sea

Chapter 164 The name mandarin duck (1)
Lu Jian followed the three of them all the time, and they were sent to the village in a dull mood. When they suddenly saw the man in civilian clothes, they were pleasantly surprised for a moment.

The person who came was Qi Jiguang. When he saw Lu Jian, he stepped forward and smiled, "Second brother, why are you here?" Lu Jian said, "It's hard to explain. How about you, brother?"

Qi Jiguang said: "I came to Nanjing to do business. I heard that Mr. Shen passed away. Mr. Shen owed me a favor, so I came to pay homage to him." Lu Jian nodded silently, and in a blink of an eye, Wen Dai and his party had gone far away, so he sighed. Said to Qi Jiguang: "Brother, please come inside."

Qi Jiguang came to the mourning hall, offering incense and offering sacrifices.After the ceremony was over, Lu Jian led Qi Jiguang into the inner hall, and the two went through adversity together. Lu Jian regarded Qi Jiguang as his biological father and brother, and immediately told him his life experience without hiding it from him.Qi Jiguang was surprised when he heard that, and said, "Brother, it seems that God's will for you to have such a rough life experience. Mr. Shen's ambition may fall on you."

Lu Jian said: "What ambition?" Qi Jiguang said: "Didn't you pay attention to the couplet in front of the village gate?" It will be clear, and the land will be peaceful. Is the horizontal criticism 'the world is calm'?"

The two looked back, and Gu Zhen floated over.Qi Jiguang got up and said with a smile: "See you again!" Gu Zhen also laughed: "General Qi is well." Qi Jiguang said: "I am ashamed to take the word "General." It has long been rotting in the prison of the Governor's Mansion."

Gu Zhen was stunned: "Who did you listen to, General?" Qi Jiguang said: "Mr. Shen!" Gu Zhen was even more surprised, thinking: "Did Shen Zhouxu hide this?" But he was a little confused about the big enemy.

Lu Jian couldn't hold back anymore and asked, "Brother, what does the couplet have to do with ambition?" Qi Jiguang said: "Li Taibai has a poem called 'the world is one, and the world is calm'. The name 'Deyi' means sweeping away the filth and pacifying our Daming Seas. Good brother, your father has no ambitions and unfortunately passed away. His last will, don't you want it to fall on you?"

Lu Jian was speechless for a moment, feeling overwhelmed in his heart: "Father's life has been right and wrong, it's hard to say." Then he asked: "Brother, after the First World War in Nanjing, the four major bandits were all killed. Could it be that there are still Japanese pirates raging?" ?”

Qi Jiguang said: "After Wang Zhi's death, there was a new leader among the Japanese pirates. He was called 'Mr. Cang'. What's more worrying is that most of our elite soldiers are in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and the Japanese bandits often hide in Fujian and Guangdong. The sound of the east and the west made the coastal cities empty."

Lu Jian and Gu Zhen looked at each other, they had already guessed the origin of "Mr. Cang", deeply regretted the benevolence of that day, let Ning Bukong go, and immediately asked: "Did brother fight this Japanese bandit?"

Qi Jiguang said: "I was training outside recently, but I couldn't go to battle." After a pause, he said, "Second brother, do you still remember what I said to you after I was defeated that day?" Lu Jian said: "Yes. You said it Soldiers from other provinces have many disadvantages, and if you want to eradicate Japanese pirates, you must have local father and son soldiers from the same township."

"Of course." Qi Jiguang clapped his hands, "Thanks to Governor Hu and Mr. Shen for adopting this strategy, I will go to Yiwu to gather the local people and train an elite army with me recently."

Lu Jian lifted his spirits and asked, "How many people are there?" Qi Jiguang said, "More than three thousand." Lu Jian frowned, shook his head and said, "Too few, too few!"

Qi Jiguang smiled and said, "Soldiers are not many, but refinement is the most important thing. In ancient times, there was a general who led only 3000 troops. He leveled 32 cities in 47 days and fought [-] times. He had nowhere to go."

"Famous generals, don't be in prison. Thousands of troops avoid white robes." Gu Zhen interjected with a smile, "General Qi is talking about Chen Qingzhi in white robes?"

"Exactly." Qi Jiguang was overjoyed, "Brother Gu also reads history books?" Lu Jianqi asked, "Who is Chen Qingzhi in the white robe?" Gu Zhen said, "He was a famous general in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. In Henan, when the enemy army saw the white robe, they would run away."

"Yuan respects his talent and dares to imitate the ancients." Qi Jiguang said with emotion, "Three thousand Ding Yong is small, but if trained properly, it is more than enough to wipe out the Japanese pirates."

Gu Zhen rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "Then General Qi is not training in Yiwu, what is he doing in Nanjing?" Qi Jiguang smiled wryly and said: "Come be a beggar." ?”

Qi Jiguang said: "The salary that Governor Hu invited was only more than 2000 taels, not to mention that the military salary is not enough, and weapons and armor cannot be bought. If this continues, this military training will come to naught. I came to Nanjing to ask for money. Just now I met Governor Hu, and he was also worried. He said that there was a famine this year, and there was a shortage of money. If I was given too much, other generals must be jealous. Besides, the military training has not achieved results. If more money is allocated, others will not accept it. In short, I bought a bunch of money, but didn’t give me a single penny, so it seems that I have to return empty-handed this trip.”

Gu Zhen laughed when he heard this.Qi Jiguang frowned and said, "What are you laughing at?" Gu Zhen smiled and said, "Youdao is the governor of Qingke, a beggar and a general. He fattened the middle and suffered at both ends."

Qi Jiguang said: "How do you say this?" Gu Zhen said: "Hu Zongxian and Shen Zhouxu are both sensible people. Military training is a long-term strategy, how can they not know? Therefore, the food and salary for you are only more or less, and they are determined to continue. 2000 taels, just allocated from the governor's mansion, the governor, the governor, the town governor, the governor, and the commander-in-chief, how can they not pluck the wild geese? This is just a routine, and there are some unusual ones. The clerks are all the master's staff. When writing the account books, with a flick of a pen, dozens of taels of change are put into their own pockets. With such a [-]% discount, ten taels of silver fall into the hands of the general. Twos, twos, threes are not bad."

Qi Jiguang had never been alone in the past, and he didn't know much about military supplies and property. Hearing what Gu Zhen said, he clapped the table and said angrily, "Governor Hu doesn't know about such corruption?"

Gu Zhen shook his head and said, "Hu Zongxian is not ignorant, but omniscient. In the officialdom, the more you know, the more you will be afraid. All of his subordinates have backers. They seem to be small officials, maybe they are Shangshu's. In the same year, all the money deducted from you by the disciples of the elder Ge, the servants of the prince, and the brother-in-law of the censor were all handed over as tribute. Hu Zongxian is still dissatisfied with making enemies at the court when he pursues it. So far, there is nothing he can do , I can only pretend to be confused and play sloppy with you."

Lu Jian sighed: "Governor Hu didn't think about it, why didn't you just allocate it to the eldest brother?" Gu Zhen shook his head and said, "There is a set of rules for the allocation of military salaries, which must be transferred from top to bottom, and supervised at various levels. Just in case someone is fighting with soldiers. Tell me, what is fighting in wars since ancient times? Art of war? Strategy? If you follow the Tao, you can strategize and control thousands of miles away. Hu Zongxian has many political enemies. If you don’t follow the rules and call it directly to General Qi, if you call it today, someone will give him a big hat of "raising the self-respect of soldiers" tomorrow."

Lu Jian took a deep breath: "Then how can we fight?" Gu Zhen smiled wryly, "Official writing is not easy. When doing things, bypassing officialdom may get twice the result with half the effort. There is a saying that I shouldn't say, Shen Zhou is empty Now, as his staff member, things are much easier to handle. Hu Zongxian would be tantamount to breaking an arm if he let go like this.” Speaking of this, seeing Qi Jiguang’s worried expression, he suddenly smiled and said, “General Qi, you still have How much silver?"

Qi Jiguang said: "More than 200 taels." Gu Zhen said: "I have a method, General Qi is willing to adopt it?" Qi Jiguang said: "What method?" Gu Zhen said: "General Qi will hand over the 200 taels of silver to me. How about I get the business to turn around, how about collecting enough military salary for you?"

"Okay!" Qi Jiguang said pleasantly, "But I don't know how long it will take?" Gu Zhen smiled and said, "Not long. It's just that the general must promise me two things, otherwise, this business will not be possible." Qi Jiguang said: " Please tell me." Gu Zhen said: "The first thing is, how do I turn over the money, the general is not allowed to ask." Qi Jiguang said: "This is easy, but it must not violate the laws of the country." Gu Zhen said with a smile: "The "Law of the Ming Dynasty" is full of loopholes , it is not easy for me to violate it.”

Qi Jiguang was taken aback when he heard that, Gu Zhen didn't wait for him to understand, and rushed to ask, "Does the general agree to the first thing?" Qi Jiguang could only nod.Gu Zhen said: "Second thing, let me be your quartermaster. I will purchase all the weapons and supplies of your army. No matter good or bad, the general will accept them."

Qi Jiguang said with a smile: "Qi is bare-bones now, but he is happy to accept all food, grass and weapons."

"It's done." Gu Zhen clapped his hands together, "When will the general return to Yiwu?" Qi Jiguang said, "Leaving today!" Gu Zhen stood up and said, "Very good, Lu Jian, let's also leave today to see General Qi's recruits .”

Lu and Qi were both shocked, Lu Jian said, "So urgent?" Gu Zhen nodded and said, "It's urgent!" Lu Jian saw that his eyes were bright, and suddenly nodded, "Okay!" Qi Jiguang was puzzled at first, but after thinking about it The two wanted to go to Yiwu, and their joy overshadowed their suspicions. They clapped their hands and laughed, "If you can help me, why worry about failing in your career?"

Lu Jian suddenly said, "Gu Zhen, before you leave, tell Mom." Gu Zhen said, "You only talk about the distance, don't talk about anything else." , saying goodbye to Shang Qingying, Gu Zhen talked and laughed freely, but Lu Jian's thoughts were portrayed on his face.Shang Qingying knew it well, but she didn't speak harshly, she just told the two to be careful along the way, to keep an eye on the cold and warm.

Lu Jian arranged for the guards in the village, but because of the "Heitian Tribulation", all the slaves of the five major robberies accompanied him.

When leaving the village, Shang Qingying had been sent several miles outside the village, Lu and Gu managed to persuade her, and rode their horses for several miles, Lu Jian looked back, and the plain white figure at the end of the road was faintly visible.Thinking of the danger of this trip, he felt a pain in his heart and bowed his head sadly.Gu Zhen knew what he was thinking, so he restrained his smile and let out a long sigh.Qi Jiguang also noticed it, but he was deep-tempered and didn't like to gossip. If the two of them didn't talk, he didn't ask too much.

All the way, the sky is like washing, and the eyes are blue.The three of them pointed out the scenic spots along the way, chatting and laughing for a while.Qi Jiguang is both civil and military, good at eloquence, Gu Zhen is erudite and has a flirtatious quarrel, the two of them have witty exchanges, and they are witty.

After galloping for a long time, the evening smoke is everywhere, the Cangshan Mountain is congealed purple, holding half of the red sun in its mouth, a river is soaked by the sunset, blood is flowing gold, and the majestic river wind blows the flowers and plants on the bank to sway, open and close, like anger and laughter.Knowing about himself, Qi Jiguang felt relieved. Seeing this beautiful scene, he couldn't help chanting loudly: "Running north and south to report the Lord's love, Jiang Huabian grass laughs all his life. 360 days a year, it's all about traveling on horseback."

"For 360 days a year, Hengge is always on the move." Gu Zhen praised, "These two sentences are gloomy and frustrating, which is a legacy of the Ministry of Industry and Technology."

After chatting with him for a long time, Qi Jiguang probably understood his temperament, and said with a smile, "You only say the last two sentences, the first two sentences may not catch the eyes of the law." Gu Zhen said: "The first two sentences are a bit servile." Qi Jiguang said: " Loyalty for a minister, filial piety for a son. Could it be that the mention of the word 'lord love' makes you feel like a slave?"

Gu Zhen said: "I believe that the way of heaven is fair. All people are born equal. The superiority and inferiority of the upper and lower are just a result of the day after tomorrow. Who is better than the other after birth? The emperor has one mouth and two ears, and I also have one. There are two ears in the mouth, and I don't see how many he is longer than me."

Qi Jiguang shook his head and said: "My brother's words are novel, but they are outrageous." Gu Zhen smiled and said: "I am an outlaw. The old man in Jiajing is the son of heaven, he begs gods, refines alchemy, rapes virgins, trusts Xiaoxiao, and makes officials corrupt. , the people do not have a living; go against the virtue of heaven and love life, and go against the way of the ancestors, is this considered a big treason?"

Although Gu Zhen was sophistrying, what he was talking about was current events. Qi Jiguang couldn't refute it. He sighed for a long time: "Although the sage is not good, the people are innocent. Yuan Jingsheng is a minister, and he can only do his best before he dies."

Gu Zhen looked solemn, nodded and said: "If all the officials in the world think the same as the general, it doesn't matter if the emperor's tail is up to the sky." Qi Jiguang said: "I'm ashamed. Yuan Jing led the army at the age of 17 , For more than ten years in the battlefield, the northern Tartars ravaged, and the southern Japanese plague remained the same, and they had no ambition to serve the country, but no talent to serve the country, what a shame."

Gu Zhen said with a smile: "The three armies cannot be seized as a commander, and a man cannot be seized with ambition. A man of ambition is a commander, and a talented soldier is also a soldier. The three armies are easy to get, but a commander is hard to find. The general has the ambition to serve the country, why worry about not having the talent to serve the country? Japanese pirates, jumping beam clowns, can be flattened with the snap of a finger, what's the point?"

Qi Jiguang's spirit was lifted, and he laughed and said, "Brother Gu, you have a unique character. If you devote yourself to official career, you will become a pillar of the generation."

"No." Gu Zhen waved his hand and smiled, "To be an official of the Ming Dynasty, you must first write stereotyped essays and take the Jinshi exam. Those who do not care about it, even thinking about it makes me feel headache. If you want me to write stereotyped essays on paper, it is better to let me write stereotyped essays on paper. Draw a turtle on the wall! Do you want to test martial arts? Horseback riding and archery is not my specialty. One horse shoots three arrows, and the arrows fail. Urgent."

Qi Jiguang snorted, and jokingly said, "Then what's important?" Gu Zhen smiled slightly: "The most important thing is, I'm a good man, I'm a good boy, I'm going to cross the seven seas, I don't care about the world, how can I be willing to degenerate and become the emperor's old man?" A slave?" Qi Jiguang couldn't help smiling wryly: "Brother's sentence scolded me again." Gu Zhen said: "Brother Qi is brother Qi, and the emperor is the emperor. I would rather be brother Qi's quartermaster than the emperor's lackey. " Qi Jiguang sighed: "My brother is really young."

Talking fast, without feeling the passage of time, when night fell, a group of people looked for a shop to stay.After dinner, Gu Zhen was drinking, when he suddenly saw five robbers poking their heads, looking around the door, he couldn't help but smile and said, "What are you doing here?"

Five people shyly entered the room and knelt down one after another.It turned out that the five of them had a private discussion. At the beginning, they worked hard for Shen Zhouxu and had a grudge against Gu Zhen for killing his father. Now that they have a new owner, Lu and Gu are close friends. If Gu Zhen wants to avenge his personal revenge, he only needs to use some means , even if the five people don't die, they will inevitably be doomed by the dark sky.When they were in the villa, the five of them avoided Gu Zhen everywhere, but now they walk together all the way, unable to avoid them, out of panic, they decided to come to plead guilty.

Gu Zhen knew it in his heart, and asked, "Are you afraid that I will take revenge for killing my father?" The five of them nodded repeatedly.Gu Zhen said with a smile: "If you break the law, you have the master and the follower. The principal culprit is dead, and the accomplice is lenient. Besides, you are suffering and cannot extricate yourself. It seems impossible to blame you. Why don't you accompany me to have a drink? Everyone write it off." He took five jars of spirits, put them on the table and said with a smile, "One jar per person, if you don't finish drinking, you are not sincere!"

The robbers didn't want it to be so easy, they were overwhelmed with surprises, each took a jar to drink, and with Gu Zhen coaxing and scaring them, in the end, each of them drank more than one jar, and became completely drunk.Yan Weigui climbed the wall and turned over the beams, flying all over the room; Mo Yi recited the Tripitaka aloud; Stick out your tongue and lick the bowls and chopsticks clean.Gu Zhen clapped his hands and laughed, and waited until Lu Jian heard the noise before taking the five of them back to rest.

When they woke up the next day, the five Jie slaves were still hungover and had a splitting headache.Gu Zhen did what he said, and after getting drunk, the rift between him and the five disappeared.Qin Zhiwei and him are old friends, so let's reconnect with each other first, and talk about everything.Seeing this, the other four felt relieved, and were dragged away by Gu Zhen every day to accompany them for drinks. After a few days of confusion, before arriving in Yiwu, the five of them drank two glasses of wine and became closer to Gu Zhen than brothers.

Arriving in Yiwu at night, the next morning, Qi Jiguang gathered his troops and set up his troops on the bank of Dongyang River. He saw the clear river running like a river, and the sky washed away. There are three thousand soldiers standing in the dark.Qi Jiguang waved the flag, and the voice soared into the sky, like a gust of wind and thunder, stirring among the mountains and rivers.

(End of this chapter)