The Thirty-first Retreat: The Countermeasures for the withdrawal of the three feudal rulers and ministers, Shi Tianzu Pei Gong
Wu Sangui's request to withdraw from the feudal vassal and return to Liaodong for retirement was gratifying. Geng Jingzhong's memorial for withdrawing from the feudal vassal was sent to the capital three months later. During this period, in order to facilitate things, Kangxi ordered Xiong to give him a piece of cake and ask for his forehead and Tuhe. Mingzhu temporarily lived in the guard room west of Qianqing Gate and assisted in handling court affairs, from mobilizing garrison troops and inquiring about news from all aspects, to coordinating the supply of documents along the way for the two Gengshang vassals, and stationed at the pass,... Officials from the six departments hugged each other during the day. With piles of copywriting, they called in front of the door to report matters. They took away the reviewed documents at night, and people came and went in an endless stream. The military reports piled up every day. The three of them first compiled the copy into abbreviated text and submitted it to Kangxi. After the ruling is made, the various departments will be distributed to act in accordance with the order.
"Wu Sangui finally understands the general situation." Xiong Cilu couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief, a trace of blood appeared on his face, and said with a smile: "Being able to safely withdraw the feudal vassal without fighting is a blessing to the country and the country. fortunate!"
Suo'etu stroked his half-inch-long hair on his forehead, looking a little melancholy. After listening to Xiong Cilu's words, he said after a while: "Dongyuan, it's not too early to be optimistic! I think there is something in Wu Sangui's excerpt. The complaints are huge. When will they arrive in Beijing, we will be able to get rid of the stone!" After saying that, he turned to look at Mingzhu, who was leaning on his hands and thinking deeply. He smiled in agreement: "I think Suo Gong's words are right. Wu Sangui must listen to his words, but more importantly, observe his actions. After a secret discussion with Shang Zhixin, his grandsons Wu Shiqiong and Geng Jimao suddenly requested to withdraw from the vassal state. It is difficult to say that there is nothing wrong with this. I am still old-tempered and do not believe in straightforwardness. To be honest, one must beware of benevolence. Tuhai suggested that Luoyang's troops should be dispatched as scheduled - Mr. Wu once said that if you can't fight, you can't make peace!" Suo'etu loosened his legs and feet noncommittally and said: "Fighting is not It’s an easy thing. Once the war starts, you will understand what the war is about. I have led soldiers before!"
Just as he was talking, Kangxi was wearing an azurite satin medium-wool sheepskin coat and a Batulu vest, and came over with a stack of papers. Huang Jing, the newly elected head of the House of Internal Affairs, took a few steps forward. Lifting the curtain, he said with a smile: "My lords, the emperor is here. Please pick him up."
"No gifts!" Kangxi strode in, sat down on the chair in the middle, shook the stack of paper with his hand and said, "What do you think? Is Wu Sangui's account credible?"
After listening to Xiong Cilu summarizing the three people's opinions, Kangxi didn't say anything for a long time. While drinking tea and thinking deeply, he flipped through Wu Sangui's memorials and said after a long time: "What he said in this memorial is indeed beyond the meaning. , I have read it twice, and I have to deal with it carefully - Xiong Cilu, please read it again where I pinched it with my nails."
"Yes." Xiong Cilu took the memorial with both hands, glanced at it, and read softly:
"... Since the first year of Shunzhi, I have followed the dragon in the sky with a humble body and attached myself to Ji Juechen. I have received the kindness of the late sage, entrusted me with the post of special master, and been awarded the title of Wushang. I admire my kindness and admire it. , the heavy pillow is wet with tears... I should die today at the age of a dog and horse to repay my loyalty to the late emperor. I should not cherish my life and love my life, and be afraid of the great things. However, in recent years, I have been exhausted and suffered from eye diseases. I am deeply afraid that I will treat you like a minister. He is an old man and a mediocre person, and he has misunderstood the great plan of Zhenlong's governance and harmed the late emperor's knowledge of people. The crime of this minister cannot be ignored! Please resign from the vassal state and retire to Liaodong. The court will not worry about the southwest, and Sangui will be spared the loss of bows. If I am guilty, then the Holy Lord loves me deeply...
"What is the worry about the southwest? Doesn't it mean that the imperial court cannot trust him?" Kangxi said thoughtfully, "This 'mistake of my bow' sounds like self-blame, but in fact it is also the private anger of the imperial court, saying that I crossed the river and demolished the bridge.
Killing a donkey with a grinding machine - Suo'etu, what do you think about this?"
"Your Majesty's vision is very clear," Suo'etu said, "but as long as Wu is willing to withdraw from the vassal state, these words are just trivial matters, and your Majesty does not need to pay attention to them."
"Well, good!" Kangxi said with a smile, "He is willing to withdraw from the vassal. Of course I can understand this, but I am afraid that what he said may not be the truth, so I came to discuss with you how to approve this deal."
After hearing this, Mingzhu laughed and said: "Please ask Mr. Xiong to draw up a draft, and the Lord will make the decision." Xiong Cilu twirled his beard and thought about it and said: "I thought I was avoiding Wu Sangui's ridiculous words and vaguely praised Wang Zhike."
, please do as you please."
Kangxi shook his head after hearing this, and when he saw Zhou Peigong coming in with a stack of documents, he smiled and said: "Go and send a message and ask Li Guangdi to come in with a sign!" Huang Jing said hurriedly: "Long live my lord, Li Guangdi is worried. He is about to send an errand to prepare for the starry night."
Going to a funeral!"
"Oh, is it father or mother?"
"Yes - father!"
Kangxi was silent. It was unreasonable for a newcomer like Li Guangdi to compete for love. He thought for a while and said with a smile, "It's just Ding You. Ask him to come in, and call his fellow Fujianese Chen Menglei to come too."
Zhou Peigong promised and was about to leave, but Kangxi stopped: "You don't need to go, let Huang Jing deliver the order." Then he turned around and told Huang Jing, "Ask them to come up. You can go back to the Yangxin Hall to polish more ink for me.
I have to go out for a walk after writing. Didn’t you say you would take me to some good places? I don’t need you to wait here.” He had no prejudice against Huang Jing. He was chosen by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to go to Yangxin Hall these days.
It seems that not only was he honest and did not talk much, but he also paid great attention to Kangxi's clothing, warmth and warmth. However, Xiao Maozi once sent a message saying that he seemed to be in contact with Wu Yingxiong. Important matters were being discussed here, and Kangxi had to send him away.
.
Huang Jing went there for a while, and then Li Guangdi and Chen Menglei walked in one after another. Kangxi ordered Mu Zixu and Jianluzi who were guarding the door: "Drive away the officials and eunuchs who came to report the matter, and no idlers are allowed in. I have
Important things."
"I have summoned you with my ominous body and humiliated me. I wonder what the holy message is?" Li Guangdi said as he kowtowed and saluted. Chen Menglei followed the salute without saying a word, using his eyes to guess the purpose of Kangxi's summons.
"This is Wu Sangui's request to withdraw the feudal vassal. Take a look." Kangxi said, "You also tell me, Lord Zhou Pei. I am listening to the opinions of you ministers today and how to respond."
Li Guangdi read the memorial carefully and handed it to Chen Menglei. However, Chen Menglei only read carefully the words that Kangxi had made with his fingerprints, and soon passed it to Zhou Peigong.
"Long live," Li Guangdi said first, "I think the emperor should appreciate King Pingxi's understanding of justice and granting his request. It seems that the irritating words that are not in line with the principles of the minister should be obscured." Chen Menglei disagreed and kowtowed: "I think it is arrogant and rebellious.
If he does not refute his words, Wu will think that the court is weak and incompetent, which will encourage his disobedience. If he does not make his words clear, Wu will think that the court is treating him sincerely, which will remove his suspicion and facilitate the withdrawal of the vassal state.
.”
The two people's opinions were so opposite that Kangxi couldn't help but be startled. Thinking about it, it all made sense, but it was difficult to make a decision for a while, so he turned to Zhou Peigong and asked: "What do you think?"
"There seems to be no doubt that the emperor allows the withdrawal of the vassal state," Zhou Peigong hurriedly knelt down and replied, "but just saying 'according permission' without refuting the wild words cannot show the court's sincerity in withdrawing the vassal state; and if you refute too much, it will easily lead to doubts.
I think it is the best policy to use both kindness and power, to both applaud and frighten people's hearts."
This is exactly what Kangxi was thinking about. He couldn't help but beam with joy and said with a smile: "Okay, just follow this idea and draft the edict - who told you to talk nonsense?"
"Cha!" Zhou Peigong stood up cautiously, walked to a bed in front of the Kang, thought for a while, and wrote in moist ink:
The king's heart can be used as a lesson, and the king's ambition can be commended. Please accept your permission. I have ordered Gan Wenkun to serve as the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou. He will definitely be able to carry out the king's ambition and manage Guizhou and Yunnan. The king and the country will retire together, with a high title and a distinguished position, and his contribution to the country. How can the country
If you are willing to hide your bow and hide it for the sake of a rabbit, the king has many worries! The king can let go of the bridle and go north to the north. I will sweep the couch of hundreds of flowers and prepare a sweet treat for you.
After writing it, I read it again, dried the ink, and gave it to Kangxi with both hands.
"This is a good plan." Kangxi sighed, "It is both sarcastic and persuasive, warning and admonishing. Wu Sangui is too worried. He has made such great contributions and returned to Liaodong with honors. Who is willing to make things difficult for him, and who can make things difficult for him? It is useless to think about this.
What are you doing with useless things?" After saying that, he lowered his head and said nothing, seeming to be feeling a little emotional.
Seeing that Kangxi was speechless, Li Guangdi and Chen Menglei were about to resign, but Kangxi suddenly asked: "Li Guangdi, have you heard about your Dingyou?" Li Guangdi kowtowed and said, "Yes." Kangxi sighed and said, "I see that your face is full of sadness.
You should be good at cherishing your appearance. When I am employing people, I want to seize the favor and keep it. What do you think?" After hearing this, Li Guangdi said anxiously: "It is difficult for me to obey the imperial edict! The old father passed away quietly, and the white-haired old mother relied on Lu Xiang.
"Look, my country is in chaos, how can I serve the country?" After saying this, tears welled up in his eyes.
"Well, loyal ministers give birth to dutiful sons, so I won't stop you." Kangxi thought for a long time and said, "You and Chen Menglei are both my very valued ministers, and you two have a close friendship, so I just want to help you.
Let Chen Menglei go back with you, firstly to help you with the funeral arrangements, and secondly, Chen Menglei can go home to visit and run an errand for me - Chen Menglei, are you willing?"
What scholar wouldn't want to be named on the gold medal list and return home with an order? This is so overjoyed. Chen Menglei was startled at first, then kowtowed and replied: "I have been favored by the emperor, so I dare not to forget it deeply and repay the favor! - But I don't know why.
An errand?"
"Now is the time when the situation is changing. If nothing happens, let it be. If something happens, it is no small matter." Kangxi's pupils shone brightly, "Fujian is located in the corner of the sea, with Taiwan in the east and San Francisco in the west. It is a place of right and wrong.
Dear, I intend to let you go back and contribute to the imperial court, but what errands you will do and how you will do it, I still can’t tell you at the moment.”
"May I ask Your Majesty," Li Guangdi kowtowed, "in case things change, can I find a job with Geng Fan?"
"Menglei can do it, but you can't." Kangxi said, "You are a person of Ding You's rule, and you have an ominous body - do you understand?"
"I understand!" they both replied quickly.
Kangxi stood up and walked to the side, wrote a few words in a pen and handed it to Chen Menglei, and said with a smile: "I asked Fan Chengmo to take the money from the vassal treasury, saying that I gave it to Li Guangdi for his funeral. If it is not enough, just ask for more!"
"Three hundred thousand taels!" Chen Menglei glanced at the note and couldn't help being shocked. He took a breath and asked, "Such a large amount, I'm afraid Mr. Fan may not..."
"He will definitely give it!" Kangxi said with a smile, "If Fan Chengmo is a fool, I won't send him back to Fujian!"
After Li Guangdi and Chen Menglei retreated, Xiong Cilu, who had been puzzled all this time, murmured and asked: "Your Majesty, the imperial court is short of silver, why don't you transfer this money to replenish the national treasury?"
Kangxi suddenly laughed loudly: "You old master, you are too arrogant! I believe Fan Chengmo will give all his money to Li Guangdi!"
"It's just that people's hearts are unpredictable!..." Mingzhu had already understood Kangxi's meaning and thought about it, "What if these two people forget their loyalty..."
"What do you want me to say so that you can understand?" Kangxi frowned and sighed, "If Fujian can be safe, ten million silver is worth it! If Li Guangdi and the others are villains, they will not be able to escape my king's laws; if Li Guangdi is a gentleman, they will use this money to restrain them.
Isn't it good to be loyal? The more money they can spend before the vassal withdrawal, the better!"
This is a very clear statement. It is not the money of the imperial court. Using one's fist to hit the other's eyes is indeed killing two birds with one stone.
"Our money and grain are too little, too insufficient." Kangxi seemed overwhelmed with emotion. In dealing with a large number of military and government affairs these days, what he felt most strapped for was this: grain and money must come from the people.
But in northern grain-producing areas such as Zhili, Shandong, Shanxi, and Henan, there are still too many people and too little land to farm. Isn’t that worrying? Kangxi thought about it and murmured: "If the harp and harp are not in tune, what can we do?"
Zhou Peigong, who was standing aside, thought Kangxi was asking him, and hurriedly bowed and replied: "If the harp and harp are not in tune, you should change the strings and play again!"
"But the string is broken!" Kangxi's heart moved and he spread his hands and said.
"The Jiao Tong is still here, so why worry about the unvoiced sound of the uncontinued string?"
"I'm so anxious about this, there's no way to continue it!" Kangxi smiled bitterly. Mingzhu, Xiong Cilu and Suo'etu, who were next to him, saw the two of them suddenly talking about Zen. They couldn't help but be startled. Even when they stepped in the door
Wei Dongting who arrived also stood aside and stared blankly with his hands down.
Zhou Peigong couldn't figure out Kangxi's meaning for a while, and asked in surprise: "The phoenix tail is rustling all over Xiaoxiang, why worry about the absence of silk and bamboo strings?"
"How difficult it is!" Kangxi breathed a sigh of relief, nodded and motioned for Wei Dongting to step back and wait, and then said, "Our monarchs and ministers are well fed, but do you know what the people are like? Suo'e Tu said that the twelve pictures drawn by Jiang Yi were
Ridiculing the imperial court, I don’t think so! There are pictures of refugees, prisons, prisoners, floods, droughts... which ones are not true? I have seen some of them with my own eyes! Don’t apologize, just go out of Gyeonggi and take a look.
You understand, there are so many fields, how many people are cultivating them? These cultivators are my silk and bamboo strings!"
So that’s it! Zhou Peigong bit his lip and pondered for a long time, and said loudly: "I have a plan, why not issue an edict to ban women's foot binding, and the number of people working in the fields will soon increase by half!"
"Women, let it go?" Wei Dongting was listening, feeling that his suggestion was a bit unbelievable, and couldn't help but said: "Isn't that contrary to ancient teachings?"
"How can there be such an ancient saying?" Xiong Cilu sneered, "Women's footbinding was a trend in the late Tang Dynasty. The fallacy has been spread for thousands of years, and its harm is very serious. At this time when there are many people in the field and few, if the Lord can issue an edict to strictly prohibit it
Women's foot binding is not only easy to implement, but also has great merits in future generations. I'm afraid it will be hard to get rid of and the bad habit will be hard to change!"
"Okay!" Kangxi was very happy. This is just a matter of an edict. It costs nothing. It is beneficial to the present and can be praised by future generations. Why not? Moreover, Manchu women have never bound their feet. They have been in the customs for many years.
, some actually followed suit and bound their feet. Instead of “Chineseizing” this, it would be better to force Han women to “Manchu” them, and also block the mouths of the noble ancestors, lest they say that they are “towards the Han people” again.
". He couldn't help but laugh out loud: "I can't believe that you, Zhou Peigong, have such talent! Okay, go down and draft another edict for me to see."
"twitter!"
After talking for such a long time, Kangxi felt a little tired. He stood up and stretched his body. He smiled and said to Wei Dongting: "Are you on duty again today?" Seeing that Zhou Peigong was about to kneel down and resign, he hurriedly said, "You don't have to. I'm in a hurry to go back to Tuhai at the Ministry of War. I still have something to do. You and Xiao Weizi go out with me to relax." After saying that, he walked out with his hands behind his back.
"I wonder where the emperor wants to relax?" Wei Dongting walked closely behind Kangxi in front of the Qianqing Gate and asked. Kangxi stopped, turned around and asked, "Is Wu Yingxiong's home far from here?" Zhou Peigong, who was following behind, was thinking. Startled, he stopped in his tracks. Wei Dongting was startled and hurriedly replied: "It's not far, it's just in Shihu Hutong inside Xuanwumen - Long Live Lord, don't you want to come to his house?"
"I was just thinking of his home." Kangxi chuckled.
Zhou Peigong hurriedly stepped forward and said with a smile: "What is the emperor's decree? Just tell your servants to convey the decree..."
"Look at what scares you two. What kind of idiot is Wu Yingxiong? He was so powerful back then!" Kangxi laughed loudly, "I, Xiao Weizi and four or five others also broke into Obai's mansion! "
Wei Dongting recalled that time when he broke into Ao Bai's house. He shuddered from the bottom of his heart. After calming down, he said: "I almost didn't scare the slave to death that time! When I found the long knife from under his pillow, the hair on the slave's body suddenly stood up - —But you can’t fall out!”
"You, a slave, have already turned against me. You asked me 'what do you mean', and now you are talking about it again!" Kangxi said with a smile, and then sighed, "I am the king of ten thousand chariots, why would I want to take risks? But you guys It should be noted that Wu Sangui's seal of withdrawal from the vassal has arrived in Beijing, so he has to comfort him. I will take Zhou Peigong there, so that you can see the descendants of this vassal king."
"Me?" Zhou Peigong said in surprise.
"You!" Kangxi nodded steadily and lightly stamped his cold feet, "Don't you want to be a 'good at defeat' general? Not knowing yourself and the enemy is not the way to final victory!"
Wei Dongting went to Qianqing Gate and called Lang Ling who was on duty, and ordered Su Lun and other guards to follow him at a distance, and then came back to prepare his horses. A group of four horses left the Forbidden City from Xihua Gate and headed straight for Xuanwu Gate. It was late winter, the sky was clear and cold, dead trees were standing in the sky, and horses' hooves were clattering. Kangxi, who had not been out of the palace for a long time, took a deep breath of the crisp air and asked Zhou Peigong with a smile: "Why are the chopping boards clattering in the two rows of houses on the same street?"
Zhou Peigong shook his head on his horse and said, "I don't know."
"Pei Gong is from the south, so naturally he doesn't know." Wei Dongting said with a smile, "Today is the winter solstice, which is a solar term. 'If you don't eat dumplings during the winter solstice, you will lose your ears from the cold' - everyone is chopping meat!"
Kangxi couldn't help but smile: Common people can eat dumplings during the festival. It must be said that political affairs are gradually booming! In the past two years at this time, this area was full of beggars, saying goodbye, playing lotus flowers, singing, and interfering. In just over two years, there are butcher shops, seafood and fish shops, tea shops, wine shops, clothing shops, jade and jewelry shops, paper shops, stationery shops, blacksmith shops...all kinds of things. Although the thirty-six lines are not complete, they are all roughly in scale, like a prosperous faction. If there is no war in the south, swords are forged into plowshares, and wars are turned into jade and silk, things will change again in a few years. He is only ten years old. At eight years old, how many things can you do! Kangxi couldn't help but feel hot in his heart when he thought about it, and when he was about to say something, Lang Ding beside him raised his whip on his horse and said: "We are just ahead of Wu'e's mansion!" (To be continued) )
