King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 699: Emperor Han Liu kills Ming

Daiyu and Yingchun talked a lot, but it was impossible for Yingchun to get rid of her depression just by her words today.

Half an hour later, Daiyu said goodbye and left, and Yingchun sent her to the door of the house.

After Daiyu left, Siqi said, "Miss, Miss Lin is right. You have to look forward to everything and stop thinking about the past!"

"Being happier is more important than anything else, so why make it hard on yourself?"

Yingchun sighed and said, "How can I compare to her?"

After experiencing miscarriage and having no status, the two biggest things in a woman's life, it's good enough that Yingchun's psychology is not distorted.

"Girl, no matter what, if you continue like this, you will only suffer the consequences!"

"To be frank, if you always act like this, His Highness will be unhappy and it will be even more difficult for you in the future!"

"You have to think about what I told you before. You have to be happy on the surface but sad on the inside. Only in this way can His Highness..."

As for Yingchun, Siqi really tried her best to protect her, and she only thought of necessary and practical methods.

"Girl, there is a clear path right in front of you, why do you always stop moving forward?"

By the end of the conversation, Siqi was so anxious that she even forgot to control her words.

Fortunately, Yingchun could still tell that Siqi really cared about her, so she didn't mind what she said.

In fact, after Daiyu's enlightenment today, Yingchun's heart was touched when she recalled Zhu Jinghong's previous promises.

"I understand. I will pay attention next time!"

Hearing this, Siqi did not take it lightly, but muttered: "You have said this before!"

"It's real this time!" Yingchun said very seriously.

Siqi smiled immediately and continued, "In that case, I suggest... I will invite His Highness to come over for tea and listen to the sutras in the name of a lecture later, how do you think?"

"what……"

"Ok?"

Seeing Siqi pressing on, Yingchun could only reply, "Okay!"

"Then prepare yourself well, girl!"

"what to prepare?"

Siqi felt like an old woman, and couldn't help but hold her forehead and said, "Prepare for the lecture, prepare for what to say tonight, how to say it!"

"Oh!"

Time soon came to the afternoon and Zhu Jinghong returned to Prince Xiang's Mansion.

The prince also attended the meeting today, and the two brothers chatted for a while during the meeting, but the content of their conversation was very superficial.

The main topics of the discussion were four: preparations for war in the northwest, changes in the situation on the southwestern border, the suppression of rebellion in Hunan, and the implementation of land surveying in Hubei.

These four items are all major events, but Zhu Jinghong only spoke on the first three, and was relatively conservative throughout. He only mentioned the points that needed to be mentioned, without elaborating in detail.

As soon as he returned to the palace, Zhu Jinghong went to see Daiyu, but he found her empty-handed.

"Brother-in-law...are you here to see me?"

Baoqin's courtyard was next to Daiyu's. When Zhu Jinghong returned in disappointment, he happened to meet her outside Baoqin's courtyard.

Zhu Jinghong laughed and asked, "Where are you from?"

Baoqin came over and answered, "I went to Sister Yinglian's place, chatted with her for a while, and then went to Sister Keqing's courtyard!"

Zhu Jinghong then asked, "Why don't you see Lin girl?"

Baoqin's smile disappeared, and she pouted and said, "You have to ask her about this!"

Walking forward, Zhu Jinghong asked with a smile: "Why... are you guys making trouble again?"

"Who made trouble with her?" Baoqin denied it immediately.

She had no conflict with Daiyu, she was just simply jealous at this moment.

In Baoqin's opinion, no one could enter Prince Xiang's Mansion, and she and her brother-in-law were obviously closer, so why should Daiyu show more concern for her?

"Looking at you like this, I'm afraid you've made quite a fuss!"

"There was no noise in the first place!" Baoqin was so anxious that she jumped up and down.

But at this moment, a voice came from the corner: "Hey...what's going on?"

Zhu Jinghong and Baoqin knew who it was without even looking.

"Lin girl, where have you been?"

Daiyu waved her round fan and said as she approached, "Master Thirteen, you should pay more attention to Sister Baoqin. You've made her so angry... She's almost crying!"

"It has nothing to do with my brother-in-law!" Baoqin immediately retorted, while sticking close to Zhu Jinghong.

Look, brother-in-law, we are a family, but she just makes sarcastic remarks... Baoqin complained in her heart.

Daiyu was not annoyed at all. She just said lightly, "You are a family. It is me, an outsider, who is talking too much!"

The less angry Daiyu was, the more Baoqin felt that she was jumping up and down like a fool.

"you……"

Seeing that the two girls were about to quarrel, Zhu Jinghong said, "Okay, okay... We are all family, there are no outsiders here!"

"Come on... follow me to Yin'an Palace. I have something to tell you!"

But Baoqin tilted her head and asked, "Tell us? Are you going to tell Sister Lin or me?"

Zhu Jinghong stretched out his fingers and tapped her forehead. When she stepped back repeatedly in pain, he said, "You'll know when you go there!"

Talking and laughing with the beautiful girls is undoubtedly a very pleasant thing, and Zhu Jinghong never gets tired of it.

During this period, Daiyu and Baoqin's presence brought him a lot of joy.

When they arrived at the Yin'an Hall, they chatted and laughed with the two of them for a while. Nuominqiqige also came over, and the situation at the scene became even more lively.

Later, Zhu Jinghong received Yingchun's invitation, and he accepted it to make up for his debt.

Yingchun really acted as Siqi said. She acted very indifferent throughout the whole process, as if she had let go of what had happened before. She also asked Zhu Jinghong not to take it too seriously, saying that she would be very sad if she did so.

This time, just as Siqi had expected, Zhu Jinghong felt even more pity for Yingchun, so much so that he spent the night at her place.

Let’s not talk about what’s happening in the capital for now. In Hunan, thousands of miles away, the work of suppressing bandits is progressing very slowly.

The three counties, incited by the rebels, re-strengthened their city defense facilities, making it very difficult for the imperial army to attack.

As of June 28, only Luxi County had been recovered, while Mayang and Chenxi counties were still occupied by the bandit army.

The imperial concubine's son-in-law, Duwei Liang Yi, appeared ten miles north of Chenxi County. There was a narrow pass in front of him, which was filled with rioters who were forced to flee. Of course, they could be called rebels.

Liang Yi came with the army to observe. The commander of the guards who had just commanded the battle was ambushed and shot dead, so he forcibly took over the command as an imperial envoy.

Strictly speaking, Liang Yi's move was a big taboo, because the emperor had not authorized it at all, and he was deceiving the captains below him.

Fortunately, he succeeded, and at this critical moment, he was given command.

But now, the situation is not optimistic.

The intelligence they received was that there were no more than 300 bandits in Chenxi County and no more than 5,000 rebels, so they prepared 3,000 soldiers to attack. The reason they did not send more troops was that they had to use other forces to defend other important roads, and that too many troops could not be deployed in the mountains.

However, in reality, the number of rebels was far more than five thousand.

For example, at the pass in front of him, there were at least three thousand people guarding it, and the latest news Liang Yi received from scouts was that there were three to four thousand people approaching from the west and east.

In other words, the total number is more than 10,000, and they are distributed within a radius of less than five miles.

At this moment Liang Yi had to admit that his army was surrounded.

To be honest, he was a little panicked, but he immediately sent several teams to ask for help, while analyzing that it would be easier to break out from that direction.

The first option to go south is to pass, and the narrow mountain road to the north makes it even more difficult for the army to deploy. If intercepted, it is likely to be cut in two.

To the west there is a large river, and to the east there are even larger mountains.

For a moment, Liang Yi was at a loss for a decision.

"My Lord, please tell me how to do this!"

Liang Yi was thinking, and several thousand households could not wait any longer, and the bold ones started to ask directly.

"Go north!" Liang Yi made the decision directly.

It is dangerous in that direction, but there are friendly troops thirty miles to the north, so the danger is relatively lower.

Having made up his mind, Liang Yi did not hesitate at all and immediately ordered his troops to advance northward.

At the same time, he tried to keep the various units together as much as possible so that they could support each other when facing attacks.

After walking only one mile forward, Liang Yi received a report saying that less than a mile to the northwest, the enemy troops were already rushing towards this side.

The enemy troops on the east side were pulled away to a distance of four miles.

"Push away the rioters in front of us, and we will be safe!"

Several captains also knew this, so they immediately went down to make arrangements, and a few minutes later the two armies encountered each other.

As for the imperial army, their clothing was relatively uniform, some officers and soldiers had armor, and almost everyone had weapons. This was the normal situation for ordinary garrison troops.

On the other hand, it is hard to call the enemy an army. It is normal that their clothes are not uniform. The key point is that they even lack weapons, which vividly illustrates what it means to rise up in rebellion.

"Forward!" Liang Yi issued the military order.

The Ming Dynasty's official troops advanced steadily towards the rioters ahead.

Among the rioters, there were also people in charge of command, who were the backbone figures among the rebels.

"Everyone, the grain and land have been distributed to you, and all the exorbitant taxes have been waived. Whether you can defend it or not...it all depends on you!"

The burly man in charge of commanding the rioters said only a few simple words to boost morale, but they made all the people hold their weapons tightly.

"kill……"

The two armies joined together and fought each other in the mountains and forests. Although the rioters were fearless and brave, they were ultimately no match for the professional army.

Ten minutes later, the rioters left behind hundreds of corpses and fled after being defeated by the government troops.

Those who were unlucky and ran slower were all captured by the Ming army.

But before Liang Yi could be happy, he was told that the Luanming gang he had just repelled had gathered again and brought more people with them, and were pressing towards them again.

What's even more terrible is that the bandits from the east were also coming over, and now they were attacked from both sides.

Liang Yi had wanted to break through the enemy's path and escape, but now he had no choice but to fight another tough battle. So he ordered all his troops to occupy advantageous terrain and prepare to hold on until help came.

They had less than three thousand troops under their command, and the number of rioters from the east and west plus those who had caught up with them from the south had exceeded ten thousand. It was extremely difficult to break through, and the only way to be reliable was to hold on.

Sensing the movements of the Ming army, the rioters slowed down. From a God's perspective, they were adjusting their position in order to tie the pocket tighter.

After another twenty minutes, all intersections were blocked, and the rioters began to shrink towards the center.

Looking at the crowds of people everywhere, Liang Yi couldn't help swallowing his saliva.

The situation was much worse than he expected!
"Why are there so many rioters? Could it be that all the people in Chenxi County have followed the bandits?" Liang Yi couldn't help but scold angrily.

The change in the situation made him feel even more depressed, because as time went by, the number of rioters continued to increase.

If they really rushed forward and attacked from all directions, it would not be too difficult to defeat these two or three thousand people.

"Your Majesty...someone is coming from the front and says he wants to talk to the general leading the troops!" A captain came to report.

Liang Yi became suspicious and ordered his men to bring the newcomer in.

After a few breaths, a total of five people were brought in front of him, and the leader was a burly man.

"Why don't you kneel down in front of your husband?" the guards on both sides scolded.

The man replied: "We are already rebels, and we are doomed... Why should we kneel?"

The guards were about to teach him a lesson, but Liang Yi waved his hand to stop him, then asked, "Tell me...what do you want to see me for?"

"We don't want to kill anyone, we just want to live a good life. As long as you hand over half of your weapons, we can make way and let you go!"

Hearing this, Liang Yi was so angry that he laughed. It turned out that the rebels were talking to the government troops.

"I should be the one saying this. You were kidnapped by the rebels. As long as you lay down your weapons and surrender to the court... the emperor will be merciful and will definitely forgive your crimes!"

"Your Majesty, have mercy..."

When these four words were mentioned, everyone present showed a look of ridicule, and then the leader said: "If he was kind, there wouldn't be so many heavy taxes, forcing us to sell our children and daughters, and live a life worse than death..."

"He is in the Golden Palace thousands of miles away, enjoying endless pleasures and receiving offerings from the world. How could he care about the lives of lowly people like us?"

"Shut up! This is such treasonous behavior that you deserve to die!" Liang Yi shouted.

Seeing the guards on both sides draw their swords, the leading man said with a smile: "Treason? Deserve death? General...if a fight really breaks out, I'm afraid you will die for sure!"

"Do you think those people outside were forced to come here by us? Do you think there are only people from Chenxi County? You are wrong... people from Luxi, Mayang, and even Xupu and Yuanzhou have come!"

"They are all people who are forced to live. They all want to use the hoes and carrying poles in their hands to find a way to survive...so they will definitely fight to the death!"

Liang Yi tried to threaten others with words, but was instead confronted by them so much that he didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"In recent years, the imperial court has added some new taxes in order to suppress the rebellion in the northwest and eliminate the maritime threat in the southwest..."

"But that was all for the sake of stabilizing the world. It was good for the country and good for you. It just increased some taxes. I don't understand... why you wanted to rebel!"

Liang Yi really couldn't understand it, because he was a "carnivore" and couldn't fully look at the problem from the perspective of ordinary people.

The ordinary taxes he mentioned, even if it was only two or three coins of silver, were indeed enough to crush people to death, but he would not feel it at all.

So at this moment, he could say righteously: "Although you do not understand the court's difficulties, but I have said... the emperor is merciful and benevolent to the world. As long as you surrender now, the emperor can pardon your death penalty!"

After hearing the last few sentences, the leading man just laughed and didn't argue any more.

"If you leave half of you without weapons, we can let you go. If you don't... you will all die!"

"I want to see... who will die in the end!" Liang Yi sneered.

Then he gave orders to capture these people, but he did not order them to be killed. Instead, he wanted them to see who would live and who would die.

Seeing that the envoy had not returned yet, the bandit leader Liu Zhuming, the so-called "Emperor of Han", who was in charge of the command, immediately ordered all troops to start the attack.

It can be seen from the name he changed that this guy was determined to fight to the death with the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)