Chapter 151 The Situation in the North
Another important reason why Wu Sangui chose to surrender to the Qing Dynasty was that many of his relatives surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, such as his uncle Zu Dashou and others.
Moreover, due to Zhao Xiaofei's reasons, Tang Tong did not send his troops to Shanhaiguan to take over Wu Sangui's territory, and Wu Sangui did not leave Shanhaiguan. This allowed Wu Sangui's strength to be retained, and Li Zicheng's army fell into a further disadvantage.
Li Zicheng immediately sent another envoy to persuade Wu Sangui, using Tang Tong as an example to prove that Wu Sangui would not be tortured. However, Wu Sangui had completely lost faith in Li Zicheng after hearing Zhao Xiaofei's letter. He had also made up his mind to abandon his father, wife, and brothers, even if the Ming Dynasty killed them all.
However, even though Wu Sangui was determined to surrender to the Jianlu, few people followed him to surrender to the Jianlu. Some people even secretly ran to Li Zicheng to inform on him.
This time, Li Zicheng did not hesitate or delay as in history. He directly led Liu Zongmin, Tang Tong and other nearly 70,000 troops to Shanhaiguan to confront Wu Sangui.
At this time, Wu Sangui had only 40,000 troops, and it was difficult for him to resist Li Zicheng's 70,000 troops because he had few resources to defend the city and the people were unstable.
Li Zicheng attacked continuously for two days, but someone unexpectedly surrendered to him. Wu Sangui was dumbfounded and hurriedly asked people to ask Dorgon when he could come, while he tried his best to stop Li Zicheng's attack.
On the fourth day, Wu Sangui was about to give up, and Dorgon finally arrived. Wu Sangui led Dorgon to Shanhaiguan, and together with the Jianlu, they besieged Li Zicheng.
Li Zicheng brought with him veterans who had served him for many years and were very capable. However, some of them in the capital were infected with the plague, which greatly reduced their fighting capacity. Even so, Wu Sangui and the Jianlu army won a hard-fought victory.
After the Battle of Shanhaiguan, Wu Sangui was left with only 13,000 troops, 3,000 more than the original historical record. However, Dorgon still followed the previous agreement and named Wu Sangui the King of Pingxi.
Li Zicheng fled to Shanhaiguan, returning to the capital with fewer than 30,000 men. This was nearly 10,000 fewer than the historical record. Li Zicheng left the capital before even proclaiming himself emperor for the second time. This time, Li Zicheng's absence left him with no way to enforce military discipline. Burning, looting, and pillage ensued throughout the capital, even setting fire to the Forbidden City.
Before leaving, he killed the Prince of Song, the crown prince Zhu Cilang. Prince Yong was also trampled to death in the chaos. It can be said that these two brothers died more miserably than anyone else!
Wu Sangui and the Jianlu marched south together and captured the capital, under the guise of revenge for Emperor Chongzhen. They reburied Emperor Chongzhen with elaborate ceremony and rites. They also buried the bodies of Crown Prince Zhu Cilang and Prince Yong. This won the support of many officials and gentry, and news spread widely, especially to Nanjing. Those in the court naively believed that the Jianlu could help them crush Li Zicheng.
Historically, the Hongguang Dynasty lacked legitimacy, so the Jianlu had reason to refuse to recognize it. However, the current Zhongxing Emperor was the legitimate son of the Chongzhen Emperor, and even if he wasn't the eldest, he was still legitimate. Therefore, they naively believed that the Jianlu would definitely help them this time. Just give them a little benefit, and they'd be satisfied. Some officials believed the Yellow River could be the boundary, others the Yangtze River, and even some even more naive officials believed that by promising the Jianlu more benefits in the form of gold and silver, they would return to the outside of the Great Wall and use Shanhaiguan as the boundary.
Zhao Xiaofei just wanted to say haha. Even if he was not a time traveler, as long as he was familiar with history, he would know how the Jurchen ancestors, the Wanyan family, treated the Zhao family of the Song Dynasty.
Li Zicheng now occupied the entire northern region of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong, and the Jingxiang region of Hubei. Wu Sangui and the Jianlu now occupied the area south of Shanhaiguan, as well as the Zhili region of the capital Tianjin.
Li Zicheng commanded an army of approximately 500,000 men, but he could only mobilize a few hundred thousand immediately. Many of the remaining troops were Ming Dynasty defectors. They operated according to the situation and showed little loyalty to the Dashun. Therefore, Li Zicheng could only truly control Shanxi, Shaanxi, and the Jingxiang region.
As for Shandong and Henan, it's estimated that as long as Wu Sangui and the Jianlu march south, they will surrender without a fight. That's why Zhao Xiaofei won't send officials or military funds to these areas at this time! Otherwise, all the money will be wasted! Those who are actively resisting the Qing Dynasty, fine! Hold off for now, and let Li Zichu investigate first.
Once you're sure they're truly anti-Qing, you'll be given food and money. Gather them all under your command! What? You used to be an official of the Dashun? No problem! I'll take you in! What? You were a Ming official, then defected to the Dashun, and now you want to defect back? No problem! I'll take you in!
Anyway, Zhao Xiaofei's next step is to accumulate strength and not turn back to fight back to the capital without a guide.
Zhao Xiaofei was in Wuchang City, reading Li Zichu's intelligence report on the north. He closed the document and put it aside. Li Sihong came over to give him a head massage, and Kou Baimen came over to pour him a pot of tea.
Zhao Xiaofei sighed, and Li Sihong asked, "Husband! Is there anything bothering you that you can tell us?"
"Oh! Lack of money and time! Li Zicheng may not be able to defend the north. Shanxi and Shaanxi may be lost to the Jianlu!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Husband! Is Li Zicheng going to be defeated?" Kou Baimen asked.
"Of course! Not only will he lose, he will probably lose everything! I even hope he can hold on for two more years!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Why do you hope that the thieves can last a few more years?" Li Sihong asked.
"Just hold on for another one or two years! He can deal with Wu Sangui and the Jianlu more and consume their strength. In these one or two years, I can build warships and we will land in Tianjin. By then, the north will be pacified soon! But now, we have to deal with Li Zicheng in the west and the Qing army heading south in the east. Being attacked from two sides is a taboo in military strategy! There is still Zhang Xianzhong in Sichuan who has not been dealt with!" Zhao Xiaofei had a headache when he talked about this.
He was just a loser before, how could he handle such a big occasion? How could he have thought of so many things? Lately, I haven't had time to go back to the modern world. It seems that my son Zhao Qiji will never be able to go back after 100 days. I don't know what Qin Baobao will scold me when he holds the child at home! I guess my mother is also muttering to herself!
At this time, Nanjing was debating how to reward Zhao Xiaofei. This achievement was truly immense. Zhao Xiaofei had swiftly dispatched Zuo Liangyu, bringing all territory south of the Yangtze River under the control of the imperial court. The court's orders were effectively enforced, giving the Nanjing court a respite. Once the heads of the Zuo family father and son were delivered to Gao Jie and Liu Zeqing, the two men immediately obeyed. Liu Liangzuo even requested to surrender his military power and take a position at the Nanjing court.
The three of them looked at each other and were shocked. What? The Zuo family father and son had a million-strong army, but they couldn't even last two months against Zhao Xiaofei? This imperial court was too powerful! If they didn't obey, they would end up like the Zuo family father and son.
Now they dared not take the imperial edict lightly, or they would be annihilated! Dealing with Zhao Xiaofei's army? Haha! Don't be ridiculous! They all knew that Zhao Xiaofei had captured Haoge alive in Gongji County, and the Jianlu were no match for him. They should just obey the imperial edict and kill whoever they were told to! Even if they couldn't win, they could learn from Liu Liangzuo. Find a way to transfer to the capital to retire!
Just as Zhao Xiaofei and his two wives were studying the anatomy of men and women in broad daylight, a messenger shouted outside the door, "My Lord! Great news!"
Zhao Xiaofei said angrily: "Get out!"
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