Chapter 72 strict brother

"Ergong! Hey, Zewang! You——why did you come together? Such a coincidence! How did you find this place?" Gu Gao stepped out of the door, saying with surprise and joy.Probably unprepared in advance, but eager to come out to meet the guests, his hat was on one side, and one hand was still busy buttoning the underarm button. At this moment, Zhang Zilie and Huang Zonghui had already left the execution ground on Sanshan Street, and came to the rented house of Gu Gao and Huang Zongxi. "Brother, it's not easy to find here. After many twists and turns, I asked again and again, and I was afraid that I might touch the wrong door!" Zhang Zilie complained with a smile.

"Hey, it's really embarrassing for the two of you! Come on, let's talk inside, it's very cold outside!" Gu Gao quickly cupped his hands to express his apology, and then made a gesture of concession.When Zhang and Huang moved their steps, he followed closely beside them and walked into the door together. "This house is very cramped," Gu Gao said as he walked, "Originally, I lived with Taichong at Zhou Zhongyu's house, and my brother-in-law also knew about it. Later, when Lord Liu Niantai came, Taichong moved out." After passing by, my brother did not move. Later Zhongyu was arrested and his house was sealed off, so my brother had to move to the Zongxian Yamen and still live with Taichong. After Master Niantai retired, Master Xu from the Ministry of Officials called us I went to live in his yamen. Unexpectedly, in less than a month, Mr. Xu also begged for a rest, so he had to move here. Originally, my brother also said that this room is too small, it is better to find another room that is more spacious, but it is too big. Chong must refuse, there is nothing I can do, I can only accompany him."

Since three months ago, Ruan Dacheng was appointed by the emperor as " At this moment, they had passed through the courtyard and came to the main house. This is indeed a very small house, with no side rooms, only three bays facing the front, one bright and two dark.People live on the left and right sides, and one of them is used as a living room and living room.The furnishings inside are also very simple, except for a charcoal stove on the ground that is burning vigorously, there are only one table and four chairs, and there is no screen among them. Going up, it is almost the same as those poor families in the market. "Well, this is probably Huang Taichong's strange temper again, Gu Zifang wouldn't be so stingy!" Zhang Zilie thought.So, while each other saluted and sat down again, I asked:

"Brother Taichong, why don't you see me?" "Oh, unfortunately today, Taichong went to the Taiping Gate early in the morning to visit Zhongyu and Jiegong in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, but he has not come back yet. So brother Zewang can only rest assured!" After explaining this, Gu Gao said He laughed dryly again, and while taking a cup of tea from the servant, he turned to Zhang Zilie and asked: "So, my brother came from Yangzhou, I don't know what's going on there? Hey, by the way, after Chaozong went to Yangzhou, what happened? Is it all right?"

Zhang Zilie wanted to inquire further about the situation in Nanjing, but when he heard the other party ask first, he nodded and said, "Since Chaozong arrived in Yangzhou, he has been highly valued by Shi Gong. He was specially ordered to supervise Xing Pingbo's army last month." Ever since Hou Fangyu fell out with Huang Zongxi in August and declared that he wanted to leave Nanjing, although Chen Zhenhui and other members of the commune tried their best to persuade him to stay, he stayed again. Resolutely went to Yangzhou and fell into Shi Kefa's curtain.One month after he left, Liu Zeqing, the general soldier of Huainan, reported to the court that Hou Fangyu's father, Hou Xun, had been hired by Li Zicheng in his original post during the fall of Beijing, and demanded an order to arrest their father and son.Since then, there has been no news of Hou Fangyu.For this reason, the community members are quite concerned.Now that he heard that he was Gao Jie's supervisor, Gu Gao suddenly became interested:

"Oh, that's it! So, what's the situation in the north? Brother, tell me!" Zhang Zilie brought the teacup to his mouth, took a sip, and at the same time sorted out his thoughts a bit, then said with a wry smile, "It's hard, it's hard!" "Oh?" "It's hard to put it into words. In short, the general is arrogant, the soldiers are lazy, the army's salary is extremely short, and the powerful officials are restrained, and it is difficult to support alone. These sixteen characters can almost be exhausted!" "This—isn't it said that Shi Gong has left for the Northern Expedition?" Gu Gao asked with wide-eyed eyes.As early as two months ago, news spread in Nanjing that after Shi Kefa became the governor of Huaiyang at the end of May, after five months of reorganizing the army and mediating the four towns, he sent Gao Jie to advance on October 14th. He himself then stationed in Qingjiangpu, and divided the north of the Yangtze River into several defense areas - the upper reaches of the Yangtze River belonged to Zuo Liangyu, the lower reaches of Tianlingzhou belonged to Yizheng and Sancha River belonged to Huang Degong, and the north of Sancha River to Gaoyou belonged to Gao Jie, Huai'an north to Qingjiang Pu belonged to Liu Zeqing.Since the section from Wangjiajie to Suqian is the most important, he kept it for himself.In addition, from Suqian to Luoma Lake, it was guarded by Wang Yongji, the military gate of the Zonghe Army—a posture of comprehensive northward advance.At that time, there was a burst of excitement in the upper class of Liudu, thinking that as long as the "Wang Shi" made a move, the people in Hebei and Shandong would respond, and thus set off a powerful offensive. Not only Henan could be guaranteed, but Ming Zhongxing would also have hope.Even Gu Gao and other community members gave birth to hope amidst disappointment and frustration.However, there was not much news that came out later, and everyone calmed down a little.Hearing what Zhang Zilie said now, Gu Gao was stunned.

"Brother, I don't know. Shi Gong's arrangement is called the Northern Expedition. In fact, the northern affairs are urgent, and we have to use offense as defense!" Zhang Zilie continued with a wry smile, and at the same time made a gesture to signal the other party not to rush to ask questions. "It's all because the Chief Jian has entered Beijing on the first day of October, proclaimed himself emperor openly, and traveled to Jining, saying that his regent sent 400,000 troops to the south, and the striker had already arrived between Yipu. As a last resort, all the soldiers of the towns were mobilized to cross the river and guard. In the middle of last month, it was heard that the imperial court sent troops three times, once passing through Shandong, once through Xuzhou, and once through Henan. You know the danger! If Jiangbei does not guard, the future of Jiangnan will be in jeopardy!"

Battle reports from the front are sent to the Ministry of War for processing as usual.Since the Ministry of War is currently completely controlled by Ma and Ruan, and the news is blocked to the outside world, even the well-informed community members, such as Gu Gao and others, are difficult to find out.So hearing what Zhang Zilie said, Gu Gao's expression changed drastically, and he sat on the chair blankly, unable to say a word. Zhang Zilie sighed: "Although the northern army is strong, if the towns can work together and listen to Shi Gong's dispatch, there may not be no chance of victory. It's just that this generation is arrogant and greedy, and they are incompatible. Erliu don't have to Having said that, the two of them only listened to Ma Yaocao's orders, and they were dedicated to restraining Shi Gong. In terms of Gao Jie, he was the most loyal among all the towns, and Shi Gong relied on him very much. But even he also He and Huang Degong were feuding endlessly. Once in September, he actually sent troops to ambush him on the earth bridge fifty miles outside Hanguan Pass. He killed him on horseback and captured his entourage. Public mediation, almost into chaos..."

Zhang Zilie said with a heavy heart, and at the same time, he heard the outside door slamming, and then footsteps came all the way. "Well, could it be that you are too rushed back?" He thought, so he stopped talking and turned around.At this time, Huang Zonghui, who was sitting next to him, probably heard it too. He hurriedly left his chair, walked to the door, opened the noren curtain, and then called out "Brother!", and stepped out. "That's too aggressive!" Zhang Zilie thought, and stood up. "Hey, brother, don't be busy!" Gu Gao stopped behind him, seeing Zhang Zilie turned his face in doubt, he leaned closer and said in a low voice: "Tai Chong doesn't think much of his brother's coming to Beijing to seek an official this time, besides, He's been in a bad mood lately..."

Before he finished speaking, he heard Huang Zongxi's cold voice from outside: "You didn't listen to me, you're still here! What are you doing here? What are you doing here?" He didn't hear an answer, probably because Huang Zonghui knew he was wrong and didn't dare to answer. "Hey, Taichong, Er Gong is here too! Come in and meet!" Gu Gao shouted through the curtain, obviously trying to stop Huang Zongxi from further getting angry. Sure enough, the reprimand from outside stopped, but there was no response.After a while, I saw the door curtain lifted and Huang Zongxi stepped in.His younger brother, blushing, timidly followed behind.

"Taichong!" Zhang Zilie hastily went up to meet him, arched his hands, and greeted him affectionately, "Brother is back? I heard from Zifang that brother went to visit Zhong Yu and Jie Gong outside the Taiping Gate. Have you met him? How are you two? " Huang Zongxi looked very cold.With a sullen face, he cupped his hands until Gu Gao also asked, then he silently shook his head. "Why, I still haven't seen it! What's the reason for this? It's unreasonable!" Gu Gao suddenly became excited and shouted, stamping his feet.It was only then that he got rid of the weird restraint he had had a while ago, and reappeared in his old self. "Oh, could it be that the jailer doesn't allow visits?" Zhang Zilie asked suspiciously. "No, since Fang Mizhi first went in and met once, then he was probably informed by his superiors, and after being severely reprimanded, he never saw each other again. In the past few months, I have been there in turn, and I don't know how many times I have been to Taichong. This time, he was always turned away. Don't say that Zhou and Lei are both undecided, even Dingqiao's death row prisoner, there is no reason why he should not be allowed to see him. The two traitors, Ma and Ruan, have done really amazing things! " Gu Gao gritted his teeth and cursed.However, what surprised Zhang Zilie was that Huang Zongxi, who should have been the most resentful about this, seemed quite indifferent for some reason.He stood silently for a while, and saw that Huang An was leading Huang Zonghui's long shift, had moved the luggage roll into the east room where he lived, and came out again, he cupped his hands and said: "Brother sit down, brother excuse me!" Then, he led Huang Zonghui into the bedroom together. "Oh, sit down!" Seeing Zhang Zilie in a daze, Gu Gao, who had regained his composure, gestured.When his friend sat down, he returned to the chair, leaned forward, and said in a low voice: "Brother, don't be surprised. With the current situation, it's no wonder he is like this—hey, I'll tell you about it later!" After explaining this, he sat up straight and raised his voice to ask: "So, brother, I don't know what business you have to do when you return to the capital this time? Can you stay longer?" "Oh, no!" Zhang Zilie replied, shaking his hands, "Because my mother was ill for a long time, my younger brother came to me several times to urge her to return, so I asked Shi to give a leave of absence, intending to go back to visit. This time I came to Liudu, one is to visit my brother on the way. Wait, the second is that Shi Gong has a book here, and once it is handed over to Pijiang, I will set off, and I really can't stay long." Gu Gao pondered for a while, and said: "Since this is the case, I dare not be strong. But I must be tired after driving for half a day today. The weather is cold, why don't I rest here tonight, and I will accompany my brother tomorrow. How about going to visit Pijiang together? Hey, by the way, it’s already past noon, brother, have you eaten yet?” Zhang Zilie nodded: "Brother and Zewang have already eaten on the way. But I'm eager to return home. It's best to leave tomorrow. If I visit Pijiang again tomorrow, I'm afraid..." He wanted to continue, but he suddenly stopped when he heard Huang Zongxi's brothers arguing from the east room.Just listen to Huang Zonghui say: "Since the younger brother received the letter from the elder brother, he said that since this is the case, it is worth noting not to come. But it is the mother's wish that I still ordered the younger brother to come, and said that Uncle Qian is a family friend, so I ask the elder brother to entrust him, maybe he can help you. Unknown." Huang Zongxi's voice: "How does mother know that Qian Muzhai has become a great uncle? It's not because of your brother's instigation! I don't want to ask for Qian Muzhai, even if I ask him, there may not be any results. You must know that now this Wu Love cannot be exchanged for articles. What people want is silver! Now the imperial court has issued an order. A book in the Wuying Palace requires 900 taels, a book in the Wenhua Palace requires 1,500 taels, and a book in the cabinet requires 2,000 taels. As long as Ken accepts Yin, even if you are illiterate, you can still go to school and select tribute, no matter how bad you are, you can also become a general or a guerrilla! Since you can't get the money, you have to admit that you are unlucky!" "But, didn't the imperial court issue a decree for Gong Sheng to come to Beijing to be candidates?" "Hmph, when was that? What time is it now! Let me tell you, now it's 'Zhongshu is everywhere, and the governor walks all over the street. There are as many supervisors as sheep, and the staff are as cheap as dogs. The dust of thousands of years is overshadowed, and Bagong Present the head. Sweep all the money in the south of the Yangtze River and fill the mouth of Majia!' Just listen to this ballad, and you should know what's going on!" Huang Zongxi's voice became louder and louder, so that the two friends sitting outside could neither talk nor interfere in the private affairs of their brothers.So Gu Gao looked at Zhang Zilie and suggested: "It's still early, if brother is eager to visit Pijiang, why not go with brother now?" Zhang Zilie naturally had no objection.So, after Gu Gao went into the west room and put on robes to protect against the cold, the two of them did not disturb the Huang brothers, but quietly opened the door curtain and walked out the door. ① Zhongzhi: Refers to the idea directly issued by the emperor without going through the normal procedures.