Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Jinling, the office of the six ministries in the secondary capital.

The Ministry of Works, which had previously been deserted, suddenly became lively in the past few days, with officials and soldiers often coming in and out, including even blond-haired and blue-eyed Baiyi people.

Because, a new Firearms Office of the Temporary Capital was established in a small courtyard with two entrances inside the Ministry of Works.

Although the Great Zhou moved its capital from Jinling to Shenjing, Jinling was the hub of half of the Jiangnan region and the place where the Great Zhou was established and prospered. It was still extraordinary in the eyes of the royal family and the people.

Moreover, Shenjing is located in the north, at the junction of the Central Plains agricultural civilization and the northern nomadic civilization, and the geopolitical situation is very complex.

The Great Zhou Dynasty had several emperors who ruled the country for more than seventy years. However, although the Zhou Dynasty did not become powerful, its tug-of-war with the remnants of the Mongols, Tubo, Jurchen and other ethnic minorities in the north had never been truly resolved.

Therefore, it was very necessary to establish a complete system of government offices in the prosperous hub of Jiangnan to prepare for any unexpected needs of the country.

Therefore, even though the capital was moved to the capital, the court still retained the six ministries in Nanjing to highlight the capital's status as a key point in the south of the Yangtze River.

The official system of the six ministries in the secondary capital was the same as that of the six ministries in the capital.

But since the capital was moved, state affairs have become less important than in the capital.

Therefore, although the official structure of the six ministries of the secondary capital remained unchanged, except for the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Justice, which bore the heavy responsibility of Jiangnan political affairs, they were fully staffed.

The Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Rites, two government offices with less busy political affairs, usually leave the position of Shangshu vacant, with the position of Zuo Shilang as the most respected. The following regulatory official positions are also vacant to reduce redundancy.

In addition, the six ministries of the secondary capital have a special function.

Many of those who failed in the official struggles among the six ministries in the Shenjing would be demoted to the six ministries in the secondary capital and left idle, waiting for the situation to turn around before being re-employed.

Therefore, although the six ministries of the secondary capital are not as powerful as the six ministries of the capital, there is never a shortage of experienced officials with profound strategies.

……

Since Emperor Jiazhao issued the Mingsheng Decree, he ordered Jia Cong to go to Nanjing to set up a branch of the Firearms Bureau.

Li Dekang, the Minister of Works of the Shenjing, sent a note to the Ministry of Works of the Temporary Capital, asking it to arrange preparations for the establishment of a branch of the Firearms Bureau.

In fact, the so-called preparations are to prepare a place for the Firearms Bureau branch to handle official business.

Jinling was originally the capital, and the six ministries' offices were already empty. In addition, the Ministry of Works in the secondary capital was now sparsely populated and had empty rooms.

It would be quite easy to clear out a small courtyard with two entrances in the Ministry of Works to use as the branch office of the Firearms Bureau of the Temporary Capital.

Jiang Liu and four clerks from the Firearms Department arrived in Jinling first. Before Jia Cong arrived, they had already taken care of all the miscellaneous affairs. As soon as Jia Cong arrived in Jinling, he had an official office to sit in.

Therefore, as soon as they arrived in Nanjing, the affairs of the Firearms Bureau branch began immediately.

The officials of the Firearms Bureau branch were all transferred by Jia Cong from the Firearms Bureau in Shenjing, and were not selected from Nanjing.

……

Although he was carrying out his duties under a secret order, after arriving in Nanjing, he immediately met with Yang Hongbin, the Chief of the Dali Temple, and Zou Miner, the Chief of the Central Vehicle Department, to discuss relevant countermeasures.

But on the surface, he did a very adequate job in the firearms division affairs.

Although in the eyes of Emperor Jiazhao, Gu Yankui, Wei Guanyao and others, Jia Cong's establishment of a branch of the Firearms Bureau in Nanjing was just a cover to facilitate his actions.

However, when it came to the affairs of the Firearms Division, he did not simply put on an act in front of the Jinling officials, but actually got down to work.

He has been to Nanjing twice in the past few years for business and has a deep understanding of the uniqueness of Nanjing.

Nanjing has always been known as a place where tigers crouch and dragons coexist, and a strategic location for military strategists. The founding emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty relied on the natural barrier of Nanjing River to look north to the Central Plains and unify the country.

Since the imperial court promoted maritime trade, Nanjing has driven the six states and one prefecture in the south of the Yangtze River, and the silver flow has been prosperous, surpassing the rest of the world.

Its importance in the Zhou Dynasty's national system is no longer just a simple meaning of a country's secondary capital.

The general trend of the world is like water, which has no fixed shape. It is inevitable that it will flow from high places to low places.

As Jinling led the prosperous maritime politics of the Great Zhou, although it made the surrounding states prosperous, natural disasters and man-made disasters never ceased. The advantages and disadvantages offset each other, and the attacks and conquests were combined, and the flowers and flames were already showing signs of being burned out.

Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that such an important place attracts covetousness from both inside and outside the country.

Let's not talk about the stories about powerful ships and guns in later generations. Just in recent years, the Japanese pirates have become increasingly rampant, and the smuggling of salt in Suzhou and Yangzhou is rampant. These are definitely not groundless rumors without roots.

Not to mention that in the dynasties throughout history, when the times and human situations changed dramatically, there were political struggles in the court, power struggles among successors, and hidden societies in the martial arts world. Who can be sure that these things, which are currently hidden, will not happen again?

Therefore, Jia Cong believed that promoting advanced knowledge such as firearms in Jinling would strengthen its foundation and enrich its background, which was a crucial matter with great potential.

This is definitely not what those who know the situation think. It is just a pretext to solve the case.

He had a clear purpose in mind, so it was natural for him to do things more openly.

As soon as he entered the temporary office of the Ministry of Works, he assigned responsibilities to the four clerks he brought from the capital.

They were asked to obtain from the Ministry of Revenue the list of Western barbarian personnel registered for missionary work or skills, and to obtain from the Maritime Customs the relevant records, in order to check the famous White Barbarians who had crossed the sea to enter Nanjing in the past three months.

He asked his clerks to screen out talented and skilled Westerners from these materials and visit them one by one. If there were any outstanding people among them, Jia Cong would contact and negotiate with them personally.

Half of the fifteen musket guards brought from the capital were dispatched to various states around Nanjing.

Investigate the actual conditions and customs of smelting iron, sulfur, saltpeter, etc. in various places, and of course, some other matters were also assigned...

Therefore, before long, the officials and nobles in Jinling all knew that Weiyuan Bo was a very practical man, who was busy with the work of the Firearms Department every day and enjoyed it very much.

……

The officialdom in Jinling is complex, and many people have close ties with the capital. In fact, many people failed as officials in the capital and were demoted to Jinling to sit on the bench.

In recent years, Jia Cong has enjoyed an outstanding reputation in the capital. He is the only choice among the sons of nobles and is regarded as the future leader of the Jia family.

Therefore, these people naturally knew Jia Cong's background in detail.

In addition, the Jia family was one of the four major families in Jinling, and their old relatives and friends in Jinling were spread throughout the officialdom and noble families.

So when he went to Jinling to handle imperial affairs, local people in Jinling who were on good terms with the Jia family would inevitably come to entertain him with dinner.

Jia Cong also broke his style of declining social engagements in the capital. Although he did not attend every banquet, he still appeared in public frequently.

His behavior both inside and outside is like that of a talented and successful young man from Wuling.

Originally, some figures in the Jinling officialdom had some doubts about Jia Cong's arrival.

Everyone knows that Jia Cong once solved a major case at the Jinling Water Inspectorate, and now Jinling Guard Zhou Zhengyang is involved again.

At this time, he was ordered to go to Nanjing to carry out missions, which made people feel that there was some causal connection between them.

But not only did Jia Cong arrive late after receiving the imperial edict, but after arriving in Jinling, his series of actions and behaviors quickly dispelled any doubts.

The vigilance hidden in the darkness gradually relaxed...

……

Jinling, Mingdefang, Zhen's mansion. Miss Zhen San, as usual, looked over the business accounts and documents in her yard, and then waited for the housekeeper outside the second gate to come over and reply.

The early morning sun was not hot. It slanted in from the window, and the light was cut into tiny, swaying spots by the pot of crystal jasmine on the table.

Part of those spots of light were projected onto Miss Zhen San's graceful and slender body and her jade-like face, creating a breathtaking beauty.

Today she was wearing a pine green embroidered double-breasted jacket, a cream-colored tube top underneath, and a white horse-faced skirt. Her long black hair was neatly combed into a bun, and she wore a single phoenix hairpin inlaid with pearls.

There was a sweet fragrance floating in the room, I don't know if it was the aroma of the crystal jasmine or the intoxicating fragrance of Miss Zhen San.

At this time, a woman in her thirties came in from outside the door. She was Liu Xian's wife, the companion of Miss Zhen San's mother.

Her man, Liu Xian, was the servant of Zhen Yingquan, the father of Miss Zhen San, and was Zhen Yingquan's most trusted assistant back then.

Ever since Zhen Yingquan got into trouble, Liu Xian and his wife have remained loyal to Miss Zhen San, and they are not like the manager Chen who changes his attitude according to the situation.

Ever since that day, Manager Chen withdrew six thousand taels of silver to help the third master of the Zhen family pay the fine for transporting contraband.

Miss Zhen San has been thinking about this matter and always felt that something was not right, so she asked Liu Xian to find out the truth. Today she was waiting for Liu Xian's family to come in and give her an answer.

"Miss, our boss asked me to pass on a message. He said that the Third Master's ship has transported contraband twice in the past two months. The first time was three Rumi guns, and the second time was four.

Because the port's clerk was an acquaintance of the Zhen family, they were not seized. The third time, they were intercepted because there was a new person at the dock."

When Miss Zhen San heard this, her face changed. This Third Brother was not the first time to do such a thing. The first time he had three, and the second time he actually added four.

According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, smuggling more than three muskets is considered tantamount to treason and the offender will be sentenced to imprisonment. He is so bold!
Fortunately, he only smuggled three muskets the third time. If he had smuggled four, it would have caused a big trouble.

You should know that the officials of the Maritime Customs at the port are all newly transferred from the capital. These people are strangers and will not give face to the Zhen family.

It is possible that the third brother has been imprisoned and convicted by now. By then, it will be a very difficult task for the Zhen family to clean up the situation.

……

Miss Zhen San has accompanied the old Concubine Zhen in the palace for many years and knows more about the palace struggles than ordinary people.

The current emperor is tough and resolute, with a cold and resolute heart, and is not a good person.

The Emperor and the Retired Emperor both appeared in the sky on that day. Although the Retired Emperor retired to the deep palace, he completely handed over power to the current Emperor.

However, given the emperor's temperament at that time, I'm afraid he would have been full of doubts and precautions.

The wealth and power of the Zhen family depended on the old concubine dowager alone, and the old concubine dowager Zhen was the most beloved adoptive mother of the retired emperor.

The current emperor has always treated the four kings and eight dukes who surrounded the emperor with indifference and suppression.

Just look at the Ningguo branch of the Jia family. Because of a minor case of robbing other people's property, which did not cause any bad consequences, the current emperor both attacked and punished them, even confiscating their property and stripping their titles. How cruel and ruthless was he.

From this to that, if we were to ask how much consideration and goodwill the emperor has for the Zhen family, which bears the mark of the retired emperor, I'm afraid even a ghost would not believe it.

……

The third brother of the eldest son did such a taboo thing. If those who want to guess the emperor's mind make a big deal out of a small matter and give them an advantage, the Zhen family may be in great trouble.

Miss Zhen San rubbed her brows and said, "Is there any money for him to spend at home? It is unreasonable for him to take risks and make a profit from these muskets."

Liu Xian's family said: "Not to mention that the young lady would think so, everyone would say so. Our head of the family was also puzzled, so he found an excuse to invite the steward Chen who was in charge of this matter to have a drink.

But the man was tight-lipped and even though he was half drunk, he didn't explain the whole story.

He just said that Third Master was not doing it for money, but because a noble person had asked for his respect, and it was hard to refuse. It would also help the family to have some incense, and it would be easier for him to do business outside in the future. "

After hearing this, Miss Zhen San sneered on her pretty face. Third brother called this accumulating some incense, but didn't he know that a single spark could start a prairie fire? This little bit of incense might burn down the Zhen family.

He then asked, "In addition to smuggling muskets, I heard that Third Brother also brought a white barbarian. Has Liu Xian found out about this person? I don't know what Third Brother is up to."

Liu Xianjia replied: "Our head of the family asked Manager Chen and he said that the man was a silversmith from England.
The head of the household was worried, so he asked an acquaintance to check the customs documents of the Maritime Customs Office, which also stated that the Western barbarian was a silversmith, so there could be no mistake.

Miss Zhen San frowned slightly after hearing this, and confusion appeared in her beautiful eyes. She said to herself, "There is no silverware business in our family. Why did my third brother bring a silversmith back from far away?"

When Liu Xianjia saw his daughter, she stood up and walked back and forth in the room, her skirt swaying lightly and her steps slow.

She knew that her daughter was a very intelligent person. She could know three things about ordinary things by just hearing one thing. Ten men were not as smart and capable as her.

But sometimes she would encounter things that she couldn't figure out, and usually she would walk back and forth in the room like this, which was a rare occurrence.

Liu Xian's wife was afraid of disturbing the Third Miss's thoughts, so she said carefully: "Our head of the family also said that the ship that the Third Master borrowed from the Miss suddenly stopped at the port yesterday.

He said that his business no longer requires sea vessels, so he needs to take a break for a while."

After hearing this, Miss Zhen San's eyes flickered.

The Zhen family has its own fleet, which was founded by Zhen Yingquan. After Zhen Yingquan got into trouble, Miss Zhen San took charge of it.

In recent years, Miss Zhen San has reached the age of coming of age and is about to get married. The first wife has begun to covet the business of the second wife.

Including that rather large fleet.

But as long as Miss Zhen San is still unmarried, she still has the support of the old concubine in the palace.

Whether it is the business of the second branch or this fleet, they are still the property of the second branch of the Zhen family, and no one else can touch them.

However, although the first wife could not touch the second wife's property, it was difficult to refuse the loan.

Two months ago, the third elder brother of the eldest wife borrowed a ship from Miss Zhen San, saying that he wanted to do some shipping business.

At that time, the imperial court was in Liaodong, wiping out the Jurchens, and all the land outside the 3,000-li Great Wall became part of the Great Zhou territory.

Many far-sighted businessmen went north to purchase medicinal materials, animal skins, wild delicacies, timber and other specialty products outside the Great Wall, and then transported them back to the south of the Yangtze River to sell for profit.

At that time, Miss Zhen San thought that the third brother of the eldest wife borrowed the ship probably because he wanted to go to Liaodong to do some mountain products business.

But then things started to go wrong.

The third brother of the eldest wife borrowed a ship, but did not use his own sailors. Instead, he hired a group of new sailors from outside.

Therefore, outsiders had no way of knowing what business he was doing with his ships.

This matter has always caused Miss Zhen San to worry, and now it has finally caused some trouble.

She felt a little regretful. She shouldn't have cared too much about her elders' reputation. She should have asked Liu Xian to use his connections to get to the bottom of the matter.

Miss Zhen San said to Liu Xian's family, "Tell Liu Xian that from today on, he should strictly control the Zhen family's ships in the port, except for the ships we use for our own business.

All boats are not allowed to be borrowed, including those from the first house! If the third brother has something to say, let Liu Xian bite him to death, and I will go to the eldest master to explain.

Also, even if it is our own business ship, before entering the port, let Liu Xian arrange for his confidants to check the cargo on board to prevent outsiders from colluding and smuggling in unclean things! "

She thought for a while and said, "Go to the city and find a skilled silversmith. I can be of use to you..." (End of this chapter)