Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 307: Starting from the Same Starting Line

In the Qianqing Palace, Li Daxiong knelt on the ground, looking up and speaking passionately.

"Your Majesty's grace is intended to benefit all clan members. If it only benefits a few people, it will deviate from Your Majesty's original intention. I have the audacity to gather people to reason with you. The right and wrong, the punishment or punishment, is all up to Your Majesty."

Emperor Chenghui listened to him calmly, pointed at the wall and said, "Who else wants to speak? If no one wants to speak, kneel in front of the wall. There is no manners at all. How can this be called a disgrace?"

The three representatives knelt facing the wall together, but they were not afraid at all.

"Where are the Zhongshun princes?" Emperor Chenghui turned around and asked Qiu Shian, who replied, "They are all waiting outside, including the two princes."

"Let the second and third brothers wait first, and the three from the clan house will come in first."

Prince Zhongshun and the two Zongzheng came in and wanted to kneel down, but Emperor Chenghui said amiably, "No need to be polite. We are all brothers and elders, and we cannot write two Li characters with one stroke."

These words didn't sound anything special, but Prince Zhongshun, who was familiar with Emperor Chenghui's habits, knelt down with a thud, and the other two followed suit.

"Your humble servants have failed to do their job well, so we are here to apologize." The three of them said in unison, in perfect harmony.

Emperor Chenghui looked at them expressionlessly, and did not ask them to stand up. The words "brothers and elders" were just polite words.

Emperor Chenghui, who has always been very concerned about his reputation, lost all his face today. What was obviously a good thing to take care of the clan members turned into an internal fight in the clan affairs office, and the whole capital was laughing at it.

"I am busy with worldly affairs, and I have always hoped that you can take good care of the clan members. I have entrusted you with important tasks. Is this how you take care of the clan members?"

Emperor Chenghui's tone was not intense. It seemed calm, but it was actually harsh.

"I am guilty!" the three men said in unison, touching the ground with their foreheads.

Seeing that the three people had a good attitude in confessing their crimes, Emperor Chenghui really couldn't do anything to them. At most, he could just dismiss them from their posts. But what should he say? When employing people, he first looked at their loyalty, and then other things.

Although these three had their own faults, they were in charge of the clan affairs office and could at least ensure that Emperor Chenghui's orders were carried out.

"Go kneel over there!" Emperor Chenghui suppressed the urge to curse, raised his hand and pointed, and the three of them stood up and knelt facing the wall, six in a row.

Emperor Chenghui turned around and asked Qiu Shian to call the two princes in. Although there were other princes, these two were born to the queen and were theoretically the first and second in line of heirs.

Li Yuan and Li Heng stood outside the palace for the first time, waiting to be summoned. Li Heng had been recuperating behind closed doors, silently recalling Jia Lian's instructions over and over again.

Although Li Yuan also stood with his head bowed, he kept glancing at Li Heng out of the corner of his eye. This third brother, whom he once regarded as a worthless brother, now seemed to have become something successful.

Just when Li Yuan was feeling annoyed, Qiu Shian's voice came: "Your Highnesses, His Majesty has summoned you."

The two men entered, knelt down and kowtowed, and Emperor Chenghui gestured to them to stand up from behind the imperial desk.

"Second brother, now you know everything, how do you think we should deal with it properly?" Emperor Chenghui asked the second brother first.

Li Yuan looked more like Emperor Chenghui, while Li Heng looked more like Empress Zhou. This was Li Yuan's advantage in the past. Now that the two of them stood together in front of the emperor, everyone who saw them tacitly understood that the two princes were now competing on the same level.

Li Yuan had thought about how to deal with this issue countless times before, and had a rough outline in his mind. When he heard the question, he naturally stepped forward, bowed and folded his hands to answer: "Replying to the emperor, I think we should first determine the nature of the situation. If the clan members have grievances, they should report them to the higher authorities through normal channels. They should not block the door of the clan mansion and even attack the three chief elders with eggs. This trend must not be allowed to continue. Secondly, the benefits obtained from this matter in the future should be given to the clan members to a certain extent according to their specific personal status. I suggest that the amount taken now can be doubled every month in the future. Finally, this incident shows a problem. The clan members lack a channel to report to the higher authorities. This should be considered to avoid similar internal conflicts caused by poor communication in the future. I have finished speaking!"

After Li Yuan finished speaking, Emperor Chenghui almost wanted to applaud him. He was thoughtful and clear-minded. He was indeed a great talent. I have a son like this. He seems to be no less talented than Jia Lian.

Emperor Chenghui tried very hard to keep his emotions stable and uttered "hmm" softly. His satisfaction could be felt from his tone.

Knowing that he had given an answer that satisfied the emperor, Li Yuan couldn't help but glance at Li Heng with pride, thinking: Third brother, you are still a little short of the mark.

Emperor Chenghui actually didn't hold much hope for Li Heng, so he asked casually, "Third brother, tell me."

Li Heng stepped forward, raised his head confidently and said: "When I was studying, I saw that it is not the lack of wealth that is worrying, but the inequality. I did not understand its meaning at that time, but I have learned a little bit today. The issue of clan members is related to the reputation of the court. In the early days of this dynasty, there were few clan members. While the court created a good living environment, it also encouraged clan members to make achievements. So far, the middle and upper levels of the clan are still better, but the lives of the lower levels are getting harder and harder, just like ordinary people. Is it because the clan members are not working hard? I don't think so. It is really that the ability of a person or a family is extremely limited. If they cannot study or serve in the army, they will have no way out and can only eat and wait for death and have children. With more descendants, the economy will become more and more difficult. It is even more impossible to support future generations to study and practice martial arts, which is a vicious cycle."

Emperor Chenghui listened to his long speech and could not help but interrupt him in dissatisfaction: "Why, are you dissatisfied with the imperial clan rules?"

Li Yuan lowered his head quickly, his shoulders trembling slightly. Li Heng remained calm and continued loudly, "I am not dissatisfied with the imperial clan system. I am dissatisfied with the clan office for being so rigid and rigid. They did not organize everyone and find ways to change the situation after seeing the problem. This should be the responsibility of the clan office. I dare not say that I failed in my duty, but I certainly did not do my job well."

Emperor Chenghui was overwhelmed by what he heard. If he continued to talk about this, would he bring up Taizu and the Emperor Taishang? He quickly stopped him and said, "Don't go too far. Let's stick to the facts."

"Let's talk about the matter at hand. That's very simple. Since it's a grace from the emperor to the clan members, then this grace should be shared by the number of people. As long as they are on the list, their wives and daughters should all be included in the welfare. The matter is actually not difficult to solve. The clan government has no shortage of people. Organize the clan members and show the shares by the number of people. The daughters-in-law who marry in and the daughters who are not married should all be counted as a share. This is sunshine. Considering that not everyone can afford this share, the emperor can guarantee it and borrow interest-free silver from the central bank as capital, which can be repaid in the future through dividends. For the long-term interests of the clan, dividends will be distributed every six months. Half of the profits will be used as a development fund for other profitable investments, and the other half will be distributed according to the number of shares held. Finally, in order to avoid unnecessary disputes, all accounts of share trading will be open to the public, and audits are welcome. The person in charge of share trading should have a portion of dry stock dividends according to the size of his personal contribution. These are all the things I can think of." After Li Heng finished speaking, he lowered his head slightly. Emperor Chenghui frowned and looked at him for a long time without saying a word. This set of things sounds a bit familiar. Try to benefit the bottom level as much as possible, rather than just focusing on the top level.

"You mean, the rules of the clan affairs office are no longer necessary? Is it justified to gather a crowd to cause trouble?" Emperor Chenghui realized the problem and grasped the essence of the problem.

"Father, the clan members are raising demands for their own legitimate interests, so they really shouldn't have gathered to block the door. Considering that they didn't attack the clan house, but only blocked the door outside, and there were so many of them, they should be forgiven. To put it another way, if the clan house hadn't failed to properly handle the matter first, but a few responsible people had closed the door first to divide the profits of this deal, things wouldn't have come to this point."

Hearing this, Emperor Chenghui suddenly realized that since it was a mass incident, Li Heng's solution was undoubtedly more prudent. If the emperor really wanted to deal with the three leaders, it would be difficult to convince the majority of the clan members. If one of them was not handled properly, the clan members might start to make trouble again, or even make it even bigger. Thinking about it this way, he realized that the second brother's solution was too simple and crude. It seemed to have clear regulations, but it was actually a dogmatic template. According to the second brother's method, most clan members would not be convinced, and if one of them was not handled properly, something would happen.

After figuring it out, Emperor Chenghui looked at the slightly immature face of the third brother again and suddenly felt that it was necessary to get to know the third brother again.

This is, mature!

"Well, that makes sense. Since what you said makes sense, why don't I leave this matter to you to handle. I will do it according to your wishes and the clan affairs office will cooperate."

As soon as Emperor Chenghui opened his mouth, Li Yuan's face twisted, he lowered his head tightly, not daring to look up, and clenched his fists tightly.

Of course, the father saw it all, but pretended not to see it. The second child seemed to be doing things in a methodical manner, but in fact, he still followed the rules. It's not that rules are bad, but we can't stick to them. For specific things that are within the scope of the rules, we can be more flexible. If you stick to the rules, you will never achieve great things. Today's incident can be regarded as a lesson for the second child. I hope he can make progress in the future.

It’s not that Emperor Chenghui has his eyes on the third brother. In fact, Emperor Chenghui appreciates the second brother more because he is willing to abide by the rules in everything.

Li Heng had expected this, so he didn't show much joy. He calmly folded his hands and accepted the order, still standing there steadily. When Emperor Chenghui saw this, his evaluation was even higher.

Emperor Chenghui saw the fight between the second and third brothers, but he didn't care too much. Compared to his time, the environment of these two brothers was much better.

The seven sons of the retired emperor fought tooth and nail for the throne. The reason why Emperor Chenghui won in the end was not because he was better than his brothers. If we have to talk about being better, in fact, the old loyal prince was the best. But what's the saying? The one who survives to the end wins. The other brothers fought bravely for the throne, and two of them died on the battlefield because of tripping each other. Another two were adults and contracted smallpox, but they couldn't resist it. The two remaining brothers directly raised an army to purge the emperor. After a round of defeat, one committed suicide on the spot, and the other was given death. The retired emperor fell seriously ill because of this, and after fighting for several years, he felt that he could not do it anymore, so he took the initiative to abdicate.

In front of the highest power, fathers, sons and brothers are all insignificant. No one will give in if there is even a glimmer of chance.

Emperor Chenghui had five sons, but after he ascended the throne, he always focused on training the second son. Now, he was going to add a third son.

Anyway, no matter how the two sons fight, they can't fight each other directly like before. Because the two brothers don't have the opportunity to directly control the military power, the emperor won't give it to them.

This is also the idea of ​​Emperor Chenghui summarizing historical experience. No matter how much a prince without military power jumps around, he can't rebel. Therefore, Emperor Chenghui is most averse to those who hold military power colluding with princes.

Of course, Jia Lian is an exception. He showed his disdain for military power. Every time he returned to Beijing, the first thing he did was to hand over the military power. Even so, because Jia Lian had some contact with Li Heng, the Shenjiying was split up. Thinking that the cause of this matter was also Jia Lian, Emperor Chenghui couldn't help but secretly compare his two sons with him, and after the comparison, he felt bitter. Fortunately, he will have a righteous title to be the emperor in the future, so it won't be a big problem.

After dealing with the matter, Emperor Chenghui called Prince Zhongshun and others, scolded them, gave them some instructions, and then let them go back.

As for the second and third sons, Emperor Chenghui simply sent them away. There are some things that cannot be taught and one has to figure them out on his own.

In the evening, Emperor Chenghui returned to the harem and went directly to Queen Zhou. The meeting between an old couple was not filled with so many formalities. While sitting together and chatting, Emperor Chenghui mentioned the matter of the Zongrenfu.

After Empress Zhou listened to the emperor's detailed account of what happened, she said with deep emotion: "They are both good children, and they both want to share your majesty's worries."

Emperor Chenghui hesitated for a moment before saying, "The second elder is impatient with worldly affairs and may be deceived by meek officials."

Queen Zhou's eyebrows jumped when she heard this. Was this a hint to her that she was more optimistic about the second son? But she didn't say anything. No matter which son succeeded to the throne, as the queen mother, she was confident that she would protect the loser.

After Li Laosan sent someone to tell Jia Lian a message, he enthusiastically threw himself into handling the affairs of the clan affairs office. It would be a lie to say that he was unhappy. How could a son not know his father's thoughts?

The second son has always been the more favored one. Do you really think that the ministers are fools? So many people are surrounding the second son.

It was only after being affected several times in succession that Li Heng had the opportunity to stand with Li Yuan and look at the position ahead on the same starting line.

All in all, the disadvantage is huge, but the situation is being recovered little by little.

After receiving the news, Jia Lian simply skipped work and went home. Even though he worked part-time everywhere, no government office needed him to be on duty. On Emperor Chenghui's side, he was left alone when he was not needed to bite people. On Lin Ruhai's side, the superiors of the Inspectorate avoided Jia Lian when they saw him, so they naturally ignored him. Those at the same level or lower level hoped that Jia Lian would defeat more superiors, but wouldn't that mean they couldn't control him? As for the Ministry of Works, Pan Jixun was open-minded, but that didn't mean other officials were open-minded. You have ruined the Ministry of Works so many times.

Jia Lian skipped work with a swagger, and turned into a daughter-slave when he returned home. If he couldn't breastfeed, he wouldn't let anyone help him.

Finally, Wang Xifeng couldn't stand it anymore and chased him away. Didn't you see the maids and servants were crying? They were scared by you. You are taking care of the children, why do you need them?

(End of this chapter)