Chapter 294: Iron-Blooded Loyalty

Empress Dowager Sun (Zhu Qizhen's mother) learned of the beheading of Yang Jun, the second Marquis of Changping, and was furious, complaining that Yingzong should not have beheaded the ministers.

At this time, Emperor Yingzong's mind also calmed down, and he also knew that to shield the invasion of the Mongolian tribes, he still needed to rely on Yang Neng, Yang Xin and other Yang family generals, and the big tree of the Yang family could not fall, so he issued an edict and sent people to appease the Yang family in Yingxi.

Soon, Yang Neng was promoted to the governor of the left capital with his "Yingfu" merit, and later was crowned Wu Qiangbo with his military merits. Yang Qing was awarded the title of Governor of the Later Military Prefecture for his meritorious service, and Yang Xin was also appointed as the chief military officer shortly after being recalled to Beijing, guarding Yansui.

The storm finally stopped, and the Yang Men soldiers and their families finally escaped without danger. But Yang Jun's eldest son, Yang Zhen, was still cut off from the Marquis of Changping and sent to Guangxi to serve as a border guard.

Harm others and end up harming oneself, shortly after Yang Jun's death, Zhang Xuan suddenly fell ill on the way to the court, and when he returned home, he was covered in blue and black, and he died in a few days.

In August of the third year of Tianshun, Zhu Qizhen's purpose of killing people with a knife was achieved, and Shi Heng and his nephew Shi Biao were arrested and imprisoned, and soon Shi Heng was also reduced to a civilian position.

In the first month of the fourth year of Tianshun, Shi Heng was also arrested and imprisoned, and died of illness in prison, and his nephew Shi Biao and nephew Shi Hou were beheaded.

In the eighth year of Tianshun (1464), Zhu Jianshen of Ming Xianzong ascended the throne, and Yang Jun's son Yang Zhen was pardoned and awarded the command of Longhuwei.

In the second year of Chenghua (1466), Yu Qian's case was Zhaoxue, and Yang Jun's cousin, Yang Xin, Marquis of Zhangwu, was dismissed, and Yang Jun, who was in the same case as Yu Qian, was also rehabilitated. In order to commend Yang Jun's meritorious service to the country, Xianzong gave him "loyalty" and issued an edict to build a "loyal temple" in the southeast of Yingxi's hometown (now north of Yangcun).

"Zhongmin Temple" covers an area of 300 acres, the siege of the city is two zhang high, the main hall is five rooms in a row, a total of three rows of halls, each row of halls is built with six wings. Bucket arch type building, the ridge is glazed tile, the beast is yellow, the tile is blue tile, and the three hall pillars are all pythons. The front hall is for the loyal like Yang Jun, the platform is 6 feet high, 1 zhang wide, and Yang Jun sits on the statue more than half of two zhang high.

The nave is the Kui star, and the apse is dedicated to the god of wealth. In the ancestral hall, the tree is tall, and the plaque reads "Yingxi Zhongyi Hall" with five big characters. "Zhongyi Hall" is the imperial approval of Emperor Jing, the university scholar Yang Rong made the preface to Changping and waited for Yang Hong's hall number, and "Yingxi Zhongyi Hall" was cast with the blood of the hero Yang Jun.

In April of the seventeenth year of Chenghua (1481), the emperor issued an edict allowing Yang Jun's eldest son, Yang Zhen, to attack the Marquis of Changping, twenty-four years after Yang Jun was beheaded.

The Yang family in the west of the country guarded the eastern, northwestern, southwestern, and southeastern Liaodong, and the descendants of the Yang family were scattered all over the country. After Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, Yang Qiaoran, the fifth grandson of Yang Hong, suddenly returned to Shangguan Village with the plaque of "Yang's Official Hall".

Chengbu Yang's family knew that the central army of the Ming Dynasty had exchanged fire with the Mongol and Jurchen coalition forces in the north, and the battle was extremely fierce.

The Yang Tongguan people stationed in Huailai were worried that the "Yang Clan's Official Hall" would be burned down, so they contacted Yang Qiaoran and transferred the plaque as soon as possible. As a result, the Yang clan ancestral hall in Shangguan Village was officially renamed "Yang's official hall".

Soon, the small court of the Southern Ming Dynasty began, and Yang Qiaoran, the governor of southern Sichuan, was ordered to go directly to Sichuan. The atrocities of the Qing army aroused the strong dissatisfaction of the people in the Han area, and Yang Qiaoran took the opportunity to get in touch with Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo, and the rest of Li Zicheng's Dashun of the Great Western Army.

In 1652, after Sun Kewang grasped the power of the Southern Ming Dynasty, he launched a new round of attacks on the Qing army with Guizhou as the base, and the Ming army, which was reorganized by the Great Western Army as the main body, was invincible all the way, and the anti-Qing armed forces drove straight into Hunan, Guangxi, Sichuan and other places.

Yang Qiaoran, the governor of southern Sichuan, provided accurate military information to Li Dingguo, the king of Xining, and transferred 20,000 Yang troops to assist in the attack, and the 30,000 elite soldiers led by Li Dingguo, who was confident, returned to Huguang.

The brave and warlike Yang Jiajun was incorporated into the army, Li Dingguo's confidence was greatly increased, and most of the lost territory in Hunan was occupied by the Ming army. Yang Qiaoran suggested going south to Guangxi, going straight to Guilin, killing the traitor Kong Youde, the king of Dingnan, and fighting against the arrogant Qing army, Li Dingguo readily agreed and adopted Yang Qiaoran's strategy.

Knowing that Yang Qiaoran, Li Dingguo and others led their troops to kill, Kong Youde, who did not know the height of the sky, led his army to Yanguan in Xing'an County, and refused to defend it, trying to eat this Ming army, but he did not know that his life would soon be lost in Guangxi. The June sun was fierce, scorching the earth, and the fighting spirit of the Ming army did not diminish in the slightest.

Kong Youde thought that Yang Qiaoran's army was vulnerable, so he went out of the pass to meet the battle. Under the command of Li Dingguo, the Southern Ming army set up an elephant formation with artillery, and the Qing army, which had never seen an elephant, was shocked and chaotic. The Ming army took advantage of the situation to kill the Qing army on their backs, and the corpses were all over the field. Kong Youde slashed and killed six or seven Qing soldiers in a row before he stabilized his position slightly.

Seeing that the soldiers were in full swing, the governor Yang Qiaoran was eager to try, gearing up, not caring that his martial arts were not exquisite, and he also went into battle, using the 180 moves of the Yang family's gun, pointing, picking, plucking, and stabbing in a good way, killing dozens of Qing soldiers, and shocking the guard Zhang Weijun in a cold sweat. The Ming army was deeply inspired and fought hard to kill the enemy, broke the Qing army, and won the victory in the Battle of Yanguan.

The Qing army lost their armor and most of them were beheaded, and the "Scud" Kong Youde, who saw that the situation was not good, was seriously injured, and he ran away, fortunately he ran fast, otherwise Li Dingguo would have cut off his dog's head on the spot. Ran to Jeonju, still trying to snipe the Ming army, and was defeated again.

Kong Youde fled back to Guilin alone in embarrassment, ordered the city gate to be closed, refused to fight, and was in a panic all day. Li Dingguo chased to Guilin by victory, surrounded the city in all directions, and this time Kong Youde couldn't run even if he had wings.

On the second day of the seventh month, Li Dingguo began to attack Guilin, and the fierce battle continued until the fourth day of the first month.

The Ming army began a general attack, and concentrated heavy artillery fire to drive the Qing army defending the city from the city. Under the cover of artillery fire and bows and arrows, the infantry army attacked under the city wall and erected ladders to attack the city, but the Qing army still resisted stubbornly.

"Oops-" Kong Youde, who was commanding in the city, screamed, an arrow in his forehead, and blood blurred his face.

Yang Qiaoran also wanted to win over Kong Youde, a traitor who had served the Ming Dynasty, and shouted in the distance: "Kong Youde, turn back to the shore!" As long as you surrender, everything is not to blame! ”

Like Kong Youde, who is a lost dog, where is he willing to follow, standing at the head of the city and roaring: "You go to die!" Yang Qiaoran - "Hitting Yang Qiaoran with a bow is an arrow, but fortunately, Li Dingguo is agile and catches the poisonous arrow that is flying with one hand.

Li Dingguo said: "Dogs can't change their nature of eating!" It's useless to talk to traitors about benevolence, righteousness and morality, only fists work, give me a hard deal with him-" ordered to continue the siege of the city, and the Ming army attacked the mountain city northwest of Guilin from the cloud ladder, broke the Wusheng Gate, and engaged in street battles with the defeated Qing army.

Kong Youde was hit by an arrow in the forehead, and he had already died in battle with the army, so he had to claw the arrow with one hand, swing his sword and cut off the arrow feathers, and ran down the city tower with severe pain, and returned to Fuzhong (Guiwang's Mansion) to look for gold sore medicine. The Southern Ming army had poured into the city of Guilin from all directions, and the arrogant Qing army lost its fierceness outside the pass at this time, and was defeated by the Ming army.

In fact, the reason why these Qing troops were able to enter the Central Plains was not how powerful they were, but that the Ming Dynasty emperor Zhu Youzhen was too suspicious, improperly employed people, and insufficient food and salary was not the most fatal. The military group that was placed in the hearts of the people in Jiangnan and was loyal and courageous did not need to be indecisive in dealing with the Manchus in the northeast, and how many people were there in the Eight Banners Army? If there was Zhu Di's martial arts and martial arts, the royal drive and personal conquest, the gathering of 300,000 elite divisions across the country, bringing the most advanced firearms, and leveling the Jurchen rebels in less than a year, the Qing army would be able to succeed, not how awesome Wu Sangui was, but the cannibalism of the Southern Ming army was too great!

The sound of artillery fire was getting closer and closer, and Kong Youde said to his wife: "Hurry up and change the children into the clothes of the common people, and before the Ming army breaks through the inner city, you can take the children and run for your life!" ”

His wife was a martyr, and she was dissatisfied with Kong Youde's traitorous behavior of seeking glory, but she did not show it, so she ordered an old servant to take the child to flee for her life, and before leaving, you said to the children: "You are the descendants of the white-clothed emperor Confucius, and your father recognized the thief as his father, so he ended up like this." The Ming Dynasty was destroyed in the hands of these traitors, and the biggest traitor Wu Sangui. After you escape safely, don't follow your father's example, and then work for the Qing court, hide your name, and escape into Buddhism, then you will be safe. ”

The children didn't seem to understand, nodded their heads, cried and said, "Mother, we remember." Come with us. ”

His wife knew very well that if she fled together, it would definitely not work, Princess Dingnan was too conspicuous in Guilin City, and it would affect the children, so she said: "Okay." Let's go separately and meet in the grove outside the city, and you go first, and if your mother and mother don't arrive in half an hour, don't wait. Come on! ”

The children pulled the corners of the princess's clothes and insisted on going together: "Mother, we don't worry about you, let's go together." ”

The princess was a little annoyed, and struggled to knock off the children's hands: "Listen to my mother's words!" If we don't leave, we'll all die. He pushed the children out of the house and let them out of the back garden.

The princess changed into civilian clothes when she entered the house, and the swords and guns outside the mansion rang out, and the Ming soldiers and horses of the brigade had surrounded the palace, and more than 200 Qing soldiers were still desperately resisting.

"I can't get out today, my poor children, my mother has let you down." The princess returned to the house, hung Bai Lian on the beam, stepped on it by herself, stretched her neck into it, and then kicked off the stool, her whole body was suspended, she grabbed Bai Lian with both hands, and after a while, she lost her breath, and Kong Youde's concubines also committed suicide one by one.

Kong Youde carried a sword, slashed and killed several little wives, like a headless fly jumping around, running everywhere there were Ming troops, this traitor had no way to retreat. He had no choice but to climb into the hall of the guests, pretending to be calm, sitting on the Taishi chair, and quietly waiting for Yang Qiaoran's arrival.