serious man in the red chamber

Chapter 399 Just wait for the east wind to blow

The snowy sky in the twelfth lunar month turned dark in an instant, and lanterns were lit everywhere, dimly illuminating the snowflakes floating down from the black sky.

The backyard of Ning'an Hall is brightly lit, and there are two large pots of silver frost charcoal fire burning in the large living room, which is as warm as spring.

"Girl, please slow down." Xue Yan helped Lin Daiyu pace slowly in the living room.

At this time, Lin Daiyu's belly was already showing her pregnancy. She was supported by Xue Yan and supported her waist with her other hand, walking slowly.

On the side, Amber led Zijuan, Qingwen and Xiangling to put persimmons, lychees, round eyes, chestnuts and ripe dates into snack boxes one by one to form a "Pepsi Lucky Box" for good luck.

Qingwen saw that Amber and Zijuan had their backs to her at this time, so she picked up a date from the plate and fed it to Xiangling's mouth.

Xiangling smiled happily.

Qingwen smiled and said, "Sweet."

Xiangling, who already had an innocent and happy face, looked even happier now. She quickly picked up a sweet date and brought it to Qingwen's mouth.

Zicuckoo saw it in her eyes and said with a smile: "We just finished eating, you two are not afraid to hold on."

Qingwen laughed and said, "You can stay up until you are full." After saying that, she picked up another piece of persimmon and started eating it.

Amber handed a snack box to the little maid: "Send these boxes to the old lady's house first." Then he said to Qingwen: "Don't eat it yet. I will finish the work later and let you eat as much as you can."

Just as he was talking, the maid's voice came from outside: "Miss Fourth and Miss Yun are here."

Before he finished speaking, Xiangyun and Xichun walked in.

Lin Daiyu stopped and looked at Xichun with a smile: "You're back so soon?" Then to Xiangyun: "Why are you here if you don't stay with the old lady?"

Xichun happily ran forward and held Lin Daiyu's other arm: "Sister-in-law, I'll hold you."

"Go and rest."

Xiangyun also came over and took Lin Daiyu's arm from Xueyan's hand: "Second sister-in-law, I will support you."

Lin Daiyu smiled and started walking slowly again.

Xichun: "Sister-in-law, I wish the old lady good night for you. The old lady said, sister-in-law, don't be tired and rest when you are tired. Also, she likes to eat all the dishes that were sent to her."

Xiangyun said with a smile: "The bear paws are very rotten, I tasted good."

"Aren't you going to accompany the old lady tonight?"

"Third Sister, Sister Bao and Sister Qin are with us. My concubine and that one will be there soon."

"speak politely."

Xiangyun curled her lips and said, "I don't like her, I get annoyed just by looking at her."

Lin Daiyu glanced at her and said nothing.

Xiangyun's eyes fell on Lin Daiyu's slightly bulging belly again, and said with a smile: "The old lady and the eldest lady just talked and said that the second sister-in-law is definitely pregnant with a baby boy."

Xichun: "I heard it too."

Youshi was watching people setting the table in the dining room next to the big living room. When he heard this, he came over and said with a smile: "I think so, it's only been more than three months since he showed his body, and he also likes to eat sour food. I have a jar full of pickled food." I’m almost done with the pickles.”

Lin Daiyu smiled faintly.

Xiangyun suddenly remembered: "Where is the second brother?"

Lin Daiyu: "There's something going on in the front yard. I'll come back when I'm done."

Xichun curled her lips and said: "These people are very annoying. Two groups of people came over to have dinner, and everyone said they had important matters. No matter how busy you are, you can't disturb others' family reunion dinner!"

Xiangyun: "It's really annoying."

Lin Daiyu didn't say anything. A Frenchman came before the meal. Just halfway through the meal, another man came from the Ministry of War. Six hundred miles from the northwest, the Beijing camp led by Shi Ding, the Marquis of Zhongjing, was attacked by the rebels when they retreated to Turpan. After an ambush, a battle broke out between the two sides at the intersection of the oasis and the desert, and a Rakshasa cavalry appeared on the flanks of the Beijing camp. If Zhao Yi's cavalry had not appeared in time, the Beijing camp would have suffered a lot this time. .

When the reunion dinner was about to end, Jiao Da came back from the south, and Jia Hu has been busy and hasn't come back yet.

Just then, a steward's wife came over and said, "The fruits and snacks are ready."

Lin Daiyu came to her senses and said, "Let's go sit in the dining room."

Youshi smiled and said, "Sisters, please talk, I'll go take a look at Qinshi. It's cold, so I won't come here at night."

Lin Daiyu said: "Sister-in-law must be tired too. Let's rest early." Then she said to Amber: "Send sister-in-law off for me."

Amber: "Yes." She answered and helped Youshi walk outside.

Watching them go out, Lin Daiyu led Xichun and Xiangyun to sit down at the ebony round table and gave them each a piece of pastry.

Xiangyun took a small bite of the pastry, looked around, and approached Lin Daiyu and said, "Second sister-in-law, have you heard the news from my aunt's house?"

The corner of Xichun's mouth was stained with cakes. Lin Daiyu picked up the handkerchief and wiped it for her. She said, "I didn't hear the news. I'll go to Huifang Garden at most, not even the Grand View Garden. How can I know what's going on outside?"

Xiangyun smiled and said, "Sister Bao and brother were beaten again."

Lin Daiyu pretended to be surprised: "Why did you get beaten again?"

Xiangyun chuckled: "The new daughter-in-law was beaten, and the concubine beat Sister Bao's brother to comfort the new daughter-in-law." Then he looked at Zijuan and said, "Sister Zijuan is absolutely right, he is a difficult person to get along with. What I hate the most is the way she eats, she is worse than our girl."

Lin Daiyu smiled and nodded at her. She knew much more about the Xue family than Xiangyun. She would see some excitement in the future.
Since being beaten by Lin Daiyu that day, Jiao Da has gone south. The business of the Jia Family Chamber of Commerce has spread all over the country, and has purchased industrial shops in 860 seven prefectures and counties. Making money is only one aspect. Those spies are lurking as clerks, always detecting Know the movements of powerful local officials.

It is difficult to train intelligence personnel. Two or three years have passed and most places can only collect some simple intelligence. Just like the civil unrest in Jiangxi, the local spies have no information at all and are completely blind.

In the past few months, Jiao Da has traveled throughout the Central Plains with his scouts, monitoring officials dispatched by the cabinet and the Ministry of Household Affairs, and collecting a large amount of evidence.

At this time, these testimonies and testimonies were placed one by one on Jia Hu's desk. Jia Hu stood alone in front of the desk with a lamp in his hand and looked at each one carefully.After reading the last page, Jia Hu stood there holding the lamp in his hand. It was really an eye-opener.

This time he was really shocked. He really didn't expect, at least he didn't expect these officials to be so bad and shameless.When they were in the capital, they talked about benevolence, righteousness, and morality, and behaved like gentlemen. But when they got there, they showed their ugly faces, and they did everything they could to make money!

I originally thought that these officials were forced to buy and sell the property of large households, but I didn't expect that more officials accepted money from large gentry households and assigned the errands of the cabinet and the Ministry of Household Affairs to local officials and large local households. They only had to pay the money and grain when the time came. .

The original idea of ​​the cabinet and the Ministry of Household Affairs was to purchase grain from large households at market prices. These people had more fields and stored more grain, so they could squeeze it out without any impact on ordinary people.

Unexpectedly, the money was eventually shared among ordinary people, and these local officials and wealthy households had to eat both sides. Not counting the money they deducted from the court for purchasing grain, they had to plunder it again from ordinary people.

Those officials also enriched their own pockets. One of them, a small household head, embezzled more than [-] taels in less than three months.

Such huge sums of money were plundered from various places, which had aroused dissatisfaction among the people. Two officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs responsible for purchasing military rations in Henan were injured by the people and thrown into the river together with their entourage.

The cabinet didn’t get any news about such a big thing!
This slash will definitely shock the whole country from the county to the capital.

Thinking of this, Jia Hu put the evidence into the box and put it away, then stood up. Everything was ready, all he needed was the east wind.
In the blink of an eye, another Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month has passed.

This New Year has been too embarrassing. The whole capital is in mourning. Without the sound of firecrackers, most of the New Year atmosphere has been lost. Everywhere is deserted.

It was already daybreak, but the streets were empty and there was no one around.

Suddenly, a burst of chaotic footsteps broke the tranquility of Dongshi Street.

Then, a group of teenagers came running from the east side of the street.

They ran to the door of a "restaurant" and stopped. This "restaurant" stood in the bustling area of ​​Dongshi Street. There were six facades in a row on the lower floor of Zhu Yingqing. There was a gold and black plaque hanging above the lintel in the middle, which read "Official The word "report".

At this time, the door opened, and a steward came out. With a raised hand, the group of teenagers immediately lined up. Although their clothes were all patched, they were very clean and tidy. Their eager eyes looked at the whole world. to the steward standing on the steps.

The steward's eyes slowly swept over the faces of the young people, and he said slowly: "I have told you all the rules that need to be told. Let me remind you again that the bowls you are holding are from the Prince's Palace of Beining County. If anyone dares to If the newspapers you receive are thrown away at will, not only he and his family will be punished, but all of you, including your families, will be punished! Do you understand?"

All the young men replied in unison: "Yes."

There was a smile on the steward's face: "The prince knows that your family situation is not good, and he has specifically given instructions. Starting from today's dinner, the newspaper will take care of your two meals every day. You must cherish this opportunity. Okay, let's go in." After saying that, he waved his hand and the boy at the front walked in, and then the boys behind him walked into the newspaper office one by one.

After a while, the young man walked out carrying a cross-body bag, holding a newspaper in his hand, walked to the street and shouted: "Read the newspaper! Read the newspaper! The "Official Daily" is given away for free, and you can learn about the latest news in the capital. With the help of You can go to Jiajia Grocery Store to get one liter of rice for the day's newspaper, and you can exchange it for a bucket of rice if you collect the newspaper for seven consecutive days."

While shouting loudly, he walked towards the side street
Because the little emperor made a joke at the enthronement ceremony, several members of the cabinet discussed with the chief and deputy ministers of the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers for several days, and selected the new emperor's reign name - Yongxing, "Yong", which means that the Zhou Dynasty will last forever. "Xing" means prosperous and prosperous, which means that the country is becoming stronger and more prosperous.

Today is the sixteenth day of the first month of the first year of Yongxing in the Great Zhou Dynasty, which is also the real beginning of the new year. On this day, the yamen of the capital officially open their offices.

After the morning sacrifice, as soon as the chief, deputy, and chief officers of the six departments and nine ministers returned to their respective duty rooms, they found something similar to a palace newspaper on the desk.

Cabinet value room

Chief Assistant Wang Hetang was also looking at the newspaper on the big case. The layout was very simple, with two large "official newspapers" in the upper right corner, and a line of small characters below with the date printed on it.

The huge paper was divided into several sections, and the most conspicuous news was printed in the most conspicuous position: the price of food today is one or two four cents per stone, the price of salt is fifty cents per catty, the price of oil is eighty cents per catty, and the price of beef and mutton is fifty cents. ——Eighty cents per catty, cabbage three cents per catty, cotton thirty cents per foot, silk 150 cents per foot, and cotton 120 cents per catty.

There is also a line of Jiajia Chamber of Commerce recruitment notices: short-term workers, thirty to fifty cash per day.Long-term workers, ten to 15 taels of silver per year.

There is also a line of large characters printed on the side: Nanyang grain and rice are expected to arrive in Beijing at the end of February.

Next is an article introducing Sumatra, one of the Southeast Asian islands. The whole article is in vernacular and easy to understand. After reading it through, you will understand the importance of this place to the Zhou Dynasty. Finally, I especially emphasize that Sumatra was as early as the early Ming Dynasty. Territory belonging to the Central Plains Dynasty.

Next are two articles introducing the war in northwest and southern Xinjiang. Of course, they are all good news.

Well, the following is an article introducing the Japanese country. Wang Hetang frowned as he read it. The Japanese country actually had a lot of silver, a lot of silver, silver.
At this moment, what Wang Hetang was thinking about was not how Jia Hu knew about this, but how the Japanese had concealed such important news from the Zhou Dynasty. These filthy and unfilial bunch of vile people!
Wang Hetang thought for a while and thought that he could first send an official to the Japanese country to communicate the matter. After three or four months, the Yangtze River Navy's partial division returned to Dagokou.

Thinking of this, Wang Hetang smiled and nodded, then continued to read down. After reading only a few lines, he was stunned. He secretly scolded Jia Hu for being shameless and openly bragging about himself and Yongwei Camp. The world is declining!
His face became more and more ugly as his eyes moved over the newspaper.Then, he slapped the big case with his palm and shouted loudly: "Come here!"

A cabinet clerk walked in.

Wang Hetang handed over the newspaper: "Go to Dali Temple and tell them what I say and ask them to send someone to jail and convict this damn bastard!"

The clerk took the newspaper with both hands and said, "Yes!" He bowed and left.

Looking at the disappearing figure of the clerk, Wang Hetang sighed deeply. The last one was the common people's favorite gossip news, the imperial censor Dong Pan's visits to brothels during the national funeral, the etiquette of saints, the system of the imperial court and the face of the royal family. Got swept clean.

Wang Hetang didn't have the slightest doubt about this matter. He still knew Jia Hu's character. Since he dared to leak the news, he had ironclad evidence.

Wang Hetang stood up, walked back and forth a few steps, and stopped suddenly when he reached the door. No matter what Jia Hu wanted to do, he had to deal with this matter first, and he couldn't leave anything behind for the people to talk about.

Thinking of this, Wang Hetang opened the door curtain and walked out.
In Huifang Garden
Jia Hu is doing Tai Chi.

Lin San stood aside.

Lin San: "One liter of rice per newspaper means ten thousand liters in one day and one hundred thousand liters in ten days. This is such a huge loss!"

Jia Hu: "You have to take a long-term view. I don't intend to make money with this thing. What I want is to control public opinion in the capital."

Lin San hesitated for a moment: "What if the imperial court also runs a newspaper?"

Jia Hu folded his arms, took the scarf and wiped the sweat on his forehead: "It doesn't matter."

At this time, Jiao Da hurriedly came over: "Second Master, Dong Pan has been sent to Dali Temple Prison, and there has been a quarrel outside."

Jia Hu: "How is the newspaper distribution going?"

Jiao Da didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "There are already many people crowded outside the grocery stores in the north and south cities, all of whom are buying rice. The situation in the east city is better."

Jia Hu nodded. This was to be expected. It was not that there were few literate people in North and South City, but that they were more concerned about the life in front of them.

The Great Zhou Dynasty was not the Manchu Qing Dynasty. There were nearly two thousand government-run free schools across the country, plus private academies. The literacy rate of the people was still very high. Reading such vernacular newspapers was not a problem.

This first issue of the newspaper was personally organized by Jia Hu, especially because Dong Pan, the imperial censor, visited brothels during the national funeral. This was like a big revelation in later generations, which could quickly attract the attention of the people. In the next three days, a small explosion would be made, and in five days With a big hit, one month after another, "Official Daily" will become a truly authoritative official newspaper. From now on, we will see you in the middle of the month and at the end of the month to maintain the popularity.

Take your time, wait until the people get used to and trust the official newspaper, that will be the day when the civil servant group will be slain with a sword
(End of this chapter)