You can't do this, you can't do that. The salary given by the court has been discounted and often not paid on time. The more you owe, the more you owe. How do you want the clan to live?
In order to survive, many clans can only think of other ways, and even take risks and violate regulations.
Some clans relied on their status to become gangsters, making a living by extorting merchants in the city.
Some clans also joined forces to engage in deceit and abduction, and took up the work of exposing the White Party.
There are even clan members who simply conceal their identity and quietly become tenants of the farming land.
There are so many weird and wonderful things about the clan that I couldn’t finish them in three days and three nights. If I talk too much, I’ll be in tears!
As a low-level clan member, Zhu Shenzui was naturally not much better. Moreover, after his father and brother left, he was the only man in the family. If he wanted to survive, he had to do some things.
Don't look at it now that Zhu Shenzhui came back with a salary of several taels of silver today. But Zhang didn't know that Zhu Shenzui's ability to collect these salaries from the prefect Yu Zhi was not his main purpose. He just used the name of asking for salary to often go to the government office.
On the pretext of asking for a salary, he became a regular customer of the prefect's Yamen. He would go there from time to time to hang out, or just sit there without paying, and get some tea and refreshments.
The key is that the prefect's Yamen is well-informed. If nothing happens, he can still get some news from the Yamen servants and disciples. More importantly, the Prefect's Yamen also has newspapers to read. This is the only important information channel that Zhu Shenzui can learn in this era. .
After getting some money back from Yu Zhida today, it stands to reason that Zhu Shenzui should be happy, but the court post he saw at the prefect's Yamen today made Zhu Shenzui worried.
In early March of this year, the dust settled in the Battle of Sarhu. The Ming Dynasty suffered a disastrous defeat in this battle. Except for Li Rubai, the 200,000 elite troops retreated all the way and survived, and the rest were almost wiped out.
In this battle, the Ming army lost a total of about 45,800 troops, more than 300 generals were killed, more than 28,000 mules and horses, more than 20,000 guns and artillery, and their vitality was seriously damaged.
After the war, the Hou Jin army took advantage of the situation to capture Kaiyuan and Tieling, and conquered the Yehe tribe. Chiefs Jin Taiji and Buyangu were killed, and the remaining tribes surrendered to Jianzhou.
What's even more terrible is that Liu Wei, Liu Dadao, known as the most powerful general of the Ming Dynasty, died for his country. Liu Wei was very famous in the army and was a banner of the Ming army. His death had a great impact, which made the Ming army's battle After the defeat, their morale was low and they were unable to recover. Rumors spread that the Jurchens were invincible if they were not satisfied with the ten thousand. Coupled with Hou Jin's victory in seizing the city and territory, the situation in Liaodong changed drastically.
It has been less than half a year since the war began. Coach Yang Hao was convicted and has been detained and returned to Beijing.
Logically speaking, this matter should have spread long ago, but this era is not the information age of later generations. The distances are long and the transmission of information is inconvenient.
In addition, the Ming army was defeated in Liaodong, the court was shocked, and the cabinet blocked part of the news from the outside world. Zhu Shenzui only learned intermittently through some channels in Pingyang Mansion that something big had happened in Liaodong, but he didn't know exactly what happened. It wasn't until today that I finally learned about it from the Yibao.
The Battle of Saarhu had a great impact on the Ming Dynasty and was also the beginning of the complete decline of the Ming Dynasty. After this war, Liaodong was corrupted and the Jin Dynasty rose, natural and man-made disasters occurred, and local rebellions broke out. The Ming Dynasty was crumbling under such internal and external troubles. It struggled to support it for decades, and finally collapsed.
Zhu Shenzui did not study history in his previous life, but he still knew a thing or two about some major events in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. And when he saw the events and words in the post that made him tremble with fear, the information deep in his memory suddenly became clear. The early winter weather actually made Zhu Shenzui break out in a sweat.
Closing his eyes, Zhu Shenzui seemed to see a raging war and corpses everywhere.
The Eight Banners with shaved money rat tails stepped in, laughing ferociously, waving their swords, drawing their bows and galloping on their horses. The cities were ablaze, and Ming people died under the butcher's knife one by one.
When the Manchus entered the Pass, the Han people lost all their clothes, their traditions were extinct, and their backbones were broken... The land of China fell for 276 years, and Zhu Shenzui's face showed pain when he thought about it.
Troubled times are coming, human lives are like grass, and not even one of them can survive under the sword.
Since coming to this era, Zhu Shenzui has never felt as scared as he does today. It seems as if a pair of invisible hands is coming towards him, strangling his neck so that he can't breathe. He wants to escape but then escapes. He wanted to resist but was powerless. Zhu Shenzui felt that he was like an ant whose fate had been doomed for a long time and was about to be crushed to pieces.
Zhu Shenzui knew very well that the Wanli Dynasty was coming to an end, followed by the Taichang Dynasty in just one month, and then the famous carpenter Emperor Tianqi became the emperor. Tianqi worked for several years, and Chongzhen took over. Seventeen years later Li Zicheng captured the city of Beijing, Chongzhen was hanged on Meishan Mountain, and the Ming Dynasty was dead...
Although Nanming persisted for decades, in fact the Ming Dynasty disappeared after Chongzhen. When the Ming Dynasty fell, the clan was naturally not much better off. As the saying goes, if the skin is gone, the hair will be attached. Zhu Shenzui did not want to be buried with the Ming Dynasty.
Extending one's head is a sword, and shrinking one's head is also a sword.
Zhu Shenzui has been making preparations for the past two years. Now that the news of Saarhu has come, Zhu Shenzui is even more anxious. In these troubled times, Zhu Shenzui plans to give it a try and find a way out.
In the morning, the cock crows.
Zhu Shenzui got up early as usual. After washing, he went to the courtyard to do a set of boxing.
Speaking of this boxing technique, it was taught to him by his father and brother, and Zhu Shenzui has practiced it since he was a child.
Different from those boxing techniques of later generations, this boxing set is simple and neat, with no routine at all. There are only a dozen movements coming and going. What is sought is not good-looking, but fast, swift, and capable of defeating the enemy with one move.
After beating him several times, a thin layer of sweat broke out on Zhu Shenzui's body. He stopped and calmed his breathing, and then took out a wooden stick from the side.
This stick is neither long nor short, about four feet three inches, and is made of jujube wood.
Jujube wood is very common in the north. The texture of jujube wood is relatively hard, so it is best used for making household items. For example, most commonly used rolling pins are made of jujube wood. The jujube wood stick in Zhu Shenzui's hand is as egg-like as The thickness is just right in your hand.
Zhu Shenzui stood in the courtyard, took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it, and began to practice the stick posture.
The moves he used to practice the stick were as simple as the boxing technique just now. He used only five postures: poke, press, frame, pick, and chop.
It stands to reason that the real stick technique is far more than these five moves. The ordinary basic stick technique has at least thirteen moves, but Zhu Shenzui completely abandoned those cumbersome moves. In the past two years, he has specialized in these five moves. The key lies in two Point, point. Although his jujube stick is hard in texture, it lacks elasticity, and many cumbersome moves cannot be performed. Secondly, Zhu Shenzui's practice is also targeted. His moves need to be simple, not complicated. Simply practicing these five moves to a deep level is the most practical.
What's more, the five moves of poking, pressing, fighting, picking, and chopping can be used not only on a stick, but also on a sword. Zhu Shenzui naturally has deep meaning in practicing this way. As long as he practices well, ordinary weapons can be used to their fullest effect.
"Hi...ha...hi...huh..."
One move after another, Zhu Shenzui practiced extremely seriously. He used seven points of his strength in each move, leaving only three points in his hand. The stick moves in his hands were flying, and he moved back and forth in conjunction with the movements of his feet. After practicing for most of an hour, Zhu Shenzui's head was filled with steam after he stopped.
"Uncle, wipe your face and eat again." After finishing his move, Zhu Shenzui took a breath and Mrs. Zhang came over from the main room holding Qiao'er.
"Thank you, sister-in-law." Zhu Shenzui said, took the sweat towel handed by Mrs. Zhang and wiped his sweat. The cute Qiaoer looked at Zhu Shenzui with her big round eyes in Zhang's arms, giggling. Smiling, she stretched out her little hand for him to hold, shouting "Father...Father..."
When his father and brother went there, Qiao'er was still very young and didn't even recognize people. Over the past year, I have grown up and learned to speak simple words and walk.
For Mrs. Zhang, Qiaoer would naturally call her mother, but for Zhu Shenzui, logically he should call him uncle, but who would have thought that such an old child might be called uncle, so he went directly to the first word and shouted " "Father", Ms. Zhang corrected her several times, but Qiao'er didn't change her mind. On the contrary, Zhu Shenzui didn't care, saying that his uncle was also his father. Since Qiao'er liked it, let her call him that.
"Uncle, you are sweaty. Can you wait until I change my clothes before I hug you? Qiao'er is good and obedient. Have you used the food?" Zhu Shenzui looked at the little baby with a smile. The genes of the Zhu family are still very good. Zhu Shenzui, father and son, are all good-looking. It is said that they are very similar to their ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang. After all, the Jin vassal lineage is the legitimate son of Zhu Yuanzhang, so it is normal for the descendants to resemble their ancestors.
Not to mention Qiaoer, the two-year-old baby is really cute. Although Zhu Shenzui was never married in his previous life, he always liked children and always dreamed of having his own children. Now, although he is still single, he treats Qiaoer as if he were his own, no different from his own daughter.
"I have used it, and I also used cakes, such... such big cakes." Qiaoer said with a smile, and even made special gestures with Zhu Shenzui with her little hands. After a while, she seemed to feel that the gestures were too small, and then she gestured again. Bigger.
Her cute appearance made Zhu Shenzui laugh. Zhu Shenzui reached out to touch her head, teased her a few words, and then asked Mrs. Zhang to take the child back to the house.
Although it is only late autumn and early winter and the coldest day has not yet arrived, the child is too young and it will not be good if he catches the cold after being outside for a long time.
