Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

A few days later, when Hua Yuanliang, the prisoner in charge of Qianhu in Dongchang, saw the dossier submitted by Jin Yiwei, he immediately understood what the other party was up to and hurriedly entered the palace to report to Dai Quan.

After Dai Quan learned about it, he smiled faintly and said: "Forget it. Duke Dingguo and I are close friends, and our status is precious, so we can't take it lightly.

Moreover, the factory guards are from the same family, and the old rules in the past are very harmonious. It just means that they are meant to be, and there is no need to call them true. "

"Yes, the governor is benevolent and righteous, I understand my humble duty."

Hua Yuanliang rolled his eyes. He wanted to show off his skills in front of his new boss, but also wanted to make some money on the way, so he whispered: "Superintendent, the factory has been tortured by Xia Ni for many years. Although the superintendent is wise and powerful and works hard to manage, for a while, It is still difficult to restore the old outlook.

The root cause is that due to the expansion of Jin Yiwei's power, we have no more cases to handle, resulting in a lack of financial resources. "

When Dai Quan heard the word financial resources, his eyes lit up and he asked, "What's the best idea?"

"I thought that since the Governor was a good friend to Duke Dingguo, and now he has betrayed his face, I thought we should go to Jinyiwei to beg for food, as a courtesy," Hua Yuanliang said.

Dai Quan nodded slightly and said, "Go on."

"Yes. Nowadays, there are roughly three ways for Jinyiwei to make money. One is through the Ministry of Household Affairs allocating food and salary; the other is through handling cases and confiscating the property;

The third is to cooperate with the world's major merchants and wealthy families, either cleaning their homes for moths, doing conveniences, or selling information, etc. This is the bulk of the money, which can amount to several million silver a year. "Hua Yuanliang swallowed his saliva, extremely envious.

Dai Quan was also jealous after hearing this, and said: "Why don't we follow the same example?"

Hua Yuanliang smiled bitterly and said: "Lord Governor, take Shenjing as an example, there are only a few wealthy families, and they have all been pocketed by Jin Yiwei. It is too late for us to talk.

What's more, the reputation of the factory... has long been ruined by Xia Ni and others. Even if we come to our door, people won't believe us. "

Dai Quan suddenly said: "Yes, Duke Dingguo is the son-in-law of the Xue family. The Xue family has been royal merchants for generations and has quite a lot of connections in the market. This is how we can act, but we don't have this convenience."

"The governor clearly sees that if we can catch the Jinyiwei's boat now, are we still afraid that we will not be able to recover our strength?"

Dai Quan smiled proudly and said: "This is reasonable. Let me discuss it with Duke Ding."

"Yes. I am resigning from my humble position."

"Come back. Did the actor in Prince Beijing's Mansion find out any useful information?" Dai Quan suddenly remembered something and asked hurriedly.

Hua Yuanliang said: "The humble position has ordered him to step up the investigation. Although some information has been found now, it is of little use."

"Well, let's go." Dai Quan waved his hand and ordered him to go without hesitation.

Now all he wanted was to get a piece of Jin Yiwei's pie. Knowing that this was a big fat sheep, he still had to figure out how to talk to Jia Cong so that he would relax and stop eating alone.

At this time, Jia Cong, who was holding a fat sheep in his mouth, shied away from the task of clearing the deficit, and successfully provoked Dai Quan to hate King Beijing. He was chatting with Pang Chao relaxedly and looking forward to the future.

As he was talking, he suddenly came to what Huo Peng said about "cutting down the feudal clan".

Jia Cong thought of this and hurriedly told Pang Chao what Huo Peng said, saying, "Sir, is it possible to reduce the vassal status?"

Pang Chao smiled and said: "Everyone has known throughout the ages that it is difficult to cut down a feudal vassal, so why cut it off? It has to be done, such as scraping bones to cure poison, enduring temporary pain, and avoiding worries for a lifetime.

Chao Cuo, the imperial censor of the Western Han Dynasty, said to Emperor Shujing: If you cut it now, it will be the opposite, and if you don't cut it, it will be the opposite. If you cut it, the reaction will be urgent and the disaster will be small; if you don't cut it, the reaction will be late and the disaster will be great. It can be said to hit the nail on the head. "

Jia Cong pondered for a moment and said: "A while ago, I heard a story about Zheng Bo Duan in Yan. Zheng Zhuanggong did not cut down the feudal vassal, but did the opposite. He allowed his younger brother to rebel, and then wiped him out in one fell swoop. Now, is it possible?”

Pang Chao shook his head and said: "No. In the past, there was only one vassal that Duke Zhuang cared about, and the country was strong but the vassal was weak, so he could just take it lightly.

Today, there are nine vassals in the world, with big trees and deep roots, good soldiers and sufficient food, and a strong city and dangerous passes to rely on. If they are allowed to become powerful, future kings will be controlled by them if they are incompetent. "

Jia Cong nodded and said: "Sir, what you said is reasonable, but since you know there are nine hard bones and you rush to gnaw them, if something goes wrong, the world will be in chaos. Is there any good strategy for cutting down the feudal vassal, sir?"

Pang Chao said: "Since ancient times, the move to cut down vassals has been dangerous. Emperor Jing of the Western Han Dynasty cut down vassals, leading to the 'Rebellion of the Seven Kings,' and Empress Jia Nanfeng of the Western Jin Dynasty cut down the vassals, leading to the 'Rebellion of the Eight Kings.'

Not to mention the Tang Dynasty, Daizong, Dezong, Xianzong, and Mu Zong worked diligently to reduce the vassals. In the end of the Tang Dynasty, there was no great success, and the chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms evolved.

If we talk about countermeasures, they are nothing more than three strategies: upper, middle and lower.

Above them, the king's reputation is at its peak, he speaks of the constitution of heaven, follows the law, and the whole world respects him. His will is everywhere, and no one can control it. The vassal king has no choice but to bow his head and submit to his vassal, without daring to have any rebellious intentions.

Among them, the country is strong and the vassal is weak, and the heavenly troops are overwhelming like Mount Tai. They are subdued by power and feared by force. Even if the vassal king has a rebellious intention, there is nothing he can do. Even if he raises an army to rebel, it will not help.

Those who are below are able to obtain it by plotting, using the method of extending favor, causing it to fall apart, the ice melt away and disintegrate, and they are weak without fighting. "

Jia Cong said curiously: "The best policy you mentioned was the favor order of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Since you can defeat the enemy without fighting, why do you still have to make the worst policy?"

Pang Chao said: "The best strategy is to conquer the enemy without fighting. If tactics like pushing favors and orders are really effective, what kind of 'Rebellion of Seven Kings' or 'Rebellion of Eight Kings' will happen?"

"Why?"

"The method of extending favor was not invented by Emperor Wu. It had already existed during the reign of Emperor Wen. Jia Yi wrote in the "Public Security Policy": If you want to ensure peace and order in the world, don't build up the princes but lack their strength. If you have little strength, it will be easy to use righteousness, and if the country is small, it will destroy evil intentions. . Make the power in the sea like the body using the arms, and the arms using the fingers, no one can fail to follow them.

This was the earliest order to extend favor. However, during the time of Emperor Wen, the King of Jibei and the King of Huainan had rebelled successively. Why did the court delay issuing an order to extend favor? Pang Chao said.

Jia Cong looked confused. How could he understand this? He hurriedly asked: "Why?"

Pang Chao said with a smile: "Because the vassal king is not a fool. If you want to divide me up and disintegrate me with a mere edict, isn't it just an idiot's dream? What would happen if you were the vassal king?"

Jia Cong smiled and said: "Of course I contacted all the vassals to get angry and put pressure on the court. Anyone who made suggestions would be killed."

Pang Chao smiled and said: "That's it, that's why Emperor Wen didn't move. After Emperor Jing succeeded to the throne, he knew that the method of extending favor was too naive, so he simply put it away.

Instead, Chao Cuo, who was born in the Legalist family, was reused. The overlord forced his bow and powerfully cut down the vassal, which aroused public outrage. Only then did the "Seven Kings Rebellion" begin, and Chao Cuo, the one who offered the plan, also died under his own plan. "

Jia Cong said: "Then why did Emperor Wu succeed in cutting down the feudal vassals again?"

Pang Chao said: "It is precisely because Emperor Jing made great efforts to quell the civil strife among the seven kings that the seven strongest vassal kings were eradicated. By the time of Emperor Wu, the country was strong and the vassals were weak, so he took advantage, so he picked up the grace order again.

The "Book of Han" records: Emperor Wu used his father-in-law to plot, and ordered the princes to split the land for personal favors and divide their children, and the Han Dynasty customized titles and belonged to Han County. The Han Dynasty has great kindness, but the princes and the land are a little weak. "

Jia Cong suddenly said: "No wonder Sir said that extending the favor order was a bad idea. Now that the Nine Kings are alive and well and their strength is intact, who dares to extend the favor?"

Pang Chao said: "Of course. If the princes in the imperial court want to repeat their old tricks, they will really laugh out loud. Speaking of the method of surrendering and attacking nobles, it also comes from the order of favor, which is to prevent the nobles from losing their tail.

However, the titles of the Nine Great Sai Kings are hereditary and irreplaceable. King Iron Hat, if you want him to be demoted to a lower rank, how easy is it? "

Jia Cong asked: "What strategy do you think the court will take?" Pang Chao shook his head and said: "It's hard to guess. I think that the sage is now a wise man, and Mr. Zhun is not confused. He shouldn't make any stupid moves, and you can pay them back." It was quite effective in detecting deficits and detecting treason, which made the treasury full and the court emboldened.

What's more, the Jiubian Jiedushi are not mediocre people. They are responsible for supervising the vassal king. As long as the court is not in chaos, it is not impossible to reduce the vassal.

The only worry is that the vassal king and Bianzhen Jiedu have already made peace. The nine sides have more than a million troops. Even if only half of them take action, it will be a catastrophic disaster for the country. "

Jia Cong smiled bitterly and said, "Sir, what you said is true, but this matter is now clear and requires me, the Jinyi Guards, to take action. If something goes wrong, why shouldn't Cong hold the top of the cylinder?"

Pang Chao said: "Don't worry, there will be a way for the car to reach the mountain."

Jia Cong said with a smile: "Sir, he has always made clever calculations and his words will be right. Cong has no doubts about it. For example, what happened to Jiang Yuhan that I mentioned the day before yesterday was indeed what I expected. It is a prophet of the unknown. I admire you."

Pang Chao waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's just a fluke, the praise is too much."

Jia Cong said with a bad smile: "Can you guess why Jiang Yuhan risked his life, betrayed Dongchang and defected to King Beijing?"

"This is unknown."

Jia Cong told Wang Fei about the investigation, and the two laughed together.
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Jia Cong and Pang Chao discussed for a long time before getting up and going in to prepare for dinner.

"What's going on that's so lively?"

Jia Cong walked in with a smile and saw that the girls had already gathered in Ruyi's upper room, chatting and joking, waiting for him.

This is also his rule. The family always has dinner together every day.

The girls came forward together and said with a smile: "I was just listening to Qingwen telling a story."

Jia Cong smiled and said: "Hey, I'll treat you with admiration after three days of separation. Now that Qingwen has followed you, she has become more knowledgeable and can tell stories. Let me listen."

All the girls covered their mouths and chuckled.

Qingwen said coyly: "I'm making fun of you again. I don't know how to tell stories. I just heard them from the little girls."

"Oh, what's the matter?"

"It was said that Si Qi sent Lian Hua'er to the small kitchen to ask for a bowl of egg custard, but the Liu family's sister-in-law in the kitchen refused to give it, and also said a lot of embarrassing things.

When Siqi heard about it, he was very angry, so he took the little girls in the house and smashed the small kitchen to pieces, saying that 'no one can make money.'"

Qingwen repeated Sister-in-law Liu's words again, and before she finished speaking, she started to giggle.

Baochai smiled and sighed: "One of them is just looking at the dishes, and the other one is too evil. What's the etiquette of making such a fuss?"

Daiyu covered her mouth and said with a smile: "My sister-in-law, second sister, and third girl have to worry about it. Fortunately, our kitchen is still there, so dinner will not be delayed." She said that the meal was passed on by fate.

Jia Cong shook his head and said: "Although the matter is not serious, the family tradition is not good. I have said before that running a family is like running an army. If the law is disordered, the family will be in chaos.

Siqi is the second sister's personal maid, and the third sister and the others are not easy to deal with due to their feelings. "

Sister Feng fulfilled her wish of infiltrating the Xifu to win over Jia Cong and Ke Qing. Now she is back and said with a smile: "Does the general still want to take care of these little things? In my opinion, if you don't take care of these things, you will lose your country." The identity of the father-in-law.”

Jia Cong sighed: "I don't care who is in charge, but there are still several girls from relatives living in the garden. Our family is in a state of chaos. What will it look like?"

Ruyi chuckled and said: "Are you going to kill and make a decisive decision? I just heard a while ago that you have dealt with many women and a few little girls. Your skills are at their peak."

Jia Cong glared at her and feigned anger: "How dare you mock my consort, I will teach you what it means to be decisive in killing tonight."

Everyone sneered and laughed, hurriedly lowering their heads and not daring to answer, for fear that Ruyi would lose his temper.

"Bah, dirty stuff." Ruyi spat at him and turned away with a red face.

Baochai smiled and said, "How are Cong'er going to deal with it?"

Jia Cong thought for a while and said: "I think this matter boils down to the fact that there are no rules in the kitchen, and Sister-in-law Liu's words are not wrong.

Since there is already a daily portion, if you don’t eat it after buying it, and you ask for something else, who gets the money? How to count the things that are wasted?
There are dozens of young ladies and deputy ladies in the garden, and if one of them wants the same thing, Sister-in-law Liu will not be able to provide it even if she has all her head and six arms. "

Baochai nodded and said with a smile: "That's true. We here are still smart and manage things properly.

Every day I asked Lao Tu to bring me a menu, and I ordered what I wanted for each room. It not only suits the taste, but also prevents me from buying too much or too little, and reduces disputes. "

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Daiyu was a little embarrassed and said with a smile: "Baby girl, please don't put a high hat on me. With you as a good wife, I can't be lazy even if I want to."

Baochai smiled and shook his head, pinched her cheek gently and said, "You are still like a child now that you are a woman."

Jia Cong said: "Sister Bao is right, Qi'er's method is better. Sister Ping'er, go to the garden and spread my message and ask the kitchen to set up the rules according to our method. In the future, it doesn't matter whether you are a young lady or a girl. , If you order other dishes outside of the quota, you have to pay for them yourself.”

"Yes." Ping'er agreed quickly.

"Well, although I haven't seen it in person, I think that ordinary people have the idea of ​​​​reaching for a higher branch. The second sister is dull and taciturn, and does not compete with others for profit, so she will inevitably be looked down upon by others.

Tell the Liu family that when she is in charge of the small kitchen, she is not only responsible for cooking, but also for the rules, and the rules must also control her! If she dares to watch people serving food again, she will be fired from her position. "

"Yes."

"Tell Siqi, courage alone is not enough, you must also have a plan. The kitchen girl in the house did not smash it, but she did it instead. Let the old lady and the master know that she will eat her good fruits. Go and have a look , how much was smashed, she should be compensated."

"Yes." Ping'er saw that he had no more instructions and hurried over.

Ruyi smiled and said: "Hey, why did Mr. Qingtian bend the law for personal gain this time? Give Si Qiwang some mercy and don't you punish her severely according to your temper?"

Jia Cong smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Although Si Qi is hateful, she still has her uses. I am also very passionate about love, so I have no choice but to wrong myself."

Daiyu smiled and said, "I think it's Brother Cong who is looking for a strong escort for my second sister."

The girls laughed, considering Yingchun's weak temperament, she really needs a girl like Si Qi to protect her.

Jia Cong gently scratched the bridge of her straight nose and said, "You are the only smart one." (End of Chapter)