In addition to elephants, there are also horses and camels. After seeing the mahouts' performances of elephants, Cao Hao followed everyone to see the training of camels and horses.

Camels are some Khalkha Mongolian tribute, once a year, eight white horses and one white camel, combined into "nine white tribute", to express the heart of submission to the imperial court.

There are also some selected from the Taifu Temple Horse Farm outside the mouth, and most of them are mainly white.

The horse is divided into several pieces, and according to the color of the horse, it is circled in the corresponding boundary.

However, there are only three types of horses: white, red, and yellow, and there are no black or cyan ones. According to the Manchu tradition, it is believed that the black horse and the green horse are "fierce" and can only be used for conquest, not for royal use.

All the horses are adult horses, and there are no foals or old and sick horses. Cao Hao asked Yiduli, and he knew that the horse farm here was only a place for horse training, and the two winged horse farms under the Taifu Temple were in Chahar.

The left wing ranch of Taifu Temple is located in Harani Dunjing outside Zhangjiakou, with a radius of 600 miles; The right wing pasture is located on the Qizierhan River, within a radius of four hundred miles. Today, there are 160 herds of mules and horses, about 32,000 horses, and 32 herds, more than 5,000 horses.

Although there are more than a dozen elephants and nearly 1,000 horses domesticated here, only two elephants and 20 horses are used in the March [***] canon. On March 17, the holy driver will return to the palace from Changchun Garden, and the required Luan driving horse is already in Changchun Garden, and there is no need to choose another.

After these few hours, Cao Hao understood the responsibilities of the Taifu Siqing. To put it bluntly, it is the royal "stable", who manages the pasture in peacetime, and the emperor cooperates with Luan Yiwei when he travels, providing corresponding elephants and horses.

Although the smell of the horse farm is not good, looking at these snorting and arrogant horses, Cao Hao's mood is unconsciously much better.

The one who is waiting for the chief officer to make the decision is nothing more than to choose which elephant, which horse, etc. Cao Hao is a layman, and he doesn't want to point fingers, so he nodded and agreed to the horses and elephants selected by his subordinates.

However, Cao Hao thought that the ceremony could not be lost, and if there were any "accidents" such as "surprises" and "surprises", he would have to bear the blame. He had some worries in his heart, so he asked Yi Duli in a low voice: "During the ceremony, there are many people, if there is a danger of startling horses, how should I deal with it?" ”

Yi Duli smiled: "Don't worry, my lord, these elephant horses are all castrated, and their surnames are docile. Usually speaking, training is also done with golden gongs, and there will be no loss in this area. ”

Cao Hao nodded, and seeing that it was not early, he finished his errand here and returned to the city.

By the time we entered the city, it was already dusk.

After separating from the subordinate officials, Cao Hao and Yi Duli walked side by side. Cao Hao said apologetically: "Lord Yi, I didn't expect the prince to recommend the juniors, this is ...... I'm sorry! ”

Yi Duli shook his head with a smile and said, "What did Xiao Cao say about this?" I didn't expect this official vacancy in the first place, but my family couldn't think about it, so I was looking for a way around. It's very lucky now, otherwise Ming'an's wine bag and rice bag came to be my boss, which wouldn't make people vomit to death. Speaking of this, he was a little embarrassed and said: "Look at me, it's not what it used to be, how can you still be called like this, and you still have to call it 'adult' in the future." ”

Cao Hao hurriedly said: "Don't be like this, Lord Yi is the elder of the kid, just call the name." ”

Yi Duli waved his hand and said with a smile: "Public is public, private is private, it is right to call yourself 'adult' in front of people, and I will not be polite to you after people, so I will call you 'Furuo'." In private, if you put an adult's score with me, I will have to teach you a lesson from the elders! ”

After saying this, Yi Duli smiled, and carefully explained a few places that the Taifu Siqing needed to pay attention to, and there was a lot of earnest teaching in his tone.

Cao Hao knew that he was worried that he would be rash and afraid that others would secretly make a stumbling block, and he was very grateful in his heart.

When he arrived at the Qianmen realm, Cao Hao took the reins and said to Yidu: "My lord, the boy is the east, please eat and drink!" ”

Yi Duli lowered his head and sniffed his clothes, and said to Cao Hao with a smile: "We have been in the horse pen for a long time, and the smell of this body is really unpleasant. Seeing that you are clean, you cannot bear it. In the future, we will be on an errand with the yamen, and it will be more like eating and drinking, and this meal will not be bad. Besides, when you dispersed, you were pulled over, and if you want to come to Lord Cao's side, you should also worry about it, so you should go home early. ”

Cao Hao responded, and the two said goodbye. Yiduli lived on the side of Gulou Street and continued north; Cao Hao turned left and returned to Caofu.

At the gate of Cao's mansion, Cao Yin's carriage was parked, and Cao Yuan took the little servant to help the drunk Cao Yin get off.

When Cao Hao saw it, he quickly dismounted and stepped forward to take a hand.

Cao Yin half-squinted, saw that it was his son who came back, nodded, closed his eyes, and did not speak.

Cao Yin was quite surprised when he heard that he was full of alcohol, and asked Cao Yuan on the side in a low voice: "Master, who are you going to drink with?" How did you get drunk like this? ”

Cao Yuan said in a low voice: "I ate with the uncle of the Li family and the master of the Sun family, and the two of them went to Beijing together with the master. ”

While talking, when he arrived at the second gate, Cao Yin asked Cao Yuan to go down, and he helped his father in, only to hear Cao Yin muttering: "Hao'er...... You ...... in your heart Future...... Have you ever thought about closing the pavilion and paying homage to the prime minister......"

Cao Hao listened, slightly stunned, "Seal the pavilion and worship the prime minister", how did my father think of this?

Although the Manchu Qing Dynasty was also a feudal centralized system, it was still different from the previous dynasties, that is, it weakened the power of the prime minister and completely ended the history of mutual restraint between the power of the minister and the monarch. The so-called "sealing the pavilion and worshiping the prime minister" refers to the promotion of "Zhonghe Palace, Baohe Palace, Wenhua Palace, Wuying Palace, Wenyuan Pavilion, and East Pavilion" as the title of bachelor, which is a positive product and the highest grade of civil officials.

Since the establishment of the cabinet in Shunzhi, there are few full scholars, two or three people, four or five people, four or five people, two of them each in the Manchu and Han dynasties, and the name of the scholar is to assist the emperor in handling government affairs, in fact, it is only to play the role of a counselor, and the emperor needs to have the final say in major and minor matters. To tell the truth, a scholar is a position that has the name of the prime minister, but does not have the power of the prime minister.

Before he arrived at the Orchid Courtyard, he heard Cao Yin say again: "For my father...... This life is busy, and I will look at you in the future......" The voice was full of endless loneliness.

Cao Hao remembered what his grandmother said when he was a child, his father liked to read poetry and books since he was a child, and he was determined to be a famous minister at a young age.

He entered the palace as a companion at the age of six or seven, worked as a guard in his teens, and then went down to Jiangnan for more than 30 years. As eyes and ears, enveloping Jiangnan Shishu, doing nothing more than a "house slave" errand, serving the emperor with his life's hard work, and being regarded as a minister by the world, he will also have some regrets in his heart!

Cao Hao smiled bitterly, he just wanted to be safe and healthy, he wanted to have certain rights to protect the safety of his family, and he really didn't have much interest in the so-called "Xiangguo".

When Cao Hao helped his father into the house, Li saw that her husband was drunk, so she was startled, and hurriedly got up from the kang and greeted her: "Didn't the master eat wine with your uncle and cousin, why are you still drunk like this?" Since beating your second uncle, he hasn't drunk for nearly a year. ”

Cao Hao and his mother picked Cao Yin up on the side of the kang, leaned down to help him remove his boots, helped him lie down, and then replied: "My son doesn't know, I just met him at the door." ”

Li asked someone to bring clean water, threw a handkerchief, and wiped her husband's hands and face. After Cao Yin's side was properly settled, she got up and came out and said to Cao Hao: "I came back in the afternoon to report that you were promoted, but the emperor's grace on Halloween, and so did others; Or are you alone? ”

Cao Hao saw his mother's worried expression, and persuaded with a smile: "Mother, don't worry, it's not a promotion, it's just that an official has had a stroke, and he is busy with errands, and his son is just a temporary substitute." It is estimated that after the ceremony, there will be appropriate people to accept it. ”

Hearing this, Li stroked his chest, breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "That's it, great goodness." I heard the old man say earlier that civilian positions are different from military positions, and there are few fortunate ones. With Hao'er's age, it is nothing to be promoted to a second-class guard in the palace, and it is already conspicuous to go out to serve as a four-grade Daotai, so it is better to be safe. ”

Cao Hao listened and said with a smile: "Mother, don't worry about these useless things, even if the son is really promoted, that is the son's ability, and the mother should be happy." ”

Li looked at his son with a smile and said, "I know that Hao'er is a capable person, but we are old people, and we don't want you to be rich and rich, but I just want you to be safe and happy." ”

Cao Hao nodded and said, "My son knows this, and my mother can rest assured." As he spoke, he heard a "grunt" and his stomach rang.

Li Shi looked out the window and said with a little disgust: "What time is this, and Hao'er hasn't eaten yet?" What if you're hungry? You go back and freshen up first, and I'll send someone to prepare food for you, and then I'll have someone take you to the yard." ”

Cao Hao got up in the middle of the night, tossed for most of the day, and was a little tired, so he said goodbye to his mother.

Li Shi thought about Chu Yu's return to the province, and couldn't help but instruct again: "Chu Yu came back from the next day, although King Chun Fujin is fine, but I don't look happy when I see her talking, don't forget to be relieved." ”

"Yes! Mother. Cao Hao responded, went out of the house, and went back to Wutong Garden.

Chu Yu got the letter and knew that her husband had come back and was listening to the movement in the house. Hearing the footsteps, she lifted the curtain and greeted her: "Eh! ”

Cao Hao entered the house with a smile, and when he arrived at the west room, he sat on the chair and didn't want to move anymore.

Chu Yu saw that he was tired, and he was a little uneasy. Cao Hao waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's okay, it's just that I got up too early, and I tossed around in the north and south of the city for a while, and now I'm a little sleepy." ”

While speaking, Cao Hao felt that something was wrong, raised his arm, smelled the smell on his clothes, immediately wrinkled his nose, and said to Chu Yu: "Hurry up and prepare hot water, I went to the racecourse, maybe I have stopped for a long time, and my whole body is full of this smell." ”

When Chu Yu heard this, he smiled and said, "Okay, why did the forehead run to the horse farm?" I heard my mother say that my forehead is going to be promoted? As he spoke, he instructed Xiyun to go down to pass the water, and walked behind Cao Hao by himself and helped him pinch his shoulders.

Cao Hao raised his arm and grabbed Chu Yu's hand, and said, "Don't pinch it, it's weird and tiring, I still smell a lot on my body, and I will smell you carefully." ”

Chu Yu gently withdrew his hand, still pinched it for Cao Hao, and said with a smile: "Where is it so delicate?" It's just a shoulder pinch, Chu Yu still has these strengths. The forehead was busy outside, and Chu Yu also wanted to do his best to wait for the forehead. Otherwise, Chu Yu would really become a waste person who eats and sleeps, sleeps and eats. ”

Isn't it a blessing for me to have such a wife? Cao Hao leaned back in the chair comfortably, closed his eyes slightly, and enjoyed his wife's sympathy.

"How is Fu Jin's body? Has there ever been an improvement? Cao Hao asked casually: "Wouldn't it be that Hongshu and Hongzhuo's two boys were naughty and made Fujin angry, right?" ”

Ban Xiang didn't listen to Chu Yu's reply, Cao Hao opened his eyes, turned his head, and asked, "This, was I talking about?" ”

Chu Yu didn't want to hide it from him, so in a few words, he told the Hongshu brothers about it.

Cao Hao was dumbfounded when he heard this, Hongzhuo is just a little bigger, so there is one more daughter-in-law? Although I feel that this arrangement is too child's play, I am also quite relieved to think that Hongshu can make this arrangement without sticking to the rules.

Chu Yu saw that Cao Hao was silent, and when he blamed Hongshu and Hongzhuo for not being polite, he didn't know how to speak for the two brothers, so he heard Cao Hao ask: "By the way, see Hongshu and Hongzhuo, are they okay?" ”

Chu Yu nodded and said, "See, the two of them were punished and grounded by Amma." Speaking of this, he blamed himself a little: "The day before yesterday, Hongshu came to look for me, just saying that he wanted to talk to the two of them and think of a way to reconcile brothers, but I didn't expect the two of them to fight." ”

Cao Hao smiled: "What's in the fight?" Big and small, there are a few who don't fight. Do you look at Hongzhuo's appearance? ”

Chu Yu remembered the appearance of his two younger brothers with blue noses and swollen faces, and was a little crying and laughing, and replied: "I originally looked at Hongshu steady, and Hongzhuo has also grown up, but now I know that these two seem to have not grown up." When they saw me in the afternoon, the two of them were full of pride, and Hongshu specially instructed me to transfer it to the forehead. ”

While talking, Xiyun took someone to bring hot water.

After Cao Hao bathed and changed clothes, Li had already sent dinner.

Because she was worried about the entanglement between her mother-in-law and her biological mother, Chu Yu only ate two mouthfuls of food at night, so she sat down and used half a bowl with her husband.

After finishing the meal, the little couple went to the orchid courtyard again.

Cao Yin was drunk and had already slept first; Li teased his grandson in the East House, and was very happy to see his son and daughter-in-law coming.

Cao Hao and Chu Yu accompanied Li to talk a few words, and then came back to settle down.

Although he was tired, it was not yet nine o'clock in the evening, Cao Hao couldn't sleep for a while, and the husband and wife were lying on the kang head talking.

Thinking of the fight between Hongshu and Hongzhuo, Cao Hao said: "Let's add a younger brother to Tianyou, or who will Tianyou go to if he wants to fight?" ”

When Chu Yu heard this, he said with a smile: "There are two more Zuo Zhu and Zuo Cheng, I haven't seen them for most of the month, and I miss them a little." ”

Cao Hao shook his head and said, "No, if God blesses one to beat the other, then it is really not good to be an elder brother bullying a younger brother; If God blesses one and fights two, don't be beaten by the little brothers again. After thinking about it, when filial piety is out, we should add a brother to him as soon as possible. "At the end of the day, the hands and feet have begun to be dishonest.

Chu Yu was itchy to the touch, and couldn't help but beg for mercy in a low voice, saying things that were inconvenient on his body.

Listening to Chu Yu's words, Cao Hao sighed secretly, is this luck? Isn't this forcing yourself to keep the etiquette? Obviously, he couldn't help it, and the beast surname was big.

Inside the Dongzhi Gate, Li House.

Li Ding sat on the kang and only felt indescribably depressed. Today, I made an appointment with a few relatives and friends to drink, but I didn't expect to go away and return disappointed, just because I heard the news that Cao Hao was named the Taifu Siqing.

Speaking of which, he is three years older than Cao Hao, and he has already won the examination to make a name for himself. Whether it is in terms of knowledge or dealing with people, he thinks that he is no worse than Cao Hao. But luck can't be compared.

It's not that he is narrow-minded and wants to be jealous, it's just that he has always been strong, and he really can't stand Cao Hao's self-righteous face. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but snort coldly.

Seeing his gloomy face, the beautiful maid Xiangtong who was waiting next to him stretched out her snow-white arm, hugged Li Ding's neck, and said with a smile: "Why is the second master annoyed, but when I heard that the master went over there, I felt sour in my heart?" The slave doesn't believe it, she's so good, let the old man not give up, let the second master remember it like this! ”

This Xiangtong was originally the maid next to Li Xu, sixteen, with double red and phoenix eyes, and her skin was particularly fair.

She was born to the Li family, and when she was a teenager, she saw that she was a beautiful embryo. Li Xu saw it inadvertently, so he asked people to raise them well. A few years later, she was very outstanding, and compared all the concubines and maids in the Manchu Mansion.

In the past two years, Li Xu has doted on this beautiful maid very much, and this time he also took her by his side when he went north. Li Ding has also been thinking about this beauty for a long time, but because his father didn't speak, he can only watch dryly.

Because of Bai Ruixue's matter, Li Xu was afraid that his son would feel uncomfortable, so he gave Xiangtong to him.

In these two days, the two of them just had to mix oil in honey.

Listening to Xiangtong's words, Li Ding hugged her with a smile and rubbed her chest: "You little hoof, what are you talking about?" The same master said, which one is pantothenic acid in the heart? ”

Xiangtong was rubbed all over her body, soft on Li Ding's body, and said with a slight gasp: "Good master, it is the slave maid who is sour, and in the future, the master must only hurt the slave and maid to ......"

(To be continued)