Chapter 9 Chapter Ninth: Flying and Flickering, Smiling, False

Kangxi was startled, and when he looked up, it turned out to be Li Yuliang, a native of the Taoist. Wei Dongting and the others stopped attacking, wanting to hear what the Taoist priest wanted to say.However, the three masked men took the opportunity to whistle and rushed towards Kangxi.Wei Dongting and others were about to rescue them, but Taoist Yuliang scolded angrily: "Slave dog, play wild!" Following the shout, the whisk swung, and the three bone-piercing nails flew out with a whistling sound.None of the three big men escaped, and fell down in the snow with a plop.One of them probably didn't hurt any vital parts. After struggling for a while, he suddenly jumped up and jumped onto the wall with a "whoosh".Yuliang sneered:

"Good boy, you are considered a hero if you can catch my dart. Leave the knife behind and let you go!" As he spoke, another dart was thrown, and the arm of the man on the wall trembled, and the knife fell to the ground.He didn't dare to stay; he didn't even dare to turn his head back. With a kick, he fled to the northwest. Taoist Yuliang walked down the steps calmly, and bowed deeply to Kangxi: "Long live, Pindao originally wanted to join in the fun with the prefect of Datong here, but since Wan live has decided to deal with him, it seems that I am no longer needed, so let's leave!"

As soon as he said a word, everyone was shocked.It turned out that their whereabouts were not only detected by the assassin, but also seen through by the Taoist priest Li Yuliang.Now, once this piece of paper is punctured, Kangxi has no intention of hiding it.Hearing that Yuliang was going, he said wistfully: "The Taoist priest has such good skills, why bother to bow down to Taoism, are you willing to come out and serve the country?" "Haha, am I not serving the country? I know that my fortune is shallow, so I dare not be rewarded by the emperor, and I can't bear to be restricted by the emperor's etiquette. I just want to swim freely between the rivers and lakes!" Aunt Su Ma is a An extremely careful person, she has already seen that this little Taoist priest Li Yuliang, no matter in terms of appearance, temperament, behavior, is nothing like a woman.She disguised herself as a man like this, and she must have an unspeakable background.This man is bold and meticulous, with strong martial arts. If he can become a partner with Wu Ciyou, his own concerns will be settled. Thinking of this, he said to Li Yuliang with a pleasant face: "The Taoist priest not only has the intention of serving the country, but also has the intention of the mountains and the wild." Yazhi, she has the same temperament as my master's teacher Mr. Wu, do you know Mr. Wu Ciyou's behavior?"

"Ah, Mr. Wu is a genius today, no one knows. The poor Taoist has already raised his curtains and is trying to find him." After he finished speaking, he whistled, and a black donkey with snow-white hooves ran out happily behind the shop.Yuliang leaned over and rode up, arched his hands and said "Meng Lang", and disappeared into the wind and snow. Wei Dongting saw Kangxi standing in the snow in a daze.He came up and reported: "One of these two assassins is dead, and the other is seriously injured. Please show me, what should I do?" Kangxi came back to his senses at this time, and asked sharply: "Where is the owner? Is it theirs?" A group?" "That's not true. The shopkeeper was killed inside. The servant knew there was an assassin only when he saw the blood on the door frame." "Yes." Kangxi ordered as he walked back: "Wolf Tan will bring the assassin to the door." After the secret interrogation, Xiao Weizi will come here, and the rest will serve as usual. Aunt Su Ma, go and take care of Lafayette, don't let the old man be surprised."

Wei Dongting anxiously followed Kangxi into the west room of the upper room. Seeing Kangxi's complexion was very bad, he quickly knelt down and said, "Master is shocked. This slave is not cautious, please punish me!" "Get up, I'm the one who wants to go out, it has nothing to do with you." Kangxi suppressed the fear in his heart, casually picked up the memorial that was just thrown on the kang table, opened it and read it carefully, Xiao Maozi walked over quietly , gave Kangxi a cup of hot tea, the room was extremely quiet.Wei Dongting and Xiao Maozi, looking at Kangxi's stern and pensive face, stood aside, not even daring to breathe.

After a long while, Kangxi finally uttered a sentence: "Xiao Maozi, wait for the brush. Wei Dongting, come and draw up an order for me: Governor Mo Luo and Bai Qing'er, the governors of Shanxi Province, are clean and honest officials, and their loyalty is commendable. Since Xi'an The people kowtowed at the palace to protect their capital, and Suo'etu and Xiong Cilu interceded for them. According to their wishes, let Mo Luo and the other two be transferred to Beijing for use. In addition, by the way, tell Mingzhu that the previous mission was cancelled, and he was ordered to rush to Anhui immediately. , looking for Mr. Wu, and will escort him to Beijing."

Wei Dongting pondered for a while and said: "Master calm down, the slave is talkative, Mo Luo and Bai Qing are clean and exonerated, the master's handling is very appropriate. However, the Mingzhu official is high-ranking, so going to Anhui may disturb the local people, and it may be inconvenient to find Mr. Wu Woolen cloth." "Hey! You only know one thing, but not the other. According to Suo'etu, after Geng Jingzhong left the capital, he did not return to Fujian, but quietly went to Yunnan! From this point of view, the situation will soon change drastically. Mr. Wu once drew up a strategy for me to withdraw from the vassal. Wu Sangui and the others will not let him go, and they must send a reliable and capable person to protect Mr. Wu when I come back. Since Mr. Wu left me and returned to the mountains, he has been giving lectures everywhere , to recruit talents from all over the world for me. Everywhere he went, he was accompanied by professors from various places to receive him, and there were memorials in return. But since he left Fengyang, he suddenly lost news. How could I not Worried about his safety?"

From Kangxi's face, Wei Dongting suddenly realized the seriousness of the matter.If Wu Ciyou falls into the hands of King Pingxi, the imperial court's plan to withdraw the domain will be completely disrupted!Thinking of this, Wei Dongting cheered up and said, "Master, don't worry too much. Mr. Wu is open-minded by nature, and he can't stand the formalities of the government. Maybe he is traveling in the mountains and rivers, or he is sick. This is all reasonable... Even if he unfortunately falls Falling into a trap, how can a land as high-spirited and upright as he be willing to betray his master to survive?"

"Oh! I hope so! Huchen, you don't understand human nature. Mr. Wu taught me in the Suo'etu Mansion back then, and he himself once said, 'It's easy to die generously, but it's difficult to die calmly'. If you are forced I also believe that Mr. Wu will not bow his head, just be afraid..." He wanted to say "the Han people are weak and weak", but suddenly remembered that Wei Dongting was also a Han, so he changed his words and said: "The only one who dies is the hard work of all ages. !" Kangxi was no longer talking to Wei Dongting, but was talking to himself: "The rumors circulating in the capital include both about San Francisco and the third prince Zhu... Where did they come from? ?”

While he was meditating, Lang Tan hurried in and said: "Master, that thief has recruited." "Whose mastermind?" Kangxi asked urgently, "Wouldn't it be Wu Sangui?" "No," Lang Tan hurriedly said, "The assassin said he was a middle-aged man in his forties—they called him 'Third Prince Zhu'!" "What, Third Prince Zhu? Where is Third Prince Zhu now? How many people are there? Has he recruited them all?" "He said that they came from Yunnan. There were more than 30 people in total, all of whom were very skilled. A group of 18 people went to Wutai Mountain to hijack the car, and the rest have sneaked into Beijing with the surname Zhu. He doesn't know the details of the plot." ——The three of them wanted to fight for merit, so they came here quietly tonight. They said that the rest of the people are all on the mountain..."

"Hey, how did they know that I was going to Mount Wutai?" "The assassin said that the higher-ups asked them to do it." "Okay! Retrial!" "Long live," Lang Tan replied somewhat embarrassedly, "he...has died." Kangxi looked at Wei Dongting.Wei Dongting bowed and said softly: "Long live, only three people are here tonight, it's already so dangerous, there are still fifteen people waiting in Wutai Mountain, it seems that the bandits are determined to win! The slave thought that he should play Lafayette immediately, and returned overnight Return to Beijing. This will not only make it difficult for the hidden bandits in Wutai Mountain to succeed, but also the traitors in Beijing will be caught off guard—disrupt their positions first, and then it will not be too late to run the prefect of Datong!" Kangxi was startled at first, then suddenly laughed loudly: "There is no need to be in such a hurry, now you are running away in the snow and night, are you not afraid that the government and the public will laugh at me? I am cowardly?" What is there to be afraid of? Wutai Mountain can not be visited for the time being, and after the bastard surnamed Zhou is dealt with tomorrow, I will stop by to visit Yipan." In Shahe Town, the reception banquet prepared for Zhou Yunlong, the magistrate, was arranged at the home of Cai Liangdao, the largest squire in the area and a former co-prefect.As I said before, Cai Liangdao and Zhou Yunlong were in the same year of the provincial examination. Since resigning from office and returning home, they really can't understand Zhou Yunlong's actions.This time, the two cases happened at my doorstep, and I felt sorry for the folks in the village if I didn't come forward to take care of them.Besides, Liu Qingyuan, the magistrate of the county, came to the door in person and begged bitterly, but this kind of affection couldn't be pushed away.However, whether he can succeed or not, he is not at all sure. Early this morning, Kangxi brought Wei Dongting and Xiao Maozi to the gate of Cai's mansion.After the announcement, Cai Liangdao was stunned: "Young Master Long from Beijing? Who is he? I don't know him." Hearing from his family, this young master is very powerful, so he didn't dare to be negligent, so he rushed out to greet him. "Ah, is Mr. Long under your feet? It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm glad to meet you. I don't know that you are coming to the humble house, so I am far away from welcoming you. Please forgive me." Kangxi measured him up and down, and saw that he was about fifty years old, with a thin body, a red face, and a goatee. He looked like a simple and simple person, so he treated him with courtesy. : "How dare, how dare. My surname is Long, and my name is Dehai. I brought my grandmother to the mountains to offer incense. In the inn, I heard that Zhou Taizun had an entanglement with a horse dealer. In theory, this matter has nothing to do with me, but there are horse dealers. One of my distant relatives heard from him that Mr. Cai wanted to intercede for them, which made me admire him so much, so I took the liberty to bother you, and I hope you will forgive me if I am disrespectful!" "Young Master Long, what did you say? The young master is driving in a humble house in vain, full of brilliance. Please, please come inside." Cai Liangdao led them to the middle hall and met with four horse traders.While giving up his seat, he twitched his beard and murmured: "This Zhou Yunlong is a famous scholar in the south of Shanxi. He is arrogant in his writings, articulate, and extremely tough in the background. It seems that although he is a modest gentleman, he is actually very tricky in his heart. We can only try our best. Whether we can succeed or fail is still in between!" When he said this, several horsemen were in a hurry at that time, and they all came up to ask Wantuo, and said good things about the big cart.Kangxi talked about Wei Dongting and Xiao Maozi himself, picked a seat in the corner of the hall and sat down, quietly watching the development of the situation. After about half an hour, the sound of gongs and quiet paths came from outside.The hall was full of people, and even Cai Liangdao became nervous inside.Cai Liangdao spun around with his hands clasped, and said to everyone in the hall, "Everyone, the Taizun and the county lord have arrived. Let's welcome them!" With this reminder, four horsemen and five or six squires got up one after another. Following Cai Liangdao, he rushed out of the hall. Zhou Yunlong stepped into the gate with one foot, cupped his hands, and said with a chuckle: "Brother Jingyun, it's been a long time!" I remember that it's been three years since I left Shijiazhuang—yo!Seeing you with white hair all over your head, you really look like 'like blue silk in the morning and snow in the evening'!Hahaha..." As he spoke, he took Cai Liangdao's hand and walked into the hall. Cai Liangdao let him in and introduced them one by one. Zhou Yunlong only nodded and smiled. Liu Qingyuan who followed behind also greeted Cai Liangdao with a smile on his face. Kangxi was in the corner of the hall, sizing up Zhou Yunlong with his eyes.I saw him wearing a robe with eight pythons and five claws, decorated with a white crane patch, the crystal top swayed and shone brightly, his face was like a crown jade, his eyes were piercing, and he was magnificent and elegant with a five-layered beard.In comparison, Liu Qingyuan looked restrained and shabby, his eyes were so short-sighted that he squinted at people, giving people an uncomfortable feeling when he saw him.Kangxi couldn't help sighing secretly: "People can't judge by appearance, it's true!" When he turned to look at Wei Dongting, Wei Dongting was staring at Zhou Yunlong intently.But Xiao Maozi stared at the table with both eyes, he had already tasted a sip every time, and only thought about how to take a sip of wine first while others were not paying attention, so as to avoid accidents. Kangxi was about to say something when Zhou Yunlong was accompanied by Cai Liangdao and turned around.He glanced at Kangxi thoughtfully, and suddenly asked, "Brother Jingyun, who is this?" Kangxi was startled, and then he thought he was asking himself, he stood up and smiled and said, "I didn't know Long Dehai, I went from Tongzhou to Wutai Mountain to offer incense. Thanks to Mr. Cai's invitation to come here, I am so lucky to be able to recognize my face in late life!" "Huh." Zhou Yunlong lowered his head and muttered, then returned to the superior position.In the sixth year of Kangxi, he worked as a secretary in the Ministry of Internal Affairs for three months. He met Kangxi, and now he felt familiar, but how could he remember it?Kangxi looked at himself in a cloth robe, and couldn't help but smile secretly. After drinking for three rounds, Cai Liangdao brought the conversation back to the main topic: "Your Majesty knows that although horses are a government decree, it is not easy for small people and small businesses to rent goods. Seeing that after the beginning of spring, Henan is going to use horses for reclamation. It has also been clearly advocated many times. I will not talk about these things. Right now, it is up to you to accept or release them. These horse dealers are fellow villagers of Liu Xianzun. If you can open a way and let them go back, It is also a great good governance of Brother Yunlong..." Zhou Yunlong didn't answer, but turned the big pine cone fish over with chopsticks, and said with a smile: "Brother Jingyun, this dish is really not bad. If there are more, ask them to send me some." Cai Liang said this man Old-fashioned and honest, Zhou Yunlong didn't hear Zhou Yunlong saying that he was "excessive (fish)", so he agreed repeatedly, and then ordered the cook: "Make another one immediately".Liu Qingyuan, who was sitting next to Zhou Yunlong, gave a wry smile, got up and filled Zhou Yunlong's wine, and said, "My lord, as far as I know, the imperial court's decree to levy horses has not yet come down. It is not a good businessman who went out to buy horses privately. The humble official has already reported to the government several times. If the horses can be returned, not only will they be honored by you forever, but the face of the Kaifeng government will also be maintained. If the government officials are worried that there will not be enough horses this year If you can't return it, look at Cai Yuanwai's face, can you return the price of the horse, so that they can make a small profit, and it won't stop the horse trade in the Central Plains..." Zhou Yunlong agreed, "Okay! This is all reasonable. Your county is sympathetic to the people's feelings, which makes Zhou very respectful. I know that you have a lot of ways to get money for your fellow villagers. This matter is not difficult to handle." Just ask your county to add some more to the price of horses from the fire consumption. Why bother to mobilize people to make these false articles?" He put the chopsticks on the table and took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth.Liu Qingyuan first heard his promise, and he couldn't help but feel happy, but later he heard that he had to extort the people to make up the debt, so he couldn't help being stunned, and sat back down again.He murmured: "If it's hundreds of taels of silver, it can still be dealt with. How can Fanzhi County manage this huge sum of nine thousand taels?" Several horse dealers listened.They were all stunned and just begged for mercy.Zhou Yunlong didn't look at them, he just chatted with Cai Liangdao with a smile on his face.Everyone in the hall, including Liu Qingyuan, was told that they didn't know what to do. Cai Liangdao knew that this person was difficult to deal with, so he stood up and poured wine, while persuading softly: "Brother Nian, Fanzhi County is in great need, how can we afford so much for a while. Brother Nian got off the bus in Datong, and has always loved the people like a child , I have to pay more attention to my feelings!" "Brother Cai's words are wrong. It's not that Mr. Zhou is unwilling to think about Liu Xianzun, nor is it that I deliberately refute your face. It's just that the subordinates have to do so. The day before yesterday, for the sake of that tricky woman The thing is, Liu Xian respected the law and guarded the land, but in fact he wanted to add crimes to the lower officials. He thought he was upright and upright, but he didn't expect that today he would do this for the sake of your fellow countrymen. He also did such a thing of perverting the law and cheating, which made the lower officials puzzled .” Liu Qingyuan originally planned to intercede for the girl after rescuing the horse dealer, but he didn't want to, the first thing he did was hit a wall, and Zhou Yunlong used this to suppress himself.He wants to be confronted, but he is afraid that things will get stuck and it will be even more difficult to handle; but if he admits to being defeated, what face does he have as the magistrate of the county to meet the people? After much deliberation, he doesn't know how to answer. Kangxi saw Zhou Yunlong's domineering and unreasonable appearance, and couldn't hold back for a long time, so he gave Xiao Maozi a wink.Xiao Maozi understood and stood up to speak.