Kong Sizhen resigned that day and returned to her official residence outside the Donghua Gate. Because of the aftershocks, Kangxi didn't want to move back and forth, and on the second day, he still summoned Suo Etu and Xiong Cixu in Chuxiu Palace to discuss matters. Wei Dongting and a few other big guards were waiting outside, and they also felt that it was very convenient. Because the queen did not see the ministers because of the palace concubines, she took the concubine and her family to live in a temporary shed in the courtyard in front of the Buddhist hall behind the Zhongcui Palace where Su Malagu practiced. Because the Empress Dowager had nowhere to go, she sat idly and felt depressed, so she took Aunt Su Mala to the front of Chuxiu Palace to watch Kangxi do things.

After Xiong Cilu and Suo Etu saluted the Empress Dowager, Kangxi sat down and looked at Aunt Su Mala silently. It has been more than half a year since Wu Ciyou and her got married. Recently, Su Malagu's mood seems to be better than when Wu Ciyou left Beijing, and her walking looks much tougher, and her face with insufficient blood is no longer so white that people dare not face it, but her expression is still indifferent and cold, which makes people feel a little awe-inspiring.

"After all, the emperor has gone through things, and he has practiced much more than before, and he handled both things well yesterday." While sitting, the Empress Dowager smiled and said to Suo Etu and Xiong Ci who were standing next to her, "Sizhen is an all-round talent in civil and military affairs, marrying this Sun Yanling, maybe you can give this wild horse a halter." Mingzhu said in the fold, *** This person is respectful, friends are trustworthy, lenient to others, and strict with the emperor - it's not bad! Obviously, she has a good impression of ***.

Xiong Ci bowed down and smiled and was about to answer, but Kangxi said: "Grandmother said yes, but I don't dare to be careless." After Sun Yanling met Sun Yanling a few times, he saw that this person was very arrogant, and if he couldn't keep it for a long time, there would be changes. It is indeed respectful, but 'Gong' is not necessarily 'loyal', he is deeply favored by Wu Sangui, and his grandson can't help but treat him better, he must have a conscience, and control the soldiers and horses in the west, and it will be easier to withdraw the feudal domain in the future. ”

Wei Dongting, who was standing on the side, didn't understand why Kangxi treated this Lu Buxiang *** so well, and only then did he suddenly realize that he couldn't help but cast an admiring look at Kangxi. Xiong Ci said: "Long live the holy thinking is extremely fine, and the holy judgment is extremely clear!" The fourth princess married Sun Yanling, the east can curb Shang and Geng Erfan, and the west can restrain Yungui, but the situation is different, his Wang Pingfan, Zhang Jianxun, Gong Rongyu, Ma Yigui These fierce generals, some are old friends of Wu Sangui, and some are Chuang and Xianyu Party, *** Although this is the case in Beijing, it is difficult to ensure that there will be no changes when I go back, and I am foolish to the minister-" Speaking of this, Xiong Cixu snorted.

"Huh?"

"I think it's better to stay in Jingshi!"

Kangxi listened, didn't speak for a while, lowered his head and thought for a while, then turned his face and asked Suo Etu: "What do you see?" Suo Etu hurriedly replied: "Pingliang is related to the important land of the West Road, and the minister thinks that Xiong Ci is very reasonable. As he spoke, he looked at Wei Dongting and said with a smile, "If the minister goes alone, he will definitely be competent." ”

"You mean Wei Dongting?" Kangxi turned his face to look at the Empress Dowager, and saw that she was talking to Aunt Su Mala in a low voice, so he turned around and asked Wei Dongting again, "How are you going?" ”

"The only life of the slave is to listen!" Wei Dongting arched his hands, knelt on one knee and said loudly, "Long live the slave to go, and the slave will go!" ”

"No!" Kangxi pondered for a long time and said categorically, "Jingshi is the fundamental place, and there must be someone like Wei Dongting to defend it." Temperance is more suitable than others, I feel affection for him, kindness for him, and virtue for him, he should know how to repay. Besides, the sudden transfer of *** at this time can only increase the suspicion of King Pingxi......"

"That's right!" The Empress Dowager, who was chatting on the side, suddenly cut off Kangxi's words, and stood up with her chair handle, "Wu Sangui Shunshun withdrew the feudal domain on the spot, and nothing will happen; If Wu Sangui rebels, it will be the same for whoever goes there. However, what Xiong Cixu said is also right, *** and Sun Yanling's group of people are all born as thieves, and they can't be guarded against, Sizhen will go to Guangxi a little later, and he will not withdraw the feudal domain this time, and he didn't go back to ask those villains to instigate Sun Yanling to change his mind, alas! There are a lot of troubles here in Jingshi! At present, our ancestors and grandchildren want to go out of Beijing to inspect it, and without a reliable person like Xiao Weizi to follow, you will not be so relieved to stay in Beijing to do things. ”

"Go on patrol!" Suo Etu and Xiong Cixu exclaimed almost at the same time, "I don't know where Lafayette and the emperor are going to inspect?" ”

"Wutai Mountain." The Empress Dowager said the name of the place with a tense face, as if squeezing out of her teeth.

"Long live Galeries Lafayette!" Xiong Cilu was taken aback, took a step forward and bowed to the ground, and asked on his back, "Gyeonggi has just been rough, hesitating inside and outside, how many urgent things need to be done, and somehow go out on patrol?" I don't think so! As he spoke, he turned his face and asked Suo Etu, who was standing next to him and groaned, "As a minister of state, why is you silent at this time?" Suo Etu didn't know what to say for a while, he had heard that "the first emperor became a monk", and his father Sonny also whispered "Wutai Mountain, Shunzhi Ye ......" before his death, he vaguely felt from all kinds of signs that the first emperor's "death" must have hidden feelings. At this time, listening to the Empress Dowager personally spit out the three words "Wutai Mountain" confirmed her speculation. At this time, seeing Xiong Ci asking himself, it was better to pretend to be confused, so he casually echoed: "The slave really doesn't understand why the Empress Dowager and the Holy Lord want to tour Wutai Mountain west. ”

"Recently, there was an earthquake in Beijing, and the emperor's grandmother must have asked for the blessing of the Buddha." Kangxi also felt that his grandmother was a little unbelievable, and Kulaba proposed to go up to Wutai Mountain, and gave a smile, and was about to be persuaded, but the Empress Dowager intercepted her and said, "The emperor is right, that's what he meant." The earth shakes the mountains and rivers, and it has been there since ancient times, and I didn't care about it at first, but this time it came strangely - you look at the southwest, why are the clouds so red? The earthquake caused half of the Taihe Hall to collapse - you still advise, do you have to wait for the city of Beijing to fall before you go to the Buddha? ”

"The earthquake is Sun Tzu's loss of morality to the people, causing the wrath of the heavens." Kangxi saw that his grandmother didn't understand what he meant, and she had to go on at length, so he explained with a smile, "The imperial grandmother worries about her grandson, but she can go to Tanzhe Temple to worship the Buddha nearby, isn't it just her heart!" My grandmother is old, and her body is important. Besides, there are seven things in the Jingshi, we all went at once, how can we put our minds at ease? ”

"How can Tanzhe Temple be compared with Wutai Mountain?" The Empress Dowager said, "Mount Wutai is the dojo of Manjushri Bodhisattva, the location of the Living Buddha!" ”

When Xiong Cixu heard this, he also hurriedly persuaded him: "According to the minion, this Jingshi earthquake is caused by Aobai's chaotic government for many years. Although the changes in the sky are caused by personnel, if you are good at cultivating personnel, you can reverse the changes in the sky, why bother to ask the Buddha in the West...... "Xiong Cixu's pedantic spirit has come up, and he has to talk about the principle of mutual correspondence between heaven and man." The Empress Dowager sneered and shouted, "You are forbidden!" I respect the Buddha as you respect Confucius and Mencius, I didn't say that Confucius and Mencius are not, and you are not allowed to slander the monks in front of me! Her face turned white with anger, and she thought that Xiong Cixu was a loyal servant and a nerd, so she stopped talking, and turned back to sit back in her chair.

"This is Galeries Lafayette's wish." Su Malagu didn't want to talk more on this occasion, but seeing that everyone was embarrassed to be silent, she folded her hands and interjected, "Seven days ago, I talked to Lafayette about karma in Cining Palace, and Lafayette said that she had dreamed that the golden armor god would ask for a wish in the future, and Lafayette promised to offer a jade Buddha to Wutai Mountain. Now that there is another earthquake, it is also appropriate to go to Wutai Mountain. 'Outside the Liuhe, there is no matter what exists', the sage did not say that there are no ghosts and gods, or rather believe in them than say that they do not exist. ”

"Master Huizhen's words have spoken to my wife's heart." The Empress Dowager sighed, "I'm already half-grounded, what else do I pray for myself?" I only hope that my grandson Emperor Tu Yonggu will be relieved - I am going to Wutai Mountain, if the emperor can't take care of it, I will go alone. ”

"How dare Sun Tzu!" Kangxi hurriedly got up and said, "The grandson will naturally accompany his grandmother to go together, and the affairs in the capital will be maintained by Xiong Cilu and Suo Etu for the time being, and it will be kept confidential, so let's settle it like this!" ”

The Empress Dowager and the Emperor went out of the Forbidden City to the outskirts of Tanzhe Temple together, which was the first time since the founding of the country, so the Ministry of Rites discussed the most solemn "big drive" book. According to the Qing Dynasty emperor's patrol of the ceremonial guard is divided into four classes, the suburbs use "big driving", the court will use "law driving", the usual entry and exit use "Luan driving", and the Xingxing use "riding driving". Therefore, in front of the yamen of the Ministry of Rites, the traffic is busy during the day, and the lights and candles are brilliant at night...... One by one, they were exhausted, and they were busy for seven days before they came up with a clue. When the officials and people of Beijing heard that the "Great Driver" was caused by the earthquake, they were going to respect the heavens and ancestors and pray for blessings and blessings to the people.

After receiving the order to drive out of the city, Heshuo Eyu, the crown prince and the prince Wu Yingxiong got up on the fourth watch day to end the stop. He is a member of the rank of a single rank, and he should wear a robe with nine pythons and five claws, and the crane is a supplement, but the Ministry of Rites specially informed that Wu Yingxiong should add a yellow coat and double eyes, and he knew that this was a bonus as soon as he heard it. was originally very happy, but he had an extra heart, and he was in the capital by himself, and the more he didn't attract people's attention, the better. Now the emperor has given himself a special decree, which is not a good thing in itself. Besides, if you dress too conspicuously, what will you think when you look at it?

Since the fall of Aobai, Wu Yingxiong, who has always lived peacefully, suddenly felt uneasy. It seemed that some terrible force lurked around his mansion, and the word "San Feudatory" made him feel more and more terrifying. However, my father's letter did not mention any unusual movements in the imperial court. He believed that if there was any movement in the court, his father would soon find out. In addition to his own eyeliner in Beijing, I don't know how many people are secretly working for him.

Shihu Hutong is in the Xuanwu Gate, not far from the Forbidden City. Wu Yingxiong, who was very worried, got off the sedan chair and walked in front of Zhengyang Gate, and the position arranged for him by the Ministry of Rites was in the east of Jinshui Bridge in Tiananmen Square. He felt a little unbearable for such a prominent position.

"Wu Gong!" Suo Etu, who had been guarding the bridge for a long time, saw him coming, and greeted him with a smile on his face, "Please wait with us here." Wu Yingxiong looked up and saw that Suo Etu and Xiong Cilu were also wearing new robes and yellow coats, standing side by side, so panicked that he hurriedly returned the salute and said with a smile: "How dare Wu Yingxiong be in the same column with the two auxiliary ministers, don't make fun of Lord Suo." Xiong Cilu smiled and said: "Don't be polite, this is the will that Wei Dongting just handed down, you are the closest relative of the Son of Heaven and the minister of the imperial court, if you talk about it in detail, we people can't compare with you!" ”

"Master Suo," Wu Yingxiong saw that Xiong Cixu was holding a copper cigarette pot and wanted to smoke, so he hurriedly took out the fire fold from his arms and lit it for Xiong Cixu, and then turned his face and asked Suo Etu: "Why haven't you seen Lord Mingzhu for so long?" Haven't you come back from Shaanxi? Suo Etu said with a smile: "Early, Mo Luo, the governor of Shanxi and Shaanxi, went to Shanxi, and has not returned to Xi'an?" Xiong Cilu spewed out clouds and fog unhurriedly, and said coldly: "There are a few things to talk about, the road is easy to walk, and it will be faster to return to Beijing, if you encounter such troubles as Oolong Town again, it will inevitably be delayed for a few more days." ”

This refers to the matter of using the sword of the Son of Heaven to cut the West Election official in the pearl of Wulong Town. Suo Etu smiled and turned his face away. Wu Yingxiong's heart sank, and he felt that it was quite difficult to deal with this, whether it was to accuse Mingzhu or to make some complaints about Wu Sangui's Western Electorate, it was very inappropriate. He swallowed aggrievedly and said with a smile: "Whether it is appointed by the officials or chosen by the father, they are all the officials of the Qing Dynasty." All corrupt officials are among those who can be killed. My father's letter praised Master Ming for enforcing the law impartially, and he was a thief like the prefect of Zhengzhou, and his father couldn't tolerate him if he knew about it. Otherwise, what else is there to be in the Heavenly Principle King Law? Xiong Cilu smiled, and wanted to say something more, but Suo Etu suddenly pulled the sleeves of the two and said: "The second prince is silent, the emperor is about to come out!" Then the three men stopped talking, shook their horses' hoofs and knelt down one after another. From Tiananmen Square to Zhengyangmen, hundreds of ministers and ministers of ministries and institutes serving in Beijing, as well as senior officials from other provinces who had entered Beijing to report on their work, suddenly became silent when they saw the three of them kneeling, and they also knelt down together and waited for the big ride.

After a while, dozens of chamberlains lined up neatly out of the city gate, led by Xiao Maozi, and loudly announced: "The holy car is coming, and the hundred officials are waiting!" With that, he swept the dust and retreated. Immediately after, the deacon of the Ministry of Internal Affairs passed it one by one.

Yu Gai has already left Tiananmen Square. Wu Yingxiong is a person with a heart, check carefully, the front is four Nine Dragons bright yellow crank cover, followed by Cuihua Zizhi two covers, twenty handles of straight handle Nine Dragon Cover (divided into green, red, soap, white, yellow five colors), eight colors of pure purple, eight colors of pure red square cover followed behind...... At that time, it was the time of the Chen card, the sun was in the sky, the breeze was shearing, and the canopy ribbon danced with the flag, which was very spectacular. After the canopy, it is the seventy-two palace fans, there are those who write longevity words, there are those who paint double dragons, peacock pheasant tails, Luan Feng Wencai, one side is dazzling and dizzying. Then there are sixteen big flags, on which are written "teaching filial piety", "table festival", "Ming punishment", "Bijiao", "Xingqing", "benevolence", "praise", "Huaiyuan", "Zhenwu", "perfunctory text", "Nayan", "Jinshan" and other words, as well as the four gold festivals, four Yi Qi, eight flags of Daxu, the flag is painted with auspicious birds such as Yi Feng, crane, peacock, yellow bird, white pheasant, swimming scales, colorful lions, Bai Ze, Jiaorui, red bear, yellow bear, evil spirit, rhinoceros and other Rui beasts, people are dazzled to see. The front guard of honor has passed for a long time, and the back is still coming in a steady stream. Wu Yingxiong sighed silently, thinking to himself: "No wonder Han Gaozu saw Qin Shi Huang going out on patrol and sighed, 'The eldest husband should be like this'!" When he came to his senses again, the one hundred and twenty flags had been out. Wei Dongting rode on the yellow horse with the wrong golden saddle, and behind him, Mu Zixu, Wolf Blind, Donkey, and Zhao Fengchun led forty guards, one color of gold armor, red-topped green feathers, and hundreds of forbidden soldiers held golden horses, sleeping melons, standing melons, golden bottles, golden chairs, golden pestles, big swords, bows, swords, halberds, etc. Only the leopard tail gun is a single one, and Wu Yingxiong already knew that another one was given to ***, so he couldn't help but sneer. At this time, the drums inside and outside the city were moving, and a mountain was shouting, and Kangxi, who was sitting on the first chariot, nodded and waved frequently. Wu Yingxiong saw Kangxi staring at him, and hurriedly knocked his head on the hard stone floor a few times, and shouted: "Long live my emperor, long live!" It wasn't until the car was over that he dared to raise his head.

It wasn't until noon that Wu Yingxiong dragged his heavy steps and returned to Shihu Hutong among the hundreds of officials who were interested in Xing Shan. Qing Ke Gonggong Lang Tingshu was waiting at the door early, and when he saw Wu Yingxiong coming back leisurely, he hurriedly greeted him and said with a smile: "Dong Weng is back?" Although it is not far, it is tired after grinding for a long time, why not take a sedan chair? ”

"Not tired." Wu Yingxiong was full of worries, and replied lightly, "Everyone didn't sit in a sedan chair, it was too conspicuous - by the way, did Zhou Quanbin come?" He said that he would come to worship today. Lang Tingshu smiled: "It's early, according to your wishes, it will be placed in Haochun Xuan!" The two of them walked in as they spoke, zigzag in, and when they reached the second door, suddenly a person arched in pairs, and said: "Young master, hard work!" One said it, and the other came out. Wu Yingxiong looked at it with his eyes, and the person who came was wearing a crimson Ning silk coat, an azure satin coat, a pair of Beijing-style fast boots under his feet, and a half-pale hair braid hanging straight from behind the melon skin hat. This person is Zhou Quanbin, a member of the Ministry of Engineering who has been running here the most diligently in the past few months. Wu Yingxiong smiled politely, and while saying, "I'm tired of waiting for a long time", he let Zhou Quanbin inside.

"Young Master," the two sat down in front of Hao Chunxuan, Zhou Quanbin used the lid of the bowl to flick the tea leaves floating on it, half-closed slightly puffy single bubble eyes, opened his mouth straight to the ground, and said Wu Yingxiong with a single sentence: "Do you know? The third prince of Zhu has gone to Lord Lingzun of Wuhua Mountain in Yunnan, maybe the articles there will be more lively than this suburban festival tour! ”

"I don't know what I mean." Wu Yingxiong has been a hostage in Beijing for more than 20 years, and he is well versed in Tao Hui's technique, although he was surprised in his heart, his face was cold, "I don't know these things, and I don't believe them." Even if it's true, I think this third prince of Zhu with a suspicious background is easy to go up the mountain and difficult to go down! He was the nephew of the former Ming Chongzhen Emperor Zhou Guifei, and I don't understand why you came to me to say these words, I don't want to hear it, and I don't dare to listen to it. If you come from the West Drum Tower without tireless work, it is better to go back and rest as soon as possible to say this! He said this in one breath before he stopped, took a deep puff of his cigarette, and looked at Zhou Quanbin's reaction through the thick smoke.

Zhou Quanbin was also observing Wu Yingxiong, a short man who was not good-looking, with a slightly bloated body, thin eyebrows and big eyes, thick lips, and he looked very loyal and simple at a glance, but he unexpectedly went against his usual habit of slowing down, and very simply touched him back with a "wall of words". Zhou Quanbin was slightly stunned, and then said with a smile: "I don't dare to listen to it, maybe it's true, I don't want to hear it...... Since the earthquake, why did His Royal Highness the Prince of the World gallop through Yunnan with a fast horse a day? It's a pity, it will be a few days before King Pingxi gets a reply. You and I are both former ministers of the Ming Dynasty, and we have always had old friends, so why not listen to my opinion first? ”

While listening, Wu Yingxiong carefully picked up the sludge in the cigarette stick, and said unhurriedly: "Beijing earthquake, I am worried that Yunnan will also have an earthquake, write a letter to greet my father, what's so strange about this?" ”

"Tongshan Mountain collapses, Luo Zhongdong Ying-" Zhou Quanbin leaned forward and said, "It turns out that the prince is also worried about the Yunnan earthquake?" This is with the imperial court. Otherwise, why bother to mobilize the people to pray for blessings on Wutai Mountain? ”

"Wutai Mountain?" Wu Yingxiong's eyebrows jumped, only at this moment could he get a glimpse of the thousands of hills and valleys in his heart, but this was only a moment, he immediately returned to normal, "Wutai Mountain is a Buddha resort. Going there shows that my empress dowager and the emperor are worried about the people. Zhou Quanbin then said: "Not only worry about the people, but also worry about the country!" The earthquake came from the southwest, and the sky changed to warn, and the *** in the west, the Geng family and the Shang family in the south all came. Only the Lingzun of the southwest will not come! Wu Shizi knows the world, can't he see the scheming and far-sighted plan of the saint's trip? As he spoke, he looked at Wu Yingxiong. Wu Yingxiong smiled sarcastically and asked, "You are the one who knows the world!" I don't know where to pick up these bird words? ”

"The first is to soothe the hearts of Jingshi." Zhou Quanbin didn't care about Wu Yingxiong's sarcastic words, "The second is to go to the West Road to inspect the people's feelings. This west road is the passage for the king of Pingxi to take the three Qins and to the Jingshi! It seems that the next step of the withdrawal of the feudal domain will not be far away! ”

Wu Yingxiong was stunned for a moment, then smiled dumbly, pointed at Zhou Quanbin and said, "What did you say?" It is a matter for the imperial court to withdraw the feudal domain or not, what does my father do with Sanqin? The ancestor and father guarded the north gate for decades for the former Ming Dynasty, and only at the most urgent and critical juncture did he seal his father a Ping Xibo, and after returning to the Heavenly Dynasty, he was given the title of king in one fell swoop! You say that my Wu family is the same as your Zhou family? ”

"Peppers are worth a lot when they're red, and it's dangerous when they're red." Zhou Quanbin was determined to knock on Wu Yingxiong's door for the third prince of Zhu today, so he didn't give in, "The prince just said it well - Xipingbo is already a 'king', and this is not a very popular person?" ”

"Presumptuous!"

"Presumptuous?" Zhou Quanbin stood up, buttoned the melon skin hat to his head, and Gege sneered, "Uncle Wu is in Yunnan, with heavy soldiers and sitting in the silver palace, he is not satisfied, he still has to carry the imperial court to smelt iron and boil salt, cast copper to make money, collect grain by himself, choose his own officials, and disobey orders, this is called presumptuousness!" As he spoke, he arched his hand and was about to leave.

"Why hurry!" Wu Yingxiong hurriedly got up and pulled it, and said with a smile, "Finish speaking." ”

"It's fine." Zhou Quanbin saw that he softened, and couldn't help but feel a little proud, "Although the emperor is young, you have seen this clever and wise strategy, how can you allow Ling Zun to go like this?" This time I am fortunate to drive Shanxi, there is only a hundred harms and no benefits to the king of Pingxi, I hope that the king of Pingxi and Wu Shibrother will do it for themselves, so I don't want to say much! As he spoke, he tilted his head and said in a loud voice:

Don't compete with flowers, cold buds are more fragrant at night,

The number of stems is quite showy, and Jiaer is proud of the wind and frost!

"Wu Gong, do you know who wrote this poem to whom?" Wu Yingxiong was stunned and said: "I only know that it was made by the saint, but I don't know who it is written to." ”

"Gan Wenkun!" Zhou Quanbin didn't look back, and said loudly, "Gan Wenkun, the governor of Yungui!" After saying that, he walked away.

Wu Yingxiong stood on the steps with his hands behind his back, smiled and said, "Don't send it." But in his heart, he was thinking: "Your young master has a lot of hole cards that he hasn't played, bastard, you wait and see!" ”