On February 11, the twelfth year of Zhengtong, in Qiantang County, where the Hangzhou Government Office of the Chief Secretary of Zhejiang Province in the Ming Dynasty was based, a mighty Fujian fleet leaving the town was staying at the dock.

Officials and servants of Hangzhou Prefecture, headed by the prefect Zhao Haoran, were waiting at the pier to welcome the officials leaving the town.

But this time the protagonist is no longer Shen Yichen, but Supervisor Xining.

For local officials, the civil servants who supervise military affairs are far less important than the eunuchs who supervise the army.

First, eunuchs are people who are close to the emperor. Especially now that Wang Zhen is in power and the eunuchs are in power, who dares not to flatter and please.

In addition, this eunuch who oversees the army is likely to be converted into a local guard eunuch. When the time comes, he will become one of his immediate "boss", and he will naturally not dare to neglect him.

Shen Yichen had no interest in the grand welcoming ceremony. He was entirely focused on the letter from Xu Fengyuan he had recently received.

From the letter, we learned that the situation in Fujian was on the verge of collapse, with uprising armies from all over the country at war, and the officers and soldiers were exhausted and had to switch from offense to defense.

And as the Fujian capital commanded the troops to shrink, the rebel armies from various places began to connect with each other, and their momentum became more and more powerful, and it also spread to the border areas of Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces.

It can be said that in just four months, the civil unrest in Fujian had begun to take shape as the great southeastern uprising in history. It was just waiting for the counter-rebellion officers and soldiers to suffer a huge defeat, and it was completely out of control from then on.

"Proprietor, Mr. Xi has left the cabin, you should go out too."

At this time, Bian He walked in and saw that Shen Yichen was still sitting in the cabin without moving, so he spoke to remind him.

"Um."

"Proprietor, are you still worried about the letter from Xuzhi County?"

Facing Shen Yichen's absent-minded look, Bian He asked one more question.

"Fortunately, I'm not in a hurry now."

Shen Yichen smiled, then stood up, smoothed the wrinkles on his official uniform, and walked towards the cabin door.

Perhaps because he knew the worst outcome he expected, Shen Yichen was not as anxious as he was in the capital.

After all, the situation is already at war, how could it get worse?

And almost all the rebels did something that was extremely stupid in Shen Yichen's eyes.

That is to dominate the mountain and become the king!

Occupying and defending a city means losing mobility and not getting more fresh blood to join.

Moreover, once the rebellious miners and farmers settle down, the bloody spirit of fighting and fighting will quickly dissipate.

This is the biggest difference between the "rabble" and the professional army!

Another more important point is that if you occupy a mountain and become the queen, you have to eat, drink and have sex, right?

If they are not engaged in production, where will the food and clothing come from? The urban landlords and local tyrants can only survive for a while. In the long run, they will still have to collect grain taxes from surrounding farmers, tenants, etc.

Once food and money are required, for the same poor people, the rebel army will be no different from the official army, and the popular support it has gained will quickly collapse, and it will no longer receive local support.

Dating back to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, there have been only a handful of successful peasant uprisings over the thousands of years, and the Fujian Rebel Army is just one of a kind in the long history. If there were no Luchuan and Tumubao, Shen Yichen's reaction might not be the same as that of North Korea. Minister Wu agreed that there was nothing to fear.

Walking out of the cabin, Shen Yichen saw a dense row of local officials standing at the dock. Farther away, there were dock workers and Hangzhou residents who were stopped by military servicemen.

Seeing Shen Yichen come out, the crowd immediately burst into shocking cheers, and many people's expressions were full of excitement and admiration.

"Look, the Number One Scholar has come out, the Number One Scholar has come out!"

"Is that officer on the deck Shen Sanyuan? He looks so young."

"The Number One Scholar was the leader of the world at the age of eighteen. He made great achievements in flood control at the age of twenty. Now he is only twenty-one years old. How can he not look young?"

"The Number One Scholar is the leader of the world's literati and a powerful minister in the future. It is a great honor for me to see him with my own eyes!"

"The common people pay homage to the Number One Scholar!"

The people's discussions and cheers instantly overshadowed the officials of Hangzhou government who were fawning over Xi Ningdang, making the scene slightly embarrassing.

If it were an ordinary person who would outshine himself by being so public, Xi Ning might have been dissatisfied for a long time, and would have to find an opportunity to attack.

But for Shen Yichen and Xi Ning, they are quite satisfied after getting along with each other all the way. There is not only a deliberate win-win factor, but also the fact that this son is really good at socializing!

In the past, Xining guarded the local area and dealt with civil and military ministers. Many literati seemed to be respectful on the surface, but deep down they always had a contempt for eunuchs.

Shen Yichen's reputation as a scholar has reached the pinnacle of his career, but he doesn't feel any arrogance or contempt at all. His words and deeds are like a breath of fresh air, and he can't find any faults.

Gradually, Xi Ning also gradually understood why Shen Yichen was able to thrive in the court. In a short period of time, he rose from Qingyun Official to Zuo Chunfang Bachelor, and even obtained a seat as a lecturer at the Jingyan Banquet.

With his emotional intelligence and tact, he is not inferior to many veterans who have been in office for decades. In addition, he has the support of the Xunqi Group. If he doesn't take the position, who is worthy of it?

After walking off the ship along the cockpit, Zhao Haoran, the prefect of Hangzhou, saw Shen Yichen and took the initiative to greet him: "Zhao Haoran, the prefect of Hangzhou, has met Admiral Shen."

In the Ming Dynasty, "admiral" was not a formal official position, but was generally used for military attachés. The full name was "admiral military affairs general officer".

However, Shen Yichen was appointed by the emperor to be the admiral in charge of military affairs. When local officials saw him, they naturally called him Admiral Shen instead of simply calling him Shen Hanlin like Xi Ning.

The fourth-rank Hangzhou magistrate claimed that he was my subordinate, so his face was enough, and Shen Yichen responded politely: "Shen Yichen, a bachelor of the Imperial Academy, has met Zhao Fuzun."

Hearing that Shen Yichen claimed to be a lower official, Zhao Haoran quickly waved his hands and said: "I don't dare to accept it, I don't dare to accept it, and I ask Admiral Shen not to do anything wrong."

Zhao Haoran's words were not a compliment, but he was really frightened.

Let's not talk about Shen Yichen's fame and status. His rank as a bachelor's degree scholar at the Hanlin Academy, even though his rank is only the fifth rank, in fact, in the ranks of Beijing officials, he can be slightly ahead of the fourth rank Fei Pao senior officials.

Zhao Haoran was only a fourth-rank local official. How could he dare to stand up in front of Shen Yichen and forcefully accept the word "downgrade"?

Regarding Zhao Haoran's humility, Shen Yichen smiled and did not refute. It was enough to be polite. Even without the title of Censor of Qiandu, Hanlin nobles did not need to call themselves lower officials when facing local officials.

"You literati just care about these red tapes. Our family is a little tired after traveling all the way. Please ask Magistrate Zhao to lead the way."

Xi Ning was not interested in hearing the compliments exchanged between Shen Yichen and the local officials. In comparison, Wang Zhen was more particular about scholarly etiquette. He, a Mongolian who had never studied in the inner study hall, was the standard appearance of a eunuch.

That is to say, the local low-ranking officials are shouting around and there is no sense of "courtesy and virtuous corporal" at all.

"My father-in-law is tired from work. It's because I didn't think carefully."

Sensing Xi Ning's dissatisfaction, Zhao Haoran quickly apologized, and continued with an apologetic smile: "Xiaoguan and colleagues from the Hangzhou Prefecture have hosted a reception banquet at the government office, and I also asked Eunuch Xi and Admiral Shen to show their respect. .”

"please."

After saying that, Zhao Haoran turned sideways and made a gesture of invitation.

"Um."

Xi Ning nodded in agreement and walked forward with his hands behind his back.

The "protagonists" who greeted us all left, so naturally the local officials from Hangzhou Prefecture had to follow behind to keep them company.

But at this moment, Shen Yichen discovered that there was a familiar face among the Hangzhou government officials, and he subconsciously stared at him.

Feeling Shen Yichen's gaze, the local official, who was still a little dodgey, could only bite the bullet and bowed his hands and said: "Xu Donghai, the general judge of Hangzhou Prefecture, has met Admiral Shen."

When I heard the name Xu Donghai, many memories immediately came to my mind. No wonder I felt familiar.

Unexpectedly, Xu Donghai, who was once known as the "prodigy" of Zhaowen Academy, has now become a local official in Hangzhou Prefecture. Judging from his official rank and age of the sixth grade, there is indeed no "injury to Zhongyong" and he deserves the title of prodigy.

"Xu Tongpan, long time no see."

Shen Yichen returned the favor with a faint smile on his face.

There were indeed some disputes back then, but now that times have changed, looking back, it was just a trivial matter that literati looked down upon.

Not to mention that Xu Donghai was only thirteen years old at the time. In later generations, he was no more than a junior high school student. It is normal to have a youthful and frivolous attitude of refusing to admit defeat.

"I didn't expect Admiral Shen to still remember his subordinates. Young Meng Lang also asked the Admiral not to remember the faults of small people."

"No need to say these things, it's all over."

Seeing Shen Yichen's calm appearance, Xu Donghai, who was still a little embarrassed, instantly felt relaxed and embarrassed.

It's because he underestimated Shen Yichen. In the past few years, he is no longer the maid who gave birth to a son in Yingtian Mansion. He is famous as a military governor all over the world. How can he not have the tolerance to tolerate others?

"It's because the lower officials are so narrow-minded."

In fact, after Shen Yichen became the leader of Xiaosanyuan, Xu Donghai was already convinced by him and basically did not dare to make any more provocations.

Seeing each other again after many years, now I can only be convinced.

Shen Yichen was not interested in getting involved in Xi Ning's flirting with local officials in the front row. Since he met Xu Donghai, he simply walked side by side with him and asked about the current situation in Zhejiang.

"Xu Tongpan, I received some news on the way that Fujian rebels have taken control of the transportation artery on the border between Fujian and Zhejiang. Is this possible?"

"It is true that some of the main border crossings are blocked by rioters, but please rest assured, Admiral, the road to Fujian will definitely be smooth!"

Xu Donghai thought that Shen Yichen was worried that if he entered Fujian from Zhejiang, he would encounter the risk of being attacked by rebellious officials and traitors, so he immediately patted his chest and made a promise.

Because as early as a few days ago, the commander-in-chief of Zhejiang Province led the army to open an important road into Fujian. Otherwise, the imperial officials leaving the town would be blocked in Zhejiang and unable to enter Fujian. Wouldn't it be a catastrophe in the world? I don't know how many officials would be lost. The black gauze hat fell to the ground.

"So how is the situation in Zhejiang recently?"

"Zhejiang has been prosperous since ancient times. The people have enough food and clothing, culture and education are prosperous, rebellious ministers and traitors cannot deceive people's hearts, and the state capitals are impregnable!"

Listening to Xu Donghai's heroic words, Shen Yichen was dubious. But having said that, the relationship between him and the other party as an "old friend" was indeed very good. In addition, it was related to personal interests, so it was normal to report good news but not bad news.

Perhaps feeling that Shen Yichen didn't believe it, Xu Donghai quickly added: "What the Admiral doesn't know is that not only is everything calm in all the states in Zhejiang, Hangzhou will also host the West Lake Gathering in the near future, and scholars from all over the country will go there to give lectures, which is enough. Demonstrate peace and prosperity."

For ancient dynasties, cultural fortunes were often regarded as national fortunes. The gathering of great scholars in Hangzhou made the cultural fortunes prosperous. Such a grand event would not have occurred if the situation was turbulent.

"Even for the Admiral's Shenxue views, there will be scholars debating scriptures with all parties at this West Lake gathering."

Shen Xue?
To be continued...