King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 804: Three Sticks Shatter the Soul of the Great City

Chapter 804: Three Sticks Shatter the Soul of the Great City

After asking the question in return, Jiao Xing added: "But you didn't abuse your power for personal gain, so there's no need to worry too much!"

"If your majesty becomes suspicious, does it still matter whether I have abused my power for personal gain?"

"Because of the things that happened in Nanjing, I was transferred to the position of Minister of Works and was exiled to Nanjing, which already made His Majesty unhappy!"

The emperor's will is hard to predict, and Jia Yucun really cannot grasp it now, which makes him feel particularly worried.

While he was thinking, Jiao Xing said, "Now that things have come to this, just do your job well from now on, that's all!"

"Song Ziyu passed the imperial examination this time. To be honest, I helped him with the matter. I'm just afraid that His Majesty will know about it!"

"You... why do you have to do this? Even though he is your student, it's only been a matter of two or three years. Why do you need to help him so much?"

Jia Yucun replied: "To offer auspicious signs, the auspicious signs of winning the sixth place in the imperial examination, the auspicious signs from Jinling!"

But Jiao Xing said, "I'm afraid it's not the auspicious sign you taught me!"

Jiao Xing hit the nail on the head with one sentence. After all, Jia Yucun was just trying to build momentum for himself.

Firstly, he was the one who created the top six candidates in the imperial examination, so he had made a great contribution to the so-called auspicious omen; secondly, as a teacher who taught such a talented student, his level was naturally proven.

As I said, Jia Yucun is determined to get promoted. Taking charge of a department and then becoming a minister is his only goal now.

"I think you should not interfere. Song Ziyu is already a member. If His Majesty has no doubts about you, he will naturally select him as the top scholar!"

"But if... Your Majesty does not choose him as the top scholar!" Jia Yucun's face was solemn.

Jiao Xing was silent for a while, then replied, "Perhaps... Your Majesty wants this auspicious sign!"

Jia Yucun's worries continued, and no matter how much he and his wife said, they could not change the reality.

The palace examination will be held on March 19th, and there are still more than 20 days left. The most important matter for the court at present is to bury the coffin of the late emperor in the mausoleum.

On the third day of March, Zhu Jinghong bathed, changed his clothes, and fasted. Three days later, he set out for Guande Hall to carry his father's coffin to the imperial mausoleum.

Accompanying him were his concubines, except Baochai who was unable to go because she was about to give birth.

In addition, there were a large number of royal family members, nobles and officials. In short, as long as they were not on duty in the government office and as long as there was nothing particularly important, all the dignitaries had to go to see the emperor off for funeral.

The funeral procession, together with the escorting guards, eunuchs, palace maids, various servants and ceremonial guards, totaled nearly 30,000 to 40,000 people.

It was only fifty miles from the capital to the imperial mausoleum. We walked forty miles the day before and set up camp. We did not arrive at Siling until noon the next day.

The name Siling was given by Zhu Xianming himself, because Queen Yang Qingyin died first and was temporarily buried here.

Because Zhu Xianming had not been buried, Yang Qingyin's coffin was placed in the side hall and would only be moved to the back hall after the emperor was buried.

The emperor's coffin was sent to the imperial mausoleum, and a reburial ceremony was held that afternoon. Zhu Jinghong watched his father's coffin being carried into the underground palace.

Zhu Jinghong was wearing a plain robe and a white-winged hat. The concubines and ministers behind him were also dressed in white.

The people closest to him were the two imperial concubines, both of whom were kneeling motionless.

After the emperor's coffin was sent into the underground palace, the related funeral ceremonies lasted for more than an hour. More than 3,000 pieces of paper alone were burned, which shows how wasteful this funeral was.

Zhu Jinghong will stay in Siling for the next few days. On the one hand, there will be mourning ceremonies to follow, and on the other hand, he is waiting for the reburial of the late queen.

Reburial sounds complicated, but it actually just involves moving the queen's coffin from the side hall of the underground palace to the main hall. It only takes a dozen minutes, but the accompanying rituals are very complicated.

The sun set and all ceremonies ended. After dinner, Zhu Jinghong took his concubines to the main hall of the Xun'en Hall, where they would sit in silence and mourn tonight.

Other members of the royal family and officials found their own accommodation outside the imperial mausoleum. There were many mausoleum guard camps around it, so it was not difficult to find a place to settle down.

Sitting in front of the emperor and empress's shrine, looking at the portraits hanging behind them, Zhu Jinghong looked somewhat sad, with unspeakable grief in his heart.

Normally they would have to stay up all night, but later in the night Zhu Jinghong let the concubines rest. After all, they had some ceremonies to attend the next day, so they had to conserve their energy.

He was the emperor, and even he was allowed to rest. After some excuses, everyone left the hall together.

Zhu Jinghong sat alone in the hall for a night, during which he said some words that could not be known to outsiders, but no one knew what he said.

Maybe it has something to do with the two brothers buried outside the cemetery, or maybe it talks about the governance of the country, or maybe it talks about the relationship between brothers and sisters today...

The next day came, Zhu Jinghong looked normal and participated in the various ceremonies calmly.

In a blink of an eye, a few days passed, the queen's reburial ceremony was completed, and the exit of the underground palace was blocked. The couple could rest here and stay together forever.

On March 13, Zhu Jinghong set out for Beijing and returned to the palace at noon on the 14th.

While the imperial court was busy preparing for the palace examination, the Annan Xingdusi headquarters, thousands of miles away, had been surrounded by a large number of rioters.

"Ming people, get out of Dacheng..."

"The land of Dacheng is not the land of the Ming people. Give us our land back!"

"Dacheng is not a slave of the Ming people. We will not submit to you!"

There was an extremely noisy sound of shouting outside, spoken in the local indigenous language, which sounded like endless "gibberish" to the ears of the Ming army.

Fortunately, the government troops had an interpreter, so they knew what the other side was shouting.

The imperial court established the Annan Xingdusi, and its headquarters and supporting military camps occupied a very large area, which involved a series of land acquisition issues.

As a result, tens of thousands of landless peasants emerged, including the local landlords. The latter, filled with hatred, incited the people, and civil unrest broke out.

Those who participated in the riots included not only the landless peasants, but also the common people who were living in misery due to increased taxes and hard labor. No one would rebel unless they were forced to live in despair.

Loss of land, increased taxes and hard labor, these three blows would have forced them to rebel even if they didn't want to.

Regarding the establishment of the Annan Xingdusi, the imperial court actually provided compensation.

That is, Myanmar, South Vietnam and Phnom Penh allocated 100,000 shi of grain to Ayutthaya free of charge, specifically to compensate the people for lost land and labor. The civil unrest that has now broken out is obviously because the compensation has not been paid.

The reason why it is called "special" is because the subsequent supply of military rations and military salaries to the Annan Xingdusi has to be accounted for separately.

This expenditure is shared by Ayutthaya, Myanmar, Phnom Penh and South Vietnam. Of course, this is just a literal agreement, and there may still be problems when it is implemented in practice later.

The three mobile governorates of Anxi, Anbei and Andong had encountered many troubles in the past due to these issues, and had fought many wars over the past hundred years. Only now have they been able to collect taxes stably.

Having said that, the Annan Xingdusi garrison is still under construction, and its main force is still training in Annan Province. Currently, there are only more than a thousand soldiers stationed in the garrison.

The walls of the garrison city were not even completed, and the garrison troops only stayed in the barracks. Facing the siege of tens of thousands of rioters, the situation was actually very dangerous.

The commander of the Ming army stationed here was Zhou Qian, the deputy commander of the Annan Xingdusi. Under him were the commander of the First Guard and his subordinate commanders and assistants, as well as a deputy captain of the Jinyiwei Southern Pacification Division.

There were four of them in total, standing on the watchtower and observing the situation outside.

Wang Jinyi, the commander of the First Guard, could not help but curse: "Tong Pala, that bastard, didn't he say he could suppress the rioters? Is this the result of his suppression?"

The Tongpala he mentioned was the general sent by the Dacheng Kingdom, who was specifically responsible for suppressing local unrest.

Another commander said, "Sir, we can't count on those bastards. We must respond as soon as possible, otherwise, if the rioters rush into the camp, we will surely die without a burial place!"

Zhou Qian is the highest commander here, and he is the one who decides how to deal with the situation.

"Wait a little longer, we are government troops, it's best not to shed blood, otherwise it will be hard to explain to the emperor!"

The imperial court established the Annan Xingdusi specifically to stabilize the southwestern countries. Now that the government troops have arrived, the situation has become even more chaotic. If the massacre of civilians happens again, it will be really unacceptable.

In fact, although the four countries including Dacheng agreed to set up the Annan Xingdusi, there were many objections within each country, but they did not dominate the mainstream. Compared with his generals, Zhou Qian looked at the problem at a higher level. For example, at this moment he suspected that the siege by the rioters was caused by the powerful people of Dacheng.

After all, no matter how weak their army was, it was impossible for the rioters to suddenly rise up and surround the Xingdusi without any hindrance.

Although Zhou Qian considered a lot, he had to admit that the current situation was very dangerous.

If tens of thousands of rioters really attacked recklessly and broke through the garrison camp, their thousand-plus people would be overwhelmed.

"Are our brothers ready?" Zhou Qian asked.

"Everything is ready. We can charge out as soon as the master gives the order!"

They are regular troops, and 100% of them wear armor. The rioters outside don't even have many iron weapons, let alone armor, so if they break out, the battle will be one-sided.

"Look, there, and there, and there..."

Everyone looked in the direction Zhou Qian pointed and easily saw what was special.

"Those are the ones who instigated the riot. The infantry will attack and defeat the rioters, and then the cavalry will go out and capture those people for me!"

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At this point, Zhou Qian said in a serious tone: "I want him alive and I will interrogate him in person!"

"Yes!"

After giving these instructions, Zhou Qian looked at the deputy captain of the Southern Pacification Division and said slowly: "Brother Liu, you have seen the situation. It is not us who want to kill people, we are also forced to do so!"

Captain Liu of the Southern Pacification Office is the emperor's eyes here, and he will report everything that happens here.

The emperor doesn't want the government troops to be stained with blood, so how to report today's events becomes particularly important, so Captain Liu's job must be done well.

"The situation is critical, I will report it truthfully!"

After receiving such a guarantee, Zhou Qian felt relieved. Compared with the current chaos, he was more afraid of the emperor who was thousands of miles away.

Everyone was silent for a while, and then someone asked, "General, when will we start?"

Zhou Qian said: "Send someone else to tell them that if they don't leave, they will be killed without mercy!"

He had shouted several times, but the refugees showed no signs of retreating. However, Zhou Qian decided to try again.

As the order was conveyed, the "specially recruited" soldiers who understood the local language once again appeared outside the camp and shouted loudly to the crowd.

"You are committing treason. If you don't leave, the government troops will clear the area by force!"

This sentence was repeated over and over again. It was hard to say how much of a deterrent it was, but given the anger of the crowd on the other side, it could not be heard very far away.

At the same time as they were shouting, hundreds of fully armed soldiers had begun to gather at the camp gate, and the only hundreds of cavalrymen had also put on their equipment and were ready to go.

The situation in the camp was actually also being watched by the rioters, and some of them discovered the "unusual movements" of the government troops.

So some people instigated an attack. Although most people were afraid of death, there were some people who really didn't care about their lives and rushed forward, so an attack really took place.

"fire!"

The Ming army stationed here was also well-equipped with firearms. At this moment, as Zhou Qian gave the order, dozens of cannons began to roar, and the muskets around the camp also began to fire in unison.

The people on the opposite side were densely packed, and the effect of firearms was maximized. Hundreds of people were killed in the first round of volleys alone, and the deterrent effect was unparalleled.

It took time to reload the artillery, but the musketeers were much faster and soon started the second round of shooting.

Although hatred is the driving force, when someone around you is blown to pieces, hatred is easily covered by fear, and then some people start to run for their lives.

So many times, some situations that seem critical, as long as you give everything to overcome them, you will find that the problem is actually very simple.

After another round of volleys, except for a few who were not afraid of death, most of the rioters began to flee.

At this time, the cavalry had already been dispatched and began to arrest people according to Zhou Qian's instructions, making sure to arrest all the instigators.

The soldiers in the camp gave up their muskets and took up swords, shields, spears and eagles, ready to deal with the last few scattered bandits.

Less than ten minutes had passed since the firing began, and the so-called riot was resolved in this way.

"Sir, the crisis is over. How about having a drink later?" suggested a general.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Qian sighed, "I have committed murder, so I should apologize to His Majesty. How can I have the heart to drink?"

When everyone was speechless for a while, they heard Captain Liu of the Southern Pacification Division say, "General Zhou, you are helpless. I don't think the emperor will blame you!"

"I hope so!" Zhou Qian sighed.

Outside, the Ming cavalry pursued the rebels northwards and soon dispersed the crowds of rioters, killing many of them in the process.

But the main task of these cavalrymen was to arrest those who instigated riots among the mob. These people were better dressed and had many servants around them, so it was easy for them to be targeted.

These people are basically local big families. Because their families were ruined after the land expropriation, they called on the refugees to revolt.

Only a few of them rode horses, but their riding skills were very poor. The farthest they ran only four or five miles before being intercepted by the Ming cavalry.

When most people were arrested, there was still a group of people fleeing south. A lot of young and strong people gathered around the core person, and it was obvious that the family was very powerful.

Although this man was on the run, he was still giving orders to his subordinates, asking them to risk their lives to stop the Ming army in order to give him a chance of survival.

"Brothers, wait for me to go back and get reinforcements, you guys hold them off. We in the Dacheng Kingdom... will never admit defeat and we will never be afraid of death!" Meng Zhao roared.

All of his men were desperate criminals, and their families were well taken care of by him, so these people were willing to die for him.

It's a pity that these people turned back and failed to stop the dozen or so cavalrymen who were pursuing them. They only played a certain delaying role.

But taking advantage of this opportunity, Meng Zhao and several of his confidants hid in the village ahead, or to be more precise, a village that had been abandoned for several months.

A dozen pursuing cavalrymen, after killing a dozen people who were seeking their own death, rushed into the village on horseback.

Four soldiers rushed to the top of the village, from where they could monitor the movements of the entire village, while the rest of the soldiers dismounted and began searching the village.

The village was not big, with only dozens of thatched huts. The soldiers conducted a carpet search and in less than ten minutes they found the situation in a hut.

The five soldiers surrounding the hut exchanged glances and then rushed in from the north and south doors of the hut.

They were wearing full body armor and basically ignored any attacks. They just swung their swords and started hacking and killing. Several of Meng Zhao's confidants were killed on the spot.

Meng Zhao and his only remaining confidant, who were hiding in the closet, were pulled out of the hut by the soldiers, and several of them started smashing them with their scabbards.

"Damn it, you've made us look for you so hard, I'll beat you to death!"

"What do you mean by a big city that never bows? I want to see how tough you are!"

Several soldiers wielded their swords like the wind, conservatively estimated to hit them at least six or seven times a second, beating Meng Zhao and his three confidants so hard that they screamed in pain.

"Sir, I am Burmese!"

In such a panic, Meng Zhao even shouted in Chinese, because it was so painful when the scabbard hit his body.

But these people were angry, so they didn't care whether they were Burmese or people from Ayutthaya. Of course, they would vent their anger first and then talk about other things.

As a result, Meng Zhao and his men were beaten even more severely, and their shouting was heard by the Ming army on the other side of the village.

(End of this chapter)

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