Volume 2 Southern Part Chapter 70 Free Delivery

  "What a worthless thing! How did you learn to speak like this and how were you taught to behave?"

  Li Zicheng arrived at the foot of the capital city on the 17th night, and after hearing about the Chaoyang Gate incident, he immediately led Liu Zongmin, Li Guo, Yuan Zongdi, Wu Ruyi and other generals to gather all the cavalry in the army and rushed to Tianjin together. This delay meant that by the time they arrived at Tianjin, Luo Hu and Li Shuangxi had already clashed with the Ming army several times. However, Luo Hu's troops were exhausted and their morale was low, and they were barely able to fight back twice before being driven away by the mixed infantry and cavalry of the Ming army. Later, although they gradually captured Tianjin and even approached the harbor, the two days or more that had passed had been enough time for the Tianjin side to repeatedly send out ships. According to the scouts' distant observations, over a thousand large and small ships had set sail from Tianjin... Of course, the emperor and the crown prince must have escaped successfully.

  A bitter and exhausting battle, apart from taking down the capital, the inevitable Chongzhen miraculously fled to the sea... Li Zicheng's whip fell like rain, constantly hitting Li Shuangxi's back, and this adopted son and general also knew that the emperor in front of him was furious to the extreme, so he just gritted his teeth and endured it. The people present saw Li Zicheng's whip rising and falling non-stop, continuously beating out bloodstains on Li Shuangxi's back.

  "All right, Your Majesty, don't blame the Double Joy anymore. This time, they met a strong opponent and it's not entirely their fault. Little Tiger is usually cautious, or else he would have suffered greatly!"

  Liu Zongmin's tall and large stature, with a wide face full of anger, his eyes were also glaring at Li Shuangxi, but at this time he had barely restrained his emotions, knowing that Li Zicheng was whipping Shuangxi, actually giving himself and other generals an explanation, calling on Zicheng to continue beating him down, neither of them feeling comfortable in their hearts... Although Liu Zongmin was the leader of the Shaanxi generals and sometimes didn't observe etiquette with Li Zicheng, he still had to maintain Li Zicheng's prestige in the army.

  As soon as he spoke, all the generals present let out a sigh of relief. Li Zicheng remained expressionless and only after striking two blows did he casually drop his hand, spat out air from his chest cavity, and then furrowed his brow saying: "What to do now?"

  Liu Zongmin said: "Looking at what they say, Chongzhen and the Crown Prince must have run away long ago. It's no use chasing them. I think we should leave some troops to garrison Tianjin and order Liu Fangliang to rush to the difficult place as soon as possible. There is no need to come to Beijing and meet with us. Directly insert into the Linqing area, first cut off the north-south grain transportation!"

  If Chongzhen was captured in the capital or committed suicide, then the Li Zicheng's rebel army would not have to worry too much about the Ming army's northern expedition or western campaign. A country without a ruler means that soldiers and generals will naturally lose their will to fight.

  Now that Chongzhen has moved south, there are three Ming army garrisons in the Linqing and Xuzhou areas, totaling over a hundred thousand men. This is an unstoppable force that will inevitably change the layout of Shandong and Henan provinces.

  "Alas!" Li Zicheng furrowed his brow and remained silent, his heart also in great turmoil. He cast a stern glance at the remaining crowd with a severe expression and majestic eyes, of course, his gaze mainly fell on Song Xianzhe and Li Yan.

  "Your Majesty," Song Xiance hastily stepped forward, saying with utmost respect: "What you have said is most reasonable. Now that our imperial army has already taken the capital, once the emperor ascends to the throne after the ritual of worshiping heaven, justice will be served. Even if Chongzhen escapes to Nanjing, it would merely be a dying struggle, nothing to worry about."

  "What the military advisor said is quite right."

  Listening to Song Xianzhe's words, Li Zicheng felt much more comfortable in his heart. He was looking forward to Li Yan saying a few words of comfort and praise, so that his damaged self-esteem and prestige could be consolidated. But unexpectedly, Li Yan remained silent, not uttering a single word. Li Zicheng was very dissatisfied in his heart, and his face gradually became unpleasant.

  "Could he really look down on me, have a different heart, and harbor different ambitions?"

  At this time, a small general came forward to report: "Your Majesty, our vanguard has completely occupied the port, and there are only a dozen or so ships in the harbor that have not yet set sail. I have investigated and they are all merchants and sailors. Please instruct Your Majesty on how to deal with them. Also, there are several hundred Ming army officers who were captured and tried to escape south, and there are also two or three hundred officials who are also waiting for Your Majesty's instructions."

  Since Li Zicheng had the idea of conquering the world in his heart, he no longer tolerated his subordinates to plunder or kill innocent people indiscriminately, because it was related to his reputation and it would not be good if it spread.

  In the early years, Li Zicheng's troops and other peasant armies were the same, all burning, killing, looting, and plundering wherever they went. They would then forcibly recruit young and strong men into their army, first as slave soldiers, and after a long time, they would become formal camp soldiers... Of course, those from Shaanxi province, especially northern Shaanxi, were more likely to be promoted and taken care of.

  In Henan, gradually gained momentum, killing prisoners became less frequent. At this time, Li Zicheng's heart was filled with indignation and anger, he was very regretful and extremely angry. This time, attacking the Ming dynasty's capital, not capturing Chongzhen would not be a complete victory, and future troubles would not be small!

  "Drag them to the seaside and kill them all!"

  "What?"

  The person who reported was Li Zicheng's another adopted son Zhang Tai, who was also brought up by Li Zicheng like Li Shuangxi. He was startled when he heard his adoptive father's words.

  "Didn't you hear clearly?" Li Zicheng glared at his adopted son with extreme anger, his hand tightening, as if the whip was about to strike.

  "Yes, I heard it!"

  Zhang Ning hastily bowed his head in response, but then stiffened his scalp and said: "Yesterday's battle also captured the Ming dynasty's imperial son-in-law Gong Yonggu, Father Emperor said he wanted to keep him for interrogation, surrendering Ming officials, and there were more than a dozen Ming officials, all of whom were fifth- or sixth-grade civil servants. Please show your father, is it also handled in the same way as the prisoners?"

  Hong Yonggu was originally supposed to board the ship early, but for the past two days, Luo Hu's troops had been continuously attacking and needed someone to lead the rearguard. He volunteered for this task, but unfortunately fell off his horse and was captured. At that time, the main force had already boarded the ship and left, and rescue was not possible. He ended up in the hands of Luo Hu and others, and when Li Zicheng arrived, he was naturally handed over to him.

  "Is he going to surrender?"

  "No, this person is very stubborn and kept cursing loudly, saying that he only wanted to die quickly. The military advisor went to see him yesterday, but also failed to persuade him."

  "What else can be said?" Liu Zongmin hated these royal relatives even more, and he especially hated those who refused to surrender. He coldly waved his hand and said, "Just kill them all, how many royal relatives have we killed? Does it matter about one prince consort?"

  "Yes, I'll go and take care of it right away!"

  At this time, Liu Zongmin's words and Li Zicheng's words were not much different, so Zhang Tai did not quickly agree, and immediately rushed down.

  Li Yan was just thinking about the battle at the small river reported by Li Shuangxi. If the battle at Chaoyang Gate still had some forceful clashes, the ambush battle at the riverbank, with infantry against cavalry, and few defeating many, was fought very beautifully. So in terms of tactics and strategy, he was very careful and intentional. Therefore, he didn't notice Li Zicheng's gaze and didn't go forward to say a couple of words.

  At this time, he came back to his senses and heard Li Zicheng's disposal, and was also greatly shocked, feeling very uneasy.

  The new dynasty has a new ruler, and it's not right to kill indiscriminately. Li Yan is someone who speaks his mind freely, and at this moment, he intends to step forward and speak out.

  But just as he was about to speak up, he heard someone clear their throat beside him. Turning his head, it was Song Xiance frantically shaking his head, signaling for him not to make a sound.

  He had always admired this fellow Henan native and knew that he was quick-witted, so if he stopped him now, there must be a reason. But after all, it was the lives of several hundred people...

  But just as he hesitated, Li Zicheng had already turned around, jumped onto his horse and shouted: "Let's go take a look at the harbor!"

  He moved, and everyone naturally followed suit on horseback. Just then, Song Xianzhe spoke to Li Yan in a reproachful tone: "Just now the Emperor wanted you to say a few nice words to explain that the reason for this defeat was not with the superior, but with us not coming up with good ideas. As a result, you remained silent. Now you want to speak out and plead for the captives, I'm afraid you'll be severely rebuked on the spot! Linquan, sometimes you really don't know how to serve your superiors!"

  Li Yan was told by him that it was a sign, and thinking about the situation just now, it was indeed as Song Xiance said, that he had made a mistake himself.

  But he just shook his head and smiled bitterly, saying in a very low voice to Song Xiance: "If I were the kind of person who would flatter and fawn, how could I be here?"

  After saying this, he felt a lot more relieved in his heart, but there was still a thick worry between his eyebrows. He looked at Song Xian and said softly: "I heard from Luo Hu that the commander of the army is not some general, and later it was found out that it was actually Crown Prince Zhu Ciyan!"

  "It's better not to say this. Tomorrow, the Crown Prince will be so talented and ambitious, I think the Emperor is also very worried. But he has been dominating the world for over a decade, even chasing away Chongzhen, so overall it's not too tense, just... saying more won't do you any good."

  "This I know." Li Yan smiled wryly and turned to Song Xianzhe, "If one day I can lead the army southward, I'd like to have a try with this Crown Prince."

  He has never had the opportunity to lead troops alone since he surrendered and entered the camp. What he said now is even more absurd. Song Xian also smiled wryly, shook his head and sighed: "Linquan, I'm afraid you won't have this chance!"

  ……

  ……

  Li Zicheng and others rushed to the port at the same time, on a four-hundred-tonne two-masted sea ship floating not far away in the sea, Zhu Cixian and others were also looking towards Tianjin with eager eyes.

  Charging up and down, no one expected that Zhu Ciyan, as the crown prince, was actually the last to board the ship, and it wasn't until shortly before the main force of the rebels arrived that he gave the order to set sail. At this moment, under the push and slap of the waves, the ship's hull was not far from the shore, and he also took advantage of the rebel army having no ships or sailors, so as long as they went out to sea, there was nothing to fear.

  "Hey little brother, look at the shore, it seems like a yellow oil-paper umbrella?"

  After the troops arrived at the port, many people on the ship ran to the side of the boat to watch the excitement. After all, they were at sea and everyone's mood was much more stable. In the past few days, they had been fighting desperately, but now they finally relaxed.

  Looking at the thieves running around the harbor like blue ants, many Ming army officers couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  Wang Yuan was all wrapped up in bandages, having been badly injured in the battle a few nights before. But now he had already recovered and was following Ren Shang's pointing to see that on a high ground at the port there was indeed a small yellow umbrella. At this moment, he also involuntarily shouted: "It's Li Zicheng! Li Zicheng!"

  Zhu Ciwen also squinted at the shore, smiling and saying: "It should be." A legendary figure was right in front of him, now in the Great Ming dynasty, this talent was truly feared and dreaded... but what could be done? This opponent, only Zhu Ciwen deeply knew, he actually wasn't an opponent at all...

  "The Grand Prince of the Great Ming sends his regards to the various generals in Shaanxi......" Zhu Ciyan suddenly smiled and called out: "The capital has borrowed your temporary residence, be careful not to send it far!"

  Everyone burst out laughing, first a few people, then dozens of people, hundreds of people, all shouting together towards the harbor shore not far away!

  The sound drifted over with the sea breeze, and a rider on a crimson horse, with "Sai Long Quan" hanging from his waist, wearing a blue arrow robe, Li Zicheng, despite the warm and pleasant sea breeze, was already as pale as iron!