Three days later, when Ruan Yuan returned home from duty, he was told by his wife Jiang that a businessman named Xu from Shanghai had handed over a letter and several packages of Yangzhou local products during the day, saying that he would be on the second floor of Zhengyang Building tomorrow night. There are seats in the private room, please appreciate it.
Ruan Yuan was shocked after hearing this. The surname Xu, Shanghai, and Yangzhou local products were all secret codes told to him by the previous shopkeeper of "Huang Shengtai". Once someone posted these three words, it meant that someone from Beihai Town was here.
"Master, what's going on?" Looking at her husband's dazed look, Jiang felt a little strange.
"Oh, I remembered it! Brother Zhongzi wrote a letter during the May Festival, mentioning that a relative named Xu was coming to donate an official position, and asked me to help take care of him." Ruan Yuan pretended to explain, this kind of If something can be hidden, it is better to hide it first, lest the family members worry about losing their position and exposing themselves in front of outsiders.
The "Zhongzi" mentioned by Ruan Yuan was named Ling Tingkan. He was from Shexian County, Anhui Province. He was also a guy who was frustrated in the imperial examination. The two have known each other for ten years and are considered close friends. In addition to Ruan Yuan, Ling Tingkan also had two particularly close friends in Yangzhou, one was Wang Zhong and the other was named Jiang Fan.
After hearing this, Mrs. Jiang suddenly said: "Since the relationship is like this, it is not good to push her down. I'd better go and see you."
The next day, Ruan Yuan was busy in the south study room until the end of Shen Dynasty before leaving. He first went home and changed into casual clothes, then took his personal entourage and rushed to the front door in a mule cart. The lower duty time for imperial officials in the Qing Dynasty in summer was Shen Zheng - that is, four o'clock in the afternoon, and it would be one hour earlier in winter. As for the working time, hehe, it was five o'clock in the morning, and basically had to leave the house at three o'clock in the night.
Zhengyang Building is located on West Damochang Street outside Qianmen, a stone's throw away from Qianmen. It is a restaurant that specializes in barbecue, similar to the "BBQ Season" in later generations. Although it is not far from Liulichang where Ruan Yuan's family is located, he has never been there.
According to market rumors, more than 20 years ago, Qianlong Bailong Yufu ate crabs here once, which made him famous. Later, Zhengyang Tower added a crab feast, and business became more and more prosperous.
The mule cart stopped at the entrance of the restaurant. Ruan Yuan got out of the cart and saw a three-bay facade in front of him. Five huge red lanterns were hung under the angled eaves. Looking up, the three floors were covered with a mountain-style roof. , looks very magnificent.
The guy who was in charge of the entrance saw countless people every day. Although Ruan Yuan only wore a moon-white bamboo cloth gown, he could not hide the magnanimity he had cultivated in the Hanlin Academy, so he stepped forward and bowed. He said kindly: "Master, please come in."
In some so-called "Beijing-style" restaurants in later generations, as soon as a guest arrives at the door, a waiter will shout loudly: "Here you are, please come inside." The sound is so loud that it is scary. In fact, these are all fake folk customs, and serious restaurants and restaurants do not do this.
After entering, I saw that the hall on the first floor was full of guests. There were six vermilion lacquered pillars in the building, more than a dozen Eight Immortals tables, and a stage to the north. Although the sun has not yet set outside, due to insufficient light, more than twenty spotlights are still lit, and lamps are also hung on the pillars, shining brightly.
Someone was singing on the stage at this time, but what they sang was not the popular Hui tune, but something called "Zidi Shu". The singer holds an octagonal drum inlaid with copper plates, which makes a rattling sound when it is shaken. Another person sits next to him, playing with the three strings. When the man opened his mouth, the tune was relaxing and his voice was clear.
"Sure, you seduced Qiuxiang secretly without telling me. You must love her naughty feet. Mr. Xu blushed and said it was nonsense. Madam, you are here to be mean to us. Let's see what Qiuxiang looks like. That's not like Sun Dasheng's aunt Zhu Bajie's mother. The lady sneered and said that he was still adamant. As the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Mr. Xu shook his head and said that it was unreasonable. At such an old age, there is really no way around him, and he is not afraid of talking nonsense. People laugh at you. My wife said with a smile, "Don't be fooled..."
While listening and walking, Ruan Yuan had already gone up to the second floor. Huang Shengtai's shopkeeper Dong had already greeted him. The two exchanged greetings for a while. Shopkeeper Dong first asked the head of the hall to take Ruan Yuan's entourage to the first floor to eat and drink, and then led the court. Go to the private room.
When passing by the private room next door, shopkeeper Dong told Ruan Yuan in a low voice that in order to prevent the partition wall from having ears, the two adjacent private rooms on the left and right were all private rooms, and the people sitting there were all his own people.
As soon as I entered the door and raised the curtain, I saw that the Eight Immortals table in the middle was already covered with dishes. There was a man standing by the window. He turned around when he heard the sound. This person is not tall, with a long and dark face, but bright eyes, and a neatly trimmed black mustache. He is wearing a gray poplin robe and a black satin waistcoat. He is holding a A Xiang Fei bamboo fan.
"My Excellency Xu Dachun, I have admired Mr. Boyuan's name for a long time! I often heard it mentioned by Mr. Wang and Mr. Jiang before." After all, the capital city is the hinterland of the Qing Dynasty, and Xu Dayong did not use his real name.
As soon as Ruan Yuan heard the other party speak, he knew that this person was not a scholar, so he smiled and cupped his hands and said, "I'm really offended by keeping Mr. Xu waiting for so long."
Shopkeeper Dong smiled and said: "Mr. Boyuan, where do you start with these words? We are all outsiders. Please sit down."
After a long while of humility, Xu Dayong finally took the main seat. After the three of them sat down, Shopkeeper Dong raised his glass and said, "Mr. Boyuan is here to honor you today, and Brother Xu has come all the way. It's a rare gathering. If you have anything to ask, Mr. Boyuan, please don't hesitate. I would like to pay my respects to both of you first." One cup, I wish you success!"
The three of them each toasted with a glass of wine and started talking more. Ruan Yuan then said to Shopkeeper Dong: "The music sung downstairs is really new. I have never heard it before."
Shopkeeper Dong smiled and explained: "This is called the children's book, and it is the most popular among the bannermen's children in the capital. In the past few days, "The Peach Blossom Fan" has not been allowed to be performed, and several other plays have also been stopped. I guess the shopkeeper's To be on the safe side, I found another person. What he just sang was "Stealing Armor" from Water Margin. Did you see the drum in his hand? There are three copper plates inlaid on each of the seven sides, which means the seven flag colors. They represent Manchu, Mongolian and Han respectively, and the end with the long spike in his hand is the flag he is on."
Ruan Yuan nodded slightly after hearing this, recalling that the octagonal drum in the hands of the man on the stage did look like this.
Xu Dayong said: "Old Dong, you said the singer was a banner man? How come the banner men got into this position? This is the city of Beijing, under the emperor's feet!"
Shopkeeper Dong smiled and said: "You are really pretending to be confused because you understand."
Xu Dayong shook his head and said: "Haha, I really don't know, but you are making fun of me."
"If not," Shopkeeper Dong raised his finger and pointed to the north, then continued: "Now that the imperial court is using troops and the Han troops who had previously sent banners have returned to the Eight Banners, the money and food expenses have skyrocketed. I heard that the Ministry of Internal Affairs cannot afford so much money and food. You can only give out half of it. Nowadays, the livelihood of the banner people is not easy, so they secretly earn a living by performing arts. Brother Boyuan should be aware of this, right?"
Ruan Yuan shook his head and said: "I am busy editing books every day, and I don't know much about the affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Alas, I didn't expect that this is the situation!"
The three of them chatted for a while, and Xu Dayong saw that it was almost time, so he said: "Mr. Boyuan, please forgive me, but please return the letter to me after reading it. King Zhao specially told me to be careful in everything, so as not to cause trouble to you." "
Ruan Yuan nodded slightly, and then Xu Dayong took the letter out of his arms and handed it over. When he opened it, his first reaction was that Zhao Wangdian's handwriting was really bad, that is, he was at the level of a child. But what he didn't know was that it was not easy for Zhao Xin to write this hand. He had been practicing it off and on for two years.
Zhao Xin pointed out in his letter that the Manchu Qing Dynasty had only a few years to live. He said that regardless of the fact that Qianlong mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops to go north to Outer Mongolia and asked Agui to lead the troops. For the Beihai Navy, it was just a piece of cake and the outcome would be seen within two months.
Then he explained the reason why he did not send troops to cut off water transportation, or to send troops from Dagukou. In one sentence, it was to stabilize people's livelihood and avoid man-made disasters caused by panic in various places. In the end, it was the common people who were unlucky.
Zhao Xin told Ruan Yuan to make plans early. Although scholar-bureaucrats have a saying that "it is a shame to lose integrity and lose reputation", but it is not right. A Tartar regime that was easily convicted for words and even broke the bones of scholars was not worthy of allegiance. The so-called ruler of the world cannot rule alone. You, Ruan Boyuan, serve in the Hanlin Academy. You should know better than me what the so-called "Man-Han family" is.
Qianlong spent the world's money and food to fight Beihai Town, and at the same time spent countless silver to build the Old Summer Palace. These were the blood and sweat of the people, and their purpose was nothing more than to make his family live a comfortable life. Those who were displaced due to famine, sold their children, or even were What should the common people do when they are cornered? Nowadays, the root cause of corruption in officialdom lies in Qianlong.
Finally, he ended by quoting Gu Yanwu's words: "In the past, Gu Tinglin had a cloud. Today, it is our responsibility to save this people from ashes and create peace for all generations!"
Why does Zhao Xin want to win over Ruan Yuan? This matter has to start with the negotiations at Dagukou two years ago.
Although Ruan Yuan was frightened out of his mind when he suddenly bumped into his best friend Jiang Fan, he participated in the entire negotiation. From then on, he saw clearly that the imperial court was no match for Beihai Town, and the Manchus would be ousted from the emperor's throne sooner or later. As a result, Ruan Yuan, one of the inheritors of Gu Yanwu's lineage of knowledge, unconsciously came up with the idea of "Hua Yi Debate".
At the time of the revolution between the Ming and Qing Dynasties, although the subjugated kings from Chongzhen, Hongguang to Longwu and Yongli were all confused and cowardly bastards, for the Han officials - especially the Jiangnan scholar-officials, the Han emperor had the power to control the world. It is a matter of course. If the emperor is not good enough, then change him, and the big deal is to "change his surname and title"; but when the Manchus came, it was called "leading beasts to eat people", which would destroy the world.
Although Qianlong had pushed himself to the commanding heights of "unity of governance and Taoism" during his reign, he used the image of "Confucian scholar" and coupled with the prison of literature to control thoughts, causing scholars to lose the right to interpret "Taoism". It has only been one hundred and fifty years. When the warships of Beihai Town blocked the entrance of Dagu and forced Qianlong to negotiate, when Zhao Xin and Wang Yuanfang turned the city of Yangzhou upside down, especially when they discovered the "New Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" represented by Wang Zhong "While working for Beihai Town, the "reluctant" flame in the hearts of the Han doctors began to rekindle.
Qianlong, who had been ruling the court for more than 50 years, was fully aware of the above situations. Ever since Zhao Xin took up the banner of Qian Ming, he has been paying attention to the movements of the gentry class in Jiangnan. But today is different from the past. It is impossible for Qianlong to kill the Han people, otherwise it will push the Han people to the opposite side.
At the end of the 49th year of Qianlong's reign, just one month after Ruan Yuan returned to the capital from Tianjin, when he returned home from visiting the Liulichang calligraphy and painting shop one day, he was shocked to find a letter in his arms. When he opened it curiously, he was immediately frightened to death because the person who wrote the letter turned out to be Wang Zhong Wang Rongfu who had surrendered to Beihai Town.
In the letter, Wang Zhong first congratulated Ruan Yuan for passing the Jinshi examination and praised the other person's talent. Then he used Ruan Yuan's compilation of "Shiqu Baoji" in the Hanlin Academy to mention the "Book of Letters with Ye Tuan" written by Gu Yanwu that year. ", insinuating Ruan Yuan not to serve the Manchus.
At that time, the Qing government opened the Ming History Museum and wanted to invite Gu Yanwu to take up the post. When Gu Yanwu heard the news, he wrote this letter to Ye Guan, who was working as a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy in the capital, using the fact that his stepmother, Mrs. Wang, died on a hunger strike to oppose the Qing Dynasty. own attitude. The implication is that if I don’t go, if the Qing court dares to force me, I will obey my mother’s dying orders and die!
Then Wang Zhong changed the topic and told Ruan Yuan roughly what he saw and heard in Beihai Town, and praised Zhao Xin very highly. It is said that he has the talents of heaven, no less than the ancestors of the Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty. Since bucking the trend and raising troops to rebel against the Qing Dynasty in the Northeast, people's livelihood has always been the first priority, which is indeed an anomaly in ancient and modern times. In short, both inside and outside the words, he advised Ruan Yuan not to work for the Manchus, but to bring his family and children to seek refuge in Beihai Town. After Ruan Yuan read the letter, he burned it without saying a word, but he did not report it to the official.
After more than a month, everything was calm, and Ruan Yuan, who was still in a state of uneasiness, thought the matter was over. Unexpectedly, within a few days, he actually received two autographed letters from Jiang Fan and Jiao Xun in the same way. The contents were similar to Wang Zhong's. Especially, Jiang Fan's letter specifically mentioned that Zhao Xin was very fond of him. He valued it, so he sincerely solicited it again and again.
You must know that Jiao Xun's wife is Ruan Yuan's cousin, and Jiang Fan and Ruan Yuan have been friends since childhood. The actions of these two people almost made Ruan Yuan's nose angry, and he said to himself that you really don't treat me as an outsider! However, he was also somewhat proud of himself, as he never expected that he would be favored by King Zhao.
In fact, Zhao Xin not only felt that Ruan Yuan was young, not so stubborn in his thinking, and easy to make a U-turn, but more importantly, it was because of Ruan Yuan's political experience and conduct in another time and space. When he was the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, this man was the first to see clearly the British ambitions and was a typical person who feared power but not virtue. Therefore, he built the Humen Fort and banned opium smuggling by merchants. He also wrote a book requesting that measures such as stopping trade, cutting off their food supply, and launching artillery attacks on foreign cargo ships that illegally entered Guangdong's inner ocean should be punished. However, Jiaqing rejected these requests, causing opium smuggling to become increasingly rampant.
In addition, Ruan Yuan received three letters without making any announcement. This allowed the Intelligence Bureau to see the opportunity, and then asked shopkeeper Dong to test the contact. After going back and forth, Ruan Yuan also knew what the other party was doing, and asked to see Zhao Xin's autographed letter. Just fine.
Ruan Yuan read the letter back and forth twice before handing it back to Xu Dayong. He pondered for a long time and said softly: "The King of Zhao thinks highly of him, but Ruan is not as talented as Mr. Rong Fu, and he is not as talented as Brother Ziping. Regardless of all the abilities in the world, what can I do for King Zhao? As for taking his family to Beihai Town, Ruan is really in trouble, so please forgive me, Brother Xu."
Ruan Yuan is now no longer an editor of the Hanlin Academy, but Zhan Shi, the young master of Zhan Shifu, walking in the south study room, and his every move is under the eyes of the court. If he dared to run away and defect, Qianlong would be furious, and it would definitely cause big trouble for his family in Yangzhou and a group of old relatives and friends.
In February this year, the Qing government held the "Grand Imperial Examination". Ruan Yuan was promoted to the first place in the first class by Qianlong because of his outstanding literary talent, and he jumped directly from the seventh rank to the fourth rank of senior officials.
If Beihai Town hadn't appeared, Shao Zhan would have been promoted to Zhan Shi, and then he would be sent to study for two terms, and then return to the capital to be promoted to cabinet bachelor, minister, and minister. If there is a chance to be promoted to the position of cabinet bachelor and minister of rites, he will be the future "preserver prime minister". The "three halls and three pavilions" of the bachelor will never escape.
In the history of another time and space, Ruan Yuan came down step by step like this. During this period, he also served as governor and governor-general, and during his tenure as governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi, he formulated the policy of strictly punishing opium dealers. It was not until he was seventy years old that he finally became a bachelor of Tirenge.
Xu Dayong smiled slightly after hearing this and said politely: "Mr. Boyuan, you are too worried. King Zhao will not force you to go to Beihai Town. I just hope that you can inform Shopkeeper Dong regularly about the big and small movements in the court in the future." two."
In fact, Zhao Xin did not intend to let Ruan Yuan go to Beihai Town. His idea was to let him be a secret. With this person, the big and small movements in the Manchu and Qing court can be clearly grasped, so as to prevent Qianlong and his son from doing anything outrageous.
Ruan Yuan nodded after hearing this. He could still do this with the effort of a dog and a horse. When Xu Dayong saw it, he was overjoyed and winked at Shopkeeper Dong. So shopkeeper Dong began to explain to Ruan Yuan one by one how to contact him in the future, how to deliver the news and other details.
While the two were talking, Xu Dayong walked to the window, waving his fan, opened the window and looked at the dark city wall opposite, thinking that it was already his fourth day in Beijing and he had just finished one thing. I don’t know when I can go back and get engaged with my tea girl.
. The fastest website for updating the mobile version of Apex:
