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

Chapter 380 Guo Duxian Arrives at Jisi Hall
Changsha's summer was extremely hot, and even sitting or lying still would make one sweat profusely. Hong Chengchou was sitting in the signing room of the military governor's headquarters, signing and reading documents. There was a shortage of food here, and the army was defeated there. Several documents in a row were all bad news, which made him very depressed.

The headquarters was very large and was originally the palace of Prince Ji of the Ming Dynasty. The first Prince Ji was the seventh son of Emperor Yingzong and was enfeoffed in Changsha during the Chenghua period. Like most of the princely palaces of the Ming Dynasty, the Prince Ji's palace had fallen into disrepair and was taken over by the Qing government.

Hong Chengchou was born in a poor family. After he became famous, he wore gorgeous clothes, ate exquisite food and lived in a spacious house. After setting up his headquarters in Changsha, Hong Chengchou thought the Prince Ji's Palace was old and outdated, so he demolished the palace buildings and built the "Jisi Hall", where he worked and lived on weekdays.

"Sir, there was a letter handed to me at the door, saying it was from an old friend of yours."

Hong Chengchou put down his brush and looked up to see a thirty-five or thirty-six-year-old guard named Wang Fuchen, from Datong, Shanxi. He was born a slave and later joined the peasant army. He was nicknamed "Living Lu Bu" and later became a subordinate of Jiang Ge.

When Jiang Ge rebelled in Shanxi to restore the Ming Dynasty, Wang Fuchen served him wholeheartedly. He was good at using cavalry, often riding a yellow horse and a white robe, and galloping in the chaos of the army, with unparalleled bravery. In this battle, Wang Fuchen became famous and was nicknamed "Western Road Horse Harrier".

After Jiang Ge's defeat, Wang Fuchen was captured. Ajige, the Prince of Ying of the Qing Dynasty, pitied his bravery and spared him from execution, but confiscated him into the Xinzheku as a slave. After Shunzhi took power, he appointed Wang Fuchen as the first-class guard in front of the emperor and ordered him to accompany Hong Chengchou to the war, serving as Hong Chengchou's personal guard, but actually carrying out the duty of monitoring him.

Even though Hong Chengchou was already the governor of five provinces, he was still not trusted by the Qing court. He was followed by a dozen guards from the imperial court, most of whom did not take Hong Chengchou seriously. Only Wang Fuchen worked hard and served Hong Chengchou attentively, earning Hong Chengchou's trust.

"Minister, show it to me."

Hong Chengchou was suspicious. He was already the governor of five provinces, and many people came to see him every day. Why did Wang Fuchen just take this handwritten copy and go straight into the signing room without paying attention to the documents he was reviewing?

This man is brave and righteous, and should not be underestimated. Back then, when Wang Fuchen was a slave in the capital, his reputation spread throughout the city, and the Manchus were proud to know Ma Yaozi. He was also very low-key as a guard, and in the future, when his luck turns, he will surely be able to become a governor.

Hong Chengchou still had to give Wang Fuchen face. He took the manuscript calmly, flicked the dust off it subconsciously, put on his reading glasses again, and the five words "Taojiang Guo Duxian" came into view.

"Ah?" Hong Chengchou was shocked and said, "Minister, come with me to welcome our teacher."

Guo Duxian was not originally Hong Chengchou's teacher, but because he had once saved Hong Chengchou when he was an official in the Ministry of Personnel, he had shown Hong Chengchou a great favor. From then on, Hong Chengchou regarded Guo Duxian as his mentor.

When Hong Chengchou arrived at the gate, the gatekeepers were all surprised. When they heard that Hong Chengchou was going to meet a visiting Taoist priest, they hurried to the gatehouse and respectfully invited Guo Duxian to come out.

"Where is Mr. Guo?" Wang Fuchen asked knowingly.

Hong Chengchou did not mind the mess in the gatehouse. He entered the house and saw Guo Duxian sitting quietly on a dirty bench with his eyes closed, resting.

"My dear master, I am late to welcome you." Hong Chengchou bowed respectfully and invited Guo Duxian to the Jisi Hall to talk.

Guo Duxian's courtesy name was Tianmen, and his pseudonym was Xie'an. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, he tied his hair up and entered a Taoist temple, where he was known as the Wan Taoist and also as Mr. Xie'an.

When Ming Dynasty officials met colleagues or superiors, they could not address them by their courtesy names or nicknames. Instead, they should address them by one of their nicknames, followed by "翁" or "老". Generally speaking, as long as the other person was over 30 years old, they could address him as "翁" or "老". They could call themselves "学生" to show humility.

Guo Duxian snorted and followed Hong Chengchou into the camp without saying a word. A strong servant of about 30 years old behind him nodded slightly to Wang Fuchen while no one was paying attention.

Arriving at Jisi Hall, Guo Duxian did not show any humility and sat on the armchair. He faced Hong Chengchou with his eyes narrowed into slits, as if his vision was blurred.

Scholars read a lot, and it is common for them to be nearsighted or farsighted as they age. Although glasses were available in the Ming Dynasty, they were expensive and not affordable for ordinary people. Guo Duxian had resigned from his official position and became a Taoist priest, so he might not have the money to buy glasses.

"I don't know. I don't know when the old man got the eye disease."

Guo Duxian sneered and said, "When I first met you, I was already blind."

Hong Chengchou then realized that Guo Duxian wanted to humiliate him. Hong Chengchou was not surprised by this kind of thing. Guo Duxian was his lifesaver, so there was no need to be angry about it. He smiled awkwardly and said:
"I have always wanted to visit you in Taojiang, but due to the turbulent times, I have never been able to do so. I wonder if you have received the gifts and letters of appointment that I sent you?"

"The gifts and engagement letters have all been thrown into Taohua River. Among them, there are a few ancient books that I couldn't bear to throw away, so I gave them to my Taoist friends at Fuqiu Temple in Yiyang." When Guo Duxian was the governor of Jiangxi, he was very strict and had a good reputation. In order to avoid shaving his head, he became a Taoist priest, and his temperament became more strict and his character became more cold.

"If I hadn't had the kindness of these old men to help me..." Hong Chengchou was halfway through his speech when he noticed the hatred on Guo Duxian's face, so he had to stop himself to avoid humiliating himself. He sighed and said, "These old men are so poor, if you don't mind, please accept some of the money for maintaining integrity from me."

"I have simple clothes and simple food, and I am cultivating myself in the temple. That is enough. I do not need your money."

Hong Chengchou was frustrated, but still unwilling to give up, he said: "Your son is both civil and military, there is no need to bury him in the countryside, he can serve as a supervisor in the student army and advise the students on strategies."

"Humph!" Guo Duxian sneered and said, "If my descendants become officials of the Tartars, I will not let them go even if I become a fierce ghost."

Hong Chengchou's old face turned red and he looked extremely ugly.

"Excuse me, where is the Zhenwu Palace?"

Guo Duxian's sudden question startled Hong Chengchou.

"It is located to the east of the headquarters and was built by the Ming Dynasty's Ji Fan."

"Old Nine, do you know that there are three or four hundred Hunan celebrities imprisoned in Zhenwu Palace?"

Hong Chengchou naturally knew about this, and whispered, "I have heard a little bit about this. I heard that there was a major case of 'Dongting Uprising' in Changsha recently. Governor Luo Xiujin personally tried the case and arrested many people..."

"Humph! Tao Runai is a university scholar, known in China as the three best of Chu and Tao. You have also put him in prison. Do you really not care about the people of Hunan and Xiang at all?"

"Well," Hong Chengchou said awkwardly, "this matter is handled by Luo Xiujin. I have just arrived in Changsha and have not yet asked about it."

Luo Xiujin was from Liaoyang. In the first year of Tianqi, he surrendered to the Later Jin Dynasty and was incorporated into the Han Army Blue Banner. In the first year of Longwu, he was appointed governor of Huguang and Sichuan. Although Hong Chengchou was able to control Luo Xiujin, he was not as trusted by the Qing court as Luo Xiujin.

In order to restrain the famous people from Hunan and Xiangxi, Luo Xiujin made a big fuss about the "Dongting Uprising" case, arrested three or four hundred famous people from Hunan and Xiangxi, and detained them in Zhenwu Palace.

"Since Lao Jiu served the Tartars, he has many skills. I counted with my fingers, and the famous people of our dynasty who died at the hands of Lao Jiu include Left Censor-in-Chief Jin Sheng, Grand Secretary Huang Daozhou, Prince of Changle Zhu Yishi, Prince of Rui'an Zhu Yifang, Prince of Jinhua Zhu Youchan, Prince of Gao'an Zhu Changqi, Prince of Ruichang Zhu Yigui..."

Guo Duxian paused and said, "All the people from Hunan who were imprisoned in Zhenwu Palace were wrongly imprisoned, just like you were imprisoned in the imperial prison. Lao Jiu, you should be sixty this year. You don't have much time left. You should accumulate some good karma for your Hong family."

Hong Chengchou was ashamed and said, "I will definitely follow the old man's teachings and redress the injustice as soon as possible."

"Well," Guo Duxian nodded, leaned closer and said, "Old Nine, I have something to say to you."

Hong Chengchou understood, looked at the shrimp guards Wang Dayuan and Wang Fuchen, and said, "You two should leave. I will have a chat with the old man."

Wang Dayuan had never taken Hong Chengchou seriously, and knowing that Guo Duxian was suspected of being anti-Qing, he refused to leave.

Wang Fuchen pulled him aside and said, "Since the governor is chatting with his old friend, we two should not get in the way."

Wang Dayuan had no choice but to leave. Before leaving, he looked at Guo Duxian viciously and then at Hong Chengchou meaningfully.

(End of this chapter)