For Li Zicheng, it didn't matter whether Zhou Yuji surrendered or not.

After counting the casualties, it was discovered that in a small Ningwuguan, only 4,000 Ming troops actually killed 70,000 Dashun troops. Li Zicheng remained speechless for a long time.

Seventy thousand Dashun troops were lost at Ningwuguan!

If the Ming armies in Datong, Xuancheng, and Juyongguan were like this, then this Eastern Expedition would have no purpose!

Seeing that the emperor's face was cold and he didn't speak for a long time, Sun Kewei said with certainty.

"Your Majesty, if what I predict is true, Jiang Yu and Wang Chengyun will surrender in the next few days!"

Just as Sun Kewei guessed, almost the day after Li Zicheng captured Ningwuguan, that is, late at night on February 23, Datong Commander-in-Chief Jiang Quan's surrender was delivered. Li Zicheng was naturally very happy about this.

Naturally, the messenger was treated with hospitality. They had just sat down here, and the commander-in-chief of Xuancheng, Wang Chengyun, also arrived, sending him off with a hundred cavalry.

At this point, Li Zicheng had successfully opened up the road to attack the capital. He was in a very comfortable mood, looked at Sun Kewei and said.

"Prime Minister, right now, the only one we have in front of us is Juyongguan?"

Sun Kewei replied:

"Yes, there is only one Juyongguan left."

Li Zicheng asked again.

"Then in the Prime Minister's opinion, will the Juyong Gatekeeper surrender?"

After thinking for a while, Sun Kewei answered.

"In my opinion, there were not many Zhou Yuji in the Ming Dynasty. Besides, hasn't the emperor already decreed that Zhou Yuji should be spared? The general at Juyong Pass must know about this soon. The emperor didn't even kill Zhou Yuji, let alone him.

When the time comes, if I am promised glory and wealth, I will definitely surrender."

Li Zicheng nodded and ordered the whole family of Wang Wenmao, Ningwu's deputy commander of the army, to bury him in a coffin.

"Hey, there are still many loyal ministers in the Ming Dynasty. Just like the Prime Minister said, we cannot treat these loyal ministers lightly. We say we treat them favorably, but in fact it is just to win people's hearts."

Then he turned to Liu Zongmin and asked:

"Are there any difficulties regarding conscription?"

Liu Zongmin replied:

"Your Majesty, the disaster in Shanxi is not as serious as that in Henan and Shaanxi. Although many hungry people are willing to join the army, there are only a few tens of thousands of them. In addition, in the past two years, the plague has been rampant in various parts of the north, and there have been many casualties among the people. It is really not easy to recruit soldiers.

This time, we were in Daizhou and Ningwuguan, and we lost no less than 100,000 troops. Therefore, we have to replenish our military resources. In my opinion, we should recruit strong people from Taiyuan and nearby areas and let them accompany the army to Beijing. Only then can we

It’s a surefire strategy.”

Li Zicheng was silent, as if a ladle of cold water had been poured on his heart, and turned to look at the military advisor. Song Xiance quickly leaned forward and said: "Lin Quan is very worried. Since the loss of troops is huge, some things can be slowed down."

Li Zicheng continued to be silent. In order to gain a good reputation in the past two years, he rarely plundered people as soldiers, but now it is no better than usual. The military attachés in Daizhou and Ning suffered 100,000 casualties. If they can't replenish their troops, how can they take the capital?

In the past few years, wherever he went, although he would torture corrupt officials and local eunuchs, he would also open warehouses and provide relief, so he was called the savior by the refugees. Now he has just established Dashun

When the Han Dynasty conquered Taiyuan, they not only failed to provide relief to the people of Li, but even plundered them as soldiers.

This is damaging to his reputation!

But the current situation was indeed a bit tense. Just when he was hesitating, he then thought about it. The current situation of the army's eastern expedition was completely different from the past situation. What he wanted to capture now was the world!

Of course, we must first consider the important things at hand!

So he nodded and said something.

"Then let's do it!"

Of course Li Zicheng would not care. His decision would lead to the massacre of many people while robbing the people. For him, the most important thing right now is the capital. As long as he captures the capital, the Ming Dynasty will be his great success.

…

While Li Zicheng was waiting in Dayuan to capture the people as soldiers, Ningwuguan fell and news of the surrender of Xuanda General Army finally reached the capital.

When the news came, of course there was a huge earthquake in the capital, and Chongzhen was so surprised that he was speechless for a long time.

"Ningwuguan fell, and it was only defended for less than seven days!"

Emperor Chongzhen was angry and upset when he heard this, and said angrily:

"What does Zhou Yuji do for a living? Ningwuguan is such a dangerous pass, and he only defended it for a few days. He really failed the emperor's favor. Is he dead?"

The emperor's words gave Jiang Dejing, who had just succeeded Chen Yan as the chief minister of the cabinet, a chill in his heart.

"Your Majesty, Zhou Yuji used only 4,000 troops to defeat the bandits and hundreds of thousands of troops. He held the enemy at dangerous passes for seven days and tried his best."

Jiang Dejing's report made Chongzhen frown and say:

"Why are there only four thousand soldiers and horses?"

Wei Zaode said quickly.

"Your Majesty, when the intruders crossed the Yellow River, Your Majesty had intended to send Liao troops into the pass to help Shanxi, but the court officials blocked it and put the plan on hold. After Zhou Yuji withdrew to Ningwuguan, he repeatedly asked for help from the imperial court, but there was really no one in the imperial court.

There are soldiers who can help you."

The "courtier" Wei Zaode refers to is Chen Yan, the first assistant. As the first assistant, Chen Yan was mediocre in talent and mean. During his tenure as an official, he excluded dissidents, avenged personal vendettas, and deceived Chongzhen. As Chongzhen's number one favorite after Zhou Yanru was dismissed, Chen Yan

Not only did Chen Yan have no plan, he also made many mistakes. When Li Zicheng invaded Shanxi, Chongzhen and other ministers originally wanted to transfer Wu Sangui of Ningyuan or Zu Zerun of Shenyang to lead the border troops into the pass to resist Li Zicheng. However, Chen Yanli was the only one who opposed the transfer of Wu Sangui.

, and opposed the transfer of Zu Zerun, which led to the failure of the Liao soldiers to enter the pass. After the fall of Taiyuan, the officials wanted to accuse Chen Yan, but Chen Yan said to Chongzhen, "I made an improper judgment and deserved death."

Chongzhen angrily said:

"You deserve to die!"

Then he was kicked out of the hall, and the chief assistant was taken over by Jiang Dejing.

Hearing Wei Zaode mention old things, Chongzhen said angrily.

"Chen Yan really deserves to die!"

After saying that, Chongzhen asked with an extremely ugly face.

"Is it too urgent to mobilize Liao soldiers to enter the pass now?"

When he asked this question, Jiang Dejing, Wei Zaode and others were all speechless for a while.

Are you in a hurry?

Now that Xuanda and Dazhou have been captured, the only thing standing in front of the intruders is Juyongguan. Is it still urgent?

Previously, Zhou Yuji risked his life to buy seven days for the capital. What did the emperor do now?

regret?

When Taiyuan fell, I should have regretted it extremely, but why not mobilize the Liao troops?

"This... Your Majesty, now not only should Liao troops be mobilized for reinforcements, but you should also issue orders to all parties and summon the troops and horses from all over the world."

"Summon the soldiers and horses from all over the world!"

Chongzhen was stunned for a moment. Since he succeeded to the throne, he had issued an edict more than once, summoning soldiers and horses from all over the world to serve the king. But now when he issued the order to the king of Qin again, he felt extremely uncomfortable in his heart.

Naturally, he thought of that nephew, that Prince De!

As soon as he arrived in Huguang, he put down Zhang Xianzhong, who had been wandering around for many years. But where is the imperial court now? But he was forced to do this by the intruders. Not only did he have to mobilize the Liao soldiers who were watching him into the pass, but he even had to summon the soldiers and horses from all over the world.

Come to think of it, he must be watching my joke!

Emperor Chongzhen's heart suddenly became filled with mixed emotions, and even his hands could not help but clenched into fists.

"Summoning the troops and horses from all over the world, is it too urgent?"

The emperor's question prompted Jiang Dejing to answer hastily.

"Your Majesty, as long as the imperial edict is issued, not only will Liao troops enter the pass, but loyal ministers and troops from Beizhili, Shandong and other places will also come to help. By then, the capital will definitely be protected..."

Protect the capital from loss!

I actually can't even defend the capital.

Once again, Chongzhen thought of Prince De. His mood was extremely complicated. Once upon a time, he had been jealous and envious of Zhu Ciying. Of course, he had murderous intentions towards him more than once. If it weren't for that kid's domineering nature, he would have been imprisoned long ago.

Entering the high wall of Zhongdu, just like the king of Tang...

Chongzhen was thoughtful. In the following time, he didn't even hear much of what the ministers said clearly. When he came to his senses again, he only heard Jiang Dejing saying there.

"...The only plan now is to use all the troops and horses in the world."

"That's true, but we need to issue an order as soon as possible. After all, since the bandits captured Taiyuan, they have been traveling day and night, attacking several cities in a row. Their intention is very obvious, and they want to get to the capital first before the imperial court mobilizes the troops and horses from all over the world.

"

Hearing this, Chongzhen, who was in a gloomy mood, looked at the two cabinet ministers and frowned.
Chapter completed!