After a long time, Minglan still felt a little fuzzy when she thought about those few days.
It was the fifth day after the third prince adopted his heir. Ru Lan got a new pot of Yunyang asparagus, which was lush and green. She invited Mo Lan and Ming Lan to come and enjoy it. Mo Lan was too lazy to listen to Ru Lan showing off, and made half-yin and half-yang jokes. Let’s talk about the He family.
"Mrs. He and the old lady have been friends for many years. It's rare for someone to post next time, but my wife, sister-in-law, and sisters can't go, so naturally it's just the old lady and me." Minglan covered everything up.
Ru Lan covered her mouth and snickered slyly, and deliberately said in a long tone: "Oh~~, the fourth sister couldn't go there at that time."
Mo Lan glared at her fiercely.
According to the old lady's wish, the two families were very satisfied after seeing a pair of young children, so the matter was more than half settled. However, Minglan's two elder sisters had not yet discussed marriage, so it was not easy for her to decide first. The words would be unpleasant and would damage the girl's reputation, so only Sheng Hong and Wang knew about it, and the rest of them kept it a secret.
Sheng Hong conscientiously investigated the details of Fanhe's family as usual, evaluated it back and forth, nodded repeatedly and said: "Although the family is a little thin, it is a well-to-do family. My brother is also sensible and capable. I am very lucky to have an old lady to take care of me tomorrow." of."
Wang's flat lips said: "That brother's father died early, and his grandfather retired early. I only have an uncle who acts as a colleague outside, but it's enough to serve as a Ming girl."
In fact, she is suffering from pancreatic acidosis. He Hongwen seems to be in average condition, but the proportions in all aspects are very appropriate. He has a wealthy family and an official background. He basically does not need to serve his parents-in-law. If he gets married, he can run his own family. Although he doesn't look good, it is very affordable. .
Wang didn't know that in Minglan's world, this kind of object was called an affordable man and was very popular. After the couple finished talking, Sheng Hong went to the Ministry of Industry, and Chang Bai had already left for the Hanlin Academy.
That day was extremely gloomy. The sun was already covered in gray in the early morning, and it was still overcast at noon. It was obviously early winter, but the autumn tiger was back with a vengeance, making me sweat so hard that I could hardly breathe.
At the beginning of the afternoon, dusk drums suddenly sounded in the city. The heavy thumping sound made people's hearts drop. Immediately, the whole city was under martial law. Every house was closed and there were no pedestrians on the road. There were soldiers patrolling everywhere. , stabbed anyone suspicious to death with a knife. Within a few hours, many innocent people died on the road.
The big families kept their doors closed until night, and Sheng Hong and Chang Bai didn't go home either. The Wang family immediately panicked, while Hai family was still calm and just stared in disbelief with her belly bulging out. The whole family was in panic all day, for three days and two nights. Neither the father nor the son came back, neither the living nor the dead bodies were seen. All the female relatives gathered in the Jian'an Hall. No one knew what happened. The old lady, with a livid face, scolded them not to panic, and ordered the servants to secretly go out to inquire.
Unexpectedly, it has become more and more strict outside. Even ordinary people buying vegetables and picking firewood are not allowed in or out. If they protest a few more times, they will be beheaded in the street. They can’t find out anything. They only know that the Imperial Guards control the capital, and some are from the five cities. The old lady was transferred from the Military and Horse Department, and the old lady secretly sent someone to ask Kang Yun'er, only to find out that Chang Wu had not returned home for a few days. Yun'er refused to hide at her parents' house, and only stayed at her own house crying all day long.
The women were all sitting together, at a loss and in panic. In the silence of the room, they could only hear Mo Lan's soft cry. Ru Lan was lying in Wang's arms, and Hai's eyes were open and she was looking at nowhere. Feng was impatient and walked back and forth at the door. Changdong opened his eyes wide and held Minglan's sleeves tightly, not daring to speak. Minglan only felt a chill in her body, with a chill seeping from her bones. Such a sultry heat Despite the weather, she was so cold that she wanted to shiver.
For the first time, she realized the importance of her father and brother to this family. What if Sheng Hong or Chang Bai died? Minglan couldn't imagine it.
Sheng Hong may not be a good son or a good husband, but he is qualified for the role of father. Whenever he has free time, he never forgets to check his children's homework, guides his son in reading and taking exams, teaches his daughter to be polite and sensible, and does not blindly curse others. For the sake of his children For his future, he carefully searched for others and asked around for famous teachers. It was Changdong and Sheng Hong who looked for Tuomen and found a good school in the capital.
Minglan couldn't help crying, she didn't want to lose her father.
On the fourth day, he still didn't come back. I only vaguely heard that the third prince had conspired to rebel, and had been defeated and sentenced to death. Now the fourth prince was ordered to search for the rebels everywhere, and several lecturers from the third prince's palace had been executed. , eight people including Zhan Shi, the young master of Zhan Shi Mansion, were executed. Master Shen Zhen, the grand scholar of Wenhua Palace, Master Yu Yan, the second assistant in the cabinet, and the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs were accused of conspiracy. Bai Ling was sentenced to death, and many other officials who were implicated were sentenced to death. After being captured and imprisoned, he did not know whether he would live or die.
This news simply added insult to injury. The entire capital was in a state of panic, and the female family members of the Sheng Mansion were even more panicked.
"Where is the imperial prison?" Ru Lan asked in panic, "Did dad and eldest brother go there?"
Mo Lan cried with tears: "That is the prison ordered by the emperor himself. It is said that those who go in will lose their skin even if they die! Could it be that... dad and brother also..." Ming Lan looked coldly and shouted loudly: "Four Sister, don’t talk nonsense, father and brother are cautious, never form cliques, and have no dealings with the three princes’ palaces, how could they be involved?!"
"That's not necessarily the case!" Aunt Lin, who had been standing at the back, couldn't help but said, "My wife often interacts with Princess Pingning. The princess is the in-laws of the Sixth Prince, and the Sixth Prince and the Third Prince are in the same boat..."
"Shut up!" Before Aunt Lin could finish her words, the old lady suddenly became angry and threw a bowl of boiling tea and water on the ground. The hot water splashed everywhere. The old lady stood up straight and stood in front of everyone. Minglan had never felt that she was so majestic.
"Now that everything is unclear, no more depressing words are allowed! Anyone who dares to say a word again will be slapped immediately!" The old lady glanced at her head murderously, Mrs. Wang sobbed softly with tears in her eyes, and Aunt Lin lowered her head in silence.
The old lady had a decisive look on her face and said word by word: "The families of those generals, whose fathers and brothers have gone off to war, are living a normal life, how can they be as hopeless as you?" The women's cries subsided slightly, and the old lady said firmly: " Life and death are determined by fate, wealth and honor. The Sheng family has the blessing of their ancestors and the protection of the gods. They will be able to come back well!"
Maybe it was because the old lady stopped shouting, or maybe she was too nervous, but everyone calmed down. Mrs. Wang wiped away her tears and went about her housework as usual. She scolded the frightened servants with her eyes wide open and looked around the house.
That night, an unknown army entered the capital at night and had a fierce street battle with the city's defenders. Fortunately, the Sheng Mansion was not in a prime location. All that was known was that in the area around the Imperial Palace, the sound of killings was loud, the flames filled the eyes, and the streets were filled with blood. Common people were killed by random knives.
The female relatives had no choice but to huddle in their homes, panicking all day long. They fought like this for a day and two nights. On the morning of the sixth day, the killing suddenly stopped. It rained lightly. The sweltering heat of several days was finally dispelled. A cool breeze blew into the house, screaming. People let out a sigh of relief, and then, in a drizzle of drizzle, Sheng Hong and Chang Bai finally returned home.
Both father and son were in a state of disarray. One had a full beard and sunken eyes, as if he had spent a golden week in a detention center. The other had sunken cheeks and white lips, as if he had watched a thriller for a week.
Mrs. Wang went up laughing and crying, Aunt Lin also wanted to pounce on her, but she was cleverly stopped by Liu Kun's family. Haishi ignored the etiquette and held on to Chang Bai's arm and refused to let go. The three Lans happily held on to their father's arm. The sleeves were full of tears, and in the confusion of questions and answers, no one heard clearly. It was the old lady who said something, asking the father and son to clean up first.
After a life and death, it felt like a lifetime ago. After washing up, Sheng Hong held the old lady's knees and couldn't help but shed tears. Changbai took the crying Wang and Hei and gently comforted them. It took a long time to calm down; the old lady retreated and dried up. The maid asked Sheng Hong and his son to explain clearly the cause and effect.
Six days ago, the old emperor still claimed to be ill and refused to go to court. The chiefs of various ministries reported this to the cabinet. Originally, everything was fine. However, the situation suddenly changed. First, Xu Xin, the commander of the Imperial Guard, was ambushed and died outside Xihua Gate, and then the deputy commander The envoy Rongxian took charge of the Gyeonggi Guards and declared martial law in the imperial city. The four princes were ordered to enter the palace to escort him.
As soon as Sheng Hong heard the news, he knew that the fourth prince had launched a mutiny.
Wu Yong, the deputy commander of the 50% Army and Horse Division, placed Commander Dou under house arrest, led the troops to control the six cabinet departments, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and other important departments, and detained all the officials. Then the imperial guards surrounded the palace and the three princes' mansions. The prince held an imperial edict in his hand and gave the third prince a glass of poisonous wine to kill him. He then remonstrated with the emperor and forced him to appoint him as the crown prince.
Minglan's heart trembled, it looked like another Xuanwu Sect change!
However, the fourth prince was not Li Shimin, and the old emperor was not Li Yuan. He had left himself a backup after all. Sheng Hong and his son did not know how the old emperor acted. They only knew that a few days later, the three major battalions stationed in the suburbs of Beijing counterattacked, with 50% Several other deputy commanders under the Bingma Division looked for an opportunity to escape, rescued Commander Dou, and then waited for an opportunity to kill Wu Yong and regain control of the guards. Then they cooperated with the outside and sent the three major battalions into the city to counterattack the imperial city together.
The situation immediately reversed. The two factions fought hand to hand. The four princes were defeated and captured. The remaining accomplices were killed, captured or escaped. The seven-day "Shenchen Rebellion" was over.
Sheng Hong couldn't help but sigh: "Fortunately, our Lord Shangshu was smart. When he saw something was wrong, he quickly led us into the darkroom of the Ministry of Industry. We also stored water there. We can hide for a few days and we will be fine. Nothing will happen." There were casualties; but for my colleagues in other departments... some of them were upright and unyielding and were killed by the traitors while in detention. Others were killed or injured in the chaos last night."
Changbai, who had always been silent, suddenly said: "The first assistant escaped and the second assistant was killed. The gang of traitors threatened the Tang Dynasty scholar to write an edict. The scholar refused to obey and denounced them as rebellious officials and traitors. After that, Then he hit his head on the golden steps and died, and the blood splashed on all of us; then they forced Master Lin, the scholar at the academy, but he refused to obey and died with a smile; then Master Kong, the scholar at the academy, spit on the thief. In front of the soldiers, just pull the neck and kill him." As he said this, Changbai's eyes were red, and Haishi stood aside and wiped her tears silently. Those few were her grandfather's disciples, and they usually looked after Changbai very much.
"... If Mr. Dou arrives half a day later, I'm afraid it will be my turn as a seventh-grade editor." Changbai looked pale and smiled bitterly, "At that time, my grandson had even written a suicide note and hid it in his sleeve. inside."
Mrs. Wang knew that her son was alive at this moment, but she still looked frightened. She clutched Chang Bai's sleeve tightly. Chang Feng on the side looked pale and moved her lips a few times, as if imagining how to deal with it. Then she lowered her head and sat down. Aunt Lin's eyes at the back flickered a few times, seemingly unwilling to give in.
The room was quiet for a long time, and a little bit could be heard. Sheng Hong sighed again: "How can the flesh and blood of the Tian family be like this!"
No one answered. After a while, Changbai calmed down his emotions and said quietly: "It would be better if the Holy Emperor appointed the crown prince earlier."
The root cause of everything was that the throne had been empty for a long time. The old emperor's hesitation caused the two kings to confront each other for a long time. Both sides gathered a large number of forces. The civil servants criticized each other and the generals formed their own factions. The moment the old emperor agreed to the third prince's adoption of an heir, the fuse was lit.
At that time, even though the fourth prince was willing to give up, those around him were also unwilling to give up for the sake of their wealth and future.
"Fortunately, Aunt Yuan and Brother Wu are both well, and our family has been blessed by our ancestors!" The old lady sighed.
Yuan Wenshao was a confidant of Dou Laoxi. He was put under house arrest together and rescued together. Then he counterattacked the imperial city together. The merits and demerits were equal to each other and nothing happened. The Zhongwei Wei where Chang Wu was located was transferred away from the capital by Jiao Chao early in the morning, so he did not He got involved in the melee and made some modest contributions during the counterattack, so he might be promoted to some official position.
There was a brutal fight, a violent upheaval in the court, how many heads fell to the ground, how many homes were destroyed, and everyone was exhausted mentally and physically. The speaker was tired, and the listeners were tired. The old lady told everyone to go back and rest, and everyone filed away. Sheng Hong went out first, he wanted to I went back to the study to write two notes, followed by Chang Feng and Chang Dong, followed by the girls.
When it was finally Changbai's turn to leave, he stood up, hesitated for a moment, then turned around and said to the old lady and Wang next to him: "One more thing...the sixth princess and the head of Jiacheng County have passed away."
At this time, the three orchids had already walked out of the door, but in the dead of night, they all heard this sentence. After looking at each other, they all stopped and quietly came to the door to listen.
The old lady and Haishi in the room were both shocked, and Mrs. Wang quickly asked: "How did you die?"
Changbai's tone was very difficult: "Marquis Fuchang colluded with the fourth prince, and Concubine Rong acted as an internal agent. Before the attack, they summoned some female relatives of the prince's family into the palace as hostages. After the mutiny, Rongxian broke into the palace and acted in front of everyone. They scooped up the Sixth Princess and the Lord of Jiacheng County away. It was not until Commander Dou called in yesterday that the bodies of the Sixth Princess and her daughter were found in the first palace room. They were..."
Chang Bai paused, as if it was difficult to express his words, but considering that there were so many soldiers who saw the body at that time, the matter could not be kept secret, so he simply said: "It was death."
The air seemed to have suddenly stopped, and a sudden chill hit the hearts of the girls. Ru Lan and Mo Lan turned pale with fright, and covered their mouths in disbelief. Ming Lan couldn't see what was going on in the room, so everyone must have been frightened.
After a while, the old lady's dry voice was heard: "Is it... for the daughter of the Rong family?"
"Exactly." Chang Bai's soft voice said, "Rong Xian kept saying that he wanted to avenge his sister. A few months ago, they found out that the group of strongmen who kidnapped the young lady of the Rong family were actually the guards and servants of the Sixth Princess pretending to be , the original intention was to ruin Miss Rong’s reputation so that she could not gain a foothold in the capital, but something went wrong. Unexpectedly, the county master was so young and vicious, and Miss Rong was also a fiery person, so he ..." Chang Bai spoke vaguely, but everyone who listened understood it.
"They can submit a petition to the emperor!" Wang's anxious voice said.
"Even if we sue, what will happen?" Changbai said calmly.
——Yeah, so what if you sue? Would the old emperor kill his daughter-in-law or granddaughter to pay for Rong Feiyan's life? The little concubine Rong has no heirs, and the old emperor is not dead yet, so the Six Princes dare to be so arrogant.
If the old emperor collapses, the Rong family will become meat on the chopping block. It is better to seek refuge with the fourth prince in trouble and kill two birds with one stone. Rong Feiyan's death will be the fuel of hatred.
No one spoke in the room. Minglan held a sister with one hand, turned around and walked away. Halfway through, Mo Lan covered her mouth and started crying softly. After all, she was a girl who had had tea with her and talked to her for a few months.
The two young lives that were so bright and bright before are now dead.
Rulan couldn't help crying softly: "Is this over with?"
Minglan thought: I'm afraid it won't be over, there will be a liquidation and a new crown prince.
The author has something to say:
Classmate Xiao’s statement is well-founded. Yongzheng’s treasury is incomparable with the private money of the Ming Dynasty emperor.
Generally speaking, the Ming Dynasty was actually richer than the Qing Dynasty. When Chongzhen asked the powerful and wealthy families for money in order to raise military expenses, those families cried for money and refused to give out life and death. Later, Li Zicheng conquered the capital and found that the treasury was empty.
, but the royal family’s private treasury is very full (Lao Zhu’s family’s public and private accounts are very clear).
Later, Chuang Wang's subordinates, such as Niu Jinxing and Liu Zongmin, saw a prosperous capital city and did not think about how to consolidate the power and resist the Manchus. Instead, they focused on grabbing money, women, extortion and robbery of wealthy households. When Li Zicheng defeated Shanhaiguan,
When he was there, he did take away countless gold and silver treasures. The treasures in Mr. Jin's "Flying Fox in the Snow Mountain" have a theoretical basis.
Laugh~~~, okay, let’s get down to business.
In essence, the Ming and Qing Dynasties are different. Different political systems, different systems, and different mentality of the rulers make the Ming and Qing Dynasties look very similar from the outside. In fact, from top to bottom, from temples to countryside,
They are all completely different.
For specific and academic questions, you should go to Baidu. There are many rigorous discussions that can explain the problem. I will try my best to explain a few obvious points here. There may be some omissions. You are welcome to discuss them, but please do not delve into them.
Let's go from top to bottom.
First of all, the rulers of the Qing Dynasty were ethnic minorities (no derogatory meaning). The Qing Dynasty lasted for more than two hundred years. From the beginning to the end, the Manchu nobles were very guarded against the Han people's counterattack. Dorgon strictly ordered "Keep your hair but not your head"
, Shunzhi became the love saint and did not show up. Aobai worked hard to abide by the "enclosure" law and the "fugitive slave" law; he severely exploited the Han people, eliminated their will to resist spiritually and physically, and carried out enslavement rule.
.
[At that time, harboring a runaway slave was also a serious crime, so some bastards first asked their slaves to escape, and then the slaves knocked on the door of a wealthy family, begging for a drink of water or to save themselves; many people moved when they saw that the slave was bruised and weak.
Feeling compassion, he invited people in, and then the Manchus came to kill them, saying that this family was harboring their own slaves, and then they could confiscate the family's property and make the family their own slaves! It's very unethical, it's true.
.]
By the early years of Kangxi, the conflict between Manchu and Han was becoming increasingly fierce. The huge inland area was full of rebels, and the San Francisco dynasty was causing chaos. After Kangxi took office, he initiated the "Manchu-Han family", which somewhat alleviated this conflict, and his own understanding of Han culture
The admiration and in-depth study of Confucianism and Sinology both academically and administratively caused a large number of Han scholars to finally soften their attitudes. This also helped him pacify the Three Feuds, stabilize his country, and win the foundation of public opinion.
However, please note that this kind of Manchu-Han family is very limited. In the six books, the Manchus are always higher than the Han lords and the ministers of the same level. The Han ministers must bow when they see the Manchu ministers. In the intermarriage between the upper-class Manchus, Han women
It is even lower than anyone else. Only Han people who have joined the Han army banner, or Han people who were born as slaves, have some status.
In this mentality, no matter how wise the emperors of the Qing Dynasty were (Teacher Yuan said), their rule first required ensuring the stability of their own country, rather than the prosperity of the country and the people. They implemented a policy of "weakening the people", and the people just had to work harder if they were hungry.
Already.
Military:
The Shenji Camp of the Ming Dynasty had raised the use of firearms to a world-class level, but by the Qing Dynasty it had retreated. The court strictly ordered civilians not to hide firearms, and they never placed firearms in the army. Without it, firearms were just the possession of nomadic peoples.
Natural enemies, and easier to master than strong bows and arrows; so Brother Senggelinqin had no choice but to order the Mongolian cavalry to fight against the powerful foreign cannons.
In government affairs:
Regardless of whether you are a second-ranked Jinshi or not, unless you are directly favored by the emperor (Zhang Tingyu family, Liu Yong family, Tian Wenjing, Chen Tingjing, etc.), you have to be attached to a certain Manchu dignitary. Why is the fight for the legitimate son in Kowloon so brutal? Because behind each elder brother there are countless
civil servants and local vassals, so that it was very difficult for Yongzheng to eliminate them later (it is said that the old Cao family was such cannon fodder).
Mr. Lu Xun said: It was an era when people wanted to be slaves but could not.
The root cause is a legacy of the Qing Dynasty, because at that time, if you were a 'minion', you were a member of the emperor's family. If you were not, you could only call yourself a 'minion', which would make you a little less than a slave.
Culturally:
Some Qing Dynasty fans have found out that there were literary prisons in the Ming Dynasty. Yes, but their scale and number were not even a drizzle compared to the literary prisons in the Qing Dynasty. There were literary prisons in all dynasties, but the Qing Dynasty had the most. According to records, only Zhuang Tinglong's "History of the Ming Dynasty"
"In one case, "no less than a thousand people were executed. From Kangxi to Qianlong, there were more than 10 larger literary prisons, and the number of people killed can be imagined.
Clan executions were carried out at every turn, and they were the most brutal and bloody in history.
When Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty compiled "Yongle Dadian", he included all documents from various schools and schools, no matter how complicated, and did not judge them based on subjective assumptions. However, when Qianlong compiled "Sikuquanshu", he only deleted them according to his own wishes.
Reduce the literature, and then designate all miscellaneous books except "Sikuquanshu" as 'destructible'!
It’s really vomiting blood!
Teacher Yuan said (in class): The emperors of the Qing Dynasty competed with each other as wise, and the emperors of the Ming Dynasty competed with each other as bastards.
I really want to agree, but I'm afraid of being photographed; but why is it that the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644, if you include the Southern Ming Dynasty) with all the bastard emperors was not as good as the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911, later) with all the wise emperors?
The great powers have been visiting us for decades) How many years will it take?
Many people may think that these statements are too subjective, so you can read the documents left by Matteo Ricci. When he came, it was the Wanli period, which was already a bad era in the Ming Dynasty. Forty years later, Li Zicheng broke through
But look at Matteo Ricci’s description of what kind of life the people lived in the Ming Dynasty at that time, how prosperous and prosperous the big cities such as Hangzhou, Yangzhou and Beijing were. Not to mention the people’s material life, their mental state was
Healthy and normal, not sick or servile.
Look again at Macartney's description during the Qianlong Dynasty. He even directly predicted that "the Chinese Empire is just a dilapidated old ship. It was only fortunately that a few cautious captains made it last for nearly 150 years."
It sank. Its huge body frightened the neighboring countries. If an incompetent person were to take the helm, the discipline and safety on the ship would be ruined.
If you compare it yourself, you can see some clues.
The Ming Dynasty is a long time away from us, but basically all the literature of the Ming Dynasty has survived, such as "Water Margin", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Journey to the West", "Jin Ping Mei", "San Yan Er Pai", etc.; while the Qing Dynasty is relatively close to us, and a
"A Dream of Red Mansions" is so incomplete, but "Liao Zhai" is still there.
Because the citizen class that emerged in the Ming Dynasty had spare money and pleasure, they bought two novels and read them at home, and the cultural industry (bookstores and bookstalls) became popular. However, in the Qing Dynasty, literary inquisition was prevalent, and even wealthy people did not dare to collect books at will.
Fortunately, he was implicated (hiding a drug is also a crime, but the person who collected the book may not have known that the book was banned, because most victims of the literary prison died because of the words in the chapters); until the late Qing Dynasty, the Manchu rulers suppressed Risong, "
"Lao Can's Travels" and "The Scholars" only came to prominence.
[Writing novels in the Qing Dynasty was also a high-risk industry. Even if you were beaten to death there and didn’t dare to write short stories, don’t read them either. You might be arrested and put in a black jail.]
Finally, if the current official historical records are correct, the Ming Dynasty should be richer than the Qing Dynasty because the overseas trade and handicraft industry of the Ming Dynasty were relatively developed.