Chapter 015 The oriole is behind
Ning Yuanbo's Mansion is located on Zhuque Street on the left side of Chaoyang Gate. It has a relatively large courtyard. It was originally a house awarded to Li Chengliang by Wanli, and then became the foothold of the Li family in Liaodong in the capital.
Looking at the white elegiac couplet on the door, Chen Cao sighed a little. Although the old man was a little cunning, he was loyal to the Ming Dynasty. Now he was killed by rumors. Presumably, it was the Donglin Party's persecution against these disobedient people. It's just a reckoning.
A servant stepped forward, bowed his hands respectfully towards Chen Cao and said, "I wonder what your surname is, what is your relationship with my uncle?"
Chen Cao was dressed in the uniform of Jinyiwei Qianhu Feiyu, and he was carrying an embroidered spring knife. Others could tell at a glance that this man was an officer of Jinyiwei: "I'm sorry to say that Chen Cao, the Fusi of Nanjing South Town of Jinyiwei, came to express condolences to General Li. "
The servant was stunned for a moment, as if he knew Chen Cao, he nodded and ran towards the house. Just a moment later, there was a noise, and he saw a filial woman rushing out with a long sword, followed by a man chasing after him. There were many men and women wearing filial piety chasing after them.
Zhao Xin and Xu Kai, who were following, shouted first, and the four or five Jinyi guards under their command pulled out their embroidered spring knives and stood in front of Chen Cao.
"Thief..." It was still the familiar voice: "You bastard..."
The woman was Li Waner, and the young man following him was an old acquaintance, Li Shaokuan. He stood in front of Li Waner with a sneer, held his hands towards Zhao Xin and others, and said with a smile: "My lords, I have misunderstood, I have misunderstood, we and Mr. Chen They are all old friends..."
Zhao Xin and Xu Kaixian both knew Li Shaokuan and Li Waner, but the situation just now was special, so they immediately put away their swords and said: "It turns out to be General Li, it's a pleasure to meet you..."
The Li family is now subject to a lot of rumors in the capital. From the initial cowardice to the final incompetence, they all point the finger at Li Rubai. The officials and censors all believe that Li Rubai can't even keep up with his father and brother.
To say that Li Rubai doesn't understand the art of war is an insult to him who was born as a general. But to say that he understands the art of war would lower Li Chengliang and Li Rusong's understanding of the art of war. Therefore, Li Rubai can be said to be tepid. Because the aura of his father and brother is too great.
"Brother Li..." Chen Cao pushed Zhao Xin and others away and raised his hands towards Li Shaokuan: "Chen is a step late. Can you let me go in first to pay homage to Mr. Li?"
"You're not allowed to go..." Li Waner stared at Chen Cao with red eyes, tears flowing uncontrollably: "You bastard..."
"Little sister," Li Shaokuan was rarely angry, so he immediately scolded Li Waner, and then extended his hand apologetically: "Brother Chen, please..."
Li Rubai's coffin was in the middle of the hall, with many filial sons and daughters kneeling around it. Chen Cao stepped forward, took the incense lit by Zhao Xin, then knelt in front of the coffin and said seriously: "Uncle Li, this junior is late... ."
There was nothing wrong with this title. Facing the confused looks of the people around him, Chen Cao put on a movie-level performance. He squeezed out two lines of tears and said slowly: "Junior should not let you come to the capital to sacrifice prisoners. Come on." The junior before the capital promised that Miss Li would come to the capital to propose to you, but now..."
"ah..."
Seeing Chen Cao like this, the women and children around him shed tears one after another. Even Zhao Xin who was standing beside him was deeply touched.
The whole crying process lasted for half an hour. In the end, even Li Shaokuan couldn't stand it anymore and asked Xin Zhao to help Chen Cao to leave. As for the marriage with Li Waner, we have to talk about it later. After all, Li Rubai only has one daughter, and she is supposed to observe filial piety for three years. It is impossible to talk about marriage in these three years, but we can settle things first.
"Sir, your crying is too fake..." Zhao Xin said with a smile.
"Is it fake?" Chen Cao still had tears and runny nose when he went out. When asked by Xin Zhao, he immediately changed back to his original self: "I am already very sincere and treat him as my own father-in-law."
Xin Zhao nodded: "The way you are crying is as if someone died after not paying back the money owed to you."
"Really?" Chen Cao raised his eyebrows: "Xin Zhao, I have something you can help me with."
"Please show me, sir."
"Put on mourning clothes, go to Li's house and help me cry for a day, and let me watch and learn..."
Xin Zhao: "..."
...
Two days later, the palace decreed that Li Rubai was posthumously conferred the title of Marquis of Ningyuan and General of Zhendong, and was buried with Emperor Shenzong in his mausoleum. This standard was already regarded as the supreme honor of the Li family.
In the middle hall of Fusi in Beizhen, the old god Luo Sigong squinted: "The cabinet discussed to make Li Rubai's daughter Li Waner a township monarch, promoted Li Shaokuan from guerrilla to general, and appointed Li Ruzhen as the chief military officer of Zhenliao, taking over Defense of Shenyang.”
Chen Cao listened carefully to Luo Sigong's words, because he knew that the boss liked to interrupt his speech to make people guess, so he did not dare to neglect at all.
"Yuan Yingtai is now the manager of Liaodong. I heard that after Mulhaqi's death, Nurhaci gathered troops to prepare for revenge, and the target was Shenyang."
He stopped and ran out of words. Now it was Chen Cao's turn to guess. Chen Cao, who did not dare to make any mistakes, raised his hands and said: "The ministers in the court were afraid that Li Rubai's death would scare them and make them betray the court, so they were on guard. ..”
Luo Sigong chuckled, still expressionless: "You are quite clever, the cabinet advised me, and your Majesty has agreed to let Li Shaokuan return to Shenyang to prepare for war, while the new Tieling Township Lord Li Waner stayed in Beijing. Let me see, there is another big one in Liaodong this year War." Then he opened his eyes and looked at Chen Cao and said: "We have to deal with the military governor in Nanzhen Fusi. You guys have to work hard. In the future, I, the Jinyi Guard, will be prosperous and I will have to rely on you."
"I don't dare to do this in my humble position..." Chen Cao lowered his head and said, "I have done my duty in this humble position, please rest assured."
"Um...how is your work going?"
Chen Cao had long expected that Luo Sigong would not summon him so easily. Before coming, he reviewed the information collected a few months ago, and then handed over his hands and said, "Sir, Mr. Xu has frequent contacts with Hou Ninghou. I once found out that someone from Beijing came to Nanjing and met with them both at Jixinfang in Nanjing. The cabinet..."
"After all, it's safe here."
After hearing what Luo Sigong said, Chen Cao nodded: "Master Ye, the chief minister of the cabinet, once sent people to Donglin Academy in Nanjing and talked with Hou Ninghou for a long time. There was one other matter. A member of Shouning Hou's clan had an affair with him. It’s related to the human life case and there are some connections, so I’m investigating it carefully.”
"Well, go on."
"Yes..." Chen Cao swallowed and continued: "People from the Zhejiang Party have secretly contacted Mr. Xu."
Luo Sigong, who had closed his eyes to rest, suddenly opened his eyes. After turning around a few times, he slowly sat up straight and asked, "Do you know who it is?"
"Mr. Fang Congzhe, the former chief assistant of the cabinet." Chen Cao said seriously.
"Fang Congzhe..." Luo Sigong read the name again, then frowned, his face hardened a lot: "You did a good job on this matter, you don't need to follow up on the rest, just do what you did before. matter."
Chen Cao was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "I obey my orders."
Before Chen Cao left Beijing, he met his old acquaintance Li Xiang.
"Sir..." Li Xiang was sitting on the carriage, and the official lantern on it was written with the five regular characters of 'Taipusi Shaoqing': "Sir, are you going back to Nanjing?"
"Oh..." Chen Cao was very happy to see his old friend: "Ms. Li," but suddenly remembered that Li Xiang came to ask about him when he left Nanjing, and then he couldn't help but said awkwardly: "Well, Chen is really busy with official duties .”
Li Xiang had a scornful smile on his face: "Yes, sir, he is very busy with official duties. Didn't he just take a concubine and then go to Beijing to marry the late Ningyuan Hou Lingqian?"
Ahem...
Zhao Xin and others tried their best not to laugh out loud, but they also suppressed a cough.
Chen Cao smiled sarcastically, then clasped his fists and said: "Miss Li, it was Chen who was wrong, but now even you know about Chen. If you go to Mr. Li at this time, I'm afraid this time it won't be as simple as the Hongmen Banquet." .”
Why didn't Li Xiang know the meaning of Chen Cao's words? He didn't pursue him, so he smiled and said: "Okay, it's a good thing that he is a storyteller. He is a good talker. I can't speak to you." His tone changed and he said: "I'll just We are going back to Nanjing, shall we pass through the road?"
It's better to be accompanied by a beautiful woman on the road than to smell the foot odor of a group of old men.
Above the canal, the setting sun slanted, reflecting on Li Xiang's face, which further highlighted her maturity and softness. This was Chen Cao's best so-called wifely beauty in his life, but it also made him salivate. Feel.
Li Xiang rolled his eyes and saw Chen Cao looking at him in a daze. He covered his mouth and chuckled softly: "Sir, you claim to be a man of both ability and political integrity. How can you have such an idiotic image?"
Chen Cao calmed down, stretched out his hand to wipe the scratches around his mouth, and then said with a smile: "I... No, I'm rude, I'm rude."
"The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it's almost dusk..." Li Xiang looked at the setting sun on the horizon and couldn't help but sigh. Then he turned to look at Chen Cao tenderly and said, "Sir, do you have any good poems that you can improvise?"
Chen Cao couldn't remember whose poem Li Xiang read, but he knew that he must have memorized it when he was studying. Looking at the setting sun, Chen Cao opened the folding fan in his hand and said loudly under the gaze of Li Xiang and several maids: "The sun is setting in the majestic sorrow of separation, and the whip is pointing east to the end of the world. The falling red is not a heartless thing, it turns into spring mud to protect the flowers..."
Chen Cao read the last two lines of the poem while looking at Li Xiang. Fortunately, he was a talented woman, and his cheeks turned red immediately, as if the sun was shining on them.
"Good poem..."
The words came from elsewhere. Li Xiang and Chen Cao both turned around and looked. They saw two large boats traveling side by side on the canal. There was a boat traveling alongside Chen Cao's boat, and they happened to be reciting poems just now. The people on the next boat heard it.
The speaker was a middle-aged man. He cupped his fists towards Chen Cao and said, "My master praises the artistic conception of this young master's poetry. Do you know his surname?"
Chen Cao was about to speak, but Li Xiang next to him answered: "Jinling Nalan Rongruo..."
Chen Cao took a closer look and saw that the ship next door was indeed an official ship, and the flag it carried was that of the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. The official of the Ming Dynasty...
Chen Cao's thoughts were soaring when an old man with a white beard walked out of the boat over there. He looked at Chen Cao with a smile and said, "It turns out to be Mr. Nalan. I'm glad to see you today. I'm glad to meet you..."
Chen Cao quickly raised his hands to the other party and said: "I don't dare, I don't know how to respect you..."
"My father was a Jinshi in the 11th year of Wanli. The current Minister of Civil Affairs, Zhang Wenda..." the middle-aged man next to him shouted loudly.
"It turns out that Mr. Zhang is in front of you. This junior is rude..." Chen Cao said and bowed again.
"So it's Uncle Zhang. How are you?" Li Xiang said to that side.
Zhang Wenda's eyes were not very good, and the setting sun was setting down. He looked carefully for a long time before he said, "Is the daughter of Mr. Li of Taipu Temple across from you?"
The two official ships docked in Dezhou to rest. There was a specially managed post station on the dock. The dining hall was repaired almost like an inn. People on both sides gathered together. At this moment, Chen Cao discovered that Zhang Wenda was surrounded by some green-robed officials. In addition, there are also many Jin Yiwei following him.
However, he was not wearing flying fish suits on his side, but Xin Zhao and others were wearing flying fish suits. After a second look, it turned out that they were all passages.
Zhang Wenda only thought that the Jin Yiwei escorting Li Xiang back to Nanjing was probably on some official business. Someone behind him mentioned that the Jin Yiwei from Nanzhen Fusi, who was escorting Songjiang Guard Commander Lu Hua, had recently come to Beijing. It was very likely that they were the group opposite.
"My niece has met Uncle Zhang." Zhang Wenda sat down, and Li Xiang, who came in behind, quickly went up and curtsied.
Li Maohui was a Jinshi in the eighth year of Wanli, three years earlier than Zhang Wenda. In the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, which is the most important place of origin, even though Li Maohui was not a high-ranking official, he had more qualifications than Zhang Wenda, not to mention that the two were apprentices. The relationship between the two families was very close. Li Maohui was able to become an official in Beijing, and Zhang Wenda also contributed a lot behind the scenes.
Information about Zhang Wenda flashed in his mind, but it was very little. Chen Cao only knew that Zhang Wenda was a famous official in the Wanli to Tianqi Dynasty. He was known as an old man who was neither party-minded nor selfish. He was a rare upright centrist. And it itself has certain intellectual strength.
Zhang Wenda smiled and nodded: "Why did you go south? Does your father know?"
Li Xiang said with a smile: "Uncle, don't worry. My family has some properties in Jinling. My father has to rely on these to support his expenses in Beijing. I am the only descendant of my family. I can't stop this business, otherwise my father will also buy a house in Beijing." Sorry."
"That's right." Zhang Wenda could not be more exaggerated to describe him as a cunning person. He turned to look at Chen Cao, then at Zhao Xin and others beside him, and said, "I just heard about Mr. Nalan's masterpiece, and then look at him, and the rumors in the capital. Almost the same,"
He was confused when he spoke, and before Chen Cao could answer, Zhang Wenda said: "Are you afraid it's Chen Cao, the official of Qianhu, Jin Yiwei?"
Now that his identity was revealed, Chen Cao didn't dare to pretend anymore. The other party was the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, so he handed over his hand and said, "I have met the Minister."
"Well..." Zhang Wenda looked Chen Cao up and down, nodded with satisfaction at first, then showed a serious expression, pointed to the Jin Yiwei behind him and said: "These Jin Yiwei behind me are your Beizhen The people from Fusi, do you know where they are going?"
Chen Cao cupped his hands and said, "Please let me know, Lord Shangshu."
Zhang Wenda looked at Li Xiang, who was standing with Chen Cao, and couldn't help but shake his head: "A few days ago, someone received a report saying that the Nanjing Jinyiwei engaged in malpractice in a public case and tampered with the prison sentence. The Jinyiwei are the emperor's personal soldiers. What happened After the General Secretary reported it to the cabinet, and His Majesty knew about it, Long Yan was furious and ordered me to take a closer look at what was going on when I went south. These Jin Yiwei from Beizhen Fusi were the ones who went south to supervise."
Chen Cao was shocked. Zhang Wenda, an old man, was the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Logically speaking, he should have completely ignored Chen Cao, a junior official with thousands of households in the Jinyiwei. Moreover, Jinyiwei had always had a bad image in the minds of civil servants, and few civil servants would talk to Jinyiwei. After dealing with each other, but now he said so many things to Chen Cao, there must be a reason: "The lower official is stupid..."
The Jin Yiwei standing next to Zhang Wenda stepped forward, bowed towards Zhang Wenda, and then clasped his fists towards Chen Cao and said: "Sir Chen, my humble position is Zhang Wei, counselor of the Experience Department of Fusi, Beizhen. I have been ordered by the commander to go. Nanjing investigates the cause of this incident and the observing process."
"Since I have met Mr. Chen here, I humbly ask Mr. Chen in front of Zhang Shangshu. A few days ago, a report was written to a supervisory censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. It said that Nanjing Beicheng Soldiers The case of the murder of Jiangning scholar Zhang Liang by Song Che, the commander-in-chief of Ma Si..."
Chen Cao trembled in his heart when he heard this. Song Che's case was closed, how could there be a report letter, and it seemed that it was coming directly to him.
Just listen to Zhang Wei continue: "The report letter said that Chen Cao, then the Nanjing Jinyi Guard Qianhu Officer, had a close relationship with Song Che, and had secretly helped Song Che settle the case. Song Che killed the scholar Zhang Liang as the general banner , according to the law, he must be executed immediately, but because of Mr. Chen's relationship, Ying Tianfu found him guilty of negligent death, and the family of the victim sued the capital's Criminal Department. Yuan Wailang, who was in charge of the files, checked the files sent from Nanjing, and then Suspicions arose.”
hiss...
Chen Cao's heart skipped a beat. To put it bluntly, someone was trying to trick him now, but when he thought carefully about it, he had never offended anyone powerful in Nanjing. Who was it?
"Mr. Nalan," Zhang Wenda did not change his title: "What's wrong? Are you worried?"
Damn...
Zhang Wenda actually saw it, and Chen Cao did not shy away from it. Since Zhang Wenda would raise it here, it can prove one thing. This old guy will not harm himself. He immediately clasped his fists and said: "Master Shangshu Mingjian, Song Dynasty." Che's case was decided by Ying Tianfu, and he has never interfered in his humble position, let alone making fun of his own future." Chen Cao suddenly recalled what Zhang Wei had just said about the Yuanwailang of the Criminal Department, and then his mind was racing, and he suddenly remembered something He then apologized and said, "Excuse me, Lord Shangshu, who is the member of the Criminal Department who received the petition?"
Zhang Wenda squinted his eyes and thought for a while: "It seems to be Gu Dazhang," he said, turning to look at his housekeeper: "Is it him?"
The housekeeper nodded, and Chen Cao took a long breath, showing a sense of calmness, and then asked: "Does he have a son named Gu Linsheng?"
"Do you know him?" Zhang Wenda's eyes were a little bright, and the old man seemed to know something.
"That's right..."
Chen Cao felt very comfortable now. At least he knew who his opponent was. He was most afraid of his opponent being cruel to him in such a frame-up matter, otherwise he wouldn't even know how to deal with it.
Zhang Wei looked at Chen Cao's expression, and then said: "Master Chen, I have an official document here. The commander said that it will be announced after arriving in Nanjing. Now that we have seen it here, I think that I am a colleague in Wei Zhong. You can tell Lord Chen first. I don’t know what Lord Shangshu means.”
Zhang Wenda snorted and said nothing. Zhang Weicai took out the official document and said: "The commander has ordered that after arriving in Nanjing, he will temporarily suspend the position of being in charge of the execution of Qianhu Chen Cao, and resume it after the truth of the matter is revealed. Before that, , Chen Cao must obey the government's arrangements for all his actions."
hiss...
Now Chen Cao was panicking from the bottom of his heart.
Li Xiang saw it and knew the cause of the matter to some extent. After all, it was against Chen Cao. He immediately showed a worried expression, then looked at Zhang Wenda and said anxiously: "Uncle, Chen Cao must have been wronged. "
"Justice is in the heart of the people..." Zhang Wenda said, changed his expression, and then stood up and said: "Okay, I heard that there are many scenic spots on the canals in Shandong. It is rare for me to go to Jiangnan next time, so I have to take advantage of it. Let’s have some fun at this time, niece, would you like to play with me?”
Li Xiang was very panicked because of Chen Cao at the moment, but seeing Zhang Wenda's confident look, he had to nod his head: "It's all up to my uncle to make the decision."
Zhang Wenda nodded and turned to look at Zhang Wei: "Counselor Zhang, what about you?"
Zhang Wei put away the official document and said with unusual humility: "The lower official was ordered by the commander to escort the minister south. Naturally, wherever the minister goes, the lower official will follow."
"Well..." Zhang Wenda nodded with satisfaction.
Chen Cao was stunned for a moment, and when he saw Zhang Wenda looking at him with a smile, he immediately understood. Then he bowed to Zhang Wenda and said, "Thank you, Lord Shangshu. I still have some things to do, so I'll take my leave now." , see you in Nanjing."
After leaving the inn, Chen Cao hurriedly summoned Zhao Xin and several others, and then said in a deep voice: "Prepare fast horses, one man and two horses, and rush back to Nanjing within two days."
"Ah?" Zhao Xin couldn't believe his ears. How come it takes seven days to travel from Dezhou to Nanjing at a normal speed? Returning to Nanjing in two days is like Chen Cao's first time riding a horse and being forced to go to Tianjin in five days by Liu Lei: "Sir, My crotch can’t bear it if this goes on.”
"Hmph..." Chen Cao stared at Xin Zhao and sneered: "If you can't return to Nanjing within two days, I will fall. It is unknown whether you guys can keep your current positions, let alone promotions."
Seeing that Chen Cao spoke so formally, Zhao Xin also felt that Chen Cao was not joking, so he ordered someone to go to the inn to lead the horse: "Sir, what happened?"
"Let's talk about it when we get back..."
Two days later, Chen Cao and his party appeared in front of the gate of Jiangning County on time. One of the horses was so tired that it foamed at the waist and was thrown on the roadside.
The wind scratched his face, and his lips also had many cuts due to the wind, and there were a lot of dried blood on them, but this was not a big problem for Chen Cao.
"Sir, do you want to go in?" Zhao Xin said in a deep voice. Chen Cao had already told several people the whole story on the way, and Zhao Xin was even more angry and wanted to kill someone.
"As long as Zhang Wen can't reach me, the order to detain me will not come. I think the commander must have had some misunderstanding, so he would treat me like this." After saying this, Chen Cao felt much better about Luo Sigong. : "Now I am still in charge of punishing thousands of households, no one dares to do anything to me."
"After entering the city, we assigned people to guard the four gates. In the name of checking Japanese invaders, we were only allowed in but not allowed out."
"yes..."
In the Jiangning County government office, Chen Cao was investigating the files and then packed them away. The county magistrate's seventh-rank official did not dare to do anything to Chen Cao, who was a guard of thousands of households, but he carefully complied with Chen Cao's request.
