Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 233: Unacceptable, the crowd is excited

(PS: I suddenly feel dizzy, for some reason. I plan to go to the hospital tomorrow. I used to have migraines in the summer, but western medicine was useless. I went to a traditional Chinese medicine hospital and it got better. I haven’t had an attack for five years. I hope the traditional Chinese medicine hospital can be more helpful this time.) The officials in Dengzhou quickly formed an impression of Jia Lian: he is not lustful, but he is greedy for money, idle, and playful.

Well, he is the son of a noble family, so it is understandable.

Jia Lian stayed in Dengzhou for half a month. He liked to wander around in casual clothes every day and could not rest even in the hottest weather.

In this regard, Dengzhou officials are on high alert. Want to see something you shouldn't see? Dream on.

Jia Lian first wandered around the city for three days and couldn't help but sigh that the officials in Dengzhou were kind-hearted and he didn't see a single beggar.

For this reason, I can't help but think of the 86 Seoul Olympics, when all the idle people in society were arrested to avoid affecting the city's appearance.

Throughout the ages, many things remain unchanged. What you see is not necessarily true, and your eyes can also deceive you.

There are many ordinary people in the city, and sailors working at the docks are also common, and their eyes are not deceiving.

On the inspection day, Jia Lian was still just going through the motions, which made the officials feel much more relieved. It was in line with their expectations that he would take money and do the job.

In fact, Jia Lian was very busy every night, constantly recording what he saw and his analysis.

There are many inns and restaurants in Dengzhou City, which shows that there is a large floating population and prosperous business.

Jia Lian did not see anyone from the vassal state in the city. When wandering at the dock, he saw several Japanese slaves with special hairstyles getting off a boat. At this time, Japan was in the Tokugawa shogunate period, and it was closed to the outside world, only accepting Dutch and Da Zhou merchants.

Foreign merchants were restricted to the docks, but the Japanese did not express dissatisfaction. Instead, they bowed and scraped to the officers and soldiers. Jia Lian watched with great interest and could not help but walk closer to eat the melon.

The Japanese merchants spoke Mandarin, while the yamen runners and soldiers spoke the local dialect.

During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang forced officials to speak Mandarin as a measure for promotion, but it was later abandoned.

The Great Zhou Taizu also forced officials to speak Mandarin in public. Those who failed to do so would not be promoted. In schools across the country, teaching must also be done in Mandarin. No dialect was allowed. Otherwise, the qualification for the provincial examination would be revoked.

This compulsory measure did have some effect, but it was only limited to officials and scholars, and local dialects were still spoken.

The promotion of Mandarin can be said to be a miracle, built on the premise of thorough social change and universal education.

While Jia Lian was wandering around Dengzhou seemingly aimlessly, the preliminary conclusion on the smuggling case of new-style muskets came out in the capital.

Thanks to the warehouse management system established by Jia Lian, everything from the incoming raw materials to the entry and exit of finished products is clear. There must be an outflow for every entry, and all sources are clearly traceable.

Guo Yan, who did not have to take responsibility, was not too happy. If the problem did not come from the Ministry of Works, then it could only be from the Ministry of War and the Shenjiying.

After the preliminary investigation results were reported to Emperor Chenghui, he appeared very calm and specifically asked, "Is it true?"

"It's true! Upon investigation, it was found that no relevant craftsmen had gone out to take on work." Xia Shouzhong, who was in charge of the investigation, was also very decisive. After all, they had been investigating for several days and had found everything that needed to be checked. There were no loopholes to be exploited.

"Then let's go to the Ministry of War and check which troops the new muskets have been issued to?" Emperor Chenghui made a decisive decision. Judging from the current situation, the power of the Dragon Guard is not too great, but too small.

In broad daylight, several military officials were taken away by Long Jinwei, which was quite shocking. Many people recalled the various major cases during the reign of Emperor Taizu, where thousands of people were arrested.

At the beginning of Taizu's reign, because the four directions were not yet settled and the country was not secure, Taizu set up the Dragon Guard to intimidate all officials.

Such biased records are everywhere in the folk. In fact, the original intention of Longjinwei was to spy on the intelligence of hostile forces. Later, because of a corruption case, Longjinwei took care of both internal and external affairs. The root cause was Taizu's distrust of civil officials and nobles.

Compared with Zhu Yuanzhang, he is relatively merciful.

In fact, people who know Taizu well know that he seldom kills people. He is not the creator of regional man-made disasters and would never kill people.

Therefore, many records cannot be believed blindly, but must be considered in the context of the historical context of the time.

For example, during the late Qing Dynasty, a bunch of pornographic stories about the Qing Palace emerged. This was the masterpiece of the Tongmenghui. In essence, it was a smear campaign to overthrow the corrupt rule. As the rulers, the Manchu Qing Dynasty was objectively the main person responsible for the humiliation of modern China. No one can wash this off.

The civil servants were all excited and gathered together to discuss how to persuade the king not to let the spies take away officials at will.

After all, the Ming History clearly records that Zhu Di asked Ji Gang, "How is Xie Jin?" Then this guy froze to death.

I just want to ask you, as an official, are you afraid?
Before a new round of petitions and remonstrations appeared, all the officials of the Ministry of War who were taken away were released. The officials asked for details. The officials said that the case was still under investigation and they had signed a confidentiality agreement and could not disclose the secrets. One person said that all those who were taken away would suffer the consequences. The collective responsibility law was also used. Now no one dared to ask any more questions. If you ask any more questions, it means you have a problem.

Next came the Shenjiying, where officials of all ranks were taken away for investigation and then released.

No one knows what this case is investigating, and those who know dare not tell others.

When people were becoming extremely curious about the case, Xia Shouzhong led the Dragon Guards out of the capital and headed south to Nanjing.

The last suspect in this case is the Shenji Battalion that went south to Nanjing. They are the second batch of troops equipped with new muskets. After all the investigations have been done, the only one left is the biggest suspect.

Let's put the case aside for now. The case still caused a strong reaction. When those officials were taken away, they were as soft as noodles in a pot, babbling like mental patients, dull as clay sculptures and wooden sculptures, and their appearance was ugly. It is no exaggeration to say that their image was destroyed.

Zhang Juzheng was just trying to improve his KPI, but he was already said to be an official with a hard life. The Dragon Guards directly arrested people and took them away. The impact of the scene at that time was really strong. In any case, civil servants must unite to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

Of course, from another perspective, why didn't you stop them at the time, and why did you get so angry afterwards? Nonsense, if I stopped them at the time, am I not an accomplice and took them away together?
As for now, do you understand that the law does not punish the masses when there are many of us? If you don’t understand, read more books.

So, as long as the angle is tricky enough, Qin Shi Huang was not a tyrant, Emperor Yang of Sui was a heroic ruler, and squids were morally noble. As long as you are willing to piece it together and make far-fetched connections, no matter how fragmented the logical chain is, it is still a logical chain.

This person is very bold when he talks nonsense and doesn't want to be held accountable. If there is profit in talking nonsense, he will talk nonsense to death. There is a certain delay in expecting the government to deal with any phenomenon. Moreover, sometimes it is better not to deal with it.

Anyway, Emperor Chenghui received hundreds of memorials in one day, all of which were so-called advice and remonstrances.

In the officialdom of the capital, everyone was in danger for a while because of this case. No one dared to speak, but it was certain that most people felt uneasy.

After all, it was as difficult for the Zhou Dynasty to find a minister with a clean record as it was to unify classical physics and quantum physics.

A few years ago, there was a theory that human society is just a makeshift team, which won a lot of admiration from people for a while.

How can we explain this argument? It is a generalization. To govern a country, it still depends on whether there is a long-term plan and the continuity of policies.

Faced with a flood of memorials, Emperor Chenghui kept all of them and did not mention punishing the officials who submitted them.

It was not until the cabinet meeting that the new team gathered for the first time and Li Sanjiang was the first to speak at the meeting.

"Your Majesty, in broad daylight, the Dragon Guard broke into the government office and took away officials. This has caused a huge uproar and everyone is excited. We must protest." It might be the first time Li Sanjiang attended a meeting of this level. He couldn't control his emotions and was very excited.

If it gets out, it will be considered as speaking out for justice. Which old fox present doesn't know this?

But the other cabinet ministers had different thoughts in their minds.

Kong Zhao's expression was indifferent, as if he had just heard some nonsense. Liang Daoyuan simply looked down on him. You are the only one who understands, and you are the only one who speaks for the interests of all officials? Li Chi, who was also a newcomer, just lowered his head and remained silent. He had just come in, so he had to be steady.

As for Guo Yan, I am an insider, so naturally everything is very calm.

Li Sanjiang thought that he would cause some reaction, but he was greeted with silence. No one agreed with him. What does this mean? Do you know what's going on? How come you don't know?
It can only be said that Li Sanjiang has a path dependence in his official career. His previous successful experience is to love to show off, do things in a high-profile manner, and be low-key in life. If there is a little bit of political achievement, it must be spread to everyone.

Little did they know that the old ministers in the cabinet knew that in front of Emperor Chenghui, those who work hard are the most popular.

It’s easy to be marginalized if you talk too much!
Emperor Chenghui glanced at Li Sanjiang and said to Guo Yan, "Mr. Guo, please inform him."

Everyone instantly perked up, straightened their backs, looked up and opened their eyes, focusing on Guo Yan.

Guo Yan stood up and said, "My dear senior colleagues, let me first tell you the nature of the case. This case involves treason and is kept at the highest level of confidentiality."

The hairs on the backs of the four cabinet ministers instantly stood up, because any case involving treason is no small one.

"According to the report from the informant of the Dragon Guard, some unruly groups in the civilian community, armed with the latest military equipment, opened fire in broad daylight. Local officials joined forces to suppress it. As requested by the Dragon Guard, I cannot reveal where exactly they are. The latest investigation concluded that some individuals among the gentry in Liangjiang are highly suspected, and the Dragon Guard has already gone to investigate. When the case is clarified in the future, I will report it. Colleagues, if there is no objection, I will take a seat."

Guo Yan looked around as he spoke, and when no one spoke, he sat down slowly, feeling so happy. It was the first time he spoke at a cabinet meeting, and no one objected to what he said. It was so cool, even if he was just pretending to be powerful, it was still cool.

Keep a low profile and don't get carried away. You are the last one in line now, so talk less and do more. If His Majesty doesn't allow you to bite, just keep your mouth shut. When His Majesty needs to bite, it's definitely right to bite to death.

All the ministers were waiting for the result of the cabinet meeting. They never expected that after the meeting, when facing their colleagues who came to visit, every minister kept their mouths shut and absolutely did not mention the incident of Captain Long breaking into the yamen and arresting people in broad daylight.

Li Sanjiang was pressed into a corner and said, "Don't ask. Even if you ask me, I can't tell you the truth. Just wait."

The mystery surrounding this case was so intense that all the officials in the capital were wondering what the case was.
The experts came to a conclusion very quickly. For example, Lord Meng, when communicating privately with his subordinates, said with certainty: "It should be a case of treason. If I am right, something must have happened in the Jinling Armory."

It can only be said that this inference is very close to the facts. In fact, it has never been an isolated case that the weapons of the officers and soldiers flowed into the civilian population. The imperial court actually prohibited civilian merchant ships from installing firearms. If you want to buy them, you really can't buy them. The solution to the problem is very simple, that is to directly hire the navy. After a while, the relationship becomes familiar, and the other party will not refuse to buy some weapons for self-defense.

Of course, the navy is playing the advanced version. Normal trade requires paying taxes, so smuggling is very suitable.

Jia Lian certainly knew the disadvantages of the military doing business, not to mention smuggling. But he would never say a word to anyone other than Emperor Chenghui, because once he said it, it would be like Kennedy riding in a convertible, which was a physical brain-opening.

Given the current situation of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it is unlikely that there will be a complete social revolution, let alone a revolution as great as the French one.

Each generation has its own affairs to deal with. At this stage, under the current ideological background, the only thing Jia Lian can do is to give birth to a new interest group, even if the biggest leader of this interest group is the royal family.

In any case, it is better than doing nothing and waiting to be beaten up in the internal circulation.

Jia Lian had been hinting to the emperor, "Look, what are the navy doing? It's such a profitable business, why don't you do it yourself? You can also collect taxes and shut up the Ministry of Revenue." As for the gold and silver collected, Jia Lian packed them all up. After half a month of Dengzhou, Jia Lian did not continue to go south, but returned to the capital.

Dengzhou returned to peace and beggars appeared on the streets again.

The biggest gain from the trip to Dengzhou was the Japanese merchant who was now kneeling in front of Jia Lian.

The surname of this sea merchant is Lin. Yes, there are Japanese people with the surname Lin, and they are local Chinese.

At present, the shogunate is in power, and the so-called nobles have no market. Lin Yifu, who has a hard life, embarks on the road of maritime business. He is not a main branch, but a side branch. The main branch cannot afford to do business.

In today's Japan, due to the policy of isolation, foreign trade requires the shogunate to take photos. In order to take photos, Lin Yifu bribed the officials behind the scenes and got the qualification to run a sea trade. But he couldn't run by himself, but needed to find a foreign partner. At this stage, Lin Yifu has not found a clear partner, and they are all temporary partners. The reason is that he looks down on the other party, and they are all local snakes, and it is difficult for Lin Yifu to become a backer in Da Zhou.

(End of this chapter)