Jingming

Chapter 312 Don't panic, it's not a rebellion!

Taoism believes that there are 36 stars in the Big Dipper, one star and one general.Earth Sha is the main killer star.

The evil spirits of the sky and the earth subdue demons, and Taoists often call them down to exorcise ghosts when they practice rituals.

"36 Tiangang, the great god king in the sky. Seventh Chief Taiyuan Lord, drive away disasters for me!"

When Liu Dong just rushed back to his home in Luoyang, he heard that there was a ceremony at home and the Taoist priest was chanting.

He was confused, but he couldn't get to the bottom of it for a while. Instead, he ran to Liu Jian's spirit, crying and crying.

It is naturally "unfilial" for the father to fail to return before his death.

The journey was long, and although it was still hot in September, Liu Jian hadn't been invited to be buried yet, in order to wait for Liu Dong to return home.Liu Jian has three sons, the eldest son died early, Liu Dong is the second son, and there is a younger brother below.

Long-term funeral without burial is an indecent act.Liu Jian's death was only four or seven. After all, it's not like some people's burial for several years in order to choose a geomantic treasure.

But what does it mean to set up a funeral at home?
"Confused! My father has never been close to Buddhism and Taoism. In the past, I asked to restrain monks and Taoists from building temples. The "Law of the Ming Dynasty" contains clear texts. The mourning family has fasting and sacrifices. Parents have eighty sticks. Although there are many folks who practice fasting and offering sacrifices, most of the government will not pursue it, but my father made that bequest, how can anyone know that no one will use it to make trouble?"

After receiving relatives and friends as a filial son, Liu Dongcai scolded Liu Jie, the younger brother born in his father's concubine, in front of Liu Jianling.

"... This matter was confessed by my father." Liu Jie was wronged.

Liu Dong suddenly had nothing to say.

He couldn't figure it out.

Liu Jie has only just found an opportunity in private, and took out an envelope from his arms: "The suicide note left by your father."

Liu Dong hurriedly took it over, only to hear Liu Jie say: "Father told you to burn it after reading it."

Thinking of his father still worrying about making so many arrangements before his death, Liu Dong still shed tears for his son.

After opening the letter, he was stunned for a moment: it was his father's handwriting.

Didn't it mean that there was a sign of wind paralysis, and even the lost watch was dictated by a ghostwriter?

The letter was very long, and Liu Dong read it word by word, crying non-stop.

Seeing the back, not only tears welled up in his eyes, but also his face turned red unhealthily.

Finally, he cried out in grief and shame, his voice hoarse: "My son is not filial..."

In a turbulent mood, he knelt there and kowtowed while crying, his forehead was quickly torn and blood flowed.

Liu Jie was startled, and went up to pull him: "Brother..."

The movement in the mourning hall made the relatives and friends outside couldn't help but look sideways, and someone sighed: "His filial piety is so..."

Then I heard Liu Jie yelling inside: "Come on, come on!"

When the Liu family rushed in, in the gap exposed by the curtain, Liu Dong was seen fainted between Liu Jie's arms, his forehead was stained with blood.And a raging flame was burning in the brazier next to it, as if a lot of paper money had been put in it.

"His filial piety is so great!"

Weeping and fainting in front of the soul, what is it if it is not sincere and filial piety?
Liu Jian has lived in his hometown in Luoyang for so many years as the chief assistant in the past. There are many Guanzhong Confucian scholars and local gentry who associate with Liu Jian here.

Seeing Liu Jian's son so sad now, and Liu Jian's death at the age of 94 is a happy funeral, and his posthumous name is also given the posthumous "Wen Duan" by the emperor, which is enough to make many old people envious.

That night, when I heard that the two brothers were keeping watch, Liu Dong cried and fainted several times.In the words that came out, there was also a description of Liu Dong vomiting blood.

When the outsider saw Liu Dong again the next day, his face was indeed so pale that it was shocking. It looked as if he was about to be seriously ill and went with his father.

"Nephew, please mourn!"

As soon as he said a word, Liu Dong burst into tears, and the old man who comforted him was even more moved, with tears in his eyes: If only my son was so filial?
But Liu Dong, who already knew the real situation, only blamed himself and was also very resentful.

From his father's previous letters, he already knew that he was afraid that he had made some serious mistake, and his father, who had experienced so much wind and rain, was shocked and sent letters to reprimand and give advice.

But what he didn't expect was that, because he had a lot of connections in Jiangnan, and even wrote a letter to ask his father to come forward to persuade the emperor, his father's choice was to take the initiative to catch the wind and cold after being frightened and injured a little, and to eat the prescription that aggravated the condition.

Many of my own actions were attributed to "crimes" by my father in the form of a legacy.But the deceased is dead, and since he has resigned from his post, can the emperor still be mean and kill the Liu family?
As for the funeral ceremony to save the souls of the dead... Liu Dong felt sad because of his father's good intentions.

When will the imperial court not tolerate even a little disagreement with politics?

Isn't Nanjing the seat of the country?What's wrong with me!

……

"... so cautious?"

Zhu Houcong who knew the news was also taken aback for a moment.

"Is it because you are being cautious? The slaves don't know." Huang Jin only replied, "There are many hidden dangers in Liu Jian's legacy, such as ancestral system, redundant officials, recruitment of soldiers, and business law, and the lack of two words in the text. In order to honor Liu Jian’s achievements, the third is the matter of setting up a funeral. Some people say that Liu Jian’s last order is like this, and he wants to use his words and deeds before and after his death to explain the collapse of the current ritual system. Some people say... Newly built That article has been deleted from the "Laws of the Ming Dynasty", but Liu Jianshi wanted to tell His Majesty that he submits to the new law..."

Zhu Houcong was a little speechless: What is Liu Dong doing in Nanjing?It is neither possible to stop the new law, nor to stop his grand strategy for Nanzhili.As long as it is not a substantive rebellion or something, what will the emperor do to them?Or is it that Liu Dong, as the direct superior of the former chief in charge of the yellow book library, is there anything unclean about it?
In short, Liu Jian overreacted a bit.

Although I haven't checked it carefully now, Liu Jian's legacy seems to be full of words, but in fact he didn't express much firm opposition.If you savor it carefully, it really is a feeling of surrender but persuasion, not to make trouble.

Combined with the abnormal speed at which his condition worsened, combined with his act of donating [-] acres of land at home as a school field in Luoyang County, it all reveals a sense of avoiding disaster.

"...a small matter, let it go." Zhu Houcong asked again, "Some people think that the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Demon selected in the martial arts competition are not beautiful?"

Huang Jin laughed: "It's just that folk storytellers, some of them talked about "Water Margin of Loyalty", and some of them called Song Jiang and others the name of Tiangangdisha. Those are all rebels, and now some people are talking about this right and wrong Jinshi It's not beautiful to be called Tiangangdisha, and it's just that some literati are worried that the military officials will gradually become powerful."

This "Water Margin" has been written in the early Ming Dynasty, but it was not listed as a banned book at this time.

Not only that, but its influence is not small.

"It's not just some literati." Zhu Houcong smiled lightly, and then looked at Wang Shenzhong, "This Dao Shu, the State Affairs Hall actually sent it to the Imperial Study Room to petition the Holy Order. What do you think should be done?"

Wang Shenzhong was just a little transparent who had just entered the imperial study, he couldn't help but look at the senior chief and another accompanying bachelor who were older than himself.

"Ask for your opinion. Tian Rucheng is your classmate. He wrote "Water Margin" about Song Jiang and other things. The mechanism of traitors, thieves and defrauders is very detailed, and they are full of deceitful tricks. The writers are all descendants of three generations The crime of being dumb, this book should be banned. What do you think?"

"...The ministers of state voted for it, and the ministers thought that the gentlemen were well thought out."

Wang Shenzhong had no idea.

Huang Jin said just now that the discussion about the title of Wu Jinshi now is that literati are worried about the power of Wu Chen.The Palace of State Affairs presented this trivial matter to the Holy Tribunal to express their concerns. At least Zhu Houcong's idea of ​​"Military League" was mentioned in the Military Affairs Conference and the National Policy Conference, which made them feel overwhelmed.

How can it stimulate the brave and ruthless hearts of the people so much?Do you want to build a special school ground and sell tickets for them to watch?
"Mao Gu, what do you think?" Zhu Houcong asked another imperial study companion, Jiang Rubi, a 16-year Jinshi in Zhengde.

"I think that this matter is a big deal. Tian Rucheng was appointed as the head of the Nanjing Ministry of Criminal Affairs. This memorial blames the crimes committed by the people on the spread of books such as "Loyalty and Justice" and other books. Nanjing. If this book is banned, it will be an excuse for scholars and booksellers in the south of the Yangtze River. These trivial things show that the imperial court’s implementation of the new law and even strict prevention of rebellion are really inferior.”

What Jiang Rubi said made Wang Shenzhong look sideways: "Be brave, you said that the ministers of state are inferior."

"Jiuhe, what about you?"

Gu Dingchen, chief of the Imperial Study, bowed: "I believe that not only should it not be banned, but it should also follow the example of the Three Kingdoms and publish it in "Ming Pao" in the future."

"Oh? Why?"

Gu Dingchen said with a smile: "There was an interesting story before. In the past, there were refugees in Shaanxi who were thieves. They took advantage of the heavy snow to raid the camp of officers and soldiers and captured the general. The general was ashamed and puzzled, and asked the leader of the thieves: "You can't read. , do not understand the art of war, how do you know how to use this time?'”

He suddenly told the story, Wang Shenzhong and Jiang Rubi couldn't help but look at him.

I saw Gu Dingchen talking eloquently: "The leader of the bandits replied: 'We don't know the art of war, but only know that Song Gongming earns Suo Chaoer at a snowy night!'"

Zhu Houcong laughed dumbfoundedly, and took a deep look at him.

Gu Dingchen said: "The art of war has never been taught lightly, and it is also very difficult. In order to prevent internal rebellion, it is even a crime to learn the art of war privately. The so-called tricks in "Water Margin" are actually full of strategies. Now Your Majesty has the heart to reward martial arts, If you are thirsty for talents, before the martial arts palace test, you should pay more attention to martial arts than strategy, but good generals always need to know the art of war and strategy. After promoting this book, if the loyal and brave people among the people can learn more about martial arts, they will be able to understand some superficial strategies."

Zhu Houcong smiled and asked back: "Aren't you afraid that the rebels will be more difficult to deal with in the future?"

Gu Dingchen saluted: "Your Majesty is worried about the life of the people in the world. Now that the new law allows students to be officials, they want to replace greedy, cruel and cunning officials with people who read and understand the etiquette. The so-called officials force the people to rebel. If the government implements good governance, why should the people do it?" What about the decapitation business? Since His Majesty promotes simplified characters and publishes Ming Pao, the real intention is to enlighten the people's wisdom and increase their strength. With His Majesty's mind, this book is highly praised, but it will make the officials who will multiply in the future to abide by the laws of the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, it will harm the people. Thieves are difficult to deal with, and gradually become a serious problem, and it is even more difficult to shirk responsibility when asked about the crime."

"You are also dialectics." Zhu Houcong looked at him, and after staying in the imperial study for a long time, he really understood the emperor more and more.

Looking at Gu Dingchen's smiling face, Wang Shenzhong lowered his head: "It's still too tender."

"The serialization of the Three Kingdoms has not yet been completed, and there are many strategies in the Three Kingdoms." Zhu Houcong pointed to the memorial, "Criticize Zhu: there is nothing to be afraid of. Officials practice good governance and are not afraid of military and civil rebellion."

After finishing speaking, he stood up: "Let's get up and go and see the selected Tiangang Disha, as well as the recruits trained by my brave generals in the past three months."

……

After five days of the martial arts examination, the dust has settled.

Lu Bing ranked No.17, and Yu Dayou was only fifth.

Before the palace test, martial arts are the first, and at most a "literacy" test will be added after the test.

Yu Dayou, who was born as a student, had three masters of literature, martial arts, and military art, but he couldn't compare with the four "strong men" with outrageous martial arts and strength.

Now, there are a total of [-] people on this list who have not left the Fifth Army Battalion.

Already with the status of Wu Jinshi, in addition to 36 people who still have to participate in the palace examination, the other 72 people have to wait for the next step: either go to the military academy for further study, or be directly appointed.

But before that, today is the day when they already know that the Great Ming general Dabi will hold the first round.

Xinkewu Jinshi want to watch the competition.

"The lowest is the deputy thousand households from the fifth rank, and the highest is the commander of the first guard, and everyone is the county magistrate!" Lu Bing already knew Yu Dayou, "Did you see that big clock? They went to different places last night .Starting at eight o'clock this morning, we set off at the same time. March ten miles, and see which general arrives first. After arriving, the three items of bow, gun, and cannon will be reviewed separately."

Yu Dayou was a little excited: "So, right now, there are actually tens of thousands of troops marching in the suburbs of Beijing?"

"Exactly!" Lu Bing looked expectantly, "Everyone went straight here. It is not just a simple march, but the cavalry of the [-] Battalion also has scouts on the side. If you fail to find out the existence of the scouts during the march, you will be deducted points! This point, the reference military generals don't know, it depends on whether they sent sentries to scout the way when they marched."

"...Then how did brother Lu know?"

Lu Bing kept his secret, just smiled: "Brother Yu will naturally know in the future."

Having won the Wu Jinshi award, he is finally about to formally start his own life, and today the emperor will come.

Among the five barracks, after the martial arts examination, they were rearranged.

Now, a temporary outer wall has been built outside the five military camps in the past three months-some of the 5 taels that Zhu Houcong said were specially allocated for this purpose.

Today, the colonels in the Fifth Army Battalion are flying banners and flags, while the veterans in the Fifth Army Battalion are wearing armor and standing behind the outermost wall.

It is said that the cavalry kept walking and patrolling between the walls of the village.

The Xinkewu Jinshi couldn't see the situation in the distance outside, but they all felt as if they were on the battlefield.

And in the southern suburbs of Beijing, in the mountains and villages in many places at this moment, many people were shocked to see groups of officers and soldiers fully armed and pulling chariots and guns.

If it wasn't for the fact that the Great Ming Sanchen Banner was already familiar to many people, they would almost panic.

All the officers and soldiers marching now are in a hurry.They did not disturb any common people's villages, and if those who opened the way ahead to explore encountered pedestrians or villagers, they only reminded them first: "Officers and soldiers marching, don't block the road."

Who dares to stop?
"...Could it be that the Tartars are coming? Why are there so many officers and soldiers?"

"...I don't know, hurry back and tell Chief A."

The officers and soldiers who marched at night and rushed to the pre-requested place, and now suddenly appeared in the sight of Beijing people in the morning, brought great trouble to the magistrates of counties in the southern suburbs of Beijing and the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

But when I arrived at the yamen early in the morning, I saw the eunuch delivering the decree.

It's really not a human thing to be a parent official at the feet of the emperor!
What are you saying to deal with it seriously, to test Shuntian Mansion's response to the sudden military situation, and to sum up experience and lessons afterward?

Is it disturbing? Isn't it?

But they also knew that since they were military generals participating in the Grand Competition, they only wanted to rush to the Fifth Army Battalion in the fastest and most orderly manner, so naturally they would not disturb any places on the way.

This test is nothing more than to see whether the counties can convey government orders to the townships in a timely and accurate manner, and whether the officials can efficiently quell public discussions, suspicions, and panic.

"It's really killing me! Is there any reward for the guards? The harvest of autumn grain is about to come, don't really run away in fright!"

The magistrate of Liangxiang almost wanted to scold his mother: Your Majesty, what are you doing?
At this moment, inside and outside the capital, Wang Zuo and Zhang Tong were also sitting solemnly in their respective government offices, waiting for news from various sources.

"In the next few days, I will be full of energy! Select generals from all over the country to enter the Beijing Grand Competition, and confer the county title and other things only in the army. Today's march, the fifth army battalion's guns are fired, next month the two armies will exercise, watch See who is spreading false rumors, who is particularly enthusiastic, and find out as many spies placed by the Mongolian Tartars inside and outside Beijing as possible!"

Inside the Fifth Army Battalion, Yang Yiqing took the time to ask Zhang Jing: "Has the news from all sides arrived?"

As the general staff of the military department, Zhang Jing knows all the memorials related to military affairs.He nodded and replied: "Everything is rewarded. Although the selection of military generals to enter the Beijing Grand Competition is not a secret, but if there are people who deliberately spread rumors, it may really spread to Mobei, making Bei Yuan think that there is chaos in the capital, and there is an opportunity to take advantage of it."

He smiled wryly and said: "Although I have made preparations for a long time, the lower officials really don't understand, why don't you first inform the officials and people of the counties to explain the matter clearly?"

Although the change of the Fifth Army Battalion in the third year of Jiajing subsided quickly, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses suddenly "mobilized" in the capital, which was still very sensitive in the first year of the implementation of the new law to the provinces.

Yang Yiqing had seen such a scene, and heard the words, he only said lightly: "The advantages outweigh the disadvantages. If there is ambition to eliminate the great troubles of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, Beijing is so close to the border town of Xuanfu, and the military will not be less. More drills, the officials and people in Beijing will not be in trouble. Things panicked. If the north listened to some rumors and did the calculations mentally or unintentionally, it would be difficult for me to fight in Caogu in Daming this year. And after the Beijing camp competition, the uniform appearance of the officers and soldiers, and the drills of the Beijing camp will naturally spread to other places. When clearing the land and reforming the military system, if some people are still unwilling, then they have to weigh it."

Zhang Jing shook his head slowly and sighed.

He experienced Gao Kewei's incident in Sichuan, and he still remembers the tension in Sichuan at that time.

Although the imperial court has many considerations, as long as the common people see a large army, they will always think that there is going to be a war and will always be afraid.

"The Emperor is here!"

At this moment, Zhu Houcong Yujia finally came here from the palace.

Yang Yiqing, Gu Shilong and the others had been waiting at the gate of the camp for a long time. Seeing the eunuchs and imperial guards who came to inform them, they walked a hundred steps forward to look at the imperial driver who was coming from afar.

Zhu Houcong had already arrived at the Fifth Army Battalion, and the fastest marching team was within three miles of the destination.

When Zhu Houcong arrived in the fifth army camp and boarded the high tower in the center of the camp specially used for observation, there was already a group of figures in the distance.

"telescope."

Hearing this, Lu Song handed over the first pair of new binoculars that had just been polished from the transparent glass, and Zhu Houcong looked into the distance from it.

From the binoculars, he watched the condition of the recruits.

This round only decides the top ten, but it is not easy.

After marching for ten miles fully armed, they must first pass through "bows, guns, and cannons" to actually "fire".

Outside the temporary wall, there are many targets simulating soldiers.On the temporary wall, there are two sentry towers simulating turrets, and there are targets between the temporary wall and the real wall of the Fifth Army Battalion.

Guns, cannons, bows and arrows, each team after the march destroyed the sentry towers, and only after shooting and hitting a sufficient number of targets inside and outside the wall can they get the real wall of the Fifth Army Battalion. , opened the gate of the village to welcome them into the camp.

After each team of participating military generals and their recruits entered the camp, the ones who arrived first had more time to rest.Those who arrived later had to participate in the parade inspection almost non-stop after marching and attacking the stronghold.At that time, the appearance of the army and the appearance of morale will naturally be incomparable.

Now, the team that arrived first stopped about [-] steps outside the temporary wall of the outer wall, and then they were setting up their formation.

"Veterans and recruits." Zhu Houcong said with a smile while watching, "Both sentry towers have collapsed, and more than [-]% of the arrows have been shot at targets outside the wall of the village. Let's see who doesn't obey the rules, relying on the fact that there are no real enemies If you defend the stronghold, you will go directly to attack the stronghold. If you pass the order, if you don’t follow the drill code and shoot too close, you will be directly removed from the top ten."

This round of tests only tested their accuracy with bows, guns, and cannons.

There are only so many guns, ammunition, and bows that can be brought on the march. If they are exhausted and still fail, then they can only enter the camp under the signal of the white flag to rest and prepare for the last item.

It is a red flag to indicate that it is qualified.

The total time for a successful march is also subject to counting the number of soldiers after entering the camp.

No one fought back, and those who wanted to rely on distance for accuracy, and those who wanted to shorten the time by cheating, did not understand the purpose of spending so much money: whether it was marching or attacking the village, they wanted them to treat this big competition as a real battle. Playing these clever things?

Now, that team has sorted out the battle formation.

"Listen to the command of the general, the spearmen are in front, the archers are next, and the artillerymen are last. Pay attention to the three steps before and after, and hear them clearly. Move forward in unison, count them all, and stop at two hundred steps!"

The method of assessment is already clear to the general.

Each of them is only equipped with five tiger squatting cannons, with a total of twenty projectiles.

Recently, they could only get as close as [-] paces to the temporary wall.

With the limited number of ammunition and arrows, one must see the red flag raised in the front battalion before entering the camp.

Nobody wants to see a white flag.

Nervously pushing forward to the place, he hissed and roared: "This is war! The gunners all aim at the general! Count down to five, and don't panic when you hear the cannon!"

After a while, Yu Dayou and others who could only watch the subsequent inspection in the university grounds heard the sound of cannons and gunshots.

Now, just a few voices.

And as time went by, cannons gradually sounded from different directions.

Later, the Fifth Army Battalion was bombarded from all directions.After the number of bows and arrows increased, the dull but piercing whistling resonance could be heard faintly.

The Xinkewu Jinshi here felt their blood boiling, and the officers and soldiers of the Fifth Army Battalion who did not participate in the competition had never experienced such battles.

Although the veterans standing behind the real wall are at a "safe distance", who knows if anyone cheated and fired at a distance of one or two hundred paces?

Is it really "as if you are on the front line", can you not be nervous?Although I know what is actually going on, but now, it is really an army of over [-] "attacking" the Fifth Army Battalion!
"Your Majesty is already in the camp, don't embarrass me! Keep an eye on it and count the number of targets you hit!" Their banner officer cursed, still holding on to the temporary binoculars, "27..."

Damn, this telescope is good, but it would be better if it could see a little more clearly.

How far can the momentum formed by the continuous artillery fire from the direction of the Fifth Army Battalion be spread?

In the villages and towns that are closer to here, the government servants, village chiefs, and armor chiefs can only run around to tell each other.

"Don't panic! It's not a rebellion, it's military training!"

　The day before yesterday I had a party and drank until [-] o'clock at night, and was seriously injured. I was recovering from my injuries yesterday, but luckily he didn't die

　　
　
(End of this chapter)