Great Qing Xiangguo

Chapter 104

After hearing this, Liu Xiangnian was stunned for a long time, and said: "Why don't I want to join them? But they are second-rank officials, and I join them like a fly shaking a tree! Besides, I don't have enough rank, how can I join people!"

Chen Tingjing said: "I've made up my mind, you can entrust someone to play for you."

Liu Xiangnian looked at Chen Tingjing, cupped his hands and bowed, and said: "Okay, as long as Chen Zhongtang is willing to perform, I will participate even if I lose my head!"

Chen Tingjing shook his head and said: "You and I know everything about the government and the people. I will play for you, and others will suspect that I have selfish intentions. You can ask Mr. Zhang Penghe!" It turned out that Chen Tingjing had already made the calculations, and Zhang Penghe would definitely agree to play for you.Zhang Penghe himself is an upright and honest person, he has long been disgusted with Ah Shan, Xu Qianxue and his ilk, but after many years of experience, he has lost some youthful blood, so he temporarily forbears.Now that Liu Xiangnian is asking for help when he is in danger, according to Zhang Penghe's heart and mind in his life, he must speak up for justice.

Liu Xiangnian thought for a while, nodded and said, "Okay! Anyway, my life is on the knife's edge, so let him go! Chen Zhongtang, I'm going to find Mr. Zhang right now!"

Chen Tingjing said: "Okay, I believe Mr. Zhang will agree. Xiangnian, you don't have to tell Mr. Zhang what we said, lest he be overwhelmed and it will be bad. I will help you secretly!"

Liu Xiangnian left, Chen Tingjing wanted to lie down for a while, but he didn't feel sleepy.He wondered if he was being too ruthless by hiding behind him and conspiring to serial ginseng?Be ruthless, the word ruthless is forced.If he doesn't act ruthlessly, there will be no peace in the country, and he will not have good fruit in the future.

Suddenly, a father-in-law came to pass the decree and ordered Chen Tingjing to see him.Chen Tingjing didn't know what the emperor's order was, so he rushed there, but saw that the emperor was enjoying calligraphy and painting, and a group of ministers such as Suo'etu, Zhang Penghe, Xu Qianxue, and Gao Shiqi were already waiting inside.

The emperor said: "Sure enough there are good things in Hangzhou, you two should come and see."

Zhang Penghe said: "Looking at ancient calligraphy and painting, Chen Tingjing and Gao Shiqi are experts, but I am a layman."

Chen Tingjing looked carefully, and there was no Mi Fu's "Spring Mountain and Ruisong Picture", so he was a little confused.After looking at a few more carefully, it is really all fakes.I thought that Gao Shiqi was so daring that he had deceived the emperor for decades with fake calligraphy and paintings.

The emperor was very happy and praised again and again.Chen Tingjing didn't point it out, he only talked about the timing.Perhaps there is no need for Chen Tingjing to point it out, as long as Gao Shiqi consults Suo'etu, Suo'etu will say it.Chen Tingjing guessed that Suo'etu already knew that Zhang Xiangfu had presented Mi Fu's authentic works, so the emperor might not have them.

After appreciating the paintings for a long time, the emperor ordered the ministers to retreat, only Chen Tingjing stayed behind, and said: "Tingjing, you are making a secret visit all the way, there are some things that you don't need to say, as long as I know it. You can read the booklet."

Chen Tingjing took the note, which turned out to be a secret melody from Zhejiang General Na Hai, saying that the villain pretending to be Prince Cheng had been captured.The villain was called Meng Guangzu, who fled for the Xianglan Banner. He pretended to be the Prince Cheng and deceived him for five years. No one found out the number of provinces he passed through. The horses, or the gifts of jewels and silk, were all deceived.

The emperor said: "Meng Guangzu's local civil and military officials are all responsible for negligence. They will be interrogated by the Ministry of Punishment and will be investigated strictly!"

Chen Tingjing was afraid after thinking about it, so he said: "I met Liu Xiangnian by chance in Hangzhou, and I will talk to the emperor in detail later. What I want to say at this moment is that Liu Xiangnian saw that the false and sincere prince is deceitful, so he came to discuss with him. I told him to find a way If you stabilize the villain and then make sense, you never thought that you would let the villain run away. I am also guilty of not arresting Meng Guangzu in time."

The emperor said: "Ting Jing, you are meritorious. Fortunately, you played it in time, otherwise the villain will continue to do evil for a long time. Liu Xiangnian is also considered sharp-eyed. Alas, this Liu Xiangnian, I will not talk about him now. Ting Jing, this matter Very close, don’t tell anyone about it for now.”

After Chen Tingjing resigned from the emperor, he returned to the room still feeling agitated.Fortunately, Liu Xiangnian did not make it in time to deliver the money, otherwise both he and Liu Xiangnian could not escape the guilt.When the emperor mentioned Liu Xiangnian just now, he shook his head and sighed. It can be seen that the emperor must have believed the secret performance of Ashan Ginseng.Chen Tingjing felt a little more worried, fearing that his plan to join others would be miscalculated.But the arrow has already left the string, and no one can help it.Fortunately, I didn't show up, so I could avoid disaster and help others secretly.

In the evening, the emperor ordered Ah Shan to have an audience.It turns out that Gao Shiqi's reference to Suo'etu, and Zhang Penghe's reference to Liu Xiangnian's reference to Ashan and Xu Qianxue's records have all entered the hands of the emperor.The emperor was in a very bad mood, but he didn't want to have a fuss outside, so he had to wait until he returned to Beijing.I just want to call Ah Shan first and tell him to be careful in everything.

Ah Shan had been waiting outside for a long time, when he heard the news from inside, he hurriedly led the two girls in.Ah Shan had seen the emperor, and he greeted the emperor: "Come in and see you!"

Before the emperor understood what was going on, the two beautiful girls stepped forward to salute.The emperor was very angry, and scolded: "Ashan, what do you mean? Beauty trap? Who do you think I am?"

Ah Shan hurriedly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, forgive me!"

The emperor stood up with a flick of his sleeves, and walked outside in a huff.The emperor ordered Zhang Shande as he walked: "Call Suo'etu, Yinfeng, Chen Tingjing, Zhang Penghe, Xu Qianxue, Ashan, Gao Shiqi! And Liu Xiangnian, the magistrate of Hangzhou!" Zhang Shande responded and ordered the eunuch to deliver the decree.

Ashan tremblingly went to Suo'etu's place, only thinking that the emperor is angry, what should be done!Suo'etu asked to understand first, and then said: "Why are you so scared? Maybe the emperor doesn't like it, let's change two!"

How dare Ah Shan change people again, he just said: "Suo Xiangguo, why don't you give it away? I'm afraid of losing my head in a humble job!"

Suo'etu laughed and said: "Listen to what I said, the emperor is also a human being!"

Ah Shan asked, "Who should I change to?"

Suo'etu said, "Let's change to Mei Kejun and Ziyu."

Ah Shan said: "The purple jade was prepared for you, Suo Xiangguo, and Mei Kejun is what the crown prince wants."

Suo'etu said: "As long as the emperor is happy, the old man can cut off the love. The crown prince can't care so much, the most important thing at this moment is to serve the emperor well." The two were discussing, and the father-in-law came to deliver the decree.Suo'etu and Ah Shan went to Gao's living room in a hurry.

The emperor sat on the dragon chair with a dark face, and the ministers bowed their heads and stood in a few lines.The emperor said: "I was on a southern tour. First, I was very happy to see the great rule of the Yellow River. Later, I became more and more wrong. When I entered Jiangsu and Zhejiang, especially Hangzhou, I couldn't be happier. You see my kindness during the day. Kind, with a happy face, do you think I am really at ease in my heart?"

The emperor glanced coldly, and none of the ministers dared to speak.The silence in the room was breathless, and there were a few meows from outside, which were very shrill.The emperor was extremely distressed, and said: "The smile on my face is fake, I am afraid that the people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang will have a hard time seeing it!"

As the emperor said, he picked up the scrolls on the case, and said: "This is a poem written to me by a scholar named Zhang Xiangfu in Hangzhou. It is a poem praising virtue. Take a look!"

After the emperor finished speaking, he threw the scroll on the ground with a bang.Zhang Shande hurriedly picked up the scroll, not knowing who to give it to.The emperor said: "Let Ah Shan read it."

A Shan took the scroll, opened it, and read: "There are many people who want to travel to Fengchen, and Jiangnan's work...is reversed, it is reversed!"The emperor looked at Ah Shan closely, and shouted: "Read on!"

A Shan's hands trembled, and he read: "There are many people who want to visit Fengchen, and there is a corrupt minister in the south of the Yangtze River. The songs of a century-old father and elder are so loud, and it is rare to meet Hangzhou for several springs. Here... there is another song. All the antiques are covered. Whoever goes to Mi Fu, who is crazy, also plays with the king. Anti-poetry, anti-poetry, the emperor, this is anti-poetry!"

The emperor said angrily: "What is anti-poetry? If you scold you, you are anti-poetry? You don't listen to my greetings, and you are extravagant. When Zhang Xiangfu scolded you, he scolded me too!"

The prelude on Suo'etu said: "Qi Zou the emperor, I think Zhang Xiangfu should be taken down for questioning."

The emperor asked: "What is Zhang Xiangfu's crime? He is telling the truth!" The emperor tapped a few cases, "I have a few ginseng's secret performances here, and I wanted to go back to Beijing to talk about it. Now I can't bear it anymore. , simply spread it out. Those who participated and those who were interviewed are all here, which one of you will come first?"

The ministers all lowered their heads, not daring to breathe.At this time, Gao Shiqi stepped forward suddenly, knelt down and said: "Qi Zou the emperor, I will refer to Suo Etu!"

Suo'etu was stunned, his face was ashen, and he cursed angrily: "Gao Shiqi, you dog slave!"

The emperor slapped the table and scolded: "Suo'etu, don't be presumptuous! Gao Shiqi, what are you doing with him, say it in front of everyone!"

Gao Shiqi said: "Suo'etu instigated the prince to make friends with foreign officials. Every time he went to a place, he would send someone to send a secret letter to the governor in advance, so he told him repeatedly. Ah Shan actually picked up the prince according to the prince's wishes!"

Yinfeng scolded immediately: "Gao Shiqi, you old thief!"

The emperor patted his chair and shouted: "Yinfeng, you are too outrageous!"

Yinfeng knelt down and said: "Huang Ama, why does Gao Shiqi say that my ministers wrote secret letters to the governors?"

Gao Shiqi was at a loss for words, and Xu Qianxue stepped forward and knelt down: "Qizuo the emperor, when the secret edict written by the minister to Ashan was sent to Hangzhou, the secret letter from the crown prince to Ashan was also delivered at the same time. I have captured the messenger. Here is the messenger's statement. It is about to be presented to the emperor in secret."

Zhang Shande took the statement and handed it to the emperor.The emperor hastily read the confession, raised his head and asked the prince, "Yinfeng, I'll ask you now, tell the truth. If you deny it, there will always be a time when the truth will come out, and then don't regret it."

Yinfeng bowed his head and said, "It's enough for Huang Ama to ask, and my son will tell the truth."

The emperor asked: "Have you written a secret letter to Ah Shan?"

Yinfeng murmured: "I wrote it, but my minister just asked Ah Shan to pick him up, and he couldn't make any mistakes."

The emperor pointed at the prince and scolded: "Yinfeng, you are so bold! If you don't have ulterior motives, why did you write a secret letter to the governors? They are the officials of the imperial court, and they only need to do things according to my will. They need you Write a secret letter? What a surprise! No matter how lightly you say it, the governors will figure out your deep meaning!"

Ai Ai during the Yinfeng period, only knew the word "erchen" in his mouth.The emperor was very angry and shouted: "Don't quibble anymore!"

Gao Shiqi knew that he could not offend the prince after all, and said: "Qizou the emperor, what the prince did is because he listened to Suo'etu's instigation."

Suo'etu cried out, "Your Majesty, Gao Shiqi deliberately framed the old minister!"

The emperor glanced at Suo'etu and said: "Suo'etu, no one has wronged you. I have tolerated you for a long time, and I just want to see if you have any intention of repenting. The prince fell ill in Dezhou the year before last, and I sent you to accompany him. You Riding the horse until the prince’s middle gate before dismounting is a capital crime! I have already noticed that the prince made friends with his ministers and foreign officials, and it was all you who instigated him!”

Suo'etu just cried and said, "Your minister is wronged!"

The emperor said: "Suo'etu shut up! I don't want to do anything to you now. Tomorrow, I will inspect the navy. I still have to put on a smiley face, and you have to put on a smiley face for me too! You have to die or live, let's talk about it when we return to Beijing!"

Suo'etu wiped away his tears, and said, "Your minister is Gao Shiqi!"

The emperor felt strange when he heard this, and sneered, and said: "I haven't received your paperwork yet, why are you participating in Gao Shiqi?"

Suo'etu said: "Mr. Gao Shi Qishi has been deceiving the emperor for decades. The "Kuanglu Tu" by Jing Hao of the Five Dynasties he presented to the emperor was originally a fake, and he bought it for only two taels of silver. He spent 2000 taels of silver and hid it at home by himself. Chen Tingjing can testify to this!"

Chen Tingjing never thought that Suo'etu knew about this old story, and he didn't know how to speak for a while.The emperor was so startled that his face turned blue, and he was looking at him.Chen Tingjing hurriedly stepped forward and knelt down, and said: "Gao Shiqi presented fake antiques, I did notice it. But I also thought that Gao Shiqi was an expert in antiques, and I only knew a little about it, and I was afraid that I would make a mistake and wrong him. So I kept this matter in my heart. The minister thought in turn, but these are just fake calligraphy and paintings, and fake porcelain bottles, which can neither deceive the country nor the monarch. Play to the emperor, please punish the crime!"

The emperor sighed: "Chen Tingjing is loyal after all, but I have been cheated by Gao Shiqi for decades!"

Suo'etu said again: "This time Ah Shan has collected a number of antique treasures in Hangzhou. It is difficult to distinguish the authenticity from the fake ones. Gao Shiqi has to identify them one by one. The Zhang Xiangfu who entered the poem today said that his family has an authentic Mi Fu handed down from his family. "The Picture of Ruisong in the Spring Mountain" was forcibly taken by the Yuhang County government. I knew Gao Shiqi's usual tricks, so I went to see the tribute list, and there was no such authentic work by Mi Fu in it. Maybe he dedicated all the fake antiques to this time. The emperor."

The emperor sneered a few times, and said: "No wonder Zhang Xiangfu said in the poem that whoever went to Mi Fu, who was insane, also played with the king for a while. I thought there was no real reference in the poem, but it turned out to be the case. Gao Shiqi, The Gao family, you are loyal, filial, benevolent and righteous!"

Suo'etu went on to play: "The emperor once gave Gao Shiqi the word "Ping'an" in the royal letter, and Gao Shiqi called the house given to him by the emperor. He should be grateful for the emperor's kindness, but he wanted to accept bribes. Even if you have nothing to ask him, you have to give money every year. This is called peace money. If you want to ask him for something, you have to give him extra money. I have heard of this for a long time. I think he is an old man, and the emperor treats him very well. Grace, I have never said anything about him."

The emperor said angrily: "Suo'etu, you say that, but I have protected him!"

Gao Shiqi knelt down on the ground, his whole body went limp, and he didn't dare to quibble with a word.No one spoke for a while, and Zhang Penghe suddenly stepped forward and said: "Liu Xiangnian, the prefect of Hangzhou, attended Xu Qianxue and Ashan, and I will play the book on behalf of you!"

The emperor knew it already, but the ministers were shocked.Xu Qianxue and Ah Shan looked at each other and were stunned.The emperor sneered again and said: "It is also said that today is an auspicious day, and people in Hangzhou are welcoming relatives! I said today is the most unlucky day! Gao Shiqi participated in Suo'etu, and by the way, he also participated in Yinfeng. Suo'etu opposed Come over and join Gao Shiqi again. Liu Xiangnian is now joining two! Liu Xiangnian, come forward and speak yourself!"

Liu Xiangnian knelt down and asked, "Does the Emperor want to know why so many people get married in Hangzhou?"

The emperor was furious and said, "I don't want to know!"

But Liu Xiangnian said: "The emperor doesn't want to know, and the minister risked his life to say it. When the emperor toured south, the accompanying ministers and guards asked Ah Shan to buy beautiful women in Hangzhou. When this matter spread among the people, it became that the emperor wanted to draft in Hangzhou. The common people Those who don’t want to send their daughters to the palace rush to get married. Ah Shan also prepared a number of brothel girls for the entertainment of the emperor’s entourage.”

Ah Shan knocked his head bang bang, and said: "Your Majesty, Liu Xiangnian is talking nonsense. He himself committed various capital crimes. The minister has already submitted the secret report. He is about to step forward to intervene with him, but he is the wicked first to sue!"

Xu Qianxue knelt down and said, "I have never had any contact with Liu Xiangnian. Why does he serve as a minister?"

The emperor stared and said: "Ashan, Xu Qianxue, I don't allow you two to talk at this time."

Liu Xiangnian said again: "Those brothel girls are waiting in the rooms of the adults right now!"

Zhang Shande had no time for him to talk, but now he also played: "Qizou the emperor, there is a little eunuch under the servant. Just now I mentioned that Li Qilong, the magistrate of Yuhang County, was sending the girl to the rooms of the adults. I asked the servant what happened. thing."

(End of this chapter)