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When Zhou Yuantai followed Li Shi into the back garden, he heard the sound of laughter coming from the pavilion in the distance. When he got closer, he saw singing and dancing in the pavilion. Qin Mu was wearing wooden clogs, his clothes were disheveled, and he was holding a large wine glass in one hand. He was playing with several beauties and looked uninhibited.
The beauties in the pavilion are naturally beautiful and graceful. Who else could they be but Dong Xiaowan and Li Xiangjun
Zhou Yuantai couldn't help but sigh secretly, such a beautiful woman, it's a great fortune to have one, just thinking about it makes people excited. Qin Mu actually has women on both sides, such a good fortune is simply jealous.
The pomegranates are red, the sun is shining, the willows are like smoke brushing the green water, in the waterside pavilion, Dong Xiaowan gently stretches out her colorful sleeves and flicks her jade fingers. Li Xiangjun dances gracefully in her gorgeous skirt and sings melodiously:
Spring is not yet old, the wind is gentle and the willows are slanting.
Try to look up from the Chaoran Terrace,
Half a moat of spring water and a city of flowers,
Mist and rain darken thousands of homes.
After the Cold Food Festival, I sobered up and sighed.
Don't think of your homeland when you meet old friends.
Try the new tea with the new fire.
Enjoy poetry and wine while you are young.
Zhou Yuantai could never have imagined that when he arrived in Wuchang, he would see such a scene of singing and dancing, drunkenness and dreams. Didn't they say that Qin Mu raised the banner of justice, led his elite troops, fought a great battle in Jingmen and killed tens of thousands of enemies
Could it be that just by leaning on the beauty, hugging her left and right, and chatting and laughing, the enemy could be wiped out? Zhou Yuantai began to doubt the authenticity of Qin Mu's battle against Jingmen.
It is not uncommon for border generals to lie about their military achievements. They would kill ten enemies but falsely report that they had killed a thousand. It is even common for them to make up stories and claim credit for themselves and ask for rewards.
There are rumors outside that Qin Mu is mobilizing troops to capture Xiangyang. Zhou Yuantai came all the way here and indeed saw soldiers being recruited outside the city. He originally thought that they were all preparing to attack Xiangyang, but now it seems that the authenticity of the matter is very questionable.
"Lord Zhou, since we parted in Jinling, so many things have changed... Alas! Who would have expected that when we meet again, the world would have changed so much? It's really touching, so touching!" Qin Mu exclaimed loudly as he came out, with a big smile on his face, but he didn't look like he was sighing at all.
Zhou Yuantai felt that he was obviously pretending to moan, but things were different now. Qin Mu was no longer the down-and-out scholar in Jinling City. He came here to ask for help, so he quickly forced a smile and said, "Master Qin, it's been a long time since we last met. I see you again this time. You are even more elegant than before. Congratulations, congratulations."
"I am ashamed, ashamed. Lord Zhou is an old friend from Jinling. I was very grateful to Lord Zhou and Grand Secretary Jiang for taking care of me. I have always remembered it in my heart and dare not forget it for a moment. Come on, Lord Zhou has come from afar to visit me. Let's go into the pavilion and have three cups first."
Qin Mu was extremely enthusiastic and pulled Zhou Yuantai into the pavilion. He personally held the pot and poured him three cups without saying anything. After that, he continued to pour wine and said, "Mr. Zhou has a huge capacity for drinking. Come on, let's drink three more cups together."
He drank as soon as he met Qin Mu. What country's etiquette is this? Zhou Yuantai wanted to argue, but he couldn't get away from Qin Mu. Before he even sat down, he was forced to drink six large glasses of wine.
"Don't... Sir Qin, if you keep drinking like this, I will make a fool of myself..."
"Oh, Lord Zhou, why are you being so polite to me? It's not like we haven't had a drink together in Jinling. Lord Zhou has always been a big drinker. This little bit of wine is nothing to him."
After Qin Mu finished speaking, he asked Li Xiangjun to sit next to him and be responsible for holding the pot and pouring wine. He raised the glass frequently. After a while, before he had said three sentences or swallowed a grain of rice, Qin Yuantai was 70% drunk by him. Occasionally, he glanced at the beauties of Li Xiangjun and Dong Xiaowan, and he became even more drunk.
"Lord Qin, could you please ask everyone to leave? I have something I want to talk to you alone." Zhou Yuantai said with his drunken eyes open.
"Master Zhou, please feel free to speak your mind. As the saying goes, a gentleman is open and honest. There is nothing he cannot tell others. Besides, Xiangjun and Xiaowan are both my concubines. To be honest with you, Master Zhou, these two confidantes of mine are both very smart. If I have any problems, I will rely on them to help me make decisions... ... ... uh, no... ... hahaha, Master Zhou, drink, drink!"
Although Qin Mu hurriedly covered it up, Zhou Yuantai was still shocked. It was so rare that he heard such a secret today. He couldn't help but secretly glanced at Li Xiangjun and Dong Xiaowan.
The two beauties were proud of their unparalleled beauty and charming looks, and at this moment their faces were full of shyness. Li Xiangjun even took advantage of no one's attention and gently twisted the man from behind with her jade fingers, but Governor Qin was thick-skinned and seemed not to notice.
"Master Qin, have you heard that at the court meeting on the 23rd of last month, the Earl of Chengyi Liu Kongzhao actually brought a murderous knife into the palace and took it out in court to kill the Minister of Personnel Zhang Shenyan, Master Zhang."
"Is this true? Is Minister Zhang injured?"
"No, but he went to the palace with a knife, ignored the emperor's orders, and hunted down the ministers in the court. This has never happened before..."
"It's good that he's not hurt. Haha, Lord Zhou, you're being too polite. There have been many cases of ministers fighting each other in the Golden Palace. Even the great scholar Li Dongyang once stole the Golden Gourd Warrior's Crouching Gourd Hammer and chased and beat the Marquis of Shouning in the Golden Palace."
Zhou Yuantai originally wanted to use this incident as a starting point to denounce the crimes of Ma Shiying, Liu Kongzhao and others, but he did not expect that Qin Mu's letter would make him hit the nose. Indeed, it was no longer a new thing for Ming Dynasty officials to fight in the Golden Palace.
Zhou Yuantai was still unwilling to give up, and he was already seven points drunk, so he could not help but say angrily: "Master Qin, how can this be generalized? In the past, ministers had some disputes in the palace because of their different political views, which was nothing, but Liu Kongzhao came to the palace with a murderous knife, showed no respect for the emperor, and deliberately murdered the ministers. This is treason."
"Well, what Lord Zhou said makes sense. By the way, as the imperial envoy, Lord Zhou should impeach this kind of disrespectful behavior. Come, prepare the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, so that Lord Zhou can write a memorial."
Zhou Yuantai was so angry that his nose almost got crooked. He thought to himself, if a piece of impeachment from me could work, would I have to travel thousands of miles to Wuchang
"Master Qin, you don't know that Liu Kongzhao and his treacherous followers are fearless. They manage the affairs of the Yangtze River, manage the city defense, and have military power. That's why they are so unscrupulous. Not only do they interfere with the appointment of officials by the Ministry of Personnel, they also spread slander to confuse the emperor and summon officials who were convicted of treason with the emperor's order. This is to disrupt the government.
When I was in Nanjing, I remember that Lord Qin once discussed with Scholar Jiang that the previous emperor had some harmful policies. When appointing ministers, he often ignored the people recommended by the court and issued imperial decrees to disrupt the ranks, so that the cabinet ministers he got were corrupt, cunning and treacherous like Zhou Yanru, and the ministers he got were treacherous and vicious like Wen Tiren and Yang Sichang. The ministers he got were evil, greedy and cunning like Wang Yongguang and Chen Jiaxin, the generals he got were frivolous and dissolute like Wang Pu, and the censors he got were corrupt and tyrannical like Shi Zhi and Chen Qixin... "
Qin Mu had indeed said these words before. Zhou Yuantai must have been fully prepared, as he recited them word for word, scaring Governor Qin so much that he had to nod his head repeatedly.
"Yes, yes, Lord Zhou is right."
"Master Qin, are you drunk? You said this, but I didn't say it."
"Oh? Well, it seems that I said that it is indeed inappropriate to disrupt government affairs with the emperor's edict. Come here, please prepare pen, ink, paper and inkstone. I want to present a memorial to persuade the emperor."
What does this have to do with anything? Zhou Yuantai almost choked to death. Although your memorial is good, it is not a permanent solution, and it is not what we want.
However, Zhou Yuantai was not discouraged and decided to add more fuel to the fire, a raging fire that burned Qin Mu as well.
He only said in a sad voice: "The king gives titles to people in the court and shares them with others. The rules passed down by our ancestors are the reason why they can be practiced for thousands of years without any harm. My Lord Qin, in fact, the emperor is wise and powerful, and he understands these principles very well. It is not right to issue an imperial decree to summon officials who have committed treason.
The emperor has just ascended the throne, and the city defense, river defense, soldiers and armor are all in the hands of Liu Kongzhao and his group of sycophants, so we can only follow their will. Mr. Qin, now Ma Shiying, Liu Kongzhao and other treacherous officials are holding the emperor hostage to control the world. If we don’t stop them, I’m afraid the country will no longer exist... ..”
The core meaning of Zhou Yuantai's words is: Ma Shiying and others use the power of heaven to control the princes, and these princes not only include you, Qin Mu, but you are also very likely to bear the brunt because you pose the most substantial threat to them.
Bang!
Qin Mu angrily hit the wine table, causing the cups to jump. He stood up and spoke passionately, "The capital has been destroyed by the bandits, and Huaibei has fallen into the hands of the enemy. The country is in danger. At this critical moment of life and death, the treacherous officials in the court do not think about recovering the lost territory and avenging the late emperor, but are busy fighting for power and profit..."
Zhou Yuantai couldn't sit still after hearing this. What does "the whole court is full of treacherous flatterers" mean? Doesn't that mean we are also treacherous flatterers? This is nothing, but after seeing Governor Qin's passionate and generous speech, he suddenly lowered his head and asked softly: "Xiangjun, Xiaowan, what do you say, what should we do?"
Zhou Yuantai's eyes rolled back and he was knocked unconscious.
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ps: Don't worry, I've been naked for two days. Do you have monthly tickets to support me? Please give me monthly tickets and support me!
.(To be continued..)
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