Chapter 94

He was merely the clan head of the Zhu family of Chang'an.

He wanted to lead his clansmen home.

Because he had promised to lead his clansmen home.

At this prostration, many soldiers behind Li Huang Zicheng could no longer hold themselves back.

"Old Highness, you cannot kneel! You are all heroes who killed the Tartars."

"My father said that accepting the bows of heroes shortens one's life, and that our ancestors will not accept us after death."

"Great King, let the Old Highness enter the city."

"..."

Just as the soldiers behind him grew restless,

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even the warhorse beneath Li Huang Zicheng began to stir uneasily.

Clearly, the situation had gone beyond whether Li Huang Zicheng wished it or not.

If Li Huang Zicheng were to refuse Zhu Zhu Cunji,

his own subordinates would likely throw themselves into chaos.

Li Huang Zicheng's brows knitted tightly; he suddenly raised his right arm.

In an instant, a path into the city was cleared among the ranks of the rebel army.

Zhu Zhu Cunji, overcome with emotion, prostrated himself on the ground and sobbed in a low voice:

"Thank you, Great King!"

"Children, we have arrived home!"

The suona troupe following behind Zhu Zhu Cunji immediately exerted all their strength, playing loudly just outside the walls of Chang'an.

When these imperial clansmen fought on the battlefield as ordinary Han people,

they had already transcended the constraints of the dynasty.

As heroes of this nation, they deserved the courtesy of all Han people under heaven.

Thirteen thousand coffins, each two meters long, linked end to end, stretched for twenty-six thousand meters.

And behind Zhu Zhu Cunji,

the entire funeral procession extended for more than sixty li!

Any commoner in all of Chang'an who opened their window could see the endless surge of mourning banners outside!

They had all died in battle on the Liaoxi front!

They died on the Liaoxi battlefield for all Han people under heaven!

Sounds of choking sobs and weeping echoed throughout the entire city.

It was only at this moment that someone recalled the Northern Expedition manifesto issued by the Taizu High Emperor at the founding of the Great Ming.

"Mountains and rivers encompass the lands of Huaxia; sun and moon reopen the skies of Great Song!"

"A thousand li of brocade mountains and rivers, yet not an inch remains as Han land!"

Outside the Prince of Qin's Mansion and the mansions of the various commandery princes, coffins of the imperial clan were piled up.

None of the commoners in all of Chang'an had expected

that the lineage of the Prince of Qin's Mansion, which had been flourishing with many members just half a year ago,

would be reduced to this state.

Outside the Prince of Qin's Mansion,

several clan elders, leaning on dove-headed staffs, watched the coffins before them with tear-blurred eyes, shaking their heads and sighing incessantly:

"We cannot fight anymore; if we continue, the Han people's realm will be lost."

"Go back and tell the children in our villages to return! We must no longer fight among ourselves! Good men should die on the battlefields of Liaodong!"

"..."

Outside the Prince of Qin's Mansion,

Li Huang Zicheng, looking at Zhu Zhu Cunji kneeling before several coffins to keep vigil, advised with a complex expression:

"Old Highness, please enter the mansion so we may talk."

Zhu Zhu Cunji seemed to gather all his courage,

staring fixedly at Li Huang Zicheng as he asked:

"Can the Great King grant this old man one request?"

Hearing this, Li Huang Zicheng paused in surprise, then asked with a somewhat grave expression:

"Please state your wish, Old Highness."

Zhu Zhu Cunji struggled to rise from the ground.

Looking at Li Huang Zicheng with eyes wide enough to split his sockets, he cried out loudly:

"The Zhu family's rule may fall!"

"But the Han people's realm must not be lost!"

"This is Shanhai Pass, guarded at the cost of lives by the two hundred and fifty thousand souls of my Zhu family!"

"Great King, you must not allow Guanning to fall into the hands of the Yang Yang Yang Jian slaves beyond the pass!"

"If the Han people's realm is lost in our generation, how shall we face our ancestors in the Nine Springs, and with what face shall we meet the descendants of future generations?"

"The Han people beyond the pass have already been forcibly made to shave their heads and change their clothing by the Tartars."

"Do not wait until our children and grandchildren are forced to shave their heads and change their clothes before regretting it too late!"

Zhu Zhu Cunji's voice echoed across the square outside the gate of the Prince of Qin's Mansion.

"This expedition is simply the court's attempt to cast off the heavy burden of the imperial clan."

"What the entire court and populace desire is nothing more than for us, the Zhu family, to die here in Liaodong."

"But does Your Highness know why our Zhu family went anyway?"

Li Huang Zicheng looked at Zhu Zhu Cunji in shock.

When Li Huang Zicheng saw those coffins, he had already seen through Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian's intentions.

But what Li Huang Zicheng did not expect was that Zhu Zhu Cunji would bring this matter up so directly, right before the eyes of the public.

In fact, ever since they had just passed Ningyuan,

some of the feudal princes had begun to realize the truth.

Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian intended for these members of the imperial clan to die in battle in Liaodong,

thereby allowing the court to cast off a massive burden.

At that time, nearly every feudal prince gnashed their teeth in hatred toward Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian.

The aged Zhu Zhu Cunji stared fixedly at Li Huang Zicheng and the surrounding commoners, raising his voice to declare,

But as they made their journey,

witnessing the villages slaughtered to the last man by Huang Taiji and those Han people, forcibly shorn of their hair and bitterly awaiting the imperial army as 'bondservants',

Zhu Zhu Cunji understood.

This was the responsibility of the Zhu family.

It was the obligation of the imperial house.

The Zhu Ming imperial clan has failed the people of this world grievously!

To die on the battlefield

is the only thing we can still do for the people of this world!

Thus, although Zhu Zhu Cunji's eyes no longer held any regard for Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Zhu Youjian in the capital,

and there was no need to care for this distant relative with whom he shared barely any connection,

Zhu Zhu Cunji still brought the coffins of the Qin branch back to Chang'an.

The kinsmen of the Qin Prefecture died for the Han people's realm!

Zhu Zhu Cunji wanted the Han people of the world to know

for whom these members of the Zhu family died, and he could not allow these children to have died in vain!

Leaning against the coffins, Zhu Zhu Cunji wept sorrowfully and cried out loudly,

"If our Zhu family's blood can awaken the people of the world, what harm is there in us dying on the battlefield?!"

"As descendants of the Taizu High Emperor, how can we sit idly by and watch the Han people lose their realm again?!"

Some people have died.