Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 142 Jiangning Spy

On the way to Jiangning, Meng Bian asked Gu Qingmei why she went to look for Dong Xiaowan and Mao Xiang first instead of contacting Liu Rushi directly.

Gu Qingmei looked at Meng Bian and said, "Liu Rushi's husband Qian Qianyi has already surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. I don't know what his intentions are. After all, Qian Qianyi is the top writer in Jiangnan. His every move must be monitored by the Qing army. If we rush forward, there may be risks."

Meng Bian nodded when he heard this, and Gu Qingmei continued, "I have met Mao Xiang. He is not only a brilliant writer, but also concerned about state affairs. With Mao Xiang's talent and reputation, if he surrendered, Hong Chengchou would surely use him, and he would not be in such a difficult situation."

Meng Bian praised: "Miss Gu is really smart"

After hearing this, Gu Qingmei refuted: "My husband should call me Madam."

Meng Bian frowned and uttered a sentence after a long pause: "We haven't reached Jiangning yet..."

……

Jiangning, Mao family.

The two women were chatting happily there. When Gu Qingmei inadvertently saw Meng Bian looking around with a bored face, she couldn't help but smile and hurriedly introduced him to the other party: "Oh, sister, I forgot to introduce him to you. This guy, he is my husband!" She even blinked her eyes after saying that.

In fact, they had already agreed on their way to Jiangning that they would appear as a couple in front of outsiders. Gu Qingmei did not have too many concerns about this, but Meng Bian seemed a little entangled. After all, this woman was much older than him. Wouldn't others think that he was a gigolo who was supported by a woman and lived off her? Thinking of this, Meng Bian felt helpless.

Dong Xiaowan was stunned, and then wanted to say something, but stopped talking. At this time, Mao Xiang said: "Xiaowan, since there are guests, please come in."

Dong Xiaowan smiled sweetly and said, "My sister is rude, sister, brother-in-law, please come in."

Several people entered the house. Dong Xiaowan was busy serving some fruit snacks and pouring tea for everyone. Gu Qingmei hurriedly said, "Sister, stop busying yourself. Come and sit down."

Mao Xiang saw that everyone had taken their seats, so he asked Meng Bian, "What's your name, sir?"

Meng Bian said: "My name is Meng An, from Changshu, my family makes a living as a merchant."

"Oh, I wonder if Mr. Meng is in Jiangning or Changshu," Mao Xiang continued.

"Our business is indeed in Changshu, but the main purpose of coming to Jiangning this time is actually to visit friends. I have always been concerned about Sister Dong, so I came here specially to see her this time." Gu Qingmei took over the conversation with a smile, her tone kind and gentle.

After hearing this, Dong Xiaowan couldn't help but frowned, revealing a trace of worry: "The world is not peaceful now! There is chaos and war everywhere. Sister, brother-in-law should try to travel less." Her voice was full of concern and worry.

Mao Xiang heard this and immediately glanced at Meng Bian and said, "Yes, and I heard that Meng Jun's troops have already begun to march into Changshu. It is not appropriate for Master Meng to be away at this time."

"Hahaha." Meng Bian smiled and then said, "It's okay. Changshu is a small city with no more than a thousand soldiers. When Meng's army arrives, it will probably be the day Changshu opens its doors. There shouldn't be a fight."

Mao Xiang was somewhat puzzled when he heard this. This Master Meng said that he was from a merchant family, but why did he look so fierce and superior? Moreover, he vowed that Changshu would surrender and did not worry about whether his business would be affected. Thinking of this, Mao Xiang asked, "Master Meng, is it too early to make such a statement? How do you know how many soldiers there are in Changshu?"

"Oh, my home is in Changshu. I am very familiar with Changshu. How could I not know how many guards there are?" Meng Bian said confidently.

Mao Xiang was silent for a moment after hearing this, then changed the subject. The few of them started chatting. Seeing that the time was right, Dong Xiaowan stood up to prepare meals for everyone, and Gu Qingmei also took the opportunity to say that she wanted to prepare meals with Dong's sister. After the two left, only Meng Bian and Mao Xiang were left.

After a while, the laughter of the two women could be heard from the kitchen. Mao Xiang looked at Meng Bian and said seriously, "Mr. Meng, I don't know what you do, but I know you are not a businessman, nor an ordinary person. I can tell a person's talent by his eyes."

Meng Bian did not refute when he heard this. He just picked up the tea, took a sip slowly, and then said: "Oh, then who did Mr. Mao say I was?"

Mao Xiang looked at Meng Bian carefully, and after a moment, he slowly said: "First, Master Meng is not a businessman. Second, Master Meng should be a person in a high position. Third, Master Meng has killed people, and he has killed many people."

As soon as he said this, Meng Bian was stunned. This could show that he was not a businessman, which might be a reason. Being in a high position might also be a matter of temperament, but how could Mao Xiang say that he had killed many people? No, I probably didn't kill many people myself. I just killed three people while defending Suzhou City, and then killed a few people in various places. No, this is a trick on me. Thinking of this, Meng Bian said confidently: "No, no, I didn't kill many people."

"Mr. Meng, there is no need to refute. You have also said that if you did not kill many people, then you have killed people. This also shows that Mr. Meng is not a businessman."

"This doesn't prove anything. Merchants may have killed people," Meng Bian said with a frown.

"Yes, businessmen may kill people, but you are not a business man."

Meng Bian: “…………” This made me dizzy.

"Okay, you said I'm not a businessman, then who do you think I am?" Meng Bian's brain hurt so much that he asked back.

"Young Master Meng should be a man in the army. Now the world can be divided into two sides, one Ming and one Qing. Madam Gu is a man of great righteousness and will never marry someone who surrenders to the Qing. If the young master is not from the Qing army, then he must be from the Ming army. But the Ming official army has long been far away from Jiangnan. Then Young Master Meng can only be a subordinate of Governor Meng Jun who controls Jiangsu and Zhejiang." Mao Xiang's palms were sweaty, but he still spoke firmly.

"Mr. Mao is really smart, worthy of being a talented man in Jiangnan," Meng Bian raised his eyebrows and said lightly.

…………

"I wanted to tell my sister slowly, but I didn't expect that Mr. Mao is so smart. Yes, I am a subordinate of Governor Meng. This time I came to Jiangning to find out the deployment of the Qing army in Jiangnan," Gu Qingmei said firmly.

"I don't know what I should do. I can contact old friends, but I'm afraid those old friends don't know the deployment of the Qing army," Mao Xiang said with a frown.

After a moment's silence, Gu Qingmei looked at Mao Xiang and said slowly, "Mr. Mao, why don't you write a letter back to Sister Liu?"

Even if there were some mistakes when Mao Xiang contacted Liu Rushi, the situation could still be salvaged. When Mao Xiang heard this, he was silent for a moment. He was imprisoned by Ruan Dacheng before, and he was finally able to escape from Nanjing with the help of Qian Qianyi. At that time, Qian Qianyi had already decided to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. Qian Qianyi also persuaded Mao Xiang to surrender to Duoduo together.

However, this was sternly rejected by Mao Xiang, who vowed never to surrender to the Qing. When leaving, Qian Qianyi and Mao Xiang also had a private conversation. Qian Qianyi once said: "The situation in the world is like this. If we don't surrender, people's hearts will be scattered. If all the four towns surrender, Nanjing will not be able to be defended. Surrendering to the Qing is to preserve some vitality for the world for the future."

However, Mao Xiang did not agree at all, and they parted unhappily in the end. Liu Rushi and Dong Xiaowan were good sisters. It was Qian Qianyi who redeemed Dong Xiaowan, and it was Liu Rushi who brought Dong Xiaowan and Mao Xiang together. Seeing that the Ming Dynasty had hope of revival, she wanted Mao Xiang to persuade Qian Qianyi to rebel against the Qing Dynasty.

"I will try, but I don't think Mr. Qian will do anything."

Dong Xiaowan asked with some worry: "Do you think Qian Qianyi really surrendered?"

"Maybe, maybe he still has the Ming Dynasty in his heart, maybe he also wants to restore the country, but he doesn't have the courage to fight to the death. The so-called false surrender is nothing but a lie to deceive himself. He cares about his reputation, but is afraid of death. The water is too cold and his scalp is itchy. Qian Gong's hope of becoming the leader of Donglin has long been shattered. However, we can make use of the little conscience that is left in his heart and use him to spy on the military intelligence of the Tartars. It can be regarded as doing a little bit of work for the world," Mao Xiang said with a sigh.

"It would be fine if he was just an ordinary official, but Qian Qianyi is the leader of Donglin and is highly respected. His surrender to the Qing Dynasty has caused the state affairs to become increasingly corrupt. He really deserves to be killed," Meng Bian said murderously.