During the banquet, Sanbao and others raised their wine glasses to congratulate Suo Etu, the first-class Duke. This is the largest title granted to ministers of different surnames in the Qing Dynasty. It is a super-grade honor. Now Suo Xiang is promoted to the first-class Duke. This is suspicious.
The status of the imperial court has become more stable. Compared with the Pearl, it is much higher. It is really a major event worthy of celebration.【】
In addition to Sanbao, the four people in the hall were Du Kejian, the Minister of Punishment, Hou Dao, the Minister of Staff, and a young man named Yuan Shijie, Suo'etu's confidant, whose name was Zhaoming. When he was a teenager,
He was known as the "child prodigy". At the age of 16, he obtained the title of Juren in the provincial examination hosted by Shuntian Prefecture. It is really rare to be able to pass the examination at such a young age. It is comparable to Yang Tinghe of the previous Ming Dynasty, so it caused a sensation in the whole of Beizhili at that time and became a
It was a hot topic on the streets. However, Yuan Shijie later took the Jinshi examination three times in succession, but failed to get a good place on the list. He was so frustrated that he never set foot in the examination room again.
Because his family was quite poor, in order to make a living, he was introduced to Suo'etu Mansion as a teacher. Suo'etu saw that he was quick in thinking and well behaved, so he became interested in talents and transferred him from his job as a teacher.
As his staff, he dealt with some not very important officials. When Yuan Shijie got this opportunity, he knew that as long as he clung to the big tree of Etu, even if he did not take the imperial examination route, he would be able to work as an official in the future.
, so he worked very hard when dealing with the public, and his actions and responses were very appropriate. Occasionally, he also expressed some of his opinions about the public to Suo'etu, which was in line with Suo'etu's wishes every time. As time went by, Suo'etu saw that he was indeed
Since he was a talented person, he included him in his core staff and cultivated him deliberately. Yuan Shijie did not live up to his expectations and did his best to serve him. He became the number one military advisor of the Suo Mansion and now he also had a fifth-rank official.
He found a job as an attendant in the Hanlin Academy.
Suo'etu was also very happy. He had cleared away the irritability caused by Li Guangdi's incident earlier. He also accepted everyone's invitations to drink. He drank them all in one gulp. The conversation was very lively. He was talking about Suo Xiang and so on.
When the Ministry of Public Affairs asked the emperor for approval, Du Kejian, the minister of punishment, suddenly stopped using his chopsticks and whispered hesitantly: "The official suddenly remembered what happened in the eighth year of Kangxi. At that time, Ao Baitang was also granted the title of Jin on the first day.
First-class Duke, I asked the emperor to scoop it up at Yuqing Palace the next day..." After saying this, he looked at Suo Etu with a worried look on his face. After hearing this, Hou Dao and Sanbao also turned pale, and they were all stunned.
Du Kejian's words made Suo'etu shiver in his heart, his face became extremely sad, and then he forced a smile and said: "Obai deceived the king in vain, and deceived the young master Wansui Lord. Wansui Lord scooped him up and he deserved it. How?
Comparable to true nature”
"Of course. How can that guilty minister Ao Bai be compared to Suo Xiang? I made a mistake." Du Kejian also knew that his words were rash, and the atmosphere in the table was broken by his rash words, and he hurriedly
With a sneer, he picked up the wine glass and took a sip, then said with a smile: "You deserve to be punished... You deserve to be punished..."
Yuan Shijie squeezed the wine glass in his hand again and again, and said: "Long live my wise judgment, it is unfathomable, but I am suspicious of the truth. But..."
"But what? Zhaoming, please tell me." Suo'etu said, but he was really a little scared in his heart. Seeing that Yuan Shijie had something to say that he couldn't say, he shuddered again.
Yuan Shijie raised his eyes at Suo Etu and considered: "But it is really hard to say what the emperor means right now. As far as scooping up Li Guangdi is concerned, even if he really abandoned his flesh and blood, the emperor deserves to be angry with him.
But it’s true that Gao Shiqi made friends with his close servants, but why hasn’t the emperor punished Gao Shiqi yet?”
"Yes, Li Guangdi is one of ours, and Gao Shiqi is a member of Mingzhu. It is impossible for the emperor not to know it. Now that he has punished Li Guangdi, he has not dealt with Gao Shiqi's friendship with his attendants. This is clearly partial!" Du Kejian was very angry.
Dissatisfied, he slapped his chopsticks on the table with a bang, his lips pouting.
"What are you doing in front of Prime Minister Suo?" Hou Dao glanced at Du Kejian, and then cautiously asked Suo Etu: "Did the emperor, the learned scholars, bring the prince with him today?"
Suo'etu seemed a little uneasy at this time, and did not pay careful attention to what Hou Dao said. He just said casually: "Bei Ziyun is the one who brought him."
Hou Dao heard this and said: "The emperor's third son also has the title of Beizi. Why didn't the emperor take him with him? Why did he take the emperor's eldest son with him?"
Suo'etu glanced at him and said: "He is only three years old. Maybe he is too young, maybe he is sick, maybe..." At this point, he suddenly trembled, said nothing, and just stared blankly.
He was fascinated by the flickering candlelight. Yes, the eldest son of the emperor is getting more and more important now. He is allowed to appear with the prince no matter what the occasion, and all the gifts are the same as those of the prince. This is really a bad sign, plus
The people in Mingzhu were provoking and confusing, and he didn't dare to think about it anymore without knowing the consequences, so he closed his eyes.
Seeing this, Yuan Shijie sighed meaningfully and said: "No one loves a child without a mother. If you have a stepmother, you will have a stepfather. How many cases have the legitimate children been transferred out of love in the past? The crown prince does not have a reliable master in front of him.
, A good person on the inside protects and supports each other, and a good general on the outside protects him, after all, it is incredible! Now Mingzhu and his gang are slandering the prince in front of the emperor, and they are trying every trick to get the emperor's eldest son to stand out. Their intention is to be punished. From Li Guangdi and Gao Shiqi
The emperor is obviously from Mingzhu's side in this matter, so it won't have any impact for a while, but as time goes by, I'm afraid the prince will be in danger."
"Good prime minister... good general?" Suo'etu chewed on Yuan Shijie's words, and his face turned green and white: the so-called "good prime minister" was himself, but after these people said it, how much Kangxi trusted him became more and more uncertain.
He thought about the "good generals" outside. Although Tu Hai served as the general of Fuyuan in Shaanxi, he resigned due to his old age and demeanor. Sang E led troops in Kazuo, but this man never took risks.
There is no hope; Zhao Liangdong died of illness, and Zhang Yong was the man of Mingzhu; and Cai Yurong secretly married Wu Sangui's granddaughter and was forced to go to Beijing, so there was no hope; it is a pity that Wu Liuyi, the governor of Guangdong, was poisoned by Shang Zhixin in his first term.
, if this person is here and transferred to Zhili as governor, it will be absolutely appropriate.
After thinking for a long time, Suo'etu suddenly slapped the back of his chair and laughed out loud: "How could I forget Zhou Peigong! This man is a talented general in military affairs, and he is first-class in martial arts. If you get him, won't you have such a good general?"
?In this way, all the good men and good generals are here, and Mingzhu, the living treasure, has no chance to take advantage of the prince!"
"Many of the officials below know this man's affairs. If Tu Hai hadn't relied on him, how could he be as rich and powerful as he is now? It's a pity that he has been abandoned by the emperor because of his great achievements. I heard that he resigned from office three years ago.
After leaving his hometown, the distant water cannot save the nearby fire, and besides, the emperor may not use him again?" Hou Dao frowned tightly, feeling that this matter was still difficult to handle.
Suo'etu snorted when he heard this and said: "How can he be a master of great achievements? He is not the stumbling block behind the pearl. He is jealous of his talent and is afraid that he will steal his favor in front of the emperor. This kind of living treasure is
The scourge of the imperial court, I don’t know why the emperor believes in him so much, alas!" After a pause, he said confidently: "It is not difficult to activate Zhou Peigong, and the emperor will definitely not reject it. In this way, I will send someone to Hubei
Send a letter to Zhou Peigong. As long as he can come to Beijing, I will try my best to protect him as the admiral of Zhili and let him have ten battalions of soldiers. In this case, he will be willing to help me."
"Okay, let's do it like this. I'll go and write a letter to the Prime Minister right now." Yuan Shijie stood up and went to write a letter to Zhou Peigong, but was stopped by Suo'etu, "Don't worry, I'll write it after dinner."