Chapter 115 Dark Hour 3
General Zhou and his men were heading to Ni Yuanlu's residence, while Wanshan brought Zhu Cijiong to Chaoyang Gate. He and Princess Kunxing were placed in a jeep. Behind the jeep were ten four-wheeled carriages for transporting goods. These carriages were all made and brought by Zhao Xiaofei in modern times. Four-wheeled carriages also existed in ancient times, but they lacked steering capabilities, so they were primarily used for transporting goods.
The four-wheeled carriages made in modern society not only solve the steering problem, but also have bearings and shock absorption. They are better than any carriages in the Ming Dynasty.
Wan Shan put Zhu Cijiong in the car, then said to the team members: "Keep an eye on them! The princess may be waking up soon, so make sure to keep an eye on her! If you can't, tie her up!"
"Yes!" said the team member.
Wanshan put the princess down and immediately took people to Li Banghua's residence.
"Open the door! Open the door!" A team member disguised as a Jinyiwei knocked on the door.
"I'm coming!" An old man trembled as he came over to the door. He was startled to see that it was the Jinyiwei, especially the flying fish uniform Wanshan was wearing. He asked tremblingly, "Sir, what can I do for you, officials?" He thought the emperor had sent people to arrest his master!
"Please ask your Lord Li to come out and receive the order!" Wan Shan said word by word, with great authority. He had practiced this sentence several times.
"I'll go right away!" The old man turned around and went in to report.
Soon, Li Banghua, dressed in official uniform, arrived at the gate with his family. Seeing Li Banghua emerge, Wanshan immediately picked up the imperial edict. Li Banghua, upon seeing the bright yellow edict, immediately knelt.
Wan Shan unfolded the imperial edict and read, "The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, summons: Li Banghua, loyal to the country, is truly an unparalleled hero of the Ming Dynasty. In this critical moment, I appoint Li Banghua as Minister of War and Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. He will accompany Marquis Zhongzheng to escort the Crown Prince on his southern tour to Nanjing! I decree this!"
After Wanshan finished reading, he said to Li Banghua, who was kneeling on the ground, "Master Li! Please accept my order!"
Li Banghua was a bit confused. He already felt that the Ming Dynasty was doomed this time. He was making up his mind that if the city fell, he would take his whole family to die for his country. He didn't expect the emperor to suddenly issue such an imperial decree. Did the emperor figure it out? But could he still rush out at this time? Hearing Wanshan calling him, he immediately came to his senses and said, "Your Highness Li Banghua accepts the decree!"
Wan Shan handed the imperial edict to him. Li Banghua took it and glanced at it. After finding no problem, he put it away. Wan Shan said, "Sir Li, when we came here, the emperor said that you can take one family member with you! Please choose one quickly!"
Li Banghua was even more shocked when he heard this than when he received the imperial edict just now. Just choose one? He has a whole family! A bunch of grandchildren! Who should he take with him? He looked back at his little grandson, who ran to him and wanted to be held by his grandfather. But Li Banghua grabbed his eldest grandson and said, "Just take him!" Tears came down after he said that. The little grandson was stopped by his son, who knelt on the ground and kowtowed to his father, and then the whole family knelt on the ground. His wife came forward and said to Li Banghua, "Don't miss us when you are gone, my husband! I will not bring shame to the Li family!" Then she turned around and ran to the well and jumped in.
Li Banghua burst into tears and said, "Madam! I will repay your love in my next life!"
"Mom!" Li Banghua's son cried out loudly. His grandson cried out for his grandmother. The whole house was filled with sobs! Li Banghua's daughter-in-law also stood up and bowed to her husband and father-in-law. Then she returned to her room. They all knew what was going to happen. But they could only watch silently, unable to do anything.
Then they heard the sound of a stool falling to the ground. Li Banghua's son shed silent tears. His eldest grandson asked Li Banghua, "Grandpa! What did my mother do?"
Li Banghua held back his sadness and said, "Your mother has gone to where she should go! Remember! Your mother is the best woman!" After that, he took his grandson and left home.
Wan Shan felt a little sad when he saw all this. He thought to himself, he is indeed a loyal and brave minister!
When General Zhou arrived at Ni Yuanlu's residence with his men, Ni Yuanlu was equally surprised by the imperial edict. He was still the Minister of Revenue, but he had been granted the title of Kenanbo. Ni Yuanlu had the same intention as Li Banghua, intending to die for his country when the city fell. But now that there was hope of survival, Ni Yuanlu asked, "Can you bring one more person? I beg you, Lord Zhou!"
Commander Zhou said coldly, "Sir Ni, if all the ministers I want to bring are like you, how can I get things done? I don't have many carriages! Am I going to abandon you behind?"
"I, I, I am afraid that the city will be destroyed and my granddaughter will be humiliated! Please take her with you, Lord Zhou! I beg you!" Ni Yuanlu knelt on the ground with tears in his eyes.
Seeing his grandfather kneeling on the ground, he pleaded for a military officer in order to protect himself from being insulted by the bandits. Ni Yuanlu's granddaughter Ni Shangyu said, "Grandpa! How can you, as the Minister of the Ming Dynasty, humiliate yourself like this? I am an unfilial granddaughter. I will repay your kindness in my next life!" Then she slammed her head against the doorpost.
Ni Yuanlu exclaimed in surprise. This was his favorite granddaughter. She was like the apple of his eye! Besides his own eldest grandson, he loved this granddaughter the most. He felt like a knife was twisting his heart to see her banging her head against the wall to death.
Just as she was about to hit the pillar, Zhou Shuai intervened. He kicked the woman in the leg, knocking her to the ground. Ni Yuanlu hurried over to help his granddaughter.
Without a word, Zhou Shuai immediately pulled Ni Yuanlu up and said to the team members behind him, "Take his grandchildren and leave! If anyone else catches up, kill them without mercy!"
"Yes!" the team members answered in unison. Two of them pulled the two children up, and the others began to close the door. Shouts and sobs could be heard from behind. They had been abandoned, with no hope of survival.
The voices grew farther and farther away, and General Zhou thought to himself, "I guess I can't lead troops anymore. If I can't do it in the future, I'll have to find a civilian to do it. This is too uncomfortable."
This drama unfolded at the homes of numerous high officials in the capital, including Wang Jiayan, Right Vice Minister of War; Meng Zhaoxiang, Right Vice Minister of Punishment; Wu Ganlai, Imperial Censor of the Ministry of Revenue; Wu Linzheng, Junior Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat; Fan Jingwen, Grand Secretary; and Xu Zhi, Deputy Minister of Personnel. Some brought their sons, some their grandchildren, and a few even their wives. They were practically carried by Wan Shan and Zhou Shuai to Chaoyang Gate. After all that was done, the only thing left was Wu Sangui's family, the largest of their number. Five people were to be taken away: Wu Xiang, Wu Sanfeng, Wu Sanfu, Chen Yuanyuan, and Wu Sanmei.
This time, it was General Zhou who came to the gate of Wu's mansion with Wanshan. General Zhou stepped forward and knocked on the door, "Open the door! Open the door! Ask Admiral Wu and his family to come out to receive the order!" General Zhou spoke very rudely this time.
The servant who came out to open the door said with disdain, "My master has gone to bed! Come back tomorrow!"
Zhou Shuai picked up the scabbard in his hand and hit the servant, saying: "Asshole! I'm going to deal with you, you blind thing!" Zhou Shuai was furious at his words! I'm delivering the imperial decree! Although I'm pretending to deliver the imperial decree, you still have to come out and see it! This is good, let me come tomorrow! The cucumber dishes will be cold tomorrow.
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