Chapter Seventy-One Sacrifice

  The emperor was humiliated, and the entire camp was naturally furious. Zhang Yan, who had been hesitant at first, immediately waved his hand, and the executioners who were ready to strike led the captured Ming soldiers to the seaside. Without saying a word, they pushed them down in rows, waiting for Li Zicheng's order to start killing.

  There were many carters rushing to catch their carts, and those porters who were exerting themselves, ordinary sailors, one by one wailing and crying out, their voices shaking the sky, desperately knocking their heads and shouting grievances.

  Zhang Tai had no choice but to wait behind Li Zicheng, planning to plead for mercy once more.

  Li Zicheng's face turned iron-green as he gazed out at the sea for a while, watching as a fleet of ships borrowed the wind to sail further and further into the open ocean. If they were facing off against each other, it would be clear that the enemy had thousands of troops, and Li Zicheng would have ordered his men to charge forward to salvage their lost dignity and morale... But before him lay the endless blue waters of the sea, and he shot a cold glance at the ship carrying the so-called "Crown Prince" before turning back to Liu Zongmin with an icy tone: "Jue Xuan, is this the Crown Prince you didn't deign to take seriously? Take a look - they're quite impressive now! But Jue Xuan, are we afraid of this young whelp who's still wet behind the ears?"

  Just now Zhu Ciyan's "Shaanxi Generals" have greatly humiliated Li Zicheng, this emperor of the Shun Dynasty. Moreover, people's hearts are extremely subtle. Although everyone now calls Li Zicheng the Emperor and a new dynasty has been established, whether it is Li Zicheng himself or his closest subordinates, when mentioning Chongzhen and the current crown prince, they still feel that the other side is the true dragon and phoenix.

  A country is not yet established, and this new dynasty has a name that is not proper, words that are not smooth.

  This is also the deep reason why Li Zicheng was desperate to capture Beijing. Unfortunately, he failed to achieve his goal and suffered a heavy loss at sea. Fortunately, this new emperor had been a commander for many years, with a broad mind and temperament that ordinary people could not match. With just one sentence, he turned the situation around.

  As expected, Liu Zongmin's sharp eyes flashed with a fierce light, and this brave general finally burst into rage. He looked towards the sea, stroking his chin with its steel-like whiskers, and said coldly: "Sooner or later, I will take the head of this Crown Prince, and let him know the consequences of being glib-tongued and evil-mouthed!"

  Li Zicheng burst out laughing, urging on his war horse, trying to save some face in front of his subordinates, but the matter at hand was really giving him a headache and he needed to return to Beijing as soon as possible... There were still many things to be settled there, waiting for him to personally decide, now all the generals and military strategists were by his side, only Niu Jinxing was left in Beijing, to be honest, he couldn't let his guard down yet.

  Moreover, many rituals need to be performed, originally agreed upon, and the capture of the capital also needs to follow the heavenly mandate. He wants to enter the capital from Deshengmen Gate, then shoot an arrow under Chentianmen Gate, to show that he has brought the king's energy from the north and is about to overthrow the old and establish a new one. But whether to still follow the original plan now also needs careful consideration.

  As for the Ming dynasty's officials and generals, the tens of thousands of eunuchs and palace maids in the palace, thinking about it is also enough to give him a headache. For a moment, he was indeed a little bewildered and at a loss, originally a joyful and festive occasion, the great joy of changing dynasties had unexpectedly turned into this state... No matter how nonchalant he appeared on the surface, that feeling of being in a difficult situation in his heart couldn't be dispelled no matter what!

  "Father?"

  Just as they were about to set out, Zhang Tai came running back to ask for instructions. Behind him, not far away, was still tied up a struggling and cursing Gong Yonggong.

  "What else can I ask?" Li Zicheng's mind was already in a mess, like a tangled ball of hemp. When Zhang Yan came over, he coldly said: "No need to report again, kill them all!"

  "Report to the Emperor, there are some sailors and boatmen who strongly claim they have been wronged..."

  Zhang Tai was still begging for mercy on behalf of those innocent sailors who had been wronged.

  "Alright!" Li Zicheng also didn't want to hurt the face of this adopted son and his trusted general, so he didn't think twice about it, waved his hand and ordered: "Cut off the right hands of these scholars."

  He said with a stern face: "Don't plead for them again!"

  These people are all laborers, and the livelihood of their families depends on their hands. If one hand is cut off, it's equivalent to cutting off the livelihood of this person and his family. Not only can't they earn money or work, but also have to raise a disabled person at home. However, Zhang Tai also saw Li Zicheng's face and knew that saying more would be useless. So he just nodded in agreement and watched as Li Zicheng and others were surrounded by the cavalry and left. Only Li Yan had an iron-green complexion and eyes full of pity when passing by, but Song Xianzhe was beside him, shaking his head vigorously to signal him not to speak out. As a result, after these two chief military strategists also rushed past the crowd, under the circumstances that Tian Jianxiu, who was known for his benevolence and righteousness, was not present, the fate of these laborers and watermen, as well as the captured Ming soldiers, was sealed in an instant.

  "The Emperor has decreed that all captured Ming soldiers are to be beheaded. The civilians and water carriers, cut off their right hands!"

  When they arrived at the place where the prisoners were being held, Zhang Tai frowned and sighed, and gave an order. The rebel soldiers then began to drag out the civilian laborers and boatmen, one person holding their hands and another wielding a knife, cutting off their right hands before pushing them aside, leaving them to live or die as they would.

  So many people, it's unlikely that they would cut off their hands and then carefully bandage them. After cutting off the words "wen" and "zi", sticking them to the first light of dawn, whether they live or die, it's not something that can be reasoned with.

  The palm of the hand was cut off, and it looked very strange. Next, all the captured Ming army officers were beheaded one by one. The Ming soldiers knew they couldn't escape their fate, so they cursed loudly, saying all sorts of unpleasant things. In the end, they only shouted: "We're just taking a step ahead, Prince Zhuang of the Great Ming will surely avenge us in a few years, and you'll be the ones who are beheaded."

  Zhang Tai had also heard Luo Hu say that he was very wary of this Ming Taizi, and now hearing it in his heart made him feel annoyed. Seeing Gong Yonggu's cold smile towards himself, he was also extremely impatient, waved his hand and said: "Hurry up and take them away, behead them all and report back!"

  "Your Highness, something is amiss!"

  Chen Mingxia, who had been summoned to serve beside Zhu Ciyan, suddenly pointed to the shore and exclaimed: "The rebel is killing people!"

  It was indeed the case, in a vacant lot on the coast of Hong Kong, a large group of rioters were dragging people to the seaside, with knives raised and lowered, and dozens of people's mouths were filled with blood, their heads rolling to the ground. The rioters then picked up the severed heads and threw them into the sea along with the bodies.

  With a flash of the knife, dozens of people died. At this time, not far away, everyone was watching clearly, except for a few sailors and watermen, most of them were captured Tianjin Fu Biao's infantry officers and soldiers.

  "Damn it, he's not even human."

  "Bastard!"

  The crowd was furious at the sight, and soon they couldn't help but scold loudly. Then, Gong Xianzu, who was standing beside Zhu Ciyan, suddenly knelt down and cried out: "Father!"

  When I looked again, I saw a general wearing a mountain-patterned armor and a purple flower cloak being dragged to the shore. The general was also struggling constantly, and finally was pressed to the ground and beheaded with one knife.

  From his physique to his armor and cloak, it was mostly Kong Yonggu who had been captured and never heard from again. For a time, even Wei Yue and Wang Yuan were moved to tears by the news of his capture, and they wept silently.

  For several days, everyone has been fighting bloody battles. This prince has always been charging forward and retreating backward. If it weren't for this, how could he have been captured?

  "This is a sacrifice!" Zhu Ciyan was silent for a moment, and after half a beat, he finally said sternly: "Today's affairs should be remembered forever. After returning to Nanjing, I will memorialize the emperor to approve the construction of the Zhaozhong Temple to commemorate the loyal souls!"

  The crowd was silent, but their eyes also showed a moved expression. And not far away, Chen Mingxia, who was standing by, also had a thoughtful look in his eyes... The prince's actions, based on his analysis and attention over the past few days, must have a reason, must have a deep meaning. Now, this matter, of course, has the wisdom to win people's hearts, but what is the real deep meaning after building the temple?

  The Crown Prince has no capable civil officials by his side. Chen Mingxia deeply knows that Wu Weiyang and others are just a group of literati, without any real ability. At present, Gong Dingyu is not around, and Li Banghua and others are after all high-ranking officials, who cannot always attend to him... This is an opportunity for establishing oneself by the Crown Prince's side, really can't be lightly missed...

  "Your Highness is absolutely right. After I arrive in Nanjing, I will record the events and write a memorial to commemorate the martyred soldiers, proclaim their loyalty and bravery, and uphold justice and righteousness!"

  Zhu Ciwen looked at this young Fu Shezi with an appreciative gaze, a person who can leave a great name in history and rise to high positions is indeed extraordinary. Although what he said was still old-fashioned, but in the midst of urgency, he could vaguely grasp his idea of proclaiming the martyrdom of soldiers and especially stirring up the people's spirit, which was truly rare and precious!

  Motivating latecomers is, of course, the most important thing. At the end of the Ming dynasty, the people's hearts were lost, which was the most fundamental problem. The gentry, the army, and the common people from all walks of life were unwilling to make an effort, or rather, most of them were unwilling to make an effort. Having a powerful empire, but being finally obtained by a small tribe of 60,000 people, the lesson in this is really too profound!

  But it's still too early to say that now.

  Zhu Ciwen was still hesitating when the old helmsman came over, knelt down and kowtowed from a distance, saying: "Your Highness, there's a small boat ahead, signaling with flags that the Emperor is worried about you and has sent a ship to take you to the big ship ahead."

  The captain of the ship naturally didn't understand the rules. In fact, Chongzhen's words were considered imperial edicts, and if they were in the palace, they would have to be proclaimed loudly, with everyone kneeling down to receive them. At this time, Zhu Ciren couldn't care about many things, and after listening, he just nodded his head and replied: "Good, I'll take a small boat to catch up!"

  The so-called small boat also had dozens of people rowing, Chongzhen went ahead for more than an hour, the sea route was not far, after hoisting the sail and then desperately rowing, in a short while, a very large two-masted ship suddenly appeared in sight.

  The maritime ban of the Ming dynasty still existed in name but was actually abolished, and the restrictions on sea-going ships were still very strict. The so-called "big ships" were only about 600 tons, which was far less than the treasure ships that sailed to the Western Ocean in those years.

  Zhu Ciwen couldn't care about these things at this time. In his mind, he only thought: "Now that you've found me, what is it about?"