Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 1358
The difficulties that Yi Duli encountered in the Shengjing Ministry of War were no less than that of Cao Yong's Ministry of Industry.

The situation of the Eight Banners stationed around Shengjing is even more chaotic, not just a matter of empty pay.There are also many soldiers on the list who are not in the barracks at all.

As a result, the number of people who can actually arrive is even more limited.

But the flood control measures that Cao Yong and Yiduli had discussed all required manpower.The people around are limited, so there can only be the Eight Banners garrisoned.

There is not enough manpower to garrison the Eight Banners. No matter how good their success is, they can't make a living out of them.

The two talked about each other's predicament, which meant they were relatively speechless.

It's okay for Cao Yong, whether to transfer people from other government offices in Shengjing, or to choose someone else from the capital, all you need to do is ask for an order.He has already decided to write it completely in the booklet, and send it back to the capital quickly, asking Yongzheng to make a decision on the matter.

Yi Duli was caught in a choice.

The Eight Banners garrisoned, especially the Eight Banners garrisoned outside the customs, are mostly the veteran leaders of the Eight Banners, and there are banner owners and princes on them.

If it weren't for the protection of these princes, the people below would not be so unscrupulous.

If Yi Duli exposes this matter, he will offend those banner owners and princes; if he does not expose this matter, when the flood comes, there will be no one available, and there will be a big mistake.

Although he is assisting, he is also enshrined in sages. If he really can't do the job well, how can the emperor help him?

This difficult choice.

Do you want conscience and political achievements, or do you want to live in mud and peace?

He gritted his teeth and greeted the ancestors of those men who drank soldiers' blood in his heart, but he couldn't make up his mind, so he looked at Cao Yong expectantly: "Fu Ruo, you have always been smarter than me, please help me think about it, how to act?"

Cao Yong shook his head and said, "Your Excellency, do you really think there is a choice?"

Yi Duli was taken aback when he heard the words, and then smiled wryly.

Since the emperor paid attention to Shengjing's side, he was afraid that he and Cao Yong's every move would not be hidden from Jingzhong.

His Majesty hates greed and ink viciousness the most, and the uncles stationed in the Eight Banners have committed a taboo.It was only because the emperor didn't think of asking about this matter in the early years that he didn't rectify it all the time.

If Yi Duli really concealed this matter, even he, the Minister of the Ministry of War, would be implicated.

There is only one way left, which is to report honestly.

Most of the thoughts of making meritorious deeds were extinguished at once.

Seeing Yi Duli's frowning face, Cao Yong had no choice but to comfort him: "Your Excellency, you don't have to worry too much. With the Thirteenth Master here, even if you offend someone, you won't be hurt."

Yi Duli listened, and his expression softened a little.

Cao Yong's words are true. He and his brother-in-law, Thirteen Brothers, were speculative.

Even if Er GeGe died of illness, the relationship between the two families has not been damaged.

The thirteenth elder brother and the thirteenth Fujin treat Fu Sengge, the niece and son-in-law, similarly to his own elder brothers.

The two wrote their own notes, and they were sent back to the capital on the same day.

Some of the six hall officials in Shengjing came from the capital. They were officials in the same dynasty as Cao Yong, and they knew each other, so they took the lead to welcome Cao Yong and Yiduli.

During the banquet, while pushing glasses and changing glasses, someone inquired about the purpose of the two people's trip.

It is not uncommon to say that the Yangtze River is flooded; but here outside the customs, the flood cannot be said to happen once in a hundred years, and it is not common to see it.

Therefore, except for several officials from the Ministry of Industry, the other officials in the government office could not figure out the purpose of Cao Yong and Yi Duli.

Even though Cao Yong is also the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, in the eyes of everyone, he is still in charge of the Ministry of Households.

A head of the household department and a head of the military department came to Shengjing together, and more people thought of the Northwest War, and they couldn't help but be eager to try.

Officials like them, although their grades are not low, most of them made mistakes in their official career, and their future stopped here.

The Eight Banners attaches great importance to military merit. If they have the opportunity to serve in the army, they may have the capital to stand up.

In the last years of Kangxi, hundreds of criminal officials were sent to serve in the army, and there were many people who turned salty fish back to life.

What Cao Yong led was not a secret decree, and the matter of flood control was not confidential, so it was natural to tell the truth.

This caused many officials who were originally attentive to lose their interest immediately, and their appetite for a meal declined.

They muddled along in Shengjing, and they didn't have the mood to care about drought or rain.

For their face-changing, Cao Yong didn't take it seriously, and Yidu Li was a little unhappy, so he couldn't bear this, so he pulled Cao Yong to leave the table early.

When we arrived at the post house near the six government offices in Shengjing, we saw a man wandering outside the gate.

The man was wearing a white pheasant men's suit, hunched over, saw Cao Yong, Yi Duli and his party walking towards him, and stood there sluggishly.

Yi Duli saw that he didn't retreat according to the rules, so he couldn't help frowning, and just about to order someone to expel him, he saw the man staring straight at Cao Yong, and said with trembling lips: "Master Cao..."

Cao Yong had already noticed that this person looked different, but after a few glances, he didn't look like an old acquaintance, so he moved his eyes away.

Listening to him now, Cao Yong couldn't help but stop and said in doubt: "This lord..."

"Humble job, humble job is Peng Zhu..." the man suppressed his excitement.

"Peng Zhu..." Cao Yong read the name, and couldn't help but widen his eyes: "Peng Zhu, Mr. Peng?"

Peng Zhu choked up and said, "It's just a humble job. I haven't been with you for many years. My humble job pays respects to you..." After speaking, he gave a thousand salutes.

There are people coming and going near the post house, which is really not a place for talking.

As soon as the person reported his name, Yiduli also recognized it, and said to Cao Yong, "Furuo, since we know each other, please go to the posthouse to talk."

Cao Yong nodded, stretched out his arm, gave a virtual support, and greeted Peng Zhu to enter the post house.

Peng Zhu was Cao Yong's former colleague. When Cao Yong was a member of the household department in the 50th year of Kangxi, Peng Zhu was in charge.

Before Cao Yong was released to Shandong, he recommended Peng Zhu and another principal, Fu Xiangong, as his successors.As a result, the Shangshu at that time gave Cao Yong a lot of face, so that both of them were promoted to Yuanwailang. Among them, Fu Xiangong was Yuanwailang in Fujian Division, and Peng Zhu went to Shandong Division.

For this reason, the two were very grateful to Cao Yong, and even after Cao Yong was released, they did not break up with each other.

Especially Peng Zhu, in Shandong Division, under the guise of official business, kept correspondence with Cao Yong from Yizhou, Shandong Province.

It wasn't until Cao Yin died of illness, Cao Yong stayed at home, and Fu and Peng were released one after another, that they broke off contact with each other.

In a blink of an eye, more than ten years have passed, and I did not expect to see my old friend again.

Cao Yong calculated Peng Zhu's age in his heart, and he was ten years older than himself. He was in his early forties at this time, and he was in his prime.Now, he looks like an old man in his sixties, and it seems that his life is not going well.

When they arrived at the residence of the post house, Yi Du immediately went back to his room, leaving a small hall for them to talk.

Peng Zhu was a little cautious, and he was careful when speaking.

Cao Yong didn't know what mistakes he made. He only heard that he was released to the outside world and promoted to an official. How come ten years later, he was downgraded to the fifth rank and sent to Shengjing?
"Speaking of which, I haven't seen him for many years. I don't know where Mr. Peng is working now..." Cao Yong thought for a while and asked.

Peng Zhudao: "Humble job is currently on duty in the Ministry of Punishment..."

Cao Yong nodded, yes, if he was in the Ministry of Households or the Ministry of Industry, he should have noticed it long ago.The household department and the Shengjing household department are in the same line, and there are official documents.As for the Shengjing Ministry of Industry, he just checked the list of officials this morning, but there was no Peng Zhu's name.

Although the subordinates and superiors got along quite happily back then, only Cao Yong supported them, and Peng Zhu still owed Cao Yong favors.

And there are many exchanges in the New Year's Eve, and Peng Zhu also has the intention of clinging.

Cao Yong doesn't like Peng Zhu's temper, but appreciates Fu Xiangong more.

But when he was in mourning, the two of them were released one after another, and there was no news from then on, so he was somewhat concerned.

The behavior of these two people cannot be said to be ungrateful, but they are also suspected of crossing the river and tearing down the bridge.

It's no surprise that Peng Zhu was able to get out of his temper, but Fu Xiangong let Cao Yong down.

Unexpectedly, many years later, Peng Zhu would end up like this.

Cao Yong is not a generous person. When he thinks of what happened back then, it is like swallowing a fly, so he has no interest in reminiscing about the past and wants to serve tea to see off guests.

At this time, I heard Peng Zhu say: "Does your lord still remember Old Fu?"

Cao Yong nodded, looking faint.

Peng Zhu sighed, and said: "The Son of Heaven is wise, old Fu Quan knows, so he should rest in peace..."

Cao Yong was surprised when he heard this.

The "Old Fu" in Peng Zhu's mouth was exactly another subordinate of Cao Yong back then, Fu Xiangong who succeeded him as Fujian Secretary Wai Lang.

Although Fu Xiangong is older, he is only 20 years older than Cao Yong, and he is not yet sixty, so why is he gone?
"Master Fu is gone?" Cao Yong asked.

Peng Zhu's eyes were red and he said: "Old Fu has been gone for more than ten years... Lao Fu has not been wronged..."

Although Cao Yong felt puzzled in his heart, he was not touched too much.

The official career is dangerous, especially in the local area, the officials with complicated influence and untimely death, he has seen and heard of many of them in recent years.

Thinking about Fu Xiangong's temperament, he was more than square, but not tactful.He is a practical and capable official. It would be good if the boss has a discerning eye, otherwise he will easily suffer in the officialdom.

Peng Zhu seemed to be overwhelmed, pouring bitter water, and continued speaking in one breath.

It turned out that he and Fu Xiangong were released one after another back then, and both went to the Northwest.Fu Xiangong is in Sichuan, and Peng Zhu's Shaanxi.

The two were officials in the same government office in the capital, and they went to the northwest together, so they kept in touch with each other by letter.

In less than a year, Fu Xiangong was gone.

Speaking of this, Peng Zhu became agitated, and said again: "My lord, Old Fu has no grievances..."

In the 57th year of Kangxi, Sichuan... Cao Yong thought of a person in his mind.

Sure enough, Peng Zhu's next words were related to Nian Gengyao, who was once prominent in the Northwest.

According to Peng Zhu, Fu Xiangong was killed by Nian Gengyao.

Nian Gengyao sent troops to suppress the turmoil among the natives of Sichuan, and made "military exploits". Because of this, he was favored by the ancestors and promoted from governor to governor of Sichuan.

The tricky thing in it, although Peng Zhu said it vaguely, Cao Yong can also guess, it is nothing more than "pollution of the people as bandits", using human heads as military merits.

What Fu Xiangong reported was "death of illness", but according to Fu's nephew, he died of club sores due to a conflict with the soldiers of Fuzhen.

He was unlucky, and he was sent to Sichuan as the native magistrate, which happened to be the boundary of the natives' rebellion.

"From the fourth-rank local magistrate, he was beaten to death by siege. Isn't it shocking to hear? I got a letter from the nephew of the Fu family. I was shocked and couldn't believe it. There was a misunderstanding. Unexpectedly, when I waited for the news of the Fu family, it was the news that the Fu family's nephew was intercepted and killed by the natives on the way back to his mother's hometown, leaving no one alive..." Peng Zhu gritted his teeth.

If it was put in the early years, Cao Yong would have sneered when he heard these words.

But after he served as the governor of Zhili, he knew the status of the governor in the local area, that is, the "Emperor of Earth".

With Nian Gengyao's temperament and always being stubborn and arrogant, it's not surprising that he did such a thing.

Nian Gengyao's "92" major crimes mentioned homicide of good people and abuse of officials.

Back then, I vaguely heard people mention that Nian Gengyao's family once killed the imperial court official, but I didn't expect it to be Fu Xiangong...

*
After Peng Zhu left, Yidu stood up and saw Cao Yong's face was heavy, and asked why.

Cao Yong told about Fu Xiangong and Peng Zhu.

Yi Duli raised his eyebrows and said, "If the old boy's mouth is crooked, Fu Ruo will believe it?"

Cao Yongdao: "Although it has been a long time, after all, there are traces to follow. It is true that Fu Xiangong died in office and his whole family died suddenly. It is hard to say anything else..."

When Cao Yong was in Taipu Temple, Peng and Fu were still in the household department and had contacts with Cao's family, so Yi Duli also had a face-to-face meeting with these two people.

Just now when Cao Yong and Peng Zhu were talking here, Yi Duli sent people to the government office to inquire, and got the news that Peng Zhu was demoted from Shanxi Daotai to Shengjing Criminal Department in the third year of Yongzheng.

The crime of demoting an official was "flattering the superior", and Wu Xiao said that he was held accountable after Nian Gengyao fell from power.

Yi Duli told Cao Yong about Peng Zhu's situation, and Cao Yong could not help but sneer.

According to what Peng Zhu himself said, he "committed himself to be a thief" and collected Nian Gengyao's crimes, and handed them to Yue Zhongqi before Nian Gengyao's downfall, in order to avenge Fu Xiangong.

Unexpectedly, Yue Zhongqi deleted and deleted Fu Xiangong's affairs in order to avoid getting involved in his own family, and in the end he didn't give Fu's family a clean slate.

As for Peng Zhu himself, Yue Zhongqi feared him, made him a party member, and was dispatched to Shengjing.

No matter how much friendship and affection Peng Zhu showed for Fu Xiangong today, it still couldn't cover up the fact that he got promoted and made a fortune in the Northwest.

When he heard that Peng Zhu was demoted to Shengjing in Daotai, Cao Yong knew that he was not as innocent as he said.

A few years ago, Nian Gengyao took all the hardcore business in Northwest China, and even released the "Annual Selection".

If Peng Zhu hadn't been the "Nian Party", he would have been promoted to Daotai after the term of the magistrate expired.

Cao Yong didn't take him seriously, but when he thought of the words "polluted people are thieves", he felt heavy in his heart.

No one knows whether Nian Gengyao killed civilians or bandits.

But according to what Cao Yong had heard, there were several military officers who were charged with major crimes because of this, which made him have to worry.

The boundary between bandits is not easy to determine.

The official word is two mouthfuls. If it is said to be the people, the bandits are also the people; if it is said to be bandits, the people are also bandits.

Cao Song was in the south of the Yangtze River, and he did exactly this "hunting bandits".

Even though Cao Yong has already told him thousands of times, Cao Song himself is not easy to kill shameless people, but it is difficult to guarantee that someone below will deceive the upper and lower.

Even if it is really a bandit who kills, if you really encounter ups and downs, then the "bandit" can become a good citizen again.

The battle between Jiangnan Li Wei and Fan Shiduo, the two governors, is getting more and more intense. I hope Cao Song, a foolish boy, will not be burned...

*
The capital, the Old Summer Palace, and the Palace of Qinzheng.

Looking at the booklet in his hand, Yongzheng smiled angrily: "What a murderer and pretends to be meritorious, what a nonsense..."

(End of this chapter)