Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 246 Please Beg Me
Jia Lian knew that many people were waiting to laugh at him. Aren’t you honest and upright?

How would you deal with these three Zhous now? If Jia Lian backs down, he will surely become the next target of the concentrated fire. The key is that the timing is also very delicate. In half a month, it will be the 68th birthday of the emperor.

At this moment in the capital, governors or generals with troops from other places came to the capital almost every day.

What is happening in the R&D Department does not need Jia Lian to publicize it himself. There are people who actively publicize it. This is not the reputation of the Wucheng Bingmasi for managing the flooding. The officials tacitly pretended that nothing happened. This is you, Jia Lian, managing the R&D Department and eating empty salaries. If you are unfair and cannot treat everyone equally, don't blame us for focusing our fire on you.

Jia Lian would certainly not do such a low-level method as going to the palace to file a complaint, especially when the enemy's situation was unclear.

Jia Lian found the Honglu Temple on the pretext of having official business, where the French delegation was packing their luggage and preparing to return.

After this period of understanding, Jia Lian discovered one thing, that is, Emperor Chenghui was not completely ignorant of the situation in Europe. In fact, Emperor Chenghui has been actively learning about the outside world and knows what the European powers of this era are doing. Perhaps this is the internal motivation for Emperor Chenghui to agree to improve the current situation of the navy.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be nice to just sit at home and wait for the Europeans to send money?
Europeans of this period viewed the Ceres with a beauty filter. The great Europeans always praised Ceres. They imagined the great country in the East as a dream country. In real history, when the British delegation visited, they brought all the good things that were kept secret from the Europeans, just like a dog trying to prove that they were also a civilized country and worthy of the title of "my Qing Dynasty".

In this way, the British saw clearly the true color of the Qing Dynasty.

It must be said objectively and fairly that the Qing Dynasty rulers' national policy of preventing the Han people first, completely stifling cultural ideas, science and technology, and cruelly suppressing the policy of inward migration and ignorance were the culprits of the Chinese nation's suffering for more than a century. For some unknown reason, the Yongzheng drama was whitewashed and beautified, and it was very different from the real history.

Yongzheng's so-called reforms were not so thorough. He just learned some bits and pieces from Wang Anshi. It would take days and nights to discuss this issue in detail, so I will not go into details.

When it comes to whitewashing and beautification, I think it’s still because of the international environment and the orthodox tradition. Well, that period was quite special, and many young people didn’t know that a lot of things happened.

What kind of person was Yongzheng? I think the descriptions of the secret agents in the early martial arts novels, such as the record of a minister dropping a card while playing mahjong last night, are closer to the truth. Readers who have read Er Yuehe's novels also know that the TV series was actually greatly modified, and some ethical plots were deleted.

Jia Lian must be thankful that this time and space is the Great Zhou Dynasty. Although the government still uses Neo-Confucianism and the eight-legged essay, it does not completely exclude other things and does not create a literary inquisition. To some extent, emperors are all similar. Zhu Yuanzhang revised "Mencius" and made an abridged version.

Everyone just needs to know this. In short, we must understand one thing: the emperor's policies must be for the purpose of stabilizing his rule. The more he founded the country, the more so. Later emperors often did not understand the actual situation, and the results of the policies they introduced were often contrary to their original intentions. This is what is called being out of touch with reality.

Looking back at some of the actions taken by the retired emperor during his reign at this time, aren’t they out of touch with reality?

Really not. In fact, he knew the actual situation very well. However, in order to secure his throne, he chose the easiest and fastest way, which was to bribe the rentier J-class with benefits. As for the hidden dangers and long-term consequences, how could he care about them? He took care of the present first.

The reason why the long-term interests of a country are often lagging behind is that for an emperor who rules the country with his own family, the first priority must be his position.

From this point of view, Emperor Chenghui was a pretty good and wise ruler.

Li Heng has been doing nothing recently, and is even a little anxiously waiting for the emperor's decision on his memorial.

Perhaps because the retired emperor had caused trouble, Emperor Chenghui had not been able to take care of this matter recently, so Li Heng could only wait anxiously.

Upon learning that Jia Lian was coming to visit, Li Heng naturally could not sit still. He left behind a group of officials from the Honglu Temple and came out excitedly to greet him.

Looking at the group of officials from the Honglu Temple who were rushing in front and following behind, Jia Lian reprimanded them with a heavy expression: "Your Highness is a prince, how can you be so humble in front of others? It is disrespectful to me, the minister."

Li Heng calmed down immediately after hearing this, and immediately stood up and bowed: "I have something I don't understand, so I asked Master Jia for advice, that's why I was anxious!"

Looking at the officials who were following, Jia Lian winked quickly at Li Heng, then greeted them according to etiquette and went in together.

Because of the temporary mission, Jia Lian came to the Honglu Temple with a legitimate reason. The officials of the Honglu Temple also saw that Li Heng was bored, and did not think that the prince was so respectful and humble. He just hoped that Jia Lian would rescue him from this boring place that he had to come to.

The officials were also looking forward to Jia Lian's arrival so that there would be someone to accompany Li Heng and not interfere with everyone's normal work.

As for the policy of the prince observing government affairs, the methods of dealing with it by all departments are the same. Just understand the process. As for the specific operation, whether it is the prince or the prince of a county, knowing the operation process is enough. Let's put it this way, the emperor who rules by himself is the holy emperor in the eyes of the civil officials.

The reality is just the opposite. The more time passes, the more centralized the power becomes. The Qing Dynasty was the peak of the emperor's centralized power.

The Great Zhou was similar. The system determined that the emperor's power was unlimited. But when it came to implementation, it was of course impossible.

The styles displayed vary depending on the personal circumstances of each emperor.

Although Li Heng seemed to be in charge of the Honglu Temple, he was actually just ruling without doing anything.

The main task every day is to study, there are a lot of official documents waiting for him to read. Li Heng has no patience to read these, he can't bear it after reading for two days, and he finds excuses to slip away early, or learn foreign languages, and enjoy facial cleanser.

After Guangdong and Guangxi agreed to treat French merchants preferentially, D'Artagnan ordered Esmeralda to take a bath twice a day to ensure that the respected prince would not smell any strange odor when he was in a bad mood.

Now D'Artagnan is planning another thing, that is, to ask the great Emperor Ceres to send an embassy to visit the French Empire. As far as the current situation is concerned, this matter is very difficult, mainly because Emperor Ceres has no great interest in the great voyages. The navy of the Ceres Empire seems to be a shortcoming. Although there are ideas for improvement and efforts have been made, it is still not good enough now? Although Ceres has financial resources, if it wants to improve, it will be effective in five years if it is willing to invest.

It seems a bit embarrassing that the delegation cannot go out to sea on their own ship. D'Artagnan is worried that the great Emperor Ceres cannot get over this hurdle, so he can only think of a way to trick His Royal Highness the Prince into doing some work.

At this stage, Li Heng is still very interested in Esmeralda. After all, in order to cater to the domestic market, the so-called Western style, high-level people will not get involved in such occasions.

Jia Lian did not rush to explain his purpose, but chatted casually, and the first thing he talked about was the customs of the Western Regions.

Li Heng angrily said, "The person behind the store is Wu Yuhui. When the man behind the scenes fell, the store could no longer operate. In order to survive, the shopkeeper gave away all his property and a group of Western women. Only in this way could he survive and return home with his property."

"Why are you so angry? Didn't I invite you to go?" Jia Lian teased. Li Heng looked around to see if there was anyone around and said in a low voice, "The second brother took one million taels from the shopkeeper and helped him get the money ashore. One million taels!"

Jia Lian immediately became alert after hearing this. Did Emperor Chenghui know about this? He should know, as the Dragon Guards were omnipresent.

"Well, I have something to ask you to mention to Commander Zhou. Let me handle the Second Prince's matter." Jia Lian and Li Heng quickly reached a dirty deal. With Jia Lian's instructions, Li Heng could not wait to set off immediately and went to his grandfather's mansion to visit the old man.

Empress Zhou's father had four children in total, three sons and one daughter. Empress Zhou was the eldest daughter.

In order to prevent the external relatives from becoming powerful, the Great Zhou Dynasty followed some practices of the previous Ming Dynasty, and the status of the families from which the princes chose their concubines was not high.

Old man Zhou was a juren by birth. When his daughter married the then King of Qi, he never thought that she could become the queen. Instead, he lived in fear for a long time, fearing that he would be involved in the fight for the throne.

After Emperor Chenghui ascended the throne, he thought that the clouds would clear and the moon would appear, but he never expected that his daughter would become the queen. She was more strict with her brothers and did not give them many opportunities. If you want to be an official, you have to fight for it with your ability.

Therefore, the eldest son is still only a junior editor in the Hanlin Academy, only of the sixth rank. He has been actively seeking to be transferred to a distant place, but was suppressed by Empress Zhou. The remaining two sons are all living in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, both of them are small eighth-rank officials, and receive a salary.

As for the two grandsons, Old Zhou actually likes the second one more, because the eldest one is rich and generous, and the gifts he gives during festivals are very generous. The third one is not as good as him in this regard, mainly because he was young and in the palace. Anyway, Old Zhou supports the second one more.

However, in the past year or so, Mr. Zhou's ideas have changed slightly, mainly because the third son has grown up. From an investment perspective, both grandsons have investment value, so he just tries to treat them equally.

Lao Zhou was very happy when Li Heng came to visit. He received him personally and presented him with a generous gift, which made Lao Zhou even happier.

After chatting for a while, Li Heng said that he wanted to invite his three uncles to work part-time at the newspaper and receive a salary.

As for my uncle, you can be the head of a column, write some articles, and get the royalties from the top ones.

Oh, Old Zhou was so happy, but Li Heng changed the subject and asked, "Grandfather, has the Zhou family offended anyone recently?"

The happy old Zhou was poured with ice water, and the smile on his face froze as he asked, "Why do you say that, Your Highness?"

"Then why are the three uncles in the R&D Department all drawing empty salaries? Does the Zhou family need that little money? Someone is pushing the Zhou family out to compete with Jia Lian. That guy is not a good person, he is a disaster. He is also the favorite young minister of the emperor and is destined to join the cabinet in the future. Grandfather, if you offend him, three generations may be implicated."

Old Zhou could no longer sit still, and stood up and said, "I really don't know about this. Jia Lian has always been very respectful to the Five Cities Military Department, and he has given me all the due respect. I didn't go and cause trouble for him. He also gave me generous gifts during festivals, and we have always had a good relationship."

Li Heng said earnestly, "Let's go ask the three uncles which kind-hearted person got them this empty salary."

Lao Zhou immediately said that he would go and call everyone back. Li Heng was not in a hurry to leave and waited patiently.

The first one to come back was my uncle. When asked about this, he said in bewilderment, "The salary was arranged by the staff of His Royal Highness Prince Jin!"

Your Highness Prince Jin, isn’t this the second son?
Li Heng suddenly perked up and looked at Lao Zhou meaningfully, meaning, are you pretending to be confused with me?

Old Zhou sat there expressionlessly, his hand holding the teacup trembling slightly. Li Heng had no idea what he was thinking.

Soon the other two uncles came back and their answers were different. This empty salary was arranged by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They said it was to take care of the emperor's uncle. It was not good to make it public, so it was enough to just keep it in mind.

"My three uncles, you are being used as guns." Li Heng was heartbroken.

After some explanation, Li Heng said, "Most of you have resigned on your own initiative. There are still eight people who haven't resigned. That's because they have strong backgrounds and are waiting to see the three uncles and Jia Lian fight. I'm not worried about you fighting. I'm worried that the news will spread to the palace, and my mother will be in a dilemma and can only cry in Kunning Palace."

The great uncle sneered disdainfully: "I want to see what he can do to me. Your Highness should worry about the status of the queen. If the Jia family's first concubine gives birth to a prince, will the Jia family still support you?"

In response to this, Li Heng secretly sneered in his heart, but said calmly on his face: "Uncle, my father is in his prime, and as a son, I just need to do my part. Since you think I am trying to make others look good, then I will take my leave."

After Li Heng finished speaking, he stood up, folded his hands and turned to leave. Lao Zhou couldn't catch up with him. Uh, was it really that he couldn't catch up with him?

At this time Li Heng realized the seriousness of the problem. The second brother had already extended his hand into the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This was a chess game.

Jia Lian also came to the palace. On the surface, he was there to deliver the navy's charter. After delivering the items, he was habitually asked by Emperor Chenghui to stay and chat for a while. I don't know why, but every time Emperor Chenghui and Jia Lian chatted, he would be in a good mood. Gradually, it became a habit. Whenever he saw this guy, he would chat for a while when things were not urgent.

After Jia Lian talked about a few anecdotes in the market, Emperor Chenghui relaxed from his intense work. When Jia Lian was about to leave, he suddenly changed the subject and said, "I heard recently that Wu Yuhui's case was related to a romantic story. I heard it from the public and I don't know whether I should report it to the emperor."

Emperor Chenghui's expression froze: "Well, you are the censor, you can report things based on hearsay."

Jia Lian shook his head: "It depends on what the matter is, right? The people at the Censorate can make up stories to complete the attendance check, but I don't want to do that. Besides, I have many duties to do, so I don't have time to care about rumors."

Emperor Chenghui immediately asked seriously: "To be more specific, Wu Yuhui's case is a major case. It has spread to the streets. It is not a small matter."

Jia Lian then continued: "This is the rumor I heard. The big shopkeeper of the Western Region Style spent all his wealth to survive, and a certain nobleman gave him a huge sum of one million taels. I thought to myself, Your Majesty was so distressed for a long time because of the ten thousand taels of silver for the R&D Department, how could this nobleman get one million taels easily. There is also a rumor that he is a nobleman without any roots."

The direction of the rootless nobleman directly misled Emperor Chenghui. At first, Emperor Chenghui thought that Jia Lian was secretly slandering the second son, but it turned out that he was targeting Dai Quan. That's fine!
Emperor Chenghui knew whether Dai Quan had received money and how much he had received. It was probably because the rumors had exaggerated the figures or they had made a mistake. The second son also received money, and the specific figures were also known, but Emperor Chenghui had been waiting and watching.

Looking at his good son, will he share your worries?

However, when Jia Lian mentioned Dai Quan, the old dog, Emperor Chenghui was a little worried. Long Jinwei still had a considerable amount of power, especially a part of the secret power, in Dai Quan's hands. After all, he had been the seal holder of Long Jinwei for many years. Who would believe that he had no hidden power? However, Emperor Chenghui asked Xia Shouzhong to keep an eye on him, but he still couldn't find him.

"How is the R&D department's issue being handled?" Emperor Chenghui took the initiative to bring up the topic, hoping Jia Lian would speak up and mention the three people from the Zhou family. It's too common to eat empty salaries, and it's not a big deal, but you have to divide it into different places, right?
Jia Lian replied calmly, "The situation of the crazy people eating empty salaries has been basically controlled. I think that without the cooperation of the Ministry of Revenue, this empty salary will not be easy to eat. After all, it is a newly established government office."

In a word, Emperor Chenghui's attention was diverted to the Ministry of Revenue.

In official matters, you can't even think about expecting Jia Lian to ask the emperor for help! If they really tear their faces apart and deal with the Zhou family, who would be shameless?
(End of this chapter)