The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 809 Target Paris
On the eighth day of the seventh month of the fourth year of the Mingqi reign, after a long tug-of-war, the Xuzhou peace talks finally ended.

The outcome of the Xuzhou peace talks was far beyond people's expectations.

The small Southern Ming court made huge concessions. Zhu Youjian first took the initiative to release the hostages and respectfully escorted Qi Yingxiong, the son of the King of Liao, across the river. Then he took the initiative to abolish the title of emperor and announced to the world that he would "abdicate" to his nephew Zhu Ci Miao in order to maintain the purity of the Ming royal bloodline. The Southern Ming removed the country's name and pledged allegiance to the Northern Dynasty in order to achieve "lasting and stable" peace.

In response, Emperor Mingqi promised that after the unification of the North and the South, he would not settle accounts with Chongzhen and his ministers, ensure the lives and property of southern officials, and announce that the tax collection and property ownership in Jiangnan would remain unchanged for 30 years... After that, the army would withdraw from Guazhou, Jiangyin, Taicang and other places.

Of course, the court must also punish the very few diehards who instigated confrontation between the North and the South and encouraged resistance to the end.

At this stage of the war, the Southern Ming court no longer had much choice.

The Northern Dynasty deployed hundreds of thousands of troops on the north bank of the Yangtze River. The Southern Ming Dynasty suffered repeated defeats. Now that they had no sight of the Northern troops, Zhu Youjian's army was in disarray and had completely lost its fighting spirit. If they continued to fight, they would probably lose even more miserably.

Of course, the most important thing is that Zhu Youjian, the leader of the Southern Ming Dynasty, chose to give up resistance at this time.

Even though Jiangnan has 100,000 armored soldiers and is capable of fighting, it has now lost its backbone and is no match for the Northern Dynasty.

No matter how desperately his ministers tried to persuade and plead with Emperor Chongzhen to stay in Nanjing (the emperor dies for the country and the people defend the borders) and lead the army and the people in a bloody battle with the Northern Dynasty - this was certainly not because the ministers were loyal, but because everyone's property and women were in Jiangnan - however, Zhu Youjian still resolutely fled, even more decisively and resolutely than the last time he fled from Beijing.

Zhu Youjian simply disappeared from the face of the earth, and even refused the title of Duke of Anle left to him by his nephew Zhu Ci Miao in the capital.

disappeared without a trace.

Of course, Zhu Youjian was not the only one who disappeared.

Shortly after the Xuzhou Peace Agreement ended, Qi Meng submitted a memorial to Emperor Mingqi, claiming that his old illness had relapsed and that he would not attend court on the pretext of illness. Soon after, he passed the title to his seventeen-year-old son Qi Yingxiong.

From then on, he abandoned his wife and children, devoted himself to the mountains and rivers, and his whereabouts are unknown. It is rumored that he went to Mount Zhongnan to practice Taoism.

Eight years after the Xuzhou Peace Agreement, the now-emerging Liao prince, Qi Yingxiong, supported by his generals, launched the Taoranting Rebellion and laid siege to the imperial palace. The Mingqi Emperor, Zhu Cimiao, assessed the situation and abdicated the throne to the Liao prince, thus establishing the Great Qi. Qi Yingxiong posthumously honored his father as Emperor Gaozu of Qi, and the reign was changed to Yongchang. However, this is a story for later, and will not be discussed for now.

~~~~~
August 12, the fourth year of the Ming Dynasty.

The fragrance of flowers is intoxicating, autumn has not yet arrived, and it is the hottest season in the south.

On Ximen Street in Fuzhou Prefecture, the bluestone pavement stretches straight out to the west gate. The street is bustling with people, mostly laborers such as porters and sailors.

There is a tea stall at the foot of the wall on the corner of the street. Three or five Fujianese people gather together, speaking some obscure Fujian dialect.

The three riders rode swiftly and arrived outside the tea stall in a flash, attracting pedestrians on the street to stop and look. They heard someone behind them say:

"Shen Lian, there's tea up ahead, drink two bowls before you go!"

A burly Han man in a coarse cloth shirt in front of him quickly pulled the reins and dismounted:
"Yes, please!"

After saying that, he tied the horse under the big banyan tree in front of the tea shed, and helped to hold the two reins at the back. After the two people at the back dismounted, he walked into the shed, glanced at the tea drinkers inside, found an empty table, wiped it with his sleeve, asked the two people to sit down, and sat down himself without hesitation.

"Master Qi, Master Huai, please take a break first. This weather is so hot that it can kill you."

Mr. Huai wasn't actually old, probably only about thirty years old at most. He wore a green robe and seemed to be dressed elegantly, but his legs were bare, and he wore earless hemp shoes. Judging from his attire, he was clearly a Sichuanese. However, when he spoke, he spoke with a pure Beijing accent.

"Master Qi, are you only bringing one Jinyiwei? It's a long journey to Europe, is one person enough? We're just wandering around here, and who knows what the super tyrant has evolved into. If he runs into the three of us, we'll kill him!"

"Whatever you eat is delicious! We are not fried dough twists, we can't make them crunchy! Today, I will not only knock out his front teeth, but also skin him and pull out his tendons!"

The stall owner was dozing off when he heard a few Northerners making noise. He was surprised and just as he stood up, he was engulfed by a shadow like a hill.

When I looked up, I saw a face that looked as if it was cut by an axe.

"Three bowls of tea, ten bowls' worth of money. Don't let anyone come near."

The teahouse owner squinted his eyes at the mountain-like Shen Lian and nodded repeatedly. Qi Meng sat on a bench, holding a folding fan in his hand, and said calmly:

"How could I be wandering aimlessly? Look at what Master Huai said. We came to Fujian this time not to find the sword to ward off evil spirits, but to find a big ship. That ship won't just appear like a wild boar in heat. Good things take time. We have to wait for the monsoon. Only when the wind comes can the ship move. Besides, I still have to collect some fragments. I have a lot to do. Just wait and see."

Mr. Huai picked up the teacup, which felt a little rough in his hand, and drank it all in one gulp with his head tilted back.

"Okay, I'll listen to Master Qi."

"You know a lot of dialects. Where are you from?"

Qi Meng pointed at the teacup on the table:
"Our place is where the four provinces of Qin, Chu, Yu and Sichuan meet. It's not illegal to speak a few words of the local dialect, right?"

Zhu Youjian said nonchalantly, "As you wish."

~~~~~
Before leaving the capital, Qi Meng consulted the blind man Ke for divination. The divination said that seeing a dragon in the field meant that the southeast was the right direction, and that the King of Liao would obtain what he desired in the southeast.

Qi Meng did not believe in divination. After consulting the housekeeper and getting a positive answer, he headed south. In the end, he did not go to Zhongnanshan, but came to Fujian.

"The tyrant is hiding in Fuzhou City. I'm going to find him and kill him. Besides, I have some personal business to attend to here."

"Are you alone? I'm afraid you're delivering food to the tyrant."

Zhu Youjian was unbelievable.

"Too many people can be bad news. Let's have some tea. How about Mr. Huai join me?"

"Don't worry, I don't have that ability. I can collect your body."

After the three of them finished a pot of low-quality tea, Qi Meng was still not satisfied and shouted:
"Bring some good tea! Bring some good tea! Damn, Fujian has so many mountains. It's exhausted the horses and almost crippled the men."

The stall owner lowered his head and walked over to the three-person table, about to ask what kind of tea they wanted. Several tea drinkers below the tea shed were looking over at them, one of them lingering on the horse tied to the door, clearly harboring ill intentions.

"They have weapons on their waists, like muskets." Shen Lian said cautiously.

Although Shen Lian's voice was low, it was very clear.

"Are they bandits?" Zhu Youjian asked.

"They're not bandits, they're NPCs from the vines. Didn't you see the umbrella symbol on their chests?"

Zhu Youjian said coldly: "I don't have your X-ray vision."

"I'll get you one tomorrow."

Qi Meng stretched out his right hand, pulled out the musket from the gong belt, and muttered to himself:

"What a pity, what a pity!"

"You're throwing away your life and rushing here to die."

"Oh!"

The huge recoil knocked Qi Meng back a few steps.

Looking at the unfriendly tea drinker again, half of his head was blown off, and the people around him were scared out of their wits and fled in all directions.

(End of this chapter)