Sima An was about to speak, but Yang Tinglin glanced at him and said, "You have been with me for more than ten years. Just say whatever you want to say."
Sima An bowed respectfully and said, "Well, I'm so bold, Your Excellency. For more than a decade, the Emperor has worked hard to govern the country, but disasters continue to occur in various places, and the number of rebels increases. Li Zicheng already has millions of people under his command, and the Tartars in the northeast often invade. Our Ming Dynasty is like an old man who is terminally ill and can no longer be saved..."
“How dare you!” Yang Tinglin shouted, his eyes piercing Sima An like a knife. “Although our Ming Dynasty has internal and external troubles, the emperor is a rare wise ruler and will definitely revive our Ming Dynasty…”
"Your Excellency." This time it was Sima An's turn to interrupt him and said, "I know that Your Excellency is loyal to the emperor and loves the country, but the world has its own destiny. Although the current emperor is a wise ruler, he uses the wrong people. Loyal and capable ministers like Your Excellency have all been exiled, and the court is full of treacherous and mediocre people. Forget it, I won't say more about these. I believe that Your Excellency is not confused in his heart, but he just refuses to admit it.
Today we will only talk about Qin Mu. If I am right, he is not here to break off the engagement, but to get married. Your Excellency, please think about this. Most of the troops in Ganzhou Prefecture are under his control. Looking at his ability to change the situation, he has not only quelled the rebellion in southern Ganzhou in a short period of time, but also made Ma Yongzhen and his ilk obedient.
If he really has other intentions, who can stop him in this southern Jiangxi, or even the whole Jiangxi? There are only two possibilities for him to come and ask for marriage. One is that he does not want to rebel against the Ming Dynasty at all, at least not yet. The other is that he wants to tie Fu Zun together. "
Yang Tinglin had calmed down and asked calmly, "Which one do you think is more likely?"
"former."
"How do you know?"
"If he had the intention to rebel against the Ming Dynasty, the result of the last disturbance in Nanchang Prefecture would not be like this. Before the Censorate, both the people and the soldiers had been instigated by him. Lin Qinghe and Wang Shousu had actually fallen into his hands. With his means, and with Huo Sheng leading his army to the north to join him, it is possible for him to capture Nanchang Prefecture. At least it would not be the current outcome.
As for Ganzhou, do you think it can withstand the joint attack of Meng Ke and Ma Yongzhen? So in my humble opinion, if Qin Mu has the intention to rebel, then that is undoubtedly the best opportunity. In an instant, he can take down Nanchang and Ganzhou, and Jiangxi will be in his pocket;
After taking Jiangxi, they can immediately respond to Zhang Xianzhong in Wuchang and Li Zicheng in Xiangyang. Do you think the court still has the ability to suppress Jiangxi? Qin Mu gave up such a good opportunity. There is only one possibility, he does not want to rebel against the Ming Dynasty. "
"Then what does he want to do?" Yang Tinglin remained calm.
"To protect himself, or to say, to accumulate strength while waiting and watching. If what I expected is correct, Qin Mu should agree with me and also think that the Ming Dynasty is terminally ill. Qin Mu feels that he is powerless to save it, or the court has not given him the opportunity to show his power, so he chooses to keep his troops to himself. Of course, if the Ming Dynasty really... ... then, with Qin Mu's personality, he will definitely not be content to remain in the shadows, and it is inevitable that he will join the fight for supremacy."
"I am paid by the emperor and I shall be loyal to him..." Yang Tinglin said solemnly, but suddenly stopped talking. An idea came to his mind and became stronger and stronger. He was silent for a moment, and then said calmly: "If Qin Mu has no intention of rebelling against the Ming Dynasty, it would be good. Send him a message immediately and ask him to wipe out Gu Xiancheng as soon as possible so that he can marry Zhier."
Sima An was secretly surprised. He had followed Yang Tinglin for many years and knew Yang Tinglin's character very well. Yang Tinglin was upright and although he was flexible in handling government affairs, he would never easily change his position on major issues.
During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song Dynasty, Su Yan, the governor of Yongzhou, led 2,800 people to fight against the invading army of 100,000 led by Li Changjie of Jiaozhi. With no food or reinforcements, they held out for 42 days. After the city was captured, they continued to organize street fighting and refused to surrender until Yongzhou City was basically occupied by the enemy. Only then did Su Yan cry out sadly, "I will not die at the hands of the enemy!" Then he and his wife, children, and mother, a family of 36 people, set fire to the country and died heroically.
Yang Tinglin highly admired Su Yan's loyalty and always regarded him as a role model. When Ganzhou City was in danger, Yang Tinglin mentioned Su Yan to Sima An, and he was willing to sacrifice his life for his country like Su Yan if Ganzhou City was broken.
Now Sima An analyzed Qin Mu's intentions one by one, and Yang Tinglin had no objection to his analysis, but his reaction was so calm. This was not like Yang Tinglin's character. After all, no matter whether Qin Mu wanted to rebel against the Ming Dynasty or not, it was basically certain that he had ulterior motives.
In Sima An's opinion, given Yang Tinglin's upright character, he should not react like this. It was really abnormal that he let his daughter marry Qin Mu as soon as possible.
"Your Excellency..."
"You don't need to say anything more. Just do as I say."
"yes."
***
Qin Mu hadn't drunk alcohol for a long time and felt that his alcohol tolerance had decreased. He and Xu Yingjie had a few drinks at a restaurant in the east of the city and were a little tipsy when they returned to the county government office.
Walking into the back court in the evening sun, I saw Li Xiangjun wearing a double-sided opera cape in the spotlessly clean corridor, reciting in a beautiful opera voice: "The wind sways the bamboos when I open the curtains, I wonder if it's my old friend coming. Every line of my new poem sounds like love words. I hate that the lights and the moon shine on me every year, making me lonely and wasting my youth. Where is the person in my dream? I put on the purple hairpin for the first time, and my face is flushed. I wander around, feeling sad under the lights and the moon. For whom am I haggard, gnashing my teeth secretly. Bao Si Niang said a few days ago that there will be a strange encounter tonight during the Lantern Festival, could it be that I have arrived in Chang'an in my dream?"
Her voice was clear and her singing was very pleasant. Qin Mu could not help but stop and stand at the gate of the back government office to listen.
Then I saw Xing Er holding a lantern and saying, "Miss, Miss, why are you meditating alone?"
Li Xiangjun sighed: "Oh, washing silk, the lights and moon in Weicheng are alluring, but I always feel that it is the same every year."
Xing Er turned around, walked to Li Xiangjun and said, "You are still hiding it from me. Don't let the spring buds shed their sorrows on the lanterns. It would be better for me to go to all the wine shops in Chang'an with you. Everyone knows that Shi Lang's talent is amazing, and it makes people admire his splendor. It's just that the lanterns this year are not the same as last year. Don't blame me for speaking out your mind."
Li Xiangjun looked shy: "Scare, you..."
Xing Er held up a lantern and shone it forward: "Miss, it is the first watch of the night and the moon is up. If fate allows, we can definitely meet under the moonlight tonight. Let's go."
Then we see Li Xiangjun gently flicking her sleeves, her slender body as slender as the moon looking back, and she begins to sing: "If the branches are connected, they will turn into two locust trees, and the roots will not envy the flowers in Luoyang..."
She had a willow-like figure and a light gait. When she looked back, she happened to see Qin Mu standing at the archway. Her graceful dance suddenly paused and her pretty face turned slightly red, making her look like a crabapple blossom moistened by rain, extremely beautiful.
"Qin Lang, you're back."
"Oh, you're back. What are you doing..."
"Young Master, come quickly, come quickly." Qiao'er, who was watching the show in the corridor, ran over excitedly, holding her sleeve and said, "Young Master, Sister Xiangjun and the others are singing The Purple Hairpin, it sounds great, but no one is playing the male role of Li Yi. Young Master, you are back just in time, come and play Li Yi, hurry up, it's Li Yi's turn to appear on stage."
Qin Mu raised his hand and said, "I can only play the villain, like taking a little girl to see goldfish or something."
"Goldfish? Where are the goldfish? Sir, is it considered a bad thing to go to see the goldfish?" Qiao'er asked curiously, covering her forehead.
"Of course, at least it's worse than you stealing my pancakes."
When Qiao'er heard him mention the pancakes, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, her eyes sparkled, and she pulled his sleeve again as if she was never going to let go. As for why looking at goldfish was more hateful than snatching pancakes, she had long forgotten to ask.
Xing'er looked at Qiao'er with some envy. On the first day she entered the county government office, Qin Mu said that he exchanged Qiao'er for a pancake. She thought Qiao'er was just an insignificant little girl. Later she found out what that pancake meant.
Qin Mu rubbed the little girl's head and said to Li Xiangjun with a smile: "When I was in Jinling, I heard that Xiangjun had learned the four kinds of Yu Ming Tang from Zhou Rusong, and she could sing them all to the fullest. The celestial sound was so pleasant that it lingered in my ears for three days. It's a pity that I never had the chance to hear Xiangjun sing."
"Four Songs of Yumingtang" is also known as "Four Dreams of Yumingtang". It is the collective name of the four legendary plays written by Tang Xianzu, "The Story of the Purple Hairpin", "The Story of the Return of the Soul", "The Story of Handan" and "The Story of Nanke". It is still widely circulated in later generations. Qin Mu has heard of it. What Li Xiangjun and others sang just now was a clip from the first part, "The Story of the Purple Hairpin".
"Qin Lang turned a deaf ear to the world outside the window and devoted himself to reading books of sages. I'm afraid Qin Lang would disdain my crude skills." Li Xiangjun had a bun on her head, her eyebrows were lightly drawn, her eyes were full of spring, her skin was as smooth as warm jade, her complexion was soft and greasy, her cherry lips were red without any makeup, and she was delicate and beautiful. Her smart eyes moved smartly with a bit of mischief.
Of course, there was some resentment in her words.
Ever since she came to Huichang, Qin Mu stayed in the military camp all day long, and the two had very few opportunities to meet. Now she was living in the county government office for unknown reasons, without even a formal status, and she couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.
Qin Mu also heard the hidden meaning in her words, so he said to Xing'er, "Xing'er, go and cook two side dishes. I want to have a drink with your young lady. Go ahead."
"Yes, sir." Xing'er pursed her lips and smiled, bowed and went to the kitchen.
"I'm going too." Qiao'er looked at Qin Mu and the other man with her bright eyes, then ran away.
This made Li Xiangjun feel a little embarrassed, and she didn't know what to say for a moment. Qin Mu reached out and held her slender fingers. Li Xiangjun's body trembled slightly, and then she let him hold her fingers.
"Come on, let's take a walk in the back garden."
"Yeah." Li Xiangjun responded softly, lowering her blushing face and following him to the back garden.
The back garden is not big, only about one acre, and is planted with some common flowers and plants, such as the rockery covered with morning glories. It is full of green in July.
"Xiangjun, I speculate that Zhang Xianzhong's rebels will soon move south to Huguang and attack Jiangxi, so I have to spend all my energy on military preparations. I can't help but neglect you, Xiangjun. I'm really sorry..."
"Qin Lang, don't say that. Since you have such a guess, you should have made preparations early. If you delay your important work because of me, how can I feel at ease?" Li Xiangjun held his hand with her other hand and answered with some shame.
"Xiangjun, you have treated me with deep affection and loyalty. I cannot treat you with disrespect. One day I must invite all the gentry in the county and the generals in the army to come and perform a formal ceremony."
Li Xiangjun hummed and said nothing more. As long as Qin Mu didn't dislike her, she would have no complaints even if it was rare for them to see each other. At this moment, the warmth from Qin Mu's hand made her feel at ease.
She was petite, only reaching Qin Mu's chin, with a delicate and graceful figure, which made him love her infinitely. Qin Mu looked down and saw her long eyelashes trembling gently. Her delicate facial features were like a jade figure carved by nature. Although she had been washed clean of all the makeup, she was still as pure as a lotus flower in clear water, and was beautiful without a single flaw. Her skin was as white as jade and was about to break when one's fingers touched it. A faint virgin fragrance made people intoxicated.
"Qin Lang, I'm really fine. You don't have to worry about me. Just focus on organizing the army and governing the country. When Qin Lang is tired, come back and I'll play a piece of pipa for Qin Mu and make two side dishes for him to take a rest..."
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