After the fourth master and I wear each other [Qing wear]

In the 46th year of Kangxi, the [-]th day of the twelfth lunar month.

Cao Yin once again hosted Shengjia to Jiangnan. This was the fifth time Cao's family took him to Jiangnan, but it was the first time to catch up with the Spring Festival.

"Father, my son sees that your complexion is not very good. Did you work too late last night and didn't get enough sleep?"

Cao Yong looked at his father worriedly.Cao Yin was nearly half a century old, and as the Spring Festival approached, he caught up with the emperor's southern tour, which made him busy for nearly half a month.

Tomorrow's New Year's Eve, Shengjia will arrive in Jiangning this afternoon.

Cao Yong persuaded, "There is still one or two hours before lunch, why don't you catch up on sleep? You can also be more energetic in the afternoon."

"I will go to rest for a while as a father, and I have something to tell you first."

Cao Yin looked at his son, he was middle-aged, and he had Cao Yong, his only son.

But Cao's family lives in such a rich and prosperous life, but they don't know how many days the father and son can live together.

"Liansheng, you will be 16 years old after the new year. Baqi's children are old enough to go to work in the capital according to the rules, and you and the daughter of the Ma family should also get married.

The Ma family has also been weaving in the south of the Yangtze River for many years, and they are family friends with us, and we are well-matched..."

Cao Yin hoped to arrange his son's future in an orderly manner, but got stuck in the middle of the conversation.

Unable to deceive himself, Kangxi's southern tour was extraordinary this time, which made him feel that the fire was cooking oil and the storm was coming.

Cao Yong watched his father hesitate to speak, and vaguely realized that the southern tour was not peaceful.

He is not an ignorant person. He heard that the emperor was persuaded to tour the south last winter, but unexpectedly encountered a river construction case, so he deliberately delayed his trip for a year.

This also directly asked, "Father, is there something wrong with Jiangnan? Are we or the Ma family also involved?"

Cao Yin immediately denied it, "The Cao family will not touch that matter, but not touching it doesn't mean it will be correct."

"What's the matter?"

Cao Yong asked, "The emperor is coming today, what exactly do you want your son to avoid?"

"Hey!"

Cao Yin sighed heavily, some things are really too long to tell.

"For my father, I wanted to let you relax for a few more years, but the sudden change in the current situation requires you to understand a lot of things. Jiangning is not good at weaving. It is not only the emperor's purse, but also the emperor's secret agent."

Cao Yong nodded understandingly, "My son understands that the cost of Shengjia's southern tour should be paid by his father, but in recent years, the mining business has not been easy to do, and the deficit in accounts has not been made up."

Jiangning Weaving, this position is a fat job, but there is no fat job without risk in the world.

As an imperial merchant from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Cao Yin, relying on the emperor's trust in him, legally and compliantly asked Kangxi to borrow business start-up funds, so that he could also engage in mining business that ordinary people could not easily engage in.

Part of the money earned made the Cao family rich, and part of it was sent to the emperor.

It sounds like a win-win thing, but there is one most important premise - the business has not failed, and the income is greater than the expenditure.

When doing business, it is very important to have people in the court, but it does not mean that you can make money day by day with the backing of Kangxi.

Everyone knows that Jiangnan is rich and prosperous, and various forces here compete for interests.

The Cao family can rely on the emperor to obtain mining rights, and other businessmen can also rely on other royal family members and powerful ministers.

Even the emperor can't monopolize all the benefits, everyone has to eat, if you don't give benefits, who will follow you to do things.

There is no need to repeat this simple truth, and the Cao family is bound to encounter business rivals.Unfortunately, Cao Yin was at a disadvantage in the competition.

In recent years, the book deficit has become bigger and bigger.

Cao Yin also wanted to make amends, but there was still a string in his mind, some businesses must not be touched.

Once his character is questioned by Kangxi and his trust is wiped out, let alone make up for the deficit and enjoy the glory, he will be dismissed directly.

The Cao family does not engage in illegal business, but there are always people who dare to take risks.

People are divided into groups, and after a long time, the like-minded people gather together, and illegal interest groups appear.

"It's my father's mistake. In the past few years, I haven't been able to find out that the illegal human trafficking gang has taken root in the south of the Yangtze River. I didn't find them until last year, but it was too late."

Looking back, Cao Yin realized that both he and Suzhou Weaving Li Xu were deliberately concealed and targeted by someone with a heart.

It is well known that the Cao family and the Li family are on the emperor's errands.

Because of this, engaging in illegal profiteering business in Jiangnan must have avoided the eyes and ears of the Cao and Li families.

A group of people colluded through illegal human trafficking.

After these people formed a group, they also targeted the Cao family and the Li family in disguise in other industries, causing the Cao and Li families to run poorly for years.

Cao Yong was puzzled when he heard this, "Father, even though we failed to find out the head criminal of the human trafficking group in time, we never worked hand in hand with him, why is it too late?

In the future, the emperor will punish you for not investigating the crime of dereliction of duty at most.The son felt there was room for maneuver.Once those illegal gangs are arrested, our business will be smoother, and the shortfall will be filled sooner or later. "

Cao Yin smiled wryly, "Longevity, time waits for no one. You can see that my father has gray hair at the temples, and the emperor is four years older than my father."

If the emperor has always been Kangxi, then the Cao family really needn't be too alarmed.

Even if the Cao family's contribution is not great, they always guard the bottom line.Kangxi was thinking about his old love, and he would not be punished like ransacking his home and going to prison.

Long live God, but it is impossible to really live forever.

Cao Yong understood his father's implication, and his face suddenly turned pale.

"Father, you mean that the crown prince can't tolerate the Cao family. Is it because Suo'etu was arrested and imprisoned in our house five years ago?"

"It's the emperor and the courtiers, but Suo Ertu was imprisoned here, how can the prince not feel grudges."

Cao Yin knew very early on that the impact of the alternation of imperial power on the Cao family was inevitable, but he never expected that the crown prince sent Fan Pu to set up an illegal human trafficking network, involving a large number of officials and businessmen in Jiangnan.

During this process, the Cao family was excluded, which can understand the prince's attitude.

Now that things have come to an end, it is impossible for Cao Yin to surrender to the prince. He hopes that Kangxi will live a long life, but he has to make preparations.

"The crackdown on illegal human trafficking was carried out two and a half years ago, but the emperor didn't mention it again. Fan Pu and others flinched for a while, thinking that the emperor had no follow-up action. Last winter, he became more and more insane.

Last year, a group of people invited the emperor to make a tour of the south, and actually engaged in illegal construction for this purpose. Some people couldn't wait to come to the south of the Yangtze River to have fun.

The crazier it is, the closer it is to perdition.Just wait and see, the emperor will not restrict everyone to eat, drink and have fun this Spring Festival.As soon as the first month is over, we will directly grasp the current situation and carry out a big liquidation on the spot. "

Last time, Kangxi's interrogation of Suo'etu took place when Cao's family took over, but who will be the one being interrogated this time?

When Cao Yin thought that Kangxi might remove all the prince's influence in the south of the Yangtze River, and this kind of big liquidation happened again in the Cao family, how could it not be disturbing, lest something might go wrong.

"Suo'etu was captured here, and the prince's henchmen were captured here again. It is absolutely impossible for us to befriend the prince again. Moreover, Yinfeng may not be the prince for long."

Cao Yin said this in a low voice, subconsciously turned his head and looked around the room.Even though he knew that his home was safe, he still couldn't help being nervous when talking about changes in imperial power.

When Cao Yong heard this bold prediction, his spine trembled unavoidably. "Father, is it really this far?!"

Cao Yin moved the chair closer to his son, and continued speaking in a tone that only the two of them could hear.

"It's either this year or next year. I think my father knows the emperor too much. He has given the prince too many chances. I'm afraid his patience is close to the limit. Now, we don't know how many people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs are involved in the illegal human trafficking. The relationship between you and the Ma girl The marriage has to be slow."

To get married or not to get married is still a small issue.

Cao Yin was not sure about another matter, "Next, which prince should the Cao family support? After taking charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, officials who made mistakes have not been severely punished, which can solve our current predicament."

If the Cao family had never been at a loss, and if Kangxi was still young and strong, it would be fine for the Cao family to remain neutral, but now they must find a way out.

The benefits of choosing to join Yinhu are obvious.With his style of acting, he will not use thunderous means.

Cao Yong has a different opinion. Yinhu has good relations with many dignitaries in the court. How many places can the Cao family rank?

"In the future, even if King Lianjun doesn't hold Cao's family accountable and write off the deficit, it's impossible for Cao's family to remain in the position of the emperor's confidant as it is now."

"Stupid child, there is no such thing as a hundred-day red flower."

Cao Yin didn't expect to be able to dominate the position of Jiangning weaving all the time.

"If you are lucky, take over as your father and do Jiangning weaving for another five years, and find a job for a rich and idle person in the future."

Cao Yong is very young, and he still dares to think that the blue is better than the blue.

"My son thinks that this is not the only way out. The profits of ocean trading are quite high. If you can participate in it, the profits you make can make up for the shortfall. Ninth Master has already gone to Guangdong Mansion to make a first stop. The title of Pearl King is not for nothing. , I think there will be a vast and unexplored market in the West.”

In other words, the profits of Haimao may allow the Cao family to make up for the short-term shortfall.

As long as the Cao family can solve this big hidden danger, at least they can retire from Jiangning Weaving in peace.

"Supporting Ba Ye, although he chose a seemingly stable path, Dad forgot to consider one thing."

Cao Yong hit the nail on the head, "Is the emperor's true heir the Eighth Master? Ming Xiang, Suo Xiang, and the prince are all lessons learned from the past. We bet on the Eighth Master, what if we make a mistake?"

In recent years, Kangxi did let Yinhu take charge of many affairs, but the prince has also been favored for more than 30 years.If the prince can be abolished, who can guarantee that the eighth master will have the last laugh?

Cao Yin was stopped by the question, "It's not the eighth master, who else could it be? Could it be the king of Zhijun or Sanbeile? These two are not as popular as the eighth master, and they have not made outstanding contributions. The emperor is more than half a year old. Bai, I'm afraid I can't wait for the thirteenth elder brother and the fourteenth elder brother to make some achievements."

"Father, why don't you think about fourth master?"

As soon as Cao Yong's words came out, the room fell into a strange silence, and even he himself was silent.

Cao Yin opened his mouth, where is the fourth master?

In terms of ability, it can not only create cowpox and save lives, but also make glass to expand financial resources.

In terms of knowledge, open up the way of speaking, and dare to be the first in the world to drive the progress and development of the School of Physics.

In terms of morality, it is different from popular customs, not following others, but appointing people on their merits.

Is there anything wrong with such a person?

Cao's father and son stared with wide eyes.

Fourth master doesn't fight for power and profit, and he doesn't have any special hobbies.

If you want to win the favor of the fourth master, you must have real talents and learning, and you must worry that one day you will be killed by righteousness if you do something wrong.

Choosing the fourth master is like taking the initiative to double the difficulty of the exam questions when you go to the exam.It's not like there are no candidates like this in the world, but those are a minority after all.

After a while, Cao Yong broke the silence.

"Let the courtiers take the initiative to choose, it is true that most people will not choose such an emperor, but it is ultimately the emperor's choice who will succeed to the throne.

Father, based on your understanding of the emperor, even if this choice is not liked by all the officials, how likely is it that the fourth master will win in the end? "

Cao Yin was questioned again.Some things were mentioned out of the blue, like a thunderbolt blinding the eyes.

Suddenly remembered that five years ago, fourth master and ninth master dismantled a ship in Songjiang mansion.If the fourth master really succeeds, I always feel that some pictures are too beautiful to dare to think about.

"Let me think about it, think about it."

Before today, Cao Yin had never thought about the possibility of King Yong's succession.

It is the inferiority of human beings, subconsciously avoiding the most uncertain options for their own future.

Cao Yong added a knife, "Shengjia will arrive in Jiangning in the afternoon, and there is not much time left for you to think about it."

"Stinky boy, don't rush!"

Cao Yin waved his hand angrily, "I'll go catch up on getting back to the cage first, and we'll talk about other things when I wake up."

An invisible large net was quietly spread over the south of the Yangtze River.

There is not much time left for people to make the right choice.When the time comes, the huge net is drawn up like a blanket, and no one can escape.

However, with the emperor's southern tour, fewer and fewer people felt this way.

After leaving the capital for two months, Kangxi has been very gentle.

The atmosphere of stops and inspections along the way was harmonious, and no serious violation of discipline was found.

After Shengjia arrived at Jiangning Mansion, they celebrated New Year's Eve together.

Eating all kinds of delicacies and enjoying opera shows is like a scene where the monarch and his ministers are in harmony and enjoying themselves.

Kangxi also took care of everyone's emotions and asked everyone to stay in place for the holiday.

There is no office during the Spring Festival. During the first month, the princes and courtiers can go out to play and relax, as long as they come back before the tenth day of the first month.

This time, Yinqi and Yinyou stayed in the capital to supervise the country, while Yinzhen couldn't return to the capital in time to board a fleet for the southern tour after finishing the audit in Guangzhou.All the other princes came together, even the seven-year-old eighteenth elder brother Yinjin was no exception.

Exceptions always exist.

On the first day of the first lunar month, Wu Fuyi had just listened to Kangxi's holiday notice, and was assigned a secret mission when he turned around.

It is impossible to take a holiday. There are always exceptions to the so-called free activities.The fourth child must seize the time to continue investigating the illegal human trafficking case.

All the way south, Kangxi received a secret memorial.

When the Holy Driver team stops in a certain place, the secret human trafficking begins.

The first-class guards of Qianqingmen and officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who accompanied him were all involved in the case, and the base camp of illegal trading was in Suzhou and Hangzhou.According to the spies, some people went to the base camp to pick out handsome men and beautiful women.

Wu Fuyi didn't see Mizhe with his own eyes, but he heard that Kangxi reported a list of suspects involved in the case.

This list has a characteristic, it may be related to the prince.If this is expected, there is another place that makes people doubtful.

Since Yinhu took over the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs can be roughly divided into four factions.

Close relatives of the prince, close relatives of the eighth master, remain neutral, and those who once worked for the prince but also showed favor to the eighth master.

Kangxi received a list of those involved in the illegal human trafficking, and the series of lists mentioned in the secret book just avoided the intersection with Lao Ba.

Even the officials who used to work for the prince and are now used by Lao Ba, they are rarely in the secret book now.

Is this a coincidence?

Or the secret agent had a little thought and took refuge in Lao Ba, so he reserved available manpower for him?

Kangxi knew very well that Lao Ba wins over courtiers, and the spies he selected are officials themselves, so it is not impossible to support Lao Ba's superior position.

For this reason, let the fourth child take the time to visit the land of Suzhou and Hangzhou, with the goal of finding those involved who are not on the existing list.

Wu Fuyi received this secret decree, and even if there was something Kangxi didn't say explicitly, she also deduced the truth.

The relationship network of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was popularized by Yinxuan before, and the following two or three months were enough to distinguish the factions in it.Compared with the existing list of those involved in the case, what characteristics it has cannot be more clear at a glance.

The question is how to check next?

Kangxi announced freedom of movement in order to lure snakes out of their holes, and then follow the clues. He will definitely send someone secretly to watch the whereabouts of the officials on the Southern Tour.

The fourth child is asked to look for clues that may be missed, where should we start?

Yinzhen suggested that it is better to go to the temple first.

Previously it was speculated that Wu Cunli, the prefect of Suzhou, was not clean, and he might have bribed princeling officials in order to get promoted.

Li Wei kept an eye on him, but he didn't find that Wu Cunli directly pressured the common people to sell their sons and daughters, but it has been confirmed that Tongzhi, the governor of Suzhou, was involved.

Regarding Wu Cunli, if there is anything special about him, it is that he likes to worship Buddha very much and is a frequent visitor to several temples.

It is better to follow the map and visit these temples in the south of the Yangtze River.

Or they can find out clues from the mouths of monks and believers, or there are special places in these temples.

Wu Fuyi thought it was a way, so he went to Caobang to find Ji Wangcai.

Ji Wangcai, the leader of "Caoji Tongyun".He sailed on the Grand Canal and did business with Brother Nine.

It once appeared in the Suo'etu smuggling case, and provided important clues, pointing out the whereabouts of the Dongying ships that docked at Jiangnan Customs.

Many years ago, Wu Fuyi was in a hurry to get power, and pretended to be the old nine to get Ji Wangcai's words.After Suo'etu was arrested, she and Yinzhen came to the door to explain the inside story to Ji Wangcai.

In recent years, the business between Ji Wangcai and Brother Jiu has continued.

Although Yinzhen did not go to Jiangnan this time, the face of the fourth child is enough.Some of the businesses in Yongjun Wangfu are also called Jiwangcai's boat gangs, but the business amount is not as good as that of Yinzhen.

Shrimp has the way of shrimp, and crab has the way of crab.Maybe the water transport boat gang can provide some clues to uncover illegal human trafficking.

Investigate, leave as soon as you say, but don't show your true colors.

Now everyone knows that the holy car is on the southern tour, but in order to reduce the vigilance of those who are interested, it is necessary to change their appearance and travel in low clothes.

Wu Fuyi and Yinzhen no longer pretended to be Young Master Zhen and Taoist Jia.

This combination has appeared in Guangdong Mansion before, and it has already been involved with the Pearl King. If it appears in this capacity, it may scare the snake.

This time, they changed into coarse linen clothes, and turned into a couple of part-time workers who joined the Tiandihui.

Heaven and Earth will appear in Li Zicheng's treasure event.A few members deliberately murdered and blamed for the treasure hunt, but the entire organization was not to blame.

Today, the Tiandihui is loosely organized, with members merely passing on to each other where there are labor jobs.

In the case of Chuangwang Treasure, the government dealt with the criminals involved in framing Huangluzhuang, but instead of shouting and killing the whole world, it sent additional officials to regulate and restrain it.

At that time, Wu Fuyi registered several membership places without any hassle.

That's where it comes in handy.In Jiangnan temples, there are also monks who know Tiandihui. No one would doubt that the labor couple who speak Hokkien are Siye and Wuce Fujin.

The two successfully played the roles of ordinary people who went to the south of the Yangtze River to make a living.

In the first month, it is normal to go to a temple to spend the night.The accommodation here is cheap, and it is in line with the custom of most people praying to God and worshiping Buddha during the Spring Festival.

On a winter night, in the utility room of the temple.

The night wind whistled and beat against the crumbling windows, and two people were crowded on the narrow wooden bed.

This is the first night that Wu Fuyi and Yinzhen came to Qingjing Temple.

The two had to cover the same quilt, but the quilt was not thick enough, and it always felt a bit drafty.They must be close together so that they can keep each other warm.

But according to the role setting, the couple who are working as laborers cannot afford to rent a separate courtyard in the monastery. They don't have a big bed to sleep in, and it is impossible to use silver charcoal to warm the whole house.

"It's really a good time to live this day."

Wu Fuyi lowered his voice extremely low, "On the first day of the first lunar month, it was an unforgettable experience to truly experience the difficulties of people's livelihood. How are you? Are you cold? Can you sleep?"

Yinzhen is not very used to it, even if he had to disguise himself when he went out a few years ago, he still has basic guarantees in terms of food and clothing.Right now, he didn't complain too much, since it was the role-playing he chose, he had to do it well.

"Let's take a rest, it's better than sleeping in the open air."

Yinzhen diverted his attention from the temperature in the room and the comfort of the bed.

"There are a lot of pilgrims in the temple today, but I haven't noticed anything wrong with anyone yet. What about you? Did you find anything unusual in the clean temple?"

Wu Fuyi was about to say that she was going to donate money for sesame oil, but found some unknown marks on the registration book.

After the names of some pilgrims, there are labels of "worm" and "five". I don't know what those mean.

Before the words came out, a series of footsteps came from outside the door.

Soon, the footsteps stopped at the door of the utility room.Immediately afterwards, a strange smell floated in through the crack of the door.

what happened?

I had smelled this smell once in the Tai Hospital, and was told that it was a common item for home travel, murder and arson - incense.

Yinzhen immediately held his breath: No, it's Mixiang!

Wu Fu immediately held his breath: Great, it's Mixiang!

The house is dim and dark, and the dim light of the corridor lantern through the window paper can't provide lighting at all.

On the narrow bed, the two quickly turned their heads to look at each other, but they couldn't see each other's expressions clearly.

Yinzhen's mouth twitched.

He was 100% sure that at this moment Wu Fuyi's eyes must have brightened and began to sparkle.

Why are you sure?

At this moment, under the quilt.

Wu Fuyi grasped Yinzhen's hand, and then she excitedly squeezed it several times.As if to say again, "Come on, come on, get up! The drug crisis in the Black Heart Temple, this kind of plot has finally appeared!"