"Master Ao, please take a look at this first." Xiao Mazi, who was kneeling on the ground, sobbed, took out the thick secret book of the demon woman from his arms, presented it to Ao Bai, who was also kneeling on the opposite side with both knees, and choked up: "After reading this, the master will understand my painstaking efforts." ”

Xiao Mazi's words and deeds were so solemn, and Ao Bai, who was evaluated by Lu Fatzi as a loyal minister of Mites, naturally did not dare to slack off, and quickly took the black book from Xiao Mazi's hands with both hands, and knelt on the ground to look through it carefully, but his final reaction was beyond Xiao Mazi's reaction, neither as angry and furious as Xiao Mazi imagined, nor so indifferent or gloating as Xiao Mazi was estimating the worst, but both a little surprised and a little calm, It's as if you have been mentally prepared for this, but you are not mentally prepared enough.

In fact, this is exactly the case, for Wu Sangui's recruitment and crazy preparations, Ao Bai actually knew it for a long time, but he didn't grasp it as detailed as the old witch of Xiaozhuang, so when he saw Wu Sangui's real armament situation, Ao Bai was inevitably a little secretly frightened, but he didn't expect that he just deliberately indulged Wu Sangui to expand his armament in less than two years, and the military strength of Yungui had grown to this point, although it would not threaten the stability of the Mites Qing, but it also had the power to read and protect itself.

Of course, Aobai's conclusion is based on the impression that Wu Sangui's weapons and equipment have not changed, if Aobai can know that Wu Sangui is now under the help of a certain great scourge, and now the real weapons reserves and weapons development equipment situation, he will definitely find that even if Mites Qing exerts all the strength of the whole country, whether he can completely eradicate the current Wu Sangui forces is probably a big problem.

"The minions don't dare to deceive the emperor, and the minions have long heard of Wu Sangui's crimes, but they don't have the details that the emperor has mastered." Ao Bai closed Wu Sangui's black tent and asked tentatively: "The emperor showed these things to the minions today, did he want the minions to take action and cut off this king of annihilation?" Or do you want the minions to come forward to suppress the arrogance of this king of annihilation, so that he can rein in the precipice and know his way back? ”

"The vassal king Wu Sangui was tired of receiving the grace of the king, the quality was extreme, and the lord was noble, but he didn't think about returning, and he supported the army in the Yungui area, and he was lawless and perverse." Xiao Mazi choked up and said: "I remember that in his previous great skills, I endured and endured him, let him go again and again, undressed and undressed, and pushed food and food, I am afraid that one day he will be able to rein in the precipice, get lost, and achieve a good story with me for the ages." Who would have thought that this slave would not even think of the court's great kindness, and I would tolerate his accommodation, and he would still secretly recruit troops and buy horses, and accumulate grain, just afraid that sooner or later he would have a heart ......of disobedience. ”

Crying here, Xiao Mazi was already crying, and Ao Bai patted his chest and said: "Please rest assured, the emperor is not a slave boasting, Wu Sangui's two times, the slave has never been put in his eyes!" If he, Wu Sangui, obediently listens to the emperor's will, then everything is easy to say, if he has the slightest change, the slave can turn him into powder when he raises his hand! ”

"It would be good if Wu Sangui could really obediently obey my will." Xiao Mazi smiled bitterly, took out the music of Gan Wenkun and Zhu Guozhi, and said with tears in his eyes: "Taishi, please take a look at this again." ”

Ao Bai took it, opened it and only glanced at it a few times, and the black eyebrows on the eyes of the two copper bells immediately wrinkled into a Sichuan character, and said angrily: "Dog minion!" These two dog minions! It must have been all benefited by Wu Sangui, and he actually set the Eight Banners Fushou Paste Tax so low, isn't this what is eating inside and out? ”

"Master, you must know it too." Xiao Mazi sobbed: "Last year, the annual income of our Qing Dynasty court was less than 24 million taels of silver, and Wu Sangui's income from the Eight Banners Fushou Paste alone exceeded 5 million taels, plus the military salary of more than 3 million taels of silver given to him by the imperial court, the annual income was at least more than 9 million taels!" The whole court, inside and outside the court, there is a lot of discussion about this, the whole world is ours, and I will not be jealous of his Wu Sangui's income, but I just want to use the method of tax collection to weaken his power a little and make up for the lack of ...... in the imperial court. ”

"It's just ......, but I didn't expect that this minion would actually bribe the local governor again, set the tax so low, and continue to cling to my Qing Dynasty body to suck blood and eat the whale swallowing ......."

"Fuck, who told you Xiao Mazi to delegate the right to set taxes to the local government, and let Zhu Guozhi, the dog slave who is famous for asking for money and shamelessness, set taxes, isn't it self-inflicted?" Ao Bai muttered in his heart, but he was embarrassed to accuse it openly, just waiting for Xiao Mazi's next words. I never thought that Xiao Mazi would just cry and wipe her tears, and she didn't say a word, so she was helpless, so she had to ask tentatively: "Then what is the emperor going to do now?" ”

"Before this, I was also worried that the local governor might be bribed by Wu Sangui, so I used six hundred miles to expedite Yungui to recover the power to determine the tax amount." Xiao Mazi wiped his tears and said: "Who knew that the holy decree was still on the way, and the recitals of the two minions, Gan Wenkun and Zhu Guozhi, had been sent to the capital, which put me in a dilemma............. ”

"The emperor is afraid of angering Wu Sangui? Incurring unpredictable consequences? Ao Bai asked rhetorically. Seeing Xiao Mazi nodding and admitting it calmly, Ao Bai sighed and said: "The emperor can think about it so carefully, the slave is not very pleased, it seems that the emperor has indeed grown up, and can think about the whole thing in such a big matter, and no longer cares about the head and tail as before, and acts recklessly." ”

"Fuck, what do you mean by that, you son of a minion?" Xiao Mazima's face was slightly red, and his hatred for Ao Bai increased.

"Since the emperor is so concerned about the minions, the minions don't dare to hide anything from the emperor." Ao Bai didn't pay attention to his unintentional words at all, which had already increased Xiao Mazi's hatred for himself by three points, and he just said sincerely: "Before this, the slave advocated the tax exemption of the Eight Banners Fushou Cream, which was indeed a lack of consideration, because the slave said that he didn't expect that the medicinal material of the Eight Banners Fushou Paste would be so popular, and the output had increased so much in one go, and the price had only dropped slightly, and it had even become the primary source of finance for Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces, helping Wu Fan to reverse the disadvantage of not being self-sufficient in money and food in one fell swoop. This is something that the minion said before and never thought of it. The fact that the slave insisted on tax-exempting the Eight Banners Fushou Paste was indeed a mistake by the slave. ”

"Fuck, it's you dog slave who killed you, if you had taxed the Eight Banners Fushou Paste heavily, Wu Sangui's old thing would be so rich now? Will there be so much money and food to secretly expand the army? Xiao Mazi roared in his heart, and his face put on a attentive look.

"After this, of course, the minions also want to make amends." Ao Bai then explained: "In the first half of this year, the minions have secretly informed Wu Sangui and Wu Yingxiong father and son, asking for a tax on the Eight Banners Fushou Paste from this year. ”

"It's just ......." Ao Bai hesitated for a moment, and finally said: "It's just that what the slave didn't expect was that the emperor, you actually delegated the power of the tax ruling of the Eight Banners Fushou Paste to Yungui place, causing the slave to fall short, Wu Sangui and his son picked a big bargain again, and blocked the slave's mouth with almost no low tax silver." To be honest, the minions are also very embarrassed now, Your Majesty, you have already collected taxes once, and the minions can't collect them again, right? ”

"Dog minion, do you still want to blame me for ruining your good deeds? You and Wu Sangui's dog thief secretly communicated the news, and I haven't punished you for your crimes, so you dare to accuse me? Xiao Mazi roared again in his heart, and said kindly: "It turns out that Taishi Ao and I have thought of a piece, so it's good, our monarchs and ministers are of the same heart and work together, and we will definitely be able to make Wu Fan bow down and recover losses for the imperial court." ”

"What is the emperor going to do now?" Ao Bai groaned for a while, and immediately understood what Xiao Mazi meant, "Could it be that the emperor wants to overturn the tax amount of the Eight Banners Fushou Paste ruled by Yungui Prefecture, re-adjudicate a tax amount, and ask Wu Sangui to pay it again?" ”

"Exactly!" Xiao Mazi nodded, and said categorically: "If this is not the case, if it goes on for a long time, it will inevitably be that the country will be weak and strong, the treasury will become more and more empty, and the Wu domain will become stronger and stronger, and the consequences will be unimaginable!" Therefore, I have made up my mind, no matter what the result is, I will re-rule the tax amount of the Eight Banners Fushou Anointment, and prevent the Qing Dynasty tax silver from continuing to be lost! ”

"Your Majesty, please think twice." Ao Bai's expression became serious, and he said solemnly: "Your Majesty, do you know what the consequences of doing this will be? The king of a country rebelled, and the prestige of the king's court was gone, not to mention, it is likely to cause Wu Fangou to jump off the wall in a hurry, setting off a military disaster, and then the lives will be ruined, and the smoke will rise everywhere, how can the emperor bear it? ”

"Master, I said something that digs out my heart." Xiao Mazi was shocked, and said more solemnly: "If there is no Taishi in the court, even if I borrow a hundred courages, I don't dare to do this, but it is because Taishi, you, the pillar of the Qing Dynasty, are in the court, that I dare to do this!" Because I believe that as long as there is the Taishi, no matter how much trouble and difficulty there is, in the face of the Taishi's tiger power, it will definitely be solved! ”

"The emperor has won an award, where do you dare to be a minion?" Ao Bai is modest, knowing that Xiao Mazi is deliberately touting, but he is inevitably a little proud - boy, now you should know the importance of Lao Tzu, right? If Lao Tzu hadn't sheltered you from the wind and rain all these years, this Qing Dynasty would have been tossed into by you.

"Master must not be modest, I am telling the truth." Xiao Mazi's mouth was like smeared with honey, "Wu Sangui has been a horse all his life, he is old in the battle formation, and most of his subordinates are powerful characters who have experienced a hundred battles and crawled out of the pile of dead people. And my side of the Qing Dynasty, the old soldiers of the Eight Banners who entered the customs from the dragon died, or they were dazzled by the flowers and rivers of the Central Plains, and completely forgot about the bow and horse archery. If there was no master in the court, how could I dare to act like this? ”

Xiao Mazi said a rare truth this time, if the veteran Ao worships in the court, Wu Sangui, who is quite afraid of Ao worship, may not dare to raise troops against the Qing Dynasty, and the war in the rebellion of the three feudatories also proves from the fact that Wu Sangui was indeed unstoppable at that time, and even Wu Sangui's lackey Gao Dejie is enough to make the generals of the whole mite Qing frightened, Yue Le, who is the most capable of fighting in the mite Qing prince, met Gao Dejie, and was also beaten by Gao Dejie with inferior troops, and Gao Dejie was annihilated by Gao Dejie more than 50,000 troops in the first battle of Nanchang alone, If it weren't for Gao Dejie and Wu Sangui dying of short-lived illness one after another, no one could really say for sure whether Xiao Mazi's country could be saved.

After hearing the facts deliberately touted by Xiao Mazi, Ao Bai was secretly proud, but also couldn't help but agree with Xiao Mazi's point of view - without himself, among the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, absolutely no one could suppress Wu Sangui! After a little calculation, Ao Bai said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, your false praise for the minions, the minions are really ashamed, but the minions can also promise the emperor that as long as Wu Fan makes a slight move, the minions will shoot him to death as soon as possible, and he will never let him threaten the society of my Qing Dynasty!" ”

"So, did the Taishi agree?" Xiao Mazi burst into tears and smiled, and asked, "The Taishi agreed that I would revoke the tax amount ruled by the Yungui Governor, and set a new tax amount for the Eight Banners Fushou?" ”

"Your Majesty, the minion hasn't finished yet." Ao Bai was taken aback, and hurriedly added: "The slave just guarantees you that as long as Wu Fan makes a slight move, the slave will immediately take action to crush him to pieces, but the minions really dare not agree with the revocation of the tax amount of the Eight Banners Fushou Anointment!" The people are still untrustworthy, let alone the emperor, the king of the country? In order to maintain the prestige of the emperor and the court, Wu Sangui will be cheaper again, and wait until next year, the slave will come forward in person to re-rule a tax amount that satisfies the emperor! ”

"Taishi, can we wait until next year?" Xiao Mazi's tears flowed out again, and he choked up: "In just over a year, Wu Sangui has secretly expanded his army to nearly 100,000, and his strength has been ranked first in the southwest, and he will be so indulged for another year, and when it comes to next year, Wu Sangui's army will expand to 200,000, 300,000, at that time, whether the imperial court can keep the south of the Yangtze River is also a big problem." ”

"The emperor is too worried." Ao Bai laughed and said: "Wu Sangui, the slave knows very well, he doesn't have such great ambitions, judging from his two orders and self-requested disarmament, his greatest wish is just to be a rich man, emulate the former Ming Mu family, Yongzhen Yungui, and be the overlord of Yungui, and he has absolutely no ambition in the world." ”

"Then what is he secretly doing to expand his army?" Xiao Mazi asked unconvinced.

"On this point, the slave is bold, and I really want to say a few words about the emperor." Ao Bai patiently explained: "After the second disarmament in the fourth year of Kangxi, Wu Sangui's army was reduced to 17,000 people, not only to deter the barbarian Tusi who had many cattle and hair in Yunnan and Guizhou, but also to guard against foreign armies such as Annan in Burma, and the strength and combat power have been weakened to a very dangerous edge. But what about you, the emperor, because you are young and vigorous, you forced Wu Sangui to cut your military salary in the first year of your pro-government, can Wu Sangui not be worried? ”

"Later, the emperor, you made a few wrong moves one after another, the first is to constantly send eyeliners to monitor Wu Sangui, the second is to take back the civil power in Wu Sangui's hands, and the third is to constantly make a big fuss about the selection of Yungui governors, and pick people who are not in harmony with Wu Sangui to go to Yungui to hinder them, and the emperor You continue to transfer Wu Sangui's pro-confidants, such as Wang Fuchen, Shi Yugui, Wu Degong and Lu Yifeng and others, these people are Wu Sangui's arms and henchmen, the emperor, you transfer them, isn't it equivalent to cutting off Wu Sangui's arms? In this case, can Wu Sangui not be frightened, can he not worry about the emperor, you will unload the mill and kill the donkey, and the bird will hide the bow? Can you not have the mind of supporting the army to protect yourself? ”

"Dog minion, everything is Lao Tzu's fault, so what are you doing to eat?" The more Xiao Mazi listened, the more annoyed she became, and she snorted coldly in her heart, "Lu Aiqing is also Wu Sangui's henchman?" It seems that your old thing is not very good, and even Lu Aiqing is actually really loyal to me. ”

"It is precisely because of this that for more than a year, the slave has deliberately indulged Wu Sangui and pretended not to know about his secret expansion of the army and recruitment." Ao Bai said solemnly: "Because the slave knows that a slave like Wu Sangui can only give him a little sweetness and a little freedom, so that he can settle down, guard the southwest for the emperor, and be your loyal minister and good general." But if you continue like this, Your Majesty, you really force Wu Sangui to the root of the wall, then when he has no way to retreat, he can only jump off the wall in a hurry and bite the master, and at that time, the situation will be really difficult to clean up. ”

Xiao Mazi was silent, and in his heart he was just an eighteenth-generation ancestor who worshipped fiercely - he spoke better than he sang, as if he was helping Lao Tzu wipe his ass everywhere, in the final analysis, didn't he want to leave Wu Sangui to support the army and respect himself?

Scolding and scolding, Xiao Ma Zima didn't dare to show it on his face, but asked with tears in his eyes: "Taishi, in this way, are you unwilling to work together with me to nip Wu Sangui, the scourge of the Qing Dynasty, in the bud?" ”

"Your Majesty, it's not that the slaves are unwilling, it's not necessary." Ao Bai said very sincerely: "I wonder if the emperor has ever heard of catching monkeys?" Monkeys run fast and can climb trees, it is even more difficult to catch alive, but there are smart people who come up with a good way, dig a hole in the ground with a big belly and a small mouth, put the monkey like to eat in the cave, and when the monkey reaches in to grab the food, because the hole is too small, the claws can not retract the food, but they are reluctant to drop the food, they are trapped there, even if the hunter is close, because they are reluctant to drop the food, the paws are caught in the hole, and finally the hunter is captured alive. ”

"Your Majesty, if Wu Sangui is a monkey, then Yunnan is the monkey's favorite food, let him catch it first, and when he dies of old age, Yunnan will naturally return to the emperor's hands, and you can't take any more trouble and worry to catch this monkey."

"Your Majesty, although the slaves are not afraid of war, but war is not a joke, the army is a sea of gold and silver, not to mention the loss of labor and money, it will also cause misery and injury to the innocent. Since the slaves were ordered by the former emperor to assist the government, they immediately stopped all major wars, and they were worried about this. ”

If Fat Lu was present and heard Ao Bai's heartfelt words, then Fat Lu would definitely have the intention of strangling Ao Bai to death - because with the practice of Ao Bai, Wu Sangui would definitely not be able to turn back! And although Xiao Mazi also gave birth to the idea of strangling Ao Bai to death, it was not because of the correct strategy of Ao Bai that he had such a mind - but secretly hated, if he followed Ao Bai's approach, then Xiao Mazi's plan to regain power was not to continue to wait indefinitely? Wait until when is it a head?

"Your Majesty, now you should understand the minion's intentions, right?" Ao Bai said more sincerely: "Please the emperor still act according to the plan of the slave, suffer a dumb loss for another year, and wait until next year to raise taxes again, while stabilizing Wu Sangui while slowly weakening him, some things do not use swords, but are more effective and the loss is smaller." ”

Xiao Mazi, who was in a hurry to take over the power and was in charge of the country, listened to it, and quickly brewed his feelings, Xiao Mazi, who suddenly knelt on his knees, suddenly hugged Aobai, buried his hemp face in Aobai's broad chest, and cried loudly uncontrollably, so that Aobai, who had always eaten soft and not hard, was in a hurry, pushing or pulling, but desperately persuaded: "Your Majesty, what are you doing?" We are full of men who shed blood without tears, how can you do this, you really want to kill your slaves? ”

"Master, I know ......." Xiao Mazi cried loudly: "I know that I was sorry for you before, I don't understand your loyalty and hard work to me, I misunderstood you, and I have done a lot of things to be sorry for you, and even thought about killing you, but now I have repented, I have understood your loyalty and hard work, and I have also understood that the emperor wanted to entrust me to you back then, and I really can't repay you for everything you have done for me for so many years." Master, I beg you, don't blame me, I was young and ignorant at that time. ”

"Your Majesty, you must not do this." Ao Bai was moved by Xiao Mazi, and said with tears in his eyes: "Your Majesty, it's good that you understand the loyalty and hard work of the slave, it's good to stop misunderstanding the slave, what kind of person is the slave, how dare you blame you?" Please rest assured, as long as the minions are still breathing, Wu Sangui's gang of juniors will never dare to make trouble. ”

"No, Taishi, you're still blaming me!" Xiao Mazi cried even more sadly, and cried like a coquettish: "Otherwise, Taishi, you won't be so protective of me, Taishi, if you really don't worry about me so much, then when Taishi, when you go to Yunnan, I will not only hand over the soldiers and horses of the whole world to Taishi you, but also go to Yunnan with Taishi, and watch Taishi you cut Wu Sangui's thief with a thousand knives and execute Ling Chi ......." ”

"Your Majesty, you misunderstood, misunderstood." Ao Bai was in a hurry, and hurriedly defended: "The slave is definitely not afraid that the emperor will take the opportunity to take power, so he is unwilling to personally lead the army to recruit Wu Sangui, the slave feels that to deal with Wu Sangui, there is no need for a soldier at all, as long as you take precautions, you can drag him to death." ”

"No, no, it's Taishi, you misunderstood me." Xiao Mazi shook his head desperately, rubbed Aobai's chest with a numb face, and cried: "Taishi, you don't need to hide it from me, I already knew that you saw that Wu Sangui's thief was getting stronger and stronger, and he was more and more disobedient to the words of the imperial court, and he was already worried about it, and he was already preparing for war in secret, but it was only because of me, Taishi, that you refused to go out in person to extinguish Wu Sangui's unsubordinate...... thief." ”

"No, ......, the minion never meant that." Ao Bai was angry and funny, and comforted: "Your Majesty, the slaves are secretly preparing for war, just to prevent war, if you can not fight, it is better not to fight." ”

"Taishi, you lied to me." Xiao Mazi raised his head, stared at Ao Bai with teary eyes and said: "If the Taishi is still not at ease, then I can swear to the sky in front of the Taishi now, and swear to the spirit of my ancestors and ancestors in the sky of the Qing Dynasty and the emperor, Taishi, during your expedition to Yungui, if I do anything to be sorry for the Taishi, then I will die under the sword, crush my bones and scatter ashes, and I will never be able to live forever!" ”

"Your Majesty, you misunderstood, you misunderstood." Ao Bai was in a hurry, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the slave can also swear to Tianming ......." ”

"Nope! I don't listen! I don't listen! Xiao Mazi interrupted with a big cry, buried his pockmarked face in Aobai's arms, and cried bitterly: "Taishi, I beg you, for the sake of the Qing Dynasty's Jiangshan Sheji, for the ancestors of the Qing Dynasty, and for the sake of my deceased emperor, you can get rid of Wu Sangui, the king of annihilation, for me!" In the future, if there is no Taishi, what will I do to pacify the three feudatories and cut off Wu Sangui, the king of annihilation? Master, I beg you, I beg you...... the ancestors of the Qing Dynasty, and the emperor ...... who entrusted me to you, please ....... ”

For Aobai, whose surname is straightforward, Shunzhi, the father of Xiao Mazi, who has rescued him from the knife of Dolgon several times, is undoubtedly his biggest weakness - after all, Aobai's surname is Guerjia, not Aixin Jueluo, and Aobai still has a little conscience. And Xiao Mazi pulled Shunzhi out and pleaded bitterly to Aobai, and Aobai couldn't help but start to waver.

After thinking about it for a long time, Ao Bai straightened the crying Xiao Mazi, stared into Xiao Mazi's eyes and asked, "Your Majesty, you have decided, do you really plan to eradicate Wu Sangui by force?" ”

Xiao Mazi nodded solemnly, choked with tears in his eyes and said: "I have already made up my mind, Wu Sangui will not get rid of the king for a day, and the Qing Dynasty will never be peaceful, not only at what cost, I will ask the Taishi to eradicate this king of annihilation!" Return me to the unification of the Qing Dynasty and warn Geng Shang and the two domains! ”

Speaking of this, Xiao Mazi hugged Aobai's arm again and begged: "Taishi, for the sake of the Qing Dynasty's Jiangshan Sheji, you will promise me!" After eradicating Wu Sangui, I went to the Taimiao Temple to make incense, and told the world that you would be the prince! Taishi, if you are willing to be in the capital, I will hand over all the government to you, Taishi, if you want to go to other places, I will give you Yunnan and Guizhou together and be your fief! Taishi, you are a Manchurian, just like me, you have the blood of a Manchurian, and I believe that you ....... ”

"Sealing the king or something, the minions don't dare to count on it." Ao Bai said helplessly: "Since the emperor insists that Wu Sangui is so dangerous, then the emperor should do what you think, and the slave will fully support it." ”

Speaking of this, Ao Bai sighed again, and said in his heart: "For the sake of the emperor's face, let's wipe this kid's ass again." If this kid can really do what he says, then it is better to go to Yunnan to be an idle prince than to be in a stalemate with this kid in the capital, trembling, and precarious. Alas, O Emperor, if you have knowledge in the spirit of heaven, you should also understand that the minions have really done their best. ”

"Master Taishi......!" Xiao Mazi screamed happily, threw himself into Aobai's arms again, and cried excitedly on Aobai's broad chest, pondering in his heart, "In order to prevent accidents, it is best to write the name of Aobai on this will of tax increase, if Wu Sangui wins, it is better to push this old thing out as a substitute for the dead ghost, and give Wu Sangui the old thing anger." ”

By the way, Xiao Mazi's oath this time was really basically fulfilled later, only the bones were broken and the ashes were not fulfilled - because his ashes were ordered by a scourge to be mixed into clay and burned into a toilet, which was specially placed in the memorial hall of the Mites Qingjinguan Massacre for future generations to vent.

(To be continued)