Chapter 27 Said the capital

Half an hour later, Fang Yizhi, who had gone through a thorough washing and put on clean clothes, finally came to the cabin.Before that, a small table of wine and food prepared temporarily had been placed on the short square table in the cabin.Maoxiang immediately went forward to greet him, saluted and met his friends again, and then sat down with the host and guest. "My brother survived thousands of miles, I'm really happy to congratulate!" He raised his wine glass, looked at his friend cordially and said, "It's just a hasty journey, and we couldn't hold a banquet immediately to wash away the dust and shock for my brother. This pot of village brew, a few flavors of wild vegetables , It’s just for chatting and talking, I pray that my brother will not think it is simple and obscene!"

Fang Yizhi did not answer.Although it only took half a day, and it was impossible to get rid of the scars left by the fear, hardship and hunger torture of the past two months from his body, he finally regained his original appearance slightly, which is different from the one just now. Comparing for a while, they are already different people.However, at this moment, he was obviously a little distracted, just turning his eyes and looking at the dishes on the table.Mao Xiang was startled for a moment, then suddenly understood, so he immediately picked up the chopsticks and invited: "Huangcunyedian can't make any dishes, it's nothing more than stewed chicken and cooked meat. Only this shad is suitable for the occasion—please!"

"Ah, please!" This time, Fang Yizhi responded quickly.However, he didn't touch the shad, but he aimed at the plate of cooked beef, picked the biggest piece with his chopsticks, and quickly stuffed it into his mouth. After chewing twice, he straightened his neck and swallowed it; He put two yuan into his mouth without stopping, stretched out his hand to grab the wine glass, raised his face, and drank it all.After that, he seemed to temporarily forget that there was still a friend sitting beside him, and just kept eating and drinking and drinking without stopping.It wasn't until after the third glass of wine that he wiped his lips and took a breath.However, after a long belch sounded, he impatiently extended his chopsticks to the bowl of stewed chicken...

The situation in Maoxiang is naturally very different.He was usually not very interested in chicken, duck, fish and the like, but now he just moved a few chopsticks with shad in a hurry, and put down the chopsticks.He began to stare intently at his friend.Before that, he also estimated that Fang Yizhi must be very hungry after being a beggar for so many days.But his friend's crazy, almost vulgar eating still surprised him secretly.Only now did he realize more deeply and intimately, in the past days, as a fugitive who survived by chance, what kind of terrible torture and devastation Fang Yizhi had suffered, both mentally and physically. "Ah, I only know that this time I escaped through extreme hardships and dangers. Who knows how much luckier I am than him!" He thought with palpitations, and even for a while, he really wanted to find out who the other party was. How did he escape from the thief? As a result, he just stared blankly with sympathy, unable to ask a word.

"Hey, eat, brother, why don't you drink?" Fang Yizhi raised his head from the messy cup and plate, and asked in surprise.His mouth was full of food, and his face was getting more and more red from drinking too much, "Come on, have a drink. Hahahaha!" He raised his glass and said happily. Mao Xiang forced a smile, and shook his hand: "Brother knows that I can't drink." After a pause, he looked at the other party again, "The situation of the capital—well, how is it?" Fang Yizhi had already picked up another large piece of sauced meat with chopsticks, and was about to put it into his mouth. After hearing this question, he seemed to be stabbed, and the happy expression on his face disappeared.He glanced at the sauced meat that was sitting next to his mouth, as if he was considering whether to continue sending it in, and finally, he slowly put it back into the bowl.He put down his chopsticks, picked up the wine glass, and raised it to his lips mechanically, but he didn't drink either.At this moment, his expression became dull, and he stared blankly at an invisible thing in front of him. After a long while, he moved the corner of his mouth, made a painful sneer, and said:

"What else? It's over, it's all over!" "But……" "It's hard to describe in a single word! Besides, since my younger brother cried and offered sacrifices to the late emperor at the Donghua Gate on March 23, he was arrested by bandits and imprisoned for ten to nine days. We don't know much about the outside situation." "Then—has the late Emperor been buried?" Fang Yizhi nodded: "My brother heard in prison that the coffins of the late emperor and his mother were sent out of Desheng Gate on the third day of April. They were buried in the Imperial Mausoleum of Xishan on the fourth day of the lunar month. However, there were only two pallbearers. Thirty people. Except for the escort of bandits and soldiers, there are no guardians of the spirit. Civil and military officials are only allowed to go out to worship, not to wear mourning. It can be described as an extremely desolate situation!"

Hearing that the majestic king of a generation, the supreme symbol of the Ming Dynasty, and the Son of Heaven whom he pledged allegiance to, was so humiliated and abused by the lowly thieves, Mao Xiang's heart felt as if he had been whipped violently, and suddenly felt a sharp pain.He opened his eyes and asked anxiously and angrily: "Why don't you wear the mourning? Why don't all the officials dare to wear the mourning? If you don't allow thieves, can you refuse to accept it? If you eat the king's salary and be loyal to the king, you can't kill yourself to die. Could it be that you don't even want a little bit of honor? !"

This accusation seems to include Fang Yizhi, so the latter did not make a sound, and after a while, he lowered his head and said: "Hundreds of officials can't all be held accountable. In fact, those who allow the thieves to pay homage are only those who betrayed and surrendered to the thieves. Most of them were detained in the thieves' camp at that time, and they were tortured for money!" "Chasing wages? What chasing wages?" "It's nothing more than extorting money. Since the 22nd, the thieves have searched the city for scholar-bureaucrats, detained them in the camp, and ordered them to donate money to help them pay. The cabinet ministers are limited to pay 100,000 yuan each. Thousands of people, 30,000 to 50,000 officials from Ke Dao and the Ministry of Officials, 10,000 to 10,000 from the Imperial Academy, and thousands of small officials from the Ministry of Cao. If there are honorable ministers and noble relatives, there is no fixed number, and you must spend your family's wealth and wait..."

"Ah, what if you can't pay?" "Can't pay?" Fang Yizhi smiled miserably, "The thief has prefabricated countless sticks in order to ask for payment. The sticks have edges and corners and are connected with iron nails. Anyone who hesitates and refuses will be punished immediately. Anyone who has been caught Nine times out of ten, they all died of broken shin bones. Even if they survived by chance, they would be a useless person! At that time, the general Liu Zongmin, the general of the thief, and the prison guards of the battalion were all punished. For more than ten days, they roared and screamed The sound resounded through the streets. It is said that those who received the most severe punishments, apart from the Duke of England who was crushed to death and the relatives of the Emperor Zhou who were seriously injured, ministers such as Wang Du, Li Yuzhi, and Wang Zhengzhi, and ministers of poetry such as Yang Changzuo, Lin Zengzhi, and Wei Yinwen, were actually tortured. Those caught in three or four traps either died or were disabled. My brother was lucky not to be trapped because of his lowly position, but he was also tortured, and the hardships——” He seemed to shudder when he said this , He gritted his teeth all of a sudden, stopped talking, but raised the remaining wine in the glass, tilted his neck, and drank it down.

This time, Mao Xiang didn't ask any further questions.Because the situation disclosed by his friend was so ghastly and terrifying, and the humiliation of being a subjugated minister was so beyond his imagination, Mao Xiang's heart trembled slightly.In fact, what Fang Yizhi described as Beijing's yesterday may very well be Nanjing's tomorrow—if Jiangbei can't hold on.So, can Jiangnan hold on?Can Huainan survive?If it is said that Mao Xiang hadn't had time to think carefully about this issue before that, but at this moment it has become like a cloud of fog, spreading in his heart. "Ah, if the south of the Yangtze River can't be defended, wouldn't I be throwing myself into a trap if I rushed there in such a hurry? Of course, it's not a pity for a man to die, but what about the family? Parents are old, and the wife and children are weak. There is no other brother who can take care of them for me..." This sudden thought, like a ruthless sharp claw, strangled Maoxiang's throat.He tried to struggle, but was held tighter.Now, he feels that that ruthless claw is pulling him back vigorously, dragging him back to the situation where he was accused and ridiculed by the world two years ago, and he will probably never There is no chance to cheer up and clear the snow...

"Hey, forget it, don't talk about it anymore!" Seeing his friend in a daze, Fang Yizhi said with a wave of his hand, spitting out the smell of alcohol. "But," Maoxiang raised his head suddenly, and glared at his friend angrily, "you all recruited yourself! If it weren't for you Beijing officials who are blindly greedy for salary, inviting favors and self-reliance, you would not be able to find a place for the safety of the country. Long strategy, why did the country come to this? How did the capital die? How did you end up like this? How did we—” He wanted to vent his anger, but when his eyes came into contact with Fang Yizhi's face that had become strangely aged at this moment, that unkempt beard that had not been trimmed for a long time, and those dull and absent-minded When he opened his eyes, he couldn't help but choked; then, he hummed unwillingly, and lowered his head in frustration. The cabin became completely silent, even the gurgling sound of the river flowing by the side of the ship seemed to have disappeared at the moment, only the pots, plates, bowls, and cups that still had leftovers remained motionless. There was a cold gleam on the low table.A few flies looking for food buzzed and greeted each other, stopped suddenly, hurriedly licked a little oil, and flew away vigilantly, at least adding a little bit to the stagnant and cold atmosphere. angry. "So, brother, what is your next plan?" Finally, Mao Xiang frowned and asked in a low voice. "Go to Liudu, and ask to take the blame and make meritorious service!" Fang Yizhi replied without hesitation, without moving his body. "Liudu—hmph, can you hold on to Liudu?" "Whether you can keep it, or you can't keep it, you have to keep it!" "..." "So, brother, what's your plan?" Fang Yizhi asked back.This time, he raised his eyes. "Brother? Brother—hmph, naturally I have to go to Liudu!" "Oh, if that's the case, why don't you go with us?" Mao Xiang's heart moved for a moment, but then she shook her head with a wry smile.Seeing his friend's puzzled look, he laughed at himself and said: "I can't compare with my brother—I have no ties to my brother, and I still have a whole family on my back! However, it's good for you to go first, if you see Zhuo Dingsheng, Chaozong and the others, let me know that my brother has been fleeing with his family for half a month, and now he is going back to Rugao. At least ten days, at most half a month, we will definitely arrive!" After a pause, he clenched his fist again and repeated as if swearing: "Brother must go to Liudu!"