The fourth time Chakuyin, Kangxi was choked up, and the officials dealt with Yinzhen Shangjo
The Manchus lived in a cool place and were most afraid of the midsummer heat of the Central Plains. Therefore, after settling the northwest and having a slight surplus in the treasury, Kangxi built a summer resort in Chengde, where he spent three or four months every year to spend the summer. This summer, Kangxi arrived
I went to Henan to inspect the flood control in Kaifeng. When I returned to Beijing, I felt dizzy. I was afraid of being overheated again, so I moved to Changchun Garden. Changchun Garden is located in Nanhaidian, the western suburbs of Beijing. Because it is south of the Old Summer Palace, it is also called "Qianyuan".
It was originally the villa of Li Wei, Marquis of Wuqing in the former Ming Dynasty. In the 42nd year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, while building the summer resort, he allocated 700,000 taels of internal funds for additional renovations and named it "Changchun".
The garden is surrounded by blue waves, with winding paths leading to secluded pavilions and pavilions. Although the flames of midsummer are rising in the sky, as soon as you enter the garden, you will feel the coolness of the water and the cold moss and talc. It is indeed a summer resort.
On the morning of the next day, Yinzhen and Yinxiang got up extremely early, and did not sit in a sedan chair. They came on horseback. After passing the Qingfan Temple, they saw two gates of the stream facing each other in the dim light. There was a colorful pavilion on the left and right.
There were several huge yellow gauze palace lanterns. The guard guarding the door flashed out and shouted loudly: "In front of you is the holy driver stationed at the forbidden area. Except for those who are given the Forbidden City to ride on horseback, they will all enter on foot!" Yinzhen and Yinxiang hurriedly dismounted and waited for the man.
When he got closer, Yinxiang saw that it was Liu Tiecheng, the second-class guard, and he smiled and said: "Hei Niu'er, it's you, what are you calling?"
"Oh, it's the Fourth Master, the Thirteenth Master!" Liu Tiecheng was originally a water bandit, but was later recruited. Because of his meritorious service in the Western Expedition, he was promoted to a second-class shrimp. His nickname was Black Niu, and he was very familiar with Yinxiang.
After hearing Yinxiang's words, he hurriedly approached to greet the two of them and said, "The prince stayed in the garden last night. If you have something to say, please come out and say that the fourth and thirteenth masters will definitely come in today. Please wait a moment, I will
Now go in and hand over the sign." After saying that, he bowed and entered the Cai Fang. He had nothing to do at the moment. When Yinzhen looked at the Fang carefully, he saw that on the top of the five-color brocade wall, the roots of kudzu and vines were intertwined with each other.
Forming the four characters "Longevity without Borders", the algae tendons hang down and connect to the ground. Next to it, there are official script couplets written on the gold-lacquered red pillars:
The two places are towering, the sun, moon, hills and mountains open the longevity realm
Xichou collects blessings and Fenglinheyue offers chastity talismans
The golden lights are dazzling in the shadows.
Yinzhen felt that the word "Luan" seemed to overlap with the word "Yue", so he bowed his head and thought deeply, but when he saw the guard De Lengtai coming out, he asked: "Are you on duty here too?"
"Long live the name of Yinzhen, Yinxiang, go in and see you at Danning Residence!" De Lengtai announced loudly. After the two princes kowtowed to receive the order, Fang smiled and said: "Returning to the fourth master, this is Liu Tiecheng. If you go in again, it's Ah
Lundai, I will follow Lord Long Live. There are twenty first-class guards. No one is allowed to mess up and take over. This is a strict rule set by Lord Long Live."
Yinzhen smiled and nodded, and he and Yinxiang meandered in following De Lengtai. It was dimly lit at this time, but they saw that the long corridor was full of flower holes made of intersecting rose branches. Going out of the flower hole to the west,
There are nine oilcloth yellow sheds on one side, and iron signs are erected outside each, with the place names of each province written on them. It is known that Kangxi wanted to live here for a long time. Important officials from each province reported their work and met in the provincial sheds to wait for orders. Walking to Peiwenzhai, Deleng
Tai smiled and said: "The house ahead is Dan Ningju. You two just go in. I can't go there unless you obey the order." Yinzhen and others walked forward for more than twenty steps, and saw a five-coupled high house with yellow tiles in front of them.
Yuanding is a regulation of the emperor. For some unknown reason, these houses are not decorated with enamells, but have plain curtains and lattice. They are surrounded by Chunyue Hall, Luhua Tower, and Yunsongxuan, all of which are splendid. Only this house stands alone among them.
It looked special. It was shaded by pines and bamboos. Not only was it not shabby at all, but it showed stability and magnanimity. Dozens of eunuchs were guarding the corridor in silence. Yinzhen looked at Yinxiang, who was arranging his clothes, and waited for him.
After packing up, he slapped his horse sleeves and reported loudly:
"My sons, Yinzhen and Yixiang, respectfully wish your Majesty to greet you!"
"Come in!" After a long time, Kangxi's instructions came out, but his words were not kind. The two brothers looked at each other and hurriedly walked in. Just as they were about to salute, Kangxi waved his hand and said: "Kneel aside, now.
The ministers are discussing matters, I have something to ask you later!"
The two knew their father's temper and knelt aside silently. When Yinxiang took a sneak look, he saw that Kangxi was a little thinner than before he left Beijing, but his energy was quite strong;
His long beard was neatly combed; he wore only a Boluoge robe and a white purlin ponytail tie around his waist; he sat cross-legged on the kang, with a pale face and no smile. Several ministers who went to the study were treated better than the prince.
Led by Zhang Tingyu, Ma Qi and Tong Guowei sat on the wooden pole in turn to play.
"Shi Shilun still needs to be saved." Kangxi closed the pages of a memorial, put it on the coffee table, and muttered, "This man is quite a capable person, but he is just eager for quick success and quick gain, and he is also annoying! First, he is too good to do anything.
The Ningbo government made such a fuss about returning the government to the government, and deducted money so much that even the subordinate county government could not afford to hire a master - even if he was demoted, his temperament was still hard to change! Furthermore, he had the same problem as Yu Chenglong, filing lawsuits to protect the poor and scholars.
It should be noted that the world is not full of poor people, and scholars are always reasonable. With such a purpose in deciding cases, how can there be no mistakes? "
When Yinxiang heard this, he couldn't help but take a step forward and said: "Ama Shengjian has insight thousands of miles away! I think he is a good financial manager. There is still a vacancy in the household department, so why not fill him in?"
"What are you busy with? This is about you!" Kangxi turned his face and sneered, "I don't know what good things you have done to these fellow sufferers! You haven't even returned to Beijing, but the complaint has been published first.
Pass it in - I won't tell you, just take a look for yourselves!" As he said this, he threw a stack of folding books on the ground. Both Yin Zhen and Yin Xiang were taken aback, and hurriedly picked them up with both hands and looked through them.
The first article is an excerpt from Gan Maolin, the governor of Anhui. The title clearly reads: "For the purpose of this article, He Yifei, the chief envoy of Anhui, relied on his elder brother to extort people's money and disrupt the salt affairs."
The salt department was improperly handled, and the salt people of the whole province went on strike. Salt gangsters robbed salt ships through water thieves. Anqing, Luzhou, Yingzhou, Huizhou, Ningguo, Chizhou, and Taiping prefectures were insecure, and they requested orders to suppress them. There were endless articles, and all Anhui was affected.
It sounds like a den of thieves, but the whole province is uneasy. He Yifei is clearly impeachment, but the actual memorial contains insinuations, pointing out that the "elder brother imperial envoy" is ignorant of the people's sentiments and has acted inappropriately, which has attracted public resentment. Yinxiang suddenly turned red with anger.
, and when he was about to speak, Yinzhen folded the manuscript and handed it back with both hands, and said: "Amma, since the salt owl is causing trouble, please give Amma permission to announce the Anhui owl's yamen and send troops to suppress it! If the salt owl disrupts the national affairs, it will be early."
It's time for more pain and rectification, and now it's the right time to take advantage of the situation and investigate and deal with it - I guarantee that it will be settled within half a month!" Kangxi clicked and said, "Can you guarantee it?"
"I guarantee it!" Yinzhen said quietly, "This has nothing to do with anything, it is all my idea - the officials, gentry, and salt merchants are collaborating together, and it has become an unstoppable trend. It can't be ignored!"
Kangxi suddenly jumped up from the kang, looked at Yinzhen and said: "You have such broad shoulders! You actually say such big words in front of me! What an Anhui, I made you upset and bragging! I told you
Go to see the river workers, who asked you to interfere with the salt administration? You are also in charge of the affairs of the officials? The eighteen provinces are rectifying Anhui alone and forcing people to pay, can there be no trouble? What about other provinces? You are the one
You're restless! It's all because the prince indulges you too much!" Seeing Kangxi's rage, everyone turned pale with fright. Yinxiang hurriedly kowtowed and said: "It was my son who caused this matter. Please give me an order. My son is willing to work with the four brothers.
Brother goes to Anhui again and suppresses it with troops!" "It's none of your business! You are just the shadow of the fourth child!" Kangxi shouted angrily, "I told you to look at the river work, just look at the river work. Who told you to cause trouble? One or two hundred
Won't the Ministry of Finance be able to come up with ten thousand silver coins?"
"Returning to the Emperor's Ama." Yinzhen kowtowed and said, "Actually, I have good intentions and have not acted beyond my authority. The autumn flood is coming and the river defense is not strong. I don't raise money on the spot and then transfer it from the household department, for fear of missing the mark.
.Besides, I also know a little bit about the situation in the Ministry of Household Affairs. I’m afraid it will be difficult to come up with this much money for a while..."
Kangxi laughed angrily and turned to Zhang Tingyu and others: "Listen, he knows a little more than me! The booklet handed over by the Ministry of Revenue yesterday still has more than 50 million silver in the treasury!"
"Long live..." Ma Qi, who was beside Zhang Tingyu, smiled bitterly and said, "What the fourth brother said is true. Although I don't know the details, the accounts of the household department are inconsistent with the inventory, which has been going on for a long time." Tong Guowei said: "On the matter.
When it comes to this matter, the Fourth Master and the Thirteenth Master are a little jealous of Meng Lang, but they are loyal to the country. Things like this should be handled after asking for an order."
Only then did Kangxi realize that the ministers in the study room had different opinions, so he calmed down and said: "Of course you have good intentions, but you must know that every good thing in the world has its own disadvantages, which makes it hard for people to guard against. In a day of peace in the world, one thing more is worse than one thing less. Fourth brother, I want to tell you that it is good to be serious about things, but you must be generous to others. The people below have their own difficulties. You must put yourself in others' shoes in everything: not only have you deducted a province's living expenses, but you have also How can you not attract resentment if you make decisions from salt merchants? You go ahead and see the prince first, and then I will have another order." After the two of them left, weeping silently and kowtowing, Kangxi sighed: "Yinxiang is a foolish and bold man. Zhen is meticulous in his work, but he is mean in his nature. How can this pair get along in the long run?" Tong Guowei only smiled after hearing this. Ma Qi said: "When it comes to treating people, it is still the prince, the third master and the eighth master; I think the fourth master’s seriousness is indispensable when doing things!” Kangxi lowered his head and thought for a moment, then asked Zhang Tingyu with a smile: “Why don’t you say anything?”
"I've been thinking," Zhang Tingyu said with a frown, "Is it possible that the Third Division of Anhui Province was exaggerating? The Salt Lords in the Six Prefectures started a rebellion, but they didn't alert the Ministry of War! Several ministers in Anhui Province who secretly reported secret reports did not hand over the memorial box.
——What do they do?”
The words reminded Kangxi, and he couldn't help but be startled: Really, according to the memorials of the three divisions of the province, it was already a mess. How come the prefects didn't see any memorials coming in? He patted his forehead, which was a little swollen, and asked
He drank a cup of tea and took two sips, but was silent. Zhang Tingyu thought for a while and understood that this was Yinzhen. The two brothers Yinxiang stripped off the officials' fire-consumed silver in Anhui, and their anger had nowhere to go. With the help of the salt merchant's
Let Yinzhen and Yinxiang take care of the matter. But he didn't want to reveal this inside story. Because he knew that Tong Guowei was at odds with the prince, so he smiled and said: "According to my knowledge, just leave the Anhui matter aside."
Hands on, listen to the next news. It was Ma Qi who said that the bank account of the household department does not match and no one can figure out how much silver is in the treasury. This is indeed a big thing! It needs to be sorted out immediately! Long live, the salt administration is not the most important thing.
You have to know what is important!" Kangxi leaned forward and asked: "In your opinion, what is the most important thing?" Zhang Tingyu bit her lips and said after a long while: "Official administration!"
"Yes!" Ma Qi said happily, "It's not like that! I want to feel refreshed now. I'm afraid that the fourth master is in Anhui and asked the officials to donate firewood and clean up the salt class. How about asking them to donate money to control the river?
Don't you want to offend these shameless officials? There are times when they use trouble to make noises!" Tong Guowei sighed hurriedly: "Today's greed is really amazing! It used to be that during the reign of Master Shunzhi, a prefect came down with only 30,000 to 50,000 yuan.
The profit of 150,000 yuan is still unstoppable! If you are not greedy, where does this money come from? The purpose of collecting donations and conferring officials was originally to pacify the three feudal lords. During the Western Expedition, the emergency measures taken to open up financial resources turned out to be a good thing.
The usual practice - when you have money, you buy official vacancies, when you have power, you get money to buy high officials, and you use your capital to seek profits, and it snowballs... This servant is sad when he thinks about it, and it's time to correct it!"
Ma Qi was intrigued by what he said, and he repeatedly echoed: "What Guowei said is that the law is governed by people, and officials cannot govern clearly, so there is nothing to say about it! If you don't talk about other things, cheating in the examination room, the scholar is six hundred taels, and the exam is 600 taels.
One thousand and two, I don’t know how much Jinshi pays, there is an approximate price, but the public is buying and selling without being bullied... How can this go on?"
Zhang Tingyu, however, remained silent and covered it up by writing notes on daily life. He knew better than anyone that corruption and bribery were common in officialdom, but he believed that the root cause lay with Kangxi, such as Mingzhu, Gao Shiqi, Yu Guozhu, and Xu Qianxue.
Corrupt officials, even if they collapse and retire, will not be punished for corruption. If the high-ranking officials do not care, how can the officials below be rectified? Tong Guowei said that the officials should be rectified, but in fact, the root cause is still the prince. If the officials are not rectified, it is because the prince is incompetent; if they are rectified, it is him, Tong Guowei.
Foresight; if the charcoal basket is not corrected, the charcoal basket will still be placed on the heads of the prince, Yinzhen, and Yinxiang... This intention is terrifying! Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Kangxi ask: "I agree with the rectification of the officialdom, but where to start?"
Woolen cloth?"
"The fourth elder brother has a statement," Ma Qi said. "I have already submitted it to the prince when I saw it. It will be handed over in the next few days. To deal with corruption and chaos, severe punishments should be established! As the son of Mingzhu said,
, the existing corrupt officials Xu Qianxue and Yu Guozhu are still at large. Why can't they punish a few and kill a few? If you want to punish them, they must be punished. If the bribery case exceeds 1,000 taels, once it is found out, what should be copied and what should be copied
Kill those who should be killed, and behead those who deserve to be killed, so that corrupt officials will have no place to stand, and there will be greedy people who know that the laws of the country cannot be violated. The fourth master said that if there is no improvement within a few years, long live the crime of the minister's false talk. The slave thought, but
You might as well give it a try according to Fourth Master’s instructions!”
When Tong Guowei heard that the people that Yinzhen was going to deal with were all the eighth master Yinhu's people, he couldn't help but get angry: People said that Yinzhen was cruel and unjust, and it was true! He looked at it with disgust and said it all in vain.
Mo's Ma Qi was about to speak when he heard Kangxi say: "The fourth elder brother has the talent to manage affairs, but he seems to be ignorant of the general situation. It is true to use heavy codes to deal with chaos. But now there is neither external trouble nor internal strife, so why not take it easy?
Go ahead! I believe that the integrity of officials is the most important, and we should issue an edict to reward honest officials, such as Jackie Chan, Peng Peng, Zhang Yushu, Zhang Bonian, Chen Yao and others. Those who are alive should be given preferential care, and those who are dead should be generously treated.
I know that honest officials should not only be honest, but they can also be honest! Renovating the official system is an extremely difficult task to do. If there is a loud noise from the ground, there will be trouble! So you have to take it slow, start from the easy place, and handle it peacefully.
The matter is done." Tong Guowei said: "Long live the holy concerns, which are far-reaching, and the slaves can't reach it! If it is governed by the Qing officials, it causes riots in the government and the public, burning incense attracts ghosts, and prevents wolves from entering the tiger, it will be even more difficult to deal with the consequences! That year, Yu Jackie Chan was in Shandong,
The trial implementation of the unified payment of grains by the officials and the gentry caused the scholars to boycott the exams and almost triggered a civil uprising! The lesson from Yin is not far away, how can we forget it! It is better to treat the symptoms than to treat the root cause. According to the slave's thinking, we might as well start with the scholars. Scholars have no shame, how can an official be honest?
Therefore, we should issue an edict to supervise the provinces to supervise schools, teach, teach, and preach the Hadith every tenth day to inspire conscience and restore decadence. The Ministry of Civil Affairs will examine the merits of the officials and pick up a corrupt official.
"
"This is a cliché." Ma Qi heard Tong Guowei cast a net all over the sky and said it in a nonchalant way, so he said coldly, "I'm afraid it won't help anything!"
"I said that I preached the holy edict, did Ma Qi think it was wrong?" Tong Guowei relied on his uncle, and originally did not pay attention to this Han Chinese who had just entered the study. Hearing Ma Qi's sarcasm in person, Tong Guowei suddenly turned red.
He sneered and said: "If you don't preach the holy edicts, don't read the books of the sages, you will copy them and kill them! This is called killing without teaching!" Ma Qi also blushed and said: "Tong Zhongtang! There is a picket for corrupt officials.
One, do one, how can this be called killing without teaching? The Emperor's Sixteen Hadiths have been promulgated for decades, and the Four Books and Five Classics were not written last year. I say it is a cliché to be polite. Tigers and wolves are stationed in the palace,
To talk about cause and effect is pedantic and incompetent!"
Kangxi was still listening quietly at first, but when he saw them getting angry, he threw away the fan in his hand and stood up, saying with a sullen face: "What does it look like? With your impatience, you are still the prime minister, coordinating yin and yang.
Presiding over the great government! It’s so hard to pick up a few books on cultivating one’s mind and virtue to read when I get back!” Seeing both of them bowing their heads and being silent, Kangxi took a few steps, then suddenly turned to Zhang Tingyu and asked Zhang Tingyu with a smile: “What’s your idea?”
"What you two Tong Ma said makes sense." Zhang Tingyu hurriedly knelt down and said, "Now the administration of officials has indeed reached a point where serious rectification is necessary, but as the emperor said, it seems unnecessary to act too hastily. As far as I know, the accounts of the household department
We have 50 million in silver, but the inventory is actually not that much, and we are almost asking the officials to borrow money - so the fourth master has no choice but to raise money on the spot. Although it is not convenient for him to say this clearly, long live you...you must know it!
"From your tone, it sounds like you have already checked how much silver actually exists?" Kangxi looked at Zhang Tingyu suspiciously and said, "Get up and answer!" Zhang Tingyu took a breath, did not get up, and kowtowed heavily.
: "I heard what the fourth master said before he left the capital. I didn't believe it at first. After the fourth master left, I was worried and went to check again - it's really shocking!"
"What are you talking about! How much is it?"
"I didn't dare to check it carefully. I don't know the exact number. It's about - less than ten million taels..."
"Ten million!"
Kangxi suddenly felt dizzy, his legs went weak, and he fell down on the kang. He gasped and turned pale. He knew that officials were borrowing money, but he could not be shocked when he heard that the treasury was empty! After a long time,
Kangxi Fang twirled his beard and sighed: "What a prince... He can manage any family, but he has reached this point, and he still hides it from me!"
"That's what Fourth Master's statement is for." Zhang Tingyu said, "It's said to be a debt, but in fact it's because the officials are not upright, so we shouldn't take it lightly! The servant thought, there are so many problems in the administration of officials, how can we clean them up? Investigating and punishing deficits seems to be one way.
Not only is this matter easier to handle than jail litigation and bribery, but it is also a top priority. Otherwise, if something happens to the country and there is no money in the treasury to pay for it, it will be terrible!"
The more Kangxi listened, the more frightened he became. He raised his face and shouted, "Where is Li Dequan?"
"Hey! I'm here!" Li Dequan, the deputy general eunuch, stood by the chiming bell to wait on him. He hurriedly agreed to come over and bowed: "What's Long Live's decree?" "Go to Yunsongxuan and pass the decree to Yinzhen, Yinzhen and
Yinxiang, immediately start preparing to clean up the deficit and accumulated debts in the household department. Let’s discuss it first and come to see me tomorrow with the sign!”
"twitter!"
"Declaration: The current Minister of Household Affairs, Liang Qingbiao, is old and frail, so I will retire!"
"twitter!"
"Go for it!"
"twitter!"
Kangxi finally came back to his senses, took a sip of tea, contemplated for a long time, and said with a smile: "Whether it's preaching the edict or reading the Four Books and Five Classics, it's just to regulate the world. Prince Yinreng is too cowardly, and you guys are too
We can't go along with him in everything. If such a big matter is not taken care of today, I will still be covered. How can this happen?"
Although the words were softened, the three ministers weighed them carefully. Tong Guowei and Ma Qi also knelt down and kowtowed: "Yes, the slaves are not careful in their duties. Please punish them!" Zhang Tingyu said: "Although we are cleaning up.
If you are in deficit, you can collect the debt by relying on the receipt, but it is not easy to do it as the years go by. I have requested an order and am willing to accompany the prince on errands to the Ministry of Household Affairs!"
"You don't need to go, whoever brews the wine will drink it." Kangxi mused, "It's good to let the brothers experience some practical experience. I'm afraid you may not be able to offend some people, so ask them to try it. If there are not enough people,
, people like Shi Shilun can just call in a few helpers." Just as he was talking, Li Dequan had come back and reported: "The prince has gone out, and I haven't seen him. The fourth master and the thirteenth master are still waiting at Yunsongxuan.
They will come back to the master tomorrow." Kangxi was speechless for a while, and then said: "Kneel down, I'm a little tired. I'll hand over the sign tomorrow."
Everyone stood up and resigned one after another. When they got to the courtyard and looked up at the sky, it was already past midnight, and a large dark cloud was slowly approaching from the west. Zhang Tingyu sighed and thought to himself: "It's not easy to clear up debts! It's easier said than done!"
This elder brother is going to cause trouble for the prince again, alas..." (To be continued)
