Chapter 36 return home to pay

The pacification of Huizhou is undoubtedly another success for Hong Chengchou.However, in Hunan and Hubei, the 400,000 or 500,000 remaining peasant troops joined forces with the Ming defenders, which caused the entire center of gravity of the battle to shift to that side.Feeling very nervous, Dorgon, the regent of the Qing Dynasty, of course decided to transfer troops from the south of the Yangtze River to reinforce Huguang; and Le Ke Dehun and Ye Chen, who were in Nanjing, became hesitant because of this, and relaxed their military pressure on the front line of eastern Zhejiang. .Faced with this situation, Zhang Guowei, the supervisor of the King Lu regime, decided to seize the opportunity of the lack of support and the loss of offensive and defensive positions of the Qing army entrenched in Hangzhou, and make a large-scale attack.When Hong Chengchou went to Huizhou Fucheng to inspect, all the Ming troops along the Qiantang River, in accordance with the order of the Governor Xingyuan, prepared their troops and equipped their ships. The enemy strikes hard with a new round.As a result, the two Zhejiang battlefields, which were once stagnant and stalemate, suddenly became full of wars...

However, not all Ming troops could go to the front line immediately.For example, Huang Zongxi, who had been stationed with the Yuyao Rebel Army at Longwangtang in Xiaoshan County for the past two months, now had to lead Huang An and a group of soldiers back to Huangzhupu, Tongde Township overnight. Speaking of which, Huang Zongxi returned home for the first time since he led the army to join the army in early June.Undoubtedly, the battle in mid-August was won, and because of the Yuyao rebel army and the navy of Wuning Hou Wang Zhiren who joined the battle later, most of the Qing soldiers were dragged from the water, and the governor stationed in Fuyang Zhang Guowei was able to command Guoan, another former commander-in-chief who was named Zhendonghou, to advance troops by land and captured Yuqian County in the east in one fell swoop, further expanding the siege of Hangzhou.But then again, the Yuyao Rebel Army to which Huang Zongxi belonged suffered heavy losses because Wang Zhiren deliberately threw them out to fight for the lead.After counting the number of people, more than 300 people were sacrificed. Seventeen of the Huangzhupu disciples brought out by him alone died and even more were injured.Although it is said that if there is a war, it is inevitable that people will die, but after a battle, so many people die, which makes Huang Zongxi feel that it is difficult to explain to the elders in the village.Especially when he thought of facing the mourning and tears of orphans and widows, he became even more frightened and timid.Therefore, after the battle was over, he just sent his men back to report the victory, and transported the dead back home for burial, but he himself remained in the camp. "Yes, let's talk about it after a while, when this matter has calmed down a bit!" Whenever he received a letter from his family, or someone from the village came, and mentioned the topic of going home to visit, he always thought sullenly.

However, this time he couldn't drag it any longer.Because in the past month, the food supply of the army has become more and more tense, especially for those teams called "religious soldiers", which have reached the point where it is difficult to maintain.Undoubtedly, relying on the eastern Zhejiang region alone to support 100,000 troops cannot be said to be ample, but as long as the distribution is reasonable, it should be able to maintain it in a short period of time.However, since Fang Guoan, Wang Zhiren and others were promoted to lieutenants, they used the excuse that the officers and soldiers under their command were regular troops and the main force in combat, and proposed to divide up with the six local militias that first revolted, including Yuyao, Shaoxing, Ningbo, and Cixi. The land distribution is actually to take all the more than 600,000 money and food officially collected by the imperial court, and let the volunteers fend for themselves.Among them, Fang Guoan believed that he had a large number of soldiers in his hands and made great achievements in combat, and his attitude was particularly domineering. He didn't pay attention to Zhang Guowei, Sun Jiaji and other righteous heroes at all.Wang Zhiren was considered a little better, but because of his interests, he naturally agreed with Fang Guoan in every way.However, King Lu relied heavily on them and tried to protect them.Therefore, despite the strong opposition of the leaders of the various rebels, the result was settled in this way.After the news spread, the morale of the volunteer soldiers suddenly fell into chaos, and they talked about packing up and going home.Although Sun Jiaji and others tried their best to appease and encouraged the soldiers with loyalty, but due to the increasingly serious shortage of food and clothing, most of the people who were sent back to the villages to raise wages returned empty-handed. Many people have already dispersed.Seeing that the war was about to start, but the food and wages of the soldiers were all gone, Huang Zongxi was so anxious that he finally had to volunteer to Sun Jiaji and rush home to find a solution.

"Originally, the third brother, as the food chief, is in charge of this matter at home, who knows why even he suffers from delays? It's true, the villagers will not give out money and food quickly. But Didn’t they just finish the game, why can’t they even collect dozens of shiguzi and hundreds of suits? It’s always because they don’t want to do their best!” Thinking of Fang Guoan, Wang Zhiren and others calling themselves “soldiers” The generals in the army have always looked down on these volunteer soldiers. If they are unable to participate in the war due to lack of food and pay this time, they will have no place to gain a foothold in the court in the future.It was with such resentment that Huang Zongxi decided to go home in person.

After a day and a night of sailing, the awning boat they took finally arrived at Huangzhupu in the twilight rain.Going home this time, although it was somewhat forced, Huang Zongxi couldn't help but stand up when the boat was docked, leaning on the boat's awning, and staring wide-eyed from far and near.He found that, except for the bamboo bridge across the ferry, which seemed to become more and more crooked, everything else was still the same as when he left four months ago.Close to the embankment extending to the distance of the Lanxi River, there are still continuous dense moso bamboos; Hua'an Mountain arching behind the moso bamboos is still like a giant crawling beast.And among the white paddy fields reflecting the last ray of sky, Huangzhupu Village is still gloomy, with a rare light shining through.After dinner, it was time to close the door and go to bed. The gloomy village road was quiet and empty, and there was not even a single person in sight.Only the dog hiding in the dark probably smelled the smell of a stranger blowing in the wind from the pier, and began to bark hesitantly and restlessly...

When Huang An ran away quickly through the splash of water in order to be the first to report to his family, Huang Zongxi and the other soldiers also put on coir raincoats and bamboo hats, and walked forward along the muddy village road. . "Yes, I finally came back alive! I have gone through so many things in the past few months, I have worried so much, and I have fought a real battle with the Tartars, and I won! This is something I never dreamed of before. Yes!" Huang Zongxi thought silently while listening to the muddy water creaking under his feet, "It's just that after two months of fighting, I have been procrastinating not to come back. You will blame me, and my wife and sister will also blame me. Undoubtedly, Zongyuan and Zongyi went to see me a few days ago, and they all said that everyone in the family is fine, so don't worry about it. But..."

After a pause, he thought again: "I can't stay too long when I come back this time. The soldiers in the camp are waiting for the rice to go to the pot! Once the food and wages are collected, they have to go back. We will fight this battle no matter what. You have to participate, and you have to make a name for yourself! Hmph, I want Fang Guoan, Wang Zhiren and others to see clearly that our volunteer soldiers are not free, and they are more capable than their "righteous soldiers"..." At first, I wanted to think about it, but the barking of the dogs from far and near became more and more violent. Then, there was a little light from a lantern at the entrance of the village, and people were still walking around.Huang Zongxi blinked his eyes, and his heart couldn't help beating rapidly.When he saw that the group of people were obviously coming to welcome him, he ignored the muddy road, hurriedly took big strides, and hurried over.

"Oh! Brother, you, why did you come back without saying a word?" When it was still a foot away, the fourth brother Zongyuan greeted him in surprise from the figure on the opposite side. "Oh, I didn't plan to come back. I just made a temporary decision the night before yesterday." Huang Zongxi explained, relying on the light of the lanterns that came to him, he looked at the familiar faces of the greeters with a smile.He originally wanted to explain that he came back this time to collect payment, but when he found that the third brother Zonghui was not among the people who were welcoming him, he changed his words and asked:

"Hey, where's Zewang?" "He was told by someone, but he didn't follow for some reason." A muffled voice replied.That is the second brother Zongyan. "So, how is the matter of food and salary? Have you settled it?" After the initial period of joy and greetings passed, Huang Zongxi couldn't help asking again as he continued to walk towards the village surrounded by everyone. "A few days ago, I saw Zewang busy day and night, but I haven't seen him walking around in the past two days. I think it's done!" Huang Zongyan said. "That's not it!" Fifth brother Zong Yi interjected from the sidelines, "My little brother heard third brother worrying yesterday that the money will never be collected, and I don't know how to reply to elder brother."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Seeing that Huang Zongxi stopped suddenly and his eyes widened, his fourth brother Zongyuan quickly comforted him, "Although it is not easy, it is not impossible to put everything away. A few days ago, I saw several people take Rice, grain and clothes were sent to the ancestral hall!" Hearing these contradictory statements from his younger brothers, Huang Zongxi became even more suspicious. "No, I have to find Zewang as soon as possible and ask for clarification!" He thought, so he stopped asking and walked towards the house at a faster pace.

However, he was in a hurry, but he couldn't find Huang Zonghui immediately.Because the family members who had already received the news had already gathered inside and outside the gate, stretching their necks and waiting.Seeing that the uncle had returned, they rushed up to meet him in a swarm, with surprised expressions, greeting, greeting, and sighing, chattering with enthusiasm.Faced with this situation, Huang Zongxi had no choice but to put his mind aside for the time being, nodded his head constantly, answered the greetings from all directions with "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" and walked all the way to the lobby.The family members came in like stars and moons, surrounded him, moved chairs, served tea, and came forward to pay respects one by one.Among them, the busiest one was Grandma Ye, she changed from her usual dignified and prudent, kept laughing, wiping her tears, supervised the children to salute their father, and urged the concubine Zhou Xijie to go to the kitchen Serving the water, at the end, she twisted a steaming facekerchief and sent it to her husband.So, while Huang Zongxi was wiping his face, everyone began to ask him various questions, such as why Huang Zongxi didn't come back until now?How long will this battle last?Is the dog tartar very fierce and ugly, will he come here?And Huang Zongxi, has he ever met Prince Lu who supervises the country?What does his old man look like?and so on.Looking at those familiar faces and listening to those familiar voices, a kind of family affection reunited after a long absence rippled in Huang Zongxi's heart.So he answered patiently and in as much detail as possible; after that, he left the hall and, accompanied by his younger brothers, went to the upper room to meet his mother, Mrs. Yao.When mother and child meet each other, it is inevitable to have another scene of mixed sorrow and joy and mutual farewell.After such a delay, when Huang Zongxi finally resigned from the upper room, and decided not to follow others, and went to the West Side Courtyard alone to find Huang Zonghui, it was already more than an hour later. The main room, which was noisy just now, became empty.Now, with his head slightly lowered, Huang Zongxi walked on the dark but familiar stone alley.The reason why he would rather not go back to his own house, but to go to the West Side Courtyard first, is because even during the family gathering just now, his younger brother who shouldered the heavy responsibility still disappeared; not only Huang Zonghui himself disappeared, but also Not even his wife and children showed up. "It's so unreasonable! Do you think this is just a joke? This is a matter of life and death! If you don't tell me about the collection of food and wages, you can't escape tonight!" Because the excitement of meeting the family members had already Subsided, the previous anxiety quickly resurfaced and became even more acute. When he came to the door of Huang Zonghui's bedroom, he found that it was dark inside and there was no sound at all. "Well, fell asleep so soon?" Huang Zongxi thought suspiciously, and then coughed—"Zewang! Zewang!" After a pause, seeing that there was no answer, he raised his voice slightly, and called again: "Ze Wang!" Unexpectedly, there is still no answer. As a result, Huang Zongxi encountered difficulties instead.Anyway, now it's time for the first update.The room in front of him was dark, and he didn't know if Huang Zonghui was in it, even if he was in the room, his wife would be in as usual.Judging from the situation just now, the other party has probably fallen asleep, and obviously doesn't want to get up to open the door.Then, as an elder brother, he kept shouting outside, even though it was for a serious business, it always seemed a little unreasonable. "Well, it's a bit late now, maybe, let's wait until tomorrow?" He thought hesitantly.But he had already come to the door, and he was really eager to know the situation of the payment arrangement, so he was unwilling to go back...Finally, he still broke his heart and raised his voice again: "Ze Wang!" This time, at least there was a response, but it was the voice of Huang Zonghui's wife Liang Shi: "Who is it?" "Oh, it's - it's me." Huang Zongxi replied quickly.At the same time, he felt annoyed that he was a little flustered, as if he had really done something wrong. "Ah, it's uncle, what's the matter?" "I'm looking for Ze Wang, is he in the house?" "Your third brother is not here." "Not here? Where did he go?" "I don't know. He went out after dinner and hasn't come back yet." "This——are you serious? I have something important to ask him!" Huang Zongxi followed closely, and at the same time, he planned to end this kind of conversation immediately, once the other party clearly answered that Huang Zonghui was not there. The awkward dialogue between the door leaf and the uncle and his sister-in-law. Unexpectedly, the room fell silent, and there was a chirping sound, as if turning over or discussing in a low voice. Huang Zongxi's ears couldn't help pricking up—although he secretly blamed himself for being despicable and shouldn't do so, but he still couldn't help renewing hope, "Yes, as long as Zewang is willing to come out and explain to me about the payment, I don't care about anything else!" He thought shamelessly and magnanimously. Finally, an answer sounded from the door, but it was still Liang's voice: "Sister-in-law, I don't dare to lie to uncle. Since uncle has something important to do, why don't you let your third brother come to see uncle immediately, okay?"  Huang Zongxi couldn't help being stunned. After a while, he finally realized that he couldn't ask any more questions.However, the noise and hesitation just now inside the door made him believe that Huang Zonghui was actually in the room, but he insisted on hiding and refused to come out.For a moment he stood in the darkness with clenched teeth, and with an insulted and fooled rage he was tempted to raise his fist and slam on the bedroom door, ordering his useless and odious brother to immediately get out!Just temporarily thinking that I am an uncle, and now it is night again, if I forcefully knock on the door, and Liang Shi is really the only one in the room, the scene will become very embarrassing, so I tried my best to endure it. "Hmph, if you survived tonight, could it be possible that you can survive tomorrow? I'll always ask you to clarify!" After making up his mind, he turned around and walked back to the place he lived in resentment. Go to the courtyard.