Sky Curtain: The Overlord Charges into Battle, Shocking Emperors of All Dynasties

Chapter 41 The Wuyin Rebellion and the Massacre of Jinan

"The Wuyin Rebellion!!!"

Four bright characters were reflected in the sky, and as the characters twisted, wisps of blood-red mist rose upwards. Just by looking at these four characters, one could tell that it must have been a brutal and bloody massacre. The word "captive" was also included, indicating that it was another foreign race!

Gazing at the sky, the ancients felt their blood boil, especially those from the Southern Song Dynasty who felt it even more deeply. Yue Fei closed his eyes in anguish, fully empathizing with the fact that it was being labeled a "rebellion of the barbarians," another catastrophe similar to the Jingkang Incident.

Above the sky, an aged, pained voice rang out: "In the eleventh year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign in the Ming Dynasty, in the northeast, the Qing Dynasty, which has changed its name to Later Jin and its ethnic group to Manchu, is planning its sixth large-scale southward raid."

At this time, the Qing Dynasty's national strength and territory were inferior to those of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the Qing army leader Huang Taiji decided on a strategy of not engaging in prolonged battles, but only plundering, in order to destroy the Ming Dynasty's manpower to the greatest extent possible.

Although the peasant uprisings within the Ming Dynasty were somewhat quelled at that time, the main forces were deployed in the northwest, leaving the capital region vulnerable. Internal factional struggles, with both pro-peace and pro-war stances, continued.

As the narration from the dome unfolded, a map from the eleventh year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign in the Ming Dynasty was slowly revealed. The map depicted the situation of the Ming Dynasty's confrontation with the Later Jin Dynasty at that time, with the mountains, rivers, geography, and military deployments clearly visible.

"Quickly, draw this map!"

The emperors all commissioned painters to copy the map on the sky, especially the map of the northern region. In every dynasty, the northern region was always plagued by nomadic invasions, and with this map, military campaigns would be much smoother.

Li Shimin, a seasoned warrior, quickly summoned Li Jing and others to begin a simulation on the sand table.

"Although we don't know how strong the so-called Qing army was, just looking at the Ming Dynasty's military deployment, with internal and external troubles, it already showed signs of national subjugation."

"This foreign tribe's strategy involves plundering the Ming Dynasty's money, grain, and military equipment. Presumably, their weaponry is nearly identical to the Ming Dynasty's, and they are also skilled in horsemanship and archery..."

Li Jing shook his head, clearly having no hope for the Ming Dynasty this time. If he were in charge of the military, there might be a better chance.

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the map on the sky and said, "Hmm? Something's not right."

"How did our capital city of the Great Ming Dynasty end up in Shuntian Prefecture?"

Although Zhu was cruel and ruthless, he wasn't stupid. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he quickly tried to sow discord among his fourth sons, saying, "Father, I seem to remember that the fourth son's fiefdom is in Shuntian Prefecture, isn't it?"

"It seems that the fourth prince will become emperor in the future and won't want to stay in the home where he grew up."

[Huang Taiji ordered Dorgon and Yuetuo to lead about 7 Qing troops south to plunder the pass. The Qing army broke through the Great Wall in two routes from Qiangziling and Qingshan Pass. Wu Guojun, the general guarding Qiangziling, was defeated and fled. Wu Aheng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War of Jiliao, led 6000 cavalry to the rescue and died on the battlefield.]

Dorgon and Yue Tuo's forces joined forces in Tongzhou, and then swept across the area surrounding the capital, with Zhuozhou, Liangxiang and Gaoyang falling one after another;

Former Minister of War Sun Chengzong led his entire family of over a hundred to defend Gaoyang to the death; after the city fell, the whole family died for their country.

In December, Lu Xiang-sheng, a staunch advocate of resisting the Qing, led 5000 remnant soldiers and was surrounded by Qing troops at Haoshui Bridge in Julu. Fighting alone, he was killed in battle, wounded by four arrows and three swords. The Guan Ning cavalry, stationed fifty miles away, remained inactive and watched Lu Xiang-sheng die in battle.

"Traitor!!"

"Rebellion! Rebellion!!!"

Zhu Youjian drew his sword and slashed wildly until he was panting heavily, but the hatred in his heart did not diminish in the slightest.

"By imperial decree, Sun Chengzong is hereby appointed as Grand Secretary of the Dongge Pavilion and concurrently Governor of Ji and Liao; Lu Xiang is reinstated as Minister of War and given control of the Guan-Ning military command over Gao Qiqian; Gao Qiqian is to be escorted back to the capital."

To facilitate peace talks, Yang Sichang petitioned Emperor Chongzhen to order Yan Jizu, the governor of Shandong, to move his troops to Dezhou to guard the Grand Canal. This resulted in Jinan being left with only 500 local militia and 700 reinforcements from Laizhou, totaling 1200 old, weak, and disabled soldiers, with no reinforcements available.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month in the eleventh year of the Chongzhen reign, the main force of the Qing army arrived at the walls of Jinan, besieged the city, and launched successive siege attacks.

The scene shifts, accompanied by the sounds of cannon fire and battle cries. Arrows, rocks, and logs fall from the city walls, crashing down on one Qing soldier after another. The area beneath the city walls is littered with corpses.

"Jiannu!!"

On the city wall, several men dressed in official robes, resembling civil officials, shouted at the Qing troops outside the city. Their robes were already tattered, but they only wrapped them around their bodies and never took them off. "You are nothing but slaves of the Ming Dynasty. If it weren't for the benevolence of our Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, who bestowed upon your ancestors the position of Commander of Jianzhou Guard, you would probably still be fishing in the mountains."

The group laughed heartily, completely disregarding the enraged Qing troops outside the city. "You people have been paid by the court for generations, and now you're taking advantage of the dynasty's decline to start a rebellion. You are nothing but barbarians who don't know the manners of the Han people."

"Listen up, you lackeys!"

"Your Ming Dynasty masters would rather die than surrender!!!!"

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the Qing army, with its superior numbers, broke through the city gates of Jinan. The defending soldiers and officers engaged in a fierce street battle. Councilor Deng Qian was wounded and killed, and Song Xuezhu was captured and then tied to the city gate tower by the Qing army and burned to death.

[Provincial Governor Zhang Bingwen led his troops in hand-to-hand combat with the Qing army in the streets. He was eventually killed by a hail of arrows and died in battle. Officials such as Jinan Prefect Gou Haoshan and Licheng Magistrate Han Chengxuan also died in battle. No one surrendered. Prince De, Zhu Youshu, personally went to the city to help defend it. Many members of his clan broke through the restrictions on the fiefdoms to participate in the defense and ultimately died in battle.]

With tears in his eyes, Zhu Yuanzhang kept saying, "They are all excellent, truly worthy of being subjects of our Great Ming Dynasty!!"

Everyone was deeply moved by the integrity of the officials in Jinan, who refused to surrender and sacrificed their lives for their country. Wen Tianxiang, sitting in prison with tears in his eyes, looked out at the bright moon through the small window. The Mongols' attempts to persuade him to surrender were so similar to the fate of the Jinan officials in later generations. His body was covered in wounds, but his heart burned even hotter. He slowly uttered a line of poetry: "Since ancient times, who has ever escaped death? Let my loyal heart shine in history."

The scene shifts, and Jinan, once bustling with shops, is now a scene of ruins. Black smoke billows from the ruins, which are filled with corpses—men, women, and children. The city is deathly silent and empty; there isn't a single living creature left.

After the Qing army entered the city, they engaged in widespread burning, killing, and looting, committing countless atrocities. Tens of thousands of women, to avoid humiliation, drowned themselves in Daming Lake. Historical records indicate that over 30,000 people in the city were either massacred or drowned themselves in lakes, wells, or other forms of suicide to avoid disgrace.

The Qing army occupied Jinan for fourteen days. Before leaving, they captured Prince De, Zhu Youxu, and tens of thousands of officials and soldiers. They set fire to the city, looted it, and burned down all the houses. The once prosperous city was reduced to ashes.

Massacre of the city!! 130,000!!

The ancestors of China looked at this bloody number: 130,000 civilians, not 130,000 livestock. Why was Cao Cao criticized for so long? It was because of his large-scale massacre in Xuzhou. The Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms were the two darkest and most chaotic periods, and massacres of cities often occurred. One was when the Hu people moved south, and the other was when humankind was shining brightly.

What puzzled the ancients even more was that the Qing Dynasty, after massacring entire cities, was still able to ultimately rule the world.

Many people looked up at the sky with hope, not believing that all the righteous and patriotic people in the world had lost their will to fight back. Surely someone would rebel.

Build a slave! ! !

Zhu Jianshen gritted his teeth. He had thought that after his sweeping victory, the Jurchens had been completely wiped out, but he never expected that there would still be survivors. The massacre of Jinan! 130,000!

Thirteen thousand living Han Chinese soldiers were slaughtered without exception. It seems that the purge wasn't deep enough; the Jurchens still have a lair!

He wanted to carry out a third sweeping crackdown, but no, that wasn't enough!

Zhu Jianshen made a decision: to station troops permanently in the Northeast, rotating them every three years, making the policy of "plundering and eliminating the enemy's strongholds" a regular occurrence!