The author said: The value of silver mentioned in this book is based on "Dream of Red Mansions", which is approximately RMB 000-000 yuan per tael of silver.
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The three brothers Zheng Xin, Zheng Sen, and Zheng Miao had all been conferred the title of Marquis, and as usual, they were given a copy of the court bulletin. After reading it, the three of them were all restless. As soon as they received the summons from their father, they immediately entrusted the official business they were handling to their capable subordinates, and drove their horses to Guangyang City overnight.
Among the three, Zheng Xin and Zheng Miao were handling the identification of cult minions and resettlement of refugees outside Shanhaiguan, while Zheng Sen was in Bozhou assisting Generals Cui Nan and Wei Hu in organizing the army's rest and training. When they rushed to Guangyang City as fast as they could, it was already the morning of the third day.
Although the impeachment in the court was important, it was different from the military situation and was not an urgent matter. Zheng Rong knew that his sons must be exhausted after coming here at night, so he asked Zhang Long to pass on the order, asking them to rest for a day, have a leisurely dinner, and then come to the palace to see the emperor at 3 p.m. Zheng Xin and the other three had no choice but to have a quick lunch, take a nap, and then go to the palace to discuss matters after dinner.
When the three brothers entered Zheng Rong's study, their father was already inside talking to Zhongli Kuang and Qiu Yizhi. They didn't know how long the two had been there. After the three of them kowtowed and greeted each other, they followed Zheng Rong's instructions and sat down on the embroidered cushions that had been placed there.
Zheng Xin was the eldest son, and he was prepared for what was to be discussed. He bowed and was about to speak when he heard Zheng Rong say, "Father called you here in a hurry. I'm afraid you all know why. I have discussed this with Mr. Zhongli for several days, and we also think this matter is very difficult to handle. I wonder what you guys think?"
Zheng Xin finally caught the topic and said, "I thought these impeachment memorials were nothing but fabrications and groundless accusations. Father, either in person or through Master Zhongli, should write a memorial to refute the accusations and send it directly to the emperor. With the emperor's trust in father, I'm sure these barking dogs will scatter like birds and beasts."
After hearing this, Zheng Rong thought that Zheng Xin's thoughts were just like this. If the matter was so simple, why did he call you guys here to discuss it? But he said, "Zheng Xin's words are exactly what I want. Today, I have drafted a memorial with Mr. Zhongli and am about to frame it with yellow silk and send it directly to the Northern Palace."
Zheng Xin was quite pleased to hear his father's praise.
Zheng Sen beside him was an impatient person. Before his father asked him anything, he said, "Brother is well-mannered, but I don't have that patience. In my opinion, there is no need to submit any memorials. At present, all the troops from Youyan who went south have returned victoriously and their morale is high. As long as we close all the adjacent passes and send heavy troops to guard them, what can the court do to us? When they have figured it out, they will naturally send people to admit their mistakes. At that time, my father will not have to give them face. He can just put on airs and scold them severely to vent his anger!"
Zheng Sen was the most crude and stupid person, but his proposal today was simple but reasonable. If the King of Youyan really made up his mind to close the border and defend the strategic points, then with his current military strength, financial resources and popularity, the court would really have no way to deal with him.
This suggestion was very much in Zheng Rong's mind, but he remained calm, neither praising nor scolding. He asked Zheng Miao again: "Zheng Miao, what do you think?"
Zheng Miao frowned and spoke carefully, "What the elder and second brothers said are good ideas for the time being. But in my humble opinion, these impeachment memorials are like snowflakes. If you have to refute every one of them, you will be exhausted. And you can protect yourself with troops for a while, but not forever. The above two options are not long-term solutions..."
Since Zheng Rong was named the King of Youyan and took charge of Youyan's military and political affairs, the court has trusted him very much, and there has never been such a situation where everyone attacked him. Zheng Miao was so focused on giving advice to his father that he had long forgotten the two words "hiding and dimming" that he had always believed in. He offended his two brothers with just a few words, and he seemed not to notice it. But he continued, "In my opinion, there must be someone behind the officials' flattery! The current plan is to find out who is instigating behind this, and then either keep the troops in place, or cut off the firewood from under the cauldron, or play hard to get, so that we can fight back. I am not afraid that my father will blame me for being despicable. At that time, I will imitate Zhuan Zhu and Nie Zheng, and that is fine!"
Zheng Miao has always been a gentle and honest person, but his words today were full of murderous intent. In the hottest days of summer, everyone in the room shuddered when they heard them, and they all remained silent.
After a long while, Zheng Rong said, "Although what Zheng Miao said is biased, it has its merits. This king and Mr. Zhongli have been discussing for days, and we want to find out who is making things difficult for this king. However, Guangyang and Luoyang are thousands of miles apart, and it is really beyond our reach. This king is planning to send someone to Beijing to investigate. I wonder if you have anyone to recommend?"
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Qiu Yizi, who had been silent for a long time, straightened up and said, "Yizi is not talented, but I am willing to go to the city to serve my adoptive father and relieve his worries."
After hearing this, Zheng Rong asked with a smile, "What merits and abilities do you have, Qiu Yi? How can such an important mission be assigned to you?"
Seeing his adoptive father looking at him with a smile on his face, Qiu Yizhi knew that he had fulfilled his wish. He stood up from the stool, bowed, and said with a slight smile on his face, "Father, please forgive my arrogance. Yizhi is the only candidate for this matter at the moment."
Zheng Rong laughed and said, "You have been arrogant for a long time. However, I have so many generals and counselors under my command, how come I can't pick another person to do this?"
"There are three reasons. First, although my adoptive father has many confidants, the only ones he can be sure of are Master Zhongli, my three brothers and me. Only these five people can be loyal and devote all their efforts to help my adoptive father accomplish this important task." Qiu Yizi glanced at Zheng Rong and continued, "Second, in the current situation, my adoptive father cannot leave Master Zhongli for a moment, so the master must not be moved lightly. And my brothers are all my adoptive father's bloodline and have been granted titles. Sending them to the capital would be a earth-shattering event, which is not conducive to handling covert affairs; or they may be held hostage by people with ulterior motives, which will inevitably hinder my adoptive father. The third reason..." Qiu Yizi paused here.
"What's the third reason? Feel free to tell me." Zheng Rong said
Qiu Yizi looked up and stared into Zheng Rong's eyes, and said slowly: "If I tell you the third point, I'm afraid I will hurt my father's kindness to his son..." As she spoke, she even started to cry.
Zhongli Kuang was fanning himself at the side, and could hear clearly. He and Zheng Rong had already discussed sending Yizhi to the capital to gather information and handle affairs, and since Qiu Yizhi could now volunteer, that was the best. But he sighed: After teaching this student for so many years, he had the same problem as himself when he was young—he didn't know how to keep a low profile—why did he speak so clearly in public
Zhongli Kuang then said, "Yizhi, there is no need to say more. I have already discussed with your father and I am planning to send you to Luoyang. It is already the evening hour, so go back and prepare. You must set off as soon as possible and don't waste time and miss the opportunity."
When Qiu Yizhi returned to her small mansion, it was already the Wupai hour. She was hungry, so she quickly ate a bowl of plain noodles ordered by the gatekeeper, Old Wang. When she washed up and lay down, it was already the Shen hour.
The small back bedroom was too hot and stuffy, so he simply moved the pillow and mat from the bed to the yard, bare-chested, lit some moxa, slowly lay down, and half-asleep and half-awake stared at the night sky above. "Lulu" noticed his master's actions, slowly crawled out of his nest, stretched himself comfortably, and then lay down beside his master.
Qiu Yizi stroked the thick and long white fur on "Lulu"'s body and looked up at the stars in the Milky Way. She wondered which star her deceased parents had turned into, and whether they were hanging high in the sky and watching her.
The sound of the night watchman's gongs and drums "knock knock knock" came slowly from the thick night.
Qiu Yi thought: This time I went to the capital Luoyang, and my future was like this dark night, full of dangers and confusion. Thinking about it carefully, why did I force myself to take this job? It was nothing more than my adoptive father Zheng Rong's kindness to me and treated me as his own son. I would not be able to repay him even if I gave up my life. But if something happened on this trip, could I really leave behind my adoptive father, my master, my brother, Yiran, Brother Zhao, Ruishou, "Lulu", and... and this colorful world
Thinking of this, Qiu Yizi saw the distant stars twinkling in the dark night sky, crickets flapping their wings, frogs singing, and even the snoring of soldiers in the distant military camp came clearly into his ears, which kept him from falling asleep.
Just when Qiu Yizi was unable to sleep, the dog "Lulu" beside her suddenly jumped up, ran to the front of the courtyard, and kept barking loudly outside the courtyard. Qiu Yizi's drowsy nerves were awakened instantly by it. Just as she was about to scold the dog for disturbing people in the middle of the night, she heard a voice outside the door: "It's me, Yizi, open the door!"
Even amid the rapid barking of dogs, Qiu Yizi could still clearly identify the owner of the voice—it was none other than his adoptive father, King Zheng Rong of Youyan. He was so panicked that he went to open the door barefoot and shirtless.
The door was wide open, and it was Zheng Rong standing at the door. He was holding a lantern himself, and took Zhongli Kuang with him. He looked at the embarrassed Qiu Yizi with a smile, then looked down at the big white dog and said, "I didn't expect that the dog in the dilapidated temple would grow up to be so majestic now. If he and his master make merit on the battlefield one day, I will reward him with a general! Hahaha!" Lulu saw that the man in front of him had an extraordinary demeanor, and he stopped barking, bent his hind legs, sat upright on the ground, and panted with his tongue hanging down.
Qiu Yizi was in a dream when she realized that she was still half naked. She hurriedly said, "Yizi apologizes for being disrespectful. Please allow me to change my clothes, godfather."
Zheng Rong smiled and said, "I am used to leading soldiers, and Guangyang City is a large military camp. If the soldiers in the army are not dressed properly, they have to apologize. Can we still do our work and fight? You can go ahead and dress casually. You don't have to dress like you are going to pay respects or discuss matters."
Qiu Yizhi turned around and walked quickly to the back hall as if he had been pardoned. At this time, Ruishou and the gatekeeper Lao Wang were also woken up and were getting dressed while walking out. Yizhi hurriedly said that an officer wanted to discuss urgent military affairs with him, and ordered them to go back to sleep and not to come out to eavesdrop.
When Qiu Yizi hastily put on a pair of trousers and a waistcoat and came out of the bedroom to greet him, Zheng Rong was already sitting in the main hall drinking water with Zhongli Kuang.
Zheng Rong saw that the furnishings in Yizhi's mansion were very ordinary. Except for the knife hanging on the wall which was a priceless treasure, the other items were very crude. As for the elegant items such as calligraphy and paintings, vases, etc. that officials usually have, there was nothing at all. He scolded: "The saints said to cultivate oneself, manage the family, govern the country, and bring peace to the world. Look at your room, there is nothing there. Just now, your adoptive father and your master searched for a long time, but couldn't find even a piece of tea, so they had to drink this cold water... It quenches your thirst." Halfway through his words, he actually made himself laugh.
Yizhi nodded and said, "Since my father asked, I'll just cry poor. In my family, including the dog Lulu, there are four mouths to feed. Rice is expensive in Guangyang City, and the five taels of silver I get every month is enough to buy firewood, rice, oil and salt. As for buying clothes, shoes and hats, it all depends on the gift from my adoptive father during the festivals. Fortunately, Yiran has money, so I go to her every ten days or half a month to have a bite to eat, otherwise I can't handle these greedy bugs in my stomach!"
Zheng Rong did not expect Qiu Yizhi to be so poor, and asked again: "Then you went south to Henan to suppress the rebellion this time and made great contributions. I remember that the king gave you a reward of 100 taels of silver. Where is the money?"
After hearing this, Yizhi scratched his head with his hand, smiled awkwardly and said, "Father, don't mention it. Father, you know that Zhao Chengxiao and others are under my command. Since they are here, I have to show my hospitality. I gave them a good meal and bought them some clothes, shoes and hats. It cost me fifty taels of silver. Later, Ruan Wenyuan and other clerks sent by my master worked in my house, and I couldn't treat them badly. After a month, the remaining fifty taels were gone... To be honest with father, I am penniless now. This month, I have to go to fight famine with Yiran a few times. I really don't know how she will laugh at me!"
Zheng Rong saw Qiu Yizhi's ordinary home clothes. Although there were no patches on them, they were old clothes that had been washed countless times and faded. He sighed and said, "You are not like Zheng Xin and the other three. In addition to the monthly salary, you also have a salary from the court. I didn't expect you to be so poor. Why didn't you tell your adoptive father earlier?"
Qiu Yizhi smiled and said, "My foster father has long said that he treats me and my other three brothers equally. All three brothers have the same monthly allowance, so how can I ask for more... And although Yizhi was born into a wealthy family, he has also suffered hardships. These five taels are enough for us."
"Okay, I am glad that you have such thoughts." Zheng Rong said solemnly, "Although you, Qiu Yizi, don't have a famous brand, you are also the adopted son of the dignified King Youyan. If you are so shabby, some people will say that your adoptive father is a miser. Don't compare yourself with your three brothers in terms of money, as they have other sources of income. So, I will increase your salary tenfold to fifty taels of silver per month, so as not to make a fool of yourself in front of Yiran, the princess of a foreign country." (To be continued)