Ming Dynasty entry: I am Chongzhen, the greatest emperor of all time!

Chapter 71: Escape! Escape! Escape!
Hao Yaoqi suddenly knelt down and grabbed the hilt of the sword.

He asked indignantly, "Could it be that just one defeat has caused the King of Chuang to lose his fighting spirit?!"

"Yes, one defeat destroyed all the wealth of Dashun for ten years..." Li Zicheng was even more sad and angry.

Hao Yaoqi angrily grabbed Li Zicheng's shoulders and shouted, "Haven't we ever lost a battle before? In the eleventh year of Chongzhen's reign, at Chexiang Gorge, when sixty of us shared a dead horse, wasn't it harder than it is now?"

"When the Thirteen Families rose up to attack the Ming Dynasty and were surrounded and suppressed by the government troops, wasn't it more difficult than it is now?!"

"Why didn't the King of Rebellion think of committing suicide back then? Now he has lost his drive!"

"But we have used up all our savings..." Li Zicheng replied in a daze, but there was some glimmer in his eyes.

"When the old money is used up, we can make more!"

"Back then, when we were broke, we were able to muster a million strong soldiers. Now, we have the Qin and Jin lands in our hands, and half of Northern Zhili has surrendered. In less than three years, we will have another million strong army. By then, it's still unknown who will be the winner!"

Hearing this, Li Zicheng finally showed some reaction. He turned to look at Hao Yaoqi and asked, "But we have no silver or food. How can we train the troops?"

"I've heard that there are several wealthy merchants in Jin who specialize in trading outside the Great Wall. Each of them has dozens of large silver vaults at home!"

"Silver vault?" Li Zicheng's pupils shrank, but he shook his head again. "Those old stingy people from Shanxi sent us 300,000 taels of silver as tribute to the army last year, which was already the maximum. How can we keep the silver at home?"

"That's a drop in the bucket!"

A hoarse voice came from the reeds beside the road.

The only remaining personal guard immediately drew his sword and stood beside Li Zicheng.

The reeds swayed a little, and then a figure emerged holding a brocade robe stained with mud.

It turned out to be Niu Jinxing who took advantage of the chaos to escape on a mule cart!

The Prime Minister of Dashun looked even more miserable.

Only half of his futou was left, revealing his temples covered with blood scabs.

Regardless of being covered in mud, Niu Jinxing stared into Li Zicheng's eyes and said with confidence.

"I have personally seen the Cao family's cellar in Jiexiu. Silver ingots as big as winter melons have been cast there. They are piled higher than the city walls of Xi'an. They must weigh at least one million taels!"

"Go on!" Li Zicheng grabbed Niu Jinxing's hand, his eyes shining, as if he had regained his energy.

"Last year, when I was inspecting Jinzhong, the second son of the Qiao family got drunk and boasted that his family's cellar contained enough silver to buy half the empire."

"Prince Shun, think about it, if we use this money to pay the soldiers, how much can we expand the army?"

Niu Jinxing swallowed his saliva and continued to talk about the plan to confiscate the property.

There is no way. No matter what era, the fastest way to make money is to copy the big players.

"General Li Yan's left army is currently stationed in Huaiqing Prefecture, and they still have 20,000 old troops under their command. They should immediately return to Shanxi and strictly guard the passes to prevent the local powerful families from causing rebellion after news of the Dashun army's defeat spreads back."

"And King Chuang first passed through Juyong. After gathering the remaining troops there, he immediately rushed to Datong and sent his own troops to attack the Shanxi merchants."

"I have heard that some families have weapons and armor ordered by the Jiannu hidden in their cellars."

"Great! To me, getting a prime minister is like getting Zifang!"

After hearing what Niu Jinxing said, Li Zicheng suddenly felt that the current defeat was not a big deal.

He immediately took Niu Jinxing's hand and stood up.

At this moment, Li Zicheng thought of another serious problem.

"What if Chongzhen, with all the momentum of victory, leads his troops out to attack without giving us time to rest?"

He has no soldiers now. If the 100,000 troops from the capital follow him to Shanxi, I'm afraid that his property will be taken away by the dog emperor as soon as it is raided.

Niu Jinxing chuckled, "This is easy to do."

As he said this, he squatted down again and drew a sloppy map on the ground with his muddy hands.

Then it first pointed to the Sichuan and Shu areas.

"Look, King Chuang, this is Bashu. Since ancient times, there has been a saying that the road to Shu is difficult, harder than climbing to the sky."

"At this moment, the Great Western King's 600,000-strong army was being pursued by Zuo Liangyu and other Ming troops, fleeing from Huguang to Bashu."

"If I write a letter exaggerating the battle report of the capital and the defeat of my master, and send it to the King of Great West, what do you think the King of Great West will do?"

"Avenge us?" Hao Yaoqi said in a daze.

Li Zicheng and Niu Jinxing both laughed.

The latter explained first, "Ever since Prince Shun killed Luo Rucai and He Yilong, the King of Daxi has been terrified. Otherwise, why would he flee to Bashu?"

"The Great Western King knows that his troops are far inferior to our Dashun Army. If we exaggerate the process and results of this battle, the Great Western King will only be more terrified."

"When the time comes, we will definitely rush to Bashu regardless of everything. As I just said, Bashu is blocked by natural barriers and is extremely difficult to attack."

"If the Great Western King were to escape to Bashu, he would be too powerful to be eliminated. Bashu is also a major granary. Do you think the wise and powerful Chongzhen would be anxious now?"

"By then, the Great Western King alone will be able to control half of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Isn't that still half?" Hao Yaoqi was puzzled.

Niu Jinxing's finger slowly turned to the north.

"This place is the Three Guards of Jianzhou. Since Nurhaci started with thirteen soldiers in the eleventh year of the Wanli reign, and unified the Jurchens, the entire northern land was in turmoil."

"In the 46th year of the Wanli reign, Nurhaci, citing the Seven Great Grievances, launched an attack on the Ming Dynasty. At this point, all the Mongolian tribes in the northern borders responded to his call."

"From then on, during the reigns of Tianqi and Chongzhen, the Ming army was heavily stationed in the north, and Liao spent countless sums of money to barely keep the Jiannu out of Shanhaiguan."

"Now that the Guanning Army has returned to defend the emperor, in the entire northern land, apart from our Dashun Army, only the capital has an army capable of resisting the Jiannu."

"As long as we surrender Xifengkou, the Jiannu will surely invade the pass in large numbers, and then they will be able to seize the remaining half of the Ming Dynasty."

"Within five years, no one can challenge my Dashun!"

Li Zicheng's tense nerves finally relaxed.

Niu Jinxing's words opened a new door for him.

If this is the case, then he can really make a comeback!
As for the people in the north and Sichuan...

None of his business?

That's not his Dashun territory, so it's none of his business.

"Hao Yaoqi." After adjusting his armor, Li Zicheng returned to the state of the King of Dashun before arriving in the capital.

"Take my token and rush to Juyong Pass to await orders. There are still 5,000 defenders inside, but most of them are surrendered soldiers. You must lead the brothers from the old camp to seize control of the army and gather up the defeated soldiers. Then, send out cavalry in all directions and inform Juyong of all the generals you can contact!"

"I have received your order!" Hao Yaoqi knelt down on the ground.

Then he picked out a warhorse with good horsepower and galloped towards Juyongguan.

Li Zicheng did not stay long. He took the remaining guards and Niu Jinxing and followed Hao Yaoqi's path.

After marching for more than twenty miles, they continued to receive defeated soldiers along the way.

When these old soldiers with blood on their faces saw the flag with the word "Chuang" on it, the despair in their eyes sparked again.

"Your Majesty! It's Your Majesty!"

When the seventeenth wave of defeated soldiers knelt by the roadside, Niu Jinxing reined in his horse and counted them. "Eight hundred and seventy-three have returned, all of them are General Tian's old battalion cavalry."

Li Zicheng ran so fast that only the cavalry from the old camp could catch up with him.

Li Zicheng looked at the light cavalry who still had their quivers hanging on them, and his throat rolled.

These elite troops, who should have been deployed to cover the battlefield, are now huddled in the valley like stray dogs.

As for Tian Jianxiu, neither Li Zicheng nor Niu Jinxing went to ask.

Because the results are already obvious.

Looking at the old camp soldiers who were constantly gathering, Li Zicheng felt a little better. As long as these old brothers were still there, he was not afraid.

He turned around and spoke to the cavalrymen from the old camp who had returned first and had recovered some of their strength.

"Brothers, please go back and tell those who haven't returned to go directly to Juyong Pass. Everyone who returns will be rewarded with 20 taels of silver. We will cook dumplings and welcome everyone when the time comes!"

Niu Jinxing was about to dissuade them, but they had no cash.

But the defeated soldiers suddenly straightened their backs.

The leading sentry ripped open his shirt, revealing the hideous scar on his chest. "We don't want silver! We just want the king to lead us back to the capital and skin the damn emperor alive! Avenge our General Tian!"

"Okay! I promise you!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty! We'll go now!" The sentry chief shouted and turned back with dozens of riders.

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves came from behind.

Hao Yaoqi's personal guards were covered in blood, with a dangling head of a man tied to his saddle. "The thousand-man army that surrendered at Juyong Pass had colluded with the Ming army and has been beheaded by General Hao!"

Li Zicheng did not show any surprise.

After fighting with the Ming army for so many years, he was already aware of the situation of these Ming troops.

Go where the wind is stronger.

With an increasingly large army, Li Zicheng continued to rush towards Juyongguan.

Just thirty miles southwest of him was where Liu Zongmin was.

But his luck was not as good as Li Zicheng's.

More than 4,000 cavalrymen surrounded Liu Zongmin's troops in a valley.

Liu Zongmin's chestnut horse stood up. This brave general who once killed three generals in Datong could not control the reins at this moment.

There were less than 800 of the 3,000 old soldiers around him, and each person's armor was covered with dark red blood scabs.

His physical strength was severely overdrawn and he couldn't even hold the sword.

Looking at the Ming army that surrounded but did not attack, Liu Zongmin laughed disdainfully and tore off his tattered cloak. "My men! Those damned government troops want to capture us alive and exchange us for rewards! Can you agree to that?!"

The Eight Hundred Old Battalion responded immediately, "No!"

Liu Zongmin nodded and said jokingly, "Since you don't agree, then come with me on the road. I can still take care of you!"

"Haha, great! Anyway, the king gave my family 15 acres of good land, so my parents won't starve!" The old soldier agreed. "That's fine, it doesn't count as all the years I fought with the King of Rebellion for nothing. Brothers, we'll meet again in the next life!"

On the Iron Cavalry side, the leader of the cavalry pierced through the smoke and dust, "Liu thief! Surrender now, and His Majesty can still spare your body!"

Before he finished speaking, Liu Zongmin rushed over with 800 remaining soldiers.

It’s a pity that they couldn’t even swing a knife, so they couldn’t break through the heavy armor.

There were lumps of meat paste under the horse's hooves.

The first general of the rebel army died quietly.

Yuan Zongde, who had always been unknown, was the last to escape, but he had the largest number of people.

When the cowhide boots stepped into Zijing Pass, the more than 30,000 infantrymen behind him had already split into seven groups.

They were stationed in villages along the way.

It can not only stop pursuers, but also save time.

He always seeks caution when employing his troops, and even if he is defeated, he will still make arrangements in layers.

But now, Yuan Zongde is not sure what to do next.

The tip of the pen hung on the newspaper for a long time, and the ink dripped onto the four words "loss of 70,000", spreading out into a mass of black shadows.

Li Zicheng's life or death is uncertain, and his 700,000-strong army is destroyed.

It is still unknown how many generals in the Dashun Dynasty are still alive.

Do I still need to write this pond newspaper myself?

In other words, to whom should this report be delivered?
Under the city wall, fifty thousand refugees were looting grain carts. A thin boy had his leg broken by being trampled, but he was still stuffing bloody wheat grains into his mouth.

A dozen or so people with Shanxi accents were shouting at the gatekeepers, "We agreed to pay our salaries upon entering the city! Why are you withholding our rations?"

Yuan Zongdi was so annoyed that he threw open the curtain and rushed out, shouting towards the city, "The Ming army is chasing us!"

Suddenly, there was no more noise.

Yuan Zongde then returned to the city wall, crumpled up the newspaper, and turned to look at the map.

Such situations also occurred in various places within a hundred miles of the capital.

There are too many soldiers.

The refugees alone could fill the entire capital, not to mention the personal guards led by the generals.

……

Outside Desheng Gate, on the battlefield stretching ten miles, Zhu Youjian patrolled the battlefield on the red mud.

Wang Erhu, the general commander of the Fifth Army Camp, was leading his men to count the corpses, removing each piece of armor one by one and counting the battle damage.

In the distance, corpses floated in the moat, like a bloody ribbon tied around the ancient city.

"His Majesty."

Huang Degong came close to Zhu Youjian and raised the report above his head, "In this battle, we killed more than 70,000 bandits and captured 134,000. Our army..."

His Adam's apple rolled twice. "The Fifth Army Battalion suffered 27,000 casualties, the Third Thousand Battalion lost 9,000, and the Black Armor Cavalry only had 2,300 left."

Zhu Youjian stepped over a pile of corpses with an expression neither sad nor happy.

In the distance, militiamen were dragging corpses towards the trench with rakes, and the smell of blood mixed with gunpowder smoke rushed into their noses.

After taking a look at the surroundings, he said, "So it's only a 30% loss?"

"I am incompetent, Your Majesty, please punish me." Huang Degong quickly knelt down to apologize.

Forget about asking for apology because of heavy losses. Haven’t there been many generals who were killed because they had no military achievements or failed to expand the results of the battle in time?
Zhu Youjian looked at the cautious Huang Degong in front of him, shook his head slightly, helped him up personally, and brushed off the dust on his shoulders.

"This battle was a great victory, and Hushan was the main contributor! Why should we apologize?"

After saying that, he turned around and walked away again.

Suddenly, a worry was resolved and the previous sense of urgency was gone. For some reason, Zhu Youjian felt empty inside.

But so many people died to save his life.

Zhu Youjian always felt uncomfortable, an indescribable feeling.

Looking at the scattered weapons and armor on the ground, Zhu Youjian said in a deep voice.

"Gather the armor and weapons that can't be used on the battlefield and make some farm tools and ironware for the survivors."

Huang Degong was about to agree when he saw the flag bearer running towards him, "Your Majesty! The rebel general Liu Zongmin has been captured! The head has arrived at Guangqu Gate!"

"Hang the heads at the nine gates." Zhu Youjian's voice was cold, but without any surprise. "Let the people see that the Ming Dynasty is not dead yet!"

After Zhu Youjian finished speaking, he turned and looked at Huang Degong.

"By the way, where are Ni Qing and the others? Although we are victorious now, we can't let our guard down. The capital is in ruins and needs to be rebuilt. We must come up with a set of rules and regulations quickly."

Hearing this, Huang Degong suddenly realized that he had forgotten something, and cold sweat immediately soaked his shirt. "Your Majesty. Lord Ni and others."

"What's wrong with them?" Zhu Youjian asked in confusion.

"It's still there...it's still in the city defense warehouse."

Zhu Youjian's eyebrows shot up, his face full of disbelief, "They're so scared that they're hiding in the warehouse?!?!"

Zhu Youjian's words made Huang Degong even more frightened.

"It's me..."

After explaining the whole story, Zhu Youjian didn't know what to say.

Blame Huang Degong. He was the head coach. If he had listened to Ni Yuanlu and others, the outcome of this victory would be hard to say.

If we blame Ni Yuanlu, he was well-intentioned. After all, even he didn't expect Huang Degong to be so patient.

After struggling for a long time, he could only say, "Nonsense! Take me there quickly!"

Inside the city defense warehouse.

Ni Yuanlu was carving "Song of Righteousness" on the wall with stones.

Wang Jiayan and Song Ye argued endlessly about whose poetry was better.

Fan Jingwen was still cursing Huang Degong.

Zhang Huangyan and others could only discuss in low voices nearby.

The iron gate suddenly opened.

The sunlight was so bright that no one could open their eyes.

After seeing Huang Degong kneeling in front of the steps, Fan Jingwen suddenly jumped up, threw Huang Degong to the ground, and strangled the latter's neck with both hands.

"You bastard! You barbarian! How dare you imprison an official appointed by the imperial court!"

"Hey...Mr. Zhi! Mr. Zhi!" Song Ye, Zhang Huangyan and others hurried forward to pull their colleagues away.

"Your Majesty is here."

"Bear! Mr. Zhi, it's a bear."

Fan Jingwen then snorted coldly and stood up from the ground.

Zhu Youjian looked at the mess on the ground.

Ni Yuanlu's official robe was covered in grass debris, Fan Jingwen's shoes fell to the ground, and several young officials were huddled in a corner, shivering.

He suddenly realized something that had nothing to do with the present.

Why did emperors of all dynasties love to use the imperial guards? In the face of life and death, the character of literati is ultimately divided into different levels.

After the ministers saluted, several civil officials stepped forward and said, "Huang Degong was indecisive in the face of battle, putting Your Majesty in danger. He disobeyed the orders of the cabinet minister and imprisoned his colleagues without authorization. This thief should be executed!"

Except for a few members of the royal party, most people came forward to agree.

"It is my will." Zhu Youjian's words froze the air. "If you want to kill Huang Chuangzi, you must first cut off my dragon head."

The ministers were stunned, not knowing whether to advance or retreat.

It was only when Ni Yuanlu stepped forward and led all the ministers in apologizing that the awkward situation was resolved.

With the stairs, Zhu Youjian walked down naturally.

He personally bent over and helped Ni Yuanlu up.

"You have suffered."

"However, the rebels have just been defeated, and northern Zhili is in ruins. I still need your memorial to come forward."

"I think that the first thing we should do is to take advantage of the great defeat of the rebels and pursue them to prevent the defeated troops from gathering in an attempt to attack the capital." Wang Jiayan was the first to come out and present his report.

"Okay, pass on the order. The surrendered soldiers will be handed over to the militia for guarding. All troops in the capital will be sent out to hunt down and kill the enemy." Zhu Youjian agreed immediately.

Fan Jingwen followed suit, "The most urgent task is to mobilize the surrendered soldiers and clean up the battlefield. Summer is approaching, and if the corpses outside the city are not dealt with quickly, it may lead to plague."

"Order that the militia escort the surrendered soldiers, clean up the battlefield, and burn the corpses."

"I think we should quickly go to the main camp of the rebel army and collect their food and fodder. With over 100,000 surrendered soldiers, the capital city is running low on food and fodder."

"Okay, continue."

"When the spoils are counted, the three armies will be rewarded."

"it is good……"

"I thought..."

Dozens of civil officials expressed their opinions one after another, taking into account every aspect of the capital.

Zhu Youjian only needed to issue an order as the emperor and have people do it.

After my head felt full, the discomfort I just felt disappeared.

"Pass the order." After listening to everyone's suggestions, Zhu Youjian waved his hand and said, "Three days later, at the grand court meeting, all ministers will present their strategies. They can be from the military, household, engineering, criminal justice, ritual, and civil service fields. Those with the best strategies will be rewarded according to their merits!"

(End of this chapter)