Emperor Qianlong: the beginning of his glory

Chapter 78 Giving an Iron Ruler and Asking the Trustees to Talk About Copper Coins and Planning to Run a Copper Mine (2)
Hongxi grabbed the willow leaves with his hands, crushed them one by one, threw them into the pond, and said, "That's the end of tonight's topic. I would rather not do it than make mistakes. This is our purpose. The eight kings discuss politics What is the matter with us? None of us are iron hat kings. So it is not us who are in a hurry—to tickle, yes, tickle in front of Prince Zhuang and Hong Xiao. This system is most beneficial to them. Trick them I also think that if it is for them, I will be sure of success—it was originally for the sake of our Daqing society!" Hong laughed and said: "That is natural. For a while, we have drizzle. The drizzle 'moistens everything silently', It’s the best! At that time, the emperor may go on tour or go to the mausoleum some day. When he returns to Beijing, the situation has changed. This is the 'ancestral system'. He wants to change it, but it is not so convenient. As for the future, do everything And look at the destiny, who would have guessed it?" He yanked down a branch, and a bird perched on the tree, and it flew away screaming in the dark night.

Hiro's analysis was not bad at all.Three days later, Sun Jiagan appeared at the gate of Xihua in good spirits.At this time, the case of "Sun Jiagan's False Memorial" had spread throughout the government and the public, and there were speculations about the content of this forged memorial.It is rumored that Liu Tongxun has been ordered to go to the upper study to trace the source of the forgery.

The appearance of Sun Jiagan immediately attracted countless eyes.Sun Jiagan didn't seem to care at all, calmly passed the sign, retreated to wait under the stone steps, calmly took out a book and read, no matter whether he was acquainted or acquainted, he would not say hello or exchange pleasantries.

Sun Jiagan was ugly, not tall, with a big head like a wax gourd, but very small eyes, a woman-like nose, and a very big mouth.Just such a dignified face, but it was the famous "Hai Rui" in the Yongzheng Dynasty.In the early years of Yongzheng, Yongzheng made money, and he was still a small official of the household department.For the ratio of copper to lead, he argued with the Minister of the Ministry of household affairs, and the two wrestled until Longzongmen.Of course, Yongzheng couldn't tolerate his rudeness like this, and he was immediately dismissed from the palace.At that time, he almost hit his head on a gold vat to die in front of Qianqing Palace.Fortunately, it was Yang Mingshi who saved him.In the fourth year of Yongzheng, an imperial edict was issued to ask for words. Others would do things that are not painful or itchy, but this Imperial Academy's review openly wrote three things: "flesh and blood, stop donations, and dismiss Western soldiers", pointing directly at the Yongzheng brothers. There should be no fratricide!On the same day Yongzheng was furious when he received this memorial, and all the accompanying officials trembled and changed color.Yongzheng asked the minister: "Can the Imperial Academy tolerate such a mad student?" The scholar Zhu Shi said calmly beside him: "This person is crazy. But I admire his courage in my heart." Yongzheng was taken aback, and laughed and said, " I can't disobey his guts" and was immediately promoted to the Imperial College Jijiu.This past event is recorded in national history and daily life notes, and everyone knows it.But things are different today, and you are not the original Yongzheng, so what will happen?A eunuch came out and stood on the steps and asked loudly, "Which one is called Sun Xigong?"

"Don't dare, I am." Sun Jiagan handed the book to his family, and answered with his face up: "What do you want to do with Sun Xigong?"So dare not take the risk.

"So it's my lord! The younger one is called Bu Ren." The eunuch suddenly changed into a charming smile, "The emperor's name is Chuan Sun Xigong, how could the younger one think it was you?" He led the way in while talking.Seeing that the paging eunuch had changed to Gao Wuyong, Sun Jiagan was secretly surprised.But Sun Jiagan never chatted with eunuchs, followed the eunuch into the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and saw that all the eunuchs and maids in the palace had changed their faces, standing like sticks holding their breath, and Gao Wuyong was holding a long broom in both hands. Sweeping the floor in the corner on the west side of the screen wall, he didn't dare to lift his head - then he knew that he had committed a crime and was dismissed.While thinking about it, I heard Qianlong's voice: "Bu Yi, please come in, Mr. Xi!"

As soon as the curtain rang, another young eunuch came out, gently raised the curtain, bowed his body and waited for Sun Jiagan to enter.Sun Jiagan saw at a glance that Qianlong was concentrating on fiddling with the case, while Zhang Zhao, Shi Yizhi, and E Shan stood silently beside him.As soon as Sun Jiagan lifted the corner of his robe, he knelt down.Just as he was about to speak, Qianlong said without raising his head and waving his hands: "Get up, stop saluting, I know you are in poor health. There are some things I want to call you for a long time. If you don't come, maybe I will go away sometime..." Sun Jiagan After the ceremony, when he got up to look, Qianlong was using yarrow to make hexagrams.

"Zhang Zhao," Qianlong breathed a sigh of relief, "You just used Qianlong's money to shake out the 'gan' hexagram, which doesn't match my hexagram image!" Zhang Zhao said with a smile: "The hexagram image changes in no way. If it is the same, it will not be called "Easy". The one who changes means change, and change means debate, stripping, recovery, regret, and stinginess. I have tried it with all kinds of money, and nothing compares to it. Shang Qianlong Qian Lingdong. The hexagram image that Caichen shook out just now is 'Tianxin Dun', which coincides with the hexagram image of the master, which is exactly the combination of the extreme images of the two hexagrams: Heaven, Earth, Futai. Look—" He dipped the tea on the table Draw out () and (), and said with a sideways smile: "The master is the dry, the slave is the Kun. It is true that the saints set up the way, and the wonderful combination is like a god!" Qianlong nodded happily, and said to Sun Jiagan: "The former emperor said that 'Sun Jiagan Too silly, but I don’t love money’, so even though I’m annoyed and want to kill you, I still love you in my heart and hate you. You are a gentleman, and it’s good not to love money. But money also has its uses. The photos can be compared , use Qianlong money to play Zhouyi, which is more clever than the money in the past!" Zhang Zhao said in passing, "Dry is the sky, which is the origin of the 64 hexagrams. The emperor is the year of Qianlong, so there is no reason why this money is not effective. "?
E Shan said beside him: "Kangxi money and Yongzheng money are used in the market today. Qianlong money is still too little, and Kangxi money is getting less and less. Because Yongzheng money has six lead, six copper and four copper, it cannot be cast into bronze wares. Qianlong money is good at calligraphy and painting, The quality of copper is good, I am sorry to say bluntly, if there is less casting, the folks will use it as curiosities for preservation, and if there is too much casting, some villains will melt it down to cast bronze wares, and the profit will be dozens of times if they turn their hands over. The law of the Qing Dynasty is just migration, which is too light; too heavy, and it hurts the benevolence of the master and son. It seems to be a trivial matter, but the goods are not available, the money and food are not prosperous, and it is also related to people's livelihood!"

"Your bachelor's degree has been restored." Qianlong said to Zhang Zhao, "you are still working in the East Palace. You are good at everything, but you are too soft. No wonder you, after all, you committed a crime. It's from the clan's clan, with big eye sockets." He took a rolled iron ruler from the case, "This reward is for you, just say my will. Who dares to spread rumors in Yuqing Palace, talk nonsense, disrespect As a teacher, you use this ruler to beat him for me. After beating him to death, come and play me!" Because Zhang Zhao is a sinner, he is a student in the East Palace, and he is probably pickled by these elder brothers on weekdays. As soon as he said that, the circles of his eyes were red immediately, and tears rolled in his eyes.He knelt down on the ground with a "plop", took the iron ruler with shaking hands, and said, "The old minister belongs to the emperor from now on! I will serve you faithfully for the rest of my life. I originally wanted to write a few volumes while teaching and reading. Don’t do this now, and use what I have learned to cultivate pillars for the royal family!” Qianlong nodded with a smile, and said, “In the East Palace, you can rest assured that you can teach them. You have to write the books you should write. You are very knowledgeable, and you can’t Buried. You are in good health. After a few years, if you can’t stand it, you will go to the National History Museum to repair books. I won’t let you go back to the mountain. You plan to stay in Beijing forever. If you want any good poems on weekdays, just submit them to me. Look. That's it, you go." Looking at Zhang Zhao holding a ruler in both hands, he walked out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation with drunken steps.Qianlong sighed: "Here we are talking about money politics, and there's a 'study' politics out there. It's a big mistake for Zhang Zhao to use it in military affairs. If I don't protect him, his fate will be the same as Yang Mingshi's." How about! Jiagan, you are also an old householder, and you just heard that Qianlong’s money making is not working, it’s not a small matter. What’s the good way? ‘Tongbao’, only when it’s ‘tong’ can it be called a treasure!”

Sun Jiagan met the emperor about the fake memorial. When he saw Qian Fa, he remembered the conflict with Yongzheng in this palace. , without any unique insights. The fineness of Yongzheng’s money seems to be poor, and the calligraphy and painting are not clear, but one coin is circulated because it cannot be turned into bronze. Nowadays, the exchanges between merchants in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Suzhou and Hangzhou are very different. The Kang and Yong periods are comparable. I went to see it last year and found that there were more than twice as many silk and satin textile workshops as there were during the Kangxi period. The number of ships selling indigo, salt, copper, and porcelain on the wharf was ten times that of those years. , or money is more convenient than silver, so the money law has to be changed. If there are too many workers in the copper mine, it is easy to gather crowds and make trouble. You can add more workers, but find a way to restrain them so that no accidents happen. It is not a trivial matter. This is to increase income and reduce expenditure, so it is strictly forbidden for the people to melt and cast copper wares without permission. For those who collect copper coins and melt and cast copper wares without authorization, they must be severely punished, and they must not be soft-handed—this is often the case in previous years , Convicted and condemned to be executed, a decree of kindness came down and he was pardoned. This kind of punishment can no longer scare people! I am ignorant, I can only think so much, this is all commonplace, please consider it, my lord."

"Old clichés also benefit a lot." Qianlong said.When Sun Jiagan spoke, he frowned and listened very carefully. Unlike the villagers scattered in the countryside, the copper mine workers gathered too much. It is indeed too easy to cause accidents, but without increasing the number of workers, the money produced is not enough for circulation... While pondering, Shi Yi straightly said: "Can you add a copper bureau in the place where there are many copper mines in Yunnan and Guizhou, and be supervised by the direct members of the Ministry of Punishment, and those who fail to succeed will be investigated and dealt with on the spot, so that it will be easier to deal with."

Before Qianlong could speak, Eshan said slowly, "I think Yizhi's opinion just now is very good, and there is a point that the Tongzhengsi should have the right to kill. This alone is not enough. Thousands of copper workers are managed by the government alone. But come here. Can you learn the method of water transportation and let the Qing Gang mix in these workers? , The copper is also available, the money is also minted, and nothing can be done. The country doesn’t spend a penny, and it also has the Green Gang, isn’t it comprehensive?”

"Okay!" Qianlong was so happy that he stood up, "Just do it like this. This matter will be coordinated by Yizhi. Within a year, the amount of copper coins will be doubled, and a batch of privately minted coins will be killed. This kind of prisoner will make a separate order, and they will not be pardoned!" He excitedly paced up and down in the hall, looking out through the curtain, seeing Gao Wuyong wiping the pillar beside the front door tremblingly with a torn rag, He said: "Gao Wuyong, come in."

Gao Wuyong was deposed as an inferior Sula eunuch yesterday afternoon. All the eunuchs in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, because of Sun Jiagan's fake memorial case involving secret affairs in the palace, were all kicked out and sent to Changchun Garden to sweep the garden.He was the chief eunuch, and he hadn't finally given up yet, so he was worried that he didn't have a job to find a job.Hearing Qianlong's call from behind the curtain, he trembled with fright, and the rag in his hand fell to the ground.Gao Wuyong kowtowed on the spot, crawled in on all fours, and sobbed in front of Qianlong, crying: "The slave is guilty... I didn't keep my mouth shut, and I didn't control my head..."

"Get up!" Qianlong kicked him with a smile, and while returning to the East Nuan Pavilion, he said: "You have a criminal mouth, but no criminal heart, so I forgive you, you dog slave!"

Gao Wuyong cried so much that his eyes were swollen, he looked at this and then at that, he guessed that several adults here were begging for him, so he kowtowed for a while, and muttered: "Thank you, Master Zilong. En, thank you, my lords, for your blessings..." Then he got up and went to the partition door of the Nuan Pavilion, bowing his body and squinting his eyes, listening to Qianlong's orders.

"All the eunuchs in the Palace of Mental Cultivation have been changed. These five new eunuchs have been selected by my side. They are called Bu Ren, Bu Yi, Bu Li, Bu Zhi, and Bu Xin. They are still in your charge, and you are still in charge."

"Zhazaza!"

"Do you know why I named them this name?"

"The slave doesn't know."

"Because eunuchs are all low breeds." Qianlong smiled contemptuously, "so remind me that they are called inhumane, unrighteous, disrespectful, unwise, and unbelieving! The first eight eunuchs who waited on the corridor were renamed Wang Xiao and Wang Xiao. Ti, Wang Zhong, Wang Xin, Wang Li, Wang Yi, Wang Lian, and Wang Shame all mean the same thing, remind me, I can remember it too.”

"Yes!"

"You change your name to Gao Dayong from now on!"

"Yes Yes Yes……"

Qianlong looked back, and several ministers were laughing secretly, and ordered: "Take Shi Yizhi, Sun Jiagan, and E Shan to the Xipei Hall, and I will treat you with a banquet, and all of you eunuchs will go to wait on you. Give the banquet, don't come over to thank you, Sun Jiagan alone has something to say here. You will send the two of them out of Yongxiang—go!”

"Yes—za!"

(End of this chapter)