Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 492 Something bad happened to the Governor
In the imperial prison,
A fierce fire was burning in the stove, and the red iron also made a crackling sound. Apart from this sound, the rest was strangely quiet.

It was as if no one had ever been here, and only faint wailing could be heard from inside the prison, which meant that this was not hell, but the world.

After a while.

After Zhang Jinyu finished scolding, he sat back and thought about it. According to what Cui Dehai said, the matter was obvious. Government and businessmen colluded to manipulate food prices, seek huge profits, and directly loot the wealth of the people. If in a good year, Yue, of course, is fine. After all, every family has enough food to survive. But if there is a natural disaster, the man-made disaster will be infinitely magnified. Tsk tsk, the government forces the people to rebel. As the saying goes, bare feet are not afraid of wearing shoes. If it is reversed, it will cause The civil turmoil is enough for them to drink from a pot.

Not to mention a place or a county in the south of Beijing, it is the entire Central Plains. I'm afraid it won't happen again. Oh, by the way, the disaster of the White Lotus Sect, if it weren't for the Ningrong Second Mansion and the relatively elite soldiers and horses from the Beijing camp, say Maybe the person sitting in the court is the leader of the White Lotus Sect. Alas, the old Duke of Ning Rong's Second Mansion is no longer here. Just like Wang Ziteng, he just said that there is a raging army, and a den of raging generals. Those shrimps, soldiers and crabs will It can only be regarded as a food delivery service.

As for Jia Lian in the Beijing camp, even though he looked more tragic during the competition, if he really goes to the battlefield, I'm afraid no one can catch up with him.

After thinking so much,
Looking at Cui Dehai, who was still a little uneasy, he thought that this person might still be useful. The land in Jingnan still needed to be left behind. This person might be a breakthrough. Linshan County, if nothing else, had enough money and food. He had some concerns in his mind, so he turned around and ordered,
"He Baihu, don't write the confession. Take it over and burn it on the spot. Then buy some food and wine for Mr. Cui. Find a doctor and show it to Mr. Cui. He also needs people in his house to look after him. Listen. Do you understand?"

"Uh, this? Yes, Lord Marquis, I understand my humble position."

He Yixiu stopped writing and was stunned. He didn't realize for a moment that he didn't want the confession. But the Marquis made it clear and he didn't dare to delay. He hurriedly collected the rice paper, walked to the stove, threw the confession bytes in and burned it. of ashes.

On the other side, Cui Dehai was the only one who didn't know why. He thought it was a beheaded meal. He was so frightened that his eyes turned red and he cried loudly,
"Master Hou, give me a way to survive."

"Why are you crying? I didn't say I wanted your life. There is no basis for this matter, and it involves so many courtiers and local officials. If this confession is leaked, do you think they can let you out alive? Tian is the only one who knows the truth. The Lord's brother-in-law is real, and Tian Fangzheng is the mastermind.

So when others interrogate you, you have to understand in your heart what to say. Don't worry, I will keep my word. It's just that I don't think about your family wealth, but the house can still be kept. "

After hearing what the Marquis said, Cui Dehai, who was in the audience, felt relieved and relaxed.
"Thank you, Lord Marquis. Thank you, Lord Marquis. If you stay in that house, I will definitely give it to you and use it as a separate courtyard for the Lord Marquis."

"Hmph, you'd better keep it for yourself. Go back and think about what to say. Master Shen is not that easy to fool."

After Zhang Jinyu finished speaking, he was about to pat his butt and leave. Who wants to ask about the things here? As for the matters in Jingnan, since you want to hide them, let's continue to hide them and see how they are dealt with in the end. What are those When corrupt officials do things for them, public dissatisfaction will eventually break out and chaos will spread.

By that time, it would be natural for soldiers to meet each other, and the opportunity to honor the nobles would come. I don’t know what those civil servants thought, but Wang Ziteng’s relatives could still participate. I don’t know whether it was true or not, or he secretly instructed it. Wang family, tut tut, send someone back to check that grain store.

He stood up, lifted up his clothes, and then raised his legs to walk out of the prison. When Cui Dehai in the hall saw the Marquis about to leave, he immediately knelt down on the ground, kowtowed and shouted,
"Thank you Lord Marquis for saving your life. I will definitely repay Lord Marquis for your kindness."

"Okay, go back and have a good sleep. Someone, please give Mr. Cui another quilt and send it down."

"Yes, Lord Hou."

He Baihu stared there, threw the written confession directly into the bonfire in the hall and burned it to ashes, then came back and escorted Cui Dehai into the cell.

Ning Bian behind him asked aloud,

"Master Hou, how should I interrogate you later?"

Zhang Jinyu stood up, patted his sleeves, and said angrily,
"What's the purpose of interrogation? I have nothing to do in my free time. I'm going back to the mansion for dinner. A bunch of people are messing around, which has delayed my time for the whole day. Wait, I'll go to Rongguo Mansion and buy some vegetables on the way. I have to go see Yu'er anyway. "

"Yes, Lord Marquis, but I'm afraid it's past dinner time."

"What nonsense, hurry up!"

After saying that, the group of people hurriedly left the imperial prison and hurried to Ningrong Street in the East City. Cui Dehai was left lying on the straw mat in the prison, thinking about what to do. It seemed that the Marquis did not want to get involved. thing, and the Marquis is more concerned about the affairs in the south of Beijing. If he wants to escape and survive, he can only infer Lord Tian Fang to take the blame, and let him lure out his brother-in-law. At that time, it will definitely alert Shi Lang Shen, and he only needs to find a way to escape Just take the main responsibility for the food being burned.
"Report, Governor, urgent letter from Jingnan."

"Report, Governor, Linshan County secret report."

Ouchi,

At the Imperial City Si Yamen duty station, secret guards kept rushing back from outside.

There were soldiers and armors all around, and bonfires were burning. After receiving the message, Dai Quan hurried over with his servants.

Entering the inner hall of the Yamen,

Dai Quan sat in the factory supervisor's seat with a gloomy face, looked at the people kneeling in the hall, and asked,
"You are so audacious. You dared to hide it from the Za family for so long. The Za family asks you, why did this matter come to you now? There was no news before. Could it be that all the people in the Imperial City Division are dead?"

The person who gave the order was so frightened that his face turned pale and he was sweating profusely. He hurriedly explained,
"Going back to the Governor, dozens of people came with messengers, but there was no news from them all. The younger one knew something was wrong. After leaving the city, he disguised himself as a commoner in an abandoned village and took a small road to get through. , there were many gangsters who robbed and killed them on the way, and the brothers suffered heavy losses."

"Reporting to the Governor, my subordinates also failed to spread the news because the government troops in Linshan County blocked the city. It was Ding Renze, the master of Qianhu, who sent his confidants to the south for a thorough investigation. It was just a matter of time. , it’s already more than half a month late.”

The two secret guard messengers quickly explained, with painful expressions on their faces. The people in the hall did not dare to breathe. What could happen to make the people of the Imperial City Department fear like dogs.

Dai held the secret letter in his hand. After checking the seal, he tore open the letter and read it. He saw in it that a civil uprising broke out in the south of Beijing, Lin Yue Mansion was in danger, and there was a severe drought in the entire south of Beijing, with no harvest. , people died of starvation all over the country, and officials and wealthy merchants colluded to deceive the court. Now the hungry people are revolting, and the Taiping Sect is making a comeback, which is likely to spread.
Seeing this shocking mystery, Dai Quan couldn't bear it anymore. It was such a big thing that the court seemed calm for so long. The officials below were so bold that they cursed,

"They all deserve to be killed. It took so long for the news to come. Such a big thing happened. How can the Za family explain to the emperor? Tell the truth to the Za family. What is the situation in the south? How many cities have been lost? You Come on."

Dai Quan was still angry and pointed at the person kneeling in front of him. This person was the secret guard who had escaped from Lin Yue Mansion in disguise. He was wearing ragged cotton clothes and his hair was messy. He looked like a beggar and trembled back. road,
"Duke Gong, before I came down, I heard not long after that Lin Yue Mansion was surrounded by rioters on the road. The rebels led by them actually took up the banner of the Taiping Sect. Before my subordinates left, Fucheng received a letter from the south. Zhaozhou City and Dingzhou City have been captured by rebels. As for Linzhou City and Weizhou City to the east, my subordinates haven’t heard any news. I think it’s probably okay or they can’t be contacted.”

Looking at the face of the governor, the last secret guard messenger immediately changed his words. Unexpectedly, the expression of another man kneeling behind suddenly changed. Dai Quan happened to see it and asked,

"Why, what he said is wrong. What do you have to say?"

"Back to the Governor, what he said is correct. Before I came down, I got the same news. However, due to time constraints, there was something different later. When I came, there was news that there were also a large number of people in the Chenzhou area of ​​Linshan County. hungry people, and many people came towards the county town. On the way, they also received a message from Ding Qianhu flying pigeons at the secret guard stronghold. Qianhu was afraid that the pigeon would be shot on the way, so he kept guards at each stronghold. It was said that a few days ago, Dingzhou City was captured, but the rebels did not occupy the city, but everything in the city was looted, and I don’t know what the purpose was."

The messenger from Linshan County also briefly described the situation when he left. As for the current situation, the current situation is unknown. However, except for the County and Fucheng, which are in the hands of the imperial court, there is no news from other places, and I don’t know why.

Dai Quan was sitting there, and his body trembled. He was so frightened that his godson Xiao Yunzi hurried over to support him and asked with concern,

"Godfather, are you okay? Come quickly, bring me some tea." "Yes, I'll go right away."

The little eunuch waiting beside him quickly poured a bowl of tea and brought it over. Xiao Yunzi took it, blew on it carefully, and handed it to Dai Quan's mouth.

Dai Quan held the chair, opened his mouth, took a sip, and then took a breath. Apparently still angry, he looked at the eunuch Wang Eunuch, the eunuch of the Imperial City Department of Internal Affairs on the other side, and asked,

"Wang Xiu, what do you think?"

The prince bowed at his side, looked at everyone present, and asked carefully,
"Duke Gong, I would like to ask the two of them a question, please?"

"Well, you can ask."

"Thank you, Duke."

The prince turned around and looked at the tired look of the two of them. He couldn't bear it, and he didn't scold them in vain and asked,

"The Miscellaneous Family doesn't care about anything else. I dare to ask you two! Since the land of Jingnan has reached such a critical situation, what is the general of Jingnan, Gu Ping, and what is the governor of Jingnan, Mr. Yu, and even the prefects? Could it be that Tongzhi, Tongpan, and even the generals of the county, city, and army have all escaped?"

The two people below immediately kowtowed, both of them speechless. Then the secret guard of Lin Yue Mansion replied,
"Back to the Governor, back to the Prince, Lord Li Chengli, the magistrate of Linyue Prefecture, started to provide disaster relief as early as the beginning. As for the general of the government army, Qin Yunjiang, he ordered the soldiers and horses of the government troops from various cities to be gathered in the city, and to return the disaster relief. A large number of young men were recruited to defend the city. They stayed in Linyuefu City and asked for help from Linshan County. However, there were too many rebels and the number of refugees exceeded 20. Qin attacked the city regardless of casualties. The general is under great pressure, and as for the situation in Linshan County, I have been unable to contact him since then, so I don’t know.”

The prince stood there and read what the secret guards said. There is nothing wrong with this method because we are outnumbered and the enemy is outnumbered. However, there are no soldiers to defend the city. Isn't this just giving the city to the rebels? In this way, hey,

"Well, Governor, I don't know the specific situation, but the actions of the guard Qin Yunjiang are not wrong. At least for now, he has guarded the city, the southernmost part of Jingnan, and the imperial court has a foothold. If the city is lost, then It’s dangerous.”

Dai Quan also thought about it. The so-called government disaster relief was just superficial. I'm afraid that the disaster relief money and food were all sent to his own house. As for the defender's approach, although it was correct, he lost the city. I'm afraid I can't erase his responsibility, but if this person can defend the city, his merits and demerits will be equal. Lin Yue Mansion has a craftsman's shop and an iron smelting land. If he loses it, it will be troublesome.

"That's right. General Qin's actions were not wrong, but those magistrates, Tongzhi, and Tongpan, when they went to provide disaster relief, they did so at the beginning. Haha, the Za family didn't believe a word of it."

The two people below all lowered their heads and did not dare to say anything. The governor was indeed aware of the situation. Wherever there was any talk of disaster relief, they were selling dog meat on sheep's heads. There were only two porridge places in one city, and the porridge was just water mixed with sand. Paired with some old rice, how many people died.

"What the Governor said makes sense. If disaster relief was really carried out, there would be no such thing. The disaster relief money must have been embezzled, and the food would have been empty long ago."

Eunuch Wang also thought of the key to the problem. Those people might be able to do anything. He turned around and continued to ask,

"Are you from Linshan County?"

"Go back to the prince, my subordinate is yes."

"Then tell me about the question that the Zajia just asked. What are you doing, Mr. Yu, the governor of Jingnan, and Gu Ping, the general of Jingnan?"

The cold words made the messenger feel more tormented, and he spoke with a vibrato. He did not dare to neglect, and thought about it carefully. Before leaving, Ding Qianhu specifically asked him to tell the governor the whereabouts of the two of them.

"Go back to the governor, go back to the prince. When the subordinates came down, Ding Qianhu specially told me to keep the affairs of the county and city in mind. After receiving the letter asking for help, the governor Shi Yu began to close the city gate tightly and prepare to mobilize the government army. , recruited a large number of young men, and assembled [-] government troops to garrison the county and city. General Gu of Jingnan also ordered to assemble all the troops, pack up the baggage, and go south within three days."

Wang Xiu then asked,

"How many soldiers and horses does General Gu have under his command? Tell us the real number!"

"Going back to my father-in-law, there are more than [-] infantry and cavalry people! Among them, [-] infantry, [-] cavalry, and a large amount of baggage."

"Ok?"

Hearing the messenger's decisive answer, Wang Gonggong and Dai Quan were stunned. There are so many soldiers and horses, more than [-] people. How is it possible? Dawu has been deprived of pay for a long time. Most of the soldiers from various places have been reduced to half, even in some small places. It is no longer a secret that the government troops are only imaginary numbers on the roster. Even the Supreme Emperor and the Emperor have heard about it. However, this is the case all over the world, so it cannot be rectified. Only the border troops are elite and full. Others also turned a blind eye. As long as the capital camp and the imperial army were fully staffed, the court could rest assured.

Who knew that there was one more person? General Jingnan had a quota of 5000 people. He thought that more than 1 people would be enough, but there were actually cavalry, which meant that they were actually full.

Dai Quan glanced at Eunuch Wang with a solemn expression. Wang Xiu was also surprised and confused. What was going on? He asked again,

"You are telling the truth. How many troops does General Jingnan have under his command?"

"Go back to the governor, go back to the prince. There are indeed [-] soldiers and horses. After packing them up, they went straight to Linyue Fucheng, bringing less than a month's food and grass. This was seen by everyone in the city. You can't do it falsely. It's despicable. Don’t dare to talk nonsense.”

After the messenger finished speaking, he kowtowed.

Dai Quan took another sip of tea, then pushed the tea bowl to Xiao Yunzi, then stood up,
"Gu Ping is indeed a strong general, and his strategy is clear to the commander-in-chief, which is to go straight to Lin Yue Mansion, cooperate with the inside and outside to attack the rebels, and decide in one battle. If successful, they will suppress the rebels in the south of Jingnan. "

Wang Eunuch still had some doubts and disbelief on the side. How could it be like this? It felt like this was a replica of the disaster of the White Lotus Sect, it was exactly the same.

"Governor, what if we don't succeed, or we get a tie."

"There is no such thing as a tie. If you win, you win, and if you lose, you lose. If you really lose, you can only rely on Gu Ping to lead the army back to Linshan County. I hope he can go safely. The land south of Beijing will definitely be in war. , the disaster of the White Lotus Sect happened again."

Dai Quan had a vague premonition in his heart. Although the [-] soldiers were strong and strong, but as the Marquis said, there are no sure-win battles on the battlefield, and there are more comebacks in adversity. Even the Beijing Martial Arts Competition, isn't it an accident? Quite a lot, there is no sure-win situation.

Seeing that the Governor was thinking, Wang Gonggong and others did not dare to speak out. They stood aside cautiously. After a long time, Dai Quan finally spoke out.

"Come here, take the two of them down to have a good rest. Each of them will be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver, and then stay and listen. Wang Xiu, you and this governor will go to the palace to meet the Holy Spirit."

"Yes, Duke!"

(End of this chapter)