Under the auspices of Wang Shizhen and Wu Chengen, the three brothers imitated Liu Guan and Zhang to burn incense and worship, in order of age, Zhu Hui was the eldest brother, Zhang Gouer was the second, and Song He was the third.

The owner of the East Garden, the descendants of Xu Da, the founding father of the Ming Dynasty, and the officials of Xu Da prepared a sumptuous banquet, and the Elder of the Moon Sky adhered to the rules and precepts of the Qing Dynasty and specially served him a meal, and everyone entered the banquet in the sound of firecrackers.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, everyone ate about the same, Mr. Wu Chengen stood up and said: "Today, the three chivalrous men kowtow to change posts, drink blood wine together, marry Jinlan, and become brothers with different surnames, this is righteousness!" According to your oath to the Heavenly Alliance, if you can really live and die together and share weal and suffering, you must still do one word......"

Wang Shizhen took over the conversation and said, "Believe it! ”

"Hehe, Lord Wang said it well! Faith in action, righteousness in the heart, and the unity of knowledge and action are the way of a gentleman. Seeing that the three teenagers were nodding frequently, Wu Chengen sat down and then asked, "Have you ever heard of the story of Zuo Botao and Yang Jiaoai?" ”

At this time, the three of them shook their heads together.

Wu Chengen said: "In the Spring and Autumn Period, there is a wise man named Zuo Botao under the Xiqiang Jishi Mountain, although his parents died, but he studied diligently, and had the talent to help the world, he heard that the king of Chu Yuan Chongru was heavy, and was recruiting talents, so he went to Chu Country day and night, this day, it was late, the wind and snow were combined, Zuo Botao saw that the thatched hut between the bamboo forests revealed a trace of light, and went to knock on the door to ask for accommodation, there was a scholar in the house, and learned that Zuo Botao came to welcome him into the house. ”

Zuo Botao entered the house to exchange names, and learned that his name was Yang Jiaoai, and the conversation between the two was very speculative, and there was a great intention of seeing each other late. This Sheep's Horn Wai is also the death of his parents, and the two of them will worship to be flesh and blood with different surnames, Zuo Botao saw that Sheep's Horn Mourning was a talent, and his knowledge was good, so he persuaded him to go to Chu to seek work together, and Sheep's Horn Mourning also had this thought. ”

"Stay for a few days, the sky is clear, the two of them bring dry food, and then go to Chu State, Xiaoxing overnight, since not a day, has not yet arrived in Chu State, seeing that the dry food is finished, at this time, the sky has fallen heavy snow, Zuo Bo Taowu thought to himself, this bit of dry food, if it is provided for one person to use, it can also reach Chu State, otherwise, both people will starve to death. The three of you talk about it, what will Zuo Botao do? ”

Seeing that the three of them were all silent, Wu Chengen then asked, "Zhu Hui, as the eldest brother, will you talk about it first?" ”

Hearing Mr. Wu call his name, Zhu Hui replied without thinking: "If I am Zuo Botao, I would rather die first, but also become a brother!" ”

"Dog, can you tell me about it too?" Wu Chengen continued to ask.

"If I were Zuo Bo Taoning, I would rather die first, then the dry food would have been mourned by other people's horns."

"Song He, can you talk about it too?" Wu Chengen asked again.

"If I am a sheep's horn mourning, I will definitely not embarrass my brother, and when my brother didn't expect it, I took one step earlier to finish myself and fulfill my brother."

"Good! You are all righteous men, and you need no doubt that you are old, but you would rather die first, for the elder brother fulfills the younger brother, and if the younger brother does not go with you, he will fall into the unrighteousness of the younger brother; Song He, everything in the world is often unpredictable, didn't my brother think of these things you think? On the contrary, he felt that Zhang Gou'er's words were more reasonable. ”

Wang Shizhen asked in surprise, "Why did Mr. Wu say this?" ”

"Does Lord Wang think that even if it is reasonable, he can't say it explicitly?" Wu Chengen asked.

"Hehe, many truths in the world are self-evident, justice is at ease in people's hearts, and if it is broken, it will hurt the face." Wang Shizhen replied.

Wu Chengen said unhurriedly: "Since ancient times, there have been countless people who have married Jinlan, and Liu Guanzhang has not lived and died together, such as Zuo Botao and Sheep's Horn mourners, how many people can there be in the world?" On the contrary, there are countless brothers who turn against each other and kill each other. If you take the brothers' efforts for granted, the brotherhood will not last long, the affection between the brothers will not last, the affection between the brothers will not last, the warmth of the feelings, the fairness of right and wrong, it is indeed in the hearts of the people, everything is in the heart, Lord Wang, do you say this is the truth? ”

Wang Shizhen nodded seriously and replied: "Mr. Wu still knows more about human feelings, and said those pedantic Confucian students, and he didn't dare to say the reason, please continue." ”

Wu Chengen continued: "Zuo Botao knew that his knowledge was not as good as that of Sheep's Horn Wai, so he was willing to sacrifice himself to fulfill the fame of Sheep's Horn Wai, so he deliberately fell to the ground, and asked Sheep's Horn Wai to help him move a stone, sit down and rest, and wait for Sheep's Horn Wai to move the big stone, Zuo Botao was already stripped naked, lying naked on the snow, frozen and dying. ”

Zuo Botao asked Yang Jiaowai to put on his clothes, take away the dry food, and quickly went to the Chu State to seek fame, and died after speaking. Sheep's horn mourning was very sad, to Chu State, King Yuan summoned to worship Sheep's Horn Mourning, seeing his outstanding talent, he let him be the doctor of Chu, giving a hundred taels of gold, a hundred horses of silk, at this time, Sheep's Horn Mourning but abandoned the official and did not do it, to find Zuo Botao's corpse, bathed in the fragrant soup of his corpse, and chose a piece of auspicious land to bury Zuo Botao. ”

Song He asked, "If I am a sheep horn mourner, I will keep a vigil for my brother and be with me for a long time, what happened to the sheep horn mourning?" ”

The dog sighed, "It's so touching! Zuo Botao not only achieved brotherhood, but also put righteousness first, so that King Chu Yuan got the talent of the world. ”

Zhu Hui said: "I understand, faith and righteousness between brothers are indispensable, faith and righteousness first, but also take into account the common feelings of people, it is really beneficial, thank you Mr. Wu for his teachings!" ”

"Well said! Your testimonials make the old man deeply grateful! However, the old man thinks that we are all ordinary people, simply telling the story of Zuo Botao and Sheep's Horn Mourning is purely preaching, how many people have listened to it, and they have forgotten it in a blink of an eye, in the midst of danger or in the face of major interests, I am afraid that they all think of themselves first, faith and righteousness first, and we have to take into account the common feelings of people, which is easy to say and difficult to do, but only in this way can brotherhood last for a long time. Wu Chengen sighed.

Wang Shizhen said with a smile: "I thought that Mr. Wu was just using this allusion to tell you these dolls a big truth, so Mr. Wu is really painstaking, and then I will talk about it: According to legend, Jing Ke assassinated King Qin and was buried next to Zuo Botao's tomb after his death. One night, Sheep's Horn Wai dreamed that Zuo Botao was covered with bruises, telling about Jing Ke's ferocity, Sheep's Horn Wai woke up, and came to Zuo Botao's grave with a sword, and said: "Jing Ke is hateful, my brother can't beat him alone, let the little brother help you." At this time, there was a sudden thunder in the sky, storms, lightning, Jing Ke's tomb burst open, later, the news was known to the king of Chu Yuan, the king of Chu Yuan set up a loyal shrine to the two of them, the monument contained it, and the incense is endless. ”

At the end of the banquet, the three teenagers held their hands tightly together, nodded their heads to each other sincerely, and shouted in unison: "Brothers are of one heart, and their profits are gold!" ”

Elder Moon Sky recited with satisfaction, "Good! Everyone knows the truth in the world, and there are very few people who combine knowledge and action, and the old man has seen that from now on, your three brothers have righteousness in their hearts, have faith to keep, have a grateful heart, and follow the way of a gentleman, Amitabha. ”

After leaving the East Garden, Han Xiaoyu took Xu Ajiao back to Qixia Temple, Elder Yuekong went out to inquire about the news, and Zhu Hui and the other three brothers temporarily lived in Jushilin.

In the evening, Elder Moon Sky returned, and Zhu Hui asked, "Master, what's going on outside now?" ”

"Now Jinling City is rumored: the day before yesterday, the two Japanese who assassinated Huang Bingwen, although they were caught by the Nanjing Jinyi Guard, but they knew how to escape, and actually absconded from the place of detention, last night, they broke into the Cuihua Building, and the Hai Lord sent the official messenger of the governor Yamen to handle the case, but was blocked by the eunuchs of the prison army stationed in the Shenji Battalion of the East Factory, and drove away the official messenger of Ying Tianfu on the grounds that it was related to the infested of the Japanese and the enemy and me, and the Dongchang Fan used a wire to penetrate the shoulder blades, locked up the two Japanese, and sent them to Huang Bingwen's station."

Zhang Gou'er jumped up and scolded loudly: "The two Japanese in Cuihualou were obviously sent in by Huang Bingwen, a bastard, they are merchants of the Matsuura family of the Hirado Domain, this shameless person who kills the heavens, knowing that they are not Japanese cowards, still tortures them with such vicious means, it is really unreasonable!" ”

Elder Yuekong continued: "Today, Lord Hai went to the three alleys outside the Xi'an Gate to jointly interrogate the two Japanese, but Huang Bingwen refused, he declared that the Dongchang case should not be interfered with by the Yamen, and besides, the Japanese Kou had already confessed, and they dared to do evil in broad daylight, and they were secretly protected by the local government. From this point of view, it is very likely that he will use the topic to play and take the opportunity to impeach Lord Hai. ”

In order to stabilize Zhang Gou'er, Zhu Hui said: "I will find a way, I must rescue Brother Songpu and Shopkeeper Chen, and I must not let the traitor's conspiracy succeed." ”

"This morning, Sister Xiaoyu also said that Huang Bingwen's drunkard does not mean to drink, what is the deep hatred between him and Hai Daren?" Song He asked puzzled.

"Lao Wei has already met Xu Qianhu, and knows that Huang Bingwen is not good, he has many eyeliners and minions, and he has the backing of the officers and soldiers of the Shenji Battalion and the minions of the Jiangnan Weaving Mansion, and he will inevitably make waves, everyone must not take it lightly, let alone make trouble for the Hai people, do you understand?"

Zhu Hui pondered for a moment and asked, "Brother Gou'er, I heard that you were all arrested from Xinglong Bank, what is going on with this bank?" ”

"Because Chen Yuanhua does not trust me, I also do not know, it is said that this money bank is modeled after Xingji money bank, its purpose is for this year's raw silk procurement, Chen Yuanhua, Huang Bingwen and Wu Xiang and others in order to raise silver, in Ningbo first opened a branch. After the Spring Festival, the reason why Chen Yuanhua came to Nanjing in a hurry was because he mistakenly thought that Huang Bingwen had fallen, and after losing this backer, because he had no money in his hands, he took the two Japanese to Nanjing to observe, but in fact he was looking for their governor Matsuura Takanobu to borrow money. ”

After listening to Zhang Gou'er's words, Zhu Hui sighed: "It seems that Huang Bingwen will no longer need Chen Yuanhua and Wu Xiang in the future. ”

"It is said that Wu Xiang's money was all deceived by Huang Bingwen, if Chen Yuanhua did not help him raise silver, then, how would Xinglong Qianzhuang's business be?" Zhang Gou'er asked puzzled.

"Amitabha, it seems that as long as Huang Bingwen can successfully impeach Lord Hai, they don't need to borrow silver at all, they can squeeze Pang Shangpeng's Xingji Money Village and monopolize the trade of Jiangnan raw silk, do they still need to spend money to buy it first?"

Zhang Gou'er suddenly realized, sighed, and replied: "If this is the case, the people of Jiangnan are really downcast. ”

Elder Yuekong said worriedly: "Since the Yan family father and son are in the Jiangnan area." Change rice to mulberry 'since, Jiangnan Hao powerful annexation of land, the government and businessmen are eager for quick success, a few years ago has been the boiling of public resentment, due to the local tyrants and inferior gentry, after the fall of Yan's father and son, there is no change, now, everyone is looking forward to the Hai people in charge of the Tianfu, change the day, give the people a way to live, according to the old man, Hai and Pang shopkeeper have set the rules of silk weaving procurement, this year to raise the price of raw silk and silk, has already announced to the outside world, the people have great hope for the Hai people, if Huang Bingwen's conspiracy succeeds, not only harm the people, it is very likely to lead to the instability of the southeast half of the country, Amitabha。 ”

"In this way, those two Japanese are dead, Chen Yuanhua may be in danger, no, I have to hurry up and rescue him." As he spoke, Zhang Gou'er turned around and was about to go out.

Zhu Hui stopped at the door and said, "Good brother, this is not your business alone, if you want to go, the three of us will go together!" ”

"It's none of your business, there's no need for you two to follow me on the adventure." Zhang Gou'er argued.

Zhu Hui replied solemnly: "I don't want to talk about the truth anymore, at the banquet, Mr. Wu has already explained it very thoroughly." ”

Zhang Gou'er was quite embarrassed, only to see Elder Yuekong brushing his beard, smiling and nodding to them, so he had to take Zhu Hui and Song He out of the door together.

Walking on the road, Zhang Gou'er asked, "Why don't we really pretend to be a widow and attack Huang Bingwen, what do you think?" ”

Zhu Hui has already learned a lesson, thinking that Huang Bingwen is trying every means to impeach Hai Rui, if there are two troublesome widows in Jinling City for three days, there is no need for Huang Bingwen to do it, maybe any troubled imperial historian can bring down Hai Da ginseng, not to mention, there is also the former cabinet chief assistant who has returned to his hometown, and he is also secretly competing with Hai Daren.

Thinking of this, Zhu Hui replied: "It's better not to do this, Master has already said just now, we will not cause trouble to Lord Hai as much as possible." ”

Song He also learned Huang Bingwen's crowd tactics and asked: "In the three alleys outside the Xi'an Gate, Huang Bingwen has many minions and is heavily guarded, how can we save Chen Yuanhua and others?" ”

The three of them were suddenly in trouble again, Zhang Gou'er thought to himself, since Elder Yuekong agreed to let them go, maybe Zhu Hui would have a way, so he asked: "Among the three alleys outside the Xi'an Gate, is there anyone who can deliver the news to us?" ”

This sentence reminded Zhu Hui, and immediately replied: "Yue'er should be able to, I heard Han Xiaoyu say that the strong man next to Huang Bingwen is actually Yue'er's brother." ”

Considering the relationship between Yue'er and Tang Jing, Wu Xiang and Huang Bingwen, plus her current physical condition, she really can't use Yue'er, suddenly, Zhu Hui remembered Yue'er's mother, this is an old lady who is both upright and strong, as soon as Han Xiaoyu sees her, she is willing to recognize her as a godmother......

Seeing that Zhu Hui slowed down and pondered for a long time with his head down, Song He asked anxiously: "Brother, otherwise, let me go with Sister Yue'er, right?" None of them knew me anyway. ”

Zhu Hui immediately made a decision and replied: "I already have a way, but I can ensure that nothing goes wrong, the top priority is to send the two of you to Ningbo, before Huang Bingwen attacks Ningbo, transfer the property of Xinglong Qianzhuang branch in time, and protect the families of Wu Xianggongzi and Chen's shopkeeper, Song He, you immediately accompany the dog brothers, the sooner the better!" ”

Zhang Gou'er was not at ease and asked, "Brother, what can you do alone?" ”

"Huang Bingwen has bad intentions towards Sister Yue'er, we can't sacrifice Sister Yue'er, but Yue'er's mother is Xiaoyu's godmother, so she invited the old man to visit her son in the three lanes, first inquired about the recent situation of Shopkeeper Chen and the two Japanese businessmen, and then united with Yingtian Governor Yamen to find a way to rescue her, which can be guaranteed." Zhu Hui replied.

Zhang Gou'er nodded, deeply impressed by Zhu Hui's words, he also knew that the Ningbo branch of Qianzhuang had already raised a lot of silver, and since Huang Bingwen would not need Chen Yuanhua and others in the future, he would inevitably attack these silvers.

"What my brother said is very true, Brother Song He, then you can accompany me on a trip."

Song He replied with a smile: "Why do my own brothers still talk like this? ”

"Hehe, in the future, I will keep in mind Mr. Wu's words, in addition to loyalty, we must always be grateful." Zhang Gou'er replied.

The three of them came to Xiaguan Wharf together, sent Zhang Gou'er and Song He to board the boat to Ningbo, Zhu Hui said to them to take care, and urgently came to the Thousand Buddha Nunnery, he wanted to take Han Xiaoyu to invite Yue'er's mother.