I

  Chapter 432 430【Retreat to Liaodong】

  On June 24th of the new calendar, the flood in Henan gradually subsided, and the Datong Emperor Zhao Han returned triumphantly.

   To be precise, I only brought back the pro-army, and the boat stopped at Dangshan. Including Zhao Han himself, all camped and quarantined outside Dangshan City, and confirmed that no one was infected with the plague before continuing their journey.

  As for the armies from all walks of life, they have their own arrangements.

  The first division and the second division, the former was stationed in Dezhou, the latter was stationed in Linqing, isolated and rested in Shandong, and at the same time guarded against the Manchus going south. The food and salaries of the army were supplied north along the Grand Canal.

  The Third Division was stationed in Guangping Mansion, the Fourth Division was stationed in Zhangde Mansion, and the Fifth Division was stationed in Huaiqing Mansion to guard against the enemies of Shanxi and Northern Zhili. The food and salaries of the army go north along the Grand Canal, and then go to the Yellow River for transportation.

  The Sixth Division was transferred to Yunyang, Hubei to guard against Li Zicheng in Shaanxi.

  The Seventh Division is responsible for the suppression of bandits in Henan.

  The Eighth Division stayed in Luoyang and was supplied with food from Hubei.

  Shandong Huang Fei, Ma Jinzhong and others made meritorious deeds and surrendered to the generals, temporarily retaining 1,500 young and strong soldiers each to assist Shandong local officials in suppressing bandits, and the remaining troops were all disbanded as civilians.

  To tell the truth, tens of thousands of people piled up in the north, and the local area was temporarily unable to support itself with food, so all military rations had to be transported from the south. Manpower has to be mobilized along the way, and the peasants have to consume a lot of food, which is not much different from fighting alone - it happens to use work instead of food, so that a large number of hungry people can transport food.

  It is easy to fight, but difficult to manage.

For civil and military officials in Shandong and Henan provinces, Zhao Han set goals for them: in the first year, eliminate bandits, control the epidemic, and divide households and land; in the second year, accept immigrants, and the local people will be self-sufficient in food; , can provide part of the food and grass for the garrison.

  Zhao Han intends to use ten years to restore Shandong and Henan to normal.

  This speed is already astonishingly fast. In history, Sichuan was killed and the tigers who liked to live alone actually appeared in groups. The Manchus have been immigrating to Sichuan for hundreds of years.

  The immigration work of the Manchu Qing Dynasty was purely blind. Many early immigrants died. Either be eaten by wild beasts, or freeze to death and starve to death, it depends on God's will whether he can survive.

  …

Taiyuan Shanxi.

  The Emperor of Dashun, Li Zicheng, returned to the city again.

  The news of the fighting in Shandong and Henan spread to Shanxi, and witnessed Haoge leading his troops away. Everyone knew that the Manchu Qing would definitely not win the world.

  Since Li Zicheng returned to Shanxi, he would choose to defect again. Except for the generals who had made great enemies, such as stabbing Li Zicheng in the back, or killing important officials such as Song Xiance, the rest of the troops who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty fell into Li Zicheng's arms.

"Your Majesty," Niu Jinxing suggested, "Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces have abundant rainfall this year, and the severe drought of more than ten years has ended. When His Majesty returns, Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces will have happy rain. This is God's favor for His Majesty. Your Majesty should select talents and employ talents, rectify the administration of officials, eliminate warlords, reorganize households, and encourage agriculture and mulberry. You must not rush to attack territory. There are major epidemics in Beizhili, Shandong, and Henan. Even if they are defeated, they will still be infected with the plague It's just white ground."

  Li Zicheng nodded and said: "I know what you said. Where can I find the talents who govern the region?"

  Niu Jinxing said: "We can learn from the puppet emperors in the south and use a large number of poor scholars. If they have outstanding talents and learning, they should be reused as civil servants who have been sent to the Qing Dynasty. Restoring the people's livelihood is the most important task, and the two provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi must rest and recuperate."

   "Aren't poor scholars greedy for money?" Li Zicheng asked.

  Niu Jinxing said: "Everyone is greedy for money, even the ministers are greedy for money. Rules should be set, and rules should not be changed overnight. Strict restraints should also be strictly enforced, and no mercy will be given to those who break the law. Brothers in the old camp who break the law must be severely punished!"

  Li Zicheng sighed: "I can do it, but I am afraid that corrupt officials will not be able to kill them all."

   "It's one thing not to kill, but another thing to kill or not," Niu Jinxing said, "After Shanxi is pacified, envoys will be sent to Beijing to reconcile with the puppet Qing Dynasty."

   Li Zicheng frowned, obviously unwilling.

Niu Jinxing persuaded: "Your Majesty, today, the Three Kingdoms stand together. I Dashun occupies Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu, and the Puppet Qing Dynasty has Northern Zhili, Liaodong, and Mongolia. Just like Cao Cao in the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty. When we fight against the Puppet Qing Dynasty, it is like Liu Bei fighting against Sun Quan. Wouldn’t it be in vain to take advantage of Cao Cao?”

  Li Zicheng shook his head and said, "Tartars are Tartars. Where did Sun Quan come from? But it is true that we can no longer fight against Tartars."

  Niu Jinxing said: "Before the great rule of Shanxi and Shanxi, we can't go to war with the puppet."

  Li Zicheng smiled helplessly: "That Zhao Han in Nanjing, who defeated the Tartars repeatedly, must be very good at running the army. I look like I am now, and Shanxi has not even been pacified. How can I dare to start a war with Zhao?"

  Niu Jinxing said: "On the one hand, we can make peace with the puppet Qing, and on the other hand, we can express surrender to the puppet. If a man can endure what ordinary people can't bear, so what if he becomes a minister to the puppet emperor? Does your majesty think so?"

   "It's like this." Li Zicheng admitted.

  Niu Jinxing said: "Your Majesty can present a daughter to marry that puppet emperor."

  Li Zicheng adopted many orphans, both male and female. Yuan Shizhong, who turned against Henan and made great contributions, had married Li Zicheng's adopted daughter in history, and it was compiled into a legendary story in later generations.

Li Zicheng said: "There is no need to mention the matter of getting married. Let's send an envoy to Nanjing to test the other party's tone before we talk about it. Otherwise, I am eager to marry a daughter and the other party does not accept the good intention. Wouldn't it make everyone unhappy? Maybe there will be a war because of it. "

  After the discussion, Li Zicheng selected envoys, one to Beijing and one to Nanjing.

  Li Zicheng had never fought against Zhao Han, so he had no conflicts, so he admired Zhao Han very much. After all, everyone was an "emperor" who was born as a rebel.

  As for the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Li Zicheng hated it to the extreme. He was sitting in the dragon chair in Beijing, but he was killed all the way to Shaanxi by the Eight Banners Army. If it weren't for the fact that the power was too weak at this time and the interior of the territory was unstable, Li Zicheng would not have reconciled with the Manchus.

  According to Li Zicheng's original intention, he wanted to drive Man Qing out of Shanhaiguan, and then lead his troops to a showdown with Zhao Han!

  …

Beijing.

   Before the Eight Banners Army completely withdrew from Shanxi, Hauge rushed back all the way, clamoring to reopen the Manchurian Eight Banners Nobility Conference.

  Oboi, Sony, Tan Tai and others followed Hauge in full armor, fearing that Dorgon would attack him.

  Bumbutai, also known as Dayuer, the historical Empress Xiaozhuang, is now titled the Queen Mother. She took the young Emperor Shunzhi and sat at the head of the conference room, and the nobles of each banner took their seats in order of title.

  Gang Lin was the first to ask Hauge: "Prince Su disregarded the military order and led his troops back to Beijing without authorization, resulting in the loss of Shanxi and Shaanxi. This is already a serious crime, why do you have to hold a conference in series?"

  Haug didn't even bother to pay attention to Gang Lin, but looked to the other side: "This junior, does it mean Adali or Big Baylor?"

  Dabeile is Daishan, who is the owner of the red flag, and his son is the owner of the inlaid red flag, which means that one family controls the power of the two flags.

   Adali is the grandson of Daishan, and Ganglin was originally Adali's general.

  After passing the imperial examinations in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Ganglin became a minister of state affairs. After he was transferred to Zhenghuangqi, he completely took refuge in Dorgon.

  Daishan seemed to be drowsy, and opened his old eyes: "This junior belongs to the Zhenghuang Banner, not my two red flags."

  Ganglin has offended Hauge badly since he took refuge in Dorgon, and he must not let Hauge turn the tables. He asked, "Does Prince Su admit that he is guilty?"

Hauge did not answer directly at all, but scolded: "I am guilty? Even if I am guilty, it is not your turn to speak, what are you! A second-class Lazhangjing, allowing you to attend is considered flattering, you still Dare to open your mouth to discuss matters!"

Hauge pointed at Dorgon again: "So what if I lose Shanxi and Shaanxi? The soldiers of the Eight Banners under my command didn't lose a single bit, but you, on the contrary, suffered repeated defeats in Shandong and Henan. This is the land of the Han people. Lose one or two provinces. , as long as there are soldiers of the Eight Banners, they can fight back at any time. If the soldiers of the Eight Banners are all dead, what is the use of occupying more territory?"

  As soon as this remark was made, the Manchu and Qing nobles nodded one after another, thinking that Hauge made a lot of sense.

  Man Qing speaks by strength, if Dorgon's strength is not damaged, then it doesn't matter how big a mistake he makes. However, Duduo and Azige who died in Shandong were both Dorgon's brothers, and their lineage suffered heavy losses.

Facing the menacing Hauge, Dorgon took the initiative to back down: "Shandong and Henan were defeated. It was my command error. I didn't expect the Beijing epidemic to force all the bannermen to move here, causing the emptiness of Liaodong to be taken advantage of by the enemy. We Decided to step down as regent and recommended Hauge for this position, and Hauge's stolen Niulu should also be returned to him."

  Haug was stunned when he heard this.

   This seizure of power went too smoothly, right? Dorgon actually conceded defeat directly?

   "Ahem!"

Daishan suddenly coughed twice, and said: "Although the regent was wrong, Duoduo's defeat was caused by Duoduo's rash advance. Azig's defeat was because the whole army was infected with the plague, and Azig himself died of illness. The defeat of Shangqiu was due to Tong Yangjia's incompetence. If he could hold on for another day or two, the regent would be able to wipe out the main force of the enemy army. Moreover, although Shangqiu was defeated, the Eight Banners of Manchuria did not suffer any losses, only a few thousand Eight Banners of the Han army died. .”

  Haoge suddenly changed color, Daishan's speech represented the opinions of the two red flags.

  Why did Dorgon admit defeat, but Daishan spoke for Dorgon instead?

  Bumbutai also hugged the little emperor and spoke: "Prince Li is right."

  Haoge only felt that his vest was cold, but the two yellow flags and two red flags all supported Dorgon!

  The reason is very simple. Dorgon was indeed arrogant and domineering before, but this time he has suffered heavy losses. Let him continue to be the regent, the empress dowager can rest assured that Daishan will no longer feel threatened.

  If Dorgon is convicted and Hauge, who has not been weakened, takes over as the regent, both the Empress Dowager and Daishan will be in trouble.

  Of course, Hauge also had to appease.

  After some discussion, it was decided to return all the Niu Lu deprived of last time to Hauge.

  Bumbutai said: "Don't ask whose crime it is. What we want to discuss today is that Beijing is full of plague. Whether it should be moved back to Liaodong."

Dai Shan said: "There is no danger for Beijing to defend. Once the southern soldiers and food are sufficient, there will be more than 100,000 troops going straight to the outside of Beijing. In addition to the severe drought in Gyeonggi this year, few grains of food can be harvested, and the plague is raging. I think we should abandon Beijing and return to the east of Shanhaiguan.”

"I agree!"

   "I agree too!"

  A group of nobles from the Eight Banners agreed one after another, they were all scared by the plague.

  And the Datong Army in the south is obviously not a soft persimmon. Since you can't capture the south, why do you have to live in Beijing? Retreating to Liaodong is the last word!

  Dorgon, who managed to keep his status as regent, could not stop this decision.

  When Li Zicheng's envoy arrived in Beijing, he found that the Manchus were packing their bags and rolling back to their hometown in Liaodong.

  Beizhili, which is plagued by plagues and suffered severe drought this year, should we send troops to occupy it?

   Li Zicheng was a little uncertain, and Zhao Han didn't know how to deal with it.

  (end of this chapter)