I

The Manchus really moved their capital, giving up Shenyang, Fushun, Tieling, Kaiyuan, and retreated all the way to the east of the Liao Great Wall.

There are mountains and dense forests there. As long as the Tatars garrison the pass heavily, it is really difficult for the Datong Army to attack.

The capital of the Manchu Qing Dynasty once again became Hetuhara, the so-called Jianzhou Guard, and the most important castle was Saerhu.

Cities such as Shenyang and Kaiyuan were plundered by the Manchus.

The population was not taken away too much because the mountainous areas could not accommodate it. Livestock, grain, and goods were robbed as much as they could, and even the money and grain of the traitorous landlords were robbed.

After hearing the news, the Datong cavalry pursued and killed more than 2,000 Tatars, rescued thousands of Han people who were forced to carry their belongings, and intercepted a large amount of livestock, grain and belongings.

On Fei Ruhe's side, due to Li Zicheng's hasty return to Shanxi, the defenders of the cities along the way had no fighting spirit, and the Datong Army took advantage of the situation to regain the entire Hebei.

Tongguan.

Fei Yinggong led his troops to conquer Weinan, and the defender Liu Sanhu died in the battle. The Datong army successfully reunited at Tongguan.

Missionary officer Lin Ruzhao rode to the pass, but the soldiers guarding the pass did not fire arrows. Lin Ruzhao shouted: "General Tian, ​​although you are loyal and brave, you cannot go against the trend. You have been trapped in Tongguan for nearly five months, and you are worthy of Li Zicheng's kindness. The military rations in Tongguan are almost finished, right? Are you loyal to Li Zicheng? Just take tens of thousands of soldiers to starve to death together?"

Tian Jianxiu was silent. The army had been without food for two days. If he had not been able to lead the army, his soldiers would have mutinied long ago.

Looking around at the officers and soldiers around them, they all looked different, and some were even unable to stand.

Lin Ruzhao continued: "As long as you surrender, you will be spared death!"

Tian Jianxiu finally said: "Remember this sentence, I hope you will not break your promise!"

"The Datong Army keeps what they say," Lin Ruzhao shouted. "Shaanxi has suffered natural and man-made disasters for more than ten years, and there are very few people left. Among the tens of thousands of people in Tongguan, there are civilians recruited from several counties in the surrounding area. How can the Datong Army kill them?" Who of them will be killed for farming? Their wives and children are still at home waiting for them to return!"

This sentence spoke to the hearts of the soldiers who defended the city.

Most of them were originally just farmers. After being recruited as civilian husbands, they were organized into the army by Tian Mianxiu. After being away from home for several months, I longed for home and didn't want to fight at all. All I could think about was my family.

"You guys, surrender in Kaicheng."

After Tian Jianxiu said this to the soldiers, he knelt down toward the northeast, then drew his sword and committed suicide across his neck.

Liu Tichun did not stop him, but committed suicide. The seven tigers of the Liu family rebelled, and he, Liu Erhu, was the only one left, who just happened to go under the Nine Springs to accompany his brothers.

The gatekeepers were very quiet, silently opened the city gate, welcomed the Datong army in, and then waited for food to be distributed to fill their stomachs.

Not long after Li Zicheng returned to Taiyuan, he received military information from Tongguan. It was sent by the Datong Army, asking Li Zicheng to surrender as soon as possible, so that Shanxi Province would not be left alone to resist.

"Has the Prime Minister expected this?" Li Zicheng asked.

Niu Jinxing sighed and said: "It's just a fight. If you win and occupy the entire territory of Beizhili, you will be killed by Zhao sooner or later. If you lose, you will end up like this. You are lucky to be able to save Shanxi. If To use the analogy of the situation at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, we are the Red Scarf Army, fighting life and death with the government troops. Zhao Han is Zhu Yuanzhang, we are supporting the main force of the government troops, but he is slowly building a wall in the south to claim the throne."

Li Zicheng asked again: "How long can Shanxi defend?"

"Why does your Majesty ask questions when you know the truth?" Niu Jinxing said, "Our army's defeat was caused by internal factors rather than external factors."

In a word, people's hearts are divided.

In the Battle of Shaanxi, too many generals of the Dashun Army surrendered to the wind and even took the initiative to rebel and stab their friendly forces. When Zhao Han digests Hebei and Shaanxi and sends troops to attack Shanxi next year, I am afraid that many of Shanxi's Dashun Army generals will defect.

The dangers of mountains and rivers cannot be defended. What is truly unbreakable is the unity of millions of people.

Li Zicheng asked: "Prime Minister, do you want to surrender?"

Niu Jinxing told the truth: "I cherish my life and am willing to surrender. But I will not betray my master for glory, nor will I rebel and change sides."

Li Zicheng sighed with emotion: "This is already very rare. If everyone is like the Prime Minister, even if there are only two places in Shanxi and Shaanxi, I dare to compete with the people named Zhao for the world. Those brothers in Laoying used to be miserable, and they can only have a full meal. I was very happy. But when we ascended the throne and became the emperor, we asked them to love and protect the people, but few of them were obedient, and they all became like the officials of the former Ming Dynasty. If we punished them harshly, they would not be united with us. If we Without punishment, the common people will not be able to live their lives. If the common people cannot live their lives, how can we, the emperor, continue to live?"

"That's how people's hearts are." Niu Jinxing said.

Li Zicheng was lost for a long time and said, "Why did the person named Zhao become such a person? His old brother didn't complain?"

Niu Jinxing said: "Your Majesty has asked this question before. In the Nanjing court, civil servants behave like civil servants. Military generals are only responsible for fighting wars. Only in newly occupied lands can military generals temporarily govern the people. Once the status is determined and civilian officials are sent, Military generals are not allowed to interfere in civil affairs. Military generals cannot interfere in civil affairs, and they cannot engage in local corruption, so they have to rely on the Ministry of War to issue food and salary. The food and salary of the Datong Army are distributed by special logistics officers, and those logistics officers are under the jurisdiction of both the Governor's Office and the Ministry of War. Military attachés in the Governor's Office are not allowed to interfere in battlefield command. With power decentralized at different levels, which general would dare to rebel?"

Li Zicheng was silent.

Niu Jinxing said: "Your Majesty, I, Dashun, have also established a system, but the power of the generals is too great. I know that your Majesty does not believe in civilian officials, but they still have to let them govern the local area. Although your Majesty agreed to let civilian officials govern the local area, but the power of the generals is too great." Their power is too small, and they are restricted by military commanders everywhere. In this way, the system is just a system and cannot be implemented in states and counties. Your Majesty is good to the people, but this kindness cannot be implemented in the countryside. Your Majesty reduces or exempts land taxes, but the civil servants and military officers have changed. Collecting miscellaneous taxes in various ways. Your Majesty knows all these things, but like me, you have no way to really take care of them."

Li Zicheng still didn't speak.

Niu Jinxing added: "What is the system? The system is the rules. Once the rules are set, they cannot be changed. Then Zhao Han made the rules for dividing the fields, and they have not repeated them yet. Even the relatives of the emperor still have to divide the fields according to the rules. The Fei family is born With a queen, a concubine, and two generals, wouldn't the Fei family be divided into fields? If the Fei family broke the law, wouldn't they be dealt with the same way? The Fei family was like this, so they set an example, and others must be held accountable if they break the law again. But what about us? Which one of the Li family and the Gao family doesn't occupy a large area of ​​farmland? Which one doesn't recruit a large number of tenants? This is true for the royal relatives, and your Majesty's old brothers will naturally follow suit. This is true for the generals of the old camp, and the generals who returned halfway. Don’t follow suit? If the generals are like this, how can the officers be spared? If the generals are like this, how can the civilian officials abide by the law?"

Niu Jinxing probably held it in for too long, and felt that the Dashun Dynasty was almost over, so she just spit out everything.

Niu Jinxing sighed: "Every time I open the book "Datong Collection" and re-read it, I have a new feeling. Your Majesty, we did not lose unjustly."

"Yes, it's not unfair," Li Zicheng said suddenly, "In this Hebei war, the main forces of the two armies faced off in Tianjin. I sent Liu Zongmin to attack Baoding and other places. In the first-line city of Baoding, all the peasants, soldiers and people were defending the city. Liu Zongmin led I, Dashun's elite troops, attacked a small county town that was only garrisoned by peasants and soldiers. We fought for three months without defeating it. I heard from Liu Zongmin that he blew down the city walls and ordered his soldiers to attack through the gap. The peasants, soldiers and people in the city , tried their best to block the gap, and actually killed Liu Zongmin's elite soldiers."

Niu Jinxing said: "This is the people's heart. People with the surname Zhao win the hearts of the people in the south. The people regard the country as their home and are willing to die for it. Just because the farmers have divided their fields, the people in the city can make a living, and the merchants' belongings will not be lost." Being robbed by officials for no reason, scholars can be promoted as long as they have merit. The hearts of scholars, farmers, industry and businessmen all belong to those named Zhao. It is said that even if the common people died in the battle, the tablets can be entered into the Yinghun Temple and share the incense with the Zhao family's ancestral temple. If one person dies in battle, the whole family will be martyred. Parents and wives will receive pensions, and their descendants will receive preferential treatment from the examiners. In this case, who is not willing to fight to the death? If it were my Dashun court, the enemy troops invaded Hedong, and the officials and people opened the city to surrender. . Why? Officials cannot get their positions, and people cannot get their benefits."

Li Zicheng sat slumped on the dragon throne. He felt that running the country was troublesome, and it was better to be a bandit before. A war is a war, don't worry about the rear.

After a long time, Li Zicheng sat upright and asked: "If the enemy invades Shanxi, many soldiers will definitely surrender. We can't fight even if we try. Where should we go then?"

Niu Jinxing said: "We will definitely not be able to go to the land of the Han family, so we can only go north."

"Hetao?" Li Zicheng asked.

Niu Jinxing shook his head: "With Zhao Han's talent and strategy, how could he not take back the Loop? If we want to leave, we can only go north of Yinshan Mountain!"

Li Zicheng was unwilling: "Then wouldn't we become Mongolian Tatars who herd sheep for a living?"

Niu Jinxing was actually prepared: "Your Majesty, I have already inquired clearly. The north and south of Yinshan Mountain were originally owned by the Tumote tribe. They were defeated by Lin Dan Khan and fled, and then they surrendered to the Houjin Tatars. The Tatar chieftain Huang Taiji, with his The husband of the wet nurse of the leader Ermubu colluded with the Ming Dynasty to rebel against the Qing Dynasty. He took away the military power of Ermubu and took him to Shenyang for trial. Now, Ermubu has been demoted to a commoner, and the pastures have been divided and ruled by the Tatars. I can't do it now, it's a mess there, you hit me, I'll hit you. If we go there with the cavalry, we will definitely be able to occupy a large area of ​​grassland!"

Li Zicheng was hesitant. He was used to eating noodles and really didn't want to go to the grassland to herd sheep.

But if we don’t go to the grassland, where can we go?

Within the Dashun court, there was already disunity at this time. Except for his brothers in the old camp, Li Zicheng looked at everyone as a traitor and might surrender to the Datong Army one day.

There is no way to fight in this situation. As long as the Datong Army sends troops, the passes in Shanxi will be lost in minutes.

Niu Jinxing added: "If Your Majesty goes to the grassland, he should go to the north of Shanxi as soon as possible. Now that the Tatars are defeated, the grassland is in the most chaos. If it is a year and a half later, the winners and losers of the grassland will have been determined by then. It will be difficult to fight again if we go to the grassland. What's the use of staying in Shanxi? It's just to enjoy wealth and wealth for one or two more years."

Li Zicheng thought for a while and suddenly made a decision: "As long as anyone named Zhao is willing to release Li Guo and Gao Yigong, we will surrender to him, offer Shanxi, and lead our troops to the Yinshan grassland to seize territory!"