Above the ruins of Huangji Hall, it was as quiet as night, with black dust filling the air. Liu Zongzhou and his staff and soldiers were coughing violently as they held a simple and solemn funeral for Emperor Zhu Youjian of Tianqi.
Several loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty knelt at the place where the late emperor died. Shi Kefa, the Minister of War, wrote a memorial poem for the late emperor on the spot. He coughed violently and recited it loudly:
On the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the first year of Hongguang's reign in the Ming Dynasty, the year was Bingshen and the month was Renchen. The Governor of the Ming Dynasty, Grand Bachelor of Dongge, Chief Assistant of the Cabinet, Minister of the Ministry of War, Prince Taifu, Liu Xie, Shi Lang of the Ministry of War... looked at the capital from a distance, bowed down to the late emperor, and said with a memorial inscription:
In the past, I had a great Ming Dynasty, and the sun and moon had their virtues. Wen Chengwu Kung, from ancient times to the present. Taizu raised his pole, like Beichen. Drive out the Tartars, sweep the holes and plow the courts. Renxuan prospered and Hongzhi Zhongxing. All people are in good health and the world is at peace. In the last years of Shenzong's reign, the country's fortunes were sluggish. Liu Thief took advantage of the opportunity to disrupt my routine. The late emperor succeeded to the throne and was the king of Yao and Shun. Get rid of the eunuchs and revitalize the imperial court.
Alas!
The traitor Liu thief, collaborating with the enemy and treason. Destroy the pillars of the country and occupy Liaodong. Foreign troubles continue, internal bandits arise again, and battle formations are established...
Shi Kefa suddenly stopped and stopped reading. Liu Zongzhou and others standing next to him looked back one after another.
Shi Kefa followed everyone's gaze and looked behind him. A tall and burly military general rode forward slowly on horseback and arrived in front of the ruins of Huangji Palace. Behind the general was a large group of soldiers. Shi Kefa was surprised to find that these soldiers turned out to be The Liaoxi soldiers brought by Wu Sangui.
Someone among Liu Zongzhou's staff had seen Wuding Emperor Liu Zhaosun. Looking at the general in front of him, although his hair was gray, he was clearly Liu Zhaosun. The staff suddenly screamed:
"Liu...Liu thief!"
Emperor Wu Ding waved his hand violently, and Zhang Dong led more than 300 Liaoxi soldiers to immediately surround Liu Zongzhou and others in the core.
Liu Zongzhou was strong and calm, and strode towards Emperor Wu Ding. As soon as he took two steps, the great scholar was held down by Zhang Dong and ordered to kneel down.
"Why don't you kneel down when you see Emperor Wu Ding!"
Liu Zongzhou was quite stubborn and refused to kneel down. The guard picked up the scabbard and was about to hit the old man's knee. Emperor Wu Ding raised his big hand and the guard quickly stopped.
Emperor Wu Ding looked Liu Zongzhou up and down and said, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
On the way to the ruins of the palace, Wu Sangui's servants had already told Emperor Wu Ding the details of Liu Zongzhou and others. The emperor was more familiar with Shi Kefa who was following him than his own family.
"Hmph! Liu Zhaosun, you are a treacherous minister and traitor. You have arrogated the title of emperor, defiled the harem, and are wildly ambitious. Humans and gods are outraged! You massacred the sacred capital and caused the loss of life. I hate that I can't kill thieves for the country! Let you, a traitor, still live in the world!"
Emperor Wu Ding looked solemn and listened patiently to what he had to say, saying word by word:
"Surrender to me and become the new chief minister of Da Qi's cabinet, taking over the position of chief minister Yang, or,"
Liu Zhaosun looked back at Zhang Mazi, who was holding a long knife.
"I will never deal with a traitor like you..."
Emperor Wu Ding waved his hand, and Zhang Mazi, covered in bloody scars, dragged his long knife to Liu Zongzhou.
Shi Kefa witnessed this horrific scene in front of him. He didn't care whether the tyrant would kill him or not. He didn't care about the balance between good and evil. He rushed forward and shouted to Liu Zhaosun:
"Master Liu is a great scholar of the time. His disciples are all over the world. This time, he has the emperor's order and leads his army northward just to bury the bones of the late emperor. Do not kill him. If you kill him, the Jiangnan scholars will become enemies of Qi... ·”
Emperor Wu Ding's cold gaze fell on Shi Kefa. Shi Kefa was not afraid and continued: "Aren't you going to be the benevolent and righteous king of Yao and Shun through the ages?"
Liu Zhaosun said coldly: "No, I don't think about it now."
"Inspector Liu has always been honest, loving and supportive of the people. You can't kill a good official by mistake, you..."
"That's no reason!"
Zhang Dong raised the knife and dropped it. Shi Kefa howled miserably and punched the air. He looked at his mentor's body but it took him a long time to react. He pointed at Emperor Wu Ding and said angrily: "You, you kill innocent people indiscriminately, you traitor." ! Don’t die a good death!”
Liu Zhaosun looked indifferent and waved towards Zhang Dong.
Zhang Mazi killed two more Nanming civil servants in front of the Minister of War.
There were screams all around. Emperor Wu Ding was riding on horseback, looking down at Shi Kefa, whose face was covered in blood. He raised his whip and said to the young Minister of War:
"Shi Kefa, the first rule of being a tyrant is to kill innocent people indiscriminately. Evil people must be killed, and good people must be killed as well. Do you remember that?"
"You, you..." Shi Kefa looked up at Liu Zhaosun and squeezed out a few words through his teeth, "You are a tyrant, even Governor Liu will be killed. You and your Daqi will die violently soon. Just like Gao Zhan in the Northern Qi Dynasty..."
Liu Zhaosun stepped back from his horse and walked to Shi Kefa, pulled out the Yanling knife, put the sharp blade against the neck of the Minister of War, and said word by word:
"You say that the Northern Qi Dynasty was cruel, that's because they were destroyed too quickly. Don't worry, my Da Qi will be immortal for thousands of generations. History books will also write me down as an emperor through the ages, a benevolent and righteous king, and there will be countless When people mention me, they remember me and are grateful to me!"
"Because history books are written by winners, and I will win."
"Pooh!"
Shi Kefa breathed too much black dust into his lungs and spit thick phlegm at Emperor Wu Ding. The phlegm crossed a parabola and fell softly under the horse's hooves before it hit the target.
He ignored the madman and knelt beside the body of his mentor Liu Zongzhou, crying loudly. The few surviving aides around him stayed away and did not dare to look at the ground.
The frightening voice sounded again above everyone's heads.
"Now, I give you one last chance. Will you surrender to Da Qi, or will you become like Liu Zongzhou with your head missing?"
After Emperor Wu Ding finished speaking, he stared at everyone with a cold expression. After a moment, everyone knelt down.
Only Shi Kefa and guard Li Sheng were still standing there, standing out from the crowd and looking particularly eye-catching.
Guard Li Sheng quickly took out a big bow from behind, opened the bow and nocked an arrow, and suddenly shot at the tyrant in front of them. Zhang Dong and others did not expect that there was an archer among this group of staff, let alone a sharpshooter. They did not even react. Arrows shot towards the emperor like meteors.
"Your Majesty, be careful!"
Under the gaze of Emperor Wu Ding, the heavy arrows flying through the air were like catkins slowing down. He stretched out his left hand and gently grasped the arrow feathers in the palm of his hand. With a slight exertion, the armor-piercing heavy arrows as thick as his thumb were pinched. into pieces.
"Tyrant, I won't let you go even if I'm a ghost!"
Li Sheng roared, dropped his big bow, picked up a waist knife from the ground, and rushed towards Liu Zhaosun.
"That's not a reason."
Emperor Wu Ding looked back at Zhang Dong. Zhang Mazi nodded slightly, facing the charging enemy, he drew his sword and struck with one blow. He raised the sword with his hand and cut off Li Sheng's head. Zhang Mazi kept walking, taking three steps and two at a time, and then slashed, killing Shi Kefa who was still cursing.
Emperor Wu Ding looked around, and the dozen or so surviving Nanming officials were obedient and did not dare to look up at the tyrant. Liu Zhaosun looked at Zhang Mazi with red eyes. Zhang Dong stepped forward, raised the bloody butcher knife and said to everyone:
"The emperor doesn't kill you, not because he feels pity, but because you are still useful. Whoever reveals Zuo Liangyu's details first will be spared his life!"
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