Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 333
It snowed all night in Beijing. At the beginning of the day, it seemed that there was no snow in the sky, but it was very overcast, covering the lifeless ancient city.If you don't hold up the lantern and stare carefully, the palaces and corridors in the Forbidden City are like a layer of black fog, and you can't see anything clearly.

At five watch, the 76-year-old emperor of the Qing Empire woke up as the bell on the table in the dormitory struck four times.

The eunuch waited for him to wash and wash, and Qianlong felt that he was lazy and couldn't lift his spirits.Thinking of that young woman last night, Qianlong sighed in his heart that he was still old.He walked out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, followed closely by the eunuch.

Walking out of the East Nuan Pavilion, Qianlong's eyes first glanced at a small cloisonné pot on the imperial case in front of the hall, and the eunuch beside him quickly knelt down and said, "Old man, there is not one missing."

Qianlong nodded slightly, stared at it again, and then turned around and moved.

The jar contained 36 hay sticks about one inch long and short, and there was a name called "every inch of grass is the mark".Decades ago, it was still scattered on the imperial case, and it was only moved to the jar later.These 36 grasses are inspected once a day by the eunuch, implying that all objects in the palace are not allowed to be lost, even a single inch of grass.

The so-called king's soil in the whole world, even an ordinary grass is no exception.However, the group of rebels entrenched in the Shuangchengzi area really made Qianlong feel so embarrassed. Every day when he saw the "rule grass", he felt ashamed of his ancestors.

Walking out of the hall, looking at the snow on the ground, Qianlong wondered if the wintersweet bloomed in the imperial garden?He strolled down the steps of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, ready to go to the Royal Garden to fight his sword.When he came out from the right gate of Yongshou Palace, before he reached Kunning Palace, a large group of eunuchs surrounded him.

The eunuch in the respect room ran at the front, uttering the sound of "哧~~哧~~" incessantly, warning everyone along the way to avoid the holy driver; behind him were two eunuchs in charge, close to both sides of the corridor, ducks and geese walking step by step.

Even though it was still so early, the eunuch Su La who got up to sweep the snow in the Forbidden City, and the guards of Ouchi who were on duty at night were all busy.When they heard the familiar voice, they got up quickly and stood facing the red wall of the corridor, and waited for the large group of people to pass by before they could go about their business.

An eunuch next to Qianlong raised the canopy of the yellow umbrella, and behind the umbrella, a large group of eunuchs held various objects.Some carried horses so that the emperor could rest at any time; Spare medicine picker.In winter, Huoxiangzhengqi pills, Sha medicines, and Wanying Tablets, which are used to prevent heatstroke and drive away evil spirits, are all gone, replaced by Xiangnuo pills, chrysanthemum water, turpentine, etc.
Behind, is the eunuch with a urinal.Although Qianlong might not defecate outside in the dry and cold early morning, this is all due etiquette, and he would rather keep it in reserve than use it less.At the end of the line is a warm sedan chair with a golden top and yellow satin. In case the old emperor gets tired from walking, he can get on the sedan chair and return to the palace immediately.

Qianlong had long been accustomed to this set of rules and etiquette.But today, for some reason, he was very disgusted.Qianlong walked a few steps, suddenly stopped and said to the chief eunuch: "Everyone go down, I don't want any of them!"

What happened to the old man today?The accompanying eunuchs were stunned for a moment, and quickly knelt down on the snow.

The emperor who has been in power for more than 50 years has a lot of prestige. The chief eunuch did not dare to disobey the order. He knelt down and kowtowed: "Hey, take the order!" Hold the sword and follow Qianlong to the imperial garden.

The eunuchs waited for Qianlong to walk twenty steps away before getting up.They didn't dare to go far, and scattered to secluded roads and behind rockeries, holding the pile of bits and pieces as usual, not daring to stay away for a moment, lest the old man would call someone on a whim.

After a round of sword practice, Qianlong broke out in a little sweat, and then he returned to his former hale and hearty appearance.

He Shen went out in a sedan chair early in the morning, and when he got off the sedan chair at Shenwumen, the palace gate was already open.He entered the Shunzhen Gate, and when he turned around the Qin'an Hall, he saw Qianlong standing alone under the plum blossom covered with thick snow, lost in thought from a distance. He was startled and wondered why the emperor is standing here?

He quickly prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed to pay his respects.

"Old man, He Zhongtang is here."

"Well, call him over."

Seeing the eunuch in charge waving, Heshen got up and walked behind Qianlong to stand, only to hear the old emperor say without turning his head: "Heshen, this winter the capital is dripping into ice, do you think Jilin is colder than here?"

Is there even a question?He Shen was a little surprised, but he still said, "I think of a joke."

"Tell me."

"The last time Hengxiu came to Beijing, I heard from him that in Qiqihar in winter, you have to use a stick when you go out to urinate."

"Oh?"

"The servant was also surprised, and asked him if he was guarding against wolves? Wouldn't it be better to take a knife. But Hengxiu said that the urine that spewed out would directly turn into ice bars, and he had to keep hitting with a stick, and continued to urinate while knocking." .”

"Oh? Hahahaha."

Qianlong smiled for a while, feeling relieved, and then said: "Yes, pee turns into ice. In such a cold weather, do you think Zhao Xin's group is suffering like this?"

"Your servant met with the Li Dynasty mission yesterday, and heard from them that Zhao Xin has been leading troops to conquer Japan in the past six months, and got involved with a person called the Sendai clan to fight against the generals of the Tokugawa family. .”

"Well. No matter where this person goes, he will always stir up wind and rain and bring disaster to the world."

If Haigou Gongfang and Matsudaira Dingxin were here, they would hug Qianlong's thigh and praise that you are so right!

How about everyone working together to kill him?

On October 29, as Fukang'an led his army across the sea and arrived at Luzai Port, the Qing court's war in Taiwan finally began to report frequent successes.Fukang'an first sent a small group of troops to capture Bagua Mountain, and then sent Mu Keden'a, the commander-in-chief of Songpan Town, to attack Dali Mansion.

In the First Battle of Bagua Mountain, Hailancha's son-in-law, Fu Kejing, the third-class guard of the Shangsi Courtyard, took the lead, leading only more than 20 guards and then went down with a drum.

Immediately afterwards, Pu Erpu, the commander of the Zhengbai Banner Guards, led his troops to march from the end of Maogang to attack and suppress Lin Shuangwen's troops gathered in the area of ​​Zhuluozhijuncheng, thus opening up the road to Taiwan's Fucheng.

With the improvement of Taiwan's chaos situation, Qianlong was not too worried about Taiwan's chaos, so he turned his attention to the northeast.

Qinggui stayed in Jilin for two years. Thanks to his efforts, Ningguta City and Hunchun City changed their previous wooden city appearances into solid cities with walls two feet high and six feet thick, complete with urn walls. .

As a result, the Qing court took Ningguta City and Hunchun City as the core, and deployed the Manchu, Han, and Mongolian Eight Banners troops transferred from the north in steps near the two cities, and strengthened the scale of Karen from the west and south. Walk towards Beihai Town.

Based on past lessons, the Qing court once again strengthened the firearms of Qinggui's troops starting from September.In addition to the artillery produced by the Jilin Artillery Factory, some Manchu Eight Banners musketeers began to switch to flintlocks.In order to meet the supply of gunpowder and lead ammunition, Qianlong agreed to exploit sulfur ore and lead ore in Changping after hearing from Zhili inspector Liu E.

Unexpectedly, a censor, Meng Shenghui, came out to play, saying that digging mines in Changping Prefecture would damage the Feng Shui of Beijing, and suggested that the mines should be closed.In the playbook, there are words such as "Changping Prefecture is the right place for the dry ridge of the capital, and its mountains are the barriers to the north of the capital. The mountains are used to receive the emptiness, and the qi is to flow through the real. , which implied the meaning of Fengshui of the Ming Tombs, which made Qianlong very angry.

Xishan has been digging coal and quarrying for hundreds of years, and no one said that Feng Shui is bad. How can it be impossible to open mines in Changping?

What's more, Beihai Town is under the banner of the former Ming Dynasty, and Zhao Xin claims to be the queen of Zhao Wang. What do you mean by Meng Shenghui's Fengshui protection of the Ming Tomb? !
In the history of another time and space, Yushi Meng Shenghui made a comment of "obscene and deceitful" because of this memorial, and then handed it over to the Ministry for discussion.But in this time and space, Meng Shenghui was directly arrested and sent to prison, and what awaited him would be beheading.

Qianlong had a conversation with Heshen in the Imperial Garden, and felt much better.He waved He Shen to go to the military aircraft office and come back to serve him later. He went through the side gate of Chuxiu Palace, passed through Tihe Palace and Yikun Palace, and returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The imperial eunuch knelt down and said, "Master, do you want to pass on the meal?"

"Pass the meal."

The former imperial eunuch hurriedly shouted "pass the meal" to the eunuch guarding the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and the eunuch passed the words to the eunuch standing outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and then to the eunuch in the imperial dining room on Xichang Street , the voices rose and fell, and soon arrived at the imperial dining room.

After a while, dozens of neatly dressed eunuchs appeared. They carried seven dining tables, large and small, and dozens of red lacquer boxes painted with golden dragons, and they came straight to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The eunuchs holding the food boxes entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation and stood still, and the eunuchs wearing white sleeves took them one by one, and arranged them in the East Nuan Pavilion.

As usual, there is one table of dishes, one table of dim sum, rice meal, porridge, and one small table of pickles; and because it is winter, there must be a table of hot pot.

The eunuchs were nimble and brisk, and arranged all the bright yellow porcelain and silverware painted with dragon patterns and written with the words "Longevity and Boundless". Under each silverware was a porcelain basin filled with hot water. There is a silver medal inserted into the side of the dish.

After Qianlong took his seat, an eunuch called out "Hit ~ bowl covers~~", and several young eunuchs immediately came up to take away all the bowl covers, put them in a large box and passed them outside Dongnuange to carry them away.

One meal recipe for an emperor, food for hundreds of people for years.

After breakfast, the fifteenth elder brother Yongyan handed a sign to Heshen asking to see him.When the two came in, Qianlong pointed at Zhu Ziming and sat down, wiped his face with a hot towel, and said, "Last night, Fukang'an's booklet arrived at the key of the palace gate. The road from Luzigang to Fucheng has been opened. Lin Shuangwen and his like Destruction is imminent.”

"This is because the emperor (master) is wise, foresighted, and strategizing. The minister (slave) is not doing well. Please punish the emperor (master)."

"Get up. Sit down and talk." Qianlong took a sip of hot tea, and said solemnly: "There is Fukang'an in Taiwan, and I am finally relieved. How did you decide the crimes of Huang Shijian and Ren Chengen?"

"Cut and make a decision." Yong Yan pursed his lips and said, "Delaying to wait and see will delay the military opportunity. The ministers and others thought that the military discipline is the most important thing in the past, but it is especially difficult to punish those who lose discipline. Huang Shijian led the troops to the crossing last winter. Taiwan, to suppress bandits. Lin Shuangwen, the leader of the rebellion at that time, was nothing more than collaborating with one or two traitors. If Huang Shijian was able to supervise and lead the army at that time, and searched and arrested with strength, why would he trouble the whole of Taiwan today. Besides, after he arrived in Taiwan, he only Knowing that he was sitting in the capital city of Taiwan, he deployed troops sporadically, patrolling and cowardly, unable to do anything, so that the rebels gathered around and tried to punish them for a long time.

As for Ren Chengen, he is young and vigorous, not comparable to Huang Shijian.Before going to Taiwan to suppress the rebel bandits, he also requested it on his own.Unexpectedly, this person was just sitting in Luzigang, watching each other with Huang Shijian, and did not go to the battle in person, and fought hard to kill him. "

Qianlong was old, and his murderous intentions towards the officials below were not so serious. He asked He Shen, "What's the situation with the two of them now?"

He Shen said: "Huang Shijian has been ill since he set off from Taiwan, and he hasn't recovered yet. I took the imperial physician to see him a few days ago, and it was indeed a long-term illness. As for Ren Chengen, his father Ren Ju lived in Jinchuan a few years ago. He was killed in battle, his older brother Ren Chengxu used to work in the Beijing camp, but he died last year because of fire fighting, Ren Chengen himself has no heirs, his elder brother only has two daughters in his family."

Qianlong didn't speak for a long time, and then said after a long time: "Soldiers can be used for a hundred years, and they can't be unprepared for a day. The court believes that rewards must be punished, and it is difficult to make excuses. From then on, those who are sent to the post should be more vigilant. The so-called marching, you must take the lead. Defeat the enemy to achieve results, and know the difference between merit and crime together. It depends on courage. If you can share your sincerity and make achievements, I will give you a reward. Dian. Forget it, let’s cut the prison guard instead!”

"Hey, the minister (slave) leads the order!"

"I don't kill them to let the soldiers understand that legal principles are nothing more than human feelings. Only by using their lives can the soldiers live up to my intention of rectifying the army and earnestly admonishing them!"

"The emperor (master) Shengming!"

Qianlong looked at the gloomy sky outside the window through the glass, it seemed that the snowstorm last night did not satisfy God, and a bigger snowstorm was still brewing.

"In my opinion, what Lin Shuangwen and others have done is nothing more than a clown. As soon as the soldiers arrive, the ashes will be wiped out in an instant, like scabies. For example, a person, although the trauma is worrisome, will not die in the end. However, Zhao Ni is an incurable disease. If he does not Cut it off with all your strength, and the country will be overthrown between the elbows and armpits. After two years of planning in Qing and Guangxi, people were so tired that they vomited blood, and the siege of Ninggu Pagoda and Hunchun Camp was completed."

Qianlong's tone became firmer as he spoke. He drank ginseng soup and continued: "My foundation in the Qing Dynasty was based on God's will above, geography below, and harmony between people. I have sent troops to fight here and there for the sake of future generations. It is not easy to rule the world for generations. Zhao Ni is not willing to bow his head and obey the people, and after pretending to be Zhu Ming, he harassed the side court and usurped the ancestral land of Baishan and Heishui, absolutely unforgivable!"

After all, Qianlong suddenly slapped the imperial case, and the fire in his eyes swept across the palace, everyone was scared to the ground, trembling.

This battle is not over!

Yong Yan lamented in his heart, one south and one north, the money of the court was spent like splashing water.The Yellow River needs to be repaired, the canals need to be dredged, and millions of people in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Henan need relief.Originally, he thought that he could cease fighting with Zhao Xin for five years, so that the court could take a breather and gather enough strength to fight again.

But what happened to this old man today?This posture can't wait to beat Lin Shuangwen this year, and turn around to beat Beihai Town next year.But the flintlock gun is not over yet?The warship ordered from the British has not arrived yet!

Huang Ama, can't you bear it any longer?

He Shen was full of joy, earning a lot of money, and taking advantage of the Ministry of War to write off the accounts, he could also clean up his own accounts.This is not like the following governors who suffer a loss, make a million 10 taels and die, and return to their hometowns.In his hand, he holds the big accounts of the whole Qing Dynasty. The Old Summer Palace, the House of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of War, and the treasuries of various provinces can be worth millions for a small account, and tens of millions for a large one. It was transferred to my own account...

Liu Quan and Ma 83 bought goods from Flower and Bird Island, and doing business with Beihai Town was nothing. He swallowed 200 million taels of money for the imperial court to buy warships from the British.

At the beginning, Sun Shiyi raised 500 million taels to buy the boat, and He Shen was jealous, so he urged Qianlong to transfer the money to the account of the Ministry of Households.The news of Sun Shiyi being captured by Zhao Xin somehow reached He Shen's ears, so he could only obey orders obediently.

Changing the Eight Banners Shotgun, Ninggu Pagoda, Hunchun Daying, and buying a ship from the British, just for these three things, He Shen made tens of millions of taels from it.

How much is Heshen's family property now?Not only can he not count himself, but he can't even count the number of people in his family.

I'm afraid there are hundreds of millions, right?
If Zhao Xin is the imperial court's mortal danger, what is he?The number one moth in the world through the ages?
Zhao Xin wants people and land, and he wants money and power. The two brothers are similar.

Thinking of this, He Shen suddenly felt his calf start to cramp.

(End of this chapter)