A team of official ships swept down the river, the river was turbulent, the boats were like arrows, and the large and small flags hanging on the boats fluttered in the wind, like a long dragon, slowly moored at the ancient ferry port of Shashi. Supervisor Yang Sichang was in a depressed mood, and slowly walked out of the cabin, and saw that there were already civil and military officials and gentry of Jingzhou Mansion kneeling on the shore. Yang Sichang secretly screamed ashamed, and ordered the military staff general to stand on the bow of the boat to tell the local officials and gentry to be exempted from participation, make an exception and bow his hand to everyone, and then get into a sedan chair and go to Xu Garden in Shashi. He had learned the news of the fall of Luoyang and the killing of King Fu, and his heart was full of pain and grief. Zhang Xianzhong from Kuizhou, Dachang out of Sichuan, has been a secret whereabouts, he is very worried about Xiangyang, that is a fundamental land, a large amount of heavy grain and grass, if there is any errand, it is bound to be doomed. "The generals are arrogant, and they don't need to die, how can they suppress the thieves?" He was infinitely hateful in his heart, Zhang Xianzhong's force had obviously been surrounded in the mountains between Kui and Wu, and it was not difficult to annihilate, but Shao Jiechun, the governor of Sichuan, did not follow the military order, and the soldiers of He Renlong and Li Guoqi were clamoring in Kaixian County and rushed back to Shaanxi, resulting in the weakness of the troops blocking the West Road, and all the plans to block and suppress all failed. So far, the superintendent has spent millions of silver on military salaries, and a year and a half of hard work has been ruined, and the success has fallen short, which is really unwilling! He sighed helplessly in his heart: "The princes of the court, there are a few people who know that I am working hard for the country!" ”

Xu Garden covers an area of more than ten acres, is a garden of the township eunuch Xu Mine, secluded and quiet, quite interesting in the forest. As soon as Yang Sichang sat down in the flower hall, he immediately ordered the superintendent Wan Yuan Ji and several cronies to discuss the matter, and a guard hurriedly came in and whispered: "Someone has sent a burden to the superintendent, but do you want to accept it?" ”

"Who sent it?" Yang Sichang frowned, he didn't want to disturb people during the discussion.

"I don't know. It was a man who asked for a meal and a flower child, and he repeatedly asked him who instructed him, but he couldn't say clearly, only that he got a tael of silver from that person. ”

"Present it!"

After a while, the guard came in with a black cloth bag, untied the cloth bag, and took out a small white stubble paulownia wood box one foot square. Yang Sichang had a calm face and commanded: "Open!" ”

The guard pulled out his saber and carefully pried open the wooden box, which contained a layer of black tarpaulin, and when he opened the tarpaulin, it was a layer of apricot brocade, embroidered with golden silk cloud dragons, and the corners of the brocade showed hairy threads, as if torn from somewhere, and there were a few faint dark red blood stains. The guard gently picked it open with his knife, and it was a bloody human head. Everyone exclaimed together, Yang Sichang took a closer look before he left his seat, and saw a letter in the wooden box, shook it open and looked at it, which read: "Yang Sichang, I wanted to kill you, but you are far away in Sichuan, I can't kill you, so I have to borrow the head of the king of Xiangyang in exchange." If I cut off his pig's head, Chongzhen will cut off your dog's head. The Eight Kings. ”

"Xiangyang has fallen?" Yang Sichang screamed, spurted out a mouthful of blood, fell backwards, and everyone hurriedly helped him into the bedroom to rest. Yang Sichang woke up immediately, saw his eldest son Shan Song guarding the bedside, shook his head and sighed: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, your ministers are exhausted!" With tears streaming down his face, he struggled to sit up, and beckoned: "Quick, hurry up and check, how did Xiangyang go?" ”

Wan Yuan Ji whispered comfortingly: "Don't worry, the superintendent is in a hurry, it is important to rest your body." ”

"How could the iron-clad city of Xiangyang fall into the hands of thieves? I—I'm really unwilling! Yang Sichang patted the bed rails again and again, still a little suspicious, and he didn't have the usual elegant bearing.

Wan Yuan Ji replied: "Wang Chengzeng, the prefect of the Fangcai Mansion, came, but he was afraid of guilt and did not dare to meet the adult. ”

"Pass him! Pass him! Yang Sichang gasped for air.

Wang Chengzeng was still wearing a royal blue straight jacket, covered with a leather robe, but the robe was covered with dust and dirt, his hair was unkempt, and his square scarf was wrinkled, and he staggered into the flower hall, cried and worshipped to the ground, and kowtowed: "I am incompetent, I lost Xiangyang, and I beg the superintendent to punish him heavily." ”

"Xiangyang, Xiangyang is really lost?" Yang Sichang's face became more and more pale, his whole body trembled, and his teeth chattered, "But out, out of the spy?" ”

"There is no spy, it is Zhang Xianzhong who sent people to infiltrate the city."

"I've repeatedly ordered the door, how did they get in?" Yang Sichang was furious.

Wang Chengzeng stole a glance, saw Yang Sichang's teeth clenched, his eyes were about to split, and he was extremely angry, and hurriedly said: "The thief intercepted the documents and talismans of the superintendent on the way......

"Oh my God, oh my God!" Yang Sichang beat his chest and shouted, "Where is Zhang Kejian?" ”

"Zhang Daotai and the magistrate Kuang Yueguang, the county magistrate Li Dajue, and the guerrilla Li Min'an were all poisoned."

Yang Sichang looked at Wang Chengzeng and asked angrily, "How did you escape?" ”

"The two princes of Beizhi and King Fuqing and King Jinxian escaped from the Hanmen Gate in the north of the city......" He saw Yang Sichang's murderous gaze, and was so frightened that he retracted the words behind him.

"You are the prefect of Xiangyang, how can you ignore the king of Xiangyang?"

"Humble ......" Wang Chengzeng secretly ruthless in his heart, how can he be a powerless civil official, worthy of those wolf-like thieves? Isn't this a clear intention to sacrifice one's life for righteousness? He knew he couldn't defend himself, so he kept silent.

Yang Sichang was in a bad mood, closed his eyes and leaned back on the back of his chair, and said weakly: "Needless to say, the people in the city, there is only one Xiangyang Palace, the King of Xiangyang, the King of Guiyang, and the Queen Mother of Lanyang, the Queen Mother Xu, the Taihe Princess Lang, and the palace man Li, a total of 43 lives, how can I explain to the emperor?" Seeing that Wang Chengzeng was speechless, he waved his hand and said, "Go down!" ”

Yang Sichang sat alone in the flower hall, looking depressed, thinking that he had traveled thousands of miles for more than a year, from Huguang to Sichuan, and returned to Huguang from Sichuan, to fight the royal family, but he ended up in such a situation, in less than a month, two cities were lost, and two princes were killed...... I sat for a long time, and I didn't eat dinner. Wan Yuan Ji and the others were worried, but they all knew that the superintendent's military orders were strict, and no one dared to go in to persuade them. Yang Shansong was even more anxious, since the moment his father saw the head of the king of Xiangyang, he immediately felt a lot haggard, as if he was seriously ill, and his face was blue and gray. He gently pushed the door in and asked respectfully, "Father is not well?" ”

"It's Song'er, sit down!" Yang Sichang raised his head and tried his best to smile, but the smile was a little sad.

Yang Shansong sat sideways, and saw a large stack of neat manuscripts on the wide case, and the title page was newly inscribed with the four characters "Yang Wen's weak collection". Yang Sichang pointed to the manuscript and said: "Song'er, this is my life's work, after the march, a little tidying, about a million words, there is no order." The ancients said: Taishang is virtuous, followed by meritorious service, followed by words, which is called three immortals. Virtue and meritorious service, I can't reach it, and I may be hopeful. Even if it is hopeless, you have to think of publishing this manuscript into the world, so that the world will know that I, Yang Sichang, have a piece of loyalty to my father. He said it categorically, with an extremely sad and indignant expression, and even a little impassioned.

Shan Song persuaded: "My father's literary name has long been known to the world. Public security Sanyuan, Zhong Hao, and Tan Yuanchun all respect their father. In his early years, his father had published and engraved "Poems", "Wild Guest Green Shoes Collection", "Local Official Collection", and in recent years, there have been "Fuguan Recital", "Xuanyun Recital", "Central Recital", "Inspector Carrying Writing", "Le Hunger Garden Poetry Collection" moments, the volume is vast, it is nothing less than a full building, the cause of famous mountains, passed on to future generations, it is not difficult. ”

Yang Sichang sighed: "Yes! I really envy Sanyuan, Zhong and Tan, who travel in the mountains and forests, express their souls alone, and live an unrestrained life. Helplessly, the emperor was summoned twice and was a courtier, so he had to put aside the mind of seeking mountains and rivers and contribute to the court wholeheartedly. At that time, I still thought about retiring after success, and then I continued but my long-cherished wish, but I didn't expect to fall into it and have no way out. ”

"My father has just reached the mandate of heaven, the spring and autumn period is long, and the war is over, and my son will accompany you to wander the mountains and rivers, and also learn from Xu Xiake to travel between heaven and earth, leaving pictures and inscriptions for famous mountains and rivers."

"Ande returned after success, and Qianxi suddenly teased Wuling smoke. Now that I think of my previous poems, I am also overwhelmed with emotion! I have also heard of Xu Xiake, before he was fifty years old, he traveled all over the famous mountains in the north and south, Mount Tai, Mount Song, Mount Hua, Mount Heng, Mount Wutai, Mount Huang, Mount Lu, Mount Putuo, Mount Tiantai, Mount Yandang, and as far as Mount Wuyi in Fujian. He has written a lot of famous mountain travel notes. I'm fifty-four years old, and I can't compare to him. Yang Sichang shook his head, took two sips of the tea handed by his son, took his son's hand and said: "The way of the eunuch is also like drinking, which is just fun." The sage's mind is about the mean, the middle, the right way in the world; The mediocre is the theorem of the world. But the mean is really not easy to grasp, I rescued your grandfather three times in a row, willing to replace my father's crime, by chance, the emperor has blue eyes, so that he is grateful for the service, running around for so many years, exhausted, against the original intention. I advise you three brothers, but you can't come out to be an official when you study, not to mention the sinister career of your career, and you will be entangled in trivial and mundane things all day long, and you will live up to the good time. ”

"Follow your father's commandments." Shan Song agreed and asked, "Tomorrow is my father's fifty-fourth birthday, and the overseer is going to hold a banquet in Xingyuan to celebrate my father's birthday......

"How can I bear it?" Yang Sichang interrupted him, "Since I was appointed, they have followed and worked hard, and now that two years of dismal business have come to waste, how can I bear to teach them to be happy?" ”

Yang Shansong's heart ached, and he said patiently: "In the past two years, it has become a routine for the generals to prepare banquets for my father's birthday, and this time is especially indispensable, even if it is a scene." Otherwise, wouldn't it hurt everyone's hearts, and how could everyone's morale be restored? ”

Yang Sichang nodded and said, "What you said is reasonable. Go down and prepare, everything is simple, not extravagant. ”

The banquet was really simple, and it was very different from the grand occasion in Xiangyang last year, there was no opera troupe singing and official prostitutes singing and dancing, and the wine and food were not rich. Yang Sichang took the generals' congratulations with a strong spirit, sat on the banquet for a while, took the cup slightly, wet his wet blue and purple lips, and the banquet ended hastily. When he was about to leave the festival hall to pay homage to his birthday, he burst into tears and said: "Everyone is kind, how can Heichang repay him?" It's a drag on you. ”

"We follow the overseer and suppress thieves for the court, how can we drag it down?" Prison Commander Wan Ji looked around at everyone, "What do you say?" ”

Yang Sichang burst into tears, didn't wait for everyone to answer, and sighed: "Thank you for your kindness, Sichang understands it." How nice it would be if the courtiers thought the same way! The heart will not change lightly, so we can do it boldly without too many scruples. That being said, it's hard to do. Needless to say, the courtiers, but the Sichuan gentry who can see our thieves, since they used troops at the junction of Sichuan and Chu, haven't they been spreading gossip, saying that I am a Chu person, and I don't want a thief to stay in the Chu realm, and try my best to drive the thieves into Sichuan, beggar-thy-neighbor, which is really ridiculous. They regarded me as the governor in charge of the security of Huguang and Guangxi, and they didn't want me to be an auxiliary minister of the imperial court, who was ordered to supervise the teacher, coordinate the overall situation, and be responsible for exterminating the thieves. The courtiers who are far away in Beijing want to teach them not to listen to the wind and understand my hardships, how can they? I only understood Yuan Chonghuan's difficulties today, and he was ordered to go out of the customs, how majestic! Unexpectedly, he ended up in the West City and was exiled by his family. Do you resent the emperor? Can't, can't! The emperor originally intended to make Yuan Chonghuan guilty and make meritorious contributions, but he was bewitched by those courtiers and had to endure the pain. Alas! And it's no wonder that the courtiers. When you go abroad, everyone is very eager, and the soldiers and horses take money and food at will, but they can't succeed immediately, can they not resent you and hate you? Spending millions of dollars, defeating thieves, losing the vassal king, you all followed me and became a lonely minister, how can I deal with everyone. ”

Wan Yuan Ji said: "The teacher is too worried. The teacher and the saint are in the ascendant, we should plan again, and we must not be obsessed with the gains and losses of one city, one place, one person and one thing, discouraged and desperate, and take the opportunity to make up for the loss. ”

"Take care!" Everyone got up one after another, and watched Yang Sichang go out into the flower hall, his steps a little staggering.

Back in the flower hall, Yang Sichang sat alone by the desk to rest, his thoughts chaotic. Hatefully thinking that the court must be in an uproar, there are not a few people who impeach and pay the masters, and the emperor may come to the order to take responsibility and order himself to take the blame and save the declining situation, and he is anxious. Zuo Liangyu and He Renlong and other generals were arrogant and domineering, and did not listen to the dispatch, Zheng Chongjian and Shao Jiechun, the two feudal officials, were suspicious of themselves, and did everything possible to obstruct the strategy of using troops, and they were angry and angry, and they had no way to vent. For a while, I felt that the six gods had no master, my head was dizzy, and the handwriting on the official document was blurry and illegible, so I simply walked into the inner room and lay down in my clothes. Close your eyes and recuperate, there is always a situation in front of you when the emperor gave a banquet and hundreds of officials were eating outside the Guangning Gate when he left Beijing, where was the ambition and prestige at that time? "Don't live up to the grace of God!" He let out a long sigh, propped himself up, asked his entourage for a hot hand towel, wiped his face, put on a violet squirrel robe, and walked to the back of the case to review the urgent documents. After approving one piece, I picked up another one, and it was actually sent by Zuo Liangyu. He was extremely tired of Zuo Liangyu, after the victory of Agate Mountain, arrogant and domineering, difficult to control, ordered him to march to chase and suppress, nine in a row, Zuo Liangyu actually pushed the disease, lying in the area of Zhushan, watching Zhang Xianzhong pack up the scattered remnants and flee into the mountains. He saw Zuo Liangyu's three words and had a headache and was bored, and before leaving Sichuan, he ordered Zuo Liangyu to go to Xiangyang to chase down Zhang Xianzhong, but he didn't know where he went. He patiently opened the paperwork, Zuo Liangyu briefly said that he was chasing with all his might, but accused him of not following Zhang Xianzhong into Sichuan, so that he was exhausted, Xiangyang fell, and it was a big mistake. "What a villain!" Seeing Zuo Liangyu so presumptuous, his eyes were a little black, his hands and feet were cold, and he was sweating profusely. I thought of lying down on the bed in the back room and stood up, but I felt dizzy and fell to the ground along with the chair. Hearing this, the entourage hurriedly came in and helped him sit down, and Yang Sichang asked, "Who has been here?" ”

"Lord Wan came to visit the master's condition, and the little one was afraid of disturbing the master, so he persuaded him to go back."

"Bastard! Master Wan is a prisoner, how dare you stop him? Although Yang Sichang's tone was not high, it was extremely stern, and his entourage was so frightened that he hurriedly said: "The little one will ask Master Wan to come back." ”

"No, I haven't left yet." Wan Yuan Ji came in, looked at his pale face, and said with concern: "The master is not feeling well, so I still order the doctor to take a look to solve everyone's worries." The retinue knew they had something to talk about, and carefully stepped back.

"Sit, sit down!" Yang Sichang said: "Occasionally, I feel cold, and I don't have any serious illness, just take a few pills and rest for a few days, don't alarm the doctor." Otherwise, I don't know how many people will come to visit tomorrow, and I will be too tired and tired. ”

"If you are sick and avoid medical treatment, the teacher is really in great trouble. But you can't hide it from the emperor, right? ”

Yang Sichang's expression was gloomy, and he shook his head and said: "How to say this disease is also a personal private matter, I don't dare to use this Pope to worry about the overall situation of the thief." I was about to discuss with you about the matter of food and salary, Xiangyang fell, and all the baggage was plundered by Zhang Xianzhong, and it needs to be raised as soon as possible. He suddenly saw a corner of paperwork in Wan Jiyuan's sleeve and asked, "But what urgent paperwork came?" ”

Wan Yuan Ji couldn't hide it, so he had to take out the document and said: "Henan Governor Li Xianfeng reported the loss of Luoyang and the murder of King Fu. ”

Rao has already gotten the rumors, and now that he is confirmed, Yang Sichang still can't help but be shocked, and said in a trembling voice: "...... situation in Luoyang?" "I hurriedly looked at the papers, and saw that King Fu was cut and boiled with venison in an iron pot to make Fulu wine, and he couldn't hold it anymore and cried loudly. Wan Yuan Ji couldn't help persuading, Yang Shansong and others rushed over when they heard the sound, and first helped Yang Sichang to the bed to rest, and comforted them for a while. Yang Sichang only left Wan Yuan Ji by the bedside and ordered Yang Shansong to wait outside. At this time, his mood eased slightly, and he said to Wan Yuanji: "I am favored by the emperor, and I don't want to suppress the thief and be repeatedly frustrated, the situation is so corrupt, I really have no face to see the emperor again!" ”

"Others don't know the painstaking work of the teacher, but for more than a year, I have heard and witnessed the teacher reviewing documents, discussing and transferring people, and raising grain and grass...... What day is not midnight? Exhausted, concentrating on suppressing thieves, no matter how big or small, and doing his best, he is similar to the sage Zhuge Kongming. How fortunate is it to be able to follow the left and right! ”

"What a pity! I may not have the reputation of his posthumous death, but the ending of the two of us is the same, dying before leaving the school, which makes the hero cry! Yang Sichang coughed a few times, gasped and said: "To tell you the truth, my illness is not a cold, but a disease caused by hard work, the oil runs out, and it is difficult to rise again. ”

"The teacher is just tired from the journey, not a difficult disease, and if you are relieved to recuperate, there will naturally be a turnaround." Wan Yuan Ji suddenly felt that he compared him to Zhuge Kongming, it was really a little ominous, his ambition was unpaid, and he was also fifty-four years old, how could he be so confused and speak Meng Lang! While persuading, he secretly blamed himself.