Chapter 50 The 50th Chapter: Complementing Leniency and Strictness

Saharang and Kaerqin were sent to Beijing, where they were locked up in a prison temple surrounded by beekeepers.When they left Shanxi, they felt a lot of peace in their hearts, because Shanxi was the place where Karjishan had been operating for many years, and the officials followed suit. Who would take care of them at the risk of offending Karjishan and Fu Heng?In Shanxi, three meals a day, the buckwheat flour is mushy, and the stick noodle and steamed buns are eaten one at a time, and family members are not allowed to deliver meals.It's not bad here, the Ministry of Criminal Affairs has always stipulated that the food for unsentenced prisoners is twenty-four liang per month, and they can also eat fine rice and white noodles, and they can't stop the meat, which is nothing compared to Taiyuan.As soon as Sun Jiagan returned to Beijing, he handed over the errand, which was directly managed by Shi Yi of the Criminal Department. This also made these two people feel relieved.Shi Yizhi was upright and courageous, but he was not as hard-hearted as Sun Jiagan.Moreover, the affairs of the Ministry of Criminal Justice are actually managed by Liu Tongxun, and Liu Tongxun is a scholar who was selected by Ka Erqin in Shandong.Sahalang's backer is Yunlu, and Kaerqin's backer is in the Imperial Academy.Therefore, when they arrived in Beijing, each of them had friends who would come to visit the prison and visit them. Today they will be together, and tomorrow they will take turns serving as hosts. They eat better than the current officials.The jailers were happy to be human beings because it was a finalized case.Look at the beginning of winter, the annual imperial decree to convict criminals has long since ceased as usual, this year is irrelevant, no punishment will be imposed in spring and summer, and the execution will be delayed until next autumn. Grace, everything will be blown by the wind!

The two were secretly happy.There was no guest on this day, so Saharang served as the host, and gave twenty taels of silver, ten taels for the guards, and twelve taels for a table to eat and drink to cool off the cold.He smiled and said to Ka Erqin: "It's me today, you come tomorrow. Next time your friend comes to greet me, my friend will call you too, don't let outsiders see you." "I wish I had said this a year earlier." Kaerqin said with a wry smile, "This is just a joke." Sahara blushed a little.The two of them were originally in different furnaces like ice and coal.The reason was caused by Sahalang.When Ka Erqin heard that Saha Rang urged his subordinates to expose his cheating in the examination room, Ka Erqin was unwilling to sit still and acted first, and instigated his disciples to inform the governor Kaer Jishan about Saha Rang's corruption.It trembled more and more like a ball of thread, and it got bigger and bigger like a snowball.At that moment Sahalang said with a smile: "What's the use of mentioning these? Now we are fellow prisoners." When Kaerqin wanted to talk, he saw four jailers carrying a table of rich dishes and putting them in Sahalang's room. In the north room of the west wing, the two of them had just sat down and hadn't raised their glasses when they heard someone outside ask:

"Which room does Teacher Ka live in?" Kaerqin and Sahalang saw in a blink of an eye that it was Liu Tongxun!The two of them trembled in shock and wanted to stand up, but their legs were so weak that they didn't have any strength.Seeing that Liu Tongxun didn't bring anyone with him, it was expected to be a private visit, and the two regained their calm.Sahalang got up first to greet him, and Kaerqin still wanted to show the teacher's score, so he just stood up and nodded with a smile, and said, "It's Yanqing! Come in and sit down. If you don't mind, let's have a few drinks together."

"Teacher Ka is well!" Liu Tongxun greeted Kaerqin with a smile, and then bowed to Saha, sat down relaxedly, and said, "Have you eaten anything, student? What's wrong with you! Come, I Borrowing flowers to present Buddha, first toast to the teacher." Filled the wine, held it to Kaerqin with both hands, then raised the glass to touch Sahalang, and said with a smile: "Come, let's have a drink with the teacher. I am used to living here. I have to come here every time, because I stumbled halfway and couldn't get out. I also want to take care of the two of you here. The weather in Beijing is too cold this year!"

He exchanged warm greetings, but the two of them harbored ulterior motives. Seeing that he never mentioned the case, they felt a little anxious.But the most important thing for banner people is to be calm and unrestrained. If people don't say it, it is very difficult to ask for love and information.After talking nonchalantly for a while, Sahalang tentatively asked: "Is the emperor busy these days? Is he in good health?" "Busy!" Liu Tongxun persuasively persuaded him to drink, "I'm busy with palace exams for a while now! The emperor has dealt with several royal relatives, and the Sixteenth Lord has also been punished. Several chief officials of the Seventh Division Yamen were closed and demoted. .Beijing, it’s very lively these days!” Then he gave a detailed account of the situation of Hongsheng and the others.Sahalang knew a little about this matter.No one was killed in such a big case, and his own affairs probably didn't matter.He pondered and said to himself: "Master Zhuang is the one who loves me the most. As I said, he can't come, and he has to send a eunuch to look at me, a troubled man. How do you know that something happened to him?" Long sigh.

Ka Erqin was concerned about the imperial examination, and asked Liu Tongxun, "Who is the number one scholar in this discipline?" "This science is amazing, and it's the Manchus who took the lead!" Liu Tongxun held up his wine and touched the two, drank together, and said with a smile: "It's the eldest son of Le Zhongcheng, who used to be the governor of Huguang, and his name is Le Min. He was originally ranked second in the second class. The emperor said that it is not easy for Manchurians to pass the exam, and they have to set an example for the banner people, and Yubi ticked the first place. This is really an odd number."

The two of them pretended to be their own case, but they couldn't ask questions, and they were extremely anxious.After drinking hot wine to cover his face, Saharang finally couldn't help it, and asked: "Yanqing, in fact, you are under the seal of the Ministry of Criminal Justice now, and our case is not short. What is the intention of the court?" Without hesitation, he said: "This is a routine thing, of course there is a rule." This is a rambling nonsense, but Liu Tongxun refused to elaborate, and the two of them were also in a hurry, so they had to continue to drink and gossip.Looking at Tian Jiang Chen Shi, Saharan said: "Usually, at this time, friends have come to visit one after another. How come none of them have come today? It's strange."

"That's so strange," Liu Tongxun said with a smile, "It's cold." Just as he was speaking, Qian Du walked in.Ka Erqin said: "This is not Qian Du, what a rare visitor! Come, come, come in and take a seat, and you will be punished with three glasses of wine first!" Qian Du ignored him, and only stepped forward and bowed to Liu Tongxun, saying, "The time has come." "Understood." Liu Tongxun nodded and said, stood up, no smile on his face, just nodded politely to Ka Erqin, and said: "This is something that can't be helped. If you don't want to do it, you have to do it, and if you don't want to say it, you have to do it." Said. Here is the twenty taels of silver that brother Sa rewarded the servant." He took out the Beijing ingot and put it on the table. "This banquet is my guest, and I'm here to see you off."

Only then did Sahalang and Ka Erqin realize that something was wrong, their faces turned pale with fright, and they sat motionless on their chairs.Liu Tongxun saw that the people outside were ready, and seeing that they were limp, he ordered coldly: "Come in, and help the two masters to receive the order." After the two were forced to kneel down tremblingly, Liu Tongxun opened the edict and read out: Both Kaerqin and Sahalang are third-rank officials of the imperial court. They dared to break the law, deceived their minds and scorned reason.That is to say, Saharang is kidnapped and sent to the execution ground to be executed.Ka Erqin wrote Ci to commit suicide, and returned to his life in the afternoon, don't wait for the later edict.This!

"Thanks...thanks...en..." The two replied half-consciously. Liu Tongxun ordered someone to help them up, and sighed: "I can't help myself as an imperial envoy, I forgive you two will not be offended. Brother Sa is my supervisor, and I have told them to do their work more neatly. Teacher Ka, don't worry, the students still have something to do at home. I'll take care of it—come!" "exist!" "Tie up Sahara!" "tie!" The yamen servants are all experienced twisters, and they tied them up as soon as they came up.No matter how Liu Tongxun repeated his orders to "tie loosen", he was still tied up so tightly that the face of a feudal master turned red.Liu Tongxun stopped talking, silently bowed to the distraught Ka Erqin, and said to Qian Du: "I am so good to wait for Teacher Ka to ascend to heaven, and you go directly to report to the emperor." Then I heard the bullock carts rolling away outside.What was left was a dead silence.

"Master Ka." Qian Du looked at Kaerqin, who was out of his wits, and seeing that he had no reaction, he took another step forward and said softly: "Mr. Kaer!" Kaerqin's throat moved, and he muttered something, Qian Du smiled and said: "Short and short, life and death are at stake, why are you so reluctant to let go?" As he said, he took out a dagger, a rope, and a pack of medicine from his bosom, shook them open, poured them into the flagon, shook them, and Push it in front of Kaerqin. When Kaerqin saw these three things, he seemed to have just woken up from a nightmare. He squatted in his chair with a scream, covered his face with his hands, and shouted to the sky: "It's so...so miserable...I never thought I would end up like this...no, No! I want to meet the Holy Majesty, I have something important to say, Karjishan—" "Karjishan has been transferred from Shanxi." Qian Du said coldly, "He wants to do evil, and the emperor has his own rules. You'd better end it quickly. You know, struggling is worse than dying! Besides, , There is a word in the imperial decree, you don't have to wait for the next order, the emperor will rectify the administration of officials, starting from you, how can you be spared?" "No, no! I don't!" Qian Du smiled, picked up the wine, and said, "If I want to choose for you, I would rather use this wine. This is specially prepared by Lord Yan Qing for you, just eat it. This knife is also poisoned, and the blood seals the throat .You don't use the rope..." "No……" "You don't want to kill yourself," Qian Du said with a sneer, "I have no choice but to ask someone to help you kill yourself, otherwise, my errand can't be done, how can I pay the order?" He shouted, and immediately came in four members of the Ministry of Punishment, and said: "Master Bang Bangka. This is a good deed!" Four yamen servants came over immediately, two pinned Kaerqin, one stuffed the poisoned wine cup into Kaerqin's hand, and clamped his hand so that he could not let go, one pinched Kaerqin's nose and raised his ear, Forcibly poured the poisoned wine into it—he took the wine "by himself", and opened his mouth "by himself", which of course meant "suicide"—seeing that he died, Qian Du asked the coroner to fill in the corpse, and walked out of the beekeeper to sit The sedan chair drove away. Arriving at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Qian Du saw that the sky was not yet noon, so he first invited Wang Sha to go in and report, and then asked the eunuch Little Sula next to him: "Who is the Emperor meeting with?" "The champion of the new division, Le Min." The eunuch, who was familiar with Qian Du, said with a smile, "My master is happy today. He has ordered Fu Liuye to come back and serve as minister of military aircraft, minister of the study room, and minister of the guards! My dear girl, Even Ezhongtang and Nezhongtang are pushed down to the second floor!" As he spoke, the order was called "Qian Du came in".Qian Du hurriedly agreed and walked quickly into the East Nuan Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Qianlong was really happy.He was not wearing court clothes.Because it was very warm in the room, he only wore a brown lambskin wind wool silk gown, without even a belt. He sat very upright, but looked easy-going and unrestrained.Le Min, who was standing aside, looked very reserved.Seeing Qian Du coming in, he nodded to Qian Du as a greeting.Qian Du slapped Qian'er skillfully to Qianlong, kowtowed over his head, slapped Qian'er again, and said: "The servant's errand has been completed." "Have you tried it?" "This is the autopsy." Qianlong smiled, took a glance at it and put it aside, and said: "This kind of thing happened in the hands of the holy grandfather. He gave the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi to die, but he took fake medicine. He lived for a few years before he discovered it. He killed himself. He refused to 'suicide', so it was difficult for Sha to send the police." "This medicine was tested by feeding the dog first," Qian Du hurriedly said: "If such absurd things really happen, the master will give the slave to die!" Only then did Le Min know what kind of errand Qian Du was on.Hearing the chiming bell strike twelve times in a row.Le Min sighed: "At this moment, Sahalang's head has fallen to the ground. The master's rectification will not hurt the political purpose of leniency, but also make the administration of officials serious. This is the benevolence of heaven. I care about light rumors and light poems. The history of bamboo and silk will be a model for future generations. This move is better than Taishan Fengchan!" "I am determined to create a world of great prosperity in the Qing Dynasty. Because the holy ancestor and Shizong left me a treasure, that is benevolence and dictatorship." Qianlong's eyes sparkled, but then he became gloomy, "The current situation , so easier said than done? I haven’t been to the South since I ascended the throne, but I have personally seen it in the North. I don’t believe the nonsense of “the people are rich and happy” in the booklet of Please An! You just mentioned Feng Chan, that’s Emperor Wu. This is what the arrogant emperor does. The world is safe, the family is rich and the people are full, so what is the harm if it is not enshrined in Zen? Thieves are rampant, and the people are in dire straits, so what good is enshrining Zen? In the 30th year of Jianwu, Emperor Guangwu visited the east, and the courtiers said that the Han Dynasty had revived for 30 years. Who am I to deceive, to deceive the sky?! Who dares to call Xumei and Qu'a to beg for favor, I will shave his head and go to the army!'—An emperor who dares to say such a thing is really a manly emperor!" Qianlong stood up, took out a paper bag in front of the gold-lacquered cabinet, put it on the imperial case, and asked, "Qian Du, do you remember the first time I met you, sitting around the stove in a snowy day?" "The slave didn't know the holy face at the time." Of course Qian Du remembered those words, but he didn't dare to say it directly. I don't know." "You forgot, but I haven't. It's this kind of unintentional words that are extremely precious." He shook off the paper bag and said, "Look." The two of them shot their gazes over at the same time. It was a piece of black charcoal. After examining it carefully, they realized that it was an oatmeal cornbread with bran mixed in, and there were traces of it. It seemed that some dried vegetables were kneaded in. On the kang table carved with jade and inlaid with gold, it seems that it has also become a living creature, looking at the people in a daze. "This is the 'meal' of the people in eastern Jin!" Qianlong smiled disappointedly, "You forgot, but I tried it according to what you forgot. This is an ordinary meal for the family. This is a mirror that reflects both the people and the officials. Therefore, I have decreed that Karjishan be transferred away. The officials involved in the two cases of corruption will be handed over to the Ministry for punishment. All officials in Shanxi will stop paying their salaries for one year, and use this money to help the people!" For some reason, hearing Qianlong's words, the two people with different thoughts and feelings both shed tears. "You go out to be an envoy this time, don't learn from the eight government patrols in the theater." Qianlong seemed to be very excited, "sitting in the yamen and waiting for someone to file a complaint. It's very boring—a hat of an upright official falls from the sky for you to wear, and that upright official is too cheap! You talk to Qian Du and listen to his advice. He didn't tell the truth just now, and he was just fooling me!" After saying that, he laughed, seeing that Qian Du was about to kneel, he said again: "It's human nature - you kneel down!" Qian Du and Le Min breathed a sigh of relief after leaving the Xihua Gate.Qian Du smiled and said: "Duke Zhuangyuan, you have become an inspector, and I am an executioner today. How about going to your house to have some joy?" Le Min said: "I still want to go to Xiwa, where I want to burn incense Pray for Yu'er and the others. Let's go tonight, let's talk together according to the order. By the way, I will treat you to a drink, and no outsiders will be seen." After saying that, they each waved their hands and bid farewell. Qianlong read the memorials, wrote the Zhu Zhu, and received people from time to time. Even for dinner, he summoned the ministers to give a speech.Arranging for the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Officials to send new Jinshi to various provinces to take up positions, or to stay in Beijing to stay in the Ministry, are screened one by one.Weigh them one by one according to age, personality, appearance, and speech, and arrange for them to be interviewed starting tomorrow.I was busy until it was dark before I went to the Compassion Palace to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager.When they came out, they had already turned on the lights.However, he saw a court lady facing him, carrying a lantern and bringing a person over. When he looked intently, Qianlong couldn't help crying out: "Tang'er!" Not long after giving birth, Tang'er's face was still a little pale. After not seeing Qianlong for a long time, she felt a little flustered at first sight, and she blushed secretly. In front of everyone, she could only pretend to be generous, squatted down to salute, and said softly: "Master, all blessings!" "Retire if you have nothing to do." Qianlong waved his hand.Everyone immediately backed away knowingly.Qianlong said to Tang'er: "Let's go to the old place." "At this moment..." "Don't be afraid!" Qianlong said: "Scatter a handful of lawful grass, and if they talk nonsense again, they will definitely be killed!" Tang'er was speechless, and followed him to the Garden of Compassion.Stand in front of Guanyin Pavilion.It was the same season, the same place, and the same two people, but there was moonlight that night, and at this time, even the stars were covered by clouds, and only a few dim palace lanterns in the distance reflected their figures.Tang'er threw herself into Qianlong's arms and sobbed softly: "I...I miss the emperor so much...you don't know how difficult it is for Fu'er to be born. He is not at home, and you can't come to see me... ...I'm so miserable..." "I miss you too..." Qianlong held her shoulder with one hand, and stroked her long hair tenderly with the other, "I will never forget you wherever I go, and I will never forget you. I always miss you, and my heart aches your……" Tang'er raised her head, it was so dark that she couldn't see Qianlong's face clearly.Suddenly, two cold tears fell on her cheeks.She asked in panic: "Master, master! What's wrong with you? You're crying, weeping. — Ah! What you said just now... I don't understand, are you going to leave me?" "Yes." Qianlong stroked her face and held her tightly in his arms.His voice was choked with sobs, "Fu Heng is about to return to the imperial court and be reused. You...our fate...is over. Hearts are endless, so my heart is bleeding." "Didn't you say..." "I'm not afraid. But it's not good for Fu Heng, for Zhen, or for you." Qianlong's voice was full of sadness. "At that time, I sent him out to be with you... But he is indeed not only an uncle of the country, but also a pillar of support to my great cause. Now for the sake of the society, I want to reuse him as the first minister. I can only, no, I I had no choice but to bear the pain and give up my love..." Tang'er slowly left Qianlong's embrace, and stared at Qianlong's stalwart body with wide eyes.Said: "The emperor is not afraid, I am not afraid, I don't want the emperor to bear the reputation. You are the biggest, I am a little girl, a sip of medicine will kill everything in one go." "Silly girl, this is exactly what I don't want to see. If you really love me, keep it in your heart, and look forward to the next life. We can meet each other tacitly in the future!" Qianlong said, "You don't understand, it's not The emperor is the biggest. Really, I won't lie to you." "Who? Who is bigger than the emperor?!" "Confucius." The two of them fell silent, and stood side by side in front of the Guanyin Pavilion. From some room came the sound of the golden bell ringing, long and trembling, like a never-ending sigh. end of part one Shanghuan Yuwan in September 1992