Take the farm down to earth

Chapter 142 The road to ascent has been paved

"Returning to Your Majesty, Duke Zhuangyuan and Concubine Xiande only talked about their family background, their past study experience, and their gratitude to the saint."

The emperor frowned suddenly, but he reacted within a few seconds.

To say that Shi Zhongkui thanked the Supreme Emperor may be a real thank you.

After all, it is indeed a great grace for two daughters to marry the same husband.

But if it is said that Shi Zhongkui's heart is for the Supreme Emperor, the emperor no longer believes such words.

Not only because of Shi Zhongkui's actions during the imperial examination, but also what Jia Zheng said that day, all showed that he was a smart person.

In addition to the matter of opening up [-] mu of land this time, I came to report to myself immediately instead of going to Longshou Palace.

already stated his position

Even when they had a secret conversation in the imperial study, Shi Zhongkui suggested that Huangzhuang should not even have an acre of land.

To avoid being troubled by the censor because of the greed of the eunuchs.

You can also take the opportunity to win over the courtiers, and you don't even need to do it explicitly. You only need to favor some people, and you can quietly divide the power of the Supreme Emperor.

It can be said that the more Xia Shouzhong spoke ill of Shi Zhongkui at this time, the more the emperor would not believe it.

Even believe him more and more.

"That's all?"

When Xia Shouzhong heard this, his back began to sweat.

He didn't dare to say bad things about Shi Zhongkui anymore, so he hurriedly answered, "I also said some words of gratitude to the Emperor's grace and the Jia family's construction of the other courtyard, and the champion took the initiative to resign."

The emperor immediately frowned, "Is there really nothing else?"

Xia Shouzhong thought for a while, then suddenly understood and said, "Before leaving the harem, Eunuch Liu, the eunuch accompanying Concubine Xiande, hinted that Concubine Xiande was bullied by Concubine Wu Gui.

But the attitude of the champion is a little strange.

In front of Eunuch Liu, there was an expression filled with righteous indignation.

After leaving the harem, not only did he frown tightly, but he also told the slaves what he had said before. "

Only then did the emperor let Xia Shouzhong go, sighed and said, "It seems that it is really as my champion Lang said, there are too many idiots in this world.

And not only are they stupid, but everyone else thinks that others are as stupid as they are. "

Xia Shouzhong understood what the emperor meant.

Even if Jia Yuanchun's situation in the palace is not good, he shouldn't ask Shi Zhongkui for help at this time.

Not only will Shi Zhongkui see that she is not favored, he has to alienate her.

It is tantamount to taking Shi Zhongkui's future for his own benefit.

Thinking about it this way, the emperor felt that it was no wonder that Shi Zhongkui wanted to stay away from Jia Yuanchun when he came out.

In fact, it is too hopeless and beneficial to cooperate with such a self-righteous and stupid person.

And you use your brother-in-law as a pawn, why does Shi Boqian work hard for you?

Not to mention that any courtier who is smarter and has read history books will understand that getting too involved with the harem is definitely a way to bring disaster.

There are too many examples of this kind in history. It is unreasonable for someone as smart as Shi Boqian not to understand this.

The emperor thought for a while, looked at Xia Shouzhong, who was already sweating profusely, and said, "Go and tell the queen to reward the concubine Yuan with ten pieces of brocade. You go to the Jia family and the Xue family again, and reward the Jia family according to the specifications of the five-rank imperial order." The second girl and the eldest girl of the Xue family have some gifts from the palace."

Xia Shouzhong hurriedly knelt down to accept the order, and while scolding Shi Zhongkui again in his heart, he also realized that he probably fell into Shi Zhongkui's scheme again.

The facts are in front of us.

The more I speak ill of Shi Boqian, the more the emperor trusts and reuses him.

Not to mention that Jia Yuanchun was rewarded, but even the two fiancees who hadn't married yet were rewarded.

While being even more jealous of Shi Zhongkui, his mind suddenly moved.

How to speak is an extremely profound knowledge.

The fact now is that Shi Boqian has obtained great benefits, so if I change my perspective and say that I was helping him by saying bad things about him just now, can I get a sum of money from Shi Boqian?
Hurriedly going to the queen's side, Yuan Chun soon discovered to his surprise that Shi Zhongkui's status in the emperor's heart was actually comparable to that of an important minister.

Although only ten splendid horses were rewarded, because of this reward, his life in the palace would definitely be much easier in the future.

Sure enough, eunuchs big and small, and the ladies in the palace turned 180 degrees in their attitude towards Yuan Chun.

Even Concubine Wu Gui has restrained a lot.

Besides, except for Xia Shouzhong, the other eunuchs did not dare to go to Jia's house to play the autumn wind.

But what Jia Yuanchun didn't expect was that his situation was actually more difficult.

What is the harem fighting for?
Just a pet.

Some people are favored because of their beauty.

That means she has the capital to be favored before she loses her beauty.

Someone was favored because she was considerate and made the emperor feel stress-free and comfortable staying with her.

It also has its own capital.

But Yuanchun didn't occupy anything, but he had a lot of thoughts, so the future situation can be imagined.

Of course, if both Wang Ziteng and Shi Zhongkui fully support her, they can also firmly favor her.

It's a pity that Wang Ziteng will never harm his own interests for her sake.

Even Yuan Chun, in Wang Ziteng's view, was a tool for Wang's family's interests.

As for Shi Zhongkui, his previous attitude has already explained his thoughts.

After Xia Shouzhong left the palace with two carts of rewards, he went straight to Xue's house.

Since Shi Zhongkui couldn't figure it out, he might as well show his affection.

Of course, Xia Shouzhong had decided to at least maintain his position in the emperor and court, and he didn't like Shi Zhongkui's appearance.

But in private, and this time it was the emperor's order, taking the opportunity to show kindness will not only benefit, but maybe one day Shi Zhongkui will be able to save himself.

But Xia Shouzhong never thought that his previous relationship with Shi Zhongkui was actually this kind of relationship.

After thinking so much, it is to maintain an unchanged situation.

On the contrary, Shi Zhongkui got more benefits.
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After Xue Pan received the order, he was very excited.

He casually gave Xia Shouzhong a 1000 taels banknote. If Shi Zhongkui saw it, he would definitely slap him to death.

I usually only give 1 or 2 hundred taels.

Converted to the price of rice, one tael of silver is about 500 yuan.

5 to 10 is already a lot.

But Xue Pan only gave 50 yuan. Isn't this a fool?
From now on, whenever Xia Shouzhong came to Xue's house, if it was less than 1 taels, the eunuch would definitely hold a grudge.

Not to mention how happy Aunt Xue, Xue Baochai and Xue Baoqin are.

Xia Shouzhong, who received 1000 taels of silver, also went to Jia's house in a good mood.

As usual, those with official status and orders from the family came out to receive the order, and then the female relatives avoided. Jia Zheng, Jia She, Jia Zhen, Jia Lian and others took Xia Shouzhong to Rongxi Hall.

"Congratulations to Mr. Zheng and Mr. Pardon, your virtuous son-in-law has made a great contribution this time. His Majesty has not only rewarded the concubine Yuan, but also let our family bring the rewards that are only eligible for the five-rank imperial order, and give it to your mansion." Second Miss."

The four members of the Jia family were ecstatic when they heard this.

Because of Yuanchun, the family gritted their teeth and built the Grand View Garden.

But this can only maintain Yuanchun's face, but cannot improve her situation.

Unexpectedly, my son-in-law could make great contributions in less than a month, and immediately solved the crisis of the Jia family.

Ask what is the credit.

When I heard that Shi Zhongkui presided over the wasteland reclamation, 3 mu of farmland had been developed, and it seemed that if the water source was sufficient, even if all of it could not be converted into paddy fields, it must be a good wheat field.

After sending away Xia Shouzhong who had won 1000 taels of silver, Jia Amnesty hurriedly ordered Jia Lian to find Shi Zhongkui.

Jia Zhen definitely didn't want to let it go, Jia Zheng thought about it and didn't refuse.

Even Jia Zheng, who has been in the Ministry of Industry for many years, knows very well that if he goes late, he will definitely be divided up.

It's a pity that since Shi Zhongkui made up his mind to ignore Jia Yuanchun, of course he wouldn't stay longer in the capital.

After leaving the palace, return to Wanping.

So much so that Jia Lian could only go home and tell him, and the next day, he led people and rode after him.

But what Jia Lian didn't expect was that when he entered the Changgou camp, he not only saw Shi Guangzhu and Xue Pan who were urgently recruited by Shi Zhongkui, but he was also trapped in the camp by Shi Zhongkui.

In the next three days, I saw housekeepers from the palaces of the princes and princesses, and servants or nephews of the officials of the third rank and above kept coming to the door.

But whoever comes to the house, don't even think about entering the camp.

Fortunately, Shi Zhongkui did not go too far, and asked Xue Jinping and several officials to take these servants to see the [-] mu of paddy fields being reclaimed, and nearby patches of wasteland.

Of course, the most important thing is the spring.

The butlers of the palace and the princess palace were all handed over to Shi Guangzhu and Jia Lian, who was pulled by the young man, to receive them.

Shi Zhongkui himself used the name of Wen Huiyou to entertain the nephews of those high officials.

In addition, the officials of Daying hinted that Shi Zhongkui didn't care how the farmland was allocated.

So even though Shi Zhongkui did neglect these people, no one thought he did it on purpose.

Instead, he thought that he was avoiding suspicion and had to do so.

On the fourth day, the people who come to the door, unless they are the first rank in the court, or the son-in-law will come in person, they have long since lost their share.

Not to mention those officials below the fifth rank.

However, Shi Zhongkui still left more than 4 mu of land for people to distribute to Yushi and Liuke to Shizhong.

And how to distribute it is entirely up to Yushitai to decide.

This method of diverting conflicts is not clever, even very straightforward, but very useful.

On the fifth day, the three thousand paddy fields had been reclaimed, and officials from the Ministry of Industry happily came to check.

Originally, these fifth-rank and sixth-rank officials wanted to argue a few times, but just as they said this is not good, that is not good, they were interrupted by the waiters who were waiting impatiently.

They were almost pointed at their noses and scolded for their ignorance.

After 5 days, not only did the water output from the spring show no signs of decreasing, but the large amount of water had already soaked the [-] mu of reclaimed paddy fields.

Depending on the situation, if the field soldiers are asked to rush to plant a wave of rice, and if the winter frost falls ten days and a half months later this year, they may be able to harvest a season of rice.

With this in mind, all the families assigned to the farmland will look at Shi Zhongkui with the taste of money in their eyes.

It is no secret that there are many springs in Wanping. Since it is rumored that Liu Yuangong is proficient in the gossip of the Book of Changes, it is possible to find one or several more springs.

At that time, even if no new farmland can be developed, just diverting water to the [-] mu of land here can turn all the land into paddy fields, and the value will be several times higher immediately.

Someone approached Shi Zhongkui to test a few words, but the reply he got was 'no time'.

One sentence is to take care of the errands of dredging the river, let these people understand, 'no time does not mean unwillingness'.

But if you want him to be willing to find springs for everyone, there must be benefits.

Helping people to get promoted is the easiest and cheapest bargaining chip for the powerful and important ministers.

After Shi Zhongkui officially handed over the errands of land reclamation, he took Xue Jinping's [-] field soldiers back to the camp outside Wanping City, preparing to let the soldiers rest for three days, so that he could go to the Gyeonggi River for a field trip.

There are already people in the court who run the official department and ask for credit for Shi Zhongkui.

Even in the court hall, there was a censor who stood up to speak for Shi Zhongkui because he took advantage of Shi Zhongkui.

The emperor knew why, and was willing, but still a little dissatisfied.

After all, the right to be promoted is controlled by the cabinet and officials, and even an emperor would be upset.

Not to mention the real power is still in the hands of the Supreme Emperor.

Fortunately, this time, no matter whether it was the courtiers of the Supreme Emperor's line, people from the emperor's side, or those ministers with a neutral attitude, they had no opinion on this matter.

Although opening up wasteland is not expanding the land, increasing the amount of farmland is the favorite of the scholar-official class in any dynasty, and there is no reason to make trouble.

However, some censors said that the credit for land reclamation is enough to be promoted to three levels in a row, but the bad thing is that only [-] mu were reported on the surface.

Although everyone basically knew at this time that the real amount was [-] mu, they also guessed that Shi Zhongkui might be deliberately lowering his own credit.

The purpose may be to just stay in the Hanlin Academy temporarily.

After all, if you don't go through the road to promotion in the Imperial Academy, it will be much more difficult for Shi Zhongkui to join the cabinet in the future.

Even just being promoted from the Hanlin Academy to the sixth rank of the minister reading and lectures, it is much better than being transferred to the sixth rank at this time.

Therefore, no one objected to being promoted from the sixth rank to the sixth rank, but there were some disputes about what official position was actually conferred.

Except for the Ministry of Rites, everyone knows that Shi Zhongkui will definitely not go to his own yamen to be a fifth-rank or sixth-rank official at this time, so there is no dispute.

The Metropolitan Procuratorate wanted to pull Shi Zhongkui into its territory, so that he would not have to worry about losing farmland in the future, but the highest rank of thirteen officials was seven, with great power but small officials.

The censor in the palace, which is one level higher, is from the fifth rank, and although the censor in the palace will not really stay by the emperor's side every day.

But if this person is replaced by Shi Zhongkui, the emperor will 100% treat him as a close minister.

Not to mention that Shi Zhongkui already had an errand to walk around the imperial study.

Whether it is from the emperor's line or the Taishanghuang's line, few people would like Shi Zhongkui to follow the emperor every day.

The civil servants blatantly dislike ministers who are favored by the emperor, but in fact everyone understands that grace is far more important than hard work.

In the end, the discussion came and went, and it turned out that Shi Zhongkui was promoted to serve as a lecturer for the Imperial Academy.

Although the attendants and lecturers of the Imperial Academy are all six-rank, but only this half level is a hurdle that countless Shujishi and Jinshi can't get over in their entire lives.

There are two attendants and lecturers on the top, from the fifth rank, and then the Hanlin bachelor of the fifth rank.

It can be said that after Shi Zhongkui crossed this level, the probability of entering the cabinet was at least 10 times greater than before.

Keep a low profile for a few years, kill a few upper officials, or wait until someone is promoted, leave the Imperial Academy and enter the sixth department as a servant, and you will be able to successfully take over as a bachelor of the servant.

At this stage, he also has the opportunity to be directly appointed as the Minister of the Six Departments, or the Youqian Capital Censor of the Fourth Rank of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

The left and right censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate failed to grab the person, and at the last discussion, they simply dragged Yu Honggao, who should have been promoted last year, from Daxing to the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

(End of this chapter)