prosperous age

Chapter 1013 Chapter 1104 Falling out

In ancient times, the appearance of auspicious signs represented God's affirmation of the current emperor, indicating that the emperor was governing well, the weather was good, and the people lived a prosperous life.

Every emperor hopes to be famous throughout the ages, and the appearance of auspicious signs is undoubtedly a happy thing for the emperor.

Reporting auspicious signs caters to the emperor's psychology very well, secretly flatters him and leaves a good impression on him, hoping to be promoted and given more titles.

In all dynasties, auspicious events were regarded as extremely important omens, but in the Ming Dynasty, these events were more likely to receive more attention.

The specific content of the auspicious events in the Ming Dynasty included many kinds of auspicious signs, such as colorful clouds, mythical beasts, dragons, phoenixes, tigers, deer, etc., which were considered to be some auspicious predictions and omens.

These auspicious signs are not just natural phenomena, but also include humanities and social aspects. They believe that these auspicious events can bring blessings and peace, so they are widely used in military, political and economic fields.

Although the auspicious events in the Ming Dynasty are mysterious and incredible, they actually had very important practical significance in the society at that time.

Auspicious events not only foreshadow the prosperity and well-being of a country, but also symbolize a stable state of order and peace.

Therefore, the interpretation of auspicious events must also take into account the politics, culture, religion and philosophical thoughts of the time. Only by comprehensive consideration can we have a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of a period of history.

The earliest auspicious sign was actually the uprising in which Emperor Gaozu of Han killed a white snake. It was a famous historical story before Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty. At that time, Liu Bang cut the giant snake with one sword, which made his followers more awed. The Peking Opera "White Python Terrace" evolved from this story.

It is said that Qin Shihuang once said: "There is the aura of the Son of Heaven in the southeast", and Liu Bang suspected that it was himself.

People who later looked for him said that clouds would always gather where he appeared. This was why so many people followed him in the beginning. Auspiciousness embodied people’s yearning for a beautiful and stable life.

As for the earlier suspected auspicious events, they have become legends because there are few records and they are mostly passed down by word of mouth.

It is not surprising that similar auspicious signs appeared in most dynasties thereafter.

From that time on, a tradition was formed in which all officials would present statements of congratulations when auspicious signs appeared.

In September of the second year of the Yongle reign, Zhu Su, the King of Zhou, whose fief was in Kaifeng, Henan, came to Beijing to pay homage to the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di and presented him with a mythical beast named "Zou Yu".

When the divine beast appeared in the world, all officials came to congratulate him. They all believed that the emperor was very benevolent and that God had shown his love for him, so he sent down this divine beast as a sign of good fortune.

The earliest record of Zouyu can be found in the Book of Songs. Zhaonan, which contains the line "Alas, Zouyu". Mao Zhuan explained that "Zouyu is a righteous animal, a white tiger with black stripes, it does not eat living things, and has the virtue of utmost trustworthiness."

Because Zuoyu is a righteous, auspicious and benevolent animal and is rare, there are very few records of it in historical books.

Only Volume 7 of "Book of Jin" records the appearance of Zuoyu in Liaodong in the eighth year of Xianhe, and "New History of the Five Dynasties" records the appearance of Zuoyu in Wuding and Bishan in Sichuan.

However, even Ouyang Xiu, who compiled the New History of the Five Dynasties, had no chance to see the true face of the Zou Yu. He had to add a note at the end of the record, confessing: "Zou Yu, I don't know what it is."

Since people in the world did not know what Zouyu was, how could Ming Zhou King Zhu Su be sure that what he presented to the emperor was the legendary mythical beast Zouyu?

Obviously, his basis was what Mao Zhuan said: "Zou Yu is a righteous beast, a white tiger with black stripes, it does not eat living things, and has the virtue of utmost trustworthiness."

Zhu Youdun, the son of Zhu Su, once wrote an article to record the discovery process of the Zou Yu: "In the autumn of the second year of Yongle, a beast of good fortune appeared. It was white with black markings, a round head and a long tail. When it walked, two tigers followed it. It did not eat living things and did not step on living grass.

Although it may seem fierce and ferocious from a distance, it becomes quite tame when approached, and is the same as the Zhuo Yu mentioned in the "Auspicious Responses Diagram".

In the first month of the fourth year of Xuande reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty, Bote of Xiangcheng, who was stationed in Nanjing, sent an envoy to escort two Zou Yu that were the same as those presented by Zhu Su, the King of Zhou of the Ming Dynasty, to Beijing.

The Zuo Yu was discovered at Shigu Mountain in Chu County, Anhui Province. After arriving in Beijing, it was surrounded by civil and military officials as well as tribute envoys from all over the world.

The minister Jin Youzi, who witnessed the event in person, recorded in detail the appearance of the Zhuo Yu he saw: "It has a white complexion with dark spots, a bright and smooth skin, is docile and at ease, and is not frightened or startled."

Another minister, Xia Yuanji, also wrote in his records: "It has a tiger-like head, white body and black markings, a long tail and corner eyes, and is very docile. It is truly a lucky animal of the prosperous times."

After reading the comments of these two eyewitnesses, as smart as you are, you should be able to guess what kind of animal this auspicious beast with black and white stripes and "a very docile nature" is.

That’s right, when Wei Guangde saw the record of this incident, he concluded that this thing should be the national treasure of later generations - the giant panda.

At first, he thought it was a giraffe, because in Wei Guangde's impression, Emperor Yongle had obtained a giraffe. After feeling something was wrong, he remembered that the giraffe should have been captured by Zheng He from Africa.

As to why it deteriorated during the Jiajing period, that is another matter.

Now, Zhang Juzheng wanted to make a fuss about the auspicious sign, and Wei Guangde could not veto it.

To put it bluntly, auspicious signs are more of a political influence. If the leader likes something, the subordinates will follow suit.

Now Zhang Juzheng also needs auspicious signs to demonstrate his ability to govern and to fight back against the slander against him by those anti-Zhang faction.

At this time, Wei Guangde spoke in favor of his proposal to submit a memorial to celebrate the auspicious sign, and Zhang Juzheng was very happy.

However, he also saw Wei Guangde's concerns. In fact, he knew very well that perhaps someone would make a big fuss about this matter afterwards and accuse him of being a fawning person.

However, at this time, in order to consolidate power, even the smallest details cannot be taken into consideration.

After all, although it is said that Zhang Juzheng's position was extremely stable, in fact, the ones who really called the shots in the court during the Wanli period were the empress dowager and the young emperor in the palace, and Zhang Juzheng's position was not as stable as everyone thought.

If the palace was really just a decoration, Gao Gong wouldn't have been removed so easily.

In fact, all of this was gained by flattering the Empress Dowager in the early years of the Wanli period.

In fact, at this time, the outer court’s requests for the palace were almost always met, and the treatment was even better than during the reign of Emperor Longqing.

The palace benefited tangibly, which made the Empress Dowager satisfied with Zhang Juzheng.

Fortunately, Zhang Juzheng's reforms just made up for the financial deficit of the court and enriched the national treasury, so few people talked about this matter and evaluated Zhang Juzheng.

Wei Guangde naturally noticed it, but he didn't want to offend the palace because of such a small matter, so he pretended to be deaf and dumb and let Zhang Juzheng draft the bill.

"Shandai, my congratulatory letter will be delivered to the palace tomorrow."

Zhang Juzheng spoke to Wei Guangde.

There is also a ranking for this. If there is no prior communication, whoever thinks of it will go first.

At this time, Zhang Juzheng proposed that he, as the chief minister, should come first, followed by the second chief minister, and then all the officials in the outer court would follow suit.

Zhang Juzheng was still confident about this. Even if everyone had their own opinions on this matter, most people would still follow his example and submit congratulatory messages to the palace.

After nodding slightly, Wei Guangde smiled and said, "I understand."

The Prime Minister had taken the lead, so naturally he, as the second Prime Minister, could not lag behind and had to submit a petition as well.

If he did not submit the petition, a lot of people would come to look for him in the mansion at night. These people were naturally those who could not bear to see an official doing this. Of course, there were also people with ulterior motives who wanted to kidnap him and make him take the lead in overthrowing Zhang.

"Boom boom boom"

Outside the Luzon Daimao City, there was the sound of cannon fire. The army composed of Ming troops and Spaniards had completed the encirclement of several villages outside the city of Lin Feng’s pirate group. The only thing left in front of them was the last fortress, which was Daimao City.

Deng Zilong ordered his men to move the cannons from several Fujian ships off the ships and use them directly as land artillery.

Some soldiers with good marksmanship were selected to form a bird-gun team to carry out fire suppression on the battlefield.

After all, we didn't actually prepare any equipment for ground combat on this trip, so we could only make do with what we had.

At this time, Deng Zilong behind the artillery position was also angry. "Wang Wanggao, you take 500 people over there. No matter what, you must get back the Ming prisoners captured by the barbarians today. If they don't hand them over, you can just rob them and take the bird gun team with you."

Deng Zilong gave the order.

Since the war began, the first day was a night-long artillery blockade of Pengaslan Bay, destroying almost all the ships of the Lin Feng pirate group.

After dawn, the coalition forces began to attack Daimao City from three sides, successively conquered several nearby settlements, and successfully pushed the battlefield to the foot of Daimao City.

The Ming army only captured two of the several settlements outside Daimao City, but also captured hundreds of Ming prisoners. The situation was similar in the settlements that the Yi people were responsible for capturing.

Although Lin Feng had been prepared, there were still a large number of crops in the wild that were about to be harvested. So when the war broke out, many people were trapped outside the city and did not retreat back to the city in time.

According to the information Deng Zilong received, the number of Ming people captured by the barbarians this time has exceeded a thousand.

Although these people came here with the pirates, most of those captured were the pirates' family members, and most of the vicious pirates had died in the battle.

After Deng Zilong heard that the barbarians had tortured and killed Ming prisoners of war, he immediately sent Wang Wanggao to contact them and demanded that the barbarians return all the Ming prisoners of war.

However, judging from his anger just now, it was obvious that Wang Wanggao's contact had not made any progress.

"Sir, if I take away 500 people, the battle line here will be tight."

Wang Wanggao was also very angry with the barbarians and was scolded by Deng Zilong. Now he wanted to find the barbarians to vent his frustration.

However, the most critical issue at the moment is the battle situation outside the city.

At this moment, if he took so many people away directly, the front line would be in trouble.

“Don’t be afraid, Lin Feng should have been intimidated by our firepower.

Our artillery fire keeps on bombarding them, so they don't dare to think of leaving the city to fight."

Deng Zilong shook his head and said, "As for those pirate captives, no matter what, they are all Ming people. When will it be the turn of the barbarians to kill them?

Even if we have to kill him, we have to do it, and execute him according to Ming Dynasty law."

Seeing that Wang Wanggao was still hesitating, Deng Zilong shouted again: "If this matter cannot be handled, I am afraid that the capital will blame us when we return.

Don't be afraid. The barbarians' troops are now gathering outside the city, and there shouldn't be many people in their barracks.

If you take 500 people with you, you should be able to intimidate them and prevent them from acting rashly."

"But, Lord Deng, what if the barbarians really open fire?"

Wang Wanggao was still a little hesitant.

Before, he went to the barbarian camp to ask for people. The communication between the two sides was relatively peaceful at the beginning, but it soon developed to the point of tension.

Yes, the Spaniards did not want to hand over the thousands of captives, including men, women, young and old, but the number was large and the construction of the city of Manila needed a large amount of labor.

If so many people were brought back to Manila, they would be a considerable force.

Moreover, these prisoners do not need to be paid, they can be worked to death just by giving them food.

Yes, these prisoners, they did not treat them as laborers, nor did they intend to let them survive.

It's just that before they die, we squeeze out the last bit of residual value.

"Why did I ask you to lead the bird gun team? Just to eat and eat?"

Deng Zilong said angrily, "If they dare to turn hostile and shoot, just shoot them directly."

At this time, Deng Zilong turned around and looked at the wall of Daimao City in the distance and said, "This is also an opportunity. If a fight really breaks out, it may not be a bad thing.

I will ask Captain Lin to go back and mobilize the troops from Sulu.

If the barbarians really want to fight with our Ming Dynasty for these captives, then we can just take advantage of the situation and fight them.

By that time, our army will be strong and I think Lin Feng in the city should know what to do."

Deng Zilong's move was a gamble, betting that the barbarians would not dare to turn against the Ming Dynasty before eliminating Lin Feng.

The barbarians are short of troops. If they become enemies with the Ming Dynasty, their troops on the front line will inevitably be weakened. Then Lin Feng in the city will pick on the weak and will definitely choose to launch a counterattack against the barbarians instead of the Ming Dynasty.

By then, those fighting on two fronts will become barbarians, and it is conceivable that they will go from a great victory to a great defeat.

“Moreover, judging by the time, the Admiral’s fleet should be very close to Luzon and could appear in the open sea at any time.

Even if the barbarians want to suppress us with their armed merchant ships, the balance of power at sea will be reversed once the main force of the navy arrives.

As long as my South China Sea navy arrives, I think the barbarians will be the ones trembling in fear, hehe."

Speaking of his pride, Deng Zilong couldn't help but smile.

"Lord Deng has foresight and foresight, and I admire him."

Wang Wanggao immediately acted admiringly and started to flatter Deng Zilong.

"Then sir, when I go there this time, should I also act aggressive and try to provoke the barbarians to take action?"

Wang Wanggao then thought of Deng Zilong’s plan, which seemed to be a good one. He said that it seemed that fighting with the barbarians at this time would be very beneficial to the Ming Dynasty.

Opportunities are rare and will never come back. How can we let the chance pass by just like that?

Wang Wanggao naturally thought that he could deliberately provoke the barbarians to take action and then take advantage of the situation to change it.

"No need."

Deng Zilong thought about Wei Guangde's plan that he had seen before coming here. It seemed that the capital had no intention of completely taking over Luzon right now.

If he incited the barbarians to take action and drove all the barbarians in Luzon out, he didn't know whether it would ruin the capital's plan.

After all, the Ming Dynasty still needs to do business with the barbarians. They have really a lot of silver, and the city of Manila is one of the strongholds of these barbarian merchants.

It is easy to take over Luzon, but if we really drive away the foreign merchants, it may turn out to be a disaster.

"Yes, I will go and gather the troops now."

Wang Wanggao bowed.

"Go."

Deng Zilong said that after Wang Wanggao left, he immediately sent someone to find Captain Lin to come over. At the same time, he sent his personal soldiers on a small boat to notify the gunboats cruising outside the bay.

Since there might be a war with the barbarians, the navy's gunboats must naturally be notified so that they can be prepared.