Daming: Brother, there is no future for monks, let's rebel
Chapter 112 Annexation of Jiangnan, North and South
Chapter 112 Annexation of Jiangnan, North and South
Henan, Bianliang.
The tall city walls of Bianliang City were riddled with holes at this time, and trebuchets, large and small, threw boulders into the city like raindrops.The Red Turban Army outside the city set up towers one by one and rushed to the chariot, ready to launch the final blow to Bianliang City at any time.
The Grand Marshal of the Red Scarf Army and Prime Minister Liu Futong, wearing a golden armor, led a group of generals to surround the little emperor Han Liner and issue orders to the army.
"Your Majesty, Bianliang is already at your fingertips. The long-cherished wish of restoring Bianliang for more than 200 years can finally be realized today." Liu Futong said.
The young Song Emperor Zhao Lin'er nodded slightly, and then praised and encouraged Liu Futong with a few words.
Later, Liu Futong ordered instead of the emperor, and launched the final fatal blow to Bianliang City.
With an order, the gunpowder blasters of the Red Turban Army ignited the fuse.
Not long after, a huge roar sounded under Bianliang City!
Most of the city wall of Bianliang City collapsed in an instant, and a huge gap appeared on the city wall.
The gunpowder blasting method invented by Zhu Han has become the military weapon of the Red Scarf Army.Almost all the city walls with caves dug are invulnerable. Even a strong city wall like Bianliang City will collapse in an instant in the face of the explosion of several large boxes of gunpowder.
With the collapse of Bianliang City Wall.
The soldiers of the Red Turban Army brandished their weapons and rushed towards the Bianliang city wall without hesitation. The Yuan army in the city basically didn't have much confidence. They collapsed soon after they made contact.
The Red Turban Army entered the city and launched a frenzied slaughter against the various resisting Yuan armies.
Song Emperor Han Lin'er looked at Bianliang City, which was in fierce battle.
He couldn't help but said to Liu Futong who was beside him: "Prime Minister, I never thought that the Tatars would be so courageous, even after the city wall was broken, they were still fighting endlessly."
Liu Futong at the side listened and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, these Tartars are just at the end of their strength, and they are still struggling to defend. Within an hour, I will definitely wipe them out."
When Han Liner heard this, he immediately became happy, and said, "Does the Prime Minister have other strategies to deal with these Tartars?"
Liu Futong pointed at Bianliang City with a smile, and then said, "Your Majesty, please see that the minister has adopted a tactic of besieging Bianliang, besieging three of the city walls and not attacking the remaining north. In fact, there is nothing there. Troop strength is a gap deliberately left to the enemy."
"In all sieges, if the enemy is trapped to death, unless you have an absolute superior force, you will definitely fall into a bitter battle. The minister used the encirclement method to let the Tartars know that there is still a way out, so that they will not resist desperately. I estimate that in another hour, this Bianliang City will fall into our hands."
. . .
When the Bianliang city wall was blasted and collapsed by gunpowder, the Yuan army general Temur and others in Henan city had already prepared to break through and escape at the north gate.
Pingzhang Temur of Henan Province led hundreds of elite cavalry.
At the moment when the city wall collapsed, he opened the city gate and rushed straight to the Red Scarf Army outside the city.
The Red Turban Army on the north side of Bianliang was so weak that they could not resist these elite cavalry to break through, so they could only let them escape.Temur ran a long way, about five or six miles, before he dared to turn around and take a little look at the Bianliang city wall.
When he saw it, Temul burst into tears. He beat his chest and cried, "I'm sorry for Your Majesty, I'm sorry for the late emperor, I'm sorry for Dayuan, Bianliang City is lost in my hands."
Everyone sighed for the rest of the generals.
Finally, someone reminded the thief that the red scarf thief was still not far behind, and he would definitely send troops to catch up with the prime minister, so let's keep running.
"My lord, let's not delay again, otherwise the Red Scarf Army will catch up and we won't be able to escape."
Under everyone's persuasion, Temur got on his horse and continued to run forward, wiping away tears and crying.
They kept running all the way and fled to a ferry of the Yellow River, where there was a ferry they had secretly prepared in advance.
After getting on the ferry, Temur burst into tears again, kowtowed three times in the direction of Dadu, and shouted loudly.
"I'm sorry to the late emperor, my old life is gone, I'm ashamed to the late emperor, I can't cross the river!"
After finishing speaking, regardless of everyone's obstruction, he jumped and floated into the shallow Yellow River water.
Just listen, a plop.
Temur jumped into the water, the water was neither deep nor shallow, just up to his waist, and the other generals jumped into the river with sharp eyes and quick hands, and helped Temur up with all his hands and feet.
After helping Temore to the boat, everyone tried to persuade him again.
"Your Excellency is an important minister of the country, and there must be no mistakes."
"Yes, my lord can throw away the Bianliang, but my lord must not cause any problems."
"The Han people say that they will suffer for their lives, and now we are asking for reinforcements when we go back to Dadu. We just want to take back Bianliang. My lord, you must not harm your own life."
But in the face of everyone's persuasion, Temur seemed unwilling to listen to it. He jumped into the river twice after that, and finally his generals and counselors forced him to cherish his life. After jumping into the river, they crossed the river safely and steadily. After crossing the Yellow River, Temur and his party galloped northward, running more than 100 miles in one breath before daring to rest.
The battle situation in Bianliang City was just as Liu Futong expected. In just a few hours, the entire Bianliang City fell into the hands of the Red Turban Army.Under the leadership of Prime Minister and Generalissimo Liu Futong, the Red Scarf Army surrounded Song Emperor Han Lin'er and entered Bianliang City.
At this time, Bianliang City was the first time since the Jingkang Rebellion that a Han emperor entered Bianliang City. It was of great significance. Divide the kings.
In fact, among the Red Scarf Army, there is no shortage of kings and kings, but these kings are all grass-headed kings one by one. Everyone should give themselves the name of a certain king. The only one who really has the title of king is Liu Futong. Wait for a few people.
The military system and official system of the Red Turban Army, as well as titles, are quite chaotic.
This makes it easy for scholars all over the world, as well as people in the world, to think that the Red Scarf Army is a group of rabble and rogues.
Therefore, Liu Futong suggested that Han Lin'er should not only entrust the princes.
I also want to amnesty the world, just to win people's hearts.
Then go further to revise the official system and establish the prestige of the orthodox Song Dynasty.
In Bianliang City, after several days of discussion and discussion, Emperor Han Lin'er of the Great Song Dynasty formally issued an edict to canonize the kings and marshals of various places, confer the titles of various titles, and unify them.
After the unanimous recommendation of everyone, under the Prime Minister and Generalissimo Liu Futong, Zhu Yuanzhang was the second candidate for the military merit of the Red Turban Army.
Han Lin'er officially issued an edict, canonizing Zhu Yuanzhang as King of Wu.
Zhu Yuanzhang's wife Ma was the wife of King Wu, and his younger brother Zhu Han was the Duke of Huai.
The rest, like Guo Zixing, Peng Da, Zhimali, etc., were divided into three classes according to their merits.
The leaders of the Red Turban Army everywhere, although everyone is dissatisfied with their Duke, but under the general trend, they can only keep silent and dare not have any opinions. After all, the Song Dynasty is now in full swing, not only Annihilated the million-yuan army, and restored the old capital Bianliang, which had been lost for 200 years
Jiangbei, Dingyuan City.
"On July [-]th, Bolu has sent letters over and over again, saying that he wants to sacrifice his land to protect himself. I think it's almost time, and we can't wait any longer." Zhu Yuanzhang said.
It turned out that since the big businessmen in Suzhou collectively rioted, the power and prestige of Pingzhang Bolu in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces collapsed instantly.
After a period of failures, failures and failures, the officials, common people, and gentry in the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces have seen that Bolu can no longer maintain his status and power in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.
Bolu can be regarded as self-aware.
After seeing his form clearly, he followed Liu Bowen's persuasion, and sent people to send letters three times, intending to send all the seals, official positions, etc. of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces together, which can be regarded as surrender certificates.
Under such circumstances, Zhu Yuanzhang already felt that he had to control Jiangsu and Zhejiang in advance.
Otherwise, after the complete fall of Bolu's authority, Jiangsu and Zhejiang will easily form their own separate regimes. After a long time, it will be very unfavorable for unification.
Maybe under such a chaotic situation, a peerless and rare strong man may emerge from some place.
And Zhu Han almost thought the same way.
Zhu Han said, "This is the urging situation. Although we are not ready to take over Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces in an all-round way, we have to make suggestions now. Otherwise, brother, your worries will really come true." After all, Fang Guozhen in eastern Zhejiang is ready to move, and I heard that they have repeatedly attacked Hangzhou City, if Fang Guozhen can gain a firm foothold in Hangzhou, it will really be a big threat."
"Fang Guozhen is a capricious person with two heads and two heads! Before that, he was a low-ranking little thief, but now he has become bigger and bigger. If there is chaos in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, Fang Guozhen will be even stronger." Zhu Yuanzhang also said.
"Now that we are marching into the south of the Yangtze River, what we lack the most for controlling power, big and small, is firstly money, and secondly, talents. Jiangsu and Zhejiang are prosperous, rich in humanities, rich in financial resources. If we don't use the people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to govern Jiangsu and Zhejiang, I'm afraid there will be troubles. It’s not a big deal.” Zhu Yuanzhang said.
Zhu Han nodded, and then said, "Brother, you are right, we still have too few talents cultivated by ourselves now, and after we get to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, we must use talents from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but these people are not so easy to get along with. We have to do something of our own."
"Oh, Qiwu, what are you going to do? Tell me quickly, I've been worrying so much about this recently." Zhu Yuanzhang said.
Zhu Han smiled and said, "Brother, have you forgotten? They are better than us, but there are only two, one is money and the other is talent. First of all, money is the first thing. Since they can make money , then we can make more money than them.”
"Don't they have Confucian talents, so let's confuse them with Confucianism. What is a talent, is it a talent, and who is a talent? In the future, we will have the final say. Are we afraid that they will not obey?"
Zhu Han's words made Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes brighten with excitement.
In recent days, Zhu Yuanzhang is both happy and worried.
"After we enter Jiangnan, we must vigorously develop industry, commerce and agriculture. No matter what industry it is, we must attack the remaining forces of the Mongolian Yuan or various tyrants inside, join our own forces, and then affect the financial resources, taxation, etc. of the entire Jiangnan. In this way , I am not afraid that those big businessmen will form a group to resist me, or entrap us."
"As for disturbing the stagnant pool of Confucianism I just mentioned, it must rely on external forces."
Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was taken aback for a moment.
"External power, Confucian things, can there be external power?"
The Confucianism developed by Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao, Zhu Xi and others in the Song Dynasty has now entered a new dormant stage, and urgently needs a new development opportunity to allow them to develop again.
Otherwise, it is impossible to expect Confucianism to improve itself based on the situation of Confucianism suppressed by the Mongolian Yuan for hundreds of years.
In the early years of the Ming Dynasty in history, a large number of talented Confucian scholars helped to restore the status of Confucianism, which prevented the imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty from going to other studies.
It's just that the vision of these Confucian scholars was limited to that time. After 100 or [-] years, they were quickly eliminated by the world and fell behind.
And what Zhu Han wants to do is to take advantage of the opportunity of the Yuan Dynasty to suppress and belittle Confucianism, and develop a new Confucianism under his control.
With Zhu Han's words, Zhu Yuanzhang felt very confident. He smiled and said, "In this way, you will be in control of the future situation in Jiangnan. Brother, I will be in Jiangbei, and you will be in charge." Jiangnan, only by joining hands with our brothers can we truly dominate the world."
Zhu Han smiled and said: "I'm too lazy to squat in one place every day. I have other ideas when the world is unified. When my nephew grows up in the future, I will give him the ability of this body and let him To strengthen the lintel of our old Zhu family, when the time comes, I want to lead an army to conquer the world, I heard that there are blond and blue-eyed exotic beauties in the far west, no matter what, I have to catch dozens of them and have fun!"
After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Hahaha, your thoughts are still those of a child. Your sister-in-law told me that you are not young, and you are almost fifteen this year. You should find a wife for you." , you can only be considered an adult after finding a wife, and you won't say such childish things."
Zhu Yuanzhang took a sip of wine, and then said:
"Tell me, do you have a woman you like in your heart now? If so, no matter what kind of woman it is, we will marry him back as a matchmaker for you."
Zhu Han smiled and waved his hands and said, "I haven't thought about this at all yet. When it really comes, there's no need for you, brother. I'll go to the door and snatch the kiss myself."
After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang burst out laughing.
Half a month later, Pingzhang Bolu and others from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty submitted a letter to Zhu Yuanzhang, Marshal of the Southern Army of the Song Dynasty, officially surrendering the land, population, and finances of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces.
As Emperor Han Lin'er of the Great Song Dynasty, Zhu Han, the Pingzhang of Jiangnan Province, naturally took over this burden.
Zhu Han led an army of [-] across the south of the Yangtze River and entered Jiqing Mansion.
The common people and gentry of Jiqing Mansion lined the road to welcome him.
The enthusiastic public opinion made the entire Jiqing Mansion boil.
And Zhu Han, as Pingzhang of Jiangnan Province, the first thing he did after taking office was to announce in public that Jiqing Mansion was changed to Jinling Mansion.
As the famous ancient capital of the Six Dynasties in history, the name of Jiqing Mansion is really enough to break it down.
As soon as the name Jinling Mansion came out, it immediately won the favor of most of the people and gentry in Jinling Mansion.
Especially after Zhu Han entered the city, he posted notices widely, ordering three chapters of the law!
Following the example of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty when he entered Xianyang, all the gentry, common people and old officials were not asked about their old crimes.
He also strictly restrained his army soldiers and did not allow them to disturb the people.
As for Bolu, Fan Yao and others who surrendered obediently, they all sent a memorial to Emperor Han Lin'er of the Great Song Dynasty, asking them to be conferred various titles such as marquis and earl, and to reward them with gold, silver and jewels of [-] each.
As a result, many old officials who were worried at first were completely relieved, each kept their own duties, and maintained the order before the handover for Zhu Han.
As for how to govern the officialdom in the south of the Yangtze River, Zhu Han naturally prepared with both hands. On the one hand, he appointed his own talents, and on the other hand, he continued to retain some old officials who were considered capable and characterful.
Zhu Yuanzhang appointed Liu Bowen as You Cheng of Jiangnan Province, as his deputy, with full power to handle all military and political affairs of Jiangnan Province.
Liu Bowen refused to accept this appointment, and refused again and again.
He said that as an old official of Meng Yuan, he really should not take on this important task, but should resign from his official position and return to his hometown in Qingtian to teach and educate people.
Zhu Han knew that Liu Bowen was worried about his reputation.
After all, being an undercover agent before was not something a standard Confucian scholar could do.
For a talent like Liu Bowen, Zhu Han naturally couldn't let him go back to his hometown in Qingtian to be a teacher.
Under Zhu Han's persuasion, Liu Bowen, the great talent he admired most in governing the country, finally accepted Zhu Han's official position and became a member of the staff team second only to Li Shanchang.
The news of Pingzhang Bolu's surrender and offering of soil in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces soon spread to Dadu.
Hearing this news, the entire Mongolian and Yuan courts were immediately shocked.
Empress Dowager Qi even fainted from anger on the spot, and the grand court meeting that was going on had to be given up.
"Belu, a traitor, betrayed the trust of the imperial court. He really deserves to die. Someone will overwhelm all of Bolu's family members and behead them at Dongshikou!"
After the Empress Dowager Qi came to her senses, she gritted her teeth and said.
Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are the southern provinces with the largest population, largest area, and wealth of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty. Now Bolu's surrender and offering of soil is not only a loss of interests, but also a fatal final blow to the prestige of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty.
No matter how badly the original Meng Yuan was defeated, even if the emperor was beaten to death by the Red Scarf Army, he still didn't surrender, right?
Today's Bolu is better, surrendering and offering soil directly.
Moreover, the Red Scarf Army also gave him preferential treatment, rewarding him with a reward of silver and seals. One can imagine how officials from all over the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties will react to the Red Scarf Army in the future.
Empress Dowager Qi immediately wanted to use the heads of the Bolu family to take revenge and show the world the consequences of betraying the Yuan Dynasty.
However, Jin Da, the eunuch leader who personally led the Mongolian guards to arrest Bolu's family, returned soon with a sad face.
"Report to the Queen Mother, Bolu's family ran away two days ago!" Jin Da said.
Empress Qi was furious, "What? Run away? Hurry up and chase after me!"
Jin Da said with a mournful face, "Empress Dowager, they have been running for two days, and they couldn't catch up even if they wanted to. I heard that they went to the mouth of the Haihe River. They must have run away by boat and disappeared."
Empress Dowager Qi became very ill for three days because of this matter, and in the end, she had to give up.
Because Bolu and others had already secretly sent someone to pick up the family members, and they couldn't catch up if they wanted to.
It is absolutely impossible to complete this matter without internal support. Certain Mongolian dignitaries in the metropolis must have hooked up with Bolu.
Today's Mongolia is perilous, and the Empress Dowager Qi must find a way to save the Yuan Dynasty.
At such a critical moment, all kinds of rumors are flying in the capital city.
Many of them are rumored that the Mongolian court wants to abandon the Central Plains and withdraw to the northern desert grassland. Before they withdraw from the Central Plains, they will kill all the Han people and burn all the cities and villages.
As a result, for a while, the entire Dadu, Hebei, and Shandong areas were panicked.
Many people fled one after another, even if it was the busy season of farming, they had already packed up their family's food and fled to the barren mountains and mountains, and no one went to plow the fields anymore.
On the territory controlled by Meng Yuan, there was a situation where there were no people living in hundreds of miles.
Regarding these rumors, the Empress Dowager Qiqi sent people to inquire a little bit, and found out that behind them were rumors released by Liu Futong and others from the Red Turban Army.
But those common people didn't know it, and they were dubious about the rumors, and they all resented the Mongols even more.
What's more, not only ordinary people, but also many officials and generals of the Yuan Dynasty believed in this rumor.
Many people came forward one after another, agreeing with the empress dowager's order to go north to the grassland.
The Empress Dowager Qi immediately sent someone to issue an imperial edict to the officials and generals that the Yuan court would never abandon the Central Plains and return to the Mobei Grassland, and they not only had to defend the existing territory, but also mobilized reinforcements from all directions to counterattack.
Da Yuan is bound to destroy the Red Scarf Army and avenge the late Emperor Huizong of Da Yuan.
Under such circumstances, the Empress Dowager Qi ordered to reward generals, officials, and local officials.
However, now that the world is in chaos, relying on rewards alone is no longer enough to appease people's hearts.
Many officials and generals of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty still wrote to the empress dowager and the emperor one after another, requesting to abandon Dadu, a capital city that has no natural dangers to defend, and move the capital to Chang'an in Guanzhong instead.
After several times, Empress Dowager Qi also attached great importance to this proposal.
She immediately ordered the civil and military officials in the capital to attend the Great Court Meeting to discuss whether the capital could be moved.
At this time, a loyal minister stood up and strongly opposed the plan to move the capital to Guanzhong.
This great loyal minister is none other than Kong Kejian, the Duke of Yan Sheng conferred by the Mongolian and Yuan courts.
As the descendants of Confucius, the Kong family has always been a low-level official of the ninth rank and the seventh rank since the Northern Song Dynasty was named Yan Shenggong.
But at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Yuan Shun appreciated Han Confucianism, and raised the title of Duke Yansheng from the lower seventh rank and ninth rank to the second rank.
In this way, Kong Kejian can be said to be doing his best, wanting to imitate Emperor Zhongyuan Shun.
Oh, it's not Yuan Shundi now, they are called Yuan Huizong now.
Above the court hall, I saw Duke Yansheng's loyal and virtuous appearance in the cubicle, and said loudly: "Queen Dowager, Your Majesty! The emperor of the Great Yuan Dynasty will live and die with the country, how can he be afraid of bandits moving the capital to Guanzhong? Most of the soldiers and horses are still the same today. There are so many of them, you only need to fight to the death to wipe out the red scarf thieves. Even if you are not victorious, you can call the servant army from all directions to serve the king, not to mention the Liaoyang, Jurchen and other tribes nearby are also very brave .”
As the largest province of the Mongolian and Yuan courts, there are many savage tribes in the deep mountains and old forests of Liaoyang Province.
In fact, they are the original Bohai people and Jurchens and other tribes.
The production of these tribes is extremely backward, and the weapons they use are also very backward, so their combat power is limited.
And once they join the ranks of the Mongolian Yuan court's army and obtain excellent weapons, armor, bows and arrows and other weapons and equipment, the combat effectiveness of these troops will often be greatly improved, belonging to the Mongolian Yuan court. military power.
However, these savage Jurchen troops in Liaoyang Province have a huge shortcoming, that is, their army discipline is not good, and wherever the army passes by, they will inevitably loot. acts of robbery and murder.
As for other petty thefts, they were commonplace, so the Mongolian and Yuan courts were unwilling to mobilize these Jurchens when it was not necessary.
Jurchen and other savage tribes entered the Central Plains to fight, basically it was an act of killing one thousand enemies and self-defeating eight hundred.
The places where these Jurchen and other savage tribe soldiers passed were basically empty.
Yan Shenggong Kong Kejian's proposal to mobilize the wild Jurchen tribes in Liaoyang Province to fight the rebellion in the Central Plains is sinister and vicious, and it does not match the appearance of his tall and virtuous descendants of saints.
Above the court hall, many Han officials looked at Yansheng Gong Kong Kejian with contempt and hatred in their eyes.
However, Yan Shenggong's proposal was indeed highly praised by Empress Dowager Qi.
"Yan Shenggong, you are worthy of being Zhongliang who was favored by the first emperor. This proposal is good, and the Ai family agrees to this proposal."
For the Empress Dowager Qi, as long as she can keep her ruling position in the Yuan Dynasty, her son Aiyou's position as emperor, and the position of empress dowager, it doesn't matter whether the Han people live or die.
She just doesn't care.
As for whether this suggestion put forward by Duke Yansheng Kong Kejian would lead to catastrophe for the people of the Central Plains, whether they would face serious massacres, the Empress Dowager Qi didn't care at all.
It's just a group of lowly Han people who die as soon as they die. It's not as important as her Great Yuan Dynasty.
"Come here, pass on my decree immediately to call Liaoyang Province to gather 3 Jurchen warriors from various tribes, and make sure they come to King Qin of the capital within three months." Empress Dowager Qi said loudly.
As soon as this remark came out, the entire court hall exclaimed.
You know, [-] strong men are almost the entire force of the Jurchen tribe in Liaoyang Province.
Many Jurchen tribes often only have a hundred or ten people, even if they are large, they are only three to five hundred.
In this way, almost all Jurchen tribes will be empty.
Moreover, so many Jurchens entered the Central Plains to fight, and the Mongolian and Yuan courts could not provide them with so much food and supplies.
At this time, Zhao Jixiang, Minister of the Household Department of Dayuan, stood up, and only heard him speak loudly.
"Your Majesty and the Queen Mother think twice. It is really a last resort to mobilize the Jurchen savages from Liaoyang to fight in the Central Plains. Now the imperial court has no extra food, grass and money to reward them. Start to mess up the place, so what should we do?"
The words of Zhao Jixiang, Minister of the Household Department, did not get the approval of the Queen Mother at all.
Empress Dowager Qi looked displeased, looked at the ministers in the court hall, and said slowly: "The situation in Dayuan is critical now, and the suppression of thieves must be carried out immediately without any delay. There is no military supplies in the treasury, so find a way Let these Jurchen savage armies raise their own food and grass."
The so-called self-confidence in raising food and grass, of course the civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty knew that it was nothing more than letting these Liaoyang savage tribe soldiers plunder the Han people in the Central Plains. As for whether the Han people would die or whether they would be angry or grudges, Empress Dowager Qi didn't care at all.
Afterwards, at the behest of Empress Dowager Qi, the Meng Yuan court immediately formulated a strategy to mobilize Jurchen and other wild tribes from Liaoyang Province into the Central Plains.
Two days later, Yan Sheng Gong Kong Kejian made another proposal to the Empress Dowager.
He suggested setting up regiment training in various state capitals in the Central Plains.
Let Confucian scholars, officials and powerful people from all over the country send troops to defend themselves against the attack of the Red Turban Army.
Then, as a corresponding return, the Yuan Dynasty granted a large part of local autonomy to these local regiment training envoys.
After hearing this, Empress Dowager Qi immediately nodded in agreement.
"Kong Kejian, Duke of Yansheng, who is in the middle of the country, is the pillar of the Yuan Dynasty, and he is specially appointed as the Chief Envoy of Jining Prefecture." Empress Dowager Qi issued an edict at the court meeting.
"I thank the Empress Dowager for your kindness, and I will serve the Great Yuan without hesitation!" Kong Kejian quickly knelt down to thank him.
Soon after, the Mongolian and Yuan courts issued the "Decree on Ding Guo Shi".
In the imperial decree, it was officially announced that the officials and gentry in all provinces would supervise the regiment training to resist the Red Turban Army. At the same time, the Mongolian and Yuan courts also announced that the Red Turban Army was a monster who believed in the White Lotus Sect and Maitreya Sect, and called on Confucian scholars all over the world to eliminate demons and defend Confucianism.
Meng Yuan's regiment training envoy is not a false official position, but has relatively great power.
All prefectures, counties, and counties that have registered with the Mengyuan government can all receive part of the rewards of the Yuan Dynasty, and they can prepare taxes, money and food in their respective jurisdictions by themselves.
In other words, this is equivalent to declaring that these regiments are local emperors recognized by the Mongolian and Yuan courts.
For these powerful families, the actual power in their hands is much more effective than expelling the Tartars and restoring China.
For them, only when the Mongols stay in the Central Plains can they have a backer.
If the Red Scarf Army came, they would not only ask for money and food, but also take away their official positions, and maybe they would have to lose their land, property and lives.
Therefore, for a while, the regiment training in various places led to the rise of elements to maintain the rule of the Mongolian and Yuan courts.
As Kong Ke, the great hero who made suggestions, Yan Sheng Gong Kong Kejian also returned to Jining Mansion by the emperor's order to practice and organize local group training.
Jining Prefecture is located on the north side of the Yellow River since the Yellow River changed its course, and it is the most important town for defense against the south of the Yellow River.
Meng Yuan originally set up heavy troops here, but the previous soldiers and horses were all transferred to Henan, and then they were defeated by the Red Turban Army.
Kong Kejian returned to Jining Mansion.
Immediately relying on the power in his hands, coupled with the influence of the Confucian Mansion, he quickly gathered an army of tens of thousands of people.
They are not only well-equipped, but also began to practice horseback attack and defense, bow and crossbow riding and shooting all day long.
It is also a posture of defending the family and the country, and living and dying with Jining Mansion.
Outside Qufu City, inside Confucius Mansion.
As a descendant of Confucius, Yan Shenggong, the size of his mansion is in the special grace of the emperors of the past dynasties, and it belongs to the Confucian mansion that far exceeds the official standard.
There are not only layers of buildings, but also solid and thick walls for defense.
From a distance, the Confucian Mansion is even more majestic than the Qufu City not far away.
This is true.
Inside the Confucian mansion, Kong Kejian was saying to his son, "Hurry up and order people to collect rent from the shopkeepers in each village to ensure the supply of food and grass for the regiment training, and then let the people below pick out the elite after training and arrange them in the outer courtyard." Guard."
Kong Kejian's son, Kong Xixue, is 20 years old this year. Although he is young, he has already learned the true teachings of the Kong family, and he knows the ability to adapt to the wind.
After he heard his father Kong Kejian's words, he felt doubts in his heart.
He asked Kong Kejian in a low voice: "Father, now that the Red Scarf Army has captured Bianliang, and most of Jiangnan has fallen into the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han brothers, should we make some plans now, don't do this Too deeply involved with the Mongols?"
Hearing what his son said, Kong Kejin nodded very satisfied.
He pointed to the chair next to him, asked his son Kong Xixue to sit down first, and said in a low voice.
"Father was very pleased to hear what you said just now, which shows that the teaching to you was not in vain."
"It's the so-called three caves of the cunning rabbit. What's more, descendants of saints like us are absolutely not immune to any mistakes. What you said just now, my father has already thought of it."
Hearing this, Kong Xixue showed a puzzled expression.
"Father, since you have already thought of this, why did you write to the Empress Dowager to have regiment training in various places, and prepare regiment training in Jining Mansion to resist the Red Scarf Army?"
"Haha, the so-called Three Caves of the Cunning Rabbit, of course I have to make two-handed preparations. On the one hand, I have to accumulate my own strength and put all the people and soldiers of Jining Prefecture under the name of our Kong family. This will not only rely on us after the Yuan Dynasty, but also in the future. The Red Scarf Army is here, and they also need to rely on us. If our Kong family doesn't have a single soldier in their hands, wouldn't we be slaughtered by others? What's more, the troublemakers below are having a lot of fun. If we can't organize a group training To subdue them, I am afraid that before the red scarf thieves come, these unscrupulous people will rebel."
The so-called troublemakers in Kong Kejian's mouth are naturally the tenant farmers and servants of the Confucian Mansion.
These people leased and planted the land of the Kong family, and the taxes they pay every year are slightly lower than the taxes of the imperial court.
These fields of the Kong family are all rewarded by the imperial court, and no taxes are levied.
So how much rent they paid, all fell into the pockets of the Confucian government.
Moreover, there is no such thing as the imperial court's disaster relief relief for the sacrifice rent and land rent of the Confucian Mansion.
Even in a year of catastrophe or drought, ordinary tenant farmers can only think that they are unlucky, and the grain that should be handed over to the Kong family is indispensable.
If there is less, they will be sent to the Kong family to be lynched and imprisoned immediately, or the servants of the Kong family and others will break into the door and rob them, and then they will be driven out of the Kong family forever. Land can no longer be leased.
If anyone dared to default on the rent of the Kong family, it would be tantamount to asking for death.
As a result, many tenant farmers were unwilling to be oppressed, and secretly conspired to riot.
In just a few years, the tenant farmers of the Kong family had rioted several times.
Hundreds of people were killed alone, but it still couldn't stop those mud-legged people from wanting to rebel.
Therefore, Kong Kejian had very strict constraints on these tenant farmers and servants under the rule of the Confucian government.
Now that the Red Turban Army is not far from Jining Mansion, if someone from them came to encourage the slaves and tenants of Confucian Mansion to rebel, Kong Kejian would really panic.
"Father, my son understands. I will definitely go back and tell the people below to do a good job. We will put all those capable regiments into the guards of our Kong family, so that they will not be able to rebel." Kong Xixue said.
Kong Kejie nodded in satisfaction.
At this time, Kong Xixue continued to ask, "Father, what is the other preparation you mentioned just now?"
Kong Ketian smiled slightly, then lowered his voice and said to his son Kong Xi:
"After you finish this matter, go to the cashier to get 10 taels of silver."
"What, 10 taels of silver?!" Kong Xixue immediately widened his eyes, showing a horrified expression.
For the Confucian government, 10 taels of silver is also a very large amount.
Kong Xixue couldn't figure it out, why did this father who was in such a mess want to allocate so much money?
Kong Kejian smiled slightly, and said to his son Kong Xixue: "This is the grand plan for my father. You send a few confidantes of the family to take the money and secretly go to Bianliang to find Liu Futong and others, and tell them that as long as they cross the Yellow River When we came to Jining Mansion, our Kong family immediately refused to let go and surrendered to Song Zhengtong."
As soon as these words came out, his son Kong Xixue was immediately shocked.
"Father, this is really too dangerous. If the Red Scarf Army comes, we will submit to them. If the soldiers of the imperial court come, what should we do?"
Of course, Kong Kejian couldn't get this small problem.
In fact, Kong Kejian had already made two-handed preparations.
If the Red Scarf Army attacked Jining Mansion, the Kong family would lead their troops to submit to Song Zhengtong.
If the Mongols return to attack in the future, the Kong family will find a way to capture the leader of the local Red Turban Army, kill him and present him to the court, and then they can claim credit for the Mongols, saying that they committed themselves to serve the bandits for the purpose of In the future, I will look for opportunities to serve the court.
In this way, as the descendants of the sage Confucius, the Mongols can only endure and tolerate the actions of the Confucius family no matter how disgusting they are.
After hearing what his father Kong Kejian said, his son Kong Xixue was very happy, and he applauded repeatedly.
"Father is indeed wise."
"Father really has a clever plan to make my Kong family invincible!"
Kong Kejian smiled slightly, and then said, "Actually, there are not only these two ways to be a father, but another way."
"Father, what method?"
Kong Kejian said slowly at this time: "Actually, I still want to send someone to Jiangnan to meet that brother Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han."
"Ah? Why do you want to see them?" Kong Xixue was a little puzzled.
You know, now it is the Yuan Dynasty of the Mongols and the Song Dynasty of the Han people competing for the world.
The emperor of the Song Dynasty, Han Lin'er, was in Bianliang, and Zhu Yuanzhang was only a courtier of the Song Dynasty.
Kong Kejian stroked his beard and said with a look of old gods,
"My son, you are wrong. According to various reports from the imperial court, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han brothers are definitely not in the pool. They are just using each other with Han Lin'er and others from the red scarf thief. What is it really? I am afraid that no one will take the title of king and minister seriously, and they will definitely end up fighting for the world in the future."
In fact, in Kong Kejian's heart, he was also very disappointed with the Mongolian Yuan court.
Even the future of the Yuan Dynasty is not optimistic.
That's why he made the decision to take advantage of this opportunity and return to his hometown in Jining Mansion to prepare his own forces and try to protect himself.
Moreover, Kong Kejian's ability to judge the situation is worthy of the vision inherited from the Kong family. Regarding how to stand in line and how to choose a new master, the Kong family can always make correct judgments immediately and quickly.
(End of this chapter)
Henan, Bianliang.
The tall city walls of Bianliang City were riddled with holes at this time, and trebuchets, large and small, threw boulders into the city like raindrops.The Red Turban Army outside the city set up towers one by one and rushed to the chariot, ready to launch the final blow to Bianliang City at any time.
The Grand Marshal of the Red Scarf Army and Prime Minister Liu Futong, wearing a golden armor, led a group of generals to surround the little emperor Han Liner and issue orders to the army.
"Your Majesty, Bianliang is already at your fingertips. The long-cherished wish of restoring Bianliang for more than 200 years can finally be realized today." Liu Futong said.
The young Song Emperor Zhao Lin'er nodded slightly, and then praised and encouraged Liu Futong with a few words.
Later, Liu Futong ordered instead of the emperor, and launched the final fatal blow to Bianliang City.
With an order, the gunpowder blasters of the Red Turban Army ignited the fuse.
Not long after, a huge roar sounded under Bianliang City!
Most of the city wall of Bianliang City collapsed in an instant, and a huge gap appeared on the city wall.
The gunpowder blasting method invented by Zhu Han has become the military weapon of the Red Scarf Army.Almost all the city walls with caves dug are invulnerable. Even a strong city wall like Bianliang City will collapse in an instant in the face of the explosion of several large boxes of gunpowder.
With the collapse of Bianliang City Wall.
The soldiers of the Red Turban Army brandished their weapons and rushed towards the Bianliang city wall without hesitation. The Yuan army in the city basically didn't have much confidence. They collapsed soon after they made contact.
The Red Turban Army entered the city and launched a frenzied slaughter against the various resisting Yuan armies.
Song Emperor Han Lin'er looked at Bianliang City, which was in fierce battle.
He couldn't help but said to Liu Futong who was beside him: "Prime Minister, I never thought that the Tatars would be so courageous, even after the city wall was broken, they were still fighting endlessly."
Liu Futong at the side listened and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, these Tartars are just at the end of their strength, and they are still struggling to defend. Within an hour, I will definitely wipe them out."
When Han Liner heard this, he immediately became happy, and said, "Does the Prime Minister have other strategies to deal with these Tartars?"
Liu Futong pointed at Bianliang City with a smile, and then said, "Your Majesty, please see that the minister has adopted a tactic of besieging Bianliang, besieging three of the city walls and not attacking the remaining north. In fact, there is nothing there. Troop strength is a gap deliberately left to the enemy."
"In all sieges, if the enemy is trapped to death, unless you have an absolute superior force, you will definitely fall into a bitter battle. The minister used the encirclement method to let the Tartars know that there is still a way out, so that they will not resist desperately. I estimate that in another hour, this Bianliang City will fall into our hands."
. . .
When the Bianliang city wall was blasted and collapsed by gunpowder, the Yuan army general Temur and others in Henan city had already prepared to break through and escape at the north gate.
Pingzhang Temur of Henan Province led hundreds of elite cavalry.
At the moment when the city wall collapsed, he opened the city gate and rushed straight to the Red Scarf Army outside the city.
The Red Turban Army on the north side of Bianliang was so weak that they could not resist these elite cavalry to break through, so they could only let them escape.Temur ran a long way, about five or six miles, before he dared to turn around and take a little look at the Bianliang city wall.
When he saw it, Temul burst into tears. He beat his chest and cried, "I'm sorry for Your Majesty, I'm sorry for the late emperor, I'm sorry for Dayuan, Bianliang City is lost in my hands."
Everyone sighed for the rest of the generals.
Finally, someone reminded the thief that the red scarf thief was still not far behind, and he would definitely send troops to catch up with the prime minister, so let's keep running.
"My lord, let's not delay again, otherwise the Red Scarf Army will catch up and we won't be able to escape."
Under everyone's persuasion, Temur got on his horse and continued to run forward, wiping away tears and crying.
They kept running all the way and fled to a ferry of the Yellow River, where there was a ferry they had secretly prepared in advance.
After getting on the ferry, Temur burst into tears again, kowtowed three times in the direction of Dadu, and shouted loudly.
"I'm sorry to the late emperor, my old life is gone, I'm ashamed to the late emperor, I can't cross the river!"
After finishing speaking, regardless of everyone's obstruction, he jumped and floated into the shallow Yellow River water.
Just listen, a plop.
Temur jumped into the water, the water was neither deep nor shallow, just up to his waist, and the other generals jumped into the river with sharp eyes and quick hands, and helped Temur up with all his hands and feet.
After helping Temore to the boat, everyone tried to persuade him again.
"Your Excellency is an important minister of the country, and there must be no mistakes."
"Yes, my lord can throw away the Bianliang, but my lord must not cause any problems."
"The Han people say that they will suffer for their lives, and now we are asking for reinforcements when we go back to Dadu. We just want to take back Bianliang. My lord, you must not harm your own life."
But in the face of everyone's persuasion, Temur seemed unwilling to listen to it. He jumped into the river twice after that, and finally his generals and counselors forced him to cherish his life. After jumping into the river, they crossed the river safely and steadily. After crossing the Yellow River, Temur and his party galloped northward, running more than 100 miles in one breath before daring to rest.
The battle situation in Bianliang City was just as Liu Futong expected. In just a few hours, the entire Bianliang City fell into the hands of the Red Turban Army.Under the leadership of Prime Minister and Generalissimo Liu Futong, the Red Scarf Army surrounded Song Emperor Han Lin'er and entered Bianliang City.
At this time, Bianliang City was the first time since the Jingkang Rebellion that a Han emperor entered Bianliang City. It was of great significance. Divide the kings.
In fact, among the Red Scarf Army, there is no shortage of kings and kings, but these kings are all grass-headed kings one by one. Everyone should give themselves the name of a certain king. The only one who really has the title of king is Liu Futong. Wait for a few people.
The military system and official system of the Red Turban Army, as well as titles, are quite chaotic.
This makes it easy for scholars all over the world, as well as people in the world, to think that the Red Scarf Army is a group of rabble and rogues.
Therefore, Liu Futong suggested that Han Lin'er should not only entrust the princes.
I also want to amnesty the world, just to win people's hearts.
Then go further to revise the official system and establish the prestige of the orthodox Song Dynasty.
In Bianliang City, after several days of discussion and discussion, Emperor Han Lin'er of the Great Song Dynasty formally issued an edict to canonize the kings and marshals of various places, confer the titles of various titles, and unify them.
After the unanimous recommendation of everyone, under the Prime Minister and Generalissimo Liu Futong, Zhu Yuanzhang was the second candidate for the military merit of the Red Turban Army.
Han Lin'er officially issued an edict, canonizing Zhu Yuanzhang as King of Wu.
Zhu Yuanzhang's wife Ma was the wife of King Wu, and his younger brother Zhu Han was the Duke of Huai.
The rest, like Guo Zixing, Peng Da, Zhimali, etc., were divided into three classes according to their merits.
The leaders of the Red Turban Army everywhere, although everyone is dissatisfied with their Duke, but under the general trend, they can only keep silent and dare not have any opinions. After all, the Song Dynasty is now in full swing, not only Annihilated the million-yuan army, and restored the old capital Bianliang, which had been lost for 200 years
Jiangbei, Dingyuan City.
"On July [-]th, Bolu has sent letters over and over again, saying that he wants to sacrifice his land to protect himself. I think it's almost time, and we can't wait any longer." Zhu Yuanzhang said.
It turned out that since the big businessmen in Suzhou collectively rioted, the power and prestige of Pingzhang Bolu in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces collapsed instantly.
After a period of failures, failures and failures, the officials, common people, and gentry in the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces have seen that Bolu can no longer maintain his status and power in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.
Bolu can be regarded as self-aware.
After seeing his form clearly, he followed Liu Bowen's persuasion, and sent people to send letters three times, intending to send all the seals, official positions, etc. of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces together, which can be regarded as surrender certificates.
Under such circumstances, Zhu Yuanzhang already felt that he had to control Jiangsu and Zhejiang in advance.
Otherwise, after the complete fall of Bolu's authority, Jiangsu and Zhejiang will easily form their own separate regimes. After a long time, it will be very unfavorable for unification.
Maybe under such a chaotic situation, a peerless and rare strong man may emerge from some place.
And Zhu Han almost thought the same way.
Zhu Han said, "This is the urging situation. Although we are not ready to take over Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces in an all-round way, we have to make suggestions now. Otherwise, brother, your worries will really come true." After all, Fang Guozhen in eastern Zhejiang is ready to move, and I heard that they have repeatedly attacked Hangzhou City, if Fang Guozhen can gain a firm foothold in Hangzhou, it will really be a big threat."
"Fang Guozhen is a capricious person with two heads and two heads! Before that, he was a low-ranking little thief, but now he has become bigger and bigger. If there is chaos in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, Fang Guozhen will be even stronger." Zhu Yuanzhang also said.
"Now that we are marching into the south of the Yangtze River, what we lack the most for controlling power, big and small, is firstly money, and secondly, talents. Jiangsu and Zhejiang are prosperous, rich in humanities, rich in financial resources. If we don't use the people of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to govern Jiangsu and Zhejiang, I'm afraid there will be troubles. It’s not a big deal.” Zhu Yuanzhang said.
Zhu Han nodded, and then said, "Brother, you are right, we still have too few talents cultivated by ourselves now, and after we get to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, we must use talents from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but these people are not so easy to get along with. We have to do something of our own."
"Oh, Qiwu, what are you going to do? Tell me quickly, I've been worrying so much about this recently." Zhu Yuanzhang said.
Zhu Han smiled and said, "Brother, have you forgotten? They are better than us, but there are only two, one is money and the other is talent. First of all, money is the first thing. Since they can make money , then we can make more money than them.”
"Don't they have Confucian talents, so let's confuse them with Confucianism. What is a talent, is it a talent, and who is a talent? In the future, we will have the final say. Are we afraid that they will not obey?"
Zhu Han's words made Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes brighten with excitement.
In recent days, Zhu Yuanzhang is both happy and worried.
"After we enter Jiangnan, we must vigorously develop industry, commerce and agriculture. No matter what industry it is, we must attack the remaining forces of the Mongolian Yuan or various tyrants inside, join our own forces, and then affect the financial resources, taxation, etc. of the entire Jiangnan. In this way , I am not afraid that those big businessmen will form a group to resist me, or entrap us."
"As for disturbing the stagnant pool of Confucianism I just mentioned, it must rely on external forces."
Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was taken aback for a moment.
"External power, Confucian things, can there be external power?"
The Confucianism developed by Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao, Zhu Xi and others in the Song Dynasty has now entered a new dormant stage, and urgently needs a new development opportunity to allow them to develop again.
Otherwise, it is impossible to expect Confucianism to improve itself based on the situation of Confucianism suppressed by the Mongolian Yuan for hundreds of years.
In the early years of the Ming Dynasty in history, a large number of talented Confucian scholars helped to restore the status of Confucianism, which prevented the imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty from going to other studies.
It's just that the vision of these Confucian scholars was limited to that time. After 100 or [-] years, they were quickly eliminated by the world and fell behind.
And what Zhu Han wants to do is to take advantage of the opportunity of the Yuan Dynasty to suppress and belittle Confucianism, and develop a new Confucianism under his control.
With Zhu Han's words, Zhu Yuanzhang felt very confident. He smiled and said, "In this way, you will be in control of the future situation in Jiangnan. Brother, I will be in Jiangbei, and you will be in charge." Jiangnan, only by joining hands with our brothers can we truly dominate the world."
Zhu Han smiled and said: "I'm too lazy to squat in one place every day. I have other ideas when the world is unified. When my nephew grows up in the future, I will give him the ability of this body and let him To strengthen the lintel of our old Zhu family, when the time comes, I want to lead an army to conquer the world, I heard that there are blond and blue-eyed exotic beauties in the far west, no matter what, I have to catch dozens of them and have fun!"
After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Hahaha, your thoughts are still those of a child. Your sister-in-law told me that you are not young, and you are almost fifteen this year. You should find a wife for you." , you can only be considered an adult after finding a wife, and you won't say such childish things."
Zhu Yuanzhang took a sip of wine, and then said:
"Tell me, do you have a woman you like in your heart now? If so, no matter what kind of woman it is, we will marry him back as a matchmaker for you."
Zhu Han smiled and waved his hands and said, "I haven't thought about this at all yet. When it really comes, there's no need for you, brother. I'll go to the door and snatch the kiss myself."
After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang burst out laughing.
Half a month later, Pingzhang Bolu and others from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty submitted a letter to Zhu Yuanzhang, Marshal of the Southern Army of the Song Dynasty, officially surrendering the land, population, and finances of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces.
As Emperor Han Lin'er of the Great Song Dynasty, Zhu Han, the Pingzhang of Jiangnan Province, naturally took over this burden.
Zhu Han led an army of [-] across the south of the Yangtze River and entered Jiqing Mansion.
The common people and gentry of Jiqing Mansion lined the road to welcome him.
The enthusiastic public opinion made the entire Jiqing Mansion boil.
And Zhu Han, as Pingzhang of Jiangnan Province, the first thing he did after taking office was to announce in public that Jiqing Mansion was changed to Jinling Mansion.
As the famous ancient capital of the Six Dynasties in history, the name of Jiqing Mansion is really enough to break it down.
As soon as the name Jinling Mansion came out, it immediately won the favor of most of the people and gentry in Jinling Mansion.
Especially after Zhu Han entered the city, he posted notices widely, ordering three chapters of the law!
Following the example of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty when he entered Xianyang, all the gentry, common people and old officials were not asked about their old crimes.
He also strictly restrained his army soldiers and did not allow them to disturb the people.
As for Bolu, Fan Yao and others who surrendered obediently, they all sent a memorial to Emperor Han Lin'er of the Great Song Dynasty, asking them to be conferred various titles such as marquis and earl, and to reward them with gold, silver and jewels of [-] each.
As a result, many old officials who were worried at first were completely relieved, each kept their own duties, and maintained the order before the handover for Zhu Han.
As for how to govern the officialdom in the south of the Yangtze River, Zhu Han naturally prepared with both hands. On the one hand, he appointed his own talents, and on the other hand, he continued to retain some old officials who were considered capable and characterful.
Zhu Yuanzhang appointed Liu Bowen as You Cheng of Jiangnan Province, as his deputy, with full power to handle all military and political affairs of Jiangnan Province.
Liu Bowen refused to accept this appointment, and refused again and again.
He said that as an old official of Meng Yuan, he really should not take on this important task, but should resign from his official position and return to his hometown in Qingtian to teach and educate people.
Zhu Han knew that Liu Bowen was worried about his reputation.
After all, being an undercover agent before was not something a standard Confucian scholar could do.
For a talent like Liu Bowen, Zhu Han naturally couldn't let him go back to his hometown in Qingtian to be a teacher.
Under Zhu Han's persuasion, Liu Bowen, the great talent he admired most in governing the country, finally accepted Zhu Han's official position and became a member of the staff team second only to Li Shanchang.
The news of Pingzhang Bolu's surrender and offering of soil in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces soon spread to Dadu.
Hearing this news, the entire Mongolian and Yuan courts were immediately shocked.
Empress Dowager Qi even fainted from anger on the spot, and the grand court meeting that was going on had to be given up.
"Belu, a traitor, betrayed the trust of the imperial court. He really deserves to die. Someone will overwhelm all of Bolu's family members and behead them at Dongshikou!"
After the Empress Dowager Qi came to her senses, she gritted her teeth and said.
Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are the southern provinces with the largest population, largest area, and wealth of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty. Now Bolu's surrender and offering of soil is not only a loss of interests, but also a fatal final blow to the prestige of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty.
No matter how badly the original Meng Yuan was defeated, even if the emperor was beaten to death by the Red Scarf Army, he still didn't surrender, right?
Today's Bolu is better, surrendering and offering soil directly.
Moreover, the Red Scarf Army also gave him preferential treatment, rewarding him with a reward of silver and seals. One can imagine how officials from all over the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties will react to the Red Scarf Army in the future.
Empress Dowager Qi immediately wanted to use the heads of the Bolu family to take revenge and show the world the consequences of betraying the Yuan Dynasty.
However, Jin Da, the eunuch leader who personally led the Mongolian guards to arrest Bolu's family, returned soon with a sad face.
"Report to the Queen Mother, Bolu's family ran away two days ago!" Jin Da said.
Empress Qi was furious, "What? Run away? Hurry up and chase after me!"
Jin Da said with a mournful face, "Empress Dowager, they have been running for two days, and they couldn't catch up even if they wanted to. I heard that they went to the mouth of the Haihe River. They must have run away by boat and disappeared."
Empress Dowager Qi became very ill for three days because of this matter, and in the end, she had to give up.
Because Bolu and others had already secretly sent someone to pick up the family members, and they couldn't catch up if they wanted to.
It is absolutely impossible to complete this matter without internal support. Certain Mongolian dignitaries in the metropolis must have hooked up with Bolu.
Today's Mongolia is perilous, and the Empress Dowager Qi must find a way to save the Yuan Dynasty.
At such a critical moment, all kinds of rumors are flying in the capital city.
Many of them are rumored that the Mongolian court wants to abandon the Central Plains and withdraw to the northern desert grassland. Before they withdraw from the Central Plains, they will kill all the Han people and burn all the cities and villages.
As a result, for a while, the entire Dadu, Hebei, and Shandong areas were panicked.
Many people fled one after another, even if it was the busy season of farming, they had already packed up their family's food and fled to the barren mountains and mountains, and no one went to plow the fields anymore.
On the territory controlled by Meng Yuan, there was a situation where there were no people living in hundreds of miles.
Regarding these rumors, the Empress Dowager Qiqi sent people to inquire a little bit, and found out that behind them were rumors released by Liu Futong and others from the Red Turban Army.
But those common people didn't know it, and they were dubious about the rumors, and they all resented the Mongols even more.
What's more, not only ordinary people, but also many officials and generals of the Yuan Dynasty believed in this rumor.
Many people came forward one after another, agreeing with the empress dowager's order to go north to the grassland.
The Empress Dowager Qi immediately sent someone to issue an imperial edict to the officials and generals that the Yuan court would never abandon the Central Plains and return to the Mobei Grassland, and they not only had to defend the existing territory, but also mobilized reinforcements from all directions to counterattack.
Da Yuan is bound to destroy the Red Scarf Army and avenge the late Emperor Huizong of Da Yuan.
Under such circumstances, the Empress Dowager Qi ordered to reward generals, officials, and local officials.
However, now that the world is in chaos, relying on rewards alone is no longer enough to appease people's hearts.
Many officials and generals of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty still wrote to the empress dowager and the emperor one after another, requesting to abandon Dadu, a capital city that has no natural dangers to defend, and move the capital to Chang'an in Guanzhong instead.
After several times, Empress Dowager Qi also attached great importance to this proposal.
She immediately ordered the civil and military officials in the capital to attend the Great Court Meeting to discuss whether the capital could be moved.
At this time, a loyal minister stood up and strongly opposed the plan to move the capital to Guanzhong.
This great loyal minister is none other than Kong Kejian, the Duke of Yan Sheng conferred by the Mongolian and Yuan courts.
As the descendants of Confucius, the Kong family has always been a low-level official of the ninth rank and the seventh rank since the Northern Song Dynasty was named Yan Shenggong.
But at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Yuan Shun appreciated Han Confucianism, and raised the title of Duke Yansheng from the lower seventh rank and ninth rank to the second rank.
In this way, Kong Kejian can be said to be doing his best, wanting to imitate Emperor Zhongyuan Shun.
Oh, it's not Yuan Shundi now, they are called Yuan Huizong now.
Above the court hall, I saw Duke Yansheng's loyal and virtuous appearance in the cubicle, and said loudly: "Queen Dowager, Your Majesty! The emperor of the Great Yuan Dynasty will live and die with the country, how can he be afraid of bandits moving the capital to Guanzhong? Most of the soldiers and horses are still the same today. There are so many of them, you only need to fight to the death to wipe out the red scarf thieves. Even if you are not victorious, you can call the servant army from all directions to serve the king, not to mention the Liaoyang, Jurchen and other tribes nearby are also very brave .”
As the largest province of the Mongolian and Yuan courts, there are many savage tribes in the deep mountains and old forests of Liaoyang Province.
In fact, they are the original Bohai people and Jurchens and other tribes.
The production of these tribes is extremely backward, and the weapons they use are also very backward, so their combat power is limited.
And once they join the ranks of the Mongolian Yuan court's army and obtain excellent weapons, armor, bows and arrows and other weapons and equipment, the combat effectiveness of these troops will often be greatly improved, belonging to the Mongolian Yuan court. military power.
However, these savage Jurchen troops in Liaoyang Province have a huge shortcoming, that is, their army discipline is not good, and wherever the army passes by, they will inevitably loot. acts of robbery and murder.
As for other petty thefts, they were commonplace, so the Mongolian and Yuan courts were unwilling to mobilize these Jurchens when it was not necessary.
Jurchen and other savage tribes entered the Central Plains to fight, basically it was an act of killing one thousand enemies and self-defeating eight hundred.
The places where these Jurchen and other savage tribe soldiers passed were basically empty.
Yan Shenggong Kong Kejian's proposal to mobilize the wild Jurchen tribes in Liaoyang Province to fight the rebellion in the Central Plains is sinister and vicious, and it does not match the appearance of his tall and virtuous descendants of saints.
Above the court hall, many Han officials looked at Yansheng Gong Kong Kejian with contempt and hatred in their eyes.
However, Yan Shenggong's proposal was indeed highly praised by Empress Dowager Qi.
"Yan Shenggong, you are worthy of being Zhongliang who was favored by the first emperor. This proposal is good, and the Ai family agrees to this proposal."
For the Empress Dowager Qi, as long as she can keep her ruling position in the Yuan Dynasty, her son Aiyou's position as emperor, and the position of empress dowager, it doesn't matter whether the Han people live or die.
She just doesn't care.
As for whether this suggestion put forward by Duke Yansheng Kong Kejian would lead to catastrophe for the people of the Central Plains, whether they would face serious massacres, the Empress Dowager Qi didn't care at all.
It's just a group of lowly Han people who die as soon as they die. It's not as important as her Great Yuan Dynasty.
"Come here, pass on my decree immediately to call Liaoyang Province to gather 3 Jurchen warriors from various tribes, and make sure they come to King Qin of the capital within three months." Empress Dowager Qi said loudly.
As soon as this remark came out, the entire court hall exclaimed.
You know, [-] strong men are almost the entire force of the Jurchen tribe in Liaoyang Province.
Many Jurchen tribes often only have a hundred or ten people, even if they are large, they are only three to five hundred.
In this way, almost all Jurchen tribes will be empty.
Moreover, so many Jurchens entered the Central Plains to fight, and the Mongolian and Yuan courts could not provide them with so much food and supplies.
At this time, Zhao Jixiang, Minister of the Household Department of Dayuan, stood up, and only heard him speak loudly.
"Your Majesty and the Queen Mother think twice. It is really a last resort to mobilize the Jurchen savages from Liaoyang to fight in the Central Plains. Now the imperial court has no extra food, grass and money to reward them. Start to mess up the place, so what should we do?"
The words of Zhao Jixiang, Minister of the Household Department, did not get the approval of the Queen Mother at all.
Empress Dowager Qi looked displeased, looked at the ministers in the court hall, and said slowly: "The situation in Dayuan is critical now, and the suppression of thieves must be carried out immediately without any delay. There is no military supplies in the treasury, so find a way Let these Jurchen savage armies raise their own food and grass."
The so-called self-confidence in raising food and grass, of course the civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty knew that it was nothing more than letting these Liaoyang savage tribe soldiers plunder the Han people in the Central Plains. As for whether the Han people would die or whether they would be angry or grudges, Empress Dowager Qi didn't care at all.
Afterwards, at the behest of Empress Dowager Qi, the Meng Yuan court immediately formulated a strategy to mobilize Jurchen and other wild tribes from Liaoyang Province into the Central Plains.
Two days later, Yan Sheng Gong Kong Kejian made another proposal to the Empress Dowager.
He suggested setting up regiment training in various state capitals in the Central Plains.
Let Confucian scholars, officials and powerful people from all over the country send troops to defend themselves against the attack of the Red Turban Army.
Then, as a corresponding return, the Yuan Dynasty granted a large part of local autonomy to these local regiment training envoys.
After hearing this, Empress Dowager Qi immediately nodded in agreement.
"Kong Kejian, Duke of Yansheng, who is in the middle of the country, is the pillar of the Yuan Dynasty, and he is specially appointed as the Chief Envoy of Jining Prefecture." Empress Dowager Qi issued an edict at the court meeting.
"I thank the Empress Dowager for your kindness, and I will serve the Great Yuan without hesitation!" Kong Kejian quickly knelt down to thank him.
Soon after, the Mongolian and Yuan courts issued the "Decree on Ding Guo Shi".
In the imperial decree, it was officially announced that the officials and gentry in all provinces would supervise the regiment training to resist the Red Turban Army. At the same time, the Mongolian and Yuan courts also announced that the Red Turban Army was a monster who believed in the White Lotus Sect and Maitreya Sect, and called on Confucian scholars all over the world to eliminate demons and defend Confucianism.
Meng Yuan's regiment training envoy is not a false official position, but has relatively great power.
All prefectures, counties, and counties that have registered with the Mengyuan government can all receive part of the rewards of the Yuan Dynasty, and they can prepare taxes, money and food in their respective jurisdictions by themselves.
In other words, this is equivalent to declaring that these regiments are local emperors recognized by the Mongolian and Yuan courts.
For these powerful families, the actual power in their hands is much more effective than expelling the Tartars and restoring China.
For them, only when the Mongols stay in the Central Plains can they have a backer.
If the Red Scarf Army came, they would not only ask for money and food, but also take away their official positions, and maybe they would have to lose their land, property and lives.
Therefore, for a while, the regiment training in various places led to the rise of elements to maintain the rule of the Mongolian and Yuan courts.
As Kong Ke, the great hero who made suggestions, Yan Sheng Gong Kong Kejian also returned to Jining Mansion by the emperor's order to practice and organize local group training.
Jining Prefecture is located on the north side of the Yellow River since the Yellow River changed its course, and it is the most important town for defense against the south of the Yellow River.
Meng Yuan originally set up heavy troops here, but the previous soldiers and horses were all transferred to Henan, and then they were defeated by the Red Turban Army.
Kong Kejian returned to Jining Mansion.
Immediately relying on the power in his hands, coupled with the influence of the Confucian Mansion, he quickly gathered an army of tens of thousands of people.
They are not only well-equipped, but also began to practice horseback attack and defense, bow and crossbow riding and shooting all day long.
It is also a posture of defending the family and the country, and living and dying with Jining Mansion.
Outside Qufu City, inside Confucius Mansion.
As a descendant of Confucius, Yan Shenggong, the size of his mansion is in the special grace of the emperors of the past dynasties, and it belongs to the Confucian mansion that far exceeds the official standard.
There are not only layers of buildings, but also solid and thick walls for defense.
From a distance, the Confucian Mansion is even more majestic than the Qufu City not far away.
This is true.
Inside the Confucian mansion, Kong Kejian was saying to his son, "Hurry up and order people to collect rent from the shopkeepers in each village to ensure the supply of food and grass for the regiment training, and then let the people below pick out the elite after training and arrange them in the outer courtyard." Guard."
Kong Kejian's son, Kong Xixue, is 20 years old this year. Although he is young, he has already learned the true teachings of the Kong family, and he knows the ability to adapt to the wind.
After he heard his father Kong Kejian's words, he felt doubts in his heart.
He asked Kong Kejian in a low voice: "Father, now that the Red Scarf Army has captured Bianliang, and most of Jiangnan has fallen into the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han brothers, should we make some plans now, don't do this Too deeply involved with the Mongols?"
Hearing what his son said, Kong Kejin nodded very satisfied.
He pointed to the chair next to him, asked his son Kong Xixue to sit down first, and said in a low voice.
"Father was very pleased to hear what you said just now, which shows that the teaching to you was not in vain."
"It's the so-called three caves of the cunning rabbit. What's more, descendants of saints like us are absolutely not immune to any mistakes. What you said just now, my father has already thought of it."
Hearing this, Kong Xixue showed a puzzled expression.
"Father, since you have already thought of this, why did you write to the Empress Dowager to have regiment training in various places, and prepare regiment training in Jining Mansion to resist the Red Scarf Army?"
"Haha, the so-called Three Caves of the Cunning Rabbit, of course I have to make two-handed preparations. On the one hand, I have to accumulate my own strength and put all the people and soldiers of Jining Prefecture under the name of our Kong family. This will not only rely on us after the Yuan Dynasty, but also in the future. The Red Scarf Army is here, and they also need to rely on us. If our Kong family doesn't have a single soldier in their hands, wouldn't we be slaughtered by others? What's more, the troublemakers below are having a lot of fun. If we can't organize a group training To subdue them, I am afraid that before the red scarf thieves come, these unscrupulous people will rebel."
The so-called troublemakers in Kong Kejian's mouth are naturally the tenant farmers and servants of the Confucian Mansion.
These people leased and planted the land of the Kong family, and the taxes they pay every year are slightly lower than the taxes of the imperial court.
These fields of the Kong family are all rewarded by the imperial court, and no taxes are levied.
So how much rent they paid, all fell into the pockets of the Confucian government.
Moreover, there is no such thing as the imperial court's disaster relief relief for the sacrifice rent and land rent of the Confucian Mansion.
Even in a year of catastrophe or drought, ordinary tenant farmers can only think that they are unlucky, and the grain that should be handed over to the Kong family is indispensable.
If there is less, they will be sent to the Kong family to be lynched and imprisoned immediately, or the servants of the Kong family and others will break into the door and rob them, and then they will be driven out of the Kong family forever. Land can no longer be leased.
If anyone dared to default on the rent of the Kong family, it would be tantamount to asking for death.
As a result, many tenant farmers were unwilling to be oppressed, and secretly conspired to riot.
In just a few years, the tenant farmers of the Kong family had rioted several times.
Hundreds of people were killed alone, but it still couldn't stop those mud-legged people from wanting to rebel.
Therefore, Kong Kejian had very strict constraints on these tenant farmers and servants under the rule of the Confucian government.
Now that the Red Turban Army is not far from Jining Mansion, if someone from them came to encourage the slaves and tenants of Confucian Mansion to rebel, Kong Kejian would really panic.
"Father, my son understands. I will definitely go back and tell the people below to do a good job. We will put all those capable regiments into the guards of our Kong family, so that they will not be able to rebel." Kong Xixue said.
Kong Kejie nodded in satisfaction.
At this time, Kong Xixue continued to ask, "Father, what is the other preparation you mentioned just now?"
Kong Ketian smiled slightly, then lowered his voice and said to his son Kong Xi:
"After you finish this matter, go to the cashier to get 10 taels of silver."
"What, 10 taels of silver?!" Kong Xixue immediately widened his eyes, showing a horrified expression.
For the Confucian government, 10 taels of silver is also a very large amount.
Kong Xixue couldn't figure it out, why did this father who was in such a mess want to allocate so much money?
Kong Kejian smiled slightly, and said to his son Kong Xixue: "This is the grand plan for my father. You send a few confidantes of the family to take the money and secretly go to Bianliang to find Liu Futong and others, and tell them that as long as they cross the Yellow River When we came to Jining Mansion, our Kong family immediately refused to let go and surrendered to Song Zhengtong."
As soon as these words came out, his son Kong Xixue was immediately shocked.
"Father, this is really too dangerous. If the Red Scarf Army comes, we will submit to them. If the soldiers of the imperial court come, what should we do?"
Of course, Kong Kejian couldn't get this small problem.
In fact, Kong Kejian had already made two-handed preparations.
If the Red Scarf Army attacked Jining Mansion, the Kong family would lead their troops to submit to Song Zhengtong.
If the Mongols return to attack in the future, the Kong family will find a way to capture the leader of the local Red Turban Army, kill him and present him to the court, and then they can claim credit for the Mongols, saying that they committed themselves to serve the bandits for the purpose of In the future, I will look for opportunities to serve the court.
In this way, as the descendants of the sage Confucius, the Mongols can only endure and tolerate the actions of the Confucius family no matter how disgusting they are.
After hearing what his father Kong Kejian said, his son Kong Xixue was very happy, and he applauded repeatedly.
"Father is indeed wise."
"Father really has a clever plan to make my Kong family invincible!"
Kong Kejian smiled slightly, and then said, "Actually, there are not only these two ways to be a father, but another way."
"Father, what method?"
Kong Kejian said slowly at this time: "Actually, I still want to send someone to Jiangnan to meet that brother Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han."
"Ah? Why do you want to see them?" Kong Xixue was a little puzzled.
You know, now it is the Yuan Dynasty of the Mongols and the Song Dynasty of the Han people competing for the world.
The emperor of the Song Dynasty, Han Lin'er, was in Bianliang, and Zhu Yuanzhang was only a courtier of the Song Dynasty.
Kong Kejian stroked his beard and said with a look of old gods,
"My son, you are wrong. According to various reports from the imperial court, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Han brothers are definitely not in the pool. They are just using each other with Han Lin'er and others from the red scarf thief. What is it really? I am afraid that no one will take the title of king and minister seriously, and they will definitely end up fighting for the world in the future."
In fact, in Kong Kejian's heart, he was also very disappointed with the Mongolian Yuan court.
Even the future of the Yuan Dynasty is not optimistic.
That's why he made the decision to take advantage of this opportunity and return to his hometown in Jining Mansion to prepare his own forces and try to protect himself.
Moreover, Kong Kejian's ability to judge the situation is worthy of the vision inherited from the Kong family. Regarding how to stand in line and how to choose a new master, the Kong family can always make correct judgments immediately and quickly.
(End of this chapter)
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