Lu Ming

"If Dashun, who has a strong army and horses, does not come to vote, but instead joins the Cao family who started with boats and sculls, Guan Ning's army can't do it."

When the national teacher mentioned this, everyone present felt that it was about the same, and nodded one after another: "Furthermore, Wu Sangui's father, Wu Xiang, is in the capital as a hostage, and I have the advantage. Are you afraid that Wu Sangui will not succeed in going to heaven?"

"Hahaha! The national teacher is right."

After some analysis, Emperor Li nodded in approval, and immediately issued an order: "Don't talk to the Cao family, choose one or two civil servants, and go to Shanhaiguan to surrender first."

When the first topic is over, the next topic is: payment.

Currently, the new Dashun court is facing two economic problems.

One: When Li Zicheng came to the throne, he only entrusted civil and military officials, but the rewards, especially the most important rewards for soldiers who invaded the army, have not yet been distributed.

Conferring rewards, conferring officials and distributing money are combined into one.Especially for soldiers without official hats, if they don't pay money, they will rebel in minutes.

Second: The new Dashun regime needs to maintain the operation of the newly formed government and prepare money, food and weapons for the upcoming southern expedition.

The above-mentioned government affairs all require a huge amount of funds to promote.

However, where does the money come from?This is the next important issue to be decided by the ruler and ministers of Dashun today.

Fortunately, the answer to this issue is no longer a problem... Chuangjun came from robbery all the way. At this point, the solution to money has long been engraved in Chuangjun's bones. discuss?Wealthy families in Shaanxi have also tortured and looted them before, and they are very familiar with chasing stolen goods.

Soon, even when Li Zicheng himself did not object, the court quickly made a resolution on this issue: the establishment of a "Comparison of Salary Town Fusi" was specifically responsible for "pursuing stolen goods and subsidizing salaries."

Liu Zongmin was granted the title of Marquis Ru, restrained civil officials, and presided over the torturing and plundering of officials in the Ming Dynasty.

Liu Zongmin, the freshly released director of the Stolen Pursuit Office, excitedly gave the first order: make five thousand pairs of sticks first!

What's the difficulty for those local rich people in Shaanxi?Director Liu's cudgel skills can only be demonstrated by high-ranking officials in the capital!

Regarding the issue of plundering, during the whole process, Zhou Guoshi, a high-ranking and powerful teacher, twirled his beard and smiled, nodded repeatedly, without saying a word.

Chapter 729 History ([-])

Usually, before something goes wrong, it will have a seemingly normal beginning.As for why he accelerated so fast and even flew off the cliff... maybe the brakes were really broken, or maybe he didn't want to step on it.

At the beginning, when the "Bi Xing Town Fusi" was established, Liu Zongmin also had a plan.

Sitting in the mansion of Tian Hongyu, the head of the state, he announced the KPI for the season's recovery to his subordinates: "One hundred thousand in the middle hall, seventy thousand or fifty thousand or fifty thousand in brocade clothes in the Jingtang of the Ministry, fifty thousand or thirty thousand in the official department of the Taoist department, three thousand in the Hanlin Twenty thousand and ten thousand, subordinates and subordinates each count in a thousand."

The above marks are fair, open and impartial, with high transparency.

Of course, in fact, Liu Zongmin did not really regard this KPI as a standard that must be completed.Just like the company's annual indicators, there is more or less the taste of a lion's mouth opening.

Next, it is the game between the two parties.

In the eyes of most officials, such brutal behavior must not be compromised.Even if it is handed over, you have to resist desperately and then spit out a few... Otherwise, wouldn't you publicly declare that you are a corrupt official?

You know, according to the above standards, normal officials can't save so much in eight lifetimes with their salaries.

However, the forest is big and there are all kinds of birds.No matter what the call is, there will always be someone who bets on the initiative.

For example, as mentioned before, Chen Yan, a cabinet scholar in the old world, tried his best to prevent Chongzhen from going south.This gentleman is in this plane, although he has not yet become a bachelor, but he still "carried two suitcases to Zong Min's place. The thief liked his generosity, so he was exempt."

There are also Liu Mingyu, the head of the household department, who "since one thousand is finished, they have to be released."

The routine of buying horse bones with a thousand pieces of gold lasted just two days.Next, for the vast number of officials who "do not support the work of the Dashun court", except for a very small number of officials selected to maintain daily government affairs, the rest began to suffer large-scale plundering operations.

The mansion of Kunizawada Hiroyuki occupies a vast area, and it is divided into several grades in front and back, and officials of different grades are tortured separately.

At this time, the officials who used to think that their willpower could suppress pain nerves finally understood the gap between reality and imagination.As they themselves said: under the three trees, what can you ask for?

If you don't copy it, you don't know. Once you copy it, you will be shocked.

On the first day, a Hanlin dug out 7000 taels of silver from his home.This result surprised most people from poor backgrounds, including Li Zicheng: "Is the richness of Hanlin even?"

Is the Hanlin known as Qingshui Yamen so rich?

Is the capital official and the town's Lao Cai really not on the same level?

Therefore, the previous KPI has been completely implemented this time: "All Hanlin officials, no matter old or new, will be paid more than ten thousand gold."

With all the officials of the Qing Dynasty like this, it is natural that the key point is to torture the big heads, relatives of the emperor and officials from all walks of life.

Zhou Kui, Zhou Guozhang, who cried poor in front of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, first had his son killed in person, and then his wife and daughter were also forced to hang himself.After that, Liu Zongmin began to torture Zhou Kui.

In the end, greed was not worth the pain caused by the stick.Among the family properties that Zhou Kui was forced to confess, there were as many as 52 taels of silver alone, and there were hundreds of thousands of other treasures: "Zhou Kui copied 52 silver and hundreds of thousands of precious coins. .”

Here is the key point: Everyone is quick.

Royal relatives are inevitable, let alone officials.A large number of officials were severely tortured.Not only with sticks, Chuangjun also used various cruel methods such as burning muscles and breaking shins to force them to pay money.

The only one who escaped the catastrophe was probably Wei Dezao, the chief assistant in history.This gentleman was the No. 13 scholar in the [-]th year of Chongzhen. Historically, he was held alive by a stick for five days, and died of a split brain.His son was subsequently killed by the army.

In this plane, because it was eight years earlier, Old Wei escaped this catastrophe.

Although it has been advanced, the total number of Beijing officials remains unchanged.Liu Zongmin's catastrophe, the number of thousands of relatives and officials, whether they are working or retired, did not escape after all.

Even so, Liu Zongmin still felt that it was not enough.

As the looting progressed, Liu Zongmin was amazed by the huge amount of silver in the account, and the wealth of the capital's hidden silver, so Liu Zongmin ordered someone to erect two pillars at the door for Ling Chi's exclusive use.Those who dare not pay the money will be hacked into pieces: "There are two pillars erected at Zongmin's gate, and there will be no idle time for the people."

The big project of "Zongmin Debt Collection Co., Ltd." in the capital city has been booming since it started, and other departments of Chuangjun have also benefited from it.

After entering the city for more than ten days, under the stimulation of countless wealth, the prudence and restraint before entering the army have long since disappeared.

At this time, the car has no brakes.Li Zicheng's generals, in addition to torturing and looting, also targeted the merchants and wealthy households in the city.

Uncontrolled soldiers even attacked ordinary people directly, robbing houses and women frequently.For a time, the entire capital was shrouded in an atmosphere of fear.

……

In such an environment that is gradually getting out of control, there is always a force in the capital who stands aloof and looks on coldly.

All members of this force are wearing black robes, and the high-level people are wearing Taoist robes.Their leader is Zhou Yi, the national teacher who is in charge of the intelligence department.

Zhou Guoshi, who had a high reputation in the Chuang army, changed his previous sharpness after entering the city, and became much quieter.In addition to participating in the discussion of strategic planning at the court meeting, in the following days, he did not participate in any government affairs on the grounds of meditating and breathing.

But at nightfall, a guest came to Zhou Yi's National Teacher's Mansion, Si Yamen, who was originally a pedestrian.

The guests who came in through the back door were wearing a pair of patched coarse cloth blouses, and they were all dirty from head to toe.

But after seeing this guest in the study, Zhou Tianshi stepped forward quickly, held the other's hand tightly, shook it up and down, and showed a rare excited expression on his face: "Comrade old ghost, we finally meet!"

"I only found out your real identity this morning." Liu Wang, who came to the meeting, was also very excited, and shook the other's hand vigorously: "I have long admired the name of Comrade 'Buddhism', and your achievements are soul-stirring, and my colleagues in Beijing Station admire you It's tight!"

"It's all about the support from the rear, and the commander has a good command."

After exchanging pleasantries, the two sat down.

Liu Wang took a sip of tea, then cut to the chase and said, "I'm here to meet you for two reasons."

"The first thing is to contact you about the retreat."

"The second thing." Liu Wang said here, and pulled out a piece of paper from under the thigh patch: "This is a list that was investigated by the Beijing Station before. It is full of Beijing officials who have treated us positively and viciously, and even secretly funded the opposition. official list."

"This is easy to do."

Zhou Yi took the note, glanced at it, and pulled the rope to call people in: "Give this list to Liu Zongmin, and say that these people suspect that there is a large amount of hidden silver in their house, and ask him to arrange it urgently."

"Yes."

"As for the first thing." Zhou Yi refilled Liu Wang's tea: "My side is already implementing it one after another. Don't worry, let's discuss it in detail."

……

At the same time that Comrade Fokan was meeting with the underground party in Beijing, a meeting was being held at the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army in Tianjin, two hundred miles away.

The atmosphere of the meeting was very harmonious.Under the warm yellow light, Han Xiaobo, the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition Army as the host, waved his hand to signal the orderlies, and poured military coffee for the middle-aged people sitting next to him.

"The emperor has already had a decree for the resettlement of the Guan Ning army."

Picking up the green mug as a signal from the air, and then taking a sip of the bitter black coffee, Han Xiaobo continued: "Zu Dashou's good deeds, Wu Sangui's perseverance. In the future, places like the Western Regions, Koryo, and Tianzhu will use soldiers everywhere. You Guan Ning Army is of great use."

The first few Guan Ning generals who heard this suddenly fell to the ground in their hearts.

To be honest, since the entry of Jianlu, Guan Ning's army has not lived in peace.Not only did they send some troops to defend the capital, but they also had to guard the safety of Shanhaiguan in the east.

Then, the situation changed suddenly.First, Jianlu hurriedly withdrew from outside the customs... Although Li Jichun blocked the news from Yanshan to Tianjin, the Guanning Group has been entrenched outside the customs for so many years. Only from various channels outside the customs, they can get general information about the battle of Santunying .

Afterwards, the emperor hung a tree branch overnight, and Li Zicheng went to Beijing.

The dazzling situation and the changing flags on the top of the city really made Guan Ning Group dizzy this time.

Where to go?

In the face of tremendous pressure, the Guanning Group, which was hesitant, sent negotiating missions of equal size to Beijing and Tianjin to collect information.

The representative of the mission to Tianjin was Zu Zesheng, who was the deputy general of Qiantun at that time... This is Zu Dashou's nephew.The rest of the important figures in the missions are Wu Che, another of the Guanning Army's big hilltops, Wu Sangui's personal soldier.

When the mission came to Tianjin, it was immediately received by Han Xiaobo.After the meeting, Han Xiaobo was also very enthusiastic. Holding a coffee cup, he released Emperor Cao's kindness.

Hearing this, Guan Ning also breathed a sigh of relief.You know, Guan Ning went up and down before coming here, but he judged that Tianjin would not have a good attitude to recruit and surrender.

The answer is simple: since Cao Yan was able to defeat Jianlu, there must be a lack of due respect for the Guanning Group, which had been suppressed by Jianlu for many years.

So after Han Xiaobo released his goodwill, all the negotiators heaved a sigh of relief, and they all clasped their fists in salute, claiming that Emperor Cao was magnanimous, and Marshal Han was unparalleled in the world.

After a flattering speech, the head of the delegation, Zu Zesheng, intentionally or unintentionally, made eye contact with Deputy Envoy Wu Che.Then, Wu Che gave a dry cough, cupped his fists and said, "The last general is bold, I don't know if I should ask a question or not."

Han Xiaobo waved his hand: "They are all soldiers, so speak up."

"Dare to ask... After Guan Ning voted for Emperor Dayan, where did he eat?"

"Hahaha."

When Han Xiaobo heard this, he looked up to the sky and laughed loudly: "This matter is easy, take the pen and ink."

After finishing speaking, Han Xiaobo wrote a letter with a few brush strokes in front of everyone, sealed it with sealing paint, and handed it to Zu Zesheng: "Everything is in the letter, take it back, and give it to you The master of the family will know it at a glance."

Zu Zesheng put away the letter carefully.

"There are also some gifts from the emperor to Guan Ningjun, you can take them back together."

"Guan Ning is deeply impressed!"

In this way, that night, a meeting in the capital was completed as scheduled.The Guanning delegation, which went to Tianjin, also returned to Shanhaiguan early in the morning of the second day.

When they came, the delegation brought some goods as gifts for visiting Marshal Han.But it was not a loss when we went back. The delegation pulled two large carts of rewards, and the boxes were piled full, but it was a profit.

This day is November 15th.No. [-] after Li Zicheng entered Beijing.

……

At the same time, another Guanning delegation far away in the capital also embarked on the road back to Shanhaiguan with the sincerity and official position of the Li Zicheng Group.

The current situation in the north has evolved into a triangular situation of confrontation.However, the seemingly most stable structure is actually fragile.The fragile balance between Li, Cao and Wu will be completely broken in a short time.

Just three days later, on the [-]th, when Li Zicheng was in the early court, a shocking event occurred: the national teacher left with his seal.

Dashun Emperor Li Zicheng, who was extremely shocked after hearing the news, and his courtiers who were equally shocked, rushed all the way from the Forbidden City.

When the emperor rushed into the lobby of the intelligence department, what he saw was the great seal of the national teacher hanging from the beam of the roof, and the envelope lying quietly on the table.

Opening the envelope and pulling out the letter paper, Emperor Li, who had studied in a private school since childhood, read the words on it tremblingly.

The content of the letter is very simple.Master Zhou Daguo said, now that King Li Chuang's meritorious deeds have been accomplished, the agreement between Iron Umbrella Gate and King Chuang has been completed, and both sides got what they wanted.

Next, Zhou Daozhang will respect the decree of teaching the Daoist Daoist, lead all Taoists, and go back to the mountains to practice Dao Xuangong... As the saying goes, Dao is ruthless, and there will be secular fetters between monarchs and ministers, so Daoist Zhou had no choice but to leave without saying goodbye.

At the end of the letter, on the occasion of parting, Daoist Zhou left half a speech as a commemoration: "The summer melts, the rivers overflow, and people may be fish and turtles. Who has commented on the merits and crimes of thousands of years?"

that's all.

After reading the teacher's message, Emperor Dashun looked up to the sky and sighed, unable to speak for a long time.At this moment, he seemed to feel that something important was lost, and his heart suddenly felt empty.

Li Zicheng, who was in an extremely bad mood, finally led his group of officials back to the imperial city.

Just as they passed the long street, they saw a tragic scene: a businessman with blood dripping from his lower limbs was dragged to the door of the pawn shop by the wolf-like intruders, and all his property was about to be pawned on the spot.

If not, they will be tortured in the street.

After being silent for a long time, Li Zicheng turned his head and said to Liu Zongmin, the most important general beside him, "Why don't you help Gu to be the emperor?"

Sitting on the horse, Liu Zongmin, who was looking in front of him, returned the famous saying in history without any hesitation: "The power of the emperor belongs to you, and the prestige of torture belongs to me, so there is no need to worry about it."

I am now the spokesperson for the vast number of soldiers in the group who are participating in making a fortune. Your majesty, please don't bother me.

……

……

What Li Zicheng and the others didn't know was that at this point in time, the land in the south of the Yangtze River, thousands of miles away, already looked different.Just like in history, they have reaped endless hatred and curses.

At the beginning, when the new imperial court reported that Li Zicheng had tortured officials in the capital, the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River were more suspicious than trustworthy.It is generally believed that this is some exaggerated news released by Emperor Cao in order to win the hearts of Jiangnan.