Chapter 79: First Visit to Literary Inquisition (Part 2)
"Brother Huo." Magistrate Ma used normal terms as if he had never called Huo Chong by his name before.
Huo Chong looked at the change in this fellow and decided not to speculate any more. He heard Magistrate Ma continue to say: "I wonder if Huo Chong has ever thought about seeking a real job?"
For a moment, Huo Chong felt an impulse in his heart. But after a moment, Huo Chong suppressed the impulse and made a judgment on the situation. The Magistrate Ma in front of him was obviously hostile. Since he was an enemy, the change of Magistrate Ma could be regarded as the action of a weasel paying New Year's greeting to a chicken.
Huo Chong smiled and said, "Brother Ma, I know my own worth, so there's no need to mention this matter again."
Magistrate Ma couldn't help but let out a hint of disappointment. After a moment, he sighed, "For a man like Brother Huo, if he is willing to write a job application letter, I'm afraid someone will help him."
Huo Chong immediately determined that Magistrate Ma was talking nonsense. What was the situation in the Qing Dynasty officialdom like? Although Huo Chong was not involved in the officialdom, he had read about it in history books. What about the help of a noble person? I think Magistrate Ma was talking about the Fourteenth Master. Huo Chong couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"Brother Huo, it is better to deal with this matter as soon as possible." Magistrate Ma continued to persuade.
"There's no need to talk about this anymore." Huo Chong decisively rejected Magistrate Ma's advice. If possible, Huo Chong really hoped that everyone would forget that his official position came from the Fourteenth Master. But Huo Chong couldn't express this at all, and it was even more impossible for this matter to be truly forgotten.
The meeting ended hastily. After Huo Chong left, Magistrate Ma returned to his study and thought for a moment, then picked up his pen and wrote a letter to Gao Xuezheng of Jinan Prefecture. As expected of a Jinshi, his handwriting was much better than Huo Chong's. After finishing the letter, Magistrate Ma sealed it and sent someone to deliver it to Jinan.
After receiving the letter, Gao Xuezheng of Jinan Prefecture opened it quickly, but his expression became worse and worse. Finally, he slammed the letter on the table, cursing, "Useless thing!"
But scolding was useless. Gao Xuezheng thought for a while, took the letter and went to see the prefect of Jinan Prefecture. After reading the letter, the prefect was not as excited as Gao Xuezheng. He just said unhappily: "I didn't expect Huo Chong to be so cunning."
Gao Xuezheng quickly agreed, "Sir, if Huo Chong wasn't cunning, how could he have been able to maneuver between Prince Yong and the Great General Wang? Since he is so cunning, why don't you write another memorial?"
The prefect did not answer immediately. After thinking for a while, he sighed and said, "Could Huo Chong have seen the emperor?"
"Ah?" Gao Xuezheng was startled and stared at the prefect with wide eyes.
The prefect also thought this view was a bit shocking. After thinking for a while, he said, "I always feel that the emperor's red-ink comment seems to have seen Huo Chong. Although the emperor didn't say it explicitly, the words between the lines show that he doesn't want us to touch Huo Chong."
Gao Xuezheng had read the words in the red comment several times before. Even if he couldn't recite them by heart, he could remember all the contents after a little thought. As he carefully savored the meaning of the words in the red comment, Gao Xuezheng's face turned grim.
The red-lettered comment mentioned two things. The first was that if the academician wanted to conduct a literary inquisition, it would not be about whether there were enough broken characters, but the content of the text. The second was to ask whether Huo Chong had ever sought a real vacancy.
At first, Gao Xuezheng thought that these were two items that Kangxi proposed to convict Huo Chong. Gao Xuezheng organized people to carefully study the regulations for planting blessings, but he could not find any content related to literary inquisition in it. If he had to make a far-fetched connection, Gao Xuezheng felt that it was not appropriate.
Since this approach is not feasible, the only question left is whether Huo Chong has ever sought a real vacancy. But Huo Chong really has never done such a thing, and the county officials who have dealt with Huo Chong all said that they could not make such an accusation. No officials in Jinan Prefecture were willing to jump out and falsely accuse Huo Chong without any practical benefits.
Gao Xuezheng felt that he was forced into a corner, so he ordered Magistrate Ma of Zichuan County to find a way to seduce Huo Chong . As long as he got Huo Chong's letter asking for truth, he could nail Huo Chong to death immediately. As a result, Magistrate Ma wrote to Gao Xuezheng and told him that he had tried his best. Huo Chong didn't want to ask for truth at all. Don't bother him about this matter in the future.
At this time, the prefect's words made Gao Xuezheng think of another possibility. The emperor had no intention of punishing Huo Chong at all. Those words were actually meant for Gao Xuezheng and other officials who wanted to deal with Huo Chong. After figuring this out, Gao Xuezheng couldn't help but mutter, "Sir, I am just... just..."
The prefect didn't want to push Gao Xuezheng out to take the blame. He just ordered, "Since the emperor said that the study of literary inquisition must look at the content of the text, Gao Xuezheng, you should find a few and submit them. I will ask the people in the capital about Huo Chong."
The prefect of Jinan was in charge of the government affairs of 5 states and 26 counties, so his communication ability was not to be underestimated. He immediately sent a fast horse to deliver several letters to the capital. He received a reply within five days.
Most of the replies said that it was probably because General Wang bought a lot of Glazed Fire from Huo Chong, and the Emperor liked General Wang, so he knew about the existence of Huo Chong.
These possibilities were not beyond the prefect's expectations, but he did not believe that Kangxi would show any special favor to Huo Chong because of this connection.
On the seventh day, the letter from the Eighth Master arrived. After the prefect read it, he called Gao Xuezheng over. When Gao Xuezheng read half of it, his face turned ugly. When he finished reading the whole letter, Gao Xuezheng's face turned pale.
In the letter, the Eighth Master described the origins of Huo Chong and Kangxi. In particular, Kangxi was impressed by Huo Chong's ability to explain the advantages and disadvantages of him and the royal workshops in the capital. From the perspective of the general, he should rely on the royal family in the capital, not Huo Chong.
Such a frank and sincere attitude made Kangxi quite fond of Huo Chong. He thought that although Huo Chong seemed to be talking nonsense, he was actually a loyal man who would not deceive others.
When the prefect saw that the academician had finished reading the letter, he sighed helplessly and said, "We must have been wrong. From now on, let's just pretend that we don't know about Huo Chong."
The academic official nodded quickly. As an official, he knew very well what would happen if a person made a good impression on those who held the power of life and death over others. If this person could leave a good impression on the emperor, the price of killing this person would be too high.
No emperor would easily believe in the loyalty of others, especially an emperor like Kangxi who was on horseback. After witnessing so many betrayals, his view on "loyalty" was completely different from that of ordinary people. It was unexpected that Kangxi thought Huo Chong was "sincere to others", so it was not surprising that the emperor would write such a comment.
When Kangxi was still alive, it would be very difficult to kill Huo Chong as long as he did not commit any real evil.
Even if Kangxi passed away, the next emperor would most likely be the now popular General Wang. General Wang was a chivalrous and straightforward man, and Huo Chong had always provided him with Glazed Fire. After General Wang ascended the throne, even if Huo Chong did not get a real position, at least General Wang would not have any bad feelings towards Huo Chong. It was also not easy to kill Huo Chong.
The academician sighed inwardly and decided to follow the prefect's decision and just pretend that Huo Chong didn't exist.
Just as he was about to leave, he heard the prefect say, "Don't delay the matter of the literary inquisition. If the great general Wang knew about this, he would think we were targeting him."
The academic official perked up and said, "Sir, I will do it right away!"
Huo Chong didn't know what was happening in the officialdom. It was approaching the Spring Festival, so Huo Chong began to prepare for the affairs of the Spring Festival.
All employees, whether regular or temporary, have to prepare Spring Festival bonuses. After working hard for a year, everyone should have some money for the New Year.
Sunflowers had a bumper harvest this year, and the jars in the oil presses in several locations were full. Naturally, the employees had to give each of them two kilograms.
The rabbit farm has gone through a lot of hardships and has made progress. The rabbit mortality rate has dropped significantly this year, which has directly led to a surge in output. Huo Chong wondered whether he should provide rabbit skin linings to employees at an internal price.
These matters will naturally be carried out by the finance and logistics departments, and Huo Chong only needs to make a decision.
The important thing is next year. The key point next year is to establish several secret cattle farms in Mengyin County. Whether it is Zichuan County, Linzi County, or Muping County, there is no way to raise and kill cattle without leaking the news. Only in Mengyin County, where the mountains are high and the forests are dense, can beef cattle be raised.
Huo Chong actually didn't care about the meat, the important thing was the leather. Rabbit skin couldn't be used to make leather boots, and sheepskin and pigskin were not suitable either. Deerskin was suitable, but the price was too high. Huo Chong didn't have the confidence to raise deer. In comparison, the best leather was the cowhide that was sold at 18 months old.
However, only a very small number of core members knew about this matter. After all, the "Great Qing Law" clearly stipulated that Huo Chong would be imprisoned for doing so.
Just as Huo Chong was making intensive preparations, an unexpected guest, Feng Yukuan, arrived in Zibo County. When he saw Huo Chong, Feng Yukuan said directly: "Mr. Huo, I got what you wanted."
Huo Chong wondered if Feng Yukuan was trying to trick him. But after thinking about it, he still didn't dare to trust Feng Yukuan completely. No matter what, Feng Yukuan was still close to those who made money from the sea route, which was clearly seen when Huo Chong clashed with the Dragon King Li Daoqiong.
Feng Yukuan was also a smart man. When he saw Huo Chong's expression, he smiled and said, "Master Huo, I should have brought the goods. But there are so many checkpoints along the way, not to mention how much tax I have to pay. Just transporting so many things here will probably cause trouble for Master Huo, right?"
Huo Chong could only nod. Sulfur, mercury, and copper were all relatively sensitive commodities in this era. If Feng Yukuan really brought a batch of goods to Huo Chong with great fanfare, something would definitely go wrong. In order to bring the goods back without being inspected, Huo Chong had to step in.
The journey was surprisingly smooth. Huo Chong arrived in Muping County and met a guy with brown hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a Christian robe with a cross on his chest. He should be a Christian missionary and monk. When he saw Feng Yukuan bringing Huo Chong, he asked Feng Yukuan, "Sir Feng, is this the Lord Huo you mentioned?"
"I'm not an adult." Huo Chong replied helplessly.
After hearing what Huo Chong said, the Christian monk quickly said, "Please don't misunderstand me. I don't want to embarrass Lord Huo."
Feng Yukuan wanted to introduce this Crusader monk to Huo Chong. This monk was a Spanish priest who had been doing business from Luzon to Japan and preaching the gospel.
Many of the Shandong maritime brothers' goods were transported by this priest's Spanish fleet. Therefore, this priest also took a Chinese name, Bai Siwen. In addition, this priest also had a Japanese name, Oda Hideyoshi.
Huo Chong was not surprised by Bai Siwen's Chinese name. Before traveling through time, the Democratic Party's female vice presidential candidate had no Chinese ancestry, but she gave herself a Chinese name, "He Jinli". It was common for foreigners to give random names.
But this Oda Hideyoshi is a little different. Huo Chong couldn't help but chat with Bai Siwen about this name. Sure enough, Bai Siwen got excited after chatting for a few sentences, "Your Excellency actually knows the past of the Sixth Heaven Demon King and Lord Toyotomi?"
Feng Yukuan looked at Huo Chong and Bai Siwen blankly, it seemed that he knew nothing about the history of Japan. But Bai Siwen, or Oda Hideyoshi, was different. As they talked, Oda Hideyoshi started speaking Japanese.
Huo Chong got excited and started chatting with Oda Hideyoshi in Japanese. This made Oda Hideyoshi even more interested, and he started talking to Huo Chong. Huo Chong's Japanese level was actually average. Although he was not very familiar with the common phrases such as "一库", he only used them when watching animations. Or maybe Huo Chong's Japanese proficiency was accumulated by animations.
So Huo Chong inadvertently mixed in some English words. Hearing these words, Oda Hideyoshi's face turned unhappy. He spoke a few words to Huo Chong in Spanish and Latin. Huo Chong could only roughly distinguish the two languages, but could not understand.
Oda Hideyoshi said in Chinese that English was despicable and lowly, and it was not a good word. After Huo Chong tried a few words, he found that the British had already intended to fully interfere in the Eastern Route. As the main force of the Eastern Route, the Spanish were very vigilant.
However, after this conversation, Oda Hideyoshi obviously wanted to get close to Huo Chong. Huo Chong also asked Oda Hideyoshi why he didn't name himself Toyotomi Nobunaga. Although Oda Nobunaga was the head of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's family, as the sixth demon king, his reputation was indeed not very good.
Hearing Huo Chong's knowledge of Japanese history, Oda Hideyoshi sighed, "The Toyotomi family has died out. Using this name would violate the taboo of the Tokugawa shogunate."
Feng Yukuan, who was standing next to him, had no idea what Huo Chong and Oda Hideyoshi were talking about. He listened patiently for a long time, but could no longer hold back and said, "Gentlemen, why don't we talk business?"
Oda Hideyoshi nodded quickly. "Mr. Huo, I thought you only wanted to buy sulfur and mercury. I didn't expect you to be a scholar. We have shipped a lot of goods. How about we take a look at our cargo list?"
"I don't know Spanish or Japanese..."
"It's okay. We can communicate slowly." Oda Hideyoshi said generously.
So everyone started discussing the list. When they talked about the fifth product, Huo Chong was a little surprised, "Rubber? You brought rubber?"
