The spring of the ninth year of Kangxi seems to have come exceptionally late. The solar term of the second dragon raising its head in February has passed, the snow on the palace of the Forbidden City has not yet frozen, and a thin layer of frost hangs on the edge of the gilded copper jar, and although the water in the jar changes every day, it is still full of spider-silk fines. The weather was very dry and cold.

Xiao Maozi, the eunuch in charge of the Yangxin Palace, waited for Kangxi's breakfast, and was ordered to go to the West Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace to exchange the recital box that Kangxi had reviewed at night, and when he turned back, Kangxi had already gone out. I saw that Zhang Wanqiang, the eunuch of the Six Palaces, was sweeping the floor, dusting and wiping the table with Hou Wen, Gao Min and other eunuchs, so he rolled up his sleeves to help clean up, and asked Zhang Wanqiang with a smile: "Father-in-law Zhang, long live the lord?" ”

"Sigege came back from Zhaoling, Long Live Lord was so happy that he ran away without waiting for a sedan chair." Zhang Wanqiang took a side of the inkstone, grinded the ink and replied, "This is in Chuxiu Palace, I'm afraid that Lafayette will also go!" ”

Sigege is the daughter of Kong Youde, the king of Dingnan, and her real name is Kong Sizhen. King Dingnan died in royal affairs, and the Empress Dowager adopted her in the palace and treated her like a daughter. Like Aunt Su Mala, she grew up watching Kangxi. I don't know why, after Emperor Shunzhi's big trip, Kong Sizhen, who had a strong temperament, suddenly became depressed. She was originally the daughter of Jiangmen, and she had martial arts, so she asked for permission to stay in the mausoleum of the first emperor. The Empress Dowager couldn't resist it, so she made an exception and promoted her to a first-class guard, and she went to Zhaoling, and she has not entered the Beijing division for nine years. It's a rare thing to come back suddenly today.

Xiao Maozi didn't know about the root seedlings of this matter, and said with a smile while adjusting the cinnabar: "The emperor should be a little looser, since the bad things in Ao Zhongtang in May last year to now, seven hours a day to see people, criticize chapters, but also write, do arithmetic, these days there is nothing to do, even five more dusk, it is more difficult than a small family to earn food!" - How many nails can you hit if you are covered in iron? ”

"You're so clever!" Zhang Wanqiang pursed his bare chin, pulled the male duck and said with a smile, "You expect me to deliver these words to you in front of the emperor - it's true, last year today, who of us would dare to think that such a horizontal character in Ao Zhongtang would be gone!" Even the books that the drummers of the teahouse outside said may not be so lively! - This box is placed here, let's fight it today, and let the emperor play for a while! ”

"Stop, Grandpa Zhang! I'm going to refute you! Xiao Maozi made a grimace and smiled, "I said the same thing last time, the emperor's face sank, and you were still so scared that you couldn't speak." If it weren't for my little hairy being so scared that I farted on the spot, even you would have to end up! ”

This was in August last year, when the governor of Shandong, Yu Chenglong, was the governor of the river, and it was five drums in the morning when His Majesty saw him. Kangxi fell into his head at the end of the first night. Zhang Wanqiang and Xiao Maozi didn't have the courage to call Kangxi to get up, but they missed an hour, and they were called by Kangxi and scolded with a straight face, saying that Yu Chenglong was a feudal official, an important minister of the imperial court, and a eunuch who obstructed and bullied the big bureaucrats, and mistook military affairs, which was the crime of beheading.

During the reprimand, Xiao Maozi couldn't hold back and accidentally farted. Kangxi stared and asked, "What's wrong with you?" Xiao Maozi kowtowed and replied: "The slave knows that the sin is too big, and the ...... scared out" and then unexpectedly released another string, which made Kangxi laugh.

When it was mentioned at this time, Zhang Wanqiang also smiled, and said: "Good boy, you are a character!" Although he is slightly younger, his appearance is also full of heaven, the corners of the earth are round, and he looks blessed. It's a pity that the egg yolk is gone, and the sandalwood is used as a donkey trough, which spoils the material - don't you get out quickly, look at the clock, it's noon! ”

Xiao Maozi listened with a smile at first, and when he looked back, the needle on the bell had pointed to the beginning of the afternoon, and it was the time for Kangxi to read the chapter, so he patted his head and said: "Ah, don't make a mistake!" Then he ran out of the smoke and went straight to Chuxiu Palace.

Chuxiu Palace is very lively, the Empress Dowager sits on the soft chair commonly used by the Empress Hesheri's family, and there are a few concubines Niu Hulu, Wei Gong and a few promises and always there, and there is no rank of the palace maid Mo Ju, Xiao'e, Channi, Hongxiu holding a towel and waiting behind, Kangxi stood behind the Empress Dowager and gently beat the old man's back. Su Malagu is a monk, and the queen is the master, and she gave her a seat below. Only Kong Sizhen was a distant guest, and Da Heng'er sat opposite the Queen Mother, holding a teacup, and listened to the Queen Mother.

"You have been here all these years, others don't know how, I see that my temper and temperament have not changed at all!" The Empress Dowager smiled, "How can a woman be an official and never marry?" The girls in front of me, only you and Sister Man are special, and they are more arrogant than princesses. Sister Man doesn't talk about her anymore, although she has grown her hair, she is already a Bodhisattva. You are half a year old, an old girl in your twenties, how can you make it? No, I'm not afraid that people will count me behind my back, my own daughters have married one by one, and none of the adopted ones have married! He smiled as he spoke. As soon as he turned around, he caught a glimpse of Xiao Maozi coming in, and said, "Little Maozi, the boss, is here to urge your master to endure hardships again?" ”

As soon as Xiao Maozi entered the door, he heard this, and hurriedly knelt down to say goodbye, and said with a smile: "Where do the slaves dare?" This is all a charter set by Long Live Lord! ”

"I'm here today!" The Empress Dowager waved her hand and said, "It's rare that the four girls come back, ask their aunts and nephews to sit for a while, you can stand aside!" ”

Xiao Maozi kowtowed, and it was inconvenient to say hello one by one, so he only stepped forward to call Kong Sizhen a thousand times, and said with a smile: "Xiao Maozi has asked Sigege to say goodbye - Master Su Malagu is my aunt, I have heard that Sigege is like a sister to the master, and she is a distant guest, so I have to kowtow to you more!" In a moment, he recognized another godaunt.

"This is the chief eunuch in front of the emperor." Seeing that Kong Sizhen didn't know Xiao Maozi, the queen hurriedly smiled, "It's a person who is a good man, he has saved Sister Man'er's life, and he can climb the pole the most, and the fourth aunt is a little wary of him!" One sentence made everyone even laugh at Kong Sizhen.

"This Sun Yanling is a young man who is heroic, and he is a person who has been used by King Dingnan. I've seen it a few times, and my speech and demeanor are polite, which is very good. Kangxi smiled and said to Kong Sizhen, "Now that Lafayette is in charge, he points out the fourth aunt to him, which is really a match between heaven and earth." The fourth aunt will know when she sees it! ”

Xiao Maozi listened for a long time, and then he understood that he was going to assign Kong Sizhen to Kong Youde's subordinate Sun Yanling, and couldn't help but smile, so he turned his face to look at his own "vegetable household" (dry husband and wife) ,—— the palace maid Mo Ju standing behind the queen - Mo Ju turned his face and ignored him.

"Lafayette, the emperor and the mother have already said a lot, and they are all for my good." Kong Sizhen thought about it for a while, and finally sighed and said, "If I refuse, it's like I don't know how to lift, so ...... Then ...... Reluctantly obey his fate. I miss Kong Sizhen, since my father died, I have been supported by Lafayette, and like my daughter, I shouldn't have ......"

"That's right, that's it!" The Empress Dowager was afraid that she would mention the old matter with Shunzhi again, and when she saw her agree, she couldn't help but be overjoyed, so she intercepted and said, "It's the same as my daughter at all - Emperor, I mean Jin Sizhen is Princess Heshuo, what do you see?" ”

"What did the son say?" Kangxi was also very happy, "It should be like this!" ”

"Little Maozi listened?" The Empress Dowager said, "The fourth princess will marry, and the dowry should be generous!" ”

"Wow!" Xiao Maozi hurriedly responded, "It's all on the minions, according to Princess Heshuo's example, add five thousand silver-"

"Ten thousand!" Kangxi said loudly.

"Chirp—10,000!"

Aunt Su Mala was originally meditating on the side, but when she heard this, she couldn't help laughing and said: "Fourth sister, I don't care if I am a monk or not, I want to laugh at you, everyone is a noble husband and a wife, but you are a husband and a wife!" ”

"It's time," Kangxi turned to the front with a smile, and said to the Empress Dowager, "Grandson is going to the front of the Heart Cultivation Palace, there are a few folds, and I must approve them today." I was originally scheduled to see the Governor of Shaanxi today***, and I will see Sun Yanling tomorrow......"

Before the words were finished, I heard the sound of a cow roaring faintly from the southwest outside the palace, and several people in the hall were stunned for a moment, and then there was a louder cry that spread closer and closer, the palace began to tremble slightly, and a few palace lamps hanging in the corners of the palace swayed like a swing, and the doors and windows of the couch also shook like a pendulum. "Oh my God!" Xiao Maozi cried out in a lost voice, "What's the matter?" His face turned pale, Niu Hulu staggered, and his body shook and fell.

"Earthquake!" Queen Hesheri stood up in surprise and said sharply, "Little Maozi, Moju! A few of you are protecting Lafayette and the emperor, get out quickly! As he spoke, seeing that Mo Juwu was so frightened that he hurriedly stepped over a few steps, and ran to the courtyard with Xiao Maozi on the side of the Empress Dowager and ran to the courtyard without touching his feet. Niu Hulu and Mo Ju woke up in shock, and when they were busy helping Kangxi, Kong Sizhen rushed Kangxi out early. The two of them commanded the eunuchs and palace maids to carry a few chairs together and follow them out, placing the chairs on a piece of blue brick ground that was not against the wall. Kangxi came back to his senses at this time, paced two steps forward, and suddenly smiled and said to Niu Hulu: "What is your name?" Escaping from the famine is not like escaping from the famine, and begging for food is not like begging for food! ”

Two violent earthquakes came from the center of the earth, throwing the people present, the houses in the distance collapsed, raising a yellow fog, the Forbidden City was shrouded in gray, and the beams and pillars of the palace made a creaking sound. In the Chuxiu Palace, the queen, the concubine and the deacons of the whole class stood silently in the violently shaking courtyard, the empress dowager and Su Malagu sat with their palms closed and muttered Buddha, only Kangxi sat quietly in the middle and looked up at the heavens.

"Hooray!" The loud voice of Xiong Cishu came from the door of the hanging flower of Chuxiu Palace, "Chen Xiong Cizhu, Suo Etu, and Jieshu come to serve!" ”

"Come in!" Kangxi said loudly. The three ministers bowed in, and seeing that Kangxi was safe, they couldn't help but exhale and knelt down in turn.

At this time, just after noon, the earthquake came more violently. The majestic five phoenix towers, large and small houses, one street and two rows of shops, and palaces and pavilions dance together with the earth; The yellow dust and dark red clouds in the sky tumbled together, enveloping the universe in a dark cloud; After a while, the wind, hail, thunder and lightning all worked, and the purple-blue lightning shone on the frightened and terrifying faces on the street. From Yongdingmen, Hade Gate to Dongzhimen, people support the old and the young to snuggle together, the children struggle and cry in the arms of their mothers, but the adults look up at the sky with dull eyes one by one, praying for peace. From time to time, there was the sound of high-rise and dangerous buildings collapsing, and the whole city of Beijing was panicked like chickens and dogs barking, foxes and wolves howling.

Wei Dongting, the leader of the first-class guard Shanpu Battalion, and his cousin Shi Jianmei had only been together for three days. Since there was no one in Shi Jianmei's mother's house, Mrs. Xiong Cilu took her and gave her a return salute. originally said that she would come back tomorrow, but if this kind of thing happened, where could Shi Jianmei take care of this? He pulled out a manic jujube red horse from the stable of the Xiong family, pulled the reins and flew up, and galloped back to Hufang Bridge, Wei Dongting's official residence. Just passed the Xihua Gate, but saw her husband Wei Dongting wielding a sword and fighting with a red-capped military attache with a halberd in both hands, so he restrained his horse and watched intently.

The military attache was in his forties, a head taller than Wei Dongting, sitting firmly on a war horse like a half-iron tower, with a white face and beard, eyebrows like a lying silkworm, and his skills were very agile, and a pair of rotten silver halberds danced like a windmill. Wei Dongting was the guard with the highest martial arts in front of Kangxi, but because he was not good at horse fighting, no matter how he hooked and chopped, he always had the upper hand. Because Shi Jianmei was empty-handed, she didn't have time to think about it, so she pulled out a silver hairpin from her head, weighed it in her hand, and used it as a hidden weapon, and flew towards the back of the man's heart with a flick of her hand. Unexpectedly, the man was really good, and he turned backwards out of thin air on the horse, and the silver hairpin shot horizontally, just hitting Wei Dongting's sword, and was beaten without a trace. Shi Jianmei couldn't help but be furious, untied the girdle with a "snap", and jumped into the battle group. was fighting inextricably, when he suddenly heard a bell-like laughter at the city gate: "Hahahaha...... Brother Huchen, the newlywed Yan'er, the husband and wife are so interested in fighting the Kansai horse harrier together! ”

"Tujunmen!"

The three of them stopped together, and saw that it was the nine-gate admiral Tuhai with a sword, holding the edict in his hand, and shouted loudly: "Holy decree: *** immediately meet!" ”

Wei Dongting and *** joined forces. At this time, the earthquake had passed, and the vicinity of Chuxiu Palace had completely returned to calm. The aftershocks that hit from time to time, although the windows and doors of the main hall still made a clicking sound, were no longer so scary. Twenty palace maids and forty eunuchs outside the Danqi were lined up in order, and the stars were guarding around Kangxi, with two treasure fans and a long gauze screen behind them. Jieshu, Xiong Cilu and Suo Etu stood up and knelt aside, everything was no different from the daily pilgrimage.

Wei Dongting didn't go to court for a few days, and when he saw Kangxi kneeling and bowing, he got up and stood beside Kangxi. It was the first time to enter the Hajj, and when I was chatting in Shaanxi, although I had also heard some palace secrets, how the saint privately hired Wu Ciyou as a teacher, how to use Wei Dongting and a new teenager to capture and worship, but now I really meet these people, and I am excited and a little curious. While kneeling three times and knocking nine times to greet the salute, he peeked and saw Kangxi wearing green satin cool soap boots, wearing a sauce-colored Jiangxi silk cotton robe, and a stone blue single gold dragon coat, with no jewels on his body, standing jade, elegant demeanor, and looking at him with a smile. Kangxi couldn't stop glancing at himself again, so he bowed his body and said with a smile: "General Wang, please get up and speak!" ”

"Wow!" Loudly agreed, stood up.

"What a talent! I have heard for a long time that the general has a tiger's back and a bear's waist, and it really deserves its name! Kangxi praised him very much, he smiled and paced in front of ***, and said with a deep look, "I heard that because you did not follow the special order, you were blocked by Wei Dongting in Xihuamen diplomacy, I don't know what the outcome is?" ”

"General Wei is the Optimus Jade Pillar before the Holy Lord, how can the minister reach it!" I didn't expect Kangxi to be so easy-going, and his tight heart relaxed.

"Not necessarily." Kangxi looked up at the yellowing sky and sighed softly. Just after hearing this, the east side of the Taihe Palace had collapsed, and Yuqing Palace only left Chun Yudian unharmed, his heart was heavy, and after thinking about it, he turned around and asked: "I have entrusted Nalan and Mingzhu to Shaanxi, and the governor of Shanxi, Mo Luo, and the governor Bai Qing, have entered Beijing to ask for the guilt." You came from over there, how is this going? ”

I couldn't figure out the meaning of Kangxi's question, so I didn't speak for a while, and I replied after a long time: "Bai Qing's forehead has been dismissed from his post as guardian, and Mo Luo went to inspect Shanxi before the minister arrived, and Lord Ming has sent someone to pass it on." ”

"I didn't ask this," Kangxi said with a smile, "The people of Xi'an handed over the Wanmin fold, praised him for his integrity, and begged the court to forgive him from his serious crimes. ”

"Seriously!" He has never been on good terms with Mo Luo, but Mo Luo is a Qing official, and he has a good reputation in Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, so he can't tell lies. He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, cleared his throat and said: "Mo Luo has been an official for many years, and he has borrowed fifty taels of silver for his mother's birthday. ”

"I heard you're not on good terms with Morro?"

"Back to the emperor's words," *** hurriedly knelt down and replied, "The matter between the minister and General Morro and Varg is a personal grudge, and what the emperor asks is a state affair. ”

"Good!" Kangxi couldn't help but appreciate, turned around and sat on the chair and said loudly, "Minister of State, the social heavyweight, you should have this kind of energy-what are you from?" ”

When asked about his origin, ***'s body trembled, and he kowtowed again and again and replied: "The ancestors of the ministers are lowly, but they are from the treasury soldiers." ”

People from Kubing are rich and cheap, and although they are rich, they are looked down upon. Because of the heavy land of the silver treasury, I am afraid that the treasury soldiers will steal, so I have to strip naked when entering and leaving. However, every month, I couldn't support my family, so I had to use stones and garlic pestles to gradually expand my anus since I was a child, and when I left the warehouse, I carried silver pieces in my anus. This is a secret that everyone knows, and *** has always been regarded as a great shame and a deep secret. But the emperor couldn't reply truthfully when he asked, so the word "Kubing" didn't come out, his eyes were already full of tears, and his voice was a little choked.

Kangxi was also surprised, and sighed after a pause: "I didn't know that you were from such a humble background. Then he raised his voice and said generously, "Since Gu Weiwei's husband, there are many fierce heroes than Qing's humble background!" The big hero suffers from a lack of career support, and the rest is insignificant - Zhang Wanqiang! ”

"The minions are here!"

"Write a decree to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, *** move the family to take off their nationality and raise the flag, and change their affiliation-" Kangxi pondered for a moment, feeling that since he was a favor, it was better to be bigger, so he said decisively, "The Han army is the red flag!" ”

"Wow!"

Zhang Wanqiang pierced a thousand children on the spot, turned around and quickly exited Chuxiu Palace. was moved to tears, if it weren't for the fact that the king couldn't be rude, he would have cried and lost his voice, just weeping and kowtowing.

"You are so self-conscious," Kangxi said calmly, "I originally wanted to keep you in Beijing to serve, and we can see each other day and night, but in Pingliang, without a capable general like you, I am even more uneasy." There are a lot of troubles in the west and south, and the court wants to rely on your horse harrier! ”

The people next to him listened to these words lightly and plainly, but the "west" sounded like thunder in ***. He had already followed Hong Chengchou to the south, and after the pacification of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, he was changed to Wu Sangui, the king of Pingxi. Wu Sangui treats this *** transferred to his command is to undress and push food, which is better than his own children and nephews, even if he is transferred to Pingliang, Wu Sangui will receive tens of thousands of taels of silver from him every year. So these words came from Kangxi, and they meant something. Of course, those who hear it will also know it, and they can't help but show an attitude. Thinking of this, *** hurriedly kowtowed: "The emperor appointed the ministers to be specialized, and the ministers were sent to the heart, and the great grace of the ministers was as high as the sky and the sea was deep, and the ancestors of the ministers and the descendants of the ministers were under the ministers, if the ministers were grateful, not only shameless in the world, but also disdainful of the ancestors!" Relief Lord. Once there is something in the west and the south, although the ministers are full of liver and brains, they will not fail to live up to the grace of God! ”

"It's not that I don't believe in anyone," Kangxi looked a little excited, his eyes flashed, and only at this time could he see the sophistication and maturity that was not commensurate with his age, "I really can't bear to let a talent like you stay away from Beijing and endure hardships on the border." As he spoke, he picked up a pair of silver dragon leopard tail spears more than four feet long from the back of his seat, thought for a while, put one back again, and said in an accentuated tone: "These two guns were left to me by the emperor before me, and I have to list them in front of the horse every time I travel—I know that you are not happy over there, and in a few days there will be an edict to send Mo Luo to Beijing, and you can also allocate some to help me first." There's no way, more than half of the money has been taken away from people - you are a servant left by the first emperor, and it is not expensive to give anything else. Here I will give you a gun, and you will take it to Pingliang, and see the gun as if you were me; I left a branch by my side, and seeing a gun is like seeing Qing-" As he spoke, tears of bean size had flowed out, and Kangxi was moved by his words.

"Divine grace is great!" His face was pale, and he couldn't help sobbing with excitement, "Although the slave is full of liver and brains, he can't report it in case." Dare to exhaust the power of the humerus to serve the emperor! With that, he took the gun with trembling hands. Slowly resigned, just out of the hanging flower door, can no longer control the gratitude, actually hid his face and cried bitterly.