Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen

The snow is not heavy, and the speed of the snowflakes falling is slow and heavy, but it forms a stagnant atmosphere, and also covers the world as if covered with a layer of white gauze, making the world's sight blurred. Everything is blurred, the direction of the path is completely lost, and the standard of right and wrong is also lost. On the way back to Shanhaiguan, facing the ignorance between heaven and earth, Sun Chengzong simply closed the car windows and didn't pay attention at all. The feeling of despair engulfed his always strong spirit and deprived him of the courage to fight. In the darkness, he lamented over and over again: "The power eunuch takes power, and the country is not far away—"

As soon as he returned to the government office in Shanhaiguan, he immediately shut the door, did not make any remarks, and refused to hear any information from the outside world; he explained to the housekeeper and staff: "The only thing to do is to beg for rest—— Resign from office and return home, and never get involved in officialdom again!" At the same time, he confessed that, except for the imperial decree sent by the court allowing him to resign, he would not hear anything or see anyone; even, he said to himself with a more determined attitude: "State affairs can no longer be done, so I will close the door." Let’s read—take the rest of your life to carefully read the twenty-four histories, count the lessons of the rise and fall of dynasties in the past, and be a person who reads ancient history coldly! How chic is Su Shunqin of the Song Dynasty to serve wine with Han books, to read ancient history coldly History, I stay out of the matter, and my heart is peaceful and joyful, without sorrow or pain, and I can forget the chaos of the present age and avoid the right and wrong in front of me!"

Moreover, he put into practice what he said, and even the news that Wei Zhongxian's party members attacked and slandered him wantonly, he completely ignored it. However, this made Yuan Chonghuan suffer.Yuan Chonghuan came to the Superintendent's Office almost three times a day to ask to see Sun Chengzong, but every time the housekeeper who answered the door told him: "My lord, please do your best and perform your duties. You don't have to rely on others. In memory; he has already begged to rest, and now, he will return to his hometown only when the imperial decree arrives, so it is inconvenient to meet visitors!"

The door was closed three times a day, and finally even the housekeeper was soft-hearted, and he couldn't speak anymore; but Sun Chengzong's "hard-hearted" personality, even if the housekeeper interceded for Yuan Chonghuan, he still refused to meet him; With a stubborn temper of "not getting discouraged and not shrinking back", he came to ask for a meeting without giving up his goal-the two people with similar personalities were like a tug-of-war. As the days passed, the two never met, and Sun Chengzong's begging for a rest was not approved by the court. Of course, the key is still in the hands of Wei Zhongxian.

Wei Zhongxian, who was worried about Sun Chengzong, of course, would not sleep peacefully behind closed doors just because he forced Sun Chengzong to return to Liaodong with a fake imperial decree; he sent a large number of manpower to investigate and pay close attention to Sun Chengzong's actions; Because of the fact that Qingqi Jiancong went to Beijing and stayed behind closed doors immediately after returning to Liaodong, he also secretly felt a little ashamed in his heart. "It's groundless to say that the army forced Beijing? I wronged him—" However, he couldn't say this, let alone clearly instruct his party members to stop attacking Sun Chengzong—how could he openly admit his mistake?

Therefore, the only thing that can be done is to use some indirect methods to retain Sun Chengzong: he instructed several censors to go up and say that in the face of the enemy, it is better for the personnel and affairs in Liaodong to be stable; then, he used this reason to issue an imperial edict to comfort Sun Chengzong . When the imperial decree arrived in Liaodong, Sun Chengzong had to go out to welcome him—Yuan Chonghuan, who had been waiting for a long time, finally passed the winter and entered the new year, and saw the face of the chief like "the emperor pays off his painstaking efforts".

Sun Chengzong, who had been submerged for many days, seemed to have improved his state of mind to a higher level. Not only did he no longer have any expression of anger on his face, but he was also completely calm in his speech; Pedestrians exchanged greetings, but did not say a word about himself; and after listening to the imperial decree, he did not have any special reaction - the whole person was indifferent and peaceful from the inside to the outside, as if he had already settled down with the situation. And once the ceremony of receiving the decree was completed and the pedestrians who announced the decree left, he acted as if nothing had happened—even, he turned around and was about to retreat into the inner hall as if he had never noticed Yuan Chonghuan was by his side.

Yuan Chonghuan, who was in a hurry, didn't care about etiquette anymore, and rushed forward to block him, calling loudly: "My lord—" Then immediately changed to a soft voice: "My lord, can you listen to me to say a few words?" In this way, Sun Chengzong couldn't ignore him anymore, he bowed his hands and sat down with him, and ordered his servants to serve tea—he really had to be careful and obedient. As soon as Yuan Chonghuan got this opportunity, he immediately talked eloquently, and he picked the most important one first and said: "The situation in Liaodong will change again-the humble official has received definite news that the two North Korean generals Han Run and Han Yi brought troops to vote After returning to Houjin, the cities and palaces built by Houjin in Shenyang have been completed, and they are preparing to move to Shenyang. Imitation from the city of Beijing - really worrying!"

After finishing speaking, he added a sentence: "Recently, there has been another reward, and the army of Houjin has been dispatched; the humble official speculates based on its direction and route, and the target is Lushun; however, the humble official has very few soldiers and horses, and must Sticking to the Ningyuan defense line, unable to divide troops to rescue—it is estimated that Lushun will not last long!" He spoke eagerly, but Sun Chengzong just listened silently. After listening, he didn't respond for a long time, his eyebrows fixed like clay sculptures and wood carvings.

The atmosphere was as stagnant as a pool of stagnant water... Yuan Chonghuan's emotions were compressed to the ground, and he was on the verge of bursting; his pain was indescribable, but in front of the chief he had always respected, he had to do his best to endure, not to mention, Sun Chengzong's mood he also How much he realized—then, he asked himself again and again: "Be patient for a while—it was so hard to see him, and he must wait until he said a word—he is related to the safety of Liaodong, and the imperial court ordered him to stay. He'll have a claim eventually—"

Winter has passed, and most of the snow and ice that covered the entire Liaodong have melted away, and greenery is struggling to emerge from the gaps in the paleness—he, who is strong and vigorous by nature, is actively moving forward, and in the extremely difficult environment Zhongye is still optimistic and hopeful, and has strong confidence in the mission of guarding Liaodong. But perseveringly, his vigorous spirit could not infect Sun Chengzong... After being silent for a long time, Sun Chengzong finally made a sound; however, the first sound came out was a weak sigh, and after a while he began to speak: "The old man has been studying history behind closed doors recently, and I have a deep feeling; the rise and fall The replacement seems to be God's will, it cannot be forced by humans!" When Yuan Chonghuan heard it, he subconsciously let out an exclamation of "ah", and then he became aware of it, and stopped immediately, and the feeling of disappointment after waiting for a long time in his heart was completely revealed; moreover, he couldn't bear it any longer. I couldn't stop, so I straightened my chest and said to Sun Chengzong in a high voice like a defense: "My lord, it's up to people! Even if something fails, you should do it with the belief of 'I'll do my best'! Besides, my lord It has been comforted by the imperial court, and the heavy responsibilities of Liaodong are all taken by the adults—the adults have the idea of ​​"doing nothing", not only bearing the heavy trust of the court, but also bearing the great expectations of hundreds of thousands of Liaodong ministers and militia generals what!" However, even though it was such a strong sentence, Sun Chengzong's expression was not aroused by it, but at this moment, he made up his mind to tell Yuan Chonghuan the whole truth about Wei Zhongxian's power in the court. Listen—although Yuan Chonghuan has been promoted not long ago due to his merits in patrolling the five cities, he has been promoted to the deputy envoy of the army and the right to participate in politics, but he is still in the list of "lower officials". What's more, Yuan Chonghuan only worked as the magistrate of Shaowu County for three years after the pilot test, and then went to Liaodong to serve. It is not very clear who "Wei Zhongxian" is! He decided to explain everything in detail, so that Yuan Chonghuan could understand all the reasons for his tiredness, and also provided Yuan Chonghuan as a reference, how should he face Wei Zhongxian in the future if he meets Wei Zhongxian in his official career... It is not difficult for him to start from the beginning - he is the "Emperor Teacher", and there is nothing he does not know about the affairs of the court; he even traces back to the thirty-second year of Wanli, the year of Emperor Tianqi's birth. Gold has not yet been founded. In his opinion, those years are the critical moment. The emperor's failure to go to court is the beginning of chaos in the world; not only problems in the administration of officials, finances, military equipment, and people's sentiments begin to arise, but also foreign troubles are caused; It has already been planted, but the two generations of emperors who succeeded to the throne not only did not have the ability to "rejuvenate", but were far more promiscuous and absurd than Wanli. He told Yuan Chonghuan sincerely and without concealment: "At present, most of the gentlemen and gentlemen in the court have resigned and replaced them with Wei Zhongxian's personal. After Ye Ge resigned, Wei Zhongxian decided on the candidates for the cabinet bachelors, and the current ones are Gu Bingqian, Wei Guangwei and others—the imperial decree that the old man just accepted was actually done by such people. absolutely ignorant—" Then, he said more clearly: "The decree to stay is actually a superficial article for the people of the world! Otherwise, how can there be a supervisor in the world who has no food and no salary!" Everything is under the control of Wei Zhongxian, as if his limbs have been bound, unable to move, not to mention facing the attack of Wei Zhongxian's followers... "Originally, it was not impossible to do things in Liaodong; but now, Wei Zhongxian won't let me do it! I can't face the saint anymore, what else can I do?" Speaking of the focus of the problem, his expression changed from the calm and peaceful one he had maintained for a long time to gloomy for the first time, clearly revealing the feeling of no hope for the future——Yuan Chonghuan, who was speechless, felt ashamed. The knife cut, the blood boiled, and the eyes turned red involuntarily. However, the actual situation in the Ming court was ten times, a hundred times worse than the difficulties faced by Sun Chengzong. The blooming spring day was instantly shrouded in black mist and black clouds, and the Ming court quickly stepped into a bloody storm controlled by Wei Zhongxian.