Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 282 The Big Bet

"Your Majesty, let's discuss it again!" Kong Zhao finally couldn't help it. He opened his mouth to smooth things over while glancing at Li Chi with dissatisfaction.

It's not that he's afraid of Jia Lian, but there are more important issues waiting to be discussed. As for the dissatisfied Li Chi, he can only sit there helplessly. He doesn't want to do it either. I am the cabinet minister in charge of the Ministry of War, and my prestige is not enough. Before Sun Huazhen is removed, what can I do? You are the prime minister, you can stand on the shore and sigh: "The Master said on the river. I am in the water, and the people in the Ministry of War are watching me."
So, what is the original question? Well, back to the beginning, the question of whether the Nine Cities Control should stay or go.

Emperor Chenghui glanced at Kong Zhao with a bit of surprise. This old guy is a bit out of step. I haven't even started yet.

"Well, let's discuss it later!" Emperor Chenghui couldn't hit Kong Zhao's prestige in front of everyone. This was a tacit understanding between the emperor and his subjects. Especially in such a matter that was not a big problem, the emperor couldn't play tricks to overwhelm the cabinet, otherwise it would destroy the tacit understanding. Jia Lian could break the tacit understanding and ask for an audit, because he was of a low rank and it didn't matter if he shouted a few times.

"Your Majesty, the impeachment of Ningyuan Marquis by all officials cannot be delayed any longer." Kong Zhao followed up on this, and he still left some room for maneuver. It was already the end of the year, and the Chinese New Year was less than a month away. The first month of the year could undoubtedly delay it for another month, and when it was discussed again in February of next year, I'm afraid there would be a big one. By then, there might not be nearly a hundred impeachments, but hundreds.

It’s not that Kong Zhao is out of touch, but as the prime minister, such a big matter must be dealt with as soon as possible.

There is no doubt that Emperor Chenghui cannot replace Ningyuan Hou just because an official impeached the Nine Cities Commander. Therefore, Emperor Chenghui's use of the tactic of procrastination is undoubtedly the most normal way to deal with it. But from Kong Zhao's perspective, first of all, this problem is the biggest, and secondly, there is also the matter of Sun Huazhen, and Jia Lian's matter is not a big deal.

When weighing the two evils, Kong Zhao could only choose to deal with the Ningyuan Marquis's matter first and give an explanation to the outside world. He judged that compared with Ningyuan Marquis, Sun Huazhen's weight was more important, and the emperor agreed with his choice. This is the most normal way of thinking!

Jia Lian returned to his seat and watched Kong Zhao's performance. He sighed for him silently. As the chief minister, he was destined not to be a member of the emperor's core circle. From the perspective of the system design of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the emperor had unlimited power. From the perspective of the system design, the chief minister of the cabinet, as the head of the civil servants, must strive for the interests of the civil servant group. Even if it was just a pretense, it had to look balanced.

So far, Kong Zhao has done a good job! So far, the prime minister has performed well on the premise that the emperor did not overturn the table, but he retained the right to overturn the table. So what is the emperor's confidence in overturning the table? It is not the so-called institutional design, but the military power.

Kong Zhao knew what he was doing. When he sat in the position of the Prime Minister, he was already at the pinnacle of civil service. As long as he did not make any mistakes and could have a good posthumous title after retirement, he would have no regrets in his life. As for the desire for power, Fang Baiyi was a precedent. Didn't you see that the emperor didn't protect him? No emperor could accept the Prime Minister being strong, or even balancing power.

If you think about it in a bad way, Fang Baiyi might end up with a bad reputation in history books.

Fang Baiyi certainly didn't want to, but he had been in the position of Prime Minister for many years, and had made the country what it was now. He forced Emperor Chenghui to take action instead of mending things up when he came to power, which showed the emperor's dissatisfaction. To be honest, as Prime Minister, Fang Baiyi had too many things he couldn't help. But he had been in office for more than ten years, and the country had a little disturbance, whether it was rebellion or civil unrest, and he couldn't find any excuses. The root cause was the corruption of officials, which was difficult to reverse.

Emperor Chenghui did not respond to Kong Zhao's reminder, but fell into silence.

The ministers naturally did not speak, but waited patiently until Jia Lian yawned out of boredom, attracting everyone's attention. Emperor Chenghui then glared and said, "Get out and wait!"

Jia Lian came out dejectedly, and when he saw that no one was paying attention to him, he ran around everywhere. Speaking of the Forbidden City, he really had no chance to take a good look at it before. After a while, Xia Shouzhong appeared and said angrily: "My living ancestor, is this a place where you can run around?"

Jia Lian didn't take it seriously, and turned around to ask, "What's the matter? Is the meeting over?"

Xia Shouzhong took out a cigarette and handed it to Jia Lian, who lit it. He smoked too many cigarettes without filters, and his fingers turned yellow and hard to wash off. Looking at the index and middle fingers of his right hand, Jia Lian secretly sighed, it's good to be young.

"His Majesty told me to be careful when you go out. When you are cornered, anything can happen."

Jia Lian really believed this. It is always easier to solve people than problems. People are lazy, and the system is even more lazy. It is best if nothing happens. If there is something, suppress it. If you can't suppress it, solve the person who discovered or created the problem.

This is the normal process! This is an exception!

It is not uncommon for power struggles to be accompanied by simple and crude means. Jia Lian is fully aware of this. Haven't you seen that he now brings 20 family soldiers with him when he goes out? By the way, he also took advantage of the opportunity to get a batch of rifled muskets from the Shenjiying.

Although it is a muzzle-loading gun, it is better to have it than not to have it. At the critical moment, ten rounds of fire at close range may save your life.

"Thank you. I won't ride a horse when I go out starting tomorrow." Jia Lian nodded in acknowledgement and folded his hands perfunctorily.

Xia Shouzhong was a little embarrassed. After all, there was nothing to do. It was useless to give him a reminder. This guy was smarter than a monkey.

"It's so cold and you're not walking around outside. Let's find a warmer place." Xia Shouzhong waved his hand and Jia Lian followed him.

In fact, Jia Lian did not walk far, and did not even leave the courtyard. Following Xia Shouzhong into a secluded room, a wave of hot air hit his face. Looking carefully, he saw a chimney that went out to the wall. There was a coal stove in the middle, and a heated bed next to it.

"There's something open today, would you like to have a drink?" Xia Shouzhong invited him, but Jia Lian shook his head: "I'm afraid of hurting the supervisor!"

If he really took Jia Lian out for a drink and the emperor really summoned Jia Lian later, Xia Shouzhong would definitely be the one who would be in trouble.

"Honest!" Xia Shouzhong gave a thumbs up and asked for tea. Jia Lian slightly twisted his mouth, [I'm playing you! ]

The supervisor is a man who follows the rules, but he is too cunning. If he is not cunning, he will die in the palace long ago.

The definition of a country is clearly written in the textbooks. If you look for textbooks all over the world, how many countries' textbooks are so clear? I watched a video a few days ago, and I can only think that the UP host is sensationalizing. Because the underlying design of this country's education system is to take care of the bottom and delay the solidification of the J level.

The reason for this is actually very simple. I was born in 71. When I graduated from junior high school, those with good grades did not go to high school, but went to technical secondary school. Only poor students like me went to high school. Well, you will know if you think about it carefully. It's just that when the country is moving forward rapidly, there are more examples of leapfrogging around us, which gives people an illusion.

Back to the essence of the question, you know what the prime minister is, right? What does he do? He is in charge of distributing meat, understand?

That video has a pretty good number of views and a lot of likes. I just want to say, don’t play with your butt crooked!
Those universities that recruit students independently, I am talking about the students with basketball expertise, who are related to this book in terms of the nature of the officials in charge.

You're getting off topic! Pull it back!
"My eyelids have been twitching recently. Young Master reads a lot of books. Let me explain." Xia Shouzhong started talking. However, Jia Lian didn't want to talk to him about these things and replied directly: "No!"

The two of them sat around the stove, each with a cup of tea, but they didn't continue talking. They were all in the same boat, and they knew what was going on. If Xia Shouzhong really wanted to say something from his heart, he should wait until Jia Lian got off work and invite him to his private house for a drink and talk.

From this scene, Jia Lian judged that what he knew, Xia Shouzhong didn't know. What Xia Shouzhong knew, he didn't know. Emperor Chenghui was good at it, and he created a single line of communication. The biggest advantage of doing this is that it is difficult to leak the secret unless Jia Lian tells others.

There is one last possibility, which Xia Shouzhong knew. He was just testing Jia Lian to see if he could keep his mouth shut.

The reason is simple. Emperor Chenghui will not trust anyone absolutely and unconditionally.

The Dragon Guards are the innermost layer of guards directly controlled by the emperor, followed by the Imperial Stables and the Nine Cities Commander, a triple insurance system.

In principle, no matter who is the emperor, the Dragon Guard and the Imperial Stables are the emperor's exclusive property and outsiders are not allowed to interfere.

The Nine Gates Commander is in a rather ambiguous position, and a strong emperor will certainly have a firm grip on it, but generally speaking, those who sit in this position are members of the royal family, while a strong emperor will use his confidants.

The key is whether the emperor is strong! It can be said that the officials' attack on Ningyuan Hou seemed to be aimed at the Nine Gates, but in fact it was testing the bottom line of Emperor Chenghui, and it was a crazy test. Anyway, the crime was ready, so it didn't matter even if it didn't succeed.

Jia Lian fell asleep while sitting, while Xia Shouzhong was also fishing. Two young eunuchs came in and stared at Xia Shouzhong and Jia Lian, fearing that they would fall into the stove. The hurried footsteps woke them up, and the young eunuchs promptly served them hot towels and tea.

After wiping their faces and drinking a sip of warm tea, they looked at each other and ran towards the Qianqing Palace.

The cabinet meeting had already ended, and Emperor Chenghui was rubbing his brows behind his desk. Seeing the two men coming in, he said to Jia Lian, "Look at the record!"

Jia Lian picked up the minutes and sat aside to read them quietly. Liang Daoyuan and Li Chi agreed to dismiss him from his post for dereliction of duty. Guo Yan objected, thinking that Ningyuan Hou had just taken office and had not mastered the defense of the Nine Gates, so the predecessor should be held responsible. He advocated a one-year fine, which was enough. Pan Jixun advocated that since the incident was quite serious, he should be suspended for a period of time.

In the end, Kong Zhao came out to smooth things over and suspended him from his post for three months to reflect on his mistakes. Emperor Chenghui adopted Kong Zhao's suggestion.

In other words, the Nine Gates Commander is still the Ningyuan Marquis, but he is suspended for reflection. The specific affairs will be temporarily managed by his deputy.

After closing the minutes of the meeting, Jia Lian, who had nothing to do, stepped forward and whispered, "Your Majesty, I should go back now."

Emperor Chenghui waved his hand, and Jia Lian left the palace with an expressionless face.

I just had one thought in my mind: "What a daring gamble!"

Ning Yuanhou is reflecting on himself behind closed doors. Can the words of his acting deputy be of any use?
Yue Qi, the commander of the Beijing camp, is in Shandong!
When he was leaving the palace, Xia Shouzhong caught up with him and said, "Did you receive the invitation for the 60th birthday of Prince Dongping?"

Jia Lian's heart trembled violently, and he almost fell off the horse. He quickly turned over and got off the horse: "What day is it?"

"The twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month is the Little New Year!" Xia Shouzhong said slowly, word by word.

After listening to this, Jia Lian jumped on his horse and said, "I have something else to do. I will leave first."

After the result of Ningyuan Hou's handling came out, the amount of impeachment against Sun Huazhen gradually decreased. After ten days and a half a month, although there were still many officials who were diligent and unwilling to give up, there were only three or five people who kept on holding on.

As for Jia Lian's overstepping of authority, there was no movement at all. Jia Lian seemed to be very relaxed, working in the South City every day, and often stayed out all night under the pretext of working overtime. You know what, the public security in the capital has improved a lot in the twelfth lunar month.

As for freezing to death, it is inevitable. Whenever there is heavy snow, hundreds of beggars will freeze to death every winter.

The situation this year is relatively good. The Wucheng Bingmasi did some work and distributed some coal stoves for heating to the homeless beggars.

Speaking of the coal stove that burns coal briquettes, it is nothing new. It is just that the Wucheng Bingmasi has achieved good results this year. It has set up several shelters to provide a place for the homeless to stay overnight and keep warm, which has greatly reduced the number of people who have frozen to death. Since the first snow, the number of people who have frozen to death has not reached double digits, which can be said to be a remarkable achievement.

As the twelfth lunar month was almost halfway through, there was still no news of Prince Dongping returning to the capital, but there was news about Ni Er.

"According to Second Master's instructions, I have arranged some people to keep an eye on her day and night. Yesterday, the woman entered the city and stayed in a house in the east of the city. After dark yesterday, a sedan chair went in. It took an hour for her to come out. The people below followed the sedan chair and followed her to the Zhen family."

After Ni Er finished his report, Jia Lian rewarded him with one hundred taels of silver and said, "Give it to the brothers for the New Year. Rong'er will take care of your share." After Ni Er thanked him again and again, Jia Lian packed up and went out the back door, taking two people and a carriage with him.

Instead of feeling sleepy in the carriage, Jia Lian felt very energetic following the swaying rhythm.

What did that woman mean? If she came for me, she should have taken the initiative to create an opportunity to meet me. If one time doesn't work, then two times. Otherwise, why would she bother? Now it's related to the Zhen family again. Could it be the work of the person behind it?
Jia Lian knew that there was nothing wrong with his general judgment of himself, but his shortcomings were in the details, which were caused by insufficient life experience.

Jia Lian entered a secluded courtyard that he had found temporarily. Not many people knew about this place. After entering, Jia Lian lit a fire to heat the kang and waited for almost an hour before he saw the nun Jingxu come in.

"Wu Chen, has he been behaving well these days?" Jia Lian would certainly not let Jingxu know, so he sent someone to keep an eye on the nun to see if she was telling the truth.

(End of this chapter)