Ming Dynasty: I, Emperor Chongzhen, swear not to go to Meishan

Ever since he time traveled, Zhu Youjian had to deal with too many things, and he was exhausted. He just couldn't do anything else, but no matter how busy he was, he had to put some of his energy into the battle in Kaifeng.

In February 1642, Li Zicheng besieged Kaifeng for the second time. Emperor Chongzhen ordered Sun Chuanting, who was in prison, to lead a powerful force to reinforce Kaifeng. Soon the war situation changed. Li Zicheng successfully besieged Kaifeng and killed Wang Qionian, the governor of the three sides. Sun Chuanting went to Shaanxi instead and took over as the governor of the three sides.

Before Sun Chuanting could even sit down in the governor's seat, Emperor Chongzhen ordered him to go out to rescue Kaifeng. At the same time, he also gave him a secret order to execute He Ren, the commander-in-chief of Shaanxi Province, who refused to obey orders and was afraid of fighting in the face of battle, killing his allies. dragon.

It is now April. Judging from the time, Sun Chuanting has not executed He Renlong yet. Zhu Youjian thought for a long time and felt that Emperor Chongzhen's move was still the right one. He did not change Chongzhen's secret order.

But on issues such as strategy and tactics, he overturned all Chongzhen's orders and arrangements, and sent another secret order, a long letter, and several letters of appointment to Sun Chuanting.

According to the analysis of some historians, Sun Chuanting was Chongzhen's last trump card. Before Sun Chuanting could secure his position as governor of the three sides, he was ordered to lead troops to reinforce Kaifeng in a hurry without making any preparations for the war. In addition, he was defeated by his teammates. Many reasons such as traps eventually led to Sun Chuanting's defeat. Hundreds of thousands of powerful troops were defeated, and all their last family assets were lost.

Zhu Youjian did not dare to make such a mistake. Sun Chuanting was the last trump card in his hand. The hundreds of thousands of troops under Sun Chuanting's control were also the last assets of the Ming Dynasty. If they were defeated, they would have no choice but to go to Meishan and hang themselves on the southeast branch. .

In his letter, he solemnly reminded Sun Chuanting that Kaifeng was in a dead end and no one could save him. Since it couldn't be saved, let's take advantage of the fact that Kaifeng had not yet fallen and tormented Li Zicheng.

I give you the privilege of doing things cheaply. You can do whatever you like. You don't have to worry about the gains and losses of a city or a place. The first thing is to preserve your strength, look for opportunities to annihilate Li Zicheng's effective forces, and drag Li Zicheng in Henan as much as possible to buy time for me.

However, I will tell you the truth. There are no reinforcements now. They will have to wait at least two years. I will try my best to provide military pay, food, weapons and equipment, but don't put too much hope in it. I can only rely on you to solve it yourself.

The reason why Li Zicheng's rebels are fighting more and more is because the imperial court has forced the people into desperation. Therefore, they can no longer squeeze them. Let me tell you a secret. Only those landlords and old wealthy businessmen have money and food. You can figure out a way for yourself.

I remind you, when doing things, keep your hands and feet clean, and don't let others find out. If a minister impeaches you, I will try my best to help you suppress it. If you really can't suppress it anymore, you can use a big victory to offset your merits and demerits. .

Among the several letters of appointment issued by Zhu Youjian, one of them appointed Gao Jie, deputy commander-in-chief of Shaanxi Province, as chief military officer to succeed He Renlong in charge of the army.

Gao Jie was originally Li Zicheng's subordinate, and he gave Li Zicheng a green hat. After the incident, he abducted Li Zicheng's wife to join the army. Because of his bravery in combat and his military ability, he was awarded the title of deputy general soldier of Shaanxi Province.

Historically, after Sun Chuanting killed He Renlong, he promoted Gao Jie to be the commander-in-chief and took charge of He Renlong's Shaanxi Army. The reason why Zhu Youjian intervened was just to win over Gao Jie.

Regardless of whether Gao Jie is loyal or not, due to the hatred of seizing his wife, he and Li Zicheng can only fight to the death. In addition, he is quite talented in military affairs and brave in combat. He is much more powerful than the general officers in various places. Zhu Youjian can still use him without him. who?

After finishing his business in Kaifeng, Zhu Youjian had time to turn his attention to Huangzhuang.