Kangxi was about to call Xiong Cixu to discuss Guan Yu's number, when he suddenly heard the sound of the flute on the stage. The first play of "Peach Blossom Fan" "Listening to the Barnyard opened", Hou Fangyu's square scarf soap boots came out with water sleeves, and Kangxi was attracted as soon as he opened his mouth:

Next to Sun Chulou, on Mochou Lake, a few more weeping poplars were added. It is a beautiful place in the rivers and mountains, and the wine sells the sun, seduces tourists to get drunk and appreciate, and learns the appearance of the Southern Dynasty with gold powder. Dark thoughts, those warblers are crazy......

Kangxi looked at the stage quietly, and suddenly remembered Wu Ciyou, who was the tall foot of Hou Chaozong, who sent Sulun to Wutai Mountain last time, and replied that he had gone to make an order, where is he now? His heart couldn't help but feel desolate. Because he thought that he was old and stood up, the war in Taiwan was unpredictable, and the rebellion in the west had no time to take care of, and there was no unscrupulous general who could take on a huge responsibility, and there was no guide to accompany the counselor, he couldn't help but sigh. After looking at it for a while, and seeing that it was getting close, he got up and went into the hall. A large group of concubines and concubines were standing in front of the Empress Dowager to have fun, and when they saw Kangxi coming in, they all knelt down with a "sigh".

The Empress Dowager was pulling Fang Lan's hand and talking about homely things, when she saw Kangxi coming in, she smiled and said, "There are so many ministers outside, what is the emperor doing when he comes in?" I'm all the rage, I can't understand these dramas, I just have them to laugh and relieve my boredom, I don't want you to make rules. Kangxi smiled and said: "I want to move around after sitting for a long time, it's early and late, and I'm afraid that Lafayette will be hungry, come in and take a look, but do you want to pass the meal?" The Empress Dowager said: "Look at the things on this table, are you still hungry for my wife?" Only Fang Lan is pitiful: a new daughter-in-law, stepping into the door to deal with such a big scene, it's really difficult for her. ”

Fang Lan heard the Empress Dowager mention herself, and hurriedly flashed out and kowtowed to Kangxi. Kangxi saw that she was still wearing a red wedding dress, her face was as white as the moon, her face was as shy as the moon, and she was shrewd in her beauty, so she smiled and said: "Okay!" Get up. I said that I was going to marry Gao Shiqi, and I finally didn't eat the preface. There's nothing to reward you at this time, so go back and let the Ministry of Rites give you an order earlier! The Empress Dowager smiled and said, "You have nothing to do, go back!" No, here, they don't even dare to say a joke, you can just pass the meal when you're hungry, I don't need it. ”

Kangxi came out, the play had been performed in the middle, and Emperor Hongguang was in a corner of peace after his defeat, and he didn't want to cheer up, but he was bent on searching for beauty, and he refused to say it directly, so he asked Ma Shicheng to "guess" his thoughts. The treacherous and cunning Ma Shicheng deliberately failed to guess repeatedly. Kangxi couldn't help frowning, and said loudly: "Hypocrite! ”

Mingzhu is pregnant with a ghost fetus, where does she have the heart to watch the play? looked at Gao Shiqi for a while, peeked at Kangxi's expression for a while, and listened to Kangxi's voice fiercely, and his body shook in fright, and it took a while to remember that Kangxi was talking about Ma Shicheng.

As for the "Selection", Hongguang and the singers played ten times for fun. Emperor Hongguang held a flat drum with one hand, hit the lotus with the other hand, and the butterfly wore flowers like a dozen kabukis.

The old Wu Palace reopened the museum, and the new Yangzhou first taught thin horses. Huaiyang drum Kunshan strings, Wuxi Gusu Jiaowa. One by one, the spring breeze blows, the warm sound, the smoke is clear, the cold sleeves are floating, and the palace maids are like hemp. The red mansion and the green hall, the scenery is beautiful. I have no worries about the Son of Heaven, and I laugh and laugh loudly.

Kangxi saw it, couldn't help laughing, turned around and said to Xiong Ci: "A person like this who has no heart at all has actually become a son of heaven!" Hongguang Hongguang, although he wants to die, can he get it? ”

"Hooray!" Xiong Cixu, who never watched a play, also fell into a god, and when he saw Kangxi talking to himself, he hurriedly smiled and said, "Heaven has taken its soul, and I will be given the Qing Dynasty with an artifact!" Although this drama is a barnyard history, it is also of great benefit to the hearts of the people of the world! ”

Behind the curtain of the veil, Su Malagu, who accompanied the Empress Dowager, was a sigh of emotion. Hou Gongzi and Li Xiangjun became monks one after another after the death of the Ming Dynasty, and after decades of flicking their fingers, his students ended exactly the same as him. Although the situation is different, the mood is the same, and a sour heat in my heart almost fell into tears. Seeing her pale, the Empress Dowager knew that the drama had aroused her thoughts, and said with a smile: "Although the drama is good, it's just too literary, and I can't sit still." The sky is getting dark, while they are holding the lamp, we might as well go back to the palace. You don't have to go back to Changchun Garden, stay with me for a night......" He got up and instructed Zhang Wanqiang, "You accompany the emperor to watch the play, let him rest for a day, don't say that I went, and swept the emperor's interest." He took Fang Lan's hand again and said, "It's okay to go into the palace and talk to me about Gu Ji'er to relieve boredom." After saying that, he drove back to the palace through the back door.

The play was not finished until the beginning of the child, Kangxi watched it happily, appreciated the plays, and ordered everyone to disperse, Wu Zi asked for tea with great interest, and said to Gao Shiqi with a smile: "It's really a genius, such a good play, why don't you play it early?" Gao Shiqi said with a smile: "Kong Shangren is a well-known bold talent, Huchen is afraid that there will be any obstacles in it, so he first came in after performing in Nanjing, and the slave originally wanted to watch it first and then ask the master to watch it." Later, I thought that Huchen was such a fine person, how could he be wrong? and they were daring. Kangxi said with a smile: "Kong Shangren is a person recommended by Mr. Wu, that is, he has a small fault, what does it matter, I need you to go around in such a big circle?" I just don't know if the Northern Expedition Kong has come, don't fall like the Southern Expedition, right? ”

Gao Shiqi wasted his spirit, in order to do the matter of Nanqiu, and finally talked about the topic, and said busily: "When the master talks about this, the slave has to give a advice, long live the anger of the former child, the power of the sky is unpredictable, the slave is scared away from the true soul, and if there is something to say, I have to wait for the master to stop and stop talking - if you talk about the matter of Nanfu, it can only be said that the ministers are not loyal to the work." If you turn it over and look at it, it is still a happy event, it is worth long live the anger of the dragon's heart and move so much liver fire? ”

"What did you say?" Kangxi asked, "What is the gratification of fraud in the science field?" ”

"Hooray, everything has to be seen in reverse, and then you can see it all! In the view of the slaves, this is the turning point of the hearts of the people in the world to the Qing Dynasty and the prosperous era! ”

"Huh?"

"I have been in Dingding for 40 years, and there are many reasons why people's hearts fluctuate." Gao Shiqi said, "The biggest thing is that the literati are stubborn, misinterpret the scriptures and righteousness of the sages, and hold Huayi's views." Therefore, all previous scientific examinations are insufficient. ”

"Hmmm......"

"Nowadays, people do not hesitate to spend a lot of money to enter the camp, which is a sign of political stability and prosperity." Gao Shiqi took the pot and added water to Kangxi, and continued: "The slave is not obedient, and at the beginning of the founding of the country, even a poem like Mingzhu was a fellow jinshi!" When the 'Three Feudatories' was in turmoil, less than one-fifth of the applicants for the exam in Nanfu did not dare to stop taking the exam, so why did no one spend money on joints at that time? Current events are different, and the general trend has changed! Of course, there must be a matter of condescension if there is fraud, after all, there are still a minority. The minions looked at the list of winners, and there were many Jiangnan celebrities in Nanyi, and it seemed that they could not be erased......"

Kangxi stood up, paced back and forth with the cup, saw Gao Shiqi snorting and stopped, and smiled: "If you go on, don't be afraid." ”

"Long live if you want to do it seriously, you have to build a big prison." Gao Shiqi's eyebrows provoked Lao Gao, and said worriedly: "It's really like Xiong Dongyuan said, the main examiner, the deputy examiner, the examiner of the eighteenth room kills, chops and chops, who is not afraid of the scribe who wins this?" If it is done so strictly, the examiners in the future will be daunted! How many years has it taken to nurture this trend of literati returning to their hearts, and hasn't it been extinguished again? And Wu Sidao, the main culprit of the Nanfu trouble, didn't hold it, and it is not clear what article is behind it, and the severe punishment of the examiner must have indulged these people, and he will carry the God of Wealth to the Tribute Institute at every turn in the future, long live it or not? How difficult it is to deal with the aftermath! ”

Kangxi thought about it, kicked the teacup on the table, and said with a smile: "Who have you been entrusted by someone, taking advantage of my happiness, to settle this Tianzi No. 1 lawsuit?" According to what you said, corruption and bad law, favoritism and fraud, can you not do it? ”

Gao Shiqi was taken aback, knelt down on his knees with a "plop", and said, "How dare the minion!" The slave was originally a sloppy scholar, followed the master, and did not overmove, and he was already expensive in the cardinal, how dare he defy the law? The slave said, of course, fraud is not good, but the master is in control, and this problem is easy to correct; It is not easy to recover if it touches people's hearts. The Lord is wise and wise, with the wisdom of the sun and the moon, and he can discern the painstaking efforts of his slaves! ”

Kangxi, who was originally determined to kill, was deeply moved by Gao Shiqi's spring-like tongue. When I think about it, I feel that he has a point. But he was untreated, and he was unwilling, and he conspired for a long time, Kangxi Fang muttered: "Don't do it?" ”

"It still has to be done, and you can't make too much noise on the bright side and alarm the court!" Gao Shiqi was sure that Kangxi was anxious to use troops and did not want the situation to be shaken, and said categorically, "Transfer Zuo and Zhao back to Beijing, strictly reprimand, and seize the official and return the stolen goods!" The troublemakers issued a secret order to investigate. When the matter of Taiwan is over, the Lord goes on a southern tour, and the talented Jane who is indeed in the scroll comes up. In this way, the selected tributes will not be burned, and the fallen talents will receive the grace of special simplicity. Wouldn't it be better to see their rulers, to promote their loyalty and integrity, and to punish those who are greedy and lawless? ”

When Kangxi heard this, he couldn't help but clasp his palms, and was about to say "It's up to you", but the words on his lips became: "I'm tired today, tomorrow I will summon the study and discuss with the officials of the Ministry of Rites!" ”

When he returned to Da Nei, it was already the end of the child, and Kangxi didn't turn over the cards again, and went to the Heart Cultivation Palace. The night's drama made him think so much that he couldn't sleep, so he simply put on his clothes. For the past three years, Kangxi has personally watched the stars every half month, never stopping. Although it is not a day today, since you can't sleep, why not stargaze? The eunuch Li Dequan was still boiling eagles under the corridor, and when he saw Kangxi coming out, he hurriedly came over to ask for peace, and asked the eunuch on duty to come and wait. Kangxi waved his hand and said: "I want to be alone and quiet, and it is annoying to surround a large group of people - Hai Dongqing has eaten well these days?" ”

"Wow!" Li Dequan got up and replied: "-Haidong is young and strong!" It's good to eat, but it also has to be released, it is in a hurry, and it bites and screams when it sees people. There are no minions in front of them, and they won't eat a bite......"

Kangxi didn't pay any attention to it, got off the danqi, and took a walk in the silent patio. The cold waning moon in the middle of the sky is just like a jade hook, if it is bright and dark, the top of the palace wall, the corner of the palace, the stupid, and the bronze horse are plated with a layer of silver light, and everything is shrouded in shadows, trance, true and false, and there seems to be nothing.

"How fast!" Kangxi leaned on the glass wall, looked up at the starry sky, and couldn't help but breathe a deep sigh. Twenty-two years ago, he took the throne from this patio to the Qianqing Palace, and he reigned in the world. But the scenes that happened here in Layue ten years ago, he can't forget until he dies. Wu Sangui's son, Wu Yingxiong's assassin Huangfu Baozhu, jumped from the roof of the house in the west and surrendered to him on the spot. Yang Qilong rebelled on the twenty-third day of the month, and there was a riot here, and Mu Zixu and Wu Dan punished more than a dozen eunuchs in a row to suppress the arrogance of the anti-party...... In the past few years, there have been no such things, but the major affairs of the court seem to be more burdensome and heavier than before, and he can't breathe. Suo Etu and Mingzhu, the two minions, Kangxi was so good eight years ago that he was as fat as wearing a pair of pants, but now he is fighting openly and secretly, and it is becoming more and more fierce - Kangxi is not worried about their discord, there should be a little distance between his cronies and ministers, but it is not orthodox to make such a fuss!

Kangxi patted the cold copper crane and paced a few more steps, still turning over in his heart: Suo Etu is the maternal uncle of the crown prince, and it is reasonable to protect the prince in everything. But Mingzhu, a very clever person, how can he be embarrassed by the prince? The prince wore a strange dress, and instigated the official to impeach? The doll who is only ten years old, what is in his way? Mingzhu doesn't know that sooner or later the prince will be the emperor, aren't you afraid of destroying his door? Kangxi's eyes were blazing, and he guessed this mystery repeatedly.

"Lost child!" Kangxi's eyes flashed, and he remembered the story of "no mother's child" told by his nursing mother and grandmother when he was a child, and if he has a stepmother, he will have a stepfather: "It must be this idea." The prince has no mother, no one in the palace to protect him, and I am in the prime of life, and there will inevitably be a matter of favoring my mother and taking the heir in the future! Kangxi looked at the harem, smiled coldly, and paced forward again.

At this time, it was the end of the ugly hour, and a long blurred light appeared in the dark blue night sky northwest of the sky. In vain, like someone who dipped a pen in mercury and gently wiped it. Its appearance immediately attracted all of Kangxi's attention. He rubbed his eyes, and felt that it was still not very clear, so he hurried back to the hall and took out a kaleidoscope-shaped thing from the top of the large gold cabinet - this is a thing that the Westerner Zhang Cheng paid tribute from Europa, called a "telescope". To this end, Kangxi Enzhun built three Catholic churches and one Orthodox church in the area of Suzhou and Hangzhou. At that moment, Kangxi adjusted the focus, looked at it, and couldn't help but shout: "Comet!" ”

It's a comet, which has just appeared, and is moving southeast of the constellation Violet at imperceptible speed. Gradually, I was able to see clearly without a telescope.

"So close to the Emperor Star!" Kangxi's heart sank, and he shouted: "Someone! ”

"Wow!" Li Dequan brought four eunuchs on duty at night.

"Chuan Qin Heavenly Prison Justice!"

The appearance of the comet soon aroused serious concern among the government and the opposition. But Kangxi did not immediately issue an order for the ministers to discuss. It was not until the fifth day of the court meeting that the ministers of the various ministries and institutes were ordered to express their opinions. At five o'clock that day, the minister went to the study and took a sedan chair to Qianqingmen. There are sixty or seventy people above the Shangshu and Shilang in each department, some of them stand in front of the eaves, some of them talk to each other, and some of them look to the northwest in Tianjie, waiting, while thinking about how to deal with Kangxi's questioning. The pearl raw material Kangxi must have ordered the sign in advance to ask for it, who knew that after waiting for a long time there was no news, and when he called the eunuchs of the Qianqing Palace to ask, he learned that Kangxi fasted for five days, and went to the Temple of Heaven early this morning to worship, and when he came back, he was ordered by the Empress Dowager to force Xiao Yu to see the ministers for an hour. It wasn't until the beginning of the morning that Kangxi's Chengyu was carried into the heavenly street. Xiong Cixu and the others knelt on the ground and silently waited for him to enter the Qianqing Gate.

"Everyone knows about the comet." Kangxi sat down, waited for the ministers to enter in turn, saluted, and said straight to the point, "This kind of thing has a lot of history, it's not unusual, but it's not the right time or place to come out now, so I summoned you to discuss." He calmly took a sip of the fresh milk juice that had just come in, and said, "What the Empress Dowager just said is very reasonable, there is a change in the sky to think about personnel, but what changes in this day must be carefully considered - what to say, there is no need to taboo." ”

Mingzhu was still frightened by the incident in Nanfu, and was afraid that someone would take advantage of the topic, so he moved his knees forward half a step forward, and took the lead in saying: "The minister thinks that the appearance of comets in the past is mostly due to the country's use of troops. The comet came out of the northwest and moved to the emperor star, just in response to the invasion of the Quasi-Geer Department into southern Mongolia, and in the Heilongjiang region, there was a Rakshasa general Morinik who led the Cossacks to plunder our wooden city and Yaksa city, so the celestial signs warned, ask the saint to learn from it! ”

"The matter of Heilongjiang and Junggar is not a day, and Heilongjiang is in the northeast." Suo Etu said gloomily, "The Lord has stepped forward and ordered Bahai and Zhou Peigong to suppress it, and it has been quite effective-why this day is still changing, the ministers are really stupid and don't know the reason. "Suo Etu has a belly fire for the affairs of Jiangnan Qiufu. Because of Kangxi's advocacy of strict handling, he has dismissed the tops of several magistrates with thunder and lightning under the subordinates, but as soon as the decree was issued, the "righteous murderer" chief examiner and deputy chief examiner were only dismissed and returned home, and the house officials were only fined and cast. Suo Etu saw that Kangxi was silent and was about to play again, Li Guangdi said aloud beside him: "The minister thinks that the northwest and northeast are irrelevant. It is the villain in the court, who disrupts the country's politics, disrupts the country's talents, and corrupts the law to deceive the lord. So the comet is on the side of Ziwei! ”

This was said very generously, and the ministers of the ministry were all moved. Kangxi thought for a while, leaned over and asked, "Who is Li Guangdi referring to, you might as well say it clearly." Li Guangdi was stunned, knowing that it must be a pearl, but there was no evidence. After a long time, he said: "The minister doesn't know the inside story, so he can't really tell the truth." However, the severity of the crime and the light punishment are obvious to all. Pray that the Lord's sacred heart will observe it, and it will not be difficult to find the villain, and when the villain is gone, the comet will disappear by itself! ”

Gao Shiqi has always been smooth sailing, and it is the first time he has encountered such a direct threat to his own safety, looking at Suo Etu's face that is neither yin nor yang, he can't help but shudder in his heart. But at this time, he played rashly, which was tantamount to "there is no silver three hundred taels here", and helped Suo Etu find out who the "villain" was, so he made up his mind: as long as you don't name Lao Tzu, you are talking about someone else. As soon as his heart was quiet, his face was calm, and he just stared at Kangxi in a daze. Xiong Cixu didn't know the internal grievances and didn't dare to speak up; Mingzhu knew that as soon as she opened her mouth, she would be attacked by more people, so she kept silent. If the courtiers in the study don't speak, who is willing to be in the limelight? For a moment, the air in the temple seemed to freeze, solidify, and be as silent as death.

Kangxi drank his milk quietly, glanced at the minister, and looked at Liang Qingbiao, the head of the household department, and said with a smile: "Today's speaker is not guilty." Liang Qingbiao, you seem to have something to say? ”

"Yes!" Liang Qingbiao cleared his throat and said in a loud voice: "Since the warning from heaven must be the biggest thing, what is the biggest thing in the imperial court today?" He asked himself, and then said, "Naturally, it's Taiwan!" I remember that the rebellion of the 'three feudatories' was roughly decided, and my emperor once issued a clear edict saying that today's great reversal has been leveled, the sores have not recovered, the army is dismissed, the people are raised, and the world is resting - the minister listened to the decree at that time, and he did not feel happy and grateful, thinking that the world would be peaceful. Unexpectedly, the holy oracle was issued in less than two years, and somehow the emperor changed his original intention? Taiwan is a corner of the country, stubbornly entrenched, fighting across the sea, and hurting the people and money! Where is the so-called 'striking army and raising the people'? I also heard that the emperor was still planning a war in the west, so it seems that the so-called 'rest with the world' is not empty talk when the army is being raised year after year? ”

As soon as this Liang Qingbiao opened his mouth, it was a killer move. At the beginning of his withdrawal from the "Three Feudatories", he went to Shangzhixin in Guangdong as a minister to pass the decree, and fled back to Beijing after nine deaths. If we can change our ways, withdraw Shi Langshui's plan to recuperate, and abandon the plan of the western expedition, the comet will pass away quietly......"

Kangxi listened to him talk nonsense, saying that he broke his word, and his face turned white. Thinking that he once said that "the speaker is not guilty", he endured it a few times before he heard his high arguments, and asked coldly: "Finished?" Is there anything else? ”

Liang Qingbiao had already heard that Kangxi's tone was wrong, and kowtowed again and again: "Rong Chen finished playing - the minister thought that the Fujian general Lai Ta played it was the words of Lao Cheng to seek the country - North Korea, Xu Fu's Japan, with Taiwan as the basket, has no trouble with the world, no quarrel with people, and the coastal life will never be in danger!" ”

"Taiwan has been part of China's territory since the Han Dynasty, and it has been under the jurisdiction of Jinjiang County in the Song Dynasty. Liang Qingbiao, you are the same as Raita, you don't learn and don't know how to be a teacher! Kangxi stared at Liang Qingbiao fiercely, just for the promise of "the speaker is not guilty", he pressed it and did not roar, "I said the words 'rest with the people', but now the land is not complete, the gold is short, there are stubborn separatists in the sea area, and there are uneasy people in the four places, dare to ask you Liang Qingbiao, how can I 'rest'?" Although he was not angry, his anger was overflowing, and he said everything loudly. Liang Qingbiao hung his head, thinking about how to reply, and Li Guangdi behind him said loudly: "The minister thinks that what the Lord says is dignified, Liang Qingbiao does not know the principles of heaven and ignores humanity, which is really stupid!" The sky is like the northwest, and the comet moves to the southeast of the emperor star, just in time for the heavenly soldiers to sweep the sea - an edict should be issued immediately, ordering Shi Lang's army to cross the sea, plough the court and sweep the holes, and can complete its work in one battle! ”

Li Guangdi was the first to send a letter to invite troops to attack Taiwan, because there were few people in favor of it, and he suffered from how many days he was angry, so he took advantage of Kangxi's severe reprimand of Liang Qingbiao, and stepped forward to add a sentence. Liang Qing's specimen was speechless, Li Guangdi was agitated with words, and he was reluctant again, kowtowed: "Although Li Guangdi knows the principles of heaven and is humane, he doesn't know how easy it is to use troops and raise food!" The minister thought that even if he wanted to take Taiwan, he should wait for the smooth transportation of water and the dispatch of troops and rations. You must know that the defeat in World War I will cause endless troubles in the southeast - pray for the Lord to learn from it! ”

"That makes sense." Kangxi frowned and sighed, and said, "Taiwan, listen to what Shi Lang and Yao Qisheng have to say, and then make a decision." With that, he stood up, slowly got off the dragon seat, paced in a large group of kneeling courtiers, raised his voice and said: "It is the words of the sages that a gentleman fears the destiny of heaven, but the reason for the change of heaven must be extremely cautious. In the eighth year of Kangxi, the comet came out, and some people said that it was unfavorable to me, and I just worshiped in that year; Ten years of earthquakes, rumors in Beijing swarmed, and the town was quiet and safe; In the winter of the twelfth year, the comet reappeared, Wu Sangui rebelled, and I decided to withdraw the feudal domain - what was the result? You've all seen it! I advise you to be virtuous and capable, not loyal and martyr. If there are virtuous ministers, there will be wise kings, and if there are capable ministers, there will be rulers; Out of the loyal ministers, it is the time when the king faints and the country is in turmoil. The ministers and workers asked themselves at night, did you think more about what you said and did for me, for the people, and for the community, or did you think more about your own own fame and reputation and building a gang to build a party? - Scattered Dynasty. ”