In the original work of Red Mansions, it was supposed to be the birthday of the second master Zheng this year, and Yuanchun, who had been in the palace for a long time, was granted the title of Shangshu of Fengzao Palace and a virtuous concubine by the Jin Dynasty.
That year, Lin Daiyu was thirteen years old. She buried Lin Ruhai, who died in office, and followed Lian Er back to Beijing.
Jia Cong is nine months younger than Lin Daiyu. He is also thirteen years old this year. Lin Daiyu had already turned thirteen during the Flowering Festival.
But when Master Zheng celebrated his birthday, there was no news of a reward from the palace, and no one knew what happened.
I have a vague feeling that it may have a lot to do with my own troubles and the fact that Lian Er is the Prime Minister of Shuntian.
The Rongguo Mansion in the original work has already shown a relatively obvious decline at this time. The Ning Mansion has also been severely pushed by the Xungui Group and has become a target that cannot be let go today.
Pass.
That is to say, Yuanchun's sudden concubine made the Rongguo Mansion and the Jia family in the capital, which were already in obvious decline, turn around quickly and become like a flower.
I wonder, did the emperor in the original book suddenly appoint a concubine in Yuanchun because of the decline of Ning Rong's second house?
For now, let's not talk about Ningguo Mansion. There is no way to deal with the big scourge of Jia Zhen. It has been very quiet there recently, but there is a lot less noise and hustle and bustle.
The situation in Rongguo Mansion is much better than in the original work.
Even the second master of the government is a fifth-rank Shaoqing of Honglu Temple, and the second master is a fourth-rank Shuntian Fucheng. Speaking of which, they are not bad in the realm of the capital, and they can at least be considered to be of medium strength.
In addition, Qin Keqing, who is suspected of being the deposed prince and the current Prince of Yizhong County, is not dead, so the entire Beijing Xungui Group's collective muscle-flexing behavior is gone. Naturally, the Ningrong Palace is no longer a thorn in the side.
Thorn in the flesh.
How do you say something?
If you want to destroy it, you must make it crazy!
The lack of urgency to target the Xungui Group obviously affected the development of Yuanchun.
Every time he thought about this, Jia Cong had a strange feeling that he had tricked someone, but of course he wouldn't take it to heart.
It doesn't matter that Yuanchun was not named a virtuous concubine, at least the eldest family now has enough power to compete with the 2nd family, and she will no longer be blindly suppressed. This is actually a good thing for the entire Rongguo Mansion.
Lian Er's mind was on the officialdom, Mrs. Xing was focused on outside business, Feng Lazi slowly usurped the power in the house, the old lady looked on with cold eyes, and Mrs. Wang was worried. A wonderful balance was formed, and there was much less internal fighting in the house.
Apart from other things, Jia Cong felt that the involvement from the government was getting less and less.
If it had been in the past, the trend caused by "Superior Farm" would have caused a fight in the house, and the old lady and the second wife would definitely fight for the leadership.
Even if it ends in failure, Jia Cong will not be able to take it easy, and he will still have close interests with a group of lower-level noble families in the capital.
Especially the connection with the noble families in the capital has always been firmly controlled by the old lady. Mrs. Wang is also eyeing it and will never allow Dafang to have the opportunity to become the leader. But at the moment, Huangzhuang is not hiding it at all.
It's still calm here.
This situation is really good, and he naturally hopes to keep it going.
It's a pity that farm management is a long-term process, especially for the maturely developed land in the Beijing area. It is not easy to develop three-dimensional ecological agriculture. It requires a lot of time and energy, and not many results can be seen in a short time.
This makes those following the trend, except for the dilapidated noble families who urgently need to change the current poor financial situation and have no way out, the rest of them have to consider the costs and risks even if they have ideas in their hearts, and plan to wait and see for a year or two before making any decisions.
The promotion of the home stadium in Beijing is so slow, not to mention that there are more suitable southern regions in the northern land. If Jia Cong wants to reach the point of becoming "famous all over the world" through the construction of ecological farms, it will probably take a long time.
Fortunately, Jia Cong is not in a hurry and is slowly gaining popularity, so there will be no loss.
Jia Cong reached an agreement with the impatient poor families from the middle and lower classes in the capital, dispatched their trained younger brothers, and sent the children from these poor families to the Huangzhuang Management Office for proper placement. Jia Cong temporarily let go and prepared for the New Year.
He will write more in the future and is not worried about slow growth in popularity.
I just didn't want to, but just two days after returning to the mansion to rest, I received quite unexpected news that Uncle Chengyi, who had great power in the court, passed away.
This is not the key, the key is that Jingcheng Xungui Group is preparing to do something big!
"Who gave the news to Brother Lian?"
It was Lian Er who revealed the news to Jia Cong. He was a little confused about the thoughts of those noble men, so he took advantage of his free time to find Jia Cong directly and told Jia Cong the news, hoping to get some hints.
"The Second Master of the Zhenguo Government revealed in private that the nobles in the capital will express their opinions!"
Jia Cong was a little funny. He didn't expect that Qin Keqing survived, and the noble boss found another reason to give Jin Jin eye drops.
Seeing Lian Er's face full of expectations, he said with a smile: "This is the collective action of the Jingcheng Xungui Group, I'm afraid it's just for today's eyes!"
"It's not that exaggerated!"
Lian Er was so startled that his face turned pale, and he said in disbelief: "I haven't seen the recent turmoil in the government. Why are you doing this for no reason?"
“Too much emphasis is placed on officials who passed the imperial examination today!”
Jia Cong could see it clearly. He deduced the results in reverse, coupled with the recent Di's newspaper and the information that the General's Mansion could collect, as well as the news he himself got, otherwise he could see some problems.
With the world at peace for a long time, it is normal for civilian power to rise. However, the power of the civil servant group spreads too fast and continues to encroach on the basic base that originally belonged to the military meritorious group. This cannot be tolerated.
With the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household Affairs completely falling into the hands of the civil servant group, I heard that the various ordnance supplies and money supplies of the local garrison and even the border army had been damaged to varying degrees, and the interests here were greatly increased.
It was even reported in the Di Di newspaper not long ago that they were planning to arrange for a civil servant to join the Ministry of War as a minister, which caused an extremely fierce debate in the court. In the end, the Supreme Emperor took action to stop such a decision.
Such behavior today has touched upon the core interests of the Xungui Group. Although it is impossible to directly rebel, showing off muscles is nothing.
He briefly explained all the details, and Lian Er's face turned even paler, obviously frightened.
"Once you get involved in something like this, you will offend today!"
"But if you don't join in, you will break up with the Xungui Group. The law will not hold everyone accountable. Even if you are unhappy now, you will only pick on the weak. What is Brother Lian afraid of?"
"This matter is very important. We need to make it clear to the old lady and the two gentlemen!"
"That's fine!"
So, on a cold and windy day in the twelfth lunar month, Rongqing Hall held a rare formal meeting. The meeting members included the old lady, the eldest man, Mr. Zheng Er, Lian Er and Jia Cong.
By the way, Jia Cong was not qualified to participate in such high-profile meetings in the government, but Lian Er strongly recommended him, saying that his third brother was not only a scholar, but also wrote "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "The Richest Man in the World" and other very strategic works. At least
If you don't know a thing or two about politics, it's necessary to get involved and help provide advice.
The eldest master naturally supports it. The second master of politics has always valued scholars with great reputations and has no objection, so the old lady doesn't care.
Originally, as the clan leader, Jia Zhen should be present, but it's a pity...
Jia Rong, who temporarily took over the Ningguo Mansion, has average abilities and is too junior to have any say. There is no point in shouting.
Outside the house was cold and windy, with dark clouds covering the roof, and there was a sign that it was about to snow.
Inside, the charcoal fire was strong and warm as spring, but the atmosphere was a bit solemn, which was quite consistent with the weather outside.
Lian Er first recounted the words of the second master of the Zhenguo Palace, and then recounted Jia Cong's previous analysis, and finally said: "That's the way it is. No matter which side you fall to, the government has to bear certain risks!"
"How can this be? Of course we must be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor!"
Mr. Zheng Er's face turned pale and he spoke sternly for the first time, but what he said made everyone frown.
"Boss, are you crazy? If we completely fall back to today's situation, will the Xungui Group still have a seat in our Rongguo Mansion in the future?"
The elder sneered and said: "It's not us who are the first ones anyway, so what's the big deal if we just follow the trend?"
"Lian'er, what do you think?"
The old lady was noncommittal and did not express an opinion. Instead, she directly asked Lian Er what he thought. As expected, she became stronger with age.
Lian Er did not speak in a hurry, but looked at Jia Cong subconsciously.
"Brother Cong..."
The old lady frowned and said directly: "If you have any ideas, just say it. Even if you are wrong, it doesn't matter!"
It’s weird to believe you!
"We are just following the banner and shouting, the most important thing is to get tangible benefits!"
Jia Cong was not polite and said directly: "For example, when Brother Yunluo Lian has the opportunity to go further, I will help you push him!"
After saying this, I paused deliberately, and I saw that Lian Er's face was full of joy, while Master Zheng Er had a look of unwillingness and jealousy.
At this time, he said slowly: "The second master has taken a step further, and he can easily push forward if he becomes the minister of Honglu Temple!"
"Really?"
Mr. Zheng Er couldn't help being overjoyed and said anxiously: "I'm afraid it's not that simple, right?"
I wanted to go further through the relationship with my second uncle, Wang Ziteng, but unfortunately this guy was ineffective and never gave an accurate answer. In the end, he was annoyed and he simply gave Mrs. Wang a shame.
If it can be recommended by the Duke of Zhen, it will not be a problem to go one step further and become the Minister of Honglu Temple. As for the little risks that may be taken for this, it is nothing.
Didn’t Brother Cong say that the law does not punish the public?
"Brother Cong means that our Rongguo Mansion and Xungui are together?"
The old lady then said leisurely: "Isn't it a bit risky?"
Jia Cong said decisively: "Old lady, our roots are nobles. Is it possible for the civil service group to accept Rongguo Mansion?"