Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 225 Chongzhen: Is there a great scholar who can debate the scriptures for me?

Someone hid for a long time and finally escaped by water at night, but after escaping, he found that there were many desperate criminals outside the city who took advantage of the situation to rob. They ambushed on the way of escape and looted gold and silver. No one dared to resist and just hoped to survive.

These desperate criminals are worried that their crimes will be exposed, so how can we let them live?

In the next few days, when the people, under the leadership of the peasant army, were cleaning up the corpses, they found that the moat outside the city had already been blocked.

Corpses were piled up like mountains everywhere in the city, blood flowed like channels, and corpses were piled up like small hills on both sides of the gullies. It was impossible to tell which was an official and which was a gentry.

The crow was pecking at a corpse. When it heard someone coming, it flew up suddenly, but soon landed on another corpse.

As the group passed through the bushes, they startled a group of wild dogs, one of which ran away with a discarded limb in its mouth.

The scarlet flowed along the river and was eventually diluted.

He knew this wealthy family, and the old man... was the most prestigious official in their area. In the past, he dared not look at such people, but now, all of them died here with horrible faces.

There was also that one, who seemed to be surnamed Qian, and was a great scholar in the area...and so on until the afternoon of the third day.

There are rumors outside.

The peasant army wanted to kill all the officials, gentry, wealthy families, and even some middle peasants, and people became even more panicked.

But in fact, more people were killed on the first and second days. In the following days, Shi Daoshen led people to ransack homes and exterminate families.

"Oh, this is a good thing, an emerald." Shi Daoshen opened the basement of the Hangzhou Weaving Factory. All his subordinates were staring at the gold bricks, and only a few of them knew the value of them.

"I heard that the Eighth King gave his concubine an emerald. This one is as big as a pigeon egg, so it is obviously more precious."

One of them wanted to touch it, but was slapped away by Shi Daoshen, "Don't move, this good thing is naturally reserved for Prince Xin, we can just get a few small goldfish."

"What is this... It says Wu Daozi from the Tang Dynasty... Who is this Wu Daozi?"

"You don't know this, right? The painting saint Wu Daozi!"

"Oh, this is also a good thing, keep it for Prince Xin."

"..."

It lasted until the fifth day, when the fire in the city gradually went out, and occasional cannon shots were heard, and the number of soldiers moving around gradually decreased.

The people had just begun to calm down, and the number of deaths in the city was truly incalculable.

Although the killings by the peasant army were different from those by Huang Chao, don't expect them to be completely fair and without any wrong identifications. There would always be a few people who died because of mistaken identification, just as it is impossible to guarantee that not a single gentry escaped.

However, for the poor people in the city, the disaster brought by the war was much easier than the torture inflicted on the people by the corrupt officials and gentry.

On September 27, the peasant army posted a notice to open warehouses and release grain to help the victims, which excited the people in the city.

As a place where officials, gentry and wealthy families from the south of the Yangtze River live together, the city of Hangzhou has many luxury homes and abundant assets.

The survivors who came to collect food were all exhausted, skinny, and with tears all over their faces, just like the wronged ghosts in the temple...

The people were so encouraged that the war had no impact on agricultural production. The only impact was on industry and commerce, as well as commercial activities such as the grain transport gangs and private salt sales.

However, many places such as Wuchang Prefecture, Jiujiang Prefecture, Changde Prefecture, Huizhou Prefecture, and Anqing Prefecture had fallen into the hands of the peasant army, especially private salt. A lot of private salt was seized during the previous attack on Anqing and other places.

The lives of the people were not greatly affected.

On September 28, an official announcement finally came, telling the people that they no longer had to fear and could go to the Hangzhou prefectural government office to claim their land.

He also notified the monks in all temples to burn the accumulated corpses and check the numbers recorded in the cremation books.

The total number was about 10,000, not including those who jumped into wells or rivers, burned themselves in their homes, or hanged themselves in remote places.

On September 29th, the gloomy weather began to clear up.

The corpses piled up on the roadside outside Hangzhou city had swelled up after being soaked by rainwater. The flesh and blood had rotted, and the stench was overwhelming. The stone road was deep and the peasant army and civilians were asked to burn the corpses.

Even within the city of Hangzhou, one could see smoke rising up and the city was like fog, with a stench that could be smelled hundreds of miles away.

Even with the windows of every household in Hangzhou closed, the smell could not be blocked.

September 30th,

The liquidation is still going on. The money, grain, shops and minerals of the wealthy families in Hangzhou are being taken away.
……
Until the third of October,

When the mountains and rivers were leveled, the walls of Hangzhou were already covered with flags with the word "faith" on them.

There was already frost on the stone steps on the street, and the fallen leaves on the ground were a layer of pure white, like strands of soft gauze.

After the bloodbath and chaos in Hangzhou, the streets began to become lively again.

Various means of water transport, horse transport, etc. also began to operate gradually, and there were even people fishing on the river.

"Shaobing!"

"Excuse me, be careful of the burns..."

"Old Third, give me a bowl of wonton."

"Come here~"

The only difference is that the scenes of officials in brocade clothes and silks walking around on the streets are no longer seen. Instead, there are groups of poor people such as strong men, old farmers, and beggars, who are dressed in rags and have families with them.

Peddlers, hawkers pulling carts selling pulp, small theater troupes, jugglers... are very different from before.

But one thing is obvious, the fear on their brows is no longer there, and their eyes are filled with a little more expectation and hope than before.

In the past, when there were officials, landlords and gentry, they had no chance. Now that those officials have been overthrown, some people have gathered together and started setting up stalls to make a living. This is the world of Jianghu.

A city cannot exist without certain people.

The difference between the before and after is like a flower car with bright and colorful outside, but now the outer layer of flowers has been removed, and then some rotten frames have been knocked off, and then another skeleton has been put on in an almost barbaric manner.

The vehicle started moving again. For most people on board, although it was not as good-looking as before, it seemed... not as bad as they had imagined. It was even more comfortable than before.

What the people pursue is nothing more than three meals a day. Whether it is the Ming Dynasty or Prince Xin’s kingdom, as long as you can feed me, I will remember your kindness.

This was not the first time that Prince Xin's troops had attacked a city. From the moment they entered the city, the soldiers of the old camp had been prepared. In addition to the officials and gentry, the bandits and hooligans in the city were also eliminated.

All kinds of people, those who usually commit crimes, are most likely to take advantage of the chaos and rob without mercy.

As for the so-called outlaws, after the city was captured, a large number of them gathered here and wanted to follow, but most of them were rejected by Shi Daoshen. Most of these so-called "jianghu people" had murder cases and were notorious. Their subordinates came and went as they pleased.

Very few people can obey discipline, and the current situation is complicated and there are good and bad people everywhere.

Who can guarantee that they are not coming for the ownerless land, property, shops, etc. in Hangzhou Prefecture?

It is easy to capture a city, but it takes time and wisdom to rebuild it and restore the vitality of Hangzhou.

What Shi Daoshen found unbelievable was that the scholars in the city spontaneously organized themselves, with hundreds of them lining up outside the Hangzhou prefectural government office, waiting to be dispatched by the peasant army.

Shi Daoshen rode on his horse, pointed at the crowd and scolded them with a smile: "Hey, you look quite good in my peasant army uniform, but your hair is so neat and shiny, it really doesn't suit us!"

"We...we still need some time to slowly adapt."

"Hahaha~~" Shi Daoshen laughed up to the sky, "We peasant soldiers also have some integrity. Since you are not corrupt, nor have you colluded with them and harmed the people, we won't kill you if we say we won't kill you."

"Prince Xin's subordinates are well-disciplined. We admire them." An old man at the front said, "They are deeply loved by the people. We are willing to erect a monument and engrave a seal for Prince Xin."

"Oh?" Shi Daoshen was about to ride away on his horse, but he stopped and looked at the other party. "Are you willing to carve a monument and write a biography for Prince Xin?"

"The emperor of the Ming court indulged in pleasure and was in charge of government affairs. The ministers were scheming against each other, forming cliques for personal gain, fighting for power and profit. The royal family and vassal states were enjoying themselves while the rich were feasting and drinking, and people were freezing to death on the streets. Local officials were corrupt and perverted the law, exploiting the people in every possible way. The mining supervisors and tax collectors exploited the people at will and imposed additional heavy taxes, causing the people to complain..."

"Now that Prince Xin is wise and virtuous, he is deeply loved by the people, and the rebels are fighting bravely, we are naturally willing to carve a monument and write a biography for Prince Xin. We think... Hangzhou Prefecture is more suitable for further development than Wuchang Prefecture."

"Go one step further?" Shi Daoshen looked at the other party talking and couldn't help but be interested.

What does it mean to go one step further? That means becoming an emperor.

Shi Daoshen looked around and found that Hangzhou City was not inferior to Wuchang Prefecture, and Hangzhou Prefecture was much richer than Wuchang Prefecture, and there were no government troops such as Sun Chuanting and Sun Yingyuan surrounding it.

Moreover, Hangzhou City has well-developed waterways on all sides, making it convenient for trade with the outside world.

No worries about money and food.

The key is that he conquered Hangzhou City himself, and his subordinates have already occupied all the key industries of Hangzhou Prefecture. If Prince Xin ascends the throne in Hangzhou City in the future, he will have an advantage over Sun Kewang.

Since following Prince Xin, Shi Daoshen has come to deeply understand the importance of power.

He is an extremely smart man, otherwise he would not have been able to reach his current position in such a short time.

People are like this. Some boxes, once opened, can never be closed again.

He didn't have this experience when he was under the Eighth King Zhang Xianzhong, but now... the feeling is really different!

He was crowned king and appointed prime minister.

Who rebels not for this purpose?
He didn't dare to think about it before, but now even if he tells himself not to think about it, his mind can't help but think about it.

Shi Daoshen looked up at Hangzhou Prefecture, thinking back to when he could not even get enough food to eat in the countryside, let alone such a big city. But now he was a general with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, who could destroy masts and oars with a wave of his hand.

He has the final say over the hundreds of thousands of people in the entire city of Hangzhou.

Shi Dao lowered his head and took a deep breath. "Okay, then you will take the lead. If it can be completed within three days, I will send it to Wuchang Prefecture. If Prince Xin likes it, you will be blessed."

The old man's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he bowed and saluted, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your support."

Now that the tone had been set, Hangzhou City had to do better than Suzhou City. So Shi Daoshen ordered the peasant army to set up patrol teams to patrol the streets and enforce the law, strictly prohibiting the killing of civilians. Anyone who dared to violate the law would be dealt with directly by military law.

……

In the following days, the streets became more and more lively, and there was a bit more of the leisurely atmosphere of the market.

A teahouse.

"It is said that Prince Xin is only a young man, with a handsome appearance and a noble bearing... Let's talk about the Battle of Wuchang today."

In the city of Hangzhou, there was a storyteller banging the gavel and loudly telling the glorious deeds of Prince Xin. The people in the teahouse clapped and cheered when they heard it.

"On that day, Prince Xin only had tens of thousands of soldiers, while the Governor of Huguang, Gou Youquan, had hundreds of thousands of soldiers... Prince Xin led his troops with a desperate momentum, and in one fell swoop, he drove Gou Youquan's troops in and out three times at Zhaojia Bridge..."

In the past, spreading anti-king deeds in Hangzhou City would be considered high treason and tantamount to treason, but now Hangzhou City is occupied by Prince Xin.

All the officials and gentry in the city were killed, and with the instigation of the scholars, the whole city of Hangzhou was spreading the good news of Prince Xin. Even the lyrics of the storytelling were written by the scholars.

On the contrary, anyone who dares to criticize Prince Xin would be committing treason.

Even if someone feels that the storyteller's words are not credible, they can only laugh a few times, clap their hands, and then get up and leave.

……

Wuchang Prefecture,
Chongzhen received the news that Shi Daoshen had breached Hangzhou City, and he could not help but stand up from his seat, "Good, very good... There should be no major problems with this plan. As long as we get rid of Hong Niangzi, there will be no other problems with the anti-king conference."

What puzzled Chongzhen was that Lao Han had already sent the message to the court, so why hadn't the government troops yet confronted Hongniang's army?

"According to the case, the intelligence network of the Imperial Guards should not be so inefficient. I really don't know where the problem lies." Old Han also shook his head, not understanding the situation.

"By the way, Shi Daoshen also sent a scroll of something, saying it was a gift for you."

"Give it here!" Chongzhen opened the scroll of articles with inexplicable excitement, but as he looked at it, his face suddenly turned as gloomy as water.

It’s just because the words in this article are harsh.

They cursed Chongzhen for his incompetence, suspicious nature, and self-righteousness, saying that the Ming Dynasty had been suffering from a century-long illness and was unable to reverse its downward trend.

Only Prince Xin has strict military discipline and is supported by the people. He is deeply loved by the people and is the army of justice.

We should follow the general trend of the world and replace the Ming Dynasty...

"Swish...swish..." Chongzhen tore the article into pieces with all his might, and the muscles on his face were deformed due to the excessive force.

"Nurhaci said: When I enter the Pass, there will be great scholars who will debate the scriptures for me... Now it seems that this is true."

"Is this their literary character? ... I would rather they stand and curse than see them grovelling like this."

"Kill!" Chongzhen clenched his back teeth so hard that his cheeks bulged high. His voice was like thunder and he rolled out far away.

……

(End of this chapter)