Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 343: Every man has a share of responsibility for the fate of his country

Two days later, Gu Yanwu, Gu Zuyu, Zhou Tingshen and his party arrived in Guangzhou and stopped at the pier near Dinghai Gate in the southeast of the city.

In recent years, Guangzhou has changed hands several times and has been frequently hit by wars. The three of them traveled southward and saw many depressed cities, thinking that Guangzhou was the same. However, they never expected that outside Dinghai Gate, there were sails like snow and all kinds of shops lined up, giving the impression of a prosperous era.

After drifting on the sea for a long time, the people were eager to move. As soon as the boat reached the shore, they sent people to hire scaffolders and sedan chairs to prepare to go to the Wangyuan Tower for a feast. The Wangyuan Tower was close to the Temple of the Sea God and was a famous inn in the south of Guangzhou.

Unexpectedly, the servant did not find the sedan chair, but found two waiters and said, "Gentlemen, we really can't find the sedan chair. But we met two waiters from the inn, who said they have a donkey cart that we can take."

A middle-aged waiter came forward and said with a shameless smile: "From your accents, you are from the north. To be honest, the ruler of Nanyue has entered Guangzhou, recruiting talents and encouraging industry and commerce. There is an endless stream of travelers, and the inn is overcrowded.

"You guys are going to the Wangyuan Tower, but it must be fully booked. If you don't mind, our inn is a new one, called 'Jinglu Inn', named after General Wang of the Red Army's Military Advisory Office. If you're happy, I'll bring a donkey cart and call a porter to take you to our house to stay the night."

The guy could speak Mandarin with a strong Cantonese accent, and he finally made himself clear by using gestures and repeating himself.

"Interesting, interesting." Gu Yanwu said with a smile: "Why is your inn called Jinglu Inn?"

"Our boss is from Nanhai. Last year, the Red Army came to aid Guangdong, and the boss went to Foshan to serve. He donated food, firearms, and artillery, and thus became acquainted with General Wang of the Red Army. Now that Guangzhou is full of business travelers, the boss opened a new Hakka Inn outside Dinghai Gate. His greatest ambition in life is to drive out the Tartars and restore China, so he named it Jinglu Inn."

Gu Zuyu was delighted and asked, "Brother Dingren, Brother Tingshen, shall we stay at the Jinglu Inn?"

Zhou Tingshen also smiled and said, "Just because of the name of your inn, we will definitely go to your inn."

"Thank you, gentlemen." The waiter was good at observing people's words and expressions. Seeing that Gu Yanwu and others had extraordinary demeanor, he immediately called for a donkey cart and porters to take the guests to the inn.

Shops along the way were open, travelers were rubbing shoulders with each other, and laughter and shouting were heard everywhere. Gu Yanwu was deeply moved when he saw the Ming Dynasty clothing all over the streets. The Qing Dynasty had occupied most of China, who would have thought that there was such a paradise in Lingnan that preserved Chinese clothing?

The waiter sat on the shaft of the cart, spitting all over the place, introducing the changes in Guangzhou to Gu Yanwu and the other two: "Gentlemen, you don't know, Guangzhou has changed a lot since the Red Army entered the city. Just a few months have passed, and sedan chairs are no longer popular. Rich people are no longer keen on riding in sedan chairs. Instead, they are scrambling to buy good horses and are proud to ride horses and draw bows..."

The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. Gu Yanwu had long heard that the eastern Guangdong was rich and the people were licentious, especially in Guangzhou. The Red Army was militaristic, and it was really admirable that it had changed the customs in the eastern Guangdong not long after entering Guangzhou.

When they arrived at the Jinglu Inn, they found out that it was also fully booked, with only one room left. Zhou Tingshen was very unhappy and wanted to find another inn. However, Gu Yanwu had experienced a lot and said, "Brother Zhou, maybe there will be a vacant room tomorrow, so let's just stay here tonight. You sleep in the inner room, and we two brothers can sleep on the floor in the outer room."

Zhou Tingshen had no choice but to give up, and after some humility, he moved into the inner room.

The luggage filled the whole room, and it was no use asking the inn to send food. The three of them had no choice but to leave the guest room and fill their stomachs first. The private room was also full, so they had to find a square table in the hall to sit down and order a table of wine, meat, vegetables and fruits.

"What a bummer," Zhou Tingshen spread his hands and said, "I wanted to ask the police to come over to help, but now there's not even a private room."

When the gentry of the Ming Dynasty got together, they often sent out notices to call prostitutes to drink and liven up the atmosphere. This was called "calling for a note" or "writing a note."

Zhou Ting's heart was moved, and he said, "If you two are willing, we won't stay at the inn tonight. I'll treat you and find a boat to play. I've heard about the beauty of the women on the boats on the Pearl River for a long time, but I've never seen one."

Gu Yanwu was no exception, but he didn't like prostitutes and had his own secrets in controlling his lust.

He was good at managing property and he often bought houses and lands and concubines in a new place. He would abandon the land and hand over the property to his students and start over in a new place. Throughout his life, Gu Yanwu was always well-off and lived a carefree life.

"Brother Zhou, you've just arrived, why are you in such a hurry to look for girls and willows? Get your business done first, and it won't be too late to go sailing on the flower boat later." Soon, the wine and food arrived. The three of them had not had much delicious food while drifting on the sea, so they didn't care about their status and started to eat heartily.

A newsboy rushed into the store and shouted in a familiar voice: "Zhenxing Daily, the latest issue of Zhenxing Daily, only the last copy left, fifty cents for the price."

The innkeeper was very impatient and wanted to chase the newsboy away: "What's the latest issue? It's obviously going to be published in five days. The government price is ten cents, but you sold it for fifty cents. Go away, go wherever you want, don't delay my business."

The newsboy was also a bit shy and jokingly retorted, "Do you know that the Zhenxing Newspaper has changed and is now published once every ten days?"

Fifty coins, almost one penny. Most of the people eating in the hall were common people, and they were reluctant to spend the money to buy newspapers.

When Gu Yanwu heard the words "Zhenxing Newspaper", his heart was moved. This newspaper was published by the Red Army and was very famous. It was banned in Jiangnan. The Qing government banned it very strictly. If anyone was found carrying "Zhenxing Newspaper", they would be charged with treason and executed without mercy.

"Young man, I'll buy it." Gu Yanwu said in Mandarin, which stood out among the Cantonese speakers.

The newsboy was very happy to sell the newspaper and said, "Sir, I dare not lie to you. Look, it was just printed today. The second edition of "The Alarm Bell" has been serialized to the fifth issue."

As soon as they heard about "Alarm Bell", the guests around came over, wanting to have a quick look at it.

The waiter also came over. He was illiterate, but he also liked to listen to people talking about "The Alarm Bell". He said to Gu Yanwu: "My dear guest, "The Alarm Bell" is an article written by the king himself. We all like it very much. If possible, please read it to everyone."

Gu Yanwu had never read The Alarm Bell, so he simply glanced at it and said, "I can't speak Cantonese, so I can only speak Mandarin, please forgive me."

He cleared his throat and read aloud: "If the Manchus invade the Central Plains, China will not only be destroyed, but also exterminated. The destruction of the country in the past was not the destruction of the country, but just a change of dynasty and fighting among the people.

"Only the Yuan Dynasty, which was invaded by Mongolia, was considered to be the end of the country. Emperor Taizu Gao raised his arm and called for the heroes of the world to respond, and they were able to drive out the Tartars and restore China, and the grace lasted for more than 270 years.

"Now the Manchus are brutal and violent. Our beautiful land has been ruined by the stench of corruption. They have enclosed land and forced people to move, moved borders and closed seas, shaved heads and changed clothes, massacred people in cities and closed borders. The list is too numerous to mention. There are tens of millions of Han men. If we do not rise up to resist, our descendants will be dogs and sheep for generations to come.

"It should be understood that every man has a share in the rise and fall of the country. The country is a share for everyone, just like a ship at sea. The emperor is the helmsman, the civil officials and military officers are the sailors, and the people are the passengers. If the country is gone and the ship falls apart, the people will also drown.

"Everyone says that the Tartars are fierce and stubborn, but in fact they are just a facade. Our vassal defeated two famous kings, and the Red Army swept across Guangdong and Guangdong, killing Zhang Cunren, Bashan, Kong Youde, Shang Kexi, Cao Dexian, Ban Zhifu, Xu Erxian and many other old Tartars.

"You must know that there are tens of millions of Han people. If they can unite as one, why worry about not being able to restore the Central Plains? You must know that before the Tartars entered the Pass, the Manchu Eight Banners had less than 60,000 troops. If you ask about the total population of the Tartars, I'm afraid it's not even 500,000, less than a state or a county in mainland China.

"If it weren't for Wu Sangui, Kong Youde, Hong Chengchou, Zhang Cunren and a bunch of other dogs and slaves, who led millions of Han troops to help the Tartars pacify China, the 60,000 Chinese people would have eaten them like food, and I'm afraid they wouldn't have even had one meal..."

The diners were fascinated by the performance and applauded from time to time.

This kind of vernacular was already quite popular in the Ming Dynasty and was often used as the language of popular novels. This "Alarm Bell" is easy to understand and has a strong appeal. Even a scholar like Gu Yanwu was deeply moved.

In particular, the sentence "Every man has his share of responsibility for the fate of his country" was like a revelation to Gu Yanwu, who was very excited. He had just arrived in Guangzhou and wanted to wait and see, but inspired by this, he decided to write a letter tonight and visit Fang Yizhi early tomorrow morning.

(End of this chapter)