The Deer and the Cauldron 鹿鼎记 Episode 29

All civil and military officials have accepted Wu Sangui’s benefits. They knelt down and pleaded guilty to the emperor. They agreed to turn over the gold and silver jewels to the treasury, and asked the emperor to evacuate San Francisco and kill Wu Sangui. Wei Xiaobao took the opportunity to fan the flames, and the emperor did not want to kill them. He wanted to kill Wu Sangui to return to the capital, but he could find someone who could speak the truth to pass the decree. Wei Xiaobao was worried that he would not return, and the emperor agreed to send someone to Yunnan.

In fact, the emperor and Wei Xiaobao negotiated in advance and asked Wei Xiaobao to bring out a bag of gold and silver treasures, and only then led the civil and military officials to come forward and admit that they had accepted Wu Sangui's bribes, urging them to impeach Wu Sangui, and the emperor could justify and withdraw from San Francisco. Aroused criticism from the world, Wei Xiaobao admired the emperor's magical plan. The emperor sent Wei Xiaobao back to Yangzhou Province to repair the Martyrs’ Shrine for Shi Kefa, and he could also go back to visit his mother. Wei Xiaobao knew Shi Kefa’s heroic deeds of defending Yangzhou, but he was a hero in the resistance against the Qing Dynasty. The emperor wanted the world to admire his loyalty forever. Exempting Yangzhou from taxes, Wei Xiaobao is grateful to the emperor.

The emperor asked Wei Xiaobao to kill the gangsters in Wangwushan on the way back to Yangzhou, and Wei Xiaobao complained repeatedly. Mingzhu, Prince Kang and Suo Etu were waiting for Wei Xiaobao at the gate of the palace. Wanting to know the emperor’s attitude towards Tang Min, Wei Xiaobao asked Mingzhu to find the military officer who confronted him from under Shi Lang, but he didn’t know his name, but only remembered that he had a big beard. So Mingzhu found all the beards in the Tianjin military camp. Wei Xiaobao did not find the person. Shi Lang found Zhao Liangdong. Wei Xiaobao recognized him on the spot, but he shaved his beard.

Wei Xiaobao admired Zhao Liangdong very much and entrusted him with an important task. Zhao Liangdong and Shi Lang worked together to study the tactics of attacking Wangwu Mountain. Wei Xiaobao reported to the emperor as soon as possible. The emperor praised Zhao Liangdong's talents and wanted to promote him to the general army. Wei Xiaobao conveyed the emperor's imperial decree to Zhao Liangdong. Zhao Liangdong thanked Wei Xiaobao for his generosity. Wei Xiaobao wanted to drink a few drinks with him. Unexpectedly, Wu Yingxiong sent someone to invite Wei Xiaobao to drink, and Wei Xiaobao took Zhao Liangdong to a banquet. Wu Yingxiong personally took Wang Jinbao, a deputy general who had just arrived from Yunnan, to the gate to greet Wei Xiaobao.

Wu Yingxiong prepared Wei Xiaobao with the finest Biluochun. Wei Xiaobao was worried that he might be poisoned and asked Wu Yingxiong to take a sip first. He only took a sip. Wu Yingxiong drove Wang Jinbao out, and repeatedly claimed that he wanted to discuss the family affairs with Wei Xiaobao, and Wei Xiaobao had to pay for Zhao Liangdong. . Wu Yingxiong knelt down and begged Wei Xiaobao to speak in front of the emperor, and to retrieve the papers for the withdrawal of the domain. Wei Xiaobao promised to have a chat with the emperor tomorrow, and Wu Yingxiong promised to thank Wei Xiaobao again after it was done.

At this moment, Princess Jianning sent someone to invite Wu Yingxiong and Wei Xiaobao to have a drink. Wei Xiaobao dared not see Princess Jianning, but inconveniently refused. She had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to see Princess Jianning. Princess Jianning had been waiting for a long time. She slapped Wei Xiaobao without saying anything, and drove Wu Yingxiong out to have a drink with Wei Xiaobao. Princess Jianning reported to Wei Xiaobao what Wu Yingxiong had done. Wu Yingxiong specially transferred a chef from Yunnan to cook, and to please her, specially Wei Xiaobao found it strange to transport timber from Yunnan to build a theater.

Wei Xiaobao reported to the emperor that he suspected that Wu Yingxiong had hidden weapons in the wood. The emperor did not believe that Wu Yingxiong rushed to rebel in the capital, but he felt that Wu Yingxiong had another plan to build the theater, and sent Wei Xiaobao to investigate the matter thoroughly. Wei Xiaobao brought professionals to inspect the lumber shipped from Yunnan. On the surface, the wood was unremarkable. Wei Xiaobao felt that something was wrong. So he let them saw the wood section by section and inspected it. The result was nothing. Wei Xiaobao repeatedly apologized to Wu Yingxiong.