starling is not a bird

Emperor Daan, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, regardless of whether they were willing or not, when the prince who supervised the country returned the government affairs to Kangxi, his eyes were full of tears, "Huang Ama, you are finally Daan, your son is ashamed, and you can't use him as a substitute." Of."

Kangxi had already learned from the Queen Mother that his prince was still kneeling in front of the Bodhisattva to beg for his birthday in the middle of the night, and the eyes he looked at this beloved son became more and more warm: "Since ancient times, the law of heaven has reincarnated, and life and death are determined. I know that you love the king and respect your father. , the courtiers are full of words, long live the emperor, long live, long live, and which emperor is really alive? My life will come to an end one day, and this world will be handed over to you sooner or later. You are my Qing Dynasty The crown prince. How can you ignore your own life? You must never mention this again."

When Kangxi was sick, the prince, who was deeply confused by his uncle Suo'etu, had some bad intentions. Now hearing the words, the little trace of regret in Prince Yinreng's heart was completely overwhelmed by the overwhelming shame in his heart.He could only cry and crawl, hugging his father's legs, as if tears could wash away all the darkness.

The warmth between father and son only lasted for a short period of time. No matter whether the emperor was recovering from a serious illness or not, no matter whether the crown prince wanted to repent silently or not, the envoy from Tswang Arabutan from Galdan had been waiting outside the palace for too long. Wailang Madi, an envoy of the Qing Empire who died in vain, could not wait any longer.

Lin Boke, the envoy of Hami Babai Khan Ebedulah, knelt on the golden palace. His palms were covered with sweat, but he knew that he must not panic. He carried the hope of the entire Hami Uyghur people. Ra's instructions are engraved in his heart. If he can't win the trust of the Qing emperor, who will save the clansman oppressed by Junggar?

"Minister, Lin Boke is an envoy of the white hat clan, and the white hat clan of the minister has been paying tribute to the emperor for a long time. The court angel Madi passed by Hami, and the minister could not protect him. He was robbed by the Junggar rebel army outside Hami city. , Madi was killed, and the rest fled for their lives. They were killed by the Mongols. The Mongol soldiers lived in no fixed place, and they fled after killing. The courtiers lived in the city, so it was impossible to participate in such activities. The courtiers had limited power and could not stop Junggar The rebel army killed Ma Di, and afterwards tried their best to find and appease the rest of the angels, the white hats donated food and horses, and sent officials and others to escort them to Jiayuguan."

Tswang Arabutan's envoy brought even worse news. Galdan not only killed Madi, but also occupied his nephew Tswang Arabutan's fiancée, and killed Tswang Arabutan's younger brother.What's even more outrageous is that Galdan also sent a memorial. He didn't mention anything about killing the court envoys, but asked Kangxi to marry his daughter to him as his wife; Long North" - the idea of ​​​​establishing the Mongol Khanate.

Kangxi tightly held the memorial in his hand, feeling great hatred in his heart. Galdan, who was defeated in 29 years, once knelt in front of the Qing army envoys, and swore to "never offend Khalkha, a subordinate of the Chinese emperor." And all the people", now in just two years, he dared to assassinate the court's envoys.How much the emperor wanted to grab Galdan in front of him, but unfortunately he couldn't.The San Francisco rebellion had just been put down, the year before last had a big campaign, last year there was a severe drought, and the treasury was empty, so there was really no time to use troops against Galdan.Now is not a good time to let Galdan experience the wrath of the emperor.Wen Yan appeased Hami's envoy, and rewarded him with python robes, mink hats, and gold belts. Very well, the white hats will be the vanguard of the court's suppression of rebellion in the future.

In the middle of the night, the tossing and turning emperor couldn't fall asleep, and the servant guarding the door was trembling and didn't even dare to lean against the wall.Finally, the emperor got up and walked to the outer hall.

A bright moon in the sky is reflected on the bright yellow glazed tiles of the cornices, like warm varnish.The emperor looked at the moon and slowly calmed down. He ate the food in one bite. Galdan was not trustworthy or fearful!Tomorrow, the courtiers will be invited to discuss carefully, and he must not be allowed to continue to be presumptuous.

In the night, many servants followed silently. Kangxi found a figure hiding in the shadows. The emperor looked in that direction. The figure found the emperor's sight, stopped moving, and knelt down cautiously.

A ragged eunuch, no.The word ragged may be a bit serious, but it is indeed very shabby. In the palace, how could there be a servant in shabby clothes?

The chief eunuch scolded loudly

"Bold slave, how dare you lose your dignity in front of the king?"

The waiter panicked and didn't reply, just kowtowed non-stop.

"Get up and answer," the emperor said.

"Why are your clothes so shabby? Where's your monthly money? Don't you have any? Or is it a waste of gambling money?"

"Returning to the master, the slave dare not spend money recklessly. It's just that the slave's mother is sick. The slave sent the monthly money to someone else, but it was still not enough, so I had to embezzle the money for buying clothes. Please forgive me, the slave will not dare again."

The little waiter didn't dare to cry, but just kowtowed, and the dull sound echoed in the air.

"Forget it, I think you are filial. How can I be that kind of stupid king who doesn't care about human relations? I'll spare you the punishment."

The little servant was overjoyed and thanked him hurriedly.

The next day, the Golden Temple

The emperor issued two imperial edicts.

One is to allow Galdan's Tsewang Arabutan to do business with the Qing court at the border.

One is to follow the example of the Eight Banners, to borrow official money to the servants in the palace and others, and the third rank and above of the court will be handled in the same way.

Changchun Garden

Prince Yu had already received the letter, and was waiting in the study early. Kangxi walked in with the prince, eldest elder brother Yinti, third elder brother Yinzhi, and fourth elder brother Yinzhen.

"Fuquan, in two years' time, take your army to pacify Nagardan!" The emperor's tone was very flat, but Prince Yu, who grew up with him, already understood the anger in it.Without waiting for Prince Yu to speak, the emperor turned his head to look at his son again, "Si elder brother, how much money is there in the household department?"

Yinzhen whispered a number in exchange for a deeper sigh from the emperor.

"Forget it, if the money from the Ministry of Households is not enough, those who come to borrow official money can get it from the Ministry of Internal Affairs!"

"However, Huang Ama, although my son doesn't care about the internal affairs, he also heard that the ginseng harvest in Heilongjiang is not enough, and the internal affairs have been stretched."

The prince immediately picked up the conversation

"Huang Ama, it will be the Empress Dowager's birthday soon, and the former son-in-law Shang is still worried! If the servant borrows the money again, there will be a famine."

"Galdan is pressing hard now. If it weren't for the tightness of the treasury, how could I be so restrained by him? The price of silver has skyrocketed, and even the offerings in the palace have to eat extra food, let alone those poor officials in Beijing? They are all from the Qing Dynasty. My people, I can no longer care about the integrity of Hami's ministries, what if I can't even care about the dignity of the court?" Kangxi didn't go on with the rest of the sentence, but everyone understood.Yinzhen was about to say something, but swallowed it back.

There is no other way, but to endure, even if it is a nobleman, there is a destiny that cannot be changed.

The older elder brothers discussed affairs in Changchun Garden, while the younger elder brothers naturally studied in Wuyi Hall.Yinhu pinched a Huzhou wolf and painted the red absent-mindedly, his mind was full of mess.What happened in the courtroom yesterday kept disturbing his mind, Junggar's envoy?Hmph, he knows better than anyone else that all tribes in Junggar are wolves, what is Galdan, and Kangxi's personal conquest will definitely destroy him in a few years.Tsewang Arabutan was the vicious alpha wolf. He was submissive on the surface, but harbored murderous intentions. He first pulled the imperial court to help him deal with Galdan. The excerpts complained: "The livestock are exhausted, there is no food to eat, people are extremely poor, people are plagued by diseases, and deaths continue one after another."

Kangxi likes to be a benevolent king, so he immediately sent someone to pardon him: "If you are poor and have no food, you can't return to your homeland. If you move to the frontier and flood, I will give you a generous gift. If you decide to surrender, you will be able to take care of you." Kangxi intends to let the people If you want to give birth with peace of mind, you will allow mutual trade and provide assistance.

As a result, Tsewang Arabutan was an unfamiliar white-eyed wolf. While trading with the border to gather strength, he called on all ministries under the banner of "getting the yellow religion and winning the heart of Mongolia".Tibet was occupied quietly, every step was pre-empted by Tsewang Allah Butan, and the Qing Dynasty won the victory after paying a heavy price step by step.Although the purpose of Tsewang Arabutan's rebellion was not achieved, the Qing Dynasty did not surrender Junggar.

It wasn't until his fourth elder brother Yongzheng ascended the throne that he understood the purpose of Tsewang Arabutan's series of small military operations in Junggar: "Because of the plans of the tribes in Qinghai and the tribes in the Western Regions, they secretly sent people to attack Lhasa and kill them. , to plunder Tibet."

As a descendant of the Aixinjueluo family, Yinhu has a deep hatred for the various ministries of Junggar, not only because the war lasted the entire Kangxi Dynasty, which was a waste of money and people, but also because it killed Prince Yu in the 42nd year of Kangxi, and in the 61st year of Kangxi Delayed the fourteenth elder brother back to Beijing.Could everything have changed without this war?In any case, Junggar violated Yinhu's taboo by making such an intention to cause chaos. Can the destiny be changed?What else is doomed?If a single spark can start a prairie fire, then let the wrath of Heze come early.

Bell Palace at night

The elder brother Yinti's casual mention of the holy will made Yinhu more angry than Junggar, lending official money?The emptiness of the national treasury in the last years of Kangxi began with this decree. The most ironic thing is that the Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty who Kangxi looked down on the most, when he hanged himself in Jingshan, the silver in his treasury was when Kangxi died. ten times.

The imperial court has been fighting all the time, and the battle to put down Li Zicheng's remaining troops and the battle with the small imperial court of Nanming is still a small expense.The war to pacify San Francisco that started in the 12th year of Kangxi lasted for eight years.Then there is the use of troops against Taiwan and the Northwest, which is a big expense and will cost a lot of money.Not to mention the suppression of the rebellion by various ministries in Junggar that lasted for decades.

How much income can a Jiangsu governor earn? 130 taels.This is a year's income, and the monthly income is less than 11 taels.Calculated based on the exchange rate of one tael of silver for 1680 Wen, the daily cost is only [-] Wen.According to this kind of income, if you don’t get corrupt, you will basically starve to death. After Mr. Tang Bin became the governor, he became a big Qing palace. The wild shepherd’s purse he ate was picked by his wife in the wild.After Tang Bin died, he only had eight taels of silver in his pocket, not even a month's salary.Therefore, it is not easy to be a clean official.

Kangxi always felt that scholars always understand the truth, and they will have character after reading the book.But in reality, literati are also human beings, they also have emotions and desires, and they also have to support their families.Once the literati become dirty, they are even dirtier than ordinary people.In three years, the prefect was cleared, and one hundred thousand snowflakes were awarded.

With the opening of borrowing official money, how many dirty officials can blatantly embezzle?When Yongzheng ascended the throne, the national treasury only had 700 million taels of silver, and the war in Qinghai had to rely on the family of Cao Yin weaving in the south of the Yangtze River to pay for the military expenses.At that time, I, who was in charge of the Ministry of Industry, had to save money and take care of Yongzheng's face. I was almost exhausted, and that ruthless guy even punished himself to kneel in the temple!

Recalling the past, even if Yinhu harbored resentment, he had to admit that Yongzheng was very pragmatic. Yongzheng, who had been in charge of various ministries when he was an elder brother, was very aware of the ills of the imperial government. .Yongzheng is probably the emperor who knows the economy best among the emperors of all dynasties.There is actually an emperor like him who has established a system of maintaining integrity for the first time, making public and institutionalizing all kinds of private income that have been painstakingly organized by government offices at all levels.Another meaning of Yanglian is, don't make money secretly.A governor of Jiangsu like Tang Bin can get [-] taels of silver for Yang Lian.Even being an upright official is not so uncomfortable.

The enemy does have advantages, but Yinhu is not an old-fashioned antique. He chooses the best to learn from, and when he gets to the bottom of one path, he turns back and changes paths. Why repeat his mistakes?In this life, Yinhu is absolutely unwilling to continue bowing to him.

"Brother, this is not a joke. Those officials are used to taking money from the treasury. When they want to use soldiers in the future, it will not be the end."

Yinti looked at Yinhu and didn't care

"How much can those poor Beijing officials borrow? Old Ba, you worry too much."

"Brother, I heard that there was a drought in Huguang and the price of rice soared. Huang Ama wanted to transfer money from the internal affairs to relieve the disaster. He also exempted the four provinces of Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan from land tax and grain next year. Exempted Shuntian, Hejian, and Baoding. , Yongping and four prefectures will tax and grain next year. The 69 disaster-stricken counties and counties in Zhili, Jiangnan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Shanxi, Huguang and other provinces will be exempted."

Yinti was startled, why didn't he think of this?I don't care about the Ministry of Households, and I really don't know about the treasury. Judging by the emperor's intention, Junggar must be destroyed. There have been disasters all these years. If the harvest is not good, it will be even more difficult for Huang Ama to waive taxes.I am not afraid that the Beijing officials will borrow this money, but I am afraid that they will not be able to pay it back.

"Huang Ama wants to be a sage and implement a benevolent government. Besides, the household department is watching with your fourth brother's sharp temper, so it is expected that it will not move much."

Yinti secretly looked down on Yinti's short-sightedness, it was a matter of profit, so what if he was a prince?The prince's disciples are recruiting soldiers, and I am afraid that the fourth brother will be robbed soon, and the treasury money will definitely go with the wind.After thinking for a while, I changed the topic, "Yesterday, my brother heard that Junggar is not peaceful. Brother, if you send troops again, my brother will secure food and grass for you, so that my brother will not be missed by the food and grass like Prince Yu."

Grain and grass hit Yinti's heart, this younger brother is really caring, caring about himself in everything, it can be of great use!Yinti didn't answer the call, but he planned to contact Mingzhu in his heart to discuss how to keep his military expenses.

"Old Ba, it's hard for you to think about brother like this. Come on, let's have a toast!" Yinti raised his cup and drank it down.

Concubine Hui is not easy to intervene, the harem is not allowed to participate in politics, and her son can talk about court affairs at will, but she is not qualified to speak, so she can only drink and persuade in silence.