Chapter 208: Northern Expedition, Zhang and Li Go to Sea, Chongzhen Confiscates Property

Since Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng did not want to be ordinary people again, nor did they want to surrender to the army to save the people.

Then their best choice was to grab a wave and leave the Ming Dynasty.

And since they made this decision, they would act more recklessly.

Let alone Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong was rude to the Kong family in Qufu, Shandong, and plundered and killed them wantonly after he entered Qufu, Shandong.

Anyway, they were all leaving, who cares if you are the descendant of a saint?

With Zhang Xianzhong's bloodthirsty character.

Don't give? If you don't give, rob.

Give? If you give, you have to kill.

By the time Zhang Xianzhong left Qufu, there were not many relatives of the Kong family left.

This time, Wang Chao did not show much disgust.

After all, Wang Chao did not like those fence-sitters who swayed with the wind.

When Chongzhen received the news, he had to issue an order again, ordering Cao Wenzhao and Sun Chuanting to go to Shandong to suppress the bandits.

Facing the encirclement of the two, Li Zicheng and his men were no match at all. They could only run around Shandong and circle around with the officers and soldiers everywhere.

Time passed quickly. After half a year, Wang Shi, Li Shu, Li Yu and Chen Ying had led their troops to occupy Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces, and were ready to attack Guangdong and Fujian.

At this time, the new army of the Salvation Army had also been trained and began to become regular troops. They were continuously transferred to the border of Shaanxi, and the Sichuan troops were transferred to Yingtian Prefecture, ready to march north at any time.

However, before the dynasty sent troops.

In May of the ninth year of Chongzhen, the Qing army took advantage of the dynasty's siege and plunder, Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng ravaged Shandong, and the Ming army was involved in a lot of energy and had no time to take care of the border.

Huang Taiji sent Dorgon, Hauge, Abatai, Dudu and others to divide their troops into four routes and attack the interior of the pass from Gubeikou, Heiyuguan, Qiangziling, Jiangjunshiguan, Qingshankou and other places.

After receiving the news, the capital was under martial law again. Chongzhen immediately issued an order to order Lu Xiangsheng and the garrisons from various places to enter the capital for protection.

However, Lu Xiangsheng was in Jiangbei, which was quite far from the capital.

Even though most of the soldiers had already cultivated their true qi, their speed was far beyond that of ordinary people.

However, when Lu Xiangsheng hurried and fought with Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong's troops in Shandong, it was more than a month later when he arrived in BJ.

During this period, the Qing army galloped through the capital area for more than a month, and won more than 50 battles of all sizes, capturing a large number of people and livestock.

When Lu Xiangsheng arrived, the Qing army had already retreated. Lu Xiangsheng had no choice but to rescue more than 7,000 captives and return to Muye Mountain.

During this period, Wang Chao had also led his army across the Yangtze River and quickly occupied Nanzhili.

And he sent Yang Zonghan, the general of Wuping and Yulin in Shaanxi, to lead troops to attack Henan and Shanxi.

He went west into Henan and headed straight for Northern Zhili.

He ordered Chen Qing, Chen Mo, and the surrendered Hong Chengchou to attack Shandong.

Before leaving, Wang Chao said lightly.

"I heard that the grace of the saints will be cut off after five generations."

After hearing this, Hong Chengchou paused.

But in the end, he didn't say anything, but just saluted heavily according to the training during this period.

In June, after receiving the news that the Salvation Army attacked Shandong, while Sun Chengzong led his army to intercept, Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng immediately led their troops on a boat and sailed eastward.

After going to sea, the two sailed all the way to the northeast and arrived at Tsushima Island in the Korean Strait.

At this time, Tsushima Island was still occupied by Japan.

However, facing the combined efforts of Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng, who had looted Shandong and had greatly increased their strength, the Japanese troops on Tsushima Island did not last long and were soon captured by the two.

Afterwards, the two agreed to help each other and left part of their forces behind before they parted ways.

Li Zicheng led his army into Korea. He felt that since everyone had the surname Li, the King of Korea was still very suitable for him.

Although Korea today has already submitted to the Qing court.

However, it was just a kind of vassal state.

Moreover, Li Zicheng also believed that he was not inferior to others. The Li Dynasty could not resist the attack of the Qing court of the Later Jin Dynasty, but it did not mean that he could not resist it.

Moreover, such a former vassal state of the Ming Dynasty was easier to take down.

He was able to create such a great momentum in the Ming Dynasty and capture cities and territories.

Then a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty was naturally not a problem.

The fact was just as he thought. In just a few days, he captured Geoje Island and landed in Korea.

Zhang Xianzhong went eastward, through the Korean Strait, and led tens of thousands of soldiers to the Japanese island of Kitakyushu.

That was a real killing. It seemed that because he was forced to go overseas, Zhang Xianzhong was depressed and angry.

After entering Kitakyushu, Zhang Xianzhong directly massacred the city. Whether it was Japanese soldiers or ordinary civilians, they were all slaughtered.

At least 30,000 people were slaughtered.

Then, Zhang Xianzhong, who was angry, began to attack cities and plunder.

Well, it was normal in his opinion.

All soldiers were slaughtered, and no prisoners were taken. Any resistance and useless civilians were also killed.

Then he enslaved other obedient civilians, built cities, helped him attack cities and plunder, etc.

Under the threat of killing and food, the Japanese slaves not only had no idea of ​​rebellion, but they knelt down and surrendered, conquered cities and killed people, which was three times stronger than the army led by Zhang Xianzhong.

This made Zhang Xianzhong very satisfied. He began to let the soldiers he brought from the Ming Dynasty supervise and manage the Japanese slave army, and the matters of conquering cities and plundering land were gradually dominated by the Japanese slave army.

He didn't care how many Japanese slaves died, but the tens of thousands of soldiers brought from the Ming Dynasty were his foundation. It was better not to die if he could.

Because it was located in the west of the Japanese island, and in order to commemorate the Ming Dynasty from the west, Zhang Xianzhong established the Great Western Kingdom, called himself the King of the Great Western Kingdom, and the army was called the Great Western Army. He really established the system and called himself the king in the northern Kyushu of the Japanese island, and began his bloody rule in the northern Kyushu.

When Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were based in Korea and the Japanese island respectively,

Wang Chao had also occupied Guide Prefecture in Henan, led his army across the Yellow River and entered Northern Zhili, occupied Dagang, Dushengji and other places, and headed straight for Shuntian Prefecture, the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

At the same time, Hong Chengchou and others also attacked and plundered cities in Yanzhou, Shandong.

In July, they completely occupied Yanzhou Prefecture. Hong Chengchou led his army into Qufu. The Kong family wanted to surrender and was beheaded.

Later, Hong Chengchou wrote a letter saying that the Kong family in Qufu had been slaughtered by Zhang Xianzhong, and hoped that Wang Chao would send officials to take over the sacrifices in the Confucius Temple, as well as leave hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land, and rent them to the people.

Wang Chao naturally agreed to this.

At this time, Wang Chao had already approached Shuntian Prefecture.

At the very beginning, Chongzhen, who discovered the full-scale attack of the Salvation Army through the national destiny, was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.

He immediately summoned Lu Xiangsheng, who had just entered the outside of the pass and rescued thousands of people, to come back for help, and ordered all places to come to Beijing to defend the king.

However, as time passed, Chongzhen only saw through the national destiny that from the west, south, and southwest, pieces of territory were lost and quickly turned into unobservable black holes.

He could only see from the outside world a bright yellow that was similar to the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty, but clearly different.

When Lu Xiangsheng, who was chasing the Qing army, received the imperial edict and prepared to return, Wang Chao had already led his army to approach Shuntian Prefecture, the capital.

Most of Shanxi, most of Henan, and most of Shandong had been occupied by the Salvation Army, and were advancing rapidly.

At this time, Chongzhen was completely desperate.

The dignitaries of Shuntian Prefecture were in panic.

After all, the dignitaries of Yingtian Prefecture did not end up much better after surrendering.

They wanted to surrender, but they were afraid of attracting the liquidation of the Salvation Army.

In theory, in the face of this situation, they must be united against the enemy and would probably make a final desperate struggle.

However, they did not do so.

Instead, he was thinking about whether he could take his family property and flee the capital, and then live as an ordinary citizen.

Especially the ministers in the court, who are still attacking each other, as if they can't see the country will be destroyed and death is coming.

Faced with this situation, how can Chongzhen not despair?

At the end, Chongzhen, who was extremely desperate, gradually showed a touch of cruelty and madness in his eyes.

You all want to escape, right?

You are not afraid of death, right?

Then I will fulfill your wish.

On August 1, Wang Chao captured Baoding Prefecture, and on the second day he occupied Zhuozhou in Shuntian Prefecture.

On this day, Chongzhen confiscated the property of more than ten ministers and exterminated their clans in the name of corruption, bribery, dereliction of duty and treason, and obtained millions of gold and silver.

After receiving the news, Chongzhen's face couldn't help changing constantly, crying and laughing, and finally became twisted and hideous.

This group of damned termites, all of them cried poor and acted pitiful, and his palace treasury could not even take out a few taels of silver, and even had to take the gold and silver objects in the palace to the craftsmanship bureau to melt gold and silver.

And this group of termites who cried poor and acted pitiful could seize millions of taels of gold and silver. How ironic is this?

Although some people in later generations said that Li Zicheng seized 70 million taels of silver from Chongzhen's treasury.

But according to many other local records, the facts are definitely not the case.

"Chongzhen's Records" records that the inner treasury during the Wanli and Tianqi years had long been consumed.

Even if Chongzhen was frugal, how much could he have left?

Emperor Chongzhen once told Wu Sangui's father Wu Xiang: "The inner treasury only has 70,000 gold, and all the gold and silver objects are searched to make up for it, and it can only get 200,000 or 300,000 taels."

After the inner treasury and the gold and silver objects in the palace were melted, there were only 200,000 or 300,000 taels of gold and silver in total.

From this, we can see how much the treasury of the imperial palace had been depleted.

"Miscellaneous Records of Sorrow" records that Wu Luzhong, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, once asked Chongzhen for money.

"I once asked for money from the treasury, but the emperor ordered me to come forward and secretly tell him that there was no money in the treasury, so I burst into tears."

The sentence "there was no money in the treasury, so I burst into tears" makes people feel sad, and when I think of Jingshan's suicide later, I can't help but feel sad.

The author of "Jiashen Records", Zhao Shijin, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Works, recorded it.

He and several officials counted the property of the Jieshen Treasury, and there were only more than 2,300 taels of silver in the new treasury.

There were about 900 taels of silver in the old treasury, which was specially prepared for defending the city.

In addition, there were some clothes and jewelry confiscated from the guilty ministers, worth about 1,000 taels of silver.

Adding up here and there, there were only more than 4,000 taels of silver.

But Chongzhen now seized more than one million taels from the ministers' homes, and his mood can be imagined.

And these are just a dozen ministers.

How many ministers and dignitaries are there in the capital?

On August 5, Wang Chao crossed the Liuli River and occupied Fang County and Liangxiang.

Chongzhen also seized more than a dozen ministers and obtained three million taels of silver.

Chongzhen lamented that it was not that the Ming Dynasty had no money and grain, but that the Ming Emperor had no money and grain.

Others, whether it was the princes of various places, the dignitaries, or the wealthy merchants, were much richer than him.

On the 9th, Wang Chao captured the Lugou Bridge in the northwest of the capital. Chongzhen seized several nobles and more than a dozen ministers and obtained eight million taels of silver.

At this time, Chongzhen was completely numb, his eyes were bloodshot, and he had only one thought in his mind.

I am not the king of the fallen country, you are all the ministers of the fallen country. Since you have received the emperor's grace for generations and even perish with the country, then you will perish with the country.