Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 288
After leaving the civilian husband and luggage, the speed of Wang Yan's army more than doubled immediately.

The army left Jiayu County in the morning, arrived at Pudu Town at noon, and arrived at the Jinshui River in the evening. After a night's rest, they crossed the Jinshui River and entered Jiangxia City.

At the end of June, the sun was very hot. The army was really tired after walking for a whole morning. In addition, the sun was at its peak at noon, so Wang Yansui asked the army to rest for an hour before moving on.

When the soldiers got the order, they immediately cheered, in twos and threes, they sat down in the shade of a tree, waved the leaves, and fanned themselves to cool off.

On the official road for more than a dozen miles, Ming soldiers were resting everywhere. They lay down or lay down, and some walked down the official road, washing their faces and drinking water in the ditch beside the field ridge.

Wang Yan didn't rest. He invited He Tengjiao, together with more than ten generals, to gallop to the front of the army on horseback. He saw that there were large paddy fields on both sides of the official road, so he said, "Master He, would you like to visit Hubei with Yan?" Xia Zhong, how is it going?"

The land of Huguang is densely covered with water networks and there are many fertile fields. Since the Ming Dynasty, as the land of Suhu has been fully developed and transformed into a cotton textile and silk center, Huguang has gradually replaced Suhu and become the largest granary in the world. ", also gradually evolved into "Huguang cooked world foot".

Since the reign of Chongzhen, Huguang has been used as a granary, but it has been attacked and plundered by Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng in turn. Now it has been plagued by the Qing army, and its productivity has been severely damaged.

Summer planting is related to autumn harvest, and autumn harvest is related to the next year's military rations, so whether it is Wang Yan or He Tengjiao, it is very related to the grain harvest.

At this moment, He Tengjiao heard Wang Yan's words, nodded his head and said, "Naturally we will go together."

The next group of people got off their horses and walked up the field path. They saw a piece of green on the paddy fields, but some paddy fields were full of seedlings, while others were covered with weeds.

"It seems that the war still has too much impact on the people." Wang Yan squatted down, pulled up a weed from the field, and said with some seriousness: "If the Huguang war cannot be ended as soon as possible, this year's autumn grain will inevitably be greatly reduced. "

The agreement between He Tengjiao and Wang Yan, after taking Wuchang, most of the state capitals around Wuchang will be governed by him, so He Tengjiao's face is quite heavy.

The group wandered around the field for more than half an hour, and basically understood the farming situation in Wuchang Mansion, so they decided to return to the official road and prepare to urge the soldiers to go on their way, but suddenly saw a man walking in the field, about half a hundred years old, wearing a Taoist uniform and wearing a scarf from afar. The director comes with a song.

His song said: "The millet is away, the seedling of the millet. The walking is sloppy, and the center is shaking. Those who know me say that I am worried; those who don't know me say what I want. The heavens! Who is this? That millet Lili, the ears of the other country. Walking and walking, the center is drunk. Those who know me say that my heart is worried; .The walking is exhausting, and the center is like choking. Those who know me say that I am worried; those who don’t know me say what I want. The heavens!

"What a song, "The Book of Songs. Wang Feng. Mi Li." Both Wang Yan and He Tengjiao came from literati backgrounds. When they heard the singing, they couldn't help admiring and stopped.

According to legend, this poem was written after the fall of the Western Zhou Dynasty. A scholar-bureaucrat of the Zhou Dynasty passed by the old capital and saw that the former palace was razed to the ground, and the crops were planted. The crops were luxuriant, and the country had declined. .

Although there was no palace of the old country in this place before, and the seedlings in the rice fields were sparse, the emotions of the poems can be shared, especially Wang Yan, who is a scholar, has such an air of literati in his heart. I quickly realized the feeling of nostalgia for the homeland, the sadness in my heart to the point of insanity, the grief so hard to swallow, and the emotion of wanting to cry without tears.

After a song, the half-hundred old man had already walked in front of the crowd. Wang Yan watched the old man, and saw that he was full of everyone's spirit from line to line. Feeling extraordinary in his heart, he took a step forward and bowed: "Mr. just played a song, which moved Yan very much. I wonder if Mr. can tell you his name. How could he appear in this turbulent place?"

The old man heard the words, saw that although Wang Yan was a high-ranking official, he treated him very politely, and immediately returned the greeting with a smile: "The old man Jiang Yueguang is here to recommend himself as the counselor of the Duke of Chu!"

Hearing the words, Wang Yan was taken aback for a moment, but He Tengjiao's expression changed. He felt that the old man looked familiar just now, and when the old man gave his name, he came forward in surprise and said, "How did you come here?"

Jiang Yueguang bowed his hands to He Tengjiao and said, "Master He is not safe. After resigning from office and returning to his hometown, the old man has been giving lectures in Nanchang. Who would have thought that when the Zuozhen surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Nanchang would fall into the enemy's hands. The old man had to hide After entering the mountains, I kept my clothes. A few days ago, a boy in the clan reported to the old man that the army in Chu had won a great victory. environment, so I’m here to contribute a little bit.”

Wang Yan knew He Tengjiao's character very well, he was not the kind of person who could respect the virtuous and corporal, but he called Jiang Yueguang his father, and Jiang Yueguang just bowed his hands, which showed Jiang Yueguang's former status.

Hearing what they said, Wang Yan suddenly remembered that Jiang Yueguang was the Minister of Rites of the Hongguang Dynasty, a scholar of Dongge University, and Shi Kefa and Gao Hongtu, also known as the three sages of Nanzhong.

Now that Shi Kefa died in Yangzhou and Gao Hongtu committed suicide in Hangzhou, Jiang Yueguang was the only one remaining among the three prime ministers. Ma Shiying, who was at odds with them politically, also died unyieldingly. Ruan Dacheng also died violently only one month after he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.

Many characters in the Hongguang Dynasty have basically disappeared now.

Wang Yan looked at Jiang Riguang, and couldn't help but feel happy. Most of the people who can become prime ministers have some talents. He has only entered the officialdom for a short time, and he needs such people to come to his side as counselors.

"Elder Jiang Ge, if you can come to help Yan, you are very welcome!" Wang Yan said hastily: "This place is not a place for conversation. Elder Ge, please follow Yan to the side of the road. I will talk after we sit down."

Seeing this, Jiang Yueguang nodded and said, "That's very good. This old man has exactly the intention, but for people in the mountains and fields, Mr. Huansheng, the Duke of the country, is fine, but you can't mention any elders."

"Since that's the case, come with Yan, sir!" Wang Yan said with a smile.

Jiang Yueguang immediately followed Wang Yan and others to the official road. As he walked, he said: "I still have something to trouble the Duke. I have three friends from my hometown, one is Chen Xuhong, the other is Song Yingxing, The other is Song Yingsheng, who came with the old man, and now he went to the farm to buy some food, and asked the Duke to send someone to bring him back."

Wang Yanwen was surprised again, and hurriedly asked: "But Song Changgeng who wrote "Heavenly Creation"?"

(End of this chapter)