The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 396 Proverbs
Seeing that Jin Yu Ji was still in a trance, Chiyoko, who was following behind her, hurriedly took out some silver and handed it to Master Zhang.

Master Zhang stepped forward, tapped Jin Yuji's forehead with his finger, and recited a sixteen-character mantra:

If you look at your steps and examine them for auspiciousness, you will feel peace; if you walk on a smooth path, you will feel the secluded woman Yu Ji.

Jin Yuji seemed to have gained magical powers. Her big eyes gradually regained their color, and a long-lost smile finally appeared on her face.

"Don't you see the sun above the city? It sets over the mountain at dusk and rises again tomorrow morning!"

Taoist Zhang waved his whisk, looked up to the sky and laughed loudly before leaving. As he crossed the threshold of the hall, he looked back at Jin Yuji, staring at the dagger she was holding, frowning and saying,
"Your shamanic sorcery and your husband's so-called archbishop's teachings must no longer be recklessly practiced. They are inappropriate and will damage your virtue. Also, this is a Taoist temple, not a Buddhist temple. Converting to Buddhism is a sin, a sin. Amitabha!"

~~~~~~
At the end of May, the Kaiyuan army that entered the pass to participate in the defense of the capital suffered heavy casualties. A very small number of soldiers managed to hide underground during the explosion and survived.

Early morning of May 18th, Jinzhou City in southern Liaoning.

In a secluded government office near the north gate, Jinzhou Military Governor Song Yingxing arrived at the government office early as usual, opened the window, sat down near the window, and began to copy the manuscript in the dim morning light.

He wrote very seriously, stopping from time to time to think about it. If he was not sure, he would get up and look up ancient books on the bookshelf next to him.

The yamen was deserted. There was not even a guard at the door of Song Yingxing's office. The only guard was transferred to the Jinzhou barracks last night to help take in the defeated soldiers. The situation in Liaodong has changed slightly recently. Even a marginal figure like Song Yingxing, who is oblivious to what is happening outside, has heard some rumors.

This former fifth-ranked figure in Kaiyuan, second only to Kang Yingqian, Qiao Yiqi, and Yuan Chonghuan, had long been away from the power center of Da Qi after five years of exile.

After the Kaiyuan Rebellion, he was first exiled to Qinghe as a grassroots civil affairs official. Two years later, he was sent by Kang Yingqian to an expedition to the even more distant Sakhalin Island. He almost escaped death and it is said that he was almost cut into pieces and cooked and eaten by the hungry Rakshasa ghosts.

Until last year, when Yang Hao gained power and completely overthrew Kang Yingqian, Yang, the chief minister, deliberately promoted a group of Kang Yingqian's sworn enemies to win over the people. Song Yingxing, because he was harmless, was also promoted to the position of Jinzhou Assistant Magistrate, responsible for defending against the Ming army in Shandong. Of course, it was just a nominal position.

After experiencing ups and downs and separations of life and death, Song Yingxing had long since become indifferent to power struggles. After arriving in Jinzhou, he handed over all military and civil affairs to a military supervisor sent from Liaodong, while he was busy organizing manuscripts and writing his old manuscripts.

Those political enemies who had wanted to take advantage of Song Yingxing's misfortune and kill him in the past now relaxed their persecution of him when they saw that their victim had fallen into such a state.

Guard Tang Jiang suddenly opened the door, picked up the teacup on the table, drank it all, and then said breathlessly:
"Lord Song,"

"What's the matter?"

Song Yingxing slowly put down the manuscript, placed the brush on the inkstone, and looked indifferent.

"War, war soldiers,"

Tang Jiang is Song Yingxing's personal bodyguard. He speaks with a stutter. He was originally a servant of the Song family and followed Song Yingxing all the way to Kaiyuan.

Emperor Wu Ding did not allow officials to keep slaves. Tang Jiang followed his master as a guard and stayed by his side, wandering around for many years.

Over the years, other guards either left or betrayed their master, but this loyal servant never left his master.

"What? Is the disciplinary officer here to inspect again? Why are you so nervous? Let them search. I have done nothing wrong and I'm not afraid..."

Tang Jiang opened and closed his mouth, his face flushed red, and he couldn't speak.

"No, no, not the instructor, but a soldier from the capital who came across the sea."

"I know."

Since early summer, soldiers have begun to flee back to Liaodong from Tianjin by lying on wooden boards.

The news of the Qi army's defeat in the capital had long been an open secret, and it was rumored that even more people had fled from other parts of southern Liaoning. Supervisor Zheng had been busy with his men these days and had not allowed Song Yingxing to intervene.

",,,,He is outside, got a book and asked you to..."

Tang Jiang stuttered as he opened the door. A soldier was standing at the door. He looked very tired, and his uniform was dirty as if it had not been washed for several months. Zhan Bing took out a book tremblingly, and only half of it was burned.

"I found it near Wanggongchang. Supervisor Wang couldn't understand it, so he asked me to show it to Lord Song."

Song Yingxing took the book, flipped through a few pages, and looked surprised.

"Prepare the carriage. I'm going to Shenyang to meet Prime Minister Kang!"

~~~~~~~~
On the ninth day of the sixth month of the first year of Wuding, all the civil and military officials of Qi supported Crown Prince Liu Kan to ascend the throne in Shenyang.

Emperor Gaozong Liu Kan succeeded to the throne in June and died at the age of 100. He had been engaged in wars all his life and was cruel and ruthless. He killed people and massacred cities, destroyed countless countries, and was feared by all. He was known in history as Emperor Wu of Qi.

The little emperor was less than a year old, could not walk steadily, and was unable to rule the country.

The regent ministers Kang Yingqian, Qiao Yiqi, Ge Yewen, Wang Huazhen and Sun Chuanting jointly assisted the country. At this time, the news of Yuan Chonghuan's martyrdom in Jiuzhou had been passed back to Liaodong, and the civil servants in Kaiyuan were declining and it was difficult to continue.

On the tenth day of June, the young emperor issued an edict to the world, ordering Queen Jin to rule the country from behind the curtain, and Chief Minister Kang Yingqian to be the prime minister, to assist the emperor together.

When Emperor Wu Ding founded the Great Qi, the official system basically followed the previous Ming system.

Of course, it is different from the previous Ming Dynasty.

Starting from Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming court no longer had the prime minister leading all officials and being responsible to the emperor. Instead, all officials were directly responsible to the emperor.

After the establishment of the State of Qi, the prime minister system, which had been gradually weakened since the Western Han Dynasty, was restored.

The Prime Minister, to be exact.

The Prime Minister shared some of the emperor's power and responsibilities. Emperor Wuding was often ill in his later years and was unable to review memorials every day.

Shortly after the founding of the Great Qi Dynasty, the position of prime minister remained vacant, and Liu Zhaosun did not appoint anyone because there was no suitable candidate.

At that time, Yang Hao was the chief minister, but he did not have a deep foundation in Kaiyuan, so it was difficult for him to win the support of the people.

Kang Yingqian's power plummeted due to the loss of Zhang Yan's support, making it even less likely that he would be appointed. Therefore, the position of Prime Minister in the Great Qi court remained vacant.

The Great Qi Dynasty was in imminent danger and desperately needed a strong political leader. Yang Hao's faction had been decimated by the Wanggongchang explosion, and Kang Yingqian, now at the height of his power, was credited with escorting the Crown Prince back safely. From every perspective, Kang Yingqian was the most suitable candidate for Prime Minister.

After more than eight years of hard work, Kang Yingqian, whose family was broken up and he was left with nothing, finally became the ruler as he wished and became the most powerful person in Da Qi.

Qiao Yiqi was appointed Minister of Revenue, Sun Chuanting, who was far away in Shaanxi, was appointed Minister of War, and the other ministers were also rewarded.

However, the Great Qi Dynasty had now reached a critical moment of life and death.

At the beginning of July, the commander-in-chief Liu Zongzhou raised an army in Yangzhou and led 50,000 troops to the north (claiming to have 300,000 troops), aiming to conquer the capital and wipe out the Ming court. The Ming army issued a northern expedition manifesto, agreeing that the Kingdom of Korea, Jianzhou, Haixi, and Mongolia would attack from the north and south, advance from the east and west, encircle Shenyang, and kill the remnants of Liu Zhaosun.

(End of this chapter)