Ming Zuo

Chapter 696 Irreconcilable
The peasant army crossed the Yellow River and invaded Henan, completely breaking the encirclement and interception of the Ming Dynasty.

The situation deteriorated all of a sudden, leaving the Ming Dynasty at a loss.

But at this time, Lin Danhan who fled to Qinghai also came to make trouble.

In order to make up for the loss, Lin Danhan sent troops to attack Yansui Dingbian camp.Not only that, Wang Chenggong, the leader of the rebel army who had already surrendered to the imperial court, rebelled again while taking advantage of the Mongolian invasion.

Hong Chengchou, the governor of the three sides, had no choice but to keep his own scope of authority first.

He ordered Chen Qiyu and Wang Chengen to calm the border troubles.

Both Chen Qiyu and Wang Chengen were good at fighting. They first repelled Lin Danhan, and then chased and killed the peasant army all the way.

It was not until the beginning of the seventh year of Chongzhen that the chaos in northern Shaanxi would subside.

But the peasant army ravaging the Central Plains has always been a serious problem for the court.

In view of the fact that Hong Chengchou wanted to reorganize the trilateral defense, and the powers of township and conciliatory affairs in different regions were different, a minister must be appointed for unified management.

So Chen Qiyu was promoted to the right servant of the Ministry of War and the right deputy capital censor, the governor of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Sichuan, and Huguang military affairs, and became the veritable governor of the five provinces.

This made him surpass Hong Chengchou all of a sudden, and became the most prestigious civil servant in the Ming court.

With Chen Qiyu in power, he immediately began preparations to wipe out the peasant army.

The land of Henan is full of gunpowder and smoke, but the neighboring Shandong is peaceful and peaceful.

After dealing with Xu Guangqi's funeral, it was Xu Ruolin who made Zuo Menggeng most nervous.

"When you are pregnant, you must not only ensure nutrition, but also exercise appropriately. Only in this way can you be healthy and the mother and child will be safe."

Putting aside government and military affairs, Zuo Menggeng returned to the role of husband and father.

And his care for Xu Ruolin surprised the people around him.

"Brother-in-law, Wen Po said that after a woman has a body, she must take care of it carefully, otherwise it is easy to move her fetus. Why do you take your sister to move around more frequently?"

For this point, Zuo Menggeng is much more confident than the Wen Po of this era.

"Life lies in exercise, and exercise can make people strong and healthy. Think about it, if a person sits still all the time, will his body become more and more tired? This is the reason for lack of exercise."

He added: "Of course, in addition to reasonable exercise, pregnant people should pay more attention to nutrition intake. This way, it will be smooth during childbirth, and it will be easier for women to recover after childbirth."

The Xu sisters scratched their heads after hearing this, not knowing whether what he said was right or not.

But after walking around for a while, Xu Ruolin still felt quite comfortable.

"You are a big man, you even know about women's pregnancy?"

Zuo Menggeng held his head high.

"Don't forget that I have also made contributions to Shandong's medical system. Even Minister Deng has benefited a lot from me, and he has a lot of trust in my theory."

The two sisters laughed and said nothing, letting him boast.

"I don't know if my sister is pregnant, is it a boy or a girl?"

Xu Ruoxin's unintentional words immediately aroused the eyes of the people around him.

In this day and age, boys and girls represent completely different meanings.

Especially Zuo Menggeng's children.

Zuo Menggeng was keenly aware of the change in the atmosphere, and even noticed the worry deep in Xu Ruolin's eyes.

"Whether it's a boy or a girl, they are all my children, so what's the difference? I tell the world that women hold up half the sky, but it doesn't work with me?"

Only then did Xu Ruoxin realize that she was reckless, but she still wanted to stand up for her sister.

"That is to say, if she is really a girl, how will she inherit her brother-in-law's inheritance in the future?"

Zuo Menggeng looked at Shuohe horizontally.

"Isn't Wu Zetian also a woman? What's the difference?"

The people around were greatly affected, as for what they thought in private, it is unknown.

Xu Ruolin caressed her belly, nagging endlessly at the little life inside.

"You, you, because of you, your mother couldn't even accompany your great-grandfather on the last journey. You have to fight hard, or your mother will be sad."

Zuo Menggeng's head was full of black lines.

"Don't put too much pressure on your child. No matter what happens to him in the future, he is our child. As long as he can grow up healthy, safe and happy, he is better than anything else."

It's a pity that no one can maintain a normal state of mind except himself.

Zuo Menggeng couldn't do anything about it.

A person is in a high position, with great power in his hands, and many things are beyond his control.

The only thing he can do is rely on his own strength to try his best to make his family live a happier life.

Xu Guangqi's coffin finally returned to his hometown.

Countless people gathered on both sides of the Huangpu River just to witness the last scene of the old man.

The emotions in these gazes are very complicated.

There is admiration, gratitude, grief, and regret.

Similarly, there are also gloating, gnashing of teeth, and some calculations.

The Xu family and the relatives and friends of the Xu family can't care so much at this time.

Xu Ji took his children dressed in hemp and filial piety, and knelt down at the pier to pick up Xu Guangqi.

Relatives and friends of the Xu family cheered and hugged, and carried the coffin into the mourning hall.

Then the main gate of Xu Mansion was opened to welcome guests and friends from all walks of life to express their condolences.

The arrival of Fang Yuegong, the prefect of Songjiang, obviously attracted more attention.

After he personally kowtowed to Xu Guangqi and offered incense, he was led to another courtyard by Pan Yunlong.

There are no outsiders here, so it is convenient to discuss.

"Xu Ge's old man is the pillar of the Great Ming Dynasty. Now he is driving westward, and the heaven and the earth are in mourning. I also ask Brother Pan to express his condolences to the Xu family on behalf of me."

Pan Yunlong bowed his hands in salute.

"Master Zhifu has a heart."

Fang Yuegong considered it for a while, but still did not let go of this opportunity.

"Brother Pan is a local celebrity in Songjiang. I think that I value the love of my hometown. But now many local people are becoming poorer and poorer because of the weaving. In the face of the folks and elders, it is prudent to act."

Pan Yunlong's expression changed.

"I waited for my business as soon as possible, and I never dared to do things against my conscience. The difficulties of the local people depended on the magistrate to strategize."

The meaning is obvious.

The difficulties of the local people are of course the responsibility of your government, and those of us who are in business should not take the blame.

When he said this, Fang Yuegong became angry.

"The local people soon rely on weaving for a living. At first, every family worked hard and could barely make ends meet. But now that machines are prevalent, even half of the cotton cloth woven by the people cannot be sold. If this continues, will it not kill people?"

Pan Yunlong refused to budge.

"The market is like this. The survival of the fittest has always been the survival of the fittest. The cotton cloth produced by machines and factories is good and cheap, and it is popular not only in Daming, but also in all parts of the world. This alone makes countless money for Daming every year. There are also countless people in Songjiang Mansion relying on it for a living and supporting their families, so please let the magistrate know clearly."

Fang Yuegong stared at him.

"Wealth and honor are what people want. If you don't get it according to the way, you won't get it."

Pan Yunlong's counterattack was sonorous and powerful.

"A gentleman is a metaphor for righteousness, and a villain is a metaphor for profit. Great righteousness is great benefit, and great benefit is beneficial to the country and the people."

Fang Yuegong sat still, as silent as ink, his face covered with dark clouds.

(End of this chapter)