Early in the morning of February 4, the fifteenth year of Chongzhen.

A bright and refreshing morning.

Early in the morning, a joyful shock wave exploded from a small spot in front of Shouwang's Mansion in Langzhong City, Boryeong Mansion, and soon spread to the whole city.

Victory waited too long, but it came too quickly.

When the guards with yellow belts on their arms at the Duanli Gate of the Shouwang Mansion sang "God Bless Daming" in unison in the sound of drums, the people of the whole city flocked out and spontaneously gathered in front of the Duanli Gate to cheer for the high fluttering flag of Shu Shizi and the flag of the Protector Army.

Zhu Pingjian, the prince of Shu, appeared in time at the Duanli Gate Tower and waved to the enthusiastic people. He also brought a message to the people through the eunuchs: in order to celebrate the great victory of the war against the local tyrants in northern Sichuan, the propaganda team of the Shu Wangfu will build a stage on the dam in front of the Duanli Gate, and from tomorrow night, the people will sing a big drama for three consecutive days, and the name of the play will be "The Yellow Haired Girl".

The joy of the people was from the bottom of their hearts, because the local rioters in northern Sichuan, who had threatened Boryeong Province for many years, suffered an unprecedented defeat under the joint blows of the National Protector Army and the official army.

The talents of the Protector Army posted the will of the prince of Shu under the city tower. Shizi told the people that the officers and soldiers who fought in Bazhou this time showed a heroic and fearless fighting spirit, and all of them fought bravely and actively.

Wang Xiang, the general of Bazhou City, was calm and calm, and seized the opportunity to kill the king with a cannon;

The guerrilla general Yang Zhan swept across the Nanjiang River and rescued Li Cunxing, the magistrate of the county, Tu Long, the deputy general, and the people of a county, who had been holding the Tongjiang for nearly a year;

Ma Gan, the deputy envoy of the Sichuan military garrison in Yuxichang, and Zhang Zuokai, the deputy general of the Chu army, burned to death Wang Youjin, the king of food, and burned Zhang Xian, the king of neatness, and defeated the 100,000 Hu Jiusi and the king of heaven Bai Jiaolong;

Feng Rubao, the battalion commander of the Protector Army, killed Ma Chao in Tianbao Village, and then rushed to the Tongcheng Walled City, and joined hands with Jia Denglian, a general of the Chu Army, to defeat Shunhu and Tianxing Liang Shizheng;

Wang Xingwu, the battalion commander of the Protector Army, lured the enemy with grain, and Liu Zhenfan, the deputy general of northern Sichuan, attacked from behind, and annihilated Chen Lin from both sides. Chen Lin jumped into the river to escape for her life and drowned in the monstrous muddy water. Only Yuan Tao, the king of the heavens, and Bai Wuchang, who shook the sky, escaped the blow by luck and fled in panic to the deep mountains and old forests north of Bashan. Now the Protector Army and the official army have been merged, and they are bravely pursuing the remnants of the enemy under the unified command of Ma Gan, the deputy envoy of the Sichuan military garrison, and Liu Zhenfan, the deputy general of northern Sichuan.

In addition, a reinforcement of nearly 10,000 people of the Protector Army, under the command of the regiment commander Tan Sigui, has rushed from Guang'an to the vicinity of Yilong.

Another powerful reinforcement force, under the command of the regiment commander Lu Yinchang and the supervising army Luo Jingyun, had penetrated deep into Daba Mountain and occupied Jiangkou Town, an important confluence of the Tongjiang River and the Ba River;

There was also an army, under the command of Ding Xianjue, the deputy general of Tongjiang, Feng Ruhu, the commander of the Protector Army, and Cai Shaoyun, the supervisor of the army, occupied Chengkou Town (now Chengkou County), which belonged to the Mingtong Inspection Division of Taiping County;

As for the Protector Army that remained in Guang'an Prefecture, under the leadership of the regiment commander He Zengshan, they also carried out a "dragnet" search in the Jincheng Mountain area north of Yuechi.

In addition to the news of this series of victories, the prince also announced that tens of thousands of local rioters were killed in the Battle of Bashan, and more than 10,000 prisoners were also taken, and the specific number is still being counted. Some of the chieftains will be taken to Boryeong Province to be taken prisoner, paraded through the streets, and then judged. The leaders and those who committed the most heinous crimes were to be put to death, the coercive and those who committed minor crimes were to be forced to labor, and the people who were held hostage by the tyrants were registered and released to their homes.

……

The will of the prince not only did not implement the law of the Great Ming Law, but also announced that the coerced people would be released to their homes, which caused a lot of waves among the people and the gentry in Langzhong City.

Most of the people are supportive.

The consistent method of the local tyrants is to coerce the people. When the faces of the common people are branded with the mark of local tyrants, their heads often become the evidence of the meritorious service of the officials and soldiers, and their families often become the targets of extortion and extortion by the officials. In order to save their heads and the safety of their families, the coerced people had to follow the local rioters all the way to the dark.

Now the Shu Wangfu has clearly announced the abolition of the law of Zhulian, which makes many family members who are holding the people hostage grateful. Ever since the decree was posted, there have been sporadic people kowtowing to the decree at the city gates, and then quietly slipping away.

The gentry were different from the common people, and this was a popular idea that aroused strong opposition from some people. They have the right to speak, and if there is an argument, the movement will be very large. In particular, Jinping Academy, where students gathered, became the center of controversy between the two sides.

There are two of the most solid arguments of the counter-side. First, the law of the Ming Dynasty is the imperial system of Emperor Taizu Gao, how dare future generations change it? The second is that the law of the Ming Dynasty is a law for the country, and the king of a corner and a place can be easy to use?

As soon as the opposing side made a difficulty, the positive side did not show weakness, and quickly gathered the comrade army to form three professional combat groups.

The first group is the Literature and History Group.

Their way of fighting is the most urbane - flip book. Search for materials in the vast historical materials of the academy, and use historical facts to refute the arguments of the opposing side.

The literature and history group argues that Emperor Taizu Gao's expulsion of the Tartars did not kill the people who were held hostage by the Tartars, but instead ordered them to be cultivated and reclaimed to settle down the lives of the people; Water conservancy was built, mulberry hemp was planted, and the people's lives were enriched. They proved that the time when Taizu issued the decree to agree on the law was in the first year of Wu (1367). In the seventh year of Hongwu, the law of the Ming Dynasty was completed and promulgated in the world. However, the Da Ming Law was revised again in the 22nd year of Hongwu and re-promulgated in May of the 30th year, and has not been revised since then.

Comparing the texts, it can be found that there is a big difference between the Da Ming Law of the 30th year of Hongwu and the Da Ming Law of the 7th year of Hongwu.

Why? One reason is troubled times, and the other is ruling the world!

Therefore, historical data show that the Great Ming Law has made targeted reforms in response to different situations in different historical periods, even Emperor Taizu Gao himself!

The second group is the Confucianism group.

Their method of fighting was the most straightforward - posting big-character posters at the gates of the academy and in various conspicuous places.

As soon as the big-character poster came up, the opposition collective was labeled as "unkind and unjust". The big-character poster in bold and big-character said: Zi said, the benevolent love others, and the lovers are benevolent; The son said again, its forgiveness! Do unto others as you would have them do to you. Therefore, when Zongsheng (Zengzi) discussed the thoughts of the ancestors, he made this summary: The way of the master is only loyalty and forgiveness! Now that the son of the world practices the way of benevolence and loyalty and forgiveness, he has been accused by some unkind and unrighteous villains with ulterior motives, which is really "which is tolerable, which is unbearable!" ”

The third group is the Buddhist group.

Their way of fighting is the most distinctive - chanting.

The Buddhist group invited more than a dozen nuns from the most famous Guanyin Monastery in Langzhong City to set up a Dharma field outside the academy and recited the "Great Compassion Mantra" for three days in front of the gate of the academy. People who don't know what is going on still think that these people in Buddhism have taken medicine and dare to challenge the orthodoxy of Confucianism.

Buddhism organizes the Tao that the Bodhisattva's great compassion is "great compassion without cause, great compassion with the same body", "if all sentient beings have not attained the degree, my Buddha will have tears all night". Many of the Soil Tyrants are not born with "demon seeds". They are either poor people who have no means of livelihood, or they are coerced people, and they have "strayed into the devil's way". The abolition of the prince and the implementation of "self-responsibility" separated these coerced people from those heinous bandits, which directly proved the natural Buddhahood of the prince.

Originally, the Zhengfang was going to set up a fourth group, that is, the Legalist group, which was ready to directly demonstrate the source of the law of the decree issued by the prince from the perspective of the Legalist's potential, law, and technique, and indirectly demonstrate the legitimacy of the decree, but their research movement was too great and the research direction was too sensitive, which attracted the intervention of the mountain chief Kong Shangxue.

As the head of Jinping Academy, the president of the Sichuan Confucianism Research Association for the Protection of the Country and the People, and the 64th grandson of Southern Confucius, Kong Shangxue convened the teachings and students of Jinping Academy and the main backbone of the Confucian Society for the Protection of the Country and the People, including almost all the scholars in Langzhong City, to hold a seminar in Jinping Mountain.

At the seminar, Kong Shangxue made a concluding speech. Instead of quoting obscure Confucian classics or expounding profound Confucian theories, the Southern Sect simply used a Sichuan folk slang to express his views on the controversy:

Now not only Shu is a troubled time, but the entire Ming Dynasty is a troubled time! In this troubled world, don't argue! Don't be inward-looking! Regardless of the white cat or black cat, the one who catches the mouse is a good cat!

……

As the son of Shu, Zhu Pingjin would not care too much about these controversies in the Shu ideological circles. Even if he cares, he will let the superintendent military department and his master Shu Wenyi deal with it.

Zhu Pingjin focused his energy on the upcoming meeting of clan relatives and important ministers in the past few days. The main agenda of this meeting was the resettlement of millions of displaced people into Sichuan and the corresponding land reform; There are the current year's taxation, spring sowing, and the corresponding fiscal, financial, industrial and food security issues. In particular, the reorganization of the entire Sichuan army and the consolidation of the northern Sichuan theater became one of the highlights of the meeting.

These important matters cannot be completed by one or two people, nor can they be explained in one or two sentences, so the meeting is estimated to last several days.

Zhu Pingjin also had a major strategic decision, and he wanted to make a small-scale announcement through the mouth of Liao Daheng at this meeting, that is, the entry of the Protector Army into Chu and Qin. This announcement, when zoomed in, is equivalent to Zhu Pingjin's announcement to the people who were notified of his determination to chase the Central Plains. Therefore, he hesitated for a long time without making a decision, until the news of the victory in the north of Sichuan came.

However, there is a prerequisite for this meeting to be held well, that is, to complete the unification of the military and government orders of Sichuan Province, which Zhu Pingjin had been planning for a long time.

two lines of command, two stations, three divisions, yamen and the palace; Fuzhou County and Wangzhuang two local administrative bodies; There are two types of armies: the official army and the national defense army. This situation, which is hampered everywhere, cannot be delayed any longer and must be resolved once and for all. The counterattack of Chongzhen and the imperial court will definitely come, maybe just tomorrow.

But compared with the real threat of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, the counterattack of the imperial court is just fighting cattle across the mountains.

Wei Chen mentioned in the biography of the flying pigeon that Zhu Zhihan sent back the news that Zhang Xianzhong had reappeared with the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo. Zhang Xianzhong's first move after leaving the mountain was to take Qianshan County, which was only more than 100 miles northwest of Anqing Prefecture.

History is repeating itself, and time is running out for Zhu Pingjin, and he must take a risk.

……

Luo Yuhong entered Boryeong Mansion in this lively and excited atmosphere. She sat in the four-wheeled carriage specially designed and built for her by An Wensi and Wang Gongzheng, and her eyes looked curiously at the ancient city on the other side of the Jialing River, which she had visited many times in her previous life.

Liu Hongting, the new director of the Luo Office, didn't care about the curiosity of her superiors at all, but just held her chin with one hand and was distracted. And Tan Fang and Xiaohong are seizing the time to be female celebrities. One is to knit sweaters for Song Da, and the other is to make gloves for his younger brother Tan Jin.

Three hundred steps in front of the carriage, there were Xu Hanqing's three hundred baby infantry, who were dressed in brand-new national protection army uniforms and walked with great spirit; A few miles behind the carriage, there were 300 cavalry from Gao Junxi and Jiang Qifeng's Gao and Yang families. Their uniforms varied, but after receiving many pieces of armor from the Firearms Bureau, they also donned neat gray-black ironclad suits. These native soldiers could not cross the Jialing River and settle in Langzhong City, but would be stationed outside Nanjin Pass, waiting for the order of the prince's army. As for the carriage, there was not only a long convoy of baggage, but also the high-ranking officials of the Ertai Third Division and the Shu Wangfu who accompanied her to Baoning Mansion this time, including Liu Zhibo, Chen Qichi, Hong Qihui and others. However, there are three more people who come uninvited and are not easy to refuse: Zhu Xuankun, the old king of Shiquan, Fu Shu Wenyi, the prince of the world, and He Shan, the 75-year-old mountain chief of the Wenweng Stone Chamber in Chengdu at the time.

In the bright spring light, Langzhong - this ancient city is gradually fading the old skin in Luo Yuhong's eyes and changing into the new clothes of the times.