On the seventh day of the third month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, there was a team of cavalry galloping on the official road leading to Fengyang, about 1,000 people. These cavalrymen were all riding Liaodong horses with a height of more than five feet, and these cavalrymen were all dressed in Ming iron armor without exception, and they sometimes galloped with whips, sometimes slowly, so that the mounts under their crotches could rest.

The sound of horses' hooves in the twilight of the wilderness was like a fierce rainstorm, often causing wild dogs to bark from the nearby haunted villages. Some frightened wild dogs hid in the shadows and looked up the official road.

Ghost Domain!

Zheng Sen, who was riding a Liaodong horse, walked on the land of Jiangbei like a ghost domain, and his heart was very heavy.

Although he had heard more than once that after the Eastern Captives entered the Kou, the north of the river was uninhabited, but he had never been there, and now, since crossing the river, all he saw along the way was a barren, the once prosperous market has become a desolate uninhabited land, and the cultivated land has become a wasteland.

After discovering Zheng Sen's strange appearance, Li Dakai sighed.

"Da Mu, you see, this is the north now, there are eastern captives in front of the coars, and there are rogue bandits in the back, thieves are like combs, soldiers are like grates, and almost all parts of the north are now in this state of life, thousands of miles of bare land......"

The long sigh of the chief soldier made Zheng Sen say in a deep voice.

"The last general can't wait to kill all the rogues in the world now, and return my Ming people to a bright future!"

Under the recommendation of the teacher, Zheng Sen not only entered the General's Mansion, but also was deeply trusted by him, and now he was entrusted with an important task, and he had only one thought in his heart, that is, to live up to the general's expectations and serve the country.

Regarding Zheng Sen's words, Li Dakai only nodded slightly, and then said.

"Let's rush to Fengyang as soon as possible! When I arrived in Fengyang, there was one more thing to do. ”

The so-called thing, in fact, couldn't be simpler, that is, to ask the eunuchs guarding the central capital to release the people who were imprisoned in the high walls of the central capital.

And the abolished Tang King Zhu Yujian is one of the "big shots", he is the ninth grandson of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, and Zhu Guoqiang, it should be said that Zhu Ciying, the son of Deshi, is the thirteenth grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang. In other words, he is four generations stronger than Zhu Guo, and he has to call him Uncle Huanggao politely!

But now he is a commoner locked in the high walls of the central capital.

For this Tang king, Zhu Guoqiang can be said to have been famous for a long time.

Among so many vassal kings in the late Ming Dynasty, there is no doubt that the one who can truly be worthy of the high emperor is this Zhu Yujian.

Although Zhu Yujian was born in the family of the vassal king, he received a hardship education since he was a child. was confined by his grandfather, Tang King Zhu Shuoxi, in the palace for sixteen years, from the age of 12 to the age of 28! In the second year of Chongzhen, his father, Zhu Qiqi, the son of Tang Wang, was poisoned by his uncle, and he almost lost his status as a grandson. As a result, he met Chen Qiyu, a magistrate who mourned Tang Shizi, and stood up for him, which kept his status as the grandson.

After succeeding as the king of Tang, Zhu Yujian, who was imprisoned by his grandfather for 12 years, also showed extraordinary decisiveness, in order to avenge his father's poisoning that year, he actually killed his uncle Fushan Wang Zhu Qijun with a rod in the seventh month of the ninth year of Chongzhen, and beat another uncle, Anyang Wang Zhu Qijun, half to death.

And in August of that year, he did something even more out of the ordinary. In fact, when the Qing soldiers entered the Kou, in August of that year, the Qing Dynasty prince Azig led his troops to attack Beizhili and other places, and the Qing troops entered Serenke Baodi, approaching Beijing, and the Beijing division was under martial law. Zhu Yujian was anxious, and invited King Qin, but Emperor Chongzhen did not allow it, and even ignored the national rule that "the vassal king is not in charge of the army", recruited troops and bought horses, and led thousands of troops from Nanyang to King Qin.

This move naturally provoked the anger of Emperor Chongzhen, and in November of that year, the lower ministry was abolished, and he was also arrested into the Fengyang high wall, and has been locked up until now! During Zhu Yujian's high-wall confinement, the eunuch of Fengyang Shouling could not ask for bribes, tortured him with the pier lock method, tortured him to death, and survived for seven years before he was protected by Lu Zhenfei and saved his life.

This so-called Tang King has been in prison for almost half his life!

In history, Zhu Yujian was the Longwu Emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty, and Zheng Chenggong's national surname was sealed by him. There may not be many deeds about him, but he was martyred in the end, which can be said to be worthy of the emperor. And his brother Zhu Yulu was Emperor Shaowu, who was also martyred after ascending. The other brother, Zhu Yuyi, retreated to Wencun City, Taishan after the two brothers were martyred and insisted on resisting the Qing Dynasty, and finally the three brothers were martyred for resisting the Qing Dynasty, which is worthy of being the queen of Emperor Taizu Gao.

For these "descendants of the high emperor" who are neither afraid of hardship nor death. Although Zhu Guoqiang is not optimistic, he has other plans for them. When he ascends the throne in the future, he will always need some clan relatives as a foil, and even in the future, he will need such a virtuous king!

After all, the Ming Dynasty still needs "kinship and friendship" and needs the clan.

Therefore, after repeated consideration, Zhu Guoqiang still decided to release the people in the high wall - let them serve in the army and make meritorious contributions.

All right!

In fact, I want to use this to create a pro-vassal system - a pro-vassal who is grateful to the son of his German domain. They may have been demoted to concubines for various reasons, and were humiliated by eunuchs in the high walls of the central capital, but under the grace of the son of Shengming, they had to serve in the army, defend the high emperor together, and in the future, when the time is ripe, the new emperor will succeed to the throne and restore their status. After all this, these people will naturally be the people of the new emperor.

……

Walls!

For ordinary people, this is an unheard of term, but for the children of the clan, the high wall has long been notorious, and I don't know how many people know that they are going to be locked up in the high wall, or hang the beam or hit the wall, even if they go to the place, they will inevitably die in the high wall in the end.

How high is the wall?

It is higher than the mountain, and for the sect people who are confined in it, I am afraid that it is higher and heavier than the Five Finger Mountain that oppresses the Sun Monkey.

But it's not the wall that's actually high, it's the heart!

but the heart of the guarding eunuch.

"Thirteenth Master, what's the matter, did you send a letter to your family?"

Again, the guarding eunuch Hu Gonggong looked at the people in the small courtyard and said coldly.

"Back to my father-in-law, although I am a clan, but I am only a side branch of the clan, and my family is not rich, and now the northern rogue is rampant, even if I go to the letter, I am afraid that it is useless, and I ask my father-in-law to forgive me,"

Zhu Youzhu replied neither humbly nor arrogantly,

"Hmph, good you Zhu Youzhu, this bone is really hard, come on! Follow the rules on the pier lock! ”

As soon as Gonggong Hu's words fell, a little eunuch walked over and sentenced him to Zhu Youzhu.

The so-called "pier lock" is a wooden box with four holes in the cover. Hands and feet are locked separately, and it is named because people cannot stand. After a long time, the torturer will be suffocated to death due to bruised limbs and difficulty breathing. Throughout the ages, I don't know how many people will be tortured to death like this.

Of course, here they will be careful and will definitely not let people worry about their lives, but the more so, the more right, sometimes it is better to die.

"Hey, why bother holding on, if you're dead, you're dead......"

Zhu Youzhu thought silently in his heart. For the people here, perhaps, death is a relief.

After all, he has endured such days for too long.

In fact, for a long time in the past, he didn't say that he didn't have the idea of suicide, especially in the face of the situation of his ancestors, he couldn't do anything, he couldn't do anything, he couldn't wait to die like this, at least die now, and use it better than facing the situation of losing the country in the future.

Hey, let's die.

If you die, you don't have to think about these issues anymore.

So be it......

Maybe because he gave up the hope of life, Zhu Youzhu, who can usually hold on for a few days, but as soon as he was punished for an hour, the person's consciousness was blurred, and in the confusion, he even felt that he had returned to his long-lost home again......

Just as his consciousness was getting more and more blurred, he vaguely heard someone shouting.

"Quick, put it down, whoever the hell committed the following crimes, and actually punished the thirteenth master!"

When he woke up again, Zhu Youzhu found himself lying on the bed, and the room was not the cabin he was in.

This is that?

What's going on?

Just when he was puzzled, a little eunuch came over next to him and said in surprise.

"Oh, Thirteenth Master, you are awake, the little one is going to call Grandpa Liu."