I

By the Danshui River, a simple military camp.

The five thousand soldiers who defected were provided with two meals a day. Their weapons and armor have been confiscated by the Datong Army, but no one cares about it.

If their family members were not still in Shanxi, they would even want to settle in Huaiqing Mansion!

Missionaries come every day, one hundred people in teams, divided into five teams to visit the countryside. Five hundred people set out one day and visited them all in ten days.

There are not many immigrants in Huaiqing Mansion, and there are not many surviving local people. It can be said that it is a vast land and sparsely populated. After the government allocates farmland to farmers, the unowned land can also be reclaimed. It is regarded as rented by the government to farmers, and will be divided out when immigrants come.

Hard-working people always think about plowing as much as they can, and work hard day and night.

Two consecutive years of bumper harvests made them rich quickly. In some unowned land, they cultivated it without reporting it. A few fish always slipped through the net, and the harvest was full of grain.

Another five hundred Dashun soldiers came back to the camp from a visit to a nearby village.

"The farmers here are extremely rich. Every household has food. The house I visited had a big earthen warehouse filled with food."

"The government's land tax is not heavy, and you don't have to do corvee labor. Your life is so comfortable, even if you were a god, you wouldn't do it."

"The whole family should have fled to Henan in the first place. Why did they stay in that damn Shanxi?"

"There was a plague in Henan a few years ago. I don't know how many people died."

"We are here, but my mother-in-law and baby are still in Shanxi. Even if Marshal Hao wants to run away, he should wait a few more days until we can take his family with him."

"Yes, it would be great if the child's mother is here. When the time comes, he will not be a soldier, and the whole family will farm the land honestly. I will wake up laughing in my dreams that day."

"..."

A group of Datong dragoons suddenly rushed into the military camp and called Hao Yaoqi's subordinate general: "You can go back to Shanxi!"

The surrendered generals were stunned and at a loss.

The dragoon general's name was Sui Bin and he said with a smile: "Don't be afraid. Go back and tell Li Zicheng that you were deceived by Hao Yaoqi. You didn't even bring your family with you. How can you show your sincerity?"

Five thousand unarmed soldiers and generals were escorted back to Shanxi by dragoons.

Before leaving, some single men and bastards who didn't care about their families knelt on the ground and cried that they didn't want to go back. They wanted to stay in Henan and divide their fields and become farmers.

If you don't want to go back, you have to go back. Five thousand soldiers are five thousand voluntary propagandists.

When they arrived at the checkpoint occupied by the Datong Army, the generals guarding the pass were shocked and thought that the Datong Army was coming to kill them.

After some inquiries, the general guarding the gate did not dare to neglect and immediately sent someone to deliver the message quickly.

Li Zicheng, who was far away in Taiyuan, was extremely confused when he received the news. He called Niu Jinxing and asked: "Prime Minister Niu, what kind of medicine is sold in this gourd named Zhao? If a general from the south defectes with his troops, we will definitely promise him a high official and generous salary. Why did he kill Hao Yaoqi? When the news spreads, who will dare to surrender when the two armies fight in the future?"

Niu Jinxing was also confused and said: "It is better to recruit people to Taiyuan and interview them in person. As for the rebels who came back, they cannot be reused or severely punished. They did not bring their families and they were all kidnapped by Hao Yaoqi. .”

The two sides handed over at the pass, and most of the dragoons returned. The remaining one hundred dragoons escorted the civilian officials of the envoy and headed towards Taiyuan.

Li Zicheng was also generous and did not confiscate the equipment of the dragoons, allowing them to travel fully armed.

The civilian official who led the mission was named Liu Xiangke, who was from Fuping, Shaanxi. Born as a scholar, he went south with Fu Shan and is now a junior official in the Ministry of Etiquette of the Datong court.

Historically, this guy had a bad reputation. He was the "tiger skin" among the "Five Tigers of Southern Ming Dynasty".

The five people controlled the government, excluded dissidents, took bribes and bent the law, but Liu Xiangke still had a bottom line. In the end, he did not surrender to the Qing Dynasty, but fled into the mountains and refused to become an official.

The other four were extremely disgusting.

The tiger-headed Yuan Pengnian was the son of Yuan Zhongdao. After surrendering to the Qing Dynasty, he drafted a notice saying: "Money and rat tail are the elegant policies of the new dynasty; Eguan Bodai is the bad rule of the country."

When he learned that Jin Shenghuan was raising troops in Jiangxi and that Li Chengdong also intended to fight against the Qing Dynasty, he immediately helped Li Chengdong plan and took control of the Southern Ming Dynasty from then on. Emperor Yongli once got so angry that he said directly: "From now on, official promotions will be decided by Yuan Pengnian." This guy even dared to quarrel with Emperor Yongli in person.

After the Yongli small court was destroyed, Yuan Pengnian surrendered to the Qing Dynasty again. Even the Qing Dynasty didn't want him, thinking that he was a repeating villain.

Although Huya Jinbao did not surrender to the Qing Dynasty, he became a wealthy monk and often visited the homes of Manchu and Qing dignitaries. He also wrote "Pingnan Wang Yuan Gong Chui Model" to erect a monument and biography for Shang Kexi.

The tiger tail is Ding Shikui, and the hemp slips down to the clear.

Tiger Claw Meng Zhengfa lived in seclusion in Hunan, writing books to whitewash his party members, and describing himself as an upright gentleman.

Today's Liu Xiangke is not a tiger skin. When he went south to seek refuge, he was even a passionate young man. Not only did he not take bribes and bend the law, but he was actually known as "incorruptible" in the generally clean Datong court. I have been an official for several years, and I still live in the official dormitory. I use my salary to buy books, and my only hobby is to participate in cultural gatherings.

Zhao Han did not have a palace, nor did Li Zicheng. He had been living in the Jin Palace.

Liu Xiangke, escorted by several dragoons, came to the palace of the Ming Dynasty King Jin to meet him. He bowed his hands and said: "Liu Xiangke, the head of the Rites Department of the Datong Imperial Court, pays homage to His Highness."

"How dare you not kneel down before your Majesty!" a eunuch scolded sternly.

Liu Xiangke stood with his hands behind his back, held his head high and said: "My Majesty, the Emperor of Datong, has canceled the kneeling ceremony. Even if I are to meet the Emperor of Datong, I don't have to kneel, let alone the false emperor!"

The guards on the left and right were waiting to take action. Li Zicheng raised his hand and said with a smile: "If you don't kneel down, then you won't kneel down. From your accent, do you think you are from Shaanxi too?"

Liu Xiangke said: "I am from Fuping, Shaanxi."

Li Zicheng asked someone to give him a seat and said with a smile: "There are very few Shaanxi officials in Nanjing. If you are bullied by the southerners, you can stay in Taiyuan and serve as an official. You are very courageous and courageous. I am short of such civil servants. You In Nanjing, you are a sixth-rank officer, as long as you stay in Taiyuan, I will promote you to the fifth rank!"

Liu Xiang pointed his halberd and sneered: "If I stay, do you dare to accept me? To induce a country's envoys to defect is tantamount to starting a war!"

"Hahahahaha," Li Zicheng laughed, "It's so interesting. How many officials like you are there in the Nanjing court?"

Liu Xiangke said: "In my Datong court, there are countless capable ministers and outstanding officials, and there are countless upright and honest officials. People like me are not worth mentioning at all. To be the head of the Ministry of Rites is already a great blessing from Your Majesty."

Li Zicheng didn't want to listen to the other party's bragging anymore, so he just asked: "Why did Emperor Zhao of Nanjing kill Hao Yaoqi?"

Liu Xiangke asked: "Why did Hao Yaoqi defect?"

Li Zicheng said: "He is corrupt, perverts the law, and does not obey the emperor's orders. He is afraid that I will punish him."

Liu Xiangke smiled and said: "What's the use of keeping those who are corrupt and pervert the law? Will I, the Emperor of Datong, want something that you don't want? In my Datong court, anyone who embezzles more than 20 taels of silver will be punished by being thrown out of office, or even exiled!" "

Hearing this, Li Zicheng was solemn and sighed one last time.

Liu Xiangke added: "My Majesty, the Emperor of Datong, came from a humble background and started as a young scholar. It is precisely because I care about all the people and cannot tolerate corrupt officials that millions of people can return to their hearts. Even after ascending the throne and proclaiming the emperor, I have not forgotten it. Original intention. Does your Excellency know the "Sanyuan Chapter"? People are the basis! I don't want a person who exploits the people! Even in the two provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi, Your Majesty asked me to bring you a message."

"What words?" Li Zicheng asked.

"Your Majesty said," Liu Xiangke said with a smile, "in these two provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi, I hope you will treat the people well. When Nanjing's money and food are ready, your Majesty will send troops to get them. If you are aware of current affairs, you can also come to Nanjing with your household registration map." offer."

Li Zicheng was already so angry that he laughed: "What a loud tone!"

The Datong court has survived the most difficult period and will have sufficient military rations next year. This is deliberately to anger Li Zicheng. It is best for Li Zicheng to take the initiative to attack and achieve a big defeat outside Shanxi.

The terrain in Shanxi is really difficult to penetrate. There are mountains and passes everywhere!

Even if the Datong Army wants to attack, it will attack Northern Zhili first, and then attack Shanxi after finishing the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

Cutting off Hao Yaoqi's head this time is also paving the way for the future attack on Shanxi. The soldiers and civilians may not believe what Xizuo said to the merchants. If the five thousand soldiers went back to spread the word, it would quickly spread among the Dashun army - Emperor Zhao of Nanjing was benevolent and righteous, and was very kind to the people, and everyone could have enough to eat.

Many landowners in Shanxi have been persuaded by Xizuo. Even if their land is divided, they are willing to welcome the Datong Army.

Li Zicheng's official administration was indeed good, but that was only relative to the Ming Dynasty, and also relative to the people at the bottom.

The real situation is: civilian officials are suppressed by military generals. As long as there are military garrison places, military generals basically have the final say. It is difficult for civil servants to be greedy even if they want to be big, they can only be greedy in small ways. The really greedy ones are all local military commanders. Moreover, after more than ten years of drought and war in Shanxi, there are not many people left. If military generals want to plunder, they must attack landowners and businessmen.

Life for the gentry and merchants in Shanxi was not easy.

What's more important is the psychological problems of those generals. They crawled out from the mountain of corpses and the sea of ​​blood. After finally settling down for a few years, they felt they could start enjoying their happiness. And they understand military affairs. After the Datong Army pushed the Manchus back to Liaodong, they did not think that Li Zicheng could win and would be destroyed by Zhao Han sooner or later.

In this case, take the opportunity to make some money and enjoy yourself while you can.

Most of Li Zicheng's high-ranking generals were corrupt and depraved, and their morale and morale in the military had long since dispersed.

After waving Liu Xiangke to leave, Niu Jinxing walked out of the side hall.

"How?" Li Zicheng asked.

Niu Jinxing shook his head: "I have no clue. But I can be sure that Zhao doesn't take us seriously."

Li Zicheng said: "After two years of harvesting food, we are ready to fight. If we want to march south, where should we start?"

Niu Jinxing said: "When it comes to fighting, your Majesty knows better than I do."

Li Zicheng fell silent immediately.

Where else to start? Of course it was to attack Beizhili.

In the entire Northern Zhili, Li Zicheng accounted for most of it, and Zhao Han accounted for a small half. In future wars, Hebei will definitely be the battlefield, and there are no natural dangers there, and all depends on the defense of cities.

At that time, strategies and other tactics will no longer be of any use, and we will have to compete with real swords and guns in terms of combat effectiveness and logistics.

Niu Jinxing suddenly said: "Why don't we make an appointment with the Tatars and send troops together next year?"

(It’s gone today and will be added tomorrow.)