Emperor Qianlong: the beginning of his glory

Chapter 75
Qianlong had just finished approving the memorial, and he bowed and said: "Go and see the empress, see if she is in the Palace of Compassion or the Palace of Zhongcui. I will stay with the empress tonight." As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Meimei came in and said, "Master The empress just came out from Lafayette and asked the servants to come and play the emperor. Eighteen Gege and the son-in-law have already arrived at the Xihua Gate to meet the emperor on important matters. The palace gate has been locked, and they are not allowed to come in."

"Hmm..." Qianlong wiped his tired face, and said in deep thought, "Go, Qin Meimei, I see." After Qin Meimei left, Qianlong got up and ordered someone to change clothes. He removed the outer robe and only wore one Poplin robe, with a bright gold silk Wolong bag tied around his waist, said to Gao Wuyong: "Call some guards to accompany me out of the palace." He never changed his words.After agreeing, he went out, called Selenge, Sulun, Yuge, and called a dozen small guards from the guard's room. Without using Luanyu, he walked out of Yongxiang, crossed Longzong Gate, and came out from Xihua Gate.It turned out that Shiba Gege and his wife were anxiously circling in front of the stone lion, waiting for the order.Qianlong laughed and said, "Well, Jin Zhi and the son-in-law went up to the palace together, Mianjun, did they start fighting again?"

Ge Shanting and the princess never expected that the emperor would suddenly appear in front of them, and they were stunned for a moment, kowtowing hurriedly.Eighteen Gege said: "It's really a crime to disturb the holy car in the middle of the night. In fact, I heard some words today and felt very shocked. The emperor is too busy to play during the day, and it is not easy for the son-in-law to see you. I think, when it comes to the root The emperor is my elder brother, just such a little girl, if you love me, you won't be punished."

"I will not add any crime." Qianlong said with a smile, "Zhang Tingyu lives in the house in front. Let's go to his place to talk." So he took a group of people to the north, and after passing a stone's throw, he saw the bright lights in front of him. There are more than a dozen large sedan chairs parked in front of the small alley.Gao Wuyong wanted to pass the decree, Qianlong opened his eyes to see that there were more than a dozen senior bureaucrats in the doorway, some he recognized and some he didn't recognize, they were chatting and drinking tea, waiting to be interviewed, so he whispered: "Let's go in through the side door and go to his study. Meet."

Gao Wuyong came here every day to pass on the decree. Everyone in Zhang Tingyu's house knew everyone, and he brought Qianlong in through the east door without any trouble. Said: "Our Xianggong and Naxiang are seeing people, do you want the slaves to tell the subordinates to avoid them?"

"No need." Qianlong said, "You are all outside, I will go in by myself." After saying that, he stepped into the study room, and saw Zhang Tingyu and Neqin sitting at the top, and below were Ji Yun, Qian Du, Agui and Yin Jishan They were all attentively listening to E Shan talking about the construction of the Jianshanba River, but they didn't notice that Qianlong had come in.Qianlong smiled and said slowly: "Masters are very busy."

Everyone turned their faces and saw that it was Qianlong. They were all shocked. They got up and kowtowed on the spot. Zhang Tingyu said, "Long live, why did you enter the mansion of the ministers at night? Long live, you can call the ministers in if you have something! The position is important to the country, and the old minister first remonstrates with Long Live!"

"Forget it!" Qianlong waved his hand casually, sat in the chair, and said with a smile, "I didn't expect that it was you, all acquaintances, my close ministers, so there is no need to avoid it. In fact, it's nothing serious. I feel bored, come out Walking around, I came to you before I knew it. Get some tea, snacks and snacks for the night, okay?" Zhang Tingyu hurriedly said yes, got up and told the long follower: "There are still many people waiting to meet you outside. Go out and tell me, my body Not feeling well, I can’t see you adults tonight. Write down their names and come tomorrow!” Seeing the reserved faces of the other courtiers, Qianlong couldn’t help smiling: “Okay, so it’s you guys, aren’t you the one? Ji Yun? Good talent, No.4 in the second class, and now in the Imperial Academy? You are E Shan, dark and thin, Gao Heng said in the memorial that you did a good job at Jianshanba and wrote good articles. If there is no flood in Fujian province, you can free up money to treat the Yellow River. Governor Yin Jishan Jiangnan, you have a lot of things to do, so I won’t talk about your official business tonight. Qian Du, this lawsuit is boring for you. Actually, you Let me listen to you as a gossip. How is Agui now? Zhang Guangsi is not easy to serve, right?" He called names one by one, casually talked about the past, and asked some questions in between, making it impossible for everyone to answer.But Qianlong said again: "I also brought a princess and a son-in-law—Eighteen Gege, you come in!"

Eighteen Gege and her husband looked at each other: The purpose of seeing the emperor at night is to call the police, it is very confidential.How can there be so many people talking?I had no choice but to come in one after the other, seeing that people were still kneeling, and wanted to kneel, Qianlong said with a smile: "Everyone get up and talk, Tingyu, Neqin, and Princess sit on chairs, and the rest sit on wooden sticks, drinking tea and talking." Son." After saying that, he looked at Agui.

Ah Gui held back her words, she came to find Zhang Tingyu to complain and ask for a transfer, borrowing Qianlong's words just now, bowed and said: "Master just said that Zhang Guangsi is not easy to serve, it is really insightful words! This servant thinks carefully , the master let me into the army to teach me how to lead the army. In the future, if something happens in western Xinjiang, I can wrap my body in horse leather and die for the country. I know that Zhang Guangsi has meritorious service and a high official position. However, according to my slave's experience, he is just like a slave. My son is also the slave of the master, the slave is the slave of the master, not the slave of the slave, and being a slave to the slave, the slave feels very bad!" He said a lot of "slaves" in one go, but he said it very smoothly, and the meaning was very clear .Qianlong laughed when he heard this, and said, "Manchus have accumulated a lot of arrogance, and you have changed from a civil servant to a military post. If you don't frustrate you, how can you become a weapon?" No matter how strict he is, he can bear it. To be honest, the generals under his account are not worth one of his soldiers. His soldiers ride his horses for patrolling, and guerrillas and bands have to go out of the camp to greet them. People like me, who don’t lead soldiers, listen to him bragging about the merits of Miaojiang in the tent every day, and recite them all. No way!"

Qianlong thought of Fu Hengmi's exposition of Zhang Guangsi's indulgence of Fan Gaojie and others, his face became gloomy, and he just fell silent in thought.Ji Yun said from the side: "The minister was summoned by Zhang Xiang. A memorial handed in by Zhang Guangsi said that Fu Heng would pretend to be meritorious, jealous of the virtuous and capable, and had fun with the female thief Juanjuan on Tuo Tuo Peak. Then he abandoned it. He asked the Military Aircraft Office to report the current situation and deal with it properly. The Imperial Academy drafted several drafts for this matter, but they were not satisfied. Zhang Guangsi is in Sichuan, why is he so strict with Fu Heng's army? Fu Heng is a meritorious minister. It is not easy to use rumors as a basis. How to reply to Zhang Guangsi is quite difficult to formulate. So Zhang Xiang called his ministers over to discuss how to reply to the emperor." After finishing speaking, he let out a sigh of relief and stared at Qianlong without saying a word.Qianlong asked: "In your opinion, what should we do with this matter?"

"In the past, there was a Nian Gengyao who made great contributions to the western borders. He thought that he had made great achievements, and he almost became an unstoppable trend." Ji Yun said confidently, "The former emperor said that the crime of raising carbuncles is my fault, and he even committed suicide for it. I have sinned against myself. How can I not be afraid of the teacher before and after the event? Zhang Guangsi has made no mistakes and should not be punished. But the court cannot show weakness. Forgive me for speaking bluntly. I think that Zhang Guangsi’s previous recommendation notes are all accurate. This encourages This is what he looks like now. The minister thought that this book should be dismissed and forwarded to Fu Heng’s army to comfort the heroes. This is one. Two, the battalion officers, generals, and guerrilla officers in the army are not in front of the army to respond to the enemy’s emergency In matters of love, he is only allowed to depose, not beheaded. Third, he is the governor of Sichuan, and he controls troops and horses all over the south and north of the Yangtze River. The Eight Banners soldiers, and the battalion affairs of other provinces are also handled by the governors of the provinces. These three ministers think that it is enough."

Qianlong looked at Ji Yun with delighted eyes, he thought he was just a witty literati, but he didn't expect to be so thoughtful.Then he smiled and said: "Your name is Xiaolan, right? These three items are acceptable. But Zhang Guangsi can't compare with Nian Gengyao. Half of the third item is used. The military affairs of each army will still be managed by Zhang Guangsi. It is easy to command. However, the money, food, and military salaries of each army are no longer directly allocated by the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households, but are supplied by the provinces. This is fine. Monarchs and ministers should not doubt for no reason, and doubts are difficult to use. Hengchen, the Li Shiyao played by Fu Hengbao, In my opinion, he is also a good talent. Shanxi gave him the title of deputy chief minister and Fu Heng's counsellor. What do you think?"

"Yes, my servant will ask the Military Aircraft Office to handle it tomorrow." Zhang Tingyu leaned back on the chair and replied, "Here is another booklet, which is very shocking. Please have a look at it. When Qianlong took it, it was a plain paper. The hard-covered booklet inlaid with silk, when unfolded, a few lines of words catch the eye, which is shocking:
In order to admonish the emperor to be abstinent and labor-intensive, to love and support old ministers, to be sympathetic to the nobles of the Eight Banners, to reject villains, and to reward and promote gentlemen to rule the world, the minister Sun Jiagan knelt and played...

The characters below are Yise Zhongwang's petite lower case script. After flipping through it, there are tens of thousands of characters.Mostly, it refers directly to Qianlong's employing people like accumulating salary to come from behind, putting aside the former emperor's veterans, favoring the harem, or even having an affair with his relatives.Some things are said with branches and leaves, as if they have witnessed it with their own eyes.It's really not giving Qianlong any face. "Today, the emperor wants to pursue the emperors of Yao and Shun, and he does the deeds of Jie and Zhou. He wants to think about the way of the sage ancestors, the law of the Sejong, and imitate the customs of the sensuality and horses of the past. The south is the opposite, and the world is disappointed. Isn't it also confusing? "Qianlong looked at it, his face became more and more gloomy, and even his hands trembled slightly. "This Sun Jiagan, how much I trust him, how dare I slander Sheng Gong like this!" Although I didn't read the memorial carefully, it probably included the details of the palace, the privacy of the lucky concubine, the tryst with Tang'er in the Guanyin Pavilion, and Lian Jin. Xia's affairs were also revealed one by one... His eyes flashed with resentment, and he said through gritted teeth: "He, Sun Jiagan, is also considered a scholar, such an upright gentleman! I want to win the reputation of a direct minister who "criticizes the dragon scales and remonstrates Yan Zhizhi"! Such a rag, dare to play it! You want to learn from Guo Xiu to remonstrate with the ancestors, delusional!" , "swipe" the booklet and throw it on the ground, and said, "Go back to the palace! Don't discuss anything tonight!"

"The emperor calms down for now." Zhang Tingyu stood up tremblingly.He was breathing heavily, and he was obviously very excited, "Neqin brought money to the minister's mansion for this matter. I thought we should discuss it first, and then go to see Ertai, and the three of them will also write a book about you -"

"Three people? Thirty, three hundred military ministers are not enough!" Qianlong said viciously, "You dare to protect me, I will deal with you together!" His eyes were shining with iron gray light, scanning the crowd.Everyone didn't know what the scriptures wrote, and they had never seen Qianlong so angry, and they were startled for a while.

Neqin smiled and said: "Master, Mr. Hengchen didn't finish talking! This book was not written by Sun Jiagan. The slave has been busy with this from yesterday to today. I checked six books in the study, and I will personally review it before dinner tonight. Go to Sun Jiagan's mansion to inquire and check the handwriting. He was ill, but when he saw the scripture, he passed out..."

"Didn't Sun Jiagan write it?"

(End of this chapter)