On the fourth day of the second lunar month, in the Shi family's house in Nanjing, Zuo Liangyu and Wu Sangui stood in front of Shi Kefa and bowed their hands. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

When Shi Kefa heard the words of Zuo and Wu, he calmly stroked his beard with his hands, but he couldn't suppress the slight tremor of his hands.

Zuo Liangyu said: "Lord Benbing, Huai'an and Yangzhou have been captured by Li Zhi. Now Jiangnan has no danger to defend. Li Zhi's cannons numbered in the thousands, and it was only a matter of a few days to capture the city of Nanjing. This soldier is the hope of the people in the south of the Yangtze River, if he sticks to the city of Nanjing, how can he escape this catastrophe? ”

"At this time, we can only retreat into Jiangxi."

During the time of the Chongzhen Dynasty, with the tug-of-war between the border passes and the suppression of thieves, the status of the generals of the Ming Dynasty continued to improve. In the nineteenth year of Chongzhen, the military power has completely fallen into the hands of the general army.

Zuo Liangyu and Wu Sangui, as the commanders of the second town in Jiangbei, except for turning to the civilian officials for help because of the demand for food and salary, could completely disobey the command of the civilian officials at other times. Zuo and Wu wanted to abandon Nanjing and retreat to Jiangxi, but Shi Kefa had no way at all.

Shi Kefa's hands trembled, and he said: "I don't know how many officials from the six departments of Nanjing are involved in the affairs of the second town in Jiangbei. If Li Zhi invaded Nanjing City, wouldn't there be a bloodbath? How could the two general soldiers ignore the life and death of the civil officials in Nanjing and retreat without authorization? ”

Wu Sangui looked at Zuo Liangyu and did not speak.

Zuo Liangyu and Shi Kefa are more familiar, the two have cooperated many times when they were suppressing thieves, and some sharp words are more appropriate for Zuo Liangyu to talk to.

Zuo Liangyu arched his hand and said: "Lord Benbing, the Jiangbei Army is not the opponent of Li Zhi's more than 40,000 people, if you don't go west, it will be the end of the whole army." For example, the gentry today are pinning their hopes on the Jiangbei Army, if the Jiangbei Army is destroyed, Li Zhi's power will be unstoppable. ”

"This soldier is the hope of the people of Jiangnan, if the soldier retreats west with the Jiangbei Army, then the time comes, the gentry of the world will definitely lose their wealth and goods, and the Jiangbei Army will definitely be able to continue to grow and even overwhelm the Li thief. Otherwise, only Zuo and Wu fled in embarrassment, anxious like a lost dog, and the corporal of the world lost their backbone, and the vast was like a fallen tree, then the world would die to Li Zhi'er. ”

Shi Kefa stroked his beard with trembling hands, and said for a long time: "Regardless of Qian Qianyi and Zhang Shenyan? Just I, Shi Kefa, fled west with the Jiangbei Army alone? ”

Wu Sangui arched his hand and said: "This soldier is Mingjian, Qian Qianyi, and Zhang Shenyan Although the second duke is famous all over the world, because of the Qing Kingdom in the north, he has been beaten as a thief by the Son of Heaven. If Feng Qian and Zhang are the leaders, the name is not right, and it will be difficult at that time. This soldier has always been bright and upright, and he is really the hope of the people in Jiangnan. Only with the soldiers at the head can the gentry of the world be united. ”

Zuo Liangyu looked at Shi Kefa's face and said, "Lord Ben Bing does not think about his own fame and fortune, but also thinks about the life and death of the corporal in the world. If this soldier does not retreat west with our Jiangbei army, the corporal of the world will lose the backbone. When the time comes, they will fight separately, and they will be defeated by Li Zhi one by one. ”

In the nineteenth year of Chongzhen, because the Son of Heaven firmly stood on Li Zhi's side, the south was already turbulent. Although the taxes and silver paid to the household department were still paid on time, in addition to these taxes, the southern scholars had become completely disillusioned with the government in Beijing and increasingly disobeyed the orders of the imperial court.

Now those who can mobilize all kinds of resources and forces in the south are the southern celebrities who raise the banner of resistance to Li Zhi. Among these celebrities, the most popular one today is Shi Kefa, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department.

Nowadays, when the scholars in the south talk about the Son of Heaven, they shake their heads and sigh. I'm afraid that Zhu Youzhen's holy decree has not yet worked as well as Shi Kefa's private message.

As long as Shi Kefa fled into Jiangxi with the second town in Jiangbei, the soldiers' salaries and grain and grass were not a problem. The southern gentry who hate Li Zhi and fear Li Zhi will continue to support Jiangbei Second Town, and Jiangbei Second Town can continue to grow.

Hearing Zuo Liangyu's words, Shi Kefa closed his eyes and didn't speak for a long time.

I don't know how long it took before Shi Kefa opened his eyes and said, "Okay, I'll follow you into Jiangxi." ”

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Li Zhi walked in the courtyard of the Hao family, the richest man in Yangzhou, and was shocked by the magnificence of the mansion.

The courtyard looked very ordinary from the outside, it was an ordinary house with blue bricks and tiles. But when I walked into the house, I realized that the wood carvings in the house were exquisite, the decorations were expensive and elegant, and the gardens were beautiful and tortuous. In the courtyard of the house, there is a lantern with the word "Hao" hanging in the water, and the bracket and crank of the lantern are all made of fine brass, and I don't know how much silver is needed.

Li Zhi stopped next to the pillar of a hall house, and saw that the pillar made of yellow rosewood was carved with many images of "children playing with carp". Some children ride on the back of the carp, some children hold the tail of the fish, and some children are held by the carp, and the carving is lifelike. Li Zhi counted carefully and found that there were twenty-three children and carp carved on one of the pillars.

Li Zhi sighed: "Good carver." ”

Further on, it was another courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard is a garden covering several acres. There is a helmet-topped hexagonal pavilion in the garden. A stone boat stands in a small lotus pond, which contrasts with the turquoise water. Behind the garden is the study and the library building, and the carved windows are elegant and quiet. On the west side of the library building, the century-old wisteria is full of vitality.

Li Zhi walked around the corridor next to the courtyard, marveling at the winding path of the garden.

Han Jinxin said: "Grandpa Guo, this garden is carefully designed and supervised by the famous Jiangnan gardener, and the famous calligrapher and painter Dong Qichang inscribed the amount, and it is the place where Yangzhou literati and bachelors gather elegantly. ”

Li Zhi suddenly remembered something and asked, "What time is this the first time you have entered the courtyard?" ”

Han Jinxin replied: "Grandpa Guo, this is the seventh courtyard, and there are four courtyards in front. ”

Li Zhi shook his head and said, "How did this Hao family run it, so rich and noble?" ”

Han Jinxin replied: "Grandpa Guo, the head of this Hao family is the governor of Sichuan. He is seventy-one years old today. Not only did he not pay the land endowment, but he also reduced the land rent to 20%. The Diao people in Yangzhou were suffering from the oppression of heavy fields, and when they saw that the rent of the Hao family was so low, they rushed to donate one by one. The head of the Hao family has accumulated more than 70,000 acres of fertile land over the past few decades, and the annual land rent income alone is tens of thousands of taels, which is a rich party. ”

Zheng Kaicheng took a step in the direction of the garden and said: "The so-called wealth in the south of the Yangtze River in the world, I see it all in the gentry's house. Ordinary people racked their brains, but they just wanted to have food and clothing. ”

Li Zhi asked: "When Qian Qianyi formed the Jiangbei Army, how much silver did the head of the Hao family donate?" ”

Li Laosi replied: "Yesterday, the Yangzhou prefect was tortured, and the prefect has already confessed. The Hao family donated 8,000 taels of silver to the Jiangbei Army, and another 13,000 taels of silver to the people of the temporary organization. ”

Li Zhi was silent for a few seconds when he heard this, and then said slowly: "The shameless parasite is fat to this extent, but it will eat the master, and it can be killed!" ”

The generals bowed their hands to Li Zhi one after another, silent.

Everyone was pondering the Hao family there, when a secret guard suddenly ran in from the front. Seeing that Li Zhi was surrounded by generals, the secret guard knelt down on one knee and said, "Grandpa Guo! Ambassador! Zuo Liangyu and Wu Sangui abandoned the city of Nanjing, and fled to Jiangxi with Shi Kefa, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department. ”