The bloody romance in the incident of "Red Dragon"
More than twenty days, nearly a hundred characters, nearly ten cases, two romances, 439 pages, centered around a "house-breaking incident", is "Red Dragon".
"Chi" is due to the surname Zhu in the Ming Dynasty, which means that the luck of virtue belongs to fire; "龙" means the true dragon emperor. The word "Red Dragon" comes from the "Red Dragon Society", which was a secret gang established by Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty in his later years, for the sake of the prosperous Zhu family and the eternal emperor. Work hard in order to protect the Ming Dynasty forever.
Miao Di, the author of "Red Dragon", is a professor at the Communication University of China, a doctoral supervisor, a historian, and a writer. He graduated from the History Department of Renmin University of China in 1982. He devoted himself to the study of Ming and Qing history in his early years. He has studied Ming history for nearly fifty years and has published many historical works.
Because of the author's academic background, the realistic tone of this book is determined, which is different from the general entertainment-themed novels about time-traveling palace battles. The surface content and plot of the book are fictional, but the overall situation and background behind the events are It is consistent with historical reality. All the characters in the book can be found in "History of the Ming Dynasty", and the characters' images are consistent with their original appearance in historical facts.
"Red Dragon" is the first part of the "Tianshun Trilogy". The story begins with a heavy snowfall at the end of the seventh year of Jingtai in the Ming Dynasty (1456 AD). The livestock dealer Lu Daxiang died mysteriously in an inn. Yang Jizong, a Shanxi scholar who went to Beijing to take the exam, worked with the policeman Fang Tianbao and the Jin Yiwei Yuan Bin to investigate the murder case, and accidentally met the leader. Yunying, a girl from Wala who brings her niece Baoer to Beijing to recognize her family, carries a secret. The truth of the murder was soon revealed, but this was only the beginning of a series of cases within a case, and it was also the tip of a giant iceberg that hid huge secrets. All kinds of people in the government and the public: people from the market, traders, diviners, eminent monks, civil servants, generals, powerful eunuchs, relatives of the emperor, and even the emperor were involved.
In the fierce competition for power and life-and-death struggles, a series of cases such as the "Ice Bee Murder Case, the Poisoned Concubine Case, the Girl Abduction Case, the Gold Talisman Case, and the Beggar's Murder Case" occurred one after another. Yang Jizong participated in the investigation and detection of all cases and became the first protagonist in this book. The ultimate core of all cases is the "Change of Seizing the Gate" launched by Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty after Zhu Qizhen's restoration.
If history is like the trunk and branches, then the stories in this article are the flowers on the branches. From plainness to splendor, from rationality to sensibility, from restraint to intensity, from coldness to warmth; from the struggle for imperial power and conspiracy to daring loyalty and innocence; from murder and swindling, the viciousness of human nature to the love between children and their deep love; from the temple to the There are all kinds of things in the market, and finally it settles on the romantic lovesickness that is misty and lingering for a lifetime. This is the most realistic feeling when reading "Red Dragon".
History, suspense, and romance are the three major elements combined in this work. They are interdependent and reflect each other, making "Red Dragon" wonderful. Of course, as a reader who does not have a deep historical background, I looked up relevant information on some content that I was interested in while reading, and learned about some of the past and present lives of "Red Dragon".
1. Yang Jizong and his feelings
Seeing the male protagonist Yang Jizong, I thought of the third male lead Zhao Baishi in the popular TV series "That Year the Flowers Bloomed and the Moon Was Full" last year , although they live in different dynasties, one in the Ming Dynasty and the other in the late Qing Dynasty, their personalities, ambitions, and regular behavior styles are surprisingly similar. Loyal to the emperor and loving the people, humble and ambitious, not confused by glitz, not afraid of power, not flattering vulgarity, adhering to justice, being calm and restrained in his emotions, making people think that he is a pedantic scholar who always talks about "the most important thing is benevolence, justice and morality". There’s a lot of cuteness, too. It subverts the traditional understanding that only military generals can conquer the world in the historical torrent, and scholars are powerless, and allows people to see the iron bones and fierce blood of literati.
I found in the Baidu entry that the historical Yang Jizong (1426-1488), whose courtesy name was Chengfang, was known as "the most upright official in the world in the Ming Dynasty" during the Chenghua period. Yang Jizong despised those corrupt officials and regarded them as dirt. When he arrived at his office, he first collected hundreds of dendrobiums of water and washed the hall before looking into matters. He said that this was to clear away the dirt. Although Yang Jizong only served as an official and an envoy, he was famous in Qing history and became a famous minister respected by later generations.
The love affair between Yang Jizong and the Waci girl Abda (Chinese name Yunying) is a main thread throughout "Red Dragon". They were in danger several times during the investigation, risked their lives to save each other, were attracted to each other, and fell in love with each other.
Abuda is graceful, beautiful and intelligent, bold and artistic, bold and lively, and deeply affectionate. Her temperament and style, which are very different from those of women from the Central Plains, deeply captured Yang Jizong's heart.
2. The love-hate entanglement between Ming Yingzong and Wasa
Wasa can be said to be the sad place of Ming Yingzong. In "Red Dragon", Zhu Qizhen, Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, lived in Waci for several years, and his brother Boyan Timur's family treated him very well. Boyan Timur was the second most powerful figure in the Wasac tribe and one of the great auspicious people.
In Wasac, Yexian Taishi is similar to the Han emperor, and Taiji is similar to the prince. Boyant Timur's family has two daughters, Salina and Abda. Abda is Yunying who fell in love with Yang Jizong in the previous article; Salena fell in love with Ming Yingzong and was favored. Ming Yingzong gave Salena a hosta inherited from his mother, the Queen Mother, as a token of love.
In July of the first year of Jingtai (i.e. 1450 AD), Ming Yingzong returned to Luan and separated from Salena, never to see each other again in life or death. In March of the following year, Salena gave birth to a baby girl. Six years later, there was civil strife in Waci, and a tragic accident occurred to the Grand Master Yexian and Boyan Timur's family. Salena died. Before she died, she entrusted the hosta and Bao'er to her sister Abda. So Abda escaped from Wac and came to the Central Plains to find Bao'er's father.
Is this plot similar to Ziwei in "Huanzhugege" who goes to Beijing to find her father?
Seeing this, I asked again, where is the thorn? Why did Ming Yingzong want to live in Wasi?
By consulting the history of the Ming Dynasty, I learned that eastern Mongolia was called "Tatar" at that time, located south of today's Lake Baikal and most of Mongolia; western Mongolia was called "Wac", and tribes lived in Today's western Mongolia and Junggar Basin area.
Zhu Qizhen, the Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, was the sixth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and could also be said to be the eighth emperor, because his younger brother Zhu Qiyu intervened in the middle. The reason why his younger brother was allowed to intervene was Because he listened to the instigation of the eunuch Wang Zhen, he personally went to fight Wa Ci in 1449. As a result, he was captured by Wa Ci, which is known as the "Tumu Fort Incident" in history.
After Zhu Qiyu ascended the throne, he ordered that important officials in the court were not allowed to contact the old emperor again, and he directly abandoned Ming Yingzong. Waci originally wanted to make a fortune from Ming Yingzong, but when his plan failed, he was unwilling to attack. As a result, he was defeated and returned in anger. Some Waci people had murderous intentions towards Zhu Qizhen. However, Zhu Qizhen relied on his personal charm as the Ming emperor to make Wa Ci docile and harmonious with the enemy.
A year later (1450), Wasi began to prepare for peace with the Ming Dynasty. At that time, Zhu Qiyu had already become the emperor and was addicted to it. Naturally, he did not want to let his brother come back. However, the ministers suggested that he had no choice but to send an envoy named Yang Shan, without giving him any imperial edict, and asked him to go to Waqi. One trip. Unexpectedly, Yang Shan is a powerful character. With his one mouth and eloquent words, he brainwashed the officials in Waqi and brought Ming Yingzong back. But after returning, Ming Yingzong's life was even worse than being a prisoner. His younger brother Zhu Qiyu imprisoned him for seven full years.
The entire story of "Red Dragon" takes place in more than twenty days at the end of this seven-year period.
3. Time is like the wind, but love is eternal
In the ending, Jingtai is replaced by Tianshun.
The orphaned girl Baoer was officially named Princess Chunhe by the Empress Dowager Sun. She had nobility and glory, but she lost forever the love and care of her close relative Abda.
Abuda and Yang Jizong went through all kinds of diseases amidst the fireworks on the 161st Street of the first lunar month, watched a play, hugged affectionately amidst laughter and tears, and then parted ways thousands of miles away without saying goodbye after a tender moment.
Yang Jizong passed the high school entrance examination and entered the official career. In the eyes of others, he remains the same as before, but only he knows that some things in his life have been lost forever and are no longer complete. When he reads a book, the paper butterflies in the book, when he walks, the scenery on the roadside will suddenly make him dim, and he will think of the girl Yunying who will never meet again.
"Red Dragon" has 439 pages, 90% of which are used to describe the power struggle, but in the end, only one page is used to explain the fate of various people. The whole book begins with "killing and encounter" and ends with "love and separation". The last two paragraphs of more than 400,000 words are reserved for longing and lovesickness. Does it also mean that through the ages, the human world will eventually return to its original nature, the ups and downs of desires, and ultimately the separation of life and death? The temples, rivers and lakes, the same variety of life, only love and true feelings, like sparks in the clouds of history, can comfort the suffering and loneliness in the impermanent world!