As soon as they rushed into Xi'an Gate, the rebel citizens saw a row of bloody heads hanging high on the archway on the inner street.
The sharp-eyed ones immediately recognized that those heads with bloodshot eyes and eyes open were none other than some of the group cadres and union backbones who were arrested the day before!
It turned out that in order to make the Yulin Army determined to fire at the citizens, Zhang Gui forced the two Yulin Guards commanders to kill them personally...
This heartbreaking scene made the citizens, who had already suffered heavy losses, completely lose their minds. They poured into the inner palace, Nanjing Garrison, and Nanjing East Factory like a tide, dragged out all the eunuchs and beat them, tied them up, drove them to the imperial city wall, and pushed them down from the 11-meter-high wall like dumplings to death.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the Yulin Army guarding the imperial city fled in all directions from Dong'an Gate and Xuanwu Gate as long as they could. Those who could not escape knelt down and surrendered.
If the workers' guards hadn't shouted "No one will be killed if they surrender, except eunuchs", they would have been beaten to pieces by the angry citizens of Nanjing...
The citizens rushed into the imperial prison again, released the surviving group cadres and union backbones, and finally planted the Sun, Moon and Seven Stars Flag on the Chengtian Gate.
Then, according to convention, the captured Zhang Gui was sent to Geng Dingli, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, and asked to surrender, oh no, to declare an uprising.
Geng Dingli was a famous Neo-Confucianist and defender of the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues. He was determined not to give in at first. He said that the eunuchs in the garrison were not under my jurisdiction and that you could kill or chop them up as you wish, but don't think of using my name.
So he was stripped of his official hat and the seal on the spot. Geng Dingli was very surprised and thought, why is he so irritable? Is it understandable that he refused three times?
Please beg me again...
Qian Shaoyin of the Second Mansion thought that his chance had come...so he said happily and modestly, "How could I have the qualifications?"
But when people heard this, they thought it made sense. We are the capital, we cannot lose face like that. Then some people suggested: "Why do we have to make an official announcement? Wouldn't it be better if we just declared an uprising ourselves?"
Everyone applauded loudly, now they could firmly suppress Susongchang Town.
Most of them had studied in the school run by Zhao Hao. Although they were not good at writing, they could still write articles in plain language.
So they completely abandoned official documents and started writing manifestos in the lobby of Yingtian Prefecture, with each of them contributing their own ideas.
Then, a person with the most beautiful calligraphy filtered out the profanity on the prefect's desk and finally wrote a letter titled "A Letter from the Righteous Citizens of Nanjing":
'The righteous people of Nanjing are reporting the victory news everywhere - all the citizens of the city and all the Soviet elders, today our Nanjing men have captured the imperial palace and planted the sun, moon and seven-star flag on the Chengtian Gate. How awesome! Don't be too envious, because we are the capital of the country and the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties. So don't always focus on Suzhou. What's so good about Suzhou? It's a mess. I think Pudong will steal the limelight sooner or later.'
'Everyone has seen this document. Why did we attack the imperial city? We need to explain it to everyone. The eunuch Chen Gui, who guarded Nanjing, killed the group cadres and our union brothers, and hung their heads in the palace! Such a sinister eunuch, his master Zhu Yijun, and the pseudo-capital Yanjing should all be put on the list. So, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty left Nanjing, and it was really a weasel giving birth to a rat - one nest is worse than the other...'
"We asked the Yingtian prefectural governor Geng Dingli to announce the uprising, but he was so scared that he peed his pants. How could such a coward be qualified to represent the men of Nanjing? So we simply said it directly: we announce in the name of the people - the Nanjing Uprising!"
'In addition, we are doing this for the sake of justice, and we should not take the opportunity to do evil. The unions in various prefectures should temporarily maintain the market, but seek peace, not merit, and must work together to ask the group to come to Beijing as soon as possible to take over the overall situation, so that we can enjoy the blessing of peace. The elders of Jinling are eagerly waiting for the saint to return home day and night, and I hereby declare it.'
~~
No matter how unhappy the various prefectures in the south of the Yangtze River were with this "Public Letter from the Righteous Citizens of Nanjing", it announced the uprising of the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions.
At this time, Chen Lin, the general commander of Jiangnan appointed by Wanli, had just arrived in Nanchang...
When Chen Lin learned the news through the newspaper at the office of Jiangxi Governor Xiong Xiasheng, he was immediately furious.
"Duilei, mother! Nanjing has an army of more than 100,000 soldiers, ten battalions of new soldiers, and 50,000 elite soldiers. How can they surrender so quickly?"
"Who told you not to leave earlier?" The old bear was also quite old. He stroked his gray beard and smiled gloatingly: "That's good. The common people have taken Nanjing by themselves."
"It's easy for you to talk without any pain. I didn't delay for a moment." Chen Lin said depressedly: "Alas, there is nothing I can do. It's because Shaoguan is a small place with poor information. I deserve not to get the credit..."
As he said this, he bowed to Xiong Xiasheng and said, "Brother, since we have worked together for many years, you must say a few good words to the boss. It's not that Old Chen doesn't want to revolt, it's just that he didn't catch up..."
"Haha, didn't you write letters to Niu Butang and Admiral Lin before you set out? Don't worry, you are a famous general who has been approved by the big boss, and you will definitely have a bright future." Xiong Xiasheng's voice was now loud and strong. He was the first imperial official to defect to Zhao Hao... although he was just a low-ranking official at that time.
"Alas, that's what I say, but I have no soldiers, no achievements, and even a pile of shit on my butt. Anyone would be panicked if they were in my situation." Chen Lin sighed depressedly.
He was from Shaozhou, Guangdong, and was not a military household. But when he was young, the Japanese pirates were causing chaos, so he was determined to join the army and practiced martial arts diligently. He became strong, strong, and skilled in martial arts, and was very good at both civil and military affairs.
Later, the governor recruited warriors to form an elite battalion, and he signed up to join the army. But for a soldier like him who had no family background or support, it was naturally difficult to join the army. He could not envy the good things like Qi Jiguang who started as a fourth-rank official and Li Chengliang who became a lieutenant general right from the start.
Chen Linchun relied on his meritorious service to finally catch the eye of the imperial court in the 14th year of the Wanli reign and became the deputy general of Huguang. However, he was impeached for corruption and had to go home and lie down. Although many people in the court appreciated his talent, they did not dare to recommend him. With his current bad appearance, no one would have thought that two of the three major expeditions of the Wanli reign were won by him.
"How about this, you just don't go north." Xiong Xiasheng suggested to Chen Lin: "I have talked with the cadres of the Jiangnan Group's Jiangxi branch, and they are also ready to respond to the Jiangnan Uprising. Stay in Jiangxi and help me."
"The power of the Jiangxi vassal kings is deeply rooted, and it is not easy to start an uprising." Chen Lin thought for a moment and said, "The Jiangnan Group has only been here for two or three years, and has not yet taken root."
"It is precisely because the feudal lords are deeply rooted that there is a foundation for the uprising." Xiong Xiasheng said in a deep voice: "Take the Huai Wang family of Raozhou for example, they occupied the entire Poyang Lake, and anyone who makes a living on the lake must pay them heavy taxes. Not only are the people exploited, but they are also enslaved as playthings. In order to seek pleasure, every family that marries a bride must first be approved by the steward of the palace. Once chosen, the bride must first be sent to the palace to stay with the prince for three days and three nights before she can go back to get married. If you refuse, he will order the guards to come to your house to snatch the bride, and your family will be destroyed!"
"The people below follow suit. The whole Huai Wang faction is in chaos. The people have been rising up in rebellion from time to time. They can no longer suppress their anger." Xiong Xiasheng waved his hand heavily and said:
"As long as we raise the banner of rebellion, the people will surely respond! Then, it will be easy for you to deal with those vassal kings, right?"
"Okay!" Chen Lin thought for a moment, thinking that even if he went to Nanjing, he might not be able to be promoted. It would be better to stay in Jiangxi and cling to the old bear's thigh.
He nodded heavily, knelt on one knee and said: "Then I will be at the disposal of the Minister."
"Okay, okay. It's all for the group." Xiong Xiasheng smiled and quickly helped him up.
~~
In the late winter of the 18th year of the Wanli reign, Fujian Governor Zhang Wei and Guangdong Governor Yu Shensi also announced successively that the entire province would respond to the uprising and would no longer be loyal to the Ming royal family.
On the last day of winter, Zhao Hao finally returned to Pudong.
When the Jiangnan slowly sailed into the Huangpu River, he saw crowds of people on both sides of the river welcoming him. Everywhere there were flags of the sun, moon and seven stars fluttering in the wind, and enthusiastic cheers echoing one after another.
"It's so fast..." Zhao Hao stood on the poop deck, waving his hands and saying to Lin Run who was returning to Shanghai with him, "We have been on the sea for a month, and Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong have been turned upside down."
Although Lin Run is already sixty years old, he is still extremely handsome. When he stands next to Zhao Hao, they don't look like two generations apart.
"To be honest, it's really disappointing," he said in a deep voice.
"Who?" Zhao Hao asked.
"From the emperor to the ministers to the soldiers and civilians, everyone was disappointed." Lin Run said with a dark face: "Now I finally understand that the nightmare of the sinking of the Shenzhou land was not an absurd dream, but an extremely accurate prophecy."
"The emperor has no idea of ​​cherishing his country. The civil officials only know how to fight for fame and fortune. The military generals are greedy for money and afraid of death. Ordinary soldiers and civilians don't care about the life and death of the country. From top to bottom, everyone only thinks about their own interests and has no public spirit. That's why you can change the world so easily."
"Mr. Lin has hit the nail on the head." Zhao Hao nodded and said seriously, "This is exactly what we really want to change."
"Don't be too happy too soon. It's not necessarily a good thing that this kingdom came too easily." Lin Run continued expressionlessly: "When all rivers flow into the sea, it is inevitable that mud and sand will be carried along with them."
"Yes, Mr. Lin is absolutely right." Zhao Hao nodded again and said, "There are a lot of old bureaucrats, ambitious people and speculators mixed in our team, but now is not the time to eliminate them. To end the civil war as soon as possible, we must unite the majority!"
After a pause, he lowered his voice and said, "Divide and conquer, and defeat each one separately, which is much better than making the enemy more numerous."
"I'm just afraid that you won't be able to be ruthless when the time comes." Lin Run said with a dark face.
"Isn't that asking you to come out of retirement?" Zhao Hao clutched his pipe and sighed, "Mr. Hai is gone, so we can only rely on Mr. Lin to slay the demons and monsters."
"Don't worry." Lin Run was waiting for him to say this, and said murderously: "When it comes to killing people, Hai Rui is not as ruthless as me!"
"Then you can't be a door god." Zhao Hao teased, and Lin Run's face immediately became long, but he heard him add: "You are so handsome..."
"Hmph..." Lin Run didn't get angry.
ps. Keep writing.