scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 120 The Best Times
(PS: From yesterday to now, only one monthly pass has been added...)
When Gan Wenkun and Fatty Lu teamed up to send the news that the old traitor Wu might be secretly forging Hongyi cannons to the capital, no matter whether it was Xiao Mazi or Xiao Mazi's biggest and most reliable backer, the old hag Xiaozhuang There is no time and energy to deal with this matter—because on the third day of September in the eighth year of Qing Mazi, Oboi's nephew, Guarjia Fushun, suddenly took over the control of Luoguan in Changcheng Town!
Originally, the small town of Zhenluo Pass was irrelevant at all, and the guard of Zhenluo Pass was just a regular fifth-rank pass defense, which was even more irrelevant. Moreover, Fushun was a regular fourth-rank assistant leader before, because he accidentally made a mistake Being downgraded to two ranks by Aobai's righteous extermination of relatives, he was sent to Zhenluoguan as a garrison. For Aobai's behavior of hurting relatives and making enemies happy, Xiao Mazi's party should feel gloating.

——But the problem is that this Zhenluoguan is going to die, and it happens to be the only throat for the Rehe (Chengde) garrison to go south to the capital!That is to say, when the incident happened suddenly, Xiao Mazi and Xiao Zhuang's secret garrison in Rehe wanted to go south to Qin Wang, whether it was public transfer or secret dispatch, it was impossible to escape Aobai's detection!And at least one to two days of emergency response time can be provided for Oboi!
Because even Xiao Mazi didn't know the importance of the Rehe garrison in advance, when the news reached the palace, Xiao Mazi didn't pay much attention to it at first, but the old witch of Xiaozhuang, who had experienced many storms, was uncharacteristically, and turned pale in shock. Slapping the armrest of the seat, he exclaimed in shock: "How is it possible? How is it possible? How did Oboi detect this strange army that Ai's family secretly ambushed outside the pass? What's wrong? What's wrong? ?”

"Grandmother, the Rehe garrison is a surprise soldier you arranged?" Seeing Xiaozhuang's horrified look, Xiao Mazi immediately understood that something was wrong, and quickly asked, "Why didn't my grandson know about it beforehand?"

Xiaozhuang didn't answer immediately, and after a long time, Xiaozhuang said with a dejected face: "Grandson, it's time to tell you now, as early as two years ago when you just took over the government, the Ai family had secretly started to control the Rehe garrison Promote, transfer, or find excuses to demote the generals of the Guerjia family in the Rehe garrison, and replace them with the generals of the Shangsanqi who are loyal to our Aixinjueluo family. At that time, it was used as a surprise soldier, and Oboi was caught off guard. In order to keep it secret, before this, the Ai family did not confide a word in front of you."

"What? Then how did Oboi know?" Xiao Mazi was even more shocked than Xiaozhuang, and exclaimed: "Grandma, you have kept this matter from your grandson, how did Oboi know? What's the problem? "

Xiao Zhuang shook his head, and said slowly: "On the Rehe garrison, to be precise, only Aijia and Aunt Su Ma know the whole situation, and even Rehe Dutong, who secretly works for Aijia, only knows half of it—— Aijia just let him expel General Guerjia from the Rehe garrison, and gave him a sealed decree, ordering him not to read the decree until he received a letter from Aijia's pigeon, and to act according to the decree for policy What if. Logically speaking, it is impossible for Oboi to spy on such a secret action of the Ai family? Could it be that he discovered this through analysis of various clues?"

"There are two other possibilities." Lagu Su Ma added: "One is that the whole incident was a coincidence. Aobai's reprimand of Fushun was indeed an act of righteousness and extermination of relatives. He just inadvertently arranged Fushun to work in Zhenluoguan. The second is that Aobai They were also planning to garrison the Rehe army, but after some testing, they accidentally discovered Lafayette's arrangement, so they quickly took control of Zhenluoguan and strangled the entry of the Rehe garrison into Beijing."

"Whether it's a coincidence or not is not important anymore. Even if it's a coincidence, if we try to find a way to transfer Fushun away, we will only scare the snake even more." Xiaozhuang shook his head and said in a deep voice: "The important thing is that in this way, we will be more passive. Well, the Rehe Raiders that were painstakingly arranged before have lost their effect. In this case, if there is any change in the Rehe garrison, Obai will immediately understand that we are going to attack!"

This time it was Xiao Mazi who stopped talking. He had been thinking about it for a long time with a pockmarked face, but suddenly Xiao Mazi slapped the dragon table heavily, gritted his teeth and shouted: "Grandmother, the matter has come to an end, there is no use regretting it, grandson!" My son asks grandmother for permission to allow my grandson to launch the Martial Heroes Project, and fight Oboi to the death!"

"Don't be impulsive!" Xiao Zhuang categorically vetoed it, and said solemnly: "Now the military power of the Nine Sects has fallen into the hands of Oboi, and nearly half of the Fengtai camp and Miyun garrison have been controlled by Oboi's followers. Even if your Martial Heroes plan is successful, if you bring Oboi to justice, Oboi's party members all over the government and the public will not agree, and they may even fight back and kill you, my grandparent, and my grandson!"

"But if grandson doesn't take the risk, Oboi won't let grandson and grandma go!" Xiao Mazi casually grabbed the golden inkstone on the dragon case, clenched it tightly as if venting, and said through gritted teeth: " Aobai, a dog thief, pretends to exercise power, deceives the emperor, poisons the important generals of the capital, seizes the military power of the nine sects, and even conspires with the governors and vassals. Sima Zhao's heart of usurping is already Sima Zhao's heart-everyone knows! If I don't rise up again Take a fight, fight to the death with Oboi, punish this rebellious minister and traitor, in the future, there will only be a fate of waiting to die!"

Speaking of this, Xiao Mazi raised his head, looked at the caisson on the top of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and shouted word by word: "I can't be a Dou! I can't be Emperor Xiandi of Han! I can't be Chai Zongxun of Hou Zhou! I am love!" The descendants of Xinjueluo are the pride of the Eight Banners, the son of heaven, and the lord of the Qing Dynasty! I want to rule the world by myself, be the lord of a generation, and an emperor through the ages! Under my rule, Oboi and Wu Sangui will never be allowed to appear The treacherous minister and thief king! I will never allow——!"

Xiao Mazi's words came from the bottom of his heart, his words were righteous and loud, and even an old hag like Xiaozhuang, who had experienced political risks, was moved and his blood boiled.But after calming down, Xiaozhuang still shook his head and said: "Grandson, grandma is very pleased that you have such an ambition. However, if you want to be the lord of a generation, an emperor through the ages, you must not make a joke of your own life." , let alone be dazzled by hatred, you must act cautiously, not impulsively! Grandma still said the same thing, you have no chance of winning if you launch the Martial Heroes plan now, even if you win Oboi, there is no way to stop Oboi’s henchmen counterattack!"

"I can transfer Oboi's party members away from the capital!" Xiao Mazi said excitedly: "Early before the first month of this year, I have already drawn up a complete plan to disband the party with Mingzhu, Suo'etu and the others, taking into account every detail , once it is launched, the important party members of Oboi can be transferred out of the capital within two months, and then the Martial Heroes plan will be launched, and it will definitely succeed immediately!"

"Then, what are you going to do, Murima?" Xiao Zhuang poured cold water on Xiao Mazi's head, and said, "Oboi's other henchmen are nothing more than that, what is Murima, who holds the military power of the Nine Sects, going to do? Is it to be transferred to another place, or to be bribed, or to directly send someone to assassinate? If you touch Murima, isn't it the same as telling Oboi that you are going to do something to him?"

Xiao Mazi was speechless, and hated the bad guy who advised Ao Bai more and more, that is, the bad guy who suggested that Ao Bai grab the Nine Military Powers at all costs and by all means before he did it himself—this How wicked must this guy be, to give Oboi such a bad idea of ​​cutting off his children and grandchildren? !
After thinking for a long time with a straight face, Xiao Mazi finally asked Xiao Zhuang helplessly: "Grandmother, what should the emperor do?"

"Font Aobai as the first-class prince." Xiao Zhuang replied indifferently: "First stabilize him, then wait for the next opportunity."

"Do you want to continue to wait and see?" Xiao Mazi was not reluctant to give Oboi another first-class duke, but asked in pain: "Then, can grandma tell the emperor how long the emperor will be patient? We still have to wait." How much time?"

"Surely it won't be very long." Xiao Zhuang's answer almost made Xiao Mazi exasperated, "You are much younger than Oboi, at worst, you can still learn from your father, Emperor Wanli of the pre-Ming Dynasty, and use time to kill powerful officials Then slowly settle accounts after autumn.”

If someone else had said that to Xiao Mazi, Xiao Mazi would definitely have slapped him across the face, but now it was the old witch of Xiaozhuang who said this, so Xiao Mazi could only laugh at himself wryly, "Then the emperor will definitely go to the Taimiao Temple every day in the future." Shangxiang, I beg God to bless you, let Oboi have the same short life as Prince Rui and Zhang Juzheng."

Xiaozhuang's face was calm, as if he didn't hear the irony in his grandson's words--Xiaozhuang is used to it, when she used this trick to drag Dorgon to death and save her son, she received more similar ridicule, and also It's more vicious, and it will naturally not care about one or two complaints from the grandson.After Xiao Mazi had vented enough, Xiao Zhuang stood up and said, "Grandson, if there is nothing else, then Ai's family will go back first. Su Ma, take Ai's family back to the Compassionate Ning Palace."

"Grandmother, please wait a moment." Xiao Mazi stopped Xiaozhuang and said, "Gan Wenkun, the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, and Lu Yifeng, the magistrate of Qujing County, jointly signed a secret concert. They suspect that Wu Sangui may be secretly casting red cannons in the newly built camp of Nule Peak in Qujing. Please tell me, how does grandma think about this news?"

"Is there any conclusive evidence?" Xiao Zhuang asked calmly.

"No." Xiao Mazi said helplessly: "They only came up with this suspicion based on inference and analysis based on clues. In addition, they also discovered an important situation, suspecting that the technician who helped make the artisan cannon in Wu Sangui's army was probably a A remnant of the former Ming Dynasty called Sun Dianying, and Gan Wenkun also suspected that this Sun Dianying might also be a descendant of Sun Chengzong, a former scholar of the Ming Dynasty, and a descendant of a sinner!"

"Are you sure? Did anyone catch it?" Xiaozhuang continued to ask.

"Not sure yet." Xiao Mazi replied: "Wu Sangui's army is not under the control of Gan Wenkun, and he keeps a close eye on the camp of Nule Peak. If Gan Wenkun wants to enter, he must obtain an imperial edict or a warrant from Wu Sangui. He is proficient in Western learning, but knows nothing about firearms, so Wu Sangui neither pays attention to him nor fully trusts him, and can only occasionally enter the outer camp of this large camp to teach fire techniques, and cannot get in touch with the core."

"Then let them investigate slowly." Xiao Zhuang said relaxedly: "I think you can give Gan Wenkun an imperial edict to forcibly search the camp of Nule Peak, but you can't let him search immediately. He must not see the rabbits and not scatter the eagles. We have to wait for Lu Yifeng to get some real evidence to confirm that Wu Sangui was indeed casting cannons there, and then make a sudden search, and the blow will be fatal! Otherwise, if Gan Wenkun and Lu Yifeng startle the snake and make Wu Sangui transfer the evidence, or their deduction is wrong, Then Wu Sangui took advantage of it and sued Gan Wenkun for defaming and framing the vassal king, you will not be able to deal with it."

"But what if Wu Sangui really forges Hongyi cannons? That treacherous king must have mischievous intentions in casting cannons privately!" Xiao Mazi was extremely worried—he didn't want to see Wu Sangui's military strength strengthened again.

"You can even temporarily tolerate Oboi who is close at hand, why can't you temporarily tolerate Wu Sangui who is far away?" Xiaozhuang said in a relaxed tone, "What's more, the power of the Hongyi cannon is neither Yuan Chonghuan is as big as he boasted, and it is not as easy to cast as you imagine."

"Back then, Kong Youde returned to our Qing Dynasty and brought the best cannon-casting craftsmen and Western cannon-casting technicians from the Ming Dynasty. Your grandfather Emperor Taizong spent eight years exploring and experimenting, and spent countless manpower and material resources. A total of 37 cannons were cast. The Hongyi cannon can only be used to bombard the city walls, and cannot be used in field battles at all. Even if Wu Sangui has a cannon casting technician, how many Hongyi cannons can he cast without skilled cannon casting craftsmen and experience?"

"That's true." Xiao Mazi thought about it carefully, and found that it really made sense - when he asked Nan Huairen about the art of casting cannons, Nan Huairen also said that even if the manpower and materials are sufficient, the craftsmen are skilled and experienced, It takes at least half a year to cast a Hongyi cannon. Wu Sangui started from scratch, even with the guidance of a former Ming remnant who came back from Nanyang. In eight years, he may not be able to cast 37 cannons like his grandfather. A cannon that can be used on the battlefield.

Thinking of this, Xiao Mazi nodded and said: "Okay, then leave this matter to Gan Wenkun and Lu Yifeng, and when they gradually grasp the real evidence, they will take over Wu Sangui's cannon casting site."

Xiao Zhuang sighed, nodded, but didn't speak, just called La Aunt Su Ma to help him out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, but after returning to the Palace of Compassion, Xiao Zhuang told La Aunt Su Ma alone: ​​"Go Pass a decree to Kong Sizhen, tell her to get ready, tonight, the Ai family will leave the palace in modest clothes, and go with her to meet Oboi. Remember, the emperor must not let the emperor know about this."

"Lafayette, are you going to bow your head to Oboi?" Aunt Su Ma is Xiao Zhuang's confidant, and she immediately understood Xiao Zhuang's intentions.

"Oh." Xiao Zhuang smiled bitterly, and said in a depressed mood: "All the military power of the Nine Sects fell into the hands of Oboi, and the garrisons of the Fengtai and Miyun camps were restrained by the gangsters placed by Oboi, and they were unable to move. The last reliance The Rehe garrison was also blocked by Oboi, what does this mean? It means that Aijia and the emperor's plans have already been known by Oboi, and he is well aware of them, so what chance do we have to fight back?"

"There is no chance to fight back, and the wealth and lives of the grandparents and grandchildren, the orphans and the widowed mother, are also being manipulated by others, and life and death are all in the hands of others. In this case, apart from bowing to Oboi and begging him For the sake of the ancestors of the Qing Dynasty, don't abolish the grandson of the Ai family, don't seek to usurp the throne, what else can the Ai family do?"

"Lafayette, it would be great if the emperor could understand your painstaking efforts." La Aunt Su Ma echoed sympathetically, and at the end, La Aunt Su Ma smiled wryly: "It's a pity that this servant is old, can you hold Oboi steady? We can only count on Si Gege."

"The Ai family adopted her as a foster daughter and taught her so much, just to prevent such a day." Xiaozhuang said calmly: "She is my goddaughter and my successor. I believe she will be able to do it." .”

"Lafayette, do you think this can be done?" Aunt Su Ma suddenly said, "Wu Sangui's conflicts with the imperial court have become increasingly acute over the years, and now he secretly forges cannons. It is obvious that he is doing something wrong. Now Oboi is as close as he is Siblings are just for the purpose of wooing him and Oboi to fight against the emperor. In fact, they may not be wary of Wu Sangui. Why doesn't Lafayette come and let Aobai exterminate Wu Sangui? If this is successful, It can not only get rid of Wu Sangui's hidden danger, but also divert Oboi's energy, take advantage of the opportunity, and even make them both lose, so the emperor can take advantage of it?"

La Aunt Su Ma's proposal seems absurd, it is simply whimsical, in order to get rid of Wu Sangui and Aobai, the world will be devastated, and the smoke will be everywhere - but Xiaozhuang thinks carefully, but he thinks it is very reasonable.After all, if Wu Sangui is allowed to develop and grow like this, the Qing court and Wu Sangui will meet each other sooner or later. Since this big battle must be fought, why not let the battle-tested Oboi fight this battle?
Thinking of this, Xiao Zhuang sighed again, and said slowly: "Let's talk about it slowly, the most important thing right now is to stabilize Oboi first. The Ai family is already worried now that Oboi suddenly took away Zhenluo Pass. Could the control be a sign that he intends to do something? If we don't hurry to stabilize him, Xuan Ye's throne will really be unstable."

………………

The prudence and forbearance of the old witch of Xiaozhuang, the decision to prevent Xiao Mazi from carrying out the plan of the Hall of Martial Arts, indeed saved her life, and also saved Xiao Mazi's life-as for the reason, of course, it was because of a certain fat disaster. Oboi told a wonderful story.Knowing all the details of the Hall of Martial Arts plan, Xiao Mazi intends to take down Oboi with a group of young guards like in history, that is tantamount to seeking his own death, and Oboi will inevitably kill the king and stand on his own—at least he has to be killed Xiao Mazi, change to a younger descendant of the little wild boar skin to be the emperor and monopolize the power!
But Xiao Zhuang realized that the situation was not good, so he decided to make a move to Oboi without hesitation, but he kept Xiao Mazi's throne.Because just as Xiaozhuang expected, the move to control Zhenluo Pass and strangle the throat of the Rehe garrison going south is indeed a sign that Oboi is going to make a move—of course, this is also a disaster that is well known in history. bad idea.

Except for a few people involved, no outsiders knew what Xiao Zhuang had talked with Ao Bai alone in the study of Ao Bai after arriving at Ao Bai's mansion that night, even Xiao Zhuang's absolute confidant, Lagu Su Ma, and Ao Bai Kong Sizhen, and Oboi's absolute confidantes, Banbulshan and Murima, also only saw that when Xiaozhuang and Oboi came out of the secret conversation for nearly two hours, both of their faces were still covered with tears, and the gap between their knees They are also stained.

At the same time, Xiaozhuang, who is good at understanding people's hearts, once again saved the Qing Dynasty, just like saving his emperor's son, he once again saved his emperor's grandson.Under Xiao Zhuang's begging, Ao Bai, who was very nostalgic and loyal to the wild boar skin family, softened his heart. Everything was ready and the plan to abolish the establishment was ordered to be stopped by Ao Bai, and all preparations were exhausted. Withdrew quietly, and the tense situation in the capital finally eased.

Xiao Zhuang's forbearance was not without paying the price. In the next few days, Oboi's strength was strengthened again. Murima was officially canonized as the admiral of the Nine Sects, and he justifiably controlled the military power of the Nine Sects. Xiaozhuang used his own and his grandson's Life as a guarantee, in exchange for a step back from Aobai, no longer implement the plan to abolish the establishment.As for Xiao Mazi, under Xiao Zhuang's persuasion and orders, he handed over with tears a lot of power that he had finally received in his hands, such as the military power in the capital, the right to select civilian officials, the right to select military generals, and the power of financial revenue and expenditure...

After Aobai and Xiao Mazi took a step back, Aobai obtained many coveted powers and interests, and the Pingxi Palace, which formed an alliance with Aobai, became the real winner of this contest between monarchs and ministers!Not to mention getting countless urgently needed strategic materials from Aobai, he also took advantage of the troubled waters to obtain the national tax-free privilege of Baqi pharmaceuticals, and this privilege brought 320 million yuan to the Pingxi Palace in the eight years of Kang Mazi alone. The sales revenue from the two silver silver products of the Eight Banners Fushou Ointment made everyone in the Pingxi Palace reap a lot of money, and they were ecstatic!It also made Xiao Mazi, Geng Jimao, Shang Kexi and other major forces have bloodshot eyes and beat their chests with jealousy—of course, it also naturally included Oboi whose attention had gradually shifted from Xiao Mazi.

In fact, it is not money that Pingxi Palace won the most. During the period when Xiaozhuang and Xiao Mazi hadn't completely let Oboi relax his vigilance, under Xiao Mazi's helpless gaze, and under Aoboi's intentional or unintentional temporary connivance, Pingxi Both the Wangfu and Fatty Lu won a period of invaluable strategic preparation time!Storing grain and grass, recruiting soldiers and buying horses, saving military pay, developing weapons, and producing one after another powerful and vicious weapons, the personal ambitions of the Pingxi Palace also slowly grew, and even grew like weeds. !
"The prince is a thousand years old! The prince is a thousand years old! The prince is a thousand years old! The prince is a thousand years old—!"

When the original rocket car designed by Fatty Lu himself was tested for the first time by the lakeside of Dianchi Lake, twenty original rockets dragged the fire snake, and hit the target five miles away like lightning, blowing up thirty high-earth targets to pieces , When it was razed to the ground, the thunderous and orderly cheers of the generals of the Wu army immediately sounded on the test ground, and the waves were higher than the waves, straight into the sky, "My lord is a thousand years old! My lord is a thousand years old! My lord! Chitose Chitose Chitose!"

"My lord, how are you doing? Are you satisfied?" Fatty Lu leaned in front of Wu Sangui, who had a beard and a smile, and said flatteringly.

"Satisfied! Why aren't you satisfied?!" Wu Sangui patted Fatty Lu's shoulder heavily, and said with a big laugh, "Yifeng, although you are not short of money, I must reward you today! You must not refuse like before! Say, you what do you want?!"

"My lord, I really want a reward today." Fatty Lu replied earnestly: "After I propose it, my lord must agree."

"Let's talk, Gu will agree to everything!" Wu Sangui said with a smile: "But if you are the granddaughter Wu Xiaotu who wants Gu, Gu can't immediately agree, I can only help you to ask Guogui." —By the way, Wu Yingqi and Gao Dejieke told Wu Sangui as a joke long ago that Fatty Lu hit Wu Xiaotu's idea.

"My lord misunderstood me. I didn't want my lord to betroth my granddaughter to my lord today." Fatty Lu lowered his voice and whispered into Wu Sangui's ear, "My lord wants to ask my lord to reward me with a favor and allow me to kneel three times to my lord." Knock nine times and shout three times—Long live!"

Wu Sangui's face changed color, and he looked left and right, seeing that they were all curious, obviously they didn't hear what Fatty Lu said, so Wu Sangui was relieved, glared at Fatty Lu, and cursed: "Nonsense? Is there anyone who wants to be rewarded like this?! Gu has decided, this reward will not be given! ——Let’s talk about it later.”

(End of this chapter)