Corrupt official in the Red Chamber

Chapter 396 Arrangement

In Nanman, Jia Rui didn't know that his reward had been decided lightly, and he was still happily collecting gold.

Although the mines have been handed over to the imperial court, there are still large amounts of gold and silver piled up among the people of Nanman and in the houses of various nobles.

These gold and silver are now the spoils of war for the Celestial Empire.

In this way, there are more places where you can use your hands and feet.

Jia Rui and Hualan have been lying on the pile of paper these days, constantly calculating the benefits to each department and what they can get.

This is not an easy task. The soldiers worked hard to get the money, so they are indispensable. However, the interests of all parties must be taken into account when distributing the money. Therefore, Jia Rui really scratched his head for a while.

Fortunately, with Hualan's help, Jia Rui finally managed to achieve a balance in the face of complex interests.

No wonder Jia Rui was so worried this time, mainly because the soldiers he led this time were mobilized from all over the south of the Yangtze River. They belonged to different provinces and even different factions.

Although the presiding generals are now Jia Rui's confidants, they each have a small group and they have to fight for the interests of their own small groups.

That's why Jia Rui had to work so hard to balance the interests.

"It's done. If I continue like this, my eyes will be blurred." Jia Rui rubbed his eyes and twisted his waist to complain.

"Thank you for your hard work, uncle." Hua Lan quickly gave Jia Rui some fragrant tea to relieve his fatigue.

Jia Rui picked up the tea and drank it in one gulp, and then said, "How much gold can our gold mine produce every year?"

"Back to you, uncle, Wangcai went to check it out yesterday. According to his report, it can produce six thousand taels of gold a year."

"Isn't that much?" Jia Rui was a little dissatisfied.

"It's quite a lot." Hua Lan smiled and shook his head.

"Oh, there's nothing I can do. A big family and a big business cost money everywhere." Jia Rui felt that he was being discriminated against by this little girl, so he quickly covered himself up.

"Have you found Prince Nan'an?" Jia Rui finally asked about the whereabouts of the key person who triggered the war after the war was over.

Hua Lan sighed softly, "No trace has been found so far, but there are rumors that he died in the rebellion during the battle in the old capital."

Jia Rui rubbed his forehead and felt that there was some trouble. If the Prince of Nan'an County was really dead, the officials in the court would not spray him to death with saliva.

"Send people to look for him again. If he is alive, he will see the person, and if he is dead, he will see the body."

"Yes, I'll go right away."

Hua Lan agreed and left the study.

Jia Rui stood up and looked at the sunset outside through the window, with a twinkle in his eyes.

I have made such great contributions in this life, how will the court reward me?

After thinking of this, Jia Rui laughed himself.

As a young man who is just thirty years old, he is already the chief minister of the cabinet. How can the court still grant him a title?

If the reward is small, then the reward should be divided. At any rate, I got what I wanted when I went to Jiangnan this time, and the rest are just empty names.

The war among the southern barbarians gradually subsided.

The princes from all over the country also retreated to their hometowns under Jia Rui's strong suppression.

And Jia Rui's control army occupies the most fertile area of ​​the Southern Barbarians.

This area was originally controlled by the Southern Barbarian general. It was only because of the wealth and population of this area that he was able to suppress the princes across the country.

Two months after Jia Rui occupied the Southern Barbarian Kingdom, the imperial decree finally arrived.

The imperial edict did not mention the reward given to Jia Rui, but it also praised Jia Rui's contribution this time.

After this, Tang Zhen was appointed governor of the Southern Barbarians.

And Jia Rui can lead his troops back to Beijing.

Jia Rui is still satisfied with this appointment.

As long as Tang Zhen is in Nanman, it can ensure that Jia Rui's interests will continue to flow.

After that, Jia Rui led the soldiers to leave the Nanman Kingdom. After a period of traveling, they finally docked directly at Jinling City.

This time, not only the senior officials of Jinling City greeted Jia Rui, but even the Princess of Nan'an was among them.

After Jia Rui got off the ship, he chatted with Zhen Dianlun and other powerful figures for a few words, and then went to pay homage to Princess Nan'an in front of the honor guard.

"Jia Rui has met the princess."

"Master Jia, there is no need to be polite, please get up quickly." It was still the same voice as the oriole.

Jia Rui was still a little curious about the princess who only heard her voice but never saw her face.

"Master Jia, have you found any traces of my father?"

"Going back to the princess, I have searched the Southern Barbarians almost all over, but I still can't find the old prince. Maybe the Southern Barbarians imprisoned the old prince somewhere. It's also possible."

Jia Rui said it nicely, but in fact it was equivalent to indirectly sentencing King Nan'an to death.

After listening to Jia Rui's words, the princess inside was silent for a long time, and finally said: "My father is loyal to the country and that is why we have this difficulty. Please mention it in the memorial."

Jia Rui nodded, "Don't worry, Princess. I have understood the prince's affairs clearly, and the prince is not at fault." In fact, Prince Nan'an was just a warship heading to Guangdong, and he was forced to have no choice, because he was not the only one in the pool. A person can make the decision, but there is someone watching over him.

This person doesn't have many abilities, but he is good at intrigues and frame-ups.

Seeing that the Navy's achievements were getting bigger and bigger, he had the idea of ​​​​taking control of the Navy from Prince Nan'an, so he found an excuse to let Prince Nan'an go to Guangdong.

It's a pity that he didn't expect that Jiangnan had been corroded into a sieve. As soon as Prince Nan'an's warship left, it would be a sheep in the tiger's mouth.

After the news of the capture of Nan'an County King came, this guy took a big leap. He originally wanted to organize a battleship rescue, but the scout ship sent out could not find any trace of him. In the end, he had no choice but to report it. .

After Jia Rui sent Tang Zhen to take over the navy, the guy knew that he couldn't stay here anymore, so he sneaked away. After Tang Zhen understood the specific situation, there was no one there when he tried to find him.

As for where the people are? No one checked it out, but they all knew it, so they didn’t mention it directly.

In this way, Jia Rui asked all the ministries to return to their bases in Nanjing, and he also rested in the imperial envoy's camp. He had to wait for the imperial edict from the imperial court.

The reason is that now I don't know how to arrange Princess Nan'an. You said that she should be sent to the Nanman Kingdom. The Nanman Kingdom has been destroyed and all the royal family were killed by Jia Rui.

You said that he should be sent back to the court. Now the court has issued an order to let him go to Nanman for marriage. It will not look good on the court's face if he is sent back.

But this problem is not Jia Rui's headache now.

I don't know how the gentlemen in the court discussed it. The final order given by the court to Jia Rui was to place Princess Nan'an in Nan'an country.

This made Jia Rui a little helpless.

In fact, Jia Rui couldn't bear to send this delicate little girl to a foreign country.

However, he could not disobey the imperial decree, so he had no choice but to carry the imperial edict to Princess Nan'an's residence.

As soon as Jia Rui sat down, a cup of tea had not been finished, and there was a jingle ring outside. Then Princess Nan'an, wearing a veil, came to the main hall surrounded by two palace maids and seven or eight nuns.

Although separated by the veil, Jia Rui could still vaguely see the appearance behind the veil.

The silky black hair hangs smoothly on her shoulders, adding a bit of graceful beauty. The eyebrows are like distant mountains, showing her beauty in an understatement. The eyes are like autumn water, crystal clear and full of affection. The bridge of the nose is straight, the lips are red and the teeth are white. When she smiles, it's like the spring breeze blowing through the branches and the peach blossoms blooming. The face is like a peach blossom, the skin is like gelatin, fair and flawless. The figure is graceful and graceful.

This is the closest Jia Rui has ever been to Princess Nan'an.

Looking at such a beauty, Jia Rui couldn't help but feel distraught, and at the same time, he felt pity for this beauty's future.

Princess Nan'an first gave Jia Rui a blessing, and then asked: "Master Jia is here, is there any news about my father?"

"Princess, there is no news from the prince's side, but the imperial court has issued an imperial edict, and the princess has to go to Nanman Kingdom."

After Jia Rui finished speaking, he handed the imperial edict to Princess Nan'an. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes, but her face was still calm.

Princess Nan'an respectfully received the imperial edict, opened it and read it, then knelt down on the ground with the imperial edict, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."

After that, he stood up again and handed the imperial decree in his hand to the nanny beside him.

"Master Jia, when will we set off?"

Jia Rui touched his nose in embarrassment, and then said: "Princess Princess, I have something important to do this time, so I can't send the Princess to Nanman."

Princess Nan'an nodded gently after hearing this, and sadness flashed through her heart.

The Nanman Kingdom has been destroyed, and he has no use value anymore. Naturally, there is no need for Jia Rui, the chief minister of the dynasty, to send him off.

Jia Rui coughed, and then said: "I have already arranged the princess's residence in Nanman. She lives in my original house in the old capital. It is quiet, the scenery is good, and the servants who serve you can be regarded as... If you do your best, the princess can live there forever."

"Thank you, Mr. Jia, for taking the trouble." Princess Nan'an once again wished Jia Rui a blessing.

"Okay, if there's nothing else to do, I'll leave first. I still have official business to attend to."

After saying this, he turned around and left without saying anything when he saw Princess Nan'an.

A few days later, Jia Rui took Zhen Dianlun and officials from Jiangsu Province to see off Princess Nan'an at the dock.

Watching the official ship disappear slowly, Jia Rui felt a little melancholy in his heart.

Another beautiful woman has left her hometown and gone to another country. I wonder if we will see each other again in the future.

After seeing off Princess Nan'an, Jia Rui stopped for a while in Nanjing to sort out what he had gained this time.

Then, with a face full of joy, he took the official ship and returned to Beijing from the Grand Canal with his escort and servants.

When he came, Jia Rui traveled in a simple car. When he returned, not even an official ship could hold his things, so he had to rent two more merchant ships. Only then did he bring the gifts given to Jia Rui by the officials, as well as his belongings. Some of the collected gold, silver and jewelry were shipped back.

In fact, these are just the small ones. The real big ones are the gold mines in the Nanman Kingdom and the fields plundered by Jia Rui in the south.

But even so, these things have almost doubled Jia Rui's worth.

This shows how much benefit Jia Rui got this time.

Sometimes Jia Rui also has to think about that sentence, a cannon fires a thousand taels of gold.

This ten thousand taels of gold not only refers to the consumption of war, but also to the gains of war.

(End of this chapter)