The next day, Lu Bicheng showed Li Yu the letter left by Lu Fengyi. It basically said that no one in their family was an official anymore. A few months ago, the imperial court issued a decree to abolish the imperial examination. In the past, candidates could still get some preferential tax treatment.
, there is nothing now, so the family has some financial difficulties. I hope Li Yu can help.
Lu Bicheng said categorically: "I have nothing to do with them anymore. They can do whatever they want."
Li Yu spread his hands and could only pretend not to know.
According to the rules at this time, the wedding banquet was held for two or three days, and all comers were welcome. On the second day, most of the guests were neighbors, but Gu Hongming also came today.
Gu Hongming's reason is very reasonable: "Yesterday, it was either a high official or a member of the royal family. Maybe he won't even be able to drink soup when he comes."
Li Yu smiled and said: "How could I treat you badly?"
After all, Gu Hongming is one of the great watering cans in the Republic of China, so don't offend him too easily.
Gu Hongming also brought someone with him and said to Li Yu: "Let me introduce you, this is Zhu Yuxun, the Marquis of Yanen."
"Marquis Yanen?" Li Yu was confused and had never heard of it, but since he was a marquis, he should not be a small person. However, the Marquis Yanen in front of him was dressed in ordinary clothes and did not look like a marquis.
Gu Hongming said: "The Marquis of Yanen is a descendant of the Zhu family of the previous dynasty who was favored by the imperial court. He was specially set up a hereditary and non-replaceable title."
Well, it turns out it belongs to Lao Zhu's family.
However, in fact, when the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, it massacred the Ming Dynasty royal family. Not only the direct descendants, but also other princes surnamed Zhu all over the country, almost no one escaped the catastrophe.
However, the sentiment among the people has always been strong, and the scholar-bureaucrats in the south of the Yangtze River are just outsiders. Once someone can win a few battles, or Zheng Chenggong and Zheng Jing wipe out everything, these people will most likely fall to the Ming Dynasty again.
During the Kangxi period, there were many real and fake "Third Prince Zhu" who emerged one after another, and their appeal was not weak.
In addition, during the Kangxi period, Zhungeer approached Beijing again, and the Ulanbu Unification War almost ruined the Qing Dynasty and almost repeated the feat of Anda Khan.
It is said that when many people watched this part of "Kangxi Dynasty", they only remembered the field battle between Kangxi and Bao Rilongmei, and did not pay much attention to this war. It seemed to be a sure win.
In fact, the Qing Dynasty was already fighting a last-ditch battle. Emperor Kangxi brought all the Eight Banners and their servants with him when he went on a personal expedition. If he lost the battle, he didn't have to go back to Beijing. He could just go back to his hometown in the Northeast.
During that time, the third prince Zhu in the south was also quite active.
Later, Yongzheng figured it out. Instead of letting the people use various slogans to fight against the Qing Dynasty, it was better to cultivate an obedient descendant of the Zhu family.
This move is really cruel.
Yongzheng found a man named Zhu Zhilian in his army, who was said to be a descendant of Zhu Gui, the thirteenth son of Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Zhilian's ancestor was captured by Huang Taiji while fighting the Qing army, surrendered to the Qing court, and was incorporated into the Xiangbai Banner of the Han army.
However, according to the research of later Qing history experts, it is found that his life experience is doubtful, and it is not certain whether he is really a descendant of Zhu Yuanzhang.
But none of this matters!
The Qing court said he was.
Yongzheng granted him the title of first-class Marquis of Yanen, and carried his family's flag into the Zhengbai Banner among the Shangsan Banners.
Anyway, what the Qing court wanted was an obedient descendant of the Ming Dynasty.
Marquises of Yanen in the past dynasties only needed to pay homage to the Ming Dynasty imperial mausoleum on time every year, and they could enjoy the salary of the Qing court, just like dogs and pigs.
It's a pity that Chongzhen would rather hang himself on Meishan than surrender, but later he gave birth to such an unworthy descendant.
——Well, I don’t know if he is a descendant or not, and it’s not even unworthy.
By this time, Zhu Yuxun, the twelfth generation Marquis of Yanen, was already living in poverty and had very little money. Thinking about it, it is easy to understand: the Aixinjueluo people had too much to take care of themselves, so how could they care about Marquis Yanen.
The key point is that even the revolutionaries did not take a fancy to Yan Enhou, did not think of him at all, and did not even have the idea of being a spearman. He has no use value at all. It is really sad.
Zhu Yuxun clasped his fists and said, "Master Imperial Master, please be polite."
Although the other party was just a powerless Marquis, he was still the "legendary of the master's family". Li Yu said: "Master Marquis, please come in."
Zhu Yuxun took out a scroll: "I don't have much, so just take a picture of my ancestor's calligraphy as a gift."
After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, most of the royal family remained anonymous, but there was indeed a very good calligrapher and painter - Bada Shanren Zhu Da.
Li Yu had preconceptions and thought it was his calligraphy. Even though Zhu Da was famous for his paintings, his calligraphy was not bad. Moreover, Zhu Da himself was well-known and looked at the world with a cold eye, which was Li Yu's preferred style.
Li Yu took it and opened the scroll gently, and was dumbfounded.
I saw three huge characters "Si Wuxie" written on it. The calligraphy is good, but the signature is Yong Shetige written in the reign of Chongzhen.
I'm stunned, it turned out to be the calligraphy written by Emperor Chongzhen himself in the eleventh year of Chongzhen (1638).
Li Yu thought about it carefully and figured out that this year Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting had just defeated Li Zicheng, but Huang Taiji had entered the pass again. I don't know how he felt when he wrote these three words.
However, the artistic level of these three characters is still acceptable.
If we only talk about the calligraphy level of emperors, Chongzhen can be ranked in the top ten of all emperors. His large characters can be regarded as soul-stirring comments, but there is a huge contrast between his calligraphy and the image he left for future generations.
There is no doubt that there must be Qianlong's seal on this calligraphy.
Qianlong and later Yongzheng liked this calligraphy very much. It is not easy to compare Chongzhen's calligraphy level with Yongzheng's, but it is definitely much better than Qianlong's.
Li Yu said: "Isn't it a bit inappropriate to give such a valuable thing to me?"
Zhu Yuxun rubbed his hands and said, "It's indeed a bit expensive. If you can..."
Li Yu understood immediately and replied before he could finish his words: "I understand, I will be sent 2,000 taels of silver later."
Zhu Yuxun said happily: "It is said that the emperor's master is the smartest person in the world, more powerful than foreigners, and it is true!"
It can be seen that Zhu Yuxun is really desperate. The salary from the court has become less and less, and even intermittent.
When a company has been late on wages for many years, it means there is really a big problem.
As for Zhu Yuxun, who had a title, he could not do other things such as doing business. If he wanted to do it, he would be stared at. He could only wait to die. And he himself had been raised by the Qing court for many years, and he had no ability.
Gu Hongming looked at the scroll and liked it very much: "Just the style of the characters, it seems that he is a wise king who opened up new territories and expanded his territory. He is very accomplished."
Gu Hongming was too straightforward in his words. Although he was praising calligraphy, it was imperial calligraphy after all. The words "King of the Subjugated Country" were described as a prosperous emperor who expanded his territory. Zhu Yuxun next to him felt a little uncomfortable after hearing this.
Zhu Yuxun smiled awkwardly: "We only evaluate the artistic level, right, Your Majesty the Emperor?"
Li Yu didn't know much about calligraphy. Although he had practiced hard in the past few years, he couldn't compare with the old-era literati who had been writing calligraphy since childhood. He had been practicing Dong Qichang's calligraphy for so long, and he didn't even scratch the surface.
Li Yu could only reply casually: "Yes, if you only look at the artistic level, it is indeed high, as high as three or four floors!"
Gu Hongming said with a smile: "This is the first time I have heard of the praise of Brother Shucai. They use three or four floors to describe the level of art."
Li Yu said: "What we want is the feeling of image."
Gu Hongming gave a thumbs up: "That makes sense."
Li Yu carefully put away this calligraphy. Although it was Chongzhen's calligraphy, fortunately it had two or three seals of Qianlong on it, so it was not a big deal to keep it.
Today they can sit at the top of the table. Since there are many fewer officials, the atmosphere of today's banquet is relatively free.
Yang Xiaolou also brought the Tongqing Troupe to sing for free for two days.
He gained a lot of popularity in Europe this time, and Cixi personally summoned him several times after he came back.
After singing a few plays, Yang Xiaolou came down and had a few drinks with Li Yu.
Gu Hongming said: "You are now a celebrity in front of the Queen Mother. I heard that Na Tong, the Minister of Household Affairs, had to queue up to hear you sing. You actually came to perform for Li Yu and performed for three days. You know, this Li Yu is far inferior.
Na Tong knows Beijing opera."
Yang Xiaolou said: "Brother Shucai is a good brother here, and he is kind to me. I promised to sing for him back then, and this time I finally got the chance. As for whether he knows how to play, I don't want to cooperate at all. Brother Shucai,
Congratulations!"
Li Yu smiled and said, "Thank you very much."
The performance of the celebration class attracted many people to eat and drink, and even a large group of beggars came. The leader was holding a yellow pole, and there was another one holding a blue pole next to him, leading a large group of beggars at the door.
The beggars sang a begging song together.
Uncle Wang had already told Li Yu these rules.
In the late Qing Dynasty, the people were poor and there were many beggars. There were more than 20,000 beggars in Beijing alone. They had gathered near Di'anmen for many years and had almost become professional beggars.
Whenever there is a wedding or funeral, they will also evaluate the family situation to determine how much money to charge.
Uncle Wang said to Li Yu: "Sir, look, the one holding the yellow dog-beating stick is the leader, and the two blue dog-beating sticks next to him are said to come from Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The two poles together are called
'Begging on command'."
Li Yu smiled and said: "They are still begging under orders. Do they have a beggar gang leader named Su Qier?"
Uncle Wang was stunned: "I've never heard of such a person."
"It seems that there is no connection between the northern and southern beggar gangs," Li Yu casually put it off and added, "I just didn't expect that even beggars in Beijing have so many rules."
Uncle Wang said: "No, the one holding the yellow pole is a banner man, or he may become a beggar leader."
Li Yu glanced at the man holding the yellow pole. He was not thin at all, his face was even quite rosy, and his living conditions were definitely not bad.
Li Yu asked: "How much do you want to give them?"
Uncle Wang took out a large sack: "I have exchanged the copper coins. There are ten thousand coins in it. You will make a show of scattering the first wave in a while, and then I will scatter the rest. If they don't leave, the back room will
There are ten thousand more.”
Twenty thousand copper coins is equivalent to thirteen or four taels of silver, which is not much.
Li Yu understood the rules, reached out and grabbed a handful of copper coins, walked to the door and said: "Thank you all brothers from the Beggar Clan for coming to congratulate me on my marriage. Here is a little copper coin. Take it back and have a few bites! It's not respectful, everyone.
Accept it."
Li Yu said and threw it out with all his strength, and the beggars behind him immediately lowered their heads to pick it up.
Uncle Wang immediately began to scatter money in handfuls, and the beggars cheered and were delighted with the money. However, the leading yellow pole and blue pole only squatted down symbolically, and did not rob with the group of beggars, but in the end they were sure
It's still the two of them who share the most.
Lan Zhanzi kept his eyes on Uncle Wang's bag and his movements. After scattering a large bag, he whispered a few words to Huang Zhanzi.
After hearing this, Huang Ganzi continued to lead the group of beggars to sing songs and did not leave.
Uncle Wang could only carry another bag of copper coins.
It seems that this blue pole is still a master-like figure. From the size of the bag and Uncle Wang's movements of throwing money, we can estimate how many copper coins there are - begging for skills.
Sure enough, they were satisfied after both bags of money were scattered and a few trays of steamed buns, some fat chickens, and shochu were given to them.
Huang Ganzi showed his yellow teeth and said: "I wish you good fortune like the East China Sea, longevity as long as the Southern Mountains, beautiful flowers, full moon, and the sound of the harp and harp."
After sending them away, Li Yu went back to continue eating and drinking with everyone.
Gu Hongming smiled and said: "Don't tell me, the ditty they hum is not unpleasant to listen to."
Li Yu said: "If you go under the overpass, you might be able to hear the storyteller."
While a few people were drinking, another group of unexpected people came.
Toyama Mitsuru and Japanese Minister Uchida Yasuya walked into Li Yu's residence, "Mr. Imperial Master, congratulations."
Li Yu didn't expect them to come at all, but he still stood up to greet them: "Mr. Minister, Mr. Toushan."
Now that the Russo-Japanese War has ended, the expressions of the two of them are not particularly happy, just a little relaxed.
A few months ago, under the mediation of the United States, Japan and Russia signed the Portsmouth Treaty. Russia did not pay a penny, did not cede a piece of land, and only transferred its rights and interests in Northeast China.
Japan obtained Russia's jurisdiction over the railways on the Liaodong Peninsula and along the lines.
But this is far inconsistent with Japan's expectations.
Their original idea was the same as that of the beggars who came to beg. Based on Russia's national strength, they asked for 3 billion yen.
Because Russia is stronger than the Qing Dynasty, Japan thinks this price is reasonable.
However, Russia's military strength at this time was still very strong and it was not convinced at all.
But there was a problem on Russia's rear, and a wave of revolution broke out in the country.
Japan didn't fare much better. More than 100,000 people died in the war, nearly 200,000 were injured, and they didn't receive a penny. The angry youth in the country felt it was a great shame and humiliation, so they started riots, demonstrations, and smashed government officials' mansions and most police stations.
All were burned.
Both sides were too busy at home to take care of the Northeast, so the Qing government benefited from the situation and essentially took back the three Northeastern provinces, and was also preparing to send officials there to govern them.
Uchida Yasuya said: "Master Imperial Master, I heard that you won the Nobel Prize and officially became the world's first-class scientist. We would like to invite you to give a lecture at a university in Japan."
Li Yu also intended to go to a Japanese university to "train" a few Japanese technology leaders and use his influence to skew their technology trees, so he agreed: "I have little talent and little knowledge, and I hope I can live up to my good intentions."
Uchida Yasuya said: "If Mr. Li Yu, who has won the Swedish Grand Prize twice and is an academician of many national academies of sciences, says that he has little talent and knowledge, I will doubt whether I really know addition, subtraction, multiplication and division."
Li Yu said: "There is no limit to the sea of learning. In front of the ocean of knowledge, I am still just a small boat."
Tou Shanman said: "I just like the Emperor's master's humility. It is unfathomable and unfathomable."
Tou Shanman's words of "unfathomable" seemed to have an ulterior motive. Li Yu became a little more wary and replied: "It can't be deeper than the Mariana Trench. Please come in."
Li Yu had a rough and tumble fight with them.
But Toyama Mitsuru has quietly given instructions to Konoe Akiyuki: find a way to get rid of Li Yu in Japan.
It's a pity that they didn't know that Li Yu already knew the details of Konoe Aki, and Konoe Aki didn't even know that her most critical hope of entering the family of the Konoe clan - Konoe Atsumaro was dead.