Shijuma Street[1], Pingjun Wangfu [2].

Luo Keduo, the king of Pingjun, sat proudly in the main hall [3] on the roof of his mountain, with green glass and a wide face, shaking his head, humming and chirping and singing out of tune Legend[4] fragments, looking pretentious, waiting for his subordinates to come back to give him good news.

"Humph! The little milk child actually took the position of my flag master quietly. This time, let you lift a stone to shoot yourself in the foot, and let your Rakshasa team become a foreign bandit who makes trouble, it can't touch your roots, but it can make you ugly! haha！ Rocodo couldn't help but laugh when he thought of this.

It turned out that as the nominal flag owner of the original red flag, Luo Keduo actually lost his real power long ago before the "Eight Banners and One Lord". Although you are the banner master, the power has long been dominated by the Manchurian capital. Zhuo Luo[5] and so on, those emperor's cronies took it over little by little. Coincidentally, at the beginning of last year, Zhuo Luo led his men to Yungui to cooperate with Hong Chengchou to exterminate the remnants of the Southern Ming Dynasty.

That and Tuo were away for many years, and when they returned to Beijing, they didn't know that the ownership of the "Lower Five Banners" had changed significantly. On the 7th day of the ninth month, that is, yesterday, He Tuoxian set up camp with more than 300 of his brothers outside the city, and did not enter Beijing immediately, lest these soldiers, who had been fighting abroad for many years, return to Beijing as soon as they return to Beijing. The affairs of the big and small were busy until dark, and He Tuocai took a dozen personal soldiers into the city and entered the Yamen of Manchuria with red flags, and according to the old rules. I didn't care about going back to take a look at my own house, so I went to the mansion of the banner lord to the east of the yamen to pay a visit, which can be regarded as giving Rocoduo enough face. This red flag Manchuria capital yamen, is equivalent to the red flag of the "headquarters", in order to the flag master to command the convenience and save trouble, it was set up not far from the west of the Pingjun Palace. [Today's New Culture Street, Keqin County Wangfu (now Experimental Second Elementary School), Manchuria Red Flag Dutong Yamen (now private houses), etc. are all located on this ancient street]

It happened that early this morning I heard that the Rakshasa team had a conflict between Xi'an Gate and the Humen Military Academy, and the county prince immediately remembered and Tuo Zuo Ling, and planned to make good use of the advantage of the asymmetry of information between them.

Roccodor's wishful thinking is—

The Rakshasa team did not know the depths of the robust leader Bekotov, and connived at his cavalry captain to beat the city gate captain on duty. It could have been taken on the spot and severely punished. Now there happens to be a Hetuo who has just returned to Beijing. From yesterday's Q&A, it was found that Xuan Ye, the second son of the emperor, who had been in the capital in the past two years and made a big move, was unheard of, and it was estimated that he was shuttling in the deep mountains and dense forests all day long [Xuan Ye was born on March 18, 11th year of Shunzhi], and I don't know where those holy decrees were spread.

Case. Let Hetuo take his men to arrest Buick. And he will be detained in his barracks. Wait until the Minister of the President of the Firearms Battalion asks questions. One is the subordinate soldiers of the prime minister of the Lower Five Banners Clan, who is trusted by Fu Lin and wants to be used as a firearm for Weishenme. One is the Eight Banners soldier of the Red Flag Forbidden Brigade who has just been personally led by the emperor, and his direct superior is Zhuo Luo, a confidant of Fulin, who is now far away in Yungui. No matter which side is dealt with, it is offended by the other. Whichever side is preserved will inevitably be compromised to the other. This kind of situation of being angry at both ends is naturally something that Xiao Xuanye does not want to see. The more difficult it was for Xuan Ye to do, the happier he was with Luo Keduo, the king of Pingjun.

If this matter is not handled properly and damages the emperor's prestige or the interests of the red flag, will you Xuanye be beaten back to the idle position that a two-year-old child should have in the eyes of Fulin? Will the shocking actions that this little prince has done in the past year need to be discussed and evaluated again in the Council of Ministers of the Parliamentary King among those of us who are relatives of the clan? Will some major policies return to their original positions?

The more he thought about it, the more Roccodo felt that his impromptu intentions this morning were very exciting, as if he had seen all kinds of good opportunities for his salted fish to turn over. As soon as the guard who went to inquire about the news returned, the "second steward" (the second steward of the palace, who also belonged to the imperial court officials, often the third or fourth rank) would immediately come to report. You can ride a horse from the palace to Xi'an Gate, but eight or nine miles, a quarter of an hour's effort, why haven't you come back now?

As time passed, Roccodo became more and more anxious, fearing that the situation would turn out unexpectedly. Finally, the young Pingjun Wang Huo stood up and was ready to call someone to inquire again. At this moment, the second steward hurriedly ran into the main hall, shouting as he ran:

"Lord Wang! Heto's men have returned to the camp! He himself is in our capital yamen! ”

"Coming back? Good! Have all the rakshasas been brought back? Roccodo listened, sat back in his seat, and asked excitedly.

"Lord Wang, they came back by themselves, Rakshasa ......"

"What about the Rakshasas?" Roccodo stood up again.

"Taken away by Baylor Xuanye."

"Huh? This useless and supportive ......" Rocodo fell back into his chair again, but he was already looking dejected.

*

*

Shifuma Street, inlaid with red flags, Manchuria, the Yamen [6].

The two brothers, Hetuo and Mara, were drinking happily, and they didn't care about the feelings of the county prince in the Pingjun Wangfu not far away at this moment.

"Dou (Manchu brother pronounced deo)! Come on, dry this bowl of wine again! He Tuo was sitting at the table of the Eight Immortals in his room, raising the big wine bowl in his hand and drinking it all.

"Ahun! Dry! Mara didn't show any weakness, she did the same, and deliberately touched the wine drops at the corners of her mouth, and turned over the wine bowl with her hand, as if demonstrating to her brother!

He Tuo really stared at the white porcelain bowl on the other side carefully for a moment, and then stared at Mara in front of him, with a suspicious look on his face. Finally, after finding that his younger brother's face did not change and his behavior was as usual, he grinned at the corners of his mouth, but he endured it and did not have a seizure.

Mara also stared at the corners of her brother's mouth defiantly at this time, seeing that he was about to be impatient, so she slapped the wine bowl in her hand on the table and pretended to shout: "Ah Hun! Is it so good that you don't want to take it out for Mara to drink? How to go out for more than a year. It's become so stingy! Hum! But his eyes were full of kind ridicule.

"I'm stingy! Good! I'll fill you up today! Hetuo still endured and pretended.

"Huh? What else? …… And also...... That's it! Mara is no longer the little sinus you were drunk with when she was fourteen! Mara deliberately made a gesture of lack of confidence and quietly picked up the wine bowl herself.

"What have you done? Put down the bowl...... hahahaha！ Seeing that his younger brother finally showed the same timidity and cunning in front of him, and he finally couldn't hold it anymore, and hahadaxiao got up.

“hahahaha！ Ahn is still Mara's pro-Ahun! I can't compare to you! Mara is also in love, and follows her brother to laugh and daxiao.

After laughing for a long time, the two gradually stopped, continued to drink and eat, and began to talk about family life.

"Mara, you kid is a good drinker. But at the end of the day, you're still young. It's not as good as my brother. ”

"Ah Hun, I'm still young? After two years, I will vacant from the position of the imperial guard, and I will come to serve under your account, so that you don't dare to underestimate me! Mara then spoke of her wishes.

"Come to my account. haha。 You're such a kid! I have been on the expedition for less than two years. You have already achieved the second-class guard in front of the emperor, and now you are also the fourth grade, and you have also replaced the former Blue Feather with a one-eyed Flower Feather! It's stronger than my brother! Wait until you're out of the picture. I'm afraid it's a participant, maybe my brother is under your account! haha！ All right! Brother rejoices! He Tuo said sincerely, without a hint of cold words.

Originally, in the early Qing Dynasty, it was stipulated that those who did not serve as guards in the inner court were not allowed to wear flower feathers. Therefore, many people regard the flower feather as a status symbol. Now, as the leader of the fourth rank, Hetuo is nothing more than an eyeless blue feather made of blue feathers dyed blue, and the second-class guard Mara has been replaced with a one-eyed peacock feather.

There is another point that He Tuo also values and is very pleased with, that is, his younger brother's future promotion and transfer path is much wider than that of other personnel. The imperial guards are from the first rank to the four levels of Lan Ling, from the third rank to the sixth grade. When the guards were primary, they were third-class or blue-feathered guards, which were the grades of five or sixth, and they suddenly belonged to middle-level officials. In addition to the internal upgrade of the guards, there are also many ways to transfer out, such as the first-class guards can be supplemented as the deputy capital (the second rank), the second-class guards can be supplemented as the staff leader (the third rank), the assistant leader (from the third rank), the second, third, and Lanling guards can also be released as the city guard captain, the defense captain (the fourth rank), the garrison assistant leader (the fourth rank), and so on. In addition, the re-awarding of the Green Battalion military position is also another way for the guards to be promoted. It can be said that the younger brother Mara has many ways out and a great future!

"Ah Hun, isn't this a benefit earned by being an errand boy for Belle Ye? It doesn't have much to do with myself......" Mara was a little embarrassed.

"Oh, do you mean the second son of the emperor who went to Xi'anmen today, Baylor Ye Xuanye?" Heto was obviously interested, put down the wine bowl in his hand, leaned forward, and listened carefully.

"Exactly, on the second day of the first month of this month, I have been transferred from Cining Palace to the East Second Institute, and I am a full-time guard for this young master. Entering the second-class guard is just a matter of the past few days. Mara nodded yes, thinking to herself: My brother is really interested in this matter, and what my master said is not bad at all.

"He is only three years old, and he doesn't have a palace ~ Wai Kaifu, why do you want to be in charge of guards?" He Tuo couldn't help but ask questions according to his own train of thought, and unknowingly walked into the routine predicted by Hongyi.

So, Mara described in detail what she saw with her own eyes, in fact, it was only at the beginning of this month, and all kinds of magical behaviors of the young master, from the private visit to the glaze factory, the distress in the mule and horse market, to the receipt of the five flags and the establishment of the imperial servant bureau, Zuihou held the "one lord and four positions", as if telling a story, listening to and Tuo with the ups and downs of the plot for a while sweating, a while laughing, completely forgetting that there is still good wine to drink.

"One Lord and Four Positions...... Lord Belle of the Qing Dynasty, the Minister of the Left President of the Firearms Battalion, the Prime Minister of the Lower Five Banners Sect, the Left Sect of the Zongren Mansion and the Minister of the Palm Seal of the Royal Servants Bureau, which of these titles and titles are all powerful characters alone, isn't it? He Tuo repeated the miraculous results of this young master, and then pointed out the key point.

"Exactly, so today's Xi'an Gate, the master is also responsible." Mara gets the conversation to the point.

"But I met the master in the east yesterday, why is he still ......" and held his fists to the east, asking.

"It's true that he is still half a master of the red flag. But it's not a legitimate banner owner. Now there is one master of the Eight Banners, and there is only one master, that is, the emperor! Mara quickly took over the conversation and didn't let her brother say anything like "shy" and so on.

"Well, it's also an honor for me to return to the emperor!" He Tuo understood his brother's protection of him and said his true words.

"But the affairs of the Five Banners are complicated, and the emperor can't do everything himself, so he let his proud second son lead the clan as the prime minister."

"Haha, I'm glad to have Mara here today. Otherwise, wouldn't you have offended the Lord? haha！ He Tuo recognized Xuan Ye's master's status in disguise. Followed by. He changed his words:

"But the prince of the county in the east, does he mean to be a little restrained by Lord Belle?"

"Ah Hun, I can't hide it, I can come to you today to drink. It is where Belle's compassion and care lie. He also said. Please don't be rash. Don't blame King Pingjun, after all, he is still a royal nobleman. is still the pillar of the Qing Dynasty, and he is still the old master of the red flag! The master repeatedly told me that there is no need to make the two of us brothers sit on wax because of my younger brother and me, even if it is their own master, it is a matter of course......" Mara threw a bombshell.

"To each his own master? No, there is only one master in the world of the Qing Dynasty! Lord Belle is the prince, that is, half of the master, how can I say that each is his master? He Tuo was a little anxious.

"Ah Hun, the master has good intentions, I'm afraid you will be difficult to do."

"Good! I understand my master's mind! Heto stood up and paced back and forth in the room. At last, he returned to his brother and said solemnly:

"The Manchurian man only knows how to serve the Lord, and he doesn't know what the three indiscriminate methods of yin and yang are violated. Mara, if you go back to report to the master, just say that since Tuo and I are slaves of the Eight Banners, we will be loyal to the Qing Dynasty and the emperor in accordance with the emperor's orders, and we will not be one slave and two masters! ”

"King Kepingjun's side ......" Mara is still a little worried.

"Don't worry, he will be his prince, I will do my errands, I will not be angry with him for fooling me. After all, the master is right, he is also a royal noble, and he will still be called in the future. He Tuo did not hide it at all, and told his brother and Pan. After speaking, he was still a little unsatisfied, and after a little hesitation, he finally spoke:

"Mara, you must be a good errand in the future, and you must not act recklessly. Our little master will definitely succeed in the future! ”

"Big brother, I ......" Alas, is this morning considered reckless? I wanted to talk to my brother, but I didn't know where to start. Mara nodded silently.

[1] Shijuma Street, which is now the new cultural street in Xicheng District, was renamed in 1969. The original Shifuma Street is the name of an old alley in Beijing in the Ming Dynasty, probably because the residence of Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty is here, so it is called Shifuma Street.

[2] Pingjun Wangfu, that is, Keqin County Wangfu. King Keqin is the eldest son of Prince Li's Daishan. King Keqin was posthumously crowned and was one of the "Eight Iron Hat Kings" in the early Qing Dynasty. This mansion was built during the Shunzhi period. Luo Keduo, the descendant of King Yuetuo of Keqin County, changed his name to King Pingjun, so this mansion is also called Pingjun Wangfu. The original area is not large, and the layout is still in line with the regulations of the palace. Because it is located in Shijuma Hutong, some people believe that it is to follow the old residence of Xun Qi in the Ming Dynasty, or the Shifuma Mansion was rebuilt. It is a key cultural relic under protection in Beijing.

[3] The main hall of the prince's palace is commonly known as "Yin'an Palace" by the people, and there are also called Yinluan Palace, which is a noun derived from the common name of Jinluan Palace, and is used to call the main hall of the Qing Dynasty Palace, so the correct name of "Yin'an Palace" is "Main Hall", but it seems that people today prefer to call it Yin'an Palace, this is because the main hall of the Qing Dynasty palace is a kind of palace building, which is obviously different from the main house of the bureaucratic residence in the general capital, which shows the uniqueness of its owner's identity.

[4] Legendary, here is a type of opera that was popular in Jingshi during the Qing Dynasty. Legend (opera), that is, on the basis of the Song, Yuan, and Southern operas, absorbed the advantages of the Northern Miscellaneous Opera and developed. From the middle of the Ming Dynasty to the legend of the prosperous period, to the early Qing Dynasty still maintained a prosperous momentum, including Haiyan cavity, Yuyao cavity, Yiyang cavity, Kunshan cavity and their rheological changes into various vocal cavity operas. The word "legend" has a number of meanings, and the literary novels of the Tang Dynasty call it "legend". During the Song and Yuan dynasties, legends were used to refer to rap arts such as Zhugong tunes, as well as southern opera and miscellaneous operas. After the Ming Dynasty, "legend" became a special name for long-form operas mainly singing southern opera. It is roughly the same as Song, Yuan, and Southern opera in terms of art form, but it is more mature, rich, detailed and standardized. The most famous "legend" can be described as the "Palace of Eternal Life" made by Hong Sheng during the Kangxi period and the "Peach Blossom Fan" by Kong Shangren. These two playwrights are known as the "Southern Flood and Northern Confucius", and their works have also become traditional repertoire of Kunqu Opera and Peking Opera.

[5] Zhuo Luo (?-1668), Qing general. The surname is Tong Jia, and he is a native of the White Flag of Manchuria. Son of Baduli. At the beginning of his father's succession, he was the official to the Ministry of Shangshu and the white flag Manchuria Gushan Ezhen (flag chief), and he was awarded the title of second-class uncle. After entering the customs, he successively fought in Huguang with the armies of Luck Dehun, Kong Youde, and Shang Kexi, and defeated the enemy in Jingzhou, Changsha, Wugang, etc. In the twelfth year of Shunzhi (1655), when he was the commander of Manchuria with the red flag, he defeated Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo's ministry in Chenzhou, and then pursued King Ming Gui to Yunnan. Kangxi died in the seventh year. Zhi Zhongxiang.

[6] The lower five banners are all unified yamen, which was actually set up in the first year of Yongzheng, and one or two are made up here to meet the needs of the plot. However, according to historical data, after entering the customs, similar institutions should have been set up long ago, and the first year of Yongzheng was just renamed "Dutong Yamen". It is speculated that at that time, it might be called "Red Flag Manchuria, Melezhang, Beijing Yamen" or something like that. Dutong is the Chinese name of Meler Zhangjing, which is scheduled for the seventeenth year of Shunzhi.

[7] Bird bird, a bird that is good at fighting in ancient books, that is, Bird Dan, is now known as Brown Horse Chicken. The bird is brave and fierce by nature, and it will not die until death, and the samurai has a feather on the crown, which can show the bravery of the samurai. (To be continued......)