[Qing] If you don't work hard, you will be forced to inherit the throne

That night, there was a violent storm outside, and someone knocked on the house bought by the Yehenala family on the outskirts of the capital. A mysterious carriage drove here on a rainy night.Under the lightning and thunder, two or three arrows stuck on the roof of the carriage were illuminated!

Nalan Mingzhu was woken up in the middle of the night, and was confronted with a big problem: how to secretly take the hunted old grand master back to the capital, and arrange for him to enter the palace to meet the prince and the emperor?

He was almost scared to death by the old teacher, and sat in front of the case all day with a sad face.

Nalan Mingzhu had a splitting headache and asked Du Lide: "The grand master knows that Suo'etu and I are enemies, why would he come to find me?"

Seeing Dolittle's distressed appearance, he felt uneasy.I always feel that there are troubles waiting for me ahead, and I wish I could get out of the relationship immediately.

There was no wound on Du Lide's body. Now that he was in good spirits after washing, he bowed his hands slightly to Nalan Mingzhu: "The old minister has no other choice, so he came to seek the help of Ming Xiang. If there is anyone in the court who can be trusted, Ming Xiang is one of them." one."

Nalan Mingzhu felt unbelievable: "Why did the grand master say that?" He didn't believe that an old fox like Dolittle would not be able to see through the disguise under his mask.

Du Lide said: "Some low-level work, with the pride of Ming Xiang, would not bother to do it. It is also because no one would have thought that I, as the prince and grand teacher, would come to find Ming Xiang, but it would make the people who pursued me Can't find me."

Nalan Mingzhu's left eye brow twitched: "I have been a prime minister for many years, but I have never heard that I have any pride. The grand master just joked."

Du Lide chuckled lightly, and did not give him a chance to escape: "Today, there is a heinous crime in place, intending to cover the sky with one hand, colluding with officials and businessmen, and concealing it from the sky. To pierce a hole in this day, Ming Xiang has two choices, One is to kill me here, and the other is to escort me into the Forbidden City, other than that, in your position, you still have the danger of being bitten to death by ants."

Nalan Mingzhu couldn't figure it out: I have endured so much for the official career of my descendants, why are there still troubles targeting me? !

"The old man is also at a loss. Prime Minister Suo is not in the capital, and the army of the Qing Dynasty is in the west. This is a matter of national danger. Please pay attention to it."

Du Lide paid homage to Nalan Mingzhu as an old senior, and Nalan Mingzhu was so startled that he hurriedly avoided...

After the hottest weather has passed, the ears of wheat in the fields appear golden yellow, and the folks have entered a tense autumn harvest stage.

Reports of the good news flocked from all over the country, and almost every county that covered improved grain varieties, new chemical fertilizers and pesticides had good news of increased grain production.

Among the announcements of the good news, a large number of distinctive voices suddenly appeared, such as impeachment, abuse, and grievances, pleading with the court to punish corrupt officials, and the announcement of the capital's Mingchao, etc., all of which are particularly eye-catching.

And in the report, there is actually a "blood book of ten thousand people", a petition written by donating blood. What kind of horrible corrupt officials must have appeared to make the people complain so much, and even sue to the capital?

Everything is directed at one person——Yao Qisheng!

Before people could realize it, Yao Qisheng had become a heinous corrupt official. The whole world regarded him as an enemy. The court officials impeached him, the censor reported it, and there were all the witnesses and material evidence, as well as the accounts of his corruption and bribery. All were sent by the censor to the Kangxi imperial case.

Public grievances arose everywhere, the people were in dire straits, and the people all over the world were in agony because of Yao Qisheng, and there were voices condemning Yao Qisheng all over the court.

Regardless of the situation, in order to appease the court, Kangxi sent the governor and the censor to investigate the case thoroughly, and even chose several officials from the Ministry of Punishment to go there.

Yinreng sat in front of the imperial study, facing a mountain of condemnation of Yao Qisheng's impeachment.

Most of them were sent from the local government, some were played by the local governor, some were played by the procuratorate, and even the local provincial education and administration were mixed in.

The names in Wanminshu have been proofread by officials of the Ministry of Officials, and each of them has a Fujian household registration, so there are no mistakes at first glance.

Yinfeng flipped through those Wanmin books in disbelief, and he didn't dislike the dark brown blood stains, so he touched them with his fingers and observed them carefully.

This morning, the emperor was furious at the court meeting and ordered troops to escort Yao Qisheng back to Beijing to await trial. He didn't know if it was too late to send troops to escort Yao Qisheng back to Beijing.

"I became a street mouse overnight, Baocheng, do you believe in these impeachments?"

Kangxi's expression seemed to be worried, and it was precisely because of the strangeness of this matter that he was extremely vigilant.

"Huihan Ama, my son doesn't believe it. Even Yinyou, who is the youngest and is entering politics for the first time, thinks it's weird."

Yinfeng sighed, pointing to some pieces of names in Wanmin's blood book: "Although these names are written by different people, each person's handprint is different, but the blood of the same person is used."

Although the Qing Dynasty does not have the technology to detect human genes, Xiaomei can detect DNA!

Kangxi frowned, frowned and said: "Clean your hands quickly, don't pay attention to it, there are so many dirty things on it, be careful what, bacteria?"

Although it was said by the prince to name the dirt seen under the microscope as bacteria, it has now become a recognized term.

Kangxi pondered and said: "Can the fairy beast tell you that the blood is from one person?"

When Kangxi mentioned the word "bacteria", Yinreng was startled, and said, "Khan Ama, the microscope may be used in this case, or it may be the key to solving the case!"

Since ancient times, no dynasty has a method to magnify affairs by [-] times. Only the Qing Dynasty has this technology, and this technology has not been circulated for a long time, and it is still a rarity among the people.

No one would have thought that the government would take a sample of every name in the Manmin Book and observe it carefully under a microscope.

Kangxi also kept his eyes open, in order not to make this matter effective, he planned to do it secretly, so he recruited his confidants, after thinking about it, he also recruited the third elder brother and the fourth elder brother, and ordered them to investigate the case secretly in the dark together with Chen Tingjing .

Kangxi asked Chen Tingjing to take the two little elder brothers to do such a big matter, Chen Tingjing was extremely reluctant.

This is the first major task given to Yinzhi and Yinzhen by the emperor after they are in court, and it is much more serious than the small fights in their respective ministries before.

However, as a courtier, he should share the worries of the emperor. Chen Tingjing had criticized Yao Qisheng for being an official before, but he firmly believed in his heart that he might be slandered.

A lie official who falsely reported money in order to take back Zheng's Taiwan training navy, and a strange man who would rather embezzle the treasury at the risk of being beheaded.Yao Qisheng is a strange person, and he is a kind of adventurous person completely different from Chen Tingjing.He spent all his life's money on training the Fujian navy, and his greatest achievement was to strengthen the navy.

Chen Tingjing questioned those who impeached Yao Qisheng, such as "indulging subordinate soldiers to rob good women", "building brothels for military enjoyment and squandering", "embezzlement of public property", "accepting bribes", and "disregarding human life".

Is it slander and rumors, or is it true?He must investigate it to the bottom!

Yinfeng was feeling uneasy about the coming rain, when a letter from outside the palace caught his attention.The channel of that letter was a bit strange, it was concubine Hui who ordered someone to deliver it to Yuqing Palace quietly, that is to say, was it the Pearl of the Palm who delivered the letter to him?

Yinfeng opened the letter and saw that it was Mr. Du's handwriting, which indicated that he was being hunted down by people, and among them there were many people from all corners of the country, so it was impossible to guard against him. The only way to get in touch with Yinfeng was through this method.

Yinfeng sat upright, reading carefully, the more he read, his face became livid, and his fingers turned white.

Without saying anything, first call Khan Ama who dotes on the young concubine in the harem.

Yinfeng seldom shows up when Kangxi is lucky to be a concubine, unless something big happens!

Kangxi was busy with his work, when he heard someone's announcement, his waist trembled, and his face immediately turned green.

Looking down at the bewildered Wang Shi, the emperor twitched the corners of his mouth calmly, put on his clothes under the service of the eunuchs with a dark face, and asked people to pack Wang Shi away.

Not long after Yinfeng waited in the study, Kangxi came in a hurry.

Before he could speak, Yinfeng eagerly handed the letter to him: "Khan Ama, please read Grand Master Du's letter."

Kangxi seldom saw the prince lose his composure. He took the letter and read it roughly. His eyes were full of shock. How could he care about Lin Xing's concubine? The crowd rose up to attack, and there is such a hidden secret in it!"

"Fujian seems to have become a place for opium smuggling. There are opium dens opened everywhere, and foreigners colluded with local officials and businessmen. The families of the common people lost countless fortunes due to opium smoking. What's more, this trend spread among high-ranking officials and dignitaries, and people contributed To higher officials."

"A person who smokes opium is an addict. If he doesn't smoke for a day, he will go crazy and lose his mind. The local wealthy businessmen enjoy this and cultivate prostitutes to help animals. The opium ban in various places directly ignited the opium interest groups, so that they mobilized to attack. Grand Master Du said that most of the blood books sent to the capital were produced by the collusion between local tyrants and landlords."

Yinfeng spoke quickly and eagerly reported: "Even in the capital, three Fukang smokehouses have been born, and they have been in operation for a few months, and I don't know how much opium they have sold."

Overseas trade is too grand, but the sequelae of grandness gave Yinreng a blow!

He never expected that the development of foreign trade, which increased the revenue of the treasury, would actually provide an opportunity for opium to flood the Qing Dynasty, which made Yinfeng highly nervous about this matter.

In fact, there have been traces of opium appearing on this land since ancient times. When Hua Tuo made anesthetics during the Three Kingdoms period, this addictive substance made from poppy fruit has been recorded in the history books.Anesthetics are indispensable. If medicine is to develop, the cultivation of this substance must be in the hands of the state, and the people must not be allowed to plant it by themselves.

In the Tang Dynasty, the "Afurong" that was introduced into the country from Arabia, and the poppy fruit in the Northern Song Dynasty were all "opium".Until Emperor Chongzhen ordered a ban on smoking, opium smoking became rampant in the country (1).

At that time, there were no smoke dens in Beijing, let alone the huge smuggling syndicates in Fuzhou today.

In Dolittle's letter, it was written that Yao Qisheng banned smoking: more than [-] members of the navy team broke into the village of poppies, but were violently rioted by the villagers, causing nearly half of the casualties, and the army suppressed them.A soldier let go of the child out of compassion, and died at the child's hand the next day, and more than a hundred people died here.Adding soldiers, setting fire to the village, and the people hated his evil deeds, they all scolded Yao Qisheng as a villain in the world, blocking the people's way of making money, disregarding human life, and dying, making his reputation among the people plummet.

Kangxi hated and said: "This is a treacherous thing that harms the country. It lures the children of good families, the foundation of bad people, destroys people's will, and confuses the people to stop chaos. Tomorrow, I will order the inspection of the opium dens in the capital. In the future, those who sell opium privately, They will all be punished as rebels!"

"Where is Dolittle, hurry up and invite Dolittle into the palace."

"Han Ama, Grand Master Du, who went to Fuzhou as a supervisor, returned to Beijing quietly. He stayed at Mingxiang's house. My son was worried that he would startle the snake, so that those people received the news in advance and escaped."

Yinfeng and Kangxi closed their doors to discuss and made a plan together.

First lay out an ambush quietly, and then catch the enemy by surprise with lightning speed, arrest the people in the smoke den, seal off the news of the capital, and martial law the gates of the city.

On the other side, they urgently ordered the Eight Banners stationed nearby to go to Fujian to support Yao Qisheng.

"Khan Ama, the governor and censor who are going to investigate the case are on their way."

Kangxi immediately said: "Order someone to hurry up and recall him, protect his life, and monitor who he has contacted with."

The Qing Dynasty trained a large number of Luanyiwei according to the Ming Dynasty's Jinyiwei specification, which is now of great use.

On the other end, the third elder brother and the fourth elder brother gathered together and muttered together. The two decided to study the Wanmin blood book first, and then plunged into the scientific research institute according to the prompt of the prince's second elder brother.

Chen Tingjing shook his head: "What can you tell from the Wanmin blood book? Even if the handwriting is the same, it can't prove Yao Qisheng's innocence."

The governor and the censor were in charge of investigating the case in the open, while Chen Tingjing was in charge of the dark. He decided to investigate the relationship of those who impeached Yao Qisheng, and looked through his records since he became an official, looking for clues.

When the night was dark and the wind was high, the candles in the courtyard were still on. Chen Tingjing, who was reading at night with the lamp on, took his most useful assistant by his side, and buried his head in the sea of ​​files, his eyes were sore and bloodshot.

At this time, the third elder brother Yinzhi knocked on the gate of the department in a hurry, broke in panting and said to Chen Tingjing: "We have made a new discovery."

Chen Tingjing frowned, and said in a slightly serious tone: "It's the third watch now, third elder brother should go to bed at this time, the emperor only ordered you to assist the veteran. Even if it is to gain the emperor's approval, you shouldn't make fun of your body! "

Yinzhi raised his voice and said excitedly: "Master Chen, we used a microscope to observe all the fingerprints on the Wanmin Book, and found that everyone's fingerprints are unique!"

"My lord, everyone's fingerprints have different lines. Under the microscope, every minute and every inch has a different curvature. This fingerprint can be used to identify a specific person. And if someone's hands are particularly sweaty, you can sprinkle it with powder On it, hidden fingerprints were collected, and now the research laboratory is trying to adjust the dyeing agent for observing fingerprints."

Chen Tingjing:? ? ?

There are still such operations? !

Yinzhi spoke excitedly about the new discovery, and provided Chen Tingjing with the most incredible new technique ever to investigate the case.

In the past few days, people in the capital have been in panic. The three smoke dens were sealed overnight, and all relevant personnel were arrested and imprisoned.

The emperor once again recruited Chen Tingjing into the imperial court, completely unraveling the veil of opium smuggling.

Encouraged by Yinzhi, Chen Tingjing ordered people to obtain as many fingerprints as possible from the tobacco rods in the opium den, the transport boxes, and the ledgers that could be collected.

Fingerprints are most likely to be obtained where the opium smoker holds the tobacco rod, and the hand of the laborer who transports the box is also sweaty, and the ledger is more difficult to collect. Fortunately, there are similar lines on a few pages of the ledger.

This way of judging the case was unheard of, but it gave Chen Tingjing great help in handling the case.

Du Lide entered the palace safely, and temporarily lived back in the room that originally belonged to him in the upper study. Yinfeng was a little worried about Du Gongjun's safety, and the old grand master explained: "I am worried about Master Yao, so I asked him to go back to protect Master Yao. .”

Yinfeng breathed a sigh of relief, and always paid attention to the trend of the imperial court banning opium.The courtiers discovered that the previously unaggressive prince had changed. The prince, who was in the court meeting like a gentle breeze, showed his violent fang. The hand of the prince.

Who said the prince is kind and kind?He kills without blinking an eye!

The son of the royal family of this dynasty smoked opium and became addicted to cigarettes in prison. The prince personally carried him to the court and exposed his ugly appearance to the civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty.The insanity of the drug addict at the onset of the attack is appalling, and the courtiers are shocked and can't bear to look at it, and the drug addict's roar is like a beast in his ears.

Who else dares to intercede, who dares to say that opium cannot be suppressed?

In the capital, opium offenders, no matter high-ranking officials or ordinary people, were all arrested in prisons and forced to quit opium.

The fierceness of the prince's wrist also attracted criticism from the scribes, but the emperor relegated all those who criticized the prince to the outside world.

From the capital to the coast, a mighty campaign to ban crows was launched, which was carried out vigorously and swiftly, which was completely different from the speed at which government orders were implemented in the past.

Each customs port became a key spot for investigation, and the Netherlands, which threw opium into the Qing Dynasty in an attempt to earn huge amounts of money, was condemned by the Qing Dynasty, and it was impossible to gain commercial advantages among Western countries in the next few years.

Yinzhen was a little worried about Yinreng's state, lest he would make his eyes red. This was the first time the prince had ordered Luan Yiwei to kill someone without Suo'etu's hands.

Some will be judged by the law, while others will use their family status to get away with opium trafficking.

Yinfeng was relentless about this, and set a strict order "no matter how much, or whether it is forced. Once found to be selling smuggled opium, there will be no mercy. Those who smoke opium will never be allowed to enter the court as a soldier after they are jailed!" "

Since killing, the prince's temperament is different from before.

The originally gentle temperament was marked with sharpness, like an unsheathed sword, the fierce light was revealed when it was unsheathed.

It is also more and more like the prince Yinreng in Yinfeng's impression.

The brothers are very worried about the prince. Since the crow ban, the prince has been tense.

Yinzhen asked him: "Chen Tingjing has been transferred to the Ministry of Punishment, and he has worked hard to ban opium. The case has been settled and judged. Why do you dirty your hands and hurt your reputation instead?"

Yinfeng didn't care about it and said: "Gu doesn't have a good reputation in the court. The benevolent sees the benevolent and the wise sees wisdom. Courtiers who love solitary still love solitary, and those who don't like solitary still don't like solitary. The Taifus all agree with solitary You acted vigorously, and Khan Ama didn't persuade Gu to stop, so in what capacity do you accuse Gu?"

Seeing his indifferent expression, Yin Zhen frowned slightly: "I'm not here to accuse you. Khan Ama said that we should persuade you. He said that you had nightmares and vomited in the middle of the night and hadn't eaten for several days. Your attitude towards smoking ban The courtiers were amazed."

Yinfeng raised his eyes and glanced at him: "Do you think it shouldn't be banned?"

What would happen if opium spread throughout the country?What if this thing is introduced into the Eight Banners Army?This thing is highly poisonous, it will corrode the Qing Dynasty, and it will rot the root of the country!

"Prohibition, of course it must be banned." Not to mention Yinfeng, Yinzhen himself ordered the ban on opium, and even promulgated two decrees: "Regulations on Punishment of Opium Trafficking and Opening of Smokehouses" and "Regulations on Prohibition of Selling Opium and Opening of Smokehouses" Encyclical! (2)

It's just that during his reign, because foreign trade was not as grand as it is now, the harm of opium was contained at that time.

Yinfeng shook his head: "I was blinded by the huge profits abroad, and almost made a big mistake, and neglected to guard against it. It is an important matter for the country, and you can never make mistakes. This is a profound lesson for you."

"Khan Ama didn't stop Gu, so it can be seen that he supports Gu in his heart, and he also expects to see Gu grow up because of this incident," Yinfeng said coldly: "Gu is making up for his past mistakes and preventing Qing Dynasty from being hurt even more. damage. Starting from this incident, we must take this as a warning, set up severe punishments and laws, and use harsh laws to prevent its reappearance."

All the powers of the prince in the court have been used to ban opium. He is telling the world with his actions: Those who sell opium and make it circulate are unforgivable crimes. The only way to apologize is to die. Let them go down and repent to the king of hell. !

This ban on crows lasted for several months, directly affecting the New Year, and the entire Chinese New Year was spent in blood.

Outside the Meridian Gate, rivers of blood flowed from opium sellers, all of whom were beheaded for treason.

The common people were panicked by the wind and thunder changes in the official capital, and the documents from the Propaganda Department followed up and notified the whole country to reassure the people.

The harm of opium, which destroys people's minds, destroys people's families and their lives, will surely publicize this heinous thing to the whole country, so that everyone in the country, from the eighty-year-old to the three-year-old, knows that this prohibition cannot be touched. The family is ruined and the family is destroyed!

The gloomy atmosphere lingered in the capital, and the whole winter was very depressing, until the footsteps of spring approached, and the great victory came from the war in the west. Yao Qisheng, who was full of joy, came to Beijing to report on his duties, and personally thanked the crown prince for his support in the opium ban campaign , this vigorous storm finally ushered in the rain and the sky...

The author has something to say: Tuantuangu tried his best, and withered, really withered, there is not even a drop left!

Note (1): Taken from Baidu data, this part must be written, hereby note.The following is the original text of the Three Kingdoms period, the famous doctor Hua Tuo used marijuana and opium as anesthetics; in the second year of Qianfeng in Tang Dynasty (AD 667), there was a record of opium imports, and Arabic opium in Tang Dynasty was called "Afurong"; AD 973 In the "Kaibao Materia Medica" published in the Northern Song Dynasty in [-], opium was named poppy, and the latter "poppy" was used as a capsule.

Around 1600, the Dutch introduced the pipes and tobacco leaves of the North American Indians to China through Taiwan. There were smokers in China, and the extent of the smokers panicked the Chinese rulers. Emperor Chongzhen ordered a ban on smoking.Because some people once mixed opium with tobacco for smoking, unexpectedly, the ban on tobacco led to the proliferation of pure opium.

Note (2): Emperor Yongzheng promulgated an imperial decree in 1729 to prohibit this drug: "Those who sell opium...the shackles will be dispatched to the army in January; It is planned to be hanged and imprisoned.” However, due to the fact that there is very little opium grown in China, and until the end of Yongzheng’s reign, China only imported 300 boxes of opium each year, which did not become a serious social problem.

In the seventh year of Yongzheng, Emperor Yongzheng promulgated the "Regulations on Punishment of Opium Trafficking and Opening of Smokehouses" and "Decree on Prohibition of Selling Opium and Opening of Smokehouses".This is believed to be the world's first ban on opium.

Driven by profits, Colonel Watson, a senior employee of the British East India Company, formally proposed a plan to grow opium on a large scale in India and then sell it to the Chinese in exchange for Chinese tea. In 1773, the 38th year of Qianlong's reign, the plan was approved and implemented.Of course, Qianlong knew nothing about it.