The fourteenth chapter: Shi Longbiao's repentance and conversion to the Qing Dynasty
Wei Dongting and his party walked hurriedly for half an hour before they stopped, dismounted and untied He Guizhu, smiled and took out the table wiping cloth from his mouth and said: "Boss, I've wiped my mouth clean this time. I won't have to rinse my mouth for ten years..."
"
He Guizhu took a long breath, stamped his feet and complained: "Good Master Wei, you are suffocating me to death, why didn't you take it out for me earlier?" Wei Dongting said: "You call out my name at the top of your voice, wouldn't it be a big annoyance?
!" After saying that, he burst into laughter.
Mu Zixu asked in surprise: "Brother, is this -?" Wei Dongting said: "This is the owner of Yuepeng shop, his surname is Guizhu. I wanted to eat his food, but unexpectedly he ate mine tonight! Let's go.
Come on, come to my place and let’s have a good time!”
When we returned to Wei Dongting's house in Hufang Bridge, it was already the fourth watch. Shi Longbiao and Mingzhu were tossing and turning in bed and couldn't sleep because they had their own concerns. The old man couldn't stand the sleepiness because of his old age, so he sat on the spring stool in the corner of the hall and fell asleep.
The servant opened the door for Wei Dongting and came in without disturbing anyone. The group of people quietly walked through the living room and came to the backyard. Mingzhu and Shi Longbiao had already stood up to greet him. Wei Dongting then told Mu Zixu: "These brothers live in the east wing.
, let’s come here, we can’t sleep tonight. Let’s have some wine and have fun!” Then he led them into the west room.
Mingzhu saw Wei Dongting wearing a brand-new third-grade military attaché uniform, shining brightly under the lamp, and said with admiration: "Brother has been promoted to three levels in a row, and I should congratulate him." Only then did everyone see the bright red color of Wei Dongting's attire tonight.
Wearing a big hat made of coral, a gold-threaded gown made of Jiangya seawater under the patchwork, and a long sword engraved with gold and jade hanging from the back of the azure robe, every part of his body was brand new, and he looked truly heroic.
Wei Dongting felt embarrassed for everyone to see. He took off the sword with both hands and said, "This is a gift given to me by the Holy Master. I don't dare to keep it to myself. You all should also open your eyes." The donkey was impatient and wanted to pull it out to watch. Wei Dongting solemnly said
He raised the sword above his head, put it on the table, took a step back, and bowed again. Everyone couldn't help but feel awe when they saw how respectful he was.
Mingzhu stepped forward, held up the sword, looked at it, and then pulled it out. As soon as he took it out of the sheath, he felt the cold air. It flickered, and the whole room was illuminated with gleaming light. Mingzhu was surprised and said: "This is the sword worn by Taizu, how can we be destined to do so?"
In the hands of my brother? This is a very gracious encounter!" Wei Dongting suppressed his excitement and told everyone in detail about the gift from Emperor Kangxi of the Wenhua Palace. At the end of the sentence, his eyes were filled with tears: "Your Majesty, I will give you this sword now.
It is for me to perform meritorious deeds. Your Majesty treats me as a national scholar, and I will repay him as a national scholar. Even if Wei Dongting's corpse is broken into thousands of pieces, he still wants to repay the kindness of this friend!"
"One general's achievements will lead to thousands of bones drying up," Shi Longbiao sighed, and said in a voice, "You people who seek fame and fame have different thoughts from the common people."
Everyone was immersed in a pious, solemn and grateful mood, and couldn't help but be stunned when they heard this. Wei Dongting thought that this was an excellent opportunity to test Shi Longbiao, so he smiled and said: "Old man, you look at me and forget the benefits."
A righteous person?"
Shi Longbiao was in extremely complicated mood. He lit a cigarette and took a sip. He sighed for a while: "I can't say that. The Manchus have been in the customs for more than 20 years, and the life of the people is not good at all. You talk about a man's extraordinary circumstances, but Beijing
How many people sell their children and girls in Western markets with straw stickers! How deplorable!"
"What the old man said is the truth," Wei Dongting said with a heavy heart, "but who made them abandon their homes and end up like this? The emperor is less than fifteen years old this year!"
Shi Longbiao didn't say anything. Wei Dongting knew that these words had hit his acupuncture points, so he continued: "From the four years of Shunzhi's enclosure to the Kangxi years of enclosure and replacement, countless people in the world have died of cold and hunger. Don't you know, old man?
I know it too. Last year I went hunting in Mulan with the emperor and collected dozens of corpses of people who had died of starvation along the way. The emperor was so sad that he shed tears and ordered people to bury them, saying: 'This is all caused by my failure in power...'" He glanced at
He glanced at Shi Longbiao and then said, "We also saw a father and a daughter. The child was pale with hunger and had a grass tag on his head. When he saw us approaching, he thought he was a buyer. He was frightened and frightened. He threw himself at the old man while trembling.
In her arms, she cried hoarsely, "Dad, don't betray me. I can weave straw mats and cook. I can beg for food or be a child bride... okay... you... you don't feel sorry for me!" while crying.
While grabbing and beating the old man... The emperor immediately rewarded them with twenty taels of silver, without even daring to look at them... Can this be said that the emperor has no sympathy for the people and is unkind? "
Hearing this, Shi Longbiao couldn't help but feel moved, and then reluctantly asked: "While issuing an edict prohibiting land enclosures and exchanging land, at the same time the courtiers are exchanging large circles, what does this mean?"
"Yes, that's right." Wei Dongting said, "This is the true purpose of the emperor's summons to me tonight. The emperor said that if the ministers continue to do the same thing as before, how can the world be peaceful?"
Wei Dongting recognized Shi Longbiao's tough character on the outside and soft on the inside, and criticized him without any courtesy: "I have been a chivalrous and righteous man for decades. He is known as an Iron Arhat and is a top-notch hero. I forgive my nephew for the offence. I don't know.
How many tens of thousands of people have you saved?"
This sentence was very serious, and everyone was worried that Shi Longbiao couldn't bear it, but Wei Dongting raised his voice: "This is not a matter of killing a few corrupt officials, nor is it a matter of restoring the Ming Dynasty. Now the emperor is determined to renew politics and revive people's livelihood.
The powerful ministers and the vassal towns outside are trying their best to obstruct the throne. The throne is not secure, and the life is not guaranteed." At this point, Wei Dongting suddenly bowed to Shi Longbiao and asked in a loud voice, "Looking at my nephew's current situation, do you dare to ask me?"
How should we deal with it? Help the emperor? Or Obai? Wu Sangui? Or someone else?"
Shi Longbiao felt ashamed and embarrassed early on, and hurriedly put his arms around Wei Dongting: "Nephew, there is no need to say anything. I have lived for fifty years in vain, and I am not sensible!" He sat down with a red face and sighed, "To be honest, Jianmei and I
I came to Beijing to look for you, originally to do some work to restore my sight, but now everything has changed. Jianmei is now a maid in Ao Mansion, and I often meet... It's just..."
"Oh!" Mingzhu suddenly shouted, "I understand, the old man came to Beijing for Yongli of Nanming——"
"Silence!" Wei Dongting shouted in a low voice, "You can't say this, Yongli is already dead!"
"What Mingzhu said is true, and you don't have to hide it." Shi Longbiao said with a bitter smile, "To put it harshly, he is a sitting detective. After listening to your theory tonight, I understand that compared to Kangxi, Yongli is not even an earthworm.
Not as good as that!”
"Let's not talk about this anymore." Wei Dongting said, "I am extremely heroic. If I meet the Ming Lord, my career will be prosperous in my life!"
Mu Zixu, Hao Laosi, Gangluzi and Shi Longbiao gathered under the lamp to admire the sword. Mingzhu was still very excited. She picked up a glass of wine and drank it with a head tilt. She walked a few steps in the hall and chanted softly.
road:
The wind and clouds meet in Longquan, how brilliant is the sword!
Cut off the water of the Tianhe River, and let the sweet rain sprinkle on the world.
Wei Dongting couldn't help laughing and said: "Brother, you are so ambitious!"
Mingzhu was already drunk and laughed and said: "In terms of brother's talent, although he is not as good as his brother, it is reasonable. It is just an empty heart to serve the country. It's time, it's fate!" He was already mad, and tears flowed from his eyes.
Shi Longbiao, Mu Zixu, and Hao Laosi were affected by this emotion and fell silent. The stubborn donkey only knew that the wind was high and he set fires and the moon was dark and killed people, but he ignored them and just drank and chewed.
"Why do you need to sigh like a Sima Niu?" Wei Dongting stepped forward and gently pressed Mingzhu's shoulder and smiled, "Good brother, heroes make the times, it's up to people!" Everyone suddenly realized that there was something wrong in his words, and they all turned to look at him. Wei Dongting's eyes sparkled and he smiled.
Silent. Mingzhu asked blankly: "What is the current situation?"
"Everyone," Wei Dongting put away his smile and said solemnly, "are you willing to follow me, Wei Dongting, to gain fame?"
Mu Zixu smiled and said: "The reason I came to Beijing is to join my eldest brother, why wouldn't I do it?"
"That's the case, that's good!" Wei Dongting said, "Your Majesty has ordered me to select young and promising men to accompany them to practice martial arts in preparation for extraordinary changes. If all of you here today are willing to work together to handle this task well, I'm afraid there will be no meritorious ones in the future.
Chance?"
Mu Zixu and the other three people were immediately overjoyed and said: "Let's just follow the big brother's lead!" Shi Longbiao also said: "As long as it is needed, I can also help." Zhi Mingzhu muttered: "Brother has no way to tie the chicken.
With so much strength, how can I cope with it?"
"Your job is better!" Wei Dongting said, "accompany the emperor to study in front of Mr. Wu, and I will do the martial arts." Mingzhu suddenly beamed with joy and said: "In the future, if I make further progress, I will never forget the support of my brother!"
"Boss," seeing He Guizhu sitting in the corner without saying anything, Wei Dongting smiled and said, "What are you thinking about?"
He Guizhu said dullly: "Tail-pinned dog, what are you thinking about?"
Wei Dongting smiled and said: "You are so big, Confucius also worked as a bereaved dog! I will prepare funds for the boss. How about you and Uncle Shi reopening the business near Baiyun Temple outside Xibianmen? You just have to listen to Uncle Shi and me on everything.
Scheduling will naturally give you a positive result!"
"Baiyun Temple?" Shi Longbiao asked in surprise, "Li Zicheng burned it into Poye Anzi there. If you open a shop there, what other business can you do besides the temple fair?"
Wei Dongting smiled and said: "We only do big business, and small business is just a cover!"
After making arrangements, everyone was smiling. He Guizhu said: "The mats are already ruined. There are still several jars of twenty-year-old wine buried in the ground behind my shop. It's a pity, otherwise everyone will be in a good mood tonight." Wei Dongting said with a smile:
"Do you think you are the only one who has good wine? Please try the old bar buried in my backyard!" The old man was awakened by everyone and came in to wait. Wei Dongting ordered, "Dad, take the fourth man and the others to dig out two jars.
One altar each in the east and west rooms!"
Liu Jinbiao was carried back to Ban's house. At this time, Banbul Shanfang sent Taibitu away. When he saw him coming back bloody, he was so frightened that he was half awake and asked: "What happened?"
After listening to several soldiers talking about the unreasonable robbery of people in the patrol yamen, he hesitated. The patrol yamen was the one he had tried his best to win over recently, so how could he be so unwilling to give face? He saw Liu Jinbiao looking miserable.
The Prime Minister couldn't blame him, so he simply gave him a favor: "It's no wonder that you guys are injured. Jin Biao is injured. He's taking care of himself first. When he finds that kid, I'll take it out on you."
He didn't sleep well all night, and spent all his time flipping sesame cakes on the bed. His favorite fourth concubine pricked her ears and tried to persuade her: "Is it worth worrying so much about Aozhongtang?" He said in a troubled mood: "
As a woman, don’t ask about such things!"
He didn't expect that the matter would go so smoothly. He originally wanted to get He Guizhu and discuss the solution with Ao Bai after examining it. Unexpectedly, he had a bad start. He intercepted the stinky Jinshi in the afternoon and was disturbed by an inexplicable bad old man. He went to capture He Guizhu in the evening.
, but was snatched away by the people patrolling the Yamen, which was considered unlucky.
After searching Suk Saha's house, he accidentally found Wu Ciyou's policy papers and found the Yuepeng store by name and address. Banbulshan didn't believe that one person could be so bold and actually wrote "" in the Gongyuan of Shuntian Prefecture.
"On enclosure of land and chaos in the country"! He dared to do so without any hard backing! Besides, Suk Saha got involved, which further showed that the matter was not simple. Therefore, in the past few days, Wu Ciyou was not taken into custody, and he only sent some detectives to pretend to be drinkers to observe.
After hearing the news, he put Yuepeng's store under surveillance. Soon he found that Wei Dongting was also a frequent visitor there. He was secretly happy: It seemed that the big fish was about to bite the hook. Who knew that within a few days, not only Wei Dongting would not come, but even Wu Ciyou would disappear.
He, this is very strange. He has his own chess game, and he feels that he is much better than Ao Bai! There are no details, but it is related to the chess game, so it must be understood. He had no choice but to decide to capture Mingzhu, He Guizhu,
He wanted to pick up a thread. But these two things happened one after another, which made him feel as if someone else was playing chess with him, and they were making the first move every step of the way. This made him secretly frightened.
In fact, after hearing what happened to Liu Jinbiao, he did not believe that the patrol yamen had robbed someone. The young guard looked like Wei Dongting. He could only guess who this group of night watch sentries were - it was really confusing - but there was no clue.
With the handle in hand, how can we do anything to the emperor's favorite guard?
After tossing and turning all night, it was finally dawn. Bambulshan stood up and ordered: "Prepare the sedan and go to the patrol yamen!"
In the middle of the journey, Bambulshan thought over and over again that it would be better not to go. If the matter spread and everyone knew about it, rumors would immediately spread, which was really not good for the current situation. So he coughed lightly and ordered: "Go back.
Let’s go to Ao Mansion in sedan chair!”
Ao Bai had eaten too much wine at night and was still asleep. Because Ban Bulshan was a frequent visitor, the doorman did not report to Ao Bai, but directly led him to the Heshou Hall in Ao Bai's study in the backyard, arranged for him to sit down and have tea, and said:
"My lord, please sit down and allow me to report to the lord in the middle hall!"
Bambulshan casually rewarded him with a five-tael silver note and said, "It's troublesome, but I don't have anything important to do, so I might as well sit here for a while." The housekeeper thanked him for the reward, and Nuonuo retreated.
After sitting for a while and taking two puffs of cigarette, feeling that it was not very interesting, Banbulshan strolled out of the hall. The Heshou Hall is located in the east of the flower hall, facing the water and leeward, with a winding corridor bridge erected in the pond.
Directly leading to the waterside pavilion on the other side. It was a doggy day, the sky was clear, the sun was like fire, the lotuses were red and the leaves were green, and a willow branch hung low on the shore. Standing under the tree and looking at the water, it was indescribably quiet and majestic. I was ready to think about it.
A good sentence, suddenly I heard the murmuring of Yan language deep in the willow shade, the sound sounded like two corner girls talking.
"Do you know?" one said, "Sister Suqiu cried all night last night, and I woke up early this morning with red eyes. When I talked to her, I couldn't talk to her at all, and I was very lack of energy."
Another said: "What's so strange about this? The old man always wants to bully her, and he got drunk again yesterday... Sister Suqiu lived alone in the wife's room yesterday - if she hadn't bumped into her last time..."
"The same goes for the old man - I'm not a slave talking about the master behind his back - he's so perverted, he's so old, he has no virtue!"
"Pfft!" another one said, "You have little hooves and a little age, no matter what he does - Hey, put your straw stick away!"
It turned out that they were two little girls playing with grass. Bumble smiled kindly and was about to leave, but the one who spoke first said again: "I tell you, maybe Sister Suqiu was crying about something else yesterday.
The old man can't think about these thoughts these days. Those adults are here drinking yellow soup day and night, listening to people vaguely saying, what big 'laborious' matter are they discussing?"
The other one giggled and said: "It doesn't matter how labor-intensive it is, what does it have to do with our slaves - how did you hide my straw stick with your narrow hooves?"
There was a buzzing sound in Banbulshan's head. The word "Deli" was actually introduced into the slave's mouth! He couldn't help being startled: "Oops! The population here is three to four hundred, how can it be said that these words are spread!"
Just as they were about to push through the bushes and go in to find out what was going on, the two little girls heard someone coming, dropped the grass roots and ran away.
Bumble was in a daze when a burst of laughter came from behind: "Ban Fuzi, the spring has gone when the flowers fall when the water falls! Now the sun is blazing, it's hard for you to still miss spring!" When he looked back, he saw it was Ao Bai, with a maid behind him.
He opened his parasol. Bumble said with a smile: "I'm so old, what spring do I miss!"
Ao Bai smiled and said: "That may not necessarily be the case. You will get stronger when you are old, and you are still in your prime!" He stretched out his hand and let Bumble into the Heshou Hall.
The two of them sat down separately, and Obai frowned and said: "Last night I asked you to act out the Chenqiao Mutiny. I still have lingering fears. Thinking about it quietly is really scary. I couldn't sleep well all night. I took a nap just before dawn.
.”
Banbulshan said seriously: "Zhongtang! If you keep cutting off, you will suffer chaos; if God does not give you anything, you will suffer the consequences. This is all in exchange for human heads! You have to think clearly about whether to advance or retreat.
"Ao Bai laughed dryly and said: "As for this matter, it can be said that it is difficult to recover, but it is a bit too sorry for the late emperor. The Aixinjueluo family is not bad to me."
"Zhongtang still has the heart of a benevolent person." Listening to Obai's tone, he seemed to doubt his good intentions, so he smiled calmly and said, "I am also a clan member! I want to take advantage of Zhongtang's words to ask for some rewards - after the things are done,
I hope that Zhongtang will not learn from the previous Zen emperors and live in peace with the Aisin Gioro clan to the end. Otherwise, it will lead to civil strife in the Manchu clan and make both parties unstoppable. The most important thing now is to find a way to cut off the wings! Keep the secret and wait for further action.
.”
Oboi smiled slyly and said: "What wings does he have? Once Suksaha is gone, I have the power to make the decision. What will happen to Nibi Longji?"
"The clear ones are gone," Bumbleshan said coldly, "the dark ones are hard to tell."
Ao Bai suddenly looked around and asked, "Who?"
Banbulshan shook his head and said: "I don't know at the moment, but there are a few things that are suspicious. I think the three people who are very similar to what Brother Mulima said are a little suspicious." Then he detailed the situation in which he privately arranged successive defeats.
Gave it to Oboi.
Ao Bai listened very attentively. He turned out to be a little careless about Ban Bulshan's private arrangement. At this time, he couldn't help but nodded and praised Shan: "How can you be so careful! It seems that among the three people, the surname is Suo, the mastermind, Xiong Cilu
There is an idea, and it is unbelievable to expect Wei Dongting to escort him! However, when you mention it, I think there is another point that is very strange. The third child has been talking about Confucius and Mencius recently, citing scriptures, making a group of Han people privately praise him for his knowledge.
Mr. Zhou, the elder, went to the study room and told me that except for Xiong Cilu’s occasional remarks, the third child did not study in the palace. This is strange, can he learn by himself without a teacher? "
Ban Bulshan did not answer immediately. He only half-closed his eyes and fell into deep thinking. After a long time, he sighed: "I should have thought of it a long time ago. It must be like this!" Oboi took a sniff and said, "Please tell me the details."
Burshan was about to answer when he saw Su Qiu coming in with a plate full of cut watermelon.
Ao Bai glanced at Su Qiu and said with a smile: "Look at this, I cried again last night. Don't worry, I have sent someone to find your biological father. I will just reunite your father and daughter." Su Qiu generously placed the plate on the table.
Last time he said: "Thank you, sir. This melon has been iced with cold water as my wife ordered. Sir, please use it."
As soon as Jianmei left, Obai asked: "What do you mean by what you just said?" Bambul looked around carefully, but there was no one in front of him, and then he said: "I thought that nine out of ten people with the surname Wu had not left the capital.
.”
"That's a bit suspicious!" Ao Bai said with a smile, "How many brains does Wu Ciyou have, and he still dares to detain him here?"
Banbulshan said: "Otherwise, there are all good people among the Han people, and not all of them are as bad as Wu Sangui." Obai thought for a while, and then asked: "Where do you think he is now?"
This was exactly the question that Banbulshan had just pondered. He glanced at Ao Bai and said word by word: "It must be hidden in some minister's house. This is combined with Lao San's recent achievements in learning. Then
That’s very interesting!”
Oboi shook his head: "It's too unbelievable. Could it be that the emperor is willing to condescend to ask a scholar to be his teacher?" Banbulshan smiled silently and said, "We have to wait and see. In my humble opinion, there are many knowledgeable people in the court.
, either the middle hall doesn’t like it or the third one doesn’t believe it, so rather than letting you put a nail next to him, it’s better not to have a master.”
Obai patted the case and said: "I want to give him a master, even if he doesn't want it! There is no use for this little Yuanxu!"
"Not only is it useful," Bumble said, "It's simply wonderful! Nowadays, many Manchu and Han ministers look at Lao San with admiration, thinking that the emperor is smart and knows without learning! He is a saint king of his generation. Isn't Zhongtang like that?
Powerful traitor, do you think this is extraordinary?"
In order to cover up his upset, Ao Bai took a piece of melon and took a bite of it and asked: "In your opinion, what should we do now?" Bumble said: "Now that the third force has not yet been established, there is no way to go to Zhongtang. Zhongtang can be fake."
In order to respect the king, I secretly repair my armor and wait for action." Obai shook his head and said: "You know, this kind of matter needs to be settled quickly, and the most afraid of being slow is that slowness will lead to changes!"
Bumble smiled and said: "If the enemy and we are evenly matched, or if the enemy is strong and we are weak, it is better to decide quickly. Now that I am ten times stronger, I just need to be more vigilant and lose no time to do it in one fell swoop. I am not afraid of being slow. I think in the middle hall, if the third brother really recruits Wu Ciyou
Studying in a certain minister's house, he thought he had gained a plan, but in fact he was a huge loser! He lived incognito and was dressed like a white dragon fish. Wouldn't it be neat to kill him? He died in the enemy's house. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
!”
Obai threw the melon that he had just eaten into the ground and said, "Okay, I really have it for you!" He stood up excitedly and subconsciously stretched out his hand to touch his saber. Only then did he remember that he was wearing casual clothes. "I'll ask you to investigate this matter."
Clearly, this is a good thing that kills two birds with one stone.”
Banbulshan stood up hurriedly and replied: "Since I have received the favor from Your Majesty Zhongtang, how dare you not try your best!"
"If you accomplish this," Obai laughed, "you will be the founding father of the country! How dare Obai be stingy with titles and not reward those who have made meritorious deeds!" (To be continued)
