I

On the twenty-fourth day of the sixth lunar month of the new lunar calendar, the floods in Henan gradually subsided, and Emperor Zhao Han of Datong made a triumphal return with his troops.

To be precise, they only brought back their own troops and stopped when they reached Dangshan Mountain by boat. Everyone, including Zhao Han himself, camped outside Dangshan City for isolation and confirmed that no one had contracted the plague before continuing on their journey.

As for the various armies, they have their own arrangements.

The first division and the second division, the former stationed in Dezhou and the latter stationed in Linqing, were isolated and rested in Shandong while guarding against the Manchu Qing's southward movement. The army was fed and paid and went north along the Grand Canal for supplies.

The third division was stationed in Guangping Prefecture, the fourth division was stationed in Zhangde Prefecture, and the fifth division was stationed in Huaiqing Prefecture to guard against enemies in Shanxi and North Zhili. The army's food and wages were transported north along the Grand Canal and then along the Yellow River.

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

The Seventh Division is responsible for clearing out bandits in Henan.

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

Huang Fei, Ma Jinzhong and others from Shandong were reduced to generals for their meritorious service. They temporarily left 1,500 young soldiers each to assist Shandong local officials in suppressing bandits. The remaining troops were all disbanded and became civilians.

To be honest, tens of thousands of people are piled up in the north, and the local area cannot be self-sufficient in food for the time being, so all military rations have to be shipped from the south. Manpower had to be mobilized along the way, and the civilians had to consume a lot of food. It was not much different from fighting alone in the outside world - it was just a matter of working for relief, so that a large number of hungry people came to transport food.

It is easy to defeat, but difficult to manage.

The goals set by Zhao Han for the civil and military officials in Shandong and Henan provinces were: in the first year, eliminate bandits, control the epidemic, and divide households into households; in the second year, accept immigrants and make local people self-sufficient in food; in the third year , which can provide some food and fodder to the garrison.

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

This speed has been astonishingly fast. Historically, tigers that were killed in Sichuan and liked to live alone appeared in groups. The Manchus had been immigrating to Sichuan for hundreds of years.

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

…

Taiyuan Shanxi.

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

When news of the war in Shandong and Henan reached Shanxi, and they witnessed Hauge leading his troops away, everyone knew that the Manchus would definitely not be able to conquer 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 those who had stabbed Li Zicheng in the back or killed important officials such as Song Xiance, the rest of the troops who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty fell into the arms of Li Zicheng.

"Your Majesty," Niu Jinxing suggested, "Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces have had abundant rain this year, and the severe drought of more than ten years has ended. As soon as Your Majesty comes back, there will be happy rain in Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces. This is God's blessing on Your Majesty." Your Majesty should select talents and make use of them, rectify the administration of officials, eliminate warlords, organize households and people, and encourage farming. You must not rush to conquer the territory. There are serious epidemics in Northern Zhili, Shandong, and Henan. Even if they are conquered, they will still be infected with the plague. It’s just a white space.”

Li Zicheng nodded and said: "I know everything you said. Where can you find the talents to manage this place?"

Niu Jinxing said: "We can learn from the pseudo-tong emperors in the south and use a large number of poor scholars. If they are outstanding in talent and learning, even civil servants who were demoted to the Qing Dynasty should also be reused. Restoring people's livelihood is the top priority, 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 cannot be changed overnight. We must also strictly control them and show no mercy to those who are corrupt and bend the law. Even brothers in the old camp who break the law must be severely punished!"

Li Zicheng sighed: "I can kill them, but I'm afraid the corrupt officials won't be able to kill them all."

"It's one thing to kill them all, but it's another thing to kill them 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 advised: "Your Majesty, today we have three kingdoms. Our Dashun occupies Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu, and the Puppet Qing dynasty owns Northern Zhili, Liaodong, and Mongolia. The Puppet Tong occupy the rich land in the south and are the most powerful, so they can Like Cao Cao in the Three Kingdoms at the end of the Han Dynasty. When we fight against the puppet Qing Dynasty, it’s like Liu Bei fighting against Sun Quan. Wouldn’t it be that we gain an advantage over Cao Cao in vain?”

Li Zicheng shook his head and said: "Tatars are Tatars. Where did Sun Quan come from? But we really can't fight with the Tatars anymore."

Niu Jinxing said: "Before Shanshan and Shaanxi are under great control, we cannot go to war with the puppets."

Li Zicheng smiled helplessly: "That Zhao Han in Nanjing has defeated the Tatars repeatedly, so he must be very good at running the army. In my current state, even Shanxi has not been pacified. How can I dare to start a war with someone named Zhao?"

Niu Jinxing said: "On the one hand, you can make peace with the fake Qing Dynasty, and on the other hand, you can express your surrender to the fake gay emperor. What if a real man can endure what ordinary people can't tolerate, so he surrenders to the fake gay emperor? Does your Majesty think so?"

"That's it." Li Zicheng admitted.

Niu Jinxing said: "Your Majesty can donate a daughter to marry the pretended emperor."

Li Zicheng adopted many orphans, both boys and girls. Yuan Shizhong, who defected and made meritorious service in Henan, once married Li Zicheng's adopted daughter in history, and was made into a legend 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. Otherwise, if I am eager to marry my daughter and the other party does not accept the good offer, won't it make everyone unhappy? Maybe there will be a war over this. "

After the negotiation, Li Zicheng selected envoys, one to go to Beijing and the other to Nanjing.

Li Zicheng and Zhao Han had never fought before, and despite the fact that they had no conflicts, they still admired Zhao Han very much. After all, they were both "emperors" with a background of rebels.

As for the Manchus, Li Zicheng was so disgusted that he was sitting on the throne in Beijing, and was killed by the Eight Banners Army all the way to Shaanxi. If the power was not too weak at this time and the territory was not stable internally, Li Zicheng would not have reconciled with the Manchus.

According to Li Zicheng's original intention, he wanted to drive the Manchus out of Shanhaiguan and then lead his troops to fight Zhao Han!

…

Beijing.

Before the Eight Banners Army had completely withdrawn from Shanxi, Hauge rushed back all the way, making noises about reopening the Manchuria Eight Banners Nobles Conference.

Oboi, Sony, Tan Tai and others followed Haug fully armed, fearing that Dorgon would plot against him.

Bumu Butai, also known as Dayu'er, was the Queen of Xiaozhuang in history, and her current title is the Queen Mother of the Holy Mother. She took the young Emperor Shunzhi to the main seat in the conference room, and the nobles of each banner sat down in order according to their titles.

Gang Lin was the first to ask Hauge: "Prince Su ignored military orders and led his troops back to Beijing without authorization, resulting in the loss of Shanxi and Shaanxi. It was already a serious crime, why did he need to convene the conference in tandem?"

Hauge didn't bother to pay attention to Gang Lin, but looked to the other side: "When this junior speaks, does he mean Adali or Big Belle?"

Da Baile is Daishan, the leader of the red flag, and his son is the leader of the 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 examination in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Ganglin became the minister of political affairs. After switching to Zhenghuang Banner, he completely surrendered to Dorgon.

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

Ganglin had offended Hauge miserably since he defected to Dorgon, and he must not allow Hauge to overturn the situation. He asked, "Does Prince Su admit that he is guilty?"

Hauge did not answer directly, but scolded: "Am I guilty? Even if I am guilty, it is not your turn to speak. Who do you think you are! For a second-class La Zhangjing, allowing you to observe is considered a compliment, how can you still Dare to really speak up and discuss matters!"

Hauge pointed at Dorgon again: "So what if I lose Shanxi and Shaanxi? The soldiers of the Eight Banners under my command were not damaged at all, but it was you who suffered a series of defeats in Shandong and Henan. This is the land of the Han people, so you have lost one or two provinces. , as long as there are still Eight Banners soldiers, we can fight back at any time. If all the Eight Banners soldiers are dead, what's the use of occupying more territory?"

As soon as this statement came out, the Manchu nobles nodded one after another, thinking that what Hauge said made sense.

The Manchu Qing Dynasty speaks by its strength. If Dorgon's strength is not damaged, then it doesn't matter how big a mistake he makes. However, Duduo and Azig who died in Shandong were both brothers of Dorgon. Their lineage suffered heavy losses.

Facing the menacing Hauge, Dorgon took the initiative to back down: "The defeat of Shandong and Henan was due to my command error. I also did not expect the epidemic in Beijing and forcibly moved the capital of Banner and Ding, leaving Liaodong empty and exploited by the enemy. I We have decided to step down as regent and recommend Hauge to take up this position. The Niulu that was taken away from Hauge should also be returned to him."

When Hauge heard this, he was stunned for a moment.

Isn't it so smooth to seize power this time that Dorgon actually gave in directly?

"Ahem!"

Daishan suddenly coughed twice and said: "Although the regent was at fault, Duduo's defeat was due to Duduo underestimating the enemy and advancing rashly. Azig was defeated because the entire army was infected with the plague, and Azige himself also died of the disease. .The defeat of Shangqiu was due to Tong Yangjia's incompetence. If he could hold on for one or two more days, the regent would have been able to annihilate the main force of the enemy army. Moreover, although Shangqiu was defeated, the Eight Banners of Manchuria did not suffer any losses, only thousands of Han soldiers and Eight Banners died. .”

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

Why did Dorgon admit defeat, but Daishan helped Dorgon speak up?

Bumubutai also held the little emperor and spoke: "Prince Li's words make sense."

Hauge felt a chill in his vest. The two yellow flags and the two red flags all supported Dorgon!

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

If Dorgon is punished and Hauge, whose strength is intact, takes over as regent, both the Empress Dowager and Daishan will have a bright light on their backs.

Of course, Hauge also had to be appeased.

After some discussion, it was decided to return all the Niulu that had been deprived last time to Hauge.

Bumbutai said: "Don't ask who is guilty. What we want to discuss today is whether the plague in Beijing should be moved back to Liaodong."

Daishan said: "There is no danger to defend Beijing. Once the south has enough food, there will be more than 100,000 troops approaching the outside of Beijing. In addition, there is a severe drought in the capital this year, and there is not enough food to be harvested. There is also a raging plague. I think we should abandon Beijing and return to the east of Shanhaiguan."

"I agree!"

"I agree too!"

A group of Eight Banners nobles echoed, they were all frightened by the plague.

Moreover, the Datong Army in the south is obviously not a soft persimmon. Since we can't capture the south, why are we still trapped in Beijing? Retreating to Liaodong is the last word!

Dorgon, who had barely retained his position as regent, could not stop this decision.

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

So, should Beizhili, which is plagued by plague and suffers from severe drought this year, send troops to occupy it?

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