Chapter 150 Wu Sangui's Choice
Zhao Xiaofei, hugging his two wives, sailed straight to Wuchang. Zuo Liangyu had left over 10,000 men to defend the city. Zhao Xiaofei's boat stopped on the Yangtze River and fired three cannons at Wuchang. The Wuchang defender, Liao Xian, surrendered! The surrounding prefectures and cities, watching from the sidelines, all expressed their loyalty to the Ming Dynasty, having been coerced by the traitor Zuo Liangyu.
Zhao Xiaofei certainly knew what these people were thinking. They were just waiting and watching. If they won, it would mean that the imperial court still had deterrent power, so everyone would obey the imperial court. But if the imperial court couldn't defeat the Left Army, then we would obey the Left Army and do whatever they told us to do!
Zhao Xiaofei rode triumphantly into the city. He Tengjiao, having learned of the Anqing victory, also came to Wuchang in a hurry. In the back hall of the Wuchang Governor's Office, Zhao Xiaofei sat on the left and He Tengjiao on the right.
Zhao Xiaofei asked, "Dingxing Bo, who are the bandits guarding Hanyang in Jingzhou? How many troops do they have?"
He Tengjiao replied, "Meng Changgeng is the commander of the Jingzhou garrison of the Chuang army, and Zheng Siwei is the commander of the Hanyang garrison! A total of approximately 40,000 men!"
"Are you confident that you can defeat it?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"My lord! I have few soldiers and generals, and I can only defend the Yangtze River!" said He Tengjiao.
"I like your straightforward personality! As long as you can hold on, that's enough! I now ask the court to allocate silver for you, an estimated amount of 800,000 taels of silver. As long as you can hold on to Wuchang for one year, the world can be pacified and the capital can be recovered!" Zhao Xiaofei said.
"I understand and will definitely live up to the court's trust!" said He Tengjiao.
"I will leave some officers for you to help you train the soldiers. But let me be frank with you, I will give you the money, but if the soldiers are still hungry, I will never forgive you!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"I will keep your words in mind, sir! But there is one thing I don't understand, so please help me clear it up!" said He Tengjiao.
"Speak!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Your Majesty's army defeated a million-strong army of the left wing in one battle, so why are they stagnating in Wuchang? With the might of Your Majesty's army, we can march north and wipe out the enemy army!" said He Tengjiao.
"How naive! There are countless bandits in several northern provinces, and they are now retreating to Shanxi and Shaanxi. We can wait for the Jianlu and Li Zicheng to fight each other to a standstill before attacking! This will also reduce our casualties! In addition, our army is newly established and still needs to be run-in and trained." Zhao Xiaofei said.
He Tengjiao thought to himself: Does your Kenan Army still need to be tempered? You were able to defeat the 800,000-man army of the Left Army in a single blow. Who can compare to the Jianlu or the Chuangze bandits? Are you hoping to sell yourself at a high price and threaten the imperial court?
"My lord! Your army is not the best in the world, but it can be said to be a powerful force. Why do you still need training and running-in?" He Tengjiao asked the question in his mind directly.
"It seems that the Keyan Army is strong, but it is just a superficial phenomenon. Our army has strong firepower, but these firearms cost money! It takes time to make artillery and ammunition. Many soldiers are on the battlefield for the first time and have never seen blood. Just under the city of Anqing, when our army won a great victory, I also found deserters. Lord He, do you think our army needs more training and running-in?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"I understand!" said He Tengjiao.
At this point, Zhao Xiaofei truly believed that his Ke Nan Army needed some rest. The continuous fighting had already left them exhausted. If they hadn't been winning battles, they would have collapsed long ago. These victories needed to be digested by the troops, and their experience accumulated. They couldn't treat the people of the world as nothing just because they had won.
Zhao Xiaofei didn't care whether He Tengjiao really understood or not, and continued: "Wu Sangui will lead the Jianlu into the pass and let them fight to the death. By then, our army will have almost recovered. Then we will set out from Jingxiang, enter Henan and take Shaanxi. Then we will advance eastward to Shanxi to recover the capital!"
Wu Sangui was actually more powerful this time than in the original history. His family had been captured by Zhao Xiaofei, making it impossible for him to cooperate with Li Zicheng. He had no intention of leaving Shanhaiguan, but he thought Zhao Xiaofei would cause trouble. Instead, Zhao Xiaofei took his men from Tianjin and headed for Nanjing. He was left without a caretaker! He figured that if he followed Li Zicheng, his father and concubine would surely die miserably. So, this path was definitely a dead end!
But now there is no food and wages, what will he and so many people eat? Just then, his subordinate Ma Bao suggested to him that he should lead the Qing army into the pass and join forces with the Qing army to eliminate Li Zicheng. He should say to the outside world that he is leading the Qing army to avenge the late emperor. Wu Sangui thought this idea was good and immediately sent an envoy to discuss it with Dorgon.
Dorgon, however, was completely unconvinced. He thought to himself, "Wu Sangui, you're actually going to join me in this war? Are you crazy? Or am I? Even if the Ming Dynasty is doomed, you should have surrendered to Li Zicheng according to normal procedures!"
So the two families did not reach an agreement, and the envoys were also sent back. Wu Sangui panicked at this time, thinking: This Jianlu does not trust me, should I go along with Li Zicheng? Even if I don't want my wife, my father, and my brothers. Can Li Zicheng treat me well? I heard that Li Zicheng prepared a clamp for the officials in the capital, and if you don't pay, you will be tortured. Now that I have the power, maybe Li Zicheng will treat me better, but if the world is stabilized, this guy Li Zicheng is likely to kill the meritorious officials like Zhu Yuanzhang!
Wu Sangui heard that Li Zicheng was torturing officials in the capital to force them to contribute to the military budget. Zhao Xiaofei had instructed Hu Wen before his departure to send a letter to Wu Sangui. Hu Wen waited until the capital fell and Li Zicheng allowed people to enter and leave freely, then sent someone to deliver a letter to Wu Sangui, blaming Li Zicheng. He said that Li Zicheng had been torturing officials in the capital, forcing all officials in the capital to pay money for the military budget, or they would be killed if they didn't.
In fact, Li Zicheng hadn't taken action yet! Furthermore, after Li Zicheng entered Beijing, he didn't torture every official and force them to pay, as historical records and some experts claim. Instead, he only demanded payment from officials of the third rank and above. Officials below the third rank were largely untouched, and a notice was even posted to rehire them. Because Li Zicheng intended to rule the country, he wanted to establish a central government immediately. On April 8th, Li Zicheng ordered an end to torture for payment. (These are all historical facts! Based on a diary entry kept after the fall of Beijing!)
However, the local torture of soldiers and soldiers did not stop, and even became more severe. However, local officials dared not speak out.
Zhao Xiaofei, however, had done a good job, pinning the blame on Li Zicheng early on. Wu Sangui, not entirely convinced by the letter, sent someone to gather more information. However, upon entering the city, the inquisitors heard the people were talking about several officials of the third rank and above. They had been arrested and severely tortured by Li Zicheng's subordinate, Liu Zongmin. They were forced to hand over tens of thousands of taels of silver, and many high-ranking officials were also executed along with their entire families after handing over the silver.
When the spies returned, Wu Sangui saw that it was true. He was even more afraid to surrender to Li Zicheng! So he stepped up the time to negotiate with Dorgon and sent several waves of envoys!
Dorgon saw that Wu Sangui was sincere, and began to collude with him, sending envoys to each other. Although the two sides still did not trust each other, through negotiations and Wu Sangui's comprehensive withdrawal of his troops, and some sincerity, Dorgon gradually believed that Wu Sangui was truly willing to cooperate.
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