Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Jia Lian had already thoroughly investigated the situation of the Military Command beforehand.

I also learned about the main officials and relationships within the Western City Military Command.

He knew that if it weren't for his sudden arrival, the position of Commander of the Western City Military Command would probably have been taken over by Cui Yaosheng, who had served as the deputy commander for many years...

But that's not a reason for her to be willful in front of him.

Today is his first day in office, and he is using this as an excuse not to come and greet his superior. It may seem like a small matter, but in reality, it is a public humiliation for him.

If Jia Lian were an official without any connections who was transferred to this place by chance, that would be one thing; after all, officialdom is a place of pretense and deception.

But he wasn't.

As the Five Cities Military Command directly under the Ministry of War, the Ministry of War had the direct power to appoint officials within the Military Command.

Coincidentally, the Jia family had the closest relationship with the Ministry of War because of the three dukes who were their ancestors!

Even now, most of the people in charge of the Ministry of War are old friends of the Jia family. Even those who came later will give him, as the direct descendant of the Rongguo Mansion, some face out of respect for their ancestors.

So, under such circumstances, why would Jia Lian still be polite to a subordinate who had spent most of his life only to rise to the fourth rank and who dared to embarrass him?

As the saying goes, no official is completely clean; none of them can withstand scrutiny.

This is why only a new official makes a splash when he takes office, because he has just sat down and his position is still relatively clean!

Therefore, Cui Yaosheng's venting of his dissatisfaction was completely ill-timed.

Just as he was figuring out how to quickly win over the officers of the military command, his adjutant kindly brought him a raft.

Therefore, he had to keep this fire burning, and he had to make those commanders and deputy commanders see the situation clearly, and figure out who should be the leader of the military command in the future!

Having met with a dozen or so obsequious low-ranking officials, Fan Jin also sent over many case files that Cui Yaosheng had handled over the past two years; more were still being searched for…

The files and documents of the Military Affairs Bureau are all archived in categories, and it is impossible for Fan Jin to find them all in such a short time.

Even so, looking at the two boxes full of case files on the ground, Jia Lian couldn't help but feel a little troubled.

He glanced at Zhao'er and the others standing in front of him, then at the Aqin sisters beside him, and shook his head.

None of them seem like the kind of people who could help him with his work...

There are many low-ranking clerical staff in the government office, but they are not suitable for use at this time.

Who knows if any of Choi Yo-sang's people are among them?

After thinking for a moment, Jia Lian beckoned to Zhao'er: "Go back and invite the few guests outside the master's study. Tell them I need their help."

As the Duke's favorite son, Jia Zheng was renowned, and many scholars who couldn't make it in officialdom went to him for refuge.

Jia Zheng also used this opportunity to cultivate a group of scholarly guests who would accompany him in reading and discussing philosophy every day, which made him very happy...

While those people might not be particularly skilled, they were all literate and adept at specialization, so they should be quite adept at reviewing materials and finding evidence of wrongdoing...

……

"What? Get lost! I'm not signing..."

In a quiet two-courtyard house in the western part of the city, Cui Yaosheng was furious when he saw several subordinates who had come to report to him.

He had worked in the officialdom for more than ten years and had never suffered such humiliation.

He had finally outlasted his old superior, but before he could even rejoice for long, he heard that the imperial court had appointed a new commander... not him.

If the person who took his place were a highly respected and prestigious senior, then it would be fine.

But he just happened to be a hotshot who got promoted through connections...

How could he possibly swallow this?

Therefore, he deliberately avoided meeting the other party when he took office, just to give him a warning and let him know that the Military Command was not a place that a young upstart could easily get by.

Even if he was powerless to change the court's appointment, he wanted to let them know whose territory the Military Command was!

He had originally intended to persuade his other subordinates to cooperate with him and not allow them to go to greet him. However, firstly, those people held low-ranking official positions and were timid and afraid of trouble; secondly, he had also heard about Jia Lian's extraordinary background and did not want to make things too big and cause an unmanageable situation.

That's why he tacitly allowed others to greet him.

He felt he had already given Jia Lian a lot of face, and he thought that Jia Lian would ultimately have no choice but to rely on him to secure his position as commander. This would make it clear to his subordinates who they should listen to in the military command from now on.

That's right, he wanted to sideline Jia Lian!

In his eyes, how could a mere twenty-year-old boy be qualified to be a commander?

Unexpectedly, the other party wanted to arm wrestle with him, which infuriated him...

"Sir, you should return to the yamen first. I've heard that Commander Jia has considerable influence in the Ministry of War. If he wants to deal with you, I'm afraid you'll suffer the consequences..."

A deputy commander earnestly advised him, meaning that he should go back and soften his stance, and that everyone could still be brothers in harmony and make money together, wouldn't that be better?

It would have been better if he hadn't tried to persuade him; the more he tried, the more furious Cui Yaosheng became.

"Bullshit, he has no connection. I haven't been around all these years for nothing. I want to see what he can do to me. Does some greenhorn really think he can control everything?"

Get out, all of you get the hell out of here...

The subordinates had no choice but to leave, knowing that their old boss was too proud to refuse. So after a few more words of persuasion, they could only take their leave.

Once outside, the group met and discussed, "It seems that Lord Cui is determined to confront the Commander head-on. If things continue like this, I'm afraid it won't work... Haven't you heard? The Commander is having people investigate the files that Lord Cui handled."

If he weren't confident, why would the commander do such a thing? If he fails, wouldn't he lose all face? And if the commander gets angry and embarrassed, countless people will suffer.

They were all people promoted by Choi Yo-sung, which is why they came to remind him and reveal the information at this crucial moment.

Who knows what to do when the superiors won't listen to them?

"Alas, as the old saying goes, a higher-ranking official can crush you. How could Lord Cui not understand this principle? Besides, they are not like us, people without connections. Lord Cui is destined to suffer this loss."

Those who are outsiders often see things more clearly.

However, changing allegiance is not an easy thing, because even if they are willing to serve the commander, the commander knows their background and may not be willing to entrust them with important tasks.

He sneaked back into the yamen, only to find that his colleagues were gone, with only the soldiers still guarding the yamen. He immediately asked them suspiciously.

"Don't you gentlemen know yet? The Commander is hosting a banquet at Juxianlou Restaurant in Jude Lane, and all officials in the Military Affairs Bureau who are free are invited to attend..."

The group was immediately surprised and hurriedly asked for the time. Upon hearing that there was still time, they didn't care about anything else and rushed to Jude Lane.

The soldier then reminded them, "The commander said to keep it low-key and have everyone wear casual clothes to the banquet..."

The group didn't have time to change, so they ordered their attendants to fetch civilian clothes by fast horse, and then headed to Juxianlou.

……

"Your humble servants pay their respects, sir!"

On the third floor of Juxianlou, in the largest private room, more than twenty officials from the Military and Cavalry Bureau bowed in unison as Jia Lian entered.

Jia Lian cupped his hands and smiled, "I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting. I just went to the Ministry of War to pick up some documents, but I ran into some senior officials there and we chatted for a long time, which is why I'm late."

The officials were secretly alarmed. If they were not mistaken, the government offices Jia Lian mentioned were probably the cabinet and the various central government departments outside Chengtian Gate.

Listen to what they're saying. In a place like that, you can easily bump into elders, and there are many of them...

At the same time, he secretly mourned for Deputy Commander Cui Yaosheng. Commander, could it be that you went to dig up dirt on Lord Cui yourself? That was too fast, giving no one any time to recover.

Therefore, he had no objection and hurriedly said that he dared not, and then respectfully invited Jia Lian to take a seat.

Jia Lian walked to the head of the table, picked up his wine cup, and Fan Jin immediately took the wine pot from the servant and filled Jia Lian's cup.

Jia Lian then raised his cup and invited, "It is my honor to be promoted to the Military Command and work with you all. Therefore, I am holding this banquet today to express my gratitude to you all. I hope that you will work together with me in the future to do a good job in the Military Command, so as not to fail the teachings of the emperor and the trust placed in you by the court."

Cheers!

Jia Lian raised his cup and drank the wine in it, and the others quickly followed suit.

"It's a pity that such fine wine is not available for Lord Cui to enjoy. What a shame..."

After Jia Lian sat down, he seemed to sigh.

The others didn't know how to respond and remained standing there somewhat awkwardly.

A sixth-rank commander looked around and then humbly smiled at Jia Lian, saying, "It is truly an honor for us that you, sir, are so young and promising, to grace our West City Military Command with your presence and command us."

In my opinion, Lord Cui's refusal to greet you today, nor his refusal to attend your banquet, is utterly arrogant and disrespectful. Such an ignorant and disrespectful person has no right to enjoy your fine wine…”

Upon hearing this, many people frowned and looked at him.

Even if she wanted to show her loyalty to Jia Lian, speaking like this was utterly shameless.

Jia Lian immediately looked at him, smiled and shook his head: "This gentleman is too kind. Lord Cui said that it was my daughter who was seriously ill. Since there is a reason for this, I will naturally not blame him. I won't blame him, hehe..."

The commander smiled ingratiatingly, and just when he thought he might have misjudged the situation, Jia Lian smiled at him again and said, "If I remember correctly, you are Commander Xie Jun, aren't you...?"

"It is indeed your humble servant..."

"Indeed, I have reviewed your resume. You have served as the commander of the Military Command for five years, working diligently and conscientiously. You have made great contributions to our Military Command."

Very good, I'll toast you.

"This humble servant dares not, please, sir..." Xie Jun was overjoyed and immediately picked up his wine cup, bowed, and drank the wine before Jia Lian could.

Seeing this, the others immediately understood that Jie Jun had successfully won Jia Lian's favor. They were all hesitating whether to also put Cui Yaosheng down as a token of their loyalty, but then Jia Lian gestured to them, saying, "Alright, everyone, sit down. Today is a small gathering of colleagues from our Military Affairs Department. Everyone can relax and be at ease, don't be shy."

The others had no choice but to sit down. Then, seeing that Jia Lian had already started eating without any hesitation and asked Fan Jin how the dishes were, showing a very easygoing attitude, the others breathed a sigh of relief and began to enjoy this banquet, the nature of which was hard to define.