Chapter 53: Wu Sangui ascends to the top and returns to Yin, bestowed by Emperor Kangxi
After the Japanese surrender, the situation on the Western Front suddenly became clear. Wang Pingfan received the imperial order to surrender to the Qing Dynasty in Shaanxi and immediately surrendered to Warg. More than 10,000 Wu Sangui's soldiers who had entered Gansu from Sichuan were trapped in Longnan and were in a dilemma.
Tuhai was surrendered. By February of the seventeenth year of Kangxi, the entire territory of Gansu and Shaanxi was cleared, and Zhou Peigong wrote a memorial about the Battle of Pingliang and submitted it to the imperial court.
After receiving the report, He Guizhu, the director of the upper study room, only glanced at the abbreviation and went straight to the Yangxin Hall. Seeing Wei Dongting and Mu Zixu on duty in the corridor, he smiled and saluted: "You two military men are very happy! I heard yesterday
Mr. Suo said that Wei Junmen is going to be the customs governor of the four provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Yunnan, and Zhejiang. My Lord, I have never heard of such a big border minister since the founding of the country! Mu Junmen is also going to Jiangning.
Are you already the chief envoy? How come you two are still here working as doorkeepers for Long Live Lord?"
"I'm just afraid that it won't be easy to see the master in the future, so I come more often." Wei Dongting said with a smile, "Both of us have gone, and only you and Wu Dan are left here, who are still the old people from Yuepeng shop. Go there.
Later, I will go to the south on errands, so don’t forget to take a look at us..." Mu Zixu also smiled and said: "You are really a mediocre person who has many blessings. I heard that you have renewed your relationship recently? If you are more popular in the future, even we will not be able to catch up.
Yo!"
The three of them were talking when they heard Kangxi shouting from inside: "Is that He Guizhu outside? Come in." He Guizhu nodded towards the two of them and responded loudly: "Slave He Guizhu pays his respects to the master!" Then he stepped into the hall.
Seeing Li Dequan shaving Kangxi's head, and Mingzhu and Suo'etu kneeling on one side, they did not dare to interrupt, so they stood aside and knelt.
"Yu Chenglong has been kneeling for twelve hours at the Meridian Gate to await his punishment." Suo'etu said, "River affairs have been a difficult task since ancient times. It costs a lot of money and is not easy to achieve results. This time the breach of Kaifeng, as far as I know,
It’s really not Jackie Chan’s fault with handling affairs, it’s really the lack of money in the treasury…”
"Don't say that." Kangxi was half lying in an easy chair, with his eyes closed and Li Dequan was shaving him. He gestured with his hand to leave his beard and said, "Go and ask him with Wu Dan. Do you know whether he is guilty or not?" and then continued.
Asked Mingzhu: "What crime did the ministry convict of that woman you just mentioned?"
When Mingzhu heard the question, she looked at Kangxi's face and kowtowed hurriedly: "Ling Chi has been agreed upon by the Ministry. According to the laws of the Qing Dynasty, anyone who intentionally murders his husband will be charged with this crime. But I have a little insight. This woman did it unintentionally.
It is enough to decide that the market should be abandoned. Please ask the Master to judge..."
"It's hard to be a good person!" Kangxi sighed after hearing this, but stopped talking for a long time.
"Master, what do you mean..." Mingzhu asked carefully.
Kangxi opened his eyes and said thoughtfully: "According to this case, a man named Li fell in love with his wife surnamed Chen, paid for her to bribe her, and came to rape her in the middle of the night. She was unconscious of her. She originally wanted to kill her.
But she accidentally killed her husband - this is a martyr girl! A martyr girl protects her virginity and is accused of being executed late. Those who buy and sell adulteries are not guilty - so I say that good people are hard to kill!" His tone was very serious, Suo'etu and He Guizhu both said.
Mingzhu was so frightened that he kowtowed repeatedly and said, "Yes, it's my servant who is confused!" "You are not the only one who is confused." Kangxi added, "This case has been brought up a long time ago. I stayed here just to check on you."
How to deal with it? It is a matter of human life, just talk nonsense? Tell me my decree: Chen Mou should die for committing adultery, Chen's wife is commendable for protecting her chastity, and a memorial should be established to commend her - although she killed Chen, she actually killed Li
, the man named Li should be executed for the crime of Ling Chi - you and the Minister of Punishment are each fined half a year's salary, can you serve it?"
"Your Majesty, you are very fair and clear in your dealings, and you understand the subtleties." Mingzhu sweated on her head and kowtowed: "It's just that my servant acted carelessly and almost accidentally beheaded the martyred woman. The fine of half a year is not a crime. I beg the Lord...
…”
"That's all." Kangxi said lightly, "You have no intention. Besides, you have been praising Xiang Jishu in front of me, and you can't take care of your lower affairs for a while - this is all because you don't study. You need to do more homework in the future.
, I’m going to check it out!” After that, he asked He Guizhu, “What do you want to do?”
"Return to the master!" He Guizhu was a little impulsive and said loudly, "According to Tuhai, Zhou Peigong reported today that Wang Pingfan has surrendered to Warg, and Longnan's troops have also surrendered. Quangan and Shaanxi have been cleared!
"
Because He Guizhu was repeatedly ordered by Kangxi to study more, he just saw that even the pearls were shameless. He came up with these wonderful sentences in a hurry, saying "Yun Zhi", "Zhe", "Yan" and "Lieye" several times.
"It made everyone in the palace cover their mouths and laugh.
Kangxi suddenly sat up from the chair. Li Dequan hurriedly dodged the razor and touched it on his cheek. His face turned yellow with fright, and he kowtowed as if he was pounding garlic: "You deserve to die! Long live the joy on your cheek..." "It doesn't matter."
, I’d like to thank you for your good words!” Kangxi was excited and happy, and didn’t even feel the pain. He grabbed the memorial with his hands, read the summary hastily, and then sat back to read it carefully. Everyone saw him closing his eyes and thinking deeply for a while, and frowning for a while.
He stared, nodded and smiled for a while, not daring to interrupt. After a long time, Kangxi sighed: "I didn't expect Zhou Peigong, a scholar, to achieve such a wonderful honor!"
"It is the Holy Lord's insightful eyes that discern from the mud, so Zhou Peigong can make great contributions to the country!" Suo'etu was very grateful to Zhou Peigong for establishing the crown prince, and hurriedly came up to him and said with a smile, "This is really a capable man.
, and they get along very well with Tu Hai, and they were recommended by Mr. Wu, and the Holy Spirit personally selected them, why not order them to take advantage of the victory to advance directly to Yunnan and Guizhou?"
Mingzhu was thinking while listening, and when she saw Kangxi pondering, she said with a straight face: "Master Suo is right, this talent is far superior to others, he is actually today's Zhang Zifang, Marquis of Huaiyin; Tu Hai has been familiar with military affairs for a long time, and he has won the favor of the soldiers of the Green Camp of the Eight Banners.
In my opinion, the two of them are a perfect match! In my humble opinion, it will not be difficult to sweep the world!" Although this was said euphemistically, Kangxi also noticed the meaning. Although he was disgusted by his unreasonable suspicion, he also felt that it was not unreasonable, so he laughed
Said: "Suo Laosan doesn't know that they fought very hard and need to take a break. They should also give some credit to others. I intend to send a plan to map the sea, manage Gansu, and Shaanxi military forces. If necessary, we can support Sichuan and Hunan. Return to the capital
Later, I sent Duke Pei of Zhou to Fengtian to deal with Rakshasa together with General Bahai of Fengtian - bring some wine, let's all have a drink, I am really happy!" Li Dequan was still listening in a daze at first, then he suddenly woke up and ordered himself to go in and get it.
A bottle of Moutai came out and was poured out one by one for everyone.
"This wine has not been paid tribute for many years, and there is not much in the treasury." Kangxi raised his glass with a smile, "It seems that I will be able to give you a few jars soon!" He drank it all in one gulp.
As soon as he put down the wine glass, Wu Dan came in from outside and said, "I just went to deliver the message: 'Yu Chenglong, do you know the crime but not know it?' Yu Chenglong looked at the tower and kowtowed, crying and said: 'I have betrayed the divine grace and committed dereliction of duty.
Sin, sin deserves death. I always ask for mercy from the Holy One, and allow me to perform meritorious service for my sin, and spend all my money to control the water. If I can't control the Yellow River and the canal, I am willing to go to the water and die...'" Although Wu Dan was rough and fierce by nature, when he said this,
There was also a look of intolerance on his face.
"Alas!" Kangxi sighed, "I know Yu Chenglong very well. His advantage is that he is honest and self-responsible; his fault is that he is stubborn and does not listen to others. I also asked him to go back to Shandong to be the governor, which is what I have done.
Pass this message to him." He paused and then said, "Mingzhu, you once recommended Jin Fu, the governor of Anhui, to come to Beijing. Let me see you and talk about it later!"
Zhou Peigong returned to Beijing with Tuhai on March 20th. The peach blossoms had just fallen on the Lugou Bridge, the willows were new and green, and the duck's head was as clear as the water. Kangxi ordered the forehead to be painted, and the pearl was welcomed by the sky. A tent was set up in the north of the bridge, and drums and music were played.
They all drank together to celebrate the victory. After entering the capital, it was lively for more than ten days. Seeing that Zhou Peigong did not have a mansion yet, Kangxi pointed out a house in Dongzhimen and gave it to him. There is no need to elaborate on the various favors.
.
Because Zhou Peigong's mansion still needed to be tidied up, He Guizhu asked him to live nearby. Zhou Peigong did not dare to neglect him, so he smiled and said: "So, I want to enter your Yuepeng store too! I just heard that you
I have to break the string recently and start again, so why bother?"
"Is the shop owner still afraid of having too many friends?" He Guizhu said, "Just come here! I'm almost fifty, and I have two concubines. I didn't plan to be the groom's husband anymore, but Mr. Yu Guozhu came to mention it several times.
It’s Baoshan who is doing this again, so I can’t refuse.” He smiled, his face shining red, he was very proud.
Zhou Peigong couldn't help but think of the few copper coins given to him by Xiao Suo. During the war, his clothes were cut and they were lost. He only had the silver hairpin with him. He put his hand into his arms and touched it, and he couldn't help feeling.
Painful, he quickly came back to his senses and asked: "I wonder if she is the lady of our family or the biyu of Xiaojia?"
"I'm not very sure either." He Guizhu smiled and said, "I only heard that she was originally a girl from Prince Li's palace. Later, for some reason, she was given to Prince Guo Fujin and she actually adopted her as his adopted daughter -" More to come
While he was talking, he saw Li Dequan coming in with a big eagle on his shoulders, clasping his hands and saying, "Lao He, congratulations! I'm afraid I won't have time to come, so you have to save some of the delicious food for us!"
Seeing him come in, the two of them stood up to greet him. He Guizhu smiled so much that his eyes were squeezed into a slit, and said: "That's natural! Eunuch Li, after you die, you can enjoy the food and travel around in Yangxin Palace."
Now, the Holy Emperor’s Hai Dongqing has also been handed over to you to serve!”
"Jingyouzi, Wei Zuizi, are you the bastard of Baoding Mansion? We are born to serve others, and we must be able to play with everything!" Li Dequan and He Guizhu were very familiar with each other. He laughed and turned to Zhou Peigong: "Master Zhou,
Long live the Lord, I am really praising you today and pointing you to go to heaven and make great achievements again! At that time, don’t forget the kindness of Lao Li who reported the message!”
Although Zhou Peigong disliked Li Dequan's flattery, it was a matter of his own and he couldn't help but ask, so he said: "What did the Holy Spirit say?"
"Wu Sangui - he's dead!" Li Dequan said with a smile, "The Holy Master praised you for your ability to predict things, and said you were a Huaiyin - oh, look at my memory..." "Marquis of Huaiyin!" Zhou Peigong's eyes suddenly flashed,
Said. "By the way, Marquis Huaiyin, and... Lu Xun is a first-class figure!" Li Dequan slapped his forehead and said with a smile, "Good guy, he is so good after having achieved military exploits!"
On the second day when the news of Wu Sangui's death reached the capital, the imperial court issued a decree. The six ministries and departments of the capital and all offices in Shuntian Prefecture put up lanterns and streamers, and every household burned incense and worshiped. In order to express the joy, Kangxi also ordered Dawu's subjects in the capital to go to the capital from Zhizhi.
Lifansi brought wine, and each household shared a pound of wine. Firecrackers went off in Beijing all night long, and even on the first day of the new year, it was not so lively.
Taking advantage of the joyous celebrations in the city, He Guizhu said: "It is better to choose a day than to hit it." They got married without checking the imperial calendar. Although his official position was small, his reputation was great, and even people like Suo'etu and Mingzhu were moved.
The hall and Jiyuan were filled with people who came to congratulate them. Seeing the bustle in front of him, Zhou Peigong walked to the newly built small garden in the west courtyard and sat by the rockery by the water to watch the fish.
"Pei Gong!" Suo'etu also came over from the front hall. When he saw Zhou Peigong, he smiled and said: "Old Tuhai is looking for you over there. How did you get here?" With that, he pulled him away and left.
, "Come, let's see the bride together!"
The two came to the vestibule and saw dozens of banquet tables set up from the main hall to the patio, and the guests were shouting and drinking, guessing the wine. The bride had been brought into the house, wearing a big red veil, sitting at the table with the word "囍" in the main room.
He Guizhu was motionless. He Guizhu, clad in red and colorful clothes, saw the two of them coming in and hurriedly went to the chief to give in: "Oh, Mr. Suo and Mr. Zhou, I just sent someone to tell you that you have no time to spare. I thought you didn't appreciate it either.
,—Come on, come and sit here with Master Tu!" Tu Hai also smiled and said: "There is a penalty for drinking late, it's the old rule, no matter how high or low you are, three drinks per person!"
After three cups of hot old wine, Zhou Peigong looked around and saw that the hall was full of hairpins and people were drinking and drinking. He quietly asked Tu Hai: "Do you know the details of Wu Sangui's death?" Tu Hai's face turned red and he pushed a glass of wine to Zhou Peigong.
He smiled and said, "I'm the only one who heard what Lang Ling said..." The people next to him were also very concerned about such secrets. When they heard Tu Hai talk about this, they ate wine and listened carefully to what Tu Hai said.
: "Wu Sangui rebelled at the beginning, saying that he wanted to welcome the third prince Zhu. In fact, after five years of fighting, he did not see any third prince. In fact, the old thief had long wanted to become the emperor himself. Last month, Gan and Shaanxi were reported to have defeated
When he arrived in Hengzhou, he made up his mind to ascend to the throne. He built an altar in the southern suburbs of Hengzhou to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, called himself Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, changed his name to "Zhaowu", changed Hengzhou to Dingtianfu, appointed hundreds of officials, and granted various generals great titles.
And a new calendar was created..."
"He saw that the situation was over." Zhou Peigong drank a drink by himself, nodded and said with a smile, "You have to live up to the emperor's taste!"
"Of course!" Tu Hai continued, "There was no time to replace the palace tiles, so he painted it with yellow paint and built hundreds of reed houses as a court room. He chose the first day of March, which was originally a sunny day, but unexpectedly he had just sat down
Dragon position, suddenly a strong wind blew up, dark clouds gathered around, and then there was pouring rain! The 'Chaofang' was uprooted and rolled up for a long time, and the yellow paint on the tiles was washed away... This is not God's retribution.
!”
Everyone present was a little horrified when they heard this. Wu Zhengzhi, the Secretary of the Ministry of Justice sitting next to him, asked: "What happened next?"
"Then he got sick," Tuhai said. "He had a fever and talked nonsense. One moment he said: 'Father, save me!' Another moment he said: 'Your Majesty, spare my life!' Then he shouted in surprise: 'Emperor Yongli is here, Chongzhen is here.
The Lord is here...'" Seeing the awe on everyone's faces, he really thought it was God's will. Zhou Peigong thought to himself: The climate in Hunan is hot and humid, and sudden winds and rains are common in March; Wu Sangui is old and in a bad mood.
, it’s not uncommon to get a little bit of wind and cold; you’ve done too many bad things in your life, and it’s normal for your sick eyes to become blurred, and you feel like you’re seeing ghosts and gods in a trance. It’s rare that one link after another happens to happen in one place, and it falls on one person.
It can only be said to be God's will. Just as I was thinking about it, someone at the banquet below got drunk and shouted: "Old He, I heard that the bride is very beautiful! From now on, we will hide her beauty in the golden house so that we can't see her. Why not
Open this thing on your head and tell me... everyone can take a look!" After saying that, he stood up and staggered towards the bride. Seeing that it was Ma Chengguo, the head of the Ministry of Personnel, He Guizhu hurriedly stepped forward to persuade: "
Old horse, why are you here for a while? Come, sit here..." Suo'etu also shouted: "Ma Chengguo must not be rude!" Before he could finish his words, Ma Chengguo had already picked up his headband in his hand and laughed drunkenly.
.
The bride was caught off guard and had her head taken off. Her face turned red with embarrassment in front of the public. She lowered her head and said nothing. She paused for a while, turned her face, and was looking into Zhou Peigong's eyes. Because they were so close, there were bright lights and candles.
Brilliant and dazzling, Zhou Peigong saw it clearly - with an oval face and a few freckles next to the black mole on the eyebrow - it was the Asuo whom Zhou Peigong had missed day and night when they first met at Zhengyang Gate! This feeling is here and now.
When Jing suddenly saw each other, Asuo was surprised for a while, his lips trembled twice, and his face became very pale. After a long time, he sighed, stood up reluctantly, walked straight to Zhou Peigong, gave him two blessings, and whispered:
"It's... my benefactor! Some people say that my benefactor died in the battle in Pingliang. I don't want to see him here again. I'm really happy... happy... happy!"
Zhou Peigong's heart thundered, and he tried his best not to lose his composure. Everyone in the hall was looking at the two of them, some were talking in private, and some were talking about jokes, but he didn't hear any of them. He just felt that
Dizziness, chest tightness, throat congestion, and cold sweat all over his body, he held the back of the chair tightly with one hand, stood up and returned the salute, and said with a wry smile: "It's common to die in battle... I really didn't expect you... to be...
The bride, if she had known this earlier, she should have prepared a generous gift..." Before he could finish his words, Asuo had already gone back and sat where he was.
Seeing Zhou Peigong sitting still like an idiot, Suo'etu asked: "Peigong, you don't look good, are you drunk?" Tuhai looked around and whispered a few words to Suo'etu. Suo'etu listened.
He nodded, feeling angry in his heart, and gritted his teeth and said: "He is used to doing this, he is really a villain!" Just as he was talking, he saw Li Dequan hurried in, ignoring the noisy guests, and went to Suo'etu
In front of him, he smiled and said: "Long live the Lord, I asked the three of you to pass the sign in!"
After leaving the second door, Suo'etu glanced at Zhou Peigong with pity, patted him on the shoulder and said, "You must hold on tight. As the proverb goes, 'There must be grass within ten steps.' A man must bite the bullet."
, just survive this period and it will be over.”
"Master Suo taught you a lesson." Zhou Peigong turned around and looked at Asuo, who was sitting dazedly under the candle, with a dazed look. There was a slight flush on his pale face, and he forced a smile and said: "Your Majesty is waiting for us! Let's go.
…”
Kangxi was unaware of the emotional entanglements and conspiracies of several courtiers around him. In the past few days, good news from Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan and Hunan were coming one after another. His spirit was always in a state of excitement, and he only wore a piece of brown lake silk cotton in the cold weather.
He was wearing a robe, with his sleek braids coiled around his neck. When he saw them coming in, he proudly stroked his newly grown mustache and said with a smile: "Where have you been? You are as drunk as a red-headed carrot. Mingzhu, Xiong Ci
I have been waiting for you for half a day!" Suo'etu then briefly told the story of going to Hefu to congratulate you. Kangxi said: "I want to reward you today - when the Yunnan Rebellion happened, it shocked the world. Fortunately, with your help, Wu Yingxiong was eliminated.
, Yang Qilong’s scourge has eliminated the hidden dangers in the capital. After the war broke out, he cleared Chahar’s worries, went west to Pingliang, and took out the firewood at the bottom of Wu Sangui’s pot. He has done a great job in suppressing the rebellion!"
When everyone heard Kangxi's praise, they hurriedly kowtowed and thanked each other. Li Dequan walked out of the Nuan Pavilion and distributed a few small yellow bags to each person. He held a heavy bag, which made a rustling sound, and he didn't know what it was.
"This is rice." Kangxi said with a proud smile, "I grew it myself. I think this item is much more valuable than the few taels of gold I gave you!"
Several ministers were surprised and looked up at Kangxi in confusion. Xiong Cilu said, "Why don't you..."
"Of course you don't know." Kangxi laughed loudly, "Only I and the Queen know this. Since the eighth year of Kangxi's reign, we have been trying to plant seeds, but they have always failed. We only had harvest last autumn. Do you know what I mean?"
"This is the majestic grace of the Holy Spirit, which extends to the slaves!" Suo'etu said without thinking. Mingzhu said, "This is the auspicious sign from heaven, a sign of peace in the world!" Xiong Cilu thought for a moment and said, "I thought this was the case.
Long live the agriculture and mulberry trees, and hope that the world will be peaceful and wars will be turned into jade and silk." After opening a few pictures of the map, Fang said: "I believe that the Lord and your ministers should cherish the soldiers at the front, and don't forget the foundation of life for the people!"
Several people had guessed it, and Kangxi all shook their heads, but heard Zhou Peigong think about it and said: "In my humble opinion, what the ministers said is reasonable, but I am thinking that since the emperor is so worried about farming, ministers should work harder.
For this reason; since Beijing can produce rice, Zhili, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi and even Shengjing can also follow suit. In this way, why worry about the national treasury not being replenished? Why don't people worry about improving their livelihood? Why does Taiwan fear injustice?
Erdan, why worry..."
Before he finished speaking, Kangxi laughed loudly and continued: "...Why should the river not be regulated? Why should the Rakshasa be afraid of injustice? This is the true words of the heart!"
The monarch and his ministers discussed the matter of marching into Yunnan for a while. After the discussion, the ministers knelt down and went out.
At this time, the night was deep, the sky was clear, and a full moon hung like an ice disk, illuminating the front of the hall like mercury. Kangxi was wandering alone in the courtyard, looking at the sky. He looked up at the sky.
The imperial censor Cheng Qifan wrote a memorial, saying that Mars had retreated to Jinsu and entered the Yunnan-Guizhou boundary. According to the star chart, the remaining Wu Sangui party in Sichuan and Hunan could be wiped out within a few months. He searched the vast sky, but could not find the memorial.
The so-called celestial phenomena in the book "When fire retreats from ghosts and gold, the fire will sparkle with gold; when the fire retreats from the well wood, the fire will become more intense when meeting the wood." After pondering for a long time, Kangxi sighed and said: "It's what Mr. Wu said, the way of heaven is boundless, and mortals
How can we know? Only cultivating human affairs to conform to the holy way - to conform to the human heart is to follow the way of heaven!" (To be continued)