The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 86 Kangxi Makes Wedding Dress (Updated, please give me a monthly ticket)
Yinyou was invited into the duty room. After he sat down, Mutai began to introduce the case.

The case is actually not complicated. The guard who beat people was named Sun Jiuge.

Zuoling Tabu promised to promote Sun Jiuge to the position of foreman, but he took a large sum of money and did not do the job. Instead, he seduced Sun Jiuge's beautiful sister.

Brother Sun Jiu hit Tabu in a fit of impulse.

Now, Brother Sun Jiu is tied up in the military camp, and Tabu has also been detained.

As far as Yinyu's original intention was concerned, he naturally did not want to get involved in the troublesome affairs of the Guard Camp.

However, since Kangxi had sent Yinyu to investigate the matter, according to the procedure of the case, in addition to the existing confessions, Yinyu had to personally interrogate Sun Jiuge and Tabu.

According to the rules, Yinyou first interrogated Zuoling Tabu.

"Why were you beaten?" Yinyu asked a soul-searching question as soon as he opened his mouth, catching Tabu off guard and stunned.

Yes, you are a captain. If you didn’t do something extremely unkind, which subordinate would dare to hit you?
The military regulations of the Eight Banners in the early Qing Dynasty were extremely strict. If a subordinate dared to beat his superior, he would be executed immediately.

No matter what, the army is not a vegetable garden. Without rules, who would obey orders obediently?
After all, Tabu had been a deputy commander for many years, so he quickly reacted and said confidently: "My Lord Fifteen, I have never accepted any money from Brother Sun Jiu. As for the matter of raping his sister, they just wanted to slander me..."

Yinyou understood what Tabu meant. There were no witnesses when he received the money, and as long as he denied it to death, no one, not even God, could do anything about it.

Besides, it’s not a case of adultery, and we didn’t catch them in bed. Tabu just refused to admit it even though he was wearing pants, so what can we do about it?

Mu Tai looked at Yin Yu's face, hesitated for a moment, and took the initiative to say, "Fifteenth Master, Sun Jiu's words are just empty words, there is no real evidence."

Yinyou glanced at Mutai, and his heart became clear.

Either Tabu is Mutai's confidant, or Tabu has given Mutai enough benefits, otherwise, why would Mutai speak for Tabu?

Of course, there is another situation, that is, officials habitually protect each other.

Ask the officials first, this is the rule in the palace.

After Yinyou carefully questioned Tabu, he ordered Tabu to sign and seal his confession.

After receiving the confession, Yinyu calmly ordered Mutai: "Take Tabu away and keep an eye on him. If he flees out of fear of the crime, I will ask the emperor to interrogate you about your serious crime. Do you understand?"

Mu Tai's heart trembled, and he quickly said, "I will never be careless."

The news that Yinyou deliberately praised and killed Cheng Xiude had already spread throughout the Imperial Household Department. How could Mutai not know about it?

He did not beat or scold Cheng Xiu De and was even extremely polite to him. However, the consequence of the long-distance fight between Yin Yu and Cheng Xiu De's backers was that Cheng Xiu De was forced to death!
Yinyou, who is still wet behind the ears, is so shrewd and cruel. Who would dare to provoke him easily?

After Tabu was taken away, Yinyu ordered, "Bring up Brother Sun Jiu."

"Whoo."

After a short while, Brother Sun Jiu was brought into the hall and knelt in front of Yinyou's desk.

After the scribe had inquired about Sun Jiuge's name, banner nationality, and three generations of his family, Yinyu asked coldly, "Sun Jiuge, do you admit your guilt?"

Brother Sun Jiu fell to the ground and said in a muffled voice, "In reply to Master Fifteen, I only regret that I was slow to react and didn't stab that bastard Tabu with a single blow."

The pen-tieshi who was in charge of recording the confession picked up the pen and "swish, swish, swish..." wrote down all of Sun Jiuge's stupid words.

Yinyou sighed secretly. It was a pity that many prisoners, because they did not understand the law, spoke nonsense without restraint, which only aggravated their own crimes.
"I want to ask you, when and where did you give Tabu how much silver?"

Although Yinyou had never worked in the Six Gates, he personally presided over at least hundreds of case coordination meetings and made minutes of the meetings.

Even a complete layman can be forced to become a half-expert after such training.

"My Lord, on October 8th last year, I sold two famous paintings passed down from my ancestors and collected two hundred taels of silver. I gave it to Tabu in person at his home..."

Yinyou found it a little funny. Brother Sun Jiu was born into the Eight Banners of the Jianzhou Jurchens. His ancestors had always made a living by fishing and hunting outside the Great Wall, and they often went hungry. Where did the heirloom come from?

If they had not followed Dorgon into the pass and snatched a lot of treasures, the Sun family would still be hiding in the mountains and forests, eating dirt!

"My Lord, let me ask you, who else was in the room when you delivered the silver?" Yinyu asked very carefully, as if he were a slick old official who had worked in the government office for decades.

"My Lord Fifteen, there was no one else in the room except Tabu. However, the second prince of Tabu's family was eavesdropping outside the room..."

Yinyou really admired Sun Jiuge's good memory. He could remember everything clearly even though it happened almost a year ago.

"It's been so long, why do you still remember it?" Yinyu asked Brother Sun Jiu with great interest.

"My Lord Fifteen, I have five brothers and three sisters. Let alone meat, we can barely even open the pot. If it weren't for my father who was determined to take out the famous paintings he had hidden for many years, I would have no money to give as gifts..."

After Sun Jiuge's detailed explanation, Yinyou completely understood the cause of the whole incident.

Among the Sun family, except for the ninth brother Sun who took over the position of his disabled father and joined the guard camp, the other four brothers were idle at home with nothing to do.

Because bannermen were not allowed to do business or farm, the Sun family was so tired of being poor that they had no choice but to spend all their money to help Sun Jiuge get promoted.

As long as Brother Sun Jiu is promoted to the position of chief, he can get an extra 1 or 2 taels of silver from his crops every month to supplement his family income.

The Sun family sold the famous painting for two hundred taels of silver in exchange for an additional income of twelve taels of silver each year. From a long-term perspective, it was definitely a good deal.

This is because the salaries of the Eight Banners soldiers of the Qing Dynasty were a solid source of income that could be passed down from generation to generation.

Even if Brother Sun Jiu unfortunately died in battle, the vacancy he left behind could be passed down from father to son, from son to grandson, and from generation to generation endlessly.

In any case, in the early Qing Dynasty, the imperial court really supported the Eight Banners soldiers generously. Therefore, the Eight Banners soldiers were also happy to work for the emperor.

As there was no outsider present, we are unable to obtain evidence regarding the gift of silver.

However, Yinyou had a way to help restore the truth about Tabu's rape of Sun Jiuge's sister.

"Come on, go back to the house and find Nanny Zhang, and tell her to go to the Sun family to meet Brother Sun Jiu's third sister." Yinyu immediately gave the order to the captain of the guard Chongshan.

When Yinyou gave the order, Mutai did not have the courage to stop him head-on.

After Chongshan accepted the order and left, Mutai bowed and said, "Master Fifteen, I'm afraid this is not appropriate, right?"

Yinyu frowned and asked Mutai coldly, "What's wrong?"

"Master Fifteen, how can a woman show up in public so easily?" Mu Tai was an expert, and he hit the key point as soon as he opened his mouth.

If Nanny Zhang got the testimony from the third sister of the Sun family, then in the future, when the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice hold a joint trial, the third sister of the Sun family will be required to testify in court.

In the Qing Dynasty, where ethics and morals were strictly enforced, women were not easily allowed to appear in public.

In particular, if an unclean woman with her body defiled entered the lobby of the Ministry of Justice, she would be generally regarded as a disgrace by the bigwigs of the Ministry.

Yinyu didn't look at Mutai, but said calmly: "Since a public trial is inappropriate, then I will ask for your permission alone!"

Mu Tai seemed to be struck by lightning. He was fried to a crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, and his whole body was numb!
Yinyou was not only the Minister in charge of the Imperial Household Department, but also the emperor's biological son, and an imperial envoy sent to investigate this case.

These three identities are superimposed on each other, hehe, anyone who stands in the way will be killed, and even if it is Buddha who stands in the way, Buddha will be killed!
To put it bluntly, little Mu Tai dared to disobey Yinyou, so why not give it a try?

After about an hour, Nanny Zhang and Chongshan came to see Yinyou with the confession of the third sister of the Sun family.

After Yinyu carefully read the confession, he immediately turned hostile and ordered sternly: "Come on, bring Tabuti to the hall."

"Hey!" Chongshan immediately brought people and dragged Tabu into the court.

Yinyu didn't look at Mutai, whose face turned pale, and ordered, "Take off Tabu's pants. I want to check it myself."

"Master Fifteen, you are a man of ten thousand gold. You can't do this. You absolutely can't do this!" Mu Tai was so scared that he waved his hands repeatedly.

Yinyou didn't say anything, but just stared at Mutai coldly.

Under the gaze of Yinyou's stern eyes, Mutai was forced to lower his head and retreat to the side in disgrace due to the invisible pressure.

Humph, you little dog slave, you are a little smart. Otherwise, your fate would be unpredictable!

After Chongshan took off Tabu's pants, Yinyou found a plum-shaped birthmark on the inside of Tabu's left thigh according to the confession of the third sister of the Sun family.

Hehe, the evidence of seducing the third sister of the Sun family is conclusive. Let’s see how you can argue?
"Tabu, what else do you have to say?" Yinyou raised his chin and questioned Tabu.

The facts are there, and even if Tabu wants to quibble, he can't get away with it.

Because, if Tabu and the third sister of the Sun family were not having an affair, how could the third sister of the Sun family know that Tabu had a plum-shaped birthmark on his crotch?

"I deserve to die. I shouldn't have been seduced by the beauty of the third sister of the Sun family. I was confused for a moment..." Tabu thought he was smart and wanted to put the blame on the third sister of the Sun family.

Yinyou sneered, "Tabu, you really deserve to die. You were so audacious as to seduce a potential concubine from the Imperial Household Department who had not yet been selected. Humph, you deserve to die!"

Tabu finally came to his senses, and immediately he was so scared that he started shaking all over and collapsed to the ground.

Mu Tai, who was standing by, was also frightened to death and knelt down obediently to apologize.

"I failed to discipline my subordinates and brought shame to the palace. This is truly a heinous crime. Please punish me severely, Master Fifteen!" Mu Tai took off his hat on his own initiative and slammed his head hard on the floor tiles, making a banging sound.

The Sun family was born into the upper three banners, and when the third sister of the Sun family turned thirteen, she was obliged to participate in the selection of palace maids by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The last time the palace maids were selected, for some reason, although the third sister of the Sun family was kept by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, she was never notified to participate in the re-selection.

As time went on, not only did the Sun family themselves neglect the matter, but Tabu also thought that the third sister of the Sun family had been abandoned.

According to the strict palace rules, anyone who dared to seduce a concubine or palace maid awaiting re-selection would be hanged immediately, no matter who he was.

Not only that, the captain, deputy commander and general of the banner will be dismissed and questioned at the very least for their responsibility of negligence.

As Mutai was Tabu's immediate superior, it was natural that he could not escape punishment.

To be honest, if a soldier beat his superior in the Green Camp, it would not be Yinyu's turn to investigate.

However, if something strange happened to the Upper Three Banners Guard Camp, which was responsible for guarding key locations such as the Qianqing Gate and threatened stability, would Kangxi still be able to sleep well?

After the truth came out, Yinyu did not rush to report to Kangxi, but confirmed his confession and various evidence documents. No matter what, evidence is the basis for the final punishment.

If there were omissions in the evidence, Kangxi would instead think that Yinyou was a talkative and incompetent person.

The ninth, tenth, twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth princes, who were older than Yinwei, were still studying in the Shangshufang.

There is never a shortage of people with jealousy these days. As long as Yinyou reveals a flaw, someone will take the opportunity to add insult to injury and give him a beating!

At worst, bring Yinyou back to the Shangshufang to study, and endure the hardship together. Some people will feel comfortable about it!
After making the chain of evidence extremely solid and the entire logic of the case clear at a glance, Yinyou brought the memorial, excerpts and files, and handed in a sign to enter the Qianqing Palace.

After reading the summary, Kangxi was silent for a long time. Suddenly, he chuckled and said self-deprecatingly, "How dare a servant like Tabu touch a palace maid who is waiting for re-selection? I am old, just like a tiger in its twilight years, and all my teeth have fallen out!"

Yinyu lowered his head and deliberately kept silent. However, he knew that someone was going to lose his head!
"Send the decree to Zuoling Tabu, sentence him to immediate execution by hanging, and send his parents and brothers to Ningguta as slaves to the armored men. His wife and daughter will all be awarded to the bondservants Aha as slaves, and will never be pardoned."

"...The captains, assistant captains, and generals of the flags under the Sun family will be demoted by five levels."

Yinyu thought that Kangxi was really angry and the emperor's dignity was greatly challenged.

The most taboo thing for an old man and a young wife is that the young wife is slept with by someone else!
Being demoted five levels is equivalent to being demoted from vice-ministerial level to section level. This is more than ten times more severe than the punishment of dismissal.
"Mu Tai, the commander of the Bordered Yellow Banner Guards, is dismissed from his post and will never be employed again."

He will never be employed again, which means the complete end of his official career!

After issuing three edicts in succession, Kangxi's anger subsided a little. He looked at Yinyu and asked him coldly, "What are you thinking about letting Sun Jiu go to the northwest frontier to die?"

"To reply to Khan Ama, the Dzungars are a great threat to our Qing Dynasty. We must be on guard against them at all times. Brother Sun Jiu can use a 14-force hard bow and is good at riding and shooting three stars in a row. He is a rare talent. I specially ask Khan Ama to order him to serve in the Northwest Green Camp. If he dies on the battlefield, it can be considered a worthy death. If not, he is lucky enough to survive." Yinyu made comprehensive suggestions with confidence.

If Yinyu proposed to keep Sun Jiuge in the Eight Banners of the Imperial Guard to serve, Kangxi would definitely become suspicious.

However, Yinyu's suggestion was to let Sun Jiuge serve in the Green Camp Army in the northwestern frontier. This was completely selfless and was only for the sake of cherishing talent for the country.

"Well, horseback archery is the foundation of our Qing dynasty..."

Perhaps because Yinyou had touched his sore spot, Kangxi began a long speech, repeatedly emphasizing the importance of conquering the world with bows and horses.

After Kangxi said he was happy, he suddenly issued an order: "Brother Sun Jiu, be transferred to the front of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Green Camp as a guerrilla rank."

"Yinyu, why don't you say anything?" Kangxi was a little surprised. Shouldn't Yinyu thank him on behalf of Brother Sun Jiu?
Yinyou secretly complained in his heart, you are so funny, if I thank you on behalf of Brother Sun Jiu, not only will he lose his job, but his head will also be moved immediately.

"My dear Khan, I think your teachings are really wise words. As long as our Eight Banners have ten thousand elite soldiers, we will be invincible." Yinyu deliberately went off the topic and didn't mention Sun Jiuge's affairs.

Kangxi stared at Yinyu coldly for a long time before he said with a gloomy face, "I have changed my mind. Pass the decree down. Brother Sun Jiu will be transferred to the post of deputy general of the Central Army of Sichuan and Shaanxi with the title of General of the Green Camp."

Yinyu's heart was as calm as water, because he had expected Kangxi to do this.

What is special grace?

He was promoted from platoon leader to deputy company commander. Although this was a favor, it was not enough to make people die for him.

Being promoted directly from deputy division commander to group army commander is the way to promote someone who is trusted by others.

Nian Gengyao rose suddenly. Within a few years, he was promoted from an ordinary Jinshi to the Governor of Sichuan by Emperor Kangxi.

Therefore, Nian Gengyao was only grateful to Kangxi and didn't care about the fourth brother, the leader of the banner at all.

Later, when Concubine De celebrated her birthday, Nian Gengyao did not send her a gift. How could the Fourth Prince not be angry?
Kangxi still felt very strange. He promoted Sun Jiuge out of turn, so why did Yinyou remain silent?
"Fifteenth Prince, what do you think?" Kangxi stared at Yinyu and kept asking.

Yinyu spread his hands and asked Kangxi in surprise: "Khan Ama's words are the law, how dare I interfere?"

The entire Qing Dynasty belongs to you. I am just a small prince. Who do I think I am?
"Call Zhang Tingyu!" Kangxi suddenly ordered the guest to leave. "Kneel down!"

"Your subject shall take his leave!" After paying his respects, Yinyu left the Qianqing Palace without hesitation.

Wei Zhu, who had been guarding the door, looked at Yinyu's receding back, as if looking up at the unreachable Mount Everest, with great reverence in his heart.

Just now, if Yinyou had said just one more word, not only would Sun Jiuge not be able to receive the special promotion, but he would have lost his head instead.

Alas, the prince's meddling in the important affairs of the Upper Three Banners Guard Camp, no matter what his intentions were, has violated the Emperor's taboo!

However, Master Fifteen resisted the huge temptation and did not say a word.

That’s right!
Master Wei and Wei Anda no longer dare to be such people. Little Weizi is the one who fits the role!
When Yinyou returned to the signing room of the Imperial Household Department and was alone, he couldn't help laughing.

As long as Brother Sun Jiu is not dead, he will be the best springboard for Yinyu to interfere in the military affairs of the northwest.

Haha, a deputy general of the central army without a strong backer will definitely be ostracized by his superiors and colleagues.

When he was feeling extremely aggrieved, as long as Yinwei extended an olive branch to him, he would be rewarded with both the life-saving grace and the promotion. Hehe, you know what I mean!

Kangxi was worried that Yinyou would seize the military power in front of him, but Yinyou was actually thinking about the military power more than ten years later.

Haha, you worry about your things and I do mine. There is no contradiction at all. We are both fighting for military power!

After a few days, an imperial decree was issued from the palace, and the once-in-three-years beauty pageant officially began.

According to convention, the selection of concubines was presided over by the Ministry of Revenue and co-organized by the Imperial Household Department.

The person in charge of the Ministry of Revenue must be the fourth brother.

Kangxi had originally assigned He Yi to be in charge of the Imperial Household Department, but unexpectedly, he fell ill.

After much deliberation, Kangxi decided to appoint Yinyou as the general.

Damn, choosing a woman to sleep with your dad, what kind of thing is this?

Yinyou must be unhappy, so he went to the Qianqing Palace to find Kangxi.

Kangxi said, "Isn't the Fourth Prince my son?"

Okay, Yinyou had nothing to say and had to accept the order.

Yinyu went to the Ministry of Revenue to discuss important matters with the fourth son. As soon as the fourth son saw Yinyu, he said, "There are too few women to serve you. This opportunity to select concubines is rare. Khan Ama should give you more."

"Fourth brother..." Yinyu looked at the fourth brother in disbelief. Is this still the fourth brother he is familiar with?
According to the rules of the palace, Yinyou, who had been promoted to the rank of Beizi, should have one principal wife and one concubine, as well as several princesses and concubines around him.

In fact, when Qianlong's biological mother, Concubine Xi, first entered the Fourth Prince's Mansion, she was just an unknown princess with a humble status that was outrageous.

The fourth brother looked at Yinyou and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I have inquired about it. There are several Han army flags with too seductive looks who will definitely be removed by the Queen Mother. When the time comes, I will ask for the Khan's order and ask Ama to give it to you."

Nowadays, the rules for selecting concubines in the palace place the most emphasis on the mother's family background, and emphasize grace and dignified manners.

Women who are too beautiful will be removed from the palace to prevent another Dong E who charmed Emperor Shunzhi to death from appearing in the palace.

The fourth brother is a person who either doesn’t say anything or always does what he says.

Yinyu gathered his emotions for a moment and asked tentatively, "Fourth brother, I'm only fourteen years old?"

Unexpectedly, the fourth brother glared at him and said in a deep voice: "What nonsense are you talking about? According to our Manchu customs, you are already sixteen years old!"

Yinyou was speechless for a while. A Manchu is counted as one year old when he is born, and another year old the next year, so he is actually two years old in total.

"Okay, it's settled." The fourth brother is still as stubborn as ever, ruthless and taciturn. Not only does he like to take on too much, he also keeps people in suspense.

According to the rules of the beauty contest, the Zuoling, Canling and Dutong of the banner to which the bannerwoman belongs are responsible for the preliminary selection.

After the information of the concubines is compiled, it will be reported to the Ministry of Revenue.

Just when the selection work was in full swing, the three weaving doctors in Jiangnan, Li Xu, Cao Yin and Sun Wencheng, were ordered to return to Beijing to report on their work.

When it was Li Xu and Cao Yin's turn to meet the emperor together, Kangxi suddenly summoned Yinyou into the Qianqing Palace.

"This is your cousin Li Xu." Kangxi introduced with a smile, "When Oboi was captured, your cousin made great contributions!"

To be honest, this was the first time that Yinyu saw the short and fat Li Xu.

"Your servant Li Xu greets the fifteenth master." Li Xu saluted very smartly.

Cao Yin's reaction was a little slow, but he also followed Zha Qian and saluted.

"Your servant Cao Yin wishes you the best of luck, Master Fifteen."

Since Kangxi was in a very good mood, Yinyou simply joined in the fun out of respect. He not only avoided Li Xu and Cao Yin's polite greetings, but also bowed in return.

Kangxi was indeed very pleased, and said happily: "The Fifteenth Prince and you are relatives. You should get closer to each other and visit each other more often. Don't ruin the relationship between relatives."

"This slave accepts the order!"

"Your Highness obeys your command."

Yinyou's heart was as clear as a mirror, and he knew that Kangxi truly loved his two haha beads.

Everyone present is smart, there is not a single fool!
The so-called closeness and interaction actually meant handing over the guardianship of the Li and Cao families to Yinwei.

Objectively speaking, Kangxi's arrangement was indeed painstaking.

How could Kangxi not know the principle that a new emperor appoints new ministers?

However, Yinyou guessed Kangxi's thoughts, deposed the crown prince, and secretly appointed the fourth son as the heir.

The logic is not complicated, you can just work your way back.

If the fourth son was not appointed as the new crown prince, how could Yinyou be able to protect Li Xu and Cao Yin, the two favorites of the current emperor?
PS: A 15000-word update is here. This is the latest update I just wrote. Today's monthly votes exceeded 6500, so I will continue to update with more than words.

　Although the number of votes was less than 5500, an additional 15000 words were still added to fulfill the promise. Xiao Shiwu kept his word.

　　In addition, because I am not a full-time writer, I can only find time to write after socializing after get off work.

　　Special notice: If nothing unexpected happens, the update time will be before 1 am.

　　Once again, thank you all for your grace, which helped me get into the top ten of the historical monthly tickets. Let’s keep going!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)