Kangxi, your Qing Dynasty is dead

Time flies so fast, and it is already the twelfth lunar month of winter.In the Chengenhou Mansion in Beijing, the chief steward He Shen, dressed in a brocade robe and with two servants, stood at the gate of the Chengenhou Mansion on Cuihua Hutong all morning, busy welcoming and sending off guests.

The Chengenhou Mansion is not big, just a five-door courtyard, but the location is really good, right at the foot of the Imperial City of Beijing, and just across the Imperial City wall from the Imperial Horse Circle.

When Yinzhen was granted the title of Marquis of Chengen, in addition to this house, the Ming court also rewarded him with a village outside Beijing, including a rural compound and a thousand acres of land, and also gave him 1 taels of silver as his home. Fees, plus an annual salary of 600 taels.The emperor’s grace is truly magnificent!But Xiao Yinzhen was so happy that he went to Nanjing to kowtow nine times to the Emperor of the Republic, until his head was swollen.

However, the grace given to Yinzhen by the Ming Dynasty ended here. It was impossible to give him errands, let alone a fiefdom. If it was given to him, he would not be able to take it.

During the reunification of the Ming Dynasty, a number of marquises and earls were indeed granted the title, all in Shaanxi, Gansu, the Western Regions (north and south of the Tianshan Mountains), the Snowy Plateau in the northwest, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan in the southwest, and in the northeast Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang provinces as well as the Mongolian areas of Monan and Mobei.But the marquis and earls who could be granted the title of those places all led troops and territory to surrender.When Yinzhen was sent to Nanjing by Mingzhu to surrender, he had long since lost his strength. Even his surviving ministers and old friends were gone, leaving only orphans and widows.

Even this Yinzhen was not the orthodox successor of Emperor Kangxi recognized by the remaining officials of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Baoqing was still in Tianjing City in Taiping Valley at that time, and he was Kangxi's eldest son!

In fact, the Ming Dynasty made Yinzhen the Marquis of Chengen in order to balance out Baoqing's influence.So Yinzhen can just eat and wait for death, and there is no need to do anything else.

But Yinzhen is Yinzhen after all, and Fourth Master Yinzhen is not a master who is willing to lie down and die!Although he did not have the ability to carry out the great cause of resisting the Ming Dynasty and restoring the Qing Dynasty, it was impossible to achieve anything in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty.But he can still do business and support the family business for future generations!

So when Yinzhen became an adult, he devoted himself to the era of the booming industrial revolution. He opened "Chengen Winery" in Zhangjiakou, and his "Hou Fu Erguotou" sold well in Monan and Mobei.After making money from "Cheng'en Winery", Yinzhen began to purchase a large area of ​​farmland in Monan Mongolia and opened "Siye Manor".This farm mainly produces sorghum and corn for wine making. Because it adopts grass-grain rotation, Yinzhen's manor also breeds Cullen donkeys. Later, because of the popularity of donkey hide glue and donkey meat burning, Yinzhen made a lot of money. , became a famous tycoon in Zhangjiakou.

When Yinzhen grew old, both "Cheng'en Winery" and "Siye Manor" were very prosperous, but unfortunately there were no successors.It’s not that he has no sons to take over, but his three sons, Hongshi, Hongli, and Hongzhou, who were raised during his lifetime, are not businessmen who are careful with calculations. They are not good at wine-making business, let alone raising donkeys. .

So Yinzhen had no choice but to sell the wine shop and the manor, and return to Beijing with his three sons. He also divided the family property into three and built an alley for each of the three sons in Beijing so that they could earn their income safely. Rent.

As for his title of Marquis of Cheng'en, it was passed on to Hongli, the fourth son who was the smartest among his three sons.After arranging these, he felt satisfied and went down to report to Emperor Kangxi.

However, starting a business is difficult, and maintaining one is also difficult.Two of the three family properties left by Yinzhen were ultimately defeated.

The third son, Hongshi, was indulgent and careless, and had no consciousness at all as a son of "Chengenhou". During his lifetime, Yinzhen often got together with a group of Mongolian aristocratic children on the grassland. After drinking too much, he would talk nonsense about the "Seven Greats". "Hate" and "Eight Hatreds", for this matter, Yinzhen often dealt with him.Yinzhen also wanted to revoke his inheritance rights, but the traitor claimed that he was going to the government to accuse Yinzhen of intending to rebel!Yinzhen was so angry that he wanted to beat him to death with a stick, but in the end, he punished his son in return.
After being beaten, Yinzhen had no choice but to follow this kid to cause trouble outside!However, this Hongshi was just talking about it and did not really raise an army, so Yinzhen finally died.

After Yinzhen's death, Hongshi, who had completely lost control, began to let himself go completely. He sold the property that Yinzhen had passed down to him, and went to sea with a few Mongolian friends to make a living. First, he went to Japan to hire dozens of people. Mercenary, he then crossed the Pacific and ran to the Eastern Sui Kingdom, hoping to get a piece of territory there and become its own lord.

As a result, he wandered around the Eastern Sui Kingdom for ten years, and finally returned to Beijing empty-handed. He went to live in the house of Hongli, the Marquis of Cheng'en, and lived there, eating and drinking, but he didn't live for many years before he died of poverty and illness.

Hongli was the smartest among Yinzhen's three sons, but unfortunately he was not a law-abiding master either.However, when his father was alive, he was quite peaceful, reading and writing at home, and seemed to be a cultured person.But as soon as Yinzhen died, Hongli also began to behave like a monster, but instead of going to the New World, he went south to Jinling and became a "southern drifter".

After arriving in Nanjing, Hongli first mixed up in the literary world, sometimes running poetry clubs, sometimes book clubs, and sometimes tinkering with antiques, but unfortunately nothing gained.Then he thought about getting involved in politics and spent a lot of money to smoothen the relationship. Instead, he fell in love with Li Zhongshan's son, Li Xiuqing, the King of England, and became a literary officer in the Prime Minister's Office.Unfortunately, the good times did not last long. Later, because Li Xiuqing did not achieve much in the battle against the Golden Horde (the Golden Horde was destroyed), he was ousted by the opposition Emperor Zun Party.However, Hongli was unwilling to let his investment go to waste, so he defected to Liu Tongxun, the leader of the Zunhuang Party. He also stole some black materials about Li Xiuqing and secretly presented them to Liu Tongxun, hoping to gain glory from the seller.

But Liu Tongxun did not dare to offend the powerful Xungui group - just because he used the brand of "Zunhuang" does not mean that he dared to really oppose Xungui!He actually had a good personal relationship with Li Xiuqing, and their political differences were not too big. However, his family was not a high-ranking noble, but a small powerhouse from Shandong who Li Zhongshan took refuge with during the Northern Expedition, so he went to "respect the emperor" and he "respected the emperor" The only solution is to amend the "Original Law of the Ming Dynasty" and add some "veto power" and "suggestion power" to the emperor.

However, amending the "original law" is equivalent to "amending the constitution". How can it be so easy to succeed?So after struggling for a long time, it only increased Ming Xuanzong's voice and influence.

Liu Tongxun was unwilling to break up with the Xungui faction on the issue of "respecting the emperor."Of course, we will not set a precedent of punishing the previous prime minister!After all, his prime minister is not for life, and he doesn’t know if he will be the next one!
Hongli's behavior was naturally a taboo. Not only did he get no benefits, he was kicked out of the Emperor Zun Party by Liu Tongxun. Later, he was severely punished by the opposition Li Xiuqing and even faced a lawsuit.

However, at that time, Baoqing was still an eminent monk with Wu Zhou, and his popularity was extremely high.So Liu Tongxun had no choice but to speak out and ask Li Xiuqing to let Hongli go and let him return to Beijing empty-handed.

After returning to Beijing, Hongli was a little disheartened, but he still did not lie down. Instead, he became obsessed with traveling. He traveled around with a group of noble descendants of the Ming Dynasty whom he met in Nanjing, and experienced the wonderful rivers and mountains.Finally, when he was in his 50s, the family fortune left to him by Yinzhen was almost spent.
Among Yinzhen's three sons, only the fifth, Hongzhou, was sincere and did not bother, and just lived by guarding the family business. Not only did he live a good life as a child, but he also had enough energy to support the dilapidated Hongli.

It is a pity that Hongzhou died of illness before he was 60 years old, and Hongzhou's son was not very willing to support Hongli, the Marquis of Chengen.Without Hong Zhou's support, the life of the Marquis of Chengen became increasingly difficult. In addition, Hongli had many sons and daughters, and the family's expenses were high. It didn't take long for the Marquis to sell off its land.The 1000 acres of land and a large house outside the city were quickly sold out, leaving only the Marquis Mansion in Cuihua Hutong, supporting the last dignity of the Marquis Mansion.

However, as Hongli got older and older, the old marquis became popular again - everyone wanted to get a share of the blessings of the old man!There are also some people who want to know the secret of longevity from the old longevity star.

Therefore, every year around the New Year, many people will come to Cuihua Hutong to "see the longevity star" and spend some money to pray for "longevity".The Remaining Secretary in Beijing and the Emperor in Nanjing will also send people to take care of him - the oldest marquis in the Ming Dynasty is also an "old lord", should he take care of him?
Therefore, during each of these years, the Chengenhou Mansion would have an income of several thousand taels. This Hongli has become a living treasure, which can be called a living treasure for short.

However, Laohuobao Hongli is 91 years old after all, and he will be 92 years old next year!

At this age, Lord Yama will send someone to invite you at any time!Moreover, Lao Huobao has been dreaming about Kangxi recently, saying that Emperor Kangxi is coming to visit soon. This sounds scary!
A family of filial sons and grandsons, but they all hope that the old man will live for a few more years, preferably until he is 100 years old!The hundred-year-old Hou is simply the reincarnation of the longevity prince!

However, people outside did not know that "Kangxi was coming to see Hongli soon." In the past few days, it looked like the Chinese New Year was coming, and people kept coming to ask for the word "longevity"!So of course He Shen, the housekeeper of the Hou Mansion, had to suppress his worries and carefully entertain these wealthy "gods of wealth".

And when the sun was setting in the west, and the 91-year-old Marquis Hongli was about to live another day, Kangxi came!He came with his beloved Rakshasa Natasha.

Kangxi seemed to be in a bad mood because he had been traveling in the Ming Dynasty for a month or two and had seen what industrialization was!What is a world empire!
After seeing those huge industrial areas and long winding railways, he finally understood that the Qing Dynasty could not come back!
The current Ming Dynasty does have the problem of the decline of the military morality of its people (who wants to fight in better times?), but this decline can still be made up for by piling up military resources!
In addition, although the people of the Ming Dynasty were not very willing to fight, the military service system still existed.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty could use the existing mobilization system and the ever-expanding railway network to quickly mobilize and assemble a huge number of Chinese soldiers when war came.At the same time, rely on strong industrial strength to equip them with a sufficient number of guns.

And large motor sailing ships equipped with steam engines can send these mobilized soldiers to distant overseas countries!
The numerous vassal states of the Ming Dynasty would also provide the Ming Dynasty's soldiers with a variety of materials and auxiliary sources of troops during wartime, and could even provide elite mercenaries.
After truly understanding the strength of Ming Dynasty, Kangxi completely understood that times had really changed!

After knowing that the Ming Dynasty was difficult to shake, Kangxi also understood that he would not be able to achieve much success in the Ming Dynasty in this life.

His real stage is in Europe, and Napoleon Bonaparte is the noble man in his life.

Therefore, Kangxi had made up his mind to return to Europe and Napoleon's side immediately after completing this trip to China.Strive to become the founding hero of the French Empire!
However, before Kangxi left China, he still had several unfulfilled wishes.

The first is to meet his own grandson Hongli for the last time; the second is to pay a grave to himself, Bumu Butai, Bao Qing, Yang Xiaomi and others... It is really pointless to pay a grave to himself. Who!

Now he found Cuihua Hutong in Beijing just to meet his grandson.

When he walked to the gate of Chengenhou Mansion in Cuihua Hutong, he suddenly saw the wall of the Imperial City of Beijing not far away... That was his former residence!

If only I could go in and have a look!

When he was thinking of this, a very elegant and easy-going middle-aged man came up to him, smiled and clasped his fists: "Master, are you also here to visit my old master?"

Kangxi was startled for a moment, then finally reacted, and smiled and clasped his fists: "I am Xuanye, the third prince of the Pingxi Palace of Constantinople... I am here today to pay a visit to the Ming Dynasty Marquis Chengen."

As he spoke, he took his business card from Natasha's hand and handed it to Heshen with both hands.

Of course He Shen knew the origin of Constantine's attempt to protect the West Palace.Those are the descendants of Chang Ning... Prince Pingxi's Mansion and Cheng'enhou Mansion have had little contact for more than 100 years.

Today there is actually a prince from the Pingxi Palace, and he is called "Xuanye"... It sounds the same as Kangxi's name!
this thing...

"Is it inconvenient?" Kangxi looked at He Shen and asked, "I came tens of thousands of miles away just to meet Marquis Chengen!"

I can’t refuse now!He Shen said in his heart: I traveled tens of thousands of miles just to meet the old Marquis.That must be to promote the reconciliation between Pingxi Prince's Palace and Chengenhou Palace!
"Prince, please come inside!" He Shenwen quickly made a sign of respecting guests, and then led Kangxi into the Marquis Cheng'en Mansion.

There were many people in the Hou Mansion, and all the descendants of Hongli lived in the "one in, two in, three in, four in" courtyard, making it almost like a large courtyard.Only the "Wujin" courtyard where Hongli lived looked a little like a marquis' mansion.

So Heshen directly led Kangxi into the courtyard where Hongli lived.

Hongli, who was already old, bald, and completely white in beard, was currently walking in the yard wearing a fur coat and leaning on a cane.When he saw He Shen leading people in, he stopped and asked, "Xiao Hezi, who is here this time?"

"Returning to the Marquis," He Shen said, "Xuanye, the third prince of the Pingxi Palace in Constantinople in the West, has come all the way!"

"What?" Hongli was startled, "Xuan Ye from the West? That's not..." (End of Chapter)