Qingyang Palace, formerly known as Qingyang Si, was built in the Zhou Dynasty and has a long history. During the Huangchao Uprising, Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty took refuge in Shu and used it as a palace. In the third year of Zhonghe, the imperial edict changed the name to Qingyang Palace.
By the Ming Dynasty, the palaces built in the Tang Dynasty were unfortunately destroyed by natural disasters and soldiers. The damage was heavy and they were no longer as grand as they were in the Tang and Song Dynasties, but their scale was still one of the best in Shu.
Today, thousands of scholars from Shunqing and Chongqing gathered at Qingyang Palace to prepare for the "Special Science" imperial examination hosted by Sun Kewang, the king of the East.
Most of these people had second thoughts and were in contact with the careerists in Shu who were plotting to welcome Wang Yingxiong's army to Sichuan. However, under the power of the Ximing army, they believed that it was not the right time to raise an army, and they were deceived by Sun Kewang's words.
So they all left their hometowns easily and came to Chengdu to take part in the imperial examination.
In addition to these gentry who had general leadership status in the countryside, a group of foreign princes led by Zeng Ying and Yang Zhan also arrived in Chengdu one after another.
The excuse given by Sun Kewang was that he had transferred them to the capital to listen to the awards. In addition, Zhang Xianzhong went out to the outskirts of Chengdu to personally greet the princes' Long Li ceremony, which made Zeng Ying, Yang Zhan and others relax their vigilance.
Finally, the day came when the "Special Section" imperial examination was held. There was a huge crowd near Qingyang Palace. Thousands of gentry entered the palace in rich clothes and held their certificates.
Zeng Ying and Yang Zhan, two powerful princes and warlords, each accompanied by hundreds of servants and guards, came to the Qingyang Palace in a grand manner to observe the special imperial examination, and prepared to accept Sun Kewang's dukeship after the imperial examination.
Award.
Yang Zhan, courtesy name Yuliang, was born in Jiading Prefecture, Sichuan. He was the number one scholar in martial arts in the tenth year of Chongzhen Emperor. He was fair-skinned and elegant, good at both civil and military affairs, and was especially good at assassination, riding, riding and archery. When he was a boy, he participated in the boy examination. When he saw it, the examiner was surprised and said:
"This is a rare general!"
In the 10th year of Chongzhen's reign, Yang Zhan went to the capital to take part in the martial arts examination. Before the examination, a great eunuch favored by the emperor asked someone to bring in a fierce horse and call for formation at the military training ground:
"Whoever dares to ride this horse will be recommended to high school."
Many martial arts practitioners looked at each other, and no one dared to step forward, because the horse was tall and had a manic temper. It was digging the ground with its four hooves and running straight forward. It looked fierce and difficult to control. The two grooms were holding on to the iron reins desperately.
Neither can stand.
At this time, a big man held a bow and arrow, jumped in front of the horse in a few steps, grabbed the reins, flew up, and rode the fierce horse back and forth in the teaching field, galloping back and forth. He also leaned forward and shot nine arrows, which hit the bull's-eye. Beside him, the arrows hit the bull's-eye.
While racing, they raised their voices and shouted:
"I, Sichuan Yang Zhanye!"
Everyone was shocked and admired, and from then on Yang Zhan became famous in the capital.
Of course, this story has elements of fiction, but it is true that Yang Zhan's martial name is very famous in Sichuan. He was originally a guerrilla, and soon he was promoted to the rank of general. He went through life and death, made many military exploits, and had a high prestige in his hometown of Jiading.
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Zeng Ying is much younger than Yang Zhan. No wonder people call him Mr. Zeng.
His ancestral home is in Fujian, and he came here with his father who was an official. Unfortunately, his father died of illness, and Zeng Ying stayed in Sichuan. He was suave and talented, arrogant, generous in righteousness and wealth, and very chivalrous. Heroes in Shu were willing to make friends with him.
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Zeng Ying came to Chengdu with two lieutenants. They were both heroes he had made friends with in Bashu. One was named Li Zhanchun, nicknamed "Li Yaozi"; the other was named Yu Dahai, nicknamed "Yu Laozi". They were both brave and brave, especially
It was Li Zhanchun, who was fierce and swift in his attacks, and possessed a bravery that no man could match. He was so fond of Zeng Ying that he recognized him as his adopted son. In fact, they were almost a few years apart.
This group of people was very prestigious and powerful. Sun Kewang, along with three other brothers and Zhang Xianzhong's right-hand men Pan Duao and Xu Yixian, stood on the attic of Qingyang Palace, watching these people slowly walk into the palace, the corners of their mouths finally showing
A cold smile.
Liu Wenxiu had a benevolent heart and said hesitantly:
"Shunqing, there are thousands of scholars in the two prefectures of Chongqing. It is impossible for everyone to participate in the conspiracy. I think it is better to imprison them first and then severely punish them after careful interrogation."
Li Dingguo also reluctantly said: "Indeed, otherwise we will offend the Shu people by killing innocent people indiscriminately."
Sun Kewang said coldly:
"Shu is difficult to control. The evidence of this killing is already in hand. It is indeed good to identify carefully, but will that make the Shu people virtuous? I don't think so. Xiying honored King Gui Zhu Youlang as the emperor, which is enough.
The old officials of the Ming Dynasty had benefits and face, but they still received secret edicts from the Jiangnan Puppet Dynasty and tried to murder us.
Failure to assess the situation means that both leniency and severity are wrong. When we govern Shu, it is not enough to just use generous rewards. Now it is time to use thunderous means to scare the powerful people in Shu. Such a combination of leniency and severity, hardness and softness, can achieve stability.
The role of the overall situation.”
Neither Pan Duao nor Xu Yixian were easy to kill, but they both agreed with Sun Kewang's idea at this time.
Pan Duao said:
"This is not because the people of Shu are afraid of power and not virtuous, but because since our Daxi Army entered Shu, we have only treated the Shu people with kindness and kindness. The people of Shu also saw that we respected King Gui, so they mistakenly thought that the Daxi Army was weak and had to
Only in the name of the Ming Dynasty can Sichuan be governed.
Now we are going to go on a killing spree in Qingyang Palace, killing thousands of people, just to shock the Shu people and serve as a warning to the monkeys."
Xu Yixian also said:
"Killing a thousand people and saving hundreds of millions of people is not a massacre, but actually saving the people. Do the two princes think that if we always govern Shu with gentleness, we can stabilize Sichuan? I'm afraid this is not necessarily the case. When the time comes, it will be the best among the Shu people.
The mighty and powerful will take advantage of my weakness and raise armies everywhere. The army will lead to misfortune. How can thousands of people be slaughtered so miserably?
What's more, the princes all know what kind of character the old king is. Once the old king feels that he has been deceived and deceived by the Shu people, who knows what kind of things will happen when his divine power is angry?
The reason why we killed these thousands of people today is really for the long-term consideration of stabilizing Sichuan."
The words of Sun Kewang, Pan Duao, and Xu Yixian were all insightful, but Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu still felt sympathy. They both stopped talking, but felt very uncomfortable in their hearts. Sun Kewang became more and more domineering after being named the Eastern King by Zhang Xianzhong.
I also secretly felt a little dissatisfied with the autocratic approach.
Sun Kewang didn't notice the dissatisfaction in the eyes of Li Dingguo and Liu Wenxiu. He looked at the Sichuan scholars filing in under the pavilion, patted Ai Nengqi on the back and said:
"I'll leave this matter to you."
Ai Nengqi has limited resourcefulness, but amazing courage. He is really the best chess piece for Sun Kewang. He picked up the big bow, laughed boldly and said: "Okay, I will lead the troops to deal with these people!"
Sun Kewang then ordered Wang Shangli, the admiral in charge of the imperial camp, to block all city gates in Chengdu and strengthen the access control. Each of the four city gates in Chengdu sent a thousand troops, led by two governors, to inspect passers-by.
Anyone who wants to leave the city must submit an application to the Military and Horse Division. On the application, he must write down where his family is, whether he has a family, who the security chief is, the names of his neighbors, where he is going, and when he will return to the city.
For approval. If he does not return within the time limit, his neighbors and the security chief will be detained and beheaded first. Then the parents, brothers, wives, and children of those who are taken out of the city, regardless of age, will be beheaded.
Those who want to enter the city from outside the city must be interrogated by the Military and Horse Division and issued an "Access Card". After completing the process, they will leave the city and check the "Access Card" to make sure it is correct before they can be released. If you accidentally lose the "Access Card"
"That would be bad luck. Without saying anything, he would be recognized as a spy and beheaded immediately.
Of course, if you can go back and forth on the same day, the "admission card" is not required. Just put a stamp on your cheek and check it when you leave the city in the evening. If the stamp is stained by sweat or accidentally rubbed and cannot be seen clearly, it will be cut off.
head.
Sun Kewang gave his final secret order to the Imperial City Commander Dou Mingwang, who said:
"Lead the Imperial Guards to surround the Qingyang Palace, and at the same time lead people to capture the residences of Zeng Ying and Yang Zhan, and kidnap their families... Be sure to select veterans of the Xiaoqi Camp with strict military discipline to capture the Zeng Mansion. After the Yang Mansion, treat them well.
Anyone who dares to harass or harm the family members of the second house will be summarily executed by military law."
Dou Mingwang was extremely tall and superb in martial arts. He was a particularly famous brave general in the Western Camp.
He finally crossed his hands and asked, "Is there anything else I should pay attention to?"
Sun Kewang pondered for a moment and said:
"Gong Wanjing, the minister of the Ministry of War, Jiang Dinghong, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, Zou Jianchen, the head of the Ministry of Rites, and others were all involved in the conspiracy. The homes of all these people were ransacked, and their family members, old and weak, women and children, were all immediately beheaded and executed.
By the way, according to Wang Guangen's report, Wu Daxia, a military officer, was hiding the Jiangnan envoy Huang Shu in his home. The two men slowly prepared the case with a small amount of skinning."
The small skinning punishment is a very creative punishment invented by Zhang Xianzhong after imitating Zhu Yuanzhang's skinning punishment.
The specific operation method is: use a sharp blade to draw a line from the neck to the tailbone, peel off the skin of the criminal's back, and lift it to the shoulders, just like a big bird with open wings, then rush to the outskirts, and do not allow his family to give him food, leaving him alone.
He hid in ancient tombs and barren tombs to survive, and slowly died of pain and hunger.
Dou Mingwang watched Sun Kewang say these words as if he was talking about common things. His back felt a little cold, but he still said: