The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 230 Old Seventeen Cried

In the Qing Dynasty, there were two types of imperial envoys: one was someone who went to the local area specifically to handle official duties, and the other was someone who was on a special mission that had basically nothing to do with the local area.

Yinyou and the Seventeenth Prince were going to the Xiaoling Mausoleum, which had almost nothing to do with Zhao Hongxie, the governor of Zhili.

However, in the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty, what mattered was the etiquette of welcoming and seeing off guests.

When Yinyou came, Zhao Hongxie treated him well, which was a token of friendship for them to meet again in the future.

Zhao Hongxie did not come to entertain, which is the duty of local officials.

It depends on what you choose.

Zhao Hongxie came to Hongshankou specially, which must be a manifestation of high emotional intelligence!

Because, Old Seventeen has no title and no job, so he is really nothing.

However, it was different for Yinyou, who was in power at the time. Even though Zhao Hongxie was a favorite of Kangxi, he did not dare to offend Yinyou easily.

"I, the Governor of Zhili, Zhao Hongxie, pay my respects to Prince Yu and Master Seventeen."

As soon as they met, Zhao Hongxie bowed respectfully to the ground.

"Stand up." Yinyu waved his hand and said casually, "Sit down and talk. Someone, serve tea!"

Face is given to each other!

Since Zhao Hongxie took the initiative to come and greet him, Yinyou should at least give him a good look.

Although the Xiaoling Mausoleum is located in Zunhua Prefecture, it is not under the jurisdiction of the Zhili governor, but is under the Eastern Tombs Affairs Office, which is divided into three departments: the Ministry of Works for Consecration and Sacrifice, the Ministry of Rites for Consecration and Sacrifice, and the Imperial Mausoleum Internal Affairs Department. They are in charge of three affairs according to their duties.

"Zhao Zhongcheng, please have some tea!"

"Thank you, Prince Yu, and Master Seventeen for your grace!"

It was clearly Yinyou who spoke the words, but when Zhao Hongxie expressed his gratitude, he also thanked Old Seventeen.

What does it mean to be a good person? This is it!

After the greetings, since it was impossible to report the affairs of Zhili to Yinyou for handling, Zhao Hongxie had to make small talk and talked about the Green Camp’s security work outside the Eastern Tombs, how important and hard it was.

After Kangxi ascended the throne, he specially appointed a deputy general of the Green Camp who was of bannerman origin at Malan Pass. He led nearly 3,000 soldiers. In addition to defending Malan Pass, he was also responsible for the outer security of the Eastern Tombs.

The Green Camp soldiers in Zhili were all under the command of Zhao Hongxie. Therefore, he was justified in reporting on the outer defense of Dongling.

In fact, in the officialdom of the Qing Dynasty, if you want to have good relations with the bigwigs in the court, you need enough emotional intelligence to find the right entry point.

Yinyu knew that Zhao Hongxie was a trusted minister of Kangxi. He took the initiative to come and build a relationship with him. He did not expect Yinyu to promote him, but to show some favor to him in case Yinyu disliked his poor hospitality and created trouble for him in the future!
To put it bluntly, it means not asking for any benefits, but asking for no one to kick you when you are down.

In a nutshell, in the Qing Dynasty, reception was no small matter!

After Zhao Hongxie introduced the defense of Dongling, he changed the subject, stood up, clasped his hands, and said humbly: "I will offer you a small feast and wine. I hope that Lord Yu and Lord Shiqi will give you a little favor and let us enjoy some together."

Yinyou learned from Qianlong's experience and paid great attention to health preservation. He never ate too much meat and fish, and never overate. He usually ate mainly vegetables, supplemented with appropriate amounts of fish and chicken.

As for red meat such as pork and mutton, Yinyou also ate some every day, but not much.

As the saying goes, the fewer legs you have, the healthier you eat!
In this era without antibiotics, fish without legs have the highest nutritional value, followed by chickens and ducks with two legs.

The fat content of four-legged pigs, cows and sheep is too high, so Yinyou only eats a small amount of lean meat.

Of course, Yinyou’s pickyness about food and drink was far from reaching the level of Nian Gengyao, the Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi.

After a lot of hard work, Nian Gengyao only ate the two most tender tender loins of a pig.

Yinyou knew what was going on. Zhao Hongxie said that he had only prepared a light meal with wine, but how could that be possible?
"Zhao Zhongcheng, although I don't care about a good reputation, but since my seventeenth brother has no job yet, he shouldn't be too conspicuous." Yinyu took a sip of tea and said with a smile, "How about this, we each order a few dishes we like to eat on weekdays, have them deliver them, and then we can have a drink and chat behind closed doors, how about that?"

Yinyou's words completely touched the heart of the Seventeenth Prince.

The Seventeenth Prince couldn't help but look at Yinyou and felt very moved.

A prince who does not serve as an official is a black prince no matter how high his title is.

He didn't dare to compare himself with the extremely popular prince Yinyou, but the Seventeenth Prince dreamed of having a proper job.

Only those who stay in the Shangshufang every day know the ups and downs of studying in it.

Since Yinyou brought up the Seventeenth Prince, Zhao Hongxie naturally could not object.

So, Yinyou ordered some common vegetables and tofu, and Old Seventeen ordered all meat.

In a short while, the prepared meal was unpacked and placed on the dining table.

The three men had just raised their cups when they heard a report from outside, "Sir, the general of Tongyong Town is here. Please see him outside."

Zhao Hongxie thought to himself, this guy has a very sensitive nose and comes fast enough!

In the Zhili area, before the deputy general of Malan Pass was promoted to the general of Malan Town, he was under the command of the general of Tongyong Town.

Hongshankou Pass happens to be under the jurisdiction of the general of Tongyong Town.

Yinyu said calmly: "Go tell him that I am not in charge of the Ministry of War and I don't have time to see him."

That's very rude!

Meaning, don't flatter me randomly, I'm not your boss? Zhao Hongxie nodded secretly, and he had a deeper understanding of Yinyu's modesty.

As the saying goes, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall.

No matter what era it is, parents would never allow their children to play with street thugs.

Similarly, who would invest in a prince who doesn't know his limits?

Knowing the limits means understanding Kangxi’s taboos and not going too far!
The imprisonment of the eldest and second sons has proved that Kangxi's patience is definitely limited.

The governor, Zhao Hongxie, was a civil servant and the highest-ranking local official in Zhili. It was reasonable and logical for him to entertain Yinyou and the Seventeenth Prince, and there was no loophole for him to exploit.

The general of Tongyong Town was different, as he had a Zhili governor above him.

In the Green Camp military system of the Qing Dynasty, each level was in charge of the level above it, and no one could skip levels.

For example, if Zhao Hongxie wanted to command the general of a certain town, he could not give the order directly, but had to give the order to the Zhili governor, who would be responsible for handling it.

The Green Camp generals, both big and small, should check each other and prevent them from joining forces to plot against us.

The Qing Dynasty took this martial arts balancing technique to the extreme!
After the meal started, Zhao Hongxie stood up and toasted, "Prince Yu, Seventeenth Master, I can only offer you a little wine, I am really ashamed!"

The Seventeenth Prince was very knowledgeable about the rules, and he would never speak first as long as Yinyou was present.

Yinyu smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Please sit down. Today we are just talking about friendship, regardless of status."

Zhao Hongxie saw Yinyou's sincerity and did not refuse, so he sat back.

After Zhao Hongxie sat down, Yinyou picked up the old cup and went over to clink glasses with him.

"It's best if we can be casual with each other, and everyone will feel more comfortable!" Yinyu felt hot, so he deliberately took off the Liuhe hat on his head and put it directly on the wine table.

In this way, the atmosphere at the banquet became really relaxed.

As long as it was not a formal occasion, no one, from Kangxi to the small county magistrate, was willing to wear court robes, official hats, and official boots.

Generally speaking, Yinyou's favorite outfit was to wear a Liuhe hat, a silk jacket, and cloth shoes made by a Pingyao shoemaker.

In this era, there was no such thing as Beijing cloth shoes. There were only Pingyao shoemakers, who were famous throughout the Qing Dynasty.

After the banquet, Zhao Hongxie did not sit for long. He only drank half a cup of tea and then took the initiative to leave.

After Zhao Hongxie left, Old Seventeen waved his folding fan and said softly, "This Zhao is a man who knows how to behave."

Yinyou smiled indifferently and tried to win over the Governor of Zhili under the nose of Kangxi. He was afraid that the eldest and second sons would be too lonely, so he rushed forward to keep them company.

"Seventeenth brother, you may not have heard of this saying: those who are full of evil will be able to gain control of the capital, right? To be honest, any Shuntian prefect who does not understand the ways of the world cannot hold that key position!" Yinyu grabbed a handful of melon seeds, cracked them, and reminded the Seventeenth Brother, "In the future, when you are on duty, remember these four words: 'Like the world, be humble'."

Old Seventeen's heart suddenly felt warm. He was not stupid, so how could he not hear that Yinyou wanted to help him?

As long as Yinyou is willing to help, the Seventeenth Prince will not be afraid of having no job to do!

In the early morning of the next day, not long after the gate of Hongshankou was opened, Yinyou and the Seventeenth Prince rode in a carriage and, surrounded by guards, left the pass in a grand procession.

When the convoy was still ten miles away from the Xiaoling Mausoleum, Shan Shang, the Minister in charge of the mausoleums, came to greet them with the deputy general of Malan Pass and people from the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Household Department.

After the death of Concubine Shuhui, Emperor Kangxi buried her in the concubine's mausoleum of the Xiaoling Mausoleum.

In fact, when Concubine Shuhui was seriously ill, she had said more than once that she did not want to be with Shunzhi after her death.

The current Empress Dowager also conveyed her sister's request to Kangxi.

However, Kangxi eventually buried Concubine Shuhui in the concubine's mausoleum of the Xiaoling Mausoleum.

Old Seventeen? Haha, he wanted to follow the wishes of Concubine Shuhui, but he didn't even have the right to speak.

All the rules and regulations of the Qing Dynasty were set by Kangxi, and he could set them however he wanted.

The coffin of Empress Xiaozhuang Wen had been kept in the "Temporary Anfeng Hall" of the Eastern Tombs and was not taken to Shenyang to be buried with Huang Taiji.

Some people say that Xiaozhuang and Dorgon were too happy and did not dare to be buried with Huang Taiji.

This is actually nonsense that shows a lack of understanding of the rules of feudal funeral rites.

According to the funeral system of the Qing Dynasty, the empress would die first, and after the emperor passed away, the mausoleum could be dug up and buried together with the emperor.

However, if the emperor died first, according to etiquette, anyone who dared to dig up the previous emperor's mausoleum would be digging up his own ancestral tomb.

If it were an ordinary woman, for example, Concubine Shuhui, it would be natural for her to be buried directly in the concubine's cemetery of Xiaoling Mausoleum.

However, Kangxi was grateful to Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang for giving him a new life and was reluctant to let her down.

Therefore, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang stayed in the Zan'anfeng Hall in front of the Xiaoling Mausoleum.

No matter who it is, as long as they come to the Eastern Tomb to worship their ancestors, they must first worship Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang. This is what Kangxi really thinks.

Yinyou and the Seventeenth Prince had no feelings for Empress Xiaozhuang Wen, so they just performed the rituals and paid tributes so that outsiders would not find any flaws. That was all that was needed.

However, what Yinyou did not expect was that the Seventeenth Prince actually fell to the ground and cried bitterly in front of Concubine Shuhui's tomb.

Yinyu couldn't help but think of his adoptive mother, Concubine De. If Concubine De died, he would definitely not be able to cry, and would definitely use a ginger handkerchief to induce tears!
(End of this chapter)