Di Ming

Chapter 481 It's all the Emperor Emeritus's fault!

Adding to the more than 400 foreigners who were killed earlier, the number of foreigners and their mixed-race members who were executed reached 2,500!

Then, all the black slaves who had been bullying others by taking advantage of the foreigners' power were also executed.

On Hengqin Island, heads rolled and blood flowed like rivers.

Since the Age of Exploration, these colonizers have destroyed countless nations, slaughtered countless peoples, and seized countless resources around the world. For centuries, these white people from Europe have considered themselves God's chosen people, arrogant and conceited.

They have always been the ones slaughtering the indigenous people like pigs and sheep.

But now, they are being massacred by the Ming army in the East. In fact, ever since Zhu Yin captured Manila, he has slaughtered white colonists several times.

It can be said that Zhu Yin is the only person in the world today who has utterly defeated and massacred Western colonizers.

The only one in the world!

This was, of course, Zhu Yin's deliberate act. If Westerners could massacre other ethnic groups, why couldn't he massacre Western colonists?
Don't you want to follow the law of the jungle? I will too.

To be kind to your enemy is to be cruel to yourself.

No one cares about morality; everyone talks with fists and knives. If the enemy can go there, so can I.

In the end, the Westerners who were to be killed were afraid of the Ming Dynasty, and they were still afraid a hundred years later!
The gold and silver stored by the foreigners also fell into the hands of the Ming army. The Jesuits were known for their immense wealth, not to mention the many wealthy foreign merchants here.

The gold and silver alone (including gold and silver artifacts) amounted to at least twelve million taels of silver!
Zhu Yin made a fortune once again.

In reality, the colonial authorities possessed far more public and private property than they actually did, but much more of it was shipped back to the European homes of the foreigners.

But more than ten million taels is still a huge number!

While throwing the corpses of foreigners and black slaves into the sea, the Ming army trudged through the bloodstains on the ground, carrying away chests of valuables, demonstrating their blatant murder and robbery.

The Japanese prisoners of war who had been incorporated into the Ming army were even more terrified upon seeing this.

Several years ago, they were defeated in Goryeo, and more than 70,000 of them surrendered to the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yin did not massacre them at that time.

But now, Zhu Yin showed no mercy to these foreigners, slaughtering them all. Relatively speaking, they were lucky.

The more Zhu Yin acted this way, the more these Japanese soldiers in the Ming army respected him. Nowadays, the Japanese soldiers in the Ming army privately refer to Zhu Yin as "the man of the world".

At this point, Zong Bing, who was in a bloodthirsty frenzy, spared no one, not even the children of foreigners and black slaves, slaughtering them all, regardless of gender.

Zhu Yin pretended not to see this process, his heart as hard as stone.

When Zhu Yin saw the Ming Dynasty flag raised at the Macau Council Hall and St. Paul's Church, the thrill of traversing historical time and space in his heart finally blossomed like a flower.

He held his Tang sword and said to the soldiers who had just carried out the execution order: "Haojing is the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Our Ming Dynasty is the legitimate successor of China, and we should fight for every inch of land!"

"I hereby declare that Haojing is now the Macao port of the Ming Dynasty, a trading port directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, and no longer belongs to the foreign concessions!"

"The Ming Dynasty will fight for every inch of its land!" Zong Zhiwen shouted first, "Your Highness is mighty!"

The other soldiers joined in shouting, "The Ming Dynasty will fight for every inch of its land! Your Highness is mighty!"

The soldiers of the three armies were all inspired and shouted in unison, "We will fight for every inch of land! Your Highness is mighty!" Their voices shook the sea and sky, drowning out the sea breeze and waves.

Everyone who heard this was deeply moved.

In Macau, there were over a thousand female relatives of foreigners and black slaves, almost all of whom were Han Chinese. When they saw the foreigners and black slaves being killed, most of them wept with joy, as if they had been rescued, and knelt down to thank Zhu Yin and the Ming army.

Zhu Yin ordered them to be appeased, declared them free, instructed local officials to make proper arrangements for them, and gave each of them ten taels of silver as travel expenses and severance pay.

However, many Han women also wept bitterly and wailed as if they had lost their own parents when their foreign or slave husbands were killed. Some even hated the Ming army for their indiscriminate killings and cursed Zhu Yin.

Upon hearing the report, Zhu Yin ordered all the Han women who were weeping over the deaths of foreigners and black slaves and who harbored hatred to be identified. There were more than three hundred of them, and they were all beheaded.

When these Han women were about to be executed, they suddenly realized that they too were going to die!

They were terrified, but by the time they begged for mercy, it was too late.

Zong Bing mercilessly chopped off their heads and sent them to Guangzhou for public display.

She was a female traitor whose crimes included "flattering foreigners, degrading herself, betraying her country, and colluding with the enemy."

What are these women who willingly became wives and concubines of the colonizers, wholeheartedly defended them, and severed ties with the Han people if not female traitors?
We cannot let this opportunity pass us by.

Zhu Yin ordered them all to be executed as a warning to others.

Kill without mercy!

Zhu Yin resolved the Haojing matter swiftly and decisively. Finally, Chen Dake, the governor of Guangzhou, led officials including the imperial inspector, the provincial administration commissioner, and the provincial judicial commissioner to Hengqin Island to pay their respects to Zhu Yin.

"Your humble servant, Chen Dake, Vice Censor-in-Chief and Imperial Commissioner for the Guangdong Region, pays his respects to Your Highness the Regent!"

The imperial inspector, the provincial governor, and others also kowtowed to pay their respects, forming a dense, dark mass of kneeling figures.

Having heard from the report of Yu Anxing, the prefect of Guangzhou, they learned that the regent had personally led a large army to Haojing. Not daring to be negligent, they immediately came to pay their respects.

"Governor Chen, please rise! Gentlemen, no need for formalities!" Zhu Yin was very polite to Chen Dake, because Chen Dake was a member of Zhu's faction. Those who could become members of Zhu's faction were, of course, talented individuals.

Chen Dake was deeply ashamed and bowed, saying, "The foreign barbarians of Haojing, relying on firearms and artillery, resisted the court's attempt to reclaim the territory. They are pirates and bandits, and should be severely punished and executed. However, I am incompetent; I have been unable to conquer Haojing even after many days. I beg the Regent to punish me..."

Zhu Yin waved his hand, "This is not your fault. If anyone is to blame, it is the retired emperor and his selfish ministers who have ruined the military preparedness of the Ming Dynasty."

The officials were taken aback. Was this really the Emperor Emeritus' fault? But then they thought about it. Although the garrisons had been in disrepair for a long time, Zhang Juzheng had reorganized the military during his administration, and the garrisons did indeed show signs of revitalization at that time. Unfortunately, after Jiangling died, his policies ceased, and the garrisons continued to fall into disrepair. So, it was indeed the Emperor Emeritus' fault.

Only then did Chen Dake and the others realize that the Regent had killed four thousand people in one go that day. The floating corpses in the sea had attracted a large group of sharks. Even from such a distance, they could see the sharks' fins protruding above the water, which looked horrifying. The sound of sharks gnawing on the corpses could even be heard from the bay.

Not only that, the Regent also confiscated all the property of the foreigners in Macau, loading chests of gold and silver onto ships. This time, the national treasury once again amassed a fortune.

Seeing Zhu Yin's decisive handling of the foreigners from Macau, a small group of officials, led by Chen Dake, felt very relieved and applauded, believing that the foreigners deserved to die! With the Regent's domineering approach to foreign affairs, foreign barbarians no longer dared to disrespect the might of the Ming Dynasty!
"When the Regent is enraged, the foreign barbarians will shed blood like rivers. Let's see who dares to defy the Celestial Empire in the future!" Chen Dake said triumphantly. "The foreign barbarians from Macau have been running rampant in Guangzhou for a long time. Previously, the court valued the commercial taxes and tolerated it. But the customs duties collected by the court and the government are not even a fraction of the profits of the foreign barbarians. They also traffic people and murder innocent women..."

Zhu Yin laughed and said, "It's all the Emperor Emeritus's fault for not being careful. Otherwise, how could the foreign barbarians have occupied Macau for so long?"

Chen Dake laughed and said, "The Regent is right. In principle, as a subject, I should not criticize the Emperor Emeritus. However, the Emperor Emeritus has indeed failed in his duty, which has led to the foreigners becoming increasingly presumptuous."

Wang Yougong, the Imperial Censor of Guangdong, also praised Zhu Yin, saying: "With thunderous anger, the Regent Prince swept away the tyranny of the foreign barbarians, cleared away the evil atmosphere, and restored peace to the South China Sea. This is truly a great achievement in the Spring and Autumn Period of resisting foreigners, and history will surely praise him."

Wang Yougong was also a member of Zhu Yin's faction, so naturally he praised Zhu Yin.

However, most of the officials, led by Lin Qiaonan, the Right Provincial Administration Commissioner, and Wei Guoxian, the Maritime Trade Commissioner, were shocked by Zhu Yin's actions but also harbored resentment in their hearts.

They secretly cursed Zhu Yin for being cruel and inhumane, for massacring seafarers, for harming the imperial system, for being heartless and insane, and for wasting his time studying the classics!

Jiang Ning is truly a tyrannical and wicked person!

Such cruelty and bloodthirst!

However, they dared not speak out against their anger. They were respectful in front of Zhu Yin, not daring to show the slightest emotion on their faces. Instead, they said against their will that it was good to kill him.

Lin Qiaonan and Wei Guoxian cursed Zhu Yin in their hearts, but praised him aloud for his decisive and ruthless actions, saying that the foreigners deserved their fate.

Those who don't know the situation wouldn't be able to tell that they had any dissatisfaction with Zhu Yin.

Zhu Yin glanced at Lin Qiaonan and Wei Guoxian with a deep gaze, then said to Chen Dake, "Prefect Chen, did Yu Anxing convey my orders to you?"

"Reporting to the Regent, the message has been conveyed," Chen Dake said. "Upon receiving the Regent's order, I immediately issued the command. Arrests are underway now."

Zhu Yin nodded and said, “Okay. I’ll emphasize it again: to make an example of others, any woman who voluntarily marries the Bai Yi, Hei Yi, or other foreign barbarians, whether she is a Han woman or a Tusi woman, will be stripped of her Ming citizenship and imprisoned together with the foreign barbarians.”

"We will also search for and report people infected with syphilis. All infected people will be detained together with the Haiyi people."

"Find a small island near the Pearl River Estuary and set it up as a concentration camp to imprison missionaries, foreign merchants, black slaves, foreigners and their families, and people infected with syphilis..." Zhu Yinyi's orders were ruthless and merciless.

Even Chen Dake and Wang Yougong were somewhat alarmed by what they heard. Lin Qiaonan, Wei Guoxian, and others cursed Zhu Yin in their hearts for his perverse, cruel, and inhumane actions.

Unbeknownst to them, Zhu Yin intended to use this method to cut off the spread of syphilis and solve the problem of its proliferation.

That wasn't all. Zhu Yin then issued another order: "Draft a 'Prohibition of Foreign Religions,' which will be implemented first in Guangdong. Anyone who converts to a foreign religion is considered to have forgotten their ancestors and severed themselves from Chinese civilization. They will be stripped of their Ming citizenship, forced into slavery, and their property will be confiscated."

"Officials who convert to foreign religions will be dismissed from their posts, investigated, and their property confiscated. Scholars who convert to foreign religions will be stripped of their academic titles, disqualified from taking the imperial examinations, and their property confiscated..."

Zhu Yin spoke casually, seemingly without any anger, yet his actions were extremely stern!
Lin Qiaonan, Wei Guoxian, and others all had some connection with foreigners and foreign religions in Macau, and they had received many benefits from foreigners. Hearing that Zhu Yin had done such a ruthless thing, they wished they could kick this damned regent to death!

But how could they dare? They could only imagine it in their hearts.

But Zhu Yin continued, “Mazu, ancestors, Bodhisattvas, Daojun… they don’t believe in so many Chinese gods, but insist on being brainwashed by foreign monotheistic religions and converting to foreign religions, right? This is voluntarily abandoning Chinese culture and becoming barbarians.”

"Alright! Then I will grant their request for their devotion."

"Don't foreigners say that if you believe in their church, you will receive the protection of their God? Now those believers are being punished as government slaves and their homes are being confiscated. Let's see if their God will protect them. I'm afraid this is China's land, and Heaven will not allow their God to exist."

They made no attempt to conceal their harshness, hatred, and contempt for foreign religions!

Zhu Yin decided to use the same brutal methods as the literary inquisitions of the Qing Dynasty, just as the Tokugawa Shogunate in history cracked down on foreign religions, to severely punish converts and suppress foreign religions with ruthless means.

In the late Ming Dynasty, Neo-Confucianism declined while Western religions began to spread and gain increasing influence. What was the result? The barbaric, backward, and closed-door Qing Dynasty forcefully interrupted the spread of Western religions with its sword, fighting poison with poison, and Neo-Confucianism re-emerged.

The Manchu Qing dynasty certainly didn't have good intentions; it was only for its own rule. However, objectively speaking, it did eliminate the Western religious forces that had begun to rise at the end of the Ming dynasty.

Today, the Qing Dynasty of history will certainly not reappear, so we must rely on ourselves to suppress foreign religions.

Lin Qiaonan and Wei Guoxian wanted nothing more than to curse them out. This was because some of their children had converted to Christianity. They themselves had attended church services, but out of consideration for their social standing, they hadn't been formally baptized.

Initially, they were lured into contact with foreign religions by the promise of profit, thinking they wouldn't truly believe. But as time went on and they became more familiar with them, they found the religions to be quite effective and reasonable. Gradually, they even began to reject ancestral worship and adopted religious names.

Their nephews and nieces who converted to Christianity, some of the extremists even burned ancestral tablets and family genealogies, saying that the Ming Dynasty should also be under the Pope's jurisdiction.

When they found out, they only told the other party not to go too far, but did not stop them from converting.

They had considered whether it was wrong to follow a foreign religion. But a stronger and stronger thought emerged in their minds: there's nothing wrong with it. If ordinary people can believe in Buddhism, why can't they believe in other religions? Isn't that fine too?

Just as the two were thinking this, they suddenly heard Zhu Yin say in a cold tone, "Lin Qiaonan, Wei Guoxian, tell me, do you think what I said makes sense?"

The two men trembled slightly and quickly said with forced smiles, "What Your Highness the Regent says is certainly reasonable, and we wholeheartedly agree..."

"Is that so?" Zhu Yin sneered. "The foreigners' ledgers in Macau record that you received tens of thousands of taels of silver in bribes from them."

He took out the Macau Council's account book from his sleeve: "It records that Governor Lin was given a coral tree worth ten thousand taels of silver and five hundred gold coins... After accepting the gifts, you tacitly allowed the foreigners to smuggle..."

"You also embezzled military pay, reducing it by 30%, leaving the soldiers hungry and cold, which sparked a mutiny in Dongguan Thousand Households, leading to a mutiny in Zhelin Water Village where hundreds of soldiers were killed or wounded. The soldiers of the garrison cursed you as Lin the Skinflin."

"You have a son who converted to Christianity and is even a church steward, isn't that right?"

"You served as the provincial governor for five years. You cannot escape responsibility for the evil deeds committed by foreigners in Macau. You aided and abetted the wicked and condoned their evil. Do you know your crime?"

Lin Qiaonan was struck dumb, her face turning ashen. "Regent, I...I'm innocent..."

Zhu Yin said sternly, "The evidence is irrefutable, do you still want to deny it! Lin Qiaonan, I never wrong an innocent person. Since I've come against you today, you absolutely won't be wronged!"

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." Lin Qiaonan's legs buckled, and he collapsed, trembling all over, kowtowing and saying in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty, I am guilty, please forgive me..."

Zhu Yin looked disgusted. "Look at you! A high-ranking official of the second rank, a scholar who passed the imperial examinations twice and is well-versed in the classics, a disciple of the sages, yet you turn into a lump of mud when faced with a problem. Where is the noble dignity of a scholar? Where is the unyielding spirit of a gentleman? If all high-ranking officials in the court were like you, wouldn't our Great Ming Dynasty be doomed?"

"It's all the Emperor Emeritus's fault for being so negligent, appointing a villain like you as the Provincial Treasurer of Guangdong!"

He waved his hand, "Guards! Strip Lin Qiaonan of his official robes! Confiscate his seals and take him to the Ministry of Justice in Beijing for trial!"

"Understood!" A group of fierce guards overturned the dignified governor and stripped Lin Qiaonan of his official robes without any dignity.

Lin Qiaonan was utterly humiliated, utterly disheveled, and completely lost.

One moment he was a high-ranking official of the second rank, cursing Zhu Yin in his heart. But the next moment, he became a convicted official who was dismissed from office and prosecuted.

It turns out that even for a high-ranking official like him, a powerful figure in Guangdong whose mere presence could shake the entire Lingnan region, life, death, honor, and disgrace were all at the mercy of those in power!
Upon seeing this, Wei Guoxian knelt down with a thud, "Regent! This servant is also guilty! Please, Regent..."

Zhu Yin coldly stared at the Director of the Maritime Trade Office and said menacingly, "You know you're guilty? Your crimes are greater than Lin Qiaonan's!"

"You are a traitor who betrays his own people and has no conscience! It's all the Emperor Emeritus's fault for neglecting his duties and putting you in charge of the Maritime Trade Office. How dare you collude with foreigners and betray the secrets of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Come on! Strip Wei Guoxian of his imperial robes and crown, and send him to where he belongs! Confiscate his property!"

"Regent, spare my life!" Wei Guoxian was so frightened that his soul almost left his body, and he wet himself in fear.

But his pleas for mercy were useless, and he was taken away.

Many officials turned pale upon seeing Lin Qiaonan and Wei Guoxian being taken down so quickly, feeling a sense of shared sorrow.

Zhu Yin's gaze swept over them, and the people all looked away in fear.

Zhu Yin bluntly named them: "Zhang Keda, the military commissioner of the South China Sea, Ma Yongzhen, the deputy provincial inspector, Sun Zhang, the right vice minister, the magistrate of Xiangshan County... all nine of them are in cahoots with foreigners and cannot escape their crimes. They shall all be arrested and brought to the capital for trial!"

"It's all the Emperor Emeritus's fault for being negligent! You've turned the once peaceful Guangfu into a complete mess!"

Eleven officials were arrested on the spot!
Decisive and ruthless.

...

Matteo Ricci, who had miraculously survived, was plunged into a nightmare as he witnessed the horrific scenes before him and heard the cruel commands.

He has been in the East for over twenty years, and his missionary work has been somewhat successful. Although the Chinese are very stubborn, a few have gradually begun to convert.

Some officials have even started to convert to Christianity.

He had previously planned to go to Beijing and use a large sum of money to lobby high-ranking Ming Dynasty officials to obtain permission to preach and build churches in Beijing.

The grand blueprint for the Eastern Parish is beginning to take shape.

Just last year, Nanjing had permitted missionary work and the construction of churches. However, at that very moment, a coup d'état suddenly occurred in Nanjing!
The coup leader was a high-ranking nobleman named Zhu Yin. He supported the crown prince of the Chinese emperor to inherit the throne, rivaling the north and quickly seizing power in southern China.

But this important figure was a heretic and butcher who was hostile to white people and the church!
Not long ago, he was also suppressing Buddhism in the south, confiscating temple property on a large scale, and forcing most monks and nuns to return to secular life.

Now, this terrifying figure has set his sights on the church again!
Matteo Ricci suspected that he was dreaming, and that what he saw and heard that day was not the truth, but just his dream.

But this dream felt so real.

Soon, he was brought before Zhu Yin.

"Matteo Ricci," Zhu Yin said calmly, looking at Ricci, "Do you know why I didn't kill you?"

Matteo Ricci was fluent in Chinese and did not need a translator at all.

Matteo Ricci was somewhat dazed. Upon hearing Zhu Yin's words, he couldn't help but blurt out, as if possessed, "Could it be... all the fault of the Emperor Emeritus?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yin couldn't help but burst into laughter.

It's all the Emperor Emeritus's fault!

……

P.S.: I'm sure some people will say the little tiger is cold-blooded, and there will be controversy no matter how I write it, so this is the only way. Please bear with it. Thank you, and please vote with your monthly tickets! Goodnight!

(End of this chapter)