The ancestral residence of the Manchurians is a cool place, and they are most afraid of the heat of midsummer in the Central Plains, so after settling in the northwest, the treasury has a slight surplus, and Kangxi will build a summer resort in Chengde, and there are always three or four months to spend the summer every year. In the summer of this year, Kangxi went to Henan to inspect the flood prevention in Kaifeng, and when he returned to Beijing, he felt dizzy and afraid of getting hot again, so he moved to Changchun Garden. Changchun Garden is located in the western suburbs of Beijing, Nanhaidian, because it is in the south of the Old Summer Palace, so it is also called "Qianyuan", which was originally the villa of Li Wei, the Marquis of the Qing Dynasty in the former Ming Dynasty. In the forty-second year of Kangxi, while building the summer resort, he allocated 700,000 taels of internal funds to repair it, and gave it the name "Changchun". This garden is surrounded by long streams, inner Luo blue waves, winding paths in the park are secluded, and pavilions and pavilions are scattered. Although the flames of midsummer are in the sky, as soon as you enter the park, you will suddenly feel that the water is cool, and the moss is cold, and it is indeed a summer resort.

On the morning of the second day, Yinzhen and Yinxiang got up very early, and they did not sit in a sedan chair, and they came as soon as they hit the horse. After the Qingfan Temple, you will see the double gate of the stream in the micro-sun, there is a color workshop on the left and right, and several huge yellow gauze palace lamps are hung. The guards guarding the door flashed out and shouted: "In front of you is the forbidden place where the Holy Driver is stationed, except for those who ride horses in the Forbidden City, they will all enter on foot!" Yinzhen and Yinxiang hurriedly dismounted, and when the man approached, Yinxiang saw that it was Liu Tiecheng, a second-class guard, and said with a smile: "Hei Niu'er, it's you, what are you shouting?" ”

"Yo, it's the fourth master, the thirteenth master!" Liu Tiecheng was originally a water bandit, and was later recruited, because of his meritorious service in the Western Expedition, he became a second-class shrimp, nicknamed Black Bull, and Yinxiang was very familiar with him. Hearing what Yinxiang said, he hurriedly approached the two to say goodbye, and said: "The prince lived in the garden last night, and he had something to say, saying that the fourth master and the thirteenth master will definitely come in today." Please wait, I'll go in and hand over the sign. With that, he bowed down and entered the color workshop. It's okay to be idle at this time, when Yinzhen looked at the square carefully, he saw that on the top of the five-color brocade wall, the roots of the kudzu vine and the dragon were staggered, forming the four characters of "longevity without borders", and the algae whiskers were hanging down and connected to the ground. The gold-lacquered red pillar next to it reads the Lishu couplet:

The two places are towering to the sky, the sun and the moon, and the hills open the longevity area

Tin Chou Fu Fenglin River Yue offering chastity charms

The lights are dazzling.

Yin Zhen felt that the word "Luan" seemed to be a bit repetitive with the word "Yue", Fang bowed his head and pondered, but when he saw the guard Delentai coming out of it, he asked, "Are you also on duty here?" ”

"Long live call Yinzhen and Yinxiang to go in and see you in Shanning!" Delentai preached loudly. After the two princes kowtowed, Fang smiled and said: "If you go back to the fourth master, this is Liu Tiecheng, and then you go in to Alundai, and I will follow the long live master." Twenty first-class guards, no one is allowed to be confused and take the top shift, this is the dead rule set by the Long Live Lord. ”

Yinzhen smiled and nodded, and Yinxiang followed Delentai in. At this time, the sky is slightly bright, but I see that the long road is full of flower holes made of rose moon branches. Out of the flower hole to the west of the area, one side of the nine oilcloth yellow shed, each outside the iron plate, written with the name of the province, then know that Kangxi wants to live here for a long time, the provincial dignitaries report on their work to see the provincial shed to wait for the order. Walking to Peiwenzhai, Delentai said with a smile: "The front is the Ningju, and the two masters just go in." I can't go through without being ordered. Yinzhen and the others walked forward more than 20 steps, and saw a five-wing high-rise house in front of them, with a yellow tile roof, which was regulated by the emperor. For some reason, these houses are not spent, and they are surrounded by pure covenant halls, Luhua Building, and Yunsong Xuan, which are all splendid, but this residence is unique and special. The pine reflects the bamboo cover, not only does not see the slightest cold, but reveals a steady and down-to-earth, down-to-earth and generous. Dozens of eunuchs stood under the porch, silent. Yinzhen looked at Yinxiang, who was dressed up, and when he cleaned up, he "snapped" the horseshoe sleeves and reported loudly:

"Sons Yinzhen and Yinxiang, please the emperor Sheng'an!"

"Come in!" After a long time, I listened to Kangxi's orders, but the tone was not good. The two brothers glanced at each other, hurriedly stepped in, and were just about to make a big salute, Kangxi waved his hand and said: "You kneel aside, this minister will discuss matters, and I will have something to ask you later!" ”

The two of them knew their father's temper and knelt silently aside. When Yinxiang peeked in, he saw that Kangxi was slightly thinner than before he left Beijing, but his spirit was quite vigorous; The eyes under the eight-character shou eyebrows are bright and bright, and the long hair of several inches under the chin is neatly combed; He wore only a bologic robe with a white purlin and a ponytail tie around his waist; Sitting cross-legged on the kang, his face was pale and he had no smile. Several ministers of the upper study were treated more favorably than the prince. Led by Zhang Tingyu, Ma Qi and Tong Guowei sat on the wooden pestle in turn.

"Shi Shilun still has to be saved." Kangxi closed a folding page, put it on the coffee table, and muttered, "This person is a capable person, but he is eager for quick success and quick profit, and he is also annoying!" First, it's too good, what kind of fire is returned to the public in Ningbo Mansion, and the subordinate county government can't even afford to invite the master - he has been demoted to the official, and he is still hard to move! Again, he made the same mistake as Yu Chengchan, fighting lawsuits to protect the poor and protect scholars. It is necessary to know that the world is not all about the poor, and the scholars are always reasonable, so how can there be no mistakes in judging cases with such a purpose? ”

When Yinxiang heard this, he couldn't help but take a step on his knees and said, "Ama Shengjian, insight is thousands of miles away!" Erchen sees that he is a financial management material, and there is still a lack of the head of the household department, why not make up for him to come in? ”

"What are you busy with? That's where it comes to you! Kangxi turned his face away and sneered, "I don't know what good things you have done to these two difficult brothers!" Before you returned to Beijing, the fold of the complaint was handed in first—I won't talk about you, so let's see for yourself! As he spoke, he threw a stack of folds on the ground. Yinzhen and Yinxiang were taken aback, and hurriedly picked them up with both hands and flipped through them, the first one was an excerpt by Gan Maolin, the governor of Anhui, and the title read: "For the topic, he Yifei, the political envoy of Anhui, relied on his brother to extort people's money and disorder the salt class." "The next few books are according to the inspectors, saying that due to the improper handling of the salt class, the salt people in Tong Province have boycotted the city, the salt lords have communicated with water thieves and robbed salt transport ships, and the Anqing, Luzhou, Yingzhou, Huizhou, Ningguo, Chizhou, Taiping and other prefectures are not in order, and they have asked for an order to suppress them. After a lot of articles, Anhui is said to be a thief's nest, and it is actually a restless province. It is clear that it is an impeachment of He Yifei, and there are insinuations in the actual book, pointing out that "Ah Ge Qincha" does not understand the people's feelings, and his actions are inappropriate, which has aroused public resentment. Yinxiang was so angry that his face turned red, and he was about to speak, but Yinzhen handed the manuscript back with both hands, and said: "Amma, since the salt lord is making trouble, please ask Ama to allow the performance of the Anhui Xiaosi Yamen, and send troops to suppress it!" The salt lord disrupted the national politics, and it should have been rectified a long time ago, and now it is the right time to take advantage of the situation to investigate and deal with it in one fell swoop - the son guarantees that it will be calmed down within half a month! Kangxi snorted and said, "Can you guarantee it?" ”

"Erchen guarantee!" Yin Zhen said quietly, "This is nothing to do with anything, it is all the idea of the ministers - the official gentry and salt merchants are embarrassed, and it has become a big trend, no matter what!" ”

Kangxi suddenly jumped up from the kang, forced his eyes at Yinzhen and said, "You have such wide shoulders!" He actually said such a big thing in front of me! It's a good Anhui, so that you will stir things upside down, and you will brag! I told you to go to see the river workers, who told you to ask the salt government? Do you even take care of the affairs of the rulers? The eighteen provinces alone rectify an Anhui province and force people to pay money, can there be no accidents? What about other provinces? You're just restless! It's all to blame for the prince for pampering you too much! Seeing Kangxi's anger, everyone turned pale with fright. Yinxiang hurriedly kowtowed and said: "The matter was caused by my son, please give an order, my son is willing to go to Anhui with the fourth brother again and use soldiers and bullets to suppress it!" "It's none of your business! You're just a shadow of the fourth! Kangxi shouted angrily, "I told you to watch the river workers, you just look at the river workers, who told you to cause trouble?" One or two million silver, can't the household take it out? ”

"Hui Huang Ama dialect." Yin Zhen kowtowed and said, "Actually, Erchen is kind-hearted, and he didn't act beyond his authority." The autumn flood is coming, the river is not firmly guarded, and the silver is not raised on the spot, and then the silver is transferred from the household, for fear of making a mistake. Besides, the ministers also know a little bit about the situation of the household department, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to get together for a while if they want to take out so much silver......"

Kangxi laughed angrily, and turned his face to Zhang Tingyu and the others: "Listen, he knows a little more than me!" The booklet handed over by the household department yesterday still has more than 50 million silver in the treasury! ”

"Long live...... Ma Qi beside Zhang Tingyu smiled bitterly and said, "What the fourth elder brother said is the truth. Although the minions do not know the details, the accounts of the household department do not match the inventory, and it has been a long time. Tong Guowei said: "When it comes to this matter, the fourth master and the thirteenth master are a little disgusted with Meng Lang, but they are loyal to the country. ”

Only then did Kangxi know that the ministers of the study also disagreed, so he eased his color and said: "You are naturally kind, but you must know that there must be disadvantages in the world, which is impossible to prevent." On a peaceful day, more things are better than less. Fourth, I want to say to you, it's good to be serious, but you have to be generous to others, the people below have their difficulties, you have to put yourself in the shoes of others in everything: you not only deduct the consumption of a province, but also make up your mind from the salt merchants, how can you not attract resentment? Go and see the prince first, and then I will have a will. When the two of them silently sobbed and kowtowed, Kangxi sighed: "Yinxiang is a stupid and bold child, Yinzhen is meticulous in his work, and he is only mean in his nature." In the long run, how can this pair get it? Tong Guowei only smiled when he heard this. Ma Qi said: "If you talk about treating people, you are still the prince, the third master and the eighth master; When it comes to doing things, the slave thinks that the fourth master is so serious! Kangxi lowered his head and thought for a while, and asked Zhang Tingyu with a smile: "Why don't you say anything?" ”

"The minion has been thinking." Zhang Tingyu frowned and said, "Is it a bit exaggerated by the Anhui Third Division?" A company of salt lords from six provinces made a rebellion, but they didn't alarm the military department! Several courtiers in Anhui who are secretly folding and playing are not handed over to the concert box - what do they do? ”

reminded Kangxi with a word, and he couldn't help but be stunned: Really, if you want to look at the twists and turns of the three divisions of the yamen of the province, it is already a mess, why don't a few prefects see any excerpts come in? He patted his slightly swollen head, asked for a cup of tea and took two bites, but he was silent. Zhang Tingyu thought about it and already understood that this was the Yinzhen and Yinxiang brothers who knocked out the officials' fire and consumed silver in Anhui, and the anger was nowhere to attack. But he didn't want to tell the inside story. Because he knew that Tong Guowei and the prince were not in harmony, he smiled and said: "According to my knowledge, long live the affairs of Anhui, just put your hands away, listen to the next news, but what Ma Qi said, the account of the household does not match, and no one can figure out how much silver is stored in the treasury, this is indeed a big deal!" Gotta clean it up right away! Hooray, salt administration is not the most important thing, you have to know it! Kangxi leaned over and asked, "In your opinion, what is the most important thing?" Zhang Tingyu bit his lip and said after a while: "Order!" ”

"Yes!" Ma Qi said happily, "How can it not be so! The slave also wants to be refreshed at this time, I am afraid that the fourth master is in Anhui, and he asks the officials to donate fire consumption and clean up the salt class, and asks them to donate money to control the river, how can he not offend this shameless ink official? They use things to make trouble, and there are them! Tong Guowei hurriedly sighed: "Today's greed is really amazing! Originally, during the reign of Shunzhiye, the first prefect came down, but the output of 350,000 yuan was only 350,000 yuan, and now 150,000 yuan can't be stopped! If you are not greedy, where does all this money come from? The emergency measures taken to open up financial resources during the Ping San Domain and the Western Expedition were originally the best of the best, but it became a common practice - if you have money to buy official vacancies, you have the right to make money to buy big officials, and you will seek profit and snowball...... This official, the slave is heartbroken when he thinks about it, it's time to rectify! Ma Qi was interested by what he said, and echoed: "What Guowei said is that the law is governed by people, and the officials are not clear, so they can't say anything!" Don't talk about anything else, the cheating in the field of science, the show is six hundred taels, the number of people is one thousand two, I don't know how much the people are out, there is also a price, and there is no deception in buying and selling children...... What's wrong with this? ”

Zhang Tingyu was silent, and covered up by writing living notes on the side. He knows better than anyone else that the rule of officials is corrupt and corrupt, and bribery is commonplace, but he thinks that the root is in Kangxi, such as Mingzhu, Gao Shiqi, Yu Guozhu, and Xu Qianxue, are all obvious corrupt officials. Tong Guowei said that the rule of the whole officials, in fact, the root is still aimed at the prince. If the officials are not well governed, it is the prince's incompetence; After the rectification is done, it is he Tong Guowei who is prescient; The charcoal basket is still buckled on the heads of the prince, Yinzhen and Yinxiang...... This intention is terrifying! was thinking about it, but I heard Kangxi ask: "I approve of rectifying the rule of officials, but where to start?" ”

"The fourth elder brother has a Chen," Ma Qi said, "the slave has already submitted it to the prince, and it will be handed over in about a few days-to control corruption and chaos, and strict punishment and strict laws should be enacted!" For example, like Mingzhu's son Xu, the greedy officials Xu Qianxue and Yu Guozhu are still at large, why can't they do a few and cut a few? If you want to rectify it, you have to look like a whole thing, and if you have more than 1,000 taels of bribery, once it is found out, you should copy it, kill it that should be killed, and you should cut it, so that the corrupt officials have no place to stand, and there are greedy people who know that the law of the country cannot be violated - the fourth master said that if there is no improvement within a few years, please live the crime of vain words. The slave thinks about it, you might as well give it a try according to the fourth master's article! ”

When Tong Guowei heard this, the people Yinzhen wanted to deal with were all the people of the eighth master Yinzhen, and he couldn't help but feel angry in his heart: people said that Yinzhen was cruel and unkind, which is really true! He glanced at Ma Qi, who was foaming at the mouth, with disgust, and was about to speak, but heard Kangxi say: "The fourth elder brother has the talent to manage things, but he doesn't seem to know the general situation. This is a good thing to use heavy codes to control chaos. But at the moment, there is neither external trouble nor internal strife, so why not act calmly! I think that the integrity of officials is the most important, and an edict should be issued to reward honest officials, such as Yu Chenglong, Peng Peng, Zhang Yushu, Zhang Bonian, Chen Ying and others. Refreshing the rule of officials is a real article that is extremely difficult to do, and the ground is thundering, and it is going to be a mess! So you have to take it slowly, start from the easy place, and get things done peacefully. Tong Guowei said: "Long live the holy thoughts, and the slaves are stupid!" If it is ruled by Qing officials, causing riots in the government and the opposition, burning incense to attract ghosts, and rejecting wolves and tigers, it will be even more difficult to deal with the aftermath! That year, Yu Jackie Chan was in Shandong, and tried to pay grain for the officials and gentry, which caused the scholars to strike the exam, and almost provoked a popular uprising! Yin Jian is not far away, how can you forget! It is better to treat the symptoms than to cure the root cause, according to the slaves, you might as well start with the readers. Scholars have no shame, can they be honest as officials? Therefore, an edict should be issued to the governors of the provinces, until they are instructed and instructed, and the hadith is preached every ten days, so as to arouse the conscience of heaven and restore the declining wind. The officials of the Ministry of Merit, picket a corrupt official, run one, sandwich between the two ends, and the few can be slowly clarified. ”

"It's a cliché." Ma Qi listened to Tong Guowei casting a net all over the sky, and said it painlessly, and said coldly, "I'm afraid it won't help!" ”

"I said to preach the holy oracle, and Ma Qi also thought it was wrong?" Tong Guowei was proud of his uncle, and he didn't take this Han man who had only entered the study in his eyes for a short time. Listening to Ma Qi's ridicule in person, Tong Guowei's face suddenly turned red, and he sneered: "If you don't preach the holy oracle, if you don't read the book of the sages, you will copy it and kill it!" It's called punishment without teaching! Ma Qi also blushed and said, "Tong Zhongtang! Corrupt officials have one picket and one to do one, can this be called punishment without teaching? The 16 Hadiths of the Emperor have been promulgated for decades, and the Four Books and Five Classics were not written last year. The tiger and wolf are in the hierarchy, and they still talk about cause and effect, which is pedantic and incompetent! ”

Kangxi was still listening quietly, but when he saw that they were moved, he threw the fan in his hand and stood up, and said with a calm face: "What does it look like?" With your impatience, you are still the prime minister, the assistant yin and yang, and the presiding over the big politics! When I go back, I can pick up a few books to cultivate my mind and cultivate virtue and read! Seeing that both of them bowed their heads and stopped, Kangxi paced two steps, and suddenly turned his face and asked Zhang Tingyu with a smile: "What is your idea?" ”

"What Tong Ma said makes sense." Zhang Tingyu hurriedly knelt down and said, "At present, the rule of the officials has indeed reached the point where serious rectification is necessary, but as the emperor said, it seems that there is no need to be in a hurry." As far as the slave knows, there are 50 million silver in the accounts of the household department, but in fact, there is not so much in the inventory, and the officials are about to be emptied-so the fourth master raises money on the spot, which is really a last resort. Although he can't say this explicitly, long live you...... You have to know it! "Listening to your tone, it seems that you have already checked, how much silver taels are actually deposited?" Kangxi looked at Zhang Tingyu suspiciously, and said, "You get up and talk back!" Zhang Tingyu swallowed, didn't get up, kowtowed heavily and said: "The slave heard what the fourth master said when he didn't leave Beijing, so he didn't dare to believe it, after the fourth master left, he didn't feel at ease, and went to check it again - it's really appalling!" ”

"What are you rambling! How much exactly? ”

"The minions didn't dare to check carefully, I don't know the exact number, about- less than 10 million taels......"

"Ten million!"

Kangxi suddenly felt dizzy in his head, his legs were weak, he sat down on the kang, gasped, and his face turned pale. He knows that officials are borrowing money, but he can not be shocked when he borrows the treasury empty! After a long time, Kangxi Fang sighed and said, "What a prince...... What kind of family has come to this point, and it is still hidden from me! ”

"The fourth master's Tiao Chen is here for this." Zhang Tingyu said, "It is said that it is a debt, but in fact, it is still an improper official style, and it should not be taken lightly!" The slave thought, the officials are in a thousand troubles, how to clean it up? Tackling the deficit seems to be a doorway. This matter is not only easier to handle than prison lawsuits and bribery, but it is also a top priority. Otherwise, once the country has something to do, there is no silver in the treasury to spend, and it is a terrible thing! ”

The more Kangxi listened, the more frightened he became, and he raised his face and shouted, "Where is Li Dequan?" ”

"Wow! The minions are here! Li Dequan, the deputy chief eunuch, stood by the chiming bell and waited, hurriedly agreed, bowed down and said, "What is the will of long live?" "You go to Yunsongxuan, pass the decree to Yinren, Yinzhen and Yinxiang, and immediately start preparing to clean up the deficit and arrears of the household, think about it first, and Ming'er will hand over the sign to see me!"

"Wow!"

"Message: Liang Qingbiao, the current secretary of the household department, is old and frail, and he is allowed to retire!"

"Wow!"

"Go ahead!"

"Wow!"

Kangxi came back to his senses, took a sip of tea, conspired for a long time, and said with a smile: "Whether it is to speak the holy oracle or read the Four Books and Five Classics, it is nothing more than to regulate the world." Prince Yinren is too cowardly, you can't follow him in everything, a big thing like this, if you don't churn it out today, I am still blindfolded, how can this be done? ”

Although the tone of these words was relaxed, the three ministers all weighed their weight, Tong Guowei and Ma Qi also knelt down, kowtowed, and said: "Yes, the minions are not careful in their duties, please give punishment!" Zhang Tingyu said: "Although it is said that the deficit is cleared and the arrears are collected by virtue of the article, but it is not easy to do it for a long time. ”

"You don't have to go, whoever makes the wine will drink it." Kangxi groaned, "It's good to let the brothers experience some practical things." I'm afraid there are some people you may not be able to afford to provoke, so tell them to touch them. If you don't have enough manpower, like Shi Shilun, just transfer a few helps. As he was talking, Li Dequan had already come back and said, "The prince has gone out, but the slave has not been seen." The fourth master and the thirteenth master are still waiting in Yun Songxuan, and they will come back and forth to the master's words tomorrow. Kangxi was speechless after listening to it, and after a while, he said: "Kneel down, I'm a little tired." Ming'er handed over the sign again. ”

Everyone got up and quit. When I arrived in the courtyard and looked up at the sky, it was past the time of the card, and a large dark cloud was slowly pressing down from the west. Zhang Tingyu sighed, and said secretly in his heart: "It's just to clear the debt, how easy is it!" The two elder brothers are going to complain about the prince again, alas......"