Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 275: If you don't make a sound, you will be amazing.

The building is about to collapse, the monkeys scatter when the tree falls, and the birds fly to their own forests. The gate of the Jingjiang Prince's Mansion was wide open, and servants were often seen fleeing in a hurry, carrying large and small bags, taking their wives and children with them.

Jiao Ke and his party entered the palace, eager to find out the whereabouts of Qu Shisi. They even arrested three servants, but none of them knew anything. Fortunately, an old servant did not want to escape and said that Jingjiang Prince Zhu Hengxun and his son were having a banquet on Duxiu Peak and setting up wine to entertain Qu Shisi and others.

It’s already this late, and you’re still in the mood for a feast?
Jiao Ke and others spurred their horses and headed straight for Duxiu Peak.

The Prince of Jingjiang was a descendant of Zhu Wenzheng, the nephew of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, and had the longest lineage among the Ming royal family. However, this prince of Shuzhi was the prince with the longest inheritance in the history of the Ming Dynasty and in the entire history of China.

In the first year of Hongguang, also known as the first year of Longwu, Emperor Longwu and Lu Jianguo fought for power in Zhejiang. Zhu Hengjia, the former Prince of Jingjiang, was unwilling to be lonely and wanted to be emperor, so he won over General Yang Guowei, called himself Jianguo, and changed the reign to the 278th year of Hongwu, which was a farce.

Qu Shisi was the governor of Guangxi at the time and firmly opposed Zhu Hengjia's regent, so he was placed under house arrest in the Prince of Jingjiang's palace by Zhu Hengjia. Jiao Lian was the commander of Yang Guowei's army at the time and stabbed Yang Guowei in the back, resulting in Zhu Hengjia's defeat.

In the second year of the Longwu reign, the Emperor Longwu ordered Zhu Hengxun to succeed him as the Prince of Jingjiang. Zhu Hengxun had a very low status in the imperial clan. He was originally only a general who assisted the country. He was kind and kind, and advocated resistance against the Qing Dynasty. He was known as a wise king.

The red maple leaves embellished the Duxiu Peak in autumn. Looking down at the mountain, we saw smoke rising everywhere and soldiers and civilians running around in panic.

Outside the city, the green hills and clear waters remain, but the Qing army's flags can be seen faintly. Our beautiful land is about to be ruined by the foul smell!
"Duxiu, Duxiu, what a nice mountain name." Qu Shisi raised his cup to invite him to drink, and said with a smile: "It must be God's will. I was imprisoned on Duxiu Peak a few years ago, and will I die on Duxiu Peak again today?"

Prince of Jingjiang Zhu Hengxun laughed, pointed at his eldest son beside him, and said: "My father and I have received the grace of the country for generations, and we will die together."

There was also the Governor General Zhang Tongchang, the great-grandson of Zhang Juzheng and a student of Qu Shisi, who boasted: "If I could die on Duxiu Peak with the Prince of Jingjiang and you, it would be a worthy death."

At the beginning of last year, He Tengjiao was defeated and Qu Shisi succeeded him as the commander-in-chief. He relied heavily on Zhang Tongchang in military affairs and recommended Zhang Tongchang to be the governor of all military affairs.

After more than a year of training, Zhang Tongchang also grew from a bachelor of the Imperial Academy who was not familiar with military affairs to a frontline commander with both civil and military talents. When Jirgalang led the Eight Banners of Manchuria to support the capital, Zhang Tongchang led the army to counterattack. Whenever there was a battle, he would charge in front, and when he was defeated, he would personally cover the rear, which made him admired by all the towns.

Qu Shisi loved talent and could not bear to see his student die for his loyalty, so he said, "Shisi has failed the country and is ashamed of the emperor. He deserves to die for his loyalty. You have no responsibility to stay behind, so leave now."

Zhang Tongchang laughed and said, "I knew you would die, so I did not die in battle but joined you."

The three of them sang several verses in succession, their expressions becoming even clearer. They sang in unison, expressing their sorrow and generosity.

Soon, Jiao Ke, Lu Shouyi, Yan Wei, Qu Gongmei and other gentlemen arrived. They were overjoyed to see each other. The stone table was small and could not accommodate many people. The people did not care about the table, some leaned on the railings, some sat on the stone benches, and drank wine together.

Yan Wei was a fellow villager of Qu Shisi in Changshu and had served in the governor's mansion. He advised: "You are a senior official, your name is related to the safety of the country, and you have come out of the dangerous city. You can still call on the heroes to try to restore the country."

Qu Shisi gave a bitter smile and replied, "What's the point of staying here for four years and enduring death? As a minister, I was unable to resist the enemy and made one mistake after another, leading to this. How can I face the emperor and the other officials? Everyone is mortal, but I hope to die in peace."

Qu Gongmei was filled with sorrow and said, "My lord will come from the sea in a day or two. Can you bear with me for a moment?"

Qu Shisi had three sons. The eldest son inherited the family property and became Shunqing, a local gentry in Changshu. The second son, Qu Xuanxi, engaged in business and later lived in seclusion in Yushan. The third son, Qu Songxi, was saddened by current events and also lived in seclusion. The grandson, Qu Changwen, was the eldest son of Qu Xuanxi. Qu Changwen was young and energetic. In the second year of the Yongli reign, he ran away from home with fellow righteous men Zhao Yannian and Liu Youxiang. They traveled through Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, and arrived in Guilin on June 19, the third year of the Yongli reign, where they met Qu Shisi.

When Qu Xuanxi learned that his son had run away, he first sent a servant to Guilin, where he learned that Qu Changwen was in Guilin and had been appointed as the Secretary of the Central Secretariat by the Yongli Dynasty.

At that time, Qian Qianyi, the chief writer in Jiangnan, resigned from his post and returned to his hometown, where he was contacting the righteous army and planning a rebellion. Qu Xuanxi took Qian Qianyi's letter and went to see Qu Shisi by sea.

Qu Shisi sighed, "I have failed the emperor, how can I care about the love between us?"

"No, sir, you are wrong." As soon as Lu Shouyi opened his mouth, he attracted everyone's attention. This was because of his special identity. He was a scout of the Red Army Intelligence Bureau and had made many outstanding achievements, which was quite legendary.

"The second young master has come from afar to see me. He has arrived in Yong'an Prefecture and brought a letter from a herdsman. When I was in Yong'an Prefecture, I met the second young master. The second young master is in poor health and cannot ride day and night, so he asked me to bring the letter to you, sir."

After saying that, Lu Shouyi took out a secret letter and handed it to Qu Shisi.

In his early years, Qu Shisi worshipped Qian Qianyi as his teacher. Because Qian Qianyi surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Qu Shisi severed the teacher-student relationship.

He took the letter, put on his reading glasses and read it, then sighed: "My dear shepherd, if you wanted to restore the country, why did you surrender to the Qing Dynasty? If you wanted to die for your loyalty, why did you say the water was cold?"

During the chaotic times of the Southern Ming Dynasty, many contrasting characters emerged. Ma Shiying, the "Cricket Prime Minister", was considered a treacherous prime minister by the world, but he resisted the Qing Dynasty until his death. Li Chengdong, who repeatedly massacred cities and captured and killed the two emperors Longwu and Shaowu, unexpectedly achieved justice late in life, abandoned his entire family, and returned to the Ming Dynasty.

Qian Qianyi was also a complicated character. He was a big shot of Donglin and a leader of the literary world. He tried to jump into the water but "the water was too cold to swim". He surrendered to the Qing Dynasty but resigned and hid in his hometown to contact the righteous army.

Qu Gongmei took the letter and read it aloud to everyone. In the letter, Qian Qianyi used the metaphor of "three rounds of the catalpa scale" to describe the situation in the world, listed the urgent, important and complete tasks, reported the dynamics of the Qing army generals in Jiangnan, and predicted the possibility of winning over the Green Camp troops to rebel.

Yan Wei felt sorry for Qian Qianyi, a fellow villager from Changshu, and sighed: "The shepherd is in the enemy's territory and has never thought about our dynasty. In the letter, he has a clear understanding of the situation and is very well prepared. His loyalty and sense of justice are expressed in his words. We are on the front line and will fight against the Tartars. We should be more motivated and determined to restore the country."

The enemy was at hand, the Qing army was about to break into the city, but the Red Army was reluctant to send troops. Yan Wei was a councilor of the Red Army's military government. Wasn't it shameless to say this at this time?

Qu Shisi did not expose him, nor did he mock him. He just said dejectedly: "The overall situation has collapsed, and I can no longer do anything. The commander-in-chief stayed behind to keep the imperial seal, and I have already returned it to the court. Now I have no choice but to die to preserve my reputation."

Lu Shouyi was indignant and said, "Sir, why are you so pessimistic? Although the general is not going to send troops, he is brewing a great plan. If he does not make a sound, it will be a surprise. If he does not fight, it will be a great victory. If he fights, he will annihilate the Tartars completely.

"Sir, you are highly regarded by the world. How can you belittle yourself and ignore the lives of the people? The general vows to annihilate Kong Youde's Tartars. However, whether the Red Army can annihilate the Tartars depends not on the general, but on you."

Everyone was surprised, looking at Lu Shouyi and then at Qu Shisi. Lu Shouyi was the lowest in rank, but he looked mysterious. Qu Shisi was the highest in rank, but he was speechless, as if he was in great pain.

(End of this chapter)