Shaoxing, Zhejiang, located in the middle reaches of the Yao River, is a city with a unique style, the Ming Dynasty, but also a famous city with many literati, and the imperial examination rate of Shaoxing scholars is far ahead of all the provinces in the world.

Shaoxing city control chokes the traffic between the provincial capital Hangzhou and the eastern part of Zhejiang, the city is also a water network, almost every street, there are inland rivers connected with it, Shaoxing's Wupeng boat is also everywhere, the street in the city is the river, the river boats come and go.

In addition to the prosperity of culture, Shaoxing is also rich in famous tea and wine, so the most in the city are teahouses and restaurants, which can be seen everywhere. Throughout the year, business is always booming.

Huang Zongxi was finally busy with the affairs of the countryside during this time, the rent of the family was also collected, the taxes were paid, and even the new deed of the farm house was handled, and after taking a loan from the bank to pay the deed tax, he also passed this pass safely.

In July, when the early rice has been harvested and the late rice has been planted, the fields at home are all cultivated by tenants, so there is generally nothing important except for the harvest season when you have to rush to the countryside to collect rent. Now that the rent is reduced and the interest rate is reduced, the people's rent is paid very happily, and he does not need to collect rent anymore, which is more convenient.

Today, he also packed his luggage with a few brothers and prepared to catch the exam.

After leaving home, Huang Zongxi came to Shaoxing first, not only by the way, but also to visit the teacher.

Huang Zongxi's teacher, Liu Zhouzong, was once the imperial history of the left capital of the Chongzhen Dynasty and the minister of Gu Ming. Because of his father's funeral, he returned home to keep filial piety, and now he is at home in Shaoxing.

Liu Zongzhou was not only a leader of Donglin, but also a world-famous Confucian master, and countless people praised him as the most famous Confucian master in the world after Wang Mingyang.

Huang Zongxi deeply admires his teacher for being upright, upright, resolute and outspoken. In his early years, he was always jealous and hated by the powerful in the court, and repeatedly offended the emperor, so he repeatedly dismissed his official position and cut his post. But this has also won the teacher great prestige.

During his past dismissal, the Qishan Academy he founded was highly respected and enjoyed a high reputation. Huang Zongxi is a member of the academy and one of Liu Zongzhou's most admired students.

Huang Zongxi's father, Huang Zunsu, was also a member of the Donglin Party, and he was a close friend of Liu Zongzhou before his death. Afterward. With this relationship, Huang Zongxi became a disciple under Liu Zongzhou.

And last year, Huang Zongxi also officially married his second daughter Xu to Liu Zongzhou's eldest grandson, and the two families were even closer. Because of this relationship, Huang Zongxi passed through Shaoxing, so he had to visit his teacher no matter what.

Docking on a wharf on the riverside in the city, the five brothers quickly arrived at the gate of Liu's Mansion with their long-term entourage.

At dawn, the stone lion in front of the gate of Liu's Mansion was standing, and an old servant was cleaning the street in front of the door. Seeing their brothers, he stepped forward with a smile. "The lord also said yesterday that it is estimated that you should go to Hangzhou to catch the exam in the next few days, and you will definitely pass by Shaoxing at that time, but I didn't expect to arrive today."

The old servant invited the brothers in courteously, and went inside to report on the other.

"A few sons, the master invites a few people to come in and talk."

When I went inside, I saw that there was nothing but the teacher Liu Zong in the house. There are three more.

But they are all acquaintances, and one is his own son and daughter. Liu Zongzhou's son Liu Gou, the other two are Chen Gang and Wang Yuzhi, these two Confucian students wearing Taoist robes, but they are both Liu Zongzhou's sons-in-law, and they also have a talent and fame.

The atmosphere in the room was somewhat solemn.

Huang Zongxi didn't know what was going on. took a step forward and took a few brothers with the luggage, "Teacher, in-laws, two brothers." It's been a long time. ”

Liu Zongzhou still didn't react, his eyes were a little dull, and he looked ahead in a daze, but there was nothing there.

"Teacher, disciple, I don't know what happened?"

Liu Gou raised his head and looked at him, sighed and replied on behalf of his father, "Brother, do you know? Da Ming is finished. ”

Huang Zongxi thought to himself, the Ming Dynasty is over in the morning, and Liu Jun usurped the throne and established the country in March.

Liu Gou continued, "King Fu was captured in Luoyang, King Qin was killed in Tongguan, Prince Hongguang was captured in Sichuan, and King Tang was killed by the rebellious Sha Dingzhou, and the Ming Dynasty is really finished. ”

"What?" Huang Zongxi's eyes widened in surprise.

"Da Ming is finished." Liu Zongzhou finally came to his senses and let out a long sigh.

"Where did this news come from?" Huang Zongxi asked.

Liu Gou shook his head and said, "This news is right. ”

In fact, the news was sent by the imperial court, and the governors of the provinces carried the news to the lower prefectures, and the officials of the prefectures and counties informed all the gentry of the news.

After Liu Jun usurped the throne, the Ming Dynasty set up several ******, Luoyang court, Xi'an court, Yunnan court, and Hanzhong court, which could rise quickly and destroy quickly.

The Hongguang Imperial Court of Luoyang was once the most powerful, attracting the response of the world, and as a result, more than 100,000 soldiers and horses were wiped out in one day. The king of Xi'an Qin claimed to be the prisoner of the country, and it was even more of a brother's infighting, and the younger brother killed his brother to seize the throne, but he was immediately killed by the Han army in an ambush, and the Xi'an court was dispersed all of a sudden.

Zhu Youxiang fled to Hanzhong, trying to rely on the bandits Luo Rucai and Li Zicheng, and also made two people, a King of Wei and a King of Zhong. As a result, Zhang Shan and Cai Yuan led their troops along the Han River to enter Guanzhong, and the two immediately fled into Sichuan with Zhu Youxiang. As a result, as soon as they entered Sichuan, they were ambushed by the soldiers and horses of Sichuan Lake led by Qin Liangyu, Luo Rucai and Li Zicheng were defeated and fled, and Zhu Youxiang was captured alive.

Mu Tianbo, the prince of Qianguo in Yunnan, originally supported Zhu Yujian, the king of Tang, and also contacted many Tusi in the southwest to support him. But who knows, Sha Dingzhou is simply a wolf with wolf ambitions.

His father, Sha Yuan, once requisitioned Shuixi together with Amipu Fame to suppress the Lu'an Rebellion, and had a small reputation in Yunnan. Later, Sha Dingzhou inherited the position of Shayuan Wang Tusi, this person has always been cunning and greedy, as early as when he suppressed the rebellion of Lu'an Tusi with his father, he had already seen the weakness and decay of the Ming Dynasty. He has been secretly encircling local officials, bribing Mu Mansion, and controlling the elites of the clan, and has long emptied the authority of Daming in the local area.

The local people only know that there is Shadingzhou, but they don't know that there is a Ming Dynasty, as if they are the emperor of the soil.

After the death of the reputation of Tusipu in Amizhou, his wife Wan remarried Sha Dingzhou, and the two Tusi were combined into one, and Sha Dingzhou was even more powerful, and he had long been secretly planning to take advantage of the contradictions between Mu Fu and Yunnan Governor and the three officials, and the backs of the Tusi were different, and they planned to launch a mutiny to seize Yunnan.

When the news came that Liu Jun usurped the throne and established the Han Dynasty, this careerist couldn't hold back.

Mu Tianbo contacted Sha Dingzhou to support the Tang Dynasty and revive the Ming Dynasty together, Sha Dingzhou showed that he was very positive, but in fact he just wanted this opportunity to raise troops.

On the one hand, he accepted the official position of Zhu Yujian's canonization, and on the other hand, in the name of King Qin, he mobilized troops and horses everywhere. At the end of June, Sha Dingzhou brazenly launched a rebellion, and Mu Tianbo urgently dispatched Tusi from all over the country to send troops to quell the rebellion.

Due to the sudden rebellion of Shadingzhou, Mufu was unable to react, and Kunming was soon fallen.

Tang King Zhu Yujian, Qianguo Duke Mu Tianbo and other Yunnan court officials were surrounded before they could run. Zhu Yujian would rather die than surrender, personally drew his sword to fight the rebels, and died of several thieves, and Mu Tianbo's family was also killed.

After Sha Dingzhou occupied Kunming, he proclaimed himself the head office.

This industry is the title of the Duke of Qianguo in Yunnan, which fully shows the ambition of Shadingzhou.

Now almost all the Tusi in Yunnan are attached to Shadingzhou.

Sha Dingzhou seized Kunming, and after receiving the support of the Tusi, he immediately made a concession to Beijing.

He didn't say that he rebelled, but said that Mu Tianbo rebelled, he sent troops to settle the sentence with Zhu Tusi, and asked the court to let him replace Yunnan.

Zhu Changluo was captured and taken to the noon gate of the Beijing division to be shot, Zhu Cunji was killed by his brother Zhu Cunji, and Zhu Cunji was beheaded by the Han army, Zhu Youxiang was captured in Sichuan, and now Zhu Yujian, the king of Tang, was also killed, and the soldiers and horses of the Qinwang uprising in various places also failed one by one.

Daming is really finished, there is no hope anymore, and there is not even a flag left.

"Shadingzhou is a barbarian, taking the opportunity to make trouble, and vainly trying to seize Yunnan, this is delusional." Huang Zongxi said.

In fact, he had lost hope for the Ming Dynasty for a long time, so he had nothing but the initial shock. On the contrary, it was Sha Dingzhou, this kind of behavior of taking advantage of the fire to rob made him very ashamed.

He looked at his teacher and saw that his whole body was trembling slightly.

For Huang Zongxi, he has also experienced confusion and hesitation, but now he has basically figured it out. The Ming Dynasty of the Han Dynasty was the destiny of heaven and the trend of the times, and the new policy after Liu Jun ascended the throne, although it also made him dissatisfied in his heart, but when he thought about it, it was actually much better than the Ming Dynasty. In his heart, he had already admitted the big man.

For Ming, he had regrets and sighs, but after all, it was over.

can look at the teacher's appearance, it is obvious that Daming has more weight for him. Now that Daming is completely finished, the teacher is also overwhelmed.

Unlike Huang Zongxi, who is just a showman, Liu Zongzhou was once the imperial history of the left capital of the Ming Dynasty, the minister of Gu Ming, and also served as the second assistant. Back then, he received the edict of Chongzhen's entrustment.

He even regretted that if Wu Fu had persuaded him to accept the matter of seizing love and not to return to his hometown, maybe there would not have been Liu Jun usurping the imperial power of the Ming Dynasty later, and there would have been no Ming Dynasty in the future.

Liu Zongzhou felt that he had failed the monarch's trust.

At this time, I heard bursts of cheers outside.

"What's the commotion out there?" Liu Gou called the servant and asked loudly.

"Back to the uncle's words, the people outside are celebrating after hearing the news that the kings of the former Ming Dynasty were captured or killed."

"Celebrating? What is there to celebrate, we are all people who have lost our country. Liu Gou said angrily.

The servant lowered his head and didn't dare to speak, but he was thinking in his heart, everyone wished that this Ming Dynasty would die sooner, and now these descendants of the Ming Zhu family who tried to restore it have finally disappeared, and the people finally don't have to worry about the restoration of the Zhu family, and finally don't have to worry about the days that are getting better and better will go back, how can they be unhappy.

The cheers were loud and loud, completely different from the atmosphere in the room.

Liu Zongzhou looked up to the sky and sighed, "Destiny." (To be continued.) )