Chapter 167: Wu Sangui's Situation
Zhao Xiaokun married Wu Sanmei as his legal wife. Although the matter was handled quietly, it was known to everyone in Nanjing. Many people wondered why the Wu family surrendered to the Jianlu, so why didn't they kill his entire family? What was the empress dowager thinking? She even granted the marriage to the Zhao brothers.
What is the status of the Zhao brothers in the hearts of the people? They are like the Yang brothers in the Yang Family Generals, and their wives are like Mu Guiying. Therefore, many people do not understand why Zhao Xiaokun married Wu Sanmei as his wife.
There was no point not understanding, and they couldn't do anything about it. They just watched, and a few reckless people ran into the path the sedan had to take and threw stones. The sedan had several large holes in it, making Wu Sanmei look very miserable.
But even so, it did not affect Zhao Xiaokun's wedding. This wedding was really no grand ceremony, just like a small family's wedding, that is, Zhao Xiaofei's family and the Wu family had a meal together.
At night, red candles lit the room, creating a festive atmosphere. Zhao Xiaokun used a pole to lift Wu Sanmei's veil. She looked incredibly beautiful today, as delicate and voluptuous as a ripe apple. Wu Sanmei had been engaged, but her husband died before she could marry him. Later, the Wu family encountered difficulties and fled south, delaying the marriage. Now 18, Wu Sanmei was considered an older leftover woman in the Ming Dynasty. Even in peacetime, she would have been hard to find, and with her personality, Wu Xiang would have had to pay a considerable sum to secure her hand.
Wu Sanmei shyly called her husband. Zhao Xiaokun walked over and said, "You must be tired today! Go to bed early. Since you've married me, I will definitely treat you well!"
"Please have mercy on me, my husband!" Wu Sanmei's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiaokun immediately gave Wu Sanmei a princess hug and carried her to the bed. The red candles were blown out, and the entire mansion was silent. Only Liu Rushi's room was lit. Liu Rushi felt that she could accept anyone her husband married, except Wu Sanmei. She sat alone at the table, drinking glass after glass of wine, thinking: It would be better for my husband to marry a princess!
The next day, Zhao Xiaokun came to Liu Rushi's room. Seeing Liu Rushi passed out drunk on the table, he quickly carried her into the inner room and placed her on the bed. He then changed her clothes and busily waited on her. Liu Rushi had actually woken up when Zhao Xiaokun picked her up, but she had been pretending to be asleep. Seeing her husband taking such great pains to take care of her, she felt very warm in her heart.
Until Zhao Xiaokun was about to leave, she suddenly stood up, hugged Zhao Xiaokun, and said, "Husband! Please don't go." After that, she wrapped herself around Zhao Xiaokun like a snake.
Zhao Xiaokun directly pressed Liu Rushi under him and said, "What? Are you jealous?"
"What is my status? I've been married three times and I'm lucky enough to be accepted into the governor's mansion. How can I have the right to be jealous?" Liu Rushi said.
"It was not my wish to marry Wu Sanmei, but now that she has become my woman, I have to treat her well. You were the first one to enter the house, and she won't go too far. I also told her about your situation, and she didn't ask you to serve her tea and perform the ritual of being the eldest wife. The family should be harmonious! I know you despise her brother Wu Sangui and think he is a traitor! Yes! Her brother is a traitor, but she is not. A woman cannot control her own destiny, so why should a woman make things difficult for another woman!" Zhao Xiaokun said.
"You brothers are the people who respect women the most in the Ming Dynasty. There is no luckier thing than marrying you two. My husband, as long as you are well, it is better than anything else! I am not young anymore. If I don't have a child, it will be even more difficult to have one. I want to give birth to a child for you!" Liu Rushi said.
"Okay! We want it now!" Zhao Xiaokun said and started to take off his clothes. I won't write the rest here, so I'll save 10,000 words.
Just after Zhao Xiaokun married Wu Sanmei, Wu Sangui received a secret letter from his father, Wu Xiang, in Shanxi. The letter was delivered through the Jinyiwei, without being known to the Jianlu. Wu Sangui took the letter, sighed, and said to Prime Minister Xia, "My father is forcing me again!"
Prime Minister Xia said, "Your Highness! The Wu family is now considered honored and favored in Nanjing. It is better than being imprisoned. Why sigh?"
"If the Jianlu knew that my family was so favored in Nanjing, what do you think they would think? Especially Dorgon, he is suspicious by nature. If this got to his ears, would I still be able to lead the troops?" Wu Sangui said.
"Then why don't we flee south?" said Prime Minister Xia.
"Escape south? Don't say we can't leave! Even if we can leave, how many men and horses will we have left when we reach Jiangnan? What can we use to bargain with the court?" Wu Sangui said.
"Your Highness, we have the Zhao brothers to resist the Southern Ming now, so we may be able to go north to revive the Ming Dynasty. We can't close this loophole! If the Jianlu can't stay in the Central Plains, we must have a way out!" said Ma Bao beside him.
"Of course I know this! Our strength was greatly reduced in the Battle of Shanhaiguan! We have to find ways to continue recruiting soldiers along the way, and pick them from the surrendered Ming army. If you need money, ask me for it! Even if we go back, we can't go back like this!" Wu Sangui said.
"I understand!" several generals answered in unison.
After the generals left, Wu Sangui sat in his tent, staring blankly at the letter. He had no regard for Wu Xiang and his brothers and sisters. If he had, he would have surrendered to Li Zicheng long ago. Wu Sangui only cared about profit. Would returning to the Ming Dynasty really bring him any good? What was the attitude of the Zhao brothers? Even though Zhao Xiaokun was now his brother-in-law, he didn't believe a marriage certificate would have much effect. The Jianlu were both using him and wary of him, and they never provided him with all the military pay and food.
He has now surrendered to the Qing court and been granted the title of a prince. Returning to the Ming Dynasty, he's lucky to be able to keep his life, but the Zhao brothers haven't expressed their stance yet! Why didn't Zhao Xiaofei express his stance? Because Zhao Xiaofei has read history. First of all, Wu Sangui is not the kind of person who would rush to the border for a woman, and he doesn't have the ability to unify the world. He only wants to destroy, so Zhao Xiaofei will never let Wu Sangui go. If he is caught, he will be killed. The other members of the Wu family will not be implicated. Zhao Xiaofei only hopes that this fence-sitter will stab the Qing court in the back when he needs help. If he makes great contributions, he can consider sparing his life. Then it depends on Wu Sangui's performance.
Zhao Xiaofei was patrolling the Yangtze River with his older brother when he spotted a group of rats swimming down the river. The rats at the back were biting the tails of the rats in front, like a long snake swimming through the water. Zhao Xiaofei said to his older brother, "That's really interesting! I've never seen rats crossing a river with their tails bitten!"
Zhao Xiaokun took one look and said, "Oh no! There's trouble in Jiangnan!" Then he used a pole to disrupt the rats' team, and many rats sank to the bottom of the water.
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