Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 93 Everyone has his own difficulties

After the Dragon Boat Festival, Jia Lian's preparation for the imperial examination entered the most tense moment.

Information about the outside world can only be obtained through newspapers and Jia Rong's dictation.

Perhaps it was because of the hot weather that the emperor was unable to move, but there had been no major events in the capital recently. The Emperor went to the summer resort, while Emperor Chenghui, a model worker, stayed in the palace to continue working hard. Reports of battles from far away in the Western Regions came back one after another. Wang Ziteng changed his tactics. The main force stayed in Dihua, and the cavalry was sent out to attack the herdsmen of various tribes. After the beginning of spring, dozens of large and small battles were fought, and everyone was killed.

The characteristic of nomadic people is that they are nomadic and dispersed in the vast north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. For the counter-insurgency army, it is difficult to find such nomadic tribes scattered here and there. Once discovered, it is much easier to eliminate them.

Wang Ziteng's 10,000 cavalrymen were divided into five groups and attacked in turn, without attacking directly. The specific tactic is to kill all the men of a tribe when they find it, and kill all the livestock that cannot be taken away.

This tactic is extremely vicious, but it is a common occurrence in history. It can be said to be an enhanced version of Genghis Khan's tactics.

After coming up with this tactic, the counter-rebellion army quickly took the initiative on the battlefield. The rebels did not dare to fight head-on with the imperial army and adopted guerrilla tactics. The counter-rebellion army used guerrillas to fight guerrillas. When they encountered large groups of rebels, they were more numerous, and when they encountered tribes, they Just kill.

In the vast Western Region, it was too difficult to capture the imperial cavalry who were focused on fighting guerrillas.

The biggest advantage of doing this is to weaken the war potential of the rebels. The nomadic tribes scattered in all directions will be wiped out one by one. The sources of information for the rebels will decrease. It will become more difficult for the gathered rebels to obtain supplies day by day. At the same time, because the tribes are constantly being attacked, conflicts between the leaders of each tribe and the rebel leaders are also increasing.

For the imperial court, this was good news. After all, the war situation was developing in a favorable direction. The disadvantage was that it would drag on for another year or two, and the initial plan for a quick victory in the counter-insurgency war was shattered.

But war is like this, and it will not be based on personal will at all. You want to fight quickly, and your opponent is not dead, waiting for you to chop off his head. Especially when fighting on the road, various unexpected situations occur frequently.

After learning the news, Jia Lian couldn't help but sigh while reading. Wang Ziteng was still capable, but compared to Zuo Taibao who took back the Western Regions, he was still inferior in all aspects.

There is another new change in the capital, that is, some new newspapers have appeared on the market. It seems that some people are finally willing to confront them head-on after failing to take shortcuts. These newspapers are relatively straightforward. You don't need to use your brain at all. They just copy the appearance of "Beijing Minsheng Daily" and run newspapers according to this model.

No, Jia Rong came to Jia Lian like his butt was on fire. He looked anxious when talking about this matter. It was really embarrassing for him to bear this at such a young age. But in Jia Lian's opinion, Jia Rong seemed to enjoy it.

"There are three newly released newspapers, which are also printed by the Printing Bureau. Their publication dates are staggered. I publish them on Fridays, but they publish them on other days. Regardless of the content, the appearance of these newspapers is different from my newspaper. Almost exactly the same. The noble man has been very anxious these days and has blisters on the corners of his mouth."

Jia Lian could understand Li Heng. After all, he now relied on this newspaper, which gained him a lot of points in the eyes of Emperor Chenghui.

There are no barriers to running a newspaper. Others don’t even need to use their brains to figure out the layout, they can just copy yours. Seeing that his one-man business has turned into competition from multiple companies, it is normal for Li Heng to be a little anxious at his age.

"I have a message for you. Has the sales of newspapers been affected? If it has not been affected, it means there is not a big problem in the direction of public opinion. Are there so many small newsboys that they spend money in vain? I don't know. Those are the people who are running newspapers to compete. Competition is normal. You must get used to competition and not be afraid of competition. When running a newspaper, content is king."

Jia Rong took out a small notebook and quickly wrote it down. At the same time, he also sighed that Uncle Lian was the anchor of the newspaper office. A few words made people feel at ease.

After sending Jia Rong away, when Guixiang came to deliver iced sour plum soup again, she saw the baggage sent by Jia Rong casually placed on the desk. She quickly stepped forward to put it away and said, "Second Master has received a lot of polished pens. They need to be put away carefully. Don't call it big." Master knows."

Well! After drinking a bowl of sour plum soup, the coolness spreads from the inside out, and the heat on the body instantly fades a lot.

"Just keep the money, I don't have time to take care of this small amount of money." This is really telling the truth. After all, in Jia Lian's view, the polishing of each issue of the newspaper is only two taels of silver, plus the publishing part, a few I can only earn one thousand taels per month. This amount of money is really not much. If you want to make big money, you have to do big business.

When Jia Lian thinks of big business, he thinks of the Xue family. Business is not something you can just do if you want to. For example, in a cigarette factory, the cigarettes you produce need sales channels, right? Do we still need to build sales channels ourselves? Even if I have established sales channels in the capital, what about other places? If the business is limited to one place, you can earn less.

Money is very important to Jia Lian who decided to take the official route. Now that I have money, I will be tougher when faced with bribery, right? Jia Lian was not a Yan Hui who was willing to live in poverty, nor did he want to live in a life where steamed buns were served with boiling water for three meals a day. If you want to ensure the quality of life, how can you do it without money? If you don’t believe me, ask Guixiang how many of them are left after stopping the monthly routine of servants in the yard.

After Jia Lian handed over the money he earned to Guixiang for safekeeping, Aunt Guixiang's chest puffed up a little more and her chin raised a little more when she was outside. Of course, she would not tell Jia Lian about polishing his pen. Even in the courtyard, only Jia Lian, Guixiang, and Xiao An knew about it. After all, one was a personal maid and the other was a personal attendant.

So understanding, leading drivers and nannies.

Alas, Xue Baochai is still young and her father is still there. When he disappeared, the book did not explain it carefully.

The idea of ​​using the Xue family's channels to start a business seemed feasible to Jia Lian, but he was just not in a hurry for the time being.

Jia Lian had ideas about the Xue family, and it would be difficult to let go of Xue Baochai alone.

As for Jia Baoyu, he is a loser, so you can ignore him. It's quite offensive...

After receiving Jia Lian's reply, Li Heng was not in a very good mood. After sending Jia Rong away, he privately complained to the servant beside him: "Content is king. If he goes out to be an official in the future, how will the serialization of the script continue? ? It can be seen that it is better to prepare early and be prepared for a rainy day." The little waiter next to him listened, but did not reply a word. He was not mute, he just knew that wearing ears was enough.

When he was in the palace, the young chamberlain knew that those colleagues who spoke out loud rarely ended well.

One good thing about Li Heng is that he always speaks the truth to Queen Zhou, no matter what he does right or wrong.

In contrast, his second brother, who was in the Ministry of Rites and watched politics, spoke much more vaguely in front of Queen Zhou. It's not about lying, it's about not being able to explain clearly everything I did.

In Kunning Palace, Li Heng, who could enter the palace at will, told Queen Zhou about the recent competitors, Jia Rong's words, and what he was thinking. Empress Zhou was deeply pleased after hearing this and said: "This report is the foundation of my son's life. It is necessary to make some preparations in advance."

It happened that Emperor Chenghui also came and met the mother and son. After listening to Li Heng's report, he felt a little jealous when he looked at Queen Zhou. This poor son will only tell the Queen if he has something to do. He has a lot of things hidden in front of me. Even though the Queen knew about it, I also knew about it, but I still felt a little uncomfortable. "The capital has a population of one million, and there are many people who can write scripts. Don't be stingy with money, and try to cultivate some writers who can be used by you and can win in the current competition among many newspapers." Emperor Chenghui still knew the third child in the family very well Yes, even if he doesn't mention money, he is still a generous person. When it comes to money, he always makes careful calculations.

"My son, I will obey your father's teachings." Li Heng was so excited that he shed tears. After so many years, he finally heard his father's teachings on specific matters to him. In the past few years, my father paid more attention to his second brother, woo woo woo.

There were some things that Emperor Chenghui couldn't tell Li Heng, nor could he tell Empress Zhou.

For example, Jia Lian? In the eyes of Emperor Chenghui, he is a monster!

Li Heng foolishly thought that he could control Jia Lian, but he didn't know that even the emperor himself would be careful when using it. After all, this guy has wild ideas and sinister methods, but he also likes to hide behind and come up with ideas. According to his method, one bad move can poke a hole in the sky. At present, Emperor Chenghui's main concern is to stabilize his rule and gradually gather power.

After Li Heng left, Emperor Chenghui put away the serious expression he had on his godson. He sat on a chair with a tired look on his face, looked at Empress Zhou and asked, "I heard that the concubine has given you trouble again today?"

"There are no big things in the harem, it's just a matter of being humble and being a minor, and the concubines are fine." This was what Emperor Chenghui liked the most about Empress Zhou. No matter what grievances she suffered in the harem, she never complained. Empress Zhou, who was supposed to have actual control over the harem according to the system, met a concubine who liked to show off her qualifications. What else could she do?

If she were just a concubine, Queen Zhou had nothing to worry about. She could turn the concubine's residence into a cold palace with just one sentence. The problem is that there is still a Supreme Emperor here. You see, the Supreme Emperor has gone to escape the summer heat, but the concubine is still staying in the palace.

"It's all me who has brought trouble to the good wife." Emperor Chenghui made the matter clear to Queen Zhou with one sentence.

"I don't ask about external affairs, and I shouldn't know about them." Queen Zhou said, I won't listen, I won't listen.

In fact, she had known for a long time, and the well-informed people in the harem had already tried to please Queen Zhou.

"Well, I won't talk about it then." Emperor Chenghui leaned lazily, and Queen Zhou took it upon herself to fan him. Emperor Chenghui, who was in a state of relaxation, quickly fell asleep.

It is not easy to be an emperor. It is very hard during the day and very hard at night.

Queen Zhou even wanted to remind Yuan Chun and ask her to give Emperor Chenghui some advice. In the end, she didn't say this. The reason was very simple. Empress Zhou knew Emperor Chenghui very well, knew his temperament, and even knew that he was an energetic emperor.

Another point is that Yuanchun's background plays a big role. After all, there is an old lady in Rongguo Mansion.

Emperor Chenghui woke up after sleeping for half an hour. Before washing himself, he said to Queen Zhou: "Get ready to eat."

After the couple had dinner, Emperor Chenghui said to Queen Zhou: "The old lady and the concubine of the Zhen family in Jiangnan are good friends. The new censor of Jiangnan Province has reported ten crimes to impeach the Zhen family. Some people say that this is what I am doing the meaning of."

Emperor Chenghui was willing to speak, but Queen Zhou listened quietly without commenting a word. She actually thought of her old father and brothers at home. The Zhou family did not owe any money to the Ministry of Household Affairs, but the eldest son of the family was kept in the Hanlin Academy by Empress Zhou and was not allowed to serve as an official.

"The Marquis of Changning is reporting that I am happy to have a new grandson. I would like a favor. What do you mean?" Emperor Chenghui spoke very slowly, as if he was talking about a very difficult matter.

"Ignore it, I don't know about him yet? There are many calves in the family, and they all want a favor. From now on, your Majesty will just ask them to come to me for the Zhou family's affairs, and see if I don't show them any strength."

When Queen Zhou said these words, her tone became particularly harsh.

Emperor Chenghui knew that the queen's life was not easy, so he couldn't help sighing: "A good wife should give her something to watch."

Even if the matter came to an end, Empress Zhou unexpectedly added: "Lao Zhou has a good eye but a weak hand. He is not good at learning and is not active in studying. It will not be a big deal if he stays in the Hanlin Academy and causes trouble. I can still read Be careful, if you let him out, I'm afraid something big will happen. I beg your majesty, please don't let Zhou Chong out as an official."

There is a reason why Emperor Chenghui was only with Queen Zhou and Yuan Chun during this period of time among these women in the palace.

One day later, because of the matter regarding the Shuntian Prefecture examiner, Li Qing, the Minister of Rites, submitted a petition asking Your Majesty to make a decision.

Emperor Chenghui specially called Li Qing to perform a solo for this purpose. After retreating for four weeks, Emperor Chenghui said his heart-to-heart words: "Next year in the spring, my intention is to be examined by Aiqing. In this year's autumn, Shuntian Mansion will be the examiner. Is it possible for Aiqing?" recommend?"

Li Qing was surprised and surprised by these words. He was surprised that Shuntian Mansion was at the feet of the emperor. The examiners of the provincial examinations were always appointed by His Majesty. Even if he was a cabinet minister + the Minister of Rites, it was not easy to recommend an individual. I'm happy to be a seated teacher who will take the exam next year. I hope your majesty will reward you for your merit.

"I don't have suitable personnel. Your Majesty can select talents from the Hanlin Academy to take the exam."

Well, Emperor Chenghui pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement with Li Qing's statement. This confrontation between the monarch and his ministers was considered a draw. If Li Qing was ignorant and wanted to recommend someone to be an examiner for the provincial examination, it would be fine for the time being. This would put a thorn in Emperor Chenghui's heart. No matter who you recommend, the label of a Qingyun Party member will be affixed to them.

Do you still remember the [clique] label that Sun Huazheng put on Zhou Kuang? Is the Qingyun Party [a crony]?

This is really not Emperor Chenghui's bad taste, it is simply a concrete manifestation of the emperor's mind.

When mentioning the Hanlin Academy, Emperor Chenghui thought of Zhou Chong, Empress Zhou's younger brother. Empress Zhou was the eldest sister. There were three younger brothers in the family. The eldest son could not study well and served his father-in-law at home. This son, Zhou Chong, was a Jinshi and studied in the Hanlin Academy. Stay.

It is not impossible to choose Zhou Chong as the examiner of the rural examination. The problem is that Zhou Chong has no experience as a grassroots official. According to Taizu's rules, he cannot join the cabinet without experience at the county level. On the other hand, after becoming the chief examiner of the provincial examination, as long as there are no big problems, the official rank will definitely be improved.

Emperor Chenghui came back to his senses. Is Li Rushui just a little disgusting?

(End of this chapter)