Chapter 345

What is this situation?

Dorgon is punished to kneel; are they following to be punished by standing?

Who exactly is being punished here?

"Your Majesty, this subject sees that the weather seems about to rain. Since many ministers are weak and elderly, and it is still early, why not arrange chairs for everyone to rest?"

Zhu Youjian heard this and thought it made sense.

There was no need for them to suffer along with him; just let them sit and watch the Jianzhou Jurchens kneel!

So he waved his hand and said, "Su Qing speaks with reason. Come! Arrange chairs for all the beloved ministers!"

"Yes!"

Chairs were arranged for the court ministers; was Zhu Youjian not arranging any for himself?

Everyone sat down, and their spirits instantly relaxed.

Dorgon kept his head down and did not see the change above; otherwise, he did not know how furious he would be inside.

A quarter of an hour, half a double-hour, a double-hour...

In the blink of an eye, two double-hours had passed.

The sky remained heavily overcast, yet not a single drop of rain fell.

The wind blew wildly without stopping; Dorgon felt that the legs on which he was kneeling had already lost all sensation, cold and numb.

The arm tightly holding Hong Taiji's head trembled slightly.

Sweat trickled down his cheeks drop by drop, and the clothes on his back had long been soaked through with sweat.

The time was about right; Zhu Youjian stood up and said:

"Bring the bandit chief's head forward!"

"Yes!"

A young Eunuch ran down quickly, snatched the brocade box that Dorgon had been holding for a long time, and then ran back.

Upon reaching the foot of the city gate, he immediately handed it over to Wang Chengen with great respect.

Wang Chengen signaled to the young Eunuch with his eyes.

The young Eunuch shook his head.

Obviously, he had heard a sound when taking the brocade box earlier but did not sense any mechanism.

Wang Chengen gave him a look of approval, feeling slightly more relaxed inside.

Only then did he carry the brocade box up.

"Open it!"

Wang Chengen, standing two or three steps away from Zhu Youjian, carefully opened the lid.

Hong Taiji's head was immediately exposed to the air.

The head, with its eyes closed, looked lifelike.

Worrying that the hot weather would cause it to rot, Hong Taiji's skull had been specially treated with secret medicines for preservation, and the effect was quite good.

"Is this Hong Taiji?"

Inside the group chat, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the head in the video and asked.

Zhu Di curled his lip and said, "Father, he was indeed quite smart, a Tatar who knew a few things. Although our descendants are slightly inferior compared to him, a Tatar is still a Tatar and cannot master our Central Plains divine artifacts!"

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang glared at him.

"Nonsense! If our descendants were incompetent, look at how the Mongol Yuan destroyed the Great Song! Look again at your own descendant! Hmph! If we hadn't sent Su Qiao over, could he have held on? If I'm not mistaken, he is the monarch who will lose our Zhu family's dynasty!"

Scolded by his own father, Zhu Di dared not retort and could only glare secretly at Zhu Youjian.

Zhu Youjian had turned into an injured little beast again.

Who else but him was the youngest in this group chat?!

Zhu Yuanzhang could not help but hum and urged:

"Enough. They are just a bunch of Tatars; do not waste time. The common people are probably waiting for you to behead them. Hurry up!"

Zhu Youjian quickly agreed.

He suddenly stood up and shouted loudly:

"Come! Pass the bandit chief's head around the four gates! The majestic dignity of Great Ming cannot be infringed! The Jurchen Tatars begged for surrender, but I, the Emperor, cannot and will not agree! At the very least, I must give an explanation to the people of Great Ming, and also to the members of the Great Ming imperial clan who died in the battle at Linghe!"

"Drag them down; all of them shall be publicly executed!"

Whether civil or military officials, soldiers of Great Ming, or common people, all felt a surge of boiling blood.

"Long live Your Majesty!"

"The Sage Emperor is wise!"

While everyone else cheered, only Dorgon kneeling before Wumen and the crowd of Tatar captives felt a chilling cold.

It was a cold that penetrated to the very soul!

Dorgon even widened his eyes, looking up in disbelief, staring directly at the spirited Zhu Youjian on the city tower.

His elder brother had committed suicide, hoping to trade his own head for a chance of life for his clan.

Unexpectedly, the Emperor of Great Ming had refused.

This was to cut off the roots and eliminate the source!

...... 0...

Dorgon's heart grew cold.

Huh?

Who is that person?

Su Qiao, clad in a moon-white scholar's robe, stood out conspicuously among the crowd of officials.

Most importantly, he was the person closest to the Great Ming Emperor.

Clearly, the Great Ming Emperor valued him highly.

Dorgon's hawk-like eyes narrowed slightly, focusing on Su Qiao's face.

Even from dozens of paces away, he could still clearly see Su Qiao's features.

This person is so young!

Su Qiao felt someone's gaze upon him and looked down.

It was Dorgon!

Could this Tatar know him?

Su Qiao was somewhat puzzled, but it didn't matter; he was to be beheaded in a moment anyway.

Su Qiao withdrew his gaze!

Suddenly, a startling thought surged in Dorgon's mind.

The changes in the Great Ming Emperor, the changes in the Great Ming, might very well be connected to that young man!

Dorgon and the group of Tatars were dragged away.

From beginning to end, Dorgon did not weep or beg for mercy.

Since he had set out on the southern journey to beg for surrender, he had never intended to return!

……

On the execution platform at the vegetable market.

"Brother Emperor, your younger brother has failed. The Great Ming Emperor has changed, the Great Ming Dynasty has changed. Your younger brother has come to join you..."

A mouthful of old wine was spat onto the blade.

A row of executioners raised their cleavers high.

Crack!

Dorgon and the heads of the row of Tatars fell to the ground.

The dim clouds had somehow thinned considerably, and the fierce wind gradually subsided.

The dark clouds shattered, and a ray of sunlight pierced through the gaps in the clouds, shining upon the earth.

The common people of Jingcheng, watching the Tatars be beheaded in rows and begging for mercy in tears, were all overjoyed, cheering loudly and celebrating.

200, the entire city rejoiced!

One of the Great Ming's most serious threats had been eliminated.

Zhu Youjian, having vented his emotions, was extremely pleased and directly cancelled the night curfew.