I

  Chapter 839 835 [Li Zicheng's surrender]

  Shaanxi, Yulin.

  Yang Zhenqing, who was dismissed for violating military discipline, worked as a teacher at the Nanjing Military Academy for two years, and was finally sent to the front to lead the army.

  Going to Shaanxi with Yang Zhenqing, there are 3,000 hybrid long-haired sheep.

  The long-haired sheep brought from Europe have been bred in Liaoning after years of crossbreeding. Now, take 3,000 sheep to Hetao, and gradually replace the short-haired sheep there.

  As long as long-wool sheep are successfully promoted in Hetao, the Mongolian herdsmen in Hetao will establish a solid economic relationship with Shanshan. There are so many coal mines in the Shanshan area, and they are next to wool producing areas. With long-wool sheep, the wool textile industry will be more prosperous. The income of herdsmen will also increase, and if they have money to buy goods south of the Great Wall, they will not easily go south to plunder unless they are really starving to death.

  Fei Ruhe had been waiting for a long time. As soon as Yang Zhenqing arrived with 3,000 sheep breeds, he immediately led a large force to Hetao.

  Passing by the residence of the Ordos Department on the way, the leader Da Zhamusu greeted him warmly, leading the crowd to kneel down and said: "The vassal Zamusu, please see the governor of the Celestial Dynasty!"

   "Huh?" Fei Ruhe raised his eyebrows.

  Da Zha Musu was stunned, his son knelt behind him and muttered, the guy finally came to his senses, and said again: "The vassal Zhao Jinzhong, kowtow to the governor of the Celestial Dynasty!"

  Fei Ruhe immediately showed a smile, and helped this person with his own hands: "There is no need to be polite, general, please get up quickly."

  Da Zha Musu's brow was sweating, and he smiled apologetically throughout the whole process.

   This guy has been ravaged repeatedly by Li Zicheng, and he has been completely subdued, and he doesn't dare to have another heart.

  Historically, Shunzhi implemented the alliance flag system in the Hetao area, and only Da Zha Musu jumped out to rebel. After jumping back, I found out that my brother Xiao Zhamusu and other relatives and tribal leaders all chose to hide in the sidelines to watch the fun. As soon as the Qing army was about to launch a conquest, Da Zha Musu surrendered in a hurry. How could he fight against a tribe? It is also because of this that the tribe of Dazhamusu became the only outer Mongolia in Hetao, and was not seen by the Manchu court from the beginning to the end.

   "Lead the sheep!" Fei Ruhe ordered.

  Three males and three females, six sheep, were led to Daza Musu.

   Da Zhamusu stared at the sheep with bright eyes, and said in admiration: "Which breed of sheep is this? The wool grows really long."

Fei Ruhe said: "Buy it from the west thousands of miles across the sea. Your Majesty's great kindness is great. The Mongolian tribes on the Hetao side, each tribe rewarded six for breeding. From now on, wool can be sold to Shaanxi, and the price will definitely be higher than short wool. "

  Da Zha Musu knelt down again: "Minister Zhao Jinzhong, thank you His Majesty the Emperor for the reward, and thank you the governor for sending the sheep."

  The Tumed and Ordos tribes in the Hetao area were defeated by the Ming frontier army during the Longqing period.

  Why did Altan Khan accept the tribute from the Ming Dynasty?

   Because of being bullied too badly by the frontier army!

  At that time, the biggest resistance to the payment of tribute came from the Shaanxi frontier army. The Mongols in Hetao requested a truce and accepted the canonization of the imperial court, but the Shaanxi frontier army has been obstructing it.

   Even, when the imperial court sent envoys to Hetao to negotiate, the Shaanxi frontier army went out to make trouble, trying to create conflicts and disturb the good things of the Huang court.

  Governor Wang Zhigao of the three sides sent an edict to the court, clearly pointing out the reason: the mutual market is not allowed now, even if it is allowed to pay tribute, it will be difficult to go back to the nest and drive the horses.

   The translation is that Mongolia requests an armistice and mutual market, so don't agree. Once agreed, the frontier army's operations of smashing nests and driving horses will not be able to continue, and the officers and soldiers of the Shaanxi frontier army will feel very disappointed, and I will no longer be able to lead the resentful frontier army.

   After pounding the nest, the frontier army broke out of the Great Wall and directly took the Mongolian tribe's garrison.

  Riding the horses, the frontier troops broke out of the Great Wall and robbed the pastures of the Mongolian tribes.

  At that time, the Shaanxi frontier army had their salaries deducted layer by layer, and very little was in their hands. The frontier generals and servants were counting on robbing the Mongols to make extra money.

  During the truce negotiations, the Ordos Department was attacked and killed by the Ming border army. The leader Jineng not only dared not resent the Ming border army, but also took the initiative to patiently explain the cause of the conflict to Governor Xuanda. Moreover, Ji Neng ordered the leaders of the various ministries to be restrained, and they were not allowed to send troops to seek revenge from the Daming Frontier Army, for fear of disrupting the truce negotiations.

  In the end, Alda succeeded in paying tribute, and there has been no war between Hetao and Shaanxi on the border for decades.

  The Ming court can save countless military expenditures every year, but the Shaanxi frontier army is declining day by day. One is that the military pay is getting less and less, the second is that the Mongols cannot be robbed to earn extra money, and the third is that the Mongols can no longer be used for actual combat training.

  It's a pity, from the late Jiajing period to the early Longqing period, Daming was like a cloud of fierce generals.

  Although the decadent military household system has not been abolished, in order to cope with the war, the recruitment system has become more and more popular. Governors and generals fight by recruiting their own soldiers instead of completely relying on family members to fight.

  After decades of fighting, although the finances have been ruined, real swords and guns have fed out elite soldiers and strong generals. In the southwestern region, along the coast, and in several northern provinces, generals have risen one after another. Many of these famous generals have never failed in their entire lives, rubbing Japanese pirates, chieftains, Mongolians, and Jurchen on the ground.

  It's a pity that the decline of Ming Dynasty has nothing to do with the military, it is institutional corruption.

  If the finances collapse, everything will be closed.

  The Shaanxi frontier army could bully Hetao Mongolia at will, but Emperor Longqing had to cease fighting, not to mention military pay, and the imperial court was almost unable to pay civil servants' salaries.

   Moreover, the recruitment system is too expensive.

  At that time, the civilian governor had personal soldiers, that is, he personally recruited and trained soldiers. In addition to the personal soldiers, he also recruited directly subordinate troops. Military generals also have personal soldiers and direct troops, and they also recruit soldiers to train in person. However, the Weisuo system has not been abolished, which means that the imperial court has to spend money to support military households and recruit additional troops. How can such a terrifying military expenditure be afforded?

  Emperor Longqing carried out a comprehensive military contraction, the Ming Dynasty's short-lived recruiting era ended, and the frontier generals could only rely on their family members to fight.

  Tribal leaders like Da Zha Musu didn’t dare to jump in the late Ming Dynasty, and even bowed their heads when they met the Datong Army.

   This guy heard that Fei Ruhe was going to take over Li Zicheng's troops, so he volunteered to lead the army along with him. Walking halfway, he dragged his younger brother Zha Musu along, and the canonized Mongolian leaders in the surrounding area came to cheer with their troops.

  Twenty miles away from Yunzhong City, Fei Ruhe said to the leaders of the Mongolian tribes: "You stay here, don't go any further."

   In fact, this is already the core site of Li Zicheng.

  Li Zicheng had already received the news, and personally led the army to check the situation. These Mongolian tribes had already been conquered by him, but now they followed Fei Ruhe to the north, which inevitably made Li Zicheng upset.

  Zhang Nai rode to Li Zicheng's side: "Your Majesty, this guy is too deceitful. He obviously doesn't trust us, and he brought many defeats under him. Why don't we fight first!"

  Li Zicheng didn't say a word, just quietly watched the thousands of cavalry brought by Fei Ruhe.

  Suddenly, Fei Ruhe rode out alone, galloped all the way on his horse, and came directly to Li Zicheng's front.

  Fei Ruhe rode on horseback, smiled and cupped his hands and said, "In front of King Chuang, I Fei Ruhe has admired his name for a long time, and today I can finally see it with my own eyes!"

  Li Zicheng also galloped out on horseback, and praised: "Fei Dudu is so courageous, you are not afraid that if I give an order, the army will come out and arrest you?"

  Fei Ruhe said: "I heard that King Chuang is a man who keeps his promises. He is a man who keeps his promises. The generals under King Chuang are also upright, and they are not the villains who wait for their promises. If this is the case, what else should I be afraid of?"

   These words are beautiful, not only Li Zicheng is very face-saving, but even the other generals nodded repeatedly.

   "As expected of Dudu Fei, who is famous all over the world, I admire him!" Li Zicheng cupped his hands in admiration.

  Fei Ruhe raised his hand to beckon, and two more riders rushed forward.

  One is the deputy general Yang Zhenqing, and the other is the civil servant Zhang Yunyi who came to confer.

  Fei Ruhe said: "Bringing too many soldiers will inevitably make King Chuang suspicious. The three of us will go to Guihua City (Yunzhong City)."

   "It's easy to say," Li Zicheng reciprocated, and ordered, "Prepare food and wine, and invite the imperial army to station on the south bank of Tumo River, and send all the food and grass there by boat! Fei Dudu, please."

   Fei Ruhe rode forward on his horse and rode side by side with Li Zicheng, and the two headed towards Yunzhong City together.

  Fei Ruhe introduced: "This is Zhang Yunyi, the envoy sent by the imperial court, and this is Yang Zhenqing, the deputy general accompanying the army."

  Li Zicheng ignored the civil servant, and looked at Yang Zhenqing in surprise: "This is General Yang who broke through the Tartar capital and killed the Tartar queen mother and emperor?"

   "King Chuang is well informed." Fei Ruhe laughed.

  Yang Zhenqing said: "I broke the Tartar capital, but a young **** killed the Tartar queen mother and emperor."

   "Good man!"

  Li Zicheng praised him greatly, but he still held a grudge in his heart.

  If it wasn’t for the **** Tartar, he would probably still be the emperor. How could he run away after occupying Beijing for a month?

   Li Zicheng's generals also looked at Yang Zhenqing curiously.

  The story of Yang Zhenqing is too legendary, and there have been many folk interpretations.

  Aside from the gimmicks of the descendants of the Yang family generals, it is basically the same. A hunter in the mountains was killed by the Tartars, so he changed his name and determined to take revenge. With hundreds of soldiers, they even broke through several gates of the Tartars. With 3,000 soldiers, they went all the way through several checkpoints of the Tartars. In the end, with 5,000 soldiers, they were given the task of raiding and harassing, but they successively broke through the gates of recruiting and surrendering. In the end, they succeeded in surprise attacking the capital of the Tartars, and blocked the retreat of the main force of the Tartars.

   Arriving in Yunzhong City, the Han people here lined up to watch Fei Ruhe.

  Emperor Zhao's youngest son, the younger brother of the empress, and the governor who holds a heavy army, Fei Ruhe has much more weight in the hearts of the common people than Yang Zhenqing.

   That night, a big banquet was held.

While pushing cups and changing glasses, Fei Ruhe said drunkenly: "Brothers, we are all leaders of the army, and we don't engage in those vain schemes. Your Majesty said that you can each bring ten carts of goods and go back home." Go to their hometowns to settle down and divide the fields. Those who don’t want to go back to their hometowns can also go to the city to do business, as long as they are not in the Hetao, they can go anywhere. If you want to lead troops to fight, that’s fine, first go to the military academy in Nanjing. If you don’t want to go to the military academy, you can recommend a son to go to school, and after graduation from the military academy, you can be assigned to the army as an officer. How about it? Although I didn’t make a wish for you to be appointed officials, the court is not mean to you, right?”

  Li Zicheng asked: "If you go back to your hometown, what will you do if you are persecuted by corrupt officials?"

   "Your Majesty decides for you!"

Fei Ruhe smiled and said: "You are very close to Shaanxi, you must have heard of the tactics of the Datong New Dynasty, and they are merciless in dealing with corrupt officials. When you raised righteousness in Shaanxi, Your Majesty and I raised troops in Jiangxi, isn't it all because of Corrupt officials? You and I are actually ordinary people, brothers of our own family. Come, come, brothers, let’s drink this cup to the brim!"

   "Refreshing!"

   "Commander Fei, I respect you with this cup!"

   "Done, done!"

   "..."

  The atmosphere quickly warmed up, and Li Zicheng's subordinates happily toasted and drank.

  Each person can bring ten carts of goods back to his hometown, which is enough to be a rich man for the rest of his life. He can also recommend a son to go to the military academy, and he will become an officer after finishing the military academy, and the future development of the family will also be assured. It seems that they are not as good as they are domineering in Hetao, but Hetao can't defend against the Datong Army, and Li Zicheng's troops have long since lost their hearts.

  Everyone recommended their son one after another, saying that his son was outstanding in martial arts.

  Only a few young people like Zhang Nai, who are only about 30 years old, are willing to go to Nanjing to study in a military academy in person, intending to continue to seek development in the new dynasty of Datong. The rest of the old bandits and generals don't want to bother anymore, wouldn't it be good to return home and enjoy the blessings?

  Li Zicheng suddenly said: "My brother is going back to his hometown, and I'm going to Nanjing to visit. Zhao... Your Majesty the Emperor in Nanjing, I really admire him very much. If I don't see it with my own eyes, I won't be able to sleep well in this life."

  Fei Ruhe smiled and said, "King Chuang asks for an audience, His Majesty will sweep the couch to welcome you. By the way, since Zhang Xianzhong is a landlord in Taiwan, King Chuang can also go to Taiwan to catch up on old times."

   "Thief Zhang? It's fine if he doesn't see you." Li Zicheng said disdainfully.

  When Liu Hanyi was still besieging Batavia, Li Zicheng took a group of students who were going to the military academy and went all the way south to Nanjing to meet Emperor Zhao.

  (end of this chapter)