The Soul of the Han Dynasty in the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 35
In the afternoon of that day, there was a good story circulating in Yongping Mansion. A chief banner officer who was skilled in bowing and horses threatened that as long as the inspector envoy Mr. Zheng could go to his home to celebrate the New Year with his family.

For this honor and love, he will take the initiative to attack and kill at least [-]th-level true slaves after the Jin army.

The rumors were unbelievable, and many people laughed them off. Later, someone with good intentions approached Zheng Guochang's servant who had just returned from the trip and inquired about it, and it was officially confirmed. One stone caused a thousand waves, and the streets of Yongping Mansion were all about this topic.

How can so many people talk about it?This is not surprising, Huang Han sent 40 people to Yongping Fucheng to purchase supplies, and asked them to tell everyone that Master Zheng Guochang was going to Jiulitai Village to celebrate the New Year.

Huang Han knew that food and clothing were the most important thing in times of war and chaos, so he took out money and sent people to Yongping Mansion to buy in large quantities, such as poultry eggs, bacon, cloth, cotton, salt, sugar, etc., as much as he could buy.

The 40 people who came to purchase were all villagers from Jiulitai. They all felt honored that an official like Zheng Guochang could go to Jiulitai Village to celebrate the New Year. Taicun bought these things to prepare in advance for the reception of Zheng Ancha.

The speed at which rumors spread is unparalleled no matter what era they are in. Soon the prefect Zhang Fengqi and the official Lu Chenggong found out, and they had to visit Zheng Guochang at night to find out.

It was the first time to drink high alcohol, even though Zheng Guochang had been tested for a long time, he was not used to it. He fell asleep when he got home in the afternoon. Not long after he woke up, Zhang Futai and Lu Tuiguan came to the door. Of course he wanted to receive them. The three drank tea and chatted Soon we talked about Huang Han.

Zhang Fengqi took no time to ask Zheng Guochang if he really agreed to take his family to that remote mountain village to celebrate the New Year.

When Zhang Fengqi mentioned it, Zheng Guochang remembered the matter of agreeing to Huang Han at noon today, and he admitted it with a smile. He also said that the end of the year was approaching, and he would go to Jiulitai Village early in the morning the day after tomorrow, tentatively scheduled to return to the city on the second day of the first lunar month.

Jiulitai Village is only a dozen miles away from Fucheng. Although there are several miles of mountain roads that are not easy to walk, it takes less than two hours to ride back and forth on horseback.

Since Zheng Guochang had agreed to Huang Han, Prefect Zhang didn't say anything, saying that in case of emergency, he would send his servants to Jiulitai Village to deliver a letter.

Zheng Guochang is not a corrupt official, he doesn't have much ostentation, and the population of the Yongping mansion is not very large. He promises to bring his old wife and a pair of children by his side, as well as five maids, two wives, a concubine, The six servants set off in three carriages.

Although there are 18 people including the coachman, Zheng Guochang's identity in this era is definitely easy and easy.

Zheng Guochang knew that Huang's family was from a mediocre family, so he didn't want to bother them too much, so he prepared a lot of food, and brought a whole slaughtered pig and four sheep.

This time it was a private trip, and Zheng Guochang did not bring a guard of honor.Of course, the six servants all rode horses, and four of them wore helmets and armor with knives and arrows on their backs. They were equivalent to bodyguards, and the other two servants did not wear armor.

In order to prevent accidents, all the folks in Jiulitai must go to the mountains to celebrate the New Year, and even take away all the livestock.

Huang Han had no intention of receiving Zheng Guochang in Jiulitai Village at all, and ordered Huang Yong to prepare several relatively spacious and clean places in the shelter for reception.

There are also four to five hundred people in Jiulitai Village. In this era, except for the elderly, sick and young children who cannot move, everyone has to work. The Huang family has money and food. In this winter when the common people basically have nothing to do, they hire villagers to help with money and food. Work for yourself and others.

In more than a month, the cave shelters used to escape from the flames of war have taken on a new look. The warehouses, living areas, large dining halls, small dining halls, etc. are in order, and even several latrines are specially managed by a few old women.

The Huang family originally had some food in storage, but now they have stored nearly [-] shi of grain and [-] shi of horse feed on the mountain. The common people did not go up the mountain empty-handed, they brought their food and valuables with them.

There is water in the shelter, and there are sufficient reserves of supplies. Even if 1000 people hide here for a year or so, they will not be hungry.

Huang Han was familiar with the history of the late Ming Dynasty, and he knew that the later Jin army would occupy Yongping Mansion for no more than half a year, and the worst plan would be to hide in a refuge until the summer.

At noon on the New Year's Eve, Zheng Yacha came with his family as promised. Huang Han was very satisfied with his attitude and knew that his life was definitely saved.

No one in the court should be an official, and connections are extremely important for a fledgling person who comes to the officialdom.

Huang Han's foundation in Daming is too shallow, and he is planning to find some backers, but how can the dignitaries look at such a small family as the Huang family, and they can't even figure out the way to spend money on gifts.

Zheng Guochang was a member of the third rank of the imperial court, a senior official of the frontier and the highest official of the Yamen in Yongping Mansion. In history, he died bravely and unyieldingly when the Jin army captured the city. His old wife and family members committed suicide and died.

Such a loyal high-ranking official is worthy of admiration, and it is worth using some tricks to let him escape.Since he came to Jiulitai, of course it is impossible to let him go back to Fucheng on the second day of the first lunar month.

After seeing Zheng Guochang and saluting, Huang Han's first words made this lord clouded, "Your lord can come to the wilderness mountain village to celebrate the new year with a low figure, which is enough to show that you have a good fortune, and you must be able to escape a catastrophe."

Zheng Guochang was about to speak, but Huang Han immediately waved his hands to stop him with a serious face. He said mysteriously: "Some things can only be experienced and cannot be said. My lord, you must be prepared to endure hardships. You only need to live on the mountain for five days. Just follow the arrangement of the humble second brother Huang Yong, don't ask anything, the answer will be revealed in five days."

Which one is this playing?Want to go to the mountains?Pushed the nose on the face?

Zheng Guochang was furious, and was about to use his authority, but he saw more than a dozen strong men behind Huang Han all holding weapons in their hands, their eyes widened with murderous intent.

He had only met Huang Han once, so he didn't know Huang Han's purpose of deceiving him to come here. Zheng Guochang was quite powerful, seeing this posture, even though he was so angry, he suppressed his silence and wanted to wait and see what happened.

Fortunately, the people here respected him quite a lot. When climbing up the mountain, there were strong men to help him. Even some difficult sections of the mountain road were climbed up by Huang Yong himself with Zheng Guochang on his back.

Huang Han didn't go up the mountain, and gave Huang Yizhou the job of protecting the villagers and accompanying Zheng Guochang. This time, Huang Yizhou didn't ask for father and son soldiers, because Zheng Guochang was on the mountain. It is very possible to copy the family and exterminate the family.

Huang Yizhou led 200 servants who were not good at equestrian skills, Yang Danian and [-] infantry battalions stationed on the mountain. The task was to guard the dangerous point, and [-] people could be mobilized on the mountain to participate in the guard.

(End of this chapter)