The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 489 Huang Huaixing

Only Qin Jianxun and his Fourth Corps' white-pole soldiers were left on the Huaihe River front in Xuzhou.

When leaving Xuzhou, the retired emperor instructed this old subordinate of the White Spear Soldier to watch over the Huaihe River defense line and to resolutely fight back if the Ming army dared to invade the north.

Qin Jianxun asked, "Your Majesty, what if that thief Zuo Liangyu doesn't come out?"

Emperor Wuding replied: "Jianxun, you must remember that if no one offends me, I will offend them. If someone offends me, I will kill them."

Qin Jianxun looked confused.

Liu Zhaosun further explained, "We won't stick to the alliance, but we won't break it either. We'll send a small group of troops across the river every two weeks to put pressure on the Southern Dynasty and let them know that a million-strong army is waiting for them on the north bank. A million-strong army can cross the river at any time!"

Qin Jianxun was speechless. The soldiers and horses left to him by the retired emperor were less than 8,000 at most, which was far from a million. Moreover, he had to capture prisoners and kill people, keep the agreement and cross the river at the same time.

This is too difficult.

~~~~~
At the end of October in the second year of Taichu, the retired emperor's journey set out from Xuzhou, crossed the Huanghuai Plain, and headed towards Luoyang. The entourage carried the retired emperor's luggage in large bags like ants moving house, and moved it all the way west.

Following Xingluan northward were the main forces of the First, Second, and Seventh Corps, totaling more than 20,000 soldiers. They escorted thousands of horse-drawn carriages loaded with food and cloth as they headed towards Henan.

As the ancient capital of 13 dynasties, Luoyang is not as easy to defend and difficult to attack as Chang'an, which has the 800-li Qinchuan Plain, but its geographical advantages cannot be underestimated.

Luoyang is surrounded by the dangerous Yellow River to the north, Taihang Mountains and Wangwu Mountains to the north, Songshan Mountain to the east, Xiong'er Mountain and Funiu Mountain to the south, and Xiaoshan Mountain and Mangshan Mountain to the west. Such good geographical conditions made it the first choice for many dynasties to establish their capital.

When the capital was first being chosen, some ministers from Henan Province strongly advocated making Luoyang the capital and listed ten major advantages to the retired emperor.

Emperor Wuding hesitated for a while, but finally chose to make Jingxiang the capital.

The decline of the northern economy is an inevitable trend and cannot be changed.

Liu Zhaosun did not want to plan a costly and labor-intensive project like the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in the 17th century. Moreover, the North-South Canal had been cut off, so he would not repair it again.

On October 30, the second year of Taichu, the Ministry of War issued a document ordering the Third Corps stationed in Fushun to cross the Yalu River and go to Korea to fight, replacing the Eighth Corps that was fighting unfavorably in Pyongyang.

At the same time, under the organization of Zhang Dong, Pei Dahu and Francesca, a new round of purges was launched in Hubei and Henan provinces.

The Suoyi Guards and the Imperial Guards were sharpening their knives. With the cooperation of the First Corps, former Ming gentry and clerks were arrested every day in various places. Also arrested were some mid-level civil officials, instructors, and military officers.

The crimes of these people ranged from corruption and dereliction of duty to collusion with the Rakshasa demons. Some even attempted to assassinate Emperor Wuding.

Rumor has it that the commander-in-chief of the Eighth Corps, Zhao Lujiao, will also be purged because he was not doing well in the war against North Korea.

Even officers of Zhao Lujiao's rank could not escape sanctions, which shows how horrific this purge was.

For a moment, everyone in the court felt insecure. When they saw Zhang Dong and Francisco, their teeth couldn't help but chatter, as if they saw the Black and White Impermanence coming to take their lives.

~~~~
On the second day of November, the convoy entered Henan from Bozhou. Everything they saw was in ruins, with barren fields and dilapidated villages. The living people along the way looked at this government army as if they had seen a ghost.

The Huanghuai Plain was originally densely populated, but in the late Ming Dynasty, it was plagued by floods, droughts, and locust plagues. The Yellow River changed its course every now and then, leaving the land barren and crops failing. The fields that were not affected by the disasters became saline-alkali land, and nothing would grow where seeds were sown.

The natural disaster in the first year of Wuding swept across the north of the Yangtze River. Suzhou, Huainan and other places suffered heavy losses. The land was barren for thousands of miles and the people were living in dire straits. Almost one in ten people in the disaster area survived.

In the first year of the Wuding reign, the farmers in the Huaiyang area finally fled their hometown after eating all their food. During their wandering, they were caught up in the large army of refugees rolling in from Shaanxi, Henan and other places. These people plundered all the way north and eventually became one of the many cannon fodders who followed Li Xianzhong to besiege the capital.

By the end of the second year of Taichu, with the remnants of Liu Zongmin entrenched in western Liaoning being completely annihilated by the Qi army, under the joint attack of the plague and the Qi army, the Chuang army bandits who once roamed across the three provinces of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan, and whose power reached Shanhaiguan and reached hundreds of thousands at their peak, were almost completely wiped out and annihilated. The number of their core bandits was sharply reduced to a mere hundred people, and they retreated to the mountains of Jingxiang and were no longer a threat.

The prosperity of the people will be miserable, and the destruction of the people will be miserable.

Although the rebel army was pacified, millions of Huaiyang people were buried with Li Xianzhong, Ma Jinxing and others. This land was slowly dying.

~~~~~
The north wind was blowing, making the wild grass in the field rustle. A white sun hung obliquely in the sky above the field, shining coldly on the land.

In the daytime, only a few ruins remained of the deserted village, with shacks built in groups of three or two between the walls. Inside the shacks were several large pots in which something was cooking, and a faint aroma of meat wafted from afar.

The main road at the entrance of the village was overgrown with weeds, deep enough to cover the calves. Several wild dogs with red eyes surrounded a starving man who was about to die, and dragged him into the grass before he died.

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the distance, as if millions of sandworms were gnawing on leaves. The wild dogs looked at each other. The rustling sound approached quickly from the horizon and turned into the sound of rushing water.

A long black dragon was moving quickly across the wasteland. The dragon stretched as far as the eye could see, and the head and tail could not even see each other. Countless weapons and armors collided, making crisp clanging sounds, mixed with intermittent bamboo whistles.

The wild dog's eyes were filled with fear, and it barked wildly at the black dragon banner fluttering in the air in front of it.

"Woo~~~"

A low roar came from the grass, and the wild dogs' blood-red eyes immediately showed fear, and they quickly turned around and fled towards the shack.

A tiger, more than a man tall, suddenly jumped down from the sky, swung its claws and slapped the wild dog. With a snapping sound, half of the wild dog that landed at the back was torn to pieces by the tiger's claws...

"Whoosh!!"

A sharp arrow flew through the air and knocked a wild dog in front to the ground, followed by a long knife.

"Go into the shack and see if they are eating human flesh. Leave two people and bury the dead man."

Jiang Liuer rubbed the knife against the dog, cleaned the blood off the blade, and then put the knife back into the sheath.

"Quick! Get moving!"

A dozen Night Watchmen armed with muskets and short crossbows immediately sneaked into the deserted village. They split into two groups and surrounded the shacks from the left and right sides where smoke was rising from.

The two remaining soldiers dragged the half-eaten corpse from the bushes, brandishing pickaxes and began to dig a hole to bury the body. Their movements were skillful and there was no sign of dragging their feet, which showed that this was not the first time they had done this job.

Jiang Liuer finished his arrangements, drew his sword, and turned to an officer dressed in Jianzhou attire behind him and said, "Lao Sa, you stay here. Be careful of the bandits and ambushes. Don't startle the emperor's chariot." Alesa spat out a mouthful of thick phlegm, stepped on the stray dog's corpse, and glanced around vigilantly. The emperor's carriage was still two miles away. The Jianzhou night watchman looked at the corpse being eaten by stray dogs and shook his head.

"People eat people, dogs eat people too. They don't believe in Changshengtian, so they get retribution."

After saying that, he raised his bow and followed Captain Jiang Liuer towards the shack.

~~~~~~
The low sound of the horn echoed in the wilderness for a long time. Under the black dragon banner, six horses pulled the dragon chariot and came slowly.

The body of the dragon chariot is inlaid with gems and pearls, and the dragon and phoenix patterns on the wheels fully demonstrate the royal nobility and luxury.

Jin Yuji poked her head out from behind the black curtain, with her black hair in a bun, and looked towards the village entrance.

Ye Bushou, who was at the front, was burying the bodies when the crackling sounds of musketry suddenly rang out in the village. Jin Yuji turned around and said,

"Husband, is this the human world or hell?"

"When you think he is human, he is hell. When you think he is hell, he says he is human."

Liu Zhaosun put down a book with yellowed pages, "Lüshi Chunqiu", without even raising his head.

Jiang Liuer brought his men to the village entrance at night, dragging the corpses one by one, and threw them into a large pit that had been dug long ago, filling it with soil and burying them hastily.

When Jin Yuji was about to turn around to look at her husband, a group of ragged villagers appeared in her sight. They followed Ye Bushu and staggered to the village entrance.

"Are you giving out porridge again today? There don't seem to be many people here."

The Empress Dowager Cisi's question was soon answered. Under Xie Yang's personal command, the pacification soldiers and civil officials set up a large iron pot at the entrance of the village, lit firewood, and bags of rice rolled up and down in the pot, emitting a faint fragrance.

Liu Zhaosun raised his head and glanced outside, then said slowly, "We brought so much food here just to feed people."

He followed Jin Yuji's gaze towards the deserted village in front of him. His eyes fell on several dead dogs and he fell silent.

"Husband, how many people can you save?"

Two months ago, Jin Yuji followed Liu Zhaosun south from Xiangyang. They took the water route and did not pass through Huainan and other places.

During the past few days, the Empress Dowager Cisi was terrified by the tragic scenes she saw along the way in Huaiyang. After witnessing one tragic scene after another, she finally began to understand why the retired emperor suddenly became so murderous, decisive and cruel.

"I have already sent troops to eliminate those wealthy and unkind families in the surrounding area. They have established their own strongholds and strong defenses, so ordinary refugees cannot break through. If the army is short of food, we can use these people to make up for it."

After listening to her husband's explanation, Jin Yuji did not immediately express her objection as usual.

In years of great famine, people exchanged their children for food, and human flesh became the main source of food. Prosperity itself was an original sin.

Liu Zhaosun looked at his woman curiously and said with a smile, "Why don't you persuade me?"

Jin Yuji murmured to herself: "I have said that I will obey my husband from now on."

As the two were talking, there was a noise outside. Pei Dahu shouted and ordered the guards to strengthen the protection.

Lin Yu stayed where he was, while Wu Xiao led the guards on horseback to drive away the hungry people who kept pouring in from all directions.

"Don't be chaotic, line up one by one!"

The pacification soldiers waved wooden sticks and beat the chaotic hungry people. After a series of screams, order was finally restored.

Emperor Wuding looked at the scene in front of him with indifference, picked up the "Lüshi Chunqiu" he had just put down and continued reading.

At this time, among the hungry people waiting in line for porridge, Jin Yuji saw a woman holding a baby.

The woman was ragged and unkempt, but she tried hard to hold the baby tightly in her arms and looked warily at the soldiers who were maintaining order.

"What a poor kid."

Jin Yuji sighed softly. She was about to ask Dongfang Zhu to give the mother and child some food. At this moment, the Emperor followed the Empress Dowager Cisheng's gaze and also noticed the woman holding the baby.

"Do you think the child in her arms is dead or alive?"

Jin Yuji was immersed in the memory of her exile in Dengzhou with her daughter Liu Yufei. When she heard her husband ask this question, she was stunned at first, then she said angrily:

"Why are you so mean? You have children after all!"

Liu Zhaosun looked at Jin Yuji and said, "It's not easy for her to survive this devastating year with her child. When I see her, I think of myself during the Wanggongchang explosion. I fought tooth and nail to stay alive."

After Emperor Wu Ding finished speaking, he closed his eyes. Dongfang Zhu stood quietly at the door of the dragon chariot, waiting for the order from the emperor.

~~~~~
Several large pots were soon empty, and the hungry people who came to receive the porridge ran away cursing.

Liu Zhaosun opened his eyes.

"Cook another 20,000 kilograms of rice and have Lin Yuzhangdong strengthen the security. Anyone who loots or causes trouble will be killed without mercy."

Dongfang Zhu said reluctantly, "Your Majesty, we can't save that many. We've only just reached Suzhou, and it's still hundreds of miles to Luoyang. We can't save them all."

Emperor Wuding suddenly looked up and glared at Eunuch Dongfang fiercely.

"Of course I know, that's why I want to distribute the food as soon as possible! What I distribute is not food, but people's hearts!"

(End of this chapter)