Chapter 51 Appendix Confidential Memorial of the Kangxi Dynasty

According to the story of Kangxi, Kangxi sent spies among Wei Xiaobao's subordinates, so he knew many of Wei Xiaobao's secret operations.The story of the novel is a bit exaggerated.In the early Qing Dynasty, politics was quite clear, and the spy systems such as Dongchang, Xichang, Neichang, and Jinyiwei in the Ming Dynasty were abolished. The emperor did not have private spies.Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, there was no spy system.Yongzheng's "blood drop" is just a novelist's words, not a fact. But Kangxi was still very concerned about the movements of his courtiers and the sentiments of the local people. This was the information that the ruler must know.Starting from the Kangxi Dynasty, the Qing court established the system of "Secret Zheshi".The original system was that the imperial court had a "Tongzheng Envoy" agency. All Beijing official memorials, local officials' chapters, and inscriptions were first handed over to the Secretary of General Administration, and then forwarded to them after review.Kangxi felt that this method would cause congestion and leak secrets, so he ordered his particularly trusted officials to make a special report.The special book was presented directly to the emperor without going through the Secretary of General Political Affairs. The cover of the secret book did not state the name of the person who played it, but only wrote "Sincerely sealed by the South Study Room".The performer sent it to the imperial study in person, handed it over to the eunuch, and went to the imperial study to pick it up in person after the emperor's reply.

Later, the scope of this memorial system was expanded.It is not limited to trusted ministers who can play in secret, and general local governors and high officials in Beijing can use zhezi to directly report to the emperor.In the Yongzheng Dynasty, it was even more stipulated that officials such as Ke Dao (middle-level officials) would take turns to play secret stories every day, and they could tell the truth about the matter, no matter how big or small. Even if there was nothing to say, they had to explain why there was nothing to say.This method expanded the power of the emperor, and at the same time prevented officials at all levels from cheating and concealing.

Judging from the memorials of the Kangxi Dynasty, the content of the memorials is mainly about food prices, rain, harvests, public opinion, and officials' clean-up of corruption.It can be seen that Kangxi is most concerned about the economic life of the people and whether the officials who govern the people are corrupt.Of course, he also paid great attention to the rebellions and rebellions in various places. Kangxi used a red pen to give instructions on the memorial, most of which wrote the three characters "know it", and sometimes there were detailed instructions.From the instructions, it can be seen that Kangxi is wise and cautious, and at the same time he is very lenient to his ministers and common people.

Wang Hongxu was nine years older than Kangxi. He was born in Huating, Jiangsu. He was a Jinshi in the 12th year of Kangxi.On the memorial he presented to Kangxi, only the words "secret memorial. Minister Wang Hongxu would like to present" were written, and the official title was not written, and all formulas were completely used.He was an official in the capital, and most of the secret reports were about officials in Beijing. Kangxi sent his cronies to inquire about the news. At first, only ministers were sent, and the number was extremely limited, and he repeatedly told people not to know.In his personal edict to Wang Hongxu, he said:

"Things that can be heard in the middle of the capital, the memorials written by the secretary, and the memorials in Anfeng, should not be known. If there is leakage (leakage), it has a lot to do with it. Be careful, be careful." "A year ago during the southern tour, there were many unscrupulous people who lied to Suzhou women. I only found out when I went home. This year, there may be such a person. I will inquire carefully. If there is such a thing, I will write it down with my own hands. No one should know about this matter. It would be inconvenient for someone to know." (Suzhou women are famous for their beauty, and some people probably took advantage of Kangxi's southern tour to present them in beauty pageants, or deceive the family members of Suzhou women under the guise of pretense. )

"If something happens in the future (in the future), the post will follow the Southern Tour Reporting Regulations. In the palace, everyone can hear and see, so people will inevitably know, so there is no need to play." "If you have heard and seen, you will hear it according to the first secret book." Wang Hongxu was entrusted by the emperor and promised that he would never disclose it.He said in the secret: "The minister is a Confucianist, and he has been promoted by the Holy Grace. He has no size to repay, and he has no place to be ashamed. I will engrave it into the inner court on the thirteenth, respectfully receive the imperial approval and seal the inner secret. At that time, the second minister Cai Cha had never Arrived. I am so grateful for the silent reciting. Fu Nianchen is so stupid that there are not enough of them. I am entrusted with the grace of God, and I have appointed him with extraordinary strength. I can only do my best to be loyal and repay the grace to all. 1. When enjoined by the edict of grace, if a minister reveals a little bit of rumors, the relationship is very important. The minister feels so moved that he wants to cry. He will always obey him and keep his mouth shut. It is the sincerity of the appointment of Vice-Tianxin. Since then, I have heard things in Beijing, and I will always ask Sheng'an to write a small book in the post, and I will read it closely. It is due to the secret decree, and I will play it back. I sincerely respect it ” (Kangxi comment: Yes.)

Most of Wang Hongxu's secret melodies are about financial and economic affairs such as money and food, horse administration, casting money, and salt administration.He was particularly interested in financial affairs, so he worked as Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Minister of Household Affairs for a long time.Originally, these financial affairs could be reported to the emperor through official memos, but most of the secret memos are malpractice, infringing on the interests of the vested, and it seems that the secret memo is more appropriate. In addition to the disadvantages of finance and economics, Wang Hongxu's close concerts are very extensive in nature.

There are several secret documents related to the "Chen Rubi case".This case originated from Chen Rubi's bribery of 3,000 taels of silver, and later developed into a major case. "Minister of State Affairs, Jiuqing Zhan Shikedao and others went to the Yamen of the Criminal Ministry for joint trial."Wang Hongxu participated in the joint trial and reported the trial process to Kangxi in detail, including the debate between Manchu officials and Han officials: "...Chen Rubi was sentenced to 'defeat the truth', and all adults have agreed. Li Zhenyu told his ministers: "There is no confession for the conviction. The adults should consider what Chen Rubi wrote yesterday. The minister also said: No. Hidden. The Mandarin ordered the officer to take it and read it to all the adults... The Mandarin said, it has nothing to do with it, and there is no need to enter it in the confession. The Han said: "Pretending to be dead" should go. It was yesterday. Fainted. Because of the deletion of the four characters. Tu Cuizhong said: "There is no "cutting up" clause for hiding the case files and stolen goods. The adults in charge of politics said: Change it. Shu Ren changed the "cutting up" because of it. Ke Dao said: Still According to the three jurisprudence supervisors, wait for the hang. The adults in the class have not responded. Chen Rubi ordered his family members to hand in their own written statements, but the adults did not accept them. Li Luyu said: "the three jurisprudences never took Chen Rubi's personal statements. Today, the Yi family came to hand them over and they did not accept them." How to make it happen?... The confession in this book is just a few words, which is what Shu Ren did... I have never asked the officials to change the confession and fabricated the confession, and the punishment for the crime is very heavy...Mandarin adults are afraid of causing resentment. He refused to say anything. The Minister of State Council only listened to Shu Ren to make the decision..."

Kangxi commented: "This memorial post is very good, and it has won the minister's style. I already understand it." The main content of the memorial post is that the "Master Mandarin" has wronged prisoners. "Master Han" tried his best to justify it.It is unknown how the case was closed, but it is believed that Kangxi will have a more lenient verdict.It is worth noting that, although Manchu officials were traditionally more powerful, Kangxi did not favor Manchu officials.At the same time, it can be seen that the death penalty was very solemn at that time, and it could not be decided by a powerful minister.

Occasionally, there are some insignificant things in Wang Hongxu's secret memorial, which is quite interesting to read today: There is a long memorial to Ma Zheng, but the last paragraph says: "...Li Xiu and Yin Debu, I don't know who sent a letter to him, saying that the emperor said that he was a bachelor. It’s panic and other words. Afterwards, the minister made a secret report, and the emperor Fuqi still put the word “seal” on the sealed sleeve, so as to prevent people from peeking at the leak...” (Kangxi comment: Got it.) There is a long secret report to tell whether the chief examiner and the deputy chief examiner have any disadvantages. The last paragraph says: "The youngest son of Song Luo, Song Yun, is a Juren. He came to Beijing for the exam on November 21 and told people: I suffer from sickness, and it only happens after a long time, but this year I fainted once in the martial arts field, and when I went to Yangzhou, it recurred once, and it was tighter than before. Fortunately, I woke up and I can still work. Jing and other words..." (Kangxi comment: I see.) Song Luo was originally the governor of Jiangning, and he was newly promoted to the Minister of the Ministry of Officials. He is capable in handling affairs, and Kangxi cared about his health.

There is a secret report accusing an official of committing a crime of exile into the army. The messenger asked him for a reward, each asking for ten taels of silver, but the official refused to give it and insulted him instead.One night, the official was suddenly tied up, and all the silver was taken away.This is an insignificant matter, and Wang Hongxu's secret report is the same. Li Xu was Kangxi's confidant and had been weaving in Suzhou for 30 years.Li Xu's brother-in-law Cao Yin has been weaving in Jiangning for more than 20 years. Cao Yin is the grandfather of the author Cao Xueqin.Li Xu, Cao Yin, and Hangzhou Weaving Sun Wencheng all kept submitting secret documents to Kangxi, reporting on the local situation in the south of the Yangtze River.Most of them are about rainwater, harvest, rice price, epidemic disease, public sentiment, reputation of officials and so on.There were no newspapers at that time, and Kangxi mainly learned the real situation in various places from these memorials. In the summer of the 32nd year of Kangxi, there was a drought in the Huaixu and Jiangnan areas, and it rained in mid-June. Li Xu reported the harvest and rice prices.Kangxi commented: "In May, I heard that in the south of Huaixu, Yang was in trouble, and Xia Ze was in trouble, and the people were panicked, especially in Zhejiang and Zhejiang. I was anxious all night long, and I couldn't sleep or eat. But if anyone comes from the south, he must ask for details. What you heard Zuo, save the labor of the night. After the autumn harvest, I will write a memorial post." On the nineteenth day of the first lunar month of the forty-seventh year, Li Xu had such a memorial: "Long live and safe. On the seventh day of December last year, the thief heard about the robbery in Taicang. The knotless bamboo was sent to Wang Kecheng from his family. On the 17th day of the first lunar month, Wang Kecheng replied, saying: "The knotless bamboo and the memorial have all been brought in, and the memorial has never been sent out." Chen Xu was terrified when he heard this. Fu Sifan There are books, all of which are wholesaled by the imperial court, that is, those that have not been approved, but the original books must be distributed. It is said that they have not been issued, and the minister is very surprised. After four tortures, Fang Yun said: "The book is hidden in the bag, Traveling in the dark, the ties were not tight, and even the bag was lost on the Dezhou road, and there was nowhere to look for it. And because the bamboo was urgent, I dared not delay. When I arrived in Beijing, I sent the bamboo to Beijing. I said there was no book, this is the truth.' etc. .Chen Xu followed Wang Kecheng in chains and chains, waiting for the decree to be issued. But the minister improperly employed people, resulting in mistakes, panic and fear, and there is no excuse for the crime. I beg for long live and I will be punished. I would like to rewrite the original book and make a supplement. Lesson. Chen Xu was overwhelmed by the performance and trembled as he waited for the crime." Kangxi Zhu commented: "Fan Er's performance is nothing more than a secret rehearsal, which is not as good as a magistrate. Now let your family be forgiven. It is not very good for outsiders to hear it." It is worth noting that it is not Kangxi's leniency, but his basic mentality: the emperor believed that sending people to secretly visit secret concerts was a dishonorable and disreputable thing; Let others know.Kangxi never used other people's hands to approve the secret papers. At one time, his right hand was sick and he could not write, so he reluctantly used his left hand to write the reply.However, in the dark age of politics, it is taken for granted that the rulers send spies to visit secretly.This value concept of "secret work" is a clear distinction between political clarity and corruption. On the sixth day of July in the forty-eighth year of Kangxi, Li Xu included the news of the death of Zhang Yunyi, the admiral of the south of the Yangtze River, in his invitation to Ann.Greetings to the emperor is "respectfully wishing the Lord Long Live and the Golden Safety", and it should be auspicious. The news of death must be reported separately and must not be mixed together, otherwise it will have the meaning of cursing the death of the emperor.Li Xu's memorial violated a basic taboo, and he was very confused.The memorial said: "Long live and safe. Zhang Yunyi, the military minister of Jiangnan Province, who stole admiral, suffered from a waist carbuncle on June 18, the forty-eighth year of Kangxi, and died on the third day of July at the age of 50. When I was eight years old, I listened to it. Suzhou June's sunny and rainy book was submitted, and I begged for the holy lesson." Kangxi was naturally very unhappy when he saw this unlucky memorial, but there was still a bit of humor in the tone of reprimand.Zhu commented: "Please An Zhezi, it should not be mixed with this matter, it is very disrespectful. You know a few bad words, I don't know where they are?" When Li Xu saw the imperial criticism, he was naturally frightened out of his wits, and hurriedly played the apology and repented himself.Kangxi commented: "Got it." In July of the fifty-first year of Kangxi, Cao Yin (grandfather of Cao Xueqin), Jiangning weaving, was ordered to go to Yangzhou to handle the engraving of "Pei Wen Yun Fu", and he contracted malaria and became seriously ill.Li Xu went to visit his doctor, and Cao Yin asked him to play and ask Kangxi for medicine. After Kangxi got the performance, Zhu immediately commented: "You played well. Now I want to give medicine to cure malaria. I'm afraid of delay, so I earn a posthorse to go there at night. But if the malaria doesn't turn into diarrhea, it's okay. It cannot be used as medicine. Quack doctors in the south often use tonics (drugs), and there are countless people who hurt people. You need to be careful. Cao Yinyuan is willing to eat ginseng, and this disease is also from ginseng. Jinji Na (that is, quinine, The original text is in Manchu) to treat malaria. Use two qian, the end. Drink it with wine. If it is lighter, take another dose, you must live. After living, it will be one qian, or eight cents. Take two doses in a row, you can get roots .If it is not for malaria, this medicine cannot be used and must be taken seriously. Ten thousand orders, ten thousand orders, ten thousand orders, ten thousand orders!" Kangxi wrote "Ten Thousand Instructions" four times in a row, and sent a posthorse to rush the medicine to Yangzhou. He arrived within nine days, which shows that he cares about Cao Yin very much.Quinine was originally a symptomatic drug to treat malaria, but Cao Yin may have other complications and finally died.Kangxi was very sorry and ordered Li Xu to take care of Cao Yin's family. Among Li Xu's memorials, a large part is about experimenting with new rice varieties.Kangxi attached great importance to the quality of rice. After many trials, a fine variety was bred and sent to officials and gentry in various places for trial planting.Li Xu gave a detailed report on the trial planting situation, how many acres a certain official planted, and how many stones and buckets were produced per mu;For example, it was played on June 24th in the fifty-eighth year of Kangxi: "The 100 mu of royal rice planted by the slaves was harvested on June 15th, and each mu got about four stones, two buckets and three liters of rice. Present. As for the original fields planted, they were cleaned up quickly, and the second seedlings were planted before June 23. As for the imperial rice planted by the Suzhou squires, they were also harvested. Yours sincerely." It can be seen that Li Xu also has the task of "planting an experimental field of imperial rice". Kangxi distributed the seeds of "Royal Rice" to officials, gentry and businessmen from all over the country for trial planting. Most of the fields for each trial planted were two to three mu.Li Xu planted 100 mu, which is the largest experimental farm.The rice produced was called "Yuyuan Rouge Rice" at that time. It is red in color and fragrant, and it is the most beautiful porridge.It is this kind of rice that wrote that Zhuangtou Wujin Xiaojin was sent to Jia's house. When Kangxi was on a tour to the south, he saw that the boats were full of pig and chicken feathers. When he asked about its use, he learned that it was used as fertilizer for paddy fields. Kangxi's rice planting practice is much more scientific than that of later generations who did not conduct experiments to develop satellite fields, did not pay attention to varieties and fertilizers but only falsely reported and deceived. Kangxi has quite a sense of humor, although it is often revealed in serious official document comments. On October 24th, the 40th year of Kangxi, Li Linsheng, the admiral of Shaanxi and Gansu, published a memorial.The official title of this person is: "Admiral, Shanxi, Gansu and other places, the commander-in-chief of the local army, the right governor, plus one level and downgrade to the second level." The memorial said: "The emperor asked: "How is the admiral, how is the admiral? How are the officials? And the previous admiral's local affairs and rain conditions have been reported from time to time. Why don't you have this report when you come to office now? You can use it in the future. From time to time, the local affairs will be reported to the emperor. And the emperor has given you deer tongue, deer tail, dried meat and other samples, you can check them and other reasons. The ministers set up incense cases, and led the generals to look at the palace to thank them and accept them. Finished. Except for the minister respectfully honoring Lunyin, awarding food, and thanking God in a separate performance, all the local affairs and rain conditions are announced, and the minister is obliged to obey the decree and reply. Foolish, lucky to be born in the holy world, to meet the Lord of Yao and Shun, to live in peace, to report nothing, to be vigilant day and night..." This person did not understand Kangxi's character, and in the memorial, he used a lot of formulas to sing praises. Regarding local affairs and rain conditions, he also reported good news but not bad news.This person was probably a military officer of the Han Army Banner, and the master he used did not know the rules, so he stamped an official seal on the memorial.Kangxi Zhu commented: "Understood. The characters have been folded to write clear characters, and there is no need to use seals." "Qingzi" means Manchurian. What Kangxi meant was that this kind of memorial was a secret memorial, not an official document. Li Linsheng had to write it himself, and if he couldn't write Chinese characters, he could write Qingzi. After Li Linsheng received the imperial approval, he submitted another memorial: "...I look up to my majesty, who inherits the heaven and the emperor, and is proficient in English. Although he is holy and takes care of all kinds of opportunities every day, he still thinks about people's livelihood all the time. Because of the apology of Hedong, he went to the holy bosom, and he has given him the special kindness of relief. The Kuangdian of the Fu-free, the sincerity and merits of the world, the demeanor of hundreds of kings, the poor at home and abroad, and the incomparable Dai Yaotian...The minister should follow the order and use the Qing characters to fold it, but although the minister understands it a little The characters, due to aging and dim eyesight, can not be written, and the grammar of clear characters is not clear. If someone copy it for you, the minister does not understand the deep meaning of it, and sincerely fears that the words and sentences will be inappropriate. It is still allowed to play in Chinese characters, especially if the common people make mistakes.” Kangxi commented: "Understood. I may not be able to write this Chinese language by myself." He knew that this general had limited ink in his stomach, and this memorial must have been written by someone else, so he satirized him a little, and he did not expect him to be able to write his own memorials and secretly report local information in the future. Although Li Linsheng's memorial was written by his master, there are still some inconsistencies in it.For example, "Although the minister knows a little bit of Qing characters, he can't write because of his aging eyesight, and he also doesn't understand the grammar of Qing characters."The sentence in the original compromise has become an accusation of Manchurian "literary incomprehension".Fortunately, Kangxi leniently offered a large amount and would not be held accountable. If Emperor Yongzheng became a meticulous and profound emperor, he might be reprimanded by decree and fined him to "degrade to another level and make meritorious deeds".