why Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were so feared by the Ming Dynasty was precisely because they attacked cities and seized territories on a large scale and were able to annihilate even the generals of the Ming army.

Li Zicheng successively killed four generals, Cao Wenzhao, Yu Chongxiao, Hou Liangzhu and Wu Mingfeng, and captured 38 counties in Sichuan. The number of people once reached hundreds of thousands.

……

Sun Chuanting Department,

A messenger ran in from outside, panting like a bellows.

"Report! News from Huguang..."

"What's the matter?"

"Prince Xin attacked Yingshan County and led more than 100,000 bandits southward, intending to attack Wuchang."

"what?"

Inside the central army camp, generals including Cao Bianjiao, Luo Shangwen, Zuo Guangxian, and Zu Dabi were all shocked, with a look of disbelief on their faces.

"More than 100,000 people? How did the Governor of Huguang manage to raise such a serious threat?"

"Governor, why don't we just go into Huguang and destroy them?"

Sun Chuanting shook his head. "We have to take it step by step. Now that the encirclement has been formed, we cannot act rashly, or all our efforts will be wasted."

Having said that, his expression was equally incredible, "He is developing so rapidly?"

"Does the Governor know this person?" Cao Bianjiao couldn't help but ask.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Sun Chuanting said frankly: "Of course I know all the banditry in the Ming Dynasty. This man rose to prominence two months ago, but I didn't expect him to rise so quickly..." But his heart was full of emotions. When the emperor gave him the secret order, he wondered why the emperor told him not to wipe out this group of bandits.

Now it seems that Your Majesty is quite profound.

This "Prince Xin" suddenly felt that something was wrong... huh?

Sun Chuanting understood the implication, could this be His Majesty's man?

Otherwise, who would use the name Prince Xin?

Since His Majesty has made such an arrangement, I must also proceed as soon as possible. Seeing that the generals were still discussing, Sun Chuanting said with a fiery look in his eyes: "Everyone listen to my order. The bandits are rampant now. How can we rest? We should be as powerful as a tiger and wipe out the bandits in Henan and enter Huguang and Nanzhili."

"The general will obey the order!"

"The general will obey the order!"

"..."

……

Similarly, the Huige Left Fifth Battalion, which was preparing to fight Sun Chuanting, heard the battle report from Huguang.

"One hundred thousand people?" Ma Shouying's expression was dull, his eyes full of disbelief, "Doesn't that mean there are more people than us?"

Ma Shouying, He Yilong, He Jin, Liu Xiyao and Lin Yangcheng formed a combined army and marched across the three provinces of Anhui, Henan and Hubei. Their power even surpassed that of the two heroes Chuang and Xian.

The maximum number of their troops was no more than 100,000, but even so, they were extremely powerful and became the backbone of the rebel army.

That is why they were indifferent to Zhang Xianzhong's combined forces, but wanted to challenge Sun Chuanting.

"Why haven't I heard of this person before?" He Yilong asked with a frown.

"I haven't heard of it before, but the momentum has been very strong in the past two months. The slogan is 'equal distribution of land and grain', and the people's voice is very high." Ge Liyan He Jin said first.

"This guy is amazing... Among the thirteen families in Xingyang, isn't it time to add another one?"

"Alas, now that they are so powerful, I'm afraid they won't be satisfied with the last place..."

Ma Shouying shook his head and said, "The thirteen families in Xingyang have already arranged their seats. Now one family has joined. If the people in the front don't want to, we can add them to the back. With 100,000 soldiers and horses, how can they be inferior to others?"

In comparison, Ma Shouying was more worried than excited.

Compared with other rebel kings, they were closest to this "King of Faith", only a few hundred miles away.

"There is no room for two tigers in one mountain." When two kings meet, there will be a fight.

He must prepare in advance.

……

In contrast, when Li Zicheng and Li Yan heard the news, they felt more regretful.

"I said 'Equal distribution of land and exemption of grain tax' was the best slogan, but unfortunately it was snatched away by 'Prince Xin'." Li Yan clenched his fingers, his mouth full of bitterness.

He studied for so long and finally came up with a catchy and inspiring program, but before it had time to have an impact, he heard that someone else had already proposed it.

Really... Why didn't I leave Hongniang earlier and come to join King Chuang?

Now it is too late to regret and all we can do is come up with a slogan "No tax will be collected when King Chuang comes", which is not as good as other people's "equal distribution of land and grain".

"One hundred thousand huge..." Li Zicheng's expression froze. He had been going around in circles, and now his number was only tens of thousands. On the contrary, the latecomers had surpassed the old. He felt as if the old was being replaced by the new.

The mood is a little heavy.

"King Chuang, don't be discouraged. As the saying goes, the rafters that stick out are the first to break. Now is our best chance." Niu Jinxing stepped forward and comforted him.

Li Zicheng looked at the troops behind him, took a deep breath, and once again felt a surge of heroic spirit. "That's right, with him, the "Prince of Xin", attracting the Ming court's troops, we can accumulate more strength."

"Didn't Zhu Yuanzhang build high walls, store up grain, and slowly become king? We can also learn a thing or two from them. Mr. Li, there is no need to blame yourself. We still have a chance." Li Zicheng helped Li Yan up and said with a burning gaze.

Li Yan not only learned from Hong Niangzi the "equal distribution of land and exemption of taxation", but also Zhu Yuanzhang's "build high walls, store up grain, and slowly claim the throne", a strategic guide for self-growth in life.

After many analyses, he wondered why Zhu Yuanzhang, a grassroots man, could finally unify the world?

This is closely related to his strategic policy of "building high walls, storing up grain, and slowly becoming king".

Li Yan looked at Li Zicheng's sincere eyes and bowed deeply, "Thank you for not abandoning me. I will definitely serve as the King of Chuang and work hard until my death."

……

When Zhu Changgan returned to his body, he heard that Sun Kewang had come to surrender, and he was stunned for a moment.

Sun Kewang, the later ruler of Qin, is also a famous figure in history.

At the critical moment when Zhang Xianzhong was killed and the people were in panic, the basic unity within the Dashi Group was maintained, avoiding self-disintegration after the death of Li Zicheng like the Dashun Group.

At the Zunyi Conference which decided the future development direction, he led the meeting which promptly corrected Zhang Xianzhong's strategy of indiscriminate killing in his later years and stopped Wang Zhaoling's attempt to control the Daxi Group by continuing this policy.

In order to enable Dashi to make a difference as an independent force after the death of Zhang Xianzhong, it took advantage of the chaos created by the Yi separatist forces in the Shadingzhou Rebellion in Yunnan, and marched into Yunnan under the banner of revenge for Duke Mu, who had great prestige in the southwest.

The Yunnan chieftain Sha Dingzhou took advantage of the central government's loss of control over the local areas in the late Hongguang period to launch a rebellion, killing Duke Mu's relatives and detaining a large number of former Ming officials and gentry, causing class contradictions to give way to national contradictions and personal feelings.

Sun Kewang demonstrated his flexibility, focusing on politics for the sake of national justice on the one hand and on the economy through land reform on the other.

In just two years, Yunnan, a famous old, remote, poor region in the Ming Dynasty, became "a place where chieftains kept quiet and people were prosperous and safe" and "a good year, with soldiers and civilians living in peace and contentment as before."

The economic achievements he made in developing Yunnan lasted until the Three Feudatories Rebellion.

On the other hand, he used political means to unite the remaining Ming officials and gentry. He adopted the sexagenary cycle in the negotiations, which meant that he nominally gave up his claim to be the successor of Dashi. He raised the slogan of "supporting the Ming Dynasty together and restoring the country" to win over the hearts of the people.

In particular, Mu Tianbo himself cooperated with Dashi for revenge, which made the former Ming forces in most areas of Yunnan accept Dashi's rule. At the same time, he resolutely cracked down on the Sha Dingzhou rebel group and finally established a solid political foundation in Yunnan.

This laid a good foundation for the subsequent cooperation among the remaining Ming forces.

It can be said that this person has great abilities. Zhu Changgan had even instructed Huang Degong to make Sun Kewang the second target besides Zhang Xianzhong.

Zhu Changgan was originally thought to flee far away, to places like Sichuan or Yunnan and Guizhou, but unexpectedly he ended up joining Chongzhen's army.

It's actually a bit surprising.

Zhu Changgan looked at the soldiers brought by Sun Kewang and found that they were stronger and more brave than those under Chongzhen.

"Sir!" Sun Kewang saw his teacher coming and hurried out of the camp to greet him.

"It's okay, I'll just take a look." Zhu Changgan couldn't help but admire, "You know how to train soldiers."

"Everything is subject to the master's lead."

Zhu Changgan chatted with him for a while before returning to his own camp. He praised Sun Kewang's abilities, but because of this, he had to be on guard.

……

The next morning, Zhu Changgan returned to the Qianqing Palace and immediately asked Wang Chengen to write a secret order to Jinyiwei Lao Han, asking him to pay attention to Sun Kewang.

"This person is very thoughtful. If he intends to resist, we will take action..."

Wang Chengen finished writing, blew it dry, sealed it with wax, and gave it to the eunuch to deliver.

Then, Wang Chengen stood up and placed the letters and memorials he had sorted out last night in front of the imperial desk. "Your Majesty, there is a secret report from Liaodong that the ships and troops of the Later Jin Dynasty have begun to gather and intend to attack Pi Island."

"Pi Island?" Zhu Changgan narrowed his eyes. "Are they moving so fast?"

Although it experienced several incidents, the strength of the Later Jin Dynasty was not seriously damaged. According to information reported by intelligence, in just two months, Dorgon had completely eliminated Huang Taiji's forces.

The biggest changes were in the two yellow flags, where many generals were kicked out of the circle of power.

One of the names made Zhu Changgan look at it for a long time. This person was the one who followed the army to conquer the Ming Dynasty and conquered Pi Island. He was promoted to the third-class male and given the title "Baturu". He rose rapidly in the Shunzhi Dynasty and was promoted to the Minister of the Imperial Guard, the Junior Tutor and the Prince's Tutor, becoming a member of the Bordered Yellow Banner who was entrusted with an important minister.

Oboi.

Zhu Changgan sighed quietly: "A butterfly flapping its wings in the Ming Dynasty could result in a tornado in the Later Jin Dynasty."

"Come here, order Denglai Governor Hu Hengtai and Denglai Navy Admiral Zheng Hongkui to lead the troops to attack Pi Island. This time, we are not going to defeat the Later Jin, but to train the troops."

If soldiers are not trained, they will not be skilled.

Since it is a navy, they naturally cannot stay on the shore all the time. They should take this opportunity to go out and make contact with the Later Jin.

Zhu Changgan’s purpose in building a navy was not to attack the Later Jin Dynasty, but the navies of countries such as Portugal, Spain and Britain. If he didn’t even dare to fight the Later Jin Dynasty’s navy which only had a few sampans, what was the point of building a navy?
"By the way, did the Niulu Zhangjing who was said to have rebelled earlier also go with Duoduo to the war?" Zhu Changgan suddenly remembered something, "Let the Jinyiwei try to see if they can get the Niulu Zhangjing to do something else."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

……

(End of this chapter)