A merchant ship docked at the pier, and a large group of people disembarked from the ship. There were people waiting on the pier for a long time.
"Your Majesty, Dai Guangda, respectfully welcomes the pacification envoy!" The leader was wearing a black gauze hat and a crimson round-neck shirt, with two cloud geese embroidered on the patches on his chest and back. This person was the fourth-rank magistrate of Taizhou in the Ming Dynasty, but he
He was respectful to the people coming off the merchant ship, and even flattered him with fear.
"Why don't you see King Lu?"
Niha looked past Dai Guangda, who was wearing Yunyan Fei's robe and black gauze, but did not see King Lu, who was wearing a winged crown and a red dragon robe. He couldn't help but be very disappointed and said with dissatisfaction, "Is it possible that King Lu doesn't know good from evil?
Don’t you want to surrender to me, the Qing Dynasty? That’s not what you said when you sent your son to Hangzhou to ask for surrender.”
Dai Guangda was frightened, sweating on his forehead, and quickly explained, "King Lu's asthma has relapsed recently..."
"Hmph, lead the way, I want to see if it's a real illness or a feigned illness!" Neha, who had a sinister face, spoke in blunt Liaodong Chinese with murderous intent.
Dai Guangda nodded and bowed, and quickly led the way along the path.
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Prince Lu's Mansion, Ziyang Palace.
Shi Gu Wenguang, the director of the Royal Palace, was directing the packing of luggage when he suddenly heard that the prince refused to leave. He rushed to the study in a hurry and tried his best to persuade him.
"Your Majesty, the son of a rich man cannot sit down in the hall, and a gentleman cannot stand under a dangerous wall!"
"The Tartars crossed the river and were unstoppable. King Duduo stationed his troops in Jinling, and Beilebolu divided his troops to occupy Hangzhou. Now all the state capitals in the south of the Yangtze River have surrendered. The Tartar troops can arrive in the morning and evening, but Taizhou cannot stay...
··”
Lao Zhu sat behind the table and looked at Gu Wenguang, who was fair and slightly fat. Several labels came to his mind: dog-headed military advisor, wallflower...
This person is unreliable. Although the chief historian of the palace is the first among the palace officials, and this person was selected by the court when Zhu Yihai's father was the king of Lu, he served Zhu Yihai's father and his brother, the two kings of Lu. Now
He served him for several more years, especially when he went south from Yanzhou, he was always by his side and had always been trusted by Zhu Yihai.
But now that Lao Zhu saw him, his later life trajectory immediately emerged in his mind. Historically, when Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu, was rushed to Shaoxing to supervise the country by the Zhejiang Yishi, he entrusted Gu Wenguang, his confidant, with important tasks and awarded him the third grade.
The important post of general affairs envoy was at least the director of the Zhongyang General Office. Later, King Lu personally went to the front line to reward the troops, and also let him sit in the rear of Taizhou. However, when the Qiantang River defense line collapsed, Gu Wenguang immediately surrendered Taizhou to the Qing Dynasty, allowing King Lu to have a backyard.
Fire, homeless.
This guy's ancestral home is Shaoyi. He passed the imperial examination but failed to get Jinshi again. However, he is very good at maneuvering. He actually became the chief historian of Prince Lu's palace in the fifth rank. In my memory, this guy is very good at observing people's faces, and he is very good at slapping his beard.
, he plays both sides, but he doesn’t really have much ability.
Lao Zhu made up his mind that he could not keep this man.
"Your Majesty, please leave quickly."
Lao Zhu no longer obeyed him, and replied in a cold voice, "You want to teach me how to do things?"
Gu Wenguang was stunned, and suddenly felt that King Lu, who he had grown up with, seemed a bit strange.
Liu Chao, the eunuch of the Department of Flattery, reported softly at the door, "Your Majesty, Dai Futai is here to visit, and he also brought a group of merchants from the North."
Lao Zhu's mind automatically resurfaced with the information about Magistrate Dai, and he had no favorable impressions of this person. This person came to the post last year after the Baitou Army rebellion in Xudu, eastern Zhejiang, was settled. It is said that he gave a lot of money to get through to the chief minister.
Ma Shiying got this official position only because of his connections. He was from Putian, Fujian Province. Officials and people in Taizhou usually couldn't understand what he said and only wanted to make money. Everyone privately called him Big Papaya.
This man had been in and out of Prince Lu's Mansion quite a lot before, and he even came here yesterday to persuade Prince Lu to follow the current situation and join the Manchus.
"Is this big papaya here to persuade you to surrender again?"
Lao Zhu said nonchalantly, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, many loyal and righteous people emerged in the Ming Dynasty, from the ministers and generals to the local officials and even beggars.
Go to death generously. Of course, when the country is in crisis, there are more Tatars who are greedy for life, afraid of death, harsh and idle, and even voluntarily surrender to serve as the leading party.
He took out a pair of Franconian muskets from the desk based on his memory. The walnut stocks were inlaid with silver carvings. They were very gorgeous and heavy in his hand.
At this time, Gu Wenguang reluctantly stepped forward to persuade, "Your Majesty, I heard that Dai Guangda sent his son to quietly take a boat to Hangzhou a few days ago, and also brought several large boxes on board. Some said they were gold and silver, others said
It's the household registration book of Taizhou. There will be war and chaos, and there will be no merchants from the north. In all likelihood, they are the Hangzhou envoys recruited by the Dai family!"
"Your Majesty, the green hills are here. Don't worry about running out of firewood. Leave as soon as possible. It's too late!"
Lao Zhu ignored him and looked at the pair of fire guns in his hands.
The King of Lu, Zhu Yihai, was very obsessed with firearms and had extensive research and training. Even during the Battle of Yanzhou, he personally went to the top of the city to direct the red barbarian artillery to bombard the Qing captives. After the city was broken, he still carried the blunderbuss and fought the Qing army to the end.
The writer Lao Zhu is also a lover and collector of cold weapons and firearms.
He looked carefully and saw that the pair of Franco machine guns were not actually made by Portugal or Spain, but were British guns because the guns had the inscription of the London Gun Factory on them.
He skillfully inspected the flintlock gun. This gun was much stronger than the matchlock gun. It was only about forty centimeters long and lighter. It also had lead bullets, primers, etc., and even the propellant was a custom-made paper shell.
Lead bullets are also equipped with deerskin soaked in lard, which can greatly speed up the efficiency of loading and firing.
Gu Wenguang looked at King Lu and still ignored him. He tore open the paper bullets calmly and familiarly, poured the gunpowder into the blunderbuss tube, then wrapped the lead bullets in deerskin and stuffed them into the mouth of the blunderbuss, and then used a purge to remove the lead bullets.
He inserted the gun into the chamber and pressed it firmly, finally opened the fire door, poured in the explosive powder, and then closed the hammer, all in one movement.
"Your Majesty, although the two Franconian self-fire cannons are very powerful, how can they defeat the countless Eight Banners of the Tartars?"
The two firecrackers were loaded and ready to be fired at any time. He held one in each hand with satisfaction and made an aiming gesture towards Gu Wenguang. Gu Wenguang was so frightened that he quickly got out of the way.
Lao Zhu smiled, put away the firecracker, and hid it in the red dragon robe.
"If Big Papaya really dares to bring Tatars to your door, that would be great!"
"Your Majesty, why don't you pretend to be sick and evade the situation, then go and deal with them and send them away. When they leave, let's leave by boat as soon as possible."
"Lao Gu, you are also an old man in our Prince Lu's Mansion. Although you have no great merits, you still have a lot of hard work. It's just that you are old and can't keep up with the current situation. If you are afraid of the Tartars, you can do it yourself
Leave, I won’t force you.”
Gu Wenguang felt that King Lu was stranger than ever today.
"Your Majesty?"
"Old Gu, you can escape or surrender, but I can't. I am a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, a descendant of Taizu Emperor Gao, and a descendant of the Yanhuang Han Dynasty in China. The Tatars not only want to seize the country, but also want to destroy the Ming Dynasty.
The Han people have conquered the world. The Lu vassal family has been inherited for eleven generations and has shared with the country for three hundred years. The country has been kind and supportive. How can I cowardly surrender or run away now?"
"What are you afraid of? Soldiers will come to stop you, and water will come and the soil will flood you. What's more, it's just a few Tartar envoys now!"
Lao Zhu stood up. Since he had made up his mind to restore the Ming Dynasty and drive out the Tartars, this first step had to be taken.
"When friends come, there's good wine; when there's jackals, there's shotguns. Let's go!"
In front of the palace gate.
The prefect arrived with a team of hundreds of people, including officials from the Taizhou Prefecture and County Yamen, as well as some local gentry and merchants who had long told him to surrender. In addition, there was the ten-member team of Northern envoys, all of whom were tough.
They are strong and strong. Although they are dressed as businessmen, they all carry swords and carry bows. They have a fierce look and are feared by others.
Outside the door, pairs of eyes looked at the group of uninvited guests with uneasiness.
The Prime Minister of the Hundred Households of the Royal Guards and Envoys Department stood there and stared at the ten people, "Eunuch Liu, those are Tatars, real Tatars, not Mongolians, not Koreans, and not slaves."
"Are you sure they are all Jianlu and Zhentars?" Liu Chao, who was flattering, was a little uneasy when he heard this. The Jurchens were dissatisfied that Wan Man was invincible. Although he didn't know where these words came from, he certainly had a bad reputation now.
"You can't be wrong. My family's ancestral home is Liaodong. I have been in the army for generations in Guan Ning. Later, I was incorporated into Eunuch Cao's Yongwei camp. We are also old rivals with Jianlu. My Qi family sword has cut off several wild boar tails. I will never do this.
Admit your mistake.”
Although Liu Chao was only an internal servant of the Flattery Department, his status was not as good as Fengzheng Zhengke Fengyi, and even less important than Changshi Gu Wenguang, but he was also a close confidant of King Lu. He had always been loyal and careful in doing things. He was very aware of the Heizhuang Palace in front of him.
Guarding hundreds of households is not an easy task. This man is not one of those unusable hereditary military households in Prince Lu's Mansion in Yanzhou. He was originally the captain of the Guan Ning Army. He was later selected into the Yongwei Battalion as the sentry commander, and he was promoted to the commander-in-chief based on his merits.
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The Yongwei Camp was a special army of the Ming Dynasty, because it was a imperial guard directly under the emperor. It was neither under the jurisdiction of the Beijing Camp nor the Ministry of War. Instead, it was directly under the emperor and led by the Royal Horse Eunuch. During the Chongzhen period, the Yongwei Camp was
The Warriors Camp and the Four Guards Camp were merged into the Yongwei Camp, and they were given generous food and salary. The emperor paid special attention to it and appointed the great eunuch Cao Huachun as the first commander. He also selected Zhou Yuji, Huang Degong, Sun Yingyuan and other fierce generals as camp officers.
The Yongwei Battalion also lived up to the emperor's expectations. When the Qing army bypassed the Great Wall and approached the city of Beijing, the Yongwei Battalion went into battle for the first time and achieved brilliant results. Huang Degong's men and horses in the battalion all had tiger heads painted on their armor, and they were even more fearless in fighting.
, so that the mighty Qing army took a detour when they saw the Black Tiger Head Army.
After repelling the Qing army, the Yongwei Battalion went south to Henan to suppress bandits, and was victorious in dozens of battles. The Yongwei Battalion became the fire brigade in the hands of Chongzhen in the late Ming Dynasty, running around to put out fires, but although this team
Zhongxin can fight, but after all, there are only four battalions of 12,000 troops.
After the fall of Beijing, Huang Degong led the Black Tiger Head Battalion to support King Fu and proclaimed himself emperor. He became one of the four towns in the north of the Yangtze River during the Hongguang Dynasty. He was granted the title of Duke of Jing, and the Prime Minister was promoted to the rank of Chief Qian.
However, the Hongguang Dynasty soon perished. Huang Degong refused to surrender and died in battle. The Yongwei camp suffered heavy losses and either surrendered or collapsed.
The king protected Li Guofu, the eunuch and eunuch of the Yongwei camp, who broke out to Zhejiang. Now he lives temporarily in the palace of Prince Lu and becomes one of the palace guards.
He said that he had killed several real Tatars with his sword, but Liu Chao did not think it was bragging at all.
"Open the door!"
Wang Chuangzi stepped forward and called to his old brothers from the Yongwei camp, "Open the door."
The side door opened, Wang Chuang raised his chest and raised his head, and stood at attention with his sword in his hand. "Everyone must be very energetic. We can't lose our momentum in front of those prisoners."
outside the door.
Neha frowned dissatisfied and stopped Dai Guangda who was about to enter.
"I am the surrender envoy sent by Borobeile. How dare I not open the main door and only open the side door?"
Dai Guangda originally wanted to explain to the Tatar that although this was once a Taoist temple, it was now the residence of Prince Lu. Except for the emperor and the angel announcing the decree, ordinary people were not qualified to have the palace open the door to welcome him. When he usually came to visit, he always walked in.
It was a small door, but seeing the ferocious look on the Tatar's face, he finally nodded and went up to let the door open.
Wang Chuangzi walked out with a long knife in his hand and stood at the gate with fierce eyes, "Don't Daifutai know the rules?"
"Times have changed, and the rules of the Ming Dynasty no longer work. The one who came is the pro-army guard captain of Boluobele in Hangzhou of the Qing Dynasty. He is specially sent to recruit and appease the surrender of Taizhou. The representative is Boluobele. Why don't you open the door quickly?
Welcome." Dai Guangda shouted with a strong Putian accent. "You Qiu Ba, why don't you kneel down to greet me..."
Wang Chuangzi has been at war for many years, and has had a feud with the Jianlu for generations. Basically every Han Chinese in Liaodong has a grudge against the Jianlu.
Although the number of Jianlu prisoners killed by his men was not in double digits, they had killed seven or eight real prisoners. Dai Guang's eyes widened, and Dai Guang took several steps back in fright.
"This place is the Taizhou Mansion of the Ming Dynasty, and this mansion is the Prince Lu Mansion of the Ming Dynasty. When you come, you must abide by the rules here!"
Neha was a little surprised when he saw this Ming soldier with murderous intent. He stepped forward and shot his eyes like arrows. Wang Chuangzi snorted disdainfully and stood on the steps and stared back condescendingly.
The Tatars behind Niha became angry and drew their knives one after another.
Huang Chuangzi laughed, "Brothers, the Tatars want to run wild with us here and beat us!"
Suddenly there was a roar from behind, and then twenty or thirty strong guards emerged from the door, holding blunderbuss, shields and swords, and faced the Tatars.
Neha looked around.
After a long time, he said to the people behind him, "Put away your knives," and then he said to Huang Chuangzi, "It's quite courageous. I admire him. He is a vicious dog that guards the home and the courtyard. It's just that you are doing this for your master."
He causes trouble, but he is just a stupid dog."
"I haven't seen this door today. Please ask King Lu to come out to see me and listen to Boluobele's orders!"
Wang Chuangzi, however, kept his face dark and did not move, "The barbarian slaves outside the customs who don't know etiquette and don't know the rules came to me and barked!"
There was a moment of stalemate in front of the door.
After a while, Liu Chao hurriedly left and returned. He came to the side of the king and said, "The prince said that since the Tatars don't know the rules, then teach them the rules. The prince also said that he knew that Brother Wang was brave and asked you to capture these Tatars."
"Exit, escort him to the front hall to see him. The prince said that you have performed very well just now, and I will reward you with a hundred taels of silver." He handed over a hundred taels of silver note directly.
Wang Chuangzi was surprised and excited after hearing this. He didn't expect that King Lu would be so stubborn today. What's more, there are still one hundred taels of silver. This is not a treasure banknote that is worse than paper. This is a local big bank that can be redeemed on sight.
Large banknotes and good things of real money, even if you share it with your brothers, it is still a lot of money.
He grinned with a toothy grin, and his smile was ferocious.
"Brothers, the prince has a reward for taking down these dog Tatars. Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy!"
Behind, a group of fierce soldiers from the Yongwei Battalion responded with a bang and quickly surrounded us with weapons!