Ming Dynasty entry: I am Chongzhen, the greatest emperor of all time!

Chapter 87 Three Days Without Sheathing the Sword
“This… seems to be true…” Fan Wencheng shook his head helplessly.

According to their intelligence, there are more than 30,000 troops in Kaifeng Prefecture.

Even if their fighting strength is poor, with the advantage of a strong city, they could easily take the city in two hours by firing a couple of arrows and throwing a couple of logs.

As the two were chatting, several officers from the Plain Yellow Banner walked over together.

They knelt down and performed a Manchu salute. "Your Highness, Kaifeng has fallen, but many of the city's garrison troops have scattered and fled. The surrounding city gates have been controlled. If it comes to street fighting, I'm afraid we will lose many men."

Dorgon pointed at the group of men in front of him and chuckled, "What do you mean by garrison desertion? It's just that you've been marching for days and it's made you all feel restless."

"Haha, I knew it! The Prince understands us best!" A very burly Gushan Zhangjing laughed.

The others joined in the laughter, saying, "This journey has really made the men restless. I promised them before we went into battle that, as always, we would take 30% of the city once it's captured. Now the men are itching to go."

The so-called "breaking a city and dividing it into three parts" was a custom of the Jurchen people.

The Jurchens often followed hunting customs, where the chief would take half of the prey and distribute it among the tribe members, while the remaining half would be divided among the tribe members as their personal property.

The north is bitterly cold, and going south to beg for alms is the only way to improve their lives.

This custom was inherited after Nurhaci unified the Jurchen people.

However, the spoils in the city were sometimes too many; even a piece of silk would be a treasure outside the Great Wall.

The Jurchen nobles and leaders, who were inexperienced in the ways of the world, decided that after the city was breached, the army would be divided into three parts, and the rest would belong to the leaders.

Although it's only 30%, it's enough for the army to divide up.

Dorgon laughed and kicked the Gushan Zhangjing, "Can't wait any longer? Do you have any of the courage of my Eight Banners warriors?"

"Alright, I understand. Guards, issue my decree."

"The sword will not be sheathed for three days! Within Kaifeng City, the army will be divided into five parts!"

As soon as the king issued the order, the people around him roared, "Long live the prince!!!"

"No..." Fan Wencheng was about to dissuade him, but Dorgon raised his hand to stop him.

Only after all the Gushan Zhangjing had left did Dorgon put away his smile and look at Fan Wencheng solemnly.

"I know what Mr. Fan wants to say."

"To win the hearts of the people, we must regulate discipline, uphold righteousness, and treat Han people as human beings, right?"

Fan Wencheng nodded. "Since Your Highness knows this, why did you still order that the swords not be sheathed for three days?"

"Heh." Dorgon sneered. "Although I haven't shown it to Mr. Fan yet, he should already know the contents of the secret letter that Daishan sent me, right?"

Fan Wencheng did not deny it.

Dorgon continued, "Back then, during the bloody battle of Hunhe, if the Zhejiang soldiers hadn't watched the White-Spear Army being surrounded and killed, I wouldn't have been able to lead the Eight Banners warriors on a thousand-mile march to break through Kaifeng. Now, with four thousand troops even more elite than the White-Spear Army, plus the Southern Dynasty emperor personally overseeing the battle, Daishan can't defeat them."

“If Daishan is obstructed, our plan will be ruined.”

"so……"

Fan Wencheng suddenly interjected, "So Your Highness wants to establish your authority by slaughtering Kaifeng to show Jiangnan?"

"That's right. I want to establish my authority and make the Han people in the south think twice about whether they can stop my Eight Banners army. If they can't stop them but still dare to, their fate will be even more serious than that of Kaifeng. At that time, it won't just be a matter of 'not sheathing one's sword for three days'."

"But five days, seven days, or even fifteen days!"

The murderous intent emanating from Dorgon's eyes made Fan Wencheng shudder.

"Even if Your Highness conquers Jiangnan, you won't have the support of the people..."

This time it was Dorgon's turn to interrupt Fan Wencheng.

"What use is the people's hearts to me? What use is righteousness to me?"

"Decades ago, the people of our Great Qing Dynasty were still struggling to survive in the white mountains and black soil! They didn't care about righteousness or the will of the people. Sons ate their fathers, husbands ate their wives, all for the sake of survival."

"The reason why the Southern Dynasty has come to this state is because your emperor values ​​the people's hearts and righteousness too much!"

"Only by throwing both the butcher's knife and the candied fruit together can we remain invincible!"

Fan Wencheng was speechless after hearing what Fan said.

He wanted to refute but couldn't find the words, so he could only follow Dorgon into the Kaifeng government hall.

But at this moment, purgatory had only just begun to descend.

……

"Father! The barbarian soldiers are entering the city!"

Zhang Shuan'er, the youngest son of Zhang the carpenter in the city, burst open the door to the main room. On the earthen table, the wild vegetable soup was still steaming.

Zhang Shouye's hand, holding the dry biscuit, trembled. "Weren't the barbarian soldiers only here during the day? How come they've already stormed the city?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a sudden, deafening gong shattered the twilight outside the courtyard wall, mingling with the crisp sound of horses' hooves pounding through roof tiles.

"Quickly pack your valuables!"

Without thinking twice, Zhang Shouye stuffed the dry biscuits into his clothes and ran into the inner room, the chisel at his waist clanging against the door frame.

At this moment, his wife, Wang, had already lifted the bed board, revealing a cellar three feet square underneath.

The fourteen-year-old eldest daughter, Xiaohe, held a ceramic urn filled with cornbread, the silver lilacs in her hair trembling under the oil lamp.

Seeing Zhang Shouye approach, Xiaohe asked in a tearful voice, "Dad, Mom said we have to go down to the cellar quickly!"

"Yes, Shuan'er! Come find your sister! Go downstairs first..."

A heavy thud was suddenly heard coming from the courtyard gate.

The men's faces immediately showed fear. Without saying a word, Zhang Shouye picked up Xiaohe and shoved her into the cellar, while telling his wife, "I'm going to call Shuan'er. You two don't make a sound!"

After saying that, Zhang Shouye hurriedly went to the living room.

His house was just a small mud house, with the living room right inside the entrance, and the living room was connected to the bedroom.

As soon as they entered the living room, they saw three Ming soldiers, fleeing from their defeat, break open the camphor wood door latch.

The leader, a battalion commander, had a scar across his face, and his armor was still stained with kerosene from the North Gate.

Upon seeing Zhang Shouye, he immediately grinned maliciously, "Father-in-law, could you lend me a place to hide?"

Zhang Shouye wanted to beg for mercy a couple more times.

The fleeing soldier kicked Zhang Shouye in the stomach, and the captain immediately drew his sword.

"You're asking for it!? Believe me or not, I'll chop you up..."

Just then, a sharp eagle whistle sounded from outside the courtyard wall.

The three men with scars paled and turned to run away, swords in hand.

They could still faintly hear Scarface calling out, "Go to the West Gate! The West Gate is still here!"

Although Zhang Shouye didn't know what the three eagle whistles meant, he knew they were definitely not a good thing.

He grabbed his dazed youngest son and fled into the cellar.

Wang was counting her stored grain in the dark: a dozen or so dried biscuits, two strings of dried mushrooms, and three pieces of salt.

Before Zhang Shouye could even catch his breath, he hurriedly said, "I heard from those soldiers that the West Gate hasn't been lost yet. Let's run out in the dark."

Madam Wang was startled. "Oh? Husband, please don't! Our house is dilapidated, we should be fine. Let's wait until His Majesty drives away the barbarian soldiers before we go out."

Zhang Shouye shook his head. "That's a woman's view! The Emperor is in the north; he has no time to care about us!"

"Let's get out of here first. Isn't your family home near Luoyang? Let's go to Luoyang!"

Time passed by minute by minute.

The night sky was tinged red with darkness as the rocket landed on the thatched roof of the earthen house.

Flames climbed up the dried goji berry vines.

Shuan'er huddled in a corner of the cellar, listening to the rumble of the collapsing beams above him.

The last half-ladle of water in the earthenware jar was shaking violently, and Xiaohe then realized that her whole body was trembling.

The soil and blood foam falling from the cellar ceiling, along with the stench of urine emanating from Shuan'er's crotch, were now the only warm breaths in the world.

"Clang!" The sound of armor clashing startled Wang, who covered her young son's mouth and nose.

The four of them dared not utter a sound.

Only when it was completely silent outside did the group breathe a sigh of relief.

Zhang Shouye peeked out through a crack in the cellar; the walls of the earthen house had already collapsed.

The moonlight cast the charred locust tree branches onto the ground, and a group of Qing soldiers carrying lanterns swayed among the branches.

The leader, without his neck guard, revealed three rouge-stained scratch marks on his neck.

Zhang Shouye grabbed his wife's hand in the dark, "Remember? Ximen!"

"I'll go out and scout ahead first. If everything's alright, I'll knock on the top of the cellar three times, and then you can bring the children out."

After saying that, Zhang Shouye flung open the cellar door and crouched down to crawl out.

Kaifeng Prefecture, as the capital of eight dynasties, covers an area that is exceptionally large.

The 40,000 Qing troops are currently immersed in a sea of ​​revelry, with their main focus being the mansions of the nobles and high-ranking officials in the city center.

Zhang Shouye led his family through the streets at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM).

Xiaohe, supporting her mother, was suddenly tripped by something soft and fell into a ball of fluff. By the moonlight, she could see that the widow Liu, who had been cursing by the door just yesterday, was now stark naked, her mouth agape, and half of her gold earring had been torn off, skin and flesh.

Xiaohe was so frightened she almost screamed.

Fortunately, Wang was quick-witted and covered Xiaohe's mouth.

Zhang Shouye also covered his son's eyes.

The imperial street, twenty zhang wide, had become a path of carnage. Eight naked corpses hung upside down under the eaves of the restaurant, their intestines still dripping blood from the knots. The head of the pharmacy owner was stuck in the plaque of "Miraculous Healing," his hair and beard stained with blood. A seven-year-old child sat in the street, holding a charred raccoon dog, singing "Splitting Jade."

Judging from the wound on his stomach, he probably won't live past tomorrow.

Zhang Shouye and his wife, along with their two children, had just crossed the Imperial Street.

A creaking sound of a grain cart's spokes cracking came from the street corner.

Three lame, worn-out horses dragged sacks piled up like a small mountain, the vermilion lacquer of the Kaifeng Guard still peeling off the shafts.

A dozen or so defeated soldiers were cautiously making their way to the west gate.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Shouye rushed over and knelt down with a thud, pleading, "Sir, please have mercy!"

However, this also frightened the routed troops.

Almost at the same time, he also knelt down on the ground, begging, "Grandpa, spare my life..."

The one-eyed sentry, who was about to get off the carriage, recognized the newcomer and angrily hissed in a low voice, "Screw your life! He's not a damn Jurchen!"

The defeated soldiers breathed a sigh of relief, but Zhang Shouye was still crying and pleading, "General, please take my family of four with you. I don't eat grain."

"Get the hell out of here! If you attract the Jurchens, you'll all die!" the officer muttered, about to urge everyone to leave.

But his gaze fell on Xiao He and the satchel on his body.

"Is there food?"

"Go, bring me that little wench and all the grain. We can't let the Jurchens benefit at their expense!"

"Oh, General, it's not grain, it's just some worthless stuff, General..." Zhang Shouye hurriedly begged for mercy, but was kicked in the waist by a boot with copper studs.

"Stop talking nonsense! If you dare to utter another word, you'll be executed for treason against the Jurchens!"

Seeing the fleeing soldiers about to approach with their knives, Zhang Shouye gritted his teeth, suddenly sprang up, and plunged his ancestral chisel into the throat of one of the fleeing soldiers.

The final scream, mingled with blood, echoed through the street: "West! West!"

Wang covered her mouth, trying not to cry out, and dragged her children into a small alley.

At the end of the alley lay six naked female corpses, the oldest of whom still had a wooden hairpin used for her coming-of-age ceremony inserted in her chest.

Just as they were about to continue walking forward, the laughter of Qing soldiers echoed from the alley.

The footsteps drew closer, and Wang was so anxious that tears streamed down her face.

But all around were burning houses and collapsed mud houses.

Among the several large earthen walls, there was one that could barely accommodate a person.

Wang's gaze shifted between Xiaohe and Shuan'er for a moment.

Finally, with tears welling up in her eyes, she pried open her young son's tightly clenched fists and stuffed the satchel into his arms.

Then she shoved him between the earthen walls, saying, "No matter what happens, you mustn't make a sound! Shuan'er, your father, mother, and eldest sister all love you!"

After saying that, he grabbed Xiaohe and hurriedly ran back.

But it was too late.

Four soldiers from the Plain Yellow Banner rode up on horseback and stopped the mother and daughter, with a string of human ears hanging from their saddles.

The leader bent down, grabbed Wang's chin, and scrutinized her, his breath reeking of fishy odor as he exhaled into her face. "You're a bondservant."

"This one, on the other hand, looks quite young, better than the one who was holding the baby."

Because the Qing army used Manchu, which Wang could not understand at all, she kept crying and begging for mercy.

The leader frowned and slapped Wang to the ground.

The group dismounted and, laughing and joking, carried Xiaohe to the collapsed mud house by the roadside.

A cotton belt from Songjiang fluttered down in front of Shuan'er.

My sister's freshly applied henna dye left ten bloody streaks on the rough brick floor.

Hearing the sound of whips whistling through the air outside the wall, mixed with his mother's and sister's screams, he didn't know what it was. He was only seven years old. He only knew that his mother had told him before she left that no matter what he saw, he must not make a sound.

"This girl has a thin neck; she'll surely die on the hitching post in a quarter of an hour."

"Hey, how will we know if we don't try? They seem to be mother and daughter. Why don't we tie this girl to the back of the horse and see if her mother can catch up?"

"Alright, let's cut open her mother's stomach and see how far we can drag her intestines?"

"Hahaha, okay, come on!"

Another hour passed.

There was no more movement outside.

Shuan'er couldn't stay still any longer and crawled out from under the rubble, trembling.

I searched everywhere but couldn't find my parents and sister.

She immediately burst into tears, but after crying for a long time, no one came.

Shuan'er could only sob as he rummaged through the rubble for the shoe he had just lost.

He found a pair of beaded shoes, with half a little toe still hanging from the broken shoelace.

Wearing shoes that were way too big, he wandered aimlessly through the city, hoping to find his relatives.

When thirsty, they would lick the water on the ground like wild dogs; when hungry, they would take a bite of the biscuit in their satchel.

Because he was so small, nobody paid any attention to him.

As they passed the Drum Tower, Shuan'er saw flag bearers hawking their wares.

More than twenty girls were tied to hitching posts like livestock, their collarbones pierced by leather ropes.

The short, stocky flag bearer of the White Banner grabbed a pregnant woman by the hair, shouting, "Pregnant ewes are discounted!"

After saying that, he used an iron hook to pry open the young woman's genitals. The hook had the words "one ounce" written on it.

But Shuan'er didn't recognize him.

All he wanted to know was his parents.

Following his memory, Shuan'er groped his way back to his collapsed home.

I sat down on a broken tile in front of the door.

Previously, my mother would often sit on the roof tile, weaving cloth while waiting for my father to come home.

Shuan'er thought that by sitting here, he could wait for his parents to come home.

The sun rose and set, and Shuan'er's consciousness grew increasingly blurred.

The food in the satchel had long been stolen by wild dogs.

When the stray dogs returned and found there was no food, they turned their large mouths towards Shuan'er's body...

……

Three days later.

Liu Liangzuo led four thousand elite soldiers and fled all the way to Zhengzhou.

His final destination was actually Luoyang, since Luoyang is a large city.

However, Luoyang was under the jurisdiction of the Zhou king, and he feared that if he went there, the Zhou king would punish him.

In comparison, it would be much better to go to Zhengzhou to join Gao Jie.

Gao Jie was also very happy to have gained four thousand elite soldiers for no reason.

He pulled Liu Liangzuo to sit in the hall, held a grand banquet, and invited dozens of women to come, ostensibly to "wash away the dust."

Faced with such treatment, Liu Liangzuo was naturally overjoyed.

He repeatedly stated that no matter what happens in the future, he will stand by Gao Jie's side.

The two had heard these polite words countless times, but neither was willing to bring them up before things got really awkward.

As the wine flowed freely, Gao Jie suddenly leaned close to Liu Liangzuo's ear and whispered, "Brother Liu, how should we report this matter?"

Liu Liangzuo chuckled as he embraced Lianren, “What’s so difficult about that? Just say that the Jurchens launched a surprise attack on Kaifeng, and that I, Liu, will hold out to the death. You, my brother, will lead your troops to my aid, forcibly bring me out, and rescue four thousand elite soldiers.”

"Shouldn't this achievement be enough to add to your political record, Brother Gao?"

Gao Jie shook his head helplessly. What he did before was indeed correct. Liu Liangzuo was exonerated, and he gained merit. It was a win-win situation.

"But there's still the Prince of Zhou in Luoyang. I'm afraid he'll report this to His Majesty. You don't know this, do you? As soon as you escaped, that old scoundrel Dorgon ordered that swords not be sheathed for three days. According to those who escaped, there are hardly any survivors left in Kaifeng Prefecture, which had a population of 200,000!"

Liu Liangzuo was even more disdainful. "I thought it was something serious. The Jurchens have already reached Henan, and I heard there are Jurchens in Shandong as well. Your Majesty is leading the remnants of your army in the north to fight to the death. Who can predict what the future holds?"

"As for the Kaifeng incident, it's even less my fault. If it weren't for my fierce defense of Kaifeng, causing the Jurchens to suffer huge losses, they would have taken their anger out on the people of Kaifeng."

"If you blame me, Liu Liangzuo, then let's see who dares to defend the city in the future!"

(End of this chapter)