The news finally reached the territory of Yungui through various channels that were open or covert, and was sent to the bedside desks of Wu Sangui and Yungui governors and local officials, which also aroused all kinds of reactions and repercussions.

Seeing these news, most of the members of the Pingxi Royal Mansion of course had to be angry and scolded - the tax and silver of the Eight Banners Fushou Paste were raised to every two or eight yuan, and the Pingxi Royal Mansion had to hand over the seeds to the provinces of the world for trial planting, didn't this want to completely cut off the most important source of wealth of the Pingxi Palace? Therefore, most of the words of the prince of Pingxi are one opinion, do not pay, resolutely do not pay! Not only can't you pay this Hades tax, but you can't pay the seeds! If you hand it over, the Pingxi Mansion will be completely finished!

There are also a small number of people who are worried, because they know that for this matter, Ao Bai has vaguely sent a threat of war to the Pingxi Palace, if this matter is not handled properly, I am afraid that the war is inevitable, and the Pingxi Palace, in order to survive and benefit, will inevitably fight to the death with the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Mites Qing will have the power of the whole country, and he will have a general like Ao Bai who can fight well. The Pingxi Wangfu only basically controls Yunnan and Guizhou, the two poorest and most sparsely populated provinces in the country, and its strength is not at all comparable, and it is almost clear who wins and who loses.

Of course, there are worries and joys, in the Pingxi Palace, there are still a considerable number of people secretly happy about this, and even ecstatic, and the most typical representative is undoubtedly our first scourge of the Qing Dynasty, Lu Fatzi and Qujing Prefect Lu Yifeng.

Relying on the fact that there is a good teacher who is highly valued in the Pingxi Palace, and there are inextricable links with many powerful people in the Pingxi Palace, Lu Fatzi, whose official position is only the prefect, even received these news before the governor Gan Wenkun and the governor Zhu Guozhi, and at the same time, Wu Sangui also received an order for Lu Fatzi to return to Kunming as soon as possible - Wu Sangui is also paying more and more attention to Lu Fatzi, a supernumerary member of the Pingxi Palace's think tank. And after receiving these news and analyzing and inferring them comprehensively, Lu Fatzi couldn't help but cheer.

"It's done! It's finally done! The court has made up its mind to deal with the prince! Even in front of Chen Dou and Zhu Fangdan, the overjoyed Fat Man Lu couldn't hide his shouting in the sky, "This time, the prince just doesn't want to rebel and has to rebel!" Xinghan's plan to destroy Manchu is finally about to take the first step! ”

Lu Fatzi finally showed his bright fangs in front of him, and Chen Dou, who had already known this, of course smiled silently, and Zhu Fangdan, who had been imperceptibly and completely brainwashed by Lu Fatzi in the past four years, intentionally or unintentionally, was also mentally prepared, and was not surprised by his employer's ambition to oppose the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty. It wasn't until Fat Lu was almost dancing that Chen Dou asked uneasily: "Lord Futai, are you sure that the prince will definitely rebel this time?" Will you be wronged again? Drift along? ”

"It's a matter of certainty!" Lu Fatzi slapped the table and shouted: "If it is just a tax increase, one or two Eight Banners Fushou Paste will levy a tax of eight coins of silver, for the sake of the windfall profits of the Eight Banners Fushou Cream, the prince may continue to get by, and seek satisfaction with grievances!" But this time, the imperial court not only had to draw heavy taxes, but also asked the prince to pay tribute to the Eight Banners Fushou Paste Seeds, so that all parts of the country could try to plant, which clearly showed that it was to completely cut off the prince's financial route and force Yunnan and Guizhou to return to the previous passive situation of being unable to be self-sufficient in money and grain! Even if the prince agrees, the civil and military officials of the Pingxi Royal Mansion and the people of Yunnan will not agree! ”

"In this way, Lord Futai's guess last time was true." Chen Dou groaned: "In the imperial court, there are also people who want to completely force the prince, otherwise, they will not come to touch the biggest rebellion of the prince." But who is this man? Is it Aobai, or is it the emperor? ”

"It doesn't matter who it is anymore." Fat Lu rubbed his fat hands and said excitedly: "The important thing is that the court has made up its mind to do it to the prince this time, and the prince has to do it even if he doesn't want to!" ”

"Lord Futai, you seem to be carried away by victory, right?" Chen Dou said unceremoniously: "On the contrary, Xia Guan thinks that this point is very important, and we must first figure out the primary enemy who is determined to put our Pingxi Royal Mansion to death, so that we can distinguish between priority and secondary, and find the secondary enemy that can be used and fought for, so as not to be used and deceived by the real enemy." ”

"Master Chen is right." Zhu Fangdan nodded and agreed: "Although the student is not very good at this, he also knows that in the big war, every time he fights for an enemy for his own use, he can not only reduce the enemy, but also increase his strength. ”

"Master Chen and Master Zhu have taught me a lesson, I am a little carried away by the good news." Fat Lu smiled embarrassedly, and hurriedly asked: "Then Lord Chen, do you think that one side is firmly advocating forcing the prince to rebel, and what is the attitude of the remaining party?" ”

"The information is not detailed enough, and I can't analyze it." Chen Dou said helplessly: "Originally, I always suspected that the emperor wanted to force the prince to rebel, but in the palace newspaper issued by the imperial court, it was Ao Zhongtang who made a statement to the emperor, asking the emperor to order the prince to pay tribute to the imperial court Eight Banners Fushou Paste seeds, and it was Ao Zhongtang himself who ruled that the Eight Banners Fushou Paste was taxed eight yuan per two yuan, so the lower officials were also a little confused, and the lower officials could only remind them of this matter, and when you arrived in Kunming, you will have more detailed information from the prince to analyze and judge." ”

"Thank you for your advice, when you get to Kunming, Lu Yifeng will definitely do it." Fat Lu thanked him solemnly, and asked again: "Lord Chen, then in this matter, I don't know if the adults have any advice?" ”

"Don't dare to advise." Chen Dou pondered and said: "Xia Guan just suggested that the adults pay attention to two things, one is that after the adults arrive in Kunming, they must persuade the prince to start preparing for war immediately and prepare for war. ”

"What Lord Chen said is exactly like this, with the virtue of our prince, it is very likely that he will fall into such a plan." Fat Lu slapped his ass, and couldn't wait to ask, "What is the second thing that Lord Chen wants this official to pay attention to?" I hope to give you advice. ”

"The second thing, of course, is your position, Lord Futai." Chen Dou said in a deep voice: "The war between the court and the prince is imminent, during the period when the two sides are in full swing and preparing for the war, your position is very sensitive, Qujing is choking the throat of Yunnan and Guizhou, it is extremely important to the court and the prince, if you can continue to gain the trust of the court during this time, and defraud more troops, food and materials from the hands of the court, then after the prince raises the army, your position will be even more important." ”

"I can't do it." Lu Fatzi shook his head decisively and said: "Ao Bai has known that I am the prince's person for a long time, and he has not debunked me in the past few years, because the relationship between the prince and Ao Bai has been good in the past few years, and now if I repeat my old tricks, even if Emperor Mazi is fooled again, Ao Bai will immediately debunk this point, and will not take the army's food and salary to cheapen me again." ”

"In that case, then you have to stand on the opposite side of Aobai immediately!" Chen Douyun thought very quickly, and immediately said: "As long as you are standing opposite Aobai now, and Aobai is dead, then what Aobai said in front of Emperor Mazi will become a fart, and Emperor Mazi will never believe it!" Afterwards, even if you follow the prince to raise troops against the Qing Dynasty, you can also use the excuse that you were forced to rebel by Aobai, even if Emperor Mazi hates you again, he will have a glimmer of hope for you, Lord Futai, hoping that one day you can turn back, intentionally or unintentionally open up to you. ”

Mites like to buy enemies and like to use counter-plots, of course Lu Fatzi has long known this, but after thinking about it for a while, Lu Fatzi said with an embarrassed expression: "Lord Chen, your trick is wonderful, but I, a newly appointed prefect, didn't even sit on the buttocks, and I was more than ten levels away from Aobai, what qualifications did I have to stand on the opposite side of him?" And he died? ”

"Lord Futai, you are really smart, you are confused for a while." Chen Dou's dead man rarely showed some smiles on his face, and said with a smile: "Lord Futai forgot, after Ao Zhongtang personally ruled that every two eight banners of Fushou paste was taxed with eight silver coins, it seems that the first one to suffer and suffer is not the Pingxi Palace, right?" ”

"Wonderful! Wonderful! Lu Fatzi's eyes lit up, slapped on the table, and said in surprise: "The first to bear the brunt of suffering is the common people of Qujing!" The Eight Banners Fushou Paste they have grown hard for a year can only be sold for four or five dollars of silver, but the tax has to be levied for eight yuan, isn't this forcing the common people to jump into the river? ! As the prefect of Qujing, the biggest parent official in Qujing, isn't it natural for the people to take the lead in resisting taxes? Isn't the worship of personally adjudicating this tax amount also a thorn in my side?! ”

"Master Zhu." After the joy, Lu Fatzi hurriedly turned to Zhu Fangdan and ordered: "Immediately draw up a concert for me, impeach the old and immortal fisherman, and collect heavy taxes indiscriminately, the people of Qujing are overwhelmed, and the people are in turmoil." ”

"Wait." Without waiting for Zhu Fangdan to agree, Chen Dou hurriedly stopped it, and hurriedly said: "My lord, let's wait for the province to officially do this, now that the will is still on the way, you will hand over the impeachment of Aobai, Emperor Mazi noticed this, and you can't say it clearly with a hundred mouths." ”

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm so happy today, I didn't think of these details at all." Fat Lu hurriedly nodded and blamed himself, and laughed uncontrollably, "It seems that when this will of the imperial court arrives in Qujing, Qujing Mansion will not be able to become the largest source of soldiers in Pingxi Palace, whether it is ordinary people or Miao Yi Tusi, they will definitely stand on our side and join hands with us to fight hard with the imperial court!" ”

"Lord Futai is right, I believe that when the army is raised, as long as the adults use the excuse of resisting taxes to ascend to the heights, they will definitely respond to every call, and the followers will be like a stream." Chen Dou nodded, frowned again and said: "Speaking of this, Xia Guan remembered another important event, since you are ambitious and want to personally lead the troops and respond to the prince's major events, then shouldn't the lord show his loyalty to the prince?" Although the prince now trusts you very much, if you can make the prince absolutely trust the adult and treat the adult as an absolute confidant, then many of the adult's actions must be more convenient, at least, don't worry about the enemy dividing the relationship between the adult and the prince. ”

"Thanks to the guidance, Lu Yifeng will definitely do his best." Fat Lu nodded seriously, tried to calm down, and after thinking carefully for a long time, Fat Lu commanded: "Master Zhu, you call Erlang in, I have something to explain." ”

Zhu Fangdan agreed, left the study to call Xiao Erlang, who was guarding outside, and after Xiao Erlang entered the door, he said to Chen Dou without waiting for Lu Fatzi's instructions: "Lord Chen, someone from your yamen said that it was urgent, because you explained that you were not allowed to disturb, I didn't dare to come in to report, let him wait in the gatehouse." ”

"Oh, then I'll go see what's going on." Chen Dou nodded and went out. Only then did Xiao Erlang turn to Fat Lu and ask, "Young Master, what's the matter?" ”

"Go to the market and buy me some loaches." Fat Lu instructed: "If not, send someone to the field to catch it, not a lot, just a dozen, but remember, you must live." ”

"A dozen loaches?" Xiao Erlang said confusedly: "Young master, a dozen loaches are not enough for you to eat, right?" I remember last time, you ate more than 20 in one sitting—and added an elbow. ”

"Idiot, who said I was going to eat? I was there for other purposes. Fat Lu scolded with a smile: "Go and come back quickly, the sooner the better." ”

Xiao Erlang agreed, and hurriedly took the order, but as soon as he went out on the front foot, Chen Dou entered the study on the back foot, and said anxiously: "Lord Futai, it is the flying pigeon from the prince's side, and the prince orders you to arrive at Wuhua Mountain within tomorrow, and there is an important matter to negotiate, without delay." ”

"Heh, it seems that the prince is also completely anxious." Fat Lu smiled, got up and ordered: "Lord Chen, when I leave Qujing, I will entrust all the affairs of Qujing to you." Master Zhu, let Fang Shiyu and them prepare their luggage and war horses, and when Erlang comes back from buying loaches, we will leave immediately. ”

………………

Wu Sangui is indeed already in a hurry, after the news of the re-ruling of the Eight Banners Fushou Paste tax and the request for Wu Sangui to pay tribute to the seeds reached Yunnan, the inside of the Pingxi Royal Mansion exploded, and there were all kinds of things, some asked Wu Sangui to bargain with the Qing court, some asked Wu Sangui to resist taxes by force, and even asked Wu Sangui to directly announce the reading power or directly raise troops against the Qing Dynasty - of course, there was absolutely no requirement for Wu Sangui to obediently obey his orders and cut off his own financial routes, and he was used to saying that the subordinates of the Pingxi Wangfu were so good, I don't want to go back to the kind of poor people I used to be, and even the most basic military salaries, grain and grass have to look at the faces of Xiao Mazi and Aobai.

With Wu Sangui's indecisive and passable surname, under the threat of using force to solve the problem if Ao Bai did not obey, of course, he wanted to bargain with the Qing court and pay some more taxes and silver to keep the fortune of the Eight Banners Fushou Ointment, and a large number of Wu Sangui's lackeys also agreed with this view. However, there are also many people of insight who pointed out that since the Mite Qing Dynasty has done such a ruthless job, it must have made up its mind to use force to eradicate the Pingxi Palace, and instead of wasting time and hoping that the Mite Qing Court would show mercy, it is better to quickly prepare for war, strike first, and kill the mite dog by surprise.

Opinions are diametrically opposed, how to choose, of course, is a headache for the indecisive Wu Sangui, in desperation, Wu Sangui had to decide to hold a meeting in Yin'an Hall on October 25 to discuss countermeasures, at the same time, in view of the fact that Lu Fatzi has been valued by Wu Sangui, thinking that Lu Fatzi is the best rising star in Pingxi Palace, and through facts it has been proved that many of Lu Fatzi's insights are very unique, and they happen to be able to hit the point, so Wu Sangui let people give Lu Fatzi a flying pigeon biography, Fatzi Lu was ordered to rush back to Wuhua Mountain on October 24 to discuss with the old man of Pingxi Palace.

On the afternoon of October 24, after an hour of routine napping, Wu Laohan, who had not closed his eyes at all for an hour, got up from the bed helplessly, and asked the maid to serve him and dress. ”

"Yifeng is here?" Wu Lao Han was first overjoyed, and then scolded angrily: "This bastard boy, it's been almost three months since he returned to Yunnan, and he is finally willing to go back to Wuhua Mountain, Lao Tzu still thinks that he forgot how to go this way!" provoked Lao Tzu, Lao Tzu's granddaughter would not give it to him! ”

scolded and scolded, but the anxious Wu Lao Han Jian still did not hold Lu Fatzi accountable, but hurriedly changed into the king's clothes, surrounded by Lu Shrimp and other guards, all the way to the Yin'an Palace, which is located in the core of the Pingxi Palace. But when he entered the Yin'an Palace, he took a closer look, but Wu Sangui's nose was almost crooked - next to Lu Fatzi, for some reason, a charcoal stove was built, and there was an iron pot with a lid and a small wooden barrel next to the charcoal stove. Wu Sangui couldn't help but roar angrily: "Bastard, who brought these things to the lonely hall?" Ready to cook or cook in the lonely Silver Temple? ”

"Lord Wang, the capital offense of despicable duty." Fat Lu hurriedly saluted and said respectfully: "These things are all found by the palace guards who are lowly and have nothing to do with others, and the sin lies in the lowly position." ”

"Bold!" Wu Laohan, who was angry, roared, "Lu Yifeng, you rely on the favor of this king, and your work is really getting more and more outrageous, the previous few times you were ordered to return to Wuhua Mountain as soon as possible, but there was no trace of you, this time I finally came back once, and I tinkered with these things in this king's Yin'an Palace, what are you going to do?" ”

"Despicable capital offense." Fat Lu was not afraid, but said solemnly: "Lord Wang, here's the thing, I heard that Lord Wang, you have not eaten well and slept well in recent times, so I specially brought some special products from Qujing, and prepared to cook a famous dish for Lord Wang here. ”

"Nonsense!" Wu Laohan's anger subsided slightly, and he asked again: "Then what are you going to cook?" ”

"This dish is very novel, please ask the prince to cook it immediately, so that the prince can open his eyes." Fat Lu said respectfully.

Wu Laohan was confused, but for the sake of Lu Fatzi's seriousness, he finally nodded and agreed to Lu Fatzi's cooking in the palace, and Lu Fatzi also quickly put the iron pot on the charcoal stove, lifted the wooden bucket again, poured the contents of the bucket into the pot together with the water, and finally put a piece of tofu into the pot. Wu Lao Hanjian took a closer look curiously, but saw that in addition to the tofu that Lu Fatzi had just put in the pot, there were several live loaches wandering happily in the pot.

"I thought you were doing something." Wu Laohan laughed dumbly, raised his leg and kicked Lu Fatzi's fat buttocks, and scolded with a smile: "What a novel dish, isn't it just loach and tofu?" Not only has Lone eaten it, but when he was in Phi Dao before, he also made it himself! ”

"Oh, it turns out that the prince has eaten it." Fat Lu was not surprised and happy, and asked again: "Then dare to ask the prince, how did this live loach get into the tofu in the end?" ”

"Needless to say, when the water is hot, the tofu is cold, and the loaches can't stand the heat, of course they have to get into the tofu." Wu Laohan replied angrily.

"Then I would like to ask the prince again, since the tofu is cold, and the loach gets into it, why is it still cooked in the end? Become a meal on people's plates, eat in your mouth? Fat Lu asked again.

"Are you kid getting more and more outrageous? Lone asked you to come back, there is something important to discuss with you, what kind of reputation do you have with this king? Wu Laohan became angry again, and shouted: "When the water is boiled and the tofu is hot, won't the loaches in the tofu be scalded to death?!" Is the ghost hall finished? When you're done, hurry up and collect all these things for Lao Tzu! ”

"Lord Wang, since you understand this truth......." Fat Lu said unhurriedly: "Then why do you still drill into tofu, prince?" ”

Hearing this, Wu Laohan was stunned, and immediately understood the true intentions of Fat Lu. At this time, Hu Guozhu, Liu Xuanchu and others also came up, bowed to Wu Laohan, and asked in unison: "Lord Wang, since you understand this truth, why do you still want to drill tofu?" ”

A pair of jackals stared at the iron pot with green eyes, and stared at the few happily swimming loaches, the face on Wu Laohan's face turned blue and white for a while, until those loaches couldn't stand the heat and began to squeeze into the tofu, Wu Laohanjian commanded in a hoarse voice: "Remember, from today on, this dish must be made for this king at every meal!" ”

"Lord Wangming!" Lu Fatzi and the others were overjoyed, and hurriedly kowtowed and shouted together. At the end, Lu Fatzi pretended to excuse himself and said: "Lord Wang, the matter is urgent, in order to persuade the prince, I dare to compare the dragon body of the prince to a loach, I hope that the prince will forgive the sin, don't take it to heart." ”

"No way!" Wu Laohan waved his hand, refused categorically, and pointed to the iron pot and said with a smile: "Don't think that this king can't see it, you let these loaches spit out the mud and sand at all, in order to punish you for the great disrespect of comparing this king to loaches, this king will punish you for eating this dish alone!" ”

"Lord, spare your life! The humble post came in a hurry and was not well prepared, and he didn't even put the ingredients——! ”

"Bastard, then you still say that you want to invite this king to this dish? Since you made this dish yourself, then you can eat it yourself! ”

(To be continued)