Chapter 846: Instruments of Torture

(Thanks to book friends Lion King Strives for Supremacy, 160617121110171, and others for their tips. Also, the discussions among book friends are very heated. Actually, if I hadn't written the previous chapter, many people's impression of late Ming scholar-officials would only be "the water was too cold," right? Heh heh. Regarding the question of life and death, I will discuss it in detail when the book is finished.)

On the nineteenth day of the third month, after the late Emperor's remains were placed in a coffin, they were temporarily laid at the Shicha Nunnery outside Donghua Gate. A few monks chanted sutras, several old eunuchs were present, and Wang Chengen's coffin was also beside it. None of the hundred officials dared to go and mourn. Only the Count of Xiangcheng, Li Guozhen, along with the Ministry of War Vice Director Cheng De and Secretary Liu Yangzhen, beat the coffin and wailed bitterly.

That day, Li Zicheng lavishly rewarded palace maids. The accompanying Quan General, Zhi General, and others each received thirty. Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, and other civil officials of the six government ministries were each rewarded with three to five. The various generals also rampaged into people's homes. Whenever they saw a high gate and grand mansion in the capital, they would enter and occupy it. Among them, Liu Zongmin occupied the residence of Tian Hong, and Li Guo occupied the residence of Zhou Kui.

On the twentieth, besides posting notices for selecting officials, Liu Zongmin and others also strictly enforced prohibitions against killing. Anyone who committed rape or plundered among the common people would be immediately executed by slow slicing.

When the roving bandits first entered, officials and gentry, fearing that their official attire would bring disaster, all destroyed their jinxian caps. By the twentieth, seeing the Dashun regime's notice for official selection and registration, every one of them broke into smiles. Because their caps and hats were already destroyed, they had to go to theatrical troupes to search for opera caps, each cap costing three to four taels of silver.

When the roving bandits first entered the city, the common people were all terrified and suspicious. However, seeing the Dashun army quickly post notices throughout the city with clear orders—the grand army would not commit the slightest offense, and anyone daring to plunder civilian property would be executed by slow slicing—their panicked hearts settled considerably.

Coincidentally, that very afternoon, four Shun soldiers looted a silk shop at Zhengyang Gate and were immediately sliced alive in the marketplace, their hands and feet nailed to the left palisade of the Front Gate. The common people's fearful and watchful hearts then completely settled. Everyone praised Dashun as truly a righteous army, no wonder they could win the realm. They also confidently and boldly opened their doors for business. Common people took to the streets, and all was peaceful and harmonious.

For Li Zicheng and his men that day, they also did many things, such as sending envoys to summon the surrender of Yang Guozhu in Ji Garrison, and Regional Commanders Liu Zhaoji, Wu Sangui, and others currently at Shanhai Pass. They all were promised generous treatment. For example, Yang Guozhu was the Marquis of Jibei, promised a dukedom. Liu Zhaoji, the Count of Dongping, was promised a marquisate. Hearing that Wu Sangui had many troops and horses, they even offered terms where both father and son would be enfeoffed as marquises.

They also dispatched their old acquaintance, Tang Tong, the Count of Dingxi who had surrendered earlier, to carry his edict and thirty thousand taels of silver as consolation money. They also had Wu Sangui's father, Wu Xiang, personally write a letter urging surrender, and then proceed to Ji Garrison, Shanhai Pass, and other places. And with that, the eastern matter was considered settled.

In the thinking of Li Zicheng and his men, no matter how strong Yang Guozhu, Wu Sangui, and others were, they were still limited. After all, the Shun army had defeated too many Ming generals, each claiming to have a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand troops, and they were nothing more than that. So they did not take them seriously at all. Perhaps only Wang Dou would leave a somewhat deeper impression on them.

The purpose of summoning surrender was merely to subdue the enemy without fighting. After all, it was best to avoid using blades if possible. If they truly failed to appreciate the favor, they would surely be like this newly fallen capital—the vast and mighty Dashun army would press forward and grind each of them into fine dust.

However, Li Zicheng and his men believed that before this great trend of the realm, Yang Guozhu, Wu Sangui, and others would naturally recognize the situation and would not do the foolish thing of an egg striking a rock. Moreover, the terms they offered were generous enough; they would not fail to appreciate the favor. So the eastern matter was thus settled.

It seemed that Li Zicheng and his men forgot one group of people—the Manchu Qing forces beyond the pass. Perhaps the concept simply never existed in his mind. The advisors and civil officials around him were all of humble origin, the highest academic credential being only Provincial Graduate. They similarly lacked the vision to grasp the overall situation, and not a single one noticed that location in the northeast.

Therefore, even historically, when Li Zicheng fought Wu Sangui at Yipianshi, he still had not thought of this problem. Only at the very moment the Qing army appeared did he suddenly realize that such a group of people existed in the world—a type of creature called the Tatars.

This type of creature had deep foundations, having established a state early on with a complete system. They were also true professional soldiers and warriors, a situation completely different from any opponent he had encountered before. So, in a dazed and confused state, he was routed as soon as the battle began.

Then he fled for a thousand li, constantly pursued and bitten at without release. To stay alive, he abandoned his base in Shaanxi, abandoned the Huguang base he had managed for even longer, and did not hesitate to smash the Southern Ming defense line into pieces, yet still could not turn the tide. In thousands of years of history, if one were to discuss the most short-sighted, Li Zicheng and his men would claim first place, and no one would dare claim second.

Of course, at this moment, he was elated and believed that the matters east of the capital were nothing special. He mainly turned his gaze westward toward the Xuanfu Garrison.

The great battle at Luoyang in the first month of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen had left too deep an impression on Li Zicheng and his men. Therefore, when dealing with the figure Wang Dou, Li Zicheng and his men would be somewhat more cautious.

After discussion, they decided to first send an envoy to summon his surrender. Wang Dou was currently a marquis; they would offer him the treatment of a duke. If he was still not satisfied, enfeoffment as a prince could also be negotiated! If he truly failed to appreciate the favor, then they would muster the entire Dashun army and attack Xuanfu from the west!

No matter how solid his Xuanfu was, was it as solid as the capital? Of the Ming cities Dashun had taken, which one was not solid? No matter how strong his troops were, they were few in number after all. If they mustered their entire grand army, how could he resist? When they captured Xuanfu, they would conveniently follow it down, sweeping through Shanxi, Shaanxi, then Sichuan, and Gansu.

Thus, the matter of the remnant Ming forces around the capital was settled. However, there were several immediate troubles that Li Zicheng and his men urgently needed to resolve.

First, despite a thorough search of the capital, they could not find the Crown Prince, the two princes, the Empress, and others. They believed that the Crown Prince and others had fled the capital, but there were several possibilities as to where they had fled.

One was fleeing east, toward where Yang Guozhu, Wu Sangui, and others were located. It happened that Tang Tong was going to summon their surrender, so they could have them hand over the Crown Prince and the two princes then.

The second was fleeing west, toward where Wang Dou's forces were located. This matter was somewhat troublesome. If Wang Dou surrendered, it would be fine; if not, then they would have to resort to using blades.

The third was fleeing south, fleeing to Jiangnan. If that were truly the case, this matter would be much more troublesome, and it was highly likely that another Southern Song would emerge. After all, the Shun army was not accustomed to naval warfare, and the dense network of rivers in Jiangnan also gave them headaches. In the past, they had not lacked designs on the south, only to be scared back to Henan by the surging waters of the Yangtze River.

This was one major trouble.

Another trouble was money.

Once upon a time, the Chuang army of those years did not care for gold and silver. What they valued most were mules and horses. Even the money they acquired was mostly used for espionage and such matters. But now times were different. They were about to establish a state and proclaim an emperor, so naturally they needed large amounts of silver and money for expenses.

Having entered the capital, the officers and soldiers also needed rewards. Moreover, the Dashun army was too large; just those who marched north numbered a full five hundred thousand men.

All these people needed rewards, and the amount of gold and silver needed was astronomical.

If they were to launch a campaign against Xuanfu and Shanxi, the provisions and pay needed would also be astronomical.

All of this required silver.

Once, when Li Zicheng marched north to the capital, he was not worried about money. Besides believing that the capital was the imperial city of the Great Ming and that the state treasury naturally contained vast amounts of silver, he had also heard a secret imperial rumor.

Regardless of ancient or modern, Chinese or foreign, imperial secrets were always objects of relish for common folk. Ordinary villagers in the fields would discuss how the emperor carried grain with a golden carrying pole and threw away one white flour steamed bun for every one he ate. The somewhat more sophisticated literati, scholars, officials, and military officers discussed another matter.

For instance, they whispered privately, vividly describing how there was treasury-suppressing gold in the palace, with as many as thirty-seven million ingots that had not been used for years. Each ingot weighed five hundred taels, all engraved with the Yongle reign mark, using this to criticize the emperor's additional levies over the years.

If indeed the gold and silver were that plentiful, one mule carrying two ingots of silver, a thousand taels, would mean that eighteen and a half million mules and horses would be needed to carry it all. That is to say, not just the entire Great Ming, but even if all the horses of the Qin, Han, Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties were added together, it is unknown whether they could haul all that gold and silver.

Perhaps only those with low intelligence or ulterior motives would believe such rumors. Li Zicheng and his men half-believed and half-doubted, but they expected that the gold and silver stored in the imperial palace must certainly be quite substantial. In the end, they dug three feet deep and found not even a single hair.

Their final tally was: the imperial palace currently had one hundred seventy thousand taels of gold and one hundred thirty thousand taels of silver. The state treasury currently had two hundred thousand taels of silver.

The emperor's personal wealth was many times poorer than his, Li Zicheng's.

This matter then became difficult to handle.

On the twenty-first, surging crowds of registrants flocked to Chengtian Gate. These former Ming officials, now each one utterly loyal and devoted, wanted to serve the Dashun regime. Because many had risen early, before Chengtian Gate opened, they simply sat on the steps and waited.

As soon as the gate opened, they scrambled and jostled to squeeze inside, fearing that if they were a step late, their slot would be taken by someone else. Seeing them squeezed into a chaotic mass without any order, the gatekeeping attendants could not help but swing sticks to beat them away, telling them to behave.

Then, in the Five Phoenix Tower before the Meridian Gate, they registered their names and each prostrated themselves outside the Meridian Gate to await the roll call.

Their attire was also varied. Some wore their proper auspicious robes, others wore plain cloth caps. Yet regardless of whether they were usually mature and steady, or crafty and clever, or bore literary fame and talent, or were sharp-tongued and argumentative, or were haughty and full of pride, now every one of them shrank their heads and lowered their brows, standing rigid like wooden puppets.

There were also those who shaved their heads and dressed as monks, or wrapped their heads in kerchiefs pretending to be ill, attempting to win sympathy. All kinds of disgraceful behavior could not be fully depicted by the brush.

The Shun army soldiers guarding the gate pointed at them and roared with laughter, mocking them with all sorts of words, but they dared not make a sound.

After a whole day, the Dashun side did not give them anything to eat or drink. They comforted each other, saying, "Though our bellies are hungry, our hearts are very content."

That day, Grand Secretary Chen Yan and Duke Cheng, Zhu Chunchen, dressed neatly. They had come to urge the ascension to the throne, but unexpectedly could not even enter the Meridian Gate.

Near noon, Wang Dehua suddenly came out from the Meridian Gate. He walked directly in front of the bowing and prostrating Minister of War, Zhang Jinyan. Under the dumbfounded gazes of onlookers, he fiercely delivered a heavy slap to Zhang Jinyan's face, making his head buzz and stars dance before his eyes.

Then Wang Dehua pointed at Zhang Jinyan and roared, cursing him for bringing ruin to the state.

The Shun army soldiers nearby laughed so hard they nearly fell over. Because Wang Dehua was already employed by the Dashun side, Zhang Jinyan, though beaten, dared not make a sound. In his heart, he felt humiliated, but only thought: "If you, Wang Dehua, are so loyal and righteous, why didn't you follow Wang Chengen's example and die for your country and master? Didn't you also surrender to the roving bandits?"

Of course, he only dared to think this in his heart. On the surface, he still shrank his head and lowered his brows, not daring to utter a single sound.

On the twenty-second, Secretary Liu Yangzhen kowtowed outside the Meridian Gate, requesting the execution of the state-ruining traitorous officials Zhang Jinyan, Wei Zaode, and Chen Yan. Li Zicheng said, "Why didn't you speak up during the previous dynasty?" and rebuked him, sending him away.

On that same day, Li Zicheng suddenly obtained a vermilion document. It read: "Duke Cheng Zhu Chunchen is to take command of all internal and external military affairs and assist the Eastern Palace." There was also a line in black ink: "All hundred officials are to proceed to the temporary residence of the Eastern Palace." It bore the Emperor's great seal, but was stamped before his demise, a vermilion edict to the Grand Secretariat entrusting Duke Cheng Zhu Chunchen to assist the Crown Prince.

It turned out that at the time, the inner official had brought the vermilion edict to the Grand Secretariat, but the Grand Secretaries had already dispersed, so it was placed on a table. None of the civil and military officials knew of it, and now it had fallen into Li Zicheng's hands.

Li Zicheng looked at this black-ink edict and vermilion decree, pondering that the Crown Prince had been missing all along. Could it be?

He immediately ordered the execution of Zhu Chunchen and the confiscation of his family's property. At the same time, he also had over two hundred noble and military guard officers arrested and all beheaded outside Pingze Gate.

That day, within the mansion occupied by Liu Zongmin, he paced around a circle of objects. Before his eyes were various items—Iron Pear Blossom, Lü Gong's Rope, Red Embroidered Slippers, and so on—all chilling instruments of torture that made one's hair stand on end. He looked at them with great satisfaction.

There were also newly made pincer devices, connected with iron spikes, the clamping wood all having sharp edges. They looked very formidable, all newly crafted after entering the capital.

Liu Zongmin stroked the finger press and muttered, "I wonder how powerful the new leg press is. I still need to find someone to test it on."