Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 789: A prairie fire begins

Speaking of Yin Jishan, the late famous official of the Qianlong Dynasty, he had thirteen sons and one daughter in his life. Among them, Qinggui was the fourth, and Qinglin was the fifth.

As early as the 26th year of Qianlong, Yin Jishan's only daughter married Yongxuan, the current Prince Yi, and became the direct descendant of Fujin.From this relationship point of view, Qinglin is considered a royal in-law, and in terms of relationship, he is still Mian En's elder.

Qinglin, who was standing at the door of the flower hall, saw that the leader of the three people walking towards him looked familiar. When he took a closer look, he couldn't help being surprised and stepped forward to say hello.

Unexpectedly, Mian'en moved faster. He stretched out his big iron hoop-like hands to support Qinglin, and said with a smile on his face: "Brother Qingcun, we haven't seen each other for a while! Little brother, I Your brother asked me to bring a letter to you for this visit. Before leaving, he repeatedly told me to deliver it to you personally. I have no choice but to come and bother you."

Qinglin looked at Mian En with a face full of astonishment. When he saw the other party winking at him, his heart suddenly moved. He smiled and invited Mian En and the others to sit down in the study.While tea was being served, he called Captain Goshiha and ordered him to lead his men to guard the surroundings of the flower hall. No one was allowed to approach without his order.

According to the Qing Dynasty system, the prince was not allowed to leave the capital for more than sixty miles without an order, and he was guilty of the same crime as any other official.Once violated, it will be regarded as conspiracy and the crime will not be punished.

As a former spy leader of the Sticky Branch, Qinglin understood almost instantly that Mian En's appearance must be an imperial mission, and the matter was of great importance, so he concealed his identity.

Sure enough, when the surroundings of the flower hall fell into silence, Mian En immediately stood to the south and said in a deep voice: "There is an edict, Qinglin kneels down to listen!"

Qinglin flicked his horse-hoove sleeves, kowtowed to the ground and said, "Slave Qinglin, I respectfully listen to the edict!"

At this time, the Ouchi guard on the side had taken out a locked, red patent leather rectangular flat box from the bag he carried with him, and held it to Mian En with both hands.The latter took out the key he carried with him, opened the box, and took out a yellow paper folding envelope. After opening it, he read in a deep voice:

"Order: Jiangning General Qinglin immediately arranged for the family members of the Eight Banners garrisoned in Jiangning and Jingkou to move westward to Jingzhou. As soon as the personnel were resettled, Jingzhou General Xingzhao was entrusted to handle it. All necessary ships, grain and rice must be prepared, which is of the utmost importance. , without delay. Prince Ding Mian'en came out of Beijing with the royal flag to handle the case. In order to prevent the pirates from the North Sea from invading the Yangtze River estuary, the eight garrison banners, the general soldiers of each town, and the navy of the two rivers were all at his disposal. It was inconvenient to give instructions remotely. Walk with your camera in mind. Special order!"

"The slave obeys the order!"

Qinglin was shocked when he heard the word "handle case".After he had knelt down three times and kowtowed nine times, and was about to go to meet the prince again with Mian En, the latter stretched out his hand to help him up and said in an unquestionable tone: "There is no need between us, we are all one family. .”

After saying that, he handed the edict in his hand to him for viewing.Qinglin took it with both hands and saw the bright red and dazzling cinnabar running script on it. It was strong and strong, with the spirit of gold and stone. It was Jiaqing's royal pen.

In the Qing Dynasty, there were many special edicts belonging to the emperor, such as "Zhi", "Edict", "Gao", "Edict", etc., each with its own purpose.However, the most common political document used by the emperor on a daily basis was actually the imperial edict.

Imperial edicts are generally referred to as "edicts" and are divided into three types: Mingfa, Tingzhi, and Zhuyu, each of which has a different header format.

Mingfa was issued publicly through the cabinet. The title was the year, month and day, followed by "Cabinet Feng", and the end was "I admire this".

The imperial mail is specially issued to a certain yamen or individual official. It begins with "the minister of military aircraft sends an order to so-and-so", followed by "the order is given on the year, month and day", and ends in the same format as Mingfa.

The most special thing is the "Zhu Yu", which is issued directly by the emperor to officials without going through the cabinet. There is no requirement for the letterhead format, and the word "special edict" is used at the end.

After the Yongzheng Dynasty, most of the emperor's decrees were issued through Zhu Pi memorials, and Zhu Yus became extremely rare.Qinglin has been an official for more than thirty years, and this is the first time he has seen it.

But what shocked him was more than that.After he handed Zhu Yu Peng back to Mian En, he asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, I am so brave, do you dare to ask what this case is?"

He is now 100% sure that the case Mian En is going to handle is related to rebellion, and it is most likely related to Beihai Town.But for such a huge case, as General Jiangning, he didn't hear anything about it beforehand. This is so unusual!

"Yuan Zicai and Zhao Yunsong secretly colluded with Zhao Ni and sent their disciples to participate in the imperial examination of the Beihai pirates last year. The emperor has an order to raid Suiyuan and Anding academies and put them under house arrest to maintain court discipline!"

"Ah!!!" Qing Lin suddenly felt his scalp explode, and he was shocked. A chill ran through his heart, and he said with a trembling voice: "This, this is impossible, isn't it? Yuan Zicai is almost octogenarian, how could it be possible? "

Seeing his appearance, Mian En said with a smile but not a smile: "Brother Qingcun, I heard that you and Yuan Zicai usually treat each other as brothers?"

Qinglin wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Uh, yes. Yuan Zi is my father's student, so, so..."

Mian'en didn't wait for him to finish speaking, and said with emotion: "The king left the capital and went to the palace to meet the emperor. The emperor sighed and said that the Yin family has been loyal and loyal for generations, and its reputation has been honored in three dynasties, from Duke Yin Wenke to your father Wen Duangong, and then to your brothers. , can be called the pillars of the country. It’s just that this Yuan Zicai is really unworthy of Yin Wenduan Gong’s painstaking efforts! Mr. Qing, as a Manchu nobleman, you must think clearly about how to choose between national law and personal friendship. "

These words were very serious. Qinglin knelt down and kowtowed again, and said with sobs, "I will remember the emperor's warning!"

It is said that the reason why Yuan Mei was able to withdraw from officialdom and build a garden in Xiaocang Mountain, and even accepted a group of female disciples despite the criticism from scholars all over the world, and dared to have a pen war with Pu Xue master Hui Dong, was because he had his mentor Yin Jishan behind him. Looking at him.When Yin Jishan passed away, Qinggui, who had been promoted to Minister of Military Aircraft, took over his father's umbrella and continued to cover it.

Yin Jishan and Yuan Mei met in the fourth year of Qianlong's reign. When Yuan Mei, who had already won No. 5 in the imperial examination, participated in the Shujishi examination, one of her poems was titled "Fu De Yin Feng Thinks of Jade Ke" and wrote "Sound of Sound". When you come to the Forbidden City with suspicion, you will feel like you are separated by the Tianhe River."

The poem is a good poem, but it has a big problem. To put it seriously, it violates taboos.You said that you are a Jinshi, why do you think about the inner courtyard of the palace when you have nothing to do?Across the Tianhe River, there are so many concubines and maids in the palace, who is the Weaver Girl?
Almost all the examiners at that time planned to depose Yuan Mei, but Yin Jishan, who was the Minister of Punishment at the time, argued against all opinions and said that this person's poems were excellent and he must be a young and talented person, but he just did not understand the corresponding genre.

With his words, 24-year-old Yuan Mei was selected as a Shujishi.From then on, he respected Yin Jishan as a teacher, and the two also established a deep teacher-student friendship.

Yin Jishan was transferred to the position of governor of Liangjiang, and Yuan Mei was also sent to Jiangsu as a county magistrate. The two had a deeper relationship. Yuan Mei even went to and from the back house of Yin's family without avoiding his family members.Among Yin Jishan's many young masters, the ones with whom he has the best relationship are the third child Qingyu, the fifth child Qinglin and the sixth child Qinglan.Yuan Mei once commented that Qinglin was an open-minded person and had the style of a king in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

The reason why Qianlong promoted Qinglin from the vice-capital of Qingzhou to the general of Jiangning last winter was because he had served in Shangyu's reserve office for many years and was meticulous in his work. It was suitable for him to be responsible for the preparations for the Eight Banners' westward withdrawal from Jiangning. .Furthermore, he wanted to use the relationship between the Yin family and Yuan Mei to monitor the movements of Jiangnan Shilin to prevent anyone from causing trouble.

You must know that although Yuan Mei has been idle for many years, he is good at dancing, relies on a skillful pen and has a lot of contacts, and has always been a core figure in the Jiangnan cultural circle.Countless dignitaries and literati, seeking to be elegant and seeking officialdom, were proud to be acquainted with him, and his appeal was extraordinary.

It's a good thing now. After monitoring for a long time, I can see that the biggest rebellion is right under my nose!
At this moment, Qinglin could guess the reason why Yuan Mei had an affair with Beihai Town. He wanted his "Xingling Sect" to occupy a place in the court of the new dynasty in the future and compete with the Classical School in order to realize his "people-oriented" "political ideal.

Now Jiaqing actually wanted to operate on Yuan Mei and asked Mian En to deliver a message. The purpose was very obvious, which was to warn him to understand his position clearly and not to be confused at the critical moment.Mianen stayed in the study until the afternoon. During this period, he and Qinglin carefully discussed the evacuation arrangements for the family members of the Eight Banners garrison in Jiangning and Jingkou.Although Jiaqing issued a strict order, more than 2 people did not just leave. Many of them had close ties with the local Han society.

Don't forget that the Qing government required bannermen from the very beginning of the garrison city's establishment to not engage in any other occupations, such as business or agriculture, except as soldiers and errands. Bannermen and their families were strictly confined within the city, and their main tasks were military training and business trips. When on duty, under orders to go to war.But after more than 100 years, the population has increased day by day, and it is impossible to completely isolate yourself from the local Han society, let alone the prosperous and luxurious Jiangning.

Before the 21st year of Qianlong's reign, the Qing government stipulated that officers and soldiers stationed in various places must return to Beijing for burial after their death. Those with orphans, widows, or elderly people in the family who were struggling to make a living had to return to Beijing to live.This is the "return to the flag system".

The problem is that as the garrison continues for a long time, the connection between many bannermen and the capital gradually loosens, and the process of returning to the flag also causes great trouble to the garrisoned bannermen and places along the way.Therefore, in the 21st year of Qianlong's reign, the Qing government officially promulgated the "Regulations on the Purchase and Burial of Property for Garrisoned Soldiers", which allowed garrison soldiers of the Eight Banners to purchase property locally and bury them on the spot after death, without their families having to return to Beijing.

In the following 30 years, the process of indigenization of the Eight Banners garrisoned in various places accelerated rapidly.Many Banner families have purchased properties locally, including shops, land and land, and some have even intermarryed with Han Chinese.Now it is a headache to think about asking these people to give up their property and leave their homes and careers to move westward.

Although he is facing many difficulties, Mian En will not care about these.He told Qinglin that the family members of the bannermen who would evacuate to Jingzhou before the end of the year should not be less than [-].Qinglin had no choice but to bite the bullet and obey the order.

After Mian En left, Qing Lin sat in the study room and fell into a long exam.He wanted to write a letter to Yuan Mei several times, and even wanted to go to Xiaocang Mountain to question the other party in person, but finally gave up.After thinking over and over again, Qinglin finally came to a conclusion.

It has been 150 years since the Manchus entered the customs. Four generations of kings have used various means to restrain people's hearts with written punishments, and to win people over with preferential treatment to the gentry.His father Yin Jishan and his elder brother Qinggui devoted their lives to Confucianism. They treated the Han talents who made friends with scholars in Jiangnan, rewarded gentlemen, guided people, and worked hard to stabilize the southeast for the imperial court.

However, even so, these Han people were not willing to give in after all!The fire hidden in their hearts that had been almost extinguished was rekindled with the Northern Navy's victories on the battlefield.

The fire that starts a prairie fire is born in the blink of an eye, and the water in the mountains is leaked in the trickle.

Unknowingly, the sun set in the west, and the entire Jiangning City was shrouded in the vast gray and gloomy sky.The Qinhuai River in the city is as bright as ever with pavilions and lanterns, the water is swaying, and pleasure boats are shuttled back and forth; while the water of the Yangtze River outside the city has changed from muddy yellow to dark black, and among the ups and downs of the waves, there is a heart-stopping sound of lapping the shore, roaring eastward. Head straight to the sea.

In the back house of the General's Mansion, it was already time for dinner. Qinglin's wife, concubines, and children all arrived, but they found that the head of the family was not there.When she learned from the housekeeper that the master had been in the study since the guests left in the afternoon, his wife, Mrs. Chen, asked her eldest son E Su to take a look.

E Su came outside the flower hall and saw from a distance that the lights in the study were dark. He was immediately unhappy and yelled at the housekeeper: "What's going on?!"

"Uncle, it's not that I don't want to, but the master specifically ordered not to go in and disturb him."

"Then we can't keep the house dark!"

At this time, E Su saw the captain of the soldiers guarding the entrance of the flower hall, so he walked up to him and asked, "Who is here today?"

"I haven't seen him before. He seems to be from Beijing."

"Jingli?" E Su took the lantern from the butler's hand, went straight to the study door, knocked twice, and called softly: "Father, father?"

After a while, there was no response in the study. E Su was a little worried, so he opened the door and walked in.Unexpectedly, when he entered and held up a lantern, he saw Qinglin's eyes shining dimly in the shadow of the lamp, like two bright or dim will-o'-the-wisps staring at him, which immediately frightened him.

"Amma, what's wrong with you?"

"How did you come?"

"Amma, it's time for dinner. Mother asked her son to invite you." As he spoke, Esu placed the lantern on the table and called the housekeeper to come in and light the candlestick.

When the room became brighter, Esu noticed that Qinglin's complexion was not good and his eyes were gloomy, as if he was seriously ill.

"Amma, do you want to invite a doctor?"

Qinglin shook his head first, and then looked at the housekeeper to ask him to step aside. After waiting for others to go out, he asked his son to close the door.Esu closed the door in confusion, and saw his father waving at him, so he walked over and said softly: "Amma, what happened?"

"Have you seen Yuan Dafu in the past two days?"

Yuan Dafu is Yuan Mei's eldest son Yuan Tong, who was adopted from his younger brother Yuan Shu.Two generations of the Yin family have good friends with Yuan Mei, and the younger generation is no exception.

"We met yesterday. Brother Yanting is coming to Jiangning the day after tomorrow, and we made an appointment to meet him."

The "Brother Yanting" mentioned by E Su was named Xu Shengwu, and he was the magistrate of Pingxiang County, Jiangxi Province.The later Hanlong boats in eastern Hunan were created by him, and he was also a person who loved poetry.

Qinglin was silent for a moment, gritted his teeth and said, "When you see Dafu the day after tomorrow, tell him that the court is going to take action against Brother Zicai, and tell him to prepare early."

This man thought about it all afternoon and finally made his decision. The personal friendship between father and son still prevailed.Even if Yuan Mei couldn't leave, it would be a disaster to her family.

You must know that Yuan Mei's biological son Yuan Chi is not only the adopted son of the governor of Jiangsu, but also the adopted son of his third brother Qingyu, and he recognized him at the age of three.Yuan Mei is such a direct descendant and has not yet been married. If something goes wrong because of this matter, how can he bear it?

"why?"

"Lying with Beihai Town."

E Su was startled when he heard this, and his face instantly turned pale.At this time, the evening wind outside suddenly picked up, causing the window paper to swell. The wind did not enter the house, and he shivered to the core!

　[-]. There is actually a difference between "edict" and "purpose".Those who surrender due to the request of memorials are called imperial edicts, and those who surrender specially or make announcements to China and foreign countries are called edicts.[-]. There are two interpretations of the word "Yu Ke" in "Fu De Yin Feng Xiang Yu Ke". One is the decoration on the horse's head, and the other is high-ranking officials.Therefore, the meaning of this question is to associate Yuke from the wind, from objects to people.For example, Bai Juyi's "Indiscriminate flowers gradually become charming, and only in Asakusa can there be no horse hooves" is an example.[-]. Yuan Mei’s original words about Qinglin are: Wu Lang moves like a pearl, Aaron is superior, but You Jing is not enough.If you are civilized on the outside, soft on the inside, elegant as a fish and elegant, and the breath is like orchid, it makes the person you are facing a feeling of deep love, is it like a village? (Along, the nickname of the Prime Minister Wang Dao of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)