Similar to Qiao Yiqi, Ma Shiying once traveled wildly across the mountains and rivers and was still a teenager when she returned.
Let me say a few words here. In the Ming Dynasty, it was not uncommon for scholars to travel around the world. In the late Ming Dynasty, "everything was lost" (Note 1). Especially in the late Ming Dynasty, the commodity economy was developed, and the gentry class was generally keen on traveling, not for official duties, but for their own entertainment.
In short, it’s not just senior travelers like Xu Xiake who like to travel. Wang Yangming traveled north and south when he was young, Qiao Yiqi went south to Lingnan when he was young, Yuan Chonghuan traveled alone, and Ma Shiying was similar to these people. He traveled to Shaanxi in his early years and witnessed the local natives digging out human figurines from the ground. They were lifelike in shape, with thousands of people and faces, which later generations called the Terracotta Warriors and Horses.
However, the living figurines mentioned by Emperor Wu Ding should be different from the military toilets.
Ma Shiying knew that the living person was first wrapped in cloth, then sealed with mud, burned in a kiln, and finally painted with paint on the finished ceramics.
Of course, Emperor Wu Ding would not let Du Du die so easily.
"Your Majesty, Governor Yuan was unfortunately killed in Japan. The garrisons in the three counties in the east of Han Dynasty have all been withdrawn."
Ma Shiying added cautiously.
Emperor Wu Ding looked dull. After a long time, he murmured:
"I know, Yuan Qing is a loyal minister, and I will avenge him."
The dark, thin and energetic Yuan Chonghuan's figure flashed before his eyes. In the days after escaping from the Wang Gong Factory explosion, the emperor had been reflecting on his actions in the past eight years. Now he is looking back. When he first landed in Japan, Going too far has overdrawn all Kaiyuan's strength and laid the foundation for a series of tragedies that will follow.
The emperor's eyes kept changing, and the veins on his face bulged. He was still brooding over Yuan Chonghuan's death.
Ma Shiying and Hou Xun looked at each other, hesitating whether to continue talking about Zheng Zhilong's rebellion. They were worried that the emperor would be so angry that he would vomit blood again when he found out about Zheng's rebellion. According to the Nanming imperial court's plan, the emperor would wait until Zheng Zhilong had dealt with the Guangdong pirate Liu Xiang, and After having no worries, they will go north to blockade the Liaohai Sea, cut off the connection between Daqi and the pass, and cooperate with the Ming army to launch an attack on southern Liaoning.
Ma Shiying was a little uneasy. The emperor sitting in front of him was still handsome, but the temperament exuding from him was completely different from before.
While Ma Shiying was hesitating, he suddenly heard the emperor ask: "What about the plague in Liaodong? Are there any people infected with the plague?"
Ma Shiying quickly replied: "Your Majesty, I haven't found it yet."
Perhaps because the cold climate in the pass inhibited the spread of the virus, Emperor Wu Ding had little experience in preventing the spread of epidemics. Wu Youke, who had made great achievements in this regard, has died in the capital.
After these days of observation, fortunately, the Linqing garrison was not affected by the plague virus. After millions of people died of the disease, the living people finally achieved the so-called herd immunity.
Emperor Wuding then asked Ma Shiying about what he saw along the way to Nanming. Ma Shiying told what he saw and heard on his way south. The Hongguang court was still in a state of dissatisfaction. Liu Zhaosun predicted that after this defeat, Zhu Changhui would not send troops north again, even if some of them The civil servants were interested in the Northern Expedition, and the military generals did not have the guts to confront the Qi army again.
The monarchs and ministers chatted for most of an hour. A chief clerk under Lu Xiangsheng came in to report the military situation. Emperor Wu Ding took a Tang newspaper that had just been sent from Qiu County, opened it, read it, frowned slightly, and said to Ma Shiying and others:
"I'll be here today first. I have to arrange manpower to go to Qiu County to quell the rebellion. Don't worry about Liaodong. I will help Du Du fulfill his wish as soon as possible. When the affairs in Shandong are completed, I will send troops. The specific details , we’ll discuss it tomorrow.”
Ma Shiying led Hou Xun, Lin Yu and others to salute the emperor again, and after three bows, they slowly exited through the gate of Linqing Chaoguan Yamen.
The emperor left Zhang Dong behind to discuss military affairs.
Ma Shiying led everyone back to the Liaodong Guild Hall for repairs. They passed by Guangjimen Wengcheng and happened to encounter the Qi army leaving the city to fight. This was Ma Shiying's first close contact with the soldiers of the Fourteenth Army. Like him, Lin Yu, Wei Chao and the others also I am quite interested in the Fourteenth Army.
Hundreds of fine cavalry roared out across the corridor. The cavalrymen held lances and sabers in their hands, flintlock muskets hung on their waists, and flags fluttering. After the cavalry left the city, they ran towards Qiu County. The cavalry were followed closely by pikemen and firecrackers. Behind the firecrackers were black antelope triangular flags fluttering in the wind, and the friction between daggers and horn belts made a clanging sound.
Thousands of people were trampled on by horses, and dust was flying on the road to the city gate. The people stood aside and stood on the roadside, watching the Qi army retreat, and whispered:
"Who are we going to kill today? Many troops are dispatched!"
"Executive member Zheng from Qiu County refused to sell the gold mines to Daqi, and even killed the government official sent by Lu Zhixian County to take over the gold mines."
"How brave. We are not allowed to have private property in Daqi now. Even Eunuch Dongfang's medicine shop has been confiscated. Is this member Zheng a green onion? Are you not afraid of being killed by the emperor?"
Corncoat
"Who knew? These days, there are so many people who want money rather than their lives."
"Stop talking, the Zhenfu soldiers are here."
Two security guards patrolling along the street happened to be walking near the city wall. They looked up and saw a few people gathering here (Daqi strictly prohibited people from forming private gatherings). They were walking towards this side with swords and guns in their hands and sharp eyes.
The people who had been chatting animatedly just now stopped talking. Seeing the Zhenfu soldiers coming this way, everyone fled as if they had seen the god of plague. Soon only Ma Shiying, Hou Xun and others were left around. The cotton-armored police officer took two steps forward, pressed the scabbard of his waist knife with his hand, and glanced at Lin Yu, who was a head taller, from the corner of his eye.
"Who are you? Why are you hanging around the city gate?"
Wei Zhao cursed and reached out to pull out the wild goose feather sword. Lin Yu remained motionless. Hou Xun coughed twice, pushed the two of them away and said:
"I am Hou Xun, the minister of the Ministry of Rites of Daqi. I was ordered to go to Nanjing as an envoy. I will return today. This is the cabinet minister Ma Shangshu. This is..."
As Hou Xun spoke, he took out his waist badge and handed it to the Zhenfu soldier. The other party took the waist badge, checked it, and looked at Hou Xun's eyes obviously differently. Together with his companions, he gave a military salute to Ma Shiying and the others.
Ma Shiying looked at the two unfamiliar faces in front of him. In the past, he was familiar with the chief officer Yang Tong in Kaiyuan, so he knew many suppressing soldiers and their faces were familiar. However, he had never seen the two suppressing soldiers in front of him. The man is wearing a black and white uniform and black military boots. The collar of the uniform is turned up high and the collar and shoulders are wide, giving people a strong sense of oppression. It feels a bit like the Jin Yiwei Tiqi, but it is obviously more powerful than the Jin Yiwei.
When they entered the city before, it was Zhang Dong who led them all the way without any hindrance. Now that Zhang Dong was gone, Ma Shiying could finally see the true face of Linqing City.
Two heavily armed policemen escorted Ma Shiying and the others for a while, crossing a street that was still burning and smoking. Occasionally, a small crack appeared in the door of a shop, and pairs of eyes full of hatred were revealed from the crack. They were dying. Stare at Ma Shiying and his party. When the Zhenfu soldiers looked back, the door was slammed shut again.
After doing this several times, Lin Yu noticed a smile, clenched the scabbard with his big hands, protected Ma Shiying and Hou Xun, and watched the surroundings with vigilance, as if he had returned to the battlefield.
Fortunately, the journey was uneventful and they arrived at the entrance of the guild hall. The two conscientious soldiers stopped and returned to patrol the streets. Before leaving, they did not forget to tell the superiors to take care of themselves.
"The streets have not been peaceful recently. I saw it just now. There are people setting fires in the city and killing people every day. Qiu County's powerful people are rebelling. So if there is no emergency, I would like to ask the superiors not to go out for the time being."
Hou Xun nodded in agreement, and Ma Shiying was speechless for a long time. When the Zhenfu soldiers disappeared around the corner, he murmured to himself:
"It's changed, it's changed, it's all changed."
What he saw and heard along the way made him surprised that the Linqing City under the emperor's rule was completely different from the previous Kaiyuan City.
In Linqing, what Ma Shiying saw was only killing and resistance. The soldiers of the 14th Guards Army were more like a killing machine under the emperor. They obeyed the emperor's orders and slaughtered the people wantonly (according to Liu Zhaosun's previous standards, The powerful and evil gentry are also considered common people).
And these were unimaginable in the previous Kaiyuan and the previous Daqi.
"The emperor has really changed."
Ma Shiying shook his head helplessly.
Everyone was repairing in the guild hall. When the emperor summoned him again, Hou Xun saw Ma Shiying sighing all the way and comforted him:
"The world is corrupt. We have seen it all along the way. In troubled times, heavy laws are needed. Let's quickly persuade the emperor to send troops to reinforce Liaodong."
Ma Shiying didn't seem to hear Hou Xun's words. After a long time, he suddenly said worriedly:
"There is one emperor and one courtier. I am worried that Liaodong and Shandong will be in two different situations in the future. Even Prime Minister Kang, who is ruthless, will find it difficult to accept Daqi in Guan..."
Emperor Wuding and
Note:
1. Gu Yanwu: "Rizhilu Collection" Volume 12
2,
7017k
