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Volume One: Invasion of the Capital, Chapter 920: Sudden Changes

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    Huaiyang is located in the north of the Yangtze River and is an important barrier for Nanming's Yangtze River defense line. Nanming also stationed heavy troops in various towns in this area.  It is conceivable that once Chi Ming's Shandong Army starts taking action, a full-scale war with Nan Ming will inevitably break out.  And the Daping Dynasty will soon face the dilemma of fighting on two fronts.  Neither troops nor supplies can be arranged.  That's why Wu Shigong strictly ordered Chi Ming not to act rashly.  After receiving this strict order, Chi Ming could only give up and go straight to Yangzhou.  But his young mind is undoubtedly full of depression.  In order to vent, he could only increase the intensity of the exercises, which were supposed to be military training anyway!  After seeing the Daping Army's increasingly intense drills and seeing that they did not dare to take a step further, the confrontational towns in Nanming became even more relieved.  This scene lasted until mid-May.  When the news came that the Daping Army invaded Shaanxi, swept across the northwest provinces, and pursued Li Zicheng's remnant army, heading east, the hearts of Chi Ming and other Daping Army generals as well as the military commanders in various towns in the Southern Ming Dynasty suddenly became anxious.  .  ¡­¡­ After the 130,000 Daping Army led by Zhou Xun and Xue Yong annihilated the main force of the Dashun Army near Jiujiang in June, tens of thousands of ships prepared by the Dashun Army to march eastward to Nanjing were also captured by the Daping Army.  At this time, Zhou Xun, Xue Yong and others, who had strong soldiers and horses, ships and food, also began to have ideas. They wanted to go down the river in one go, take Nanjing directly, and completely eliminate Nanming.  At this time, Wu Shigong, who was well aware of the temperament of the arrogant and fierce generals on the front line, was deeply afraid that they would disobey orders on the grounds that "the generals were out", so he frequently issued strict orders not to fight with the Nanming Army.  Zhou Xun, Xue Yong and others, who were preparing to disobey the order on the grounds that "the general will be away", could only stand still.  Military operations eastward were temporarily suspended.  ¡­ ¡­ Judging from the two battlefields of Shandong and Huguang, it seems that Nanming can breathe for a while under the Daping Army¡¯s standstill.  But no one expected it.  Shocking changes occurred in these two battlefields one after another, causing the Shandong Army and the Huguang Army to launch comprehensive military operations one after another.  Let¡¯s talk about the Shandong battlefield first: On the second day of June, at the junction of Shandong and Northern Jiangsu, a small group of dozens of Nanming troops, led by a general, collectively surrendered to Chi Ming¡¯s Shandong troops in Yangji Town.  At the same time, they also presented the Yangji Town where they were stationed to the Shandong Army.  At that time, the Nanming Army in various towns in the north of the Yangtze River.  Most of them are stationed in the city, and the soldiers in this small group are nothing more than the "eyes and ears" and cannon fodder placed on the front line, and of course they are not direct members.  So the main reason for their surrender is self-evident.  but.  The news that the Daping Army of the Huguang Zhou Patrol Department was heading east was also a major reason that destroyed the confidence of these soldiers.  There is no need to analyze the reasons why these soldiers surrendered, and in these days, there are not many soldiers of the Southern Ming Army who surrendered.  But this time is an exception.  Because this group of soldiers actually donated the Yangji Town where they were stationed.  This situation embarrassed the two opposing armies.  For Chi Ming's Shandong Army, the meat is all delivered to their doorstep, so it is definitely a waste of money.  But for the Nanming Army, Yangji Town is important, but not particularly important. If it really gives up, it doesn't mean anything.  However, the Shandong Army's move to take over Yangji Town set a very bad precedent - the Daping Army broke the de facto ceasefire line tacitly agreed by the two armies for the first time and broke into the Nanming Army's defense line.  However, the officials and military generals of Nanming were also miserable.  After all, this Yangji Town was not captured by the Daping Army, but was surrendered by its own soldiers.  If you insist on saying that the Daping Army broke the tacit understanding.  Some of them are unjustifiable.  Should we send someone to talk to the Daping Army and ask them to voluntarily return Yangji Town?  This is obviously impossible.  So the two armies remained silent for five days, not knowing how to deal with this unexpected situation.  But on the seventh day of June, the second team of the Nanming Army saw that they had set an example, and they also surrendered, followed by the third team  Although Chi Ming obeyed Wu Shigong's advice, he had his own little mind after all.  This was sent to surrender and was not taken by oneself. This cannot be considered a violation of the emperor's imperial edict!  So he commanded the Shandong Army, pressed forward, and occupied the territory offered by the Nanming Army in these days.  But this made the Nanming Army even more panicked, because the Daping Army finally sent troops.  On the tenth day of the sixth lunar month, a Nanming Army general stationed in Suqian, with more than 3,000 troops, surrendered to the city.  The situation suddenly got out of control.  ¡­ And the situation on the Huguang battlefield is even more bizarre: During the national crisis, all the little ghosts and evildoers jumped out.  In December of the 16th year of Chongzhen, Mu Hu, the servant of Gao Mengji, the young minister of Honglu Temple, was traveling from the north to the south. On the way, he met a young man and they went together.  But when he went to bed at night, he was surprised to find that the boy's underwear was woven withHe was surprised and asked about his identity. The young man claimed to be the crown prince.  After arriving in Nanjing, Mu Hu sent the young man to Gao Mengji. It was difficult for Gao Mengji to tell the authenticity, so he hurriedly sent him to Suzhou and Hangzhou to hide.  It should be said that Gao Mengji still has a conscience.  At this time, Emperor Hongguang had just sat on the throne and no one was allowed to peep.  The crown prince Zhu Cixi's identity as the emperor is much more qualified than Zhu Yousong's, so once the young man's identity is revealed, he will definitely be killed.  Therefore, Gao Mengji actually gave the young man a way to survive.  "However, this young man doesn't know how to hide, and often shows off to the public, showing his noble and arrogant appearance.  This attracted people's attention and they all whispered behind their backs.  As a last resort, Gao Mengji could only report to the court secretly, so Emperor Hongguang sent an internal official to hold the imperial letter to announce the summons.  On the first day of March in the first year of Qiongyuan, this young man arrived in Nanjing from Jinhua, Zhejiang, and was handed over to the custody of Jin Yiwei Feng Kezong.  The next day, Emperor Hongguang told the ministers: "There is a young boy who said that it is the late emperor's East Palace. If he is the true son of the late emperor, he is my son. He should be raised with care and not lose his place." He also followed Linghou, Bo, Jiuqing, Hanlin, and others.  Officials such as Ke, Dao and others went to inspect it. ?????????? Wang Duo, a bachelor, had served as the instructor of the East Palace for three years, so he was naturally familiar with the prince¡¯s appearance, and he could tell at a glance that he was a traitor and a fake.  , when Hongguang was founded, many officials had served in the Chongzhen court, and Wang Duo was not the only one who had met Prince Zhu Cixiang.  Others, such as Liu Zhengzong and Li Jinglian who once served as lecturers in the East Palace, and Qiu Zhizhong, the eunuch who served as the companion of the East Palace in the past, all deny it.  And the officials at the Hongguang court at that time also knew that the "prince" coming from the north was purely fake, and no one raised any objections.  Originally, this fraud case just came to light, but this case was advantageously used by careerists.  Zuo Liangyu, who is in the upper reaches of Nanjing, controls the strategic location and has relatively strong subordinates.  When Zhu Yousong ascended to the throne and issued the edict to Wuchang, he was unwilling to acknowledge it at first. Only after the persuasion of Huguang Governor He Tengjiao, Inspector Huang Shu and others, he agreed to read it and express his support.  Since Emperor Hongguang was mainly supported by military generals from various towns such as Huang Degong, Gao Jie, Liu Liangzuo, etc., Zuo Liangyu did not participate and was not considered a hero in making decisions.  So this has become a worry for Zuo Liangyu.  As a result, he became more and more unruly in the place he was guarding.  The imperial court regarded other generals as proud, which also aroused Zuo Liangyu's resentment.  Huang Shu, the imperial censor of Huguang, was originally a dirty villain. As the suspicion between Zuo Liangyu and the Hongguang court deepened, he not only failed to mediate, but instead used Zuo Liangyu's military strength as a backing in an attempt to improve his position in the Hongguang court.  own status.  At the end of May in the first year of Qiongyuan, when the remnants of Li Zicheng's Dashun Army entered the Jiangxi area, pursued by Zhou Xun and Xue Yong's troops of the Daping Army, Zuo Liangyu did not dare to fight the main force of the Dashun Army, so he repeated his old tactics and led his troops.  Run eastward along the river.  At that time, Nanjing was in turmoil over the cases of fake princes and "child concubines", and the powerful cabinet bachelors caused strong dissatisfaction among the officials and gentry. This provided Zuo Liangyu with an excuse to avoid the war and go east.  On the third day of June, Zuo Liangyu falsely claimed that he had been entrusted with the late emperor¡¯s secret instructions and went to Nanjing for rescue. In the name of Qingjun, the whole army took a boat and sailed eastward along the river.  Before leaving, he ordered the massacre of all the people in Ezhou.  On the fifth day of June, Zuo Liangyu soldiers arrived in Jiujiang and invited Jiang Governor Yuan Jixian to meet him in the boat.  Zuo Liangyu took out the "Crown Prince's" secret edict from his sleeve, set up an altar to torture the animals, and made an alliance with the generals.  And of course the generals who followed Zuo Liangyu readily agreed. Zuo Liangyu forced Yuan Jixian to go to Nanjing to "clear the emperor's side and save the prince."  However, Yuan Jixian believed that the authenticity of the "Crown Prince" was uncertain, and he did not know who had sent the secret edict. He said sternly: "The old virtues of the late emperor must not be forgotten, and the new kindness of the present emperor must not be ignored." He also bowed to the generals and begged them.  Cherish the people.  Zuo Liangyu replied: "The plot to trap the prince, what I did has nothing to do with the present. If you care for the people, everyone has your own heart, why should you worry about it?" Then he took out the "Oath and Memo" and showed it to Yuan Jixian.  How could Yuan Jixian believe such groundless evidence?  After he returned to the city, he ordered his troops to defend Jiujiang and not allow Zuo Bing to enter the city.  Unexpectedly, general Zhang Shixun had secretly colluded with the generals of the left army, and set fire to the whole city at night. Chaos suddenly broke out. The generals of the Yuan army could not survive, so they broke out of the door and joined forces with the Zuo army. Zuo Liangyu's troops took advantage of the situation and entered the city to kill, capture, and plunder.  Yuan Jixian was desperate and prepared to die.  Zuo Liangyu sent his general Zhang Yingyuan to take him into a boat. Yuan Jixian drowned himself repeatedly, but was rescued.  Zuo Liangyu tried his best to express to him that he had no intention of overthrowing Emperor Hongguang, and asked Yuan Jixian to go eastward to "protect the generals"; the supervisor Li Youlong also repeatedly persuaded him that it was useless to die, and it was better to act according to the opportunity.  Yuan Jixian had no choice but to make an agreement with Zuo Liangyu and his generals to strictly prohibit burning, killing and looting.  But just as the Zuo army was preparing to march eastward from Jiujiang, Zuo Liangyu suddenly fell ill and died on the seventh day of June, ending his life of great evil.  ?Liangyu was a "famous general" who was more powerful in killing the people of Ming Dynasty than the rebel peasant army!  At this time, it was only three days before the Jiujiang Incident.  (To be continued)
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