Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 370: An Open and Honest Conspiracy

January 6

Chongqing
As batches of scouts and scouts returned from the north, Zhu Cilang was no longer completely in the dark about the development of the war situation in the north.

According to reports from scouts, the group of forts set up by Zhang Xianzhong outside Guangyuan had almost been completely withdrawn, while the Dashi Army was retreating step by step without making corresponding changes in tactics.

The scouts were unable to obtain detailed intelligence on the outcomes of the two armies, but the losses in the outer fort groups showed that the Dashi Army, which had just engaged the Qing army for the first time, had lost the upper hand in tactical thinking.

Zhu Cilang was naturally quite surprised by this, and subsequently his plans regarding Sichuan had to undergo some subtle changes.

As far as he knew, before Zhang Xianzhong's accidental death, Dashi and Qing had fought several battles, during which the Eight Banners Army, which was known for its infantry combat, not only failed to gain any advantage over the Dashi Army, but also suffered heavy casualties and were in danger.

The Qing History Draft states: "Xianzhong sent his bandits to surround the camp and resist, but Gebuku defeated the bandit's first infantry battalion.

The bandits were divided into two wings. Hauge sent his assistant commander Subai to attack the right wing, and the commander-in-chief Juntabaturu to attack the left wing.

The bandits came down the mountain from the right wing to attack. Gebuku led the soldiers of his banner to charge them, and then cut off their left wing from Zhunta.

The bandits surrounded the Zhenglan Banner soldiers, and Gebuku, along with his assistants Aljin, Gadahun, Xitku, and Ubash, went to help. Gebuku was shot and killed, and Xitku and Ubash both died in battle, and the bandits retreated.

"The enemy led cavalry and infantry to attack in three directions. Gulang'a fought bravely and was killed along with Bayan'a."

It is obvious that although the appearance of the Qing army was beyond Zhang Xianzhong's expectations, the Dashi Army not only withstood the first wave of attacks with its extremely strong combat effectiveness, but also launched an extremely effective counterattack against the Qing army afterwards.

If Zhang Xianzhong had not died unexpectedly at the most critical moment of the battle, it would have been unclear how the Battle of Phoenix Mountain would have turned out.

With this understanding, Zhu Cilang initially thought that the Qing army and the Dashi army would be able to maintain a stalemate in Guangyuan for a long time.

But who would have thought that when the combat power of both sides was similar, Zhang Xianzhong spent a lot of manpower and physical force to attack and defend the fortress.

Don't underestimate this change.

Because of firearms, the group of forts outside Guangyuan were taken out one by one at a speed beyond the expectations of the Dashi Army, which not only brought heavy casualties to the soldiers defending the forts, but also dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the Dashi Army in the rear.

Zhu Cilang had fought in so many battles, so he naturally knew how much impact morale would have on combat effectiveness.

After learning about the battle situation in the north, even though he was quite confident in the combat effectiveness of the Dashi Army, he did not dare to stay in Qijiang for long because of Zhang Xianzhong's inappropriate tactics.

January 6

Chongqing
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the people from various counties have promised to find the tortured soldiers. I think it won't take long to gather them back."

"Well, every time I think of this, I feel a blockage in my heart. Mr. Fan needs to urge them a little more and not let them suffer outside."

After hearing what Fan Yiheng reported, Zhu Cilang's face showed a look of compassion.

After learning about the general situation of the war in the north, Zhu Cilang weighed the pros and cons and finally changed his previous plan and decided to move to Chongqing.

This is not to say that he is not worried about causing an overreaction by the Dashi Army. The key is that the situation has subtly changed compared to what he originally expected. If he still dwells on this, he will inevitably be out of reach when drastic changes occur in the north.

Therefore, Zhu Cilang ordered Zeng Ying, who was familiar with the terrain, to lead a small group of troops to slowly move northward for emergency response, while at the same time he ordered the main force of the brigade stationed in Zunyi to advance into central Sichuan to shorten the distance with Guangyuan.

Of course, Zhu Cilang, who was obsessed with gathering the Dashi Army, would not ignore the opinions of the Dashi high-level officials.

While adjusting the position of the Ming army, he sent a letter to Guangyuan in the name of Fan Yiheng, and the focus of the letter was that the Ming Dynasty was willing to provide all support to the peasant army.

After doing all this, Zhu Cilang suddenly felt like taking a walk around the street.

It wouldn't matter if he didn't turn around. After this turn, even though he had anticipated the people's livelihood in Sichuan, he was still shocked by the desolation of Chongqing and Zhang Xianzhong's bloodthirstiness and cursed inwardly.

Needless to say, only 10% to 20% of the shops on the street are still open, and most of the ordinary houses are empty.

If it were just this it would be fine, but when the nest is overturned no eggs can remain intact. This is what will happen when there is war.

But the key point is that there are many people with broken hands and feet scattered inside and outside the city. When he asked, he found out that among these people there were Ming soldiers whose hands and feet were cut off by Zhang Xianzhong, and there were civilians who violated the laws of the Atlantis Kingdom for various reasons.

What is even more unacceptable is that these people were not all of them. The rest were driven to various places in central Sichuan.

You know, in their hometowns, those who have lost their ability to work may still be able to survive, but if they leave their hometowns,
Looking at those people who were lingering on, although Zhu Cilang did not say much and did not do anything at the time, he felt a deep hatred for Zhang Xianzhong for the first time.

Killing enemy surrendered soldiers and ordinary civilians, in those days no one would take such things to heart, and no one would fight for justice for them.

But those killings were either for profit or out of necessity. It was rare for someone to kill lives on such a large scale just to vent his anger like Zhang Xianzhong.

"Your Majesty is benevolent and kind, and it is truly a blessing to all the people."

"Do you think Zhang Xianzhong is mentally ill?"

Listening to Fan Yiheng's praise, Zhu Cilang's mind couldn't help but emerge with the middle-aged man with missing right hand whom he saw that day. When that man's figure appeared, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who usually did not show his emotions, couldn't help but curse.

When Zhu Cilang saw the middle-aged man, he was leaning listlessly near the dock with a few other men who had also lost their right hands, apparently waiting for a ship to dock so they could earn some copper coins to fill their stomachs.

But how could they be the only ones waiting for work at the dock? With so many able-bodied laborers, who would choose a bunch of cripples?
It is easy to imagine that people like these will eventually starve to death in this world, even though they once fought for this city.

After returning, Zhu Cilang did not blame any official in Sichuan, nor did he express any of his dissatisfaction.

After all, Chen Shiqi, the Sichuan governor who defended Chongqing at the time, had already died for his country, and his successor Long Wenguang also died in Chengdu a few months later.

Although there was still a Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi at this time, the Ming Dynasty's bureaucratic system in Sichuan had completely collapsed. Not to mention that Fan Yiheng didn't know this, even if he knew, what could he do in a moment?
"Your Majesty, I have failed in my duty!"

Faced with the emperor's sudden loss of composure, Fan Yiheng wanted to apologize first, but when he returned to the ground, he saw the emperor waving his hands, as if he had recovered from his anger.

"It's not your fault. We have only been in Chongqing for a few days. Even if you have three heads and six arms, there are still places you can't take care of." Zhu Cilang paused for a moment, and when he saw Fan Yiheng stand up, he continued, "I estimate that there must be quite a few soldiers and civilians who have been harmed. Go to Yingtian and ask them to transfer more food."

"Your Majesty, I obey your order." "Also, ask Li Chaodong to bring some capable men over here."

Li Chaodong?
Fan Yiheng was somewhat unfamiliar with this name, but when he was confused, he heard the emperor's voice again.

"He is the military advisor of the Advisory Council. He was seriously injured in Yingtian earlier and can no longer go to the battlefield. I handed the task of settling the injured soldiers to him."

Zhu Cilang's explanation was casual and Fan Yiheng didn't think much about it.

In his opinion, this was just the kindness of His Majesty, but he did not realize how important this advisory council was, nor did he expect that a province like the southwest that had just experienced war would become His Majesty's iron clad turf because of this inconspicuous government office.

After answering again, he changed the subject to business.

"Your Majesty, what the states and counties have said"

"No hurry, wait until the war is over."

Although the Ming army had just entered Chongqing, various forces in central Sichuan had already sent people to contact them openly and secretly.

Fan Yiheng thought that if these forces could be gathered together, it would be of great help to the court in recovering Sichuan.

But to his surprise, after saying this, His Majesty's reaction was extremely cold, as if he did not value these forces, most of which had been operating in Sichuan for hundreds of years.

At first he wanted to tell His Majesty the importance of these forces, but he didn't know which nerve suddenly connected to a new channel, and he swallowed back the words he had prepared as soon as he opened his mouth.

He was not very clear about Jiangnan, Hunan and Jiangxi, but as far as His Majesty's actions in Yunnan were concerned, he was constantly cracking down on local forces represented by chieftains, either overtly or covertly.

He was not wrong about this.

When Zhu Cilang's power only covered three or two provinces, he took advantage of the struggle between the eunuch party and the Donglin Party to smooth out the local power in Hangzhou. Later, as his power grew, he took advantage of Ruan Dacheng's case to wipe out most of the gentry and wealthy families in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Although he had not yet recovered the entire Sichuan at this time, his military strength was not inferior to any other side. Moreover, compared with Zhang Xianzhong's bloodthirstiness and the Tartars' brutality, Zhu Cilang's reputation as the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was a hundred times better.

Under such circumstances, instead of colluding with those local forces now, it would be better for him to wait until the overall situation is settled and then accept the allegiance of those fence-sitters as a winner.

Then
It has to be said that this is the benefit of Zhu Cilang hiding behind the scenes during several purges.

Even though the final result was that those who opposed him would suffer the destruction of their families, the emperor, who was always benevolent in the eyes of others, would only kill when he was forced to do so.

In comparison, Zhang Xianzhong, who only knew how to rule with terror, was really not even as good as a kid.

Of course, this does not mean that the Emperor of Dashi, who made a great name for himself in the late Ming Dynasty, was a fool.

The key is that each person's position and personality have already been determined, and their behavior will inevitably be influenced by these prerequisites.

Let’s compare Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng of that time.

Although both sides were resisting the oppression of the upper class, Zhu Yuanzhang at that time had the possibility of compromise and collusion with the landlord class because he had the halo of expelling the Tartars.

In comparison, Zhang and Li have no such bonus and can only go down the path of opposing the landlord class.

At this point, we have to mention the difference between Zhang and Li.

After the Qing army entered the pass, it was not known whether Zhang Xianzhong found an opportunity to compromise with the landlord class or he really just wanted to expel the Tartars. He had repeatedly told his four adopted sons and generals that he wanted to join the Ming to fight against the Qing.

Although the rest of the people had their own thoughts after his death, they did not have any disagreement on Lian Ming's resistance against the Qing Dynasty, which can also prove the authenticity of the historical materials from the side.

If he had not died in Phoenix Mountain, but had just remained in a stalemate with Hauge.

Once he openly raised the slogan of expelling the Tartars and recovering the lost territory, the situation of Dashi would certainly be greatly improved.

By then, with the ability to fight head-on with Hauge's elite troops, it is hard to say whether the world will belong to Zhang.

In this regard, Li Zicheng was much slower. Even though he was the first to enter Beijing, he did not switch in time from the mindset of conquering the world to the mindset of ruling the world.

Not only did his subordinates retain the bandits' style of taking advantage of everything, but they also made repeated mistakes in key strategic choices, which ultimately led to the great country being lost to the Tartars, and he himself ended up dying under a hoe.

If he could restrain his subordinates in time after entering Beijing, if he could ease the relationship with local forces in time at a certain time.
Of course, these assumptions are just assumptions and do not have much significance in reality, but the difference in strategic vision between Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng can be clearly seen from the derivation of these assumptions.

However, at this moment, Zhang Xianzhong, who had a strategic vision, felt that he was in extreme difficulty.

“Yes.”

After pondering for a while, Zhang Xianzhong handed the letter to Sun Kewang, and he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

This letter was naturally the one sent by Zhu Cilang in the name of Fan Yiheng.

In the letter, he not only expressed the Ming Dynasty's recognition of Zhang Xianzhong's fight against the Tartars, but also expressed his willingness to provide all kinds of assistance including money and food.

Of course, at the end of the letter, it was implicitly stated that the Ming army entered Chongqing because they were worried that they would not be able to provide timely assistance, and they guaranteed that they would never take the initiative to attack the peasant army.

Zhang Xianzhong did not feel much about the Ming army's entry into Chongqing. After all, when he made the decision to transfer troops from the rear, he had already excluded Chongqing from his jurisdiction. What really made him feel uncomfortable was the fact that the Ming army wanted to provide help.

You know, apart from reasons like belief, the biggest reason to gain someone's loyalty is the word "interest".

If he really accepted "all the help including money and food" from the court, then this news would inevitably spread to the entire Dashi army through various channels.

By then, the generals and officers who have direct interests with Dashi may continue to stand under the banner of Dashi, but for ordinary soldiers, the identity of the Dashi Army will gradually become blurred.

Under such circumstances, even though Zhang Xianzhong's army was short of money and food, there was no need to say what decision he would make.

just
"Your Majesty, they don't need to worry about other things, but what about the money and food?"

(End of this chapter)