Zhang Cheng knew very well that there were many reasons for the destruction of Luoyang City. As early as when the bandits were ravaging the land of western Henan, Lv Weiqi, the Minister of War in Nanjing, who was still in Luoyang City, was deeply aware of the seriousness of the situation.
He hurriedly gave advice to King Fu: "Three years of strange famine have never been heard of in ancient times. The villages and towns were all starved to death, and the cities were killing people and eating them. Bandits were entrenched everywhere, and combined with tens of thousands of bandits, they destroyed Lushan and Jiaxian. The three counties of Yiyang were defeated, and the two counties of Yiyang and Yongning were defeated within six days.
The thieves are surging, and it is very urgent to peep into the Luo. There is no stronghold that cannot be broken, and there is no attack that cannot be conquered. Moreover, the confusion of the hungry people's thoughts and the disintegration of the people's hearts can be worried. Moreover, none of Futai's soldiers have arrived. Although there are soldiers, the two Yi soldiers have no food and pay. , and the people on the city walls are all dead in the shape of ghosts and doves. There is no one to rely on in the city, and there is a danger of laying eggs in the morning."
Lu Weiqi hoped that King Fu Zhu Yousong could urge Henan Governor Li Xianfeng to send troops to Luoyang to strengthen the city's defense. He also suggested that King Fu, for the sake of his own wealth and life, use money and food to solve the salary arrears of the defenders in the city to motivate the sergeants.
Lu Weiqi even used the fall of Yongning City as a reference, saying that the clan officials and gentry in the two cities were wandering around, relying on the weather to make ends meet, making no plans, not giving up any money, and not listening to a word. Even though they are biting their navels now, they regret it. What's the benefit?
He fully hoped that Zhu Changxun would not act as a short-sighted miser and end up in a position where he could not reach his navel.
However, how could Zhu Changxun of the Fu clan, who wanted money rather than his life, and was famous for his greed and stinginess, listen to him? Not only did he not take out any money, but he turned a deaf ear to the ravages of thieves, and he continued to sing and dance all day long, eating, drinking and having fun.
It was not until the intruders gathered troops outside Luoyang City and almost surrounded the huge city of Luoyang that Prince Zhu Changxun, who was used to being domineering and domineering, realized that he was getting anxious.
He had no choice but to put down his arrogance and personally inspect the defense of Luoyang, encouraging the soldiers and people to defend the city. He also reluctantly gave out some silver and grain rice to boost the morale of the people and encourage the city defenders.
Although King Fu had no choice but to spend money to recruit death squads to resist desperately, how could such a ragtag group of people stop Li Zicheng's tiger and wolf army?
Regarding the death of King Fu, there have been three more famous versions in history.
But the third theory is the most widely circulated, that is, King Fu was cooked and eaten by Li Zicheng with venison, and it was also called the "Fulu Banquet".
Zhang Cheng, however, believes that this statement is simply nonsense. This statement is only popular in unofficial histories, and is also widely popular in contemporary novels and folklore in the early Qing Dynasty.
It was only because it was more interesting and could slander Li Zicheng and the Ming Dynasty vassals that it was connived by the officials of the Qing Dynasty and spread widely. Moreover, it was not concerned about the scarcity but the inequality. Hatred of the rich was the mainstream at that time. This kind of The explanation is more relieving.
In fact, it is not difficult to imagine how this "Fu Lu Banquet" rumor came about.
At that time, the Qing army had just entered the customs and occupied Beijing. The war had not yet subsided. The Nanming army was very powerful in Nanjing, and the remaining forces of the intruder Li Zicheng were also fighting fiercely with the Qing army in Huguang.
In order to divide the two anti-Qing forces, the Qing army spread rumors about Li Zicheng's deeds of stewing Prince Fu for the "Fulu Wine Party" and quickly spread it across the country in the form of novels and legends in order to achieve peace in the Southern Ming Dynasty. The differences between the two anti-Qing forces in Dashun.
In this way, a rumor carefully fabricated by the invaders gradually became habitually accepted by people and has been spreading to this day!
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Zhang Cheng prefers the second version!
After the city of Luoyang was destroyed, the overweight King Zhu Changxun had difficulty moving, so he had to hide quietly in Ying'en Temple. However, he was discovered by a young monk in the temple and became a prisoner of the intruder Li Zicheng.
Also captured were Lu Weiqi, the Minister of War in Nanjing during the Ming Dynasty, Kang Menghui, the prefect, and more than 400 officials and gentry. On the second day, Prince Fu and other officials and gentry were publicly interrogated in front of the Zhougong Temple in the west of the city.
The officials and gentry were beheaded in public.
For example, the squire Sun Tingsheng of Mengjin County, the squire Wang Chaoshan of Xin'an County, and the squire Wang Yiming of Song County all fled to Luoyang City with their entire families, and they also tried their best to organize resistance. After the city was broken, they were all killed by Li Zicheng in front of the Zhougong Temple in the west of the city.
According to historical records, after the death of King Fu, his body was found in front of the Zhougong Temple. Two ministers from the prince's palace lay over the body and cried loudly, saying: "The king is dead and does not want to live. I beg for a coffin to collect the king's bones. I have nothing to hate about him."
"
Li Zicheng praised his righteousness and promised to collect Prince Fu's body for burial. The two ministers used a one-inch paulownia coffin to carry Prince Fu's body on a broken cart. The two men hanged themselves next to the cart.
This fact is more in line with Li Zicheng's current situation. After he obtained Luoyang City, he did not implement the strategy of overwhelming the city as before. Instead, he left Shao Shichang to lead 500 new troops to guard Luoyang City.
At this time, both Niu Jinxing and Li Yan had attached themselves to Li Zicheng, and even Song Xiance had become Li Zicheng's adviser. Li Zicheng had also changed his behavior as a rogue bandit and had the heart to defend his territory.
Precisely because he wanted to conquer the world, Li Zicheng was busy gathering the hearts of the people. How could he cook and eat living people? That would be despised by the world. With such a record, how could he dominate the world in the future?
It is true that Li Zicheng was a thief, but he was not a fool!
After weighing the pros and cons, he would definitely not be able to do something as shameful as the "Fu Lu Banquet"!
After a long time, Zhang Cheng also felt tired. Today's history is changing, and everything in the future is unpredictable. The road ahead will become increasingly difficult. Only by acting carefully can we make a fortune in this troubled world.
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At noon on the second day, the sun shone brightly, which made Zhang Cheng and other soldiers feel a little warm as they galloped.
The distance ahead was less than ten miles away. Zhang Cheng personally led more than a thousand fine cavalry to rest behind a dense forest. The surroundings were densely surrounded by sentries, and the front was also covered by the fine cavalry of the Ranger Department sent earlier.
Chen Zhong personally led three patrols of the Ranger Department to conduct patrols in the north toward Yanshi, while two patrols in the south were responsible for patrols in the two directions of Dengfeng and Mi County.
More than a hundred elite riders from the outpost of the Ranger Department, led by the sentry commander Ma Sanzhuang, are responsible for the sentinel inspection in the direction of Mi County. They are either in groups of five or ten people, galloping back and forth, almost covering the road from Zhengzhou to Mi County.
direction of the entire battlefield.
"Commander, the sentries reported that there are nearly 20,000 thieves outside Mi County. Looking at the elite ones, there are also four to five thousand people. There are nearly a thousand horse thieves inside, and the rest are foot thieves." Ma Sanzhuang was squatting.
Zhang Cheng reported in front of him.
Zhang Cheng did not comment, and was smoking Yunzhou brand cigarettes. Ma Sanzhuang continued: "The thieves surrounded the north, southwest and south of Mi County, leaving only the east side empty. Judging from their formation, the main camp should be located in
West of Mi County."
Zhang Cheng had just finished his last puff of cigarette. He dropped the cigarette butt. Ma Sanzhuang hurriedly stepped down and stamped it out. Zhang Cheng said, "Go, ask Quangda and the others to come over. We should go meet Li Jiyu."