Red Mansion Beijingwang

Duke Rong's Mansion.

In the Rongqing Hall, Jia Mu, Jia She, Jia Zheng, Mrs. Wang, Yuan Chun and others were all gathered together. It was crowded with maids and servants standing around, not even daring to breathe for fear of being angered.

Now that such a big event has happened in the Jia family, Yuanchun's arrival has eased the atmosphere in the hall a bit, but it's not much better.

Yuanchun raised his eyes to look at the old-looking Mother Jia, and asked: "Grandma, what did the old concubine say?"

When Jia Mu heard this, she looked at Yuanchun with a pair of turbid eyes, and an inexplicable color flashed through her eyes. She sighed, and said with a long and short sigh: "The old concubine has seen the Holy Sage, and it was Brother Zhen who gave the money to the emperor. He conspired with Jinling’s Zhen family and the Jia family’s main family to do this bastard thing, and was intercepted by the Prince of Beijing who was in charge of disaster relief in Jinling and reported to the emperor.”

Come on, Jia Mu's lips trembled, and she cried sadly: "What evil have I done? I am so careless."

If a whole family got involved, it would be a disaster for the whole family.

As soon as this statement came out, everyone looked startled, but they did not expect that this matter actually related to the Zhen family and the Jia family in Jinling, and it was reported by Prince Beijing.

This Beijing Prince's Mansion is not an in-law of their Jia family, so how can they return it?
Yuan Chun's face showed a bit of unnaturalness, but then he relaxed, and a sense of relaxation surged deep in his heart. Since the husband was the one who suggested it, he presumably made up his mind, so as the wife, she had nothing to say.

As for the affairs of Duke Ningguo and my family, who made them greedy?

Jia Zheng, the father-in-law, had a strange look on his face and said helplessly: "Your Majesty is presiding over disaster relief in Jinling. Brother Zhen and my family are really confused!"

Everyone was silent when they heard this. It was true that as Jia Zheng said, Shui Rong was in Jinling to provide disaster relief. As in-laws, your Jia family just didn't help, but you still held back. It was unkind. No wonder Shui Rong "killed relatives for justice".

Apart from other things, even Mrs. Wang thinks it is very reasonable. Her good son-in-law has always been gentle and polite. If you hadn't made a stumbling block, why would the son-in-law have come to the memorial?

Well, this is probably the effect of applying a layer of filters.

Jia Mu sighed and said, "Since both people have gained the stolen goods, there is no room for change. The rest is left to the Holy Emperor to decide. But no matter what, we must keep the title."

Originally, I planned to ask the old concubine to deal with it, but now even her Zhen family is involved. It is too late to protect herself. How can I help the Jia family, and even the Prince of Beijing, who is supposed to be an in-law?
In short, there is no hope.

In the hall, Youshi, who looked worried, turned pale. According to Jia Mu's words, it was obvious that she was giving up on Jia Zhen. It was not that she had deep feelings for Jia Zhen, but that without Jia Zhen, she had nothing to rely on.

But what was slightly better was that her daughter-in-law was quite filial to her, which was a bit gratifying, and even a little palpitating deep in her heart.

As long as he keeps his title, life seems to be more promising without Jia Zhen.

Jia Rong also thinks the same. He has no feelings for the father who often beat and scolded him. Now that Jia Zhen is gone, the title of Dongfu belongs to him. From now on, he will be domineering in the house. Isn't it beautiful?

Yuan Chun's round and round face showed some hesitation, and she felt that she had to stand up and say something at this time, so she said softly: "Grandma, since the prince has submitted the memorial, I think he has an idea in mind. You don't have to worry. When your granddaughter comes, Mother also said that she would not sit idly by."

Jia Mu felt a little relieved after hearing this. Now they couldn't say anything, so they could only rely on the Beijing Palace. Fortunately, the concubine had spoken to her, so she would be able to keep her title.

As for Jia Zhen, she can only resign herself to fate.

Jinling, Guest House.

In the flower hall, Shui Rong is meeting Xue Xiao who has returned from buying grain. Grain merchants from all over the country are now entering Jinling one after another. The grain in Jinling is already abundant, but the price of grain is still high.

With the grain brought by the Xue family, there is now enough capital to suppress grain prices, and the people are not short of food. Those grain merchants can only hold on to the grain in their hands, and they will have to sell it at a low price.

After instructing Jia Yucun to take over the food, he allowed him to develop freely and then asked Jia Yucun to make arrangements.

After the arrangements were made, Shui Rong praised the Xue family, and then his eyes fell on a gentle young man behind Xue Xiao. He had a faint guess in his heart and asked, "This is it?"

Xue Xiao hurriedly replied: "Back to the prince, this is the dog Xue Biao, Biao'er, I haven't paid my respects to the prince yet."

Xue Biao heard the words and bowed: "Xue Biao pays homage to the prince."

Shui Rong stared at Xue Pan. He was full of heroic spirit, and his words and deeds were quite good. He looked like a rich young man, and his temperament was many times better than that stupid goose Xue Pan.

The original work focuses on describing daughters, and most men have negative images, such as Jia He, Jia Zhen, etc., but Xue Biao is one of the few positive images. He is loyal in nature, handsome in appearance, outstanding in talent and learning, and has good character. Rich and well-educated, Baochai and Baochai are like siblings. After joining Aunt Xue, they worked for Aunt Xue honestly and conscientiously.

Of course, after facing Xia Jingui's seduction, Xue Biao "tossed and turned" on the bed, presumably because she was moved.

Men, it is difficult not to be moved when faced with beauty. Just like seeing a cool beauty on the street, your heart will be moved. The key is to be able to remain unmoved. And Xue Biao can do this, which is enough. .

Apart from anything else, at least Shui Rong showed his true nature as a man when faced with the temptation of his nephew's wife.

After a few moments of silence, Shui Rong asked, "Brother Xue is doing business with your father?"

Hearing Shui Rong's affectionate address, Xue Biao felt a little frightened and respectfully replied: "As for the prince, my father asked me to study at home."

Hearing this, Shui Rong understood clearly that among the so-called scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, scholars always had the highest status. It was normal for Xue Biao to study, so he continued to ask: "How is your reading?"

A trace of shame flashed across Xue Biao's face, he glanced sideways at Xue Xiao, and muttered: "I dare not hide anything from the prince. I can't calm down my mind. In addition, I am not very talented in reading, so I am afraid that this book is... I can’t read it.”

Xue Xiao, who was on one side, raised his brows slightly when he heard this, and felt a surge of anger in his heart, but it was hard to get angry in front of Shui Rong.

Seeing Xue Xiao's forbearing look, Shui Rong couldn't help but feel funny. He was just a father who "hoped for his son to succeed". If he hadn't been there, he would have been punished with a stick.

If you are too stupid to read it, please refer to Jia Zhengxun Baoyu.

However, Shui Rong didn't pay much attention to it. The imperial examination was like crossing a single-plank bridge. Not everyone could walk across it. Besides, if you look at the many distinguished families in Beijing, you would know how many of them had passed the exam to become a scholar. How difficult it is.

After pondering, Shui Rong said: "Working behind closed doors is ultimately unsatisfactory. If brother Xue is willing, he can go to Beijing and go to the Imperial College." Xue Xiao looked slightly happy when he heard this. Wasn't the prince just trying to support his son? He didn't wait for Xue Biao's answer, or maybe He was wrong to say that this boy was "ignorant", so he took the lead and said respectfully: "Will it trouble the prince?"

When Shui Rong heard the words, it was nothing more than a polite word, and he said with a smile: "It's not troublesome. When we are in the capital, Brother Xue can also come to the palace to accompany Bao Yatou, so that you cousins ​​can talk."

A person with the title of Imperial College was responsible for any major event. He had already arranged for Zhang Shiyou's son and Qin Zhong, and he didn't care about Xue Biao. If Xue Biao wasn't older, he would have wanted Xue Biao to be with Jia Zhong in the palace. Huan and Jia Lan are company.

Xue Biao saw that his father had all agreed, and the son could not refuse even if he didn't want to. Besides, he had a good relationship with Sister Bao, and whether it was good to catch up on old times or not, he had to be in the capital without being alone, so he said respectfully: "I'm here. Listen to the prince."

Shui Rong nodded. The arrangement for Xue Biao was firstly for Baochai, and secondly, it was also to commend Xue Xiao for his cooperation in disaster relief matters. It could be regarded as a reward.

After thinking about it, Shui Rong turned to say, "Brother Xue, when I finish the disaster relief work, you can follow me to the capital."

Xue Biao naturally did not refuse when he heard this, and responded: "Yes."

After arranging Xue Biao's affairs, Shui Rong's eyes fell on Xue Xiao, a flash of light flashed in his eyes, and said: "Speaking of which, your Xue family's second wife is engaged in overseas trade. I wonder how the sea trade business is?"

Xue Xiao's eyes lit up slightly when he saw that Shui Rong was interested in sea trade. He understood that Shui Rong's status was definitely not just a casual remark. Big men like them had their own intentions in every word and action. He immediately replied: "My lord, sea trade is a very profitable business. Silk fabrics, tea and porcelain from the Qian Dynasty are in hot demand in those places in Panyu and are worth thousands of gold. You can make a lot of money just by taking a casual trip."

Shui Rong naturally understood the profits of sea trade, and knew that what Xue Xiao said was true. It was just that the sea was banned in the Qian Dynasty and merchants were not allowed to do business. The overseas trade of the second family of the Xue family was actually very valuable, because their main purpose was to collect money for the royal family. Overseas rare and exotic products are not truly traded.

The wealth at sea cannot be underestimated.

Taking a sip of tea, Shui Rong said, "You are often overseas and want to know everything about the prices of overseas items. I would like to ask you to make a detailed price list. I wonder if you can."

When Xue Xiao heard this, he didn't respond. He pursed his lips and asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, is the imperial court going to impose a sea ban?"

Shui Rong stared at Xue Xiao and raised the corners of his mouth slightly. He understood Xue Xiao's hope, or it could be said that this was the nature of a businessman, the natural pursuit of profit, which was an indispensable quality for a businessman.

Putting the tea cup down, Shui Rong said, "I am only slightly interested."

Shui Rong was convinced of the benefits of sea trade to the imperial court. He did have ideas about opening up the sea, but he couldn't just see the benefits of opening up the sea and ignore the disadvantages. The sea ban in the Qian Dynasty was mainly due to conservative ideas. Once the sea is opened, the opposition from the DPRK and China is definitely not small. What impact it will have on the Qian Dynasty is uncertain. It is feared that a good thing will turn into a bad thing.

All I can say is that the opening of the sea must be done slowly and not in a hurry.

The current thinking of Water Soluble is very simple. If you want to change this conservative thinking, you must put real data in front of you to increase your persuasiveness. Therefore, Water Soluble needs a detailed price list.

As for whether it can succeed, it must depend on Emperor Yongkang's wishes. After all, Shuixun has power, but the only one who really makes the decision is Emperor Yongkang, who is sitting on the dragon throne.

When Xue Xiao heard this, he felt a little disappointed. He thought that the court was going to impose a sea ban, but he didn't expect that the prince was just interested.

However, Xue Xiao knew that since the prince was interested, he must have some ideas. Although the imperial court had a maritime ban, there was a lot of sea trade business in private. It seems that the prince took a fancy to this business.

Thinking of this, Xue Xiao said respectfully: "Your Majesty, overseas trade relies on sea-going ships. The common people often go out to carry goods and have seen many sea-going ships carrying barbarian merchants. Among them, the one that impressed the common people the most was Fo Lang. The speed of the robot's ships is much higher than that of our Daqian Dynasty. The masts and sails of the ships are different from those of our Daqian Dynasty ships. They are more suitable for long voyages, and the ships of Daqian Dynasty carry good cargo. But it is more suitable for offshore trade. If you want to do maritime trade, the ship cannot be careless. "

When Shui Rong heard this, it was clear that there was an essential difference between sailing on the sea and sailing on the offshore. Naturally, they could not be compared. If an offshore ship sailed on the sea, it might not last long.

After groaning, Shui Rong said, "I would like to recruit some capable Folangji people and invite them to come to Daqian Dynasty to build sea ships. The remuneration is easily negotiable. I would like you to recruit them for me. Is that okay?"

At this stage, Folangji people are at the forefront of the world in the manufacture of firearms and ships. There is no doubt that they have their own research on firearms. It is too time-consuming to develop sea-going ships without knowing the direction. It would be better to hire those Folangs. The robot is made by man, let his own shipwright do it, and take this opportunity to observe it.

This is called learning from each other's strengths.

Xue Xiao's face was startled when he heard this, and he had some doubts in his heart. If the prince is interested in the maritime trade business, he can just buy or lease a sea-going ship. Why does he need to hire Folangji people to make it?
Although he didn't know what he meant, Xue Xiao still responded: "It is the honor of the grassroots. Please rest assured, my lord, the grassroots will recruit capable personnel."

Shui Rong nodded with satisfaction when he heard the words, but didn't explain anything.

Not to mention whether to open the sea ban, for Shui Rong, who has experience in his previous life, he knows that many countries outside have developed rapidly in navigation, and even have colonies. Instead of waiting for others to drive advanced sea ships with huge power, The artillery blasted open the gate of the Qian Dynasty. It was better to take the initiative, or to take precautions in the bud.

In short, sea ships must have it.

In the following days, the price of grain in Jinling fell rapidly under the pressure of Jia Yucun. Even so, grain merchants from various places still could not sell the grain.

As time passed, the grain merchants also came to their senses and realized that they had been dazzled by the temporary benefits.

It's just that things have become like this, and the grain merchants have no choice but to go against the government. In order to avoid losses, they sell the grain in their hands to the government in a tearful sale.

At this time, Jia Yucun was reporting the purchased grain to Shui Rong, with a smile on his face. He was obviously quite satisfied with his performance during this period, and he had a good impression in the prince's heart.

Shui Rong glanced at Jia Yucun and said Zhanran: "Jia Fuyin, please arrange for the purchased grain to be transported to the disaster areas in Henan and Shandong."

With a lot of food, Shui Xiong didn't have to worry. After this most difficult period of time, the big machine of the imperial court was running well enough, and he didn't need to worry about the rest.

When Jia Yucun heard this, he respectfully replied: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will make arrangements for you."

Shui Rong nodded with satisfaction and looked at Jia Yucun with an inexplicable look. Judging from this period of time, Jia Yucun was indeed very talented, which was in line with Shui Rong's positioning of him. The reason why Jia Yucun was so hardworking , he also knows what he wants.

After groaning, Shui Rong said: "The disaster relief work is probably over, and it is not convenient for me to stay in Jinling longer. At the end of the year, you will go to Beijing to report on your work and come to the palace."

Originally, the purpose of dissolving water into the south of the Yangtze River was to raise money for disaster relief. Yangzhou salt merchants and Jinling already had one million taels. In addition, various government offices have successively raised money. It is already enough. After the official business is done, there is naturally no need to wait. It is necessary to go down.

Jia Yucun was overjoyed when he heard this, and asked him to go to the palace when he went to Beijing to report his work at the end of the year. Wasn't it because he had other arrangements? This was exactly what he wanted, how could he not be happy?

Thinking of this, Jia Yucun said sternly: "I will honor your order." (End of this chapter)