Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

"Among the twelve marquises, there are the Jiang family of Pingyuan Marquis, the Xie family of Dingcheng Marquis, the Qi family of Xiangyang Marquis, the Qiu family of Jingtian Marquis, the Han family of Jinxiang Marquis, and the Shi family of Baoling Marquis."

"These six families still retain military ranks, while the other six families only hold noble ranks."

"Among them, Qiu Liang, who served as the commander of the Five Cities Garrison of the Marquis of Jingtian, had repeatedly taken the initiative to visit the Duke, and when the Duke was promoted, he also presented him with generous gifts!"

"Of course, the family closest to the Duke is the Han family of Marquis of Jinxiang."

"Jiang Zining, the second-class baron of the Pingyuan Marquis's residence, Xie Jing, the second-class baron of the Dingcheng Marquis's residence, and Qi Jianhui, the second-class baron of the Xiangyang Marquis's residence, are closer to the Prince of Nan'an's faction!"

Xuanwu first gave Jia Jing a brief explanation of the current situation of the founding line of military merit from the perspective of the closeness of their relationship.

The twenty-four families of martial arts heroes who founded the dynasty are now basically divided into two camps.

During the early years of the dynasty, the Rong and Ning families naturally took the lead, but later the Rong and Ning families gradually declined.

Jia She and Jia Zhen both inherited noble titles without military power, while the Prince of Nan'an began to rise to prominence, becoming the only second-rank general in the Han Dynasty.

Among the founding line of military heroes, many gradually took the Prince of Nan'an as their leader.

Xuanwu then continued:

"Among these twenty-four founding military merits, if we were to say that any one of them was absolutely clean and had not committed any illegal or disorderly acts, there would be almost none."

Even if one maintains upright conduct, it's difficult to guarantee that a few bad apples won't appear among their children, servants, relatives by marriage, or clansmen!

"The most serious and widespread crime was the encroachment on military farmland and the forced occupation of farmland."

"Through forced purchase, donation, and petitions, they seized military and civilian lands for themselves."

"Many of the official lands, pastures, and forests in the capital region have been seized by them under various pretexts to build manors and villas."

Other offenses include smuggling, monopolizing the canal transport, usury, embezzling military funds, and manipulating the market.

"And crimes such as treating human life like dirt, monopolizing lawsuits, forcibly abducting women, protecting servants and relatives by marriage, violating regulations and indulging in extravagance, killing innocent people and claiming credit, and colluding with foreign officials."

"Some households occupied a few more strips, some occupied a few less, and none occupied a single one."

"It's not just the founding military heroes; the heroes who fought during the Jingnan Rebellion and the newly risen military heroes all have these stains to varying degrees."

"However, what is most noteworthy is that some of the military officers are secretly close to the retired emperor."

"The eunuchs who were in charge of communications colluded with each other to obstruct the new policies, and they secretly conspired against each other."

Xuanwu knew these things like the back of his hand, clearly having memorized them in secret.

As Jia Jing looked at the documents in his hand and listened to Xuanwu's report, his face remained solemn.

You never know until you learn about it, and what you find out is truly astonishing.

I originally thought that people like Jia She and Jia Zhen were already rare scoundrels among the military officers.

After all, Jia She's crimes of bullying the weak, taking lives, smuggling, colluding with foreign officials, and monopolizing lawsuits are all clearly stated in the original work.

It goes without saying that Jia Zhen was arrogant, extravagant, morally corrupt, disrespectful during mourning, and transgressed social norms.

Unexpectedly, compared to some people, the actions of these two heirs of the Jia family seem rather insignificant!

These include political crimes, economic crimes, military crimes, judicial crimes, and countless moral crimes!

It's no wonder that Emperor Jingsheng always said that the lineage of the founding generals was corrupt and useless, and it's no wonder that the Han Dynasty suffered more defeats than victories in its foreign wars.

With such a group of hereditary nobles and military officers who share the fate of the nation, it's no wonder the Han Dynasty is declining.

Jia Jing's face was ashen. After a moment's thought, he took a vermilion pen and circled several families of military merit from the founding lineage who had committed numerous crimes in the document.

Then he handed the document back to Xuanwu and instructed him:

"First, gather all the evidence of crimes committed by the families I've identified, then compile the intelligence on the Jingnan Rebellion and the newly powerful Wu Xun, and send it to me as soon as possible."

Although the founding generation of military officers had committed various illegal and disorderly acts to varying degrees, Jia Jing could not possibly take action against all of them at once.

Even if he had outstanding military achievements and immense prestige, there was no reason for him to act this way.

The rectification process cannot be rushed; it must always be based on priorities, uniting some groups to overthrow others.

Then unite another group to defeat this group, like slicing a sausage, moving forward steadily, without being impatient for quick success.

The first group of military officers to be rectified now are undoubtedly those with serious crimes and deep-seated harm.

For example, those who were close to the retired emperor, those who obstructed the new policies, and those involved in numerous murder cases.

Of course, there were also those who were not actively trying to get closer to Jia Jing.

In officialdom, failing to understand the situation and choosing the wrong side is always the greatest sin!

As for those minor offenses, they should be given a warning first, and their behavior observed.

Seeing that Xuanwu had put the document away, Jia Jing picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, thought for a moment, and said in a deep voice:

"There's one more thing you need to take care of!"

Xuanwu cupped his hands and said:

"What are your orders, sir?"

"My head maid, Xiangling, was abducted as a child. Her family originally lived in Renqing Lane, Shili Street, Changmen, Suzhou."

"His father's surname was Zhen, his given name was Fei, and his courtesy name was Shiyin. His mother's surname was Zhen Feng, and his maternal grandfather's name was Feng Su."

"Send someone to find his parents and bring them to the capital! If Zhen Shiyin cannot find them or is unwilling to come, he may bring only his mother, Zhen Fengshi."

Jia Jing carefully recalled the location of Xiangling's hometown in the original novel.

Fortunately, "Power Street" and "Human Relationship Alley" are relatively easy to remember, otherwise he might not have been able to recall them.

With specific addresses and names, the other Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) could naturally follow the clues to investigate.

However, it's not certain that Zhen Shiyin could be found after he drifted away with a monk and a Taoist priest.

However, since she lost her beloved daughter Zhen Yinglian, she has been confined to her parents' home and spent her days in tears, so she should be easier to find.

Jia Jing sent someone to find Xiangling's parents.

Firstly, it reunited the separated mother and daughter.

Xiangling and Zhen Fengshi were both pitiful people; their once happy family was torn apart because of a kidnapper.

After being abducted at the age of four, Xiangling grew up amidst beatings and abuse from human traffickers.

After experiencing the calamities of losing her daughter and her husband becoming a monk, Zhen Fengshi could only endure hardship every day in the home of her greedy and powerful father.

All I can say is that Jia Yucun was truly heartless!

Secondly, it was about Xue Pan's case. Since the decision had been made to eliminate the hidden dangers in Xue Pan's case, it was necessary to find the right entry point.

The original story goes like this: The kidnapper first sold Xiangling to Feng Yuan, who paid the money and agreed to pick her up in three days.

The kidnapper, still greedy, sold Yinglian to Xue Pan.

Finally, the two buyers collided, and Xue Pan ordered his servants to attack, unexpectedly killing Feng Yuan.

Based on this fact, Xue Pan was essentially allowing his slaves to commit murder.

According to the "Criminal Law of the Great Han Dynasty - Fighting Law", "Anyone who kills in a fight shall be hanged, regardless of whether the victim's hands, feet, other objects, or weapons are involved, and shall be imprisoned pending trial."

In other words, Xue Pan's act of ordering his powerful servants to beat Feng Yuan to death constitutes premeditated murder, which, according to the laws of the Han Dynasty, is punishable by death with reprieve.