The next day, the thirteenth day of the first lunar month
Early in the morning, at dawn, Jia Heng woke up from the warm and fragrant soft jade. He turned his eyes and glanced at Qin Keqing lying on the bed. The beauty's hair was messy, her cheeks were dizzy, and her jade face was like a rosy cloud and a moth moon. The curved eyelashes are tightly closed, obviously sleeping soundly.
It turns out that she is a young girl of seventeen or eighteen years old, the age when she is greedy for pleasure and sleepy.
Jia Heng got up, had breakfast, and went to the Beijing Camp as usual to supervise the training of the soldiers of the 12th Regiment Camp. After nearly half an hour, he went to Jinyi Mansion to ask questions.
The official hall of Jinyi Mansion, the back office
Jia Heng sat behind the desk, looked at Qu Lang who was sitting respectfully, and ordered: "Qu Qianhu, wait a moment, you take people to Prince Zhongshun's Mansion and ask about the details of the assassination of Prince Zhongshun at Daxiangguo Temple that day. , in order to track down the White Lotus demon and arrest the culprits."
Qu Lang accepted the order and said yes. He pondered for a moment and asked in a low voice: "Sir, do you want to send someone to keep an eye on Prince Zhongshun's palace?"
Jia Heng took a deep look at Qu Lang, thought for a while, and said, "It's also possible that the White Lotus demon may come to assassinate you again, so he has people secretly protect Prince Zhongshun to prevent any trouble from happening again."
If the Jinyi Guards are sent to monitor the country's vassals without a legitimate name, once they are discovered, it will be easy to accuse the truth and be criticized. However, if it is under the banner of hunting down the White Lotus Demon, or even in the name of protecting the Zhongshun Prince's Palace, it can be high-sounding and cover up.
Qu Lang nodded, immediately understanding.
Jia Heng thought for a moment and asked, "How is the investigation of the Ministry of Industry case going recently?"
Qu Lang looked calm and said: "My brothers are following up. Pan and Lu are very cautious and don't reveal their dirt. Moreover, they are in high positions. They are in a low position and their subordinates are in danger. Some methods cannot be used and they can only go on one side." After compiling intelligence from all sources and starting with several merchants who supplied the imperial tomb, it can be determined that Pan and Lu received bribes from merchants in connection with the construction of the imperial tomb."
After all, he was a senior official of the third rank of the imperial court. The secret spies and detectives of Jinyi Mansion had limited investigative methods, and they even had to avoid surprising the two of them.
Jia Heng looked deeply and said: "Keep staring. In terms of internal affairs, Luo Chengwang, the construction director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, is quite suspicious."
This was the information provided by my father-in-law, Qin Ye, on the second day of the lunar new year. The construction department was involved, because King Zhongshun, as the supervisor of the imperial mausoleum, and his close confidant, the construction department doctor Luo Chengwang, was responsible for the procurement and craftsmanship matters, so he was bound to be involved in the corruption. Deep knowledge.
Qu Lang secretly wrote down the name and said, "Sir, I have other instructions."
Jia Heng suddenly remembered something and said: "By the way, there is a man called Qi Guan'er in the Red Sandalwood Castle. Send someone to find him quietly. If he is found, take him to a secret place and I will question him."
If you find Qi Guan'er and know the reason for his escape, you can try to plant a nail in Prince Zhongshun's palace for future needs.
Qu Lang nodded in agreement, suddenly looked alert, looked around, and said in a low voice: "Sir, I still have something to report to you in my lowly position."
Seeing Qu Lang's mysterious appearance, Jia Heng's heart moved and asked, "What's going on?"
Qu Lang whispered: "Last time, your Excellency asked your subordinates to investigate the smuggling from the border towns by merchants from the Jin and Dai Dynasties. He also said that a member of your clan was involved. The former just sent people to Datong, Ping'an Prefecture and other military towns. There is no news, but I have some knowledge about the situation."
Jia Heng frowned and said, "How do you say that?"
Qu Lang lowered his voice even more and said: "Second Master Lian of Rongguo Mansion seems to be involved in this case. He purchased goods in Sanfu counties in the capital and sold them from Ping'an Prefecture to the grasslands. The goods seemed ordinary, but they were not there. It is prohibited for sale by the imperial court, but upon closer inspection due to his humble position, there is something fishy about it. Now, Mr. Lian and a military officer named Sun Shaozu have been having fun in a brothel in the middle of the capital recently, and they are quite bold in their actions."
In the earliest days, there was mutual trade between Chen Han and the Chahar tribes in Monan, grassland, and it was even under official leadership. It was forbidden and popular at times. In the past three years, it has been basically eliminated.
The then Minister of War, Li Zan, who is now the Grand Scholar of Wuyingdian, once proposed that "no soldiers should enter the grassland even if they don't have a grain of rice." This policy was recognized by Emperor Chongping and the cabinet, and an edict was issued. Anyone who violated it would be considered as a collaborator with the enemy and plotted rebellion. Theory of guilt.
Later, grain, ironware, and salt were also banned.
Silk, silk fabrics, and porcelain could not help but be exchanged for cattle, sheep, and horses on the grassland, but these were mostly controlled by the government, which set up cards and levied lijin on merchants as military expenses for border towns.
But how could the military commander listen? Food and ironware were sold without fail, and merchants from border towns colluded with each other to smuggle goods.
Jia Heng frowned and said, "This Sun Shaozu's ancestral home seems to be Datong, right? Send someone to follow him to see what the two of them are going to do."
Jia She and his son are indeed thunderous, but they still need to find a suitable time for them to explode.
Because of Jia She's smuggling, Ping'an Prefecture Jiedushi Cui Ling and other frontier generals were involved. These people were all former members of Duke Xiaorong. It is unknown whether there was a more complicated chain of interests behind it.
On the contrary, what he was most interested in was whether he could dig out Shanxi merchants. The results could not be found out in a short time, and he needed to make arrangements slowly.
Qu Lang added: "Sir, Shanxi merchants have also been rushing to the capital recently. They heard about the disadvantages of the salt reform in the south. Merchants from the Shanxi Merchants Association frequently visited Mr. Yang Ge and invited Yang Sihong, Mr. Yang Ge's son, to a banquet."
Jia Heng frowned, wrote down the matter, and asked: "What about the Yangzhou salt merchants? Has there been any movement recently?"
Qu Lang's expression paused, and he lowered his voice and said: "I have only heard some sporadic rumors about this matter, and I don't know whether it is true or not. Please consider it."
"oh?"
Qu Lang whispered: "The Yangzhou salt merchant has a close relationship with Xu Shaozhen, a guest of the Prince of Qi's Mansion. Xu is working on matters in Yangzhou."
Jia Heng frowned and said, "King Qi? He really is everywhere."
It is not surprising that the King of Qi got involved with Yangzhou salt merchants. After the prince's money bag was wiped out by him, he was in urgent need of a financial backer.
The Shanxi merchants followed the path of Yang Guochang's son, obviously wanting to take a share of the shortcomings of the Jiangnan Salt Law Reform.
It can be said that in the past period of time, Jia Heng was busy rectifying the affairs of the Beijing camp, and other forces were not idle either. The focus of the court was still on the two major leaders of Jiangnan Salt Affairs and Northern Xinjiang Defense, and of course the sudden rise of Beijing Check the big plan.
Jia Heng thought for a while and asked in a low voice: "What is King Qi busy with recently?"
Qu Lang said: "Since the King of Qi was demoted by the Holy Emperor, except for New Year's Eve and the first month of the year, he went to the palace to pay tribute and accepted the invitations of the princes to have banquets. , welcome and send."
Jia Heng's face looked a little gloomy, and he was thinking about King Qi. He always felt that King Qi would not be willing to be lonely.
During the military parade at Anshun Gate, the vassal king was full of malice towards him.
At this moment, Captain Jinyi called out from outside: "Commander, Ji Tongzhi wants to see you."
The two commanders of Jinyi Mansion originally had the same command, and the commanding officer of Jinyi was Lu Jingyao. After Jia Heng was promoted to the Commander-in-Chief of Jinyi, he found a mistake, reprimanded him, and left him idle.
Another Jinyi colleague, Ji Yingtian, has been actively cooperating with Jiaheng in managing Jinyi affairs recently, and has been much more attentive even to Jiaheng on weekdays.
There is no doubt that if Jia Heng takes control of Jinyi, he will have to reorganize the original personnel.
Otherwise, he would be completely unable to do anything. This was also the authority granted by Emperor Chongping to the Commander in Chief.
Of course, for now, due to Jia Heng's short tenure, Emperor Chongping can ensure control of Jinyi Mansion at any time.
Ji Yingtian entered the hall with a respectful expression, bowed his hands and said with a smile: "I have seen the governor in my humble position."
At this time, Qu Lang glanced at Ji Yingtian, cupped his hands, and said goodbye to Jia Heng first.
Jia Heng nodded and let him leave. He looked at Ji Yingtian and asked, "Master Ji, are you okay?"
Ji Yingtian said: "The governor asked his subordinates to pay attention to the news in the southern province. This is the urgent delivery of flying pigeons that has just arrived. On the ninth day of the lunar month, the Yanyuan Yamen of Yangzhou held another meeting to discuss changes to the salt law. Please take a look."
With that said, he respectfully handed over a book with a blue leather cover.
Jia Heng's expression paused, he took the book and started to read it.
It is described in quite detail. The speeches made by the censor of salt inspection, the prefect of Yangzhou, the transportation department of Huaidu and Huaidu, the eight major salt merchants, and even Liang and Yu, two imperial envoys who went south, were compiled and prepared in detail, just like minutes of the meeting.
Jia Heng was silent for a moment, put it aside, and raised his eyes to look at Ji Yingtian.
This conductor, who is dressed in brocade, is about forty years old, tall and tall, but he has a flattering smile on his face.
Jia Heng nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Ji Tongzhi."
Ji Yingtian smiled and said: "In front of the governor, you don't dare to complain about your humble position. The governor handles military affairs as a key figure in the military and state. What you do in your humble position is nothing more than trivial."
Thinking back to the time when I felt dissatisfied with the young man in front of me.
Nowadays, he is a first-class man, deputy envoy of Jingying Festival, and governor of Jinyi. He is completely different from the past.
Jia Heng pondered for a moment and said in a deep voice: "Master Ji, I plan to adjust the duties of the Qianhu Offices in Jinyi Mansion so that they can better detect the enemy prisoners in detail. I wonder if Master Ji has any suggestions?"
Yesterday, he decided to reorganize the personnel of Jinyi Mansion to facilitate the investigation of prisoners, and of course to strengthen control.
Jinyi Mansion has jurisdiction over 14,000 households, five in the front, left, middle and right, each with ten divisions (imperial chair, fan hand, hood, flag banner, ax and axe, luanyu, tame horse, banjian, halberd, bow and arrow).
These five are the palace guards who guard the palace and gardens together with the inner guards and act as guards of honor. They should not be tampered with without permission, because almost every Qianhu is a confidant recognized by Emperor Chongping, and the five Qianhu usually don't care much about it. The criminal matters of the Wei Mansion.
As for the addition of six offices (upper middle, upper front, upper rear, upper left, upper right, and middle rear) and three functional offices (elephant training, field farming, and horse army), the ministries must be adjusted.
After the adjustment, it mainly focuses on intelligence collection in the six directions of Northwest, South China, Liaodong, Southwest, North China, and Central China, focusing on the two directions of Liaodong and Northwest China. In this way, one institute is responsible for intelligence collection and analysis of several provinces, and is connected with the Jinyi of various provinces. The government finally gathered them at his desk for study and judgment.
Then, it was still the process of going through the secretary's document and approving the manager's punishment.
The town governor still has his original duties of arresting, interrogating, and imprisoning people.
The two Jinyi knew that the original Lu Jingyao had been reprimanded by him for his mistakes in Yangzhou, so he deliberately left Ji Yingtian alone, and Qu Lang could serve as the envoy of Beizhen in a few days.
Ji Yingtian's face changed slightly, and he was thinking about it, because generally speaking, ministry adjustments were made to place close followers.
Ji Yingtian hesitated for a moment and said: "Although your Excellency is now the Commander-in-Chief of Imperial Guards, you are still not in charge of the personal security affairs. If you want to re-manage personnel affairs, I'm afraid you still need the Holy Spirit's instructions."
What he originally thought was that although the young dignitary in front of him was the governor in imperial robes, most of his affairs were in the capital camp and he had no time to take care of the affairs of the guards. When Lao Lu left, he would be the agent of the guards. After being respectful, he recommended him to be the commander of the capital.
But looking at this posture, the young powerful man in front of him has no such plans.
Jia Heng said: "I have sorted out everything, and will present it to the Holy One tomorrow. Speaking of which, the military situation is like a fire, and there are urgent deliveries, and I will not be able to leave Jinyi Mansion for a while. I wonder if Ji Tongzhi would like to countersign his name?"
As Ji Yingtian said, before he was given the title of Governor of Jinyi, there were no suffixes such as "in charge of the seal of the hall", "in charge of the division seal", "in charge of the affairs of Jinyi Mansion", "in charge of the affairs of Jinyi Mansion", etc. The adjustment of the guards' duties was a reminder to the emperor, and he thought it was justified.
Ji Yingtian hesitated for a moment, sighed inwardly, cupped his hands and said, "I obey my orders."
Jia Heng nodded and said: "Master Ji, this is the ministry adjustment policy that I have submitted to you."
Taking over the Jinyi Mansion is only the first step. How to infiltrate and use it for yourself is actually a long-term process. You must not be impatient and must take your time to figure it out. It is best to use military intelligence.
To put it bluntly, this is why Emperor Chongping felt at ease with him. He suddenly ascended to a high position, but his foundation is shallow. His kindness has not been widely spread at home and abroad. He has no one to employ. Where can he rebel?
When Ji Yingtian saw Ce Shu, he picked up the pen and signed his name, then took out the small seal and seal he carried with him.
Jia Heng nodded, looked at Ji Yingtian, put the memorial away, and said: "If Ji Tongzhiru works hard, it will not be difficult for him to be the commander of the capital and earn a hereditary job for his heirs." .”
When Ji Yingtian heard this, he was shocked. He thought about it, cupped his hands and said, "I accept the Governor's auspicious words."
Nowadays, he really has no chance to take charge of the Jinyi Mansion. If he can finally retire as the capital commander, his descendants will also have the opportunity to inherit the Jinyi Mansion in the future.
Jia Heng said: "Master Ji, if you have nothing else to do, please go back and handle your official duties first."
Ji Yingtian bowed his hands and said, "I will resign from my humble post."
Adjusting personnel will inevitably cause people to panic. If Ji Yingtian can be retained to temporarily stabilize the original thousand households in Jinyi Mansion, it will also be a kind of comfort.
"For these old people in Jinyi Mansion, the cleaning methods need to be gentler and cannot be done too hastily. Otherwise, in the eyes of the emperor, they will be suspected of planting party members."
The emperor is suspicious. Generally speaking, there is a psychological safety threshold based on the degree of trust in his ministers. The immobility of thousands of households in five brocade clothes is the safety cordon he leaves to the emperor. Others, even if they take the opportunity to adjust, must slowly figure it out. Of.
The main reason is that there are not many suitable people under his command, the qualifications are not enough, and the credit is not enough. It is not appropriate to push him rashly.
"You must remember that accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger."
Jia Heng looked at the rockery outside the window, his eyes lost in thought.
After noon, Jia Heng mounted his horse and headed to the eldest princess's house in Jinyang to find some psychological balance.
(End of this chapter).
