Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

"I thought you would ask me where I would send you." Zhang Shikang pointed to a seat on the side.

Among the many bandit leaders, the ones Zhang Shikang valued most were Li Dingguo and Li Zicheng.

Among the other bandit leaders, Zhang Xianzhong's mood swings were too abstract, and Liu Zongmin and others were too cruel and bloodthirsty.

It is hard to imagine that Li Dingguo, who grew up in such an environment, was such a tenacious person. In the end, in the face of nationalism, he died in battle to resist foreign races.

But Li Zicheng was different. Although he was taciturn, he could be described as a ruthless man who didn't talk much.

His group of subordinates, including Liu Zongmin, Hao Yaoqi, Liu Tichun, You Dongsheng, and many leaders of the Yaohuang Thirteen Families, almost all became bandits after committing murder.

If he hadn't come to interfere, a dramatic scene would have taken place in Beijing in about two years.

Brother Chongzhen almost begged his ministers to donate money, but in the end they got almost nothing. When Li Zicheng entered Beijing, he also asked this group of people to donate money.

It’s just that the method Li Zicheng used was different. If you don’t donate, you will suffer.

Chopping off fingers was a mild punishment; there were also chopping off arms and feet, and even humiliating the owner's wife and daughter in front of him, or burning them with red-hot irons, and directly chopping off the head if they encountered hard bones.

In short, tens of millions of taels of silver were eventually obtained from the gentry and officials in the capital.

When it comes to making money, Zhang Shikang believes that it doesn't matter whether the cat is black or white, as long as it can catch mice, it is a good cat. This was the case with Wei Zhongxian and Li Zicheng.

Besides, Li Ziben was not a bad person by nature. He was just too poor, too miserable, and too unlucky. He even had two or three green hats that he could wear in turn.

But it is precisely because of this that Li Zicheng has a spirit of not admitting defeat in his bones. If the heaven is unfair, then he will chop down the heaven.

Before writing the letter to Li Zicheng, Zhang Shikang had ordered the Jinyiwei to investigate the family background of Li Zicheng and his main backbones. He believed that Li Zicheng was a man who could accomplish great things.

"As for the word 'responding to fate' in the letter, it actually refers to the fate of a few years ago. Now, this fate is gone." Zhang Shikang said casually.

A few years ago, the Ming Dynasty court was in tatters and leaky. The Jian Lu invaders were knocking on the gates all day long, and there were locust plagues, droughts, and the Black Death inside.

If you, Li Zicheng, raise your arms and call out, that will be your luck.

But now, the Ming Dynasty court has basically completed the reform. Under a series of national policies that benefit the people, the people, who are already exhausted and eager to live a peaceful and stable life, will not rebel again even if they are stupid.

The Ming Dynasty cured its cancer, and the era of Li Zicheng, Liu Zongmin and others came to an end.

Li Zicheng didn't say anything, but he understood what Zhang Shikang meant by luck.

When he was still in Sichuan studying Zhang Shikang's policies and carrying out land reforms in various parts of Sichuan, he found that if he continued in this way, no one would follow him to rebel in the future.

Land is the life of the people.

But he still didn't understand. If that was the case, why did Zhang Shikang write to him? Was it just to amuse him?

Zhang Shikang was not in a hurry. Instead, he poured himself a glass of sweet rice wine and drank it.

He doesn't like white wine because it is too irritating to the throat. Instead, he loves rice wine more and more. He will drink some occasionally to help him fall asleep better.

"Don't look at me like that. Although I like to joke, I never joke about serious matters.

The era of peasant uprisings is over, but I tell you, another era has begun.

The opportunity I'm talking about is to make you a trendsetter of the times.

Doing this well will benefit the present and future generations.

And you will be remembered in history and respected by the descendants of the Chinese nation for generations to come.

This is a treatment that many emperors have never had.

How about it? Are you interested? "

Zhang Shikang has a way of keeping people in suspense.

For people at that time, whether they were civil officials or military generals, money and status might be very important, but if they were asked to leave their names in history, it is estimated that most people would choose the latter.

Sure enough, after Zhang Shikang said this, Li Zicheng's eyes immediately became extremely serious.

However, he still didn't ask.

Zhang Shikang felt that his attempt to show off had failed. Couldn't this guy just agree with him casually?

Just to ask what on earth was so important that he could be recorded in history and remembered and respected by future generations?

Being taciturn is sometimes an advantage, but at this time Zhang Shikang still likes to talk a lot.

For example, his group of animal friends.

"The Ming Dynasty will permanently eliminate the threat from the north in the next two years.

This includes the Jiannu, as well as many nomadic tribes on the prairie.

After the rise of firearms, the era of nomadic peoples will also come to an end.

You see, as each era begins and ends, we never have to regret, because there are always new opportunities waiting."

Zhang Shikang rarely told his subordinates about his future plans, but at the same time he was like a riddle-teller, not revealing anything.

But this is true. The nomadic people who roamed the grasslands and always launched dimensionality reduction attacks on other countries did decline after the advent of the age of firearms.

If we count from the Huns before the Common Era, it has been nearly two thousand years.

He was happy that the threat from the nomads would end with him.

Li Zicheng still didn't say anything, but just cast a puzzled look at Zhang Shikang.

As if to ask, so what exactly do you want me to do?

The age of firearms had arrived, but it first belonged to the Guards and then to the Tiger Guards.

His subordinates are still armed with machetes.

Zhang Shikang frowned, and Li Zicheng lowered his eyebrows unconsciously, but still did not understand what Zhang Shikang meant.

"You are so stupid, even worse than Cao!" Zhang Shikang said speechlessly.

Even if Cao Bianjiao was here, he would probably just be a supporting role, but he ended up being a dull person.

Zhang Shikang simply gave up hope and said directly:

"After this battle, I want you to lead your troops and head west."

……