"Yes, minion command!"

He Shen hurriedly kowtowed and agreed, and when he got up, he suddenly felt that his legs were a little weak, and his head was a little dizzy...... Wandering and leisurely followed the introduction of the eunuch Wang Bashi into the palace of nourishing the heart, in the main hall to the Hajj to Qianlong's Sumeru seat saluted, the hall is full of magnificent ornaments, who comes to the high gold self-striking bell, gold and jade Ruyi, enamel pots, climbing the ladder to open the use of the big gold cabinet, two people hugging the thick special large porcelain vase...... These objects have been seen in ordinary times, and at this moment he felt that the cloth was everywhere, and the golden and purple emerald were dazzling, until he knelt on the bright gold brick ground in front of the Dongnuan Pavilion, and his hands and foreheads touched the ground, and he came to his senses. This is a delicate and clear character, and he immediately realized that he had to take care of himself even if it was an earthquake at this moment, not only could not make mistakes in words and actions, but also riveted enough to invite good children! The thumbs of both hands pinched the middle knuckle vigorously, and he was already calm, and he was full of energy and waited for Qianlong's question.

Qianlong didn't seem to pay attention to his thoughts at all, sat cross-legged on the side of the big kang in the warm pavilion against the glass window as usual, pulled out the pen holder after pulling out the pen, put the cinnabar pool over, looked thoughtfully at the heavy snow outside, and asked:

"Where were you on an errand before? I looked a little familiar. ”

He Shen moved, stunned for a moment. Obviously, he didn't expect to ask this in the first sentence, so he thought about it and said, "The slave is under the red flag." Although the family road is in the middle of the fall, because he is a minister, he has a third-class light car lieutenant position, and he entered the Xian'an Palace to study when he was a child, and after his father's death, he went to the Agui army to make up a piece of money and food. The emperor looks at the slave with a familiar look, which is the blessing of the slave. ”

"Hmm, is it inside the Desheng Gate under the red flag?" Qianlong looked at He Shen and asked, "What is your Manchurian surname?" ”

"The Manchurian surname of the slave is Niu Hulu of the Ying Branch. The Zhenghong Banner is not in Deshengmen, and Deshengmen is a subordinate territory of Zhenghuangqi. ”

Qianlong nodded, and then asked: "Since he has a worldly position, he is also a member of his old surname, and his father is an official, so he naturally has a share of money and food, why did he go to the Agui camp to be a soldier again?" ”

"Back to the master!" He Shen was more careful, his head was pounding on the ground, and he replied: "Although my father has been the capital of Fujian for many years, in fact, the family has no savings, and my younger brother and Lin are smart and studious, and they can't make ends meet for him to hire teachers and study tours. In the midst of hardship, the slave couldn't bear to let his mother wash and sew people poor, so he randomly looked for an errand to help the family...... Because she was carrying her mother to serve as a soldier, before leaving to tell her the old man, she knocked the slave to the ground with a palm in anger, and the slave got up and kowtowed to apologize, and her old man took the slave in his arms and cried, 'My son...... I don't blame you for that...... This blames your father for being incompetent, and your mother is also incompetent......" Speaking of this, Heshen's past was like a tide, tears were already pouring up, his voice was hissing, and he kowtowed hoarsely, "Because the slaves are in addition to Chinese, Chinese [1]

, Mongolian, and Spanish can be proficient. A Gui Junmen also appreciated it very much, and at the age of fifteen, he was promoted to the rank of military commander ......"

He was half-true and half-false, and even wept and complained, and he was full of sorrow. In fact, the real reason for his departure back then was that he "bumped into food" in places such as the Dalang Temple on Qipan Street every day, made a group of fox friends and dog friends to gamble, and fought cocks and lackeys to sell lotus flowers [2]

, was punished by his mother, and in a fit of anger, he became a soldier, but what he said when he parted with his mother and son hugged his head and cried was true. When Ah Gui heard it, he was moved to tears, and today the old trick is repeated, Qianlong is unheard of, his heart is sour, his eyes are already red, and he secretly sighs: This is actually a good minister with both loyalty and filial piety, and it is rare for his children to have such a promising ...... sighed: "I didn't expect you to be so young and have such a bumpy life, it's sad to smell!" Switching to Manchu, he said: "But you are not good at academics after all." Although he is diligent in doing errands, he should read more books and learn more from Agui Fu Heng. There are some things that can't be done with good intentions alone. ”

He suddenly spoke in Manchu, and He Shen suddenly pricked up his ears, listened quietly, thinking that it must be his own suggestion to discuss the silver and the Chongwenmen tariff envoy to criticize someone, and it is difficult to guarantee that Li Shiyao has already muttered something behind his back, and he also replied in Manchu: "He Shen has been sluggish since he was a child, his mother is weak and his younger brother is young, and he is forced to concentrate on studying because of his livelihood, not only should he learn from Fu Heng Agui, but Liu Yong and Li Shiyao are also slave learning models." According to the "Book of Rites", the slave is based on the "Book of Rites" through the eight-discussion system, discussing relatives and nobles and discussing meritorious deeds, and opening a first-line road for officials who accidentally stumble to commit crimes, so there is this suggestion. As for the Chongwenmen tariff, there are indeed drawbacks, and the slaves think that it is not that the inspection is too strict, but that there is no distinction between public and private, and that all those who pass the customs with the tolerance of the emperor or the officials of other provinces pay the regulations and silver taels should be exempted from tax - because this tariff regulation has not been changed since the previous Ming Dynasty, and the servants are in charge of rectification and are in a hurry, lest they easily change their course and give the officials an opportunity to take advantage of it. Among them, one is that the slaves do not know how to be flexible, and the other is that some officials do not know, thinking that the slaves are full of their own pockets, so there are some misunderstandings. After receiving the emperor's grace and teachings, the slaves can only reflect on themselves, revise the system, and strictly implement the rules after inviting the emperor. Because he picked up the situation of Li Shuyao's tax clearance and talked about it lightly, he avoided the plot of the two people's distraction, and said: "The slave is ready to design a big scale, Chongwenmen tariff, and from then on he will be called private but not public!" ”

"Good!" Qianlong listened to his recital, which was clear and organized, and he was already very happy in his heart, so he couldn't help but praise it greatly: "It's good to call it private but not public!" The reasoning of the guilty silver is also explained thoroughly. Despite this, it is still impossible to issue a clear edict to implement it, because it is easy to leave a sense of luck for corrupt officials and activate their greed. There is nothing wrong with stricter tariffs, it is convenient to discuss the crime of silver, I am not for the purpose of gathering, the imperial court uses troops in the northwest and southwest, and some White Lotus sect members in the mainland are also making fools, it is a tax that has been missed, and it is the best of both worlds to use it. Collecting money from officials for their crimes not only does not disturb the people and hurts the people, does not lose leniency for the general government, but also can supplement the state's use, and the warning officials also open the way for them to renew themselves and make amends, and the root of this is also good governance. He moved down from the kang and paced leisurely for a long time, nodded and said, "Kneel down, I want to eat, and I have to call a meeting of the Military Aircraft Department, so that I can go back and clean up the messenger's cooking, and I still have a grace for you." He waved his hand. He Shen hurriedly knelt three times and bowed nine times, but he walked out of the Heart Cultivation Palace. When he arrived at the door of the account room, Wang Lian came out a few steps early, stretched out an oil coat with both hands and draped it on him, tied the button and tied the belt, and said with a low laugh: "See if it is a master?" The golden bell and jade drum are like ringing! This is a bit like a faint hall, and his face is snow-white! Look at the heavy snow, wandering outside the Xihua Gate, the boots, hats, robes and hems are soaked......" said him, and a pair of wood-toothed grass shoes were put on his feet again. He Shen woke up like a big dream, rubbed his face and stomped his feet, thanked him for leaving the weeping flower gate, and when he looked up, he was already chaotic and feathers, and thousands of flowers were flying wildly.

…… In the Military Aircraft Department, Ah Gui, Ji Yun, Liu Yong, and Li Shiyao had just had lunch at the moment. The meals provided by the minister on duty in the big house here are four dishes and one soup, a soybean, carrot and pork belly roasted three, a winter bamboo shoots fried tenderloin, a mixed celery, a green pepper fried lamb liver, a pot of tofu gluten powder soup in the middle, and enough bread and steamed buns, all of which have been eaten cleanly, even the plates are hot and hot, and the eunuch said, "Long live the lord just ordered to pass the meal" and knew that it was still early to "call in", Li Shiyao was anxious to go to Tianjie to see the snow, and Ah Gui smiled: "Shi'an accompanied him for a walk, Ji Yun and I hugged the furnace military plane, and watched the snow fall, I also have some fun - give the eiderdown fur given to me by the emperor to Gaotao. Liu Yong expected that the two of them still had a separate conversation, smiled and handed Li Chuanyao a robe, put on an oil coat, and said: "Brother Li, you are ahead, I will follow." So they came out one after the other.

The so-called "Heavenly Street" is actually a short section from Longzong Gate to Jingyun Gate, and it has already arrived on the "street" as soon as you go out from the military aircraft department. At this moment, it was just past noon, and it was this kind of weather, and the six departments and three divisions were resting, and there was no urgent military situation, and no one came here to be very frozen, and the two of them walked eastward, but they saw that Qionghua was confused, and the falling feathers swayed and fell to the flat and vast square. The north side of the jade belt blue water Hanyu bridge railing, cross the bridge is the tall Qianqing Gate, the south side is the towering Baohe Palace, the middle and the hall is hidden behind the Baohe Palace, the mist is misty, the Taihe Hall is still visible, all are the snow wings inserted into the sky and the eagle is grandiose, the black and quiet and quiet are pressed on the snow, along the palace wall a goose order, two rows of sixteen big gold cylinders are lit under the charcoal fire, the light smoke is frightened and dissolved in the wind, from the Qianqing Gate to the Longzong Gate, Chonglou, the back left door, the back right door...... Zhou Zai all stood up and guarded the camp guards, one by one became snowmen, standing in the overwhelming snow without moving, the majestic Longlou Fengque Jinghua made such a makeup, but also gave people a cold and magnificent feeling, the two of them stepped on the snow slowly, did not speak for a while, until Jingyun stood in front of the door, their faces and hands were already melted snow.

"Look here, it's breathtaking." Li Shiyao muttered: "What is the title of the ten-year cold window gold list, what is the opening of the house and the eight residences, and the wife and son of the son of the glory of the ancestors, they have all become insignificant and unbearable. Chongru has been here for a long time, it is commonplace, and I really have a bit of a taste of the heavenly palace. "I don't dare think so. Because the 'Heavenly Palace' is followed by 'I'm afraid of Qionglou Yuyu, and the high place is not cold'! Liu Yong's voice is dry (speaking in the snow and snow, the tone of the voice is always dull. Readers may wish to give it a try)," Jia Yan said in the world, he was the county commander, patrolling the countryside in the middle of summer, sitting in a car with two people carrying a small sedan chair, hot and thirsty and sweating. Through the sedan window, I saw women and children eating watermelons on the road, and their mouths were full of melons and melons, and they wanted to get off the sedan car and beg for a bite to eat. Listen to the woman teach the child, 'Look at the people, sit in the sedan chair and carry them away, and when you get out of the sedan chair, you will see everyone and respect them—they are all people, and they are in heaven!' If you want to go to heaven, there is only one way, study hard and make a fuss! 'O man, his circumstances are different, and his thoughts are different. ”

Li Shuyao nodded silently, and looked at Liu Yong against the snowlight, this is a person who looks very much like his father Liu Tongxun, but Liu Tongxun is capable and neat, but he looks a little raunchy. Liu Yong's face has hardly changed at all, only a lot of weight has been lost, the bronze square face and cheeks are sunken a lot, the original snow goose supplement has been replaced with a golden pheasant supplement, which is a bit like a big cloth bag on his body, staring at the snow scene with half-squinted eyes, a bit like an old stork foraging in the snow along the frozen river, I don't know what he is thinking. After a long time, Li Shiyao sighed: "Your back is a little hunched. ”

"Luo circle legs, plus hunchback, there are already people behind him called 'Liu Luo Pot'." Liu Yong smiled with a reckless expression, "I won't tell you, in addition to seeing drivers, doing errands and seeing people, I sit at the desk for at least five hours a day, and I walk with my head hanging down and thinking about things, and there is someone who is not hunched!" My father was on the way to the court, died in a sedan chair, the emperor came to the sacrifice, entered the virtuous temple of the Buddha Sutra, the imperial sacrifice, I can only serve desperately, I dare not love the body......" He sighed again, "...... I don't dare to love the name. Some people say that I am 'Liu Qingtian' because I have no unjust case in my hands, and some people say that I am 'Liu Butcher', a cool official, and I also laugh at it. I took Huang Tianba's 12 apprentices to Surabaya County, Shandong Province to arrest Liu Qide, Liu Xianlu and his son, and thousands of anti-tenants surrounded me for three days and three nights. Fukangan led the troops to relieve the siege, and I tried it in one class, pulled out the yamen and killed 74 people, it was raining heavily, and the streets were full of red water...... The people of Surabaya County shuddered when they heard my name - this is not a 'butcher'? In fact, they don't know that the big family is so dry that there is no grass, and the iron plate rent refuses to reduce a grain, forcing people to have no way to live, and I also want to kill a few of these landlords. But they did not violate the king's laws, but could only reprimand and admonish them with their rods—I saw with my own eyes the riots of the mob, and it was really a man who advocated rebellion, and the villages were full of fires, trees, and wolves, and red-eyed tenants, hammers, knives, hoes, and sickles...... Even the rolling pin and kitchen knife were used, and they poured up like a monstrous flood, one layer after another...... I still have palpitations when I think about it! This palace was available in the Ming Dynasty before the past, and Li Zicheng didn't come in the same way? I read the "Jiashen Chronicle", on March 19, Li Zicheng entered Beijing, and more than 10,000 people in the palace were cornered, and the corpses of suicides who robbed money and fled for their lives were all full of corpses, and the places where we stood were full of human corpses......" He sighed, shuddered, and stopped talking. Li Shuyao has led troops to suppress the anti-rent rebellion on several occasions, but he has never been surrounded by rioting peasants, listening to and thinking, it seems to be as real as seeing it in person, and he was stunned for a long time and smiled: "Enjoy the snow with you, what you want is to bury the corpse in the snow, it's really disappointing - you painted a miserable and terrible picture to show me!" Liu Yong also smiled and said: "I'm tired of Luo pot, just to prevent people from really seeing this painting, you have a heart barrier." As soon as they let go of their hands, the two of them slowly walked westward, and when they returned to the door of the signing room of the military aircraft, the leaders of the two were covered with a thick layer of white velvet.

As soon as they entered the door, both of them were stunned. I saw Ah Gui sitting cross-legged by the window, and Ji Yunyin sitting under the Kangbei file, all of them looking dumbfounded. There was an official kneeling under the kang, and the top of the flowering coral had been picked with red tassels, and at a glance it was a second-grade member who was worried and mourning, and he was wet all over, and the ground was covered with melted snow. Because of the dazzling snow outside, it was dark and blurry just after entering the house, and it was clear that it was Yin Jishan's son Qinggui! Li and Liu almost looked at each other at the same time: Yin Jishan is dead!

"Brother Shi, please get up ......" for a long time, only to see Ah Gui raise his hand weakly. The two eunuchs hurriedly went over and picked up Qinggui. Ah Gui said: "This is really an unexpected change. In the past few days, Fu Heng Zhongtang has returned to Beijing due to illness, and he has been busy taking care of this matter, so he has not visited the house. Yesterday, a child went to see it on my behalf and replied that Yuan Changgong was in good spirits. Where did he think that all of a sudden, he would let go of the fairy......" He coughed twice and took a handkerchief to wipe away his tears. Ji Yun said: "The Tree Fasting Festival is precious, you should not see it now." Let's hand the sign in, and make it clear that there must still be a will, and the Ministry of Rites will also consult and arrange it. ”

Qing Gui bowed down and said "yes" when he heard a sentence, and cried: "Several imperial doctors have checked the pulse, and they all say that it may be a pass before the beginning of winter." In those days, seeing that the old man could still get up and walk around, and asked his grandson to endorse the book, the family was relieved, thinking that the catastrophe had passed. The day before yesterday was very happy, he called the whole family to his room, and after eating together, he asked his little sister Yongqiu to stroke him with a song "Ming Spring", and said with a smile: "There is nothing more happy in life than this." I am like Yongqiu at this age with my father Rehe to drive, can piano and poetry known to the Holy Ancestor, for more than 50 years of official although can not be said to be perfect, self-conscience has no regrets, three generations of masters are always gracious to me, to stroke the qin to listen to the end of the piano, God really loves me...... and earnestly told a lot of words, said that it was the last words of the deathbed, the family felt inauspicious, persuaded to stop. Who knew that on the second day, he was too lazy to eat and drink, and he woke up when he slept. It doesn't look like a serious illness, he has always been on a diet, and his family is not panicking. An hour after the brother went to the world, the old man suddenly wanted to bathe, waited for the bath, and lay on the kang to rest, and the whole family and the imperial doctor were in the outer room, and at dawn, I heard the old man say, 'It's so cold!' The road is so long...... 'We rushed in, there is no pulse...... Speaking of this, Qinggui was already choked up and couldn't speak, and he choked so loudly that he wanted to let go.

But this place can't cry loudly, Ah Gui waited for him to calm down for a while, got off the kang and stroked Qinggui's shoulder and said: "Brother Shi, please go back to the house, how many important things in the family are waiting for you to handle, and you must mourn and change." The two nephews of Addis Abida want to take care of you a little more, and we will go in. "I ordered the eunuch again," I took Lord Qinggui out of Xihuamen, and sent him back to the house to report to me. ”

When Qinggui went out here, Bu Yi came in with a snowy face, and said: "Long live the Lord has already had lunch, and asked Ah Gui, Ji Yun, Liu Yong, and Li Shiyao to go in." The four of them hurriedly bowed down and agreed, hurriedly ended the stop, and followed Bu Yijing to the Heart Cultivation Palace. Wang Bayan was already waiting under the eaves outside the palace, and when he saw them coming in, he helped take off his oil clothes, change his boots, wipe off the snow on his head and face, and then guide him into the Dongnuan Pavilion to see Qianlong.

"The people from the Internal Affairs Office just came in to pay respects, and Yin Yuanchang has already gone this morning." Qianlong did not sit cross-legged on the kang as usual, he stood on the ground, only wearing a sauce-colored Jiang silk thin cotton robe, holding a piece of Hanyu in his hand, as if he was thinking about his thoughts, and seemed to be looking at the calligraphy and paintings on the north wall, his face was calm, and his tone was the same as usual, and he didn't look at everyone and said: "No courtesy, sit on the pestle." Then he turned his face, paced to the chair next to the couch and sat down, serving tea and blowing the foam on the surface of the cup without saying a word.

The four ministers looked at Qianlong without a moment's notice.

"Li Shiyao," Qianlong's bottomless pupil looked at Li Shiyao in the last seat and asked, "How is Guangdong's harvest this year?" Li Shiyao hurriedly bowed and replied: "Back to the master, western Guangdong has been plagued by bandits, and there are few men after the war between soldiers and bandits. The slaves were afraid that the grain would hurt the peasants, so they purchased surplus grain at the official price of three yuan and used it to help western Guangdong, so that the two ends were balanced, and the price of grain also rose to three dollars and two. Qianlong pondered and asked: "In this way, won't the Guangdong Domain have a deficit again?" ”

Li Shuyao said: "The slave does not dare to use the silver taels of the domain treasury without asking for orders. There are two sources of silver, one is foreign merchants, all of whom rushed to the outer islands of the mouth and wanted to go ashore to pay the security protection money. I suppressed the bandits to maintain peace, and it was fair for them to pay this money. The other is to raise donations from the gentry, and the same is true. This is the most proud thing in his tenure, he did it neatly, and he was prepared to play it carefully, but he knew that Qianlong was tired of listening to the chatter at this moment, because he also cut it off and said it clearly. Ah Gui and the two who were sitting next to them secretly ate tea and admired.

But Qianlong was very interested in this, his face turned from solemn to gentle, and he nodded: "Very good." But I'm afraid that this group of rich people will not be able to give up their money? People want to ask, we donate and pay taxes, and you have to collect another 'protection money' to suppress bandits? What do you do? Li Shiyao said with a smile: "Back to the master, plucking the feathers on the iron rooster is the slave's housekeeping ability." The governor-general of Guangdong, the Yamen of the Guangdong Division, tried the cases of Hong Renhui and Hong Renxuan, and all the three yasa subordinates were transferred, and 700 sergeants were transferred from the green camp to guard the guards, and martial law was imposed two miles from the lobby to the Yimen, and there were swords, trees, flags, flags and horns everywhere. 'Invite' those big guys to come to watch the ceremony, raise the bell and cheer in the hall, regardless of the foreigners and Chinese caught and arrested, imprisoned, beaten, killed, killed, and killed, before the end of the class, the "watcher" has already frightened two, and the rest are all as pale as the earth - after the trial, they took the 'happy loss' book and asked them to donate. The master repeatedly admonishes the slave when he leaves the majesty, which is called 'the combination of grace and power'. The iron roosters plucked their own feathers and gave them away, and the minions didn't force them - and so, the money was there. The foreign merchants were ordered not to give money, no food, and no fresh water; The gentlemen are soliciting, and if they don't give him their own willingness, the matter will be done steadily. This is all a long-thought of play, said without branches and colorful, and lost no time in adding "praise to the saint" in the poignant and terrifying scene of the killing decision, and attributed the credit for political achievements to the king. Everyone was shocked and moved.

"Well done!" Qianlong frowned when he heard this, and sighed on his knees: "The officials of the feudal territory should have this kind of style!" It's a pity that there aren't many foreign governors who are willing to work so hard for the country and the people. You came to Beijing from Hunan, Jiangxi, and Jiangnan along the waterways, right? Looking at it all the way, how is the river worker? A few provinces have also paid attention to the flood and drought situation? ”

Li Shiyao pondered for a moment; Even if you are "not careful" about these things, you can talk about them without leaving them, but as soon as you open your mouth, it will be difficult to conceal the erosion of river workers, the ravages of floods, droughts and locust plagues, the hardships of the people, and the greed and tyranny of officials. But when he said "I don't know", he immediately lost his mind, and the harm at both ends was the lesser, so he cleared his throat and said: "The slave also made a detour to Wuchang to see Le Min. Huguang is ripe this year, Yicang is full of stockpiles, Le Min originally reported a twelve-point bumper harvest, and the whole province had annoyance about him. He complained to me: 'To tell the truth, I will say that I have invited merit and sold well, but I am telling lies, and when I see my master in the future, I will blush, how can I hide it from my master?' 'The discount measurement reported an eleven years to the household. He was worried that there was nowhere to put the food, and mildew was a big deal. The treasury has also been in disrepair for many years, and they dare not touch the treasury silver to buy grain. The slave gave him an idea, and wrote a letter to Zhaohui directly, the new grain was for military needs, and Zhaohui spent it from the military expenses, which not only saved time, but also reduced the deduction link, and the soldiers were also happy to eat new rice. The situation in Gangnam—"

"Slow," Qianlong waved his hand to stop him and asked, "Don't be busy talking about other provinces." It is a matter of course to have 12 points of harvest and 12 points, so what are the 'troubles' below? And who is obstructed from it? Let's talk about it! ”

"The emperor is a nine-fold ruler, ruling the world, where do you know these crumbs and tricks of foreign officials?" Li Shiyao sighed, "Even Ah Gui and Ji Yun have never been magistrates, and Liu Yong is in charge of prisons, and he may not be thorough." For example, when I take over as the county magistrate, first, I have to compare with my predecessor, and I must calculate the deficit of my predecessor to the fullest. This is a political achievement. Where does the silver come from? I can't spend gold, urine and silver, and the fire consumption will return to the public, so I can only make up my mind from the year, and I will report five points for eight points in the year. Something about natural disasters! The emperor pays the most attention to it, and he must make it up for me. Next year, when I am nine years old, I will report sixty percent, not only will the county be rich, but the top will also see that I am 'stronger and stronger year by year'! Le Min was so full of scales, he originally thought that there was a lot of inventory surplus last year, and this year's actual report will not hurt everyone's income. There is a disaster elsewhere, the master is more generous in hand, and he can't imagine that the various divisions and yamen rumors that he wants to tie up with the military plane, and the excerpt that has been prepared has been rewritten, and the slave is still a clean official, if he is a stolen official, he doesn't care about the name of the punishment, and he doesn't spend a limit on silver, so where to make money if he doesn't make an idea from the year? He sighed.

Qianlong gritted his teeth and said nothing, knowing that it was a great drawback, and he didn't know how much silver flowed away silently from this gap, but it was a thing that could not be helped. Just thinking about it, Ah Gui said viciously: "The emperor is like the benevolence of heaven, and he is free of money and food every year, in order to feed the people's living rooms, these officials are so unreasonable and contemptuous of the law, and they are very hateful!" The slaves asked the emperor to be responsible, and there were those who concealed their property and invited buyers to flatter and pass the exam, and the nuclear experiment of the Ministry of Officials showed that not only could not be promoted, but also punished heavily! Qianlong shook his head and said, "No." This is different from the civil disaster relief, knowing that the food and silver will go down, and the layers will fill their pockets! When it comes to the hungry people, only four or five out of ten remain, but those who should be given will still be given relief, and if they don't give out food, the hungry people will starve to death immediately, and the officials will force the people to go to Liangshan against him. ”

"The Holy Master is a thousand miles of insight into the fire!" Li Shiyao felt that the words were opportunistic, and he came to the spirit, and said: "This is a true benevolent word!" The difficulty lies in the fact that it is difficult to distinguish between the true and the false, and if there is a real disaster, if there is no relief, something will definitely happen, and everything can be fooled, but the stomach of the people cannot be fooled. The minions came all the way, and the biggest disaster was in the Huaibei area. In autumn and August, the water passed, the crops were not harvested, more than 200,000 hungry people fled to Lunan, Jiangsu, Henan, Huguang to take advantage of food, and those who remained in the Yellow Flood Area were the elderly, women, and young children, and in some places there was a barren and cold swamp for dozens of miles, and there were no fireworks in the broken walls of the villages, and there were more than a dozen people in the villages who lived by eating Guanyin soil, and there were people who could not pull down the stool and died of swelling every day. I heard that there are human flesh workshops in the mountainous areas of western Anhui, and the poor people even sell their sons and daughters to sell their wives to the workshop for the consumption of passing guests. On the way, the slave wrote to the governor of Anhui, asking him to save the first aid and quickly distribute food, but I don't know what the situation is now. In such weather, I don't know how many people are killed in the snow! He frowned, thinking of the scene on the terrible and terrible road of a thousand miles, his face turned pale, he let out a long breath, and bit his lower lip and said no more.

For a while, the hall was as silent as death, and I could only see the snowflakes dancing and falling obliquely outside the hall through the window, and I could only hear the monotonous and boring "click" sound of Dajin's self-striking bell. Liu Yong remembered the conversation with Li Shiyao in Tianjie just now, thinking of the haze and hell of the world where the crows were starving and the west wind and falling leaves on Huaibei Road, and beside the warm animal charcoal stove, one after another shivered in his heart. Ah Gui and Ji Yun are complementary ministers, and they also knew that the suffering in the world and the eulogies reported by the officials were no less different from the clouds and mud, but they didn't expect that as soon as the misery was so bad, their hearts kept sinking and sinking...... Thinking of Qianlong's New Year's Day admonition: 'There is a room in the world that is not at peace, and a husband is not allowed to eat, that is, the responsibility of the prime minister', and immediately felt uneasy. When I peeked at Qianlong, I saw Qianlong sitting upright on a chair, looking into the distance with a pair of eyes like a wind and snow outside the wall, gritting his teeth and saying nothing, holding the chair handle tightly with both hands, and not moving. For a while, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense, and even the eunuchs standing outside the warm pavilion felt it, and they were more careful, lowered their heads, and did not dare to come out of the atmosphere. After a long time, I heard Qianlong ask: "Ah Gui, the Yellow River broke down in August, it was your intention at that time, and later the household department mobilized grain relief and ordered the grain relief to reach households before the Double Ninth Festival, how did the provinces reciprocate?" ”

"Ah, Your Majesty!" Ah Gui was pondering, and only came back to his senses with a shudder of surprise, and said busily, "At that time, the five provinces of Henan, Zhili, Huguang, Shandong, and Jiangnan were collected, and 250,000 stone grains were each transferred to Anhui. Hu Guangbu political envoy palindrome, grain storage according to the previous will to transfer 1 million stone to Xi'an, transfer to Zhaohui military, now the lake is ripe, to stabilize the price of grain also need to use silver taels, please the Ministry of Household and Military Department to allocate silver to buy grain. The household department allocated the silver, but the military department rejected it, saying that the silver was not enough, so the money was not distributed. Every year, Beijing needs to use 4 million stone of grain, and because of the flooding of the Yellow River and the blockage of transportation, Zhili Province now owes 300,000 stone of grain, so it goes to the military aircraft department to ask for instructions to transfer 500,000 stone to ensure that Beijing uses grain and the surplus grain is transferred to Anhui. The grain from the south of the Yangtze River has been transferred to Huaibei. Henan's harvest is flat, please reduce 100,000 stones, 150,000 stones have been transferred, Shandong's grain has been transferred to Anhui, Anhui's political envoy Dou Guangnai refused to accept because the grain quality is too poor. Therefore, only about 400,000 stones have been transferred into Huaibei, and the grain for next spring has not yet been settled...... The servant is in the cardinal, and he should be worried about the king-"

"Don't go any further!" Qianlong patted the arm of the chair to stop Ah Gui's words of apology, his forehead was already covered with dark clouds, still suppressing his anger, his voice became slow and sluggish, with irresistible coercion, a sneer hung on the corner of his mouth and said, "People have starved to death, the people have left their hometowns, and if you say a few words of apology, the people will be able to live and work in peace and contentment?" ”

None of the four ministers could sit still, and as soon as they leaned over, they knelt down in front of the club.

"Six counties were flooded, and one million hungry people were one million stones. I've figured it out. If half of it is distributed to the poor, 50 catties per capita, 8 taels per day, you can barely survive the winter. Relief will be given again next spring, so that there will be no escape from the famine, and the summer grain will be connected. Qianlong's voice was not high, as unhurried as he usually received officials from other provinces, but the metallic trills in his voice could clearly hear the fury of the imminent thunder. Suddenly, like a thunderbolt, he raised his voice: "Where did I think that between the ministry and the ministry, the province and the ministry, the province and the province, ignoring the millions of people who are waiting to be fed, and still arguing?!" Decree - Dezhu of the Ministry of Household and Pan Siyuan of the Ministry of War were immediately evacuated and demoted to the rank of squire in this department. Two years fine! Dou Guangnai, the political envoy of Anhui, went to wear it, demoted it to three levels and retained it, and then dealt with it after the disaster relief! ”

The four ministers had already turned scorched with frightening, and they lay on the ground and paused repeatedly. Liu Yong knew in his heart that Ji Yun was revising the "Siku Quanshu" and the Ministry of Rites and Criminal Affairs, and the disaster relief had little to do with him, but since he was in the military aircraft department, he could not shirk his responsibilities; Li Shiyao still met with courtiers from other provinces, and it was inconvenient for him to speak; In addition to the commander of the military plane, Ah Gui has to make every effort to dispatch troops in the northwest and southwest, and Yin Jishan and Fu Heng are already so busy that they can't grow three heads and six arms, and it is inevitable that there will be occasional negligence in the ministry. In this situation, only he can speak, because he kowtowed: "The emperor is sympathetic to the people's suffering, and the courtiers are guilty of dereliction of duty." But as far as the minister knows, Dou Guangnai's ethics are very good, and he knows the art of governing the people, and there must be a reason for refusing to accept grain. Although the military in the southwest is temporary, the rebellion in the northwest and Zhuobu, the large army gathers in the pressurized territory, and the two departments of Dezhu and Pan Siyuan are complicated and huge, so it is not appropriate to be easier to get started. I asked the emperor to appoint a minister to go to Wuhu, Jiangxi, Qinghe and other places to provide relief and check the river to prevent water transportation. Before the flood next year, the hidden danger of the Yellow River embankment bursting will be eliminated, and then the dredging of the canal will be supervised to ensure the smooth flow of transportation. Otherwise, the frozen river will be unsealed next year, and the cauliflower flood will be washed down in May, and there may be even more unspeakable things......"

"Your Majesty ......" Ah Gui also came to his senses at this time, and took a step to cry, "The servant who was in the military aircraft department was discussing this matter with Ji Yun, and the governor of Shandong, Guotai, in order to make up for the deficit of the feudal treasury, took advantage of the disaster relief will to purchase the moldy grain in the private inventory, each stone is only six coins and silver taels, and the remaining two taels and four coins and one stone are 300,000 stones, which should be more than 700,000 taels, which needs to be verified and reported." The military aircraft department is slow to play its duties, and the sins are not forgiven, all of which are caused by Agui's lack of virtue and incompetence, and Ji Yun has been guilty of the crime, and begged the emperor to punish him heavily, so as to set an example for his subordinates and show the emperor's virtue to the public...... "Ji Yun also kowtowed again and again, "After the Huaibei flood, the relief was not effective, and the ministers had already heard about it, because of Cathay's corruption and lawlessness, the saint had already withdrawn the investigation, and foolishly thought that some road rumors were not enough to believe, so they did not hear it immediately." Fang only saw Dou at the military aircraft to present a sample of grain relief in Shandong, and he knew the seriousness of the disaster and the suffering of the people. The minister and Ah Gui are in the same military plane, and the guilt is unforgivable...... "Qianlong looked at Ah Gui. Ah Gui tremblingly took out a gray cloth bag the size of a purse from his bosom and presented it to Qianlong with both hands.

Qianlong took it and saw that the thread at the mouth of the cloth bag was unsealed, and it was about three or two grain samples, and when he poured out a little and looked at it in the palm of his hand, there was also millet mixed in it, there was sand and grass mustard, and there were things that were unclear and a bit like burned incense ash, and some rice fingers became powder when they were twisted. Scattered in the palm of your hand, it can be regarded as "rice" only accounts for less than half, and you don't know what it tastes like when you smell it, in short, there is no smell of rice. Qianlong originally knew Dou Guangnai very well, when he toured the south, he was in Yizheng Huailin and admonished him bitterly, and he criticized the dragon scales directly, and the wind and bones shocked the government and the opposition, although Qianlong appreciated his courage and pride, but also felt that he was too straightforward. To help the victims, it would be good to fill his stomach, and he would care about the quality of the food - I thought he was a scholarly fool. At this time, this "rice" is really inedible even for pigs, no wonder Dou Guangnai categorically refused! Thinking about Cathay, it has been said that he is greedy for official property, and it is really unbelievable that he dares to act so recklessly at this time! He coldly threw the grain bag on the kang table, took the towel handed by Wang Bayan and rubbed his hands, thought about it and said: "The military aircraft department has few people, and you staff have your difficulties. But--the people's life is the destiny of heaven, hundreds of thousands of desperate peasants are gathered in a few counties, so close to Baoqinggu, Menglianggu and Weishan Lake, in case there are Chen Sheng, Wu Guangzhi and others who raise their arms and exclaim, this is all over the dry firewood, how difficult it is to extinguish it-how dare this kind of thing be the slightest neglect?! Well? ”

"Slaves are guilty......"

"Get up." Qianlong sighed deeply and called Wang Basha, "You went to Yin Jishan's Mansion to pass the decree, I know that Jishanhe is going west, and I am shocked and mourned." That is, the eighth son of the emperor, Hao Xuan, was sent to the sacrifice with the Dhara Sutra and gave 5,000 taels of silver for the funeral. All funeral affairs shall be carried out after the Ministry of Rites has drawn up and commented. Wang Bashi repeated it but withdrew, and Qianlong said again: "I just said that there are few people in the military aircraft department, and we need to add more people to come in." One is Yu Minzhong, a university scholar, who has always been the minister of the upper study, the chief master of the imperial brother of Yuqing Palace, and the minister of military aircraft and the minister of the guard. Liu Yong was awarded the co-organizer of the university scholar, and the title of governor of Zhili, and the title of secretary of the processing department. There is also a newcomer, the former head of the Luan Honor Guard, He Shen, walking in the military aircraft department, Li Shiyao ......" He turned his face and looked at the four ministers who were sitting silent, "You have been reappointed as the commander of the Jingshi Infantry Army, and you will also serve as the actual governor of Zhili, and you and Yu Minzhong will preside over the spring next year." After the spring season, the Minister of Military Aircraft was added. He took a sip of his tea and sat back in his chair.

This series of appointments had not been discussed with anyone in advance, and the four of them were stunned for a while. Yu Minzhong is familiar with them, and he is the champion of Qianlong for three years. The young man is high, his talent is high, and his temperament is also very great, he is the kind of master who often says "don't answer with mortals", presiding over the Lifan Academy and not dealing with the Ministry of Rites, presiding over the Hanlin Academy, Guozijian and falling out with his peers, the chief master of the Qiandong Palace, even the group of Huang Brother and the Yellow Belt Sect who no one dares to mess with him all walked around him when they saw him, like a person who does not eat fireworks and food in the world, and saw that everyone had a straight face with a face on his back, what did Qianlong think, and chose him to be the minister of the military machine? Another Heshen, socializing on all sides and gathering in all directions, changing faces when he sees people at a time, and desperately making friends with people, also wants to enter the military aircraft to participate in national politics? Several people were thinking. But Qianlong did not ask for advice. Ah Gui secretly complained in his heart, but he and Ji Yun had just been guilty, and they couldn't be discouraged no matter what. Liu Yong coughed lightly and was about to speak, but Li Shiyao had already spoken:

"Yu Minzhong's academics are pure and his conduct is impeccable. Keeping people upright is his forte. However, as far as the slaves know, He Shen and his people have no outstanding achievements in the military, civil affairs, and law departments and prison administrations, and their qualifications are very shallow. ”

"You said that Yu Minzhong's strengths are half a sentence, there must be shortcomings, you don't have to hide your head and show your tail, let's talk about it."

"The slave doesn't have much public and private interaction with Yu Minzhong, but he has heard about it." Li Shuyao had already heard Qianlong's dissatisfaction, so he hurriedly bowed down and said with a straight face, "Or because of the arrogance of talent, the rigidity can't tolerate people, and the slave is afraid of being a slight flaw." ”

"Yu Minzhong is not good, and He Shen is not good, who do you think has both ability and political integrity, can be both military and civilian, legal and prison affairs, and is better than Fu Heng Agui? Recommend me to hear about it! ”

As soon as this sentence came out, Li Shiyao was suddenly speechless. He was not the kind of person who did not know each other, so he immediately apologized, blushed and said, "It's the slave who is offended, and he has no mouth to hide." The minions got it. He glanced at Ah Gui and the three of them, all sitting in one place with wooden faces and expressionless faces. I can't help but regret that I have spoken too much. Liu Yong actually has no ill feelings towards He Shen, but Yu Minzhong goes from place to place, and never can work with people for goodness and good life, which is a well-known thing, and it is a serious illness to become a cardinal. Now as soon as Li Shiyao opened his mouth, he touched a nail that was neither hard nor soft, and he had a belly and could only hold it back. Only Soning sat firmly and listened to Qianlong.

"I think I still know people." When Qianlong saw this description, he knew that they might not all be convinced, so he slowed down and said, "The incumbent Minister of Military Aircraft, except for Yin Jishan, who has just passed away, is known to the first emperor, along with a few of you, which one was not personally selected by me and appointed by the special secretary?" What went wrong? It's his own ability, and he doesn't listen to my lessons, so he makes mistakes and commits crimes, although I put him in the law and remembers his actions in the military aircraft, it is still a virtuous complement. He suddenly felt that he was full of words, leaving no room for it, and calmly lowered his speech, and said: "Since ancient times, no barefoot perfect person has been perfect, and it is necessary to find someone like Confucius and Zhou Gong to enter the military plane, and I am afraid it is also a reproach." Yu Minzhong has a high cliff, there is a problem of self-righteousness, I take his uprightness, Yu rectification is still beneficial, and I talked to him a few times, he also deeply regrets that his edge is too bright and easy to dirty, and there is less room for people. It's good to be able to know and change! You Li Shiyao said that He Shen is not good here, but He Shen is saying good things about you behind your back, in comparison, you owe more grace! He Shen has never been a magistrate, and he is not familiar with military and civil affairs, so you can help him! He is still a good hand at financial management, works diligently and respectfully, and is a person who can be used by the Military Aircraft Department. Ah Gui, you are his old boss, he learns to walk in the military plane, you are still his boss, you can teach him more, and you will come out after a few years of training. ”

Ah Gui thought while listening, he also knew that Qianlong had met with Yu Minzhong several times recently, and he didn't expect to think about the Ming Chunchun Gong test, so he asked this old champion to be the chief examiner, and only at this moment did he understand that he was "expected" to deviate from the topic. He was in the military aircraft department, of course, he inevitably listened to Yu Minzhong's official proverbs, and they all said that he was difficult to work with, "not easy to work with", and "uncomfortable" when he was his boss and boss. But the meeting ceremony was respectful, Yu Minzhong was generous and elegant, and his actions and words were not annoying. As soon as Qianlong said that he was entering the military machine, Ah Gui kept looking back and forth on the relationship between the two, while listening to Qianlong's words, he didn't dare to miss Qianlong's words, and he was busy thinking about things again, and he was already a little distracted, and when he heard Qianlong suddenly ask himself, he hurriedly bowed down and replied: "He Shen is a filial son, loyal and filial piety, and the master's eyesight is good." Now that he has been pulled into the military plane, he is also listed as a minister, and he has been taught by the emperor day and night, and he will definitely make more progress. The slave must work together with Yu Minzhong to do his best for the emperor. As he spoke, he had completely settled down on his mind, and said in a deep voice, "The military aircraft department is the holy order to enter and exit, and the scenery is from the land of the world. The slave has followed the master for many years and has two experiences, one is to be cautious, and to be cautious is not to leak; The second is sensitivity, and sensitivity is not sluggish. If you don't stagnate or leak, you will make a decision to travel around the world, and the responsibility of the cardinal will be fulfilled. I am willing to encourage Yu Minzhong and Shen, and I don't dare to be negligent and sloppy because He Shen has been in the line. ”

"It's really these words that have the body of a minister." Qianlong was greatly pleased, and his originally gloomy expression suddenly became cheerful, and he stroked his palms and sighed, "This is a truth that only ministers who really study and do things can come up with, and Ji Yun must also remember - you all have to remember." ”

Ji Yun glanced at Ah Gui. This is what he said to Ah Gui in the Ah Gui Water Pavilion last summer, Ah Gui is now ready to use, the emperor wants to "remember" himself, he doesn't feel funny, but he doesn't dare to laugh, and respectfully replied: "Keep it in mind!" ”

[1]

Chinese, that is, Manchu.

[2]

Sell lotus flowers, trick girls from good families into selling to big families, and get kickbacks from them.