save the bachelors

Chapter 4703 4706 [No more pretense, showdown]

Xiang Nan knew the decline that the Jia family was facing.

One is external factors. The titles of the Jia family were lower from generation to generation. Jia Yan and Jia Yuan were both Dukes, one was Duke of Ning and the other was Duke of Rong.

When it came to his sons Jia Daihua and Jia Daishan, Jia Daihua's title was downgraded to the first-class title and the Divine Power General. Jia Daishan was favored by the emperor and his title was not downgraded, but he inherited his father's title of Duke of Rongguo.

When it came to Jia Daihua's son Jia Jing, Jia Jing was keen on seeking the truth and cultivating immortality, and was unwilling to inherit the title, so his son Jia Zhen inherited the title and it was demoted to the third rank.

Jia Daishan's eldest son, Jia She, inherited the first-class title. His second son, Jia Zheng, originally wanted to pursue a career in officialdom through the imperial examination, but the emperor was so generous that he granted him the title of chief official. Now he serves as a deputy minister of the Ministry of Works, a fifth-rank official.

The title of Duke is the first or third class of nobility, so the salary is naturally much less.

In the Ming Dynasty, the salary of a duke was 3,000 dan, the salary of a first-class duke was only 1,000 dan, and the salary of a third-class duke was only 600 dan.

The salary of a fifth-rank official was only eighty taels of silver. Even if the salary for maintaining integrity was taken into account, the charcoal tribute in winter and the ice tribute in summer, the income was still limited. After all, the officials in the capital had always lived a poor life, which was different from the officials sent to other places.

Therefore, the salary of Ning and Rong mansions was reduced from 6,000 dan to 1,600 dan, a reduction of 73%. This was not a beheading, but a direct cut to the ankle.

Moreover, being demoted from a duke to a first-class or third-class noble also meant that one was about to leave the aristocracy. After all, there were no more noble titles to be passed down, and if one wanted to continue to hold power, one had to take the imperial examination.

Jia Jing, Jia Zheng, and Jia Baoyu's brother Jia Zhu were all preparing to take the imperial examination. Jia Jing had passed the examination and became a Jinshi, but suddenly gave up Confucianism and became a Taoist priest; while Jia Zhu had passed the examination and became a Xiucai, but unfortunately died too early.

Now, among the fourth or fifth generations of the Jia family, no one is studious and motivated.

Jia Zhen, Jia She, Jia Rong, Jia Lian and others all spent their days eating, drinking and having fun, and had no serious business. Although Jia Baoyu was very intelligent, he hated reading and only liked to hang out in his boudoir.

Therefore, the Jia family is getting further and further away from the center of power.

……

The second is internal factors.

The Jia family now has over a thousand people. Although the Jia family itself is not large, they have many servants, and each master has more than ten or twenty servants serving him.

For example, Jia Baoyu has eight maids around him, including Xiren, Meiren, Qingwen, Sheyue, Bihen, Qiu Wen, Qixian and Qianxue, as well as other little maids such as Si'er, Xiaohong, Liang'er and Zhuier.

In addition, there are Li Gui, Wang Rong, Zhang Ruojin, Zhao Yihua, Qian Qi, Zhou Rui and other big followers, and Mingyan, Chuyao, Saohong, Moyu, Yinquan, Tiaoyun, Banhe and other servants. Together, there are no less than twenty or thirty people.

People like Jia Mu, Jia Zheng, Mrs. Wang, Jia Lian, Wang Xifeng, the four sisters of Spring, Lin Daiyu, etc. are all similar, so the number of servants alone is innumerable.

The servants needed to be paid. The first-class servants received one tael of silver per month, the second-class servants received one hundred coins per month, and the youngest servants received five hundred coins per month.

Not to mention the chief steward and other managers, whose monthly wages were even higher. Add to that the embezzlement and the misappropriation of funds, and the monthly expenses would be even higher.

Lai Dazongguan used his position as the housekeeper of Jia's mansion to enrich himself at the expense of the public. He not only used his money to donate an official position to his son, but also built a garden for his own home, which was only half the size of Jia's Grand View Garden. This shows how ruthless he was in corruption.

Now the two Dukes Ning and Rong have been promoted to first- and third-class nobles, and their salaries have been cut at the heels, but the number of slaves has increased dramatically day by day. However, the masters do not take precautions against danger in times of peace, and still indulge in eating, drinking, and having fun every day.

No wonder even outsiders could see that the Jia family was living beyond their means. …

In addition to the elements of the Jia family itself, there is also the new emperor's suspicion and exclusion of the Jia family and other old forces in the court.

The Jia family fought with Emperor Hongguang and made great contributions. After Emperor Hongguang died, the Yongxi Emperor who succeeded him was still grateful for the military achievements of the Jia family and showed them great kindness.

Jia Daishan inherited the title of Duke of Rong without being demoted. Jia Zheng was able to become a principal without taking the imperial examination and was promoted to the position of Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works, all thanks to the grace of Emperor Yongxi.

But Emperor Yongxi has now abdicated and become the Supreme Emperor, and the new Emperor Jiaxing has just ascended the throne.

As the saying goes, a new emperor has his own ministers. Even though Emperor Jiaxing was still respectful to the retired Emperor Yongxi on the surface, in fact, there can be no two suns under the sky and no two masters for the people. Naturally, he would support his own people in the court.

But the Jia family was not only an old minister of Emperor Yongxi, but also closely connected with the four kings and six dukes, namely the Prince of Dongping, the Prince of Nangan, the Prince of Xining, the Prince of Beijing, the Duke of Zhenguo, the Duke of Liguo, the Duke of Qi, the Duke of Zhiguo, the Duke of Xiuguo, and the Duke of Shanguo, and together they held the military and political power in the court.

Jia Zheng, a mere fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Works, was able to recommend Jia Yucun for promotion to the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture (a fourth-rank official), which shows how powerful Jia Zheng was.

If Emperor Jiaxing wanted to secure his throne, he had to consolidate power, so the four kings and eight dukes, including the Jia family, would inevitably be among those he would purge.

Of course, if you want to take something, you must first give it. In order to make the transition of power smoother and avoid causing major fluctuations, Emperor Jiaxing promoted Wang Ziteng to be the governor of nine provinces and be responsible for patrolling the border.

Later, Yuanchun from Jia's family was taken in as the virtuous concubine. In fact, Yuanchun had been in the palace for many years, and she could have been taken in as a concubine long ago. Why wait so many years?

Therefore, the bad relationship with the new emperor was also the reason for the decline of the Jia family.

……

In addition, the overall environment is not good.

Although the story of Dream of Red Mansions is mostly focused on Jia Mansion and rarely involves the outside world, it can still be seen from the few words that the outside world is not peaceful, with rats and thieves everywhere, droughts and floods, famine everywhere, and the world is in turmoil.

For example, at the beginning of Dream of Red Mansions, after a fire broke out in Zhen Shiyin's house, he was forced to move to a farm with his wife and maid. As a result, due to floods and droughts, rats and thieves were everywhere, and it was difficult to find a place to stay, so he had to sell his land at a low price and go to live with his father-in-law.

In the section "Chapter 53 - Ningguo Mansion holds a New Year's Eve ceremony to worship the ancestral temple and Rongguo Mansion holds a Lantern Festival banquet", the village head Wu Jinxiao comes to pay rent and also says that the harvest is not good because it is raining and hailing.

In the section "Chapter 61: Beware of the Rat, Baoyu conceals the evidence and makes an unjust judgment, Ping'er exercises her power", Sister Liu also said that the price of eggs is high recently, so she can only buy a few.

Even Lady Jia didn't get much green-stem rice to eat, so she had to eat it alone, and no one else could eat it.

Therefore, the situation of the Jia family can be said to be one of internal and external troubles, and the family is on the verge of collapse. It is not at all as bright and beautiful as it seems.

Even if Xiang Nan took part in the imperial examination and passed the exam to become a juren or jinshi, it would be basically useless.

Firstly, the Jia family was already on the new emperor's list of people to be purged. Because the four kings and eight dukes, the four great families, were all related by blood, and they would rise and fall together, and it was impossible for them to live in disgrace;

Secondly, even if he was favored by the new emperor and became the prime minister, second only to the emperor, it would be useless because the entire dynasty was already in turmoil.

"Forget it. I originally wanted to keep a low profile, but it seems I have no choice but to reveal my cards. I won't pretend anymore. I am a god!" Xiang Nan decided.