Ancestors, please don't crawl out again.

Chapter 57 Dance of the Dragon

Meanwhile, Emperor Taizu Gao of Nanjing was using his other dragon to overlook a fortress in chaos under the moonlight...

Shanhaiguan.

I have to say he feels really good now.

These two spears, or two dragons, can be said to have unlocked a new world for him.

He could sit in the imperial palace in Nanjing, drinking tea and eating fruit, doing whatever he wanted thousands of miles away, and even doing whatever he wanted in two places at the same time. He only needed to switch the screen from time to time to ensure that there would not be too big a deviation. Just like the time-sharing guided fire control system, the two dragons themselves also had some similar set programs, which could perform simple actions independently and did not need to be controlled all the time.

Another dragon had already carried Xie Sanbin to the nearest imperial camp.

The latter's vanguard has entered Yuyao. After receiving the imperial edict conveyed by the golden dragon, they will rush to Yin County overnight. This dragon will also intimidate the gentry of Yuyao. At the same time, Wang Zhiren and his subordinates are also rushing to Yin County, and then they will meet up to complete the control of Yin County.

Xie Sanbin will then find the covenant, and then those on the list will have their homes confiscated!
Of course, these are not important.

There are only about thirty families. For the wealthy families in Jiangnan, it is not even a broken arm, at most it is just a broken fingernail.

But the important thing is that with them in hand, the aristocratic families in Jiangnan can copy anyone they want.

They confessed it!

Emperor Taizu Gaozu was a law-abiding person. If he said he would arrest you, there must be a crime. He would not randomly confiscate your property without any crime.

Whether you do it or not, you will have it if you want it.

This is what Zhu Yuanzhang did in the past. He used one horrific prison after another to implicate the aristocratic families in the south of the Yangtze River, and then confiscated their property and turned it into his heavily taxed official land to be given to his tenants.

The latter no longer have to pay rent, but need to pay about one-tenth of their output as tax.

This way, Mr. Zhu can collect more taxes.

After all, these lands were in the hands of the aristocratic families and were used as farmland by the people, so he could only collect 20 or even 130th of the tax.

Now there are no middlemen making a profit from the price difference.

He collected one-tenth of the rent, and the tenants didn't have to pay rent, so both he and the tenants were very happy.

Of course, the gentry were filled with grief and indignation.

In this way, he turned 80% of the farmland in Suzhou Prefecture into heavily taxed official land, and only 20% was private land. In the end, the tax grain collected in Suzhou Prefecture alone exceeded that of most provinces in the north. This system could maximize the balance between the north and the south, collecting two million in one province in the poor north and two million in one prefecture in the richest Jiangnan.

He was still able to collect over 30 million dan of tax revenue annually, and even issued a decree, contentedly declaring that this amount of tax revenue was sufficient to maintain the court and that no more would be needed. Facts proved him right; if the Ming Dynasty could maintain this level of tax revenue, it would never perish. However, by the Zhengde period, tax revenue had fallen to a measly 18 million dan. Even after Zhang Juzheng's reforms, the Ming Dynasty only recovered to around 25 million dan per year.

But Zhang Juzheng's reforms were indeed reforms...

Reform means making partial corrections to a system that is no longer sustainable without affecting the interests of the rulers.

It may even be revised in a direction that is more beneficial to the rulers.

It's just more obscure and more deceptive.

As for affecting the interests of the rulers...

That's another word.

Zhang Juzheng's reforms quickly increased tax revenue, but only slightly.

He couldn't even restore the tax revenue of the Hongwu Dynasty two hundred years ago, let alone the peak of Ming Dynasty's tax revenue during the Yongle Dynasty.

He received 25 million shi, which was still almost one-third short of the peak of 36 million shi during the Yongle Dynasty.

If it had this one-third, the Ming Dynasty would still be able to crush all the enemies around it.

But receiving 36 million...

Zhang Juzheng said, I will be liquidated after my death. If I really receive this amount, I won’t have to wait until after my death. I will have to watch my family being exterminated while I am alive.

Nearly three hundred years have passed, and all that Zhu Yuanzhang had accomplished has been completely undone. Yang Feng was forced to start all over again. History repeats itself over and over again. At the founding of a nation, after a brief period of renewal, a series of reshuffles followed. Then, over time, chronic illnesses resurface, like cancer cells rapidly spreading until they become incurable. Then, the empire collapses, famine, war, and plague erupt until a new ruler restores order, and the cycle continues. Now is the time to rebuild order.

As for foreign enemies...

The foreign enemies were at his feet, looking at the golden dragon circling in the sky in horror.

"Dragon, divine dragon, the divine dragon has appeared, and the Qing Dynasty has been chosen by Heaven!"

On the street in Shanhaiguan City, an official of the Qing Dynasty shouted excitedly.

He even knelt down and kowtowed!
The people around him who were in chaos also knelt down in confusion and kowtowed to the golden dragon circling in the sky.

The golden dragon is still circling.

This scene was indeed quite shocking. In the night sky with bright moon and numerous stars, a golden dragon was dancing in a winding manner.

Then a young woman who looked quite pretty ran out of their palace holding the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Surrounded by guards and palace maids, she looked at the sky with shocked eyes.

"Congratulations to the Holy Mother Queen Mother, congratulations to Your Majesty, the divine dragon has appeared, and the Qing Dynasty has been granted the mandate of heaven. The Qing Dynasty truly has the mandate of heaven. We no longer need to fear that demon. The Qing Dynasty no longer needs to fear that demon."

The official shouted excitedly.

You can tell it's sincere, I was so moved that I shed tears.

This is Dayu'er and her sister, who were evacuating to Shenyang. They had been eager to leave after the incident in the capital. However, Fulin had his leg broken by the Duke of Yansheng at the Circular Mound, and he also sustained internal injuries. After all, at his age, being hit by nearly 200 kilograms of weight was very dangerous. In short, their migration was slow, and they had only just reached Shanhaiguan. As for Dorgon, he remained in the capital as planned. As the dual regent of the Qing and Ming dynasties, he and his 100,000 Eight Banners were tasked with protecting the Ming emperor and exorcising demons.

Although everyone knows that this is bragging, they still have to work hard to avoid being eliminated by the monster.

But now even the morale of the people in the Qing Dynasty has been shaken.

These days, there are many deserters in my Qing Dynasty.

Especially the Han army of the Eight Banners, they found a ravine to hide in. It was not difficult to hide in the Taihang Mountains. They would wait until the situation outside stabilized before coming out. It was safe to hide for decades.

Dorgon killed deserters every day, but still could not stop the tide of desertions.

Even more shameful was the rumor among the Eight Banners Manchus that if they castrated themselves, they would be pardoned by the Ming Emperor Gaozu. As for whether anyone was tempted, he didn't know for the time being. After all, he couldn't summon everyone to investigate. But since the rumor was circulating, it meant someone was definitely tempted, otherwise who would spread it? Speaking of which, it wasn't difficult to do. It wasn't like they were cutting everything off. They were just picking off two small things, and they could even tie them up with a rope or have an expert crush them...

There are many means.

If it is done by an adult, it can even be used for a certain period of time.

Jiu Qiansui said I can testify.

As for the beard...

It won’t fall off in the short term.

Besides, it’s not uncommon for a eunuch to grow a beard and be so arrogant.

Master Tong said, "I can testify." The thought that some of his Eight Banner Manchu warriors, fearing the enemy, had secretly castrated themselves in the hope of being spared made Gungun furious, a desire to kill. But even more of it was sadness and humiliation. After all, being forced to this point was truly difficult.

The Ming's high-ranking officials, however, were completely devoted to him. Military leaders like Wu Sangui had already declared their stance, vowing to follow the Hongxing Emperor to the bitter end, fighting the demon and the southern rebels for the sake of the Ming. Local gentry, along with their retainers, forced everyone to shave their heads, while enduring the pain of paying for the construction of fortresses, cannons, and militia, even using bastions. This wasn't entirely to resist the demon, after all, everyone knew it couldn't be stopped.

But we also have to resist the unruly people!

There were constant rebellions by unruly people in various parts of Shandong. Even a few days ago, Sun Zhixie's hometown was attacked by unruly people, and then his entire family was brutally wiped out.

It can be said that he shed his last drop of blood for the Qing Dynasty.

Although he himself is still in Nanjing continuing to bleed for the Qing Dynasty.

For these gentry in the north, the problem now is that if they don't take action, they may not be able to wait until the day when they can resist the demons.

Likewise, the Qing Dynasty is their last resort. Although the Qing Dynasty cannot defeat the demons, it is still easy for the Qing Dynasty to help them suppress the unruly people. In this situation, the gentry everywhere are shouting "Eight Desolations, Singing Songs, Prosperous Times", and the paralyzed Yansheng Duke is also shouting the same cry from his hospital bed. To demonstrate their loyalty to the holy and wise ruler of the Qing Dynasty, many have even sent their children and grandchildren to follow the Qing Emperor to Shenyang. They are already ministers of the Qing Dynasty, so it is completely reasonable for them to follow and serve the Qing Emperor. Of course, this is mainly because they see it as a way out.

In troubled times, clans should be divided.

It is necessary to resist the demon. After all, we have to protect our thousands of acres of fertile land and maintain our wealth and glory, but we also have to leave some roots just in case.

So at this moment, there are obviously many more young attendants around the Holy Mother Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty and His Majesty the Emperor.

These were people who had recently been promoted to the imperial household. In fact, they were the descendants of gentry from all over the country. They made donations in exchange for being promoted to the imperial household of the Qing Dynasty, and then made further donations in exchange for becoming guards around the emperor.

In this way, she could carry the family's hopes and follow the Empress Dowager and the Emperor to Shenyang.

They were also looking at the sky excitedly.

Dragon!

Auspicious!
A divine dragon appeared in the sky above the Qing Emperor's palace and circled continuously.

Isn't this an auspicious sign from heaven, sufficient to prove that the Qing Dynasty is the Mandate of Heaven? In the past, emperors all made up stories like this to prove their Mandate of Heaven. Now, the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty doesn't need to make up stories. The dragon has really come. This is the true Mandate of Heaven.

My Great Qing Dynasty is destined by heaven!

Looking at the dragon winding and dancing in the sky, these guards who were well-read in history books shed tears of excitement.

"My Great Qing Dynasty is destined by heaven!"

……

The entire Shanhaiguan was filled with excited shouts.

At this time, Shanhaiguan had been completely occupied by the Eight Banners, and even the highest officials of Shanhaiguan had become city guards similar to those in key fortresses in Liaodong.

Although Sister Dayuer was very calm, she also understood what this scene meant. She raised her hand to stop the cheers, and then handed her son to the maid beside her.

"I am Borjigit, the mother of the Emperor of the Great Qing. I am staying here. I did not expect the arrival of the Dragon God, and in my haste I was unable to greet you with great ceremony. I beg you to stay. I will prepare all your needs and invite all the people to pay homage..."

She said, bowing.

however……

"Queen Dowager, quickly take His Majesty away! That's the evil dragon enslaved by the demon. The demon released two of them in Nanjing."

In the distance, an official was running and screaming anxiously.

Sister Dayuer looked up in surprise, and then saw the dragon suddenly open its mouth.

The strange blue spot in the mouth was rapidly growing larger.

She snatched her son away and, without hesitation, threw herself into the nearby gutter. As she tumbled into the slop, blue flames suddenly erupted from the dragon's mouth, instantly colliding with the still-dazed servants. Her maid bore the brunt of the attack, instantly engulfed by the strange blue flames. The flames also splattered over her, and as she screamed, everyone around her was ignited by the flames, screaming and fleeing in all directions. As the dragon's head moved, blue flames swept across the street.

The Qing officials and soldiers who were screaming and fleeing in the streets were constantly being devoured by the blue flames...

“It feels really good.”

Emperor Taizu Gao in Nanjing City said to the so-called god with satisfaction.

The principle is very simple.

The dragon transformed from the spear is not a living creature in essence, but an energy body.

A special energy body.

It can directly convert water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen and then ignite them. Through the release of concentrated pressure, the flames of the burning hydrogen and oxygen are ejected, eventually forming the miracle of a dragon breathing fire.

"Will lightning work? Spraying fire is a bit low-class. It would be better if there was lightning."

Yang Feng said.

"You're asking for too much."

The so-called God said.

"Go call Princess Kunxing here. I want to punish her!"

Yang Feng said with a smile.

"You have to create clouds first. Clouds come from dragons. With clouds, thunder and lightning will be easy."

The so-called God said.

"understood!"

Yang Feng said.

The next moment, the fire-breathing dragon that was chasing the Qing army in Shanhaiguan rose up with a long roar, then turned east amid the terrified worship of the Qing army in the city, and plunged into the sea near Laolongtou. Then, under the terrified gaze of the Qing army in Ninghai City and the sailors on the merchant ships at the nearby docks, a huge whirlpool formed on the sea surface, and at the same time, water vapor like a black dragon rushed straight into the sky, and quickly spread into a black cloud that covered the night sky, pressing towards Shanhaiguan City at a very fast speed.

When the sky of Shanhaiguan was completely covered by dark clouds, and even because of the moonlight in the distance, it created an effect as if mountains were pressing down on the city, the dragon rushed out of the sea with the dark clouds and instantly disappeared into the dark clouds.

Half a minute later.

The Qing officials and soldiers in Shanhaiguan who were still in shock could already see the golden dragon dancing in the dark clouds, appearing and disappearing.

then……

Lightning suddenly streaked across the night sky.

In the stirred clouds, accompanied by the continuous sound of thunder, lightning pierced the ground.

Dayu'er, who had just crawled out of the stinking ditch, crouched on the ground with her son in her arms, terrified, watching the spectacular sight of dense lightning showers. The lightning was indiscriminately attacking the city, and the fleeing Qing officials and soldiers were repeatedly struck and felled by the lightning...

(End of this chapter)