Volume 2: Eagle vs. Dragon Chapter 81: The Chicken to Scare the Monkeys
"Of course it wouldn't work last year." Cai Qinghua said calmly, "But now, it works."
Zhou Yijin said, "So... this is a loophole, or even... just a reason."
Cai Qinghua smiled and said, "Smart!"
Zhou Yijin was silent for a long time before he said, "Okay, I know what to do. I also know what to say. But I can't guarantee whether Hao Guan will agree."
"If he hasn't lost his mind, he should agree." Cai Qinghua said grimly: "If he still refuses to change his mind after this, then Lord Ya will not hesitate to express his anger on behalf of the emperor and use the Wu family as a warning to others!"
The Guangzhou prison received an instruction today that a certain person must be received by the prison official and brought into the prison, but his name must not appear in the prison visitor's notebook.
Qu Xingshu knew that this was a troublesome matter, but since the instructions came from the Governor-General's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi, he did not dare to disobey. However, when he received the person and found out it was Zhou Yijin, he was still quite surprised. Of course, he would not ask too much, but he took care of the jailer and was unwilling to go in himself.
After Wu Xiaojiu put down the basket, Zhou Yijin asked him to wait outside before entering the cell.
He fanned the air in front of him and said, "It's not as stuffy as I thought."
Wu Chengjian had been sleeping with his back to the wall, but he turned around after hearing this and said with a smile, "This cell is bustling with people coming and going, so it's naturally not stuffy."
Zhou Yijin smiled, entered the cell, sat down and opened a basket: "Tea or wine?"
Wu Chengjian said: "There is no good water here, bar."
Zhou Yijin asked again: "White and yellow jam?"
Wu Chengjian said, "Give me some yellow wine."
Zhou Yijin then took out a jar of Huadiao and two Geyao bowls. Wu Chengjian took them and poured two half bowls. Zhou Yijin took one of the bowls, took a sip, and chanted, "I want to move to Xiguan, to watch the moon rise over Etan every night."
Wu Chengjian asked, "Whose poem is this?"
Zhou Yijin said: "It belongs to Lu Fangweng."
Wu Chengjian was surprised and said, "Lu You has never been to Guangdong, right? Even if he had been to Guangdong, how could there be Xiguan Street at that time?"
Zhou Yijin smiled and said, "I changed a few words."
Wu Chengjian asked, "You moved to Xiguan?" Seeing Zhou Yijin nod, he added, "I don't know if I can go back to Xiguan, back to Baietan."
Zhou Yijin's expression became a little serious: "Did you figure it out?"
Wu Chengjian said: "Things are more troublesome than we expected. When I heard the news that the Green Camp soldiers had surrounded the entire Thirteen Hongs, I was shocked. If I had known it was so dangerous, I might have bought a boat and fled at the beginning of the year."
Zhou Yijin said, "When you heard the news, you still had a chance to leave. You could have really taken a boat from Baietan to Lingdingyang, or directly sailed the Huacha out to sea. Who could catch up with you?"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "I am just that kind of person! Besides, my father, elder brother and elder sister-in-law are still in Xiguan. What will happen to them if I leave?"
"So what you said just now about buying a boat and running away was just bullshit." Zhou Yijin said: "Even if you had vaguely felt the danger of this matter at the beginning of the year, you would definitely not leave with your personality."
Wu Chengjian remained silent for a long time before he said, "Why are you here today? I have already fired you - even if everyone knows that this is a show, you still have to do it well. It is always better to avoid suspicion."
"My master came to see me." Zhou Yijin said.
After hearing this, Wu Chengjian remained silent.
Zhou Yijin said: "He said a lot, and he probably made his point clear, which is pretty much what we expected at the beginning."
But Zhou Yijin still told Wu Chengjian all about the conversation with Cai Qinghua in the small building: "...My master finally said that if you still refuse to change your ways after this, then Master Ya will not hesitate to express his anger on behalf of the emperor and use the Wu family as a warning to others!"
Wu Chengjian narrowed his eyes, and a flash of anger flashed in his eyes: "Use the Wu family as a chicken to scare monkeys! ... Use the Wu family as a chicken to scare monkeys!"
He slammed the wine bowl against the wall, and the Ge kiln bowl, which was worth a hundred gold coins, broke into twenty or thirty pieces in an instant, and the remaining wine splashed all over the floor.
Wu Chengjian was furious and said, "That is to say, even if I want to pay with my own life, it is still not enough! If I don't cooperate with them, does that mean that the entire Wu family is not going to let me go? Qingliu... Damn it! Are they Qingliu?!"
"On the surface, Qingliu is unlikely to do such a drastic thing. I think Zhu Nanyue should still have a bottom line. But this matter... I suspect it is not just Qingliu's business." Zhou Yijin said: "Don't forget, the one standing at the end of this matter... is the new emperor. Emperor Jiaqing may not really ask about this matter, but those who help Emperor Jiaqing think about things..."
Now is the sensitive period of handover between the Qianlong and Jiaqing emperors. Although Emperor Qianlong has abdicated, Emperor Jiaqing's confidants are still in the "reserve" position both in the palace and in the court.
Those who "help the new emperor think about things" can be the servants in the palace who covet the position of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, or the eunuchs who serve the new master in the palace...
Zhou Yijin said: "The Qingliu have to be careful about their reputation, but these people have no bottom line when it comes to doing things."
Wu Chengjian said: "But your master, he is helping Zhu Gui."
Zhou Yijin said: "My master is Governor Zhu's advisor, but some of his tasks must be done with the tacit consent of the owner and 'hidden' from the owner."
Although this was difficult to say, Wu Chengjian understood it instantly.
When sitting in a position like Zhu Gui, sometimes there are always some things that cross the line that need to be dealt with and handled, but they cannot handle them personally.
These matters naturally had to be handled by the advisers and long-time servants, and there were some things that even an upright person like Zhu Gui should not even "know", so the advisers and long-time servants would hide them from them. However, this concealment was a tacit consent.
Zhou Yijin said, "Governor Zhu should not have too much contact with the eunuchs in the palace or the corrupt officials among the bannermen. But he is the teacher of Emperor Jiaqing after all, and he is naturally on the same line with these people, so it is impossible for him not to cooperate. This matter will most likely be handled by my master. And this time, I think these eunuchs in the palace and the corrupt officials among the bannermen must be involved."
"If they also enter this game..." Wu Chengjian said in a deep voice: "Then this time, even if I take my life, they will not agree." At the end, he couldn't help but slapped the coffee table with his hand.
As a member of the upright class, Zhu Gui had to restrain himself and return to propriety. However, those corrupt bannermen and eunuchs in the palace had no bottom line at all.
Zhou Yijin looked at the only remaining wine bowl on the table, and saw the ripples in the wine caused by Wu Chengjian's angry roar and slamming of the table, and he lowered his eyelids and said nothing.
"Okay, okay!" Wu Chengjian said, "Then I will...then I will..."
He said "then I will" several times, but finally sat down on the ground.
Zhou Yijin said: "How about... just obey my master..."
"No!" Wu Chengjian said, "I agree. Heshen is not a good official. If he continues to run the government, this country will be ruined sooner or later. But your master wants me to change my allegiance now, and I can't do that... If we touch Heshen now, our whole family will die! If this matter is really made into a big case, I will definitely be taken to Beijing, and I may even be arranged to confront Heshen in front of the emperor... Haha, then I will be dead, and my entire family will be exterminated."
Zhou Yijin asked, "Do you still think that Zhu Gui can't protect you?"
Wu Chengjian sneered and did not answer.
Zhou Yijin said: "It may even be the old man behind Zhu Gui..."
Wu Chengjian said, "Those people are even less trustworthy! I don't trust Zhu Gui because the Qingliu people are too ambitious and incompetent, and those old people in the Qiandi Palace may not even have credibility. Heshen has to consider the overall situation when doing things, but these people... hehe!"
Zhou Yijin said: "But if you don't agree, you will die in Guangzhou."
This is the difference between dying now or later.
Wu Chengjian pondered for a moment and said, "Although Heshen is a disaster to the country and the people, if he wants to keep his people working for him, he has to do something for my Wu family. As long as I hold on to my promise, even if the people around the new emperor want to kill our entire Wu family, Heshen will most likely stop them. Otherwise, those who work for him will be disappointed. Even...even I myself may not really die."
Zhou Yijin said: "You are simply gambling. No, you are gambling with your life!"
"Do you think I have a better choice?" Wu Chengjian said, "I only believe one thing: a group of servants and Han people who have not yet really taken power, whether openly or secretly, will definitely not be able to defeat the powerful 'Second Emperor' now."
"But what about a few years later?" Zhou Yijin said, "Even if you still think Heshen will survive this round, how long can the old emperor last? No matter how powerful the 'Second Emperor' is, can he surpass the 'Nine Thousand Years Old' of the previous dynasty? And how old is the old emperor? Even if he can really live to be a hundred years old, how many years can he live? As long as the retired emperor dies of old age, the second emperor will follow him. Wei Zhongxian's previous experience will be a lesson for Heshen! And when the time comes, we will also sink to the bottom of the sea with this big ship and never be able to turn over!"
"Damn it!" Wu Chengjian kicked his legs in the cell: "I know what you said... Of course I know... So... Oh! Damn it!"
He picked up a piece of broken porcelain, squeezed it in his palm, and blood oozed out: "If you don't agree to Zhu Gui, you will die now. If you agree to Zhu Gui, you will die in half a year. Either die now or die later. Even if you rush over to me, as long as you are still hanging around Heshen, you will die in a few years... Damn you! Damn God! Can't you give me a better way to live?"
