Liu Shengqian smiled and said: "Nothing, nothing, we are just curious. Mr. Wu is in the capital and is well-informed. We just want to confirm it. Well... Mr. Wu must have heard of this serious behavior. Magistrate Shen and I
I also talked a little more about this matter in private. If I were to be seriously transferred to the Political Hall as an official, and then appointed as Deputy Prime Minister, I'm afraid..."
Liu Sheng chuckled and said nothing.
Wu Chunlai said coldly: "Afraid of what?"
Liu Sheng said softly: "I'm afraid...it will make Prime Minister Lu unhappy. Yan Zhengsu is not a person who can be controlled by others. We are very worried about this."
Wu Chunlai sneered: "It's not your turn to worry."
Liu Sheng said: "That's not what I meant. We are thinking about Prime Minister Lu. The relationship between Yan Zhengsu and Prince Liang seems to be very good, and Prince Liang and Privy Yang also have a good relationship. Lin, the deputy envoy of the Third Division who returned to Hangzhou last time,
Bonian was Lin Jue's second uncle, and Lin Jue was a guest of Prince Liang's palace. Yan Zhengsheng and Fang Dunru were close friends, and Lin Jue's teacher was Fang Dunru. Putting these events together, Yan Zhengsun was
When Su becomes the deputy prime minister, everything from the Political Affairs Hall to the Privy Council to the Sansi Yamen are connected in one line. Is Mr. Wu unaware of it? Prime Minister Lu should be aware of these things."
Wu Chunlai looked at Liu Sheng and Shen Fang blankly for a long time, then suddenly burst into laughter, nodding at Liu Sheng's nose and laughing non-stop.
"Master Liu, you are very worried. What are you two discussing in private? Discussing these things is not what you should do. If the court knows that you two are discussing the interpersonal relationships in the court, try to figure out what these things are.
No, those officials at Yushitai will not let you live in peace."
Liu Shengdao: "Master Wu, it is precisely because we admire Mr. Lu and respect Mr. Wu that we think more about these things. Mr. Lu is loyal to the country and has a broad mind, so he will not think too much about trivial matters, but we
We can't just see these without warning. Let me put it plainly. Mr. Shen and I are willing to serve Prime Minister Lu and will never allow cliques in the court to form and interfere with the government. This is also the hard work of the two of us to be loyal to the Holy Emperor and the court.
Seeing that this group of cronies is about to take shape, the two of us can no longer turn a blind eye. Mr. Wu, if we can go to Beijing and become officials, we can do our best to support and protect the cronies and not let the cronies use the public to hijack the public. This is Mr. Shen and I.
What I have always wanted to say to Mr. Wu."
Liu Sheng finally revealed his purpose. He and Shen Fang wanted to join Lu Zhongtian and work for Lu Zhongtian. The condition was that they also wanted to be transferred to the capital and join the central organization as officials. This was a deal.
Wu Chunlai looked at the two of them quietly, a smile slowly appeared on his face.
"You two, please go back. You will meet Qichen tomorrow morning."
"Master Wu, what about this matter..." Liu Sheng thought Wu Chunlai had rejected his request and asked hurriedly.
Wu Chunlai smiled and said: "You two go back and settle down the government affairs. As for other things... I will report it to the Prime Minister after I return to Beijing, and the Prime Minister will make his own decision. It is best for you to do a few good deeds that are praised by the people when you go back, and write a memorial to report.
Come up."
How could Liu Sheng and Shen Fang not understand the meaning of his words, and asked them to go back and do some good things in government affairs and report them to them, and they used this as an excuse to transfer them to Beijing. The two were overjoyed, thanked them repeatedly, and handed over their hands.
Say goodbye and go out.
Wu Chunlai watched the two people leave and then sat down at the desk again. He picked up his pen and dipped some ink into it to write and draw on a piece of white paper. Soon, several names were written on the paper, connected by lines.
And write the relationship between them. I stared at this relationship diagram connecting people's names for a long time, and I was lost in thought.
"Sir, Hangzhou General Magistrate Zhang Yi would like to see you." A dark figure came in to report.
"Zhang Yi? What's he doing here? It's so late." Wu Chunlai was stunned.
"Zhang Tongpan has been here a long time ago. The two magistrates were here just now, so he has been waiting in front. He just came to see you now."
"Oh." Wu Chunlai nodded.
"See him? Sir." the black shadow asked.
Wu Chunlai stared at the name Yan Zhengsu on the paper, stretched out his pen and wrote a character under Yan Zhengsu, and then connected a black line to the empty space. He wrote the name Zhang Jun in the empty space, looked at it for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "See you, of course I'll see you. Invite him in and order tea. It looks like I won't be able to sleep well tonight."
…
The bright moon is setting in the west, and the Mid-Autumn Festival moon on August 15th illuminates the vast world. I don’t know how many people are looking at the moon tonight, with their thoughts flowing. The same bright moon has witnessed the hustle and bustle and sleepless night of Hangzhou tonight, and the same It illuminates other people under heaven and earth. Heaven and earth share this ice wheel. Under the same moon, different people live and experience different experiences.
Beidi is thousands of miles away, more than 600 miles southwest of Bianliang, Tokyo, among the mountains and ravines in the north of Nanyang County under the jurisdiction of Dengzhou, Gyeonggi Province. A woman is also sitting Standing on a rock on the top of a mountain, I held my chin and looked at the setting full moon.
The autumn night in the deep mountains of the North is already very cold. As the early morning approaches, the frost and dew are falling, and the chill is overwhelming. The woman's sleeves and bun are already wet, and there is even a layer of moisture between the ends of her hair. A touch of white frost. However, she didn't seem to notice that she had been sitting here for several hours. Since the bright moon rose in the east, she sat here, watching the moon slowly fall to the west. Facing this It's a full moon, and my mind is thinking about people thousands of miles away. My thoughts are constantly changing, and I can't help myself.
This woman is Gao Muqing. A few months ago, Gao Muqing led Liang Qi and more than 500 brothers who escaped from the Guishan Island cottage all the way north. After several bloody battles, they broke through the pursuit and interception of officers and soldiers and arrived here. Here The Funiu Mountains in Dengzhou, Gyeonggi Province. Only when you enter the Funiu Mountains can you be completely free from the harassment of officers and soldiers.
Funiu Mountain is a remnant of the Qinling Mountains. Although it is a remnant, it has nearly a hundred peaks, large and small, covering an area of nearly 400 miles. The mountains are distributed from northwest to southeast, spanning the Han River and the Huai River, like a barrier. It separates the Gyeonggi and the southwest of the capital. This mountain has high mountains, dense forests, steep peaks, deep ravines, high cliffs, caves, waterfalls and deep valleys. The terrain is extremely complex, making it an excellent place to stay.
Although there are actually many alpine forests like this all over Dazhou, it is not difficult to find a mountain forest to live in and build a stronghold. However, for Gao Muqing and others, there is another reason why they chose to come to Funiu Mountain to start over. considerations.
The first point is that Funiu Mountain has been a place where green forest heroes have gathered since ancient times. There are dozens of large and small cottages where the green forest heroes of the Central Plains turned into bandits. Guo Rong, Shizong of the Great Zhou Dynasty, defeated the heroes of the world and established the great empire. During the Zhou Dynasty, the remnants of a regular army that was finally defeated were driven into Funiu Mountain. This soldier and horse has since become the origin of dozens of large and small cottages in Funiu Mountain. More than a hundred years have passed. , they split and came together to form the current situation. Although they are all copycats with average strength today, many of them do not agree with the Zhou Dynasty from the bottom of their hearts, so they are a group of real desperadoes.
Therefore, Gao Muqing and others chose to come to Funiu Mountain because it was the best base to resist the atmosphere of the Zhou Dynasty. Over the past hundred years, some means and facilities for systematically resisting the imperial court have been formed, including the transformation of the terrain, and the construction of many
The pass makes it difficult for officers and soldiers to enter the mountain to suppress the bandits. There are only a few hundred people left in the Guishan Island village. This number is no longer enough to resist the imperial court's encirclement and suppression. Therefore, coming to Funiu Mountain and relying on the strength of the village is
Save your best choices.
The second reason to come to Funiu Mountain is that Funiu Mountain is only six to seven hundred miles away from Bianliang, and is located in the southwest of Gyeonggi Province. The closest point in the Beilu Mountains is less than five hundred miles away from Bianliang. This seems to be
A knife in the vital part of the imperial court, a cancer in Gyeonggi Province, is the most disgusting when it breaks out.
If banditry arises far away from thousands of rivers and mountains, the Great Zhou court and Emperor in the capital may not be able to empathize with it and may not feel threatened. But Funiu Mountain is so close, if something is done in Gyeonggi Province, it will obviously
It even made the people in Bianliang City panic.
The Guishan Island cottage was destroyed, and the imperial court rushed to hunt them down. Under such circumstances, it was difficult to find a place to set up camp in a hurry. The imperial court refused to give them time to breathe, and they must hold on to a foothold wherever they went.
Extermination was carried out before it was stabilized. Therefore, in order to ensure survival, it is necessary to find a place where you can immediately take shelter and settle down. Funiu Mountain is obviously such a good place. It has a good atmosphere of resisting the government, and officers and soldiers do not dare to do so easily.
Come in for encirclement and suppression.
However, Funiu Mountain is not just a place where you want to establish a foothold. There is a mixture of fish and dragons here, and each village has its own king of the mountain. When the officers and soldiers are not here, everyone wants to compete for more territory, annex more villages, and expand themselves.
strength. It is obviously impossible for outsiders to establish a foothold here and try to carve out a piece of their territory. But for the people of Gao Muqing's Guishan Island, they have a unique advantage, and that is Funiu Mountain
Someone among them is willing to accept them as a member.
The Pheasant Ridge and Huxiao Gorge in the southeast of Funiu Mountain and the Shiren Mountain, the highest peak on the east side, are occupied by a village. The owner of the village is named Zuo Zongdao. This man used to work on Guishan Island many years ago, following the village owner Gao Lao.
Xiao gathered on Guishan Island. Later, for some unknown reason, Zuo Zongdao left the Guishan Island village at his own request. The style of the village leader Gao Lao has always been to get together if they can get along and leave if they can't, and did not force it. When Zuo Zongdao left, the village master Gao Lao
He also summoned a group of brothers to send him off with wine, and Zuo Zongdao left the village without knowing where he was going.
It was not until five or six years after losing contact that Zuo Zongdao sent someone to deliver a letter to the leader of Gao Lao Village. At that time, everyone on Guishan Island knew that Zuo Zongdao had become famous in Funiu Mountain and became a few people in Funiu Mountain.
One of the village leaders in this big village. Since then, the contact between the two parties has not been interrupted. Zuo Zongdao was once favored by the old village master and took him in. He did not create any difficulties when he left, and he respected the old village master Gao very much. He returned the favor every year.
He sent people all the way from Funiu Mountain to send some mountain furs as a tribute. Gao Muqing remembered that one year for his birthday, Zuo Zongdao gave a snow-white mink fur cloak as a gift to Gao Muqing, who was only ten years old at the time. Gao Muqing
Although I have never met Zuo Zongdao, I remember him clearly.
A few months ago, after an incident occurred on Guishan Island, when Gao Muqing and others were desperate, they received a letter from Zuo Zongdao's order, inviting them to take shelter in his mountain stronghold in Funiu Mountain. This was tantamount to
A move to provide help in times of need. With Zuo Zongdao's village as a shelter, they could avoid too many dangers and difficulties and could gain a foothold immediately. So after discussion, Gao Muqing and others decided to come to Funiu Mountain to settle down.
This factor of Zuo Zongdao is the third reason why Gao Muqing led everyone from Guishan Island to Funiu Mountain, and it is also the most important reason. For Gao Muqing, the current situation is beyond her ability. She cannot lead the rest.
The hundreds of people regrouped, and Zuo Zongdao's invitation undoubtedly made her breathe a sigh of relief.
After arriving at Funiu Mountain, Zuo Zongdao was warm and considerate. Not only did he not ask Gao Muqing and others to join his village and accept his command, he instead vacated the Pheasant Ridge site in the north for Gao Muqing and others to establish a foothold in the village. This made many people
The Guishan Island brothers, who had some concerns and worries, were relieved. Zuo Zongdao also gave a lot of support in terms of supplies of food and materials. In this way, Gao Muqing and hundreds of others quickly settled down. Within the next month
, one after another, the separated brothers and family members of Guishan Island came to gather together from thousands of miles away. In a short period of time, nearly 2,000 people were gathered, and most of them were ordinary people who once lived on Guishan Island.
