Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 197 Chongzhen: ? ? Li Zicheng wants to join forces with me?
On Yinghuo Mountain, a huge waterfall fell from the sky, and below, a group of people covered in blood fled into the mountain.

Some were on the verge of falling, while others were carried to the water's edge.

Those who were still able to move were washing bloody clothes, and others were holding water bags to feed water to the seriously injured. "Come, drink some."

"I can't bear it anymore, please kill me, it's too painful." A wounded soldier had a huge wound on his body, blood kept oozing out, and his whole body was unusually red.

"Give me a knife and let me die quickly and painfully."

He was obviously injured, infected, and had a fever and was confused.

"Don't be like this, we will get through this soon, we will definitely get through this."

"Liu Zi, you..." Ge Liyan

Before the person next to him could finish speaking, he found that the wounded soldier's neck was tilted and he was completely dead.

At this time, a general came running over from a distance, holding a piece of horse meat in his hand, "Here, my king, eat some first."

"Eat, what to eat?" Ge Liyan threw the water bag in his hand to the ground with a sullen face, "What kind of war is this?"

"What kind of battle is this... We are known as the leader of the many rebel armies, but 50,000 soldiers were just dispersed like this? Only a few hundred people were beaten!"

Since its establishment, the Huige Left Fifth Battalion suddenly became the leader among the rebels and fought in the Henan and Hubei areas.

Have a great reputation.

Zheng Eryang, then the Grand Inspector of An, Lu, Chi, and the Grand Governor of the Ming Dynasty (referred to as the Governor of Anhui), said in a memorial to Emperor Chongzhen: "Ge and Zuo are as cunning and tyrannical as Xian and Cao, and there are more than tens of thousands of people who can fight well."

With Sun Chuanting's "dumpling-making" tactics, there were many cases where peasant uprisings were defeated by government troops, and they wanted to take this opportunity to turn the tables.

Unexpectedly, 50,000 soldiers were no match for the 20,000-strong government army.

"The situation is different now. Compared with the previous government troops, Sun Chuanting's troops are more ruthless and more powerful than before. They are incomparable."

Ma Shouying, the old Huihui, bit his back teeth, and the flesh on his cheeks bulged. "Now the soldiers are pressing us aggressively. We underestimated the enemy."

……

Suddenly someone shouted from the tree, "Someone!"

"Quick, get on the horse."

Just as everyone drew their swords and prepared for the final fight, a shout came from the tree again, "It's King Zuo Jin and his men."

Only then did everyone relax.

"You escaped too?" Ma Shouying stepped forward and quickly supported Zuojin Prince He Jin who had fallen off his horse. Following behind him was Gai Shi Prince Liu Xiyao, who was still able to get off the horse at this time.

"Where's Lao Lin?"

"He...he didn't escape."

Ma Shouying's eyes suddenly turned red when he heard this.

The Huige Left Fifth Battalion was composed of the five most prestigious rebel leaders of the time: the old Hui Ma Shouying, the Geliyan He Yilong, the Zuojin King He Jin, the Gai Shi King Liu Xiyao, and the Luan Shi King Lin Yangcheng.

Not only were all the soldiers and brave men killed in this battle, but even one of the five great kings, the King of Chaos Lin Yangcheng, died.

How could he accept this?

He Jin, the Prince of Zuojin, became even more furious when he heard this. "Hey, the person is dead, why are you still making a fuss?"

Everyone fell silent, with their heads down.

The old Hui leaned against a tree and wiped his face vigorously. He happened to see a dilapidated temple in the distance. He raised his hands and bowed, saying, "God bless us. I am ashamed of the defeat of the Huige Left Fifth Battalion."

"I hope God will bless us and help us make a comeback." As he said this, he took out a copper coin from his pocket, shook it vigorously a few times, and then threw it on the ground.

Before the rebellion, Lao Huihui was an expert in fortune-telling. Although he was not a full-time practitioner, everyone believed in him.

Now seeing Lao Huihui telling fortunes again, the other rebels also gathered around.
"Ding Ding~" The copper coin rolled on the ground a few times, and everyone's eyes lit up.

front!

lucky!
The old Huihui's expression also relaxed a lot. He picked up the copper coin, then took out two more and shook them again. "Thank God, where should we go to make a comeback?"

Three copper coins fell to the ground. Lao Hui looked at the hexagram and frowned, "To the east?"

"What do you mean by 'Xiangdong'?" He Jin, the Prince of Zuojin, could not help but ask, "Didn't you say before that Xiangxi and the Prince of Chuang were in sync?"

Lao Hui looked at the hexagram and said, "This is a different time. Now King Chuang has been defeated and lost tens of thousands of people. On the contrary, our 'King Xin' to the east is the most powerful now."

"You mean... we should go to King Xin?"

Lao Huihui nodded and said, "That's right. Now, the only way for us to deal with this is to gather the troops of the old camp and then find other rebel kings to join forces. Only then will we have a chance."

"But... we don't know what kind of person this 'Prince Xin' is. Isn't it too abrupt to just go and seek refuge with him?" King Gai Shi Liu Xiyao said with a worried look on his face.

"This man rose to prominence so quickly. We haven't even seen him yet. How can we trust him?"

Lao Huihui hesitated for a moment and said, "If not, I'll go see him."

"meet him?"

"That's right. I will take two people with me in disguise to see if this person really knows how to trust me." The old Huihui narrowed his eyes and said, "If something unexpected happens to me, my second, third, and fourth brothers will lead their troops to continue to negotiate with the government troops and develop secretly."

"Big brother..."

Everyone wanted to say something, but Lao Huihui stopped them with his hand, "I have made up my mind. If this succeeds, my four brothers will be unstoppable in making a comeback. If not, I don't know how long I will have to lie dormant."

"Then big brother must be careful!"

Seeing this, everyone finally stopped trying to persuade him.

The next issue is how to select the people to go. If we travel with two people and travel light, they must have good martial arts skills and eyesight.

……

Henan,

After two major battles with the government troops, Li Zicheng's tens of thousands of troops were defeated.

But what was better than Huige Zuo Wuying was that Li Zicheng suffered only a small number of casualties among his combat troops, and most of them were hungry civilians who swarmed like ants. Although their numbers were smaller, they had greater flexibility.

Moreover, so many years have passed since Li Zicheng first started his rebellion. Even if he was a starving person who almost starved to death in the past, after experiencing so many wars, those who are still alive today have become elite soldiers.

Moreover, with the discipline formulated by Li Yan and others, "no civilians will be killed, only officials will be killed" during the siege of western Henan.

In terms of the personal qualities of the soldiers, although the Chuang army was not as good as the Ming army, they had improved a lot. Their combat effectiveness mainly came from discipline.

Suddenly, there was a sound of "cuckoo".

Everyone was on guard when they heard this, but it soon turned into a cuckoo sound. Everyone looked around and said, "It's one of us."

When they got closer, Li Zicheng came out from behind a huge rock and said, "Hao Yaoqi? How's it going? Did you find out what's going on?"

Hao Yaoqi jumped down from his horse and said, "Prince Chuang, Prince Xin from Huguang has attacked Wuchang Prefecture, and now their number has expanded to 150,000..."

Hao Yaoqi told the news he had gathered, then took a water bag and took a few gulps. "Prince Chuang, you don't know that Prince Xin is so famous in Huguang that even children praise him."

"..." Li Yan's face instantly turned pale, and the veins on his forehead bulged. "It's just a little bit late, otherwise all these programs would be ours, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers would also be ours."

"There is no room for two tigers in one mountain. One step slow, every step slow..." "I don't think so." A man stood up. It was Niu Jinxing who was introduced by Li Yan. "Now the Ming court officials and soldiers are fierce. Although the 'Prince Xin' is powerful now, he will definitely attract more officials and soldiers."

"I agree with Niu Jinxing. There were thirteen rebel kings back then, and now even Zhang Xianzhong has been destroyed by the Ming court. They are strong at one time and weak at another. Who can say for sure?"

At this time, Li Zicheng had two more advisers under his command.

It is not actually accurate to call him a counselor.

For example, the one in front of you who is offering advice is just a fortune teller.

When he surrendered to Li Zicheng in Henan, he presented the "Eighteen Sons' Main Sacred Artifact" and widely publicized the rise of the Li family, thus gaining Li Zicheng's trust and being appointed as a military advisor.

Apart from predicting good and bad luck for Li Zicheng before the battle, it never had any meaningful military significance.

Niu Jinxing, a Jinshi in the 43rd year of Wanli, made great contributions to Li Zicheng's development, but he was narrow-minded and could not tolerate other people.

Li Zicheng, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke up. "What do you think? Should we also contact this 'Prince Xin'?"

"Back then, the thirteen rebel kings either died or surrendered. Now the rebel army is at a low ebb. If we continue to deal with our own business, I'm afraid we will be defeated one by one!"

"What does King Chuang mean?"

"Let's contact this 'Prince Xin'. Just like what happened at the Xingyang Conference, even if we call him the 'leader', what does that matter? If he can't even get past the government troops, how can there be no room for two tigers in one mountain?"

……

The capital of Ming Dynasty,

The imperial guards are guarding the palace. Today is the birthday of Empress Zhang Yan of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Yan was born in the 37th year of the Wanli reign and is now just 30 years old.

The autumn wind was bleak, Zhu Changgan toasted to his sister-in-law, Zhang Yan was wearing a golden phoenix robe, holding the two handles of the wine glass with both hands, her face was flushed, the breeze blew her gorgeous skirt, revealing her red embroidered shoes.

The autumn wind even blew ripples on the half-moon arc.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Whoo~"

Zhu Changgan took a deep breath. This woman was truly an antenna descended to earth. Add to that her outstanding and sad appearance, red lips, starry eyes, picturesque eyebrows, and a face as bright as a mirror and porcelain. The sadness added to it made her even more beautiful and charming.

Perhaps sensing the emperor's gaze, Zhang Yan bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I feel a little uncomfortable, so I will go back first."

"Oh, if you're not feeling well, go back."

The autumn scenery is beautiful and the beauties are picturesque, but this beautiful scene has a sense of desolation that "the courtyard is so deep and deep".

Zhang Yan entered the palace, and her husband passed away only three years later. She was only twenty years old that year, and now ten years have passed unknowingly.

To her, this lonely and exquisite palace was just like a series of golden bird cages.

Every year on her birthday, which should be a happy day, Zhang Yan would be in the lowest mood. She had imagined countless times that she could turn into a bird, fly over the high walls and golden tiles, take a look at the outside world and watch other people’s fireworks.

pity……

Tap tap tap~~
Suddenly, a eunuch came in from outside along the corridor, greeted Zhang Yan, and then ran to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty~"

"I have something to do, so I'll leave first."

Seeing this, Empress Zhou and other concubines all bowed and said, "Your Majesty, state affairs are more important."

When they arrived at the Qianqing Palace, they found that Sun Chengzong, Yang Sichang and others were already waiting outside the palace. They asked Wang Chengen to call them in and asked:
"What are you waiting for? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Yang Sichang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the bandits in Huguang are rampant, especially that... "Prince Xin". Now their number has grown to more than 100,000. If this continues, the southern provinces may be destroyed."

"Your Majesty, our Ming Dynasty spends millions every year. Now Sun Chuanting is in charge of the military and has brought the situation to this point. I don't think he is capable enough to serve as the governor of these three borders."

"Your Majesty, I think that the "Prince Xin" uses your Majesty's name. As long as he exists, it will be a filth to your Majesty's holy name. I implore your Majesty to mobilize the troops and quickly eliminate him..."

Zhu Changgan looked at everyone and said, "I thought it was something else, but it turns out to be like this. As the saying goes, don't employ a person you doubt, and don't doubt a person you employ. Besides, Sun Chuanting just wiped out the five left battalions of the Huige, killing tens of thousands of enemies. How can he be incompetent?"

"As for the name 'Prince Xin', it is just a title I got in my early years. It doesn't have much meaning. You don't have to be too attached to it."

The court officials and the emperor were not on the same page, so it was naturally impossible for Zhu Changgan to hand over the details of "Prince Xin" to him.

"But... Sun Chuanting did not wipe out the main leaders of the Huige Zuowu Camp. The old Huihui, Geliyan, Zuojinwang, and Gaishiwang all escaped. How can they be considered wiped out? When they entangle the old camp, it will probably not take long before there are tens of thousands of people again."

"The most terrifying thing is that if they join forces with other rebel kings again, their power will only grow even greater..."

Zhu Changgan looked at the excited crowd. If he continued to conceal the situation, it would only arouse the suspicion of the ministers. He frowned and said, "Sun Chuanting's encirclement has been formed. It will not work if we suddenly mobilize him now."

"The only person who can be moved is Zuo Liangyu. He happens to be in Huguang. Send an order to Zuo Liangyu and ask him to suppress the bandits."

……

Zuo Liangyu,
Judging from the news sent back by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Zuo Liangyu was much more deceptive than other officers and soldiers in his efforts to suppress bandits.

Zhu Changgan had mixed feelings about Zuo Liangyu, and even felt that he had more bad sides.

He was brave, good at fighting, and intelligent. He always won the support of his soldiers and was successful in every battle.

When Zhang Xianzhong attacked the Nanyang area under the official banner, Zuo Liangyu saw it at a glance, and chased Zhang Xianzhong, shooting Zhang Xianzhong in the shoulder, almost killing him.

When Zhang Xianzhong surrendered, Zuo Liangyu also submitted a memorial, saying that he was pretending to surrender and requesting a direct attack, but was suppressed by Xiong Wencan.

But on the other hand, he read too little and wanted too much.

In the tenth year of Chongzhen alone, there were dozens of impeachment memorials against Zuo Liangyu.

"In the first month of the tenth year, Yingtian Governor Zhang Guowei issued three orders to Liang Yu to go into the mountains to search for the rebels, but Liang Yu did not respond and let his soldiers plunder women."

"After Xichuan fell, Zuo Liangyu did not come to rescue. The peasant army went eastwards, attacked Liuhe and Tianchang, plundered Guazhou and Yizhen, and even broke through Xuyi. Zuo Liangyu not only resolutely refused to rescue, but also ordered the scholars and officials in Zhongzhou to submit petitions to retain him..."

Before this, Zuo Liangyu had the opportunity to capture Zhang Xianzhong.

However, Zhang Xianzhong sent his own general Ma Yuanli with a lot of gold, silver and jewelry to tell Zuo Liangyu, "Xianzhong is here, the palace is respected. Your troops have killed and looted many people, and the cabinet is suspicious and arbitrary. Without Xianzhong, you will be destroyed soon."

What I mean is, as long as I, Zhang Xianzhong, am still alive, the imperial court will use you. If I am no longer around, and according to the Ming court's policy of hiding the bow after the birds have been killed, you will be close to destruction.

Zuo Liangyu was persuaded to let Zhang Xianzhong go, which led to Zhang Xianzhong's attack on Nanyang.

Since all the ministers asked the court to send troops to clear up the rebellion, why not send Zuo Liangyu? Zuo Liangyu's troops were less than 20,000, and they were not such a big threat to Chongzhen's troops of more than 100,000.

On the one hand, it can be put on display for the court officials to see, and on the other hand, it can be done for the other rebel kings to see.

After all, all other rebel kings were suppressed by the Ming army. Why is it that although "Prince Xin" has the largest number of people and the most powerful momentum, no one goes to encircle and suppress him?

On the other hand, it was also a good opportunity to test Zuo Liangyu.

……

Two days later, a dusty man finally arrived at Wuchang Prefecture.

"What? Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, sent someone to deliver a letter, asking to join forces with me?" Chongzhen was shocked and looked at the old blind man in disbelief.

"Yes, Prince Xin, do you want to meet the person who came? His name seems to be Li Yan."

"..." Chongzhen, who was about to take a step, was suddenly startled.

(End of this chapter)