Facing Chongzhen's question, Liu Fangliang thought for a while and replied: "The Yuan Dynasty destroyed the Song Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty destroyed the Yuan Dynasty, and the Shun Dynasty destroyed the Ming Dynasty! It doesn't matter how long the Dashun Dynasty can exist, as long as it can overthrow the Ming Dynasty, even if it is short-lived, it will still be in full bloom."
"What if it was not Shun who destroyed the Ming Dynasty, but the Jiannu in Liaodong?" Chongzhen sat in the chair with a serious expression.
Although Liu Fangliang couldn't see Chongzhen's face, he could hear something from his tone.
"Impossible! The Jiannu only had a few hundred thousand people. How could they conquer the vast Central Plains?"
"Yeah, I also think so!" Chongzhen began to sigh, "But the reality is completely different. Only tens of thousands of Jian Nu dared to travel a long distance to plunder. The Ming court was short of soldiers and generals, and could only watch them rob money and food and slaughter the people!"
Liu Fangliang didn't say anything.
In his previous understanding, the Jiannu in Liaodong were just a threatening tribe, not an opponent.
Now it seems that that idea must be changed.
Chongzhen continued, "You keep saying that land should be distributed equally and grain should be exempted. Without tax revenue, how can the court be maintained? How can the soldiers be paid?"
"This slogan is fundamentally wrong! So even if the Ming Dynasty falls, it won't be you who will take its place!"
"Dashun has already changed it, from the previous equal distribution of land and exemption of grain to a three-year tax exemption," Liu Fangliang explained.
"How will the people feel if the orders change every day?" Chongzhen asked in return.
Liu Fangliang remained silent, not because he didn't want to speak, but because he didn't know what to say.
Dashun’s slogan was wrong from the beginning, so no matter how it was repaired, it would only make the mistake worse.
After a moment, Liu Fangliang said in a hoarse voice: "Don't say anything more. I am determined to die. You can kill me or chop me up as you wish. The emperor (Li Zicheng) has done me a favor, so I will not surrender."
Chongzhen laughed: "Liu Fangliang, ah Liu Fangliang, is it fun to deceive yourself? If you really don't want to live, Li Xingzhong can only bring a corpse to Beijing."
Liu Fangliang's face turned ugly.
He wanted to die in prison, but he was unwilling to do so.
Military generals consider it an honor to die on the battlefield, while dying in prison is a shame.
He couldn't die with such shame.
It is because of this belief that he has survived to this day.
Seeing that the time was almost right, Chongzhen changed the subject and got to the point.
"After hearing that you were captured, Li Zicheng proposed to exchange Daming Prefecture for your return. Do you think Your Majesty would agree?"
Liu Fangliang's body was shocked and he was stunned.
Just when he was about to be moved, Chongzhen spoke again: "When Li Xingzhong left Damingfu, he relocated all the people in the city, leaving Li Zicheng with an empty city of no value!"
The emotions that Liu Fangliang had accumulated with great difficulty disappeared in an instant.
Based on his understanding of Li Zicheng, even if this incident had not happened, he would have given up Daming Prefecture in no time.
He understood Li Zicheng, and so did the Ming court.
It seems that he is destined not to go back.
Thinking of this, Liu Fangliang sighed and sentenced himself to death in his heart.
"But... His Majesty does not want to kill you." Chongzhen stood up from his chair.
He put his hands behind his back and continued to face Liu Fangliang with his back.
"Why?"
"Because His Majesty wants to make a bet with you."
"What's the bet?"
Liu Fangliang also stood up and stared at Chongzhen's back, trying to find something related to his identity.
Unfortunately, nothing was found.
However, this did not prevent him from guessing the identity of the person in front of him.
First of all, the other party is definitely not a eunuch.
Because the eunuch's voice was sharp, and he had just seen from the side that the man had a beard on his chin.
Secondly, the other party is not the Jinyiwei.
Because there was no need for the Jinyiwei to turn their backs to him.
According to his guess, this person was most likely one of the important officials in the court or a noble who was highly trusted by the emperor.
In other words, he is Chongzhen himself!
"Who are you?" Liu Fangliang couldn't help but ask again.
Chongzhen did not answer his question, but continued the previous topic and said: "Your Majesty bets that you will not be reused after you return. If the bet is right, are you willing to surrender to the Ming Dynasty?"
"I..." Liu Fangliang was confused.
Li Zicheng was suspicious by nature, and having three wives and two cuckolds only made him more suspicious.
Even if he returned to Dashun, he would not be valued as before.
This is almost an indisputable fact!
In order not to reveal his inner thoughts, Liu Fangliang said in the same tone as before: "Don't make any more useless efforts. I have received the emperor's favor and will never surrender to the Ming court!"
Chongzhen didn't care about his attitude, because what he just said would take root in Liu Fangliang's heart like a seed.
When the time is right, Liu Fangliang will naturally understand his situation.
"You must listen carefully to the last thing, because it is closely related to you and Li Zicheng."
Although Liu Fangliang pretended not to care on the surface, he was actually listening very carefully.
"Next, His Majesty will exchange you for the Daming Mansion."
"After returning to Daming Prefecture, the Ming army will adjust its deployment according to Li Zicheng's movements. If Li Zicheng retreats to Zhangde Prefecture, the Ming army will deploy heavy troops to the north of Zhangde Prefecture to confront him."
"If Li Zicheng retreated to Kaizhou (now Puyang City), the Ming army would be divided into three groups. One group would be stationed in Damingfu, one group would be stationed in Dongchangfu (now Liaocheng, Shandong), 120 miles northeast of Damingfu, and another group would be stationed in Guangpingfu (now Guangfu Town, Handan), 100 miles northwest of Damingfu."
"The three armies supported each other and blocked Li Zicheng's way north."
"Wait..." Liu Fangliang was completely dumbfounded, "Why...why did you tell me about the Ming court's deployment? Aren't you afraid that I will tell the emperor after I go back?"
Chongzhen snorted, "I'm saying this so you can tell Li Zicheng that it's impossible to continue north. You can either stay where you are and confront the government troops, or move south of the Yellow River, or take the risk of going east to Shandong."
"The main force of the Jiannu has arrived in Shandong. If the two armies meet, Your Majesty hopes that you will win!"
Liu Fangliang was still confused.
He really couldn't understand why the other party said these things to him.
Chongzhen did not give him time to think. As he walked out, he said, "I have finished asking the questions His Majesty asked me to ask. You will be able to return to Li Zicheng soon."
"May the best be to you!"
Looking at the mysterious man's departing figure, Liu Fangliang asked loudly, "Who are you?"
"People of the Ming Dynasty!"
Liu Fangliang began to feel itchy in his heart. The more the other party refused to tell him, the more he wanted to know the other party's identity.
"A gentleman is open and honest, why don't you dare show your face to others?" Liu Fangliang asked.
"When you surrender to the Ming Dynasty, you will naturally know my identity."
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