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Chapter 20 The old lady is happy

It was Yimian who advised Yinglian not to make arrangements for the empress dowager's birthday. This man is a Manchurian from Zhengbaiqi.

Even a small principal dared to discuss indiscriminately in front of the officials of the yamen hall, Ying Lian naturally looked unhappy, and scolded: "You, a small official, can say nothing about important national affairs."

But Yi Mian was not afraid and retreated silently, instead bowed and said: "Could it be that Zhongtang forgot the story of Hang Shijun and Ji Yun?"

These two names made Ying Lian's expression serious.

Hang Shijun is a reviewer of the Imperial Academy. Three months ago, he went up to Shu and said that the emperor’s repeated southern tours had been so profligate that the national inventory of 8 million silver was wasted. The reality of Yan Jiangnan".

The original intention was to persuade the emperor not to go out to patrol the people and waste money, but the result was that the emperor was furious, and Hang Shijun was handed over to the Ministry for severe punishment.

The result of the Ministry's discussion was that the crime should be punished again, that is, he would be cut in half. Fortunately, the servant was able to save his life by admonishing him.But the official has nothing to do, so he packs up and goes back to his hometown to hand over to the local guard.

That Ji Yun is also called Ji Xiaolan, this person is a Bachelor Attendant of the Imperial Academy, he is very talented, and he is valued by the emperor, sometimes he is ordered to accompany him on tours.Because of his love of smoking, his colleagues call him Ji Dayandai.

However, Ji Yun didn't know which muscle was wrong. He thought that he was deeply favored by the emperor, so he followed Hang Shijun's example and found an opportunity to advise the emperor to give up his tour.It is said that the previous patrols and the use of troops have exhausted the world's financial resources, so the patrols should be stopped to support the country and the people.

Unexpectedly, the emperor yelled at him on the spot, saying: "I think you are excellent in literature, so the envoy leads the Siku library, but it's just stored by prostitutes. How dare you talk about state affairs!"

It means that I just kept you by my side because of your talent, Ji Yun, and asked you to work in the Siku Library, but do you think there is any difference between you, a scholar, and a prostitute raised by the people?

How dare a prostitute talk about state affairs in front of me!
At that time, Ji Yun was so frightened that he knelt down and kowtowed, his head was smashed, and he scolded himself again and again.

Hang and Ji were still scolded by the emperor because of the southern tour. Today's emperor is the most filial, but everything about the queen mother is not allowed, and she must obey her words.Usually when going on tour, she must accompany the Empress Dowager, instead of leaving her left and right, she basically pays her respects every day in the palace. There is a play every two days, and a song once every three days.

It can be said that the empress dowager is the emperor's back, and the matter of the empress dowager is the emperor's top priority.

In this way, if you, Ying Zhongtang, tried to persuade the Empress Dowager at the [-]th birthday, what do you think will happen to Master Zhongtang?

Looking back, Ying Lian glanced at Yi Mian who was standing opposite him respectfully, but got into the sedan chair without even saying a word of approval.

But this satisfied Yimian.

He knew that after his reminder, Yingzhongtang would definitely remember him.

"Long Live Lord, this is the Emerald Pavilion presented by Shandong Province. It is three feet high and two feet wide. It is all made of peacock tail feathers. The servants are rare to see it. Will the Queen Mother be happy to see it?"

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Li Yu, the chief eunuch, was accompanying his master, Lord Qianlong, to watch the birthday gifts from various places.

The Palace of Mental Cultivation is not the palace where the emperor lives, but the Palace of the Heavenly Purity is.

After the death of the holy grandfather Kangxi, Emperor Sejong Yongzheng did not stay in the Qianqing Palace in order to show his filial piety, but lived in the Yangxin Palace not far from the Qianqing Palace.The same is true after Qianlong ascended the throne, so far the Hall of Mental Cultivation has become the residence of the emperor of the Qing Empire.

"Cathay Pacific has a heart, and I didn't miss it."

Qianlong, who is 62 years old this year, looks about the same as a man in his forties.

Cathay is the governor of Shandong, a man with white banners inlaid in Manchuria, and the son of Wen Shou, governor of Sichuan.

At the beginning of the year, Wen Shou was ordered to investigate the former Sichuan governor Altai's indulgence of his son Ming Debu's greed and extortion of officials. Because he favored Altai and refused to report the truth, he was sent to Yili.Cathay, who was the governor of Shandong Province at the time, immediately went to Shu and pleaded guilty after hearing about it, and asked to accompany his father to guard the border to atone for his father's crimes.

Qianlong lamented that Cathay was similar to Yang Sichang, a former important minister of the Ming Dynasty, so he ordered Cathay: "You are not guilty, why panic?"

Soon after, an imperial decree promoted Guotai to governor of Shandong.

"Long live, this is the Jinghu Pavilion offered by Zhejiang Province,"

This time, governors from all over the country presented congratulatory gifts for the Empress Dowager's [-]th birthday. How can these birthday congratulatory gifts be seen by the emperor, or be placed in front of other governors for the emperor to appreciate?

This emphasis is on Li Yu, the chief eunuch.

The Jinghu Pavilion in Zhejiang Province is inlaid on the algae well with a large round mirror with a diameter of two feet, surrounded by tens of thousands of small round mirrors to form a wall. The figure reflected on the mirror wall makes people feel as if they are in the palace of heaven.

Compared with the Jade Pavilion presented by Shandong governor Guotai, the Jinghu Pavilion presented by Zhejiang governor Sanbao is obviously more precious.

However, because Cathay Pacific gave General Manager Li 5000 taels more, the Jinghu Pavilion presented by Sambo can only be ranked second.

"It's a good thing, it's hard to be a treasure,"

Qianlong was a man of knowledge, so he naturally saw that the treasures presented by Zhejiang were better than those from Shandong, so he smiled and ordered someone to send an order to let the three treasures combine the two Zhejiang salt administrations.

"There are so many treasures, the Queen Mother and the elderly don't know how to be happy." Li Yu grinned.

Thinking that Er Niang was 80 years old, Qianlong was also happy, and he immediately chanted: "The sixty-year-old emperor's son and eighty-year-old mother, who has seen this scene in the history books?"

Li Yu listened attentively, ready to memorize the masterpiece of the Long Live Lord, but the Long Live Lord didn't want to write anything down.

"Well, good, good."

Qianlong, who really didn't know how to do the next two sentences, went to the treasures at the back with his hands behind his back to admire them one by one. At this time, a servant came to report, saying that it was Yinglian, Minister of the Ministry of punishment, who asked to see him.

Qianlong waved his hand and said, "I'm just looking for him, pass it in."

After a while, Ying Lian entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and the first thing he saw were the rare treasures lined up, he immediately stepped forward and knelt down and kowtowed: "Your slave, Ying Lian, has seen the master!"

Although his ancestors were Han Chinese, he had entered Zhenghuang Banner Manchuria long ago, so he could call himself a slave.

"Get up,"

Qianlong looked at Yinglian with a smile on his face, seeing that his beard and braids were a little white, he couldn't help saying: "If I remember correctly, you are a few years older than me."

Ying Lian stood up and said, "Returning to the master, the servant will be sixty-six this year."

"Old, old, you are old, and I am old too."

Qianlong sighed a little.

"The slave is old, but the master is not old at all. No, the slave's braids are white, but the master's braids are black. If you don't know this, you may think that the master is only thirty this year."

"You, when did you learn these flattery words?"

Although he knew that Yinglian was flattering himself, Qianlong was still very happy, and then said: "I wanted to find you just now. Wen Fu has won the victory, and Hai Lancha personally led the army, and now he has taken down the official village of Minuo, the old nest of Fanbing. .”

Two years ago, Sonomu, chieftain of Dajinchuan, and Seng Gesang, chieftain of Xiaojinchuan, once again launched an anti-Qing rebellion. Upon hearing the news, Qianlong immediately dispatched a large army under the command of General Dingbian Wen Fu to attack Jinchuan and Xiaojinchuan in three groups.

Wen Fu and the Counselor Shu Chang and others are all the way; the Minister of the Interior, the Deputy General, and Agui, who is temporarily serving as the admiral of Sichuan, led the Han army Zhenglan Banner to lead Hailancha; the deputy general and Xianglan Banner Mongolia were all led by Fengsheng Ha Guoxing, a member of the Han Dynasty and the admiral of Xi'an, joined the way.

Only after the three-way army marched, they were unable to break through the defense line built by the Jinchuan Fanbing, and the daily consumption of food and materials was astronomical, comparable to what was needed for the first counter-insurgency, resulting in an extremely heavy burden on the treasury.

Therefore, the good news finally came from the front line, and it was the eve of the Empress Dowager's [-]th birthday. Qianlong was naturally happy about it, and was ready to reward the meritorious soldiers.

"Rewards for meritorious officers and soldiers, pensions for officers and soldiers who died in battle, the household department must give priority. In addition, the money, food and other supplies needed by the front line must not be delayed."

Ying Lian hurriedly said: "Master, the slaves will never neglect the frontline affairs, but, "

He stood there with a look of hesitation.

"Just what?"

Qianlong seemed to realize what Yinglian wanted to say, and the smile on his face gradually faded.

Sure enough, Ying Lian hesitated, and truthfully stated that the country's silver inventory is less than half of the annual income, but the expenditures on the front line are several million taels, and now it is necessary to prepare for the Empress Dowager's [-]th birthday. There are more than [-] Liang, so the Ministry of Household Affairs is really a bit tricky, and I don't know where to raise the money.

Qianlong said "Oh", but he didn't speak, just kept silent, but his face had become a little ugly.

Li Yu glanced at Yinglian, and lowered his face slightly.

Just when Qianlong thought that Yinglian was here to complain, he heard Yinglian say again: "I think other things can be delayed, but the Queen Mother's birthday must not be flawed, so I wonder if it is possible to make a large donation to the treasury. Raise some money to meet the urgent need?"

"A big donation?"

Qianlong's stern face suddenly eased, and he said without thinking: "Understood, this matter will be discussed later with the Military Aircraft Department and the Staff Department. You can't let the temporary manager of the Ministry of Accounts really have no money to use."

"Slave, thank you master for understanding!"

Ying Lian felt relieved, he didn't expect the emperor to approve the big donation so quickly, his confidence doubled, and he said, "I have one more thing to tell my master!"

"What's the matter?"

"The master passed on the order to the National History Museum to revise the biographies of the second ministers in order to educate the world, and the slaves deeply think so. However, the slaves think that in addition to compiling the list of the second ministers, they can also compile books for the ministers who died in the Ming Dynasty, so that their righteousness will be a strong wind for the future.

For example, Shi Kefa, Huang Daozhou, Lu Xiangsheng, Sun Chengzong, etc. should all be commended, so as to show my integrity and my master's mind.Then there is a comparison between the loyal ministers and the second ministers, and the life and deeds are clear at a glance."

What Yinglian said was exactly the suggestion given by his grandson-in-law He Shen yesterday. At that time, Yinglian thought this idea was good, because it fit the emperor's original intention of advocating loyalty to the emperor.

After Qianlong heard this, he really nodded and said: "This is a good thing, I have approved it, and I will prepare it for the National History Museum."

He didn't think that Ying Lian had something else to do, so he said, "I don't know if I should say something about my slave?"

"You, what can't you say in front of me?"

A smile appeared on Qianlong's face again, Yinglian's performances were all very much liked by him, very much to his heart's content.Not only did he help him solve the major issue of the empress dowager's insufficient money for her birthday, but she was also able to discern his master's intentions. He really deserves to be a good slave.

"That Rong slave boldly stated that although those who have entered the list of second ministers today are rebels from the former dynasty, they are all heroes who entered the customs in the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, I think that in addition to the deeds of these people in Shi Zhishu, can they be based on the facts of these people? I made great achievements in the Qing Dynasty, carefully assessed them, and divided them into two parts, A and B, so that the good ones can’t conceal their flaws, and the bad ones can be awe-inspiring. The merits and demerits are clear without being obliterated.”

Ying Lian also said that in addition to ranking the second ministers according to their specific merits, they should also give some favors to their descendants, so that these descendants will not think that the court is crossing the river and tearing down the bridge.Otherwise, most ignorant people would complain to the imperial court, which would make the flag unstable, which would not be beautiful.

Qianlong thought about it for a moment, and what Yinglian said was indeed true. At the beginning, he only cared about educating the world and hurriedly asked the National History Museum to finalize the biographies of the two officials, without considering the thoughts of these former Ming officials and Qing heroes.Maybe those descendants who he designated as second ministers have already complained.

"It can be regarded as a slave begging for a favor from the master on behalf of these people, so that they can enjoy the joy of the Queen Mother's longevity." Ying Lian observed the words and said further.

Hearing this, Qianlong laughed, and said: "You, Yinglian, thought it right for me. If so, you should be called above the third rank of civil servants in Beijing, and above the second rank of military officials.
Overseas civil servants above inspectors, military officers and general soldiers above, and their brothers and grandchildren who have reached the age of age, including the current officials below the sixth rank and the alternate officials above the fifth rank, all report to this banner, make a book and report to the Military Aircraft Department, in order to be selected as Baitang A .

Although I have the heart to educate the world through their ancestors, I will never treat the heroes who are inferior. "

　Thanks to book friends such as Shadow's Edge, Yun Qingshuiyao, readers 1223581844187033600 Lie Huo Xiangfang, Silver Stream 2000, Jing Shan, Hanzu Wang Mai Dong for their support for this book!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)