It would be fine if Zuo Liangyu was not mentioned, but Chongzhen felt a little disgusted when this name was mentioned.
Historically.
Seeing that Li Zicheng was coming with great force, Emperor Chongzhen urgently issued an edict ordering generals from all over the country to come to Beijing to defend the king.
Zuo Liangyu was a talented person among talented people. After receiving the imperial edict, he did not want to send troops to defend the king, so he drew up a plan for sending troops according to years and months and submitted it to the court for approval.
When deploying troops in warfare, speed is of the essence!
By the time the document with the court's approval was delivered to him, Chongzhen had already been hanged on the tree.
What’s even more hateful is that this person is harboring enemies and is benefiting himself.
At first, he was also a capable man, chasing after Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong. Later, he became more and more miserable, and was chased by Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong. The root cause was that he had committed many crimes, and many censors repeatedly impeached him and wanted to behead him. However, due to the chaos in the world, the Ming court had no one to rely on, so he could only take the lead on the front line.
As a result, Zuo Liangyu saw through his trick: as long as the bandits were not eliminated, the court would not kill him.
After Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong became powerful, Zuo Liangyu could no longer suppress them.
So this guy deserves to die!
Chongzhen hesitated for a moment and made a decision: "Mr. Li, choose one of the two locations! Either in Zhongzhou or in Chongqing to have a decisive battle with Zhang Xianzhong. Which one do you think is suitable?"
Li Banghua and Fan Jingwen both worked in the Ministry of War, and they both looked at the map at the same time.
"The Yangtze River passes through Zhongzhou City, with high mountains on both sides, so there is a natural barrier to rely on. To the east of Chongqing is Wushan, with high mountains on both sides and a river in the middle. Occupying the high ground will give you the best geographical advantage."
Chongzhen walked up to the map and took a look.
The maps of the Ming Dynasty also showed roads, mountains, and rivers. Although simple, they were clear at a glance.
He was shocked when he saw Li Banghua pointing at the place: "That is to say... whether we are defending Zhongzhou or Chongqing, we can't just defend the city! Do we need to set up a defense line outside the city?"
"That's right, Your Majesty! Although there were artillery before the Yuan Dynasty, their power and quantity could not be compared with today's. The cities built before did not take into account the participation of artillery in the battle. If the distance was enough, the artillery could be placed on the nearby hillside to fire the shells into the city."
"But there is a disadvantage in fighting in the wild. Our army relies on firearms, and artillery is difficult to transport in the mountains, so we can't move our positions in a short time. Once the enemy cuts off our retreat, our army will be in chaos without a fight."
Chongzhen sighed and stopped thinking about this problem.
What does the emperor do?
Just know people and use them well, and leave the task of leading troops to fight to people you trust.
As for victory or defeat, it all depends on fate.
Anyway, he had already completed two tasks: moving the crown prince south and guarding the capital.
"Let the military generals decide the location of the decisive battle! Who do you think can serve as the governor in this war?" Chongzhen asked.
Li Banghua thought for a moment and said, "I think Qin Liangyu is the most suitable person, but she is old and I am afraid she is not up to the task. Besides, Sichuan's treasury is empty and there is no money to buy food and recruit soldiers."
Chongzhen calculated with his fingers and found that Qin Liangyu was born in the second year of Wanli. Now it was the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, and she was already seventy years old.
Lian Po is old but still able to eat! She, Qin Liangyu, should be able to do the same.
The most important thing is that Qin Liangyu has prestige and can suppress other generals.
The generals of the southern tribes were independent and self-reliant, especially Zuo Liangyu and Liu Liangzuo. If they could be of one mind with the court, the fate of the Southern Ming Dynasty in history might have been different.
"Then let Qin Liangyu serve as the governor of Sichuan, Hubei, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, and fight a decisive battle with Zhang Xianzhong in Sichuan! I recommend a man to Qin Liangyu, named Zeng Ying, who is quite famous in Chengdu and is known as Mr. Zeng."
"As you wish." Li Banghua did not ask any further questions. The emperor must have his reasons for doing so.
"Where is Yuan Jixian now?"
"Yuan Jixian?" Li Banghua was old and couldn't remember who this person was for a moment.
Minister of Personnel Qiu Yu said, "Your Majesty, Yuan Jixian is stationed in Jiujiang, and is in charge of military affairs in Jiangxi, Huguang, Anqing, and Yingtian (Nanjing). He has about 20,000 soldiers under his command."
Yuan Jixian was a man of character, and was known as one of the Three Masters of Jiangyou along with Wen Tianxiang and Xie Fangde.
But his end was not good. He was handed over to the Qing Dynasty by Zuo Liangyu's son Zuo Menggeng and was executed.
Chongzhen nodded and made plans.
"Since Zuo Liangyu has already recaptured Wuchang, let Yuan Jixian go upstream from Jiujiang to Wuchang. Then borrow 50,000 troops from Zuo Liangyu and pursue Zhang Xianzhong from behind."
"Your Majesty...what if Zuo Liangyu refuses to lend it?" Li Banghua reminded.
"Then let Yuan Jixian kill Zuo Liangyu and his son!" Chongzhen said gritting his teeth.
Li Banghua's mouth twitched, "Your Majesty, Zuo Liangyu has 150,000 troops... If there is a mutiny, the consequences will be disastrous!"
Chongzhen had already thought of a solution to the problem.
First of all, the 150,000 soldiers under Zuo Liangyu were not his elite troops (also known as private soldiers).
His elite troops were almost wiped out in the battle of Zhuxian Town, and now most of the soldiers under his command are previously defeated government troops, surrendered bandits, and local landlord armed forces.
These people had no loyalty to Zuo Liangyu at all. The main reason they followed him was to eat and drink well (Zuo Liangyu plundered the people even more cruelly than Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong).
After all, these people are government troops, and no one is willing to become bandits when the court has money and food.
Secondly, Yuan Jixian had a good relationship with Zuo Liangyu and his son. As long as Yuan Jixian was willing to take action, he would definitely be able to capture Zuo Liangyu and his son.
To capture the thief, capture his leader. What good can it do even if we have an army of 500,000?
Historically, after the death of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, the generals under his command either surrendered to the Jian Nu or the Southern Ming.
In troubled times, survival is the most important thing!
After thinking this through, Chongzhen said, "Lord Li, do you know that Zuo Liangyu has the reputation of an official soldier but works as a bandit?"
"He should have died long ago!"
"I have always been cautious, fearing that he would rebel and fight against the Ming Dynasty!"
"Now that I have figured it out, I'm afraid it's useless! The problems that need to be faced must be faced sooner or later. If Zuo Liangyu is not eliminated today, he will become a major concern for the court once he becomes powerful."
"So I decided to immediately list Zuo Liangyu's crimes and send someone to Jiujiang Yuan Jixian overnight to ask him to find a way to get rid of Zuo Liangyu! After Zuo Liangyu's death, all the soldiers under his command will be promoted to a higher rank and receive their salaries! I don't believe they will rebel!"
"Even if they rebel, they have Zhang Xianzhong in front of them, and the troops from Jiujiang, Nanchang, Anqing, Raozhou, Huizhou and even Yuezhou behind them. How can they fight and who can they fight?"
"Qin Liangyu has 50,000 troops, and they have the advantage of time and place, plus they have sufficient food and money. Even without Zuo Liangyu's troops, they can still fight Zhang Xianzhong in Sichuan for a while."
"If you don't make a decision, you will suffer the consequences. Lord Li, please draft the decree!"
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