On the second day of the first lunar month of the 16th year of Chongzhen, with the support of everyone, Li Zicheng proclaimed himself the king in Kaifeng Fucheng, and was named "General Marshal Fengtian Advocating Righteousness", and Luo Rucai was named "General Mighty and Virtuous on behalf of Heaven to Promote the People", and planned to use Kaifeng Fucheng and

Henan Province is the foundation and develops westward.

Zhang Dongtao was named the General Manager of the Rebel Army, Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance were named Rebel Army Advisors, Liu Zongmin and others were named General Quan, Li Yan and others were named General Zhi, Zhang Guoxin and others were named General Guoyi, as for Li Guo and Gao

After his first achievement, he was named Marshal's Mansion Chief Shi and Deputy Chief Shi. He followed Li Zicheng and became Li Zicheng's most trusted confidant.

This kind of canonization was expected by everyone. Li Guo and Gao Yigong were Li Zicheng's family members, so it was inevitable that they would be trusted. As they say, brothers fighting tigers, father and son fighting in battle, at the most critical moment, Li Zicheng believed in his family.

Zhang Dongtao became the third most powerful figure in the rebel army after Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai.

In fact, the conflict between Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai broke out a long time ago. This time Li Zicheng became king. When the title was clarified, Luo Rucai showed dissatisfaction. It was only because of the mood of many soldiers in the rebel army that he did not make a fuss.

The division of the camps is very clear. Zhang Dongtao, Li Yan and Zhang Guoxin are classified as the military commanders' lineup, while Li Guo, Gao Yigong, Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance are classified as the civilian lineup. This is a distinct lineup.

, indicating that Li Zicheng began to truly formulate his own team.

After becoming king, Li Zicheng was very high-spirited and began to plan with Zhang Dongtao and others to attack Shaanxi, Shanxi and other places. They did not need to specifically attack Sun Chuanting, the governor of the five provinces, as long as Xi'an Fucheng and other places were threatened, or the rebels were ready to attack Shaanxi.

With such a posture, Sun Chuanting would not be able to sit idly by and ignore it, and would definitely lead an army to stop it.

By this time, Li Zicheng's ambitions fully exploded.

...

The news that Li Zicheng became king in Kaifeng Fucheng spread instantly and shocked the world.

After receiving the news, Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian did not believe that the news was true. After repeated inquiries and confirming that the news was true, he immediately summoned the cabinet ministers to the side hall for discussion.

When they heard the news, Zhang Sizhi, the chief minister of the cabinet, and Wang Chengen, the eunuch of Bingbi, were extremely surprised. Before going to the side hall, the two discussed it in Wenyuan Pavilion for more than half an hour.

Forbidden City, side hall.

What was different from the past was that Zhu Youjian came to the side hall in advance and waited for everyone to arrive.

Such a situation has never occurred before.

When Zhang Sizhi led many cabinet ministers into the side hall, he looked up and saw the emperor on the royal chariot, and the eunuch Wang Chengen standing next to the emperor.

When Zhang Sizhi was about to lead everyone in saluting, Zhu Youjian on the imperial chariot waved his hand.

"My dear friends, there is no need to bow. We are discussing matters in the side hall today. You all know what is going on, so I won't say more."

"I never expected that Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai would dare to proclaim themselves kings and emperors. When I wiped out the bandits in the past, I thought that the bandits were also my people. They rebelled because they lacked food and clothing and could not survive. I had no choice but to rebel.

I'm not willing to kill them all. I didn't expect that after all these years, Li Zicheng had great ambitions. He wanted to become king and emperor in Kaifeng. He wanted to replace me. I don't know how I feel. I invite you all to come today.

Discussion, I want to hear your opinions..."

Zhu Youjian couldn't speak anymore.

It was unusually quiet in the side hall, and no one took the initiative to speak. In fact, no one thought that Li Zicheng would become king and emperor. Think about it, Li Zicheng was just a postman at the post station. After the post station was abolished, he lost his source of livelihood and joined the army.

He joined the ranks of rogue bandits to rebel. The civil and military ministers in the DPRK always regarded Li Zicheng as a rogue bandit.

More than ten years have passed, and Li Zicheng has become more mature and has ambitions that ordinary people can't even imagine.

Such a thing would be a huge blow to the civil and military ministers in the DPRK, and no one could react for a while.

Seeing that everyone was silent all the time, Zhu Youjian became a little angry. After so many years, he had long been dissatisfied with the civil and military ministers in the DPRK, and even completely lost confidence. At critical moments, the civil and military ministers in the DPRK could not

Put forward effective insights and opinions, but cannot deal with unexpected events. When there is nothing on weekdays, some civil and military ministers jump very high and speak fiery words. They are all dissatisfied with the government.

"What's wrong? Are you unable to put forward any opinions or suggestions? I asked you to come to the side hall to discuss matters just to listen to your suggestions. If you can't make any suggestions, then let's leave..."

Wang Chengen, who was behind Zhu Youjian, didn't have time to speak.

Zhang Sizhi, the chief minister of the cabinet, stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, I and others have been thinking about it. I never thought that Li Zicheng dared to claim the throne. This is a treasonous matter. I feel that the Emperor can issue an order to order the people of the world to attack Li Zicheng and his like..."

In fact, no one could think of a way to deal with Li Zicheng. The emperor and the successive governors of the five provinces sent by the court were unable to truly eradicate the bandits. Now that the bandits have grown stronger, the court has no choice.

After Zhang Sizhi finished speaking, Zhu Youjian let out a long sigh. In fact, he also understood that the cabinet minister was unlikely to make any useful suggestions. The best solution at the moment was to completely annihilate the bandits.

Zhu Youjian was depressed. Li Zicheng became king in Kaifeng, which was a huge blow to him. It was like slapping Li Zicheng in front of everyone in the world.

Zhu Youjian, who values ​​​​face very much, cannot swallow this breath.

Zhu Youjian's anger had nowhere to vent.

"What Zhang Aiqing said is very good. Li Zicheng is just a courier at the post station. After more than ten years of rebellion, he actually wanted to be king and emperor. I can't understand it. After I ascended the throne, I worked hard and tried my best to hope that the people of the world can be peaceful.

, but contrary to expectations, the Central Plains suffered from frequent famines. Many people had no food and clothing, and were forced to rebel. I pitied the people and was unwilling to kill them all. After sending a large army to subjugate them, I let them go home, hoping that they could return to their homes.

Farming honestly..."

Zhu Youjian's voice was choked up.

The side hall became quiet again, and everyone lowered their heads. They rarely saw the emperor being emotional.

Zhu Youjian clenched his fists and spoke again.

"My heart of pity was exchanged for the heart of a jackal, tiger, and leopard. This is my fault. Zhang Aiqing's words just now reminded me that I will tell the world and order the people of the world to come together to attack Li Zicheng and his like. I

No one is allowed to interfere with our country..."

...

South Zhili, Xuzhou, temporary Chinese military tent outside the city.

Zhang Xianzhong's face was ashen. He had just learned that Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai had become kings.

The siege of Xuzhou had been going on for several months. Zhang Xianzhong did not have Hongyi artillery, so he had to rely on his sergeants to storm the city of Xuzhou. Months passed and there were many casualties, but he still could not capture the city of Xuzhou.

Zhang Xianzhong had known for a long time that Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai were besieging Kaifeng Fucheng. Li Zicheng had besieged Kaifeng Fucheng several times, but all failed. Unexpectedly, he actually captured Kaifeng Fucheng this time.

Li Zicheng was just the nominally supported leader of the various rebel armies. In the final analysis, the various rebel armies were working on their own affairs and would not pay attention to Li Zicheng's instructions. When attacking the city, they all considered their own interests.

Because of the growth in power of Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai, especially after the Battle of Zhuxian Town, Li Zicheng's prestige increased dramatically, and Zhang Xianzhong had no choice but to congratulate Li Zicheng.

Deep down, Zhang Xianzhong was unconvinced. He believed that he was no weaker than Li Zicheng.

Speaking of his qualifications in the rebel army, Zhang Xianzhong is stronger than Li Zicheng. Li Zicheng originally defected to Gao Yingxiang, the king of Chuang. After Gao Yingxiang was killed by the imperial army, he took over all Gao Yingxiang's deployment. Zhang Xianzhong, on the other hand, through his own efforts, gradually strengthened his strength.

, becoming an existence second only to Li Zicheng.

Sun Kewang, Liu Wenxiu, Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi and others sat at the bottom.

Zhang Xianzhong looked at the crowd and spoke coldly.

"Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai captured Kaifeng Fucheng, and both of them became kings in Kaifeng Fucheng. You all know this news, so I won't go into details. Several rebel armies have taken refuge in Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai, making their power even stronger. Next,

What to do, you should understand that we have been besieging Xuzhou City for several months and have never been able to capture it. If we are unable to capture Xuzhou City in the end, we can only look to Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai."

"The Ming army in Xuzhou City encountered a fierce attack by our rebel army and was greatly weakened. We sent scouts to Huai'an and Fengyang and other places to conduct reconnaissance. The imperial troops stationed in these places had no intention of rushing to aid Xuzhou, so this is

Our best chance, I think, is that we can only truly demonstrate our strength and raise our head among the rebels by winning the city of Xuzhou."

Having said this, Zhang Xianzhong showed a cold look on his face.

"We are no weaker than Li Zicheng. Over the years, we have been repeatedly encircled and suppressed by the imperial army, but in the end we survived. Only then could Li Zicheng and Luo Ru capture the city of Kaifeng, and we can capture the city of Xuzhou."

"Sun Kewang, tomorrow is the ninth day of the first lunar month. You will command the sergeants to attack Xuzhou City. You must use all your strength to capture Xuzhou City. As for the next battle plan, we will discuss it after we capture Xuzhou City.

"

"Liu Wenxiu, Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, you assist Sun Kewang and launch an all-out attack on Xuzhou City."

Having said this, Zhang Xianzhong stood up.

"We have been attacking Xuzhou City for several months, spending countless manpower and financial resources. Tomorrow's attack must capture Xuzhou City, so that we can compete with Li Zicheng. If we cannot capture Kaifeng City, even if we
Chapter completed!