Whenever there is a violent upheaval in society, it is the speculators who are most active.

Shaoxing has a large population, developed economy, and a prosperous literary style, "there are more scholars than crucian carp", among the gentry and merchants in Shaoxing Mansion, there are many anti-Qing warriors who sympathize with the Ming Dynasty, and there are also many traitors and quasi-traitors who actively cooperate with the Manchu Qing government. After the Manchu Qing Dynasty opened the imperial examination, the scholars and scholars of Shaoxing Mansion actively participated, and many of them got the Manchu Dynasty's talents, meritorious fame, these people are good at seeing the wind and making the rudder of the smart people, seeing that the Chu army is powerful, it is a matter of time before they recover Hangzhou and Shaoxing, and they have joined the pro-Tang faction. (There are too many scholars in Shaoxing, but the imperial examination in the feudal era is more difficult than Peking University and Tsinghua University, and the real thousands of troops and horses have grabbed the single-plank bridge. ）

But in general, the number of people who support Lu in Shaoxing Mansion is more, and the ordinary people also have more feelings for Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu, after the death of Emperor Hongguang, Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu, is in Shaoxing called the prison country, in a sense, this is where he started, many people only know the Lu prison country, do not know Emperor Longwu. Among the gentry and merchants who supported the Lu faction, there were many children of the official eunuchs of the former Ming Dynasty, and there was no shortage of real anti-Qing warriors, these people regarded feudal Lunchang as bigger than the sky, and were very loyal to Zhu Yihai, the king of Lu, and resolutely opposed the Tang and Lu factions, and did not hesitate to kill the pro-Tang faction, and regarded the Chu army as an enemy.

In front of Wang Sheng is such a complex situation. Emotionally speaking, he was reluctant to be ruthless against those brainless pro-Lu factions. He was also reluctant to reuse those opportunists in the pro-Tang faction, but under the pressure of the times. But he had to do something against his will.

The Wu family of Shanyin is a famous family in Shaoxing, and the head of the family, Wu Dui, once served as the secretary of the criminal department of the Ming Dynasty. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, he lived in seclusion at home, and his two sons Wu Mingyu and Wu Qiyu were the leaders of the pro-Lu faction, and single-handedly planned an attack on the pro-Tang faction.

For a time, there was an endless stream of people from all sides asking for mercy.

First of all, there are other big families in Shaoxing, Shanyin Zhu, Baiyang Zhu and so on. Even the Shanyin Qi clan, who supported the Tang faction, pleaded with Wang Sheng, and it was best not to kill Wu Mingyu and Wu Qiyu, otherwise it would be easy to cause antagonism among the gentry.

The second was Zhang Kentang and Zhang Mingzhen, they did not want to clash with the Chu army, so they had to beg each other softly, Zhang Mingzhen even stood in front of Wang Sheng's door for a whole day, asking him to circumvent the lives of the two Wu brothers no matter what.

Finally, the petitioning gentry and common people, led by some scholars, gathered hundreds of people to the Chu army garrison. He knelt down in front of the door and wrote to defend the two brothers of the Wu family, although their reasons were ridiculous, but the Chu army had just occupied Shaoxing. It was precisely when it was necessary to calm the hearts of the people, and in the face of the petition team of old and young people who were still reading, the officers of the Chu Army on duty were a little weak-hearted. Don't dare to dispose of it yourself.

The news was reported to Wang Sheng, and Wang Sheng quickly passed down the order: "The big sticks are scattered." ”

The soldiers of the Chu army were like wolves and tigers. They began to clear the field, and they carried wooden sticks and other instruments that would not kill people. Directly disperse these petitioners and civilians, and if anyone dares to resist or incite trouble, they will be immediately arrested and barracks. The petitioning scholars and people were unwilling to give in at first, and the big sticks crackled and beat down, all of them were bleeding from their heads, some of the timid ones dispersed, and some of the stubborn ones continued to make trouble, and they were directly arrested by the Chu army.

Immediately afterwards, the Chu army conducted a surprise interrogation of these troublemakers, obtained confessions after torture, and sent troops everywhere to arrest a group of backbone elements of the pro-Lu faction, the pro-Lu faction was trying to carry out a larger-scale operation, and the backbone elements were holding a meeting, which happened to be ended by the Chu army, and the snake had no head, and the situation in Shaoxing finally stabilized.

In order to avoid a bigger riot, Wang Sheng immediately decided to deal with the Wu brothers with military law, and Wu Mingyu and Wu Qiyu were both beheaded.

"Mr. Wu Da, Mr. Wu Er, I'm sorry, this will be the first Shaoxing, the people are unstable, I want to borrow your heads."

Wang Sheng waved his hand, and several relatives hurriedly stepped forward, picked up the wine jug from the tray, poured two glasses of wine, and handed them to Wu Mingyu and Wu Qiyu with both hands, Wang Sheng sighed next to him: "I know, you are all good men who miss your homeland, you have done a lot of things to resist the Qing Dynasty in recent years, and you used to be like-minded friends with Wei Geng and Qi Lisun, but unfortunately a thought made a big mistake, and I had to invite you to drink this cup and go ......on the road with peace of mind."

"Phew! You chaotic thief, everyone will be punished! Wu Mingyu pointed at Wang Sheng's cheek and struggled to spit out a mouthful of saliva, Wang Sheng took two steps back slightly, and after avoiding it, his face was as usual, and he was not angry.

The guards next to him acted immediately, there was a sound of twitching weapons, the bright steel knife was aimed at Wu Mingyu and Wu Qiyu, the tip of the knife trembled slightly, and the guards were all ready to go, as long as the two of them made any more moves, they would immediately be divided into corpses.

"Bold! Don't you two know yet? His Royal Highness King Lu has been given the name of Longwu year, and now it is a Longwu Dynasty, where did Lu Jian come from? If you talk about rebellious ministers and thieves, your two brothers of the Wu family are almost the same! Lu Qiuke, Wang Mingyue, Wang Ting and others shouted and scolded loudly, eager to pounce in front of Wang Sheng to show their loyalty.

Several of them tried and failed in the Ming Dynasty, all of them were blunt in the autumn wind, and even showed their fame, after the Manchu Qing Dynasty opened the imperial examination, they immediately actively participated, Wang Ting just won the lift, Lu Qiuke mixed a show of fame, Wang Mingyue was still an old boy, a few days ago Shaoxing was still under siege, a few of them heard an amazing news from a friend, the Chu army won a success, recovered Nanjing, and tens of thousands of troops in Jierharang were wiped out, these "smart people" immediately changed the court, and Qi Lisun and other pro-Tang faction set up a relationship, Everything is very positive, as if they are the backbone elements of the pro-Tang faction, and the Chu army is even more saddled before and after entering the city, trying their best to serve.

Wang Sheng stretched out his hand to stop them, and said to Wu Qiyu: "This glass of wine is to honor the integrity of your two brothers, but not to you to aim the knife at your own people, Mr. Wu Er has to figure it out." Anyway, since the two of them don't want to accept this kindness. Then let's be executed......"

"Wait! Keep people under the knife! ”

There was a sharp cry outside the door, and Wei Geng hurried in. came to Wang Sheng and gave a deep salute: "I've seen General Wang San." This Wu family brother can't be killed......"

Wei Geng is the leader of the pro-Tang faction, and has always kept in touch with the Chu Army Intelligence Bureau, once received a batch of weapons and tools from the artificial, and received simple espionage training, but he was not familiar with the use, and patronized the defense of the Qing army, but he did not guard against the pro-Lu faction from stabbing the knife in the back, and was hacked by Wu Mingyu and Wu Qiyu. (As the saying goes, scholars rebel.) Ten years later, Wei Geng was a rebellious scholar, his underground work in history was impressive, and he often appeared in various major events in the southeast to resist the Qing Dynasty, until he was executed by the Manchu Qing Dynasty in the first year of Kangxi. ）

Although he and the pro-Lu faction had different positions, for the sake of the overall situation, they still persuaded Wang Sheng not to execute the Wu brothers, and the reasons were roughly the same as others...... The San'in Wu clan is a local noble clan with deep roots. The influence was great, almost surpassing the government's cunzài, and when the Manchus occupied Shaoxing, they were also very polite to the Wu brothers. It's because these big families are inextricably linked with each other, and if one of them is moved, the next string will be pulled out. It is not a last resort to cause great turmoil in society. The Manchu government was also reluctant to touch them.

“…… The two brothers, Wu Mingyu and Wu Qiyu, have been determined to resist the Qing Dynasty in recent years, and they have mostly helped each other with money and food. He once killed several traitors who were captured by the Qing Dynasty, and there was no merit and hard work, and he asked General Wang San to open up the net and allow them to atone for their crimes! ”

From Duoduo to Bolo, from Hong Chengchou to Ma Guozhu, Zhedong has not given up resisting the Qing Dynasty, all the anti-Qing volunteers are united in the banner of King Lu, and the Qing army has fought hundreds of battles, Wu Mingyu and Wu Qiyu are both anti-Qing "underground parties", not only pay for people, but also personally go into battle, Wei Geng very fairly listed their merits one by one, and asked Wang Sheng for leniency.

Wu Mingyu and Wu Qiyu heard Wei Geng say good things for them, their faces turned slightly pale, and then they lowered their heads again, not daring to look directly into Wei Geng's eyes.

Wang Sheng quietly listened to Wei Geng's speech before he said: "What Mr. Chu Bai (Wei Geng's name Chu Bai) said, I have also heard others say that if you want to talk about merit, of course the Wu family brothers have it, but today's matter is not as simple as offsetting merit and demerit...... Our army was initially set to Shaoxing, and it will leave Zhejiang in a few days, and the Northern Expedition to the Manchu Qing Dynasty will not stop for a day, and Zhejiang will not be able to rest and recuperate for a day, can it be said that more than 20,000 soldiers under my command will be stationed in Shaoxing in the future, and guard against their own people stabbing them in the back every day? ”

"What? Is Chu Jun really leaving? Wu Qiyu couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, the people of Jiangnan raised tens of thousands of our troops, so that we could fight the Tartars, keep the peace, recover the homeland as soon as possible, and expel the Tartars from the customs, but they did not want us to kill each other with the King of Lu, consume the country's money and food in vain, and sacrifice the lives of the children of Jiangnan. His Royal Highness King Lu can still focus on the overall situation and change the name of Longwu year, but your brothers are still obsessed with the dispute between Tang and Lu, not to kill the Tartars, but to attack their own people, you will not be allowed to do it! ”

Wang Sheng drank coldly to Wu Qiyu, turned his head and said to Wei Geng: "Those who do great things, with the heart of a bodhisattva, and the means of thunderbolts, I beheaded the Wu brothers today, although it is unfair to the two of them, but it can deter the small people, lest the group of civil and military generals under the command of King Lu have luck, and provoke the dispute between Tang and Lu for their own selfish interests, and now Sun Kewang holds the pseudo king Zhu Cihuan hostage, and leads his troops to break into Guangxi, attacking Guilin, we only have half of the Ming Dynasty left, if there is chaos in eastern Zhejiang, my family will make a mess first, not to mention crossing the river and the Northern Expedition, Just wash your neck and wait for the tartars to cut it! ”

Wang Sheng has always been loyal, but he is by no means an indiscriminate person, and on the contrary, because of his calm and rational personality and thoughtful consideration, Wang Sheng will never be swayed by feelings...... If it were normal, he would probably not kill the Wu brothers, but the other battlefields of the Chu army were tight, and his main force was about to leave Zhejiang, leaving a limited garrison after conquering Hangzhou at most.

Deterrence! Wang Sheng took such a tough attitude in order to deter King Lu's regime. I picked this peach in Shaoxing, and it will be placed in front of you in the future, you can see it, you are not allowed to eat it, if anyone dares to stretch out his hand, Chu Jun will turn his head and chop his hand!

"Hah! Ha! Ha! Wu Mingyu laughed a few times, but there was no trace of a smile on his face: "What a coincidence, Wang Sheng, if you want to kill my two brothers, just kill them, why bother looking for these high-sounding reasons." I have heard in the past few days that Wang Kefan expropriated and extorted money in the three provinces south of the Yangtze River, confiscated the property of good people on the charge of collaborating with the enemy and traitors, and even recruited husbands and arrested Ding everywhere. It's a pity that the people of Shaoxing are suffering endlessly, although they drove away the hungry wolf of the Qing Dynasty, but they attracted the tiger of the Chu army, and the tiger and wolf competed for the world, but no one cared about the life and death of the people! ”

Wang Sheng's eyes suddenly flashed a cold light, and he said coldly: "The behavior of the Chu army has its own truth of the Chu army, and it is not your turn to comment on it, but I can tell you today, you need to use fierce medicine to cure Shen Zhen, as long as you survive the past two years, the people of Jiangnan can naturally live and work in peace and contentment, but it's a pity, it's a pity that you can't go to Huguang and Jiangxi to take a look, look at the people there, you will know that you are wrong!" ”

As he spoke, Wang Sheng waved his hand, and several soldiers went up to set up the Wu brothers and pushed them out of the door.

Wei Geng still wanted to stop him, but was persuaded by Lu Qiuke, Wang Ting, Wang Mingyue and others, seeing Wang Sheng's resolute attitude, Wei Geng sighed, and finally tried to persuade: "General Wang San beheaded the Wu brothers, most of the gentry and people in Shaoxing dare not speak out, if they lose the hearts of the people, won't the gains outweigh the losses?" ”

Wang Sheng shook his head: "The people's hearts are back, not by selling good to show favor, besides, I don't want the hearts of the people of Shaoxing, as long as Shaoxing's money, grain, tea, rice wine and cotton cloth, if the people have any dissatisfaction, just remember it on me, even if I grasp Wang Sheng as a murderer, it doesn't matter." ”

After the Chu army withdrew, a new magistrate would be sent, and once Wang Sheng became a villain, the pressure on the new magistrate would be much less.

Wei Geng was silent for a long time, and then asked, "Since you have beheaded the Wu family brothers, can the others be released?" ”

In addition to the Wu brothers, Wang Sheng also arrested a large number of backbone members of the pro-Lu faction, all of whom were imprisoned in the barracks.

Wang Sheng shook his head again: "I can't put any of them, at least not for a year, all of them will be sent to Songjiang Mansion to repair the wharf, and I will work hard for a year, and then I will know that the sky is high and the earth is thick." (To be continued......)