Chapter 112: Collecting Debts (I)
The government officials completed the contract , and Huo Chong's accountant immediately paid the deed tax. When the government officials left with some curiosity, several large ingots of official silver were placed in front of Li Daoqiong.
Li Daoqiong asked in panic: "Master Huo, this is..."
"This is the money for buying a house and land." Huo Chong replied calmly. Since he was not going to kill Li Daoqiong, Huo Chong was even less willing to play any tricks on these trivial matters. Although Li Daoqiong sold the house and land to Huo Chong, it meant that he was socially finished here. There was no place for Li Daoqiong to stay in Mouping County. But Li Daoqiong was not completely penniless.
Without waiting for Li Daoqiong to express his insincere gratitude, Huo Chong said, "Where are you going? I'll send someone to take you there."
Li Daoqiong wanted to refuse immediately. Feng Yukuan said, "Don't talk nonsense. Where are you going? I will send someone to take you there with Mr. Huo's people."
Huo Chong saw Li Chengliang turned his head away, and he seemed not very happy. However, Feng Yukuan's intervention made Li Chengliang speechless. Huo Chong was also happy to see this situation. No one would follow Li Daoqiong to protect him. The few hundred taels of silver in his hand would not be a good thing for Li Daoqiong. If Feng Yukuan's people escorted Li Daoqiong away together with Huo Chong's people, at least they could ensure that Li Daoqiong arrived at his destination safely.
Li Daoqiong wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing. After seeing Li Daoqiong off, Huo Chong sat in the main seat of "his own house" and smiled at the guys sitting on both sides of the guest seats: "I'll buy you a drink."
A banquet was set up in the house, and everyone was toasting and talking about various things. Outside the house, news was spreading. Huo Chong bought Li Daoqiong's house, and to those who didn't know what was going on, it was proof that Li Daoqiong had surrendered to Huo Chong.
When County Magistrate Dong heard the news, he felt relieved. Huo Chong was back, and tax revenue was up. In less than a year, County Magistrate Dong felt that he had learned more than he had in the ten years of sitting on the bench at the Hanlin Academy. If you only want to sort out the local situation and tidy up the atmosphere , but don't have the ability to control the main figures in the county, then it's better not to do anything. If you do nothing, at least you can get promoted steadily. As long as you do something, you will make mistakes.
After the New Year, it was the 61st year of Emperor Kangxi's reign. After Huo Chong attended the New Year's Day party, he sat by the window and looked at the snow outside.
Many young officials were having a snowball fight outside after the banquet. The snowy ground was covered with footprints left by leather and cloth mixed boots with rubber soles. Thinking that Kangxi would die soon, Huo Chong found that he still had not organized a decent force.
"Sir, do you want to go out and play? Let's make a snowman just like last year." The voice of the second disciple Yang Wangfu came from behind.
Huo Chong turned his head and saw Yang Wangfu in front, followed by Huo Chong's students. In the past few years, Huo Chong always made snowmen with everyone in winter. Entering the 21st century, the world has entered a period of relatively high temperatures. The city's sanitation is also very good, and the snow in the city is too thin. In this era, the temperature is obviously much lower. Every time he makes a snowball, he can easily make a big snowball that is more than one person tall.
"You guys go ahead. I'm not in the mood." Huo Chong let the children play by themselves.
"Sir, let's go together." Yang Wangfu pulled Huo Chong's arm and asked drunkenly.
"I'm unhappy today, so please don't make things difficult for me." Huo Chong gave a decisive explanation.
Yang Wangfu didn't know how many dishes he had eaten, and after getting drunk, he was still a bit unwilling to give in. As a result, Qian Qing grabbed Yang Wangfu's neck from behind and dragged him away. As they walked away, he said, "Sir, he's drunk, don't bother with him."
Hearing Yang Wangfu yelling "I'm not drunk" as he was dragged away, Huo Chong sighed. It's good to be young. They can be so happy even when doing stupid things. But as an adult, I can't let it go.
Kangxi certainly didn't live for 70 years, he should have lived for 61 years. As soon as Kangxi died, Yongzheng would take the throne. Because last year, the 14th Emperor returned to Beijing in November , discussed with Kangxi how to deal with the Dzungars, and then went to the northwest front again.
With a dedicated intelligence department, the efficiency of intelligence collection was greatly improved. Also in the 60th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, Nian Gengyao came to Beijing to pay homage to the emperor before the 14th Emperor Kangxi did. Emperor Kangxi bestowed on him a bow and arrow, and promoted him to the governor-general of Sichuan and Shaanxi, becoming an important official in the western frontier.
I also found out a little bit about Nian Gengyao's life. This brother's life is completely different from what is shown in movies and TV series. Movies and TV series describe Nian Gengyao as someone who made his fortune with the help of Emperor Yongzheng. However, in reality, Nian Gengyao's father, Nian Xialing, was an official who served as the censor of Henan Province, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Works, and the governor of Huguang.
As the son of the governor of Huguang, Nian Gengyao, a Han army inlaid with white flags, passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi in the 39th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign at the age of 21. Nine years after Nian Gengyao passed the imperial examination and entered the official career, in the 48th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign (1709), Emperor Kangxi reinstated Yinreng as the crown prince, and in the same year conferred the title of Heshuo Yong Prince on the fourth son Yinzhen.
The princes of the Manchu Qing Dynasty had to have their own bannermen. At this time, the Han Army White Banner where Nian Gengyao was located was nominally under the rule of Emperor Yongzheng. Nian Gengyao became a slave of Emperor Yongzheng from then on. It was also in this year that Nian Gengyao was promoted to the governor of Sichuan before he was 30 years old, becoming a frontier official.
Kangxi had just restored the crown prince, so it was impossible for him to let Yongzheng decide such a major personnel decision. Therefore, Huo Chong had already determined that Nian Gengyao and Yongzheng were only nominally master and servant. Nian Gengyao's real master was Kangxi, not Yongzheng.
As for Concubine Nian, it was probably fifty years after Emperor Kangxi's reign that she was married to Prince Yong as the daughter of Nian Xialing, the governor of Huguang. If we don't look at it from the perspective of a bloody palace drama, marrying the daughter of a reliable old minister to his own son was an expression of Emperor Kangxi's attitude towards the Nian family, whose three generations of ancestors and grandchildren had served him.
The relationship between Yongzheng and Nian Gengyao was initiated by others. At least, the two of them had no intention or desire to actively build this relationship from the beginning. The old men were still there, so it was not the turn of the two young people to speak.
In other words, Nian Gengyao, one of Yongzheng's so-called pillars, was not Yongzheng's die-hard supporter...
As he was thinking, he heard footsteps behind him. Huo Chong was disturbed and felt unhappy. He turned his head and saw that it was Lao Liu, Wan Qian, who was in charge of the intelligence department. Wan Qian blushed and smiled foolishly.
Huo Chong sighed, "Alas, Lao Liu, a few dishes and you drink like this."
"Sir, ah~ha~" Wan Qian was only seventeen or eighteen years old. After getting drunk, she lost her usual sharpness and whined and pulled Huo Chong to act like a spoiled child, "Big sister bullied me and threw snowballs at me."
"Hit it back!" Huo Chong encouraged Wan Qian. Qian Qing was indeed the eldest sister, and she was ruthless in dealing with these junior brothers and sisters.
"I can't beat her."
Huo Chong also knew that he had no other options, so he could only say, "Go, go, don't delay me from thinking about things."
"What are you thinking about, sir?" Wan Qian asked for the sake of conversation.
"Hmm. Think of an enemy."
"Which one! I'll prepare...information for you, sir!" Wan Qian asked, nodding her head.
"Go to sleep, dear. You can't hold on any longer." Huo Chong could only let the drunken Lao Liu go to rest first.
Lao Liu said a few more words, and perhaps because the room was warm due to the burning honeycomb coal, she fell asleep leaning back in the recliner.
Huo Chong sighed again. His disciples looked like flowers in a greenhouse. Could they be relied upon when he rebelled? Although many of the Qing troops were annihilated by the Junggars in Tibet in the past two years, Kangxi praised the Eight Banners in his edict, saying that they fought for hundreds of days... Well, the Junggars were pretty useless. In modern wars, fighting for hundreds of days was considered a fortress war. How could a field battle last that long?
Standing up, he walked out of the house and into the snow. Huo Chong was inexplicably confused about the future. He had to rebel. But if he rebelled, could he win?
The Eight Banners were probably not completely corrupted at this time. Although it was a big defeat, at least the Eight Banners had reached the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. This performance was not worse than that of the current Indian army. His men were definitely not the People's Liberation Army.
So should he just accept it? Huo Chong really didn't know what the future would be like.
