Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 466 This is too much

Aunt Xue had no choice but to take action herself, but she had to go through a circle. She first went to see Lady Jia instead of Lady Wang.

If he went to see Mrs. Wang, he might be blocked because she was also thinking about Baochai, or the Xue family's belongings. After all, the Lin family was no longer reliable, so he had to settle for the second best, and the requirements were quite high.

Mrs. Wang refused to admit that Baoyu was an unmotivated child.

When it comes to Baoyu, there is definitely no need to talk about sense of responsibility.

Aunt Xue took advantage of the opportunity when Lady Wang and Wang Xifeng were not around and asked to talk to Lady Jia alone.

When Grandmother Jia saw that Aunt Xue wanted to talk to her alone for a few words, she was very surprised, but she still agreed and left only Yuanyang by her side.

Aunt Xue no longer cared about Yuanyang. After talking about Baochai's promise to Jia Lian, she sighed, "Now that things are done, Lian-ge doesn't care, but Baochai insists on fulfilling her promise. I'm so worried."

After hearing this, Jia's mother looked at Aunt Xue expressionlessly and replied, "Go and talk to Feng Lazi in private. If she comes to me to complain, I can still have a say. If she doesn't come, there's nothing I can do."

Grandmother Jia is also an old fox, and she is unwilling to bear the hatred of Wang Xifeng.

Aunt Xue didn't expect her to take charge of the matter, she just wanted her to not make things worse.

After thanking Lady Jia, Aunt Xue came out to look for Wang Xifeng.

Wang Xifeng was at home. When Aunt Xue came, she still asked to talk to her in private. Wang Xifeng did as she was told, puzzled, but Aunt Xue still gave the same excuse.

Wang Xifeng was so angry that her lungs exploded and her fingers were shaking when she heard this.

But she still endured it, because according to Aunt Xue, this was Baochai's wishful thinking. If you say that Jia Lian, that bastard, was not tempted, I would not believe it even if I killed Wang Xifeng.

Since Jia Lian had this intention, Wang Xifeng could only hold back her anger. Now she could ask her, if she refused to let anyone in, could she not keep someone outside? Wasn't he keeping enough outside?

When people are at home, they still regard themselves as the most respected. You can see this from Guixiang. As for the three maids, Xiangling, Xiren and Qingwen, they don't even have the chance to become concubines for a while.

According to feudal etiquette, jealousy is one of the seven causes of divorce for women. Therefore, those women who traveled to ancient times might be able to win the palace fight and gain favor for a short period of time, but there would definitely be other young and beautiful men to take their place in the future.

[A bastard who falls in love with every girl he meets!] Gnashing her teeth, Wang Xifeng managed to be magnanimous and did not get angry at Aunt Xue. She trembled slightly and said, "I'll tell you after I ask Brother Lian."

Jia Lian returned home later. Today's communication with the emperor was neither a success nor a failure. The emperor was the ruler of a country and the head of the royal family. He always had to take the dignity of the royal family into consideration.

If you want to maintain the dignity of the royal family, you must have long-term income to maintain it. It is normal to have the idea of ​​the R&D department.

Jia Lian was reminding the emperor that this idea was wrong because it would only enrich a few individuals, while most people would remain the same.

The industry in the hands of the state is equivalent to the emperor's hands, and if there is a real need, it can be used to do things. If it fell into the hands of those individuals in the royal family, the emperor should have read the history of Ming Dynasty and knew what happened when Chongzhen asked his ministers and clan members to raise funds when Li Zicheng was outside the city.

These royal family members don't live up to expectations, so no matter how much you give them, it will be in vain.

Jia Lian also realized that Emperor Chenghui was generally a benevolent monarch, which was gratifying. It was a good thing that he was not the kind of mean and ungrateful emperor.

Emperor Chenghui should be able to see that state affairs can be connected with the emperor, but should not be connected with clan members.

Wang Xifeng waited for Jia Lian to come back, tried hard to maintain a smile, and personally helped him change clothes. Jia Lian was a little strange. Usually, Wang Xifeng put her hands on her hips and directed Ping'er and Guixiang to do things. What happened today?
After silently enduring Wang Xifeng's tenderness, Jia Lian asked with a smile: "What's wrong? Did something happen again?"

Wang Xifeng then said, "Aunt Xue came to me alone today to talk about Baochai's matter."

Jia Lian had the look of a scumbag: "Didn't I say that you don't have to take it seriously?"

Wang Xifeng said with tears in her eyes, "You don't take it seriously, but she does. If I don't let her in, it will be said that I am a jealous woman."

Jia Lian quickly tried to appease him: "Well, just don't accept it. Just say I don't agree!"

Wang Xifeng felt much better after hearing this, and said resentfully, "This has nothing to do with whether you take a concubine or not. If it gets out, no one will say anything bad about you, only me. I have no choice but to agree to this marriage."

Jia Lian looked at Wang Xifeng in front of him and felt that it was unreal. After all, in the original novel, Jia Lian had two concubines, both of whom were driven out by Wang Xifeng when she had time. Now she was taking the initiative to take a concubine for Jia Lian.

"Don't worry about this matter, just leave it to me." Wang Xifeng took the initiative to take on the matter. Jia Lian did not dare to show his happiness at all and tried hard to make himself look more serious.

Finding an excuse, Jia Lian slipped back to his own yard and saw Qingwen alone sitting at the door with a small basket on her legs, working with her head down. He tiptoed forward to see what she was embroidering.

"Is this an embroidered duck?" Jia Lian actually knew that she was embroidering a mandarin duck. After all, the embroidery was so good that even a fool could see it.

Qingwen was startled, and when she looked up and saw that it was Jia Lian, she immediately said unhappily, "Second Master is teasing me again, this is clearly Yuanyang."

Jia Lian laughed and said, "Isn't Yuanyang in front of the old lady?"

"Second Master is unreasonable!" Qingwen stood up angrily without saying anything to him. She turned around and sat back on the kang. When she was packing up the things in her hands, someone stuck to her from behind and Qingwen suddenly froze.

The magician Jia Lian used his magical hands. Qingwen wanted to resist, but she found it difficult to breathe. She could only stand there and let him do whatever he wanted. She also tried hard to convince herself that [I did not respond to him].

Qingwen, who covered her ears and stole the bell, eventually became a frightened ostrich. As long as I didn't see it, nothing happened.

Fortunately, there was a sound outside, so Jia Lian let her go, withdrew his hand, went out to block the intruder, and gave Qingwen a chance to ease the situation.

The ones who came were Xiangling and Xiren. They didn't see Qingwen, so Xiren asked, "Where's Qingwen? Why isn't she serving you?"

Jia Lian said, "I'm inside. I'm not a three-year-old child. I don't need anyone around me at all times. Where have you been?"

Xiangling said, "The weather has changed recently, and I was worried that my mother's leg would be hurt again, so I went to check on her and met her on the way back."

Xiren hesitated a little and said, "I have a younger brother at home. My mother asked someone to bring a message to you, asking if he could go to the clan school. I wanted to go to the clan school to ask, but halfway through I felt it was not appropriate, so I came back." "Have you been enlightened?" Jia Lian was relieved. After all, Xiren was still very good and very sweet, and she only had him in her heart.

"No!" Xiren shook her head, and Jia Lian said, "Then let him go to the clan school, but it will be difficult to arrange for him to stay in the mansion, so he has to walk to school by himself. All other treatments will be the same as those given to children of the clan."

Xiren was overjoyed and quickly thanked Jia Lian, saying that she would ask for leave to go home and tell her family the good news.

Jia Lian promised her a vacation. When Xiren was happily packing her luggage, Jia Lian quietly went over to her when no one was paying attention. Seeing that no one was around, he stuffed a note into her hand and said, "Take it home and say it's from your savings." When Xiren saw him coming over, she was about to speak, but when she received the note, her heart was suddenly churning and she burst into tears. As a maid, how could she have any dignity? What a considerate master.

"Since you have such kindness, I will serve you wholeheartedly for the rest of my life." There was something wrong with Xiren's words, but Jia Lian didn't notice it. He smiled and wiped her tears.

Xiren took advantage of the early hours and went home with a small bag. Jia Lian arranged a sedan chair to take her home and agreed on a time for her to return. There was no need to hire another sedan chair outside.

Xiren went back happily, and only Xiangling and Qingwen were left at Jia Lian's place that night. Xiangling asked for leave to accompany her mother, leaving Qingwen alone, trembling in fear as she faced the evil clutches.

Jia Lian was very sure that there must be too few entertainment options in this era. There were no computers, no games, no mobile phones, no Xiaohongshu, and no Bilibili.

Conclusion: It’s definitely not me who is lustful.

Qingwen knew she couldn't escape, and tried hard to tell herself not to cater to the other party. But as she got into the mood, she became completely confused and didn't know whether she had catered to the other party or not.

The next day, she had to help this bastard change his clothes and wash up, regardless of the pain, and was harassed during the process. Qingwen was so angry that her teeth itched and she wanted to bite him.

When Jia Lian felt that his life was basically perfect and was about to slack off in class for a day, he was called to the cabinet by Zhang Tingen.

"Yesterday, His Majesty asked me to come over and talk about the R&D department. I meant that this is your hard work and that you should not make any changes if the development is going well."

Jia Lian listened very calmly without saying a word. Zhang Tingen nodded with satisfaction at his composure and said, "Your Majesty asked me again whether it is feasible for the imperial treasury to pay for the purchase of a ship and for the royal family to send a few people to go to Southeast Asia to do business." Jia Lian still listened quietly, waiting for Zhang Tingen to announce the answer.

Zhang Tingen did not keep the topic secret and continued, "Master approves of this approach. After all, the imperial court also encourages private sea vessels to sail to Southeast Asia. We cannot let Westerners monopolize maritime trade. The problem now is the ships!"

When Jia Lian heard this, he knew it was time to speak, so he asked, "What can I do for you, Master?"

"At the beginning of the year, the imperial court allocated funds to build ships in two shipyards in Tianjin and Dengzhou, imitating the ship given by the Western queen. You can go and see how far the imitation has progressed."

Jia Lian asked curiously, "Why don't you ask the Ministry of Works? Lord Pan should know, right?"

Zhang Tingen shook his head. "He only knew about it after the report was made to him. How could he know if the report was not made to him? Moreover, the shipyard in Tianjin is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, the shipyard in Dengzhou is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry, and the shipyards in various places are under the jurisdiction of the local government. All the shipyards are under the jurisdiction of the Navy Government. It's a mess."

"Then I'll go to Tianjin and Dengzhou and ask the Ministry of Works to send someone to take a look." Jia Lian took on half of the task. Zhang Tingen said calmly, "It's not urgent. Not only should you go to Tianjin and Dengzhou, but you should also go to Liujiagang in Jiangnan to take a look at the shipyards there. Your Majesty, I have suggested to His Majesty that all government-run shipyards should be managed in a unified manner in the future. They should not be in such a mess with multiple jurisdictions as they are now."

At this point, Jia Lian completely understood that Zhang Tingen wanted to change the current situation of multiple jurisdictions, so he asked Jia Lian to go back and provide some evidence.

Jia Lian didn't say anything, but he was guessing in his heart that the shipyards in various places were a bit chaotic. This was not a management problem, but a question of whether there was anyone who could manage it.

"Okay, the cabinet will issue a document, the Ministry of War will issue a document, the Ministry of Works will issue a document, and the Navy will issue a document. I will also need to mobilize a thousand Shenji Battalions to accompany you."

Jia Lian was willing to endure hardships and difficulties, but he certainly did not want to be humiliated, so he gathered his men and let the people below know that he had weapons in his hands and would kill them if they were not honest.

"Prime Minister Zhang, the time is up." At this time, the clerk at the door came to report. Zhang Tingen looked at Jia Lian and said, "Wait here. I will bring it up again at the meeting and see what the result is."

Jia Lian had no choice but to stay and wait for the cabinet meeting to end in boredom.

Today's meeting was initiated by the emperor, and the topic was whether it was appropriate for royal family members to engage in maritime trade.

How to put it? It still comes down to whether it involves competing with the people for profit.

Confucianism is like this. They say that all land under heaven belongs to the king, and all people are his subjects. In fact, the emperor wants to open mines in local areas, competing with the people for profits. The manufacturing bureau wants to participate in local management, competing with the people for profits. When local gentry open mines, the emperor has to increase taxes, competing with the people for profits. This phenomenon developed to the Republic of China, and there was a slogan of "X people rule X". All provinces must be autonomous. It seems that this is the most dangerous time for great unification. The people next door thought that the opportunity had come, and they rushed in to find that there were traitors, but more people upheld their duties as Chinese people, united, and rose up to resist.

There is also a comparative literature saying that the general trend of the world is that after a long period of unity, there will be division, and after a long period of division, there will be unity. However, the concept of great unification is still deeply rooted in people's hearts, but local governments will still use various means to poach people for personal gain.

This may seem contradictory, but in fact it is not, because contradiction and unity are two sides of the same coin.

No one opposed the emperor's proposal, so it was naturally passed smoothly. The issue of the royal family was actually a headache for the cabinet, not because the cabinet needed to be responsible, but because several emperors were responsible and caused a lot of trouble.

There is nothing wrong with it in terms of logic, the only problem left is the ship.

Zhang Tingen asked the Ministry of Industry again and got the answer that the process was being pushed forward and everything was going smoothly, but there was no result yet.

In response to this, Zhang Tingen took the opportunity to suggest that the chaotic management of shipyards in various places had caused management inconveniences and financial waste, and that they should be unified and managed by a certain department.

After hearing these words, everyone in the cabinet fell silent. After waiting for a long time and seeing no one speaking, Emperor Chenghui said, "Send someone down to take a look, and we'll come back to discuss how to deal with it."

Zhang Ting'en immediately said, "I recommend Jia Buqi to go! He is the special supervisory censor of Zhili, and it is within his duties."

Emperor Chenghui hesitated for a moment and said, "It's mid-May now, and the provincial examination is in September. Is it possible in time?"

Zhang Tingen nodded when he heard this: "Your Majesty is very thoughtful. Let him go to Tianjin and Dengzhou to have a look. Let Prime Minister Sun arrange someone to go to Liujiagang, Xiamen, and Guangzhou to have a look."

The other cabinet ministers felt uncomfortable listening to the emperor and his ministers singing the same tune.

What's even more awkward is yet to come. Jia Lian actually asked all departments to issue documents and sent a thousand officers and soldiers to Shenji Town.

"That's too much, that's too much. What does Jia Buqi mean? Does he really not trust the local officials?" Guo Yan couldn't help but jump out. He has been working hard recently to strive for the concurrent position of the Minister of Personnel.

(End of this chapter)