The government had posted notices in advance, delineating a route for the prisoner presentation ceremony. Of course, the highlight was at the Meridian Gate Square.
All civil and military officials, including the royal family and nobles, will naturally be present.
As for foreigners, in the troubled times of the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, there were really not many of them. After a temporary collection, they were just a few Korean officials, Ryukyu and Folangji people.
Among them, North Korea has actually surrendered to the Jianlu and separated from the vassal relationship with the Ming Dynasty. However, there are supporters of the Ming Dynasty. In addition to those captured by the Jianlu, there are also several who escaped in the Ming Dynasty and were invited to attend this event.
The prisoner dedication ceremony.
As for the Ryukyu people, they were not officials, but stayed in the Ming Dynasty when they came to the Ming Dynasty in the second year of Chongzhen to request Emperor Chongzhen to be canonized as king.
For the Ryukyuan people, their country had actually been conquered by the Satsuma Domain of Japan. Although it was still nominally independent, it was so oppressed by the Japanese that they naturally did not want to return home.
This time, I was the representative of the Ryukyu Kingdom attending the ceremony.
As for the Folangji, the relationship with the Ming Dynasty was not bad. At least in the past, as long as Daming gave money, they would sell firearms and artillery. Many Folangji people even became mercenaries of the Ming Dynasty, but many people died.
During the Denglai Mutiny.
As for other countries, they are really gone!
Emperor Chongzhen longed for the coming of all nations, but in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen's reign, there were only three countries in total!
In addition, there are many viewing areas set up on the Meridian Gate Square, which are set up according to provinces.
Anyway, there are guild halls from various provinces in the capital. Even if there are no specific provinces, as long as they are from that province, a group of people will be brought here.
The Meridian Gate Square is also considered large, but now, the surrounding area is packed with people.
According to the past, many people were not qualified to come to the Meridian Gate, but now, they all participated, and naturally everyone was very happy.
No, the weather at the end of this year is really cold. However, those who can be ranked here at the Meridian Gate are very excited. Before the ceremony started, everyone was whispering, talking about how it was obviously different from the past.
The same prisoner presentation ceremony.
Those who couldn't get their turn at the Meridian Gate rushed to the streets marked out in the notice. The rich occupied the windows facing the street, where they could not only eat something but also get shelter from the wind and cold; those who had no money just stood on the street.
On both sides of the street, people are waiting to watch the excitement.
Early in the morning, the streets were filled with people. It was a rare scene, and many people came early in the morning as soon as the curfew was lifted.
They were all whispering behind the soldiers of the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division, talking about what the sacrifice of prisoners would be like this time.
The winter sun rises, dispelling some of the severe cold.
As a result, the crowd who were whispering immediately stopped talking and quickly turned their heads to look.
Sure enough, on the other side of the street, groups of Ming army soldiers appeared.
But when they were a little surprised, the soldiers of the Ming army they saw were all holding flags. From this look, they were not the flags of the imperial army.
This made them a little confused, and they all craned their necks to look at it curiously.
Some people who are illiterate quickly ask the literate people around them, wondering what kind of flag that is?
"Read it quickly, what's on that flag?"
"It's a bit strange. I looked at it and saw that it's not the writing of our Ming Dynasty."
"That's right, that's the Manchu word for Jianlu. What does it mean? Aren't these the officers and soldiers of the imperial court?"
"..."
Amid their discussion, there was still a line of Chinese characters on the flag embroidered with Manchu characters, and those who were literate read it out.
"The Qing Dynasty ordered the general, Doro Rao Yubeile..."
"Hey, this is the handsome flag of coach Jianlu!" Hearing the sound of the recitation, some people who knew it immediately shouted in surprise, "Haha, they were captured by us. That's right, these flags were captured by the imperial court
Seized by the army!"
After such a shouting, everyone understood that the imperial officers and soldiers at the front were holding the flags of captured captives.
So, each of them was very interested in identifying which ruler these flags belonged to. Every time they identified what a flag represented, they all burst into laughter and were very happy.
There is no other reason, because they all know that behind every captured flag, it means that the enemy of this flag has been killed or captured, or beaten to the point of losing his armor, so this flag is displayed in the court.
In the hands of the army.
Most of these flags were covered with dirt and even blood stains. One look at them and they knew that they couldn't have been embroidered by the imperial court privately. This was because they had already seen tens of thousands of prisoners the day before yesterday.
After walking for a long time, the imperial officers and soldiers holding the captured flag were finally finished.
Then, I saw a cavalry army, riding tall horses, ten abreast, coming majestically. The soldiers on horseback held their heads high and their chests high, and they were all majestic.
Walking at the front was a general, with a big "Yan" character embroidered on the flag behind him.
As soon as they saw this, the people immediately screamed in surprise.
"This is General Yan, the leader of Jianlu, captured alive. This is captured alive..."
Not many people may know the specific circumstances of the Jizhou Battle at this time. However, Yan Yingyuan, who captured Jianlu's coach alive, must have been found out.
Therefore, when they saw Yan Yingyuan's flag, the people in the capital screamed in surprise.
This is a huge achievement, capturing coach Jianlu alive! It’s really amazing!
"Don't you know, General Yan is from Tongzhou!"
"I heard that General Yan is a sharpshooter. He shot one arrow at a time and scared the shit out of the Jianlu commander. He didn't dare to resist anymore, so he knelt down and surrendered!"
"..."
The gossip about Yan Yingyuan spread quickly.
Yan Yingyuan heard the exclamations of the people on both sides and their cheers for him, and responded with a smile and clasped fists.
When the people in the capital saw this, they all clasped their fists in return, all beaming with joy.
Yan Yingyuan passed by and looked at the cavalry soldiers behind him. They did not hesitate to praise him.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, look, this is the real mighty master!"
"That's right, no wonder he can defeat Jianlu, he is very powerful at first sight!"
"..."
When the cavalry officers heard this, they all held their heads high and their chests high, their backs straight, and they clasped their fists and returned the salute to the people in the capital on both sides.
Later, there were groups of Ming army officers and soldiers, including car camps, fusiliers, pikemen, etc., many square formations, a total of more than 2,000 people, all of whom were selected from each army with the most military merit.
Only a group of people have the qualification to go to the city to boast of their merits.
Behind the team were groups of prisoners with their hands tied behind their backs.
Of course, like the soldiers of the Ming army, not all the prisoners were brought into the city. Instead, they were those with official positions. The specific names and positions were written on the sign above their heads.
For example, the one who was escorted at the front had the words "Rebel's pseudo-commissioned general, Doro Rao Yu Beile Aisin Gioro Abatai" written on it.
Seeing these prisoners, the cheerful expressions of the people in the capital immediately turned to anger, and they immediately shouted and cursed these prisoners.
Those who killed a thousand swordsmen, gave birth to a son without an asshole, etc., were scolded lightly. Many people in the capital even wanted to rush in and beat people if they didn't scold them quickly enough. It was also a blessing that there were soldiers from the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division to maintain them.
Order, and escorted by Ming army officers, otherwise, these prisoners would probably not be able to reach the Meridian Gate!
These radical actions of the people on both sides did not attract any criticism, because the soldiers who maintained order all knew that the Jianqi and Mongol Tatars had heavy blood debts from the people of the capital.
Every time we entered the enemy's territory, we didn't know how many wives and children were scattered and their families were destroyed. It can be said that the people of the capital, even if they were hiding in the capital, were more or less tortured by the invaders, and their relatives and friends died at the hands of the invaders.
At the end of the team is the leader this time, Sun Chuanting, Minister of War.
When they saw him appear, many people still shed tears, but they all knelt down to Sun Chuanting excitedly.
It was Sun Chuanting who defeated the Jianqiu and saved lives in the pass. He captured so many Jianqiu and Mongolian Tatars, which was regarded as avenging them to some extent.
In response to this, Sun Chuanting remained expressionless and did not return the courtesy, but just rode past.
All the teams stopped on Chang'an Street before entering the Meridian Gate Square, waiting for the official start of the prisoner presentation ceremony.
After all the teams were in place, the sound of "bang bang bang" sounded.
The prepared Emperor Chongzhen, dressed in military uniform, rode to the Meridian Gate Tower.
The continuous sound of gunfire stopped, the chief minister He Fengsheng stepped forward to ask for the order, Emperor Chongzhen nodded, and the ceremony began.
"Dang, Dang, Dang, Dang" the bells of the Bell and Drum Tower rang. Everyone stood up solemnly and turned to look east on Chang'an Avenue.
After hearing the bell ringing, the Ming army soldiers at the front of the team held their heads high and began to enter Chang'an Street.
When they arrived at the place closest to Emperor Chongzhen, the Ming army soldiers at the front faced Emperor Chongzhen, loudly reported the flag in their hands, and then threw it on the ground.
The soldiers of the Ming army behind, like those in front, also threw their flags on the ground after loudly reporting.
After a while, this area was filled with captured flags, including those of the Jianqi and the Mongolian Tatars. Each flag represented a defeated army.
All the civil and military officials, the royal family and the nobles, as well as the people watching the ceremony from various provinces, looked at the flags and couldn't help but secretly smack their lips.
Did the Ming Dynasty ever capture so many enemy flags?
Today's imperial army has become so powerful?
Thinking like this, they naturally wanted to see how strong the imperial army had become, and how powerful it was that they could achieve such a big victory?
Soon, as they wished, various cavalry formations, various infantry formations, including special units such as vehicle battalions and artillery, and even night-time square formations, began to pass in front of the Meridian Gate Tower one by one.