First Minister of Ming Dynasty

The laws of the country are clear, whoever dares to break the law will of course not be forgiven!

"Your Majesty, my minister, I understand... This time I use troops, I will definitely be careful, and will not harm the people, kill innocent people indiscriminately, and will not embezzle money. The sun can be used as a lesson!"

Only then did Zhu Yuanzhang nod his head, "We don't ask for anything else. Whenever there is an important event, you just read the note we just gave you, and then ask yourself what choice you want to make."

Zhu Liangzu quickly agreed, his heart almost jumped out.

Zhu Yuanzhang, the boss, is really not comparable to the muddled officials of Yuan Ting... He can see everything clearly, and his eyes are like lightning!

Zhu Liangzu shook his head secretly, and returned to the barracks. He looked around and saw that there was no one there, so he lowered his head and looked at the bed. There were two full boxes, all of which were gifts from Lingnan Haoqiang.

Now he needs to rely on these people to provide roads, and it is understandable to accept gifts, but this time, there will be a second time, and a third time, and with so much money from others, he has to do things.

The law of the country is ruthless!

No matter how great the credit is, it is useless.

Zhu Liangzu gritted his teeth, finally leaned over, pushed out the box, and placed it in front of him.

He stared at it for a long time, it was full of gold and silver treasures, enough to spend several lifetimes.

But, but the question is how many lives can I live after receiving this money?

Zhu Liangzu hesitated again and again, stood up several times, and sat down again.The heavy yellow and white thing really grabs people's hearts.Has been tangled until midnight.

He made up his mind, took a pen and paper, wrote a seal, and sealed the box.

The hand that was used to holding the sword trembled slightly as it gripped the thin seal. Fortunately, it was attached in the end, but the back was already soaked.

Zhu Liangzu sat on the box, panting, as if after a fierce battle.

From now on, all the gifts received will be registered and sealed, and then handed over to the King of Wu...More

A few days later, Zhu Liangzu led his troops to the south and directly entered Nanxiong Road. At the same time, Zhou Dexing also led his troops and entered Shaozhou Road.

Zhu's army officially entered Lingnan.

Frankly speaking, both Zhu Liangzu and Zhou Dexing can only be regarded as second- and third-rate generals, far below the level of first-rate famous generals, let alone handsome talents.

But even so, it is like breaking through a bamboo, like entering the land of no one.

In just seven days, Zhu Liangzu easily captured Nanxiong and seized the gateway to Lingnan... Then he went straight to Xunzhou without stopping.

Bing is precious and fast, just one word: fast!

After his soldiers and horses entered Xunzhou, they fought successively with He Zhen's subordinates and made great strides.

"Sir, it seems that we still overestimated He Zhen, this guy is weaker than expected!" Lao Zhu was holding a thick stack of good news, feeling a little numb.

Zhang Ximeng smiled and nodded, he was not surprised.

After the world was in chaos, Lingnan was the same as other places, rebels rose everywhere, and the rule of the Yuan court collapsed.As a representative of the powerful landlords, He Zhen finally defeated the Red Scarf, and like most armed landlords, he chose to join Yuan Ting as his loyal minister and dutiful son.

Similar operations have happened to Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen.

He Zhen is no exception.

But he still can't get rid of the excellent matching mechanism of the Lingnan region, and his overall strength is still quite good.

Not worth mentioning at all.

Sure enough, one month after Zhu Liangzu entered Lingnan, he had already arrived in Huizhou - the place where He Zhen started his career!

The soldiers and horses in Lingnan were all killed by Zhu Liangzu. As long as they heard that Zhu Liangzu was coming, they would immediately collapse, perfectly explaining what it means to flee in the wind.

He Zhen, who was in Guangzhou, was trembling and couldn't sleep at night.

"Sir, save me!"

When He Zhen saw Liu Sanwu, he couldn't wait to beg.

During this period of time, he became visibly thinner, with protruding eyes, high cheekbones, and a very haggard look.

Zhang Ximeng wanted to go to the No. [-] Peak in Guangzhou immediately, so He Zhen was furious, and even cursed Liu Sanwu for being incompetent, and ordered Liu Sanwu to be guarded.

But as the war got worse, He Zhen finally understood that Zhang Ximeng was not joking with him.

The moment of life and death is all in his mind.

"Sir, do you think this is okay? I voluntarily remove the official position of Zuo Cheng in the Jiangxi Fujian province of Yuanting, and accept the canonization of Wu Wang, as long as I continue to guard Lingnan. Otherwise, I, I am willing to retreat to the land of Huizhou."

Liu Sanwu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Does Zuo Cheng feel that giving up the Nanyue King is a big concession? Will the King of Wu agree?"

He Zhen was startled, and then blurted out: "This is how Zhang Shicheng is!"

Liu Sanwu looked up to the sky and laughed, I really didn't see that this guy was so stupid!

"Zhang Shicheng was in Gaoyou, and he broke away from a million-strong army. He also had the land of Suzhou and hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Even the king of Wu dared not say that he could annex it all at once. Zuo Cheng asked himself, how is Zhang Shicheng compared to Zhang Shicheng?" ?”

Are you comparable to Zhang Shicheng?

Comparable?

He Zhen was stunned, and looked at Liu Sanwu stupidly. From the corner of this man's mouth, he could only see a faint sarcasm.He Zhen's heart seemed to be stabbed, he stood up suddenly, turned around and staggered away.

This one can be regarded as one of the princes, but at this moment, he looks extremely fragile, and Zhu's army is a blow to him.

He Zhen hid in his room, crying loudly.

When he cried, he completely broke the army's morale, and even his wife couldn't bear it.

"You are a man, and when things come to an end, you are not as straightforward as a woman?"

He Zhen looked at his wife and said helplessly: "I don't know that the general trend is like this, but how can I abandon the prosperity and wealth for a few years? Not to mention others, but you, what should I do?"

Madam looked at him and said with a sneer, "I am young and beautiful, so I don't need to worry about it. It's just Mrs. Zuo Cheng from the province. I don't care who will be Zuo Cheng! It doesn't matter if your surname is He or Zhu, maybe the one with the surname Zhu is better." Great!"

"you!"

He Zhen was so angry that he almost passed out, gritted his teeth and said, "You, how can you be so unruly?"

The madam couldn't help laughing even more, "I don't obey women's morals, but does the master observe the courtier's festival? You don't have that ability, so why make things difficult for women!"

"I...don't I dare!"

After He Zhen finished speaking, he plunged into his wife's arms and cried loudly. The lady tried to push him twice, but the crying became louder.

His various ugliness, without accident, were all spread out, and they were more than ten times more vivid.Someone escaped from the city the next day and went to seek refuge with Zhu Liangzu.

Afterwards, the tyrants from all over the country also moved, contributing money and efforts to deliver food and grass to Zhu Liangzu. Naturally, it also included a lot of gold and silver treasures.

Faced with these things, Zhu Liangzu sealed them up and prepared to present them to Zhu Yuanzhang to settle the matter.

Thank you for waking up in advance, otherwise I will really fall into it.

Such days only lasted for five days, and He Zhen surrendered the city, and the land of Lingnan fell into the hands of Zhu's army.

The course of the battle was lackluster, and it will be written in the history books in the future, that is, one sentence: Liang Zu was sent to Lingnan, He Zhen surrendered, and Guangzhou was settled.

That's all, nothing more.

But in the face of this result, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed extremely excited.

"Mr. Zhang, our grandfather fought in Yashan! We are going to see the Yashan battlefield with our own eyes!" Zhu Yuanzhang was filled with emotion, "Mr. Zhang, the Song Dynasty died here, and our country may prosper here. ?"

Zhang Ximeng said without hesitation: "Definitely! The minister has seen it!"

Chapter 3: The Burial of the Scholar

Taking the land of Lingnan was almost the easiest battle Zhu Yuanzhang fought. It didn't take long. Zhu Liangzu, Zhou Dexing and other partial generals took prefectures and counties lightly and ran amok.

He Zhen surrendered, and tens of thousands of horses were captured.

Take it like exploring a bag, it is very easy.

How can such a battle work for King Wu?

But in fact, it is not only Zhu Yuanzhang, but also Zhang Ximeng, Zhu Sheng who participated in politics, Song Lian, a scholar of the Imperial Academy, Ye Chen, a bachelor of attendant, Zhang Yi, a bachelor of attendant, and also Shi Boren, Gao Qi, Zhang Yu, Xu Ben, etc., almost Zhu Yuanzhang One-third of the civil servants under his command all went south with the army, took a boat together, and went straight to Guangzhou City.

Including the rookies who just passed the business exam, they also set out with the army, and they went south together with great momentum.

The hot wind blows on the face, and the heart also becomes irritable.

Some people in the north obviously couldn't bear the heat in the south of the Five Ridges, and gradually developed some symptoms of acclimatization.

Jiang Ke made the best use of his talents and things.Relying on the prescription and the medicinal materials he carried, he helped many people.As a result, those fellow subjects whose grades were much better than his were also respectful and polite.

After dinner, when the cool breeze picked up, the big guys got together and chatted freely and happily.

Among a group of people, including Chen Di, also joined in.

"Your Majesty and Prime Minister Zhang are here for Yashan. As a businessman, I don't know much... I just heard that Song Shaodi died there. It seems very tragic?" Chen Di looked at Jiang Ke, looking forward to him the opinion of.

"It is indeed very tragic." Jiang Ke pondered: "At that time, Lin'an fell, and the five-year-old Emperor Song Gong surrendered to the Yuan court. But a loyal man will never die. Concubine Yang Shu, under the protection of her uncle Yang Liangjie, brought her two sons , escaped from Lin'an, went south to contact righteous men, in an attempt to continue to resist the Yuan Dynasty. They first went to Fuzhou, and then the Yuan army killed them, and then went to Quanzhou. One blow, the seller seeks glory, despicable and shameless!"

Chen Di was startled suddenly, and hurriedly said: "I heard that Pu Shougeng is a Semu man, and Yuan Ting appreciates him very much? The descendants of the Pu family are prosperous and rich, and they are still prominent until now!"

At this time, there were many people around, including those who sold fake books. He suddenly jumped up, "I also heard that the Pu family is shameless and betrayed the Song family. We should write a letter to the king of Wu. After entering Quanzhou, we will send the Pu family to the house. Up and down, all demoted to slaves, men as slaves, women as prostitutes, life after life, forever degraded. Let thousands of people step on it, ten thousand people step on it! It is best, it is best to set up a kneeling statue, just like Zhao Gou, to relieve the anger! "

Don't look at this kid's bad mouth, but this idea has been approved by the big guys. Everyone despises shameless people who turn their backs on the master.

The big guys shouted one after another, wanting to avenge Song Shi.

But among the crowd, some people shook their heads slightly.

The person who expressed the opposite opinion was named Zhu Tong. He had an elder brother named Zhu Yi, and his father was Zhu Sheng.

Chen Di smiled and said, "Little Bachelor Zhu, what's your opinion? Tell me!"

Zhu Tong pondered for a while, and said: "The Pu family is shameless and immoral, and they should be punished. I didn't say how to deal with it. It's just that I oppose revenge for the Song Dynasty. Although the death of Zhao Song was forgotten by the Mongols, in the end In the end, I still don’t live up to it. In my opinion, this country deserves to perish!”

"Why do you know that?" Chen Di asked curiously. Although the others passed the exam, everyone's educational level is very different, such as the old accountants of the commercial firms, and even the monks in the temple. Such backgrounds can explain the death of the Southern Song Dynasty. It is also difficult for them.

Zhu Tong said: "Not to mention anything else, the vanguard of destroying the Song Dynasty was the surrendered general Fan Wenhu. …When it came time to fight, he was defeated again and again, and he was ordered to respond, but because of the singing of the birds, he mistakenly thought that the Yuan army had arrived, so he retreated for thirty miles, and watched the entire friendly army wiped out!"

"Such an incompetent person actually relied on Jia Sidao to protect him. After Xiangfan was defeated, he was only demoted to one level, and he still guarded the fortified city of Anqing. Then the Yuan army came and surrendered the city! In turn, he became a thug of the Yuan court. The vanguard of destroying the Song Dynasty. In the Zhao and Song dynasties, there has long been no right and wrong."

"After the fall of Lin'an, the remaining civil servants and generals gathered soldiers and righteous men and fled all the way to the land of Lingnan, trying to gather soldiers and horses to fight against Yuan. But at this time, several important officials continued to fight among themselves, Prime Minister Wen was expelled, and Lu Xiufu and Zhang Shijie were punished. Suppression... The more foreign enemies oppress the border, the more life and death, the more precarious the wind and rain, the more we must guard against our own people, and the less we can abandon the past and share the same hatred with the enemy. [-]% of the death of Zhao Song Dynasty was caused by Mongolia, and [-]% was caused by internal fighting! This is My point of view!"

Zhu Tongben was a gentle man, but when he talked about the death of Zhao Song, he became impassioned.

Everyone present was also listening attentively, and it was the first time for many people to know that the vanguard who destroyed the Song Dynasty turned out to be a surrendered general... It was also the first time they heard that the loyal minister, Prime Minister Wen, was also suspected and expelled.Such loyal ministers cannot be reused, and the death of Zhao Song is reasonable.

To avenge such a group of people who committed suicide seems to be a bit unreasonable.

But in the face of such a situation, what should we do?

We big guys have traveled thousands of miles, weary boats, went straight to Yashan, and looked at the ancient battlefield, what is it for?Is it to regret the death of Zhao Song, or to resist the cruelty of the Yuan court?

How to set the tone, where is the importance of this trip?

The annals of history are clear, the sea and the sky are magnificent, how should we treat the predecessors?

The big guys started to discuss fiercely, but gradually, their voices became low again. Jiang Ke and Zhu Tong both lowered their heads, with the meaning of mourning their misfortune and angering them indisputable.

The other people talked for a while, but couldn't figure it out, so they simply kept silent, only the book seller was still not convinced, "You are pedantic, why discuss right and wrong? Confucius is even taboo for the venerable! If I say Ah, the big deal is that when compiling history, just use the spring and autumn brushwork. The emperor of the Song Dynasty was extremely upright, his ministers were extremely virtuous, and his soldiers were loyal and brave. The heroic sacrifice of 20 people for the country is enough to move future generations to tears."

"Shut up!" Jiang Ke was furious, "History of Qianqiu, how can you allow you to talk nonsense at will? Be careful, I will beat you!"

The book seller shrank his neck in fright, but he was still not convinced, and snorted: "You said I was talking nonsense, but I read and wrote history books, and it was all in the same tone. It can be seen that the ancients were just fooling around like this!"

Jiang Ke really wanted to beat him up, but Zhu Tong sighed: "This is not wrong. In the end, it comes down to the fate of heaven. But in the past few years, Zhang Xiang wrote several articles saying that God's will is the will of the people. , has overturned the theory of destiny. If we still attribute the death of Zhao and Song in this way, it is obviously superficial. I think Zhang Xiang must have a high opinion when he comes here. We may look forward to it."

Looking forward to what Zhang Ximeng can give a high opinion?

At this moment, in the big tent of the Chinese army, there are a gathering of important ministers, who are also discussing fiercely. What is surprising is that Liu Sanwu is on the list, and there are also several Lingnan Confucianists present at the same time.

What was placed in front of them was the tens of thousands of words that Zhang Ximeng wrote to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Everyone kept passing it around, and the more they watched, the more frightened they became. Even Song Lian and others, who were used to Zhang Ximeng's sharpness, were also in shock at this time.

But Liu Sanwu was already fidgeting and stood up in shock.

He hesitated again and again before summoning up his courage and saying: "Mr. Zhang, I, I think this is inappropriate and shouldn't be said."

Hearing this, Gao Qi and the others were about to stand up and refute, but Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "Everyone is invited to come here today to discuss this matter in order to reflect on the past and plan for the future. If there is anything inappropriate, you can speak out , openly and honestly, the speaker is not guilty!"

"Zhang Xiang, if you say so, then I will boldly ask for your advice... Prime Minister Wen, Lu Xiufu, and countless people who died loyally. They are all scholar-officials. Why does Zhang Xiang despise scholars? For thousands of years, scholars As the son of heaven, he governs all peoples. If he is successful, he will benefit the world, but if he is poor, he will be good for himself. Throughout the dynasties, famous ministers have emerged in large numbers, and sages have continued. The inheritance of ethics and the continuation of the culture all depend on the merits of scholars, and it is in this big tent Well, there are many famous ministers and scholars, and I am afraid that Zhang Xiang's theory will hurt the hearts of the world."

After Liu Sanwu finished speaking, he looked around carefully, hoping to get a response, but unfortunately, Zhu Sheng kept his face sullen and remained silent, Song Lian just frowned, and kept looking at what Zhang Ximeng wrote, vaguely, He seems to have figured it out.

"I'm not talking about a certain scholar, but a group of scholar-bureaucrats." Zhang Ximeng said in a deep voice: "Since the Qin, Han, Sui and Tang Dynasties, the status of scholars has been continuously improved. It is a well-known fact. At this moment, scholars no longer regard the world as their own responsibility. Preserving their reputation and protecting their families have become the most fundamental thoughts in the hearts of most scholars. In times of peace, the family, the country, and the world , of course you can have both. But when life and death are at stake, most scholars must first think of themselves. If they surrender to the enemy, they can still continue to be prosperous and rich. It shows that the partisanship is more serious, the internal fighting is endless, they criticize each other, and regard each other as enemies!"

Zhang Ximeng's remarks were very blunt, Liu Sanwu wanted to refute, but found that many people actually nodded.The reason is also very simple. It is indeed written in the history books, and it is indeed the case.

Whenever the catastrophe of subjugation is imminent, the literati and bureaucrats always insist on maintaining the overall situation and order. The laws of the ancestors are easily and unchangeable.If one-third of the power of internal fighting can be used to deal with foreign enemies, I am afraid that the country will not be subjugated.