Chapter 57 Conspiracy

Qian Qianyi slowly closed the notebook and straightened up.However, the shock he received in his heart was so strong that for a long time, he still stood blankly by the table, and the outrageous and terrifying scenes in the book kept appearing in front of his eyes.Moreover, this situation gradually spread from Yangzhou to Jiangyin, Jiading, Huizhou, Suzhou, as well as eastern Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, etc., all the places he heard had been or are currently in war. "Yes, they actually slaughtered the people like this. They killed the people who had bowed their heads and surrendered, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands! It's just that they regard human lives as inferior to pigs, dogs, cattle and sheep! Could it be that they think they can win the world with this? Will it be able to occupy the world for a long time? Huh, I'm afraid it may not be possible! According to the history, there has never been a person who can survive for a long time by relying on bloodthirsty and violence! If this is the case, then now that I submit to them in this way, what will happen in the end? What kind of reputation, I'm afraid it's really hard to say..." Thinking of this, Qian Qianyi felt even more trapped in a cage for staying in Beijing, and his desire to return to Jiangnan became more urgent. "However, how can I get away and go back? Will the Tartar court allow it? Of course, I have to make a request first, but if after making the request, they not only refuse to grant it, but also become suspicious of me, what should I do? But, if I don't make a request , but I'm afraid there's no chance of getting out..."

Because he found that once he got to this point, there was no way out, Qian Qianyi couldn't help feeling deeply regretful, thinking that if he escaped instead of surrendering, maybe it would have been better?While pacing back and forth in the room, he thought upside down, and the more he thought about it, the more miserable, hopeless and bewildered he felt.For a moment, he even forgot the time and where he was... "Tut Tuk, Tuk Tuk!" Two knocking sounds came from the door.Qian Qianyi was taken aback for a moment, then stopped. "Who is it?" he asked. "It's me! Old friend—hey, why don't you open the door? Could it be that there's a girl hiding inside!" said a laughing voice.

"Well, it's Gong Xiaosheng! Why is he..." So puzzled, Qian Qianyi hurried over and opened the door.Sure enough, the happy Gong Dingzi was standing outside. "Hey, it's getting dark, why are you still reluctant to leave, brother? Let's go!" Gong Dingzi greeted, not intending to come in. Qian Qianyi hesitated: "Brother, how do you know..." Gong Dingzi waved his hand: "Brother was just overseeing the translation of a few New Year's congratulatory forms at the translation hall. I just finished finishing them. I walked by here and heard from the person on duty that my brother is still looking through piles of old papers here and refuses to leave. My brother also Really, what time is it! Even if Baojuan is not around, you can't just wander outside like a lonely soul without an owner!" After a pause, seeing that Qian Qianyi was still hesitating, he urged: " Let's go, let's go! If you don't want to go home, you can go to the humble house. Don't dare to say anything else, there are still a few bottles of this good wine hidden, enough for you to spend this cold night!"

When Qian Qianyi first arrived in Beijing, Gong Dingzi, who was in charge of military affairs, colluded with Xu Zuomei and other censors to impeach Feng Quan, a university scholar who was once a remnant of the eunuch party, and his enemy, Sun Zhixie. He was severely reprimanded by the regent Dorgon.Afterwards, the imperial court probably did not punish Gong Dingzi in order to show tolerance, but changed Gong Dingzi's official position to Shaoqing of Taichang Temple. Let him sit on the cold bench of the admiral's translation office and take care of document translation.In this regard, Gong Dingzi has always complained in private.However, both the Translation Hall and the National History Hall belonged to the Hanlin Academy, which made him have closer contacts with Qian Qianyi.Therefore, hearing his invitation now, Qian Qianyi no longer refuses.After a while, they both left the Hanlin Academy, served by their own personal attendants, got on their horses, and walked on the street outside the Xuanwu Gate.

It's almost time for the unitary card.The sky without moon or starlight looks pitch black.In addition, the smoldering wax was about to run out, and after nightfall, the surrounding cold became even more oppressive.On such a long street, it was empty and quiet, and it was rare to see a single figure.Only under the eaves on both sides, the continuous lanterns swayed slightly in the cold wind, emitting a dark red light.On the contrary, the inside of the door seems to be quite lively. Apart from the faint sounds of calling for slaves and maidservants, mothers and sons, you can also hear pigs howling and chickens crowing, and you can smell bursts of fried twist coming from inside. , the smell of pancakes...

"Old Mu," Gong Dingzi first broke the silence amidst the mixed and monotonous sound of the horse's hooves kicking, "You have been coming to Beijing for nearly three months, right?" "Ok." "How does it taste?" "so far so good!" "However, it is not a long-term solution to leave all Baojuan in the south, without even a personal attendant, as it is now!" "Who says it's not! But... alas!" "Hey, since they don't want to come to Beijing," Gong Dingzi turned his face and blinked his eyes, "Why don't you find one nearby in Beijing? There are plenty of good girls in the capital! I also talked about it yesterday, and there are people who don't stop these days. Yazi came to the door and asked her to help find someone, and it smelled like a girl with a yellow flower, the price would be..."

Qian Qianyi said "Oh hoo", then shook his head quickly and said, "It's a sin, a student and an elder, how dare you think so!" Gong Dingzi laughed "hee hee": "Brother, why should you be overly modest? I think back then, when my brother married Liu Rushi on a colorful boat, how brave and courageous he was! It was only three or four years ago, how could he be so decadent? The one to be afraid of is the lion’s roar originating from the east of the river, right? In fact, Beijing and Liudu are thousands of miles away, no matter how frightening her roar is, you can still turn a deaf ear to it, and let yourself enjoy the unparalleled beauty here! Haha!”

"My brother, don't make fun of me." Qian Qianyi glanced back at his entourage who was following him from afar, and said in a hoarse voice, "Through the changes in the world, although the students are lucky to keep their decaying bodies, but their hearts are already haggard. , no answer, he begged!" Hearing that he was depressed, Gong Dingzi was stunned for a moment, and asked suspiciously: "Then..." "But to be able to rest in the countryside from now on, not to care about worldly affairs, and to spend the rest of my life, my wish is fulfilled. I'm afraid... Alas!"

"what?" "I'm afraid the imperial court won't give me permission!" Gong Dingzi looked at him and stopped talking.The sound of the horse's hooves kicking under him became clear again.After walking silently for a while, Gong Dingzi turned his face, stared at Qian Qianyi and asked again: "You always said that you really want to resign and go back to the south?" "Brother Tai is not an outsider, so why should the students hide it! But it's just..." "Yes!" Gong Dingzi immediately made a stop gesture, "There is no need to discuss it in detail right now, we will discuss it after we get to the humble house!"

After finishing speaking, he slapped the horse's buttocks with a whip, speeded up first, and headed towards Xuanwumen.Seeing the other party like this, Qian Qianyi was a little puzzled, but he had no choice but to urge his horse to follow behind... When they returned to Gong Dingzi's apartment located deep in an alley, Gu Mei, who had been watching her husband's return, was getting a little impatient.Moreover, Gong Dingzi also brought back Qian Qianyi, which she did not expect in advance.However, old man Qian was an old acquaintance for many years, and she came here frequently recently, so after rolling her eyes, she still smiled immediately, called "rare guest" repeatedly, and welcomed the guest into the main room graciously.

"What did Mei Niang say just now? You know, I'm a bad old man, and I'm not a rare visitor!" Qian Qianyi, who had already taken off his windbreaker and fur, said with a smile while sitting down on the chair. "Why aren't you a rare visitor?" Gu Mei raised his crooked eyebrows, "What time is it? New Year's Eve! At this moment, how can anyone come to another house?" Qian Qianyi couldn't help being taken aback, his face felt hot immediately, after a long while, he forced a smile again, and said: "What Mei Niang said is clearly scolding me! It's true, the old man really came at an inappropriate time, if it wasn't for Gong bro..." Gu Mei was still stern-faced just now, but now she smiled "puchi" and said: "Who scolded Master Qian? My concubine is thanking Master Qian! It's true, at such a time, relatives and friends who are waiting for nothing will not come to the door; Those who are willing to come to the door are only those close friends who have a deep friendship!" As early as when she was in the Old Qinhuai River Courtyard, Gu Mei was known for her astonishing words and her ability to turn around ingeniously.Now she is doing the same old trick again, which also surprises people.However, when Qian Qianyi came to his senses, he couldn't help laughing with Gong Dingzi.As a result, the unavoidable restraint when first entering the door dissipated, and the host and guest became as harmonious and relaxed as usual again... After that, they said some other common things to each other, they were nothing more than planning how to celebrate the new year, who they wanted to visit, etc. After the servant girl Xiaofeng ordered the servants to tidy up the banquet, the three of them got up together, gave way to each other, and parted from the host and guest Sat down at the table. "Old Mu," Gong Dingzi raised his glass first, and said, "As Meiniang said just now, at this moment, only close friends are the ones who are willing to condescend to look after you! cup!" Qian Qianyi nodded and then raised his glass.He wanted to say a few words to make fun of it, but for some reason, he suddenly felt a little stuffy in his throat, and his eye sockets also became hot.Indeed, only he himself knows the boring taste of living alone in this cold night of old age and twilight.If it weren't for Gong Dingzi's warm and hospitable friends, he really didn't know how to deal with him.However, when he tried his best to suppress the excitement in his heart and tried to speak, his throat became more and more blocked.As a result, he had no choice but to nod again, raised his neck, and drank the wine. "Okay!" Gong Dingzi said happily, and drank the wine in his hand.Waiting for Xiaofeng who was waiting on the side to fill up the wine, he raised his glass again and said, "This second glass is of course to congratulate Elder Mu..." "Oh, no!" Qian Qianyi, who had already picked up the wine glass, interrupted him hastily, "This is the second glass. Naturally, it is up to the old man to talk about it—I wish you and your wife a harmonious relationship, everything goes well, prosperity and wealth, and endless enjoyment! " Gong Dingzi blinked his eyes and said with a smile: "Adhering to the noble words of the pastor! It's just that this 'two feelings and beauty' is not something I dare to promise alone, I have to ask Meiniang to make it!" Then he turned to Gu Mei, Salivating his face, he asked, "I don't know if Ma'am can promise the next official to receive this great blessing?" Gu Mei snorted, stretched out a jade-like finger, poked at Gong Dingzi's forehead, and said: "Do you want to receive this great blessing? Then we have to see if you can control your wildness! If you still like Back then, I waited and hung around with those cronies, to see if my old lady will spare you!" I don't know if Gu Mei's actions were too presumptuous, or if he really hit the nail on the head, Gong Dingzi's smile froze.He said vaguely: "Where is that!" As if afraid of Gu Mei's further words, he hastily raised the wine to his lips and drank it in one gulp. Gu Mei ignored her husband's embarrassment, she made a gesture to ask Xiaofeng to refill the wine, and then said slowly: "Then the third glass——" "Oh, this third cup is for Mu Lao to return to the south as he wished and reunite with his family!" Gong Dingzi suddenly raised his head and said loudly. As soon as he said this, Gu Mei didn't express anything, but Qian Qianyi was taken aback: "Ah, how do you say that brother?" "That's right." Perhaps to get rid of the embarrassment just now, Gong Dingzi simply stood up, grabbed the wine glass in his hand, patted his chest and said, "If you really want to resign from office and return to the south, my brother is willing to help!" Qian Qianyi swallowed a mouthful of saliva: "But——" "Don't be so! I just want to know, is my brother's intention to return to the south settled?" "As far as my brother is concerned, it's natural to wish so. It's just that the unknown plan will come out." This time, Gong Dingzi didn't speak immediately, he raised his face, pondered for a moment, then walked up to Gu Mei's side solemnly, and whispered into her ear for a moment, as if explaining something.It's strange to say that Gu Mei, who had snatched away her husband just now and dared not respond, stood up obediently, and said to Xiaofeng, "Okay, it's getting late. Let's drink together for this sake." , It’s enough to hurt them! I don’t care about it from now on, let them drink as long as they like!” After finishing speaking, he folded his sleeves at his waist, saluted Qian Qianyi gracefully, turned around, put on his maid, and walked out gracefully. It was only then that Gong Dingzi pulled the chair closer to Qian Qianyi's side, sat down, and said in a low voice, "This plan is not difficult. It's just that you are always in charge of this matter, so you have to edit the book and play it yourself." Brother and so on can try to unblock it from the side, and help you succeed!" Qian Qianyi looked at the other party.Undoubtedly, life in Beijing has become more and more difficult.Once he thinks about it maturely, he will naturally revise the book and present it.As an old friend, the other party expressed concern about this, which is also reasonable.But right now Gong Dingzi's enthusiasm seemed a little too much, even more impatient than himself, which made Qian Qianyi suspicious, feeling that there seemed to be something hidden behind it.Then he became careful and said: "Well, I'm afraid that if the court refuses to allow it, it will cause suspicion instead, and the days from now on will be sad..." "Hey, how could it be!" Gong Dingzi looked very confident, "If you rely on the strength of the younger brother alone, you may not dare to boast, but if you have other people to help you, you will definitely succeed!" "Anyone else—who?" "Chen Baishi, and—hey, don't worry about it now! Anyway, just rest assured!" Chen Baishi—that is, Chen Mingxia, who is currently the Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Officials.If he is willing to help with all his strength, the matter will naturally be much more secure.Therefore, when Qian Qianyi heard it, he was pleasantly surprised, but he also became more suspicious. "Chen Baishi doesn't have a deep friendship with the students, so why is he willing to help with all his strength?" he asked. This endless questioning obviously made Gong Dingzi very frustrated.He opened his arms in despair, slumped on the chair, panting for breath.But he finally sat up again, glanced at the window lattice, then turned to stare at Qian Qianyi, gritted his teeth in pain for a long while, and said, "Well, sooner or later, you will always know about this. It’s okay to say it now!” Even so, he still stood up first, walked to the door, opened the noren curtain, and looked out with his head.After confirming that there was no one outside, he came back again, sat down, picked up the chopsticks, but handed one of them to his left hand, tapped the table lightly, and said in a low voice: "Well, that's what happened—judging from the Tang newspapers submitted by various places in the past two months, the battle situation seems to have become less favorable to the imperial court. Needless to say, Fujian and Zhejiang, since the rebellion in these two places in June, It is obvious that the southward movement of soldiers has been stopped. Although the imperial court sent Hong Hengjiu to the south of the Yangtze River half a year ago to appease him, it seems that he is still at a loss. What also caused headaches for the imperial court was Jiangxi and Huguang, because He Tengjiao and Du Yinxi incorporated The strength of Li Chuang's remnants of thieves has increased rapidly, and has become another confidant of the court. Although Beilelk Dehun and Gushan Ezhen Yechen have been ordered to lead the Mongolian Banner soldiers to attack, it seems that the effect is not great. Not only In this way, there is also Zhang Xianzhong who is entrenched in Sichuan and Shaanxi and proclaims himself emperor openly. There are many lands. A few days ago, there were rumors that officials were killed and riots even in Gyeonggi. Hey, it was all because the imperial court insisted on shaving their hair, and wherever the bannermen went, they kept enclosing land. This change is radical! It is said that those who win the hearts of the people win the world. If the court refuses to change its course, what will happen to the war situation? Once the disgruntled scholars and people from all over the world continue to follow suit, the success or failure is really hard to predict. !" Although Gong Dingzi looked secretive when he spoke, Qian Qianyi was not particularly surprised.Because of this kind of rumors, he has heard more or less in recent days, and knows that it has caused some whispers in the circle of Han officials.In fact, when he read "Ten Diaries of Yangzhou" in the National History Museum, the reason why Qian Qianyi was quite skeptical about the prospect of the Qing Dynasty's rule can be said to have something to do with this kind of rumor... "It's just that, even though this is said, the imperial court has a strong army, and it has been battled for a long time, and it is extremely sharp. Although there are many rebel brigades in various places, most of them are mobs. I am afraid that they will not be enemies in the end?" "Hmph, when it comes to the soldiers of the imperial court, the strongest will naturally be the first to promote the Eight Banners. Unfortunately, there are only a mere 100,000 troops, and the rest belong to the former Ming Dynasty after entering the customs. Those warriors who support themselves are nothing more than profit and loss. .On the surface, it’s a surrender, but in fact, it’s not necessarily so reliable. Once the situation changes, how do you know that you won’t turn against each other? At that time——ah, worry about it!” Qian Qianyi stopped talking.After a long while, he hesitated and asked again: "Then brother, etc., plan to..." Gong Dingzi put the two chopsticks together in a "bang" manner, put them on the table, and said coldly: "People without long-term considerations must have short-term worries. In order to plan for the future advancement and retreat of a group of colleagues, it is urgent to have a reputation and a reputation. People with both relationships, sitting in the south of the Yangtze River, think that my generation looks around, connects with all sides, and clears up the rules and regulations. He is a hero of the shepherd, and he is a very reliable figure in the circle. If he can accept this great responsibility No need to be a second person! I just don't know what to do next?" Before that, although Qian Qianyi had guessed that there must be a reason for the other party's enthusiastic expression of wanting to help him; however, when Gong Dingzi confided all the details, he was still shocked!Because this arrangement, to put it bluntly, is to let him act as a secret envoy for Gong Dingzi, Chen Mingxia and others to contact the anti-Qing forces in the south and reserve a way out.The risks involved can be imagined without asking!And from Gong Dingzi's tone just now, Gong and Chen were not the only ones involved in the conspiracy.So how many people are there?Who else?None of this is known.However, when there are too many people, things tend to be exposed easily, so for a moment, Qian Qianyi instinctively planned to decline, but then he thought again: the reason why the other party dared to propose to him so directly was naturally after these months of dating , I have already figured out my own thoughts and thoughts clearly, and I am sure that I dare not take the matter out... "Well, the most important thing for me right now is to return to Jiangnan as soon as possible. Since they can help me, why not agree? As for other , you can wait until you get back, take a look at the situation, and take a camera before it's too late!" After making up his mind, Qian Qianyi raised his head, looked straight into the other person's eyes, and said, "My colleagues in Duomeng will not abandon you as old people, but entrust you with a heavy responsibility, and you should do your best! I just don't know when to revise the book, so what?" Doing what is appropriate?" "Okay!" Gong Dingzi, who was obviously overjoyed, stood up eagerly, "It's our great fortune that Mr. Mu is willing to agree! The students thank you in advance! As for the matter of the performance, there is no need to be in a hurry. I will discuss it with Chen Baishi and the others. After that, it’s up to you to make a decision!”