Chapter 111, when will Jinling song and dance be closed? (b)

Seeing that the host advocate Pu finally arrived, the people who had been waiting for a long time in the painting boat quickly stood up, and before they could speak, Zhang Pu came up directly to the guests and bowed to the guests: "...... You have been waiting for a long time, and the contemptible person is rude. It's just that there are so many scholars who come to the meeting today that it is far beyond expectations, and the contemptible people have to go everywhere to greet one or two. After walking down in a circle, I delayed the hour and neglected you, please forgive me! ”

-- The resumption of the society held a meeting on the Qinhuai River, and the number of members of the resumption of the society alone was as high as several hundred, plus other scholars and eunuchs who came to the meeting, totaling no less than 1,000 people. Not to mention that these scholars generally don't go out alone, they have to bring a small maid and a maid, as well as a sedan chair driver and a coachman...... As a result, a huge flow of people comparable to the star concerts of later generations was formed, which made the organizers a little unexpected.

However, although there has been a tradition of literati gatherings on the Qinhuai River since ancient times, limited to the ancient architectural conditions and business scale, there is no such large auditorium that can accommodate thousands of people to feast and drink together; There is no other Qinglou that can send enough girls to entertain so many customers at once......

Therefore, this time, the Jiangnan scholars who gathered and feasted on the Qinhuai River were actually scattered among the more than 20 river houses scattered according to their close relatives, and as the host of this conference, Zhang Pu, Zhang Dai and other backbones of the Fushe had to come over everywhere, at least in every place to say hello, greet a few words, express their closeness, and maybe drink a few glasses of wine, so that the visitors can live on face...... In addition, the ancients' concept of time was not as good as that of modern people, so it was already very late to walk down in a circle and return to the painting boat where Fang Yizhi was entertained.

Fortunately, Fang Yizhi is also a free and easy person, so he doesn't care about it," ...... Why is Brother Zhang so polite? I am already very pleased to be able to get the hospitality of my friends who have returned to the society this time, so how can I account for such a small section? Alas, this trip to the south is really touching...... The capital of Qiongzhou was indeed stolen by thieves, and it was almost reduced to a state of barbarians, and the two places in Lingnan were also full of dangers......"

While he was so polite, he boasted about what he had seen and heard about his trip south to Qiongzhou. Zhang Pu only smiled and nodded in listening, and at the same time gestured to serve the food. All of a sudden, the maid came and went with the wine and food, and the kitchen master even used his housekeeping skills, such as winter melon cup, Buddha jumping over the wall, meat skin wonton, crab roe lion head, carp stew, roasted tenderloin...... They were all served like water. After most of the dishes were served, Fang Yizhi also said a little dry, Zhang Pu and Zhang Dai raised their wine glasses, and saluted Fang Yizhi and his party to return safely. Then everyone drank and dined without mentioning it.

After the five flavors of the dish and the three rounds of wine, the courtesans of the painting boat finally finished dressing up, and shuttled like colorful butterflies, and blessed all the guests, and began to play and sing, showing their talents - some played the pipa, some played the bamboo flute, some played the long piano, and two delicate little loli prostitutes danced with them, and surrounded one of the plain-clothed people holding a peach blossom fan lightly spit out their red lips and sang a minor tune in Kunshan dialect. Although her Kunshan accent is incomprehensible to all travelers, and I don't know what she is singing, her voice alone is already very good, like a pearl and jade...... So, the singing and dancing inside the boat, the breeze and sunny day outside the boat, everyone chatted while looking at the river scenery on both sides, and it was indeed very enjoyable.

However, although all the disguised travelers feel quite new to this. But for the veterans of the Fengyue field like the Jiangnan scholars, such scenes have long been commonplace, and there are no famous prostitutes today, so they still focus on talking.

“…… Hey, this time flies! Before you know it, more than a year has passed. ”

Holding a cup of warm rice wine in his hand and looking at the plum blossoms inserted in the vase of the painting boat, Fang Yizhi couldn't help but sigh, "...... Thinking about the autumn of the fourth year of Chongzhen, the scene when we and other enthusiastic people responded to Mr. Mu Zhai's call and went south to investigate the adultery of the thief seems to be vivid. When I didn't want to see the scenery of the south of the Yangtze River again, it was already the first month of the sixth year of Chongzhen, and the current situation of my Great Tomorrow Dynasty was already turned upside down......"

“…… The secret virtuous brother is fallacious, and the gentlemen who stayed in the capital have now supported the new Son of Heaven to ascend the throne and promulgated the new year name, so this year is the first year of Yonghe, don't be mistaken! Hearing this, it seemed a little wrong, and Zhang Pu, who was "politically conscious", hurriedly corrected it.

“…… It is exactly, I haven't had time to congratulate Tianrugong on his appearance again and won the post of Guozi Priest Wine! ”

Another scholar, who also came back from Hainan Island, came over with a wine glass and interjected to compliment Zhang Pu, "...... Today, the Jade Rope Gong (Zhou Yanru) serves as the first assistant of the cabinet, and Mu Zhai Gong (Qian Qianyi) serves as the secretary of the Ministry of Rites. Presumably, it will be able to refresh political affairs, educate the people, sweep away the demonic atmosphere of Shenzhou, and return the world to a bright and prosperous world......"

One by one, they all said Zhang Pu's recent proudness, which made this literary giant and leader of the Restoration Society smile and squint his eyes...... It's just that before Zhang Pu happily listened to a few flattering words, Fang Yizhi, a stunned young man, opened his mouth again:

“…… Now that the gentlemen of Donglin have come back and regained the power of the imperial court, it is indeed gratifying. However, today's situation seems to be really worrying! Not to mention that the north is still fighting endlessly, and according to the news that the contemptible people heard along the way, the southern provinces are also full of wars -- Huangshi, the martial artist in Fujian who colluded with thieves and robbers, really rebelled, and the thieves in Qiongzhou seem to be eyeing the two Guangzhou......

Fang Yizhi sighed with embarrassment, "...... I don't know what the princes of the dynasty in Nanjing have for the two thieves? ”

Although Fang Yizhi said very sincerely, for some reason, Zhang Pu's expression suddenly changed unpredictably, which was very weird...... After a long while, he reluctantly smiled, "...... Secretly, the chaos in the land of Fujian and Guangdong, the Imperial Court of Liudu is not unaware, nor has it not considered countermeasures. However, as the saying goes, manpower is poor, and we and other gentlemen must be worthy of our hearts when doing things, but we must also make trade-offs. To put it simply, everything must pay attention to a high and near priority. Now the anti-thieves in Jiangbei are strong, and they are only separated by a river from Liudu. Lu Shangshu (Lu Weiqi, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department) is leading the soldiers and horses of Nanzhili to supervise Yangzhou, and these demons of the Smelling Fragrance Sect are fighting for days, and the battle is deadlocked...... Before defeating the thieves of Huaiyang, the imperial court really had no time to take care of him......"

“…… That's right...... That's right, after all, it's more important to stay in the capital, and those distant wars can only be dealt with later......"

Not long after he came to Nanjing, Fang Yizhi, who didn't know the roots of this small court, thought about it, and nodded yes. And Yu Guozhen, who knew some details, secretly snickered - where did the small court in Nanjing not care about the war in Fujian and Guangdong, but did not know and could not manage it at all!

Because, today's Huguang, Liangguang, Jiangxi and other places have not yet recognized Emperor Yonghe in Nanjing, and they don't even send official documents to Nanjing!

Then, the only few field troops in the small court of Nanjing were now basically crucified in Yangzhou, Jiangbei, fighting endlessly with the Wenxiangjiao rebel army, which claimed to be hundreds of thousands. In Jinling City today, I am afraid that there are not even 10,000 soldiers who can fight, where is it possible to launch a foreign conquest?

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It is also ridiculous to say that although the Donglin Party now thinks that it has succeeded in supporting the new emperor in Nanjing, they are boasting, celebrating and jubilating one by one, as if they have once again dominated the world. But in fact, the actual territory and military strength of this small court in Nanjing are all pitifully poor!

-- Of the two capitals and thirteen political divisions under the Great Tomorrow, only the two provinces of Nanzhili and Zhejiang can be regarded as supporters of the Yonghe Emperor's regime in Nanjing. Among them, most of the southern Zhili in the north of the river is still the world of the demon sect and the northwest liukou. Among the remaining provinces, with the exception of Beizhili, which had fallen to the Tatars, and Shanxi and western Henan, which were controlled by Emperor Chongzhen, were basically in a wait-and-see state - noncommittal about the battle between the two Ming emperors, and responded passively, only hoping that the winner would be decided as soon as possible.

As for the Zhu Ming royal family in the world, they are even more one-sidedly applauded the "Yonghe Emperor" in Nanjing--there is no way, Zhu Yihai, the second son of King Lu who was nominated by the small court of Nanjing, is the new emperor's candidate, no matter from that point of view, it is really too unreasonable, and it is simply unjustifiable to the extent that it cannot be added! The Zhu family clan all over the world is full of complaints about this: Zhu Yihai, you bastard is also worthy of being the emperor?!!

-- Indeed, when the "Son of Heaven lost his country," it was not uncommon in ancient Chinese history for the clan, nobles, and important ministers to depose him on charges of "immorality and incompetence." But the problem is that the next successor candidates can't be found casually, but either have great merit or outstanding fame, or so? If you have a heavy army in your hand and can overwhelm people, you have to line them down one by one in the order of feudal etiquette......

It is a pity that with the practice of the Ming Dynasty raising vassal kings in captivity like pigs to prevent rebellion, the vassal kings everywhere will not have any merits worthy of praise. In the same way, after the rebellion of King Ning in the Zhengde period, the Ming Dynasty vassal kings, who were more and more wary of the imperial court, could not control many soldiers and horses.

And if according to the feudal etiquette, if the son of Emperor Chongzhen is not considered, then the closest blood relationship is King Fu of Luoyang - King Fu is the son of Emperor Wanli, the uncle of Emperor Chongzhen and Emperor Tianqi, Emperor Wanli had intended to depose the crown prince (Emperor Taichang) and let this younger son inherit the throne...... It seems that he is a good candidate to be the new emperor.

But the problem is that in the battle for the establishment of the prince in the past, the Donglin Party in the early days of its birth stood clearly on the opposite side of King Fu. In order to thwart King Fu's attempt to inherit the throne, the early group of Donglin gentlemen really did everything, and the palace transfer case and the attack case were all products of that era. The Donglin Party was proud of this, and also praised itself as a great achievement for eternity...... Therefore, if the current Donglin Party wants to invite King Fu back in spite of the old grudges in order to depose Emperor Chongzhen, who has recently begun to separate from him, wouldn't it be a slap in the face? Where to put face?

Besides, even if the Donglin Party is willing to lose face and turn enemies into friends, His Royal Highness King Nafu may still remember the deep hatred of the past and refuse to let go!

Moreover, King Fu is also a person who almost became an emperor no matter how he says, and his influence and power are not comparable to ordinary vassal kings. If the Donglin Party really doesn't care about putting him on the throne, who knows if after he gets a firm foothold, will he immediately turn his face and settle black accounts with the Donglin Party?

In addition to King Fu, there are several vassal kings who are relatively close to Emperor Chongzhen's blood relationship, but they are all scattered all over the country, and with the traffic conditions at the end of the Ming Dynasty, there is no time to contact them for a while. There is only one Zhu Yihai, the second son of King Lu, because the palace was broken by the Wenxiangjiao rebels, and his father and brother died in the war, he fled to the south by sea ship and took refuge, and happened to live in Nanjing...... So it was like a treasure by some radicals of the Donglin Party, and after some flickering, hooking up and conspiracy, he put His Royal Highness Zhu Yihai on the throne of Danqi in the Forbidden City of Nanjing......

Although the status of His Royal Highness Zhu Yihai is a little worse, and the blood relationship with Emperor Chongzhen is too far, it is really unjustifiable for him to be the emperor...... However, in the eyes of the self-confident Donglin Party members, there is nothing wrong with the unstable status of this new monarch, and it will be easier to handle it in the future.

Outcome...... Because of the unjustifiable name, Zhu Yihai, the "Emperor Yonghe", is indeed very easy to handle, and after being fooled by the gentlemen of Donglin into ascending to the throne, he basically became a puppet, unable to grasp half of the real power, and did not dare to have any of his own ideas. But the problem is that it is also because of the unjustifiable name, the local people do not agree with this new monarch, and the royal family is even more uproaring, feeling that he is really not qualified to be the emperor - first of all, the status is too low, and the blood of the royal family is too estranged, this goods and Emperor Chongzhen have already been out of ten suits......

-- The orthodox emperor is still alive, all the royal family and clan relatives are not convinced, and there are not many elite soldiers and good generals who can suppress the battle, and there is not enough prestige to win the hearts and minds of the people...... If such a nameless throne can still sit firmly, it will be called a strange thing!

In fact, even the local government of Nanzhili felt very weak about such a rebellious thing as deposing the emperor. In Yu Guozhen's opinion, if Emperor Chongzhen could make a decision immediately after getting the news and lead a small number of elite troops to Nanjing, then the officials of the prefectures and counties along the way would not dare to raise their swords and guns against the emperor at all, and would only look at the wind and bow down. Even the city of Nanjing, in front of the emperor of the Son of Heaven, is also very likely to open the city bloodlessly, change the flag, and surrender -- those nobles who led troops in Nanjing may not all recognize this "Emperor of Yonghe" Zhu Yihai.

But unfortunately, it seems that due to the asymmetry of information, or it may be due to the huge prestige of the Donglin Party in the past, the Chongzhen Emperor in exile in the northwest seems to have seriously overestimated the strength of the small court in Nanjing, and did not choose to cut through the chaos quickly, but was busy recruiting soldiers and horses, stabilizing the rear, and preparing for the ...... As a result, the small Nanjing court with an unstable foundation was given a buffer time, and the situation of confrontation between the two emperors appeared in the world.

However, under such a crisis-ridden and crumbling situation, the Donglin Party, which had mastered the Nanjing Imperial Court, looked very good about itself, writing poems and gathering all day long, feasting, drinking, singing and dancing, as if it was not in the flames of troubled times, but that the world was already peaceful......

――The lights on Qinhuai in the past ten miles are red and green, and the silk and bamboo are singing and dancing, I am afraid that it will be delayed until the soldiers are in the city, so that they can take a break for the time being, right?!

Looking at the Jiangnan celebrities such as Zhang Pu, Zhang Dai, and Fang Yizhi who were talking loudly and empty words in the painting boat, as well as the scholars and scholars who were pushing the cup for the wine order, Yu Guozhen lowered his head again and sighed, and poured a small glass of rice wine into his throat.

In any case, the future fate of these dead professionals has nothing to do with him as a traverser......