Red Mansion Royal Cat

Chapter 613: Great Victory in the West
Yongfeng Marquis Jia Cong almost killed all the nobles in Henan. After returning to Beijing, the court was silent as a cicada. Not to mention impeachment, people rarely talked about the matter even in private.

It seems that after Jia Cong returned to Beijing, he directly submitted a letter of request for leave to the palace, and did not pursue the Beijing officials who colluded with Henan.

But don't forget, Hai Gangfeng hasn't returned to Beijing yet.

Jia Cong is at most a killing knife, and the person who really hurts his heart is Mr. Hai, who is still cleaning up the remaining troubles and collecting and organizing materials in Kaifeng City.

It's the end of the year, and no one in the court wants to get involved at this time.

Originally, I was thinking of waiting until the imperial court seals it so that everyone can happily celebrate the New Year.

Unexpectedly, on the morning of New Year's Eve, a seemingly ordinary carriage stopped in front of the palace gate.

The carriage was driven by Hai Gangfeng's old servant, and there were three large wooden boxes stacked on the carriage. Soon after the boxes entered the palace, the Sixth Army of the Eastern Palace split into several groups and rushed to various places in the capital...

"Mr. Hai hasn't returned yet, but the knife has already been revealed in the capital."

Jia Cong put down the pen in his hand and rubbed his sore wrist.

Baoyu, who was sitting on another table, did the same thing, looking at the falling snow outside the window.

"This is consistent with Lord Hai's character. He hates evil and hates evil. Now that he has collected enough evidence, how could he let those people celebrate the New Year happily? But if this happens, the capital will be in chaos for a long time."

Jia Cong shook his head: "No, at this time, whoever dares to cause chaos will be the enemy of the people of the entire capital."

From the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to the present day, when have the common people ever had the happy life they have today?

This morning, Shuntian Prefecture Yamen followed the order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and sent age gifts to the people under its jurisdiction as usual.

There wasn't much, just meat, rice, eggs, candy and the like, and each household only had a small bag.

Moreover, the people in the capital are now wealthy, and every household has no worries about rice and food, and they have meat for every meal, so no family is short of these things.

But the emperor's grace was so great that the people were grateful for it and their protection of the Liu family had reached a terrifying level.

The most obvious example is that the workload of the Dragon Guards in the capital has greatly increased.

The people of the capital have become the most important source of intelligence for the imperial court. If they find a thief trying to cause trouble, he will be taken to the Dragon Guard Office within half a day...

If anyone dares to disturb their happy life, the people will take up sticks to teach them a lesson.

"As long as the imperial court continues to protect the people, the millions of people in this world will be the most solid steel wall of the imperial court!"

The shrine of the former emperor and the emperor is there in every household.

It is said that the late emperor has now been deified among the people, including the Immortal Zi Ji, who spreads the teachings in the nine heavens and saves all living beings, and is in charge of the merits and demerits of yin and yang, the Immortal Yi Yang, and the Emperor Wu Wei, who enlightens and subdues demons.

It’s a very long name for a god, but people believe that he has supreme power.

Chanting this divine name, no demons dare to invade!

Crackling, crackling~
The two brothers were discussing in the study about the knife that Hai Gangfeng had brought back from Henan, when they heard a loud noise outside.

"It's not even night yet, why are they setting off firecrackers now?"

Baoyu walked to the window and tried to figure out where the sound of firecrackers came from.

When he heard it, it seemed as if the entire capital city was ringing, and there were faint voices of people shouting "Long live the emperor", which came to his ears one after another.

At this time, Jia Shiyi hurried into the courtyard and reported excitedly as soon as he entered the door: "Third Master, Second Master Bao, there is a victory report from the West. His Majesty personally led the army to defeat the 300,000-strong coalition forces of the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of Spain, and the Kingdom of Portugal head-on, killing 100,000 in battle, and the rest were either captured or fled. The messenger has already entered the palace, and the whole capital is boiling."

Wait, 300,000 allied forces? Or defeat them head-on?

This result is a bit exaggerated!
Jia Cong originally wanted to find out the specific details, but the messenger only shouted a few words along the way, and he had to go to the palace to find out the details.

"Dangdangdangdang..."

As he was speaking, the Jingyang Bell rang.

Jia Cong and Baoyu hurried to change into their official robes and rushed to the gate of the imperial city without stopping.

This year was really exciting. The Fengtian Hall was packed with civil and military officials. Even many old relatives and elders who were not required to attend court had arrived.

"The Master is here too?"

"Such a big thing, the old prime minister is probably curious too."

Zhou Jiong was really old, and Jia Cong helped the old man into the hall. All the officials in the hall made way for him and bowed to greet him.

The two of them walked to the front, where the eunuch had already brought in an armchair covered with a blanket.

After Zhou Jiong sat down, Jia Cong was about to leave and return to his military merit team.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Jiong grabbed him and said, "Don't be in a hurry to leave. I have something to ask you."

The officials nearby automatically moved out of the way, leaving the two with enough privacy.

"I heard that you have been repairing books at home recently?"

Jia Cong held his forehead and replied, "Please don't laugh at me, old man. How can I edit a book? I am just copying what others have said, trying to find a way to strengthen the character of officials in the country from the works of ancient sages."

"I see. A revolution in thinking!"

He is worthy of being the old prime minister who once held the central government and fully implemented the new policies of Daxia.

If Mr. Wei is like the gentle breeze that influences people, then Old Tutor Zhou is a combination of firmness and flexibility, and his political methods are more sophisticated.

Moreover, he has been promoting reforms in the academic circles over the past three years, taking the path of emancipating the mind and bringing forth the new from the old.

It can be said that Jia Cong's current goal of strengthening the ideological construction of officials in the country is to lay another layer of bricks on the foundation laid by Mr. Zhou.

After all, if you want to be an official, you must study first...

"After the New Year, come to my house and we can discuss this matter carefully."

The old man didn't even ask any more questions. He just smiled at Jia Cong, and after saying this, he closed his eyes and rested.

Jia Cong's heart was full of gratitude, because this sentence represented the old man's support for him. It was telling others that what Jia Cong did and the book he edited were discussed with him, Zhou Jiong.

He, Zhou Jiong, wants to endorse Jia Cong!

Jia Cong understood the meaning of Mr. Zhou's words and bowed to the white-haired old man to express his gratitude.

Although the people around were curious about the conversation between the old man and the young, no one dared to get close to eavesdrop.

But when he saw Jia Cong suddenly bowing to Mr. Zhou, his curiosity grew even more.

"His Royal Highness is here!"

"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you, the Crown Prince. May your Highness live a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand thousand years!"

Jia Cong has returned to the forefront of military honors, standing together with several dukes and marquises.

After the regent prince Liu Hong sat down, he waved his hand and said, "My dear ministers, please stand up..."

"I have suddenly summoned you all here today because I have a happy event to share with you. Master Lin, please tell me about it."

"The minister obeys the order."

This is a temporary court meeting and there is no need for so many cumbersome procedures.

Lin Ruhai opened the letter in his hand and read aloud: "In the twelfth month of the fifteenth year of Yuanyou, the army landed from the Ottoman Empire and entered Europe... In March, England, Spain, and Portugal formed a coalition to attack France, an ally of the Qing Dynasty... The Qing Dynasty's 20,000 troops and the French army of 100,000 assembled in Rouen, France... In this battle, more than 100,000 were killed and 80,000 were captured... 150 warships of the three-nation coalition were completely destroyed..."

"The letter sent back by Your Majesty contains a lot of information. After England was defeated, its king sent envoys, willing to negotiate peace with our dynasty..."

"Spain, Portugal and other countries originally wanted to use their colonies in America as compensation, but Your Majesty refused. Now the talks are still ongoing..."

"England is willing to cede two of its counties to China and pay a total of 400 million taels of silver to China and France..."

How much? Four hundred million taels?
The people in the Ministry of Revenue were almost drooling, but the people in the Ministry of Rites were the first to come back to their senses.

"Four hundred million taels of silver? England is a small country with few people. How could they possibly come up with that?"

Lin Ruhai nodded and continued to explain: "So, they will hand over the border, that is, their English customs, to our officials. Half of the annual customs revenue will belong to the country and France, and the other half will be allocated to England to maintain the operation of their national politics."

"Although we are taking advantage, but if this happens, won't France become more powerful?"

Mr. Zhou, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly asked a question that went straight to the point.

All the civil and military officials in the hall who had some knowledge of the West nodded their heads, and even Crown Prince Liu Hong, who was sitting on the dragon throne, reacted at this time.

It is indeed a good thing to make money, but the Celestial Empire cannot allow France to dominate the West.

Allies are allies, and no Western entity that can threaten the interests of the Celestial Empire is allowed to exist!

"Don't worry, old man. The cabinet and the Grand Commandery have already made a plan."

Lin Ruhai glanced at his son-in-law and explained with a smile: "France and England have been fighting each other for nearly a hundred years, and the hatred is huge. But we are different. Our Celestial Empire does not have such a deep hatred with England. Your Majesty said that although England lost this war, it has many colonies overseas, which is enough to support it to have enough silver to purchase warships and firearms from the Imperial Court..."

hiss!
All the ministers took a deep breath in unison, and their eyes changed when they looked at the several ministers in the cabinet and the old commander of the Governor's Office.

When it comes to being cruel, these big guys are the ones!

They just took over the pot, and now they are turning around to betray their allies...

No, what allies? When they are useless, the Celestial Empire does not need allies!
"That's good. All land under heaven belongs to the king, and all people are his subjects. Those Western barbarians are just uncivilized barbarians. Our Celestial Empire will let the glory of the saints shine on the entire earth. Your Majesty's grace must benefit the entire world!"

The old tutor was often privately complained by those arrogant and brave generals for being too conservative. In fact, old man Zhou Jiong was the most radical martial artist in Daxia.

It’s just that as the prime minister of the country, the old man had to suppress his radical ideas.

Of course, we have to consider the overall situation.

Now that he has no official post and is a veteran of three dynasties, his qualifications are here. Who in the Fengtian Palace can control him? Naturally, he can say whatever he wants.

All the ministers in the hall looked at the domineering Lord Zhou and nodded in agreement.

"What Grand Tutor said is true. Father said in the letter that these princes and nobles of the Western Barbarians do not treat the common people as human beings at all. In their castles, they live in luxury and debauchery, while the people outside the castles cannot even afford potatoes to eat. Even if there are no natural disasters or man-made disasters, many people often freeze to death or starve to death..."

The teachings of Confucius and Mencius place the greatest emphasis on benevolence and righteousness.

The concepts of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness have long been engraved in the bones of the people of the Celestial Empire.

When Taizu founded the country, he set up orphanages in various places. Even though the court often lacked money and grain at that time, it would find ways to provide relief to disaster victims and help the poor and the needy.

But Westerners are different. Their kings and nobles never treat ordinary people as human beings.

Just a slave, if he dies, he dies...

"England ceded the two territories of Cornwall and Devon, which are close to the sea, to the imperial court. His Majesty asked the court to select suitable people-friendly officials to go there. We should find a way to take root there. Let me see. Oh, your Majesty means that at least a hundred people are needed."

Lin Ruhai turned his gaze to the Minister of Personnel Wang Molin, who was so worried that he scratched his hair.

“Minister Lin, don’t look at me. There are a hundred people here. Even if you kill me, I can’t create any more people for you!”

In recent years, the territory of the Celestial Empire has been growing at an expansive rate, and special examinations and special classes have been held one after another, almost draining out all the talents in the world.

People from various departments would wait in the lobby of the Ministry of Personnel every day, asking for people, and Wang Molin looked visibly more haggard.

"Then we can hold another special examination... Let's use the excuse that our father is personally ruling the country and expanding the country's territory in the West as an excuse to hold another special examination and select outstanding talents to fill various ministries and departments. Then we can draw talents from various ministries and departments and local areas."

Liu Hong decided the matter with a wave of his hand. Now, the Ministry of Rites became the ones worried.

"besides……"

Liu Hong's gaze first turned to Jia Cong, who had remained silent, but after thinking it over, he decided to give up and turned to the old generals in the Grand Marshal's Office.

"The Governor's Office should also prepare and hold another special military examination to select a group of qualified talents. Father doesn't have many troops with him. Since we have a base in the West, let's send some troops over. Let's call it the Western Construction Corps. The initial number is 50,000, and the salary will be sufficient. Anyway, we have plenty of money now!"

……

The Eastern Palace was still busy. On the last day of the 16th year of Yuanyou, the emperor tricked his son again.

It was almost dark when Liu Hongcai just finished reviewing the important official documents on his desk.

Looking at Jia Cong who was playing with his little grandson, he couldn't help but want to complain again.

"Don't look at me, I'm on leave!"

With just one sentence, Liu Hong's complaint was suppressed. Jia Cong stuffed the little grandson into his arms and said cheerfully, "Your Majesty has had enough of leading the army in person this time. It is estimated that he will be back in a few months. Fourth brother, don't you think about His Majesty going out for a walk after he comes back?"

Huh? It really is!
Although everything is stable in the court, the emperor certainly cannot stay outside and wander around forever.

This time, he has made great achievements in expanding territory thousands of miles away and accomplished feats that no emperor in history has ever done. Now it is time to come back and enjoy himself.

However, according to what the emperor has expressed before, it is estimated that this time when he returns, he will put all the burden on the prince's shoulders.

Abdicate, and then lend a helping hand.

This matter started with the previous emperor. The emperor had told Jia Cong many times that he wanted to establish this tradition and set a good example for future emperors.

Therefore, the prince should not think about anything else now. He should first think about how to "escape" from the palace and where to go to have fun after his father comes back.

Otherwise, when his father really throws him on the dragon throne, it will be a luxury for him to go out and have fun.

(End of this chapter)