Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 268 The Fifteenth Year of Yongli

The drone slowly ascended into the air, overlooking the entire Shangfeng Mountain.

On the electronic screen, Zhu Yunfeng saw that Zhujiaping, which in later generations would have about fifty households and more than two hundred people, was now deserted.

The original rural road was not repaired; it was just a narrow dirt road. There was no human habitation within a few kilometers, only dense forests and rolling hills.

Three hundred years later, the terraced fields in the mountains, the houses of Zhu Yunfeng's old home and his neighbors and relatives, no longer exist; it is now just a desolate wilderness.

There was no flat land, no houses, and hardly any human presence; all that remained was a desolate, deathly silence.

The little house stood there, and the large pit in front of it was now a sloping meadow. An eleven or twelve-year-old girl was herding sheep there, though she was really only herding one sheep.

Behind the house was a large flat area, which later became the home of Fourth Uncle. Now, Zhu Yunfeng bought it and it has become part of his estate.

This flat land has now been cultivated into farmland, covering about seven or eight acres.

A middle-aged man, around forty years old, with dark skin, wearing tattered and patched clothes, and with his hair almost shaved off except for a tuft of hair on the back of his head, was busy working in the harvested rice field.

In addition, there was a young man in his twenties and a boy of fifteen or sixteen who were helping him.

They were also dressed in rags and had spiky hair.

It was the summer or autumn season, the busy harvest time for farmers. The sun was blazing, and the three of them were tanned dark by the sun, with sweat pouring from their foreheads. There was a pot of tea by the edge of the field.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Yunfeng seemed to see his ancestor Zhu Cibei struggling to escape from Changsha to this deep mountain forest over the past three hundred years, then painstakingly cultivating a few acres of barren land, and branching out to become the founding ancestor of Zhujiaping.

In fact it is.

Zhu Cibei concealed his identity and, with his wife and children, the family of five hid in the Xuefeng Mountains.

The environment at the top of the mountain is too harsh, and no one lives there.

The mountainside and the foot of the mountain were where the Chen clan lived. He lied and said that he was also surnamed Chen and wanted to find a place to take refuge.

In those days, the Jurchens were causing chaos and wantonly slaughtering Han people. Countless people fled to escape famine. The Chen clan had seen this many times, so they were not surprised.

After spending several hundred coins to hire some able-bodied men from Chen Village to help repair the simple wooden house, Zhu Cibei, who had already changed his name and surname, had to consider the next issue—cultivating the land.

However, there is good news: although he was once a member of the Zhu family clan, he was already a very distant branch of the family. Even if he were placed in the Prince Ji's mansion, he would still belong to a distant branch of the family.

Zhu Cibei's father, Zhu Yourong, was only the illegitimate son of Zhu Changji, the Prince of Fuqing. He was only allocated about 200 mu of land, and by the time it reached Zhu Cibei, only about 30 mu remained.

Therefore, although Zhu Cibei was a member of the imperial clan, he was at most a rich peasant, far from being a landlord who had everything handed to him.

After he came of age at twenty and separated from his family, he hired several tenant farmers to help him, and he also worked in the fields himself for several years.

The gold and silver he brought with him this time were not actually his own. They were from the Ji Prince's Mansion after Zhang Xianzhong fled, when they were summoned back to the capital. But when they heard that the Jurchens were attacking again, they prepared to flee once more.

Just then, Zhu Yourong died. Zhu Cibei, as the second son of the legitimate wife, divided his father's property with his elder brother, took some gold, silver and valuables, and then successfully fled.

Otherwise, given that he was just a descendant of a collateral branch of the Zhu family at the time, he wouldn't have had enough time to accumulate enough gold and silver, and wouldn't even have enough money to run away.

Therefore, under these circumstances...

Having some money and being skilled in farming were the two most important conditions for Zhu Cibei to survive.

Coupled with their cautious nature, they hid in the remote mountains and forests, rarely contacting the outside world. This is how they survived the Qing Dynasty's massacre to this day, and even branched out to become the founding ancestors of Zhujiaping.

Seeing Zhu Cibei dressed in coarse linen clothes, working hard with his two sons to harvest the golden rice ears in the fields, Zhu Yunfeng couldn't help but sigh that his ancestor was indeed a remarkable person.

He may not have had extraordinary abilities to save the Ming Dynasty, but he possessed the wisdom of an ordinary person; otherwise, he would not have been able to live a peaceful life under the rule of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

“That must be my ancestor Zhu Cibei. I met him in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen’s reign, but he looks much older now. Let’s go over and ask him what his current situation is.”

Zhu Yunfeng pointed to the houses in the distance and said to Mao Xiang.

He didn't know what time period it was in the Southern Ming Dynasty.

But he remembered that when he saw Zhu Cibei in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen's reign, he was probably only in his twenties. He had seen his appearance then, but now he looked much older.

Besides the fact that constant travel and fear can age a person's appearance prematurely, the passage of time is probably the biggest factor as well.

Besides, his child was only five or six years old then, and now his eldest son looks like he's twenty, so more than ten years must have passed.

This must have been during the Yongli era.

Zhu Yunfeng thought to himself.

"Your Highness, please wait."

Just as Zhu Yunfeng was about to go over, Mao Xiang suddenly called out to him.

Zhu Yunfeng asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"

With the arrival of modern people, Mao Xiang had long since realized that he had not gone to any celestial realm, but to the future, and had also learned about the history that followed.

Although he knew that he had died by imperial decree from Zhu Yuanzhang in history, Mao Xiang naturally dared not betray him and instead became even more loyal.

He said, “Your Highness, think about it. Your ancestors hid everywhere under the Jurchen's sword, barely surviving. They must be very frightened. If we go there rashly, he might think we are Jurchens coming to capture him, and he will run around in a panic. Although Your Highness has grown up here, this place looks very different from the Zhujiaping of later generations. He is definitely more familiar with the terrain than Your Highness, and may have already taken precautions and has places to hide. It will be very difficult to catch him then.”

"Forehead"

Zhu Yunfeng thought about it and agreed, saying, "That was indeed my oversight. Do you have any ideas?"

"I believe we can encircle them from all sides."

Mao Xiang looked around and said, "The vegetation around us is lush. We can hide ourselves and surround them. It would be best to capture that little girl down the mountain first and use her as a hostage. If we do that, we'll have an 80% or higher chance of success."

"Wow, you're really despicable, but I like it."

Zhu Yunfeng chuckled.

Although it was his own ancestor, there was nothing he could do, and besides, he couldn't possibly harm him.

So he said to the people around him, "Do as the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery says. Remember, you cannot harm a single hair on my ancestors' head. Do you hear me?"

"Yes!"

Everyone quickly responded in hushed tones.

Subsequently, Mao Xiang, who was promoted from Earl of Loyalty and Courage to Marquis of Loyalty and Courage for his meritorious service in suppressing peasant uprisings and fighting against the Manchu Jurchens during the Chongzhen era, personally led a team to sneak towards the wooden house in the distance through the dense forest.

Although Zhu Cibei has indeed been cautious all these years, he is ultimately just an ordinary person, far inferior to special forces like Mao Xiang.

At that moment, all five members of their family were doing their own thing.

Zhu Cibei was busy with farm work behind the house with his eldest and second eldest sons, while his youngest daughter was herding sheep on the slope in front of the house, and his wife was spinning at home. They were completely unaware that someone was approaching.

The little girl was the first to be caught. She was playing with twigs and pebbles when she was caught. She had no playmates, and her two older brothers had to do farm work, so she had to pass the time by herself.

Mao Xiang, who had been hiding behind a rock, suddenly appeared and, to her astonishment, covered the little girl's mouth.

Immediately afterwards, the Imperial Guards quickly climbed down the slope to the front of Zhu Cibei's house, circled around to the left and right sides to the outside of the main room, where Zhu Cibei's wife was fiddling with a loom.

As she was diligently spinning yarn, a figure inexplicably appeared in front of her. She looked up in surprise, but her mouth was quickly covered, and she was taken into custody.

"Dad, how much longer do you think we'll have to hide here and there?"

Zhu Cibei's second son, now renamed Chen Erniu, put the harvested rice aside and reminisced about the carefree life he had experienced as a child. He couldn't help but say, "If this continues, I'll be exhausted to death before the Jurchens even capture me."

"Two cows!"

Zhu Cibei glared at him fiercely and said, "Remember, you're no longer surnamed Zhu, you're surnamed Chen, and you're from Lansha Town. Do you hear me?"

"."

Seeing his father's stern expression, Chen Erniu opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing.

Seeing his expression, Zhu Cibei knew exactly what his son was thinking, and could only sigh helplessly: "You have to understand, our Ming Dynasty is gone, and we are no longer members of the imperial family. People are being arrested everywhere. I went down the mountain to buy salt a few days ago and heard that my cousin was arrested and his whole family was beheaded. If you want our family to suffer the same fate, then keep spouting nonsense like this."

Chen Erniu hesitated and said, "I was just thinking that if we could get some gold and silver, our family wouldn't have to work so hard. Father wouldn't have to work in the fields every day, and Mother wouldn't have to spin and weave every day." "Nonsense," Chen Erniu replied, "we are just an ordinary farmer in the mountains. How could we suddenly have money? If outsiders notice and report it to the authorities, we'll probably be doomed."

Zhu Cibei pointed at his forehead and lectured him: "Remember, do what is right according to your status. At least while I am alive, all this money must be buried in the ground. After I die, you can dig up a little bit to buy some land and tell others that I have saved up my family fortune all my life. Only in this way can the family prosper and the descendants live on."

At this moment, Zhu Yunfeng, who had just taken control of his great-grandmother and was eavesdropping in the back room, was shocked.

Our ancestors were truly wise.

No wonder he was able to live a peaceful life amidst the terrifying environment of the Manchu Qing dynasty's constant search for the Zhu family's imperial relatives; he certainly had some skill in the art of extortion.

"Your Highness, they are all ready."

Just then, Mao Xiang, who was communicating with the other team members who were surrounding the farmland behind the house via Bluetooth headset, leaned over and whispered in his ear.

Zhu Yunfeng nodded and said, "Let's do it."

"action."

Mao Xiang gave the order in a low voice.

All of a sudden.

Zhu Cibei, who was busy working in the field behind the house, suddenly saw more than a dozen strong men emerge from the nearby woods, bushes, and bamboo groves and approach them.

In that instant, Zhu Cibei felt a chill run down his spine, grabbed his second son beside him, and shouted, "Run!"

The father and his two sons hurriedly fled into the house.

However, this was a classic case of military strategy: surround three sides and leave one open. Almost the instant the three entered the room, Mao Xiang and the others swarmed forward and pinned them down.

"My lords, my lords, I am a compliant citizen, a compliant citizen indeed. Please see this clearly."

Zhu Cibei and his two sons were so frightened that their faces turned pale, and they shouted.

Zhu Yunfeng, who was somewhat "filial," suddenly had a brain fart and threatened, "Since you are obedient citizens, how do you know we are government officials and not robbers? This means you have something to hide."

Zhu Cibei was stunned.

Yes.

If someone has nothing to hide, and suddenly sees someone rushing into their home, especially in the deep mountains and forests, they would probably think it's a robber at first glance, not a government official.

Therefore, there is only one answer: he has something to hide, and his identity is someone who cannot be seen in the light of day by the government, which is why he subconsciously thinks that the government is coming to arrest him.

In that instant, Zhu Cibei's face turned ashen, yet he still managed to say, "I... I was merely guessing."

Seeing Zhu Yunfeng's grand display of filial piety, which had frightened his own founding ancestor so much, Mao Xiang felt a little sorry for him and said, "Your Highness, important matters are more important."

"Forehead"

Zhu Yunfeng then remembered the important matter and hurriedly went to help Zhu Cibei up, saying, "Grandfather, I was just teasing you."

Zhu Cibei and his two sons were helped up, looking completely bewildered.

He was even more confused when he first heard Mao Xiang call Zhu Yunfeng "Your Highness" and then Zhu Yunfeng called him "Ancestor".

What's going on?
But because they were unsure of the situation, all three of them were cautious and wore forced smiles.

Seeing this, Zhu Yunfeng felt a pang of sadness and explained, “We actually come from three hundred years in the future. My name is Zhu Yunfeng, and I am your sixteenth-generation descendant, and I have always been the eldest son in every generation. You are the first ancestor of our Zhu Family Village on Shangfeng Mountain. Our second ancestor was Chen Daniu. More than two hundred years later, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, after the fall of the Qing, we restored our ancestral surname. More than a hundred years later, by chance, I traveled through time to the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty six hundred years ago, where I met our ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang. Upon hearing of the fall of the Ming Dynasty, our ancestor was furious. This time, I have come on his orders to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming, to save the Ming Dynasty from disaster.”

He then introduced, "This is Mao Xiang, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the personal bodyguard of my ancestor, who is now always by my side."

Although Mao Xiang was extremely loyal, given Zhu Yuanzhang's cautious nature, he believed that since Mao Xiang already knew that he would later be executed, he naturally could not continue to stay by his side.

Originally, they wanted to execute Mao Xiang, but Zhu Yunfeng had always had a good relationship with him, so they spared him. Now, Mao Xiang only held the title of Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard), but his actual identity was the head of Zhu Yunfeng's guards.

Zhu Cibei glanced at him in surprise, then habitually bowed, lowered his head and gave a fawning smile, saying, "Master is joking. My name is Chen Shunxi, not Zhu."

"That's no fun, Ancestor."

Zhu Yunfeng said speechlessly, "Think about it, if we were really government officials, wouldn't saying these things be courting death? What Jurchen servant would dare to say such things? If someone reported us, we'd definitely be beheaded. Besides, do you see me with a queue?"

As he spoke, he leaned his head closer to let the other person see his handsome short hair.

"Uh, this"

Zhu Cibei was speechless and hesitant upon seeing this.

That's what I thought.

The Jurchens are now extremely cruel in their suppression of the Han people, often resorting to killing and implicating entire clans and villages.

I heard that Sichuan has been so devastated by the massacres that it's almost deserted.

If the other party is really an official of the Jurchens, claiming to be a descendant of the Zhu family and saying that the Manchu Qing Dynasty will perish in two hundred years and that he is now here to oppose the Qing and restore the Ming Dynasty, wouldn't that be a sure way to die?
Unless the other party is a high-ranking member of the Jurchen people, saying such things might be harmless. But would a high-ranking Jurchen person really chase someone from a collateral branch of the royal family all the way to the mountains?

How can it be?

Most importantly, I was too flustered before and didn't have time to look carefully. Now that I look at it, I can see that the other person's clothes and hairstyle have almost nothing to do with the Jurchens.

After all, by this time the Manchus had already ordered the shaving of heads and the changing of clothing, and men were required to wear the Manchu-style long robes with wide sleeves and a rat-tail design.

Although the other party's clothing was different from that of the Ming people, consisting of a strange earthy yellow outfit that made them invisible even when hidden in the woods, it was definitely not Manchu clothing.

Looking at their camouflage uniforms, Zhu Cibei hesitated for a long time before finally asking cautiously, "Is what you're saying true?"

"it is true."

Zhu Yunfeng nodded seriously.

"Even if it were true, could people like you possibly overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming?"

Zhu Cibei glanced around.

All told, there were only about twenty of them.

Zhu Yunfeng grinned and said, "Come on, Lao Mao, let's do a show with our ancestors."

Mao Xiang pulled out a grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it.

These are not hand grenades produced in the Ming Dynasty, but fragmentation hand grenades imported from later generations, and they are extremely powerful.

Then, a loud "bang" was heard from the edge of the field in the distance, accompanied by billowing dust.

The father and his two sons were startled and fell to the ground with a thud.

Zhu Yunfeng said happily, "Well, Ancestor, do you believe me now? This is our least powerful weapon. With the weapons and equipment we have, it's more than enough to kill a thousand or so people. And it's not just us. We're just an advance team to scout ahead. The Great Ancestor will be here soon, bringing at least several thousand people, maybe even tens of thousands. Sweeping away the Jurchens will be a piece of cake."

"I believe it, I believe it."

Seeing the power of the grenade, Zhu Cibei nodded repeatedly and, with Zhu Yunfeng's help, shakily got up from the ground.

Realizing he had been frightening his ancestors the moment he arrived, Zhu Yunfeng said somewhat embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, Ancestor, I scared you, but there's nothing I can do. It's to make you believe us. By the way, what time is it now? Is it Longwu, Shaowu, or Yongli?"

Zhu Cibei slowly regained his composure and said with a wry smile, "The mountains are isolated from news, so I don't know what it's like outside. But I occasionally hear people in town say that our Great Ming Dynasty has been destroyed and that this year is the eighteenth year of the Shunzhi Emperor's reign."

The eighteenth year of the Shunzhi reign?
The fifteenth year of the Yongli reign?
Zhu Yunfeng quickly asked, "What month and day?"

June 3rd.

June 3rd?

Zhu Yunfeng's face immediately darkened.

The ordeal of the cursed water is less than two months away.

(End of this chapter)