Chapter Forty-Four: Variables

  "Let Li Banghua that old coffin lid... take the lead in making trouble, I've already made preparations for this matter, let them make trouble, it doesn't matter."

  The situation in Beijing is serious, and the infiltrators are not just Old Wang's group. Many of the messages come directly from high-level channels. After summarizing and analyzing them, it can be determined whether they are true or not.

  Like Li Banghua and Li Mingrui, these high-ranking officials will discuss their moves with close friends before offering advice on state affairs. Even if they are very cautious, there must be a few close friends who know the inside story beforehand and help them deliberate and make plans.

  A major national policy would never be proposed lightly, especially something as significant as moving south.

  When Song Xianzhe received the news, Zhu Ciyan had already used his influence to make these ministers determined and launched their remonstrance ahead of time.

  This is a small change in history. If it had developed normally, it would have been after the year when Chongzhen asked, Li Mingrui became the representative figure and formally proposed the proposal of Nanqian.

  The emptiness of the capital is obvious, and ministers with a conscience and vision will naturally worry about this matter.

  Of course, this also became the most worrying thing for the adventurers.

  Li Zicheng and Niu Jinxing, Liu Zongmin and others were most worried about Chongzhen's southern migration. After the southern migration, their beheading plan would become meaningless, and Li Zicheng would have to delay his efforts to unify the country for several more years.

  Such a major event, the action plan of the expedition is completely dependent on Chongzhen not leaving, and it is placed on Chongzhen's hesitant and indecisive character...... This is too risky.

  Li Yan had long suspected that Li Zicheng had other plans, and now seeing Li Zicheng's behavior, he naturally also confirmed his suspicions in his heart. For a moment, he felt slightly displeased in his heart.

  Song Xian's feelings were the same as his, but this short Song had a very deep city, and when he heard Li Zicheng's words, he actually showed a happy expression.

  "Lin Quan, I'm not deceiving you."

  Li Zicheng also saw Li Yan's face and felt increasingly displeased: This Linquan is too stubborn!

  He didn't think there was anything wrong with dividing military and political intelligence into several systems to check each other... As an emperor, it's necessary to have this kind of way to govern the people!

  Duan Xia just smiled faintly at Li Yan and said: "This matter is the beginning and end of Niu Qidong... As for how it was done, even Guan doesn't know much about it."

  These words are of course an excuse, Niu Jin Xing, this Ming Dynasty scholar is getting better and better at being an official. In those years, he was not tolerated within the system of the Great Ming because he had a bit of a proud and aloof temperament, after running a household for several years, that bit of free-spirited air had long since vanished... Now with over a hundred Ming Dynasty officials under his command, that kind of elegant and affable gentlemanly demeanor is even more apparent.

  Niu Qidong's arrangement is simply a deceitful talk that dares to deceive Li Chuangwang.

  Li Yan originally wanted to take this opportunity to advise the King of Shun to reconsider his hasty advance on Beijing, but now Li Zicheng didn't even give him a chance to discuss it and directly sealed off all avenues.

  "Well," Li Yan felt somewhat disheartened for a moment, and then bowed deeply, saying: "I will not say any more."

  Seeing him like this, Li Zicheng also felt a bit apologetic. He stood up, patted Li Yan's shoulder and said with a smile: "Go down and rest for now. You've been too tired lately, Linquan. After the new year, we'll be advancing our troops, and I have many important things to attend to, so I'll still need to rely on you!"

  Song Xian and Li Yan went out one after the other, and Liu Zongmin, who had been sitting on a chair with his legs stretched out, finally stood up and said to Li Zicheng: "Your Majesty, that Lin Quan is still not willing for us to march on Beijing!"

  "He is too stubborn."

  "Hum, I think he's not of the same mind as us. He wants to be a big general, learn from Bai Wang and control one side, and is eager to develop himself! I'm telling you, he's different from our old comrades, absolutely cannot let him control one side, otherwise, with Lin Quan's talent and virtue, it'll be impossible to control him in a few years!"

  Li Zicheng's eyebrows jumped and he muttered: "It can't be that serious, can it?"

  "You just have to try it out and you'll know!"

  Liu Zongmin and other Shaanxi-born generals had a strong dislike for Li Yan, which made them change their tone when referring to Li Zicheng. Fortunately, Li Zicheng's relationship with him was too deep, they were friends who relied on each other for life, so he didn't take it seriously at the moment, but just thought deeply, wondering whether what Liu Zongmin said was a provocation or if there was really a need to try something out.

  At that time in Henan, his power and the strength of his subordinates were not strong, but Li Yan, a young master from a prestigious family, came to join him with his troops, which greatly increased his chances of success in Henan for the time being. To be fair, Li Yan made great contributions.

  Looking at Liu Zongmin's stubborn face, Li Zicheng waved his hand and muttered: "Think again, think again."

  "Hmm, I'm just reminding you!"

  "Let's not talk about this, Jue Xuan. Today Lin Quan mentioned that the Crown Prince is still personally in charge of the inner martial arts officers, and Wang Jia Yan also got involved, in rectifying the city defense. This matter, I'm actually more worried than Li Bang Hua and them."

  Today, Li Yan and Song Xian came over and talked about two things. One thing is that the source of the channel has nothing to do with Hui Mei, because on the city wall, she just watched Zhu Ciying deal with the internal affairs of the officials and soldiers, and chatted with a high-ranking official, then she escaped using rope technique, and what happened below is not very clear.

  A girl in a female camp had limited understanding of major events in the imperial court, and even Wang Jia's identity was only learned by Old Wan after asking for truth.

  So Li Banghua and others' matter, Zhu Cibin participated in it with great effort, while Hui Mei and Lao Wang's gang were unaware of it.

  This news source is indeed the credit of Niu Jin Xing, who together with a large number of former Ming officials, wrote letters and communicated with officials in the imperial court, establishing channels for communication. From Chongzhen 15th year onwards, more and more officials were willing to surrender to the Qing, unlike before when even county-level officials would rather kill themselves than surrender to the enemy.

  Because they would rather sacrifice themselves than harm their families and clans, officials who were not killed also chose to take their own lives.

  But since the Battle of Zhu Xian, the imperial court lost its initiative and military advantage over the bandits, while Li Zicheng's power surged, with a prospect of winning the world.

  One rises as the other falls, Da Ming's fortunes have been declining steadily, but Li Chuang has continued to rise. How much loyalty can Da Ming's officials really have towards the imperial court? Since the 15th year, Niu Jin Xing's status as a holder of the Imperial Examination has been declining, from being a holder of the Imperial Examination, to being a holder of the second-class Imperial Examination... Now, in the Ming dynasty, there are dozens of officials who have been demoted and sent to serve as county magistrates or above. Except for a few useful ones who were selected to stay at the central government, most of them were dispatched to local areas to continue serving.

  They descended, and also represented a large clan, representing the scholar-official class of this dynasty, who already felt that Li Kui was no longer a doomed bandit, but a new force that could gain the world.

  The difference is huge!

  There are letters from these officials, can the scouts of a small Liu camp compare with the connections that have been made? This is also a very powerful intervention by Niu Jin Xing in the military system... The current dynasty wants to restore the prime ministerial system, and Prime Minister Niu will be in charge of all government affairs. The Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, and other miscellaneous things will absolutely not exist in the new dynasty!

  There were quite a few officials who secretly helped, and there were also many implicit promises, so Li Banghua and others' efforts did not make Li Zicheng too worried. At this time, what he and Liu Zongmin brought up was the scene that Huimei had witnessed with her own eyes.

  Goodness, the crown prince of a country, wielding his sword in the dark of night, eliminating corrupt military officers... Although Li Zicheng knew that there was no such thing as a rebel camp, who would have thought that this ghost would pop out from nowhere? But the fact that the Ming dynasty's crown prince had such abilities made him, who had always thought he had everything under control, feel a bit overwhelmed...

  "What's the big deal?" Liu Zongmin seemed nonchalant, shaking his head and saying: "I just asked Niu Qidong about this, he said that according to the ancestral rules of the Great Ming, the Crown Prince has no troops and no power, can't even summon foreign ministers, the Eastern Palace has no money and no soldiers, just some guards, what big waves can they make? When our army surrounds the city, how many soldiers can the Crown Prince lead into battle? Let alone that he doesn't have any, even if he did, a teenager who hasn't even grown out of his baby hair, could he possibly have great abilities? I don't believe it, tell me to go and I'd be embarrassed... Don't let the Emperor send me, call on those two hundred and fifty idiots instead."

  Li Zicheng listened with a smile, and no matter how he thought about it, Liu Zongmin's words seemed very reasonable. However, when Huimei reported to Old Wang, she highly praised Zhu Ciyan, and Old Wang also reported the truth, so this bandit king who had been roaming the world for over a decade was indeed a bit uneasy in his heart.

  "Cough," he shook his head in self-reproach, "Li Zicheng, Li Zicheng, you've dominated the world, gone through countless hardships, and now you're alone and few in number. In the end, you were intimidated by a mere child? Hmph! Since this crown prince is virtuous, I, old Li, won't lose to him. Once we breach the city and capture him, I'll make him a king!"

  ……

  ……

  Just as Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin were having a confidential conversation, Song Xiance looked around cautiously and spoke to Li Yan in a reproachful tone: "Linquan, you're also being too stubborn. Jue Xuan and the others have been dissatisfied with you for some time now. Every time there's a military discussion, you always try to suppress the generals from Shaanxi, among whom there are many who would be delighted if you were out of the way. Why do you keep putting yourself in harm's way?"

  He and Li Yan are both from Henan, and they have been partners for many days. Song Xian is a person who is quite good at taking care of himself, with a strong sense of Jianghu on his body, so he can chat with anyone for a few sentences, so he is confident that no one will really make things difficult for him in the camp, and even if he says something wrong occasionally, it's okay.

  But Li Yan is different, his skills are great, but his style is also a bit too rigid!

  "I only think that as long as it's beneficial to the overall situation, I don't want to hide anything." Li Yan knew that Song Xian was being kind, so he forced himself to respond: "As for self-preservation strategies, I roughly understand some of them; in the future, I'll just be more careful."

  He indeed had this cleverness, and with that said, Song Xiance also put his mind at ease. The two walked side by side, Song Xiance stroking the sparse whiskers on his chin, coldly smiling as he said: "Niu Qidong's arrangement is nothing more than bribing some officials to create a stir and give Chongzhen a hard time. However, Linquan, this move is indeed brilliant. Chongzhen's temperament is anxious and likes to save face, if someone were to press him with words, he would definitely not be able to get out of it. I think we really don't need to worry unnecessarily!"

  He was very dissatisfied with Niu Jin Xing's approach to his own territory, but Song Xian Ce was a wise and profound person, who was unhappy in his heart but did not say a word.

  At this moment, Song Xian Ce was just thinking: "In the capital, there must be variables. The crown prince is alone on the city wall, in charge of defending the city, and colluding with foreign ministers... Looking at the situation at that time, Hui Mei, this girl, can't escape, intentionally letting her go, could it be to catch people? This long time has also been enough... This matter, really can't understand for a while..."