Ancestors, please don't crawl out again.

Chapter 65: Divine Emperor Guards
The unfortunate Duke Yansheng was eventually executed by slicing in front of Confucius' mausoleum...

The torture lasted for ten days.

After all, only about 300 cuts a day are needed to ensure that no one will die.

The executioner's skill level also depends on the executioner.

The executioners found in a small county like this are definitely not comparable to those in Beijing or Nanjing.

At the same time as he was being tortured by slicing, other scholars of the Five Classics were also being tortured by slicing in front of the tombs of their ancestors, including Zengzi. This was Emperor Taizu Gao punishing them on behalf of their ancestors. In fact, up to this point, their crime was only treason, which they could not escape. Although the Duke of Yansheng was a bit ruthless, at most he had scolded Emperor Taizu and acted a bit shamelessly when submitting a memorial to Dorgon.

For example, the prosperous era of Bahuang Xiange.

In this way, Emperor Taizu Gao was sentenced to death by slow slicing once for high treason, and once for treason.

but……

He actually drew Confucius as a rat with a golden coin tail!

This can be described as inhumane.

This is destroying one's ancestors.

Even in Confucianism, this is an unforgivable crime, the highest crime. You have turned your ancestors into barbarians, not to mention that your ancestor is Confucius. According to Confucian ethics, even if an ordinary person does this, he will be punished by being tortured to death according to the law.

During the Chongzhen period, Wen Zhenmeng and Wen Tihen had a fierce fight, and Wen Zhenmeng's good friend Zheng Yu became a victim. He was eventually convicted and executed by slow slicing.

Although he was charged with many crimes, only one of them led to the death by slicing.

Mother of sticks.

His mother was quite fierce and cruel to his father's concubines. In order to help his father, he designed a plan to have his ancestors appear and punish his mother with a stick, but he couldn't help laughing and was eventually exposed. It was just a family conflict and there was no actual fighting.

But legally this is a beating of the mother.

Rebellious.

Ling Chi.

This kind of thing is the most serious crime in Confucian ethics.

One can defend his surrender to the Qing, or his shaving his head and changing his clothes. After all, he wasn't the only one who surrendered, and the entire northern region was subjected to this practice. Both arguments are valid, but the image of Confucius with a golden rat tail cannot defend him. This isn't just a legal issue; it's also unacceptable within the Confucian moral system and ethical principles. Anyone who remains a Confucian scholar must support his lingchi execution; otherwise, the Confucian principles would become a mockery.

By the way, this is the Duke of Yansheng!
While Yang Feng was in Qufu, in charge of the execution of Duke Yansheng by lingchi, the Qing army in Yanzhou chose to remain calm.

if not?
Do they want to counterattack?

Because they were afraid that the unruly people would rebel, they simply opened the city gates.

Anyway, this thing is meaningless against that monster.

Then let the unruly people leave the city.

The same is true in Jining, Ningyang, Zouxian and other places.

Both the Qing army and local officials were well aware of the significance of keeping these unruly people in the city. In the future, even if other armies under the banner of the Ming Dynasty came, let alone this evildoer, they would open the city gates to welcome them without hesitation.

In this case……

It’s better to keep the door open!

Of course, these are all excuses, and they are mainly to facilitate the escape of the gentry themselves.

Because Dorgon's order has arrived.

Whether it was the garrisons or the officials and gentry, they all had to hold their ground to the bitter end. Anyone who dared to flee would be killed without mercy. However, this order was meaningless. Not only the officials and gentry, but even the Qing army didn't care. He was in the capital, so of course he could say he would hold his ground to the bitter end, but for the Qing army, facing that demon would mean death. The regent's military orders could not be disobeyed, but with the city gates open, anyone who wanted to escape could run! So the gates of the surrounding cities were wide open, the garrisons, officials and gentry fled westward, and the people went to Qufu to welcome Emperor Taizu Gao. In this chaos, all kinds of looting were inevitable. The Qing army looted, the people looted, and of course, everyone's target was the gentry...

The Qing army couldn't possibly rob the poor, right? The poor had no money.

Even a poor guy has no ability to rob the Qing army.

That means the gentry.

So order in this area has actually collapsed.

After all, this kind of thing did not require the personal presence of Emperor Taizu Gao. It would be enough for the unruly people to have a leader. Therefore, the fleeing gentry were not safe either. They were constantly attacked by the unruly people on the road, and their corpses could be seen everywhere on the road.

And soon it won’t just be the troublemakers.

"Yuyuan Army."

Emperor Taizu Gao in the sky looked at the battlefield below with emotion.

Below him is Caozhou.

Countless poor people in ragged clothes were attacking the city walls.

Even the fighting within the city has begun.

Similarly, countless poor people in rags also rushed towards the city gates and fought with the Eight Banners Army and militia guarding the city gates. However, the latter could still hold on for the time being. After all, they had not seen Emperor Taizu Gao. Without seeing Emperor Taizu Gao, even if they no longer had the courage they had in the past, they could still fight against the unruly people without armor or weapons.

"Kill! Kill the Qing monster and present it to Taizu!"

A strong man in heavy armor outside the city roared.

He rushed straight towards the city gate, holding the obviously heavy Guandao in both hands.

He has countless followers behind him.

This is the Yuyuan Army.

They controlled the borders of Northern Zhili, Shandong, and Henan provinces.

It is roughly equivalent to the southern part of Weizhou in the Tang Dynasty, the area with the highest population density in the Tang Dynasty.

Weizhou in the Tang Dynasty had a population of 1.1 million, which was almost the same as Henan Prefecture where the eastern capital Luoyang was located. This was the confidence of the Weizhou Jiedushi to make trouble when they were in a bad mood. They owned the most densely populated area in the Tang Dynasty. After all, they not only had Weizhou, but also Beizhou with a population of more than 800,000.

but now……

Due to long-term famine, the population there has been greatly lost and the land has become barren, resulting in the formation of large areas of forest dominated by elm trees. This land, which seems to have returned to the wilderness, was actually the largest area of ​​land north of the Yellow River that still held the banner of the Ming Dynasty. The people who hid in these elm forests and even had to live in tunnels were also the largest group of people north of the Yellow River who refused to shave their heads.

In this once rich and densely populated land, they guarded the fields that had become forests and the cities and villages that had become ruins, and continued to resist foreign invaders.

When the Qing army attacked them, they dug tunnels.

After all, it is the North China Plain, and digging tunnels is easy.

Then they came out through various tunnels to attack the Qing army that was separated by the forest.

The Qing army was simply unable to wipe them out.

It was not until Hou Fangyu suggested to Zhang Cunren, who was in charge of the encirclement and suppression of them at the time, to dig up the dike on the north bank of the Yellow River and completely flood the area with the Yellow River water that the problem was completely solved. They had persisted for nearly ten years at that time. However, the Qing army was simply unable to encircle and suppress them and could only let them stay in, and then come out from time to time. Even Daimyoji was attacked by them.

Now that they knew that Emperor Taizu Gao had arrived in Qufu, they charged out without hesitation.

"put!"

An official on the city wall shouted anxiously.

The cannon beside him spewed flames and shotgun shells whistled.

The heavily armored man was knocked down immediately.

But he bravely climbed up, clearly the small shotgun shells hadn't deprived him of his fighting ability. He simply jumped into the moat, followed by his men carrying ladders. Arrows rained down from the walls, and even with their shields, the men carrying ladders were constantly hit. But they bravely continued forward, fearless of death, despite the arrows raining down on them.

Soon they crossed the dry moat and raised ladders to the city walls.

More Qing soldiers leaned out from above, shooting downwards with bows and arrows and muskets.

The rebels used thick wooden shields to protect the strong men. Elm wood is very strong.

At least arrows can't penetrate it.

The strong man rushed to the ladder under their protection and began to climb up quickly.

More Qing soldiers leaned forward to attack from above, but the burly man, clad in multiple layers of armor, though bulky and inconvenient, offered ample protection. Besides, even if he were wounded, his current frenzy didn't matter. He climbed, Guandao in one hand and the ladder in the other. A rock fell from above, and he swept it with his Guandao, deflecting it and sending it careening past his shoulder. He roared frantically, climbing as fast as he could. A Qing soldier from above fired an arrow, striking him squarely in the face, piercing his visor but lodging in his bones. He simply pushed the arrow against him, sweeping his Guandao across the air.

A Qing soldier who leaned forward and was about to shoot him with a three-barreled gun was hit and fell down with a scream.

He rushed up to the city wall in a blink of an eye.

But then two arrows arrived at the same time.

One hit him in the stomach, and the other in the chest.

Although he was obviously seriously injured, he still rushed towards the Qing army with a roar.

But six Qing soldiers surrounded him.

Having lost too much blood, he swung his Guandao to knock down a Qing soldier, but was ultimately unable to continue.

"Kill, kill the Qing monster!"

He stood there leaning on his Guandao.

Five Qing soldiers came towards him with a grin on their faces.

then……

Qing Yao suddenly stopped and looked to his right in horror.

He turned around weakly and looked at the figure that suddenly appeared.

"Lend it to me for a moment."

The figure said, holding his Guandao.

At the same time, a blue flame fell from the sky.

Then a giant dragon appeared, spewing blue flames as it swept along the city wall. The Qing soldiers screamed in agony and fled like mad, some even jumping off the wall in panic. He let go of his hand in confusion and watched the man take the Guandao. However, the Qing soldiers across from him knelt. The man calmly walked up to them, and none of them dared to resist, preferring to stretch their necks and wait for death.

Then the Guandao fell with a cold light, and their heads fell one by one.

"These heads are yours."

Yang Feng returned the Guandao to him and said.

At this time, the Qing army in the city had also collapsed. The young and strong men who had been fighting in the city immediately stepped forward to open the city gate, and the rebel army outside swarmed in.

"The Great Ming Emperor Taizu Gao is here. My subjects obey my orders. Kill all the Qing demons and all the rebels."

Yang Feng roared.

Then his vision switched to the giant dragon, which then raised its head and roared to the sky, shaking the heavens and the earth...

He came to bring the Yuyuan Army to his side.

He wasn't planning on going that way this time. In fact, he was heading towards Qingzhou. After all, that route was the next route for the Prince of Huai to advance. If he continued north, it would be like helping the Prince of Huai, which would be clearly unfair. Since it was a competition among the princes, he couldn't be biased and had to ensure fairness. However, since the Yuyuan Army came to welcome Taizu, he certainly couldn't ignore it. He also needed these people...

These were the most tenacious group of people resisting in the north. They had no supporters and resisted alone until the eighth year of Shunzhi on the North China Plain, less than a thousand miles away from the power center of the Qing Dynasty.

At one point, they even occupied several states and counties.

The memorials submitted by local officials of our Qing dynasty say that their number reaches one million.

Although there are certainly exaggerations, there are definitely hundreds of thousands of people.

Regardless of their background, their courage and tenacity are admirable.

Yang Feng needs such a royal guard.

The reason why he went north and only recruited volunteers along the way was to build a royal guard that could defend what he left behind. Han Xin could not do it, and the King of Qi was not a modern man. His thoughts were classical. If you talked to him about equality, he would just think you were crazy, but if you talked to him about feudal manors, he would be very interested. Although Jiangnan has purged a large number of aristocratic families, its essence has not changed. It is still the same Jiangnan.

This is difficult to change.

At least it's not something that can change just by him playing here for a few years.

He needed a new army that was ideologically reformed, convinced of what he wanted them to believe, and then sworn to defend it.

His guards.

Use them to check and balance the Jiangnan faction.

The Yuyuan Army and other volunteer forces were the most suitable. There were no gentry among them and they all came from poor backgrounds, making them the most suitable for him to reform.

He then turned around and looked at the strong man who was still dying.

"what's your name?"

Yang Feng said.

"Your Majesty, your Majesty, Liang Min, the Lieutenant General of Caozhou."

The latter knelt down and said.

As he spoke, he took out a certificate from the leather bag under his armor.

Yang Feng took it and looked at it.

This is a blank letter of appointment filled out by Yang Weiyuan. It has been stamped with the imperial seal in advance. This person is the Lieutenant General of Caozhou, and also has the title of Commander, so he is actually one of the main generals of the Yuyuan Army.

"Okay, now you can close your eyes!"

Yang Feng said.

He then thrust his staff, taking the creature inside. Standing at the parapet, he swung it outwards, sending the dead and wounded on the ground soaring upwards. The rebels still entering the city watched in amazement as their companions flew toward the city walls and quickly vanished on the staff of Emperor Taizu Gao.

"Long live the great grandfather!"

They were so frightened that they even forgot to enter the city and all knelt on the ground.

Yang Feng then swung his staff.

Then these people flew out of the staff as if upside down and returned to the ground outside the city.

but……

Those who were injured were all standing there intact.

Liang Min also fully recovered. He looked at himself blankly, then at his subordinates around him.

The next moment his legs went weak and he knelt down.

"Those killed in battle cannot be resurrected, but their souls will ascend to heaven. As for you, take your families to Qufu. I will be waiting for you there. Everyone in Yuyuan should go there. You have resisted for three years, and you have done your duty to the Ming Dynasty. From now on, you will all be my guards. Follow me north. If any Qing demons dare to stop us along the way, tell them and let them make their own decisions.

Whoever dares to make me unhappy for a moment, I will make him unhappy for the rest of his life."

Yang Feng said.

After saying this, he walked straight towards the city.

After all, there are still a large number of injured young and strong people in the city. Although these are not his targets, he cannot favor one over the other in this matter.

(End of this chapter)