The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Clang, clang, clang."

The big iron lock was opened after the key was turned, and the iron chain hit the cell door with a harsh sound.

"Kaka."

There was a sound, and the cell door was pushed inward. Wei Guangde, who was standing outside the cell door, also saw clearly the environment inside.

It has been three days since Wei Guangde returned to the capital. The next day he returned to the Hanlin Academy to cancel his leave and give gifts to his colleagues. He also inquired about the case of Yu Dayou who was detained in Beizhen Fusi in the capital official circles. What a statement.

However, what surprised Wei Guangde was that no one in the Hanlin Academy seemed to care much about the life or death of a chief military officer. Everyone knew about it, but not many people really cared about the case.

The noble man and the lowly military man were clearly shown in the Hanlin Academy. The colleagues around Wei Guangde were obviously indifferent to the life and death of a general, even if he had repeatedly performed extraordinary feats on the anti-Japanese battlefield.

Perhaps, in this man's eyes, a military general should be like this.

If you win a battle, you should be promoted and rewarded. If you lose a battle or make mistakes, you should be punished according to the law.

Clear rewards and punishments are fundamental. The system that maintains the operation of the court cannot be confused.

On the second day, when he and his wife Xu Jianglan went to visit the Duke of Ding's mansion, when Xu Jianglan entered the inner house to meet the female family members of the Duke of Ding, Wei Guangde asked Duke Ding Xu Yande about what the Fifth Army Governor's Palace said about the case.

The result still disappointed Wei Guangde. The current nobles have really fallen. Their families are just busy making money and controlling their own base, and they don't care about the lives of other generals at all.

Yu Dayou was not a descendant of any noble family. His family was only a hereditary family under the jurisdiction of Quanzhou Wei. He had no noble backing, so naturally no one came out to speak for him at this time.

There have been two joint trials of the three divisions, and each time the Jinyiwei people took the person to Beizhen Fusi and sent him to the lobby of the Ministry of Justice for trial, and then escorted him back to Beizhen Fusi Prison.

In fact, at this time, the nobles in the capital also noticed that Lu Bing seemed to want to protect Yu Dayou. The specific reason was unclear, but it was rumored that Yu Dayou brought thousands of taels of silver with him when he came to Beijing, so the nobles naturally thought that Yu Dayou had already He gave Lu Bing filial piety, so Lu Bing would protect him in this way.

At this point, even if other nobles knew that Yu Dayou had outstanding military exploits, they were unwilling to speak for him. Taking him out was not to help Lu Bing make wedding clothes.

In fact, the people in the Xungui family are not all idlers. They also know that the ability of the family to get started is military merit. Now no one in their family can go to the battlefield. Don't look at those who serve in the Beijing camp. They are all awesome. But if I really go to the battlefield, my calves will be shaking and I won’t be able to stand firmly.

They need generals like Yu Dayou who have battlefield experience and are in trouble. They can draw people to their side by lending a helping hand.

But it was difficult for them to contact him in prison, and when they saw Lu Bing taking action, they naturally became even less interested.

From Xu Yande's mouth, Wei Guangde learned that the case had been tried twice, but in fact there was no result.

Yu Dayou's military achievements are displayed there. After the Japanese pirate riots, Yu Dayou was ordered to go to the coasts of Zhejiang and Fujian to fight against the Japanese. He fought hundreds of battles, large and small. Before that, he led his troops to rescue counties and counties besieged by Japanese pirates, put out fires everywhere, and later participated in He participated in all the battles to encircle and suppress Japanese pirates.

From Tuolin's suppression of the Japanese to Wang Jingjiang's great victory, and the famous battles that destroyed Xu Hai and Wang Zhi, they all performed well. However, they cannot be labeled as unfavorable in running the army. If the running of the army was really unfavorable, what would happen to these battles? Typed?

As for letting the Japanese escape to the south and Hu Zongxian's suggestion that Yu Dayou had access to the Japanese, it was even more nonsense. He was just trying to keep the blame away, and Yu Dayou was regarded as a scapegoat.

If he does not shift the responsibility to Yu Dayou, it is inevitable that no censor will find any clues to impeach him in the future.

In order to convict Yu Dayou, there was a lack of evidence and reasons. Naturally, the officials of the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple could not just blame him and give in.

Although they wanted to take the person away from Jin Yiwei, Lu Bing refused directly.

I'm afraid there is no one who knows this kind of operation better than Jin Yiwei. Zhao Wenhua's home was ransacked by Lu Bing and his men before his body was cold. The crime was corruption. Naturally, not much property was confiscated. Now Zhao Wenhua's family members They were sentenced to military service to pay off their debts, and their female relatives were sold to pay off their debts. It was so miserable.

From Xu Yande, Wei Guangde at least knew that Lu Bing was still protecting Yu Dayou.

Xu Yande still attaches great importance to people coming to Duke Wei's Mansion in Nanjing. In fact, he knew about it when the Wei family and Xu family just got engaged, and he also sent people to Nanjing to send congratulatory gifts at the wedding, so he didn't have any regard for Wei Guangde's visit to Duke Ding's Mansion. Not surprisingly.

In Xu Yande's view, Wei Guangde was already a member of the Xu family. Of course, he was not a bride-in-law, but a very close in-law, and he was worthy of major investment in the future.

They also want to gain the right to speak in the court, but if they show any signs of it, they will be severely suppressed by the civil servants. Therefore, they no longer seek high positions, but choose to strive for low-level but real power. Benefit errands.

In fact, this is also the default rule within the civil service group. If people give up something, they must give people enough benefits.

Although the civil service group dominates the court, they don't want to really fight with the nobility group. This is not good for anyone. The emperor will not punish the nobility, but often punishes the civil servants, because there are only so many nobility, and However, civil servants were continuously produced through the imperial examination.

Talking about the latter, Xu Yande also told Wei Guangde that he should avoid running here if there is nothing to do in the future. In the future, Xu Jianglan can come to the house more often to contact the female relatives. After all, they are thousands of miles away from home and they are the only relatives in the capital. It is right to move around more. Information can also be conveyed.

avoid arousing suspicion.

Wei Guangde understood what Xu Yande meant and naturally nodded in agreement.

In any case, in the eyes of outsiders, he, Wei Guangde, is a promising new political star, so he naturally has to avoid some things, not to mention that he does not want to be branded as a member of the Xungui Group.

Today, Wei Guangde finally came to the place he didn't want to set foot in - Beizhen Fusi Prison.

Wei Guangde came to Zhao Prison for the first time. When he entered, it was quite in line with his imagination of Zhao Prison. It was eerie and terrifying. There was still a gust of wind blowing around, exaggerating the chilling atmosphere in this place.

The so-called imperial prison is actually not a cell built on the ground, nor is it a dungeon. There may be a dungeon, but Yu Dayou is not locked in it.

This is a semi-buried cell. Most of it seems to be built under the ground, but the window above the cell is on the ground. The jailer can see the prisoners in the cell directly from outside.

Walking through this row of cells made of huge stones, you can see clearly what is going on inside through the windows. The cells are divided into small single rooms with wooden fences, and figures sitting or lying down can be vaguely seen in the single rooms.

Wei Guangde had no intention of asking who those people were. He knew that these people must have offended the emperor severely before, so they were arrested and imprisoned here under the emperor's order.

After passing through the cells and reaching the back, there was an independent house made of huge rocks in front of it. There were two jailers with waist knives guarding the door. The jailer leading the way stopped and said to Wei Guangde with a smile. : "Master Wei, the person is inside."

"Thank you."

Wei Guangde nodded slightly and put a silver coin in his hand into the jailer's hand.

"What do you say? Your Excellency has given the order. Look."

The jailer took the money handed over by Wei Guangde and said.

"Drink, you're welcome."

Wei Guangde didn't want to talk to these people. He felt that these jailers seemed to have been in this prison for a long time, and they had a cold aura all over their bodies. It was really uncomfortable to watch.

"Open the door."

The jailer was probably used to receiving officials like Wei Guangde, and he knew that people of his status were not treated well by officials.

In fact, that is human nature, who would want to deal with these people.

What's more, the group of subordinate officials has always been looked down upon by the officials in the Ming Dynasty. This has been the case since the time of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Civil servants in this era were roughly divided into three categories. The first category was naturally officials, who passed the imperial examination and became official.

The second category is the officials in the yamen. Officials are different from officials. Officials do not enter the mainstream. There are six rooms under the ordinary county government: workers, punishments, rituals, officials, and soldiers. The ordinary clerks in the six rooms are the so-called officials. They are responsible for writing official documents and handling matters. Archival documents are the main force of writing work in the yamen.

The third category is Yamen servants, and there are three groups of Yamen servants.

One of them is called the station official, who wears a red and black uniform. In the Ming Dynasty, he also wore a square scarf and a flower. In the Qing Dynasty, his boots were one color, one red and one black. They were responsible for shouting and clearing the way for the county magistrate. When the court was opened for trial, he would hold a water and fire stick, shout "power~wu~", and beat the prisoner according to the master's instructions.

Secondly, the arresting squad is a criminal policeman who arrests criminals, a common character in martial arts novels.

Third, Zhuangbanminzhuang is responsible for various chores, including prison guards, sedan bearers, city gate guards, transportation and logistics, and canteen management.

The above three categories are collectively called the three classes of government officials.

As people in the yamen, the scribes are referred to as "officials" and the yamen servants are referred to as "xu", and the two are collectively called "subordinate officials".

Officials were looked down upon, let alone subordinates. People in the Ming Dynasty were divided into four categories: scholars, farmers, soldiers, craftsmen, etc.

In addition to this, there is also a class of untouchables, such as beggars, degraded people, Danhu, Lehu, government servants, and widowers. These are all classified as untouchables.

The jailer, although there is a clerk behind him, is actually just a small leader among the jailers. Although he serves in Fusi Chao Prison in Beizhen, he is no longer in the Jinyi Guard establishment. He is not a military household, but a pariah.

The door opened, and the cell door was pushed inward. What Wei Guangde saw was Yu Dayou, wearing a light shirt, lying on a wicker chair with squinted eyes, fanning himself leisurely, and there was a pot on the table next to him. The fragrant tea is exuding a faint fragrance of tea.

This treatment is so different from the treatment in the dark cells that Wei Guangde passed before, that people have to sigh, "It's good to have people on top."

"Who's coming?"

Yu Dayou, who was lying on the wicker chair, didn't even open his eyes and just asked lightly.

"Uncle Yu is living a leisurely life in prison. I think the emperor also thought that Uncle Yu had made great achievements in conquering the West over the years, so he came to the capital to rest for a while, haha."

Although Yu Dayou did not look at him, Wei Guangde still bowed to Yu Dayou after entering the door.

Yu Dayou is comparable to his father, uncles and brothers in Zhejiang. He can also be regarded as Wei Guangde's elder. The etiquette cannot be broken, not to mention that he is a member of the Hanlin Academy.

While Wei Guangde was speaking, Yu Dayou had already opened his eyes, looked at Wei Guangde at the door, bowed and saluted, raised the corner of his mouth, and showed a smile on his dark face.

"It's your boy. Are you returning to Beijing to resume work after your wedding leave?"

"Yes, please forgive me, Uncle Yu."

After Wei Guangde saluted, he stood up straight, looked at him and smiled.

"I heard after arriving in the capital that your boy went back to Jiujiang to get married, and he married the daughter of the Duke of Wei. That's good."

The body Yu Dayou was lying on had already sat upright at this time, his eyes still staring at Wei Guangde so intently.

When Wei Guangde came into contact with this gaze, he couldn't help but remember that when he met Yu Dayou in the wild, he stared at him like this. It made him feel a little scared, and he unconsciously felt that he was trying to rob him again.

"hey-hey."

Wei Guangde laughed dryly, then took out the letter written by his uncle and father to Yu Dayou from his arms, held it up with both hands, and said: "My father and uncle were very anxious when they heard that Uncle Yu was unjustly imprisoned. I wrote this when I came to Beijing this time." Ask me to bring the letter and give it to Uncle Yu."

"well"

Yu Dayou sighed, reached out to take the letter handed over by Wei Guangde, and opened it to read.

Soon, after reading the two letters, Yu Dayou folded the letters and put them back in the envelope, and then said in a low mood: "They also said at the beginning that the only people I have are not suitable to be officials and can easily offend others. They can already command. It’s the smoke coming out of the ancestral graves.”

Yu Dayou is a man who has no problem in fighting. If he manages the army, rewards and punishments are clear. Things must be done in advance. Chen Shi and the brigade must make plans according to their words. However, this person is not suitable for hanging around in the officialdom.

In fact, Yu Dayou is suitable for hanging out on the battlefield. This is also Yu Dayou's own understanding.

He will not follow the crowd, bully the poor, nor bribe his superiors, because he is different from other generals. A very important reason why Yu Jiajun can maintain a strong combat effectiveness is that he does not drink the blood of his soldiers, but only relies on his Of course, there is no money to pay bribes with a small salary.

Therefore, he believed that only by relying on his own ability to make achievements on the battlefield could his superiors look at him with admiration. After all, a general still needs capable generals under his command, otherwise he would not be able to win the battle.

But he didn't expect that he would be thrown into jail just like this.

In fact, Yu Dayou is not stupid or pedantic. He knows how to adapt.

The Yu family held a hereditary position and was the lowest military attache in the Ming army. He was a sixth-grade official and had an annual salary of 120 shi. He had no problem maintaining food and clothing. Therefore, the family had spare money to send him to study. Yu Dayou lived up to expectations and became a member of the military at the age of 15. Chinese scholar.

It's just that I didn't continue to make progress in the future. I don't know how many scholars have been stopped by the exam.

After the death of Yu's father, Yu Dayou entered the army and inherited the post of Baihu, and became a Baihu officer of Quanzhou Guard.

The Ming army stipulated that people without military merit or martial arts examinations could not be promoted. Yu Dayou, who was proud and arrogant, chose to go to Beijing to take the martial arts examination. He ranked fifth on the list and passed the martial arts examination. Therefore, he was promoted to Qianhu and guarded Kinmen.

It would be an exaggeration to say that Yu Dayou was versatile in both civil and military affairs, but Yu Dayou was indeed a rare all-rounder among the Ming army at that time.