I

  Chapter 784 781 [Li Zicheng offers soil]

  Nanjing, Forbidden City.

  Fei Ruhe handed a letter to Zhao Han: "Your Majesty, this is from Li Zicheng. Cover it with mud and say that only His Majesty can read it."

  Zhao Han cut open the mud seal with a knife, opened the letter to read, and couldn't help smiling.

   This letter was obviously written by Li Zicheng himself, and the words and sentences are very colloquial.

   "His Majesty the Emperor, I, Li Zicheng, have been fighting for half my life. In the past few years, my old injuries have often flared up, and I can hardly walk in pain. My nephew Li Guo also died of illness, and my own son survived. He will be five years old this year..."

"The land in Hetao was originally very good. It's just that the weather is getting colder and the grain harvest is not as good as before. There are Mongolian Tartars everywhere. After conquering a few, they will rebel again in a blink of an eye. I led the troops to kill Several times, all the Mongolian leaders in Hetao were killed. According to the words of the military adviser, they learned from the Manchurian Tartars and weaved flags for the herdsmen under their rule, and selected the prestigious herdsmen as the banner owners. many…”

"Right now, Hetao is all my territory, and the Khalkha Tartars in Mobei don't dare to go south from Yinshan Mountain to grab things. However, there are still not enough people in the Han Dynasty, and Jining has been defeated several times. It is easy to fight and takes trouble. My territory can't get any bigger, and there will be troubles when it gets bigger..."

"I originally planned to go to Mobei. I led my troops out of the Yin Mountains for more than 20 miles, and then returned to Hetao in despair. There are Gobi deserts everywhere, so poor that birds can't shit, and crops can't grow. I want to fight Mobei. Mongolian Tartars, you must prepare enough food and grass, or you will definitely starve to death halfway. I am trapped in Hetao, to the north is the Gobi, and to the west is the desert."

"I can only fight to the east, once, and once. The number of soldiers is less and less, and the number of livestock is more and more. There are not enough Han people, so we can only let Mongolian herdsmen serve as soldiers. If this continues, I will almost become a Mongolian sweat. Now I He is very rich, and there are too many war horses to use up. If the emperor does not have enough war horses, he can send people to Hetao to buy horses..."

"I don't know how many years I can live. My son is still young. After I die, I'm afraid I won't be able to suppress those old brothers. The life of orphans and widows will be very difficult. I can't kill all the old brothers. It's not like that." Be cruel, secondly, Hetao is going to be in chaos..."

"I really want to surrender this time. I don't want anything. I just want the emperor to say a word. Allow me to go back to my hometown in Shaanxi to settle down and share some land for family business. You can take the goods and food I have saved. The emperor under my command Buwu, and this Hetao land, you can take it, the emperor. Just leave me some family money, and I will be a rich man when I return to my hometown."

   "My son is smart, the emperor wants to allow him to study and to be an official through the imperial examination..."

   After reading this letter, Zhao Han couldn't help feeling: "Li Zicheng is really old, otherwise he won't give up easily. He should be unable to ride a horse soon. You should also read this letter."

  Fei Ruhe took the letter, read it and said: "Li Zicheng cannot be left in Shaanxi, the whole family must be kept in captivity in the capital."

   "No need," Zhao Han shook his head and said, "He is sincere enough to hand over his territory and army. I dare not even let him go home, and I want to keep his whole family in captivity. Doesn't the dignified emperor look like a small belly?"

  Fei Ruhe scratched his head and smiled, "Hehe, that's right."

Zhao Han said: "Li Zicheng once resisted stubbornly and committed many murders. It is reasonable to throw him to Taiwan to deal with the Shengfan like Zhang Xianzhong did. But Li Zicheng took the entire Hetao and offered land and soldiers. This is a way to expand the territory. He wants to take his wife and children back to his hometown, and all of these can be agreed. The title should also be given, and it’s fine to be a marquis. Many generals in the Datong Army are not convinced. Give Li Zicheng a count, and give him a count in the name of his hometown .”

  Fei Ruhe said: "This old thing is lucky. After so many years of rebellion, he can finally get an earl."

  Zhao Han called the cabinet members and showed them Li Zicheng's personal letter.

  The cabinet ministers were all overjoyed, they all praised, and the soldiers won the Hetao without bloodshed. Who would not be happy about this kind of great joy?

Zhao Han said: "Let's arrange it. Let the Ministry of Rites engrave the earl's seal, and then select envoys from Honglu Temple to go to Hetao to complete this matter. The generals under Li Zicheng's command should also be comforted. If you are willing to return to your hometown, They were allowed to release their military power and return to their hometown. Then ordered the Ministry of War and the Governor's Mansion to let Cao Bianjiao take over Li Zicheng's troops. Li Zicheng's soldiers were eliminated from the old and weak, leaving only 8,000 soldiers. Cao Bianjiao brought 5,000 soldiers to go, and the two merged. Form the Fourth Cavalry Division of the Datong Army. This army will be responsible for guarding Hetao in the future."

   Li Zicheng’s generals can’t kill randomly, and they can’t stay in Hetao. They must be thrown back to their hometowns, so that they can truly receive and control the army.

  After arranging things, the cabinet minister bowed and retreated. Zhao Han took Fei Ruhe to the Imperial Garden to meet Fei Rulan and Fei Rumei.

  …

   Guihua City (Hohhot).

  The Tumo River meandering outside the city, was also called Chile River in ancient times.

  Chilechuan, under the Yin Mountain. The sky is like a dome, covering the whole field. The sky is gray, the wild is vast, and the wind blows the grass and the cattle and sheep are low.

  In the entire Tumochuan Plain, there are fewer cattle and sheep, and more farmland. The alluvial plain of more than 10,000 square kilometers is extremely fertile. As early as the Altan Khan period, Han people were recruited to reclaim countless rice fields.

   "Drive, drive!"

  Li Zicheng galloped on the grassland south of the Dahei River on horseback, bent his bow and set an arrow, and accurately hit a wild deer.

   "Your Majesty shoots!"

  The accompanying civil and military soldiers cheered in unison, they still respected Li Zi as the Emperor of Dashun.

  Li Zicheng is only 46 years old this year. He seems to be in his prime, but he is actually suffering from old injuries. Some were injured when he was a bandit, and some were injured when he was fighting on the grassland. Every winter, he suffered a lot.

  In recent years, I have suffered from rheumatism again, and my joints are so painful that I can't walk.

   Every time he was bedridden for several days, he would go out to hunt, saying that his body was fine. But the more this happened, the more guilty he became, fearing that those old brothers would have different ideas.

  He has no relatives now, his nephew Li Guo has died of illness, only his wife, child and a brother-in-law. There are also a few concubines, but there is no family relationship to speak of.

  If I die, will my wife be able to hold back?

  Even if it can be held down in normal times, sooner or later the Datong army will come to attack Hetao, how many people will secretly surrender by then? Even defected at critical moments!

  A few years ago, Li Zicheng still had some ambitions, wanting to build a large territory in the grassland.

   But the reality is always cruel. A Hetao grain-producing area is not enough to support the logistics of his northward attack on the desert. Attacking Jining to the east, although it can always be easily won, it can be lost in a blink of an eye. He didn't dare to divide his troops to stay in Jining. He tried it before, but was soon besieged by surrounding tribes.

   Li Zicheng took away too few Han people, and the rule of Hetao is already the limit.

   Unable to continue to expand, they can only nest in the Hetao. The days pass day by day, and the ambition also wears away little by little. As his son is getting older and will be five years old this year, Li Zicheng began to think about his death.

  Take the prey and return to Guihua City. The palace here is relatively shabby, which was left by Altan Khan.

  Niu Jinxing heard that Li Zicheng was returning to the city, so he immediately came to see him.

  Li Zicheng smiled and said: "The prime minister came just in time, and I hunted some animals. You take two back and cook them for meat."

   "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

  Niu Jinxing said in a low voice: "The caravan that went to Jining has returned, and we have some important news."

  Li Zicheng said disdainfully: "What's the news? The Mongolian Tartars over there are going to unite again to slap their foreheads?"

"No," Niu Jinxing said, "The Nanjing imperial court is sending people to link up the various ministries, saying that they want all the ministries to send troops to the grasslands of the Bahrain Ministry to fight against the Khalkha Mongols. The Khalkha Mongols are blocked by us. The mountain pass can’t go south, so it expands thousands of miles to the southeast, almost reaching the Yanshan area.”

  Li Zicheng pondered: "This is indeed a big event."

  Niu Jinxing said: "Your Majesty can take the initiative to invite Ying to cooperate with the Datong Army to fight, and take the opportunity to gain greater military exploits."

Li Zicheng waved his hand and said, "Don't talk about this again. I am willing to hand over the land and troops for the sake of my wife and children. Let me go to fight for Emperor Zhao in Nanjing? I am not his general, and I will not fight against him even if I die." He bows his head."

  Niu Jinxing is hard to persuade, in fact, he wants to make meritorious service and wants to become an official in the Nanjing court.

  Niu Jinxing also has a son. The eldest son is nine years old and was born in Shanxi. He knew that Emperor Zhao had a great plan, and he was 100% going to fight Hetao. If he didn't offer soil and surrender as soon as possible, he would definitely be a prisoner by then.

  Therefore, Niu Jinxing kept urging Li Zicheng to donate soil, so as to leave a way out for himself and his children.

   Now that he heard that Khalkha is expanding Mongolia, Niu Jinxing has another idea, and wants to use Li Zicheng's troops to cooperate with the imperial army to fight and make meritorious service.

  Niu Jinxing, the prime minister who is loyal to Li Zicheng, has so many careful thoughts, let alone those generals of the Dashun Army. They couldn't get out, and they were trapped in Hetao to become big landlords, and they had long since lost their ambitions back then.

  Li Zicheng asked suddenly: "What do you think is going on in our hometown?"

  Niu Jinxing was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't know."

Li Zicheng said: "I asked the merchants from Shaanxi. After we left, there was only one year of severe drought in Shaanxi, and the rest of the year was smooth. The common people have allotted land, and their lives are very good. During the festivals, every family can eat Put white noodles. Although the Emperor Zhao in Nanjing stole the country of the forehead, he is indeed better than the ruler of the country. It is not wrong for the forehead to lose to him."

  Niu Jinxing said: "Your Majesty is also wise in governing the country, not much inferior to Emperor Zhao."

Li Zicheng waved his hand: "I'm definitely better than Chongzhen in governing the country. Compared with Emperor Zhao, I still can't compare. I know my own skills and don't talk about those big words. I used to underestimate the Mongols. I always thought that if you bring troops here, you can defeat them." The country was founded on a large piece of land. But in the past few years, only Hetao has been beaten. The husband told the story of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, but it was not Huo Qubing. Even if it was Huo Qubing, he couldn’t open it on the grassland. With the cooperation of other troops, he alone cannot seal Langjuxu."

   "Your Majesty sees things very clearly." Niu Jinxing could only agree.

Li Zicheng rubbed his swollen kneecaps and said, "I have no other ideas now. I just want to go back to my hometown and get some good fields to grow wheat. It's best if the government doesn't come to bully you. Let me be a rich man in the countryside. That's even worse." Mobei Mongol Tartars, leave it to Emperor Zhao to fight slowly."

  (end of this chapter)