Anbu Garden, Wanjuan Tower.
At this time, Wu Sangui, the Western King of the Qing Dynasty, was working with his four military advisors - Fang Guangchen, Guo Zhuangtu, Liu Xuanchu, Wang Shirong, his two sons Wu Yingqi and Wu Guogui, and his grandson Wu Shicong. Read behind closed doors. Please read "The World is Public" written by Prince Zhu San!
This book was brought back by Wu Shijue from Beijing. There was originally only one copy, but when Wu Shijue rested at the "Salt Village" in Fushun County, Xuzhou Prefecture, Sichuan, he asked the stewards and accountants of the Salt Village to help copy seven more. Eight books. So now Wu Sangui and others can learn from Prince Zhu's principles with a single volume.
The room was quiet, only the sound of flipping paper could be heard. I don’t know how long it took before Wu Sangui put down the book, took off his reading glasses, turned around and asked Wu Shijue: "Shijue, where did you get this book?"
"Grandpa, this book was given to me by Wang Shikai." Wu Shijue replied.
"Wang Shikai?" Wu Sangui thought for a while and asked, "Then the marriage between Wang Shikai and Xiao Tu is settled?"
"Okay," Wu Shijue said, "I borrowed the name of a good friend of the prince, a gangster from the outer city of Beijing named Yang Qilong. For the time being, I am Yang Xiaotuo. I married Wang Shikai with Yang Qilong's sister. Two female servants and one husband , of course, Xiaotu is the eldest wife."
"Big gangster?" Wu Sangui frowned, "Aren't you just a gangster?"
"No, no, no," Wu Shijue shook his head, "Grandpa, you don't know something. The situation around Beijing is not good now. There are people everywhere who have lost their homes and land because of the Manchus' enclosure. A large number of them are living on both sides of the canal. They are extremely miserable. .”
Wu Sangui sighed and said in a low voice: "It's hard to destroy the people, it's hard to prosper the people!"
Wu Shijue said: "Grandpa, you are right. Now that the Manchus are in power, the whole world is suffering, and even the emperor's feet are full of poverty. There are many unwilling ministers of the former dynasty who saw some opportunity and changed their careers and became gangsters. They Either they opened a Luo Jiao Zhaitang, or they founded a gang. While controlling the water transport business, they also bullied the market in the outer city of Beijing. Of course, they also did some more serious business, such as opening a brothel, lending money, etc., which was a bit messy. The good ones are both black and white.
This Yang Qilong is one of the best. Not only does he have a close relationship with our prince, he is also on good terms with the princes of Heping and Jing. He even got in touch with King Yu and became the person who collected money for King Yu. Wang Shang also worked as a clerk in the duty room of Dongtangzi.
The family's business is not small. In addition to issuing accounts and collecting debts, they also set up a hall in Pipiaoying Alley, opened a gambling house, and also took the dark stocks of many brothels in the Bada Alley, and also bought various antiques, calligraphy, and paintings shipped from the south. Western gadgets designed to make money from Eight Banners disciples. "
"This is happening!" Wu Sangui frowned, "Why don't those Eight Banners disciples learn well?"
Wu Shijue hummed and said: "The children of the Eight Banners are also human beings. After getting rich, they will still be greedy and playful. How hard is it to study and practice martial arts? There is no way to have fun eating, drinking and having fun."
Wu Sangui still didn't believe it, and snorted: "That's you, how can the Eight Banners disciples not learn as well as you?"
"Grandpa," Wu Shijue was dissatisfied, "How can those Eight Banners disciples compare with me? Compared with real kung fu, I can conquer at least half of Beijing!"
"Okay, Shijue, stop bragging!" Wu Shicong interjected, "Since Wang Shikai has married Xiaotu, should he turn to us?"
"Of course!" Wu Shijue lowered his voice and said: "Wang Shikai said that he and his father are currently lurking in the Qing camp, just waiting for an opportunity to fight back. Now they have gained the trust of the little emperor and have been entrusted with the important task of training troops. In the future, Wang Fuchen will also As long as grandpa can raise troops in the southwest after leaving Guangdong and Guangxi, he and his father will definitely raise troops to respond."
"This is great!" Wu Yingqi said with excitement, "Dad, there are already many admirals, generals, and deputy generals in Guangdong and Guangxi who are our people. If Wang Fuchen and Wang Shikai join us in rebellion again, then maybe we can You can conquer half of the south of the Yangtze River with one blow!"
Wu Shijue added: "In addition, that Yang Qilong also told his grandson that if you, grandpa, can raise the flag of righteousness in Yunnan and Guizhou, he is willing to lead the Tiandihui disciples in Zhili to kill the prisoners!"
"Heaven and Earth Society?" Wu Sangui asked, "What does it do?"
"Rebellion!" Wu Shijue said, "It is said that it was founded by Prince Zhu San who wrote the book "The World is Gong Lun", with the slogan of 'The world is the master and the guest is the guest, resist the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty to equalize the land'. They want to seize the Tatars. Son’s world, and then establish a peaceful and prosperous era in which the king and the people share the world, where the tiller has his own land, and everyone has food to eat!”
"This Third Prince Zhu is not simple!" Wu Sangui muttered, and then turned to look at his four military advisors. At this time, Fang Guangchen had already roughly read "The World is Public", frowning and thinking about something.
Seeing Wu Sangui's eyes, he thought thoughtfully and said: "My lord, don't you think this book "The World is Public" looks familiar to you?"
"It looks familiar." Wu Sangui nodded, "The idea of equalizing land and dividing land looks a bit like it was copied from Li Chuang."
"Your Majesty Yingming, those are indeed Li Chuang's things," Fang Guangchen said, "but those of Yuanjun, Yuanchen, and Yuanfa look a bit like things from the Donglin Party."
Fang Guangchen was from Shexian County. He had traveled to Nandu in his early years and became brothers with a group of Donglin successors. He was also an old acquaintance with Huang Zongxi, Gu Yanwu and others. Of course, he had also heard people talk about the principles of the "original king and king" - back then To put it bluntly, the Donglin Party's idea is that the emperor should take care of things less and the world should be controlled by them.
It's a pity that these people are very talkative and can't kill people, unlike their European counterparts who are sharp-tongued and quick with swords!
"How come the Donglin Party's principles are combined with Li Zicheng's methods?" Guo Zhuangtu, Wu Sangui's son-in-law and the most powerful among the four military strategists, frowned and said, "Your Majesty, are there still Li Zicheng's shares in this world? I heard someone say that the person who died in Jiugong Mountain was not the real Li Chuang, but a substitute. And there are always remnants of Li Chuang in the border area between Huguang and Sichuan."
This idea is still big enough!
Wu Sangui thought about it and actually thought it was possible, so he nodded and turned his attention to Liu Xuanchu, his other think tank.
Liu Xuanchu had also finished reading "The World is Public". When he saw Wu Sangui's look, he immediately said: "Now that the matter has come to an end, you must make up your mind!"
"What's your idea?" Wu Sangui frowned and asked knowingly.
"Of course it's the idea of raising an army to revolt!" Liu Xuanchu said, "The prince and the court have a deep misunderstanding, and the rift is difficult to resolve. He already wants to be a rich man. It was already unclear to Obai before. Now there are more Prince Zhu San, who wrote "The World is Public" and organized some sort of Heaven and Earth Society, will be your son-in-law."
Wu Sangui interrupted: "Xuanchu, do you think Wang Yongkang is really the third prince Zhu?"
Liu Xuanchu shook his head, twirled his goatee, and thought: "Then Wang Yongkang is probably not the third prince of Zhu, but can you make it clear, my lord? Although Wang Yongkang is not the third prince, what you gave him is not a real daughter. If you really want to It can be found out through investigation. If someone said that the prince really married his daughter to Prince Zhu San and hid them, and that the so-called daughter and son-in-law sent to Suzhou were all fakes, would the little emperor believe it? ?
In addition, the subordinates suspected that Prince Kang and Wang Shikai, who were sent to arrest Wang Yongkang and his wife, would also find several copies of "The World is Public" and some tokens of Prince Zhu San from Wang Yongkang! "
"What?" Wu Sangui was startled, "Xuanchu, do you mean there is something wrong with Wang Fuchen and his son?"
Liu Xuanchu nodded: "Don't you think they are setting up a trap for your Majesty?"
Of course Wu Sangui had sensed that something was wrong - he had many eyes and ears in Beijing and had already found out that Wang Jizhen had exposed Ao Bai's entry into Yunnan!
This is obviously a frame-up!
"But why do they do this?" Wu Sangui's face was gloomy, as if he was a little angry, "I am not treating them lightly!"
"Grandpa," Wu Shicong interrupted at this time, "their thoughts are the same as those who came to greet you at Yin'an Hall today! They don't want to follow the Qing Dynasty anymore. After all, the Qing Dynasty is the world of the Eight Banners. No matter how good we Han people are at our job, we are nothing more than slaves and pawns. They are fine when they are needed. Once they are no longer needed, we will have to kill the donkey! But now, the mill has been finished and the donkey will be killed soon! "
"Brother Shicong is right," Wu Shijue also nodded heavily, "Grandpa, please rebel. We can no longer be loyal ministers of the Qing Dynasty! If nothing else, you can't hand over this Obai alone! You hand over If you don't leave Obai, even if you hand yourself over, this rich man will not be able to live in peace, let alone Prince Zhu San?"
"What a Wang Shikai!" Wu Sangui snorted, "Are you trying to push me to a dead end?"
"Grandpa," Wu Shijue shook his head, with an excited look on his face, "that is not a dead end, but a road to heaven. My grandson has been in Beijing for several months and has witnessed all the decadence of today's bannermen's children. They have long since The courage of the past is gone. Moreover, all the famous generals and ministers of the banner people have withered away, leaving only the likes of Aobai and Yue Le. And Aobai is still under your command, grandpa!"
"Where can I find Oboi?"
"Grandpa, you do!" Wu Shijue said, "Wang Shikai also asked me to tell you: If the emperor feels that Aobai must be in Yunnan under the rule of King Pingxi, then it is best to have an Aobai in the palace of King Pingxi!"
Wu Sangui was stunned again, and Liu Xuanchu, the think tank next to him, suddenly said loudly: "Your Majesty, Wang Shikai is right, you should claim Oboi!"
"Recognize Ao Bai? How?" Wu Sangui also knew that having Ao Bai now is more advantageous than not having him, but he didn't know how to recognize him. "We can't send a memorial to the court saying that Ao Bai is in Pingxi Palace, right?"
"That's not necessary." Liu Xuanchu said with a smile, "The prince just needs to find someone who looks similar to Obai to haunt Pingxi Palace and the camp in the north of the city so that others can see him. Now it is clear that there is no fake Obei, and it has been spread outside There is a lot of fuss, if there is a fake, why can't it be spread as true?
With the title of Prince Zhu San, the prestige of Obai, the internal response of the Wang family and the Tiandihui, and the response of Han generals from all over the country, plus the principle of "The World is Public", is the prince still afraid that this rebellion will not succeed? "
"But only a few of us have read "The World is Public", and no one else knows about it," Wu Sangui continued to ask his think tank for advice. Listening to his words, it seemed that he had made up his mind to rebel!
"This matter is easy to handle." Liu Xuanchu said with a beaming expression, "The prince asked people to print more and quietly distribute them in the market. Then the prince issued an edict and asked all the government offices to post notices, announcing that the book "The World is Public" was banned. In order to let everyone know what is wrong with this book, you can also point out in the notice that "the world is for the master and the guest" is rebellion, and "equalizing the land and dividing the land" is stealing money.
In addition, the prince can also send this booklet to the yamen and schools below, so that the people below can recognize it first, so that it can be banned easily! "
Not to mention, Liu Xuanchu, the military advisor, has a very good brain!
Wu Sangui sighed, "Xuanchu, your idea is very good. But there is still a problem! My son Ying Xiong is still in Beijing as a hostage. What can I do?"
Hearing this, Wu Yingqi, Wu Guogui, Wu Shicong, and Wu Shijue all frowned a little. Isn't it just a son? If it's gone, it's gone. What's the big deal?
"Your Majesty, I have an idea for my humble position!" Wang Shirong, Wu Sangui's "Fourth Military Advisor", stood up at this time.
"Oh, does Shirong have any tricks up his sleeve?" Wu Sangui asked quickly.
"My lord, why don't you use the best strategy to trick the prince, the Eight Banners soldiers and the Green Camp soldiers into going to Sichuan or Guizhou, and then make a mess of them!"
Wu Sangui twirled his beard, thought for a while, and said: "Is this a plan? I understand. Before they can train their troops, I will pretend to be critically ill and let Ying Xiong and the princess come to Yunnan to take charge of the vassal affairs. By then, the little emperor will definitely Send a large army to conquer the border in the name of escort. Then I will send him alone."
As he spoke, Wu Sangui made a murderous gesture.
"Your Majesty is wise!" Wang Shirong provoked Brother Thumb, "As long as the little emperor dares to send the Eight Banners soldiers, whether it is entering Sichuan or Guizhou, Your Majesty, you are sure to win."
Wu Sangui frowned again, "But the little emperor is quite clever, will he fall into the trap?"
Was Kangxi smart? Wang Shirong thought to himself: It looks quite impulsive!
"Your Majesty, I have a plan for my humble position." Liu Xuanchu already had a clever plan at this time.
"Xuanchu, what's your clever plan?"
"Your Highness, do you still remember Lu Yifeng?" Liu Xuanchu asked.
"That Qujing prefect?" Wu Sangui frowned, "Didn't he get sick a while ago and almost die?"
"My lord, he is not really sick, but pretending to be sick!" Liu Xuanchu said with a smile.
"Pretending to be sick?" Wu Sangui was stunned, "Why?"
"Have you forgotten, Your Majesty?" Liu Xuanchu said, "There was news from Beijing a while ago that Lu Yifeng revealed the news about Ao Bai's entry into Yunnan to Wang Jizhen, causing Wang Jizhen to flee into the capital and let the emperor know about Ao Bai's arrival in Yunnan. thing."
"He was unjustly accused." Wu Sangui frowned and said, "Wang Jizhen has gone to Beijing a long time ago."
"But he didn't know, so he was afraid!" Liu Xuanchu said, "He was afraid that the prince would punish him, so he hid back in his hometown in Dali and pretended to be sick. We just arranged for him to fake his death and escape, escape to the capital and then return to the capital. He reported to Kangxi the news that the prince was seriously ill due to fear and anger."
"Afraid, sad and angry?" Wu Sangui asked, "Why do I worry and fear? And why do I feel sad and angry?"
"Your Majesty, your daughter and son-in-law are killed, can you not be sad and angry?" Liu Xuanchu said with a smile, "Geng Jimao and Shang Kexi have lost power one after another, how can your Majesty not be worried? If Your Majesty falls ill and cannot afford it, and there are people in the vassal who want to..."
As he spoke, Liu Xuanchu glanced at Wu Yingqi and said no more. However, Wu Sangui had fully understood that if he fell ill and the generals in Pingxi Fan, under the leadership of Obai, had the intention to support Wu Yingqi and keep Prince Zhu San and Grandson Zhu San from rebelling, Emperor Kangxi could still Can you sit still?
Thinking of this, Wu Sangui laughed loudly, "Liu Junshi, you are really my Liu Bowen! Please go to Dali and invite Lu Yifeng to come to Wuhua Mountain for a reunion!"
When Wu Sangui finally made up his mind to fight against the Qing Dynasty, Wang Zhongxiao, the man who tricked him into being the protector of Obai and the father-in-law of Prince Zhu San, was shopping outside Zhengyang Gate with his nobleman Fu Quan.
Both of them were wearing casual clothes, and they were squeezing in and out of the crowded crowd. Feel the rich flavor of the old Beijing city in the early years of Kangxi. Now is the most lively time of the year in Beijing. Temple fairs have begun all over the city and will not end until the Lantern Festival is lit.
Although Emperor Kangxi asked him to set off as early as possible, the Qing Dynasty's understanding of "as early as possible" was different from that of later generations. Kangxi told him "as early as possible" in October of the eighth year of Kangxi. If Wang Zhongxiao and his party could arrive at the Spring Festival of the ninth year of Kangxi If we set off later, that would be considered “very early”.
It's impossible to leave immediately after receiving the order, and it's not a six-hundred-mile rush. It's an imperial minister who is out of the capital to do something, and the official messenger is Prince Kang Jieshu! I have to make good preparations and then celebrate the New Year. It would be nice to be able to leave after eating the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
If you really have to leave in a hurry, the place will not have time to prepare the reception. If you neglect the prince, you will be walking around without food.
For Wang Zhongxiao, it is also necessary to stay in Beijing for two more months. Because he has too many things to do when he goes south this time. There are a lot of things to do for the country and the people, and many things have to be done at both ends. He should do some things here in Beijing, and then go to Liangjiang to do them again. For example, it helped Ruixin Tang develop the “official election loan” business.
What is an official loan?
This official election loan was a usury loan provided to the officials elected in Beijing or on local candidates in the Qing Dynasty!
Wang Zhongxiao's good brother Wang Jizhen had previously recommended that Wang Zhongxiao borrow the official election loan to buy a bodyguard. However, Wang Zhongxiao was lucky and met Fuquan, a wealthy man, as soon as he arrived in Beijing, so there was no need to borrow loan sharks. Otherwise, if he wanted to become a bodyguard, he would have to bear a debt of at least several thousand taels to the King of Hell!
Of course, for Wang Zhongxiao, who was born in the Han Army of Zhengbai Banner in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a few thousand taels of official election loan was not a problem at all. Moreover, when it comes to loan sharking, people like Yang Qilong and Yuan Linjing who lend money to the King of Hell will also give him preferential interest rates.
Their real targets of exploitation were not the flag members, but the Han members selected in Jingquan, because they were the real "slaves" of the Qing court and slaves of the Qing officialdom.
(End of chapter)
