Chapter 72 Section 72

This summoning took two hours.Ming Shan returned to the House of Internal Affairs, first went to Chong Lun who was in charge of the key, closed the door, and told him the emperor's intentions, saying that he had decided to start the construction, and he was ordered to conduct a secret investigation first, where should be repaired first, and where should be repaired later Which sum of money can be embezzled without arousing objections from Prince Gong and others?After discussing it, "pass the sign" please meet and play. Chong Lun was a capable employee in his early years, but now that he is old and has money, he really wants to be wise and safe, and work on errands in peace, and he has gone through a lot of things. He sees that the financial and material resources in front of him are not enough to carry out this great project, so he feels quite dissatisfied in his heart. That's right.But if you express your dissent bluntly, you will first offend the emperor, then the Empress Dowager Cixi, and finally offend the fellow officials and subordinates of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, because those people are all very excited, thinking that the great opportunity to get rich and promote, and to curry favor with the empress dowager and the emperor has come However, if you take a basin of cold water around your head, it will kill the scenery too much. As the minister in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who holds the key, it is very likely that he will not be able to protect himself.

For this reason, what he said was different from what he thought in his heart, "Since the emperor has a will, we must do our best to do it." Chong Lun said this, and cupped his hands: "This important event, You have to rely on Xian Qiaozi, you have to worry a lot, and you have to work a lot." "Don't dare, dare not!" Ming Shan thanked modestly, "We have to invite everyone to talk together." "Okay!" Chong Lun immediately agreed, "We will meet at my place tonight." As he said that, he immediately called in a pen post to write the knowledge list: "Apply for engraving today, clean the bottle and wait for the light", and the name will be opened below.After Chonglun, the ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were Chunyou, Kuiling, Mingshan, and Chengming in order of seniority, followed by "Ada" from Hongde Palace, and Gui Qing, the right minister of the household department and also the minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

"Wait!" Ming Shan stopped the post and wrote down, raised his eyes to discuss with Chong Lun: "I think there is no need to inform Gui Lianfang, right?" As the name suggests, the people of Guiqing, with Jiang Gui's nature, have the reputation of being upright. Once they arrived at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, they disregarded the face of the same officials. Chunyou and others were fined for one year's salary for the manuscripts annotated by the officials without inspection, and they were fined for one year, so they were out of tune with the same officials. Chonglun was thinking in his heart that if Guiqing was asked to discuss this matter, he would definitely sing the opposite tune and make the audience unhappy, and as a "walking in the Hongde Palace", he might have a camera when he taught Manchu to the emperor. admonish.Speaking of it was a discussion at Chonglun's family, and knowing about it, not only Mingshan who had followed the secret decree would be reprimanded, but he himself might also be angered by the emperor, so he accepted Mingshan's suggestion and did not invite Guiqing.

When it was time for work, they went home and changed into plain clothes, ready to go to the appointment.This is the first-class gathering of wealthy people in the capital, like fighting treasures in Lintong, everyone brings newly acquired antiques, rare curios, or rare calligraphy and paintings to the meeting, and has a look and comment with each other, and then the banquet is held, Hold the wine glass in your hand, and plan carefully. It is said that it is a small business, but it is actually a small talk, and the topic gets farther and farther, and it has been talked about how during the Qianlong period, every time he toured the south, he rebuilt the Old Summer Palace in imitation of the famous gardens in the south of the Yangtze River.In this way, when it comes to Xi San, only one decision is made, and it doesn't matter if this decision is not discussed, that is, Mingshan will investigate the current situation first.

In less than two days, Mingshan found a group of officials and craftsmen, went out of Xizhimen to the north, and went straight to Haidian to investigate the dilapidated Old Summer Palace. Every corner of Changchun and Wanchun Gardens.In addition to the most famous "Forty Beauties", there are hundreds of scenic spots in the three gardens, but the investigation results show that there are only thirteen of them. Although the investigation has yielded results, it is not yet time for a replay, because we cannot just say "there are still thirteen places", where are the thirteen places and are they connected?If you adapt to these thirteen places to practice, how will you cultivate the Dharma, how much will be paid for, and where will the money come from?

I can't play the report in detail, but I have to give a general idea, so it will take many days to play it again. Fortunately, the emperor didn't have the intention to ask this question for a while, the emperor was very annoyed by the meeting of the envoys from various countries.Every time a military plane is summoned, when it comes to this, he hears a lot of things he doesn't like to hear. It doesn't mean that Japan's "Secretary of Foreign Affairs" as the "Minister Plenipotentiary" has an arrogant attitude and all kinds of threats. It is said that Britain and France have warships sailing to Shanghai. If the envoys cannot enter the audience, I am afraid they will ask the teacher for their crimes.The emperor was young and energetic, and always asked aggressively: "The master doesn't want to see the bad guest, why can't he keep him out of the door?"And every time I asked this sentence, I couldn't get any definite answer.There is no choice but to let the Prime Minister's Yamen negotiate with the envoys of various countries. The meeting will be held sooner or later.

Of course, Prince Gong and Wen Xiang were more upset than the emperor. On the one hand, they were scolded by the emperor, on the other hand, they had to deal with the envoys of various countries, and on the other hand, they had to appease the "Qing Yi".It is possible to pretend to be deaf and dumb by speaking out after tea and wine, ignoring it on the surface, and clearing it up in secret, but if you openly write a book, you can't fall on deaf ears to those "righteous and strict" accusations. The excerpts were submitted by Wu Dacheng, editor of the Imperial Academy. He was a good scholar in the seventh year of Tongzhi.Because it is not "an official commentary from the day's talk", the memorial was played by the head of the Imperial Academy. It is very hard to say, "Our country is custom-made, and there are always ministers who do not kneel. If the guest etiquette is different from that of foreign vassals, it is necessary to implement Western etiquette in China, which is absolutely impossible. The system left behind is not obtained by the emperor alone, but it is private! If there are ministers who do not kneel under your majesty, it is not just that the country does not have such a political system, that is, it is in the court to discuss etiquette among the ministers, how can I feel at ease?"

Seeing this "communication" note, Prince Gong could only smile wryly, and passed it on to all the prime ministers and ministers, but most of them were silent, only Dong Xun, whose resentment was beyond words. "Scholars misjudging the country is often the case. It is all for their convenience to make high-level opinions. This matter cannot be settled. Even if they can enter the pilgrimage, the envoys of various countries have already held grudges, and the word 'repair' will be greatly discounted. This is like doing Buying and selling, knowing that this deal must be done, arguing about the price will not take advantage of it, why don't you just do it and make it more beautiful? I also want to make a deal next time..."

Dong Xun's words were a little imitative, and Wen Xiang couldn't hear him, so he stopped him with a wave of his hand, "Let's talk about seriousness!" He said, "Of course we must ignore Qing's arguments. Although their words can't help scratching their heads, it's also because of the estrangement. Therefore, the only way to be open and honest is to tell them all the difficulties of the people in the situation, or you can get an understanding. Since Wu Qingqing's note is submitted for discussion in a joint case, it can be reproduced in the same case in the future, so don't worry about it for the time being. In my opinion, when the matter has reached the point where it must be decided, the opinions of the envoys of various countries and the terms of the "Public Law of the Nations" must be spoken to the superiors. The emperor is very smart, as long as he knows the obstacles, Sacred Heart will naturally understand I am considerate. In my opinion, this matter has to be brokered by Tolansun, and it will be helpful when he speaks at random."

Li Hongzao was not with Prince Gong that day.When he arrived at the military plane the next day, Prince Gong invited him to a secluded place and made a request in person. "Lan Sun!" King Gong said slowly, "You have been in the court for a long time, and you are also a member of the game. If outsiders don't forgive you, people in the game should know the joys and sorrows. The accumulation of weakness did not happen overnight. It's not that you can deal with foreigners, or that in Yong and Qian's prosperous ages, the country is rich and can be closed to the outside world. Not to mention the closure of the pile warehouse, the household department often has 20 to 30 million silver in the warehouse, and there is no need to point to foreign taxes as a guarantee. If the foreigners are not in my shoes, they can stay away from each other. Lansun, tell me, is the current situation any different from this?"

It is unnecessary to ask, but with the honor of the prince's system, if you ask knowingly, you have to answer politely: "No." "That's the end of the story! If there is something like this, why bother to talk about it? You can't get through it with me. If you are willing to kneel down, I will ask you to allow me to enter the pilgrimage. If you don't want to kneel down, you can't teach me, even if he takes it down." I only answered him with two words: please do it!" King Gong paused for a moment and then said, "Lan Sun, let me tell you something heart-rending. The ministers of various countries refuse to bow down. It was me who was wronged. Think about it, if you send me to accompany you to the imperial court, and foreigners bow to the emperor, I will have to kneel there, compared to that, what do you think I feel in my heart?" These words made Li Hongzao very moved.He is not as sluggish as Wo Ren in speaking of Confucianism, and he is not as stubborn as Xu Tong.Although it is hard to avoid seeing foreigners as "barbarians", but if you think about it calmly, it is true that foreigners are more snobbish than moral, and how they treat people is different from the characters Zhang Qian saw when he traveled to the Western Regions. It is also quite understanding.Now, after listening to Prince Gong's words, I have to admit that he "bears the burden of humiliation", and even if he is in the government, he has to share the work and slander for him. So he replied very sincerely: "My lord's painstaking efforts, I not only understand, but also admire. If your lord thinks there is something I can do for you, or if you want to say something presumptuous, you must do it, please tell me!" "Thank you so much." Prince Gong cupped his hands in gratitude, "Lan Sun, there is something that you must do. The rules for the audience can be decided in the near future. Once it is played, I want you to have a camera in front of the imperial court. As an example for the emperor. The times are different now, so don’t think that there is a 'non-kneeling minister', which means you are humiliated." This is a difficult problem. From the Four Books and Five Classics to the Records of the Former Dynasty, there is not a single example that can be used to explain that the emperor has a minister who does not kneel, but since he has promised to help, he has to bite the bullet and agree: "Yes!" The sound was very forced, and Prince Gong could hear it naturally, so he immediately explained: "Don't worry! I negotiated with Bo Chuan and foreigners. Although I can't make them bow down, it must be better than when they see the king of their own country. The etiquette comes with great ceremony.” "Oh!" Li Hongzao cheered up, "Please tell me the details!" "Ministers of various countries bow three times when they meet their own kings, and bow five times when they meet the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. At this level, I have made up my mind. If I can't do it, I would rather break up." "Hmm, um!" Li Hongzao couldn't help but said, "That's all!" "Of course there are still disputes about the details. In short, it is worth a point to argue more. You will know it when it is decided. Let alone talk about him, there is one more thing I want to entrust. Wu Qingqing made a note, righteousness The speech is strict and difficult to deal with, it is not convenient to stay in the middle school, and it is also inconvenient to give a reply, so it has to be cleared up for a while." "My lord," Li Hongzao said with a smile, "there is nothing I can do about it. And I don't need it." "Why don't you need me?" Prince Gong asked, "Don't you have frequent contacts?" "I don't have much contact with Hao Qingqing. In fact, there is no need to trust anyone. Isn't Wu Qingqing a student of Dong Yunqing?" Dong Xun was one of the "presidents" of the Wuchen Division Examination in the seventh year of Tongzhi, and it was Wu Dacheng's "Teacher", so what Li Hongzao meant was that as long as Dong Xun asked his protégé to talk about it, the matter would be over. It's okay if you don't mention it, but Prince Gong sighed: "I think Dong Yunqing's disciples are going to 'break the door'!" Disciples do not recognize the teacher and keep themselves outside the door wall, which is called "broken door".Dong Xun's official reputation is not good, and most of his disciples are promising, and most of them don't think of their teachers, so King Gong feels this way. Li Hongzao is an upright gentleman. Hearing this, he couldn't laugh at it again. He was afraid that Dong Xun would be underestimated. He just replied: "Your Majesty, let's find Pan Boyin. They are fellow villagers, and they are also friends who pay attention to inscriptions on inscriptions." "Yes, yes!" Prince Gong was reminded, "I'm looking for him." It's very convenient to find Pan Boyin——Pan Zuyin, he is Hanlin from the South Study Room, and he checks in just opposite the Military Aircraft Department.Prince Gong said that Wu Dacheng's excerpts may be vague, this is out of necessity, please explain. Pan Zuyin promised with all his mouth that he would call to greet him and make sure nothing happened. So on the fourteenth day of the third month, King Gong officially reported the regulations for allowing envoys from various countries to meet with him. Except for the unprecedented five bows, all the clauses were interpreted as "gratitude comes from above". The envoys of various countries could only ask one question: "How is the emperor?"When bowing at the same time, the emperor "sit and stand only for the purpose", because according to Chinese rules, the emperor will never stand and receive the ceremony when he is in court.During the negotiations on this point, I spent a lot of time talking about it. Finally, the British minister Wade, who had been in China for many years, heard the reason. It is stipulated in the text, but in fact, "gratitude comes from above", and he will definitely stand up and accept the ministers of various countries. The tribute is considered a decision. In order to have such a face-saving regulation, Li Hongzao found it difficult to speak out, found an opportunity, made a secret statement, and used extremely euphemistic terms to obtain the emperor's permission. Looking forward to the pilgrimage". There was a ceremony a while ago, in which envoys from the United States, Russia, Britain, France, and the Netherlands, headed by Japanese Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Vice-President Tanejima, looked forward to the victory of Xiyuan before the Qing emperor.Ziguang Pavilion is located on the west bank of Zhonghai. Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty often inspected the bows and horses of the imperial army here when he was practicing Taoism and seeking longevity in Xiyuan. Therefore, a high platform was built in the north, with a small yellow-roofed hall on it. Then, its name was "Platform", which was later renamed Ziguang Pavilion.In the Chongzhen Dynasty, when he fought bandits and resisted the Qing soldiers, he ordered his generals to leave the army, and they were always summoned on the platform, and they were given a feast by the title. After entering the Qing Dynasty, it was still called Ziguang Pavilion, and it was the place where the champion of martial arts came out.Emperor Qianlong regarded it as the "Yuntai" of Emperor Hanming, and renovated a new pavilion. He returned to Dajinchuan from Pingding Yili, and painted portraits of "fifty heroes before and after" in Ziguang Pavilion. , so it was designated as a place for the vassals to meet, with the intention of showing off their power and deterring foreign vassals. According to Wenxiang's original intention, Nanyuan, 20 miles away from Yongding Gate, was originally intended to be the place where the emperor received the emperor, but that hunting place was called "Feifangbo" in the Yuan Dynasty and "Nanhaizi" in the Ming Dynasty. It's too desolate, not enough to look at the "prestige of the Celestial Dynasty", so I proposed it once, but gave up immediately.However, the meeting at Ziguang Pavilion still has the implication of treating countries as vassals. Such an arrangement, at least in the heart of the emperor, will make things easier. The emperor is not in a good mood, young and good-looking, but since ancient times, he has had his own ministers who do not kneel!Although the master repeatedly advised him painfully, endured the momentary grievances, and pursued the great cause of the future, Duan was striving for self-improvement, but he always had an unspeakable depression.After the ceremony, the days were getting closer and closer, but the Empress Dowager Cixi saw the pain in her son's heart and advised him to move to Yingtai two days earlier to escape the summer heat. Yingtai is in the South China Sea, and it was called "Nantai" in Ming Dynasty.Facing the water on three sides, the willows and willows are scattered. During the Kangxi period, every summer, the holy ancestor liked to move here to listen to the government.The emperor had read the collection of poems written by the holy ancestors. Among them was a five-character ancient style titled "Xia Ri Ying Tai, Xu Zuo's poems brought back by all officials netting fish". "I moved to Yingtai because of the scorching weather. Fortunately, the world is less safe today, and there is nothing wrong with the four directions. However, the morning is invaded every day, and the imperial gate is in charge of politics. According to the "History of the Song Dynasty", it is said that all ministers were given to enjoy flowers and fish in the back garden. Fish, depending on the size, bring them back to the mansion, in order to see that I am one Yan Shi. Who said that Dongfang Manqian's flesh cutting can't be seen today?" Re-reading it at this time, the emperor's emotion is even deeper. Thinking of the prosperity two hundred years ago, he feels more embarrassing today.Therefore, on the day when the envoys from the six countries met on the fifth day of June, the emperor did not smile or say a word. After sitting down to receive the gift and listen to the congratulatory speech, he only said to Zaicheng who was walking in front of the emperor: "Take them out to give tea. !” Then he drove back to Yingtai. The envoys of the six countries were disappointed, but the emperor was relieved.In order to forget this unpleasant memory as soon as possible, he would like to find a novel and interesting pastime.This time, Xiao Li encountered a problem. "Xiyuan is also quite a big place, Lord Long Live can take a stroll here to relax." "It seems that I am tired of visiting these places." "There is one place," Xiao Li suddenly thought, "Long Live God has not been to it for several years: Baoyue Tower." Baoyue Tower is located in the south of the South China Sea. It is the place where Gao Zongna hid his concubine Hui. This concubine is a descendant of Muhammad.After entering the palace, she couldn't speak well, and Gaozong didn't want her to live with other concubines, so at the southernmost end of Xiyuan, at the root of the imperial city opposite Yingtai across the South China Sea, a Baoyue Tower was built as Concubine Rong. boudoir.Looking down from the building, the outside of the imperial city is West Chang'an Street. In order to comfort Concubine Rong's nostalgia, Emperor Gaozong specially ordered that the Muslims who returned to live in West Chang'an Street, commonly known as "Hui Ziying", and built a Muslim chapel. , Let Concubine Rong look over day and night, as if in her hometown. Because of this, this is the only place in Ouchi where you can see folks.The emperor disembarked from Yingtai and drove straight to the south bank. When he got ashore, he found Baoyue Tower. After climbing up the stairs, he took a "thousand-mile mirror" from Xiaoli's hand, and there were two pagodas in sight. "What is that place?" "It's called Qingshou Temple with Twin Pagodas." Xiao Li replied. So Xiao Li pointed from west to east, the Qingshou Temple with twin pagodas came over to Prince Yi's Mansion of Yongxuan, the eighth son of Emperor Qianlong, and then the General Administration Office.The emperor felt that these palaces and yamen were not worth seeing. What made him interesting was the scene of West Chang'an Avenue, with tall locust trees and weeping willows, the chirping of cicadas, and the endless pedestrians under the shade of the trees.The emperor stared at an old man in white shorts, and saw that he was holding three cages of birds in one hand, and a five or six-year-old boy in the other.As they walked, the little boy refused to leave, so the old man leaned over. What did the old and the young say?But seeing the little boy happily jumping towards a small food stall under a blue cloth shed, the old man also slowly put down the birdcage on the stall, sat down, greeted the people at the stall, and helped his grandson eat snacks.The emperor felt that he had shared the peaceful and comfortable family happiness. "Xiao Li!" The emperor was extremely impulsive, "How about we sneak out for a stroll?" Xiao Li was taken aback, and didn't rush to answer, first turned around to check if anyone heard the emperor's words.It was okay at last, there was no one else beside him except him, and the emperor's voice was not too loud, so the other eunuchs who were waiting far away couldn't hear him. "How is it?" The emperor put down the telescope and asked again. "Long Live Lord!" Xiao Li knelt down, patted the back of his head with a mournful face, and said, "The slave's head is not stable on his neck." "Fuck you!" The emperor kicked him, but cursed with a smile. This sentence will not be mentioned here, but Xiao Li is very vigilant.No one knows the emperor's mood better than him. Staying alone in the Qianqing Palace and forcing himself to write poems and calligraphy is like eating fast. Occasionally, he feels refreshed and delicious. How can he bear it after a long day?At the same time, he also discovered that the emperor respected the empress more than he loved him, and what he really fell in love with was the long, jade-like concubine Yu, whose skin was as white as snow.However, if the concubine Xingyu is summoned, the respect room must have the queen's permission, or the queen's "hand letter" with a small jade seal as evidence.And whenever such a situation happened, the empress would always persuade the emperor to go to Xianfu Palace, which was a sign of empress' virtue.But the emperor was always angry and unwilling to be with Concubine Hui, so he had no choice but to not get close to Concubine Yu. This is a knot that cannot be untied for a while, and Xiao Li once persuaded the emperor that he might as well deal with Concubine Hui in a perfunctory manner.The queen said this, but the emperor just didn't think so. When Xiao Li said this, it was a bad word, and apart from being severely reprimanded, it would have no effect.Therefore, if he wanted to relieve the emperor's worries, he had to find another way. So he thought about the construction of the Old Summer Palace again, so he found some free time and went to the House of Internal Affairs to inquire about the news. "You came just in time!" Cheng Lin, the alternate pen post, pulled him aside with a smile, and said in a low voice, "I have good news, you put it in your stomach first, and then you have to go back to the emperor. Now there is a man surnamed Li. The candidate prefect is a big "wooden guest". He has countless timbers in the deep mountains of Yunnan and Guizhou, and he is willing to repay them. It can be negotiated in these two days. It is not enough to repair the garden. The most important thing is the "pillars" ', now the sky obeys the wishes of the people, and it is really the blessings of the queen mother and the emperor." "Reliable, unreliable?" Xiao Li asked suspiciously. "Of course it's reliable! I'll let you know as soon as the deal is settled." Having said that, in fact, Cheng Lin is not sure yet, and he will not know until they meet each other.The meeting was at the Zhengyang Building of the Qianmen Meat Market, and Guibao treated guests. The only guest of honor was Li Guangzhao, who claimed to be from Jiaying Prefecture, Guangdong, but he did not speak Hakka. In other words, I found out that I have lived in Hanyang for a long time when I asked.