Pham Van Cheng, Minister for Parliament, 68;

Ning Wan I, Minister of Parliament, 72 years old;

Hong Chengchou, retired without rank, 72 years old.

All three are in Yanjing.

Hong Chengchou is really retired and does not have any official position.

Although Fan Wencheng and Ning Wan didn't ask about the government a few years ago, they retained their status as ministers, and one was the crown prince and the other was the prince and the prince.

That is to say, although they don't ask about anything, the political treatment of Fan Wencheng and Ning Wan is beyond the reach of Hong Chengchou, a retired old man.

Fan and Ning were also Shunzhi when they were here, so that they could stay in Beijing to recuperate in their old age, so that they could be summoned at any time in case of trouble.

Hong Chengchou was a scholar after Shunzhi's death, but he felt "lonely" and had to resign.

The results were approved immediately, and there was no retention.

Fan Wencheng and Ning have been at home for the past few years, and they have not been idle, and they still give advice to the Qing court as old consultants.

Hong Chengchou is directly uncared for, Yu's home is quite lonely, cold in front of the door, and rarely visited.

Not long ago, after hearing that the Eight Banners of the Beijing camp commanded by Mu Lima had suffered a fiasco in Xishan and lost nearly 10,000 Manchurian children, Fan Wencheng, who was nursing at home, suddenly couldn't sit still, and wrote an excerpt overnight and presented it to the imperial court.

In the excerpt, it was proposed that the Eight Banners were the foundation of the Qing Dynasty, and Manchuria was the root of the Eight Banners, but after 20 years of conquest, Manchuria's Dingkou was reduced, so in order to prevent fundamental losses, when the Eight Banners of the Mongol and Han Banners were carried into Manchuria, and then carried into the Han Army with credible elite green battalions, in order to solve the problem of serious shortage of Manchuria and even the Eight Banners Dingkou.

Once this method is implemented, it will not only immediately solve the urgent problem of the decline in the combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners and Dingkou, but will also further unite the morale of the Han army and the Green Battalion, which is a good means to cure both the symptoms and the root cause.

Ao Bai was a little tempted by this suggestion, but he did not adopt it because he considered that this move might shake the foundation of Manchuria, make Manchu sinicized, and be detrimental to Manchu's policy of colonizing China.

It's just another suggestion from Fan Wencheng - to restore the "joint sitting method".

The core content of the joint sitting method is to allow ministers of the ministry and above the third rank, regardless of Manchu, Meng, Han and Han, to give a person who knows it, and if the person who is promoted is competent after being appointed as an official, he will reward the person who is promoted; On the other hand, if they are incompetent, they will be judged according to the magnitude of the crime.

Fan Wencheng believes that once the "joint sitting method" can be implemented, then both inside and outside can obtain true talents, and there is no incurable person in the world.

Aobai, who was bent on rectifying the rule of officials and wanted to solve the "official malpractices" left by the former Ming Dynasty, recognized the "joint sitting method" very much, and deliberately issued an order to implement it, and the results were not bad.

When people came to the palace, Fan Wencheng was chatting in the garden with his third son Fan Chengxun and eldest grandson Fan Shichong.

This is also the daily life of Fan Wencheng since his retirement.

Fan Chengxun, who works in the Qin Heavenly Prison, told his father and nephew about a strange celestial phenomenon observed by the Qin Heavenly Prison yesterday.

"The year star, the glowing star, the filling star, the Taibai star and the chen star are in the southeast direction together, Qintian supervised the ancient books, and the historical records are recorded, saying that the five stars are divided into the sky, accumulated in the east, and China is profitable; Accumulating in the West, foreign military users benefit. The five stars are gathered in one house from the stars, and the country they give up can be lawed to the world. ”

"So, this astrological sign is good for me?"

Fan Shichong has been close to the third uncle since he was a child, close to Zhu is red, close to ink is black, and he can't help but be curious when he hears the third uncle say that there is such a strange scene.

"The five stars are accumulated in the East, which must be beneficial to China."

Fan Chengxun said that Qin Tianjian was writing an excerpt, and he might have to report the matter to the court tomorrow.

According to the past practice, combined with the Qing Dynasty's entry into the customs after 20 years of conquest to finally unify China, this celestial phenomenon should be "auspicious".

When the imperial court received this auspicious report, it must be publicized with great fanfare.

Fan Wencheng pondered for a moment and said to his son and grandson: "Heaven and earth turn, the sun and the moon pass, and it is difficult for the five stars to gather. In October of the first year of the Han Dynasty, the five stars gathered in Dongjing, which was recorded in the Book of Tiangong, the Book of Han and the Book of Han. The ancients divined, this astrological sign is beneficial in the east, and the Qing Dynasty is the purple qi from the east, and it is the founding of the country, which is in response to this celestial phenomenon. ”

After listening to his father's "professional" explanation, Fan Chengxun couldn't help but nod and said, "Qin Tianjian's colleagues also said the same. ”

But he hesitated, as if he wanted to say something.

"What's not to say at home?"

Fan Wencheng frowned slightly, and his son's stumbling appearance made him a little unhappy.

Fan Chengxun hurriedly said: "Father doesn't know, last night the stars were brilliant, the Milky Way was distinct, and the night air was very clear, but the Emperor Star in Ziweiyuan was a little shaky. ”

"Emperor Star Shake?"

Fan Wencheng's expression suddenly became serious after hearing this.

Although he doesn't believe in the unity of heaven and man, and the theory of heavenly induction, he is still afraid of the celestial phenomena, so he can't help but be nervous when he hears his son say that the emperor star is shaking.

"Why is the Emperor Star shaking?"

"Qin Tianjian observed that a big star appeared in the south of the Emperor Star, this star was red and bright, shining and shaking, close to the Emperor Star, and the light was also very strong, and there was a tendency to persecute the Emperor Star."

Hearing his uncle say this, Fan Shichong couldn't help but be a little surprised: "Emperor Star Southern Red Star, which side should this be?" ”

Fan Chengxun shook his head, not daring to say nonsense.

Fan Wencheng was silent for a moment and said: "Since ancient times, celestial phenomena have been related to the fortune of the country, and since the red star is approaching the emperor star, there should be something in the world. As a father, he must make a commotion to the court, see where there is a disaster, provide relief as soon as possible, and then order Fuzhou County to clear the prison and pardon some prisoners. ”

This was also a regular measure taken by successive dynasties in response to celestial phenomena.

Fan Chengxun hesitated, but said, "Father, the child has another opinion on this matter. ”

Fan Wencheng glanced at his son and said, "Let's hear it." ”

"The child thinks that this meteor approaching the Emperor Star may be Wu Sangui from Yunnan!"

"Wu Sangui?!"

Fan Shichong was shocked by the third uncle's bold speculation, if you want to say that there is a killing star to persecute the emperor star, shouldn't it be Ying Aobai, how can it be on Wu Sangui?

Now Yanjing doesn't know that Ao Bai is the real powerful minister.

Since ancient times, the powerful ministers have been the most direct and powerful threat to the throne.

Fan Wencheng also frowned, but he did not discuss this matter with his children and grandchildren, but said in a deep voice: "Don't talk nonsense, you must be cautious outside, don't say what you shouldn't say, and don't think about things you shouldn't think."

As he was talking, the porter came to report that someone from the palace had asked the master to enter the palace immediately.

"Summoning me into the palace?"

Fan Wencheng was a little surprised, since the death of the first emperor, he has not entered the palace for more than three years, let alone the court, why did the palace suddenly summon him to the palace today?

There was no time to string the rope, so he was busy changing the court service and ordering people to prepare a sedan chair to the palace.

At the same time, a few miles away from Fan's house, Ning Wan's house also came to the palace, and there was no hesitation, and Ning Wan, who was already seventy-two years old, hurriedly prepared a sedan chair and rushed to the palace.

Unlike Fan Wencheng and Ning Wan's imperial mansion, Hong Chengchou's mansion in Yanjing was bought by him with his own money.

And not in the city, but in the outer city.

The "retired" Hong Chengchou can be said to have been closed to his house in the past three years, neither going out to visit others, nor anyone coming to visit him, as if he, the first hero who made the peace of the Qing Dynasty, disappeared from the world.

No one remembers him, and no one says anything about him.

The one who has lived is called a dull one.

So that the seventy-two-year-old Hong Chengchou looks about the same as his eighties, not only his braids are gray, but his face is also covered with old age spots.

When someone came from the palace, Lao Jingluo was trembling with one hand on the wall and the other hand on the bird.

It took a long time to finish peeing.

After shivering, I realized that the ground near the urinal was wet.

couldn't help but lose a little consciousness, and looked at the ground full of urine stains in a daze.

Until the old servant gently walked up to him and whispered: "Master, someone has come to the palace, saying that the empress dowager invited the master to enter the palace immediately." ”

"What?"

The old man's ears were not as good as before, and he didn't hear the old servant's voice clearly.

The old servant hurriedly raised his voice and repeated.

"What? The Empress Dowager invited me into the palace? ”

The old man with his eyes full of muddy eyes dropped his crutch to the ground by mistake, and looked at the old servant who had followed him for many years in disbelief.

Suddenly, the old wrinkled face turned extremely flushed with radiance, and the eyes seemed to be full of hope.

"She still remembers me Hong Hengjiu, she still remembers me Hong Hengjiu!"

In the muttering, Lao Jingluo actually straightened up his back, which had been arched for three years, as if he was more than ten years younger, and walked straight out of the house, shouting with full anger: "Prepare the sedan chair, the old man wants to enter the palace!" ”