Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 292 Lingchi (death by a thousand cuts) is still acceptable

Shang Kexi's army offered almost no resistance and was quickly routed, with soldiers crying out for their parents and hiding in civilian houses or fleeing to other places.

The Southern Ming army was responsible for the encirclement and suppression, and a large number of soldiers entered the city to surround and massacre the Qing army.

Kill them all.

In an instant, every household in Guangzhou closed their doors, and the city was filled with the screams of Qing soldiers and various shouts of killing.

Feng Sheng and Lan Yu then entered the city under the protection of their guards.

I originally thought that after entering the city, I would be in the urban area, but I didn't expect that Guangzhou was quite desolate.

Many houses are old, dilapidated, and collapsed, and there are also many wastelands in the city, overgrown with weeds and leaves, and almost no one takes care of them.

The further you go into the city center, the more bustling it becomes.

A canal flows through the city, willows sway along the riverbank, the streets are orderly, and the windows and doors of every household are tightly closed, yet at least traces of human life can be seen.

This is a scene currently only found in the central part of Guangzhou, near the southern part of the city.

A map of Guangzhou, drawn by Americans during the Xianfeng era, shows that Guangzhou had already expanded to the area that later became Liwan District in the west and Yuexiu District in the east, covering a very large area.

The entire city is bordered by the Pearl River back channel to the west, the Pearl River to the south, and Yuexiu Mountain to the north. The city has a large population, with many merchants and a considerable number of foreigners.

However, in the early Qing Dynasty, the main urban area of ​​Guangzhou consisted only of the central part of what later became Yuexiu District.

It is roughly a few hundred meters around the Museum of the Later Nanyue King and its surroundings, with a total area of ​​only one or two square kilometers.

In other areas, considering that the circumference of the Guangzhou city wall during the Ming Dynasty reached 3,796 zhang and the total area inside the city was about 10 square kilometers, at least 8 or 9 square kilometers inside the city were deserted.

The reason for this is that the population is too small.

Before the seventh year of the Shunzhi reign, Guangzhou's population had approached one million, with a large number of people and a continuously expanding urban area. Merchants from Southeast Asia would load and unload goods here, creating a prosperous scene.

However, seven years after the Shunzhi Emperor's reign, following the calamity of the Gengyin year, Qing troops led by Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao entered the city and massacred more than 700,000 people. Many others also escaped, and the once vast city of Guangzhou was reduced to an empty city overnight, with only corpses remaining.

Later, the Qing court ordered these two scoundrels to be stationed in Guangzhou. They recruited people from the surrounding areas to enter the city, moving about 50,000 people. Including the two garrisons and other Qing troops stationed there, the total population was only 100,000.

After eleven years of development, Guangzhou's population growth has been extremely slow, with the population still around 50,000 to 60,000. Later, Geng Jimao moved his troops to Fujian.

The Qing army's Eight Banners garrison troops also left one after another.

As a result, Guangzhou's population has decreased rather than increased, from around 100,000 in the eighth year of the Shunzhi reign to approximately 70,000 to 80,000 currently due to the departure of the garrison troops.

Seventy to eighty thousand people.

In later generations, even a few neighborhoods combined could have that many people, let alone a huge city like Guangzhou.

The entire city of Guangzhou was completely empty to Lan Yu and Feng Sheng.

"It's miserable."

After entering the city, the two met in the vicinity of Wenchang Pavilion in the western part of the city.

After the meeting, Feng Sheng looked around and saw that Guangzhou looked like a small town with only a few streets. The surrounding area was desolate. He couldn't help but say, "What a beautiful city, ruined by the Tartars."

Lan Yu also said, "I heard that the population of Guangzhou in our country has already exceeded one million, and our fleet has already reached the Middle East. Southeast Asia is all our territory. Looking at Guangzhou under the rule of the Tartars, it seems like a wasteland."

"This is the sin committed by Shang Kexi and others. On the way here, I read some records that the clerk Ding Youyi and his wife were killed by the Tartars. Their baby, who was less than a month old, was suckling milk on his mother's corpse. It was heartbreaking to see and tearful to hear."

"Yes, I've read the record too. Shang Kexi and his cronies all deserve to be killed. His Majesty hates those who slaughter the people the most. Our army has the strictest discipline. His Majesty has said many times, 'Do not kill too many people after conquering a city.' Who would have thought that the Han people would be reduced to this state now?"

"All the Tartars in the city must be wiped out. Give the order that no prisoners be taken, regardless of whether they are Han or Manchu Tartars. If they participated in the massacre, they should all be executed. By the way, has Shang Kexi been captured yet?"

"Has the person been caught?"

Upon hearing Feng Sheng's words, Lan Yu took out a walkie-talkie and shouted.

"Reporting to the general, we have captured him."

A voice came from inside: "We just caught him. Shang Kexi and his whole family ran into their mansion. We rushed in, killed his guards, and pinned him down. Now we're searching for his offspring."

"Okay, lock them up first, tie them up with ropes, and make sure they don't die."

"Yes."

"Caught."

Lan Yu asked Feng Sheng, "How do we do it?"

Feng Sheng said, "Report to His Majesty."

"Ah."

Lan Yu waved his hand and said to the guards beside him, "Send a message to the supreme command post."

"Yes."

The guard took off the shortwave radio he was carrying.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang already had cell phones, they were only for use during the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty.

Since Nanming didn't send a communications vehicle, they naturally relied mainly on radio communication.

The radio call connected quickly, and Zhu Yuanzhang answered the earpiece, saying, "I am Zhu Yuanzhang."

"His Majesty."

Lan Yu cautiously reported, "Your Majesty and I have captured Guangzhou and seized Shang Kexi, one of the main culprits in the massacre of Han people. I would like to ask how to deal with him."

"Yes, well done. This scoundrel should be executed by slow slicing. We have also annihilated the main force of the Tartars and are preparing to divide our forces in Shaanxi and Hubei. After you have executed Shang Kexi, go to Fujian and Jiangxi immediately."

"Yes."

Seeing Lan Yu hang up the radio, Feng Sheng said, "Since His Majesty's intention is to execute Shang Kexi by slow slicing, then let people gather the people in the city and let them see with their own eyes how Shang Kexi is slowly sliced ​​to death."

"it is good."

Lan Yu nodded and then picked up the walkie-talkie to give instructions.

"Shang Kexi must be skinned alive. If His Majesty is pleased, it will also comfort the wronged souls in the city."

Feng Sheng looked around and saw only desolation.

At this point, eleven years had passed since the Guangzhou Massacre.

Time has faded many things; with the changing times, the former prosperity is gone forever, leaving only desolation.

But traces of that time can still be seen on this wasteland.

However, the arrival of the Manchu Tartars was even more severe than that of the Japanese pirates.

Of the city's million inhabitants, only one-tenth remain today, and many were even forcibly relocated from surrounding counties, demonstrating the devastation of those days.

In comparison, Zhu De's military discipline was second to none in the chaotic world.

Even the most retaliatory actions taken by Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng were to increase taxes; there was never a massacre.

Although there are folk tales about the massacre of the city, these are rumors and have never been recorded in official histories or other authoritative historical materials, nor are they supported by any evidence.

On the contrary, Zhu De's strict military discipline is widely praised in official history and other authoritative historical materials.

Not only did they never indiscriminately kill innocent people, they never even plundered civilians.

Old Zhu also repeatedly issued orders prohibiting the harming of ordinary people.

Perhaps the only group that caused large-scale civilian casualties was the Nanjing people who were implicated in the four major cases of the Hongwu reign.

But this is a political tactic, not a military massacre.

Therefore, it can be said that Hongwu's army was instilled with very strict discipline.

Seeing the state of the city after the Manchus massacred it, I still feel disgusted.

soon.

The Southern Ming army then beat drums and gongs and shouted slogans along the streets.

"The Tartars slaughtered the Han people, incurring the wrath of Heaven and the resentment of the people. His Majesty the Hongwu Emperor descended to earth to save the world and restore the Han people's empire. In the battle of Sichuan, more than 400,000 Tartars of the puppet Manchu Qing dynasty were wiped out. The Tartars are like grasshoppers in autumn, they won't be able to jump for many more days. Now, I order General Feng Sheng and General Lan Yu to punish the puppet Qing Prince of Pingnan, Shang Kexi. This villain has been captured alive and will be executed by slow slicing tomorrow at the crossroads of Fucheng Street, to pay tribute to the 700,000 souls who died in Guangzhou. People of Guangzhou, if you have a deep-seated hatred for him, you are welcome to come and watch!"

"The Tartars slaughtered the Han people, incurring the wrath of Heaven and the resentment of the people. His Majesty the Hongwu Emperor descended to earth to save the world and restore the Han people's empire."

The soldiers shouted along the street.

Within just a few streets, the entire population of Guangzhou soon knew about it.

Everyone stayed indoors, and discussions arose among them.

In fact, most people in Guangzhou no longer harbor much hatred towards Shang Kexi.

Because they were not the original inhabitants of Guangzhou, but were forcibly relocated from the surrounding villages and counties by the Manchus after the Guangzhou Massacre.

But there are still some survivors of the massacre.

In an old alley on East Street, a middle-aged man heard shouts from outside and froze on the spot. He sat under the eaves inside the door, holding his head and crying bitterly.

Suddenly the door was pushed open, and a young man rushed in excitedly, shouting, "Father, did you hear that? That old scoundrel Shang Kexi is going to be executed by slow slicing tomorrow! We're going to get our revenge!"

"I heard it, I heard it."

The middle-aged man raised his head, his eyes already cloudy, and tears were streaming down his face.

Eleven years ago, his family lived in Guangzhou.

After the Qing army breached the city walls, they engaged in widespread slaughter. Many civilians were killed, and the streets were littered with corpses; his family was no exception.

His parents, wife, and children all suffered.

He survived only because he jumped off the city wall with his eldest son during their escape, landing in a haystack below the wall.

However, his parents, wife, and children were all killed. Of his three sons and one daughter, only he and his eldest son escaped.

The horrific scene was still vivid in his mind, so much so that even after returning to Guangzhou to make a living and continuing his previous shoemaking business, he still couldn't help but cast hateful glances at the Qing soldiers on the street.

But he was powerless to take revenge, and could only drift through life in a daze. Until today.

"Dad, I'm going to claim a spot tonight. I'm going to steal a piece of that old thief's flesh and cook it for me when I get home."

The young man gritted his teeth and said.

He was only fourteen years old at the time, and that scene is still a nightmare to this day.

"No, you're fast. Go to Foshan Town, Huangpu Town, and all the towns and counties around Guangzhou right away, and tell the people in the surrounding areas the news."

The middle-aged man wiped away his tears and said, "Although most people were killed back then, many still managed to escape. We poor people couldn't go too far and lived in the surrounding towns and villages. We must tell them this good news."

"Okay, then I'll go to my third uncle's house first."

The young man nodded.

During the Guangzhou Massacre, more than 700,000 people died, but more than 200,000 escaped.

They were among the survivors.

Many people dared not return to live in Guangzhou and fled to the surrounding towns and villages.

If the news gets out, countless people will cheer and come to see how Shang Kexi will be executed by slow slicing.

And like their family, there are thousands of other households burdened with a deep-seated blood feud.

People rushed out of the city.

The Ming soldiers guarding the city gates did not stop them. They simply asked for the reason for leaving the city and required a local resident to testify that the person was a neighbor and not a disguised Qing soldier. Then they immediately let them pass.

soon.

In the morning, the Ming army captured Guangzhou, and in the afternoon, at least several hundred Guangzhou residents went out of the city to inform the surrounding towns and villages of the news.

They could even walk dozens of kilometers in one night, and the furthest they went was to Dongguan, which was 50 kilometers away. They arrived almost in the middle of the night, and the news spread throughout the area around Guangzhou.

When the Qing government officials learned of this, they were so frightened that they abandoned the city and fled, and the surrounding counties of Guangzhou quickly became deserted.

However, the Ming army had already sent people on horseback to various places to issue proclamations to reassure the people, and also found some literati and scholars who lived in seclusion in the local area and did not associate with the Qing court to come forward and reorganize the order.

Early the next morning.

Countless people have arrived outside Guangzhou.

At least tens of thousands of people crowded at the gates of Guangzhou to queue up to enter.

"Uncle Liu, did your family escape too?"

"Yes, I'm the only one left."

"Sigh, that time back then."

"Let's not talk about it anymore. We've finally gotten our revenge."

"Yes."

"My poor family of thirteen, sigh."

"That's nothing. The situation on Suzaku Street is much worse. A family of over sixty people was wiped out."

"Which family that's here hasn't lost a few people?"

"Ohh Ohh ohh."

At the city gate, countless people were weeping, and countless others were overjoyed to discover that some old acquaintances had survived.

People lined up to enter the city, rushing towards the streets in the city center.

Moreover, there was still a steady stream of people coming from behind.

Many people heard about this and traveled through the night. Some cried until they had no tears left, but they still kept going.

Among them were elderly people, women, and mostly young adults.

At that time, the elderly, the weak, women and children could not escape. To avoid being humiliated, many women committed suicide.

Only able-bodied young men managed to escape.

Only eleven years have passed, but the memories have not faded, nor will they ever fade.

At this time, a high platform had already been built at the crossroads in the city center.

The reason for waiting until today to kill them is mainly because we need to find an excellent executioner.

Killing someone is easy, but being slowly sliced ​​to death is difficult.

Even in ancient times, there were only a handful of executioners in the entire country who possessed this skill.

For this reason, Lan Yu and Feng Sheng searched high and low, and finally found a centurion commander in the Hongwu Army, who was over forty years old.

This guy came from a family of executioners. He learned the craft from his father and grandfather when he was young. In the 23rd year of the Zhizheng era, which is 1363 AD, he joined the army and became a common soldier under Zhu Yuanzhang.

He followed the army on its campaigns, rising from soldier to squad leader, and now he is a centurion commander.

But after so many years, it's uncertain whether the skill still exists. The current situation is that they've searched all over Guangzhou but can't find an executioner capable of slow slicing, so they have no choice but to let him do it anyway.

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang!"

On the high platform, people dressed in Qing army uniforms were continuously escorted up to the platform and then shot.

Someone shouted through a megaphone: "These Tartar lackeys have the blood of Han Chinese on their hands! The Great Ancestor said, 'Don't take a single prisoner, execute them all to appease the people of Guangzhou!'"

"it is good!"

There were at least tens of thousands of onlookers around, and the streets and alleys were packed with people.

Many people climbed onto the rooftops and trees, shouting and getting emotional.

By the afternoon, all the captured prisoners had been executed.

The bodies were already piled up like mountains below the stage.

Actually, there aren't many, only about four hundred.

Because Zhu Yuanzhang's orders were that no Qing soldiers, including the Green Standard Army, were allowed to live.

The massacre in Guangzhou was carried out by Green Standard Army soldiers under the command of Shang Kexi and Geng Jimao. They were even more ruthless than the Tartars when it came to killing their own people.

Therefore, after the city fell, a large number of Qing soldiers were shot, and only a very small number of them were captured and brought out after hiding in the east and west.

The execution of them one by one at this moment filled the city's residents with excitement.

After everyone had been killed by the afternoon, the executioner on the platform finally shouted through a megaphone: "Fellow citizens of Guangzhou, the Tartars have committed countless crimes in Guangzhou, and one of the ringleaders is Shang Kexi. This scoundrel is exceptionally vicious and willingly serves as a lackey of foreign races. Leaving aside these matters, the killings he has committed in Guangzhou are abhorrent to both gods and men, and cannot be tolerated by Heaven!"

"His Majesty the Great Ancestor, having heard of this matter, descended to earth to save the world. He is determined to wipe out these wicked villains and restore order to the world, so that the countless wronged souls in Guangzhou may find peace!"

"Fellow villagers, watch closely!"

"Bring in the criminals!"

"Bring in the criminals!"

As the messenger shouted.

Shang Kexi and his entire family were escorted onto the stage.

The whole family was tied up, their mouths stuffed with cloth, and they struggled constantly, but were carried up like pigs.

The people saw people being carried up one after another, numbering in the hundreds, including men and women.

It should be noted that Shang Kexi had nearly seventy sons and a large number of wives and concubines.

Including the servants in the mansion, the population could be said to be over a thousand.

Shang Kexi, the leader, was thrown onto the platform. The executioner said, "Shang Kexi, I am Li Liangying, the commander of the Hongwu Divine Martial Guard. I am here by order of His Majesty the Taizu Emperor to execute you by slow slicing. What do you have to say now, facing the countless people of Guangzhou who want to eat your flesh?"

Someone tore the cloth out of Shang Kexi's mouth, and Shang Kexi cried out in terror, "I'm innocent! I didn't give the order! It wasn't me!"

"Even when death is imminent, they still insist on being stubborn."

Li Liangying sneered, "Back then, even Geng Jimao was under your command. You were the highest-ranking general in the attack on Guangzhou, yet now you claim it has nothing to do with you. You are truly unforgivable! Guards, execute him!"

"Execution!"

"The messenger shouted."

The centurion, steeling himself, went up on stage, took out a fishing net, and covered Shang Kexi with it. He smiled somewhat embarrassedly at Shang Kexi and said, "I learned this craft from my father and grandfather when I was young, but I only learned the craft and never actually did it. Since following Lord Hongwu, I've done my fair share of fighting with knives, but this is the first time I've ever cut flesh with a knife. As far as I can remember, I have to start cutting from the hands and feet. Please bear with me, I'll try my best to avoid vital organs and let you live a little longer."

Shang Kexi was terrified and shouted, "What are you doing? Don't touch me! I am the Prince of Pingnan of the Great Qing Dynasty! I am the Prince of Pingnan!"

"hey-hey."

The centurion chuckled, took out a sharp knife—a modern, high-quality steel knife—and lightly sliced ​​off a piece of flesh from Shang Kexi's thigh.

"what!"

Shang Kexi let out a shrill scream.

The centurion frowned and said, "His skills have indeed become rusty; he actually scraped off such a large piece."

As he spoke, he buried his head and began to scrape again.

A piercing scream tore through the air and echoed throughout the entire city of Guangzhou.

But today, a cold wind howls, and a raging north wind surges in, making a wailing sound, as if countless wronged souls are circling in Guangzhou, wailing mournfully.

The crowd below the stage was filled with people, some expressionless, some weeping with their faces covered, and others with red eyes, shouting loudly to vent their anger.

The hatred brought about by the deaths of 700,000 people seemed to transform into a tangible blade at this moment.

Slices were slashed across Shang Kexi's body, one by one.

The countless souls hovering above the city walls seemed to be dragging him into an endless hell, preventing him from ever being reborn!
(End of this chapter)