Nanyang is a fiefdom of the Tang Dynasty king. Since the rise of Guangwu in the Eastern Han Dynasty, it has been known as a famous imperial county. It is considered a relatively wealthy place in Henan Province. Moreover, the Nanyang Basin is surrounded by mountains and is blocked by the Qinling Mountains in the north.
It blocks the cold air coming from the north; it blocks the Bashan Mountain in the south, blocking the heat and humidity in the south.
This unique natural endowment made the Nanyang area fortunate enough to avoid the shocking natural disaster in Henan Province in the 13th year of Chongzhen. The climate in Henan this year was incredibly bad, and in addition to several months of drought and locust plagues, Yang Sichang led
They also sent out additional taxes and regulations, adding man-made disasters to the natural disasters.
With the exception of Nanyang Prefecture, Henan had almost no harvests. In order to avoid the government's apportionment, civilians below the middle class abandoned their land and fled, causing the agricultural production in Henan Province to completely stagnate.
The accumulation of all these situations eventually turned the heart of the Ming Dynasty into a hell on earth.
"Nowadays, the land of the Central Plains is filled with exiles and scattered with bones. When I passed through Luoshui a few days ago, I witnessed with my own eyes hundreds of people from a village drowning themselves near Yongning County. The mess in the world is really unbearable!"
In a small tea shop in Nanyang Fucheng, Chen Kexin had just sat down and took a sip of soup made from coarsely chopped tea leaves. He couldn't help but feel sad and talked about all the things he had seen and experienced on the way to Nanyang. His head
Wearing a green tucked scarf and a linen round-collared robe, he looks dignified and has a thoughtful look. You can tell at a glance that he is a scholar with a good heart.
There was a mix of people of all kinds in the teahouse, and there were many stragglers and gambling gangsters hanging out in this area. Chen Kexin's friend hinted to him with the corner of his eye that the officers and soldiers were also drinking tea, and told him not to talk nonsense.
However, there was another person at the tea table. He was similar to Chen Kexin. He had a great reputation. Although he was not as good as Chen Kexin, as a Nanyang scholar, he was not afraid of the idle officers and soldiers.
The scholar shook his head and quoted scriptures to ridicule the vassal king of the province. As soon as he opened his mouth, he pointed directly at Fu Fan, the emperor's biological uncle, and said: "This great disaster in Henan is caused by natural disasters on the one hand, but also because of relatives on the other hand."
There are too many vassals, otherwise why would we stage the tragedy of drowning the mud gates of the whole village? Our province of Henan is not much richer than other provinces, but there are seven vassals sealed here. Especially the Fu vassal in Luoyang, God
The temple was bewitched by Concubine Zheng and almost wanted to make King Fu the crown prince. If it had not been for the opposition of the noble men of the Manchu Dynasty, it would have led to a catastrophe! It is a pity that Prince Fu could not become the crown prince, but he came to harm us Henan people."
The scholar's words were so explicit that Chen Kexin and his companions covered the scholar's mouth to prevent him from talking nonsense. The incident about the King of Fortune that the scholar talked about was a public case in the Wanli period: Zhu Changxun, the Prince of Fortune, was the king of Wanli.
Born to the emperor's favorite concubine Zheng Guifei. Sons are valued more than mothers, so Zhu Changxun was naturally particularly favored by Shenzong. In the fierce struggle over the establishment of the crown prince in the late Wanli period, Zhu Yijun could not overcome the public opinion of the government and the public, and was forced to agree to establish the emperor's eldest son Zhu Changluo as the crown prince.
Since the original intention of establishing his beloved son Zhu Changxun could not be realized, he and Concubine Zheng used many ways to give King Fu financial advantages. They not only gave a large amount of property accumulated in the palace, but also paid for the farmland, salt production, commercial taxes, etc. that King Fu requested.
It's all "retribution comes in the morning but comes in the evening". Zhu Changxun became a vassal in Luoyang. Although his time was much shorter than that of the other kings since the early Ming Dynasty, his wealth was "the richest in the world".
Chen Kexin was from Yiling, Hubei, not Henan. He was not very familiar with the fact that Henan was divided into seven vassal kings. After covering the scholar's mouth, Chen Kexin couldn't help his curiosity and looked to the other side of the tea table.
His companion asked: "Brother Nian, the nobles and nobles of Tianhuang who are close to the vassal are now in this situation. Will the vassal kings continue to plunder and squeeze the people's power?"
The man gave a wry smile, then lowered his voice and replied: "Wen Gu, you don't know something. Except for our old Tang king in Nanyang, most of the Henan vassals are extravagant and extravagant. Even the King of Zhou in Kaifeng is known as the wise king, but he is actually taking advantage of this.
It was a natural disaster that was rare in ancient times, so we used deceitful methods such as deception and surrender to annex the land in Zhongzhou."
"Reviewing the past" is the epitome of Chen Kexin. It is said that "reviewing the past makes us learn the new". He was originally a governor of Yiling. He relied on his own financial resources and his personal prestige to organize a militia team in Yiling Prefecture City, and went to the city to help the official and army guards. But.
Due to the surprise attack on Yiling by the rebel army, Chen Kexin was caught off guard and found himself in a den of thieves. He had to temporarily remain anonymous and hide in a friend's house.
Later, the Yuan soldiers attacked Yiling again, and the militia organized by Chen Kexin was requisitioned by the Chuang army. Transporting wood was a bad thing. After Yang Sichang commanded the Qin army and Zuo Zhen to recover Yiling, Zuo Liangyu used Chen Kexin to help the Chuang army organize the militia.
He resisted the army and confiscated all the Chen family's property. Thinking of his reputation as a civil servant, Chen Kexin was not punished.
Chen Kexin lost all his property and was imprisoned for more than three months on suspicion of collusion. It was not until recently that some of his helpers who were officials in Henan in the same year rescued him. But Chen Kexin could no longer survive in Huguang, so he had to go north.
In the Central Plains, I came to join my old friend who took the scientific examination in the same year, and find a job to at least be able to support my family.
"Wen Gu, you don't know that there is a popular saying in Henan, which is called 'The fragrant grass in Zhongzhou leads to the homes of emperors and sons of Zhumen'." The daring scholar took the opportunity of drinking tea and began to talk nonsense again, "The seven vassals of Henan"
, headed by King Fu, are all trying to deceive the emperor. If I have the opportunity to pass the Juren exam like you Wen Gu, and go to the capital to take the examination, then I must report all these situations to the emperor Sheng, so that Yanjing can send an imperial minister to
Qingjing Central Plains!"
"When I passed through Luoyang, I saw a corner of the garden of Prince Fu's Mansion. It was indeed magnificent and dazzling. Luoyang was experiencing famine at that time. Outside the palace walls, it was desolate and miserable, and it was like hell; inside the palace walls, it was like hell.
But it is a waste of money and extravagance. The court does not know how to employ people, and the officials in Henan cannot restrain Prince Fu, which is really infuriating."
Chen Kexin believed that the main reason for his bleak situation was that he was unlucky to be caught in the siege of the Chuang army, so he hated the Chuang camp the most. However, because his family property was directly confiscated by Zuo Liangyu, in addition to being hostile to the Chuang army, he also
Chen Kexin could not help but lower his evaluation of the imperial court and the army a lot.
Since he entered the border of Henan Province, all he has seen and heard is a gloomy mist, and the horrific scenes of people changing their sons and eating them have made him even more contemptuous and contemptuous of the officials of the dynasty. However, the situation in Nanyang Prefecture is different from other places in Henan, not only
There are fewer refugees and hungry people on the roads, and the city of Nanyang Prefecture still looks peaceful.
Chen Kexin couldn't help but wonder: "Why is Nanyang Mansion so peaceful? Two brothers Nian, I don't know who the parents of Nanyang are, but they have the ability to fix the sea like a needle and hold up the sky. Being able to calm chaos in the wilderness, it is really
He is a rare and famous minister."
"Haha, Brother Wen Gu, you don't know something. My parents were in official positions, so there's really nothing to mention." The scholar laughed contemptuously. After seeing Chen Kexin's puzzled expression, he explained, "
The first reason why Nanyang Prefecture can enjoy such a peaceful situation today is the old Tang king who was enfeoffed in Nanyang, a rare figure in the royal family of the country. In the ninth year of Chongzhen, the Eastern captives invaded Selian Kebaodi, approaching Beijing, and the capital
Martial law. The king of the old Tang Dynasty ignored the national rule that "the vassal king does not control the army", recruited troops and horses, and led a thousand guards from Nanyang to the north to serve the king."
Another person on the sidelines added for the scholar: "The King of the Old Tang Dynasty was deposed as a commoner by the Holy Emperor for violating national laws and imprisoned in Fengyang High Wall. However, it can also be seen that the King of the Old Tang Dynasty was completely different from other vassals. The Tang Dynasty
The Wang brothers were both elegant and easy-going people. Therefore, the Tang Dynasty rarely took advantage of the land, and did not use the clan's privileges to operate salt, iron, and department stores. Nanyang Mansion benefited from this, and its people's power was preserved."
"I see. From this point of view, although the King of Tang does not have such a great reputation as a virtuous king like the King of Zhou in Kaifeng, he is truly a virtuous king. But Brother Nian said that the King of Tang is the first point, so what is the second point?
?”
The scholar and Chen Kexin were of the same age. They looked at each other and smiled. The scholar showed a very mysterious smile. He leaned close to Chen Kexin's ear and whispered: "Brother Wen Gu, do you know Mr. Li?"
"Mr. Li? I did hear some stories about Mr. Li on the way to Henan. There are many legends among the ignorant. It is said that there is a heroic man named Mr. Li in Xiong'er Mountain. It is said that wherever he goes, he will give money to the poor.
The silver is divided into two taels, so many people are deceived by this rumor... Wait a minute, does Brother Nian mean that Mr. Li is indeed a real person?"
After the scholar laughed twice, he said: "In fact, the second reason why Nanyang Mansion can maintain its peaceful situation today is because of Mr. Li, a heroic hero. He subdued the village bandits in Xiong'er Mountain and Funiu Mountain, and taught the hungry people how to be peaceful.
The refugees came to the mountains to farm, which allowed the disaster in Nanyang Prefecture to be controlled to some extent and prevent it from becoming as tragic as that near Luoyang."
"Zhongzhou is really a great place. There are such heroes in the wilderness! But why doesn't the imperial court appoint Mr. Li as an official and appoint such heroes to deal with the problem of refugees?"
"Brother Wen Gu, you don't know something." Xiucai took another sip of tea and said, "This Mr. Li is from Qixian County, and his father is Li Jingbai, the minister who was involved in the eunuch's rebellion."
When Chen Kexin heard this, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "Master Li was originally from a high-ranking family, so it's no surprise that he has such extraordinary abilities. But I don't know why Mr. Li would join the wilderness since he was a minister.
What about in the green forest?"
"The thing is like this. Mr. Li was originally a member of the Qixian County Juren. When he saw a severe drought in Qixian County, he persuaded the county magistrate to open a warehouse to release grain and help the people. But the magistrate of Qixian County said that Mr. Li secretly spent his family wealth to help the people.
He bought the people's hearts and plotted evil, so he captured Mr. Li and imprisoned him. The people refused to accept it, so they ganged up to kill the county magistrate and robbed Mr. Li out of the prison. With this move, Mr. Li violated the national law and had no choice but to run into the mountains and forests. "
"The imperial court really doesn't know how to employ people!" Chen Kexin smacked the table angrily. He longed for and sympathized with Mr. Li's legendary experience. He felt that such a talented nobleman from a noble family was living among the people, and felt very worthless.
"I wonder, most of the refugee bandits are illiterate and cruel in nature. How could a noble person like Mr. Li emerge? It turns out that Mr. Li is a nobleman from a well-known family after the minister. It's a pity that the imperial court appointed a group of treacherous ministers, which made him
The yellow bell is destroyed and the earthen cauldron thunders."
Finally, Chen Kexin asked curiously: "Everyone only talks about Mr. Li, but they don't know about the two Nian brothers. Do you know Mr. Li's surname?"
The scholar stroked his beard, smiled, and replied confidently: "I'm afraid you won't get the answer if you ask others about this matter, but it just so happens that I am most concerned about the news about Mr. Li. I just recently found out from the hungry people that Mr. Li's surname is
Li, whose single name is the Chinese character for rock, means Laiheng, and is also known as 'Ruhu' among the refugees."