"Alang, the township army has entered the city, and the leader is Shaolang... Zhizhou surrendered directly..."
"Get down!"
Chai Yong, the owner of Chaijiazhuang in Cangzhou, waved his hand and asked the servant who reported the news to step back. He slowly walked out of the main hall and sighed: "This day has finally come!"
At this time, Chaijiazhuang had become much deserted, and the retainers that had been gathered before had either joined the rural army or been dismissed.
Not only did Chai Jin take up an important position and pay attention to influence, he said that in the past, he accepted all the people without distinguishing between good and bad, and only cared about loyalty. Chai Yong disagreed and took the opportunity to clean up.
Of course, not everything went as planned. For example, he soon discovered that the momentum of the rural army's growth was a bit exaggerated, and Yan Yun was governed monolithically, but also seemed to be divided into separate parties.
And since Chai Jin had been involved in the construction of the Township Corps from the very beginning, it was impossible to distance himself from the relationship if something like that really happened. After a period of anxiety, Chai Yong immediately became close to Yuan Lu.
contacts, continue to support the township army, and provide contacts for the Sui'an Chamber of Commerce...
As a former royal family that has lived on the border all year round, since we have no choice, we must go all the way to the dark side!
So when the rural army really went south and it was clear that it was a complete rebellion, out of the loyalty to the emperor that he had cultivated since childhood, Chai Yong couldn't accept the thought of becoming a member of the rebels, but he felt relieved in his heart.
Feel.
Especially when I heard the news that Cangzhou Zhizhou had surrendered directly.
This is not surprising at all.
Not only Cangzhou, but the momentum of the township army going south may not be described as overwhelming, because they don't even need to break, they just go home normally.
These soldiers originally came from various states and counties in Hebei and Shandong. When they were stationed in Yanyun, they were allowed to go home to visit their relatives. Now they are familiar with the roads and go straight to the prefecture and county offices!
So Chai Jin led his troops back to Cangzhou. Is that an invasion? The people lined the streets to welcome him!
"Yan Yun's great governance has made people everywhere look forward to the army for a long time. Everyone wants to live a peaceful and stable life..."
"Lin Yiyong's situation has come to an end, and it's time to put an end to my Chai family's property!"
After Chai Yong sighed, he walked towards the backyard.
Guarded by loyal servants, Chai Yong walked into the ancestral hall and took out a carefully preserved golden brocade box.
This golden brocade box is called the "Golden Chamber", and what is kept inside is an iron scroll written with cinnabar, which is the heirloom of the Chai family, the iron book of danshu.
This object was originally used by Liu Bang, Taizu of the Han Dynasty, in order to consolidate his rule and win over the heroes. He "cut the talisman with the hero to swear an oath, and hid the alchemy book, iron deed, gold chamber, and stone chamber in the ancestral temple." The "talisman" is what is commonly known as
The contract is the certificate of abide by between the emperor and the hero.
Use iron as the deed, write it in alchemy, write the emperor's oath on the iron coupon with cinnabar, put it in a golden box, and hide it in the ancestral temple built with stone to show solemnity and ensure safety. This is the iron coupon written in alchemy.
The original origin of.
But please note that at this time, the oath is recorded, and there is no specific privilege of exemption from guilt or death. It is more of a certificate for promotion to an official position. Ordinary people promise that they will hang themselves on a hook for a hundred years. The emperor promises that he will write
Come down and put it in a box for a grand ceremony.
In the end, we all know what happened to the hero and the hero's heirs. After all, we never agreed to avoid death. I promoted you first and then killed you. I still kept my promise.
Perhaps the emperor also found that this was too rogue. As the times progressed, during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Alchemy and Iron Scrolls officially had the function of avoiding death, but there are not many records of which ministers were helped to avoid serious crimes and save their lives.
In the Zhao and Song Dynasties, Zhao Kuangyin wore a yellow robe and bullied the orphans and widowers of the Chai family to obtain the throne. In order to appease the hearts of his subjects, he issued an order to treat the descendants of the Chai family favorably and gave the Chai family alchemy iron coupons. Even if the descendants of the Chai family commit crimes, they will not be punished.
Therefore, the copy in Chai's hands at this time does have its historical basis.
Chai Yong looked at the iron certificate of the alchemy book, stretched out his hand, touched it gently, and said with a wry smile: "It just looks good. There is no need to protect it for small crimes, and if you can't protect big crimes, what's the use?"
When he was young, he was also proud of this gift from the emperor. He even felt that with this kind of protective treasure, as long as he did not rebel, he would not be guilty of any crime. Only when he got older did he realize that this thing was
Tasteless.
With the power of Chaijiazhuang in the local area, some minor mistakes and crimes would not be punished in the first place. But once a serious crime is committed, or a real powerful person is offended, who will care about the lingering shadow of more than a hundred years ago? There are many ways to do it.
Construct you!
So deep down in his heart, although he was reluctant to let go, Chai Yong's eyes gradually became firm: "Keeping the iron certificate of the elixir is leaving a useless escape route, but my son's future will always be cast in a shadow!"
"Rather than giving up in the future and getting a bad name, it's better to make a decision now!"
Finally, Chai Yong closed the box, bowed to his ancestors, walked out of the ancestral hall, and handed the golden box to his most loyal servant: "Go to the prefecture government office quickly and hand this thing to Shaolang with great fanfare. Zhao
Song Wudao, I, the Chai family, will no longer accept the iron seal of the elixir book!"
…
"The township army is invading, can we stop it?"
"Shut up! What do you mean by invading? Don't bring trouble to the clan!"
In the Han family's manor in Xiangzhou, all the Han family members were sitting with ugly faces.
Compared with the Chai family who guarded the country in the previous dynasty, given the position of the Han family in Xiangzhou in the Zhao and Song Dynasties, they undoubtedly did not want to change their family.
Even though the former Prime Minister Han Zhongyan has resigned and returned home, and is now immersed in Wanji Hall all day long, with the Han family's heritage and culture, each generation has at least several Jinshi, which can ensure that the family's wealth continues, and most of the land in Xiangzhou has been attributed to the name.
Under this situation, using the power of a state to support a clan is completely like an existence like a local emperor.
Therefore, although the Han family actually contributed to the establishment of the Xiangjun, it was to resist the Liao army. At that time, the overall situation was the most important thing, and logically they also formed a good relationship. However, when they saw that the Xiangjun became powerful, they became very angry.
They were uneasy, especially when Liang Shanbo started public trials of landlords, which made them even more frightened.
Now that the township army really left Yanmen Pass and headed south, Han Misun of the Anyang Chamber of Commerce was the first to panic, but was scolded by Han Jinsun.
This junior, who is now quite authoritative in the clan, slowly stood up and glanced around with sharp eyes: "I know what you are thinking, but don't forget that Xiangzhou can be spared from war and Hebei can maintain peace.
Who gave it!"
Of course, the Han family present knew that, but they were not very grateful, so Han Jinsun continued: "Don't forget, among those criminals who were sent to Daming Mansion Yamen and tried according to law, there are still some who are in exile. Once their homes are raided,
If the entire clan is exterminated, none of us can escape!"
Everyone was silent, and someone said in a low voice: "But we have surrendered now. If the township army uses the public trials of landlords in Shandong to Hebei, then I, the Han family, will definitely bear the brunt!"
Han Jinsun softened his tone: "Lin Yiyong is a person who attaches great importance to order. Therefore, the township army always abides by justice and justice. It does no harm to the people and does not harshly criticize the powerful gentry. It is far from being comparable to the thieves and bandits.
.”
"Look at Yanyun's governance, and look at the current chaos in the south. This is why states, counties, and cities are willing to surrender. As long as we are not at fault, they will not blame us."
"Of course, my Han family has a big business and it is impossible for everyone to be clean. If we really want to search, there must be something illegal. That's why my father sent those who committed the most heinous crimes to the official. You know the rest well. How can I remedy the situation?
No more words!"
Han Jinsun finally sneered: "Now that the township army is going south, there must be magistrates and county magistrates who have sacrificed their lives for the Zhao and Song Dynasties. If there are such people in the clan, I respect them very much and am willing to help them fulfill their loyalty!"
The hall suddenly fell silent.
Just at this time, the servant rushed in and brought urgent news.
Han Jinsun unfolded it and started to shake his head: "The mantis' arm is like a chariot!"
The military information was circulated, and everyone sighed again and again: "The magistrate of Zhending Prefecture refuses to defend and resists the rural army?"
"How could it be Zhending Mansion... Is it because the Western Army still left a battalion inside?"
"Then what's the use? In the past, the Western Army might have been able to resist the Rural Army, but now... ugh!"
If there were still people who couldn't recognize the reality before, now they finally had a place to resist the rural army, but everyone, including Han Misun, collapsed on their chairs in despair.
Compared with the Daming Mansion on the East Road, this West Road government office was breached when the Liao people invaded. It was also destroyed by Tian Hu's army before. The bandits looted the city and was ravaged. The Western Army entered the city.
In the end, just having troops to guard it could not change anything, let alone bring a good life to the people.
So now Zhizhou is trying to resist with all his strength, and the Western Army is also helping to defend the city, but it is hard to say whether it can hold out for two or three days, let alone ten and a half days...
The key is to be isolated and helpless. What's the use of just resisting when all the places have surrendered? Is it possible to wait for Jinling in the south of the Yangtze River to send troops to support?
Anyone with a discerning eye would know at a glance that the officials of the Zhending Prefecture and the remaining Western troops had declared war on the Xiang troops with the determination to die for their country.
"But this is exactly the case. Once the township army takes Zhending Prefecture, there will be even less decent resistance in the following states and counties in Hebei."
Han Jinsun came to the window, looked up at the clear sky, and murmured to himself with a sense of loneliness and inexplicable expectation: "When will the sky in Hebei change, and the sky in the entire Song Dynasty change?"
…
In front of Daming Mansion.
The officials of the Daming Mansion headed by Cai Jing, the powerful gentry headed by Han Jiayan, and the wealthy merchants headed by Lu Yuanwai were waiting silently.
No one was impatient, and even more and more people gathered together, eventually forming a black sea, respectfully looking at the smoke-filled rural soldiers, which continued to enlarge in their sight.
The day has finally come!
Since Cai Jing was guarded, the Liao army retreated, and Tian Hu was wiped out, the capital of the Song Dynasty was Beijing, and the city gates were opened to welcome the new master!