When the first snow fell in the capital, Wu Sangui's turmoil of privately casting Hongyi cannons finally came to an end, in view of the lack of direct evidence, it was impossible to prove that the two Hongyi cannons seized by Gan Wenkun were Wu Sangui's illegal private casting, Xiao Mazi and Mites Qing court had to accept Wu Sangui's explanation, ruling that the two Hongyi cannons were refurbished from old cannons - but the renovation process was too good, and Gan Wenkun mistakenly identified them as new cannons, so Gan Wenkun was not at fault, and Wu Sangui was certainly not at fault. These two 'refurbished' artillery pieces were also left in the capital by Xiao Mazi under the pretext that the refurbished process was too good and worth learning, and they were not returned to Wu Sangui by the Beijing Artillery Casting Bureau.

In addition, in order to further verify the firearms and equipment of Wu Sangui's army, and in order to contain Wu Sangui's armament development, Xiao Mazi sent Mingzhu's nephew, the minister of the guard, and Wu Dan, the guard with a sword in front of the emperor, to Wu Sangui's army to reward 100 Western muskets and 1,000 pairs of bows, taking the opportunity to inquire about the truth and spy on the real military situation of Wu Sangui's army. Although this move will definitely not have much effect, at least it can also grasp first-hand information, and at the same time give Wu Sangui a disguised warning, warning Wu Sangui not to arbitrarily come nonsense, implying that the Emperor of the Great Qing Dynasty has been staring at him - in the current situation of serious constraints in Aobai, the strongest voice that Xiao Mazi can make is this.

When the second snow fell in the capital, the Pingxi Wangfu secretly indulged in the Eight Banners Fushou Paste Hall set off firecrackers to celebrate the opening of the 32nd Eight Banners Fushou Paste Hall branch, and at the same time, nearly 100 Eight Banners Fushou Paste Houses in the capital were all replaced with the new Eight Banners Fushou Paste in Yunnan this year, and among the more than 200,000 banner people in Beijing, there are more than 100,000 flag people who fell in love with this panacea from the bottom of their hearts, and rushed to send the grain and rice just received from the Internal Affairs Office into these Fushou Paste Pavilions, and replaced them with wisps of green smoke into their lungs. Enjoy the supreme pleasure of wanting to die.

Also infected with the Fushou ointment are also the Eight Banners of the hometown of the Northeast of Mites, as well as their families and parents and brothers, the Northeast climate is cold, the land is sparsely populated, the life of the flag people is monotonous, there are almost no entertainment facilities, and the speed of addiction to smoking is inevitably faster. Also addicted are Han officials and wealthy businessmen in the capital, as well as the Manchurians of the Eight Banners, Han landlords, salt merchants, and officials and generals in major cities in the south of the Yangtze River, .............

The silver of the capital, the silver of the Northeast, the silver of the south of the Yangtze River, and the silver of the West, the silver of the white flowers flowed into Yungui like the tide, and the Pingxi Wangfu made a lot of money, but the court of Xiao Mazi and the mite relics were both red and helpless. The call for heavy taxes on the Eight Banners Fushou Paste in the Qing Dynasty was rising, and there was also a call for the Pingxi Royal Mansion to release the control of the seeds of the Eight Banners Fushou Cream, so that other provinces would also have the opportunity to plant the Eight Banners Fushou Paste to get rid of poverty and become rich.

It's a pity and of course that Wu Sangui is not so stupid, even if Wu Sangui agrees, the gang of jackals and hungry tigers under Wu Sangui definitely don't agree. And inside the Pingxi Palace, the call for Yungui to read and get rid of the control of the Qing Dynasty is also quietly sounding.

The eyes of envy have spread all over China, the eyes of greed and jealousy have also filled the government and the opposition, the seeds of hatred have sprouted, the existing contradictions are intensifying, the gunpowder of the conflict has also been accumulating, and where is the fuse of the outbreak? Will it be ignited again on that day?

Wu Sangui and his think tank are thinking about this problem, Ao Bai is also thinking about this problem, and Xiao Mazi is thinking about this problem even more. But at this time, the time for the three-year change of civil officials and military generals in Yunnan and Guizhou has arrived, and the time for the three-year term of office of the cronies promoted after Xiao Mazi has also arrived, and the personnel dispute between Wu Sangui, Ao Bai and Xiao Mazi has gradually kicked off.

The first conflict between Xiao Mazi and Aobai was of course the governor of Shanxi, Moluo, who advocated that the Manchus control the central government and the army, the Han people controlled the localities, and the Manchus were not allowed to serve as local governors; Xiao Mazi hoped that all the Manchus would ride on the heads of the Han and control the central and local powers. This is actually a conflict between Ao Bai and Xiao Mazi's governing philosophy, let's not talk about him, and the personnel conflict between Xiao Mazi and Wu Sangui is really a conflict of who will control the military and political power in the southwest.

In just a few months, the three-year term of office is about to expire among the Yunnan Governor Lin Tianqing, the Guizhou Governor Tong Fengcai and the Sichuan Governor Zhang Dedi, who is connected to Yunnan and Guizhou. Then wait to be eaten alive after being overhead by Xiao Mazi.

Of course, the incompetent governor of Guizhou, Tong Fengcai, has to get out of the way - Xiao Mazi and Wu Sangui are seriously dissatisfied with him, and he is replaced by Cao Shenji, the servant of the Ministry - this is a typical white-eyed wolf, Xiao Mazi has long been optimistic about him, and is ready to let him go to Guizhou to spy on Wu Sangui, but the rumor was somehow suppressed by Wu Yingxiong, and Wu Sangui had already secretly put a lot of effort into him and turned him into his own person, so after Xiao Mazi decided to make him the governor of Guizhou, Wu Sangui protested on the surface, but he was already stealing fun in his stomach.

Compared with Tong Fengcai, what made Xiao Mazi more dissatisfied and angry was Yunnan Governor Lin Tianqing, when Xiao Mazi abandoned the originally optimistic Li Tianyu and chose Lin Tianqing, because Lin Tianqing sold Wu Sangui in the matter of salary, Xiao Mazi felt that talent was rare and chose to let him serve as the governor of Yunnan, but he served for three years, not only did he make no achievements in monitoring and restraining Wu Sangui, but on the contrary, he also helped Wu Sangui make Yunnan rich and rival the country, so that Wu Sangui made enough silver, and used this silver to expand the armament. Xiao Mazi has the heart to devour him alive, how can he continue to work in the position of governor of Yunnan?

Some friends must say that Yunnan has become so rich mainly due to the Eight Banners Fushou Ointment, and it is also the fault of Lu Fatzi, why does Xiao Mazi not hate Lu Fatzi but hates Lin Tianqing? I want to explain here that our Lu Da County order planted Eight Banners Fushou Paste in Qujing, but he just wanted to make the people of Qujing feel better, and he never thought that the Eight Banners Fushou Paste would be so powerful, and it was an unintentional mistake to reverse the passive situation of Yunnan and Guizhou's food and salary being unable to be self-sufficient in one fell swoop.

Afterwards, our Lu County Order also regretted it very much, and the first time he wanted to dedicate the seeds of the Eight Banners Fushou Paste to Xiao Mazi, it was only because of various accidents that Wu Sangui picked up a big bargain - this was personally proved by Gan Wenkun, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou. Moreover, in order to oppose Wu Sangui's monopoly of the Eight Banners Fushou Paste Seeds, Lu Xianling also received a big ear slap from Wu Sangui's son-in-law Hu Guozhu, so although Xiao Mazi was seriously dissatisfied in his heart, he really couldn't find any excuse to accuse Lu Fatzi - Xiao Mazi should not blame Lu Fatzi for not benefiting the people, right? What do people in the world think of Xiao Mazi?

Compared with Lu Fatzi, who knows his mistakes and can change them, Lin Zhongcheng is a little too serious, when Lu Fatzi fights Wu Sangui with all his strength as a seven-grade body, Lin Zhongcheng doesn't even dare to put a fart, let alone stand with Lu Fatzi and fight against Wu Sangui, watching Hu Guozhu smoke Lu Fatzi's ear scraper, and watching Wu Sangui pocket the precious Eight Banners Fushou Paste Seeds. After the incident, Lin Zhongcheng also tried his best to help Wu Sangui expand the cultivation of Eight Banners Fushou Paste, and helped Wu Sangui monopolize the cultivation of Eight Banners Fushou Paste (this is a bit wronged, Lin Zhongcheng just didn't dare to object), and even watched Wu Sangui frantically expand his armaments, and the training and casting of artillery gradually became bigger.

In this case, although our Lin Zhongcheng very much hopes to continue to exert his residual heat and serve as the governor of Yunnan for another term, Wu Sangui has no objections, but our little Mazi Emperor is unwilling to do anything, and he is determined to let Lin Zhongcheng go home to retire and change to a more loyal and obedient lackey to go to Yunnan to keep an eye on Wu Sangui, and restrain and contain Wu Sangui's armament expansion. So naturally, under the influence of the wings of Lu Fatzi, the demon moth, Xiao Mazi considered the rotation of the governor of Yunnan more than a year earlier than in history.

Although the idea is good, but a loyal and obedient lackey who is not afraid of Wu Sangui Yinwei is not so easy to find, Xiao Mazi has considered several replacement candidates, but after a test, he found that these people are either old with Wu Sangui, or they are relatively timid, I am afraid that they will not be able to withstand Wu Sangui's threats and temptations, or they are too inexperienced, and when they arrive in Yunnan, they are only afraid that they can't fight Wu Sangui, the old fox, but they are swayed by Wu Sangui, the old fox, and they miss the big thing, and then they are suitable in other aspects, but the identity is Manchurian, Sending him to Yunnan as governor will definitely anger Aobai again, and the gains will outweigh the losses.

Just when Xiao Mazi was struggling with this matter, Xiong Cixu, the new favorite of the Hanlin Academy and the official of the banquet, recommended a person to him and said: "Your Majesty, the candidate for the governor of Yunnan, why not consider Zhu Guozhi, a native of the Yellow Banner of the Han Army and a former governor of Jiangsu?" ”

"Zhu Guozhi?" Xiao Mazi was stunned at first, and then said angrily: "Nonsense, what qualifications does Zhu Baidi, who has been demoted five levels in a row, be qualified to serve as an important position as the governor of Yunnan?" ”

"Your Majesty, Zhu Guozhi was indeed demoted by five levels in a row because of the sale case and the Wailing Temple case, and his official reputation was extremely bad, because he was too greedy and even named Zhu Baidi. But Weichen hopes that the emperor will not use his virtue, nor his ability—but his greed, and his courage! Xiong Cixu smiled and said something that made Xiao Mazi stunned.

"With his greed, with his guts?" Xiao Mazi was a little confused.

"Your Majesty, please think about it, if a big corrupt official like Zhu Guozhi arrives in Yunnan now, what will happen?" Xiong Ci raised his eyebrows and said: "The current Yunnan is equivalent to a sea of gold and silver everywhere, and when others get there, they may not dare to come because they are afraid of Wu Sangui, but who is Zhu Guozhi?" When you arrive in Yunnan, will you be polite? Will you seize the opportunity to be greedy and greedy, and make Yunnan a miasma, so that Wu Sangui will not be able to live in peace? ”

"Also, Wu Sangui is currently the most precious and important Eight Banners Fushou Paste Seed in his hands, others are afraid that Wu Sangui will not dare to sell it privately, will Zhu Guozhi be polite to him? Although Zhu Guozhi's stealing and selling of the seeds of the Eight Banners Fushou Paste did not do much good to the imperial court, but these seeds went to other provinces, didn't they weaken Wu Sangui in disguise? In time, after a large number of plantings in other provinces, will the Eight Banners Fushou Paste in Wu Sangui's hand still be as valuable as it is now? ”

"That makes ...... sense." Xiao Mazi began to be tempted, it doesn't work for Qing officials to go to Yunnan, and it doesn't work for Neng Chen to go to Yunnan, why not let a well-known corrupt official go to Yunnan to fight with Wu Sangui, maybe he will receive miraculous results. But after thinking about it carefully, Xiao Mazi hesitated a little and said: "The question is, after Zhu Guozhi arrived in Yunnan, did he have the courage to fight with him Wu Sangui?" Also, what should I do if Zhu Guozhi's official reputation is so bad that Yunnan is full of complaints? ”

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten? Zhu Guozhi is not even afraid of Zheng Chenggong for the sake of silver, let alone a mere Wu Sangui? Xiong Cilu smiled and said: "During the Shunzhi period, Zheng Chenggong's navy repeatedly violated the coastal areas of Jiangsu, and the imperial court changed the governor of Jiangsu several times without receiving any effect, but after this Zhu Guozhi took office, under the pretext of building a fortress on the coast to resist Zheng Chenggong's sailors, he took the risk to personally go to the coast to supervise the work, and took the opportunity to embezzle more than half of the coastal defense funds, but inadvertently gave full play to the advantage of my Qing Eight Banners archery and horse archery, Zheng Chenggong harassed the coastal area several times and was blocked by his pier, and won the reinforcement time of my Qing cavalry, Eventually, Zheng Chenggong was forced to withdraw from Jiangsu. ”

"As for making Yunnan complain." Xiong Cilu said lightly: "According to the information we have learned, most of the cultivation of Fushou paste in the Eight Banners in Yunnan is concentrated in the domains directly controlled by Wu Sangui, and is planted by the tenant farmers under the Wu Sangui domain, and most of the private growers are concentrated in the Qujing area. This means that after Zhu Guozhi arrived in Yunnan, he would only target the raids mainly on the children of Wu Sangui's vassals, rather than the ordinary people in other state capitals - Yunnan was so poor that Zhu Guozhi couldn't scrape it if he wanted to. ”

Speaking of this, Xiong Cilu added with a smile, "Even if Zhu Guozhi really makes Yunnan complain and has to take care of it, isn't it a big deal for the emperor to correct him and correct the country's law?" Such a person, there is no need to feel distressed when he dies, and the emperor can also take the opportunity to gather some of the hearts of the people, isn't it the best of the best? ”

Xiao Mazi was even more moved, and after thinking about it for a long time, Xiao Mazi decided: "In this way, you can inform the Ministry of Rites to arrange it, and find an excuse to let Zhu Guozhi enter the palace to see His Majesty, and let me see with my own eyes whether he is useful or not." ”

"Wechen obeys." Xiong Cixu respectfully agreed, but he was not in a hurry to go down to deliver the decree, and took advantage of the rare opportunity that Suo Etu and Mingzhu were not by Xiao Mazi's side, and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, when it comes to the Eight Banners Fushou Ointment, Weichen suddenly remembered Lord Lu Yifeng of Qujing Zhixian County - if Weichen is not mistaken, in February next year, Lord Lu will also expire for three years, right?" ”

"That's right." Xiao Mazi nodded, and said casually: "Gan Wenkun has already come to the fold, saying that Lu Yifeng is diligent in his errands, clear in prison lawsuits, and has been the first in Yunnan and Guizhou in the performance evaluation of the Ministry for three consecutive years, and recommended Lu Yifeng to be promoted to the prefect of Qujing on the spot, and Zhang Gaomo, the former prefect of Qujing, was transferred to other provinces. ”

That Weichen dared to ask, what does the emperor think about this? Do you plan to let Lu Yifeng take over as the prefect of Qujing on the spot? Xiong asked.

"What are you asking for?" Xiao Mazi was a little vigilant and said, "I know that you and Kong Sizhen are very close, could it be that she wants you to do something to Lu Aiqing?" I can warn you in advance, Lu Aiqing is my humerus minister, you better not speak ill of him in front of me, otherwise don't blame me for not giving you face. ”

"The emperor misunderstood, of course Weichen didn't dare to frame Lord Lu at will." Xiong Cixu flatly denied it, and said: "Weichen just wants to ask the emperor if he can further reuse Lord Lu, for example, directly promote him to the Daotai position, or even directly promote him to the Zhentai or the feudal platform?" Let him benefit more of the people of the Qing Dynasty? ”

"I have plans to reuse Lu Aiqing, but the current situation does not allow it." Xiao Mazi put his mind at ease and said: "Qujing is the throat of Yungui and the first line of defense to prevent Wu Sangui's change, if this place is well controlled, if there is a change, it can buy me and Gan Wenkun precious time to adapt, don't put loyal and capable ministers like Lu Aiqing there, I don't worry." So I had no choice but to continue to grieve Lu Aiqing. ”

"The emperor really still wants to keep Fat Lu in Qujing." Xiong Cixu's heart sank, knowing that the worst had happened. But Xiong Cixu was not in a hurry, he just peeked at Xiao Mazi's face, and said more cautiously: "Your Majesty, since Qujing is so important and Lord Lu's responsibility is so heavy, why doesn't the emperor consider testing Lord Lu again?" Let's see if Lord Lu deserves to be entrusted with a further responsibility? ”

"Test Lu Aiqing again?" Xiao Mazi was a little surprised and asked, "Why do you still have to test?" How to test? ”

"Your Majesty, there is one thing very strange about Weichen." Xiong Cixu said unhurriedly: "Why did Lord Lu suddenly think of casting artillery and developing firearms in the Wu Domain's army after Lord Lu arrived at Wu Domain? Even if this is the reason why Wu Fan relied on the Eight Banners Fushou Paste to make a lot of money and had plenty of money, why didn't Wu Fan's first firearms battalion be located in Kunming? Why should it be located in Qujing Mansion? ”

Xiong Cixu's words just hit the key point of Xiao Mazi, and Xiao Mazi, who had long been skeptical about this, frowned slightly, and his doubts inevitably deepened further. Xiong Cixu observed his words and looks, and took the opportunity to say: "Of course, this is not ruled out as a coincidence, Lord Lu has repeatedly stated that he knows nothing about the way of firearms, saying that he helped Wu Fan cast firearms, and Weichen was the first to disbelieve it!" - However, Your Majesty, you also know that Lord Lu is too proficient in Western studies, and the Eight Banners Fushou Paste and Glass Mirror in Qujing caused a sensation in the world, in case Lord Lu inadvertently or unintentionally, helped Wu Fan to cast firearms, what would it be? ”

Xiao Mazi's brows furrowed even tighter, and he said after a while: "Go on." ”

"Wechen obeys." Xiong Cixu agreed, and said: "In view of these circumstances, Weichen thinks, why not take the opportunity of Lord Lu's three-year term to carefully test Lord Lu's loyalty to the emperor, and observe Wu Fan's reaction, if Lord Lu passes this test, the emperor can naturally be further reused for him, but if Lord Lu does not pass this test, it is still too late to make remedies." ”

"How?" Xiao Mazi said quietly.

"Let Lord Lu be promoted by a few levels and transfer out of Yungui." Xiong Cixu saw that the time had come, so he said categorically: "After the emperor promulgated this holy decree, it is a great grace to let him be promoted and transferred, if Lord Lu does not have anything to do with the Wu Fan Firearms Battalion, then he will definitely follow the decree and take up his post, and wait until the second half of next year when the three-year term of Zhang Gaomo, the prefect of Qujing, expires, and then it is not too late to transfer Lord Lu back to Qujing as the prefect, and then the emperor will further entrust him with important responsibilities, and he can be completely assured." ”

"But if Lord Lu refuses to accept the order." Xiong Cixu's voice suddenly became cold, "For example, Wu Fan intervened and forcibly left Lord Lu in Yunnan and Qujing, or Lord Lu resigned from his official position and insisted on staying in Yunnan - then whether Wu Fan's firearms battalion has anything to do with Lord Lu, isn't it clear?" ”

Xiao Mazi was even more silent, and after a long time, Xiao Mazi suddenly said: "Then in your opinion, where should Lu Aiqing be transferred?" ”

"Okay, the emperor is finally tempted." Xiong Cixu was overjoyed in his heart, and hurriedly said: "As far as Weichen knows, the magistrate of Daxing County, Gyeonggi, has reported Ding Wei as usual because of the death of his father, and the magistrate of Jingxian County is the sixth grade, why not let Lord Lu make up for this shortage?" Maybe after Lord Lu arrived in Daxing County, he used his Western learning talents to create a financial road for the people of Daxing, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds? ”

"Alright, let's do it." Xiao Mazi made up his mind and ordered: "You go to the Ministry of Officials to pass the decree, and the Ministry of Officials will draw up a ticket, so that Lu Aiqing will be promoted by two levels to make up for the real shortage of Daxingzhi County." Also, I prepared a secret decree for Gan Wenkun for me, asking him to keep an eye on Wu Fan and Lu Aiqing's reaction to this matter. ”

"Wechen obeys." Xiong Cilu was overjoyed, quickly kowtowed and agreed, and added viciously in his heart: "The surname Lu, this time I see that your fox tail is not exposed?!" Even if you see through my intentions, deliberately lead the order to take office in Daxing County, and wait for the opportunity to return to Yunnan - under our noses, without the protection of Wu Sangui's old thing, I want to rub you round and flatten, isn't it something we can do if we want to?! ”

(To be continued)