The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 613: Die of Old Age on a Lonely Island
But before the Qi army arrived, the ministers fled, the generals and soldiers surrendered, and the unification of Qi was imminent. Yet, a few scholars led the ignorant peasants to resist the powerful enemy. This was like throwing a sheep at a tiger, or a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Even if there were a million of them, what good would they do? Their ambition is admirable, and we should not judge them by their success or failure. —Ji Liuqi, "Southern History of the Late Ming Dynasty"

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After Liu Kan realized the true meaning of the elegance of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, in October of the first year of Guangde, he packed up the last batch of officials in Nanjing who refused to surrender and sent them to Korea.

In this way, the lone minister of the Southern Ming Dynasty could spend the rest of his life on the deserted island with Emperor Hongguang and Prince Zhu San.

Emperor Guangde's lenient move attracted the attention of his ministers, especially some Southern Ming officials. They knew little about the customs and culture of Korea and were unaware of the harsh living conditions on Ganghwa Island. They mistakenly took exile as pardon.

So everyone praised the little emperor for his kindness.

The scholars of the Hanlin Academy, who were good at guessing the emperor's intentions, immediately submitted a memorial, with a lot of inexplicable flattery, comparing the sixteen-year-old Liu Kan to the kind and loving Song Renzong and Han Shizu (Liu Xiu).

Zhang Pu wrote, not without nausea, "The holy emperor showers his grace upon all, bestowing his favor upon distant people and even upon his wise ministers."

Everyone in the Great Qi Dynasty, from scholars to farmers, merchants and artisans, longed to rest and recuperate.

Liu Zhaosun fought for many years and was invincible. Although he conquered more than 10 million square kilometers of land for the Great Qi, now all parts of the Great Qi were in ruins and many people had not yet settled down and lived and worked in peace.

The empire's relentlessly advancing war machine had already drained Liaodong, Shandong, and Henan, and now, rumbling forward, was about to devour Jiangnan...

Liu Zhaosun abolished the imperial examination system, abolished the censors, and implemented several policies, which offended scholars all over the world.

It is understandable that among tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people, there are always one or two Confucian scholars who are willing to risk their lives to make up jokes to discredit him.

For example, some people say that the retired emperor is warmongering and does not look like a monarch (he is half human and half god, with swollen muscles all over his body, so of course he does not look like an emperor).

Some people say that when the emperor was hunting in the Shenyang hunting ground, he shot and killed 399 wild deer in one day, and was known as the Deer Ancestor.

Some say Liu Zhaosun was extremely lustful, having sex with ten women at night, and because he took too much Vajra Powder, he ultimately had no children...

By the way, before Nanjing was captured by the Qi army, the Southern Ming compared the Great Qi to the Northern Qi, and Liu Zhaosun to the cruel and insane Gao Huan.

Civil officials naturally hate war, and they are useless during wars.

With the new emperor taking power, the retired emperor showed signs of giving up power. Countless ambitious people like Kang Yingqian stood up one after another. They all hoped that Liu Kan would change his ways, govern the country with gentleness and virtue, care about the suffering of the people, and reduce taxes.

The most important thing is that the little emperor should use himself and improve his official position and salary.

Liu Kan forgave Huang Duanbo and many people who were doomed to die. This gave everyone hope and the hope of achieving civil governance in the Great Qi.

Of course, if these ambitious people could predict the future and see that Liu Kan would later be even more brutal than his father Liu Zhaosun (hence the posthumous title "Emperor Wu of Qi"), they would have new ideas.

Liu Kan ordered the Southern Ming emperor and his ministers to be sent away. Of course, he did not want to let them go, but to let these loyal ministers go to Ganghwa Island to fend for themselves and fulfill Bear Grylls' unfulfilled dream of survival in the wilderness.

Although over the past decade, at least ten thousand thieves died at the hands of the retired emperor, Liu Zhaosun was not a cruel person at heart.

This may sound hypocritical at first glance, but it is the truth.

The retired emperor could forgive Huang Duanbo, an assassin who almost killed his son, but Liu Kan could not.

Liu Kan's mother, Zhang Yan, was poisoned to death on the orders of Zhu Youjian. Although the young emperor appeared calm on the surface, he was actually still brooding over the matter.

He wanted to make Zhu Youjian's disciples pay the price.

It was only because of the emperor's father's restraint that revenge actions similar to the Qing Dynasty's large-scale massacre of Ming princes and relatives were delayed. Revenge may be late, but it will not be absent.

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In accordance with Emperor Gwangdeok's request, King Yi Jong of Joseon gave "special care" to the Ming monarchs and ministers on Ganghwa Island to ensure that no one escaped.

The Koreans on Ganghwa Island supplied food and fresh water at irregular intervals and in irregular quantities to ensure that Zhu Changying and others were always in a state of not being starved to death or being on the verge of starvation.

Zhu Changling, Zhu Cilang, Huang Duanbo and others survived on Ganghwa Island and are not in danger of their lives for the time being, but it is impossible for them to stir up any more trouble.

The Imperial Navy is gathering for training near Ganghwa Island. Rumor has it that the retired emperor is planning to use this island as a forward base for his eastern expedition to Japan.

Since arriving on Ganghwa Island, Zhu Changling has either been eating tea or pickled vegetables every day. Occasionally, he can get some Korean ginseng from North Korean merchants to replenish his body.

But it was of no use because all the three thousand beauties in Nanjing City were occupied by Liu Zhaosun.

Apart from the old ministers, there were only two young eunuchs accompanying Emperor Hongguang.

There were no women on Ganghwa Island, and food was not enough.

All in all, this is a tragic story of survival in the wilderness.

Ships shuttled back and forth on the sea, and the sound of Qi sailors' training horns resounded throughout Ganghwa Island.

The Qi navy was powerful, with thousands of ships and no less than 30,000 elite sailors.

Looking at the few old ministers behind him, who were trembling as they walked, Zhu Changying felt sad. He knew that no matter what, he was no match for Liu Zhaosun or the Great Qi. In the end, he accepted his fate and settled down to being the master of Jianghua Island, or more accurately, the deputy master.

The real owner of the island is Zhu Youjian's son Zhu Cilang.

This former Ming prince was accompanied by thirteen attendants, five more than Zhu Changling.

Moreover, this person arrived at Ganghwa Island ten years earlier than Emperor Hongguang and started the Far Cry game earlier.

Prince Zhu San had the advantage in this wilderness survival competition and was able to grab more kimchi and pickled mustard greens every day.

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Kang Guangxu, the son of Kang Yingqian, was summoned to Nanjing, where the cabinet convened a meeting and appointed him as the governor of the Thirteen Gates, as Nanjing had thirteen gates.

In this way, Kang Yingqian's nephew and son continue to serve the Great Qi. His nephew Kang Jingxiu is now the Inspector General of Jiangxi, and Kang Guangxu became the Governor of Nanjing City. The Great Qi can be said to have done its best for the Kang family.

The 110,000-strong Qi army had been gathered in Nanjing for three months and was running out of food and fodder. The Qi officials who occupied Nanzhili were surprised to find that it was difficult for the people in Nanjing to survive, let alone support an army of more than 100,000 people.

Mao Jiuhua, the newly appointed governor of Jiangning (Nanjing) of the Great Qi Dynasty, submitted a memorial to the emperor, in which he begged the court to requisition some grain from Huguang and Jiangxi.

He wrote in his memorial:
"...all affairs in the new capital are still under construction; nine out of ten houses are empty, the treasury is empty, military supplies are in great demand, and every step is difficult..."

Before the remnants of Zheng Sen in the southeast are eliminated, a large number of troops will need to be stationed around Nanjing City.

However, in order to find feed for their horses, tens of thousands of cavalrymen had almost eaten up all the grassland around Nanjing.

(End of this chapter)