Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 135 Making Mountains Bow and Rivers Give Way

Within the secret room.

After making their decision, the three of them did not delay any longer and immediately ordered their men to carry out the breaching of the dike.

He also dispatched messengers with urgent messages to Liaodong and Hebei provinces.

They were to be on high alert, guarding against the emperor suddenly attacking all the way back to the capital from there.

When the three men's trusted subordinates heard that the riverbanks of fifteen more counties were to be breached, they were also greatly alarmed.

That's a full fifteen counties!
This concerns the basic needs of hundreds of thousands of people!
Even to those who routinely bully men and women and commit all sorts of evil deeds, this matter was somewhat heinous and immoral.

But no way.

In the current situation, it's either the emperor or they who will die.

They definitely want to keep living.

There are still so many wonderful things in this world that we haven't had a chance to enjoy.

Their descendants are waiting to pass on this wealth and glory from generation to generation.

How could they bear to die?
Therefore, the people will have to suffer even more.

As for committing heinous crimes, then so be it!
Now that things have come to this, they have no desire to argue about right and wrong.

It's simply a matter of the victor taking all.

After the matter is accomplished, great Confucian scholars will come to debate the classics for them.

Think of this.

After exchanging glances, the group of officers left quickly and silently, with a resolute air.

at the same time.

The area near the dam was recently breached due to the emperor's bloodthirstiness and tyranny.

Near the river embankments in almost every county town, there is a team of young and strong people, spontaneously organized by the locals, constantly patrolling.

They were unclear about the reasons why the river embankments in those counties had suddenly collapsed, even though they were in good condition a few days ago.

But they knew that the breach of the dike absolutely could not happen in their own county.

The people who suffered from the disaster were no longer even considered human.

Amidst widespread panic, patrol teams spontaneously formed in various counties.

now.

Perhaps they were too tired from patrolling in the middle of the night, so the group of five young men leaned against the dam to rest and chat.

One of them said, "The collapses of the rivers in those counties are really strange. It didn't even rain, and the dams just collapsed overnight."

"Do you think this is really because our newly enthroned emperor of the Ming Dynasty is too bloodthirsty, and even Heaven can't stand it anymore?"

"You idiot, your wife just gave you a big, healthy baby boy, and you don't want your head anymore? You actually dare to talk nonsense about the emperor?!"

The man called Sanlengzi said with a sullen expression, "I only said it because a lot of people have been saying it lately."

Another person sighed: "The emperor is indeed too bloodthirsty. I heard that those people were just trying to offer advice, but they were all killed without explanation."

"In that case, it is understandable that Heaven is angry and issuing a warning."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a burly butcher beside him spoke up with displeasure:

"What kind of bullshit advice is this! I think it's clearly some lords who are afraid that the emperor will come to Shandong and hold them accountable, so they instigated those scholars to block the road!"

"And the idea that Heaven punished him is utter nonsense. It's clearly someone maliciously spreading rumors to smear the Emperor!"

"Is God specifically targeting us to punish us? If He really wants to warn us, why doesn't He just strike all those gentlemen dead with a bolt of lightning?"

As everyone chimed in with their own comments.

The group of people leaning against the dam quickly started arguing heatedly, as if a floodgate had been opened.

The ultimate purpose of the debate was simply to examine the dike breaches in those counties.

Is it because the new emperor was bloodthirsty that Heaven punished him as a warning?

These days, beliefs about ghosts and spirits still hold considerable weight in the hearts of ordinary people.

After all, Confucius once said: "I do not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits"—Confucius simply did not speak of them, not that he did not believe in them.

Therefore, most people still believe that the people's suffering was caused by the new emperor's tyranny.

This saying has been passed down for thousands of years in this land.

Although the emperor is the Son of Heaven, if the emperor does something wrong, Heaven will naturally punish him.

The argument grew louder and louder, and there was a growing urge to blush and spit out heated words.

At this time.

A young man who had been silent until now, who looked like a scholar, stood up and stopped the others, saying, "Alright, we're here to guard the river embankment, not to quarrel."

Among them, the scholar clearly held the highest status.

As soon as he spoke, the group immediately stopped arguing.

However, some people still disagreed and said, "Scholar, tell me, was the destruction of the dikes in those counties a natural disaster or a man-made one?"

The scholar did not answer directly, but only sighed after a moment of stunned silence.

"There are no natural disasters or man-made calamities."

"It's just that the rise and fall of dynasties always bring suffering to the common people."

He patted the dirt off his backside: "Let's go, we'll be done after this patrol."

He hadn't finished speaking yet.

Suddenly, a crossbow bolt whizzed through the darkness and pierced straight into his throat.

The scholar instinctively covered his neck, staring in disbelief at the direction from which the crossbow bolt had come.

Then, a look of despairing relief suddenly appeared in his eyes, and he fell straight backward.

The group of people in the group stared blankly at the scene.

They were about to shout and run away.

Before they could react, countless crossbow bolts shot at them from the darkness.

This young and strong team guarding the river embankment lost their lives inexplicably.

As they died, another group of masked men in black emerged from the darkness.

Still not satisfied, the leader of the men in black approached the corpses of the men from earlier and stomped on their faces.

"Defend! Defend! Defend! I'll make you lowly people defend!"

"It's all because of you bunch of bastards that we had to go through so much trouble!"

"."

In no time, the faces of the men in black were trampled beyond recognition.

The man in black seemed to finally feel relieved at this point.

He waved his hand impatiently, panting heavily: "Prepare to breach the dike."

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, his men turned around and went to prepare the gunpowder and cannons for breaching the dike.

A similar scene.

This is happening continuously in the surrounding counties.

The History of Ming Dynasty, Treatise on the Five Elements, records that in the seventh year of the Tianqi reign, Shandong suffered a major flood.

Whether it's a natural disaster or a man-made one, all the consequences it brings, such as flooding, crop loss, and widespread suffering, are dire.
What is presented in historical records is nothing more than a few strokes of the pen.

soon.

The next day arrived.

Overnight, dikes in fifteen counties bordering two prefectures in Shandong Province suddenly breached.

Similarly, the news spread throughout Shandong at an extremely fast pace.

At this moment, almost everyone in the Shandong Provincial Administration Office, from top to bottom, was discussing the breach of the dikes in the fifteen counties.

Because this fact is just too outrageous.

Historically, including in recent years, there have indeed been instances where a dozen or even dozens of counties within a single province were simultaneously affected by disasters.

But there has to be a certain order to it.

Such a situation, where fifteen counties were flooded overnight, is extremely rare, or rather, extremely bizarre.

After all, it didn't even rain yesterday, so how did the dam suddenly burst?

Well known.

Mystical or fantastical things always manage to ignite people's enthusiasm for discussion.

Not to mention the unseen hand pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Therefore, the entire Shandong province is currently in a state of great turmoil, with everyone talking at once.

Public opinion among the people was being pushed by one hand, leading them to believe that the new emperor's tyranny had caused Heaven's wrath.

Moreover, the details have become increasingly fantastical as they have been passed down.

A thunderclap exploded in the sky, and fifteen counties instantly breached their banks.
Furthermore, many people have heard voices of ghosts and spirits in the middle of the night, recounting the current emperor's numerous crimes.
more than this.

Rumor has it that he saw Confucius appear in a divine form, and that the purpose of the sage's birth was to teach the current emperor of the Ming Dynasty a lesson!
Let them know the terrible consequences that the massacre of the students of the saint would bring to the Ming Dynasty.

Regardless of how outrageous these rumors are.

In the current situation, the more outrageous the rumors, the more likely the public is to believe them.

Those voices defending the emperor, claiming that powerful families must have been behind it, were instantly drowned out by the overwhelming public opinion.

Therefore, the blame for the disaster in Shandong was suddenly shifted to the emperor overnight.

The common people dared not say anything excessive about this.

But in the eyes of others...

The emperor would have to issue some kind of edict of self-reproach to appease Heaven and the sage.

Otherwise, wouldn't Shandong suffer divine retribution again?
As for the remaining Shandong officials and some more sensible scholars, their focus was not on this.

For this group of people...

Everyone understands.

The struggle between aristocratic families and imperial power began as soon as the emperor's entourage entered Shandong.

Everything that happened in Shandong during this period was nothing more than the two sides making moves and playing a game of strategy.

At first, the emperor's swift and decisive killing of the aristocratic families caught them off guard, which made them feel that the emperor's side had a better chance of winning.

When news of the emperor's pacification of Korea reached them, they were even more convinced that the emperor was destined to win.

But no one expected it.

This treacherous scheme by powerful clans, which cut off their own resources, completely reversed the overall situation.

Under such overwhelming pressure, the emperor had absolutely no hope of turning the tide.

Therefore, this group of people could only let the rumors spread by powerful families and clans spread wildly among the common people. Although some of these officials still had some conscience and could not stand by and watch such heinous acts.

But the only thing they can do is stop aiding and abetting evil.

Times make heroes.

However, the current situation in Shandong is no longer in the emperor's favor.

Some people wanted to help the emperor, but they had no way to do anything about it.

As for the victims in those fifteen affected counties...

At this moment, I have no mind to think about these things.

They didn't know how the riverbank was destroyed; all they knew was that they had become disaster victims who were no longer even considered human!

The group of people gathered together in large groups.

Some looked ashen-faced, some wept and wailed, and others pointed at the heavens, spewing out profanities to accuse God of injustice.
Actually, if only the river embankment was destroyed...

They're not that badly off.

Having learned from the experiences of the previous counties, most people had made preparations in advance to deal with the disaster.

They all kept some food and various emergency reserves at home.

Under normal circumstances.

If everyone helps each other out, we can always get through this.

After all, a breached dam only floods farmland, not a direct flood.

But the house leaked every night rain.

After the dam broke.

Mountain bandits, outlaws, and rioters all seemed to have conspired together and suddenly appeared all at once.

They robbed them thoroughly.

They did consider rebelling.

But how could unarmed civilians possibly stand a chance against enemies wielding steel swords, riding swift horses, and wearing armor?
And the most fatal thing is...

The surrounding government officials did not allow them to flee the famine, and ordered them to stay within a limited area.

They said it was all because the Emperor had come to Shandong, and that so many disaster victims wandering around would affect the Emperor's safety.

The disaster victims dared not say much about it, but prayed in their hearts that the government would give them a way to survive.

at the same time.

After listening to their subordinates' accounts of the disaster victims, Kong Yinzhi, Tian Hong, and Zhang Zhuo breathed a slight sigh of relief.

This plan was so perfectly executed that no matter how capable the emperor was, he was ultimately powerless to reverse the situation.

However, Kong Yinzhi did not slack off because of this. After his subordinates reported the situation, he continued to work diligently.

He immediately ordered, "In the name of my Kong, Tian, ​​and Zhang families, distribute some disaster relief grain to those lowly people."

"However, we must be careful not to let them eat their fill. Keep them in a state of near exhaustion until the emperor returns."

Kong Yinzhi was well aware that the emperor was extremely adept at inciting people's hearts.

If they come back then, they might just tell everyone in front of all the commoners that the three families were responsible for this.

Unsurprisingly, these people would definitely join the emperor in turning the sword against them.

This is also why Kong Yinzhi distributed disaster relief grain to those disaster victims.

First, spread the good reputation, and then even if the emperor wanted to use this trick again, he wouldn't be able to succeed easily.

If the emperor is held back, death awaits him.

Furthermore.

The three families couldn't just stand by and watch these disaster victims go hungry.

If so many people go starving, those powerful and wealthy people will be the first to suffer.

Therefore, it would be best to keep these people in a semi-exhausted state.

This way, they won't actually rebel.

Once the emperor returns, they will have even more motivation to keep him occupied.

The emperor would absolutely not have enough food to feed so many mouths.

Having accomplished this much, it can be said that everything is foolproof.

After hearing the order, the subordinates responded and left.

Kong Yinzhi exchanged a glance with Tian and Zhang, and then truly breathed a sigh of relief.

Next, all we need to do is closely monitor the emperor's movements.

Once the emperor returns, immediately reveal his whereabouts to the disaster victims, and let them entangle the imperial carriage.

It was only at this point that the three of them realized it.

Once some things are actually done, it seems that they don't require as much of a price as initially imagined.

Take disaster relief grain as an example.

The three men initially thought they would each have to contribute something from their own homes, but they never expected that the food distributed to the disaster victims would be stolen from them.
that's it.

in the next few days.

The disaster victims in more than a dozen counties were quickly exhausted from the constant turmoil.

Although they didn't starve to death, many people were so hungry that their eyes were practically glowing green.

At this point, rumors began to circulate among the crowd again.

They said that all of this was caused by the emperor, and that the emperor had to come and save them.

The starving victims had no time to think about anything else.

Everyone knew that the emperor had won a battle in Korea.

So at this moment, everyone had only one thought in their minds: to wait for the emperor to come and save them.

However, not everyone here is constantly causing trouble for ordinary people.

Some officials, whose ideals had not been completely extinguished, felt really guilty, so they secretly went to the seaside, got a small boat, and went to North Korea.

In the view of this very small group of people.

The emperor could go to Shaanxi to provide disaster relief and also go to foreign countries to wage war.

If such an emperor is given more time, then the Ming Dynasty still has hope.

Therefore, they wanted to tell the emperor what had happened in Shandong.

Where there is life, there is hope.

If we bypass Shandong and take another route back to Beijing, there's still a chance to make a comeback.

Anyway, I definitely can't come back to Shandong. The situation here is already more difficult than I imagined.

Hundreds of thousands of people were affected by the disaster.

More than 100,000 people are starving and waiting to be fed; this is not something that can be resolved in a short period of time.

At a time when turmoil was brewing in Shandong.

Zhu Youjian's trip to Korea was also coming to an end.

A batch of soldiers originally stationed in the North Korean capital have been dispatched to the border region.

With these people, plus the existing soldiers, officials, and generals in Dongjiang Town, there shouldn't be any problem temporarily holding the border.

Winter is approaching, and it's unlikely that the Later Jin will launch a large-scale war.

Therefore, after giving some more instructions, Zhu Youjian and his personal guards embarked on their journey back to the capital.

It was almost as if the royal procession had just set sail.

They ran into the group of officials from Shandong who had come to deliver the news.

After this group finished explaining the current situation in Shandong, Mao Wenlong immediately dismissed the rest of the people, clenched his fist, and spoke to Zhu Youjian:

"Your Majesty, I never imagined that those people would be so despicable! They were capable of committing such heinous acts that would enrage both Heaven and man!"

Mao Wenlong's anger at this moment was beyond words.

Straight bitch!
We, your humble servants, are fighting alongside Your Majesty on the front lines to make the Ming Dynasty a better place.

But you beasts, for your own selfish interests, actually did something like breaching dikes and destroying farmland, causing hundreds of thousands of people to be displaced!

Those are hundreds of thousands of innocent people from more than a dozen counties!
However, the anger only lasted for a very short time in Mao Wenlong's heart before it was forcefully suppressed.

He knew very well that now was not the time to dwell on these things.

Since it has already happened, it must be resolved.

Nothing is more important now than His Majesty's safe return to the capital.

He took a deep breath and solemnly advised, "Your Majesty, the situation in Shandong has exceeded expectations."

“The powerful families there must be trying to slow you down by using the hundreds of thousands of disaster victims, and then use that to their advantage.”

“We could easily skip Shandong and choose to return to Beijing via Hebei.”

"Although the people of Hebei are more fierce than those of Shandong, we may encounter resistance from unruly soldiers."

"But we have just won a battle in Korea and our morale is high. As long as we rush to the capital, the rebel soldiers and bandits will not be able to stop us easily."

"Although we may encounter unexpected troubles there, it is still much better than the current situation in Shandong."

"Even if it costs me my life, I will do everything in my power to ensure your safe return to the capital!"

Zhu Youjian remained unmoved by Mao Wenlong's words.

It was inevitable that something unexpected would happen on the way back to Beijing; it would be really strange if nothing went wrong.

He definitely wants to go to Shandong.

If they don't go, those hundreds of thousands of disaster victims might be taken in and used by local powerful families through various means.

This is a huge blow to public morale.

Moreover, in Zhu Youjian's view, Shandong today is not as unapproachable as people think.

It is true that there were hundreds of thousands of disaster victims there.

For Zhu Youjian, this was the best help the local powerful families could offer him in dealing with them.

Someone actually thought of using public opinion to attack him?!

This is somewhat amusing to think about.

Since hundreds of thousands of starving people have appeared there.

He then led his men to Shandong to plunder and take the opportunity to eliminate all the powerful and influential families in the region.

Since nearly twenty counties there have experienced dike breaches.

Then he, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, led the people of the Ming Dynasty together.

Make the mountains bow their heads, and make the rivers give way!
He will let everyone know what it means for the emperor of an empire to always stand with the people of the empire.

(End of this chapter)