Chapter 659 The tide flies, the fireworks dissipate
In April, countless people died of starvation in Bianliang City, and the stench of corpses filled the city.
Tang Ke passed through Bianliang City in a sedan chair and returned home from the imperial city.
The sedan swayed slightly, and from outside the swaying curtain, a slight stench and crying sounds came in. On the roadside outside, there were dead bodies, and Bianliang people who were as skinny as corpses with only their last breath left.
There are not many pedestrians on the streets anymore.
The old man in the sedan was neatly dressed and his face was dull, but a little indifferent. He looked at the curtain in front of him, but there was no movement.
As one of the top officials maintaining the Wu Dynasty court today, he not only has domestic slaves who carry the sedan chair, but also guards accompanying him to protect him. This is to prevent him from being attacked by evildoers on his way up and down the court.
Assassination. However, in recent days, the number of criminals who want to assassinate him has gradually decreased. There have even begun to be exchanged for food in the capital. Those who are hungry to this extent and want to assassinate for the sake of morality, after all,
He was also starved to death.
This is a city that has been squeezed dry. A year ago, there were still millions of people living in this place. It is hard to imagine that it would be as desolate as it is today. But it is precisely because of the gathering of millions of people that it has become so desolate now.
Being reduced to the situation of being wantonly manipulated by foreign enemies, the scene that unfolds becomes increasingly bleak.
Half a year ago, the Jurchen troops came to the city. Faced with danger, the court recruited Tang Ke, Wu Min and other peace factions in the hope that they could minimize the losses after compromising. On the other hand, they also hoped that the generals could resist the Jurchens. Tang Ke
During this period, he was the biggest pessimist. This time, before the Jurchens besieged the city, he went to remonstrate with him, hoping that the emperor would seek refuge in the south. However, this time, his opinion was still rejected. Emperor Jingping decided that the emperor should die in Sheji. Soon after, he was re-appointed.
Tianshi Guo Jing.
The purpose of appointing Tang Ke and others in the court is that they can negotiate before the fight, and preferably after the fight. But the facts of the past few months have proved that compromise by those without power does not make any sense. Liujia Shenbing
After the farce of Bianliang City, no matter how rude the request was, it no longer had the qualification to say no.
For several months, the man who was once regarded as the emperor was now being treated like a pig and dog for fun in the Jurchen camp outside the city. His wife and daughter, who were once the supreme emperor, were wantonly humiliated and killed in the camp.
At the same time, the Jurchen army continued to make various demands to the Wu Dynasty court. The only choice Tang Ke and others had was to agree to such demands one after another. Either give away their wives and daughters, or give away
With his own gold and silver, he helped the other party drain the entire city step by step.
Not long ago, the Jurchens who had begun to prepare to leave made another request. They were not prepared to bring back Emperor Jingping of the Wu Dynasty, but someone needed to take care of the foundation of the Wu Dynasty. So they ordered Zhang Bangchang, the Grand Prime Minister, to succeed the emperor.
, changed to Dachu in Yuan Dynasty, and guarded Tiannan for the Jurchens. He will always be a vassal.
At this time, almost all the Zhou royal family in Bianliang City had been kidnapped or killed by the Jurchens. Zhang Bangchang, Tang Ke and others tried to refuse the matter, but the Jurchens also issued a warning. If Zhang Bangchang did not
After he ascended the throne, he killed all the ministers in the court and sent troops to massacre Bianliang City.
This day is already the last day of the deadline.
In the court hall, Song Qiyu took the lead and elected Zhang Bangchang as emperor. Half an hour ago, Tang Ke, Wu Min, Geng Nanzhong and others signed their names on the edict.
Zhang Bangchang ascended the throne with an expression as if he had taken arsenic.
When the sedan chair left the court, Tang Ke sat inside and thought of many things over the years. The once high-spirited Wu Dynasty thought they had seized the opportunity and wanted to make the Northern Expedition. The way Qin Siyuan and other main war factions used to be, the Black Water
Alliance. Even though Qin Siyuan went down, he still looked full of confidence in the Northern Expedition.
After that, Bianliang enjoyed peace and prosperity through singing and dancing, and a prosperous world.
Merchants traveling by land and water from south to north gather here, confident men of letters gather here. Warriors seeking fame in the world gather here. The officials of the court can decide the affairs of the world with one word. A word in the palace,
Every step involved the rise and fall of thousands of families. Senior officials kept arguing and infighting in the court, thinking that success or failure stemmed from this. He also argued with countless people, including Qin Siyuan, who had always been on good terms with him.
.
He is an out-and-out pessimist, but he is just cautious. Many times, he even thought that if people like Qin Siyuan were really given some opportunities, maybe the Wu Dynasty could also seize an opportunity. However,
In the end, he hated himself for seeing the obstacles on the road so clearly.
His pessimism has never played any role. People don't like pessimism. In most political ecology, radicals are always more popular. People can easily fight, but few people are sober.
Self-strengthening of the earth. People use the main battle to replace self-strengthening itself. They blindly believe that as long as they are willing to fight and as long as they are fanatical, it is not cowardly. However, few people are willing to believe that this world is not humane. The world only talks about reason, and strength and strength
Weakness, victory and defeat are the principles.
So he actually understood in his heart that he might not be able to stand on the high ground of the court in his life. If he stood up, he wouldn't be able to do anything. But in the end, he still tried his best.
He at least helped the Jurchens to destroy Bianliang City. Just like facing a too powerful opponent, he chopped off his own hands, chopped off his own feet, and bit off his own tongue, hoping that the opponent could at least give him strength.
He even gave away his granddaughter. If he couldn't fight, he could only surrender. Surrender was not enough. He could give his wealth. Giving away only his wealth was not enough. He could also give his dignity and dignity.
He hoped that he could at least save Guo Zuo of the Wu Dynasty. If he could not save Guo Zuo, he also hoped that he could at least save the lives of these people who had nothing left in the city...
He also knows clearly how future generations will evaluate him.
Over the past few days, he has been thinking about many things, some that can be said and some that cannot be said. He occasionally thinks of that scene, a few months ago, on the last day of the Jinghan Dynasty, the situation in the Jinluan Palace. Qin Siyuan was dead.
, just like the ending of every political dispute before, people went to court as usual, thankful that they were saved, and then the emperor was thrown into blood. The young man sat down on the golden steps with a knife, and slapped the emperor on the head with the back of the knife.
In this life of the old man, he has met many great figures, including Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Qin Siyuan, and even every powerful court official going back to the past. They may be domineering and high-spirited, or they may be steady and profound, with inner meanings as deep as the sea, but he has never
He has never seen such a scene. He has also met with the emperor countless times, but never once did he find that the emperor looked like an ordinary person like this.
The rebellious team that once fell into the eyes of everyone, in such a vast tide of the times, temporarily calmed down and shrank. In this time when everyone had too much time to take care of themselves, very few people could take care of it.
As for their movements, some people even reported that they had been swept away by the Xixia army in the cold winter, and no trace of them remained.
In the south, the same fierce turmoil is brewing. The middle class of society who can receive the message are patriotic and excited. But for the army, the previous confrontation with the Jurchens proved the fact that the army cannot fight.
The last few troops stayed to consolidate the defense line south of the Yangtze River and suppress the spread of news. Therefore, many people spent the winter and the spring of recovery in the still prosperous atmosphere, although they were worried about the safety of Bianliang City.
But the real atmosphere was no different from when the Jurchens attacked Yanmen Pass and Taiyuan.
Jiangning, Prince Kang's Mansion.
The young prince hummed a little tune and trotted through the corridors of the mansion. When he rushed back to his room, the sun was shining brightly. In the young prince's study, half the room was filled with all kinds of weird drawings and books. He went to
At the table, he took out a book from his sleeve and read it excitedly. He also found a few drawings from the table and compared them with each other. From time to time, he clenched his fist and knocked on the tabletop of the desk.
I don't know when a figure appeared at the door. The young prince looked up and saw that it was his sister Zhou Pei. He was in a good mood and smiled over there: "Sister, how are you? The old lady of the Wang family and those sisters,
Have you gone to see him? He really comes from a scholarly family. Mr. Wang Qisong was a loyal and loyal man, and his family members are all respectable and admirable."
Zhou Pei's eyes were a little cold. He narrowed his eyes slightly and walked in: "I went to see them. Although the Wang family is a loyal family and the Wang family's widow is also admirable, they were involved in that matter after all.
, you worked secretly and brought them here, do you want to put yourself on the fire? Do you know how unwise this move is!"
"They are treasures." Zhou Junwu was in a very good mood, and said something mysteriously in a low voice. Then he looked outside the door, and Zhou Pei tilted his head and asked the accompanying maids to go down. When only the siblings were left,
, Jun Wucai jumped up holding the book on the table, "Sister, I found the key point, I found it, do you know what it is?"
Zhou Pei frowned. She was already dissatisfied with the ingenious and obscene techniques Zhou Junwu had studied, and now she became even more disgusted. But Junwu said excitedly: "Old... that man is really a genius. I originally thought the key was there.
On the cloth, I searched for a long time and couldn't find the right one, and every time the big Kongming lantern burned out. Later, I carefully checked what he did in Bianliang during the last period, and found out that the key is paper pulp... Haha, sister
, you would have never guessed that the key lies in the paper pulp. If you want to avoid being burned, you have to apply paper pulp!"
"During those days in Bianliang City, the Wang family had always been helping to make the paper workshop, while the Su family was making cloth. Only when both of them were taken into consideration could we realize that the big flying sky lanterns had to be painted with paper pulp.
, so that they can expand and not be breathable! Therefore, the Wang family is a treasure, and it is right for me to save them."
When Ning Yi was in Bianliang, he made good friends with everyone in Wang Shanyue's family. When he rebelled and left the city, the Wang family was absolutely unwilling to follow him. So Zhu Biao went and kidnapped the betrothed Wang family girl, and even almost killed the Wang family's old lady.
After a good fight, the two sides fell out. But how could the suspicion of regicide be cleared so easily? Even if Wang Qisong still had some desirable connections and stayed in the capital, the situation of the Wang family was by no means easy, and they almost had to commit suicide.
The family was imprisoned. When the Jurchens went south, the young prince Jun Wucai contacted some forces in the capital to take over as many of these poor women as possible.
If not, the entire Wang family would probably have been sent to the Jurchen army during the catastrophe in Bianliang and died of humiliation.
The person who contributed to this matter in the capital was Monk Jueming, who was ordered by Zhou Zhe to think about it in the temple after Qin Siyuan was imprisoned. This guest minister of the Qin Mansion was originally a member of the royal family. After Zhou Zhe's death, the situation in Beijing changed dramatically, and many people expressed doubts about it.
The guests of the Qin Mansion were quite wary, but they did not want to offend Jueming. Only then could he exude some strength from the temple and help the poor Wang family widow. When the Jurchens besieged the city, the outside of the city had already been cleared, and the temple
It was also destroyed. Monk Jueming Xu followed the refugees south, and at this time he was only hiding behind the scenes, doing some of his things.
Zhou Pei was dubious about Jun Wu's words: "I know you admire him a little, I can't tell you, but the situation in the world is tense at this time, and many people are watching us in Prince Kang's Mansion. You'd better not mess around.
, brings big trouble to the family."
She pondered for a long time and then said: "Did you know that the Jurchens made Zhang Bangchang the throne in Bianliang and changed the Yuan Dynasty to Dachu, and they are about to withdraw their troops to the north. The adults in Jiangning City don't know what to do... The Jurchens are withdrawing northward.
At that time, all the Zhou royal family in Bianliang City had been kidnapped. Speaking of which, Zuo of the Wu Dynasty was dead... This will all be blamed on him..."
"Hmph." Jun Wu snorted coldly, but raised his eyebrows and put down the notebook in his hand, "Sister Wang, you are deceiving yourself by placing such a big issue like Wu Chao and Guo Zuo on him. You can't do it well.
People who can do things well are tossing things around, thinking that no matter what they do, others can only suffer. Anyway... hum, anyway, the Wu Dynasty Guo Zuo died, let me just say this, this Guo Zuo..."
"Shut up!" Zhou Pei's eyes were sharp, and he took two steps closer, "How could you say such treacherous words, you..." She gritted her teeth, calmed down, and said seriously, "
Do you know how rare it is to have harmony in the court with the scholar-bureaucrats in our court? After this incident, it will be difficult for the emperor and ministers to be of the same mind. At that time, they were afraid of each other. When the emperor went to court, hundreds of guards followed him, and they had to be at all times.
What's the point of being on guard against assassination... He is in the north now. He is also the leader of the rebels and the instigator. Do you think he has no descendants?"
When talking about that person's affairs, Zhou Pei's emotions were always intense, and the two of them had had many arguments during this period. From being too lazy to answer at the beginning to the tit-for-tat at the end, Jun Wu's patience was exhausted. He
At this time, he curled his lips and said: "What's the harm if hundreds of guards follow? Xunzi said, water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. You are responsible for the wealth and lives of tens of millions of people, and you just want to be carried? How can there be more?
The more you are afraid of the risk of capsizing, the more things will be done. The more you worry about the king, the more benefits you will get from millions of people. The more benefits you will get from millions of people. Isn’t it worth it?
The trouble of hundreds of guards following you? For the sake of decency? The benefits of tens of millions of people are not worth a decency?"
He was quite proud because he thought of a rebuttal: "I am now in charge of hundreds of people, and I can't sleep at night. I wonder all day long whether I have neglected any of the masters, and which one is more capable. There are hundreds of people.
Even so, when you have tens of thousands of people under your command, you don’t even want to worry about it? If you screw up, you will be scolded. If you can’t defeat others, you will be beaten. Bianliang’s current situation is very clear. What’s the use of being polite?
, I have never revitalized the Wu Dynasty. If you have any reasons, you can tell the Jurchens!"
Zhou Pei stared at him, and the room fell silent for a moment. This conversation was treasonous, but firstly, the sky was high and the emperor was far away, secondly, the royal family in Bianliang was wiped out, and thirdly, the young man was so high-spirited that he could talk like this in private. , but after all, we could not continue. Junwu was silent for a moment and raised his chin: "A few months ago, Li Qianshun from the northwest defeated several cities in Qingjian and Yanzhou. Wu Ruiying also sent out I have had several head-to-head encounters with the Xixia people and saved many refugees. This is what a real man would do!"
Zhou Pei frowned even more now and looked at him sideways: "Why do you know that?"
Jun Wu raised his head and said: "I have hundreds of people under my command. If you really want to inquire about something, what would be strange if you find out."
Zhou Pei sighed, and the expressions of both of them calmed down again. After a while, Zhou Pei took out some information from his clothes: "I originally just wanted to tell you the news about Bianliang. In this case, you Take a look too."
She turned and walked toward the door. When she reached the door, she stopped again, tilted her head and said, "Did you know that he had a few fights with the Xixia people in the northwest? Maybe the Xixia people couldn't do anything to him for a while. But the Yellow River The world in the north is in chaos. Now it is the flood season. The refugees in the north are scattered. Soon, people there will starve to death. He killed the king and father, and we are no longer sworn in. I... I just think sometimes, he If I had not been so impulsive at that time and returned to Jiangning, how wonderful it would be now..."
After Zhou Pei came back from Bianliang, she was exposed to various complicated things under the guidance of Princess Chengguo. Her relationship with Jun Ma was not smooth, and she devoted herself to these things, and sometimes she became a little bit Junwu doesn't like such a sister who is cold and cold, and sometimes they are tit for tat, but overall, the relationship between the two siblings is still very good. Every time he sees his sister leaving like this, he actually feels a little lonely.
He has been smart since he was a child, but at this time he did not think deeply about his sister's words. He read the information about the tragedy in Bianliang City in his hand. As a young man, it is difficult for him to have complicated sighs. Even as a person who knows the inside story, he still He felt that the tragedy in Bianliang was somewhat of his own fault. This realization made his eyes even more determined. Soon after, he put the message aside and concentrated on studying the technology of making the hot air balloon take off.
The sparks of the old era have dissipated. In the mountains of the northwest, the rebel army is also struggling hard in a muddy situation. (To be continued.)
ps: Tell me something that everyone is interested in.
My wife and I got the certificate on the 16th. She was still working that night and I was still coding. I left on the 18th and coded the last chapter on the train. She is 1.68 meters tall. She is usually under a lot of mental stress and is so thin. She weighs just over 80 pounds. I made an appointment with her for half a year. On the 16th, after receiving her certificate and sending wedding candies to the office, she was granted five days of annual leave, plus nine days before and after the weekend. She even ran out for the first two days. I went out to discuss business. So in the next few days, I focused on vacation and letting her relax. I just came back yesterday and will update again in the next few days.
Well, she is not my reader and does not read my books, but she is also anxious if I don’t update and keeps urging for updates all day long. Well, you can rest assured.
I just got married, and I am feeling more responsibilities and pressure. When I have more ideas, I will share them with you. After all, I only entered this state when I was thirty years old, so it should not be considered abusing a dog. Already.