scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 210 Whispering

After watching the guards from the Clan Mansion escort Yue Le away, Wang Xu and his party boarded the ferry again, and under the escort of ten small boats from the Qing Army Navy, sailed to the south with the north wind, towards Wuchang, which was occupied by the Wu Army. city.Accompanying him, apart from Xiong Cilu and Kong Sizhen, two deputies sent by Kang Mazi to Wang Xu, there were also Zhou Chang, Zhou Peigong, a talented Qing scholar who volunteered to be a lobbyist and debater for Wang Xu, and Princess Jianning, the daughter-in-law of old traitor Wu. With his second grandson, Wu Shilin, and the victim sent by Kang Mazi to avenge the old traitor Wu, the murderer who 'killed' the eldest son of the old traitor Wu Yingxiong—the wives, concubines and children of 11 Aobai!
Because old traitor Wu had already been sent to inform in advance, as soon as Wang Xu and others landed, Wu Yingqi, Hu Guozhu, Xia Guoping and other son-in-laws of old traitor Wu, as well as traitor Wu's relatives such as Wu Yingjing and Fatty Lu, had already rushed to the shore. Arrive at the pier to welcome the marquis—of course, Kang Mazi's envoys definitely did not have such a big face, the old traitor Wu sent them to welcome his daughter-in-law and grandson.

Prior to this, Princess Jianning and Wu Yingxiong had returned to Yunnan Province to kiss once, and they were quite familiar with the nephew, nephew and son-in-law of the old traitor Wu. When my nephew met, he couldn't help crying.It was also at this moment that Wu Yingqi, who is usually rude and rude, rarely showed some ordinary feelings. He hugged his little nephew Wu Shilin and cried in public, crying bitterly for his dead brother's death; and it was not good to impress Fatty Lu. Princess Jianning also wiped away her tears, constantly lamenting that Wu Shilin could be returned to the Pingxi Palace, and she could have an explanation to Wu Yingxiong even if she died, which made everyone in the Wu army weep, and Fatty Lu also howled a few times hypocritically.

"My lord, my lord, why did you leave just like that? You are called an official, and you are called a nephew. What should I do in the future? My lord..."

When the cat was crying and the mouse was howling pretentiously with its fat head lowered, Fatty Lu's shoulder was suddenly patted lightly. Fatty Lu wiped away a handful of tears that were never worth anything. When he looked up, he was surprised to find that he was standing in front of him. Yes, it is my close friend, Mite Qing, who has saved my life, and the current minister of the Ministry of War——Wang Xu!
"Brother Zizhuan!" Fatty Lu yelled, without saying a word, he immediately bowed to the ground with his hands clasped together.

"Brother Sanhao." Wang Xu hurriedly bowed his hands to return the salute, and said excitedly, "My dear brother, please get rid of the courtesy! I haven't seen you for more than four years. Are you safe now, my dear brother?"

When he spoke, Wang Xu's eyes couldn't help but tears flickered. These were real sad tears, not the hypocritical crocodile tears that Fatty Lu could burst out at any time.And Fatty Lu was rarely emotional, Mung Dou's small eyes glistened, and he said with a choked voice, "Brother Xie Zizhuan, I'm fine. Brother Zizhuan, you've lost weight again, and your braids have turned gray..."

"Brother Sanhao, I'm not afraid of you laughing when I tell you." Wang Xu also confessed, and said with a wry smile: "Brother Yu's braids are partly because of you, Brother Yu. Brother Yu, you follow Prince Pingxi from the side of the Qing Dynasty. When he was in danger, he was ordered to be transferred to the Minister of the Ministry of War, and each was his own master. Brother Yu had to worry about how to defeat the virtuous brother during the day, dispatch troops, allocate money and food, and worry about the position and safety of the virtuous brother at night. , I can’t figure it out.”

Wang Xu's words were frank, direct, and full of sincerity. Even though Fatty Lu had a different standpoint from him, he couldn't help but be extremely moved. He cupped his hands and bowed again, choked up and said: "My brother is not righteous, let brother Zizhuan work so hard for me, my brother capital offense."

"The three good virtuous brothers have already said that each is their own master. What is the fault of the virtuous brother?" Wang Xu hurriedly hugged Fatty Lu, and said happily with tears in his eyes: "It is my virtuous brother, this time, you let Brother Yu I was surprised again. I didn't expect that the virtuous brother is not only of high moral character, knowledgeable about heaven and man, but also majestic on the battlefield. At the time of the glorious record, I feel sorry for my virtuous brother, but I can't help being proud of my virtuous brother, and I admire my talent."

"Brother Zizhuan, thank you." Fatty Lu replied modestly: "My little brother just won a few small victories by chance, but Zizhuan, you are in the rear and dispatched money and grain troops. To be able to keep the people on the front line calm, to ensure that the soldiers on the front line have enough food and clothing, and that there is a steady stream of support, this is the real military and political talent. If my Pingxi Palace can have such a great talent as Brother Zizhuan, let alone Wuchang Mansion, it will be the city of Nanjing , We have already taken it down."

"Where are you talking?" Wang Xu shook his head and said sincerely: "Brother Yu is just taking advantage of manpower and material resources, so that he can barely protect the frontline soldiers from suffering from hunger and cold, but brother, you have repeatedly defeated the strong with the weak, and defeated the masses with the few. , This is the real genius! It is the blessing of the prince that Pingxi is able to get an all-round talent like you, the good brother, and it is also the fate of the old thief Oboi. "

You flattered each other with every word, and Fatty Lu and Wang Xu couldn't help but burst into tears, thinking about their former relationship, and feeling extremely emotional.But at this moment, a delicate and charming voice suddenly came, "Oh, isn't this Lu Yifeng, Master Lu? I haven't seen you for many years, does Master Lu still remember the concubine?"

Hearing this familiar coquettish voice, the excited expression on Fatty Lu's fat face was immediately swept away, replaced by a look of fierce contempt. When he turned his head again, it turned out that Kong Sizhen and Zhou Chang, the adulterers **Dogs and men and women really appeared in front of me. Standing beside them was a middle-aged man wearing a second-rank official uniform with a smile on his face. He looked very handsome, but his eyes were very cold, staring at Fatty Lu It looked like a poisonous snake staring at a fat frog, so vicious that it might eat Fatty Lu in one bite at any time.Judging from his official uniform, Fatty Lu guessed that he must be Wang Xu's deputy on this trip, and Xiong Cilu, a scholar of the Qing cabinet and a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, was no doubt.

"Master Lu, it's been a long time." Zhou Chang also saluted Fatty Lu with a smile on his face, and asked very kindly: "Master Lu, do you still remember Zhou Chang, the humble official back then? Five years ago, we once I met once in Lord Tusso's mansion."

"Of course I remember." Fatty Lu, who has never had a chance to know that Zhou Chang is Zhou Peigong, snorted coldly, pointed at Kong Sizhen, turned his head and asked Wang Xu: "Brother Zizhuan, who is this lady? Why does she seem to know my younger brother very well?" Same?"

Wang Xu smiled wryly, but did not answer.Kong Sizhen was not angry, but habitually cast a wink at Fatty Lu, and said coquettishly: "Master Lu, you are so famous, your eyes grow taller, and even the old acquaintances have forgotten. Master Lu Do you remember Kong Sizhen and Kong Sier, the poor and weak girl who was beaten to death by you back then?"

"It turns out that Si Gege is here? There will be a loss in the end, and I hope that Si Gege will forgive me." A cold voice that looked like a woman came, and Line Yuxuan, who was in Fatty Lu's personal army, strode forward. Standing between Fatty Lu and Kong Sizhen, the beautiful eyes that looked like a woman breathed fire, glaring at Kong Sizhen angrily.

"Third General Line, why are you here?" Kong Sizhen, who was always afraid of Line Yuxuan, subconsciously took a step back and asked timidly.

"Not only am I here, Si Gege your husband, General Sun Yanling Sun, is also in Wuchang City." Line Yuxuan said with a sneer: "When you enter Wuchang City in a while, if General Sun knows that Si Gege you are so affectionate with other men, You must be overjoyed, right?"

Kong Sizhen's pretty face changed suddenly, and she never thought that her official husband, Sun Yanling, was also in Wuchang City. Although he didn't come to greet him in person, he must have sent someone to watch him. The previous flirting by Cilu and others may have already fallen into the eyes of her husband.Line Yu Xuan smiled sinisterly, and suddenly pulled Fatty Lu's fat hand again, turned to Wang Xu and said jealously: "Master Wang? The general has heard your name from Yifeng a long time ago, and also knows that you and Yifeng are close friends My friend is recognized by the government and the public as an honest and honest gentleman. If that is the case, why does your lord go with such a slut and show her to Yifeng, so your lord is not afraid of losing your reputation?"

Wang Xu's eyes widened, and he subconsciously stared at the clasped hands of Fatty Lu and Line Yuxuan, and when he saw Line Yuxuan's touching face, which was prettier than a woman, Wang Xu couldn't help but exclaimed, " Brother Sanhao, what is the relationship between this general and you?"

"Good friend." Fatty Lu was a little embarrassed, and quickly introduced: "Brother Zizhuan, let me introduce you, this general is the famous Third General of Guangxi Line, the third son of the old general of Line Guoan, Line Yuxuan."

"A man? Three good virtuous brothers are better than Long Yang?" Wang Xu was taken aback, goosebumps almost fell all over his body.Kong Sizhen, Zhou Chang, Xiong Cilu and the others over there were also stunned, and they thought together: "No wonder Sigege's beauty tricks never work on Fatty Lu. It turns out that Fatty Lu is this hobby. If we had known earlier, we should have sent beauty tricks." The man came to seduce Fatty Lu."

"Damn it, I cut you off!"

Just at this time, Wu Yingqi's roar suddenly broke the embarrassment of the situation. Everyone looked back in surprise, but saw that the eleven members of Oboi's family were escorted by the Qing army's warship, and Wu Yingqi was holding his little nephew Wu Shilin in one hand, and went away with the other. He snatched the waist knife from the relatives and wanted to rush up and kill Aobai's family to avenge Wu Yingxiong.Fatty Lu didn't dare to be negligent, so he rushed up quickly, and Hu Guozhu also rushed out there, and together with Fatty Lu, he pulled Wu Yingqi back.Wu Yingqi was furious, and shouted: "Why are you dragging me? I want to avenge my brother, get out!"

"Brother-in-law, calm down!" Hu Guozhu held Wu Yingqi tightly, and said in a deep voice, "Father-in-law has issued an order. After Obai's family is taken into custody, no one is allowed to hurt or abuse at will. We must wait for father-in-law to verify the truth on his own."

"What kind of trial is there?" Wu Yingqi pointed at the crying family members of Oboi and shouted angrily: "Who doesn't know that my elder brother was killed by the old thief Oboi, so there is still a need for trial?"

"Second prince, if you want to kill them, you can do it at any time. Anyway, everyone has already brought them here, so why rush for a while?" Fatty Lu has always been the best at talking, and said with a smile: "Besides, second prince, you just killed them with one knife." Aren't they too cheap for them? Will the son's spirit in heaven be satisfied when he sees the second prince that you killed them so cheaply?"

"Yes." Hu Guozhu echoed: "Wait for a while, and when the father-in-law is interrogated and convicted, brother-in-law, I will definitely ask the father-in-law to let you do it yourself, lingering on the mourning hall of the son, digging out their hearts and livers to pay homage to the son-in-law Undead, so others will say that you, Second Prince, have fulfilled your brotherly love."

To put it bluntly, Wu Yingqi finally calmed down, threw down the knife and cried loudly with his nephew in his arms, Fatty Lu and Hu Guozhu accompanied him in tears.Here, Kong Sizhen, Xiong Cilu and the others looked puzzled, and murmured together in a low voice: "What are you doing? Old thief Wu Sangui, why are you still interrogating Oboi's family? What can you find out?"

"Si Gege, Xiong Zhongtang, please be careful." Zhou Peigong said in a low voice: "The old thief Wu Sangui must have suspected the real murderer who killed Wu Yingxiong, so he deliberately left the lives of Oboi's family temporarily. If the old thief Wu Sangui If we can find out the truth, make the real culprit public, and order Oboi’s family to be treated kindly, then not only will the world be shaken, but even our Eight Banners will be torn apart.”

Xiong Cilu and Kong Sizhen's faces changed together, and they didn't expect that the old traitor Wu could remain so calm in the face of killing his son and enemy, laying such a big foreshadowing. The foundation of Kang Mazi's throne was immediately shaken, and the morale of the army and the people were in turmoil. Even the Qing court would not tolerate Kang Mazi's despicable behavior of framing his officials.

"If the old thief Wu Sangui wants to investigate, let him do so, as long as he has the ability." Kong Sizhen sneered hard, but her little hand couldn't help touching something sewn into her underwear—it could save Kong Sizhen's life one thing.

........................

The second wave of negotiating missions sent by the Qing court came to Wuchang this time. In fact, it was far more than a pair of old friends Lu Fatty and Wang Xu reunited after a long absence. Line Yu Xuan and Kong Sizhen also reunited after a long absence. Princess Jianning, Wu Shilin and Wu Yingqi , Xia Guoxiang, Hu Guozhu and others also reunited after a long absence. In addition, Fatty Lu, Kong Sizhen, Zhou Peigong, and Princess Jianning's mother and son. When so many people meet again after a long absence, it is natural to salute each other sincerely or falsely, introduce and greet each other, Weeping and chatting, asking An to pay respects. After more than an hour of tossing, all the people finally finished their tossing. They left the pier and rushed to the temporary residence of Old Traitor Wu, to attend the clean-up banquet that Old Traitor Wu personally prepared for them. Eleven people were taken to prison by Wu Jun soldiers and temporarily detained without mentioning it.

On the way into the inner city of Wuchang, Wang Xu had to show his old face, and begged Fatty Lu to look at his own face, to speak more good things for him in front of Wu old traitor, and to help him complete his mission.Fatty Lu told him in embarrassment, and said in a low voice: "Brother Zizhuan, forgive me, because the friendship between my younger brother and Brother Zizhuan is well known in the world. To avoid suspicion, my younger brother has asked himself to withdraw from this negotiation and does not plan to participate in this matter." , is really powerless."

Wang Xu was silent, with an extremely disappointed expression.But Kong Sizhen over there came over and said with a smile: "Mr. Sanhao, then you have to keep your word. To be honest, at the negotiating table, we are not afraid of anyone. The only person who is afraid is you, Lu Sanhao, Mr. Lu." " Fatty Lu snorted coldly, turned his face away, and was too lazy to look at Kong Sizhen, which made Kong Sizhen furious, "Fatty man, why are you so crazy? Sooner or later, my mother will let you kneel in front of her and kowtow to beg her. on you!"

After arriving at Old Man Wu's traitorous Xingyuan, Wu Yingqi, Hu Guozhu and the others led Princess Jianning and Wu Shilin into the inner hall to reunite with Old Man Wu's grandparents. As Old Man Wu's future grandson-in-law, Fatty Lu naturally had to follow Go in, leaving Wang Shirong, Fang Xueshi and others to entertain the guests in the front hall.And the old traitor Wu met his daughter-in-law and young grandson again after many years. When he missed his dead son, he naturally had to hold his young grandson and cry bitterly.

At noon, the old traitor Wu stopped crying under the persuasion of his nephew and son-in-law, and ordered his servants to take Princess Jianning and Wu Shilin to the room that had been prepared, and wait for dinner together in the evening, while he led the Hu Guozhu and Xia Guoping went to the front hall to entertain the guests.Fatty Lu was going to follow, but Hu Guozhu stopped Fatty Lu, and said in a low voice to Fatty Lu: "Yifeng, my father-in-law is getting old, and he just cried like that again. I dare not walk away casually, so I don't think you can go." Yes. You are a fine person, take my people to arrange it, and keep an eye on the people of the Mangou mission. They will definitely find a way to contact the Mangou spy ambushing in Wuchang City to understand the situation in the city. This is a Don’t miss this great opportunity to catch all the spies in one go.”

"Understood." Fatty Lu nodded, hurried to catch up, explained the reason in a low voice to old traitor Wu, and begged to leave.The old traitor Wu was also very satisfied when he heard it, and immediately nodded in agreement, and Fatty Lu left in a hurry.

Not to mention that Fatty Lu arranged for Hu Guozhu to arrange Wu Jun spies to monitor the Qing Qing envoys, but to say that when the old traitor Wu, Hu Guozhu and others came to the reception hall, Wang Xu and others had already been waiting here so hungry that their chests were so hungry. Straight back.The old traitor Wu was quite reasonable in this regard, and hurriedly accused everyone of a crime, explaining that he had been reunited with his daughter-in-law and grandson for a long time, and he forgot the time in the midst of sadness, and treated the distinguished guests slowly.Wang Xu and the others were humble in a hurry, even saying that it didn't matter, then the old traitor Wu hurriedly ordered the dishes to be served, and opened the table to entertain the guests.

When the servants were serving the dishes, Kong Sizhen, who had been adopted by the old traitor Wu as a foster daughter, got up cheekily, kowtowed in front of the old traitor Wu, calling her foster father.And although the old traitor Wu has long wanted to cut the so-called goddaughter of this hard-core female traitor to death, he politely ordered Kong Sizhen to get up, and casually asked about Kong Sizhen's recent situation, Kong Sizhen replied: "Return to foster father." , My daughter has been doing well recently, but I have been busy with official duties in the capital some time ago, so I couldn't come to pay my respects to my adoptive father, I hope that my adoptive father will forgive me."

"Busy about business? What business are you busy with?" Old man Wu snorted unbearably, "Are you busy dealing with Oboi? Or are you busy helping Oboi deal with the old man?"

"The adoptive father misunderstood, even if the daughter is extremely courageous, she would not dare to help Aobai's traitor against the adoptive father." Kong Sizhen quickly knelt down and kowtowed again.

"Really?" Old Man Wu sneered, and asked again: "If that's the case, then why did more than half of the spies of the Aobai Party captured by our Pingxi Palace when the Oboi soldiers invaded Yunnan in the first half of the year admitted that you sent them to Yunnan? Did Guizhou spy on the military for Obai?"

Kong Sizhen was speechless, but disappointed in her heart, knowing that old traitor Wu already hated her to the bone, and her wishful thinking of betting on both sides to ensure her life would be doomed to fail.Fortunately, Kong Sizhen also had a articulate lover Zhou Peigong present. Seeing Kong Sizhen being beaten, Zhou Peigong immediately stood up, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I'm sorry to be frank, you really can't blame Si Gege for this. Your face has not yet been exposed, and you are the assistant minister and the commander-in-chief of the entire army. As a courtier of the Qing Dynasty, Si Gege naturally has to follow his orders to act and arrange things.

"Excuse me, my lord, if Si Gege hadn't been sincere to Oboi at that time, and the lord's servants had followed suit, how could the lord have defeated Oboi, swept across Yunnan, and restored the three southwestern provinces occupied by Aoboi's traitor party in one fell swoop? It is precisely because His servants are full of people like Si Gege, who are loyal to him, go through fire and water for him, so that he can achieve the glory he is today, and achieve extraordinary achievements. Students ask Wang Ye, who are people like Si Gege? Faithful, or traitorous?"

"Hmph!" Old Man Wu snorted coldly, "Even if you can talk, you all stand down and sit down." Kong Sizhen hurriedly retreated to sit next to Zhou Peigong as if he had been pardoned.Over there, Hu Guozhu and Wang Shirong looked at each other, and they felt the same feeling in their hearts, "How does this little boy look so much like a fat guy on our side?"

After the banquet was set up, they talked nonsense about welcoming the imperial envoys and angels. The old traitor Wu took the lead to toast and invited everyone to drink together. Everyone began to play freely, either drinking and eating, or talking in low voices.Also taking this opportunity, Kong Sizhen winked at Wang Xu, Wang Xu, who had been instructed in advance, understood, raised his glass immediately, and led Zhou Peigong in front of the old traitor Wu, and said respectfully: "My lord, my servant Wang Xu this time I am ordered to go south to negotiate with the prince about the payment of military pay and food. During the negotiation, I am afraid that I will offend him a lot, and I hope the prince will forgive me a lot. Please allow me to offer a cup to the prince first, and I have the right to apologize in advance."

"Negotiate about the payment of military salaries and fodder?" The old man Wu is not stupid, and immediately asked in surprise: "My lord, aren't you sent by the emperor to escort my daughter-in-law and young grandson to the south? Why are you still talking about the payment of military salaries and fodder?" question?"

"Yes, Mr. Wang, what else can we discuss about this issue?" Hu Guozhu also stood up and asked with a surprised expression: "When Ye Zhongtang signed the peace agreement with the next official, didn't the peace agreement be clearly written? Have you figured it out? 500 million taels of silver and 500 million shi grains, [-]% will be paid within three months, and all will be paid within one year? What's the matter, Ye Zhongtang sent someone six hundred miles to rush to the capital to send the memorial table, Mr. Wang did not see?"

"Of course I saw it." Wang Xu nodded helplessly, and then said in a low voice: "It's just that the amount of food, grass and military pay that Ye Zhongtang agreed to pay on behalf of the emperor is really huge, and the Qing court can't bear it for a while, so there is no way, the emperor this time The purpose of sending an official here is to ask the prince to understand the court's difficulties and allow some time."

"This is difficult." Hu Guozhu said in embarrassment: "Master Wang, I think you also know that Yunnan and Guizhou are both poor provinces in the Qing Dynasty, with weak financial resources. This time, to help the emperor and the court eradicate Oboi Traitor, our Pingxi Prince’s Mansion has long been living without food, and we are stretched thin. We still owe countless money and food to the common people and merchants, and we owe countless pensions and silver taels to the soldiers who died in battle. We have agreed to pay them back within three months. If Mr. Wang wants us to If the prince grants time, then our prince will lose his trust in the world and feel ashamed of the people of Yunnan and Guizhou."

Wang Xu is an honest man, he was immediately speechless when Hu Guozhu gave him such a push, but Zhou Peigong next to him immediately said: "General Jin Wu's words are wrong, according to my humble opinion, if Prince Pingxi agrees to extend the time, not only will he not I am ashamed of the people of Yunnan and Guizhou, and have broken the trust of the world. On the contrary, I will win the hearts of the people of Yunnan and Guizhou and the hearts of the world even more."

"How can you see that?" Hu Guozhu asked with a sneer.

"General Jinwu, don't worry, please listen to the humble official and speak slowly." Zhou Peigong smiled gently, cleared his throat, and said loudly: "Dare to ask General Jinwu, why did Prince Pingxi raise his troops? On the side of the Qing Dynasty, kill the traitors of Aobai and wipe out Aobai Worshiping the traitor party! And who did it, the current emperor, the Qing court, and the people of the Qing Dynasty all over the world! If you are humble, I would like to ask General Jinwu, the people of Yunnan, Guizhou and merchants, but the people of the emperor, the people of the Qing Dynasty?"

"So what?" Hu Guozhu asked with a sneer, but he secretly raised his vigilance in his heart, because Hu Guozhu has such a good niece and son-in-law, and every time he goes around like this, making Hu Guozhu dizzy and refuting. Speechless, forced to act according to words.

(End of this chapter)