There were a total of eighty-four Tai students who were taken into the prison of Kaifeng Mansion together.
Only twenty-seven of those who were delisted and expelled remained.
The remaining fifty-seven people, facing the punishment of being expelled from school, relented at the last moment and promised to go back to school and stop causing trouble.
They were not tortured in prison, but they were starved and fed, and now they are weak and weak. Reciting "The Song of Righteousness" for a long time also made their throats hoarse, and even drinking water hurt.
The officials of Kaifeng Prefecture used a carriage to transport them to an inn outside the city, dragged them and forced them into the guest room, and warned: "My husband will be recuperating here, and he must leave Tokyo within ten days. Don't let him go again."
I’m in trouble!”
No one answered, no one had the energy or energy to speak.
The official went to the shopkeeper again and said, "These are righteous men. You must take good care of them."
"I can spare it." The shopkeeper nodded and bowed.
In the blink of an eye, the official disappeared.
The shopkeeper sighed and ordered the waiter: "Let the cook cook some porridge, and use good rice to cook it."
What happened in front of Xuande Gate had already spread outside the city.
Nowadays, the various uprisings are not over, the capital is short of grain, and the price of white rice has risen to 2,000 yuan per stone. The people at the bottom are starving, who doesn't hate the traitors?
Even those government officials just now are finding their lives increasingly difficult.
As long as they oppose the traitors, the people will admire them as righteous people.
When the porridge was no longer so hot, the store owner took a few waiters and went to feed the students the porridge themselves.
Chen Dong was weak, his throat hurt, and he felt like he was being cut by a knife when he drank the porridge. He barely filled his stomach, fell into a drowsy sleep, and slept until the next day.
After waking up, he regained some energy and walked back and forth between several rooms. Chen Dong was surprised and said: "How come there are only about twenty people left?"
Wei Liangchen smiled bitterly: "I retreated in the face of the battle. As a student of Shangshe, there are only two of you and me left."
Chen Dong's voice was still hoarse, and he yelled angrily: "Fan Juemin, where is Fan Juemin? You have sworn to be at odds with the treacherous ministers, how can you be afraid of being expelled from the Imperial Academy!"
Lei Guan, a student in the inner house, sarcastically said: "Fan Juemin is excellent in knowledge and will definitely pass the Taixue Examination next year. How can he persevere to the end and not even want the title of Jinshi?"
"Zhang Jushan! Where is Zhang Jushan?" Chen Dong looked everywhere.
Found nothing, not at the inn.
Chen Dong stumbled back to his room in despair. His roommates all shrank away.
These roommates could withstand prison terms, but they gave in when they were expelled from school.
The twenty-seven people who persisted until the end were in a low mood when they gathered in the guest room. Some even started to cry, not because of their own experiences, but because they were unable to change the situation and were betrayed by their classmates and friends. They were overwhelmed with grief.
The enthusiasm to help the country was gone in an instant!
In this way, twenty-seven expelled imperial students lay in the inn and spent two days in a daze.
Their servants came one after another to persuade their husband to return home as soon as possible.
There are also those who do not have servants around them, such as Chen Dong. His family is just a small landowner, and only after being nurtured by the clan can he have the opportunity to study in Taixue.
Several people came to say goodbye. Neishe Sheng Lei Guan said: "Brother Shaoyang, I am disheartened. I will no longer serve as an official in this life. I just want to return to my hometown to live in seclusion and study. It is a blessing to be able to meet you, so I said goodbye."
I hope you will take good care of it!"
Chen Dong asked: "It is a time when the world is in chaos, and you are still from Jianning. The remnants of Fangla have already captured Jianning. Where can you go back to your hometown? Are you going to join Fangla?"
Lei Guan said with tears: "I received a letter from home a few days ago, saying that my whole family has fled to Fuzhou. Although my parents are safe, many members of the clan have been separated, and I don't know how many of them will survive. I can't wait to eat the flesh of the traitors raw and drink the traitors.
Especially Zhu Meng, Fang La's rebellion was caused by his exploitation, and he could still be promoted for such a crime. I was in prison before, and I had long been determined to die. Now I want to save my life, and I don't want to think about anything else.
Please go to Fuzhou to reunite with your family."
Chen Dong himself was also very depressed. At this moment, he had to cheer up and encourage everyone: "The more arrogant and domineering the traitors become, the less we, the scholars, can squander their ambitions. One day, we will be able to put an end to the demonic atmosphere in the world!"
Wei Liangchen slumped in his chair: "We have been expelled from the Imperial Academy and have a ten-day deadline to leave Tokyo. Where else can we go except to return to our hometowns to study?"
“Go to Guizhou!”
A student from the Imperial College suddenly spoke up.
This man's name is Fu Yuanheng, a native of Wuxian County, Suzhou. His family's property, accumulated over several generations, was looted by the rebels and turned into smoke.
Fortunately, the whole family ran away in advance and headed north with some extravagant wealth.
Tong Guan led his army to regain Wu County, and Fu Yuanheng's family immediately returned to their hometown. Unexpectedly, as a local wealthy family, his family was extorted by Tong Guan's soldiers, and what little money they had left was also robbed.
In Fu Yuanheng's heart, officers, soldiers and bandits are all the same, and Tong Guan is no different from Fang La!
More than half of the twenty-seven Tai students who persisted to the end were from Zhejiang, Jiangnan and Fujian. They hated the traitors to the extreme.
Fu Yuanheng said: "Mr. Zhu was put in charge of Guizhou, why don't we follow him? Join him and study seriously. If he cannot recover, we will live in seclusion in Guizhou and study. If the new emperor succeeds to the throne, we will study in seclusion in Guizhou.
Once your husband recovers, we will return to Tokyo to clean up the mess!"
"What a great idea!" Chen Dong clapped his hands and praised.
Wei Liangchen also became energetic and stood up from his chair suddenly: "Those who are willing to go to Guizhou, please stand by my side. Those who don't want to go, don't force me. We will still be friends from now on."
In an instant, most of the remaining ones stood over. After much hesitation, they made a decision.
A lot of them, twenty-seven people are going to Guizhou.
After being expelled from Imperial College, they had no way out. They were even disqualified from taking the imperial examination because they were not allowed to enter Beijing again.
Either return to his hometown to live in seclusion and study, or go to Guizhou to follow Ju Ming.
The only hope is to wait for the prince to ascend the throne.
At that time, Ju Ming will definitely recall him to the capital to serve as an official, and they can follow Ju Ming back to the capital. They may even be directly awarded official positions by the new emperor without taking an exam.
There are still people who have not recovered, so everyone continues to stay at the inn.
Friends come to visit every day, including Chen Dong’s roommates.
Fan Zongyin, courtesy name Juemin, was the youngest prime minister in the Song Dynasty. He was standing in front of Chen Dong at this moment, lowering his head because of guilt. He only said: "Take care, gentlemen, and see you one day. I... If I am admitted to the Jinshi, I will definitely speak up and speak out for justice."
Don’t go along with the evil party.”
"Haha, I hope you won't break your promise again." Chen Dong smiled coldly.
The initiators of drumming and percussion were Chen Dong, Fan Zongyin, and Zhang Si. Fan Zongyin and Zhang Si both relented and were frightened by being expelled from school. Zhang Si was too embarrassed to come back to see each other again, and only asked Fan Zongyin to bring a letter.
Fan Zongyin bowed to everyone: "Goodbye, gentlemen!"
As night fell, Qin Hui arrived at the inn in the dark.
Qin Hui worked as the principal of a prefecture school for several years without changing his position. He got first place in the Maoke examination based on his own strength and was directly promoted to Taixue Zheng.
As a teacher, he did not participate in the previous round of drumming and percussion. Today he came to visit his classmates.
"When will Brother Daobi set off?" Qin Hui asked.
Wei Liangchen said: "We will leave tomorrow."
Qin Hui took out a few silver collars and said, "Be careful along the way."
"Thank you very much," Wei Liangchen said.
Wei Liangchen, Qin Hui, Fan Tong, Duan Fu, and He Ruo, these five people once studied together and slept in the same dormitory.
Historically, all five of them became prime ministers, but their choices were completely different. Fan Tong clung to Qin Hui without any scruples in order to get promoted and make a fortune; Wei Liangchen, however, drew a clear line with Qin Hui and was demoted and demoted before dying of illness in office.
Qin Hui asked where he was going again, and Wei Liangchen said he was going to Guizhou.
Upon hearing this, Qin Hui immediately said: "Shenggong and I are also old friends. We haven't seen each other for many years. It's really sad. Let me borrow a pen and ink."
Qin Hui wrote a letter and asked Wei Liangchen to take it to Ju Ming.
The content of the letter is nothing more than reminiscing about old times and saying some words of admiration.
The next day, everyone left the capital together. Counting their entourage, there were a total of forty-three people.
A light snowfall fell, and the north wind howled bitterly.
Take a boat to Zhengyang Town, Yingshang County, and then change boats to go to Lu'an.
It's freezing cold but it never snows heavily. There may be another natural disaster next year.
Every time they docked at a certain place, they would inevitably go into the city and recite "Song of Righteousness" at the school gate. They also told about Ju Ming's deeds in Beijing, and how they were expelled from the capital by the traitors by beating drums and knocking on the que.
Along the way, the local teachers and students were all in awe.
Even if there are traitors among prefecture and county officials, they will turn a blind eye to it. Why bother themselves? If you get involved with these angry young students, you will definitely be stigmatized for the rest of your life.
"Song of Righteousness" spread rapidly in Henan and Hubei. Even the thieves and bandits in Hubei (Jingxi South Road) heard of their deeds and were unwilling to rob these students.
There were so many bandits in Hubei, and there was a famine for two consecutive years, and the court was still pumping grain to transport to Tokyo.
There is only one uprising leader missing, and when the time comes, there will definitely be a large number of people who should respond, a bit like the situation in Shandong a few years ago.
Song Jiang's troops are still on the move, leading the officers and soldiers by the nose. But in the face of encirclement and suppression from many parties, their area of activity is getting smaller and smaller. If this continues, it is only a matter of time before they are destroyed.
Fang La had already left the mountainous areas of Zhejiang and did not go to Fujian. Instead, he crossed the mountains to Jiangxi and captured Fuzhou by surprise.
Before he could gain a foothold, the frontier troops who had just wiped out the miners' uprising immediately went south to pursue them. Fang La quickly fled to Nancheng, then moved to fight in Nanfeng, then crossed Baizhang Mountain and headed to Jianning to join the Fujian rebels. By the way, he took Taiping Bank with him on the way.
The market and the bank were all looted.
Officials and troops from all walks of life surrounded Jianning, with a strength of 200,000.
Fang La planned to go to Taining, but was ambushed by General Liu Guangshi, and the second prince Fang Bo and Prime Minister Fang Fei were killed in the battle.
Tens of thousands of rebels were trapped in Jianning, and many attempts to break through failed.
But the combat effectiveness of the rebel army has obviously become stronger. They have fought thousands of miles, crossed mountains and rivers, and fought all the way. They have trained tens of thousands of elite soldiers, and with the blessing of Manichaeism, they are not afraid of death.
On New Year's Eve, Tong Guan hurried to the front line of Jianning and ordered to reward the three armies and fight a decisive battle on the first day of the new year.
But on New Year's Eve, the city gates were wide open on all sides, and while the officers and soldiers were celebrating the New Year, the rebels actually took the initiative to break out.
After a night of melee, the rebels were defeated and fled in all directions.
Fang La took thousands of elite troops and fled into the mountains, only to run away again.