July is full of fire, and the heat is gradually fading.
Only two months have passed since Sun Tu returned and suddenly seized power and killed officials. However, Qingzhou City has come out of its previous bleak state and has become lively again. The streets that were extremely deserted two months ago are now filled with constant traffic. Many people are rushing towards the East Street not far from the government office, with excited smiles on everyone's faces.
When this scene fell into the eyes of a pair of masters and servants who had just entered the city, they immediately became somewhat interested. They followed the people there. As they walked, the well-dressed middle-aged master specifically asked People around me asked: "What are you doing there?"
"Your Majesty, I am a foreigner. You don't know something. In the past few days, there have been great dramas performed every day in my city of Qingzhou. They are the best dramas I have never seen before. I don't know what good dramas I can see today. "This person said, walking faster and no longer bothered to say more to the other party. He obviously wanted to get there earlier to grab a good seat.
The middle-aged master was silent for a moment in surprise. Shouldn't Qingzhou City be in panic at this time because of Sun Tu's killing of officials? Why did he see a completely different scene after that? Also, what is the reason for inviting people to sing in the city? Is it because the wealthy businessman is celebrating his birthday, or is it because Sun Tu did all this to win people's hearts? Doubtful, he immediately decided not to go to the government office to see Sun Tu, but to go to the stage to see clearly.
This pair of middle-aged masters and servants came from Bianjing. They were Zheng Guan, the young minister of Dali Temple in the imperial court, and his confidant Zheng Nian. This time he came with the emperor's orders, naturally to find out that Sun Tu had accused Gao Xiang and other officials of colluding with the Liangshan bandits. , as well as the murder of officials.
After the previous commotion in the court, the case has attracted a lot of attention from both the government and the public. All parties are putting pressure on Dali Temple, which makes the relevant officials presiding over the case feel a little embarrassed. In order to find out the truth of the case, Dali Temple finally sent Zheng Guan to Qingzhou. At the same time, he also carried the identity of another important imperial envoy, bringing with him the imperial order of Sun Tu to lead the army to quell the bandits in Liangshan.
In fact, when Zheng Guan came to Qingzhou in his capacity at this time, he naturally had to be escorted by the Imperial Guards, who came calling in front of him and swarmed in behind him. However, in order to more directly understand the ins and outs of the past, the conscientious Zheng Shaoqing chose to visit privately incognito. He first led people to sneak into Qingzhou, while the imperial team slowly moved behind. It would not be too late to wait two or three days before entering the city.
This approach seemed to be somewhat effective today. At least it allowed Zheng Guan to see a different side of Qingzhou. Moreover, after entering the city, he had just heard some conversations among the people talking about Sun Tu, but those words contained a lot of negative comments about Sun Tu. It was highly praised and admired in every possible way.
"This Sun Tu is either really a good official who is dedicated to the people and completely selfless, or he is too good at pretending. I have to take a closer look. There must be more people on the stage, so I can take the opportunity to do more. Ask around." Thinking in his mind, Zheng Guan and the others arrived in front of the newly built stage, which was about ten feet high and three feet in diameter. At this time, the stage was surrounded by people, and everyone was looking up expectantly, waiting for the show to take place.
With the help of his extremely powerful servant Zheng Nian, Zheng Guan finally squeezed into the crowd. After only walking forward for a while, it was difficult for him to do so.
As I advanced further, the people's heated discussions kept ringing in my ears:
"Yesterday, Mu Guiying did really well. He used the Dragon Subduing Wood to defeat the Liao Dog's Tianmen Formation. It was a big victory for the Song Dynasty."
"Yes, then Xiao Tianzuo was very proud. He thought that after all the men of the Yang family were killed by traitors, they would be invincible and could directly send troops to invade the Song Dynasty. However, he did not expect that women are stronger than men. Taijun She personally The Yang family’s army in command is more powerful than before.”
"Hey, if you ask me, the thirteen widows of the Yang Clan are certainly powerful, but the true theory of loyalty and filial piety depends on Hua Mulan. She, a little girl, actually joined the army for her father in order to fulfill her filial piety. Yesterday, it was shown that she killed everyone on the battlefield. I must have said The court will definitely reward her heavily after she comes back. But I don’t know if her daughter’s body can still be saved?"
"It's really hard to say. When you mention it like this, even I am a little anxious to see how she will deal with the court later."…
Various people were discussing the content of the play they watched yesterday, but Zheng Guan was confused. He could guess that Hua Mulan, who joined the army on behalf of her father, was based on the Mulan poem handed down from ancient times. A character in the novel, but what is the background of the thirteen widows of the Yang family
Of course he knew who he was referring to when talking about a famous military general named Yang in the Song Dynasty. They should be Yang Ye, Yang Yanzhao and Yang Wenguang. But where did this family come from, Mu Guiying, the Thirteenth Widow? What is all this...
Just as he was wondering, a burst of gongs and drums sounded intensively above, and the curtain covering the backstage flipped, and then groups of actors with small flags on their backs came onto the stage with agile steps. A moment later, a performer dressed as a woman came onto the stage heroically and sang loudly: "I went to war to repay the kindness of my country. I have been in the army for my father for seven years. I will return in triumph today. I only hope that the world will always be at peace." !”
These four sentences alone caused a burst of applause from everyone in the audience. Even Zheng Guan nodded at this time and said: "With this education, the people will be loyal to the emperor and patriotic. Sun Tu has some ideas."
The plot then turned to the story of Hua Mulan's return to the court and her reward. Even if there was no fighting scene like yesterday, the people in the theater were still fascinated by it.
You must know that this play was modified by Sun Tu based on some of his own memories. At this time, the so-called Baixi operas in the Song Dynasty were much simpler than various local operas in later generations. In terms of the excitement of the plot and the white singing, , in terms of mobilizing the audience's emotions, those straightforward dramas are simply incomparable with this play. Even Master and Servant Zheng Guan, who had not read the previous article, was reading it with gusto and nodded repeatedly.
The story soon progressed to the scene where Hua Mulan returned to the countryside, and then encountered her comrades who were ridiculing the woman for being useless in the war, and then angrily retorted: "Brother Liu's words are too unreasonable. Who said women have leisure?" . Men go to the border to fight, and women weave at home... "
This truth was sung line by line by the character playing Mulan, which immediately made many people in the audience look thoughtful. After the actor finished performing this section, the cheers from the audience were much thinner than before. Taking this opportunity, the actor said what he had been told before:
"Dear folks, Hua Mulan can take the place of her father.
Joining the army and making great military exploits for the country are just like me, a woman from the Song Dynasty today. This time our Sun Dujian was worried about the banditry in Shandong. It was only because of the heavy losses of our soldiers and horses in Qingzhou that he came up with the idea of recruiting women into the army. After all, his painstaking efforts are all for the sake of Qingzhou and the stability of Shandong. You can't make him feel embarrassed anymore. "
If you just use big principles to persuade and suppress, the people may not really listen. But now, with the drama in front of me, and thinking that female heroes like Hua Mulan and Mu Guiying can go into battle to kill enemies and make contributions to the country like men, then can't the women of Qingzhou imitate the sages
Especially the women below were all flushed and excited. In the past, they only worshiped heroes and never thought that they could be heroes one day, but now it is completely different. At this time, they wished they could join the army now and then kill enemies for this country.
"Old Cao, your mother-in-law seems to be much stronger than you. I think it's better to let her join the army on your behalf. Maybe then you can take advantage of her and become a promised husband." Someone said. He was teasing the friends around him, but the latter rarely objected, and he was obviously a little moved.
The effect of literary and artistic propaganda is much stronger than speaking of truth. The theatrical performances over the past few days have indeed shaken the people's originally firm resistance.
Zheng Guan's face darkened at this moment: "Absurd, it's so absurd! Sun Tu actually came up with such an absurd idea. If it were really spread, how would the people of the world view me, the Song Dynasty court? I Is the Song Dynasty so weak that women need to protect the country? No, I will never let this happen, I must stop him immediately! "
As a member of the scholar-bureaucrat class, Zheng Guan's concept of the defense of men and women is more important than that of ordinary people. In his mind, it is wrong for women to just stay at home and show up in public, let alone join the army and practice fighting with men!
At that moment, he no longer cared about watching the show or exposing his identity as an imperial envoy, so he stood out from the crowd and rushed to the government office in a hurry.
As he walked, he heard someone saying strange things: "Is Sun Dujian deliberately trying to make our Qingzhou Army stronger, or does he have ulterior motives? Do you think he thinks that the generals in the army are doing this? Life was too hard, so I specially brought the woman into the camp, and then at night... "
"Hey, don't talk nonsense, or the officials will hear it and take you to prison." This man's companion hurriedly stopped him. But these words still fell into Zheng Guan's ears intact, making his face become more and more gloomy. If Sun Tuzhen really had such an idea, then he would have to stop it.
Because once women enter the army, military discipline will inevitably deteriorate, which is not a good sign.
Arriving in front of the government office in a hurry, Zheng Guan's master and servant were immediately stopped by the servants: "If you have anything to see the official, first explain what grievances you have and who you are suing."
"I am Zheng Guan, the Young Minister of Dali Temple. I am here today to see your Sun Dujian. Why don't you report it quickly!" Zheng Guan did not hide his identity anymore and directly showed his silverbait bag and shouted. Just this sentence frightened the officers, and then they went inside to report.