Chapter 48: Wang Shirong enters Wuyang City at night, Sun Yanling repents
The flames of the San Francisco Rebellion raged for two years. By the 16th year of Kangxi's reign, the firewood had been exhausted and ashes filled the sky. Along the Yangtze River, from Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the east to Sichuan and Guizhou in the west, the sky was full of flames and blood.
It flowed into a river, and coupled with the rebellion of the Communist Party of China, Gansu, Shaanxi and Ning also suffered greatly.
In the first month of the thirteenth year of Kangxi's reign, Wu Sangui divided his troops into two groups, one to the east to conquer Hunan, and the other to the north to attack Sichuan and Shaanxi. Geng Jingzhong led his troops from Fuzhou, and with Zheng Jing's troops who landed in Taiwan, they divided into two groups and marched toward Jiangxi and Zhejiang respectively. Only
Because Shang Zhixin and Sun Yanling had different ambitions, and because Mang Yitu was guarding the army in the north and Fu Honglie was restraining him in the south, he stuck to his old nest and did not dare to move rashly. When the war first started, Lu Zhen, the governor of Hunan, abandoned Changsha and fled to Changde, Yue
Zhou, Hengzhou, and Caozhou collapsed in an instant. Sichuan Governor Luo Sen, the admiral Zheng Jiaolin, the commander-in-chief Tan Hong, and Wu Zhimao conspired to rebel against Wu. For a time, there were violent winds and clouds in the north, south, and east, and black water reversed the waves. Kangxi
The decree did not go out of several provinces in the north. As there had been plans before the war, the rear was stable, and there was no shortage of troops and food, the situation soon turned around. Prince Kang Jieshu led the Eastern Route Army to attack Zhejiang and Jiangxi, and joined forces with Governor Li Zhifang
The troops attacked Quzhou; Beizi Laita led his elite cavalry to break through the Daxitan camp and cut off Geng Jingzhong's food route. The soldiers were deprived of food and their morale was dispersed. In an instant, the situation was reversed. Geng Jingzhong's general Zeng Yangxing and Bai Xianzhong successively led his troops to surrender.
During the Qing Dynasty, Geng Jingzhong had no choice but to lead his army back to Fujian. Soon, Jieshu captured Wenzhou and occupied Xianxia Pass. Zheng Jing's troops took advantage of the fire and captured Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and Tingzhou. In desperation, Geng Jingzhong had no choice but to surrender anyway.
Prince An's Qing troops led by Yue Le entered Hunan from Jiangxi and besieged Yongxing. Yongxing was the gateway to Yuezhou. As soon as Yongxing was reached, Yuezhou was in danger. In order to protect Yuezhou, Wu Sangui's Chinese army camp was moved to Hengzhou.
, they wanted to fight the Qing soldiers here. Kangxi knew that this battle was of great importance, so he transported twenty newly cast red cannons to Yongxing. More than 700,000 horses and horses were in the Hengyue area, and they set up a decisive battle posture and fought.
In the darkness, no one could do anything for a moment, and it became a stalemate.
Wu Sangui sent Wu Shicong to Guangdong to get help from Tiao Shangzhi, but Wu Shicong disappeared without a trace. Wu Sangui had no choice but to send Wang Shirong to lead a dozen guards to Guangzhou. In recent years, Wang Shirong has become increasingly thin and pitiful due to running around here and there and becoming ill from overwork.
He originally considered himself to be extremely intelligent, but Wu Sangui only used him as a messenger. Xia Guoxiang also knew that he was resourceful, but he refused to recommend him in front of Wu Sangui. He originally thought that if he went to war, he would be all-powerful and prominent. But now he is over four years old.
Ten, still nothing was accomplished. Therefore, Wang Shirong looked around confusedly on his horse, not knowing when he would be able to relieve his worries.
Entering Wuyang City, it was already the end of the Shen Dynasty. The officials of the Baiyun Mountain Post House were sitting in the courtyard drinking tea, playing chess, and arranging the dragon gate array. When they saw Wang Shirong coming in covered with dust, they all stood up and greeted each other. The leader still left.
He came up to say hello to Qian'er: "Uncle Wang, it's been a hard journey! It's probably been two or three years since I left with Prince Shicong last time. Why are you here now?"
"Does Prince Shicong also live here?" Wang Shirong said while throwing the horse whip to the servant, "Please report quickly and say that I have something important to see you!" The post officer said with a smile: "Look at the uncle's hurry.
Yes, even though he said he lived here, in fact, he rarely stayed here for one night in ten days. Either at Juxian Tower, the flower market, or else he would go to Sister Hu's place in Chunliu Lane..." Wang Shirong listened and got angry.
His hands were cold, and the soldiers in front were bleeding and fighting, and they couldn't even eat enough red rice and sweet potatoes, but the payman was sleeping here among flowers and willows! He thought for a while, waved his hands in frustration, and said: "Then we can avoid this.
Let’s go to the next level. Please let the post officer inform your prince and governor Jin Guangzu that I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Wang Shirong ate a few mouthfuls of rice and felt very sleepy, so he went to the west wing and threw down his clothes. He did not light a lamp, but only held the jade flute in his hand and played with it. At this time, the moonlight shined through the window, as bright as a wash.
The past events came to mind and it was hard to fall asleep. This flute was given to him by his cousin. He had been traveling to study and work as an official for many years and never left his body. When he returned home in the first year of Kangxi, his cousin had already married his eldest brother. He was devoted to making money.
My eldest brother went out to sell salt, established a new business in Hangzhou, and married a large number of concubines. He only stayed home for two nights in five years, left some money and left again.
"Brother also brought my jade flute..." That night when I returned home, my sister-in-law finished washing and came to the west wing, staring at the jade flute in Wang Shirong's hand and sighed.
"You and I will one day have gray hair and die of old age, and only it will always look the same..." Wang Shirong looked at his sister-in-law's wrinkled eye circles, which were a little red, and then sighed: "At that time, I will
Loess, if you go to the Xiang Tomb, even though we die in different acupoints, I will cut this flute in two, half for you and half for me..."
By now the two of them had burst into tears and couldn't help but hug each other and sob.
"Okay, I've got both of them!" When the two were hugging each other, the door suddenly creaked, and the stepmother walked in, closed the door and sneered.
Said: "I said that grandma is so happy today. There is wind in her steps when she walks. She doesn't even go to the theater. She is so affectionate. It turns out that she picked up a big ingot and carried it in her arms! Second young master, even if I come to you
Wang's family has been around for a long time, and he knows your old master's temper. If he finds out about this, will he be mad to death?"
Wang Shirong and his sister-in-law were both shocked: hadn't they all gone to the theater tonight? Why did this woman sneak back in the middle of the night? Just as they were thinking about it, their sister-in-law knelt down and begged with tears: "...Madam, this is all
It's not my fault, but look at him and spare us..." Wang Shirong had no choice but to kneel down: "...Mom, punish me no matter how you want, just don't tell father that he is old..."
The stepmother looked at Wang Shirong longingly, and after a while she suddenly smiled: "You have been out all these years, and you haven't even learned this idea? Chen Ping reported to my sister-in-law, Chen Ping was born in my family, and it's not too late for me to rejoice!"
Then he held up the two of them and pinched Wang Shirong's hand, "But grandma can't just take advantage of the good things. The right way is to share half of the money after meeting her once. Now that I, a living widow, have seen it, I must
Take a blow, everyone is safe..."
The matter of the three of them was soon discovered by the old father. However, the family scandal should not be made public. He swallowed the bitter fruit and hesitated. He was nearly seventy years old. Within a month, his father fell ill and died...
When Wang Shirong thought about these past events, he felt that all the five flavors, sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and salty, were stuck in his chest, with nowhere to express it. He subconsciously raised the flute to his mouth and whimpered while playing his home-made "Weihe Night".
"Good tune!" Someone suddenly said outside the window, "Brother Shirong, what's so unpleasant about it? It makes people feel so miserable that they can't bear to listen to it and can't stop listening to it?"
"Who is it?" Wang Shirong asked as he turned over and sat up.
The man outside didn't answer, the door rang softly, and he walked in alone with a candle - wearing an ocher yellow dragon robe, a seven-beam crown, and foundation soap boots - it was Shang Zhixin who came at night!
"Your Majesty!"
"What prince!" Shang Zhixin held down the astonished Wang Shirong with both hands and said with a smile, "Tonight you are Mr. Wang, and I am Shang Zhixin. I would like to get along with you as friends!" After saying that, he sat down opposite with a smile on his face. Wang Shirong was surprised and confused.
He sat uncertainly and asked: "Your Majesty, you..." Shang Zhixin suppressed his smile and sighed, "Sir, I have admired your talents for a long time, but I don't have a parasol tree in my house, so it is difficult to recruit a phoenix. At the moment,
I think you understand the predicament of the war situation better than I do, and I am here to seek advice from Mr. Yu!"
Wang Shirong's heart skipped a beat, and then he smiled and said: "Your Majesty, how dare you use the word 'asking for advice' when you are young?" Shang Zhixin shook his head and smiled bitterly: "It's no wonder you - it's just because the troops here are difficult to lead, I
I have to deceive others. Actually, this is not my intention. But since I have such a bad reputation, I can’t blame others for being suspicious of me. I feel very miserable too!” He took out a roll of paper from his sleeve and said
, "Look at this." Wang Shirong took it doubtfully and read it by lighting the candle. As soon as he saw it, he exclaimed: "Ah, this is the morning——"
"Silence!" Shang Zhixin looked out alertly and whispered: "This is exactly what the imperial court wants! I made a petition to the imperial court three months ago, requesting surrender. This imperial edict was issued by Fu Honglie more than half a month ago.
Came from everywhere."
The two people in the house were silent and looked at each other for a long time, trying to figure out each other's thoughts. Wang Shirong returned the edict to Shang Zhixin with regret and said: "So, Wu Shicong is under house arrest for the prince. I, Wang,
I’ll let the prince be at his mercy.”
"Where!" Shang Zhixin laughed, "How can you compare with Wu Shicong's gangsters? If I imprison you, it's just a matter of words, why bother to visit in person? Come and see - the current situation, Geng Jingzhong has surrendered
The imperial court tried its best to go west and refused to advance eastward; Sun Yanling was controlled by Fu Honglie and me and did nothing. But if I aid Hunan, Sun Yanling will definitely come to seize the territory of Guangdong. Wu Sangui is fighting with the imperial court in Hunan while also plotting against me.
.The general trend of the world is like this, I hope you can teach me!" Wang Shirong felt his heart beat loudly when he heard this, his blood surged up, his face flushed, but he muttered: "Now that the prince has returned to the Qing Dynasty, what else can I say?"
"Sir, you still can't trust me, Shang!" Shang Zhixin said with a smile, "Kangxi and Wu Sangui have become jealous in Yuezhou, and both sides are losing. Although Fujian Geng Jingzhong did not sincerely surrender to the Qing Dynasty, but he did not have soldiers, so
In vain! Of the three people and horses, I was the only one who didn’t suffer any damage. Well - since ancient times, good birds choose trees to roost, and good ministers choose their masters to do their work. Sir, do you have any intention?"
Wang Shirong's eyes jumped in the candle shadow: Shang Zhixin has always had a reputation for being fierce. Since he went to Mount Wuhua to conspire with Wu Sangui, he has been regarded as a treacherous person. Now it seems that he is actually a talented man with great strategy! Could it be that his own fame and career have to be replaced by a treacherous person?
What happened to this person? Wang Shirong thought, frowning and slowly raising the flute to his lips, and the song "Broken Array" rose up from the ground and suddenly jumped into the deep valley, which was very desolate and tragic. Shang Zhixin first
He was stunned for a moment, then he leaned on the back of his chair and listened thoughtfully. After a long time, Wang Shirong said calmly: "Although the prince is not injured today, he is controlled by Fu Honglie and Sun Yanling in the west, and Jieshu in the east.
This is like a single thread cannot form a thread, and a single palm cannot sing. Once the Yueyang War is over, Wu Sangui wins, and you will be punished for the crime of not supporting you. Kangxi wins, and you will be punished for the crime of disloyalty. Although the prince has a powerful army, he still lives here, and it is difficult to achieve great things.
!”
"oh!"
"If we can take advantage of this invincible situation, unite with the Communist Party, wait for the end of the Yuezhou battle, and attack from the north and the south, we can achieve great success..." Wang Shirong clasped his hands together.
"Okay!" Shang Zhixin clapped his hands and praised, "But who can take on this important task?"
"Only I can go there myself."
"Thank you, sir!" Shang Zhixin couldn't help but be ecstatic, he stood up and bowed to the ground.
"Slow down!" Wang Shirong said slowly, "Your Majesty, don't be idle here. First, quietly remove the two nails of Sun Yanling and Fu Honglie. Once the war in Yuezhou is clear, no one will be in the way when the troops are sent out."
Shang Zhixin was itching to be told by him. After thinking about it for a moment, he felt a little embarrassed. Sun Yanling was cunning and cunning, so he shrank early when he saw the situation was not good; Fu Honglie was a tough guy, how could he be "calm"? Wang Shirong
Having guessed what Shang Zhixin was thinking, he stood up and said with a smile: "Food! Your Majesty, Sun Yanling is staying in the nest, not only because he is afraid of the court, but also because he is afraid that the prince will swallow him up. There is also another important reason. He is short of food! If you use food and salary,
If you lure him, you will kill him! Fu Honglie is also short of food. He is my sworn brother. If there is no one who doesn't believe me, I will write a letter to him. I can ask Wu Shicong to handle it as well."
The two discussed secretly until late at night, and Wang Shirong set off for Shaanxi on the third day.
Sun Yanling's situation was much more serious than Wang Shirong expected. After Geng Jingzhong's defeat, Wu Sangui didn't care about him at all. Not only did he have no pay and no food, but he kept urging him to lead his troops northward. In the end, Sun Yanling only ended up in vain.
King Jiang was granted the title, and Liu Cheng was sent to Guilin to replace Jin Guangzu as governor. The most serious thing was the lack of food. Due to the lack of food and pay, soldiers deserted, escaped, and mutinied from time to time. After four years of stalemate, not only could they not advance northward, they could not advance northward.
Fu Honglie's 7,000 troops and horses approached Guilin in a big way. The station was only sixty miles away from Guilin. Mang Yitu in the north also pressed into the Third Street area. Guilin City was actually besieged on all sides.
He thought again and again, but finally came up with a plan. Sun Yanling decided to beg Kong Sizhen shamelessly and ask the emperor to allow him to surrender anyway.
After the mutiny in Guilin, Kong Sizhen moved to Baiyi Nunnery in the north of the city. He personally led Dai Liangchen and other Baoyi slaves to plant a two-acre vegetable garden behind the nunnery. He was very leisurely and contented, and it was like a country within a country in the city of Guilin.
Sun Yanling rode alone to Baiyi Temple. It was noon. The gatekeeper saw that he was coming. It was neither easy to report nor not to report, so he had to hide far away. Sun Yanling walked along the Shinto stele corridor and looked left and right, but
Seeing that the courtyard was so tidy that there wasn't even a weed, the ancient cypresses were mossed, and the plum trees planted along the wall were lush and green. Sun Yanling walked through the main hall and came to the jingshe of Kong Sizhen surrounded by green bamboos.
, while hesitating, I heard Kong Sizhen shouting from the backyard: "Meixiang, put down the bamboo curtain on the window at the back. There are so many flies in the ground that they will fly in and make people unable to even sleep!" When he looked through the bamboo shade, Kong Sizhen, a commoner,
Jing Chai was standing on the porch, drying vegetables on the rope. Sun Yanling hurriedly took a few steps in, bowed to the ground, and said with a smile: "Princess, I... I see you are here... I have been busy these days and have never been free.
Son, at first glance, I really didn’t dare to recognize you, you are more and more humble than before..."
"Dai Liangchen!" Kong Sizhen just picked up the wet long beans cooked in the basket and put them on the rope. He called back, "Go and clear the hook on the well rope and pick up the bucket."
You always fall into the well, don't you know how to worry about it?" "Princess..." Sun Yanling shouted again with a smile on her face. Seeing no response, she hurriedly came over to help her move the vegetable basket and carry the vegetables. Kong Sizhen suddenly panicked.
He shouted: "Hey! Isn't this the Linjiang King of Wu Sangui's Dazhou family? Why do you have so much free time today? What's the point of visiting a civilian woman's house?"
Sun Yanling knew that there would be such ridicule, so she smiled awkwardly and said: "Who is King Linjiang? Yanling has come to say hello to you!" He bowed to her, and a "chi" laughter came from the depths of the green shade.
, when he hurriedly looked back, he didn't even see anyone.
"Aren't you the King of Linjiang?" Kong Sizhen raised his eyebrows and widened his bright eyes. He took a step closer and asked, "Why are you wearing these clothes? Where did the braid go? This is strange. At first, he said he was the prince-in-law, and later he said he was the prince's son-in-law.
Your Majesty, now that you are no longer a prince, maybe you want to be the emperor? You have risen so quickly!"
"I...I...ah!" Sun Yanling stuttered for a long time, and finally managed to smile, "Princess, please stop making fun of me. It was me who ate shit, made the wrong idea, and didn't listen to your kind words. Now my intestines are full of regrets."
, I beg the princess to think of a solution for me..."
Kong Sizhen looked at him coldly and said nothing. She sat on the stone mat under the bean rack, combing her hair. After a while, she said: "A woman's family has long hair and short knowledge. What can I do? Besides, you are the prince now."
, you are so proud, why do you say 'eat shit', 'wrong idea', 'regret makes your intestines green'? You came to me to tell me these things bitterly, but I don't understand what you mean!"
"Princess, please save my life!" Sun Yanling was heartbroken, she knelt down and said with cupped hands, "The situation is very difficult right now. There is a deep valley in front of us and hungry wolves behind us. Please remember our love as husband and wife and come to Beijing.
Please help me in front of the Holy Lord, and I will have no teeth in my life... I will never forget your kindness!" As he said this, thinking of the predicament he was in, like a boat on a wild wave, looking around in the vastness, with no one around him, tears welled up in his eyes, "
To tell the truth, I have no place to cry now... Shang Zhixin's hundred thousand elite soldiers are watching eagerly. Fu Honglie and Mang Yitu are close at hand, but the soldiers are unwilling to fight... and they are short of food and pay... Shi Zhan has fled to the fourth place.
Stop..." He covered his face with his hands and tried his best to restrain himself, but tears still flowed from his fingers...
Seeing him like this, Kong Sizhen felt discouraged when he remembered the past, and spat: "How did I persuade you before? You just didn't listen! You were instigated to go crazy and wanted to rebel against the prince! Now it's better, the prince has done it.
Are you still here to pester me? Why didn't you think about the relationship between husband and wife when you killed Qinghouer?" As he said that, he wiped away his tears. After hearing this, Sun Yanling felt uncomfortable, blew his nose, bowed, and then
After bowing his head, he tremblingly took out a small bag from his arms and gave it to Kong Sizhen. He swallowed and said: "To tell you the princess, I was not the one who killed Qinghou'er. He killed four of my Qianzongs in a row, which made everyone angry."
, surrounded him and chopped him with knives... Even though I took the wrong path, my conscience will never forget the princess for a moment. This is... a testimony!"
Kong Sizhen silently took the paper bag and opened it. Inside was a gold hairpin, which she gave to Sun Yanling three months after their marriage. Unexpectedly, this enemy was still well preserved. Thinking of Sun Yanling's past love and obedience,
Unconsciously, he was moved, and sighed: "You don't have to be like this, I am always too soft-hearted, and I still have to worry about it! It's just that you committed the crime of treason, even if I went to appeal to the Empress Dowager and the Emperor,
It may not be..." Sun Yanling said hurriedly: "The Empress Dowager loves you the most. If you ask in person, there will be no objection. As long as you are willing to go, even if the court refuses to show mercy, I will die without any complaints..." Kong Sizhen
After thinking for a while, he said: "That's all I have to do. But I'm afraid this is a very difficult time for you. If you don't make some contributions, it will be difficult for me to speak in front of the emperor. He uses national laws to block people, and the Queen Mother is helpless.
.”
"What merit can I achieve?" Sun Yanling said in confusion.
"Come with me!" Kong Sizhen opened the curtain and entered the monastery.
Sun Yanling followed in and saw Kong Sizhen went to the divine curtain and pressed the mechanism gently. The porcelain Guanyin statue, which was more than a foot high, slowly moved away. There was a small stone trough under the seat. Kong Sizhen took out an iron Ruyi from it and handed it to
Sun Yanling said: "This is Fu Zhongcheng's token. After I leave, you can hold it in person and contact Mr. Fu quickly. Let's get a good position first. If you can hit Shang Zhixin with all your strength, it will be easier to talk to him in the future...
"Sun Yanling hurriedly took it and said with a smile through tears: "I didn't expect you to have this object here?"
"I am a guard of the imperial court. I have not been dismissed from office, so I naturally have to do things for the imperial court." Kong Sizhen said coldly, "Now you have no pay in the army, and Mr. Fu is also short of food. Why don't you ask Liu Cheng, who is the governor, for something? Yes.
You can fight with pay, and Shang Zhixin will have merit as soon as he starts the war! If you can capture Wu Shicong, I expect that not only will you be exempted from the death penalty, but you may also be able to keep your official position."
"Thank you, Princess—" Sun Yanling said with a smile on her face, "It's a coincidence. Yesterday, I just received Shang Zhixin's letter. Wu Shicong was ordered by Wu Sangui to come to Guangxi for inspection..."
"Stop playing tricks," Kong Sizhen warned, "This is your only chance!"
That night, Sun Yanling stayed at Kong Sizhen's place. In addition to doing his best, he also discussed many matters in detail. The next day, Kong Sizhen went north back to Beijing. (To be continued)