Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 269
On November 25th, I visited the Temple of Temporary Safety and Xiaoling Mausoleum, and ordered the third son of the emperor, Prince Yinzhi of He Shuocheng, the eighth son of the emperor, Dorobel Yinhu, the fifteenth son of the emperor, Yinlu, the emperor's sixteenth son, Yinlu, and the emperor's seventeenth son Yinli accompanied him.It's the day of departure.

Although Kangxi has always advocated frugality, it is not as good as the guard of honor of tens of thousands of people in the previous emperor's patrol, but there are still a lot of rules, and the number of people is nearly 3000.In addition to the accompanying princes and ministers, guards and officers and soldiers, the mighty team is also tens of thousands of people.

Although it was extremely cold outside, Kangxi's chariot was as warm as spring.Sitting behind the imperial case, Kangxi looked at the invitation letter from the governor from other places on the table.Because next year is his Jiazi birthday, many officials prayed for grace and wanted to return to Beijing to celebrate his birthday.

However, this requires some consideration. In some provinces, whether the governor or the governor enters the capital, the grace arrangement in it should not be underestimated.Otherwise, in provinces like Fujian or Guangdong and Guangxi, it will take several months to go to and from the capital. If the officials in charge are not left behind, something will go wrong and the court will lose face.

When he saw the brochure Jiang Nan handed over, Kangxi frowned slightly, and Li Xu's brochure was left unopened.The following is Cao Yin's excerpt, the two monarchs and ministers have not seen each other for three years, and the last time they met was also in winter.

"Cao Yin, a weaving slave in Jiangning, would like to play: To thank God, I respect your Majesty.

The slaves are lowly dressed and cowardly. For more than 60 years, they have been appointed one after another due to the great kindness of the Holy Lord.It has been nearly [-] years since the special decree was released to Jiangning for weaving, and my love for the master has become more and more serious.In the coming year, the master's [-]-year-old birthday will be celebrated in the whole world. I beg the master to show mercy and allow the slaves to go to the capital and join the ranks of the ministers in the palace. "

Kangxi thought of the deceased Grandma Sun, and remembered the things they had known each other when they were young. He sighed, picked up the imperial pen, and commented on the script: "Got it, play it as you said."

After reading Cao Yin's notes, even his concealment from Li Xu was reduced a bit.Kangxi took Li Xu's greeting book to read again, it was nothing more than "a lowly slave who begged for the promise of his master Gao Houhong" to come to Beijing to celebrate his birthday.

He hesitated for a while, thinking of Wen's mother who was over [-] years old, and finally approved after the script: "Understood, let's play."

Hearing footsteps outside the chariot, Kangxi raised his head, and saw the eunuch Wei Zhu come in and say, "Long Live Lord, Brother Sixteen and Brother Seventeen please see me!"

Kangxi raised his eyebrows, he had only been out of Beijing for a few miles, what urgent matter did they have to ask for an appointment right away?With some curiosity, he leaned back in the imperial chair and said, "Show them in!"

Although it is inside the chariot, it is very spacious. Apart from the imperial case and the imperial chair, there are several other rosewood chairs covered with red satin cushions.

After the sixteenth elder brother and the seventeenth elder brother got into the chariot, they shook their sleeves and said in unison: "My son Yinlu (Yinli) has seen Huang Ama!"

Kangxi looked at his two sons, they were still two young children, but now they looked like adults.Needless to say, the sixteenth elder brother has all his wives and concubines; even the seventeenth elder brother will marry Ling'a's daughter as his concubine at the end of the year.

When the seventeenth elder brother thought of the noble man who was "recovering from illness" in the palace, Kangxi felt a little uncomfortable, but his face was a little warm, and he said to his two sons: "What is the matter, such a fire, huh? Tell me I listen!"

The sixteenth elder brother secretly looked at Kangxi's expression, saw that the emperor's father was calm, and seemed to be in a happy mood, with a little confidence, he said with a shy face: "Huang Ama, my son has been wronged, and now I am here to complain to you! "

Elder Seventeen was brought here by Elder Sixteen, I don't know why, it was just to pay respects to the emperor's father, when Elder Sixteen said that, I was taken aback.I don't know where the sixteenth brother met the unhappiness, could it be that unscrupulous servant who neglected him?Even so, it's not good to report to the emperor with such a big fanfare.

"Oh?" Kangxi's face darkened when he heard the words, and he asked, "What wronged you? I don't know who is so bold as to dare to wrong my prince!"

The atmosphere in the chariot suddenly became tense, Elder Sixteen lowered his head, hesitated for a while, and then said: "My son said it, Huang Ama, why don't you reprimand him?"

Seeing his guilty and rascal appearance, Kangxi knew that he had lost his mind, that the fear of "being wronged" was fake, and that the little son was playing tricks.Originally wanted to put on a straight face and scold him a few words, but seeing Brother Shiqi trembling behind him, his heart softened unknowingly.

He pointed to the chair opposite, and said to the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Brothers: "Well, I'm sure! Sit down and talk, I want to listen carefully, where did you start talking about your grievances!"

The sixteenth and seventeenth elder brothers leaned over to thank each other, and Fang sat beside the chair.

The seventeenth elder brother looks at the nose with his eyes and the heart with his nose, which is very regular.The sixteenth elder brother showed a bit of a naughty look, and said with a little complaint: "The son is here to complain about his grievances, and the emperor is rewarding you with money today..." At this point, he broke his fingers and said: "The royal family, Baylor It doesn’t matter whether it’s the Duke of the State, the Minister of the Interior, or the imperial guards. Needless to say, there are rewards for beating the third brother to the fourteenth brother, at least 4000 taels! 4000 taels, this is 4000 taels! Isn’t it Huang Ama? , Did you accidentally pull Erchen down?" Having said this, he looked at Kangxi with hope in his eyes.

Seeing him beaming at the mention of money, Kangxi couldn't help laughing and scolding: "You bastard, your expenses are missing in the palace? Your imperial brothers are all running government offices and building mansions. Are you jealous too?"

Charcoal and silver are just rhetoric.This time, Kangxi rewarded the clan and the prince with money, and it was also to close the case of "Tuo He Qi Hui Drinking Case".

Hearing Kangxi's laughing and cursing, Elder Sixteen muttered in a low voice, "Brother Fourteen, what about Brother Fourteen? Aren't you the same as your son?"

Kangxi remembered that the fourteenth elder brother was also in the palace, and he hadn't opened a government office yet, so he was at a loss for words.

The sixteenth elder brother inadvertently showed a bit of complacency, what else can the emperor say?Said that he was not on errand, but he had been with the seventh elder brother in the etiquette department for a while, said that the population in his yard was small, although there were no children, there were still many Fujin, Fujin, and Gege.

It's strange to say that if any other elder brother dared to be such a rascal in front of Kangxi, Kangxi would be angry and would be punished.But the sixteenth elder brother, although he is not the youngest prince, but because he was the son of the concubine Wang, he followed him from the age of seven or eight, and he was the same mother and brother of the eighteenth elder brother who died young, so Kangxi somewhat doted on him .

Kangxi is already a sixtieth old man, and his affection for his children and grandchildren is more important than before. Seeing that the sixteenth elder brother is not as afraid of himself as other older elder brothers, he is also a little relieved, and said with a smile: "Okay I went to the Ministry of Rites to work as an errand, and I didn’t see that you have rules, but you are a philistine! Well, tell me, what do you ask for money? You seldom go out of the palace, so where can you spend it? If you speak properly, I will reward you!" , picked up the tea bowl at hand, brought it to his mouth, and took a sip.

Golden mouth and jade words!The sixteenth elder brother seemed to see the white silver waving to himself, and said with a smile: "If you go back to Huang Ama, look, it's about to enter the twelfth lunar month, and the seventeenth brother is going to get married! My son is an elder brother, The congratulatory gift should be thicker! There is also Cao Yong’s eldest son, Bairi, who is also a cousin and a grandfather, and the gift money is less, and the face will be embarrassing!”

Hearing Elder Sixteen say "Grandpa Tang", Kangxi couldn't help laughing out loud, put down the teacup, glanced at his son, and scolded with a smile: "You don't feel ashamed to want to be a grandpa even before your hair grows up." Panic!"

Elder Sixteen laughed twice, and said: "It's not all Huang Ama's grace! Thinking that even if the boy is in front of Brother 21, he still calls him uncle after He Rui, my son feels refreshed!"

Hearing what he said, Kangxi became more and more disreputable, so he straightened his face, glared at him, and said, "Princes are not allowed to make friends with foreign ministers, and you have forgotten the rules and etiquette of the court? You know that you are close, so you should avoid it in the end." Like when you went to Xiaotangshan at the beginning of the month, the imperial censor's impeachment was sent to my case the next day, you still don't know how to restrain yourself!"

The sixteenth elder brother saw that Kangxi's tone was not friendly, so he quickly stood up and listened, and the seventeenth elder brother did the same.

Kangxi saw that the younger brothers were a little apprehensive, looked at Seventeenth Elder Brother and said: "I heard that Cao Yong gave you the land in Xiaotangshan as a congratulatory gift? Did you ask for it, or did he give it on his own initiative? Tell the truth!"

Brother Seventeen was shocked when he heard this.Because it was winter, it was not suitable to break ground and start construction. Although he sent someone to hand over the Cao family's steward, he did not start to build Zhuangzi.Unexpectedly, it spread to the ears of the emperor's father. From the tone of his voice, he thought it was impeachment.

Because of his magnanimity, the seventeenth elder brother gathered himself together and replied with his hands down: "If you return to the emperor's mother, Cao Yong, the daughter-in-law of the princess, met her son before leaving Beijing, but it is nonsense to send the land as a congratulatory gift." On that day, in Sixteenth Brother Zhuangzi, my son saw that although it was not magnificent, it had a rustic and simple atmosphere, and he liked it very much. He thought that if he could build a small village nearby, it would be next to Sixteenth Brother. Living here is also good. It just so happens that the nearby mountain land was bought one after another by Cao Yong with his salary in the past few years in Beijing, so my son was thick-skinned and forced him to give a few hectares of land to his son at a low price!"

After hearing this, Kangxi gradually loosened his brows.Although Elder Seventeen said "forced", he knew that this son always had a smile on his face and was very popular with others.If he really likes that piece of land, Cao Yong will be willing to give him the land in the face of Brother Sixteen.In fact, he also didn't believe in the impeachment of those princes who were privately acquainted with Cao Yong, otherwise he wouldn't stay in the middle and make things go away.

He nodded, and said to Elder Seventeen: "You came with elder brother, and you also came to find me to complain and ask for reward?"

Although in front of the emperor's father, one should tell the truth, otherwise he would be suspected of deceiving the emperor, but after Elder Seventeen took a look at Elder Sixteen, he still bit the bullet and replied: "Returning to Emperor Ama, my son knows his mistake!"

The implication is that it is a default.

Kangxi's eyes were as bright as a torch, so he couldn't tell whether he was telling the truth or a lie?However, seeing their brothers being so harmonious, they couldn't feel any annoyance, so they waved their hands and said, "I see, you two..." Speaking of this, I thought of the fifteen elder brothers who followed me this time: "...and the fifteen elder brothers, 3000 taels per person. After returning to Beijing, send someone to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to collect it!"

The sixteenth elder brother was overjoyed, pulled the seventeenth elder brother, kowtowed to Kangxi, and praised: "My son thanked the emperor for his kindness!"

Kangxi looked at the tall stack of memorials on the imperial case, and said: "If you have fulfilled your wish, let's kneel down!"

The sixteenth elder brother and the seventeenth elder brother went down in response, got out of the chariot, retreated to the side of the road, and waited for Kangxi's guard of honor to pass by.Their driving guards are all behind the guard of honor.

Elder Seventeen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, slightly puzzled, and asked in a low voice: "Brother Sixteen, I didn't hear that you were doing things with little money, why did you think of telling Huang Ama these things?"

Elder Sixteen smiled wryly and said: "Why else? She gave up her face and invited pets! You see, no matter what the reason is to reward my son, Brother Fifteen and the three of us can't think of anyone! I'm afraid it's in Huang Ama's heart. , we were just joking around with him, and we can't compare with other imperial brothers who can rely heavily on him."

Elder Seventeen sighed, knowing that Elder Sixteen was telling the truth, he muttered: "Brother has started to think about this, no wonder it's so boring!"

The sixteenth brother looked at the seventeenth brother, and said sternly: "You are a smart person, why don't you know that we are not only our own? When we are young, we have to rely on the protection of the mothers; now that the mothers are old, It's up to us! There are some things that we don't want to get involved in, but we can't be like Thirteenth Brother, who can't show his face in front of Huang Ama and let others bully him! Those slaves in the palace are the most winking , if we get to that point, how can the ladies live in the palace so easily?"

Elder Seventeen was enlightened when he heard the words, and said guiltily, "Brother Sixteen is the one who thinks of Zhou Quan! On my younger brother's side, although I am worried about Er Niang, I can't do anything!"

It is really helpless for the sixteenth elder brother to play tricks in front of the imperial court.Although this autumn has caught up with the "second waste prince", the beautiful women in the palace have not been short-changed, and several nobles have been added and are often present.Although the status is not high, but I heard that two of them are very favored.

Although Wang Concubine has already been treated as a concubine, her official title is just a little nobleman.Now he is almost forty years old, how can he be as bright as those newcomers?Over the years, she has received courtesy in the harem, but it is only due to Kangxi's favor; if the favor is gone, her little nobleman is really nothing.

Although Elder Sixteen doesn't like to show off, he is very filial. Knowing Er Niang's difficulties, he deliberately invites pets.There is only one purpose, and that is to let everyone in the palace know that he is a favored prince, and his mother-in-law has him as her son to rely on, not everyone can give face.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but blame his elder brother fifteen.The fifteenth elder brother was raised by the concubine Defei since he was a child, and it seems that he is more filial to his adoptive mother than to his biological mother.Afraid that Concubine De would be uncomfortable, she had little contact with her biological mother on weekdays.For this, Elder Sixteen complained a lot.

*
Yizhou, Daotai Mansion, inner house, main house, warm pavilion.

Cao Yong asked someone to take a pen and paper and write a letter to his parents on the kang table.Chu Yu hugged Tianyou, and compared his small body at the side, thinking about how much his son would weigh in a hundred days, and planned to sew a suit of clothes for him by himself.

Cao Yong returned home on the 23th, and the 17rd was Chu Yu's [-]th birthday.Although it's still Xiaoli, it's not easy to make a fuss, but the state and county officials on the Dongyan Road side are not pushy, and they sent birthday gifts to their door one after another.

Cao Yong was the chief officer of the Fujian Department in the Ministry of Household Affairs and has seen this scene.

This is the rule of the officialdom, "three festivals and two birthdays", Spring Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, as well as the birthday of the chief official and his wife. In a year, these five times of filial piety are indispensable.

If there are people who are greedy for money and take their parents or father-in-law or mother-in-law to the post, this "shou" will be repeated several times a year.

Cao Yong is not a noble person, so he naturally accepts these gifts that offend people if he doesn't accept them.Although the news of Cao Yong's falling from the horse did not spread, the matter of recuperating at home gradually became known to outsiders, and it was necessary to be "filial piety".

Although it is not a rich place, but in just a few days, the money and gifts received by the cashier, calculated as silver, are more than two thousand taels.

This is much higher than when he was in the Ministry of Household Affairs. Beijing officials are not rich, and gifts for festivals are all about looking good, and they are really not worth a lot of money.

Cao Yong shook his head secretly, and finally understood why there was the phrase "Three years to clear the magistrate, one hundred thousand snowflakes and silver".Not counting other things, just these five festivals a year, a fourth-rank Daotai can earn more than ten thousand taels, which is more than a hundred times the salary.

You know, the annual salary of those magistrates and magistrates is only a few dozen taels of silver. If their hands are clean, how can they have money to honor their superiors?Like Liang Shunzheng, magistrate of Mengyin County, who has a better official reputation than those who don't take the initiative to collect money, they can only live a tight life, and because of insufficient congratulatory gifts, they don't like Shangguan.

When Cao Yong finished writing the family letter, Chu Yu remembered something and asked, "My son-in-law, I've been busy these days, and everyone in the house is exhausted. We also need to give a reward, but I don't know what the Liu family should do. What is the algorithm?"

*
(End of this chapter)