Chaos of Ming 1628

With Mao Wenlong dead, the people of Pi Island naturally pushed Sun Qing into the position.

His position remains unchanged, and he doesn't need the Emperor's approval. Everyone addresses him as Young Master Sun, and they only listen to Sun Qing.

Yang Qingqing stepped ashore carrying her child, along with her dowry.

Sun Qing had already given the necessary reminders, and what became of Yuan Chonghuan was no longer Sun Qing's concern.

Pi Island has been completely transformed under Sun Qing's leadership.

The dock has already been expanded considerably.

Newly cast cannons were lined up along the coastline.

Let alone attacking, just looking at it is terrifying.

Pi Island became a safe trading zone where there was no distinction between friend and foe, only trade.

The city walls were heightened, and the original construction techniques were altered, incorporating cement into them. These were simply siege weapons of the time, utterly incapable of breaching the fortified walls.

Not to mention, the city walls were full of artillery emplacements and musketeers.

In addition to the usual living facilities, Sun Qing also built an arsenal on the island, making it a truly impregnable place.

The Later Jin spies came a few times, but they would turn around and leave as soon as they saw the forts and city walls in the distance, and never come any closer.

Pi Island became a hard shell that no one could crack.

Outside of Kepi Island, the Ming Dynasty is crumbling piece by piece.

The prefecture of Hejian has changed hands.

After Wang Zaijin took over, the first thing he did was to take stock of the granaries and treasuries.

Fortunately, Sun Qing acted quickly enough to take away his own people from Hejian Prefecture before they could make a move.

Wang Zaijin has left. If he continues to follow Sun Qing's pace, step by step, Hejian Prefecture will remain a peaceful and stable place.

But unfortunately, his purpose was not for the people, but to rob Peter to pay Paul.

I always felt that Hejian Prefecture was a piece of fat meat, and that as long as I could get my hands on it, I could change everything in the Ming Dynasty.

Unfortunately, there's nothing here.

In a fit of anger, he seized all the soup kitchens, workshops, dormitories, and public housing that Sun Qing had left behind.

Soup sheds were converted into tax warehouses, workshops were converted into government-run businesses, and the accounts originally used to support refugees were reviewed again. The surplus silver was sent to the capital by the cartload.

The new city wall outside the city is still there, but the people inside the wall are no longer the same as before.

The migrants who were originally crammed into shacks waiting for work were reclassified into "registered" and "unregistered" groups. The unregistered people could only live in temporary thatched huts outside the city.

Every day, I receive a bowl of rice porridge so thin you can see your reflection in it, and then wait for my turn to work.

The once bustling Hejian Prefecture is now much quieter.

Fortunately, Sun Qing's wisest choice was to let Sun Chengzong manage Hejian Prefecture.

What he wanted was never for Sun Chengzong to manage Hejian Prefecture well; he simply wanted Sun Chengzong to see clearly that the Ming Dynasty was beyond saving.

Fortunately, Sun Chengzong finally saw through Chongzhen's true colors.

He voluntarily submitted his resignation and retired to his hometown.

Upon receiving the news, Sun Qinggang immediately ordered all members of the Gaoyang Sun clan to be brought to Pi Island.

Sun Chengzong's old house was emptied, the gate of the ancestral home was locked, and the ancestral tablets in the ancestral hall were carefully wrapped in cloth bags and transported away.

Half of the island was cleared out for a campsite, and a row of new houses were built to recreate the old home's appearance one-to-one.

In October of the second year of the Chongzhen reign, the Jisi Incident still occurred.

Huang Taiji bypassed Pi Island, Ningyuan, and Shanhaiguan, and entered through Xifengkou from Mongolia, heading straight for Beijing.

Yuan Chonghuan rushed to the aid of Beijing from afar and fought a bloody battle outside Guangqumen for several days, but rumors of "General Yuan colluding with the enemy" had already spread throughout the capital.

Emperor Chongzhen issued an edict to imprison him, and he was executed the following year.

Peasant uprisings broke out in the Northwest.

Li Zicheng had already raised his own banner, while Zhang Xianzhong was conquering cities and seizing territories in Sichuan. Government troops were repeatedly defeated in their attempts to suppress him.

Those who had fled from outside Hejian Prefecture, escaped from the abandoned post stations, and crawled out of the ruins of various prefectures poured into the rebel army like water flowing into the sea.

Smoke was everywhere on the map of the Ming Dynasty, and fires were breaking out in every place, but none of them could be extinguished.

Sun Chengzong would remain silent for a long time after hearing these reports.

Many times, Sun Qing wanted to ask Sun Chengzong questions, but he also wanted to go back and save the Ming Dynasty. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but in the end, he swallowed them back.

Pi Island.

The weather was fine and sunny.

What's going on inside the Ming Dynasty seems to have nothing to do with this place.

This place feels like a completely new continent, where everyone has food and clothing. The soldiers are well-trained.

The original thousand secret guards had grown to three thousand. Even on this underdeveloped island, Sun Qing could obtain information from all over the world if he wanted to.

After listening to the report from the secret guards, Sun Qing sighed softly.

"The building is about to collapse, and no one can stop it. I don't need to worry about what's going on outside." Sun Qing leaned back in his chair.

As Pi Island gradually becomes more technologically advanced, his expression calms down: "Let's talk about the outside world's attitude towards us first!"

"My lord, Pi Island is now considered an inviolable place by everyone. Neither the Later Jin nor the Ming Dynasty dares to even approach Pi Island."

Song Xian also stood to the side.

He was very glad that he made the right choice back then, choosing to follow Sun Qing without hesitation.

Hearing about the current chaos in the Ming Dynasty, Song Xian couldn't help but ask, "Young Master, with our current strength, we can wipe out the Later Jin at any time if we want to, and we can even easily take down Li Zicheng."

"Lord Song," Sun Qing smiled slightly, "do you think there are immortals in this world?"

Song Xian frowned and shook his head slightly, really not understanding why Sun Qing was bringing this up at this time.

"Probably," Song Xian hesitated for a moment, "but they are watching us from heaven."

"That's right!" Sun Qing smiled in response to Song Xian's question, "Just watch, isn't that enough?"

"The cycle of cause and effect is beyond our control; why should we interfere?"

Song Xiantong's eyes widened for a moment, then he instantly understood. Yes!

Why should the gods interfere when mortals are fighting?

The flames of war in the Ming Dynasty continue to burn.

Pi Island became a true paradise. No force dared to approach it.

"Young master,"

One morning, it wasn't the secret guards who arrived, but someone who was already an official in the court: "The rebel leader has entered the capital, and the people are lining the streets to welcome him."

"Oh!" Sun Qing responded indifferently.

Based on historical trends, it wouldn't be long before Li Zicheng declared himself emperor.

Unexpectedly, the messenger then added, "The rebel leader has already sent people to escort you to the capital."

"What?" Zhao Long and Zhang Hu were the first to stand up, their faces full of shock.

He said bitterly, "He's incredibly arrogant. Knowing that Pi Island can't be breached, he actually tried to lure the young master out. He's utterly despicable."

"Young master, ignore him; he's just a traitor."

"If he dares to come to Pi Island, we'll beat him to a pulp."

A commotion broke out all around.

Sun Chengzong slowly walked to the door, listened to the third-ranked scholar inside, and only sighed deeply without saying anything more.

Seeing Sun Chengzong's state, Sun Qing smiled bitterly: "Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself on Coal Hill. After all, we were emperor and subject. I'll go back and take a look."

When Sun Qing stepped into the capital, he saw a city in ruins.

The guards were wearing armor he had never seen before, and they simply stepped aside to let him pass.

He stepped into the main hall, which was dimly lit.

A person stood with his back to him in front of the throne.

Upon seeing this man, Sun Qing knew that this was Li Zicheng.

Just as he was about to speak, the person turned around.

Sun Qing's hand paused.

"Li Qingshan?" Sun Qing was shocked. "How could it be you?"

Li Qingshan looked at him, his voice trembling, "Young Master, I have already conquered the world for you."

He raised his head and looked intently at Sun Qing: "Back then, you asked me to go back to Shanxi to deliver gold and find Li Zicheng."

"On the way there, my mother changed my name to Li Zicheng. When I got there, I couldn't find another Li Zicheng."

"I was afraid of failing your trust, so I followed your example and fought step by step."

As he spoke, he took a step forward on his knees and said urgently, "When I realized that perhaps I was the person you were looking for, I couldn't find you, young master."

"The world was in chaos, and the people were suffering terribly. I led them to fight in Shaanxi, Henan, and Shanxi, and finally marched into the capital."

"All along the way, I've only been thinking about one thing: you, sir, guarded so many people on Pi Island and cooked so much porridge in Hejian Prefecture, but the Ming Emperor wouldn't give them a way to live. You gave them a way to live, but that way was always cut off."

"If I take over the world for you, you won't have to suffer those injustices anymore. You can live a good life with the people and don't have to care about the court or imperial edicts anymore."

He bowed down: "My lord, please ascend the throne and lead the people out of their suffering."

Sun Qing felt like he was going to vomit blood. After going around in circles, he realized that he had become a traitor after all.

Looking at Li Zicheng before him, Sun Qing sighed and slowly stepped forward...