Chapter 64: Planting Blessings (IV)
In Jinan Prefecture, several officials sat face to face with Magistrate Xu. One of the prefectural officials said angrily, "This Huo Chong is really despicable. He is just a farmer, but he is so good at scheming, even to the Fourteenth Master's side."
Another official of the prefectural level advised: "Brother Hongren, Huo Chong is just a commoner, what can he do?"
This brother named Hongren was not willing to give in. Last time, he was the one who scolded Huo Chong in front of the Fourth Master, which made him lose face. He said angrily: "If Huo Chong continues to do this, will he be able to fill the vacancy?"
The so-called filling of vacancies means that the word "preparatory" in front of the "preparatory XX" of people like Huo Chong who bought official positions was removed. For example, Huo Chong was a "preparatory governor", a position that was originally illusory and had no possibility of being realized under normal circumstances.
But once Huo Chong really became a "state official", it would be different. Huo Chong was a state official. If he had the opportunity to take on any job, he could immediately do something in the state.
No matter how angry Brother Hongren was, other officials were not so excited. At least no one directly echoed such anger.
An official whispered, "The emperor has appointed the Fourteenth Master as the Great General King. He will go to war as if the emperor were leading the army himself, using the standard of the Plain Yellow Banner and the style of the royal standard. This is..."
The officials all looked very serious. This was no joke. A few days ago, the latest news came that Erlunte, the governor of Huguang and general of Xi'an, who was a favorite of Kangxi, was defeated and killed in the battle. Tens of thousands of Qing troops were almost completely wiped out. This news shocked the officialdom.
However, a bigger shock came soon. Kangxi did not choose anyone else from other generals to serve as the new commander-in-chief, but directly appointed the fourteenth prince Yinzhen as the "Grand General King".
The court's appointment of a general was a big deal , but compared with the general king, the general was nothing.
Since Kangxi abolished the crown prince, the adult princes have been fighting for the throne with all their might. But the one with the highest voice is the eighth prince.
However, four years ago, on November 26, 1714, the 53rd year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Emperor Kangxi was on his way to Rehe for an inspection, passing through Miyun County, Huayugou and other places. Yinsi was supposed to accompany him, but because it was the third anniversary of the death of his mother, Concubine Liang, he went to pay tribute to his mother and did not go to the imperial court to pay his respects. He only sent a eunuch to Kangxi to explain the reason and said that he would wait for his father at Tangquan to return to Beijing together.
This would have been nothing originally, but the bad thing was that when the eagle he asked the eunuch to send to Kangxi was opened, it was dying. Kangxi was extremely angry and thought that this was a curse from the Eighth Prince on him. He immediately summoned all the princes, blamed Yinsi again, and said: "From now on, the relationship between Yinsi and me as father and son is over." This is known in history as the "Eagle Killing Incident."
Although Kangxi later took back his words, everyone knew that the Eighth Prince had lost his chance. At least, he had lost Kangxi's heart.
So the competition for the throne fell to the Fourth Master and the Fourteenth Master.
The Fourteenth Master has always been chivalrous and proficient in military affairs. This time he became the Great General King. Although he is not yet the official Prince of Yong like the Fourth Master, he has hundreds of thousands of troops under his command. It is obvious that he is leading the way in the fight for the throne.
Although Shandong officials were very concerned about who would become the next emperor, they all knew that they had no role to play in such matters. It didn't matter if they didn't care about it.
Unexpectedly, the Ministry of Revenue’s order to buy 30,000 kilograms of colored glaze from Huo Chong was not the Ministry of Revenue’s intention. It was General Wang himself who wanted to buy it from Huo Chong. He just asked the Ministry of Revenue to do it. The old foxes in the Ministry of Revenue said nothing, so the officials of Jinan Prefecture thought it was just an ordinary purchase.
Although Huo Chong was also an official, everyone in the Jinan government regarded him as a peasant in official's clothes. No one looked up to him. Moreover, the comment of the Fourth Master to Huo Chong, "You can make the truth sound like a lie, which is also a skill," had long become a big joke in the government.
The officials thought they could play a trick on this fool, so they wanted to withhold the money first and force Huo Chong to make the glass fire. Once the Shandong officials transported the glass fire away, they could control Huo Chong as they pleased.
It was not until the Fourteenth Prince sent his trusted confidant, Geshaha, to Linzi County that the officials of Jinan Prefecture realized that something was wrong. Controlling Huo Chong became controlling the general Wang. The officials of Jinan Prefecture sent all the two thousand taels of silver to Huo Chong overnight and handed it to Huo Chong in front of the Fourteenth Prince, Geshaha, thus avoiding the disaster.
It was shameful enough that the officials could not deal with a peasant. But it was even more intolerable that they failed to deal with the peasant and almost lost their lives.
But before the Fourteenth Master sent out his troops, he actually sent someone to find Huo Chong himself. This shows that Huo Chong, who is good at scheming, has a say in front of the Fourteenth Master. From now on, he really can't be easily touched. Even the opportunity for revenge has been blocked.
Just now, Brother Hongren scolded Huo Chong, saying that it was wishful thinking for him to become an official. But the officials all knew that if the Fourteenth Master became the emperor, such a thing might not be impossible.
Silence, silence. After a while, Magistrate Xu sighed, "Huo Chong paid the taxes on behalf of the government, and he didn't default on them. He really worked hard."
When the other officials heard this, they knew that County Magistrate Xu had given in and was not going to lead the attack on Huo Chong.
After hearing this, Brother Hongren snorted loudly, "Does Brother Xu think that Huo Chong is a good citizen? "
Magistrate Xu didn't want to be used as a pawn at all, so he smiled and said, "A farmer from a mountain valley, even if he does something bad, what can he do?"
Brother Hongren sneered twice, but said nothing more.
The other officials knew that if Magistrate Xu didn't do it himself, they couldn't arrest Huo Chong directly. Even if Huo Chong was a farmer, the local magistrate would have to know if he was arrested across the border. If everyone was in Magistrate Xu's position, they would definitely not make a fuss.
So the topic naturally turned to the Fourteenth Master. Someone asked, "When will the great general Wang go to war?"
"You have to prepare before going to war. Huo Chong is just lucky enough to get it!"
One of the people who had been silent the whole time couldn't help but voice out his concerns, "Is there going to be any more changes before the Fourteenth Master goes to war?"
The other officials did not answer. There was no way to talk about this matter. If something went wrong, it would mean that the Fourteenth Master had messed up and was removed from the list of candidates for the throne.
After a while, County Magistrate Xu sighed and said, "As long as General Wang wins a great victory, the future throne will be clear."
The officials of Jinan Prefecture nodded. Other things can be discussed, but this matter does not need to be discussed much. A prince with hundreds of thousands of troops under his command won a great victory on the battlefield, and no one would doubt his future.
If this prince can achieve a great victory...
