Emperor Kangxi: The First Rule of the Palace

Chapter 3
After a while, Oboi snorted again, and said: "That's good, the barbarians have the final say on who will be the emperor!" Sukesaha said: "The barbarians are not barbarians, as long as what is said is right, there is nothing he can do about it." What!" Oboi looked down on Suksaha the most, and immediately said: "You are talking nonsense!"

Seeing that the two of them were about to argue again, Sony said disgustedly: "Don't be like this, you are both important ministers of the country, you should be decent." The two of them turned their heads away and did not speak.The sound of snoring and smoking in the room made the air more oppressive and gloomy.Hong Chengchou, who was silent for a long time, raised his pale face, moved his body and said: "Since the sacred will is hard to violate, let's wait and see, I expect the emperor will make arrangements."

After playing for a long time in front of the small statue of Xinuange, Shunzhi walked out of the courtyard again. The fine snowflakes had fallen an inch thick, and the surroundings were as quiet as a deserted temple. He felt much calmer.As Hong Chengchou guessed, he has many important things to arrange before leaving.

"Long live Lord, Fan Chengmo came to see you by order." The guard Wo He had already knelt behind him and began to play softly, "It's so cold, Long live Lord should..." Shunzhi waved his hand and entered the hall before he finished speaking. Only then did he notice that Fan Chengmo had already knelt there.

Shunzhi sat down on a chair near the kang, the room was warm, and he felt hot all over after a while, so he couldn't help unbuttoning the fur with his hands.Aunt Su Ma hurried forward to untie him, and then exited the hall.Shunzhi took a look at Fan Chengmo: Although he was only in his forties, he already had gray hair on his temples. His gray braids dragged from under his eyes to the ground, and his head almost touched the ground.He coughed lightly, and Fan Chengmo knew that the holy car had arrived, so he knocked his head heavily on the square brick three times, and played loudly: "Slave Fan Chengmo respectfully invites Sheng An!"

Shunzhi said lightly: "Mr. Fan, get up and sit on the pier over there."

Fan Chengmo slowly knelt up on his left leg, slapped his right hand a thousand times, bowed and retreated to the short bench on the right, and half sat on the celadon carved drum pier with his buttocks down: "The emperor summoned his ministers at night, I wonder if there is any imperial edict? "

Shunzhi let out a long breath, glanced at Fan Chengmo, and said slowly: "I summoned you today to make an edict on my behalf." Fan Chengmo heaved a sigh of relief and thought to himself: "Why do you have to call at night? Has the military situation in the southeast changed?" Aunt Su Ma brought a Duan inkstone and ground a pool of ready-made ink.Fan Chengmo was exhausted, holding the brush in his hand, and waited for Shunzhi to speak.

Shunzhi took a sip of tea, his face became paler, and he said in his mouth: "It has been 18 years since I entered the Datong with a body of virtue and ability. Taizu Taizong is really far behind. After unifying the world, he was led by the nose day by day by the Han people, so that the country’s fortunes were not perfect, and the people’s livelihood was so difficult. This is my first crime.”

Hearing this, Fan Chengmo stood up in panic, and the ink on the pen was dripping all over his sleeves in a moment of forgetfulness.He suddenly felt impolite, and hastily knelt down and began to play: "The emperor rushed to practice his age, smoked smoke outside, calmed treacherous power inside, entered the customs to set up a tripod, concealed China, and built a foundation that will last forever. It’s not as good as recuperation. My Majesty’s words, I dare not write!”

"Get up!" Shunzhi said lightly, "You write!" His calmness made Fan Chengmo feel a burst of fear, so he stood up and returned to his seat in panic, collected himself, and wrote: "I use Liangde to inherit Piji, 18 The year is here. Since I took over the government, I have followed the rules and regulations and employed people in administration. I cannot follow the example of Taizong Mo Lie. , People's livelihood is not successful, it is one of my crimes."

Shunzhi went on to say: "When the first emperor was on his way, I was only a six-year-old urchin, and I didn't do my filial piety for his old man. I originally wanted to serve the empress dowager well, to make up for this regret—" He choked up and got up from the couch Pulling up and down a white silk handkerchief, she wiped her eyes, "Now, I'm going to grow up to my knees, and the empress dowager will be sad for me..." At this point, two lines of tears flowed down silently.

The more Fan Chengmo heard it, the more startled he became, his expression changed drastically, he left the seat and fell to the ground, kowtowed repeatedly, and said: "The emperor is in the prime of life, why did you say this? If you don't declare the reason, I would rather die than obey the imperial edict." It was three solid knocks on the head.

Emperor Shunzhi understood Fan Chengmo's feelings very well. He was only 24 years old this year. He said such a thing, not to mention that Fan Chengmo dared not write it. A few months ago, he himself would never have thought about it.But now that he is about to leave the world, he must cut off all relationships and leave no room for words, otherwise the consequences will be disastrous.He made up his mind and said: "Mr. Fan, if you are so restrained tonight, this imperial edict will not be written until dawn. Get up! I tell you the truth, this is my 'legacy', and I have decided to die. I'm leaving home!"

Fan Chengmo's heart was shocked: "From the Three Emperors to the Five Emperors, how can such a thing happen! All the Manchus are really affectionate! Nai Shu Dorgon took the regent as the regent, just because he and the Queen Mother had childhood sweethearts. In just a few years, another one who wants to become a monk has emerged!" Thinking this way in his heart, he said in his mouth: "Abandoning the nine respects is like abandoning the poor. It turned out that the ancient wise emperor had no choice but to Let’s take this as an answer to ridicule. Now that the whole world is returning to its heart and all peoples are in harmony, what is the holy thing that can’t be done? If you want to neglect the honor of the myriad vehicles, you will be in an unpredictable place?”

Shunzhi saw that he kept admonishing him, and what he said was the old cliché that he had heard so badly, he felt agitated, and shouted: "I have made up my mind, so you don't need to say more!"

Fan Chengmo thought for a while, and then said: "The Holy Majesty has already treated Empress Dong with as much kindness as a mountain. He was named a noble concubine at birth and gifted to the queen at death. He is very worthy of your empress, so why—"

"Shut up!" Shunzhi sneered, "Everyone has his own aspirations, is this your business?"

"It's not a minister who has a lot of troubles. The empress dowager must know about this imperial edict. Even if the minister dies, how can he absolve himself of the blame? So dare to offend Yan Zhichen—"

Before the words were finished, there was a "pop", and Shunzhi was furious: "You are afraid that the empress dowager will kill you, and I will decide! If you don't follow the order, can't I kill you? Write!"

This is what Fan Chengmo wanted. He got up tremblingly, sat back to the side, and continued to write: "The emperor's funeral, I am only six years old, and I can't accept the decline and go to the funeral for three years. I regret it all day long. It is one of my crimes to serve the Empress Dowager and honor her ambitions, and hope that ten thousand years later, she will fulfill her duties as a son, so as not to express her past regrets. Today, I will never be at my knees, and instead mourn for the Holy Mother of God.”

The next thing went relatively smoothly. Emperor Shunzhi was confident and talked freely. He talked about his lack of trust in the Manchu relatives and nobles, and he often rewarded some Han officials; Knowing the goodness of virtuous ministers, one cannot get close to them; one knows one's faults, but one cannot dismiss them; when it comes to setting up thirteen yamen and appointing eunuchs, it is said that it is comparable to the stupidity of the late Ming emperor.He counted the thirteen failures since he was in power, and talked so calmly, as if he was counting other people's faults.Fan Chengmo listened to the handwriting, and had to polish it casually, not daring to be distracted at all, only feeling his head swell.

Speaking of this, Shunzhi sighed with relief: "I know that I have made many mistakes, and I often regret it after I finish it, but I am just lazy and can't correct it afterwards, so that the mistakes accumulate. This Count it as my No.14 crime." He slumped and half-lyed on the imperial couch, the candle tears from the palace lantern dripping down on the water-polished green brick floor.Suddenly, the chiming clock struck eleven on the spot—it was the first quarter of the hour.

Fan Chengmo knew that Emperor Shunzhi's most important decision was about to be made, so he was busy holding his breath and sitting with his pen in hand.Shunzhi rested for a while, and called softly: "Lagu Su Ma!"

Aunt Su Ma, who was guarding the gate of the hall, was listening attentively, when she suddenly heard a cry, her body trembled in fright, and she hurriedly bowed and said, "Your servant is here!"

"Ask Wohe and the others to come and listen." Aunt Su Ma replied "Yes" and went to page.During the film, the four personal guards, including Wu He, filed in one by one, kneeling and listening one by one.La Aunt Su Ma was about to withdraw, but Shunzhi stopped her: "You should be here too. You have served the Empress Dowager for several years, and I have always treated you like a sister, so it's good to hear that I know it well." Just kowtow, not daring to speak.After finishing speaking, Shunzhi coughed lightly, and said word by word, very clearly: "The new emperor——Zhen Yili Third Prince Xuan Ye." He paused, "The princes are all about the same age, although this child is young, But he is extremely intelligent, and has had smallpox. I also asked the Tibetan monk Erdeji Lama to pass his life, which is also a very noble character—you don’t have to write about it—his mother Tong’s character is dignified and dignified , Honest and gentle, can be the mother of the country. Let’s settle it like this.” Shunzhi said while thinking, “The emperor is too young, of course we need to appoint a few auxiliary ministers. Long-Oboi, these four are good enough."

Every word of Fan Chengmo seemed to be engraved in his heart, and he immediately felt relieved after taking a dose of refreshing medicine: "Even if the queen mother blames it, these four people will always stand in the way." With a relieved heart, he wrote neatly Much more. "Special appointment of ministers Sony, Suksaha, Ebilong, and Aoboi as assistant ministers. Yi and others are all honored former ministers. I entrust them with my heart and soul. Their encouragement is loyal and loyal. Baoyi will be the master and assist in government affairs. Announcement at home and abroad, Xian Make it known."

Shunzhi was originally weak, but he was very excited tonight. After dictating this edict, his face flushed, he lay down on the couch, coughing continuously.Seeing this, Aunt Su Ma hurried to hold the bowl, and Oohe hurriedly stood up and beat his back lightly for him.But he grabbed Wohe's hand and said: "Aiqing, you have been with me for a long time, the emperor is too young, you have to be careful!" How could Wuhe hold it at this time, and cried "Wow" When he came out, he kowtowed on the ground and wept, "Slave, dare you defend the young master with sincerity!"

"Don't cry," Shunzhi persuaded, then turned to ask, "Mr. Fan, what do you think of these four people?"

Fan Chengmo hurriedly put the pen on the pen holder, stood up and bowed and replied: "If you go back to Long live, these four ministers are all ministers of the country, and the Lord Long live is very wise." Unexpectedly, Shunzhi shook his head and said: "I don't think so. However, the ancestral system of Han officials cannot serve as auxiliary government. Both Mr. Fan and Han officials should understand my deep heart. According to these four officials, Sony has good reputation, morality and talent, but it is a pity that he is old; Suksaha is quite talented , loyal and upright, daring to do things, but too low in expectations; Ye Bilong is unwilling to stand out in everything, soft and strong, but he will never cause trouble; Stubborn. If the four of you can help the young master with one heart and one mind, I can rest assured."

It was late at night, Fan Chengmo had already withdrawn, and heavy snow was falling in the Forbidden City, and everything was frozen and solidified in the cold night.The pot drain is about to dry up, the lamp flame is dimmed, and the blood-red tears of candles are piled high on the candlesticks, only the sound of "dud-dun-dang" beating desolately in the distance.

Emperor Shunzhi raised his tear-stained face and told Chang Hao: "Decree to respect the office and open the key to open the palace. I have ordered the servants to leave the palace immediately!"

(End of this chapter)