Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 899 Doomsday

summer morning.

On the canal from Tianjin to Beijing, it is busy, with countless boats flowing continuously. On both sides of the canal, there are towns, workshops, shops and manors everywhere.

Hong Hengjiu stood at the bow of the boat. He had just passed his 80th birthday and his hair was gray.A fortune teller once said that when he was fifty, sixty, seventy, or eighty years old, there would be a catastrophe, and each catastrophe would be more prosperous than the next, and he would be richer and richer after the past, and now this catastrophe has really come.

At the age of 50, Songjin was defeated and captured. Emperor Chongzhen set up a mourning hall for him, which is regarded as his death.

"Every time I go back to Beijing, I feel that Beijing and Tianjin are more prosperous, and the two sides of the Beijing-Tianjin Canal are also more lively and prosperous."

"Yes, a few years ago, when His Majesty moved to the old capital, the place was bleak and desolate. I thought it would be difficult to recover in 20 years, but in less than a few years, it will be far from the time of Jiajing Wanli."

Hong Chengchou, the third brother of Hong Chengchou, pointed to both sides of the canal, "At the end of Chongzhen, Beijing was besieged by plague, famine, Tartars, and thieves. , were forced to become refugees or even thieves, how can it be compared with today."

"This city of Beijing has been captured by thieves, and the Tartars have even stolen data for several years, but under their hands, Beijing is only more dilapidated. The thieves ransacked the city to extort wages, and looted the people everywhere. , who really regards this place as their own foundation, and the scholars and common people here as their own people?"

Hong Chenggan and Hong Chengchou are brothers of the same mother, but they have been feuding for ten years.

Hong Chenggan is a great calligrapher. He has extensive experience in history, poetry and prose. The cursive script is winding and vertical like a startled snake entering the grass. The ancient vines hang on the wall and create the dragon and snake style.After Hong Chengchou surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Hong Chenggan personally went to Beijing to persuade him. Hong Chengchou had no way of turning back. The brothers turned against each other.

Later, Hong Chengjian built a Shuangzhong Temple in Quanzhou to worship Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan who resisted Anlu Mountain during the Tang Dynasty. The two statues in the temple pointed to the gate of Hong Chengchou. He built a boat and lived in seclusion on the river.

Later, Zheng Zhilong in Fujian supported Zhu Yihai, and Hong Chenggan immediately went to see Zheng Zhilong after hearing the news, willing to serve as an aide, just to fight against the Qing Dynasty. After that, he went north with Zheng Sen, first in Shuying to help with military affairs, and later stayed in the Imperial Academy as a bachelor.

He has repeatedly asked to lead a team to assassinate the traitor Hong Chengchou.

Later, Hong Chengchou was captured by Tu Guobao and sent to the imperial court. He also insisted on killing Hong Chengchou.

It’s just that Zhu Yihai first targeted the Tartars at the time, so he declared that Hong Chengchou had never really surrendered after Songjin’s defeat, but only pretended to surrender, and had been tipping off the Ming Dynasty.

After that, Hong Chengchou held important posts in Taiwan, and later served as governor of Shaanxi, Gansu and Liuqiu. However, his brother Hong Chenggan was in the same court as him, but he never said a word to him, and never set foot in his house.

until now.

The emperor summoned Hong Chengchou to Beijing to call him for trial, and Hong Chenggan took the initiative to undertake the task of announcing the decree.

He went to Liu to ask for the decree, and then brought him back with his guards. The two brothers never spoke to each other along the way, and now they can chat, which is considered rare.

"Grain and sea transportation, as well as sea trade, plus the stability of the Central Plains, and surrender outside the customs, these are the keys to the prosperity of Beijing and Tianjin today. How many rich and powerful families in the Central Plains have moved to Beijing and Tianjin with their families, while Tianjin Port, Tangshan Hong Kong, Qinhuangdao Port, Tokyo Port, and Dongying Port at the mouth of the Yellow River, etc., and the comprehensive navigation of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, the re-dredging of the Hebei Canal, and the Jiaolai Canal, Bohai Bay, and Jiaozhou Bay. Industrial and commercial, and Ports such as Dalian, Lushun, and Yingkou in Liaodong have driven the rapid prosperity of Beijing and Tianjin, the center of the world..."

Hong Chenggan and his brother took a completely different path. At the end of Chongzhen, he lived in seclusion in the countryside. Later, he failed to assassinate the traitor brother and fled back home to live in seclusion. Soon after, he went out to fight against the Qing Dynasty and became a member of Conglong Yuanxun.

Up to now, he has been conferred Jinshi, doctor Jinzi Guanglu, assistant director of Zhan Shifu Zhan Shi and a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, compiled the real records of the dynasty to record the daily management of Liu Cao Zhangzou, and compared the imperial edict of Wenhua Palace. He wrote articles and lectured on Jingyan.

He is a third-rank official, and he is both a Hanlin official and an official of Zhan Shifu. Zhan Shifu is an official of the East Palace. He is also a lecturer of the prince, and he is also an official trusted by the prince in the East Palace.

When the prince succeeds to the throne next year, Hong Chenggan will definitely be able to reach a higher level.

Compared with the third brother who went to Beijing to stand trial and died, Hong Chenggan gradually showed more sympathy for him, so the closer he was to Beijing, the more the brothers talked.

"Maritime trade is indeed very important. In the past, the imperial court continued to ban the sea, but instead banned the Great Japanese Rebellion in Jiajing. Later, when Longqing opened the sea, only Yuegang in Fujian was opened, but Yuegang, which was originally a remote fishing village, quickly became a place in Fujian. The most prosperous and affluent place has also driven the prosperity of the surrounding coastal areas, and even our Hong family has been deeply affected by this."

Although the two brothers have killed each other, they have also respected each other as brothers and sisters.

His father died early, and his family was poor. As the eldest, Hong Chengchou began to help his mother sell tofu in the streets and alleys at a very young age, and also helped take care of his younger brothers and sisters. When Hong Chenggan and the others were young, Hong Chengchou was actually his father. An older brother is like a father.

In the past, Hong Chenggan and the others really respected this elder brother, but later Hong Chenggan could not accept that he was sent down to be a traitor.

But when it comes to ability, in fact, he still admires his elder brother. Not to mention that he even sold tofu while taking care of his younger siblings when he was a child, he was able to make progress. He went to the family's ethnology school to listen and secretly learn, and found an opportunity for himself to study.Later, after the masters of the ethnology school were accepted as students, they also worked very hard. They studied hard for ten years, and they still did not forget to help the family and take care of their younger brothers and sisters.

He won the Jinshi examination and became an official in Beijing, and he didn't forget to help his family. He paid for the expenses of his brothers' studies.

Hong Chengchou stood on the boat, blowing in the wind, feeling depressed, and it would be a lie to say that he is not depressed.

When he was a teenager, he was not willing to admit defeat. When he was bullied while selling tofu on the street, he would not complain to others. Staring at a bite, this desperate way of fighting with a mad dog, made Hong Jiuheng known as a madman when he was young.

When studying, he didn’t have money to buy paper and pens, so he used branches to practice on the sand. If he didn’t have much time to study, he would sell tofu while taking care of his children while reciting books. It was this energy that allowed him to pass the imperial examinations without any background He became a Jinshi, and after he took a job in the ministry, it was only because of his fierce and crazy energy that he was able to gain a foothold in the ministry, and was even able to be promoted all the way. When he was sent to Shaanxi, he dared to take the initiative to attack Thieves.

He believes that man can conquer nature.

As long as he doesn't admit defeat, no one can make him lose.

Sheng Tianbanzi.

A young man from a poor family can become a Jinshi, even become a governor and a supervisor. Even if he is captured, he can still be recruited in every possible way, and he can also become an administrator of the five provinces and a bachelor. It is not easy at any step along the way. , He worked hard to get it.

Later, he returned to Daming anyway. When he was admonishing the two courts in Taiwan, he was also ruthless and merciless. He impeached countless officials every year in exchange for a seat in the new dynasty. The million rebellion, going to Anton camp, and going to Liuqiu, that is also an excellent completion of the task.

But in the end, after all, they still cannot escape the sixty catastrophes.

In the robbery at the age of 50, Songjin was defeated and captured, but later he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and the robbery was over.Now sixty, this catastrophe is going to be hard to pass.

Not reconciled.

But the brother came to Liu personally to ask for the decree and asked him to return to Beijing, so he still boarded the boat.

The different fates of Geng Zhongming, Qian Qianyi, Wu Sangui, and Zhang Guozhu left Hong Chengchou with no choice. He could choose not to return to Beijing, commit suicide or rebel. Although the fate was the same, at least he did not accept it.

But when he saw his brother and heard him say that his mother was looking forward to his return in Beijing, he finally decided to return. If he died, he would trade for the stability of his family, and the safety of his children and grandchildren for his mother, that's all he could do.

He is no longer the boy who sold tofu barefoot in a small town in Fujian.

Zhu Yihai did not have the qualifications and opportunity to judge himself. They are not worthy and should not be. It is because of the times. There is nothing wrong with what he did. He never thinks that he is wrong. However, if it was replaced by other Han people who rebelled against the king, even if it was Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong who started from thieves, as long as they could overthrow the previous dynasty and replace them, he would still be called the founding hero.

He originally thought that these efforts of his would at least be able to win an order in the Shaotian Dynasty, and he would be one of the founding heroes of the new dynasty in the future.

But who would have expected Zhu Yihai to be so dishonest, the world is so peaceful, and he would use this trick to return the carbine.

At that time, Zhu Yihai was able to mainly recruit Shunying, and even said to the outside world that he, Hong Chengchou, Qian Qianyi and others were false surrenders. He was surprised by the conciliation of Li Chengdong, Zhang Guozhu, Liu Zeqing and other surrendered generals and ministers, even exiles and local bandits. I was moved, but now this liquidation came unexpectedly.

Such an emperor really deserves to be the king who rebuilt the Ming Dynasty. He is indeed not an ordinary emperor, and ordinary rules cannot restrain him. He is the one who created the rules.

"The transportation of grain by sea has existed since the Yuan Dynasty, and it was also practiced in the Ming Dynasty. The Yellow River has been a great disaster for many years. The rotten pit can't be filled more or less.

However, Emperor Shaotian was able to make the transportation of grain and grain so smooth, which not only saved costs, but also drove the coastal ports. The diversion of the Yellow River was a catastrophe, but the emperor was able to quickly repair the embankment of the new river in Shandong, and then let the whole line from Shandong to Henan open to navigation. , brought the economy of cities and towns on both sides of the Yellow River. "

"The same thing, the same surname Zhu, but the result is completely different."

Hong Chenggan said to his elder brother, "The times have changed, and the world has naturally changed. In the past, both sides of the canal were full of shacks. Those trackers, river workers, and many thieves, robbers, prostitutes and beggars gathered together, just like festering wounds on the canal. Now you look at those bustling market towns and docks, those workshops and shops, those warehouses, those workers, and even those brand new and tidy houses and dormitories, they are different.

There are very few beggars now, and there are even more refugees.”

"Yes." Hong Chengchou sighed, "If there is no land, you can rent official land and private land. The imperial court has special tenancy laws to protect tenancy rights and limit land rent, and even crack down on usury. You can also choose to work, and there are special Labor laws, basic salary and so on.

If you can't stay in the Central Plains, you can go to the frontier to immigrate, where the land is sparsely populated, and you can get your own land...
Big merchants and small traders are also protected now, and the business environment has become much better.

Everything is full of hope, just like in front of you, the boats on the canal are constantly flowing, the owners and boatmen are full of enthusiasm, and the towns and docks on both sides of the canal, the people there are also full of enthusiasm, compared to the Beijing-Tianjin Canal in the Chongzhen Dynasty The situation in the past was completely different. At that time, people's eyes were numb and dazed, they were naked, hungry, and even wandered around beggars and refugees. Many people's eyes were full of hostility.

"My mother is getting old, and I can no longer serve her. I hope you can take good care of her for me."

As we approached Beijing, so did the trial.

Hong Chengchou knew that he could not escape this disaster, so he turned his head to look at his brother, begging.

"The Hong family, I'll leave it all to you."

Hong Chenggan's eye sockets couldn't help getting wet, no matter what, he was a real brother after all, an elder brother who was like a father back then.

He choked.

He quickly turned his head away, not wanting him to see himself like this.

"Don't worry, I will ask the sage to let my mother take care of me. I can't keep your wife and grandchildren, but at least they will be safe when they go to the frontier. Even if the sage steals you I will also pack all the family wealth for them, and send people to take care of and help them when they arrive at the border..."

"Thanks!"

Hong Chenggan didn't answer.

"Actually, when you came to Beijing to scold me and persuade me to rebel against the Qing Dynasty, I didn't listen to you, and I had a last resort. Even if I wanted to leave, I couldn't.

However, I did not send anyone to chase you down. I only found out about it later. I did not do this, but Dorgon sent someone to do it. I have not explained this matter for many years. I know I explained it at that time You won't believe it either.

Now I am going to die, before I die, let me explain to you.

Although you no longer recognize me as an elder brother, I have always regarded you as a brother. We are brothers of the same mother, and this will never change. "

After finishing speaking, Hong Chengchou turned straight and went back to the cabin.

The brother's words came from behind, "I believe in you."

"The Hong family depends on you. My fate, Hong Jiuheng, is doomed."

(End of this chapter)