Just when Zhou Shixian was heading south, had passed through Linqing, and was about to arrive at Dongchang Prefecture, Gu Kecheng and Hao Yaoqi also led the defeated soldiers back to the capital and were asking Li Zicheng for forgiveness.

"That is to say, you were defeated by a mere hundred Jin Yiwei? You also lost thousands of fine cavalry." Li Zicheng sat on the throne of Jianji Hall, his eyes stern and his majesty fully displayed.

"Your Majesty, that may not be a simple imperial guard." Niu Jinxing suddenly came out of the queue, cupped his hands and said:

"According to my investigation, Zhou Shixian came from a family of officials and was Chongzhen's hand-picked consort. It is said that he is both civil and military. I am afraid that he has obtained Chongzhen's will and has the help of veterans. Otherwise, with his qualifications, he would not be able to control those soldiers.

.”

In order to stabilize his position as prime minister, Niu Jinxing naturally wanted to win over these close generals of Li Zicheng. He also guessed correctly that Li Zicheng would not really be cruel to his old brother. At this time, of course he had to help with words and exaggerate.

Zhou Shixian's ability, in fact, he didn't believe that just a hundred households could have such ability.

"Your Majesty, Zhou Shixian has five thousand elite soldiers under his command. They should have collected the defeated troops from North Zhili and the troops from King Qin of Shandong who went north." Gu Kecheng also said quickly.

"Pang Lun was their internal correspondent. The Ming army only had more than 3,000 cavalry in ambush. Chen and General Gu pursued it too hastily, so that they were tired and out of horses. They were careless, and when the Ming army had nearly 10,000 soldiers and horses, they

It is impossible to resist a sudden attack." Hao Yaoqi also followed the nonsense.

The two of them now dare not admit their guilt at all. They lost more than 1,300 cavalry and nearly 5,000 horses in the first battle. Now they can only continue to make up excuses to reduce their guilt.

However, the battle outside Dezhou City had declared the failure of the Shun army's pursuit, and Emperor Chongzhen had completely escaped. Such a big thing was not something that Li Zicheng could have done if he wanted to protect them.

Otherwise, how will Li Zicheng convince the public in the future?

As for the scapegoat Pang Lun, he had already been beaten to the last breath by Li Zicheng's order. But at this point, his value was little.

Even if there was no incident involving Chongzhen, Gu Kecheng and Hao Yaoqi would be guilty of the crime of simply underestimating the enemy's rash advance and losing so many horses and veterans in the first battle.

Li Zicheng had been in trouble for so many years, so how could he be so easy to deceive? He naturally knew what Gu Kecheng and Hao Yaoqi were thinking, and they were just going down the slope.

Therefore, a traitor in the Ming court who is about to die is much easier to use than a surrendered general who can speak eloquently or even talk nonsense.

"No matter how you say it, you two have unshirkable responsibilities in this battle. If I don't punish you, how can you convince everyone?" After hearing the words of these people, Li Zicheng couldn't help but frown:

"Gu Kecheng, Hao Yaoqi, you underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, causing heavy losses to our army. Considering the Ming army's strength and cunning, the situation of the battle is difficult to predict. Now I will punish you with a year's salary. Gu Kecheng, as the commander-in-chief, will be exempted from the forward battalion.

Control the general's position, use power to control the general, and temporarily lead the army."

After Li Zicheng said this, the two of them immediately knelt down to express their gratitude. However, this treatment was actually just a show, and Hao Yaoqi also received the favor.

After all, most of the current Shun army were not Li Zicheng's old subordinates. Li Zicheng had to show his magnanimity in order to balance his troops and win people's hearts.

At this moment, Niu Jinxing spoke again: "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

If you want one thing to go away completely, the best way is to cover it up with another thing. This is a truth that Ox Venus naturally understands.

"allow!"

"Your Majesty, there are many unjust cases in the local area due to the pursuit of stolen money and subsidies. Many states and counties have already boiled with public dissatisfaction, and even squire rebellion broke out." Such things were not serious at first, but now Chongzhen is not.

After death, the situation would be different. Niu Jinxing still has some political sense.

"I think that although we, Dashun, have now occupied the entire northern country, the various places have recently been recovered, the people's hearts are not yet stable, and the remnants of the Ming army in the southern provinces have not been eliminated, so it is not appropriate to fully pursue the loot and support, lest we lose the support of the local areas, and the rear is free

chaos."

As soon as these words came out, the civil and military ministers of the Shunting Court standing in the Jianji Hall started talking about it. Even Li Zicheng couldn't help but nodded.

After all, since the Eastern March of the first month, the Dashun Army has taken over the entire Shanxi, northern Henan, and many places in the western part of North Zhili in a short period of time. The grassroots strength is simply insufficient. Each county can only send one county magistrate and two hundred garrison troops.

take over.

Such a weak force was simply not enough to suppress the tycoons who had controlled the local area for many years. In order to raise military salaries, they sought illicit funds from local gentry regardless of priority, which greatly undermined the establishment of the ruling order of the Shunjun.

Now that Chongzhen has fled south, once the news spreads, countless local gentry who are dissatisfied with Dashun will inevitably rebel. Therefore, Li Zicheng must adjust his policies as soon as possible and stabilize the internal affairs.

"The Prime Minister is right, this matter must be handled properly as soon as possible, otherwise the Southern Expedition will be a waste of time." Li Zicheng nodded, and then said: "Song Xiance, this matter will be supervised by you and the Prime Minister together, and it must be handled as quickly as possible."

To calm people's hearts."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The two men immediately cupped their hands and said in unison.

"What's going on with Wu Sangui? Is there any news from Tang Tong?"

Although Emperor Chongzhen's escape to the south was important, it was not urgent. After all, the combat effectiveness of the Ming army in the south was not worth mentioning.

In other words, as long as the north is stabilized, Li Zicheng can directly send a force south to take Nanjing, and the rest of the place will be decided.

You must know that the border troops of the Ming Dynasty are all in the north. Whoever controls the hundreds of thousands of border troops on the nine sides will win the world. Jiangnan is just a land for food and wages.

But once Wu Sangui in Shanhaiguan changes, it will directly threaten the capital. For Li Zicheng, this is also very important, and because Chongzhen fled south, Wu Sangui's movements immediately became very urgent.

"Back to Your Majesty, after Tang Tong met with Wu Sangui, the terms have been basically negotiated. Just last night, Wu Sangui announced his surrender in Yongping.

Early this morning, Wu Sangui's 30,000 troops should have already set out, and are expected to arrive in the capital in ten days. Tang Tong followed His Majesty's orders, and along with the former Ming Dynasty Shanhaiguan commander-in-chief, Gao Di, the former Ming Dynasty general, continued to march eastward to take over Shanhaiguan."

Song Xiance immediately raised his hands and closed his sleeves.

Li Zicheng nodded, sneered, and suddenly said:

"Hmph, it seems that these are all the tricks of the Jinyiwei Baihu. Why would Wu Sangui defect to the Tatars? It was simply an attack on the east and the west.

Among us, which one of us has been fighting on the battlefield for decades? Isn’t it ridiculous that we are all being manipulated by a mere member of the Imperial Guard?"

"Your Majesty!" When the Dashun ministers in the palace heard this, they couldn't help but tremble in their hearts.

"Hey!" Li Zicheng raised his hand to stop these ministers from speaking, and said with a faint smile:

"It seems that Wu Sangui is not a serious problem. The so-called Tatars are just nonsense made by a man named Zhou Shixian to distract us.

According to my oral instructions, Guo Sheng, Zhao Yingyuan, and Dong Xueli immediately continued southward along the canal to take over Shandong. Also, Yuan Zongdi was asked to return to Henan via the original route, march to Hubei, and join Bai Wang to attack Zuo Liangyu."

"Yes!" When the ministers heard this, they felt relieved and once again cupped their hands and fists and said in unison.

"Remember, Chongzhen is dead. Send fast horses to spread the news quickly. It must be faster than the speed of the Ming army moving south." Li Zicheng suddenly grinned.
Chapter completed!