On February 14th, Li Zhi was riding horseback in Nanjing, looking at the buildings on both sides of the Qinhuai River and remaining silent.
On the tenth day of February, after Li Laosi surrounded the city of Nanjing, the officials in Nanjing who had helped Jiangbei's army wanted to flee south. They tried to take advantage of the chaos when the city's defenders were fighting against the Huben army. However, the generals of the city's defenders did not
The fool who was willing to be cannon fodder betrayed the officials who fled south. Li Laosi then made arrangements in advance to kill all the Nanjing officials who fled south and captured the city of Nanjing without any blood.
By the time Li Zhi led the main force to Nanjing, Nanjing city was completely controlled by the Huben army.
Li Zhi wanted to see the local customs and customs of Nanjing, so Li Laosi took him to the bank of the Qinhuai River.
On the north bank of the Qinhuai River is the Jiangnan Gongyuan in Nanjing. This is the place where the Nanzhili Township Examination is held, and it is a holy place in the eyes of Jiangnan scholars. Every year, countless scholars with scholar status gather in this Jiangnan Gongyuan to write eight-part essays, which are the most impressive.
Anyone who is favored by the examiner can be promoted to high school.
Only with the qualification of Juren can one be qualified to take part in the joint examination in the capital and strive for Jinshi status.
There are a large number of inns on the north bank of the Qinhuai River to serve these Confucian students who are rushing to take the exam. When those Confucian students from other places arrive in Nanjing, most of them live in inns on the north bank of the Qinhuai River. Although the provincial examination time is not long, the candidates often arrive several months in advance.
Stay in the inn to "read" and "make friends".
However, after riding along the Qinhuai River for a while, Li Zhi understood that it was not that simple for these "scholars" to "read" and "make friends".
It is said that "the land of golden powder in the Six Dynasties and the Qinhuai River in ten miles".
On the south bank of the Qinhuai River ten miles away, there were not schools and academies, but Goulan brothels. These Goulan brothels were connected to the inns on the north bank through countless small bridges on the river, and together they served the scholars living here.
At a glance, Li Zhi felt that there were many singing houses and brothels, and the river houses and water pavilions were dazzling. There were tall boats and pleasure boats parked everywhere on both sides of the river. He could imagine the bustling scene in the past.
At this time, Nanjing was occupied by Li Zhi's soldiers. Although there was no martial law, the people in the city did not dare to walk around freely. Most of the Goulan brothels on the south bank were also closed. However, the fans in the brothels still couldn't bear the loneliness.
Looking out of the upstairs window.
Seeing the young Duke of Jin, Li Zhi, passing by the river with his bodyguards, countless fans looked at them with flirtatious eyes, hoping that Li Zhi could take a look at them.
Li Zhi took a quick glance at the prostitutes and saw quite a few beauties. The quality of the prostitutes on the Qinhuai River was evident.
This is the most famous "red light district" in China. The so-called Eight Beauties of Qinhuai in later generations were all born here. The world-famous Liu Rushi and Chen Yuanyuan once sold their beauty here.
It is the financial resources of the scholars who rush to take the exams that support the brilliant fireworks in the flowers and willows on the south bank of the Qinhuai River. Seeing these brothels on the Qinhuai River, you can understand what a beautiful scene it is to take exams and study on the banks of the Qinhuai River. As the saying goes, "On a good day, listen to the wind and flowers as matchmakers.
Beauty accompanies reading "Yan Ruyu", nothing more than that.
Xue Sanku looked at the brothels and cursed: "These deceitful scholars control the power and money of the Ming Dynasty. They can't even forget to play with women during exams. They really never wrong themselves. No wonder they don't do it no matter what."
You must keep your tax evasion rights, because this life is too luxurious and enjoyable."
After hearing Xue Sanku's words, everyone nodded.
Li Zhi looked at the gold dust land for a while and felt a little tired of it. He waved his riding crop and rode forward, saying: "Let's go! Go see the captured Nanjing officials."
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Qian Qianyi has been a little absent-minded these days.
Although he was labeled a rebel by the emperor, Qian Qianyi did not flee to another country incognito. In fact, in a gentry stronghold like Jiangnan, the emperor's imperial edict was not as important as the public opinion of the scholars. Qian Qianyi's Jiangyun Tower was built in Changshu, Suzhou
, the people here have respected scholars very much for hundreds of years, and under the influence of scholars they did not value the emperor at all.
The famous anti-tax movement during the Wanli period, which killed several tax officials, took place in Suzhou.
Therefore, even though Qian Qianyi, a famous Jiangnan scholar, was labeled as a rebel, no local people dared to despise Qian Qianyi for this, and no one from the local government came to arrest him.
However, although there is no need to travel far away, Qian Qianyi still feels a sense of crisis these days. Ever since he heard that Li Zhi's Tiger Army went south, Qian Qianyi has not had a good night's sleep.
Although Qian Qianyi did not understand military affairs, he also knew that the Jiangbei Army could not defeat the Huben Army.
I don’t know if Jiangbei’s army can defend Nanjing if they occupy the city. If they can rely on Nanjing’s thick and high walls to entangle the Huben army and drag the war into the hot summer, things may turn around.
However, the distance between Suzhou and Nanjing is four hundred miles, and it takes several days for news from Nanjing to reach Suzhou. Although Qian Qianyi asked around and asked about the situation in the capital when he met guests from Nanjing, he could only get a few answers in the end.
Information from the day before.
On this day, Qian Qianyi and Liu Rushi were burning incense and drinking tea in the third hall of Jiangyun Tower. Liu Rushi was holding the daughter she gave birth to for Qian Qianyi, reading it over and over with a book, and asking Qian Qianyi a few questions from time to time.
.But Qian Qianyi was filled with anxiety and answered absentmindedly.
Seeing that Qian Qianyi was restless, Liu Rushi simply stopped reading. She gently held Qian Qianyi's palm and whispered: "Mu Zhi, what do you think our daughter should be called?"
Qian Qianyi was thinking about things in Nanjing and didn't hear these words.
Liu Rushi was a little surprised, shook Qian Qianyi's hand and said: "Mu Zhi! Mu Zhi! How did you..."
Suddenly, a servant ran in in panic.
"It's not good, Master, it's not good!"
When Qian Qianyi heard what the servant said, he suddenly jumped up from his chair and his face turned white.
"Did Zuo Liangyu and Wu Sangui escape? Go to Jiangxi or Huguang?"
Although the news from Nanjing has not yet come, Qian Qianyi's sagacity has already guessed that Zuo and Wu will abandon Nanjing and flee.
"No, sir, it's over this time! Li Zhi's Tiger Army came from the Yangtze River on Tianjin's strange ship and landed at Luoxiang. The five thousand people were all fully armed, and they were only forty miles away from here."
Li Zhi is here to catch me!
Qian Qianyi suddenly turned pale and ran out without looking back.
Liu Rushi was frightened by Qian Qianyi's appearance. She rushed up and shouted: "Mu Zhi, what should we do, mother and daughter?"
Qian Qianyi didn't even look back. Why did he care about Liu Rushi's life or death? He just rushed towards the stable. When he rushed to the stable, Qian Qianyi got on his horse and rode with all his strength to the southwest.
A quarter of an hour after Qian Qianyi's horse rode out, Zhang Shenyan, who lived in another courtyard, received the news. He ran to the main courtyard in panic, only to see Liu Rushi standing alone at the gate of the main courtyard holding his daughter.
"Where is Mr. Qian?"
Liu Rushi looked at Zhang Shenyan, tears streaming down her bright face: "Mu Zhi abandoned me and ran for his life." rw
