Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 760 Cowardice

Rehe, the summer resort.

Today is the day when the "famous doctor" Fang Zhonggong came from the people to ask for the pulse of the Queen Mother, and then followed the servant to report to the imperial court.As soon as Zhang Tingyu came out of the imperial court, he saw this "famous doctor".

"Zhang Xiang." The servant saw him and bowed to salute him.

Zhang Tingyu nodded slightly in return, without even looking at Mr. Fang Zhong.

It is better to be silent than to say a thousand words.

Companion to the monarch is like companion to the tiger, even if he is a close minister of the emperor, Zhang Tingyu dare not slack off in the slightest.

It's just that since Cao Yin is the person chosen by the emperor, then the courtiers don't have to worry about it.What Cao Yin resigned was only the title of second-rank minister of rites, and the friendship between the monarch and his ministers in the past few decades is not something they can clearly explain.

These days, the emperor's left arm seems to be much more comfortable than in the past.

Just as he was thinking, he saw the third elder brother, the fourth elder brother, the seventh elder brother and the ninth elder brother coming hand in hand, and Zhang Tingyu hurriedly met them.Seeing this, the third elder brother took a step forward and said to help: "Hengchen is still so polite, please hurry up."

Although Zhang Tingyu has become a bachelor, he still acted respectfully and did not get up until he had fully saluted.He couldn't help but wonder, today is not the day of the small court meeting, why these elder brothers came to see you together.

The fourth elder brother just nodded slightly, without any intention of speaking; the seventh elder brother hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Master Zhang, is Imperial Physician Fang in front of the imperial court?"

Zhang Tingyu nodded in agreement, and saw Brother Jiu twitching the corners of his mouth, and said: "Master Zhang just came down from the imperial court, and he must know about the escaped man Meng Guangzu's case. I heard that the governors of Jiangxi and Sichuan both gave gifts to Meng Guangzu. What was the outcome of the meeting?"

Although Nine Elder Brothers usually do not interfere in political affairs, after all, it is You Jue Elder Brother who has a name in the Ministry of Punishment.Asking each other in this way is not considered overstepping.

But after asking one sentence, the atmosphere around him immediately became weird.

Meng Guangzu was originally a slave of San Age's mansion, and under the banner of San Age, he wooed local officials.After being stabbed out, the third elder brother, in order to preserve his reputation and get rid of his ties, naturally couldn't let him be beaten to death, but called Meng Guangzu a "runaway".

The governor of Jiangxi involved in this is Tong Guoyi from the Tong family of "Tong Banchao", and the governor of Sichuan is Nian Gengyao, a protege of the fourth elder brother.

The fourth elder brother was born to Concubine De, but was brought up in the palace of the late Empress Xiaoyi, Tong Jia, and treated Tong as her natal family.

One is the uncle of the fourth elder brother, and the other is the disciple of the fourth elder brother. They both show favor to the third elder brother's domestic slave. The deep meaning of this is also puzzling.

On the third elder brother's side, when he heard the ninth elder brother mention "Meng Guangzu", his smile was a little stiff.Since the revelation of the Meng Guangzu case, his life has been difficult.After a few months, the influence gradually diminished, and Brother Jiu mentioned it in public again.

The fourth elder brother's expression was still indifferent, only he himself knew it, since he knew the news that Nian Gengyao had expressed his love to Meng Guangzu, he had a thorn in his heart.It's just that he knows his weight, if he wants to aspire to the big position, he needs the help of Nian Gengyao and his family.Therefore, he became more beautiful in Nian Fujin, had more frequent correspondence with Gengyao in the same year, and became more loving in Nian Xi.

Regarding the strange atmosphere among the princes and elder brothers, Zhang Tingyu seemed to have no difference, and bowed back: "Returning to Brother Jiu, at the meeting of the Criminal Ministry, Governor Tong Guoxie of Jiangxi and Governor Nian Gengyao of Sichuan will not send the fugitive Meng Guangzu Cha Nazuo I heard that Tong Guoyao, Nian Gengyao, should be dismissed if he accepts the objects instead of offering gifts. The emperor has decreed that Tong Guoyao, the governor of Jiangxi, will be dismissed, and Nian Gengyao, the governor of Sichuan, will be lenient and will remain in office after dismissal."

Although he knew that because of the Northwest War, Nian Gengyao, the governor of Sichuan, would not be replaced at will, but after hearing Zhang Tingyu's words at this time, the fourth elder brother was still secretly relieved.

For this result, the third elder brother was not angry, and the ninth elder brother was also a little disappointed. He glanced at the fourth elder brother and snorted coldly.Seventh elder brother bowed his head and remained silent, not mixing with the crowd.

Brother Jiu felt strange when he saw this, and said: "Brother Seven, why do you think about looking for an imperial doctor, do you feel uncomfortable?"

Seventh elder brother shook his head and said: "It's not me, it's your niece who came from the capital, she's not acclimatized, and she's not feeling well these days. In a few days, Hongshu will send her to Mongolia, afraid of troubles on the road. I heard This Imperial Physician Fang can make pills, and I want to ask him to help make some medicines."

Brother Nine heard this, and remembered that the wedding date of Ergege in Seventh Brother's Mansion is August, nodded, and said: "So that's the case, so don't be careless. My younger brother just got a few good ginseng plants, and I will send them over tomorrow. , Dispensing medicine for Ergege."

Seventh elder brother heard the words here, and thanked him a little bit.

Although the seventh elder brother is not a leader, he is the prince and the king of the prince. The third elder brother secretly resented the ninth elder brother for beating someone "in the face". Seeing that he was showing favors, he said, "It turns out that the second niece is not feeling well, and the seventh brother should not I'm too worried. I heard that this Fang imperial physician has excellent medical skills. Otherwise, Huang Ama would not let him ask for the pulse of the queen mother. My elder brother is poor, not richer than the ninth younger brother, but he just got half a catty of blood swallow. Originally, he wanted to be filial to the palace. Since the second niece is weak, I took it to nourish my niece."

The fourth elder brother was listening, and couldn't help sneering in his heart.The third elder brother is still "poor"?What a joke.Among the princes, although the third elder brother is not as good as the ninth elder brother, he also has a lot of wealth, otherwise he would not have raised dozens of celebrities and refined scholars.

The so-called "erudite" and "elegant" reputations are all piled up with money.

The third elder brother reported on the matter of compiling the book, the fourth elder brother mentioned the military salary in the Northwest, the seventh elder brother was for private affairs, and the ninth elder brother went to the Yifei empress after asking for peace.

There was no joy or anger on Kangxi's face, and he listened to his sons' report calmly.Only when Seventh Elder Brother mentioned that he wanted to ask Imperial Physician Fang to travel to the palace to consult Er Gege, he raised his eyelids and glanced at Seventh Elder Brother.

Seventh elder brother only felt his body was cold, and his scalp couldn't help numb.Even at the age of [-], he still fears the gentleman on the dragon chair unabated.

The fourth elder brother lowered his head, already feeling weird in his heart.This seventh younger brother is not a person who likes to make trouble, but now he has eaten the heart of a bear and leopard?
With his thoroughness, he should be able to guess that the "Fang Imperial Physician" didn't just consult the Empress Dowager, so why did he make such a fuss?

It was only a blink of an eye, Brother Seven felt like it had been a long time, and Kangxi replied calmly: "Yes."

*
After a while, outside the gate of the Second Palace, the servants led an old man out.

It seems that the son-in-law is worrying too much, this Fang Zhonggong looks good.Seventh elder brother remembered the letter from his son-in-law, and knew that the unattractive old man in front of him was the benefactor of his daughter and son-in-law, and he was unwilling to carry the prince's elder brother's genealogy.

*
Xinggong, before the imperial court.

Not long after the princes and elder brothers left, there was a senior scholar, Ma Qi, presenting a stack of booklets.

Hearing that there was an excerpt from Cao Yong, Kangxi nodded at Wei Zhu.Seeing this, Wei Zhu hurriedly stepped forward, holding Cao Yong's booklet with both hands, and presented it to the imperial court.

Holding the booklet, Kangxi's face became more and more ugly, and his face was covered with clouds.

"What a good minister of mine! What a good official!" He put down the paper with all his strength, and said to Ma Qi through gritted teeth, "Where is the account book that came with the book?"

After hearing this, Ma Qi bowed and presented the account book.

After reading the first account book, Kangxi couldn't help snorting a few times; when he saw the second account book, he saw all kinds of brush washers, pen holders, paperweights, hairpins, pendants, and rings, and found it funny again.

"This Cao Xiang is Cao Yin's nephew? It sounds familiar. I seem to have heard it from somewhere." Kangxi put down the account book and said.

Ma Qi bowed and replied: "If you go back to the emperor, Cao Xiang, the instructor of the Henan government, was originally a student of the Imperial College, and his grades were excellent. In 53, he went to Shuntianfu with his half-brother for the provincial examination. Because his brother suffered from a serious illness, he wanted to take care of his brother. , Delayed the exam. It was my emperor, Shengming, who sent him to the Imperial College."

Kangxi nodded, thinking of this past event, glanced at the account book, and said with a cold snort: "Don't talk about the benevolence of a woman, but she still protects her shortcomings very much. This Cao Yong..."

Hearing the word "Cao Yong", Wei Zhu couldn't help but listen to Kangxi's words: "Ma Qi, what does Ai Qing think about the matter of Henan Mansion?"

Ma Qi is an old fox, he calmed down the anger on Kangxi's face, considered it in his heart, and said: "Your Majesty, I don't know the details, so I don't want to speak nonsense. I just see that Mr. Cao is very stable. Since he bears the sacred order, he will uphold it." Holy Will..."

Uphold the holy will?Kangxi didn't take it seriously.

According to the law of the Qing Dynasty, a gathering of more than ten people will be killed, let alone hundreds or thousands.

To kill is to kill, the key is how to kill?

He squinted his eyes. Now Zhungeer is having a lot of trouble, and he doesn't know when the war will end. Naturally, there should be no chaos in other places.

*
Henan Prefecture, post station.

Cao Yong's face was pale, he looked at Jiang Jian, and said: "Fei Lin, before the imperial decree arrived, the governor's office hurriedly urged Li Tingchen to send troops. The meaning of this is already clear, just to kill, not to caress."

Jiang Jian's expression is also very heavy, his eyes are a little lax, looking at Cao Yong, hesitant to speak.

Thinking of Jiang Jian's disposition, Cao Yong loved the people the most. He sighed and said, "Fei Lin, do you want to persuade me to come forward? Li Tingchen came to the door today and invited me to go with him tomorrow. Do you want me to go?"

Jiang Jian didn't reply right away, and said after a long while: "My lord is tired from driving and horses, and you are worried about the plundering of Fourth Master, you are not feeling well, you should take a good rest."

"Recuperate?" Cao Yong looked at Jiang Jian and said, "Fei Lin thinks I should be sick?"

"Yes." Jiang Jian's expression gradually cleared up, his gaze became decisive, and he said: "My lord, Li Tingchen has become an abandoned son, and now, my lord, self-preservation is the most important thing."

Yes, no matter what the reason, rebellion is rebellion, how can the emperor tolerate it?However, the imperial court could not order the suppression and killing, so the local officials could only come forward, and then the imperial court issued a decree to appease and appease the people's grievances.

Cao Yong touched his forehead and laughed at himself: "I'm really a coward..."

Even if Jiang Jian urged him to come forward, he would not come forward.He will not be stingy if he saves someone's life with a little effort; if he is asked to sacrifice his life and family safety, then he can only choose to be cold-hearted.

Human nature is so selfish. The so-called good deeds are all done without affecting their own interests...

*
Yongning, outside Shengou Village, hundreds of feet away,

Cao Xiang looked back at the woman behind him and sighed inwardly.Speaking of which, this Jiaojiao can be regarded as his half-benefactor, if it wasn't for the old lady Duan's desire to save her granddaughter, she wouldn't treat him differently.

"It's getting dark, let's go quickly." Seeing Jiaojiao turning her head three times, Cao Xiang stopped, and said in a low voice: "If you don't hurry up, if someone finds out, you will not only disappoint Lingzu's kindness, but also catch up with you." I hope the girl will be sympathetic to this life."

Jiaojiao knew that what Cao Xiang said was not a joke, she nodded hastily, and then quickened her pace, but she remained silent.

The sun is setting and the night is getting darker.

Granny Duan didn't arrange for them to leave the village early in the morning, because she was afraid of being discovered and it would be difficult to hide during the day, so she sent them out of the village at dusk.

Cao Xiang held a simple map in his hand, with the route out of the mountain on it.

Cao Xiang hesitated for a moment, and did not choose the direction of Yongning County, but chose a more remote road, just to be on the safe side.Otherwise, when he went from Zhaizi to Yongning County and met the gangsters of the Kang brothers, his life would probably be over.

Jiaojiao followed behind him, looked at the map in Cao Xiang's hand, and couldn't help asking: "Cousin, this map, this map..."

She didn't know why her grandmother trusted Cao Xiang so much. What if Cao Xiang took this picture and led the officers and soldiers to find the village?
Hearing this "cousin", Cao Xiang thought of the old lady Duan's request a few days ago, looked back at Jiaojiao, and presented the picture to her, saying, "You can keep it."

He didn't make any promises, nor did he intend to justify, but Jiaojiao knew that he understood.

Jiaojiao took the map ashamedly, but felt hot under the eyes, and couldn't tell what it was like.

For the rest of the trip, neither of them spoke.Seeing that he was getting farther and farther away from Yongning, Cao Xiang heaved a sigh of relief.Apart from the instinct of fleeing for his life, he didn't choose that road because it faced the official road, which is the road for officers and soldiers to enter the mountain.

Even if the killing was unavoidable, Cao Xiang was unwilling to use the blood of the people in exchange for his fame... After all, he was just a cowardly little fourth of the Cao family...

*
The next day, Henan Prefecture, post station.

Hearing that Cao Yong was "ill", Li Tingchen's face was unpredictable, and there was a mixture of sadness and joy for a while.The sad thing is that I didn't invite this big Buddha. If it's in vain, I will be responsible for it; if I am happy, I will take the lead now. .

Struggling in his heart, he said to Jiang Jian: "Mr. Jiang, why don't we go to visit Mr. Forebo?"

Jiang Jian clasped his fists and said: "Master Futai is kind, and the villain took our adults to thank you. Our adults said that although we can't go with the adults of Futai, we are willing to prepare wine for the wind and wait for the adults to return in triumph. Wait until then Today, my lord is famous in the imperial court, please remember the benefits of my lord."

Li Tingchen was overjoyed when he heard this, and felt at ease.It seems that the [-] taels of silver given a few days ago are effective, and we will make preparations when we return from the chaos this time.Although I feel a little reluctant, I just think of it as a way to save money and avoid disaster.

If these chaos can be achieved, it will be a great good.

Thinking of this, he said goodbye to Jiang Jian happily, and left the station with his troops.

In front of the window of Cao Yong's residence, Cao Song stood at the window, listening to the sound of horseshoes receding away, looked back at Cao Yong, and said in a low voice, "Brother, just in case Xiaosi..."

"Don't worry, Big Brother Wei has sent back the news that Xiaosi's whereabouts have been detected, but he has not had a chance to lead him out of the bandit village. When the officers and soldiers pass by and the village is in chaos, it will be a good opportunity..." Cao Yong felt much more at ease. Because after his request, Cao Jia went into the mountain with Wei Hei.

With the skills of the two of them, it is not difficult to save Cao Xiang...

(End of this chapter)