The Forty-Fifth Departure

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  I'm so tired...... Summoning recommendation votes.

  Also, I'd like to announce that the annoying depiction of the era's background is finally coming to an end, and it's time for some characters to leave the scene.

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  After seeing off the new Choson envoy Wang certain once again, Chen Yan, the Chief Grand Secretary of the Ming dynasty, fell into deep thought.

  This time Wang brought more letters, some were very straightforward, but most of them were quite ambiguous.

  However, the meaning is roughly the same. Descending to Ming Chen, writing a letter to the first assistant of the Great Ming, the meaning of which can be understood without reading the letter.

  It's really puzzling what to do...

  The Emperor has been very dissatisfied with him recently... The current emperor governs hastily, uses people too quickly, and is too harsh in his laws. He is overly critical and stingy with rewards, making decisions without careful consideration... Chen Yan shook his head slightly, thinking that he had also made up his mind.

  "Come in!"

  He called out softly and immediately a steward came in from outside, standing before Chen Yan with his hands hanging down.

  "Take this away," Chen Yan sat in front of the desk, listening to the servant come in, he took up his pen and wrote two small notes, without sealing them, and handed them over directly, instructing: "Hurry up and handle it."

  The butler had undergone rigorous training, however, when he saw the two names separately, he was still startled.

  "Oh, wait a minute."

  While Chen Yan was standing still, he suddenly stood up again, put his hands behind his back and turned around in a circle before instructing: "Hold my sedan chair, please ask Old Master Guang to come over. By the way, what's the usual coal allowance for him?"

  "Two pieces of Songjiang cloth, one piece of brocade, and twelve taels of silver; as for other things, just find something else to make up the four items."

  The Grand Minister's Mansion, generally speaking, is where others send gifts to Chen Yan, but Chen Yan also needs to keep some useful people in his hands, regardless of whether they are disciples or fellow townspeople, mainly focusing on remonstrating officials and civil servants, who can be used in times of political struggle.

  "Oh, add another one and have it delivered to him on the way!"

  "Yes, I'll go and take care of it right away."

  "Uh-huh."

  It was just a matter of a few words to hand over the task, but when he heard it, Chen Yan's face showed an extremely tired expression.

  At present, this matter is easy to handle. However, it would put oneself in a very strong whirlpool. If the affair fails, death is certain; even if it succeeds, it's hard to say whether the new dynasty can protect him in order to cover up.

  But the family's wealth and honor depend on me alone, if I don't take a risk, how can I be at peace?

  Just as he was pacing back and forth in his room, a servant came to report: "Master, Guang has arrived."

  They were extremely familiar, so the lower officials in the mansion brought Shi Zhonggui, a military officer, to meet him. This gentleman was around 40 years old, with a strong and stern face, big ears, and an imposing presence. As a native of Tongcheng, he had a tall and majestic physique and a beautiful beard, which made him stand out from the southerners. With his dignified demeanor, he drew attention whenever he attended court gatherings.

  As a servant, Guang was usually very dignified and serious, and even when meeting people, he didn't smile or chat idly. But this time, as he entered the room, his face was beaming with a smile, and with a very familiar gesture, he bowed to Chen Yan and said: "I've received another gift from Teacher."

  "Hey, what's up with this?" Chen Yan pointed at the chair across from him and said, "Sit down, let's talk."

  "Yes, thank you, teacher, for taking a seat."

  Guang Shi Hen sat down honestly with his hands on his knees, looking straight at Chen Yan, with an appearance of waiting for instructions.

  "What's your take on the recent drastic changes?"

  Chen Yan also had to entertain guests and was unwilling to say too much to this disciple, so he directly got to the point.

  "This... " Guang Heng hesitated for a moment, then said: "It seems to have already become a chronic condition. Even if it were Bian Que or Hua Tuo, there would seem to be no way to treat it."

  A relationship where both parties have a deep understanding of each other, naturally doesn't need to hide anything. Guang Shi Heng is also straightforward and honest.

  "How's your trip south?"

  "It's just barely clinging to life."

  "The Yangtze River is in our hands, and Jiangnan, a land of wealth and taxes, is also under our control. How can we be on the verge of collapse?"

  "The officials have abandoned their duties and betrayed their virtues. The various towns have already lost their discipline. People like Zuo Liangyu and Liu Zetian, can we still rely on them? At most, they will just drag things out. From Xiangyang to Jiangling, taking Jiujiang, Anqing, Nanjing is just a matter of time." Guang Shiying said with great enthusiasm: "The most important thing is that the officials do not want to work for this dynasty anymore!"

  "Hmm, your views on the current situation are exactly the same as mine."

  Chen Yan was a greedy and cruel person, not easy to get along with. Moreover, he rarely praised others, so when Guo Xiang got his praise, he was naturally invigorated.

  "I called you here today, indeed there is a very important matter!" After a round of conversation, Chen Yan knew that the person in front of him could be used, but with his own strength alone, he might not be able to make this slippery and cunning junior truly surrender. For now, he just said one sentence, then turned his head to ask the servant: "How is it, has the person arrived?"

  "Back to the master, they have all arrived."

  "Good!" Chen Yan stood up and said to Guang Shi Hen, "Follow me to the flower hall, there is an important guest, let's meet together."

  "Yes, Meng Sheng naturally followed his teacher everywhere."

  Two people, one in front and one behind, bypassed the continuous pavilions and buildings. The rules of the Xiangfu government, although they cannot be compared with those hundred-year-old meritorious relatives and royal families, are also considered to be the most luxurious and magnificent mansion in this area.

  They arrived at the flower hall, but two old men came forward to greet them. Guang Shi Heng had not paid much attention before, but when he saw the two men, he was taken aback and bowed deeply: "The student has seen Mr. Wei."

  "Oh, it's Master Guang." University Scholar Wei Zoude nodded and asked Chen Yan, "It seems that someone from your esteemed family has taken action?"

  "Ah, Shi Jian has always been known for his outspokenness, this time he is taking on the responsibility."

  Guang Shi Heng still didn't know what was going on and could only repeatedly decline, saying: "How dare I? A student dares not!"

  At the same time, he also turned to another person and bowed his head: "The student has met Master Qigong."

  He was called the "pure and upright" of this dynasty, and was famous in the court for his integrity as a minister who "did not accept orders, did not accept gifts". Fan Jingwen, however, was not a member of the eunuch party, nor was he considered to be part of the Donglin Party. In reality, he was very skilled at pretence, and had deep connections with the Donglin Party. Due to his ability to cover things up well, Chongzhen also relied heavily on him, so he was also a high-ranking minister who could rival Chen Yan and Wei Zaode.

  But Chen Yan and Wei Zhaode have always had a tense relationship, and open strife and secret struggle in the cabinet are inevitable. Moreover, Fan Jingwen is not close to these two men and does not belong to the same party as them. Today they are all gathered together here, and Guang Shiying feels very nervous when he sees this.

  "Don't be afraid!" Chen Yan said to him: "I called you here, indeed there is a big matter that requires your leadership. I asked you to meet Mr. Wei and Mr. Qi, it's to boost your courage and support your back!"

  "Yes, Meng Sheng understood!" By this time, Guang Shi Heng also understood that Chen Yan didn't greet him and brought him over, and he had no way to retreat.

  Back down in front of these big shots, let alone talk about prospects, even life and property are hard to protect!

  The students are like this, and Chen Yan is also radiant. At the moment, looking at Wei and Fan, Chen Yan smiled faintly and said: "The big thing that happened the other day, I'm sure you two have heard the rumors... The great events of the court cannot be let loose by these few people, so I have a plan and would like to discuss it with both of you..."

  The views on the current situation and the future of the Ming Dynasty are generally the same among the people present, and those who have the same attitude as them are absolutely the mainstream of the officials in the court.

  So they all went ahead with the matter at hand, without any burden, and everyone nodded slightly under Chen Yan's invitation, stepping into the living room of the Chen residence to discuss it carefully.

  ……

  ……

  Chen Yan's mansion was located near Chaoyang Gate, not far from the Xiangfu Mansion. The city gate was about to close as night fell, but there were still over thirty people, six or seven large carts, and fifteen or sixteen horses, mules, and donkeys forming a considerable procession. In the twilight, the crowd and horse team slowly moved towards the city gate.

  "Mei village, to be honest, today is really two unexpected things." Looking at the approaching city gate, Gong Dingyue, wearing a green robe and hat, with a serene expression, said to Wu Weiye, who was also dressed in casual clothes: "Firstly, you delayed until now before leaving, I'm surprised. Secondly, why did you leave with Old Tang, that barbarian, and bring his disciples who are learning ghostly skills...and treat them like treasures? I'm even more surprised!"

  To be honest, why bring Tang Ruowang and also take away all of Tang Ruowang's apprentices from the Lishu Bureau which was rebuilt by the Donglin Party people in the First Good Academy, Wu Weiye himself didn't understand.

  He only knew that mobilizing Tang Ruowang to Nanjing, and bringing these "talents" and equipment, the whole set of astronomical instruments... added up, the prince spent at least 20,000 silver coins!

  This team will leave the city and merge with the escort cavalry, all of whom are brave recruits called by the young master. More than 100 bird guns were bought for two or five coins each, plus large carts, mules, and fodder for the journey... Is this a small expense?

  It's not worth the trouble, Wu Weiye said. The road from Beijing to Tongzhou and then to Dezhou is all along the Grand Canal, passing through Zhangqiu and then turning into a land route, going through Dongchang Prefecture and then Tai'an, and finally Huai'an, with either water or land routes, all of which are major thoroughfares!

  There are no large bandits in Shandong now, only small groups of hundreds of people, and they do not dare to attack the state and county, nor do they dare to rob the official roads. After all, General Gao Jie's troops are currently stationed in Dongchang, and further south, "Hua Ma Liu" Liu Liangzuo leads tens of thousands of soldiers and horses in Henan Zongyang, while in Shandong Linqing, there is also a division of Liu Zeqing. These four towns, together with the town of Huang Degong in Luzhou, are the famous Jiangbei Four Towns during the Hongguang period.

  There are several towns in it, Zuo Liangyu led the army to fight against Bai Wang and other generals, Zhang Xianzhong has already set his sights on Sichuan, this time going south, it can be said that there will be surprises, but no danger.

  But the Crown Prince spent so much money and went to great lengths to protect himself and Tang Ruowang's safety, Wu Weiye could only be grateful and have nothing but "die to repay" in his heart.

  "Ghostly divination?" Wu Weiyue was still pondering, but Tang Ruowang, this foreign devil, didn't back down and fired a shot to break the siege: "Is Xu Guangqi also ghostly divination? In the sixth year of Chongzhen, I relied on astrology with him to recompile the calendar. What you're using now is my compilation, or the old calendar? If this is ghostly divination, Gong Xiaosheng, don't use it again!"

  Mentioning this, of course, is unbearable for anyone. The calendar that is currently in use worldwide was compiled by these foreigners and Xu Guangqi together, with great effort and precision.

  In fact, until later generations, the calendar used by the Chinese was compiled by people of this ethnic group.

  At that time, the scholars did not have too much resistance to these Westerners. After all, the court still relied on them to compile calendars and calculate astronomy, and also relied on their help in casting. Xu Guangqi and Sun Yuanhua were among the first batch of scholars who threw themselves into the Eastern Wind movement. Xu Guangqi was not only good at casting cannons but also had a great interest in geometry and astronomy, and wrote books to promote them. Sun Yuanhua was even more skilled in casting cannons, unfortunately, he was ruined in the Dongchang rebellion.

  As for the calendar system established by Schall, it experienced two major events in history: Li Zicheng's and Wu Sangui's entry into Beijing. Later, the calendar system became a possession of the Qing dynasty. The irrationality of the Manchu rulers was beyond Schall's imagination. In the astronomical controversy during the early years of Kangxi, Schall was sentenced to death by hanging and almost lost his life. Although he was later proved right, more than ten disciples trained by him were beheaded.

  Decades of hard work and dedication, lost in an instant, this blow is crushing.

  For Zeng Guofan, keeping this foreigner was not the main thing. As a non-Chinese person, even if he was used with good intentions, his use was limited. What he valued were the new teachings brought by the other side and these dozen or so Chinese people who had already mastered Western learning - these people were the real treasures!

  At the time Wu Weiye opposed, Zhu Cixuan was really too embarrassed to say... In his heart, a hundred great talents may not be worth one student who excels in geometry and astronomy.

  Gong Dingyu's arrogant air was also shot down by Tang Ruowang, and in fact, he had other plans in his heart... As he watched one after another of his close friends and fellow members of the Donglin Party leave, while he himself was pregnant with the idea of surrendering to the new dynasty due to opposition from his concubine... All sorts of thoughts were swirling around in his mind, and it was clear that he had a belly full of discontent.

  "Now you're just waving your hand at Tang Ruowang, saying: 'Don't mention anything else, how come you always say that preaching is the main thing and other things are auxiliary, but today it's all about making money and nothing else matters?'"

  When Tang Ruowang was about to leave, it was actually Zhu Ciyan who met him in person as the crown prince and allowed him to build a church in Nanjing in the future. After a major case of persecution during the Chongzhen period, missionaries had a very hard time spreading their teachings and could only rely on the Jesuits constantly transporting military and civilian goods such as cannons, clocks, and telescopes from Europe to establish connections. They even discussed whether or not to form a mercenary team of several hundred people with firearms to go north and help the Ming dynasty attack the Jianzhou barbarians... After all, the Jesuits had been operating in the Ming dynasty for many years, and the Ming dynasty was a civilized country after all!

  If it were not so, how would Adam Schall, who was devoted to spreading the gospel, be willing to leave Beijing?

  These things are absolutely confidential, Tang Ruowang just smiled and turned his head away, ignoring the Gong who was looking for trouble and wanted to quarrel.

  "Xiao Sheng," Wu Weiye said with a thicker tone, facing Gong Dingyue: "I know you have other plans, but I have one word to ask my brother to remember in his heart!"

  "What?"

  "Look at the Crown Prince!"

  "Hmph, don't even mention your prince!" Gong Dingyue's emotions today were also somewhat related to this matter. He glanced around and spoke in a very low voice to Wu Weiye: "You probably don't know, do you? Wang Dang has been praising the young master's benevolence and wisdom in Nanjing, and many people already know about it. Someone will definitely use this as material. With the capital city currently empty, many people are calculating the possibility of moving south... You absolutely must not get involved in this matter!"

  "What?" Wu Weiye said: "Going south is the right path, why can't it be done?"

  "Alas, this matter is of great importance. You know nothing about the intrigue and machinations within the court."

  In terms of writing poetry, Wu Weiye was more than ten times stronger than Gong Dingzi, but in terms of gathering information and understanding human nature, Gong Dingzi was much stronger than this great talent Wu.

  At the moment, Wu Weiye saw that there was a place where he was not convinced, Gong Dingyue stomped his foot and said: "Wang Dang and you, helped me to manage my reputation, even for myself to go south to monitor the country and create momentum. Those with some intelligence have already seen it. This thing is done very unwise, tell you, just mentioning the emperor's southern migration, there is still room for discussion, but things are still very difficult... Many people plan to boycott this matter, thinking that it is a step forward for the new dynasty! You should know that now people's hearts have changed greatly, and it is no longer the situation of a few years ago! If anyone dares to mention the southern migration of the crown prince, I will ask you, just one story of Tang Suzong's ascension to the throne in Lingwu, would the emperor listen to it and still let me go? Moreover, the emperor's temperament is very suspicious, do you think he will like people who bring up this matter, and will I be framed?"

  These words were spoken quickly and urgently, almost without any order, but to Wu Weiye, it was like a sudden enlightenment, many things that he had not understood for a long time suddenly became clear.

  He looked at Gong Dingyu, who had a very unlucky face, and advised him in a gentle tone: "Xiaosheng, with your talent, it's a pity to stay in the capital. Serving the enemy will make you regretful in the future."

  "Hmph, I won't regret it." Gong Dingyue turned his head, with a disdainful expression: "The future will definitely be mine, just you wait and see."

  "Alright, I won't argue with you." Wu Weiye knew that this friend was extremely talented but had a lower moral character, so using the grand principles of lord and subject to rebuke him would be completely useless. He coldly smiled and said: "If something happens in the new dynasty, what can be said? What if Jian Nu enters the pass again?"

  "Huh?" Gong Dingyu was stunned, scratching his head and saying: "What you're saying..."

  "Didn't think of that?" Wu Weiye said with a sarcastic tone, "You were asked to shave your head and leave a braid, after the matter is over, what will you do then?"

  Such a thing was really rare for people to think about at that time. In fact, many officials stayed in the capital, and eight or nine out of ten Ming officials chose to serve the new dynasty and Li Zicheng as their new lord.

  But when the Qing dynasty entered the pass, these officials who stayed in Beijing also escaped from the city, unwilling to serve as barbarians for their lord. The real opportunity for the Ming dynasty to turn over was after losing Nanjing and the hair-cutting order. Wu Weiye's one sentence contained a huge amount of information, and for a while, even Gong Dingyu was stunned by what he heard.

  "This matter, I must discuss with Chen Baishi!"

  Gong Ding's attitude was actually just a microcosm of the attitudes of many young officials at that time towards the replacement of old and new. Chen Mingxia had a very good relationship with him, and their ideas were also quite consistent. This talented person had an even higher temperament and was more skilled in politics. In the Donglin Party and Fushe, Chen Mingxia was far more valued than Gong and Wu, and his attitude was extremely crucial.

  "Go and discuss it thoroughly, Brother Hsiao Sheng."

  Today, Wu Weiye has indeed completed a task entrusted by the Crown Prince, and he is very confident in his heart. Now that the overall situation is becoming increasingly tense, the Emperor can't even bother to check the Crown Prince's homework, and the burden of covering up for him can also be lifted.

  Going further, it's taking Tang Ruowang all the way back south, and in Nanjing, there's a new situation waiting for them!

  However, after leaving the city and looking back, Wu Weiye also had a heavy heart: In the capital, the situation is so strange and unpredictable. It seems calm on the surface, but underneath, there are undercurrents surging forward. How major events will develop, whether the Crown Prince can get what he wants, and how the Emperor will make his decision - all these are extremely complicated and difficult to express.

  He let out a long sigh, in any case, the capital city was behind him, looking forward, Tang Ruowang and others were rushing along with great enthusiasm, at dusk, the cold, the grass shed solitary smoke, although desolate, but in the eyes of enthusiastic people, it was full of vitality. In any case, this road, however, ultimately had to be walked by man!