Chapter 84 Thirty-seventh night of terror

When reading the historical materials about Zhang Xianzhong, I always have a high degree of vigilance.At first, I couldn't believe the records about Zhang Xianzhong's brutality, because those deeds were beyond the imagination of people in the Taiping era, and I couldn't believe that human beings could do such things.After all, in the history books, Ying (ying) Shuyan said that exaggeration is too common.However, with more and more mutually corroborating data, I have to change my view on the possibility of human nature. Before and after the suppression and laundering of Chengdu, the work of laundering the city was also going on in various places.Take a look at how the cleansing of the city in Jianzhou is carried out.

Originally, Jianzhou had been stable for a long time, and no one raised troops to oppose it.The local order was so good that Fu Diji, who had given up his studies to start a business, was even encouraged by his two cousins ​​to buy a batch of silks and satins from nearby villages and transport them to Jianzhou City to be sold to the rebels stationed in the city for a profit. sum of money.It was his bad luck. On the third day of November, just after entering the city, he caught up with Zhang Xianzhong sending troops from Chengdu, surrounded Jianzhou City on all sides, and then went into the city to search the population.In "The Chronicle of Mr. Five Horses", Fu Diji recorded his thrilling encounters in detail.

Seeing Zhang Jun entering the city, Fu Diji and several relatives and friends hurriedly hid for a few days. "In a short while, all the bandits and soldiers poured into the city, regardless of gender, they locked everyone up when they saw them. All the mothers and aunts hid under the bed, and the rest of them only had two bundles of thatch to cover themselves." Fu Diji was terrified, summed up his experience and lessons afterwards, and warned future generations not to live in the city: "It's a pity that people who died in the city are very different from those in the countryside. If they were in the countryside, they would not be able to escape, and they could still run around without a moment's rest ; It is difficult to move an inch in the city, but you can only wait for death with your arms tied. There has always been chaos, and the way of heaven is constant. People in the future should take this as a lesson.

However, Zhang Jun is a good searcher. How can these common people who have been at peace for a long time escape Zhang Jun's eyes. "In a short while, countless bandit soldiers searched my mother and aunt under the bed. After a while, a soldier entered the house, found two of my servants and locked them up. Poor these two people, when Zhang Jun came in, I was in I saw them pushing and hiding each other in the corner of the thatched grass, fighting to push each other out, but they were all caught in the end." "Later, soldiers came one after another. They poked their heads in from outside the door to see, and said loudly that no one was there, so they didn't enter the door. This happened more than ten times. The street was quiet for about two hours. I curled up in the haystack, I secretly pray for the blessings of ghosts and gods, and if I am lucky enough to hide in the dark sky, I will have a way out."

"While I was thinking wildly, suddenly a soldier entered the house. He was extremely ugly. With a knife in his right hand, he stepped forward a few steps, kicked the thatch away, and shouted: 'Get up!' I got up and begged. I was told to take off my cloth socks Go down, unbind your feet, lock your neck with one end, and run away with him with the other end. To the north gate, put Yu among the captives, and he doesn't know where to go." All the residents of the city were escorted to the open space by the river outside the city gate, where they spent a horrible night: "So I entered the crowd and stood on the empty dam. It was getting late at that time, and the fires on the wall, the river and the pond were all on fire, and it was better than day. The governor was stationed in the tower. When it was watch, I sat down with everyone. The crowd was too crowded. I am so tight that there really is no room for my feet. Fortunately, I am in the middle of the crowd, surrounded by thousands of layers, so I can avoid the pain of Zhang Jun. Those who are close to Zhang Jun, Zhang Jun will beat them with sticks, and they will not die. The people under the city wall were pushed down by Zhang Jun on the wall and smashed to death, and all the villains clapped their hands and laughed, thinking it was fun. How sad, how safe is the way of heaven today?"

"At the second watch, Zhang Jun was sleepy and fell asleep, and the tragedy stopped. There were three or four people standing guard at the fire in each pond, and there was no noise, only the sound of Zhang Jun's singing. When the rooster crowed, someone began to chirp. Listen carefully. In other words, it is the words of the old and the young in Wuzhou: "You are young, someone may be chosen, or there is still a way out. We are old, and we will die at dawn!" The words are extremely sad. All young people think this way, but they don't Good promise." Early the next morning, the rebel army selected candidates from among the crowd outside the North Gate. "At dawn on the fourth day of the lunar new year, all the soldiers came to select candidates. Everyone rushed to be the first to sell, but it was useless." Fu Diji was lucky to be selected to join Zhang Xianzhong's army.

"The person who chose me said again: 'Seeing that you are a fine traveler, I still need two barbarians to use.' As they went, there were two big men, so they cut half of their hair." After the selection of people, the remaining people are useless to the rebel army.So they went on a killing spree. "Furthermore, I heard the sound of the trumpet three times, and shouted to the battalions to pass on the soldiers to kill. At that time, only the sound of the knife was heard, and the massacre was overdue. It was different from yesterday. After a long time, the dam was full of corpses, and there was no one to kill. Hold the knife. Drag the dead Down the river, I don’t know how many layers have been piled up on the surface of the river. Even under the wall, there are so many deposits that it is difficult to count.”

After killing people, "started camp and returned to the state, killed all the women left before, and went to Chengdu, which is called Juantang".