Chapter 714 The tide flies by and the fireworks dissipate
In April, countless people died of starvation in Bianliang City, and the stench of corpses filled the city.
Tang Ke passed through Bianliang City in a sedan chair and returned home from the imperial city.
The sedan swayed slightly, and from outside the swaying curtain, a slight stench and crying sounds came in. On the roadside outside, there were dead bodies, and Bian who was as skinny as a corpse, with only the last breath left. Liang people.
There are not many pedestrians on the streets anymore.
The old man in the sedan was neatly dressed and his face was dull and a little indifferent. He looked at the curtain in front of him, but there was no movement.
As one of the top officials maintaining the Wu Dynasty today, he not only has domestic slaves carrying the sedan, but also guards accompanying the sedan to protect him. This was to prevent him from being assassinated by gangsters on his way to and from court. However, in recent days, the number of criminals who want to assassinate him has gradually decreased. In the capital, there have even begun to be exchanged for food. When hungry to this extent, those who want to assassinate him for the sake of morality have already been killed. Starved to death.
This is already a city that has been drained dry. In a place where millions of people lived together a year ago, it is difficult to imagine that it will be as desolate as it is today. But it is precisely because of the gathering of millions of people that he was reduced to a situation where foreign enemies wantonly kneaded him, and the scene he showed became more and more desolate.
Half a year ago, the Jurchen troops came to the city. Faced with danger, the court recruited a group of peace factions such as Tang Ke and Wu Min. They hoped that they could minimize the losses after compromising. On the other hand, they hoped that the generals would be able to Defend against the Jurchens. Tang Ke was the biggest pessimist during this period. This time, before the Jurchens besieged the city, he came to remonstrate with him, hoping that the emperor would hunt south and seek refuge. However, this time, his opinion was still rejected. Emperor Jingping decided that the king should die in Sheji, and soon after, he appointed the Celestial Master Guo Jing.
The purpose of appointing Tang Ke and others in the court is that they hope to be able to talk before the fight, and preferably after the fight. But the facts of the past few months have proven that the compromise of the powerless does not make any sense. After the farce of the Liujia Divine Soldiers, Bianliang City no longer has the qualification to say no even if it faces any rude request.
For several months, the man who was once regarded as the emperor was now being treated like a pig or a dog for fun in the Jurchen camp outside the city. His wife and daughter, who were once the supreme emperor, were wantonly humiliated and killed in the camp. At the same time, the Jurchen army continued to make various demands to the Wu Dynasty court. The only choice Tang Ke and others had was to agree to such demands one after another, or to send away their wives and daughters, or to send away His own gold and silver helped the other party drain the entire city step by step.
Not long ago, the Jurchens, who had begun to prepare to leave, made another request. They were not prepared to bring back Emperor Jingping of the Wu Dynasty, but someone had to take care of the foundation of the Wu Dynasty. So he ordered Zhang Bangchang, the Grand Prime Minister, to succeed the emperor, change the Yuan Dynasty to Dachu, guard Tiannan for the Jurchens, and become a vassal forever.
At this time, almost all the royal family surnamed Zhou in Bianliang City had been kidnapped or killed by the Jurchens. Zhang Bangchang, Tang Ke and others tried to reject the matter, but the Jurchens also gave a warning. If Zhang Bangchang did not ascend the throne within seven days, he would kill all the court ministers and send troops to massacre Bianliang City.
This day is already the last day of the deadline.
In the court, Song Qiyu took the lead and elected Zhang Bangchang as emperor. Half an hour ago, Tang Ke, Wu Min, Geng Nanzhong and others signed their names on the edict.
Zhang Bangchang ascended the throne with the expression of taking arsenic.
As the sedan chair left the court, Tang Ke sat inside and thought of many things over the years. The once high-spirited Wu Dynasty thought they had seized the opportunity and wanted to go to the Northern Expedition. Qin Siyuan and other main war factions used to look like the Blackwater Alliance, even though Qin Siyuan went down, they still looked full of confidence in the Northern Expedition.
After that, Bianliang was prosperous with singing and dancing, and the world was prosperous.
Travelers by land and water from south to north gather here, confident men of letters gather here, and warriors seeking fame from all over the world gather here. The officials of the court can decide the affairs of the world with one word. Every word or step in the court can affect the rise and fall of thousands of families. Senior officials kept debating and scheming in the court, thinking that success or failure stemmed from this. He also argued with countless people, including Qin Siyuan, who had always been on good terms with him.
He is an out-and-out pessimist, but he is just cautious. Many times, he even thought that if people like Qin Siyuan were really given some opportunities, maybe Wu Chao would be able to seize an opportunity. However, in the end, he hated himself for seeing the obstacles on the road so clearly.
His pessimism never played any role. People don't like pessimism. In most political ecology, radicals are always more popular. People can fight easily, but few people can strengthen themselves clearly. People use the main battle to replace self-improvement itself. They blindly believe that as long as they are willing to fight and are enthusiastic, they are not cowardly. However, few people are willing to believe that this world is not humane. The world only talks about reason. Strong and weak, victory. Failure is the truth.
So he actually knew in his heart that he might not be able to stand on the high ground of the court in his life. If he stood up, he wouldn't be able to do anything. But in the end he tried his best.
He at least helped the Jurchens to destroy Bianliang City. As if facing an opponent who was too powerful, he chopped off his own hands, chopped off his own feet, and bit off his own tongue. He only hoped that the opponent could at least leave something to Wu Chao. He even gave away his own granddaughter. If he can't defeat him, he can only surrender. Surrender is not enough. He can give his wealth. Giving away his wealth is not enough. He can also give his dignity. With dignity, he hopes that he can at least protect the country of Wu Dynasty. If he cannot protect it, The country was in ruins, and he also hoped that he could at least save the lives of those who had lost everything in the city...
He also knew clearly how future generations would evaluate him.
These days, he has been thinking about many things, some of which can be said and some that cannot be said. He would occasionally think of that scene, a few months ago, on the last day of the Jing Han Dynasty, the situation in the Jinluan Palace. Qin Siyuan was dead, just like the ending of every previous political dispute. People went to court as usual, thankful that they had been saved. Then the emperor was thrown into the blood. The young man sat down on the golden steps with a knife and slapped the emperor on the head with the back of the knife. one time.
The old man has seen many great figures in his life, including Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Qin Siyuan, and even every powerful court official going back to the past. They may be domineering and high-spirited, or they may be steady and profound, with inner meanings as deep as the sea, but he has never Never seen such a scene. He had also met with the emperor countless times, but never once did he find that the emperor looked like an ordinary person like this.
Everyone in the court was shouting curses. At that time, Li Gang's beard and hair were spread out, Cai Jing was dumbfounded, Qin Hui cursed like thunder, and Yan Zheng screamed in horror. Countless people cursed or swore, or cited scriptures to describe the actions of the other party. He was so treacherous that heaven and earth could not tolerate him, so he rushed forward. But the young man just held the emperor's head in pain with a steel knife indifferently. From the beginning to the end, he only said one sentence, and only some people in front heard that sentence.
Over the past few days, some people may have recalled that treasonous scene, but no one has ever mentioned this sentence. The moment he wrote down his name today, Tang Ke suddenly wanted to say this sentence to the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty: "..."
In the court that day, the young man faced the curses of the Manchu Dynasty. He scolded and didn't react at all. He just glanced over everyone's heads and said: "...a bunch of trash."
For everyone, this may be a killing blow. The emperor slapped him harder, no one could talk about it.
Of course the old man didn't say this. He left the palace city, walked through the streets in his sedan chair, and returned to the palace. The entire Tang Mansion was also lifeless at this time. His wife had long passed away, and most of the daughters, granddaughters, and concubines in the family were sent out to the Jurchen military camp. The remaining ones were frightened by Tang Ke's recent disowning of relatives and lived a full life in the Tang Mansion. Even when they are hungry from meal to meal, most of them dare not get close. Only an old concubine who had been with him for many years came over, took away his clothes, and brought him a basin for him to wash his face. Tang Ke washed his face meticulously as usual.
He returned to the study, sorted out the bookshelf that had been messy these days, and arranged the papers and pens on the desk. The coldness of winter has gradually passed away, and the sunshine lazily shines in from the window. It is already the sunshine of late spring and early summer. There is nothing left in Bianliang City. It’s time for the Jurchens to leave, he thought.
When the elderly concubine came over not long after, Tang Ke and Tang Qinsou had taken the poison, sat on a chair in the study, and died quietly.
******************
The overthrow of the dynasty was like exploding fireworks. In the collision between the Jin Dynasty and the Wu Dynasty, the aftermath rushed to the surroundings. In the six months since the Jurchens went south, the situation on the entire land has been undergoing violent turmoil and changes.
North of the Yellow River, the team of Jurchens escorting prisoners back north was like a long dragon, passing through the mountains and ridges, and no one dared to stop it. The former Tiger King Tian Hu carefully expanded and consolidated his power in places where the Jurchens did not care. To the east and north, the teams that once rose up in the name of King Qin to fight against the Jin Dynasty began to delimit their own spheres of influence, eagerly awaiting the development of the matter. The once scattered armies of the Wu Dynasty were defeated, either repairing on the spot, or They meandered southward, seeking their own way out. Many large clans in the north are also panicking for their own way out of this situation.
In the northwest, this land with strong folk customs, the Xixia people have swept in again, and the Zhong Family Army's territory has been almost completely destroyed. Zhong Shidao's nephew Zhong Lie led the Zhong family army to fight Wan Yanchang in the south, fled to the north, fought with Guaizima again and was defeated in the northwest. At this time, the Zhong family army that could still be gathered was less than 5,000 people. .
Zhe Keqiu of the Zhe family had already returned to the army, but he was also unable to save the Zhong family, so he had to retreat to Fuzhou and live in a corner. After the big cities such as Qingjian City and Yanzhou were destroyed, countless refugees fled towards Fuzhou and other places. The Zhejia gathered the remnants of the Zhong family and expanded their power to intimidate Li Qianshun. Therefore, Fuzhou was not greatly affected. .
The rebellious team that once fell into the eyes of everyone, in such a vast tide of the times, temporarily calmed down and shrank. In this time when everyone was too busy to take care of themselves, they also Very few people could pay attention to their movements, and some people even reported that they had been swept away by the Xixia army in the cold winter, and there was no trace left.
To the south, the same intense turmoil is brewing. The middle class of society who can receive the message are patriotic and excited. But for the army, the previous confrontation with the Jurchens proved that the army could not fight. The top leaders suppressed the last few troops, consolidated the defense line south of the Yangtze River, and suppressed the spread of news. For this reason, many people spent the winter and the spring when everything revived in the still prosperous atmosphere. Although they were worried about the safety of Bianliang City, the real atmosphere was no different from when the Jurchens attacked Yanmen Pass and Taiyuan.
Jiangning, Prince Kang's Mansion.
The young prince hummed a tune and trotted through the corridors of the mansion. When he rushed back to his room, the sun was shining brightly. In the young prince's study, half of the room is filled with all kinds of weird drawings and books. He went to the table, took out a book from his sleeve and read it excitedly. He also found several drawings from the table and compared them with each other. From time to time he clenched his fist and knocked on the table of the desk.
A figure appeared at the door at some point. The young prince looked up and saw that it was his sister Zhou Pei. He was in a good mood and smiled towards the other side: "Sister, how are you? Have you met the old lady and those sisters of the Wang family? It's true that they come from a scholarly family. Mr. Wang Qisong was a loyal man, and his family , They are all respectable and admirable."
Zhou Pei's eyes were slightly cold, and he narrowed his eyes slightly and walked in: "I went to see them. The Wang family is certainly a loyal family. Lie, the widow of the Wang family is also admirable, but they are involved in that matter after all. You are working secretly to bring them here, do you want to put yourself on the fire? "< br>
"They are treasures." Zhou Junwu was in a very good mood and whispered mysteriously in a low voice. Then he looked outside the door, and Zhou Pei tilted his head and asked the accompanying maids to get out. When only the sister and brother were left, Jun Wu jumped up with the book on the table, "Sister, I found the key point. I found it. Do you know what it is?"
Zhou Pei frowned. She was already dissatisfied with the ingenious and obscene techniques Zhou Junwu had studied, and now she became even more disgusted. But Jun Wu said excitedly: "Old... that man is really a genius. I originally thought the key was on the cloth, but I couldn't find the right one after searching for a long time. The big Kongming lantern burned out every time. Then I checked carefully. What he did in Bianliang during the last period of time was to discover that the key lies in the pulp... Haha, sister, you would never guess, the key lies in the pulp. If you want to avoid being burned, you have to apply it!"
“The section in Bianliang City Over time, the Wang family has been helping to make the paper workshop, while the Su family has made cloth. Only when both are taken into consideration can we realize that the big flying sky lantern needs to be painted with paper pulp so that it can expand and not collapse. Breathable! Therefore, the Wang family is a treasure, and it is right for me to save them.”
Ning Yi was friendly with everyone in Wang Shanyue’s family in Bianliang, but when he rebelled and left the city, the Wang family was absolutely not. Willing to follow. So Zhu Biao kidnapped the engaged girl from the Wang family, and even almost beat up the old lady of the Wang family, and the two parties fell out. But it is impossible to get away with the suspicion of regicide so easily. Even if Wang Qisong still had some connections to rely on and stayed in the capital, the situation of the Wang family was not easy, and the whole family was almost imprisoned. When the Jurchens went south, the young prince Jun Wucai contacted some forces in the capital to take over as many of these poor women as possible.
If this were not the case, the entire Wang family would probably have been sent to the Jurchen army during the catastrophe in Bianliang and died of humiliation.
The person who contributed to this matter in the capital was Monk Jueming, who was ordered by Zhou Zhe to think about it in the temple after Qin Siyuan was imprisoned. This guest minister of the Qin Mansion was originally a member of the royal family. After Zhou Zhe's death, the situation in Beijing became stormy. Due to the changes, many people were quite wary of Qin's guest, but they were unwilling to offend Jueming. Only then could he exude some strength from the temple and help the poor Wang family's widow. When the Jurchens besieged the city, the outside of the city had already been cleared and the temples were destroyed. Monk Jueming Xu followed the refugees south, and at this time he only hid behind the scenes and did some of his things.
Zhou Pei was dubious about Jun Wu's words: "I've always known that you admire him a little, and I can't tell you, but the situation in the world is tense at this time, and many people are watching us in Prince Kang's Mansion. You'd better not mess around." , for home It will bring big trouble here."
She pondered for a while, and then said: "Did you know that the Jurchens in Bianliang made Zhang Bangchang ascend the throne and changed the Yuan Dynasty to Dachu, and they are about to withdraw their troops and go north. just I don’t know what to do... When the Jurchens retreated to the north, they had kidnapped all the Zhou royal family in Bianliang City. If you really think about it, Zuo of the Wu Dynasty was dead... This will all be blamed on him..."< br>
“ Huh." Jun Wu snorted coldly, raised his eyebrows, and put down the notebook in his hand, "Sister Wang, you must be deceiving yourself by putting such a big thing like Wu Chao Zuo on him. , will be able to People who do good things are tossing around, thinking that no matter what they do, others can only suffer. Anyway... Huh, anyway, the Wu Dynasty Guo Zuo was destroyed. Let me just say this, this Guo Zuo..."
"Shut up. Mouth!" Zhou Pei's eyes sharpened, and she took two steps closer, "How could you say such treasonous words? You..." She gritted her teeth, calmed down her mood, and said seriously, "Do you know that I am in court with the scholar-bureaucrats? Rule the world together , the harmony in the court is so rare. After this incident, it will be difficult for the emperor and ministers to be of the same mind. At that time, the emperor went to court with hundreds of guards following him. He had to always be on guard against assassination. What kind of etiquette would it be... like Now in the north, he is also the leader of the rebels and the instigator. Do you think he has no consequences? "
When talking about that person's affairs, Zhou Pei's emotions were always intense, and the two of them also had many conflicts during this period. Less arguments. From the initial indolence to answer to the final tit-for-tat confrontation, Jun Wu's patience was exhausted. He curled his lips at this moment: "What's the harm if there are hundreds of guards following? Xunzi said, water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. For the king, you have to bear the wealth and lives of tens of millions of people, and you just want to be carried? Can you? The more you fear the risk of capsizing, the more you can do things well. The more you worry about, the more benefits you will get from millions of people. Isn’t it worth the trouble of hundreds of guards to follow you? A body? ”
He was quite proud because he thought of a rebuttal: "I am now in charge of hundreds of people. I can't sleep at night. I wonder all day long whether I have neglected any master and which one is more capable. Hundreds of people Even so, when you have tens of thousands of people under your command, you don’t even want to worry about it? If you mess up something, you will be scolded. If you can't defeat others, you will be beaten. Bianliang's current situation is clear. There is no use in being polite. I have not revitalized the Wu Dynasty. Why don't you tell the Jurchens! ”
Zhou Pei stared at him, and the room became quiet for a while. This conversation was treasonous, but firstly, the sky was high and the emperor was far away, secondly, the royal family in Bianliang was wiped out, and thirdly, the young man was so high-spirited that he talked about it in private, but after all, he could not continue. Junwu was silent for a moment and raised his chin: "A few months ago, Li Qianshun from the northwest attacked, and several cities in Qingjian and Yanzhou were destroyed. Wu Ruiying was caught in the cracks, and even sent out men to have a few head-on collisions with the Xixia people. , saved many refugees, this is what a real man does!"
Zhou Pei was even more excited now! He frowned and looked at him: "Why do you know that?"
Jun Wu raised his head: "I have hundreds of people under my command. If I really want to inquire about something, what's the point of knowing it?" Weird. "
Zhou Pei sighed, and their expressions calmed down again. After a while, Zhou Pei took out some information from his clothes: "I just wanted to tell you the news about Bianliang. In this case, you should take a look."
She turned and walked toward the door. When she reached the door, she stopped again, tilted her head and said, "Did you know that he had a few fights with the Xixia people in the northwest? Maybe the Xixia people couldn't do anything to him for a while. But the Yellow River The world is in chaos in the north. Now it's the flood season. The refugees in the north are scattered. It won't be long before people there will starve to death. . He killed our father and we are no longer sworn in. I...I just sometimes think about how great it would be if he hadn't been so impulsive at the time and returned to Jiangning..."
After Zhou Pei returned from Bianliang, he was exposed to various complicated matters under the guidance of Princess Chengguo. The relationship between her and Jun Ma was not smooth. She devoted herself to these things, and sometimes she became a little cold. Jun Wu didn't like such a sister. Sometimes she was tit for tat, but in general, the siblings The relationship between the two is still very good. Every time he sees his sister leaving like this, he actually feels a little lonely.
He has been smart since he was a child, but he did not think deeply about his sister's words at this time. He read the information about the tragedy in Bianliang City in his hand. As a young man, it is difficult for him to sigh complicatedly, even as a young man. People who know the inside story still feel that the tragedy in Bianliang is partly to blame. This realization made his eyes even more determined. Soon after, he put the message aside and concentrated on studying the technology of making the hot air balloon take off.
The sparks of the old era fade away. In the mountains to the northwest, the rebel army was struggling hard in a muddy situation.
Tell me something that everyone is interested in. My wife and I got the certificate on the 16th. She was still working that night and I was still coding. I left on the 18th and coded the last chapter on the train. She is 1.68 meters tall. She is usually under a lot of mental stress and has lost weight to just over 80 pounds. I made an appointment with her for half a year. On the 16th, after receiving the certificate and sending the wedding candy to the office, she was granted five days of annual leave, plus nine days before and after the weekend. She even ran out to discuss business in the first two days. So for the next few days, I focused on vacationing and letting her relax. I just came back yesterday and will update again in a few days. Well, she is not my reader and does not read my books, but she is also anxious if I don’t update and keeps urging for updates all day long. Well, you can rest assured. I just got married, so I feel more responsibilities and more pressure. When I have more ideas, I will share them with you. After all, I only entered this state when I was thirty years old, so it shouldn’t be considered abusing a dog. Well, that's it, I'm back.
(End of this chapter)