Emperor Kangxi: The First Rule of the Palace

Chapter 47 The past is inextricably linked to the present
Cui Gu tossed and turned on the bed and did not close her eyes until the fourth watch.

Her father, Wu Tingxun, was originally a Jinshi in the third year of Chongzhen in the previous Ming Dynasty, and the examiner was Hong Chengchou, a university scholar.Hong Chengchou was popular and graceful, and was highly respected by ordinary scholars at that time.Wu Tingxun's ability to attach himself to the gate wall is a very decent thing, and he is often proud of it.Hong Chengchou also looked at this high-achieving disciple differently.After Chuangwang and Gao Yingxiang's incident, Hong Chengchou led the Ministry of War and supervised the military affairs of Henan, Sichuan and Shaanxi.Wu Tingxun entered the shogunate with him, and served as a counselor for important military affairs.The two teachers and students forged a deeper friendship in the midst of hardships, often in their spare time, they reined in and wrote poems together.This is admired in the military.

Gao Yingxiang was defeated, and Li Zicheng led the remnants to the Shangluo area.Seeing that the war in the Central Plains gradually subsided, unexpectedly, an imperial edict came from Kyoto at this time, ordering Hong Chengchou to enter the guard at night, and Wu Tingxun followed his teacher and fought against the Qing soldiers in Songshan.

Soon, news of the defeat came from the front: Hong Chengchou was missing, and the commander-in-chief Yu Guozhu was killed by several arrows.After Cao Bianjiao, Wang Tingchen, and Qiu Minyang were captured, they were brave and unyielding, scolding the thief and dying.

As soon as the news spread among the common people in Beijing, the whole city panicked.Cuigu's mother was holding her daughter who had just turned one year old, and was so anxious that she almost went crazy, asking almost everyone, "Is Hong Jinglue dead or alive?" She was convinced that her husband's fate was tied to Hong Chengchou.If Hong Chengchou is dead, her husband will definitely not be alive, so as long as you inquire about Hong Chengchou's news, you will probably know her husband's whereabouts.

But who can say clearly about such a thing?Soon, the imperial court sent a decree and 300 taels of silver, saying that her husband had died together with Hong Jinglue in the king's affairs.The woman carried her daughter to the wilderness in the northeast of the city, burned paper people, paper horses, and paper houses, and cried bitterly in a pine forest next to Zuojiazhuang, and burned a lot of fine gold leaf paper money—— ——Lian Hong Chengchou has two copies.Like the traditionally praised Shuxian women, she felt a lot more relieved after the pain, because her husband followed Hong Jinglue to die loyally for the country, and his death was worth it!

Emperor Chongzhen originally wanted to take advantage of Hong Chengchou's death to hold a funeral, and use it to inspire the fighting spirit and loyalty and patriotism of the kings and soldiers from all walks of life. .Cuigu's mother added gratitude to her relief—since Hong Jinglue has become a god, her husband will definitely follow him to enjoy the steaming fireworks of the people.She was even a little proud: Who doesn't know that my master is Hong Jinglue's best friend?She hugged her daughter and said with a smile: "Son, your father is loyal to the country, you are his flesh and blood, no matter how hard it is, I will drag you into an adult!" Laughing, as she spoke, big tears fell silently from her cheeks. trickle down.

But the fact is so cruel, Hong Chengchou, who should die for the country, still lives in the world with the cheek!Although the imperial court did not make an edict to inform the world, they saw that the altar built with loess was torn down by the school captains, the foundation of the ancestral hall that had been built was also dug up, and the posted imperial sacrificial texts disappeared overnight. The head made of papaya also figured out what was going on.

On a snowy night, Wu Tingxun came back.His body was covered with snow and ice, and his face was almost unrecognizable from the dirt and unkempt beard.Aunt Cui was so frightened that she dropped her daughter in her arms to the ground.

Wu Tingxun looked at the spirit tablet set up for him with a wry smile, then sat down slumped and remained silent.Aunt Cui stared blankly at him, and suddenly burst into a heart-rending cry: "The imperial court gave you...how did you come back alive...Ah?...You are talking!"

Wu Tingxun didn't answer, just let his wife cry with a blank face.His terrible silence and composure soon made his wife stop crying, and she was a little stunned and bewildered.Wu Tingxun stroked her shoulder and said calmly: "You don't have to do this - Hong Jinglue is not dead, how can I die? A person can't be deceived by others all his life, I must always be worthy of him!"

The world of Ming Dynasty was unstable, and Wu Tingxun clearly saw this.Li Zicheng raised troops from Shangluo, captured Luoyang, attacked Kaifeng, and sent his troops northward.

The Manchurian Green Battalion soldiers who succeeded in Songshan gathered in Shanhaiguan, Gubeikou, and Xifengkou, looking at the Central Plains.The subjugation of the country was only a short period of time. Wu Tingxun moved out of the capital with his wife and daughter, crossed Wuhu from Jinan and Tai'an in Shandong, and lived in seclusion in Nanjing.Fortunately, he is not very poor, and he can still live a prosperous life relying on the accumulation of his past official pockets.He wandered around Stone City and Qingliang Mountain during the day, and taught his babbling daughter to read and read poems at night, without making friends or visiting old friends.Those five poems were written on the broken wall of Linggu Temple, and some good literati copied them and inscribed them in Beijing's Fengshi Garden—how could Mingzhu and Cuigu know the twists and turns?

Cui Gu turned over, and took out a sharp paper-pressing knife from under her pillow—this was given to her by her father one night in the tenth year of Shunzhi.

She was already 12 years old that year, and everything was as real as yesterday.With trembling hands, the father handed the paper-press knife to his beloved daughter, and said with tears in his eyes, "my son, my father suffered a great shame and humiliation 11 years ago. He can be killed, but he cannot be humiliated. This revenge must be avenged! Tomorrow when the enemy comes to Nanjing, we will Go to see him! Dad has nothing else for you, let this be a souvenir!"

Aunt Cui has long been crying: "He is full of Tartars now, and his arrogance is even more fierce than before. Now that the world is settled, if you don't want to help them, I will live in seclusion in the mountains and forests with you for the rest of my life, and I am worthy of it." The master is gone, why do you..."

"I've said everything I need to say," Wu Tingxun smiled lightly, "You were expecting me to die before, and your face was radiant; now you expect me to live again, and you want to live a peaceful life. You really want sugar cane to be sweet at both ends!" Before it was over, Aunt Cui burst into tears, and Aunt Cui also cried "wow" and ran up to hug Daddy's neck: "Daddy! Mom just gave birth to a younger brother. You don't want to go, I don't want you to go!"

Wu Tingxun burst into tears, sighed and said, "Since we keep talking like this, I... just bear with it!" He shook his head and said, "Hong Chengchou is going to have a big banquet tomorrow to commemorate the Qing soldiers who died in the Southern Expedition. I originally wanted to go to join in the fun... Sigh!"

The matter was left as it was, but unexpectedly another major event happened, and Wu Tingxun had to go to see Hong Chengchou.On the morning of the third day, after Wu Tingxun had used his breakfast, the person at the door came in and said, "Master Jin's son, Jin Liangcai, is here to pay respects!"

"Which Master Jin?" Wu Tingxun had always lived reclusively in Nanjing and rarely interacted with outsiders. When he heard someone visit him suddenly, he was a little puzzled for a while.

"Master Kim Jong Hee!"

"Oh? Please come in!" Wu Tingxun suddenly remembered.

Kim Jong Hee is his older brother who worked with Hong Chengchou behind the scenes, and has always had a stubborn temper.During the Battle of Songshan, Wu Tingxun crawled out from the dead to beg to return to Beijing. He heard that Kim Jong Hee had died in the battle, and now he heard that his son had arrived. Come.When Fang left the study room, he saw a young man in his twenties staggering in. He bowed his head and cried bitterly: "Uncle Wu——"

Seeing his nephew crying miserably, Wu Tingxun hurriedly stretched out his arms and said, "Nephew, don't do this, get up quickly!"

"If my uncle doesn't save my father, my nephew won't get up!"

"Your father!" Wu Tingxun was taken aback. "He's still alive! Where is he now?"

"Now the original Dali Temple is in charge, and tomorrow--"

"how?"

"Hong Chengchou will pay homage to the Qing soldiers who died in battle at the southern suburban school ground tomorrow, and will kill his father to sacrifice the flag!"

Hearing this news, it was as if Jiao Lei had been shot out of nowhere. Wu Tingxun's hairs all over his body, his face was as white as paper, and he asked in a trembling voice: "Hong Hengjiu? He is also your father's brother-in-law. How could he do such a murderous thing?"

It turned out that Kim Jong Hee also escaped during the Battle of Songshan.Because he was a military officer, the imperial court had very strict orders on the defeated soldiers, so he dared not return to Beijing, so he changed his name and surname and fled to Jinling, the southern capital, where he hid in a relative's house.The city of Nanjing was broken, and Xia Chengde, the deputy general who surrendered in Songshan, was captured and thrown into prison.

(End of this chapter)