Red Mansion Royal Cat

Chapter 575: Seven Points of Merit and Three Points of Mistake

The winter night comes earlier, and the sky gradually darkens just after the afternoon.

When Jia Cong woke up in a daze, candles were already lit in the room.

"You woke up just in time. I'll go get someone to set the table."

The soft and cool feeling on his forehead and the faint fragrance coming from his nose made it difficult for Jia Cong to suppress the anger that he had been holding back for more than a year.

He suddenly stretched out his hand and pulled Daiyu into his arms. The blazing fire could not compare to the heat of their skin pressed against each other. The heat that burned into their hearts seemed to have raised the temperature in the room to the extreme.

Zijuan, who had heard the noise in the room, had just lifted the curtain when she saw her daughter being pulled into the bed by her husband. She blushed and lowered the curtain again, whispering to Xueyan, "Take the food and warm it up first. The Third Master and the daughter won't be able to eat for a while..."

A long separation is better than a new marriage. Jia Cong had been stuck on the Japanese island for so long. If he had not been a "mental mysophobia patient" who kept himself clean, those who wanted to curry favor with him would have been enough to fill his tent with Japanese and Goryeo women.

Before Daiyu could say anything, Jia Cong covered her mouth. The two of them kissed each other, expressing their longing for each other through their actions. Their joyful and sweet moans lingered in the room for a long time.

The two maids guarding outside the house tried their best to hide their shyness with useless busyness. They waited until the noise in the house gradually died down before they dutifully brought warm water and thought about going into the house to wash their master.

"Just leave the water at the door. I'll do it myself. Remember to bring the food over in 25 minutes."

Jia Cong, feeling refreshed, felt like he could kill a bear with his bare hands. He hugged Daiyu's smooth body, shouted to the door where there was already some movement, and whispered in her ear: "I'm sorry for hurting you today, let me wipe your body..."

Although the two had been married for more than a year, they had spent most of that time expressing their feelings through letters every three or four months. Now that she was suddenly doing this shameful thing, the shameless Daiyu had become herself again, becoming the same person she was on her wedding night.

When Jia Cong got out of bed to fetch water, she hid herself in the quilt with a reproachful look, leaving only half of her pretty face exposed, and secretly looked at Jia Cong's strong and sturdy back.

In just over a year, Cong Ge'er has grown a lot taller.

A man's maturity seems to occur rapidly after he gets married.

Jia Cong wiped Daiyu carefully and gently, and helped her dress and tie her hair. Neither of them spoke.

It was not until the maid brought dinner that they started talking about the family matters that had accumulated over the year.

……

"Wang Ziteng really understands the rules of the court. The idea he gave you is very good. Returning to the capital without an imperial edict will save you a lot of trouble."

In fact, Daiyu got a lot of information from Mr. Lin. Not only was the royal family in trouble, but the cabinet was also troubled by Jia Cong's reward.

Just block it, and in the future there will be nothing left to block.

Don’t give him a title. The rules of the imperial court are there. If you don’t give him a title for his great achievements, who will work for the imperial court in the future?
The "crime" of returning to the capital without an imperial edict was just the right thing to put on Jia Cong.

"Before I went home, I went to ask my father. The cabinet said that in exchange for the title and the real job, they would probably give me more honorary titles."

"That's enough. The real reward has already been given to me by the old man..."

After the maid cleared the dishes on the table, Jia Cong dragged the big box to the table and opened it with a clang. The couple was stunned for a moment.

The contents of the box were very special, with three items inside.

On top is a set of golden armor. The golden helmet that catches the eye is particularly eye-catching. It has a dragon head pattern and can only be worn by princes.

Jia Cong stroked the cold golden armor and helmet, and said sadly: "The golden armor enshrined in the ancestral hall was also given by the old man. This means that his expectations for me are just like what he had for my grandfather."

The golden armor with dragon pattern enshrined in the ancestral hall accompanied my grandfather Jia Daishan for most of his life and also brought supreme glory to the Ningrong Jia family.

He is not a prince in name, but he is a prince in reality.

He does not have the title of a prince, but he can exercise the powers of a prince.

The old man is paving the way for Jia Cong's future. With this golden armor, anyone who says that Jia Cong is more powerful than his master and wants to sow discord between the monarch and his subjects will have to ask the old sage to take back the golden armor first.

By that time, the old man was already lying in the imperial mausoleum. How could we invite him?
Under the golden armor is a brand new official uniform.

Purple with gold patterns, the pattern on the chest changed from the big orange cat that Jia Cong usually used to a Qilin embroidered with gold thread.

There are auspicious clouds and golden dragons on the chest and cuffs. The dragon has four claws, second only to the emperor's five-clawed dragon, and is the same as the crown prince.

From now on, when Jia Cong wears this official uniform, he must stand at the front of the military honor team when he goes to court, standing together with several old princes in the court, otherwise the palace censors who are responsible for maintaining etiquette and court order will not agree.

"This is too... uh..."

Jia Cong didn't know what words to use. The old man had rewarded himself to the extreme in terms of etiquette. All he lacked was a title to make him the head of military honors and avoid all the ministers.

"There's more here..."

Daiyu picked up the official robe, underneath which were thick books.

"The Veritable Records of Taizu, The Veritable Records of Taizong, The Veritable Records of Gaozong..."

The Three Records were originally supposed to be kept in the Hanlin Academy Library, but now they appear in the old man's reward to Jia Cong, which is very intriguing.

Jia Cong opened "The Veritable Records of Taizu" and found a piece of paper between the title pages.

"Take a good look at it, and go revise my records after the New Year."

Just one sentence made Jia Cong and Daiyu look at each other in surprise.

The old man really loved Jia Cong with all his heart. He paved the way for Jia Cong as a military general to the end, and laid a solid foundation for him as a civil official.

By the time the Veritable Records are completed, Jia Cong's qualifications will be enough to enter the cabinet and become prime minister. He just needs to wait for the right time.

These three rewards moved Jia Cong.

At dawn the next day, he had already arrived outside the Huangji Hall of the Dragon Head Palace.

Appearing at the palace gate with Jia Cong was the prince with a haggard face.

"Do you understand the meaning of the reward given to you by Grandfather Emperor?"

"Yes, I understand. The old man wants to recreate the friendship between him and my grandfather and let me be a good helper to my fourth brother."

"We are good brothers!"

Liu Hong corrected the inappropriateness in Jia Cong's words. He didn't understand before and thought that the king is the king and the minister is the minister. Although Xian Rongguo was loyal, why should the emperor grandfather give him such high honors?

It was not until the old man became seriously ill and fell into a coma that he was able to taste the deep friendship between the half-brothers from the old man's mumbled dreams.

"When Grandpa Huang was unconscious, he called out my uncle's name 162 times and called out my father's name 91 times..."

Ah!
Fortunately, the former crown prince had passed away long ago, and the emperor could not compete for favor with someone who had long since died, otherwise he would have been heartbroken.

Jia Cong held it in for a long time before he said, "After all, that matter is a knot in the old man's heart, so it is reasonable for him to shout a few more times."

"I called out Daishan Gong's name five hundred and fifty times!"

Ah!
When Jia Cong was shocked and didn't know how to respond, Liu Hong patted him on the shoulder and said, "Go in first. After paying my respects, I have to go to the Qinzheng Palace to handle state affairs. You should spend the next few days with Grandpa Emperor."

There were many things Liu Hong couldn't tell Jia Cong. His grandfather would always shout "Daishan, save me" in his nightmares.

When he was sober, he asked the reason, and the old man only said one sentence.

"If I were to become an enemy of the world, the only person I could trust, dare to trust, and dare to use would be Daishan!"

Which emperor would not envy such a brother?
……

Perhaps due to the overwork of taking care of the sick, the emperor, who was already over 50 years old, also fell ill.

Liu Hong didn't stay in the Huangji Hall for long before he had to go to the Qinzheng Hall to preside over state affairs.

Fortunately, the old man seemed to be in good spirits these past two days, and with Jia Cong, his old friend and grandson, around, Liu Hong felt relieved.

The fire in the hall was burning brightly. Jia Cong accompanied the old man to finish breakfast, and then the grandfather and grandson played chess to pass the time.

"You should read those three records carefully. You are not bad in knowledge and writing skills, but you lack experience."

Jia Cong did not swear or swear, but just nodded solemnly.

The old man smiled and spoke again: "Tell me, am I a wise ruler?"

"of course!"

Jia Cong responded without hesitation. There could be no other answer to this question.

The old man was not very satisfied with this answer. He felt that Jia Cong was trying to comfort him.

"Isn't he a foolish person who loves to show off, condones corruption among his officials, and exhausts state funds to enrich himself?"

He knew that the time for him to leave was approaching, and he kept thinking about the past these days.

This old dragon, who looked down upon all directions, after looking back on the past, finally became worried about his reputation after his death.

Jia Cong guessed the old man's thoughts, and after hesitating for a moment, he spoke his mind: "The emperor is also a human being. As the saying goes, no gold is pure and no man is perfect. The merits and demerits of the ages will be judged by future generations. At least in the eyes of the people, the saint is a wise ruler, otherwise they would not have enshrined your shrine at home..."

If the old saint was not truly popular among the people, why would people sincerely pray and burn incense to his tablet day and night?

None of the gods and Buddhas in the temple are as popular as the old man’s.

"During the prosperous Zhaoyuan era, the saint and your majesty spent more than 60 years to ensure that the people of the world had no worries about food and clothing, and lived and worked in peace and contentment. This achievement has never been seen since the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. If such an achievement cannot be called a wise ruler, then I really don't know who can be considered a wise ruler?"

Even the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors could not ensure that the people in the vast territory would have enough food and clothing, that the elderly would have someone to rely on and the young would be taken care of, and it was even more impossible for them to allow all school-age students in the world to attend public schools.

The old man did make mistakes. In his old age, he was suspicious of the crown prince and indirectly killed his eldest son who was praised by everyone.

He spent huge amounts of money on several tours to the south of the Yangtze River, which emptied the national treasury.

He also condoned old officials' corruption and lawlessness, and the administration of officials became lax.

But the old man was able to suppress his personal preferences and did not make the fourteenth son of Concubine Zhen, Liu Heng, the emperor. Instead, he abdicated the throne to the fourth son, and taught him step by step, and managed to make a person who had never received orthodox imperial education become an emperor who excelled in both civil and military affairs.

This alone is enough to offset the mistakes he made in his old age.

"Seven points of achievement, three points of error. Saint, this is my sincere opinion. Perhaps you will say that the prosperity of the Yuanyou Dynasty was far greater than that of the Zhaowu Dynasty, but in my opinion, without the foundation laid by the Zhaowu Dynasty, this prosperous era could not have been created in the past ten years of the Yuanyou Dynasty!"

Each generation has its own mission. Perhaps it was destined by God long ago. The 50 years of ups and downs in Zhaowu were to lay a solid foundation for the prosperity of Yuanyou.

"Seven successes and three errors?"

The old man kept repeating this sentence. This was the only evaluation he had made that clearly divided merits and demerits after asking many people.

Even his stubborn son did not confess the mistakes he had made in his life.

"Yes, in my opinion, your achievements in this life far surpass those of emperors in all dynasties."

Jia Cong added with conviction, "When I first went to Jiangnan, I happened to see my father-in-law rectifying the salt administration. At that time, I first learned about salt. It took you more than ten years to bring down the high salt price. Although snow salt was not available to every household at that time due to technical and institutional reasons, at least you made salt affordable for most people..."

Salt is an indispensable item. The old man was able to use tough measures to lower the price of salt so that ordinary people would not be unable to afford even green salt. This was already a historical precedent.

Not to mention this old king, who once rode his horse across the vast sea, pacified monkeys in Nanping, and had all nations come to pay tribute...

Merit is merit, and it is not something that should be belittled or scolded if an elderly person makes a mistake.

Since the old man was willing to listen, Jia Cong was also willing to say more.

He even started his analysis from the Qin Emperor and Han Emperor, using dialectics to analyze his own views and evaluations of the emperors of all dynasties.

This conversation lasted for more than two hours. Even when the emperor heard that the old man had not eaten after noon and hurried over with his sick body, Jia Cong was still discussing with the old man the gains and losses of emperors of all dynasties.

Jia Cong's unique dialectical evaluation was not only the first time the old man heard it, but also the first time the emperor encountered it.

He couldn't help but stand behind the screen and listen for a long time.

"If you want to listen, just come in and listen. Why are you hiding there?"

The old man discovered his son eavesdropping and after he shouted, Jia Cong discovered a piece of clothing with a dragon pattern on it behind the screen.

"I heard that Father hasn't had lunch yet, so he must be worried about you..."

"Ah, it's already past noon!"

Jia Cong also noticed the time, slapped his head and said, "I'll go serve the meal right away..."

"I have sent someone to pass it on."

Dai Quan came in at the right time and served new tea to the three people.

The meal was served quickly. Perhaps because the old man was in a very talkative mood today, he continued to discuss with Jia Cong while eating.

It was also because of this that the old man, who had not been eating well these days, actually ate an extra bowl of rice while chatting and laughing.

When the old man finished drinking the medicine and fell into a deep sleep, the emperor heard from Dai Quan Jia Cong's special evaluation of the old man's "seven-three merits and demerits".

"Yes, yes. How could I have created the prosperity of the Yuanyou Dynasty without the foundation laid during the fifty years of the Zhaowu Dynasty?"

At this time, the emperor also conducted a simple dialectical analysis of his experience of ruling the world for more than ten years, and soon came to a conclusion.

In many aspects, the series of explosive changes in the Yuanyou Dynasty were based on the foundation laid during the Zhaowu Years.

To use the simplest example, whether it is the former Prime Minister Wei Qinghe, or the capable ministers in the current cabinet, they were all discovered, promoted and trained by the old man.

The more the emperor pondered, the more he felt that he finally understood his father's painstaking efforts. After a long silence, he finally sighed, "Father really still loves me..."

Monthly ticket recommendation ticket

　Thanks to Brother Pang, who is still so fat, for the reward!
　　If there is any repetition in the last paragraph, please refresh it. I should have corrected it.

　　I’ll stop here tonight and continue tomorrow. Good night!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)