The south wind blows in April, and the flags are waving.
Under a large black banner with tall teeth, the Emperor of Da Qi stands out in heroic appearance, wearing a helmet and armor, riding a horse. Surrounded by many followers of the leading horse and the Imperial Guards, he sets out from Desheng Gate, the east gate of Nanchang, to the eastern suburbs of Fucheng. Sacrifice.
Various chariots, horses, guards and servants formed a mighty black torrent, extending from Fucheng to Gaotian Gong Village.
The Imperial Guards, wearing military uniforms and swords, rode in front of Emperor Wuding's horse.
The Supreme Emperor was surrounded by confidants such as Zhang Dong, Liu Xingzuo, Qian Qianyi, and Zhang Pu.
Behind the team were the eunuchs and civil servants of the empire. The civil servants were dressed in luxurious clothes with textures, but they were not as luxurious as the emperor's uniforms, which did not have dragon patterns.
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Huiden concealed the amount of gunpowder in Linchuan City and kept asking the quartermaster to ask for it from Nanchang. He also secretly sent people to contact the Fujian pirates for fear of rebellion."
"Come closer and say it, I didn't hear you clearly."
Zhang Dong relaxed the reins of his horse, feeling relieved, and quickly caught up with the luxuriously decorated mount in front of him.
Liu Zhaosun rode on his horse and looked around slowly. He was surprised to find that there was no difference between this place and when he came with his adoptive father many years ago.
When Liu Zhaosun was twelve years old, his adoptive father Liu Wei was reprimanded by Emperor Wanli for unknown reasons and was demoted from the rank of military commander and returned to his hometown of Gongcun, Nanchang to work. He also came over, and he still remembered how he often went fishing by the river with his adoptive father's disciples.
Back to reality, all I could see were waving black flags and majestic war horses. The vanguard of the sacrificial procession had arrived at Gongcun, and its tail was still lingering at Deshengmen.
The Supreme Emperor scratched the exaggerated golden silk Yi Shan crown on his head, pushed the brim of the hat down out of habit, looked at Zhang Mazi, and said seriously:
"It's going to rain, my mother is getting married, and she wants to rebel, let him go."
Zhang Dong, who was wearing fish scale armor, agreed and said nothing more. He was about to turn off his horse and leave when he heard the Emperor say:
"General Hui, he is probably still hesitant. Let your people help him and strengthen his determination. If you want to rebel, do it as soon as possible. Next month is the 33rd birthday of the Empress Dowager Cisheng. I don't want to delay it until then. It’s unlucky to kill someone again.”
When Liu Zhaosun said these three unlucky words, he had a superstitious look on his face.
Zhang Dong nodded. Of course the leader of the coir raincoat guard knew what "helping General Hui" meant. He tightened the reins and adjusted the horse's speed so that his horse would not surpass the Emperor:
"Your Majesty, the wealthy gentry in Linchuan and dozens of local students ignored the ban on foot-binding. They not only continued to bind their feet, but also injured the civil affairs officials we sent. Prime Minister Hui Deng will not intervene. I am worried that these people If we collude and encourage ignorant people to rebel, many people will die."
"Hahaha, Linchuan, Zhu Wengong's hometown, a saint is a saint after all. Compared with Qufu, Shandong, they are both heroes. I like it!"
The Supreme Emperor let out a piercing sneer, which frightened the noble horse under his crotch into snoring.
Liu Zhaosun stroked the horse's mane, and while comforting the mount, he said murderously:
"If there are few thieves, kill less. If there are more thieves, kill more. At worst, I will come to Linchuan for three days."
Zhang Dong didn't know what the three-day solution to Linchuan meant, but judging from the Emperor's reaction, he knew it was definitely not a good thing, and he didn't dare to ask any more questions.
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"Zhang Dong, how many years have you been with me?"
Zhang Dong blurted out: "Your Majesty, in the forty-seventh year of Wanli in the previous Ming Dynasty, I followed your Majesty to kill Jiannu. Today, it has been eighteen years."
"Eighteen years, Zhang Dong, are you turning 40 this year?"
Looking at the wrinkles on Zhang Mazi's face, he couldn't see clearly where his pockmarks were because there were so many wrinkles.
"Your Majesty is so impatient. He has just turned forty."
Liu Zhaosun remembered the famous saying "Believe in the wisdom of future generations" and looked at the two sets of trees on the post road that were constantly being surpassed:
"One generation does one thing. We don't have much time. Some things cannot be left to future generations. The wisdom of future generations may not be as good as those of their predecessors. If I can't do my own thing well, Liu Kan will Those who scolded me."
Zhang Dong was thoughtful.
"When we arrive in Gongcun later, we go to the grave of our adoptive father. Come with me and burn some paper money for him. You and I are the only people in this world that the old man still recognizes. Qiao Jianjun's life and death in Shenyang are unknown, by the way. , go and call Deng Changxiong and Qian Qianyi, I have something to say to them."
Zhang Dong agreed and quickly dismounted and retreated to the rear group.
Liu Zhaosun watched Zhang Mazi go away, sighed, closed his eyes slightly, and two lines of tears fell from the corners of his eyes.
Going down the post road and entering the village, the queue was a bit crowded.
His thoughts were particularly clear. He had actually expected the news about Whidden's infidelity, but he didn't expect that the ban on foot binding would be so difficult to implement in Jiangxi.
During this time, he was reflecting on whether he was too lenient with the Ming Dynasty's demotion. Compared with the previous harsh punishments, it was now too much.
While his thoughts were racing, a bell rang in his ears. When he opened his eyes, it was Qian Qianyi riding a donkey, followed by Deng Changxiong.
Qian Qianyi suffered from wind pain and could not ride a horse or touch cold water. He used to ride a donkey when he was in Jiangnan. This habit continued until he entered Daqi. The emperor specially issued an order to allow bachelors to ride donkeys. , even though riding a donkey is unsightly and against etiquette.
"Grand Bachelor, do you know about Linchuan?"
Qian Qianyi replied calmly: "General Zhang just told me, how is your Majesty going to deal with it?"
"I want to hear your idea first."
The bachelor grabbed the donkey's reins with his left hand and stroked his beard with his right hand. After thinking for a moment, he came up with the answer.
"Your Majesty, I think I'm going to kill you, and I'm going to kill him on a large scale."
The Supreme Emperor did not expect Qian Qianyi to react like this, and said in surprise: "Tell me and listen."
"Your Majesty, please pardon me."
Liu Zhaosun waved his hand: "The speaker is not guilty, please speak, great scholar."
Qian Qianyi asked the little donkey to get closer to the Emperor and lowered his voice: "Your Majesty, I believe that the troubles of Da Qi are now within, not outside."
"Inside?" The tall royal horse looked at the little donkey in front of him with interest.
"Since the Shenyang Rebellion and the executions of Kang Shoufu, Chen Xin and others, those within the court who advocated the restoration of the legal system of the pre-Ming Dynasty have significantly increased their momentum and can even influence national policy. In the long run, this force must be suppressed. This Linchuan Rebellion is There is an opportunity. Although there is currently no direct evidence to prove that Prime Minister Hui Deng colludes with the conservative forces in the court, if this continues and Nan Ming is demoted, he will definitely be in collusion with the Chen Xin party in the court. In the end, it will be inevitable. How should we deal with it?"
The Supreme Emperor tightened the reins, and the horse was teasing the little donkey.
"So which faction does the Grand Scholar belong to? Do you advocate the full restoration of the "Qi Dynasty Land Acquisition System" or its complete abolition? Are you on good terms with Lu Xiangsheng, or are you in the same party as Qiao Jianjun?"
Qian Qianyi got off his donkey, knelt on the dusty post road, and kowtowed.
"Your Majesty has clearly learned that I have no party and is selfless! When it comes to forming a party, the party I am forming is His Majesty's party..."
"Okay, okay, get up. I just said casually, why is it necessary for a bachelor to do this? Don't get your robes dirty. You have to sacrifice to King Linchuan later."
Qian Qianyi stood up quickly and rode on the back of the little donkey again. The donkey made a mournful cry.
"Your Majesty is pure and filial, and can be admired by thousands of people! If you know the king of Linchuan, you should also know that the Holy Dynasty is so kind..."
"Okay, let's get down to business."
The King of Linchuan is the title that Liu Zhao's grandson posthumously conferred on Liu Wei. If Liu Wei were his biological father, the Supreme Emperor would posthumously confer Liu Dadao as his ancestor, Taizu, or something like that.
Qian Qianyi cupped his hands in front of the Supreme Emperor and continued: "Your Majesty clearly knows that the folk customs in various places on the right side of the Yangtze River are simple and honest, but Cheng Zhuliu is very poisonous. He talks about the nature of destiny and the nature of temperament. In fact, he deceives himself and the world. The reason why the Ming Dynasty was ruined in recent times is Partly due to this, His Majesty recruited the king's army to enter the pass and was invincible. However, the so-called loyal ministers in the Southern Ming Dynasty stood back and talked about their temperament when there was no problem. If there was trouble, they would die to retaliate to the king, which would not help matters. The so-called people who mislead talents and defeat the world's affairs are the learning of the Song Dynasty. also."
Seeing the Supreme Emperor nod slightly, Qian Qianyi continued to scold: "Let all the scholars in the world sink into the pile of old papers, exhaust their life strength, and become weak, sick and useless people, all Hui'an (Zhu Xi) did it!"
"Linchuan is the hometown of Zhu Xi and the hometown of Neo-Confucianism. Since the Song Dynasty, all dynasties have entrusted imperial edicts, and it is actually no different from Qufu, Shandong. The high priest has previously said in detail that Linchuan has countless chastity archways, the so-called chaste women's column. The number of women far exceeds that of all prefectures and counties in the world. It can be seen that stupid men and women are seriously harmed by the teachings. If they are not corrected, they will poison the world in three to five years. Your Majesty conquers the world with bows and horses, and rules the world with justice. Such Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism is incompatible with the land and property system of our dynasty. If left unchecked, the foundation of the country will be shaken. For the current plan, we can take advantage of the foot-binding ban to lure snakes out of their holes, catch all the evil thieves in this area, and exterminate them to eliminate future generations. trouble."
The Supreme Emperor touched his palms and smiled and said: "Heroes see the same thing. It is rare for a great scholar to have such a consciousness. Since some people are willing to die for footbinding, I will help them with the beauty of adulthood. The battle of royal enlightenment is not easier than fighting on the battlefield. Great Scholar, wait for the army After Linchuan is wiped out, I will leave the rest to you. I need a clean Linchuan and a clean Daqi."
"I obey the decree."
Liu Zhaosun called Deng Changxiong again and made detailed arrangements for the next combat operation against Linchuan with this old subordinate.
"After Prime Minister Hui Deng got into trouble, he immediately attacked the city and slaughtered all the innocent civilians and other wealthy gentry."
Deng Changxiong looked serious and nodded.
Seeing Deng Changxiong like this, the Supreme Emperor pointed to a group of tombs at the head of Gong Village and said to this old subordinate:
"The Battle of Linchuan was the most critical battle between Da Qi and the Ming Dynasty. It was not only about whether the ban on foot binding could be implemented, but more importantly, it was about breaking the bones of the wealthy gentry, smashing thousands of years of ethics, and making those lords accustomed to it. Start looking at the people equally and treat men and women as human beings, not ants. Otherwise, one day all the achievements we have fought for will be wasted, and those who died before will all die in vain."
The Supreme Emperor finally added: "The Ming army can be driven into the city, and the Second Corps will be responsible for supervising the battle and preventing the soldiers from getting blood on their hands."
The codename of this operation: Linchuan Three Days.
Deng Changxiong clasped his hands into fists and said in a loud voice: "General, I will obey your orders!"
The back of his hand felt a little cold. It was raining. Liu Zhaosun looked up at the sky, as if he could see thousands of blood raining down.
~~~~
The head of Gong Village.
Thousands of horses are singing in unison, the wind is miserable and the rain is pouring, the flags are withered, and the fighting is silent.
Liu Zhaosun lit lamps and candles in front of his adoptive father's tomb and laid out fragrant flowers, wine and delicacies. Zhang Dong stood behind him holding a paper umbrella. The Supreme Emperor paid homage to the tomb and said:
"The spirit of my foster father in heaven, protect Daqi and end the conflicts in the world as soon as possible. This time, I am going to kill someone again..."
