The edict of the imperial court to withdraw the feudal domain was still being delivered station by station, but Wu Sangui had already received an urgent letter from Wu Yingxiong. When it is full, it is only half a moon away from the day Kangxi went to Ziyun.

At that time, Wu Sangui invited Gan Wenkun, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, to watch "Lost Space Chop" in the mansion of the prince of Wuhua Mountain. Because there were foreign guests, Zhang's Fujin and the concubines put down the curtains in the pavilion, ate tea, ate melon seeds, and talked and watched the play.

Gan Wenkun looked at it for a while and couldn't sit still, because he had an appointment with Zhu Guozhi, the governor of Yunnan, in advance, and had a secret discussion on important matters in the evening. Although it was not explicitly stated, the two tacitly knew that Xiong Cixu had a secret letter coming, and it was very likely to be related to the prince opposite. Gan Wenkun is in his forties this year, he is very young among the governors, with a white square face and a slight chin leaning forward, looking a little stubborn, maybe Kangxi took a fancy to this and sent him to be the governor.

According to the strategy explained by Kangxi when he was leaving, Gan Wenkun held the purpose of "squeezing" as soon as he came to Yunnan, and co-authored with Zhu Guozhi to give Wu Sangui a problem, and did everything possible to make Wu Sangui's life uncomfortable and unhappy, and the idea of "leaving" came to mind.

But Wu Sangui was very angry, not only did he disapprove of Gan Wenkun's stubbornness, but he often praised him, but scolded Zhu Guozhi whenever he met people. scolded Zhu Guozhi for being humble and incompetent, which made Gan Wenkun feel embarrassed, so he changed "squeezing" to two peace and no longer looking for trouble. In June last year, Wu Sangui learned from nowhere that Miao Min had set fire to the county government and ordered Gan Wenkun to lead the army to conquer and suppress it. At this time, it was the rainy season, and the miasma was thick, and before they had gone out of three hundred miles, the Green Battalion soldiers fell ill by a third. Gan Wenkun had no choice but to report for help, and Wu Sangui severely reprimanded him and ordered him to return. When he arrived in Dali, the king's order arrived again, ordering him to leave the original team behind, and then bring two battalions of soldiers to the Tibetan border to quell the rebellion. Before the army arrived, they said that the enemy had fled...... After tossing for half a year, a "thief" disappeared, and Gan Wenkun was tired. At this point, Gan Wenkun knew that this old man with a smile on his face was not easy to mess with. In front of Zhu Guozhi, although he did not have a soft mouth, he was also vigilant day and night, and he no longer provoked Wu Sangui.

After watching the play for a while, he couldn't sit still, Gan Wenkun got up and said with a smile: "Today, I have experienced the new opera team of the prince, and it is really good to read, sing, and do." However, Zhu Zhongcheng is giving a lecture to Wuju there, this was my messenger, it is already disrespectful to go late, and it is even worse not to go......" Wu Sangui smiled and was about to stay, and just said, "This play is being sung to the wonderful, so it will be late for a while, He ......" The word "nuisance" has not yet been exported, and suddenly there was a commotion on the stage, and the generals who were watching the play below all laughed wildly. It turned out that "Zhuge Liang" and "Ma Yan" on the stage scuffled together! Wu Sangui's face sank and he ordered: "Call both of them over!" ”

Two little actors, the civil official pretending to be Zhuge Liang and the eggplant official pretending to be Ma Tan, came over slowly. "Zhuge Liang"'s beard was thrown somewhere, the cuffs and collar of "Ma Yan" were torn to shreds, and both of them were so aggrieved that they grinned and wanted to cry. Gan Wenkun took the opportunity to leave. Wu Sangui sent him out.

This farce was staged by Concubine Ji "Eight-sided Guanyin" at the instigation of "Zhuge Liang", and deliberately let them mess up the play to make fun of them. There is a passage in "Lost Street Pavilion", Zhuge Liang gave advice to Ma Jian and said: "Ma Jian - come here with your ears!" ”

Ma Tan should go out of work according to the regulations and bow down to listen quietly, but Zhuge Liang on the stage whispered to him: "Tell your mother to wait in the back room of Lie Cuixuan, and I will go tonight!" "The eggplant official who pretends to be a horse is newly favored by the "Four-Faced Guanyin", how can he suffer this dumb loss for nothing? His next line should be a "clever plan", so while saying the words, he stomped the civil official's feet. "Zhuge Liang" immediately burst into tears and slapped "Ma Yan" with a "snap......

After the two of them finished crying, Wu Sangui couldn't help laughing, and the two "Guanyin" and their relatives also covered their mouths with handkerchiefs and laughed uncontrollably. Some of the people at the banquet were grinning, some were bending over and squatting, some were coughing and panting, and they all leaned back and laughed. Wu Sangui gave an order: "Reward!" Immediately, someone brought a large basket of money, and when it was tilted on the stage, the whole stage was full of dazzling "use" - the actors rushed up, threw themselves on the ground, and hugged the money in their arms......

In the midst of the chaos, a lieutenant quietly came to Wu Sangui, whispered a few words, and handed over a letter. Wu Sangui said with a smile while opening the letter: "Don't underestimate the 'use' money cast in Yunnan, which is now popular in Heilongjiang ......" As he spoke, he read the letter, his face became gloomy, and he pondered for a long time, and said to Hu Guozhu and others, "A few of you come to Lie Cuixuan, and the rest of the officials are still here to eat and enjoy the bar......

"The emperor has withdrawn the feudal domain!" When he came to Lie Cuixuan, Wu Sangui said to everyone. When he said these words, Wu Sangui's whole body seemed to be immersed in cold ice water, and his bluish-white face looked relaxed and unfocused, "This is all a good start for Lao Shang and Xiao Geng, and they have made such a decent thing!" ”

No one squeaked for a moment. Hu Guozhu looked at Wang Yongning who was sitting next to him uneasily; Wu Yingqi and Deputy Commander Gao Dajie glanced at each other, and hurriedly dodged away; Xia Guoxiang only cared about smoking hookah, snoring one after another; Wang Shirong, who was sitting on the last seat, thrust the jade flute that never left his body into his waist, holding the letter in both hands and frowning carefully. Wu Sangui looked at this group of people, remembered Liu Xuanchu, who died of illness last winter, and couldn't help sighing. After a long time, he suddenly asked with annoyance, "What do you mean?" To withdraw, or not to withdraw? ”

"Life and death have come to an end!" Xia Guoxiang's eyes were gloomy, as if he was talking to himself. When the number one strategist Liu Xuanchu died, he told him all the plans and strategies. He felt that he was now the most important strategist by Wu Sangui's side, and he became much deeper than before, "Don't be anxious, don't be impatient, let's discuss a foolproof plan together!" ”

"What's there to discuss, let's do it!" Wu Yingqi's eyes were blazing, and he said loudly: "With my Yungui mountains and rivers, strong financial resources, and hundreds of thousands of troops, it is a good time to create an ancient imperial industry, and you must not miss it!" "He has already calculated that as soon as he does it, Wu Yingxiong will die, and the huge family business will be his.

Gao Dajie listened, gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Shi's words are not bad at all!" The Manchu Dynasty is civil and military, the world's good generals, which one dares to compete with the prince? This is also true, Ao Bai, who can fight, has been banned, and the old and old Gao Longzhong is unbearable, and Suo Etu was still a child soldier when he entered the customs. After 30 years of not being in battle, it is difficult to find a general who can fight habitually. The only ones who have not stopped using troops are Wu Sangui and ***. Even if he strictly abides by neutrality and sits back and watches the success or failure, it will be enough for Kangxi.

"In what name?" Hu Guozhu gently put the snuffbox on the table and said: "The teacher must be famous and upright!" ”

"Support the third prince of Zhu as the emperor, restore the Ming Dynasty, and be upright!" Xia Guoxiang had already thought about it at this time, pulled out the cigarette core, blew it with a "poof", leaned back and said: "The most important thing at the moment is timing!" When the Qin mission came, we first dealt with them, and we secretly prepared up and down, transferred troops, grain, and horses, and contacted the two kings of ***, Sun Yanling, Geng Shang, Tibetan lamas, and the king of Burma also ......"

Before the words fell, I heard a shouting outside. Le Cuixuan's guards were probably blocking someone. A woman was yelling, "You're the opposite, you won't even call me in!" Then I heard a crisp slap of "pop" - Fujin Zhang's whirlwind broke in, grabbed the stunned Wu Sangui and scolded: "You old pig-headed crazy, a backward corpse who can't make a career in three lifetimes!" What are you doing here to destroy the hearts of the nine clans? ”

"Where...... What do you say? Wu Sangui said in amazement.

Zhang searched with his eyes, snatched the letter that had just reached Wang Yongning's hand, hurriedly read a few lines, and cried: "You still say no!" What the fuck is this? Why don't you call me to see it? "When I cried, I grabbed and hit him." You let go! Wu Sangui was already upset, and when he saw that the yellow-faced mother-in-law came to disturb again, he couldn't help but be furious, and shook off Zhang's stumbling and said: "There is no heaven and earth, and there is no father, how can there be a son?" My life is not guaranteed, how can I take care of so much? ”

"Fu Jin is angry...... Wu Yingqi saw that they were making a fuss, so he was busy persuading, and when Fang said a word, he was spat on by Zhang's "bah": "Don't be your mother's spring dream!" Looking at the emperor who killed my son, you are here to be the son of this world? Heaven and earth are looking at the sun, you say I am a wooden man? As he spoke, he burst into tears.

"Drag her out!" Wu Sangui commanded with a wave of his hand.

Zhang Shi was stunned for a moment, and suddenly pounced like crazy: "You hanged ghost horse butt spirit, shameless death!" First played Chen Yuanyuan, Chen Yuanyuan didn't like it, and what kind of four-sided Guanyin and eight-sided Guanyin played, so that these two goblins and foxes could see me black! I don't care about anything anymore, and now I call this bunch of horn dogs, sycophants, and little reptiles so much that I don't even want my son! Are you worthy of the ancestral gods? You say you are Han, Han people have you like this? If you are a Han Chinese, don't shave your head in the first place! Everyone wanted to come forward to persuade a few words, but when they heard this crazy lady scold the people present without missing anything, they made it ridiculous. Wang Shirong knew that Chen Yuanyuan could talk to this unreasonable Fujin, but when he saw that everyone had no plan, he quietly walked out and asked someone to go to Jingci Nunnery to invite Chen Yuanyuan.

Wu Sangui trembled with anger, shook his head again and again, and said, "Come on, what does this look like?" I'm so angry that I can't get up in one breath before I stop! As he was talking, the two apprentices in Chen Yuanyuan's nunnery, Guan Xin and Guan Xing, flocked in with civil officials, eggplant officials, treasure officials, and Xingguan to do a little trick, and even coaxed this Fujin to Chen Yuanyuan.

"What a family misfortune!" Wu Sangui sat down dejectedly and sighed, "If it weren't for the sake of Xiong'er, I would have been- alas! ”

Although Fu Jin couldn't hold his breath, his words still made sense. The son is not in Yunnan, which is really not a trivial matter. Xia Guoxiang said coldly, he was already thinking about what was behind Wu Sangui. Among Wu Sangui's nephews, only Wu Yingxiong is a little complete, and he is expected to be the successor of the emperor's industry, but now he is trapped in the tiger's den, what should he do? He patted his head and thought deeply: "The 'secret preparation' and 'circumstance' I talked about just now are also because of this matter. Baozhu died, and the prince became more and more difficult to deal with in Beijing, but Zhu Fuxiang and Liu Tiecheng, who were holding the calf on the one hand, rose up from the village, first stirred up in the area of Yanzhou Mansion to attract the imperial court, and then sent someone to sneak into Beijing to welcome the prince back; On the other hand, he asked the prince to make more ideas about Yang Qilong and them, and find a way to escape from the capital division. Xia Guoxiang thought about it, knowing that this was a difficult thing, so he had to reluctantly do it.

Just when Lie Cuixuan was in trouble, the conversation between Gan Wenkun and Zhu Guozhi in the signing room of the governor of Yunnan City Yamen had also entered the main topic. Gan Wenkun drank wine to his lips but didn't drink it, and asked Zhu Guozhi with a smile: "Brother Huayue, you invite your brother to come, won't you just eat this Moutai bar?" ”

"How dare you invite you if you have nothing to do?" Zhu Guozhi held the back of the chair with one hand, and wiped the sweat oozing from his head with a gauze with the other hand: "Xiong Dongyuan has sent a letter, and the edict of withdrawing the feudal domain will arrive within a month, asking you and me to make some preparations." You are the governor, and the military affairs of Yunnan and Guizhou provinces are on my brother, and my brother wants to hear your opinions. ”

"You don't know how capable I am?" Gan Wenkun drank wine into his bowels, sighed and said, "An empty shelf governor!" I'm not afraid of your brother's jokes, even the personal follower Goshha that I brought with me is not completely reliable - they were all bought for silver! It's a pity to think about it, the emperor asked me to trip the leg of the surname Wu, and I got to this point, what kind of mistake is this? ”

Zhu Guozhi saw that he was sad and sentimental, stroked the wine glass and looked out the window, and said slowly: "We do our best, it depends on the will of God." Wu Sangui's beloved son is detained in Beijing, maybe he will throw a mouse bogeyman and not change? Roughly within the year, you and I will be safe. As soon as King Pingxi leaves the country, this matter will be easy to handle. Although my brother has no troops in his hands, I am confident that the people are still willing to listen to me. ”

"Brother Yunshan, I advise you to stop this thought!" Gan Wenkun got up and went to the window to take a look, turned around and put his hands on the case, lowered his voice and said, "There is no other way to do it now." As far as my brother knows, King Pingxi's garrison in Dali is coming to Yunnan Mansion at the same time as the starry night, and if he fails to deploy properly, my brother should immediately go to Beijing to report on his work - as soon as the emperor's will arrives, he will be guilty of leaving again! Brothers are in charge of military affairs, and they are not allowed to leave the country without permission for a moment! ”

"How can it be!" Zhu Guozhi shook his hand again and again, "My brother doesn't know, I can't squeeze Wu Sangui away, I can't leave Yunnan even a step!" This is also the special purpose! Since you are the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, you might as well go to Guizhou and make some arrangements, no matter what, it is better to be prepared than to be unprepared! ”

This seems to be a feasible expedient measure. Gan Wenkun groaned: "That's it." Brother, it's not that he is not prepared at all - it turns out that Fu Honglie, the prefect of Chaozhou, do you know him? ”

"I've had a one-sided relationship, and I'm a very capable person. Isn't it time to be reappointed as the prefect of Cangwu? Zhu Guozhi said: "But I heard that he has a good friendship with the dead Liu Xuanchu and Wang Shirong!" Gan Wenkun smiled and said: "The ancients did not use personal relationships to destroy justice, and Fu Honglie can be described as his person. There he trained the militia, and heard that there were thousands of them. When things were urgent, my brother and Chin sent him to do so. He also has a relationship with Sigege, as long as Sun Yanling doesn't have an accident, it doesn't matter for a while. Zhu Guozhi listened, his eyes jumped, but the time dimmed again, he didn't answer Gan Wenkun's words, but got up and made a move, and suddenly said: "Oh, please come and have one more thing to please, I thank you in advance - Zong Ying came out!" ”

Gan Wenkun was surprised, a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy jumped up and down to the front hall, and asked Zhu Guozhi, "Daddy, what do you want to tell your son?" ”

"This is your Uncle Gan, come and see you!"

The child was still a little shy when he saw the living person, turned around with a red face, and knelt down on one knee to Gan Wenkun.

"Get down on your knees!" Zhu Guozhi suddenly said sharply, "Your Uncle Gan and I are like flesh and blood, and you can be regarded as your own uncle!" He's going to Guizhou, and he's going to take you with him, but—okay? By then, his voice had choked up.

Gan Wenkun fully understood his intentions. A sour and hot thing surged up his throat, his eyes were also red, he hurriedly grabbed Zhu Zongying with both hands, and said with a reluctant smile: "Brother Shi is not studying in his hometown, come here - Brother Huayue, don't say anything." Like you, I don't have any family members, and I also have a son who is studying with him, so let him get along with him day and night! ”

"Please!" Zhu Guozhi smiled miserably, "Zong Ying, in three or two months, my father will go to Guizhou to see you-go down and prepare, and I will leave in a while!" Seeing Zhu Zongying running down happily, Zhu Guozhi's heart was sour, and his eyes were full of tears.

Only then did Gan Wenkun know that Zhu Guozhi had made up his mind to die, his face turned pale all of a sudden, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Guizhou is not a safe place!" Governor Cao Shenji and Admiral Li Benchen are already the people of the King of Pingxi, and they are afraid that they will be entrusted by their brothers! However, with my son here, there is Ling Gongzi, and I can only give my brother this guarantee. ”

"It's better than me." Zhu Guozhi has regained his calm, "This place is close to Wuhua Mountain. Wu Sangui hates me so much that my teeth itch, and Admiral Zhang Guozhu is also as hearty as Wu Sangui! He will raise an army, and the first one will be to kill me. Life and death matter. It is a blessing for him that the son has been saved; I can't keep it, I'm sorry for you, I-don't care anymore. ”

Gan Wenkun stood dumbfounded, and after a while, he asked again, "What else did Xiong Dongyuan say in his letter?" Zhu Guozhi arranged for the child, a little relieved, and said with a sigh of relief: "There are still a few words that are not urgent." A river that was originally evacuated has rebelled, entrenched in Shandong, and some people in the provinces are also ready to move, and the emperor is now worried about changes in the middle of the retreat of the feudal army to the north, so he told us to prepare, as soon as Wu Sangui leaves Yunnan, he quickly cleans up the situation here. Gan Wenkun couldn't help laughing and said: "Xiong Ci is a Taoist and a Confucian, how can he think so carefully, I'm afraid it's the emperor's intention, right?" ”

"It is the will of God, and it is for this reason that my brother burned this letter." Zhu Guozhi said solemnly, "The emperor still has something to say, tell the two of us to take care, try to contact Fu Honglie, and be careful of changes in Sun Yanling's department." He also said that in the event of a critical situation, you and I could try to avoid leaving the country for the time being. ”

"The emperor treats his subordinates like this, how can I be willing to leave the country to survive?" Gan Wenkun's face swelled with blood, "Last year, my mother was sick, and the emperor sent a special imperial doctor to my house for consultation; Fan Chengmo suffered from malaria in Fujian, and he was sent to cinchona cream in an expedited manner for 600 miles! The courtiers were so favored that they could not plan for the emperor in the court, so they had to repay them with death! ”

As he spoke, Zhu Guozhi nodded frequently. What reassures him is that his parents have been taken to Beijing by Kangxi in an car and purple wheel. Zhu Guozhi said angrily: "Brother can be like this, he is really a confidant." But we're preparing for the worst at the moment, and if nothing happens, we'll be shocked, that's the best. When Zheerken and Fu Dali arrived, they naturally had to make some careful deliberation - you should go to Guizhou to listen to my letter! ”

At this time, it was the third watch in the middle of the night, and the dark clouds that had accumulated in the sky were getting heavier and heavier, as if they could not bear its pressure, and finally there was a rumbling thunder. Leaping lightning tore at the clouds, illuminating the earth and extinguishing it. The wind rose from the end of the green ping, swept up the floating soil on the ground, and became unruly and violent, and the sand and lime made the roof tiles rustle. Zhu Guozhi rolled up the Hunan curtain high, and said Haoran: "The mountain rain is coming, and the wind is full of buildings......"