Chapter 22 second quarter

When the eunuchs retreated, Shi Jinzhong stepped forward alone, bowed his body, and said in a low voice: "Su Zhongtang sent someone to deliver a message, saying that as soon as the prince comes, please go to his mansion. serve." "Okay, I'll go now." "I'm going to the mansion to pay my respects to the prince at night. If there is anything higher up, I will report it at any time." Seeing this look and these words, Prince Gong didn't feel sorry for the five thousand taels of silver anymore!Therefore, the attitude of speaking is also different, "You don't have to come! I won't see you when I come. If the higher-ups have anything to say, you can tell me when I enter the palace." "Yes, yes!" Shi Jinzhong agreed He said, "If the prince has any orders, just ask." Then, he personally sent Prince Gong to the gate of the second palace, and greeted him when he got into the car.

The guards and entourage came to the Sushun mansion with shouts and hugs. The master opened the middle door and greeted him personally. The accompanying guests had already arrived.In addition to the eight ministers of Gu Ming, there are also a brother and a younger brother of King Gong: King Dun and King Chun, a total of eleven hosts and guests, all changed into plain clothes, and first chatted in the water pavilion. It's just that he just sat down, and the servant came to inform Sushun that a member of the household department had arrived from Beijing and had an urgent report. "Didn't you see a distinguished guest here?" Sushun reprimanded the servant, "Why didn't you tell him that there was business to meet at the Yamen. Now, I have time to see him?"

"It turned out that the 'Bi Tie Shi' from the yamen accompanied me, saying that there was an important item that had to be sent to Zhongtang as soon as possible." "Okay!" Sushun stood up and apologized, and went out to meet the guests. In less than a cup of tea, Sushun returned to the Water Pavilion again, with a spring breeze on his face, looking extremely happy.Behind him was a footman, holding a flat cloth bag in his hand, walked into the room, put the cloth bag on the marble-topped rosewood round table, untied it, and inside was a vulgar copper coin. "Sixth!" Sushun called out to Prince Gong loudly, "Look, 'Qian looks'!"

At this point, they all gathered around to look closely at the samples of new coins after the yuan change. They were large coins made of Yunnan Copper, with Chinese characters on the front, Manchu characters on the back, and four Chinese characters: "Qixiang Chongbao".It feels heavy and satisfying in the hand. Prince Gong was quite surprised, but also vigilant, Su Shun was always decisive and quick in dealing with things, especially in this case, the decree of changing the yuan was issued only a few days ago, and the new money was ready to be minted, one cannot but admire him for his seriousness.At the same time, he also thought that once the new money became popular, the price of goods dropped, the common people supported him, and the four quarters praised him, then Sushun's position would be difficult to shake.

Therefore, after complimenting him a lot, he asked casually, "When will the new money be sent out?" "According to the rules, it should be used in the 'first year of Qixiang', so it is worthy of the name. Now that there is a serious shortage of cash in the market, we have to use the power to change it. I think that sending out a line after the ceremony of enthroning is also a congratulations to the young master's succession. Some kindness." Sushun proudly asked again: "Look, what is my plan?" "Excellent!" Prince Gong took the opportunity to say, "According to this, we should return to the city early."

"That's all up to you." "Why?" Prince Gong was stunned, "'I'm not in the position, I don't plan for the government', what does it have to do with me?" "Aren't you taking full responsibility for 'staying behind in Beijing'? You can only return to the city after everything is in order." "Brother Six!" Prince Gong was displeased, "What's the matter? Do you think there is something wrong? The people in Beijing are in a dangerous city, and they worked hard to support them. Forgive me, isn't that chilling?"

Sushun laughed loudly, patted Prince Gong on the shoulder and said, "Lao Liu, you are still young after all! You can't keep up with a joke! Okay, okay, stop complaining, and punish me with a glass of wine later." That aggressive expression naturally displeased Prince Gong, but after thinking about it, it was because he was so arrogant and careless that he could act easily.Therefore, the unhappiness in my heart disappeared immediately. When the invitation is extended, the host will regard King Gong as the chief, but King Gong will definitely refuse.In terms of title, seniority, and age, Prince Zheng Duanhua should be the first, but King Zheng and Sushun are half-brothers, and they can be regarded as half masters, so it should be different.He is a person who has no opinion of Yun Yiyun, and if Prince Gong asked him to sit up, he would do his part to sit down.

Among the eleven guests of honor, the topic was naturally to be chosen by Prince Gong and Sushun. Because of the small half-truth and half-fake dispute, both of them were wary and did not want to involve the government affairs of the court, so they could only chat.The aristocrats under his banner, who live at home all day long, have the greatest ability to speak out of righteousness. From Duanhua's snuff bottle to antiques, Zaiyuan's chatterbox is opened.Prince Yixian, Yunxiang, is the most trusted younger brother of Emperor Sejongxian. During his lifetime, he was rewarded very generously. He accumulated a wealth of collections of antiques, calligraphy and paintings for several generations, so Zaiyuan was very proud of his treasures. I said, the landscapes of the "Four Kings" have never been framed, and there are still many.Those princes and county kings didn't feel much about these words, but Du Han, Kuang Yuan, Jiao Youying and the others couldn't help but envy them.

It took two hours to eat a meal. After the banquet was over, Prince Gong took his leave first. Sushun wanted to send him to the mansion in person, and Prince Gong thanked him again and again.When I went back to the hotel, I found that the preparations were extremely thoughtful, and I couldn't help thinking about it, and I couldn't guess Sushun's attitude.Thinking of the Empress Dowager's expression and tone, she felt that she was not easy to deal with. She was really underestimated before. At this moment, there were many horses and chariots, and all the officials above the third rank came to the mansion to pay homage to them.Prince Gong was tired on the one hand, on the other hand he acted cautiously, blocking all traffic, closed the door, had a good sleep, and didn't get up until the lights were on.

After washing his face and sitting drinking tea, Su Lu, his servant brought from Beijing, came to report: "Qi Ye came here just now. I heard that the lord is still asleep, so don't be alarmed. Leave a message and wait for the lord to go." Meal. I told Qiye: The prince didn't sleep all night, he was really tired, thank you for being afraid. Qiye said: Then bring the food." "Yeah." Prince Gong was very satisfied, "This is very good!" "The food has just arrived. It's a table of jelly dishes. Please tell me: how do I eat it?" Prince Gong ordered to keep four small bowls of light dishes, and the rest of the large bowls, including the main course bird's nest, were given to the attendants to enjoy, and said: "Take my film and invite Master Cao to drink."

Cao Yuying is also planning to visit King Gong at night.Naturally, it is not suitable to meet in official clothes, so I just wore a white cloth filial robe and a black cloth "Wolong bag", without a hat, and without taking a car, I walked quietly to Prince Gong's residence, and entered through the side door. , went to the upper room. Prince Gong pretended to be polite, and went out of the house to stand on the steps. Cao Yuying rushed forward, first greeted Ann, and knelt down to kowtow. After learning about the situation on the road, Su Lu came to invite me to the table. "Food may not be good, but there is good wine!" Prince Gong ordered: "Bring a bottle of "brandy"!" "Is it the wine sent by the foreigner?" Su Lu asked for fear of making a mistake. "Yeah! Look carefully, the bottle that asked me to make a mark on it." Su Lu brought the brandy, but Cao Yuying didn't know what kind of wine it was, so Prince Gong, who was presiding over Western Affairs, explained to Cao Yuying that this bottle of wine was fifty years old, and it was brewed in the year when the French Emperor Napoleon "royalized his personal expedition" to Russia of.He pointed to the foreign characters "1812" to show the guests, naturally, Cao Yuying couldn't recognize it. After pouring the amber liquid into the blue and white wine bell of Chenghua official kiln, Cao Yuying took a sip, and it was really mellow and extraordinary, which was the first time he had seen it in his life.But in the face of good wine, he dare not drink too much, for fear of getting too drunk, and when it comes to serious business, he cannot help thinking calmly and carefully. So he drank a few cups, then gave up, and Prince Gong didn't persuade him much. After eating, he went into the study, dismissed the servants, and secretly discussed the big plan. "I actually underestimated 'Xi Bian'." Prince Gong sighed, "I almost couldn't step down." This was not a surprise to Cao Yuying, but it was also a surprise.The Empress Dowager Xi has only been in charge of politics for more than ten days, and she already has a reputation of being quite capable, but it is a surprise that Prince Gong "almost couldn't step down". "How do those eight feel about the west?" Prince Gong asked again. Cao Yuying thought for a while and replied: "In a word, shrewd. The two kings, Yi and Zheng, are quite fearful." Prince Gong shook his head: "She's great, not because she's smart, but because she's pretending not to understand, pretending to be stupid." "Oh..." Cao Yuying paid attention, "My lord, this is another deep-seated view. Must there be a foundation?" "Yes!" Prince Gong said slowly while recalling: "The west side is very 'hot'. Of course I can't be so presumptuous if I want to force me to propose a curtain. There is no way to see the west side. They say they want me to go back to the military plane. This is pushing me further. It's amazing!" "So, what did the prince say at the time?" "Of course I resign." Prince Gong said again, "I promise the two palaces to plan a way out. What's your opinion?" Cao Yuying shook hands, thought for a long time, and said something unexpected to Prince Gong: "Actually, the idea of ​​the west is not impossible." "What's the matter?" Prince Gong was astonished. "As soon as the prince returns, he will naturally be the leader of the cardinal. The military aircraft system has a long history, and the great government is known to the world. Those who support government affairs have to steal the name of the military aircraft department. Once the prince leaves, it happens to take back the power. Overpowering them, they are in an unshakable position." Cao Yuying said this in one breath, paused for a while, and saw that Prince Gong was speechless for a while, then said: "As for Mu, Du, Kuang, and Jiao, I have to rely on those 'three' in front of me, but this is the situation where the prince is not in the military plane, once the prince returns to the military plane, he is in charge of them, so I have to listen to the prince." "What if I don't listen?" "It's easy to handle! Their military planes are spared. The name of Minister Gu Ming was granted by the late emperor, and it cannot be avoided for a while. The advancement and retreat of the military plane ministers, the power is in the present, why is it inevitable?" "En, um!" Prince Gong nodded, as if moved, "Your insights are very new and profound. But..." "If your lord doesn't have a better plan, you might as well do it like this. If you don't stop, you will suffer instead." "This..." is extremely difficult to make a decision, Prince Gong said hesitantly, "I'm afraid that it will cause close combat, and both sides will suffer." Cao Yuying remained silent.He understood that King Gong felt that his status was precious, so he wanted to maintain a graceful and dignified posture, and refused to fight hand-to-hand with the mighty Su Shun. "I think, we have to go back to the city to talk about everything. Let's talk about what to do after we go back to the city now!" "Yes!" Cao Yuying humbly agreed, picked up the tea bowl, but wanted to drink it or not, concentrating on it, not thinking about others, thinking about herself first.His qualifications in the Military Aircraft Department are no different from the Minister of Military Aircraft, but he is not the Minister of Military Aircraft after all.Jiao Youying's position should have belonged to him originally, and because of his resolute resignation, Jiao Dazi had to "fly up the branch and become a phoenix".The reason why he insisted on resigning from the promotion at the beginning was to express his loyalty to Prince Gong. He always believed that Prince Gong would return to the military plane. Only on that day could he be truly reused and truly display his talents. Unexpectedly, before Emperor Daxing was alive, Prince Gong was unable to fulfill his wish, but unexpectedly had the opportunity to return to the military plane in front of him.It is true that there is no difference between Zanxiang government affairs ministers and military aircraft ministers, and Gu Ming's eight ministers are integrated into one body. Even though King Gong is the military aircraft leader, he cannot change the unfavorable situation of one against eight.However, Prince Gong is definitely not the so-called "difficult to do it alone". Whether it is the Minister of Military Affairs or the Minister of Zanxiang Government Affairs, he must use the military aircraft Zhang Jing to carry out administrative affairs, otherwise the order will not go abroad. Find another group of capable officers to form two squads of military aircraft Zhang Jing.In this way, Prince Gong doesn't have to be afraid of them!Cao Yuying is confident that with Prince Gong coming forward, coupled with his prestige, talent and influence in the military aircraft chapter capital, he can gradually try to turn the Minister of State Affairs, who was ordered by Gu, into a nominal title, and return the power to the military aircraft department. superior.Of course, this would have to go through a very serious conflict, and Prince Gong didn't want to go into battle and visit the former enemy in person, it was really helpless. Thinking of this, I couldn't help feeling short of breath and discouraged, and said immediately: "Since the center of gravity has shifted to Beijing, I would like to ask the prince to find a way to return to Beijing after this shift, so that I don't have to go back to Rehe again." "What do you mean?" Prince Gong looked at him in surprise, "You don't seem to want to stay here?" "Yes." Cao Yuying admitted frankly. "why?" "The prince can imagine that I am a thorn in their eyes, and the situation is extremely difficult." "I know, I know!" Prince Gong stood up, took two steps, thought for a while, patted his shoulder, and said apologetically, "You have suffered a lot of uselessness, I fully understand. For my sake, bear with it for now. " Cao Yuying couldn't help but be grateful for such consolation, she hurriedly stood up, and replied with lowered hands: "Your Majesty's words are serious!" "At this time people are depressed, and you and I are not the only ones. Once we return to Beijing," Prince Gong paused and said, "The situation will definitely be very different. It will only take a month or two, so you need to pay more attention anyway." From Prince Gong's tone, there is no doubt that he wants to have a good fight with Sushun, but he chose the capital for the fight.From this point of view, the current job is to make preparations for the first fight in the capital and cultivate momentum.At the same time, the interests of Prince Gong and the two palaces are the same. If they don't want to return to the military plane and gradually take over power, then they can only overthrow the last emperor's will, turn the whole situation over and start over.However, this kind of approach can only be discussed as a matter of fact, so planning for the future of the two palaces and cultivating Prince Gong's reputation are both urgent and important matters. So, Cao Yuying sorted out her thoughts and made suggestions. "My lord!" he said, "In my humble opinion, there are two things that are necessary at present, one is to test the curtain, and the other is to demonstrate by Chen Bing." "En." Prince Gong listened with great attention, "Go ahead!" Cao Yuying's idea of ​​testing the curtain is consistent with Zhu Xueqin's suggestion to Wenxiang and Baojun not long ago, and Chen Bing's demonstration is a strategy that Zhu Xueqin agreed upon when he said goodbye on the eve of returning to Beijing during his last trip to Rehe , Prince Gong has long expressed his non-objection attitude towards these two points. What he wants to know now is the precise analysis of the benefits and the steps to proceed so that he can make a final decision.Cao Yuying understood this level, so she abandoned high-level theories and only talked about reality. "This dynasty attaches great importance to fate, and it has its own origin. At the beginning of the founding of the country, the emperor's foundation was not solid, and he simply used relatives and nobles to assist the young master. This is the will of the Taizu Sibeile to discuss the great government. The meritorious princes and ministers rule the world together. The original function of restraints is included, but it is not enough to be a law." This opening paragraph moved Prince Gong's face!Two hundred years ago, all the kings stood side by side, and the four great Baylors governed the great government together. The Taizu died, and because of the support of Daishan, Taizong was able to take power alone.Because of Dorgon's friendship with the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang in the deep palace since childhood, he was able to take the throne but not take it, and supported Xiaozhuang's own young master, and since then determined the imperial line.This section of the history of the founding of the Qing Dynasty contains countless grievances, blood and tears, treacherous and mysterious, and even the legend of "The Empress Dowager Marries". It was vaguely revealed, and suddenly there was an understanding.Naturally, words such as "not enough to be the law" are too bold. If they were said in the Yongzheng and Qianlong dynasties, they might lose their heads.Only in the secret room, before Prince Gong, could Cao Yuying dare to be so unscrupulous. Seeing the expression on Prince Gong's face, Cao Yuying knew that her words had already taken effect, so she further argued: "The heroine hangs down the curtain, there is no substitute for her, the key is not the heroine, but the important officials in power." "Yeah, yum!" King Gong nodded greatly, because first of all he thought of Empress Lu's coming to court in the early Han Dynasty. Help, regain the Han family world.Given that Empress Lu was cruel and cruel, even so, he did not believe that the Empress Dowager West would be more powerful than Empress Lu. "Since ancient times, the beautiful talk of the curtain was first called Xuanren, and when Xuanren died, Yuanyou Zhengren was deposed one after another, so the treacherous and evil reappeared, and the government deteriorated." At this point, Cao Yuying suddenly stopped and looked at Prince Gong. Asked: "My lord, what does this show?" Prince Gong laughed and said, "Don't test me! Just talk about it, I'm anxious to hear the rest." "This still shows that sentence, the key is not the heroine, but the governance. Whether the heroine is virtuous or not is temporary, but," Cao Yuying suddenly turned around, "Yuanyou gentleman must be reused. Yin. This has something to do with it again." There were twists and turns, swaying, and in the end, Prince Gong understood Cao Yuying's meaning very well: there is no need to say that the curtain is not in line with the ancestral system, or that the heroine is coming to court, and the power is in her hands. In the future, it will be difficult to control and she has scruples. Hanging the curtain is just a stepping stone to re-enter the political arena, and what he does in the future depends entirely on Prince Gong himself! "Taught!" Prince Gong said humbly, at this moment, he really made up his mind. At this moment, Su Lu shouted from a distance: "The Seventh Prince is here!" Alcohol King is here.Prince Gong winked at Cao Yuying, then looked outside. A white gauze lamp on the porch led Chun Wang to come in a hurry.Cao Yuying was more casual with Prince Chun than he was with Prince Gong, so he hurried out of the room, stood aside, waited for him to climb the steps, rushed forward, greeted him with his hands, and said: "Hello, Seventh Prince!" King Chun, who was walking with his head down, heard the voice, and realized that he didn't seem to expect that Cao Yuying would be here. He froze for a moment, nodded and said, "Oh! Zhuoru, you are here too." "Old Seven!" Prince Gong shouted from inside, "Why do you bother to get such a table of jelly dishes?" The Manchu nobles paid special attention to etiquette, King Chun didn't care about greeting Cao Yuying, rushed into the room, asked King Gong to answer him standing up, and said many respectful and cordial manners, it seemed that it was not like seeing brothers and sisters.He didn't sit down until Prince Gong said "sit, sit" for the third time. Cao Yuying sat opposite the two kings and listened to their conversation.King Jin asked all his relatives in Beijing, and Prince Gong answered them one by one without hesitation.This has become a habit among the Banner people, but Cao Yuying didn't listen to it. She was bored and just compared their brothers carefully. The two half-brothers were eight years apart, but they seemed to be eighteen years apart. Well, it's not that Prince Gong looks middle-aged, but that Prince Chun is too childish.He was so angry, his eyes and nose were squeezed together, and his thick lips were pursed, as if he had been wronged. No matter how he enlarged the size, he always felt that he lacked that luxurious and dignified air, and he didn't look like a man. dragon species. "Sixth Brother," Chun Wang was suddenly excited, "You have to make a fuss when you come here this time. That Su Liu is simply despicable!" When Prince Gong heard his loud voice, he frowned first, waved his hand, and turned his head away, but the corners of his eyes swept Cao Yuying. So Cao Yuying's mansion stepped forward and called softly: "The Seventh Prince!" When King Chun turned his face, he waved his hand slightly to signal, and said softly: "The wall has ears!" King Chun nodded his head in panic, and then Prince Gong turned to look at him, his face was indifferent and calm, but he was able to show his demeanor of power without anger, as a brother, he couldn't help but feel fearful. He lowered his head contently. "You are twenty-two years old, married in a separate government office, and have been working as an errand for more than a year. Why are you still so restless? Don't talk about taking on big things, I dare not tell you about big things!" Prince Gong's tone was unusually gentle, like a chattering voice, but there was a serious lesson in the words.In front of the outsider, King Chun blushed and was very embarrassed. Naturally, Cao Yuying couldn't sit idly by and thought about helping him out, but suddenly got an inspiration, and unconsciously, he put King Chun out of his mind. At this time, King Gong mentioned King Dun again, and King Jin looked at Cao Yuying hesitantly and did not answer.So, he stood up very wisely and said goodbye. The master didn't stay any longer, but exchanged a wink with each other, and they agreed to talk about it tomorrow. As soon as Cao Yuying left, there was no need for scruples when talking among brothers. Prince Gong asked very bluntly: "I heard in Beijing that Fifth Brother said that I was going to rebel. Is there such a thing?" Both are brothers, and it was difficult for King Chun to answer. After thinking for a long time, he said, "Why bother asking? You still don't understand what kind of temper Fifth Brother is?" Sure enough, Prince Gong smiled and stopped asking, and just said: "Sometime, you can talk to him in a tactful way. It's best not to talk about things that you don't understand yourself." "I told him." Chun Wang pursed his lips, expressing his dissatisfaction with his fifth brother, "I said, we have to work together to deal with Sushun, my own brother, how can we make things worse?" he said , Everyone is saying that, what can I do? It's simply unreasonable." "He's a fool, but you're not." Prince Gong paused and said, "Remember, you can follow what they say here, and you don't have to get serious with them. Anyway, when you go back to the city, you'll see the truth anyway. !" "Back to the city," Chun Wang asked excitedly, "Sixth brother, what are you going to do?" "The draft is not ready yet. Let's wait and see!" This remark made Chun Wang feel aggrieved.He felt that he was already able to make a difference, but this sixth brother still classified him as the eighth and ninth child, treated him like a child, and refused to say anything important. Naturally, looking at the expression on his face, Prince Gong already knew what was in his heart. "Don't be busy!" He comforted him, "I know you are a good helper to me, but I really don't know what to do. When I think about it, I will have you to work hard." After a few words, Ligai spoke to King Chun again with excitement.If Sushun is overthrown, of course the Sixth Brother will be in power, and then he will never be just a "front minister" who puts on airs!He is talented but ambitious, and has always wanted to rectify the Eight Banners' pro-army and train them into a strong army. Even if he can't follow the ancestors of the martial arts business, he will be invincible wherever he goes on iron cavalry, at least he must have a clear banner and excellent equipment. In order to wash away the bad reputation of "going to the camp less, hiring a replacement early, and running away when you see a thief". He was thinking about the future, but the elder brother was thinking about the past, "I really can't figure it out!" Prince Gong said sleepily and sadly, "Why did the first emperor never want to meet me, and he didn't say a word when he died!" "That's Su Liu covering the sky with one hand!" King Chun said angrily, "During the few days when he was seriously ill, the old fifth master took the fifth brother and me to say hello, and he couldn't say a few words, so he asked Su Liu to use a trick , I was kicked out." Then, he told Prince Gong in detail what happened before Emperor Daxing died. "Alas!" The heartbroken Prince Gong could only sigh. "Emperor Daxing is sorry for us, but we can't be sorry for Emperor Daxing. We must take good care of the inheritance left by Ama." The Qing world will surely be able to keep blessings." It seems to be a general statement, but in fact it has a profound meaning - referring to Sushun and also Hong Yang, King Chun had a good taste of it for a while, and firmly remembered the words. "Sixth Brother, please settle down!" King Chun stood up and greeted him, "I'll take my leave." "Okay, I still have a few days of delay, let's talk about it!" Prince Gong sent him to the edge of the corridor, and said in a low voice: "In the future, if there is anything, I will let Cao Zhuoru tell you. Is there any news from the palace? , you tell Zhuo Ru too."