Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 298 The Capture of Nanjing, Execution by Slow Chi

Inside Nanjing, people kept their doors and windows tightly shut.

But they also peered curiously through the cracks in the doors and windows at the troops on the street outside.

The last time they saw the Southern Ming army was not far in the past, when Zheng Chenggong besieged Nanjing in the sixteenth year of the Shunzhi reign.

However, Zheng Chenggong only besieged the city for a little over a month and did not manage to enter the city. In the end, he was repelled by the Qing army's reinforcements, and the people rarely saw the Ming army.

If we were to go back to the second year of the Shunzhi reign, the first year of the Hongguang reign of the Southern Ming Dynasty, when the Qing army broke through the Hongguang regime and Dodo entered Nanjing.

So, to be honest, the people of Nanjing haven't seen the Ming army for more than ten years, and they don't know if the army will plunder everywhere.

However, it is clear that their worries were unnecessary.

Zhu Yuanzhang's army was disciplined, and the Hongwu soldiers looked down on the meager silver obtained by robbing the people—their monthly salary had now increased to five Hongwu silver dollars.

A few years ago, their salary was only 28 silver dollars a year, but now it has almost doubled, and their purchasing power is very high, ensuring their quality of life.

Most importantly, this is only the basic salary.

As soldiers of the Hongwu Army who go out on field missions, every month they fight in other worlds, the various miscellaneous field mission benefits, allowances, and subsidies add up to the equivalent of three months' salary.

In other words, if they stayed for a year during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, they would receive four years' worth of wages, including basic salary and various subsidies.

It would be even more exaggerated if they were injured or even killed in battle.

Those who are injured will not only be sent back to Hongwu to receive modern medical treatment, but will also be given a large reward for their injuries or illnesses.

Many more died in battle, enough to ensure that two or three generations of a family would have no worries.

of course.

That must be due to injury or death on the battlefield.

If you trip and fall while walking and get injured, or get injured in any other way, you will be sent back to Hongwu for treatment, but the injury reward will naturally be forfeited.

Otherwise, if everyone did it this way, deliberately creating little accidents, and getting rewards without having to fight to the death, what would be the point of playing?
Therefore, the soldiers of Hongwu could be said to be all wealthy men, and naturally they would not bother to rob.

Some of the Southern Ming troops did engage in looting.

In fact, after Old Zhu took them in, he paid them their full salaries.

In the Battle of Kunming, Wu Sangui suffered a crushing defeat, abandoning his armor and weapons, and had no time to take away a large amount of supplies.

In the Battle of Chongqing, Ao Bai's supplies and camps were separate. Although there were many supplies in the camps, most of the supplies were placed in the rear.

This was a very normal arrangement in ancient times, intended to prevent the enemy from launching a night raid on the camp, burning the supplies, and forcing a retreat.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang seized a large amount of grain, fodder, gold, silver and jewels, which he used to pay the salaries of his Southern Ming soldiers.

However, the Southern Ming army was no longer a disciplined force; only a small number of troops under Li Dingguo and others maintained relatively good discipline.

The remaining forces were mostly local chieftain armies from various parts of the southwest, as well as bandit armies such as the Thirteen Families of Kuidong.

These people were already lax in military discipline and had no concept of strict discipline.

Looting occurred after they left Sichuan.

At that time, Zhu had repeatedly ordered all soldiers to obey orders and not to burn, kill, or loot.

However, there are still cases of people defying the rules and committing crimes.

Zhu was furious about this and ordered a crackdown on military discipline, resulting in the execution of over a thousand rebellious soldiers, dozens of mid- to low-ranking officers and generals, including some chieftains.

Only under such strict orders was discipline restored.

Otherwise, countless people would have suffered along the way, traveling from Sichuan through Huguang to Anhui, Jiangxi, and Jiangsu.

At this moment, they were not walking through the Jubao Gate, but through the Tongji Gate to the east.

Now even the Jubao Gate has been bombed and collapsed.

The Qing troops gathered at Jubao Gate were all killed. The Ming army then used machine guns mounted on unmanned helicopters to strafe the guards at Tongji Gate. Under the wrath of the machine guns, the Qing army suffered a series of defeats.

The main problem is that, apart from the city gate tower, there is nowhere to hide on the city wall, making it perfectly countered by unmanned helicopters.

After a burst of indiscriminate firing, Zhu ordered the Southern Ming army to cross the river, climb onto the city wall, open the city gate, and lower the wooden bridge.

The army then entered the city.

A large number of Southern Ming troops poured in and began to hunt down the remaining Qing troops.

The Hongwu army then went up the city walls and took control of the city gates.

Countless drones hovered over the entire city of Nanjing, partly to search for traces of the Qing army, and partly to strictly enforce military discipline and prevent acts of burning, killing, and looting.

When Lao Zhu's convoy entered the city, a large number of people knelt down at the intersection of Chang'an Street near Tongji Gate, trembling with fear.

These people took off their clothes, leaving only ordinary clothes. They also cut off their long, spiky braids, which looked like they had done it in a hurry, leaving their hair messy and unkempt, almost like bald heads.

Old Zhu's convoy stopped, and he lifted the curtain to peek inside, coldly asking, "Who are they?"

"They are officials from the city."

"This is what Jiang Huan, the leader of the personal guard, replied."

"Are they all Han Chinese?"

"Yes."

"hehe."

Old Zhu sneered and said, "They've lost the dignity of their ancestors, and now they want to pick it up again? It's too late."

"Your Majesty, spare us! We did it for the people, for our country."

Upon hearing his words, the many officials kneeling on the street hurriedly kowtowed and cried out their grievances, their faces showing expressions of fear.

These are not ordinary people.

Xu Guoxiang, the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Jiangnan; Li Zhilan, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangnan; He Kehua, the Imperial Inspector; Chen Kaiyu, the Prefect of Jiangning; Tang Xuan, the Magistrate of Shangyuan County; Gao Dengxian, the Magistrate of Jiangning County, and so on.

Although he may not be the highest-ranking official in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region, he is second only to a handful of high-ranking officials and holds a very high position of power in Nanjing.

But now they are kneeling here like a pack of dogs, begging for Zhu's forgiveness, just like when the Manchu Tartars slaughtered Jiangnan and they knelt down in front of the Tartars, wagging their tails and begging for mercy.

The gentry class has always been weak.

There were naturally some literati and gentry who had a sense of national responsibility during the fall of the Ming Dynasty.

People like Zhang Huangyan tirelessly worked to restore their country and shed their last drop of blood to prevent the Han people from being enslaved by foreign tribes.

However, there were many more like them who knelt before the iron hooves of foreign invaders, barely surviving.

Sadly, people like Zhang Huangyan are few and far between.

The number of gentry who voluntarily shaved their heads, changed into non-Manchu clothing, and surrendered to the Manchu Qing dynasty was as numerous as fish crossing a river.

Old Zhu was disgusted and glanced at him coldly before saying, "Kill him."

A cold, hard sentence sent chills down the spines of the officials below who were contemplating surrendering, their faces filled with terror.

Before they could say anything...

The Hongwu Imperial Guards around him pulled back their bolts, and bullets from more than ten assault rifles swept out in an instant.

"Da da da da da da!~"

The assault rifle spewed out a fierce tongue of fire.

In an instant, blood splattered, startling the people who were peeping in the surrounding houses. They no longer dared to peek through the cracks in the doors and windows and fled into their houses in a panic, trembling.

Just a few seconds later, only the corpses of more than twenty Han Chinese officials of Nanjing, large and small, lay scattered on the spot, their eyes still showing expressions of terror.

The body was quickly cleared away and removed.

If it weren't for the blood that flowed between the bluestone slabs, perhaps no one would have known that so many high-ranking officials in Jiangnan Province had died so easily here.

In times of dynastic change and chaos, whether you are a king or a general, or an ordinary citizen, your life is as worthless as weeds.

The convoy continued on.

After crossing Chang'an Avenue, we soon arrived at the Nanjing Imperial Palace.

By this time, the Nanjing Imperial Palace had become a garrison for the Manchu Eight Banners in Nanjing.

As early as the second year of the Shunzhi reign, Prince Dodo of the Manchus stationed troops here, and later they were stationed in Nanjing, forming the Jiangnan Eight Banners Army garrison with Nanjing as its core.

These Eight Banners troops from Jiangnan were not under Liu Liangzuo's command.

He doesn't deserve it.

There were 3,000 Manchu, Han and Mongol Eight Banner soldiers in the city, commanded by Jiangning General Kakamu, Left Deputy Commander-in-Chief Etongwu, and Right Deputy Commander-in-Chief Echu.

At this moment, these Manchu, Han, and Mongol Eight Banners troops had already fled under the pretext of suppressing the uprising in the Jiangnan region, forcing Liu Liangzuo to stay and defend the city.

In fact, Liu Liangzuo appeared to be the highest-ranking official in Jiangsu and Anhui, but his military and political career was restricted.

the reason is simple.

He was not a trusted confidant of the Manchus.

There were also several high-ranking officials in the Jiangnan region, such as Lang Tingzuo, the Governor-General of Jiangnan, and Zhu Guozhi, the Governor of Jiangning.

Just like the Governor of Huguang, who is the highest-ranking official in Hunan and Hubei provinces, there are also the Governor of Hubei and the Governor of Pianyuan (Hunan) below him.

As the Governor-General of Jiang'an, Liu Liangzuo was in charge of the military and political affairs of Jiangnan Province and Anhui Province.

However, Anhui and Jiangnan also had governors-general and governors respectively, the purpose of which was naturally to divide his power.

After all, compared to Liu Liangzuo, a Han traitor who later surrendered and rejoined the Manchu banner, Lang Tingzuo and Zhu Guozhi were both from Liaodong and were genuine Manchu Han bannermen, so they were naturally more trusted by the Qing court.

By this time, the Tartars had already fled.

Kakamu and Langtingzuo claimed to be suppressing the Jiangnan uprising, but in reality they had been active in Zhenjiang and other places, and had long prepared ships.

Once Nanjing is captured, immediately cross the Yangtze River and flee towards Shandong.

It's clear that in the hearts of these true Manchu bannermen, these traitors who later surrendered to the Qing Dynasty weren't considered one of their own. After Zhu Yuanzhang entered the city and heard about this, he sent men to Zhenjiang.

However, I doubt we'll be able to catch them.

The enemy had already deployed scouts outside Nanjing, and the day the city fell would be the day the scouts would flee to Zhenjiang to deliver the news.

It doesn't matter.

A monk who can run away cannot run away from the temple.

No matter how fast they can run, they can run to Beijing, to Liaodong, to Heilongjiang, or to Siberia.
They would be quite impressive if they could actually reach Siberia during the Little Ice Age.

“My Nanjing Imperial Palace has been ravaged by the Tartars to this extent.”

Old Zhu had already reached the Meridian Gate of Nanjing, looking down at the palace, only to see a scene of ruins.

In addition, the original palace layout has also undergone significant changes.

No one dared to live in the magnificent palace, after all, it was the emperor's residence. For local officials to live there would be to occupy the former imperial palace, plotting to overstep their bounds and rebel, which would lead to certain death.

However, a large number of barracks were built inside and outside Fengtian Gate and on both sides for the Manchu Eight Banners soldiers, as well as the Governor-General's Office of Liangjiang and the General's Office of Jiangning.

The palace contains official residences and government offices. In contrast to the dilapidated state of the palace to the north, the official residences to the south are magnificent.

Zhu Yunfeng said from behind, "My great-uncle and I visited the modern Nanjing Imperial Palace before to learn about its situation. The Nanjing Imperial Palace was already in ruins during the Ming Dynasty, and there was no money for repairs. It wasn't until the Hongguang regime that the palaces were rebuilt, but unfortunately, they were attacked by the Qing army before they could be used. The Tartars burned, killed, and looted in the city, and they even dismantled some bricks and wood from the Nanjing Imperial Palace to build fortifications, which severely damaged the scale of the palace."

"Well."

Old Zhu squinted and said, "Someone come here."

"His Majesty."

Jiang Huan cupped his hands in greeting.

“Tear down the barracks outside, as well as the Governor-General’s Mansion of Liangjiang and the General’s Mansion of Jiangning. They’re disgusting to look at.”

"Yes."

"Where are Liu Liangzuo and the other traitors now?"

"He has already been detained."

"What about their families?"

"The mansion has been surrounded, and they have been captured."

"Ah."

Old Zhu nodded and said, "Tomorrow at noon outside the Meridian Gate, the entire family will be executed, and those traitors will be executed by slow slicing."

"Yes."

Jiang Huan agreed.

Upon entering the palace, although it had been repaired during the Hongguang era, many of the inner palace buildings were still unrepaired.

Everywhere there were ruins, many of which had been demolished by the Qing army to build barracks.

Old Zhu sighed at how time flies. Everything, no matter how powerful an emperor is or how beautiful a man or woman is, will inevitably be destroyed by the passage of time. Even the most magnificent palaces are no exception.

Afterwards, he ordered the posting of notices to reassure the people throughout the city, and personally wrote an article denouncing the massacres and crimes brought to Jiangnan by the Tartars. He had the article typed, copied, and sent to various parts of Jiangnan.

By this time, various rebel armies had already occupied the Jiangnan region.

The Manchu army either fled or was recruited by Liu Liangzuo to defend Nanjing. The only resistance force was the conscripted troops organized by local governments, but they were quickly overwhelmed by the rebel army's offensive.

Upon hearing that Zhu Yuanzhang had captured Nanjing, a large number of rebel troops flocked to Nanjing to pay their respects. In addition to Huang Zongxi, Lü Liuliang, and others, there were also many former Ming loyalists.

Examples include the remnants of the Taihu rebels who were scattered after the sacrifices of Wu Yi and Sun Zhaokui, the remnants of the Jiangdong rebels led by Yao Zhizhuo and Zhang Qifen, the remnants of the uprisings in various counties of Huzhou led by Wei Geng, and the monk soldiers led by Fang Yizhi and Zhang Fei.

Although these people were historically very weak, ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand, they were all besieged and suppressed by the Manchus and ultimately sacrificed their lives for their country, which is both tragic and lamentable.

However, with the Manchu Qing dynasty's power waning in Jiangnan, the sparks of revolution had already begun to spread like wildfire.

After they launched their uprising, a large number of opportunists saw that the Qing government was being defeated by Zhu Yuanzhang and joined the army. In a short time, the various rebel armies gathered tens of thousands of people, and their momentum was huge. They killed officials, rebelled, and attacked cities and seized territories.

Many people occupied prefectures and counties, and the rebel army led by Huang Zongxi communicated with each other, planning to go to Nanjing together. For a time, only Fujian in Jiangnan remained under the control of the Qing government.

The next day.

While the rebel armies from various parts of Jiangnan were still on their way to Nanjing to meet Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu ordered the execution by slow slicing of many of the main culprits, led by Liu Liangzuo, who had been responsible for the massacre of Han Chinese civilians.

The people of Nanjing had already felt the discipline of Zhu De's army since yesterday. Moreover, since Zhu De established the capital in Nanjing, many Nanjing residents naturally had a good impression of him. As a result, they took to the streets one after another, and the city gradually returned to its former glory.

This historically turbulent city seems to have returned to a time of peace. Outside the Meridian Gate of the Nanjing Imperial Palace, crowds of people gather in an endless stream.

Zhu Yuanzhang himself sat atop the Meridian Gate, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, majestically overlooking the area below.

When the loudspeakers on dozens of drones shouted to the people below: "When His Majesty the Great Ancestor arrives."

The countless people below were stunned. They looked up and looked around. When they saw the drone and then the yellow-robed figure above the Meridian Gate, they were amazed and knelt down.

"Long live the Emperor Taizu! Long live the Emperor Taizu!"

The roar of mountains and the sound of waves echoed in all directions.

Old Zhu waved his hand and said, "Rise."

His aged, deep voice came through the loudspeaker.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Countless people shakily rose from the ground.

That one move alone was like a divine intervention.

"Bring in the criminals!"

As Old Zhu sat down, Jiang Huan shouted loudly.

The drone's loudspeaker emitted sound in sync.

Below, Liu Liangzuo and others were bound hand and foot and sent outside the Meridian Gate.

They were specially protected by Lao Zhu and were not killed in the bombing.

But under the intense bombardment, they were all stunned.

When they woke up, they had become prisoners.

They cried and wailed, tears and snot streaming down their faces, begging to live.

But it was clear that Old Zhu had no intention of letting them go.

Jiang Huan took out the printed paper and loudly read out their crimes.

During the period of the Four Garrisons of Jiangbei, Liu Liangzuo and others held military power and not only disobeyed the court's arrangements to resist the Qing army, but also robbed, burned, killed and looted the people.

Afterwards, the Manchu Tartars marched south, and Liu Liangzuo surrendered at lightning speed. He then led the Tartars to attack Jiangnan, causing dozens of massacres, large and small, including the Yangzhou Massacre, the Jiading Massacre, and the Jiangyin Massacre.

It can be said that Liu Liangzuo's hands were stained with the blood of his Han compatriots, and he was a sinner against the Chinese nation!

Below, Liu Liangzuo's face was deathly pale.

The surrounding crowd shouted, "Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!"

The sound resounded throughout the heavens and earth, even faintly drowning out the team of loudspeakers composed of dozens of drones.

It's important to know that these drones are all very expensive industrial-grade drones, and the loudspeakers are also very high-end loudspeakers.

It's like if a drone flies over a residential area and makes a sound, the entire area can hear it.

The result was that such industrial products were almost drowned out by the voices of the people. It was clear that the crowds were surging and the people were extremely angry when they heard about Liu Liangzuo's crimes.

"This villain and his soldiers are guilty of unforgivable crimes. Emperor Taizu has ordered them to be executed by slow slicing! Execute them immediately!"

After Jiang Huan finished reading out his crimes, he spoke loudly.

"Execution!"

"Execution!"

"Execution!"

The people below were filled with righteous indignation and shouted excitedly.

Tens of thousands of people shouted, their voices piercing the sky, creating a magnificent spectacle.

Zhu Yunfeng was recording the video from the side at the beginning.

Such a spectacular sight is not uncommon.

Upon hearing that the execution was about to take place, he put down his phone and said to Mao Xiang beside him, "Let's go."

Mao Xiang had long known that Zhu Yunfeng was kind-hearted and wouldn't stand to see such a bloody scene, but he could bear to see it. Somewhat reluctantly, he said, "Are we just leaving like this?"

"Why not?"

Zhu Yunfeng curled his lip and said, "Although being executed by slow slicing is satisfying, it's too bloody. You know how kind-hearted I am, Your Highness Prince Wu. How can you bear to see such a scene? Let's go outside for a stroll instead."

Mao Xiang rolled his eyes.

Back in the day, whether it was ordering the execution of Hu Weiyong or ordering various killings during the Chongzhen reign, you never hesitated to act ruthlessly.

Basically, unless you personally witness the killing, you can order the slaughter of hundreds or thousands of people without batting an eye.

How dare you claim to be kind-hearted?

But there is no way.

Who made him the commander of Zhu Yunfeng's personal guards and thus responsible for protecting him?

After all, everyone knows that Zhu Yunfeng's importance is no less than that of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao. In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang once whispered to him that if the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Wu were in danger at the same time, he should protect the Prince of Wu first, which shows his status.

So, having no other choice, Mao Xiang could only look reluctantly at the scene outside the city where the execution had not yet taken place, and then follow Zhu Yunfeng to stroll around Nanjing in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

(End of this chapter)