scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 148
(PS: There are only a few hours left for the double monthly pass, friends please look at the bottom of the box again, a monthly pass is nothing to the gods, but to the pure wolf, it is related to a ranking .)
In the Qing court, rumors about Wu Sangui's peace with the West Prince's Mansion suddenly became more intense, and Obai even issued a declaration of war in disguise. The local officials' bedside desks also aroused various reactions and repercussions.

Seeing these news, most of the members of the Pingxi Palace were of course furious and swearing - it's fine to raise the tax of Baqi Fushou Gao to every two or eight dollars, and the Pingxi Palace has to hand over the seeds for trial planting in provinces all over the world. Isn't this trying to completely cut off the most important source of income for Pingxi Palace?Therefore, most of the Prince Pingxi's unanimous opinion is one opinion, don't pay it, resolutely don't pay it!Not only can't pay the Hades tax, but the seeds can't be paid!If you hand it over, the Pingxi Palace will be completely over!
There are also a small number of people who are worried because they know that because of this matter, Obai has already secretly threatened the Pingxi Palace with war. If this matter is not handled properly, wars and wars are inevitable. It is inevitable to fight to the death with the Qing court.At that time, Mite Qing will have the power of the whole country, as well as a veteran general like Aobai who can recruit and fight well.However, the Pingxi Palace only basically controls Yunnan and Guizhou, the two poorest and most sparsely populated provinces in the country, and their strengths are not comparable at all. It is almost clear at a glance who wins and who loses.

Of course, where there is sorrow, there is joy. In the Pingxi Palace, there are still quite a few people who are secretly happy about this, and they are even ecstatic. The most typical representative of them is undoubtedly our number one scourge of the Qing Dynasty, Fatty Lu Lu Yifeng, the prefect of Qujing, has three words.

Relying on the fact that he has a good teacher who is highly valued in the Pingxi Palace and has inextricable connections with many dignitaries in the Pingxi Palace, Fatty Lu, who is only a magistrate, is even ahead of Governor Gan Wenkun and Governor Zhu Guozhi. Upon hearing these news, at the same time, Wu Sangui ordered Fatty Lu to return to Kunming as soon as possible—Wu Sangui also paid more and more attention to Fatty Lu, a non-staff member of the Pingxi Palace think tank.Fatty Lu couldn't help cheering after receiving these news and analyzing and inferring them together.

"It's done! It's finally done! The court is determined to deal with the prince!" Even in front of Chen Dou and Zhu Fangdan, Fatty Lu, who was overjoyed, couldn't hide his yelling, "This time, the prince just doesn't want to fight against you!" It has to be reversed! Xinghan's plan to destroy Manchu is finally about to take the first step!"

Fatty Lu finally showed his sharp fangs in front of his face. Chen Dou, who knew this well already, of course smiled and remained silent, and Zhu Fangdan, who had been subtly and completely brainwashed by Fatty Lu for the past four years, was also mentally prepared. Not surprised by the employer's anti-Qing and Ming-ming ambitions.It wasn't until Fatty Lu was almost dancing, that Chen Dou asked worriedly: "My lord, are you sure that the prince will rebel this time? Will he not be wronged again? Let it go?"

"It's a deal!" Fatty Lu slapped the table and shouted, "If it's just a tax increase, one tael of Eight Banners Drugs will be taxed at eight qian, and for the sake of the huge profits of Eight Banners Drugs, the prince may continue Let it go, let’s make it right! But this time, the court not only wants to impose heavy taxes, but also asks the prince to pay tribute to the seeds of the Eight Banners Fushou Gao for trial planting in all parts of the country. The previous passive situation where money and food cannot be self-sufficient! Even if the prince agrees, the civil and military officials of the Pingxi Palace and the people of Yunnan will not agree!"

"In this way, Master Futai's guess last time is true." Chen Dou pondered: "In the court, there are also people who want to completely rebel against the prince, otherwise, they would not come to touch the biggest rebellious scale of the prince. But, who is this person? Is it Oboi, or the emperor?"

"It doesn't matter who it is." Fatty Lu rubbed his fat hands and said excitedly: "The important thing is that the court has made up its mind to do something to the prince this time, and the prince has to do it even if he doesn't want to!"

"Master Futai, you seem to be dazzled by the victory?" Chen Dou said bluntly: "On the contrary, the lower officials think this is very important. Only when the primary enemy is dead, can we distinguish the primary from the secondary, and find the secondary enemy that can be used and won over, so that we will not be used and deceived by the real enemy."

"Master Chen is right." Zhu Fangdan nodded and echoed: "Although the student is not very good at this aspect, he also knows that in a big war, every time you win an enemy for your own use, you can not only reduce the number of enemies, but also increase your own strength. With a bit of strength, Manren relied on this trick to gain control of the Central Plains and steal my great artifact."

"Master Chen and Master Zhu have taught you a lesson. I am a little dazzled by the good news." Fatty Lu smiled awkwardly, and asked again: "Then, Master Chen, which side do you think is the one that insists on forcing the prince against you? What is the attitude of one side?"

"The news is not detailed enough, and I can't analyze it." Chen Dou said helplessly: "I always suspected that the emperor wanted to force the prince against the prince, but in the mansion newspaper issued by the court, it was Ao Zhongtang again who spoke to the emperor and asked the emperor to come and go. It was Ao Zhongtang who ordered the prince to pay tribute to the imperial court for the seeds of the Eight Banners Fushou Gao, and it was Ao Zhongtang who personally ruled that the Eight Banners Fushou Gao would be taxed at [-] qian per tael, so I am a little confused, and I can only remind you of this matter. When you arrive in Kunming, my lord, you can obtain more detailed information, analysis and judgment from the prince."

"Thank you for your advice, my lord. When we arrive in Kunming, Lu Yifeng will definitely follow suit." Fatty Lu thanked him solemnly, and then asked for advice: "Master Chen, do you have any advice from my lord on this matter?"

"I don't dare to advise you." Chen Dou thought about it and said, "I just suggest that you should pay attention to two things. One is that after you arrive in Kunming, you must persuade the prince to start preparing for the war immediately. Don't expect the court to take it back." Fate, pin your hopes on bargaining with the imperial court, waste time, miss the opportunity to prepare for war, if you are not prepared to meet with preparedness, you will suffer a big loss."

"What Mr. Chen said is exactly the same. With our prince's virtue of muddling along, it is very likely that we will fall into such a trick." Fatty Lu flattered him, and asked impatiently: "The second thing Mr. Chen wants me to pay attention to. What is the matter? I hope you can enlighten me."

"The second thing, of course, is your position, Mr. Futai." Chen Dou said in a deep voice: "The court and the prince are about to start a war. During the time when the two sides are intensively preparing for the battle, your position is very sensitive, Mr. Qu Jing. Guizhou Throat is extremely important to the court and the prince. If you can continue to gain the trust of the court within this period of time, and defraud more troops, food and supplies from the court, then after the prince raises troops, your lord will Location is more important."

"It can't be done." Fatty Lu shook his head resolutely, and said: "Oboi knew that I was the prince's man very early on, and he has not exposed me in the past few years, because the prince and Oboi have always had a good relationship in the past few years. Now if I Repeat the old trick, even if Emperor Mazi is fooled again, Oboi will immediately expose this point, and will not take advantage of the army's food and pay again."

"In that case, my lord, you have to stand on the opposite side of Oboi immediately!" Chen Douyun thought very quickly, and immediately said: "As long as you stand on the opposite side of Oboi now, and fight with Oboi to death, then Oboi will be in Mazi What the emperor said in front of him became fart, and Emperor Mazi would never believe it! Afterwards, even if you, my lord, joined the prince in rebelling against the Qing, you can still use the excuse that you were forced to rebel by Oboi. Even if Emperor Mazi hated you, he would still treat you Mr. Futai, you have a glimmer of hope, and hope that one day you will be able to return to the right place, and will be lenient to you intentionally or unintentionally."

Mites like to buy off enemies and use countermeasures. Of course, Fatty Lu has known this for a long time, but after thinking about it for a while, Fatty Lu said with a embarrassed expression: "Master Chen, this trick of yours is very good, but I am the only one who has just taken office. The magistrate doesn’t even have a warm butt, and he’s several levels away from Oboi, what qualifications do he have to stand in opposition to him? To fight him to the death?”

"Master Futai, you are really smart all your life, and you were confused for a while." Chen Dou's dead man rarely showed some smiles on his face, and said with a smile: "Master Futai forgot that Ao Zhongtang personally ruled that every two eight banners of medicines and longevity creams should be taxed every eight years. After the money, the one who bears the brunt of the hardships and hardships seems to be not the Pingxi Palace, right?"

"Wonderful! Wonderful!" Fatty Lu's small eyes brightened, he slapped the table, and said in surprise, "The people who bear the brunt of the hardships are the people of Qujing! The Eight Banners drug ointment they have worked hard for a year can only be sold for one or two ounces. Four or five renminbi of silver, but the tax has to be levied for eight renminbi. Isn’t this forcing the common people to jump into the river?! As the prefect of Qujing and the biggest parent official of Qujing, shouldn’t it be natural for the people to take the lead in protesting the tax? Ao who personally judged the tax amount Bye, don't you also become a thorn in my side?!"

"Master Zhu." After the joy, Fatty Lu hurriedly turned to Zhu Fangdan and ordered, "Immediately draw up a memorial for me to impeach Oboi, who was immortal for fishing out of the river, imposing heavy taxes indiscriminately, and the people of Qujing are overwhelmed, and there are frequent civil uprisings."

"Wait." Without waiting for Zhu Fangdan to agree, Chen Dou hurriedly stopped him, and hurriedly said: "My lord, let's wait for the province to make an official announcement before doing this. Now the decree is still on the way, so you handed over the memorial to impeach Oboi. Emperor Mazi noticed this, and you can't speak clearly with a hundred mouths."

"Yes, yes, yes, I am so happy that I am dizzy today. I never thought of these details." Fatty Lu quickly nodded and blamed himself, and then laughed uncontrollably, "It seems that when the imperial court's decree reaches Qujing Well, even if Qujing Mansion doesn’t want to become the largest source of soldiers in the Pingxi Palace, no matter if it’s ordinary people or Miao Yi chieftains, they will definitely stand by our side and join hands with us to fight the court!”

"Master Futai is right. I believe that when the army is raised, as long as the lord calls for an excuse to resist the tax, there will be a hundred responses, and there will be a lot of followers." Chen Dou nodded, then frowned and said: "Speaking of this, the officer remembered something again. This is a big event. Since you are ambitious and want to personally lead the army and respond to the prince’s important event, shouldn’t you show your loyalty to the prince? Although the prince trusts you very much now, if you can make the prince absolutely trust you Treat it as an absolute confidant, then it must be more convenient for your lord to do a lot of things, at least, you don't have to worry about the enemy alienating your lord's relationship with the prince."

"Thanks to your advice, Lu Yifeng will definitely do his best." Fatty Lu nodded seriously, tried to calm down, and after careful consideration for a long time, Fatty Lu ordered: "Master Zhu, call Erlang in, I have something to explain."

Zhu Fangdan agreed, and left the study to call Xiao Erlang who was guarding outside. After Xiao Erlang entered the door, he said to Chen Dou without waiting for Fatty Lu's order: "Master Chen, someone came from your yamen and said it was urgent, because you told me not to disturb you." , I didn’t dare to come in to report and asked him to wait in the concierge.”

"Oh, then I'll go and see what's going on." Chen Dou nodded and went out.Xiao Erlang then turned to Fatty Lu and asked, "Master, what's the matter?"

"Go to the vegetable market and buy some loach for me." Fatty Lu ordered: "If there is no loach, send someone to catch it in the field, not many, ten or so will do, but remember, it must be alive."

"Ten loaches?" Xiao Erlang said confusedly: "Master, ten loaches are not enough for you, right? Remember last time, you ate more than 20 loaches in one go—and added an elbow."

"Idiot, who said I want to eat? I have other uses." Fatty Lu scolded with a smile: "Go and come back, the sooner the better."

Xiao Erlang agreed, and quickly took the order to go, but as soon as he went out, Chen Dou entered the study again, and said anxiously: "My lord, it is the flying pigeon from the prince, the prince ordered you , we must arrive at Wuhua Mountain, and we must negotiate on important matters without delay."

"Oh, it seems that the prince is completely anxious." Fatty Lu smiled, got up and said: "Master Chen, I will leave Qujing to you in the days when I leave Qujing. Master Zhu, let Fang Shiyu and the others prepare the luggage And the war horse, when Erlang comes back from buying the loach, we will leave right away."

………………

Wu Sangui was indeed red-eyed. After the news of re-ruling the taxation of the Eight Banners Fushou Gao and requiring Wu Sangui to pay tribute to the seeds spread to Yunnan, the Pingxi Palace exploded. They said everything, and some asked Wu Sangui to bargain with the Qing court. , some asked Wu Sangui to resist taxes by force, and some even asked Wu Sangui to directly declare independence or directly raise troops against the Qing Dynasty—of course, there was absolutely no one who asked Wu Sangui to obediently obey his orders and cut off his fortune. Looking back at the poor days before, even the most basic military pay and food depended on Xiao Mazi and Aobai's expressions and moods.

With Wu Sangui's indecisive and easy-going character, under the threat of using force to solve the problem if Oboi doesn't obey, of course he really wants to bargain with the Qing court, and at the cost of paying more taxes and silver, he can keep the fortune of Baqi Fushou Gao. However, a large part of Wu Sangui's lackeys also agree with this point of view.However, many insightful people pointed out that since the Qing Dynasty court was so ruthless, it must have made up its mind to use force to eradicate the Pingxi Palace. The first move is strong, and the dog that kills mite is caught off guard.

Opinions were diametrically opposed. Of course, how to choose was a headache for Wu Sangui, who was indecisive. In desperation, Wu Sangui had no choice but to hold a meeting in Yin'an Temple on October 25 to discuss countermeasures. He thinks that Fatty Lu is the best rising star in the Pingxi Palace, and it has been proved by facts that many of Fatty Lu's insights are very unique and can hit the point. That's why Wu Sangui asked someone to send a letter to Fatty Lu Feige, ordering Fatty Lu to be there On October 24, I rushed back to Wuhua Mountain to discuss with the old man in Pingxi Palace.

On the afternoon of October 24th, after a routine nap for an hour, the old traitor Wu, who hadn’t closed his eyes for an hour, got up helplessly from the bed and asked the maid to help him dress. At this moment, history Lu Xia, the head of the bodyguard who rescued Wu Sangui's eldest grandson Wu Shifan from the capital to Kunming, came in to report, "My lord, Lu Yifeng, the prefect of Qujing, has arrived, and he is seeking an audience with Mr. Mao Xia and the others in Yin'an Hall."

"Yifeng is here?" The old traitor Wu was overjoyed at first, and then angrily scolded: "This bastard boy, he has been back to Yunnan for almost three months, and he is finally willing to go back to Wuhua Mountain. I thought he forgot how he got there. If I offend Lao Tzu, I will not give him my granddaughter!"

The scolding turned into scolding, but the anxious old traitor Wu still didn't hold Fatty Lu accountable, but hurriedly put on the royal clothes, surrounded by Lu Xia and other guards, all the way to Yin'an Hall, which is located in the core of Pingxi Palace.But after entering the Yin'an Hall, Wu Sangui's nose was almost crooked. For some reason, there was a charcoal stove next to Fatty Lu. Next to the charcoal stove, there was an iron pot with a cover and a small wooden barrel. .Wu Sangui couldn't help roaring angrily: "Bastard, who moved these things into the Gu's main hall? Are you going to cook or cook in the Gu's Yin'an Hall?"

"My lord, I'm a death penalty for being humble." Fatty Lu hurriedly bowed, and said respectfully, "These things are all found by the guards of the hall, and have nothing to do with others. The crime is solely the responsibility of the humble."

"Bold!" The old man Wu roared in anger, "Lu Yifeng, relying on my king's favor, you are doing things more and more outrageously. I ordered you to return to Wuhua Mountain as soon as possible several times before, but you were nowhere to be seen. This time After finally coming back, and tinkering with these things in this king’s Yin’an Palace, what are you planning to do?”

"Death penalty for humble duty." Fatty Lu showed no signs of fear, but said seriously: "My lord, the thing is like this. I heard that you have not been able to eat well or sleep well recently, so I specially brought some special products from Qujing, and I am going here Cook a famous dish for the prince, and after the prince has used it, his appetite will be greatly improved, and all the troubles will be relieved."

"Nonsense!" The old man Wu's anger subsided a little, and he asked again: "Then what are you going to cook?"

"This dish is very novel, please allow me to cook it right away, so that I can open my eyes." Fatty Lu said respectfully.

The old man Wu was confused, but seeing Fatty Lu's seriousness, he finally nodded and agreed to cook in the hall. Fatty Lu also quickly put the iron pot on the charcoal stove, and brought it up again. Wooden barrel, pour the contents of the barrel into the pot together with clear water, and finally put a piece of tofu into the pot.Old Man Wu approached curiously, and saw that besides the tofu that Fatty Lu had just put in the pot, there were actually a few live loaches wandering happily in the pot.

"I thought you were doing something." The old man Wu laughed dumbfoundedly, raised his leg and kicked Fatty Lu's fat buttocks, and said with a smile: "What novelty dish, isn't it just loach and tofu? Not only did I eat it, but When I was in Phi Island, I even made it myself!"

"Oh, so the prince has eaten it." Fatty Lu was not surprised, and asked again: "Then I dare to ask the prince, how did this live loach get into the tofu at the end?"

"Needless to say, the water is hot, but the tofu is cold. The loach can't stand the heat, so of course it has to get into the tofu." The old traitor Wu replied angrily.

"Then I would like to ask my lord, since the tofu is cold and the loach gets in, why is it still cooked in the end? It becomes people's food on the plate, in the mouth?" Fatty Lu asked again.

"Are you getting more and more outrageous, kid? I asked you to come back because I have something important to discuss with you. What are you and this king doing?" Old Wu Wu became angry again, and shouted: "When the water boils, the tofu It’s also hot, wouldn’t it burn the loach in the tofu to death?! Have you finished the ghost tricks yet? When you’re done, hurry up and take all these things away from me!”

"My lord, since you understand this truth..." Fatty Lu said unhurriedly, "Then why do you still want to drill into tofu?"

Hearing this, old traitor Wu froze, and immediately understood Fatty Lu's real intention.At this time, Hu Guozhu, Liu Xuanchu and the others also came up together, bowed down to the traitorous old man Wu, and asked in unison: "My lord, since you understand this truth, why do you want to dig into tofu?"

A pair of jackal green eyes stared at the iron pot, and at the few loaches swimming happily. The face of old traitor Wu turned green and pale, until the loaches couldn't stand the heat and began to squeeze into the tofu. Only then did the old traitor Wu command in a hoarse voice: "Remember, from today on, I will cook this dish for this king for every meal!"

"My lord is holy!" Fatty Lu and the others were overjoyed and kowtowed together.In the end, Fatty Lu pretended to plead guilty again: "My lord, the matter is urgent. In order to persuade my lord, I have the audacity to compare my dragon body to a loach. I hope my lord will forgive me. Don't take it to heart."

"No way!" The old man Wu waved his hand, categorically refused, pointed to the iron pot and said with a wicked smile: "Don't think that this king can't see it, you just let these loaches spit out the sand, in order to punish you This king compares it to being a loach for the crime of disrespect, and this king punishes you to eat this dish alone!"

"My lord, please forgive me! The humble job came in a hurry and was not well prepared, and I didn't even use the ingredients—!"

"Bastard, then you still said that you want to invite me to use this dish? Since you made this dish yourself, then you can eat it yourself!"

(End of this chapter)