Emperor Chongzhen was too extreme.

Chapter 155 Three Long Incense Sticks Offer Tribute to a Family of Loyal Martyrs

Within the city walls of Baoding Prefecture.

Sun Chengzong was reclining on a chair in the government office, resting with his eyes closed.

At his age, sleep is basically a luxury that can never be regained.

In addition, given the recent turmoil in the Ming Dynasty, Sun Chengzong's total rest time each day amounted to only two or three hours.

However, Sun Chengzong did not feel tired of it.

if you can.

He would rather go without sleep for an hour every day, just so that the Ming Dynasty could become better.

at this time.

Sun Chengzong, who was reclining in a chair with his eyes closed, sensed someone quietly approaching the door.

But seemingly worried about disturbing his rest, the visitor stopped at the door and did not go any further.

Sun Chengzong opened his eyes and, sure enough, saw his eldest son, Sun Quan, standing excitedly at the door.

Seeing the excited expression on Sun Quan's face, Sun Chengzong felt nothing, but simply asked:

What makes you so happy?

Sun Quan strode into the room and said, "Father! I just received news that His Majesty successfully launched a surprise attack yesterday on the troops of the aristocratic families stationed outside the city of Shuntian Prefecture."

"Thousands of enemy soldiers were annihilated, a great victory was achieved!"

Upon hearing this good news, Sun Chengzong merely twitched the corner of his mouth, indicating that he understood.

Seeing his father acting this way, Sun Quan became somewhat curious.

When the brothers and nephews of the Sun family heard this news just now...

Even if we don't say they danced with joy, everyone was still excited about it.

After all, it was quite remarkable that the Ming Dynasty could achieve such a victory under these circumstances.

This victory acted like a shot in the arm, giving everyone hope for a comeback.

But why was the father so calm? In fact, one could even see a greater worry in his eyes.
Sun Quan couldn't help but ask Sun Chengzong, "Father, although yesterday's victory couldn't be the final word, it did greatly boost the morale of the capital."

"Moreover, the people you sent to the capital yesterday must have arrived by now. The people in the capital will surely be even more excited after hearing that Baoding Prefecture has abandoned the darkness and turned to the light."

"So why do you look worried?"

Sun Chengzong slowly propped himself up from the recliner.

He had far more experience than his son, and his understanding of aristocratic families was also much deeper.

Sun Chengzong was very clear about this.

This defeat will not only fail to cause any substantial damage to the Shijia Group, but will also provoke an even fiercer counterattack from them.

So, looking at Sun Quan, Sun Chengzong did not continue following his words, but instead said calmly, "Call the others in."

Sun Quan was taken aback, but he immediately turned around to call his other brothers and nephews.

Sun Chengzong watched his son's retreating figure and sighed silently.

something.

It's better to make things clear to everyone now.

Otherwise, the greater the initial expectations, the deeper the despair will be when the bloody truth is laid bare before us.

Prepare yourself mentally now, so you won't suddenly lose your composure when the time comes.

soon.

The entire Sun family, known for their loyalty and bravery, then entered the room.

Seeing the barely suppressed excitement on everyone's faces, Sun Chengzong said expressionlessly, "Are you still excited about His Majesty's victory last night?"

Just as everyone was about to answer, Sun Chengzong continued:

"As far as I know, the four major families in Hebei alone can muster tens of thousands of soldiers."

"Now, with the support of the southern provinces, they could probably create 100,000 rebels in Hebei."

"Although Your Majesty achieved a victory with last night's surprise attack, there is no doubt that those people will become even more frenzied as a result, and they will mobilize troops from all over the country to the vicinity of the capital even more quickly."

"That will be the time when we truly fight to the death."

Upon hearing this, the expressions on everyone's faces in the room indeed turned ugly.

Sun Chengzong, seeing the dejected faces of his descendants, did not pause but instead added insult to injury, saying, "There are only tens of thousands of troops within the capital."

"Even if we add the few thousand people from Baoding Prefecture, they still can't compete with those powerful families in terms of numbers."

"The passivity doesn't stop there; the despicable and unscrupulous nature of these powerful families far exceeds your imagination."

"If I'm not mistaken, in order to capture the capital as soon as possible, they may have secretly colluded with the Later Jin in Liaodong."

Later Jin?!
Upon hearing Sun Chengzong's words, everyone's expressions grew even more grim.

Only then did everyone realize that last night's victory was not as important as they had imagined.

It was only then that everyone realized just how powerful an enemy they were facing.

In this regard.

Although some people in the room felt scared and others felt desperate, not one of them had any intention of backing down at this moment.

From the moment they decided to follow Sun Chengzong, they had already cast the word "retreat" out of their minds.

The worst outcome is simply death.

Sun Quan was the first in the crowd to break free from the oppressive atmosphere.

He looked at Sun Chengzong with a sharp gaze: "Father, even though the rebels are numerous and powerful, the greater good still lies with His Majesty."

"The total registered population of the three prefectures and seventeen counties of Baoding Prefecture is more than 500,000, and the actual population is far more than one million."

"As long as His Majesty personally goes to Baoding Prefecture and raises his voice, he will surely attract a large number of young and righteous men to join us in fighting against the bandits!"

Facing the indignant Sun Quan.

Sun Chengzong, however, poured cold water on his enthusiasm, shaking his head indifferently and saying, "It's no use."

Sun Quan's expression froze for a moment, then he said somewhat indignantly, "Father, why is it useless?"

"Your Majesty has been implementing benevolent policies since the day you ascended the throne, and you have seen this for yourself. Many people in Hebei have benefited from your kindness."

"Even if I can't command a hundred responses, do you think all the million people in Baoding Prefecture are ungrateful bastards?"

Sun Chengzong closed his eyes.

Although he also longed to see the emperor arrive in Baoding Prefecture and raise an army of young and strong men with a mere wave of his arm.

But some things are beyond human control.

The powerful and influential families have most likely already heard about what happened in Baoding Prefecture.

To prevent the people of Baoding from being incited, they will certainly take preventative measures well in advance.

"As long as the Ju family gives the people money to keep them from following His Majesty in rebellion, they have plenty of money."

Sun Quan wanted to argue further, but he fell silent as soon as he uttered the first word.

Yes.

Everyone knows that His Majesty is adept at inciting people's hearts, so how could the aristocratic families not know?
What they can think of, they can definitely think of too.

Therefore, all they need to do is come up with the simplest and most direct response.

If you give the people a sum of money, the vast majority of them will naturally not care about any grand principles.

After all, righteousness can't feed you, but money certainly can.

Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Sun Chengzong didn't say anything more, but instead comforted everyone:
"Alright, I'm telling you all this just to make you more realistically aware of the gap between us and the bandits."

"Although we are at a significant disadvantage, a miracle may still happen."

"Emperor Taizong of Tang defeated 100,000 Tang soldiers with 3,000 troops; Han Xin burned his boats and broke the cauldrons, ultimately achieving a great victory."

"Now, it is time for us to fight this battle with our backs to the wall alongside His Majesty!" As Sun Chengzong finished speaking, the people in the room regained some confidence.

They are not even afraid of death, so how could their spirit be worn down by the mere disadvantage between themselves and the powerful families?

History is full of examples of the few defeating the many and the inferior overcoming the superior; they could very well become one of them!
At worst, we'll fight to the death!
I don’t believe it anymore.

The lives of the forty-seven members of the Sun family—couldn't they even be spared by tearing a piece of flesh from the bandits?!
Everyone looked at each other.

They both saw a burning fighting spirit in each other's eyes.

Sun Chengzong looked at everyone and nodded almost imperceptibly.

This is how a son of the Sun family should be.

He then gave some more instructions, and waited until everyone had left.

Sun Chengzong came to the Sun family ancestral hall alone.

Looking at the memorial tablets in front of him, Sun Chengzong lit three long incense sticks and inserted them into the incense burner.

They stood in front of the ancestral tablets for a long time, until the three long incense sticks were almost burned out.

Sun Chengzong looked at these ancestral tablets and silently spoke:

“My ancestors, I fear that the direct bloodline of my Sun family will soon be wiped out one by one.”

"However, I want you to know that the spirit of the Sun family will not disappear along with it."

The words fell.

The embers of the three long incense sticks suddenly became even more intense than before, seemingly because they were about to burn out.

However, it was only a fleeting moment, like a flash in the pan, after burning out its last bit of fuel.

The three long incense sticks eventually faded into silence in the incense burner.

This scene looks like...

It is so anthropomorphic that it evokes the feeling of a long incense stick that is about to burn out, extremely unwilling yet helpless.

Sun Chengzong looked at the three long incense sticks that had gone out in the incense burner, and two lines of turbid tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.

the other side.

Within the city walls of Shuntian Prefecture.

Huang Ze and the others were standing on the city wall watching people clean up yesterday's battlefield.

Looking at the corpses scattered on the ground.

The four men dispatched men overnight to various parts of Hebei to mobilize troops for support.

Although it is unlikely that the false emperor will launch such a surprise attack again, they must still make full preparations for it.

Yesterday's battle really woke them up.

Since the quality is completely different, the only solution is to increase the quantity.

Just as the four old fogies stood on the city wall, planning to besiege the capital once troops from various regions arrived.

Suddenly, a trusted subordinate rushed over and whispered something in the ear of Sun Bin, the current head of the Sun family.

Sun Bin's expression changed drastically on the spot, and this scene naturally made the other three frown as well.

Huang Ze was the first to speak, asking, "What happened?!"

Sun Bin took a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly, and said, "That beast Sun Chengzong actually led the entire Baoding Prefecture to surrender to the false emperor!"

"What?!" The other three were all shocked.

They were naturally very familiar with someone of Sun Chengzong's stature.

With exceptional abilities and hailing from a prominent family, he brought considerable prestige to the Sun family of Hebei during the years he was out of power.

Therefore, it is understandable that the group was shocked when they heard that Sun Chengzong had actually sided with the false emperor.

The group couldn't understand why a member of the Sun family with Sun Chengzong's status would choose to abandon the light and join the darkness.

Even if he does nothing during the Northern Expedition, his status will still rise accordingly after the expedition is successful.

What benefits could he possibly gain by siding with the false emperor?
The false emperor could only give him a hollow title, but they could give him generations of wealth and glory.

Moreover, given Sun Chengzong's situation, he must know better than anyone just how powerful the combined forces of the major clans truly are.

Doesn't he understand that doing this will only lead to his entire family being buried with that false emperor?

Why did he do that?
Is it merely because of the concept of righteousness in one's heart?

It's absolutely ridiculous!

The four were extremely angry, especially Sun Bin, who wished he could tear them apart alive.

The knife stabbed by the enemy is equally deadly.

But this kind of harm is ultimately not as severe as being betrayed by one's own family.

Besides being angry.

Some of them even inexplicably thought of the young man, Lu Xiang-sheng.

Sun Chengzong, you beast! Look at others properly!
Lu Xiang-sheng was originally an official personally promoted by the imperial court! Yet now he is so loyal to the powerful families!

The anger in my heart was about to reach its peak.

But these people, after all, had been through decades of life experience and knew that anger would not do anything to change the current situation.

After calming down.

Sun Bin was the first to speak: "Now that things have come to this, there's no point in thinking about that wretched child anymore. Let's hurry up and think about how to minimize the losses."

Everyone knows that Baoding Prefecture is just an insignificant prefecture in the Ming Dynasty, even in Hebei Province.

However, the chain reaction it causes should not be underestimated.

Huang Ze picked up the thread, saying, "The false emperor is most adept at inciting people's hearts. Now that Baoding Prefecture is not affected by any war, the false emperor will definitely go to Baoding Prefecture to recruit soldiers."

The other three nodded emphatically.

It is common knowledge that the capital city is short of troops, and the false emperor will certainly not sit idly by and wait for his demise.

"So what do you plan to do?" the other person asked, looking at Huang Ze.

Huang Ze narrowed his eyes: "We absolutely cannot let him recruit people in Baoding Prefecture, otherwise, with his abilities, he can train a strong army in less than two months."

"The best way to prevent those lowly people from following him is to give them money directly."

Upon hearing this, the others quickly began to consider the feasibility of the plan.

Once the commoners have received the money, they certainly won't cause trouble so easily anymore.

However, Baoding Prefecture has a population of over one million, and even if people don't cause trouble, they will be given ten taels of silver.

This amounted to nearly twenty million taels of silver.

It doesn't sound like a lot, but you also have to consider the embezzlement by those under your command and various losses.

This makes the number extremely painful.

However, the thought that they could easily get the money back from the common people after the deed was done made everyone feel less heartbroken.

As long as the false emperor fails to recruit soldiers in Baoding Prefecture, it's all worthwhile.

Anyway, the reinforcements from various prefectures will arrive in a few days, and by then the Later Jin army should also be in place.

This deal is a sure win.

After discussing it for a while, the group immediately dispatched a large force to Baoding Prefecture to issue an imperial edict:
Although Baoding Prefecture fell into the hands of the false emperor due to the interference of treacherous people, as long as the people there honestly produce goods and do not join in the rebellion, each person can receive a reward of ten taels of silver!

And at this moment.

Zhu Youjian, the emperor, had just dispatched troops to launch a feigned attack on Tianjin, in order to carry out the original plan.

Meanwhile, he was already preparing to set off for Baoding Prefecture.

(End of this chapter)