Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 679

March in Yangchun can be said to be the most beautiful season in the south. The mountains and plains are full of miscellaneous trees and flowers, and large areas of golden rapeseed flowers are blooming one after another, as if laying a yellow and green carpet on the earth.

Occasionally, there are farmers in capes and hats working in it, which adds a bit of vividness to this beautiful picture.

Jingzhou City, located in the heart of the Jianghan Plain, is a bustling and bustling scene, with all kinds of shouting and selling in the streets and alleys.Pedestrians and businessmen on the street are shoulder to shoulder, all kinds of big and small cattle, horses, mule carts are moving slowly, the driver shouts from time to time to remind the pedestrians looking west of the east bridge in front of him to pay attention to avoid, three or two patrolling officials in soap robes are watching vigilantly Passers-by, the iron ruler in their hands is warning those little thieves: The master is here, get out of here quickly.

"What a scene of prosperity!

Recalling the situation where thieves were raging in the Northland a few years ago and people were panicking everywhere, everything seems like a lifetime ago! "

On the second floor of a restaurant facing the street, several literati were drinking and chatting while watching the bustling and bustling market downstairs from the wide open window. The middle-aged scribe couldn't help sighing.

"Prosperity?
Brother Dingsheng may have forgotten that the prosperous age that brother talked about, among them is the dedication accumulated by several generations of the Chen family in Yixing.

Although he is heroic and wise today, sometimes his strategies are a little too much.

Although my father has been repeatedly promoted by the court, my younger brother, as a bystander, still feels that some of the court's strategies are biased. If this continues, there will be no human feelings at all! "

The person who answered the conversation was a handsome scholar in his 20s. He was the eldest son of the cabinet minister Hou Xun, and one of the four sons of the late Ming Dynasty, Hou Fangyu.

And the middle-aged scholar who spoke just now is also one of the four sons, Chen Zhenhui.

"Haha, the resentment in Brother Chaozong's heart still hasn't subsided!
Is this a reluctance to part with the beautiful wife and maid at home?

My members of the Chen clan were able to assess the situation, obey the orders of the imperial court at critical moments, and resolutely chose to endure and obey, and thus escaped the catastrophe in the south of the Yangtze River.

Wouldn't he be a hero if he knows current affairs?
Today, no matter what he does to rebuild the country and the country, no one in the world would dare to fight against him. Otherwise, Nanjing will be full of grievances, and there will only be one more head.

It's just a little wealth, since the vassals of the Tian family have to pay taxes according to the regulations, why shouldn't others? "

Chen Zhenhui drank her glass in a toast and replied in a nonchalant tone.

Two months have passed since the Nanjing purge case. Chen Zhenhui, whose ancestral home was in Yixing, was also terrified when she heard the news. She was afraid that her father, Chen Yuting, one of the leaders of the Donglin Party, would be involved and the Chen family would be involved.

Just as he was about to revise the book and inquire, the family letter arrived.After hearing the news that the Chen family was safe, Chen Zhenhui immediately called it a fluke.

A fluke indeed.

His father, Chen Yuting, chose to return to his hometown in Yixing to settle down after he became an official of the Youdu Yushi of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. This time, when Xie Qiguang and others planned to assassinate Lu Xiangsheng, they were eager to succeed with one blow, so they did not send anyone to inform him who was far away in Yixing. Chen Yuting, that's why the Chen family survived.

If Chen Yuting had gone to settle in Nanjing after he became an official, he would definitely be one of the masterminds this time.

"Brother Chaozong, do you really want to claim your illness and return to the capital?

The younger brother thinks that Brother Chaozong should think clearly about this matter. Although I have suffered a bit from being sent here by the court, the resettlement has already achieved initial results. Returning at this time may cause unnecessary public opinion. I also hope that Brother Chaozhong will think carefully! "

The one who spoke was Mao Xiang, the youngest of the three, only this year, the childishness on his face has not yet completely taken off.

Speaking of it, history is really accidental with inevitability.

In the past, the four sons of the late Ming Dynasty——Fang Yizhi, Hou Fangyu, Chen Zhenhui, and Mao Xiang, all entered the Guozijian after failing to get a clean record. Fang Yizhi has now gone to Europe, Hou Fangyu and others Although he did not go to Nanjing as in the original history, he became a good friend in the Imperial College.

In the 11th year of Chongzhen, after Zhu Youjian's suggestion of the first assistant Wen Tiren was adopted, more than 1000 candidates of the appropriate age in the Imperial College were dispatched in batches to Huguang and Henan's counties near Jingxiang to assist the local government in immigration and relocation. Hou Fangyu and the other three were assigned to Jingzhou Mansion.

For Hou Fangyu and the others from a well-to-do family, this errand was like falling from heaven to hell all at once.

Not to mention how difficult it is for those illiterate and extremely ignorant immigrants to communicate, just talking about their daily environment and treatment is enough to make many people collapse.

From brocade gourmet food to cloth robe pig food, from romance to filth and chaos, running around among the ragged peasants all day long, under the orders of local officials, arrange the daily itinerary and food of these immigrants, and wait until the official plan After the immigration point is set, the immigrants have to be arranged for various kinds of labor. Everything in front of them puts Hou Fangyu on the verge of collapse.

After half a year of various struggles, among the more than 1000 candidates, dozens of them have secretly returned to their homes. These deserters are generally the children of officials whose elders in the family are officials. Relying on stealing back.

"My brother Chaozong, Shicai Pijiang's words are very reasonable.

Although we have heard that someone has returned home secretly, my dear brother, don’t forget that your uncle is an extremely human minister, how can anyone else compare to you? This time you are going back to the capital privately. Bad reputation! "

Chen Zhenhui looked at Hou Fangyu, who was already impatient, and tried to persuade him.

"Hmph!
If it wasn't for the fact that the son who was assisted by the plague also came to Jingxiang, so my father forced the younger brother to come, how could Hou endure such hardships!

That Wen Zhenyu is nothing more than an official fan, she simply does anything to get promoted!

Look at his current appearance, he doesn't have the air of a chief assistant son, he is completely like a farmer in the countryside!

Hanging around with those dull folks all day, just like this, how will you live above the temple in the future?

If you want to be an extremely human minister, you should use your wisdom to give advice to the saint, instead of pretending to be close to the people and living in the countryside!

Hou dared to assert that Wen's previous career was limited to just below the fifth grade, and he would not be able to enter the palace in his life!
The court of the future will still be home to people with outstanding intelligence and strategy!

Brother Dingsheng and Pijiang virtuous brother, please don't try to persuade me anymore, Hou Mou can't stay here for a quarter of an hour!Today's banquet lunch is good for you two to send it off with me! "

Through Huatou, Hou Fangyu vented all his grievances, targeting Wen Tiren's second son, Wen Kan.

Wen Kan came to the Jingxiang area a few months earlier than their group of Guozijian students. During this period, he also met Hou Fangyu and others. After seeing Wen Kan who looked like an old farmer under the wind and sun, he also As the son of a cabinet minister, Hou Fangyu was envious and disdainful at the same time, that's why he made the remarks just now, implying that Wen Kan made a bad start.

Originally, with their family background, they didn't have to endure such torture at all. They only needed to rely on their fathers' favor to advance step by step. After 20 years, they would naturally be promoted to senior officials in the ministry. Desperately, if this is the case, what's the use of having a cabinet minister's own father.

"Since Chaozong has made up his mind, brother Yu and Pijiang will stop talking. Come on, let's drink this cup and see off Chaozong!"

A month later, Hou Fangyu returned home, and the news quickly spread into the palace. Zhu Youjian, who had long been dissatisfied with the private return of the officials and eunuchs, immediately ordered Hou Xun to be called into the palace, and severely condemned Hou Fangyu's behavior , and used the simple and diligent Wen Kan as an example, asking Hou Xun to strictly demand Hou Fangyu and not to embarrass the court.

After Hou Xun returned to the mansion after eating the hanged meat, he immediately ordered people to hang Hou Fangyu on a tree, beat him inhumanely with rattan canes, and personally made him recover from his injuries and returned to Jingzhou mansion immediately. If he returns privately, Then send him back to his hometown immediately, and he will never be an official for life.

After the news of Hou Fangyu's brutal beating spread, those officials' children who returned home privately also received the same treatment. More than ten days later, on the official road leading from the capital to Hubei, these officials' children invited each other in groups, step by step. Turning back, he left the capital and returned to the Jingxiang area.

　Thanks to Taoist Yuming for the reward.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)