Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Chapter 769: Endorsement of the Holy Palace
"Please give me your instructions, Brother Shi." Kong Xinghe said hurriedly.

"First, I would like to ask you to advocate a style of study and writing that emphasizes practical policies and despises empty words in the scholarly circles. Even when writing contemporary literature and art, it should be relevant to current issues and abandon empty talk about moral principles and classics, because the imperial examination system is going to change." Jia Cong said.

Kong Xinghe said: "This is not difficult. When I return, I will open a lecture hall in Qufu, invite famous scholars who value practical matters to give lectures, and extend it to the cultural and elegant places in the south of the Yangtze River. As long as this trend is popular, it will be easy to handle."

Jia Cong nodded and said, "Secondly, there will definitely be a dispute between the government and the people in the future. The Celestial Empire has been promoting an agricultural-based policy for thousands of years and has an innate fear of commerce. Once reformed, there may be turmoil.

The scholars and literati always think that merchants do not produce, but only buy low and sell high, hoard goods, make huge profits, and disrupt the market. However, they do not know that merchants are like flowing water. Without this flowing water, the country will be dead. "

Kong Xinghe said: "This is not difficult. My family will take the lead in the business. If anyone objects, I will write a letter to them and fight with them. Let's see who is afraid of whom."

Jia Cong and Pang Chao looked at each other and smiled, saying, "Brother, is this why you came here?"

Kong Xinghe chuckled and said, "Nothing can be hidden from Brother Shi's sharp eyes."

"Third, there have been some rumors recently saying that the current emperor came to the throne illegitimately and falsely claimed that the late emperor's will did not pass the throne to the second prince. It was all me, Jia Cong, who forged the edict and called a horse a zebra, forcing the ministers to support the young emperor so that I can control the government." Jia Cong said lightly.

Kong Xinghe was a shrewd man, he understood immediately after hearing it, and shouted indignantly: "What nonsense, it is misleading people!

This time when my brother entered the palace to pay homage to the emperor, the Empress Dowager personally presented him with the late emperor's will. It was clearly written in black and white that the throne was passed to the second prince.

I didn't expect that there would be such a disloyal and unfilial person in the capital, who made up lies and confused people. I will submit a petition when I return to clarify the situation and set the record straight."

Jia Cong smiled and nodded. It was not difficult to talk to a smart person. As far as he knew, the Empress Dowager had never shown the imperial edict to others. Kong Xinghe was such a good man. He could make this piece of nonsense sound convincing and justified with just a quick thought. He was really a talent.

"Brother Shi, you are so loyal to your country. I admire you. I will order the Royal Guards to investigate the rumors. I think with your letter, the villains will not be able to make trouble anymore."

This is also the truth. With the two thousand years of reputation of the Kong family as a backing, who dares to question the testimony of Duke Yansheng? This is almost like questioning the emperor, which is a great treason.

Kong Xinghe bowed his hands to the sky and said, "My brother has been blessed by heaven. When this evil fog is spreading, how dare I not stand up and clarify the great issues."

Jia Cong and Pang Chao both applauded and praised Kong Xinghe as a loyal minister.

"Brother is upright and honest, hates evil, and cares for the people and the country. He is worthy of the good name of the Yansheng Duke's Mansion. Cong is fortunate, the court is fortunate, and the world is fortunate."

Jia Cong bowed and said, "Now that the new law is in effect, your family's meritorious service over the generations and your brother's virtue are not comparable to ordinary families. Cong will make a suggestion to the court that your family only needs to pay 50% of the land tax."

"Thank you very much, brother, for your kindness. My descendants will be grateful too."

Kong Xinghe was overjoyed. This was a huge gift. The Kong family owned millions of acres of fertile land in various parts of Shandong. If they only paid half of the tax, they would save hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every year.

Jia Cong waved his hand and said with a smile: "You are too polite, brother. Our two families have been friends for a hundred years. Even the plaques and couplets in my ancestral hall were written by your great-grandfather. Cong is just returning the favor."

Kong Xinghe hurriedly said, "I am ashamed. Now my family is in decline and I feel guilty towards our ancestors. I really want to ask you for a piece of calligraphy to hang in the ancestral temple to suppress the luck. I wonder if you are willing to paint?"

Jia Cong was stunned. No one had ever asked him for a calligraphy, and it was the contemporary Duke Yansheng who asked for it to be hung in the Confucius Temple. This was incredible and absolutely a huge honor.

If he were an ordinary scholar, he might have fainted from excitement at this moment.

Knowing that Kong Xinghe was trying to flatter him, Jia Cong still had some self-awareness. His handwriting was only at the level of a child. How could he dare to show it off to others, let alone to hang it in the home of Confucius? Wouldn't that make him a laughing stock and leave a bad reputation for eternity?

He hurriedly said modestly: "Thank you for your kindness, Brother Shi. I am not very talented and well-educated, and my calligraphy is really crude. I dare not show off my ugliness."

Kong Xinghe thought that he was the most talented person in the world, and even if he had not practiced calligraphy hard, it was impossible for him to write badly, so he must be being modest.

He hurriedly said, "Brother Shi, please don't worry. When I look at a character, I don't care whether the writing style is good or bad, I only look at the spirit and charm of the character. As the saying goes, a person reflects his personality. Brother Shi is a rare talent among men, with unparalleled achievements in the world. What you write must have the spirit of a hero for thousands of years.

Hanging it in the ancestral temple will be enough to inspire future generations to work hard and make progress. I hope you will not refuse it for the sake of our century-old friendship."

Only Pang Chao knew that Jia Cong was not being modest, but his handwriting was really not good enough, so he couldn't help but smile and twirled his beard.

Hearing what he said, Jia Cong could no longer refuse, and said, "Brother, if you don't mind, I will show my humility."

"Thank you, Brother Shi." Kong Xinghe said happily.

At that moment, the two discussed the Kong family's investment in the Wanguo and participation in maritime trade. They had dinner together and talked about the situation in the court. Only after receiving Kong Xinghe's sincere support did Jia Cong smile and see him out.

"Sir, Cong would like to give you a piece of calligraphy." Jia Cong turned around and said as he watched Kong Xinghe's carriage go away.

Pang Chao shook his head and laughed, "Not appropriate. Too many people have seen my handwriting. If it is exposed, it may tarnish the reputation of the prince."

"This..." Jia Cong was stunned. This made sense. If he was exposed, he would not be able to save his face.

"There are so many talented women in the prince's boudoir, so there is no need to worry." Pang Chao said with a smile.

Jia Cong laughed and said, "That's right. Well, I won't bother you with this matter."

I was already thinking about who to ask for writing. Baojie's handwriting is dignified and beautiful, Daiyu's handwriting is elegant and lively, Chuchan's handwriting is charming and elegant, and Miaoyu's handwriting is otherworldly and otherworldly. They are all first-class good handwriting.

There are also Xiangyun, Baoqin, Keqing and others who all have beautiful handwriting. As for Yan'er, I won't mention her, she is not much better than me.

When Jia Cong returned to the back house and told Baochai and the others about this, he said with a smile, "My words are shameful, so I'll ask you talented ladies to write for me."

All the girls laughed. Baochai pursed her lips and said, "You can't write, but you promised them. The Yanshenggong Mansion is a very prestigious family. How dare we send the letter to them and hang it there? Even if others don't know, how can we feel at ease?"

Daiyu said jokingly, "Brother Cong, you are so stupid for coming up with this idea. You don't even think about the people who come in and out of the palace. No matter how much we imitate, our handwriting will still have the smell of rouge and powder. An expert will see through it at a glance. How can you, the most talented person in the world, face people then?"

Ruyi also laughed and said, "If it were up to you, I'd just give your dog-paddling calligraphy away as a gift. It's Kong Xinghe's business whether it's put up or not.

I guess he is too embarrassed to show it up, so he has to hide it secretly, and wait for it to be discovered a hundred years later. By then, you will be gone anyway, so you won’t have to worry about being laughed at. "

Xiangyun teased, "When has Cong ever cared about these false reputations? How can a man be afraid of being laughed at?"

The girls were all laughing so hard, waiting to see Jia Cong make a fool of himself.

Jia Cong was completely criticized and could only smile awkwardly, thinking to himself where he could find a great scholar to write for him. Any famous calligrapher would often be asked to write for him, and his works of calligraphy would have been seen by countless people. However, Jia Cong was afraid that if he hired an unknown little person to write for him, it would tarnish his own reputation.

"I got it. I have thought of a perfect candidate who will be able to do the job. You can first think of a word for me to give to Kong Xinghe that will be in line with my status." Jia Cong's mind changed and he suddenly smiled.

"Who is it?" the girls asked curiously.

Jia Cong smiled smugly: "I won't tell you yet, who made you laugh at me, you will know later, hehe."

The girls blushed when they heard this and spat at him in unison.

Baochai hurriedly changed the subject and said thoughtfully, "In the past, the old master of the Kong family wrote a horizontal plaque and a pair of couplets for our family. Now Cong'er's status and reputation are no less than his. I think we should also give him a horizontal plaque and a pair of couplets in the same way, which will complement each other." Everyone nodded in agreement. With such equal standards, there would be no violation of etiquette.

Jia Cong nodded and said, "Sister Bao is right. What should be written on the plaque? Don't write 'Saint's Ancestral Hall' or something like that. I've been to the Duke of Yansheng's Mansion. The emperor had already inscribed the inscription on his signboard."

Baochai smiled and said, "Since it was given by Cong'er, you should not be stingy. Write four words on the plaque: 'Benevolence runs through ancient and modern times'"

Chu Chan clapped his hands and smiled, "Good. Confucius said to achieve benevolence, Mencius said to seek justice. These four words really describe the great achievements of Confucius. The essence of the sage's teachings can be summed up in one word: 'benevolence'"

Jia Cong also laughed and said, "The Kong family will definitely be happy with these four words, but whether they can be done is another matter."

Chu Chan smiled and said, "This kind of thing is just a fancy sedan chair with people carrying people. Not to mention modern people, even in ancient times, how many people can do it? If everyone can do it, who would the saints need to teach?"

Everyone laughed: "That's right."

"What does the couplet say?" Jia Cong asked.

Daiyu pondered for a moment, then said with a smile, "I'll give you a couplet: The saint lives long, the way of heaven is benevolent, and the sound of the zither still breaks one's heart."

Baochai, Chuchan and others all said it was good.

Xiangyun rushed to say: "I am right, a man of great virtue who will live to be 100 years old, a man of loyal and forgiving character, whose time will be enough to bless his children and grandchildren."

"Good! The couplet is neat and grand." Everyone cheered. Not only is the couplet neat, it also highly condenses the spirit of the saints.

Jia Cong praised: "Okay, let's write this."
-
At Jia Cong's enthusiastic invitation, Feng Ilok and other nobles of the four countries stayed in the capital for a few days, then hurriedly said goodbye and left, each going back to prepare for the big business they had planned, all wanting to do their best to come out on top and show their strength to Jia Cong.

On this day, Jia Cong went to the Five Military Commanders' Mansion, which had long been renamed the "General's Mansion", to take up his post and listen to reports from the top leaders.

In fact, with his intelligence system, he didn't need to listen to people's reports specifically. It was just a formality to show the relationship between superiors and subordinates. He knew exactly whether there were any major problems in the military.

After listening to everyone's report, Jia Cong said: "The chieftains in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Hunan have existed for a long time. All dynasties have used benefits to control them and used gentleness to govern them.

Many local officials have been lenient with him, fearing that he would cause chaos, which has led to his increasing arrogance and rebellion, and he has no sense of respect, righteousness, or shame. If he is not satisfied, he will gather a crowd to riot, burn, kill, rape, and plunder. I hate him deeply. "

Li Meng, Wang Ning, Wang Ziteng and others hurriedly said: "Your Majesty is right, this is a chronic disease."

Jia Cong said: "Of course, some local officials are also outrageous. They do not treat the barbarians as human beings, and oppress and bully them at will. What's worse, some of them let their soldiers plunder the barbarians' mountain strongholds, kill innocent people, kidnap their women, and rob their property. The officials force the people to rebel.

All these two factors are the root causes of the frequent rebellions by the chieftains.

If the imperial court does not raise a large army, it will not be able to quell the situation, and may even cause a catastrophe.

If we raise a large army, not only will it be very costly, but the barbarians will also hide in the mountains and lie dormant when they see that the government army is too strong, thinking that a large army will not be able to hold out for long and will retreat.

This cycle of one side gaining while the other side losing will continue, and it will eventually become a major concern for the country."

"Your Highness has hit the nail on the head. This is exactly the truth. There are now hundreds of chieftains of all sizes in the southwestern provinces, most of whom are connected and can move freely. The imperial court has sent troops to suppress them many times, but it is easy to win but difficult to destroy them. In the end, we can only maintain the coexistence of Han and Yi people, and it is difficult to solve the problem once and for all." Li Meng sighed.

Jia Cong said: "General Li is right. We are all veterans who have led troops in battle. We know that the barbarians are fierce and ruthless and occupy the advantageous terrain. It is difficult for the government troops to do anything.

However, this situation is about to change completely. Once firearms are popularized in the army, thousands of elite new troops will be enough to sweep away the chieftains everywhere.

General Li, I entrusted this matter to you at the last court meeting. I will hand it over to you when the new army is trained. I hope you will go all out to eliminate this great threat to the country."

Li Meng hurriedly bowed and said, "I have obeyed your order, Your Highness, please rest assured." He was also somewhat touched. He did not expect that Jia Cong would teach him Tai'a.

This is not because Jia Cong is magnanimous, but because he has limited talents. It is easy to get thousands of soldiers but difficult to get a good general. As an old noble, Li Meng has held military power for many years and has many brave generals under his command. Jia Cong will naturally make use of them.

Anyway, he always holds the lifeline of the new army's logistics and personnel, so he is not afraid that the people below will not disobey his orders.

"Of course, whoever wins the hearts of the people wins the world, and this cannot be done by just killing and increasing hatred.

As for the civil officials, I will go and tell the Military Affairs Office to manage their disciples well, be more benevolent, and do less immoral things, so that they will not become ghosts under the sword of the Jinyiwei in the future and come to complain again. "Jia Cong said.

Everyone laughed and said, "Your Highness is right. If the local officials were virtuous, why would we have to resort to violence?"

"General Wang, how is the progress of opening a new military academy?" Jia Cong looked at Wang Ziteng again.

Wang Ziteng said hurriedly, "Your Highness, I have already sent people to survey the area and plan to requisition more than 5,000 acres of land in Liangxiang County, more than 70 miles southwest of Shenjing, to build a new military academy and training ground to train both officers and soldiers. Please give your instructions and implement it."

"Is there an official road? Is the transportation convenient?" Jia Cong asked.

"There is an official road, which is very convenient, and the land price is much cheaper than in the suburbs of Beijing."

"Well, draw a map of the geographical topography and send it to the palace. I will review it and start the work."

"Yes."

“How much is the budget?”

Wang Ziteng said, "I don't know what kind of buildings and equipment the new military academy will need. According to the old-style camp of the dynasty, it will cost at least 150,000 silver coins."

Jia Cong nodded and said, "We'll calculate the cost after the drawings are finalized."

"Yes."

"In about a month, the Western Barbarians will send a batch of firearms and instructors to Beijing. General Niu will go and receive them with his personal order."

"Yes." Niu Jizong said hurriedly.

"General Wang, please dispatch troops from Beijing as soon as possible to level the ground of the academy and prepare the necessary building materials and craftsmen. Once the drawings arrive, construction will begin immediately. Instruct the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works to fully cooperate." Jia Cong said.

"Yes, I will follow your order and ensure that the new soldiers have a place to eat, live and train in a month." Wang Ziteng bowed.

"Please both generals take the trouble to assist us." Jia Cong looked at Li Meng and Wang Ning again.

The two of them hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, this is within our responsibility."

As he was speaking, he heard from his personal soldiers that Goryeo had sent an envoy to deliver another letter.

"Show it up." Jia Cong took it and looked at it, then laughed loudly and said, "Everyone, take a look."

(End of this chapter)