Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 356: Meet the Foreman Again
According to convention, the top three new Jinshi candidates will be directly admitted to the Hanlin Academy in Beijing as sixth-rank officials, and will be sent to provincial prefectures for three years. In principle, they will be part of the reserve for future cabinet ministers.

In layman's terms, the top three will receive implicit policy benefits no matter what they do in the future, provided that they do well.

This year's top three new Jinshi candidates did not enter the Hanlin Academy as usual, but went directly to the six ministries to observe government affairs. After the six-month observation period, they were all sent out.

To put it bluntly, without the qualifications of the Hanlin Academy, future promotions will definitely be affected.

Jia Lian also had no experience in the Hanlin Academy, so he was a special case.

This year, there are not many Jinshi with background in Qingyun Academy, only three, and their rankings are not high either, they are all fellow Jinshi.

Don’t think that three people are few. In fact, it is a remarkable thing for an academy to produce three Jinshi in each session.

What’s funny is that Jia Lian, who was expelled from Qingyun Academy, has become the representative of the younger generation of Qingyun Academy.

Two days after the palace examination, when Jia Lian was on duty at the Wucheng Bingmasi as usual, the doorman came to report that three new scholars wanted to see him.

Jia Lian had someone bring them in and receive the three people in his office.

"Baoding Li Yu!"

"Nanchang He dares!"

"Wuxing Shen Ming"

"Hello, Senior Jia!"

The three of them were not handsome men, but at least they were handsome men. They were called seniors because they were all from Qingyun Academy, so there was nothing wrong with them. Jia Lian did not emphasize that they were expelled.

Being handsome is also a huge advantage these days. When selecting the top ten candidates for the palace examination, the first thing they look at is appearance, and the essays come second. It is rare for an ugly person to pass the imperial examination.

After the three of them sat down, Jia Lian asked someone to serve tea.

"The top three in this exam are judged by their appearance. I really don't accept this!" The tall Li Yu started to complain.

Jia Lian, who also benefited from the handsome guy, replied with a smile: "It's okay to say this here, but don't say it outside. The ranking of the palace examination will be determined by the cabinet, and your majesty will make the final decision. This is the national system. Occasionally, your majesty will reject the cabinet and adjust one or two rankings if he has a preference in advance."

He Gan and Shen Ming were both from the south and were able to enter Qingyun Academy because their fathers were officials in Beijing. They knew more about certain things, so they sat aside and smiled without saying a word. They must have heard a lot of complaints before.

"The questions in the palace examination are quite profound, but even if people understand them, no one will write freely." He Gan felt quite regretful. He had been struggling for a long time at the beginning, but finally decided to play it safe.

Shen Ming nodded in agreement: "There are many schools of Xinxue, and there are only a few people who have passed the imperial examination in Taizhou. I am not very knowledgeable, so I can only start with the idea that everyone can become a saint."

The three of them were quite bold in front of Jia Lian and said some words that sounded taboo but not too taboo.

Jia Lian listened to them with a smile on his face, silently scoring them in his heart. Among the three, Li Yu had the least experience, so he was full of resentment and dared to complain about judging people by their appearance. The remaining two were from official families, and they spoke carefully, expressing their intention to be close without leaving too much handle. It can be seen that a person's background brings more than just experience. Knowing what to say can also narrow the distance between each other.

Especially Shen Ming, his almost self-deprecating tone makes him more approachable.

This is only Jia Lian. If it were an ordinary 18-year-old young man, he would be confused.

The three of them are all quite old. Li Yu is thirty-six, He Gan is twenty-eight, and Shen Ming is twenty-six. They all worked their way up from the bottom.

People are like this. I got 100 in math and Chinese in elementary school, and was a top student in school. I thought I was great. But when I went to a key school in junior high school, I realized that I was just average. I gritted my teeth and kept up, and went to a key school in high school, only to find that my IQ was relatively low. I worked hard, and when I got close to Wudaokou or Weiming Lake, I found that many people got in without scoring high, and were even lower.

The fact that these three people made it to the list shows that they are among the students with relatively high IQs among the students taking the imperial examination.

Jia Lian doesn't think he has a very high IQ. He is able to surpass others because of his broader knowledge.

"Gentlemen, please do not look down on Jia because of your family background. If you have any difficulties in the future, you can talk to me." There is no love or hatred without reason in the world. The three of them could abandon the premise that Jia Lian was born into a noble family. Just because they all studied in Qingyun Academy and were honored as seniors, Jia Lian had to accept it.

The three of them smiled with satisfaction when they heard Jia Lian's words. This matter was proposed by He Gan and Shen Ming. There were elders in the family who served as officials in the capital, and they had a clear understanding of the current trend of the dynasty.

Jia Lian, who came from a noble family, was both civil and military, and held multiple positions. This in itself made him a very rare resource for the three of them, and it was not an exaggeration to say that he was a great help.

In this case, it is ridiculous to cling to the position of a so-called scholar. I have already passed the imperial examination. If I am lucky, I will be promoted to the seventh rank of the county. If I am unlucky, I will be demoted to the seventh rank of the county.

Li Yu was not very clear, but Shen Ming and He Gan were very clear. If you take one step slowly in the officialdom, you will take all the steps slowly. Many people who served as officials in the same department could get the fifth rank after ten years, while the lower ones were still spinning in circles.

Jia Lian's situation is extremely rare. He rose from the sixth rank to the fourth rank in three years, and he crossed four hurdles during the process. This is a height that many people cannot reach in their lifetime.

In the evening, the three of them invited Jia Lian to go to Zhuangyuan Building for a drink. Jia Lian did not refuse and followed them with a smile.

It can only be said that things are different now. In the past, Jia Lian was young and of low status. If he wanted to form a clique, he could only look for friends like Li Dong, Lin Ping, and Wu Anzhong. To put it bluntly, other civil servants ignored him.

It’s different now, others come closer to me on their own initiative.

During the dinner, Jia Lian had a good chat with the three of them and learned about their backgrounds. Shen Ming's uncle was a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue, and He Gan's uncle was a deputy official in the Ministry of Works. Li Yu was born into a local tyrant family.

Jia Lian didn't care about the backgrounds of the three people, since they were not as good as himself anyway. A hero needs three helpers, so it's good to have three more people to help cheer him on.

Anyway, let's get in touch first, there's nothing bad in that. I guess the three of them didn't expect to enter Jia Lian's core area all of a sudden.

After the banquet, the three of them saw Jia Lian off first, and then walked together for a while before going their separate ways.

"I didn't expect Senior Jia to be so approachable and not concerned about one's family background." Li Yu's words with emotion aroused the concerns of the other two.

The two of them agreed with Li Yu calmly and then went their separate ways.

When Shen Ming returned home, his second uncle Shen Tong sent a servant to invite him to the study and asked him, "How was the contact?"

"Second uncle, Jia Lian comes from a noble family. If we get too close to him, there might be discord!" Shen Ming expressed his concern.

Shen Tong patiently explained to his nephew, "It is a foregone conclusion that Huguang Governor Zhang will return to the capital in two years. By then, he will most likely be the deputy assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Putting aside Governor Zhang, many of the Fang family were involved in the Li Ni case. Many of those who emphasized the distinction between civil and military officials were involved, and many of the nobles were implicated. In today's capital, how many officials still emphasize the distinction between civil and military officials? Go back and think about it carefully. What is the emperor's intention?"

Shen Tong sent his nephew away and rubbed his eyebrows in pain. He was 26 years old, not young anymore, and he should have understood all the things he should have understood. He didn't even mention that Jia Lian now held a powerful weapon, the [Special Temporary Inspection Team]. He looked very quiet at ordinary times. If you really irritate Jia Lian, let alone a mere doctor from the Ministry of Revenue, even the elders could splash you with blood.

The Wuxing Shen family is very powerful in the local area, but what is it in the capital? Can it compare with the King of Jinling? Among the four Jia families, the Jia family is the most respected, silly nephew. Who cares whether it is noble or not. He Gan was also called by his father for questioning. After explaining everything today in great detail, his father smiled with satisfaction and said: "Not bad, take it slow and keep goodwill. Jia Lian may not be able to help you in the future, but he is more than capable of pushing you." This is the difference between closeness and distance, as a father, he made it very clear. Whether you can help at a critical moment depends on your relationship, right?
If you don't have any friendship with them, why would they pull you up? Even if you don't have any friendship with them, if they don't push you down at a critical moment, it's a huge favor in the officialdom.

Jia Lian, who drank a little wine but was not drunk, became even calmer when he returned home.

Jia Lian could not help but slowly recall when the atmosphere in the court began to change. It should have been after the Li Ni case.

A large number of civil servants and nobles were implicated and were killed, imprisoned, demoted, or exiled. As a result, a large number of officials promoted by the former Prime Minister Fang Baiyi were purged. There must have been some who were wrongly accused.

But this is not important! What is important is that Emperor Chenghui successfully completed the power transition and further centralized power.

If we say that during the reign of the Supreme Emperor, the ratio of the imperial power to the prime minister's power was 60:40, then Emperor Chenghui achieved it to at least 73:40.

After a series of purges, the policy of controlling the military with civil power, which had been tacitly approved by the retired emperor and vigorously promoted by Fang Baiyi's faction, no longer existed.

Although Emperor Chenghui said nothing, Jia Lian, a benchmark figure, spoke for him.

Don’t differentiate between civil and military, just be practical!

Jia Lian didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

I can only say that it was a coincidence and I was really in the right place and was blown away by the wind.

There is no intention to belittle Jia Lian's value here. If he has no value himself, he will have no chance to stand at the forefront.

Some people say that even a pig can be blown up, but that is just another way of showing off. Haven't they seen that more than one billion people can blow up a small town test-taker like him?
Others who have been blown up by the wind of the times, please take a close look at the background of these people before you speak.

The next day, Jia Lian, who was preparing for a nap in the yamen, learned the latest news from the cabinet meeting.

The first phase of the implementation of the three major policies has been basically completed. The next step is to send inspection teams to inspect the implementation of the policies in various provinces. The three cabinet ministers can finally get out of this pit and return to the cabinet to take charge of the overall situation.

The special temporary inspection team was renamed the Special Inspection Team, and it changed from a temporary agency to a permanent agency. The work of the Special Inspection Team is to comprehensively supervise the implementation of the three major policies across the country.

The special inspection team is directly under Your Majesty, and daily liaison will be the responsibility of the Secretariat.

Two new candidates were added to the cabinet, namely Lin Ruhai and Ning Ke.

Yue Qi was appointed Minister of War and was granted the title of Marquis of Tangyin.

The most shocking piece of news above is the last one, that Yue Qi was appointed as the Minister of War, but he did not hold the title of Minister of War.

As an emerging nobleman, Yue Qineng was appointed as the Minister of War, breaking the record that no nobleman had been appointed as the Minister of the Six Ministries since the fifth year of the reign of the Emperor Retired.

Jia Lian's sleepiness was driven away by this news. He didn't care about the special inspection team. After all, it was just an offensive government office.

The fact that a nobleman was appointed as the Minister of Shangshu really shocked Jia Lian.

Let’s put it this way, the fact that Yue Qi can serve as the Minister of War means that when Jia Lian serves as the Minister of a certain ministry in the future, no one will dare to say a word.

Shocked, Jia Lian looked at the small note in front of him and discovered the last piece of new information.

The Cabinet has an Audit Office as a direct department, and the head of auditing holds the rank of Vice Minister.

Is this the compromise between His Majesty and the Cabinet? The level of the Audit Office is still half a level lower than that of the six ministries.

This arrangement is very interesting. The Audit Office will have considerable power in the future. It seems to be directly under the Cabinet, but in fact it is directly under His Majesty.

When it comes to doing superficial work, Emperor Chenghui is really good at it.

No new department was added, and the six departments remained the same, so Jia Lian did not have too many regrets.

All I can say is that this operation is very flexible. If necessary in the future, the emperor can still do this and just put on a shell.

It cannot be said that there are no side effects. Excessive centralization is really not a good thing.

But this is the Zhou Dynasty, and the emperor is legally moving towards a more centralized direction. It depends on the individual. If the emperor is a little lazy, he will naturally delegate power.

However, once power is given away, it is difficult to take it back.

Judging from the history of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the retired emperor was a relatively lazy emperor who was harsh in delegating power, which led to the strength of the cabinet during the period when Fang Baiyi was the prime minister. The retired emperor used nobles to balance the situation and continued to delegate power.

Just look at Jia Yucun and you will know. He was reinstated with the help of Wang Ziteng and went directly to Jinling to be the prefect. This shows how powerful the nobles were in the original novel.

Now everything has changed, it can only be described as a new atmosphere.

Jia Lian didn't have time to think about the pros and cons of the matter, as the eunuch who appeared at the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey, eunuch! Why didn't you tell me in advance so that I could congratulate you!" Jia Lian took a look at the changes in little Guizi's clothes and immediately showed a gentle smile.

"You're welcome. We're just here to deliver something." He spoke politely, but his attitude was not as respectful as before.

It is understandable, after all, he is one of the seals in the inner court, although it is only an official seal.

It can only be said that the Zhou Dynasty did not follow the Ming Dynasty's system of Silijian's Pi Hong, which resulted in the eunuchs' power being almost restricted to the Forbidden City, with the exception of Longjinwei, who held the seal.

Xiao Guizi came to deliver an official seal. Jia Lian took it and looked at it carefully. He was the foreman of the Secretariat!
Foreman, see you again!
Jia Lian calmly stuffed a stack of banknotes over. Xiao Guizi, who had not dared to accept them before, now put them into his sleeves generously and looked at Jia Lian with a smile.

"Please explain it to me!" Jia Lian said, pointing to the official seal.

"It's like this. State affairs are heavy and Your Majesty can't bear the burden. So you set up four Zhongshu Sheren to connect the Cabinet and the Tongzhengsi. Three people make a lot of people. There are four people now, so there must be a leader. Your Majesty thought about it and decided that Lord Jia should do more work and serve as the leader to connect the Audit Office and the special inspection team." Xiao Guizi explained it very clearly. Although it was called connection, in fact, Jia Lian was still in charge of the special inspection team. As for the Audit Office, Jia Lian was just a connection person, after all, he had too many responsibilities.

Emperor Chenghui has very peculiar ideas. He still lets Jia Lian hold the post of commander of the Nine Gates Garrison Army and has not mentioned removing any of his other duties.

(End of this chapter)