Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 227
Along the Qinhuai River, an old courtyard wall with luxuriant grass is exactly Huayue Tower, one of the famous Qinhuai buildings that used to be decorated with fragrant cars and BMWs in silver at night.

Nowadays, most of these famous buildings have been neglected in front of the gates, and they are no longer bustling and lively in the past. In the hall that can accommodate a hundred people, there are only three scholars sitting in the corner, and there are no sisters or children to accompany them. Everyone looks worried.

These scholars are not from Jinling, but candidates from Fujian and Guangdong.

In ancient China, it was very difficult to travel thousands of miles to take the exam. If you encountered bandits on the way, you would even lose your life. Therefore, many scholars went to Beijing to take the exam. If they failed, they would stay in the capital to prepare for three years later. Chunwei again.

After the establishment of the Hongguang Dynasty, all the scholars in the south rushed to Jinling to participate in the Spring Festival, but who would have thought that the Qing army would march south, and Zhao Zhilong and others sold the city, trapping them in the city.

Now they were forced to shave their hair, and on the way back to the south, there were Qing soldiers blocking them, so they could only stay in the city.

At this time, it can be said that they are useless scholars. They have nothing but talent and learning, but they have no way of making a living, and when their family and country are in danger, they have no way to turn the tide.

After the Qing soldiers occupied Jinling, most of their money was exhausted. The family property of former classmates and old friends who were unwilling to surrender to the Qing Dynasty was often robbed, and they could not protect themselves. Only the elder sisters on the Qinhuai River have a tradition of supporting literati since ancient times, so they can only live in the place of fireworks and willows.

"I heard that the emperor has issued an edict that those who don't shave their hair will be obedient citizens, and those who shave their hair will be refugees. They will no longer be killed like before. We will have the opportunity to return home."

"Hey~ Although the Son of Heaven doesn't blame us for being forced to shave our heads, the Qing court's army is stationed in important water and land areas, and the roads are completely blocked. Even if we want to go south, we will not be able to pass the checkpoints."

"According to brother Zikun's words, haven't we been stuck here all this time. We, disciples of saints, were supposed to help the righteous way and help the world, but now we have become like this ghost. I really wish we would die sooner." A scholar heard In a word, he threw the hat on his head on the table in shame and anger, revealing a bald head.

"Brother Fang Yan, don't be arrogant. Today, Zizi has always had the ambition to recover. I heard that the imperial court and the Qing court are fighting fiercely in Huguang. Once Huguang is captured, they may not be able to reach Jinling by going down the river. Brother Fang Yan, it will be useful to stay. The body is to serve the imperial court."

"Oh~ I hope it's true what Brother Yunfei said~"

Several scholars sighed in the hall, and drank the wine in their glasses depressedly. A man in a long gown walked into the hall and immediately attracted everyone's attention.

Seeing this, the bustard sitting upstairs hurriedly came downstairs laughing, "Master Hou, but I haven't been to Huayue Tower for a long time, Miss Shuang'er always talks about you a little bit every day."

The person who came was Hou Fangyu. He was one of the four princes in the south of the Yangtze River.

The reason why Hou Fangyu appeared here was because he wanted to communicate with the Tiandihui, and as a suave young man like him, going in and out of the fireworks place would only make Hong Chengchou think that he was romantic by nature and could provide him with an excellent cover. So he took advantage of this to put the place of contact with Tiandihui in this brothel.

At this moment, the old bustard came forward with all kinds of flair, and Hou Fangyu, like a veteran of the show, joked with the old bustard, "Mother was joking, does Miss Shuang'er have any guests today?"

Hou Fangyu and the old bustard were laughing, while the three scholars sitting in the corner of the hall were full of anger.

They were able to stay in the Huayue Tower because Miss Shuang'er paid for her. They were naturally grateful and even admired Miss Shuang'er, but in their eyes, Hou Fangyu was just a villain who had forgotten his ancestors and had no shame.

How could such a shameless, traitorous and honorable person be received by Miss Shuang'er?
"Shameless traitor, I wish I could eat his flesh raw."

A scholar suddenly put down his wine glass and said through gritted teeth. When the other two heard the words, their faces were startled, and one of them hurriedly persuaded in a low voice: "Brother Fang Yan, don't be impulsive. This thief is serving the Qing court now. He is a big traitor." Hong Chengchou's confidant, I'd better not provoke you."

"Hmph~ It's just the ears of those who forget their ancestors and are willing to be slaves. How can I, Chen Fangyan, be afraid of him?"

The two scholars were shocked when they heard the words, and tried to persuade them again and again, but Chen Fangyan ignored him, stood up, and suddenly smiled at Hou Fangyu: "Who am I, it turns out that it is Mr. Hou who has been an official for two dynasties, Hou Fangyu, the fourth son of Jiangnan who can't bear to say Li Xiang' to Taohua~"

When Hou Fangyu entered the hall, he noticed three people in the hall.

At this time, when he heard the other party's sneer and sarcasm, he couldn't help frowning. The old bustard at the side saw it, and hurriedly said angrily: "Mr. Chen, I'm afraid I drank too much, Mr. Hou, please don't pay attention to it, and invite Mr. Tang and Mr. Zhao , caress Mr. Chen back to the house to rest."

The three scholars are now relying on Huayuelou for help, and the words of the old bustard are still useful. The two scholars did not want to cause trouble, so they hurried to pull Chen Fangyan, but Chen Fangyan became angry at this time, and broke away with a wave of his hand , and then said to Hou Fangyu: "Young Master Hou is the son of the Shangshu of the Ming Dynasty, the leader of the Fushe. In the past, he talked about the current situation and criticized the government. He claimed to be a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty. Now the old country is not here. The traitorous party that he criticized in the past is the capital of Youqian. Censor Yang Gong was defeated and threw himself into Zhenjiang. Ma Gong, a scholar of Shoufu University, was still fighting fiercely with the Qing soldiers in eastern Zhejiang. At that time, Hou Gongzi transformed into a staff member of the Qing court ministers. This flexible and stretchable tortoise method really impresses me! "

Hou Fangyu Wenyu's face turned livid, but there was no change in his heart. He was prepared for others' incomprehension, and the more people blamed him, the easier it was for him to hide inside the Qing court.

At this time, he naturally wouldn't explain it to others, but pretended to be ashamed and turned into anger with a cold snort, and went directly upstairs to the room of the girl with twin children.

"Brother Fang Yan is too impulsive. If this thief retaliates, not only will my mother be hurt, but we will all die."

Chen Fangyan looked at Hou Fangyu's back, but didn't listen to his companion's words. Hou Fangyu never replied to him from the beginning to the end, which made him feel unspeakable. Suddenly he turned his head and said to the two: "Brother Zikun and Brother Yunfei, if you are alive, you should leave a name of immortality. I have decided to do an earth-shattering event. The two brothers are willing to help me."

"Brother Fang Yan, don't you want to kill Hou Fangyu?" The faces of the two were quite frightened.

"Huh~" Chen Fangyan glanced at the two of them, and said bitterly: "Even if it is a big event, is Hou Fangyu considered a big one? The Heaven and Earth Society will say that they want to wipe out all the traitors in the world, so I will get rid of the leader of the traitors, Hong Chengchou." , of course Hou Fangyu must die too."

(End of this chapter)