Chapter 10           South Tour of Xianfeng (6)

The Han Miao problem in Sichuan Province mainly lies in two aspects: one is that Han officials despise the Miao people, and the other is that they are serious smuggling.

First, let’s talk about despising the Miao people. After changing the land and returning to the current situation, the Miao people still retained a certain degree of autonomy. The Miao people’s chieftains were divided into six levels from small to large: hundreds of households, thousands of households, chiefs, comfort envoys, Xuanfu envoys and the highest Xuanfu envoy. When it comes to Xuanfu envoys, they are already the third rank of the imperial court, and are at the same level as the Taoist stewards held by Chongshi.

However, Han officials believed that the Miao people did not study and did not know etiquette. Not to mention the Taoist, prefect, or county magistrate, it was even a classic history that was not in the same county. When they saw the highest chief of the Miao people's chieftain, they always turned their noses to the sky. The arrogant attitude was really hard to say.

The second is smuggling. Sichuan produces gold sand, among which the Minjiang River, Yalong (Yinlong, is the area called Lushui River in ancient times, and Maogong Tunwu Office, where the intersection of large and small Jinchuan to the west of Wenchuan and the intersection of Jinchuan is the famous place of origin. As usual, taxes are required to be paid - this is also the main pillar of Wenchuan County's financial resources. However, taxes have been decreasing recently, and the main reason is the flood of smuggling.

Wenchuan County is under the jurisdiction of Maozhou Zhili Prefecture, and is also a subordinate of Longmao Road under Chongshi. When Shangguan inspected this time, he arrived at Wenchuan County. The magistrate was named Liu, a native of Henan. He served as the county magistrate in this place of Yunnan and Guizhou. He had long wanted to move. He knew that Chongshi had a great origin. If he could get a word from him, his wish would be fulfilled for half his life, so he was particularly attentive to entertain.

During the meal, Chongshi asked about the interaction between the Han and Miao people in Wenchuan County. He heard from the Magistrate Liu that although Wenchuan is small, it is one of the only seven Xuanfu envoys in the province, and this person is quite famous.

His name is A Xiong, and his ancestors were named Sang Lang and Wen Kai. During the reign of Kangxi, he followed the army to fight with the envoy of Xuanfu to wipe out the rebellion mentioned in the previous article. Because of his military merits, he was promoted to the envoy of Xuanfu. This was a hereditary official position, and it has evolved to date, and it has been seven generations.

Ah Xiong is his great-grandson. He is less than fifteen years old this year. Because he has been friends with Han people for a long time, his family has hired a Han person to teach him the saints. However, Miao people like him are not valued by others even if they learn poetry, calligraphy and etiquette, so they don’t have much contact with the officials in the county.

"Then, Guixian?" Chongshi stopped eating and asked County Magistrate Liu: "I want to meet this Xiong, don't you know if it's feasible?"

"As this official, I will perform this ceremony. If the Lord wants to summon Axiong to pay homage, Rong Bei sent someone to Wa Temple again - where Xuanwei envoy was the yamen - to send a letter to Axiong, that's it."

"This is inappropriate. I have followed the emperor's will and wanted to be friendly with the Miao people so that they can be at peace with themselves and even contribute to the country in the future. It is not easy to use the official body to suppress others?" Chongshi thought for a moment and shook his head and said, "It's better for me to go up the mountain once, what do you think about Guixian?"

How dare County Magistrate Liu refuse to accept his words? "The Lord will not hesitate to be treated as a saint. I think Ah Xiong has also been taught by a saint, so he must be grateful to the Lord."

A few days later, something happened, which gave Chongshi the excuse to come to the door. In Wenchuan, the ban on smuggling of gold sand was very strict. On that day, two smugglers chased the officers and soldiers so that they had nowhere to escape. Finally, they ran to Wa Temple and hid.

If it were normal for the time being, County Magistrate Liu would only send a Dianshi and bring a few constables to Wasi to call for people. Although the Miao people were dissatisfied, they had to hand over the people respectfully. However, when Chongshi heard about this, he ordered the man to prepare his own book and asked County Magistrate Liu to send someone to Wasi to be his guide. In this way, he drove lightly to Wasi.

Ah Xiong was very surprised. The Han people were used to being arrogant. They were the least classics in the county. When the Miao people saw him, they had to be called the master. When the magistrate Liu was in office, he sent someone to the yamen to pay a visit and gave various gifts, but the magistrate Liu never bowed back. This was a very rude act. It can be seen that he was really ashamed to interact with foreign races. Because of this, Xuan Wei ordered the yamen and the yamen to have never communicated with each other for several years, as if he didn't know that there was another party.

This time, a Taoist sent by the court personally handed over a book to meet him. Ah Xiong was stunned for a long time and ordered someone to find his mother. His mother was a Han Chinese. After reading a few days of reading, she knew the importance of it and said to her son: "In the past, when I come to work, I always come forward for you. This time it will not work. You are the envoy of Xuanfu, and you will always come to see you. My mother is behind the screen and hears what he has to do. When he speaks, you will say, "I will ask my mother, and I will come forward again."

Ah Xiong is a mother and a Han Chinese, so her education for her son is not the same as the Miao people raising their children. She pays attention to the training of the children in the court, and her parents should be regarded as the standard. Therefore, Ah Xiong is very filial to her mother and nods obediently: "Oh, my son understands."

Chongshi was invited to the hall, and the head of a workhouse in the county was recommended. The two of them gave a flat ceremony - that was to bow to each other - which was an exceptional courtesy for Ah Xiong. When people came to the hall, they would finish their business at the next stop, and they finished their business with a few taels of gold sand offered by the yamen, and turned around and left. They looked like an angel who had sent the imperial edict on behalf of heaven. Now the third-rank official is respectful and gentle, which really makes Ah Xiong overjoyed.

He finally remembered his mother's teachings. After each other sat down, he asked Chongshi about his official affairs. Chongshi said: "There are two smuggling dealers who have been hiding in the yamen of the Lord Xuanwei. Can you leave it to me and take it back to the law?"

"I have to ask my mother." Hearing his son's words, the mother turned out from behind the screen. Chongshi didn't expect that he had such a move and hurriedly left his seat to salute, and they made a sense of humility with each other.

After sitting down, the old lady said, "Smuggling gold sand is a matter explicitly prohibited by the court's law. Today, there is such a bold guy who is unrepentant and should be handed over to the adults. I just don't know if the adults brought the servants with him?"

"Oh, that's not."

"Since the adults have not taken him, I have to send a special person to escort him back to the county by the child's yamen." The old lady asked again: "Are you going with the adults? Or will you escort him back alone?"

Chongshi thought that he had come to surrender this time and could not take the people back, so he would go back directly. He would have to stay here for a few days. Therefore, he said, "If you can be directly transferred back to the county government, it would be great." As he said that, he got up and bowed again: "Thank you for your help, Lord Xuanhui."

"I dare not take it, I dare not take it." The old lady said to her son: "Ah Xiong, return the adult's handbook to the adult." She asked again: "I don't know where the adult lives?"

"Stay in the inn."

"Sir, please come back, everything is easy." The old lady said to her son: "Ah Xiong, open the middle door and send the gift to the adults down the mountain."

This is what is called "soft in and hard out" in the officialdom. Chongshi had to take care of his identity, so he didn't need to be polite. Shortly after returning to the post station, Xuanwei sent someone to present a gift, including tiger skin, leopard skin, a bag of gold sand, ten kilograms of astragalus, and a special gift, a ripe steel handle, but soft as cotton, and a Burmese knife that could surround his waist! Finally, there was an invitation to ask him to go to the banquet in the evening, and stated that he could only wear casual clothes.

It would be fine if the gift next to him was Yamato Chongshi's intention. He only heard the name of the Burmese sword from some travel notes and biography of the Rangers, but he had to appreciate it seriously! He pulled out the knife and danced back and forth like a silver snake under the lamp. He was completely out of martial arts and could not play it. He accidentally cut his hand and quickly inserted the knife back and forth, ready to return the item when he saw him again.

In the afternoon, Chongshi was still wearing a public uniform and ordered his servants to bring his clothes and bags. Then at the Xuanwei envoy's yamen, Ah Xiong and a comfort department below, the four chiefs welcomed him at the door as if they were staring at the moon, and Chongshi was welcomed to the main hall.

At this point, I saw that the old lady was also here. The Miao people were not as polite as the Han people, who paid attention to the etiquette of their family members, and others were calm and could not act like a despicable expression. I heard from the old lady that, "The adults do not abandon us as vulgar, but they look down on themselves and their son in this way, and they are really grateful."

"I dare not be accused of it. The old lady is too polite. The court's court rituals cannot be abolished. The old lady's words made me feel ashamed."

"I mean little." The old lady said a few words and asked Chongshi's family background, such as where he was from, who else was in the mansion, whether he was married, and the young masters, and so on. Chongshi was originally intended to bring close contact with Xuan Wei and the yamen, and he didn't think it was offensive and answered one by one.

After a while, someone came to report that the dinner was ready and invited the adults to the table. Chongshi responded to the host's request and changed into a casual robe. It turned out to be a very sumptuous banquet. The old lady said that she was in Miao Township and could not eat the Miao people's food. Ah Xiong's father cherished his wife and invited a chef from Chengdu Prefecture to serve him all year round. "Today, I was in a hurry and there was no time to prepare some dishes, but the adults around would not be anxious about official duties. I will stay here for a few more days. I will treat you well another day."

"Thank you, thank you. That's already good."

"It's a pity that I don't have Shaoxing wine here," the old lady asked: "Does adults like to drink Maotai or Daqu?"

Chongshi felt a little similar to Sun Ruizhen. He was both not very drunk, but he liked drinking very much. He tasted Maotai wine from the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou in Sushun Mansion once in the past. He was rewarded by the emperor and had a fragrance on his cheeks. He always wanted to find an opportunity to taste it again, so he said, "Just Maotai."

So the old lady ordered someone to take the Maotai and opened the mud seal on the jar. The fragrance suddenly filled the room. Before it could penetrate the throat, it felt scented.

Chongshi had limited alcohol use, and Axiong and the following several comfort departments were all in large quantities. They took turns to persuade them to drink, but they were drunk without realizing that night. They stayed in the guest room of Xuanwei's envoy.

When he woke up in the middle of the night, Chongshi felt that there was one more person like a soft jade and warm fragrance beside him. This scared Chongshi. He lifted up the quilt and saw that the woman caught a cold. He woke up after asking her and found out that it was the maid next to the old lady, named Honglian. During the banquet, Chongshi looked at her a few more times. When he fell asleep, he brought it to the bed to the old lady.

Chongshi was regretful and angry! He was determined to dress up on the spot. Honglian saw his face look ugly, and the girl cried in grievance and said, if she could not keep the adults, by tomorrow morning, the old lady and Xuan Wei would make the adults angry, and her life would definitely not be saved.

Chongshi knew that the Miao people had the right to deal with the servants at home. Not to mention that they were asking her to serve him, even if she said, it would be not rare to beat him to death with a stick. He didn't know the truth in his heart. If what she said was true, how could he bear it if he committed the crime of killing for no reason?

So he reluctantly stayed in the Xuanwei envoy's yamen for a night. The next day, A Xiong and the Fufu envoy came to the room to pay their respects. Chongshi naturally had no good expression to show them. He said a few words and stood up to say goodbye.

It should be said that this matter was a little presumptuous. If it was not done well, the warmth of the guests and hosts of yesterday would all turn into flowing water. However, when Chongshi came to Sichuan, with the emperor's destiny, he could not help but like him.

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On the ninth day of the sixth month of the fifth year of Xianfeng, the emperor's 25th birthday. Chongshi gave his subordinates his responsibilities and rushed to Beijing. He was to celebrate the emperor's birthday and to report his duties.

After the king and his ministers met, Chongshi told him about his past year in office and reported his nightly relationship with Honglian. The emperor was very angry: "There has not been any progress in official affairs yet, so you have set up a golden house in the province? I see that you are really getting back to life!"

Chongshi met repeatedly, "I am confused, and I am confused. Please forgive me for my sins."

"Don't forget that you are less than 30 years old this year, so you are appointed by the provincial road station. Do you know how much risk I have taken for you? Not to mention whether you are good or bad at errands, but this kind of injustice is a move that others see, but they will not say what you are like, but in the end they will only say that I do not know anyone!"

Chong Shizhen was frightened, and felt guilty and regretful, and shed tears: "The slave is unwilling to the Lord to know that the crime is not to be punished, the emperor..."

After he got a big temper, the emperor was too lazy to talk to him and coaxed him out. Chongshi could not imagine, so he had to ask Sushun's door. Sushun attached great importance to his brother, and went to the palace to plead with mercy that day, but the emperor still ignored it.

It was not until the birthday of the lunar birthday that Chongshi's class was over and the emperor saw him again when he handed over the sign of the emperor's resignation. This time, his mood seemed to have improved a lot. After explaining to him, he turned the topic to the girl named Honglian: "I have given you the innocent body of that Honglian. What are your plans?"

Chongshi felt helpless. Of course, this was caused by himself, but it was not his original intention. Moreover, his family was all in Beijing. If he knew about it, he would have set up a new golden house while he was in office, there would definitely be a censor who would impeach the title of not practicing official positions. There was no need to mention the matter to his wife to know about it, and there would be any storm. So he had to answer vaguely: "I am jealous of Shan Jing. I think it would be better to give her a few taels of silver and give it up."
Chapter completed!