Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
Imperial Ming: The Heavenly Mandate
墨書 Inktalez
In the early morning, Emperor guarded the national gate, and the monarch died for the state.
He ruled for 276 years, with sixteen emperors succeeding the throne. It all began with a beggar named Zhu Zhongba. Hongwu drove the Mongols a thousand miles to the north, stripping the Yuan Dynasty of its imperial position. Chengzu launched five northern expeditions, establishing the ancestral teaching that the monarch should die for the state.
Throughout the history of China, only it, began with the suppression of the barbarians, ended with the invasion of foreign enemies, from beginning to end, did not seek harmony with enemies, nor flatter them.
Finally, in the midst of internal turmoil, it was unable to maintain internal stability while resisting external aggression, and ultimately fell at the hands of the Righteous Army. Emperor Sizong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youjian, who reigned for only seventeen years, did not resent his own misfortune of being born in troubled times. Instead, he lamented the continuous natural disasters and the accumulation of poverty and weakness in the country, regretting that he did not possess the virtue of the emperors of the Qin and Han dynasties, nor the accomplishments of the Tang and Song dynasties.
When it comes to the hanging of the coal mountain, only the lament of "I have been in power for seventeen years, and the rebels are pressing on the capital. Although I have little virtue and have offended the heavens, leading to the rebels pressing on the capital, it is all the fault of my officials who have misled me." remains.
I implore Rebel Emperor Li Zicheng to take over the throne without harming the remnants of the Ming Dynasty. Who would have thought that it would allow the Later Jin from beyond the pass to pluck the peaches, shatter the rivers and mountains, and make the sacred artifacts easier to obtain.
The long river of time seems to have stopped in the spring of the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen era.
It should have been a time of rejuvenation for all things, but the Shun Tian Mansion was plagued by a rare sandstorm, and years of war had led to a rampant plague within the city. The scattered hearts of the people, the weak and weary soldiers, and the sparsely scattered troops on the towering city walls all foreshadow the decline of a dynasty, much like the setting sun, no matter how radiant it may be, eventually it will set...
On April 25th, the last morning court of the Ming Dynasty, the landscape, rivers, and mountains established by Emperor Hongwu, are about to change hands.
The nobles and landlords in the city have long escaped, while the common people are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Li Rebel Emperor's troops, hoping that they will bring the new life they desire to this weakened country, reigniting the people's hope for a better future.
Unfortunately, Li Zicheng's army was not composed of sages, nor had they truly awakened. As is well known, they soon retreated to the northwest under the iron hooves of the Qing army.
"Welcome, Rebel Emperor, we do not pay tribute."
It's just a beautiful slogan, and the classical era is still progressing step by step.
On this last day of morning court, the 34-year-old Zhu Youjian had already turned his hair white from national affairs, foreign enemies, internal chaos, and natural disasters, and he was talking to himself in a crazy manner on the dragon throne.
The spacious Python Gold Dragon Robe cannot conceal his emaciated body, and the dazzling flat crown cannot disguise his desolation. He is still the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, but in the court, no one listens to his orders.
He is lonely and weeping, lamenting why no one attends the court, repeatedly shouting, "Who will beat the drum for me to hold court?"
Above the hall, the echoes reverberated, and a deathly silence and desolation shrouded the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Accompanying Emperor Ming, Empress Zhou responded, "They have all fled, and there is no one left to beat the drum for us. Let me, as your humble subject, beat the drum for Your Majesty!"
Upon seeing someone respond, Emperor Ming was extremely excited and repeatedly said, "Beloved consort, hurry, hurry."
As the dawn rose in the sky, a slender woman exerted all her strength to ring the bell. The ancient and heavy bell rang out, still the same bell, but this time, it could no longer summon the civil and military officials...
Facing the newborn rising sun, with the hopeful drumbeats, but it can only be the funeral bell of the dynasty.
For a long time, an old man with graying temples, wearing eunuch's outerwear and general's armor, moved with a mix of urgency and hesitation, looking quite comical.
He is Wang Chengen, the chief eunuch by Emperor Ming's side, leading three thousand eunuchs in a bloody battle on the city walls against the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Just returning from the battle, he kneels down as soon as he enters the palace and proclaims long live the Emperor three times.
Looking at this old eunuch who is like a father to him, with bloodstains all over his armor, Emperor Ming doesn't have time for pleasantries and asks, "How many are left?"
"Less than a thousand men, all exhausted, I fear the bandits will attack the city in a matter of days. Your Majesty, I volunteer to risk my life to escort the Emperor out of the city."
Emperor Ming shook his head, and Empress Zhou also spoke: "Though I am just a woman, I am not willing to live a life of ignominy. Let me also be buried with the Ming Dynasty."
Emperor Ming gazed towards the northeastern horizon, where the Guanning Iron Cavalry and Wu Sangui were. They could have come to protect him...
Unfortunately, back then, Yuan Chonghuan arrived too late to save him. Zhu Youjian managed to endure, but this time, it was not possible...
"Old slave, buy some time for His Majesty. Promise me, don't be willful this time..."
"Yafu, have a safe journey. When the rebel army enters the city, you should surrender!" Emperor Ming said with a sense of desolation.
It seems somewhat incredible to him that in his lifetime, he had little talent except for being a master of martial arts in his youth. When he was not yet middle-aged, he turned against Wei Zhongxian and helped the young Zhu Youjian ascend to the throne. For nearly sixty years, he served Emperor Ming with a complex mix of emotions, knowing that although Emperor Ming was cautious, arrogant, and suspicious by nature, he favored this eunuch greatly.
Upon hearing this honor, Wang Chengen tearfully expressed, "When Wei Zhongxian caused chaos in the court, he left behind a secret passage. If Your Majesty were to use it, I guarantee that I can escort the Emperor and Empress to Shuntian, continuing the reign in the capital of Yingtian..."
"Do not worry, this is the punishment bestowed upon me by the heavens. Yafu, since I have no intention of surrendering, I grant you this final imperial decree: you must survive. It would be best if you could reconnect with the Eastern Depot and retrieve The Third Prince who is lost. If possible, let him inherit the throne in Jiangnan. If not, let him live a good life and act at his own discretion. As for the Forbidden City, the survival of the princes is uncertain."
The noble imperial family members are the primary targets of the marauding peasant army, especially the descendants of the emperor, and it can be expected that they will not be spared."
"I am not the ruler of a fallen country, you are all the subjects of a fallen country."
This is the dying words of Emperor Ming of Zhu Youjian. Although there are factors for Emperor Ming to defend himself, among the civil and military officials of the court, few of the Donglin Party have been loyal to the country. Kneeling to foreign enemies is truly shameful.
At the end of the last dynasty, there were not even a few eunuchs who could be competent. This is unheard of in history, a lingering regret for ages.
At dusk, the rebel army entered the city, the Donglin faction surrendered, and the chief eunuch Wang Chengen refused to surrender and was tortured to death. In a state of madness, Emperor Ming personally sent away his beloved Princess Changping, Zhu Meichuo, and Empress Zhou.
Alone in his madness and on the brink of death, he picked up the emperor's sword, removed the dragon robe, took off his crown, let his hair loose, full of infinite vicissitudes. Finally, he took a lingering look at the supreme dragon throne and gazed at the distant horizon, where lay the great mountains and rivers of the Ming Dynasty.
This sixteen-year-old Emperor made many mistakes, but he did not betray the Ming Dynasty. In the end, he sacrificed himself for the country and was hanged on Coal Hill.
Who sheds tears for the blood-stained mountains and rivers, drifting and singing in the late dreams of Wushan.
In another world, a simple yet passionate young man named Jiang Xiaobai was watching the TV series "Kingdom" and let out a heartfelt sigh.
If the Qing army had fallen into chaos due to Huang Taiji's death, if Yuan Chonghuan had been more capable and could have driven the Qing forces out of the Ming Dynasty earlier, if Wu Sangui were not a ruthless and self-serving individual, if there were fewer natural disasters and human tragedies, if the rulers of the Ming Dynasty could have awakened sooner, and if their ministers were not so corrupt and incompetent, perhaps this Ming Dynasty would not merely be remembered for its sixteen emperors over twelve generations. The "Kingdom" would have shattered and scattered, while the Jurchen cavalry would have trampled across the Central Plains.
Here I feel a thousand emotions, not only because of the special nature of the Ming Dynasty, the personal feelings and passions of a young person, but also because of the constant mention by the elders in the family.
Their family is descended from the Hongwu Emperor, and although he is the twenty-ninth generation grandson of the Yongle Emperor, in reality, he is just an ordinary sixteen-year-old high school student, young and yet to achieve anything.
What's the use of lamenting here? Countless people sigh, but they cannot change what has already happened in the past...
In the midst of it all, it seemed as if Jiang Xiaobai heard a mechanical voice in his ear: "Do you feel the loneliness and silence of life, and are you willing to go back to the past for the Ming Dynasty and save the people of the world? Countdown three..."
"I'm willing," almost as a reflex, Jiang Xiaobai responded immediately.
Suddenly, all sorts of strange phenomena appeared around him. Jiang Xiaobai couldn't help but think to himself, "What's happening? Is this some kind of historical version of 'Infinite Horror'? Does time travel really exist?"
Without thinking too much, Jiang Xiaobai felt dizzy and fainted. The river of time around him began to flow backwards, events that had occurred returned to their starting point, and time went back to the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen era.
That lamentable era, with bleached bones standing in the wild, constant warfare, and internal and external troubles.
Natural disasters and man-made calamities, internal and external threats, without money or food, without a turning point, the Ming Dynasty spent its final decade in these internal and external troubles, until that spring.
Ming Dynasty No need to maintain order in the world anymore, the stars will also grow old, let alone a dynasty?
A bowl, carrying the dreams and arrogance of the young Emperor, facing the Yuan Army generously despite the deaths of many brothers at home, smiling at the princes of the world, with the help of the heavens in Poyang Lake, Xiao Ming Wang outside Chuzhou City, the sun and moon rise again in the sky of Great Song.
A robe, thirty years of border troubles, great calamities in the world, yet not losing the spirit of the dynasty, bravely fighting and defeating the rebels, achieving a great victory in Chuzhou to protect the country, suffering a major defeat in the external war at Jinzhou, the fall of Shanhaiguan, the collapse of the Ming Dynasty, the Jurchens riding into the Central Plains, and the succession of the Qing Dynasty.
The most resolute political power of the Han people, the most tragic, and the most legendary dynasty - the Ming Dynasty has come to an end.
But maybe in another time and space, he would have a different experience, Ming Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, Ming Dynasty.
Comment 0 Comment Count