Beijing, April 28, the first year of Yongchang.

Ganqing Palace.

Li Zicheng stopped in front of the palace where Chongzhen worked diligently during his lifetime, but he never entered. Instead, he sighed several times, but he still didn't go in because he had decided to withdraw from Beijing tomorrow.

The braided soldiers are approaching the capital.

In the Battle of Shanhaiguan, the Dashun army, which had defeated Wu Sangui, was attacked by the Manzhou troops who suddenly entered the pass.

The Dashun officers and soldiers who had fought for a day, facing the attack of more than 100,000 Manzhou infantry and cavalry, were still brave enough to fight and refused to retreat. However, the strong wind suddenly rose and dust covered the sky. The Dashun soldiers at the lower vents were so hard that they could not open their eyes by the wind and sand. The Manzhou army took the opportunity to cover up the killing, and the Dashun army was finally defeated and washed away.

More than 40,000 elite troops of the Shun Army who followed Li Zicheng to fight in the east and west were wiped out. Among them, all the "Three Walls" cavalry led by general Liu Zongmin were almost killed in battle, and Liu Zongmin himself was also seriously injured.

At first, Li Zicheng did not know that Manzhou was participating in the war, so he immediately supervised the war on Xiaogangfu. He was very happy to hear that the Wu army guarding the northern wing city of Shanhaiguan surrendered to Dashun, but then the front-line war began to be unfavorable. From a distance, countless soldiers attacked from the east and rushed to the front to wave the white flag.

A local monk knelt in front of Li Zicheng's horse and said that it was not Guanning who held the white flag, but Manzhou.

When Li Zicheng was shocked and suspicious, the front line reported that a large number of braided soldiers rushed into a stone. Only then did he realize that Wu Sangui colluded with Manzhou and saw that he was defeated, he had no choice but to order the remaining troops to fight and retreat to Yongping Mansion to withdraw.

The Manzhou soldiers followed the army to chase and give birth to more than 20 miles before retreating to Shanhaiguan.

Those who followed Li Zicheng to Yongping also included the three sons of Chongzhen, Wu Xiang, and the two relatives of the Ming Dynasty Qin and Jin Dynasty who surrendered to Shun.

In the second half of the night, Liu Zongmin, who was seriously injured, was carried to Yongping by his subordinates. Li Zicheng's nephew Li Guo and other generals also rushed to Yongping one after another. After counting, only 14,500 infantry and cavalry remained.

In this battle, in addition to more than 40,000 elite soldiers in the Shun Army, another 30,000 civilians who were accompanying the army near the capital were massacred by the Manchu soldiers on a stone.

While Li Zicheng sent someone to escort Liu Zongmin and the other injured generals back to Beijing, he also sent secret orders to Niu Jinxing, who was left behind in the capital, and asked him to command more than 10,000 troops left behind in Beijing to come to Yongping.

When this order was issued, Li Zicheng intended to intercept Wu Sangui and Manzhou soldiers in Yongping. At this time, he still did not know that Manzhou's entry into the pass was the whole country, so he wanted to fight with the Manzhou people in Yongping. On the one hand, he intended to destroy some of the soldiers and horses in Manzhou and dared not approach the capital. On the other hand, he also tried to transfer troops from other places to reinforce the capital.

However, two days later, all the soldiers of Manzhou and Wu Sangui had set out from Shanhaiguan to fight to Beijing. The two families had more than 100,000 soldiers. Li Zicheng knew that even if Niu Jinxing and more than 10,000 people arrived in Yongping, he could not stop the Manchu and Wu coalition forces, so he ordered his nephew Li Guo to lead 10,000 cavalry to cut off the rear, and he led the rest of the troops back to the capital.

When they set off, they ordered Wu Xiang to kill him, and their heads were hung on a high pole. How to deal with the three sons of Chongzhen and the two relatives of Qin and Jin, many generals and lords advocated killing him immediately to eliminate the idea of ​​reviving the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, although the Dashun army was defeated, the upper and lower levels did not think that Manzhou had the ambition to steal China, but only thought that Wu Sangui borrowed troops from Manzhou.

Song Xiance also advocated killing Chongzhen's three sons, but after Li Zicheng thought about it, he asked someone to bring Chongzhen's three sons.

The prince of Chongzhen, Zhu Cilang, King Yong, Zhu Cilang, and King Ding Zhu Cijing were all very scared when they were brought to Li Zicheng, and they were dissatisfied. The three children thought that Li Zicheng would kill them if they were defeated.

However, Li Zicheng told his three children that since ancient times, none of the emperors, princes, and kings who had lost their country were not killed, but Emperor Yongchang did not do so.

"You three are young and ignorant, and live in the palace, and have no major national affairs. Although your father is the king who destroyed the country, he is not a fool, but he is just stubborn and self-righteous and destroyed the country. I was also the people of your father in my early years, so I will not kill you."

After saying that, Li Zicheng asked someone to give the three children some gold and silver, and the entourage of these three children took them to escape. He also told them not to fall into the hands of the Manzhou people, otherwise the Manzhou people might threaten the Ming Dynasty military and civilians with you.

"You three can do anything, even if you want to avenge your father and gather troops to kill me, but you must not be the son emperors of Manzhou, otherwise your father will not be at peace."

Li Zicheng sighed and waved his hand to send Chongzhen's third son out. He also called Song Xianke to release all the Ming dynasties in the same army as Qin and Jin. Then he turned over and retreated to Beijing.

After returning to Beijing, Li Zicheng ordered the killing of all 34 Wu Xiang's family. It was also on this day that Wu Sangui, who had already shaved his hair, was appointed King Pingxi by Dorgon, the regent of the Qing Dynasty.

After killing the entire Wu family, Li Zicheng ordered the demolition of the private houses and sheep and horse walls outside the capital to defend Beijing.

Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others opposed defending Beijing, believing that although Dashun had many troops stationed in Xuanda area, many of them were surrendered troops from the Ming Dynasty. If those people heard that Wu Sangui colluded with Manzhou to attack, they would probably have repeated it and it would be impossible to organize them to defend Beijing.

Moreover, if these surrendered troops were transferred together with the Shun Army, who supervised them, the former Ming officials, gentry and landlords in Shanxi, including Hebei, might also rebel immediately.

After listening to this suggestion, Li Zicheng decided to give up Beijing, shrink his defense line and gather his troops, but decided to hold an ascension ceremony in Wuying Hall before leaving Beijing, Niu Jinxing will perform the suburb rituals, and each of the six governments will issue an imperial edict.

The reason for doing this is because Beijing was the capital after Yongle of the Ming Dynasty and had an orthodox position. Ascending the throne in Beijing was to announce to the world that Dashun was already the only legal regime in China, and that Beijing was also the place where Dashun was established.

The throne ceremony was held by Niu Jinxing. Almost all the Dashun officials and generals in Beijing were Dashun’s direct descendants, but 90% of the civil servants were surrendered from Xi'an and Beijing. After hearing that the Dashun army was defeated in Shanhaiguan, these people had their own thoughts.

Xi'an came to a relatively calm place, thinking that the victory and defeat of military affairs were common. Dashun only killed tens of thousands of people in this battle, but there were still millions of soldiers. How could Wu Sangui's 20,000 or 30,000 people be able to fight against him? Even if Wu Sangui and the Manzhou people borrowed a large army, the Manzhou army would have to go back.

Therefore, for Xi'an officials who are loyal to Dashun, it is right to give up the lonely city of Beijing.

However, the demoted officials in Beijing were all worried. I really didn't know whether they were going to leave the capital with Li Zicheng or stay in the capital.

If they leave with Li Zicheng, if the Ming Dynasty revives, their group of people will die miserably. If they don’t leave with Li Zicheng, they are afraid that Li Zicheng will kill them directly, which is really a dilemma.

In this mess, on the 28th, Li Zicheng ascended the throne in Wuying Palace.

Before the throne ceremony, Beijing received an urgent report that Wu Sangui's troops had already passed Yutian, and the army of Manzhou people followed Wu Sangui.

After the throne ceremony, Li Zicheng summoned generals in Wuying Palace to discuss the policy of withdrawing from Beijing.

Military advisor Song Xiance believed that after leaving Beijing, we must ensure that Shanxi was controlled by Dashun, especially the important town of Datong. If Shanxi cannot be saved, we will give up. The main force retreated to Shaanxi and defended the three important towns of Tongguan, Yulin and Shangluo.

Yu Shangyou, the Secretary of the Military Government, believed that Shanxi should not be given up easily, and that Shaanxi's military power should be transferred out to Henan.

"Your Majesty, Henan must not make mistakes. If Henan is lost, Tongguan will be difficult to defend Shangluo!" Yu Shangyou was born as a Jinshi in the Chongzhen Dynasty. He was a minister of the official government last year and was just transferred to the Shangshu of the Military Government.

Of course, the importance of Henan is not to mention Shangyou. The Shun Army in Henan has only scattered people. The main force is the General Dong Xueli Army, the former surrendered army of the Ming Dynasty, and the Henan Jiedushi Lu Bizhou Army. The two troops have crossed the Yellow River and moved south to Xuzhou. There are very few soldiers and horses left in Henan, so even though Henan is very important, Li Zicheng has no army to garrison.

Yu Shangyou said that he could rush to Dong Xueli and Lu Bizhou for eight hundred miles, and asked them to withdraw their troops and return to Henan immediately to ensure Huaiqing and Wei Hui, and prevent Wu Sangui and Manzhou soldiers from taking advantage of the emptiness of Henan.

"Dong, will the two of them go north?"

General Liu Fangliang expressed doubts about whether these two surrendered officials in the Ming Dynasty would obey orders after Dashun withdrew from Beijing.

Yang Yuji, the Minister of the House Government, thought for a while and said, "Except for Dong and Lu, Your Majesty has also registered a Huaiyin Marquis Lu Wenzong, but he asked him to join Dong and Lu to recruit troops north to Henan, so that it would be easier to supervise each other."

“Okay.”

Li Zicheng nodded. Lu Bizhou and Dong Xueli were both demoted officials in the Ming Dynasty, but Lu Wenzong was a person who advocated righteousness in Huai. From the perspective of similarity, Lu Wenzong was obviously closer to Dashun than Lu and Dong, and was more worthy of Dashun's belief.

Song Xiance agreed that because Lu was the rebellion of the Ming Dynasty, it was impossible to join forces with Lu and Dong, the two Ming Dynasty officials surrendered.

"Even if they are willing to come, the soldiers are not worthy of use."

Li Guo shook his head. Lu and Dong were all defeated soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, and Lu's subordinates were Huaiyang farmers. To put it bluntly, it was just a group of mobs. Even if the three families could gather tens of thousands of people to enter Henan, how could they stop the people of Manzhou?

In the Battle of a Stone, Li Guo was impressed by the powerful soldiers of those braided soldiers.

Li Zicheng waved his hand and said, "Die horses are used as living horses. Let the three of them go north to Henan first, and then ask Bai Wang to bring troops from Jingxiang. Just do this, the old cow drafts an order and will send it out today."

Bai Wang was another strong general of the Dashun Army. He had been in Jingxiang for two years and his 60,000 Shun Army was also an elite force.

In addition to Bai Wang's 60,000 elite soldiers, Dashun also had more than 100,000 soldiers and horses led by generals such as Yuan Zongdi, Tian Jianxiu, Gao Yigong, and Liu Tichun. The main force of the Shun army was more than 300,000. In addition to the surrendered Ming army, there may not be a million people, but there must be 50,000 or 600,000. Therefore, even if Yi Chi Shi lost more than 40,000 elite soldiers, Dashun's military strength was still very strong.

Song Xiance was a little worried and said, "Since ancient times, to protect Guanzhong, Shanxi must be protected. To protect Shanxi, Datong must be ensured, but Datong is very unreliable."

The Datong Guardian was Jiang Guan, a surrendered general of the Ming Dynasty. This man was related to Tang Tong and was also a family friend of Wu Sangui. Now Tang Tong has nowhere to know, and it is very likely that he had surrendered to Manchuria. At that time, it was Jiang Guan, who was persuaded to surrender, so Song Xiance had to suspect that Tang Tong would persuade Jiang Guan to surrender for the people of Manzhou.

Once Jiang Guan rebelled in Datong, Taiyuan would be in danger. After Jiang Guan surrendered, Li Zicheng sent general Zhang Tianlin to lead troops to garrison in Datong and Yanghe areas, and the surrendered general Chen Yongfu was left in Taiyuan.

Zhang Tianlin is an old brother and reliable, but his troops only have a few thousand people. Chen Yongfu was a surrendered general of the Ming Dynasty, so it is hard to say whether he would resist Tang Tong.

"Let's leave Beijing and go to Shanxi first."

Li Zicheng was worried about the recurrence of Datong, so he decided to send Li Guo to lead 3,000 cavalry to Datong and Yanghe with Jiang Guan.

In case of Datong unstable, Li Guo could cross the river from Panguan to the west, either guard Yulin or Yan'an, so that the people of Manzhou could not cross the Yellow River. At the same time, Chen Yongfu was granted the title of Wenshui Bo, and Yuan Zongdi was also called to pay close attention to the direction of Datong.

After making these arrangements, Li Zicheng asked the generals to set off immediately. Considering that he left Beijing as an empty city, in order to prevent the Manchus from massacre, Li Zicheng ordered the people of the capital to go out of the city to take refuge, and set fire to the Ming Dynasty palaces and various gate towers.

For a moment, people supported the elderly and the young in Beijing were constantly connected to the post. When Li Zicheng's imperial camp was set off, many Ming Dynasty officials who surrendered to Dashun chose to follow Li Zicheng to Xi'an.

When Li Zicheng left Beijing from Guang'anmen, fire had already caught fire in many places in the city. He looked back, shook his head and sighed, and drove his horse to the west. The army carried tens of millions of taels of stolen silver from Beijing officials, gentry and honorary relatives.

It was only 42 days before he entered Beijing by rushing to the army.

Xuzhou, April 30.

Lu Wenzong, the Marquis of Huaiyin of Dashun, has already carried out the enrollment of Liu Zeqing's troops.

Putting his own elite soldiers beside the Huaiyin Hou, the surrendered generals thought that it was the Huaiyin Hou who was annexing their troops, but soon realized that this might not be a bad thing.

Because the Iron Armored Guards and Flag Team are elites of the Huai Army, especially the latter is the Marquis' personal soldiers, if there are their own people in this personal soldiers, it will actually be a constraint and supervision on both sides, and it is also a manifestation of mutual trust between the two sides.

Besides, are there any choices?

There were 5,000 strong soldiers, 3,000 of them added to the Iron Armored Guard, and the remaining 2,000 were incorporated into the Flag Team, which led to 3,000 main soldiers and auxiliary soldiers of the Iron Armored Guard; the Flag Team also increased from 1,500 to 3,500. The total number of this army was 9,500, which was actually a town.

After receiving more than 2,000 Ming cavalry in surrendered, the cavalry brigade of the Huai Army had more than 2,500 cavalrymen, and the remaining livestock cavalry, the cavalry brigade expanded to more than 5,300.

How to adapt the remaining less than 20,000 people, Lu Si gave the surrendered generals a chance to make a free choice.

Two plans are: one is to draw the first brigade of each division with the first town of the Huai Army, and the second brigade mixed into the new first town; and then form the fifth town with the third brigade of the first town.

This plan probably requires about 12,000 people in two towns.

Another plan to surrender generals can choose not to join the Huai Army and lead the rest of the troops into separate brigades, and lead the troops independently on the premise of accepting the command of Lu Si.

Lu Si was very sincere and gave these surrenders three days to consider. In addition to selecting healthy soldiers from various departments to supplement the Iron Armored Guards and Flag Teams in these three days, Lu Si asked Chen Buping to send people to buy the hair of the people, and then made the hair into braids and tied them behind the scarecrow for the Huai Army to perform assassination.
Chapter completed!