Chongzhen Undergraduates

"Exactly, what is your official position?" Cheng Xianzhen looked at a masked person, not knowing what kind of official this was.

"I'm in charge of this team. They call me the Brigadier. I'm in charge of everything here."

"Brigade Commander? I've never heard of such a strange title." Cheng Xianzhen was very surprised, how could there be such a strange official position.Could it be that they are really a group of fake princes?

"Sir, there is no doubt about it. The crown prince is here, and he will meet you later. It's just that we are about to set off. Please, sir, settle down your subordinates and organize them into our team to go south together."

It's a good thing some people come to join us.What Zhu Youjian lacks now is talent, no matter what kind of person he is, as long as he can devote himself to Daming, he will accept him.What's more, the opponent brought more than 1000 soldiers and horses to defect, which is already a timely help.

Cheng Xianzhen's soldiers and horses did not have much combat effectiveness, the old, the weak, the sick and the disabled were all crowded together, and their weapons and equipment were also varied, some of which were hoes and wooden forks.If they are counted as soldiers, then I am really sorry for the name of the army.In front of Cheng Xianzhen, Zhu Youjian clearly stated that all those under the age of 16 and over 35 were included in the refugee group.

Although this approach was somewhat embarrassing, Zhu Youjian said it clearly in front of Cheng Xianzhen, and there was no hint of secret calculations.Moreover, he also focused on explaining the reasons for doing so, leaving Cheng Xianzhen speechless.There were 200 people, and Zhu Youjian reluctantly selected [-] people to be incorporated into the war barracks, and additionally distributed weapons, armor and other equipment.

Afterwards, Wu Ganlai recounted the number of people in the team.More than 400 people were newly recruited from Dezhou Prefecture, including more than 200 from Cheng Xianzhen.Fortunately, the craftsmen led by Bi Xiangdong have been making four-wheeled carriages non-stop, and bought a batch of mules in Dezhou, and finally put these people into the ride.

Leaving Texas equals safety.At least you don't have to worry about the golden soldiers chasing after you.Although Dezhou did not accept Zhu Youjian and the others, Dezhou was playing under the banner of Ming Dynasty after all. If Hou Jin wanted to go south, he had to occupy Dezhou first.

Since Dezhou has changed its flag, it will more or less delay Jin Bing for a few days, which is enough time for Zhu Youjian and the others to escape safely.After passing through Dezhou and facing south, the population gradually increased.The looting of the Jin soldiers before entering the pass was limited to the Dezhou area, and all the south did not suffer disaster.

Now that there are too many people, Zhu Youjian began to slowly recruit troops.If you want to restore the country, the first thing is of course to have soldiers in your hands.The military system in the late Ming Dynasty has been destroyed, and various generals have become local warlords in essence. These soldiers will not listen to their own orders, but only care about their own money.

Even if you go south by yourself, without a force that can protect you, there will be no way to talk about restoring the country.Recruiting soldiers has become a matter that must be faced, and it is still imminent, because my team is not far from the Yellow River.The Yellow River in the Ming Dynasty was not in Jinan, but in the north of Xuzhou.This large area is the so-called yellow flood zone, which is the most vulnerable place in history.

Zhu Youjian intends to take a rest in this area, focus on recruiting troops, and focus on building an army of his own.When you come to the Yellow River, you will go to Xuzhou. Xuzhou is Gao Jie's territory, and he dare not go into Gao Jie's hands alone.He didn't believe any of the four towns in Jiangbei.

Cheng Xianzhen was amazed by the itinerary for several days. Such a team that had been fleeing all the time was able to ride all of them, and he had never seen the carriage under his buttocks.

He had seen the prince before, and he cried bitterly in front of the prince, and when he talked about the emperor hanging himself, his nose was flowing, and he vowed to avenge the emperor.

The prince didn't pick up his words, but said flatly: "I don't know where father is, maybe he's not dead."

Cheng Xianzhen was shocked all of a sudden, the prince's words obviously imply something, but since the prince escaped from the capital, if the emperor is not dead, why is he not with the prince?

However, Cheng Xianzhen was not the only one who held such doubts, and now the city of Nanjing has exploded.

Chapter 30: History of the Generalissimo

The time went back to half a month ago, when the revived Zhu Youjian frantically stole the silver that Li Zicheng robbed in the capital.

The capital fell, and news of Chongzhen's suicide spread from the capital to Nanjing.People in the whole market were in panic, and the officialdom in Nanjing was even more mournful. The emperor died, the country fell, and everyone lost their backbone.

All the officials are in panic all day long, and the main concern of everyone is: who will pay me in the future?

Shi Kefa, Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, is arranging the mourning hall in his own hall. The mourning hall is extremely luxuriously furnished, fully demonstrating the filial piety that a big filial son can express.None of Shi Kefa's family died, and this mourning hall was completely set up for the dead Emperor Chongzhen.

"Master, all the doors of the house have been opened, all the servants have put on filial piety, and the door is crowded with people watching the excitement. What do you have to order?" The old servant Shi Zhongfen stood beside Shi Kefa with his hands down, Shi Kefa Facing Chongzhen's spirit card, he didn't look back.

"Cry." Shi Kefa gritted his teeth and hummed a word from his nose.

"Master, what did you say?" Shi Zhongfen didn't hear clearly, so he hurriedly asked again.

"I told you to cry, cry loudly." Shi Kefa gritted his teeth again, turned his head, stared at the old servant and said.

"Your Majesty, why are you so overwhelmed, my Daming, why did you disappear so soon." Shi Kefa wailed, and took the lead in crying.

From top to bottom, from the strength to the outside, Shifu cried all day long, so loud that the roof was almost toppled over.The people in Nanjing City like to watch the excitement. When they heard such a loud cry from someone, they all rushed in the direction of the sound.People push me, I push you, layer upon layer, crowds of people squeezed into the Shifu to watch the fun.

"Master, there are too many people outside, they are about to squeeze into the inner courtyard." Shi Zhongfen was a little worried, if someone took the opportunity to enter the inner courtyard, they would suffer.

"Open all the doors and let people in." Shi Kefa just finished speaking, and then continued to cry.Shi Zhongfen secretly took a look at the master, only to see that the master was holding a few garlic cloves in his hand.

There were more and more people watching the scene. Some people said that Lord Shangshu died, and some said that Lord Shangshu's father died.Anyway, rumors are flying all over the sky, saying everything.At this moment, a group of officials, big and small, came over in a line.But it was discovered that these officials all pass on filial piety today.

This is strange, if it is said that the Shifu is holding a funeral, as a fellow official, it is enough to wear plain clothes, so that everyone will not wear mourning for Shi Kefa.

The officials entered the front yard, plopped before entering the mourning hall, and all knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, go slowly, I'm late!" The old man kneeling in the front looked to be about 80 years old, with gray hair, he was very pitiful.

"Your majesty, I'll follow you!" Shi Kefa saw that there were almost a crowd of spectators outside, so he glanced at a pillar at home, then rushed over, and when he was about to hit the pillar, he supported it with his palm. one time.

Shi Kefa hit the pillar with sincerity, even if he supported it with his palm in advance, there was still blood on his forehead, and he also had a huge blue meat bun.

"Master, how can you do this? You are dead, how will this family survive." Shi Zhongfen hugged Shi Kefa, and cried loudly towards the door.The female family members of the Shifu cried miserably.

The old man who was kneeling outside was immediately assisted and walked in, pointed at Shi Kefa and scolded: "Zhuzi, you know that the country is in trouble, how can you give up your life so easily? Why don't you stand up and do something for the people and the country at this critical moment?" ?”

"I also thought about it. When the capital was besieged, I brought soldiers to rescue him. But I just crossed the river from Nanjing when I heard the news that the capital was broken. Now that the emperor is gone, how can I serve the country? For the people?" Shi Kefa shed a few tears, and his heart was moved, which made the melon-eaters watching the excitement all moved.

Only then did the common people know that the emperor was gone. Everyone has heard too much about this in recent years, especially those who are a little old.In the beginning, Emperor Wanli died. At that time, it was still a rare event, and it was rare to hear about the dead emperor for decades.

Exactly one month later, Emperor Taichang died.The Taichang Emperor died, and the common people were still surprised for a while, why did the emperor change again every month?Seven years later, Emperor Tianqi died again.Then the common people got used to it. Anyway, the emperor's family died of old age, and the emperor was already used to it.Now that Emperor Chongzhen is dead, the common people think that the emperor will be replaced again.

It doesn't matter, anyway, if you change it, you can live your life as usual, and you don't see how much money you make.As long as we don't continue to raise taxes, it doesn't matter who becomes the emperor.

"Confused! Xianzhi, you are only 43 years old, and you are in the prime of life. Now in the city of Nanjing, I am too old to walk, and the ministers of the two countries are lying in the imperial doctor's office. You are the only one left. Now that you are strong, who will depend on half of Jiangnan from now on?" The old man continued to scold Shi Kefa.

"My lord, Shi Kefa is incompetent and can't bear such a heavy burden." Shi Kefa shook his head, appearing to be in difficulty.

"The old man says you can do it, so you can do it. If you don't want to take responsibility, I will tell the world about your adoptive daughter." The old man threatened.

"Boss, you are embarrassing me. Everyone knows that I have no children. I saw an orphan adopted as a righteous daughter just to pity her. How can you slander me because of this incident?" He didn't expect the old man to be so shameless, and he speculated that the old man probably forced himself because he was afraid of taking responsibility.

"Others don't know it, and the world doesn't know it. It's hard for you to prove your innocence. People only know that you, Shi Kefa, have adopted a goddaughter who is as beautiful as a fairy, and everyone will have a lot of imagination."

"Well, so to speak, I can only drive ducks to the shelves." Shi Kefa reluctantly agreed.

After all the officials and spectators left, Shi Zhongfen quickly closed the gate.With his hands behind his back and a white cloth wrapped around his head, Shi Kefa hurried to the back house.Before entering the flower hall, he saw his adopted daughter Shi Xiangyun reading a book with great interest.

"Yun'er, what book are you reading?" Shi Kefa had sharp eyes, and he had seen Shi Xiangyun reading through the window pane, so he asked deliberately.

When Shi Xiangyun heard that it was Shi Kefa's voice, he quickly hid the book in his hand, then stood up blushing and replied, "Father, my daughter hasn't read a book."

"You little clever ghost, Daddy has seen it just now, and you are still quibbling. Did you not pay attention to poetry and poetry, and read some messy books?"

"No way, Daddy made fun of his daughter."

Shi Kefa knew about this Shi Xiangyun.This adoptive daughter has been adopted by him since she was 7 years old, and now she is in her twenties, and she has reached the age of marriage.This girl has been clever and eccentric since she was a child, with a straightforward temper, and she prefers fashionable things that are popular outside.I also especially like to read some novels and vulgar magazines.

Shi Kefa is not demanding on women's reading, it's just a pastime to pass the time, so he doesn't bother to pursue it too much.At this moment, seeing that Shi Xiangyun didn't want him to know, Shi Kefa simply ignored him and turned back to his room.When Shi Xiangyun saw Shi Kefa leave, he fell down on the chair and the book hidden behind his back fell to the floor. The title of the book was "Cui Yingying's Tale of the Western Chamber".

Shi Kefa came to the study room, gently took off his coat, handed his left hand to Shi Zhongfen, and gently placed the garlic clove in his palm with his right hand on the table.

"Master, you didn't use garlic cloves? Then how did your tears come out?" Shi Zhongfen took away the garlic cloves, put it in his mouth and bit it, it was not too spicy, this garlic clove was not fake.

"Oh! I thought I wouldn't cry, but then I really shed tears. Although the emperor doesn't like me, I don't like the emperor either. The emperor transferred me to Nanjing, which means that he doesn't want to use me at all, otherwise why Maybe I won’t be allowed to be Minister of the Ministry of War in the capital. I was very angry at first. I should be happy when he died. But I thought about it later, the emperor can die for the country with his own body.

Do you know Shi Zhongfen? For thousands of years, there has never been an emperor who died for his country.I was really moved by him, I cried.I really cried! "