Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 96 It Was a Misunderstanding

There was a "clang" sound, and the sound of broken porcelain was clear and eye-catching.

When everyone saw this, they were stunned for a moment when they saw a large number of fully armed soldiers pouring out of the back hall, with swords and guns unsheathed, aiming at everyone at the table.

Outside the lobby, many soldiers crowded out, most of them holding firearms and arrows, aiming at the guards who were eating and drinking.

For a moment, everyone was stunned.

Everyone is an official of the imperial court, even Li Jiantai is the governor, and he goes out on behalf of the emperor. Those who have Shang Fang's sword are treated like this. Is it possible that Baoding has become a den of thieves?

At this moment, their idea is not to review themselves, but to think that the other party must be a thief by doing this!

Thinking of this, Li Jiantai immediately slammed the table and shouted: "Shao Zongyuan, what do you want to do?"

After hearing this, Shao Zongyuan sneered, and when he was about to speak, he heard the supervisor continue: "Even if you surrender to the Dashun Army, there is no need to use swords and guns like this, right?"

"Huh?" Shao Zongyuan was a little surprised when he heard it. He didn't know what it meant and said, "What do you mean?"

Li Jiantai looked at the restrained generals and the scene outside the lobby, then turned back with a smile on his face and said: "The Ming Dynasty has exhausted its dynasty, and the Dashun Kingdom has complied with the destiny. You and I are the same, so why not Please introduce the envoy from Dashun Kingdom!"

The Dashun Army has captured Zhending Mansion, and Baoding Mansion is blocking the Dashun Army's attack on the capital, and must be the target of the Dashun Army.With the current situation in the world, who doesn’t know that the Great Shun Army is unstoppable? Those who follow it will prosper, and those who go against it will perish!

There must have been an envoy from the Dashun Army who came over and asked Baoding Prefecture to surrender, and then he bumped into their guns, which led to the current scene!
Otherwise, he would not be able to figure it out. In terms of identity and status, Li Jiantai was the biggest. How could he be so violent with swords and guns?
After hearing this, Guo Zhonggui, the deputy general of the Chinese army under Li Jiantai's command, also echoed: "The governor doesn't know something, and we didn't really fight. Otherwise, we wouldn't have arrived in Baoding from the capital after so many days, don't you think? "

After Shao Zongyuan heard this, he immediately sneered and said, "It turned out to be a misunderstanding?"

"Yes, yes, it's a misunderstanding!" Li Jiantai responded flatteringly after hearing this.

Most people at the general table nodded in agreement.

But who would have expected that instead of clearing up the misunderstanding, Shao Zongyuan burst out laughing, as if he had heard something very funny. He laughed so hard that Li Jiantai and others couldn't help but look at each other, wondering what happened to him?
After just a moment, Shao Zongyuan suddenly stopped laughing, his face was very serious, and he shouted coldly: "It seems that the apparition of Emperor Taizu is absolutely true. I have long expected that you rebellious officials and traitors are going to surrender!"

Having said this, he took out a yellow scroll from his sleeve and shouted sternly: "There is an imperial edict!"

When Li Jiantai heard this, he was a little dumbfounded!

This situation was something he never expected. How could things develop like this?

"Kneel, kneel, kneel..."

The soldiers armed with swords and guns shouted and approached with swords and guns.

Li Jiantai and others had to kneel down to receive the order.However, Li Jiantai seemed to still want to save him. Before receiving the order, he looked up at Shao Zongyuan and said quickly: "I was just thinking out of desperation, waiting for the opportunity, but in fact I had no intention of surrendering to the thief!"

When Guo Zhonggui and others heard this, they quickly agreed.

Shao Zongyuan sneered, looked at Li Jiantai and said, "Then if I say that this is the will of the Dashun Kingdom, will you also say that the hypocrisy just now is also a lie?"

Li Jiantai: "..."

His forehead was already sweating. Nowadays, everyone is a knife and a knife, and I am a fish. He has no choice but to defend himself: "No, no, Your Majesty, I will never repay you with death, so how can I do it?" Surrender the thief!"

He is not stupid, how could he still not see who these Baoding officials are!
However, after hearing his words, Shao Zongyuan sneered, ignored him, and read the imperial edict in his hand loudly.

This imperial edict came from Fang Zhenghua's promise that he would send someone to inform him of the situation after he found out the whole story after arriving in the capital.

After Fang Zhenghua asked Emperor Chongzhen, this imperial edict was delivered, asking them to prepare to capture them when Li Jiantai led his troops, and then prepare for the defense of Baoding. If they really couldn't hold it, they could retreat. The capital, wait until the emperor leads troops to help.

Originally, Shao Zongyuan and the others were still somewhat doubtful about the content of this decree.

After all, in their view, Li Jiantai was already a very popular minister. Even if he surrendered to the bandits, how big of an official could he be?What an honor it is to be given Fang Jian and go out on behalf of the emperor to fight, but then you have to subjugate a thief?

As a result, they never expected that as soon as the ambush came out, Li Jiantai and others took the initiative to expose their intentions without reciting the imperial edict. They really wanted to surrender the thieves!
Of course, there was more than one crime in the imperial edict, and there was also the crime of conquering Dingxing, massacring the people, and flogging the county magistrate.Of course, the most important thing is the crime of deceiving the emperor!

When Shao Zongyuan finished reading the imperial edict, Li Jiantai was already paralyzed.

In the original history, during the Battle of Baoding, he wanted to surrender and wrote a letter of surrender for Shao Zongyuan to seal. However, Shao Zongyuan could not surrender, so his deputy general Guo Zhonggui went to open the city gate. In the end, they surrendered Baoding to Liu Fangliang. .

When the Manchus entered the country and Li Zicheng was defeated, Li Jiantai defected to the Manchus again, was awarded the title of bachelor of Hongwen Academy, and was appointed as the chief executive of the compilation of "History of the Ming Dynasty".He refused to accept bribes and returned.When Jiang Quan rebelled against the Qing Dynasty, he responded again, but when the Manchu Qing Dynasty began to suppress it, he surrendered again.But this time, he was killed by the Manchus.

Throughout his life, there was no loyalty at all, only fear of death.

Shao Zongyuan glanced at him with disgust and ignored him. Instead, he turned to look at a general on the generals' table and asked in a cold voice: "Ma Ke, I saw that you didn't speak just now. Do you still have any interest in the court?" Loyalty?"

Ma Ke became the chief military officer by accumulating merit by killing bandits. He was famous for his daring to fight, second only to Cao Bianjiao.During the Battle of Songjin, Cui Yingtai, the leader of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, was killed, and he participated in the leader Maise's meritorious service. However, he was defeated in the end and fled back to the pass by sea.

If he had his original intention, he would definitely be unwilling to surrender to Li Zicheng's troops. After all, the two sides had been fighting for so many years.But the situation was over, and he no longer objected.Therefore, when Li Jiantai and others spoke, he remained silent and could only follow them silently.

In the original history, after he surrendered, Li Zicheng did not settle old scores with him and kill him, but instead gave him the title of Huairen Bo. So, he worked for Li Zicheng, attacking Sichuan, fighting the Ming army, and fighting Zhang Xianzhong.However, after the Qing Dynasty broke through Tongguan and entered Xi'an, he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and served the Qing Dynasty.

At this time, Ma Ke naturally did not want to die, and immediately expressed his position: "The general is deeply favored by the emperor, so he has a loyal heart, and there is no lie!"

After hearing this, other generals expressed their loyalty to the court.Some of them even forgot that they echoed Li Jiantai's words just now.

After hearing this, Shao Zongyuan only had a sneer on his face. He ordered Ma Ke and other generals who had not spoken a word to agree with Li Jiantai, and asked their children to go to the capital as hostages and let them go.The remaining generals, together with Li Jiantai, were killed directly on the table.

He personally raised Li Jiantai's head and shouted in a cold voice: "Those who dare to surrender to thieves will suffer this fate. I hope that you all will work together to guard Baoding as a barrier to the capital. If Emperor Taizu appears, the court will surely win!"

Ma Ke and others did not dare not show off, and responded immediately, with a voice louder than that of the local civil servants and military officers: "The imperial court will definitely win!"

However, in the hearts of Ma Ke and others, they were a little disapproving.

He has been fighting for many years, and the situation is getting worse day by day. How can he not see that the Ming Dynasty is exhausted.The talk about Emperor Taizu's appearance is probably just a ploy to boost people's hearts. Whoever believes it will be stupid!
At this time, he was actually a little numb to the situation.

Ma Ke and others, followed by the Governor of Baoding and others, returned to the front hall and began to discuss the next defense matters of Baoding.

At this moment, a messenger arrived and presented a new issue of Di Bao to Shao Zongyuan.

Originally, the defense of Baoding was crucial, and Shao Zongyuan would definitely do it first. He would naturally read the report after the meeting.

However, there had been no reports from the capital for a long time, and the capital seemed to be making a lot of moves. He really wanted to know what was happening there!
So, he opened the newspaper and started reading.It turned out that it was okay if I didn’t look at it, but I was shocked when I looked at it.

Lu Yingjiao, the commander-in-chief of Baoding, who was his confidant, was standing closest to him. Seeing his change of expression, he suddenly became curious and asked quickly: "Sir Governor, is there any big event in the palace?"

The news that Fang Zhenghua brought back to them was only related to them. After all, time was tight and he couldn't care about anything else.For major events that can be announced to the outside world, the imperial court will naturally issue a report.

Therefore, Lu Yingjiao and others were also very curious about the contents of the Di newspaper.

After hearing this, Shao Zongyuan looked up at him, then at Ma Ke and the other newly recruited generals, and then said slowly: "The former chief assistant Chen Yan, the assistant minister Wei Zaode, the former chief ceremonial supervisor, eunuch and Dongchang admiral Wang Zhixin , Wang Dehua, the former eunuch in charge of the Royal Horse Supervisor, Luo Yangxing, the former commander of the Jinyi Guards, the original..."

Everyone down there was very surprised when they heard that he said the word "original" so many times, and they all listened with their ears pricked up.

"...They were all guilty of deceiving the emperor and were punished for several crimes, and their homes were confiscated and executed!"

Everyone in the hall was shocked and speechless when they heard this: "..."

These are all important officials of the imperial court. It would not be surprising if one of them was killed. The chief minister of the Chongzhen Dynasty was always quick to change, but to kill so many at once was to confiscate their homes and behead them. This has never happened before. Compared with the major cases in Tianqi years, it is much larger!

No, apart from the major cases during the Hongwu period, this is probably the worst, right?

It’s really unbelievable that the emperor would kill so many ministers in one go!
However, they were still shocked when they heard Shao Zongyuan still saying: "These are not big things. The Di newspaper said that the former Duke of Cheng, the former Duke of England, and the former Duke of Ding openly rebelled and tried to Qingjun but were suppressed by His Majesty. All of them were suppressed by His Majesty. Kill them in front of the Meridian Gate Tower!"

When Ma Ke and others heard this, their eyes widened, their mouths opened wide, and they were extremely shocked: "..."

Even if they were beaten to death, I would not dare to imagine that these three princes would actually try to sway the emperor!What happened in the capital that caused so many people to be killed.

It is the crime of deceiving the emperor and being rebellious. Why does it feel like the capital is in chaos!
After they came to their senses and were about to ask further questions, they heard Shao Zongyuan continue: "...Now the prince oversees the country, and your majesty leads the troops to conquer the world in person!"

It's so simple!

One thunder, another thunder, and another thunder struck the civil servants and generals in the hall on the forehead, so shocked that they had no time to react and were immediately dumbfounded.

Any of the things mentioned just now are huge things, and they actually happened together. What happened in the capital that caused so many big things to happen?

Why does it feel like I can't survive and I'm overturning the table?

Originally, what happened here in Baoding today, killing a supervisor who owned Shang Fang Sword, was already a big deal in their eyes.Compared with what happened in the capital described in the Di newspaper, the result was so trivial that it was not worth mentioning at all!

No, even Lu Yingjiao looked a little trembling, and asked Shao Zongyuan: "Mr. Governor, are there... any other big things?"

They are prepared to continue to withstand unexpected news.Perhaps, even with so many outrageous things happening, what else can surpass these?
After hearing this, Shao Zongyuan read the newspaper, and then replied: "All this is really a dream entrusted to the emperor by Emperor Taizu, so he took drastic measures to promote loyal ministers and punish traitors. In addition, regarding the plague, it is the pimple disease. His Majesty said it is It is caused by fleas on rats and can be transmitted from person to person through the air. A man named Wu Youxing has done research on this and asked the local government to find a way to treat it."

Before, they had actually felt that Emperor Taizu's apparition was real.But this idea is just a thought.

Now that I have read the news in the Di newspaper, I am deeply impressed by the apparition of Emperor Taizu.

If you really want to say it, if such a big thing happens in the capital, except Emperor Taizu who has such courage, who else can have such courage?

Therefore, all the things happening in the capital really seem to have traces of Emperor Taizu. How can you say that Emperor Taizu's appearance can be false?
Another thing, if Emperor Taizu hadn’t appeared and informed us of this appalling plague, who would have known what it was?
People in the lobby looked at me and I looked at you. Everyone was shocked. For a long time, no one dared to speak.

I don't know how long it took, Lu Yingjiao came back to his senses and asked tentatively: "Your Majesty, Governor, is it gone?"

After hearing this, Shao Zongyuan glanced at the Di newspaper, and then replied: "There is nothing else. His Majesty has decreed that the three rates will be abolished, and the grain land below [-] acres will be exempted from taxes for one year."

Compared with the previous things, this last thing is really not worth mentioning.

After everyone knew that there was no more shocking news, they almost all breathed a sigh of relief.

I don't know if it's an illusion, but Ma Ke and others felt that there was a deep gap between them and Lu Yingjiao and other Baoding people in the past, but at this moment, when everyone looked at each other, there was a lot less gap.

Marco thought about what just happened and suddenly said: "With so many people confiscating their homes and asking for execution, doesn't the imperial court have a lot of money?"

For example, Chen Yan, the first assistant, was blatantly asking for bribes, and Ma Ke had already shown filial piety. Not to mention that so many people had their homes confiscated, especially those of three hereditary princes. The amount of money gained from the confiscation of their homes was absolutely unimaginable!

Hearing his words, Shao Zongyuan looked at the Di newspaper again, and then said: "Also, Your Majesty has newly established a Beijing camp, and even the salary arrears have been settled."

The implication is that the court, or the emperor, is indeed rich!

When Marco heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up and he said, "Does that mean that in the future, the border troops will not be in arrears with their military pay?"

If he had just heard the news that the emperor only paid military salaries, he would not have thought so.But when he heard that the emperor actually paid off the arrears, it meant that the emperor attached great importance to the army and would even pay off the arrears!

Others don't know, but as the commander-in-chief fighting for the top, he knows best what the current situation in the army is!
It’s not that the officers and soldiers of the imperial court cannot fight, it’s that they really can’t fight. They have no money and are hungry. How can they fight if they sell their sons and daughters?

He himself is an example. If he concentrates all his money to support his servants, he can fight against bandits. But when he goes to fight against the outsiders, his servants are not enough, and he is defeated repeatedly!

In the final analysis, it is not that he is incompetent, but that he has too few servants; and the lack of servants is because he has no money.If the whole army is just servants, how many prisoners will be lost?

At this time, Shao Zongyuan listened to his words and did not give a positive reply: "It was not written in this newspaper, but it only talked about the new establishment of the Beijing camp."

In Baoding, some people were transferred to the capital and joined the newly formed capital camp.Therefore, everyone in Baoding is happy.

After listening to Shao Zongyuan's words, Ma Ke thought for a moment and then said: "Since the Emperor Taizu has appeared, now His Majesty is going to conquer the Jin Dynasty in person. Datong in Xuanfu is one of the two important towns on the nine sides. It is estimated that Your Majesty will also select soldiers to fight in the capital camp there. As long as they are treated like the soldiers in the capital camp, Your Majesty will be able to quickly raise an elite army, and since Your Majesty is here in person, there will be a lot to do!"

Having said this, he paused, then shook his head and said, "It's just... His Majesty has never led an army in a war, so I'm afraid he won't be able to adapt to the military..."

Hearing this, Shao Zongyuan took over his words and said: "The Di newspaper said that His Majesty, Emperor Taizu, has given great power to the emperor and led the army to conquer in person, showing his heroic demeanor!"

Miraculous things happened one after another, all related to Emperor Taizu, and Emperor Taizu's ability...

Needless to say!

No, just listen to Ma Ke first clasping his fists and saluting Shao Zongyuan, and said generously: "Please give me the governor's order. I will not hesitate to fight against the sword and the sea of ​​fire!"

To say that he was disappointed with the Ming Dynasty before and felt that his strength was exhausted, but now he has changed his mind and feels that there is still hope.

When other people heard his words, they quickly expressed their opinions. Suddenly, the lobby of the Governor's Mansion was filled with high spirits!

(End of this chapter)