Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 355 Only One

The top three new Jinshi were dressed in red and decorated with ribbons, and were paraded through the streets on horseback. In a restaurant facing the street, Jia Lian stood at the window and watched them pass by, as if it were yesterday.

There is no jealousy. The imperial examination is held every three years, and every person who passes the exam is a top student.

It is hard to say whether these people can govern the country, but in terms of IQ, they are definitely among the best in the world.

When these people are officials, they look down on ordinary people in their mentality and crush them in terms of IQ.

When you are in office, isn't it clear how you should position yourself? No wonder you are called "official master".

Once people get used to being high up, it is very difficult for them to come down again. Not to mention officials, even crosstalk performers who have made a fortune cannot go back to their down-to-earth state.

This is human nature!

How can those who are high and mighty empathize with those at the bottom?
Since you cannot empathize, then when making a decision, would you care about the life or death of cattle and horses?
Even if they care, they have no idea about the real life of ordinary people, and they get information through people around them.

Not to mention ordinary officials, wasn't Yuan Shikai, a great leader of his time, fooled by a privately customized newspaper by Yuan Keding?
Of course, if Yuan Shikai didn't have that intention, he wouldn't have been fooled. The intention is the cause, and being deceived is the result.

At night, the sound of stringed instruments drifted far away. The Qionglin Banquet was in progress. Jia Lian took advantage of the last moment to check the sentries everywhere.

Tomorrow, the imperial examination and palace examination will be over. Stand guard for the last time. It would be shameful if you were careless at the last moment.

As Jia Lian passed by on horseback, the soldiers along the way stood still and watched his back disappear into the night.

The banquet ended at midnight, when the last batch of new scholars left and went home. Jia Lian, who had been tense, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The Wucheng Bingmasi can indeed make money, but when it comes to important events like this, it is really tiring.

It’s not that Jia Lian can’t be lazy, he’s just afraid that if he is lazy, the people below him will naturally follow suit, and once the trend becomes bad, it will be difficult to correct it.

Just like the current officialdom, Emperor Chenghui is unable to deal with a group of people ruthlessly, let alone rectify the administration of officials.

Policies need officials to implement them. If the Great Zhou wants to change the status quo, it must first rectify the administration of officials. Just like the Yuanfeng Reform, the top level was changed, but the executive level was not changed, which was equivalent to no change.

Emperor Chenghui was undoubtedly determined to reform, but the difficult part was the reform of the executive level. How should I put it? There was no team with strong executive capabilities.

Although Jia Lian was pessimistic about the reform, he did not oppose it. After all, change is better than no change. Although it does not address the root cause, treating the symptoms is also good.

The topic of the palace examination can only be described as a beautiful wish.

After staying up until midnight, Jia Lian was finally able to go home and rest. However, he didn't expect that Wang Xifeng was still waiting for him to come back, and Guixiang and Ping'er were also yawning constantly.

"Why don't you sleep so late? You don't have to wait for me in the future. What if I stay out at night?" Jia Lian asked with concern. Wang Xifeng shook her head: "You have to wait! If you stay out at night, you should bring back a message."

Jia Lian said nothing more. What was he talking about? According to current etiquette, if nothing unexpected happened, the two of them would be buried together.

Going to bed late and getting up early is probably a true portrayal of Jia Lian's life recently.

It’s not that Jia Lian has become more diligent, but that everything that has happened recently is unimportant.

Jia Lian estimated that Emperor Chenghui, the hard-working man, would not let him go, so he might as well get up early and wait to be called.

When they arrived at the temporary government office, all the censors here had already gone out to follow the team. The imperial examinations and palace examinations were indeed important and would not delay Emperor Chenghui's three major reforms.

Jia Lian, who had nothing to do for the moment, felt the spring on the branches. He sat on a leather recliner, covered with a mattress, and his eyelids gradually became unable to open.

"The temporary inspection team for implementing the three new policies actually rented a house to work in. This shows how difficult this matter is. It was difficult for Lin Ruhai to settle them down."

When he was in a bad mood, Emperor Chenghui liked to go out for a stroll. Fortunately, this area was not a busy city, so security was not difficult. When ordinary nobles went out, they would bring a dozen followers with them. When the emperor went out incognito, it was not too much to bring twenty people with him, right? It was not too much to bring twenty short guns, right?
Qiu Shian followed beside him, but his eyes were vigilant and he had to react immediately to any disturbance. Don't blame Qiu Shian for making a fuss. Li Ni fled far away to Mobei, but he was still a threat.

The emperor is still alive. If any remnant of the evil forces succeeds in the assassination, the emperor can go to the Western Mountains to issue orders, and it will not be surprising for Li Ni from Mobei to come back.

Qiu Shian had tried to persuade him, but Emperor Chenghui was a person who could not be persuaded. After ascending the throne, he liked to go out of the palace from time to time to observe the people's sentiments. He compared what he saw with his own eyes with the intelligence of the secret guards to avoid being deceived.

A person's character is formed over a long period of time, and Emperor Chenghui was wary even of people close to him.

It's not that he is suspicious by nature, but during the reign of the Emperor, the seven sons fought for the throne and only one survived, which was too tragic. The reason why Li Shisan could sit in the position of the commander of the Nine Gates Garrison Army was not because of his ability, but because his father was also one of the princes who fought for the throne at the time and was an ally of Emperor Chenghui. During the war to expel Ross in the northeast, he believed the intelligence of the prince at the time and led his own army to attack, but he encountered most of the Ross army and was shot and killed.

At that time, Emperor Chenghui had not yet thought about inheriting the throne, he was just an insignificant assistant.

After experiencing this kind of thing, Emperor Chenghui, who had the good fortune to ascend the throne, had very few people he could trust, and could be counted on one hand.

Don’t say anything about the prince being trustworthy. If the prince were trustworthy, the former crown prince would not have hanged himself for treason.

"What are you doing?" With a shout, Emperor Chenghui stopped. When Zhang Zhuzi stepped forward to see who was coming, he immediately knelt down and saluted.

"Stop! Don't alarm others!" Qiu Shian hurried forward to stop them. If the emperor's identity was really exposed, the risks would increase infinitely.

"Why are there so few officials here? The gatehouse is also empty." Emperor Chenghui was somewhat curious. Not only was there no gatehouse, but weren't there any officials here?
"In reply to your Excellency's question, there are clerks, but they are just following a few masters out on business. The gatehouse is manned by the Jia family's servants in turn, so they must have gone to relieve themselves."

Zhang Zhuzi answered carefully. Emperor Chenghui was just asking casually, and then he changed the subject: "Take me to see Jia Lian!"

After passing the front hall to the backyard, it was a little quieter. There were two clerks sweeping the ground. Zhuzi said to them, "It's all right here. You can go down and rest first."

The two men agreed and left. Emperor Chenghui walked up the steps, found Jia Lian's nameplate along the corridor, pushed the door open, stopped, and turned back to pretend to be silent.

Jia Lian was sleeping soundly on the folding recliner. The sunlight on his face had no effect on him, he just tilted his head.

There were documents on the table that Jia Lian had handled. After Emperor Chenghui picked up one and looked at it, he couldn't help but smile. This document was reported by the inspection team, and the content was that the budget of the Ministry of Justice was stuck. Compared with the expenditure in previous years, this year's budget increased by 10,000 taels.

If the budget working group disagrees, the officials of the Ministry of Justice will go to argue. The inspection team, who only observes but does not express their opinions, records the situation and then summarizes and reports it.

Jia Lian wrote a line of words under the budget, [The prison of the Ministry of Justice has been in disrepair for a long time. Why didn't you think of repairing it before? This time, 10,000 taels will be needed to repair the prison. The day when officials of the Ministry of Justice will live in new cells will not be far away! ]

Emperor Chenghui understood officials, so he laughed when he saw Jia Lian's comments.

In modern society, it is normal for official projects to be subcontracted layer by layer, and half of the funds that can be put into practice are honest. The worst thing is that the real engineering teams who advance funds for work will not get paid in the end.

The Ministry of Justice wants an extra 10,000 taels of silver. If the budget is approved and allocated, the most likely result is to organize the prisoners to clean the inside of the prison and replace some new straw. Those who can repaint the walls are honest officials. It is normal to directly distribute the 10,000 taels. Why is Emperor Chenghui obsessed with reform? Isn't it because these insects are too much?
Since Jia Lian was in the capital, it was not difficult for Emperor Chenghui to know his every move outside.

During the imperial examinations, the Wucheng Bingmasi was actually the outermost security unit. But Jia Lian and his men persisted until the last moment.

Only after making sure that there was nothing wrong did Jia Lian go home to rest.

Given Jia Lian's status, there was no need for him to keep an eye on her, but he did it anyway. The reason was simple: this was the job that the emperor valued most.

Judging from the results, Emperor Chenghui was disappointed by the new scholars.

Let everyone talk about the administration of officials, and they end up talking about morality.

As if officialdom is merely about morality!
The hundreds of Jinshi were all virtuous people, and they were very knowledgeable about how to educate the people after becoming officials.

It seems that morality can solve all problems in the world!
Especially those people of the School of Mind, if they study the School of Mind well, everyone can become a saint!

Emperor Chenghui is so angry that he is constipated!
Do these people really not understand?
No, I just don’t dare to say it!
Emperor Chenghui was very disappointed that he did not see another Jia Lian among the new Jinshi candidates.

You are all smart and well-behaved people. I don't expect you to be unorthodox, but can you at least tell the truth?

By the way, there is also a demand to restore the Zhou rituals and recreate the rule of the Three Dynasties.

You have such a wild imagination, have you asked Wang Mang?
How did Neo-Confucianism emerge and how did it rise? Don’t these people read history books?

Emperor Chenghui read the summary report of the temporary special inspection team with great interest, especially Jia Lian's comments, which always hit the point and made people smile.

In particular, the budget of the Honglu Temple has increased by 10,000 taels compared to previous years, but the budget working group still refuses to give it. Jia Lian's message: [Your nose is not as good as my Dahuang's! ]

Seeing this, Emperor Chenghui couldn't help laughing and kept clapping his hands on the table, forgetting not to wake Jia Lian up.

Jia Lian, who was awakened, looked over and found that it was the emperor. He quickly stood up, straightened his clothes, and then greeted him with a serious expression.

Emperor Chenghui, smiling, waited for him to greet him before pulling out three articles from his sleeve and handing them over: "Qing Jia, you don't have time to read them? Take a look!"

Jia Lian had actually seen it. After the list was posted, he went to look at the essays of the top three newcomers. The essays of the top two and above in each session had to be posted for public display.

In front of the emperor, Jia Lian took the article and read it carefully. After spending almost half an hour reading it again, Jia Lian put down the copied article.

"Mr. Jia, what do you think of the articles of these three people?" Emperor Chenghui was very curious about how Jia Lian would evaluate them, after all, he was also a top scholar.

"Better than me!" Jia Lian answered very objectively.

Emperor Chenghui was slightly stunned and asked, "Why, you also agree with their point of view that morality can improve the administration of officials?"

Jia Lian looked up at Emperor Chenghui and answered seriously, "Your Majesty, don't blame the new scholars. The essays they wrote may not be consistent with what they thought in their hearts, but they can only write like this. The imperial examination is too difficult. No one dares to take risks when it comes to the last step. When facing such a topic, safety comes first. The imperial examination is just a stepping stone! How to write an essay is not the same as how to do it."

Emperor Chenghui was completely stunned. He did not expect Jia Lian to make such an evaluation. Thinking carefully, Jia Lian's words made sense.

Jia Lian added: "I congratulate Your Majesty. It is a blessing for the country that there are no people who like to make big speeches to attract attention in this examination. "

Emperor Chenghui was in high spirits and felt much better: "What do you mean? Please tell me in detail."

Jia Lian said, "There is a certain correlation between writing and personality. If you are not willing to give it a try even in the palace examination, you are probably not a risk-taker. When you are an official in the local area in the future, you will not mess around easily. In fact, as an official, if you do not cause trouble to the local area and govern according to the court system, you can be called a good official. The Yunyang Incident in the past was essentially a local official causing trouble to the local area in order to make money! I dare not guarantee that the Jinshi will not be greedy or make trouble after they go down, but at least the Jinshi are relatively stable now. We will see after observing the government for half a year."

Emperor Chenghui felt that Jia Lian had strayed off topic, so he quickly pulled him back to the subject: "Don't try to fool me, get to the point!"

Jia Lian actually didn't want to get involved in the specific implementation of the reform, because it was too easy to offend people. Now that Emperor Chenghui was holding on to the palace examination essays, Jia Lian had no way to avoid it and had to answer directly.

"In my humble opinion, the topic of how officials should be governed can be big or small. If it is big, it involves how to govern, and if it is small, it can only revolve around morality. New scholars can't just write about the shortcomings of their senior colleagues, right? It's really difficult for them not to talk about how to govern. Under such a difficult situation, they can still do it on a snail shell, which shows the foundation of the scholars' writing and the cleverness of their minds."

Emperor Chenghui frowned slightly: "How can we offend people by writing about politics? We can only talk about morality, which will not go wrong at all. In this case, do I still need to use these people?"

Jia Lian could see that Emperor Chenghui actually disliked this group of Jinshi very much. He felt that they were irresponsible and did not even dare to write freely. How could they have the face to talk about morality?

"Your Majesty is right. But isn't the original intention of the National Talent Selection Ceremony to recruit talents from all over the world for the country's use? The imperial examination brings together the best people and gives them a chance to achieve something. Isn't that the original intention of the imperial examination policy? Everyone has selfish desires. We can't judge their morality and ability as problematic just because they want to take the last step safely, right? If Your Majesty really wants to deal with them, you have to wait until they become officials and commit crimes before dealing with them. Your Majesty is dissatisfied and complains in private, which is understandable!"

At the last moment, Jia Lian still gave the emperor a way out!

Unconsciously, Emperor Chenghui completed a psychological treatment, his depressed emotions were released, and his mood improved a lot.

Emperor Chenghui waved his hand and wanted to return to the palace. Jia Lian sent him to the door but was stopped by Emperor Chenghui. He had to stand outside the door, clasped his hands towards the emperor, and bowed 90 degrees to see him off.

After leaving, Emperor Chenghui sighed to Qiu Shian with a melancholy look on his face: "Jia Lian, there is only one!"

(End of this chapter)