scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 109
He and Liu Xuanchu and Wang Shirong had a close talk late at night, and when they had dinner together and went back to the room to rest, it was already after the third watch at night. Although he was extremely tired, Fatty Lu still did not go back to the room to rest, but asked Xiao Erlang to take Zhu Fangdan He was pulled out of the bed and brought to his room to talk.

"Boss, it's almost four o'clock, why haven't you gone to bed yet?" Entering the room sleepily, Zhu Fangdan yawned and urged: "Is there anything urgent? The students are really sleepy, please tell me if you have something to do. "

"It's nothing serious, just delaying your rest for a while." Fatty Lu also yawned and said, "Just two things. One is that I will secretly go to Kunming tomorrow, and I will be away for a few days. I am not in Qujing. In the days to come, the affairs of the county government will be left to you."

"Oh, what should I say to the outside world?" Zhu Fangdan yawned one after another.

"Let's just say I'm sick and need to rest for a few days. I've already told Erlang that I won't see anyone who comes." Fatty Lu shook his head again, trying to wake himself up, and said, "One more thing, If I remember correctly, there seems to be a tree in Yunnan called the Arrow Poison Tree, the sap of which is extremely poisonous, Master Zhu, how much do you know about this poison?"

"Poison arrow tree?" When it came to medical issues, Zhu Fangdan finally regained some energy, but Zhu Fangdan obviously couldn't understand the term from later generations in Fatty Lu's mouth, and asked doubtfully, "Master, what is poison arrow tree? Is it a Western noun you saw in a Western book? Can you explain in detail, there are too many poisonous plants and trees in Yunnan, I can’t remember it all at once.”

"Let me think about it." Fatty Lu recalled it carefully, and said with gestures: "It seems to be a very tall tree. The sap is very poisonous. We ethnic minorities in Yunnan like to smear this poison on arrows. It is used to shoot wild beasts, no matter how huge the beast is, it only takes one arrow to hit, and it will die if it hits a few arrows."

"Seeing blood to seal the throat!" Zhu Fangdan blurted out: "It must be seeing blood to seal the throat! There are many trees of this kind in Pu'er Prefecture, and other places in Yunnan, but the number is small. I heard a tree from Pu'er who came to Qujing to learn from me. The doctor said that this kind of tree is indeed very poisonous. The leaves, trunk and roots are all highly poisonous. If a needle coated with such poison hits someone, that person will definitely die! The only antidote is red-backed bamboo grass, but you must detoxify immediately after poisoning, otherwise once the poisonous blood enters the heart, even a god will not be able to save it.”

"A poisonous needle can pierce a person to death?" Fatty Lu's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "Then do you know the symptoms of a poisoned person?"

"I haven't seen it with my own eyes." Zhu Fangdan shook his head, and continued: "But I heard from the doctor's daughter who came to study medicine with me that if this kind of poison is stuck on the body, the wound will have other symptoms besides redness and swelling. Just like a heart attack, the heart suddenly stops beating and suffocates to death. If a doctor who does not understand this kind of poison, it is easy to misjudge it as a heart attack and die suddenly."

"Sure enough, it's exactly what I thought. Maybe Wu Liuyi died from the poison of the poisonous arrow tree." Fatty Lu was overjoyed, and then asked doubtfully, "Wait, you heard that from the daughter of the Pu'er doctor?" ? Didn’t that Pu’er doctor learn medicine from you? Why did you ask his daughter for advice?”

"Boss, why do you know so well?" Zhu Fangdan rarely blushed, and said coyly, "Although the doctor's family can speak Chinese, they are not Han Chinese. The girl is very enthusiastic and generous, and she sincerely wants to learn Central Plains medicine from me." , and then.... Well, my boss, you know my temper. Anyway, that little girl threatened me. If I don’t marry her to be a child, she will let me taste the power of blood sealing my throat, and then I will ask Let’s see what the Blood Sealing Throat is.”

"Oh, no wonder there is a saying in Yunnan and Guizhou that 'If you want to learn well, you have to sleep with the master', you earned it." Fatty Lu laughed, "Remember to tell me when you are young, and I will help you."

"Let's talk about it slowly, at least wait for her father to leave the teacher, otherwise she might not care, but there is no place for my old face." Zhu Fangdan was even more shy, and quickly changed the subject and asked: "Master, you are late at night. He suddenly called me over and asked me what the reason for sealing my throat when I saw blood?"

"The thing is like this. I received the news today that Wu Liuyi, the admiral of the Nine Gates in the capital, suddenly fell ill and died." Fatty Lu didn't hide anything from Zhu Fangdan, and directly told the story of Wu Liuyi's murder, and explained: " I have also heard of the toxicity of seeing blood to seal the throat before. After being poisoned, it is like dying of a heart attack, but it took too long to remember clearly, so I asked you to confirm and see if Wu Liuyi might die here. Plant poison."

"It's possible, but I can't be sure." Zhu Fangdan said awkwardly: "It would be great if there is a corpse (ancient autopsy report), as long as the records are still detailed, I can immediately determine whether Wu Liuyi died of accident Blood seal throat poisoning."

"No need to confirm, this is an opportunity, even if the guess is wrong, there will be no loss." Fatty Lu said to himself, and then said in a low voice: "Master Zhu, after I leave Qujing, you have to get me Last time I saw the poison and antidote for the blood-sealed throat, I sent my cousin Qin Yong to the capital as quickly as possible and handed it over to Suo'etu. Also, write another letter for me, telling him about the poison and antidote By the way, we told him that we learned about Wu Liuyi’s murder from the Pingxi Palace, and suspected that he died of this unique poison in Yunnan, so we sent the poison and antidote for them to distinguish.”

"Boss, do you want to help the court find out the truth about Wu Liuyi's murder?" Zhu Fangdan asked curiously.

"Of course, it's time to show our loyalty to the court." Fatty Lu said with a sly smile: "These things are delivered to Suo'etu, even if we guessed wrong, we did our best, and the court still has to think about our affection." .If we are lucky enough to guess correctly, it will not only be a great achievement, but also a lot of fun.”

"What excitement to watch?" Zhu Fangdan asked in surprise.

"What do you think?" Fatty Lu asked back with a smile: "If you were the emperor and found out that your most important confidant was poisoned to death, would you be furious and swear to find the murderer? If the murderer accidentally found out News, knowing that our modus operandi has been exposed, will you be dying and jumping over the wall?"

"Understood, the boss wants them to play more lively." Zhu Fangdan understood, and replied with a wicked smile: "Don't worry, the boss, the students will go to Xiao Qingqing tomorrow and ask her to hand over the poison and antidote."

"Tell Qin Yong to keep it secret, and not let Oboi's people find out." Fatty Lu warned, and then added with a smirk in his heart, "One more thing, if Wu Liuyi really died of blood sealing his throat, I will tell you Xiao Mazi said that the blood-sealed throat is unique to Yunnan, and the poison unique to Yunnan is in the hands of old man Ao, what will Xiao Mazi think? Do you think that the traitor Wu must have something to do with this case?"

........................

After arranging a poisonous plan to fan the wind and light will-o'-the-wisps, the next morning, Fatty Lu, who was in plain clothes, only took Liu Zhen and Liu Xu brothers with him, and rushed to Kunming City together with Liu Xuanchu and Wang Shirong. Changing horses without changing people, it took only one and a half days to complete the more than 200-mile journey from Qujing to Kunming.After arriving in Kunming City, Fatty Lu and the others did not enter the city, but rushed directly to the foot of Wuhua Mountain, and went up to Wuhua Mountain with a signboard. It was someone who was familiar with the road and led Wang Shirong and Fatty Lu directly to Hu Guozhu's yard to do the work of Wu Sangui's number one confidant lackey.

Hu Guozhu broke into Hu Guozhu's study without saying hello. Hu Guozhu, who was reviewing official documents in the study, was shocked at first, and just about to open his mouth to curse, but suddenly saw who was coming. Hu Guozhu couldn't help but turned his anger into joy, stood up and said: "It turns out that Mr. Maoya and Mr. Liangchen are back, and you are here, Yifeng. Lao Taishan and we have been waiting for you for a long time. Hurry up, Lao Taishan should practice bows and arrows in the east courtyard now, and I will lead you to see him. Come on." , go and inform Mr. Yanxian (Fang Guangchen)..."

"Hu Jinwu (Hu Guozhu's official title, equivalent to the commander-in-chief of the palace), wait a minute." Liu Xuanchu hurriedly said: "Don't tell the prince that we are back, just invite Mr. Yanxian here."

"Why?" Hu Guozhu was stunned, "Since Lao Taishan sent someone to call you back to Wuhuashan, he has been anxiously looking forward to your return every day."

"General Hu, we probably already guessed the reason why the prince called us back urgently." Wang Shirong said: "General, you also know the prince's temper, so before we go to meet the prince, we hope we can agree with you to save time. It's talking all over again, making the prince hesitant and delaying important matters."

"Have you already guessed the reason?" Hu Guozhu was stunned again, then quickly came to his senses, and said with a smile, "Mr. Yan Xian asked Nephew Xueshi to tell you, right? He really can't wait, but it's okay, you guys Now that I know it, I don’t need to waste my words, and you are right, let’s unify our opinions before going to see Lao Taishan, so as not to make him decide whether to live or die.”

After that, Hu Guozhu asked the servant to prepare tea and seats quickly, and said while making arrangements: "You guys take a rest for a while, and I will send someone to invite Mr. Yanxian here."

"No need, I came here uninvited." Before the words finished, another person came in from outside the door. It was Fang Guangchen, the last of the four counselors under the old traitor Wu's command.As soon as he entered the door, Fang Guangchen said with a smile: "When the dog returned to Wuhua Mountain, he immediately reported the letter to me, and I came over immediately."

After that, Fang Guangchen quickly put away his smile, changed his serious face, and said in a low voice: "General Hu, Mr. Mao Xia, Liangchen Yifeng, I think we should not rush to see the prince, but we should first unify our opinions here. After a while, I will go to give advice to the lord. In order to prevent you from talking to each other and talking, our lord will be at a loss again, hesitate to make a decision, and delay the big event. "

After Fang Guangchen finished speaking, Hu Guozhu, Lu Fatty, Liu Xuanchu, and Wang Shirong had already looked at each other. After a long while, they laughed together. Fang Guangchen was confused and asked the reason repeatedly until Lu Fatty explained the reason with a smile. Only then did Fang Guangchen laugh loudly, and said with a wry smile: "It seems that you, like the old man, were also frightened by the prince's temper. But it's not surprising, this time the opportunity is so good, if you miss it again because of the prince's temper No one can say for sure whether there will be such a good opportunity in the future.”

After laughing at ourselves for a while, the servants had already prepared the seats, tea, snacks and other things. Hu Guozhu first let everyone take their seats, then drove the servants away and told them to keep it secret. Then he said straight to the point: "Three gentlemen, there is still a peak , now that you know everything, then I won’t waste my tongue and turn around. Let me tell you the truth, Lao Taishan and I have already determined that Wu Liuyi is the black hand of Oboi, and the court has Oboi and the emperor. The two parties are almost at war with each other openly, but they just can't make up their minds, should we step in and get a lot of money from the middle?"

"General Hu, if we don't take such a good opportunity, aren't we too stupid?" Wang Shirong asked back: "Let the prince miss this good opportunity, are we sorry for the prince's kindness and kindness?"

"I think so too. It would be too stupid to miss such a good opportunity." Hu Guozhu nodded solemnly, and then said solemnly: "But this matter is too big, we have to think twice carefully. Otherwise, It’s easy to say anything if you stand in the right position, but if you stand in the wrong position and stand on the opposite side of the winning side, who will bear the consequences?”

"General Hu, if you look forward and backward in everything you do, then it's best not to do anything. Because there are pros and cons to everything." Wang Shirong said coldly: "Even the prince's current Pingxi Palace, it's best not to do anything." If you stay here, hurry up and ask yourself to withdraw the feudal clan and dissolve the matter—because who can guarantee that the imperial court will not go further and kill donkeys in the future? All birds are gone?"

"Mr. Liangchen, please speak carefully if you have something to say. Don't just be sarcastic." Liu Xuanchu scolded Wang Shirong, then turned to Hu Guozhu and said, "Jin Wu, don't mind, Liangchen has always been in this habit, but the old man thinks what Liangchen said makes sense. What? Everything has risks, but the greater the risk, the greater the benefits, and if we intervene in this matter, who can guarantee that we will definitely lose?"

"Liangchen and Mr. Maoya are both right." Fang Guangchen took over the conversation and said: "It seems that in the previous dynasty, if the prince hadn't tied his head to his belt and fought bloody battles with the Dajin army, the former Emperor Chongzhen would have The prince was named Ping Xibo? If the prince hadn’t led General Hu and you and Li Chuang to fight bloody battles with the rebels, the current Qing court would have named the prince Pingxi King? General Hu, you also came out of the sea of ​​swords and flames, crawling among the dead If you come out, why is it that now that you are successful and famous, high-ranking officials have to be horses and ride, but you are becoming more and more cautious and timid?”

"That's the truth, but...?" Although Liu Xuanchu, Wang Shirong, and Fang Guangchen had already spoken clearly and harshly, Hu Guozhu, who had inherited the old man's indecisive character, was still hesitant and didn't dare to make up his mind casually.

This is not surprising. Since ancient times, barefoot people are not afraid of wearing shoes. There is only one poor life to lose. Naturally, they dare to gamble their wealth and life for the sake of prosperity and wealth.But now, both Wu Sangui and Hu Guozhu have put on their shoes and are already enjoying the unimaginable prosperity and wealth, so naturally they don't dare to gamble with their wealth and life for more prosperity, wealth and higher power status.This is common sense and an unchanging truth.

"Yifeng, you have been to the capital a few years ago and had contact with the emperor and Aobai, so you are more familiar with the situation." Like the old man, when Hu Guozhu was hesitating, he even thought of asking Fatty Lu for advice, and asked, "What do you think?" Tell me, what do you think?"

Several Wu Sangui lackeys in the study turned their eyes to Fatty Lu, but Fatty Lu, who was usually eloquent, suddenly fell silent, without saying a word, as if he hadn't heard Hu Guozhu's question.Hu Guozhu was a little surprised, and asked with a smile: "Yifeng, why don't you say anything when I ask you what's your opinion? Heh, don't you still bear my grudge? Did I slap you when I was in Qujing City last time?" It's heavy?"

Hu Guozhu made a little joke, Fang Guangchen and Liu Xuanchu both smiled, but Fatty Lu not only didn't smile, but tears slowly seeped from the corners of his eyes, the tears flowed faster and faster, more and more, and finally turned out to be in front of Hu Guozhu Weeping loudly.Hu Guozhu and the others were taken aback, and hurriedly asked: "Yifeng, what's wrong with you? What happened? Why are you crying so sadly?"

"General Hu, I'm not crying for myself, I'm crying for you, for you and the lord." Fatty Lu covered his face with his fat hands, and replied with a sob.

"Cry for me? What do you mean?" Hu Guozhu was dumbfounded.

"General Hu, although you have slapped me, it was because I asked you to act in a play." Fatty Lu said with a sob, "Besides, since I joined the prince's family, all the people in Pingxi's mansion have gone up and down. It is to treat the subordinate officials as relatives and treat them like brothers and sisters. In the case of Li Suzu last time, you, General Hu, also went to Shengjing Pass to meet Lord Kang with Old General Wu in order to save the life of the subordinates. Prince Kang kowtowed his head to pay his respects, and because of his bird spirit, the lower officials are always grateful, but only wish they could not repay the great kindness..."

"Why are you being polite? That's what I should do." Hu Guozhu didn't blush, and directly admitted the petty favor he gave to Fatty Lu, and asked curiously: "But, why are you crying for me?"

"But now, not only I still can't repay the general's great kindness, but I still have to see it with my own eyes..." The more Fatty Lu cried, the more sad he became, and suddenly he said something earth-shattering, "I still have to see it with my own eyes, General! To be beheaded and ransacked by the imperial court, and to destroy the whole family, the lower officials are in pain, and have to cry for the general."

"What did you say?" Hu Guozhu was furious, stood up and said angrily, "Say it again, I'm about to be beheaded by the imperial court, ransacked my house, and punished my whole family?!"

"Yifeng, what nonsense are you talking about?!" Liu Xuanchu was also taken aback. He stood up and wanted to stop the students, but Wang Shirong next to him suddenly grabbed Liu Xuanchu's sleeve, tugged a few times, and gave Liu Xuanchu a wink. Come here, shut your mouth quickly, and don't stop Fatty Lu, a treacherous student who talks to people and talks nonsense, from speaking.

"In the 17th year of Shunzhi, the imperial court ordered the prince to disarm half of the army." Fatty Lu wiped his tears while sobbing and said, "At that time, Remnant Yongli was still lingering in Burma, and it was time to give him a fatal blow." At this critical moment, why did the imperial court rush to force the prince to cut down so many troops at one go? It’s not because the mountains in Yunnan are so high that the emperor is far away and difficult to control. What if the prince, like Li Dingguo, suddenly joins forces with Remnant…”

"In the case of Cha Rulong, the prince has never even seen what Cha Rulong looks like. In the end, he was ridden on the head by a magistrate who shit and pissed. Who gave him the courage?"

"At the beginning of last year, the power of the prince to manage the civil affairs in Yunnan and Guizhou was taken away, and the right to select generals from the local green camp was also taken away, and the prince was forced to cut the salary. Finally, the matter of discussing the salary was finally reversed. Your Majesty Immediately sent officials to Qujing to monitor the lord. The lord is so loyal to the court, who has he recruited? Why are the emperor and the court still treating him like this?"

"When Lord Kang came to Yunnan, he secretly checked the topographic maps of mountains and rivers in Yunnan and Guizhou. He also went to the Youzhen camp several times to inspect the army and record the equipment of the Pingxi Palace army. Lord Kang is an idle prince. He is really idle."

"The former King of Jingnan, Geng Zhongming, was discovered by the court because he took in a slave who escaped from the Boluobeile family. In order not to affect his descendants, he hanged himself to death..."

"Beile Dudu, how much credit has the eldest grandson of the great ancestor of the Qing Dynasty made for Longxing of the Qing Dynasty? But why were his five sons deposed from the clan, without clothes or food? "

"The Regent Prince Dorgon, how beautiful was he during his lifetime? But after he died of illness, his grave was dug up, and his only daughter was rewarded as a gift. Regent Prince, are you really wronged?"

"Han Xin, Peng Yue, Ying Bu, Xu Da, Lan Yu, the sixth Duke of the founding of the country, when I think of the stories of these people, and the various actions and signs of the court in the past few years, I have to cry! I have to cry for the prince! Crying, I have to cry for the prince's eldest son-in-law, General Hu..."

Fatty Lu cried a few times and said something, and Hu Guozhu's face turned ugly. At the end, Hu Guozhu simply shouted with a livid face, "Enough! Cry one more time, and I will kill you now!"

"General Hu, please do it!" Fatty Lu stretched out his neck actively, stared at Hu Guozhu, and said with a sob: "General Hu, please. Or you should seize this golden opportunity and let our Pingxi Palace change." Get stronger, strong enough to protect yourself, so strong that no one dares to harbor ill intentions towards our Pingxi Palace!"

"Otherwise, please draw out your sword, and chop off the head of the traitorous official, the traitor, and then take the subordinate official to show your loyalty to the emperor and the court, and then ask the prince to hand over his military power, disarm and return to the field. I implore the emperor and the imperial court to spare your life for the prince and General Hu!"

"Do you think I really dare not kill you?!" Hu Guozhu roared furiously, and as soon as he turned around, he pulled out the treasured sword hanging on the wall with a clang.

"General Hu, if you want to kill Lord Lu, please kill us first!" Liu Xuanchu, Fang Guangchen, and Wang Shirong stood up together, knelt down in front of Hu Guozhu, and said in unison: "General Hu, Lord Lu's words are also from our hearts. If you If you really want to kill him, a loyal minister of the Pingxi Palace, please kill us together!"

(End of this chapter)