Xu Yaoji said cautiously: "Brother, it's not that bad, is it?"
Xu Yinjue also said: "Yes, it is their Donglin Party who committed regicide and rebellion. What's more, there is no conclusion yet, and our Xu family only participated in supporting King Yong, so we should not be in catastrophe, right?"
"You are so confused." Xu Hongji stamped his feet and said, "Can regicide and rebellion and supporting the eternal king be separated? Do you still believe that the Donglin Party is really innocent now?"
Xu Yaoji, Xu Yinjue and Xu Renjue were all silent.
Except for those ignorant fools and foolish women, who would believe that the Donglin Party is innocent now?
Xu Hongji sighed: "Now our Xu family is really covered in yellow mud. It is either shit or shit. I only hope that the Holy One will remember that our ancestors of the Xu family have made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty and can be given a lighter sentence."
While he was talking, the housekeeper hurried in and said, "The master is not well."
"What's wrong?" Xu Hongji said with a dark face, "What happened?"
The steward said: "A group of Qinwang scholars and many Caojiang soldiers came and guarded the main entrance, side entrance and back entrance of the Duke of Wei's mansion."
Xu Hongji asked: "Are you not allowed to come in or out?"
"Access is still allowed." The steward said, "But before going out, you must first report to Prince Qin, where you are going, what you are doing, and when will you return?"
When Xu Hongji heard this, he lamented: "It's over, it's over, it's over now. I'm at home awaiting trial. Your Majesty is treating our Xu family as if they were Donglin Party members."
…
At this moment, in Zhutanfang.
Li Jinglian bowed his head to Gao Hongtu and said respectfully: "Meet my mentor."
Gao Hongtu poured some water on the table to prepare the ink, and asked: "Yi Zhou, how did you get here? They are actually willing to let you come to visit me?"
At this time, Li Jinglian could still come to visit, which puzzled Gao Hongtu.
What kind of medicine is being sold in this gourd, Your Majesty? At this time, they are not sent to jail, but they are just sent home to await trial, and their movements are not restricted and they are allowed to go out?
Isn't the Holy One worried about their collusion in confession?
Or is it that the Holy Spirit knows that they do not need to collude in confession?
There is really no need to collude in confession because only four people knew about it.
Except for his three students Gao Hongtu and Li Jinglian, Liu Zhengzong and Yuan Pengnian, even the elders of the Donglin Party such as Jiang Yueguang, Lu Daqi, Qian Qianyi, etc. were completely unaware of it.
"Teacher, let me grind the ink for you."
Li Jinglian took the ink stick from Gao Hongtu's hand.
Gao Hongtu did not refuse, but spread out a piece of rice paper.
Li Jinglian said as he was grinding his ink: "Teacher, would you like me to ask someone to find out where Jie Mei was taken? Since the Lord has said that he will not set up a private torture chamber, nor will he torture himself to extract confessions, then he will be tied up."
We have our own hands and feet and such an opportunity, it would be a pity if we did not take advantage of it.”
Jie Mei is Yuan Pengnian's cousin.
What Li Jinglian meant was that as long as the Jin Yiwei executed Yuan Pengnian, the Donglin Party could use this matter to make a fuss about it and guide the scholars and public opinion towards subjugation.
After a pause, Li Jinglian added: "Or, simply strike first and create public opinion directly?"
"That's not appropriate. At this time, the enemy is hidden and we are clear, so we can't act rashly." Gao Hongtu took the brush from the pen holder, put it on the stand and filled it with ink, and then splashed the ink on the rice paper.
In a short while, four vigorous characters were written.
When Li Jinglian came over to look at it, he saw that it was about killing people and punishing the heart.
"Killing to kill people?" Li Jinglian looked serious and said in a deep voice, "Teacher, do you mean to say that the Holy Spirit deliberately did not put us in jail or even restrict our movements in order to kill people and kill people?"
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be the case." Gao Hongtu exclaimed, "The sage's deep thoughts, meticulous strategies, and ruthless methods are really amazing. I thought about it again after returning home, and finally guessed
To the cold intentions hidden beneath the kindness and tranquility.”
After a pause, Gao Hongtu said again: "His Majesty wants to uproot our Donglin Party!"
"Uprooted?" Li Jinglian said proudly, "Teacher, it's true that students are not looking down on him. Let alone Chongzhen, even the reincarnation of Emperor Cheng Zuwen or even Emperor Taizu Gao will never be able to uproot our Donglin Party."
After saying this, Li Jinglian continued: "To uproot our Donglin Party, Chongzhen must kill all the tens of millions of people in the south of the Yangtze River! If not, the more Donglin Party members he kills, the less likely our Donglin Party will be."
The reputation of our party will only become louder, and the foundation of our Donglin Party will only become deeper, because the foundation of our Donglin Party is deeply rooted among the people of Jiangnan!"
"Don't underestimate the enemy." The Donglin Party had already revealed its plans, and Gao Hongtu no longer shied away from treating Chongzhen as his enemy. He paused and continued, "Go tell Ke Zong that you two will be living in seclusion during this period.
, don’t go out easily again, lest you give someone a handle and ruin a big thing.”
…
After Qian Qianyi returned home, he seemed extremely anxious.
Madam Ru, Liu Rushi, sensed Qian Qianyi's anxiety and asked, "Master, what's wrong with you? You're so distracted that you've drank tea into your nostrils."
Qian Qianyi quickly put down the tea cup passed to his nostrils.
Liu Rushi said again: "Sir, I heard that the Holy Master has returned to Nanjing. Is it true?"
"It's true, the Holy One has really returned to Nanjing." Qian Qianyi sighed, "And he came back with the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness Prince Ding. You don't even know the expressions of the civil and military officials when the Holy One appeared in the Jinluan Palace.
, everyone was dumbfounded! The entire royal ship was blown to pieces by underwater mines, but the Holy One was unscathed, can you believe it?"
Liu Rushi smiled and said: "There are rumors among the people that the Holy Lord has become a saint since he realized Taoism at Meishan. Ordinary weapons and even firearms cannot hurt him at all."
"Is there such a rumor?" Qian Qianyi was stunned when he heard this, "Why have I never heard of it?"
"I just heard about it today," Liu Rushi said. "Anyway, the news has spread all over Chaoku Street and Gongyuan Street among the peddlers and seven aunts and eight aunts."
"The body of a saint? The body of a saint?"
Qian Qianyi murmured twice, and then sighed again.
"Master, why are you sighing?" Liu Rushi said, "The Holy One is fine. This is a blessing for the people."
"It is indeed a blessing for the people that the Holy One is fine." Qian Qianyi nodded, and then continued, "But it is not a blessing for our Qian family. There may be a catastrophe for our Qian family."
"Master!" Liu Rushi's expression changed drastically, "You can't possibly..."
"No, madam, what are you talking about? How can a husband do such an unethical thing?" Qian Qianyi flatly denied it, and then sighed, "But after all, I am a member of the Donglin Party, and I am also the leader."
"Sir?" Liu Rushi's face turned pale, "Could it be that the Holy King would use this case of regicide and rebellion to launch a big prison and indiscriminately arrest and kill the Donglin Party members? This is probably not the work of the Holy King."
Qian Qianyi sighed again after hearing this.
Madam, this is what a husband fears most.
On second thought, Qian Qianyi suddenly remembered another rumor.
"Madam." Qian Qianyi took Liu Rushi's little hand and asked, "I remember that you and Li Xiangjun from Meixiang Tower seem to be close friends, right?"
"Well, why did the master suddenly ask about this?" Liu Rushi asked in confusion.
Qian Qianyi said again: "Then do you know that Li Xiangjun has been appointed by the Holy Emperor as a general to aid in the suppression of Xuzhou? And he will return to Nanjing soon to receive the title."
Liu Rushi said: "Sister Xiangjun was appointed by the Holy Lord as a general to aid in the suppression of Xuzhou. I know this, but I don't know that she is going back to Nanjing to be awarded the title. But I don't know what the reward is?"
"It's about conferring a knighthood. Li Shen will be conferring a title of third-class loyal and brave son."
Although Qian Qianyi was not an official of the Ministry of Rites, he still held the title of Minister of Rites, so he was aware of the fact that the Ministry of Rites was planning to confer titles to the generals of Xuzhou Bianzhen.
Qian Qianyi said again: "Madam, your relationship with General Li, no, with Lord Li must be maintained well. Don't let the old relationship fade away. If you need money, just tell your husband, no matter how much it is, you can
become."
"Master, what's wrong with you?" Liu Rushi asked in surprise.
"Don't ask." Qian Qianyi said, "Madam, just do as you are told."
The Holy Father has not acknowledged the affair between Li Xiangjun and the Holy One, so who dares to say more?
After a pause, Qian Qianyi said again: "Whether our Qian family can escape this disaster depends on Sir Li, so Madam, you must have a good relationship with her."
…
The Donglin Party members, or the civil and military officials who were inextricably linked to the Donglin Party, had already started various kinds of rope camps, but Chongzhen led the Shiziying to the western foot of Zhongshan Mountain.
Also accompanying him was a chief official from the Ministry of Rites and the Priest.
The purpose of bringing the rites priest and the chief priest was to pay homage to the Xiaoling Mausoleum.
The Xiaoling Mausoleum, where Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty and Empress Ma were buried together, is located at the southwest foot of Zhongshan Mountain.
After taking the scholars to pay homage to the Xiaoling Mausoleum, Chongzhen and his entourage came to the nearby Xiaoling Mausoleum Guard.
After Zhu Yuanzhang was buried in the Xiaoling Mausoleum, the succeeding Emperor Jianwen set up the Xiaoling Guard at the southern foot of Zhongshan Mountain and sent an entire army of guards to defend the Xiaoling Mausoleum, with more than 5,000 people.
But more than two hundred and sixty years have passed, and Xiaolingwei has changed beyond recognition.
The original strength was 5,600, but now there are less than 500 left, and they are all old, weak, sick and disabled. Where are the other guards? They can't live anymore and have to flee.
Seeing Chongzhen coming with thousands of Qinwang scholars, the commanders of the Xiaoling Guards, the commanders, the commanders, and more than a hundred Qianhu and Baihu hurriedly came out to greet him. This is interesting. Xiaoling Guards
More than soldiers!
Chongzhen didn't bother to pay attention at all, and just sent Prince Zhu Cixiang to deal with them.
Things such as the Wei system, craftsmanship and humble registration have seriously lagged behind this era.
That is to say, Chongzhen still has no time to deal with it, otherwise he would have issued an order to abolish it.
Chongzhen pointed to the open space behind Xiaoling Guard and said: "I have asked a Feng Shui master to survey it, and this is the most suitable place to build the Martyrs' Shrine. The Martyrs' Shrine is dedicated to the souls of heroes who have made outstanding contributions to the founding of the Ming Dynasty."
"For example, if Maoxiang is killed, his tablet will be enshrined in the Temple of Heroes forever and will never be forgotten!"
Hearing this, Huang Zongxi, Gu Yanwu, Xia Yunyi and other Qinwang scholars could not help but feel excited.
What does it mean to be immortal for eternity? It means that as long as the Ming Dynasty continues, it will always be enshrined here.
This is even higher than the standard for enjoying the Ancestral Temple, because if you are eligible to enjoy the Ancestral Temple, unless you are an emperor like Taizu or Chengzu, otherwise, you may be removed from the Ancestral Temple one day.
Chongzhen pointed forward again and said: "In front of the Temple of Heroes is the square, and a monument to heroes and martyrs will be built opposite. From March of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen onwards, the names of all the soldiers who died for the Ming Dynasty will be engraved on this monument.
The monument to heroes and martyrs has been admired by future generations for generations to come, and dedicated personnel will sweep it and offer sacrifices at all times."
If possible, Chongzhen even wanted to build the entire Zhongshan into a large martyrs cemetery.
Then, the ashes of all the soldiers who died for the Ming Dynasty will be buried in Zhongshan. In this way, this place will become the best patriotic education base.
Who should he educate? Naturally, it was the later Qin Wang scholar.
As the saying goes, running water does not rot, and door hinges do not suffer from beetles. If any group wants to maintain its vitality for a long time, it must have a continuous injection of fresh blood.
Therefore, it is wishful thinking to expect that the first batch of six thousand diligent princes and scholars will conquer the world.
At present, the more than 6,000 Qinwang scholars have not left collective life, so there is no big problem.
But when these diligent scholars are dispersed, problems will arise sooner or later. After three years, five years or even ten years, how many scholars will be left to retain their original aspirations? Only God knows.
Scholars who have problems must be eliminated.
At this time, it is necessary to recruit fresh Qin Wangshizi to join in.
So where can we find new scholars who are diligent in the king? Then issue an edict to punish the captives and call on the scholars in the world to be diligent in the king?
This is definitely not going to work. In the first period, the Qinwang scholars came with the imperial edict, most likely because of their passion. But if another imperial edict is issued to beg for prisoners, most of the people who came under the imperial edict were chasing fame and fortune.
Moreover, the age and quality of the scholars who came under the imperial edict varied greatly.
Therefore, it is necessary to formalize the personnel turnover of Qin Wang Shizi.
For this, Chongzhen also had a comprehensive plan, which was the Imperial College.
After finishing the case of bandits and regicide, Chongzhen officially took over the Imperial College.
That's right, Chongzhen will personally serve as the emperor's minister, or principal, of the Imperial College.
Then, the Imperial College will recruit students from all the government schools, state schools and county schools in the Ming Dynasty. As long as they have the title of scholar and are between the ages of fifteen and thirty, they can all apply.
In the second phase (actually the first phase), Qin Wang Shizi plans to recruit 1,000 people, and the academic duration will be three years.
As a result, one thousand Qinwang scholars will graduate in three years, and then one thousand Qinwang scholars will join every year, which can basically ensure the vitality of the entire Qinwang scholar group.
Therefore, it is very important to create a patriotic education base for scholars.
It’s just that we don’t have this condition right now, mainly because we are short of money.
The amount of work required to build such a martyrs' cemetery is much greater than building an imperial mausoleum.
Regardless of time, the amount of money that will be spent is an astronomical figure. Chongzhen cannot afford so much money now, and even if he can, it cannot be used to build a martyrs cemetery.