The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Chapter 219 Your Majesty, the Kangxi Emperor's ancestral tomb has been desecrated!

Portugal is far across the ocean, with sea routes stretching tens of thousands of miles. If a trusted minister were to be stationed there with troops, the emperor would be far away, and the minister could easily become too powerful and form a separatist regime.

At that time, it would be even more difficult to regain military power. Sending Jiang Muning to Korea to train troops seemed like entrusting him with an important task, but in fact, there was another hidden meaning.

Jiang Muning's most cherished mother had settled in the capital region. Even if he had ulterior motives, he would never dare to gamble with his mother and younger brother. Only by doing his best to guard the vassal states for the Han Dynasty could Liu Mu be completely at ease and not worry about any changes overseas.

Jiang Muning stood below the tent, completely unaware of Liu Mu's thoughts. He had originally thought he would be sent to the front lines in the Central Plains to quell the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories with the army.

Upon hearing that he was to be sent to unfamiliar North Korea to train the garrison troops, his face immediately showed surprise, and his eyes were full of incomprehension.

Upon regaining his composure, he immediately bowed and said, "Your subject Jiang Muning thanks Your Majesty for your grace! I will certainly fulfill my mission and go to Korea to rectify military discipline, train elite troops, and protect the eastern vassal state of the Great Han. I will not dare to be negligent in the slightest!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than hurried footsteps came from outside the tent. Liu Dingbian was dressed in military uniform, followed closely by a minor official in the uniform of a post station clerk.

The clerk's face was flushed, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his hair was disheveled, clearly indicating that he had been riding at full speed without stopping.

The two men disregarded the etiquette of the tent and barged in. Liu Dingbian strode forward, knelt on one knee, and said urgently, "Your Majesty, an urgent dispatch from Liaodong has arrived! The military situation is critical and cannot be delayed for even a moment!"

The post station clerk dared not delay. He knelt down with a thud, holding the urgent letter high above his head, his voice hoarse from the long journey, yet each word clear: "Your Majesty, on the New Year's Day, the garrison at Fuling and Zhaoling in Liaodong was rotated as usual, leaving the guards sparsely manned. A group of Jurchens from Changbai Mountain and Xihai, harboring resentment, took advantage of the cover of night to secretly excavate the tombs of the Manchu chieftains Nurhaci and Huang Taiji, turning both imperial tombs upside down!"

Upon hearing this, the tent erupted in uproar. No one had expected that the Manchu ancestral tombs, located far away in Liaodong, would be desecrated at such a time.

No way?

The ancestral tombs of Emperor Kangxi.

They were just dug up by a group of Jurchens?

Upon hearing this, Liu Mu was also shocked, feeling that this matter was too unbelievable and too unreal. He suddenly stood up, the hem of his dragon robe sweeping across the table, and strode to the clerk. He personally took the urgent letter, opened the envelope, and quickly read through it.

The letter was written in the handwriting of the Governor of Liaodong, and every word and sentence was written in detail, explaining the ins and outs of the matter clearly.

The letter stated that on New Year's Day, the guards of Fuling and Zhaoling changed shifts according to regulations. During the handover, gaps inevitably appeared in the defense. A group of Jurchens from Changbai Mountain and Xihai had long been extremely dissatisfied with the harsh treatment and exploitation of the Eight Banners after they entered the pass.

These Jurchen tribes were already alienated from the Eight Banners nobles who had entered the Central Plains. They had long suffered from discrimination and their food and supplies were withheld. Their people were also repeatedly bullied. Taking advantage of the weakened defenses, they took a desperate gamble and dug up two mausoleums overnight. They not only ransacked the mausoleums, but also smashed the urn containing the ashes of Nurhaci and Huang Taiji after their cremation, scattering the ashes all over the ground.

Most of these Jurchen people were illiterate and had very low levels of education. They had no idea of ​​the value of the burial objects in the tomb and simply gathered them together haphazardly.

In addition, in recent years, the Han Dynasty has implemented new policies in Liaodong, reducing taxes, pacifying border residents, treating the Jurchen tribes well, and promoting the national policy of combining kindness and severity, which has won the hearts of the local people. They dared not keep these items to themselves, so they packed up all the burial items and sent them to the governor's office in Shenyang for disposal by the government.

When the governor of Liaodong received these items and learned that the mausoleum had been excavated, he was terrified. Knowing the gravity of the matter, he dared not delay and immediately ordered all the burial goods to be properly sealed and sent to Beijing by elite cavalry. At the same time, he wrote this urgent letter and sent it to the army by fast horse.

Looking at the list of those to be buried with Liu Mu at the end of the letter, he felt a throbbing pain in his temples and an instant headache.

It wasn't that these burial items were particularly valuable or luxurious. The Jurchens traditionally practiced cremation, especially in the early years of their dynasty, when customs were simple. The tomb contained no gold, silver, jewels, or rare treasures, but rather the clothing and accessories worn by Nurhaci and Huang Taiji during their lifetimes, their personal bows and arrows, short knives, as well as the grains, coins, and silver fragments used for sacrifices—all ordinary items of low value.

What truly troubled him was that in the Zhaoling Mausoleum of Huang Taiji, there was a jade seal carved from Hetian jade. This jade seal was warm and smooth all over, with a delicate texture. It was carved with insect and bird seal script, and clearly engraved with the eight characters "Received the Mandate of Heaven, May Your Life Be Long and Prosperous". It was made in imitation of the Imperial Seal of the State.

This was also the core reason why the governor of Liaodong did not hesitate to send a memorial via the 800-li express courier service. The matter of digging up graves was already sensitive, let alone the fact that such an object symbolizing imperial power was unearthed.

"Ridiculous! Truly ridiculous!" Liu Mu closed the letter, casually handed it to Zhou Peigong beside him, a strong mocking smile playing on his lips, his tone full of disdain.

Liu Mu laughed, saying that Huang Taiji had spent his entire life trying to conquer the Central Plains, but he died young.

Zhou Peigong took the letter, read it carefully, and instead of worry, his face showed an undisguised look of surprise.

Previously, Liu Mu had privately expressed his intention that after unifying the country, he would personally excavate the tombs of Nurhaci and Huang Taiji in front of the millions of soldiers and civilians in Liaodong who had been brutally murdered by the Manchu cavalry, to comfort their spirits.

However, digging up ancestral graves would ultimately damage the reputation of a wise and benevolent ruler and violate Confucian ethics. As a civil official, Zhou Peigong repeatedly advised Liu Mu in court, but Liu Mu always downplayed the issue and brushed it off lightly, never giving up the idea.

Now, things are much better. Liu Mu doesn't have to lift a finger, and the Han army doesn't have to get infamous. A group of former Jurchen subordinates have taken care of the matter for him, which has both vented his anger and won't damage Liu Mu's reputation as a wise ruler. It's a win-win situation for everyone.

Zhou Peigong looked up at Liu Mu, his smugness barely concealed. Liu Mu saw it all and understood his thoughts, but he didn't blame him.

It is the duty of a subject to care about the virtue of the ruler and to advise the monarch to abide by the rules of etiquette; this is beyond reproach.

His gaze swept across the tent and landed on Chen Moxing: "Chen Qintianjian, you shall immediately take my imperial edict and travel north to Beijing to conscript local laborers to go to Fuling and Zhaoling in Liaodong to cover up the excavated tombs, level the soil, and perform rituals to guide them to the afterlife!"

A ritual to deliver the deceased?

I don't know anything about performing rituals for the dead!

Chen Moxing felt a headache coming on at the mention of a ritual for the deceased, but he knew he could not disobey the emperor's command. He immediately stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and said in a reverent voice, "Your subject accepts the decree! Your subject will certainly go and return swiftly, handle this matter properly, and will not fail Your Majesty's trust!"

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