Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 272 It’s your own fault
Jia Lian really didn't expect to receive a letter from Jia She. Isn't this cheap old man's biggest hobby drinking and sleeping with maids? After opening the letter and reading it, Jia Lian set it on fire.

The news was quite explosive. The core idea was that because Wang Ziteng took the initiative to ask to be "exiled" to Guangdong and Guangxi, the princes and dukes were emotionally unstable and had been discussing how to "preserve themselves" recently. The phrase "preserve themselves" was a bit exaggerated, but in the eyes of the princes and dukes, it was not an exaggeration.

The core idea is military power. For a long time, the military power of the capital has been in the hands of the old nobles. The four princes still have military power, but they are all in the border areas. The military power of the Beijing camp has been basically lost because of Wang Ziteng. The new generation of nobles Yue Qi and Ningyuan Hou replaced the old nobles.

Another key point is Wang Ziteng's attitude. Because of his attitude, the four kings and eight dukes have actually lost the military power of the capital and the control of the northwest border army. Moreover, Wang Ziteng has no intention of resisting at all, and almost surrenders.

The old Prince of Nan'an did not participate this time. Jia She made excuses and refused several invitations. Jia Zhen wanted to go, but was stopped by Jia She. Therefore, the Jia family did not participate in the palace coup, and the Wang family did not participate. The Shi family participated without prior communication. This made Jia She very passive, and he complained to Jia's mother privately.

Jia She only had one intention in the letter, which was to hope that Jia Lian would write a letter to Jia's grandmother and ask her to talk about the Shi brothers.

Jia Lian sneered, "What does the life and death of the Shi family have to do with me?" Jia She didn't even bring back Jia Lian's letter. Jia Lian, who was leading troops outside, was particularly angry. If he opened his hands, he didn't know how many women he could bring back. For the long-term stability of the family, Jia Lian had to suffer a little. Putting more attention on training troops, Jia Lian finally saw the importance of military power.

Jia She also mentioned in his heart that although Jia Zhen did not get involved, he married Qin Keqing, the daughter of Qin Bangye, to Jia Rong.

I specifically mentioned the phrase "disgraceful to the family". If you haven't read the original novel, you really believed Jia She's lies. The key point of Jia She is that Wang Xifeng gave Jia Zhen 8,000 taels of silver as a gift, and asked her father-in-law Jia She for money, but she was always reluctant and gave only 200 taels at most each time. This made Jia She complain a lot.

Jia Lian didn't believe that Jia She didn't know about Qin Keqing's background. Even if he didn't know, he should know something from Qin Keqing's dowry. Judging from the relationship between Wang Xifeng and Qin Keqing in the original novel, Wang Xifeng probably knew about Qin Keqing's background. The reason is that Jia's mother always said that Qin Keqing was the most proud granddaughter-in-law. Wang Xifeng's character is not jealous, which is too abnormal.

After moving out of Jining, Jia Lian simply lived in the military camp, with a group of officers, eating from the same pot and living in the same camp as the soldiers. Jia Lian chose to see how to train the soldiers. After watching for a day, Jia Lian made some adjustments.

Most soldiers in those days were illiterate, so Jia Lian's solution was to organize literacy classes and formulate a reward and punishment system. Those who learned well were rewarded, and those who did not learn well were punished. The punishment was not a military stick, but cleaning toilets and other chores. Those who seriously violated the rules were locked up in a small dark room.

Jia Lian's adjustment was not big, but it was a death sentence for these soldiers. Because the system was long-term and had rigid requirements, everyone had to know at least 500 common characters. Soldiers were not used to it at first, but after a period of time, they gradually adapted. However, everyone's situation was different. Jia Lian promoted those who learned quickly to become officials.

This was very attractive, and some of the soldiers below were indeed unwilling to accept the situation, but Jia Lian did not indulge them.

While Jia Lian was conducting military training in Jining, the Prince of Dongping, who was suppressing bandits in the mountainous areas, had not yet achieved much success.

It’s not that the Prince of Dongping didn’t want to suppress the rebels who fled into the mountains, but that he couldn’t do it, and that was not his original purpose.

The Prince of Dongping's tactics were simple: to surround the mountainous area and trap or starve the rebels to death. At the same time, under the banner of rectifying the military and political affairs of Shandong, the Prince of Dongping sat in Jinan to rectify local military affairs.

In principle, Jia Lian should go to Jinan to meet the Prince of Dongping, but Jia Lian used the excuse that he was sick due to acclimatization and stayed in the military camp in Jining. Jia Lian's excuse was poor, but it was effective.

Yue Qi used the excuse of being busy with military affairs to hide in Tai'an. This time, anyone with eyes could see it.

Xia Shouzhong went south and took the evidence to see Sun Huazhen. Long Jinwei had no power to arrest people after leaving the capital, but Sun Huazhen did. So from Zhenjiang to Xuzhou, 36 officials were arrested in one go, including two governors and one provincial governor. After the news came out, the government and the public were shocked.

After this move, the officials in the capital who were engaged in a verbal battle all chose to cease fire.

Xia Shouzhong continued to march north, relying on his prestige in arresting people in Liangjiang. Shandong officials were trembling with fear, and even the Prince of Dongping, who was showing off his power in Jinan, wisely chose to return to Shanhaiguan instead of confronting them head-on.

Officials from Shandong arrived at the provincial border in advance to wait for Xia Shouzhong. Jia Lian naturally followed him. When they saw Xia Shouzhong's team from afar, Shandong officials rushed forward, leaving Jia Lian and Yue Qi behind.

The two men had no intention of approaching them and after Xia Shouzhong had dealt with the people in front of him, he took the initiative to come up to the two men, clasped his hands in greeting, and exchanged warm greetings.

At this point, Jia Lian had seen clearly how powerful the Emperor Chenghui was. He diverted attention and tolerated the nobles making a fuss about the emperor, just to quickly clean up the Liangjiang officialdom. He launched a campaign to rectify the officialdom.

Even though Xia Shouzhong had sufficient evidence and none of the arrested officials were wrongly accused, it was actually not the case. In Jia Lian's view, fighting corruption was not the purpose of Emperor Chenghui, but cleaning up the officials in Liangjiang. After a series of thundering measures, the Fang faction's base camp in Liangjiang suffered a heavy blow from Emperor Chenghui.

And this is just the beginning.

From Jia Lian's perspective, Emperor Chenghui was undoubtedly a little anxious, but Emperor Chenghui obviously couldn't wait any longer.

After Xia Shouzhong arrived in Jining, he took out the imperial edict and read it out: The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, decrees...

Jia Lian's mission to Shandong was over, and Emperor Chenghui asked him to lead the Shenjiying back to Beijing, and Xia Shouzhong escorted 36 criminal officials. This time, 36 officials were arrested, and Emperor Chenghui could be said to have made a fortune.

After the imperial edict was read, Jia Lian received the order and ordered the Shenji Camp to prepare to move back to Beijing. General Qi, who had written a letter to request retirement, unexpectedly got a better result and continued to serve as the General of Shandong. The new Shandong Governor and the officials of the three divisions all received the emperor's order to perform their duties and do their jobs well. Yue Qi and the main force of the Beijing Camp stayed to clear out the remaining rebels in the mountains.

Having obtained a good result, General Qi privately asked to see Jia Lian, thanked him repeatedly, and actually kowtowed to Jia Lian three times.

On the way back to Beijing, Xia Shouzhong and Jia Lian were on the same boat. For safety reasons, they never went into the city along the way and lived in the military camp.

The grim atmosphere eased only after the fleet passed Tianjin.

It was already the end of November, and the wind on the canal was bitingly cold. Jia Lian, who was afraid of the cold, hid in the cabin, facing the stove with a pot of wine on it and a pile of fried peanuts on the small table next to it.

Xia Shouzhong sat opposite him, pouring wine for Jia Lian attentively, and asked with a smile: "Young Master, do you know why you were transferred back to Beijing?"

Jia Lian had some guesses, but playing dumb was the best option at this time. "How should I know? Supervisor, if you have something to say, just say it directly, don't beat around the bush." ​​Jia Lian's attitude was very direct, not giving Xia Shouzhong a chance to pretend. Xia Shouzhong didn't care, and smiled calmly, "You'll know when you return to Beijing. Speaking of which, I have to thank the young master for shielding us from the wind and rain when I went south this time."

Jia Lian really wanted to know what Emperor Chenghui really thought, but he would never ask Xia Shouzhong. It would be useless to ask, as this guy wouldn't tell him. In that case, let's not waste our breath.

"Fang Baiyi has suffered a stroke. It's unclear whether he can survive this New Year." Xia Shouzhong broke the news.

Jia Lian was stunned for a moment, and he silently sorted out his logic in his mind. He had spent many years eliminating the influence of the Fang faction in the court. So, the next step is to target the group of people gathered around the second prince? Speaking of these people, they are also quite pitiful. They have dirty butts, so they want to seek protection from Li Yuan, right? The second prince underestimated the determination of Emperor Chenghui, and he was afraid that he would suffer.

"From Shaanxi and Gansu to Liangjiang and then to Zhili, Your Majesty is anxious." Jia Lian expressed his concern implicitly.

Xia Shouzhong looked at Jia Lian in surprise, poured him a glass of warm wine, and whispered, "Young Master, you don't know. The Saint has been patient for a long time. It's not a question of whether he is anxious or not, but if he doesn't clean up a group of people, the Saint will find it difficult to do anything. Besides, the case in Shaanxi and Gansu has been closed, and Wu Yuhui was beheaded. Lord Lin will return to Beijing in a few days and will take over the prisoners in Liangjiang. This case is closed, so we need to respect him and call him Xiantai when we meet."

Well, this makes it clear that Emperor Chenghui is rewarding people based on their merits.

Jia Lian tutted his words twice: "Aren't there another group of elderly people who are going to resign and return to their hometowns to retire?"

Xia Shouzhong nodded: "Of course, speaking of Shaanxi and Gansu, Lord Lin was too soft-hearted and didn't kill anyone. He is much worse than Lord Sun." Jia Lian couldn't help but say something in a rage: "The case of Shaanxi and Gansu was tried by the three courts. It's not that easy to kill people. In the end, it was still your majesty's mercy that only Wu Yuhui was killed."

This sentence made Xia Shouzhong cough repeatedly, tears came down, and after a while he recovered his breath and said: "Young Master is resentful, kill a group, exile a group, dismiss a group. There are some things that Lord Sun can do, but Your Majesty cannot do."

Jia Lian, of course, expressed his dissatisfaction: "I recently heard someone say that Sun Ge Lao of Liangjiang was an official butcher. My teacher was in Huguang, and he was known as a butcher. I, a humble person, was known as a butcher. If you want to curse people without using dirty words, you have to be a scholar. Those who died in my hands were all traitors! How come I am known as a butcher?"

Xia Shouzhong laughed and said, "The people who wronged you, of course, know that you were wronged. I heard that this is what happened. The young master used his troops steadily, which led to more days of the rebellion around Jining. When in Pingyin, many gentry went to the military camp to beg the young master to send troops quickly, but was rejected. How could they not feel resentful? After recovering Jining, the young master delayed for a few more days, and many gentry in Yanzhou were killed. So, the rumor is that it was the young master's slow use of troops that caused the death of those gentry and countless people because of him."

Jia Lian was silent for a long time before he spoke: "I don't know about other places, but the gentry in Jining and Yanzhou colluded with officials and made up all kinds of excuses to exploit the people. I have a lot of first-hand information. When I return to Beijing, I will turn these people upside down and expose them to the sun."

Xia Shouzhong looked like he was just looking for trouble: "Then you better hurry up, young master, or else someone else will be caught by Long Jinwei first."

"It's irrelevant. You take your people and I expose my dirty laundry."

Xia Shouzhong looked at Jia Lian, picked up the wine glass and drank it all, saying: "It is better to think about this matter carefully. If it is really exposed, taking advantage of the trend of the saint to rectify the administration, I am afraid that officials in the capital and the localities will all be in danger. At that time, they will all attack the young master. You know, the young master's open report has muddied the waters in the capital and ruined the good things of many people."

Jia Lian did not respond to this. He looked outside and saw that the sail had been lowered and Tongzhou was right in front of him.

Seeing a boat with a deeper draft near the side, Jia Lian asked with a smile: "Supervisor, guess what is on this boat?"

Xia Shouzhong took a quick look and lowered the curtain, saying, "Copper coins! According to investigation, the Kong family has been privately minting copper coins for many years. It's not just this family. There are many people who privately mint copper coins in the Liangjiang area. The saint has been suppressing the investigation. Do you know the reason, young master?"

Jia Lian said calmly: "It depends on where the copper coins go."

Xia Shouzhong said: "The general in power in Japan has closed the sea due to the religious incident. Now there are very few Japanese merchants who can do maritime trade. The goods of the Great Zhou want to enter Japan, but there are many restrictions. There is only one thing that Japan wants as much as it can. That is copper coins!"

Jia Lian was silent after hearing this. You all know it, and you have been playing dumb. Even if the copper coins of the Great Zhou were inferior, they were still very popular when shipped to Japan. As long as they could be exchanged for silver, the imperial court would turn a blind eye to this.

But for things like this, it’s fine if you don’t care about it. But if you do care about it, it’s a big deal, a big deal that could get you killed.

Again, the emperor always cared about his power and position. Just like this time, the rectification of the civil service was not aimed at corruption, but at cleaning up the influence of officials of the Fang family.

The official ship docked. When Jia Lian stepped off the ship, he saw Lai Da, who had aged a lot, waiting at the dock. When he saw him, he stepped forward and kowtowed to him.

"I greet you, Second Master. I respectfully welcome you back to the capital."

Jia Lian saw a trace of sadness on Lai Da's face, but he did not sympathize with him at all.

He is in charge of all the Lai family's external business. God knows how much he has done over the years.

"Get up, is everything okay at home?" Jia Lian replied calmly, his master's demeanor very steady.

Lai Da just didn't buy it. He slowly stood up and answered respectfully, "Everything is fine at home. It's too cold, so the old lady didn't let anyone go out to greet us. Otherwise, Guixiang and Ping'er would have wanted to come and greet the Second Master."

Lai Da wanted to say something, but when he saw Xia Shouzhong coming down, he immediately changed the subject and said, "Hello, Xia Shouzhong."

Jia Lian could not respond immediately, but seeing that Lai Da was hesitant to speak, he called him aside and asked, "What did you want to say just now?"

Lai Dadao said, "My Lord, the two Marquises of the Shi Family were caught by Prince Zhongshun and lost their jobs."

Jia Lian remained silent, thinking to himself: It's all your fault!

(End of this chapter)