Corrupt official in the Red Chamber

Chapter 161

Everyone came to the stage outside, where two or three tables had been set up, with maids serving the people all around.

As everyone sat down, delicious food was immediately served up like running water.

Then Xue Baochai's maid Ying'er handed the playbook to Mrs. Wang and Jia Mu's table.

Mrs. Wang asked her guest Jia Mu to order first.

But Jia asked Xue Baochai to order some on the grounds that today was Xue Baochai's birthday.

Xue Baochai postponed, but took the script and looked at it carefully.

In the end, Xue Baochai actually ordered "Journey to the West". (I didn’t expect Journey to the West to appear in Dream of Red Mansions, but this is a true record in the book, and the author just quoted it.)
Xue Baochai had just finished ordering a play when there was a sound of footsteps outside. Xue Baochai looked back and saw only her mother, Aunt Xue, walking over in a hurry.

Xue Baochai quickly stood up and went over to greet him.

Xue Baochai held her aunt's arm and asked in a low voice: "Why did mom come so late?"

Aunt Xue looked a little ugly, "It's not because of your evil deeds. My brother woke up this morning and scolded Xiangling. If I hadn't been by your side, I might have taken action."

Although Xue Baochai wanted to ask again, she had already reached the table and could only shut up. She placed her mother at Mrs. Wang's table with a smile.

When Mrs. Wang saw Aunt Xue coming, she smiled and asked someone to send the playbook to Aunt Xue, "Today is your daughter's birthday, and it's also your Good Friday, so it's time to put on a play."

Aunt Xue knew that elderly people like lively dramas, so she ordered the play "Liu Er as a Dress".

Then, Lin Daiyu, Baoyu, Sanchun, Shi Xiangyun and others ordered their own plays.

While everyone was eating delicious food, listening to the drama on the stage, and occasionally exchanging a few words, the atmosphere was very good.

When the wine had passed three rounds and the dishes had passed the five flavors, the above drama was over, so Mrs. Wang asked Xue Baochai to order again.

Xue Baochai took the play and read it casually, then ordered the play "Lu Zhishen Drunk in Mount Wutai".

During the dinner, Jia Baoyu became a little impatient. He was most annoyed by these lively plays, so he said: "Just listening to these plays will make everyone who listens want to sleep."

After hearing this, Xue Baochai shook his head slightly, and then said in an instructive manner: "You have listened to the plays in the past few years in vain. How do you know the benefits of this play? The pomp and eloquence are better."

After hearing this, Jia Baoyu felt a little itchy, so he stood up, bowed to Xue Baochai, and asked him to continue speaking.

Not far away, Lin Daiyu curled her lips when she saw this scene, and then turned her head to the other side.

Xue Baochai also noticed Lin Daiyu.

If she had not married Jia Rui and still had her mind set on Jia Baoyu, she would naturally be willing to give Jia Baoyu a careful explanation at this time.

But now that she is Jia Rui's wife, and they are living a very happy life together, and they have a son, she naturally doesn't want to get involved in this muddy water.

"I only know a little bit about it. To say that I know it well, you have to look at Sister Lin. You can go talk to Sister Lin." Xue Baochai turned his attention to Lin Daiyu.

After Jia Baoyu heard this, he bowed to Lin Daiyu and asked him to explain to him.

Lin Daiyu glanced at Xue Baochai secretly, and saw a smile on her lips and an encouraging expression on her face. She should only feel a little shy for a moment.

However, Jia Baoyu asked her impatiently, so she still said: "This play is a set of Bei's "Red Lips", with sonorous rhythm and rhythm, needless to say, good rhythm; only the lyrics include "Parasite Grass", It’s filled in wonderfully, how could you have known.”

Speaking of this, Lin Daiyu recited carefully: "In search of heroic tears, we left the home of a virgin. Thanks for mercy, we were ordained under the lotus platform. We were separated in the blink of an eye. We were naked, and we had no worries when we came and went. Where can we ask for it, with smoke and raincoats? Roll alone? As long as I let you, I will change the shoes and the broken bowl according to the circumstances!"

Jia Baoyu became a little crazy after hearing this.

Xue Baochai looked at Jia Baoyu's look and was afraid that he was obsessed, so he quickly said: "Eat quickly, don't be hungry and unable to sleep at night."

Everyone laughed and started watching the show.

The play was sung from noon to evening, and then it was over.

However, Jia Mu still felt dissatisfied, so she asked the two best singers, Xiaodan and Clown, to compose another song.

Later, Jia Mu ordered people to reward them with some fruits and money.

Xue Baochai's birthday passed with great vigor and excitement.

Time passed quickly, almost a month passed.

During this period, Lin Daiyu's birthday was also celebrated, but for some reason, Lin Daiyu's birthday was not celebrated with much fanfare and the sisters were invited to have a drink.

It was just that Jia Mu gave Lin Daiyu a few bowls of food and that was over.

During this period, Jia Rui also traveled between the infantry commander's office and the palace.

As time went by, Jia Rui's grip on the power of the infantry commander's yamen became tighter and tighter, almost to the point where water could not be poured out.

Jia Rui also knew that this was not his own charm, but that there was a giant Buddha behind him to support him. As long as the Supreme Emperor was around, those who were on the fence would lean on his side, so that Jia Rui's power became increasingly stable.

Because he knew this, Jia Rui gave all the important rights of the infantry command yamen to his own people.

About 1 of them were led by the more than 20 people sent by Wang Ziteng.

The remaining more than 1 people were transferred over by people under Zhang Tao.After Zhang Tao secretly defected to Jia Rui, he received more resources than before. In addition, Jia Rui gave him a good word in front of the Supreme Emperor. Now Zhang Tao has become a general soldier with nearly [-] people under his command. , can be regarded as a figure in the Beijing camp.

The reason why Jia Rui arranged this was because he did not completely trust the people sent by Wang Ziteng, and he also left a back-up for himself.

On this day, Jia Rui had just returned from the palace, and when he was about to take a rest from his tired body, something small happened outside.

"Uncle, Wangcai is back."

Jia Rui was stunned for a moment, and then said quickly: "Hurry up and call him in."

After a while, Wangcai came in covered with dust.

When he saw Jia Rui, he wanted to kneel down and kowtow, but Jia Rui was worried about Datong and caught him.

"How is Fan Yong's place? Did something go wrong?"

"Going back to Master, there is nothing wrong with Mr. Fan. It's just that the military rations have not arrived for several months. Mr. Fan has no choice but to ask the Ministry of War for help."

"Then why didn't he write to me?"

By the time he said this, Jia Rui's tone had become very cold.

You must know that Fan Yong was promoted by him. In the past, he swore in front of Jia Rui and followed Jia Rui's lead in everything.

What happened this time was that he didn't even greet himself in advance when he went to the memorial. Could it be that this guy had second thoughts?
"Sir, Mr. Fan Yong was afraid that this matter would drag him down, so he didn't write to him. But this time he has written down the cause and effect and asked me to send it over."

As he spoke, Wangcai took out a letter from his arms and handed it to Jia Rui.

Jia Rui took the letter and didn't open it. Instead, he stared at Wangcai closely, trying to figure out whether this guy was telling lies or the truth.

Wangcai was sweating all over when Jia Rui saw him, and he knelt there trembling.

After a while, Jia Rui withdrew his eyes again, opened the letter and read it carefully.

At this point, Jia Rui understood why Fan Yong didn't write to him. It turned out that he was in big trouble.

After Fan Yong arrived in Taiyuan, relying on Jia Rui's prestige, he quickly took control of Taiyuan's military power.

You must know that Taiyuan is one of the main transportation routes leading to the outside of the Great Wall. If Shanxi merchants want to do business with the Great Wall, Taiyuan is their logistics base.

The former officials on this line have all been bribed by Shanxi businessmen.

Shanxi merchants naturally do business smoothly, and money flows into their treasury like running water every year.

But after Fan Yong became a errand, he began to strictly investigate smuggling.

The business of these Shanxi merchants was immediately hit hard, and many goods could not get out of the customs at all.

You must know that the power of Shanxi businessmen is not small, and they also have their supporters in the court.

However, they couldn't take this kind of thing openly and could only find trouble for Fan Yong from other places.

But Fan Yong had just assumed the post of governor of Taiyuan. He just wanted to break the law and discipline, and he didn't have the time to do evil.

Therefore, those Shanxi businessmen turned out to be like dogs biting hedgehogs with nowhere to bite.

But these Shanxi businessmen can't just let it go. After all, this is an important way to make money. If it is cut off, their profits will be reduced by at least [-]%.

Therefore, they bribed Shanxi's political history in a blink of an eye.

When asking the chief envoy of Shanxi to allocate grain to various ministries in Shanxi, it should be delayed for a while, or there might be some carelessness on the road.

If the rations arrived late during a war, it would be a big deal, but now that the world is at peace, many rules are not so strict.

Now let alone the fact that the food arrived a little late, even if half of it was deducted, no one said anything in the end.After all, that’s what everyone does, otherwise where would the money come from?

However, the Shanxi Chief Envoy made such a fuss, which made Datong a little unstable.

Although Datong, as a military fortress, has a lot of food stored in it, this food cannot be opened until the last moment.

Finally, during the Datong Festival, the matter was brought to Fan Yong. Fan Yong was really at his wits end. He originally wanted to ask Jia Rui for help, but he was afraid that Jia Rui would confront the Shanxi businessmen, and in the end, Jia Rui suffered losses, so Then he gritted his teeth and prepared to carry it down.

After reading the letter, Jia Rui was relieved that Fan Yong had not betrayed him.

Jia Rui sat in the study and thought for a moment. Several months had passed and the food had not yet been allocated to various departments in Shanxi.

If it drags on any longer, the military rations in the border towns of Datong and Tong will be in danger.

You said that if you go to study the political history of Shanxi, it's really hard to say whether you can succeed?

Because the Shanxi Governor was the emperor's servant, the Emperor did not want to irritate the Emperor too much during the period when the Emperor was about to leave, so there was a high probability that the matter would be left alone.

It's settled over there, but what about Datong?If there is no food and army, their morale will be scattered. If Datong fails, it will become an undefended fortress.

(End of this chapter)