Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 820 The virtuous live here

Sun Yuanhua never expected that when he came down the mountain to Zhaowu Village, he would run into the bandit Li Zicheng who was being hunted by the imperial court, and that he would fight with Li Zicheng in such a dramatic way.

After coming to his senses, Sun Yuanhua grabbed the flag bearer and asked him whether it was true or not. The flag bearer smiled and told Sun Yuanhua that it was of course true. He had questioned several captured guys, and these guys swore to him that they were Li Zicheng's gang who crossed the river to the north, and that Li Zicheng, who was known as the King of Rebellion, was shot by a musket and his life or death was unknown.

How could Sun Yuanhua still sit still after hearing this? He immediately went over to check, first questioning a few frightened captives, and then checking on Li Zicheng who was shot. Li Zicheng was unlucky, and was shot twice. One shot in the arm was not a big deal, but the other shot hit him directly in the back. He was unconscious now, his face was pale gold, he was breathing out more than breathing in, and it was obvious that he was about to die.

In addition to Li Zicheng, five other people were killed on the spot. They were all Li Zicheng's personal guards. In addition, Li Zicheng's nephew Li Guo was injured, but his condition was better than Li Zicheng. The bullet did not hit the vital parts, so he should not die.

After checking the situation of Li Zicheng and others, and checking the token that Li Zicheng carried with him, and confirming that this half-dead guy was the famous Li Zicheng, Sun Yuanhua was so happy that he couldn't contain himself. This was really a case of sitting at home and having unexpected joy!

Li Zicheng, ah Li Zicheng, why don't you go anywhere else? You have to run into Zhaowu Village. You have such good luck! It must be God's will!

Sun Yuanhua danced for a while and then remembered the next arrangement. He quickly asked people to treat Li Zicheng's wounds first. A living Li Zicheng was much more valuable than a dead Li Zicheng. As for whether Li Zicheng could survive, it all depended on his luck, but looking at his current state, he was probably in danger.

The other dead were dealt with on the spot, and all the living captives were imprisoned. At the same time, Sun Yuanhua wrote a memorial and had it delivered to the capital as soon as possible. He also sent someone to inform Wang Rong, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi, and Li Hu and others in Yangtou Mountain about the matter.

The news reached the capital a few days later. When Zhu Shenzhui received Sun Yuanhua's urgent report, he was very surprised. After reading the contents of the report, Zhu Shenzhui didn't know what to say. He didn't expect that Li Zicheng would be caught like this. A dignified King of Rebellion, one of the biggest bandits in the Ming Dynasty, ended his life in such a dramatic way.

That’s right, Li Zicheng is dead.

After all, Li Zicheng's injuries were too severe, and the bullet hit a vital part in the back. Although Sun Yuanhua sent doctors to treat him, gunshot wounds were difficult to treat in that era. There were no qualified surgical operations and anti-inflammatory antibiotics. Generally speaking, if a bullet hit a vital part on the battlefield, the person would basically die. Although Li Zicheng was famous, he was still a human being and could not escape this result.

Originally in history, this Li Zicheng was the gravedigger of the Ming Dynasty and almost changed the dynasty and became the founding monarch of the new dynasty. Unfortunately, Li Zicheng was short-sighted and had no foresight, so he was defeated and lost the world.

As Li Zicheng fled the capital, he crossed the rivers and streams after the Qing Dynasty entered the pass, and he no longer had the prestige that he once had. In the end, Li Zicheng died in Jiugong Mountain. It is said that he was killed by the militia organized by the local gentry when he led people to collect grain because of the shortage of food in the army.

The great King Chuang and the founding emperor of the Dashun actually died at the hands of a group of militiamen. This is unprecedented and will never be repeated. But now history has changed. Li Zicheng died at the hands of Sun Yuanhua in Zhaowu Village. At least it sounds better than the original historical record.

Li Zicheng died, Li Guo was captured, Hao Yaoqi drowned and his body was never found. A few days ago, news came that Liu Zongmin refused to surrender after being discovered in Xinxiang and was eventually surrounded and killed. Of Li Zicheng and his main subordinates, only Tian Jianxiu is missing.

The Ming forces are still searching for Tian Jianxiu's whereabouts, and there should be news soon. Moreover, Tian Jianxiu is different from Li Zicheng, Liu Zongmin and others. He is a man of current affairs, and he is not like Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin who are bent on rebelling against the court. If he can be given a break, it is not a bad idea for Tian Jianxiu to surrender voluntarily. After all, in history, Tian Jianxiu later surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and lived a stable life until he was over 90 years old.

As for the others, there is no need to mention them. After Li Zicheng led his men to escape across the river to Hebei, his troops surrendered directly. With Li Zicheng's defeat and death, the last group of bandits was also completely wiped out. Although there are still some small groups of bandits in the local areas, they are not a big deal. It won't take long for the internal troubles of the Ming Dynasty to be completely quelled. There will be no more bandits in the world, which also made Zhu Shenzhui feel relieved.

After learning the news of Li Zicheng's death, Zhu Shenzhu summoned the cabinet and the Ministry of War to discuss matters and showed them Sun Yuanhua's report. Everyone was very excited to learn about this, especially the Prime Minister Wen Tiren, who was so happy that he danced with joy. In his opinion, the internal troubles had been resolved, and the Ming Dynasty was as safe as Mount Tai without the bandits. There would be no more internal wars, and the Ming Dynasty had hope for revival. When Zhu Shenzhu ascended to the throne, he would not only be able to leave his name in history as the Prime Minister, but also have the merit of following the emperor.

On the second day of the court meeting, Zhu Shenzhui, as the regent, announced publicly that Li Zicheng had been killed in Shanxi and the bandits had been wiped out. When the news came out, the court officials were extremely excited. The bandits had been wreaking havoc on the Ming Dynasty for more than ten years, and had caused great trouble to the Ming Dynasty. The court had spent a lot of effort but could not wipe them out, and the number of them increased. In addition, the Jiannu in Liaodong were eyeing them covetously, and even led their troops to attack the capital of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty was in a state of shaky and imminent collapse.

A few years ago, it could be said that everyone was pessimistic about the future of the Ming Dynasty, especially Emperor Chongzhen, who was a difficult master to serve. He had little ability in governing the country, but was very good at passing the buck. Working under Emperor Chongzhen was like working in a precarious situation. You might lose your job or even your head one day. The more you did, the more mistakes you made, and the less you did, the fewer mistakes you made. As a result, everyone in the court was insecure, so they simply joined forces to fool people and lied together.

Under such circumstances, the Ming Dynasty was like a broken ship sliding into the abyss, which could capsize at any time, but no one knew when the final days would come. Except for a few people, most people had accepted their fate. Everyone felt tired and decided to just let it all go. After all, changing dynasties was not bad. Even if someone else took over the throne, wouldn't the literati and officials still serve as their own officials and preserve the family's wealth and glory?
But unexpectedly, everything changed when Zhu Shenzhui suddenly raised an army and entered the capital under the banner of clearing the emperor's side and pacifying the national crisis. Zhu Shenzhui's rise to power came too quickly, and many people were unprepared. However, under the strong military suppression, Zhu Shenzhui eventually took the position of regent and took control of the government, starting the era of controlling the Ming Dynasty with the identity of regent.

At the beginning, many people still had their eyes on Emperor Chongzhen and had many criticisms about Zhu Shenzhui's ascension to the throne. However, as time went on, Zhu Shenzhui used power and means to not only suppress these opinions, but also began to innovate and change the Ming Dynasty.

Militarily, they defeated the Jiannu in two battles, causing Huang Taiji to return empty-handed. They joined forces with the Tumed Mongols to suppress other Mongolian tribes, keeping the northern border safe. Economically, they opened up border and sea trade, which helped improve the financial situation. In addition, tax cuts and various policies for the northwestern provinces gave the affected people a chance to breathe a sigh of relief and survive.

That's not all. First, Gao Yingxiang was captured, then Zhang Xianzhong was persuaded to surrender, then Luo Rucai was killed, and now even Li Zicheng was killed. Almost all the well-known bandits in the world were dealt with. The bandits that had plagued half of the Ming Dynasty no longer existed. Without internal troubles, the Ming Dynasty could rest and recuperate. With the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, everything was developing in a good direction.

There is another point, which is the biggest difference between Zhu Shenzhui and Emperor Chongzhen.

Emperor Chongzhen was suspicious, stubborn, irritable, mean, harsh and cruel. It was not easy to work under Emperor Chongzhen, and no one knew what was in his mind. It was impossible to follow his will, and it was even more impossible to go against him. During the ten years since Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, officials in the cabinet and the six ministries were replaced like a revolving lantern, and many were dismissed from their posts or even beheaded.

On the other hand, Zhu Shenzhui was different. After Zhu Shenzhui took charge of the government, he was relatively stable in the court. Although Zhu Shenzhui also killed several people and dismissed many people, he did all these with a legitimate reason. He never used imperial power to force it, but dealt with it according to the rules.

That’s right, the rules!
Even if Zhu Shenzhu wanted to get rid of someone, he would never issue an order without reason. Everything was within the rules. Even if someone in the court opposed Zhu Shenzhu, as long as your opposition was reasonable and you had no personal problems, Zhu Shenzhu would not make things difficult for you for no reason.

As for those who surrendered to Zhu Shencui, even if they followed his lead, but engaged in massive corruption and even committed murder, Zhu Shencui would not show them any special mercy. He would simply pick them up and put them down lightly, as if he knew nothing.

Relying on the Beijing inspection and a series of measures, Zhu Shenzhu adjusted many officials in the court, but all of this was within the rules and could not be faulted. Moreover, Zhu Shenzhu also knew how to win over various forces and find a balance in all aspects. Even if Zhu Shenzhu disliked the Donglin Party, which was known as the clean stream, he would not deliberately suppress it. On the contrary, he reused people in the Donglin Party, such as Qian Qianyi, the leader of the Donglin Party. With Qian Qianyi's return to Beijing and reuse, some people in the Donglin Party began to vote for Zhu Shenzhu, which also made Zhu Shenzhu's voice in the court more and more important, and his administration became easier.

Just when everyone in the court was overjoyed about Li Zicheng and happy about the hope of the Ming Dynasty's revival, Qian Qianyi stood out from the team.

Qian Qianyi saluted Zhu Shenzhui solemnly and gave a speech of eloquent words, the intention of which was nothing more than to praise Zhu Shenzhui, calling him the most outstanding ruler of the Ming Dynasty since Taizu and Chengzu. Then, unexpectedly, Qian Qianyi, as the leader of the Donglin Party, proposed that the throne of the Ming Dynasty should be occupied by a person of virtue.

As a prince regent, Zhu Shenzhu was no different from the emperor. However, Emperor Chongzhen was weak and sickly, and was no longer fit to be the emperor. The internal troubles had been resolved, but the Ming Dynasty still had external troubles. Zhu Shenzhu had been the regent for many years, and the changes in the world were obvious to all. How could such a saintly monarch continue to govern the country as the regent? He should be promoted to the emperor, to rectify his status, and rule the world.

(End of this chapter)