Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 910 Have we become a righteous army?

After Feng Sheng's story was told, the audience was still not satisfied and started clamoring for Old Zhang to tell a few more stories. Old Zhang was usually quite arrogant, but today he did not refuse and told a few more stories.

The protagonists of these stories include dukes and nobles who are now in high positions and well-known in the market, as well as heroes who died suddenly halfway through the founding of the country, and even some ordinary civilians and soldiers. What they have in common is that these people, for some reason, witnessed or experienced the suffering of the people and made a great wish to save the people.

In these stories, Zhu Yuanzhang and the Ming army are like Bodhisattvas and saviors who save people from suffering. Their common desire brings them together and makes them an invincible team.

"No wonder our Emperor Hongwu, a cowherd, was able to conquer the world in the end... How could such a benevolent and righteous army fail to conquer the world?" someone in the audience shouted.

This statement immediately resonated with many other listeners. "Who says it's not true?" An old man with white hair and beard said excitedly: "If you ask me, this kind of army should be a real army!"

"Everyone, I am seventy-two years old this year. I have experienced the days of the former Yuan Dynasty. Those officers and soldiers of the former Yuan Dynasty... what kind of officers and soldiers were they! The bandits were more humane than them!"

"The bandits came and left a bag of brown rice for me. The Yuan dogs came to collect grain, but they didn't leave me a single grain of rice!"

"My eldest son wanted to file a complaint with the authorities, but was killed by a general from the Yuan Tartars with a single blow... I was almost killed by them! Do you think of such soldiers? Can you call them soldiers?" When the old man said this, he seemed to think of the miserable days in the past, and he beat his chest and stamped his feet in grief.

"No! What kind of soldiers can you call them!" "Damn it, they are just a bunch of beasts!" "Damn it, it's those dog soldiers who make people unable to live. Otherwise, why would our grandfather Hongwu rebel against the Yuan Dynasty!" For a moment, everyone was outraged.

"If I were to say, a soldier who doesn't care about the people is not a soldier. A general who doesn't care about helping the people is not a general!"

"What is the difference between bandits and government troops? Government troops protect the peace of China, while bandits are just a group of looters bent on plunder! Why was our Hongwu grandfather's army able to restore China? Isn't it because everyone has the people and the country in their hearts?"

"Then again, such soldiers and generals are worthy of the trust and respect of ordinary people like us. These soldiers risked their lives and fought bravely, which gave us the good life we ​​have now. We should respect such soldiers, don't you think?"

"Well said!" "That's exactly the point!" "The old man is right! We are not ungrateful people..." The audience echoed again.

"The old man suggested that we write a letter to Grandpa Hongwu and ask him to build a temple for the soldiers. What do you think?"

"This is a good idea!" "Great! Build a shrine for the soldiers!" "Such a benevolent and righteous army must be remembered forever!" Everyone was discussing heatedly for a while.

Feng Sheng was in the middle of it, and his face was full of strangeness. Others didn't know, but didn't he know? At the beginning of the founding of the country, most of the generals were soldiers and ruffians. If it weren't for the emperor's military law, they would be no different from the Yuan army or other rebel armies.

In the early years, dukes and nobles often swallowed up people's land and oppressed the common people. If the emperor had not confiscated the red-lettered iron certificates of the nobles in bronze tripods, these nobles would have been fearless and would have tried their best to grab the moon.

These storytellers actually described them all as benevolent and righteous teachers, and even wanted to build ancestral temples for them... This sense of separation was really strange to people like Feng Sheng who knew the situation.

After seeing this strange thing, Feng Sheng began to think about the deep meaning of what Li Jin, Fang Xiaoru and others did. What is the point of building a shrine for these nobles?
Could it be that you want to praise first and then criticize?
Feng Sheng frowned deeply, feeling puzzled. He frowned and thought, but unexpectedly, he attracted the attention of a tea drinker. The audience looked at the sword hanging on his waist, thought for a moment, and suddenly asked: "Hey, brother, are you a lieutenant general of the Ming army?"

"Hmm?" Feng Sheng suddenly came back to his senses and looked at the knife on his waist. This knife was the standard sword of the Ming Dynasty officers. The prototype was the Damascus scimitar that Zhu Su and Zhu Di brought back from Samarkand. Later, the Damascus steel used to make this scimitar became a tribute that the three major sultanates in Central Asia needed to pay to the Ming Dynasty.

This kind of steel knife is extremely sharp, but it is also difficult to make. Zhu Yuanzhang gave it as a reward to meritorious officers. The words "Infinite Merit, Ming Dynasty Forever Prosperous" were engraved on the left and right sides of the scabbard. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that the person wearing this knife must be a meritorious officer in the Ming army.

The voice of this tea drinker also attracted the attention of others. When they saw Feng Sheng had a tough face, a long sword on his waist and a dignified expression, he really looked like a general, so they surrounded him excitedly.

"The general fought bravely for us, the people. This is truly admirable. We should pay our respects to him..."

"Oh my, a great general has come here in disguise... Dr. Tea, I'll treat this general to a table of tea!"

"I wonder which general in my Ming army you are? Can you tell me your name..."

"Ah, isn't this General Feng, Duke of Song? I once met the general outside the Duke of Song's mansion..."

Hearing that he was Feng Sheng in the story, a group of people came over with even more enthusiasm. Even though Feng Sheng and his guards were well-informed, they were at a loss for a moment. But the people had no ill intentions, so they didn't want to scold them.

Surrounded by these enthusiastic people, Feng Sheng took great pains to break free from the encirclement. The hats and buns on the heads of the group of people were already in disarray, and their hands and arms were filled with eggs, cakes and other things forced upon them by the enthusiastic people.

"Really... these common people are even more difficult to deal with than the thousands of troops of the Northern Yuan Dynasty!" A personal soldier said with a bitter smile, but his eyes were full of satisfaction.

"... Let's go back home." Feng Sheng said. Obviously, such a strong public opinion trend must be instigated by someone behind the scenes.

However, Feng Sheng still didn't understand why these people were inciting such public opinion.

Just like this two days later, when the New Year's Day and Full Day Court was approaching, Feng Sheng had no choice but to put aside his doubts and prepare to concentrate on dealing with the turmoil in the court.

Since he couldn't understand, he would just act as he had originally planned. He believed that if his military meritorious officers worked together, they would surely be able to urge the imperial court to send troops to Guizhou, thus giving them, the military meritorious officers, another big piece of the pie...

(End of this chapter)