"Prime Minister, after Wu Yingxiong broke into Suo Etu's house, he directly entered the back garden of Suo Mansion." A servant-like man knelt down in front of Ao Bai and Bamburshan, and whispered: "Because the slave is the new servant of Suofu, he is not qualified to enter the back garden of Suofu, so what happened in the garden, the minion did not find out. ”

"Then how long has Wu Yingxiong been in the garden? What happened next? Ao Bai asked with concern. The servant replied: "Wu Yingxiong entered the garden less than an hour later, and returned to the front hall, and later Suo Etu Zhang Luo had a banquet to entertain Wu Yingxiong, and also called the troupe to sing. Before leaving, Suo Etu gave Wu Yingxiong a few silver tickets, and the specific amount was unknown. ”

"Fifteen thousand taels of silver." Bamburshan replied for the servant with a gloomy face: "As soon as Wu Yingxiong left the gate of Suo Etu's house, he handed over the 15,000 taels of silver tickets to his domestic slave Wu Lu, and asked Wu Lu to send them to Wang Xu, the head of the household department. ”

"Wang Xu's nerd who doesn't eat oil and salt accepted Wu Yingxiong's silver, is this possible?" Ao Bai's surprise was not trivial, and they all jumped up from their seats. Ban Bushan's face became even more gloomy, and he said in a sullen voice: "I sent someone to check, the silver was not given to Wang Xu, but Wang Xu was asked to open a porridge shed for Huazi to give porridge." Coupled with the 8,000 taels of silver that Kang Xiaosan gave to Wu Yingxiong, a total of 23,000 taels of silver, Wu Yingxiong didn't keep a penny for himself, and gave it all to Wang Xu to open a porridge shed. ”

"This Wu Yingxiong is really hard to figure out, what kind of person is he?" Ao Bai slowly sat back on the Taishi chair, and said in his heart that 23,000 taels of silver is not a small amount, even if it is an ordinary rich man, he may not be able to earn this silver in his lifetime, but Wu Yingxiong didn't even blink an eyelid, so he took it all out and gave alms to the refugees. Such a person, if he is not a true bodhisattva, is a real great evil, and scattering wealth is just paving the way to achieve the next evil goal. Thinking of this, Ao Bai couldn't help asking: "Wu Yingxiong did this, is there any special purpose?" Buying people's hearts? ”

"It's definitely not buying people's hearts!" Ban Bushan said affirmatively: "Because Wang Xu didn't use Wu Yingxiong's reputation to give porridge, Wu Yingxiong didn't ask Wang Xu to use his name to give porridge!" Speaking of this, Bambur had a flash of inspiration and lost his voice: "Could it be that Wu Yingxiong did this to please Wang Xu?" But Bamburshan then shook his head quickly, denied his thoughts, and said, "Impossible! Let's not mention that Wang Xu is the person Wu Sangui named to kill, even if Wu Yingxiong wants to win over or even buy Wang Xu, he can't afford to take more than 20,000 silver and smash it on the heads of a group of stinky flowers, and Wang Xu himself didn't get any benefits. ”

"And what is he doing it for?" Ao Bai was also puzzled by Wu Yuanming's actions, and at this time, Ao Bai suddenly found that he was buried in Suo Etu's house and opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, Ao Bai asked, "What else is the situation?" Don't be afraid of trivialities, say it all. ”

"Pierce." Na Xiaozuo replied in a low voice: "Xiangye, the slave is responsible for serving food and soup in the Suo family, so when Suo Etu invited Wu Yingxiong to the banquet, the servant was also waiting next to him, although Suo Etu and Wu Yingxiong didn't say anything particularly important during the banquet, let alone the words of the court and Xiangye. But the minions noticed a strange thing, but they didn't know whether to say it or not. ”

"Say it quickly." Ao Bai and Bamburshan all pricked up their ears, and Na Xiaozuo recalled: "Actually, it's not a big deal, it's the daughter of Suo Etu who was scheduled to be the queen, Hesheri Zhaohui, she was also in the banquet at that time, and Wu Yingxiong was very close to Wu Yingxiong, and Wu Yingxiong was called Brother Wu, but Wu Yingxiong and Suo Etu were called brothers. The minion thought it was a bit odd, so he wrote it down. ”

"Suo Etu's daughter called Wu Yingxiong Brother Wu?" Ao Bai and Bamburshan glanced at each other, feeling that the matter was getting more and more confused. Although the Manchurians have not been in the customs for a long time, and the family etiquette has not yet been assimilated by the Han people, it is not strange that Suo Etu's daughter and Wu Yingxiong eat at the same table, but this title is worth pondering. Suspicious for a long time, Ao Bai was still confused, so he ordered: "Ban Bushan, you go to Wu Yingxiong's house in person, in the name of his shock, invite him to the old man's house for a banquet, and the old man personally probes his tone." ”

"Pierce." Ban Bushan couldn't figure out Wu Yuanming, and he also wanted to find out Wu Yuanming's true intentions, so he readily agreed to Aobai's order. But at this moment, Aobai's pro-soldier captain Crooked Tiger ran in, hugged his fists and said: "Xiangye, the eunuch Li from the side of the Empress Dowager of Xiaozhuang is here, saying that the Empress Dowager invited you to Cining Palace for a banquet." ”

"Xiaozhuang invited me to a banquet?" After a bow, I said that the old man just wanted to invite someone to dinner, why did the person who invited the old man to eat come first? Puzzled, Ao Bai's eyes turned to the think tank Ban Bushan, and Baan Bushan smiled and said: "Xiangye doesn't have to worry about the Hongmen banquet, if the student is not mistaken, the Empress Dowager invited Xiangye to the banquet is famous, and it is true to test Xiangye's opinion on Wu Sangui's forced salary." ”

"Makes sense." Ao Bai stood up, applauded and laughed: "It's okay, the old man is also trying to test Kang Xiaosan's response to Wu Sangui's forced salary. Wu Yingxiong put aside in advance, crooked tiger, you go and arrange people, and we will enter the palace. Ao Bai compensated again: "Inform Ne Mo and let him arrange reliable guards near the outside of Cining Palace, the old man doesn't want to be calculated by that old woman." ”

Probably there are too many enemies, Ao Bai every time he goes out to bring hundreds of armored warriors to accompany him to protect, this time to the palace Ao Bai is to bring two hundred fully armed soldiers, a group of people through the street to the noon gate, although Ao Bai's personal soldiers are not qualified to enter the palace, but in front of the noon gate, there are already the news of Ao Bai Yizi Nemo led hundreds of guards with knives to respond, Ao Bai's safety is still foolproof. But Ao Bai was still not at ease, and asked Ne Modao: "In Cining Palace, who else is there besides the Empress Dowager?" ”

"Ama rest assured, in addition to the Empress Dowager, there are only two eunuchs and ten palace maids in Cining Palace, and no one else." Nemo replied in a low voice. Ao Bai was relieved at this time, and rushed to Cining Palace surrounded by Nemo and others. The days are short in winter, and the sky is hazy at this time, and when Ao Bai and the others arrive in front of the De Ci Ning Palace, the sky is already all dark, and Ao Bai instructed Ne Mo Yitong, "Be careful to guard, and shout a warning as soon as there is a situation." Then he raised his head and entered the temple to see him.

Let's not talk about Ao Bai entering the palace to ask for peace in Xiaozhuang, just say that Na Mo arranged hundreds of henchmen and guards to the key positions around Cining Palace, and as soon as Ne Mo was arranged, a thin little eunuch came under the dripping eaves, but it was Xiao Maozi who had a relationship with Wu Yuanming in Dashilar that day. Xiao Maozi knelt down and saluted to Ne Mo first, then he smiled and took out a paper bag, and said gratefully: "Ne Ye, thank you for today's incident, Xiao Maozi has nothing to repay, this is the sauce beef that Xiao Maozi took from the imperial dining room, and I hope that Ne Ye will not be disgusted." ”

"Little monkey cub, you still have a little filial piety." Ne Mo snatched the packet of sauced beef, tore open two pieces and threw them into his mouth to chew, and said with a smile: "How is it?" Did you pay back the money that the eight lambs owed to you? ”

"Master Ne, you knocked out all his teeth, and he still dares not to return them?" The little hairy thief replied with a smirk. It turned out that Wu Yuanming had helped Xiao Maozi extort a sum of money from Yu Su that day, and taught Xiao Maozi that if he met Yu Su and didn't pay it back, he would ask Ne Mo for help. Who knew that after Yu Su returned to the palace, he really wanted to get rid of the remaining more than 30 taels of silver, and Xiao Maozi was anxious to use the silver to buy tonic for his mother's treatment, so he asked Ne Mo to help according to Wu Yuanming's instructions, but Ne Mo looked at the face of the prince of Pingxi, and beat Yu Su to beat him, and Xiao Maozi's silver was also taken. In order to thank Nemo, Xiao Maozi stole a bag of sauced beef in the imperial dining room and sent it to Nemo.

"The emperor has arrived." Just as Xiao Maozi and Ne Mo were answering, the voice of the eunuch was heard in the distance, and Ne Mo and Xiao Maozi and others were busy kneeling beside the road, shouting: "Slaves greet the holy driver, long live the emperor, long live, long live, long live." Kangxi, who was surrounded by Sun Dianchen and Cao Yin, ignored these guards and eunuchs, and walked straight into Cining Palace.

Seeing that Kangxi entered Cining Palace with his henchmen and guards, Ne Mo couldn't help but be a little worried about the safety of his father-in-law Ao Bai in the palace, but the guards couldn't enter the palace without summoning him, and Ne Mo didn't have the courage to break in. At this moment, the voice of the deputy chief eunuch Li Yinzheng sounded in the Cining Palace, "Pass the meal." The voice was handed down one by one, all the way to the door of the imperial dining room, and then, dozens of neatly dressed eunuchs came out of the imperial dining room with a red lacquer food box depicted with a golden dragon, and walked towards Cining Palace like a long snake array for dowry.

When the food delivery team passed by Ne Mo's side, Ne Mo was in a hurry, grabbed a little eunuch who served a food box, handed the tea tray in his hand to Xiao Maozi, and said in a low voice: "Little monkey cub, your chance to repay your kindness has come, you serve the food box and go in to wait, and come out to report to me immediately if there is any movement." Xiao Maozi is a low-level miscellaneous eunuch, and he has not seen what the emperor and the empress dowager look like for more than two years after entering the palace. The other eunuchs were afraid of Nemo's power, but they didn't dare to protest.

"The prince said that the emperor was born beautiful, how beautiful is it?" Xiao Maozi pondered in his heart, after entering the hall, Xiao Maozi's first glance was to peek at what the emperor looked like, but it was okay not to look at it, and Xiao Maozi was so frightened that the food box almost fell to the ground - Wu Yuanming beat that little pockmark, and he was sitting opposite Ao Bai in a dragon robe! The hemp face is blue and purple, and there are still traces of being beaten by Wu Yuanming!

"Xiao Maozi, the prince is so good to you." After discovering that Xiao Mazi was the current emperor, Xiao Maozi was first frightened and flew six souls, and then felt sad for a while, and said to himself in his heart: "The son of the world wants to help you, but if you offend the current long live, if you don't repay the favor of the son, are you still human?" ”

All kinds of imperial meals are full of seven tables, although Xiao Maozi is the first time to send food to the emperor and the empress dowager, but the other eunuchs also know that he is temporarily replaced, in order not to be punished, someone helped Xiao Maozi put the food box in the specified position, and all stood outside the palace gate, ready to serve at any time. In order to prevent being recognized by Kangxi, from entering the hall to standing outside the hall, Xiao Maozi has always bowed his head deeply, but fortunately, the posture of the other eunuchs is the same as Xiao Maozi, and Xiao Maozi has not revealed his stuffing. But when setting up the meal, the clever little Maozi still found a strange thing - what was placed in front of Kangxi, Xiaozhuang and Aobai turned out to be three plates of boiled white meat in clear water that seemed to have no seasonings! Xiao Maozi wondered for a while, and said that this thing can be eaten?

"Grandson, Lord Ao, an old man invites you to a banquet today." After the eunuch tasted all the dishes, Xiaozhuang pointed to the two plates of boiled meat in front of Kangxi and Aobai with gold nails more than three inches long and said, "The main thing is to invite you to eat this boiled meat." Xiao Maozi, who was listening attentively outside the hall, wondered in his heart, and said that it was really boiled for nothing, and this thing was really edible?

As Xiao Maozi expected, Kangxi only ate a bite of the boiled fat without any ingredients, and immediately couldn't help but spit it out, Kangxi just wanted to ask Xiaozhuang what was going on, but found that the sworn enemy sitting opposite him looked excited, staring at the plate of boiled pork in front of him that weighed two catties, and there were tears flashing in his eyes. Kangxi couldn't help but be surprised, knowing that this dish must have a origin.

"Grandson, this dish is hard to eat, right?" The Empress Dowager of Xiaozhuang asked Kangxi softly. Kangxi nodded and replied frankly: "Back to grandmother, this dish is not only unpalatable, but simply difficult to swallow." My grandson has grown so big, and I haven't eaten such a bad dish. ”

"Grandson, you were born in the palace since you were a child, so naturally you have never eaten such a dish." The Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang sighed, shook her head and said, "But do you know? Your father, your grandmother, and Lord Ao, who is sitting across from you, have all eaten this dish before, and not only once or twice. ”

"Is there such a thing?" Kangxi Qi said, saying that it is really admirable to be able to eat such a thing for a long time. And Ao Bai had tears in his eyes, and choked up: "Your Majesty, it's true, we have all eaten this dish before." When I entered the customs of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, in the midst of the soldiers, we ate such dishes to fight the world. Thinking of the past, Ao Bai couldn't suppress his emotions, and couldn't help but burst into tears.

"When I entered the customs of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, I ate such a meal?" Kangxi muttered, and had vaguely guessed in his heart the purpose of his grandmother calling him and Ao Bai to Cining Palace for dinner.

"Not bad." Xiaozhuang nodded and said: "I have 200,000 people in the Qing Dynasty who entered the customs, just eating such a meal and laying down a huge country, and the suffering during this period is only known to us parties." Xiaozhuang turned his eyes to Kangxi, stared into Kangxi's eyes, and said softly: "Grandson, today's grandmother let you eat such a dish, just to let you not forget, how difficult it is for us to get this country, let you also experience the hard work of our Manchu people back then, so that you will cherish this country even more." ”

"Grandmother has good intentions, and grandchildren understand." Kangxi agreed with tears, picked up the white meat with chopsticks, and ate the unpalatable white meat in a big gulp. Xiaozhuang nodded with satisfaction, then turned to Ao Bai and asked, "Lord Ao, the old man invited you to eat such a dish, do you understand the intention?" ”

"Back to the Empress Dowager, the old minister understands." Ao Bai wiped his tears and replied in a choked voice: "The Empress Dowager is reminding the old ministers, don't forget how hard it is to come to the world, and cherish this piece of flowers and rivers." As he spoke, Ao Bai grabbed the fat piece of white meat with his big hand and chewed it, and he was proud of it.

"Yes, this country should be cherished." Xiaozhuang saw that the time had come, so he shifted the conversation to the topic, "We are only hundreds of thousands, and the Han people are as many as 10,000, just like a handful of pepper noodles sprinkled into the sea, but why can we win the country?" Because we are united, and the Han people are divided, we are all broken! If we are full of people and fight in the nest again, the Han people can kill us at any time, leaving no grass behind. ”

"Could it be that the Empress Dowager wants to reconcile the contradictions between our monarchs and ministers?" Ao Bai and Kangxi thought in their hearts at the same time.

"Don't think about it." Xiaozhuang said lightly: "I called you here today, in addition to telling you not to forget your ancestors, there is also the matter of Wu Sangui's urging. Wu Sangui took advantage of the chaos in the court, pretending to entrust the rebellious soldiers to invade Sichuan, in a vain attempt to defraud more money from the imperial court. ”

"Now, there are two paths that are set before you." Xiaozhuang's eyes flashed with shrewdness, and he said in an accentuated tone: "One is to swallow his anger and give the court taxes to the Han barbarian Wu Sangui, begging him not to rebel and make trouble!" With the silver we got in exchange for our blood, we went to feed the white-eyed wolf who couldn't get enough of it! ”

"Empress Dowager, don't say it, Weichen will order Zheng Jiaoqi, the governor of Sichuan, and order him to prepare men and horses to recapture Luzhou!" Ao Bai misunderstood the meaning of Xiaozhuang, and remembered the Jin Ge Iron Horse back then, and couldn't help but be arrogant. And Xiaozhuang didn't want Ao Bai to go to war with Wu Sangui at this time - didn't this give Ao Bai an opportunity to deepen his control over the army? Xiaozhuang shook his head and said: "Lord Ao, I have been established in the Qing Dynasty for decades, and it has not been consolidated at all. ”

"Grandmother, just now you said that your grandson and Lord Ao have two paths, what is this second one?" Kangxi, who also didn't want to go to war with Wu Sangui immediately, asked.

"Hehe, this second, that is, your monarchs and ministers are single-minded, and join forces to fight back against that Wu Sangui!" Xiaozhuang said arrogantly: "As long as you monarchs and ministers are single-minded, then Wu Sangui will have no chance to take advantage of it, and can only obediently accept the original military salary!" I have been an iron horse in the Qing Dynasty for decades, throwing my head and spilling blood in exchange for the country, and the silver in exchange for blood, why should I give it to Wu Sangui in vain? Speaking of this, Xiaozhuang's eyes were like electricity, staring at Kangxi and shouting: "Grandson, we are full of silver, are you willing to give it to Wu Sangui for nothing?" ”

"No!" Kangxi replied categorically. Xiaozhuang nodded slightly, then turned to Ao Bai and shouted: "Lord Ao, you enclosed the land to make a living for our banner people, and now Wu Sangui is coming to take away our Manchurian tax money and food, are you willing to give it to him for nothing?" ”

"What kind of thing is Wu Sangui? Who is qualified to take our full of silver? Thinking of the Jin Ge of the past, and being provoked by Xiaozhuang, Ao Bai immediately became arrogant and shouted: "The Empress Dowager rest assured, Ao Bai swears to my ancestors and ancestors of the Qing Dynasty that when the fifteenth day of the first lunar month comes, Ao Bai will definitely support the emperor and never give in to Wu Sangui!" ”

"Lord Ao, the old body doesn't just need your support!" Xiaozhuang gritted his teeth and said: "I also want the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty to support together, as long as the court is united, insists on not giving in to that Wu Sangui, and uses all-out war as a threat to force Wu Sangui to disarm (Note 1)!" Wu Yingxiong, who negotiated on behalf of Wu Sangui, had no choice but to obediently accept the military salary and disarmament conditions offered by the imperial court! Let's try it again, and finally force this white-eyed wolf to accept the withdrawal of the domain! ”

"The Empress Dowager rest assured, Ao Bai will definitely follow your instructions and agree that the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty will challenge Wu Yingxiong at the court meeting and force that Wu Yingxiong to accept the conditions of the imperial court!" Ao Bai said loudly. This sentence is not that Ao Bai was instigated by Xiaozhuang, but that Ao Bai was also extremely dissatisfied with Wu Sangui taking a lot of military salaries every year, and he really said it from the bottom of his heart!

"Good." Speaking of this, Xiaozhuang's voice was an octave higher, "Grandson, Lord Ao is brave and loyal, and loyal to the country, you should always reward him with something, right?" ”

"Yes." Kangxi stood up and said in a loud voice: "Bow to the seal!" Ao Bai hurriedly left his seat and bowed, Kangxi shouted: "I have named you a first-class auxiliary prince, and you will be given the title of Taishi (Note 2)!" I hope that Aoqing will not forget today's oath and work with me to fight against Wu Sangui's unsubdued ambitions! ”

Ao bowed to the great joy, kowtowed: "Weichen Aobai, thank the lord Longen, long live the emperor, long live, long live." Weichen will not forget his oath, assist the saint, and let Wu Sangui return empty-handed! ”

"You monarchs and ministers work together, and the mourning family can rest assured." Xiaozhuang nodded and smiled: "Grandson, Shang Kexi's third son Shang Zhili and Geng Jingzhong's younger brother Geng Xinghe, you also have to work hard, as long as the two of them stand on the side of the court, Wu Yingxiong will be alone in the court." ”

Outside the window at this time, Xiao Maozi, who heard Xiaozhuang, Kangxi and Aobai clearly, said to himself in his heart: "Xiao Maozi, the emperor is going to rectify your benefactor, even if you can't help your benefactor." You also have to find a way to send this news to your benefactor, so that the benefactor will not be unprepared. ”

Note 1: In the eighth year of Kangxi, Wu Sangui once disarmed, cutting 55,000 soldiers to half of the old and weak soldiers, and retaining only 27,000 elite soldiers.

Note 2: In order to stabilize Aobai, at the beginning of the eighth year of Kangxi, when Aobai fell, Kangxi added Aobai as a first-class auxiliary prince and a Taishi.