Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 299 Closing the Door to Beat the Dog, Besieging Fujian

Liu Liangzuo paid a heavy price for the numerous crimes he committed.

Compared to him, Shang Kexi is considered lucky.

Because the executioner who carried out Shang Kexi's execution was incompetent, he only made a little over a hundred cuts before he died.

In contrast, Hongwu's army was not only full of talented people, but Zhu Yuanzhang was also attacking the most prosperous, populous, and economically developed cities in Jiangnan, which were naturally full of hidden talents.

In order to find a special person who could cut Liu Liangzuo a few more times, Zhu ordered the entire army and the whole city to search for a master craftsman with superb skills.

In the end, they actually found a capable person.

The old man was over fifty years old and had been an executioner for over twenty years. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, he worked as a pig butcher for over ten years. He was skilled at both chopping people and cutting meat, and his technique was still quite good.

They spent five whole days working to execute Liu Liangzuo and many other generals who had slaughtered Han people by slow slicing.

The piercing screams lasted for a very long time. The next day, far fewer people came to see them. Residents near the Meridian Gate could hear the wailing at night, which sent chills down their spines.

Some people even felt sorry for Liu Liangzuo and the others.

There is much discussion among the public.

Many people believe that such brutality is unacceptable.

However, those who sympathize with Liu Liangzuo have not seen the tragedies that occurred in Yangzhou, Jiading, and Jiangyin more than a decade ago.

This is just the massacre of three cities, totaling more than one million people.

If we add up the other cities where Liu Liangzuo and others led the Qing army and massacred people, the number of Han Chinese who died directly or indirectly at his hands would be as high as several million.

Hongwu's army quickly typed and copied his numerous crimes, posting them in the streets and alleys, and rebuked the ignorant people who felt sorry for him. For a time, many people shut up.

It's not surprising that they did it.

The Manchu rulers always kept these massacres and suppressions of uprisings a secret.

All writings and books that record their atrocities are forbidden from being burned, and anyone who spreads these things is to be arrested.

Their official propaganda has always been about avenging Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, claiming to be a righteous army, and attributing all the massacres to the rebels.

Therefore, countless people in Jiangnan were deceived.

After all, this was an era with limited information access, and many people never left their county, or even their town or village, in their entire lives.

Many people only know that dynasties have changed and who the gentry and landlords above them are, but they may not even know who the county magistrate is or what the prefect is called, so naturally they don't know what's going on outside.

As for the areas that were massacred, all the people were killed, and people could only be migrated from outside, so they were not very clear about what had happened before.

Therefore, many people in the public thought that Liu Liangzuo was just a high-ranking Manchu official who was executed by the Ming Dynasty. Who would have thought that his hands were stained with the blood of his compatriots?

After settling in Nanjing, Zhu immediately summoned Zhu Cibei.

Zhu Cibei had a radio station in his temporary palace in Hubei, which made it easy to transmit messages. He started preparing almost immediately and set off the next day.

Five days later, Zhu Cibei arrived in Nanjing.

The reason why he had to come was not because he was the legitimate emperor.

After all, as the founding emperor, who was the legitimate ruler and who wasn't was really just a matter of Zhu Yuanzhang's word.

Rather, it was because the political center of the Southern Ming was now around Zhu Cibei, with the cabinet, the six ministers, and other central officials all in Hubei.

A political center requires more than just an emperor; it also needs a large number of ministers, each with their own responsibilities.

Especially now that the Jiangnan region is in a period of turmoil, these ministers are needed to assist in appointing local officials or to send envoys to local areas to pacify the local population.

Military matters are military matters, and politics are politics; this distinction must be made.

Things became much easier after Zhu Cibei arrived in Nanjing. He already had a mature central political group that could be put into operation immediately.

Under normal circumstances, relying on Wang Fuzhi, Qu Dajun, Qi Bansun, Wei Geng, Qian Zhanbai, Qian Zuanzeng, Pan Tingcong, Li Qianru, Fu Shan and others, the internal turmoil in Jiangnan could be quickly quelled, thereby stabilizing the southern government.

However, before Zhu Cibei could even begin his political maneuvering in this regard, a large group of literati from Jiangnan flocked to Nanjing.

The leader was naturally Huang Zongxi.

It was the dead of winter in December. Although it hadn't snowed yet in the Jiangnan region, the weather was much colder. Overnight, you could even see a thin layer of frost on the vast wilderness outside.

Many parts of the Nanjing Imperial Palace collapsed, and only a few places, such as the Fengtian Hall, Ciqing Hall, Meridian Gate, Fengxian Hall, and Yemen Gate, were repaired by Emperor Hongguang.

Zhu De moved into the most luxurious Fengtian Hall without hesitation.

Even Zhu Yunfeng seized the Fengxian Hall.

Zhu Cibei, Zhu Yunfeng's ancestor, could only go to Ciqing Palace with a sense of grievance, which was usually the residence of the crown prince.

After 7 a.m., the bronze bell in the palace, which had not been rung for a long time, was rung.

Fengtian Hall is the main hall, even larger than Qianqing Palace. The front hall is where the morning court is held, while the rear hall is for rest and sleeping.

At this time, the left side hall was converted into a telecommunications room by Zhu Yuanzhang.

The right side hall was converted into offices.

In the front hall, Zhu Yuanzhang sat high on the dragon throne, while Zhu Yunfeng sat on the steps below. Only Zhu Cibei, dressed in a dragon robe, stood obediently to the side.

"All officials, please pay your respects!"

With a shout from Jiang Huan, who was temporarily acting as a eunuch.

Wang Fuzhi, Huang Zongxi, and others slowly entered the hall and called out to Emperor Zhu above: "Your subject pays respects to Emperor Taizu, Your Majesty, and Your Highness Prince Wu."

"Flat body."

"Thank you, Taizu."

Everyone straightened up and looked at Old Zhu with curiosity.

Unlike the Qing Dynasty, where officials were required to bow and scrape before the emperor according to the "Collected Statutes of the Qing Dynasty," Ming Dynasty officials could look up at the emperor.

But this refers to the emperors after Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di.

Starting with Emperor Renzong of Ming (Zhu Gaochi), Ming emperors became increasingly tolerant of their officials, and the civil service could even look up to the emperor and debate with him.

In contrast, Zhu decreed that "all those attending court must bow deeply and look downwards."

Ministers were required to keep their line of sight below the emperor's chest level to reflect the hierarchical order of "the emperor being superior to the ministers."

Once, Imperial Censor Wang Pu was beaten to death on the spot in front of the Meridian Gate by Zhu Yuanzhang for "arguing with his face up" while presenting a memorial.

Therefore, when the officials below looked up at Zhu, Zhu's face immediately showed displeasure, and his expression became cold and solemn.

Everyone looked up and immediately saw Old Zhu's indifferent face, his eyes flashing with a cold killing intent.

"Bastard!"

Jiang Huan rebuked, "When attending court, one must bow deeply and look down. What are you doing looking up at the emperor?"

"what?"

The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment.

No wonder they did it; after Zhu Gaochi, this rule was basically abolished, and the officials naturally forgot about it.

"Garlic bird, garlic bird, it's nothing."

Zhu Yunfeng immediately stood up and said, "Ignorance is no excuse. The founding emperor valued etiquette and hierarchy, but now that the Ming Dynasty is on the verge of collapse, the atmosphere should be more open, and the relationship between the emperor and his ministers should be harmonious. We should not make a big deal out of small things."

"Jiang Huan, step down."

Old Zhu was initially displeased. But he suddenly realized that this was not his Hongwu reign, and there was no need to insist on following his Hongwu reign, so he waved his hand to indicate that the matter was over.

The furrowed brows of Wang Fuzhi and the others below relaxed.

Wang Fuzhi and Huang Zongxi were both great philosophers who believed that a monarch was dispensable, and their ideas were somewhat similar to those of a constitutional monarchy.

The reason they are willing to serve Your Majesty now is because they do not want to be enslaved by foreigners.

If Zhu Yuanzhang (the Hongwu Emperor) continues to act like a feudal emperor and find fault with certain hierarchical etiquette, they might feel some disappointment deep down.

However, Emperor Hongwu was indeed Emperor Hongwu; he was broad-minded and did not dwell on the matter.

Everyone thought.

When they saw that Zhu Yuanzhang had a broad and dignified face, they immediately felt that this was perhaps the appearance of an emperor.

Jiang Huan stepped aside.

Old Zhu then spoke, “I descended to earth to save the world, and I do not wish for the Han people to be slaves of the Tartars. But I cannot stay long, for the affairs of the world still depend on you gentlemen. You are all loyal and patriotic people who have come here, but the situation is chaotic. The most urgent task is to restore peace and order to the land, and for all civil and military officials to perform their duties. We can no longer act as we did before. Do you understand?”

"Your subject will respectfully obey the Emperor Taizu's decree."

The crowd below bowed in agreement.

Old Zhu continued, “The world is not yet settled. I have not yet eliminated the Tartars and restored the Han Chinese land. My next step is to send troops to Fujian to eliminate the Fujian bandits. The affairs of the court will be handled by the emperor, with the Prince of Wu assisting. All officials should redefine their duties and do their jobs well. You should all strive to do your best.”

This involves rearranging the positions of officials, establishing the cabinet, the six ministries, the censorate, and other officials of all ranks.

Although the Ming Dynasty has been re-established, chaos is visible to the naked eye.

When Emperor Yongli abdicated, many of his former cabinet members were treacherous officials, and Zhu Di ordered them to be executed, leaving only a group of loyal officials.

Then the Hongwu army swept across the land and recovered the lost territory.

Such a vast territory needed to be maintained, and local government affairs needed to be handled; the newly established small court cabinet of Zhu Cibei simply could not accomplish this task.

Fortunately, a large number of Ming Dynasty loyalists came to join him; otherwise, it would have been difficult for Zhu Cibei to manage affairs in the southwest and Huguang regions while he was in Hubei.

It was the fifteenth year of the Yongli reign, and according to custom, Zhu Cibei, as the successor, could not change the reign title.

Just like how Emperor Shunzhi died at the beginning of the eighteenth year of his reign, but it was still the eighteenth year of Shunzhi's reign until the following year when Kangxi could change the reign title to the first year of Kangxi's reign.

But it was already the end of 1661, and the new year was just a month away, so it was necessary to re-establish the order.

For example, once the official positions are determined, the reign title for Zhu Cibei's change of era name next year also needs to be determined.

This is also to establish stability and order first.

Old Zhu was too lazy to deal with these troublesome matters.

Now that Zhu Cibei has been chosen as the new emperor, it is only natural to hand the reins over to him, and at most, Zhu Yunfeng can be asked to help.

Otherwise, if everything is left to his ancestor, what use is there for you, the emperor?

"His Majesty."

Huang Zongxi stepped forward, bowed, and asked, "I would like to ask what should be done about the righteous armies in various places?"

Old Zhu said, "First, we will stay in the area and maintain order. Afterwards, you can discuss how to reward those who deserve it and how to conscript those who need it. Those who want to go back can be given land to return home. We should not let those who are loyal to the emperor and love their country feel disheartened."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Huang Zongxi bowed again.

Then he talked about some other things.

For example, all areas in the south except Fujian have been pacified, and restoration and governance must be carried out as soon as possible.

To eliminate the lingering influence of the Tartars in various regions, one must first pursue and capture the scattered Tartar officials and soldiers, including those who fled and those who acted as henchmen for the Tartars.

Secondly, they should cut off the whip on their heads, take off their Tartar clothes, put on Han Chinese clothing, and restore Chinese etiquette.

Thirdly, it is necessary to immediately restore order to local governments, restore people's lives, and resolve a series of issues affected by the war, such as public security, agriculture, and commerce.

Ultimately, once a country is conquered, it still needs people to govern it.

Although by the eighteenth year of the Shunzhi reign, all the loyal ministers who had died for their country had died, most of the remaining people, except for a few like Zhang Huangyan, were not martyrs, but rather those who went into seclusion and refused to serve the Manchu Qing dynasty.

But since things have come to this point, there's no need to demand too much. It's better than forcing ourselves to go find those bureaucrats and officials who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty but now want to surrender back.

Therefore, regardless of ability, the most urgent task now is to play it safe.

After Old Zhu finished explaining what needed to be explained, he handed the reins to Zhu Cibei.

This can be considered a test for him.

In a sense, this was also the second founding of the Ming Dynasty.

Just like the Eastern and Western Han dynasties.

If Zhu Cibei later restored the country and established Beijing as its capital.

Perhaps future generations will designate the former Ming Dynasty as the Southern Ming Dynasty because Zhu Yuanzhang initially established his capital in Nanjing, and the current Ming Dynasty as the Northern Ming Dynasty.

If Zhu Cibei were to become the founding emperor, he would at least need to be capable. While he might not be able to match the military prowess of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, he would certainly need to be exceptional in political ability.

Therefore, whether or not this is done well is of great importance. If it is too bad, Zhu Yuanzhang might have to change emperors again.

A few days later, news came from Fujian.

Feng Sheng and Lan Yu have arrived in Zhangzhou, Fujian, to make contact with Zheng Chenggong's troops.

At this time, only Fujian in the south still had about 140,000 Qing troops.

However, although it's said to be 140,000, it's actually not that much.

The Qing court deployed approximately 200,000 troops in the southeast, with 60,000 distributed in the south, which were subsequently eliminated by Zhu Yuanzhang.

The 140,000 troops confronted Zheng Chenggong's forces in Fujian, mainly led by Li Shuotai, the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, Geng Jimao, the Prince of Jingnan, Ma Degong, the Admiral of the Navy, and Ayushi, the Deputy Commander of Fuzhou.

However, when the Ming army attacked, not only did nearly half of the 60,000 troops in Jiangnan flee, but Fujian also collapsed internally, with many Green Standard Army soldiers deserting.

As a result, countless soldiers deserted, and every day soldiers would sneak out of the camp.

At present, the Qing army in Fujian has less than 100,000 men.

If Li Shuotai hadn't discovered it early, the 140,000 people would have been lucky to maintain a strength of 20,000 to 30,000, and wouldn't have lasted this long.

At the same time, the Ming army had already launched an offensive against Fujian.

Zheng Chenggong's troops landed in Xiamen and launched a fierce attack on Zhangzhou.

Feng Sheng and Lan Yu traveled from Guangzhou along mountain roads, a journey fraught with difficulty, but they still managed to reach Fujian.

Fu Youde, Tang Shengzong, Lu Zhongheng and others took the Hunan and Jiangxi routes. At this time, Lang Tingxiang, the governor of Jiangxi, Yang Jie, the admiral of Jiangxi, and others had already been executed.

These people are currently following Zhu's instructions to enter Fujian from Jiangxi and launch an offensive against Fujian.

It can be said that the Ming army has now encircled Fujian from the southwest, west, and north.

The Qing army in Fujian was holed up in the coastal areas of Quanzhou, Putian, Fuzhou, Ningde, and Wenzhou, trembling with fear.

Upon learning that Feng Sheng, Lan Yu, and others had joined up with Zheng Chenggong and Zhang Huangyan, and that Fu Youde and others had headed straight for Sanming, Zhu De did not hesitate and waved his hand, heading south to take Fujian.

Under these circumstances, the Qing army in Fujian had no way to escape, whether they went to heaven or hell.

After all, the land routes were completely blocked.

Meanwhile, at sea, Zheng Chenggong's fleet was there. They were trapped and had no chance of escaping!
(End of this chapter)