Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Worry

Of course, there were not no people of insight who worried about the world in the center of the Ming Dynasty—the members of the "Donglin" who had become models of scholars and leaders of public opinion were the most important group of people— When the news of the defeat in the Battle of Salhu spread among the people, the panic and shock it caused, and even the negative effects that greatly affected the hearts of the people, were far more lethal to the Ming Dynasty than the war itself. People who have never been to the battlefield in person, "listen to the truth" about the situation of the war. Not sure—the number of the army alone has been greatly inflated because of layers of false reports. Most people believe in Yang Gao's proposal of "mobilizing an army of 570,000", which makes the discussions on the streets and lanes even worse: "Our army With 570,000 people, how could they be defeated by a small group like Jianyi with three or five people?"

"Nurhachi is just Xiaoyi who I looked at. When he made a mess, he was able to kill the 570,000 army of my dynasty? Could it be that there is help from ghosts and gods?" As soon as the words were spread, the men and women heard them, panicked, and ran around, which accelerated the spread, thus creating a vicious circle; the few experts in the government and the opposition who understood the military and Liaodong issues seriously thought hard. In the following analysis, the reasons for the failure of several practical defeats, such as improper employment of personnel in the court, Yang Gao's strategic mistakes, generals' hasty use of troops, and failure to cooperate with the weather, familiar with geography, and coordinate personnel, were covered up by these groundless words; What is flooding the people is full of untrue, exaggerated, superficial and destabilizing words. Some people even ask: "Could it be that Jianyi has three heads and six arms? Can 60,000 barbarians kill 570,000 Celestial Army?"

As soon as these words came out, the impact became even greater. A few days later, the rumors that "Jianyi have three heads and six arms" began to spread, forming a more serious "monstrous rumors to confuse the public"—— And when these waves of rumors and whispers spread to Wuxi and reached Gao Panlong's ears, he frowned tightly and remained silent for several days. However, his silence was only on the surface - the voice in his heart surged and rushed like a tsunami, shaking him almost beyond his control. Of course he knows that there are no superhuman beings in the world, and that "Jianyi" defeated the army of the Ming Dynasty, let alone with the help of ghosts and gods——

He is well-read, of course he is familiar with history, of course he knows how to use history as a prison, and of course he has a thoughtful idea: "Border troubles are the key to the survival of all dynasties in the Central Plains, and there are countless dynasties that died at the hands of the northern captives—— Three hundred years ago, Jurchen and Mongols rose up one after another, Jin and Yuan founded the country, and soon went south to destroy Song..." "Our dynasty established the country by chasing the Yuan Dynasty. Since the founding of the country, we have used troops against Mongolia every year. Yingzong suffered a change in civil fortresses. During the Jiajing period, Alda invaded, and the capital was under martial law. They have gone through many hardships and hardships. Fortunately, the dangers have been turned into safety. Now, Mongolia has calmed down. For many years, but every time the Jurchen rises again; and when the chaos in my court arises, there are many signs of decline. The emperor has not been in the court for 30 years. —Alas! Could it be that I have exhausted my vitality and am about to follow in the footsteps of the Song Dynasty?

Then, he also thought of himself in such an era—— It has been more than 20 years since I left the officialdom full of right and wrong, and returned to my hometown to concentrate on studying, researching knowledge, and giving lectures. Donglin Academy has been restored with great efforts. , giving lectures, and criticizing current affairs, became an important center of public opinion in the opposition; also cultivated many outstanding young people, and many members of the second generation of Donglin have already served as officials in the pilot test, making Donglin's spirit return to the court, compared with earlier After a few years of being purely in the wild, the power has increased a bit.

And his own responsibility is getting heavier and heavier. Seven years ago, he regarded him as a teacher, and Gu Xiancheng, who single-handedly provoked the heavy responsibility of establishing Donglin Academy, died of illness. He naturally inherited his will and assumed the ideals and missions that Gu Xiancheng could not complete in time; The position of "Donglin leader" and the responsibility of the invisible "Leader of Donglin" were all handed over to him; he clearly remembered that when he held the fragrance in his hand at Gu Xiancheng's funeral, besides grief, there was also an inexplicable feeling in his heart. panic.

He knew that his personality and ability were very different from Gu Xiancheng's - Gu Xiancheng's activity, organization and crowd charm were superior to others, his knowledge and morality were respected by the world, and he had won a very high reputation. He has a profound friendship; therefore, combining these conditions to establish Donglin can form a major influence in the contemporary era; but he himself is a simple scholar, the greatest talent and the most suitable development is to study hard, not in society. Running around, promoting political reform; therefore, he is not completely confident in taking over the stick of "Donglin"——

Over the past few years, he has repeatedly reviewed himself, and always feels that he has tried his best to achieve "conservation", but there is no way to promote "Donglin" to a higher level, and there is no way to complete Gu Xiancheng's long-cherished ideal and mission. ——Before he died, Gu Xiancheng held his hand and murmured repeatedly: "What do you learn from reading the books of sages? In this declining world, we must work hard to save the hearts of the world..." At that time, he was so moved that tears filled his eyes; a few years later, when he repeated his self-criticism, tears still filled his eyes, but besides being moved, he felt ashamed, which made his body tremble slightly.

"Over the years, I have not been able to make the 'Donglin' ​​play any role - the power of public opinion is getting smaller and smaller, the current situation is getting worse and worse, reading and giving lectures are no longer able to save the world, but only in the study. Now, we can only pin our hopes on the second-generation disciples who have passed the intermediate examination and become officials..." There is a sense of powerlessness in his heart, and the only thing that can cover up this feeling of powerlessness is to pin his hopes on the next generation——Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, Wei Dazhong and other outstanding Donglin members. With achievements, perhaps, in the near future, they can develop the spirit of "Donglin" to the extreme!

"The current world, which has been in decline and chaos, really needs to be rescued vigorously—the morals of the world, the politics, the military..." He sighed heavily, and fixed his eyes on the couplet left by Gu Xiancheng—these are the two sentences he is most familiar with: After reading it again, the heavy heart became even heavier, but the way to deal with it was still the same. He pinned his hopes on the next generation—other than pinning his hopes, he had no specific ideas at all. However, the problems in Liaodong did not allow the second generation he was waiting for to grow up and improve—but just three months later, Nurhachi launched a new action.