Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

On the 28th day of the 12th month of the 12th year of Xifeng, an imperial edict of great importance was issued from the capital, carrying the momentum of the great victory in the Western Regions, and was issued to the nine border princes.

"The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims: I have heard that in ancient times, the territories of the princes were no more than a hundred li, and as long as the local areas were well guarded, the country would be safe.

Today, some princes own dozens of cities, cover a territory of thousands of miles, have tens of millions of soldiers and civilians under their command, and have abundant money and grain, making them rich enough to rival a country.

The kings are young, and it is easy for them to become arrogant, extravagant and promiscuous. What’s worse, they may be instigated by evil people and form an alliance to rebel against the capital, which is not in line with the will of our ancestors.

Moreover, the princes now have many sons and daughters, and if they succeed to the throne, the rest of us, although our own flesh and blood, will not have even an inch of land. After several generations, we will be penniless and unable to even feed ourselves. How can this be the way of benevolence and filial piety?

I am deeply concerned about the feelings of my clan members and want to follow the ancient customs, so I extend favors to the princes and their brothers, and grant them lands and titles, so that the bloodlines of the royal family can all be nurtured and there will be no quarrels between brothers.

Now I order the kings to submit their names, and I will decide their titles. I decree this."

Apart from the reduction of the Liao vassal state, the other eight kings could only be furious when they saw the Enfeoffment Order. The King of Liao had repeated the same mistake before, and the imperial court was at the forefront of the army. Who would dare to take the lead in rebellion?

The kings are all only in their twenties or thirties and have never led an army in battle. If they rashly start a rebellion, wouldn't that be giving credit to the various military governors?

Moreover, these young princes did not have the courage and guts to risk their lives and glory. In the face of the imperial court's long-planned plan, they had no choice but to bow their heads and thank the emperor. They also reported in a proper manner how many brothers they had in their families and how they planned to divide the territory.

The only hope is that the emperor will show mercy and leave more assets for his own branch.

Of course, this edict is of great benefit to the legitimate sons and illegitimate sons who do not have the right of inheritance. Even if they can only become a general guarding the country or a general assisting the country, at least they can have a piece of land and foundation, so that their descendants will not be too poor to afford food.

Therefore, all the princes spontaneously united to put pressure on their direct descendants, shouting for their fundamental interests for their future survival, and secretly made friends with generals in the army, granted them official positions and made promises to them, and warned them not to disobey the monarch or disobey the imperial edict. They also made great efforts to promote the rapid implementation of the Enfeoffment Order.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month in the thirteenth year of Xifeng, the Grand Council.

Because of the issue of dismantling the feudal lords, all the important officials in the court did not have a good New Year. Instead of being diligent in the king's affairs, they only wanted to get two more official hats for themselves in the upcoming wave of enfeoffment.

Due to the thorough preparations in the early stages, the establishment of prefectures, counties and districts in the nine border areas went very smoothly, with a total of 96 new prefectures, counties and districts.

Now, the six major military secretaries, the six ministries, and the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate were gathered in a small compartment of the Grand Council, carefully looking over the list of 429 officials with official seals drawn up by the Ministry of Personnel.

Snow-white silver-frost charcoal is burning in the rectangular incense burner with cloisonné enamel and eight-treasure pattern on the ground, and the refreshing ambergris fills the room with bursts of hot air.

The group of old men looked serious and wore glasses. Their cloudy but shrewd and sharp eyes swept over the names of the officials, and they picked up their pens to make marks from time to time.

As time went on, the New Party members gradually began to smile and nodded in approval at the list submitted by the Ministry of Personnel. However, the people from the Neutral Party and the Academic Party frowned with gloomy eyes.

After sitting there for nearly an hour, the only sound was the turning of pages, and no one spoke a word.

The more Feng Yuan read, the angrier he became. From the list, it seemed that people from the New Party accounted for more than three quarters of the list, while neutrals, members of the academic society and the swaying faction in the court accounted for less than a quarter. This was really too much!
Seeing that everyone had put down their books and taken off their glasses, Duan Zhun slowly asked, "Do you have any opinions on this list?"

Feng Yuan smiled coldly and fired the first shot, cupping his hands and saying, "Since the Prime Minister has asked me, although I have no high opinion, I do have some low opinions. I dare not be so humble, so please enlighten me, Lord Lin."

Lin Ruhai smiled faintly, raised his hand and said, "Master Feng, please speak. I will tell you everything I know."

Feng Yuan said: "Excuse me, Lord Lin, where did you get this list?"

Lin Ruhai said: "It is based on the information of the Ministry of Personnel on the results of the Beijing inspection, the external inspection, and the interim inspection over the years. We select the best and promote them according to their abilities. The people we select must be competent and honest."

Feng Yuan sneered, "There are still many Jinshi candidates from the last two lists waiting for selection. How come many candidates were selected as county magistrates this time, while Jinshi candidates failed to get the chancellor's seat? Please give me some advice, Grand Chancellor."

Lin Ruhai smiled and said, "Master Feng is right. Actually, I also thought of placing the successful candidates first. But then I changed my mind. The prefectures, counties and cities were just established in the Nine Frontiers. They are located in important border areas. The people under their rule are very brave and arrogant.

If we select some scholars who have never had experience in local government offices, they may find it difficult to govern properly. Therefore, this time we have selected capable officials with rich experience to be on the safe side.

As for the successful candidates, our next step is to discuss the assistant officials of each prefecture and city, who can serve as such. "

"Ru Hai's words are very good and well thought out."

"That's right. The border is an important place and it would be difficult to be competent without experience." Dou Xiu, Meng Huacai and other senior members of the New Party quickly echoed.

Feng Yuan was stunned when he heard this. What Lin Ruhai said made sense and he also gave a solution. It was not that he did not allow them to become officials. The next step was to prepare official hats for them.

But the neutrals and members of the academic society will naturally not suffer this loss. The official position will be given to you, so why don’t we go and help?

All the credits are yours, and if there are mistakes, I will take the blame for you? As a party leader, you naturally have to plan for the future of your younger brothers.

Once you become an assistant official, your future path for promotion will be very narrow, as it is difficult to achieve political achievements, and no matter how well you do, it will be the credit of the chief official.

The Minister of Justice Yan Ning twirled his goatee and said, "Lord Lin is wrong. The complicated situation at the border is a good place for people to gain experience. We should give priority to filling the vacancies with Jinshi candidates from the two lists, and let the Juren candidates on the list and the 'capable officials' assist. How can we put the cart before the horse?"

How could it be that when all the juren have become officials, the jinshi are just sitting there waiting? If you are worried that the new jinshi are not familiar with government affairs and cannot govern the local areas, you can assign them some subordinates who are familiar with government affairs.

No one is born knowing how to be an official, so let them try. If they don’t do well, it won’t be too late to deal with them later.”

Dou Xiu shook his head and said, "Not right, not right. The border is an important place and cannot be taken lightly. If something goes wrong, it will provoke a civil uprising or a mutiny. How can it be a joke?
Newly selected Jinshi should first serve as officials in the imperial court or in inland prefectures and counties, and then be sent to frontier areas after they have gained sufficient experience. "

The Left Censor-in-Chief Tan Cheng could not bear to see this and said, "I cannot agree with what Lord Dou said.

Not to mention the distant past, Shao Bao took charge of Liaohaiwei before he was even old enough to dance with elephants. He promoted new laws and implemented benevolent policies. His contributions were immense and he was admired by all the people. Could it be that he had been an official before?
Lord Lin, your son-in-law is such a great example, why don't you allow future generations to learn from him?"

When Feng Yuan and Yan Ning saw Tan Cheng using Jia Cong as an example, they both laughed and said, "Could it be that Lord Lin only favors his son-in-law but does not trust the newly-appointed Jinshi?"

Lin Ruhai was slightly embarrassed for a moment, waved his hand and smiled, "I don't mean that. Shao Bao is a natural talent, born into a noble family, and ordinary people can hardly compare with him. This is one reason;

In the past, the two old men, Ning and Rong, had a lot of foundations in Liaodong, with deep roots and extensive connections. This is the second reason; therefore, what the young guard can do may not be possible for ordinary people, and it is not that I treat them differently. "

Guan Pu said: "The ancients said that it is not knowing that is difficult, but doing it. We all know that it is not easy to be a Hundred Miles Marquis, and it is even more difficult to guard a prefecture. How can we dismiss a person just because it is difficult?

Precisely because it is not easy, it can hone one's character and ability. How can we teach them comfortably just because we pity them for being new? This is not the way to hone new people."

Jiang Feng also said slowly: "If jade is not polished, it will not become a useful object. There is absolutely no reason to be reluctant to break jade without polishing it. Now that the nine borders have newly established counties, the new Jinshi has generously accepted the order and gone to the border. It is the right time and we should take the responsibility. If we don't use it now, when will we do it?"

Since both military officials had expressed their opinions, Lin Ruhai had no more to say and just looked at Huo Peng and the others.

Duan Zhun nodded slightly, indicating that he should make some concessions and not get entangled.

Huo Peng and Dong Yi looked at each other and thought to themselves, it's just a few dozen hats, so why not give them to you? Yin nodded and said, "Since both of you hold this view, let's use the candidates for the imperial examination this time."

Just after clarifying the matter, Feng Yuan said, "I have seen that almost all the people on the list are promoted, with very few being transferred. It seems unreasonable to promote so many officials all of a sudden. It is inevitable that people will suspect that someone is taking advantage of the opportunity to sell official positions and form cliques."

Lin Ruhai could no longer sit still after hearing this, and said calmly: "Master Feng is saying that I have some selfish motives. I have just said that these people have all been selected as excellent in the past years, have been in the local area for a long time, are familiar with government affairs, and have just been promoted.

If it is said that someone in the Ministry of Personnel took advantage of the opportunity to accept bribes, favor relatives and friends, and appoint private individuals, please feel free to impeach them. From me to the bottom of the servants, I am willing to take the blame. "

Tan Chengdao said: "We naturally admire Lord Lin's character, but promoting four or five hundred people at a time will inevitably lead to some omissions, so I'm afraid we need to carefully screen them one by one.

For example, Cao Hu, the magistrate of Yuanzhou Prefecture, was promoted to the prefect of Datong Prefecture. If I remember correctly, the Censorate suppressed at least four or five memorials impeaching him for seizing people's land and committing corruption and abuse of power.

There was also Ling Rong, the co-magistrate of Nanyang Prefecture, who was promoted to the magistrate of Lanzhou Prefecture. There were many memorials impeaching him for being greedy for money, lustful, and forcibly marrying women from the common people. These were all old matters, and the Censorate had not yet had time to deal with them.

If we promote him now before the past is cleared up, I am afraid it will be hard to convince the public, and it may even damage Lord Lin's reputation. Please make the decision, all of you. "

Guan Pu was the first to express his opinion, saying: "This makes sense. The affairs of the Nine Borders are of great concern to the Emperor. We must not act rashly. We must carefully select virtuous people to live up to the Emperor's trust."

Jiang Feng also said, "Prime Minister Guan, this is a mature statement, and I agree with it. I think we should put this matter aside for now. All colleagues should take the list back and think about it carefully to see if there are any unsuitable or better candidates. We can discuss it another day. How about that?"

"Okay, let's do it." Feng Yuan and others hurriedly agreed with a smile. The meaning was very clear: if you, the New Party, have the ability, you can just cover up the issue and appoint the person. We won't do it anyway, so we'll just drag it out.

Huo Peng and Dong Yi looked at Duan Zhun helplessly. Although the New Party had the upper hand, the combined strength of the Neutral and Academic factions was not weak. If they really started to argue, it would be a protracted tug-of-war.

Duan Zhun glanced at everyone and made the final decision, saying, "In that case, we will discuss it again in seven days. This matter is very urgent. It not only concerns the personnel of the court, but also the stability of the nine borders. It should not be delayed for too long.

Please plan it out as soon as possible and make sure there is a result by then. Otherwise, the emperor will blame us and ask why we have not sent officials after the nine frontier offices have been built. Who will be responsible?"

"What the Prime Minister said is absolutely right." Everyone bowed and agreed, knowing that Duan Zhun's subtext was that they could fight or talk as much as they wanted, but they could not ignore the overall situation of the civil service group in managing the nine borders.

If things really fall out, no one will benefit. The New Party will definitely put the blame on the Neutral Party and the Academic Party. Don't say I didn't warn you.

This is also the New Party’s greatest reliance now, the emperor’s favor.

Once the argument breaks out, most of the blame will definitely fall on Jiang Feng and Guan Pu.

Feng Yuan suddenly said, "The reform of the nine frontiers involves many officials. This is a big matter and there may be mistakes and omissions. Therefore, I think it is not necessary to do it all at once, which will waste time and energy. It is better to divide these 429 people into five or seven times, and discuss only a few dozen people each time, so that a quick decision can be made."

Jiang Feng and Guan Pu looked at each other and knew that he was going to fight for every inch of land with the New Party. They hurriedly said, "Mr. Feng is right. If we want to discuss more than 400 people at once, it will be very time-consuming and difficult to take care of them. It is best to discuss it in batches."

Duan Zhun nodded and said, "Alright. Let's start from seven days later and finish it within half a month."

Everyone praised it.
-
Today was not a formal day, so Jia Cong and his wives and concubines did not go to the West Palace. Only Baochai and Daiyu brought people to take a look. Seeing that there were no important guests, they chatted with the old lady for a while and then returned.

Now the old lady has seen through everything. Her children and grandchildren have their own blessings. She can’t control them and doesn’t want to control them. Besides, Jia She was not favored to begin with, so if he is gone, he is gone. It is his own fault.

After crying twice, Grandmother Jia was still happy and cheerful as before, but she missed Jia Zheng even more and repeatedly asked Baoyu and Daiyu to tell Jia Cong to find a way to transfer Jia Zheng back to the capital.

After hearing what Baochai said, Jia Cong laughed and said, "The master has only been in Fujian for more than a year. He has to wait until his three-year term is over before he can be transferred. Is the old lady so eager to see her son? Even though her son is not around, isn't it enough to show her filial piety with so many grandchildren?"

Daiyu smiled and said, "You are still talking about it. You, Lian Erge and Baoyu, who is less worried about? Today, the old lady complained again, saying that you delayed the marriage of the second sister and the third sister. Now that the eldest master has passed away, time will be delayed again."

Jia Cong shook his head and smiled, "The second sister delayed for three years, the third sister delayed for one year, and the fourth sister is still young. It's just right for the sisters to play together for a few more years. If they get married, they won't be so happy."

Sister Feng smiled and said, "Of course you are not in a hurry. There are so many people in the house. The second girl is already over 10 years old. If you delay for another three years, she will become an old maid. What will you do then?"

Jia Cong sneered, "What a joke! If I spread the word, my door would be trampled down. Are there any sisters of Jia Cong who can't get married? Don't worry, wait a while and have a good meal."

All the girls laughed.

Baochai suddenly reminded her, "Cong'er, you must be careful during the mourning period. If you break the law, it's a small matter, but if you damage your reputation, it's a big matter. You must be careful."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Jia Cong asked curiously.

Sister Feng smiled and said, "Of course, I want you to control your lust. You are not allowed to take concubines or have children during the mourning period, otherwise the censors will impeach you and say you are unfilial."

Jia Cong was stunned, and pointed at Baochai and the others' stomachs, saying, "You are already pregnant, so why don't you give birth? It's not Nezha you are pregnant with."

Baochai blushed slightly and said, "The first pregnancy doesn't count. You are an official in charge of the prison, but you don't understand this."

Jia Cong laughed and said, "I am in charge of punishment, not household laws. If you don't want to have a baby, then don't have one. Just continue to take the contraceptive soup." (End of this chapter)