Chapter 180 Li Zicheng's Situation
Since retreating to Xi'an, Li Zicheng has been actively recruiting soldiers. He also stopped the campaign to support military expenditures and instead tried to win over the landlords and gentry. The previous practice of living off the rich and powerful was abandoned, and now that the King of Rebellion has arrived, he no longer pays taxes. He began measuring the land, distributing some unowned land to the poor and compromising with the living landlords by recognizing their land deeds and ownership. He then required tenants to pay rent and landowners to pay taxes.
It can be said that the landlords and gentry who had originally planned to form a group to resist Li Zicheng began to join him one after another when they saw that Li Zicheng had changed his nature. There were finally signs that Li Zicheng's rule was improving.
With money and grain being paid, the army could naturally begin recruiting. After returning from Shanhaiguan, Li Zicheng had only about 40,000 men under his direct command. After more than half a year, nearly a year of recuperation, the Chuang army's strength had returned to its peak at Shanhaiguan, reaching around 150,000.
Li Zicheng sat in the main hall of Xi'an. His palace was a remodeled residence of the Zhu family's Qin Wang. He asked, "Tell me about the current situation in the world. What should we do in the future?"
Song Xiance said, "Your Majesty! We should send troops to Tongguan. Although Li Yan and Liu Rukui defeated the Jianlu, this also alerted the Tartars. They are likely to defeat us piecemeal!"
"Military Advisor, it is not appropriate to send troops to Tongguan! Our new army has just been established. Although we have the advantage in numbers, we are not a resolute opponent!" said Liu Jinxing.
"Then what do you think, Prime Minister?" Song Xiance asked.
"Your Majesty! Since ancient times, whoever controls Sichuan controls the world! Now most of Zhang Xianzhong's troops have been destroyed by Qin Liangyu and Zeng Ying. We can force him to surrender, so that we can have a place to stay." Niu Jinxing said.
"Forced surrender? Prime Minister Niu, you are too naive! Others may not know what kind of person Zhang Xianzhong is, but don't we know?" At this time, Li Guo stood up and spoke.
"I'm talking about Zhang Xianzhong's troops, not trying to persuade Zhang Xianzhong to surrender! Zhang Xianzhong can be abandoned!" said Niu Jinxing.
"My Prime Minister! What are you going to do?" Li Zicheng asked.
"Bribe his subordinates!" said Niu Jinxing.
"What a joke! Can his subordinates be bribed?" Liu Zongmin said.
"If we can't bribe them, we can still ask Mingting to bribe them!" said Niu Jinxing.
"Prime Minister Niu, are you crazy? Will the Ming court be willing to cooperate with us?" Liu Zongmin asked back.
Ignoring Liu Zongmin, Niu Jinxing addressed Li Zicheng directly, "Your Majesty! The Ming court is now at the end of its rope! Ever since that Prince Consort Zhao Ping killed Zuo Liangyu, joined forces with Huang Degong Gaojie, and executed Xu Dingguo, they have been able to hold up half of Jiangnan with their own army, and no longer have much strength left. That's why he paid Qin Liangyu and Zeng Ying to attack Zhang Xianzhong's forces! Qin Liangyu and Zeng Ying are no longer able to attack Chengdu, so the Ming court is now anxious for Zhang Xianzhong's forces to be pacified. We should pretend to cooperate with the Ming court and take the opportunity to destroy Zhang Xianzhong and occupy Chengdu!"
"Trying to get the skin of a tiger and fish chestnuts from the fire?" Song Xiance said.
"How do we negotiate with them and who should we choose?" Li Zicheng asked.
"Your Majesty! Luo Yangxing! He is the head of the Jinyiwei and now the left commander of our Yulinwei. He has the list of Jinyiwei in his hand. He can use the list of Jinyiwei personnel as bait and find a way to get them to kill Zhang Xianzhong. I believe the Ming court will be happy to have this list!" Niu Jinxing said with a smile.
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. What? You, Niu Jinxing, are planning to sell the list of Jinyiwei. Does the emperor have this list? Are you and Luo Yangxing the only ones who have it?
At this time, Li Zicheng said, "I know about the list! I have seen it and wanted to use it, but I am not a person like the Zhu family. I can't let my brothers who follow me live like thieves, so I don't want to use it. I think we are united as king and minister. We will definitely conquer this beautiful country and enjoy the happiness together!"
After hearing this, everyone felt that Li Zicheng was far superior to the Ming emperor. Without the watchful eyes of the imperial guards, we could be ourselves, making money where we should, and doing bad things where we should! However, some people found Li Zicheng's words jarring. What did he mean by "you can't let your brothers live like thieves"? We're all thieves, aren't we? If you can't defend the capital, you're still not the common ruler of the world.
Those who think this way are generally from the Ming court, including several Ming court officials who surrendered and had a good relationship with Jiang Xiang. They regretted surrendering to Li Zicheng very much. Li Zicheng's attitude towards the gentry and the Ming court officials made them dissatisfied. According to the rules of the succession of dynasties, you should have appeased us in order to win over us old ministers of the previous dynasty. But how did you do it? You only appointed a few people, especially the military generals who had troops under their command. What were those military generals in the Ming court? Don't you know how humble their positions were? You also served as a soldier in the Ming Dynasty. And when measuring the land, couldn't you take the opportunity to give us more and let those tenants who couldn't make a living work for us? It would be better to be serfs!
Look at what the Jianlu did. They enclosed land and divided it among their subordinates. Han Chinese could even become bannermen if they achieved meritorious service, so the Jianlu was a promising entrepreneurial company. Meanwhile, Li Zicheng was nothing, still labeled a thief. Meanwhile, the Ming court was on the verge of becoming like the Southern Song Dynasty, swayed by its consort Zhao Xiaofei. Many meritorious officials were even granted the title of marquis, even Qin Liangyu, an elderly woman. So the fate of the Ming court was uncertain. It also became a relatively promising company, much like how some promising companies in later generations developed corporate problems. They became overstaffed, their finances were in disarray, and their efficiency was low. Suddenly, someone stepped forward and said, "I'll take over the business and lay off all the unneeded officials." The Ming court was now a bankrupt company, worth nothing more than its brand name. So, they laid off employees and consolidated their assets. They wanted to go public again!
At this time, Jiang Xiang, the general of Datong, was meeting with the envoys sent by the Ming court. Jiang Xiang asked, "When will the rebellion begin?"
"The court didn't say anything, but just asked you to act accordingly! But you must kill Zhang Tianlin! And you will be granted a title of nobility afterwards!" said the envoy.
"Besides killing Zhang Tianlin, do you have any other requirements?" Jiang Xiang asked.
For Jiang Xiang, killing Zhang Tianlin was a relatively safe bet. However, Ming Ting would never forgive him so easily, nor would he be granted a title of nobility so easily. Hence the question.
"Your Excellency is a wise man. In addition to killing Zhang Tianlin, if the Jianlu come, you can also surrender to the Jianlu. You must preserve your strength! If there is a chance, kill Wu Sangui or the high-ranking officials of the Jianlu. But killing Wu Sangui is the most important thing!" said the envoy.
Jiang Xiang finally felt relieved after hearing this. He had never thought that he could openly serve as a second minister! When the time comes, as long as the Ming court can hold on, he can return to the Ming court's arms. Why not?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
