prosperous age

Chapter 153 152 Ceremony

There was a "jingling" sound of horse bells from the official road in the distance, and two carriages slowly turned out from the corner. When they got closer, the wooden wheels turned and made a "creaking" sound.

"Brother Lao, Brother Wei Xian, when do you plan to leave for the exam next year?"

In the car, the oldest Shen Liangdong spoke.

Lao Kan frowned slightly, and then said: "The exam will be in February. If you rush to the exam, even if you leave in December, you can only arrive just in time."

"Yeah, to be on the safe side, it's better to leave in November."

Wei Guangde didn't speak, just nodded.

Shen Liangdong and Lao Kan were right.

Although you can take a boat all the way from Jiujiang Mansion to Beijing, you can't escape the seasons.

In winter, the Grand Canal will be frozen, and it is impossible to sail, so they can only go by land when they go to Beijing for the exam.

"If Chengzu didn't move his capital to Beijing, it would be better to take the exam in Nanjing like the [-]th year of Yongle."

Lao Kan suddenly said a word.

"Ha ha."

Regarding this, Wei Guangde and Shen Liangdong could only smile wryly and shook their heads.

While the three were chatting, the carriage gradually moved away.

A few days later, the horse-drawn carriages of the three new imperial examiners finally returned to Jiujiang City, and the horse-drawn carriages of the dealership drove them to their doorsteps one by one.

Fortunately, all three of them lived in the city, so they didn't spend too much time.

According to the previously agreed itinerary, they set off in mid-November.

When Wei Guangde got out of the carriage, he saw Zhang Ji jumping down from the car behind him, took the luggage handed over by the coachman, and followed quickly.

"Got home."

Standing in front of the house, Wei Guangde stretched himself. After staying in the car for a long time, he felt uncomfortable all over.

"Yes, my lord and madam must have known the news, so I might be very happy."

Zhang Ji proudly echoed while carrying his things.

When the two of them were talking, Uncle Lin, the concierge in charge of Zhang's house, heard voices outside and looked out. He saw Wei Guangde and Zhang Ji standing outside the door, hurriedly opened the door, and came out in a panic. .

"Master, the Second Young Master is back."

Before running out, he didn't forget to yell into the house to inform the rest of the family.

Following his shouting, many people in the room were quickly attracted, and everyone hurriedly sent in the luggage that Wei Guangde had brought back.

Asking Zhang Ji to put the things back in his small yard, Wei Guangde picked out a small box from his luggage and went to his mother's yard. At this moment, Wei's mother had received the news, so she arranged for someone to arrange dinner and drinks for the evening, and Wei Guangde came in. When I was there, I saw Wei's mother smiling all over her face.

"Mom, the baby is back."

"Okay, just come back."

As soon as Wei Guangde approached, he was embraced by Wei's mother, who patted Wei Guangde's head happily.

In the evening, Father Wei came home from duty, along with Zhang Shigui and Wu Zhankui.

Wei's mother arranged for someone to notify, and in the afternoon, aunt Wu Zhang had already come to Wei's house, hugging Wei Guangde again and boasting fiercely.

Not long after, Zhang Fugui and Zhang Hongfu also came, and Zhang Tongzhi originally planned to come, but after all, he was getting old, so he asked his children and grandchildren to come to celebrate.

The banquet is divided into two tables, the female relatives are in the back room, and all the male guests are naturally in the outer room.

While the wine was hot, Wei Guangde heard his father suddenly ask: "The news that came in today, how powerful are these Japanese pirates, and they haven't been wiped out yet."

"Who knows."

Wu Zhankui said casually, "Uncle should be more aware of this matter, Wei Li has always been in charge of the news of the Japanese pirates."

As they spoke, their eyes shifted to Zhang Shigui.

"That group of Japanese pirates is a bit difficult to deal with. They landed in Shangyu, Zhejiang Province in June. The Shaoxing government immediately mobilized the surrounding officers and soldiers to surround them, but let them run out and robbed the towns near Hangzhou. After a while, he fled out before the officers and soldiers surrounded him."

Then Zhang Shigui began to introduce to them in detail the fighting and fleeing between the Japanese pirates and the officers and soldiers after they landed. Of course, these information came from the official, so it may not be accurate, but it is probably not bad.

When Wei Guangde heard about the Japanese pirates, he naturally fell in love again.

In the emperor's mind now, apart from Xiuxian, the only ones who could worry him for a while were the southern Japanese and the northern captives.

Next year's palace examination, if it is not good, let them propose a solution, although they may not necessarily follow it, but it is also a reference to see if there are any good suggestions that they have overlooked.

The papers of the imperial examination of the Ming Dynasty mostly contained political issues at that time, so after the imperial examination, they will not be returned to the examinees, but will be archived directly, because no one can say for sure, and the opinion of a certain examinee will be entered. High-level eyes.

Even if Zhang Hongfu handed over the wine glass to go with him, Wei Guangde stopped him with a wave of his hand.

"Afterwards, on the way to escape, I was attacked by the local government and the guards many times, but the more they fought, although the number of this group of Japanese pirates was getting smaller and smaller, they became more and more elite. They were very good at hiding and running. The officers and soldiers in Zhili have nothing to do."

Speaking of this, Zhang Shigui sighed, raised his wine glass with one stroke, and everyone at the table picked up their wine glasses and drank it in one gulp.

Zhang Shigui's next words let Wei Guangde fully understand the gang of Japanese pirates. After Shaoxing Mansion was discovered, they were besieged by the officers and troops around Shaoxing Mansion, and most of the Japanese pirate ships were destroyed.

Seeing that there was no hope of escaping back, this group of Japanese pirates chose a tactic that Japanese pirates had never used before, that is, to run westward and fight inland. Unexpectedly, it was really successful.

Come to think of it, the officers and soldiers at this time thought that the Japanese pirates were going to run to the sea, so the inland side was lax in defense and was seized by the opportunity.

Afterwards, the Japanese pirates ran outside the city of Hangzhou and fired a big gun. Before the surrounding officers and soldiers surrounded them, they ran west again and successively raided Yuqian and Changhua counties.

Then, the Japanese pirates came out of Zhejiang. This Changhua County is located at the junction of Zhejiang and Nanzhili.

However, this group of Japanese pirates did not go directly to Nanzhili, but slightly went south into Yanzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, and looted Chun'an County. Huizhou Prefecture under the Liberation Army.

"Huizhou Mansion? It's not far from our Jiujiang."

Zhang Fugui suddenly interjected and said that there was news of Japanese pirates running into the inland, and he knew about it before, but he was not very clear about the thief's whereabouts.

Now, after hearing what the elder brother said, the Japanese pirates have actually run to their vicinity of Jiujiang.

"After all, it's only a few hundred miles away from us."

Zhang Shigui nodded and said.

"Huizhou must have been unprepared, and they were penetrated again. I heard before that this group of Japanese pirates is still running around, and they are almost running to Yingtian Mansion."

Zhang Fugui deserves to be well-informed. His sources of information are not only his family, but also many friends who are doing business outside, so he is naturally well-informed.

Regarding the Japanese pirates breaking into the inland this time, he just heard it as a surprise, and didn't inquire too much, after all, it had little to do with him.

"That's right, they went to Shexian County under the Yanzhou Prefecture, where they defeated the encircling and suppressing government army, went north to Jixi County, and then continued northward to Jingde, Ningzhou Prefecture, and then passed through Jing County, Nanling, Wuhu, and now It should be near Taipingfu City, if they continue to run north, won't they be close to Yingtianfu?"

Zhang Shigui's memory is really good, and he kept spitting out a series of place names. Obviously, he did not work for nothing in the commander's office, and he knew the whereabouts of the Japanese pirates who invaded the inland this time.

"The defeat in Wuhu was quite miserable. The main force of the Jianyang Guard was defeated. Counting it, if the Japanese pirates still go north."

By this time, Zhang Shigui had explained in detail the whereabouts of these Japanese pirates traveling thousands of miles inland.

"How many of them are there?"

Wei Guangde listened very carefully, and now he couldn't help asking.

"According to Tang Bao, in Chun'an, there seemed to be only a few dozen Japanese pirates left. In the subsequent battle in Wuhu, in addition to Jianyangwei's battle, many local people also participated in the battle. More than ten people were killed that time. There should not be many people."

Zhang Shigui frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "But the rest are all strong and strong, and it's even harder to catch."

In fact, Wei Guangde already had a memory in his mind when he heard Zhang Shigui say that the Japanese pirates were about to arrive at Yingtian Mansion.

Of course, this memory comes from later generations, a joke I read on the Internet.

Yes, at that time, Wei Guangde read the article as a joke, saying that dozens of Japanese pirates attacked the city of Nanjing. He vaguely remembered that he checked the information on the Internet afterwards and found that this passage was actually true.

Then I saw all kinds of analysis. Some said that this was the city of Nanjing where the Japanese pirates escaped by accident. Some said that the Japanese pirates' whereabouts were secretive, but they were very purposeful. They first ran west, then went north, and even encountered many government troops. The encirclement and suppression continued to go north, as if it had been premeditated.

Then the most nonsensical thing is that they think that there are dozens of Japanese pirates who went ashore. Note that they think that there are dozens of Japanese pirates who went ashore.

In fact, they were not pirates, but were sent by a famous Japanese official to the Ming Dynasty to investigate the military situation, and they planned to attack after finding out the situation.

At that time, Wei Guangde was taken aback by watching it. To be honest, he believed everything he saw.

However, the news that came out of Zhang Shigui's mouth just now, the more you listen, the more it seems to be that thing?

According to what he said, there were actually hundreds of Japanese pirates when they came ashore, and they were scattered by the officers and soldiers in Shaoxing Prefecture. One of the more powerful Japanese pirates chose to flee westward. Later, it may be that there are more officers and soldiers in other directions. , so turned around and ran north, and arrived at Yingtian Mansion by accident.

Well, at the time of the Luming Banquet, the documents I saw that the Jiangxi Metropolitan Commander and the Jiangxi Chief Political Envoy read, most likely it was the news that the Japanese pirates had killed Huizhou.

Huizhou is only two hundred miles to the west, but it is Pengze County under the control of Jiujiang Prefecture. If it goes south, it will enter Raozhou Prefecture in Jiangxi Province.

Wei Guangde has been to Raozhou.

When he was traveling in Jiangxi, he had been to many places, and he was quite impressed.

"If the Japanese pirates really came to the city of Nanjing, wouldn't Beijing go crazy?"

Zhang Hongfu suddenly muttered.

The two capitals of the Ming Dynasty, Beijing and Nanjing, are both important places of confidentiality. If there is a special existence, it is only Fengyang.

The ancestors of the Zhu family are buried in these three places, and there is also the mausoleum of the Taizu outside Nanjing.

"Yeah, that's why we issued a military order yesterday to let the main forces of all ministries gather and stand by. If the Nanjing Ministry of War sends a troop dispatch order, we will have to rush to help Nanjing immediately."

Zhang Shigui said helplessly.

"Dozens of Japanese pirates still use our Jiujiang Guard to send troops to rescue them?"

Zhang Hongfu had an unbelievable look on his face, the Nanjing City Capital Camp is deserted?
"I'm afraid these Japanese pirates are not fighting hard. They should be fighting guerrilla tactics. If they win, they will run away."

Wei Guangde whispered his judgment. There are too many people, and their whereabouts are easy to be exposed. Naturally, they will be surrounded by large groups of officials and troops.

After several battles, the heads of the next ones were beheaded, and the rest were elites. The team was small, but it was easier to hide their whereabouts, and the officers and soldiers of the brigade were helpless.

They just took advantage of the loopholes and only attacked the small team of officers and soldiers, which was enough to create panic among the Ming army.

"That's right, if we could fight, we would have defeated the officers and soldiers in Zhejiang, and they would flee there to Nanzhili."

Zhang Shigui nodded and said.

"Then now in Yingtian Mansion? And that Mr. Xu, if he leaves at this time, he might be said to have run away."

Wei Meng said suddenly.

"What Mr. Xu? What kind of escape?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously, since he had just been home for a long time, he naturally didn't know many things.

Soon, Zhang Hongfu explained to Wei Guangde in a low voice. Wei Guangde knew that Xu Bangrui, the eldest son of Wei Guogong, had arrived in Jiujiang a few days ago and had a wedding at his home.

After Zhang Hongfu talked about the messy things about Wei Guogong's family, Wei Guangde suddenly had a feeling of déjà vu, he was too familiar with this smell.

When they were in Nanchang City, the scholars got together, and besides chatting about knowledge and gossip, they naturally also wanted to talk about state affairs.

Well, Emperor Jiajing's consecration of the two kings and the marriage of the two kings almost at the same time are naturally one of the talking points.

As expected of being in Jiangxi, many candidates here have relatives who are officials in Beijing, and the news is well-informed. During the exchange, Wei Guangde also knew that Emperor Jiajing also liked his youngest son King Jing, and he didn't seem to think much of King Yu.

There are also rumors that the emperor wants to abolish the elders and establish the younger ones. Isn't this similar to the situation in Wei Guogong's family?

If there is the only difference, it is that Wei Guogong's meaning is very clear, while the royal family is still a little cloudy, and it is not clear what the emperor's specific thoughts are.

"Cough cough."

At this time, Zhang Shigui suddenly coughed twice, attracting the attention of everyone around the table, and then he said unhurriedly: "The old man analyzed it, and the idea of ​​the father-in-law probably won't work. You can't pass it. '

Speaking of this, Zhang Shigui looked around at the crowd, "Come down and keep your mouth shut. When you see Mr. Xu in the future, you will be treated like a prince, you know?"

Everyone else nodded yes, Wei Guangde blinked, as if realizing something.

It is still a feudal dynasty now, and this era is like this. It pays attention to "orderly seniority, seniority and inferiority, and the blessing of the family. If you don't know the etiquette, you can't stand."

In Nanchang City, Wei Guangde heard some officials' children say that King Jing's handling of people is indeed better than that of King Yu, but in the eyes of most court officials, King Yu is still the crown prince.

Without him, it is the difference between old and young.

Thinking about what he said just now, Mr. Zhang really sees it thoroughly.

But Wei Guangde thought more. At that time in Nanchang, Wei Guangde was still guessing whether King Jing or King Yu could inherit the great treasure. The throne is unstoppable.

learnt.

In this era, the word "li" represents morality, law, and system.

(End of this chapter)