After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 654 Proposal
Ma Shangyi was very happy about the news brought by Hai Changan.

Although she still preferred to let Hai Chang'an take the military examination and then be granted an official position as a military scholar, that would take time. She recently received news that the emperor intended to reopen the military examination, but that would be at least next autumn. The provincial examination would be held next autumn, but there might not be a joint examination the year after, depending on how the cabinet arranges it. If the emperor is not in good health, or if Sun Ge Lao makes a new mistake, the time for the military examination could be postponed at any time.

If Hai Chang'an only passed the provincial military examination and obtained the title of a military candidate, it would be enough to be appointed an official in the army. But if the Chang family wants to be wary of him, the status of a military candidate is not enough, and the official position at the beginning is not very high. Ma Shangyi hopes that Hai Chang'an can enter the officialdom as a military candidate, so that her connections in the capital can ensure that he can serve in the imperial army. By then, he will have the support of the royal family, and even if the Chang family has the Prince Ji's Mansion behind them, they will have to be polite to him. The old people in the Cining Palace also have ways to take revenge on the Chang family.

Ma Shangyi originally thought that she had the patience to wait for the day when the martial arts examination would be held again. Before that, she and her companions could design a more thorough and detailed revenge plan.

But now, if the Hai family is willing to give up the quota and let Hai Changan join the army, then she won't have to wait so long! As for whether there are any irregularities, it is not a problem for her at all. She will make sure that no one will pick on the Hai family and Hai Changan!
At the same time, Ma Shangyi was also very happy that Hai Xiya could be favored by Tao Yue and would be promoted to the Ministry of Households. Hai Xiya was Hai Changan's adoptive father. The higher his status and the more power he had, the more confident Hai Changan would be when he came to Beijing.

Even though Tao Yue was the nephew of Concubine Tao Hui, who had some unclear old grudges with Empress Dowager Zhou, Ma Shangyi didn't care. She had been in the palace for many years and knew many secrets of the harem disputes during the previous emperor's reign. Concubine Tao Hui was just a poor creature who was used and died early. If her old maid hadn't changed her master to Concubine Chang Gui after her death and did many bad things for the latter, Empress Dowager Zhou would not have been angry with her. Tao Yue has been law-abiding for decades. Although he is a relative of the emperor, he is a legitimate imperial examination candidate. There is nothing to criticize about his character or talent.

Queen Mother Zhou had many opinions about the emperor's confidants, but she had a good impression of Tao Yue, and she also agreed that the emperor should use this cousin. The mother and son had already reached a consensus to use Tao Yue as the chief minister of the cabinet after the new emperor ascended the throne, so as to completely kick the Sun faction out of the cabinet. Although Tao Yue entered the cabinet much earlier than Ma Shangyi expected, she was not surprised. After Tao Yue entered the cabinet, re-employing Xie Wenzai and other old students of Wumen would only be more conducive to the stability of the court after the new emperor ascended the throne.

As long as the Seventh Prince and the Eighth Prince can always get along well with each other.

Now, Tao Yue's entry into the cabinet has benefited the Hai family and is a pleasant surprise for Ma Shangyi.

She asked Hai Chang'an again and again, and confirmed that although Hai Xiya would be transferred to the Ministry of Households as an official, he would have to stay in Shaanxi for a few years and would not move for the time being. She felt more at ease.

She smiled and said to Hai Chang'an, "This is very easy to handle. When Hai Dushi receives the transfer order, come and tell me, and I will take care of your replacement. Even your transfer to the capital in the future will be left to me. Are you willing to be a guard in front of the emperor? If you are willing, you can come to our house often and talk to Guard Lin. If you think being a guard in front of the emperor is too tiring, the Jinyiwei is also a good place to go. When the time comes, you can work under Tu Tongzhi for a few years, and when he returns to the capital, he can take you with him, and you don't have to worry about the Chang family getting involved. They can't get involved."

Hai Changan was stunned for a long time before asking, "Does this really not matter to you? Please don't force it. If you have a way to recommend someone to the capital, why don't you recommend your nephews first?" Even if the Ma family's children don't want to go to the capital, there are many people in the Zhou family who want to go to the capital, right? There are also the Tang family and other Chang'an military families. Who doesn't want to go to the capital to earn a good future? If Ma Shangyi recommends these famous children, it will only be more beneficial. Why must she focus on him, a poor branch of the Chang family?
Ma Shangyi waved her hand, "I have my own reasons. Do you think that the Sun family has been rampant in the capital for more than 30 years and dared to kill even the queen and the prince? Are they really made of mud? There are some things that they don't need to ask about personally, and someone will do it for them first. The soldiers from the northwest are going to enter the capital. When the ministers in the court heard where they came from, they were afraid in their hearts and would only throw them to remote places in other provinces. How could they recruit them into the imperial army or the Jinyiwei? Whether it is the Zhou family, the Tang family, or the children of our Ma family, the result is the same. But you are different. You are a member of the Chang family. Even if you settle in Chang'an, you are a descendant of the Chang family who is known to the world to have grudges with the Zhou family. Even if the Chang family doesn't want you to stand out, others will not deliberately suppress you. The Chang family does not have that much power in the capital!"

The same goes for the Hai family. Hai Xiya was transferred from Yongping Prefecture in Zhili to Chang'an. He was not originally a local resident of Shaanxi and had been keeping a low profile for more than 30 years. Even though most of the old people of Wumen who were exiled to the northwest had received his grace, the Sun family never knew about it. Hai Xiya deliberately suppressed his official position for many years. Before Sun Yonglu left the Northwest Frontier Army, he was always just a minor official, and even resigned and remained idle for more than ten years. His restraint made him never enter the Sun family's vision. Even if he was valued by Tao Yue and personally named and promoted to the Ministry of Households, no one would be wary of his name and stop him.

The officials in the court would only think that he was a small and unsuccessful official whom Tao Yue met by chance during the Chu-Hu peace talks, and that he wanted to win over to be in charge of his work. He was already an old man, and even if he entered the court, he would not be able to work for a few years. There was no need to block his way and slap Tao Yue in the face.

Ma Shangyi explained the whole story to Hai Changan in detail, and then said: "If you can really go to Beijing, it may be a good thing. The emperor has been patient with the Chang family for many years and has long been impatient. Unfortunately, the emperor promised to be lenient to Prince Ji, Prince An and their mother's family. As long as the Chang family does not act excessively, the emperor will not be able to take action against them. But if there are flesh and blood of the Chang family who are trusted by the emperor, then if some of the Chang family members act improperly and are severely punished by the emperor, it will not be considered that the emperor has violated the oath that day."

The Chang family was able to use Chang Gengxing, a member of the side branch, as a punching bag for the Zhou family. In the future, the emperor can also use Chang Gengxing's son as a cover to prove that he has no grudges against the Chang family and is still tolerant of them. It's just that some of the Chang family's children violated the law and need to be punished accordingly. Anyway, as long as the "Chang family" signboard does not fall, the ups and downs of the fate of some Chang family members are not worth mentioning.

Ma Shangyi also asked Hai Changan: "Do you want to change your name back? Before going to the capital, if you change your name back to 'Chang'an', the emperor will surely be happier!"

Hai Chang'an was stunned, pursed his lips, and did not speak for a long time.

(End of this chapter)