Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 727 Great Success

After Li Zicheng brutally executed Prince Fu, Zhu Changxun, he did not spare the others.

On May 14th, the rebel army held a grand meeting in front of the Zhougong Temple to celebrate the capture of Luoyang and announced the crimes of former Nanjing Minister of War Lü Weiqi, Henan Governor Li Fengxian, Prefect Kang Menghui, and Councilor Wang Yinchang, among others. More than four hundred officials and large landowners in Luoyang and surrounding counties also suffered the same fate.

Li Zicheng announced to the public: "These officials and wealthy families suck the blood and eat the flesh of the poor. They deserve to die. Today, we will act on behalf of Heaven and slaughter them all to vent the anger of the poor people!"

The rebel soldiers naturally cheered loudly, and the onlookers joined in the commotion: "Kill the corrupt officials! Kill the wealthy!"

Although the rebel army burned, killed, looted, and killed countless people on the day the city fell, most of the victims were wealthy families, while ordinary people were lucky enough to escape. In their eyes, this rebel army was dedicated to killing officials and wealthy families, and was on the same side as the poor, so they had a natural sense of closeness to them and naturally supported the execution.

Li Zicheng waved his hand and shouted, "Kill!"

Hundreds of executioners wielded their blades, blood spurting into the sky. Heads rolled to the ground, and blood flowed like a river outside the Zhougong Temple. The corpses were all thrown into a newly dug pit to the west of the temple gate.

Having captured such an important city for the first time, the entire rebel army was overjoyed. For a moment, they felt that the imperial court and its soldiers were nothing special, and that conquering the world was not difficult at all. Seeing that Li Zicheng and his generals were in high spirits, Liu Heizi seized the opportunity to suggest, according to Liu Ye's plan: "Successfully capturing Luoyang proves that King Chuang is the chosen one. Why not declare yourself king, gather heroes, and attack the capital?"

"Declare myself king?" Li Zicheng hesitated. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he wasn't sure if the time was right.

Liu Zongmin was in high spirits and nodded repeatedly upon hearing this: "Although I've never liked you, this suggestion is good." He said to Li Zicheng, "King Chuang, we now have money, grain, and plenty of men. Let's go all out and declare ourselves kings! Then our brothers can enjoy the good life with you!"

The others also wanted to become loyal subjects of the emperor, and they all said, "Chuang Wang, declare yourself king! Let's all go to the capital, overthrow Chongzhen, and you can sit on the throne!"

Li Zicheng's heart pounded, and he asked, "Do you all think so? Can someone like me, who came from humble beginnings, really become emperor?"

Liu Heizi continued his incitement: "Are kings and generals born with a special destiny? Our founding emperor was nothing more than a cowherd, no more noble than the rebel leader. The court is corrupt and incompetent, the officials and soldiers are weak and feeble, and those like the Eight Kings who can be compared to the rebel leader are still barely surviving in Sichuan. This is the perfect opportunity for the rebel leader to show his skills. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. If Zhang Xianzhong and his ilk seize the opportunity in Beijing, who knows who will become emperor..."

After struggling for a while, Li Zicheng finally overcame his concerns, slapped his thigh, and said loudly, "Since my brothers say I can do it, then I will do it. I won't be coy. But what title should I give it?"

The group consisted of mostly illiterate, uncultured men, so coming up with a name was a bit of a challenge for them. They scratched their heads and racked their brains for a long time but couldn't come up with anything.

Liu Heizi, however, remained calm and composed, smiling without saying a word. Before leaving, Liu Ye had already explained everything about Li Zicheng to him, almost to the point of handwriting a biography of his life. He naturally knew Li Zicheng's name, but it wouldn't be appropriate to reveal it too early, as it would seem abrupt.

When everyone had been thinking for a long time without any results, Liu Heizi pretended to have racked his brains and came up with an idea. He tentatively asked, "Since the King of Chuang entered Henan, everything has gone smoothly. The capture of Luoyang was also very successful. How about calling him 'Da Shun' (Great Success)?"

"Da Shun?" Li Zicheng thought for a moment, and it sounded quite good and auspicious, so he nodded and replied, "That's right, let's call it Da Shun. From today onwards, we are the Da Shun Army."

Gao Yigong suggested: "Chuang Wang, you can't get fat in one bite. You can take it step by step. First, you can become the Grand Marshal, then the King. If the war goes well, it won't be too late to declare yourself Emperor before entering the capital."

Li Zicheng said with satisfaction, "Yigong is right, then let's start by calling him Grand Marshal. How about 'Grand Marshal Who Advocates Righteousness and Rebellion'?"

Everyone cheered, "Excellent! It sounds powerful and imposing!"

At noon, Liu Zongmin announced to tens of thousands of people in front of the Lingxing Gate of the Zhougong Temple that Li Zicheng had become the "Grand Marshal of the Righteous Army," proclaiming himself the "New Shun King," and that the rebel army would be renamed the "Great Shun Army." He declared that they would march towards Beijing and told the people: follow the King, you will not pay taxes, and you will have land to cultivate. At this time, the people of the country were burdened by increasingly heavy taxes, and Henan, suffering from years of drought, was even more miserable. This simple program struck a chord with the people, and starving people from all over Henan spontaneously carried flags and came to Luoyang to join him. In a short time, "starving people from far and near flocked to him with flags, like a never-ending stream." In just one month, the Great Shun Army expanded from about 200,000 to more than 500,000.

After looting all the wealth and granaries in Luoyang, especially after emptying the Prince of Fu's mansion, the Shun army had a gratifying harvest. With ample food and supplies and a strong army, their plan to march north to the capital was put on the agenda, and their departure from Luoyang was now in the countdown.

Liu Heizi, having repeatedly offered valuable strategies, was highly regarded by Li Zicheng. Despite being an outsider, he held considerable prestige and influence within the Shun army. One day, after secretly exchanging information with Chu Shengchang and others who had infiltrated the Shun army, and sending a message back to Lingao, he returned to Zhougong Temple. At the gate, he inadvertently saw a scholar in his forties engaging in a persistent conversation with a soldier. Out of curiosity, he casually asked, "What's going on here?"

The soldiers all recognized this favorite of the rebel leader, and said with smiles, "Lord Liu, here's a poor, mediocre scholar who's volunteered to see the rebel leader and try to get a position in our Shun army..."

The man quickly corrected him: "I, Niu, am a proper Juren (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), not just a Xiucai (a lower-level scholar)..."

The soldiers laughed and said, "Yes, yes, he's a scholar who passed the imperial examination..."

Liu Heizi became alert and asked, "This gentleman's surname is Niu? May I ask your given name...?"

Seeing that he seemed easy to talk to, the man quickly introduced himself: "My name is Niu Jinxing, courtesy name Juming. I am from Baofeng County, Henan Province, and I passed the imperial examination in the seventh year of the Tianqi reign..."

Liu Heizi, a half-baked scholar with a good memory, immediately recalled the general's instructions before his departure.

"Besides inciting Li Zicheng to attack Luoyang and then heading north to the capital, we also need to keep an eye on a few people: Li Yan, Niu Jinxing, and Song Xianze. If any of these three appears, eliminate them by any means necessary, without letting Li Zicheng know. These people are all obstacles to our manipulation of Li Zicheng. Don't ask me how I know, just do as I say..."