Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

"Normally, we stand up and talk about our feelings, but in times of crisis, we say the water is too cold."

Jiang Xinghuo laughed loudly and told Zhu Di a short story.

"In the future that I see, the Jurchens will attack the city and roam the south of the Yangtze River just as they did hundreds of years ago."

"Qian Qianyi, the leader of Donglin, publicly claimed that he wanted to follow Qu Yuan's example and commit suicide by drowning, vowing to live and die with the Ming Dynasty. Not only that, he also led his family to Shang Lake in Changshu, preparing to commit suicide by the lake."

"However, on the day when he committed suicide by drowning, Qian Qianyi was hesitating by the lake. Next to him, his wife Liu Rushi, who was a famous prostitute in Qinhuai, said to him, 'It is better to take the Yiquan Festival to gain a good reputation.'"

"Qian Qianyi had no choice but to touch the lake water and said leisurely: The water is too cold to enter. Liu Rushi tried to sink into the lake, but was stopped by Qian Qianyi. This is why the water was too cold. "

After hearing this little story, Zhu Di had no special reaction other than a look of disdain on his face. He just said lightly.

"There are not as many good ministers in the south of the Yangtze River as there are prostitutes in the Qinhuai River. It's not surprising."

In fact, in the past few months after Zhu Di led the Yan army across the river, he had seen too many such scholar-bureaucrats.

Isn’t this the case for both Xie Jin and Hu Guang? It's just that the contrast is not so outrageous.

Therefore, Zhu Di was not surprised at all.

But the next little story soon made Zhu Di's anger meter full.

"As for the itchy scalp?"

"This means that the Jurchens have been shaving their heads and wearing pigtails since the Song Dynasty. In order to destroy the Han people from the aspects of traditional etiquette such as clothing, etiquette, and music, the Jurchens forcibly enforced shaving their heads and changing clothes wherever they went."

"And Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism firmly believes that the body's hair and skin are inherited from parents and should not be damaged easily."

"Qian Qianyi, the so-called famous Confucian scholar and leader of the literary world, has always claimed this."

"However."

"The Jurchens came to the city, and Qian Qianyi threw himself into the water to no avail. After returning home, Qian Qianyi first told his family that his scalp was very itchy, and then he found a barber, who shaved his head into the Jurchens' money rat tail hairstyle, and then led The civil and military officials in the city opened the city gates and knelt down to the Jurchens to beg for surrender."

“It’s what’s called an ‘itchy scalp.’”

After hearing this story, Zhu Di forgot to get angry for a moment.

After a while, he suddenly stretched out his hand and smashed the other armrest. Still feeling uneasy, he stood up directly.

"I have never heard of such a shameless person!"

With that said, Zhu Di stood up and his eyes fell on Jiang Xinghuo with a complicated expression.

The Donglin Party, which is mainly composed of the Jiangnan gentry class, is unreliable. Zhu Di had expected it in his heart.

Once the Ming Dynasty fell, it was normal for these gentry to change their appearance and join the new dynasty for the sake of their own prosperity and wealth.

But the shamelessness of Qian Qianyi, the leader of Donglin, still set a new limit for Zhu Di's knowledge.

"If our Ming Dynasty really reaches the point of subjugation, won't we have any loyal ministers or good generals?"

Zhu Di stared at Jiang Xinghuo.

I was afraid that he would say to me, "Congratulations, you guessed it right."

One breath.

Two breaths.

Time passed slowly, but Jiang Xinghuo remained silent.

Zhu Di's heart slowly sank.

Just when Zhu Di was about to speak and break the embarrassing silence.

Jiang Xinghuo suddenly spoke up.

"Jiang has said it before."

"After Jingkang, at the turn of the Song Dynasty, Yue Fei's Northern Expedition represented not only his one man and his army, but the millions of people in the Central Plains of the two rivers."

"Then your Majesty thinks that when the Jurchens invaded and the country was in danger, the Song Dynasty had Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, Liu Qi, Wu Jie, Wu Lin and other generals to step forward. Is the Ming Dynasty not as good as the Song Dynasty?"

Zhu Di's clenched fists under his dragon robe quietly loosened.

The story scenes constructed by Jiang Xinghuo's next words seemed to take Zhu Di to personally experience the "history" that has not yet happened.

——————

The cold rain is falling.

"General, we are defeated! Retreat!"

"Yes, it's too late if we don't withdraw now!"

A young general wiped the rain and blood from his face and showed a ferocious smile.

"Withdraw? Ever since I joined the army with my uncle, I have never known what withdrawal means!"

The young general raised his head and looked into the distance. Over the mountains and plains, there were countless Ming troops defeated. They threw away their helmets and armor, rolled back their flags, and fled in all directions in embarrassment.

Only the cavalry around the young general were relatively intact.

The war horse was holding its head high, snoring uneasily, and white mist filled the air.

Everyone is waiting for the decision of the God of War in their hearts.

The young general slowly pulled off his visor, and only the cold light from his eyes remained on the cold bronze beast's face.

"Everyone!"

"This battle is between me, the Ming Dynasty, and the destiny of the nation of Jiannu. The world is about to fall. Those who are willing to follow me, Cao Bianjiao, to save the sky and the sky, take a step forward!"

More than a thousand Guanning cavalry under his command all took a step forward.

The ground trembled, and even the surrounding soldiers were startled and immediately took a detour.

"Okay, okay! Good boy, come with me to the battlefield!"

In the young general's eyes, only the enemy's banner remained.

In September of the 13th year of Chongzhen, there was a great battle between Song and Jin. All Ming troops fled. However, Cao Bianjiao led his men to rush into the rear Jin army's formation and reached Huangtaiji's middle army. He shot an arrow at the rear Jin Dahu, frightening the enemy chieftain and causing the middle army to retreat for several miles. .

Unfortunately, the general situation was unstoppable, and due to the situation, Cao Bian was left alone and exhausted. Cao Bian's heavy armor was soaked with blood, and he regretfully retreated.

——————

Tongguan City Wall.

The mountains are steep and the rivers are surging.

A senior official in military uniform held Shang Fang's sword tightly in his hand, looking at the exhausted army below.

"Supervisor, you can't leave seclusion!"

Several general soldiers knelt down in front of him to persuade him.

One of them even took out a ripe persimmon from his arms and said with tears streaming down his face.

"Have you forgotten how the Battle of Shiyuan was defeated? Now Henan is thousands of miles away, and there is no human habitation at all. Our army does not stick to the natural dangers of Tongguan, but has to go out to meet the thieves. Once we leave Tongguan, it will be extremely difficult to find traces of Li Zicheng. It is said that supply lines are easily cut off by rogue bandits, which is a taboo for military strategists!"

Another general said: "Brother Shuhan of the Tang Dynasty slaughtered stone forts in the West to take purple robes, and marched across Qinghai at night with a sword. What a distinguished figure he was. As soon as he left Tongguan, he took the initiative to abandon the pass and fight on the plains with his exhausted troops and weak brigade, and was killed. That’s right!”

Instead of drawing his sword to chop off the heads of these "war-fearing" soldiers like before, this military officer looked at the Guanhe River in the distance and let out a long sigh.

"Why don't I know this?"

"But the emperor's order cannot be disobeyed!"

The man in military uniform pursed his lips tightly, and his expression became serious and resolute.

In an almost decisive tone, he drew out Shang Fang's sword and announced his order to his subordinates.

"Although there are thousands of people, I am going!"

"Today, leave the customs!"

All the soldiers looked excited, but no one tried to dissuade them. Instead, they prepared their own troops and horses.

However, on the third day of October in the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, it was said that Chuan Ting died and the Ming Dynasty fell.

——————

The Jurchens besieged the city, and 240,000 troops joined forces for hundreds of miles.

Standing at the top of the city, looking at the endless black enemy troops outside the city.

Everyone's heart was beating.

After all, not long ago, they were ordinary people, laborers, bricklayers, and porters.

"Scared?"

A middle-aged man in a gray shirt looked at his companions gently.

"No, don't be afraid!"

"As long as Yan Dian is here, we are not afraid! It was you who led us against the Jiang bandits in the first place!"

The people clamored.

At this time, the sound of horse hooves sounded outside the city, but several cavalrymen with tall heads and large horses came to the city, surrounded by a general in gorgeous armor.

The general still had a loud voice and said loudly.

"There is no master in the south of the Yangtze River. If you surrender early, you can protect your wealth!"

The people at the top of the city saw that it was Liu Liangzuo, the commander-in-chief of the Jurchens who had surrendered.

The middle-aged man in gray shirt replied in a neither humble nor overbearing tone.

"A certain historian of the Ming Dynasty knows the great righteousness. The general is an important town of the country. He cannot protect the Jianghuai River. He is the vanguard of the enemy. How can he see the righteous people of our city?"

General Liu's expression suddenly changed and he angrily said: "Qian Qianyi has already fallen, so how do you compare to Qian Qianyi?"

The middle-aged man in gray shirt smiled warmly.

"I am a small official, but unfortunately I am born with hard bones and cannot kneel down."

When General Liu heard this, he was startled. Without saying a word, he rode his horse and retreated with his men in shame.

——————

Looking at Jiang Xinghuo who paused, Zhu Di asked anxiously.

"What happened next? What happened next?"

Jiang Xinghuo said in a difficult voice: "Later, Yan Yingyuan led 3,000 warriors and 60,000 volunteers to resist the enemy at the city gates. Bi Xue's lone army caused the invincible Jurchen cavalry to lose 75,000 soldiers, and defeated 18 generals and three kings. The prince drank and hated the city."

"However, as time passed, Jiangyin City suffered heavy casualties. There was no lime in the city, so it was impossible to repair the city at night. Rice became less and less. We had to collect rice from the people to prepare for the shortage. Yan Yingyuan ordered that rice be collected once every two days. Get it in advance.”

"Around the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Jurchens used arrows to throw letters of surrender into the city, and asked the surrounding villagers to sing songs to tell the story of being besieged on all sides, in an attempt to undermine the morale of the defenders."

"However, the people of Jiangyin climbed up to the city tower with pots and cups, raised their glasses and drank. They imitated Chu songs and composed "Wu Geng Zhuan Song", and asked those who were good at singing to climb up and sing, and harmonized with sheng, flute, flute and drum. At that time, the sky There is no filament, the bright moon is in the sky, the dew is clear on the thin fields, the swords and halberds are silent, the yellow crossbows, drums and huqins are in the enemy tower in the west city, and the solemn and heroic songs are singing through the sky."

"The goddess is so handsome, when she heard the singing, she sighed. It is said that it is easy to shake a mountain, but it is difficult to shake this city."

"On the day the city was destroyed, Yan Yingyuan climbed up to the city with great enthusiasm, sat on the east city watchtower, and felt at ease. He asked for a pen and wrote a desperate poem on the city gate."

"Then Yan Yingyuan led hundreds of dead soldiers and fought in the streets, killing and injuring thousands. After being captured, he refused to kneel to the Jurchens. He was stabbed in the tibia and fell to the ground with blood boiling, but he never bent his knees. In the end, Higurashi died heroically."

Zhu Di's voice already had a subtle tremor.

"What is his desperate poem?"

Jiang Xinghuo spoke slowly.

"On the eightyth day, I will show my allegiance to the emperor and show his loyalty to Taizu in his seventeenth dynasty."

"One hundred thousand people died together for justice, leaving three hundred miles of Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Di was startled when he heard this, and immediately covered the corners of his eyes with his hands.