Chapter 28: This Girl Should Only Exist in Heaven

  Let's talk about Wang Pu again.

  Because it had lost its mast and sails, Wang Pu's big ship could only proceed to Jinshanwei under tow by two naval warships.

  To avoid unnecessary trouble, before arriving at Jinshanwei, Wang Pu had all the more than 200 remaining households shave off the "golden money mouse tail" at the back of their heads. The dozen or so Korean sailors who were lucky enough not to be blown away by the tornado were also secretly executed and their bodies were sunk into the sea.

  This can't be blamed on Wang Pu being ruthless and merciless.

  According to Wang Pu, the imperial historians of the Ming dynasty were all very abnormal. These self-proclaimed gentlemen were actually a group of idle people who had nothing better to do after eating their fill. Originally, they were just trivial matters, but let these guys stir up trouble left and right, and in the blink of an eye, they became a disaster of epic proportions.

  Wang Pu didn't want to be held back by these idle people.

  Wang Pu and more than 200 men stayed in Jinshanwei for one night. That evening, taking advantage of the darkness, Wang Pu led Xia Qi and other trusted followers to buy a civilian house near Jinshan, burying large amounts of gold, silver, and jewels, leaving only 500,000 taels of white silver, as well as the forty boxes of dry goods and a small amount of ginseng and jewelry carried in the army.

  After hiding them, Wang Pu also hired an honest and reliable farmer to take care of the house.

  Wang Pu couldn't help but keep a close eye on things, if all these gold, silver and jewels were to be transported to the capital, who knows whether Chongzhen Emperor that white-eyed wolf would intervene or not?

  By the next afternoon, Songjiang Prefect Qian Heng led all the officials of the prefecture and some prominent local gentry to welcome him, which was a big deal at that time.

  To know that in the Ming dynasty, the status of martial generals was very low. The so-called general officer was just a local governor's subordinate who could bite people like a wolf dog. In the eyes of scholars and civilians, the general officer who commanded tens of thousands of troops was not as prestigious as a seventh-grade county lieutenant. Qian Heng was an official of the fourth grade in the imperial court, and he came to welcome Wang Pu, this small general, which seemed to be somewhat self-deprecating, but actually it was not.

  Qian Heng is also an old slick in official circles, how could he not see that Wang Pu's future is boundless?

  Don't look at Wang Pu now, he's just a small general, but with the great merit of capturing the slave leader Huang Taiji, being promoted and enfeoffed is already a certainty. Why wouldn't Qian Heng try to curry favor with him?

  Qian Heng tightly grasped Wang Pu's hands, his face already beaming with joy, repeatedly exclaiming: "Ah, ah, I didn't expect General Wang to be so young! This is truly a hero emerging in his youth, awe-inspiring, awe-inspiring indeed!"

  "Where, where." Wang Pu's skin smiled but his flesh didn't as he responded, "Sir must be Qian Daxia from Songjiang, the father of the parents?"

  "It's me, your subordinate." Qian Heng was so shameless that he called himself a subordinate in front of Wang Pu, this incompetent general. He then turned around and introduced Qian Jianyi to Wang Pu, "General Wang, this is my uncle, the most renowned scholar of Jiangzuo, Qian Jianyi."

  "Oh dear, it's actually Pastor Mu in person, I'm so sorry."

  Wang Pu couldn't help but feel a deep respect, Wang Pu had no good impression of the Donglin Party and Fushe, who claimed to be righteous gentlemen, but he was very impressed by Qian Qianyi's poetry and articles. However, this person truly gained fame in history because he married a famous and beautiful wife, namely Liu Rushi, the first of the Qinhuai Eight Beauties.

  I don't know if Liu Ru Shi has married Qian Yan Yi at this time?

  Wang Pu's respect made Qian Jianyi feel very pleased, and he stroked his beard with a smile: "Today I saw General Wang, such a young hero, even an old man like me wants to put down his pen and take up arms again, haha."

  Everyone burst out laughing.

  Qian Heng pointed to Chen Zilong and Xia Yunyi, introducing them: "These two are our Huating's renowned talents, Chen Zilong and Xia Yunyi."

  Chen Zilong and Xia Yunyi saw that Wang Pu's demeanor was elegant and refined, his speech was fluent and unrestrained, and he didn't have the slightest hint of a common martial artist's coarseness. They had already formed a favorable impression of him in their hearts. Moreover, they had always admired Wang Pu's bold move of leading a lone army deep into Liaodong. The two men stepped forward, clasped their fists, and said: "We have seen the General."

  Wang Pu also cupped his fists and smiled: "Nice to meet you, nice to meet you."

  Qian Heng continued, "As for the other officials and dignitaries, there's no need to introduce them one by one. General Wang and his soldiers have been drifting at sea for over half a month, they must have suffered greatly. Now that you've arrived in Songjiang, it's like returning home. I've already arranged a banquet at the prefectural yamen to welcome General Wang and all of you gentlemen, please!"

  Wang Pu also made a gesture of invitation with his hands: "Please."

  Wang Pu led a team of nearly three hundred people, escorting captives and goods, accompanied by Qian Heng and others, directly to the city of Huating, Songjiang Prefecture.

  Let's not mention the hospitality of Huating to Wang Pu for now, and talk about Qian Heng's report being sent to Nanjing. The officials in Nanjing also knew that Wang Pu had arrived in Songjiang, and soon this news spread like wildfire throughout the entire city of Nanjing. By that evening, even the beggars outside the city walls knew that Wang Pu had arrived in Songjiang.

  Nanjing, also known as the Capital of Six Dynasties.

  After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming dynasty, he made Nanjing the capital. Later, Yan Wang Zhu Di led a military campaign to quell the difficulties and seized the throne from his nephew Jianwen Emperor, then moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing. However, Nanjing still retained its status as an auxiliary capital, and even the Six Ministries, the Imperial Academy, and the Imperial Censorate were preserved.

  In other words, since the Yongle Emperor, the Ming Dynasty had always retained two sets of government teams, but only the Beijing government team was actually functioning, while the Nanjing government team was actually used to place disgruntled officials and retired officials, with no real power in their hands.

  After receiving the report from Songjiang Prefecture, Nanjing's Minister of War Shi Kefa and Commander-in-Chief Zhao Zilong did not dare to slack off. They immediately dispatched a fast horse to urgently report to the capital and also hastily summoned 2,000 Imperial Guards from Nanjing to go to Songshan to provide support.

  It's not necessary to make such a big fuss about welcoming and protecting General Wang Pu, but the few Jianzhou captives in his hands are not ordinary people. If something goes wrong on the ground of Nanjing, with Emperor Chongzhen's severity, both of their heads will be gone.

  Three days later, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guards, Chang Yanling and Li Zushou led two thousand Imperial Guards to Huating.

  Wang Pu bid farewell to Qian Heng and others, and set off for Nanjing under the escort of two thousand brocade-clad guards.

  Jin Yiwei Qian Hu Chang Yanling and Li Zushu were both hereditary meritorious officials, Chang Yanling was a descendant of Ming Dynasty founding generalissimo Chang Yuchun, and Li Zushu was also a descendant of founding general Li Wenzhong. As descendants of famous generals, they usually didn't put other heroes in their eyes, but they truly admired Wang Pu.

  Chang Yanling and Li Zushu were both powerful and wealthy families, and they were all young men in their early twenties. They spent most of their time idling around and getting into fights in Nanjing City. Wang Pu was also a hoodlum before he traveled through time. When these three people got together, it was truly a case of "birds of a feather flocking together" and "partnering in crime".

  In just a few days, Chang Yanling and Li Zushu became very familiar with Wang Pu, and eventually they started calling each other brothers.

  The large army arrived at Suzhou Wu County, and just as they were setting up camp outside the city, Suzhou Prefect Wang Shicheng led a group of officials and local gentry to welcome them.

  This Suzhou prefect Wang Shicheng and Songjiang prefect Qian Heng are both clever people, they all think that after Wang Pu returns to the capital, he will definitely be reused by the emperor and his future prospects will be boundless. So they deliberately try to curry favor with him, let alone Wang Shicheng and Wang Pu are from the same family, so they have to fawn on him even more.

  Wang Shicheng bowed deeply and said: "Your subordinate, Suzhou Prefect Wang Shicheng, pays his respects to General Wang."

  Wang Pu hastily stepped forward and supported Wang Shicheng, pretending to smile: "Ah, General Wang has broken his little general."

  Wang Shicheng introduced the celebrities one by one to Wang Pu, but Wang Pu only remembered an old man among them, who was Feng Menglong. Who is Feng Menglong? The author of the famous "Three Words" in the Ming Dynasty! This old man is indeed a master of ancient Chinese literature!

  After some small talk, as usual, it's time to invite guests for a drink.

  Wang Shicheng had already arranged for a banquet to be set up in the Wujiang County government office, specially to welcome Wang Pu and refresh his spirits. After three rounds of drinks, Wang Shicheng suddenly stood up and raised his hand, signaling: "Everyone please be quiet."

  After everyone quieted down, Wang Shicheng continued: "Drinking alone is a bit boring, how about a song and dance to liven things up?"

  Everyone applauded loudly.

  Wang Shicheng smiled slightly and looked at Wang Pu, saying: "Today, in order to welcome General Wang, I have specially invited the Kunqu Opera troupe from Kunshan to perform a special show, to add to the festive atmosphere."

  Yu Feng's Kunqu Opera is a unique skill in Jiangnan, inviting them to perform a special show costs a lot of money, Wang Shicheng spared no expense to curry favor with the wealthy Wang Pu.

  As soon as Wang Shicheng's voice fell, the pleasant sound of drums and music came from outside the court, and immediately two teams of drummers and musicians entered the back yard of the county government office. The drumming stopped abruptly when they sat down in two rows. A fifty-year-old old class leader held a play script and walked forward, saying respectfully: "Which adult would like to choose a play?"

  Wang Shicheng smiled and said to Wang Pu: "General Wang, please enjoy the play."

  "How can I possibly accept this?"

  When Wang Pu wanted to decline, Chang Yanling and Li Zushu, who were sitting next to him, winked at each other and said: "Brother Wang, Point, Point Jade Hairpin."

  "Then let's have a segment of Yu Zhui Ji."

  "Good." Wang Shicheng said loudly, "Then sing Yu Zhuji."

  The old troupe leader bowed and left with his script in hand.

  The sound of drums and music rose again, a slender figure had already passed through the round gate and walked in with a gentle swaying motion.

  The aristocrats who were drinking suddenly held their breath, and even the eyes of Chang Yanling and Li Zushu stared straight at that figure. Wang Pu first glanced casually, then turned back to continue drinking as if nothing had happened, but soon he turned his head again, his gaze falling on that figure once more.

  Wang Pu's past life was a big rogue, and he had seen and slept with many beauties. His several concubines were also considered beauties, and there were also Hailanzhu and Bumubutai, who were brought back from Liaodong by Wang Pu, and they were all beautiful women with great charm. However, compared to the woman in front of him, they seemed dull and lost their luster.

  Wang Pu couldn't think of any suitable adjectives to describe the woman in front of him, her eyes were like two gentle springs, even a man with a heart of stone would be easily melted. Wang Pu couldn't help but recall an ancient poem: This girl should only exist in heaven, she was originally a fairy who was banished to the mortal world.

  ……

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