Chapter 393: Huguang Chishui (Part 2)
"Judging a corpse is also called a trial?"
"Who are you talking about?"
"Basai."
"Well... the Qing dynasty even opened the coffins and mutilated the bodies. At least we pickled them with salt and lime."
After Luo Yiren finished speaking, he looked at his wife in confusion. His wife looked so delicate and weak, why would she care about such a topic?
After getting the correct answer, Mrs. Luo rubbed the sole of her foot which had gradually returned to normal shape after not being in use for a long time, and said, "I never thought your life would be like this."
"What do you think?"
"I thought it was what men looked like when they were having a party."
"What is that like?"
"Ah..." Mrs. Luo cried out in pain. She twisted her feet hard and hurt her joints. Pushing away Luo Yiren who wanted to come over to help, Mrs. Luo had tears in her eyes and sighed , "I saw the natural feet of the King of Qi and I was really envious."
Luo Yiren felt sorry for his wife and couldn't help but swear, "After we Chinese liberate the world, we will never let anyone suffer like this again!"
Hearing Luo Yiren's sincerity, Mrs. Luo burst into laughter and said, "Don't talk like that at home. I thought you were holding a meeting of the Ministry of Rites to talk about these empty things. I didn't expect that you didn't say anything at the meeting, but you said it when you got home."
Luo Yiren was indeed an old straight man. Upon hearing this, he immediately replied seriously: "In the beginning, we held a meeting to discuss liberation, the enemy, ideals, and the future. Recently, the number of members of the Ministry of Rites has increased, so His Majesty asked..."
Mrs. Luo sighed helplessly: "Okay, you should help me rub my feet."
Luo Yiren held his wife's feet in his hands and rubbed them, but he was still not satisfied. He continued to talk about the recent changes in the life meeting of the Ministry of Rites. Mrs. Luo was so angry that she didn't want to pay attention to Luo Yiren, but after listening for a while, she became interested. Because there are many interesting things in the life meeting. This is the "expansion training" organized by Huo Chong, the purpose is to expand the horizons of comrades and let everyone look at problems from more perspectives.
When the two of them fell asleep, Mrs. Luo sighed. Luo Yiren was about to go to sleep and didn't care. Mrs. Luo didn't continue to arouse Luo Yiren's attention and fell asleep as well.
The next day, she went to the study and started reading. In the evening, when Luo Yiren came back, Mrs. Luo said while eating, "We are comrades-in-arms, right?"
"Uh..., yes! We are comrades-in-arms!" Luo Yiren figured out what his wife was talking about. Just as Huo Chong said about the classification of husband-wife relationships, Luo Yiren believed that he and his wife were a comrade-in-arms team that reached the peak of their careers as soon as they debuted.
"When I was at my mother's house, I always heard them talking about His Majesty. You don't have to laugh secretly. At first, they did look down on His Majesty, but later they were afraid of Him. In the end, you know, my family accepted him." Mrs. Luo spoke softly.
Luo Yiren was feeling somewhat proud, "What do you think after meeting His Majesty this time?"
Mrs. Luo's voice was still gentle. "As long as the saints are alive, the thieves will not stop. I checked the book and confirmed that this is the sentence."
"What nonsense!" Luo Yiren was unconsciously angry, "Anyone who dares to oppose His Majesty will die!"
Although Mrs. Luo was a little surprised, she was not frightened. She stared at Luo Yiren for a moment and chuckled, "Haha, did you really understand what I was saying?"
Luo Yiren didn't think his wife was a traitor. He suppressed his anger and thought about it. He calmed down and said, "Are you saying that there will definitely be people who oppose your Majesty's ideals?"
Madam Luo shook her head gently, "That's actually nothing. Wherever you go with your swords and weapons, those few people are not worth mentioning. I thought your majesty was an emperor who was high above everyone else, and he was just trying to conquer the country and rule the country. At most, he would say something about expelling the Tartars and restoring China. The last time I saw your majesty in person, I realized that although your majesty relies on you, he is more of a teacher. He wants to determine the good and evil in the world and recreate the China he wants. This kind of heroism, I have never heard of it, and I have never even seen it in books."
"Then why are you dissatisfied?" Luo Yiren asked puzzledly.
Mrs. Luo finally calmed down. Luo Yiren saw Mrs. Luo's dissatisfaction, but in fact, Mrs. Luo herself was very surprised by her own dissatisfaction.
After calming down , Madam Luo replied, "My lord. When I met His Majesty, I felt that what His Majesty said was completely correct, but I just felt dissatisfied. I never thought that I would encounter such a thing. That's why I couldn't help but talk to you."
Luo Yiren was immediately relieved, "So that's how it is, it's normal."
As he spoke, Luo Yiren stopped holding his wife's hand and sat down, facing each other. "My family was raided back then, and I was really unhappy. But I also wanted to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, so I forced myself to stand on the side of justice and then met His Majesty. Can you imagine what it was like at that time?"
Mrs. Luo was originally arranged by her family to marry Luo Yiren. She was forced to marry a powerful traitor at a young age for the sake of her family, and she also experienced a lot of inner struggles.
Listening to Luo Yiren's story, he felt an indescribable understanding. He nodded and said, "That was putting life and death aside. Apart from morality, there was nothing else to rely on."
"Yes! Yes!" Luo Yiren felt like he had found a soulmate and exclaimed loudly. He held his wife's hand even tighter.
Mrs. Luo felt that her palms were being held so tightly that they hurt. She couldn't struggle free, so she could only use her other hand to gently stroke the back of Luo Yiren's hand, holding one of Luo Yiren's hands with both hands.
Luo Yiren also noticed it now, and quickly let go of his hand, and rubbed Mrs. Luo's palm.
Seeing Luo Yiren like this, Mrs. Luo was a little surprised. Although her parents told her many times before she got married that Luo Yiren was a scholar, well-educated, and smart, Mrs. Luo thought that Luo Yiren would be a mean and poor scholar. She didn't expect that this guy was actually a caring man.
"Since you want to pursue the greater good, I thought Your Majesty was just talking. Unexpectedly, Your Majesty is a man of the greater good. He does not treat his subjects as tools and exploit them to his heart's content. Instead, he established the Ministry of Rites to urge his subjects to learn. To punish without teaching is cruel. Your Majesty not only teaches us, but also leads us. When something happens, he teaches us to analyze specific problems specifically. When we get stuck in a dead end, Your Majesty teaches us carefully. He makes us understand that being stuck in a dead end is a result, and this result is caused by our previous experiences. Those experiences certainly hurt us, so we will never let go of some things. If we can heal the pain in the past, we can go into battle lightly in the future, without being fettered by the demons in the past. Become a person with a clear conscience."
These words touched Mrs. Luo's heart, especially the idea of healing the pain brought by fate and getting rid of the shackles of the inner demons. Her eyes became moist and she couldn't help but sigh, "Is it really that good?"
"If you think what Your Majesty said makes sense, and you think you must stand against Your Majesty, then you have your own vision. You know that you need to control power and capital. Although Your Majesty also wants to control capital, it is for the people of the world and for the use of the world. It is not for Your Majesty alone. However, in order to get rid of pain, ordinary people will definitely use capital for themselves. As for the people of the world, death is death, what does it have to do with me?"
Mrs. Luo burst into laughter, but tears rolled down her eyes. Before being forced to marry Luo Yiren, Mrs. Luo had figured out a lot of things. She was a weak woman, powerless, and without the power to trade with others. It was unavoidable to be used by others.
However, there was one person who dared to say that he would use power and capital for the benefit of the people of the world, so that everyone in the world would have capital. Although Mrs. Luo still didn't believe it, she felt different. At least Huo Chong did not deny that people should have capital, and he even admitted that only with personal capital could one get rid of pain. At least there was a chance to get rid of pain.
"Capital is exclusive. Your Majesty has it, but we don't. We have it, but Your Majesty doesn't. So the word 'serving the public' is one of Your Majesty's philosophies. Your Majesty's talents are all for serving these philosophies. Serving the people wholeheartedly. It is precisely because you serve the people that the people want to hand power to Your Majesty, not take it away from Your Majesty. At least, I believe in Your Majesty! Following Your Majesty, I will definitely get a result. I won't be like those who followed the Qing Dynasty, and ultimately have to rely on others to give them a result."
Mrs. Luo felt that she understood some of Luo Yiren's experiences and thoughts, but she still felt that Luo Yiren's fierceness was not what a person in a high position should have. So she changed the subject, "Then why should I oppose Your Majesty?"
"If it weren't for Your Majesty, you would be high up and I would be rolling in the mud. With Your Majesty, our positions are reversed. Of course, you feel that your life has been difficult because of Your Majesty. Seeing Your Majesty in power and hearing the truths Your Majesty has said, you feel that if you can replace Him, you can liberate yourself. This is human nature. That's because your family is rich and you know what it means to have fine clothes and delicious food. If you were an ordinary person, you would be satisfied if you got land, farm tools, oxen, and seeds. You would be satisfied if you were not exploited by landlords, gentry, and tax collectors. You wouldn't care who ruled the country."
Mrs. Luo was both happy and surprised when she heard this. She was happy that her husband was by no means a poor and bitter scholar, but a talented man with real insight. She was surprised that her husband's words, like Huo Chong's, dug out the deepest things in people's hearts and put them all on the surface.
The things that I could only think about secretly when no one was around were exposed, just like the clear moonlight in the dead of winter that could freeze people to death. It was so clear that there was no escape or hiding.
Mrs. Luo felt as if her heart was falling into an abyss with no end in sight. This feeling did not arise suddenly. Her family had been experiencing this state of mind for the past few years. Everything they could rely on was shattered, and in the end even the family land was divided up by the poor ghosts.
But in order to survive, he had to pretend to accept it all. In order to prevent the family from continuing to fall apart, he used his daughter to buy a temporary peace.
In such a hopeless state, Mrs. Luo had no hope of getting married. If it weren't for the persuasion, scolding and pleading of her family, Mrs. Luo actually wanted to commit suicide.
Despair was awakened again. Mrs. Luo grabbed Luo Yiren's hand and asked, "What should I do?"
"It's simple. Follow your majesty and find a job. Or study first and then go to work. Our Chinese court was founded by workers, peasants and soldiers, so of course we have to protect them. As long as you are a Chinese laborer, our Chinese court will keep you safe."
Luo Yiren, this steely straight man, was totally unable to sense the change in his wife's emotions. The Ministry of Rites' ideas burst out, and he taught his wife a solid lesson about the ideal of liberating all of China.
This time, Mrs. Luo did not refuse to listen. She was afraid in her heart and did not want to refuse again. In addition, what Luo Yiren talked about was not a general principle, but the specific implementation content. What is a worker, peasant and soldier, what is a laborer. The scope of labor, the direction Mrs. Luo can choose. Including treatment, and future opportunities. He told his wife everything.
The more Mrs. Luo listened, the more surprised she became. She had not expected that she could have so many career options, from being a school teacher to working in a factory, or taking the civil service exam.
Of course, the best treatment is to join the army. After the three-year military service, if you want to stay in the army, you can get a volunteer job through the cultural examination, and you can return to the local area after ten years. If you don't want to stay in the army, you can retire. If you want to work, you can be recommended. If you don't want to work and choose to go to school, you will be welcomed.
Joining the army is simply a magical door in the Huaxia Dynasty. As long as you can get in, you can get access to almost all departments of the Huaxia court when you come out. If a retired soldier returns to the village, he will be a member of the village committee. If he teaches in the village, he can even become a principal. Even the door to politics is open to retired soldiers.
No wonder the Chinese army has strict military discipline and fights bravely. With such a bright future, who would be willing to let go? Of course, they must strictly abide by military discipline and fight bravely. In the hope of getting higher evaluation when leaving the army, they have a better starting point.
Thinking back to her family's low opinion of the Qing army, Mrs. Luo sighed in her heart that it was not unfair that the Qing army lost to the Chinese army.
Of course, despite her lamentations, Mrs. Luo still felt that being a female teacher might be more suitable for her. Although being a civil servant seemed better, she had to be ordered around by others, which was far less noble than teaching in a school.
Luo Yiren did not feel his wife's inner struggle. Seeing that his wife decided to become a teacher, he felt that he had finally fulfilled his obligations for the liberation of the Chinese people, and at least his family had achieved the dual goals of people's liberation and women's liberation. From then on, he no longer had to worry about being attacked for his wife's shortcomings of staying at home and not working. He was really happy.
The next day, I wanted to go in person to handle the formalities, but was called to a meeting. I wanted to ask my secretary to help me, but I felt it was inappropriate. So I asked my secretary to send a note to my wife, clearly stating who to contact first and what the general process was. Then I hurried to the meeting.
The content of the meeting was not as warm as a family discussion. The Western Expedition Army received news that the Qing army retreated to Hubei and could not resist, so they retreated to Hunan. The Western Expedition Army requested to send troops to station in key cities along the Yangtze River to guard the Yangtze River transportation line. At the same time, the Ministry of Rites was again asked about the authority to suppress local reactionary landlords and gentry.
This reaction is the opposite of similar situations in history. The court should have proposed strategies to the Western Expedition Army on how to deal with the local situation. Who can be killed and who should not be killed. Who should be treated toughly and who should be treated gently.
It was not normal for the Western Expedition Army to bring it up first. However, since the Ministry of Rites had already begun to lead the army, the matter had to be consulted with the Ministry of Rites first. The Ministry of Rites could not just give orders to the Western Expedition Army thousands of miles away, which would be unrealistic. As a result of the final discussion, the more moderate Sima Rong was sent there.
Luo Yiren was worried that Sima Rong might be too lenient, so he asked the Ministry of Rites to select three candidates first. He called Sima Rong to talk to him first. After hearing the arrangement, Sima Rong was a little embarrassed, "Shangshu, if I go, will the comrades of the Western Expedition Army be unhappy?"
"The Western Expedition Army is not a butcher, what are you afraid of? Besides, we are only attacking Huguang now, not stabilizing Huguang. You also know the relationship between the major forces. Take a closer look now, and you will understand the ins and outs of some things in the future."
Sima Rong thought about it and felt that it made sense. If he followed the Western Expedition Army to see who the stubborn bandits were, he could avoid too many casualties in the future. So he agreed.
Later, Luo Yiren met with the other two comrades and felt that they were even less prepared than Sima Rong, so he decided to let Sima Rong go to Hubei.
At this time, the Chinese army already had an advantage on the water. The paddle steamers went from one stop to another. Sima Rong rushed from Xuzhou to Hankou in less than seven days. When he docked, he saw some bodies floating down the river. Although he was not surprised, he was still surprised. It was so cold, it must not be someone who was swimming and drowning. There must be someone fighting upstream.
When we arrived at the headquarters in Hankou, we found out that it was true. The Qing army retreated to Hunan, but the landlords and gentry in Hanyang upstream organized a "coalition army". The Qing Jiangning general also gave the anti-communist armed leaders the title of guerrilla. These newly promoted "guerrillas" immediately felt that they had this title and started to shake. They also gained the command ability commensurate with the title of guerrilla.
The commander said it lightly, and Sima Rong burst into laughter. After laughing for a while, he wiped the tears from his eyes and said, "We need to make a play about this."
"Of course. I've seen stupid people, but I've never seen someone this stupid. The Ministry of Rites once said in a lecture that many people think that they have the ability to match their official positions. We didn't want to admit it at the time, but in our hearts we felt that we thought the same way. We felt very ashamed."
"That's right. Now look at those people, we are not ashamed. It seems that we are not the stupidest ones."
Sima Rong couldn't help but praise his comrades in the army , "This is a great idea!"
It is impossible for a person not to do stupid things or make mistakes. In the process of improving yourself, the first step is to admit that you do have problems, and then figure out what the problems are, and then you can move on to the next stage.
If the comrades before them could understand as they said, at least they would not make such mistakes again.
While talking to his comrades, footsteps were heard, and Lei Hu had returned with the chief of staff and others. When he saw Sima Rong, Lei Hu did not ask anything, but said directly: "We will go south soon. There will definitely be a bloody battle. Even if the Qing army escapes to Guangxi this time, we must chase them and annihilate them."
Hearing Lei Hu's murderous words, Sima Rong smiled and said, "These Qing troops really can't be let go."
Lei Hu got such an answer during his probing, and realized that Sima Rong would at least not cause trouble on the battlefield, so he held a combat meeting.
The Qing army, which the Western Expedition Army had determined to annihilate, was now several hundred miles south of Hankou. Although the Chinese Army headquarters had not yet moved south, the Western Expedition Army's vanguard was chasing the Qing army.
At this time, Fu Qing had not changed his clothes for many days. The winter clothes gave off a fishy smell. Even so, Fu Qing just rode on the horse, and the Hunan militiamen who came to greet him also bowed and saluted.
Looking down at these militia leaders in long gowns and jackets, it can be seen that they are all scholars. Each group has its own flag, but on the big flag in the middle there are two lines of words written, "Study hard and you are not afraid of death. If you are afraid of death, don't study."
In the cold winter wind, the big flag fluttered violently, and the powerful characters seemed to be flying.
Then the leader shouted, "Zeng, I pay my respects to the general. The scholars from various academies in Hunan are leading their troops to help us in the battle."
