"Teacher, do you really want to go to the Yingtian Mansion Hall to watch the trial of Zhu Guozhi among the three halls?"
Wang Zhongxiao, wearing the python robe of the Ming Dynasty prince, followed his teacher Mingzhu with a smile and walked swaggering by the edge of Mochou Lake.
Mingzhu still looked thin and sad, but her legs were no longer lame. However, when she walked with her hands behind her back and her head hanging down, she still looked like a slender bean sprout that had been half wilted. Her former grace and grace were completely gone.
The Mochou Lake Garden, known as the most scenic spot in Nanjing, was in the same mood as Mingzhu at this time, a bleak winter scene. The water surface was green and black in color, with thin ice floating in many places. The north wind blew past, causing circles of water waves to ripple.
Standing by the Mochou Lake, Mingzhu became more and more sad as he looked at it. It seemed that he would never be "Nalan Mochou" in this life.
However, the same lake view, in the eyes of Li Zhongshan (Wang Zhongxiao), the second son of Li Fuchen, the southern king of the Ming Dynasty, is really pleasing to the body and mind!
Because this place is located on the edge of Mochou Lake and once belonged to the Duke of Wei's palace, it has now been assigned to the Nanwang family by Lu Sanhao and has become the location of the Nanwang's palace.
And isn't this Nanwang Mansion the property of Li Zhongshan (Wang Zhongxiao) and Li Er?
This palace has a history. It was the property that Zhu Yuanzhang rewarded to Wei Guogong Xu Da! Xu Da and his descendants ran the entire Ming Dynasty on the banks of Mochou Lake. It was not until the Qing troops came in that they all gave up.
Although the property on the shores of Mochou Lake changed hands several times after entering the Qing Dynasty, like several famous gardens in Nanjing, the people who owned them were either rich or noble, so although the garden was a little desolate, it was not completely ruined. It is even still one of the most famous gardens in Jinling City today!
With such an industry, how can Li Zhongshan (Wang Zhongxiao) be unhappy? He was wondering whether he should use the word "Mochou" from Mochou Lake as his own nickname.
From now on, he will be "Mr. Mochou", "Master Mochou" and "Principal Mochou"
"Zhu Pinghuan and Weishi are both under the banner of Zhenghuangqi, and we are all close friends. I helped him come back this time, but I didn't expect that it hurt him this time. I'm afraid it was the last time in his life." After seeing each other, I have to listen to his last words."
Mingzhu seemed to be a little bit sad. When he spoke, he looked sad. He looked up at the sky, and then said to Wang Zhongxiao: "Shikai, it's getting late, should we set off?"
Wang Zhongxiao nodded, then turned to Li Jixiang who was following him and said: "Little Li, let the carriage come over!"
"Yes! Come and pull the carriage. The second master and Ming Zhongtang are going out!" Li Jixiang, who had just arrived from Guangdong with a batch of silver and arms and took office as the general manager of the Nanwang Mansion, immediately opened his throat and shouted, "Wang Quan, you bring some people to protect the second master and Ming Zhongtang!"
Soon, a large carriage drawn by two horses was driven to Wang Zhongxiao and Mingzhu with a rumble.
Behind this carriage was a group of people wearing blue battle uniforms, iron helmets, and breastplates made of a single piece of iron on their chest and abdomen, carrying flintlock guns on their backs, and slinging slender curved weapons. Cavalry guard with sabers. Leading this cavalry guard was Wang Quan, Wang Zhongxiao's early horse driver. He is already a brave general in the Guangdong Township Army. A while ago, he and Li Jixiang led dozens of officers and two to three hundred veterans who had just graduated from the Guangdong Lecture Hall to board a merchant ship to assist the town by sea. Nanjing, now serves as Wang Zhongxiao's personal barracks general.
Wang Zhongxiao opened the curtain of the carriage, smiled and raised his hand to point inside, "Teacher, please. There is a stove inside, but it is warm. You can squint in it for a while. When you wake up, you will almost arrive at Yingtian Mansion." .”
Mingzhu nodded and without saying anything else, she got into the carriage of the carriage with Wang Zhongxiao's help. Wang Zhongxiao got on a horse with folded ears that Li Jixiang brought for him. This horse was also brought to him by Wang Quan. It was said that it was a good horse produced in the Western country of Tianzhu. When its ears were erect, it would It was bent inward and looked particularly cute, so after it was transported to Guangzhou by a group of British businessmen, they all asked Wu Xiaotuo to buy it. What Wang Quan brought to Wang Zhongxiao was one of these horses with broken ears.
Astride this fine horse with maroon fur, Wang Zhongxiao led his own horse team, protected Mingzhu's carriage, and ran towards the south gate of the garden by Mochou Lake.
The garden at Mochou Lake was fortified outside. Moats were dug along the garden wall, wooden fences were erected, and breastworks and cannon forts were built with straw sacks filled with soil. There were also walls inside the garden. Several tall watchtowers were built.
Although no trenches were dug and wooden fences were erected at the gate of the garden, two circular parapets were built using straw bales and sacks filled with soil, and a row of horse guns were used to block the gate.
Seeing that Wang Zhongxiao was about to go out with his carriage and horses, the several infantrymen guarding the gate with flintlock rifles immediately moved away their own anti-horse rifles.
Wang Zhongxiao rode out of the south gate of Mochou Lake Garden. Outside was a long street called Sanshanmenwai Street, also known as Jiangdongmen Street. Because this long street connects Sanshan Gate in the inner city of Nanjing and Jiangdong Gate in the outer city.
In other words, the Nanwang Mansion of Wang Zhongxiao's family was located in the original outer city of Nanjing, but now it can only be regarded as outside Nanjing.
Although it is now "outside the city", it is still very prosperous. There are many gardens built on both sides of Sanshanmenwai Street. Some of them look dilapidated, but from their land area and remaining buildings, you can still get a glimpse of what they were like in their heyday.
The streets near Sanshan Gate and the Qinhuai River are quite bustling! Storefronts are lined up in rows, and businessmen coming and going are even more crowded.
And Sanshanmen is even more lively. It's the New Year's Eve, and the old store is newly opened in Daming, and it's a bit prosperous. Anyway, looking at this situation, it seems that it is not a big problem to build half of the country.
Therefore, the city of Nanjing immediately has the meaning of "gathering of humanities". Anyway, the literati from the Jiangnan area are gathering in Nanjing. It seems that no one is worried about the Jiangnan Daying, Jiangbei Daying, Jiangdong Daying, and Jiangxi. The situation in Daying was completely different from when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom came to Nanjing in history.
After all, it has only been more than ten years since the last time Zheng Chenggong counterattacked outside Nanjing, and many old people who have experienced the late Ming Dynasty and still have not forgotten the Han world are still alive!
More importantly, the "Memorandum Case" and "Crying Temple Case" that were rectified by Zhu Guozhi have only been over ten years. In the past ten years, many literary inquisitions have occurred, which made the people of Jiangnan Shilin panic. Most people They all miss the past in their hearts.
Thinking about it, it is better for the Ming Emperor to evade and resist taxes as he pleases. When the Ming Dynasty was around, people didn’t know how to cherish it. However, when the Qing Dynasty came up, everyone knew what evil meant!
Compared with the emperor of the Qing Dynasty and the high-ranking Manchu officials, Wei Zhongxian, unlike Chongzhen, was a good and reasonable man!
And just when the scholars in Jiangnan, who were frightened by the Qing Dynasty, were thinking about the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty really came back!
And it was the "True Ming Dynasty" led by Prince Zhu San!
I don’t know how I captured Nanjing, the former capital of the Ming Dynasty, and then I had to organize the imperial court.
Although the Qing Dynasty established four major battalions in the southeast, northwest and northwest, none of these battalions rushed to counterattack Nanjing. They did not even dare to enter the Yingtian Mansion Realm. They all looked weak.
What excites Jiangnan scholars even more is that not long after the opening of this "Real Ming Dynasty", Zhu Guozhi, who was the governor of Guangdong, was caught and interrogated in the Yasan Hall of Yingtian Mansion!
But how did this small court in Nanjing capture Zhu Guozhi, who was the governor of Guangdong?
Could it be that Guangdong has long been ruled by the Ming Dynasty?
Full of questions, many scholars from Yingtian Mansion and several surrounding prefectures took advantage of the fact that the four camps in the southeast, northwest and northwest of the Qing Dynasty were busy celebrating the New Year and came to Nanjing to check the wind direction and watch the trial. Zhu Guozhi - We have to see if this Zhu Guozhi is real?
In addition, if this Zhu Guozhi is true, then everyone has to see what will happen to this "Zhu Baidi"?
Because there are so many people coming to see Zhu Guozhi, Yingtianfu Yamen, which is not too far away from Sanshanmen, is packed with people today. If the servants hadn't come to take a seat last night, they wouldn't have been able to see Zhu Guozhi at all. of!
Not to mention, Zhu Guozhi was not as "popular" as he is now when he was the governor of Jiangsu!
Those who couldn't see Zhu Guozhi had no choice but to ask the people in front.
"People in front, have you seen Zhu Baidi? Is it true?"
"I saw it, I saw it, it's true, it's this Zhu Baidi who suffered a thousand blows!"
"It's this guy, hahaha, this guy also has today!"
"God's eyes are open! Zhu Baidi has finally received his retribution."
Someone who knew Zhu Guozhi and had a grudge against Zhu Guozhi actually got a good seat!
After confirming Zhu Guozhi's true identity, shouts of killing began outside Yingtian Mansion.
But no matter how many people shout for death, Zhu Guozhi is not afraid now. He is pretending to be righteous! After being escorted to the lobby, he still held the shackles and stretched out his neck, refusing to kneel. He also said harshly: "You are all rebels, traitors, and clowns. How dare you come to interrogate me? Bah!"
In the lobby, there were already three officials sitting there. One of them was, of course, the Minister of Hubu and Yin Lu Sanhao of Yingtian Prefecture. This good official who is always known for "speaking good words, being a good person, and doing good things", this After a while, his true face was revealed. He picked up a gavel, slapped it, and winked at the officer below who was escorting Zhu Guozhi.
The officer escorting Zhu Guozhi understood immediately, and each of them kicked Zhu Guozhi in the calf. Zhu Guozhi knelt on the ground with a plop, and then let out a scream like a slaughtered pig - both kneecaps were shattered!
"Zhu Guozhi, I ask you, do you know your guilt?" The next person who spoke was a ferocious-looking man, also wearing a red official uniform and a black gauze hat. He is Yang Qilong's representative in Nanjing, Zheng Desheng, the Minister of Punishment.
The ancestor of Zheng Desheng was also a member of the Jinyi Guard Tiqi family. Moreover, he was also a Tiqi in Beizhen Fusi who was responsible for severe torture.
"Bah! It's not your turn, a thief like a monkey, to ask whether I have committed any crime!" Zhu Guozhi's mouth was really tough!
"Humph!" Zheng Desheng laughed after hearing this, "Zhu Guozhi, please listen carefully! I, Lu Zhongtang, and Liu Qianhu (Liu Shuochuan, the representative of Jinyiwei) are not playing for any reason today. I am here to deal with you because you killed many anti-Qing patriots during your tenure as an official! What will happen to the anti-Qing patriots in your hands? What will happen to me and Lu? This is what Zhongtang and Liu Qianhu will end up with. This is tit for tat!"
What he said was actually meant for the audience in the hall - the new Ming Dynasty would not give tax-free privileges to scholars who have obtained academic qualifications!
This privilege must never be given!
Even the new Ming Dynasty could grant some privileges to official households, but it could never give any tax-free privileges to scholars or officials.
Because scholars and scholars have privileges, they have already relied on their privileges to become rich before they became officials. Getting rich before becoming an official is even more terrifying than becoming an official for money. Because getting rich before becoming an official means that the wealth of these officials "is not" given by the emperor's family. Whether they are officials or not, they can accumulate millions of wealth. They are not even afraid of resigning from office and returning home!
Therefore, Zhu Guozhi’s memorial and temple-crying cases to collect taxes were not crimes!
His real crime was to kill the anti-Qing patriots, and he didn't do it anyway, so he had to pay for it with his body and flesh.
When Zhu Guozhi heard that Zheng Desheng had accused him, he burst out laughing: "Of all the officials of the Qing Dynasty, who doesn't have the lives of a few traitors in their hands? Just cut me to pieces with a thousand knives, so that everyone can be saved." Take a look at the officials of the Qing Dynasty: once you people take over the world, what will happen to them?"
Liu Shuochuan, a member of the Jinyi Guard Qianhu, said coldly: "Zhu Guozhi, since you have confessed, let's go ahead with the bond. If you are executed in Lingchi, you won't be able to run away!"
Hearing what Liu Shuochuan said, Zhu Guozhi, who had been extremely arrogant just now, trembled and had a look of horror on his face.
Lingchi!
No more running.
"Your Majesty, I think this rule across the river and the Northern and Southern Dynasties will be beneficial to you!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, we must not rush into the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains. Your Majesty, please don't forget Liu Jinu, who used to be so angry that he devoured thousands of miles like a tiger! After he conquered Shandong, Zhongzhou and Guanzhong in the Northern Expedition, the Eastern Jin Dynasty will be gone!"
In the palace of Prince Ding of Nanjing, two "Da Ming Qin Hui" were following the third prince Zhu on the left and right at this time, whispering these slanders.
Not to mention, these two people really have the talent to be Qin Hui. This slander is very reasonable and has even reached the heart of Prince Zhu San. What Prince Zhu is most afraid of is that one day Cao Cao will be replaced by Cao Pi, or even replaced by a powerful minister like Liu Yu who is not satisfied with winning the country but also kills people all over his family?
"Your Majesty, think about it. Who are King Geng Dong, King Wu Xi, and King Li Zhong? Are they willing to be princes for the rest of their lives?"
"That is, King Geng Dong and King Wu Xi have already been kings. If they want to be kings, there is no need to rebel! Since they have rebelled, they will not stop at King Dong and King Xi!"
What the two Qin Hui said makes sense!
Prince Zhu is willing to be a puppet and serve as Emperor Xian, but are Geng Jingzhong, Wu Sangui and Li Zicheng willing to be ministers for the rest of their lives? Especially Geng Jingzhong and Wu Sangui. They are already kings. How could they rebel because of a prince?
If they want to be emperor, you can imagine what will happen next.
"But..." Prince Zhu frowned and said, "But Lu Sanhao, Wang Zhongxiao, and Chen Yonghua are all opposed to dividing the river to govern!"
"Your Majesty," Li Guangdi said, "They are only opposed to the permanent division of rivers to rule, not to the short-term division of rivers. After all, they are doing everything possible to expand their armed forces, and military expansion takes time! If they can stop for a year Half a year is not bad for us."
Chen Menglei also said: "Your Majesty, even if we cannot reach a peace agreement with Mingzhu in the end, it is still good to delay the peace negotiation for a few months. Looking at the expression of King Gengdong today, it seems that I also agree to a temporary truce."
The third prince Zhu nodded: "He wants to temporarily make peace with the Qing court because Zheng Jing is grabbing the territory in Fujian."
"As long as King Geng Dong supports dividing the river to rule, King Liu Bei will definitely follow suit," Li Guang said. "In Nanjing today, only the two of them and you, the king, are the real kings. As long as the three of you can agree, At least the truce and peace talks can be stabilized."
The third prince Zhu nodded and whispered: "This matter is indeed worth a try. But it's not enough to rely on Geng Jingzhong and Liu Jinzhong alone. We must let Wang Shikai support us no matter what!"
Chen Menglei, go help me invite King Geng Dong into the palace, just say that Gujia wants to play chess with him! "
"yes!"
"Li Guangdi, go to Mochou Lake and invite Wang Shikai into the palace!"
"yes!"
(End of chapter)
