Chapter 132 Who will try to mend the sky? (End of volume
Chapter 132 Who will try his hand to mend the sky? (End of volume, please vote)
Author: Fat Bird Goes First
Chapter 132 Who will try his hand to mend the sky? (End of volume, please vote)
For this birthday party of his wife, Commander Yu invited all the prominent people at the prefecture and county levels.
It was not Mrs. Yu's birthday, so the reason for doing this was naturally to show that the Yu family had passed the imperial censorship of the Qing army and had not been punished by the court.
This will also scare Yu Jia's enemies and tell them that Yu Jia has freed up his hands.
For this birthday banquet, Commander Yu personally visited the house, invited the two eldest lords of Fang Zhifu and Baizhi County, as well as all the officials of the prefecture and county, and sent greeting cards to all the big shots in Nanping City. It can be said that they took it seriously.
It was an imperial edict that Yu commanded his wife, and Fang Zhifu and Baizhi County could only attend.
The Huang family was a wealthy family in Yanping Prefecture, so they were naturally among those invited. Huang Shixing came to visit with gifts and wished the commander's wife a birthday.
The Huang family has been farming and studying for generations. Since the Song Dynasty, it has taken root in Yanping Prefecture.
After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the Huang family also produced three Jinshi, and countless others.
Huang Shixing naturally didn't think highly of a family of military commanders like the Yu family.
Huang Shixing came to celebrate his birthday. In addition to maintaining family relations, his other purpose was to listen to the opera.
Not only was Huang Shixing unwilling to come to Yu's home, but also other well-known scholars in the city were unwilling to come.
The Yu family has a bad reputation. If someone gets a reputation for flattering the generals, and the person flattering is the Yu family, which has a tradition of "mother is kind and son is filial", wouldn't that be a stain on itself?
Originally, these families were unwilling to send people to celebrate their birthdays, but Yu Zongyuan's new drama promoted at Yu's birthday banquet these days successfully attracted the attention of these families.
Su Ze’s new play?
The Su Ze who wrote "Du Shiniang"?
"Du Shiniang" became so famous in Yanping Prefecture that even the scholars of Fuzhou Prefecture invited Mr. Tuohu to Fuzhou City.
Naturally, everyone is looking forward to Su Ze's new drama.
Yu Zongyuan stood at the door to greet the guests, his heart full of pride.
If I hadn't invited Su Ze to rehearse the show, my mother's birthday party would have made a fool of herself!
Commander Yu also knew about his son's merits and specially asked him to know the guests at the door, which could be regarded as allowing him to make connections and show his face in front of the nobles of the county.
"The prefect is here!"
The prefect was traveling in a private capacity, so he naturally did not bring any official guard of honor. However, the clever disciples quickly recognized the prefect's carriage and immediately announced it loudly.
Commander Yu immediately took his eldest son out of the inner gate and solemnly greeted the Magistrate Fang's family.
Fang Ruolan pretended to be a maid, followed her mother Li, and helped Li get out of the carriage.
This Yu family of commanders is really impressive, but Fang Ruolan frowned. Although she is a woman, she is familiar with the laws of the dynasty. Logically speaking, the rank of commanders is not allowed to live outside the military guard. However, the Yu family has been here for several generations.
So he built a mansion in the city.
The Yu family's residence is even more grand than the magistrate's office. It's no wonder that the Yu family has such a bad reputation.
However, the bad reputation still did not hinder the power of the Yu family. This time, all the famous families in the county were invited by Commander Yu.
Commander Yu brought Magistrate Fang's family into the inner house. For this birthday banquet, the Yu family even demolished a row of servants' houses in the back house and built a huge stage. For this birthday banquet, Commander Yu can say that he spent a lot of money.
Quite a lot.
But some money should be spent, especially at such a critical time. If you don't spend the money, messages will spread around Nanping City saying that the Yu family has fallen.
This is not just a matter of face, the Wolf King cannot show fatigue, otherwise he will face endless challengers.
As soon as Magistrate Fang entered the inner house, Su Ze came to the door carrying gifts.
"Brother Su!"
Yu Zongyuan immediately greeted him. Yu Zongyuan first bowed to Su Ze, and Su Ze paid his birthday to the Yu family. Su Ze gave Yu Zongyuan a wooden box made by himself.
Yu Zongyuan only felt that the box was very exquisite, and he asked: "Brother Su, what is this?"
From the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the atmosphere among scholars became increasingly extravagant, and people would sing rites when they came to give gifts.
The so-called ritual singing means loudly shouting how much something someone has given.
The singer shouted: "Mr. Changning Weisu gave me a box of crystal sugar!"
White sugar is expensive. During this time, news about the high-quality white sugar produced by Changningwei also spread in Nanping County. Su Ze's gift was not bad.
Yu Zongyuan personally led Su Ze into the back house, where naturally a servant served him tea and dried fruits.
Su Ze was also impressed by the generosity of the conductor's residence. Today, in order to celebrate the birthday of the conductor's wife, the stage was tied with red silk.
The tea bowls served by the servants were all cloisonné tea sets. This unique blue glaze technology was developed during the Jingtai period. It was originally a tribute to the palace, and later became popular among the people.
Just such a tea set costs several taels of silver, which shows the wealth of the Yu family in Yanping Prefecture.
I don’t know how much of it was obtained by drinking the blood of soldiers, or how much was smuggled from Japanese pirates.
Su Ze put down the tea bowl in his hand and suddenly felt that there were two completely different worlds inside and outside the house.
There was a lot of singing and dancing in the house, and it can be said that there were many wealthy families coming and going, and the Yu family spent a lot of money on the birthday banquet.
Outside the mansion, Japanese pirates were about to invade the southeast. The people were in panic all day long, and banditry continued everywhere.
This strange split scene extends from the Yu Mansion to the entire Ming Dynasty. The rich and ordinary people seem to live in two worlds.
At this time, almost all the visitors had arrived.
All I could see was the sound of silk and bamboo playing on the stage, and Mrs. Yu, wearing the official uniform of the imperial court's royal wife, personally greeted all the guests.
Immediately after the conductor Yu announced the start of the birthday banquet, the sound of silk and bamboo gradually became louder, and Shengdan Jingmo Chou began to sing on the stage.
The Dream in the Garden is the most exciting part of the fifty-fold play of "The Peony Pavilion". Although The Peony Pavilion is also a traditional story of a talented man and a beautiful lady, it incorporates the plot of ghosts and gods.
Du Liniang, a daughter of an official family, fell in love with Liu Mengmei, a scholar in her dream. She died of grief and turned into a soul to look for her lover in reality.
The story of a man and a ghost falling in love, finally coming back to life, and finally marrying Liu Mengmei forever.
In addition to the ups and downs of the plot, Du Liniang is also different from the traditional setting of a noble lady. She has the courage to pursue love, but deep down she contains a sense of rebellion against traditional etiquette and a spirit of resistance to cruel reality.
This is the culmination of romantic drama in the late Ming Dynasty and can be said to be the pinnacle of Ming Dynasty drama.
A Garden Tour is divided into two parts: "A Garden Tour" and "A Frightening Dream". It tells the story of Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei's love story, which is both real and imaginary.
When Zhengdan, who played Du Liniang, sang "Love doesn't know its origin, it goes deep, the living can die, and the dead can live." Many female relatives present fell into deep thought.
Admiration at a young age, who is not like Du Liniang, who has someone whom he admired at a young age?
Fang Ruolan followed her mother and couldn't help but become obsessed when she heard this libretto.
Where is the person who can write such lyrics?
Fang Ruolan came with Magistrate Fang and was placed in the attic on the second floor facing the stage.
Su Ze and other ordinary guests were arranged in the main hall and garden on the first floor. Fang Ruolan stood next to her mother and looked down, and saw Su Ze in the corner wearing a rough blouse.
Fang Ruolan's heart felt like it was being grabbed. How could she write such a drama unless she was a deeply affectionate person?
I just don’t know where Su Zeqing is going and who is she?
Above the high pavilion, Mr. Tuohu He Liangjun and his friend Chen Moqun, a great scholar from Yanping Mansion, were also present. Mr. Tuohu frowned.
He originally didn't want to come to the Yu family banquet, but he heard that the Yu family was going to stage a new play by Su Ze. Mr. Tuohu loved theater so much that he accepted the invitation.
Among all the people present, Mr. Tuohu understood drama best.
Whether it is the story or the lyrics, the level of this play is so high that He Liangjun has never seen it before!
The last time I saw Su Ze, that guy actually said he didn't understand drama!
He Liangjun felt like he was being cheated!
However, such a good opera has poor rhyme and rhyme, and many parts do not conform to the rules of Nanqu at all!
This made Mr. Tuohu, who advocated musical rhythm, very uncomfortable.
But thinking that Su Ze was only twenty-two years old, He Liangjun frowned and said to Chen Moqun:
"What a terrible young man! Yanping Mansion is about to produce a famous dramatist!"
Huang Shixing's teeth are about to be broken. The newspaper he lost hundreds of taels of silver has been ruined. Now even his die-hard followers are secretly submitting articles to "Surprise".
Although the Huang family is rich in financial resources, Huang Shixing is only the most outstanding son among the younger generation, and it is impossible to let him continue to make money like this.
Recently there has been a rumor in the clan that the printing shop purchased by Huang Shixing will be taken back, and pirated copies of "The Surprise" will be printed instead, and then sold to other prefectures and counties to make money.
Hearing the news, Huang Shixing was so angry that he vomited blood. Today he came to the mansion to celebrate his birthday just to pick a thorn in Su Ze's play.
But after the performance of "A Dream in the Garden" is completed, the limelight may be overshadowed by Mr. Tuohu's adaptation of "Du Shiniang".
And everyone can see that this play "A Dream in the Garden" is just an excerpt, and it is a section of a long play. This excerpt is so wonderful, and what kind of masterpiece is the whole play?
Huang Shixing already had a premonition that as long as this drama came out, Su Ze would become famous in Fujian!
Huang Shixing looked at Su Ze, who was sitting in the corner, and was so jealous that he wanted to burst into flames. Seeing his peers becoming famous was even more uncomfortable than his printing shop losing money!
By the time "A Dream in the Garden" finished singing, the audience was silent, and everyone was immersed in the play for a long time and couldn't extricate themselves.
It wasn't until someone shouted "Okay" that everyone cheered.
The conductor at the main seat felt that his wife had gained a lot of face today. First, she asked people to reward the troupe, and then asked her son Yu Zongyuan to invite Su Ze. Today's play made Mrs. Yu the first among the ladies of the county.
His reputation has greatly increased, and this birthday gift is exactly what the Yu family needs most.
It's a pity that flowers are easy to break, and at this moment when the fire is cooking, unsatisfactory things will always happen, disturbing the commander's wife's birthday banquet.
In the mansion, Yan Yan was laughing happily.
Yu Dayou, who was fighting against the Japanese in Ningbo, looked depressed at this time.
After Zhang Jing, who knew the military, took office as the governor of the seven provinces, he promoted Yu Dayou to deputy general and ordered him to rectify the army and fight against the Japanese.
However, since Zhang Jing took office as governor, he has been frequently attacked by the imperial officials. He has been inactive for three months since he took office in Zhejiang, and was even attacked by the imperial officials for "supporting the bandits and respecting himself."
By this month, Zhang Jing couldn't stand it anymore. The Japanese invaders captured Putuo, Ningbo. Zhang Jinglian issued a military order and asked Yu Dayou to lead his troops to attack and recapture Putuo.
Yu Dayou knew that the Ming army was short of food and silver, and had been frightened by Japanese pirates before. He had not yet finished reorganizing his army. Putuo was a mountain city, so it was not easy to attack.
However, Zhang Jing favored him and Yu Dayou also knew the situation in the court, so he had no choice but to go to war.
Yu Dayou led his army to crusade, and the soldiers attacked halfway up the mountain. The Japanese pirates suddenly opened the city gate and came out. Yu Dayou's army was caught off guard, and three hundred people including Huo Bin, a military officer, were killed.
This Huo Bin is not an ordinary person. His ancestor Huo Zhen was a Mongolian general who surrendered to the Ming Dynasty in the Hongwu Year and guarded thousands of households in the Yan Mountains.
During the Battle of Jingnan, he followed the King of Yan, Zhu Di, in raising troops to attack Zhending, and led Geng Bingwen's camp to gain a great victory. He made great contributions in the Battle of Jingnan, and was granted the title of Marquis of Tong'an.
After Emperor Yongle ascended the throne, Huo Zhen failed in the battle and died. Emperor Yongle deprived him of the marquis title and renamed the Huo family as Ningbo Guanhaiwei with thousands of hereditary households.
Huo Bin, like Yu Dayou, participated in the martial arts competitions that only secular military households could participate in. Now he serves under Yu Dayou and is very brave in fighting against the Japanese.
Unexpectedly, he was killed by Japanese pirates in the middle of Putuo Mountain. It is said that Huo Bin refused to surrender after being surrounded and was chopped into many pieces by the Japanese pirates alive. He still cursed the Japanese pirates before his death.
Yu Dayou was saddened by the loss of his beloved general, but before he had time to grieve, news of his defeat in the Battle of Mount Putuo soon spread to the capital.
The imperial court wanted to prosecute Yu Dayou, and Yan Song's party couldn't wait to remove Zhang Jing, the governor of the seven provinces, and replace him with one of their own to rule the southeast.
The two factions continued to argue, and finally Emperor Jiajing made the decision to remove Yu Dayou from his hereditary military post, but also made him a deputy general, allowing Yu Dayou to perform meritorious deeds.
When Yu Dayou received the imperial order, his generals were indignant. Before the military meeting, Yu Dayou wrote to Governor Zhang Jing that this was not a good time to attack the Japanese. There was not enough money and food for the troops. Yu Dayou accepted the order and attacked, only to be ambushed by the Japanese pirates.
Yu Dayou suppressed the dissatisfaction of his generals and just accepted the punishment calmly. These years of fighting have made Yu Dayou understand that although he is the commander-in-chief of an army, some battles are not only military, but also political battles.
Governor Zhang had not achieved anything in his two months in office, and the court was already very dissatisfied with him.
If the emperor can still let Yu Dayou continue to lead the army, then there will still be a chance to make meritorious deeds.
Yu Dayou accepted the decree calmly, and after bribing the eunuch who announced the decree with a large sum of money, Yu Dayou returned to his study and opened the letter sent from Fujian.
Opening the letter, it was a letter sent back by Chang Ning Wei. Lin Mojun told Yu Dayou about the current situation, but of course he did not mention that his daughter would succeed Baihu.
Then the letter attached a diagram of the Yuanyang Formation and the training methods of the Yuanyang Formation. Yu Dayou's eyes lit up after reading it!
This is a good formation to deal with Japanese pirates!
Yu Dayou felt as if he had found a treasure. He studied the Yuanyang Formation over and over again and felt that it was extremely exquisite!
The situation in Zhejiang here became precarious with the Battle of Putuo. Lu Dawang, who had already landed in the outer sea, received the news and attacked the warships patrolling the sea in Fujian Haidao Yamen. Three lucky ships were lost and the situation was probably in danger.
What is even more frightening is that a group of Japanese pirates under King Lu landed near Jianyang. They have captured several villages in succession and are approaching Jianyang City.
The urgent military information from the Fujian Dusi Yamen was sent to Yufu, and both Fang Zhifu and Baizhi County also received news of the Japanese invaders.
The banquet was interrupted when the atmosphere was at its hottest. As the commander of the Yanping Guards, Yu Zongyuan's father trembled all over.
Magistrate Fang and Magistrate Bai also looked pale.
The weather in the rainy season in Fujian is really changeable. Dark clouds suddenly cover the sky. I can only see a rumble outside the house and heavy rain falling like pillars. It is as if there is a hole in the sky and the rainwater leaks out from where the sky is pouring.
Rain pours from the southeast.
Who can try his hand at mending the sky?
End of this volume
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