Emperor Yongzheng

Chapter 67: The overall situation: Nuo Min plans to cut in half and seek talents and famous scholars to join the organization
On the second day of April, two cases of Shanxi deficit and examination fraud were concluded.The Three Law Departments have drawn up the charges and punishments for each person. Because there are so many people involved, big and small, they are afraid of causing a shock in the officialdom. Li Wei and Tu Lichen have made plans, and they will not make a statement for the time being. They will only classify the circumstances of each case in detail. Written in a secret form, the yellow box was handed into the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and Yongzheng personally adjudicated it before issuing an edict.The two of them went to meet Yun outside the Chaoyang Gate first. Yun was busy with Enke Chunwei's announcement, and met Li Fu and the curtain officials of each room. The Lord agreed to be included in the list of draft girls, and I will have to spare time to go in later to pay my respects. These days, you have come to report the case every day, and I know the plot. If there is nothing wrong with it, I will not meet the emperor with you. Those who summoned me—you go in first.” The two had no choice but to agree to withdraw and pass the sign at Donghua Gate.After a while, the eunuch came out to pass the decree, "Let Li Wei and Tu Lichen face the saints in the Hall of Mental Cultivation!"

After arriving outside the Chuihua Gate of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Xing Nian, the eunuch, followed him.Hearing that Yongzheng was having breakfast, the two stopped in a hurry.Xing Nian said with a smile: "Both of you are bodyguards, your own people. The emperor's order is not to have so many etiquettes. The emperor is eating and talking at the same time." The two hurriedly bowed and agreed: "Yes." Come in with Xing Nian, and it turns out that I saw Yongzheng sitting cross-legged on the kang of Dongnuange, with the imperial meal in front of him.Li Wei had been a foreign official for many years, and it was the first time that Yongzheng met at dinner when he became the emperor.Because there was a plate of roasted bean tendons on the Yongzheng dining table, a plate of sautéed tenderloin with celery, a plate of steamed vegetarian meatballs, and a plate of stir-fried bean sprouts. The rice was just a bowl of brown rice, which was already eaten.Li Wei saluted and said with a smile: "The slave thinks that the master is already the emperor, so he is frugal. The servant of the emperor's imperial meal has already received the gift. The emperor is in the ninth five, and the king is in the world. If he is a dragon, it will be fine. When it comes to royal scale and decency, it’s important that you have a body of gold—now that foreign officials, not to mention officials as big as slaves, even state and county officials, the dinner is not so shabby.”

"I am rich and honored as the son of heaven, what is not to ask for? What is not to eat? It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but it is difficult to return from luxury to frugality!" Yongzheng slowly chewed the rice, and poured the remaining bean sprouts and soup into the bowl He pointed to the plate of celery tenderloin that had not been touched and ordered: "Reheat this dish for lunch, and I will use it again—let's not talk about it, say it." Your errands."

Tu Lichen glanced at Li Wei, saw Li Wei nodding, and hurriedly opened a long book of memorials and chapters. He had already grasped Yongzheng's taste, so he didn't read the original text, but picked up the important ones one by one. Zou, talked for half a meal, and finally gave an overview of the interrogation of the two cases.

Yongzheng sat cross-legged and listened silently. He sighed softly until Tulichen finished playing, kicked off his boots and got off the kang, pacing and walking just bowing his head in thought.Li Wei and Tu Lichen knelt on the ground, staring at Yongzheng intently.After a long time, Li Weifang asked: "Master, 180 and three officials were involved in these two cases. The ministry discussed the punishment, and the nineteen members below Nuo Min and Zhang Tinglu all took the lead to show the public. The slaves think that the country has a system of discussing relatives and nobles. Nuo Min is Royal family, Zhang Tinglu is the Viscount Enxie, such a killing caused a sensation in the world, it seems to be a bit serious..." Yongzheng's face was ugly, his brows were slightly frowned, and he said slowly: "The prince breaks the law and the common people are the same crime. As long as it should be killed, it is I have no pity for the [-] officials! It’s just that in my opinion, the case in the examination room has not yet been clarified, and some people will not accept it and laugh secretly when the case is closed like this.”

This was talking about another matter, which was directly related to the official admonitions of Li Wei and Tu Lichen, the two trial judges, and the two of them suddenly had thin beads of sweat on their heads.Yongzheng glanced at the two of them, and said slowly: "Don't be afraid, you have difficulties in your assignments, and it's inconvenient to tell them. Although I'm not in Dali Temple, I probably can't hide the details from me. The test questions were drawn up by myself. It was sealed in the gold cabinet by myself, and Zhang Tinglu and Yang Mingshi also opened it on the spot. Then—where did the test questions leak out? Who was the first to peek at the test questions? The maid? The eunuch? The prince? Elder brother?” These questions, Li What Wei and Tu Lichen discussed over and over again as soon as they were ordered to stand trial was exactly what they most hoped that Yongzheng's gourd would cover up.No, Yongzheng pointed it out as soon as he opened his mouth, and there was no room for concealment to avoid it.Li Wei kowtowed heavily on the ground three times, licked his lips and muttered: "The minds of the slaves cannot escape the sacred lesson. But the things below have shocked the government and the public, and the slaves have already found it difficult to deal with. The matter in the palace is related to the reputation of the Tian family. According to my slave's little knowledge, Zhang Tingyu said that he was sick, which meant to avoid suspicion, and more than half of it was for Long Live, to avoid misfortune..."

"You are very right." Yongzheng took a long breath, looked out of the window and said, "It is precisely because Tu Lichen is my confidant, and you were pulled out of the fire pit by me, that I am talking about these things. Words. Don’t talk about you in the palace, even if I deal with it myself, it’s quite tricky. You know, Nian Gengyao is still fighting in the west, and officials have to collect donations, and the military’s salary has to be supervised by the provinces. Some people in the court glared I hope that he will be defeated in battle, and that there will be chaos in the court... So no matter what, I can't be fooled by this, let alone my brothers and father and son messing around with housework! But if I don't say these words, no one will dare to say them , it seems that I can't even see through this level, so I wasted Prince Yong for 40 years!"

It turns out that the emperor's complaints were only to vent his heart and complain about his heart!The two couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief at the same time.Tu Lichen kowtowed and said: "Since that's the case, please issue an edict early and deal with it decisively. The affairs in the palace are ambiguous, and Xu Tu can just clean them up."

"Killing too many people is not a good thing after all," Yongzheng vomited the depression in his heart, looked better, and nodded, "The leaders, like Nuo Min and Zhang Tinglu, ignore the court's laws and regulations, and ruin my reputation. Gui, Nuo Min is a distant relative, what kind of "relative" is it? Zhang Tinglu, a little viscount, is not considered "gui". "Punishment can't be a doctor" and they themselves have to match the word "doctor"! Seeing money, Seeing fame and fortune, the kings, relatives and teachers of heaven and earth have all left their minds behind, such a bastard must be exposed to the slaughter, and must be severely punished!" Yongzheng couldn't kill a lot because he wanted to stabilize the court, but he was picky and cruel by nature, and he didn't want to forgive him. As a last resort, Nuo Min and Zhang Tinglu felt a surge of resentment.His face was pale, he gritted his fine white teeth, smiled coldly, and said, "I mean, Nuo Min and Zhang Tinglu will be cut in half, what do you think?"

"Beheading in half" is the worst punishment after Ling Chi.According to the routine, the ministry has already decided to cut the sentence seriously, and it is expected that "gratitude comes from above" and give the emperor the favor of reducing the sentence. Unexpectedly, Yongzheng will add another class, which even Li Wei and Tu Lichen are also shameless.However, Yongzheng's words were like a mountain by nature, and there was absolutely no room for disobedience, so the two had no choice but to kowtow to accept the decree, and there was a chill in their hearts.But Yongzheng said again: "I know very well that these two people have always been trying to gain fame. Speaking of which, they are very popular in the officialdom. Today's bastard rules, when such things happen, relatives, friends, disciples and old officials will inevitably have to bid them farewell. Sacrifice to the execution ground, collect the corpses—very good, whoever wants to do this, I will not stop it. However, you have issued an order that all the yamen in the capital and the Shuntian Mansion, all officials above the fourth rank will go to the West Market to 'watch', Let's see these two ink officials off!" The two of them felt that they were too disrespectful to the officials when they heard Yongzheng gnashing his teeth and speaking in a murderous tone, and about to expel all the officials to go to the West Market to watch.Li Wei kowtowed, and was about to say a few words of persuasion, when Yongzheng saw the little eunuch Gao Wuyong come in, and asked, "What's the matter?" See you, Lord Long Live!"

"Fang Linggao is here? When did you arrive in Beijing?" Yongzheng frowned, and then frowned again, "From now on, civil and military officials all call Linggao 'Mr. Go, put your husband in the military plane first, and tell him that I will pick him up in person later." After Gao Wuyong "Nuo Nuo" repeatedly withdrew, Yongzheng continued: "Li Wei, don't say anything, I will probably say what you want to say. I also know. Killing corrupt officials, just asking people to see it is not very effective. Killing officials has to be seen by officials to know what is going on with the king's law. I can see their muscles and bones are crisp, their hearts are frightened, their hearts are jumping, their dreams are disturbed, and their black eyes are staring at them. When Bai Yinzi knew how to weigh, he wanted to retreat and save the way—let me tell you, seeing this blood is more effective than reading a hundred "The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius!"

Li Wei had no choice but to kowtow, and said: "Long live the Holy Spirit! The slaughter of chickens is for the monkeys to watch! Please order, whether the rest of the officials who should be executed should be executed together. This seems to be a greater deterrent. And how to deal with the officials of Shanxi Tong Province, please ask the holy order, The servants can vote to implement it when they get back." Yongzheng pondered for a long time, and said: "You go back and discuss it again, just make a draft according to your original ideas, and submit it to me for consideration—that's it, you kneel down!" After the two resigned and left, Yongzheng took out the gold watch in his pocket and looked at it. It was just before the end of the afternoon. After thinking about it for a while, he ordered to change his clothes - he changed into a blue cotton gauze robe, and put on a Shi Qingjiang silk jacket. He carefully tied a gold-studded ancient coin thread button belt around his waist, wore blue satin sandals and soap boots, and wore a velvet and grass thread tassel crown. He turned around and told Xing Nian: "Let's go."

At that time, it was Mengxia in April, and the sky was getting hotter. The sun was shining brightly and shining white light on the Forbidden City. It was no longer as warm and warm as before.In the Forbidden City, there are no trees to be planted in order to prevent thieves and assassins. The scorching sun in the clear sky shines on the yellow tiles and red walls, copper tortoises and copper cranes, and the furnace, tripod and Danbi, glowing and shining, a piece of gold and jade.Before Yongzheng left the Chuihua Gate of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he regretted wearing too thick clothes, and felt his back was slightly sweaty and moist.However, he is a very trim person, and he will never let things go, so he just ordered someone to take a Xiangfei bamboo fan and walked out, but seeing Li Dequan, the eunuch of the Six Palaces, had already greeted him at the gate of the palace, so he stopped and asked: " You are not serving in the Empress Dowager's palace, what's the matter here?"

"Return to the master." Li Dequan is an old man in his sixties with white beard and eyebrows. He is still in good spirits. They are all waiting in front of the Kunning Palace. The Buddha asked the servants to come and see, when will the Long Live Lord pass?" Yongzheng said indifferently, "What is this important? Babaer came to play me! I still want to see people Let's talk about it later!" Li Dequan hurriedly said: "How many slaves have the guts to disturb the Lord Long Live? It's already hot, and these children didn't eat, and they knelt down several times. The old Zhao of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported The Buddha, who came to see the master according to Yi's decree."

Yongzheng had already raised his steps, listened to "Feng Yi's decree", stopped in a hurry, thought for a while and asked: "Has the queen mother been chosen?"

"Replying to my master, Buddha said that all the people around her are good enough, so she doesn't have to choose." "Where are the princes? Didn't I say that the houses of the third, fifth, eighth, tenth, thirteenth and seventeenth princes There is a shortage of envoys here. Some have been in the government for many years and it is time for them to go out. Let them each choose twenty people - there is also the second master who is imprisoned in Xian'an Palace, so it is appropriate to give him a few."

Hearing Yongzheng's words, Li Dequan couldn't help being startled: If you don't choose the emperor first, who else would dare to take the lead?Thinking about it, he said carefully: "The slave just came here, the tenth master, the thirteenth master, the fourteenth master, and the seventeenth master are all inside to greet the Buddha. Since the master has this will, the slave will pass it on to the princes, please princes Just choose first." He was rambling and wanted to continue, but Yongzheng had already waved his hand away.

Fang Bao had already been waiting at the military plane on the west side of Yong Lane in Longzong Gate.This is a 55-year-old old man with a long, yellow and thin face and two mouse mustaches. He is wearing a white-washed blue cloth cut-off shirt on his thin body, which looks wide and big. , with only a pair of small eyes shining brightly, revealing a shrewd and capable person—just based on his appearance, no one would have guessed that he is the leader of the Tongcheng School of literary fame who is famous all over the world, and a contemporary scholar who has written as much as he can. The commoner entered the study as the "Prime Minister in Qingshan", and Fang Wangxi, the counselor of Kangxi's important affairs in his later years, "called Mr. but not his name"!It has been two years since he gave gold back to the mountain in the 60th year of Kangxi. He had already given up his official career and built villas in Nanjing, Suzhou and Hangzhou.Unexpectedly, when the new king ascended to the throne, the first secret edict was to call him back to the capital to re-enter the Shangshufang to participate in the important affairs of the military and state affairs.The secret edict was issued, and the governors of Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces, as well as the governors of Liangjiang, all rushed to Fangfu in Tongcheng. They said they were paying a visit, but they were actually sitting on the ground to urge him to do so. This made the old celebrity dare not say goodbye. I had no choice but to board the car and go north, re-entering Beijing, the den of right and wrong.In the Xi Dynasty, Fang Bao entered the study because he was a commoner, and his main duty was to advise the emperor on secrets. He did not care about the affairs of the ministry and did not see officials. In addition, most of the Beijing officials "only heard his name, but never met him", so he was introduced to the Military Aircraft Department by the eunuch Gao Wuyong, and a group of officials waiting to be summoned here were only surprised at his attire, unable to understand How could such a down and dirty old man come here.

Fang Bao sat with her legs crossed, drinking tea with a calm expression, but her heart was very troubled.He was arrested and imprisoned for the case of writing the "Nanshan Collection", and was pardoned and wandered around the world. He also met Emperor Kangxi who was on a tour of the south. They hit it off with each other and became a scholar in white clothes. He climbed to the dizzying heights and wrote family letters. , the old man died of illness!Come on, let's repay our worries. Three years have passed.This time I saw him come again and asked him if he was proud of Wei Juan?He looked free and easy, spread his hands and said: It's over again!In other people's policies and opinions, they all write that "the head of state is bright, but he is a flatterer" - look at the "guku" of Long Live Lord, some are the second generals of Hengha, some are Shentu Yulei, and some are God Xingqie... They look like 72-hole goblins. , if you don’t get into his hole, will he take you in? Huang Banya laughed as he spoke, and sighed again: "What a pity, Liu Molin, a living Dongfang Shuo, was born at the wrong time, and turned out to be a scholar with a dull autumn wind!" "

"Wei Jun," a 30-year-old young official next to him interjected, "Great fame has a certain number, and this cannot be done for sure. Long Live Lord is now going to destroy the family cronies. Liu Molin's article is purely about the king's kindness, maybe it is right. It's the holy will!" Fang Bao bowed his head and thought for a while, and then remembered that "Wei Jun" was surnamed Li, and he used to be the inspector of Huguang.While he was thinking about it, Li Weijun sneered and said, "Hu Qiheng, are you really stupid or just pretending to be stupid? The house officer doesn't recommend it, and you can't even see the papers for the chief examiner. How did Long Live know Liu Molin? Let's be happy! I made an appointment yesterday. I traveled to the West Mountain with Liu Molin and Yin Jishan, and came back to the tea shop in Luyuan, who do you think you met?"

He flicked his braid complacently, "Famous prostitute Su Shunqing!" Everyone was startled when they heard that.Su Shunqing is the number one goddess among the eight famous prostitutes in the capital, she only sells her art but not her body, she is unique in four skills of piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and she would not go lightly to the palace hall when she is idle, it is rare to meet these three people.Hu Qiheng swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said with a smile: "Prince Jian's residence, I have seen this girl, she is really good at both sex and art - you are so lucky!" She sang a few tunes. Liu Molin got drunk and fell into an evil spirit, and asked, "Do you know what we are here today?" As he spoke, he threw a big silver coin. The girl also took the silver coin, squatting three blessings and said: " The purpose of the three gentlemen's visit today is to look for the tree with the word "森", sit on the side of the stone with the word "Lei", look for friends to accompany them, and ride a horse with the word "" to stroll around; after getting off the boat, they just go boating in front of the lake with the word "Miao". Those who came here with a crowd took advantage of the good time of "Crystal" and had to drink some "taste" tea, "Zi wine-if you want to think about" characters, you can't!'——Listen to her article! "

The crowd couldn't help roaring, some laughed, some scolded, some praised, some joked, turning this grand and important place of the imperial court into a karaoke restaurant.In the midst of chaos, a voice shouted from outside: "The saint is here!" Everyone was stunned, and Emperor Yongzheng stepped into the room with a folding fan in his hand.Fang Bao stood up gracefully, flicked the corner of his robe and knelt down calmly, and paid respects: "The minister Fang Bao is ordered to have an audience with Longyan, and kowtow to the emperor, long live Jin'an!"

"Sir, please get up." Yongzheng stood solemnly after accepting the gift, bowed his hands to hold Fang Bao, and said with a smile, "It's been more than two years? I really miss you! Are you 56 years old this year? You are full of bones You are strong and look good, I envy you a lot?" Only then did Li Weijun and others know that this ugly old man was actually Fang Bao, and they came to their senses at this moment, and hurriedly saluted Yongzheng.Yongzheng glanced around at everyone, and smiled: "This is the Military Aircraft Department. As the name suggests, it is an important place to deal with military and state affairs. It is already disrespectful for you to talk, laugh and make noise here. What is the dignity of talking about pink-headed prostitutes? ——Who brought you here?"

Everyone couldn't help looking at each other when they heard this, because Li Weijun was the biggest official here, so he kowtowed and said: "I have received a letter from the Ministry of Officials to give my majesty's speech before taking office. I don't know the rules of the military aircraft department here. I think it's just a few vacant rooms. Come in for a while to have a rest and chat, and I beg Long Live to forgive your sins!" Yongzheng took a look at the "Military Aircraft Department" he had set up, a few empty low rooms, nothing but a few tables and chairs, not even a cabinet for filing , The outside of the room was not closed, and the passing officials could see the scene in the room from the window as soon as they stretched their heads.He frowned imperceptibly, and said coldly: "I didn't say that your military plane is wrong. The Song Dynasty died in Wen Tian and Wu Xi, and Yin Jian is not far away. Your name is Li Weijun, right? I have read a lot of Hanlin, I don't know this ?Officials have to look like officials, and they can’t be unreasonable. I have decreed that officials all over the world are not allowed to watch dramas. What are you talking about? Didn’t you say you wanted a ‘resignation from your majesty’? Well, this is considered a resignation. Go back and think about what I said, and write a self-impeachment script for me to read—go!” Waiting for everyone to squeeze Khan backed away, and Yongzheng called Gao Wuyong and said: "You pass an order to the House of Internal Affairs, and erect an iron sign at this gate. No matter whether princes, ministers, nobles or relatives, they are not allowed to peep or enter unless they follow the order. Also, from the gate of Qianqing A group of guards will be dispatched to guard this place, and then a decree will be sent to the Ministry of Officials to select six fourth-rank officials as Zhang Jing, who will be on duty here day and night to carry out the decree!"

Yongzheng said something, Gao Wuyong agreed, and Nuonuo retreated repeatedly, Yongzheng Fang turned his face and smiled and said to Fang Bao: "I wanted to talk to my husband here, but I didn't expect to be so frugal, let's go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation-Xing Nian , you go to pass on the meal, and ask the cooks to curry favor with you—turn around and report to the Queen Mother, I have accompanied Mr. Fang, and I will go over to pay my respects. Mr. Fang, let’s go together on my Luanyu!" Fang Bao is getting more and more surprised at this moment. Willing to walk with the emperor?He hurriedly apologized and said with a smile: "I am a white clothed man, how dare I insult the king of Wancheng? This is absolutely unbearable. I just walk with Luan, and I will lose my Yangshou?"

Yongzheng laughed loudly and said, "Mr. is a master of Confucianism and a disciple of Confucianism. Do you still believe in these things? That's fine. I will walk in with you in a car!"

"Yes, I should accompany Shengjia..."

Fang Bao swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said helplessly.He originally didn't want to show off in the Forbidden City, but he didn't expect Yongzheng's handling of it to make it more conspicuous.Yongzheng's disposition was hard to disobey, so he had no choice but to follow Yongzheng calmly.At this moment, there are hundreds of officials waiting to be summoned and to enter the study on Tianjie Street. I heard that the emperor's corporal came to welcome Fang Bao in person. Who wouldn't want to see the beauty?Seeing Yongzheng and Fangbao walking hand in hand, talking while walking, they all knelt together and sent their monarchs and ministers inside without mentioning it.

(End of this chapter)