The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 345 Bloodstained Temasek
The people surrounded in the casino were panicking.

Isn't this what they thought? Don't you want to capture them alive? Why did you just set the fire?

Some people also think that they are bluffing and are just trying to scare them.

Some people even shouted, "So what if they set fire? I would rather die than surrender."

Then they discovered that the Ming army outside was serious.

The fire soon became raging.

Now, those so-called desperadoes were all scared and shouted that they wanted to surrender.

However, no one paid any attention to them.

The people inside finally couldn't bear it anymore, opened the door and rushed out.

Since you don't care, why don't we just run out and surrender?
The answer is, no.

The archers guarding outside shot to death all those who rushed out.

This scene not only frightened the people in the house, but also the people watching from a distance were trembling with fear, and felt cold all over in such a hot day.

A consensus emerged in everyone's mind at the same time.

This Ming army is different.

Countless times more brutal than the most brutal pirates.

Most ancient buildings are made of wood, and Temasek is an island, so there are usually winds of level 2 or 3.

As the saying goes, wind helps the fire, and it soon spread to the surrounding buildings.

Some people tried to put out the fire, but they gave up the idea when faced with the bows and crossbows in the hands of the Ming army.

They could only watch the fire burn, and soon half of the street was engulfed in flames.

Those who lost their homes stood in the open space, their eyes filled with confusion and fear.

In fact, Cen Xintong was also shocked by the methods of the Qin King's guards.

If anyone says that we, the Jinyiwei, are cruel again, I will fight them to death.

Compared with the Qin Wang Guards, our Jinyiwei are all kind people.

The fire was like a signal, and more Ming troops began to land on the island and surround it from all sides.

Drive all people on the island to the dock.

Some people wanted to resist by relying on their numbers, but in the face of the regular army armed to the teeth, their resistance was powerless and could not cause any waves.

Some people also wanted to sail to Malacca on the other side of the island.

There are jungles everywhere over there, and there are their hideouts as well. If we just rush over there, we can escape with our life.

If it were only the Qin King's Guard, they might have succeeded.

However, the joining of Guo Chengbu completely cut off this hope.

As a local tyrant, Guo Chengbu knew very well which waterway was the narrowest and which was the best place to escape to the other side.

Warships have already been dispatched and are on standby.

All non-military warships that appeared in this strait were sunk.

The method was extremely simple and crude, the warship just rushed forward and rammed and sank it.

Back to Temasek Island, the methods used by the landing troops were also very cruel.

Anyone hiding in the wilderness will be killed, no matter who they are.

The hideouts provided by the Embroidered Uniform Guards and the Tax Inspection Bureau were targeted and personnel were dispatched to clear them out.

First, they simply persuaded them to surrender, and then they would wipe out all those who refused.

Want to resist by relying on the terrain?

In front of the regular army, the so-called fortifications they built were as fragile as a piece of paper.

You know, Zhu Chong’s real destination is the Middle East.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were afraid that he would lose his footing, so they selected the most elite soldiers from the entire army to form the Qin Prince Guard.

A batch of the most advanced firearms were also allocated to him.

There were as many as fifty of the primitive mortars weighing one or two hundred kilograms, and even more other cannons.

There were more than twenty gunboats alone.

Of course, there was no need to use naval guns to deal with these people on the island, but several mortars were dragged up.

If you encounter a relatively solid fortification, just fire a few shots and it's done.

Doing so would naturally result in the deaths of many innocent people, such as slaves imprisoned in dark prisons, many of whom were killed together.

But no one cares.

The slaves who were not killed were grateful to them.

The sounds of fighting, sporadic gunfire, dense columns of smoke... have become the main theme of Temasek Island in recent days.

The suspension of Temasek also caused many ships entering and leaving Southeast Asia to be stranded.

The ships that had not yet entered the port quickly found a shallow beach to dock and inquire about the news on the island.

Those who had already entered the harbor or accidentally entered the harbor were all gathered together.

However, Zhu Chong did not take action against them.

As the leader of the civil servants, Li Fang brought his subordinates to explain the reasons to everyone.

The King of Qin came here on the Emperor's orders to deal with the traitor.

If anyone has been bullied on the island, or has evidence of their wrongdoing, please come forward and submit your report.

But few people stood up.

Li Fang was confused at first, wondering if they had never been bullied?

Or are you afraid of the Qin King's vicious reputation?

It was Xu Chai Lao who cleared up his doubts: "Many people have been blackmailed and bullied, but most of them have no evidence..."

Li Fang then understood what was going on and released the news.

It doesn’t matter if you can’t provide evidence, just explain it verbally.

You don't have to worry about anyone retaliating against you, you can report anonymously.

At this moment, the merchants who were stuck in the harbor became excited.

Hundreds of anonymous letters were submitted overnight.

However, what they didn't know was that after receiving the anonymous letter, Li Fang didn't even read it, but directly had it burned.

This puzzled Xu Chai Lao: "These are all evidences, why burn them?"

Li Fang took a look and said, "Have you forgotten what the king said? He doesn't need evidence to do things."

Xu Chai Lao was even more puzzled: "Then why do we have to ask businessmen to write letters of denunciation?"

Li Fang was obviously a little impatient, but still said:
"For the sake of Chen's tutor, I will teach you a few more things."

"Asking the merchants to write a letter of accusation is to tell them that the court has known about the previous incident and is dealing with it."

“And the intensity of the treatment was very strong.”

"This will reassure them and avoid unnecessary unrest."

“Also, through this incident, we want to let them know the government’s determination to rebuild Temasek.”

“It can save a lot of trouble for subsequent reconstruction work.”

Xu Chai Lao suddenly realized and said, "So that's how it is. I'll take your advice."

Li Fang originally wanted to leave, but thinking of his relationship with Chen Jingke, he decided to say a few more words since he had already spoken.

Give Chen Bandu a thumbs up.

"Do you know where you went wrong?"

Xu Chai Lao smiled bitterly and said, "Too weak."

Li Fang shook her head and said, "No, you are too naive to think that you can establish order by talking."

"All order is established by the iron fist. Without the iron fist as a backing, the law is nothing but a piece of waste paper."

"You have an iron fist in your hand but you don't dare to use it, which leads to your current situation."

"No one cares about your own personal honor and disgrace, but you have wasted the court's years of hard work."

"If it weren't for Chen Bandu's sake, the first thing the King of Qin would do when he arrived would be to kill you as a sacrifice."

Xu Chailao knew that he was telling the truth and was not trying to scare him.

Ever since he learned about the character of the King of Qin, he has been feeling scared.

Li Fang pointed at the smoke-filled Temasek Island and said, "See? All these consequences are because of you."

"All those who died in this chaos can be considered killed by you."

"As a ruler, if you fail to establish and maintain order, more people will die."

"If you have the opportunity to serve in the government in the future, I hope you will remember this lesson."

Xu Chai Lao bowed deeply and said, "Thank you, Li Changshi, for your guidance."

Li Fang did not appreciate it and said, "Don't thank me. I am only telling you this for Chen Bandu's sake."

"If you want to thank him, you can thank him in person when you have the chance in the future."
-
Three days passed quickly, and all the people on Temasek Island were gathered at the dock.

However, according to statistics, there should be more than 100,000 people on the island, but there are only less than 70,000 people at present.

As for where the rest of the people went...

On one side of the dock, a Jingguan made of human heads tells it all.

Under the intimidation of Jingguan and Qin Wang’s guards, tens of thousands of people at the scene fell silent.

The merchants in the harbor, standing on the deck and looking at the dock, were trembling with fear.

This kind of scene has only been heard in stories, but never seen in reality.

But some people who had been humiliated on the island felt extremely excited despite their fear.

They even shouted, "Long live the emperor, a thousand years live the King of Qin."

But such people are only a minority after all.

Everyone was waiting, waiting for the legendary butcher, King Qin Zhu Chong, to show up and make the final decision on these people.

However, a dispute broke out on Zhu Chong's flagship.

Xu Chailao took a deep breath. He knew that the King of Qin was bloodthirsty, but he didn't expect that he was so cruel that he was going to kill everyone on the island.

This was too cruel and beyond his acceptance.

Controlling the fear in my heart, I stood up and said:

"Your Majesty, not all the people on the island are bad. Many of them are doing honest business and have not participated in any illegal activities."

"It would be unfair to kill them all, and if the news gets out it would damage the king's reputation."

Zhu Chong's eyes flashed with strange light, and he said in a strange tone:
"Reputation? Do you think I still have a reputation, or do you think I care about my reputation?"

Xu Chailao was silent. Zhu Chong really didn't have this thing, so why should he care about it?

He could only look for help to Cen Xintong, Tong Dayin, Guo Cheng and others. You also have friends on this island.

You just watch like this?

Tong Dayin and others avoided his eyes. It was obvious that King Qin was determined to kill him.

You have Chen Bandu behind you, so the King of Qin won’t do anything to you. But the people behind us don’t have that face.

Even if they are killed if they stand up now, the people behind them will not only not help them get justice, but will also scold them and say they deserve it.

Even Cen Xintong did not stand up to speak for him.

To be honest, with things turning out like this, it's impossible to say that he has no opinion on Xu Chailao at all.

I gave up my future not to help you. That was my own choice.

Besides, no one expected this to be the outcome, and I don’t blame you.

But now such bad consequences have occurred, and others have to clean up your mess for you.

If you keep on getting involved, it will be hard for me to support you.

Xu Chailao naturally knew what his old friend was thinking, and he knew in his heart that he could not blame the other party.

I am the least qualified person to stand up and beg for mercy.

But...he really couldn't ignore the killing of so many innocent people.

Even if you just do a little screening.

Finally, Guo Cheng sighed, stood up and said:
“Your Majesty, I don’t think the court is going to give up Temasek completely.”

"Punishing the lawbreakers and re-establishing order is the purpose of the king's trip."

"If we kill everyone, outsiders won't know what happened on the island and will probably be even more afraid to come here."

“It would be better to forgive the innocent among them and let them tell the truth to others.”

"This will prevent outsiders from misunderstanding the court's intentions."

"And if we keep these people doing business on the island, they will be more disciplined."

"I will also tell more people who come after me about the rules of the island..."

"They may even take the initiative to help the court establish a new order."

"In this way, the new order can be built more quickly."

"It's just a humble opinion. Please think twice, Your Majesty."

Zhu Chong looked thoughtful, obviously moved.

At this time, Li Fang also said: "Your Majesty, I think what General Guo said makes sense."

"Temasek is of great importance because previous mistakes have delayed the court's plans."

"If we execute all the people on the island, I'm afraid all the efforts of several years will be wasted in an instant."

"The Emperor, His Majesty, and Chen Bandu do not want to see this kind of loss."

Li Fang was the Chief Clerk of the Qin Palace and also the Prime Minister of the soon-to-be-established State of Qin. His words carried great weight.

Zhu Chong finally nodded and said, "Ten thousand. Only ten thousand people can survive. I want the result tomorrow."

After saying that, he stood up and returned to the cabin.

As soon as he left, the tense atmosphere on the deck finally dissipated.

Xu Chai Lao bowed deeply to the two men and said, "On behalf of ten thousand people, I would like to thank General Zheng and Li Changshi."

Li Fang nodded slightly and said, "Don't talk about this anymore, just act now."

"Remember, ten thousand people, not one more."

Xu Chai Lao hurriedly said: "Yes, I promise there won't be one more person."

Guo Cheng said: "I will ask my men to cooperate with you and select the person as soon as possible."

"Thank you, General." Xu Chai Lao thanked him again, then looked at Cen Xintong and pleaded:

"Brother Cen."

Cen Xintong waved his hand and said, "Why are you still talking so much nonsense? Hurry up and take people to pick people."

Xu Chai Lao said gratefully: "Thank you, Brother Cen."

Afterwards, Xu Chailao and Cen Xintong each brought their men and went to select people with the cooperation of Guo Chengjun.

Tong Dayin also sent people from the Tax Inspection Bureau to cooperate.

Since the King of Qin has spoken, it would be fine for him to do him a favor.

What's more, he has worked here for so long and knows a lot of people, so it's just the right time to rescue them.

You can also get a favor for free.

They did not select people directly. With 70,000 to 80,000 people gathered together, it would be inconvenient to select people directly and it would easily cause riots.

The best way is to separate the people first.

These people were divided into units of about ten thousand and driven to different places.

Then select innocent people from among these people.

With fewer people, the situation is naturally easier to control.

And this time Xu Chailao was no longer soft-hearted. Anyone who resisted during the selection process was executed.

At first, the people who were chosen thought they were going to be executed and refused to come out no matter what.

But gradually everyone discovered that those who were selected were those who had a good reputation on weekdays, or they were children.

At this point even the dumbest person would know that maybe the situation is the other way around.

Only those who are picked can survive?
However, in the face of swords and guns, those who were not chosen only made a slight stir and did not dare to resist.

It only took half a day to select 10,000 people.

After receiving the report, Zhu Chong appeared at the bow again and looked at the more than 60,000 people who were driven together again.

His expression was full of excitement: "Send them on their way."

(End of this chapter)