scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 137
Almost at the same time when the news that Hu Guozhu was about to lead a team to Nanning to investigate the assassination of Fatty Lu reached Nanning, the news of the discovery of a huge silver mine in Phoenix Mountain in Nanning Prefecture finally traveled thousands of miles across the Yellow River and Yangtze River. In the city of Beijing outside, it was sent to Dingnan Prince Kong Sizhen who had not returned to Guangxi for two years.

"I'm not mistaken, am I?" Kong Sizhen couldn't believe his eyes when he held the urgent bulletin sent by the secret station of the Thirteenth Yamen, and jumped out of the bed without even caring about putting on his clothes, and exclaimed in surprise: " Lu Yifeng discovered a huge silver mine in Fenghuang Mountain, Nanning Prefecture? The silver reserves are as high as 4000 two million taels?! Am I dreaming? There is such a big treasure buried in my domain?!"

"Hahahaha, unexpected, really unexpected!" Overjoyed, Kong Sizhen couldn't help but praise his arch-nemesis, Fatty Lu, "Unexpectedly, that fat man Lu Yifeng really has a way. Wherever he goes, he can make everyone there Make a lot of money! With this big silver mine, I no longer have to worry about money and food! Unexpected, really unexpected!"

"Si Gege, don't get too excited." Xiong Cilu was not as excited and excited as Kong Sizhen, and hurriedly said: "Si Gege, from my humble opinion, Lu Yifeng discovered the Phoenix Mountain silver mine. Although it is indeed beneficial to you, it also has endless troubles, and if you handle it carelessly, the consequences may be unimaginable."

"Also." Speaking of this, Xiong Cilu suddenly remembered something again, and hurriedly asked: "Si Gege, if I remember correctly, Nanning seems to be the former admiral of Guangxi who used to be in charge of Guangxi Dingfan for many years. Guoan resident, right? That old man’s son, Yuxuan Yu, has turned against you a long time ago, the Phoenix Mountain Silver Mine is such a big piece of fat, will he let you get your hands on it easily?”

"Lian Yuxuan?" Kong Sizhen'e frowned, and snorted coldly: "He dares! That naughty and unfeminine Lan Santu really annoyed my old lady, and my old lady ordered him to go to Yulin, let him Not even a hair can be caught!"

What he said was beautiful, but Kong Sizhen was beating drums in his heart. What he did to the Line family father and son was very dishonest, and it had already greatly angered most of the old people in the Guangxi army. Get out of Nanning, give up the newly discovered Phoenix Mountain silver mine, and the father and son of Rong Guoan and their group of old men in the Dingnan Palace will not fall out. It's a genius. I already have a bad reputation in Guangxi, so it must be The wind stinks ten miles away, and the morale of the army and the people are completely lost.

"You must not do this!" Xiong Cilu was taken aback, fearing that Kong Sizhen would do something stupid out of greed, he quickly dissuaded him: "Si Gege, if you dare to do this, then you are really doomed! What is Guangxi?" Place, the most important place where the imperial court restrains Wu Fan, the only dagger pointing to the hinterland of Wu Fan! The imperial court is afraid that it will not be enough to maintain the stability there. You did this to stir up the Guangxi mutiny, and even forced Ling Guoan and his son to abandon the imperial court and vote for Wu Fan , then no matter how much the empress dowager Lafayette and the emperor dote on you, they will definitely not be able to forgive you for this crime!"

Kong Sizhen kept a straight face and didn't speak, just picked up the bellyband thrown on the ground and put it on himself, while Xiong Cilu didn't rush to get dressed, just picked up the secret report of the Thirteen Yamen sent from Guangxi and read it carefully, and saw At the end, Xiong Cilu couldn't help crying bitterly again, "It's terrible! Si Gege, why is your slave Dai Liangchen so stupid that you sent someone to Nanning to arrest Fatty Lu without asking you for instructions? He just went to catch Fatty Lu on the day when Fatty Lu discovered the silver mine, he really thinks it’s not a big deal? He wants to cause you some more trouble?”

"Dai Liangchen sent someone to arrest Fatty Lu?" Kong Sizhen was completely dazzled by the discovery of the silver mine in Guangxi at first. He really didn't see the last memorial, so he snatched it from Xiong Cilu and read it carefully. After one pass, Kong Sizhen's absolutely beautiful little face suddenly turned whiter than death, and he roared hysterically, "You son of a bitch! Is your fucking head full of shit? If you want to kill or catch Fatty Lu, you'll have to do it!" Flattering? If I could do it, I would have done it long ago, so I don’t need to wait for you?! This time, I have been hurt by you! My old lady..., how can I explain to the emperor?!"

"Si Gege, don't rush, don't rush." ​​Xiong Cilu quickly persuaded him, and said: "Just tell the emperor the reason clearly, because the capital is too far away from Guangxi, your order is still on the way, and you haven't had time to send it to Guangxi to stop it." Dai Liangchen and his gang took action, and they decided to arrest Fatty Lu on their own initiative to please you, and you didn’t know anything about it beforehand. The emperor’s holy candlelight will definitely understand that this matter has nothing to do with you, and will not hold you accountable.”

"Yes, yes, I have to report to the emperor as soon as possible and explain the reason." Kong Sizhen hastened to dress quickly, and said in a hurry: "I will enter the palace now, and the sooner I report to the emperor, the better, otherwise, I will ask you Those two idiots, Tu and Mingzhu, have more to say in front of the emperor. And Wang Xu, that old idiot also disliked my old lady a long time ago, but don't let him take advantage of it."

"Four gege, wait a minute." Xiong Cilu hurriedly grabbed Kong Sizhen and said, "This matter must not be rushed, and all consequences must be considered first. I haven't finished what I just said. The Phoenix Mountain Silver Mine will affect everyone. Absolutely nothing small, maybe it will be bad for us, we have to discuss it before we act!"

"Are you out of your mind? How can the discovery of such a large silver mine in Phoenix Mountain be harmful to us?" Kong Sizhen gave Xiong Cilu a glance, and said angrily: "Such a big fortune falling from the sky, don't you think it's not enough? "

"You're just out of your mind!" Xiong Cilu lost his temper with Kong Sizhen on a rare occasion, and said angrily, "How could it be bad for us? Among other things, your sworn enemy Lu Yifeng and Lu Fatty alone can rely on this Fenghuang Shanyin Once Mine regains the emperor's favor, our situation in front of the emperor will become more embarrassing than before!"

Xiong Cilu's words finally made Kong Sizhen completely calm down from the ecstasy, and Kong Sizhen also remembered that the reason why we were able to prevent Xiao Mazi from using Lu Fatty again last time was because Xiong Cilu made an unreasonable proposal in front of Xiao Mazi. I made a hypothesis-if Fatty Lu is really loyal to Xiao Mazi and the Qing court, and if the Eight Banners drug is really a coincidence, if it is really because Fatty Lu, this piece of gold will shine when thrown in that corner, then When Fatty Lu arrived in Guangxi, he should have done some amazing things in Guangxi to prove his loyalty to Xiao Mazi, otherwise, Xiong Cilu would still insist on doubting the position of Fatty Lu's butt!
Xiong Cilu's words are of course irrational, even dying, but as he grows older, the cunning and suspicious character of Xiao Mazi, who is almost 17 years old, has become more and more prominent and obvious. Fatty Lu, who is already sensitive to status and position, is suspicious even of his absolute confidants such as Mingzhu, Suo'etu, Kong Sizhen and Xiong Cilu, and won't talk casually, so Xiong Cilu's dying struggle, unexpectedly At the same time, it naturally aroused Xiao Mazi's inner sympathy, making Xiao Mazi give up the plan to immediately resume Fatty Lu, and decided to observe for a while before talking.

But now, when Fatty Lu arrived in Guangxi, he immediately made such a big noise about the Phoenix Mountain Silver Mine. If Xiao Mazi found out about this news, would he be thinking about reactivating Fatty Lu? Let’s not talk about him, Kong Sizhen and Xiong Ci Lu Ke has been convicted of being jealous of the virtuous and capable, and of framing loyal ministers!At that time, if it is light, it will fall out of favor, and if it is serious, no one can tell what the consequences will be.

"Sigege, do you understand the seriousness of the consequences now?" Seeing Kong Sizhen's terrified expression, Xiong Cilu knew that she was already frightened, so he hurriedly said, "Also, Fatty Lu made such a big Phoenix Mountain Silver Mine again this time." No matter whether he is intentional or unintentional, no matter whether the emperor will release him back to Yunnan or not, he will definitely be reused as a rare and capable official. After becoming an official, plus what happened before, Si Gege, aren't you even more embarrassing in front of the emperor?"

"What kind of wax should I sit on?" Kong Sizhen asked back unconvinced: "How can the emperor cut me off just because he wants to use him again, and vent his anger on him?"

"Confused!" Xiong Cilu stomped his feet and said angrily: "Fatty Lu resigned and came to Guangxi. He originally wanted to retreat and push us into a dilemma. Because the emperor is already seriously dissatisfied with us, if Fatty Lu The emperor deliberately created an impression that he was determined not to be used by the emperor because we slandered and framed him. Then the emperor still hates us to the bone? Even if the emperor still needs us now, he did not immediately attack us. Wait until the future We are useless, we are useless, the emperor should not settle the old and new ones together? When it comes to you, the two of us will truly die without a place to die!"

Kong Sizhen's face became more and more ugly, almost turning into iron blue, Xiong Cilu said again in fear: "That's not counting, I'm more worried about one thing - what if Lu Yifeng, a treacherous and loyal traitor, suddenly Playing a Jizi to go to Yin, the excuse is because we were framed and persecuted, and openly fell to Zheng Ni in Taiwan, then we will really be tricked into the same role as Qingfu Zhao Gao by him! At that time, the emperor will not kill us. There is really no way to explain to the world!"

"Falling to Taiwan Zheng Ni openly? Is it possible?" Kong Sizhen was taken aback, and said, "I never heard that Fatty Lu has any connection with Taiwan Zheng Ni?"

"I mean just in case." Xiong Cilu said with a livid face: "This is what I'm most worried about now. In case Fatty Lu is determined to drive us to death, then he suddenly goes to Taiwan Zheng Jing, and then In addition, Monk Wu Sangui and Kexi are adding fuel to the flames and making things worse, so the emperor will have to use our heads to explain to the world."

Speaking of this, Xiong Cilu shook his head and added, "Of course, this move is also a lose-lose move for Fatty Lu. He should not take the risk until the last moment!"

"Then..., what should we do now?" Kong Sizhen finally panicked——Kong Sizhen finally realized the seriousness of the matter. Once the news of the Phoenix Mountain Silver Mine spread, Fatty Lu would definitely become famous again. , even if he can't kill himself with the power in his hands, he can still kill himself with the reputation of being the most capable minister in the world, and there are still many helpers who make things worse, adding fuel to the fire!
"Don't worry, let me think about it carefully." Xiong Cilu said while putting on his clothes: "Fortunately, the message transmission speed of the thirteen yamen is much faster than that of ordinary post stations. The rest of the people probably don't know about the Phoenix Mountain Silver Mine yet, we still have a little time to act, but it is estimated that there will not be many."

"Think quickly, I don't want to die with that Fatty Lu." Kong Sizhen urged.

"Why are you in a hurry? Don't you have to give me some time to think about it?" Xiong Cilu retorted angrily.

After putting on his clothes and sitting by the bed thinking for a long time, Xiong Cilu raised two fingers and said, "I have thought about it carefully, and I think we have only two ways to go. The first way is to go to the emperor immediately to plead guilty." , Admit that we all misunderstood Fatty Lu before, and ask the emperor to release Fatty Lu back to Yunnan, and serve as Qujing County Magistrate or Qujing Prefect again..."

"He's dreaming!" Kong Sizhen was furious, and interrupted: "No! Absolutely not! I managed to get him out of Yunnan, out of the protection range of old Wu Sangui, and let him go back? I would rather let him go to other provinces Go to be a governor, and definitely not let him go back to Yunnan to be a county magistrate!"

"Do you think I'm willing to do this?" Xiong Cilu said helplessly: "The problem is, Fatty Lu has made it clear that he won't go anywhere except Yunnan. Even if you really help him as a governor, he will never go. When he took office, he would only bite to death and get up there when he fell down. We transferred him out of Yunnan because we distrusted him and framed him, and continued to push us into an even more embarrassing situation. So now we have to let him If An was born, the only way to go is to send him back to Yunnan."

Kong Sizhen stopped talking again, Xiong Cilu sighed, and said: "Actually, Si Gege, we made a big fuss before. How can Fatty Lu help Wu Sangui to build an independent country in Yunnan and Guizhou? He can also help Wu Sangui fight against it." The million-dollar army of the imperial court? As long as we ignore him, when Wu Sangui’s old man and the imperial court’s conflicts are completely intensified and swords meet, we don’t need to do anything about his loyalty, treachery, goodness, and kindness! We value him so much, not only Helping him, but in turn trapping myself, is really not worth the candle, making a fuss out of a molehill."

After being reminded by Xiong Cilu, Kong Sizhen also realized that she had indeed made a big fuss about Fatty Lu—a seventh-rank county magistrate who was as big as a sesame seed and mung bean, and the bastard in Yongding River were better than this person Much more, why did I keep staring at him and biting him?And why did I kill myself and not sleep with any Yunnan man except Fatty Lu?Thinking of this, Kong Sizhen also suddenly realized that she didn't just hate Fatty Lu deeply, maybe there was a little more...

Kong Sizhen quickly shook her head again, trying to get the thought out of her mind, and asked hoarsely, "Then what about the second way? How?"

"The second way?" Xiong Cilu suddenly flashed a fierce light in his paint-like eyes, and said extremely coldly: "The second way, of course it will kill Lu Yifeng!"

"Kill him?" Kong Sizhen was taken aback, and quickly said, "You'd better not think about it, the emperor has issued an order that we are not allowed to touch a hair of Lu Yifeng, unless you want to resist the order to deceive the emperor and kill him." Nine Clans, otherwise it is best not to make this idea."

"Of course we didn't do it." Xiong Cilu's tone became more and more bleak, "I have a way to make the emperor order his dog's life!"

"Let the emperor directly kill him?" Kong Sizhen's eyes lit up, and his already disheartened emotions became agitated, and he said, "Quickly tell me, why do you want his life?"

"Don't be in a hurry, listen to me slowly." Xiong Cilu stood up, turned around in the bedroom with his hands behind his back, and while organizing his thoughts, said: "First of all, although there is no evidence, one thing I can be sure of is that Lu Yifeng resigned from office and went to Guangxi to defect to Lin Guoan and his son. Apart from forcing us into an embarrassing situation, another important purpose was to return to Yunnan at any time—from Nanning to Yunnan, changing horses all the way without changing people, at most It only takes three days, which is very beneficial for him to adapt to the situation!"

"Secondly, Lu Yifeng definitely doesn't know what the emperor's attitude towards him is, and he's not sure how much the emperor knows about his crimes, so for a treacherous courtier like him, his current mind should be a slap in the face. Wolf—two fears at both ends! I want to continue to play the image of a traitor and loyalty, but I am also afraid that my crimes will be exposed suddenly, and my house will be confiscated by the emperor! The slightest disturbance may turn into a frightened bird, revealing flaws under the chaos, Expose the evil face."

"Third,... Si Gege, I have to say a few words to you. What you did to Rong Guoan and his son a few years ago was really unreasonable. Rong Guoan took the initiative to submit to the court and return the actual control of Dingfan in Guangxi to you. Not only did you not repay his great kindness, but you forced him out of Guilin and drove him out of Guilin because you were jealous of him, and because you thought he was relying on the old and selling the old and said a few words about your behavior that were not right. The impoverished Nanning went to endure hardships, and he was the first to be cut off by disarmament and salary cuts. This kind of kindness will be repaid, and whoever it is will hate you to the bone..."

"Why are you talking about such useless things?" Kong Sizhen interrupted angrily: "Speaking seriously, how can the emperor directly kill that fat man Lu?"

"What are you in a hurry for? Listen to me." Xiong Cilu retorted even more bluntly, and said: "Given what you have done to Ling Guoan and his son, I think it is very likely that Ling Guoan and his son would rather leave The Phoenix Mountain Silver Mine was given to Wu Sangui with both hands, and he is absolutely unwilling to give it to you again! At the same time, that old bastard Wu Sangui is also an insatiable old hungry wolf. The Nanning Mansion near Yunnan suddenly found such a big treasure. Can he not covet it? Can you think of a way to reach out for a piece of the pie?"

Kong Sizhen's complexion changed drastically, and just as he was about to speak, Xiong Cilu hurriedly said, "Si Gege, don't interrupt me, I haven't finished yet! I think that with the hatred of Rong Guoan and his son for you, and the old Wu Sangui In the case of the Phoenix Mountain Silver Mine, they are very likely to collude with each other and work together to squeeze you out of the Fenghuang Mountain Silver Mine's mining profits, so that you will not be able to get a tael of silver!"

"Si Gege, please think carefully." Xiong Cilu suddenly laughed again, and said in a low voice: "In this case, if we report to the emperor first, saying that your spy in the south found out—— Old man Wu Sangui had known about the situation of the Phoenix Mountain silver mine for a long time, but he never had a chance when he wanted to make a fortune, so he deliberately sent Lu Yifeng as a special envoy to contact the Line family and his son, using the Phoenix Mountain silver mine as a bait to lure Line Guoan and his son betrayed the imperial court and the Dingnan Palace, and took refuge in the Pingxi Palace! And the old man Wu Sangui not only got the Phoenix Mountain silver mine, but also got the most valiant and capable Guoan Army in the Guangxi army!"

"Tell me, what will the emperor think when he hears such a report? Will he be extremely furious, and will he wish to cut Lu Yifeng to pieces?!"

Kong Sizhen's beautiful eyes lit up again, and after a long time of calculation, Kong Sizhen asked hoarsely: "Will the emperor believe it?"

"We guarantee with the head, the emperor will believe it?" Xiong Cilu said with a smirk: "We guarantee the emperor with our wealth and life, guarantee that the Thirteen Yamen will find that this information is absolutely correct, and beg the emperor to send someone south to arrest Lu Yifeng, Take him back to the capital for interrogation, can the emperor not believe it?"

"Are you crazy?" Kong Sizhen exclaimed, "Guaranteed Fatty Lu's guilt with his wealth and life in front of the emperor? If Fatty Lu is taken back to the capital and no evidence can be found, won't we be completely finished?"

"What are you in a hurry for? Asking the emperor to arrest Fatty Lu is only the first step of my plan." Xiong Cilu smiled even more ferociously, and said slowly: "After this decree is issued, we will immediately release the wind and let Ping Xi The palace's eyeliner in the capital knows that we have already requested the emperor's approval to bring Lu Yifeng back to the capital for punishment! Then, the Pingxi palace will definitely send the news to Lu Yifeng before the imperial envoy at all costs. At that time, Lu Yifeng Why don’t we obediently flee back to Yunnan and seek refuge under Wu Sangui’s wings? Isn’t our lie becoming the truth?”

Kong Sizhen was very moved, and slowly sat back on the bed and thought about it for a long time. Kong Sizhen hesitated and said: "But in case something goes wrong, for example, the news of the Pingxi Palace cannot be sent to Fatty Lu first, or Fatty Lu sees through it. Our strategy is to deliberately capture him without a fight and let the imperial envoy escort him back to the capital, so what shall we do?"

"One more thing." Kong Sizhen also added: "What if Fatty Lu is really not from Wu Sangui? Then if we use these methods to deal with him, won't we really become Qin Hui and Zhao Gao?"

"Come on, my Sigege." Xiong Cilu said with a sneer: "If Fatty Lu is really not from Wu Sangui, you can't keep him! You don't even think about it. With his ability and means, if you really get it The emperor's importance, will it be easy to surpass us in the future? When he surpasses us, do you still expect him to repay his grievances with kindness like Long Guoan and let us go?"

Kong Sizhen's body shook, and his heart began to beat violently. Xiong Cilu grinned again and said, "As for the other two hypotheses you mentioned, this is not a problem. Doesn't that kid Li Xu hate Fatty Lu even more than we do? Is it enough to encourage the emperor to let him do it? If we fan the flames in front of Li Xu and light the fire again, if we really can’t send people to do it on the road, are we still worried that Lu Yifeng will reach the capital alive? At that time, there will be no proof, Wu Sangui and Rong Guoan Bian joined forces to mine the Phoenix Mountain Silver Mine, so do we have to worry about future troubles?"

Kong Sizhen was even more hesitant, and did not say a word for a whole stick of incense. Xiong Cilu observed his words and said lightly: "Si Gege, if you don't want to take this risk, then let's use the first move and take the initiative to go to the emperor's place." Plead guilty in front of me, admit that I misunderstood Lu Yifeng before, and ask the emperor to release him back to Yunnan and Qujing, and just ignore him in the future. As for whether there will be a chance to expose his true colors as a traitor and thief in the future, and bring him to justice , a thousand cuts, the next official is really not sure."

Kong Sizhen was a little tempted, and almost wanted to stop here, let it go, and let Fatty Lu live and die in Yunnan from now on, but at this moment, Kong Sizhen suddenly recalled such a scene——Every time Fatty Lu looked at his In the eyes, not only is there no emotion or desire, but also full of hatred and contempt. That kind of eyes is even more hateful than Kong Sizhen's eyes when Wu Yingxiong failed to seduce Wu Yingxiong back then!Thinking of this, Kong Sizhen's heart ached for no reason...

"Bang!" Kong Sizhen slapped the side of the bed, gritted his teeth and said, "Let's do this, fight Fatty Lu to the death!"

"That's good, it's not too late, let's enter the palace right away!" Xiong Cilu heaved a sigh of relief, but at this moment, Kong Sizhen rushed up like a tigress, hugging Xiong Cilu and tearing him apart Xiong Cilu smiled wryly and said, "Si Gege, can we talk about it when we get back? It's not early, and if it is later, the palace gate will probably be closed."

"I don't care! My mother is interested now, and I will enter the palace after finishing!"

"Okay, okay, ouch, Sigege, don't bite!"

"I don't care! I just want to bite you to death!"

(End of this chapter)