On this day, Zhen Yingjia, the president of Tirenyuan and the head of the Zhen family in Jinling, suddenly received an invitation to a banquet from Lian Er, the prefect of Jinling.
Didn’t you just have wine a few days ago?
Zhen Yingjia was confused, but she quickly sent someone to reply and promised to attend the banquet on time.
After all, both families are old relatives. Lian Er has become a third-level official at a young age. He has a bright future and is worth becoming friends with.
However, when the time came and he rushed to the appointed restaurant, he suddenly found that the entire third floor was extremely quiet, and there was even a strong hand guarding the stairs with a sharp breath!
My heart suddenly skipped a beat, and I didn't worry about safety issues when handing over my name card.
However, my originally relaxed mood was somewhat uneasy for some reason.
The entire third floor was empty, all the original screens had been moved away, and there was a lone banquet table in the center.
Seeing him coming, Lian Er hurriedly stood up and came over to greet him.
After saying a few polite words, Zhen Yingjia followed Lian Er to the lonely wine table, focusing her eyes on the tall young man sitting upright.
He is indeed tall, but just sitting upright is not much shorter than ordinary people.
"Uncle Zhen Shi, this is my third brother, just call him Brother Cong!"
Lian Er introduced cheerfully: "My third brother is quite famous. Uncle Shi must have heard of 'Cong San Shao', that's the guy!"
"I know that the book "Cihang - Jingzhai" is very popular in the south recently!"
Zhen Shijia narrowed her eyes slightly and chuckled: "After listening to it, I was amazed and amazed!"
"Haha, Uncle Zhen Shi is too polite. You don't mind calling me that!"
Jia Cong stood up and said with a smile: "Just write whatever you want, just write whatever you want!"
"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, our two families are family friends!"
Zhen Yingjia waved her hands repeatedly, surprised by how tall Jia Cong was. No wonder this kid didn't get up in time.
He is a full head taller than himself. If he deliberately shows his closeness, he might put unintentional pressure on Zhen Yingjia.
"Haha, Uncle Shi is right!"
Lian Er laughed continuously: "Sit, sit, sit, Uncle Shi, you're welcome!"
After the three of them sat down, Zhen Yingjia spoke first and smiled at Jia Cong: "I don't think that is something that can be written casually. For some reason, it always makes me feel like I have seen it before!"
"Haha, isn't the so-called Jiangnan Aristocratic Family just like Li Jingzhai? Uncle Shi should feel familiar with it!"
Jia Cong chuckled and explained the reason in a few words.
"I see!"
Zhen Yingjia slapped her hands fiercely, shook her head and chuckled: "Thankfully, I'm still from Jiangnan, and I haven't even reacted yet!"
"Uncle Shi, this is like 'not knowing the true face of Mount Lu, just because you are in this mountain'!"
Jia Cong chuckled and said: "You only need to think about it for a while and you will be able to react!"
"Brother Cong is right!"
Zhen Yingjia nodded repeatedly, then changed the topic and chuckled: "However, judging from the description and Brother Cong's attitude, it seems that he doesn't take the Jiangnan family seriously!"
"good!"
Jia Cong nodded calmly and said leisurely: "If the northern court cares about face, the Jiangnan family will naturally be able to get along like a fish in water. But if they don't care about face, they don't care whether Jiangnan is in chaos..."
The following words were not spoken, but the meaning was already very obvious.
The smile on Zhen Yingjia's face froze slightly, and she shook her head and said: "What Brother Cong said is a bit too much. The court will never do this no matter what. There must be scholars who come forward to govern the world!"
hehe……
"Scholars are actually very easy to train, as long as they have enough money and food!"
Jia Cong said with a smile: "It's just that the world's public opinion is controlled by scholars, and the mainstream of scholars is in Jiangnan Shilin. Today is only the third generation of emperors. The two previous emperors, Taizu and Taizong, who really control the so-called
Do the scholars see this?"
Having said this, the atmosphere at the wine table was slightly awkward. Lian Er watched his words and hurriedly smiled: "Stop talking about these heavy topics, let's eat and drink..."
With this guy's lively atmosphere, the wine table quickly returned to normal.
Zhen Yingjia was eating and drinking in agreement, but something was not right in her heart. In the end, she couldn't help but asked directly: "Brother Lian, I wonder why you suddenly invited me over this time?"
Lian Er was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Zhen Yingjia to be so out of control. He was a little surprised and subconsciously looked at Jia Cong.
This scene was not hidden from Zhen Yingjia's eyes, and she was secretly surprised: Could it be that the person in charge of the banquet this time was Jia Cong?
"Uncle Shi, do you know why Brother Lian and I, Uncle Lin, were transferred to Jiangnan in violation of official norms?"
Ignoring Zhen Yingjia's complicated and confused look, Jia Cong asked slowly: "Uncle Shi can't guess it!"
"Why?"
Zhen Yingjia spoke subconsciously and asked curiously: "Don't mention it, the appointment of Brother Lian and Lin Futai is indeed a bit strange, and it also caused a burst of speculation in Jiangnan official circles!"
That was true, but he felt a little inexplicably uneasy in his heart.
"The emperor's health is getting worse!"
Jia Cong first said something irrelevant, and then said with a slow smile: "It's time for the Zhen family, the king of Jiangnan, to retire from the stage. He has reaped enough benefits over the years!"
"What did you say?"
Zhen Yingjia's expression changed in shock, and she slammed the wine glass in her hand on the table. She looked at Jia Cong with a cold and fierce look, and said in a deep voice: "Don't talk nonsense!"
But my mood slowly sank to the bottom...
Lian Er was startled and hurriedly spoke to calm the atmosphere: "Uncle Shi, don't worry..."
But when he met Zhen Yingjia's cold and deep eyes, his heart suddenly trembled and he couldn't speak anymore.
"For the Zhen family to swallow such a large piece of fat meat from Jiangnan, what is left to the court will be nothing more than soup and water. Do you think Uncle Shi will be willing to do so now?"
Jia Cong, however, looked as usual and was not affected at all. He said leisurely: "I obviously want to do something now, but the money in the treasury is always not enough..."
There is no need for a heavy hammer to sound the drum. I believe Zhen Yingjia will understand what he means.
After investigation, it was found that Zhen Yingjia, the head of the Jinling Zhen family, was a rare understanding person.
The Zhen family was able to rise rapidly in just a few decades and even became the most powerful person in Jiangnan. Zhen Yingjia made great contributions.
There are also concubines in the palace, and they are favored to varying degrees, but the Zhen family knows how to restrain their aggressiveness and push the so-called four major families of Jinling to the forefront, while they live in seclusion behind the scenes to enjoy the maximum dividends.
It's just a pity that, similar to the noble and powerful families, the Zhen family can only be regarded as powerful and first-class, with average background or family tradition, and none of the descendants have become successful.
Even among Zhen Yingjia's brothers, there are many who disapprove of him as the head of the family, and they are quite dirty secretly.
It doesn't matter that the Zhen family is enjoying great glory at the moment, but once it encounters disaster, it will soon be wiped out by wind and rain.
In the original work of Red Mansions, the mighty powerful man in the south of the Yangtze River collapsed suddenly, but it did not cause violent turmoil in the court, which shows that the Zhen family's foundation is indeed insufficient.
Zhen Yingjia suddenly broke out in a cold sweat on her forehead. Jia Cong unceremoniously removed the fig leaf, and she immediately knew that the situation was indeed not good.
"The Zhen family is the family of Prince Zhongshun and his mother..."
However, Zhen Yingjia was not frightened and wanted to persist in her words.
"Uncle Shi, stop fooling yourself!"
Jia Cong looked indifferent and said in a leisurely tone: "A few years ago, Prince Zhongshun was deceived by my book "Kaifeng Divine Catcher". He has not recovered yet. How can he support the Zhen family? This is still a matter of special concern today.
?”
"you you you……"
Zhen Yingjia was so angry that the veins on her forehead popped out. She glared at Jia Cong for a long time before she managed to regain her composure and said in a deep voice, "Tell me, what are your intentions?"
As he said that, he glared at Lian Er next to him, thinking that this kid was really naughty. He left the things that offended people to Jia Cong, a foolish young man, while he sat quietly on the Diaoyutai.
If Lian Er knew what he was thinking, he would definitely cry out that he was wronged.
If he really had such ability, he would not be in the current embarrassing situation. Hearing the bickering between Jia Cong and Zhen Yingjia, he felt anxious for fear of falling out.
Fortunately, Zhen Yingjia did not walk away, otherwise he would have had to bite the bullet and play tough, but the consequences would be too great.
"It's nothing, I just want to tell Uncle Shi that the current situation of the Zhen family cannot last forever!"
Jia Cong chuckled and said leisurely: "If you want to survive the crisis, or let the current situation go, you have to pay a heavy price!"
"for example?"
Zhen Yingjia's face was as dark as water and she asked coldly: "Be specific!"
"Weaving Yamen, as well as the status of Jiangnan King, and paying off the debt!"
Jia Cong smiled so lightly that he didn't seem to notice Zhen Yingjia's eyes that were about to burst into flames. He said calmly: "From now on, the Zhen family will fall from the position of King of Jiangnan and become the top powerhouse in Jinling City!"
"Also, the emperor let the Zhen family run the Salt Patrol Yamen for more than ten years, and the weaving Yamen that has not been taken back yet, in order to ask the Zhen family to pay off the deficit of four pick-ups, instead of using these benefits as
Own it!"
"enough!"
The muscles on Zhen Yingjia's face twisted, and she roared out with a sneer: "You want the Zhen family to pay such a high price, just because you are talking nonsense here?"
Ah……
"Uncle Shi actually knows it in his heart!"
Jia Cong was unmoved and said leisurely: "With the death of the old lady of the Zhen family and the death of Concubine Zhen Gui, and the continuous deterioration of the emperor's body, the status of King Jiangnan will not last long at all, and will collapse on its own!"
Ignoring Zhen Yingjia's extremely ugly face, he said with a smile: "After all, the benefits that the Zhen family can provide are really limited. The money will only become less and less. It is impossible for officials to interfere at will. As time goes by, who will follow Zhen?"
Do you have to go all the way to the dark side?"
At this point, he suddenly chuckled and said: "Of course there is another situation. The Zhen family can still barely maintain its cards. It is probably those aristocratic families that have been passed down for hundreds of years, pushing the Zhen family to stand in the front.
It’s hard to resist today!”
As soon as these words came out, Zhen Yingjia's face turned as pale as paper. Although what Jia Cong said was a bit alarmist, based on his understanding of the Jiangnan family, such a thing was really possible.
The purpose is very simple, to prevent today from easily reaching out to Jiangnan...
But if such a situation really happens, the Zhen family will definitely die, and the family will be ruined with no way to turn over...