Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Emperor Xifeng turned to look at the queen again and said, "There is one more thing I need Zitong to help me with."

When Concubine Yuan saw that the Emperor and Empress wanted to speak, she quickly took her leave and left.

Empress Chen glanced at Concubine Yuan's back and said with a smile, "Is Your Majesty here to test me again?"

"I have absolutely no such intention. I am in a dilemma and cannot make up my mind." Emperor Xifeng waved his hand and said, "Today, the court discussed who will supervise the army in this western expedition. There are many different opinions and no consensus. What do you think, Queen?"

Empress Chen smiled and said, "This is a major government matter, I dare not interfere.

The eldest prince just survived a disaster a few days ago, and I am still in shock. As long as the emperor does not send the princes, I have no objection.

Just follow the usual practice and choose a reliable person from among the court officials, eunuchs, and clan relatives." His expression and words perfectly captured the character of the virtuous queen and loving mother.

Emperor Xifeng stared at her with a sharp gaze and said seriously, "Zitong, parents who love their children will plan for them in the long run.

This is a good opportunity to see the beacon fires of the Han Pass and the Hujia music of the Western Regions. It is of great benefit to one's mind and mind. If you give it up just because it is a little dangerous, wouldn't it be a pity?"

Empress Chen frowned and thought for a moment, then sighed, "No wonder the saying goes that loving mothers often spoil their children. I am not as far-sighted as Your Majesty, but a mother worries about her child even when he is thousands of miles away. When I think of the endless deserts and unpredictable dangers of the Western Regions, I get nervous."

Emperor Xifeng said, "It's okay. Isn't the eldest prince fine? This time, Qiu Qing, Liu Qing and others made a careful plan before taking action. They will not make the same mistake again."

Empress Chen sighed slightly, showing a cute expression of being unable to resist you, and said: "Which prince does the emperor want to send?"

Emperor Xifeng looked deeply into the Queen's eyes and said softly, "The eldest has already been there. How about sending the second this time? If he succeeds, it will be of great benefit to him in the future."

This statement is very meaningful. Apart from the throne, what else can bring "great benefits" to the eldest son's future?
Unexpectedly, Empress Chen became furious and said, "I disagree. The emperor said he wants to train the princes, and I dare not obstruct him. As long as you don't send the second and tenth princes to the Western Regions, I will obey your orders.

I have lived for half my life, and I only have these two evildoers. Last year, when Old Ten was in rebellion, he was stabbed with a transparent hole, and blood was all over the ground. It was almost... I wanted to die, but now... Woo woo..." At the end of the story, she covered her face and cried.

Emperor Xifeng hurriedly said: "Don't be sad, Zi Tong, how could I harm my own son?

But Can is your legitimate son, with a pure character, righteousness, and kindness. I love him very much. Now he is not a child anymore. How will he settle down in the future? Zi Tong, have you ever thought about it?"

Empress Chen pouted her lips slightly, and even had some of the unruly and spoiled intentions of a little girl, and said: "Your Majesty's words are of course reasonable, but I don't care. I don't want him to be rich and powerful, I just want him to live in peace and safety."

Although she is over 40 years old, this kind of behavior does not seem out of place at all, and she is even cuter than a girl of 16 or 17 years old.

Emperor Xifeng laughed in silence. He hadn't seen the queen like this for many years. It reminded him of his youth. He couldn't help but hold the queen's soft jade hand and said with a smile: "You, do you still think you are the little girl you were back then and can be willful?

If you don't let the second son go, and I send another prince instead of him, what will the court and the people think? I'm afraid they will think that Can has fallen out of favor, which will cause more trouble. It won't be good for Can either."

Empress Chen rolled her eyes at the Emperor, thought for a moment, and said, "It would not be appropriate to send Can alone, as he would not even have anyone to look after him. Since the Emperor wants to train the princes, why not send the third and fourth princes as well to see the world, so that the brothers can help each other."

Emperor Xifeng secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "It's all up to Zitong."

Empress Chen said angrily, "Your Majesty is good at talking. It's obvious that I can't argue with you, but you're the one who takes advantage of me."

Emperor Xifeng smiled and said, "Okay, it's settled. I know Zitong likes children, so let's give birth to another prince tonight."

"Your Majesty... you are so annoying. Be careful so that your servants can hear you." Empress Chen blushed and said coquettishly.

"What's the point of hearing this? This is a great human ceremony. The birth of a prince to me and the queen is a great joy for the country, and it's not something shameful." Emperor Xifeng rarely made a joke.

"Your Majesty, you still have something to say." Queen Chen stamped her feet and said angrily.

"Come." Emperor Xifeng smiled and took Empress Chen into the inner room.

Several palace maids and female officials hurriedly lowered the curtains.

Empress Chen followed him in with light lotus steps, her face full of shyness, like a young woman in her twenties, her demeanor charming and captivating.

What is incredible is that the two completely opposite temperaments of charm and elegance are perfectly and harmoniously blended together in her.

When Emperor Xifeng was not looking, Empress Chen showed a hint of pride in her eyes. It was obvious that she had once again handled the game with the current emperor well without revealing any flaws.

With her wisdom, she naturally understood that the emperor mentioned the issue of military supervision to seek her opinion, but in fact he was testing whether she intended to compete for the throne.

If she pushed for the Second Prince Sun Can as soon as she arrived, the Emperor would definitely be cautious, thinking that her motives were not pure.

If she did the opposite and denied the Second Prince, it would seem unreasonable and suggest she had ulterior motives.

Therefore, she covered it up with the excuse that "a mother worries about her son even when he is thousands of miles away", and used the excuse that the eldest prince had narrowly escaped death as an excuse to not send the prince to supervise the army. She created the image of a virtuous mother with no ambitions, so as to make the current emperor relax.

When faced with the bait thrown by the current emperor to use the second prince as military supervisor, he did not fall for it. Not only did he flatly refuse, he also used the example of Sun Chi being seriously injured in the rebellion to show his intention of not competing with the world.

Finally, he even asked the third and fourth brothers to cover for Sun Can under the pretext of brothers looking after each other. In fact, he had already calculated that if the emperor sent a prince to supervise the army, it would be impossible for him to send a bastard's son instead of the eldest son.

Therefore, this can not only demonstrate the intention of being selfless, but also make the emperor feel more at ease.

In Empress Chen's opinion, with the same qualifications, how could a concubine's son compete with the eldest son?

What's more, the military supervisors are divided into primary and secondary. Sun Can is the primary one, and the two brothers are even less able to compete.

It would be safer if we also give Jia Cong a heads-up.

Empress Chen thought to herself, looked at Emperor Xifeng and smiled, saying: "I will help the emperor undress."

"Let me serve the Queen." Emperor Xifeng said with a smile, and reached out to hold the Queen in his arms.

"Your Majesty..." Empress Chen giggled and lay in the arms of the present emperor, refusing to move. However, her eyes were as clear as a mirror, without any trace of passion.
-
While the Emperor was making love in Changchun Palace, Jia Cong was not in such a good mood and was having a headache in the inner house.

"Sister Bao, is this all the money our family has?" Jia Cong almost dropped his jaw after hearing what Baochai said.

Baochai nodded and said, "Last year, Yun'er followed your orders and went south to set up a factory with 2000 million. Later, he said that the funds were insufficient, and you said you would give him another 2000 million. So 4000 million was gone."

Jia Cong said: "That's true."

Feng Jieer was heartbroken when she heard this. She said angrily, "That prisoner of Yun'er must be a fool. What kind of business can cost so much money? And there's not even a sound? Even the reception for the emperor didn't cost so much money."

Jia Cong glared at her and said, "You are surprised by what you have seen. Is it possible that the master is so easy to deceive? In the early stage of Westernization, it is natural to spend money. Is it worth playing the long game to catch a big fish? Sister Bao, please continue."

Now, his secret operations of military factories, purchase and construction of warships, import of guns and ammunition, and training of new troops are all top secret. Except for Cheng Lingsu and Pang Chao, no one else in the family knows about it.

Baochai said, "What else? You asked Feng Yi to build two large docks in Liaodong, and drew more than one million. Duobao Pavilion has opened branches in various provinces and prefectures, and has opened more than 60 branches. The initial civil engineering, the construction of workshops, and the establishment of a reputation have cost more than two million in total.

I have only these big heads here, how about yours, Pin'er?"

Daiyu flipped through the account book and said, "The family's daily expenses, including entertaining guests, wedding and funeral gifts, cost more than 300,000 yuan a month. The other day, we spent more than 2.3 million yuan on building a manor outside the city for summer vacation.

There are also many unnamed expenses, all of which were paid by Wangcai under your approval. I don’t know what they were used for, but the total is about five or six million.”

Ruyi sneered, "You're sneaking around. Did you take it out to keep a concubine?"

Daiyu rolled her eyes at Jia Cong and said, "Why would you spend so much money on keeping a concubine?"

Jia Cong opened his mouth but had nothing to say. This unnamed expense was given to Bai Qiuwei, Yang Siniang, and Liu Xianglian to build an intelligence system, and it was not easy to tell them.

He just sighed and said, "What are you guessing? Would I spend money to support a concubine? Haven't you seen that Lan Wei and the others are all wealthy women with millions of dollars in assets? They support me almost as much as I do.

Alas... you say I am such an honest man, I don't go to prostitutes or gamble, why can't I save money?"

The girls sneered and said, "How dare you."

Jia Cong spread his hands and said, "So there are only a few tens of thousands of silver coins left in our account?"

Baochai nodded and said, "This is the good foundation laid by the new wine that came out back then. Now the recipe of the new wine has been figured out by others, and the benefits are gradually decreasing.

The business of Liaodong local products and Duobao Pavilion alone cannot sustain such heavy expenses. You should also be careful and be cautious.

Now we have a big family and a lot of money to spend, so we can’t just do it casually.”

Jia Cong nodded dejectedly and said, "I understand. I will save money in the future. How about I learn from others and accept some tributes? Or get some from the Jinyiwei? Hehe."

The girls knew he was joking and spat, "Do you want to break the law? Our family is still short of that little money? You will tarnish your reputation in vain."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "I was just saying it casually, but today I made a promise in the Golden Palace that I would raise 2000 million for the army. Naturally, I have to lead by example. So I'll take out 200 million first, so that I can go and fool others tomorrow."

"Twenty million?" The girls were shocked and said, "Do you think you are the God of Wealth?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "It's not like we have to pay for everything. There are benefits. Do you know the Silk Road?

It is the trade route between the Imperial Court and the Western Regions, probably the same route that Tang Sanzang took to seek Buddhist scriptures. If we can conquer the Western Regions, we can control the countries in the Western Regions and ensure the smooth flow of this trade route.

Think about how much benefit this will bring. When the railway is opened in the future, it will be a mountain of gold and a sea of ​​silver.”

The girls were stunned: "What is a train?"

"Well... I heard that the Western barbarians have a kind of car that doesn't rely on the power of mules and horses. It can run as fast as the wind as long as it burns coal, day and night." Jia Cong laughed dryly.

"You're kidding! How can there be such a car? A god's car?" Daiyu spat with a smile.

The girls also laughed and said, "This kind of car only exists in fairy tales."

Jia Cong stroked Daiyu's nose lovingly and said, "You ladies from wealthy families, how can you know the outside world?

Even if it doesn’t exist now, it will exist in the near future. Then I will take you there to sit down and have a taste of foreign food.”

"Nonsense." The girls said in unison.

"Let's not go off topic and get back to business. I'm going to use the Western Regions' tariffs for the next few decades as bait to lure the wealthy to invest in this war. I'll determine the annual tax-free quota based on the amount of investment. What do you think? " Jia Cong said with a smile.

Baochai, Chuchan, and Fengjie were the most proficient in business affairs. Their eyes lit up and they said with a smile, "This is a good idea. How could you come up with such a trick of getting something for nothing?"

Jia Cong said proudly: "What do you mean by getting something for nothing? I am letting them win in the future."

Chu Chan smiled and said, "If the Western Regions' BMWs, gems, beauties, spices, furs, and wines can be traded with the Imperial Dynasty's silk, tea, porcelain, gold and jade wares, and medicinal materials, the benefits will be beyond words."

Sister Feng said hurriedly, "Brother Cong, the wine shop is just so-so, and I think Brother Jia is honest. Just give him the job, and nothing will go wrong. How about I take care of this business in the Western Regions for you?"
Jia Cong glared at her unhappily and said, "You are thinking long-term. Don't dream of getting rich yet. Let me raise the money first.

Well, Sister Chan, you write home and tell your father-in-law to convey my intention to him. If he is interested, you can transport the silver to the capital within a month and let the Jinyiwei escort it. "

Chu Chan smiled and nodded, saying, "I will definitely convince the old man to let him catch up with this good business."

Jia Cong smiled, looked at Ruyi, and said, "Yan'er, please talk to the prince tomorrow for me. If he is interested, we can join hands to do another deal. This matter is at least 70% to 80% sure, it depends on whether he dares to do it."

Ruyi rolled her eyes at him and said angrily, "You only know how to order people around. What good can I do for you?"

Jia Cong laughed and said, "When I make money, I will give you a share of the profits first, and then give you two beauties from the Western Regions to serve you. How about that?"

All the girls turned their backs and laughed secretly.

Ruyi laughed and scolded: "Bah, I am here to serve you! You filthy bastard. Don't forget that you have a ready-made beauty from the Western Regions at home."

Jia Cong shook his head and smiled, "They are just staying as guests for a few days. They will go back with General Qiu in two days."

"Are you really willing to do that?" Daiyu asked curiously.

"How about Pin'er stay with me?" Jia Cong deliberately teased.

Daiyu was furious and spat, "You wish."

Jia Cong laughed, looked at Baochai again, and said, "Sister Bao, go home and talk to your mother-in-law and Brother Xue. If you are interested, bring the money.

Let me make it clear that if you wait until the war is won before buying shares, it won’t be so cheap.”

Baochai rolled her eyes at him and said, "I know. You are just suspicious."

Jia Cong chuckled and said, "Isn't this just taking care of our own people first? By the way, the Xia family's assets are in your hands, right?"

Baochai nodded and said, "What's wrong?"

"How much is it?" Jia Cong's eyes lit up, he almost forgot about the money. (End of this chapter)