Chapter 726: The White Tower Cannon Moves Nine Gates (1)
It was early morning on May 30th, the fifty-ninth year of Qianlong's reign.
Today, as usual, shopkeeper Dong got up and washed up when he heard the clock chime from the direction of Chongwenmen, and then went out to drink tea at the "Donghongtai" teahouse.
He lives in Caochang Santiao, very close to Zhengyangmen Street. After exiting the alley, there is Shuichang Hutong. Go west to the end, diagonally opposite Dashilan on the left; and a little further south, it is located at the end of Yupi Hutong.
The "Donghongtai" teahouse in Guangdong.
This man's real name is Dong Xinchen, a native of Shangqiu County, Henan Province. He is thirty-seven years old this year and comes from a small and wealthy farming family. He attended private school for several years when he was a child. However, due to changes in his family, he stopped continuing. At the age of seventeen, he began to choose private schools.
He carried a burden and did some small business, walking through villages and alleys every day, and his life was not bad. In the fiftieth year of Qianlong's reign, there was a disaster in Henan, and the Shangqiu area was the hardest hit. People were starving and eating each other. Dong Xinchen, like other people who fled, arrived in Kaifeng with his wife, children and children.
Settlement.
It happened that Xu Dayong was ordered by Zhao Xin to gather the refugees at that time. In addition to buying people in the people's market, he also hired some hired workers through Yaren, mainly to cook for the refugees inside and outside Zhuangzi. Dong Xinchen was a foreigner, so he wanted to
It is not easy to make a living in Kaifeng; however, this man is quick-witted and generous in his work. Through deliberate friendship, he got to know a Yaman. The latter happened to be helping Xuzhuang recruit workers, so he offered him a hundred yuan as a favor and introduced him.
Because he was literate and had done business, Dong Xinchen quickly stood out among the servants in Xuzhuang. After a year of this, Xu Dayong felt that this person was serious about his work and was not greedy for money. After several trials, he brought him
He went overseas by ship and saw the Thor. After receiving the "shock education", Dong Xinchen's family went to Beihai Town, divided the land and got a house. Unwilling to face the loess and turn his back to the sky, he entered the Ministry of Trade and worked under Shen Jingdan.
.
Four years ago, Dong Xinchen was ordered to go to Beijing and opened a north-south store on Zhengyangmen Street under the name "Huang Shengtai". Since then, Beihai Town's first intelligence point in the capital was established. Except for his wife who lives with him
Dong He, two telegraph operators disguised as servants, and other local accountants and clerks did not know that the boss behind them was the number one "rebel" in the world.
During his years in the capital, Dong Xinchen's greatest achievement was to develop the eunuch, the deputy general manager of the Jingsi Room, into the spy of Beihai Town, which enabled Beihai Town to extend its tentacles into the Forbidden City. Basically, major events in the palace would take place within three days.
Zhao Xin will know.
Nowadays, the Northern Navy Intelligence Bureau has established a total of five intelligence substations inside and outside the capital. One substation is based on "Huang Shengtai" North and South goods; the second substation is on Liulichang East Street outside Xuanwumen. It is a store called "Fan Gutang"
"The antique shop's main task is to connect with Ruan Yuan, who works in the Hanlin Academy, and to purchase antique calligraphy and paintings for Zhao Xin; Sansan Station is located in Haidian Town, and is a medicine shop to the outside world. Its main task is to monitor and inquire about the situation in various parts of the Old Summer Palace.
; The fourth-quarter station is near the Qingfeng Gate outside Dongbian Gate. It is a wine shop to the outside world. From the shopkeeper to the waiters, all the people in the store are members of the Cao Gang who defected to the Northern Navy; the fifth-quarter station is the Tongzhou Canal Wharf. It is a grain shop to the outside world.
For the sake of safety, unless there are special circumstances, the various intelligence stations never have lateral contact. They only receive direct orders from the Intelligence Bureau from the radio. Four of them are teams dedicated to operations, delivering orders to Liu Quan and Ruan Yuan's mansion.
Anonymous letters are what they do.
Normally, during normal times, Dong Xinchen would stay in the teahouse until noon before returning to the shop, but that was not possible today; Prince Yi's grandson caught Zhou Li because he was also the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and "Huang Shengtai" was now a supplier to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Shang, so I have to go and give him a gift no matter what. Besides, Li Qiucheng said last month that he would go today as well, just in time to meet.
Seeing that it was almost time, he went home, changed his clothes, and called a personal entourage - actually a bodyguard assigned to him by the Intelligence Bureau. With the gifts and posts he had prepared in advance, he got on the mule cart and drove away.
Chongwenmen entered the city and arrived at the destination at the end of the year.
Prince Yi's Mansion is located in Qihua Gate (Chaoyang Gate), located in the east of the city. It is neither lonely nor very lively in the capital. In fact, this is not the earliest Prince Yi's Mansion. The palace in the Yunxiang era was located in Jinyu, east of Wangfujing.
In the alley. After the death of Yunxiang, the first Prince Yi in the eighth year of Yongzheng's reign, Yongzheng respected his last wish and converted the palace into a temple; and because he gave Yunxiang the posthumous title of "Xian", it was called "Xianliang Temple". History
As soon as Xianfeng was on the throne, Zaiyuan, the seventh-generation Prince Yi, one of the eight ministers of Gu Ming, was soon sentenced to death. The iron-hatted prince was gone, and the palace was confiscated. Later, it was given to Daoguang's ninth son Yi
蓓, was changed to Fujun Wangfu.
The one who came to arrest Zhou Li today was Yixun, the eldest grandson of Prince Yi Yonglang. His father was Mianbiao, the second son of Yonglang, who was named the Duke of the Eighth Auxiliary State in the first few years; because Yonglang only had two sons, the eldest
His son Mian Jin died more than ten years ago, so Mian Biao became the best candidate to be the next Prince Yi. If nothing unexpected happens, Yixun will naturally be the future young prince.
Dong Xinchen got out of the car when he was still more than fifty meters away from the palace. Carriages and sedan chairs were parked at the entrance of the palace, blocking the door. After entering the gate of the palace, the attendant handed over a red greeting card and a gift list. He was responsible for welcoming the guests.
The eunuch took the invitation, opened it and read it, then looked at the valuable gifts on the gift list, nodded with satisfaction, and then read loudly: "Master Dong, the Changlu Salt Transport Envoy, has arrived!"
Well, if a businessman in the capital wants to establish a relationship with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and do business, he can’t even think about it without an official status. This is not only a matter of having an official status that makes it easier to get things done, but it also allows others to understand your strength. No one
With a net worth of tens of thousands taels, doing business with the Ministry of Internal Affairs will cost you your life.
Before Dong Xinchen came to Beijing, the Intelligence Bureau first asked him to return to Shangqiu and spend 1,200 yuan to donate a prison student. In the second year after arriving in the capital, he spent 150 taels of silver to donate a tribute student to the Ministry of Household Affairs, and then again
I spent more than 5,000 taels to donate to a salt transport division with the false title of Yuntong; if this was the kind with the real title of candidate, it would cost at least 10,000 taels.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Although the current situation in the Manchu Qing Dynasty is that Wang Xiaoer is celebrating the New Year, many powerful people do not dare to be too ostentatious, lest Qianlong will be unhappy. But the Manchus are not careful about the age of their children.
The etiquette is very important, and Yonglang's lineage has few heirs, and he only had a grandson when he was almost fifty. So after asking Qianlong for permission in advance, Prince Yi's palace invited many guests today, including Prince Baylor and the female relatives of the family.
There were banner slaves who were officials in Beijing, some Manchu, Han and Mongolian ministers who had been close to each other in the past, and a group of Qing guests.
According to the rules, the ceremony of catching the week must be carried out before noon, and then the banquet can be held to eat longevity noodles. In the afternoon, a theatrical troupe will perform gongs and take the stage to show the joy. However, at this time, everyone finally discovered that the real master of the palace had not shown up yet.
So many people couldn't help but ask.
After listening to the explanations of Yonglang's Dafujin and his son Mianbiao, everyone realized that Prince Ganqingyi and Prince Ding were rushed into the garden before dawn. The specific reason was unknown. Several princes present
Baylor looked at each other in confusion, thinking that he couldn't even take care of his grandson. Could it be that something big happened to the court? I haven't heard of it!
In fact, everyone in Prince Yi's palace also thought this was strange. Mianbiao sent someone to the garden early in the morning to ask when Amma would come back. Unexpectedly, the person who asked the question did not see Yonglang at all, but only a eunuch came out to deliver a message.
He said that the emperor was discussing important matters with Prince Yi, Prince Ding, and the three people in the middle hall, and he would not be able to come out for a while. He asked the palace to do what he wanted to do, and there was no need to wait for him.
When things got to this point, none of the princes and ministers in the capital knew that something big had happened in the Old Summer Palace, and a chaos was just around the corner.
Although Yong Lang was not here, the ceremony could not be delayed when the time came, so amidst the blessings of relatives and friends, the young prince, who was wearing a tiger-head hat and tiger-head shoes, was carried out by the nanny. After everyone present said their words,
After a few auspicious words, the Zhou Zhou ceremony began.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the royal family's ritual for catching Zhou Dynasties was called "Zhoupan", which means that the east and west are listed on the plate and let the children catch them to see their ambitions. Speaking of which, this was still a custom of the Han people in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. When the Manchus entered the customs,
I have learned this before. However, the royal family's Zhou Zhou is different from that of ordinary people, and the items set up are very different from those of the common people.
Dong Xinchen, who was standing outside the crowd, stood on tiptoe and stretched his neck to look, and saw Dafujin smilingly bringing up a wooden plate with a dazzling array of things on it, including jade ornaments, jade fan pendants, gold spoons, silver boxes, agate fan pendants,
A small bell with rhinoceros horn, the Four Treasures of the Study, a bow, an arrow, and a pair of small mallets tied with red silk ropes.
The one-year-old Yixun stared at it with big eyes, looking at this and that. Without hesitation, he stretched out his little hand and picked up the small rhinoceros horn clock. He held it with both hands and brought it to his mouth to nibble on.
Actually no longer interested.
"Okay, okay! From now on, the little prince will have a great meal, which will be extremely expensive!"
"Good sign, good sign!"
Although there were congratulations all around, which made the owners of Prince Yi's Mansion smile with joy, except for the young ones, the elders among the iron hat kings present frowned slightly, and then returned to normal. Prince Li Yong'en and Prince Zhuang Mian
The four students looked at each other, and a bad premonition arose in their hearts.
Why did the naughty kid catch such a thing! Although the meaning of the bell represents "the bell rings and the cauldron eats", at least he should have grabbed another golden spoon. The problem is that this kid only caught a bell. What if this was the end of peace?
That's all, but with the general trend of the world, the future of the Manchu people is already in danger. Who knows if the Northern Navy enters the customs one day, and everyone will have to pack up and go to the snow-covered plateau to eat highland barley.
Yonglang is a single descendant of three generations. This child is only one year old now. It is not a joke to get sick when he gets there. It seems that the future of Prince Yi's lineage is not good!
Afterwards, everyone went to the banquet hall and took their seats. Prince Li Yongen looked around and asked strangely: "Why didn't you see Mr. and Mrs. Runpu today?"
After hearing this, Mianbiao explained: "Hefu sent someone to deliver a letter this morning, saying that the princess was feeling unwell this morning. She asked the imperial doctor to see her and said she was infected with wind and cold. She was afraid that it would be transmitted to the child."
The two of them were talking about Heshen's sons Fengshen Yinde and Princess Hexiao. They had promised to arrive a few days ago when they posted the message, but unexpectedly this morning they suddenly said they couldn't come. However, although they didn't come, the gifts came early in the morning.
Someone had already sent it over, and it was a double portion. So although Dafujin and Mianbiao were a little disappointed, they couldn't say anything.
Yong En nodded, glanced around again, and said to himself: "That's not right, why aren't Yong Jun and his wife here?"
Mianbiao shook his head in surprise and said, "I don't know. Maybe I was delayed because I came from Haidian? After a while, I was punished with three drinks."
What the two are talking about this time is Yongjun, the grandson of Prince Chun Yunyou, the seventh son of Kangxi. This man married Heshen’s eldest daughter more than ten years ago and was considered a key member of the Hedang Party in the clan. In another time and space history
After He Shen's death, he was implicated and depressed, and died of illness before he was fifty.
The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was interested. Decheng, the Minister of Industry at the table next to him, said: "Speaking of Runpu, I heard something about it before I came here."
"Tell me and listen." Nowadays, He Shen is extremely powerful and has countless people fawning over him. His every move, word and deed will attract the attention of powerful people.
Decheng smiled and said: "Actually, it's not a big deal. I heard from my subordinates that his family lives in Badiao Bay, north of Desheng Bridge. He said that the carriage that came out of Hefu early this morning was a pick-up truck.
There was a car, and there were people sitting in the car. The car left Deshengmen and headed north. I don’t know what it was doing.”
"Could it be that you are going to the Bixia Yuanjun Temple on the top of the north to burn incense? The weather is not right." Prince Li Yongen rolled his eyes, beckoned to the eunuch behind him, and whispered: "Go and inquire about He Mansion
movement."
"嗻."
Dong Xinchen, who was sitting far away, naturally couldn't hear all this. What he was most concerned about now was when Li Qiucheng would arrive. However, he waited and waited until the banquet was over and the theater troupe started to gong, but he didn't see him. He
Unwilling to leave like this, he decided to continue waiting. The two had not seen each other for two months. It was not easy for Li Qiucheng to leave the palace. He usually conveyed news through a cook in the imperial kitchen.
It was almost four o'clock in the afternoon when Dong Xinchen, who had been listening to the opera, was suddenly tapped on the shoulder from behind. He turned around and saw that it was Li Qiucheng.
"Ouch~~ Manager Li! I'd like to say hello to you." Dong Xinchen wiped his sleeves and gave the other party a greeting.
Li Qiucheng put his hands behind his back and said with a smile: "Shopkeeper Dong, I just said that he looks familiar from behind, but we haven't seen each other for a long time!"
Dong Xinchen understood, and pretended to be polite to the other party for a while, and then followed the other party outside in the name of seeing "Manager Li" off.
"Something's wrong today. The Emperor didn't show up in the garden all day, and He Zhongtang blocked several people who were handing out signs to say hello. Many things in the palace were delayed because of this, otherwise I would have come earlier." Li Qiucheng said slowly while talking.
He walked away, whispering softly.
"sick?"
"It's hard to say. The Taiyuan Hospital didn't receive an order to send anyone to the garden."
"Has this ever happened before?"
"No. And there's one more thing. The person who went to the garden to deliver the zhezi came back and told me that the emperor didn't even leave Jiuzhou Qingyan today, so I felt something was wrong."
"Please keep an eye on me if you are troublesome. If there is any news in the garden tomorrow, it will be the same place as before."
"I know." Seeing that Li Qiucheng was about to reach the gate of the palace, he hesitated, stopped, turned around and asked in a very low voice: "When will you enter Shengjing?"
"It's only a few days away."
"Enter the customs as soon as possible. I'm very nervous every day."
Dong Xinchen said with a smile: "Don't worry, it will only be a year or two. How did you say the nine-character mantra?"
Li Qiucheng said in his heart, you can pull him down! Don’t think I don’t understand, we have heard people talk about "The Miracle of Yuntai". It has been nine years, and we are still building a wall! I don’t know what that person is thinking.
The good people did not enter the capital and did not sit on the throne, but they actually mobilized troops to attack Xinjiang.
Just when the two of them came to the gate of the palace and were about to say goodbye, they heard a "bang" from the east, followed by another one.
"Whose bastard is setting off firecrackers in broad daylight, scaring our little master, do you think..." A servant of the palace just started to curse, and then heard three consecutive explosions from the east.
came.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
After five explosions in succession, Li Qiucheng suddenly stopped and froze like a clay doll. He was standing at the door of the palace, tilting his head as if he was thinking about something. This appearance shocked Dong Xinchen and several palaces at the door.
The servants were all confused.
"Manager Li, what's wrong with you?"
Suddenly, Li Qiucheng walked quickly to the street and, regardless of whose carriage it was, climbed up and looked westward. After only a moment, he suddenly shouted: "No! This is not a firecracker, this is a firecracker on the Qiongdao White Tower."
The message cannon went off!"
"Xinpao?" Several people at the door were confused.
Li Qiucheng's expression changed, and he shouted loudly to a servant of the palace: "Go and tell your master, the cannons in the White Tower have gone off, the Yellow Dragon Flag has been hoisted, something big has happened!"
Dong Xinchen was suddenly startled. Before he could ask Pao what the flag had to do with the accident, he heard Li Qiucheng say: "Shopkeeper Dong, get out of the city quickly. If you're too late, you won't be able to get out!"
Unexpectedly, before he finished speaking, cannon shots rang out from all directions from the southeast, northwest and northwest. At this time, Dong Xinchen wanted to go out of town again, but it was already too late!