Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 340 5.22 The Commander of the Left Guard of the Fifth Army Camp
Volume [-]

5.22 Commander of the Left Guard of the Front Army of the Fifth Army Camp
A few days passed in a blink of an eye, on the ninth day of July, the Imperial Palace in the capital, Fengzao Palace.

There were only three people sitting at a table of simple dishes. Counting the maids standing next to them, there were only these four beautiful women in the entire restaurant. The other closest maids were at the door of the room more than ten steps away; the three people sitting there were all alone. Everyone was smiling like flowers, especially the youngest girl, who kept chatting away while eating.

"Sister-in-law, the royal chef in the palace is really not the best." The girl chewed a piece of shrimp, but it did not affect her speech. "Although the shrimp is rotten and fragrant, it always feels like it is missing a bit of flavor. ——Well, it's like the originals and copies of those famous paintings, they look similar, but they look wrong."

"Girl, did you sneak away to play again?" The luxurious woman in the middle raised her chopsticks and tapped the girl angrily, then turned to another woman in fine clothes who was watching the show with a smile and said with a smile, "Rong'er It’s true that you are always so indulgent to Xuan’er; as the saying goes, ‘A white dragon fish suit is not for a gentleman’, so what if something happens accidentally?”

"Don't worry, Sister-in-law, if I don't want something to happen in this capital, no one can do it." The woman in fine clothes is naturally Princess Guo Rong of Yongchang. She has never been someone who likes to wrong herself. "Although there are some lively days in the capital, , it’s just a trivial matter anyway, if the emperor needs it, I can help him at any time.”

"You!" The luxurious woman in the middle is Empress Li, the mother of the Zhou Dynasty. "How come my daughter's family is busy with these things all day long? Do I know that they can't make any waves? But what if? If he continues like this, His Majesty will also have a headache, won't he? Can't you be more serious and let your royal brother worry less?"

"Don't worry, Sister-in-law, I have already discussed it with Brother Huang. Although it is indeed a bit more troublesome this time, if it is completed, no one will be able to cause any trouble to Brother Emperor in the future." Princess Yongchang said with a smile, "Besides, Dongfang brought so many good things from Jiangnan a few days ago, is it possible that he still can't satisfy the emperor?"

"You -" the queen rolled her eyes angrily, with a doting look on her expression, "Okay, I'm afraid you are the only one in the world who can come up with such a way to bribe the king of a country, and yet you say it so blatantly. , It’s good that His Majesty didn’t hit you. What else do you want? Give you another reward?”

"The current annual taxes of the Zhou Dynasty only add up to about 1000 million taels, and there is a deficit almost every year." Princess Yongchang said proudly, "Brother, the emperor has been tight for some years. With this money, at least You don’t have to worry about it in five years; what’s more, I don’t do it casually, it’s time to warn those people in Yangzhou who don’t know how to die.”

"Okay, I can't talk to you, and the matters in the court will not come to me." The queen reluctantly gave up, "Although this time it did help your majesty solve a lot of troubles, it also brought new troubles. Those money The matter spread out somehow, and Wen Fu has been asking to see His Majesty almost every day these days, and his thoughts are almost written on his face. "

"As the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, there is nothing wrong with his having this idea, but he just chose the wrong time." Princess Yongchang did not take it seriously. "These slaves in Yangzhou who do not know how to die have always been arranged by the Heavenly Family. When will it be his turn?" Have you spoken? The emperor brother is really willing to waste so much time with him, is it possible that he really wants to hand it over?"

"Your Majesty also has his own difficulties." The Queen said helplessly, "Just like the matters in the capital these days, if you really want to solve them, is it possible that they still can't be solved? But now there are too many involved, and even the nobles of the Ministry of War are not able to solve them. I am willing to act rashly, so that from the beginning of the year to the present, it has been delayed."

"After all, they live with the country, and they don't have much ambition to make progress. If they want to solve the real problem, I'm afraid they need external help." Princess Yongchang said calmly, "Don't worry, Madam-in-law, I'm watching over there. It's still a long time." , Those people are far from ready, and I just took advantage of the opportunity to help find a talent."

"Is this the guy you like, um, that girl from Dongfang?" the queen teased, and changed her words with a smile when she saw Princess Yongchang frowning, "If all his achievements in Huguang are taken seriously, I believe he has some abilities. ; However, Rong'er shouldn't say that there will really be five thousand rioters in a mere county, right? If the White Lotus Sect can really coerce such a large number of people, I am afraid that the entire Huguang will be corrupted."

"If other people intentionally falsely report their military exploits and victories, it is because they are not capable of winning bigger ones." Princess Yongchang said lightly, "The number he reported is only because there are not so many people to kill over there; what's more, he It’s not just one person, there are too many people waiting to take advantage of it, and if he can’t do it, he himself will be in trouble.”

"For your sake, His Majesty did not pursue the case." The queen's expression was still serious, "But this time is different. If he cannot do what you said, it cannot be erased by just a word of 'guilt' ; I have seen his performance during spring hunting, but no matter how good his skills are, he may not be useful among thousands of troops."

"When Dongfang came back a few days ago, I took Kai'er to Tongzhou to pick up the people in person; I saw with my own eyes the three hundred households accompanying him as guards, even the most elite Qi Jianhui soldiers in the Imperial Guard. Compared with They are not as good as they are." Princess Yongchang said without hesitation, "What's more, the firearms in their hands may even make Chen Ruiwen's eyes envious."

"Kai'er also went there at that time?" The Queen was stunned for a moment, then nodded with satisfaction, "No wonder he suddenly wanted to stay at your place two days ago, saying that Xuan'er wouldn't let her go; I'm still surprised. , I haven't seen him playful in so many years, why did he suddenly use the name of his little aunt, just to have another day of fun?"

"No wonder I met Brother Huang yesterday and was suddenly told by him. He said some weird things like 'Don't indulge in fun'. It turned out that he was dishonest!" He has been trying his best to deal with the food on the table and acted as a "transparent person" throughout the whole process. "Princess Yongjing said dissatisfiedly, "Next time I see him again, I will definitely discipline him a few words to make him not forget - ugh!"

"It's so delicious that I can't stop your mouth!" Princess Yongchang picked up a piece of sweet and sour fish and put it into Princess Yongjing's mouth. Then she continued to say to the queen, "When he had not left the capital, I I brought Kai'er to meet him more than once. After I come back another day, I will arrange a few more small gatherings, either hunting or banquets. It is always easier than those old naughty people. As for the specific location, I just sorted it out a little. For a moment, the Fifth Army Camp is the most suitable place. Just after Wang Ziteng was promoted to the Jiedu Envoy of the Beijing Camp, his two old foundations are still in a mess. If you choose one to arrange for him, it will be suitable in every aspect; it is these things that I Haven't discussed with the emperor yet."

"Which one do you like?" the queen asked with a smile.

"The commander of the left guard of the former army of the Fifth Army Battalion, as a rule, is the fourth rank, and also leads the military of the former army, which is not bad anyway." Princess Yongchang said with a smile, "A guard has five thousand households under its jurisdiction, according to Dongfang. He brought three people with him, and there happened to be two left for easy movement; but there is another guard from the former army who needs to be carefully arranged."

"Rong'er is right." The queen nodded with satisfaction, "Don't worry, your Majesty doesn't mind reusing capable newcomers; but these old guys now are indeed experienced in seeking the country, but they only It just lacks some enterprising spirit.”

"That's what the imperial sister-in-law said." Princess Yongchang raised her glass with a smile, "What's more, well, you girl, have you finished eating?"

"Well!" Princess Yongjing was still competing with a duck paw, but after hearing this, she put down her chopsticks readily, "Sister, haven't you finished eating yet?"

"Xuan'er, be good, go back and rest by yourself first - Miss Yuanchun, could you please give this girl a ride and give her a good wash? She's been crazy at my place all day. She's covered in sweat on such a hot day, and it stinks to death. , she doesn’t even know it herself!”

"Sister, you're talking nonsense. I'm not going anywhere." Princess Yongjing retorted dissatisfiedly before Yuanchun could finish asking the queen for instructions.

"Xuan'er, be good, come again next time, my sister-in-law will prepare delicious food for you!" The queen nodded to Yuanchun with a smile and motioned for her to send him back. After the two of them went out, they looked at the half-eaten duck that was put down. Zhang said, "This girl is very smart, don't bully her!"

"Since the emperor's sister-in-law knows that she is smart, how can she be bullied by me?" Princess Yongjing said with a smile, "She happens to be not young anymore. This time we have the right one. As a sister-in-law, don't forget to make arrangements."

"Oh?" The queen's expression became even more satisfied, "You sisters have always been close to each other. If you have anything to discuss, just come to me and let me know - I remembered that you asked me to hire an attendant for her last month. Reading, it seems that she is a girl from the Xue family in Jinling. If I remember correctly, she originally decided on exactly what she wanted.

"As long as the emperor's sister-in-law remembers it." The two people who spoke smiled and drank together.

At the same time, the imperial study.

"Wen Aiqing, I have told you several times that there are other arrangements for this batch of money, so you don't need to say any more." Emperor Yonghe was really impatient, but there was nothing he could do about the chubby Minister of Revenue Wen Fu in front of him, " You spend all day thinking about this money, so you might as well think about how to cooperate with Lin Aiqing to ensure the collection of salt taxes in the future."

"Your Majesty, the imperial court has been in deficit for many years now, and the backlog has exceeded 300 million taels today. Although the ministers are trying hard to maintain it, they are still unable to do what they want. The recovery of the drought in the Central Plains requires money, and the repair of the Yellow River embankment requires money." Wen Fu still smiled, " Your Majesty has always been obsessed with reorganizing the army, and now he needs more money."

"If something happens to Wen Aiqing, you might as well say it now." After three or four days of grinding, Emperor Yonghe still couldn't figure out what this old boy was thinking. He didn't ask whether he didn't want to cause trouble again before, but now it seems that he will definitely not be able to handle it. "If it's appropriate, If so, I can take a look first."

"Your Majesty, the backlog of money owed by the Ministry of Finance is really too much." Wen Fu said with a smile and then stopped.

This time, Emperor Yonghe was also silent.

(End of this chapter)