The person who advised Ying Lian not to make any extravagant arrangements because of the Empress Dowager's birthday celebration was Yi Mian. This man was a Manchurian from Zhengbai Banner. He passed the examination as a student member and was awarded the pen-posting style of the Ministry of War. Now he is the director of the Supervisory Office of the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Even a small official dared to make random comments in front of the government officials. Ying Lian looked unhappy and scolded: "How can you, a humble minister, comment on national affairs?"
But Yi Mian was not afraid and kept silent. Instead, he bowed and said, "Did the central hall forget the story of Hang Shijun and Ji Yun?"
These two names made Ying Lian's expression become solemn.
Hang Shijun was reviewing the Hanlin Academy. Three months ago, Shangshu said that the emperor had repeatedly visited the south, and his squandering was so great that the national treasury of 78 million taels of silver was wasted.
Envy the reality of Jiangnan."
The original intention was to persuade the emperor not to go out on patrol again, wasting the people and damaging money, but the result was that the emperor became furious and handed Hang Shijun to his ministers for severe punishment.
The result of the ministry meeting was that the crime should be reinstated, that is, cut in half. Fortunately, the assistant minister Guan Guanbao remonstrated and saved his life. However, the official had no choice but to pack up and go back to his hometown and hand him over to the local supervision.
That Ji Yun was also called Ji Xiaolan. He was a bachelor's degree student at the Hanlin Academy. He was very talented and highly regarded by the emperor, who sometimes ordered him to accompany him on patrols. Because he loved smoking, his colleagues called him Ji Da Yandian.
However, Ji Yun didn't know where he made the mistake. Thinking that he had won the emperor's favor, he followed the example of Hang Shijun and found an opportunity to admonish the emperor to stop going on patrol. He said that all the military patrols had exhausted the world's financial resources, so he should stop
Patrol troops are used to maintain the strength of the country and the people.
Unexpectedly, the emperor scolded him on the spot, saying: "I think you are excellent in literature, so I sent you to the Siku Library, but it is nothing more than a prostitute. How dare you talk about state affairs!"
It means that I just kept you by my side because of your talent, Ji Yun, and even asked you to work as an errand at Siku Library. But do you think there is any difference between you, a bachelor, and a prostitute raised by the people?
How dare a prostitute dare to discuss state affairs in front of me!
Ji Yun was so frightened that he knelt down and kowtowed until his head was broken, and he cursed himself repeatedly. This was the end of his decline and he resigned from office and returned home.
Hang and Ji were still scolded by the emperor for their southern tour. The current emperor is the most filial. As long as the Queen Mother handles everything, she will obey everything she says. She will always accompany the Queen Mother when she goes on patrol, and will never leave her.
In the palace, greetings were basically given every day, a play was performed every two days, and a song was played every three days to entertain the Queen Mother, ensuring that the Queen Mother could enjoy "good fortune, wealth, and longevity."
It can be said that the Queen Mother is the emperor's counterpart, and the Queen Mother's affairs are the top priority in the Emperor's heart.
So, if you, Ying Zhongtang, give advice on the occasion of the Queen Mother's 80th birthday, what do you think will happen to you, Lord Zhongtang?
After coming back to his senses, Ying Lian glanced at Yi Mian who was standing opposite him very respectfully, but he got into the sedan chair without even saying a word of approval.
But this made Yi Mian contented.
He knew that after his reminder, Yingzhongtang would definitely remember him.
...........
"Long live my lord, this is the jade pavilion donated by Shandong. It is three feet high and two feet wide. It is made of peacock tail feathers. I am surprised to see it. How can the Queen Mother not be happy to see it?"
In the Yangxin Hall, the chief eunuch Li Yuzheng accompanied his master Qianlong to view the birthday gifts sent from various places.
The Yangxin Hall is not the emperor's residence, the Qianqing Palace is.
After the death of the holy ancestor Kangxi, Emperor Shizong Yongzheng did not live in the Qianqing Palace to show his filial piety, but lived in the Yangxin Palace not far from the Qianqing Palace. The same happened after Qianlong ascended the throne, and the Yangxin Palace became the Qing Empire. The emperor's residence.
"Cathay is really thoughtful, I didn't make any mistake."
Qianlong, who is sixty-two years old this year, looks similar to a man in his forties. He is not the same at all, and there is not a single gray hair in the braid on the back of his head.
Cathay was the governor of Shandong, a native of Xiangbai Banner in Manchuria, and the son of Wen Shou, the governor of Sichuan.
At the beginning of the year, Wen Shou was ordered to investigate the former governor of Sichuan, Altai, for indulging in his son Mingdebu's greed and extortion of subordinates. Because he favored Altai and failed to report the truth, he was sent to Ili. Cathay, who was the chief envoy of Shandong at the time, immediately went to court to plead guilty after hearing this. , requesting to guard the border with his father to atone for his father's sins.
Qianlong felt that Cathay was similar to Yang Sichang, an important minister in the Ming Dynasty, so he wrote to Cathay: "You are not guilty, why should you panic?"
Soon after, an imperial edict promoted Guotai to governor of Shandong.
"Long live my lord, this is the Jinghu Pavilion donated by Zhejiang Province."
This time it was the Empress Dowager's 80th birthday, and all the governors from all over the country presented birthday gifts. How these birthday gifts could be seen by the emperor, or ranked in front of other governors for the emperor to appreciate, was very particular.
This particular point is attributed to Li Yu, the eunuch in charge.
The Jinghu Pavilion in Zhejiang Province is made of a large round mirror with a diameter of 20 feet inlaid on the caisson. It is surrounded by tens of thousands of small round mirrors piled up to form a wall. The small round mirrors are stacked on top of each other in the shape of fish scales. There are countless people in it. The figure is reflected on the mirror wall, making people feel like they are in a heavenly palace.
Compared with the Jade Pavilion donated by Shandong Governor Cathay, the Jinghu Pavilion donated by Zhejiang Governor Sanbao is obviously more precious.
However, because Cathay Pacific gave Manager Li an extra five thousand taels, the Jinghu Pavilion presented by Sanbao could only be ranked second.
"This is a good thing, it's difficult for the Three Treasures,"
Qianlong was a man who knew the goods, so he naturally saw that the treasures offered by Zhejiang were better than those from Shandong. At that time, he smiled and ordered people to pass on the edict to let the three treasures take over the salt administration of the two Zhejiang provinces.
"With so many treasures, the Queen Mother doesn't know how to make her happy." Li Yu grinned.
When he thought that E Niang was already eighty years old, Qianlong was also happy. When he came up with the poem, he immediately chanted: "The emperor's sixty-year-old son and his mother are eighty-year-old. Who has ever seen this scene in the history..."
Li Yu listened intently, preparing to take notes of Long Live Lord's masterpieces, but he didn't expect that Long Live Lord would have nothing to say.
"Well, okay, okay."
Qianlong, who really didn't know what to do next, put his hands behind his hands and walked to the treasures in the back to admire them one by one. At this time, a chamberlain came to report, saying that it was Ying Lian, the Minister of Punishment, who asked for an opinion.
Qianlong waved his hand and said, "I'm just looking for him, please let him know."
After a while, Yinglian entered the Yangxin Hall. The first thing he saw was the rows of rare treasures. He immediately stepped forward and knelt down to kowtow: "My slave, Yinglian, has seen your master!"
Although his ancestors were Han, they had already settled in Zhenghuang Banner Manchuria, so he considered himself a slave.
"Get up,"
Qianlong looked at Ying Lian with a smile. Seeing that his beard and braids were a little white, he couldn't help but said, "If I remember correctly, how much older are you than me?"
Ying Lian stood up and said: "To tell you what my master is saying, this slave will be sixty-six years old this year."
"I'm old, I'm old, you're old, I'm old too."
Qianlong was a little sad.
"The slave is old, but the master is not old at all. No, the slave's braids are white, but the master's braids are black. If you didn't know better, you would think that the master is only thirty this year."
"When did you learn these flattery words?"
Although he knew that Yinglian was complimenting him, Qianlong was still very happy, and then said: "I wanted to find you just now. Wenfu has won the victory, Hailancha personally led the troops, and has now captured the Meino official village, the home of the Fanbing
.”
Two years ago, Sonomu, the chieftain of Dajinchuan, and Senggesang, the chieftain of Xiaojinchuan, launched another rebellion against the Qing Dynasty. Upon hearing the news, Qianlong immediately ordered a large army commanded by Dingbian General Wen Fu, and divided the troops into three groups to attack Xiaojinchuan.
Wen Fu and counselor Shu Chang and others were on the same team; Agui, the interior minister, deputy general, and temporary governor of Sichuan, led the Han army, Zhenglan Banner, and Hailancha, the capital of Zhenglan Banner, were on the same team; deputy general, Fengfeng, the Mongolian capital of Xianglan Banner, was promoted to the front line.
Han Yuan, Xi'an admiral Ha Guoxing became one road.
Even after the three armies advanced, they were unable to break through the defensive line built by the Jinchuan soldiers. However, the daily consumption of money and supplies was astronomical, comparable to what was needed for the first counterinsurgency, resulting in an extremely heavy burden on the national treasury.
Therefore, good news finally came from the front line, and it was the eve of the Queen Mother's eightieth birthday. Qianlong was naturally happy about it and was ready to reward the meritorious soldiers.
"Rewards for meritorious officers and soldiers, and pensions for fallen officers and soldiers, must be given priority by the Ministry of Household Affairs. In addition, money, food and other supplies needed on the front line must not be delayed."
Ying Lian hurriedly said: "Master, I will never neglect matters on the front line, but..."
He paused there, looking like he was about to speak but hesitated.
"Just what?"
Qianlong seemed to realize what Yinglian wanted to say, and the smile on his face gradually faded.
Sure enough, Ying Lian hesitated and truthfully reported that the current national inventory of silver was less than half of the annual income, but the frontline expenditures were several million taels higher. Now he had to prepare for the 80th birthday of the Queen Mother. It was initially estimated that it would cost one thousand taels of silver.
There are more than 10,000 taels, so the Ministry of Revenue is really in trouble. I don't know where to raise the money.
Qianlong said "Oh", but did not speak. He was just silent, but his face had become a little ugly.
Li Yu glanced at Ying Lian and lowered his face slightly.
Just when Qianlong thought that Yinglian was here to complain, he heard Yinglian say again: "I think that other things can be delayed, but the Queen Mother's birthday must not be flawed, so I wonder if I can make a large donation to contribute to the national treasury."
Raise some money to meet your urgent needs?"
"Open a large donation?"
Qianlong's stern face suddenly relaxed, and he said without thinking: "I know, I'll just ask the Military Aircraft Department and the Staff Department to handle this matter later. I can't let you, the temporary manager of the Department of Accounts, really have no money to use."
"Slave, thank you for your understanding, Master!"
Ying Lian felt relieved. He didn't expect that the emperor would approve the large donation so quickly. His confidence doubled, and he immediately said: "I have one more thing to report to my master!"
"What's the matter?"
"The master ordered the National History Museum to revise the biographies of the two ministers in order to educate the world, and the servant deeply believed that... However, the slave thought that in addition to revising the list of the two ministers, he could also compile books for the ministers who died in the Ming Dynasty, so that their righteousness could indicate the future.
For example, Shi Kefa, Huang Daozhou, Lu Xiangsheng, Sun Chengzong, etc. all need to be commended. Only in this way can I show my great purity and my master's mind. If there are loyal ministers and compare them, their life stories will be clear at a glance..."
What Yinglian said was exactly the suggestion given by his grandson-in-law Heshen yesterday. At that time, Yinglian felt that this idea was a good one because it was in line with the emperor's original intention of advocating loyalty to the emperor.
After hearing this, Qianlong really nodded and said: "This is a good thing. I'm sure. I'll prepare it in the National History Museum for repair."
Not thinking that Ying Lian had something else to do, he said, "I have something that I don't know whether to say or not?"
"You, what can't you say in front of me?"
The smile reappeared on Qianlong's face. Everything Ying Lian played was very popular with him and was in line with his heart. Not only did he help him solve the problem of insufficient money for the Empress Dowager's birthday, but he was also able to clearly understand his master's intentions. He was truly a good slave.
"I have the guts to say it bluntly. Although the people listed in the list of second ministers today are rebels from the previous dynasty, they are all heroes of our Qing Dynasty. Therefore, I wonder if we can rely on the deeds of these people in the historical records.
I have made a detailed assessment of the merits of the Qing Dynasty and divided them into two parts, A and B, so that the flaws of the superior ones are not covered up, and the inferior ones are made awe-inspiring... without being ignored, the merits and demerits are clear."
Ying Lian also said that in addition to ranking the ministers according to their specific merits, they should also give some favors to their descendants so that these descendants would not think that the imperial court was trying to burn bridges by crossing rivers. Otherwise, most of the ignorant people would complain about the imperial court and make them unhappy.
If there is something unstable in the flag, it will not be beautiful.
Qianlong thought for a moment and realized that what Ying Lian reported was indeed true. At first, he only focused on educating the world and hurriedly asked the National History Museum to determine the biographies of the second ministers. He did not consider the thoughts of these former Ming ministers and later Qing Dynasty heroes. Maybe those he designated as the second ministers
Later generations have complained.
"It can be regarded as a slave asking for a favor from the master on behalf of these people, so that they can enjoy the happiness of the Queen Mother's long life." Yinglian observed the words and further said.
After hearing this, Qianlong laughed and said: "You are honest and honest, which is what I thought. In this case, I will call you a civil servant of the third rank or above, and a military attaché of the second rank or above..."
Foreign civilian officials and inspectors and above, military attaches and generals and above, and their brothers and descendants over the age of 18, including current officials below the sixth rank and candidates above the fifth rank, shall report to the banner, make a register and report to the Military Aircraft Department in preparation for recruiting replacements.
Worship Tanga.
...Although I have the intention to educate the world through their ancestors, I will never treat my meritorious successors unfairly."