scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 57 Meeting the Boss
(PS: A wordy word, ask for a monthly ticket, friends, please give two of the monthly tickets for the great gods to the pure newcomer wolf.)
Fatty Lu opened the door of his bedroom, just as Wu Yingxiong turned around with his hands behind his back, and smiled at Fatty Lu with a calm expression, as if he hadn't heard Lin Tianqing's words of betraying Pingxi Palace just now.While Fatty Lu secretly admired his calmness and self-cultivation, he also smiled slightly and said, "Your Majesty, now you should know why the humble official invited you here, right?"

Wu Yingxiong nodded, expressing his understanding, and said with a smile: "If I hadn't heard and seen it with my own eyes, I would never have imagined that Lin Tianqing would even have the idea of ​​selling out the Pingxi Palace for the mere position of Governor of Yunnan! "

Speaking of this, Wu Yingxiong sighed, shook his head, and then said: "Decades of friendship, as early as the reign of Chongzhen in the previous Ming Dynasty, my father and king were on duty under Hong Chengchou with him, and at that time we were already brothers and sisters." In the Battle of Songshan, my father took him out of the siege, retreated to Ningyuan City, and saved his life. Over the years, our Wu family has never treated him badly. This time he went to Beijing to act as the governor of Yunnan. I also gave him more than 5 taels of silver, but in the end, I got such a result."

After finishing speaking, Wu Yingxiong shook his head again, his expression was quite gloomy, "If my father knows the news, I don't know how sad and sad he will be."

"Your Majesty, what Senior Lin did is very chilling." Fatty Lu said sincerely, "But it's barely excusable, as he himself said, he will be sixty soon, and if he misses this opportunity again , there is no hope of a comeback. For himself and for his descendants, it is not surprising that he has such thoughts. The humble official also hopes that the prince can see him for the sake of his sixtieth age, and he does not For the sake of not really doing something wrong to the lord, forgive him this time, and continue pretending not to know about it."

"Forgive him this time?" Wu Yingxiong squinted at Fatty Lu, and said, "You mean, as long as there are extenuating circumstances, it doesn't matter even if you betray Pingxi Palace?"

"Of course not, of course the traitor who betrayed the Pingxi Palace cannot be let go." Fatty Lu shook his head, and said in a deep voice, "It's just that I feel that it is more beneficial to the current situation for the prince and the prince to pretend not to know about it. More beneficial."

"How do you say that? Tell me in detail." Wu Yingxiong raised his eyebrows.

"My son is clear, the reason why Senior Lin has a different heart is because of the position of governor of Yunnan." Fatty Lu said slowly: "As for this position, officials at all levels of the Jiuqing Kedao were recommending Senior Lin to take over, my son. You and the prince also very much hope that he can take over this position, but why does the emperor not let Senior Lin go to Yunnan? ——Senior Lin has already told the humble official about this, because the emperor is worried about Senior Lin and knows that Lin Senior is loyal to the prince and the prince, and worried that senior Lin will only listen to the prince and the prince, not the emperor."

"The lowly position said something rebellious and immoral. From this, it can be inferred that the emperor is worried about Senior Lin who is loyal to the prince. Naturally, he is also worried about the prince and the prince. Therefore, no matter who is the governor of Yunnan, there is only one purpose, to monitor and restrain the prince. Under such circumstances, one side is the governor of Yunnan who directly refuses to listen to the prince, and the other is the governor of Yunnan who is at least superficially loyal to the prince. The lesser of two evils, it is better to continue to support Senior Lin to take over the governor of Yunnan! Defense, it is easy to dodge with a clear spear, I believe the prince will not fail to weigh the pros and cons of this."

"And if Senior Lin can take over as the governor of Yunnan, there is another great advantage, that is, he can spread some news or things about the prince and the prince to the ears of the emperor and the court through his insider. , please make a clear decision."

When Fatty Lu talked eloquently, Wu Yingxiong listened intently all the time, without interrupting or showing any emotions.Until Fatty Lu finished speaking, Wu Yingxiong pondered for a long time, and then said: "Master Lu, I have always been very strange about one thing. The emperor and Ao Zhongtang appreciate you so much and offer you such a high price. Have you ever been as tempted as Lin Tianqing?"

"In terms of face, the prince and the second prince have the kindness to know the humble job, and Mr. Mao Xia has the kindness to teach the humble job. The root of the humble job is in Yunnan, in the Pingxi Palace. After leaving the Pingxi Palace, the humble job is like a fish out of water. It won’t be a few days.” Fatty Lu smiled, and said with a wry smile: “There’s one more thing I’m sorry for the prince and the prince, the humble job offered to the prince to raise the thief’s self-respect, even if a little bit of wind leaks out, the humble job will have to suffer I can't walk around!"

"Hehe, that's how it is. No wonder my father asked you to help me handle such a big matter as military pay." Wu Yingxiong smiled and said, "Master Lu, you are a treasure bestowed on our Wu family by heaven. My younger brother has vision. Mao Xia Sir, you have vision! Our Pingxi Palace is blessed!"

After laughing, Wu Yingxiong put away his smile and said in a deep voice, "Okay, I'll listen to you on this matter, don't expose Lin Tianqing's face, and follow the plan you said. On your side, you can do whatever you want, and you can do whatever you want afterwards. Just tell me, I believe you. In addition, there are about 12 taels of silver in my account room, and you can withdraw it at will when you need it, without asking me for instructions."

"Thank you for your kindness, my son." Fatty Lu was overjoyed, and was about to salute, but was stopped by Wu Yingxiong.

"There is no need to salute. Come with me. I will introduce someone to you. It will definitely be very helpful to you." Wu Yingxiong waved his hand and walked out of Fatty Lu's room first. Fatty Lu didn't dare to ask more questions, but followed closely .

Follow Wu Yingxiong all the way into the Dongkua courtyard where his study is located, and walk along the corridor for a while, Wu Yingxiong led Fatty Lu into a warm pavilion with a fire dragon growing in it. There were not many lights in the pavilion, and it looked a bit dark , there were two other people sitting, one was Lang Yanshu, Wu Yingxiong's confidant, and the other was a strange man in his thirties.

"Lord Lu, let me introduce you." Wu Yingxiong pointed to the strange man, and said with a smile: "This is Mr. Yang Qilong, Mr. Yang. His public identity is the steward of the secular family of the Great Buddha Temple in the capital. Behind his back, he is the head of a gang in the capital and also our The intelligence leader of the Pingxi Palace in the capital has an absolutely reliable intelligence team in his hands. You can talk to him, if you need intelligence, feel free to ask him. And if you are inconvenient to come forward, you can also Let him do it."

"Oh, it turned out to be Mr. Yang Qilong." Fatty Lu was taken aback, and hurriedly bowed his hands to Yang Qilong and said, "Mr. Yang, it's the first time we meet, I hope you can give me some advice."

"Lord Lu, you're being polite." Yang Qilong cupped his hands to return the salute, and said with a smile, "But Master Lu, although it's the first time we met, it's not the first time we've met."

"Have we met before?" Fatty Lu was taken aback.

"On the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, Mr. Lu first arrived in the capital." Yang Qilong said with a smile: "On the official road outside the Chaoyang Gate, the respected servant Fang Shiyu and the respected servant Xiao Erlang were playing, and he lifted Xiao Erlang with one hand, and the first one shouted, "It's so strong." 'The person who is not talented is the next."

Fatty Lu's fat eyes widened, he looked back at Wu Yingxiong who was smiling, and was horrified, "I really underestimated this kid, so before I even entered the capital, his people had already targeted me In other words, this kid probably already knew about the secret meeting of Xiao Mazi in the restaurant, so he hasn’t told me the real military pay card for the past few days! Fortunately, I have already told him honestly about this matter in advance today I said it, otherwise, this kid will definitely not really trust me!"

"But that's right, only a fool would be careless in doing this kind of thing—even I, didn't I send Xiao Erlang and Fang Shiyu to spy on the three brothers of the Liu family today?" After thinking about it, Fatty Lu felt relieved immediately, and at the same time secretly rejoiced. "Okay! Yang Qilong, although not as rampant and ambitious as in the novels in the history of the mite, but he still has a certain strength and considerable intelligence capabilities among the people and grassroots in Beijing. With his accomplice, I don't think I will The Tartar court turned him upside down!"

………………

The night passed quickly, and on the next morning, Fatty Lu, who had been talking with Wu Yingxiong, Yang Qilong and others for less than an hour before falling asleep, was shaken awake by Xiao Erlang. When he woke up in a daze, Fatty Lu muttered sleepily. Said: "Erlang, I won't eat breakfast, I will talk about it after I have had enough sleep, you guys eat first." After finishing speaking, Fatty Lu snored and fell asleep again.

"Young Master, Young Master, it's not about eating breakfast." Xiao Erlang was both angry and funny, and quickly shook Fatty Lu again, saying: "Master, someone from the Ministry of Officials is here, and it's Mr. Cao Shenji, the right servant of the Ministry of Officials. The decree wants to bring you into the palace to meet His Majesty! Young master, get up quickly, the emperor is going to receive you—!"

Shaking and yelling for a long time, Fatty Lu finally understood what Xiao Erlang meant, and got up from the kang cursing. Over there, Xiao Erlang and other old servants hurriedly brought the official uniform, court shoes and official hat to Fatty Lu, while he was in a hurry Helping Fatty Lu to wipe his face, while he was in a hurry to dress Fatty Lu, Xiao Erlang was so excited that he cried, "Woo..., it's finally the day, if the master and madam can live to see this day, I really don't know How happy should you be? Young Master, Master and Madam can finally rest in peace under the Nine Springs."

"Go, why are you crying? What's there to cry about when you see the emperor?" Fatty Lu, the most rebellious boy in the Qing Dynasty, hummed, feeling completely unreasonable about Xiao Erlang's excitement.But after thinking about it, Fatty Lu felt that Xiao Erlang had inadvertently reminded himself that since he wanted to pretend to be seeing Kang Mazi for the first time, he should show such an excited expression, which not only served as a cover-up, but also You can show your loyalty by flying.

After washing his face and wiping his teeth with green salt, Fatty Lu finally got dressed up and walked out of the room. He came to the hall of the Wu Mansion and saw that Wu Yingxiong, Lin Tianqing and others were indeed accompanying the guests in the hall. There was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a second-rank official uniform with golden pheasant patches, he presumably was Cao Shenji, the right servant of the Ministry of Officials that Xiao Erlang mentioned.Fatty Lu was unambiguous, he just bowed to the ground when he went up, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, Lu Yifeng, pay homage to Mr. Cao, your servant. I am late for some reason, please forgive me, Mr. Cao."

"Your Majesty Lu, you are welcome. The Shizi and Lord Lin have already explained the reason. You accidentally fell into the water yesterday and were frightened, so you got up late. Are you okay now?" Cao Shenji's attitude was pretty good, affectionate After asking about Fatty Lu's current physical condition, he hurriedly said, "Lord Lu, are you ready? It's getting late, and it's time for us to leave. The emperor summoned us, so we can't delay the hour."

"That's right, the lower officials are ready and can leave at any time." Fatty Lu agreed without hesitation.Wu Yingxiong over there was also unambiguous, got up and greeted: "Come here, prepare a sedan chair for Master Lu, and send Master Lu into the palace."

When the servants were preparing the sedan chair, Fatty Lu, who already had a lot more money in his hands, slipped a 200 tael banknote into Cao Shenji's hand, and Cao Shenji accepted it with a smile; Lin Tianqing on the other side kept winking at Fatty Lu like killing a chicken and wiping his neck , Reminding Fatty Lu not to forget his own business, Fatty Lu also winked back.Wu Yingxiong found an opportunity to lean into Fatty Lu's ear and confessed: "There is news that Cao Shenji may take over as the governor of Guizhou. He belongs to the neutral faction in the court. He has no close relationship with Heping Xiwangfu, but he has no festive conflicts, so I treat him very well." Be respectful, there will be places where he can be used in the future."

When everything was ready, Fatty Lu was personally sent out of the Wu Mansion by Wu Yingxiong, Lin Tianqing and others, and led Xiao Erlang and other accomplices and lackeys, and went to the palace to be killed in a sedan chair.In front of Zhengyang Gate, Cao Shenji stopped the sedan chair, and let Fatty Lu get off the sedan chair and walk into the palace.Fatty Lu secretly scolded Xiao Mazi for being ugly and mischievous, but he had no choice but to get off the sedan chair, leaving Xiao Erlang and others waiting outside the Zhengyang Gate, all fat and fat, and walked into the palace with Cao Shenji to spread plague and poison went.

On the way, Cao Shenji had to explain the rules of the palace to the bumpkin Lu Fatty in a low voice, and said meaningfully, "Lord Lu, the emperor usually receives officials who come to Beijing to meet with his majesty as usual, and they are all in the Qianqing Palace. Dozens or twenty, it should be a scene. Today I made an exception and interviewed you alone in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, can you understand the deep meaning of it?"

"Humble and ignorant, I really don't know what it means." Fatty Lu shook his head foolishly.

"How should I put it?" Cao Shenji thought for a moment, and said: "Cao was a Jinshi in the 12th year of Shunzhi. At that time, he entered the palace for the first time and participated in the palace examination at Qianqing Palace. Cao left the road from Qianqing Palace to Yangxin Palace. Nine years, among hundreds of officials, it is already considered to be very fast. But Mr. Lu, you entered the Palace of Mental Cultivation for the first time, this speed, besides the children of the Eight Banners princes, I am afraid that it can be regarded as fast. You are number one in the world. The emperor's respect for your holy family is really enviable and jealous."

"Ah!" Fatty Lu, who was brainwashed by Qing palace dramas to think that it is nothing special to go to the palace to meet the emperor, was really a little dumbfounded this time, and said in surprise, "Master Cao, why did the emperor treat me so well?"

"You ask me, who should I ask?" Cao Shenji almost didn't cry, he said to himself that Lao Tzu is a dignified official who was born as a Jinshi. You, a fat man who was born as a scholar, went directly to the Hall of Mental Cultivation as soon as he entered the palace, and you even came to ask me why you walked so fast?You're not just slapping me in the face, you're slapping the faces of all officials in the entire Daqing officialdom!

While talking, Fatty Lu and Cao Shenji had already arrived outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and explained their intentions to the guards guarding the Hall of Mental Cultivation. The guards flew into the hall, and after a while, an eunuch came out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and said in a male voice: " The emperor is not in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, there is a saying, let Lu Yifeng enter the hall to wait, Master Cao, you don't need to accompany him, you can go first."

"My minister obeys the order." Cao Shenji knelt down and kowtowed, and explained a few words to Fatty Lu, then left Fatty Lu behind.The eunuch delivering the decree over there greeted Fatty Lu: "Lord Lu, come with me."

"Cover." Fatty Lu agreed, and followed the eunuch up the steps of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Along the way, Fatty Lu had to look around and look like a bumpkin, causing the guards on both sides of the steps to roll their eyes.After entering the resplendent Hall of Mental Cultivation, the eunuch led Fatty Lu to the center of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and ordered: "Kneel down and wait." After that, the eunuch didn't say how long he would wait, and went straight out of the hall .In Nuo Da's Hall of Mental Cultivation, there was only Fatty Lu left alone.

Kneeling alone in the middle of the hall on an empty stomach, of course the taste is not pleasant. Seeing no one around, Fatty Lu wanted to move his legs and feet, and by the way, he had a look at how luxurious and extravagant Xiao Mazi’s Hall of Mental Cultivation was, ruining the Han people How much blood and sweat, but after thinking about it, Fatty Lu warned himself again in his stomach: "Don't mess around, you are going to play Lu Yifeng, a loyal and good man in the Qing Dynasty. Wei, it’s not about Ji Xiaolan—what’s more, those mite dramas are also used to paint Kang Mazi and the dwarf.”

"The emperor is here—!"

"The Empress Dowager has arrived—!"

Finally, just when Fatty Lu was kneeling until his legs were already numb, the eunuch's male duck shouted loudly at last from behind the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Immediately afterwards, Xiao Mazi was wearing a five-clawed fake dragon robe, a fake dragon crown on his head, and a fake dragon crown on his chest. Dai Dongzhu and the court beads made of bright yellow ribbons, personally and Lagu Su Ma supported the old witch of Xiaozhuang on the left and right, and walked from the back hall into the Hall of Mental Cultivation.Fatty Lu cursed a few words in his heart, without even raising his head, he directly saluted and said loudly: "My minister, Lu Yifeng, the prefect of Qujing County, kowtows to my emperor, long live, long live, long live! The empress dowager is a thousand years old!"

"That's right, this fat man knows the rules." Xiao Mazi glanced at Fatty Lu who was kneeling obediently in the middle of the hall with satisfaction, and tried his best to shout in a majestic voice: "Excuse me, keep me down."

"Thank you... Your Majesty." Fatty Lu agreed, but he knelt there and refused to move, his shoulders kept shrugging, and he gradually let out a cry that was worse than killing a pig.Xiao Mazi was amazed and couldn't help asking: "Lu Aiqing, why are you crying?"

"Back to the emperor, I finally got to see Longyan today, and my heart is so excited... It's hard to handle." Fatty Lu still didn't look up, but lay there choked up and said: "When I was young, my strict father had repeatedly urged Weichen I must study to become an official, honor my ancestors... Today, I finally fulfilled my parents' entrustment, and entered an official position to face the king, but my strict father and loving mother are no longer alive. I miss the kindness of my parents' upbringing. ..." As he said that, Fatty Lu burst into tears, and the voice, which was worse than killing a pig, echoed in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

As I said before, Xiao Zhuang asked Xiao Mazi to order Kong Sizhen to investigate all the eighteen generations of Fatty Lu's ancestors. Kong Sizhen also mentioned in the report that Fatty Lu's cheap father forced Fatty Lu to become an official. Because of this, Xiao Mazi unavoidably glanced at his grandmother proudly, and thought, how is it, my eyesight is not bad, right?Lu Yifeng is my rare loyal minister, filial son and capable minister in the Qing Dynasty!Xiaozhuang over there remained calm, not knowing what immoral ideas he was planning in his mind.

"Okay, don't cry, I think your filial piety is commendable, I forgive your crime of disrespect." Xiao Mazi smiled and said: "Stay flat, raise your head, let me and Lafayette take a closer look at you .”

"Thank you, Lord Long En." Fatty Lu agreed with sobs, wiped his tears with his sleeve, finally stood up, and raised his fat face with red and swollen eye circles.And when Fatty Lu saw Xiao Mazi's appearance and talent, the expression on his face was as wonderful as possible—first, a pair of fat eyes, which Zhou Peigong praised as goldfish eyes, stared bigger than copper bells, fat The muscles on his face stiffened, and then his mouth was wide enough to fit a fist in, and then he screamed like a pig, "Dragon——! Mr. Long!"

"That's right, it's Zhen." Xiao Mazi nodded with a smile and said, "Lu Aiqing, this is not the first time we have met."

"Long live the emperor, damn it!" Fatty Lu howled, then knelt down again with a plop, kowtowing desperately.

"Lu Aiqing, why did you kneel down again? What's the crime?" Xiao Mazi was both proud and satisfied, and asked pretendingly puzzled.

"I didn't know the identity of the emperor the day before yesterday, so I said a lot of rude words in front of the emperor, which was extremely disrespectful." Fatty Lu pressed his forehead to the ground, and said tremblingly: "This minister is guilty, and he deserves death! Please forgive me, please forgive me! punishment."

"Get up, those who don't know are not guilty." Xiao Mazi said with a smile.

"Wait." At this time, Xiao Zhuang who had been silent all this time suddenly opened his mouth and said, "Lu Yifeng, you are so brave, do you know your crime?"

"Damn my minister!" Fatty Lu, who had already stood halfway down, knelt down again with a bang, and said tremblingly, "I don't know what crime I have committed, please make it clear to the Empress Dowager."

"You are guilty of deceiving the emperor." The old hag in Xiaozhuang's voice was flat, but her tone was full of murderous intent, "You knew the identity of the emperor a long time ago, but you just pretended not to know, took the opportunity to flatter and please the emperor, right? ? Seriously, the Ai family can spare you!"

(End of this chapter)