Sky Curtain: The Overlord Charges into Battle, Shocking Emperors of All Dynasties

Shut up, you traitor!

Listening to Hong Chengchou's high-sounding words, under the banner of continuing the Chinese cultural heritage,

These words nearly made the elders before the celestial curtain vomit.

You, Hong Chengchou, have the audacity to speak of the Chinese cultural heritage and the common people?

Touching the braid at the back of his head, looking at the bones of the people of Jiangnan,

You think you're worthy?

Qin Dynasty

"That traitor Hong Chengchou isn't genuinely trying to persuade us to surrender; he has many other motives!"

Liu Bang spoke with absolute certainty and utter contempt.

"He saw that he had already surrendered and was dirty, and he couldn't bear to see Xia Wanchun so clean."

"I just wanted to drag him down with me!"

Fusu listened obediently from the side, unconsciously nodding slightly in agreement.

Teachers really know more and have seen more!

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng finally understood why the Qing Dynasty was ultimately able to conquer the world.

If these surrendered Han Chinese don't work hard to help the Qing Dynasty conquer the country, how can they prove that their choice was absolutely correct and in accordance with the will of Heaven?

Furthermore, the army's combat effectiveness was certainly not good during the late Ming Dynasty.

Given the moral character of the Ming Dynasty civil officials depicted on the sky, Ying Zheng did not believe that these officials, who were so greedy as to pluck feathers from passing geese, were not corrupt.

The gleaming silver flowed past his eyes; it would be a disservice to their years of hard study if he didn't take some.

How much of the post-war military merit reward actually reaches the hands of the soldiers?

Even half of them would be considered good.

...

As soon as Hong Chengchou finished speaking, Xia Wanchun's face lit up with contempt. His gaze didn't seem to be directed at a high-ranking enemy official, but rather at a dog kept by his own servant.

"Does a dog raised by the Jurchens have the audacity to talk about the Chinese cultural heritage?"

"You have no right to speak of the common people!"

Hong Chengchou was visibly annoyed, but he forcibly suppressed it.

This young man, of such noble character, is exactly like him in his youth.

He still wanted Xia Wanchun to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, and even wanted to take him as a disciple.

Before Hong Chengchou could utter a word of dissuasion, Xia Wanchun, with a calm expression and no fear, shouted loudly,

"I have long admired Mr. Heng Jiu's name! In the Battle of Songshan, Mr. Heng Jiu sacrificed his life for his country. The late emperor suspended court for three days and the whole country held a memorial service. Everyone admired his loyalty and bravery."

"Although I am young, I have the ambition to serve my country and I will follow Mr. Heng Jiu's example and sacrifice myself for it!"

The bailiffs' expressions changed instantly. Seeing Hong Chengchou's face darken immediately, they assumed that Xia Wanchun was too young to have ever seen Hong Chengchou's face before.

Quietly approaching Xia Wanchun, he whispered a reminder:

"The one in the hall is none other than Hong Jinglue!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Wanchun wore an expression of disbelief and angrily rebuked him.

"Mr. Heng Jiu served his country loyally and died for his country at Songshan. May the world mourn him!!"

He raised his hand and pointed at Hong Chengchou in the hall, speaking in a tone of utter disgust.

"This person is a traitor who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and dares to use Mr. Hengjiu's surname, thus defiling the name of the loyal and righteous Hengjiu!!"

The people in the hall were so shocked by these words that they dared not breathe. They watched as Hong Chengchou, who sat behind the judge's desk, turned pale and then flushed, his face a picture of disfigurement.

Hong Chengchou was both angry and ashamed. Xia Wanchun clearly knew who he was all along, but deliberately pretended not to know, openly mocking him.

These words expose Hong Chengchou's traitorous nature to the fullest extent.

"cut!!"

"Take him out and execute him immediately!!"

After exposing Hong Chengchou's treasonous acts, Xia Wanchun was sentenced to death by the enraged Hong Chengchou. Xia Wanchun was 17 years old at the time.

During his imprisonment in Nanjing, Xia Wanchun, knowing he was doomed, wrote numerous articles, one of which is considered a masterpiece.

[A traveler who has been imprisoned for three years, now I am crowned again.]

Boundless tears for the mountains and rivers, who can say that heaven and earth are vast?

Knowing that the spring road is close, it is difficult to leave the hometown.

On the day his resolute spirit returns, his banner will be seen in the sky.

The ancient people beneath the sky were speechless for a moment, staring blankly at the white-robed youth who still stood tall and straight on the sky.

His white robes were so pure and flawless in their eyes, just like the young man's jade-like character, as if he were observing mourning for his homeland, the Ming Dynasty.

Hong Chengchou's cowardice and shamelessness stand in stark contrast to Xia Wanchun's loyalty and integrity.

"Good boy, you are truly a worthy subject of the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's somewhat numb heart was touched once again; Xia Wanchun was about the same age as his son.

This young man understands the meaning of loyalty and righteousness better than Hong Chengchou, that beast who received imperial favor.

How can one not be moved by someone who faces death with such composure!

Li Shimin was also moved by Xia Wanchun's deeds.

"Truly a young hero!"

"I wonder how many people with such integrity will exist when our Great Tang Dynasty falls."

Li Shimin even began to pray. He didn't ask for too many people to die for the Tang Dynasty; he only hoped that someone like Hong Chengchou would emerge.

Although Hong Chengchou was capable, in times of national crisis, integrity was more important than ability.

Otherwise, if someone with such abilities were to defect to the enemy, and become a member of a foreign race, wouldn't that bring chaos to the world?

[Afterwards, Hong Chengchou rose through the ranks within the Qing Dynasty, stepping over the corpses of his compatriots to reach the pinnacle of power.]

In the tenth year of the Shunzhi reign, Hong Chengchou was appointed Grand Tutor and Grand Preceptor of the Crown Prince, in charge of military affairs in five provinces: Huguang, Liangguang, Yunnan, and Guizhou. He had complete autonomy over military, political, financial, and personnel matters, and the Six Ministries were not allowed to interfere. He could mobilize the elite troops from the border towns across the country and was fully responsible for eliminating the remaining forces of the Southern Ming.

Hong Chengchou did not disappoint the Qing court's trust. At the advanced age of sixty, he exerted all his strength and used various means to suppress the various forces of the Southern Ming. He used every means at his disposal, including sowing discord, turning against the Qing, and launching surprise attacks. He simply regarded the unification of the country by the Qing Dynasty as his own cause.

Hong Chengchou was indeed exceptionally capable, and his Han Chinese Green Standard Army fought bravely. While the Manchu Eight Banners officials began to indulge in the prosperity of Beijing and Jiangnan, Hong Chengchou worked tirelessly, securing a large portion of the Qing Dynasty's territory for his master. His military achievements were truly remarkable.

In the fourth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, Hong Chengchou, who had already resigned from his official post and returned home, passed away. The Kangxi Emperor posthumously granted him the title of Grand Tutor, the posthumous name Wenxiang, and ordered him to be buried in Chedaogou, Beijing. An imperial stele was erected in his honor, praising him as a minister who made great contributions to the founding of the dynasty.

From this perspective, Hong Chengchou must have made significant contributions to the establishment of the Qing Dynasty!

But why is he still working so hard at sixty?

Surrendering to save one's own life is understandable, as long as one doesn't exert any effort; there are precedents in ancient times. Why did Hong Chengchou have to exert all his strength?

Is it just so that you can get a good evaluation in the history books of the Qing Dynasty?

In Hong Chengchou's view, since he had wholeheartedly helped the Qing Dynasty establish its empire, he could at least be credited with founding merit and receive some praise in the Qing Dynasty's historical records.

Unfortunately, during the reign of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, the "Biographies of Traitorous Officials" was revised, and all Ming Dynasty generals who surrendered to the Qing army were included in the "Biographies of Traitorous Officials," with Hong Chengchou listed first.

[The Qianlong Emperor's comment was: Although he has made great contributions, he ultimately failed in the fundamental principles of loyalty between ruler and subject, and is not worthy of being a model for future officials.]

[The book highly affirms the righteous resistance fighters such as Xia Wanchun, and even records Xia Wanchun's rebuke of Hong Chengchou in the official history as a model of loyalty and righteousness for scholars, which was used in the imperial examinations and academies.]

In contrast, after Hong Chengchou surrendered to the Qing, when he returned to his hometown to visit relatives, his birth mother refused to see him and scolded him for disloyalty. His elder brother severed ties with him, and he was despised by the gentry of his hometown in Fujian for generations. The official history of the Qing Dynasty defined him as the foremost traitor.

If Hong Chengchou truly died for his country in the Battle of Songshan, or after being captured, his reputation would be no less than that of Wen Tianxiang, making him a model for later generations of scholars. The Qing Dynasty would have affirmed his integrity, and he would still have temples dedicated to him to this day.

Unfortunately, a single misstep led to a completely different fate and evaluation; Hong Chengchou became a villain and a traitor for all time.

Hong Chengchou, what are you after?