I'm in the Red Mansion

Thinking of this, Mrs. Wang made a secret decision in her heart.

A few days later, a big incident also happened in Rongguo Mansion.

Jia Zheng of Rongguo Mansion staged a drama of cultivating his wife.

The charge was gossip, which was one of the seven offences.

Because Mrs. Wang's family, the Wang family, had fallen into decline, the Jia family did not drive Mrs. Wang out.

Instead, he ordered him to study Buddhism in the Buddhist temple in Rongguo Mansion.

A few days later, at Rongguo Mansion, Jia Zheng promoted his concubine Aunt Zhao to be his principal wife and invited many guests.

Speaking of which, the East and West Mansions of the Jia family are quite interesting.

First, a maid in the East Mansion was promoted to the position of official.

In the West Mansion, he would first marry his wife and then make his concubine his legal wife.

When Aunt Zhao learned about this, she was so excited that she burst into tears and her eyes turned red.

She never dreamed that one day she would become a legal wife.

Aunt Zhao was quite self-aware and knew that she was not up to the task.

She was afraid of making a fool of herself at the banquet and bringing shame to her son.

Therefore, she brought her daughter Tanchun from her husband's home and asked her to look after him.

Nowadays, the Rong and Ning mansions are becoming more and more prosperous.

Let’s not talk about the East Palace, the West Palace, Rongguo Mansion, is even more amazing.

Duke Rong Jia Huan's relationship with the Emperor is more distant than that of Duke Ning Jia Lian.

But Jia Huan is a truly capable person. He is a meritorious official who accompanied the emperor in building his empire.

And now he serves as the governor of the Beijing camp and is deeply trusted by the emperor.

Therefore, the number of guests coming to this banquet was more than that at the East Palace.

And at the banquet, the emperor also issued an edict.

Jia's mother was conferred the title of a first-rank lady, and Jia Zheng was conferred the title of director of the Imperial Academy.

The Director of the Imperial College was an official position of the fifth rank.

Jia Zheng's previous position as Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works was a fifth-rank official position, but now he has been promoted to a higher rank.

Moreover, the Director of the Imperial College was a very noble position, and one did not have to take care of anything, which was perfect for an official like Jia Zheng who was content with his daily life.

The arrival of the imperial edict made both Lady Jia and Jia Zheng very happy.

Even Mrs. Wang felt a little jealous when she heard this, but she also had some expectations.

These two decrees are enough to prove that their guess was correct.

The Emperor indeed disliked Madam Wang. Madam Wang had just been divorced and Aunt Zhao had just been made his wife.

Then the emperor's reward came. It would be strange to say that the emperor had no such intention in his heart.

After receiving the imperial edict, both mother and son hurriedly changed into court robes and rushed to the palace to express their gratitude.

Grandmother Jia did not go to see the emperor with Jia Zheng, but went to visit the empress dowager first and then the queen.

The Queen Mother was originally Lady Jia's daughter-in-law.

But now, Grandmother Jia didn't dare to show off in front of the Empress Dowager.

After all, Jia Cong had already left the mansion and later inherited the title of Ningguo Mansion. In fact, he was no longer a member of Rongguo Mansion.

If Jia Cong had not been removed from the Rongguo Mansion's family tree, she would be the real Empress Dowager now.

It’s a pity that with this removal from the genealogy, the Empress Dowager is no longer in existence.

When Empress Dowager Mei met Lady Jia, she was very warm and enthusiastic, but she still treated her as her mother-in-law, so Lady Jia did not dare to act arrogantly.

He chatted with the Queen Mother for a few words, and when he saw that she was not in high spirits, he stood up and said goodbye.

Met Queen Lin Daiyu again.

Lin Daiyu was very happy to see Grandmother Jia, which also made Grandmother Jia very happy.

The Queen wanted to invite Lady Jia to dinner, but she declined on the grounds that she had not yet met the Emperor.

By the time Lady Jia went to see the emperor, Jia Zheng had already thanked him and left.

When Lady Jia saw Jia Cong, she wanted to bow, but she had the young eunuch help her up.

"Grandpa, please take a seat."

Soon a young eunuch brought a chair and helped Lady Jia sit down.

Jia Cong couldn't help but say, "Grandfather, the palace has been cleared out, and I'm asking someone to invite you to live in the palace!"

"The Queen Mother also told me that it is a pity that our ancestors are not around and we cannot be with them every day to show our filial piety to them."

After hearing this, Jia's mother hurriedly said, "Your Majesty knows the old woman. She likes to be lively and it would be more comfortable for her to live in Rongguo Mansion."

"I appreciate the kindness of the Empress Dowager and the Emperor. It's better for me not to stay here than to live here!"

After chatting for a few more words, Jia Cong prepared to send the old woman away.

At this time, Jia's mother said, "Your Majesty, I have the audacity to ask you a favor."

Hearing this, Jia Cong couldn't help feeling disgusted.

Needless to say, Jia Cong also knew that this old woman wanted to pray for a future for Jia Baoyu.

Jia Cong nodded and said, "What is it that the ancestor wants? Why don't you tell me?"

Grandmother Jia couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, I want to pray for Baoyu's future."

"Now, all the young men in the family have obtained titles, but Baoyu is still a commoner. I would like to ask the emperor to give him a promising future."

Hearing this, Jia Cong snorted coldly and said, "How biased is the old ancestor?"

This is not the only time that Grandmother Jia is partial to her.

When Jia She was alive, he often said that Lady Jia was partial.

I remember that during a festival, Jia She told a joke about a biased mother-in-law, which made Grandmother Jia very angry.

Now that the Emperor accused her of being partial, Grandmother Jia did not dare to get angry, but she felt very aggrieved.

Grandmother Jia couldn't help but defend herself, "Your Majesty, how have I ever been partial to you?"

"Lian'er and Huan'er both have titles and a bright future, but Baoyu has none. As a grandmother, who else can I think about if not him?"

Jia Cong sneered and asked, "Don't you remember that Lang'er is your great-grandson, old ancestor?"

"If you really want to talk about it, Lang'er is the eldest son and grandson of the second wife, and Baoyu is just the son of the second wife."

"If we talk about status and position, shouldn't the ancestor love Lang Ge'er more and seek a better future for him?"

Jia Cong's words made Jia's mother stunned.

To be honest, Grandmother Jia really forgot about Lang'er's affairs, and she had never considered praying for Lang'er's future.

After thinking for a while, Grandmother Jia said, "Your Majesty, I will not forget Lan Ge'er. But he is still young and studies hard. He may be able to make a career for himself in the future."

Jia Cong asked again: "The old ancestor loves his grandchildren, so why didn't he take Lan Ge'er with him to raise him before?"

"Speaking of which, Lang'er is younger than Baoyu, and much more obedient than Baoyu. I don't know why."

Speaking of which, Grandmother Jia was quite caring towards Li Wan and her son.

The monthly allowance given to Li Wan was twenty taels of silver, the same as that given to Lady Jia and Lady Wang.

He also felt sorry for the unemployed widow Li Wan, so he gave her a farm to live on and collect rent.

However, Lady Jia's care for the mother and son was only superficial.

Just like one time during the Lantern Festival, no one in the room noticed that Jia Lan was not there.

Mrs. Wang, the grandmother, didn't notice it, and neither did Lady Jia, the old grandmother.

It was when the grandfather, Jia Zheng, arrived that he realized Jia Lan was not there, so he quickly asked someone to invite him over.

You see, if Lady Jia really liked Jia Lan, she would not have brought him with her to eat.

How could he not notice that his great-grandson didn't even come to the banquet during the holidays?

If Baoyu hadn't come, Grandmother Jia would have discovered it long ago and would have shouted and ordered people to look for him.

After hearing what Jia Cong said, Jia's mother fell silent.

Really, there is no way to argue.

Jia Cong said to himself: "I know the thoughts of our ancestors, and I know how pitiful all parents are in the world."

"As for Baoyu, he does have some talent. I heard that he is writing a book now and has gained some fame."

"That's good. If his next book is good, it can also be serialized in the Daxia Monthly."

"He likes to write books, so isn't it a good thing to let him do what he likes for the rest of his life?"

Although Jia Baoyu was not good at studying, he did have some unique talents.

He was very good at writing poetry and lyrics, and even published several of them in the Daxia Monthly.

Writing chapter novels is even more spiritual.

At the beginning, I started to earn royalties by writing articles about Liu Bei.

After writing a few articles, his writing became more and more mature, and he was no longer satisfied with simply supporting his family.

Instead, he wanted to leave a name in the literary world by writing chapter novels.

During these two years, Jia Baoyu had made some name for himself in the literary world with his pen name, The Master of the Crimson Flower Cave.

However, although Lady Jia was unhappy when she heard this, she did not dare to argue with the emperor, so she had to thank him and leave.

After Lady Jia left, Jia Cong prepared to start doing some serious work.

Now that the coronation ceremony has been completed, all four seas are in submission.

This is also due to his excellent reputation.

A supplement was also added to the Daxia Monthly, which was specifically used to praise Jia Cong.

In fact, 80% of this article is realistic, and only 20% is fictional and exaggerated.

For example, the opening chapter describes that before Jia Cong was born, Mrs. Mei dreamed of a real dragon entering her arms.

When he was born, the room was filled with fragrance and the ceiling was full of flowers.

The stories about him being smart and studious since childhood, and respectful to his elders, are all fabricated and exaggerated.

However, many of the events that followed were not exaggerated at all.

After all, his feats of hitting the mark six times in a row, archery, recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, and destroying the Qing Dynasty were shocking enough without any exaggeration. If they were exaggerated any further, they would seem unreal.

With such endorsement, after Jia Cong ascended the throne and announced it to all quarters, the people of Daxia were all delighted and celebrated endlessly.

And Jia Cong was also preparing to launch a reform across the country.

As the pioneer of this reform, Jia Cong planned to use Qin Daxueshi.

Not only did Jia Cong not punish Qin Daxueshi, but he also promoted him.

Now it was time for Qin Daxueshi to demonstrate his ability and loyalty.

Whenever there is a revolution, there is always a lot of bloodshed and countless heads of people are killed.

And no one who has ever led change has ever had a good ending.

Jia Cong was reluctant to let Kou Daxueshi and Lin Daxueshi come, so he had to use Qin Daxueshi. Jia Cong was ready for this change, Jia Cong was ready to do it in a big way, directly in one step.

There will be turmoil on both sides, so if that's the case, why not just do it all at once?

Otherwise, small changes will bring turmoil to China.

Next, Jia Cong summoned Qin Daxueshi to come for an audience.

Soon, Grand Secretary Qin came to the imperial study.

After the ceremony, Jia Cong ordered Scholar Qin to sit down and talk.

Jia Cong couldn't help but ask: "My dear Qin, in the previous dynasty, you tried to frame me several times. Do you know why I not only didn't punish you, but also continued to use you?"

Upon hearing this, Grand Secretary Qin's heart sank.

Whenever the emperor asked this question, it must be that he had an extremely difficult task to assign to him.

Scholar Qin had even guessed what the emperor wanted him to do.

However, Grand Secretary Qin really wants to know the answer to the emperor's question.

Qin Daxueshi could not help but say: "Your Majesty is very magnanimous and does not care about my sins. I am deeply grateful and will work hard for you until my death."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "You guessed wrong about this. My mind is really not that broad."

"I was originally going to punish you, but it was Lord Kou and Lord Lin who begged for mercy on your behalf."

"You are a talented person, Qin Aiqing. If we abandon you, it will be a loss for China."

"Emperor Taizong of Tang could tolerate a Wei Zheng, so could it be that the emperor could not tolerate a Prime Minister Qin?"

"So, I finally listened to their advice and not only did I not punish you, but I also promoted you."

Hearing this, Grand Secretary Qin felt really ashamed.

Because if he were in power, he would never plead for his political opponents and would definitely suppress them.

Well, there is no need to assume this.

Because he did just that, after Emperor Tianci ascended the throne.

Kou Xiang and Lin Ruhai were unwilling to serve Emperor Tianci.

Prime Minister Qin had stopped adding fuel to the fire, and eventually Emperor Tianci got so angry that he arrested the two men and put them in jail.

It was not until later that the two were released.

But when he fell into trouble, Kou Xiang and Lin Ruhai came to power.

Instead of adding insult to injury, the two of them tried their best to plead for mercy.

After hearing this, Grand Secretary Qin fell silent.

After a while, he said, "I am ashamed. I am not as broad-minded as Lord Kou and Lord Lin!"

"Recently, I, this old minister, have not been idle. I have studied the emperor's policy strategies in Yanyun."

"This old minister speculates that the emperor will use Yanyun as a model to implement reforms throughout China."

Hearing this, Jia Cong couldn't help but secretly praise.

I have to say that although this Prime Minister Qin is a bit cunning, he is really smart.

He always thinks what the emperor thinks.

Before I even looked for him, he guessed that I would look for him, and he also guessed why I would look for him.

No wonder most emperors have one, several or many treacherous ministers around them.

Because treacherous officials can really figure out people's thoughts, it's really useful!

Jia Cong couldn't help but ask: "I wonder if Grand Secretary Qin thinks these reforms are good or bad. Are they suitable for promotion throughout China?"

Qin Daxueshi could not help but say: "This old minister has observed the emperor's policies in Yanyun, and there are roughly these points."

“One is to nationalize all the land, so that the people only have the right to cultivate it, but not the right to buy or sell it.”

"The second is to distribute the tax according to the amount of land, and to have all the gentry pay taxes together."

"The third is to vigorously promote new learning and increase the channels for recruiting new scholars."

"The fourth is to allow women to work and weaken the barriers between men and women."

"The above four points are what I figured out myself. I wonder if there are any omissions?"

In fact, there are many small details in it, such as Jia Cong's vigorous promotion of science and technology.

However, these are not major changes and their implementation does not require much fanfare, so they are not within the scope of today's discussion.

Jia Cong couldn't help but say: "That's about it. But the third point, I want to use new learning to replace the test questions such as the Four Books and Five Classics."

"After all, no matter how well you read the Four Books and Five Classics, you won't be able to use them after you become an official. Instead, new learning is more useful."

"I wonder if Lord Qin thinks these four points can be promoted throughout China?"

After hearing this, Qin Daxueshi could not help but say: "Your Majesty, I think the first point is absolutely impossible to do and cannot be implemented. Otherwise, the world will be in chaos."

Having said this, Grand Secretary Qin paused and looked at Jia Cong nervously.

Jia Cong frowned and said, "Go on."

Qin Daxueshi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and said, "I think the second, third, and fourth points are all excellent policies."

“However, these three changes cannot be put together and changed all at once.”

"From your perspective, any one of these three changes is difficult to accept, and if all three are implemented together, I'm afraid there will be chaos."

Hearing this, Jia Cong couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

He originally wanted to advance the three reforms together.

It also avoids the turmoil that every change will cause.

But after hearing what Grand Secretary Qin said, Jia Cong became alert.

Sometimes, you can't take too big a step, and you have to implement it in light of the actual situation.

Was Wang Anshi's original intention for reform good? Of course it was good, and the reforms were all good policies that benefited the country and the people.

However, improper use of personnel and the general environment that did not allow such changes ultimately led to the failure of Wang Anshi's reform.

Was Wang Mang's new policy ahead of its time? It was too far ahead of its time. It was more than a thousand years ahead of its time!
It even makes people suspect that Wang Mang was a time traveler.

But precisely because he was too advanced, Wang Mang was soon overthrown by Liu Xiu, the chosen son of heaven.

And nowadays, China’s ability to accept is probably limited.

Thinking of this, Jia Cong couldn't help but ask curiously: "My dear Qin, you are also a scholar who is well-read in poetry and books. You don't mind me using women, weakening the barriers between men and women, and even using women as officials?"

Ancient people were influenced by feudal ideas, and the concept of male superiority and female inferiority was deeply rooted.

Even women basically agree with this.

Both Kou Daxueshi and Lin Ruhai found this difficult to accept.

After hearing this question, Qin Daxueshi couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Your Majesty, I am not a Taoist scholar, and I don't think your idea is so shocking."

"These are all trivial matters, insignificant in nature."

Hearing this, Jia Cong couldn't help but secretly praise in his heart.

Look, how useful treacherous ministers are.

Their lower limit is very flexible and can be changed according to the emperor's preferences.

This change, which was difficult for Grand Secretary Kou and Lin Ruhai to accept, was easily accepted by Grand Secretary Qin, and was even promoted and implemented.

Jia Cong said with satisfaction: "If that is the case, then please tell me your opinion in detail, Mr. Qin."

Qin Daxueshi said: "Your Majesty, I think the first reform must not be implemented."

"We can vigorously promote the second change first, and slowly promote the third change. As for the fourth change, we can put it on hold for the time being."

“It won’t be too late to implement the fourth change after the second and third changes are perfectly implemented.”

"Because the fourth change is a minor detail, insignificant, but it will attract huge criticism."

After hearing this, Jia Cong couldn't help but nodded slightly.

Jia Cong added: "Promoting new learning is also a top priority and we must not slack off."

"The new learning in the West is developing rapidly. If we cannot catch up in time, we will be left far behind."

"If we fall behind, we will be beaten. We will definitely suffer a great loss in the future."

In fact, in this life, Jia Cong is not really worried about this.

After all, in the original historical trajectory, the gap between Eastern and Western civilizations began with the Qing Dynasty.

The more than 200 years of Qing Dynasty history was also the period when Chinese civilization lagged behind Western civilization.

As long as I am here, I will never let this happen.

Although Jia Cong was not a scientist or a top student, he at least had some general directions and ideas for development.

For example, it only takes a dozen or so years for new studies to develop.

Under his own impetus, could he not invent a crank-connecting rod mechanism or an engine?

Can't invent a generator? A light bulb? ...

For many inventions, what they lack may not be experiments, but a correct idea.

Next to him, Grand Secretary Qin listened and appeared respectful on the surface, but he felt a little disapproving in his heart.

But he has one advantage, that is, he can help the emperor do whatever he wants.

I will definitely be able to satisfy the emperor and will never go against him.

This is also the reason why he has survived four dynasties!

Jia Cong was also very satisfied with the performance of Qin Daxueshi.

He couldn't help but ask, "Lord Qin, I want you to lead the reform. What do you think?"

Although Grand Secretary Qin had already expected this, when Jia Cong actually asked this question, he still took a deep breath.

In promoting reform, too many people were offended. It can almost be said that all the scholars and gentry in the world were offended.

Once you take on this job, no matter how well you do it, there will definitely be no good ending.

But if I don't take this job, I'm afraid there will be no good ending now.

Thinking of this, Qin Daxueshi gritted his teeth and said, "Thanks to the emperor's trust, how dare I not do my best?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "My dear Qin, just rest assured. I am different from other emperors."

"Even if Fu Cha was promoted to the first position, as long as he made contributions, I would also confer the title of Duke on him."

"My dear Qin, just do your job well. As long as you do your job well, I will definitely not treat you unfairly."

"I naturally know how much pressure such a change would bring. Just rest assured and do your best."

"Every reform will result in rivers of blood and countless deaths! I will definitely support you with all my strength!"

"I am still young, and I have the determination, perseverance, and patience to promote change, which will benefit the present and future generations."

"I will definitely leave a politically clean country to my descendants."

Jia Cong's heartfelt words also moved Prime Minister Qin.

Regardless of whether the emperor will really keep this promise.

But the emperor's promise has already made Prime Minister Qin burst into tears of gratitude. (End of this chapter)