King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 803 Jia Yucun's Imperial Advance
Feng Yuan rubbed his eyes, making sure that he was not seeing things. For a moment, he could not hold back his emotions, and tears flowed uncontrollably.

It is said that ten years of hard study are the key to success. He has indeed worked very hard in the past ten years, and now it has finally borne fruit. How can outsiders understand the joy he feels?

Although he ranked last in the imperial examination, he was still a real Jinshi, and from then on he had a bright future.

Seeing Feng Yuan crying, his fellow villagers did not laugh at him, because there were many people like Feng Yuan among those who won the prize at the scene.

"Congratulations, Brother Feng, congratulations!"

"Feng Yuan has to treat us tonight!"

There were eight fellow townsmen who came with Feng Yuan. Except Feng Yuan, all the others failed the exam. The two people who spoke to congratulate him at this moment were much older than Feng Yuan, so they were more open-minded than others.

Why did everyone who was with Feng Yuan fail to pass the exam? Because most of the Jinling candidates who thought they could pass the exam were with Song Ziyu, or they were socializing with the bigwigs in the court.

"Please...you are my guest. Thank you very much, thank you very much!"

At this moment, Feng Yuan was a little incoherent. At this moment, he finally understood what it meant to be in high spirits and galloping on the horse, what it meant to be named on the imperial examination, and what it meant to smile at the busy candidates in the world.

Feng Yuan's reaction was only a small part of this examination. At this moment, on Tianjie Street, some people laughed loudly, some cried bitterly, and some went crazy...

All kinds of worldly affairs are played out here, which makes people dazzled.

In fact, Zhu Jinghong had already seen the list of candidates for the imperial examination yesterday, and he did not care too much about it, and did not even look at the answer sheet of the so-called champion.

At the same time as the results were announced, Zhu Jinghong was watching a polo match. The competing teams were composed of generals from the Dragon Guards and the Imperial City Guards.

There are hundreds of thousands of troops inside and outside the court, but for Emperor Zhu Jinghong, the troops that he most needs to keep under his control are the Dragon Guards and the Imperial City Guards.

Because these two armies were responsible for guarding the imperial palace, they were directly related to Zhu Jinghong's personal safety.

It is said that the Imperial Guards are the royal private army, and the Dragon Guards and the Imperial City Guards are the private armies within the emperor's private army.

Since Zhu Jinghong came to power, he replaced all the officers of the Imperial Guards with the rank of 100 and above, and all the officers of the Dragon Guards with the rank of 1,000 and above.

The people he replaced them with were either guards from his palace or his former confidants in the Dragon Guards. In any case, they were all his own people.

The officers and officials who had previously served in these government offices were transferred or promoted to the Imperial Guards and the Beijing Barracks. It can be said that this was a situation that everyone was happy with.

There were four teams participating in the polo match, coming from four yamen, namely the Left and Right Dragon Guards and the Left and Right Yiwei Divisions.

The Left and Right Dragon Guards have 1600 men under their command. The current Dragon Guards Left Lieutenant Zhang Lin and Dragon Guards Right Lieutenant Lu Yuxin are both fourth-rank military officers.

The Left and Right Imperial City Guards have 6000 men under their command. The current commanders of the Left Guard are Zhou Shoujun and the Right Guard are Shen Jinxun, both of whom are also fourth-rank military officers.

Speaking of Shen Zhou, although he doesn't have many opportunities to show his face, he is definitely a die-hard fan of Zhu Jinghong. He either saved Zhu Jinghong's life in the past or died fighting under him.

The most important thing is that these two people were too closely tied to Zhu Jinghong, and were targeted and disciplined by Zhu Jingyuan in the past.
Back then, he was framed by Lao Liu and almost went to jail. Especially when Zhou Shoujun was on trial in court, he uttered the famous line "I go to work early in the morning", which petrified all the officials trying the case.

If nothing unexpected happens, these four people will stay in their current positions until they can no longer do the work.

However, their official position is the fourth rank, but it does not mean the upper limit of their rank. Their official rank is basically promoted at a certain time, and those without a title are guaranteed to have a title, and those with a title will be promoted by at least two levels.

For example, their respective predecessors were basically all second-rank officials, and the one with the lowest title was a second-class viscount.

At this moment, the four of them surrounded Zhu Jinghong and cheered for their team.

The atmosphere was lively. Zhu Jinghong sat sideways in a chair, looking at the galloping horses in front of him and the warriors swinging their clubs.

Lu Yuxin and the other three will stay in their original positions, but the generals under their respective command are different. Most of them will be sent out to lead troops, so these people are working extremely hard on the court, just hoping to be noticed by the emperor.

"After a few days, the late emperor will go to bed and leave the palace. Have you made all the preparations?"

The security work for matters such as going out on patrol and entering the imperial carriage was very complicated, involving the Beijing Camp, the Imperial Guards, the Dragon Guards and the Yiwei Division, and was mainly coordinated by the Imperial Stables.

The Imperial Stables, as the emperor's private military command organization, is still headed by Liu Zhong of the Zhengtong Dynasty, but its specific affairs are now in the charge of Zhang Pingan.

The situation of the East Factory was similar. Although it was still headed by Cheng Ying, its specific affairs were handled by Deng An, and the main departments of the inner court were controlled by Zhu Jinghong's confidants.

Back to the topic, when Zhu Jinghong asked questions, Zhang Pingan was the one who answered them.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, all matters have been arranged. The Jingying Zhenwei Left Guard and the Fenwu Right Guard..."

Zhang Ping'an was well aware of these things, so he could talk about them freely at this moment.

According to the agreement at the beginning of the year, the emperor would be buried on March 6, and the empress would be moved out of the side hall on March 12 and buried with the emperor in the back chamber of the mausoleum.

It sounds like a simple matter, but it involves many rituals. Zhu Jinghong had to stay in Siling for ten days, and he was accompanied by many members of the royal family.

After listening to the report, Zhu Jinghong nodded: "Just make the arrangements!"

After that, Zhu Jinghong didn't ask any more questions and paid more attention to the game.

It was at this time that Jia Yucun, the Minister of Works, entered the palace. He was returning to the capital from Nanjing.

Last September, Jia Yucun was transferred to the position of Vice Minister of Works and was sent to Nanjing by Zhu Jinghong, specifically in charge of the construction of the "Eastern Capital" government office.

It has been nearly five months since he left, and the arrangements and inspections for related matters have been completed, so he returned to Beijing.

As an official in one of the six ministries, it is not a good thing to be away from home for a long time. After all, if you cannot participate in the important affairs of the court, you cannot exert influence on the outside world.

The first thing Jia Yucun did when he returned to Beijing was to go to the palace to meet the emperor, but he found nothing when he arrived at the Qianqing Palace.

Upon learning that Zhu Jinghong was in Longwu Palace, this guy took the initiative to look for him.

After explaining the situation to the eunuchs outside the palace gate, Jia Yucun waited for the emperor to summon him. Normally, he would not be rejected.

About five minutes later, an eunuch walked out of the palace gate and led Jia Yucun into the Longwu Hall.

The competition was still very intense at that time, so when Jia Yucun entered the palace gate, he only saw dust flying on the parade ground.

Under the guidance of the eunuch, Jia Yucun finally arrived at the imperial steps and met the emperor whom he had not seen for a long time.

In Jia Yucun's opinion, if he had not left the capital this time, he would have been able to get a share of the benefits of the changes in the court.

Not to mention being in charge of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue, at least he should have been promoted to the Minister of the Ministry of Justice where he originally worked. Why is he still a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works?

"Your Majesty, I, Jia Hua, the Minister of Industry, come to ask about your Majesty's well-being. Long live the emperor!"

Zhu Jinghong glanced at Jia Yucun at the bottom of the stairs. He was about seven or eight meters away from him at the moment, and it was a bit far to talk at this distance.

Then Zhu Jinghong said, "Get up and talk closer!"

"The minister obeys the order!"

Being able to reply in front of the emperor showed that the relationship between the emperor and his subjects was good, which made Jia Yucun feel much more at ease.

"Has Yingtian's matter been dealt with?"

Jia Yucun had already submitted a memorial regarding the relevant situation, and although Zhu Jinghong had already read it, the details still needed to be discussed in person.

"Your Majesty, all relevant matters have been arranged. Regarding the expansion and reconstruction of the various ministries and agencies, I have already..."

Again, although Jia Yucun's character was not very good, his ability to do things was absolutely impeccable. From the construction plan of the imperial city and various government offices to the construction of related supporting facilities, he arranged everything in detail, and even just listening to it made you feel that it was very feasible.

In fact, it is indeed feasible. After all, the court's finances are still relatively abundant at the moment, and as long as there is enough money, things will be much easier.

According to Jia Yucun's estimate, the construction plan would take about five years and would cost a total of nearly five million taels of silver.

"Okay, okay... As long as it can be done, there's nothing wrong with spending some money!"

"You have done your job very well. I was not wrong about you!"

"Your Majesty, I have sent a doctor from the Construction Department to personally supervise the construction and ensure that the construction of the Eastern Capital is completed on time!"

"Ok!"

Zhu Jinghong's eyes now swept towards the training ground again. He casually asked, "Who will be the champion of this examination? Who will be..."

Even though Zhu Jinghong was the most popular scholar among the scholars, he could not remember his name, because his head was filled with the whole country.

At this time, Yu Hai on the side reminded: "Your Majesty, this person is Song Ziyu!"

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

"Song Ziyu, yes, that's him... from Jinling, does Jia Qing know this person?"

Jia Yucun's expression slightly changed, and finally he answered honestly: "Your Majesty, I know this Song Ziyu. He won the first prize in the Jinling County Examination in the 19th year of Zhengtong. Speaking of which... I have some connections with him!"

"tell me the story!"

Seeing that the emperor remained calm, Jia Yucun knew that it was right for him to tell the truth. If he concealed anything, he would completely lose the emperor's favor.

In the fifth year of Zhengtong, when I was unemployed at home for some reason, I taught in several officials' homes and once taught this child from the Song family.

Jia Yucun taught in several families. He stayed in the Song family for nearly three years before finally going to the Lin family as a teacher.

Zhu Jinghong smiled slightly and said, "Jia Qing taught us to be the first and second place winners, which shows that you are very talented and knowledgeable!"

Just as Jia Yucun was about to reply, Zhu Jinghong asked again, "In the 19th year of Zhengtong, Jia Qing was working in the Ministry of Justice, right?"

Jia Yucun was stunned. Although it was an ordinary question, he did not dare to be careless at all.

"Your Majesty, in the spring of the eighteenth year of Zhengtong, I was promoted by the late Emperor to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice!"

When replying, Jia Yucun probably had guessed what the emperor meant by this question.

Starting from the tenth year of Zhengtong, Jia Yucun began to work in Jinling, successively serving as Deputy Censor, Provincial Governor, and even Governor of Jinling.

During the six years that Song Ziyu participated in the imperial examinations, he ranked first in the county, prefectural, and academy examinations, and later won the first place in the Jinling county examination.

It is hard not to suspect that Song Ziyu's green light along the way was related to his good teacher Jia Yucun.

Is it related? Jia Yucun felt that he had no involvement in it, but was it really that he had no relationship at all? He did not dare to make such a guarantee.

In particular, once the emperor suspected that there was something fishy going on, it would be the end of Jia Yucun.

Should he take the initiative to plead guilty? Jia Yucun had this thought, but he dismissed it in an instant because he was indeed innocent on the surface.

To be honest, Zhu Jinghong did have such doubts, but he didn't take it too seriously.

Jia Yucun was promoted by him, and Song Ziyu was Jia Yucun's man, or it could be said that he was the emperor's man.

He had read Song Ziyu's article, in which this person sang many praises. So Zhu Jinghong did not ask any more questions.

Moreover, if he really managed to get the sixth place, it would be a bit of a face-lift for Zhu Jinghong, or at least the icing on the cake.

He knew that Jia Yucun was a smart man, and from his worried look, he could tell that he had guessed something.

Originally, he said this just to warn him. To prevent him from thinking too much, Zhu Jinghong said, "Speaking of which, Jia Qing is also the teacher of Concubine Lin. You must have taught many good students!"

"Your Majesty is very intelligent, how dare I teach you? With just a little guidance, Your Majesty has understood. I am dull and stuck in a rut... I am afraid that I have delayed Your Majesty's studies!"

Hearing these self-deprecating words, Zhu Jinghong smiled very naturally, and then said to Jia Yucun: "Forget it, forget it, let's leave it at that for today, let's go home first!"

"I...obey the order!"

After kowtowing to Zhu Jinghong again, Jia Yucun carefully retreated, while the polo match outside the Longwu Hall continued.

Only after leaving the palace did Jia Yucun breathe a sigh of relief. When he asked about Song Ziyu just now, his heart was in his throat.

After leaving Donghua Gate, Jia Yucun did not rush home, but went to the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue first to congratulate his old superiors.

When he was the prefect of Yingtian, Zheng Xianlin and He Gujin, one the governor and the other the censor, could be said to be his immediate superiors.

After congratulating his two old superiors, Jia Yucun went to the Ministry of Works where he worked to announce his return to his subordinates.

After finishing all these things, an hour passed, and it was already afternoon when he arrived home.

But he had just returned home and within an hour his best student came. It was Song Ziyu, the top scorer in the imperial examination.

Song Ziyu knew the news that Jia Yucun had returned to Beijing five days ago, so he arranged people to watch outside Jia's house for the past few days, waiting for the teacher to come home and tell him.

Now that Jia Yucun has really returned home, he naturally arrived as soon as he received the news.

However, when Song Ziyu arrived at the gate of the Jia family, he was turned away. The Jia family's servant replied that the master was too tired to see the guest.

Passing the imperial examination and becoming a Jinshi was a foregone conclusion, and it was not uncommon for scholars like Song Ziyu to run around to serve the officials of various ministries and agencies.

Those who have no connections will instead sigh and lament, such as Feng Yuan who is quietly waiting for the palace examination.

"Since it is inconvenient for you to see me, sir, this is a little gift from me. I would like to ask the old housekeeper to pass it on to me!" Song Ziyu still had a smile on his face.

"Mr. Song, the master said... that we are friends of gentlemen, so there is no need to go through all this empty formalities. Mr. Song, please take her back!"

"This……"

Song Ziyu was at a loss for a moment. He didn't understand why the teacher was so indifferent. It was never like this before!

"Mr. Song, please go home!" the old servant gave advice and then ordered someone to close the door.

In desperation, Song Ziyu could only take his people away. He planned to come back later.

Back inside the Jia Mansion, Jiao Xing was now asking the reason. After all, when she was in Jinling in the past few years, she had frequent contacts with the Song family.

The Song family was a family of officials. In the past hundred years, they had three Jinshi (imperial examinations) and were a first-rate family in Yingtian. Jia Yucun had close contacts with them.

Jia Yucun had not intended to say anything, but now that his wife was asking him questions, he had no choice but to answer: "When I was making a report to the emperor today, the emperor also asked about Song Ziyu and mentioned my experience as an official in Nanjing!"

"Your Majesty may have already felt that Song Ziyu's first place and first place in the case were both related to me!"

Seeing her husband sigh, Jiao Xing naturally asked back: "Is it... okay?"

(End of this chapter)