serious man in the red chamber

Chapter 18
It was snowing heavily, and the sky was full of waves. The four lanterns hanging in front of the wooden corridor eaves of the Taihe Building gave off a dim yellow light in the heavy snow.

A heavily covered carriage was parked in front of the door.

The Manchu man in a cloak and still under his cloak got into the carriage accompanied by his entourage.

The carriage started slowly.

Two attendants rode horses to guard both sides of the carriage.

Inside the carriage, the chief envoy of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, E Bi, closed his eyes slightly. He is the servant of the Criminal Department of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and even Yongqi's father-in-law. The most important information is that the treasury of Dazhou is empty, the money and food are insufficient, and the civil servants are war-weary. Maybe he can easily complete the errands, and by the way, he can give Yongqi some surprises, for example, that person's head.

The carriage quickly disappeared into the snow.

The two guards were covered in snowflakes and carried knives. They looked at each other and strode towards the Taihe Building.

It was almost dusk, and it was snowing again, making it hazy.

The lanterns under the eaves of the palaces in various places in the imperial city were lit one after another. Due to the heavy snow, the ground was already a vast expanse of whiteness.

In the Qianqing Palace, several young eunuchs were sweeping snow on various passages.

Everyone vaguely saw a few figures in cloaks walking towards this side, approaching, it was the eunuch Dai Quan, the eunuch in charge of the chief inspector of ceremonies, and several eunuchs who were responsible for the criminal punishment.

The upper study room is brightly lit.

The imperial case was full of papers, and Emperor Jianwu kept waving his forehand to approve the papers.

Suddenly, Emperor Jianwu let out a "huh", his face suddenly became solemn, and he looked down. Then, he gently closed the memorial, concentrating on it.

Dai Quan took off his cloak and hung it on the clothes hanger in the passageway from the main hall to the upper study room, walked quickly and softly to the door, poked his head and gestured with the eunuch inside.

Emperor Jianwu sensed it from the corner of his eye, and without looking up, he asked, "Is it Dai Quan?"

"It's slaves." Dai Quan walked into the upper study room, and said to several eunuchs: "You are no longer needed here, you can serve in the outer hall."

"Yes." Several eunuchs answered and exited the upper study room and closed the door.

Dai Quan hurriedly walked towards Emperor Jianwu and knelt down on his knees: "Your servant has neglected his duty. The spies from Beizhen Fusi disappeared in Taihe Building!"

Emperor Jianwu's eyes flashed.

Dai Quan: "The old slave asked for an order to seal the Taihe Building. The spies from Fusi in Beizhen are probably still there. Someone from the Taihe Building must have been involved in this matter. As long as this person is caught, we will know that O Bi has met. who."

Emperor Jianwu sighed, "There is a message from the Supreme Emperor, saying that he will be conferred the title of Yizhong County King in the next year."

Dai Quan didn't dare to say any more, and slowly lowered his head. The "he" the emperor said was the only surviving son of the abolished prince and Prince Yizhong, and the Taihe Building was his property.

"Check it out slowly."

"Yes. The servant must investigate and find out!"

Emperor Jianwu picked up the memorial and opened the cover: "According to the Guangdong Governor's Memorial, the Guangdong General Wu's family has been in frequent contact with the Xiyi people recently, and bought a large number of firearms from them, saying it was for Jia Hu's bravery. The equipment purchased by Weiying. Why didn’t the Zhenfu Division report this matter?”

Dai Quan: "Returning to Your Majesty, as far as I know, Jia Amnesty contributed a lot to it. He not only wrote a letter to General Yuehai in person, but also asked Niu Jizong to write an official document in the name of the Ministry of War. The first batch of five hundred Xiyi The Huobao went north to Yangzhou on a cargo ship from the Jiangning Weaving Bureau."

"Zhen's family?" Emperor Jianwu was silent, Jia's, Niu's, Zhen's, and Wu's families were in such a tacit understanding, which pleased him, but also made him hard to accept.

After turmoil in his heart for a while, Emperor Jianwu suddenly asked, "How is the Jingying?"

Dai Quan hesitated for a moment, "With Jia Zheng's personal letter, Wang Ziteng basically has control of the Three Thousand Battalion, just..."

"what happened?"

"Xie Qiong from the Fifth Army Battalion said that Jia Zheng cannot represent the Jia family, and the cavalry battalion under his command will not obey Wang Ziteng's orders."

Emperor Jianwu was stunned at first, and then his expression became ugly again. The forces in the Beijing camp were intricate and complicated, and the nobles of the five military camps jointly controlled the three thousand camps. This Jingying Jiedushi (official position in Dream of Red Mansions) can be said to be a puppet through and through. It cannot be said that he is incompetent, but because he is not like Jia Yan, Jia Daihua, and Jia Daishan who rely on military merit to get to the top. He has no military merit and no virtue. Wei, relying on only one identity to overwhelm these arrogant soldiers with backing behind them.

What's more, these people used to be loyal to the abolished prince, maybe the Beijing camp should be abolished.

Emperor Jianwu stood up and took a few steps: "The military horses from Liaoxi have arrived, let Xie Qiong send them, and tell him that there is no need to come back."

Dai Quan hesitated again, and said, "I'm afraid this is not very good."

"Heh!" Emperor Jianwu sneered, "Didn't he say that the Marquis of Dingcheng was favored by the Jia family? Jia Hu needs someone to help train and control the Yongwei Battalion. He should thank me."

Dai Quan was stunned, and Emperor Jianwu thought for a while, "Well, let's promote him to be a general and be in charge of the cavalry training of the Yongwei Battalion. As for whether to stay in the Yongwei Battalion, let him choose."

Ministry of Rites, Courtyard of Courtesy.

It is also brightly lit.

E Bi was sitting alone in the study at this time, and the book case was full of gift lists. Giving gifts is not an easy task, not only to match what one likes, but also to choose the right time. The winter solstice will be two days away, and the Han people feel that the winter solstice is a solar term. It is the natural conversion of yin and yang, and it is a blessing from heaven. Not only do you have to take a bath and have a holiday, but you also have to hold a celebration "He Dong" in the palace, and the emperor will reward the ministers, and the ministers will also give gifts to each other. To show blessings.

Looking carefully at each of them, one of the gift lists caught E Bi's eyes. Remembering what he had heard in the Taihe Building, he picked up a pen and smacked in the ink pool, and added seven words on the gift list: thousand-year-old mountain ginseng One, paused, picked up a pen and drew a "X" on the gift list, Wang Hetang, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, is a very filial person, the old wild ginseng just happened to heal his old mother, too much would be bad.

At this moment, a corner of the cotton curtain was lifted, and the deputy envoy covered in snow came in and reported: "The news just received is that the emperor of Han ordered [-] troops from Jizhou and Shanhaiguan to reinforce Datong and Xuanfu. The two towns also allocated [-] shi grains and rice."

Obi nodded.

The deputy envoy hesitated for a moment, and then said: "The plan to raid the Datong Army failed."

E Bi slapped the table angrily: "Trash!"

In Yangzhou, the salt merchants kept silent.

It was already dark, and the gate of the Yanzheng Yamen was full of people who came to express their condolences, but they were blocked by the two closed vermilion gates.

For two days, no one has been able to step through this door.

There was a restaurant not far away. At this time, a window facing the street on the second floor was opened. Mr. Wang, who was dressed in casual clothes, slowly stood up, his eyes were full of complexities, and there was even a trace of worry and fear. Zongshang Xiao, Zongshang Huang, and Zongshang Ma sat on the chairs facing the window, all looking at the closed door in panic.

At this time, there was a rush of hoofbeats, and looking closely, Steward Wang galloped towards this side with his horse frantically thrashing. When he came to the front of the restaurant, he reined in the reins and flew off the horse, shouting: "Master!" while running to the second floor. go.

Steward Wang was sweating profusely and out of breath. After coming up, he rushed directly into the private room.

Mr. Wang's face sank: "What's the matter, so flustered?"

Steward Wang looked at the Yanzheng Yamen on the opposite side in panic, and hurried forward, "The army has entered, and the gate of the city has been closed."

Mr. Wang suddenly felt bad, "Quick! Go to the government office!"

"The door, the door is open!" Ma Zongshang shouted, and everyone looked away.

The side door on the right was opened, and a team of yamen servants ran out with lanterns in their left hand and spears in their right, and drove the stewards of various houses waiting at the door to both sides: "Go! Go! What's wrong with blocking the way? Get out of the way!"

There was a sound of hoofbeats, Lin Sanyi took the lead and led ten soldiers to the front. Jia Hu sat on the horse with a frosty face, and behind him were twenty or thirty sturdy soldiers. A white filial belt is tied between them.

Mr. Xiao trembled: "Cheng, Cheng"

Everyone looked in surprise, and the surname Cheng actually followed Jia Hu on a horse.

(End of this chapter)