Chapter 293 292 Return to Beijing
Yu Dayou, who had just successfully wiped out the remnants of Wang Zhi at the beginning of the month, was to be locked up and brought to Beijing for trial. This news greatly shocked Wei Guangde's brain, making him a little confused about what had happened.
After carefully reading the following content, he roughly understood what had happened in Zhejiang. Everything was caused by the Japanese pirates who broke through, as well as the entire Fujian officials and the petty heart of Hu Zongxian.
Xu Bangrui was also thoughtful. After learning the latest developments of the court, he collected relevant information and sent it to Wei Guangde. After all, he knew that Wei Guangde had been away from the capital for several months and was more or less unfamiliar with the current situation in the capital. Providing more information would still be helpful for Wei Guangde after returning to the capital.
The Japanese pirates who broke through the south once again poisoned Fujian, and other Japanese pirates also took advantage of the situation to loot and turn the entire coastal prefectures and counties into a living hell.
Faced with such a situation, Hu Zongxian was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, but it was of no avail.
Since many Japanese pirates invaded Fujian, many Fujianese claimed that Hu Zongxian deliberately let the Japanese flee southwards in order to lead the Japanese invasion out of Zhejiang where he was.
Because of this rumor, Li Hu, a Fujianese official in the court, wrote a letter to impeach Hu Zongxian for letting the Japanese flee southwards.
With the first person to fire the cannon, there will naturally be no shortage of the second and third. Officials from Jiangnan who were dissatisfied with Hu Zongxian also took the opportunity to impeach him.
Perhaps, this is politics. To achieve the goal, they will do anything, and dare to say anything and do anything.
In a fit of rage, Hu Zongxian suspected that his general Yu Dayou had communicated with the outside world and joined forces with his fellow Fujianese to impeach him. He took the first step and reported that Yu Dayou was ineffective in managing the army and letting the Japanese flee southwards.
Hu Zongxian had already received a letter from Yan Shifan in the capital, and had made some arrangements for this, but he did not expect that someone under his command would actually betray him, so it was very impolite to impeach Hu Zongxian.
As for why Hu Zongxian suspected that Yu Dayou had betrayed him, it was because Yu Dayou was both the commander-in-chief and a native of Fujian, so he might have noticed some of the arrangements he had made.
Yu Dayou was also unlucky. He had fought against the Japanese pirates for several years, with both victories and defeats. He often had to take the blame for his superiors and was reprimanded. His official position also rose and fell. This time, he was arrested and tortured in the capital.
Wei Guangde's already written letter could not be sent. At the beginning, he thought that when he returned to Beijing, he would go to the Wei Guogong Mansion in Nanjing to send it out. How could he send it now? He had been locked up by the Jinyiwei.
However, Jinyiwei Lao Lu Bing had a good relationship with Yu Dayou, so he didn't suffer any loss on the way, and it should be very comfortable.
Wei Guangde was not worried about Yu Dayou at all, and even thought that for a general like Yu Dayou who had been commanding troops in battle, this period of being locked up might be the most relaxing and comfortable time for him.
The situation in the Ming Dynasty court changed too quickly during this period. Yesterday, he was still in the military camp accepting congratulations from all parties and celebrating the annihilation of a large group of Japanese pirates, but today he became a prisoner.
This was a huge blow to Yu Dayou's heart, and it was completely beyond Wei Guangde's perception.
However, as Wei Guangde guessed, Yu Dayou did not suffer any punishment on the way to Beijing when he was arrested by the Jinyiwei. Even if he had no money to bribe the escorting officials, no one dared to give him a cold shoulder, not only because he was once a general commanding troops, but also because he had a note from the capital.
Arresting people was the order of Emperor Jiajing, and Lu Bing did not dare to disobey, but the process was within his control, so he would naturally not let his friend suffer any grievances along the way.
The news of Yu Dayou's arrest shocked my father and uncle the most. After all, they knew Yu Dayou and had been invited by him. Now they were glad that they didn't agree to stay in Zhejiang to fight against the Japanese pirates.
My father even went back to Jiujiang Prefecture to read the letter, and then he lamented that things are unpredictable, "It's hard to be an official without someone in the court."
Did Yu Dayou have no one in the court?
Of course not, it's just that his people are both in the court and not in the court.
Jinyiwei, what else can they do except report to the emperor?
Of course they can't participate in government affairs. In fact, if they get too close to the civil service group, they will also be suspected by the emperor.
And for Yan Song, the chief minister of the dynasty, the people kicked out by Hu Zongxian are naturally not very reliable.
In fact, Yan Song had heard of Yu Dayou's name a long time ago.
When his relative, the current Minister of Works Ouyang Bijin, was the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Yu Dayou was his general. He made great efforts to suppress the riots in Guangdong and Guangxi, but he was not rewarded because all the credit was attributed to Ouyang Bijin, who helped him rise to prominence. This was naturally the work of Yan Song.
Now Hu Zongxian also kicked Yu Dayou out to vent his anger. In Yan Song's opinion, this person is really not a good person. Both of his superiors don't like him very much.
In addition, there is another thing that has always bothered Yan Song, because it is an old story from several years ago.
In the 31st year of Jiajing, Yu Dayou was ordered to suppress the Japanese pirates. When the Japanese pirates used Zhelin as their nest, he was the deputy general of the local coastal defense in Zhili, Jinshan and other places. Zhelin was under his jurisdiction. After some investigation and research, Yu Dayou wrote "On the Ten Difficulties of Using Soldiers in Zhelin" and sent this article to Xu Jie, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.
At that time, Yan Song and Xu Jie were fighting fiercely. Xu Jie had not yet fully understood Yan Song's strength, so he did not give in to Yan Song.
Yu Dayou offered advice to Xu Jie. After Yan Song knew about this, he blamed Yu Dayou for not presenting the article to him but to Xu Jie, and he could not help but hold a grudge.
In fact, Yu Dayou sent this article to Xu Jie, a bachelor, without any intention of currying favor. He just wanted to ask him to make suggestions for revision because Songjiang was Xu Jie's hometown and he had a better understanding of the situation discussed.
But no matter what, Yu Dayou offended Yan Song a little bit. When Hu Zongxian's impeachment memorial came out, Yan Song naturally added insult to injury. This made Emperor Jiajing quickly give instructions to escort Yu Dayou to Beijing, and Lu Binglian interceded. There is no chance.
Yu Dayou was arrested by Emperor Jiajing and brought to Beijing for trial. The only thing Lu Bing could do was to hold the person in his hands, so when Yu Dayou was escorted to the capital and not handed over to the Ministry of Punishment Prison, he was directly raped by Lu Bing. Arrive at the imperial prison.
Yu Dayou was an upright man and an honest official. When he was arrested, he had less than a hundred taels of silver, but he made a small fortune while being escorted to Beijing.
Yu Dayou's character was disliked by the official circles, because he would not flatter and curry favor with superior officials, and he did not have money to bribe him. Naturally, he was often ostracized, but his character also gave him many admirers.
After learning that Yu Dayou had made a contribution in suppressing the Japanese but was taken to the capital by the imperial court for questioning, many friends generously took action and sent Yu Dayou money on the way for him to manage in the capital.
When Yu Dayou arrived in Beijing, he had thousands of taels of gold around him.
Of course Lu Bing didn't take the money seriously, but the escorting officers and soldiers thought about it but didn't dare to take action.
Because of Lu Bing's relationship, the people of Jinyiwei would not do anything, but the officers of the Zhejiang Procuratorate were warned by Tan Lun before leaving, so they could only look at the gold and silver property with red eyes.
But when Lu Bing and Yu Dayou met in the capital, Yu Dayou handed over the money to Lu Bing.
Now that he is in prison, he naturally has no way to move around, so he can only ask his friends for help in taking care of things.
Because Yu Dayou, who has been promoted to the commander-in-chief, is already a second-rank military commander in the imperial court. Naturally, it cannot be tried by one yamen of the Ministry of Punishment. He can only initiate a joint trial of the three departments. In this way, in addition to the officials of the Ministry of Punishment, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Dali Temple are also indispensable. .
While Lu Bing was working on Yu Dayou's case, a fleet docked at Tongzhou Pier.
Several carriages by the dock were also brought over. After the pedals were set up, Wei Guangde got out of the cabin, glanced at the carriage on the shore, and then turned around to support the woman who had just walked out of the hatch.
This woman was young but she was also dressed as a woman. Her hair was combed in a peach blossom bun that was popular at that time, tied with gold wire, and her bun was combed high. The top of the bun was also decorated with pearls and jade.
This was a popular style in Jiangnan, especially Nanjing and Suzhou, in this era, and it was also what Wei Guangde liked more.
This peach blossom bun is actually not unfamiliar to modern people. It is a classic hair accessory that often appears in costume dramas.
This woman is delicate and graceful, with a radiant appearance. She is truly a beautiful woman.
She was only sixteen or seventeen years old, with a graceful figure, wearing bright and bright silk clothes, and dazzling and gorgeous jasper earrings. She stood on the bow of the boat and looked at the city in the distance.
Naturally, it was Wei Guangde's newly married wife Xu Jianglan. Wei Guangde returned to Beijing to serve as an official, so of course he had to take her with him to Beijing.
Although Xu Jianglan was the daughter of Wei Guogong Xu Pengju, because she was not a legitimate daughter, she did not submit a memorial to seek a title, and was only called the eldest lady in the palace.
"Officer, have you arrived in the capital yet?"
She spoke with a gentle voice and a charming look, which made Wei Guangde beside him feel a little moved in his heart.
Wei Guangde was very satisfied with this wife. She was beautiful, had a good temperament, and was gentle and courteous. Facing Xu Jianglan's question, Wei Guangde smiled and shook his head, "This is Tongzhou. It's half a day's journey from the capital. It's very close. ”
Although Xu Jianglan was the daughter of a duke, there were too many ancient rules and she had not actually been to many places. Before marrying Wei Guangde, she had only been around Nanjing City and never been further away.
Jiujiang Mansion was the second place Xu Jianglan had ever visited in her life. It was the first time she had left home so far away, and she was still very reluctant to leave her home. She was also very uncomfortable with it. After all, she was getting married.
Fortunately, her eldest brother Xu Bangrui came to see her in marriage, which prevented her from being depressed. She finally had someone to talk to, but she was still very reserved along the way and spent most of her time in the cabin.
It was only on the way to the capital with Wei Guangde that Xu Jianglan fully unleashed her girlish nature.
Although she was married, she still had the heart of a girl. Along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, she followed Wei Guangde out of the cabin from time to time to get some air and enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way.
During this boat trip to Tongzhou, I didn’t show any symptoms of journey fatigue. Instead, I seemed to be relaxed and enjoying myself.
"Then when will we visit Duke Dingguo's mansion?"
Xu Jianglan thought that when she left Nanjing, her father Xu Pengju told the young couple to go to the Duke Dingguo's mansion when they arrived in the capital.
Although nominally the Duke of Wei in Nanjing and the Duke of Ding in Beijing were both descendants of Xu Da, they were not conspiring against each other and had already collapsed during the Yongle period.
It wasn't until those two generations were gone that the Xu family in the north and south Beijing began to have a small amount of contact, but they were very restrained. They would only send some gifts and letters during the holidays, and they still walked around. rare.
Now his daughter is going to Beijing with Wei Guangde. No matter what status the Dingguo Palace has in the capital, it is still the Guogong family. The heritage is still there and the influence is still there.
Although he has no real power, Duke Ding can still speak whether he is at the bottom of the officialdom of the capital or in the court.
In fact, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were still very tolerant of these nobles, whether they were the founding nobles or the Jingnan nobles.
So Xu Pengju still wrote a letter to Xu Yande, the contemporary Duke of Ding, who was far away in the capital. He couldn't write two characters of "Xu" in one stroke. The content of the letter was naturally that he hoped that Xu Yande could take care of Wei Guangde, at least not to be bullied.
The current Dingguo Duke Xu Yande was the Duke of Dingguo in the 8th year of Jiajing's reign, with a salary of 2,500 shi. He first served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Zuo Army and the Commander-in-Chief of the Central Army of Shenji Camp. In the 30th year of Jiajing's reign, he was transferred to the Commander-in-Chief of the Central Army and served as the Grand Governor.
Although the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion has long been ignored by the Ministry of War, Duke Dingguo has many years of profound experience in the capital, and there is still no problem in protecting Wei Guangde, a small official.
As for the past, Xu Pengju naturally hoped that Wei Guangde could be transferred out of the capital. No matter where he went, it would be better than staying in the capital.
But now the situation is different from that then. Now the two families are married and Wei Guangde has become his son-in-law. Naturally, he still hopes that Wei Guangde's career will be smoother and he will be a help to his family.
Of course, the main reason is because Xu Pengju feels that the decree has been issued, everything has actually been settled, and there is no need to worry about further troubles.
"Let's talk about it in the next two days."
Wei Guangde looked at the sky and saw that it was almost noon.
Lunch can only be eaten in Tongzhou, and you can rush back to your home in the capital before the city gates are locked in the evening.
After getting off the boat and saying goodbye to the people from the Chamber of Commerce, Wei Guangde took Xu Jianglan into Tongzhou City in a carriage instead of setting off directly.
This time back to the capital, there were just more people around Xu Jianglan. There were many empty rooms in the front and back yards, which was enough to live in. So after the motorcade entered Beijing in the evening, Xu Jianglan opened the curtains and looked at the imperial capital of the Ming Dynasty.
The bustling level of the street is no less than that of Nanjing City, with busy traffic and pedestrians, and numerous shops and restaurants on both sides, which is quite in line with Xu Jianglan's imagination of the capital.
Regarding Wei Guangde's house in the capital, the young couple had also talked about it before when they were chatting.
Although the price of the house is not low, the more Wei Guangde lives in it, the more he feels it is worth it.
Xu Jianglan, on the other hand, doesn't have much idea about the price. For people like her, they only know whether they want it or not, and they don't care about the price.
After returning to the capital, the first thing he did was to go back to the Hanlin Academy to cancel his leave. After that, in addition to visiting the Dingguo Palace, Wei Guangde also wanted to go to the place he least wanted to go - Beizhen Fusi.
The purpose of going to Beizhen Fusi is self-evident. Naturally, it is to see Yu Dayou. This is also what Wei Wei and his uncle promised. If possible, he will help to move around.
In fact, Wei Guangde had already thought of a countermeasure when he was in Jiujiang. It was not difficult to save Yu Dayou. The main thing was to see whether he was willing to spend money.
Now Wei Guangde finally saw that as long as the money was sent to the Yan family, Yu Dayou could get away with any crime as long as he was not rebelling.
Therefore, Wei Guangde was not worried at all about Yu Dayou.