Chapter 62 Dangerous

When Huang Zongxi finally left the office of the Ministry of Punishment, it was already afternoon. I don't know if he finally understood that this little brother can't be easily persuaded, or because he was moved by his awe-inspiring uprightness, Xu Shiqi's attitude changed a lot from being furious to blow Huang Zongxi away to finally withdrawing his order .Not only did he keep Huang Zongxi, but he also had a lot of in-depth talks with him with a new understanding and love for this younger brother.He listed various facts to explain the darkness and corruption of the imperial court, and how to be cautious in such an environment, and never act willfully.In order to persuade Huang Zongxi, Xu Shiqi even talked to him about a major event that happened recently in the court that has not been fully disclosed.It is said that the matter is as follows: It turns out that since the fall of Songshan, the emperor was very panicked and tried to make peace with the Qing army. We sent Ma Shaoyu, a member of the Ministry of War, and his party of four as envoys to Shenyang to negotiate secretly with the Qing side with the imperial edict.This matter was originally done extremely confidentially, and there was no trace of it.However, probably the emperor also knew that Chen Xinjia's mouth was not reliable, so he had repeatedly told him not to leak it to the outside world.Unexpectedly, Chen Xinjia couldn't bear it anymore, and quietly told Fu Zonglong, the governor-general who was ordered to go to Shaanxi to fight against the "rogue bandits" at that time. made a disclosure.Word spread.At first, the officials were dubious, so they rushed to impeach Xie Sheng, saying that he spread rumors to confuse the public, but his intention was to test the emperor's attitude.The emperor found out that it was Chen Xinjia's secret, he was naturally annoyed, but he still tolerated him, and only dismissed Xie Sheng.Unexpectedly, by coincidence, just a few days ago, Ma Shaoyu sent a secret report on the peace talks to Chen Xinjia.After Chen Xinjia read it, he put it on the desk and left.His family boy mistakenly thought it was a daily battle report, so he took it rashly and circulated it outside.Then the truth came to light all of a sudden, and the court was in an uproar.The emperor was hesitating about the harsh terms proposed by the Qing army, and he was caught off guard that the court was about to start a disturbance. Chen Xinjia was arrested and imprisoned.It seems that there is a great intention to put him to death.The three officials that Huang Zongxi met when he entered the mansion were Chen Xinjia's usual friends, and they came here specially to plead with Xu Shiqi and ask him to help him find a way to give him a lighter sentence.

After talking about this matter, Xu Shiqi stroked his beard and took a heavy breath: "Accordingly, Chen, as the great Sima, has been in charge of the Ministry of War for several years. He has made four important border towns and seventy-two important towns in the interior. They fell into the hands of the Jian captives and bandits respectively, and the seven vassal kings were killed. It can be said that they deserved their crimes. Only the matter of peace negotiation was obviously ordered by the emperor, but now it has been revealed, what is the use of his indulgent defense? Brother Yu's trial can only be judged as "covering the Lord's monopoly and humiliating the country with private funds"! Therefore, the wise brother keeps saying that the way to be a minister lies in being outspoken, but he knows that judging the situation is especially important! Chen Xinjia is ignorant of current affairs. Afterwards, he didn't incriminate himself, but directly stated his merits, which is tantamount to publicizing the emperor's fault, so he must die! This matter is so close, shouldn't my brother think deeply about it?"

I don't know if it was because the news was too shocking, or Xu Shiqi's persuasion played a role. Since then, Huang Zongxi has not insisted on his original opinion.He obediently stayed in Xu Mansion for lunch, and resigned as soon as a new batch of intercessors arrived. Now, Huang Zongxi is riding a horse and walking home alone.The surprise and shock caused by the news that he heard in Xu Shiqi's yamen just now has not disappeared, or rather, it has made his mood even more confused.Because the news of the secret peace talks between the imperial court and the Qing army had been rumored for several days, Huang Zongxi always hoped that it was not true.In fact, Huang Zongxi, like a considerable number of people in the ruling and opposition circles at the time, believed that the Liaodong and Nuergan areas outside Shanhaiguan were originally part of the territory of the Ming Dynasty. , Their ruthless invasion of the Ming Dynasty is a rebellious act of rebellion. They must not be forgiven, let alone their regime.And once you negotiate peace with them, it will be tantamount to putting them on an equal footing with the Ming Dynasty, which is absolutely unacceptable.Therefore, the court has always regarded the peace talks as a shame.In addition, Emperor Chongzhen was a very face-saving person, and he was very taboo about peace talks.But the problem now is that it is precisely the emperor himself who secretly sent people to transfer money to Jianlu.In Huang Zongxi's view, this is really an extremely ominous sign. "Ah, could it be that the situation has reached such a serious point that even the emperor feels that there is no other way but to lose money?" Huang Zongxi wondered in confusion.This sudden exposure of the inside story seems to have cleared away the many blurred veils in front of Huang Zongxi these days, and made him see more clearly than ever: the terrible crack that threatened the survival of the Ming regime day and night. how deep.This discovery, intertwined with the fact that he became the target of the Jinyi Guard's falcon dogs to investigate and fight, Huang Zongxi's mood became even darker.

Now, he has already left Xuanwu Gate, he should have been heading south all the way back to Fang Yizhi's residence.But sitting on the horse's back, he was only thinking about his own thoughts, and unknowingly went astray. It wasn't until the horse stopped in front of a collapsed broken wall that he suddenly woke up. "Ah, how did I come here? What is this place?" He looked around in a daze, and realized that he had already walked among the ruins at some point.The way ahead was blocked by rubble, and on both sides were successive ruined walls, overgrown weeds and shrubs, and broken bricks and tiles all over the floor, but it was rare to see beams, columns, doors and windows.The ruins have probably existed for many years, and the available wood has long been taken away.Today, among the broken walls, some low and dirty shacks have been erected here and there, and several vegetable fields have been opened.Naturally, there are also many residents.However, it seemed that they were all refugees from the outskirts of the city and had nowhere to live, so they had to gather in this ruins, so the situation was very pitiful.At this moment, Huang Zongxi couldn't see a person who was dressed even a little brightly.Whether they were carrying loads, carrying baskets, bare hands, or squatting on the base of the wall to catch lice and chat, they were all dressed in such shabby and dirty clothes, and most of them looked numb and preoccupied.Even if there was a laugh or two occasionally, it still couldn't get rid of the sense of despair and desolation. Only those wild children in scanty clothes seemed to forget the bitterness of the world more easily.They were having fun in groups on the swirling rubble, and suddenly they fought again, making a loud, rough noise...

"Ah, so there is such a place in the capital, but I never knew about it." Huang Zongxi thought in amazement, while looking around, he found that there was a small tea house not far away from the road, and several people were sitting there. Drink tea inside.After thinking for a while, he drove his horse over, jumped off the ground, bowed his hands to the middle-aged man selling tea, and asked: "Please tell me, brother, what is this place, how did it become like this, did you dare to be attacked by soldiers?" The tea seller was tall and strong, with a bold air.He looked at Huang Zongxi, but didn't answer first, stretched out his hairy left hand, picked up a large coarse porcelain bowl, lifted the tea pot with his right hand, poured a bowl of tea full, put it in front of Huang Zongxi, and said:

"Xiucai, what you are asking is a very important matter, at least it should be worth three taels of his mother's silver! If you want me to answer you, you have to drink my bowl of tea!" Huang Zongxi was stunned for a moment, and asked in doubt: "I don't know how big brother's tea..." The man laughed loudly: "Don't worry, scholar! Even if I want to cheat you, you may not be able to give it; even if I could, you may not be willing! Tell you, I only need a penny for this tea!" Only then did Huang Zongxi feel relieved.He reached out and groped in the sleeve for a while, took out a copper coin, put it on the table, and arched his hands again and said, "Don't dare to ask elder brother..."

The man picked up the copper coin, glanced at it, weighed it in his hand again, and said with a sneer, "this kind of 'Chongzhen Tongbao' is so light and thin that it can float even if it is thrown into the water. It's only for children to play with!" After speaking, he stretched out his head, yelled at the top of his voice, and threw the copper coins towards the middle of the street.The group of wild children who were playing and chasing immediately rushed forward, clamoring and fighting. Huang Zongxi blushed a little, feeling a little embarrassed, so he reached into his sleeve again, trying to pick out a better money for him.When the tea seller saw him, he shook his hand and said, "Okay, don't touch it if you are a scholar! Nowadays, there is only this kind of 'goose-eye money' left in the capital! I am afraid that if you touch through your sleeves, it will still be the same." !"

"Hey, Brother Hao, don't look down on this 'goose-eye money'! I'm afraid you'll have to use iron money and lead money in the next year! If you want to look for it by then, it won't be there yet!" an elderly man said. The tea drinker interjected hoarsely, saying that he had a big red wine-stained nose, and an old felt hat full of holes on his head, revealing unkempt white hair underneath. "Why not?" A thin, handsome junior came up with a smile, "Perhaps all the money of this Chongzhen devil will be abolished by then, and a new kind of bright and big new money will be created!"

"Well, if that's the case, it's a good thing!" The old tea guest narrowed his eyes and said, slipping a glance at Huang Zongxi. Listening to the two people's one-on-one answer, Huang Zongxi seemed to understand: "Well, what do you mean by abolishing all the money and creating new money?" He thought, but then laughed to himself, " Look at you! It's nothing more than a few gossips from fools in the market, but you've become serious." "Xiucai, don't you want to ask how this place became like this? Tell you, it was caused by the earthquake in the sixth year of Tianqi. From here to the north, to Xingbu Street, there are more than ten miles around. That’s right. You’re probably coming back to this ghostly place, so you don’t know.” The tea seller named Brother Hao looked at him and said in a low voice.

Huang Zongxi let out an "oh" and suddenly remembered: In the sixth year of Tianqi, that is, the second year after his father was persecuted by Wei Zhongxian and died in prison, he heard that there was a strange earthquake in Beijing, which destroyed countless houses. It also killed many people.At that time, it was said that it was a warning from heaven... "This—I have heard about it before. However, it has been a full sixteen years, why is it still like this?" He asked dubiously, looking back at the ruins. Brother Hao laughed: "Xiucai, you are really funny! Why is it still the same? It is not like this, what else can it look like? Do you still want the emperor to be merciful and exempt the 'three pay' from all of you?" so that everyone can build the house?"

Huang Zongxi was stunned for a moment, and his face suddenly sank: "Yes, this may be the truth, but the way this person talks about the emperor is very disrespectful!" Huang Zongxi felt that it was necessary to warn the other party a few words.But what he heard next surprised him even more. This is the handsome young man.He looked at Huang Zongxi with a smile: "It's not difficult to make it look like this, but you have to wait until—" As he spoke, he suppressed his voice and sang in a Henan tune, "Eat his mother, wear his mother... " He wanted to continue singing, but that big brother Hao turned his head and stared at him fiercely, so he stopped temporarily. However, Huang Zongxi already understood.When he was still in the south of the Yangtze River, he heard that Li Zicheng was trying to incite the masses and buy people's hearts. Not long ago, he made up a few folk songs, saying: "Eat his mother, wear his mother, and don't pay when the King Chuang comes!" Isn't that the folk song that the youth sang?Suddenly, a terrifying thought flashed in Huang Zongxi's mind: "Ah, they are the work of thieves!" Ben, but reason warned him: Don't make any abnormal expressions!Otherwise, in this place, they can kill you at any time!So, in order to cover up his panic and calm down, he picked up the bowl of tea that he thought was dirty and didn't plan to drink, and drank it down, put down the bowl, wiped his mouth, and took a peek at the other party's face. look.Then he put on a smile, thanked him, and turned to leave the teahouse.Because of his panic, he had a lot of trouble getting on the horse. He managed to get on the horse's back, but he didn't dare to run away immediately. He walked slowly dozens of steps away. With a whip, he ran wildly with the bridle. "I often hear people say that rogue thieves have spread all over the capital. I still don't believe it. I don't want to meet you face to face today!" Huang Zongxi thought in a hurry, and kept whipping until the horse ran out of the ruins and entered Shangxie Street. Only then did he gradually tighten the bridle. I don't know if the earthquake was less severe back then, or because it was close to the street, so it recovered faster. Although the houses in this area are very simple, they still look good. There are more pedestrians on the road, and the whole atmosphere is no longer as desolate and mysterious as before. .Huang Zongxi calmed down for a while, and breathed a sigh of relief, but then he felt very angry: "It's really unreasonable! Why is it that no one cares about the secret operations of thieves in the capital's important place? What do those detectives in the factory guard do? Why don't you hurry up and search the whole city, arrest all these guys, shut them down, kill them! If things continue like this, what if the bandits really come in!" The more he thought about it, the more serious the situation became, and he felt that it was necessary to report to the patrol camp immediately, and let them send someone to arrest the few people in the teahouse first. "Yes, don't tell them to run away!" Huang Zongxi thought, and suddenly became excited.But where is the patrol camp?He looked around anxiously, trying to find a passerby to ask.Before he could make up his mind, a sharp whistling sounded from far away on the other side of the street.It was a shrill and frightening sound, like a butcher chasing cattle and sheep, or like a strong wind destroying trees.The whistling was getting closer and louder, and it gradually turned into the sound of passers-by evading, the ping-pong sound of shops closing, the calls of parents and children, and the sound of things being knocked over and broken... Huang Zongxi was caught by this. Confused by the sudden scene of chaos.He instinctively planned to follow and escape.Suddenly, all sounds stopped, and all the pedestrians on the road disappeared.He was at a loss, and gradually there was a sound again.However, it was the rapid sound of hooves, mixed and monotonous, and a group of people rushed over like lightning.The soldiers on horseback were all well-dressed and arrogant, as if they had long been accustomed to the panic and confusion caused by their appearance and dismissed them.They stopped suddenly about ten steps away from Huang Zongxi, and immediately jumped off their horses. Huang Zongxi took a look: "Hey, isn't this the Tiqi of Jinyiwei? Well, now we don't need to look everywhere!" Huang Zongxi thought, and hurriedly drove forward, intending to report to them what happened just now. The Tiqis didn't pay attention to him at all.Dismounting from their horses, they headed for a fenced yard beside the road.The one in the head raised his leg and kicked open the courtyard door with a "bang", and the rest of them rushed in.Immediately afterwards, there were shouts, shouts, and the sound of thumping guys in the room.A woman screamed in a crying voice: "Oh my god! We are a family of duty, how dare we be robbers..." Huang Zongxi was taken aback: "Why, could it be that there are also thieves and spies hiding here?" He hurried over, looked in through the fence, and was suddenly stunned.It turned out that this was a family that made a living by growing flowers and selling them.Huang Zongxi still remembers very clearly that this morning, when he went to Xu Shiqi's yamen, when he passed by here, he used to look at the brilliant autumn scenery in the garden with a calm and happy mood, and looked at the colorful okra, blue chrysanthemum, and herbal bamboo. Tao, Begonia and Yingluo Cockscomb expressed their sincere joy.However, these flowers and trees are currently suffering the most ruthless destruction. Two heavily armored and fully armed Tiqi are quietly and completely destroying the garden with the most calm and decisive movements.They chopped down flowers and trees with sharp axes, smashed rockery with hammers, and trampled over the nursery with heavy boots... Huang Zongxi was confused by the scene in front of him.He stared straight at the flowers and trees with broken heads and broken arms, those colorful flowers scattered all over the ground.Among them, a small white butterfly lay on the bare stalk of an okra that had been cut down to the waist. It must have been injured and unable to fly because it could not escape the sudden disaster.Now, it is trembling wings, crawling hard on the sunflower stalks, dragging a sticky "intestine" behind it... Huang Zongxi looked at it, and the scene in front of him gradually changed, as if at this moment In front of him is not a garden, but a eerie prison.Those who were cut down were not flowers and trees, but Donglin Party members who were detained and imprisoned by Jin Yiwei.Among them were Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, Wei Dazhong, Zhou Chaorui, Gu Dazhang, Yuan Huazhong, Zhou Shunchang, Gao Panlong, and his father Huang Zunsu, and it seemed that even him—Huang Zunxi himself was included... Some of them had their necks broken, some of them broke their arms , and some dragged out their intestines and struggled for their lives.Those colorful things on the ground are the pus and blood they bleed...Suddenly, Huang Zongxi uttered a low and dull cry, covered his face with his hands, turned around and left.He stumbled to the front of the horse, climbed up, and swung the whip. He didn't look back until he ran back to Fang Yizhi's residence. Early the next morning, Huang Zongxi ordered Huang An to pack his luggage, and followed Lu Fu to move to Wanfuma Beihu Garden in the west of the city.