Chapter 30 be terribly upset

After a long journey of nearly one and a half months, Qian Qianyi, together with the other three descended officials of the Hongguang Dynasty, finally arrived in Beijing, which had become the capital of the Qing Dynasty, and temporarily stayed in a house outside Xuanwumen. As far as their status is concerned, their trip to the north this time was nothing more than demoted officials and prisoners, but because they followed the Qing army, their journey went smoothly and the journey was safe.In addition, Duoduo has always been very courteous to them, taking care of them as much as possible in terms of daily life and food, which also made the demoted officials secretly put down a lot of their half-suspended thoughts.However, despite this, Qian Qianyi still felt lonely and depressed.Undoubtedly, he was not alone this time, and he brought his old family Qian Dou and other powerful servants with him. However, no matter in the cabin passing by the Grand Canal or in the car bumping north along the official road, a sharp The feeling that always torments him is that Liu Rushi is not by his side.The reason why this feeling is sharp is not so much because he sees other demoted officials accompanied by their family members, who can still enjoy the "pleasure of the boudoir" during the journey, but he cannot, but because he feels that when the concubine insists on staying In Nanjing's self-willedness and stubbornness, there is clearly a hint of contempt and a tendency to be alienated from morality.For Qian Qianyi, who spent the rest of his life on that petite woman, he couldn't accept it anyway.Therefore, the further north he traveled, the more panic and emptiness he felt from the bottom of his heart. "Hey, such a woman! I've given her all my heart and soul, but in the end, even if she accommodated me a little bit, she wouldn't do it!" He had no choice but to think angrily more than once.

Indeed, it was no wonder that Qian Qianyi felt aggrieved.Leaving aside all kinds of kindness and love in the past, let’s take the two months after the Qing army entered Nanjing as an example. Impossible things—such as arranging troops and horses, briefing the situation, counting the treasury, handing over property, appeasing the people, etc., were completed as usual, but that was all, he asked himself that he did not do any more peddling, ignorant and unreasonable things thing.On the contrary, on the day when the Qing soldiers entered Nanjing, when he accompanied the conquerors to the former imperial palace, he couldn't stop feeling sad, and wept loudly on the ground in public; For the strategy of marching, he strongly advocated that the main strategy is to appease the people in the south of the Yangtze River, in order to prevent the people in the south of the Yangtze River from being killed innocently... However, even so, Liu Rushi was still very dissatisfied. As a concubine, when she was forced to travel long distances and go northward, the other party, as a concubine, disregarded her own obligations. With such a hard heart, Qian Qianyi felt that it was too ruthless...

However, regrets are regrets, if you ask Qian Qianyi the other way around: is he really guilty of participating in the surrender of the city, and is determined to keep his promise to his concubine, and once the time comes, he will turn to join the ranks of anti-Qing and Fuming? ?I'm afraid Qian Qianyi may not be able to answer loudly.It is true that Liu Rushi did not hesitate to die in order to fulfill the integrity of the Ming Dynasty, which really shocked him; and when the matter subsided, he thought carefully about the catastrophe of the country's destruction and family destruction in the past year or so. With painstaking efforts and exhaustion, all he wanted was to seek peace for the Jiangnan half of the Ming Dynasty; as a result, he was tossed and humiliated in the whirlpool of turbulent political disputes, and in the end he was still riding a tiger, and ended up with a traitor who took the lead. The notoriety of offering the city to surrender for thousands of years.After going through this business where he lost all his capital, Qian Qianyi learned from the painful experience, and he was really chilled about the benefits and fame, and he no longer thought about the glory and wealth in the conqueror's court; but the same , To ask him to go back and devote himself to the revival of the Ming Dynasty, to be honest, he can't muster any courage and enthusiasm.Because of his long experience in the world, he knew very well in his heart: the reason why the Ming Dynasty ended today is by no means accidental, it is actually due to its own darkness and corruption, it has reached the point where it is terminally ill and hopeless.After the Chongzhen court in Beijing and the Hongguang court in Nanjing were destroyed one after another, it is really not easy to make a comeback and rebuild ZTE!In his opinion, in the face of the Qing Dynasty's overwhelming advance, the wise choice should be to do everything possible to save his family and life in the troubled times.This is the most important and most practical.As for Liu Rushi's behavior and thoughts, it was nothing more than a woman who was impulsive and impulsive. "After a while, when the overall situation is settled, she will naturally change her mind!" He has been thinking secretly for more than a month.This time, Qian Qianyi had no choice but to reluctantly set off after receiving the imperial edict from Emperor Shunzhi to "come to see you in Beijing", but he had no intention of resisting or escaping at all. A happy-go-lucky attitude.Therefore, when the convoy full of officials and their families scrambled into the heavily guarded Chaoyangmen, at best he only slightly increased his tension and vigilance. Apart from that, he really didn't have any clear plans or thoughts...

Right now, it is already the tenth day in Beijing.Although seven days ago, it was arranged to be at the end of the class of all the officials at the routine court meeting, and to greet the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, but according to the notice of Chen Mingxia, the left servant of the official department who was in charge of liaising with them, there will be no more There is a small summons, the date has not yet been set.So they had no choice but to wait patiently.Perhaps because he lived in a new place, Qian Qianyi woke up early in the morning as usual, lay on the bed and couldn't sleep anymore, so he simply got up, and was served by a servant, washing his face, rinsing his mouth, dressing, and tying his belt.After finishing all this, he saw Ruan Liang, a newly hired barber—a slender, middle-aged man, already carrying a box, standing by the door with his waist slightly bowed. He sat down in front of the long case by the window.

It seems that the time is indeed still very early.Although Qian Qianyi temporarily stopped thinking and closed his eyes habitually, he still couldn't hear the sound of pedestrians outside the courtyard wall.Only the scissors and the comb were being played by the barber, making a slight rattle in the ears.But the north is indeed the north, not to mention the early winter of October, the breath of the morning is even more chilly.Naturally, what made Qian Qianyi feel this most clearly was the half-slick scalp on his forehead.Speaking of which, this is another piece of his heart disease.It was more than three months ago, when the Qing Dynasty's strict hair-shaving order arrived in Nanjing.At that time, the gentry in the city, including the demoted officials, were both surprised and disgusted because the King of Yu Duoduo had not long ago explicitly prohibited Han officials and people from changing their clothes without authorization, and now he suddenly ordered their hair to be shaved. They all came to Qian Qianyi for advice on countermeasures .At first, Qian Qianyi just hesitated and hawed, because in his opinion, as a submissive people, facing the power and will of the conqueror, there was no room for reasoning with him other than bowing his head and obeying orders.But later, some people became angry and even advocated a joint petition and rose up in disobedience. Immediately invites a fatal disaster!But the crowd was raging, and it was not easy to stop, so he had to resort to a trick—excusing his itchy scalp, went back to the room to wash his hair, took the opportunity to simply shave off his hair, braid it, and then come out to meet everyone again.Only then did the group of people turn pale with astonishment and dispersed in discouragement.

The hair is so shaved.However, it is not true to say that Qian Qianyi does not have the slightest pain and shame in his heart.Because at the time when the Qing soldiers led the barbers to murderously force people to shave their hair on the thoroughfare, there were several heroic murders in the city of Nanjing that they would rather commit suicide to resist, including one as young as Ma Chunren Twenty-year-old gentry, as well as ordinary people like the masons in Xiliu Street, as for the martyrs in neighboring counties, there are even more.In contrast, Qian Qianyi's greed for life and fear of death is particularly prominent in people's eyes.Although, as the single and weak head of the family, he can still take on many responsibilities and obligations on his shoulders and cannot make unnecessary sacrifices to make fun of himself, but the contemptuous gaze of Mrs. Ru beside him is not so easy to bear.In addition, when he looked in the mirror every day, his strange appearance really made him feel disgusted and frustrated. "Hey, the Qing government didn't know what to think. It was just to stabilize the hearts of the people, and it shouldn't do this! Originally, if they could rely less on killing and more benevolent government, people's hearts might not be unconvinced. Now they insist on this, the situation But it's hard to predict! Although the Qing government sent Hong Hengjiu to replace Duoduo, it was obvious that he was an old minister of the Ming Dynasty and had a lot of connections with people here. Hong Hengjiu may not be able to do what he wants!" Since then, there have been news that the local people have risen to fight against the shaving of their hair, which made Qian Qianyi nervous and worried for a while.Undoubtedly, he more or less hoped that such a commotion might force the Qing court to withdraw its order, but he was also afraid that if the situation repeated, he, as a traitor with "prominent signs of rebellion", would be severely punished by the forces of the Ming Dynasty.But right now, probably because I have already been in Beijing and felt the powerful prestige of the Qing Dynasty closely, when this doubt came to my mind again, it became indifferent and far away. "Well, no matter what the future holds, we must first avoid the catastrophe in the south of the Yangtze River! Judging from the situation of the Qing Dynasty, even if the world cannot be unified in the future, the northern half of the river will probably be able to sit firmly. Then, maybe we should Try to get the family members over quickly?"

Thinking about it secretly, Qian Qianyi seemed to feel a little more at ease in his heart.So, he opened his eyes and silently looked at his unfamiliar but familiar face in the bronze mirror, and began to speculate that when the day of the official summons came, with his old reputation and his "merit" in the surrender, at least he would As for being too cold, and as long as he doesn't refuse, he will be awarded a certain official position.If so, he would take the initiative to ask to take on the responsibility of compiling the "History of Ming Dynasty". "Yes, life is only a hundred years. Instead of worrying about being frightened and frightened all day long, it would be better to set up a bureau to compile history and not ask about world affairs! In this way, if you don't blame me too much, I can be regarded as I have done my best for the former dynasty of the motherland, even in front of future generations, I can explain it..."

"Master, your hair is done. I wonder if there is anything wrong?" Ruan Liang's respectful voice rang in his ears. Qian Qianyi was stunned for a moment, then came back to his senses. "Are you ready? Well, that's it, it's done!" After speaking, he supported the table and stood up. "...It's easy for others to move the family here, but, will she agree?" Turning around the room, returning to the table and standing still, Qian Qianyi thought again.Indeed, no matter how safe and feasible his plan was, if Liu Rushi refused to cooperate, everything would be in vain.But judging from the situation in the past few days, it would be even more difficult for that stubborn and willful little girl to agree to move to Beijing... Thinking of this, Qian Qianyi felt discouraged again.He couldn't help getting annoyed, he tore off the scarf around his neck, threw it to Ruan Liang, and with his hands behind his back, he left the dormitory and walked out into the yard.

This courtyard house, which is common in Beijing, is probably the private residence of a small official in the previous dynasty.Of course it is not gorgeous, and it is not very spacious. It is nothing more than a three-bay upper house in the north, with two side rooms.Although they came to Beijing this time with Emperor Hongguang, their situations were somewhat different—Emperor Hongguang fled and was captured, while they surrendered on their own initiative.Perhaps because of this, it is natural to take precautions. On the way to Beijing, their monarchs and ministers have been separated and cannot contact; after arriving in Beijing, Emperor Hongguang and his party were taken away immediately, lost trace.However, at this point, even if Qian Qianyi still has a little "feeling of knowing and meeting" with that former master, he is already unable to take care of him.Now, because they were placed together in this small courtyard, he and Wang Duo, the former Dongge University scholar, have become close friends who have lived together day and night.Now, Qian Qianyi found that in the main room assigned to Wang Duo, there were faint voices and noises.He estimated that the other party had gotten up, so he stepped on the dew-wet square brick floor and walked straight over.

When he came to the upper room, he found that the door of the living room was half closed. He was about to reach out to knock, but the door opened automatically with a sound of "ah", and then, Wang Duo's huge body and that familiar fat face were revealed. . More than five months ago, when Emperor Hongguang fled in the starry night, the mansions of Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng were looted by angry people, and the order in Nanjing was the most chaotic. Wang Duo, as a cabinet minister, also became the target of venting his anger.When he went to the street, the sedan chair he was riding on was smashed to pieces, and even he himself was punched and kicked a lot; the worst thing was that his beautiful beard, which he was so proud of, was pulled out completely.So to this day, Wang Duo's chin is still sparse, and his beard has not grown completely.But, fortunately, the old man was of a sensible nature, and could take the humiliation and loss with equanimity.Now, while letting Qian Qianyi in, he opened his eyes wide in surprise, and asked:

"Old Mu, so early? I don't know..." Qian Qianyi let out a "hmm".Just now, he was troubled for a while, so he walked over by the way. He wanted to talk about something, but he really couldn't say there was anything important.However, he continued to walk in, and did not stop until he entered the West Second Room, which was temporarily used as a reception room. Because it is the upper room, the living room here is more spacious than the west wing where Qian Qianyi stayed, but the furnishings are similar, nothing more than kangs, screens, tables, chairs and the like.However, what surprises Qian Qianyi at the moment is the new calligraphy works full of flamboyant and phoenix dances and dripping ink in the room, including banners, horizontal drape, and a large hall written on rice paper. The tables and chairs couldn't fit, so they even used the floor.At first glance, it looks like a messy ink nest, so that people who come in have almost no place to stand. "Well, these -- are all newly recruited jobs?" Qian Qianyi asked casually after finding that someone's "elegant family" was inscribed on each of the words. "No!" Wang Duo made a helpless gesture, "It's all of them! Favors are hard to get rid of, and you can't push them away!" "Hey, there are so many! It's really lucky that you can handle it!" Qian Qianyi looked around and shook his head. Wang Duo said indifferently: "Forget about entertainment! However, there are one or two well-written ones. Brother, look at this one—" He rummaged through the kang bed, took out one of them, and placed it proudly in front of friends. This is a cursive work.Qian Qianyi discovered that there was a poem titled "Five Rhythms" on it, but it was Wang Duo's own poem: As a contemporary master, Wang Duo's calligraphy has always been known for its steepness, grandeur, and ups and downs.If this poem is not very outstanding, then as far as calligraphy is concerned, it is like a waterfall flying and springs flowing, the ocean is unrestrained, and it seems that a famous general is facing the enemy, and Yue Zhiyuan stops, it is very similar to the sky, and it is completely natural.In normal times, Qian Qianyi must give a compliment when he is heartbroken.But right now, what caught his attention was the line at the end of the poem: "Prince He Shuorui—" Qian Qianyi thought suspiciously, then suddenly startled, and hurriedly pointed to ask, "This one is..." Wang Duo nodded: "It is the current regent." "Why, could it be that he also..." "Oh, of course he won't recognize his younger brother. It's probably some old acquaintance who told him that he's the next one, so he sent someone to ask for the book yesterday." Wang Duo narrowed his eyes slyly, and fiddled with his chin with one hand Looking at those few sparse beards, he said with a smile, "Fortunately, it's half a piece of favor paper from a scholar! If it's anything else, I really might not be able to get it; as for getting this, I, Mrs. Wang, have a better comparison—just It's like raising children in a cheap wife, 'plop, plop', one after another, it's very convenient!" Qian Qianyi didn't laugh, but he just remembered that an official came to visit Wang Duo in a hurry yesterday, and because he didn't know that person at that time, it was inconvenient for him to join in the fun, so he speculated for a long time.It turned out that it was for this matter... "So from now on, brother, do you plan to live here forever?" Qian Qianyi finally asked again.After discovering that in the short half month since he came to Beijing, Wang Duo had managed to catch up with many dignitaries of the new dynasty, including the regent Dorgon, with his calligraphy. Should be disgusted. "Hey, do you still plan to go back?" Wang Duo asked in surprise, "Jiangnan is in a mess right now, and it's not sure how far it will go. If it gets messed up, it might even cost your life! Alas, China It’s so big, if you want to live a stable life for a few days now, I’m afraid you can’t find any other place except here!” Seeing that Qian Qianyi was silent, he looked around, came closer again, and said in a low voice: "Brother, do you think that people like you and me will let us go back now that we are here?" Qian Qianyi's heart shuddered slightly, and he couldn't help but choked.Undoubtedly, I also thought just now that I should move to Beijing temporarily, but I had no choice but to leave it because I thought Liu Rushi would not agree.However, now that he was reminded by his old friend, he was in a daze again.Because judging from the precedents of dealing with surrenders in the past dynasties, it is entirely possible that the Qing court will do this. "Ah, in order to accommodate her, I'd rather give up Wusha and go back to the south of the Yangtze River. But if I'm stuck here and can't get out, and she refuses to come, what should I do? Could it be that we will be separated from each other from now on, unable to get along with each other?" See? Besides, since the Qing court has heavily guarded troops, it’s okay for me to be here, but they are in the south of the Yangtze River. What if there is a chaos? Sun Ai is still young and timid by nature, so it doesn’t work. Other relatives and friends It's hard to count on life and death when you're too busy to take care of yourself. Then, in the end, it's very likely..." Thinking of this, Qian Qianyi's heart suddenly tightened, and blood rushed to his forehead.For a moment, he opened his eyes blankly, as if he saw his home in Nanjing, that home in Changshu, and his countless collections of books being engulfed by raging fire; Liu Rushi, Qian Sunai and other family members , one after another fleeing in a hurry, crying for their father and mother, being chased, plundered, and ravaged by soldiers or thieves along the way... The scene shown in this kind of suspense is so terrible that Qian Qianyi stood in a daze, unable to stop himself from the bottom of his heart. I trembled in fits and starts. "Hey, what should I do now? What else can I do?!" He raised his face in anxiety, looked at the roof beams, and asked himself loudly and repeatedly in his heart, but the more he asked, the more desperate and bewildered he felt.Finally, his legs gave way, and he sat down on the chair, regardless of the fact that the chair was piled up with master's masterpieces of calligraphy.