Ping An Biography

Most of the yamen in Daming County are dilapidated, and as long as the houses are not broken down, they will definitely not be repaired, because the yamen is public, and the county magistrate who will leave in a few years will not pay for repairs by himself, and the dilapidated ones appear to be clean and honest.The Dehua county government office where Zhang Ning stayed tonight was no exception. He lived in the old and dilapidated back house wing.The windows of this room are all loose, and the wind makes a "creak" noise.Because the prince stayed here, the cost of the room was relatively "expensive". Three or four candles were lit for lighting at once. Even so, the dirt and faded spots on the wall decoration also made the place look dim and gloomy.

Xin Wei sat quietly on a wooden chair by the door, watching him doing trivial things in the room for a long time, such as staring blankly in front of the desk, or picking up a pen to write a few words and crushing them, standing up and pacing back and forth Step, then sit down again.

Zhang Ning didn't talk to her, so she didn't say a word to disturb her.At this time, she seemed to see the other side of this glamorous man, and also felt his crisis.

Xin Wei remembered the situation when he first arrived in Jiujiang, surrounded by crowds of admiration, crowds of people along the way; and it seems to be the same in other places, the symbol of wealth, respect, power, etc., and aboveboard, like the beauty in the sun.And now, in this dilapidated wing room, cold and damp, dimly lit, only Xin Wei himself is with him...he looks depressed and upset, decadent and weak.

In the past, Xin Wei just envied and longed for everything he had, but now she suddenly felt more real.She has lived in a poor thatched hut under a wealthy family; she has lived in a brothel where people spend money to have fun but despises it; that kind of feeling.People tend to show off their good side, but they can only hide it when they are frustrated. Perhaps this is why she always feels that others are doing well, but she is sad?

At this moment, Zhang Ning suddenly noticed Xin Wei who was sitting quietly at the door like a decoration, and said, "It's so late, why are you still sitting, you can go to sleep if you have nothing to do today."

This was almost the only sentence he said to Xin Wei in this room tonight.

Xin Wei said: "I'm not familiar with this place, I'll be with the prince all the time tonight."

After hearing this, Zhang Ning showed a self-deprecating smile: "Who can harm me? Now even if Zhang Fu has a chance, he is not willing to use dirty tricks to win disgrace."

Xin Wei didn't answer, but still didn't intend to leave.

Zhang Ning got angry for no reason: "I'm too lazy to care about you. If you're not afraid of freezing to death, sit there for me all night! I'm going to sleep." Go to bed with boots and pull the quilt over.

There was another long silence, but the various voices in the room never stopped.In the flickering candlelight, the loose windows crackled, and the bed "creaked" from time to time as Zhang Ning turned over.He tossed and turned on the bed without stopping.

At this time, he started to talk again: "The wind in this room can't be closed, don't you feel cold when you sit still?"

Xin Wei said: "It's nothing."

"Come here." Zhang Ning ordered.Xin Wei obediently got up and walked to the bed, and then lay beside him, propping her head on her arms, her eyes boldly fixed on his face.Zhang Ning also looked at her like this. This girl's face is symmetrical and well-proportioned, her features are correct, and she is young and lively. She is really a beautiful girl; it's just that her forehead is flat and not plump at all, according to her appearance. He had bad luck in the first half of his life, thinking about it this way seems to be quite accurate, if Xin Wei was lucky when he was a child, he wouldn't be in any cult.

"It's pretty." Zhang Ning has never been stingy with compliments in front of women, even when he is in a bad mood.

Xin Wei pursed his lips, looked away intentionally, and said softly, "If the prince likes it, I'll undress first..."

"That's all." Zhang Ning pulled the quilt over her body, and continued, "If I lose, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will no longer have the strength to control you. What are you going to do?"

This sentence seems to have something in it. Xin Wei remembered that he tried to escape and was almost caught and killed. Zhang Ning also knew about this.She was immediately stopped by the question, not knowing how to answer it.

Zhang Ning said: "Sleep, I still have work tomorrow."

After hearing this, Xin Wei became anxious, and a faint thought became more and more clear: I finally saw a little hope, so I just let it go?Zhang Ning has encountered setbacks, but he may not be finished.And this kind of crisis is not an opportunity for her, Xin Weilai. It is never easier to give charcoal in the snow than icing on the cake; the opportunity to be alone by his side is never easier than competing for favor with a group of women.

But what should I say, that I want to live and die with him?Such words of loyalty, the king of Xiang probably listened to the people below a lot, and it didn't have any effect and seemed fake.

Xin Wei blurted out: "Even if the prince really loses the battle, I'm still willing to follow you around, as long as you think I'm still useful."

"Oh?" Zhang Ning turned over. There was no one else in the room. He didn't hesitate to say directly, "You may not understand what it means to lose this battle. It's like a rich man. You think his family is rich and loses money in business. The rest is also very considerable, but in general, if you block the business of your wealth, you can only end up with debts, and there is no room for leftovers."

Xin Wei's voice was very soft, but he articulated clearly: "The lord naturally values ​​status and power, but in the eyes of the little girl, it is just something outside of the body. If the things outside the body are gone, your appearance will not change, and your talent will not be stolen. You treat me like that... oh, let's not talk about it."

This narration was very true, Zhang Ning felt a lot better when he heard it, he couldn't help but put his arms around her waist, Xin Wei took advantage of the situation and gently leaned his head over, rubbing his smooth face gently|stroking his neck.

……

The next day, the group did not return to Jiujiang City immediately.Zhang Ning learned last night that the officers and soldiers of Hukou County were going out of the city for a decisive battle, so he planned to stay one more day.He even ignored the risk of Poyang Lake being controlled by the government and army, and once again led his guards to a mountain on the shore of the lake to wait and see.

But I didn't see anything until noon, and I vaguely heard the rumble of cannons from the other side, that's all.

Zhang Ningping retreated to the left and right, leaving Yu Qian alone to watch the scenery on the edge of the cliff. After a while, he said in a very sincere tone: "If you and I are still old friends, what kind of advice will Ting Yi give to persuade the old friend? You can say anything. Yes, even if you scold me in person."

Yu Qian looked up at Zhang Ning, then turned his head to look at the lake, as if he didn't care.But Zhang Ning suddenly felt that he could speak his mind, otherwise Yu Qian would have a lot of respectful but useless clichés to perfunctory without even thinking about it.

In such a predicament, Zhang Ning really wanted to hear Yu Qian's real opinion.After all, in Zhang Ning's heart, this famous official who can be famous through the ages should be quite capable, and he values ​​Yu Qian more than the world at this time.

"My lord, please look at the waves by the lake." Yu Qian finally said, "As soon as the wind blows towards the lake, the water behind squeezes the prodigal son in front, and it rushes over...To this day, I have nothing to say. There is really nothing to do, or to advance, or look forward and backward, otherwise I would have made a statement long ago, why wait until today?"

Zhang Ning nodded and said yes, with an extremely generous attitude.

Yu Qian said again: "However, the prince asked his ministers what their opinions are, but there are some. The imperial army deployed hundreds of thousands of troops to encircle and suppress, and the troops from all walks of life in Jiujiang were no less than 1. Our troops in Jiangxi alone are by no means opponents. In less than half a day yesterday, the Jiujiang Army lost more than 1 people. From this, it can be seen that only the Yongding Battalion has more than [-] troops, which is only one-tenth of the army's troops. How to win? I have thought about it To put it bluntly, give up Jiujiang; but this place is related to the overall situation, and after careful consideration, there is still a little hope, and that is the Wuchang New Army."

Zhang Ning pondered, there are quite a few new soldiers in Wuchang, and the number on the roster is no less than [-]. It's a pity that the army has been formed for too short a time, with insufficient training and no actual combat experience. It may be very difficult to rely on them to fight against elite officers and troops. of.

Yu Qian said: "If you only rely on the Yongding Camp, fighting with the official army in Jiujiang, or retreating and waiting for the official army to force Huguang to fight again, there will be no change in strength, and there will be no difference in the result. If soldiers from Lizhou and Yuezhou If it also pulls back and shrinks, then we will not be facing 40 officers and troops, but [-], which will be disadvantageous but not beneficial. Therefore, I think that the only way at present is the newly trained soldiers and horses in Wuchang; Preparations for the decisive battle began.

There are two ways. One is to rely on the fortifications of the big city of Jiujiang City to hoard food and grass and wait for help, so that the war can be resolved in Jiangxi; Going, being surrounded to death, is a stupid way.The second is to abandon Jiujiang and Jiangxi, slowly retreat to Huguang, and delay the time until the new army is ready to join forces and increase its strength to fight again...

However, the latter is not foolproof. After abandoning Jiujiang, there is no strong city wall to rely on in the direction of Huguang. I am afraid that I can only retreat and retreat under the pursuit of the officers and soldiers. I will soon be forced to Wuchang, and there is still no way out. Walk.Moreover, although we took the initiative to give up Jiangxi and retreat, we were defeated in battle, which would create an unfavorable general situation. "Yu Qian looked at the lake again, "It's like the waves, the wind blows and the water squeezes, and you can't control the momentum.Especially in the Wuchang new army, the morale of a large number of soldiers is still not stable.Where to go, only the prince can make the decision. "

After hearing this, Zhang Ning felt that what he said was reasonable, so he bowed to Yu Qian.Yu Qian hurriedly bent down and said: "I dare not be a minister, I dare not be a minister." After a while, he said again: "I will advance and retreat with the prince."

With this sentence, Zhang Ning believed that if Yu Qian was captured by the court after losing the battle, his fate would probably not be much better than his own.