The Zhen family is not far from the Jia family. It was not yet dawn when Jia Lian sent Zhen Yuhuan there.
"I'm in a hurry today, so I won't go in. I'll come to visit another day. I also ask sister Huan'er to say hello to your mother on my behalf."
Placing Zhen Yuhuan at the gate, Jia Lian bowed on his horse, then turned his horse's head and headed east. Behind him, dozens of personal guards in black cloud gilt armor followed on horseback.
The neat torrent rolled up the mist at dawn, majestic and chilling, making everyone in front of Zhen's house look sideways and secretly frightened.
Zhen Yuhuan stood on the steps and watched quietly until Jia Lian and his horse completely disappeared to the east of the street.
Today is destined to be a solemn day in the Forbidden City.
When Jia Lian escorted Jia Mu and others to this palace that symbolized the supreme power, only judging from the number and posture of the guards on duty, as well as the splendid clothes and crowns in front of the Meridian Gate, they were usually arrogant outside, but today However, the princes, ministers, and ministers, both internal and external, who were as obedient as babies, could tell that today was an extraordinary day.
The Emperor's birthday lasts for three days, and today is the first and most important day.
Speaking of the Supreme Emperor, Jia Lian couldn't help but curse in his heart. Although he knew a lot about the former king of the Wei Dynasty, to this day, he had not seen the appearance of this supreme king in the world.
Take the annual birthday of the Supreme Emperor as an example. At first, he was not qualified to participate. Later, when he became qualified, he either led troops abroad or went to the capital to do business according to orders. In short, he missed all of them.
It's quite a coincidence.
Thinking about it, you should be able to see this old emperor today, right? With his current position of Marquis, his status in the country is not low. He will not come to celebrate the birthday of the Supreme Emperor and be arranged to a remote place, right?
Therefore, as long as the old emperor is not so lazy that he does not even show up for his birthday, he should at least be able to take a look.
But it was just a glance. He had no idea about this old emperor who had ruled the world for decades. He had already made up his mind to hug Emperor Ning Kang's thigh tightly.
Regardless of whether these two are supreme beings or father and son, they seem to be very close to each other, but if he dares to try to please both sides, he will definitely seek death. As a minister, you must also pay attention to single-mindedness.
"The civil and military honors Qi Liedong, the concubine Qi Liexi~"
With the shouts of the school officials who were maintaining order, all the people who came to celebrate the birthday left in order.
Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang could only get down from the sedan chair and follow the eunuch's guidance to the west. Jia Lian and Jia Zheng entered the palace from the east gate with birthday gifts.
As soon as they entered the palace, they saw the general on duty at the Meridian Gate coming up to him and clasping his fists, saying: "Master Zhenyuan, people from the Daming Palace have just come to convey your Majesty's oral instructions. Please come to the south study room to see me first when you enter the palace."
After being stunned for a moment, Jia Lian nodded, said goodbye to Jia Zheng, and then headed towards the Daming Palace under Jia Zheng's eyes full of joy, envy and other complex emotions.
"The imperial court has designated this national policy of clearing land across the country as 'Field Clearance'. Once the Emperor's birthday is over, a formal decree will be conveyed to the state governments all over the world."
After paying homage, Emperor Ningkang said this to Jia Lian without even raising his head. Although he was as busy as ever, Jia Lian could tell from Emperor Ning Kang's relaxed tone that Emperor Ning Kang was in a good mood today.
"Congratulations to Your Majesty, congratulations to Your Majesty. If the land clearing can be carried out smoothly, it will not only be a blessing to our country and the country of Wei Dynasty, but also a blessing to millions of people. Future generations will also praise your Majesty's foresight and wiseness... "
"Don't talk nonsense. After the decree is conveyed, we will first start with my imperial palace, and then the clan and relatives. If the previous ones are not done well, let alone praising my wisdom, it will become chaos and chaos. I am afraid that people in the world will not accuse me of being an incompetent and foolish king, so I have to be grateful."
As soon as he heard that Emperor Ningkang said that he would start from the Imperial Mansion first, Jia Lian ignored Emperor Ningkang's teasing and blurted out: "What, even His Majesty's Imperial Mansion has to be cleared?"
Emperor Ning Kang did not blame Jia Lian for his gaffe at all. He snorted and said, "What's so strange? Otherwise, do you think those people would compromise so easily and hand over their interests?"
Jia Lian was silent, thinking to himself that it seemed that Emperor Ning Kang had already fought countless battles with the top dignitaries of the Wei Dynasty silently.
Speaking of which, the previous emperors did not have any imperial palace. After all, everything in the world belongs to him. What kind of royal estate does he want?
If you want to use money, why don't you just take it directly from the national treasury revenue? However, some emperors discovered that whenever their "internal funds" ran out of money and wanted to add more from the treasury, there were always some annoying people who took the righteousness of the family and the country, the etiquette of the clan, etc. , to persuade him, to squeeze him, or even to oppose him.
As an emperor, it is very unpleasant to not even be able to spend money freely. So some smart little cutie thought that since the princes and nobles could rely on the output of a large number of private farms to satisfy their extravagant and luxurious lives, why couldn't he, the emperor, follow suit?
Once he has his own private property, when he wants to use money, he won't have to take it from the treasury in every possible way. Look what those nasty people will say about him!
As a result, Huangzhuang, a farmland dedicated to the royal family, came into being.
In other words, Huangzhuang is actually the emperor's private property. Who would have thought that even the emperor's private property would be included in this land clearing? Could it be that, like the nobles and nobles of the clan, we should draw a scale and the extra portion will be taxed in accordance with the law in the future?
The emperor pays taxes? If this is the case, this can be regarded as a great progress for society. It can be seen that Emperor Ningkang had great determination and perseverance in order to implement this land clearing. In order to silence those people, he even went to death himself.
That's true, in this case, who dares to talk about merit and privilege? In terms of privileges, who can compare with the emperor?
Jia Lian actually admired Emperor Ning Kang a little in his heart. As a feudal emperor, he was able to go so far in order to implement the New Deal. He was incredibly broad-minded.
Emperor Ning Kang seemed to see Jia Lian's admiration, and he felt somewhat complacent. He didn't know how many times he had thought about the matter of clearing the land, and he was sure that if it could really be done, it would be a lasting achievement. Compared with it, the Imperial Manor was nothing.
"For the clan, I have put the prince and Zhaoyang in charge. I have also asked the minister of household affairs to personally supervise the affairs of the ministers and relatives of the emperor. Your Jia family is both a minister of honor and a relative of the country. If there is a need at the Ministry of household affairs, Your Jia family needs good cooperation."
"Weichen obeys the decree. Your Majesty, please rest assured that our Jia family has supported the imperial decree before, now and in the future. Even if Weichen goes to Tianjin Wei after some time, Weichen's second uncle will represent my Jia family and do our best." Cooperate with the imperial court to implement this national policy that is beneficial to the country!"
Hearing Jia Lian's firm statement again, Emperor Ning Kang nodded with satisfaction, and then said: "You don't have to rush to deal with Tianjin Guard matters. I have already asked the Ministry of War to send a letter to the Tianjin Guard Navy Admiral. No matter when you arrive, He will fully cooperate with you.
But for your firearms camp, how well did you choose the location? Since it is a Forbidden Army organization, it is best for the general office to be in the imperial city. If you feel that training cannot be held on weekdays, I will allow you to build two more schools outside the north city. "
The Imperial City of the Wei Dynasty was so large that it could not accommodate a small firearms camp. Emperor Ningkang felt that the Firearms Camp was not like other large camps. Among other things, the sound of the cannons was too scary. There were many palaces in the imperial city, and the people inside were very delicate. If the Firearms Camp was too " "Disturbing the people", someone is definitely going to make trouble in front of him.
Although Emperor Ning Kang had his own considerations, his words of wholehearted consideration for his subordinates still made Jia Lian feel very comfortable. If nothing else, I will not feel aggrieved if I work for such a boss!
"Thank you for your majesty's holy heart and generosity. I have already inquired at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The best place is inside Xi'an Gate, west of the middle section of the inner moat. Not only is the terrain there open, but there happens to be an abandoned Forbidden Army camp. The most important thing is that it is close to the Forbidden Palace. farther.
If the main camp of the firearms camp is chosen there, His Majesty and the empresses in the harem will not be disturbed during daily training in the future. "
"Well, that's very good."
…
After coming out of Daming Palace, Jia Lian went directly to Chonghua Palace.
Chonghua Palace is located to the east of the Forbidden City. It was a palace that the Supreme Emperor planned and built alone in his later years for his retirement. The entire Chonghua Palace is not only as magnificent as the Daming Palace, but even the specifications and palace layout are almost the same as the Daming Palace. It is also divided into front and rear palaces.
Viewed from the air, the entire Chonghua Palace looks like a miniature version of the Forbidden City, dominating the Imperial Palace East Road.
Perhaps most of the people who were qualified to come to congratulate the Supreme Emperor on his birthday had already arrived. There were many people in the Chonghua Palace and it was a bit noisy.
"Name, official position, gift list."
Outside the palace gate, I saw someone approaching. The eunuch taking notes didn't even raise his head, so he spoke mechanically in a stiff tone.
Jia Lian was slightly stunned, "Um, Jia Lian, the commander of the firearms camp..."
Well, he knew before that the arrogance of the chief eunuch of Chonghua Palace was from top to bottom, even for a low-ranking eunuch.
"Firearms camp?"
The eunuch raised his head and glanced at Jia Lian. He was stunned for a moment by Jia Lian's appearance and demeanor, and then frowned and said, "Firearm Camp? I've never heard of it. Hey, who of you knows about the Firearms Camp? What rank is the leader?"
The eunuch asked the companions on his left and right, and it was obvious that if he hadn't been convinced that no one would dare to tease Chonghua Palace, he would have thought that Jia Lian was lying.
When Jia Lian saw this, he smiled helplessly. He had several official positions, but the one he valued the most was the commander of the firearms battalion, and his rank was higher than that of the commander of the Xicheng Army and Horses Division, so he subconsciously applied for this position.
Unexpectedly, the Firearms Camp has not been established yet, and even this number was decided not long ago. It is unusual for these eunuchs of Chonghua Palace not to know.
Just like they don't know him as Jia Lian. You know, if it were the Daming Palace, Jia Lian believed that any unworthy eunuch would probably recognize him.
If I had known earlier, I would have applied for the title directly.
"The Firearms Battalion is the newly established Forbidden Army Battalion. His Majesty personally granted him the post of third-grade commander." After all, it was the birthday of the Supreme Emperor, so Jia Lian patiently explained.
"Okay, I'm sorry you don't dare to lie."
The eunuch seemed to notice Jia Lian's displeasure, so he didn't bother to pay attention. He glanced at Jia Lian and then behind him, and then said in a very surprised tone: "Where is your birthday gift? You don't even give birthday gifts." Why don’t you come to the Emperor’s birthday banquet without any preparation??!”
As the eunuch spoke, he couldn't help but stand up and glared at Jia Lian menacingly. Judging from his posture, it seemed that if this was true as he suspected, he would ask the imperial officers and soldiers on the left and right to arrest Jia Lian, a madman who disrespected the Supreme Emperor.
Jia Lian's brows finally couldn't help but frown. He finally understood why most of the ministers in the court looked down on these eunuchs. Damn it, they were just relying on their own power.
You know, among the eunuchs in the Daming Palace, none of them were respectful when they saw him. There was a marquis on the left, another marquis on the left, and even Dai Quan was polite to him.
Who knew that when he arrived at Chonghua Palace, a young eunuch of the eighth or ninth grade would dare to boss him around?
"What's the fuss about?"
A big eunuch in red robe heard the commotion here and came over. Just when he was about to scold Jia Lian and the two, he looked up and saw Jia Lian's appearance, and suddenly he smiled like a chrysanthemum on his old face: "Hey, this is not General Zhenyuan... Hahaha, no, it should be the Marquis of Zhenyuan. I haven't seen you for two years, and the Marquis's style is still the same."
Jia Lian took a closer look at the old eunuch and smiled: "It turns out he is the prince, disrespectful and disrespectful."
Wang Fu, the chief eunuch of Chonghua Palace, chuckled, then looked at the eunuch beside him who was shrinking his neck, and scolded: "You are blind, this is the famous Marquis of Zhenyuan, the famous man next to His Majesty, you can't even He doesn’t even know him, so what’s the use of your dog eyes?”
The eunuch felt aggrieved, not to mention that he didn't recognize him, but the other guys on the left and right didn't recognize him either. It's all Jia Lian's fault. If a good marquis doesn't repay, he insists on being the commander of the firearms camp. Moreover, he didn't say his name clearly, so he didn't even hear it clearly.
No matter how ignorant he was, he had heard of Jia Lian of Rongguo Mansion. After all, this is a man who is known as the most handsome man in the country. Even the eldest princess wanted to get her!
Jia Lian was too lazy to care about these insignificant roles. He said to Wang Fu: "Because I was summoned by His Majesty when I just entered the palace, my uncle went first. I want to come to Rongguo Mansion to prepare a gift for the Supreme Emperor. My uncle has already presented it. , if you don’t believe it, you can open the gift book and check it.”
"Hahaha, what did the Marquis say? What are you two bastards doing here? Why don't you lead the Marquis in?"
Following Wang Fu's shout, two young eunuchs standing by quickly came over to guide Jia Lian.
Jia Lian nodded to Wang Fu and walked to Chonghua Palace. Wang Fu bent down to see him off. When he stood up, he found that Jia Lian had already entered the main entrance. This made him subconsciously narrow his eyes, then dispersed to greet others.
He was ordered by the prince to be on duty here. This was a great honor, but he didn't want to let Jia Lian alone affect his mood and miss the business.
(End of chapter)
