Wang Zheng's expression changed sharply when he heard Zuo Menggeng speak out about Chongzhen's fault.
"General Zuo, as a minister, how can you speak of your father's fault?"
Zuo Mengeng looked cold and asked: "You are the king, what do you say, father? I have no blood relationship with Chongzhen."
Wang Zheng was stunned and speechless.
For a long time, the ministers have always been addressed as "lord father" and "lord father", and over time they have become accustomed to it. Unexpectedly, Zuo Mengeng was so straightforward and did not think that the king and the father were one.
But looking at Wang Zheng, Zuo Mengeng was already prepared.
He took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Wang Zheng.
"Mr. Kui Xin, here is a letter from Mr. Deng Yuhan. He asked me to deliver it to you."
Wang Zheng's face lit up and he asked hurriedly: "General Zuo and Mr. Deng know each other?"
Zuo Mengeng told the truth bluntly.
"Mr. Deng is now in Linqing, preaching and teaching all kinds of knowledge. He is free and happy."
Wang Zheng was quite pleased to hear the news from his old friend.
After I opened the letter and read it, my expression became subtle again.
It turned out that Deng Yuhan, in addition to greetings in the letter, also invited him to Linqing to study together. Deng Yuhan made it clear that he was not suitable to be an official.
Now that Zuo Menggeng attaches great importance to science and does not despise Western disciplines and teachings, it is a good opportunity to make great achievements.
Wang Zheng was not stupid. He had just listened to Zuo Menggeng's disrespectful words towards Chongzhen. Now he read the letter and understood everything at once.
"General Zuo wants to do Meng De's old deeds?"
Zuo Mengeng shook his head.
"Never thought about it."
Just as Wang Zheng was inspecting it, he added: "Cao Mengde is hesitant in doing things and has no intention and courage. I am not ashamed of it. If you rebel, you will rebel. Why hide it?"
Looking at the domineering young man in front of him, Wang Zheng showed no fear.
"The Ming Dynasty inherits the virtues of Heaven, has a rich soil, and is far away. General Zuo did this treasonous and unethical act. Aren't you afraid that the people of the world will despise you? I heard that you also killed the enemy loyally and bravely at Qingshui Pass. Why is there such a disobedience today? Heart?"
Such words had no effect on Zuo Mengeng.
"Everyone in the world is busy rebelling now, and no one takes the Ming Dynasty, which has far-flung virtues, seriously. At that time, I led the army to kill the enemy, was it for this corrupt Ming Dynasty? It was for the sake of innocent people. Obviously they should They are well protected by this court, but the court just sits back and watches them being destroyed by bandits, plundering their homes, and becoming slaves. Since this court can't protect the people, why are they here?"
Wang Zheng frowned, turning a blind eye to the new soldiers around him who were armed to the teeth.
"My Ming Dynasty is only in temporary distress. After the new is replaced by the old, and the kings are virtuous and the ministers are enlightened, who in the world can resist?"
Zuo Mengeng stared at him and commented very harshly.
"Mr. Kui Xin, you said a very correct nonsense. China has had so many dynasties rise and fall for thousands of years. Have you ever seen any dynasty rise from the dead?"
Wang Zheng was speechless again.
Everyone knows what history is like, and Zuo Menggeng can be said to have grasped the heel.
Zuo Mengeng waved his hand, and his footsteps hurried in the distance. After a while, a group of people ran up to him.
But seeing these people, Sun Yuanhua and Wang Zheng were both dumbfounded.
"You... you..."
The three men rushed to Sun Yuanhua, all knelt down, holding Sun Yuanhua's legs and crying.
"Father, it's great that you are safe and sound."
It was his three sons, Sun Heding, Sun Hedou, and Sun Hejing.
The ones who ran up to Wang Zheng were two women.
"master……"
Looking at his son, Sun Yuanhua vaguely guessed something, but the luck in his heart still urged him to ask: "You are not in Songjiang, why do you come here?"
Sun Heding wiped away his tears and talked about the matter.
It turned out that on the day when the rebels captured Dengzhou City, at midnight, Xu Ji and Xu Erjue suddenly came quietly and brought several young people with them, claiming to be Zuo Mengeng's subordinates.
They talked about Dengzhou and told Sun Yuanhua that he would be liquidated by the court, which might harm his family.
As a relative, Xu Ji couldn't bear the misfortune that the Sun family should suffer, and tried his best to persuade the Sun family to escape quickly.
Sun Yuanhua was not at home, leaving only his wife and three sons, none of whom had seen anything. After hearing the bad news about Sun Yuanhua, everyone panicked.
That night, he quietly left Jiading with Zuo Menggeng's men, headed east, boarded a sea ship, drifted north, and finally arrived in Shandong.
The same is true for Wang Zheng's family.
Although his family was far away in Jingyang County, Xi'an Prefecture, Zuo Menggeng sent people to find him and brought his wife and concubines to Shandong.
After hearing what their family members told them, Sun Yuanhua and Wang Zheng were in agony.
Sun Yuanhua cried out repeatedly.
"Zhongheng, you are...you are trying to put me in a position of eternal destruction!"
He didn't know yet, but Zuo Mengeng was using a trick to drain money from the bottom of the cauldron.
Originally, he went to the capital, and although he might not be able to escape the death penalty, his reputation would be intact after his death. As a result, Zuo Mengeng is now tempting the Sun family to abscond. Needless to say, the news should have reached the capital by now.
The imperial court will definitely judge that this was his idea, and it won't be long before the sea fishing document will be issued to the world.
Sun Yuanhua and Wang Zheng suddenly became fugitives and traitors who could be punished by everyone.
Even if they rush to the capital now, it will be useless.
After all, if their family members were on the run, the court would only think that they were afraid of the crime and only wanted to protect their family. Their crimes would be listed in the history books, making them even more infamy for thousands of years.
Sun Yuanhua is better off, after all, he and Zuo Mengeng are uncle and nephew.
Wang Zheng is the craziest.
"General Zuo wants to save Zhong Cheng, but his heart is pitiful. I and the general are strangers, why did you harm me like this?"
Zuo Mengeng looked at Wang Zheng with a solemn expression and said regretfully: "I want to save Mr. Kui Xin because of his talent, which is rare in the world. He should not be reduced to a sacrifice in political strife. Putting aside his official career, Mr. If you can fully display your talents, your merits will be far greater than those of the sages."
Zuo Menggeng's biggest regret about the late Ming Dynasty was that many technical talents went to become officials.
Although in this era, you can't do anything without being an official. But even though they clearly had no political means or talent, they entered the officialdom. As a result, not only wasted their time, but many people lost their lives in political struggles.
This is what happened to Sun Yuanhua and Wang Zheng in front of them.
Wang Zheng was responsible for compiling Deng Yuhan's "Illustrated Notes on Strange Weapons of the Far West", and there are a lot of things he independently developed.
Through these works, it can be seen that Wang Zheng is a rare academic power in this era.
How could Zuo Mengeng let such a person go?
After hearing his words, Wang Zheng was stunned.
I never thought that my usual hobby would be so valued by Zuo Mengeng.
We must know that in today's Ming Dynasty, the Four Books and Five Classics are the king.
His hobbies can only be explored in private. If I take it out occasionally, I will only get ridicule from others.
Wang Zheng lamented countless times that it was hard to find a close friend.
He never expected that so many well-educated scholars would ridicule him, but a general on horseback would praise him highly.
But when he thought about his situation again, Wang Zheng couldn't laugh.
"Now that my sins have piled up on my body, I stand shameless between heaven and earth. What's the use of talking about anything else?"
Wang Zheng lost his energy at the thought of being wanted all over the world. For a scholar-official like him, reputation is more important than anything else.
Zuo Mengeng didn't see it that way.
"Mr. Kui Xin, Zhu Ming is unjust and has just caused people with lofty ideals to be wronged and humiliated. When this old dynasty is overthrown and the world is enlightened, today's hardships will be nothing more than yesterday's clouds."
No matter what charges the current court lists against Sun Yuanhua and Wang Zheng, will these charges still be meaningful when the Ming Dynasty ceases to exist?
How to evaluate the two of them is a matter for the new dynasty.
Sun Yuanhua and Wang Zheng were stunned.
They never looked at the problem from this perspective.
But it is not easy for them to suddenly abandon their inherent positions.
Seeing Sun Yuanhua struggling in every possible way, Zuo Mengeng took out his trump card.
"Uncle, do you know Lu Zhenfei, Yu Yinggui, and Li Mengchen?"
Sun Yuanhua was puzzled, but he still said: "These three have always been wise and fair. Although I have no contact with them, I admire their conduct."
Zuo Mengeng sneered.
"Uncle, do you know that these three people have been in and out of Wen Tiren's mansion recently and are plotting to frame my uncle."
The shocking news made Sun Yuanhua petrified on the spot.
He didn't think Zuo Menggeng would deliberately deceive him, but it was precisely because of this that the news Zuo Menggeng said was so difficult for him to accept.
What shocked him even more was that the person who wanted to kill him happened to be a gentleman who was recognized as a good minister.
Yes, Lu Zhenfei, Li Mengchen, and Yu Yinggui are all really good officials. Not only was he upholding justice and not afraid of power when he was an official, but he also fought endlessly during the resistance against the Qing Dynasty and eventually died heroically for his country.
But the reality is so ridiculous.
The one who wanted to frame Sun Yuanhua was such a good official.
why?
Because what these people want to deal with is not Sun Yuanhua at all, but Zhou Yanru behind him.
In fact, Lu Zhenfei and the other three were not in the same party as Wen Tiren, but were closer to Dong Lin.
However, when it came to dealing with Zhou Yanru, they and Wen Tiren had a common position.
However, when the Wuqiao Mutiny broke out, Sun Yuanhua became the best person.
All I can say is that in the whirlpool of politics, good or bad really doesn’t matter.
Given his interests and position, if Sun Yuanhua had not been intercepted by Zuo Mengeng, once he went to the capital, he would have become a piece of cake on the chopping board.
