Wang Jinzhong, Chu Shu, and Shi Wenjin knelt on the ground with their heads lowered, not daring to look up.
In front of the three of them, on a large chair carved with dragons, sat a young man with a gold crown on his head and a face that looked like light gold. He was about thirty years old. He was wearing a black robe with gold thread embroidered with dragon patterns.
, with long hair hanging loosely on his robe. He is the leader of the Xuanhuang Sect.
An old man on his right came out and said: "Master, according to the confessions of the three of them just now, this time the leader of the Chu family and the leader of the Shi family were ordered by the leader to send a message to the leader of the Wang family, but something went wrong and the Wang family was targeted.
The Lord's subordinates were the reason why the patrol team was not sent out and was successfully attacked by the officers and soldiers in Yanzhou City. However, Chu Shu said that Shi Wenjin did not do it intentionally. He made a big mistake in a moment of confusion and it was really unintentional.
If he fails, he should be struck with the cane thirty times, demoted to the rank of incense master, and take on the duties of the leader of the sect. The meritorious personnel will be promoted later.
The leader nodded and said: "Chu Shu, Shi Wenjin, are you two convinced by Master's punishment like this?"
Chu Shu and Shi Wenjin hurriedly said: "Report to the leader, I am willing to be punished."
The leader took the lead slightly, and the master waved his hands gently. Four members of the cult immediately came over and dragged Chu Shu and Shi Wenjin out.
At this time, another person on the left of the leader came out and said: "Master, Chu Shu and Shi Wenjin made mistakes and should be punished. However, Wang Jinzhong failed to attack Yanzhou this time. Instead, he lost his troops and generals. Moreover, it was a big mistake to appoint non-religious people in the army.
, so I also ask the leader to punish him as well.”
The master said softly: "Wang Jinzhong's appointment of non-religious people in the army was still authorized by the leader and should not be counted as a fault. There is no punishment in our canon for the defeat of the army. Whether to punish or not is up to me.
Please ask the leader to decide."
The leader then said: "The defeat of Yanzhou this time was really due to circumstances that did not suit him. Many things cannot be decided by Wang Jinzhong alone. Therefore, this defeat should not be punished. However, Wang Jinzhong should also take a warning.
I will give up my merits in the future.”
Wang Jinzhong couldn't help but feel excited in his heart, and said hurriedly: "Thank you for your forgiveness, the leader. I will do my best to serve the great cause of our holy religion and be loyal to the leader."
After Wang Jinzhong exited, the man from before said again: "Leader, you are too tolerant to Wang Jinzhong this time."
The leader snorted and said, "Elder Chuan, do you have any objections to my handling of this matter?"
Elder Fu said hurriedly: "I don't dare. It's just that the leader told Chu that Shi Wenjin and Wang Jinzhong's methods are obviously different. I'm afraid it will make other members of the sect dissatisfied?"
The leader said calmly: "Chu Shu, Shi Wenjin only acted out of his own whims, which resulted in a big mistake. Although it was an unintentional mistake, it shows that he is smart, self-righteous and does not think about the overall situation. Such a person should naturally be severely punished
, we must not condone those who serve as a warning. Wang Jinzhong has always done his best for the great cause of our holy religion. Even if he fails for a moment, it is because he is unable to do so. However, his loyalty is praiseworthy. If you have a little tolerance for him, you will definitely treat our religion.
I am so grateful that I will work more faithfully in the future. Is there anything wrong with my handling of this situation?"
Elder Fu then said: "The leader's sage is beyond the reach of his subordinates."
At this time, the master said again: "However, this time we entered Yanzhou, it failed after all, and Wang Jinzhong's troops were also severely weakened. I wonder what the next step of our holy sect will be?"
The leader said: "This attack on Yanzhou was originally just a test. There is no joy in winning, and no worries in defeat. Most of Wang Jinzhong's troops are rogues. Although they left quickly, they came very easily. As for the next plan of my teaching, I
We have already made a decision, and we have arranged it according to the scriptures sent by the elder Bao Bao, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
The teacher said: "The leader is wise, so my subordinates can rest assured."
Elder Fu said: "However, the leader's attack on Yanzhou this time was caused by Shang Yi, who ruined our holy religion. When he first met our religion, he was still an unknown person, but after three or four months, he became a master with the scriptures.
Although Mr. Qian is not a high-ranking official, he has won the appreciation of Zeng Hualong, the governor of Denglai. He will be promoted to an official position in the near future. From this, it seems that he is a strong enemy of our religion.
He must be dealt with early."
The leader said calmly: "Didn't I leave Shang Yi's matter to Mingji a long time ago? You don't have to worry about it."
Elder Fu said: "It's not that I don't believe in Madam's ability, but didn't Madam come back without success last time? I'm afraid Madam won't be able to achieve anything this time, so I'd better let my subordinates go there!"
The leader smiled slightly and said: "Last time Mingji just wanted to see how far Shang Yi could go, so she didn't try her best. This time it's different. And if Mingji still doesn't succeed this time, I will do it myself."
Take action against him."
Elder Fu was also startled. In recent years, the leader Yi Jing rarely took action personally. It seemed that he valued Shang Yi far more than he expected. So he said: "I honor your order."
With a "squeak", the door opened. The person who opened the door was a middle-aged man of about forty years old. Luo Yuanbin took a step forward and bowed to him: "Mr. Sun, it's me."
The middle-aged man took a look and then smiled and said: "It turns out that Yuan Bin is here, please come in."
Luo Yuanbin pointed to Shang Yi behind him and said: "I also brought one..."
The middle-aged man smiled and said: "Since you are the one who brought me here, what else can I say? Let's come together. It's cold outside, so let's go inside first."
So Shang Yi carried the gift box and followed them into the house. The middle-aged man said, "Sit down wherever you want, you're welcome." Then he went to the back room to pour tea.
Only then did Shang Yi look at the room carefully. He saw that the room was not big. According to the standards of later generations, it was only about twenty square meters. There were two inner rooms. However, there were basically no decent furnishings in the room, and the furniture was very small.
It's shabby, and the middle-aged man I saw just now has a pale face and his clothes are full of patches. It's obvious that the economic conditions of this family are not very good. However, his behavior is quite well-educated, unlike ordinary poor people.
Like a down-and-out scholar.
At this time, the middle-aged man came out with two cups of tea and said, "I don't have any good tea at home. I just ask you two to take care of me." After saying that, he handed the teacups to the two of them, and then he saw that Shang Yi was still holding it.
gift box, and then asked Luo Yuanbin: "Yuanbin, this person is..."
Luo Yuanbin then said: "Mr. Sun, this is Mr. Shang Yi, the Qianzong Qianzong of Mulingguan of Qingzhou Prefecture who has been defending Yanzhou City and defeating the bandits these days. He specially asked me to lead the way and come to visit Mr."
The middle-aged man was also shocked, because in the past few days, Shang Yi's name was very popular in Yanzhou City, and everyone knew it. However, although he was surprised, he did not show much confusion.
Come, he hurriedly bowed to Shang Yi and said: "It turns out to be Mr. Qian. Mr. Sun is being polite. I wonder why you came here to see Mr. Sun?"
Shang Yi hurriedly said: "Mr. Sun, there is no need to be polite. I would like to ask if Mr. Sun's father-in-law is the former censor of Qiandu, the former governor of Denglai, Sun Yuanhua, Lord Sun."
The middle-aged man was startled for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes, that's my late father."
It turns out that this middle-aged man is called Sun Heding, and he is the eldest son of Sun Yuanhua.
In the fourth year of Chongzhen (1631), Sun Yuanhua became the governor of Denglai and accepted the defection of General Mao Wenlong's old troops, Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, Li Jiucheng and others who were originally guarding Pidao.
But in August of that year, Kong Youde and others were incited by Li Yingyuan, the son of Li Jiucheng, Mao Wenlong's old army, and launched a rebellion in Wuqiao, which was known as the "Wuqiao Mutiny" in history. They turned their backs and fought back to the Shandong Peninsula, falling into Linyi, Lingxian, Shanghe, and Qingcheng.
Zhucheng, led the troops directly to Dengzhou. In January of the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632), Dengzhou fell. The commander-in-chief Zhang Keda committed suicide. Sun Yuanhua failed to commit suicide and was captured by the rebels. Later, Kong Youde and others wanted to cross the sea and surrender to Houjin. They thought of Sun Yuanhua.
He was kind to him, so he did not kill him and let Sun Yuanhua go.
After the mutiny occurred, many people in the court said that Sun Yuanhua had rebelled. Therefore, in March of the fifth year of Chongzhen, Sun Yuanhua, Yu Dacheng and others were arrested and sent to the Zhenfu Division of the capital. They were framed by political enemies Yu Yinggui, Li Mengchen, Lu Zhenfei and others.
He was severely tortured in prison. Zhou Yanru, the chief minister at that time, wanted to exempt Yuanhua from the death penalty, and Xu Guangqi risked his family's lives to guarantee that Sun Yuanhua would not rebel. However, Wen Tiren secretly fanned the flames in order to win over Zhou Yanru, and tried his best to frame Sun Yuanhua, so he was finally
It was irreversible. On July 23, the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632), Sun Yuanhua and Zhang Tao were executed by the court.
Before Sun Yuanhua died, he asked someone to tell his three sons, Sun Heding, Sun Hedou, and Sun Hejing, not to complain to the court because they were unjustly killed, and not to be an official in the future. They just wanted to sort out their legacy and serve the country. Sure enough,
After Sun Yuanhua's death, the third son devoted all his energy to sorting out his legacy. Some of his old subordinates invited them to serve as officials many times, but they were all rejected.
The person Luo Yuanbin mentioned who could make fire guns was Sun Heding.
Of course Shang Yi knew that Sun Yuanhua was not only a famous Western artillery expert in the late Ming Dynasty. He also assisted Xu Guangqi in completing the compilation of "Pythagorean Theory". He also independently wrote "Essentials of Taixi Arithmetic", "Usage of Geometry", "On Geometry", and "Western Studies".
"Miscellaneous Works" and other scientific works. He also wrote two volumes of "The Divine Machinery of Western Fa" and ten volumes of "The Complete Book of Classics and Martial Arts", which introduced Western military technology in cannon casting, gunpowder making, fort building, etc., and also put forward many incisive strategies for using troops.
Tao can be said to be a very comprehensive scientist.
According to Luo Yuanbin, it was obvious that Sun Yuanhua's sons had also been influenced by him and were proficient in making firearms. If they were invited to Muling Pass, they would be able to quickly build a musketry team for him. Therefore,
Shang Yi then asked Luo Yuanbin to bring him to invite the Sun brothers.
After hearing Sun Heding ask himself, Shang Yi immediately said: "I heard from Luo Yuanbin that Mr. Sun is proficient in the art of making muskets. I just need to cast a batch of muskets at Muling Pass to defend against the Manchu and Qing Tatars outside the pass, so I want to hire Mr. Sun to help.
"
Unexpectedly, after hearing Shang Yi's intention, Sun Heding immediately shook his head and said: "My father had a will before his death, which prohibited our brothers from serving as officials for life. I really dare not go against my father's order, so I cannot obey it."