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Volume 2: Different Chiefs Chapter 776: Loyalty and Obedience

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    Zhang Shouyin of that group came down from the city and walked quickly towards Chongwenmen. Along the way there were people running and wailing, both soldiers and civilians.  When we walked into the low and crooked alleys of this main street, we saw the old men and women of Xiangzi with their doors half-closed. The heads that poked out from the cracks in the doors were full of anxiety, expectation, and fear.  When I walked to a house, I saw the door suddenly opened, and a woman in her thirties with a haggard and strong look on her clothes quickly rushed out, followed by a fifteen or sixteen-year-old woman who was also covered in patches.  It¡¯s a patched girl.  But it was Yang Bagu, the farmer, and her daughter Niannu.  "Brother Shouyin" "Uncle Yin." Yang Bagu hurriedly stepped forward, her expression anxious and concerned. She grabbed Zhang Shouyin's hand and looked up and down: "Let me see if you Shouyin is injured." Zhang Shouyin  With warmth in his heart, he comforted Yang Bagu and said, "Don't worry, I'm fine." He looked around and whispered, "We'll talk after we go in." The three of them entered the house, Yang Bagu closed the door, and Zhang Shouyin also tried the door.  Is it closed tightly and can it be pushed open from the outside?  Then he relaxed slightly and reached into his arms. Seven or eight silver coins appeared in his hands, and then he put them in Yang Bagu's hands.  He said softly: "Ba Gu, you have been with me for so long, and I have never allowed you to live a good life. Look at Nian Nu, his clothes are all old. You just got this money, keep it, and plan how to spend it.  " Yang Bagu stared blankly at the silver coins in her hand. They were exquisite and dazzling, and the white flowers attracted people's soul. Of course she knew the value of these silver coins. They had always been hard currency in the capital. Sometimes one silver coin could even be used as two or three taels of silver. The ones around her  Daughter Nian Nu also let out a low cry of "Wow".  Yang Bagu held the silver dollar tightly and said tremblingly: "Where did you get all this money?" Zhang Shouyin looked a little complicated and said: "It was a reward from General Fu. He spent all his family wealth to reward the army and defended the city for just two days.  , he scattered tens of thousands of silver dollars." Yang Bagu sighed: "The soldiers and slaves of Mr. Fu also heard that it is rare to have a good official, but there are too few good officials in the imperial court, so the city fell after guarding it for two days.  Okay, now that the heavenly soldiers have entered the city, it¡¯s time for everyone to live a good life. " Zhang Shouyin said: "Well, now that the soldiers and horses have just entered the city, there is still a bit of panic. When the capital settles down, we can live a good life.  ." Yang Bagu snuggled into Zhang Shouyin's arms, both of them looking forward to it.  Yang Bagu's husband died early, and it was extremely hard to raise Niannu by herself. Zhang Shouyin's wife died young, and their children died in war and famine. They lived in poverty all these years, until he came to the capital and met Yang Bagu, and the two of them  There is such a relationship.  As for Nian Nu, the daughter of Aunt Yang, Zhang Shouyin vaguely saw the shadow of his own daughter in her. He loved her very much and treated her as his own. This made Aunt Yang's mother and daughter who had worked hard to live a life very attached to him.  At this time, Nian Nu was standing aside. She pursed her lips and smiled, feeling happy for her mother. After so many years, she finally had a man who was really good to her.  The three of them gathered together. They were all frightened when they heard the footsteps outside and the cries shaking the sky. Yang Bagu couldn't help but said: "Don't be afraid. Shopkeeper Tian said that the heavenly soldiers do not kill people, do not love money, and do not rob."  Let everyone be safe." At this moment, the door suddenly banged loudly, which shocked the three of them, and Nian Nu even screamed.  Zhang Shouyin held her mother and daughter in his arms and listened to the noise outside. Fortunately, after this sound, there was no other sound outside the door, which made him feel at ease.  I don¡¯t know how much time passed, but I heard the sound of horse hooves outside, galloping everywhere in the streets and alleys, and then some shouts with a Shaanxi accent said: "People are not allowed to open the door, they will be killed if they open the door!" After hearing this, Yang Bagu quickly said: "Nian Nu,  Follow me and look around to see if there are any doors or windows that are not closed tightly." They were busy looking around, and heard the sound of doors closing in the streets outside. After an unknown period of time, another voice shouted: "Whoever opens the door will not be killed!  " They opened the door anxiously. It was already dark outside. They looked around and saw that the neighbors had posted something on the door, and many of them still held incense in their hands.  Yang Bagu looked at the neighboring villages and saw the words "obey the people" stuck on the door, and there was also a book "Long live King Shuntian in the first year of Yongchang".  "Niannu, hurry up and find some incense." Yang Bagu said hurriedly. She and Zhang Shouyin were busy writing the words "obedient to the people". They wrote them crookedly and pasted them on the door.  As soon as it was glued, I heard the sound of footsteps not far away, and along with the sound of horse hooves hitting the ground, neat troops lined up under the flag.  The soldiers and civilians in every street and alley held incense and stood up at their gates. Wherever the soldiers and horses passed by, they all held up incense to welcome them and shouted: "Long live the King of Dashun."  They all held up incense and knelt down. Yang Bagu and the other three were also busy holding up incense sticks.Kneel down on fire.  Zhang Shouyin took a peek and felt that Dashun's soldiers and horses were very solemn, so he didn't dare to look at it. He held the incense high, knelt on the ground, buried his head deeply, and shouted: "Long live the King of Dashun."   On the Dongzhi Gate, I saw a steady stream of thieves climbing up the city wall. The defenders not only refused to resist, but also helped them enter the city with their hands.  Then I heard the city gate below open, the bandits cheering, and the overwhelming shouts of long live.  In charge of the capital camp, Wang Jiayan, the right minister of the Ministry of War, sighed, looked at everything in front of him with blurred eyes, and jumped off the tower.  It was Xu hour on the 18th, from seven to nine o'clock in the evening. When I heard that the outer city had fallen, thieves came up from the corner tower of Dongzhimen and the city fell.  Like the outer city, the inner city soon burst into flames. When Dongzhi Gate was opened, Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo who was guarding Chaoyang Gate, and Zhang Jinyan, the Minister of War, who was guarding Zhengyang Gate, also opened the two gates to welcome the surrender.  The great eunuch Wang Xiangyao led thousands of soldiers to guard Xuanwu Gate, and he also opened the city gate and knelt down.  During the incident, Guang Shiheng and the supervisory censor Wang Zhang were patrolling the city. At this time, they were inspecting Xuanwu Gate and saw Wang Xiangyao opening the city gate. Guang Shiheng's expression did not change, and he straightened his clothes and knelt to greet him.  Wang Zhang sighed and crashed to death on the edge of the city gate.  At the Zhengyang Gate, Meng Zhaoxiang, the right servant of the Ministry of Justice, watched the bandits marching in. Zhang Jinyan, the Minister of the Ministry of War, knelt on the ground motionless. He was silent and slowly drew out the sword from his waist.  His son, Jinshi Meng Zhangming, burst into tears, but he just bowed to the ground quietly.  After his father suddenly committed suicide, he carried his father's body back to his house and said to his wife Wang, "I can't bear for you to die alone, so I will follow you." His wife said, "If you die, I will die too." Meng Zhangming said:  He staggered and said: "Thank you, Madam, but Madam must die first." He sent all his family members out, leaving only a maidservant beside him. After his wife hanged herself, he took a pen to write a poem and wrote it on the wall: "There is an insult.  If my wife's corpse is found, I will kill it for the sake of the devil." He took a leaf and placed it under his wife's body. He put it on his wife's body and placed another leaf on her left side. He told his maid: "I will also put it on the leaf when I die.  ." So he hanged himself in scarlet clothes.   The thieves kept entering the inner city, and there was a buzz of people everywhere. Fan Jingwen, a bachelor and minister of the Ministry of Industry, listened to the commotion outside and sighed: "As a minister, I can't make contributions from the battlefield. Even if I die, I will be ridiculed!"  He had not eaten for three days and could no longer speak. He asked his family to support him, knelt three times and kowtowed nine times toward the Forbidden City, composed two poems, and then hanged himself. His concubine also prayed for herself.  Ni Yuanlu, the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs and a scholar in attendance, listened to the sound of the bandits outside calling on the people to offer mules and horses quickly, and sighed: "The country is at this point, and I will be responsible for my death." He arranged his clothes and paid homage to the emperor, and thanked the emperor in the north and his mother in the south.  kindness.  He also told his family: "If you want to bury me immediately, you must carry out a grand burial before collecting my body." He hanged himself to death. Afterwards, all his family members were martyred, including three people out of ten.  When Shi Bangyao, the censor of the left deputy capital, heard that the thieves had entered, he cried loudly and wrote an inscription on the book: "I am ashamed that I have no plan to help the times, but I have a small body to repay the Lord's kindness." Then he hanged himself.  Ling Yiqu, the Minister of Dali Temple, burned all the books he had written about his life and comments on stallions, took the Fei Zheng Hut and worshiped at the palace. He returned to the south and bowed. His father wrote a suicide note saying: "To be loyal means to be filial. If you can die, you will not be humiliated."  Father." He touched the pillar with his head, bleeding and breaking his face, and he died.  That night, the commander of the Jinyi Guards made Wang Guoxing hang himself.  Li Ruogui, a fellow commander of Jinyiwei, was guarding Chongwenmen. When the city fell, he made his final words: "Death! That's what happened today. What a tragedy! Why should future generations know about it?" He hanged himself.  Jinyi Wei Qian Gao Wen Cai guards Xuanwu Gate.  Liu Wenbing, the Marquis of Xinle, heard that thieves had broken into the inner city, and sighed: "As an official, my righteousness will not be insulted, so I must share the same difficulties with the country." He and his brother Liu Wenyao, the governor of the left, chose a large well, and there were 16 descendants, men and women, and their sisters.  Throw yourself into it.  Grandmother Ying Guotai, the emperor's grandmother, was over ninety years old and also died by throwing herself into a well.  Gong Yonggu, the commander-in-chief of the Prince Consort, heard that thieves had broken into the inner city, killed his beloved horse, and burned his bow, sword, and armor. He wrote a big book on the wall: "In this life, I have received the favor of the country, and my body must not be humiliated." Princess Le'an died first and ordered  When the fire burned, he and his five children all threw themselves into the fire and died.  When the bandits were about to attack the city, Wailang Jinxuan, a member of the Ministry of War, knelt in front of his mother Zhang and said: "My son has been favored by the country and served as a chariot driver. If the city is destroyed, the righteous will die. If you find a remote place where you can hide your mother, you can go quickly."  "My mother said, "You have received the favor of the country, but I have not received the favor of the country. The matter is urgent, and I died in the veranda."  , Jin Xuan looked at Yu and bowed again, then threw himself into the Yu River.  His mother, Mrs. Zhang, also died by throwing herself into a well, and her concubine, Mrs. Wang, also died with her.  His younger brother Zhusheng Jinzao cried loudly: "If my mother dies, I will die. But my mother has not returned to the earth, so I don't dare to die." He took the coffin to bury his mother, then threw her into the well again and died.  Zuo Zhongyun Liu Lishun, the number one scholar in Qixian County, a bandit entered the inner city and wrote on the wall: "Chengren takes justice, which is passed down by Confucius and Mencius. Wen Xin practiced it, why not me." Then he drank wine and drank himself. His wife  Mrs. Wan, her concubine Mrs. Li, her son Xiaolian and their maidservants.Eight people were hanged with the doors closed.  At that time, it was said that the ministers died as kings, the wives died as husbands, the sons died as fathers, the servants died as masters, and the whole family was martyred, with Liu Zhuangyuan being the most important.   On the 18th, the inner and outer walls of the capital were destroyed. Immediately among the ministers who died, they included Fan Jingwen, a scholar of Dongge University, Wang Jiayan, the minister of the Ministry of War, Meng Zhaoxiang, the minister of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs, Shi Bangyao, the left deputy censor of the Imperial Procuratorate, Ling Yiqu, the minister of Dali Temple, and Wu Linzheng, the minister of Taichang Temple.  Dozens of others died for the righteousness in their hearts.  On the 19th, there was still light rain and light snow. Smoke and flames covered the sky inside and outside the capital. At midnight, a bandit cavalry entered the Forbidden City and went straight to the Qianqing Palace.  At this time, there was great chaos in the palace. As soon as many palace residents escaped, they encountered thieves and fled in again in a hurry. ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? At noon, Li Zicheng, wearing a felt hat and naked clothes, rode on a black barge horse with hundreds of elite riders. He entered through Desheng Gate. The great eunuch Wang Dehua had already led 300 people to kneel down at Desheng Gate to greet him. Li Zicheng ordered him to take charge of the ceremony as usual.  Supervisors, the seal officials of each supervisory bureau will welcome them as well.  They turned to the Daming Gate and entered the Forbidden City. They were accompanied by civil servants such as Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, and Song Qijiao, as well as generals such as Liu Zongmin and Li Guo.  Li Zicheng entered from the West Chang'an Gate, bent his bow and looked up to the sky, laughing, confident that he would hit the Chang'an Archway with a hundred hits.  He said: "If you shoot the arrow in the middle, the world will be at peace." Unexpectedly, an arrow shot on the corrugated corrugations. Song Xiance comforted him and said, "The arrow was shot in the ditch, with Huaihe River as the boundary."  On the archway, there were four words "Chengtian Gate". He pointed his bow at the door and said, "I can be the master of the world, so I can shoot an arrow in the center of the four words." Unexpectedly, the arrow missed again and hit the bottom of the word "Tian".  , Li Zicheng bowed his head unhappy, and Niu Jinxing said: "If you win among them, you will divide the world among them." Li Zicheng was overjoyed and threw his bow and smiled.  They entered the palace and asked where the emperor was. Wang Dehua looked complicated and led everyone to the Huangji Palace. The place had been burned into ruins, and there were still lingering fires.  Li Zicheng and others were shocked to see a corpse sitting on the dragon throne, and another corpse worshiping on its side in front of Emperor Daxing. Both were scorched black by the fire.  Li Zicheng was surprised and said: "This is the emperor? Who is the person next to him?" At this time, several eunuchs could not bear it any longer and threw themselves to the side crying, saying "Your Majesty", while others cried out "Wang Gonggong".  Wang Dehua shed tears and said: "This is the Emperor Chongzhen, and the person next to him is the eunuch Wang Chengen. Although it was destroyed by the fire, the general shape and appearance are correct, and the slaves will not admit their mistake." Li Zicheng and others called to the palace again.  Among them were some of the eunuchs who had served the emperor. They either trembled to identify them, or cried to His Majesty.  Li Zicheng no longer had any doubts. He looked at the charred corpse on the dragon throne, sitting upright and looking up. The raging fire was burning his body, but it could not move him in the seat. He couldn't help but exclaimed: "The emperor is so strong!"  Looking at Wang Chengen's corpse beside him, he sighed: "There is such a loyal servant." He didn't know what to feel in his heart. According to his heart, he really wanted to see Emperor Chongzhen, but there was only a charred corpse in front of him.  Niu Jinxing, Liu Zongmin and others behind Li Zicheng were also amazed, with complicated expressions on their faces. Li Yan let out a long sigh and slowly closed his eyes.  At this moment, everyone suddenly saw a white light rising from the sky, flashing for a long time.  One person exclaimed: "This is the emperor's aura, reaching up to the sky." Li Zicheng looked at it for a long time, and finally sighed and ordered the emperor to be buried with emperor's rites and to be buried with king's rites.  On the twenty-third day of the funeral, the second official of the imperial family came out, buried the emperor in red lacquer, added a crown of imperial wings, gold boots with jade, and set up an altar. All the officials could not help but pay homage.  ¡­ After giving this order, Li Zicheng and others remembered one very important thing, that is, the prince and others were missing, as well as the queen, Yuan Guifei and others, and they were not available in the palace.  They discussed and Li Guo said that late last night, many troops from various sects broke out and fled. Could it be that the prince and others were among them?  After all, the capital is so vast that it is impossible for soldiers and horses to surround them, and even in the dark night, the horse soldiers cannot patrol. It is very possible for them to escape.  Niu Jinxing said that it may be that he is hiding among the people. He can't get it without heavy reward and severe punishment. This is a big deal and cannot be ignored.  Li Zicheng agreed, and ordered that those who presented themselves to the crown prince and the two kings would be rewarded with tens of thousands of gold and given the title of earl. Anyone who dared to hide would be of the Yi tribe.  Liu Zongmin and Niu Jinxing issued a notice: "All the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty will enter the court on the following day. First, prepare a role script, wear a green hat, and go to the government to register. Those who are willing to return home can do whatever they want. Those who are willing to serve as officials can  Promote people according to their talents. Those who cannot resist will be punished. Once they leave the house, they will be banned from talking about it."  . ?¡­ ?  The capital fell in two days, and the news of the emperor's death spread like thunder in all directions.  When Zhang Qingzhen, the uncle of Hui'an, heard that the city had fallen, he scattered all his belongings and relatives, bought wine and drank with the whole family, and surrounded them with accumulated salary. The whole family burned to death.  When Xuancheng Bowei heard about the change in the spring, his whole family went to the well to die, and no one survived.  Chen Zhenda, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, committed suicide.  Xu Yan, a student in Changzhou, cried out in grief when he heard about the changes in the capital. He wrote the four characters "Sheng Shang Chongzhen" all over his body and died within seven days.  Hearing that the capital was trapped, Yongning Hou Wang Dou led the generals and rushed into Xuanfu Town. At this time, Li Banghua, Zhu Zhifeng, Wei Jingyuan, Cai Maode and others gathered in the town.  They originally thought that the capital was strong enough to hold on until the Duhufu sent troops, but now all their hopes were in vain, so they all wanted to die for the country.  Du Xun, the eunuch guarding Xuanfu Town, originally wanted to hang himself to die for the Lord, but Bai Ling had already set it up. He went up and down many times, but in the end he still did not dare to commit suicide. He wailed: "No, our family cannot die, and the people of Xuanfu Town cannot."  Without me." He cried loudly, and the little eunuch beside him also cried.  When Wang Dou arrived, more than a hundred officials and gentry students had gathered in front of Li Banghua's mansion. They all followed Li Banghua to the Ji'an Guild Hall in the town to worship Wen Tianxiang. Li Banghua had already left a fatal poem: "No one has died since ancient times.  I will leave my heart to remember you. I will ride up to the sky today, and my descendants will remember you for generations." When Wei Jingyuan, the governor of Datong, came, he also left his last words to his mother: "My mother is more than eighty years old, and she should take care of herself.  Minister, you can't live without death. "Everyone of the others has a title.  Wang Dou looked around and saw that many of them he knew, and many of them did not.  People he knew, Li Banghua, Zhu Zhifeng, Wei Jingyuan, Cai Maode, Ma Guoxi, Wu Zhi, and even former subordinates, the official Feng Dachang were also in the crowd.  People who don't know each other all look firm and full of decision.  Seeing Wang Dou coming, Li Banghua bowed to him. He knew what Wang Dou was going to say, and said: "The master humiliates his ministers and dies, and ministers are divided. What can I say? Today in the Ming Dynasty, Marquis Yongning is here, so I have no regrets."  He said: "I have been blessed by the country in this life, but I feel ashamed that I have no solution to alleviate the current difficulties. I can only repay the Lord's kindness with my small body. Marquis Yongning, please allow me to fulfill my loyalty and filial piety and die for the justice in my heart."  Wang Dou looked at Zhu Zhifeng. The stubborn old man said: "The Lord is worried about the humiliation of his ministers. We can't save him and bring disaster to this point. I can only die to repay the country. You are here in Xuanfu Town, Feng, Wuyou'er."  Cai Maode bowed deeply to Wang Dou. He raised his head, his weak body full of determination: "A dignified husband, a sage and a disciple, I will kill him." Wang Dou looked at Ma Guoxi, the smooth soldier in Wang Dou's heart before, and said: "  Loyalty and filial piety, the national seal cannot survive." Wu Zhi, the magistrate of Yanqing Prefecture, bowed deeply to Wang Dou and remained silent.  Wang Dou finally looked at the official Feng Dachang. This former subordinate of Wang Dou suddenly bowed down and said: "Master Hou, Dachang can only repay you in the next life!" More than a hundred of them arranged their clothes and said in unison: "We  Deeply blessed by the country, I should sacrifice my life to fulfill my great cause!" Firewood and kerosene were prepared inside and outside the mansion, and then the servants lit the pile of firewood. The fire slowly ignited, and finally the entire mansion turned into a blazing fire. Li Banghua and others laughed loudly.  Laughing, they bowed to each other and said: "Please." "Please." They walked into the fire with calm expressions, and their family members all bowed outside, sobbing and choking.  Everyone behind Wang Dou was silent. Wang Dou slowly closed his eyes. He sighed: "Alas, my Confucian Academy is empty." His tears burst out uncontrollably.  Ah, how can I not miss this great dynasty and this great civilization?  She has all kinds of shortcomings, but her shining light still makes people unable to control themselves.  This dynasty is so heartbreaking, lamentable, and longing for.  She was so elegant, her gorgeous clothes and elegant etiquette were never seen again after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, and the elegant and pure Han culture was cut off.  She had so many loyal ministers and righteous men. The number of officials and scholars who died in the Jiashen Kingdom was over a thousand, and the number of those who died in battle and martyred their country in pursuit of posthumous titles was over eight thousand. Such large-scale martyrs were no longer seen in the Ming and later dynasties, nor were they ever seen again.  There will be again.  She was so tenacious, upright and righteous, died heroically for her country, and calmly died for her righteousness. Even after the country was destroyed, she resisted for such a long time and her resistance was so fierce.  How dazzling and unforgettable her civilization is.  ¡°Ah, I will always remember her.  I will not stand in the way of these people who sacrifice their lives for righteousness, and I will respect their choices.  What I can do is miss them and remember them.  Facing the burning mansion, Wang Dou saluted deeply.  (To be continued.)
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