On the day of Xinhai in the 56th year of Qianlong's reign, which was the afternoon of the eighth day of the sixth lunar month, Qianlong, who had led an army of 30,000 people and had been arriving at the summer resort for 12 days, finally received a letter jointly sent by Song Yun, the Minister of Affairs of Kulun, and Yunduan Dorji. Eight Hundred Miles is urgent - the North Korean Navy has dispatched troops!
It is said that people become more stubborn as they get older, not to mention an emperor like Qianlong who has been dictatorial for nearly 60 years. He has long been accustomed to doing everything by himself, and is very confident in his physical condition. Several Han people have been there before The academicians advised the emperor to sit in the Old Summer Palace instead of conducting military expeditions in person. Qianlong denounced these people as "foolish and pedantic".
Is this a personal expedition by the imperial commander? No! They are just following the usual rules of Qiu Mulan, but the number of soldiers they bring is a bit too much.
Although Qianlong always followed Kangxi's example, he never engaged in personal expeditions. Planning strategies and winning thousands of miles was what he was best at.
On the one hand, the emperor's personal expedition was to boost the morale of his soldiers and tell them that they must continue to persevere and victory is at hand; on the other hand, it was also to tell the enemy's soldiers that they should surrender quickly and negotiate for peace. Conditions.
However, for Beihai Town, which Qianlong regarded as a life-or-death enemy, it was obvious that neither of these two conditions met.
In fact, starting from a month ago, Qianlong, Agui, Heshen, Wang Jie and others had been convinced that the Northern Navy was going south to Outer Mongolia based on the intelligence at hand. After that, Fukang'an sent two memorials in succession, detailing It explained his understanding of Zhao Xin. From this, the Manchu and Qing monarchs had an insight into Zhao Xin's intention to use force between the north and the south in the past two years.
After careful consideration, Qianlong finally decided to go north to Jehol. The first purpose of this move was to cheer up the noble princes of Khalkha and show that the Qing Dynasty would not give up on them; the second was that once the war situation was favorable to his own side, he would send troops to go north to support; Thirdly, if the situation goes bad, you can take Jebtsundamba back to Beijing.
In addition to the green battalions from Shanxi and Zhili starting to move to Zhangjiakou, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties are also gathering troops from Gansu, Qinghai and other places to Shandan in order to enter Outer Mongolia from Alxa Erut Banner.
At present, all the emperors and ministers of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties knew that it was impossible to fight a battle with the Northern Navy. After several sand table deductions, Qianlong decided to use Hangai Mountain as the main battlefield, using the rapid maneuverability and complex terrain of the Mongolian cavalry to offset the weapon advantages of the Northern Navy.
At the end of the application period, in a large courtyard several stories deep to the southeast outside the Li main gate of the Summer Resort, Heshen, known as "the first person under the emperor", was standing in front of a bookcase, splashing ink and writing in a hurry.
He wrote a seven-character quatrain, but did not write a title: "The sun is thick and the clouds are not clearing, and the clouds are gone and the rain is still there. The empty steps are cool and the pillow is cold, and only the sound of crickets comes into my dream."
The concubine Su Qinglian who was waiting for He Shen to put down the brush quickly handed the warm towel to the other person's hand, frowning slightly and said: "Master, you..."
"What's wrong?" He Shen, who was already 41 years old, put down the towel, raised his hand and touched Su Qinglian's agar-like cheek, and smiled slightly.
Youdao says that "poetry is the voice of the heart". Although Heshen smiles all day long, and even his family members feel that his city is unpredictable, the thoughts projected on the poems are difficult to conceal. Su Qinglian is a singer. She was good at singing and poetry since she was a child, and excelled in both sex and art. She could tell at a glance that He Shen had something on his mind.
What is the "thick cloud beyond the Great Wall" that can make her master depressed? Su Qinglian felt that the only thing left now was Beihai Town, which silenced the government and the public. So she said with a worried look on her face: "This poem is really good, but it's just that
The meaning between the lines..."
He Zhongtang's literary level is actually quite high. He has served as the president of the Sikuquan Library, the Fanglue Library, the National History Museum, and the Qingzi Classics Museum. He has promoted cabinet affairs in the Wenyuan Pavilion, served as a paper reader for the imperial examination three times, and taught Shu Ji.
He was a scholar, concurrently serving as a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, etc. This was definitely not something that a clown-like figure who could only do corruption and flattery could take on, even if he was favored by Qianlong. Even the literary master Yuan Mei once praised him: "When I was young, I heard the etiquette of poetry."
, Tonghou is the champion; the bow is bent like Zhu Luoyan, and the pen is strong like Li Moyun."
In and around Prince Gong's Mansion, which has become a tourist attraction in another time and space, thousands of tourists denounce "corrupt official Heshen" every day. However, few of these people have read Heshen's poetry collection; many people are attracted by the popular
Plays and dramas have misled this historical figure who dominated both the government and the public during the late Qianlong period as a clown. However, if you read his posthumous works carefully and understand his intentions, you will understand that the complexity of He Shen cannot be vilified and denied in one word.
Hearing Su Qinglian hesitate to speak, He Shen understood what she wanted to say. For Beihai Town, He Shen only had four words to describe it, and it was difficult to deal with it. It was precisely because of this thought in his heart that he felt emotionally when writing the poem.
It will inevitably be revealed.
At this time, the servant came to report that the second master was here. He Shen first asked the servant to invite He Lin to come to the study to talk, and then whispered a few words into Su Qinglian's ear, making the other person's face turn red, and then he turned pale.
He retreated at a glance.
When He Lin came in, he was wearing a golden pheasant patch and an official uniform with brilliant feathers. He is thirty-seven years old this year, four years younger than He Shen. The two brothers are about the same height and figure, and have similar faces and eyebrows. Just because of this
He has been traveling around for two years and looks older than He Shen.
Starting last year, He Lin was transferred from Huguang Dao Yushi to the Right Minister of the Ministry of War, responsible for planning food and fodder for Fukang'an's army in Jilin. The official promotion was quite fast, but the hard work was not something that ordinary people could bear.
"Have you met the emperor?"
"The sign was handed over by Shen Shi. I waited for an hour and didn't ask anyone to come in until the palace door was locked. I just wanted to play house and have a look."
He Shen nodded and said: "Go and change your clothes first. They are loose and loose. You haven't eaten yet, right?"
"I had a hot meal outside Li Zhengmen. Brother, why are you so anxious for me to come to Rehe?"
He Shen smiled and waved his hand, asking He Lin to change clothes first, and then personally arranged the meals and told Liu Quan's son Liu Yin that he would tell He Lin later that no one was allowed to enter the courtyard.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Two quarters of an hour later, He Lin finished changing and washing up and sat down to eat, while He Shen was half lying in an easy chair with a book to kill time. He Lin knew that her brother was busy,
It was rare to find time to talk to himself today, so he soaked the Japonica rice in pheasant cub soup, took a few bites and then stopped eating.
"Brother, I know you are busy. If you have anything to do, you should tell me first."
"I specially asked you to come back this time," He Shen threw the book aside and said with a smile: "I want you to contact the person named Zhao to leave a way out for our family."
"Ah!" He Lin's expression suddenly changed. Without caring about anything else, he hurriedly got up and walked to the study door and looked outside.
Seeing his brother's appearance, He Shen shook his head and smiled bitterly, then waved and said, "Sit down, there are people watching from outside the yard, and no one can come in."
"Brother, the situation has reached this point?!"
He Shen nodded slightly. Ever since the Northern Navy defeated Tsarist Russia last year, he had already seen clearly that Zhao Xin acted erratically and unpredictably, and did not act according to common sense. However, once he took action, he would be thunderous and sweep away thousands of armies.
Unless the imperial court mobilizes hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses from all over the world to suppress him, tens of thousands of soldiers and horses alone will not be able to do anything to him. However, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses means that it is possible to talk about war on paper, but it has no practicality at all. Fighting is actually fighting.
No one can handle logistics and the allocation of military supplies and food for hundreds of thousands of people.
"Yes, but the emperor is very kind to our family. This matter..."
He Shen looked up at the white paper on the roof, his eyes dark, and said softly: "It is precisely because the emperor is so kind to me that I do this. I have been thinking about this for more than a year."
"how do I say this?"
"I'll say this once today, and I won't mention it again in the future." He Shen stood up, leaned into He Lin's ear, and said in an inaudible voice: "Do you know how much our family's property is? To be honest, neither do I.
It’s very clear, but 100 million is at the bottom, and 200 million is not much.”
Oh my God! Two hundred million is not too much! He Lin almost dislocated her jaw after hearing this, and felt cold sweat break out on her back, and soon her inner clothes were soaked through.
"I have been thinking about this since the one who fell ill the year before last," He Shen stared into his younger brother's eyes and said in a deep voice: "Without that person surnamed Zhao, our family would be as stable as a mountain, no matter who was the emperor, and no one would be able to move.
Fuck me. But you have to know that this war has been going on for five years, and the court has not asked for a single advantage, and the money has been spent! No matter who sits in that position later, the first difficulty is lack of money.
.”
"The emperor is already eighty this year. No matter how ambitious he is, he can't run out with Zhao. If his successor wants to deal with him, he will have to exhaust all the soldiers in the world, but there is not so much money! Government administration, training of troops.
Not to mention, there have been constant floods, droughts and natural disasters over the years, and river management is a huge expense. To tell you the truth, this court is rotten to the core, and it’s impossible to do anything serious!”
"The new emperor will definitely attack me when he succeeds to the throne, because only our family has the most money!"
"Your brother, I am in charge of Shang Yu's reserve. There are many things in Beihai Town that only the emperor and I know. He is not a bloodthirsty man, and he also provides a way out for the Manchus. The Beihai Navy has a cavalry of two thousand people, and there are a large number of them.
Some of them are surrendered troops from our Manchu people..."
He Shen broke down the events in Beihai Town one by one and told them to He Lin. Many of them were secrets, and He Lin didn't know about them at all.
"You are now responsible for preparing food and fodder for Fuyaolin. Don't you know what is going on in Jilin?"
"I know it is not easy for Fu Yaolin. He manages the army immediately and governs the people immediately. A while ago, he chopped off the heads of more than 20 Shaanxi officers to establish his authority. Military discipline has improved a lot."
"Alas~~ He did it for some people to see." He Shen sighed and continued: "I have understood what happened at Dagukou the year before last. If Beihai Town wants to enter the customs, they can do so at any time.
.The tens of thousands of people in Fu Yaolin can't stop it at all. But I never understood why the man named Zhao left Fu Yaolin alone."
He Lin's eyes widened and she said in disbelief: "Brother, you mean Fu Yaolin and the person named Zhao..."
"No! If anyone else in the world wants to go to Beihai Town...hehe~~ But Fu Yaolin will definitely not do it. He was raised by the emperor, and he has the same affection as father and son."
He Shen hesitated for a moment, touched his shaved forehead and said: "To be honest, the only thing I can't understand now is why the guy named Zhao didn't fight Jilin Wula and insisted on leaving tens of thousands of people in Fu Yaolin.
With his eyes wandering, doesn't he know the principle of 'How can one allow others to sleep peacefully on the side of the bed'?"
He Lin said hesitantly: "I heard that Beihai Town over Ningguta released 5,000 people, and Hunchun only had less than 3,000 people. I want to use 8,000 people to fight..."
He Lin suddenly stopped when she said this. He remembered that a few years ago, the Beihai Navy used 7,000 men to defeat tens of thousands of people from Mingliang. Yes, why not fight in front of you? After defeating Wula in Jilin, we will go to Shengjing.
It's all smooth sailing.
He Lin changed the topic and changed the question: "Brother, the emperor treats our family well. He even married the tenth princess into our family last year..."
"Of course the emperor has nothing to say to me. Shen and I are willing to mess with each other. Even if the people behind me want my head, I won't give a shit! But what about your sister-in-law? What about you? What about your son Yi Mian? What about our two families?
Are these hundreds of people buried with me? Why?!"
The "Yimian" mentioned by Heshen was Helin's only son. Historically, after the fall of Heshen, his son Fengshen Yinde survived because he was a subordinate, but he was denounced by Jiaqing several times and closed his door to think about his mistakes.
He died of depression when he was many years old. As for He Lin's son Fengshen Yimian, he was not spared. First he was promoted from the Duke to the third-class light vehicle captain, and then he was dismissed from the official position of Qianqingmen guard, and finally he was reduced to
Fortune teller on the street.
Historically, Fengshen Yi Mian took advantage of the occasion of the funeral for his cousin to compile and engrave the poems of his uncle, father and cousin into a book, named it "Jia Le Tang Poetry Collection". Only then did later generations see He Shen's situation.
The helplessness and depression from the bottom of my heart in the era when "the king tells his ministers to die, but they have no choice but to die".
He Shen himself understood very clearly. Even though he had all the power in the government and the public, and was said to be under one person, he had never been out of Qianlong's control. He was just a high-ranking servant of the emperor.
In fact, thanks to the emergence of Zhao Xin, the Qing Dynasty was repeatedly punished, leaving the Qing government's treasury empty. In order to obtain sufficient military expenditures, local officials became corrupt. Under such a chaotic situation, and
Shen just thought about it bit by bit.
In addition, Qianlong's physical condition was also one of the important reasons that alerted Heshen.
It is said that Qianlong has been in good health since he was a child and has rarely suffered from any serious illness. Except for the fact that he was unable to go to the altar of earth to worship the earth due to an attack of "qi stagnation" at the age of 73, he also fell ill when the Northern Navy troops came to Dagokou the year before last.
a few days.
Due to proper maintenance, the eighty-year-old Qianlong did not appear to be aging except for his sometimes slow thinking. If someone who didn't know better looked at him, they would think he was only in his early sixties.
Others didn't know it, but Heshen knew it best. The illness almost killed Qianlong the year before last. When he finished the negotiations with Beihai Town at Chaoyin Temple and rushed back to the capital to return to work, he went to Qianlong's bedside to listen to the holy sermons in person.
There is always a thorn in the back and a frightening feeling.
When He Shen came out of Yangxin Hall and thought about it carefully, his clothes were suddenly wet with sweat; the feeling came from Prince Jia kneeling beside him, and it was murderous intent!