Four 1
Liu Qingye set out for Shanshan, with General Hei under his crotch, and his mind was even more entangled with endless worries - he had not yet told Dan Ying that important sentence, very important words... However, facing his master... he hated his cowardice.
He had no choice but to keep on traveling in silence for three days. The Gobi Desert was gradually replaced by sparse grass, which was a sign of approaching an oasis. This was the first time he was so close to the Qing army's camp. He knew that Shanshan City was originally a place where Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other ethnic groups traded with the Han people, but now it should be occupied by Qing soldiers. He had imagined that there would be widespread grief, but he didn't expect that it would be dark at that time. A touch of red clouds illuminated the earth. There was no sign of the herds returning, only smoke from cooking fires. It was a scene of peace and contentment. He couldn't help but feel strange. Just as he was about to ask his master what was going on, he turned his head and saw Cao Mengsheng staring at him angrily. He was startled, and the words on his lips turned into a stammering: "Master... Master..."
Cao Mengsheng glared at him and said, "What have you been thinking about all this time? Aren't you still thinking about you and your junior sister?"
Liu Qingye didn't dare to answer. He lowered his head again and again, just watching the black general's mane rise and fall slightly.
"Alas..." Cao Mengsheng sighed, "How could Senior Brother Liu and Junior Sister Su give birth to a son like you! For the sake of momentary love, they actually threw aside the hatred of the country and the family!"
"Disciple...disciple..." Liu Qingye's face flushed, feeling embarrassed and ashamed.
Cao Mengsheng looked at him for a long while and said, "If the Tartars are not eliminated, there will be no home - you must keep this principle of success and failure firmly in mind! Otherwise, you will just be daydreaming. Not only will you lose your life in vain, but you will also alert the enemy and ruin the whole plan - then you will be the eternal sinner of my Songqiao Academy!" As he said that, he rode his horse straight towards the poplar forest on the edge of Shanshan City.
Liu Qingye hurriedly urged his horse to catch up and replied: "Disciple dare not--"
Cao Mengsheng said, "Master, don't want you to dare - your thousand and ten thousand dares are useless - we will kill two soldiers guarding the city, change their clothes and sneak into the city. You just need to find the whereabouts of Hero Wang and your uncle, and I will go and get the head of the old villain Fu Cha!"
As the sky gradually darkened, everything went according to plan - after getting rid of those Qing soldiers who spoke awkward Chinese, Master Cao Mengsheng and his apprentice put on their clothes and sneaked through the poplar forest towards the Qing soldiers' camp. They arrived there without much trouble. Coincidentally, a team of patrolling soldiers returned to the camp to hand over their shift, so they mixed in with their team and entered the camp.
Liu Qingye saw that the military tents were neat and tidy, and the discipline was strict. There were no soldiers with fat faces as he had imagined. However, he was nervous and excited at the moment, and his palms were sticky with sweat. How could he have the energy to think about random things?
Cao Mengsheng whispered to him, "The old thief has many subordinates. You should be more careful. Let's split up and act separately."
Liu Qingye nodded and watched his master disappear into the dim night. He then held his breath and hid in the shadow of the military tent, waiting for his opportunity to act.
He looked around from a distance and couldn't guess where Wang Chunshan was being held, so he could only quickly walk between the unpatrolled tents and check each one.
At that time, the soldiers who were not on patrol had rested, and there was no light in the tents. He looked in more than ten places, but still got nothing. He came to a slightly larger tent, saw the curtain half-lifted, and light shone from inside. He could hear people talking, so Liu Qingye hid by the door and tried to see what was going on.
I only heard someone inside say, "General, you came here with good intentions. Why are these Uyghurs so ungrateful?" He was actually speaking Chinese.
Liu Qingye was startled and waited to hear how Fu Chakang would answer.
But the one who answered was a young man's voice: "It's not that the Uyghurs don't appreciate it, but they don't know Ama's good intentions." The tone of voice must be that of Fu Chakang's son, and he actually spoke Chinese, and more fluently than the previous person.
The man at the beginning said: "How could we not know? We have sent the letter and the envoys, but these Uighurs are so bold that they don't even say a word - humph! Why should we care about their life or death?"
"That's not the way it is said--" said Fu Chakang's son, "The Junggars are trying to dominate the grasslands and emulate Genghis Khan. This ambition has existed since the Ming Dynasty. The current leader Galdan is even more clear-headed, and everyone knows it... Although the Uyghur tribes are not subjects of the Qing Dynasty now, and being enslaved by the Junggars seems to have nothing to do with our Qing Dynasty, if the Junggars annex the Khoshut and Durbert tribes and then attack all the way to southern Xinjiang, it will definitely threaten the territory of our Qing Dynasty." He paused, and then said, "Ama and all the uncles and aunts, when you followed the emperor into the pass, you must have seen it clearly-the fields in various parts of the Central Plains were barren and nine out of ten houses were empty. Fortunately, the emperor was wise and ordered all places to recuperate, and only then did things improve a little. If the Junggars' conspiracy succeeded and provoked trouble, who knows how many innocent people would have died!"
Liu Qingye listened to him and wondered: Is this what the Qing robbers who burned cities and plundered land said? He quietly moved closer to the military tent, wanting to see what was going on.
Under the bright light of the military tent, a man standing in the middle was about 25 or 26 years old, tall and handsome, he must be the son of Fucha. Next to him was a dark-faced bearded man, dressed as a deputy general. There was also a burly man in his 50s sitting with his back to the door. Judging from his armor, he must be a general. The three of them were probably discussing the situation in front of the map, but somehow they strayed from the topic.
At this time, after listening to Master Fucha's brilliant speech, the general who was in his fifties stood up tall, twirled his beard and laughed, "Taoer, well said, well said!" This man was Fucha Kang.
The deputy general was stunned for a moment and said, "What the young master said is correct - but these Uyghurs are really ungrateful... simply..." He seemed to be unable to find the right words for a moment, and mumbled something in Manchu.
"Uncle Kehai!" Fu Chatao shouted, "You really can't change your nature. All those books you read were in vain. You still speak foul language! You've learned Chinese for so many years, and you still can't speak it well!"
Na Kehai said: "Well, I just think that using Chinese is not good. It is not pleasant to scold people! Why should the emperor of our Manchus learn Chinese to rule the world? They should be asked to learn Manchu!"
After hearing this, Liu Qingye thought to himself: As expected, the fox's tail is exposed. He is so domineering. Only the brutal Manchu Tartars could come up with the idea of "keep the head but not the hair, keep the hair but not the head".
"What are you talking about?" Fu Cha Tao said, "The Central Plains has been ruled by the Han people for a thousand years, so it is obvious that the Han people naturally have their own strengths. Our Qing Dynasty won the world by force, but we might as well learn from the Han people in governing the world. Even Emperor Taizong practiced this when he was alive. For example, since the imperial examinations were implemented in the third year of Tiancong, hasn't it selected a group of well-educated people for the court?"
Liu Qingye felt that every word made sense when he heard this, but when he thought about it, he was furious: What a little thief Fu Cha, he said all these high-sounding and nice words. His father led 3,000 cavalrymen to kill all the people in Songqiao Academy, and even a baby like Liu Qingye was almost killed. Now he is here saying that he should learn the principles of governing the country from the Han people! This is like robbing people's homes, raping their wives and daughters, and then saying that he should manage people's houses and lands well, fearing that they will be robbed by other robbers... Such things are worse than beasts, and only these Manchu Tartars can do it!
He felt that all his strength had been gathered in one place, and he grasped the hilt of the knife tightly with his right hand, ready to draw it out. But then he changed his mind and thought that his master had asked him to find Wang Chunshan's whereabouts. If he caused trouble here, it would definitely alert the enemy and ruin the whole plan. He held the knife still and planned to quietly go around behind the military tent to search.
Na Kehai was obviously a little dissatisfied and said, "If the Han people knew how to govern the country, there would be no Li Zicheng's rebellion!"
Fu Chatao smiled and said, "The world is so big, there are Han people, there are Manchu people, there are people who understand things, there are people who don't, and of course there are good emperors and bad emperors. Like their Han emperors, not to mention Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Taizong of Tang - even Emperor Taizu of Ming, Emperor Renzong of Ming, Emperor Xuanzong of Ming, are all good emperors who care about the people. However, Emperor Yingzong of Ming, Emperor Xianzong of Ming, Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, etc., are just incompetent and incompetent. They made the country decline day by day, and the people were hungry. How could they not rebel?"
Ke Hai said: "That's it, isn't it? The Han people just don't know how to govern a country! Look at Emperor Taizu, and the current emperor..."
Fu Chatao said: "They are both good emperors, so the country is peaceful and the people are loyal to them. If the emperor does not do a good job, everyone will still rebel. At that time, not only the Han people will rebel, but the Manchus will probably rebel too!"
Ke Hai was stunned for a moment, and said: "This... this is really..."
He was just a warrior and couldn't say a complete sentence. Fu Chakang smiled and helped him to get by, saying: "Tao'er has been following Mr. Li for these years, and he has really gained a lot of experience!"
When Liu Qingye heard the name "Mr. Li", he knew it was the traitor with great martial arts skills. He was startled and slowed down his movements. As a result, a team of patrolling soldiers passed by him, so he had to hold his breath and not move.
Then Fu Chatao continued, "Of course - Father, I want to thank you for finding such a good master for me. Not to mention Mr. Li's knowledge and martial arts, just his character, in my opinion, is unmatched in the world today!"
Ke Hai laughed and said, "That's true. I admire him very much. At least he is not as confused as those guys from the Dragon Slayer Gang and the Lantern Society. He knows what it means to 'abandon the dark and join the light'. If he is still confused and doing those activities to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, we will have an extra headache."
Liu Qingye was shocked: Overthrow the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty? Could it be that Mr. Li was not just an ordinary traitor, but a surrendered anti-Qing patriot!
Fu Cha Tao said, "Uncle, what you said is wrong again! What I admire about Mr. Li is not that he served my father - there are many Han people who served the court, such as Wu Sangui and Qian Qianyi, none of whom I am interested in - Mr. Li is worthy of admiration because he cares about the people of the world."
Kehai was puzzled, and Fuchakang also asked with a smile: "Tao'er, what do you mean?"
Fu Cha Tao said, "Father, have you forgotten? Mr. Li always said that our Qing Dynasty and those who are against the Qing Dynasty and want to restore the Ming Dynasty are all for the people. As long as it is for the people, it doesn't matter whether it is light or dark. The reason why he later came to the court was because he saw that Emperor Shizu was diligent in his work and loved the people, and always thought about the people. Those who are against the Qing Dynasty and want to restore the Ming Dynasty have deviated from the original intention of seeking benefits for the people, and just blindly demanded the blood debt of the "Ten Days of Yangzhou" and the "Three Massacres of Jiading" from the court..."
Liu Qingye, who was outside, heard this and thought: Why, shouldn't this blood debt be collected? Not to mention the "Ten Days in Yangzhou", where 800,000 people were killed, and the "Three Massacres in Jiading", which made the gods and ghosts change color, even the hundreds of people in Songqiao Academy were almost killed in one day. Shouldn't this blood debt be collected?
"Tao'er is right." Fu Chakang said, "The members of the Lantern Festival are particularly abominable. They have tried to assassinate me many times, and have also slandered the imperial court in the Uyghur and Kazakh tribes, instigating them to become enemies of the imperial court. This time, Mang Keshan must catch them all in one fell swoop to avoid any trouble!"
"But father..." Fu Cha Tao said, "Didn't His Majesty say that the Manchus and the Han are one family? Asking Uncle Mangkeshan to destroy the Lantern Festival will only deepen the misunderstanding. Isn't it in line with the old saying of the Han people that 'revenge will be paid back with grudges'? In my opinion, we should help the Uyghurs repel the Dzungars first, so that people will be convinced of our great Qing Dynasty."
Fu Cha Kang was probably not happy with what he said, so he asked, "Mr. Li told you that?"
Fu Chatao nodded.
Fu Cha Kang said: "Tao'er, Mr. Li's words do make sense - but not all Han people in the world are as righteous as he is. There are always some people in the Lantern Society who are stubborn and stubborn. You are still young and have never been to the battlefield. You don't know that sometimes things are not as simple as you think -"
Liu Qingye thought to himself, "Of course, things are not as simple as you think - can all Han people in the world be like that traitor Li?"
Fu Chatao wanted to argue, but Fu Chakang shook his head and said, "You don't have to say anything. Your uncle Mangkeshan has probably already crushed the branch of the Chuan Deng Society in Adaler. However, Ama did not give those Han people a chance. Didn't Ama send Mr. Li to go with them? If the Chuan Deng Society can listen to Mr. Li's advice and submit to the Qing Dynasty, he will always have a place under my command."
Liu Qingye roughly guessed that Fu Chakang sent Mang Keshan and Li Hanjian to Adaler Oasis to wipe out the Lantern Festival after Wang Chunshan's assassination attempt failed. He felt anxious, but at the same time he also thought: "Humph, at most it will be a bloody battle. If they want us anti-Qing patriots to surrender to the Tartars, even if the sun rises in the west, it won't work!"
