national surname chiming

Chapter 230 One wave has not settled down, another wave has arisen

Thinking of Yang Sichang's death not long ago, and Changde Mansion being damaged beyond repair, Shen Shuren couldn't help but sigh, and told Gu Yanwu:
"The massacre here in Changde is so tragic, the work of rehabilitating the people is definitely not easy. You can't deal with it well, quickly help me repair a book, send it to Changsha, and let Fang Futai allocate manpower and energy to take over Changde's side. business."

"Don't worry, Dong Weng, the students will take care of this trivial matter." Gu Yanwu took the order, and immediately went to repair the book, which was sent out on the same day.

And Shen Shuren felt that there was nothing he could do to stay in Changde Mansion, so he decided to go further north.

So before Gu Yanwu's letter was delivered, he ordered the messenger not to return to Changde when he got the reply, but to send it directly to Baling in Yuezhou Prefecture.

After finishing the order, Shen Shuren led the main force of his lineage to set off again early the next morning. It took two days to march across Dongting Lake, first came to Baling at the mouth of the lake, and rested here for another two days.

Because Shen Shuren will definitely pass through Baling when he returns to Wuchang, and Fang Kongzhang will also pass through here if he wants to return to Jiangling.This can be regarded as a transportation hub, and there is no wrong way for both sides to wait for news here.

However, Shen Shuren arrived in Baling and rested here for a day, but he didn't wait for Fang Kongxuan's reply.Instead, it was a lot of sudden new changes that caught him off guard.

As mentioned earlier, it was a few days before the Mid-Autumn Festival that Shen Shuren initially drove out the rioters and restored order in Changde.So when he arrived in Baling, it was already the fourteenth day of the eighth month.

As a result, the next day, the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Shen Shuren originally thought that the festival was rare. He was in the army and was wandering outside, so he wanted to go to the Yueyang Tower in Chenglingji to enjoy the moon and feel his feelings.

But early in the morning, what was waiting was a group of prison cars from Linxiang County in the south, and a messenger sent by Gu Yanwu to deliver the letter along with the prison cars.

The messenger moved faster than the convoy of prisoners, and rushed into the city to inform Gu Yanwu. After Gu Yanwu learned about it, he hurriedly retrieved Shen Shuren:

"Dong Weng, don't go wandering around. Your Majesty ordered to investigate Zhang Xianzhong's crimes against Huguang's local governor. Fang Futai was captured by a prison car from the capital and held accountable!
The decree arrived in Changsha five days ago, and then escorted Fang Fu to Taipei, and happened to pass by Baling today!When we were in Changde, we had so many things to know, and we neglected to inquire about them, so we didn’t know them in advance! "

When Shen Shuren heard this, he was quite surprised, but soon calmed down, and quickly gave up going to the Yueyang Tower to visit the mountains and water, and went straight back to the city.

The person who escorted Fang Kongxuan was Jin Yiwei, and it is not surprising to count the days - Zhang Xianzhong once again disturbed the southern part of Huguang, and it was in the middle of June that it was completely out of control. The first vassal king was killed, basically at that time .

However, perhaps when Changde was lost, Chongzhen could still turn a blind eye, so as not to directly punish the governor severely.But when even Changsha is lost, and two vassal kings have died in a row, things must be dealt with.

Now, it has only been forty days since Changsha fell. It took ten days for the capital to receive information, understand the situation, and another ten days to discuss accountability. It took more than half a month to send people south to preach and lock them up. Back to Baling, counting the days is normal.

The return journey will only be slower than the time of arrival, because the prisoners will certainly not be able to travel hundreds of miles a day like the Jinyiwei cavalry, and it is very good if the prison car can travel more than 100 miles a day.

In addition, the roads in the Central Plains are not stable, and it may be necessary to go east and detour around the Grand Canal.Fang Kongxuan was locked up this time, and it is estimated that he will be able to arrive in Beijing in early September, which will be very good.

In fact, in history, Fang Kongzhang was accused of crimes by Chongzhen because of his disadvantage in fighting Zhang Xianzhong, his incompetence in defending the land, and his continuous loss of land.Later, relying on his son Fang Yizhi to find a way to redress his grievances, he was only dismissed from office, and he was not exiled or imprisoned.In the end, Chongzhen wanted to use him again because of the corruption in various places at the end of 16th, and the lack of governors and guards.

Therefore, Shen Shuren was not too surprised by asking the crime to go through the motions.With so many vassal kings in Huguang dead, it is inevitable to suffer for a while.

No matter who made it impossible for Shen Shuren to defeat Zhang Xianzhong immediately, every captured prefecture would take months of fierce fighting before it could be taken back.

And the collection was so slow, if Chongzhen didn't rub the sand in his eyes, he must be punishing the governor.

After being mentally prepared, Shen Shuren also immediately handed over a post, asking the escort Jin Yiwei to save face, so that he could catch up with Fang Kongxuan.

The treatment Fang Kongxue was escorted to was not bad. Although he got into the prison car, his clothes were still clean, and he didn't need to wear shackles. He just sat in the prison car.

There is also a mat of torn cotton cloth inside. Although the cotton cloth is torn, it does not look dirty, and it should be cleaned every few days.

Jin Yiwei, who was in custody, didn't dare to offend him too much, he seemed to know that he was only being sent to Beijing for questioning, maybe it was just dismissal, so he didn't want to make a vengeance.

And when Shen Shuren came to clear the joints, the Jinyiwei Qianhu who was in charge of the escort became even more humble. They also knew that Shen Shuren had just made a great contribution and cleaned up the mess.

The thousand households said respectfully: "Shen Futai is free, as long as it doesn't procrastinate for a long time. Low ranks are also ordered by the emperor, so it has to be done.

When I left Beijing on July [-], the middle of Beijing didn't know that Changsha had been recovered, let alone that Zhang Xianzhong's main force had been wiped out in Hengzhou, and Hengzhou had also been recovered.Therefore, the court officials and censors all stared at the need to win a governor first to appease the crime.

I heard that when Shen Futai regained Hengzhou, he also captured the criminal generals who surrendered without a fight?After these criminals are sent to the capital, there must be another conclusion about the fall of Huguang, so please don't worry about Shen Futai.You must have been promoted even more. "

Shen Shuren didn't expect these people to give face so much. It may be that in the autumn of the 15th year of Chongzhen, the governor of the imperial court who had a heavy hand in the opponent had to be more polite.

That being the case, Shen Shuren was also a person who stretched out his hand without smiling, and directly greeted Shen Fu, the housekeeper beside him, and took out a few calligraphy and painting antiques that were robbed by Zhang Xianzhong from the Prince Ji's mansion and then seized by him, and gave them to Jinyi Qianhu and other important Escort officers.

These people who come out of the capital, even military officers, are more knowledgeable, and they will be very happy when they get calligraphy and paintings.I know that I can easily turn into cash and silver when I return to the capital, so I thank you for accepting it.

If it is a country bumpkin from other places, who would accept calligraphy and paintings in such a time of war and chaos, and there is no way to sell them if they are collected.

After taking advantage of Shen Shuren, they also drove Fang Kongzhang's prison car away, allowing Shen Shuren to invite him to drink to calm the panic.

Fang Kongxuan sat curled up in the prison van for a few days, but there was nothing wrong with him, except that his knees couldn't straighten up, and his legs and feet were also numb.Seeing Shen Shuren, he smiled wryly:
"I didn't expect to see my nephew again, it would be like this. After going this time, even if I can get rid of the crime in the end, I'm afraid it will take a few months of hardship. The old man is not afraid of suffering, but I am afraid that my family will worry. My nephew But send a letter to my family, urging them to come to Wuchang as soon as possible.

Now our family relies on Zhier to be the magistrate in Wuchang, and the young and old all want him to protect and take care of us.My nephew's shogunate is also in Wuchang, and I have been helping to take care of him for a few months, so I won't say anything about it. "

Shen Shuren poured him a cup of medicinal wine for invigorating blood, and said in a big way: "Uncle Shi, don't worry, everyone in the world knows that the fault of Xiangnan is the fault of Yin Xianmin He Yide. When these cartilages are eaten, Uncle Shi will naturally let him go." from.

In fact, when my nephew left Hengzhou to go north ten days ago, Yin Xianmin He Yide had already been escorted into the prison car, and my nephew sent troops to escort him to the capital.When they passed by Changsha, they probably started two or three days earlier than you. The capital just didn't know the news.

When Uncle Shi arrived in the capital, Yin Xianmin might have arrived first for trial, so he won't suffer for long, as long as the truth comes out.Today's Mid-Autumn Festival, my nephew also passed Chen Qianhu, and you will continue your journey tomorrow morning.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, the prison car will be released, and Uncle Shi will have a good night's sleep in the post house, and drink some wine to invigorate the blood.Even if you want to go to Yueyang Tower to enjoy the moon, it's not impossible to feel depressed. My nephew has already managed a few hundred taels of silver to get rid of the relationship. "

Fang Kongzheng was further relieved after hearing Shen Shuren's explanation clearly.Under an emperor like Chongzhen, companions are like companions to tigers, who hasn't had their ups and downs, and sitting in prison for a few months is not unbearable.

He suffocated the medicinal wine in one gulp, and felt warm after a while.In the past few days, the joints that have been curled up and disobedient have also activated blood to remove blood stasis.

He rubbed his knees and elbows, stood up and stretched his hands and feet, raised his head and sighed for a while, intending to say a few more words of care, especially about his family.

But when he thought of being convicted, he seemed too unmotivated to further friendship with Shen Shuren, and because of this, his daughter might not be able to hold her head up for the rest of her life and be looked down upon by others, so she endured it.

He also knew in his heart that he had already been convicted, and he had to rely on his friends to get rid of the crime.At this time, if he proposed marriage with the Shen family, it would put the Shen family on the back of the suspicion of "secret alliance with the officials of the frontier". At that time, the Shen family would want to avoid the suspicion, and there was nothing they could do to help him.

So he also wisely shut up, let everything take its course, and wait for him to get rid of the crime before thinking about it in the long run.

……

With Shen Shuren covering him, Fang Kongzhang did not suffer any hardships during his subsequent boat trip along the Yangtze River for the next few days.

In the early morning of August [-]th, everyone set off again. After two days of going down the river, after nightfall on the [-]th, they had already arrived at Wuchang Mansion, [-] miles away.

Chen Qianhu, who was in custody, benefited from Shen Shuren, so he naturally agreed to stay in Wuchang for another day, giving Fang Kongzhang one day to explain something to his son Fang Yizhi.

As for the Fang family, they had already heard the news of Fang Kongzhang's accident. His wife Wu Lingyi, daughter Fang Ziling, and other concubines and concubines all rushed over.

On the one hand, they had to meet the head of the family before being sent to Beijing, and on the other hand, they had to rely on Fang Yizhi to protect them for a living, so the whole family must move to Wuchang.

Seeing Fang Kongxue wearing a white cotton prison uniform, a group of long-haired but short-sighted female relatives, of course most of them were crying, only a few who read a lot and knew the severity could barely control their emotions.

Fang Yizhi, the prefect of Wuchang, of course had to go out of the city more than ten miles to meet him at the pier in person. This is filial piety.

In a feudal society, no matter whether the father committed a crime or not, even if he is already a sinner, the son must still respect him. Even if Fang Yizhi chooses to temporarily abandon his official position and go to seek justice for his father, he can win the approval of public opinion.

Seeing his mother, aunt and younger sister crying with his father, Fang Yizhi could only thank Shen Shuren relatively calmly, and discuss countermeasures together without a trace:
"Brother Shen, this matter depends a lot on you. If you hadn't injured Zhang Xianzhong so quickly, restored Xiang Nanshu Mansion, and wiped out his main force, this matter would have become even bigger. We can't thank you now, If I have had a close personal relationship with you, but give the truth instead, I should report it later, I will not thank you for your kindness."

His mother, Wu Lingyi, was in a state of confusion when she was concerned. Seeing how polite her son was talking to his friend and boss of the same age, she hurried over and wanted to kneel down to Shen Shuren. The Fang family must repay at all costs", and even said that they wanted to send their daughter to Shen Shuren for marriage or even as a concubine.

Fortunately, Fang Ziling was still calm, and quickly grabbed his mother from behind, blocking her words: "Mother! Don't make mistakes. Both father and elder brother are well versed in the court's laws, and their actions are naturally reasonable. If we are with you now Brother Shen is making friends, that is harming others and yourself!"

Wu Lingyi was woken up by her daughter pouring cold water on her head, and realized that she was confused, so she quickly shut up. A group of concubines of Fang Kongxuan next to her were persuaded by the second lady when they saw their wife, so naturally they didn't dare to make mistakes.

"Let's reminisce about the old days and be filial for a day. We will leave tomorrow, don't worry, nothing will happen." Shen Shuren also comforted the female family members of the Fang family, and gave Fang Ziling an approving look. He can see that the other party still has vision and general knowledge.

After appeasing Fang's family, a group of female relatives went to rest by themselves.

Fang Yizhi took out a roll of official documents, shook his head and sighed and confessed to Shen Shuren: "Brother Shen, while you are in Changsha and Changde, the situation in the north has changed again. On Yang Ge's old Zuo Liangyu's side, Li Zicheng... oh , It's hard to say.

Listen to what you said just now, Zhang Xianzhong slaughtered all the people surnamed Yang in Changde Mansion?If this news reaches Mr. Ge's ears, I'm afraid Mr. Ge won't live for more than a month or two. "

Shen Shuren heard that he was also one of the first two. He has been on the march recently and has no fixed place to live. It is really easy to miss the military information and residence reports sent from the north, so the news is not well informed, and the delay is ten or eight days. normal.

Shen Shuren said uneasily: "What big event can happen on the Henan battlefield? Kaifeng City shouldn't be captured so quickly, right? Before I went south, I had planned and deduced it with Mr. Ge. Li Zicheng didn't have such a strong ability to attack for the time being. "

What Shen Shuren is most afraid of is that Kaifeng City will be captured, because he originally agreed with Yang Sichang to go from south to north, and not to transfer the main force for the time being. It will take a few months. The city consumes Li Zicheng's spirit.

If there are huge loopholes in Shen Shuren's calculations, and it can even be attributed to the main reason for the fall of Kaifeng, it will be very bad for him.

If it was not because of this, but because of other changes, then everything is fine, anyway, Shen Shuren himself does not need to take the blame.

Fortunately, Fang Yizhi's words made Shen Shuren relax a bit: "It's not that there's something wrong with Kaifeng City, it's that Li Zicheng changed his tactics, so that Mr. Yang Ge, Zuo Liangyu, and Sun Chuanting couldn't follow you completely. The strategy suggested before, so there are other failures."

When Shen Shuren heard it, he was still a little nervous, but at least he wasn't that nervous anymore.

Defeated battles, the fall of the 15th year of Chongzhen, will there be fewer defeats in Ming Dynasty on all fronts?
But as long as he himself will not be convicted, and his basic territory does not have problems, the rest can only be solved when he encounters problems, and he will see the tricks.

"Forget it, let's go back to the mansion and talk about it in detail. The tree really wants to be quiet but the wind doesn't stop."

(End of this chapter)