Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 536
Because both Cao Yong and the sixteenth elder brother arrived, the thirteenth elder brother was in a very good mood, so he asked people to prepare wine and vegetables, and left them two to eat.

During the banquet, Brother Thirteen couldn't help praising Wang Quantai, saying: "Cao Yong, I think Wang Quantai is okay, his men are serious, and there are rules in his gestures. I asked, he has been wearing armor for more than ten years. Great talent but little use." At the end, he felt a little regretful.

In the early years of Wang Quantai's resignation, although Wang Lusheng said that he would not do anything about Cao Yong, Cao Yong was as clear as a mirror in his heart, and he was tired of his ban on cooking pots.

This time when Wang Quantai and his wife came to the capital, when Cao Yong asked him if he wanted to be an official, although he said no, he was somewhat uncomfortable.

Afterwards, in Wang Lusheng's letter, it was roughly mentioned, and Cao Yong finally knew the whole story.

Every family has scriptures that are difficult to recite, and Cao Yong is too lazy to talk about Wang Quantai's family affairs.However, since he was introduced to Elder Brother Thirteen, there was a faint intention of making amends in his heart.

Hearing what Thirteenth Brother said, Cao Yong told the story of the ban on burning pots three years ago.

Although it is an old story in Shandong, Brother Thirteen and Brother Sixteen have known about it for a long time.The civil unrest that affected half of Shandong also shocked the government and the public, and all officials looked sideways.

Not to mention that many Shaoguo Zhuangzi in the palace were looted, and they were reprimanded by Kangxi afterwards.The Thirteenth Brother's Mansion also sent people to buy Shaoguo Zhuangzi back then, but in the end it was nothing.

There are also Shaoguo Zhuangzi who have been preserved and made a lot of money, such as Prince Jane's Mansion.

Hearing that Wang Quantai ignored the powerful slaves of the palace and dared to seal Prince Jian's Zhuangzi, Brother Thirteen couldn't help clapping his hands: "Okay, he is a good man who is not afraid of the powerful!"

The sixteenth elder brother said: "Courage is commendable, but if it is because of this lost official, it is still a bit reckless. This means that the palace over there got an advantage and did not take this grudge to heart, otherwise Yaerjiang would Ya Zi who has become famous must be punished, knowing about this, how can someone surnamed Wang go?"

"When the ban was over, he resigned and went south to Guangzhou, where he helped his uncle do the business." Cao Yong said.

Elder Sixteen nodded and said: "This is considered sensible, I can't blame Fu Ruo for finding such a person to come to Beijing. You are the most cautious, if you were a stunned young man, you wouldn't be called to Beijing."

"Without selfishness, to appease the region, if the military officer can do this, wouldn't the world be peaceful? He was originally a meritorious person, and he should be rewarded, but he resigned to save his life." The thirteenth elder brother smiled bitterly: "It's just the palace of the king. It's such a great power to be able to frighten the sixth-rank officials of the imperial court."

The sixteenth elder brother had already said that he wanted to join a share, but the thirteenth elder brother smiled and agreed, but he understood it in his heart.

Seeing Brother Thirteen like this, Elder Sixteen feared that he would be depressed, so he said with a smile: "Elder Brother Thirteen appreciates him, so he should be accepted as a slave, just to give him a good compliment. It's cheap. Isn't it just a top-ranking sixth-rank, as long as the thirteenth brother gives orders, the younger brother will go on errands."

The thirteenth elder brother heard the words and looked up at Cao Yong.

The so-called "accepting slaves" in the sixteenth elder brother's mouth is not to enlist Wang Quantai as a slave, but to enroll Wang Quantai as a flag.

When the Han people entered the banner, in addition to being heirs to the bannermen, they were slaves to the bannermen.

There are two types of slaves, one is the name of master and slave, but is not attached to the master's household registration, and is also a commoner, called "account holder"; the other is "hukou servant", without independent household registration.

"Account holders" are considered to be of good status, except that they have to perform some courtesy and obligations in front of the master's family, they are no different from the official households of the Eight Banners, and can eat the public food of the Eight Banners and be an official.

The disadvantage is that imperial examinations are not allowed within three generations. If you become an official, foreign officials cannot reach the third rank, and Beijing officials cannot reach the hall official.

However, the rules are just the rules. Most of the palaces of the princes and officials in the capital are released domestic slaves, and there are also high-ranking eunuchs above the third rank.

In Cao Yong's mansion, both Wei Hei and Zheng Hu "opened accounts" from above, while the brothers from the Ren family were servants from the household.

"Household people" have low status, can't take imperial examinations, and can't be an official.

Although Wang Quantai's future is boundless with his status as a banner man and the thirteen elder brothers as his backer, Cao Yong is not a person who is used to making decisions for others.

How can it be so easy to take advantage of the cheap, after all, you have to wear the hat of a "slave".Once the master-slave relationship is confirmed, it is not Wang Quantai's business alone. His descendants will all be the descendants of the thirteenth elder brother.

Cao Yong was born in the Cao family, and the identity of this "slave" cannot be chosen.

Although he has to admit that because of his identity in the flag, he has acted as a "powerful person" since the beginning of his landing, with rich clothes and good food, and no worries about his livelihood.But as a young man living in the later generations, enjoyment can be enjoyed, but the shame of being inferior to others is also uncomfortable.

Whether Wang Quantai is willing to become a flag citizen for the sake of fame and fame is his own choice.

"I'm not good at making decisions for him. I have some friendship with his cousin, but I'm just mediocre with Wang Quantai." Speaking of this, Cao Yong paused and said: "Shandong people are straightforward, and I don't know if he intends to be an official. Treat me Ask him, and let him come to thank Lord Thirteen for his kindness."

After listening to Cao Yong's words, Elder Thirteen waved his hand and said with a smile: "Thank you, Sixteen just said that. If he wants to be an official, it's better to hang under your name than hang with me." Bian Qiang. I heard you mention before that his wife, Mrs. Zheng, managed the bead field a few years ago, so it must be Wang Quantai’s name on the face of this foreign shop, but Mrs. Zheng is actually in charge, right?”

Cao Yong nodded, and said: "Master Thirteen is right. Mrs. Zheng was born in a family of jewellers. She has some eyes for jewelry and jade, and she also managed the foreign goods business in Guangzhou. This stall should be handed over to her. Can't go wrong."

The thirteenth elder brother just laughed when he heard the words, looked Cao Yong up and down, and said: "I usually see that you behave squarely and look like a pedant, but I didn't expect that this subordinate is a female army." Speaking of this, I thought that Mrs. Zheng is married The woman, consciously slipping her tongue, diverted her words: "It doesn't matter if Mrs. Zheng or the shopkeeper of the dim sum shop, if I hadn't met you, a bole, maybe these women would hide in the deep boudoir, how could they have such a future. After all, they should thank you for your kindness."

Cao Yong really ashamed, smiled, do not know how to respond.

It's not that he is willing to use the "Women's Army", but that he really doesn't have the manpower for other people to do business.

Although Cao Fang is capable of acting alone, he is a servant of the Cao family and it is not easy to come forward to manage it.Besides, on the Cao family side, there are still many trivial matters for Cao Fang to attend to.

Like the previous dynasties, the Qing Dynasty also "emphasized agriculture and suppressed commerce". The status of merchants was not high, but in terms of household registration, they were not classified as low-ranking ones like the previous dynasties. It is different from slaves and prostitutes.

In this way, the identity of the merchant has been improved.

Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty "dismissed all schools of thought and only respected Confucianism", the common belief in the world is that "everything is inferior, only reading is high".

People are used to doing business as a "low business" in their bones. Men in the world, studying literature and martial arts are promising, but if they get involved in business, they will lower their status.

For this reason, suitable businessmen are rare and hard to find.

Although Han Jiangshi and Zheng Woxue are young and have shortcomings, compared with other people, their level is already much higher.

Brother Sixteen saw that Cao Yong smiled but did not answer, so he opened the folding fan in his hand, shook it, and said: "I heard that the female shopkeeper in Daoxiang Village is quite beautiful, otherwise it would not attract Kui Hui's seduction, so tired His father lost his life. Tell me, how did you hook up? Could it be the little lover in the south? I heard you mention it once, my friend's niece, Jiang Ning's old friend."

At the end, Elder Sixteen raised his eyebrows and smiled ambiguously.

Cao Yong's heart sank when he heard the sixteenth elder brother talking about the previous words.He picked up the teacup and took a sip, feeling a little worried.

In this dynasty that advocated "ethics" to the extreme, and now that "chaste memorial archways" are everywhere, for women, "being famous" is definitely not a blessing.

Since ancient times, beauties are so unlucky, no matter what a man does, the weak woman will always bear the infamy in the end.

Even if the Han Jiang clan is backed by the power of the Cao family and Prince Chun's mansion, and Kui Hui's lessons learned from the past, no one dares to make a decision for the time being.But, sometimes, words can hurt and kill.

For some women, Xu would not take it to heart.After all, the women who came out of the merchant's family were not the big girls or young daughter-in-law raised in the inner house, who could not leave the door or enter the house.

Since he came out to be a shopkeeper, it was inevitable to show his face in public.

Han Jiang's family has the cunning of a merchant girl and the gracefulness of a southern girl. She speaks and acts extremely politely, and even the slightest difference is not bad.

The Han Jiang family was innocently affected by Kui Hui's matter. If he bears the stigma because of it, then Cao Yong will probably feel guilty.

This side is not finished worrying yet, the sixteenth elder brother said the second half of the words in a "pat clap clap", Cao Yong hadn't swallowed the tea in his mouth, so he didn't choke.

He "coughed" twice, quickly put down the teacup, and patted his chest.

"Haha, is this a guilty conscience?" Brother Sixteen made fun of Cao Yong, who rarely lost his composure.

Cao Yong glanced at him, and said with a half-smile: "I'm not in good health. I don't have the good fortune and energy of the sixteenth master. I can sit and enjoy the blessings of everyone. Now that I have arrived at the Ministry of War, my eyes are smeared. I can't take care of this, but I don't have time to talk about other things."

Although the sixteenth brother is proud of his wife and concubine and beauty, he is a lazy person, who can usually sit without standing, and lie down without sitting.

Although he is young, he looks very capable and shows no signs of gaining weight, but Brother Sixteen has to deal with wives and concubines, and sometimes his physical strength is insufficient.He didn't know who urged him to do so, so he began to search for some medicines.

Medicine is three-point poison, not to mention excessive indulgence is already hurting people, medicine will only add fuel to the fire.

After Cao Yong found out, he persuaded him twice carefully, but he promised, but he couldn't hold it back.It wasn't until later that I got a minor illness that I had a long memory...

After coming out of the thirteen elder brother's mansion, Cao Yong rode back to the mansion with a bit of alcohol in the setting sun.

It's April and it's already the beginning of summer, but unlike previous years, it's very cool and doesn't feel hot or dry at all.

Cao Yong raised his head and looked at the gray sky.Although there is not much rain these days, there are very few sunny days.Most of the time, it's gray like this.

Snow falls in Shanxi and Gansu until March, but the rain in the south is as fierce as in previous years. Before summer, dykes and dams were washed away by the current.

Cao Yong's mind was a little confused, "the year of catastrophe"?He sighed in his heart, and really wanted to scold himself.

Is it because he has no fear of his life, and he has a little tail up?It was a feeling of caring for the world, and his heart became softer and softer.

Others don't know the extent of the corruption of officials in the whole country, but Cao Yong knows it clearly.

Leaving aside other things for the time being, let's just say that the granaries in these places are used by the imperial court to prepare relief or stabilize local grain prices.However, except for several commonly used granaries in the south of the Yangtze River, the granaries in other provinces are basically empty.

The reason why Shandong Shaoguo is so prosperous and scaled up is that it uses the food from the official warehouse.

After a while, when we reached the entrance of the alley, Cao Yong happened to meet Cao Shuo who was coming from another direction.

It was already past the end of the school, Cao Yong took a look at Cao Shuo, thinking that he was staying in the school to study hard, and said: "I heard from your second brother that you often study until midnight, after all, your health is important. Don't work too hard. Just learn slowly, and no one is forcing you to take the exam, so don't burn your body."

Cao Shuo is now studying Manchu in the Eight Banners officials, and he is very motivated to learn.

He usually doesn't talk much, but after all, at the age of sixteen or seven, he has a bit of a strong heart.Since he couldn't do stereotyped essays well, and the Manchu essays were memorized by rote, he wanted to learn it well.

Cao Shuo also learned some Manchu in the Jiangning private school in his early years, but he only knew a little bit.

Although he knew that relying on his uncle and cousin, it would not be difficult for him to learn Manchu for a few years and get into the sixth department to be a writer, but Cao Shuo wanted to do his best.

Diligence can make up for clumsiness, and stupid birds fly first.Even if he is not as good as his younger brothers, Cao Shuo still thinks he can be useful.

Seeing his cousin misunderstood, Cao Shuo originally wanted to explain.As soon as the words came to his lips, he bowed his head and remained silent, thinking that he was not successful in his studies and his housework was a mess. He really didn't have the face to say it.

Is he more than "virtuous"?
As a son of man, it is unfilial to involve your parents in worrying; as an elder brother, you cannot set an example and set an example for your younger brothers, which is unrighteous; It is because of inhumanity.

The unfilial, unrighteous and unkind person is Cao Shuo!

Not to mention others, even his own stature, he despises himself in his heart.

Cao Yong blew the wind for a while, he became a little drunk, he didn't notice Cao Shuo's strangeness, and said: "You are still young, even if you have studied for three years, you will only be in your twenties, don't worry."

"Brother, am I... am I really worthless..." Cao Shuo hesitated for a moment, but still asked out loud.

Cao Yong heard the frustration in his words, reined in his horse, and turned his head to look.

Cao Shuo drooped his head and couldn't see his expression clearly, but his hand holding the rein was trembling slightly, looking very pitiful.

"Your classmates are all excellent in their homework, making you feel stressed?" Cao Yong thought for a while, and said: "Don't compare yourself with others, only compare yourself with yourself. You can do the homework that you didn't know yesterday. It is progress. Learning homework also follows the mood. Sometimes it is easy to learn, and sometimes it is difficult to learn. Don’t worry about it, make a little progress, make progress every day, and take a big step farther than others.”

Cao Shuo listened and wanted to nod.

Halfway through the click, he stopped, raised his head, and asked in a low voice: "What if... if I learn something wrong, what should I do..."

Seeing that he was serious, Cao Yong thought carefully, and then said: "Don't be afraid of learning mistakes, but you are afraid of not knowing your own mistakes, and you can't listen to outsiders' advice, and go all the way to the dark. In that case, it will take time and effort not to say it. It's wrong. Knowledge will be deeply ingrained in your heart, and what you read wrong will be right in the future. Knowing that you have learned wrong, you will stop and think about why you are wrong and how you learned wrong. When you understand, You won't make this mistake next time."

Cao Shuo didn't understand what he heard, but he didn't know if he understood.

After Cao Yong finished speaking, he looked at Cao Shuo twice and couldn't help wondering.

What the kid said doesn't sound like homework, does it?Could it be that he was taken by his classmates to eat, drink, prostitute and gamble?Should I ask now, or should I wait two days before Cao Song rests and talk to Cao Song, asking him to inquire about the school?

Cao Yong was hesitating when he heard the sound of horseshoes, turned around, and saw two fast horses galloping past him.Immediately there was a shadowy figure, who looked like a guard in uniform.

It was only a few tens of meters away from Cao's mansion, and the two horses stopped at the gate of Cao's mansion.

The person turned over and asked loudly, "Where is Cao Yong, He Shuo's son-in-law and the doctor of the Ministry of War?"

Hearing movement inside, the housekeeper Cao Zhong had already led people out, saw that it was the two guards, and hurriedly bowed to meet them.

I heard that he was looking for his uncle, and the old housekeeper just wanted to say that he hadn't come back yet, when Cao Yong and his brothers also arrived.

Although they are not familiar with the two guards, Cao Yong has seen them both, and they are servants in front of the Qianqing Palace.

Looking for himself at this time, Cao Yong felt strange, got off his horse and asked: "My lords... why are you looking for Cao?"

When they saw Cao Yong came back, they stood facing south and facing north. One of them raised his voice and said: "Long live Lord, Xuanhe Shuo's son-in-law, Cao Yong, a doctor of the Ministry of war, can enter the palace to meet you..."

*
The monthly pass is in danger, so Xiao Jiu asks for a guaranteed monthly pass.Temporarily unable to add updates, will make up at the end of the month or early July, thank you. .

(End of this chapter)