Forbidden City, Qianqing Gate, Guards.

The last time Cao Hao entered the palace on the fourth day of the fourth month of April, Kangxi allowed him to go to the Qianqing Palace on an errand after taking a vacation for half a month. Although he only has two days of guard experience, he also knows a lot about the system of shifts. Therefore, Cao Hao went to the palace on April 18 to report to the guards, and he had to know the time of the second shift.

There were two ministers on duty in the guard office, one was Guisheng, who had seen Cao Hao exactly a month ago, and the other was burly and full of beard, and when he heard that the person was Cao Hao, he snorted slightly dissatisfied.

When Guisheng heard this, he was secretly amused, and said to Cao Hao: "This is Lord Ba Hund, the minister of the guard and the deputy commander of the yellow flag!" ”

Cao Hao gave a thousand salutes: "Cao Hao, a lowly third-class guard, has seen an adult!" ”

Naba Hund looked at Cao Hao, his face full of displeasure was undoubtedly revealed, and he opened his mouth to reprimand: "Cao Hao, Lao Tzu told you that to be a guard, you must have the ability to be a guard, if you dare to lose the face of our guard battalion, don't blame Lao Tzu for not sparing you!" With that, he got up and strode out.

Cao Hao was slightly surprised, he couldn't remember when he had offended this person, why he was so fake.

Guisheng was afraid that Cao Hao would be embarrassed, and explained: "Some time ago, the children of the yellow flag who were disposed of in Shuntian Mansion have Ba Hund's nephew! However, Cao Hao, you don't have to be afraid, our warriors who are in the White Flag are not vegetarians! After saying this, he explained: "Long live the third year of the former Xingchang Spring Garden, and the ministers on duty over there are the first-class prince Fu Erdan and the auxiliary prince Efei. Fu Gong is our white flag, cheerful and generous; Although the Duke of E is said to be inlaid with a yellow flag, he is the most relied on by the long-lived lord, and he also has a friendship with your father. Although you are called a guard of the Qianqing Palace, you are actually an errand in front of the emperor, and you have to accompany you. After a while, you go to Changchun Garden and report to the two adults, they should have their own arrangements. ”

"Thank you for mentioning it!" Cao Hao thanked him very sincerely, even if it was for the sake of his father's face, how could a Zhengyipin be able to explain a lot like his closest elders, how could he not be grateful?

Out of Donghua Gate, Xiaoman, Wei Hei and Wei Bai waited with their horses. Cao Hao was reluctant to take someone out, but the old housekeeper Cao Zhong persuaded him so he had to respond.

The two brothers, Wei Hei and Wei Bai, blamed themselves for the last time Cao Hao was beaten, and they all said that they did not fulfill their guard duties. If it weren't for Cao Hao being on duty in front of the emperor, I am afraid that both of them would have to hide their bodies like in Jiangning and protect him secretly. There is no way, the final compromise is that Xiaoman and the Wei brothers will pick him up in the future. Cao Hao was embarrassed and didn't want to respond, but Cao Zhong invited all the old men in his eighties to come out.

Cao Hao and others rode horses, went out of Andingmen, and went north along the official road all the way, and after an hour, they arrived at Changchun Garden.

*

The guards on the periphery of Changchun Garden were in charge of the Shangsanqi Guard Barracks, and Cao Hao instructed Xiao Man to find a few trees to wait under the shade of a tree, and then dismounted and walked over.

After checking the waist card, Cao Hao entered Changchun Garden, along the central axis road, and arrived at the palace gate, where there were foreign guards on duty.

Cao Hao handed over the waist card and casually asked the office locations of the two ministers of the interior.

"East Road Taipu Xuan", Cao Hao is a little confused, the road here is not as horizontal and vertical as in the Forbidden City, the middle garden rockery, overlapping, do you want to look around like this.

Just in time for the change of guards at the gate of the palace, there was a third-class guard who had just finished being very enthusiastic, and when he saw Cao Hao asking for directions, he knew that he must be the first to come back to Changchun Garden, so he volunteered to help him lead the way.

The guard was not very old, in his twenties, and he smiled on his round face: "My name is Seshtu, and I am a yellow flag and red belt, what is your name?" ”

The red belt, Jue Luo, is of the same origin as the Aixin Jueluo family. After the founding of the Manchu Dynasty, the descendants of the emperor, Taizu Nurhachi and his half-brothers, were yellow belts, called "clans"; The descendants of Nurhachi's uncle and cousin, who are red bands, are called "Kyaw Lo".

"My name is Cao Hao, and I'm wearing a white flag!" Cao Hao replied.

"Cao Hao, you are Cao Hao!" Seshtu looked Cao Hao up and down: "You are only fifteen or sixteen years old, and those miscellaneous pieces with yellow flags are besieging you, it's really shameless!" ”

Cao Hao was confused when he heard it, whether it was the two ministers in the Forbidden City or the third-class guard in front of him, they didn't have a good impression of the other flags, could it be that there was still a gang in this guard camp.

Cao Hao asked the doubts in his heart, and Seshtu nodded: "Of course, although they are both on the three banners, everyone is also secretly competing." Several ministers of the interior will inevitably have a time to protect their shortcomings, but they still have to get by on the face. However, if it is external, to deal with the boys of the guard battalion or the pioneer battalion, everyone still has to work together! ”

"Master Fu likes to be a cheerful man, Lord E is a clan, and he is the most respectful of rules, Brother Cao should keep in mind!" Seshtu said with a smile: "Come out when you ask about the duty time, I'll wait for you here, let's go back to the city together!" ”

While speaking, Tai Puxuan had already arrived.

Seshtu was waiting outside the door, Cao Hao took a few steps forward, and said to the pen sticker who had just come out of it: "Excuse me, which adult is on duty here?" Can Master Fu be there? ”

The pen paste style is a seven-rank official, and when he saw that Cao Hao's waist card was hanging with "Third-class Guard Cao" written on it, he bowed his head and replied: "Humble back to the adult's words, Master Fu is in the Qingxi Book House, and Lord E is in the house!" ”

If it weren't for this sticker respectfully calling him "adult", Cao Hao would not have realized that his guard was a five-grade official, and he was neither high nor low. Like Ma Jun, who has studied hard for ten years, he is just a seventh-grade petty official in the examination, and he started with his family's blessings to be a fifth-grade official, which is really [***]ah[***].

"Trouble inform Lord Xia, the third-class guard Cao Hao asks to see!" Cao Hao is still very polite. This post, to put it bluntly, is a copywriter, although the official position is low, but most of them are held by flag people. If being a guard is a shortcut to the promotion of a military attaché, then the pen post is a shortcut to the promotion of a civilian official. Who knows what forces are behind this petty official in front of him.

After a while, the sticker came out of the room: "Your Excellency, please come in!" ”

There are four Taipu Xuan rooms, and the Minister of the Guard, Fu Guo Gong, is sitting on the low kang in the middle room. On the kang is a kang table with pen, ink, paper and inkstone. When Cao Hao entered, E Fei was holding a pen and bowing his head to write and scratch on the table.

Cao Hao kept in mind Seshtu's mention, flicked his sleeves after entering the door, and made a standard thousand salutes: "The lowly Cao Hao has seen an adult!" ”

E Fei was in his forties, his appearance was slightly thin, and when he heard Cao Hao's voice, he raised his head: "I heard Fu Erdan say you, you are Cao Dongting's eldest son, how are you recuperating?" ”

"Lord Xie inquired, I have done my duty!" Cao Hao bowed his head and replied.

"Well, that's good! Get up and talk back! Seeing Cao Hao's respectful behavior, E Fei had a good impression: "Long live the Lord has already said that he wants to arrange for you to listen to the errand in front of the emperor, just to state that there are guards in Nashi who are guarding the system and vacancy, and on the twenty-fifth day the imperial rotation will begin, and when Shen Shi arrives, can you write it down?" ”

"Back to the adult's words, the humble duty has been recorded!" Cao Hao looked up and replied.

After E Fei saw Cao Hao's face clearly, his expression was slightly surprised, and his brows furrowed slightly: "Your mother is Li Xu's cousin?" What month and year were you born? ”

Although the question was strange, Cao Hao could only answer: "Back to the adult, my mother's surname is indeed Li, and she was born on the seventh day of July in the thirty-third year.

"The seventh day of the seventh month of the thirty-third year!" E Fei repeated in his mouth, looking at Cao Hao's gaze even deeper.

Although Cao Hao is thick-skinned enough, he is also stared at, because of the trouble caused by his appearance. Although Cao Hao is Cao Yin's son-in-law, his appearance is not that of his father, and his facial features are more inclined to Li's.

E Fei looked at Cao Hao, the hand that was originally holding the pen trembled slightly, and there seemed to be a faint light in the corner of his eye.

What is the reason for this, Cao Hao was surprised.

E Fei noticed his gaffe, turned his head, no longer looked at Cao Hao, and picked up the teacup.

This is the meaning of sending off guests, Cao Hao returned to a salute: "Retire from your humble position!" ”

*

Outside Tai Puxuan, Seshtu couldn't wait patiently, and when he saw Cao Hao coming out, he smiled and whispered: "I'm really convinced of you, and I can talk to Lord E." Among the six ministers of the guard, even if this grandfather is big! ”

The shelf is big, and if you don't see it, the eyes of people are the same as those of elders to children and nephews. Cao Hao secretly thought in his heart, could it be that this E Fei was his mother's suitor when he was young, otherwise why did he almost lose his temper after hearing that his mother was Li Xu's cousin. After all, Li Xu had served as a royal guard, if he had been a colleague with E Fei at that time. E Fei took this opportunity to enter and leave the Li family, and it was not impossible to see the young Li family. But if you think about it carefully, it feels wrong, Li Xu has been a weaver in Suzhou for more than 20 years, and Li was just a teenage girl at that time. It's confusing to think about it.

*

Out of Changchun Garden, Xiaoman and Wei Hei and Wei Bai brothers greeted him. Seshtu did not follow him for a long time, went to the carriage and horse room of the guard camp to take out his horse, and returned to Beijing with Cao Hao's master and servant.

Seshtu and Cao Hao rode side by side, gossiping: "I heard that at the end of the holy driving month, we will patrol the outside of the Saiwai, and most of our guard battalions will have to follow the Hu at that time. ”

"Outside the Patrol?" Cao Hao asked, "The destination is a summer resort?" ”

Seshtu shook his head: "The holy car has the meaning of summer vacation, but I have never heard of the summer resort, and the holy car will come to the Rehe Palace." ”

Isn't Rehe an ancient name for bearing? It seems that at this time, the famous summer resort of later generations has not yet been named.

Hearing that Kangxi was going to patrol outside the Saiwai, Cao Hao remembered two statements in later generations, one was that when the Manchu Qing Dynasty did not enter the customs, he formed an alliance with the Mongolian kings and received the support of the Mongols to seize the world, but at the same time, he may have promised to allow the Mongols to retain the right to outside the Saiwai, the Mongol kings did not enter the customs, and the Manchus did not set foot in the grassland. One theory is that the Mongols had no resistance to smallpox due to their eating habits, and for fear of spreading smallpox to the grasslands, the Mongol royal family rarely entered the customs and met His Majesty the Emperor in Rehe every year.

Cao Hao was thinking about it, when he saw two fast horses overtaking them and galloping towards the city, bringing up smoke and dust all the way.

Seshtu was slightly stunned, turned his head to Cao Hao and said, "It was Lord E who just passed, why was he in such a hurry?" ”