Among the two capitals and thirteen provinces in the Ming Dynasty, Guizhou Province had the smallest geographical area, but it was densely packed with inns along the way.
Since the proportion of Han people in Guizhou is very low and it is surrounded by high mountains and ridges, the core idea of the imperial court in ruling Guizhou is to "stick to the front line."
As long as we control the transportation lines composed of inns, we can quickly deploy troops to suppress the rebellion in Guizhou Province, which has complex terrain.
Since the Chenghua period, the post stations in Guizhou have gradually been abandoned.
Yingzong and Zhu Qizhen launched a civil fort uprising, which destroyed several provinces in the north. After stabilizing the situation in the north, they were busy suppressing the refugees in Jingxiang and had no time to pay attention to the Yunnan-Guizhou region.
The chieftains in Guizhou looked back and no longer took the imperial court seriously.
Even the Shuidong Song family, who is known for their loyalty, began to cut off information, and together with the Shuixian family, they deliberately abandoned the inn. There were only three routes into Guizhou from Bashu and Huguang. The two chieftains joined forces with a tacit understanding to directly eliminate the three transportation lines. The starting section was pinched.
The place where Wang Yuan was located, Zha Zuo Chang Sui, was the territory of the Shuidong Song family.
The Zazuo Post under its jurisdiction has been deserted for a long time. The houses in the post station have collapsed and the weeds in the corners have grown taller than people.
However, the official road that runs through the post station is still in use, and merchants or convicts often pass by. Compared with the Central Plains, the official road in Guizhou is very narrow, and there are various uphill and downhill climbs, and you even have to crawl up the steep section.
In late spring, the wind is gentle and the sun is beautiful.
Three people came from afar on the official road, two of them were escorting officers, and the remaining one was of course an exiled prisoner.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor, was brutal, as long as there was no corruption or fraud, various criminal laws were very humane. Throughout the hundreds of years of the Ming Dynasty, sentences of exile could basically be reduced to prison terms (re-education through labor) - only if it caused big trouble. True exile.
Shen Fucong is in big trouble!
Shen Fucong, courtesy name Weitang, was born in Yuyao, Shaoxing Prefecture.
He passed the scholar examination at the age of seventeen, but he was still a scholar at the age of twenty-seven. In anger, Shen Fucong, who claimed to be rich in knowledge, was forced to work as a guest of the county magistrate due to his livelihood.
The guest of the curtain is the master. He was born in Shaoxing Prefecture and is still a Shaoxing master!
The county magistrate rose through the ranks and even became a magistrate, and Master Shen also rose to the top. Later, the magistrate was transferred to the capital official position, and he used money to help Shen Fucong make arrangements, so that he could get a low-ranking assistant officer for him.
Last summer, Emperor Hongzhi passed away, Emperor Zhengde Zhu Houzhao came to power, and the eunuch Liu Jin started jumping up and down.
The chief officer assisted by Shen Fuchong was a Qingliu, who was hot-headed and went against Eunuch Liu. Unfortunately, Qingliu was also greedy, and was found out by Eunuch Liu. His financial resources were taken away by the eunuchs, and the assistant officer Shen Fuchong was also taken with him. He was also raped and sentenced to three thousand miles of exile - luckily his home was not confiscated.
Looking at the lofty mountains in the distance and thinking about his future life in exile, Master Shen sighed: "My life is so miserable!"
The two escorts (escorts) also stopped. One stood to drink water, and the other held a shackle and said: "Master Shen, please stop complaining. We didn't even put the shackles on you. We brothers are the ones who suffer. If you want to I have walked thousands of miles with you, and I don’t know when I will be able to go back in what month or year.”
Not only did Mr. Shen not shut up, he became even more miserable. He hid his tears and wailed: "I miss you, Shen Weitang. I was literate at the age of five, could write poems at the age of eight, and was a scholar at the age of seventeen. I hate that the examiner didn't understand the secrets of articles, and he failed me again and again. I failed the provincial examination and couldn't even pass the examination! I finally met my benefactor, gave up my studies and became a guest, and spent half my life to get a low-ranking official. I only served as an official for two years, and a low-ranking official, unexpectedly, It can also be involved in court disputes. Now I have to be sent to Yunnan again. Is that a place for people to be treated? My life is so miserable. God, please open your eyes!"
The two interpreters were so annoyed that if they hadn't sent the person there so that he could collect reward money from his family when he returned, they would have killed the bastard with one knife.
Before Mr. Shen finished his fuss, he suddenly began to recite Su Dongpo's works: "The heart is like a gray tree, and the body is like a boat without ties. I ask you about your life achievements, Huangzhou, Huizhou, and Danzhou!"
Finally, one of the commentators got impatient, shook the yoke in his hand and said, "What state are you in? Hurry up, or I'll put the yoke on you!"
Master Shen finally chose to follow his heart and continued on his way. As he walked, he said: "Those who know me say that I am worried, and those who don't know me say what I want. I am not lamenting my own experience, but lamenting the loss of this great Ming Dynasty. I have found a genius who knows the world..."
The three of them didn't go far when they saw a child standing by the road.
The child was wearing black clothes and black trousers, with patches all over his body, and straw sandals on his feet. There was an earthen bow hanging on his waist, and a bag of arrows hanging on his back. The arrows were messy and clearly belonged to homemade weapons.
It’s Wang Yuan!
It is not every day that you encounter prisoners who are exiled or demoted. My father and eldest brother stayed there for a few days before giving up. After all, they still have to work on the family's livelihood.
For such a trivial matter as cutting off official channels, we can only trouble Wang Yuan to handle it himself.
Wang Yuan cupped his fists and saluted the three of them, and said in Guizhou Mandarin: "You three, please go slowly. I have something to ask."
Master Shen could barely understand this dialect. He felt quite strange at the moment. Without waiting for the two officials to express their opinions, he smiled and said: "Little baby, what do you want to ask me?"
Wang Yuan clasped his fists again: "May I ask your Excellency, have you ever been to school? Can you write eight-legged essays?"
Master Shen burst out laughing: "I, Shen Weitang, was admitted as a scholar at the age of seventeen, and you actually asked me if I know how to do eight-legged stereotypes..." Halfway through his laughter, his expression suddenly changed and he panicked, "What do you want to do and why?" Are you pointing your bow and arrow at me? Put your bow and arrow down quickly!"
"You are the one!"
Wang Yuan bent his bow and nocked an arrow, stood leisurely on the official road, and said to the three adults: "Please cooperate with us in the robbery."
"Ha ha ha ha!"
The two escorting officers were amused. One of them laughed and said: "How old are you? Have you been weaned? You dare to imitate others and come out to rob you at a young age."
"Whoosh!"
An arrow shot out, knocking off the officer's hat.
As the saying goes, ruthless people don't talk much, but Wang Yuan used practical actions to tell the other party that robbery is a very serious matter.
"Be bold!"
When the official was frightened, another official suddenly drew his sword. Unexpectedly, just two inches after the sword was unsheathed, Wang Yuan shot another arrow, hitting the official's tiger's mouth. His right hand was bleeding and he could no longer hold the sword.
Wang Yuan aimed at his head, narrowed his eyes and sneered: "Do you want me to shoot a third arrow?"
The official who had his hat shot off finally came back to his senses. He was shocked by Wang Yuan's sharp shot and said inwardly: "Little boy, do you know what the crime of robbing and killing an official is?"
Wang Yuan choked back: "When we reach the territory of Guizhou Chieftain, let alone a small official, I will kill the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty even if he comes!"
The two officials were speechless for a moment, unable to find the words to retort.
Since the Chenghua Dynasty, Guizhou's guard system has gradually deteriorated, and daily rebellions still need to be dealt with by local chieftains.
What's even more ridiculous is that Guizhou's territory is closely intertwined with Sichuan and Huguang. Sometimes a few hundred people rebel, and they can travel a hundred and eighty miles, and the three provinces need to send troops together.
The provinces blamed each other, saying that there was a rebellion in the other's territory. In the end, no one wanted to take care of it, and they had to bother the Ministry of War to coordinate the work.
Under such circumstances, the imperial court naturally muddle along with Guizhou, and there is really no way to deal with the death of an official.
Wang Yuan continued to give orders: "The prisoner stays, you can leave."
"Not stealing money?" The two officials were quite surprised, and then they were overjoyed.
Wang Yuandao: "I want people but not money."
"You should have told me earlier!"
"Little brother, we brothers will leave first. Please be steady and don't shoot the arrow."
The two officers immediately turned around and ran away. When they returned, they could say that they had been robbed, and they could get away with it by just getting some injuries.
Shen Fucong was left standing there stupidly, with a confused expression on his face, and suddenly shouted at the backs of the two of them: "Don't run, come back quickly! What will I do if you run away?"
The two officers immediately ran faster, not caring that Master Shen hadn't gotten into the car yet.
Master Shen was so angry that he stamped his feet, forced out a smile, and said to please: "Little brother, I'm just a prisoner, I don't have anything valuable on me. How about..."
Wang Yuan smiled and asked: "What better?"
Master Shen assessed the situation and begged in a low voice: "Why don't you show your noble hand and let me go?"
Wang Yuan did not answer directly, but pointed to a big tree thirty steps away: "Sir, have you seen that tree?"
Master Shen nodded and said, "I saw it."
Wang Yuan bent his bow and set an arrow: "Pay attention to the old raven (crow) on the tree."
Master Shen suffered from mild myopia. If he looked carefully, he could only see a small black shadow. But when Wang Yuan shot an arrow, the black shadow immediately fell. The arrow was shot quickly and accurately, and the crows shot out No chance to react.
"Good archery skills!" Master Shen praised him.
Wang Yuan asked: "Can you outrun the sharp arrow in my hand?"
Master Shen shook his head repeatedly: "I can't run away."
Wang Yuan finally put away his bow and arrows, bowed again, and looked polite: "Since you can't run away, then accept your fate. Sir, please come back to the mountain with me."
"Go back to the mountain?" Master Shen still didn't understand. If the person who kidnapped him was a burly man, he might be kidnapped back to the mountain to be a military advisor. After all, that's what was written in "Water Margin", but the problem is that Wang Yuan is just a little kid. !
Wang Yuan comforted him and said: "Sir, don't be afraid. I just want to study, but my family is poor and I can't afford a teacher. I hope that my husband can come back to the mountain with me and teach me the principles of saints who can be officials. As for the swordsmanship, I am scared." Resigning from official position is just a way of showing my sincerity."
"You've been making trouble for so long just because you want to become a disciple?" Master Shen felt sincerity but also felt extremely ridiculous and angry.
In Guizhou, a barbarian land, even apprenticeship is so simple and rough, and the way to express sincerity is even more straightforward!