"Bell... Clang... Bell ......"

The morning bell rang, and inside and outside the capital in May, whether it was the officials and squires or the ordinary people, they all began to get up at this time and began to run for life.

It's just that unlike the tired rush of the common people in order to survive, the rush of the officials and squires is a little heavier.

On the tenth day of the fifth month of the 31st year of Hongwu, this was the seventh day since Zhu Yuanzhang became seriously ill, and the entire five prefectures and six departments fell into a depressed atmosphere.

In the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, Li Jinglong was wearing a military attache uniform, looking at the mountains of music in front of him and was stunned alone.

On his left and right, a governor looked at the music in his hand and sighed slightly: "This sword is really a soft and hard Wang Ba, who can hold on for so long." ”

The thing in his mouth was obviously the war in the southwest that was taking place right now, and Li Jinglong also came back to his senses when he heard this, and asked while looking at him: "How is the war?" ”

"The Marquis of Xiping sent the governor He Fu and the governor Qu Neng to attack Jinghan Village, and the rebels held on to the high ground with the favorable terrain, and the army did not go further in March."

"The officers and soldiers are running out of food and grass, but the morale of the rebels is high, and the two governors have no choice but to ask the Marquis of Xiping for reinforcements."

"Haven't you taken it yet?" Li Jinglong sighed, and secretly sighed in his heart that there were too many bad things during this time.

"Guogong, ...... in the palace" The governor asked cautiously, but Li Jinglong shook his head after hearing it: "No news is the best news." ”

"Indeed" Du Du nodded subconsciously, and in the following time, both of them led the topic to military affairs.

The rebellion of Yao Miao in the south of Huguang, the defense of the Xingdu Division in Shaanxi in the northwest, the tug of war between the southwest and Luchuan, and the army patrolling the border in the direction of Daning......

This thing just sounds like a headache, but such troublesome things have lasted for thirty-one years.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, rebellions have never stopped.

After experiencing the chaotic order of the Yuan Dynasty, many people were unwilling to accept such a dogmatic order as the Ming Dynasty.

The toasts didn't like the court to be too strict with them, and the landlords and squires didn't like the Ming Dynasty to ask them to pay taxes and restrict them.

The Tatar officials and Semu officials in the north had serious contradictions with the Han officials, and there were many other external complications.

Li Jinglong has been dealing with such a thing for many years, and he should have come easily, but the news that Zhu Yuanzhang was seriously ill made him panic.

In the face of these recitals, he was very irritable.

Zhu Yuanzhang is not only the emperor for him, but also takes good care of him and cultivates his uncle very much.

He subconsciously didn't want anything to happen to Zhu Yuanzhang, because he knew very well that the ship of the Ming Dynasty had not yet sailed out of the storm, and he still needed to continue to maintain stability as the helmsman.

It's just that sometimes, the more people don't want to come, the more they want to come.

The sound of hurried footsteps sounded in the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, and the sound stopped in front of Li Jinglong's yamen, and Li Jinglong also subconsciously raised his head.

The person who came was a eunuch from the inner court, and his face was not good-looking, which made Li Jinglong have a bad premonition in his heart.

He was not the only one who saw the eunuchs of the inner court, but also the rest of the governors of the five prefectures, as well as the scholars of the six departments, Wu Yinghua and other palaces.

After getting the news, they hurriedly went to the gate of the Qianqing Palace from the five mansions and six departments and various palaces.

In just half an hour, they had all gathered in front of the palace gate, looking nervously at the palace gate that had not yet been opened.

Under their gaze, the palace door finally slowly opened, and the eunuch who walked out of it beckoned to everyone.

"Your Majesty has a decree to pass you on to the Qianqing Palace to nourish your heart."

"The Minister's Decree ......"

When entering the Qianqing Palace needed to be summoned by 'will', everyone present had a premonition.

After they returned the salute, they got up, lowered their heads and eyes, looked at their noses, and walked into the Qianqing Palace Road.

In a few words, they walked into the Heart Cultivation Hall with a summons.

At this time, there were already many people standing in the Heart Cultivation Palace.

In addition to the grandson Zhu Yunwen and Yan Shizi Zhu Gaochi, there are also Li Quan, the eunuch of the East Palace, and the two eunuchs of the celebrant Bingbi and palm print.

Of course, the appearance of these people was expected by everyone, and the only thing they didn't expect was that a person who shouldn't be here also appeared.

A woman in her thirties, wearing a phoenix crown and nine feathers and four winds, wearing the usual clothes of the prince and princess, appeared here.

The only person who can appear in the Qianqing Palace and wear it is only Zhu Biao's step-concubine Lu.

"Are they all here......

"Minister, pay homage to Your Majesty, Your Majesty is blessed and healthy!"

The old man's voice sounded, and the ministers knelt down one after another, bowing five times and bowing three times.

On the stepping bed, Zhu Yuanzhang slowly turned his head sideways, looked at more than ten important ministers, and set his eyes on Li Jinglong, Yu Xin, and Qi Tai.

"Jiujiang, Yu Xin, Qi Tai, the three of you come forward, and Yun Wei also come forward......

Zhu Yuanzhang called Li Jinglong by his nickname, and called the other two by his first name.

"Grandpa......"

Zhu Yunwen knelt in front of the stepping bed, although he had been looking forward to this day for a long time, but when he looked at his grandfather with white hair and withered eyes, he felt too much reluctance in his heart.

He wants power, but he doesn't want his grandfather to leave, but he knows very well that if his grandfather doesn't leave, he will never be able to hold real power.

"Ahem, ahem!!"

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly coughed violently, coughing until his entire waist became an arc.

Seeing this, Zhu Yunwen hurriedly reached out to stroke Zhu Yuanzhang's back, and after a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang's breathing subsided slightly.

He stretched out his skinny arm and stroked Zhu Yunwen's head, but his eyes didn't look like he was looking at Zhu Yunwen, but more like he was reminiscing about something.

He was a workaholic, rarely entertained and rested, and often neglected to discipline the inner court, leaving the responsibility of children's education and concubine management to Queen Ma.

After the death of Empress Ma, he handed over the inner court to Zhu Biao's step-concubine Lu to manage, and he continued to fight on the front line with his son Zhu Biao.

It's a pity that Zhu Biao's sudden death was something he didn't expect, and he had laid out the game for most of his life, but in the end it didn't come in handy, so he had to arrange the next game.

Now, this second game has finally been used.

When he took over, the Ming Dynasty was a world full of devastation and homeless people, and now the world he handed over to Zhu Yunwen is a world that controls the border in the north, reaches the South China Sea in the south, reaches the moraine in the west, and reaches the East China Sea in the east.

After more than 20 years of cutting and cutting, Da Ming finally approached the world he wanted.

The whole society is peaceful, people's livelihood is restored, and the foundation is stable.

Although the Quartet was not very stable, the main enemy, Mongolia, had been suppressed in a corner of Moxi, and the powerful clans in the world who had the strength to challenge the imperial power had been eliminated, the economy recovered rapidly, and the society became more and more stable.

In this year, the population of the Ming Dynasty was 60.54 million, exceeding the highest population figure of the Yuan Dynasty.

In this year, the country's income from rice and wheat alone amounted to more than 3,200 stones, and counting more than 2,200,000 stone of Juntun seed grain, the total was more than four times more than 12 million stones of the Yuan Dynasty's annual income.

For later generations, these figures are just a demonstration of the strength of the dynasty, but for Zhu Yuanzhang, the price of these figures is the price of his 31 years of uninterrupted work and continuous consumption of health.

Now, he just needs to do one last thing and get some rest.

Thinking of this, his eyes showed relaxation, and in front of the ministers, he explained to Zhu Yunwen: "If you are Antai today, you have to work diligently to protect the world of our family." ”

"There are Wei Guogong and Xiping Marquis in the southwest, Song Sheng in the northwest, Fourth Uncle Ling in the north, and Gao Xu ......outside the Guan."

"I have laid a good foundation for everything in this world, you can continue as before."

"If you have ambitions in your heart and want to show them, Bing Rong can listen to your fourth uncle and Cao Guogong, and government affairs can listen to Yu Xin and Qi Tai."

"As a monarch and father, you must be able to tolerate advice, have a big heart, and do not act arbitrarily."

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, Zhu Yunwen couldn't cry for a long time, choked and nodded: "Grandson remember." ”

Seeing him like this, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Jinglong and the three of them who were kneeling in front of the stepping bed, he stretched out his hand to Li Jinglong, and Li Jinglong hurriedly knelt down and came forward to hold his hand.

"Jiujiang, my uncle is going to see your father, you are very good... Live up to your father's expectations. ”

"Your Majesty......" Li Jinglong's nose was sour, and he lowered his head and wept.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at him, and then slowly looked at Yu Xin and Qi Tai: "Qi Tai, you are preparing an edict for me......"

"Yes!" Qi Tai lowered his head and responded, and the celebrant and eunuch next to him also put the holy decree and pen and ink prepared earlier in front of Qi Tai.

Qi Tai knelt on the ground and waited quietly for Zhu Yuanzhang to speak.

Looking at the scene in front of him, Zhu Yuanzhang turned his head and looked at the top of the bed: "I have been in the Mandate of Heaven for thirty years, I have been anxious and careful, I am diligent every day, and I will benefit the people." ”

"Nai is from a humble beginning, without the knowledge of the ancients, good and evil, not far away."

"Now we have the natural principle of all things, and there is a sense of ridicule and sorrow."

"The emperor's grandson Yunwen is benevolent and filial piety, the world is in the heart, and it is appropriate to ascend to the throne."

"The civil and military ministers inside and outside work together to assist the government to reassure our people."

"Funeral rituals, no gold and jade. The mountains and rivers of Xiaoling are not changed because of this. ”

"The subjects of the world, crying for three days, are all relieved, and there is no harm in marrying."

"The kings are in the kingdom, and they don't come to the capital. Those who are not in the order shall be pushed to engage in the ......"

In the edict of more than 100 words, Zhu Yuanzhang explained several things.

The first thing is to summarize his mental journey in the past 31 years on the throne, and endorse the platform for Zhu Yunwen, the grandson of the emperor.

The second thing is to put forward a request for his own funeral, not only to ask for a simple burial, but also to let the subjects cry for a little for three days, which means that it will be done at once, and do not hinder the weddings and funerals of the subjects. ”

The third thing is to let the vassal kings from all over the country do not have to mobilize the people, and come all the way to the capital to participate in the memorial.

In just a hundred words, he explained the edict clearly, and from beginning to end, he was thinking about not causing too much trouble to the clan and his subjects.

When he said all this, he seemed to feel that his whole body had strength, and he actually slowly supported himself to sit up.

This scene was seen by everyone, and they all bowed their heads and wept.

He sat up, withdrew his hand from Li Jinglong's hand, and looked at the window in the Heart Cultivation Hall in surprise.

"Yun Wei, I saw your father and them......"

Under the sun, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to see his honest and benevolent Zhu Biao, and everyone looked at him, but they didn't see anything.

When they turned around, Zhu Yuanzhang had already lay down again, with a smile on the corner of his mouth.

"Your Majesty (Grandpa)!!"

In the cry of everyone, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to feel that his body had become much lighter, and his thoughts were confused for a moment.

When he was clear again, he seemed to feel like he had come to the Zhongli Dongxiang of his childhood.

Things around him were clear, and it made him know that he might be looking back on his life.

When he was young, his parents took him to move many times, but at the root of it, his hometown was always in Dongxiang in Zhongli County.

Right now, he is more than 100 steps away from Dongxiang, and he sees many familiar villagers in his eyes.

They did not die in the tyranny of the Yuan court, did not die under the swords of the Yuan soldiers and the Red Turban Army, they all came alive one by one, and they seemed to have returned to a certain day more than sixty years ago.

At this moment, he was anxious, he thought of his home, his parents, brothers and sisters in his memory.

He walked towards Togo, but as he got closer, Togo gradually became dilapidated.

The surrounding scenes reminded him of the drought, locust plague, and plague of the past.

The villagers he once knew fell one by one, and he couldn't let him grieve, so he saw two familiar figures of the cart on his back.

The two figures had a dirty coarse cloth tied around their heads, and their bodies were as thin as wood.

On the cart, three corpses without even white cloth lay quietly.

When he saw the three corpses, Zhu Yuanzhang stopped.

Yes, aren't those two figures him and his second brother?

Aren't the three people on the board car their parents and eldest brother?

For a while, Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned, even if he didn't catch up, the picture in front of him kept advancing.

He watched himself and his second brother pull the cart, kowtowing to people from house to house, begging to lend them a cemetery to bury their parents and eldest brother.

He and his second brother suffered countless blank eyes, many abuses and stones, but they never changed to a cemetery.

Dragging their bruised bodies, they sat at the entrance of the village, not knowing how to live.

It seemed that they were pitiful, and when they couldn't bear it, their neighbor Liu Jizu gave them a cemetery.

The two brothers were very happy when they got the cemetery, as if they had forgotten the insults and humiliations they had had had, and took off their torn clothes, and wrapped the feet and heads of their parents and eldest brother so that their skin would not be exposed.

"Our father and mother also have a coffin......

Listening to what the second brother Zhu Chongliu said, Zhu Yuanzhang's nose was sour, and he saw the two brothers burying their parents and eldest brother on the land of the Liu family.

In order to survive, they were forced to separate and escape separately.

I went to Huangjue Temple, but within a few years, I was driven away because of too many monks and famine, so I had to travel all over the world.

Of course, it is said that it is a cloud tour, but in fact, it is begging for food along the road, which is the only way to save your life.

Later, he received a letter from his deceased inviting him to join the Red Turban Army, but he was unwilling and burned the letter.

However, the news finally leaked, and he had no choice but to join the Red Turban Army and became an ordinary soldier in Haozhou City.

After enlisting in the army, because of his bravery in combat and learning a little literature and ink in Huangjue Temple, he was quickly appreciated by Guo Zixing and gave him a petty officer of the Nine Masters.

However, even though he continued to help Guo Zixing after that, and even helped Guo Zixing repel the invading Yuan army, Guo Zixing always regarded him as a subordinate, and he failed to go further.

It's just that he doesn't regret it, because he met the one who was the best for him.

Although Guo Zixing did not give himself military power or promotion, he married his sister-in-law to him.

"Girl ......"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the blurred figure and tried his best to see his sister's facial features clearly, but her facial features were very blurry, as if he deliberately couldn't see clearly.

He was patient, looking forward to the clouds on his sister's face dissipating.

Zhu Yuanzhang still remembers the situation after that, so in the face of the million-yuan army going south, Xuzhou was breached, Peng Da and Zhao Jun of the Red Turban Army fled to Haozhou with the remnants and turned against the guest, Guo Zixing became a small general, and he had no expression on his face.

Even when he saw that Sun Deya, who had a grudge against Guo Zixing, deliberately instigated Zhao Junyong and used him to arrest Guo Zixing and confine him in his cellar, he was not sad.

He saw that he stupidly ran back to Haozhou, rescued Guo Zixing, and defeated the 20,000 yuan army that came to attack Haozhou with Guo Zixing, but there was no reward.

He also saw that he returned to his hometown to recruit 700 soldiers and was promoted to pacification, but for this false position, he was forced to hand over 700 troops to Guo Zixing, and left Haozhou with more than 20 people including Xu Da and Tang He.

On the way south, he wanted to return to Haozhou many times, kept getting sick, and almost died, but it was his sister-in-law who took care of him and let him gradually recover.

Maybe he didn't deserve to die, or God saw him pitiful, and he used the name of the Red Turban Army to appease many people.

During this period, there were many dangers, but they were all resolved by him one by one.

Later, he led these 3,000 people to attack Hengshan Stream, broke the Yuan army, collected 70,000 men, trained 20,000 men, and took Chuzhou, a city no less than Haozhou.

Unlike Guo Zixing, who also needs to share Haozhou with Sun Deya, Yu, Lu, Pan and others, Chuzhou is completely his world.

But he didn't have time to be happy, because Guo Zixing was squeezed out of Haozhou, and brought 10,000 remnants of soldiers to join him, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had 30,000 troops.

Guo Zixing pressed him with his official position and asked him to hand over 30,000 soldiers and horses, and he handed them over, but Guo Zixing, who had 40,000 troops, retreated in the face of the Yuan army's large-scale attack on Gaoyou and divided his troops to attack Liuhe.

Faced with such a situation, Zhu Yuanzhang took the initiative to ask Ying to relieve the siege of Liuhe, but after several battles, Liuhe was still captured by the Yuan army.

When he returned to Chuzhou, Guo Zixing had already taken control of Chuzhou, and transferred Li Shanchang, Xu Da, Tang He and others away from his side.

Perhaps at this time, he discovered that it was impossible for him and Guo Zixing to be of the same heart, because Guo Zixing had his own son, and it was impossible to fully trust him as an outsider.

After that, he changed, he began to know how to keep his head in his hands, and he began to learn how to guard against others.

He helped Guo Zixing hold Haozhou and repelled the tens of thousands of troops who came to attack.

In order to resolve the conflict, he took the initiative to do something that he once looked down on, he returned the captured horses to the Yuan army, and successfully transferred the attention of the Yuan army to Zhang Shicheng and others.

Looking at Zhu Yuanzhang, who had changed from upright to sleek and watching all this, was expressionless, he knew that he would do more things that violated his former self.

He watched all this quietly, watching him take back part of the military power from Guo Zixing, and take Hexian, blocking the counterattack of the 30,000 yuan army.

He watched Guo Zixing die of illness, and watched his former self regain the military power that should have belonged to him step by step.

Finally, he was not bound by anyone, and he began to fight for himself.

He conquered Nanjing, repelled the counterattacking 100,000 Yuan army, and began to march east and south.

When Zhang Shicheng defected to the Yuan Dynasty and attacked Yang Wanzhi in the middle of him, he calmly defeated Yang Wanzhi, repelled Zhang Shicheng, and at the same time cleared the Jiangxi Yuan army with Xu Shouhui's Xu Song regime.

When Han and Song failed and Chahan was preparing to go south, he took the initiative to befriend Chahan through Yang Wanzhi in order to divert the target.

During that time, it was the most torturous time since he started the army, and only his own sister could calm himself down.

Fortunately, Chahan died and had no opponent for himself, so he imprisoned the envoys sent by the Yuan Dynasty to appease him, and beheaded them.

Even if Xu Shouhui was killed, Chen Youliang came to power and attacked Zhang Shicheng together, he could calmly defeat Zhang Shicheng first, and then defeat Chen Youliang at Poyang Lake.

He merged these two opponents step by step, and after solving Zhang Shicheng, he launched the Northern Expedition.

After several years of crusade and westward crusade, he completely drove the Mongols back to Mobei and captured many territories that had been lost for hundreds of years.

Hexi, Yanyun, Liaodong, Yunnan......

He recovered these lost territories, and completely destroyed the Yuan court that had fled to Mobei, allowing the Mongols to cut off the emperor's title on their own, and only dared to hide in the jackals who survived in Moxi.

Looking at his great achievements, there was not a little wave on his face.

He saw too many people along the way, from Liu Jizu to Guo Zixing, Sun Deya, Zhao Yunyong, Toto, Yang Wanzhi, Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng, Mingsheng......

There are benefactors, enemies, and opponents in this group of people, but in the face of these people, he can face them calmly, only one person, he can never rest assured.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly felt that the scene around him was flowing backwards, and the round-necked robe on his body was also transforming.

It watched as the bright yellow round-necked robe slowly turned into a red coarse linen robe, and he didn't know what was on his head, and he had a headache.

He reached out and grabbed a red coarse cloth turban.

At this moment, he seemed to think of something, or rather feel something.

He looked up and saw a young girl in silk cloth walking towards him.

The memory became clear at this moment, the girl's facial features were also a little brighter, Zhu Yuanzhang's pupils gradually dilated, he didn't think that he would really be able to see her again.

Facing herself, she smiled and slowly took out a coarse cake made of corn from her arms, smiling brightly.

"Chongba, I brought you baked cakes, but they are fragrant......"

On the tenth day of the fifth month of the 31st year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, collapsed at the age of 71.

"Ming Taizu Record": Yi You, collapsed in the West Palace. There are few diseases, and diseases, and the day is approaching, and the day is as tireless as usual. Gradually, it is to burn incense and wish the sky and say: "The life is long, the country is short and long, the descendants are virtuous, but Jane is in the emperor's heart, for the welfare of the people."

Immediately send the envoy to hold the talisman and summon Taizong to return to Beijing. To Huai'an, the user is overbearing, that is, returning. Taizong didn't know it, and he was in a hurry, so he said from time to time: "Is the fourth son coming?"

I couldn't say anything to him, I heard the rain falling, I was overjoyed, and I collapsed, and I lived seventy-one. Testament: "Funeral ceremonies, a thrifty, no gold and jade, filial piety, mountains and rivers, because of this reason has not changed." The subjects of the world came out for three days, and they were all released, and there was no harm in marrying. ”

(End of chapter)