Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 127 The Youngest Number One Scholar in the Zhou Dynasty

After less than a stick of incense and a few gossips, Jia Lian left.

The only gain from this episode is that Yuanchun expressed very implicitly his idea of ​​using Jia Lian as a foreign aid.

The rest is not a harvest, but a handle given to the emperor.

The deepest feeling is that "accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger".

[Meeting privately with concubines in the palace during the palace examination], such a crime has been confirmed, and the emperor will take it out when needed.

Suddenly, Jia Lian had no ability to resist!

This crime can be big or small. If the emperor is magnanimous, if you smile slightly, if the emperor is not magnanimous, you will get the title.

It's just such a thing, it can't be said to be very harmful, but it's really disgusting.

Jia Lian had to obey obediently. It was impossible not to take sides between two generations of emperors.

Jia Lian heard this and sneered: "Since the Han Dynasty, Confucianism has been the dominant one. Who dares to refute Guanzi?"

If he had not read the original work, Jia Lian would never have met Yuanchun, but would have turned around and left.

Emperor Chenghui is a special example. He looks at the people around him with wide eyes. They are all unruly people who want to harm me.

Looking at the policies of drinking poison to quench thirst in history books, are they really caused by the intelligence and knowledge of the ancients?

Jia Lian's paper tells everyone that there is a new way. If you go out to rob or deceive, you can fool people for another five hundred years.

As long as the goal can be achieved, the means are not important. Well, that's probably what it means.

It's really not a strong argument. Let's understand the Wutai Poetry Case.

Kong Zhao's meaning is very clear. Even the chief minister does not dare to specialize in matters involving national decision-making.

Kong Zhao naturally had the same mentality as before. Sitting in this seat, what kind of monsters and ghosts had he not seen before? The emperor's gameplay was quite normal, but when the beasts from the Metropolitan Procuratorate impeached officials, the various tricky angles they used were astonishing.

Returning to reality, from now on, Jia Lian is a minister that Emperor Chenghui can fully trust.

If Europe had not forced the October Revolution, where would modern Northern Europe have come from?

Li Dong glanced at Jia Lian and swallowed it silently. Another way of saying it: "Brother Jia, what did you write?"

This feeling makes the modern Jia Lian very uncomfortable, but the ancient soul is singing happily.

Emperor Chenghui looked at Kong Zhao with a half-smile, feeling very happy. After embarrassing the first assistant once, you will become more and more proficient the next time. This time it is still a bit deliberate and not natural enough. Next time it must appear to be a matter of course.

Jia Lian felt like he was split into two people, one was disgusted and wanted to scold his mother, and you were singing praises to the emperor.

Jia Lian asked curiously: "What's wrong?"

You say you are a moral gentleman, it is best if you really are a moral gentleman. Just like an artist who says he is a top student, you better be true. The difference is that in ancient times, when an official's house collapsed, it depended on whether the emperor would avenge it, while in modern times, when an artist's house collapsed, it depended on whether the audience would buy it.

Therefore, the emperor is like this. The emperor is probably the most insecure creature in the world.

"Your Majesty, Jia Lian's paper is quite special. It is generally based on literary talent, but his policy theory is the best in this subject. I think that if you can't be the number one scholar, you will be the last. I can't judge, so I can be your majesty's judge!" Kong Zhao said After that, he went out to the ground and gave a great ceremony.

It can be understood that Emperor Chenghui used an irregular method to force Jia Lian to take sides.

Lin Ping took the initiative to answer: "After Brother Jia handed in the paper, the paper was taken away and trotted away. There must be a big shot waiting for him."

When we returned to the outside of the main hall, the sun was already slanting very hard, and the shadow area of ​​​​the main hall was close to its maximum. People who had finished their exams were waiting under the corridor outside the hall with relaxed expressions. The emperor showed his care for [the emperor's disciples] and arranged tea and cakes. As long as there was no noise, he could move around in a small area as he pleased.

This year's palace examination is rather strange. In previous years' palace examination, the examiners sent ten papers to the king for inspection. This year, there are eleven papers.

How do you explain this idea? In past history, there is no such positive record at all.

To be honest, when I first watched it, several cabinet ministers wanted to kill Jia Lian with their own hands. If thunder falls from the sky, no one present can escape. Did you know? Do you know that you are also pulling everyone together to be struck by lightning? Looking at it carefully again, I couldn't help but marvel, how wonderful! It’s really wonderful! Especially at the back, all problems are bypassed, new tracks are opened up, and the fundamental problems can be temporarily solved.

The rentier class will not take the initiative to make changes even if they know that there will be a day when the public is trampled to pieces.

Thousands of years of history tell future generations that no one can solve the dynasty cycle law. The so-called solution means starting over.

[My Qing Dynasty] was forced to carry out the New Deal, but it still created a royal cabinet.

Without the Cold War, how do you expect a blue-collar salary in China to support your family? It has been so many years since the Cold War ended. What kind of life are the rednecks in the Rust Belt living like?

Li Dong shook his head and smiled bitterly: "The ownership of "Guanzi" is to be determined!" Well, Guanzi is Guan Zhong. Whether it is a fortune or a Confucianism, Guan Zhong himself has the final say.

Emperor Chenghui, who had already read the policy papers, certainly knew what difficulties Jia Lian had posed for the examiners. He raised questions but did not directly provide solutions. Instead, after shooting another arrow, draw a target and tell everyone that this is the solution to the problem.

The above can be easily understood as the literal prison is not unique to the Qing Dynasty. It just depends on whether the emperor needs it or not. [My Qing Dynasty] is more famous because of the alien rule. In the late Qing Dynasty, in order to rebel, they often made up three-way jokes. After all, when it comes to the speed and breadth of communication, nothing can compare to the market share of Xiasanlu.

All in all, as the chief minister, Kong Zhao must be a moral gentleman, at least one without obvious flaws.

Jia Lian said: "You two are still thinking about observing these things during the exam? Forget it, the exam is over anyway, just let nature take its course!"

Li Dong and Lin Ping also came out. Their mood was not high. After meeting, Lin Ping sighed sadly: "All preparations have been in vain. I knew that His Majesty wanted to ask for advice, but I never thought that asking a country would be useless. If If you haven't read "Guanzi" and can still tell some of the rules, the imperial examination will be completely ruined."

Things can only be decided by the emperor, with his ministers providing options.

The simple and easy-to-understand explanation is that everyone has seen the internal problems of the imperial court. Let’s put them aside for a moment and let’s talk about the external issues.

If new problems arise in the future, what does that have to do with me?
You have to believe in the wisdom of future generations, that’s what it means!
The ancients were not stupid. Even these ministers who have reached the age of seniority are among the best in humankind in terms of IQ.

Just as he was talking, a sharp voice in the hall shouted: "The time is up, all candidates, please enter the hall and line up."

There are many cases of free conscience in the imperial era.

Internal improvements can only be postponed for three to five hundred years, and they will eventually collapse.

What happened to Zheng He's voyages to the West? It depends on personal understanding.

(My understanding, civil servants and gentry: Zhu Di, this bastard, took all the benefits of going to sea alone. Everyone can only receive a little pepper that is flooded in the market as salary. When the emperor became emperor, he only thought about chasing death and pursuing great achievements. Have you ever thought about everyone improving? Things in life?)

Therefore, Zheng He never went to the Western Ocean again. Smuggling along the coast was rampant, and the offshore became a world of pirates.

The imperial court made a slight sound of opening the sea, and the Japanese pirates came. Local forces are so arrogant!
When you look at the historical process in terms of "interests", don't you feel a sense of enlightenment?
Jia Lian's article only contains a few superficial remarks and does not go into too much depth. Otherwise, six thousand words would not be enough to write a preface.

Even so, the cabinet ministers were greatly amazed, feeling that thunder was hovering above their heads and about to fall at any time.

Fortunately, the author is on the same page as us.

Looking at the problem from the perspective of Emperor Chenghui, Jia Lian just said a few words without any pain, what is the situation in this country, taking the best place in the capital as an example, if it spreads out of the capital and spreads around, thirty miles away is a world twice as big. Sixty miles away and double that.

Let's put it this way, in the winter in the capital, one hundred people freeze to death every year. Nationwide, at least 10,000 people freeze to death. This is still a conservative number, but what about those who starve to death? What about those who died of illness? What about someone who was wrongfully accused and forced to die?

That's the case with many things. Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they don't exist. That’s why we know autumn is coming when we see a fallen leaf.

Emperor Chenghui was ambitious, so he lowered his head to look instead of simply looking around.

If you want to do something, you have to have money. If you don’t have money, you can’t do anything. As a result, the logic closed the loop. Anyone who made money for Emperor Chenghui was a loyal minister and one of our own. Those who opposed Emperor Chenghui's making money were rebellious ministers and traitors.

Jia Lian smiled slightly, isn't that a coincidence? I'm good at making money.

If you are willing to accept what I am saying now, forget it. If you don’t accept it, I will be the second Heshen. Oh, there is no Heshen in this world, so just be the first Jia Lian. Again, at first, I wanted to be a good person.

Emperor Chenghui looked condescendingly at Kong Zhao, who was kneeling and bowing his head. The other cabinet ministers didn't say anything. After burning the incense, Emperor Chenghui said: "Get down, please don't do this in the future. If word spreads, some people will say that you love Qing and force her to marry you. "

What did Kong Zhao say in his heart? Numb! You are the emperor, you are great, whatever you say will be yours.

[It’s not that I’m in love with you, but I really can’t lose this position. The whole family is counting on me. 】

Before getting up tremblingly from the ground, Kong Zhao said: "I am guilty! Thank you for your forgiveness!"

This is the rule of the game in this era!

When announcing the list for the general examination, register from back to front, and vice versa for the palace examination.

When the emperor appeared surrounded by the cabinet, the candidates stood in awe as the eunuch shouted "Your Majesty has arrived."

Jia Lian was a little sleepy. He lowered his head and wanted to doze off. He was not very focused and didn't hear what happened.

It wasn't until someone stabbed him in the waist that he glared angrily. When he saw clearly that the person who stabbed him was Li Qing, Jia Lian suddenly woke up and blurted out, "What do you think Mr. Ge has to say?"

Li Qing suppressed his laughter. It was so uncomfortable that he turned his face away and his shoulders shook violently.

Such a solemn scene almost became the scene of a farce. The person involved, Jia Lian, still had confused eyes and looked quite stupid.

Emperor Chenghui couldn't help but smile: "Jia Qing is tired, come forward."

After Jia Lian came out of the queue, he realized that I had won the first prize? What about the promised fourth place?
The rankings continued, and after rearranging the order, Jia Lian stood in the first place.

Why does it feel like a dream? No, this is being used as a knife by the emperor. Hey, the original plan was for me to tell the truth, then be suppressed, and just live in the top three. I never thought that the emperor was so determined that he needed to pass such a test paper to send a signal to officials all over the world that I wanted to reform.

Combined with the restoration of Taizu's old system in the previous imperial examinations and the introduction of financial policies, it seems to be to alleviate the country's financial difficulties. In fact, Emperor Chenghui is warning the ministers. You have all read the papers. Don't force me to engage in an integrated grain payment + stall for the gentry. Ding enters the mu.

After the logical chain was straightened out, Jia Lian didn't feel too happy. Instead, he complained silently in his heart, "You are the gentry paying the grain together + sharing the land." Oh, so hard, right? I really hope you are serious about it and don't make a variant like Yongzheng did.

So, in the next step, the emperor will probably take back the local control of the canal to the court? After all, in the past, canal construction was the responsibility of local governments, and local officials were directly responsible for dredging projects during dry periods. Therefore, there are many banknote checkpoints in various places.

Chaoguan is a product of the Ming Dynasty and continues to be used. (It can be understood that for local construction of ten kilometers of roads, fifty kilometers of tolls will be charged.) In the future, the imperial court will pay and send commissioners to take charge of the canal, instead of like before, the governor of canal transportation is a bodyguard along the river, only in charge of public security and everything else. in spite of. Typical unclear rights and responsibilities. After all, in theory, the Governor of Water Transport can control everything that happens on the canal. In reality, the company's responsibilities are very limited. It's not just about problems with grain ships and tax bank ships.

Jia Lian just thought about it casually, didn't it happen? The definition of national projects still depends on the emperor's interpretation.

To be honest, Jia Lian really hoped that the emperor would make a fuss about the canal and at least clearly distinguish the rights and responsibilities.

Li Dong and Lin Ping both entered the second class, and were lucky enough to be admitted as commoners. They would sit in the Hanlin Academy for three years and be promoted to sixth-rank officials. They would move up step by step. As long as there were people in the court, promotion every three years would not be a problem. At almost forty years old, you can become a servant.

What is really promising is a bright future. As for Jia Lian, of course he will directly enter the Hanlin Academy and hang out for three years. If he has pursuit, he will go out to work as a sixth-grade foreign official. If he has no pursuit, he will continue to stay in various ministries in the capital and work as a gangster.

If he really wanted to, Jia Lian probably wanted to be a gangster. But with the current situation, Jia Lian probably can't be considered a gangster.

Jia Lian's mind was as confused as a puppet. An anxious Qiu Shi'an stepped forward in person to remind him what to do next, kowtow to thank him, etc. After completing the process, Jia Lian slowly regained consciousness.

Until Kong Zhao took the initiative to speak: "Congratulations to the champion!"

Jia Lian, who was completely awake, folded his hands and saluted with a calm expression: "Thank you, Mr. Chief Assistant!"

Kong Zhao's expression was instantly distorted, and he was shouting in his heart: "Master, do you understand the rules?" 】

Fortunately, at this time, No. 2 took the initiative to speak: "Feng Yuan from Ganzhou, I have seen the grace minister!"

Jia Lian stepped aside knowingly, and then Tanhua stepped forward: "Fuzhou Lin Shen, I have seen Enxiang."

The so-called Enxiang is now a variant of the title of Master. A benefactor is a mentor, a mentor is a mentor.

You see, scholars can always find a suitable title.

Where is Shen Mingxin from Huiyuan Taicang? Oh, it's No. 1 in the top two, ranking fourth. Does this count as the first assistant to win back the victory for Neo-Confucianism? Probably? After all, Emperor Chenghui just selected a top pick who shouldn't have appeared.

Although I am the top pick, I am not happy!

Jia Lian felt like he was alone and haggard!
The top pick is not what I want!

Jia Lian, who couldn't see any smile on his face, was just pretending to be AC ​​in the eyes of everyone.

No matter how unconvinced he was, after he thanked his master, he still wanted to come over and pay homage to Jia Lian.

"Don't laugh so hard." Jia Lian's voice was not loud, but it was very harsh.

Feng Yuan cooperated with a straight face: "I've seen the champion!"

Jia Lian smiled and hugged his hands in return: "You and I are the same age, so there is no need to be polite!"

Feng Yuan felt that he had been fooled, but there was no evidence, so he walked away angrily and gave way to Lin Shen.

Lin Shen obviously wanted to be more social, and he smiled and hugged his hands: "Congratulations to Brother Jia, the youngest number one scholar in this dynasty is born."

[I'm sorry] Only then did Jia Lian react. When he thought about Emperor Chenghui's intentions carefully, he suddenly felt that the emperor was indeed quite interesting. Just a title like [The Youngest Number One Scholar in the Great Zhou Dynasty] would be an honor that could never be used up in a lifetime unless one commits suicide.

"Ah, Brother Lin is overly praised. To be honest, I didn't expect this. If you don't believe me, just look back at the paper." Jia Lian explained sincerely. Lin Shen was a little confused, but he smiled naturally: "I was about to Please read the masterpiece."

"Don't worry, the three of us still have to parade." Jia Lian pointed to Qiu Shi'an, who was walking over. Behind him were several waiters, holding a plate with red flowers and red ribbons.

To be honest, it was the first time in Jia Lian's life that he was treated like a horse parade. When his parents served wine at a key university, all his relatives were present. That should be the highlight of Jia Lian's life.

After coming to this time and space, from the provincial examination to the national examination, Jia Lian thought he was numb. But when he actually sat on the horse and watched the crowds on both sides of the street cheering, the feeling of being in the spotlight still made him feel elated and dopamine secreted. Definitely too much.

This feeling is countless times greater than the pleasure brought by a little entertainment in bed.

The last moment it was "I am not happy", but at this moment, "the soul is already ascending to heaven".

At this moment, Jia Lian finally realized that it was not that power could not bring pleasure, but that my previous official position was too small.

Speaking in front of Corey's seven or eight guns and speaking in front of hundreds of officials in the county are completely different concepts.

What about further up? What if it becomes a time when even wanting to come in and listen is a luxury?

I know it will be very tiring, but can’t I stand it?

Uh, why did this car drive again?

Why didn't Jia Lian remember it when he returned home? Well, it seemed that Li Dong and Lin Ping protected him from the crowd.

After returning to his home court, Jia Lian was completely normal. The first thing he did was not to visit Jia's mother, who had been waiting for a long time, but to ask: "Has the Wang family sent someone to announce the good news?" The meaning of this sentence is only Jia Lian's. I know, Wang Ziteng, can you take my suggestion seriously now?
Jia She, who was already smiling crookedly, said, "You don't need to announce the good news to know it."

Jia Lian looked at Benxi Laozi without a doubt and said, "We still need to send someone over to make an appointment and set the date for the wedding."

Jia She asked strangely: "Why don't you wait until the Wang family comes to visit?"

Jia Lian didn't bother to explain and smiled, "Do as I say. Grandma is still waiting. I'll go see grandma first."

When he saw Jia's mother again, Jia Lian came forward and kowtowed happily. After three rings, he knelt down and said, "Grandma, do you have face?"

(End of this chapter)