Chapter 120: Going South to Yangzhou
Zhao Peng, who was a soldier in his previous life, was naturally furious about insulting soldiers. And when he heard that this person was Hou Fangyu, the son of Hou Xun's family, looked down on this guy even more. How unbearable it is to a soft man who relied on a memory girl to insult a soldier! In the later era when military uniforms were shining, a soft man who was looked down upon by someone dared to insult a soldier online would be sure to be given a human flesh, and then the internet would be tragically damaged. If a soft man dared to insult a soldier in reality, he would be beaten to death.
But Zhao Peng forgot one thing. This was not the era when military uniforms shone brightly later, but the late Ming Dynasty with a completely distorted view! The handsome young master and the girl are romantic and handsome under the moonlight. Literary people rely on the girl to raise them. That is called talented, so women like them.
But what can those scholars who are powerless to tie up? They can block the iron hooves of the Tartars by chanting poems? I’m afraid that the Tartars will come, these scholars will shave their heads faster than anyone else?
In the late Ming Dynasty, literati asked women to obey and four virtues, but they asked themselves whether they had done the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues? Did they do it? Liu Rushi, a woman, could sacrifice her life for her country, but the integrity of scholars was not as good as remembering her. The water was too cold, so she could not throw herself into the water to sacrifice her country; her scalp was itchy, so she shaved her hair and had braids.
Double standards are not unique to the beautiful country in later generations. Scholars in the late Ming Dynasty were actually the most double standards. They accused Emperor Wanli of sending tax supervision and mining supervision to compete with the people for profit, but they themselves cruelly exploited the people and forced them to rebel against the people. The people are not the people? Only their gentry is the people? These double standards are too outrageous.
When Zhao Peng thought of the Yuyuan Army he met when he was in Shandong, a trace of memory left in his previous life flashed in his mind: the Yuyuan Army that rebelled against the Qing Dynasty and restored the Ming Dynasty was flooded by the tunnel because Hou Fangyu offered Zhang Cunren a poisonous plan to break the Yellow River dam, which led to the tunnel being wiped out by the Qing army.
Thinking of this, Zhao Peng became even more angry and punched Hou Fangyu hard in the face: "Dog guy! How dare you scold us for being a soldier! Tell you, the Tartars in the north have polished their butcher knife and prepared to go to Jiangnan with a razor! Once all of us, the soldiers, fall down, aren't you still kneeling in front of the Tartars like dogs and forced to keep a hairstyle like the Tartars? By that time, you can't even enter the ancestral grave! Will your ancestors recognize a descendant who has braids like the Tartars?"
Zhao Peng's violent beating against a scholar made the officers present secretly applaud in their hearts, "The Great Ming Dynasty's literary nobles and military officials are inferior. How many years have the military officials been suppressed by civil servants? In particular, Yuan Chonghuan killed Mao Wenlong without any chance, and even made a very bad start. Now that he saw a scholar with fame and fortune beaten by the Jinyiwei, the officers naturally felt indescribable joy in their hearts.
Although the civil servants and gentry present felt that Zhao Peng was too domineering, the rumors that Hong Chengchou would bring the Qing army to shave everyone's heads had already been deeply rooted in people's hearts. The gentry who were afraid of shave did not dare to say anything more, not to mention that this martial artist was a fearful Jinyiwei.
Hou Fangyu was beaten to the ground for his teeth, but his mouth was still hard: "Castelled dog! Eagle claw grandson! Our scholars swear to be irreconcilable with the castrated dog! Eagle dog, if you have the ability, you will beat me to death!"
Zhao Peng punched Hou Fangyu hard on the chin again, causing him to fall backwards, and his cursing mouth also closed.
"Grandpa hates that grandson is joking in front of grandpa!" Zhao Peng sneered, "Insulting the Jinyiwei? If Taizu Chengzu had not peeled the grandson down, then there would be another implicated nine clans! Screaming the Jinyiwei is scolding the emperor! The Jinyiwei is known as the emperor's personal army, and insulting the Jinyiwei, isn't it not for the royal family to give face?"
Hou Fangyu was beaten to the point of blood, and his last punch knocked him out. In fact, Zhao Peng was already showing mercy. He did not use all his strength in both punches, and only used 50% of his strength. If he used 80% or 90% of his strength, he might be able to kill Hou Fangyu with one punch.
"Come here!" Zhao Peng shouted.
Several Jinyiwei came in outside and saluted Zhao Peng.
Zhao Peng waved his hand: "Mr. Hou insulted the Jinyiwei and was beaten by me, so I sent him back."
The Jinyiwei carried Hou Fangyu out, and Zhao Peng turned his head and waved to everyone: "Everyone, don't be impatient, let's continue to have a meal!"
The generals in the hall secretly applauded Zhao Peng in their hearts. Although the civil servants and gentry were dissatisfied with the Jinyiwei beating scholars, they also knew that Hou Fangyu was worthy of being beaten. You should know that this Jinyiwei, who became the son-in-law, was not an ordinary person. Is Jiannu fierce? But the fierce Jiannu was defeated by these Jinyiwei, who dared to provoke these fierce gods?
After drinking and having enough food, Zhao Peng and Princess Kunxing did not live in the garden arranged by Lu Zhenfei for them, but returned to the boat. When the salt merchant was hosting everyone, Lu Zhenfei did not go, but was having a meal with the prince Zhu Cixuan. After the meal, Lu Zhenfei left the prince in the mansion. When tomorrow morning, he boarded the boat with the prince and headed south to Yangzhou.
Back on the boat, the Jinyiwei around him retreated, and Princess Kunxing leaned on Zhao Peng's shoulder: "Zhao Lang, is it too much for you to beat a scholar for no reason?"
"That guy insults our Jinyiwei." Zhao Peng said.
"You can't hit people, Zhao Lang, you are too reckless in doing things. Mr. Hou is the son of Hou Xun, the former Minister of Revenue, and one of the four great princes in Jiangnan. If you hit him, I'm afraid that the scholars in Jiangnan will hate us and other northern people." Princess Kunxing said worriedly.
"If you hate, you hate it. If we were not in the army, Jiannu would definitely go south to Jiangnan, and blood flowed into rivers. Princess, you said that at that time, the people in the south did not hate Jiannu? But what can they do if they hate it? Can their necks be harder than Jiannu's knife? As long as the knife is sharpened quickly, who will be afraid of hating us?" Zhao Peng smiled disapprovingly.
"Hmph!" Princess Kunxing snorted, pushed Zhao Peng away and stood up, "No wonder people say you are a vulgar martial artist, you are really rude."
Zhao Peng pulled Princess Kunxing back with one hand, holding her tightly in her arms, and no matter how hard she struggled, it would be useless. Zhao Peng gently stroked Princess Kunxing's hair: "They said I am a vulgar martial artist, but my husband is much stronger than those young men who only know how to eat soft food. What are the uses of those dogs with no power? Jiannu is here, can they beat Jiannu? Princess, don't worry, as long as I am here, no one can hurt you."
"Zhao Lang, do you think our Ming Dynasty can last forever?" asked Princess Kunxing.
Zhao Peng said sadly: "Of course it is impossible. No dynasty can never perish, so the Ming Dynasty is the same. But our Ming Dynasty must not be destroyed by the hands of Jiannu! If the Ming Dynasty is gone, it will only destroy the country; if the Ming Dynasty is destroyed by the hands of Jiannu, the Han people will destroy the world! I will definitely not allow this kind of thing to happen! But Princess, don't worry, as long as I am still alive for one day, the Ming Dynasty will not perish!"
"Thank you, my mother believes in you." Princess Kunxing leaned her head in Zhao Peng's arms.
"You are the most beautiful princess in my heart, and you will always be."
"Stop coming. When I'm gray-haired, you will definitely dislike me."
"How is it possible? We will be together forever forever."
"Zhao Lang, it's getting late, hurry up and go back and rest." Princess Kunxing said softly.
"Let me hug you for a while." Zhao Peng said. He hugged the princess tightly, and after a long time, he reluctantly left.
Just as dawn the next day, Lu Zhenfei took Zhu Cixuan, who was dressed in the costume of a Jinyiwei, and escorted by more than a dozen Jinyiwei guards in black armor and four Jinyiwei households in red flying fish uniforms, and walked onto the ship.
"Everyone is here, drive the boat!" Zhao Peng shouted.
The ships of all sizes pulled their anchors and slowly left the shore. The boatmen rowed and paddled and drove the boat south. Since this section of the canal sailed along the water, there was no need to pull the boat. The fleet went downstream and headed straight to Yangzhou.
Before boarding the ship, Lu Zhenfei sent a fast horse to Yangzhou to report to Shi Kefa.
Chapter completed!