At the foot of Xunfeng Mountain, the frost brought by the cold wave has caused the branches and leaves of many evergreen trees to wither and fall, and Guangzhou, which is like spring all year round, also looks a bit desolate. Xunfeng Mountain is said to be a mountain, but in fact the altitude is only more than 80 meters. If placed in a real mountainous area, it would be just a small dirt bag.
Shabei Village at the foot of the mountain is located more than ten miles northwest of Guangzhou City. The Chen family has been settling here since the founder Chen Kangyan became an official in Lingnan during the Shaoxing period of the Southern Song Dynasty.
In the Chenzhai Buddhist Hall, a white-haired old woman was chanting sutras and worshiping the Buddha. After reciting, the old woman was about to get up, and her young son standing aside quickly stepped forward to help her.
After the old woman sat down, her two sons took their seats. Her daughter-in-law, grandson-in-law, and unmarried daughters stood beside her.
"Mom, the decoration of the Buddhist hall at home is simple, and there are no famous monks around the village. It is also very inconvenient for my mother to go to Buddhist temples in other places to attend Buddhist meetings. My father went west that day, and I went to Beijing to take office and was unable to serve my mother. The officialdom turmoil also made my mother worried. Thinking about it today makes my son feel deeply guilty and restless. Now that he has returned to his hometown, he should let his mother live a pure life and live a long life. There are many Buddhist monasteries on Baiyun Mountain in the north of Guangzhou, and my son found one next to Baiyun Temple. In a geomantic treasure land, I want to build a villa. I will build a nunnery statue for my mother in the villa, offer incense to the Buddha, and invite several virtuous monks to perform rituals every month to fulfill their filial piety." The speaker was tall and had an angular face. He is clear-cut, with a big mouth and sparse eyebrows, and a long goatee on his chin, giving him a sense of maturity and stability.
"Zizhuang, you have such filial piety, and I am very happy to be a mother. But you said that building a new villa is very expensive. Now the family and country are undergoing great changes, and thieves have invaded Lingnan. I, the Chen family, have been favored by the emperor for generations, so I should destroy the family to save the trouble, and be loyal. Since you are fulfilling your filial piety." The old woman turned her rosary beads in her hand and was very satisfied with her son's filial piety, but she refused firmly.
The old woman is the daughter of the Zhu family in Jiujiang. Jiujiang has been named "Rulin Township" since the Ming Dynasty. The Confucian atmosphere is very strong. Her father Zhu Rang was a Jinshi in the 32nd year of Wanli (1603) and once served as the head of the household department. Later he became the prefect of Kuizhou. Among the descendants of the Zhu family is Kang Youwei's teacher - "Mr. Jiujiang" Zhu Ciqi. Zhu received Confucian education since she was a child and knew the books and etiquette. She can be said to be a model for women in Confucian feudal ethics.
Her eldest son is Chen Zizhuang, the head of the "Three Lingnan Loyalists" who will be famous for generations to come.
Chen Zizhuang, also known as Jisheng and Qiutao, was ranked first in the imperial examination in the 37th year of Wanli. Chen Zizhuang was an upright official and once denounced the eunuchs in front of Emperor Tianqi. Later, Wei Zhongxian labeled it as "slander" because his policy questions to the emperor when he was presiding over the Hangzhou Provincial Examination included the words "Mediocre rulers lose power, and British rulers take over power." ", father and son were both demoted from official positions. After Chongzhen came to the throne, Chen Zizhuang was re-appointed and promoted to the post of Shao Zhanshi of Zhanshi Mansion and a bachelor's degree at the Hanlin Academy. He was then appointed as the right minister of the Ministry of Rites. Since the Ministry of Rites was temporarily lacking a chief minister (Shang Shu), he took charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Rites.
Chen Zizhuang has experienced ups and downs in officialdom and is now in his forties. I recall that when I was looking for the most beautiful girl in the imperial examination, my horse's hoof was broken in the spring breeze. It was in response to the poem he blurted out when he was seven years old, "When I visit Shangyuan in his second year, I will ask Chang'e to find the reason for the beautiful girl." He and his father were officials in the same dynasty, and at first they had A wonderful memory.
However, his experiences in recent years have left him with a deep sense of powerlessness over the current situation.
Since the Apocalypse, Donglin and the eunuchs have been at odds with each other. If it were a peaceful time, it would not have shaken the country, but the Liao Dynasty was corrupted. In the first year of Chongzhen, his fellow countryman Yuan Chonghuan, who was also a Jinshi in the same year, was also re-appointed by the new emperor. He was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of War, right deputy censor of the capital, and governor of Ji Liao. Chen Zizhuang prepared a grand farewell party for him, and the poems and paintings of the nineteen people present were gathered into a "Farewell Picture of Du Liao". It is a pity that Yuan Chonghuan was executed by the unpredictable emperor Ling Chi before he could wait for his "success". The inscription on "Du Liao Farewell Picture" was also gouged out by collectors, leaving only the four words "Fu Gongya Memorial" inscribed by him. .
There are powerful enemies outside and rebellions inside. The northwest civil uprising in the early years of Chongzhen has now become a prairie fire. August of the seventh year of Chongzhen was the most depressing day in his decades of life. His mentor, Lu Menglong, the right political counselor, stood firm in Longde City, Guyuan Prefecture, Shaanxi Province. After the city was broken, he was killed by the peasant army. When the news came, the capital was shocked. Chongzhen posthumously awarded Lu Menglong the title of Taipusi Minister and held a memorial ceremony in person. Chen Zizhuang, as the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, endured the grief of losing his mentor and friend and presided over the memorial ceremony.
In the eighth year of Chongzhen's reign, two rebel armies, Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong, captured Fengyang, the central capital, and excavated the emperor's ancestral tomb. Emperor Chongzhen was extremely sad when he learned about it. In a rage, Yang Yipeng, the censor of the water transport capital, who had not been rescued in time, beheaded and abandoned the market. Then he put on his plain clothes and offered sacrifices to the Ancestral Temple, and hid in Wuying Hall without coming out. The ministers did not dare to speak, but they felt that the matter was of great importance and the emperor should have an explanation for the incident. So Chen Zizhuang went to the hospital and said, "People in Qiulong have hurt a tree, and there is no one who can bear it without showing it." This is related to the changes in the royal ancestral mausoleum, and should not be ignored by others. The emperor should issue a "sinful edict", and he got it Adopted by Chongzhen. Chen Zizhuang put forward twelve more suggestions on current affairs, and the emperor adopted ten of them, which made him encouraged and proud.
However, the price of the gift given by fate has already been secretly marked. Also in the first month of this year, Chongzhen issued an edict requiring that all descendants of the clan who have civil and military talents and are worthy of appointment should be listed by the clan office and reported to the imperial court. Grant official positions. Chongzhen's approach was obviously a manifestation of dissatisfaction with the existing officials within his field of vision. However, this move violated the ancestral system established by Zhu Yuanzhang that the clan "can only be granted titles but not officials". Chen Zizhuang thought again and again, discussed it with his friends and colleagues, revised his draft three times, and finally submitted a memorial of opposition to the emperor. As a result, the king of Tang knew about this and impeached Chen Zizhuang in front of Chongzhen, so Chongzhen had him imprisoned for "not being an ancestral relative, bullying and wanton".
In the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, there were a total of sixty-six officials imprisoned at the same time as Chen Zizhuang. In addition to him, there were twenty-three ministerial-level officials, including the one who mistakenly believed that Li Zicheng had falsely surrendered in Shaanxi Chaochangxia, which caused the peasant army to resurrect. Chen Qiyu, the military governor of the five provinces. Finally, thanks to the intercession of many colleagues and the Empress Dowager, Chen Zizhuang was released, dismissed from office and repatriated.
Chen Zizhuang cried bitterly and kowtowed at the front gate of the capital, bid farewell to the emperor, climbed on the back of a donkey, went out of the Lu River and boarded a boat back south, and wrote "Reflections on the Lu River":
Watching people scolding short donkeys along the road, are the willows in Qingmen willing to be sparse?
Open the cage and pet the crane, and enjoy the deep water and the fish.
Mr. Tianwai was born in a dream, and the teaching scrolls in the box were not burned.
If Xing Gong is not a talker, then he must find the emperor and give him Sui Chu.
Unexpectedly, before he arrived home, he heard that the Kun bandits had occupied Guangzhou City. If he returns to the capital at this time, Emperor Chongzhen, who is short of major generals, may appoint him as governor of Southern Jiangxi and mobilize troops from several provinces to assist Xiong Wencan in exterminating the bandits. But he was worried about his mother, so he rushed back to Guangzhou before the bandits blocked the pass.
This feeling of powerlessness that the world does not change according to his own wishes makes Chen Zizhuang quite frustrated. He wants to build a special career in Yuncong, but in fact he also has other painstaking efforts, one is to pray for his mother's longevity, and the other is to strengthen his heart.
"It's not my business to move around the mausoleum and the valley. I just chase people around with smiles and cries." He still remembers his feelings about life when he left Beijing. He himself also wanted to borrow this green lantern and ancient Buddha to calm down.
"What my mother taught me is that my son will not disgrace the family tradition and vow to fight the traitor to the end and restore our Ming Dynasty." Chen Zizhuang answered respectfully, but in fact he was quite confused inside.
"Brother, do you still remember Mr. Iwano, the strange man I mentioned to you?" The young man who spoke was the young man who had just helped old Mrs. Zhu, Chen Zizhuang's younger brother Chen Zisheng, who was nineteen years older than him.
"I remember that I had exchanged letters with him when I was in Beijing. This man knew how powerful he was in the past and present, and he had great economic plans. Unfortunately, he failed in many attempts. It is really a loss to the Holy One."
Mr. Iwano is Chen Bangyan in the "Three Loyalties of Lingnan". His courtesy name is Lingbin and his nickname is Iwano. When Chen Zizhuang was in Beijing, Chen Zisheng had many contacts with Chen Bangyan, Li Suiqiu and others, and their relationship was extraordinary.
Chen Zisheng said: "Mr. Iwano had a secret meeting with me a few days ago. He wants to visit my elder brother and discuss important matters together."
"It seems that Lingnan is not just a bunch of people who are greedy for money and unjust. Chen Lingbin is loyal to the emperor and the country, and he is proficient in Confucianism. The three children Shangyong, Shangyan, and Shangtu can learn from him." Chen Zizhuang stroked his beard.
At this time, a doorman came to report, "Sir, Uncle Li, Uncle Kuang and Uncle Chen are all here and are in the front yard."
"Okay, please quickly invite them to meet in the back hall and living room, and ask the girl to serve the best tea to the distinguished guests." Chen Zizhuang said with a solemn expression.
Although Li Suiqiu and Kuang Lu were six or seven years younger than Chen Zizhuang, they often exchanged poems with Chen Zizhuang and had been old friends for many years. They were both present when they bid farewell to Yuan Chonghuan, governor of the Liao Dynasty. Li Suiqiu even took Chen Zizhuang as his teacher, and their friendship was very good. Same as usual. But it was the first time for Chen Bangyan to meet Chen Zizhuang.
Farewell to Mrs. Zhu, the two brothers quickly came to the reception hall in the back hall. Chen Zisheng came to Chen Bangyan and introduced: "Brother, this is Mr. Iwano from Longshan, Shunde. He set up a lecture hall under Jinyan Gang. Scholars from far and near heard about it. There are hundreds of students every year, and he is quite famous. .”
Chen Bangyan cupped his hands and said: "Qiao Sheng (Chen Zisheng) praised me falsely, but it was just for a living. I have heard about Mr. Qiu Tao for a long time, but it is a pity that he is an official in Beijing and cannot meet each other. It is a blessing in life that we are destined to meet today. Meizhou (Li Suiqiu) , Zhanruo (Kang Lu) is fine."
Li Suiqiu, Kuang Lu and Chen Bangyan had also known each other for a long time. After some pleasantries, the guests of honor took their seats one by one.
Chen Zizhuang knew very well that not a word of what was being discussed today could reach the ears of the Kun thieves, otherwise it would be a disaster for the whole family. So he retreated and drove all the girls and slaves into the front yard.
Chen Zizhuang looked around, calmed down, and said: "Everyone who came here today is definitely not for romance. The current situation is corrupt and out of control. How can we restore the Ming Dynasty and drive out the giant bandits? Although I have been to the Emperor's Hall. , but now he is a farmer, without three heads or six arms. There are all close friends in the house today. If you have any opinions, please feel free to speak freely."
(End of chapter)
