Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 305: Internal Conflicts in the Imperial Clan House
The royal family members searched the streets for Jia Lian and finally found Lord Jia who was listening to a play in a theater.

When Prince Zhongshun learned of this, he came to the theater in the south of the city without stopping. He sat down next to Jia Lian and began to mock him: "Lord Jia is diligent in state affairs. I admire you!"

Jia Lian glanced at Old B Deng and said rudely: "Why, you are not convinced? I am the Imperial Censor, and I listen to operas to understand the people's feelings. But the prince is not doing his job properly, and is running here to have fun."

After being shamelessly bitten back, Prince Zhongshun was no longer angry. He had long been numb and responded calmly: "The royal family asked me to ask a question. They only want the northern provinces. They want Liangjiang and Guangdong." Jia Lian heard the disdain on his lips, and his words were particularly sharp and sarcastic: "The Forbidden City is good, why don't they think about it? A bunch of people who are just eating and waiting to die, what good things do they want? Just the northern provinces, 10,000 taels each, whether you want it or not, I only give you one month to raise the money, and you will not be able to wait after the deadline."

Prince Zhongshun stood up, patted his butt, and said with a nonchalant smile, "Okay, as long as I have a definite answer, I can go back and report."

Watching the departing Prince Zhongshun, Jia Lian thought of the butcher and the wolf. They were indeed a group of ungrateful wolves who could never be fed. Relying on their status as royal family members, no matter how many benefits they received, it was all their due.

Judging from the situation, even with the emperor's endorsement, these people are not going to stop there. They want more. If Jia Lian gives up everything, they may say thank you.

After all, such fools are rare, so we should be very grateful to them.

So, we really can't underestimate King Zhongshun, he is very cunning. Unfortunately, these are all small tricks that are not worth mentioning.

Jia Lian's foothold in the court was not based on any crooked means or reckless behavior, but on real achievements.

The Great Zhou was not the former Ming Dynasty or the Great Qing Dynasty. The policy towards the royal family was first of all to encourage them. Except for a few cases, such as the King Zhongshun who inherited the title, most people did not receive a salary. In principle, the royal family was encouraged to engage in all walks of life. Those who could study could study, those who could fight could join the army, and those who could not do so could do some small business. The royal family members who ascended the throne were divided into five levels. Within this level, there was a little food ration money every month, which was the so-called money to support them. Outside of these five levels, the clan government would not recognize the money, and you had to make a living on your own.

Take Li Heng as an example. If he cannot inherit the throne, his fifth generation grandchildren will have to go out and make a living. Another rule is that married girls are not eligible to receive food allowance.

This system was designed to target the imperial clan system of the Ming Dynasty. It should be said that Taizu took many factors into consideration when formulating the system, and there were certain preferential policies for imperial clan members, whether they were officials or businessmen.

In other words, as long as members of the royal family are registered at birth, their starting point in life is much higher than that of ordinary people.

The size of the Great Zhou royal family is not very large at present, and the total number of registered people is less than 10,000. This number is not difficult for the court to support, and it is also difficult for this number to increase dramatically.

The clan members were indeed not very ambitious, and very few of them actually became high-ranking officials. There were quite a few minor officials in the capital, all of them below the seventh rank. The clan officials and the Imperial Household Department were not counted.

Even so, many members of the royal family were unable to stop declining, and eventually a minority of more than a dozen people were at the top, more than a hundred people were minor officials, and the rest were at the bottom, not much different from ordinary people.

This is why Emperor Chenghui is troubled by the royal family. The royal family is not doing well. For the sake of the royal family's reputation, those who should be supported should still be supported. If a royal family member on the list really goes out to beg for food, the emperor will lose face.

Li Heng had been living a rather regular life recently, especially after the New Year's Eve. He was really scared and put away his wings, and started to behave like a grandson. He went to the Tongzhengshisi to work in the morning, and went to the Honglu Temple to hang out in the afternoon.

The prince had a salary, and the Minister of Public Security and the Minister of Rites also had a salary each. As long as he did not live too extravagantly, Li Heng could live a very comfortable life.

As for the newspaper, Li Heng still paid more attention to it. It was the link between him and the palace, but the return from this industry was too terrible. With the funding from the palace, he could barely break even. Fortunately, there was also the bookstore business to subsidize him. Unfortunately, there were too few best-selling books now, and the opportunities to make big money were becoming fewer and fewer. Recently, Jia Rong gave him a share of the cigarette business. After careful calculation, the business outside could barely bring in 5,000 taels of income each year.

Even with this, Li Heng was already very satisfied. He no longer had the idea of ​​making a lot of money. Speaking of making money, the little loyal prince had many profitable businesses, but they all disappeared overnight? What did he need so much money for? To win over the ministers? The emperor is not blind. Didn't you see that the second son became obedient after being punished? He used to do all kinds of work for others, but now he just sits quietly and observes the government.

From this we can see that the second child has also grown.

If a prince wants to live a long life because his father is an experienced and strong emperor, he should be honest and dutiful.

When walking out of the Honglu Temple and preparing to get off work, Li Heng looked back with a bit of melancholy. With Esmeralda gone, his fun was reduced a bit.

When he turned around and saw Jia Lian, Li Heng's face was full of smiles. This is a true brother, and it is a real reminder when something happens.

"Why are you looking for me at this time?" Li Heng didn't even call himself "Gu", and just treated himself like an ordinary friend.

"I have something to ask Your Highness to take care of." Jia Lian did not mention any benefits, and Li Heng did not ask.

After the two of them walked and talked, Li Heng stopped and said, "I didn't help with my uncle's matter last time, so you'll have to wait and see this time."

Prince Zhongshun has been in a rare good mood recently. Last night, he was so happy that he struggled with his favorite concubine. When he got up in the morning, he held his waist and sighed that time is unforgiving.

The good mood of Prince Zhongshun came from Jia Lian. Yes, he was using an open strategy. He made Jia Lian face the pressure of the entire clan directly. This trick of changing the situation made Prince Zhongshun very proud.

Early in the morning, he came to the clan residence, just to see the scene where the crowd was outraged and the clan members united to beat up Jia Lian.

As soon as I entered the office, the messengers from the clan house and two princes with titles arrived. These people are of course the most active, the reason is very simple, they have money, and if they pay an extra cent in the agency, they can get an extra share. The benefits are huge, who wouldn't want to fight for it? "Yesterday I went to see Jia Lian in person and mentioned the share of Liangjiang, but unfortunately, he didn't give me face and insisted on giving the share of the northern provinces. Everyone, I tried my best."

The opening remarks of King Zhongshun were very tempting. Everyone knows that the southern market is the biggest one. The provinces of Liangjiang, Huguang, Liangguang, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi are all stronger than the northern provinces. Why should Jia Lian only give the northern market? The most tempting one is the market of Liangjiang. After all, there is a Grand Canal there, which makes transportation convenient and the cost is low.

"Yes, we are all members of the royal family. Our ancestors were grandfathers to the emperor. Why should we let an outsider bully us? This won't do. We need to think of a way."

Naturally, someone agreed. A group of people temporarily gave up the division of the northern market and turned to discuss how to obtain the southern market. If they couldn't get the two Jiangs, what about Huguang, Fujian and Zhejiang? As for the two Guangxis, Wang Ziteng was too difficult to deal with. The emperor was far away, so it was better not to mess with him.

Well, it's really not safe to travel long distances these days. Not to mention the exaggerated words that there are bandits and robbers everywhere, in some places there is really no difference between civilians and bandits. They put down their hoes and pick up knives, farming during the day and robbing at night.

The main reason is that it is too far away and out of reach, otherwise these people would not miss such huge benefits.

A group of people discussed heatedly, and finally unanimously decided to unite to put pressure on Jia Lian. This is different from before. Before, there was no benefit, and everyone could let Prince Zhongshun do it alone and wait for the ready-made benefits. This time it is different. The difference between putting in some effort and not putting in any effort is a fat or thin bite. What would you think if it were you in their place?

While the atmosphere in the office was peaceful, an uneasy atmosphere appeared outside the clan residence. At first, there were only three or five idle clan members, but gradually more and more people came. When the people in the office finished talking and went out to see, there were hundreds of people, and the number was still increasing.

what happened?

Prince Zhongshun was stunned. He could not have anticipated this scene.

It was right that I didn't expect it, because last night people started to connect and convey a message that the transparent glass business was a benefit given by His Majesty to all clan members. The clan leaders headed by Prince Zhongshun did not do anything. They only gave out 100 quotas for coolies, and they divided the other benefits among themselves. It had nothing to do with everyone.

If it was a normal matter, everyone would probably accept it, because they held the seal. But this time it was different, this time it was a reward from His Majesty. This was a benefit for all clan members, why should it be divided among just a few people? After the connection, everyone agreed to come to the clan house early in the morning to ask for an explanation from the leaders.

There was another special situation this time. Several of the leaders were working in the government offices in the capital. Their ranks were not high, below the seventh rank. The appeal of these people among the clan members was far higher than that of the high-ranking princes like the Zhongshun King. They were more down-to-earth, so they raised their arms and mobilized hundreds of people to block the gate of the clan mansion to demand an explanation.

"Li Daxiong, what are you doing?" Prince Zhongshun recognized one of them at a glance. He was a seventh-rank official in the Honglu Temple. His grandfather was the nephew of Taizu. It seemed that they were not even close relatives.

"What? Your Majesty asked a good question. I'm asking for everyone. It was clearly a reward given by His Majesty for the sake of the entire royal family. How come it became a deal for a few people when it came to Your Majesty? Why, everyone should be responsible for the work?" Li Daxiong dared to stand up, of course he had someone behind him. The task that Li Heng personally arranged yesterday afternoon was an opportunity for him to rise, and of course he had to seize it. What if he offended Prince Zhongshun and the Grand Zongzheng?

"Yes, you usually eat and take more than you want, but this time it's His Majesty's reward, otherwise Jia Lian would never be easy to deal with. His Majesty forced him to make concessions, which is to take care of everyone. You relied on your power as the manager to privately divide and take away everyone's benefits. If we don't make it clear today, no one is allowed to leave. I am not afraid of the lawsuit even if it goes to the Golden Palace."

Someone else stood up to start a fight. Normally, everyone dared not speak out against the high-ranking officials of the Imperial Clan Court headed by Prince Zhongshun. Today, someone took the lead, and everyone's emotions were aroused. They all shouted in unison: "We must make our words clear!"

Zuo Zongzheng stood up and shouted, "Are you going to rebel? Get out of here, or you will regret it when the soldiers come."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone in the crowd threw an egg. Although it didn't hit Zuo Zongzheng, more eggs were thrown out, like raindrops, with no place to hide. Several leaders of the clan office were instantly covered by the rain of eggs. The pent-up emotions of the crowd were ignited, and the next moment some people started throwing other things, such as bricks!
When the disheveled Prince Zhongshun retreated back to the clan residence, he was hit by countless eggs, as if he was covered with starch. He was also hit by a brick on his shoulder. If his long-time attendant had not desperately shielded him, he would have been hit by more. After all, he was the focus of fire, because he was the clan leader.

The clan house was also guarded, and the gate was quickly closed. Fortunately, these clan members were relatively restrained in making trouble, and did not continue to attack. They just blocked the gate and demanded an explanation. Anyone who said nonsense would be served with eggs. I don't know where they got so many eggs, it's a pity.

Jia Lian slept in the R&D department all morning. It was no wonder that Jia Lian was lazy and slacked off. Ping'er, who was full of resentment, did not let him go last night. Even when Jia Lian said he had no strength left, Ping'er still let him see the elegance of a female knight. After tossing until the third watch, Jia Lian had to go to work again early in the morning. He felt that he was really working too hard for the court.

Jia Lian was still irritated after being woken up by someone. He glared and asked, "Who is that? Don't you have eyes?" Seeing that it was Zhu Zi, Jia Lian calmed down and asked, "Is it time for lunch?"

"Second Master, it's Master Jian who's here. He said he has something important to report."

"Jian Renda?" Jia Lian muttered, and got up to wash his face. When he was holding the teacup, Jian Renda came in and said, "Your Excellency, I am sorry to disturb your rest."

Jia Lian nodded, satisfied with his servility. "Okay, let's talk about it."

"Something happened at the clan house. I took some people to check it out. It was the clan members who were blocking the door. I don't know what to do, so I came here to ask for your advice."

Jia Lian was secretly pleased to hear this. Li Heng was not good at doing serious things, but he was very good at doing bad things.

"What should we do? It's not appropriate to interfere with the internal affairs of the clan house. Brothers, please block the road and don't let outsiders in to disturb their smooth resolution of internal conflicts. Oh, and don't really fight and hurt anyone, otherwise it will be difficult to explain to His Majesty. As for the rest, let them do whatever they want. Anyone who dares to attack the clan house will be arrested."

Jian Renda had figured it out, so he quickly said goodbye and left. Before Jia Lian could find a place to have lunch, Li Heng came in, smiling, with a eunuch behind him carrying a food box.

"I'm here. I came to have a drink with you." Li Heng took the initiative to greet him. Seeing his smug look, Jia Lian also smiled.

(End of this chapter)