On the fifth day of the sixth month, at noon.

Near the Liujiagang wharf, the hook fence of the old place.

It was another day of leisure time for literati to gather and discuss political opinions while listening to music.

The old faces of Shen Shuren, Zhang Huangyan, and Gu Yanwu upstairs are the same, but the talents downstairs have changed wave after wave.

Most of the talents who came to Taicang just passed by and waited for the boat to go to Nanjing to catch the exam, and they set off when they had enough people.

Zhang Huang said that Gu Yanwu was supposed to set off, but because he had a good conversation with Shen Shuren, he was stranded. Anyway, when I arrived in Nanjing in advance, I also had a cultural meeting with others every day, and there was no difference.

In the past few days, Shen Shuren has been thinking about things, looking for cases that can be used for the bureau.

But he also knows that it is useless to think behind closed doors in creative work, that is, to talk to people more and understand the market. And Goolan Washer is the place with the most gossip and market news.

On the other hand, taking advantage of the fact that he was not so nervous these days, he also had time to plan "After Yang Sichang's affairs are done, he should ask Yang Ge Lao what benefits he wants, how to enter the career and climb quickly, and make arrangements for the anti-Qing Dynasty".

And several chats with Gu Yanwu also deeply inspired Shen Shuren, making him very rewarding, and gradually adjusting his goals. I have a goal in mind for what I should ask for or buy in the future.

For example, in the first few days after crossing over, Shen Shuren hesitated to ask a question: Do you want to save Chongzhen? In the future, do you want to go to the northern front line as an official and go all out to stop Li Zicheng?

Although Shen Shuren knew that Chongzhen was a pit and would kill ministers indiscriminately, the more critical the moment, the ministers were powerless to return to the sky, and whoever jumped out to do things was more likely to be in danger of his life.

But as a Han Chinese, Shen Shuren obviously didn't want the Qing soldiers to be put into the pass.

Because he knew that once the Qing soldiers entered the customs, the impact would not only be as simple as the suffering of the northern compatriots. It will lead to the collapse of people's hearts.

Many Han Chinese will have a collapse of their will to resist on a spiritual level. will feel that "the north can't hold it, why can the south hold it, and the Southern Song Dynasty will also die."

Those who follow the trend of the wall grass will even think that "there are very few successful examples of reunification from the south to the north throughout the ages, so it is better to vote for it."

War and the change of dynasty are never games. Playing games can easily control the "morale value", but real politics and people's beliefs are very difficult to operate.

Therefore, professionals like Shen Shuren are very cautious about whether to give up Chongzhen in the future.

It depends on the extent to which he can solve the problem of the Han people's will to resist in the next few years and ensure that the people's hearts are not scattered, and then he can make decisions based on facts.

And after getting to know Gu Yanwu, after a few days of discussion, Shen Shuren soon saw a possibility:

In front of him, however, he was the most powerful ideological theorist in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, who invented the theory that "those who die in the country, those who eat meat, and those who die in the world, are responsible".

It's a pity that Gu Yanwu's theory in history came a little late, and it was put forward before the fall of the main territory of the Ming Dynasty, and the people's will to resist had already dispersed.

However, now that Gu Yanwu has known himself in advance, is it possible to point it out and ask him to work in this direction, summarize this set of ideological weapons to encourage the people's will to resist, and further optimize and improve it?

If it can be done, it will be able to offset some of the impact of Beijing's fall on people's hearts.

Therefore, if you can't save Chongzhen, you can't just pat your head, you have to arrange the corresponding options first.

Practice is the only criterion for testing truth.

The major affairs of the country and the way of survival cannot tolerate half subjective likes and dislikes.

Now, this question has gradually been figured out, and Shen Shuren has a clearer understanding of the route after buying or asking for an official in the future:

This mess in the north, I don't have the strength to go high for the time being. In the next few years, let's see if we can help Yang Sichang to contain the thieves of Zhang Xianzhong's family, especially those soft persimmons who are on the periphery, coerced by Zhang Xianzhong, and are not firm in their reactions.

First, this can prevent the rear base area of the anti-Qing resistance in the future from being destroyed too badly by Zhang Xianzhong.

After all, when the Southern Ming Dynasty was first established in history, it was said that it owned half of the southern country, but in fact, what the imperial court could control was Jianghuai, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi, which was equivalent to four provinces. And Huguang and Sichuan have been completely ruined by Zhang Xianzhong's system.

To put it bluntly, in the land of "Yi, Jing, and Yang" in the south, the only thing that the Southern Ming Dynasty could use was "Yang", and Jing and Yi were all thieves.

In the future, if he can prevent Huguang and Sichuan from being seriously damaged, unite the people's hearts according to the Yangtze River, and raise the banner of fighting against the "death of the world", the situation will be very different.

Moreover, if you take the route of suppressing thieves and officials, as long as the initial jurisdiction is well chosen, choose a place that is inconvenient to communicate with the center of the imperial court and is blocked by other thieves and enemy occupied areas to be officials.

At the same time, control the attitude and rhythm of the court, and do not leave behind obvious truths. Then it is completely possible to bury oneself in farming, building base areas, cracking down on thieves, and expanding the territory.

In this way, not only has the righteous reputation of the Ming banner, but also has the real benefits of completely controlling the place, and the name and the real income are both reaped, isn't it beautiful?

……

In the current political discussion with Zhang Huangyan and Gu Yanwu, after secretly thinking about this major issue of right and wrong, Shen Shuren was about to find Yang Sichang to ask for an official.

And the problem went around and around, and it went back to how to complete the important task of Yang Ge Lao as soon as possible, and then come to the door to ask for credit.

However, after the end of the Golan Literary Meeting on this day, Zhang Huangyan and Gu Yanwu's joking words suddenly woke up Shen Shuren.

It turned out that these guys were tired of holding a meeting in this Shen family's self-operated Goolan meeting, and Zhang Huangyan began to ridicule:

"Cousin, your family has such a lot of money, and if you go back to hold a church here, you won't change places."

Gu Yanwu also agreed with Zhang Huangyan's words in his heart, but he was originally a white drifter, so he helped Shen Shuren play a round:

"Why bother with Brother Cangshui, let's talk about current affairs, there are 'Hongru' and other 'Hongru' here, although it is a humble room, but it is also Dexin, and it doesn't matter if the sister who sings the song. After all, this is the property of the Shuren Virtuous Brother's own family, so it's just convenient. ”

Zhang Huangyan knew that Shen Shu's family background, so he explained with a smile: "Brother Tinglin doesn't have to help him save money, he is the husband of the golden house and the husband who picks and searches." If you really want to invite us to listen to another music, where does it cost extra?

Don't you know, I heard my uncle say that he has a sister in Kunshan Lixiang Courtyard since the beginning of the year, three hundred taels a month, whether he sings or not.

That time, he was carried back by his family after suffering from heat stroke, and I heard that it was in Lixiangyuan, and he wanted to ask the old bustard for favors, postpone the sister's combing cage, and give him some time to make up money to redeem himself. ”

Speaking of this, Zhang Huangyan also turned to his cousin with a narrow face, and said: "To be honest, do you have the idea of 'not holding a meeting for nothing, and not letting the beautiful woman show up again'?"

Cousin, it's not me who said, you really have to listen to your uncle about this, you can't be too attentive to those sisters, you will have to buy an official to marry everyone's ladies in the future. Whether it's these oirans or the top cards, even if you have the money to redeem yourself, they must at least be concubines, right? Who wants to be a maid without a name? ”

Gu Yanwu listened to this gossip, and some curiosity was also aroused, but that's all.

It was Shen Shuren himself who was suddenly reminded a little embarrassed.

Where is he reluctant to let a woman show up, he has forgotten about it at all since he crossed over.

is so busy with business, he can't even worry about it, where is the time to think about women.

At this moment, he was reminded by his cousin, and he remembered that his maid Qingzhi seemed to have mentioned to him that he had a singing song in Kunshan Lixiang Courtyard. The original owner of the flesh before he crossed over seemed to be so fascinated by the girl that he had to redeem her as a concubine and make trouble with his family.

Shen Shuren's mind turned, and he dealt with fox friends and dogs: "What's the big deal about singing a song occasionally, don't I think it's far away in Kunshan, and I have to go far away, just to listen to a song, I'm afraid you will be tired......"

Zhang Huangyan heard this, and couldn't help laughing: "What's the fatigue, but it's just a neighboring county, it's half a day to take a boat to Liuhe, Brother Gu is from Kunshan, and it's just a trip back to his hometown for him." ”

Gu Yanwu didn't look too eager, but he also said: "If a few virtuous brothers go to Kunshan, the foolish brothers will naturally do their best to be a landlord and live in my house." ”

Between the words, Shen Shuren had already figured out the plan: in these days in Taicang, he didn't find a case of "grabbing a maidservant/industry and registering the time difference" to start, and that was also because the entertainment industry in Taicang was not developed enough.

In this case, going to Kunshan for a walk may have a miraculous effect. And since I also have a sister with a lot of status in the circle, maybe I can get some industry insider information from that channel.

For example, "Are there any beautiful and good girls who are worth a lot of money in the near future, and they are already struggling on the verge of being sold because of the decline of their family background", but if you can inquire about one or two such cases, and pick a suitable time schedule, isn't it all right?

Of course, buying a woman is secondary to him, he just wants to commit a crime and make trouble to the Nanjing Criminal Department.

Moreover, buying a woman to cause trouble is an additional advantage than buying a land estate to cause trouble, that is, it is more in line with his evil character, and it is less likely to be suspected by the Zheng family when he runs on the Zheng family in the future.

The woman who bought it back does not have to destroy others and forcibly accept her as a maid, and she can also act at the opportunity. If they are not beautiful enough, they will be sent to take care of their stepmothers, aunts or sisters.

Kunshan is the entertainment center of Daming, and there are Yangzhou thin horses that are sold every day, and they can always find cases to touch porcelain.

After thinking about everything, Shen Shuren made an appointment, and in a few days he would be in Kunshan, and invite everyone to listen to music and discuss politics together.

After the appointment, the day's meeting was dismissed.

……

After returning to the house, Shen Shuren immediately instructed Qingzhi to prepare his suit, he was going out for a trip, and he rushed to Kunshan in the afternoon.

also asked Shen Fu, who was in charge of outside affairs, to prepare the car.

When Qingzhi heard the word "Kunshan", her heart couldn't help but feel sour for a few seconds, but she still held back, and said quietly: "But do you think your body is already well?" Can't help but meet Miss Chen? ”

She is a maid in the room, so she naturally knows which women the young master has taken a fancy to outside before, and if she gets it back, she will definitely be more favored than her.

In order to keep it secret, Shen Shuren didn't bother to explain, anyway, she was a maid in the inner house, and she wouldn't communicate with outsiders, so there was no need to say more: "I have other serious matters, don't worry about it." As long as you follow me well and be careful, I won't treat you badly in the future. ”

After all, Qingzhi has a humble status and is not qualified to be jealous, so she silently prepared everything, and just asked carefully:

"Young master, since you suffered from heat stroke, your whole person has changed a lot. I know you've forgotten a lot of things, but you won't forget that Miss Chen, right? Do you need me to help you remember? ”

Shen Shuren's heart was shocked, he really forgot, after all, when he took the house, the more recent the memory, the more missing. However, he knew that Qingzhi was jealous, even if he said that he had forgotten, Qingzhi might not believe it, but would cause more trouble.

He hesitated for a few seconds, not speaking, but his eyes showed that he was lost in thought.

Qing Zhi knew him very well, stared at his expression, and already saw the flaws, and couldn't help but feel warm in her heart:

"I didn't expect you to really forget that Miss Chen, it seems that this time there is really something serious. Don't worry, I won't make a mistake, I will never say this to the public. Let me tell you the identity and origin of Miss Chen first......"

Qingzhi was in a good mood, realizing that the owner had forgotten the fox spirit outside, could she be in a bad mood. So she also helped Shen Shuren reminisce in a very stylish manner.

That Miss Chen is the top brand of Kunshan Lixiang Courtyard, and she is also a very famous existence in the Kunqu Opera circle today, named Chen Yuan, she sang a fold of "The Legend of the West Chamber", which is unique in the Kunqu opera industry.

Chen Yuan just turned fifteen half a year ago, and her adoptive mother Chen planned to let Suzhou wealthy celebrities compete to bid for the cage. At that time, Shen Shuren's predecessor wanted to redeem himself to stop it, so the Chen family offered a high price of 10,000 taels.

It's a pity that the Shen family obstructed and didn't let Shen Shuren take the pear garden girl as a concubine, and he got his silver, so this matter was stopped. However, Shen Shuren also relied on the little pocket money he had on hand, and first sang songs at a price of three hundred taels per month - he could only listen to music and couldn't sleep.

In exchange for Chen's postponement of Chen Yuan's combing cage and giving him time to make up the silver, one package was wrapped for several months, and one or two thousand taels were spent.

Hearing Qing Zhi talk about the ridiculous things that this body originally did, Shen Shuren also shook his head secretly, he didn't even go to bed, he spent so much money for a woman, and he was really willing to pay for it.

Qingzhi was so cooperative to help him provide information, and Shen Shuren was not a negative man, so he whispered to the maid in private: "Don't worry, I won't buy her back when I go to Kunshan this time, and I will buy it separately." I just asked her for some news. ”

If Chen Yuan can't inquire there, he will ask the old bustard again, and he will always be able to inquire.

After the lunch break, everything was ready to stop, and Shen Shuren drove along the Liuhe River and went straight to Kunshan.

It is only more than 30 miles from Taicang to Kunshan, and the carriage arrives in more than an hour. When I found the location of Lixiangyuan, it was only in the evening, and I was in time to find my sister to accompany me for dinner.

Shen Shuren shook the folding fan into the door, and immediately felt a feeling of being at home than in the hook bar he ran before.

The sisters of Lixiangyuan seem to know him all, and they also know that he is a big financier with a lot of money, and there are millions of taels in the family, and each of them comes up to please him.

Occasionally, a few people with ordinary looks who couldn't squeeze in to please him broke the jar and dismantled the stage: "Shen Gongzi came all the way to cheer, he must have come to find Sister Yuanyuan, let's have a little look, don't get in the way of Shen Gongzi's business."

Shen Gongzi, we will show you the way, you haven't been here for more than half a month, Sister Yuanyuan is worried about you, that day you fainted from heat stroke and were carried back, and the sisters were all moved. ”

"It's rare that you are so rich and wealthy, and you are so attentive to our sisters here."

"Yes, yes, and I haven't seen you for half a month, Shen Gongzi, you are a lot more handsome, I'm afraid you have lost more than ten pounds."

A group of sisters were chattering and pulling, hugging and leading Shen Shuren upstairs.

What they said was not entirely flattering, the original Shen Shuren body was indeed tall and fat, after all, it was a wealthy family with good nutrition, and he didn't exercise much.

However, after waking up from heat stroke, Shen Shuren was very self-disciplined, exercising every day, and the consumption during the coma was hungry and thin, and he did lose more than ten pounds, and he looked more handsome than before.

If it is said that Shen Shuren at the beginning was just relying on millions of properties to make women sought after, now that he has become a little handsome, those who are sought after are already a little sincere.

Shen Shuren didn't have time to think about this, he only felt a little dizzy from being squeezed, and subconsciously pushed those women away, while his heart was pondering their words, trying to extract more useful information, so as not to reveal flaws for a while.

Especially when he heard the name of the first card, he was slightly shocked and alert: "They called Chen Yuan 'Sister Yuanyuan', that is Chen Yuanyuan?"

Damn, I actually want to discuss with Chen Yuanyuan, 'Have you heard that any friends and sisters are about to be sold, and I am going to cut off the beard', this is too magical." ”