Chapter 56 be arrogant

Mao Xiang followed the governor of Huaiyang, Shi Kefa, and patrolled the front line of the Huaihe River for several days. He set off for Nanjing from Rugao, and when he passed through Yangzhou, he was invited by Shi Kefa and accompanied him.Although more than two months ago, when he accidentally met Fang Yizhi, who had fled from the south, in Baogang on the edge of the Yangtze River, he said that he would go to Nanjing, but after returning home, there were still a lot of aftermath matters that needed to be dealt with. There was no way to get out, so it dragged on.Later, with the news that Li Zicheng's Dashun Peasant Army was defeated in the north and retreated hastily to the west, the situation in the south of the Yangtze River became stable again; After giving a rather bad description, Mao Xiang put down his previous thoughts.However, the imperial court recently promulgated an edict calling for tribute students from various prefectures and counties who had been on the deputy list in the past rural examinations to report to Liudu and prepare to be appointed according to their ability.Many relatives and friends persuaded him to apply for the recruitment, his father Mao Qizong also had the same intention, Mao Xiang could not go against their wishes, and he wanted to show his face after all, so he hurriedly packed his luggage and left home with Dong Xiaowan departure.

They arrived in Yangzhou on the first day of August.In Shi Kefa's shogunate, Mao Xiang unexpectedly met Zhang Zilie.From his friends, Maoxiang learned more about the disputes between the two factions in the imperial court in recent months.According to Zhang Zilie, the consequences of Liu Zongzhou's appointment were so bad that Ma Shiying yelled at him and vowed to fight Donglin to the end. "This is actually caused by Zhou Zhongyu and Huang Taichong!" Zhang Zilie said with a sigh, "The situation has reached this point, and they are determined to go their own way regardless of their own interests. I heard that Dingsheng has tried to persuade them again and again, but they just don't listen. I'm afraid Brother has gone, so it may not be able to accomplish anything!" After hearing these introductions, Mao Xiang's originally energetic mood cooled down again.However, since you have come out, you can't go back halfway.Just at this time, Shi Kefa decided to go to the Huaihe River for inspection and invited him to go with him. Mao Xiang refused to refuse, and temporarily placed Dong Xiaowan in the house of an acquaintance in Yangzhou, and took Mao Cheng to follow the governor Xingyuan to the north.

Now, they are far away from Yangzhou.Along the way, with Zhang Zilie and some other staff as companions, Mao Xiang was not lonely.In addition, Shi Kefa often stopped the ship and went to the villages and towns on the shore to listen to the reports of the local officials and people, which also gave Mao Xiang many opportunities to learn the truth and come into contact with many situations that he did not know before.For example, in the past he only heard that Gao Jie, Liu Zeqing, Liu Liangzuo, Huang Degong and others were fighting for territory in the Huaiyang area, causing the local people to panic and panic. Now he knows that the extent of the people's suffering is more serious than he imagined much.Where the officers and soldiers passed by, the entire village and town were often looted, and some were simply burned to scorched earth.Ordinary people are most fortunate to have escaped to the wild in advance, otherwise, being killed, beaten, and raped will become their or their most common fate.As for those who fled afterward, when they returned home, they saw that everything was gone and there was no way to make a living, so they were forced to flee again, or starved to death, or committed suicide.Until now, the people who survived by chance still cry loudly and are in pain whenever they tell Shi Kefa about the tragic situation at that time.Even so, very few people ask the Elder Lord to redress their grievances for them.Probably they all knew that even the elders would have nothing to do with those brutal officers and soldiers, and it wouldn't work if they said it.Faced with this situation, Maoxiang's heart seemed to be stuffed with a mass of heavy lead, and it fell down one after another.For another example, in the past, he only heard that, except for Huang Degong who was more able to restrain his subordinates in the four towns, the other armies were lax in discipline and corrupt in style.This time, following Shi Kefa, he made a surprise visit to several military camps along the canal, only to find that the army was disorganized, the weapons were broken, and there was also a serious shortage of personnel.A military camp that claims to have thousands of soldiers, counts only three or four hundred, but it is amazing to raise a large group of wives, concubines and servants.Not only officers but also soldiers.Of course it came from captivity.The daily livelihood of these people, as usual, is maintained by the part of the missing food and salary.Several times, Maoxiang encountered officers and soldiers in the camp drinking, gambling, flirting, and fighting.It was not so much a barracks as a den of thieves, not even a den of thieves, but a gang of hooligans and beggars.Mao Xiang found that whenever he saw such a scene, Shi Kefa's resolute and dark face became more gloomy, and his eyes shone brightly under his frowning eyebrows.However, he never reprimanded, just gritted his teeth, turned his head, and walked out with big strides.

On the tenth day of August, a group of them came to Huai'an Fucheng.A group of civil and military officials, including Dongping Bo Liu Zeqing, Huaiyang Governor Tian Yang, and Deputy Commander Liu Konghe, who had been notified in advance, were already waiting at the reception pavilion outside the city.This Liu Zeqing, who was attached to Donglin half a year ago and advertised himself as the Qing School, has firmly sided with Ma Shiying since the Beidu Change happened.According to Zhang Zilie, a few days ago, he even cursed in front of Jiang Riguang, swearing that he wanted to kill Dong Lin - he was obviously a complete villain.As for Tian Yang, he is Ma Shiying's relative and confidant.If it is said that Mao Xiang did not have a good impression of these two people at first, then after these few days of investigation along the way, his hatred has increased by ten points.Therefore, when Shi Kefa introduced him and other staff members to the master, Mao Xiang just bowed indifferently with a straight face, and then walked away. .He secretly made up his mind that in future occasions, unless he had to, he would never deal with those two guys. "Hmph, anyway, I'm nothing, even Shi Gong can't blame me!" He thought coldly.

Now, they have marched on the central street of Huai'an Fucheng.Huai'an is an important town on the edge of the canal, just at the junction of the Yellow River and the Huaihe River, and its economic and military status are very important.Originally, the defense of this area was in charge of the Donglin faction official Lu Zhenfei.In March and April of this year, when alarms were frequently issued in the north and the defeated soldiers of Gao Jie and Liu Zeqing were raging everywhere, Lu Zhenfei led the army and the people to guard carefully, ensuring the safety of the Huainan area, and was very popular among the people. Suspicious of Ma Shiying, he was soon dismissed and resigned, and Tian Yang took his place.Up to now, with the addition of Liu Zeqing, Huai'an Mansion has actually become an important stronghold of Ma Shiying's power in Jiangbei.Naturally, for Shi Kefa's visit, Liu Zeqing and others had to maintain superficial etiquette.Therefore, as usual in the city, the streets were cleaned first, and wherever the guard of honor went, pedestrians were driven into the alleys or houses on both sides.The thoroughfare became silent, save for the solemn and chaotic sound of horses' hooves and boots marching.

However, gradually, a scene caught Mao Xiang's attention: on both sides of the street, the row upon row of houses stretching across the sky suddenly stopped for some reason.Entire houses were demolished for half a mile.In the wide open space that was vacated, bricks, tiles, wood, stones, and piles of sand were piled up.A palace-style building is rising from the ground.Although it is only beginning to take shape, the grand scale and luxurious style are already clearly visible.During the days when he was with Shi Kefa, Mao Xiang often heard the other party talk about the plan of the Northern Expedition, and thought that it would be better for the emperor to go on a personal expedition to boost the morale of the soldiers and civilians, so he estimated that it might be building a palace for the emperor to stay. "However, now that the country is undergoing a new change and the treasury is scarce, even if the emperor is staying temporarily, there is actually no need for large-scale construction and unnecessary waste!" Maoxiang thought secretly, so he turned around and planned to ask the local officials who were traveling with him Find out.At this moment, Zhang Zilie, who was walking beside him, had already asked first:

"Excuse me, my lord, what is the building built there?" "Don't dare," a middle-ranking official with a narrow forehead and a pointed chin walking alongside them cupped his hands and replied in a low voice, "That's the new mansion built by Mr. Liu in this town." "What?" Zhang Zilie, who was clearly taken aback, said in a low voice, "Look at this faction, even the emperor's palace is nothing more than this, why..." "Sir, whisper!" The official quickly stopped him, and then graciously introduced, "Sir, don't you know? Mr. Liu is now the honor of the earl, and he has been sent back by the Holy Majesty to stay in this land for a long time, so he can't be rushed. Building a mansion is a testament to the determination of the people!"

Hearing these shameless evasions, Mao Xiang was furious, and was about to jump in and say: "The Xiongnu is not destroyed, and there is nothing for a family to do. When the world is overturned and the enemy is at hand, the general will be willing to sacrifice his salary. How can it not be surprising to build a large-scale building project in such a magnificent and magnificent royal residence!" However, the other party did not wait for Maoxiang to open his mouth, and already praised Liu Zeqing's "Zhenfengdezheng" to Zhang Zilie.Mao Xiang understood that it would be futile to say anything about this kind of flatterer, so he suppressed the words that came to his lips, but the resentment in his heart increased even more.