Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

The Zhen family was not far from the Jia family. When Jia Lian delivered Zhen Yuhuan, it was still before dawn.

"I'm in a hurry today, so I won't go in. I'll visit another day. Please give my regards to your mother for me, Huan'er."

After placing Zhen Yuhuan at the gate, Jia Lian bowed respectfully from his horse, then turned his horse eastward. Dozens of guards in black cloud-patterned, gold-plated armor followed on horseback.

The orderly torrent, swirling the dawn mist, was majestic and awe-inspiring, causing all the people in front of the Zhen family gate to turn their heads in surprise.

Zhen Yuhuan stood on the steps, watching quietly until Jia Lian and his personal cavalry completely disappeared into the east of the street.

Today is destined to be a solemn day for the Forbidden City.

When Jia Lian escorted Grandmother Jia and the others to the palace that symbolized supreme power, the sheer number and posture of the guards on duty, and the fact that the princes, ministers, and noble ladies in their brocade robes and crowns at the Meridian Gate, who were usually arrogant and domineering but were now as obedient as babies, made it clear that this was no ordinary day.

The Emperor Emeritus's birthday celebration will last for three days, and today is the first day, which is also the most important day.

Speaking of the retired emperor, Jia Lian couldn't help but feel a bit resentful. Although he knew a lot about this former king of the Great Wei, he had never seen the face of this supreme ruler of the world.

Take the Emperor Emeritus's annual birthday celebration, for example. Initially, he wasn't eligible to attend. Later, when he was eligible, he was either leading troops in the field or on official business outside the capital, so he missed it every time.

It was quite a coincidence.

I suppose I should be able to see the old emperor today? With his current marquisate, his status in the dynasty is not low. Surely he wouldn't be sent to a remote place to celebrate the retired emperor's birthday?

Therefore, unless the old emperor is so lazy that he doesn't even show up for his own birthday celebration, he should at least be able to take a peek.

He only glanced at it; he had no designs on this old emperor who had ruled the world for decades. He had long since decided to cling to Emperor Ningkang's coattails.

Don't be fooled by the fact that these two are both supreme rulers, father and son, and seem very close. If he dared to try to please both, he would be courting death. A subject, after all, must be loyal to one side.

"The civil and military officials are listed in the east, while the imperial edicts are listed in the west."

As the officers maintaining order shouted, all those who came to offer their congratulations parted in order.

Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang could only alight from their sedan chairs and head west, guided by the eunuchs. Jia Lian and Jia Zheng, on the other hand, entered the palace through the east gate with birthday gifts.

As soon as he entered the palace, the general on duty at the Meridian Gate came up to him with his fists clasped and said, "Lord Zhenyuan, someone from the Daming Palace just came to convey His Majesty's oral decree, requesting that you first go to the Southern Study to pay your respects when you enter the palace."

After a slight pause, Jia Lian nodded, said something to Jia Zheng, and then headed towards the Daming Palace under Jia Zheng's gaze, which was filled with a complex mix of joy and envy.

"The imperial court has designated this nationwide land survey as the 'Land Survey.' Once the Emperor Emeritus's birthday has passed, the official decree will be sent to all prefectures and counties."

After paying his respects, Emperor Ningkang, without even looking up, spoke to Jia Lian in this manner. Although he appeared as busy as ever, Jia Lian sensed from Emperor Ningkang's relaxed tone that he was in a good mood today.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! If this land reclamation proceeds smoothly, it will not only be a blessing for the Great Wei Dynasty and its people, but future generations will also sing praises of Your Majesty's foresight, wisdom, and martial prowess..."

"Stop talking nonsense. After the decree is issued, the first step will be to survey my imperial estates, followed by the imperial clan and relatives of the nobility. If these things are not done well, forget about praising my wisdom. If it turns out to be a chaotic government, I'm afraid the people of the world will either curse me as an incompetent and foolish ruler or I will be grateful."

Upon hearing Emperor Ningkang say that they should start with the imperial estates, Jia Lian, disregarding the emperor's subsequent teasing, blurted out, "What? Even His Majesty's imperial estates are to be surveyed?"

Emperor Ningkang didn't reprimand Jia Lian for his loss of composure at all. He snorted and said, "What's so strange about it? Otherwise, do you think those people would so easily compromise and hand over their interests?"

Jia Lian fell silent, thinking to himself that Emperor Ningkang had already engaged in countless battles with the top nobles of the Great Wei without anyone noticing.

In fact, emperors of the past didn't own any imperial estates. After all, all the land under heaven belonged to the emperor; what need did he have for imperial estates?

If they wanted to use money, why not just take it from the national treasury's annual revenue? However, some emperors discovered that whenever their "private treasury" ran out of money and they wanted to replenish it from the national treasury, there were always some annoying people who would use the principles of national righteousness, clan etiquette, and so on to persuade, belittle, or even oppose them.

As an emperor, not even being able to spend money freely is incredibly frustrating. So, some clever little devil came up with the idea that since nobles could satisfy their extravagant lifestyles with the produce from their vast private estates, why couldn't he, the emperor, emulate them?

Once he has his own private property, he won't need to resort to all sorts of excuses to take money from the national treasury when he needs it. Let's see what those annoying guys have to say about him then!

Thus, the imperial estates, which were exclusively for the royal family, came into being.

In other words, imperial estates were essentially the emperor's private property. Who would have thought that this land reclamation would include even the emperor's private property? Does this mean that, like the imperial family and nobles, a quota will be drawn for the land, and any excess will be subject to taxation according to law?

The emperor paying taxes? If so, this would be a major step forward for society. It's clear how determined and determined Emperor Ningkang was to implement this land survey; he even personally participated to silence those who objected.

That's true. In that case, who would dare to talk about merit or privilege? And when it comes to privilege, who can compare to the emperor?

Jia Lian couldn't help but admire Emperor Ningkang. As a feudal emperor, he was able to go to such lengths to implement new policies; his magnanimity was truly admirable.

Emperor Ningkang seemed to notice Jia Lian's admiration, and he felt somewhat pleased with himself. He had considered the land survey countless times, and he was certain that if it could be accomplished, it would be a monumental achievement, and compared to that, what were those imperial estates?

"As for the imperial clan, I have already assigned the Crown Prince and Zhaoyang to take charge. As for the meritorious officials and imperial relatives, I have also assigned the Minister of Revenue to personally oversee the matter. Your Jia family is both a meritorious official and a relative of the emperor. If the Ministry of Revenue has any needs, your Jia family must cooperate fully."

"Your Majesty, I obey your decree. Rest assured, my Jia family has supported this policy of the court before, and will continue to do so in the future. Even if I go to Tianjin in a while, my second uncle will represent my Jia family to fully cooperate with the court in implementing this beneficial national policy!"

Hearing Jia Lian's firm statement once again, Emperor Ningkang nodded in satisfaction and said, "You don't need to rush the matter of Tianjin. I have already instructed the Ministry of War to send a document to the Admiral of the Tianjin Navy. No matter when you arrive, he will fully cooperate with you."

"As for your firearms battalion, how's the location? Since it's part of the Imperial Guard, the headquarters should ideally be within the Imperial City. If you feel it's too small for daily training, I'll allow you to build two more drill grounds outside the northern city."

The capital of the Great Wei Dynasty was vast; how could it not accommodate a small artillery battalion? Emperor Ningkang felt that the artillery battalion was unlike other large battalions. Putting aside everything else, the sound of the cannons was too terrifying. Moreover, the capital was filled with princely mansions, and the people inside were pampered. If the artillery battalion were too "disturbing" to the people, someone would definitely come to him with a fuss.

Although Emperor Ningkang had his own considerations, his words of wholehearted concern for his subordinates still made Jia Lian feel very comfortable. Putting everything else aside, working so hard for such a boss didn't feel unfair!

"Thank you for your kindness and benevolence, Your Majesty. I have already inquired at the Imperial Household Department, and the best place is inside the Xi'an Gate, west of the middle section of the inner moat. Not only is the terrain open, but there is also an abandoned Imperial Guard camp there, and most importantly, it is far from the Forbidden City."

If the main camp of the firearms battalion is chosen there, the daily training will not disturb His Majesty and the ladies of the harem.

"Yes, that's good."

……

After leaving Daming Palace, Jia Lian went straight to Chonghua Palace.

Chonghua Palace is located on the east side of the Forbidden City. It was a palace that the retired emperor planned and built for his retirement. The entire Chonghua Palace was not only magnificent and in no way inferior to Daming Palace, but also almost identical to Daming Palace in terms of scale and layout of the halls. It was also divided into the front court and the rear palace.

From the air, the entire Chonghua Palace resembles a miniature version of the Forbidden City, majestically situated on the eastern side of the palace.

Perhaps most of those qualified to celebrate the Emperor Emeritus's birthday had already arrived, as the Chonghua Palace was crowded and somewhat noisy.

"Name, official title, gift list."

Outside the palace gate, upon noticing someone approaching, the eunuch taking notes didn't even look up, but spoke mechanically in a stiff tone.

Jia Lian was slightly taken aback. "Uh, Jia Lian, commander of the firearms battalion..."

Well, he already knew that the chief eunuch of Chonghua Palace was arrogant, and now it seemed that the arrogance extended down to even a low-ranking eunuch.

"Armored weapons battalion?"

The eunuch looked up at Jia Lian, initially taken aback by Jia Lian's appearance and demeanor, then frowned and said, "Firearms Battalion? Never heard of it. Hey, does anyone know about the Firearms Battalion? What rank is the commander?"

The eunuch questioned his companions, and it was clear that if he wasn't absolutely certain that no one would dare to mess with Chonghua Palace, he would have thought Jia Lian was lying.

Seeing this, Jia Lian smiled helplessly. He held several official positions, but the one he valued most was the commander of the firearms battalion, which was also of a higher rank than the commander of the West City Military Command. That's why he subconsciously reported this position.

Unexpectedly, the firearms battalion had not yet been established, and even its designation had only been decided recently. It was quite normal for these eunuchs of Chonghua Palace not to know this.

Just as they didn't recognize Jia Lian. You see, if this were the Daming Palace, Jia Lian believed that even a lowly eunuch of unknown rank would probably recognize him.

If I had known, I would have just reported the title of nobility.

"The Firearms Battalion is a newly established Imperial Guard unit, and His Majesty personally bestowed upon it the position of a third-rank commander." After all, it was the Emperor Emeritus's birthday, so Jia Lian patiently explained.

"Alright, I suppose you wouldn't dare to lie."

The eunuch seemed to sense Jia Lian's displeasure, but he ignored him, glancing at Jia Lian and then at the person behind him, before exclaiming in a utterly astonished tone, "Where's your birthday gift? You didn't come to the Emperor Emeritus's birthday banquet without even preparing a gift, did you?!"

As the eunuch spoke, he couldn't help but stand up, glaring menacingly at Jia Lian. Judging from his posture, it seemed that if his guess was correct, he would order the imperial guards around him to arrest Jia Lian, this arrogant scoundrel who disrespected the retired emperor.

Jia Lian finally frowned. He finally understood why most of the court officials looked down on these eunuchs; they were clearly bullies relying on their master's power.

You should know that all the eunuchs, big and small, in the Daming Palace treated him with utmost respect, addressing him as "Lord Marquis" repeatedly. Even Dai Quan treated him with the utmost courtesy.

Who would have thought that when he arrived at Chonghua Palace, even a lowly eunuch of the eighth or ninth rank would dare to boss him around?

"What's all the noise about?!"

A senior eunuch in red robes heard the commotion and approached. He was about to reprimand Jia Lian and his companion when he looked up and saw Jia Lian's face. His old face immediately broke into a broad, grinning smile: "Oh, isn't this General Zhenyuan… hahaha, no, it should be Marquis Zhenyuan! Two years have passed, and your demeanor remains as dashing as ever!"

Jia Lian took a closer look at the old eunuch and smiled wryly: "So it's Eunuch Wang. My apologies for my rudeness."

Wang Fu, the chief eunuch of Chonghua Palace, chuckled, then looked at the timid eunuch beside him and scolded, "Are you blind? This is the famous Marquis of Zhenyuan, a favorite of His Majesty. You don't even recognize him? What use are your eyes?"

The eunuch felt wronged. Not only did he not recognize the man, but none of the other servants around him did either. It was all Jia Lian's fault; why didn't he report the proper title of marquis, but instead insisted on reporting something like "commander of the firearms battalion"? And he didn't even pronounce the name clearly, so the eunuch didn't hear him at all.

Even if he was ignorant, he had heard of Jia Lian of the Rongguo Mansion. After all, he was a legendary figure known as the most handsome man in the country, a man even the former Princess desperately wanted!

Jia Lian was too lazy to argue with these insignificant characters. He said to Wang Fu, "Because I was summoned by His Majesty when I entered the palace, Uncle went ahead. I suppose Uncle has already presented the congratulatory gifts that my Rongguo Mansion prepared for the Emperor Emeritus. If Eunuch Wang does not believe me, you can check the gift register."

"Hahaha, what are you saying, Lord Marquis? What are you two brats standing there for? Lead the Lord Marquis inside!"

At Wang Fu's shout, two eunuchs who were standing by hurried over to lead Jia Lian the way.

Jia Lian nodded to Wang Fu and then walked into Chonghua Palace. Wang Fu bowed respectfully to see him off. When he stood up, he found that Jia Lian had already entered through the main gate, which made him subconsciously narrow his eyes. He then dispersed to greet others.

He was ordered by the Crown Prince to stand guard here, which was a great honor. He did not want Jia Lian to affect his mood and delay his duties.