Chapter 165, Suzhou 10 days

Just when Qian Qianyi, Qu Shiyun and other Jiangnan celebrities and gentry families were talking about the strategy of resisting the Qing Dynasty and saving the country on the Thousand People Stone of Tiger Hill, on a stone bridge outside the gate of Tiger Hill, there were a group of people pushing and shouting, pulling their throats and arguing with each other.

Although someone had erected a sign at the bridge in advance, "Idle people wait to stop", the people outside the door obviously did not take this warning seriously.

I saw a young man in Confucian clothes with a thin figure and a handsome face, facing a cadre of Fushe scholars guarding the stone bridge, and said angrily: "...... Get out of the way! This Tiger Hill is a famous spot in the world, and it is not your own ancestral property. ”

And the bystanders who rushed to the side of the stone bridge heard that the young man was reasonable, even if he didn't plan to go in to see the excitement, he raised his fists for a while and shouted and cheered: "...... Yes! This Tiger Hill is not your own private property, how can you occupy it so arbitrarily! ”

The middle-aged scholar who was ordered to guard the door saw that he seemed to be about to commit public anger, so he had to say again and again: "...... Don't make trouble, everyone, we occupy Tiger Hill to discuss major events in the world, the mountain is limited, and there are no more people, for fear that something will happen, please Haihan. ”

“…… No way! Doesn't that despise us? The so-called major events in the world are the responsibility of the husband, why don't you let me wait to discuss them together! Now the situation is in turmoil, the ambitions of the Tatar wolves are poisoning the south of the Yangtze River, and Suzhou is also in danger. How can such a life-threatening matter be arbitrarily decided by you? ”

However, the young man who took the lead in breaking the door did not let anyone go, and when he saw that someone was helping, he was more confident, so he raised his head and shouted loudly: "...... Anyway, I'm going to listen to what you gentlemen have to say! It is also providential to be squeezed and fall off the cliff on your own body, which one is in your hands? ”

“…… We are also a good intention......" The middle-aged scholar guarding the door couldn't help but be a little panicked when he saw that more and more people were gathering by the bridge, and the handsome young man in the lead was blindly messing around. The young man took the opportunity to lean over and shouted, "...... Let it pass? If we want to stop it again, we're going to have to break in! ”

However, the middle-aged scholar guarding the door looked fixedly, but suddenly smiled at the young man in Confucian clothes who led the way to break through the door: "...... Hahaha, girl, now the people gathered in Tiger Hill are either gentry and celebrities, or official eunuchs, but you want to go to the men's pile to join in the fun, what do you want? ”

Suddenly being told her identity, the face of the girl in men's clothes turned pale, and she said in surprise: "...... You—how do you recognize ......?"

“…… Hehe, girl, although you have taken off the hairpin ring, the ring hole at the root of the ear is still there, how can you escape the eyes below! The middle-aged scholar guarding the door stretched out his hand and stroked his beard, and said with a proud smile, "...... I was far away just now, so I didn't see it clearly, but now you come over, don't you confess yourself? ”

The girl in men's clothes reached out and touched her earlobe, her face turned red for a while, and she stomped her feet and said hatefully: "...... You, you bully! I, I ......" She snorted a few times, couldn't help but be angry, and even hid her face and choked. And the people who were coaxing behind her also understood, and there was a lot of discussion for a while:

“…… Hehehe, the old man is really clumsy, it turned out to be a female baby, I said how can she be so petite! ”

“…… Such a flower-like little girl, disguised as this, must have secretly come to meet a love brother! ”

“…… Tut-tut...... Looking at her pink face and peach cheeks, she is like a tender lotus root in a pond, I don't know which one of her descendants has such a beautiful blessing......"

“…… Hey, it's really a bad day! I didn't even bring a maid and ran around, this girl was so unruly! ”

“…… Well, looking at her temper and style, I don't think she's a serious woman! ”

……

Under Qianfu's finger, the eyes of the men around him gradually became obscene, and the boy girl was ashamed and angry for a while, but she couldn't pull her face to play in public...... Fortunately, just when she was ashamed and indignant, she saw a young scholar led by Eguanbo walking slowly, and she couldn't help but suddenly brighten up her eyes, and shouted loudly, "...... Chen Zilong! I'm looking for you so hard! Why didn't you come to see me when you arrived in Suzhou?! ”

Chen Zilong, a famous man in Songjiang over there, was originally talking to a few friends beside him, and when he heard the call of this boy's girl, he was stunned. It wasn't until the girl took off the square scarf on her head, revealing her long hair like clouds, that she suddenly realized, and hurriedly leaned over and reached out to hold her.

“…… Ah! How could it be you! Yang Yinglian, when did you arrive at Tiger Hill? ”

“…… I just arrived at Tiger Hill, but I haven't entered the door yet! was stopped! What a bad luck! The girl in the man's clothes rubbed her hands, exhaled a cloud of white gas, and said unhappily, "...... Also, don't call me Yang Yinglian, this girl's surname is Liu now, her name is hidden, and the words are like this, you have to remember it clearly......"

“…… Hehe, your new name is elf and eccentric, the willow is not distinguished, hide the real name, and look like this. It's even more atmospheric than the old name! ”

Seeing the two flirting with each other, such an unusually familiar appearance, several scholars next to them couldn't help but be a little curious, and even showed a little ambiguous and envious, "...... Brother Chen, this little lady...... Could it be the confidante you made in Suzhou? Don't give me an introduction? ”

“…… Hehe, okay, okay, I'll introduce you to everyone, she is the daughter of Xu Fo of Shengze Town's Guijiayuan, and she met me in Songjiang last year. Don't look at her age, but she is ice and snow smart. The poems she wrote are even praised by Tianrugong (Zhang Fu)! ”

As he spoke, Chen Zilong pulled Liu Ruis and introduced him to several friends of the Restoration Society next to him, and Liu Rushi also responded with salutes one by one, calm and calm. When everyone saw that she was just a weak girl in her teens, she dared to go out of the city alone to break into Tiger Hill, and they couldn't help but secretly praise her for her courage and extraordinary.

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——The boy who stood at the foot of Tiger Hill and called the door was the famous prostitute of the late Ming Dynasty, sixteen-year-old Liu Ru this year.

Liu Ruis, originally surnamed Yang, was born in the forty-sixth year of Wanli (1618), was smart and studious when he was young, but due to his poor family, he was sold to Wujiang as a maid since he was a child. In the first year of Chongzhen (1628), Liu Ru was adopted by Xu Fo, a famous prostitute in the south of the Yangtze River, and called himself "Shadow Pity", which means "self-pity in the turbid world".

At the beginning of the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632), Liu Ru was married by his adoptive mother Xu Fo to Zhou, a bachelor who was over the age of six, as a concubine. Zhou University was born as a champion, and often held her on his lap and taught her to read poetry and literature, which made other wives and concubines jealous. But only a few months after the marriage, Zhou died suddenly, because Liu Ru did not give birth to children, and was not allowed by the wife of the family, so he was forced to leave the court, and then took a flower boat in Suzhou and Songjiang to resume the old business of Qinglou.

When he lived in Songjiang, Liu Rushi (at that time, he was still called Yang Yinglian) had a lot of contacts with the scholars of the Fushe Society and the Donglin Party, often wearing Confucian men's clothes, talking with everyone about the current situation, singing poems and songs, so that he was very popular with the Jiangnan literati at that time, as if playing the role of courtesans in later generations. Many young celebrities, including Chen Zilong and Zhang Pu, have been guests under her skirt. Among them, Chen Zilong has the best relationship with her, and he has vague feelings.

After that, Liu Rushi returned to Suzhou, and it was not until not long ago that he changed his name to Liu Yin, and the word was like this, so Chen Zilong did not know it.

(Although Liu Ru was included in the Qin Huai Bayan by later generations, she was actually a famous prostitute in Suzhou, basically in Suzhou and Songjiang.) There is no conclusive evidence to show that before she married Congliang, she went to Nanjing to rob the local flower boats on the Qinhuai River in business. ）

After introducing each other to each other, everyone looked at Liu Ru is bright eyes and bright teeth, outstanding demeanor, and Chen Zilong was handsome and heroic, really like a pair of fairy couples, and couldn't help but admire. After Chen Zilong greeted Liu Ru and recounted the excitement of reuniting after a long absence, he blamed her, as a weak woman, for not rushing out of the city in such a time of chaos, let alone blindly participating in the men's anti-Qing and rescue events.

Unexpectedly, Liu Ru said coquettishly, "...... Waiting for these righteous men and gentlemen, didn't they always talk about family affairs, national affairs, world affairs, and care about everything? Now all the gentlemen are talking freely on the Thousand People Stone to save the life, it is a matter of the safety of the hometown, if it is a woman, can't you care about it? ”

In response to Liu Ruye's rebuttal, Chen Zilong coughed dryly, and was about to say something, but suddenly felt that the ground seemed to shake slightly. I couldn't help but turn around and stand on tiptoe, looking into the distance, as if there was a faint cloud of dust and snow mist, rising in the wilderness at the end of the sight.

The rest of the people gathered in front of the gate of Tiger Hill Mountain also gradually stopped making noise at this time, and they vaguely felt a trace of strangeness in the air.

So someone used both hands and feet, quickly climbed a big tree next to him, put his hands on the pergola and looked into the distance, when even if he trembled violently, almost fell down an upside-down onion, and at the same time let out a heart-rending cry: "...... It's a tartar! The cavalry of the Tartars is coming!! ”

Suddenly, there was silence in front of the mountain gate of Tiger Hill, and everyone was stunned, as if in disbelief.

But in the next moment, everyone reacted and fled in all directions in an uproar. Due to the narrowness of the road, many people trampled on each other, and even a few unlucky people were squeezed into the icy midwinter water, and they could only float and scream for help.

In the midst of such extreme chaos, Chen Zilong first looked at the mountain gate of Tiger Hill and hesitated for a moment, but finally gritted his teeth, shouted "Xiaosheng is rude", and picked up Liu Ruyi's delicate body, and then regardless of her struggle, he pulled his legs and ran away to a canopy boat moored on the river next to him...... Next, Chen Zilong personally snatched an oar, supported the boat offshore with the boatman, and rowed desperately into the distance.

At the same time, on the Qili Shantang Street behind them, the neighing of Tartar war horses and all kinds of terrible wails were already sounding.

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In the first month of the seventh year of Chongzhen, Qian Qianyi and Qu Shiyun, the leaders of Donglin, sent their children to publish famous posts, and in the name of Donglin and Fushe, they invited the Quartet Gentry Conference in Tiger Hill in Suzhou to discuss the preparation of volunteers and the defense of Sangzi. Then he formed a "righteous alliance" and elected Qu Shiyun as the leader of the alliance to preside over military affairs.

However, the Tiger Hill Conference was held for many days before and after, and it could not be kept secret, so the news was leaked before the alliance was held.

At that time, the captive chieftain Huang Taiji drove out of Nanjing, and issued an edict to gather troops at the Zhenjiang ferry, preparing to cross the river to the north and crusade against the Xuzhou traitor Dolgon. Unexpectedly, the army had not yet been gathered, but a spy came to report, saying that someone in Suzhou had gathered to make a rebellion, and the captive chieftain Huang Taiji then ordered to turn around and go east to crusade against the rebellious people in Suzhou first.

At noon on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Huang Taiji personally led thousands of captives and rode to the outskirts of Suzhou. Qian Qianyi, Qu Shiyun and hundreds of Jiangnan scholars gathered at the Thousand People Stone in Tiger Hill, and they couldn't avoid it for a while, and almost all of them were killed, making the corpses of the thousands of people on the stone pillows, and the blood flowed and drifted. Among the people in Tiger Hill and the congregation, there were only a few dozens of people such as Chen Zilong and Xia Yunyi, who were the sons of Songjiang, and when the captives arrived, they got on the river boat in time and escaped along the waterway.

After killing all the Huqiu scholars, the Qing army advanced into Suzhou along Shantang Street. When the prefect of Suzhou and the gentry in the city heard of the change in Tiger Hill, they hurriedly closed the city gate and prepared to hold on. However, there was a shortage of soldiers and generals in the city, and there were no equipment. The Qing army then set up artillery to attack the city, and the defenders fled in a hurry, and the prefect of Suzhou committed suicide by poisoning himself in the yamen hall. At this point, the whole city of Suzhou has fallen, but after the city was broken, the people were still not convinced, and there were righteous men with bows and arrows, taking advantage of the night to sneak attack the chieftain Huang Taiji, shooting his right shoulder. The captive chieftain Huang Taiji was furious and ordered the city to be slaughtered for ten days, rewarding the soldiers and setting an example......

As a result, the Qing army from all walks of life was overjoyed, and they flocked into the city one after another, wantonly killing and plundering, not sealing the knife for ten days, and killing more than 500,000 people before and after. After this catastrophe, Suzhou, a famous city in the south of the Yangtze River known as a paradise, is like hell - those smart and lovely young children like flowers and young boys and girls, kind and kind old fathers and mothers, Confucian scholars, erudite and knowledgeable wise men, hard-working farmers, shrewd and sleek businessmen...... All kinds of people, under the butcher's knife of the Qing army, have become putrid corpses that fill the streets and alleys and silt up the rivers.

According to the survivors' descriptions, by the time the Qing soldiers retreated, the city was already full of babies, or horses' hooves, or human feet, with liver and brains smeared on the ground, and weeping in the wilderness. Walking through a ditch and a pond, piling up corpses and storing them, pillowing hands and feet, blood stained with snow, and the pond is flat. The roads are littered with corpses, rotten skins are bulging, and flesh and blood are collapsing. The filthy smell is pressing, and the sun is exposed to the sun after menstruation, and its gas is getting worse and worse, although it is a harsh winter, it is also fishy...... All kinds of miserable places are really hard to write.

However, just when the prosperous and splendid city of Suzhou was gradually destroyed in blood and fire, His Majesty Huang Taiji, who was the culprit, lived in the luxurious villa of Qian Qianyi, Wenzong in the southeast, and enjoyed the elegant style of the Jiangnan garden......