Aspiration

Chapter 135 Proclaiming Emperor
Xi'an was quickly captured.

Rather than conquering, it is better to win without fighting.In the whole of Shaanxi, basically no more wars have occurred. All the prefectures and governments, including Xi'an, have basically surrendered their cities.

Li Zicheng's residence, that is, in the palace of King Qin in Xi'an, dozens of civil servants and generals bowed down together.

After the capture of Xi'an, in the 17th year of Chongzhen, that is, [-] A.D., in the first month of the lunar calendar, Li Zicheng officially proclaimed himself emperor and established the Dashun regime with the reign name Yongchang.

Today, Li Zicheng was excited in his heart. He tried to keep calm, otherwise, he would laugh. The emperor sat on the dragon chair and laughed, which was not solemn.After more than ten years of fighting, it finally succeeded, or at least almost succeeded.

Although Beijing was not captured, the orthodox emperor was still Chongzhen; Zhang Xianzhong established Daxi Kingdom in Chengdu and changed Yuan Dashun.But these are nothing to worry about. Today is the imperial meeting he convened to announce the next stage of strategy.

Of course, today's meeting has many agendas, and three of them are important.

First, Song Xiance looked at a good place. Ma'anshan, Mizhi County, his hometown, is a treasured land of geomantic omen. He had given the name Panlong Mountain and ordered Li Guo to oversee the construction of a palace there.This matter has already started.Now, Li Guo handed over this matter to others, because he has a more important task.

Second, there are several people who need rewards.The first one is naturally his brother, Liu Zongmin who has followed him for many years.In terms of military exploits, he deserves to be number one.Therefore, Liu Zongmin was the first to be named Marquis.Of course, some people also need to be divided.

Liu Zongmin, enfeoffed as Marquis of Ru, General of General Power, was promoted by Ren Dashun to be Chief Admiral of the Battalion.

Tian Jianxiu, granted the title of Marquis Ze, is the general of total power.

Yuan Zongdi, Feng Mianhou, served as the general of the right camp of the Dashun Army.

Liu Fangliang, Feng Cihou, served as the general of the left battalion system of the Dashun Army.

Zhang Nai, Feng Yihou, a general in the camp system of the Renda Shun Army.

Li Guo, Feng Dashun's former military general and governor.

Gao Yigong was granted the title of general and governor of the post-barracks system.

Posthumously named Wang Si "Liehou".

Other generals include Li Yan, Li Shuangxi, Li Laiheng, Gu Ying, Gu Kecheng, Wu Ruyi, Li You, Liu Tichun, Luo Hu, He Jin, Liu Xiyao, Hao Yaoqi and so on.

Li Shuangxi is the chief guard of Li Zicheng's barracks.Li Laiheng is the general governor of Li Laiheng's army and the Imperial Forest Army of the Dashun Army.

This time, there were a few people who should have been named marquises, but they were Li Guo, Gao Yigong, Li Shuangxi, and Li Laiheng.Everyone knew that they would be the first batch of enfeoffers in Beijing when Li Zicheng formally enthroned in Beijing. Among them, Li Guo and Li Shuangxi were likely to be crowned princes.Gao Yigong and Li Laiheng will definitely be named lieutenants.

After the military officials were entrusted, civil servants also had to have a say.Six ministries: the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Households, and the Ministry of Punishment.Li Zicheng discussed with Niu Jinxing and others for a few days. In the end, what Li Zicheng couldn't help laughing was that the ministers of these ministries could only be selected among the surrendered ministers of the Ming Dynasty.

Niu Jinxing was appointed as a bachelor of Tianyoudian, that is, the post of prime minister.Li Zicheng had thought about Niu Jinxing's position as prime minister for a long time. He had always weighed between Niu Jinxing and Li Yan. He felt that they were equal in terms of paper talent, but Li Zicheng felt that Niu Jinxing was higher in loyalty.He vaguely felt that Li Yan always had something hidden in his heart, and he didn't want to say more.Therefore, Li Yan did not serve as a civil servant. He became a general, that is, an official position such as the commander of the army.And Li Zicheng's deputy military adviser.

As for Li Laiheng, his contribution over the past few years has greatly surpassed that of Liu Zongmin, but he has only become a general. The main reason is that Li Guo is likely to be crowned king. When his father has not yet been entrusted, his son naturally cannot rush to entrust him.

The third decision is the issue of attacking Beijing.This is the core topic of today. This topic is controversial in private. It is said that Li Yan will reserve his opinion.

But most people believe that the conditions for conquering Beijing are now met.Xiangyang was guarded by Yuan Zongdi, who controlled Huguang and Anhui.Eastern Henan was guarded by Liu Fangliang, who controlled Henan and Shandong, cutting off the inevitable road for Chongzhen to escape by land.Gao Yigong was stationed in the Hanzhong area to guard against Zhang Xianzhong's eastward advance.

Liu Zongmin Dashun proposed to appoint the commander-in-chief of the battalion as the commander-in-chief of the attack on Beijing; Li Guo was the forward, Xi'an, Shaanxi was the residence of Li Zicheng, and Tian Jianxiu stayed in Xi'an.The other generals, except those who had the task of guarding, all followed Li Zicheng in the eastward expedition.

Everyone was very excited.Conquering Beijing means establishing a new dynasty. For these generals who have followed Li Zicheng for many years and lived through life and death, their dream is to overthrow the Ming government and establish a new dynasty.Civil servants, especially the founding fathers, of course they hope to have a place in the central government.They knew that Li Zicheng relied on generals now, but in the future, civil servants will be needed to govern the country.Among the excited crowd, there is a group of people who are very fortunate. They did not expect their fate to be so good, and they are the group of surrenders.For example, Yu Shangyu, he is a descendant, and now Li Zicheng is the Minister of War in the Dashun Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, they were officials, and they were not ordinary officials. Now, the new dynasty is about to be established. How could they think that, Li Zicheng "visited the thatched cottage three times" and invited them out of the mountain. Not only did they not beheaded, but they became the pillars of the court of the new Dashun?
However, what was out of tune with everyone's emotions was that the deep worries in the hearts of two people kept them from smiling.Li Yan and Li Laiheng.

Li Yan didn't smile.Li Zicheng thought, the reason is very simple, he is a loser in front of Niu Jinxing.Li Zicheng also understood Li Laiheng, the death of his right-hand man Wang Sixin was a big blow to him, so they didn't smile.

How did he know?Li Yan and Li Laiheng's worries were for the fate of the entire Dashun Dynasty.

They thought that Li Zicheng had hundreds of thousands of troops, including logistics and security maintenance, and there were millions of troops.However, now they control as many as five provinces. In addition, Shanxi and Hebei will soon be controlled, so there will be areas in seven provinces, which need to be guarded by heavy troops in the southeast and northwest. There may be only tens of thousands of soldiers left for fighting, 10,000+ soldiers.If Emperor Chongzhen transferred the elite troops that defended the Manchu and Qing borders to defend Beijing, or if Chongzhen cede territory and negotiate peace with the Manchus, then Li Zicheng's Eastern Expedition might fail.

Li Laiheng's thinking was even different. He knew the historical fact of Li Zicheng's defeat in Shanhaiguan. If he went east, Li Zicheng would turn from victory to decline, and finally the superstar would fall.

Can this history be changed?
Li Laiheng hopes to change.However, it is not easy to change, because Li Zicheng's failure was not only a military failure, but also a political failure.

"The emperor said, I suggested that General Hao Yaoqi lead [-] elite soldiers as a reserve team for the Eastern Expedition. I thought that our Eastern Expedition will not only meet the remnants of the Ming Dynasty, but also the Manchus. Therefore, we need to be fully prepared and have enough soldiers and horses." Li Laiheng said.Li Laiheng felt so awkward suddenly having to speak in this way.Li Zicheng felt very comfortable.

"Well, this kind of worry is necessary. Zhunzao, the commanding general Hao Yaoqi leads [-] troops, and he will follow up as the rear team." Li Zicheng said.

After Li Zicheng had finished speaking, Li Yan suddenly left his squad and began to play: "Your Majesty, Li Yan said, our biggest enemy is not the army of the Ming Dynasty, but the elite cavalry of the Qing Dynasty. In order to prevent the entry of the Qing people, First of all, Datong, Shanxi must be heavily guarded. Datong is known as "Three Dynasties Jinghua, Two Dynasties Important Town". Datong has been an important military town and strategic place since ancient times. It is a place that must be contested by military strategists. It connects the upper valley, reaches Bingheng in the south, borders the Yellow River in the west, and controls the desert in the north. It is the screen of the capital and the guarantee of the Central Plains. Thousands of wars have occurred there. Mapu Mountain in the east of Datong is the place where Liu Bang and the Huns fought in the Han Dynasty. The battlefield of seven days and nights; Jinshatan was once the former site of the Yang family’s bloody battlefield. In the second year of Hongwu, the left deputy general Chang Yuchun of the Ming Dynasty captured Datong. In the seventh year of Hongwu, Datong Road was changed to Datong Mansion, which belonged to Shanxi Xingzhongshu Province. Nine years later, it was changed to the Minister of Political Envoy. In order to maintain the unity of the country and border security, the Ming Dynasty listed Datong as the first of the "Nine Frontier Towns" in the country. There were 14 soldiers at most, and 5 horses. Many horses, at that time there was a saying that "Datong scholars vested in the world". General Xu Da was sent to guard here. Therefore, Datong is an important pass for us to prevent the Manchus from entering."

After hearing Li Yan talk about the Manchus, Li Zicheng felt that preparations should be made to prevent the Manchus from invading, and then asked, "Apart from Datong, where else did the Manchus enter the customs?"

Li Yan said: "Your Majesty, there are many places where the Manchus entered the customs, but there are three other places where they entered the customs many times. The first is the section of the 'Jiankou Great Wall', which is located in Badaohe Township, northwest of Huairou County, Beijing. In the territory, about 60 miles away from Huairou County, the mountains are very varied, and the Great Wall above the dangerous peaks and cliffs is also more majestic and dangerous. The Jiankou Great Wall is named Jiankou Pass because the entire section of the Great Wall is full of bows. The Jiankou Great Wall is one of the most famous dangerous sections of the Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty. The other is the Jinshanling Great Wall, which is located in the Yanshan Mountains at the junction of Miyun County and Luanping County, Hebei Province, more than 300 miles away from the urban area of ​​Beijing. It starts from Longyu in the west There are 20 enemy towers with different buildings, 67 beacon towers, and 2 large and small passes along the line. There are dense enemy towers on the Great Wall here. It is three feet long, and there are horse-blocking walls, stacking walls and barrier walls in various forms, each with its own characteristics. Another place is Juyongguan, which is very close to Beijing. A fast horse can reach Beijing in one day, and an army only needs two Days. The last place is Shanhaiguan, which is now guarded by Wu Sangui, a famous general of the Ming Dynasty. It is composed of seven castles, which are easy to defend and difficult to attack. There are walls that are more than 5 feet long, three feet high, and three or four battles thick. The walls are tall and solid. Shanhai Pass is extremely important, and the Ming Dynasty deployed heavy troops there. If they offered up the pass, the Manchus would be able to drive straight into Beijing without bloodshed. If the Ming soldiers there were recruited by us, the Manchus would enter Beijing. It is almost impossible to enter the customs from there."

Li Zicheng pondered for a while, he felt that this Manchurian was really troublesome, and Wu Sangui was also an extremely important person, he should be well appeased.

Just thinking about how to deal with the Manchurians, Niu Jinxing came out to play.

"I wrote to the emperor, I think that the Manchu Tartars are nothing to worry about, and I have a good strategy to deal with the Manchus." Niu Jinxing said.

Li Zicheng was overjoyed, and hurriedly asked: "What is the best strategy for the bachelor, please tell me!"

(End of this chapter)