Chapter 64 Donglin Party People

  Lin Chunhong stayed in Yangzhou for several days and then set off to Changshu, the second stop. Kong Yinglong led a three-masted sailboat back to Zhijiang, while Gu Xiulin remained in Yangzhou, building and operating a warehouse.

  Yangzhou's life of indulgence and luxury did not make Lin Chunhong lose his way, on the contrary, he deeply resented the prevailing fashion of good men. On the other hand, Li Chongde and Zhang Daohuan were more open-minded and reacted relatively calmly. Lin Chunhong scolded all the way and pushed all the blame onto Hongwu's back. In those days, Zhu Yuanzhang strictly forbade officials from consorting with prostitutes, which led to those officials finding alternative outlets among young servants, further fueling the unbridled passion of Dragon Yang. Although the ban on consorting with prostitutes had long been a mere formality, how could the prevailing atmosphere be so easily eradicated?

  It seems that this atmosphere has been going on for hundreds of years. Didn't Jia Baoyu also have a gay friend? Didn't Qin Zhong fight with others in school because of his infatuation with men? Not to mention Xue Pan and Jia Lian often flirting with the handsome young servants. My god, when did homosexuality become a social fashion trend?

  Lin Chunhong's scolding made Li Chongde and Zhang Daohan exchange a knowing glance, they were not surprised at all, thinking that being a good boy was just a normal phenomenon. The two men's calm reaction made Lin Chunhong feel even more powerless: fighting against the powerful social customs, what a daunting task!

  The purpose of visiting Qu Shisi is twofold. One is to establish a good relationship with the Donglin Party or Fuxhe in Jiangnan, hoping to reduce the resistance to stretching out to Jiangnan; on the other hand, he wants to use the influence of Qu Shisi and Qian Yifen to pave the way for his own troops to go north and suppress bandits.

  The Northern Expedition and the Yangtze River Pirate Suppression are the same, with the purpose of training troops.

  At the mere mention of war, Lin Chunhong's blood boiled with excitement: facing the imperial court was simply a matter of exchanging interests!

  The Liao soldiers have become warlords, the court is well aware of this, why not severely punish them? Isn't it because apart from these soldiers and generals, no one can resist the invasion of the Jurchen slaves? Even the disaster in Dengzhou needs these soldiers to put out the fire, can the court not turn a blind eye to their arrogance?

  Exterminate bandits, we must go north to exterminate bandits!

  The predicament of having money but no soldiers is fully embodied in Guan Renmei. In the eyes of the imperial court, Guan Renmei was not even worth a single ant, and his life and death were decided with just one word, without causing any ripples, and he would be reduced to nothing!

  It is necessary to eliminate bandits and refine a brave and capable army, making every person in the Ming Dynasty both fear and rely on Lin Chunhong!

  Having soldiers but no money and food is naturally useless. Yue Wu Mu's troops are good at fighting, with a mighty reputation that makes the Jin dogs tremble with fear, but what use is this? With several golden plaques from the imperial court, wouldn't Wu Mu obediently withdraw his troops? Without the imperial court's money and provisions, how much can an ironclad army do? The Liao soldiers' arrogance and overbearing behavior can only be within a certain range. If the imperial court ruthlessly cuts off their supplies, the outcome for the Liao soldiers will either be surrendering to become slaves or dispersing like smoke in the wind. How much turmoil can they stir up?

  Make money! Refine soldiers! Refine soldiers? Right, refine soldiers!

  To forge elite troops in blood and fire, this is my capital!

  After Kuixi returned to his hometown from the capital, he was not idle and had close contacts with Donglin Party and Fushe. He kept an eye on the dynamics of the imperial court at all times, waiting for opportunities to rise again. To say that Kuixi felt extremely sensitive, he had once sent someone to investigate the actions of Jingzhou and Yiling, and had some understanding of Lin Chunhong's strength.

  Moreover, Qu Shi became the intermediary between Ai Ru and Lin Chunhong, and was also very clear about Lin Chunhong's actions in recruiting Westerners.

  Guo Shi thought little of Lin Chunhong, in his mind, Lin was at most a local snake, it would be best if he could use Lin, even if Lin was a stubborn donkey, the loss to him wouldn't be great.

  When Qu Shiyu saw Lin Chunhong, Lin Chunhong gave him a generous gift: a fine horse and a four-wheeled carriage. The horse was an exceptionally fine Hetao horse, and the carriage was a luxurious and comfortable one, which made Qu Shiyu extremely excited, touching and admiring the carriage here and there.

  This carriage is indeed exceptionally luxurious: the wooden wheels and eight spokes are painted golden yellow, and the spokes have been carved to present a unique pattern. Two curved degrees of consistency together formed a solid base, also painted golden yellow, made from high-quality nanmu wood. The compartment and the base are separated by a distance, only connected at the four corners. The load-bearing structure of the compartment is made of fine steel, and the entire compartment is painted black. On the four corners of the compartment, there are four palace lanterns, designed to be windproof and waterproof, ensuring they remain lit even in rain or strong winds. On top of the compartment, various patterns are carved, a feast for the eyes.

  Qiu Shi Ge was so delighted that he turned around twice, and couldn't help but climb onto the carriage to experience it. As soon as he stepped onto the footboard, the carriage tilted over, giving Qiu Shi Ge a fright: "This horse-drawn carriage can only be admired, not ridden?"

  Lin Chunhong smiled and said, "The carriage is not fixed in place, it's suspended on steel springs. Even if the road is bumpy, you won't feel a thing when sitting inside. Sir, why don't you go ahead and try it out?"

  Qiu Shi Gou finally felt at ease, climbed into the carriage and sat down, and intentionally swayed it a bit. The carriage indeed started to sway along with him. Qiu Shi Gou got off the carriage with satisfaction, held onto the shaft and turned it around, discovering that the two front wheels also followed suit. Lin Chun Hong explained: "The horse is pulling on the shaft, when the horse turns a corner, the carriage can conveniently follow the turn."

  Guo Shi's heart itched for a moment, and he immediately called Lin Chunhong and three others to get on the carriage for a test drive. Lin Chunhong led the horses onto the carriage shafts, acting as the coachman, and once the other three were seated steadily, the whip cracked lightly, and the carriage moved forward smoothly.

  Ku Shiying, Li Chongde and Zhang Daohan sat in the carriage, although the carriage was shaking violently, they didn't feel any bumpiness at all.

  "Hold on tight, I'm going to stop the car!" Lin Chunhong shouted after running for over ten miles.

  "Ah..." Lin Chunhong grasped the reins with both hands and stepped hard on a pedal, and all that could be heard was the screeching sound of the brakes as the carriage came to a steady stop.

  Guo Shi was very satisfied with the horse-drawn carriage, and all the way he praised it, making Lin Chunhong and the other two men extremely pleased.

  But Lin Chunhong knew that the current carriage was far from successful, with a structure that was too simple: the chassis was connected with fine steel and then had a hole drilled in it, which was hung on the front wheel axle. This kind of carriage could not bear weight, only people could sit in it, no goods could be transported, and when turning, it would make an ear-piercing screeching sound. Due to the lack of sufficient hardness and toughness of the spring, the carriage shook violently, although it was no longer bumpy, but shaking like this all the time would likely make the passengers inside dizzy.

  Based on the above factors, the carriage was not mass-produced, only a few samples were made and given away. Lin Chunhong hoped that after giving it to Qi Shiwei, he could stir up a whirlwind among the scholar-officials of the Ming Dynasty, which would ultimately benefit the promotion of four-wheeled carriages.

  Guo Shi had been in officialdom for many years and was good at guessing people's minds. He clearly understood Lin Chunhong's intention. Lin Chunhong came from afar, bringing a horse-drawn carriage to send him off, wasn't it just to tell the world: I, Lin Chunhong, lean towards the Donglin Party and Fushe, so in the future, brothers of the Donglin Party and Fushe should take care of me! As for others, don't you dare bully me casually, I have the Donglin Party and Fushe as my backing! As for Lin Chunhong's idea of using him as a stepping stone to promote horse-drawn carriages and make profits, in his opinion, it was a secondary purpose, completely incomparable with the first one. But in Lin Chunhong's mind, these two purposes were not distinguishable from each other.

  Ku Shi's attitude towards Lin Chunhong's surrender was naturally welcoming. He immediately set up a banquet to entertain the three of them, and when the wine had reached its peak, he suddenly heard the sound of a pipa melody coming from outside. A woman in a green dress stepped out with light steps, holding a pipa and playing it. The woman had a hint of a smile on her face, and her bright and innocent eyes sparkled like jade, shining with a clear and pure light, as if they were untouched by the dust of the world. She slightly bowed and said sweetly: "I heard that noble guests have arrived, so I, a humble girl, will lightly dance to help the wine excitement."

  Guo Shi smiled and said: "Xiao Cui, dance a Lan Hua Hua for our noble guest." Then he turned to Lin Chunhong and the others and said: "Xiao Cui is my new concubine."

  Lin Chunhong and two others hastily stood up, saying: "How dare you!"

  "How can I not? From now on, we are fellow travelers, sharing life and death together! Little Cui, let's begin!"

  Immediately, a beautiful melody sounded, and the slender and delicate Xiao Cui held the pipa and danced with flying sleeves, making Lin Chunhong's face hot and his heart beat fast, praising her without end. In his heart, Lin Chunhong secretly thought: No wonder Qi Shiye left the Jesuit Society to take this woman as a concubine, she is indeed pure and elegant, truly a rare beauty among people.

  The music ended, and Xiao Cui slightly bowed her head, smiling as she left. Lin Chunhong sighed, "Beautiful person, beautiful melody, beautiful dance! Lord Qu is indeed very fortunate!"

  Kui Xi laughed loudly and said: "If you say that good fortune, I am far inferior to 'Mian Qing' Gong Lao!"

  Lin Chunhong and two others looked at each other in dismay, unaware of who "Mian Qing" was.

  With a scornful expression, Guo said: "Minister of the Imperial Cabinet, apart from Wu Jiang Zhou Daodeng, who else is there? In those days, the Emperor asked him: 'Recently, in all the memorials submitted by officials, there are always two words - "qing mian" (sentiment and face). What does "qing mian" mean?' And that old fellow replied: 'Qing mian refers to the sentiment of face!'"

  Lin Chunhong and the other two burst out laughing. Zhang Daohuan said: "This Zhou Gong lao is really interesting."

  "There are many interesting things, once in the morning meeting, this old guy suddenly laughed for no reason. The emperor asked him why he was laughing, and he was speechless. Later, Qian Longxi scolded him for not being so, and he actually said that since he had already laughed, what else could be done?"

  This made Lin Chunhong and his two companions laugh so hard they doubled over, clutching their stomachs in pain.

  Lin Chunhong finally caught his breath and said, "Fortunately, the emperor did not pursue it, this emperor is still very tolerant." Lin Chunhong also found it strange, wasn't Emperor Chongzhen stingy and unkind? Why couldn't he see any of that from Zhou Daodeng's experience?

  Li Chongde continued to ask: "Then why did Master Qu say that Zhou Daodeng was lucky? Didn't he also get called back home by the Emperor in the end?"

  "Haha, this is a long story. After the old man returned home, he bought a songstress from Wu Jiang's famous courtesan Xu Fo, named Yang Ai. This Yang Ai was only 14 years old, clever and charming, elegant and refined, loved by all who saw her. At first, Yang Ai served the old lady exclusively, and the old lady liked her very much. But before long, Zhou Daotong, not respecting his age, took Yang Ai as his concubine, envied by others! Isn't this also good fortune?"

  The three of them hastily nodded in agreement. Lin Chunhong muttered to himself: You yourself are not respectful of the elderly, with an old husband and a young wife, yet you mock others!

  "Ah, Zhou Daotong's joke is not over yet. The other day, his wife and concubine reported that Yang Ai was having an affair with a servant, and Zhou Daotong was furious, ordering the family members to beat Yang Ai to death. Fortunately, the old lady stopped him, otherwise it would have been a tragic event! Look at this Zhou Daotong, he is muddle-headed in court, and when he returns home, his old habits remain unchanged, and his household is also in disarray, actually creating a scandal of his concubine having an affair with a servant. Alas, alas!"

  Lin Chunhong analyzed the words of Ju Shi and felt that Yang Ai's private communication with the slave was highly suspicious: Yang Ai was only 14 years old, her body and mind were not yet mature, she was just a little girl, how could she have a private affair with a slave? Maybe it was just a frame-up by Zhou Daodeng's wife.

  Lin Chunhong linked Xu Fo, Yang Ai and Wu Jiang together in thought, when suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him, recalling a memory. He exclaimed in surprise: "Has Yang Ai returned to Xu Fo's Huiyuan Institute?"

  "It was then that she returned to the Huiyuan Temple and changed her name to Liu Yin, because she liked 'I see the green mountain is enchanting, I suppose the green mountain sees me as such', and also called herself 'Rushi'. Lin younger brother is after all a young man, far away in Huguang, yet he actually knows about Xu Fo's Huiyuan Temple."

  Lin Chunhong smiled and said: "Guiyuan Temple is world-renowned, how could I not know that!"

  For a moment, Lin Chunhong yearned for the Return to the Origin Temple even more. Liu Ruzhuo was indeed Liu Ruzhuo! A rare woman who appears only once in a thousand years!