"But the longer the night, the more trouble you may have! If we take down Daming Prefecture, millions of taels of silver will be deposited into the national treasury, and our army will be well-trained and well-fed!" Li Yan gritted his teeth and advised again.
Li Zicheng looked at Li Yan's serious expression, opened his mouth, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.
He sighed, looked at Liu Zongming, and nodded.
After receiving Li Zicheng's signal, Liu Zongmin did not explain immediately, but ordered the soldiers at the door of the military tent to withdraw ten steps away. After the soldiers left, he frowned and said, "Mr. Li, everyone!"
"It's not that the emperor doesn't want to attack Daimyo, but a forceful attack on Daimyo Prefecture will cause casualties to our army!"
Yuan Zongdi rolled up his sleeves and said, "It's normal to have casualties. There are always casualties in war. Moreover, most of the dead are civilians. As long as the elite troops of the old camp are here, it doesn't matter if more people die."
Looking at Yuan Zongdi's arrogant look, Liu Zongmin smiled bitterly: "The problem lies with the people! No, strictly speaking, it lies with Chongzhen."
"Ah?" Yuan Zongde opened his mouth wide, looking confused.
"What...what do you mean?" Liu Xiyao was also confused.
Liu Fangliang, who was sitting in the shadow of the big tent, nodded in approval.
He led his troops all the way from Zhending Prefecture alone and encountered similar problems!
Li Yan also nodded. He had already guessed what the problem was.
Liu Zongmin sighed again: "Everyone, you all know that Chongzhen exempted the whole country from taxes for one year, right?"
Everyone present nodded at the same time. They had heard the news before attacking Zhangde Prefecture.
"Do you remember our army's slogan?"
"Remember, open the city gates to welcome King Chuang. When King Chuang comes, we won't pay taxes!" Someone read it out loud.
"What is the actual situation?"
"The actual situation..." Liu Xiyao, who had answered earlier, immediately shut up after saying half of his words.
Li Yan raised his head and said openly: "The actual situation is that the land tax will be exempted for three years!"
In his opinion, there was nothing to hide.
Not paying taxes is just a cover.
After all, land tax is the basis of the court's tax revenue. If it wants to develop in the long run, it must levy land tax.
Were the Qin Emperor and Han Emperor powerful? Was the country strong during the Tang and Song Dynasties?
Even a powerful country like them could not get rid of their dependence on land tax, let alone the Dashun.
When Gao Yingxiang rebelled
Liu Zongmin nodded. "The common people have also realized this problem! Our army's slogans are loud and clear, but what they do is far from the slogans."
"Before Chongzhen announced a one-year tax exemption, wherever our army went, the people mostly opened their cities to surrender and lined the streets to welcome us. Because everyone knew that when the Shun army came, they would not have to pay taxes!"
"There is no problem with the source of soldiers. Apart from the surrendered Ming troops who need to be paid, the rest of the people only need to be given food."
"And then what happened? The promised exemption from taxes turned into a three-year exemption from land taxes. People originally wanted to join the Shun army to make achievements, but they became a shield for their own death. The common people feel cheated!"
"Now the Ming court has announced that it will exempt land tax for one year. The people who came here to join the Shun army before have begun to hesitate. Most of the people who join now are refugees who are about to starve to death. They have no fighting power at all."
“This is not a good sign!”
"Due to the problem of manpower and public opinion, the emperor decided to adopt the strategy of besieging the Daming Prefecture without attacking it."
"Mr. Li, everyone present, do you have any questions?"
Everyone was silent, including Li Yan.
Although this reason is not perfect, it is sufficient.
A strong attack will result in casualties, and continuing to send civilians to their deaths will only accelerate their loss of popular support.
Using the surrendered Ming troops is even more risky, as they are very likely to be recruited with a large sum of money and transformed into official troops again.
Use the soldiers from the old camp?
It's simply digging your own grave.
Li Zicheng coughed lightly and looked around the tent.
After a moment, Li Zicheng regained his composure. He said calmly, "Everyone, although it was Niu Zuofu who proposed to surround but not attack, it was also a decision I made after careful consideration."
"The Ming army is still the same Ming army. The fewer people there are, the stronger their combat power is! The more people there are, the more useless they are!"
"Whether it's Huang Degong, Gao Jie, or Liu Liangzuo, as long as they dare to come, the Dashun Army will be able to annihilate them all!"
“Do you have confidence?”
"Yes!" All the generals stood up straight at the same time with serious expressions.
"Okay, I won't stop until I conquer Daming Prefecture!"
......
Shanhaiguan.
Wu Sangui looked at the troop mobilization order and the imperial edict in his hands, his face changing from gloomy to happy.
"What's wrong, Brother Wu?" Wu Sangui's adviser Fang Guangchen stood up directly.
Wu Sangui did not say anything, but handed the transfer order and the imperial edict to him with a somewhat ugly expression on his face.
After Fang Guangchen finished reading, Wu Sangui asked cautiously, "Brother Fang, what should I do?"
Fang Guangchen blinked his eyes: "Brother Wu, do you want to disobey the order?"
Wu Sangui cautiously looked outside, and when he found that no one else was present, he whispered, "It's not impossible. Jirgalang sends troops to harass us every day. I only need to send cavalry out of the city to confront them, and then I can petition the court to keep all the cavalry."
"Then what?" Fang Guangchen asked with a smile on his face.
Wu Sangui took a deep breath and said, "Then... I am still me, the Marquis of Pingxi in the Ming Dynasty, the General of Liaodong, guarding Shanhaiguan!"
"No!" Fang Guangchen shook his head vigorously. "My brother Wu! Do you think all the civil and military officials in the court are fools? If it weren't for the contributions of Wang Yongji and the Guanning Army last time, you would have been beheaded long ago!"
"He...he dares!" Wu Sangui was so angry at Fang Guangchen's words that he almost shouted out Chongzhen's name.
Fang Guangchen asked in return: "Brother Wu, tell me, why does the current emperor not dare to kill you?"
Wu Sangui stood up excitedly: "The reason is obvious. The Guanning Army is the only elite force in the Ming Dynasty. Killing me is like digging your own grave! And my people will avenge me in another way just like Mao Wenlong's subordinates did back then!"
"Besides, if you fail to kill me, I will surrender to the Jian Nu without hesitation!"
Fang Guangchen sighed and shook his head. He continued to ask, "Brother Wu, you are wrong. You are completely wrong!"
"What do you mean?" Wu Sangui was confused.
Fang Guangchen still did not answer, but continued to ask: "Brother Wu's original intention was to preserve his strength in troubled times, or choose a wise leader, or establish his own faction, right?"
Wu Sangui said nothing, neither admitting nor denying.
Fang Guangchen smiled slightly: "If you surrender to the Jian Nu, can Brother Wu still maintain his strength? Once Brother Wu surrenders to the Jian Nu, they will march south without hesitation to capture the Central Plains, right?"
This time, Wu Sangui nodded in agreement.
The evil ambitions of the Jiannu have long been known to everyone.
"War requires the use of troops, and the use of troops will result in the death of people! Where do you think the Jiannu will put you? Put you in Liaodong to guard their rear, or put you on the front line to charge into battle?"
"Or, should we strip you of your military power and let you retire at home?"
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