Red Mansion Royal Cat

Chapter 579: Traveling Far Away with Wife to Avoid the Storm

The departure of the old saint and the transfer of power at the center marked the complete end of the Zhaowu era.

Lin Ruhai became the chief minister of the cabinet. Afterwards, the cabinet and the six ministries also made many adjustments. The most obvious one was that a large number of young officials were promoted to third-rank officials, began to hold power, and became the most loyal supporters of the reform policy.

At a time when everything was new and new in the court, Jia Cong seemed to have disappeared from everyone's sight and was not seen for more than a month.

Even if someone went to the Hanlin Academy to look for him, they couldn't find Jia Cong.

As for "The Veritable Records of Emperor Gaozong", Jia Cong never thought of completing it hastily in a short period of time.

In fact, after reading both "Taizu Shilu" and "Taizong Shilu", Jia Cong was not very satisfied with the records in these two volumes.

Take the battles in which Taizu drove out the Tartars and restored China, for example. They were always described briefly in just a few words.

On a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, the emperor ordered someone to attack a certain place... 100,000 were killed in battle, and a certain prefecture was recovered...

What about the process of Taizu's deployment of troops? What strategies did the generals use? What about the bloody battles of the soldiers? What about the joy of the people who welcomed the royal army with food and drink?
It is a true record. You can't fool the people of future generations with just a few hasty words.

Record history, learn lessons, and then strive to become stronger.

This is the important reason why the Celestial Empire has gone through hardships and still stood firm in the long river of history.

So he decided to record history in a different way...

Zhao Shen, the attendant of the imperial family, was dragged out of his bed by Jia Cong in the middle of the night, tied to a carriage at dawn, and escorted by several personal soldiers all the way out of the west gate, finally stopping at the imperial mausoleum.

"You actually want to recreate the life of a saint? That can't be accomplished in a year or two."

Not to mention Zhao Shen who was still in a daze, Dai Quan was also shocked by Jia Cong's idea. He had seen crazy people, but had never seen someone so crazy.

If Jia Cong really followed his idea, he would travel to all the prefectures that the old man had visited, re-record every battle, and recreate every corrupt official that the old man investigated during his incognito visits...

It would be impossible to accomplish it without three to five years, or even six to seven years.

Although others thought this idea was unrealistic, Jia Cong took it very seriously.

"Mr. Dai, I am not only here to compile the Annals of Emperor Gaozong, but also to go out and see the local customs and make preparations for the future."

The old saint was a man who could not stay in the palace. Not only had he fought in wars in the south and the north for most of his life, he had also gone to the south of the Yangtze River and Sichuan several times and made many incognito visits.

Don’t think that the old man is really here for enjoyment. Jiangnan and Shu are the two most essential places in the country.

By following the path the old man walked again, you can not only find special records in local chronicles that are not available in the palace, but also see the changes in people's livelihood in various places over the years.

Always sitting in the capital and making national policies based on one's own ideas is out of touch with reality.

After Jia Cong's explanation, Dai Quan not only agreed with this idea, but also recalled with Zhao Shen. According to the records in "Qijuzhu", he marked the prefectures and cities that Jia Cong had visited on the map, and thoughtfully found a eunuch to prepare for him to accompany him out of the capital.

When Master She, who was "confined" to the imperial mausoleum, learned that Jia Cong was going out again, he wanted to leave with him.

Unfortunately, there have been a lot of impeachment petitions against him these days, and the emperor has sent people to remind him several times to stay in the imperial mausoleum and not to show up in public...

As time went by, almost all the major provincial governments, protectorates, and pacification offices of the imperial court submitted urgent reports, and the three thousand Yu Lin were divided into small groups and killed most of the local powerful families and gentry who opposed the new policy.

According to a rough calculation by the officials, no less than two thousand people have died at the hands of Yulin Lang in just four months since the old man's death, and the number is still increasing rapidly.

As more and more people died, people in the court needed a way to vent.

The emperor cannot be wrong, right? The old saint is lying in the imperial tomb, so who else can we look for?
As a result, Master She became the best target for all the civil and military officials in the court to vent their anger and fear.

However, anyone with a discerning eye knew that even if the Qinzheng Hall was flooded with impeachment memorials, it would not have any substantial impact on Jia She.

After all, he took the initiative to plead guilty and accept punishment, all his official titles were stripped away, and he took the initiative to go to the imperial mausoleum to reflect on his mistakes.

With the red-lettered iron certificate bestowed by Emperor Taizu, it is already very good to be able to achieve this.

"Dad, you should rest in the imperial mausoleum. It's impossible for your son to stay away for several years. I have already discussed it with Sister Lin. Compulsory education in Jiangnan has been progressing well, and she plans to go for an inspection. Your son will take this opportunity to accompany her to Jiangnan for a visit."

Balancing public and private interests is the most perfect thing. The couple can also temporarily leave the central government to avoid people saying that Prime Minister Lin has all the power in the government.

Jia She is not really stupid. Jia Lian is about to return to Beijing to take charge of the Beijing Camp. His brother-in-law and relative have become the head of all officials, and there is also an imperial concubine in the palace...

The emperor and the crown prince don't mind letting their youngest son and daughter-in-law stay in the capital, but that doesn't mean the court ministers have no objections.

It would be better for him to go out and come back after a few years. His qualifications and experience would have been flawless, and the emperor would probably be able to openly give his younger son more responsibilities.

……

The preparations before leaving Beijing have basically been completed. Jia Cong came to the Qinzheng Hall with his travel and work plans.

The Emperor's mental state has never recovered since the old saint's death.

Crown Prince Liu Hong had been helping to deal with memorials in the Qinzheng Hall. When he heard that Jia Cong, who had not appeared in the palace for more than a month, had come on his own initiative, he curiously called him in.

"You are finally out, come and help me look at these. I have calculated the accounts of the Maritime Customs several times, and every time the numbers don't add up."

Poor prince, proficient in poetry, calligraphy and painting, and highly praised by all the masters in the East Palace, was tortured by a pile of accounts and lost his temper.

Jia Cong handed the travel plan...work plan in his hand to Liu Hong, and picked up a pen to start sorting out the accounts of the Maritime Customs.

"Ah! You're planning to leave me and go out to play?"

There was a scream, and Jia Cong's hands trembled with fear, and a long black line appeared on the paper.

Liu Hong finally understood what Jia Cong had been doing for the past month without showing up. This kid actually made a "travel" plan and planned to travel around the beautiful land of the dynasty.

Even I, the crown prince, have never been so cool and carefree!

Why? You are not allowed to go! Stay in the capital and work for me!
Unfortunately, Liu Hong finally succumbed to reality because Jia Cong had sufficient reasons.

"I'm not going there for fun. With the implementation of the new policy, staying in the capital all the time will not allow us to personally experience the good and bad of the implementation of the national policy. Someone has to go out and take a look. If I don't go, who do you think can take on this task, Fourth Brother?"

The palace needs a pair of eyes that can be trusted enough, and Liu Hong can't think of anyone else except Jia Cong.

The Dragon Guards are loyal enough, but they are a group of rough men and may not be able to understand the various policies of the New Deal.

As for the civil servants in the court...

Forget it, just be thankful that it doesn't hinder the implementation of the new policy.

Don’t you see that Xu Jin, the Left Vice Minister of Rites, is still struggling with those silver banks and money houses in Shanxi?

The issuance of a banknote is enough to give the central government a headache, and Prime Minister Lin has a bunch of new policies and national strategies ready to be implemented.

"On the surface, I am collecting folk songs for the Annals of Emperor Gaozong, but secretly I will investigate the local customs. Every time I go to a place, I will record in detail the local prices, people's livelihood, government administration, and other conditions. Fourth brother, it would be best if you send some trustworthy people to follow me. We can't rely on others to exchange letters."

The ethics of officials in the capital are still okay nowadays, but to be honest, Jia Cong does not trust the civil and military officials at the local level.

Not only Jia Cong didn't believe it, but Liu Hong didn't believe it either.

God knows whether behind those memorials about national peace and prosperity there is just superficial gloss.

He hesitated again and again, but finally agreed to Jia Cong's plan.

"Okay, you can go out for a walk. Recently, someone has been telling me that Master Lin has been promoted to the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, and your second brother is going back to Beijing to take charge of the Beijing Camp. They say that your family is too powerful..."

Well, needless to say, Jia Cong also saw Liu Hong’s headache.

These people have no opinion on Jia Cong himself, nor do they have any opinion on Master Lin, Master She, and so on.

However, all officials would be wary of the Yihuo incident happening in the court, and they told Liu Hong this purely for the sake of court stability.

Coincidentally, this also gave Jia Cong a reason to leave Beijing.

Soon, Liu Hong issued an edict in the name of the Crown Prince Regent, appointing Jia Cong as a folk song collector, and sent him out of the capital to collect folk songs for the compilation of "The Veritable Records of Emperor Gaozong".

There were also two hundred Yu Lin Lang accompanying Princess Wen'an to the south of the Yangtze River to inspect local education work.

Before leaving Beijing, Jia Cong went to ask for an audience with the emperor who was recuperating. Unfortunately, the emperor did not see him and only asked Xia Shouzhong to give him a small box.

After everyone boarded the official ship heading south, Jia Cong and Daiyu opened the small box in the cabin.

The small box was very exquisite, and inside it was a small object wrapped in red silk.

"Ha, it's actually a tiger talisman?"

There was a piece of paper under the tiger talisman with a few lines of words written on it, which roughly meant that with this tiger talisman, Jia Cong could mobilize troops stationed in various places with no upper limit on the number of people.

He also asked Jia Cong to pay attention to the situation of the various customs offices in the distant seas, especially those maritime merchants who made their fortunes through maritime trade.

After reading the contents of the paper, Daiyu rested her chin on her hand and quietly recalled the news she had heard in the past few days.

"If it's something about the Maritime Customs, then I have a guess..."

As expected of the female Zhuge Liang of the Jia family, Daiyu quickly connected together several inconspicuous pieces of news in the court recently.

"During the Mid-Autumn Festival last year, several large ocean-going fleets returned from the West. At that time, some people talked about the parliamentary system of the Kingdom of England. They felt that this system could largely prevent the country from being ruined and the people from living in misery due to the incompetence of the monarch..."

Ok?
Is this the enlightenment of constitutional monarchy?
However, the current Parliament of the Kingdom of England is used by the aristocracy to fool people. It is actually the product of the division of power between the aristocracy and the royal family.

To put it bluntly, the cabinet and court recommendation system that had not yet been reformed in the Ming Dynasty were able to defeat the so-called parliamentary system.

"Who are these people who are saying this?"

In the past few months, Jia Cong was either busy with the national mourning or thinking about plans to leave the capital, and he really didn't notice the "enlightenment of constitutional monarchy" in the capital.

Daiyu recalled for a long time before she said confidently, "Thinking carefully, these people seem to be newly promoted big sea merchants and the officials they support in the court. For example, the newly appointed Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Yang Ning, is the eldest son of Yang Jingwei, the president of the Guangdong Chamber of Commerce."

Jia Cong was very familiar with Yang Jingwei. Most of the pearls from the Jia family's pearl farm in Danzhou were sold to the Yang family's jewelry shop.

This man was one of the first merchants to support the court's opening of the sea. He took advantage of this opportunity to build the largest private ocean-going fleet in the country and made a fortune.

His eldest son Yang Ning was also very capable. He made two successful proposals while serving as the prefect of Danzhou and was promoted to the prefect of Zhaoqing Prefecture. Because he was proficient in finance, he was transferred to the capital to serve as a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue.

Last month, there was a major personnel reshuffle in various central ministries, and Yang Ning was promoted again to become the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, in charge of the financial and taxation affairs of the local Maritime Customs Offices.

Daiyu felt that her narration could not fully express her meaning, so she picked up a pen and started writing and drawing on paper.

Soon, a relationship diagram appeared on the paper.

Yang Ning, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, is just one of the links. The center of the picture is someone Jia Cong did not expect.

Wei Ershu, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was the second son of Duke Wenzheng of Wei.

"How could he be involved? Apart from poetry, calligraphy and painting, Wei Lao Er is too lazy to even go to Qinlou and Chuguan..."

The Wei family observed mourning for three years. Although the eldest son Wei Erming inherited the title of Marquis of Linjiang, he still taught in the academy.

The second son, Wei Ershu, thanks to his father's influence, went on to become the Minister of Guanglu Temple, one of the Nine Ministers.

But the Guanglu Temple did not have much power and belonged to clean officials.

It's said that no matter how hard you try, you can't pull it on him...

However, after he sorted out the relationships between these people along the lines drawn by Daiyu, he finally figured out a clue.

Mr. Wei devoted half of his life to the world and the other half to education.

Not only did he set up a college in his hometown, he also opened academies of all sizes in places where he had served.

And all the people who came out of these academies and schools respectfully addressed the second son of the Wei family as "senior brother"...

Thanks to this relationship, although Wei Ershu does not have much power, his network of contacts is spread across both the government and business circles.

Old Master Wei had told Jia Cong in person that his eldest son was a teacher, and his second son, though seemingly smart, was actually a pedantic and honest child.

Therefore, Wei Ershu, an honest man with no desire for power, is probably being used as a gun.

"Look, Cong, these people are more or less related to maritime merchants. Not to mention the Yang family, the Bai family in Quanzhou, the Li family in Hangzhou, the Dong family in Songjiang... These are all newly emerging wealthy families in the southeastern provinces. Especially the Bai family in Quanzhou, they once donated 800,000 taels of silver to the Ministry of Rites, saying that it was to support the court's compulsory education work."

Daiyu knows all about these families. It's not that her memory is really that good, but these people have given her too much...

"It is normal for Wei Siqing to have contacts with these people, because these people not only donated money to the Ministry of Rites to build schools, they may also have donated money to the academies of the Wei family."

Jia Cong slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "I know what these people are going to do. They want to become a new aristocratic family by constantly infiltrating the court!"

Monthly ticket recommendation ticket

　That’s all for tonight, we’ll continue tomorrow!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)