In September of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, seeing that the city could not be defended and reinforcements could not arrive, the Ming Dynasty civil and military officials in Kaifeng City, as well as the feudal lords and gentry, after secret discussions, in order to save their lives, they dug up the Yellow River embankment regardless of the common people in the world.
At that time, the river embankment was damaged by more than ten feet and was completely irreparable.
The torrential floods gushed out, making a sound like an angry dragon that could be heard hundreds of miles away.
The terrible flood first flooded Kaifeng and then rushed out of the city, causing huge damage to the invading army.
According to statistics, more than 10,000 people died in the floods.
Then the flood found its way and surged forward, converging into the eddy water.
However, the Guishui River is narrow and has already been filled with heavy rains for days. How can it accommodate such a large amount of water?
The Yellow River floods were out of control and rushed towards the low-lying and gentle areas in the southeast.
Eastern Henan and various places in Huaixi were reduced to Zeguo one after another.
Looking from the sky, the ocean is thousands of miles away, but not an inch of land is visible; the torrents are roaring, and everything is sinking.
Within the Xia Kingdom, there were 24 counties from Xuzhou, Huai'an to Yangzhou, with a population of nearly three million affected.
Fortunately, the Lianghuai Military Region responded quickly and had the courage to shoulder its responsibilities. They did not ask the headquarters to take the initiative to send troops. With the cooperation of local government officials, they moved the people to higher places with great danger, thus avoiding the loss of life.
As for the property losses caused by floods, it is impossible to estimate them.
Even though the Xia Kingdom was so rich, its vitality was greatly damaged by this.
The nearby Fengyang Prefecture, which belonged to the same Ming Dynasty, did not receive any warning. Local officials and people did not respond in time, and they were swept away by floods. The number of casualties exceeded 60%.
Shi Kefa stood at the top of Fengyang City, surrounded by innocent people who had fled for refuge.
In and outside the city below, there were countless corpses of people and animals floating in the dirty water.
"Sir, what are the people to blame? Why is this so?"
Fengyang's official Chen Junzuo seemed to be going crazy, grabbing Shi Kefa's sleeves and roaring.
No one with conscience, no one who still has justice in his heart, will never understand why the Ming government did such unscrupulous things.
Shi Kefa had nothing to say, his eyes were red, and he was obviously extremely angry.
The helpless cries of the people kept hitting his nerves, causing his previously unshakable faith to completely collapse.
"Those who defy heaven and harm the people will be destroyed by heaven. I want to surrender to the Xia Kingdom, what do you want to do?"
The surviving civil and military officials looked at me and I looked at you, and suddenly they all fell to their knees.
"We, your Majesty, will act accordingly. From now on, we will abandon the darkness and embrace the light. We will die without any regrets!"
Shi Kefa was so excited that he suddenly understood that this was what the people wanted.
When Zuo Mengeng, who was far away in Jinan, received the news, he couldn't help but feel great panic and self-doubt.
"Is this God's punishment for me?"
"Why did the young master say this? This is obviously an evil thief from the Ming Dynasty who is wreaking havoc on the world. How can we not avenge such a great hatred?"
Zuo Fu felt extremely distressed when he saw Zuo Mengeng's suspicious look, and at the same time he hated the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty in Kaifeng City.
He believed that all the Xia people and all the people affected by the disaster wanted to eat Gao Mingheng, Huang Shu, Yan Yunjing, Zhu Gongzhen and others alive.
Hou Xun, Li Banghua and others also came.
"Your Highness, we must not sit idly by and ignore such acts of harming the common people. We must use thunderous means to do justice for God and warn other evil people."
Hou Xun's beard and hair were all spread out, and he wished he could pick up the sword himself and kill the evil thief.
His hometown, Guide Mansion, is on the road of the flood, and the situation is even more tragic. News came from relatives in his hometown that even the ancestral graves of the Hou family were washed away.
In front of all the ministers, Zuo Mengeng regained his dignity.
"That's right, we must not spare these evildoers. According to this king's decree, Gao Mingheng, Huang Shu, Yan Yunjing and Zhou Wang Zhu Gongzhao acted against the will of heaven and harmed countless people. They are inevitably guilty of death. No matter whether it is the end of the world or the vicissitudes of the sea, they will never be forgiven.
!”
Zuo Mengeng was completely angry about the breach of the dike and the release of water, which harmed civilians.
In the name of King Xia, he issued a death order to the whole world.
As soon as this order came out, all the heroes in the world clapped their hands and cheered.
However, the irony is that Chongzhen believed that Gao Mingheng and others had made a great contribution by repelling the intruders and saving Kaifeng, so he issued an edict to reward them.
As for the hundreds of thousands of people who died unexpectedly?
Mere ants, how could they exist in the eyes of the almighty emperor?
One kill and one prize, completely different and distinct.
But it also made the world's knowledgeable people immediately understand how to choose.
For a time, the number of talents who defected to the Xia Kingdom was like crucian carp crossing the river, and countless official vacancies appeared in various parts of the Ming Dynasty.
Taking advantage of the flood, Gao Mingheng, Huang Shu and others escaped from Kaifeng City on the boats that had been prepared.
A few days later, the intruders, who had regained their composure, also entered the city by boat.
However, there were floods everywhere in the city, silt accumulated, and there were no living people or life, so it was impossible to garrison at all.
After receiving the news, Li Zicheng had no choice but to withdraw his troops to the west to meet Sun Chuanting who entered Henan.
When the commendation from the imperial court came, Gao Mingheng and others were not happy at all.
Because they had received the news, Xia State issued a pursuit order against them.
Thinking of the power of the Xia Kingdom, these people all trembled. As for whether they regretted it in their hearts, there was no way of knowing.
After a few people thanked them hastily and accepted the reward, they all sat across from each other and had a premonition of a dark future.
"Gentlemen, we have worked together for a long time. Although we dare not say meritorious service, we have finally earned your majesty's trust. We have been able to protect the key cities of Zhongzhou and continue the Ming Dynasty. As for the future... I hope that you will be safe and well. We will see you again.
time."
Farewell was imminent, and Gao Mingheng wanted to say something, but he always felt that everything he said was redundant.
With just a few words, everyone dispersed like birds and animals, like a bereaved dog.
Zhou Wang Zhu Gongzhen took his family to live in Zhangde Mansion, but he was not confident whether he could make it there.
Gao Mingheng resigned from Chongzhen on the grounds of physical illness and embarked on his return home.
Yan Yunjing returned to his residence and never came out again.
When the servants realized something was wrong and broke in the next day, they found that he had hung himself from the beam and his body was already cold.
Gao Mingheng felt lost and in a trance. When he was boating across the river, he suddenly heard the sound of extremely sad chanting.
He followed the sound and saw a madman on the shore, drinking and dancing to his heart's content.
The sound of wind hunting came from far away, it was Huang Shu.
[The rolling waters of the Yangtze River pass eastward, and the gold-mining heroes in the waves. Right and wrong, success or failure turn their heads. The green mountains are still there, and the sunset is red several times...]
Gao Mingheng let out a long sigh and had no intention of looking again, letting his servants protect him as he walked away.
Behind him, Huang Shu's singing had reached its climax, his body became more and more wavy, and his body staggered.
Finally, I made a mistake in my steps, my head was spinning, I fell into the water, and never came out.
Gao Mingheng's boat traveled a hundred miles, and just when his mind calmed down, a panicked shout suddenly came from the cabin.
"It's leaking! The boat is leaking!"
Then many people were running back and forth on the deck like headless flies.
Gao Mingheng was startled at first and wanted to get up and run away. Then he thought of something and smiled with relief. He simply picked up the book and read the saint's words loudly.
When the river water reached my feet, I felt like I had a breakthrough.