Standing tall and tall under the banner of a red-bottomed black general, Jin Yuji rode her horse slowly through Donghuamen Street.
She turned a blind eye to the cheering people in the capital on both sides, and just looked at the general walking in front, feeling sincerely happy for the officials.
The flag of the generals flying high above the street, with the five characters "Kaiyuan Shenjiang Liu" written on it, fluttered in the spring breeze.
As Liu Zhaosun and others headed towards the Meridian Gate, a fanatical atmosphere quickly spread along half of the capital.
For the common people in the capital, it had been a long time since they had seen a military general come to the capital to declare victory, let alone such a hundred-man crowd to offer prisoners.
The last time they saw enemy leaders and prisoners was in the twenty-eighth year of Wanli.
That year, the imperial court put down Yang Yinglong's rebellion. Li Hualong's squadron returned to the court and escorted Yang Chaodong and other sixty-nine people to the capital. They stayed in the bustling city before they reached the Meridian Gate.
The previous year, that is, the twenty-seventh year of Wanli, after the end of the campaign to aid Korea, the Ming army returned to Korea. Emperor Wanli ascended to the Meridian Gate and accepted the 61 Japanese prisoners presented by the governor and others. They all "paid justice" and the heads of the Japanese pirates were sent to the world.
Even counting from the victory of the Battle of Bozhou, the Ming Dynasty had not held such a grand event for nineteen years.
The martial arts of the prosperous age gradually faded away, and the glory of the empire gradually dimmed.
If Liu Zhaosun had not broken in, this state would have continued until the spring of twenty-five years later (1644), when the capital of the Ming Dynasty would welcome its new owner with another carnival.
More than two thousand heads of Jiannu with ferocious expressions were displayed to the people of the capital.
Saerhu was defeated miserably, and Liaodong was in crisis. An unknown general gathered a mob in the Hunjiang River. They became stronger as they fought, fought bloody battles in Kaiyuan, and defended this important town in northern Liaoning. These news were closely related to their vital interests. In this way, Why not cheer up the people of the capital?
Liu Zhaosun led his team through Qipan Street, then westward from Wenhua Gate, and finally arrived at the Meridian Gate at the southernmost edge of the Forbidden City.
This is the place where prisoners were sacrificed to Xuan Jie. It was here that Xuan Jie was sacrificed several times during the Wanli Dynasty.
On the imperial road in front of the Meridian Gate, Shen Lian, the small flag officer of Fusi in Beizhen, led his two brothers and followed a group of Han generals, busy setting up support.
The Jiaofangsi had already started to play music. Officials from the Ministry of Rites and Honglu Temple were standing on the south side of the royal road, while the civil and military officials of the capital and the envoys of the vassal state were standing on the east side.
Shen Lian saw two blond-haired and blue-eyed Francois among the foreign envoys. He couldn't help but look at them a few more times and was amazed.
A big Han general who was carrying a golden drum next to him saw him like this and said disdainfully:
"That's the supervisor of Qintian Prison, and there's also a Catholic priest, they're all here to fill in the numbers!"
There was quite a bit of contempt in his words, but Shen Lian didn't care at all.
These Han generals were on guard duty in the morning and evening. They were well-equipped and served on the emperor's side. They were used to large battles, so they didn't care about the two Francois.
"Look! The prisoners of war are here!"
Shen Lian put down the red carpet in his hand and followed a group of royal guards in flying fish uniforms to look towards the avenue east of the Meridian Gate. The handsome faces look particularly heroic against the backdrop of the tough and bright Feiyu uniforms.
This time, when the Meridian Gate presented prisoners, Lu Shou went to discuss it with Luo Sigong. After some hard talking, he selected eighty good-looking prisoners from the North and South Zhenfu Division. Shen Lian was also among them. Although the Zhenfu Division did not buy Luo Sigong, The father-in-law's account was a matter of royal dignity, so it did not embarrass this harmless eunuch.
A calm-looking official led Liu Zhaosun and others through the Meridian Gate Royal Road.
Liu Zhaosun turned a blind eye to the civil and military generals and envoys from the vassal state on both sides of the royal road. He lowered his head and listened carefully to the various etiquettes that the low-ranking officials told him to pay attention to when presenting prisoners later.
Jin Yuji, who was dressed in a military uniform, followed the Lord Counselor. She usually looked forward, but saw the official whispering something to a civil servant in front of her. She was about to lower her head when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in the corner of her eye, walking on the royal road. Among the vassal envoys on both sides, an angel from the Korean Dynasty was looking at the Meridian Gate Tower in trance.
"elder brother,"
A powerful bell rang from the Chengtian Gate Tower, nine times in a row.
Liu Zhaosun had never studied the "Da Ming Hui Dian" before traveling through time. As a modern person, he had never had a good impression of the various red tapes of the Ming Dynasty.
The moment the bell rang just now, Liu Zhaosun looked at the neat soldiers and the tall and towering towers, and felt an emotion he had never felt before in his heart.
It is the self-confidence that reaches three thousand feet into the sky, and it is the heroic spirit that will never be returned until Loulan is broken.
The ceremonial officer led Liu Zhaosun and others to the square directly in front of the Meridian Gate, and then retreated.
The bell finally stopped, and Liu Zhaosun returned from his thoughts to reality.
The Jiaofangsi played court music, which had the feel of breaking formation music and ambush from all sides. They were all young women with good looks, facing the Meridian Gate, playing some jade chimes, sheng chimes, xun, and fou ( fou), qin, harp, zhu and other musical instruments.
According to historical records, in order to avenge the loyal ministers of Jingnan, Chengzu established the Jiaofang Division, which was transferred to the Ministry of Rites, in charge of music, dance and opera. Most of its members were prisoners of war from Emperor Jianwen's side during the Jingnan period or the wives and daughters of the guilty ministers. It was nominally an art institution. , effectively equivalent to an official brothel.
Liu Zhaosun knew something about the history of Jiaofangsi, so he raised his head and looked over there.
In the corner of the crowd, a little girl of about ten years old, with a slim figure, was holding a xun in both hands, hiding among the official prostitutes, and following the music of the women from the Jiaofang Division.
The noise of gold, stone, silk, and bamboo surrounding the girl was stripped away, but the sound of death was so whimpering that it felt like weeping.
Liu Zhaosun's heart was hurt by the sound, and he quickly recovered his mind and looked away.
At this time, a fat figure wearing a leather bean suit and a melon-shaped round helmet staggered to the Meridian Gate Tower. With the support of two eunuchs, he slowly sat on the throne.
Jiaofangsi immediately stopped playing, and the surrounding civil and military officials began to kneel down and worship.
Liu Zhaosun also knelt down, thinking, this is Emperor Wanli.
Wang Erhu and Deng Changxiong led the soldiers to present the heads of the slaves. More than two thousand heads of Houjin soldiers were removed from the swords and carriages and piled neatly in the center of the royal road.
More than a hundred prisoners of the Hou Jin Dynasty were brought up by the soldiers. Their hands and feet were shackled, and a red cloth with a round hole was passed through their heads to cover their chests and backs. They were ordered by the soldiers to kneel down in front of the Meridian Gate.
These Houjin warriors who were once fierce, bloodthirsty, and murderous were now transformed into human beings, and were like puppets at the mercy of the soldiers.
Facing the direction of Liu Zhaosun, from the city tower to the front of the royal road, standing in a trapezoid shape from the smallest to the largest, the accompanying generals of the Han Dynasty stood tall and tall. They all held golden melons, wore bows and arrows, and wore golden armor and helmets.
Liu Zhaosun did not pay attention to the golden light on the armor of the Han generals. He was only interested in the formation in which they stood. After looking at it for a moment, he understood that from the tower forward, the number of Han generals were: four, eight, sixteen, and thirty. two·····
Huang Kezuan, the Minister of the Ministry, strode out of the array of civil servants, came to stand in front of the Houjin captives who were kneeling on the ground, and slowly unfolded a memorial. Regardless of whether these barbarians in the foreign land could understand it, he began to read it loudly.
Liu Zhaosun heard the general idea that these prisoners of the Hou Jin Dynasty had violated heaven and earth and slaughtered living beings. Even if the emperor was benevolent, he could not forgive them.
After finishing the reading, the Minister of War turned around and saluted Emperor Wanli again on the tower, and said righteously:
"Building a slave to jump off the beam, betraying the favor of our emperor, being trapped in our city, and massacring our soldiers and civilians are an unforgivable crime. I, as well as all the ministers and officials in the Ministry of Punishment, must be punished without mercy, and please beg the Holy Judgment for judgment!"
Wanli, who was on the throne of the city tower, waved his hand.
"Take it!"
The Ming Emperor's Tianyu Lunyin was conveyed to the two military attachés nearby, and then he shouted that the four Han generals closest to the tower were taken, and then passed to the eight people in front, and then the sixteen people, until they approached Liu Zhaosun and the others. It was the deafening chorus of three hundred and twenty people:
"Take it!"
A group of soldiers walked out from behind Liu Zhaosun. They immediately lined up the prisoners in order and began execution on the spot with heavy knives in hand.
Liu Zhaosun personally piled the severed heads of more than a hundred people on the pile of more than two thousand heads just now. The 2,700 heads of different faces were piled into a small hill. Officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Punishment would mark the end of the prisoner presentation. Later, they were built into the capital for viewing by the people of the capital.
After kneeling to Emperor Wanli on the throne again, the old Fang Congzhe began to report the results of the Kaiyuan defenders to the emperor. Before he could finish the report, the two ministers of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites became impatient and immediately requested credit for Liu Zhaosun and others.
Emperor Wanli waved his hand.
"Accurate!"
Liu Zhaosun's position was directly promoted from the staff general to the deputy commander-in-chief of Kaiyuan, and he was awarded the title of general Xuanwu by the commander of the department.
In this way, Liu Zhaosun not only had greater power to command the troops, but also could legitimately manage the surrounding garrison in Kaiyuan.
The imperial court believed that General Liu Shen was not yet twenty years old this year and was too young. Although he had achieved such great achievements, he was directly promoted to the rank of commander-in-chief and then the commander of the capital. His qualifications were shallow, which would be misleading and inconsistent with the legal system of his ancestors.
It should be noted that at this time, the general military officers in all the nine borders of the Ming Dynasty were all over forty years old. Even when Li Rusong, a general's son, had the blessing of his father's power and the emperor's favor, he was promoted to the chief military officer of Shanxi by the line of fire. He is also thirty-three years old.
However, given Liu Zhaosun's current power and popularity in Kaiyuan, there is no essential difference whether he serves as the commander-in-chief or the deputy commander-in-chief, the commander-in-chief or the commander-in-chief.
Both the Ministry of War and the Emperor saw clearly to this. Although Wanli is stingy, he is not stupid at all.
At present, Saarhu was defeated and the Liaozu was in danger. A man like Liu Zhaosun, who had sole power and was capable of both civil and military affairs, was needed at the forefront.
Kang Yingqian and Qiao Yiqi were both promoted to Liaodong patrol censors.
The so-called patrol minister means that the emperor goes out on patrol to "report major matters and make decisions on small matters". It is commonly known as the "eight governor patrols" and has great power.
Of course, given the current situation in Liaodong, Kang and Qiao probably can only patrol around Kaiyuan, and cannot and dare not control other places.
The rest of the generals have their own rewards.
Liu Zhaosun led the crowd to kneel down five times and kowtow three times to thank the emperor for his kindness.
Xuan Jie's prisoner presentation ceremony ended soon. Deng Changxiong and Wang Erhu led their men to withdraw from the imperial city and returned to Wengcheng to garrison.
The great eunuch Lu Shou led Liu Zhaosun into the Forbidden City with a smile. Liu Zhaosun thought that he could finally get up close and personal with Emperor Wanli. .
~~~~~~~~
In the West Nuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, Liu Zhaosun was kneeling on the ground. According to Lu Shou's instructions, he was not allowed to raise his head when the emperor was not asking questions.
There were crackling coals burning in the beast furnace. Emperor Wanli was sitting curled up on his throne, reaching out to the fire beside the beast furnace. Lu Shou stood far behind the two of them, looking at Liu Zhaosun with a calm face. Also standing next to them were Xiong Tingbi and Fang Congzhe.
Liu Zhaosun felt a little hot as soon as he came in. After he knelt down before the emperor, there were some beads of sweat on his forehead, but he didn't wipe it away.
Yesterday I heard that Wanli was occasionally affected by wind and cold. It seems to be true, otherwise I wouldn't be using charcoal stoves to keep warm at this time.
While I was thinking wildly, a hoarse and weak voice came from my ears:
"Liu Shen, please get up!"
Liu Zhaosun was surprised that the emperor was so weak. Listening to his words, he felt as if he was dying and was about to die at any time.
However, at this time, Liu Zhaosun could not give Wanli a thorough examination, feel the old emperor's pulse, inquire about the diagnosis, and then ask him whether he had taken any prescription from an unscrupulous imperial doctor, which caused him to be like this.
"I'm fine,"
Wanli said calmly as if he had read through Liu Zhaosun's thoughts.
"It's just that it was cold in spring a few days ago, and the wind and cold disease broke out again,"
Liu Zhaosun said quickly:
"Your Majesty, who has a body of thousands of gold, should take care of his dragon body. Only in this way will it be a blessing to the country and the Ming Dynasty!"
Wanli glanced at Liu Zhaosun and saw his handsome appearance. He nodded slightly and swallowed what he wanted to say. After a while, he said:
"Liu Qing fought a bloody battle on the Hunjiang River, and this time he defended Kaiyuan and killed countless slaves. The slave chiefs must have been frightened! You have done such a great service for me. According to the reply from the Ministry of War, all of them were the heads of the real barbarians. I am heartbroken. Very comforting,"
Liu Zhaosun quickly knelt down on the ground again and replied:
"It's all thanks to the Emperor's blessings and blessings, and the strategic planning and timely rescue of the three armies. The soldiers of the three armies killed the enemy with blood. In this battle, the Zhejiang soldiers and the Baigan soldiers suffered all casualties. Every time I think about the tragic situation of that day, I feel unbearable..." Don’t dare to take credit.”
Lu Shou, who was standing in front, kept winking at Liu Zhaosun, signaling Liu Zhaosun to stop talking. Fang Congzhe also coughed twice and winked at Xiong Tingbi.
Liu Zhaosun was blocked by a palace maid and saw nothing.
Wanli, who was sitting on the chair, nodded slightly and suddenly said:
"I heard from Fang Shoufu that Liu Qing is not only literary and military, but also has the style of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and the style of an ancient gentleman,"
Liu Zhaosun felt weak. Ever since the last time Xiong Tingbi mentioned his Wei and Jin style in Kaiyuan, this word has been with him like a shadow, and he cannot escape from it.
But I heard Wanli say angrily:
"I don't know what Ji Zhongsan's character and Liu Qing have learned. He is full of flattery."
The old emperor's voice suddenly rose and he coughed violently.
There was chaos all around. The palace maid quickly brought a bowl of soup and medicine. Lu Shou said he deserved it and ran up to serve him personally.
Wanli gritted his teeth and took a sip of the medicine, waved the palace maid to leave, and sat on a chair alone to catch his breath.
Liu Zhaosun looked at the suddenly angry old emperor. As expected, the power of God was unpredictable. He knelt on the ground and did not dare to say anything.
"I haven't been in court for twenty years, and everyone in the world calls me negligent. How can I take care of everything?"
"I heard from Kang Yingqian and the Ministry of War that before Xiong Tingbi arrived at Kaiyuan, the slave thieves were already defeated. The so-called strategizing is even more false."
Wanli took a breath mid-sentence, took a sip of the soup, and frowned.
"Liu Qing, they say that you, a heroic young man, must have the spirit of a young man. Don't imitate those civil servants outside who are full of lies!"
"Xiong Jinglue's contribution is definitely there, and your contribution is even more indispensable. You established slaves after two defeats in Liaodong, which frightened the slave thieves. This is known to the whole world. There is no need to be too humble! A twenty-year-old has to live for five years. You are sixty years old and look pathetic! I want you to be Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, not Li Chengliang!"
Seeing that there was still anger in Wanli's tone, and he finally mentioned Li Chengliang with a reproachful tone, the young man Liu Zhaosun was aroused and retorted:
"Your Majesty, I have learned from you that I just said that Your Majesty is in charge of everything. It was not an empty statement. It actually meant something."
There was a commotion among the people around. Lu Shou stared blankly at the newly promoted deputy commander-in-chief. Fang Congzhe looked sad. Xiong Tingbi was about to step forward, but Wanli reached out to stop him.
Wanli looked at Liu Zhaosun as if he were a monster. Over the years, he had often been contradicted by officials and censors like this, so he was already used to it.
"Okay, get up and tell me what you're saying."
Liu Zhaosun thanked the emperor, stood up, looked around, and said in a deep voice:
"The Emperor is ill and is unable to attend the court meeting. This matter is known to the whole world, so there is no need to say more,"
"Since the Emperor was born in Jianzuo and became emperor, he has pacified Kuaibai, aided the DPRK in the fight against the Japanese, mapped out Bozhou, strategized, and won thousands of miles. His illustrious military exploits will shine through the annals of history and can be called the Three Great Conquests of Wanli!"
"The emperor presided over the clearing of the land, carried out the whipping method, and went through fifteen years of national disputes and dispatched tax inspectors. This time the battle of Sarhu..."
"With such achievements, it is not an exaggeration to say that the emperor manages everything every day,"
"I think that the way of an emperor is not limited to the court. I heard that there was a king who ascended the throne at the age of seventeen. During these seventeen years, he was diligent in political affairs, went to court every day, and reviewed memorials until late at night every day. He was in his thirties. His hair turned white. Later, when thieves captured the capital, he died for his country and was laughed at by the world. If the legend is..."
When Liu Zhaosun first started speaking, Fang Congzhe and others held their breath and listened carefully.
Wanli thought he was flattering again, but this time he was not angry anymore, but just sighed slightly.
Fang Congzhe and Xiong Tingbi were smiling, especially Fang Congzhe, who was twirling his beard and nodding from time to time.
When they heard about the dispute between Guoben and Liaodong Tax Supervisor, the atmosphere around them suddenly changed, and both of them stayed on the spot at the same time.
The dragon has reverse scales, if you touch it you will die.
The struggle over the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, which lasted for nearly fifteen years, was the deepest pain in Emperor Wanli's life.
Wanli fought with the ministers in his life, and this was the worst time he lost. After this incident, the imperial power continued to decline, and the ministers became more unscrupulous to unite against the emperor.
When Wanli realized that the imperial power was being eroded and he was unable to do anything, Wanli became negligent.
Eighteen years have passed since this incident, and the emperor and the ministers had a tacit understanding and never mentioned it again. Although Wanli disliked the prince Zhu Changluo very much and could only reluctantly accept it later, he always had the thought of deposing the prince.
He never expected that this time Liu Zhaosun came all the way from Liaodong. In addition to declaring victory and offering prisoners at the Meridian Gate, there would also be such a drama of forcing the emperor into the palace.
It should be noted that Liu Zhaosun came to Beijing this time with troops. Although there were only three hundred people, if he took the lead in military admonishment, it might not be impossible to achieve success.
Recently, with the defeat of Saarhu and the corruption of Liaodong, the old emperor's old illness has relapsed and it is difficult to recover from his serious illness, and the hearts of the capital are unstable, the prince's attempt to force the emperor into the palace still has a good chance of winning.
The more Emperor Wanli thought about it, the more excited he became. His tired look disappeared now. He was full of energy and looked at everyone around him.
Looking at the childish face of the young commander-in-chief in front of him, for a moment, Wanli felt as if he had returned to the glorious days of fighting for the country with his ministers.
That was one of the few happy moments in his life, when he could risk everything for his beloved Prince Fu.
The familiar feeling came again.
Fang Congzhe's breathing became rapid and he kept rubbing his eyes with his hands, feeling like he was about to cry.
Xiong Tingbi couldn't hold himself back. He knew that if he didn't persuade him, this young soldier in charge would be in trouble, so he ignored the emperor's doubts about him and stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, please calm down. General Liu doesn't know about our past affairs. These are purely hearsay. Your Majesty, please don't be as knowledgeable as a martial artist..."
Wan Li stretched out his hand to interrupt Xiong Tingbi, his beard trembling. Lu Shou was still beside him, gently beating the emperor's back, and was so frightened that he remained motionless.
"Hearsay?! Where is the Tao? In the capital? Or in Beizhili, or in Liaodong?!"
Xiong Tingbi knew that there was something in his words, and no matter how he answered, it would be a trap. Lu Shou turned pale and immediately knelt down, grabbing Xiong Tingbi's sleeve and telling him to stop talking.
Fang Congzhe regretted a lot at this moment. He regretted why he went out of the city to meet Liu Zhaosun yesterday. He also regretted that he had talked so much with this warrior and talked about his Wei and Jin style. Now everyone thought that this warrior had a close relationship with him and he would definitely escape this time. It doesn't matter.
Lu Shou timidly took a cup of tea and handed it to the panting old emperor, but Wanli knocked it over with a wave of his hand:
"I'm not dead yet! Get away!!"
Everyone stopped talking, and the sound of pindrops could be heard all around.
Wanli turned his gaze to Fang Congzhe, whose face was ashen.
"Your Majesty, I have never met Liu Zhaosun and have never met each other. If I had known that this man would say such treacherous words, I would not have brought him into the palace even if I had killed him!"
Wanli waved his hand impatiently and interrupted:
"How can he, a warrior under twenty years old, say these words? Who is the mastermind behind him? The prince? You, or the Supervisor of Ceremonies?!"
Hearing the noise outside, two burly Jin Yiwei came over immediately.
The two of them stood at the door and looked inside carefully. They only waited for the emperor to nod before taking down Liu Zhaosun.
Liu Zhaosun slowly raised his head, looked at the furious Emperor Wanli, and said seriously:
"Your Majesty, this matter has nothing to do with the cabinet, the Supervisor of Ceremonies, or the Liaodong Economic Strategy. It is just what the ministers are thinking and feeling."
Wanli nodded and waved his hand towards the two guards in uniform waiting outside the door.
Lewen
