Chapter 248 Beheading in the Street
When the Ming Dynasty was first founded, the capital was in depression. In order to recover as quickly as possible, Emperor Taizu ordered people to build sheds as markets and encourage merchants to do business.
More than a hundred years have passed, and the capital has changed dramatically.
"When the Yuan Dynasty evacuated, they took away many people in the capital and destroyed many things. At that time, some people said that they wanted to burn down the entire capital and let the Ming people take over a ruin. Unfortunately, it didn't happen."
Huang He, along with his two followers, looked at the prosperity before them with sighs.
There are a lot of people walking around and business is booming. Compared with the royal court, this place is a paradise.
Although it was chilly in spring, the young men and women were still wearing thin clothes and smiling in the chilly spring breeze.
Large carts carrying goods were either entering or leaving the city, bringing countless wealth to this vast empire.
"Mutton jerky, mutton jerky!"
A waiter from a wine shop was calling out, and Huang He said, "Let's go and have a drink."
Since arriving in the Ming Dynasty, eating has become the thing that the delegation members look forward to most every day.
After entering the tavern, the waiter glanced at them and asked, "What would you like, sir?"
"What's the matter?" Huang He asked.
"Mutton, pork, fish... dried vegetables, tofu, mushrooms... these dishes are fried, stir-fried, or deep-fried. Let me recommend this to you: braised lamb..."
The two followers were drooling at the list of dishes.
"Give me some braised lamb, some dried vegetables, and some dried lamb to go with the wine. Oh, and the wine has to be good."
The three of them sat down. At this point, about 50% of the people in the tavern were seated there. Those drinkers were talking loudly, drinking in big gulps, and their faces were flushed.
The food and wine arrived. The braised lamb tasted really good. The dried vegetables, tofu and mushrooms stewed together were very delicious.
Huang He ate a piece of jerky and his eyebrows jumped, "It's beef jerky!"
"Where did the Ming people get the beef?"
"Yes! The Ming people are not allowed to slaughter working cattle!"
At this time, the waiter came over and laughed when he heard this, "Are you three from the north?"
Huang He nodded and smiled, "Excuse me, where does this beef come from?"
The waiter wiped the next table with a cloth and said, "Of course it comes from the north."
"Isn't trade banned in the north? Aren't those merchants afraid of being caught and killed?" asked the attendant.
"Haha!" The waiter laughed contemptuously, "The merchants over there would dare to sell even my own mother if they gave me a chance."
Huang He felt a little depressed, and then he tried to test him: "But the soldiers in the north are afraid of the enemy like a tiger. Once Altan breaks through the nine borders and attacks, the capital will be in danger. Aren't we afraid?"
"Afraid! Why not?" A customer raised his glass and said to Huang He, "I'm not afraid of him."
Huang He winked at his attendant, who deliberately asked sarcastically, "Are you not afraid now?"
"In the two battles at Datong, Altan Khan's so-called generals were beaten to a pulp. Who's afraid?" The drunkard's face turned redder as he spoke. "The White Lotus demon in Xuanfu was causing chaos. I heard that Altan Khan's men got involved and were swept in and annihilated. Who's afraid?"
The drunkard looked at the entourage and said, "I can see that you are from the north, but are you the entourage following the envoy of Altan Khan?"
The attendant sneered and said, "The troops that fought in Datong twice were only small detachments, let alone elite troops. If the Khan leads the elite troops south, not only Datong, but also the capital city will tremble under the iron hoof."
"Hehehe!" the drinkers couldn't help but laugh.
The others were also laughing. Huang He drank his wine calmly and analyzed these words.
"Before, the Beijing Guards were not even as good as guard dogs, but now the Beijing Guards..."
"Wang Laoliu, you can't say that." A drinker shouted.
The drunkard covered his mouth and said, "Look at me, I can't keep my door shut once I drink." He grinned at his followers and said, "You want to trick me? Dream on."
Although he didn't say anything further, Huang He had already reached the conclusion based on just the previous few words.
——The Ming Dynasty’s Beijing guards may have changed.
He glanced at the two clerks in the corner of the tavern... They were people sent by the Ministry of Rites to keep an eye on them and prevent them from doing anything shameful.
This news must be reported to the Khan in a timely manner.
But Huang He still wanted to get some more detailed information, such as how the Beijing Guards were reorganized, how much was reorganized, and what the effect was...
In the past, the Ming Dynasty had reorganized the Beijing Guards many times, but each time it was just a lot of noise with little results.
Maybe this time is different?
From the looks those drinkers gave him and others, Huang He felt that this time must be different.
He said slowly: "The Khan's cavalry goes on expeditions every year. They are a force of tigers and wolves. The so-called Beijing Guards, no matter how well they are trained, are just paper wars."
The drunkard couldn't help but retort, "In the Battle of Datong, we were also the imperial guards, and we also went out after training. What's the matter? Are you not convinced of your defeat?"
"I said that was just a detachment, not the elite troops." Huang He used the method of provoking the enemy.
The drunkard blushed and said, "I once heard a saying that for thousands of years, we have been beating the barbarians. But why did we lose everything at the end of the dynasty? It's not that the Han people are weak, but that they are cowardly!"
The drunkard patted his chest, his red eyes full of wildness, "As long as we can stand up straight, as long as we dare to face the strong enemy and draw our knives, no one in this world can be our opponent! No one has ever been able to do that before, and no one will be able to do that in the future!"
"it is good!"
"well said!"
Are they still those weak men? Huang He's eyes narrowed.
One of the followers could not help but stand up and said: "This is just self-boasting. The people of the Ming Dynasty like to brag."
The drunkard sneered, "Do you know who said that? How dare you say that you are bragging?"
The attendant laughed and said, "Could it be Jiang Qingzhi?"
The drinker nodded seriously, "That's exactly what Elder Wilbur said."
He looked at the drinkers and said, "I have a brother who served in the army. When he returned home, he mentioned these words. He said that after Long Wilbur said these words in front of the whole army, the whole army fought bravely and defeated the enemy in one battle."
"But the Battle of Datong?"
"Exactly."
"They say that Long Wilbur commanded with confidence and braved the arrows and stones himself..."
The drunkard stared at the attendant. "Do you dare to say that in front of Long Wilbur?"
The follower's lips moved.
“Do you dare?” The drunkard was aggressive. Seeing that he didn’t dare to say anything, he couldn’t help but laugh and said, “So it’s you who like to brag. Hahahaha!”
"Hahahaha!"
The tavern was filled with a cheerful atmosphere, which made Huang He feel a little stuffy.
Huang He stood up and said, "Let's go."
He walked out of the tavern, feeling more and more depressed.
"The Ming people seem to be a little different." The attendant whispered. Huang He's eyebrows were filled with murderous intent. "I will report to the Khan when I return and try my best to persuade him to march south as soon as possible."
"But the Khan is still cleaning up his internal affairs, so it's not easy to send troops."
"The Ming people were the same. And I feel like the Ming people seem to be carrying out some kind of reform... Wang Anshi? Or Shang Yang." Huang He murmured, "We must interrupt them, and we must interrupt them as soon as possible."
The attendant laughed and said, "Why should the deputy envoy worry about those weak Ming people? Look at those useless people in the Nine Frontiers..."
"You don't understand." Huang He shook his head. "Everyone who has read history books knows that during the Qin, Han and Tang dynasties, the Han people were so fierce that they frightened the surrounding people. Wherever the Han flag went, all foreign tribes bowed their heads. It was not until the Song Dynasty that they became weak."
"Yeah! Qian Song is weak and incompetent."
"That's their own fault. They used civil officials to control military officials and turned military officials into slaves. This is self-destruction. The arrogant and brave generals at the founding of the Ming Dynasty were also destroyed in the hands of the literati. All the borders are raising a bunch of slaves."
Huang He suddenly gritted his teeth and said, "But recently everything has changed. Last time, when 5,000 cavalry raided Datong, Zhang Da actually took the initiative to attack. They were able to take the initiative to attack this time. Will they dare to go deep into the grassland next time?"
"Just now, those common people were not afraid of the Han cavalry. This is not a good sign." Huang He shuddered. "We must interrupt them. Let's go back!"
As he walked, he was thinking about how to make suggestions to Altan Khan to send troops south.
“This is a revolution!”
Huang He raised his head with a bright look in his eyes, "If there is a foreign enemy threat at this moment, those scholars and officials will definitely strike back at the Emperor Ming, just like the former Song Dynasty. Yes, that's it, hahahaha!"
He smiled very proudly.
He looked at the prosperity before him and said contemptuously: "Next time, we will come with countless cavalry and make this prosperous capital tremble!"
"Hey! Make way, I'm talking to you!"
In front, two men were carrying a table.
"Get out!" Huang He, who was in a bad mood, subconsciously treated this place as the royal court.
"Who are you scolding?"
The man in front looked a bit vulgar. He put down the table and rushed over.
Huang He sneered, and his followers rushed over behind him.
The two followers were Altan Khan's elite guards. It would be pure bullying for them to deal with two Ming civilians.
A young man rushed over from behind, and the four of them started fighting.
"I don't know what's going on over there. If the assassination is successful, it will be a blow to the morale of the Ming army..."
Huang He was thinking about assassinating Jiang Qingzhi.
"Stop fighting, stop fighting."
A man came over in a hurry to stop the fight, but he was pushed by someone and stumbled towards Huang He.
"Deputy Envoy!"
Huang He heard the shouting, looked up, and saw an envoy's entourage standing in front of him with an anxious look on his face.
"Be careful!" the attendant shouted.
"What?" Huang He was puzzled. At this time, the man happened to bump into him, and Huang He pushed him away.
He just felt a chill in his lower abdomen, and then something flowed out from there continuously.
Huang He lowered his head and saw a cut in his lower abdomen, with donated blood constantly flowing out.
The man pressed his shoulder and said softly, "My uncle sends his regards to you."
Huang He knelt down slowly.
The two followers fell not far away.
He was beaten to death.
Altan Khan’s elite guards!
He was beaten to death by two ordinary people.
This was a premeditated assassination!
"This is... revenge!" Huang He smiled bitterly and his face changed drastically when he saw his followers running towards him.
Then, Huang He felt that something was missing around his neck, and his vision flew up.
He saw a young man holding a long knife behind him, grinning at the followers who were running towards him.
Killing people in the street.
And it was a deliberate beheading.
This is not something a weak Ming person would do.
Stop them!
This was Huang He’s last thought in this world.
Then endless darkness came.
……
Wang Shen was waiting anxiously.
An official from the Ministry of Rites came and said, "I am Xiao Zhuo, a doctor from the Ministry of Rites, and I have been ordered to deliver some gifts to the envoy."
He waved his hand, and two clerks came in carrying two bundles.
"Open."
The bundle was opened and several heads fell to the ground.
It's the heads of those assassins!
Wang Shen was stunned, "This is..."
"Someone told me to inform the envoy!"
Xiao Zhuo looked solemn. "If you dare to take action in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, you must be prepared to pay the price. The Ming Dynasty will prepare a grand banquet in the capital, but it is missing a guest..."
"Who?" Wang Shen was still playing dumb. This was an essential quality for a diplomat: even if someone presented evidence in public, he could still deny it brazenly.
"A dancing guest." Xiao Zhuo stared at him. "He said that in this lifetime, the foreign race should be able to sing and dance again! Altan can be the lead dancer!"
Wang Shen had read history books and subconsciously thought of the Han and Tang dynasties. Whenever foreign leaders were captured, the emperor would order them to dance at the banquet to entertain the guests.
This is the cry of war... Wang Shen sneered in his heart, "May I ask who that noble man is?"
"Long Wilbur!"
“How shameless!” Wang Shen sneered.
An attendant rushed in, his face pale, "Emissary, they killed the deputy envoy in the street."
Is it too late? Wang Shen's body shook. "Who did it?"
"That person signed up and said he was... Jiang Qingzhi!"
(End of this chapter)
