Chapter Twenty Encounter

  After being stunned for a while, Li Gong finally remembered to ask: "By the way, is there any news about the Governor of Shaanxi?"

  "Are you talking about Sun Boya?" At the mention of this, Gong Dingyu's interest came back, took a sip of wine and laughed: "This person is also confusing. When he was released from prison, he vowed that a great man cannot be defeated by jailers, if he can't win, he should die. What happened in the end? Tongguan was not preserved, escaped to Weinan, as soon as he saw the enemy's edge, he simply didn't fight and fled with his light cavalry... I heard he has already crossed the Yellow River."

  "This is good, this is good!"

  Li Gong's greatest worry on the road was that Sun Chuanting, despite being persuaded, would change his mind and refuse to escape. Or perhaps he would be willing to escape but fail... That would be a waste of Master Li's efforts.

  He himself made some effort and it was nothing serious.

  At this time, when he heard that Sun Chuanting had successfully escaped, he was naturally very happy.

  "What's wrong?" Gong Dingyue looked at him carefully and asked: "Do you know him?"

  "Cough, at the beginning I was selected as a military officer in Beijing to serve under General Hong's command. At that time, General Sun also had plans to go out of the pass, so Commander Hong often sent me there to deliver official documents and letters... It's been many years since we last talked about this!"

  Gong Dingyu heard this and suddenly understood, laughing: "So that's it. I was wondering why you were so concerned about him... a person who has nothing to do with us."

  Now that the matter has been settled, Li Gong's expression also relaxed. After all, things are like this, and rushing is useless. He looked at Gong Dingyuan and smiled: "Xiaosheng, aren't you planning to leave? You officials take half a year or a year off, it's not a big deal."

  "It's not like I'm planning to leave." If it were someone else, Gong Dingyue would either be disdainful or afraid to talk about it. But with this neighbor, a military officer, he could still say a few words. He let out a cold laugh and said: "Where can you escape to? Now everyone is flocking south, half of Henan and Shandong have already fallen to the bandits, Shanxi is also not an option, Huguang is in chaos, so they're all heading to Jiangnan. Hmm, that place has Qinhuai River, ten miles of Qinhuai's pleasure grounds, heh heh, this time, there will be many more customers for the brothels."

  What he said was sarcastic, but also true, and his tone carried a hint of self-mockery. Gong Dingyue's own concubine was Qinhuai's famous courtesan Gu Mei, who was beautiful, skilled at painting orchids, and wrote excellent poetry, even publishing her own collection... In order to marry Gu Mei, he had put in considerable effort back then, and still suffered from the lingering fear of his wife's wrath... No matter what, Gong Dingyue would never dare to provoke Gu Mei's anger!

  "I originally asked for leave to go back and reunite with my friends from the Revival Society, but it was nothing special. However, my wife asked me: 'Are there many soldiers in Jiangnan? Does the Emperor have a plan to move south?' If not, we can go to Jiangnan, Li Zhuang can also go, but when the time comes, we will have to flee again, I don't want to do that!' After repeating Gu Mei's words, Gong Dingyi shook his head and smiled: 'I really have no excuse.'"

  "Isn't there a historical precedent for this? There were also the two Lius and one Huang, with three garrisoned armies totaling 200,000 men. Moreover, there is also Zuo Town in Huguang, so it can't be said that Jiangnan has no troops."

  "Shi Gong is indeed a gentleman... but the two Lius are untrustworthy, shameless and despicable small men. Huang Chuangzi is loyal and upright, but one person's power can only be so great, it can only be doubted. The key point is that the Emperor refuses to move south, this is the most crucial matter."

  "He who won't now, maybe will later."

  "The Emperor's temperament, who doesn't know? Even if he thinks about it in his heart, he will never admit it on his face. He always expects the ministers to unanimously advise him to step down, so that he can make a graceful exit. But now, who is willing to take the lead? Even if one or two ministers come out to persuade him, as long as there are one or two others opposing, it's not a bad thing. Hmph, I don't think the Emperor has the courage to make this decision. So, nine out of ten times, things will go wrong, and where can we escape to then? It's better to stay in the capital, after all, every dynasty needs people to come out and work, with my literary talent, I'm not afraid of not having a bowl of rice to eat."

  So openly wanting to rebel, Gong Dingyue also dared to declare it out loud, as if hearing someone hum a cold voice.

  Li Gong also disagreed and said: "Xiao Sheng, let's have some wine."

  "I'm not drunk, I'm very sober." Gong Dingyu shook his head vigorously and said: "Big brother, I'm very sober! Over the years, I've traveled from south to north, back and forth between Jiangnan and the capital multiple times. Along the way, I've seen so many heartbreaking and cruel things that it's hard to put into words. Cao Mengde's white bones are exposed in the wilderness, and for a thousand miles, there is no sound of chickens crowing. Isn't this scene pitiful? What I've seen on my journey, especially in Henan, has been even more shocking! I've long thought that with the Ming dynasty nearing its 300th year, its fate must be exhausted. In such a chaotic world, what can one do but accept it? So several years ago, I had already made up my mind to go with the flow. Haha, after all, there's no dynasty that won't perish, and throughout history, there have been many officials who have fallen with their countries, just as there have been many who have surrendered to new dynasties. With so many predecessors having done so, what's wrong with me doing the same? Haha..."

  Gong Dingyu said he was sober, but actually one cup after another, had already drunk too much. At this time, the wine talk was continuous, and in the end, it was a "bang" sound, and then he fell onto the table.

  "Shopkeeper, bill!"

  Li Gong's face turned iron-green with anger, and he silently cursed: "This son of a bitch must have read all the classics in his dog's belly."

  Originally didn't plan to bother with this person, but after thinking about it, let out a long sigh, called the shopkeeper over to settle the bill, and reached out to prepare to send this drunk madman back.

  No matter what, this guy is quite bold and speaks his mind. Although he has no loyalty or righteousness, at least he's a man of some character. As for those who observe the winds and colors, don't dare to take a stand, only pretend to be loyal in front of the emperor, speak empty words, or use grandiose language to deceive the emperor, putting him in a difficult position, waiting for the bandits to surrender... Gong Dingyu is still slightly better than that.

  As for those officials who fled south, Li Gong didn't think much of them either. When disaster struck, they would be the first to flee and hide, and only after things had settled down would they decide what to do next. This kind of cunning may not have been waiting in the capital to surrender, but it's not particularly brilliant either.

  "Alas, national affairs are like this, I don't know what progress this young master has made recently?"

  If it weren't for being summoned to the inner court, if I hadn't heard Zhu Ciyan's loud and clear cries, if I hadn't heard the Crown Prince's extremely sorrowful dreams on Wansui Mountain, if we hadn't spent those days together with open hearts, sharing food and clothes... perhaps Li Gong would have been just like ordinary people, or like these corrupt officials, thinking that the rise and fall of the Ming dynasty is a matter for those above, and we only need to do our part, and when it's really gone, there won't be anything to worry about.

  But now he has wholeheartedly thrown himself to Zhu Ciyan's side, and with Wang Yuan and others, they were originally people who had gone through thick and thin, and their hearts had long been chilled. Even if it was a matter of selling their lives for food and salary, it would be enough to this extent. Who would have thought that the Crown Prince would personally select them again, slowly warming their hearts. Now, he can't wait to return home early tomorrow morning, rush into the palace, and see the prince as soon as possible, so that his heart can settle down.

  As for what Gong Dingyue said, Li Gong naturally knew that it was very reasonable, but a man of great character would not always act in accordance with what is right.

  Even if I'm wrong, it's just one death!

  Only death, nothing more.

  Just as Li Gong was about to leave, several short and swarthy men also stood up and walked towards the front door.

  "Check, please."

  "Old customers, just twenty cents will do..." The hurried waiter pinched his nose and first gave these men the bill. No wine was served, no dishes were ordered, just a bowl of noodles per person with sauce and garlic, such stingy customers, it's best to get rid of them early.

  "Li Ge?"

  Li Gong stepped aside, leaving the passage open for these men to go first. Unexpectedly, a man emerged from their group, short and stout in build, wearing a tattered felt hat that was quite an eyesore. Yet he deliberately approached Li Gong with a smile, saying: "Don't you recognize your brother?"

  "Is that you?" Li Gong raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "I knew it was you after the second shout. However, what brings you here?"

  Wang Yuan's family had long since declined and now lived outside Qianmen in Dongheyan, where the good and bad were mixed together, not comparable to Xuanwu Gate.

  "Take another look, who's in front of me."

  "What kind of important person can you be, you rascal? Tell me, how did you manage to put on this disguise? If it weren't for your voice, I wouldn't have recognized you even if I were beaten to death..." Li Gong just smiled. When he met his own brother, his words were as smooth and witty as when he was dealing with the likes of Gong Dingyu, a stark contrast to his reserved demeanor."

  Just as he was about to finish his sentence, Li Gong had already left.

  Among several tall and handsome men, he was slightly short in stature, but with a smiling face, one could tell at a glance that he was an extraordinary young man. If not the Crown Prince, then who?

  "This...this, you really have the audacity of heaven! Coming back to his senses, Li Gong's face turned iron-green as he glared at Wang Yuan, furious: "What kind of thing is this? Can you bear the responsibility for such a heaven-defying deed?"

  "It's Young Master who insists on doing so." Wang Yuan called out to Zhuang Tian Qu: "What can I do?"

  "This is not a place for conversation, let's go out and talk." Zhu Ciwen intervened in time, smiling at Li Gong: "We have other things to do here, unexpectedly we met you. It seems that it will take two more days to come back, but now we meet, it can be seen that both of us have suffered hardships on the way."

  What he said was very ordinary, but Li Gong felt warm in his heart and lungs after listening to it. Because Zhu Ciwen didn't ask about Sun Chuanting or the news from Shaanxi, nor did he say some empty and pretentious words, but only a few simple sentences that were all true and sincere, making people feel very comfortable and happy when they heard them.

  Zhu Ciwen said, looking at Gong Dingyu who was lying on the table, "This guy is shameless, but he's also quite straightforward. We don't need to bother with him. Let's just punish him by making him lie here until he sobers up."

  As he spoke, he led the way out, with the prince in front and the others following closely behind, pouring out like a school of fish.