Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 695
The sky was gray and drizzling.

Cao Yong came out from the Yamen and looked up at the sky.It was really an autumn rain and a cold, which inexplicably added a sense of bleakness.

With two bundles in his hands, Zhao Tong hesitated for a while, and asked Cao Yong, "Master, I have sent people back to the house to pick up the raincoat, why don't you wait a little longer?"

Cao Yong waved his hand, took the reins from Xiaoman's hand, and said: "It's light rain, it's not in the way. But those things, if you go to the yamen to find someone, you need a few pieces of oil paper to cover them, be careful not to get wet."

Speaking of this, he said to Jiang Jian and Li Wei: "Fei Lin, you go back first, I will go to the Thirteenth Brother's house, and I will come back later."

Jiang Jian and Li Wei agreed, and rode back to the mansion first.

After Zhao Tong found oil paper and came back, Cao Yong urged his horse to go to Jinyu Alley.

Because of the rain, there were not many pedestrians on the road.Occasionally, there are two or three people, also walking quickly with tight clothes.

After walking for a quarter of an hour, we arrived at Jinyu Alley, in front of the Thirteenth Prince's Mansion.

Cao Yong got off his horse, and Xiao Man stepped forward to pull the door knocker.

When the porter came out, he saw that it was Cao Yong, so he asked the housekeeper to come out.The steward sent people to inform him while leading Cao Yong to the living room to take a seat.

Xiao Man carried the two bundles and followed Cao Yong in.Zhao Tong and others were led to the side hall by the porter to wait.

After a while, I saw Elder Brother Thirteen striding in, and said with a smile: "Fang is still talking to Fujin, it's raining, maybe you won't be here today."

Cao Yong had already got up from his seat and greeted the thirteenth elder brother. After seeing each other, the host and guest took their seats again.

"Seeing that the Mid-Autumn Festival is coming, the Thirteenth Master is happy to add Lin'er again, so he will come to congratulate him." Cao Yong said with a smile.

A few days ago, the thirteenth elder brother Shu Fujin gave him a son, which is exactly what Cao Yong said.

Elder Brother Thirteen pointed to the silk bundle that Xiaoman had left aside, and said, "What is this? It doesn't look like mooncakes at all."

Cao Yong went over, took a bundle, opened it in front of the thirteenth brother, and said, "Look at the thirteenth master, it's this."

Inside the bundle were a few paper packages, and when I opened it, it was dark inside.

Brother Thirteen poked his head over, only to find that it was a dead ant: "This... ant..."

"Well, when I went to Chengde in spring, I found that there were a lot of ants there, so I asked people to collect them carefully. It was only delivered a few days ago, and it weighed less than ten catties. It is an old folk prescription to use this wine to cure rheumatism. Here in the capital There are also ants, but they are not as big as those outside the customs. The left and right are also for health preservation, and the thirteenth master will keep them for drinking." Cao Yong replied.

Brother Thirteen smiled a little when he heard the words, and said: "It's been so many years, that is, you have been thinking about this. It seems that you really hope that I will live a long life." During the speech, it was difficult to hide the loneliness.

Seeing the dots in his hair, Cao Yong sighed in his heart.

In the past few years, Elder Brother Thirteen's rheumatism has been almost cured, but in the past two years, his condition has gotten worse.What else could be the cause? Mostly the depression is too severe, causing physical injury.

"I hope that Thirteenth Master will live a long life, so that the tree behind Cao Yong can enjoy the shade. Thirteenth Master knows my temperament, and I am most impatient with those intrigues. I was born in the yamen, what everyone did Errands are just these relationships. You have to smile and socialize all day long, and take care of it, which is not what Cao Yong wants." Cao Yong said with a smile.

Brother Thirteen smiled wryly and said: "If you are looking for a backer, your brother-in-law, Xiao Shiliu, who can't be your backer? I am a Wujue brother, what can I take care of you?"

Cao Yong stretched out his hand, and while breaking his fingers, he said: "The Thirteenth Lord started working on errands on the fifteenth day. In addition to the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Officials and the Ministry of Rites have concurrently worked on errands, and he has also made a lot of political achievements. Among the princes and elder brothers of the emperor, Thirteenth Lord knows how many people are really capable of managing things. Thirteenth Lord wants to enjoy leisure all the time, but I'm afraid he can't."

Brother Thirteen was stunned for a while when he heard the words, then shook his head, and said: "What's wrong with it, is it possible, it's just because of the identity of the prince, the people below are willing to flatter you, and have not done anything useful. "

Speaking of this, he looked at Cao Yong's eyes and said: "It's you, Xiao Cao Yong, who always make people look at you differently. The fourth brother came over yesterday and praised you a few times, talking about the pasture on the two wings of Taipu Temple. In the early years It’s not obvious, now that it’s time to use horses seriously, the achievements of the past can’t be concealed. If you took care of the Eight Banners Ranch instead of the Taipusi Ranch in the early years, then the imperial court would not be worried about the lack of horses now .”

"It's just the hard work of my colleagues. I haven't been to the ranch twice, and I spend the rest of my time working as a government office in the capital. What credit can I have?" Cao Yong said modestly.

Elder Brother Thirteen shook his head, and said with a smile: "You, you, others are eager to squeeze their heads to grab the credit, and they are born on your side. It's neither painful nor itchy, and they don't take it to heart. If it wasn't for Huang Ama's knowledge Man, with your temper, don't expect to be promoted."

Speaking of this, the thirteenth elder brother remembered that he heard the fourth elder brother mention the matter of exchanging gold from the clan mansion yesterday, and asked how it was going.

I don't know what Yaerjiang's thinking, but he even asked someone to talk to the thirteenth elder brother about the exchange of gold this time.And the meaning behind the words is that if the thirteenth elder brother collects 1000 taels of gold, he will be more promising.

Nowadays, the clan is busy exchanging gold.Because of their greed for a tael of silver more than Guan Dui's, there are really a lot of them.Yaerjiang had no choice but to make the clan's mansion set a rule that the amount of gold exchanged should not be higher than the one-year salary of the title.

In the prince's mansion, the annual salary is 1 taels of silver, and the exchange for gold is only one thousand; for the county prince's mansion, the annual salary is 5000 taels of silver, and the exchange for gold cannot exceed five hundred.The same is true for Baylor, Beizi, Guogong, etc.

The thirteenth elder brother is a prince without a prince, but Yaerjiang treats him the same as the prince.

The thirteenth elder brother thought that he had benefited from Cao Yong, and said with a smile, "I'm afraid I borrowed from you, otherwise Yaerjiang's behavior is not just for nothing."

Cao Yong listened, waved his hands, and said: "The Thirteenth Lord, please don't look up to me, but you don't have such a great ability. It's just because of the Thirteenth Lord's identity..."

Speaking of this, Cao Yong remembered what happened to Yaerjiang Ah Xun yesterday, and said it to Brother Thirteen.

Elder Brother Thirteen heard the same reaction as Cao Yong yesterday, a little surprised.

Although the fourth elder brother came over yesterday, he didn't mention the matter of "giving venison", so the thirteenth elder brother couldn't figure it out for a while.

"Is this because I am afraid that Brother Ninth will be greedy and cut off the family's wealth, so I want to avoid him?" Brother Thirteen said to himself.

Cao Yong had already heard Yaerjiang Ah talk about giving meat, but in front of the thirteenth elder brother, it was not good to just talk about it, so he said vaguely: "Maybe it is for this reason, he still came to my place yesterday. I'm going to ask for someone. If it wasn't for Wei Xin and his wife to go to Macau, I'm afraid that Prince Jane will ask him to do an errand in Guangzhou."

"I heard that your business in Guangzhou has been going on for a long time, and there are no other servants there?" Brother Thirteen asked.

Cao Yong shook his head and said: "No. In the early years, Zheng Hu took his sister to Guangzhou to stay for a few years, and when he came back, he didn't make people go there again." Speaking of this, he thought of Wang Quantai.

He is not a person who likes to worry, but at this moment he has an idea, wanting to use this to draw closer the relationship between the thirteenth elder brother and Yaljana.

What was the purpose, he himself couldn't tell for a while, maybe he felt sorry for Yongjia's mother and daughter, and wanted to keep Yaerjiang ah; maybe he was afraid that Yaerjiang ah would still pester his important person and cause him a headache.

To be honest, Cao Yong was a bit disgusted with Yaerjiang, because of his arrogance and worrying "interest",
After getting in touch, Yaerjiang'a is much easier to get along with than others.Whether he was happy or not, it was all on his face, without those twists and turns.Sometimes, the loyalty shown unintentionally is also quite bold, like a real man.

"Master Thirteen, do you want someone to fill this gap?" Cao Yong asked with bright eyes.

Elder Brother Thirteen heard this, hesitated and said: "Although Mrs. Zheng has stayed in Guangzhou, you know that Mrs. Zheng takes care of all the property here, and she is really inseparable from her. Wang Quantai made up for it again." An errand in Jingli."

Cao Yong said: "It may not be necessary to order the two of them. The Wang family has many children in Guangzhou. If the Thirteenth Lord sends people down, they can help. Besides, since Wei Xin is leaving Guangzhou, after Thirteen Grandpa's foreign goods store also needs a proper person to buy goods from Guangzhou."

Elder Brother Thirteen raised his eyebrows and said, "If my disciples pass by, wouldn't Yaerjiang make a jump?"

Cao Yong mind, want to be another matter.

If Brother Thirteen can be attracted to pay attention to the trade of foreign goods at Guangzhou Customs at this time, and to understand the dangers of opium, it may curb the amount of opium imported.In addition, Cao Yong is thinking about exchanging gold from Japan, and then there must be a stable person to handle it.

He told the thirteenth elder brother concisely about these two things.

The thirteenth elder brother heard that Japan has two or three times the benefits of exchanging gold, so he couldn't help being surprised, stretched out his hand and pulled Cao Yong's arm, and said: "The imperial court is short of silver, this is a good idea. If it is true, I will go back and forth several times , won’t it be able to solve the current embarrassment of the court.”

Speaking of this, with a bit of confusion, he looked at Cao Yong and said: "That's the case, why didn't you tell Yaerjiang A? Could it be..." He wanted to ask Cao Yong if he had selfish intentions, but he didn't think so. Reliable.

If Cao Yong is really selfish, don't tell him.

"Master Thirteen, even if we say it now, can this silver go into the household department? Besides, the current bureaucracy is also appalling. Even if the gold is really exchanged, I don't know how much will go into private pockets." Cao Yong sighed. He took a breath and said.

The thirteenth elder brother said: "You are right, that is to say, you have always acted cautiously, how could you come up with such a loophole method for Yarjiang? It turns out that you didn't say it in the first half, so it seems that the method of cashing gold is not good. Sure. If, according to what you said, the silver is exchanged for gold from Japan, and then the gold is transported to Guangzhou to be exchanged for foreign silver, this is a good deal.”

"Thirteen Lord, the harm of opium should not be underestimated. That thing is different from tobacco, it is like gambling, which makes people addicted. It is not finished until the family goes bankrupt." Cao Yong said: "If the Thirteenth Lord pays attention This has saved the people of the country from the harm of opium, that is, the merits of the country and the future. Even in the history books, the Thirteenth Lord will leave a name of 'Wise King'."

"'Xian Wang', 'Xian Wang'..." The thirteenth elder brother looked at Cao Yong, without the cold self-deprecating just now, and said with a smile: "It seems that Fu Ruo has a lot of expectations for me, in order to live up to your words Looking forward to it, I will also keep these two things in my heart." Speaking of this, I added a little more solemnity, and said: "One day, I will complete these two things, not for the sake of the future of the society, but only for the sake of the people of the world. It shows that my old thirteen is not a useless person."

Cao Yong listened, nodded vigorously, and said: "The Thirteen Lord is an eagle in the sky, and there will be a day when he will spread his wings. Cao Yong will wait and see."

The thirteenth elder brother was very emotional, stood up, walked to Cao Yong, and looked at Cao Yong.

Cao Yong then got up from his seat, feeling a little uncomfortable when he was seen, and said: "Master Thirteen, what is your order?"

Elder Brother Thirteen stretched out his hand, patted Cao Yong on the shoulder, and said: "Whether it is the present or the new emperor's enthronement, these two things, if they are managed well, they will both gain fame and fortune. With this qualification, I am afraid It's also a matter of conferring a court appointment to the prime minister. Fu Ruo, you have no selfishness in mind and plan for me wholeheartedly. How can I repay this great kindness?"

"What kind of grace, the thirteenth master has gone too far. If the thirteenth master and the fourth master had not saved me in the early years, I would have buried my bones by the side of the West Lake long ago. How can I live to this day?" Cao Yong said: "I just hope that the Thirteenth Master will take care of his health as soon as possible, and he will make great achievements in the future..."

*
On Burhasutai, the holy driver is here, and the sixteenth elder brother's tent.

Because the next day will be the Mid-Autumn Festival, Elder Sixteen called the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to ask about the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.

The accompanying concubines and princes, civil and military officials, and Mongolian princes who came to the court all gave banquets.

After all, it is not in the capital or Rehe, all the ingredients here are not abundant, and if you want to buy a special banquet, you have to bother to arrange it.

Brother Sixteen was listening to everyone's report with a smile, suddenly he was in a trance, and then he couldn't help shivering.He hurriedly stretched out his hand, stopped the official who reported the matter, and said: "Okay, I understand. You step back first, if you have anything to report, come back and talk to me later."

Everyone bent down to answer, and exited the tent one by one.

Others are alright, Yiduli is familiar with Elder Sixteen, seeing that his expression is not right, he stays at the end and asks: "Master Sixteen, are you alright?"

Brother Sixteen waved his hand and said, "It's okay, nothing..." Halfway through the speech, he couldn't help it, and sneezed heavily.

"Master Sixteen has caught a cold? Do you want me to invite the imperial physician?" Yi Duli asked with some concern.

Brother Sixteen leaned back in his chair and said, "I'll ask the boys to spread the word, but for the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, old Yi needs to take care of it more carefully. I'll wait a while, and I won't let you talk."

Yi Duli heard the words, and then he got out of the tent.

Elder Sixteen couldn't bear it anymore, and hurriedly called Zhao Feng to take a bag of things.

When it was opened, it was a piece of opium the size of a pigeon egg.

Zhao Feng had already sent out the others, lit the lamp, and served Elder Sixteen to take a few mouthfuls of opium.

After smoking the opium, Elder Sixteen let out a long breath, and finally regained his energy.

While wrapping up the remaining opium paste, Zhao Feng said in a low voice: "Master, this month, the days of my master's addiction are getting more and more... His appetite is getting smaller and smaller..."

Brother Sixteen gave a wry smile and patted his forehead.

This is not self-inflicted what is it?It seems that when we return to Beijing, we have to study the method of quitting opium with Cao Yong as soon as possible...

*
On the last day, I asked for a monthly pass, and I lost 2 names in two days, please.

(End of this chapter)