Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 427: Deep Danger and Strange Love

Jinling, Xinghua Lane, Yao’s Wine Shop.

After Jia Cong read the news from Gusu forwarded by the Imperial Chariot Service, he rushed here as soon as possible.

After Zou Min'er's "death", before the Shenjing Central Vehicle Department issued an order, Xu Qinnan temporarily took over the affairs that Zou Min'er was responsible for.

Therefore, arresting Zhou Zhengyang and bringing him to justice became Xu Qinnan's top priority. Now that Zhou Zhengyang's whereabouts were found in Gusu, she was naturally very cautious.

After the two men discussed it, and following Jia Cong's suggestion, they selected capable personnel from the Shenjing Central Vehicle Department and sent them to Gusu.

But she asked Jia Cong to come today not just for this matter.

After the two of them discussed the matter of Gusu, Xu Qiniang took out some documents and said, "According to your Excellency's wishes, the Central Vehicle Division has been monitoring Du Hengxin's daily behavior.

And collect his official career from the first year of Jiazhao to the present.

Through the relationship between the Ministry of Personnel of the Imperial Court and the Ministry of Personnel in the temporary capital, we were able to obtain his work documents in the Ministry of Personnel. However, most of the documents in the Ministry of Personnel were official documents, and it was difficult to find anything strange.

I also mobilized the personnel of the Imperial Chariot Department to look for his former colleagues, old friends, and even some officers of the garrison who had retired from the armor.

There are seventeen people involved, and a detailed collection of his fourteen years of official experience was made based on each person's description.

Your Excellency's original thoughts do make sense, and his career over the past decade or so is indeed somewhat unusual."

Jia Cong flipped through these pages of densely written documents and was filled with surprise.

The first time he came to Xinghua Lane was three days ago.

In just three short days, the Jinling Zhongchesi not only obtained Du Hengxin's resume documents from the Ministry of Personnel, but also contacted seventeen people related to him.

The director pieced together his more than ten years of official experience in a complete way, and his efficiency and quickness really made Jia Cong a little amazed.

Does this mean that as long as someone is being watched and suspected by CRRC, it will be almost impossible for him to keep a secret?

Or maybe it was because the female owner of the wine shop was too smart and capable.

This person is obviously a secret agent of the Hidden Sect in the CRRC, but her dedication and efficiency seem to be more like the CRRC itself than the CRRC itself...

Xu Qiniang said: "My Lord said before that Du Hengxin was highly regarded by the Emperor and was promoted directly from a small flag officer to a centurion. According to common sense, he should have been able to rise to prominence, but the fact is not so.

In the first year of Jiazhao, he was suddenly transferred back to Nanjing from Shenjing. The specific reason was unknown in Nanjing, and it was necessary to retrieve the secret document of the Shenjing Central Vehicle Department to find out.

But after Du Hengxin was transferred back to Nanjing, his good luck seemed to have run out, and the emperor seemed to have forgotten about this person.

For nearly ten years after that, he wasted time in the Jinling Guard, and was always only a centurion, without any promotion.

According to old acquaintances, Du Hengxin had a bad reputation in the military. People said he was ruthless and would do anything to get promotion in his career.

This reputation made his colleagues and superiors wary of him, and he was often excluded and suppressed in the army.

Jia Cong sneered in his heart. Back then, Du Hengxin betrayed his own clansmen and used the lives and property of his relatives in exchange for his own future. This matter must have been done in secret.

However, the whole family was defeated except him, who was able to accompany the new king and was promoted twice. It was really obvious.

Although no one would publicize that he was the one who informed Emperor Jiazhao, anyone with a discerning eye would certainly be able to see the filthiness and root cause behind it.

Therefore, it is not surprising that after Du Hengxin was transferred back from Shenjing, he became notorious among the Jinling Guards for being unscrupulous.

Although officials want to climb up the ladder, they will resort to some despicable tricks.

But even if you are not a gentleman, you still have to have some bottom line when living in this world.

Betraying an entire family and eventually causing their massacre in exchange for a career and wealth is despicable no matter what the reason is.

Du Hengxin's superiors and colleagues must have been wary of his temperament and methods. After all, no one wanted to associate with an ungrateful person and be stabbed back by him.

Therefore, it is very understandable that Du Hengxin made no progress in his official career in the nearly ten years since he was transferred back to Nanjing from Shenjing.

But why, after he had made great contributions to Emperor Jiazhao, the emperor promoted him two levels and then sent him back to Nanjing, never to mention him again?
Jia Cong thought for a moment and roughly guessed some reasons.

Although Emperor Jia Zhao was also a ruthless person, he probably felt that a man who sold out his relatives in exchange for future prospects could be used but not trusted.

Jia Cong had also heard that when Emperor Jia Zhao ascended the throne, the Supreme Emperor abdicated and the political situation was in turmoil.

In order to secure his position, Emperor Jiazhao made great use of the Court of Inquiries, rectified the court, eliminated dissidents, and caused many bloody incidents.

Under this situation, Du Hengxin, who was just a small flag officer in the army at the time, had limited status and strength and could not play any role at all.

Therefore, after the fall of the Du family, he also lost his own value.

Emperor Jia Zhao promoted him twice as a reward for his contribution, and from then on he forgot about this little guy, which was also part of the cleansing.

……

Jia Cong continued to read the documents provided by Xu Qiniang. When he read a paragraph, he could not help but be surprised: "Du Hengxin also served as a thousand households of the Jinling Water Supervision Department!"

Xu Qiniang continued, "Exactly. About five years ago, Du Hengxin's bad luck seemed to have taken a turn for the better. He was valued and supported by a nobleman in Jinling.

This nobleman even spent money to open up connections for him, and even used the connections of the old Beijing King of Shenjing to promote Du Hengxin from a hundred households to a thousand households in the Water Supervision Department. "

After hearing this, Jia Cong was surprised that someone with such a bad reputation as Du Hengxin would actually be appreciated by others.

Curiously asked: "Who is this noble lady from Jinling?"

Xu Qiniang replied, "The second master of the Zhen family in Jinling, Zhen Yingquan."

Seeing Jia Cong was slightly startled when he heard the name, Xu Qiniang explained, "It is normal that you are not familiar with this name, because Zhen Yingquan disappeared at sea five years ago and there has been no news since then.

At the beginning, Zou Huaiyi colluded with Japanese ronin and robbed merchant ships in the open sea. Those foreign crew members died quietly and have never been heard from since. The same must have been true for Zhen Yingquan.

In recent years, people in Jinling have rarely mentioned Zhen Yingquan's name, so your Excellency naturally has not heard of him.

However, you may have heard of his daughter Zhen Fangqing. This Miss Zhen is very famous in Jinling. Although she is still young, she is the head of the Zhen family's business. "

Jia Cong murmured to himself: "It turned out to be her father..."

After Jia Cong arrived in Jinling, he had frequent contacts with the Zhen family and Zhen Fangqing. He also vaguely heard that the Zhen family's business was founded by the second master of the Zhen family.

But the second master passed away many years ago, so his daughter Zhen Fangqing took over the business.

As for why the second master was absent, Jia Cong never delved into it. After all, it was just the Zhen family's family affair.

Only now do we know that the Second Master Zhen Yingquan actually disappeared at sea. According to Xu Qinnan, could it be that he was also ambushed by pirates?

Jia Cong asked again: "I know that Zhen Yingjia, the eldest son of the Zhen family, is the president of Jinling Tiren Academy, but this second master Zhen is just a businessman. How can he have the ability to use the connections of the Beijing Palace?"

Xu Qiniang said: "Your Excellency may not know that the Zhen family's power comes from the respected old concubine Zhen in the palace. Back then, this old concubine arranged the marriage between the second daughter of the Zhen family and the prince of Beijing.

Four years ago, the old Prince Beijing passed away, and the Crown Prince Shui Rong inherited the title of king. The second Miss Zhen is now the Princess of Beijing.

That’s why Zhen Yingquan was able to use the connections in the palace to promote Du Hengxin.”

Jia Cong asked thoughtfully, "So that's how it is. But Du Hengxin was just an unsuccessful centurion at the time. How could he catch the eye of Zhen Yingquan and work so hard for him?"

Xu Qiniang said: "Because Zhen Yingquan died at sea, it is impossible to verify why he supported Du Hengxin.

But this time I deployed some people to inquire about this matter with those dozen old people, and they all had different stories. Some said that the position of the president of the Ti-Ren Institute inherited by the Zhen family was a high position without power and was not enough to protect the Zhen family, and the old concubine of the Zhen family was also very old.

That's why Zhen Yingquan cultivated external forces for the Zhen family.

At that time, Du Hengxin held a low-ranking official position and was in a desperate situation, but he was quite talented. Such a person was an excellent candidate for support from aristocratic families.

Some people also say that Zhen Yingquan was obsessed with doing business to enrich the Zhen family, but at that time the emperor had already begun to implement maritime policy, and the establishment of customs offices in various places had entered the court for political discussion.

The Jinling Waterway Inspection Office was in charge of waterway inspection and shipping protection, and was the most important military office for the implementation of the Maritime Administration.

Zhen Yingquan saw the general trend of the future maritime politics and made preparations in advance, so he specially cultivated a chief officer of the Water Supervision Bureau who could represent the Zhen family.

In fact, after Du Hengxin was promoted to the rank of Captain of the Water Inspectorate, the Jinling Maritime Customs was opened soon, and the Zhen family's business caught up with the best time for the prosperity of the Maritime Administration.

Therefore, many people believed that Du Hengxin, who had been deeply supported by the Zhen family, would definitely return the favor and use the waterway inspection rights of the Water Supervision Bureau to protect the Zhen family's maritime trade business.

Although there has never been any actual evidence for this incident, the fact that Du Hengxin was promoted to the rank of Captain of the Water Inspectorate and the court opened the Maritime Customs Office in Nanjing almost happened at the same time that year.

The Zhen family seized the opportunity of the implementation of the Maritime Administration and took a step ahead of other maritime merchants. As a result, the Zhen family's maritime trade business flourished and grew day by day. This is an indisputable fact.

Du Hengxin, the captain of the Water Conservancy Bureau at that time, would certainly use the power he controlled at the Water Conservancy Bureau to give special care and support to the Zhen family.

From this point of view, Zhen Yingquan was a master strategist with a long-term vision. His business skills were almost cunning and truly extraordinary. "

Jia Cong thought of Zhen Fangqing. Although she was a woman, she was extremely intelligent and well versed in planning and balancing. She was better than men in every way. It seemed that she had inherited the genes and legacy of her father Zhen Yingquan.

What he didn't expect was that the Zhen family had long been deeply involved with the Jinling Guard system, but in all his contacts with Zhen Fangqing, he had never heard her mention or reveal it.

Perhaps it was his father's disappearance that took away the relevant connections and relationships, or perhaps Zhen Fangqing was too cunning and isolated himself from this information.

Xu Qiniang continued, "At the end of that year, the Japanese pirates under the command of Liu Ao, the great pirate of the East China Sea, repeatedly plundered the towns along the river and entered Haizhou, and clashed with Songjiangwei several times.

This situation is somewhat similar to the current one, because the Water Inspectorate is composed of well-trained sailors and is equipped with dozens of large and small warships.

In accordance with the order of the Five Military Governor's Office, Du Hengxin led the navy and warships into Songjiang to help repel the enemy.

No one expected that during this confrontation with the Japanese pirates, Du Hengxin demonstrated amazing combat talent, and he seemed to be able to anticipate the enemy in everything.

He actually used the ten large and small warships of the Water Surveillance Bureau and seven hundred soldiers to defeat the Japanese pirates under Liu Ao and kill more than four hundred of them.

He achieved the greatest victory ever achieved in the Jiazhao Dynasty's confrontation with Japanese pirates. The news shocked the court and the country, and the emperor began to pay attention to him again.

Because the victory at Songjiang was so dazzling, it wiped out the court's failure in suppressing the Japanese pirates.

In order to demonstrate its own powerful command of the army, the Five Military Governor's Office commended Du Hengxin for his merits. The emperor followed the general trend and agreed to promote Du Hengxin to the position of deputy commander of the Jinling Commandery.

In the previous ten years, Du Hengxin had made no achievements in his official career.

However, since he met Zhen Yingquan, he was promoted twice within a year and became a third-rank official, which was also an anomaly.

But at the end of that year, Zhen Yingquan went out to sea for business and suddenly disappeared. He has not been heard from since, and it has been five years now.”

When Jia Cong heard this, he felt strange for no reason. Du Hengxin became powerful because of Zhen Yingquan, but when Du Hengxin was most proud, Zhen Yingquan suddenly got into trouble?
The incident happened five years ago, and Zhen Fangqing should have taken over the Zhen family business at that time.

……

Xu Qiniang continued, "Since then, Du Hengxin seemed to have good luck. Two years after he became the assistant commander of the Jinling Commandery, the then commander-in-chief Wang Sheng suddenly died of illness.

The position of the commander-in-chief of the Jinling Commandery was vacant. This position was for a second-rank military officer, who was in charge of tens of thousands of guards and protected the six prefectures and one county in the south of the Yangtze River. It was a very powerful position.

At that time, there were officials in the court who recommended Chen Yi, Duke of Qi, one of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes, to take over the throne. It was said that he was very popular among the nobles.

Besides, at that time, apart from the Duke of Qi, all other senior generals in the court had either held important posts or retired, so there were almost no other suitable candidates."

After hearing this, Jia Cong sneered in his heart. He naturally knew that Chen Yi did not take this position in the end, and now he is still a figurehead commander of the Left Army in the Five Military Commandery, which is tantamount to retiring and waiting to die.

Given Emperor Jia Zhao's fear and disdain for the old heroes of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes, how could he allow Duke Qi to occupy the position of the first military officer of the Jiangnan Guard?

Xu Qiniang said: "But in the end, the emperor suddenly appointed Du Hengxin, then deputy commander, to take over the position of commander-in-chief.

Whether in terms of qualifications or family background, Du Hengxin was far from being comparable to Duke of Qi Chen Yi. Many people at that time found it very strange that Du Hengxin came to power.

It’s just that Du Hengxin had just made great contributions in the war and had a certain prestige in the Five Military Commandery and the Jiangnan Guards, so others couldn’t find too many excuses to oppose him.”

After hearing this, Jia Cong smiled slightly and said, "Although the four kings and eight dukes have made great contributions to the country, time has changed, and the dukes and marquises in the court are either retiring or have become old.

The current emperor is a wise and progressive monarch, and it is reasonable for him to prefer capable and young officials."

Xu Qinniang knew that Jia Cong was a descendant of the Jia family, which consisted of four kings and eight dukes, and the inheritor of the two dukes of the Jia family, Ning and Rong. He was either demoted or had no wealth and status left to do nothing. This was exactly what Jia Cong meant by the old age of the family.

However, this topic was too sensitive and involved the emperor's private thoughts, so the two of them only touched upon it briefly and did not go any deeper.

……

Xu Qiniang said: "Sir, from what I have seen, Du Hengxin is a very talented person. He has been sinking in the low position of a hundred households for ten years.

After a lot of luck, he was favored by the emperor and promoted to the high position of the second rank. He must have attached great importance to his current career prospects.

People like him would not take risks like Zhou Zhengyang and Zou Huaiyi for the sake of huge wealth from maritime trade."

Jia Cong said calmly: "You are not unreasonable. Du Hengxin's extraordinary rise is naturally due to the favor of the emperor, and also due to his own chance encounters."

In fact, Jia Cong's words were very tactful. After all, Xu Qinnan's identity was strange, and he couldn't reveal his true thoughts to her.

From the documents collected by the Zhongchesi and Xu Qinnan's story, Jia Cong probably understood something.

The reason why Du Hengxin was able to climb to the high position of the Commander-in-Chief of Nanjing was definitely not because Emperor Jiazhao had special trust and respect for him.

A big reason for this was the support Zhen Yingquan gave him back then. Jia Cong even had a strange intuition that Du Hengxin seemed to be created by Zhen Yingquan.

Another important reason was that Emperor Jiazhao's suppression of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes was like a fight between two parties, and Du Hengxin was just an unexpected beneficiary.

Emperor Jiazhao simply used Du Hengxin harshly, and was even suspicious and disliked of his ruthlessness in selling out his relatives for fame and fortune, otherwise he would not have abandoned him in Jinling for ten years and ignored him.

He would eventually promote Du Hengxin to the commander-in-chief of Nanjing, but he was only using him temporarily to fill this key position.

In the eyes of Emperor Jiazhao, Du Hengxin had a tainted family background, a simple background and no support, so he would be easier to control than the Duke of Qi, who had been a nobleman for generations.

In other words, the number one military officer in Nanzhili was not the emperor's confidant, but just a tool for the emperor to take whatever he wanted.

What would a cruel person like Du Hengxin feel in his heart? He would probably feel more panic and anxiety than ordinary people.

……

Jia Cong suddenly thought of something and asked, "Did Zou Huaiyi take over the position of the Water Monitoring Division Captain after Du Hengxin was promoted to the Duzhisi?"

Xu Qiniang said: "From the perspective of time, it should be so, but this time we are only investigating Du Hengxin's personal resume, and this matter is not involved yet."

Jia Cong said: "Zhou Zhengyang has not been arrested yet, and the situation in Nanjing is unclear. Zhang Kangnian is the biggest suspect at the moment, but any possible suspicious points cannot be missed.

Check whether there are any special connections between Du Hengxin and Zhang Kangnian, Zhou Zhengyang, and Zou Huaiyi, other than the ordinary superior-subordinate relationship. "

(End of this chapter)