Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 164: Loyalty
"I don't dare to deceive you! I read a lot of things, and my essays are not as good as those of the top scholars of the same period, let alone the whole Zhou Dynasty. The winner is like a crucian carp crossing the river. However, your majesty simply selected me as the number one scholar, so I I dare not and cannot live up to His Majesty's expectations. Besides, I also have selfish motives. I have some wonderful ideas and I can achieve a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction through my personal efforts. It will be a good thing for me to be an official abroad in the future and avoid having to scratch the land."

Jia Lian did not answer immediately, but remained silent for more than ten seconds, trying to breathe steadily, because he knew that the next answer would be crucial. The emperor must not be kept waiting for too long, so ten seconds is not too long nor too short, just right.

During the long standby period of the Supreme Emperor, Emperor Chenghui was not successful. Emperor Chenghui had been on the battlefield as a prince and traveled all over the country. He was not the kind of emperor who stayed in the capital all the time and was unaware of the sufferings of the people and the shamelessness of the bureaucrats.

Jia Lian's performance fell in the eyes of Emperor Chenghui. Based on what he said, he judged that he decided to tell the truth after thinking briefly.

Especially the three words "scraping the land", Emperor Chenghui felt very vivid.

So Emperor Chenghui smiled and joked casually: "Why, you are thinking of scraping the land before it is released?"

Jia Lian shook his head and sighed: "I have lived a luxurious life since I was a child. I don't think of ways to earn some legal money. In order to maintain a luxurious life in the future, I will definitely be able to do some land scraping."

Emperor Chenghui really didn't know whether he should be happy or angry after hearing this. Although Jia Lian said it was easy, if it were any other official who dared to say that he could scrape the land, believe it or not, he would soon be over seven.

It can be seen that it is normal for officials to scrape land. Behind the officials' scrapping of land, it means that there must be collusion between officials and gentry. With both officials and gentry colluding, one can imagine the life of the local people. Under the emperor's nose, Shuntian Prefecture had several cases of annexing land and forcing people to death from time to time. When he was the prince, Emperor Chenghui didn't dare to take care of it. After he ascended the throne, Emperor Chenghui couldn't take care of it. How about expanding it to the whole country?
This is not to say that there are no other cases besides land annexation, but land annexation is the most harmful to imperial power.

It is very hard to be a human being because you are always dissatisfied with your current life.

"I have already made the bullets that your Excellency mentioned. Please come here." A man who can be the head craftsman is very discerning.

If human history is enlarged to a thousand-year scale, it is not difficult to find that wars, famines, and plagues have always existed.

"The final reward has to wait until the finished product comes out. As a staged reward, the group leader will be rewarded with one tael of silver, and the rest will each receive 500 taels of silver. At noon, all participants will receive a meat dish and 2 taels of wine. Let's do this first, with the big head behind. "

"We cast the blank in a clay mold and simply processed it by hand to obtain this bullet. However, it took a lot of effort to find this soft wood."

"Thank you, Sir, for the reward. Thank you, Mr. Jia, for the reward."

"I am very pleased that Aiqing has gained experience during her time in the Ministry of Industry." Emperor Chenghui was not referring to the progress of the work, but to the arrangement of how to reward the craftsmen just now. If you don't understand the needs of the grassroots people and offer rewards randomly, do you think they will dare to accept it?
What Emperor Chenghui didn't know was that Jia Lian, an official in modern society, had been hanging out at the grassroots level for a long time and had seen many "unruly people". In contrast, the people at the bottom of the Zhou Dynasty were unwilling to take a second look at the official gates until they could not survive. Making trouble while working and taking care of a meal? It’s too late to be grateful.

Jia Lian frowned slightly after hearing this and reminded in a low voice: "It's not appropriate. It concerns the interests of the Ministry of Industry. We will make trouble again later."

Emperor Chenghui interjected from the side: "You must be rewarded for your hard work, then..." When the words came to his lips, Emperor Chenghui realized that something was wrong, and turned to ask Jia Lian: "Master Jia, what do you think? "

Jia Lian picked up a bullet and looked at it, then took out a simple and crude vernier caliper and measured it. It should be fine. So someone went to get a ready-made barrel, put a cork on it and pushed it in. Because the bullet caliber was slightly smaller and there was enough space, it could be pushed in easily.

The craftsmen were excited and thanked them neatly.

"Well, you did a good job. When the next set of samples come out, there will definitely be people who should be awarded officials." In front of Emperor Chenghui, Jia Lian once again mentioned the rewards for officials. There is nothing wrong with this matter, Taizu The rules set by the times. It just hasn’t been implemented in decades. Now, it can be considered a restoration of the old system.

The tone of the head craftsman was very interesting, with a hint of showing off as a skilled worker, as if this little job was not a big deal.

"I'm here to take the order!" Jia Lian accepted the task simply. When doing public affairs, you have to be famous.

As he walked forward, Emperor Chenghui was still commenting: "Several major workshops under the Ministry of Industry are responsible for the production of important military supplies, and the defense is slightly insufficient. When he just entered, he was allowed to pass with just a dragon ban lieutenant's token. There is no verified move, and no one is sent to monitor it. Lieutenant Long will intervene later."

After leaving the workshop, Emperor Chenghui got into the car, and Jia Lian got on his horse and followed him to see him off at the car window.

Qiu Shi'an, the only follower, looked around vigilantly. If anyone made any inappropriate move, he would pounce on him without hesitation and stab him with the dagger in his sleeve.

The leading craftsman was waiting here. When he saw Jia Lian arriving, he immediately stepped forward to greet the first Emperor Chenghui.

Before Jia Lian and Emperor Chenghui could walk away, cheers came from behind. Just because there is wine and meat at noon.

Emperor Chenghui paused for a moment: "Write something and submit it to the Ministry of Industry. Let's see how they adjust it before we discuss it."

When the emperor was happy, he might act recklessly. Fortunately, Emperor Chenghui had some experience and stopped it in time. Jia Lian's rewards seemed very reasonable, especially the rewards for all the participating craftsmen, which were the most popular.

Whether it can attract attention depends on whether it will endanger the status of the ruler.

The simplicity of these common people made Jia Lian feel distressed. For such a group of common people, the officials still did not regard them as human beings and insisted on blocking the way for the craftsmen to rise. As the saying goes, when people seek their own interests, they will not see others.

Jia Lian still remembers the first time he entered the workshop, saw the numb eyes of the craftsmen, and the change in their eyes when he learned that he could manage two meals after joining the team. Working in a workshop, you are paid monthly wages, but in most cases, the wages are not paid in real terms. Most of them are grains and linen, and the actual money received is about 30%.

Jia Lian did not express any official opinion on this matter because he was not the chief official of the Ministry of Industry.

Privately, Jia Lian definitely wanted to complain to the emperor, but he just had to wait for the opportunity. No, the opportunity came.

"Your Majesty, to be honest, I can do too little for these craftsmen, and I feel really ashamed."

A simple sentence, coupled with a flash of worried eyes, immediately caught Emperor Chenghui's attention.

"Qiu Shi'an, find a place to drink tea and rest." Emperor Chenghui's voice became serious. Jia Lian wanted to hear the things that made him feel ashamed!

What do you mean, Jia Lian can see the problems, but it can be seen that there are more problems hidden underneath.

This is like seeing a cockroach at home, which means there are already many cockroaches in the home.

Emperor Chenghui, who is comparable to a model worker, certainly knows that the wind starts at the end of Qingping, and the waves become between gentle waves. This is the capital, and anything that happens here will be magnified at least ten times, or even more, locally.

Paying a little attention to the accomplished emperors in history, it is not difficult to find that they are all emperors who relatively cared about the people at the bottom.

The most typical example is Zhu Yuanzhang. Just because the civil servants continued to implement a marriage system in the Yuan Dynasty, a common man went to Beijing to beat the drum and complain to the emperor, and he was killed in one breath from top to bottom. Rivers of blood and heads were rolling.

The reason is actually very simple. These people pay taxes, and those who pay taxes are the emperor's base.

Those emperors who grew up in the deep palaces received the education of civil servants. They had never heard of or seen them. How could they not be deceived?
They found a teahouse and asked for a private room. The monarch and his ministers entered and took their seats. After Jia Lian was greeted, he sat down with his head down half his buttocks.

Don't think that these details don't matter. When the emperor likes a person, everything is not a problem. If he hates a person's life and death, entering the door with the left foot first is a way to die.

Jia Lian created a persona of being polite and loyal in front of the emperor.

Of these three words, honesty is the most important. As an emperor, he hates his subjects lying to his face most, so it is a serious crime to deceive the emperor.

"When I first arrived at the workshop, I saw that the craftsmen brought their own food and handed it over to the kitchen. The lunches were mostly coarse grains and pickles. The craftsmen were doing strenuous work. How could they get the strength if they didn't have enough to eat? I didn't understand, so I sent someone to work privately. After asking around, I found out that it wasn't that the craftsmen didn't want to have enough to eat, but that they had no better choice. They only got 30% of the wages, and it was better to give out some random items for the rest, and sometimes some old linen and rags. They were also given charcoal and straw sandals. Most of the craftsmen went out to do private work, and some simply fled. The officials of the Ministry of Industry asked craftsmen to do many private jobs at home. Those who were skilled in the craftsmanship could still earn some money, but they could not afford to eat ordinary food. Private use is a trivial matter, but the terrible thing is that production requires cutting corners and the firearms explode, which is a huge blow to morale.”

Knowing that Emperor Chenghui was ambitious, Jia Lian focused on the consequences of product quality when speaking.

Emperor Chenghui squeezed the hand holding the teacup tightly, trying hard to calm down and prevent himself from losing control.

I must have heard about it before, but I didn’t know it was corrupt to this extent.

"I made a comparison in the Shenji Camp. A matchlock gun made ten years ago can be fired ten times in a row. After cooling down, it can continue shooting without any problem. A newly made firegun can only fire three rounds at most before it must be stopped. The officer and soldier who helped with the test said that if he fired again, he would definitely explode the chamber. I asked him to tie it up with a rope and fire it from a distance. He tried it three times and exploded the chamber once. "

Jia Lian stopped talking. Emperor Chenghui already knew very well that if he went to the battlefield, his morale would be destroyed!

"I am just observing the government, and I should not talk about the affairs of the Ministry of Industry easily. However, I have a grudge and it is difficult to calm my mind, so I have the courage to come before your Majesty. I can no longer care about things like rules and procedures. I read history books. In the former Ming Dynasty, Guan Ning's cavalry made good use of the three-eyed gun, but it was not good at long-range shooting. It was used to hide the face of the cavalry when he was hedging, and it could not be said to break armor. It was because Guan Ning's cavalry did not know about it. Any disadvantages? No, there is really no better choice.”

If you really want a hand crossbow that can break armor and shoot accurately within fifty meters, you can see if Guan Ning's cavalry still needs a three-eyed gun.

Those on the Internet who boast about the power of Ming Dynasty firearms are all relying on imagination. What else is there about the Ming army that is not satisfied with their pay but is invincible if they are fully paid?

Do you really dare to boast that Guan Ning’s cavalry is not satisfied with their pay? What did Yuan Chonghuan do when he returned to Beijing? Enter the city to defend!

An army ran away immediately after Yuan Chonghuan's death, but later listened to the instructions but not the propaganda. How much combat effectiveness do you expect it to have? How funny!
Pulling away, get back to business.

Seeing that Emperor Chenghui's expression was still calm and his mood was relatively stable, Jia Lian continued: "Your Majesty, it is wartime right now. It is not appropriate for the Ministry of Industry to go into war. Instead, it can send people to improve quality and improve the lives of craftsmen. We will gradually take measures in the future."

These words touched the heart of Emperor Chenghui. What was the current situation of the Zhou Dynasty? Model worker Cheng Huidi said that although it looks like a bouquet of flowers, it is actually riddled with holes. Under the current situation, Emperor Chenghui really didn't dare to launch a large-scale anti-corruption campaign in a department.

There is absolutely no problem in focusing on quality and the life of craftsmen. It can be regarded as a slap in the face of the officials of the Ministry of Industry.

Thinking of this, Emperor Chenghui nodded: "That's the only way it can be!" He changed the subject: "Your uncle is a doctor in the Ministry of Industry, and he is very diligent." (Jia Zheng: You don't even want to call me) father in law!)

Through such a title, Jia Lian finally understood Yuanchun's status in the palace.

The current favor is temporary and may be idle at any time due to reduced value.

"Second Uncle is quite capable of being a personal seal." When Jia Lian answered, he smiled reluctantly.

One sentence left Emperor Chenghui speechless. The human-shaped seal was so vivid that it was completely impossible to refute. Jia She is not greedy, but he is a doctor in the Ministry of Works and is really useless. Do you dare to let him take charge of repairing the river embankment?

If he doesn't dare, he will definitely do something bad if he goes.

Even Jia Zheng, who is not greedy, receives all kinds of filial piety from the local government every year, including ice and carbon tributes.

It doesn't matter if Jia Zheng can't receive it, he is a layman after all. If his colleagues can't receive it, local projects can just wait.

Even Emperor Chenghui could only pretend not to see these bad habits.

How to put it, as long as it doesn't delay the business, we can only let it go.

Emperor Chenghui also had another thought in his mind. If Jia Lian can tell the truth now, can he still maintain it when major interests are involved in the future? People change. It is so difficult to maintain their original aspirations at the age and status of Zhang Tingen and Sun Huazhen!
It is rare for a minister to be able to talk and express some things that are kept in his heart.

Emperor Chenghui couldn't help but mention the matter in Liangjiang and said: "Sun Ge is always in Liangjiang, I'm afraid there will be blood."

Jia Lian decisively covered his ears with his hands: "If you don't listen, your Majesty, don't say anything."

When Emperor Chenghui saw this, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, and the uneasy feeling that had accumulated in his heart dissipated a lot.

"I just want to find someone to talk to, why are you so pretentious?" As he spoke, Emperor Chenghui's tone also sounded a little sentimental.

Seeing the change in his expression, Jia Lian put down his hands helplessly and said, "I don't dare to listen, for fear that I won't be able to help but criticize you. I am a newbie, and the commotion I made in the Ministry of Works has already made me regret it."

(End of this chapter)