Since the Qing army took control of the capital, the atmosphere in Beijing has become extremely strange. Everyone in the city, including officials, gentry, soldiers and civilians, knew that Huang Taiji had put the Holy Emperor under house arrest, and brutal bandits surrounded the Forbidden Palace.
However, except for the day when the Qing army entered the city, dozens of ministers and scholars either gathered their servants to rescue them or committed suicide at home, most people actually took it easy in the days that followed, as if nothing had happened.
Despite the changes, Ming Dynasty is still the same Ming Dynasty.
The shops were much deserted than in the past, and the Donglu forcibly occupied many houses and houses near the Forbidden City. There were also many relatives of honorable ministers who had retired from the country after being "invited" to the palace by the Donglu, and they have not yet been released. Their luxurious
Villas, villas, gardens, pavilions, and pavilions all became the residences of the Eight Banners soldiers.
These dignitaries who maintained the prosperity of the shops and restaurants in the capital have either been detained by Huang Taiji in the palace for custody, or they are carefully hiding at home. No one dares to come out and spend huge sums of money in the market.
It turns out that early summer has arrived, and the season in the capital is just right. The sky is high and the air is refreshing, which makes people feel relaxed and happy. In previous years, among the buildings in the capital, the romantic places, Lianyun Jiadi, and the palaces of princes and princes, there was no place that would not be full of beautiful songs and drunkenness.
What about the scenic spots?
Now it's just depression.
Zhang Jiayu was on his way to a paper and pen shop specializing in the Four Treasures of the Study, and saw the Eight Banners Guards patrolling the street again. He wanted to cover his nose, otherwise it would be unbearable to bear the smell of sandalwood that hit his face.
Zhang Jiayu had seen the Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers behind the Eight Banners soldiers. They were all Guanning cavalry who had been stationed outside Shanhaiguan, lying on the ice and drinking snow, guarding the Liao territory for the Ming Dynasty.
Why do you lead beasts to eat humans?
Zhang Jiayu is from Dongguan, Guangdong, and is from the same hometown as Yuan Chonghuan, who was killed due to the loss of Guan Liao in the early years of Chongzhen. Although he was not born into a famous family, he was admitted as a scholar at the age of nineteen and became a student member, and passed the provincial examination at the age of twenty-two.
When he was less than 30 years old, he had already won the imperial examination and was awarded the title of Shujishi of Hanlin Academy.
In addition, Zhang Jiayu likes swordsmanship, martial arts, and is proficient in scriptures, poetry, calligraphy, and painting. His personality is similar to Xu Du's, brave and straightforward, so he has close relationships with many people in the Southeast Fushe group. For example, Chen Zilong is Zhang Jiayu's good friend, but since Xuzhou
After the turmoil, the whereabouts of Fang Yizhi, Xu Du, and Chen Zilong were unknown, and now such drastic changes have occurred in the capital. Sometimes, Zhang Jiayu really had the idea that he might as well return to his hometown in Lingnan and become a teacher for the rest of his life.
He knew that the situation was like this, and there was no other way. However, recently, not only had the number of Manchus patrolling the streets in Beijing been greatly reduced, but the number of garrison troops who used to fill the city seemed to have also been greatly reduced.
Zhang Jiayu already had a clear answer in his mind when he thought of the large army that frequently entered and exited the capital city gates in the past two nights and the new pay of the Eastern Division that was forcibly distributed to many shops.
"Shopkeeper, do you sell "Rongzhai Liubi" in the store?"
Zhang Jiayu walked into the paper and pen shop. This shop was newly opened at the end of last year. The furnishings in the shop are clean and tidy. The shopkeeper looks very young, but his facial features and face appear to be resolute and courageous, full of weathered weather.
When the shopkeeper heard Zhang Jiayu's question, he looked a little surprised and replied:
""Rong Zhai Essays" only has five strokes, not six strokes. Is it really "Rong Zhai's Six strokes" that Sir wants to buy?"
"What I want to buy is "Rong Zhai's Six Biography", the sixth chapter of "Rong Zhai's Essays"."
The shopkeeper brought Zhang Jiayu into the store and said, "Sir, you can come with me to the study and look around. You may be able to find this "Rong Zhai Liu Bi".
"But please do."
"Sir, please come in."
Zhang Jiayu slowly followed the shopkeeper into the study at the back of the shop. After walking a few steps, he vaguely heard the sound of a pipa: first the tune was sad and twisting, playing, and then suddenly turned, like a cavalry charging out, the sound startling the strings,
It's like thousands of arrows fired in unison, full of murderous intent.
"The guest's "Rongzhai Liubi" is right here. Come in by yourself. I will guard the door."
The shopkeeper pointed to a door and asked Zhang Jiayu to go in by himself. Zhang Jiayu did not suspect fraud and walked directly in. As soon as he pushed open the door, the sound of pipa in the room suddenly stopped, and a familiar figure flashed in the hall.
He hugged Zhang Jiayu into his arms.
"Brother Motoko!"
"Chen Wazi!"
The two hugged each other. When Zhang Jiayu saw Chen Zilong, an old friend who had been away for many years, she couldn't help but her eyes turned red and she choked with sobs: "Okay, okay, great. Everything is fine with me, this is great."
Chen Zilong quietly closed the door, raised a finger, and hissed:
"Shhh, I am not Chen Baozi now, but Mr. Chen Sanye who sells pens and inkstones in Beijing. Brother Yuanzi will change his name to Mr. Sanye from now on."
Chen Zilong then invited Zhang Jiayu to take a seat and asked: "Is there anyone else following you along the way? The situation in the capital is not trivial now. When I come to this place, I have to be extremely careful in everything I do. Brother Yuanzi is the same. Your life and fortune are here, so you must be cautious in everything you do."
"Third Master, you are too worried. I am a commoner, and I don't participate in the matter of military aircraft and horses. The slaves don't pay attention to me."
Zhang Jiayu laughed, and then asked solemnly: "Third Master...Third Master took the risk to come here. It seems that the relationship with the new owner is already irreversible?"
Chen Zilong knew that Zhang Jiayu was loyal to the king and brave and resourceful. When the capital was controlled by Huang Taiji, Zhang Jiayu was able to use his family members who had fled Beijing to pretend to be refugees to reestablish contact with him. His judgment and action ability, and
Chen Zilong was deeply impressed by his ability to predict the development of the situation.
"That's right... the old club's property has been usurped by outsiders. The new owner is one of our own, and has different intentions from the outsiders who usurped the family property. And I have seen many properties managed by this new owner. They are all well-organized and well-organized.
It is clever and grand in scale, not only surpassing the previous situation of the old boss, but also not far behind when compared with the old master."
After hearing this, Zhang Jiayu could only smile bitterly and said: "We ourselves were blind, opened the door to thieves, and allowed outsiders to usurp the property. We can't blame others. It's just that this outsider used deception to usurp the property. How can people be convinced? What's more, he is acting in the opposite direction.
Now everyone is just hiding their hatred and not expressing it."
"Brother Motoko...do you blame me? You blame me for finding a new owner."
"There are many loyal ministers and righteous men in the Ming Dynasty." Zhang Jiayu finally said seriously, "The imperial court has been in power for more than two hundred years, and the people of the world have become worthy of Emperor Taizu Gao. Your army has conquered the world with the right way, why do you have any complaints? I heard that Dashun
The Emperor Yongchang has a very frugal salary. He only has a wife, a concubine and two old women around him. He is rough and has many soldiers. Such a wise ruler, even if I meet him, I would still serve him from the north. What's more, the third master is trapped in Xuzhou.
The sword and ax are on your body. The commander-in-chief believes in the slander and wants to kill you.
The land and people that are inherent to the Ming Dynasty are not the land and people that are inherent to one family and one surname, but are actually owned by China. This is because the imperial court is responsible for the third master, not the third master who is responsible for the imperial court."
Chen Zilong couldn't help but sigh when he heard this: "When I was in Xuzhou, I saw the people along the way were in ruins, and the officers and soldiers were like tigers and wolves. Those who passed by would be burned, looted and destroyed. My fellow secretaries, Xu Sheng, all had the ability to serve the imperial court and turn things around. Great ambition, but Hou Zhitai wanted to kill Yuan Shizhong, and Gao Zhentai interfered with it. Brother Yuanzi is interested in the inside story of the turmoil in Xuzhou. I can tell him the whole story."
This paper and pen shop was one of the red team strongholds deployed by the Dashun Army in the capital.
Many of the three scholars who defected to Li Laiheng in Xuzhou followed Gu Junen and joined the army. Fang Yizhi was kept by Li Laiheng because he was proficient in Western learning, physics, and arithmetic. Together with Xie Zheng, who proposed some academic and political advice in Huguang, he planned to further refresh the Huguang Suiying camp. The teaching contents of schools and township official schools.
As a talented man in the clouds and one of the leaders of Fushe, Chen Zilong had a wide network of contacts among the scholars in the capital of the Ming Dynasty. He knew that his brilliant pen would not make much difference in the chaotic Dashun army. But if many of his old friends in Beijing can mobilize, they will certainly be able to provide a lot of help to Li Laiheng.
Therefore, Chen Zilong volunteered himself and asked Ying to follow the Red Team members, sneak into the capital secretly, contact old friends, instigate old officials of the Ming Dynasty, and more importantly, find out the internal movements of the Qing army for Li Laiheng.
He left Zhang Jiayu to have lunch in the shop. The dishes were very exquisite, not inferior to ordinary banquets for dignitaries. Not only the delicious food, but also the fine porcelain dishes and silver-coated chopsticks, Zhang Jiayu liked very much.