Beijing.

Forbidden city.

South Den.

Kangxi sat on the kang, although it was cold outside, the room was as warm as spring, his one-word fox fur shoulders had been taken off and put aside, only a dumb gold dragon gown was left on his body, fine beads of sweat still appeared on his forehead, and he shouted to Li Lianyun, the eunuch of the Qianqing Palace: "Remove the charcoal brazier." ”

Li Lianyun responded to the sound of "piercing", inserted the rhino whisk in his hand on his waist, and then went over to hold the charcoal brazier, holding his breath and not daring to breathe, before holding the charcoal brazier to the kang tip and away from Kangxi.

Kangxi was holding a letter in his hand, which was written by Ba Yi, he looked at Zhou Kongmeng who was standing in front of the kang, and snorted and laughed: "This Ba Yi, you say, what should I do with him?" ”

The south study is nominally a study, in fact, it is not a study in the general sense, it was established in the sixteenth year of Kangxi, Kangxi in order to talk about the poetry and painting with the scholars of the Hanlin Academy, in the southwest corner of the Qianqing Palace, it is a special house to wait, it is a famous south study, in the Hanlin officials, "the choice of words and talents and excellent people" into the value, called "the south study walking", the person on duty mainly accompanies the emperor to write poems and write words and paintings, and sometimes also adheres to the emperor's will to draft an edict to write an edict, because the south study is not a noble purlin, and the cronies of the upper office are not allowed to enter, Therefore, it is completely a core confidential institution strictly controlled by Kangxi, and it undertakes to issue edicts at any time, which makes the power of the South Study increasingly powerful.

And Zhou Kongmeng was originally a bachelor of Hanlin, and he was good at poetry, calligraphy and painting, so Kangxi ordered him to enter the south study and gradually rely on it.

Listening to the emperor's opinion, Zhou Kongmeng was afraid that he would stab others in front of Kangxi because he had a good relationship with Ba Yi, so he deliberately said fiercely: "He should be punished, Sun Lushan was recommended by him, so he is guilty of misleading the country." ”

Kangxi glanced at him, didn't know what he meant, and then threw the piece on the kang table on his side, took the teacup and drank the tea slowly, and said after a while: "Ba Yi has merit and has been there, but his merit is too low, and if the two are offset, he will be punished for a year." ”

After that, he raised his eyebrows and looked at Zhou Kongmeng: "Do you think my punishment will be too heavy?" ”

If you don't dismiss the official, there will be no prison, Zhou Kongmeng laughed out loud with joy in his heart, it's just a year, Ba Yi will not starve to death, he has added up to a long list of official titles over the years, which can make him worry about food and clothing, but Zhou Kongmeng is still very calm on the surface, and he has a bit of a posture of not holding grievances for the people of the world: "The emperor's punishment is too light, and it is really cheap for the big man." ”

Zhou Kong Mengjiangnan, long thin and short, so he usually likes to call Ba Yi a big man, but unexpectedly, a "big man" still reveals his friendship with Ba Yi, this kind of intimate way of speaking, is not ordinary friends can't.

Kangxi knew everything about it, and he didn't expose him, it wasn't a big deal, so he said: "Ba Yi was born and died and looked at the north gate for me, how could I bear to punish him heavily, no one is a sage or a sage, and this matter is decided, you will send it over for me." ”

Zhou Kongmeng bowed and said, "Zha, the minister will do it immediately." ”

Kangxi thought for a while, and suddenly said: "Sun Lushan's head is not guaranteed, who will take over the position of Mengjiang co-leader?" Do you have a suitable candidate in mind, this time I will send one from the Beijing officials, and I will be in the prime of life, those old guys are afraid that they will not adapt to the climate outside the Saiwai. ”

Zhou Kongmeng thought about it seriously, and actually had a candidate in his heart: "Shangguan Yu, the eldest son of Shangguan Dun, the secretary of the Criminal Department, that child is the champion of the new department, and he is waiting for him at home. ”

Kangxi frowned: "If you are the champion, why do you need to wait?" ”

Zhou Kongmeng still has a strong Jiangnan accent, and he is always afraid that Kangxi will not understand, so he speaks very slowly: "Your Majesty, you forgot, this champion was appointed by you, and the emperor also said at that time that this person must be good-looking if he is talented, and he can't live up to it. ”

Kangxi suddenly realized: "Oh, there is such a thing, I forgot about it." ”

Zhou Kongmeng hurriedly said: "The emperor has to see the second half of the night every day when he watches the recital, and it is really easy to forget one or two things." ”

Kangxi thought about Shangguan Yu in his heart, and said: "In this way, he is the champion of the new department, he has no experience, and he may not be qualified for the position of assistant leader if he goes to Saiwai rashly, so let Ba Yi temporarily act as the assistant leader, and watch Mengjiang for a few days, and then you choose a few people to teach Shangguan Yu in the past." ”

Zhou Kongmeng lowered his hand: "Tie." ”

Suddenly, he said: "The emperor's micro-service out of the patrol outside the customs, can't it be delayed for a few days, Lafayette doesn't seem to be very happy, saying that the people also know that the Lantern Festival is over before the end of the New Year, and the emperor is going to drive now, which is a little inappropriate." ”

For the micro-service patrol, few people in the palace know, but this matter can not be hidden from the empress dowager, Kangxi said: "New Year, I want to sacrifice to the heavens and the earth to worship the ancestors, but also to close the palace family banquet, but also to have dinner with the courtiers, but also to have fun with the people, busy these days, I want to go out to breathe, I heard that at this time the north of the Saibei is wrapped in silver, the scenery is very good, go to the late snow is melted, there is nothing to see, the date can not be delayed." ”

He insisted, and Zhou Kongmeng could only say: "Tie." ”

At this time, the chiming bell on the wall rang, and Li Lianyun came over and said, "Your Majesty, it's not too early for this hour, it's time to see Lafayette." ”

Kangxi hummed, looked at Zhou Kongmeng and said: "When you go out to patrol the north, you can discuss it with Yu Huayu, Huang Dingchen, and Gai Tieguo, remember, since it is a micro-service, there are only a few simple people, and I don't take a car, I ride a horse." ”

said that it was a few simple people, the emperor went on patrol, how could a few simple people do it, but Zhou Kongmeng was still submissive.

Kangxi got off the kang, Li Lianyun put on his shoulders, put on a sable cloak, and put on a wind pocket, fully armed, leaving only a pair of eyes, and then drove to the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace.

The sky was brushing with snow particles, gloomy and cold, and when I arrived at Cining Palace, I greeted a large group of palace maids and eunuchs, took off the wind pocket and unloaded the cloak for Kangxi at the door, and rubbed the boots with felt, cleaned them, and Kangxi entered.

It was very lively inside, the concubines led by Concubine Tong Jiashi were coaxing the Empress Dowager to play cards, deliberately losing, the Empress Dowager won a lot, she was in a good mood, and her face was full of smiles.

The Empress Dowager said: "We are stubbornly lively here, as soon as the emperor came, but it was a mess, and I won a lot of it, Aunt Su Mala, you can take it together to reward." ”

Aunt Su Mala, who was beside the Empress Dowager, smiled and said, "Those people below are not celebrating the New Year today, I thank Lafayette for their grace." ”

The Empress Dowager smiled, then beckoned Kangxi to sit beside her, and said: "The person in the respectful room said, you haven't turned over the cards for a while, and the mourning family is worried here, is the emperor sick?" ”