The rolling clouds seemed to have spread their tentacles, spreading over from the other side of the sea. The howling wind picked up the leaves and the rice paper that came out of nowhere, and danced in the air. Jun Wu folded his hands and watched a group of eunuchs and internal guards carrying them.
He knocked on the palace with heavy plates.
After a while, another chamberlain came over with several concubines and five-year-old daughter Zhou Qin. Jun Wu waved his hand towards the palace: "Everyone hide together, don't waste more manpower."
The Zhou royal family has always had weak heirs, and Jun Wu has not shown very good fertility before. Of course, this does not mean that he has too many problems. King Kang and Zhou Yong's line were originally just wealthy princes from Jiangning.
Wu lived an easy life as a child, but when he was about to reach adulthood, he suddenly became a prince. In the first two years, he focused on investigating things and wanted to achieve great things. Soon after, he was left behind by the Jurchens who were hunting for mountains and seas.
Heart knot, during the entire Jianshuo period, Zhou Yong indulged in pleasure, while Jun and Wu focused all their thoughts on the breakthrough of Gewu and the construction of the Jiangnan defense line. They walked cautiously, but did not show too much extraordinary interest in women.
I had my first daughter five years ago, and a son shortly before the Jiangnan War. However, Lin'an city was destroyed, and my father and sister fled to sea. After he succeeded to the throne in Jiangning, he fled to Fuzhou. The baby died without ever being held.
Millions of people died in front of his eyes, and countless parents and children cried and howled in front of him. Yet, he abandoned the people of Jiangnan and was chased away like a lost dog. He blamed himself and
The threat of death at any time filled his heart every day - there was also the humiliating possibility of being caught as a dog in the Kingdom of Jin, but he had long decided not to accept this result - so the loss of the child did not seem to give him
It brought so many special feelings that one day he even thought: It would be miserable if he were caught by the Jurchens, brought to the Kingdom of Jin to be raised, and then called the prince of the Wu Dynasty and humiliated every day.
It was unusual for him to die soon after he was born.
To be really sad, it was a luxurious mood that I only felt after arriving in Fuzhou.
After arriving in Fuzhou, there were a lot of new things to worry about. However, under the advice of Li Guang, Hu Quan and other officials, Jun Wucai worked harder. Now Shen Ruxin is pregnant, and he feels that he is temporarily
Once I could handle it, I immersed myself in government affairs day and night.
Junwu is usually a bit chauvinistic in the relationship between men and women, so that several concubines, including Shen Ruxin, are a bit weak. But in fact, he has a soft heart. In order to strengthen the royal heirs last year, someone even proposed to adopt Yue Fei's adopted daughter Yin.
Ping was a concubine. On the one hand, she could protect him and on the other hand, she would be able to give birth to a fat baby. However, Jun Wu quickly refused. If a woman with such a strong personality was allowed into the house, he would not be able to defeat her in the future. Wouldn't he want to
Being bullied by her - Junwu had a strong sister above him when he was a child, and he had quite a psychological shadow on these things. Of course, such reasons cannot be said. On the surface, of course, it is for the happiness of the girl.
In fact, as a straight man who has been in the royal family for a long time, he doesn't care that much about someone's happiness - there is nothing unhappy about marrying the emperor, it's just that he doesn't want to marry. Hum.
When Tie Tianying, who was inspecting the palace city, came over, dense raindrops had already fallen along with the howling wind. Jun Wu still stood there looking at the tiny city under the sky, frowning slightly. He was wearing a raincoat and his temples were white.
The old man quickly went over to remind him. Only then did Jun Wu react and walked into the hall hesitantly.
It was as if he could still cast his gaze over the city while standing outside the palace.
Entering the palace, the daughter came over and pestered her father for a while. Junwu said a few words to her - the emperor was always gentle and smiling towards his family, but he was prone to being dazed and distracted - after saying a few words, Junwu stood there stunned.
, began to plan the next disaster relief matters, his daughter called him back, he said a few words, and became distracted again, and the concubine came over and coaxed the princess aside to play games.
Junwu walked to the desk and began to plan the chips in his hand.
He is a middle-aged man and has to concentrate on his work. Only when things are arranged to a certain stage, he comes out of his thoughts and looks at the princess playing games with the concubine not far away: She is also a fool. The future Wu Dynasty cannot rely on her.
Yes, it is indeed his own biological child.
The wind and rain howled outside the window, like millions of monsters howling. Looking at his daughter playing games, Junwu thought of when he was young. If he had encountered such a hurricane at that time, he would have easily listened to it.
I won’t feel bored all day long, but now...disaster relief, arrangements...
Thinking of this, he spread out the drawings on the table again and began to write a detailed disaster relief plan...
…
The howling wind and rain lasted for a day and night before weakening.
On the afternoon of April 20, the rain was still falling, and Jun Wu had summoned various ministers in the main hall to start disaster relief planning. In fact, major and minor typhoons land in Fuzhou every year - the scientific name at this time is called "hurricane"
” - Various places had made certain arrangements earlier. It was still April at this time, and the typhoon that landed this time was not considered a big one. Junjun, including some of the reorganized and refined troops including the Beiwei Army, put in the effort.
Some veterans, led by Li Guang, expressed concern and opposition to the army's participation in disaster relief. In fact, Han Shizhong's Zhenhai Army, Yue Fei's Beiwei Army and some other armies had frictions with various places because of disaster relief last year.
, the military's enforcement of military law in these days is not very strict. In some extremely serious disasters, it is okay to dispatch the military to rescue people. But if the disaster is not serious, sometimes the military itself will cause serious problems. How many people in Fujian today
Among the armies, only the Beiwei Army has the strictest military laws and can avoid disturbing the people to the greatest extent. However, Han Shizhong's Zhenhai Army and some other troops will also create troubles themselves once they are let go.
However, since the slogan "Respect the king and repel the barbarians" was shouted last year, the Southeast Military Academy in Fuzhou, with the help of Zuo Wenhuai and others, has completed the preliminary education of national beliefs and subjective initiative for the first batch of young officers.
Now, according to feedback from all parties, these young officers are performing well in all aspects. Even if they are mules or horses, they have to be taken out for a walk sooner or later.
There was a debate in the main hall, and soon after, Jun Wu made a decision on this matter and made the decision to implement it.
Military disaster relief is to gather people's hearts and minds, and it is also to train troops for various things that may happen next. In order to emphasize the significance of this incident, Junwu also wrote a special document for the cabinet, requiring all ministries to maintain strict military discipline and not take anything from the people, otherwise
It will be dealt with strictly.
Various places have also carried out impassioned advance mobilization.
On April 22, a unit of the Beiwei Army entered Houguan County near Fuzhou for disaster relief, helping to clean up the ruins, treat victims, carry corpses, and transfer property... In the afternoon of this day, some local victims accused this army of taking the opportunity to search for property. Perhaps
It was because at the beginning of the disaster relief, the government carried out a lot of publicity that they would not disturb the people or violate discipline or else the military law would be strict. This time, the people gathered at a particularly fast speed, and the nearby military law team also quickly came over to start an investigation.
Soon after, a package containing various belongings was found among the belongings of the tenth commander Zhong Ergui.
The public sentiment suddenly boiled like a volcanic eruption. At this time, the government was there, the military law enforcement team was there, and the relief soldiers were also there. Everyone was blocked on the road in the center of the county. They were in a dilemma for a while. Because they were here for certain things, they had to participate voluntarily.
Yue Yinping, who was doing the disaster relief, came over to vouch for and argue for Zhong Ergui - this man was an elite member of the Beiwei army. He was a miner in the past. He was brave and fearless on the battlefield, but on weekdays he had an upright and peaceful temperament.
You would never do such a thing.
When I looked back and realized that there was a huge problem, it was getting late, and in the heavy rain, people on both sides of the street could no longer control themselves. They received education at the Military Academy. The young man who served as a military judge first accused Zhong Ergui of ruining the reputation of the military.
By the time we realized that things had escalated too quickly, we were already unable to deal with it, and an organized and premeditated frame-up and mutiny was just around the corner.
Their response was a little slow.
So they were faced with two choices: one was to use the troops on site to suppress everything that followed...
Soon after, they tried to use military law to deal with Zhong Ergui to calm the public's anger. However, Zhong Ergui faced the insults in the street and was killed on a pillar on the roadside.
This was the first political disaster that the Southeastern imperial court faced this summer after three years of revitalization.
In the next few days, conflicts between military and civilians occurred due to disaster relief in various places in Fujian, and all kinds of grievances came one after another. The truth and falsehoods were overwhelming...
…
In the afternoon of April 25th, the rain brought by the typhoon had temporarily subsided, but the entire city of Fuzhou was still in a mess.
When Li Guang entered the side hall for discussion on the side of the palace, he saw Hu Quan, Zhou Pei, Wen Renbuer, Cheng Zhouhai and others were already there, and the emperor Junwu was sitting on top - this was when he summoned the more trusted people to hold a meeting.
After a short meeting - when he saw his face that seemed to look bad due to staying up late, Li Guang sighed slightly in his heart.
His Majesty likes the Young Masters and is greatly influenced by the Southwest. Therefore, he is not very close to the old Confucians in the court. However, as an emperor, he is indeed an extremely hard-working, extremely dedicated, and extremely benevolent king. Compared with the previous ones,
Several emperors of the Wu Dynasty were more responsible as kings and fathers. Unfortunately, the environment in which he took over power was too difficult.
If he had taken over the Jinghan Dynasty - or even if Emperor Jian Shuo had abdicated early - the current Wu Dynasty would probably have a different look.
He sighed in his heart. As for what everyone in the hall was talking about, it was naturally the various complaints about military-civilian conflicts that had come from various places recently. Not long after, Junwu asked him what he thought about this matter, and Li Guang said frankly: "This is
What happened is that the grievances accumulated by the clans in various parts of Fujian since the imperial court cleared the land and clarified taxes last year have counterattacked. I know that after reorganization, the violations of disciplines by the armies of all parties have been greatly reduced. However, last year, the military violated disciplines, and the wealthy families in various places were
Needless to say, the military did not violate discipline this year, and the wealthy families in various places framed them and looked for trouble..."
"The real danger of this matter is that if it is not handled well, our people's morale and military morale may be completely lost..."
What Li Guang and other Confucian officials were worried about before was actually the emergence of various conspiracies and accidents...
In the side hall, they discussed for a long time. When the meeting was over, tasks had been arranged, and Hu Quan and Li Guang went out together. In fact, they had warned the emperor many times that he was too radical when he was in Fujian.
At that time, the younger Hu Quan was silent for a long time and sighed: "It's not easy for Your Majesty..."
Li Guang nodded: "Do your own thing."
…
The larger meeting temporarily broke up, and after everyone else left, Zhou Pei just talked to Jun Wu about more important matters in the palace: "...there are only more than 200,000 taels of silver left in the treasury. According to the
The previous discussion was to consider whether military expenditures could be saved, but after Zhong Ergui's death, the morale of the military has also been somewhat unstable. They have to rely on them for disaster relief and to prevent the deterioration of the situation in the future. It seems that military pay cannot be delayed..."
Jun Wu sat on the chair, lost his mind for a moment, and then shook his head: "The army is not allowed to disturb the people, but the prerequisite is that the military pay must be sufficient. The military pay cannot be less."
Zhou Pei nodded: "The things brought from Lin'an have been sold out, and the private treasury has been empty for a long time. I will think of a way to see where else I can move some."
"...The fleet that went out last year, Sister Huang, do you think it can come back earlier this year?"
"I've said it many times, I'm afraid it will be the second half of the year soon."
"Maybe the fleet can appreciate my hard work and be able to do it sooner..."
Zhou Pei didn't say anything, and Jun Wu then smiled mockingly to himself. After a while, he said: "Sister Huang, who killed Zhong Ergui? Have you found out?"
"Now the Zhong Ergui incident can no longer be made up for." Zhou Pei reminded him, "Now there are at least four or five places in Fujian that are causing trouble."
"But yesterday afternoon, Miss Yin Ping from the Yue family came to the palace to cry to me... No, they were not crying, they were here to scold me. Zhong Ergui is a poor man who mines. He is brave on the battlefield and straightforward off the battlefield. Which common people are in trouble?
, he would often help, a real good person... It was such a good person, a good soldier, who was forced to death in front of everyone..."
"Miss Yue also came to see me..."
"Right." Jun Wu sighed, "In the final analysis, it is my fault. Respecting the king and rejecting the barbarians has taught me some people who are loyal to the court and consider everyone. But after all, they are too inexperienced and act too forcefully. Originally, I encountered
No matter how big the matter is, it should be handled according to the rules and thoroughly investigated and tried. How can it be dealt with on the spot just to quell public complaints... I, when I think of Zhong Ergui's mood when he is dying, my heart hurts, I can't wait..."
He gritted his teeth and raised his fist, and then slowly smashed it on the table, feeling helpless and angry. Zhou Pei looked at him for a while.
"In the final analysis, we underestimated the methods of Cao Jinlong and Pu Xingui. We thought they could only rely on the power of some clan squires to carry out assassinations in the mountains and various small places. They couldn't enter Fuzhou and several big cities.
Come on, those who came to assassinate have failed many times. Who knew that they would suddenly do something like this. We have reviewed the matter in Houguan County, and we have to instigate such a big battle in half a day, which will cause the county magistrate to
It's all in disarray. It can't be done by just three or two people. There must be many people in the crowd acting as common people."
"Wouldn't it be easier to catch their clues when there are more people?"
"Now I have received some rumors. It is said that Chen Shuangran, the daughter of the Chen family, is planning this, including the frame-up and false accusations against our army by various places, so that the people from all over the place are at the forefront. If there is a problem, they will say that they were cheated.
It was all her plan..."
"Chen Shuangran... is too careless. As I mentioned before, which one of the Chen family is the most beautiful?"
"Yeah." Zhou Pei nodded, "The Chen family said they were merchants, but they were actually pirates. When they suppressed the Chen family last year, I heard that this girl had already been engaged to the son of the He family in Yanping, and they were about to get married. At the end of the year,
He Hu was wiped out, and she, Pu Xingui, Cao Jinlong and others were pushed out by the big clan behind the scenes. Logically speaking, they were just puppets, so I don't know if the rumors this time are true."
Since gaining a foothold last year, Junwu has made clear his plans. On the one hand, he has built a military academy to enrich his internal resources. On the other hand, he has cleared external obstacles. In the middle of the year, he will exclude maritime merchants, and at the end of the year, he will use himself as bait to lure several wealthy families who have rebellious intentions.
Although they took risks, they fought extremely beautifully, with the demeanor of a king on horseback. Since the Fujian land was determined last year and attempts were made to increase taxes, the resistance of some wealthy families was within the expected range. Even in
Vicious cases of assassination of officials such as "yellow dog killing" have broken out in some places, but the official power has already established a foothold in several big cities, and the fight for the bottom level is originally a matter that needs to be done step by step.
If the other party wants to assassinate, they will send more people here to try to arrest people. If the big clan wants to fight, they will collect evidence and fight one by one. In short, they should stabilize their basic base first, and then soldiers will come to cover up the water and earth, and gradually increase the number of enemies.
Peripheral control. Junwu is not a natural talent, but after long-term setbacks and training, he does not lack the patience and resilience to stand up to others.
Under such circumstances, this time it proved that they had underestimated and neglected Pu Xingui, Cao Jinlong, and Chen Shuangran, the group of clowns who had been put on the stage. After all, before this, they had organized a group of clowns in Fuzhou City.
All kinds of assassinations were carried out, but none of them were successful.
The setback came, and of course he was still emotionally uncomfortable. Zhou Pei thought for a while and comforted: "Mr. Cheng and Master Tie are already working on the investigation of this matter. We actually know that these people have been doing various murders.
In order to make preparations, we even went to various places to post hero posts and invited some notorious masters of evil sects to go to Fujian to commit crimes. However, in the past, the thunder was loud and the rain was light. After Master Tie took charge of the Fuzhou garrison, we actually did not put too much thought into it.
In dealing with these people, after this incident, we feel that we still have to put some effort into uprooting them. But on your Majesty’s side, you shouldn’t worry too much about them.”
"Catch it earlier, kill it earlier." Jun Wu murmured, "Everyone has been extremely busy for this matter. Zuo Wenhuai wrote a review summary and hired thirty army sticks. Now
It was difficult to get out of bed, and he still wanted to go to the army to calm the situation. Mr. Li had already mobilized Confucian scholars from all walks of life to write articles. Although the Beiwei army suffered such insults, General Yue still insisted that disaster relief must be helped and military law must be strict.
, people like Li Guang and Hu Quan, I am not close to them on weekdays. If something happens, they will work wholeheartedly... Everyone is busy. It doesn't matter if I spend more time and energy. In this situation
, if this Chen Shuangran is really so capable, even if I can't kill her, I would like to accept her."
He made a joke. Zhou Pei also laughed.
"Is Your Majesty looking for talents, or are you looking for beauty?"
"I have always been thirsty for talents. If you are really talented, I..." After Junwu said this, he paused with his fingers in the air. After a moment, his eyes changed, "There is a way, sister, there is a way."
"What?"
"Money! There is a way." He wagged his fingers, already excited, "Have a concubine! Have a concubine! Haven't the southeastern gentry always felt that I wasn't close enough to them and robbed them of their things? In the past two years, haven't they?
Is there a voice that advises me to accept a concubine? She also said that I am not safe without a prince... It would be better if I didn’t have a prince. Let these wealthy families send girls over. We can survive for a few months with the dowry, sister!"
Zhou Pei frowned: "Didn't you always say that you were afraid that something would happen to your relative? If you take a concubine, even if you have strict requirements, your concubine will be wooed in all kinds of ways. In the past, the small family you took in was even Shen Ruye's. It’s a big deal, this time I want to accept a large amount of money..."
"How can you manage so much? We are already on bad terms with all parties, and the tax revenue is only so much. The treasures you brought out of Lin'an were all moved on the ship last year. If you can't get the money back, let's go ahead. Officials can't sell it. The military pay cannot be reduced, so I will sell myself first, hehehehe..." At this point, he became excited, spread out a piece of paper, rubbed the ink, and prepared to write something: "I won't pick on this kind of thing. Yes, um, pretty ones are best... No, ugly ones are also fine, ugly ones require more dowry, um, anyway, more money is the standard, beautiful and ugly ones depend on my luck, haha..."
Regarding the proposal of the concubine to take in relatives and make friends with the rich family, someone had mentioned it when he first arrived in Fuzhou, but this matter itself had endless consequences, and it was not so tight at that time. Jun Wu categorically rejected it. It came to mind again at this time. , he felt relieved and his words became lighter. He sat behind the desk and happily wrote the preliminary charter.
Zhou Pei looked at his younger brother's expression at this moment, a look of compassion gradually flashed in his eyes, and sat down aside: "...It seems that he can sell me for a round in the future."
"That won't work. Selling myself is just taking advantage. Sister Huang, you can't sell it." In the side hall, the emperor was writing at his desk while making a cheerful and undefensive voice. He smiled and said, "...I will take good care of you. ."
Perhaps the tense nerves suddenly relaxed. At this moment, Jun Wu's words were as innocent as those of a young man many years ago. Zhou Pei looked at him for a long time and nodded:
"……Um."
…
In order to solve the temporary financial problem, I thought of a stopgap measure. Although such a big thing could not be finalized immediately, my mood was slightly relieved. After a while, the eldest princess Zhou Pei left the palace, and Jun Wu sat on a chair. He rubbed his forehead. In the afternoon when the typhoon had just passed, the light and darkness of the sky in the distance intertwined and sprinkled part of the palace door, but it did not illuminate the emperor on the dragon throne.
Fatigue still enveloped him. He thought about the matter of taking a concubine for money, and then thought about the situation of the army in various places, and thought about Zhong Ergui's unjust death. At the end of last year, he even celebrated, but from behind, the darkness intertwined. The tentacles came out and wrapped around his hand.
What he faced was not a battle with open swords and guns, everything was like a quagmire, with blood-sucking bugs crawling onto his body unknowingly. Many times, he couldn't even tell who was his friend and who was his enemy.
Thinking this in the dark, at a certain moment, he raised his hand and slammed it on the table.
The guard who heard the sound poked his head in from outside the palace and checked what was going on inside. The majestic emperor, who was in gloom, looked over. The next moment, the emperor sighed slightly and waved his hand outside.
"fine……"
He sighed in relief.
Like a deflated rubber ball.
And after a while, he even had to cheer himself up and continue working...
…
In the third year of Wu Zhenxing's reign, it was evening on April 25th.
When everyone in Fuzhou was caught up in the political turmoil, at the southwest gate of the city, a dilapidated carriage pulled by Zaohua horses was carrying two traveling teenagers and slowly drove into the city that was still in trouble. The ancient city was in ruins due to the storm.
The water caused by the wind and rain has not yet completely receded, sewage is flowing freely on the streets, there is a lot of garbage on the roadside, and there are also collapsed houses. People are still cleaning up their homes after the disaster.
"Okay, it's so lively."
In front of the carriage, a young man wearing patchwork clothes and holding a riding crop stared and let out a strange sigh.
In the carriage behind, the girl who was forced to use the pseudonym Long Aotian was packing her things while looking at him tenderly.
Ning Ji and Qu Longjun also experienced a typhoon a few days ago.
They luckily found a small cave to take shelter in the nearby mountains. When the typhoon came, the sky was dark, and the roar of the wind and rain was like thousands of troops rushing past. Ning Ji was stunned and excited in the cave. Because the cave was not big. , Qu Longjun was hugged by Ning Ji, and they crowded together with the Zaohua horse "Bald Donkey".
When the storm calmed down, Ning Ji went out to box a few times. According to the Huaxia Army, fighting against flash floods and tsunamis can significantly increase martial arts skills.
Typhoon is so powerful and exciting.
After the strong wind passed, they came out of the mountain and exchanged for someone else's shabby carriage on the way. They heard that strong winds often occur in Fuzhou, and they might be even worse than this one. Ning Ji was already looking forward to it. He and Qu Long Jun planned to come to Fuzhou together, convert this broken carriage into a mobile department store, make a lot of money buying and selling goods, and then rent a solid house in the city. When the next typhoon comes, the two of them will be together. Eat hot pot and sing songs in the room, and feel it all.
Of course, Qu Longjun is also looking forward to everything with him.
At the same moment, in Houguan County, a few miles away from here, Yue Yinping and Yue Yun were pouring a pot of strong liquor on the street where the soldiers of the Wei Army died unjustly three days ago to pay homage to their dead comrades.
On the other side of this world, a name named Chen Shuangran is spread by word of mouth among the clan leaders, and is about to become a legend among the underworld this summer...
In the noisy and busy city, the sea breeze blows, the lines of cause and effect are extending, and some stories have not yet happened.