Chapter 659: The tide flies away 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 Bianliang people who were as skinny as corpses with only their last breath left.
There are not many pedestrians on the streets anymore.
The old man in the sedan was neatly dressed and his face was dull, but 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 court today, he not only has domestic slaves who carry the sedan chair, but also guards accompanying him to protect him. This is to prevent him from being attacked by evildoers on his way up and down the court.
Assassination. However, in recent days, the number of criminals who want to assassinate him has gradually decreased. There have even begun to be exchanged for food in the capital. Those who are hungry to this extent and want to assassinate for the sake of morality, after all,
He was also starved to death.
This is a city that has been squeezed dry. A year ago, there were still millions of people living in this place. It is hard to imagine that it would be as desolate as it is today. But it is precisely because of the gathering of millions of people that it has become so desolate now.
Being reduced to the situation of being wantonly manipulated by foreign enemies, the scene that unfolds becomes increasingly bleak.
Half a year ago, the Jurchen troops came to the city. Faced with danger, the court recruited Tang Ke, Wu Min and other peace factions in the hope that they could minimize the losses after compromising. On the other hand, they also hoped that the generals could resist the Jurchens. Tang Ke
In this issue
Shi was the biggest pessimist. This time, before the Jurchens besieged the city, he came to remonstrate, hoping that the emperor would seek refuge in the south. However, this time, his opinion was still rejected. Emperor Jingping decided that the emperor should die in Sheji, and soon after, he re-appointed Tianshi.
Guo Jing.
The purpose of appointing Tang Ke and others in the court is that they can negotiate before the fight, and preferably after the fight. But the facts of the past few months have proved that compromise by those without power does not make any sense. Liujia Shenbing
After the farce of , Bianliang City no longer has the qualification to say no no matter how rude the request is.
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
After making various requests to the Wu Dynasty court, the only choice Tang Ke and others had was to agree to each request, or give away their wives and daughters, or give away their gold and silver, step by step
Help the other party drain this entire city.
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 needed to take care of the foundation of the Wu Dynasty. So they ordered the Grand Prime Minister Zhang Bangchang to succeed him as emperor.
, changed to Dachu in the Yuan Dynasty, guarded Tiannan for the Jurchens, and remained 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 refuse the matter, but the Jurchens also issued a warning. If Zhang Bangchang did not
After he ascended the throne, he killed all the ministers in the court and sent troops to massacre Bianliang City.
This day is already the last day of the deadline.
In the court hall, 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 an expression as if he had taken 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 it had seized the opportunity and wanted to make the Northern Expedition. It was also like Qin Siyuan and other main war factions. The Black Water
Alliance, even though Qin Siyuan went down, he still looked full of confidence in the Northern Expedition.
After that, Bianliang enjoyed peace and prosperity through singing and dancing, and a prosperous world.
Merchants from the north and south gather here, confident men of letters gather here, and warriors seeking fame gather here. The officials of the court can decide the affairs of the world with one word. A word in the palace,
Every step involved the rise and fall of thousands of families. Senior officials kept arguing and infighting 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 the Wu Dynasty could also seize an opportunity. However,
In the end, he hated himself for seeing the obstacles on the road so clearly.
His pessimism has never played any role. People don't like pessimism. In most political ecology, radicals are always more popular. People can easily fight, but few people are sober.
Self-strengthening of the earth. People use the main battle to replace self-strengthening itself. They blindly believe that as long as they are willing to fight and as long as they 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, and strength and strength
Weakness, victory and defeat are the principles.
So he actually understood 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 still tried his best.
He at least helped the Jurchens to destroy Bianliang City. Just like facing a too powerful opponent, he chopped off his own hands, chopped off his own feet, and bit off his own tongue, hoping that the opponent could at least give him strength.
He even gave away his own granddaughter to leave something behind. He couldn't beat him.
He can only surrender, but surrender is not enough. He can give his wealth, but wealth is not enough. He can also give his dignity. With dignity, he hopes that he can at least save the country of Wu Dynasty, but he cannot save the country.
He also hopes that he can at least save the lives of these people who have nothing left in the city...
He also knows clearly how future generations will evaluate him.
Over the past few days, he has been thinking about many things, some that can be said and some that cannot be said. He occasionally thinks of that scene, a few months ago, on the last day of the Jinghan Dynasty, the situation in the Jinluan Palace. Qin Siyuan was dead.
, just like the ending of every political dispute before, people went to court as usual, thankful that they were saved, and then the emperor was thrown into 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.
In this life of the old man, he has met many great figures, 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
He has never seen such a scene. He has also met with the emperor countless times. 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 yelled and cursed like thunder, and Yan Zheng screamed in horror. Countless people cursed, swore, or cited scriptures. They stated that the other party's behavior was so treasonous that heaven and earth could not tolerate it.
He also 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 his name today, Tang Ke suddenly wanted to say this sentence to the ministers of the dynasty: "...
…”
In the court that day, the young man did not react at all to the shouts and scolds from the court. He only glanced over everyone's heads and said: "...a bunch of trash."
For everyone, this may be a slap heavier than killing the emperor, and no one can talk about it.
Of course, the old man did not say these words. He left the palace, crossed the streets in his sedan chair, and returned to the mansion. The entire Tang mansion was also dead at this time. His wife had passed away long ago. Most of the daughters, granddaughters, and concubines in the family had been sent away.
, arrived at the Jurchen military camp. The remaining ones were frightened by Tang Ke
Recently, Wei Yi, who has not recognized his relatives, has been living a life of plenty and hunger in the Tang Mansion, and most of them dare not approach him. Only an old concubine who has been with him for many years came to take away his clothes and brought him a basin of water.
He washed his face, and Tang Ke washed his face meticulously as usual.
He returned to the study. He sorted out the messy bookshelf over the past few days and arranged the papers and pens on the desk. The coldness of winter had gradually passed away, and the sunshine lazily shone in from the window. It was already the sunshine of late spring and early summer. Bianliang
There is nothing left in the 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 already taken poison, sat on a chair in the study, and died quietly.
******************
The overthrow of the dynasty was like fireworks that exploded and flew away. During the collision between the Jin Dynasty and the Wu Dynasty, the aftermath rushed to the surroundings. Since the Jurchens went south for half a year, the situation on the entire land has been violently turbulent and changing.
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, to the north
, a group that once arose in the name of King Qin’s fight against the Jin
The teams began to demarcate their own spheres of influence and waited eagerly for the development of the situation. The once scattered armies of the Wu Dynasty were either reorganized on the spot or meandering south to seek their own way out. Many large clans in the north were also like this.
In this situation, he was panicking for his way out.
In the northwest, this land with strong folk customs, the Xixia people have once again swept in, and the territory of the Zhong Family Army has been almost completely destroyed. Zhong Shidao's nephew Zhong Lie led the Zhong Family Army after a fierce battle with Wan Yanchang in the south, and then fled north.
, and after a battle with Guaizima, they were defeated in the northwest. At this time, the Zhong family army that could still be gathered was less than 5,000.
Zhe Keqiu of the Zhe family had already returned to the army, but he was also unable to rescue the Zhong family, so he had to retreat to Fuzhou and live in a corner. After Qingjian City, Yanzhou and other big cities were destroyed, countless refugees fled towards Fuzhou and other places.
The Zhe family gathered the remnants of the Zhong family, expanded their power, and intimidated Li Qianshun. Therefore, Fuzhou did not suffer much impact.
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, very few people could take care of it.
As for their movements, some people even reported that they had been swept away by the Xixia army in the cold winter, and no trace of them remained.
In the south, the same fierce 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 the fact that the army cannot fight.
The last few troops lived there, Gong
The defense line south of the Yangtze River was solidified to inhibit the spread of news. Therefore, many people spent the winter and the spring when everything was recovering in the still prosperous atmosphere. Although they were worried about the safety of Bianliang City, the real atmosphere was the same as that of the Jurchens.
There was no difference between attacking Yanmen Pass and Taiyuan.
Jiangning, Prince Kang's Mansion.
The young prince hummed a little 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 the room was filled with all kinds of weird drawings and books. He went to
At the table, he took out a book from his sleeve and read it excitedly. He also found a few drawings from the table and compared them with each other. From time to time, he clenched his fist and knocked on the tabletop of the desk.
I don't know when a figure appeared at the door. The young prince looked up and saw that it was his sister Zhou Pei. He was in a good mood. He smiled towards that side and said, "Sister, how are you? The old lady of the Wang family and those sisters,
Have you gone to see him? He really comes from a scholarly family. Mr. Wang Qisong was a loyal and loyal man, and his family members are all respectable and admirable."
Zhou Pei's eyes were a little cold, he narrowed his eyes slightly, and walked in: "I went to see them. Although the Wang family is a loyal family, and the Wang family's widow is also admirable, they were involved in that matter after all.
, you worked secretly and brought them here, do you want to put yourself on the fire? Do you know how unwise this move is!"
"They are treasures." Zhou Junwu was in a very good mood, and said something mysteriously in a low voice. Then he looked outside the door, and Zhou Pei tilted his head and asked the accompanying maids to go down. When only the siblings were left,
, Jun Wucai jumped up holding 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 Junwu said excitedly: "Old... that man is really a genius. I originally thought the key was there."
On the cloth, I searched for a long time and couldn’t find the right one.
, the big Kongming lantern burned down every time. Later, I carefully checked what he did in Bianliang during the last period. Only then did I find that the key lies in the pulp... Haha, sister, you can't guess at all, the key lies in
On the paper pulp, if you want to avoid being burned, you have to apply paper pulp!"
"During those days in Bianliang City, the Wang family had been helping to make the paper workshop, while the Su family was making cloth. Only when both of them were taken into consideration could we realize that the big flying sky lanterns had to be painted with paper pulp.
, so that they can expand and not be breathable! Therefore, the Wang family is a treasure, and it is right for me to save them."
When Ning Yi was in Bianliang, he made good friends with everyone in Wang Shanyue's family. When he rebelled and left the city, the Wang family was absolutely unwilling to follow him. So Zhu Biao went and kidnapped the betrothed Wang family girl, and even almost killed the Wang family's old lady.
After a beating, the two sides fell out. But there was no way to kill the king.
Being able to get rid of the suspicion so easily, even if Wang Qisong still had some good connections 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 people in the capital.
Use your strength to take over these poor women as much as possible.
If not for this, 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 changed dramatically, and many people expressed doubts about it.
The guests of the Qin Mansion were quite wary, but they were unwilling to treat Jueming.
Offended, he was able to seep out some strength from the temple, and helped the poor Wang family 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 southward. At this time
He just hides behind the scenes and does some of his things.
Zhou Pei was dubious about Jun Wu's words: "I know you admire him a little, 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.
, brings big trouble to the family."
She pondered for a long time and then said: "Did you know that the Jurchens made Zhang Bangchang the throne in Bianliang and changed the Yuan Dynasty to Dachu, and they are about to withdraw their troops to the north. The adults in Jiangning City don't know what to do... The Jurchens are withdrawing northward.
At that time, all the Zhou royal family in Bianliang City had been kidnapped. Speaking of which, Zuo of the Wu Dynasty was dead... This will all be blamed on him..."
"Hmph." Jun Wu snorted coldly, but raised his eyebrows and put down the notebook in his hand, "Sister Wang, you are deceiving yourself by placing such a big issue like Wu Chao and Guo Zuo on him. You can't do it well.
People who can do things well are tossing things around, thinking that no matter what they do, others can only suffer. Anyway... hum, anyway, the Wu Dynasty Guo Zuo died, let me just say this, this Guo Zuo..."
"Shut up!" Zhou Pei's eyes were sharp, and he took two steps closer, "How could you say such treacherous words, you..." She gritted her teeth, calmed down, and said seriously, "
Do you know that our court and the scholar-bureaucrats rule the world together, and there is harmony in the court?
It's rare. After such an incident, it will be difficult for the emperor and ministers to be of the same mind in the future. At that time, they were wary of each other. When the emperor went to court, hundreds of guards followed him. He had to always be on guard against assassination. What kind of behavior would it be... He is now in the north, and he is also a rebel.
The Lord, the one who created the figurines, do you think he has no descendants?"
When talking about that person's affairs, Zhou Pei's emotions were always intense. During this period, the two had a lot of arguments. From being too lazy to answer at the beginning to tit-for-tat at the end, Jun Wu's patience was exhausted. He
At this time, he curled his lips and said: "With hundreds of guards following, what's the harm? Xunzi said, water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it, which is the responsibility of the king.
Tens of millions of people just want to be carried on board? The more they fear the risk of capsizing, the more they can do things well. The more they worry about the ruler, the more millions of people can get.
Benefits. One more benefit for tens of millions of people. Isn’t it worth the trouble of hundreds of guards following you? For the sake of decency? The benefits of tens of millions of people are not worth a decency?"
He was quite proud because he thought of a rebuttal: "I am now in charge of hundreds of people, and I can't sleep at night. I wonder all day long whether I have neglected any of the masters, and which one is more capable. There are 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 screw up, you will be scolded, and if you can't defeat others, you will be beaten. The current situation in Bianliang is very clear. What's the use of being polite? .I have never revitalized the Wu Dynasty. If you have any reasons, please tell the Jurchens!"
Zhou Pei stared at him, and the room fell silent for a moment. 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 would talk like this in private. , but after all, we could not continue. Junwu was silent for a moment and raised his chin: "A few months ago, Li Qianshun from the northwest defeated several cities in Qingjian and Yanzhou. Wu Ruiying also sent out I have had several head-to-head encounters with the Xixia people and saved many refugees. This is what a real man would do!"
Zhou Pei frowned even more now and looked at him sideways: "Why do you know that?"
Jun Wu raised his head and said, "I have hundreds of people under my command. If you really want to inquire about something, what would be surprising if you find out."
Zhou Pei sighed, and the expressions of both of them calmed down again. After a while, Zhou Pei took out some information from his clothes: "I originally just wanted to tell you the news about Bianliang. In this case, you Take a look too."
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 in the north is in chaos. Now it is the flood season. The refugees in the north are scattered. Soon, people there will starve to death. He killed the king and father, and we are no longer sworn in. I... I just think sometimes, he If I had not been so impulsive at that time and returned to Jiangning, how wonderful it would be now..."
After Zhou Pei came back from Bianliang, she was exposed to various complicated things under the guidance of Princess Chengguo. Her relationship with Jun Ma was not smooth, and she devoted herself to these things, and sometimes she became a little bit Junwu doesn't like such a sister who is cold and cold, and sometimes they are tit for tat, but overall, the relationship between the two siblings 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 at this time he did not think deeply about his sister's words. He read the information about the tragedy in Bianliang City in his hand. As a young man, it is difficult for him to have complicated sighs. Even as a person who knows the inside story, he still He felt that the tragedy in Bianliang was somewhat of his own fault. 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 have dissipated. In the mountains of the northwest, the rebel army is also struggling hard in a muddy situation. (To be continued.)
ps: 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 is so thin. She weighs just over 80 pounds. I made an appointment with her for half a year. On the 16th, after receiving her certificate and sending wedding candies to the office, she was granted five days of annual leave, plus nine days before and after the weekend. She even ran out for the first two days. I went out to discuss business. So in the next few days, I focused on vacation and letting her relax. I just came back yesterday and will update again in the next few days.
Well, she is not my reader and doesn't read my books, but I don't. She is also anxious and rushes for updates all day long. Well, you can rest assured.
I just got married, and I am feeling more responsibilities and 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 should not be considered abusing a dog.