The Red Mansions

Chapter 988 Dai Quan: ... half of the son-in-law.

Daming Palace, Hanyuan Hall, Inner Study Room

In the evening, the sun was shining brightly, and the afterglow of the setting sun passed through the window, making it quiet and beautiful, but the thin figure sitting behind the desk had a gloomy expression.

After a while, Dai Quan went back and forth, handed over the things in his hand, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we found out."

As he said, he handed over the paper in his hand.

Emperor Chongping took the Zhazi, his expression paused, and his eyes flashed coldly.

It was impressively written on the letter that Liu Fang and others contacted Yan Hong, the Imperial Superintendent, the Imperial History of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Six Divisions to arouse public opinion and impeach Duke Wei.

"They are afraid of major military and state affairs, and they have no plan! Yu Wenwu collusion, jealousy and envy are full of tricks. Earlier, Ziyu resigned from the five cities to be sent by the army and horses to avoid suspicion, and you and others repeated rumors to separate the monarchs and ministers. "Emperor Chongping snorted coldly and said in a low voice.

Dai Quan's heart was shaken, and he bowed to ask: "Your Majesty, calm down."

His heart trembled secretly, the Duke of Wei now has the prestige of a great victory, he can almost be His Majesty's favorite minister.

Emperor Chongping put away his Zhazi, his face was clouded with clouds, and he said in a deep voice: "Did the watermelons come down recently? Gather some watermelons into two carts and give them to the Prince's Mansion of Nan'an County."

When Dai Quan heard this, his face paused, and he was a little puzzled.

Immediately, he came to his senses and gave Nan'an County King food. This is to make Nan'an County King shut up?

Emperor Chongping pondered for a moment, and said: "I will make another copy of the official reply to the palace, and you will personally send the original copy to the Duke of Wei."

Hearing this, Dai Quan's heart trembled slightly, and he should do it.

After Dai Quan left, Emperor Chongping snorted coldly, as if his anger was still lingering.

Be it the [-]th Regiment of the Beijing Camp, or the Jinyi Mansion, Jia Ziyu has done his duty. Since he took office, he has not vigorously cultivated cronies or planted party members. From the previous victory over the captives, it can be seen that he is sincere and fair.

Moreover, since the Song and Ming Dynasties, there has not been a son-in-law who can overstep and seek rebellion.

What's more, one person governs Ningrong and Rongfu, in the eyes of the scholars of the world, the emperor's kindness is extremely honorable, if there is a heart of disobedience, the world will discuss it together.

In fact, it is the emperor's confidence in controlling the court, and Jia Heng has not yet reached the point where all civil and military officials in the court are old students and highly respected.

Emperor Chongping put away the thoughtful expression on his face, picked up the memorial again, and prepared to read it.

This is a memorial to the Shanxi merchants complaining about grievances. It lists the contributions of the Shanxi merchants to the imperial court over the years. The main reason is that there are many doubts about the case of Shanxi merchants smuggling and colluding with Jurchen. .

Emperor Chongping closed the memorial, then picked up another memorial and read the text on it.

"Eight Shanxi merchants, through collusion and smuggling of Jurchens, have accumulated more than tens of millions of wealth in decades? If Ziyu went to Taiyuan, how would he have known about the traitorous behavior of these Shanxi merchants?" Chongping frowned, and his heart was cold.

I can't help but think of the memorabilia just now, in which all the words are impeachment of Jia Heng.

It is absurd that such an unavoidable slander, offending colleagues who are ignorant and outspoken, is a threatening weapon!
While Emperor Chongping was thinking about it, an inner eunuch came in and reported to Emperor Chongping: "Your Majesty, Lin Ruhai, the Minister of Housekeeping, returned to Beijing and just handed over a sign to see His Majesty."

After the courtiers of the Han Dynasty received the imperial errands, they had to go to the palace to face the saint as soon as they returned to Beijing.

And Lin Ruhai, as the minister of the West Route Army who supervised the military supplies and fodder, after Jia Heng led the Beijing camp army to return to the north in triumph, he also packed up the military supplies and fodder in Taiyuan on behalf of the household department. It was paid to the national treasury, so he was detained in Taiyuan for a period of time.

Up to this moment, Lin Ruhai also led the little officials into the capital to face the saint.

"Xuan." Emperor Chongping was silent for a moment, dispelling his gloomy mood a little.

Not long after, under the guidance of an inner eunuch, Lin Ruhai tidied up his clothes and went in, bowed to the middle-aged emperor who was behind the case, and said, "My minister, Lin Ruhai pays homage to His Majesty, long live long live long live."

"Lin Qingping." Emperor Chongping's eyes softened a little, and he ordered: "Come here, take a seat."

"Thank you, my lord." Lin Ruhai got up to thank him, and then took a seat on the embroidered pier beside him.

Emperor Chongping said: "In Taiyuan, has the grain and fodder been calculated clearly?"

Lin Ruhai said: "Returning to the Holy Lord, the calculations have been made clearly, and the relevant grain and fodder have not been used up. For this expedition, 130 shi of rice and grain were used. Except for the transfer of 30 shi by the Ministry of Households, the rest were purchased locally. The pension money has been allocated."

Emperor Chongping said with emotion: "Fortunately, the war has not been delayed for a long time, otherwise the army will spend even more."

As he spoke, he asked again: "How is the Jinyi Mansion and the Ministry of Household investigation going on with the case of Shanxi merchants colluding with the Eastern captives?"

"After comprehensive interrogation by the Jinyi Mansion, Shanxi Shanxi merchants colluded deeply with the Eastern captives, which is shocking. Several merchants even took on the job of the imperial merchants of the Jurchen Ministry of Finance." Lin Ruhai said.

When Emperor Chongping heard the words, his eyes were full of murderous intentions, and he said coldly: "It seems that they are connected with the enemy's country, there is no doubt about it."

Lin Ruhai said: "Due to the haste of the incident, the Jinyi Mansion is doing its best to investigate, but in terms of collecting grain and fodder, taking the Kang family as an example, only one of its family has more than 600 warehouses, and the grain storage is as high as [-] million shi. The family also has more than one million assets, and many of these came from trading with the Jurchen to grab huge profits, and they colluded deeply with the Eastern Captives, shadowing the geography of the mountains and rivers in Jinzhong, dedicated to the Jurchen, and even about the internal response, Once the Jurchens conquer Chahar, declare themselves a large army, and march into Taiyuan, the consequences will be disastrous."

As an official who completely wiped out the eight major merchants of Shanxi Merchants, Lin Ruhai was not only shocked by the wealth of Shanxi Merchants, but also felt inconceivable by the traitorous behavior of Shanxi Merchants.

Emperor Chongping's eyes flickered, as if he had realized later, he said: "Ziyu's victory in Ping'an Prefecture earlier, the slave chieftains did not want to intimidate Taiyuan. If soldiers approached the city, those merchants raised their flags to respond. At that time, Guanzhong was in danger."

At this moment, Emperor Chongping seemed to be enlightened from the original clues.

Seeing that Emperor Chongping was thinking non-stop, Lin Ruhai said loudly: "My lord, these illegal goods have now been counted by the Jinyi Mansion and sealed into the warehouse. The total amounted to 4000 million, which can be said to have been collected by the national treasury in one or two years."

This is the charm of ransacking, almost uprooting.

It can be said that the reason why Chen Han had no shortage of money in the past two years and was able to do everything with ease in all aspects began when Jia Heng copied and inspected the goods in Dongcheng.

"It will be charged to the national treasury, and the people's taxes will be exempted this year. Shandong has not snowed this winter, and the drought locusts are expected to rise again this year. The imperial court is about to allocate rice for relief." Emperor Chongping said softly.

Lin Ruhai responded in a low voice.

Emperor Chongping said: "In the past two years, some people said that I was the emperor who copied the family and robbed the people's wealth, but they didn't know that whether it was a salt merchant or a Shanxi merchant, they colluded with officials and merchants and did many illegal things to accumulate such wealth. , and the Shanxi merchants are more hateful than the salt merchants, betraying the information of our big man and helping the enemy!"

Lin Ruhai said: "Your Majesty, they have done many unrighteous acts. If they operate according to their duties, the imperial court will not indiscriminately execute them."

Emperor Chongping sighed: "In the past two years, the imperial treasury has been much richer after going through many twists and turns. Only the salt tax and customs duties can send 700 million taels to the treasury. The military strength of the Beijing camp is gradually recovering. The army in Shandong Province, Hebei, increased income and reduced expenditure, I deeply believe it."

Now that I think about it, these two items were precisely formed by Jia Ziyu. Wouldn't such a courtier be reused?Who will deal with the silverfish of the kingdom?

Before Jia Ziyu, no one dared to take on this role.

Emperor Chongping said: "Lin Qing has worked hard in Taiyuan this time. After two days, Elder Qi Ge will come back from Beiping Mansion. The two of you will preside over the promotion of sweet potato planting in Shanxi, Hebei and other places. Since the beginning of summer, there have been many sweet potatoes in the north this year. There is no rain in the province, and Henan had a good harvest of sweet potatoes last year, if they can be widely planted, the people will no longer suffer from poor harvests this autumn."

It can be said that this year's drought has expanded again, affecting Guanzhong, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong, and even Zhejiang in the south.

Lin Ruhai said: "Your Majesty, I have summoned officials in the past few days to calculate the shortage of rice and grain in various provinces and help the victims."

"The day before yesterday, I issued an edict to Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, and Henan to plant sweet potatoes immediately in the lands where there is no harvest and poor harvest. Recently, I will allocate a batch of rice grains. Taiyuan should have received the edict before." Emperor Chongping said.

Lin Ruhai said: "Before I returned to Beijing, I already mentioned to the governor of Shanxi, Mr. Gu, that I would allocate 100 million shi to help the prefecture and county."

Emperor Chongping suddenly said with emotion: "This year is another disaster year."

Since he ascended the throne, for some reason, there has been no smooth weather in the past ten years, and there have been continuous disasters. Sometimes I wonder if I am...

"Your Majesty, when Yao and Shun were around, there were droughts and floods. This is the way of nature." Lin Ruhai clasped his hands and said.

Emperor Chongping nodded, and said loudly: "This year, we still need to stockpile more rice to prepare for a famine. I will call Ziyu tomorrow to ask about it."

Ziyu should have a solution.

Hearing the emperor who opened his mouth and never left Jia Heng, Lin Ruhai's expression turned strange, and then he talked to Emperor Chongping about the household affairs for a while, seeing that it was almost dusk, he didn't stay any longer, and got up to leave.

Emperor Chongping also did not review the memorials in the inner study, but ordered his servants to drive to Kunning Palace.

Kunning Palace

In the Kunning Palace in the evening, the red sunset glow falls on the majestic and magnificent palace, and the glazed tiles are magnificent and dreamy under the sunlight.

In the palace, Empress Song, who was dressed in a vermilion dress and a green bun, was talking to Concubine Rong. Tomorrow would be Empress Song's birthday. In time for the Dragon Boat Festival, various dishes and activities were being prepared in the palace.

Several older female officials introduced the recent arrangements in the palace to Empress Song, and then retreated slowly.

Sitting on the embroidered pier at the bottom, Mrs. Shen was wearing a light yellow silk dress. Under the crescent eyebrows, her face was like a small moon, with beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and she had the gentleness and pleasantness of a big family in the south of the Yangtze River.

Song Yan, who was seated next to Mrs. Shen, with a girl in a bun and a green dress, opened a pair of big smart eyes, talking in a low voice with Princess Xianning and Li Chanyue at the side.

Concubine Duanrong asked: "Sister, Wei'er's marriage will be at the end of this year, right?"

Empress Song wore a long red dress with pink temples, and because of the scorching summer, the clothes were somewhat thin. Under her neck, there was a large area of ​​crisp white skin, and even the pearl necklace was covered with sweat, making it crystal clear.

The beauty smiled when she heard the words, and said softly: "I want to set it on August [-]th, and the Mid-Autumn Festival will be more lively. Let Xianning get married first. This can be regarded as the order of seniority."

Liang Wang Chen Wei is one year younger than Princess Xianning. He is seventeen years old this year. He has gone to see the government at the beginning of the year. Now the Liang Wang Mansion has been built.

The candidate for Princess Liang was carefully selected by Empress Song, and she was chosen as the daughter of King Dongping.

Empress Song thought about it, but she still felt that her niece Song Yan was still young, and her family background was also weaker. It would be better to find the daughter of an honorable official like King Dongping County, who could help her precious son King Wei a little bit more. .

Concubine Duanrong said softly: "Sister, my father wrote a letter the day before yesterday, saying that the ship has arrived in Jinling, and after a while, go south along the canal, and you should be able to reach Hangzhou."

Empress Song's father, Song Taigong, felt that his health was not good after getting old, and there was not much time left, so he planned to return to his roots. He was escorted by his son Song Jing to return to Hangzhou Mansion a month ago, intending to take care of himself in his hometown. Year.

Empress Song's snow-skinned and jade-like face was full of disappointment, and she said: "It would be quite unfilial not to be able to send them off at the Hangzhou Mansion."

Concubine Duanrong said: "Father is really old. Last time I saw him, he was much older. I hope the journey back to Hangzhou will be safe and smooth."

Empress Song suddenly asked: "Guining's decree has come down, what are the Zhou and Wu families doing?"

Concubine Duanrong said: "Now the Zhou family and the Wu family have built a family-saving villa, and they are preparing to welcome the two nobles Zhou and Wu. It should be next year's Lantern Festival."

As soon as I heard this, I knew that my sister also had some thoughts of returning to her hometown.

But it is unusual for the empress who is the mother of the world to travel.

At this moment, the high-pitched voice of the inner eunuch in the outer room sounded: "Your Majesty is here."

Not long after, I saw Emperor Chongping stepping into the palace, the middle-aged emperor showed a trace of exhaustion from dealing with state affairs.

Empress Song, Concubine Duanrong, and the Shen family rushed to greet the general, and Yingying gave a salute and said: "The concubine has seen Your Majesty."

Emperor Chongping nodded, turned his eyes to Empress Song calmly, and said, "Zitong, how are the preparations for Ziyu and Xianning's marriage going?"

Empress Song smiled slightly, and said: "According to the rules for princesses getting married, the celebrations are held in Xihe Palace, offering sacrifices to Taimiao, and the Sixth Palace is already busy."

Emperor Chongping nodded slightly, then turned to look at Princess Xianning, and said, "Xianning, have you looked for Ziyu these days?"

Eyes cast their gazes over, and Princess Xianning was a little bit shy, and said softly: "Father, isn't it impossible to find your husband's family before you get married?"

Emperor Chongping smiled and said, "That's right, but it's a folk rule, and the Tian family doesn't have such strict rules."

Rules and such are used to restrain the people of the world, and the Tian family doesn't have so many rules.

Emperor Chongping thought for a while, then suddenly looked at Empress Song, and asked, "What is King Wei up to lately?"

Empress Song smiled ripplingly in her beautiful eyes, and said with a light smile: "Your Majesty, he is not busy with the affairs of the Ministry of Rites recently, the new scholar is going to the Six Departments to observe politics, he is so busy that his feet don't touch the ground, and there is this child Tomorrow, he said that he would celebrate the birth of his concubine."

In March of this year, Wei Wang Chen Ran finally got his wish and went to the Ministry of Rites to observe politics, and assisted Han Huang, the chief assistant of the cabinet, and Fang Huan, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, in handling the imperial examination.

Emperor Chongping frowned, and asked, "Wei Wang has been married for more than a year, how come there are no heirs under his knees?"

Empress Song's heart skipped a beat, the smile on her face faded, and she said softly: "The concubine is still wondering, the previous one sent the imperial doctor to have a look, and only said that Yiliu's child is too vigorous and difficult to conceive. Zi Si, just say that you need to take good care of it."

At this time, listening to the Queen Song sisters discussing the King of Wei with the Son of Heaven, Shen frowned, knowingly took the hands of Princess Xianning and Li Chanyue, and at the same time took Song Yan's plain hand, and walked towards Tangli Palace.

Emperor Chongping pondered and said: "It is not a trivial matter for the descendants of the Tian family to continue, and you, the queen mother, should also take care of it."

When Empress Song heard the words, the beautiful eyes under the willow eyebrows showed worry, she nodded, and said softly: "The concubine is talking about giving Ran'er a side concubine these days."

If he has no heirs, he will naturally accept the side concubine, otherwise he will not have a son in the future, and in the eyes of foreign ministers, it will not be good for him to be the East Palace.

Emperor Chongping seemed to casually mentioned the matter of Wei Wang Chen Ran, but stopped talking immediately, and had dinner with the empress and concubine.

……

……

Ningguo Mansion

Although it was evening and the twilight was sinking in the west, a group of Jia people were having a banquet in the courtyard, and the noisy atmosphere was in full swing.

In the hall, Jia Heng was sitting in the center beside a table with all kinds of wine and vegetables, while the men of the Jia clan below were gathered together, looking at the young man with reverence in their eyes.

The younger generation is represented by Jia Fang, Jia Chang, Jia Ling, Jia Yun, and Jia Qin as generals, and Jia Qiong, Jia Chen, Jia Fan, and Jia Lin as representatives of civil servants.

After the previous battle in the north, Jia Fang, who performed outstandingly, was promoted to the rank of general under Jia Heng's promotion, and was conferred the title of second-class captain of light vehicles according to his military merit.

And Jia Chang and Jia Ling also made military achievements in the war against the captives. The Jin army was appointed as a guerrilla general and led an army alone, while Jia Yun and Jia Qin also became thousands of households. .

Jia Heng looked at the young people of the Jia clan, raised the wine cup, and encouraged the young generals of the Jia clan: "Now that the northern captives have suffered such a great defeat, it is time for us to use our troops to serve the court."

Everyone said yes one after another, and it was very lively to push the cups and change the cups for a while.

Jia Dairu sat together with several juniors of the literacy class, seeing this scene, his old eyes were moist, and he thought, the prosperity of the Jia family began from then on.

Until it was time to light the lanterns, the Jia clan's talents dispersed one after another.

Jia Heng and Jia Zheng came to the study to drink tea and talk.

Jia Heng looked at Jia Zheng who was at the side, and asked, "Master Zheng, why did you frown just now?"

Jia Zheng pondered for a moment, then said, "Did Ziyu send a letter of resignation to the palace yesterday?"

He also stayed in the General Secretary for a long time, and Jia Zheng naturally learned that Jia Heng had just submitted a letter, and that there was a follow-up letter admonishing Emperor Chongping to beware of his relatives, and he handed it to the General Secretary.

Jia Heng was stunned for a moment, and explained: "Being superior to others, everyone will criticize you. If a tree is beautiful in the forest, the wind will destroy it. Now that I have won great victories in Xuanda and Dazhou, and I have been named a Duke, I don't know how many courtiers are suspicious. , afraid, if you don't avoid the limelight, there may be unexpected dangers, so Shang Shu temporarily resigned as the commander of the Beijing camp."

Even if the monarch and his ministers get along well, they can't stand the continuous slanderous words appearing in their ears.

When Jia Zheng heard the words, he breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Ziyu's predictions are correct. Recently, there have been a lot of malicious speculations and slanderous rumors."

Jia Heng said: "Now it's time to avoid the limelight."

At this moment, the servant outside said: "My lord, the angel from the palace is here."

Jia Heng and Jia Zheng looked at each other, their faces became serious, and they got up quickly to greet the outside room.

At this moment, it is the time to light the lanterns, and exquisitely shaped lanterns have been hung on the front and back of the corridor eaves, and together with the bright moon above the sky, they disperse the night.

It was Dai Quan who came, with an undiminished smile on his fair and beardless face, and he said: "The memorial of the Duke of Wei, the Holy Majesty has received it, and after reviewing it with a red pen, he ordered our family to deliver it to the Duke of Wei, and the Duke of Wei also please accept it." good."

Jia Heng cupped his hands above his head and took the memorial, with a look of suspicion on his face.

Immediately opened the reading, as if struck by lightning, his figure swayed, and he bowed towards the Daming Palace, and said in a trembling voice: "My minister, thank you for your trustworthiness, long live, long live, long live."

The previous words are not in vain, at least there was a scene of a blind date between the son-in-law and the monarch and his ministers.

To some extent, this is the use of the emperor's power to win people's hearts.

Dai Quan looked at the boy with a smile, his mind was a little complicated and inexplicable.

Ever since the Holy Majesty ascended the throne, has he ever had such trust in his subjects?It seems that he really regards Jia Ziyu as his son-in-law.

No wonder, there is a saying among the people that the son-in-law is half the son-in-law.

(End of this chapter)