Li Zicheng's army consisted of five battalions, front, rear, left, center and right. He only took three of them to Beijing.
The rest of the troops were thrown into Shanxi and Henan.
In addition, there were many Ming border troops who, after surrendering to Li Zicheng, were stationed in Xuanfu, Datong, Miyun and other places.
Li Zicheng took the initiative to evacuate Beizhili, wanting to leave this grainless land to the Qing Dynasty to clean up the mess. He returned to Shanxi, managed Shanxi and Henan, and swallowed up all of Shaanxi.
Then, Li Zicheng misunderstood the Qing Dynasty's reaction.
After Huang Taiji entered the customs and occupied Beijing, he immediately attracted the gentry, favored Han officials, and treated the people lightly with corvee and weak taxes. At the same time, he sent a large army to pursue Shanxi frantically, catching Li Zicheng by surprise and losing a lot of logistical equipment along the way.
Moreover, Huang Taiji sent a partial army to attack Datong and Yulin directly from Beijing.
Along the way, he persuaded the Ming border generals who surrendered to Li Zicheng to surrender, and made wishes for them to be granted official titles. Eight marquises were granted at one go, and many of these border generals were allowed to continue to lead troops to ensure their frivolous wealth and land in the border towns.
As a result, the Manchu and Qing troops with only 8,000 men persuaded the Ming Dynasty's border troops of more than 40,000 to surrender.
They fought from Beijing to Yulin, and then from Yulin to Yan'an. Finally, the army surrounded Xi'an, cutting off Li Zicheng's retreat.
Another partial division entered Henan from Beijing, recruiting bandits and bandits along the way. They were also granted official posts and made promises, and a large number of local rebels in Henan, including local gentry regiment training troops, abandoned Li Zicheng and went to the arms of the Manchus.
The Manchu and Qing troops on the southern route also had less than 10,000 troops, but when they reached Luoyang, there were 60,000 to 70,000 Han troops.
The reason why the recruitment and surrender of the two Manchu armies went so smoothly was simply because Li Zicheng could not get "popular support".
The Han forces who took refuge with the Manchus could be summed up in three categories: border troops, rebels, and gentry.
Li Zicheng did not give any benefits to the border troops. He only allowed them to temporarily garrison the border towns and restricted them from harming the people. Many rebel bandits in Henan were not regarded as confidants by Li Zicheng because they rebelled too late, and even ordered the bandit leaders to disband their troops.
The gentry even hated Li Zicheng and wished that Li Zicheng would be finished soon.
As soon as the Manchus came to the Qing Dynasty, they appointed officials and made wishes, but did not prohibit these people from looting. The conditions were extremely generous. How could they be unwilling to surrender?
As for the main force of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, they marched from Guguan to Taiyuan and fought a decisive battle with Li Zicheng's main force.
Wu Sangui, Kong Youde, Shang Kexi, Zu Dashou and other Han army flags, due to their eagerness to perform meritorious services, broke out very terrifying fighting power. Especially the Han army's firearms unit, which made Li Zicheng dizzy. Wu Sangui led the remaining Guan Ning cavalry, and three thousand cavalry dared to charge.
A large formation of tens of thousands of people.
Li Zicheng was defeated miserably in Taiyuan!
Facing the three-pronged attack of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, Li Zicheng became a rogue again after being defeated, and escaped into Shaanxi with only a few thousand elites.
Luo Rucai, a living Cao Cao, fell out with Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng successively, and later went to war with the Datong Army. Faced with the Qing Dynasty's surrender, he also chose to resist resolutely. After a disastrous defeat, he killed dozens of his concubines and took them with him.
The remaining troops also fled to Shaanxi.
While the Manchu Qing Dynasty was chasing Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai in Shaanxi, they were also busy reorganizing the capital.
Huang Taiji had great talents and broad strategies, obeyed Hong Chengchou's advice, promulgated a series of good policies, and vigorously promoted Han officials.
Then, Huang Taiji contracted the plague and died.
Among the Eight Banners soldiers stationed in Beijing, two to three thousand people were infected with the plague. Among the people in Beijing, nearly 100,000 people were infected with the plague!
…
Beijing, outer city.
"Father, Xue Binting (Xue Guoguan) is dead." Hou Fangyu said.
Hou Xun asked: "How did you die?"
Hou Fangyu said: "If you starve to death, your whole family will starve to death."
Hou Xun was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and sighed.
When Hou Xun served as Minister of Household Affairs for Chongzhen, he basically did nothing for several years. The only thing he accomplished was that during his tenure, he successfully prevented Chongzhen from adding more ministers and never raised taxes once.
Li Zicheng passed by his house and forcibly recruited him to serve as an official. Hou Xun also did nothing.
Now that the Manchu Qing Dynasty has taken control of Beijing, Hou Xun is still sitting in a vegetarian position.
Xue Guoguan was once Hou Xun's political enemy. Now that he heard that his family had starved to death, Hou Xun felt very complicated.
In this time and space, Xue Guoguan is the last chief minister of the Ming Dynasty!
Xue Guoguan's millions of taels of silver were all kidnapped by Li Zicheng. At that time, Xue Guoguan was beaten to half his life. Seeing the Manchus coming, Xue Guoguan knelt down to welcome him.
However, Hong Chengchou said: "The Ming Dynasty died at the hands of this man!"
When Huang Taiji heard this, he blacklisted Xue Guoguan and ordered him never to be hired. He has been starving to death until now.
Hou Fangyu whispered: "Father, you have to find a way to escape to the south."
Hou Xun asked: "What should I do with my family?"
Hou Fangyu said: "My father can take the initiative to go to Shandong to recruit Zuo Liangyu to surrender. The child will accompany him all the way. After arriving in Shandong, his father can find out Zuo Liangyu's thoughts. If Zuo Liangyu is inclined to Nanjing, he can persuade him to take Shandong and join him in Nanjing."
If Zuo Liangyu, the emperor, is undecided, then he will wait for time. The child will quietly go to Nanjing and persuade the Emperor of Datong to send troops to Defu. In this way, our family can be kept safe, and my father and son can also make contributions to the new dynasty of Datong."
"I'm afraid Nanjing has no intention of sending troops for the time being." Hou Xun frowned.
Hou Fangyu said: "Regardless of whether there is a large-scale invasion of troops, Guide Mansion should be captured. Shangqiu is a strategic location that can be attacked or defended. How can it be held by the Qing Dynasty?"
The hometown of the Hou family and his son was in Guide Mansion, which was temporarily occupied by the Manchus and was already bordering Zhao Han's territory.
Hou Xun was silent and considered.
He now serves as the right minister of household affairs in the Manchu and Qing court, but he does not want to serve as an official for the Manchus at all.
In particular, Dorgon ordered the establishment of Mancheng in Beijing, expelled all the Han people, and encircled the capital. This series of policies made Hou Xun feel deeply humiliated. If it were not to save his family, he would immediately
Find a way to go south.
There are many Han officials who have this idea!
Huang Taiji's series of policies have already won the hearts of the Han officials. However, Dorgon only took over as regent for one month and alienated the Han officials.
Hou Fangyu continued to persuade: "Father, my son has read the "Collection of Datong". There is an article "On Family, Country and World" written by Emperor Datong. Changing dynasties means the country will be destroyed. If the country is taken away by the Tatars, the world will be destroyed.
Ah! How miserable the world is. Didn’t my father see it? Hundreds of thousands of people in the inner city of Beijing were driven away like pigs and sheep. Half of them were driven away, and you and I were also driven away. There were also the Eight Banners of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties outside Beijing.
In the race to enclose the land, the gentry are all fish and meat on the chopping board, and the common people are all slaves! What is there to miss about Beijing?"
"Okay, then give it a try, or you may die!" Hou Xun clenched his fists.
A few days later, Hou Xun went to see Dorgon.
Dorgon is now very proud. He was originally weaker than Hauge and had basically no hope of inheriting the throne of the Qing Dynasty. But with a stroke of genius, he gained the support of a large number of Eight Banners nobles by supporting Welfare and successfully became the second regent.
king.
But Hauge is still the first regent and still suppresses Dorgon.
Therefore, Dorgon proposed to build Mancheng and enclose land in Gyeonggi Province. This move was so powerful that even Hauge's supporters began to support Dorgon's rule.
Dorgon then took over the power and pushed Hauge to the ground and beat him!
Dorgon asked with a smile: "You are the one who asked me to change my title to Emperor Father and Regent?"
Hou Xun knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty has outstanding achievements and support. He is the most important contributor to our Qing Dynasty's arrival in Dingjiangshan. Why can't he be called the emperor's father and regent?"
"Royal father and regent, royal father and regent..."
As Dorgon walked around, the more he talked about this title, the more he liked it.
Although his power has surpassed that of Hauge, both of them belong to the regent, and there is no difference in terms of title.
Only by changing his name to "Royal Father and Regent" can he truly suppress Hauge!
Dorgon saw that Hou Xun was becoming more and more pleasing to his eye and asked, "You are very loyal. What reward do you want?"
Hou Xun knelt down and kowtowed and said: "I died in the service of the Qing Dynasty, how dare I dare to ask for a reward? Zuo Liangyu of Shandong Province is my old subordinate. Please ask His Royal Highness the Regent to appoint me as the Governor of Shandong and persuade Zuo Liangyu to bring Shandong to me.
Qing!"
"Well, then you will serve as the right minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs and concurrently as the governor of Shandong," Dorgon said with a smile, "When you come back from Shandong, I will definitely reward you greatly!"
"Thank you for your support, Your Highness!" Hou Xun kowtowed again.
Dorgon stepped back, already considering Hou Xun as his confidant, and asked: "Hauge is quite a hindrance. Is there any way you can suppress him?"
Dorgon consulted Fan Wencheng and Hong Chengchou on this issue. He did not dare to explain it directly and just made insinuations. However, both Fan Wencheng and Hong Chengchou were unwilling to participate and kept pretending to be dumbfounded and did not understand.
Hou Xun whispered: "A plan to divorce."
"Who are you trying to alienate?" Dorgon asked.
Hou Xun did not say it clearly, but said vaguely: "Your Highness should know better."
Dorgon thought about it carefully and suddenly laughed: "In this court battle, you Han officials are the best!"
Who to alienate?
Of course, it was to drive a wedge between Hauge and the flag owners of various banners, especially Jierharang, the owner of the Xianglan flag.
During the epidemic, the Manchu Qing Dynasty rarely held court meetings, and Dorgon directly appointed Hou Xun as the governor of Shandong.
This is a routine operation after entering the customs.
Let the main force attack the ministers along the way, and then send Han officials as governors, responsible for recruiting and surrendering officials, bandits and rebels in various prefectures and counties.
When Hong Chengchou learned that Hou Xun and his son were about to leave Beijing, he immediately felt something was wrong.
Shandong was the center of the plague. Hou Xun was so exhausted that he went to recruit Zuo Liangyu to surrender?
I'm afraid I'm going to run away like a fool!
However, Hong Chengchou did not dare to say it because his relationship with Dorgon was not very harmonious for the time being.
In other words, Hong Chengchou also planned to run away.
In Hong Chengchou's eyes, Huang Taiji was a wise master, but Dorgon was a retard!
If the small imperial court of the Southern Ming Dynasty was in the south, Hong Chengchou would be absolutely sure to take care of it. But in the south it was Zhao Han who proclaimed himself emperor. The world was conquered with swords and spears. With the Manchu and Qing Dynasties in such ruins, how could they possibly be able to secure the throne?
Hong Chengchou had to leave a way out for himself. All his family members were in Fujian, and he also wanted to return to his roots.
After much thought, Hong Chengchou decided to send Hou and his son off.
Outside Beijing, a large number of homeless people have been expelled dozens of miles away to prevent them from spreading the plague in Beijing.
On both sides of the official road, the land is barren.
Many farmers are weeding and plowing the land. If there is rain after autumn, they can replant some grain. They are now serfs, and all the grain they grow must be handed over to the Eight Banner nobles. As for how much they can keep for themselves, it all depends on the wishes of the masters.
Hong Chengchou cupped his hands and said, "Brother Dazhen is going to Shandong. Brother Fool is waiting for good news."
"It's all about eating the emperor's salary, being loyal to the emperor, and doing your best." Hou Xun said with a smile.
Hong Chengchou looked at Hou Fangyu again: "My good nephew has many friends in the south, and he must have many old friends in Shandong."
Hou Fangyu's heart suddenly thought: "Where."
Hong Chengchou said: "If my nephew meets an old friend in the south, he can also say hello to me."
Hou Fangyu cupped his hands and said, "Definitely!"
The three of them had a tacit understanding and said goodbye.
After returning home, Hong Chengchou suddenly received an imperial edict. Dorgon resumed his duties as the Ming Dynasty prince, Taibao, Minister of the Ministry of War, and Yudu censor of the Metropolitan Inspectorate. At the same time, he entered the inner courtyard to assist in military affairs, was awarded the bachelor's degree of the Secretariat, and became the Manchu Qing Dynasty official.
The first Han Prime Minister.
Hong Chengchou was stunned for a moment, and then understood Dorgon's intention.
Dorgon was trying to win over Hong Chengchou, thereby controlling the surrendered Han generals, and recruiting all Han generals to his command.
I have to say that Dorgon is not good at anything else, but he is a good hand in political struggle.
Later, Dorgon promoted the titles of the banner owners of each banner. Those whose titles were already up to standard were given more land to them. Especially for Hauge's supporters and bitter enemies, Dorgon gave various rewards.
In just one month, everyone in Hauge betrayed their relatives and left.
Another groundless charge was found, and Haug was found guilty, stripped of his rank, and immediately dismissed from the military.
Dorgon then took control of the Qing Dynasty, and then purged Hauge's die-hard followers. The nobles of the Eight Banners were suppressed, so they naturally couldn't help but say strange things, so gossip spread all over the sky.
Why the emperor's father and the regent stayed overnight in the Queen Mother's palace, and why the emperor was the regent's biological son, made the Han officials dumbfounded.