The Second Master of the Red Chamber

After careful consideration, Zhao Dongsheng understood the key point and said, "If it is only implemented in the two capitals, this old minister believes it is feasible..."

"I said to implement it first in the two capitals, but I didn't say it would only be implemented in the two capitals."

Since you are in charge of implementing the land survey policy, I will do you a favor.

The Ministry of Revenue issued a document stating that whichever province or even prefecture completed the land survey first would be the first to implement the new tax policy.

"If the national policy of clearing up land ownership is not completed in a single day, no new tax policy may be implemented in a single day."

Zhao Dongsheng nodded; he had also thought of that.

With such mutual encouragement, the policy of clearing out land parcels will likely be easier to implement.

After all, once the land survey was completed, people could enjoy lower taxes. At this time, anyone who interfered would be making an enemy of the majority of others.

After Zhao Dongsheng responded, Jia Lian said, "That concludes today's business for now."

By the way, let me mention something unrelated.

I wonder what your opinions are on the opening of the seas?

Upon hearing the words "opening up the seas," the officials did not react much.

Since the Taizu Emperor decreed that "not a single plank may go to sea," which is known as the sea ban, the imperial court has discussed the matter of opening up the sea on several occasions.

It opens and closes intermittently, sometimes half-open and sometimes half-closed.

In the later years of the retired emperor, the Japanese pirate raids were rampant, and the court once again imposed a maritime ban.

Therefore, the opening of the sea is a frequently discussed issue.

As for why no one was surprised, it's because they had already anticipated it.

A few years ago, Emperor Ningkang, influenced by Jia Lian, had already intended to open up the seas.

However, firstly, there were many other matters to attend to, and secondly, opening the sea was a matter of considerable impact.

That's why it has remained unresolved for so long.

However, the court officials had already been discussing and speculating about this matter for some time.

They also knew that Jia Lian was a staunch supporter of opening up the sea.

Therefore, once Jia Lian ascends to power, the sea will likely be opened.

Everyone knew this perfectly well.

Instead of working day and night, the Tianjin Shipyard started building merchant ships after they had built enough warships.

Haven't you seen several prominent families in Jiangnan, led by the Zhou family, salt merchants, all busily setting up shipyards?
These people all have intricate connections with the current crown prince.

"Your Highness, in my opinion, the matter of opening up the seas should still be approached with caution."

Since the reign of Emperor Taizu…

Opening up the sea has its own advantages.

The ban on maritime trade also stemmed from considerations of the imperial court.

This is not simply a matter of two sides.

Therefore, Jia Lian only listened briefly to the ministers' advice before interrupting, "Alright, I also know that opening up the sea has both advantages and disadvantages."

I am raising this issue today in the name of gathering wisdom from all quarters.

However, it's already quite late today, so how about this?

After the six ministries were dispatched, each department was to write a policy essay on the advantages and disadvantages of opening the sea to the sea, which was to be presented to the emperor for review three days later.

I want to see what everyone thinks before making a final decision.

Jia Lian's attitude was already quite respectful to the court officials.

So everyone wisely stopped arguing and readily complied.

"In that case, gentlemen, please withdraw."

"Chief Minister Zhao, please stay behind."

Once only Zhao Dongsheng remained in the hall, he bowed deeply and asked respectfully, "Does Your Highness have any further instructions?"

"I've kept you here to ask how the court has been handled since Father Emperor fell seriously ill?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Dongsheng immediately perked up: "Your Highness, since His Majesty fell ill, the affairs of state have been mainly handled by the old ministers and Prince Bei Jing. Then, the Princess will review the documents, and once they are confirmed to be correct, the imperial seal will be affixed, and the Ministry of Justice will issue them to the relevant departments and localities."

For matters of great importance, the senior officials would also propose convening a court assembly for discussion among all officials.

Jia Lian nodded and said, "You've worked hard, Grand Secretary."

From now on, I will need your assistance in handling state affairs.

"Your Highness is too modest. Your Highness is intelligent, wise and decisive, far beyond what this old minister can compare to."

Jia Lian waved his hand: "Since I have been entrusted with the imperial mandate to oversee the country, I dare not slack off."

I have ordered the Ministry of Justice to send all future memorials to the Southern Study, where I will also be here every day to learn how to handle them.

"To help me quickly familiarize myself with government affairs, I would like to ask the Grand Secretary for a favor: have someone move the memorials processed in the last six months from the Grand Secretariat's archives here, so that I can easily study and learn from them."

Zhao Dongsheng became suspicious upon hearing this.

The past six months? Isn't that exactly the date when Emperor Ningkang issued his decree appointing the three of them to manage state affairs?
During this period, he and Prince Bei Jing were basically in charge of all government affairs.

Princess Zhaoyang was supposed to be in charge of reviewing them, but she rarely asked too many questions.

Moreover, if Jia Lian wanted to learn and understand, why not just send someone to the Grand Treasury to fetch it? Why leave him behind to help him fetch it?

Is this an expression of trust, or a warning?
It's no wonder Zhao Dongsheng was suspicious and uneasy; he had already discovered it long ago.

Today, Jia Lian summoned all the officials for a meeting, but he did not invite Prince Bei Jing or Princess Zhao Yang.

This is a very obvious signal.

After Jia Lian assumes the regency, he will likely no longer allow the existence of the three-person prime ministerial group.

If I weren't also serving as the Grand Secretary, I probably wouldn't be able to be here today.

Therefore, he had reason to suspect that Jia Lian was trying to find fault and take the opportunity to abolish the Prime Minister system.

In fact, he didn't really care whether it was abolished or not.

His ability to get to where he is today is largely due to his ability to assess situations and act accordingly.

He had long understood that Emperor Ningkang had truly relinquished all power to Jia Lian; otherwise, he wouldn't have voluntarily moved to Taiyuan to recuperate.

By assigning himself to prepare for Jia Lian's grand ceremony, Emperor Ningkang was giving himself an opportunity to curry favor with the Crown Prince.

Therefore, he never considered using the retired emperor to control Emperor Ningkang, as the Grand Secretary and others had done in the past.

In his heart, he already regarded Jia Lian as his sovereign.

His only desire was to serve as Grand Secretary for as many years as possible, accumulate more prestige, and thus leave his mark on history.

Therefore, the Prime Minister system can be abolished, but not for this reason.

After all, he and Prince Bei Jing had been in charge of the court affairs in the past.

If Jia Lian makes a mistake here, there's no reason why he could escape unscathed.

"what happened?"

Seeing Zhao Dongsheng's stunned expression, Jia Lian asked a question.

"It's nothing... Since Your Highness wishes to read it, this old minister will have it delivered right away."

As Zhao Dongsheng spoke, he glanced at Jia Lian twice and slowly retreated.

Only after he left did Jia Lian look up, a smile appearing on his face.

He knew perfectly well what Zhao Dongsheng was worried about.

It's terrifying when a new boss takes office and immediately starts investigating past accounts!

Of course, Jia Lian would never touch Zhao Dongsheng.

This is the person that Emperor Ningkang specifically designated for him.

However, the way to manage subordinates is not to let them become arrogant or irritable.

We must utilize him, but also ensure he remains vigilant and respectful, so as to minimize the possibility of him developing any inappropriate thoughts.

……

Because of the preparations for the Crown Prince's investiture ceremony, many government affairs had been piling up.

Since it was Jia Lian's first time working with this project, he kept reviewing the papers until very late, and hadn't even finished reading half of them.

As for the several large boxes of prepared memorials that Zhao Dongsheng had sent over, Jia Lian hadn't touched them since they arrived.

"Sir, it's late, have something to eat."

Although Jia Lian trusted Emperor Ningkang and the Empress, after moving into the Daming Palace, he still replaced some key positions with his own people.

Including but not limited to imperial bodyguards.

Hu Yuanyao served as his "personal scribe," and before he had a dedicated scribe by his side, he was fortunate enough to be by his side.

Just then, she came out of the imperial kitchen, bringing back a bowl of warming chicken soup.

Seeing Jia Lian nod, she stepped forward with a smile, opened the lid, and was about to serve Jia Lian soup.

"Wait a minute."

Cao Zhong strode forward and saw that there was only one set of bowls and plates on the table. He hurriedly went to the side to get an empty cup, while beckoning to a little eunuch.

When the young eunuch approached, he ladled out a spoonful of soup and handed it to him. Upon seeing this, the young eunuch tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp without hesitation.

Cao Zhong stared at him for a long time before waving his hand and saying, "Go down."

After finishing all this, he looked back at Hu Yuanyao's somewhat unpleasant expression and said indifferently:

"This is a rule in the palace, and it was also personally instructed by the Empress."

Any food must be tested for poison before it can be eaten by the Crown Prince.

This was not directed at Miss Hu, and I hope Miss Hu will not take offense.

Hu Yuanyao quickly said, "Steward Cao, you flatter me. It was my oversight that caused you trouble."

After saying that, she glanced at Jia Lian with a pitiful look on her face.

Seeing this, Jia Lian sighed and said to Cao Zhong, "Alright, you may leave."

"Yes."

After Cao Zhong left, Jia Lian said to Hu Yuanyao, "He was just doing his duty; he wasn't targeting you."

"People know. They just feel that since you became the crown prince, you've been quite uncomfortable."

Even what they eat needs to be dictated by someone.

Jia Lian smiled.

Although he didn't like these rules, he knew that they were in his best interest.

He is free to disregard or even abolish these rules.

However, once these habits of his are noticed by those with ulterior motives.

There's no guarantee that someone won't take the risk.

Therefore, even if he doesn't like it, he won't arbitrarily change these rules that were established after his predecessors suffered losses.

Especially to protect one's own safety.

Seeing Hu Yuanyao pouting, Jia Lian patted his thigh.

Hu Yuanyao immediately turned her anger into joy, and happily sat on Jia Lian's lap, picked up the bowl and said with a smile, "This servant will serve you, sir."

Jia Lian nodded.

After embracing the beauty and eating a bowl of soup, he told her to go downstairs and then prepared to read a few more memorials.

Suddenly, a chief eunuch from Kunning Palace arrived to convey the Empress's decree:

"By order of the Empress, it is a good thing that the Crown Prince is diligent in his first time overseeing the country."

However, you must also take care of your health and avoid overworking yourself.

It is now late at night, Your Highness, please return to your residence to rest.

"Matters of state can be dealt with tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian reluctantly rose and said, "Your subject will obey Your Majesty's decree."

……

The Crown Prince's Residence was formerly the residence of the Prince of Pingliao.

Excluding the officials and guards, when it was still the Prince's residence, the Empress had assigned more than two hundred eunuchs and palace maids to serve here.

After Jia Lian was made crown prince, the empress added many more people to the area.

As a result, the Crown Prince's residence is now a vibrant and thriving place, and you can't tell at all that a master has not yet moved in.

That night, the once quiet mansion suddenly erupted in excitement because of the news that the Crown Prince was about to return home to rest.

As lanterns were lit one by one, the heavy doors that were usually tightly closed opened one by one, from the main gate to the ceremonial gate, then to the main hall, the inner ceremonial gate, and the inner proclamation gate.

The entire mansion was as bright as day.

Everyone in the manor, whether on night duty or already asleep, got up and, under the arrangement of the stewards, busily prepared for the welcoming ceremony.

"Your Highness, we have arrived at the Crown Prince's residence."

Inside the carriage, Jia Lian opened his eyes.

Sitting on his lap, Hu Yuanyao asked with some concern, "Is Master sleepy? I think he fell asleep just now."

Jia Lian shook his head, released her, and stood up.

Just as he was about to get out of the car, he turned back and reached out his hand to Hu Yuanyao.

Hu Yuanyao was taken aback, then shook her head with a sudden, fluttering heart: "No...no, this servant's status is too lowly, others will laugh at us if they see this."

Jia Lian said, "What are you afraid of? There's no one here with a higher status than you today."

Are you going to hold my hand or not? Think it through. If you miss today, even if I wanted to hold your hand later, you'd have to wait in line.

Hu Yuanyao blushed slightly, ultimately unable to resist the vanity, and shyly placed her delicate hand in Jia Lian's palm.

Jia Lian smiled slightly, took her hand, and bent down to step out of the carriage.

"Your Highness, we respectfully welcome you back to your residence."

As the chief secretary of the Prince's mansion, Gu Min should now be called the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince's mansion. He is required to reside in the mansion and be on standby at any time.

So now he is leading a small number of foreign officials to wait outside the main gate.

"Get up, everyone."

Jia Lian stepped off the carriage bench and waited until Hu Yuanyao also landed before speaking.

Then, looking at Gu Min, he smiled and said, "I'm sorry to disturb your rest by coming back so late."

Gu Min and his subordinates hurriedly said they dared not.

"Hehe, in the future, everyone doesn't need to be so formal. I don't like it, and it also delays everyone's work."

Gu Min and the others understood Jia Lian's meaning.

Today is Jia Lian's investiture ceremony, and it's also a rare occasion for him to return to the mansion, so this is the only way to do it.

If this happens every time Jia Lian returns to the mansion, it will indeed delay important matters.

And they all agreed.

Jia Lian glanced at the brightly lit mansion and the open central gate, then turned to Gu Min and Cao Zhong and said, "Thank you all for your hard work tonight. Give the order that all those on duty in the mansion be given a month's salary."

Gu Min and Cao Zhong immediately accepted the order.

They weren't surprised at all.

Today is Jia Lian's investiture ceremony, and he is also officially in charge of the country.

If Emperor Ningkang had not been ill, the entire household should have been celebrating.

These days, they only give a symbolic monthly allowance, which is already quite low-key.

Following Jia Lian inside, Gu Min briefly reported to him on the situation in the mansion during this period.

But when he arrived at the main hall, he stopped on his own initiative.

Because behind the main hall is the Inner Ceremony Gate, and beyond the Inner Ceremony Gate lies the inner residence, which is strictly forbidden for officials to enter without imperial decree.

"Welcome back to Your Highness."

As you step onto the steps of the inner gate, before you can even see the courtyard clearly, a series of orderly and magnificent sounds erupt.

Most of them are soft female voices.

Jia Lian stood inside the door and looked around.

The inner courtyard, which was slightly smaller than the front yard, was still brightly lit.

Hundreds of eunuchs and palace maids prostrated themselves on their knees.

They were divided into symmetrical squares according to their status, but the aisle in the middle was left open.

Jia Lian slowed his pace and walked down the steps.

He ignored the leading eunuchs and nannies.

His gaze swept over the larger group of palace maids at the front.

Then he realized he was wrong; those at the front were not palace maids, but the exotic beauties he had brought back from Korea.

Each of these beauties possessed at least the looks of Zijuan and Ying'er.

There were even beauties like Ping'er and Xiangling.

With dozens of people lined up in the formation, they truly stood out as leaders among men, dazzling and radiant.

Jia Lian walked among them, his gaze lingering on their slightly raised faces, trying to recall their names so he could summon them to serve him in bed later.

Behind these stunningly beautiful women were an even larger number of palace maids, dressed in more formal attire.

Although the palace maids chosen for him by the empress were of excellent quality, each of them had a well-proportioned figure and regular features.

However, in terms of both appearance and figure, she is far inferior to the previous ones overall.

Those who can be called beautiful are extremely rare.

Fortunately, there were enough of them, and they were all dressed in the same uniform, so they looked quite pleasing to the eye.

Then came hundreds of eunuchs.

Jia Lian glanced at it casually, then looked away. (End of Chapter)