Xie Ming

Chapter 31 The fox’s tail can’t be hidden

March 20th was the second day that Li Zicheng entered the Forbidden City.

After Li Zicheng led his troops into Beijing through Zhengyang Gate, the people lined the streets on both sides of Zhengyang Gate to welcome the royal army.

Li Zicheng rode a green horse and marched forward, and hundreds of thousands of people in the capital cheered and shouted hysterically!

"Open the city gates to welcome the King of Chuang!"

"The King of Rebellion has come and he won't pay taxes!"

"Long live the King of Chuang! Long live the King of Chuang!"

Such a huge and overwhelming scene made King Chuang and the Dashun Army who entered Beijing very proud and satisfied their vanity.

But playing aside, making noise aside, the most powerful general under Li Zicheng, Liu Zongmin, the Left General of Ruhou, the first thing he did when he entered the city was to send troops to seal the Taicang Warehouse of the Ministry of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty in the Forbidden City and the Siyue Treasury in the inner court of Emperor Chongzhen!
After all, marching and fighting consumes food and money. No matter how many hats you put on someone, they can't be used to buy food and drink, right?
So the Dashun Army, known as the army of justice, had two primary tasks when they entered the city: arresting people and robbing money.

However, the person who was to be arrested, Chongzhen, had already hanged himself!

If you want to rob money, you can go to the Ministry of Revenue’s treasury first.

So on the surface, it seems that the people should really be left alone.

But the good times didn’t last long!

What Liu Zongmin never expected was that in the once glorious Ming capital, after a thorough sweep of the Ministry of Revenue's Taicang warehouse, only a mere 100,000 taels of silver were confiscated!
There was not even a penny left in the treasury of the Imperial Court of Chongzhen, except for about one thousand taels!
This time, Liu Zongmin was completely uneasy!

You know, if you win the battle, the soldiers will be rewarded. A mere 100,000 taels may not even be enough to buy food and fodder for the army!

So, Liu Zongmin had no choice but to discuss with Li Zicheng and decided to implement the old method!
They dragged out all the royal relatives, nobles and high-ranking officials in the city, arrested them one by one, and tortured them severely, so that they could eventually extort a lot of silver.

It was noon that day.

Song Xiance hurried along and arrived in front of the Qianqing Palace under the scorching sun of the Forbidden City.

At this time, in front of the palace gate, Niu Jinxing and several Dashun officials were also waiting.

"Brother Juming! Why are you all standing here?"

"Where is the Lord? I want to see King Chuang! Let's go in together!"

Song Xiance was quite impatient. Due to his youthful vigor, he did not have the calmness to deal with the ups and downs of officialdom or the ways of the world.

He and Niu Jinxing got along well and regarded each other as friends regardless of age difference, so they spoke more freely.

As he said this, Taoist Priest Song was about to pull Niu Jinxing, who was nearly fifty years old, into the hall.

"Ouch. Yo!"

"Brother Song, what's the matter that has you in such a hurry?!"

"No one is in the palace!"

"The King of Chuang hasn't woken up yet!"

"Look, aren't we all waiting here?"

"Don't worry, Brother Song, don't worry. Come and wait for us here for a while and we will meet you later!"

Niu Jinxing smiled kindly and spoke slowly.

"Ah? What? It's already noon and the King of Rebellion hasn't gotten up yet." Song Xiance was stunned.

"Hahaha, that's right, that's right!" another Dashun official present responded.

"This King Chuang is also a human being. He has been on horseback and fought for a long time. Now he has finally made it to the palace of Chongzhen."

"This harem, hehe, makes the master happy, it's not too much, it's not too much, ha"

After he finished speaking, several senior officials, including Niu Jinxing, looked at each other and smiled obscenely.

"Hehe, this master is in his prime. You don't know, I just heard the eunuch whispering in private, saying that our King Chuang was in the harem yesterday, and the scene was really overwhelming!"

"Four or five beautiful concubines are so exhausted that they have been tossing and turning for most of the night!"

Another Dashun official echoed this, and what he said became more and more obscene and unbearable to listen to.

"Enough!" "Do you know that Liu Zongmin has already started arresting and killing people in the city?"

"We, the Dashun army, were able to invade the capital without bloodshed. This is a godsend opportunity!"

"Our army's next priority is to stabilize the situation!"

"Those royal relatives and nobles are backed by the official and gentry clan system of Shanxi, Shandong, the capital, Henan, and even the entire north of the Yellow River and Huai River. It would be fine if we didn't treat them with courtesy, but now they are being slaughtered at will like bandits!"

"You... you don't even bother to advise!"

"Do we have to start a war across the entire north, force them to rebel, and then send troops to suppress them?!" Song Xiance was furious.

"You know, Wu Sangui's 50,000 Guanning troops are stationed in Luanzhou!"

"According to this, it's less than 500 miles!"

After Song Xiance's roar, Niu Jinxing and other senior officials looked embarrassed and could not continue speaking.

"Oh? So it's a suggestion!"

"Who is so bold as to roar and shout like that in my palace?"

At this moment, suddenly, behind Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance, in the Qianqing Palace, Li Zicheng appeared quietly from behind the hall for some unknown reason.

Just look at him, with his chest exposed, wearing only a silk undershirt in a very cold day, without even wearing boots, he walked into the hall, leaning against the dragon throne, looking limp and exhausted.

"My Lord, you..."

Song Xiance was very disappointed with his friend and took a step forward into the hall, followed by Niu Jinxing and others.

After entering the hall, Taoist Master Song, who was dressed in green and holding a whisk, began to play urgently with a serious tone.

"Prince Chuang, I just went down to investigate and learned that Liu Zongmin, the Marquis of Ru, was dissatisfied with the empty treasury of the Ming Dynasty. He used the lack of funds as an excuse to arrest and kill the former Ming royal family members and noble officials in the capital!"

"I thought"

Before Song Xiance could finish his words, Li Zicheng raised his hand with disdain to stop him from speaking.

"Alas, let me offer you some advice. Liu Zongmin must have his reasons for doing this!"

"He has discussed everything you said with me." Li Zicheng said.

"What? But my lord?" Song Xiance retorted again, but Li Zicheng still waved his hand to stop him.

"Okay, I don't know what the big deal is, it's worth you making such a fuss!"

"They are just some fat pigs and dogs, and you really treat them as treasures!"

"From Hubei to Henan and then to Guanzhong, I, the Dashun, have killed many relatives of the Ming Dynasty and corrupt officials. Aren't there enough of them?"

"Didn't he still take over the world?!"

"My lord! How can these two things be mentioned in the same breath?" Song Xiance retorted hastily.

"Alright! See what you can do!"

"You are right. How about I give you my throne?"

When Li Zicheng said this, Niu Jinxing and others were frightened and hurriedly knelt down.

Song Xiance stood still for two seconds with his body stiff, but under the pressure of Long Wei, he had to surrender and kneel down.

"You're making a mountain out of a molehill! Song Xiance, you're good in every way except that you're too talkative!"

"We have to take care of this and that."

"You don't kill people, you don't arrest people. The army is in the city, how are you going to pay them? Chongzhen is such a bastard, how many coins does the government have in its treasury? It's not even enough to buy military supplies!"

Li Zicheng's words had their own logic and reasoning. When Song Xiance heard it, he was speechless for a moment.

He then pondered for a long time, and no longer argued, but bowed deeply, and left in a huff.
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(End of this chapter)