After Rong Guo Mansion liberated the slaves of He Mansion, within ten days, Xianguo Mansion, Prime Minister Lin's Mansion, Zhongming Marquis Mansion, Pingyuan Marquis Mansion, and Dongping Prince Mansion successively liberated their slaves. Those who were willing to stay and serve in the mansion signed a service contract, starting from three years; Zhuangzi
Those who went up were turned into tenant farmers, cultivating land and paying rent. The whole capital was in an uproar. Relatives, friends and neighbors came to each house one after another to find out what happened. What each house said was that they would give away the remaining labor in the government.
Most of the Duke's mansions have fallen into decline over the years. At least there is Qi Jianhui in the Xiangyang Marquis Mansion who is quite capable. He has been struggling outside for more than ten years and is now able to support the family. However, the Qi family has been severely damaged by this wave of escaped slaves——
The slaves in the villages on the outskirts of the city ran away in droves, and half of the people in the mansion also escaped. In the shops and workshops outside, there were many servants who used their own children as servants. These people had no way of guarding them, and they were already running away. Because there was no manpower, the Marquis of Xiangyang
Most of the properties in the mansion were closed. A few days ago, there was a thief in the mansion, and the doors of the large warehouses were pried open. Suddenly I heard that the Rongguo mansion and others had let the slaves go in vain. The Marquis of Xiangyang was really not sure what Jia Cong thought.
.So he sent Princess Lin'an to Xianguo Mansion to inquire about it.
When Princess Jian'an heard that this girl was coming, she knew what she was doing. She ordered Jia Huan to take his son to the side room.
Jia Huan is very tired these days. Yuanchun hasn't come here yet, and he has been in charge of Jian'an Institute of Technology for many years. The matter of Yanjing University has almost no choice, and it hits his head. It is more difficult to renovate a school than to build a new one. Jia Huan
I have been dealing with those stubborn old masters all day long, but I still can't beat them. I am so tired that I feel dizzy. I finally came back early today. I wanted to have a kiss with my wife, but I met such a terrible sister-in-law again. Don't mention it.
I was so unhappy. Then I hugged my son with drooped lips and said, "Son! We have no status. Your mother will send us away as soon as the guests come."
Princess Jian'an said with a smile: "Since that's the case, I'll let her go to the wing."
Jia Huan complained: "It's not like Qi Jianhui doesn't recognize us brothers. His father also recognizes my uncle. What's the matter with sending his sister-in-law out all the time to find out information?"
Princess Jian'an sighed: "Lin'an has not given birth to a son, so this idea is of no use in that house."
Jia Huan hummed: "Anyway, I am not happy when I hear this name." He raised his son in front of his eyes, "right son?" The child climbed on his head. Jia Huan took advantage of the opportunity to let him ride on his shoulders and looked at it.
The princess's wet nurse, Mrs. Zhu, took one look at her and carried her son away.
Looking at her husband walking out of the door, Princess Jian'an was thoughtful, and then turned her eyes to Mrs. Zhu. Mrs. Zhu sighed and whispered: "Princess, I heard that some of the maids and women under Princess Lin'an once sneaked to the Prince Consort to marry her.
In front of the soldiers, they said something strange... and praised their princess."
Princess Jian'an frowned: "Sneak up to my man and praise her?"
"Princess Lin'an is virtuous and generous. She has taken in several concubines for the prince-in-law. She never goes out to show herself. As a princess, she bends down to serve her husband and attends to her mother-in-law all night long."
"Pfft~" Princess Jian'an laughed dumbly, "A summer insect cannot speak of ice."
Zhu said: "The prince-in-law's personal training can be seen by any fool. She expects our prince-in-law to discipline the princess in the same way as she does."
Princess Jian'an looked at her with a smile and said, "My mother also expected me to do this earlier."
Zhu said with a smile: "I was so confused at that time. Besides, I didn't expect the princess to despise herself enough."
Princess Jian'an breathed out: "Even so, we still have to see her."
Mrs. Zhu brought a cup of tea for her and persuaded her: "Didn't the prince-in-law just say that? These matters should be handled by the family's elders. There is no way for the female family members to be called upon."
Princess Jian'an took the tea and hummed: "The two brothers are so busy that they don't have time to see these idle people. Zuo just sent her to her uncle to make fun of them." She sighed again, "Lin'an has become what it is today.
You can't blame her for her appearance. She grew up in the palace. Those years were the most difficult times in the palace. Food and clothing were not easy to come by, and the Empress Dowager did not bother to educate them." After thinking for a moment, she shook her head and said, "After all, I am an old man.
She's a baby, and I don't have the energy to help her. I just want her to be of some use to her husband's family." Mrs. Zhu sighed.
Suddenly Princess Lin'an came in, and the two of them sat down after greeting each other. Princess Jian'an took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "I have guessed that my sister is here to inquire about something. Regarding these affairs of men outside, let the Marquis of Xiangyang go to our Xifu to see Rong Guo
My father is better, and the uncle of the Qi family also knows the regent." Mrs. Zhu couldn't help laughing, turned her back and snickered.
Princess Lin'an was a little startled and responded with a few random words such as "I know" and "I miss you, the emperor." After a while, she said: "Sister, what is the regent going to do? Aren't you afraid of provoking public anger?
"
Princess Jian'an smiled and said: "Compared with collecting land taxes at the beginning of the year, which one arouses more public outrage?"
Princess Lin'an sighed: "Why bother? I won't give you any face."
"Since ancient times, face has not been as important as profit." Princess Jian'an paused and said seriously, "Yan State is short of manpower, extremely short."
"Those fugitive slaves have all fled overseas, and they are not in the Yan country."
Princess Jian'an relaxed her spine and leaned back on the chair, and said slowly: "I thought I was a sister and asked our family about liberating slaves. It turns out that I was asking about escaped slaves. Small things like escaped slaves are the responsibility of the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division.
The political affairs hall doesn’t know about it. My prince-in-law is in charge of the school, so he doesn’t even know about it.”
"Forget it, sister, don't pretend." Princess Lin'an suddenly became interested, "Who doesn't know that the new Tianjin magistrate Ge Qiao was sent by the regent? Who doesn't know that Ge Qiao sent officers and soldiers to help escaped slaves go to sea?"
Princess Jian'an smiled leisurely and said: "I don't know."
Princess Lin'an sneered: "Sister Huang is clearly pretending to be confused."
"Oh, right." Princess Jian'an picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea.
Princess Lin'an was stunned for a moment, and immediately realized that she had been confused, and blushed. After a while, she said bravely: "Sister Huang, since you sent your slaves out of the house, aren't you afraid of thieves?"
Princess Jian'an put down the tea ceremony: "We hired a bodyguard. It doesn't cost much, and it's much easier than a servant."
Princess Lin'an frowned and said, "How can someone hired from outside compare to someone who cooks it at home?"
Princess Jian'an said with a smile: "It's better to hire someone from outside. God knows what they have in mind, and the martial arts skills of the bodyguards are mediocre, so it is common for them to be unable to defeat thieves. Professional bodyguards only value money and are highly capable, so they are more reliable. My sister may not
If you understand what I said, go back and talk to the Marquis of Xiangyang and he will understand." Princess Lin'an asked her to coax her.
After Princess Lin'an left, Zhu asked quietly: "Does the Marquis of Xiangyang know the term professional bodyguard?"
"Maybe I don't know."
"Then the princess just said that he naturally understands?"
"I just said it casually to let him go."
Zhu laughed and said, "When did the princess learn such a temper?" Princess Jian'an raised her eyebrows.
However, the Marquis of Xiangyang asked her to talk casually and kept her up all night, thinking about countless thoughts. For a moment, she suspected that there were nails planted by others in her house. For a moment, she thought that there were some capable thieves in the capital, and she didn't even think about it at dawn.
The next day, he had no choice but to send his eldest son Qi Jianhui to the Xianguo Mansion to ask for an audience with Jia Huan. Jia Huan was not in the mansion, so he asked to see Jia Zheng.
Jia Zheng happened to be the only one in the Jia family who opposed letting the slaves go out of the house, and he was having a hard time these days. Seeing Qi Jianhui coming, and hearing that he was asking about that matter, he quickly pulled him and scolded Jia Huan and Jia Cong.
The two of them stopped for a moment and said that they had been deceived by someone and actually did such a stupid thing. Qi Jianhui agreed, but he understood in his heart: Jia Zheng had no control over the family.
After finally waiting until Jia Huan came back, Jia Huan looked unhappy. Qi Jianhui smiled and said, "Who can make the Duke unhappy?"
Jia Huan was stunned, and held up his hands and said: "I'm sorry, I made those old men in the school angry." He sighed, "Genders are not allowed to be in the same class! We don't have so many gentlemen to teach boys and girls separately."
Qi Jianhui frowned and said, "It's really offensive to men and women to have the same class committee."
"I don't have time to worry about customs." Jia Huan said, "Talent is important." He waved his hand and said, "Don't mention this. Brother Qi is here to ask about the abolition of slavery?"
Qi Jianhui nodded and said: "Please tell me what the regent's intention is. This move will cause great losses to both the government and the public."
Jia Huan shook his head and said, "None of you are smart."
Qi Jianhui hurriedly said: "Please give me some advice from the Duke."
Jia Huan took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and said seriously: "It should be noted that since ancient times, nothing the court wants to do can't be done, and neither the court officials nor the people can stop it." Qi Jianhui was stunned. Jia Huan waited for a while before speaking.
, "You see, the subjects of the Yin and Shang Dynasties promised King Zhou to build a wine pond and meat forest? Hasn't he built it yet?"
Qi Jianhui blurted out: "That's why he lost his country!"
Jia Huan said leisurely: "The people who lost business were not the merchants, but the Zhou army."
"If King Zhou is supported by the people, how can the Zhou army attack Chaoge?"
"Isn't that right!" Jia Huan said with a smile, "Prime Minister Lin and the regent reduced land taxes and abolished slaves. Will the people of Yan country support them? Are there more rich households than common people? Are there more masters or slaves? Political affairs
How has the church ever touched the public's wrath?"
"This..." Qi Jianhui was speechless for a moment. "But they are just ordinary people, so what use can they have?"
Jia Huan held her cheek and thought for a while: "It's really inappropriate to compare King Zhou to Wang Mang. But Wang Mang is more appropriate. Brother Qi, what do you think Wang Mang can do to avoid losing?"
Qi Jianhui said coldly: "The hearts of the people are against the Han, and the reckless thieves will lose no matter what."
Jia Huan shook his head: "Wang Mang was a good leader, but he didn't understand the situation at that time - there were many kings and families in the Han Dynasty, and civilian armed forces abounded. His own soldiers had no advantage in fighting. And what he wanted to do was major reforms.
.People are inert and accustomed to living according to the previous model. To destroy the entire Han Dynasty in one breath would require too much strength. If Wang Mang could keep a low profile and not proclaim himself emperor, and then take control of the government and train an invincible army, then choose one
He quietly tests new national policies in the provinces. After that province becomes rich and prosperous, he expands the army, and then relies on the army to expand to one more province to promote the new national policy. If he fights so steadily, he will not lose so miserably. He will eat his food one bite at a time.
.”
Qi Jianhui was silent. Isn't that what the Jia family is like?
Jia Huan took a sip of tea and said again: "Regardless of ancient and modern times, there is nothing that the government cannot do." He paused, "If the subjects want to stop it, they can only use military remonstrance, and there is no other way. I dare to ask who in Yan State can do it.
Are there soldiers? Before the world was divided into feudal states, the kings fought among themselves for decades over the seizure of their legitimate heirs, and Prince Yi Zhong led many innocent souls to death. As a result, the brothers of the Situ family had long lost their brotherhood. Therefore, they would not interfere with Yan.
The king's business. Besides, can they win? Their army hasn't fought in many years. My senior brother Jarvis has just come off the battlefield in North America and has never lost a battle. What's more, today's battles are much different than before, and they don't fight hard.
The number of soldiers is not a matter of strength, but rather whose firearms are more advanced. Isn't this obvious?"
After a long time, Qi Jianhui sighed: "The regent let go of his slaves, even though Ge Qiao, the prefect of Tianjin, let go of the escaped slaves, for what reason?"
Jia Huan asked: "How many people are there in your family?"
Qi Jianhui was stunned and counted a few: "Nineteen."
"How many people are needed to serve nineteen masters? Does one master need more than a dozen people to serve him?" Jia Huan paused, "How many slaves are there in your family? Have they been fully utilized?"
Qi Jianhui said: "If the regent thinks that the Yan State is short of labor, and all these slaves have fled overseas, what will they have to do with the Yan State?"
"Eh!" Jia Huanqi said, "Cong'er has always wanted more people to immigrate overseas. Don't you know? It's better to make the best use of people when they go overseas than to waste manpower in Gongmenhou's mansion."
"This!" Qi Jianhui was speechless for a moment, "That's our slave!"
Jia Huan spread his hands: "When you go to sea, you become a good foreign citizen."
"This is robbery!"
"Absolutely. However, it has been commonplace since ancient times for the government to engage in robbery."
Qi Jianhui felt as if someone had blocked his throat. He opened his mouth and could not speak. After a while, he stood up and left. When he reached the door, he suddenly stopped again.
Jia Huan said slowly: "Society has changed. The only way to remain conservative is to wait to be eliminated. People who had to change careers have begun to learn to run factories." Qi Jianhui hesitated for a moment and stepped out of the door without saying a word.
Go. Jia Huan said again, "Actually, you can still leave." Qi Jianhui gritted his teeth and left without looking back.
Seven days later, the dignitaries from hundreds of households in the capital who had escaped their slaves gathered in Xiangyang to discuss countermeasures. Two days later, an excellent article was delivered to the desk of Prime Minister Lin Daiyu. She picked it up and only glanced at it, and then read the first two paragraphs.
The purpose of reading the whole article is to admonish her. Let her remove the post of Ge Qiao, the prefect of Tianjin, drive the overseas ships that collect escaped slaves from Tianjin Port, and order the soldiers to hunt down the escaped slaves with all their strength. Lin Daiyu also liked this article, but she just
She was really too busy at the moment, so she put it aside and said, "It's a good time to have some free time." After that, she didn't have any free time.
The edicts disappeared like yellow cranes, thieves became more and more rampant day by day, and the army of the five cities was extremely incompetent. In October, the Shi family of the state government took the lead in issuing an edict to relatives and friends that they were going back to their hometown of Quzhou. They left three or five of their children in the capital.
In the cooking industry, men, women and children boarded carriages. As the saying goes, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Although the Shi family has declined, it has a strong foundation at least, and the convoy of luggage is like a long queue. On the day of departure, all the dignitaries in Beijing went
Seeing him off. Straight out of Shili Pavilion, he was reluctant to say goodbye and shed tears, and the grass and trees did not feel sad.
The trip was too far, their family had too much luggage, and their people were expensive. Most of the escort agencies in Beijing did not dare to accept escorts. Only the Taiping Escort Agency and a newly opened escort agency were willing to accept them. Because they were not happy to do business for the Jia family,
The Shi family invited Fuwei Escort Agency to escort him all the way.