The Rich and the Idlers of the Red Chamber

In autumn, the imperial court had completed a smooth transfer of power.

Saint, well, it should be said to be an old saint now. The old saint said about the Zen position before, and now he has no intention of going back on his word. He gave the jade seal to the crown prince during the Zen position ceremony, which is the current saint. I lived in the Chuigong Temple with a wide heart.

However, the old sage's harem is a little troublesome. Being a concubine is definitely different from being a concubine. The normal position of a concubine is to live alone in the first palace. After the word "Taiwan" is placed on her head, she has to feel wronged and squeeze with others Well, maybe it's bad luck, and the original old enemies will have to squeeze together.

Fortunately, the old sage is still there, and there are not many new empress palaces, and he can't be mean to his concubine mothers right after he ascends the throne. Therefore, he directly divides the harem into two halves, leaving half for his own women, and the other half directly. It was given to the concubines of the old saint.

Even so, to be honest, those concubines and concubines must not be as spacious as when the old sage was in charge.To put it simply, before the old sage abdicated, he directly made the new emperor's biological mother Concubine Yi a queen. Now that the new emperor ascends the throne, he has become the Supreme Empress again. The side hall and the side hall can also squeeze a few people in.

The problem is, when the Empress Dowager was still Concubine Yi, she was very impatient to deal with those concubines, and she didn't intend to promote any newcomers to her own favor. When she was just named Concubine Yi, On the contrary, two people were stuffed into the palace, but Concubine Yi has always been lukewarm to them, or turned a blind eye to them, and she herself has no intention of competing for favor. People push out.Those two had no sons or daughters, and the saint never came, and gradually disappeared without a sound.

Afterwards, everyone knew about Concubine Yi's temperament. Even those new nobles who entered the palace through the draft, as long as they were a little self-motivated, they would not go to Concubine Yi. No newcomers.

Now Concubine Yi is finally proud and elated and has become the Supreme Empress, so she doesn't have to feel wronged to live with those inexplicable sisters. Therefore, now the Supreme Empress occupies the entire Ningshou Palace by herself, well, it's not that much. She occupies it alone, at least in the Buddhist hall of Ningshou Palace, there are still a few little transparent people in the old saint's palace. Naturally, these people will not be an eyesore in front of the Empress, so she is happy and relaxed.

In addition, the one occupying the first palace is Concubine Zhen, and now it is Concubine Gui, there are only so many independent palaces in the harem, and not only concubines live, but princesses and princes who are not separated from the palace have to live in it. In the harem.The sage set aside four palaces for the old sage. The old sage lived in one, the empress lived in one, and the imperial concubine took another one. The problem is, although the old sage is old I have become ascetic, but for so many years, the draft is held every three years, and there are newcomers every year. Although some of them have not even won the holy favor, the problem is that there are women who are still old saints in name, whether they are big or small. For singles, they can't be treated the same as palace maids.

There are even a few old concubines of the former emperor who are still in the palace. Therefore, it is not known whether the new empress deliberately disgusted Concubine Zhen Gui, or for some other reason. In short, there are many more people in the palace of Concubine Zhen Gui , Concubine Zhen Gui lives in the main hall, and there are people living in the side halls of the side hall, and the status is not low, and some of them still have some disagreements with Concubine Zhen Gui.

However, Concubine Zhen Gui cannot be called Qu, after all, she is still the lord of the first palace, and in all dynasties, which concubine has such a good thing.

Moreover, there was a precedent of a concubine leaving the palace with her son who had been ordered to be taken care of by the son before. The problem is that the old saint is still there. Instead of serving the old saint, you want to follow the son out of the palace to enjoy the blessings. There is such a reason.

Therefore, although Concubine Zhen Gui was disgusted enough, outsiders would still say that the new emperor is pure filial piety, not to mention filial piety to the old saint, it is really appropriate for the old saint's harem, otherwise, where would he wronged his own concubine? The old sage's concubines live in a spacious life!

Once the emperor and the courtiers, the harem is also the same. Fortunately, the old saint is still there, and the new emperor is extremely filial. Those concubines and concubines are living a good life.

However, in court, it's not that simple.When the new emperor ascended the throne, Jia Amnesty conveniently presented the secret recipe for glass and mirrors mentioned earlier, and also included a recipe for smelting steel.

A saint is naturally happy with a dragon's heart. If a saint wants to reward his ministers, he naturally wants to add officials to his ministers. It doesn't matter if Jia Amnesty doesn't have a real job. The problem is that he has two titles on him, and the title of Marquis of Anle is because of his salvation. The merit of driving is still hereditary for three generations, and the other title of Viscount Shunping is still there now.

The glass and mirrors are nothing more than a matter of money, but iron and steel smelting is related to the lifeblood of the court. Since the Han Dynasty, it has been a monopoly of salt and iron.The real-name system for kitchen knives did not come later. These days, even if your family wants to go to the blacksmith's shop to buy farm tools, people have to write down the person.

The sage stayed in the Ministry of Industry for a long time before, and many weapons and so on had to use copper and iron. The problem is that the Central Plains lacks copper, but now because of transactions with overseas, there is no shortage of gold and silver. Therefore, the folks Nowadays, silver is cheap and copper is expensive. The official exchange rate between silver taels and copper coins is still one to one thousand, but in fact, one tael of silver can only be exchanged for more than 800 copper coins among the people.

Even if the imperial court strictly prohibits the private casting of bronze wares by the people, you can't go door-to-door to check it. It's normal for rich people to melt some copper coins to make some ritual utensils for sacrificing their ancestors. Favor.

What's more, copper is relatively soft. Using copper to make firearms is expensive on the one hand and easy to deform on the other. Many, the smelted steel is relatively brittle and easy to explode.

This time, what Jia Amnesty presented was a recipe for smelting high-quality steel. Although this stuff is very polluting, there is nothing else you can do these days. On the one hand, in this era, the scale of smelting steel is already small It is very large, so it is naturally difficult to cause serious pollution. On the other hand, there are no iron ore mines near the capital anyway. Jia Amnesty is completely dead.However, for the saint, this is indeed a major event that benefits the court.

Jia Amnesty has never been a person who talks nonsense. Some of the things he presented seem unreliable, but they are limited to cost issues and cannot be promoted on a large scale. However, he is not a person who talks nonsense. , He said it could work, and it would definitely work.

Therefore, the Holy Majesty raised the title of Viscount Shunping, Jia She, by one level, and was promoted to the county uncle of Shunping. All of a sudden, I don't know how many people became jealous. They got the blue eyes of two generations of emperors, and when the other emperors changed, each of them had to be a man with their tails clamped, for fear of being picked up by the new emperor, and assigning their positions to the new emperor's own people.

As a result, it was a miracle that Jia pardoned Jia Enhou. If it was a matter of his vision that he made good friends with the saint when the saint was the seventh prince, but as an emperor, it would not be because of the old Since the day of friendship, I will give you an official title, okay?Concubine Yi's natal family said that they had conferred the title of Duke Cheng'en, but the Wei family only got a title, and there was no trace of them in the court!

However, Jia Amnesty, relying on a prescription that I don't know whether it is true or not, was directly promoted to a rank. This is what should those people who have done a lot of things in order to keep their ancestors' titles from being downgraded? ah!

Jia Shequan thought that these people were purely envious and jealous. Jia She felt that he was worthy of this title. Science and technology are the primary productive forces, dear!What Jia Amnesty brought out was related to the fate of the country, allowing the court to hang others for a long time in this era when technology began to rule the king.Jia She felt that he could leave his name in history and become an existence that would make those who study history in later generations miserable.

In any case, the future of Jia She's two sons is about to come to an end. Jia She secretly said that he will try harder later, and see if he can also get a knighthood for his daughter. Don't think about the princess and princess, it shouldn't be a problem to get a township and county monarch!

When the new emperor ascends the throne, he will naturally benefit the world, and there must be such a thing as amnesty. However, Tu Mingyun is not a generous person in a certain sense, and he is more practical. Therefore, it is said that he is amnesty. That is, amnesty is the first class, and some of the more serious crimes are unpardonable, and those wicked people cannot be benefited. If they are pardoned later, and continue to harm others after returning home, that is doing bad things with good intentions.

In addition, it is Kai Enke.No emperor ascended the throne without a visit to Enke. Therefore, when the old sage said that he wanted the Zen throne, the Ministry of Rites had already started preparing for it. Scholars who were well-informed and concerned about current affairs also rushed to the provincial capital early to wait for it. Enke's will down.

Therefore, after the saint ascended the throne and announced that Enke would be opened, the provinces have already implemented it in an orderly manner.It happens to be autumn now, so we can add a rural examination, and next spring, a general examination and a palace examination, just to select a new round of emperor disciples for the sage.

When the sage was listening to and participating in the government at the court, the relationship with most courtiers was nothing more than friendly and neutral, and did not reach the level of intimacy. Therefore, many courtiers who used to work with the sage who was originally a prince can't wait to beat their chests now , Why didn't he have a good relationship with the saint, and now he can be reused by the saint.As a result, the saint now opens Enke. It doesn’t matter a few years ago. Even the No. [-] candidate who was born in the first place cannot be reused as soon as he passes the exam. However, it will be different in the future. The saint must be more willing to use newcomers. These old ministers can only play a transitional role.

Civil servants have various concerns, but military commander Xungui is different. It is not easy to replace them. Therefore, what they think is how they can get certain benefits from the new emperor ascending the throne.

Therefore, after a few days, there was a letter from the censor saying that the saint's harem was a little empty, and there were not many princes and princesses. There should be another general election, and a famous lady should be selected to serve in the palace, so as to spread the branches and leaves for the saint.

In these days, if a person who is an emperor really engages in a trick of being a couple for a lifetime, it is not called infatuation at all, it is called stupidity.For example, the Emperor Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty, he was a queen all his life, and then he gave birth to Emperor Zhengde, a bear child. What happened in the end, the bear child had to play himself to death, and finally the throne fell to another branch of the royal family In his hand, his brother who was entrusted out was also posthumously named emperor. As for the father and son, whether they will sacrifice in the future depends on the mood of Jiajing and his descendants.

Even if there are too many princes to fight every day, you can't even have a choice in the end. No matter which dynasty, only when it starts to decline, will the royal family always have few children. In this case, you have to start from A side branch adopts the prince, and the clan is making a fuss, which is simply a worse nightmare.

Therefore, for the emperor, it is not only his right but also his obligation to open up the harem and have children. The sage now has three sons and two daughters, the youngest of whom is now The concubine born in the middle palace is still young, he can only talk and walk just now, so he doesn't look wise and foolish.

The saint is still young at the moment, so it is naturally impossible to consider the issue of establishing a heir. However, among the three sons, the eldest prince is now twelve or thirteen years old and will be married in two years. The youngest son is only three years old now. , but in fact, until the end, no one knows how it will end.

What's more, when the sage was originally a prince, he never competed for the first place. Whether he was a concubine or a side concubine, his background was not very high, and his influence in the court was very limited, but now he could not give the sage enough support in the court.

The saint also had other plans in mind. He was too successful at the beginning, and he was relatively distant from most courtiers. Now, many old officials are still waiting and watching, neither Tu Minghui nor Tu Minghao are honest, so he has to find a way to appease those old officials, don't tell them to vote for Tu Minghui and Tu Minghao, give yourself Therefore, it is a good way to express one's political stance by holding a general election and selecting women from veteran ministers' families to enter the palace.

Therefore, after the censor over there wrote the book, the sage shirked it several times according to the usual practice, saying that he was not a lustful person, and then agreed to the general election smoothly.However, it is already late autumn now, and the Chinese New Year will be in a few months. Therefore, the matter of the general election is directly postponed to the spring of next year, so as to make preparations for the general election.

Jia Jing was begged by the little Wang before, thinking that it would be a bit embarrassing for the eldest daughter of the Jia family to be a maid in the palace, and he really looked down upon Shi's calculations, and in the end The most important thing is that Jia Jing is very worried that Shi Shi and Jia Zheng will go to the doctor in a hurry, and they will do something stupid in order to make Yuanchun stand out.

Jia Jing didn't have any expectations for Shi Shi and Jia Zheng's IQ and integrity. Shi Shi was always very shrewd in small things, but after all, she was a housewife, and the Rongguo Mansion has been in decline all these years. , the news is not well-informed at all, and I don't understand the things in the court at all.In case Shi found the wrong way, or even instigated Yuan Chun behind his back to do something he shouldn't do, directly offending the new emperor, even if Jia Jing opened the ancestral hall and really opened the Rongfu, it would be too late.

Therefore, even though Jia Jing knew that Shi and Jia Zheng would never let Yuan Chun out of the palace, he finally gritted his teeth and decided to do something to get him out.

Therefore, the matter of the general election had just been decided, and another censor appeared over there. First, he flattered the saint for a while, and then said that every year in the election, new people will be recruited in the palace. Now that the new emperor is on the throne, The grace of the world cannot be missed in the palace. Many palace people in the palace have been in the palace for many years and cannot meet their relatives.

The saint actually had this plan in the first place. Of course, he didn't do it for this reason. The main reason is that the noble concubine and others in the palace are not honest. It's all right in the East Palace, in that case, he will have a certain influence in the palace.

The problem is that the time between the sage canonizing the crown prince and entering the East Palace and now entering the Daming Palace is too short.Although there were people who took refuge in him, and some of Concubine Yi's confidantes, but Concubine Yi had been a concubine for many years and was not favored. The people in the palace were very realistic. How many benefits.Therefore, Concubine Yi has not many people who really need it.

Originally, the people from the palace followed the sage into the palace. The problem is that they are still unable to grasp the situation of the entire palace in a short period of time.

Therefore, although the current harem is not like a sieve, there are private exchange of information between inside and outside the palace. The empress has just entered the harem. Although there is only one mother-in-law above, there is still a father-in-law. Concubine Zhen Gui is in the palace. It has been in business for many years, if the empress acts a little more aggressively and asks Concubine Zhen Gui to report to the old saint, then she and the saint will have to take the lead. Therefore, the saint has already had the heart to let people out of the palace.Anyway, there was only a round of small elections before, and there will be another round in the next year. The palace is not afraid that no one will be available. Most of these new palace people have not had time to be wooed, so they just happen to be available.

It's just that the original saint hasn't found a suitable reason. He can't find a reason by himself. It's still the same sentence. Although he is in charge of the family in name, there is still an emperor above him.The Taishanghuang did show the intention of handing over the whole country to him, but if the Taishanghuang felt that he was in charge of his own affairs, he would not be taken seriously. Brother Xin is about to jump out and clamor.

At this moment, the censor wrote that the sage was overjoyed, and secretly nodded in his heart, so he agreed directly, and directly decreed that no matter whether it is a female official or a maid in the palace, anyone who reaches the age of 25 can come out. Palace reunion with family.

Yuan Chun has just entered the palace, so naturally she is not in this range, but she is just an inconspicuous court lady, she does not need to go through the saint or the queen at all, she just needs to put in a little effort from the House of Internal Affairs to report Yuan Chun's name, and the higher up will also I don't care if Yuan Chun stays or goes.

Jia Jing is now in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs. When he was in charge of Tianjin Weaving, he had some friendship with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Ministry of Internal Affairs said that he was a servant of the royal family, but in fact, he had a lot of involvement with the Sixth Ministry. At least, there were many people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Expenditures are not only from the Saint's internal treasury, but also from the national treasury. Many projects of the Ministry of Internal Affairs also require the Ministry of Industry to contribute.Therefore, Jia Jing now has more dealings with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He sent a message here, entrusted several managers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and invited them to have a drink in private, and finally finalized the matter.

It doesn't matter if Yuanchun is under the age, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will naturally have a way to falsely report his age, besides, the Ministry of Internal Affairs also knows that, with the status of Jia Jing and Jia She, even a saint queen will not refute it for an ordinary court lady. Therefore, on the one hand, they operated in private, and on the other hand, the more slick manager even ran to talk to the chief manager next to the saint.

Therefore, the sage naturally knew what was going on. The sage had also heard about the Jia family's joke at the beginning. The Shi family wanted to use the channel of Concubine Zhen Gui to send his granddaughter to Tu Minghao, but the result was first The general election was rejected by someone with a heart, and then entered the list of the minor election, and then was tossed by others, directly turning the good daughter of everyone into a rough envoy in the palace. This has been spread in the upper circles of the capital. up.

The Rong Mansion has gone from bad to worse these years, and the things that Shi Shi did before can only be hidden from ordinary people who don't know anything. No one above knows what virtue Shi Shi has. Therefore, even Rong Mansion Those old relatives are not close to the Rong Mansion now, but just maintain ordinary contacts.Many people no longer post posts to Rongfu when they have something to do. If Rongfu has something to do, they post a post, that is, some families who are not as good as Rongfu and those who are as inescapable as the historian Wang's family will come over.

Now that something like this happens again, even if the role of the daughter of a rich family is mostly for marriage, after all, the family raised you with gold and jade, and you have enjoyed the honor of the family, so you have to contribute to the prosperity of the family, but generally Marry into a similar family, or marry a young man with a poor background but a bright future as an investment, or even to win over subordinates.

However, who would send their well-behaved daughter to participate in the election as a court lady?Even if a court lady can be in the top position, she is naturally inferior to others.Looking at the various palaces, the side concubine who got the jade certificate was born as a palace maid. As for the concubine or something, it has a nice name, but it can't get the jade certificate, it's just a joke!There are also maids in the palace who can get the favor, but the best ones are just beauties. What is such a status?

After all, the Shi family was also from the Hou family, but it turned out that he didn't have this knowledge. The granddaughter who had been cultivated for more than ten years entered the palace like this.

The sage got the report from below, and suddenly he understood, he acquiesced on one side, and on the other side, before the new year, Yuan Chun carried the small package he brought in, walked out of the palace gate, looked at the sky above his head, and felt as if he had done nothing. It was like a nightmare.