Chapter 660: The Sad Man Has No Arms (Part II)

Zheng He left the capital only a few days before Zhang Yue, and before him, Wang Jinghong arrived in Nanjing first. The two have been to the West six times together, each time they are a pair of partners, and they naturally have a deep friendship with each other, and they can complement each other no matter what they do together. This time, however, the business was completely different. There have been old cases of leading the officers and troops to garrison Nanjing in the past, but it was only during the time when I came back from the West, and I had to prepare to continue sailing anytime and anywhere, but this time it may be forever!

At this time, he had already invited Wang Jinghong over and gave him the gift list he had just gotten. Wang Jinghong took a glance and browsed through the ten lines, then raised his head and said with a smile: "I didn't expect the two of us to come to Nanjing to retire together, Zhang Qian can still think about it." This snake oil is the best for rheumatism, and we can all use it, as well as the wool blanket of the northern tribute, the tanned leather boots of Nuer Gandusi, and the long white ginseng...... It's hard for him to think of everything, but it's better than those white-eyed wolves who can't wait for us to walk. ”

Hearing this, Zheng He suddenly laughed dumbly, and immediately shook his head angrily: "How many years have you been, you just don't want to think more about everything." Zhang Qian's personality still needs you to say? He has never stepped on the low, and he is also low-key in the palace, so he has long been too ...... The emperor has blue eyes, so he can stay this time. He remembered that we certainly had a heart, but asking Zhang Yue to bring us something had another meaning. ”

Wang Jinghong was born on the seaside of Fujian, and he learned the art of boating since he was a child, and then because of the livelihood of the people, he entered the palace under the recommendation of the eunuchs of the same township. After thinking about it for a while, he vaguely had a thought: "You mean, Zhang Qian is not afraid that others will know about this, and he also plans to retire?" ”

"Zhang Qian is not young after all, it is boring to occupy a seat all the time, besides, because his surname is Zhang, he is originally close to the Zhang family. If you look at it, within three or five months, there will be other arrangements for him. Zheng He sighed deeply, and his expression became even more melancholy, "The number of times he will do it next time is not as good as you and me, and it can be said that if you throw it away, you can throw it away." Jing Hong, over the years, most of the people who went to the West were you and me, Li Da went to the Western Regions, and Hou Xian went to Tibet...... Compared with Hou Xian and Li Da, we are the most uncontrollable. ”

Originally, these thoughts were pressed to the bottom of his heart, but at this moment they were all hooked, and in desperation, Wang Jinghong had to turn his head sideways, pretending to be blind, and then said helplessly: "It's so easy for me to press my head, you just mention this matter again!" Now the household department and so on are all blaming the next huge cost, and even the sea ban has been proposed, this Western Ocean is probably hopeless in our lives. Don't mention the past again, I just ask you, what about the army? ”

The Jingwei stationed in Nanjing is just like Beijing, and there are also Jinwu avant-garde guards, Yulin avant-garde left guards, etc., and one should be added together, and there are also 100,000 known as the heroic army. However, due to the fact that the most elite sergeants were all transferred to the north, those who remain now are either old or young, and their combat strength is far inferior to that of Beijing Wei. However, there are few people in the south of the Yangtze River, and it is impractical to settle in the fields near Nanjing, so most people are guarding the rich place in the south of the Yangtze River and living on a little military rations. Others are fine, how can the next officers and soldiers stand it?

"Before, there were already two thousand of the strongest soldiers assigned to the guards of the two Huai places, and there were about a few thousand of the remaining garrisons in Nanjing. Many of them are used to living a good life, but now I heard that those families have a lot of expenses, and some people can't open the pot after the New Year! If you want to be stationed like this right now, if you really go to build the Nanjing Palace, I'm afraid ......"

"Say no more!"

Zheng He already felt upset, but his head was buzzing at this time, and he fell into silence after instinctively stopping drinking. After a long time, he waved his hand weakly at Wang Jinghong: "You send someone to meet those officers and ask them to restrain their subordinates." Just say that it is my order, if anyone dares to make trouble, they will be severely punished! Before, I turned a blind eye, so they could live a comfortable life, and now they come to complain about the court, there is no such reason! Jing Hong, this should not be soft-hearted, if something goes wrong, it will be a big trouble! ”

Coming out of Zheng's Mansion on Mafu Street, Wang Jinghong looked up at the gloomy sky, and then tightened the cloak on his body, feeling extremely bad. Because of Zheng He's attitude, what he wanted to say now didn't dare to say it. Just a few days before the Chinese New Year, because of disputes over whether to pay grain and rice or money, dozens of officers and soldiers were subjected to military law, and many people were lying on their beds and unable to move. You know, in the past, these people never cared about the court's rewards.

They are used to living a good life, and they fall down all of a sudden, and they themselves can't stand it, let alone others?

Zhang Yue sent Peng 13 to the Zheng Mansion to deliver gifts, and after walking a few noble mansions by himself, he noticed that someone was following. Fortunately, there is nothing unremarkable about his trip, so he is happy to be generous. When the wind picked up in the evening, he went out of the last house, and then got into the car and rushed back. It was dark and there was a curfew, and there was a light snow in the sky, and when he lifted the curtain and glanced at the cloth next to him, the stout man shook his head at him, indicating that the person who was watching was gone.

When he received such an answer, he saw that there was no one around, so he got out of the carriage, and one of the four guards with him immediately got into the carriage. He took out a plain cloak from his coat, fastened it, put on a hat to protect him from the snow, and looked inconspicuous, and then turned over and put on the horse's back. Ready to stop, he gave an order to the coachman, and again to the ox, until the carriage and the guards had gone forward, and he turned around and galloped away.

Since this day was the first day of the first lunar month, there were few people on the street at this moment, and most of the officials and people were reuniting at home with hot wine and fireplace. When Zhang Yue found the street according to the instructions in the letter, most of the shops on the street had already been closed, and only one tavern still had a wine flag, and the dim light was shining inside. He hurried forward, and when he saw a young man come out, he threw the reins to him, and then crossed the threshold into the shop.

There were only five tables in the tavern, and only one in the corner was occupied, and the rest of it was an old shopkeeper. Seeing Zhang Yue enter the door, the man led the horse to the back, and the old shopkeeper personally stepped forward and trembled down the door panel. After a while, the young man came out of the back door, took a small jar of flower carvings and put it on the table, and brought the brazier, tin wine jug, and the bamboo net for sifting wine. The old shopkeeper personally brought a few plates of wine and food, and then without much words, he went down with the young man.

Zhang Yue took off the hat at this time, and saw that there were four dishes on the table: spiced pig's head meat, scrambled eggs, fried winter bamboo shoots with fungus, and stewed tofu. However, Yuan Fang waved his hand to stop him, and said with a smile: "It's been so many years, it's rare to sit so leisurely, and you let me enjoy myself for once." ”

Helpless, Zhang Yue had to retract his hand: "If Uncle Yuan likes it, I will accompany you during the New Year in the future." ”

"It's all so big and reckless, and you see what you know is going to happen? You are a family and a mouthful, and it is best for me to have this brand name and not get close to people...... Forget it, since you're here, let's have a drink! ”

After sifting the wine hotly, Yuan Fang filled the cup in front of Zhang Yue, poured another cup himself, and saw him raise a glass as a respect, so he smiled and replied, and took another chopstick fungus. When these hot things went down to his stomach, he felt that his body was hot, but more often than not, he felt that his heart was hot. Since the death of his wife, in addition to the Spring Festival with Mu Ning at the beginning, he gradually became accustomed to drinking alone on the lamp during the New Year's holidays, so Zhang Yue left a message saying that he wanted to see him for the festival on the first day of the first month, and he initially wanted to teach people a hard lesson, but in the end, he really met people, and the lesson was just an understatement.

was toasted three times by Zhang Yue, and he gently covered the cup with his hand: "You came to me today, just to celebrate the festival together?" ”

"Just for a piece of the holiday." Zhang Yue took the wine jug, poured another glass himself, and then smiled, "When I was in Beijing, I was so busy that I didn't have time, even if I had time, I was afraid that I would have too many eyes, so I didn't dare to let go like this. I think I sent you an invitation when I got married, but Uncle Yuan gave you a gift but couldn't come; My sons and daughters make a full moon wine, and you are also not courteous; I'll have to drink with you this Chinese New Year. ”

These few words touched the softest place in his heart, and Yuan Fang's face unconsciously showed a smile: "You kid! Nothing looks like your father, but this ghost has a temper like him! At that time, he was unhappy at home, and he should go back to accompany your old lady during the Mid-Autumn Festival, but he was busy asking for a doctor for my family...... It's been a long time, but when I think about it, it seems like yesterday. ”

Seeing Yuan Fang raise his glass and drink it all, Zhang Yue wanted to open his mouth to ask, but swallowed the words back when they came to his mouth. Despite this, Yuan Fang has been a brocade guard for more than ten years, and his eyes are so sharp that he naturally won't miss this expression, and he can't help laughing.

"For so many years, you have never asked me and your father about it, it is difficult for you to be so patient, you can really bear it. In fact, you just need to ask, and neither your father nor I will hide it from you. ”

Zhang Yue was chewing a piece of pig's head meat slowly, and he couldn't help choking when he heard this. He hurriedly poured a glass of wine, and almost choked on it, so he had to be busy for a while. When it was easy to clean up and settle down, he couldn't help but say, "I'm just afraid of hitting a hard nail rashly." In this case, it's not too late for me to ask, and I will ask Uncle Yuan to solve my doubts. ”

Although Zhang Yue didn't often go out of the house when he was young, since there was Zhang Zhuo, Yuan Fang had naturally seen him several times, and when he heard him climb up along the pole, he was still a little childish back then, and he couldn't help but be stunned. After a long silence, he lifted the tin flask, and found it empty, so he scooped up the wine, and it was hot, and then he turned around and sat down.

"In the early years of Hongwu, there was a teacher in the countryside of Shaanxi, although he had no fame, but he was very knowledgeable, and he was also famous in the four towns and eight neighbors, and everyone called him Master Yuan. In those years, there were continuous disasters in Shaanxi, and a few acres of thin fields in his family and the cultivation of private schools finally supported the family. His wife, Zhao, was a woman from a private family, and she married him at fourteen, and she was very virtuous. The couple has a three-year-old son, who is not rich but still living. ”

In just a few words, Yuan Fang paused three times, each time drinking a cup. Although his tone was flat and his expression was peaceful, Zhang Yue felt that his head must not be so peaceful, and he couldn't help but pinch his wine glass and listen carefully.

"At that time, it was still the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there were Tatars in the north, and the Central Plains was not peaceful. In the three years of Hongwu, the people continued to rise up, most of them used the banners of white lotus and yellow scarves to gather people to rebel, Guangxi, Shandong, Fujian, here and there. Some of them are because life is really unbearable, but some of them are because the dynasty was initially decided, and some people are still ambitious. This had nothing to do with the family, but one day, the village butcher suddenly broke into their house with a dozen people, bowed to the wife of the teaching gentleman, and called herself a princess. The couple had never seen this, they were stunned, and no one knew what was going on. ”

If the time Yuan Fang said was changed to the early years of Yongle, Zhang Yue might have thought that it was an old-fashioned drama such as the descendants of Emperor Jianwen running to the people to hide, but at this time, he couldn't help but be stunned, and instinctively asked: "Did the butcher recognize the wrong person?" ”

"Wrong person? You think too much about people's hearts. Throughout the ages, it is cruel and tragic to seize the heirs in the court, but there are also people who want to be emperors. The butcher was originally a well-known rich man in the village, but he listened to the bewitchment of the Xiangshi, saying that he had the life of the auxiliary minister, as long as he found the Song royal family that was left behind in the people, he could seize the world, but the stupid man actually believed it. There is a family surnamed Zhao in the village, but his parents died, and only such a daughter remained, so he gathered a few local tyrants in the countryside and directly found the family of this Master Yuan. ”

Yuan Fang glanced at Zhang Yue, and when he saw his unbelievable appearance, he drank another cup by himself, and then continued: "Although Master Yuan is not a world-famous leader in the literary world, since he is a scholar, he knows the stakes of this matter, and he knows that his wife is not a royal family at all, so he has to persuade him hard. And those fools have long been red-eyed, who are willing to listen, and threaten to kill his whole family if they don't comply. In desperation, he tried to delay the opportunity to go to the government, but the other party insisted that Zhao press his handprint and immediately gather a crowd to rebel. Master Yuan knew that things were inevitable, and if he didn't comply, the irrational thugs would kill his entire family. In this situation, he thought of a way in a hurry. ”

Master Yuan simply agreed, negotiated the conditions with everyone, and then sent his wife to prepare the meal, locked his son in the back room, and moved out a few jars of wine that had been treasured for many years. But the butcher was vigilant, and he had to taste all the wine and food first, and everyone ate until they were drunk. By the time Master Yuan opened the last jar of wine, everyone was already forgetful, but the butcher still let him drink it first, and then everyone drank it again. No one expected that Master Yuan would put rat poison in the wine and be the first to drink it dry. Those people did not suspect him, and they were all poisoned, and as a result, after the poison occurred, it immediately became a mess. When Zhao heard the movement, the kitchen door was already locked, and she easily smashed the door to the front, only to find that there were dead people everywhere. It turned out that after a fight in the front room, everyone died together. ”

Although Zhang Yue had seen many tragic things in his life, such as the experience of Cuimo's father Kang Dahai, which made him feel suffocated every time he thought about it, but listening to Yuan Fang's faint narration at this time, he felt a chill spontaneously arise, and he actually felt a little breathless. He was about to continue asking, but he didn't want Yuan Fang to be half-drunk, but he shook his hand there.

"There are bizarre things in this world, but when it happens to oneself, you will know how tragic the so-called bizarre is. The deceased thought that he had taken care of his family, but he did not know that his family would have to go through endless hardships to survive in this world. The only death ...... through the ages Where is it easy to live? ”