"Yigong, Lao Bai... you are finally here."

Gao Yigong and Bai Wang came to Kaifeng from Xiangyang and Wuchang respectively. Fortunately, they were very solid bases for the Shun Army along the way. When the Shun Army was just defeated in the Battle of Huolu, some things happened in southern Henan.

Tuco rebellion.

However, local bandit village leaders like Li Jiyu and Li Hao often had economic contacts with Huguang and received a lot of material assistance from Gao Yigong. They knew very well how powerful the Dashun Army was in Huguang, so they

They did not gather scattered soldiers like Liu Hongqi, Han Jiadi and other bandits to seize Shunjun prefectures and counties and become enemies of the Dashun regime.

At that time, the area in southern Henan was quite turbulent, because most of the Shun Army's field troops were either in the northwest, on the front lines of the Huolu battlefield, or in the south of Huguang. The Central Plains was empty, and bandits from all over Henan also took advantage of the situation.

At that time, the Nandu regime was also instigated by the puppet Ming court in Beijing. It sent Ma Shiying, Gao Qian, Liu Liangzuo and others to Fengyang, contacted Liu Hongqi, a powerful bandit in Henan, and took advantage of the chaos to overthrow Dashun in the Runing area.

The military power seized some states and counties.

Liu Hongqi, Han Jiadi and other bandits used the endorsement of the puppet Ming court to combine with the local officials and gentry. The Shunjun regime in Henan did not implement the thorough restructuring carried out by Li Laiheng in Huguang at that time, and the regime was not yet consolidated.

In a short period of time, they indeed faced serious losses because of these swaying bandits.

However, both Li Jiyu and Li Hao, who were well aware of Chu Chuang's powerful potential, did not lose their confidence in the Dashun Army regime because of the temporary setback in the Huolu Battle.

When Liu Hong seized Runing and Han Jiadi attacked Xuzhou and started a rebellion, Li Jiyu, Li Hao and other local bandits who were loyal to Dashun immediately cooperated with the Guojun Town army from Huguang to suppress it.

At that time, the main force of Guo Junzhen had arrived in Kaifeng, so he sent his general Li Polu to lead thousands of troops southward. After joining Li Jiyu's armed forces in Dengfeng, he rushed eastward to Xuzhou and quickly launched a counterattack to defeat the traitor Han Jia.

The first capture.

Liu Hongqi had slightly stronger troops, but he was defeated step by step under the strong attack of Dashun Army. When he tried to rush back to Runing, he was intercepted by Li Hao at Wuyangdu. All his troops and horses were lost, so he had to escape alone.

He went to Fengyang and defected to the Nandu regime.

After quelling the rebellion of the native bandits in southern Henan, Guojun Town left Li Polu, Li Jiyu, Li Hao and others, and ordered the three Lis to divide the towns in Ruzhou, Nanyang and Runing to restore the Dashun military regime. In fact, this was also an excuse.

This opportunity expanded Chu Chuang's power to Luoyang and most of Henan south of Kaifeng.

So when Li Laiheng invited Gao and Bai to go north to attend the wedding, when they passed through southern Henan, they had already discovered that the local civil affairs situation in southern Henan had greatly improved.

Although the time is still short, and none of the three are talented people who are good at civil affairs, cadres who can implement the village system, militia system, and public-private partnership have not yet been transferred from Huguang in large numbers. Therefore, the "Chuchuangization" reform in southern Henan has not yet advanced to a great extent.

It's very superficial, but at least in terms of local security and the stability of the Dashun regime, due to San Li's resolute suppression strategy, there have been changes that make Gao Yigong and Bai Wang feel very optimistic and happy.

As soon as the two arrived in Kaifeng and saw Li Laiheng again, who was increasingly dignified and dignified, they talked about what they had seen and heard all the way north from Huguang.

Li Laiheng chuckled after hearing this. He put his arms around Gao Yigong and Bai Wang and said with a smile:

"It is a trivial matter for the Three Lis to pacify southern Henan. It is a great joy that Brother Yigong and Lao Bai can reunite with me in Bianliang."

As the younger brother of Empress Dowager Gao, Gao Yigong was only granted the lowest level of Linqu barony due to Li Zicheng's consideration of controlling his relatives when Dashun was founded. But now that Li Zicheng has passed away, Empress Dowager Gao has become the title of Dashun.

After becoming the person with the highest status, Gao Yigong's status becomes even more important.

What's more, Gao Yigong was also the economic and strategic envoy of Huguang, and was responsible for the overall situation of the south for Li Laiheng. He could be regarded as the second person in the Chu Chuang faction after Li Laiheng.

Gao Yigong has grown a beard on his lips and looks much more mature and steady than the heroic look he used to have.

Gao Yigong held Li Laiheng's hand and said calmly: "Laiheng, no matter what happens in Kaifeng, I will stand by you... We all know that only you can bear the responsibility of reorganizing Dashun after the death of the late emperor."

The important responsibility of the country."

Gao Yigong's character is essentially very similar to that of Li Guo. Both of them were border residents who came from very poor backgrounds. They either suffered from hunger and cold in the first half of their lives, or they lived a homeless life. Therefore, they were more interested in a stable situation.

Most people are more eager to come.

In fact, in the late Ming Dynasty, the real "loyal ministers and obedient people" mostly appeared among these wild and untamable, "naturally rebellious" bandits and handsome men.

Just like Liu Guoneng and Li Wanqing whom Li Laiheng once defeated, the bandit heroes who suffered from displacement were more eager for a stable life. For this reason, they were even willing to hand over all power, kill their closest brothers, and even give money to the court.

To give up a stable life and surrender one's own life - of course, there were many incidents in the Ming Dynasty where people like Hong Chengchou killed the marshals who had recruited Anliu bandits, which had continuously destroyed the illusions of most people.

Historically, after Li Zicheng's death at Jiugong Mountain, the East Route Army that followed Li Zicheng fell into chaos and almost fell into pieces. At that time, Li Guo and Gao Yigong led the well-organized West Route Army to Huguang smoothly, but Li Guo not only

Instead of relying on military strength to achieve unity like Sun Kewang did, he took the initiative to make concessions and accommodated Tian Jianxiu, Zhang Nai and other troops who had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.

With the strength of Li Guo and Gao Yigong's troops at that time, he could be like the four towns in Jiangbei and did not need to obey any orders from the civil servant He Tengjiao. But it turned out that Li Guo was trying to gain dignity and stability for the remaining Dashun army.

He took the initiative to hand over the resources in his hands to He Tengjiao, and became a pawn for He Tengjiao to work.

If this can be explained by the fact that Li Guo was trying to unite various tribes and win the name of Ming Dynasty's orthodoxy, then after the counterattack against Jingzhou in 1646, the Ming army in Huguang suffered a heavy blow. Tian Jianxiu and Zhang Nai again

Li Guo was killed after being surrendered to the Qing Dynasty for the second time. He had at least 40,000 combat troops. Gao Yigong had no constraints internally and no political opponents outside. There was absolutely no one in any Ming army in the Huguang area who could not disobey Li Guo.

.

But in this case, Li Guo still fully accepted He Tengjiao's command and orders. When Changsha was about to be captured, it was still He Tengjiao who could mobilize the rest of Dashun's army to give up the fruits they were about to gain with just one order.

Such is the character of Li Guo and Gao Yigong.

Li Guo's various conciliatory practices were exactly like this. For him, becoming the emperor of Dashun was not only a pressure, but also a burden.

The same is true for Gao Yigong - after all, he was one of the strongest warlords in the Southern Ming Dynasty when the warlords were constantly attacking each other and fighting for power. However, he would do something like handing over all his troops to the Yongli court.

people of things.

Gao Yigong, who was well versed in Li Laiheng's management skills in Huguang, had completely regarded Li Laiheng as a figure no less than Li Zicheng.

In his mind, what Li Guo and Xi Ni did was already wrong, because it was obvious that supporting Li Laiheng in his ascendancy was what Gao Yigong thought was the more correct choice.

Li Laiheng looked at Gao Yigong and said with a slightly confident smile: "I have already made my decision. Brother Yigong doesn't need to worry too much."

Bai Wang looked at Li Laiheng's increasingly majestic look, and like Zhang Nai before, he thought of that night in Zhuxi again.

That boy who was begging for food has become a complete master today.

Bai Wang felt a surge of heat in his heart. He controlled the unbearable passion in his heart and asked:

"Your Highness doesn't want us to send troops to Kaifeng...does he, like Supervisor, also think that maintaining the current situation is more important?"

Li Laiheng smiled and said: "Old Bai, you are my old friend, so don't say anything about your highness, right? It's really embarrassing!"

He then lowered his voice and said: "Maintain the current situation well... Of course, you can rest assured that I am absolutely certain that I can maintain the current situation and will never let Dashun set a precedent for internal provocation."
Chapter completed!