In a large and luxurious mansion in Beijing, an old man was meditating in the study. He was the Taibao of the Crown Prince, the Minister of the Ministry of War and the Censor of the Right Capital of the Imperial Palace. He entered the Inner Court to assist in military affairs and was awarded the title of Hong Chengchou, a bachelor of the Academy of Secretaries.
Hong Chengchou was the first Han minister of the Manchu Qing Dynasty after Fan Wencheng. He was a native of Nan'an County, Quanzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province. He was ranked 19th in the Chinese examination of Yimao Branch in Fujian in the Wanli Year. He was ranked 14th in the second-class examination of Bingchen Branch in the following year.
, was given a Jinshi origin. Later, he started as the head of the Jiangxi Qing Li Department of the Ministry of Justice, and served successively as Yuanwailang and Langzhong. After serving in the Ministry of Punishments for six years, he was promoted to Zhejiang Tiexueqianshi.
, was highly valued by the imperial court, and two years later he was promoted to the political leftist councilor of Liangzhe Chengxuan. Five years later, he was promoted to the governor of Shaanxi Province and councilor.
At the time of the political turmoil in the late Ming Dynasty, rural areas were bankrupt, oppression and exploitation were increasing day by day, and Shaanxi was hit by drought again, making it difficult for the people to live. Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng and others successively rebelled, and Shaanxi was filled with rebels and some officers and soldiers.
Due to lack of pay, he mutinied and joined the rebel army and became the backbone. The Ming Dynasty ordered Yang He, the governor of the three sides, to "suppress and appease both sides, with the main focus on appeasement." Later, the peasant army king left Zuo, and Miao Mei led his troops to attack Hancheng. Governor Yang of Shaanxi
He had no generals, and in desperation, he ordered Hong Chengchou, who was still involved in politics at the time, to lead the army into battle. Hong Chengchou killed 300 enemy soldiers and solved the siege of Hancheng, and immediately became famous.
From then on, Hong Chengchou's military talents were fully utilized. He was first promoted to governor of Yansui, and then took over the position of his superior Yang He and took the position of governor of the three sides. Under his leadership, the Ming army made great achievements.
The rebellion in Shaanxi was brought to a low ebb, and the official army's decadence was wiped out for many years. Just when the uprising was about to be suppressed, the Qing army invaded the border and attacked several cities. The Ming court had to transfer Hong Chengchou, who was supervising the war on the western front, to be the governor of Jiliao.
He led Shaanxi soldiers eastward and joined forces with Shanhaiguan and Ningyuan towns to jointly guard against the Manchus.
Hong Chengchou was a commander with rich practical experience. The Ming army he led was temporarily mobilized from eight border towns. Although the soldiers were elite, generals in the late Ming Dynasty were notoriously arrogant. Can they obey Hong Chengchou in battle?
This is the biggest obstacle that prevents Hong Chengchou from giving full play to his commanding ability.
As expected, the generals of the Ming army disobeyed orders and did their own thing. If they could not win a battle, they had their own ambitions. Without waiting for military orders, several of them fled in the dark. The Qing army took advantage of the situation to cover up and kill, blocking the front and chasing after them.
The army was defeated and hundreds of thousands of people were disintegrated. More than 53,000 people were killed successively, and countless people were trampled on each other and died at sea. The remaining remnant soldiers led by Hong Chengchou were more than 10,000 people and were killed by the Qing army.
The regiment was besieged in Songshan, with no money or support.
Songshan had been besieged for half a year, and the food in the city was exhausted. Songshan's deputy general Xia Chengde secretly asked the Qing army, willing to use his son as a hostage to surrender. The Qing army accepted the invitation and attacked at night, Songshan city was destroyed, and Hong Chengchou was captured.
Hong Chengchou was a loyal minister of the Ming Emperor. He was a rare talent with both civil and military skills and excellent strategy. Huang Taiji planned to compete in the Central Plains in the future and devoted himself to winning Hong Chengchou's submission and won over him with the policy of "all the Manchu and Han people belong to one body"
He ordered to escort Hong Chengchou to Shengjing with courtesy and sent Manchu and Han civil and military officials
They took turns trying to persuade him to surrender, but Hong Chengchou stretched his neck to bear the sword and remained unyielding.
Huang Taiji learned that Hong Chengchou was lustful and sent more than 10 beauties to accompany him every day, but it had no effect. He had to order Fan Wencheng, the most favored university scholar and official minister, to persuade him to surrender to see if he was determined to die rather than surrender. Fan Wencheng
When Hong Chengchou arrived, he roared loudly, but Fan Wencheng endured in every possible way and did not mention the surrender. He talked with him about the past and the present, while quietly observing his words. During the conversation, a piece of swallow mud fell from the beam and fell on Hong Chengchou's clothes.
While Hong Chengchou was talking, he "brushed it off again and again." Fan Wencheng remained calm, said goodbye, and replied to Taizong: "Chengchou is immortal. Chengchou still cherishes my robe so much, how about his body?"
That night, Huang Taiji used a trick and asked his concubine, Xiao Borjigit, who is also the current Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty, Da Yuer, to bring ginseng soup to Hong Ni Chengchou's residence. She met Hong Ni Chengchou.
She closed her eyes and faced the wall, paying no attention. Da Yu'er said coquettishly: "General Hong, you are so loyal to the Ming Dynasty, which is really admirable. Even if the general goes on a hunger strike, won't he just take a drink of water and then die? General, you'd better take a sip.
!" Hong Chengchou looked at this charming beauty, listened to this gentle persuasion, and smelled this alluring fragrance, and his heart suddenly agitated. The beauty kept urging her to drink, and at the same time she held the pot to her lips. Hong Chengchou didn't know that the "water" was ginseng soup, so he
Unexpectedly, he took a sip. The beauty continued to persuade him, and Hong Chengchou actually took a few sips. The two of them traveled to Wushan together, and they were in love with each other.
The next day Huang Taiji came to the Imperial Ancestral Temple in person, but Hong Chengchou stood up without kneeling. Huang Taiji asked about the cold and warmth. Seeing that Hong Chengchou's clothes were thin, he immediately took off his mink fur and put it on Hong Chengchou. Hong Chengchou sighed and said: 'He is the Lord of the real life!' and kowtowed.
After asking for surrender, he immediately shaved his hair, changed clothes, and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. The emperor was very happy and said: "I have a guide now, and I am not happy!" He entrusted Hong Chengchou with an important task. Later, Hong Chengchou found out that he accompanied him that night.
The beauty in Su was the most beloved Concubine Zhuang of the current emperor, so he was very frightened. However, Huang Taiji and Concubine Zhuang treated him as normal, as if nothing had happened. Hong Chengchou became more and more grateful and devoted himself to serving the Qing Dynasty.
After Hong Chengchou surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty ordered the Han army under the Xianghuang Banner to serve as the vanguard to enter the customs. Hong Chengchou recruited a large number of officials who were demoted in the Ming Dynasty on the condition that "the original officials and ministers would stay in office and not miss the old past", thus reducing a certain amount of bloodshed.
After the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered Beijing and established its political power, he also suggested that Qingyan adopt many Ming Dynasty regulations and systems to improve the Qing Dynasty's state machinery. He offered many suggestions, most of which were adopted and implemented by Shunzhi. He also suggested that the ruling group should also "learn Chinese"
"Learn Chinese", understand the etiquette and customs of the Han people, advocate Confucianism, and gradually weaken the boundaries between Manchu and Chinese.
If Fan Wencheng was the first Han civil servant in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, then Hong Chengchou was the first Han military general in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and he was also a thoughtful and educated Confucian general. Huang Taiji was very cautious, and after entering the pass, he captured several Han generals.
Military power, Hong Chengchou was among them. During the Shunzhi Dynasty, Dorgon was there, and during the Kangxi Dynasty, Ao Bai was there. It was never Hong Chengchou's turn to take the throne. Finally, Ao Bai was executed. The court was seriously lacking of calm and capable ministers. The Empress Dowager was
Then he remembered Hong Chengchou, whom he had a one-night stand with.
Nowadays, the older generation of civil and military ministers in the imperial court have withered away. The loyal faces of Dorgon, Fan Wencheng, Suksaha, and Sony are still vividly alive in the hearts of the people of the Qing Dynasty. The younger generation such as Suo'etu, Mingzhu, and Jiang
After all, Xu and others were still young and needed someone to help them walk for a while, so the Empress Dowager issued an order to re-appoint Hong Chengchou and gave him the title of Minister of the Ministry of War. He was also given three-eyed feathers, a yellow mantle, and the ability to ride horses in front of the emperor.
Hong Chengchou was very complacent about being important even when he was old. In his study room, he stayed up all night. There was a roll of rice paper spread on the case, and he had already written a lot of words densely. This was the statement he rushed out overnight, aiming at the current situation.
Many practical suggestions were made to overcome the shortcomings, such as introducing the technology of the Southern Dynasties to build railways and produce steam locomotives. This would not only shorten the time of transporting troops and food, but also greatly enhance the power of city defense, and also enhance the strength of the Manchus, Mongols and Han.
Integration, improving the status of the Eight Banners of Mongolia and Han, and absorbing more Han people from the Central Plains into banner membership, can make the people under the rule become monolithic.
The sky was getting bright, and Hong Chengchou finally finished writing the last word. He opened the window, looked at the sun that was about to emerge on the horizon, and took a deep breath of the dewy morning air. The fragrance filled his nose. Looking back, it turned out that
I heard that he came out of the mountain again, and some of the epiphyllum flowers sent by his old disciples bloomed, and the fragrance from the petals as white as snow was refreshing, but this beauty was fleeting.
"For the kindness of the late emperor, and for the affection of the empress dowager. Even if my life is as short as an epiphyllum, I must contribute my last strength to the Qing Dynasty." Hong Chengchou coughed for a while and took the white silk in his hand.
When he opened it, there was a mass of blood.
There was a gentle knock on the door, and a timid voice said: "Master, it's time to go to court." It was the newly married concubine the day before yesterday who was reminding me. Yes, it's time to go to court. It's been many years since I went to court.
Now, the memory of being so high-spirited in the court still remains a few years ago...
"Come, serve the master and change into court clothes." Hong Chengchou called the charming concubine in and helped him put on court boots, hang court beads, put on the court clothes of a first-class official decorated with crane patches, and a straw hat with three-eye flower feathers.
Put it on, roll up the horse hoof sleeves, and spray some incense on the body. The concubine's soft hands were busy on the body, and Hong Chengchou's heart couldn't help but go back to that erotic night in Shengjing. After the incident, Dayu'er was the same way.
She helped herself get dressed gently. Alas, I am old, but she is still so young. Huang Taiji is gone, and Dorgon is also gone. Is she lonely in the deep palace now...
After getting dressed properly, Hong Chengchou stopped reminiscing about the past, boarded the green cloth, and headed towards the Forbidden City under the escort of the distinguished ceremonial guards of the first rank.
There is a small stone bridge on the only way from Hongfu to the Forbidden City. In a house beside the bridge, a sleepy-eyed General Zhong Shen is looking at the road leading to the Forbidden City. It is not yet bright, and there are only people delivering water and people after get off work on the street. The watchman was walking around in the morning mist, and someone's dog was vaguely barking.
"Have you guys placed the ** in the position I told you?" Zhong Shen will ask a few disciples from the Sichuan Tang Sect around him, who were assigned to him as apprentices by the Heaven and Earth Society, who specialize in learning how to cause destruction.
Zhong Shouyong completely left it to them to carry out the assassination of Hong Chengchou.
"Master, don't worry. We have done everything according to your instructions, and we are just waiting for that old traitor." The disciple said, Zhong Shouyong now has a new identity as the leader of the Thunder Hall of the Tiandihui, which can be regarded as a multi-tasker.
Got employed.
"Coming~~" a disciple said softly, and heard the sound of neat footsteps coming from the morning mist. It was Hong Chengchou's guards marching. Gradually, through the mist, the Jingjie sign and the lantern of the Minister of War could be seen quietly avoiding.
"Get ready." Zhong Shouyong gently signaled the disciples to lower their heads, estimated the distance and time, and lit the fuse himself. A fire snake quickly scurried under the small stone bridge.