Chapter 154: The Emperor Who Did Not Resist (Seeking Recommendations)

At noon on the twenty-sixth day of the fourth month of the first year of Yongchang of the Shun, Li Zicheng finally entered Beijing through the Desheng Gate under the escort of two to three thousand soldiers of the Imperial Guard.

Li Guo, Niu Jinxing, Chen Yongfu, and Li Yan, who had rushed back from Tianjin upon hearing the news, along with all the civil and military officials, knelt inside the Desheng Gate to welcome Li Zicheng's return, just as they had seen him off when he departed for battle.

Li Zicheng's procession was much the same as when he had left the capital—yellow canopies clearing the way, cavalry escorts all around—while he himself wore a blue robe, a white felt hat on his head, and a red cape over his shoulders. Only his face was blackened and caked with grime, and the warhorse beneath him, worn from extreme fatigue, looked gaunt and shaggy. Man and mount alike were a sorry sight.

The troops that followed him into the city could not compare with those that had marched out either. That day he had set forth with an army of sixty thousand. Now he brought back fewer than thirty thousand, most of whom entered the city through the nearby Dongzhi and Chaoyang Gates.

Only Li Zicheng led the Imperial Guard through the Desheng Gate, timing his entry precisely to the hour of noon—this too was something Song Xiance had worked out on his fingers: entering the city through the Desheng Gate at noon was supremely auspicious!

But Li Zicheng still could not summon any spirit. Seeing the officials who had come to receive him, he had nothing to say, merely letting them follow him all the way to the the Shun Gate (inside the Daming Gate). Afterward, the Shun Emperor ordered the Ministers and Vice Ministers of the Six Government Offices (equivalent to the Six Ministries) to return to their yamens and attend to business, and commanded only Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Li Guo, Li Yan, and a few others to enter the palace at the beginning of the shen hour to discuss affairs.

Back in the palace, he washed with a hot bath, took a meal, and dozed briefly. Then his newly taken concubine in Beijing, Lady Dou, woke him as he had previously instructed.

"Imperial Lord, Imperial Lord, Imperial Lord, wake."

Li Zicheng started awake and glanced at Lady Dou, who had originally been one of Chongzhen's palace women. A woman as fair as flowers and jade, yet her bright eyes were full of worry. This woman had been selected for him from Chongzhen's palace by Li Zicheng's empress, Lady Gao, for the purpose of bearing Li Zicheng a son—Li Zicheng had had three wives in succession, but none had borne him a single child. His second wife, Lady Xing, after running off with Gao Jie, had given birth to one child after another. How strange! But for the sake of having an heir to the Shun realm, the "barren" Lady Gao had no choice but to pick several older palace women from Chongzhen's harem for Li Zicheng to try his luck with.

Li Zicheng stretched and smiled nonchalantly. "Slept so soundly. Has the shen hour come?"

"There is still a quarter hour."

Li Zicheng sat up and said as he got out of bed, "Quick, fetch Our dragon robe. We still have important matters to attend to."

Lady Dou knew Li Zicheng had summoned several ministers and generals to Wuying Hall to discuss affairs, so she did not urge him to rest a little longer. Instead she brought out a brand-new blue robe and helped Li Zicheng dress properly.

By the time Li Zicheng arrived at the East Warm Pavilion of Wuying Hall, Liu Zongmin, Tian Jianxiu, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Li Guo, Li Yan, and the others were already there. Liu Zongmin had been carried in on a litter—he had been slashed several times by a Manchu Tartar on the battlefield at Yipianshi and was gravely wounded, unable to walk, and in no condition to kowtow to Li Zicheng.

After the others had kowtowed and paid their respects, Li Zicheng bade them all sit, then asked after Liu Zongmin's wounds.

"Nothing serious," Liu Zongmin replied. "My life is tough! I only pity that child Shuangxi."

Shuangxi was Li Shuangxi, Li Zicheng's adopted son. In the Battle of Yipianshi, he had led the Imperial Guard cavalry in the final charge, driving back the Manchu troops surrounding Liu Zongmin and allowing Liu Zongmin and the remnants of the Central Guard Army to escape. But he himself had fallen in battle!

Li Zicheng sighed. "How is the situation in the capital?"

Li Guo answered, "The people in the capital are restless, and rumors abound. I have already begun preparations to defend the city."

"What of Tianjin?"

Li Yan replied, "Still fairly calm. But the bandit emperor Zhu is lingering at Dagu Estuary and has not left. He is still reorganizing his army, and I fear he will soon counterattack."

Li Zicheng nodded. "That is certain. The bandit Zhu has brought in Tartar troops to aid his war, and he does not fear inviting a wolf into his house. Truly hateful!"

Tian Jianxiu said with a face full of worry, "Just now I received a scout report saying the combined army of the bandit Zhu and the Tartars is pursuing us—tens of thousands strong, all cavalry—and will reach Beijing within two days. Whether to go or to hold, we must decide today."

At these words, everyone fell silent.

Hold—they probably could not hold! For one thing, the mere fact that Beijing was short of grain ruled out defending the city, unless they drove all the common people out and kept the rations for the Shun army to eat—but the Shun Imperial Lord was benevolent and loved the people, and would surely never agree to such a thing.

Yet leaving also seemed somewhat improper.

The Shun claimed a million heavenly soldiers and had come sweeping in with great fanfare, with cities surrendering at the mere sight of their banners—everything had gone so smoothly it was absurd. Now, after losing just one battle at Shanhai Pass and a little over twenty thousand men, they were going to hand Beijing over to someone else?

Was that not far too cowardly? What would all the various forces that had submitted to the Shun think? Would they not look down on the Shun?

"Imperial Lord," Li Yan said, his brows tightly knitted, suddenly breaking the silence, "if the bandit Zhu comes back, that is not the worst of it. What I fear is the Tartars entering Beijing!"

"What do you mean by that?" Li Zicheng was taken aback.

Was it not obvious? Li Yan sighed. An emperor who did not resist and handed over the gateway lands of Yan and Yun to the Tartars—could he still expect the hearts of the realm to turn to him? And do not say Beijing cannot be held! How could Beijing not be held? The walls were high and sturdy, and there were more than a dozen Hongyi cannons and over a hundred Folangji cannons. The garrison numbered no fewer than fifty thousand, of whom close to forty thousand were veteran camp soldiers. If Li Zicheng would hand Beijing over to him and give him half the troops, he guaranteed he could hold it for years! As for the lack of grain—rob the common people! Before Zhu Cilang fled, he distributed all the grain to the people of Beijing. Go rob them! Had the Shun army ever done less than that? When they should not have robbed, they robbed plenty. Now when they should rob, why had their hands gone soft?

At this thought, he sighed again. "Imperial Lord, if the bandit Zhu enters Beijing, then the bandit Zhu will continue to stand between us and the Tartars. To hold Beijing, the bandit Zhu will have to strain to deal with the Tartars, leaving him little strength to deal with our Shun. And the Tartars will be entangled by the bandit Zhu, with no time to fight us for the moment. Our Shun would then have a chance to rest and recover, and rising again would not be difficult.

What I fear now is that the bandit Zhu will retreat in order to advance, continuing south to Jiangnan, and leave the Central Plains to us and the Tartars. In that case, the Tartars will deal with our Shun first, and only then go south to Jiangnan."

Li Yan even suspected the Tartars would not go south to attack the Ming at all! Because his wife, Hongniangzi, was herself quite skilled at naval warfare, yet on the Wei River she had been defeated and captured by a single gunboat of the bandit Zhu's fleet.

The Tartars were formidable on horseback, but on the water they were useless. Without naval capability, the Huai River and the Yangtze were natural barriers—how could they go south to attack the Ming? So in Li Yan's mind, if Li Zicheng would change his mind and hold Beijing to the death, the Shun still had a future. Otherwise... he would have to seek another lord worth serving!

"There is some sense in that." Li Zicheng thought for a moment. "But no matter whose hands Beijing falls into, I must go. This city of Beijing, I can no longer manage it. Let the Tartars take it."

Li Zicheng was indeed set on abandoning Beijing! His reasons for abandoning it, apart from "lack of popular support and lack of grain," also included his unwillingness to leave behind twenty or thirty thousand veteran camp troops—it was impossible for him to defend Beijing himself; he was, after all, the emperor. How could he rule while besieged inside a city? But to leave troops and a great general behind... he could not bear to part with them, and he did not trust them either!

Li Yan sighed, then said to Li Zicheng, "Imperial Lord, I believe the bandit Zhu will most likely go south. We must plan for the worst."

"Oh? What plan do you have?"

"If Your Majesty feels that Northern Zhili is no longer tenable, the main army should withdraw as quickly as possible. But Shanxi and Henan must be placed under the full authority of trusted ministers and great generals to manage, otherwise they cannot shield Shaanxi, our root territory."

Li Zicheng nodded and looked at Li Yan. "Who can go to Shanxi?"

"Chen Yongfu can go to Shanxi," Li Yan said. "Furthermore, Jiang Xiang at Datong Prefecture is unreliable. Your Imperial Lord must be wary of him turning traitor."

"And Henan?" Li Zicheng looked coldly at Li Yan.

Li Yan had a guilty conscience, and under that gaze his heart jolted. Not knowing how to answer, he merely said, "The Central Province is the heart of the realm, and someone must always be sent to manage it. Henan Prefecture (the Luoyang area) is the most critical. If a marquis could be stationed there, it should be secure."

Li Zicheng's expression softened somewhat. Li Yan was not a marquis.

(End of Chapter)