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There is a Fushui Villa on the western foot of Yushan Mountain in Changshu, Jiangsu Province. The pavilions in the villa are built against the mountain and beside the water, exuding elegance everywhere. Flowers and trees flourish all year round, making it like the residence of immortals.
This villa is famous throughout the Jiangnan region, not only because of its elegant construction, but also because a leader of the Donglin Party, Qian Qianyi, lived here.
Qian Qianyi was a Jinshi in the 38th year of Wanli (1610). During his tenure as an official, his political achievements were mediocre. He became famous because of his outstanding literary talent and was regarded as one of the three great scholars in Jiangzuo.
Because he had participated in the activities of the Donglin Party against Wei Zhongxian's eunuch party, he was regarded as one of the leaders of the Donglin Party. Although he was dismissed from his post, he still had great influence. There was an endless stream of scholars who came to Fushui Villa to visit and study.
Among the students who were studying in Banye Hall at Fushui Villa at that time, there were two people who became famous in later generations. One was Zheng Sen, who later changed his name to Zheng Chenggong;
The other is Gu Jiang, who came back to visit his teacher and stayed here. Speaking of Gu Jiang, you may not know who he is. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, he was determined to fight against the Qing Dynasty. Because he admired the character of Wang Yanwu, a student of Wen Tianxiang, he changed his name to Yanwu. I believe everyone is familiar with the name Gu Yanwu.
Good shoots come from bad bamboos. This saying is quite suitable for Qian Qianyi. Qian Qianyi was very knowledgeable but had no integrity. In the first year of Chongzhen, because he competed with Wen Tihen for a place in the cabinet, he bribed the eunuch Cao Huachun, asking Cao Huachun to beat to death his fellow villager Zhang Hanru who exposed his corruption and lawlessness. As a result, he was dismissed from his post because of his failure in the plot.
When Beijing fell, as the leader of Donglin, he used his concubine Liu Rushi to "entertain" Ruan Dacheng, a eunuch who was highly valued by Emperor Hongguang, and obtained the position of Minister of Rites.
The Manchu prince of Yu, Duoduo, led his army to the south of the Yangtze River and ordered people to shave their heads. Everyone was very angry. Qian Qianyi suddenly said, "My scalp is very itchy." He stood up. Everyone thought he was getting up to comb his hair. Not long after, he came in with a shaved head and a braid. Under his leadership, many people shaved their heads and changed their clothes, and opened the gates of Nanjing to welcome Duoduo's Manchu army.
Qian Qianyi's moral integrity is not even as good as the most lowly prostitute. All kinds of ugly behaviors are disgusting, but among his students, there are indeed some good shoots, such as Zheng Sen and Gu Jiang, who are both good. Gu Jiang is 31 years old this year, and Zheng Sen is only 20 years old, both of them are in the prime of their lives.
But at this moment, although they were in the same Banye Hall, Gu Jiang looked down on Zheng Sen. It was not only because Zheng Sen was far inferior to him in terms of knowledge, but also because of Zheng Sen's background. Look at what kind of people Zheng Sen's family is. His father Zheng Zhilong was a big pirate in the East China Sea, and his mother Tianchuan was a foreigner from the East.
The Gu family was a prominent family in Jiangdong. His adoptive mother, Wang, taught him the loyalty and righteousness of Yue Fei, Wen Tianxiang, and Fang Xiaoru since he was young. Gu Jiang was upright by nature and disdained hypocrisy. Naturally, his attitude towards Zheng Sen was very cold. Although they lived under the same roof, he was too lazy to pay attention to Zheng Sen.
But Zheng Sen did not care about Gu Jiang's attitude. He was always very respectful to this knowledgeable senior brother and would humbly ask him for advice whenever he had the chance.
That night, only Zheng Sen and Gu Jiang were still studying under the lamp in Banye Hall. Gu Jiang was holding a copy of "The Great Learning" and pondering alone. The lamp was bright in the hall. Outside, the north wind blew over the lake and mountains. In the wind, a clear and elegant sound of the piano could be heard faintly. Gu Jiang knew that it was his teacher and his concubine Liu playing the piano in the cold night. The sound of the piano was empty and distant, and it made people forget the world. It took a cup of tea for it to fade away.
At this time, Gu Jiang looked up and accidentally saw a piece of letter in the book held by Zheng Sen. He was thinking hard about the letter. Gu Jiang felt that the handwriting on the letter was very familiar. He couldn't help but exclaimed, then stood up and grabbed the letter.
Zheng Sen was startled and was about to get up to take it back, but he heard Gu Jiang asked urgently: "Tell me, where did you get this letter?"
Zheng Sen was greatly surprised by Gu Jiang's reaction. He hesitated for a moment and answered truthfully, "A few months ago, a stranger suddenly sent me this letter and told me not to show it to anyone. I opened the letter and found that it was unsigned. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time and put it in a book. I happened to see it tonight and felt that there was something mysterious in it. Judging from Brother Gu's reaction, could it be that you have seen this letter?"
More than that, Gu Jiang had received a letter with the same handwriting and content a few months ago. He glanced at Zheng Sen with burning eyes, nodded and said, "What mystery have you figured out?"
"This letter is clearly predicting the general trend of the world. The first two or three sentences have been confirmed. For example, the sentence 'The news was spread in the court, and he died in Tongguan' should refer to the fact that General Sun died in Tongguan in October. However, I have pondered the last few sentences for a long time, but I still feel confused. It would be a good idea for Brother Gu to read it. With Brother Gu's knowledge, I believe it will not be difficult for him to understand the mystery. I hope Brother Gu can give me some advice."
The following sentences of Zheng Sen are: I climbed Coal Hill alone, and was saddened to see the national mourning. After ten days in Yangzhou, I rushed to the river. My scalp was itchy, and Nanjing surrendered. With 100,000 spears, I was able to restore my clothes and hats. Sweeping across the country, the destiny returned to Qin.
Gu Jiang was already familiar with this, but to be honest, he only had vague guesses, and he was also confused about what these sentences specifically referred to.
For example, "generations encounter national grief" is easy to understand, but "climbing Coal Hill alone" is difficult to understand; "rushing to the river" is easy to guess, but "ten days in Yangzhou" is hard to explain. What is even more puzzling is how "Nanjing surrendered" and "scalp is very itchy" can be connected together
In addition, the phrases "Restore my clothing and honor", "Sweep the country", and "The Mandate of Heaven returns to Qin" are also very confusing. Today is not the time when Taizu started the rebellion and the Mongols entered the Central Plains. Even during Taizu's time, he was fighting to restore "China" instead of "clothing and honor". There is a difference between the two. Moreover, now is not the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, so what is the Mandate of Heaven returning to Qin
Even though Gu Jiang is a learned man, it is still difficult to fully understand these prophecies. But judging from the confirmation of the first two or three sentences, the following sentences should not be fabricated out of thin air. Each sentence must have its deep meaning, which is really thought-provoking.
"I don't really understand either." Gu Jiang pondered for a while and answered truthfully. In addition to being curious about who wrote this book, he was even more curious about why that person revealed these to himself and Zheng Sen at the same time. What was this person's intention and how did he figure this out
Zheng Sen was somewhat disappointed. After all, these prophecies were related to the general situation of the world. They were so important, and the previous ones had been confirmed. Who could take them lightly? He took the letter and asked, "When did Brother Gu receive such a letter? Did the sender leave any other words?"
"There was nothing else to say. The person who sent the letter just said that you would know after reading it. I didn't take it too seriously at first. I just thought that someone was deliberately teasing me."
The two were about to have a detailed discussion when they heard a series of unusual noises outside. Then the guards in the manor shouted that a thief had entered the manor. The night was filled with shouting and sounds of fighting. Although Gu Jiang was a scholar, he was not at all panicked when he heard that a thief had entered the manor. He quickly stepped forward, took his sword from the wall, and strode out of the hall.
Zheng Sen was even more straightforward. He was not a weak scholar who was powerless. Due to his special family background, he had been practicing martial arts since he was a child and had quite impressive martial arts skills.
The two rushed out of Banye Hall one after another, but saw that the entire Fushui Villa was in chaos. Hundreds of masked men either kicked the door or climbed over the wall and rushed in. There were too few guards in the villa, and they were caught off guard and were being hunted down by many masked men.
Zheng Lin was originally from a bandit den. He had seen this kind of scene many times, so he was not afraid. He was confident that he was good at martial arts, so he rushed forward with a knife. His knife was as fast as a knife, and in a blink of an eye, he chopped a masked man to the ground. "Who are you? How dare you come to Fushui Villa to make trouble..."
Before Zheng Sen finished his words, a powerful arrow whizzed towards him. Zheng Sen suddenly stepped back with his right foot and spun around, narrowly avoiding the arrow. Just as he was about to throw himself at the arrow, he suddenly heard someone on the other side shouting in a deliberately hoarse voice, "Zheng Sen, with your few moves, don't come out and embarrass yourself."
Zheng Lin looked in the direction of the sound and couldn't help but gasp. Under the flickering firelight, he saw twenty or thirty large bows with arrows on their strings, as wide as a full moon, with the cold arrows all pointing at him. If they were fighting with swords and spears, he might still have the strength to fight, but with his skills, facing the volley of fire from twenty-three archers, he would only have one way to go, and that was death.
At this time, the other party continued: "We are here to seek wealth. As long as you put down your weapons and obey the rules for the time being, I guarantee that your lives will be safe. If you try to resist, I will be sorry."
.(To be continued..)
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