Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 580 Price
"Alright! Shut up!" Lin Ruhai interrupted. Didn't he see that Li Qing was holding a teacup in his hand and was about to throw it at him? As the Prime Minister, he couldn't let them fight.

"Whether or not to grant official positions to outstanding graduates of the School of Engineering depends entirely on your Majesty's grace." Lin Ruhai changed the subject and got back on track. He couldn't go off topic.

Emperor Chenghui understood that Lin Ruhai's tendency was very obvious.

The court is not short of officials, but of people who can do things. Lin Ruhai's suggestion is acceptable.

"What Mr. Lin said is not about being a wise man and planning for the country. We are all serving the court. We cannot treat the people who do the work unfairly. We will have engineering officials, and the highest rank is Engineering Doctor. The outstanding graduates of the Engineering College will be promoted to the ninth rank."

In a word, even if the matter was settled, the ceiling for engineering officers was set, the highest being Grade 5. This setting gave an explanation to everyone from top to bottom.

Among the cabinet ministers, Yue Qi was probably the most dissatisfied one, and even suspected in his heart, is Jia Lian the emperor's illegitimate son? How could such an outrageous request be agreed to?

Don't underestimate this engineering officer. With this power, he can bypass the Ministry of Personnel and be directly appointed as a ninth-rank official.

If this matter spreads, it will drive the people in the Ministry of Personnel crazy. As long as they can become officials, it is easy to imagine how attractive they are to ordinary people, especially those who are actually appointed. In the future, there will definitely be more and more factories, and graduates from engineering colleges will have no shortage of places to take up positions. The R&D department that controls the entire industry will have a large number of people in the future, and their influence will be small?

"Your Majesty, I have something to report." Yue Qi stood up and spoke. Emperor Chenghui looked at him and nodded: "Go ahead!"

"The R&D Department, the Engineering College, and each factory have their own guards, and they are fully equipped. In my humble opinion, these armed forces should be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War. At least they should be registered with the Ministry of War, and people should be sent to inspect them regularly to see how many people and guns they have. After all, they are under the feet of the emperor, so it's better to be cautious."

After Yue Qi finished speaking, the scene suddenly became quiet. The emperor lowered his head as if in deep thought, and the others looked at Yue Qi with different eyes.

Lin Ruhai's intentions were obviously malicious and as cold as a knife, which seemed to cut open his heart. It was obvious how dark this man's heart was.

Li Qing was shocked. What he meant was, when I was dealing with Jia Lian, I never thought of bringing him down or disgracing him, but you, on the other hand, really went after the root of the problem.

Fang Song's eyes turned red, and he wished he could jump up and bite that bastard to death.

Pan Jixun had a meaningful look on his face, as if he was seeing clearly for the first time what his colleague looked like.

Emperor Chenghui was indeed thinking about something. Of course, he saw through Yue Qi's intention at a glance. Wasn't it just a hint that Jia Lian was raising private soldiers?
The severity of this matter depends entirely on what the emperor thinks. He can say it is treason, or just laugh it off. Setting up a guard team in factories and schools, is that a big deal?

Emperor Chenghui really didn't expect that Yue Qi could be so cruel.

Speaking of raising private soldiers, does Jia Lian need to do this? The Jia family has 500 private soldiers, which is legal. I'm just afraid that they don't have the money to support them. A family with two dukes, top nobles.

If Jia Lian wanted to rebel, he didn't have to wait until now. The emperor emeritus was there at that time, so he could have stood on the side of the emperor emeritus and brought the four kings and eight dukes together to become the emperor.

Didn't he have a chance to take military power? He had plenty of opportunities. He had always been willing to work among the civil servants. Whenever he returned home from a military campaign, the first thing he did was to change into a civil servant's uniform.

"What a fuss! Yue Qing, you'd better focus on how to wipe out the horse bandits outside the border." Emperor Chenghui did not get angry. From any angle, Yue Qi was right.

"Let's disperse!" Emperor Chenghui didn't want to continue this meeting. If it continued, he was afraid that a fight would break out. As his energy ran out, Emperor Chenghui found it increasingly difficult to control the situation.

Lin Ruhai retracted his threatening look, stood up and respectfully saw the emperor off.

The ministers dispersed, and their walking speed increased a lot. Li Qing, who usually walked with Yue Qi, quickened his pace and walked first today.

Of course Li Qing had to go fast, for he was afraid of being implicated by Yue Qi. I fought with Lin Ruhai for power, but you went after the foundation of someone else's son-in-law.

They were originally guard teams in factories, mines and schools, not military forces in themselves, but they still have to register with the Ministry of War. Doesn't this mean they have to become a formal force?
Yue Qi was not afraid, because there was nothing wrong with what he said, at least on the surface. As for Jia Lian's revenge, he was even less afraid, because he said it out of loyalty.

Jia Lian received a reply three days later. The cabinet asked, the emperor used the seal, and a special engineering official system was established. At that time, the school would directly grant officials, and the Ministry of Personnel would not be able to control it at all, and they would have to hold their noses and enter the files.

It was great, right? It was indeed great. But it also brought a new problem, that is, the Ministry of Personnel became enemies. No one who was the Minister of Personnel could swallow this.

Jia Lian didn't care about the gains and losses. What he cared about was that he had finally found a new way to cultivate talents for officialdom. He was still young. When Lin Ruhai retired and he entered the cabinet and took power, it would not be difficult to abolish the upper limit. Jia Lian was very confident about this.

As for Yue Qi's trick, Jia Lian knew about it the next morning, but he didn't take it to heart. After being caught last time, Yue Qi hadn't made any moves. Wasn't this revenge? That was the way it should be!

If he didn't take revenge, he wouldn't deserve to sit in this position. It's just that this revenge is a bit insidious, which is understandable, but unacceptable.

When to get him back depends on time. At least when Emperor Chenghui was around, Jia Lian didn't plan to get him back.

As summer vacation was approaching, Jia Lian came to the School of Engineering. After announcing the news, the entire school cheered, and both teachers and students were smiling.

The upper limit of the engineering officer is the fifth rank, so there is something to look forward to. You must know, there are only a few fifth rank officials in the whole country! The key is that the academy can directly grant officials, this power is too tempting.

In the past, craftsmen could become officials. It took many setbacks before the old system of Taizu was restored. Now they can continue to climb up. It’s wonderful!
Jia Lian was also very satisfied with this and thought it was his most proud move. He had intended to cheat at first, but he never thought the emperor would really agree.

What does this incident show? It shows that the importance of the labor system in the court is growing day by day.

In the past, the Ministry of Works was a government department that made little money and was dependent on the finance department. It had to act according to the Ministry of Revenue. Now, the system of engineering officials can completely ignore the Ministry of Revenue. If they are pushed to the limit, they will delay the collection of taxes for half a year next year.

After the news was officially announced to the world, the reaction was the most intense. Everyone in the world knew that in addition to the imperial examination, there was another way to grant official positions in large numbers.

The first to get mad in the capital was not the Ministry of Personnel, but the Imperial College. After graduating from the Imperial College, if a student wants to become an official, it all depends on whether he has received benefits. Otherwise, there are a lot of donated officials waiting to grab the job. Even so, the starting position of the Imperial College students is only the ninth rank, and they have to pay people in the Ministry of Personnel to get a place. The Engineering College has a fixed number of places every year, not many, just five. But its status instantly overshadowed the Imperial College.

The next one is the Ministry of Personnel. Many people were so angry that they smashed things all over the floor. It was obviously their own way to make money, but it was intercepted twice. Last time, it was the craftsmen who were given official positions, and this time, it was the engineering college who directly gave them official positions. It's not just about the way to make money, it's also about the right to speak, do you understand? These are irreconcilable enemies!
The news spread all over the capital, and many ordinary people whose children were studying in the Engineering College were so happy. Although there were only five places for four thousand students, one in a thousand was chosen. It was better than having no hope. What if? Besides, the Engineering College provided food, accommodation, and a job. Now there was also a chance to become an official. Where else could you find such a good thing?
Aren't the children who can go to engineering colleges all from families with no connections, no money, and no hope?
It can be said that Jia Gong used his own hands to open a crack in the dark clouds in the sky that blocked the sun, allowing ordinary families to see the light of hope.

What else is there to say? Just put up the longevity tablet. Burn incense every day and pray to Lord Jia to bless your children with excellent grades and direct appointment to an official position.

Things were fermenting little by little, and after four or five days, something was wrong.

Early in the morning of that day, a large number of students from the Imperial College gathered together outside Xizhimen and walked towards the School of Engineering together.

It was several miles away, so we had to hurry up. If we were late, the sun would rise and the heat would be unbearable. Finally, five hundred students arrived outside the Engineering College. When they looked at the gate of the college with ill intentions, everyone stared at the inside of the college in silence.

The academy was also greatly shocked upon hearing the news, and instantly became alert as if they were facing a great enemy. The gate of the gatehouse was closed tightly, and the guards gathered urgently, ready to open the gate and charge out.

Suddenly someone shouted, "Burn down this damn academy!"

Just as he finished speaking, someone threw a jar towards the gate. There was a clang, a splash, a clang, a splash. In an instant, the air was filled with the smell of lamp oil.

A dozen jars were smashed against the door, staining it, and then several torches were thrown over, causing a fire instantly.

"BBB!" A sharp whistle sounded, and the gate was opened from the inside. The three hundred guards looked at the burned gate, but did not panic. Instead, they listened to the order.

"Team one puts out the fire, team two is on alert, team three is ready to fight!"

The three teams immediately spread out, the first team ran away quickly, the second team immediately squatted down and raised their rifles towards the gate, and the third team put on their bayonets and prepared to charge.

At this moment, the students outside were laughing like crazy.

Someone shouted: "Good job! Burn this filthy place to the ground."

Someone else shouted, "We're not going anywhere today. We're just blocking the door and beating anyone who comes out."

Someone else shouted: "It feels so good, so good, I finally got rid of the bad feeling in my heart."

In about a minute, a team of people came back. Some of them held dustpans filled with soil, and some held large brooms. They went forward in groups to pour soil on the fire and used brooms to put out the open flames on the gate.

In front of the students, the guards were a group of young people, all of them were students, they were all part-time workers and looked very young.

But these young people remained calm and organized, and quickly put out the fire on the ground with soil. Team members holding large brooms took turns to put out the fire on the door.

In less than five minutes, the fire was put out, and smoke remained on the ground and on the door.

The students outside were all stunned. When the fire started, they were afraid of the heat and stepped back more than ten steps. They just watched the guards put out the fire, and no one dared to step forward.

"The attackers are unarmed. All teammates, listen up. Draw your bayonets and capture them all. Don't let any of them escape."

After another order was issued, the guards swarmed out in groups of three and rushed towards the students.

This fight cannot be called a fight at all, it should be called a one-sided beating.

More and more alarmed students came out. If it weren't for the strict discipline and the teachers holding them down, at least a dozen students would have left before they could vent their anger.

The students looked at the guard team composed of senior students with envy, watching them disperse the supervisors like wolves and tigers, and knocking them to the ground one by one.

The guard team of 300 people actually surrounded the 500 students, and did not let any one escape.

All those who resisted were hit by gun butts and stabbed by gun muzzles without exception. A large number of them fell to the ground, crying for their parents everywhere.

It was already noon when Jia Lian got the news. This area was under the jurisdiction of the Tianfu government, and the Wucheng Bingmasi really couldn't reach it.

After hearing this, Li Heng laughed for a while. These students loved to make trouble, and this time they had hit a wall.

It's not impossible to take everyone down, but I'm afraid the impact will be too bad.

Li Heng called the prefect to come and gave him instructions in person.

The prefect listened with a serious expression and said, "Isn't that inappropriate? Your Highness! Are you going to let him go just like that?"

"We can't really arrest them, can we? Let them pay some money, and it will be better for everyone."

When the yamen runners from Shuntian Prefecture arrived, they were also greatly surprised to see the scene. More than 500 people were huddled together in the sun, with guards holding rifles in the outer circle.

None of the students dared to speak, and the last one who dared to talk nonsense had the blood still on his head.

The leader of the Shuntian Prefecture stepped forward and expressed his willingness to take over the case, and the guards then withdrew.

The Shuntian Prefecture brought the people back to the outside of Xizhimen. Looking at the embarrassed students, the leader said to everyone, "Everyone, please collect 500 taels of silver to pay for the entrance fee of the academy. Is that okay?"

The Imperial College's chief academic officer also arrived at this moment and answered loudly: "There is a problem. The Imperial College will not pay this money."

The head of Shuntian Prefecture was immediately embarrassed: "Master Jijiu, pay some money, the matter will be over, and the people will be taken back. Later, all aspects will be explained."

The Imperial College chief priest said, "I want to take the person away, but I don't have any money. Not only that, I will also file a petition to impeach the Engineering College for abusing lynching and beating up a candidate official of the imperial court."

When the head of Shuntian Prefecture heard this, he immediately held out his hand and said, "Okay, just give me a written document and I can take the person away. If I have any problems later, I can talk to you."

This Imperial College chief academician was really tough. He immediately asked someone to bring paper and pen, and quickly wrote a document. After signing and sealing it, he handed it to the person in charge.

Shuntian Prefecture was eager to get out of this matter, so it immediately took over the documents, gave a command to disperse, and everyone left in an instant.

Jia Lian knew what had happened. It was already evening. He learned that the chief academician of the Imperial College wanted to impeach him, so he simply wrote a memorial to report the whole incident to the emperor.

(End of this chapter)