"My nephew wants to trouble my fourth uncle with something." Since it was a confidential conversation, Wang Yehao didn't mince words.
"It's easy to talk about." Wang Xiantong said with a smile, "Fourth uncle got what he wanted this time, and I owe you a big favor!"
"With the fourth uncle's talent and popularity, it should be so. My nephew is just doing a favor." Wang Yehao said a few polite words, then handed over a wax-sealed paper roll, "My nephew wants to bring a message to Liu Zhao. I don't know what the four uncles are doing." It’s not convenient for me here.”
"What's so difficult about this?" Wang Xiantong took the scroll, "Although it's the New Year's Day, there are people from the Zhenfu Division who are on duty. I will send someone out today."
"Thank you so much, Uncle Fourth." Wang Yehao cupped his hands, and then asked, "I wonder when this news will be delivered?"
Wang Xiantong thought for a while and said: "The period of travel to Guangfu is fifty-six days, and if it is an urgent document, it is thirty-two days. There is also a flying pigeon letter route here in Zhenfusi, but it can only transport only a few days. Formal documents cannot be delivered with small fragments of words. In addition, birds may be injured on the road, so they are often written in secret and then sent out through multiple channels to ensure that the message is not lost.”
Wang Yehao calculated the days and then said: "It's not an urgent matter. There is no need to rush it. Just make sure it is delivered."
"Haha, let's take care of the affairs of the Zhenfu Division, so my nephew can rest assured."
Wang Yehao took a sip of tea to calm down, thinking that it would be convenient to have someone working in the Zhenfu Division. Recently, he has gradually realized its benefits. Whether it is inquiring about information or secretly communicating, it is "faster" than official channels. secret". No wonder the emperor relied on the factory guards as his confidants.
Putting down the tea cup, he said: "Speaking of the troops of the Zhenfu Division, Liu Zhao said that there is a brother named Liu Zhen who is also working in the Zhenfu Division, but there is no errand now. Please ask me to give his brother a job. This man's fourth uncle can Do you recognize it?"
"I have some impressions. It seems that they are setting up stalls on the streets of Nancheng. They must have family-owned skills."
"Oh, Liu Zhao recommended this person. I wonder if Fourth Uncle thinks he can be used?"
"It was hard to say before, but it may be possible recently. I wonder what kind of ecstasy soup those Donglin people poured into the Holy Spirit. They actually banned officials from monitoring and caused many children to lose their jobs." Wang Xiantong complained, and then said , "Liu Zheng's group has also been eliminated. It is probably not difficult to recruit now. If my nephew is interested, I will let him go to the house as an errand tomorrow."
"Okay." Wang Yehao nodded thoughtfully, "Speaking of your Majesty's plan to abolish factory guards, I wonder what your fourth uncle's plans are?"
Wang Xiantong frowned and said, "This is the holy will, and I should obey it. But it is quite tricky. After Wei Ni committed suicide in fear of his crime, the eunuchs were all in panic all day long. At the beginning, he repeatedly went to jail and killed many people. He owes With so much blood debt, how can the Donglin Party spare us! I am just a factory guard who was ordered to do errands, so I am afraid it will also be affected."
"Fourth uncle, don't worry. My nephew over in Donglin will figure it out. But Tian Ergeng can't be saved. It's better for fourth uncle to contact him secretly and report him first. This can avoid the disaster of being a fish in the pond and make a positive contribution."
Wang Xiantong was stunned for a moment, then immediately praised: "What my nephew said makes sense..."
Seeing that his fourth uncle was still hesitant, Wang Yehao said: "Fourth uncle, don't hesitate. This Tian Ergen has attached himself to Wei Ni, and has repeatedly set up big prisons, and his methods are cruel. Don't talk about the Donglin lineage, even other ministers in the court. Too many people want to put him to death - Wu Biao is a man who is bound to die, everyone will be beaten to death, and Fourth Uncle's move is just to follow the general trend."
In the past, Wang Yehao would not have said such absolute words. Since the biggest prophecy of "Xianren Zhou": "The eunuchs will be destroyed, they will commit suicide at the age of nine thousand, and King Xin will ascend the throne", his predictions in the "code book" have been fulfilled. Believe it without reservation.
The "Hearthstone Taoist" has already given him a list of who should be impeached and who should not be impeached, and he just needs to follow the list. crack shot.
"Okay, okay, it's up to you!"
"Just now, my fourth uncle said that many children have lost their jobs. My nephew's house is short of some manpower recently. If there are any suitable ones, I hope my fourth uncle can recommend them."
"It's easy to talk about."
In the afternoon of the next day, Wang Yehao heard a report from his servants, saying that there was a Taoist priest at the door who wanted to see him. He refused to leave even after giving him money. He insisted on seeing the master, and the servants wanted to drive him away, but he couldn't move with a brush of his hand.
"...He also said that he was recommended by someone and was not a wandering wild man."
"Oh? Did you come by recommendation?" Wang Yehao knew that this was probably Liu Zhao's brother, and he seemed to be quite capable.
"Let him come in." Wang Yehao ordered his servants to take him to the study.
After a while, a Taoist with gray beard and hair and a ravaged face appeared in front of Wang Yehao.
"I'm a poor Taoist, Liu Zheng, I've seen you before." The Taoist shook his fly whisk and bowed in salute.
Judging from his clothes, it seems that he is quite in line with the image of a fortune teller who makes a living in the market. Don't show off, this is the basic requirement for secret arrests.
"Taoist Priest asked to see you today, what's the matter?" Wang Yehao deliberately feinted, wanting to see how the other party would react.
The Taoist didn't panic at all, and said with a smile: "Recently, the incense has faded for me, and my money is tight. I heard that you are going to set up an altar here to pray for blessings and ward off disasters, so I came here to recommend myself."
Wang Yehao also smiled and handed over the recommendation note written by Liu Zhao before: "Does the Taoist priest know Liu Zhao?"
"Liu Zhao is indeed my brother from the same clan. I have to call him second brother when we line up." The Taoist read the note and replied, "I heard him talk about doing errands at the Lord's house before, but I haven't seen him for two years. "
Wang Yehao looked at the other party with some suspicion in his heart. Liu Zhao was only in his early thirties, and he originally thought that the brother he was talking about was no more than forty, but the person who came today seemed to be in his fifties or sixties, but he still wanted to call him Brother Liu Zhao.
"Dare I ask, sir, this year's Geng Geng?"
Since there was an explanation in the note, the Taoist stopped doing Tai Chi: "Haha, you must also know that like Liu Zhao, I am also an errand in the Zhenfu Division. It's just that I don't work in the Yamen on weekdays, but set up a stall in the south of the city and do business. Under the guise of a face-to-face meeting, I do the job of supervising and secretly arresting people. No one in Kanyu’s profession will believe me because I’m too young on the outside, so I deliberately pretend to be more mature. In fact, I just turned thirty this year.”
"I didn't expect that your profession is just like the officialdom, you have to go through many years of experience." When Wang Yehao said this, he actually wanted to laugh. When it comes to physical appearance, which physiognomist in the world is better than Zhou Xianren, but if someone fails to judge, then it can be said that his words are like a god and his ability is always proven.
"Sir, you are joking." Liu Zheng waved his hand and continued, "This appearance is just to fool some foolish men and women. If you talk about feng shui and fortune telling, you must have real skills."
Wang Yehao stroked his beard thoughtfully: "In that case, I have a difficult matter and I would like to ask your Excellency for your advice."
"Sir, please speak."
"I took in two new maids on my way back to Beijing last year. I only want to keep one obedient one. Please help me choose one for me." Wang Yehao immediately ordered someone to bring over the two maids who had previously served Master Hearthstone. After the two maids separated from him, they have basically been in the cold palace together for the past six months. Apart from having a lot of meals every day, few people usually greet them. Today, they were inexplicably taken to the master's study. There was also a strange Taoist priest standing in the room, and both of them were a little wary.
Liu Zhen knew that the other party was weighing himself, so he did not dare to neglect him. He looked at the two maids carefully, and then said: "You two girls, lend me your hand."
The two maids were a little embarrassed when they heard the Taoist priest said they wanted to read palms, but the head of the family didn't seem to object, so they had no choice but to stretch out their hands timidly.
He watched for a while, and then asked one of them, "May I ask this girl her name?"
"The name given by Mr. Lu Zhouzhou is Zhiling." The maid replied tremblingly.
"Mr. Zhou is a master in the mansion." Wang Yehao introduced the character's background.
Liu Zhao nodded, and then continued to say to Zhiling: "Looking at the pattern on the girl's hand, it is a sign of rebirth after a disaster. I think the harvest in my hometown will be good this year, and it should not be far away to redeem herself."
"Are you serious about what the Taoist said?" The girl's eyes lit up when she heard that, but her eyes dimmed immediately: "Oh, my contract costs twenty taels. I'm afraid my parents won't be able to afford this much money. If I go back Even though I have to bear the scorn of my brother and sister-in-law. Although there are many rules here, I can eat without getting scolded."
Liu Zheng smiled and comforted her a few words, then turned to Yui and started chatting. After a while, Liu Wei came back and bowed his hand to Wang Yehao, indicating that he had asked clearly.
Wang Yehao ordered two maids to wait outside the door, and then asked Liu Zhen, "Do you have anyone to choose?"
"In my opinion, your family has such a big family and there are many servants in the house, so it's not that you can't support a mouth or two. You must be doing something extraordinary when choosing someone today." Liu Wei secretly glanced at Wang Yehao's expression and said, Seeing that he was slightly surprised, he knew that he must have been right, so he continued, "I would venture to guess that since I can only choose one person, it should be considered a person who is confidential and must be strict with his mouth. Yui is better than Zhiling."
"How do you make this judgment?"
"Haha, it's just some little tricks." Liu Wei smiled disapprovingly, "When I saw the old calluses in Zhiling's hands, I concluded that she was from a farmer's family, and maybe she was sold into slavery because of poor years, so I deceived her several times. Quite unexpectedly, she revealed all her life experience before she even put in much effort. In comparison, Yui is more reliable."
"A good method." Wang Yehao nodded in agreement, and then suddenly asked quietly, "Your Excellency has been in Beijing for a long time, have you checked with me?"
When Liu Zheng heard this, he hurriedly bowed down and said, "Don't worry, sir. I know the rules. Since I want to vote for you, I will be loyal to you from now on."
"Well, do your job with all your heart, and I won't treat you badly."
"Thank you, sir, for taking me in." Liu Zheng immediately kowtowed three times.
When the other party stood up, Wang Yehao handed him a folding fan. The calligraphy and painting on the fan are common, and the signature is "Shi Weng". Liu Zheng looked at it for a while, not sure why. Wang Yehao explained with a serious face: "Everyone who holds this fan is my subordinate, so I can take care of you when we meet in the future."
(End of chapter)
