Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Baoyu's face suddenly fell. Ever since Jia Zheng was sent away as the provincial education commissioner, he had completely let himself go these days.

Every day he just played with the maids at home, or went out to drink and chat with friends. He never took books to heart. Occasionally, he would read a book on a whim, but forget what he read as soon as he finished. He remembered more than he forgot.

Up to now, I am even worse than in the previous two years. Except for "The Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean", which are shorter and can be recited with notes, I can only remember 50% to 60% of "The Analects of Confucius", and "Mencius" is completely unfamiliar. If I mention a sentence out of thin air, I can't recite it at all, let alone understand it.

Now that the first month of the year was almost over, there was no time to memorize the lessons, so he looked at Baochai and Daiyu for help.

Baochai smiled slightly, looked away, and ignored him.

Daiyu rolled her eyes at him and was unmoved. What a useless thing! Such a grown-up who couldn't even recite the Four Books, yet he still had the nerve to beg for mercy.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Baoyu, I know the rules for you scholars. Memorizing a book is not just about reciting the meaning of the scriptures, but also about memorizing the chapters and notes.

I heard that the Four Books together have 300,000 to 400,000 words. You still have one or two months, and with your ability to memorize everything you read, it should be a piece of cake.

I will try it myself then. If I can recite it by heart, I will take you with me. If not, don’t blame me.”

The girls couldn't help but sneer. If it was so easy to memorize, Baoyu wouldn't have taken more than ten years to memorize it.

When it comes to studying, if you don't work hard, such as hanging from the beam and piercing your legs with a needle, or chiseling a hole in the wall to steal light, no matter how smart you are, it is impossible for you to memorize hundreds of thousands of words.

Even if you memorize it, you still need to review and ponder it from time to time. Otherwise, how much will you still remember after three or two months?

This is just the basics of the basics, and it is still a long way from passing the imperial examination.

Jia Cong had read some online articles before, which said that the protagonist had a photographic memory and could easily become a Jinshi or a top scholar if he traveled through time to ancient times. Now he realized that those articles were even more ridiculous than the stories about talented men and beautiful women that Jia Mu criticized.

After memorizing the Four Books, one has to memorize the Five Classics, which again contains hundreds of thousands of words. The second round of the imperial examination is five questions from the Five Classics. If one does not even know the origin and meaning of the questions, how can one write an eight-part essay?
Unlike the previous dynasties who only studied the basic classics, Taizu discovered at the beginning of the founding of the country that the scholars of the previous dynasties only studied one classic and ignored the rest:
"Recently, examiners have focused mainly on the Four Books, and have paid little attention to the classics and arts." Therefore, an imperial edict was issued that "scholars specialize in one classic, without having a broad knowledge of other classics. This is not the way to promote practical learning."

Therefore, the "Five Classics Separate Examination" was changed to "Five Classics Combined Examination" in order to select "scholars who are well versed in the classics", and the examination on the meaning of the classics was moved to the second session to give candidates ample time to perform.

From then on, scholars no longer had the good days of "specializing in one classics". They had to learn and memorize all Five Classics. The second exam consisted of five questions on the Five Classics, and you had to answer them no matter which classic you chose.

The next step is to read the history of various dynasties and answer five policy essay questions in the third round.

The scope of policy essay topics is extremely broad, and may include discussions on the importance of rites and laws, the gains and losses of historical events, the rise of literature and education, the way to enrich the country, military strategies and warfare, the power of laws, and so on.

If you don't have anything in your head, can't quote from a wide range of sources, and can only recite a few words from saints, then what good are you talking about?

After completing the three tests of the Four Books, Five Classics, and History Books, one must also study the skills of contemporary literature and art. I don't know how much time it will take to slowly study and practice.

It is impossible to get through the test by guessing the topics or memorizing Cheng Wen, because the original text of the Four Books consists of a total of 170,000 words. Even if they are not spliced, there are endless combinations of words to be used as test questions.

For example, the last exam question was "There is a great way to make money: many make it, few consume it; those who work hard, those who spend it easily; then there will always be enough money."

This sentence is made up of six short sentences. A complete sentence can be used as a question. If the six short sentences are taken out separately, their meanings are completely different, so they can be used to make six questions. If two adjacent sentences are taken out, they can be used to make five or six questions, with many variations.

Moreover, the meaning of each question is different, and it is absolutely impossible to solve a short sentence by solving a whole sentence.

In this case, how can we get all the questions? How can we ensure that the questions in each subject are new and unprecedented? How can we memorize them?
Baoyu sighed and chose to lie down. If he didn't want to go, then he didn't have to go. It was impossible for him to recite scriptures about fishing for fame and fortune.
-
On this day, urgent military information from Gansu was finally delivered to the capital. The commander-in-chief Liu Jiezhen was dismissed and questioned by the King of Nannan for neglecting military affairs and disrespecting his superiors. He recommended Shi Ding, the Marquis of Zhongjing, to temporarily take charge of the military affairs of Gansu.

On the same day, Shi Nai was also quickly escorted back to Beijing.

Putting the two things together, all the civil and military officials in the court finally came to their senses. Liu Jiezhen was the confidant of the Zhenguo Mansion, and Jia Cong must have heard the news in advance, which was why he was so furious.

It turned out that the Marquis of the Shi family had boarded the boat of the four great princes, but turned against them.

If we don't fight back, the four kings will only become more arrogant. If people lose their morale, it will be difficult to lead the team.

Therefore, even though this is not the time to be in the limelight, Jia Cong must act decisively. He would rather leave the impression of a powerful official in the emperor's mind than not take down Shi Nai.

Otherwise, if someone bullies you and you can't resist, what will your brothers think?
If following you doesn't get protection, who will follow you? It's better for everyone to join the four princes.

After the court was dismissed, Niu Jizong walked to the side of the Minister of Justice Yan Ning, and whispered, "Can the Grand Secretary of Justice spare me a moment to talk?"

Yan Ning was formerly the Minister of Revenue and a core member of the Neutral Party. He had "cooperated" with Jia Cong several times. After Tu Fei's rebellion, he was transferred to the Ministry of Justice to make room for Feng Yuan.

Seeing him coming, he smiled and twirled his goatee, "Please come in, my Lord."

The two of them slowly walked to the side, away from the crowd.

"My Lord, are you concerned about Shi Nai's matter?" Yan Ning asked deliberately.

Niu Jizong shook his head and said, "Old man, why are you teasing me? Lord Yansheng has already reported this brat Shi Nai, why should Old Niu bother with his worries? It's Liu Jiezheng..."

Yan Ning wiped the two whiskers on his lips and sighed, "I heard that General Liu is an old friend of the Marquis.

Alas, now that Prince Nan'an is leading the army and granting him the imperial seal, he has offended the prince, and this is difficult... I am powerless to help."

Niu Jizong hurriedly said: "Old man, you misunderstood. Old Niu is not trying to rescue him. In fact..."

Having said this, he looked around and whispered, "Shao Bao's intention is to ask the Ministry of Justice to detain you without questioning you, and discuss it later. It won't be too late. Will the old man refuse this favor?"

Yan Ning nodded and smiled, "It seems that the young master has an expert to guide him. It would be safer to discuss this matter after the war in the Western Regions is settled.

If they win, His Majesty will be very pleased, and even if Liu Jiezheng made a minor mistake, it would be forgiven as it was his first offense; if the battle goes badly, the Prince of Nan'an will naturally be unlucky, and Liu Jiezheng will know that he has been wronged. "

Niu Jizong bowed and smiled, "Nothing can be hidden from the old man's keen eyes."

"Your Majesty, you are too kind. Please report to the Grand Protector on my behalf. I will investigate the case in detail and ensure that no loyal and honest person is wrongly accused." Yan Ning said.

Niu Jizong said happily: "The old man enforces the law strictly and is dedicated to the public. I admire you. To ensure safety, the Jinyiwei will send someone to monitor Jie Zheng while he is in custody to prevent villains from interfering."

Yan Ning smiled and said, "That couldn't be better. I was also worried that General Liu might get into trouble in the prison of the Ministry of Justice. It's great that the young guard is willing to help."

"By the way, the Jinyiwei has found a lot of evidence about Shi Nai's case. It's an ironclad case and will be transferred to the Ministry of Justice in full, so you don't have to worry too much, old sir." Niu Jizong said with a smile.

"Okay, this saves me the trouble." Yan Ning said with a smile.

"Thank you for your help, old man."

"Why should I be so polite as a minister in the same palace?"
-
On March 14, the present emperor wrote in red ink on the memorial on the case of Shi Nai submitted by the three ministries: The memorial is approved. The hereditary title of Marquis Baoling is stripped, all past honors and privileges are revoked, and he is dismissed from his post and his property is confiscated.

When the news reached Rong Mansion, Grandmother Jia fainted from tears on the spot. She was removed from the Baoling Marquis Mansion. From then on, she was no longer a noble lady from the Baoling Marquis Mansion. Her only identity was Lady Rong.

Jia Cong was well prepared for this and asked Ye Tianshi to take her pulse and prescribe medicine.

This result was completely under his control. He asked Kong Xinghe to make sure that Shi Nai could not turn over, and the iron certificate left by the old bowling marquis Shi Gong and the intercession of Beijing Wang and others were enough to save his life. In this way, the old lady would not be too sad. Jia Cong was very "considerate" to take care of the old lady's ability to bear.

"Baoyu, you guys take good care of the old lady. I'll take Mr. Ye off."

"Yes."

Jia Cong accompanied Ye Tianshi out and whispered, "Mr. Ye, is the old lady causing any trouble?"

Ye Tianshi sighed, "The old lady is nearly 80 years old, and she was shocked when she heard the bad news. She was so sad that her energy was lost, and her triple-burner qi was blocked, and she couldn't move and transform. She is seriously ill.

Fortunately, the old lady has taken good care of herself and has a very good foundation. She should be able to get better after taking a few doses of medicine to nourish the heart and spleen and calm the nerves and regulate the qi. But she must not be too happy or too sad in the future, otherwise she may suffer serious consequences."

Jia Cong nodded and bowed, saying, "Thank you, sir."

Although he does not care about the old lady's past actions and wants her to spend her old age in peace, he will not change his established political strategy for her.

These are the joys and sorrows that an old lady from a noble family should face. There is no lady in the world who only enjoys happiness without enduring hardships, not even the queen.

Jia Cong will not be a saint. If he can bear it, he will continue to be happy. If he cannot bear it, he can only go to see Duke Rong.

Life and death are determined by fate, wealth and honor are determined by God, it is nothing more than that.

"By the way, how is the teacher doing in Ji'an Hall now? How many students do you have?" Jia Cong asked with a smile.

Ye Tianshi smiled and said, "Thanks to the Duke's care, everything is fine. I can treat more than a hundred poor patients every day. I registered as a doctor in the Imperial Hospital and took four or five young men with me. I see patients during the day and teach at night."

"Very good, it's just a matter of time before Mr. Ye has students all over the world. As the saying goes, if you can't be a good prime minister, then be a good doctor. Thousands of years later, I'm afraid that Mr. Ye's name will be much more famous than that of the prime minister." Jia Cong said with a smile.

Ye Tianshi hurriedly expressed his humility, expressing his sincere gratitude to Jia Cong for his kindness in recognizing his talent.

"If you have any difficulties, just come to me." Jia Cong said with a smile.

"Thank you, Your Excellency the Duke. Your kindness is so great that I would never be able to repay you even if I die." Ye Tianshi bowed deeply.

"You are so kind, sir."

Jia Cong smiled as he saw him out the door. Suddenly, Cheng Lingsu flashed out and whispered, "Military intelligence from the Western Regions." Then she presented a bamboo tube that had just been untied from the eagle's leg.

Jia Cong's eyes fixed, he took the bamboo tube and returned to the study, and asked Pang Chao to come and discuss it.

After checking that the sealing wax was correct, Jia Cong opened it and took a closer look. It read:

The government troops won victory after victory, successively recovering Turpan, Karabar, Dihua, Changji, Hutubi, Manas and other places, and their morale was high.

On March 11, King Nannan ordered Shi Ding to lead 50,000 troops as the vanguard and attack the Ili River Valley directly. He himself stayed in Dihua and divided his troops to garrison the Karabar and Turpan lines to prevent the enemy from the south from harassing the rear.

He also ordered a detachment of the army to march south with light equipment, pass through the mountain paths, turn west, and attack Yili together.

Jia Cong looked at the map and handed the information to Pang Chao, his brows furrowed. The war was going so smoothly. Could it be that the King of Nan'an was really a master of military strategy? Or was the enemy too cowardly?
"What do you think, sir?" Although Jia Cong had fought on the battlefield before, he was now in the rear and could not judge the situation in front.

Pang Chao shook his head and said, "Brother Cong, you are a general in the army, and you can't understand it, so how can I have any insight?

However, news came the other day that the Ili River Valley was occupied by the Russians several decades ago. It was unwise for the King of Nan'an to abandon the three new bandits and take on the powerful enemy first, which might cause more changes.

Jia Cong nodded slowly and said, "The Rakshasa Kingdom is very powerful. If we rashly go to war with it, it will be easy to win.

If the situation becomes stalemate, and even the Luosha people collude with Abulai and the White Army, it will be even more troublesome."

Pang Chao said: "This is the first. The most important thing is that if it is delayed for too long, Luosha will definitely send envoys to put pressure on us. It is justified for the court to fight against these bandits, rebels and robbers, but if we suddenly go to war with Luosha...

I'm afraid the emperor and the officials in the court have no such intention. Even if we want to go to war, we must plan carefully before we act, and eat the meat first and gnaw the bones later."

Jia Cong was startled and said, "Prince Nan'an must understand this principle, so why did he ignore it and stroke the tiger's whiskers?
The money and food prepared for him by the imperial court were not for fighting the Russians. If anything went wrong, he would not be able to get enough heads even if he had ten thousand.

How dare this bastard be so ambitious, using the country's fortune to gain military merit?"

Pang Chao said: "The four princes are eager to achieve great feats and take over the military. This is of course the plan. But the more important meaning is to keep the enemy at bay!
He deliberately left the weak targets such as the rebel leaders of the Western Regions, Abu Lai, and the White-Clothed Army alone and tried to provoke the Russians first. Regardless of whether he could win the fight or not, the Russians would definitely respond.

By then, the situation in the Western Regions will be even more complicated and severe. With an army of 200,000 there, it is impossible for them to return empty-handed. Neither the imperial court nor the current emperor will retreat without being defeated.

So... money, food, and supplies will definitely be sent over continuously.

When Prince Nan'an feels the time is right, he will make a concerted effort to conquer the Western Regions. By then, it will be hard to say who will own the Western Regions. "

Jia Cong was dumbfounded, and sneered for a while: "The prince's party actually thought so far? It turns out that they not only want to return to the army, but also want to take the opportunity to occupy the Western Region! Hey, they have a big appetite."

Pang Chao said with a smile: "Struggles in the court are common.

The four princes' actions were, first, to regain control of the military power; second, to support the eldest prince; and third, to use the power of the court to swallow up the territory of the Western Regions in one swoop.

Relying on the fact that the emperor is far away, no one can do anything to them. It was not until today that I figured it out. I have to say that the Prince of Beijing and others acted in a timely manner and made decisions on the spot, which should not be underestimated. "

Jia Cong sneered, "They never imagined that while the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole is waiting behind. The queen has already made a plan.

The day before yesterday, I went to the palace to pay my respects, and the Queen secretly asked about this matter. I replied according to the Master's suggestion that I had originally arranged for Liu Jiezhen, the General of Gansu, but unexpectedly, the Prince of Nannan accidentally reported him first, so I had to shirk the responsibility.

The Queen looked at me and seemed a little unconvinced, but she didn't argue any further. I guess she had another plan."

Pang Chao nodded and said, "It is not easy to win a battle, but it is easy to lose a battle.

Although this reason is reasonable, it is impossible to deceive the Queen. The reason why I don't argue is just to give you face. I still need you in the future, so I don't want to lose the big picture because of the small one."

Jia Cong sighed, "I guess so. Now I don't know whether I should hope that the queen will succeed or fail."

If successful, the defeat would be like a landslide, with 200,000 troops lost for nothing.

If it fails, it means that King Nannan’s plan may succeed, and the situation in the Western Regions will worsen.

In the final analysis, it is the country and the court that suffer the losses.

Pang Chao sighed: "Whether it's the Queen or the Prince of Nan'an, they only care about their own interests and have never considered the country. It is true that when the country prospers, the people suffer; when the country perishes, the people suffer."

"Sir, you are right." Jia Cong also sighed, then cheered up and said, "Sir, don't worry, Cong is definitely not that kind of person."

Pang Chao shook his head and smiled without saying anything. (End of this chapter)