Chapter 91 fly away

Huang Zongxi crossed his legs and sat motionless on his kang with his back against the wall, silently looking at the corridor outside the wooden fence of the cell that was flooded by the night's violent storm.He stared so intently and for such a long time that even the two fellow prisoners, Chen Zhenhui and Gu Gao, were talking non-stop beside him, but they couldn't divert his attention. In fact, there was nothing to see in the aisles.It was just a narrow, battered and broken passageway.Five feet away, is the dark and tall prison wall.Since the sun does not shine all year round, even weeds do not come to settle under the wall, only some shade-tolerant moss, dotted with some mottled dark green colors.The surface of the aisle is covered with crooked and broken bricks, which have been trampled into potholes for many years.But at this moment, the bricks and potholes were submerged under the cloudy accumulated rain, making the passageway appear smooth instead.It might even have been nicer if it hadn't been for a drowned rat floating on the water at the moment.However, this dead mouse ruined everything.It horrifies and loathes, and recalls filth, darkness, and death.

Now, it was this dead mouse that attracted Huang Zongxi's attention.It was a huge rat with thick, black fur.Its body has swelled abnormally, and its belly has turned upside down.The back and half of the head were submerged in the water, and four stiff legs stood tall.The long, pointed mouth with a few beards opened ferociously, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.Because he hated such things very much, Huang Zongxi had never looked at a mouse so carefully before.Even if his family catches and kills them, he always orders them to be taken away immediately, and doesn't bother to check.However, perhaps because of a more personal experience of the threat of death, this creature that died in what was considered a monstrous flood to them strongly attracted Huang Zongxi. "Yes, I heard that this kind of thing is very tricky and understands water, but it can't escape this catastrophe! Then, how did it die? It died of hunger and exhaustion, and died of an external attack. Or died of cannibalism? It seems that there is no way to know. Only one thing is true, that is, it is dead! Yes, everything cannot escape a death, no matter whether it is good. Whether it is a rat, a good death, or a violent death, the limit is reached. When the time comes, no one can escape! So, this time, even if I die, it’s nothing. The only thing I’m not angry about is that I died before those rats, and I couldn’t see their end with my own eyes!” Thinking of this kind of “thorough” Huang Zongxi felt extremely painful, as if his heart was being pulled hard by a sharp claw, and his head was pounding.In order to resist this sudden agitation, he began to stare at the dead mouse outside the cell for longer and longer, imagining it as Ma Shiying, Ruan Dacheng, Liu Kongzhao, Zhang Jie, Yang Weiyuan, Li Zhan, Zhang Sunzhen, and other "rats" ...

"Yes, they will never get a good death, never!" he comforted himself repeatedly and vaguely.When he was in a trance, he suddenly found that the dead mouse outside the cell moved, its four furry paws moved, it turned around at once, raised its ugly head, and its eyes began to glide. Turning, emitting a thief's fierce light.It first swam quickly on the water, looking arrogant and proud.When it found Huang Zongxi, it let out a loud, sharp scream, and swooped over, banging the bars of the cell.Huang Zongxi was taken aback and jumped up quickly.At this time, the fence had been washed down by the extremely large and ferocious mouse, and the flood flooded in, forcing Huang Zongxi into the whirlpool in the blink of an eye.Huang Zongxi couldn't stand on his feet, so he had to drift with the current, and came to an isolated island in a daze. He swam over with all his strength, and finally climbed onto the shore, when he heard a miserable call.He thought the voice was very familiar, so he looked for it, and suddenly found several corpses hanging in the woods on the island, vaguely they were the ones he met with Fang Yizhi on the way to Beijing three years ago.He was about to walk away when he heard a baby crying again. Looking back, it turned out to be a woman with disheveled hair, holding a baby who had just turned one year old in her arms. "Hey, why are you here?" He recognized that it was his concubine Zhou, and couldn't help asking in surprise.But Mrs. Zhou didn't speak, just pointed to the top to let him see.He turned his head and saw those corpses still.Suddenly, he realized that it was not the ones he met three years ago.The ones hanging from above turned out to be his mother, Mrs. Yao, as well as his younger brother and sisters-in-law.Moreover, they didn't die, they just cut their hands behind their backs and were hung on the tree.He hurriedly climbed to the tree, intending to rescue them.Unexpectedly, what bound his family was not ropes, but live snakes.Seeing him climbing up, the snakes shrank their bodies even more tightly, while raising their triangular heads towards him, their red and forked letters flashing menacingly.Huang Zongxi was shocked and anxious.He grabbed one of them desperately and pulled it hard, but the snake wrapped his arm instead.He had no choice but to let go, but the snake became more and more entangled and dragged him back.Huang Zongxi struggled desperately, and at the moment of crisis, he suddenly heard a voice calling above his head:

"Too strong, too strong! Wake up, wake up!" He looked up, and unexpectedly found Chen Zhenhui's face, as well as Gu Gao and Huang Zonghui, who were tugging on his arm—obviously, it was a dream just now. "Hey, too rush, get up quickly! The situation has changed, we have to leave quickly!" Gu Gao said nervously and excitedly. "Northern soldiers have already suppressed the border, and the emperor went hunting last night. Ma Yaocao and Ruan Yuanhai also escaped from Liudu this morning." Seeing that Huang Zongxi was still in a daze, Chen Zhenhui explained with a heavy expression.

Huang Zongxi still didn't understand.He hesitated and asked: "Is this true? Brother, brother, how do you know?" "Brother, there are such legends all over the city!" Huang Zonghui went on to say, "That's why I came here immediately. I just passed by the Xihua Gate and saw the palace gate was wide open. They ransacked and robbed Ma Ge’s old house there. There were also those who went to Da Nei to rob, such as cloth, rice beans, gold and silver, treasures, and knives, guns, bows and arrows. They moved out together, and no one stopped them. It was all a mess The younger brother arrived at the gate of the prison and saw no one was guarding him. He walked in boldly, only to realize that all the guards had left, and there was only one guard left, whom he recognized when he visited the prison in the past. As soon as the younger brother was thrown away, he said: "Let your friends live, hurry up!" Therefore, the younger brother was able to come in..."

Huang Zonghui was babbling and planning to continue, but Gu Gao interrupted him impatiently: "Hey, let's go out if you have something to say, it's important to run for your life! Go!" As he spoke, he took the lead and walked out. It was at this moment that Huang Zongxi finally understood. "Ah, so, it's really over, it's all over!" For a moment, he became confused.However, the situation no longer allowed him to think about it.So he jumped off the kang in a panic, put on his shoes, supported by Huang Zonghui, and walked out. At this time, several other cells probably got the keys from Chen Zhenhui, and the gates were already wide open, and all the prisoners inside went out in disorder.Huang Zongxi followed Gu and Chen closely, wading through the waterlogged corridor.After leaving the prison gate, Shu Tong Huang An, another head class, and Gu Gao's servants were already waiting outside with their luggage, but Chen Zhenhui's servants had not arrived yet.Everyone couldn't care less, just quickened their pace and walked towards the street in a swarm.Sure enough, as far as the eye can see, it is already a chaotic scene of imminent catastrophe, and the shops on both sides are all closed. On the street, residents with nervous expressions come and go, and there are teams after teams Cars, carts, mules, and horses hurried past loaded with boxes and cages.The patrolling military academy that can be seen all over the city on weekdays has all disappeared now.On the contrary, beside the wooden fences at the entrances of the streets and alleys, there appeared many common people defending themselves, each holding a knife and stick, posing as if they were facing a big enemy.

Huang Zongxi was nervous and flustered, looking around and followed everyone forward. Now the situation is clearer: with the disintegration of the imperial court, the law and order in the city also seem to be paralyzed.In this situation, the city of Nanjing no longer has the power to contend with the powerful Qing army.Its fall was inevitable. "Ah, is all this true? It happened so fast, so suddenly! It's only been one year, and Jiangnan is over again! Ah, only one year! Why is this? How did it happen? What should we do in the future? Ah , What should I do?!" Huang Zongxi asked himself repeatedly while walking tremblingly.The more I asked, the more I felt fear, grievance, and bewilderment.At the same time, the temples on both sides seemed to be beating ten big drums, rumbling loudly.The two legs under the body seemed to have lost their control, and they just kept moving forward, forward... until they collided with the person walking in front, and then they instinctively stopped.

"It's not too late, we have to get out of the city quickly! Otherwise, when the northern soldiers arrive, we'll all be the turtles in the urn!" Chen Zhenhui turned around and said decisively. "That's right, the only option is to run away..." Huang Zongxi thought dully and desperately, and suddenly he woke up. "No, I want to go to Xihua Gate first!" He blurted out, feeling his teeth chattering with extreme anger. "how?" "Hongguang has escaped, and Ma Yaocao has also escaped. I heard that the people are robbing the house surnamed Ma. This traitor is finally here today! I have to see it with my own eyes!"

Gu Gao had already agreed to leave the city immediately, but when he reminded him, he immediately became excited: "Yes, we have to go and see! Let's go!" Chen Zhenhui seemed a little hesitant, but finally did not object.Huang Zonghui naturally listened to his brother.So a group of people hurried west along the street. At this moment, it was already noon, and the situation on the street became even more chaotic.There are more and more people with shoulders and hands, men and women, and they keep coming from the east and the north. Naturally, they all intend to flee to the outside of the city for refuge, but many of them come back from the south, saying It was heard that the northern soldiers had not crossed the river, and even Yangzhou had not yet fallen, so there was no need to flee.As a result, the people who planned to go out of the city were at a loss, and stopped one after another, asking around them.Naturally, there are also many who don't believe it, and still move forward.However, news came soon that the Guizhou soldiers under Ma Shiying's command were robbing and killing people outside Tongji Gate.Zhao Zhilong, the admiral of the Beijing camp, has already issued an order to ask the residents to work together to capture and suppress them.Tongji Gate is now closed.The streets and alleys in that area are beating drums and beating gold, shouting for beating and killing, and it is impossible to go.So the refugees who planned to go south turned west again.As we advance and retreat, the streets become more crowded.Huang Zongxi and the group had no choice but to walk sideways among the crowd.After finally coming to the Fucheng Bridge on the west side of Miyagi, I found that the crowd in front of me was getting denser, and most of them were standing still. What are you waiting for.Because Huang Zongxi was in a hurry, he ignored it and squeezed through first.Unexpectedly, there was a sudden "coax" from the front, and the people stepped back one after another, pushing them back instead.Then, I heard several voices calling:

"The prince is here, the prince is here! Meet the prince quickly!" Huang Zongxi was taken aback, and quickly turned around and asked, "What did they say? The prince is here?" Seeing Chen Zhenhui nodding affirmatively following behind, he let out an "ah" and suddenly became nervous.In fact, although the imperial court repeatedly issued proclamations a while ago, citing various reasons to explain that the crown prince was faked by Wang Zhiming, Huang Zongxi, like most scholars and people at that time, believed that the crown prince was real. Liu was afraid of endangering his own status, so he ignored the facts and forcibly denied it.Regarding this insane and criminal act, Huang Zongxi always harbored resentment in his heart.Therefore, once he heard that the crown prince was coming, he couldn't help being excited and pushed forward with all his strength, hoping to see what happened.

The people standing in front had already knelt down to the ground, ready to greet them.Huang Zongxi couldn't help himself, and also knelt down, but still straightened up, opened his eyes wide, and looked west.At first, he didn't know why and who sent the prince, so he imagined the grand occasion.Therefore, when he looked over the heads of the crowd kneeling in front and saw a group of ordinary people—about one or two hundred people, surrounded by a young man on horseback, walking noisily in the street that was left by the people, he still felt that That group of people should hurry away, so as not to offend the prince's driver.However, unexpectedly, the people around unexpectedly cheered wildly: "Long live!" "Ah, could that be the prince?" Huang Zongxi wondered.However, he immediately remembered: "Well, I heard that the prince has been locked up in the Bingmasi Prison in Zhongcheng. So, this time he was snatched out by the soldiers?" , he worked hard with his friends in the community, and the situation he was pursuing wholeheartedly finally appeared, and Huang Zongxi couldn't help being very excited.Therefore, when the prince entered the Xihua Gate, and the people who were kneeling to greet him also stood up and swarmed after him, he couldn't help but move his feet, intending to follow.Unexpectedly, he was dragged from behind. "Tai Chong, what are you going to do?" Chen Zhenhui looked at him and asked. "Hongguang's Hunjun is gone, and now the crown prince should take the throne. We should go to support, to calm people's hearts, to defend against enemies, to defend Liudu, and to protect Jiangnan!" Huang Zongxi replied loudly.His eyes sparkled with excitement. "However, at present, the strong bandits are suppressing the territory, the morale of the army has been disturbed, and the intentions of those in power are unpredictable. After all, the identity of the crown prince is unknown, so if he hastily embraced him, can he call on the world?" Chen Zhenhui calmly expressed her dissent. "Then, when the national crisis is imminent, could it be that our generation will also follow the example of the foolish and power-hungry traitors, and run away like a mouse!" Huang Zongxi yelled fiercely. Chen Zhenhui shook her head: "That's not what I said. I'm just a commoner right now, and I haven't been able to get involved in the big politics. Whether I stay or go, it doesn't matter to the overall situation. I have been arrested for more than a month, and my lord must have heard about it at home. News, worrying day and night. Now that I am lucky enough to escape from death, I should return home to visit first, to comfort my heart. If the prince is appointed to stay in the capital, it will not be too late for me to come back to serve. If I stay in the capital, I will not keep it... " "so what?" "Then rely on the vast hinterland in the south of the Yangtze River, deal with the captives to the end, and never be a person who loses integrity and humiliates himself!" Since Chen Zhenhui's last words were squeezed out from between her teeth with clenched fists, her eyes shone with determination, so she had an irresistible awe-inspiring spirit.Gu Gao nodded thoughtfully.Therefore, Huang Zongxi no longer insisted, turned around, and walked back to the original road together with the community members. An hour later, they had left Nanjing and were on their way home.