"The beginning of a nightmare?" Shen Cha blinked, "How could it be? Logically speaking, after serving the fifth server, they are not considered relatives. To be precise, they are not considered a family. Not to mention being involved, there is no mention of it in the household registration. Any relationship, if it’s not in the same place, or even if we’re from the same hometown, it won’t count.”
"Of course, but at that time, the Jin family was considered a big success, and the clan members were too ostentatious. Whenever there was any disturbance, a group of people would come to criticize. You see, the same is true for the Wang and Xie clans. When a younger member of the family goes out, he is raped by a girl. The young man threw away a cart full of melons, pears, handkerchiefs and jewelry. At the court meeting the next day, someone would come up with a book saying that the family tradition was unhealthy and the head of the family was negligent in discipline, etc., and asked the emperor at that time to punish them. Penalties, salary reductions, etc., these have become commonplace and not surprising."
"Isn't this a typical case of saying sour grapes when you can't eat them?" Shen Cha sneered, "Isn't this the trend in the previous dynasty? If you like good-looking people, throw the things you like on the good-looking people's carriages? Participate in other people's homes. Yes, it’s just that I can’t get these, so I am envious and jealous, but I have no choice but to rely on reading a book to relieve my inner dissatisfaction.”
"That's true. Although the previous dynasty also selected officials based on their looks, there were also many ordinary-looking people who entered the dynasty as officials. These people also came from pretty good family backgrounds. Therefore, there is no envy of family background. It can only be She just looks jealous."
"Seriously speaking, today's scholars are just envious of the glamorous side of big clans like Wang Xie. They just wish they could have been born at that time and be in such limelight, but they don't know the suffering behind their backs. I don't know I don't know if it is true, but I have heard that in the study room of the head of a famous family, which was very popular at that time, the lights were not turned off all night long, and meetings with confidants and staff were held almost all the time, and they lived a very happy life. The hard work."
"It will never go out of style to seek political power in one's position." Jin Jing smiled, looked at the boxes that were dug out one by one, and frowned slightly, "How much evidence did Ning Cheng search? Why are there so many boxes? ?」
"It depends on what the Ning family has done. If they were doing their job properly, they wouldn't have so many things to fall into the hands of others, would they?"
"You're right. If you had done your job properly, even if you were targeted, you wouldn't have suffered such a big loss." Jin Jing smiled bitterly, "After what happened to the Jin family, they were actually quite cautious. , you know that someone will be watching you. Of course, all the big families are watching, and those people are eager for something to go wrong in these families, so that they can drag people down and put them on top."
"Based on my understanding of the two great clans of Wang and Xie, they have been able to stand for hundreds of years because they are very competitive and have many talented people. There are also many capable, knowledgeable and visionary people, and the inheritance continues from generation to generation. . Although there are many times of involvement, most of them are insignificant and not enough to shake the foundation of a family."
"But the Jin family is different. It was overthrown overnight. No matter the main family, direct lineage, or other branches, there was no time to react. A century-old noble family collapsed like this."
"Other than treason and witchcraft, I can't think of any other crime that could cause a century-old noble family to collapse like this in this world."
"And character and reputation."
"Can't you?" Shen Cha frowned slightly, glanced at Merlin who was waving to her, and then looked at the few boxes she ordered the other guards to move out of the big hole she dug. She breathed a sigh of relief and continued to talk to Jin Jing. He said, "I don't quite understand this. There are many people in our court who have poor reputations but are very capable. According to their standards, I'm afraid they can't be officials."
"It was different from us back then. At our time, some things might have been laughed off or discussed by others after dinner. But in the past or even earlier, people could have pointed their noses at them in the street. Those who were scolded, beaten, or even misbehaved were paraded through the streets, bringing shame to the entire family.”
"But there's no need to confiscate the house and exterminate the family, right?" Shen Cha shook her head gently, "So, what happened to Brother Xiaojing's family that led to such a murderous disaster?" She looked at Jin Jing and raised her hand lightly. Eyebrow, said, "I know, there is a high-sounding reason, and there is also an unspeakable reason, right?"
"Smart!" Jin Jing snapped her fingers, "Which one do you want to listen to?"
"Both of them want to hear it, do you have any questions?" Seeing Jin Jing shaking her head, Shen Cha smiled and said, "Then let's talk about the high-sounding reason first!"
"As you said, there will be some very dirty things in every family, especially in a prosperous family. There will always be problems of one kind or another, and there will always be some scum, and these scum will He did something unspeakable and evil.”
"It's just bullying men and dominating women, what else can I do?"
"Things like the Ning family and the Luan family."
"That's not unusual!" Shen Cha frowned slightly, "It just sounds disgusting, and I want to cut the perpetrator into pieces. But although this kind of thing is against ethics, it will not destroy the family, even if it is high-sounding The reason is not enough to convict him of this crime. If he were just convicted based on this, I am afraid that everyone in the world would understand that the Jin family offended people who should not have been offended, and they were silenced."
"Of course, it can't be so obvious." Jin Jing sighed, "But I heard from my father that the Jin family did do some outrageous things back then, and the evidence was caught because the evidence was solid. There is no room for rebuttal, so I have to admit my guilt.”
"Is it so serious? What is it?"
"At that time, the head of the family's biological uncle and his two sons were all very inhumane. They bullied men and women, seized other people's land, loaned us money, and forced them to sell their sons and daughters."
"This..." Shen Cha sneered, "Not to mention these things in those days, even now it is a capital crime! In the past two years, a state transfer envoy had his house confiscated and his family exterminated because of this? Your Majesty, the late Emperor, I hate this kind of thing even more. Once we know about it, once there is real evidence, it is absolutely impossible to tolerate it or be kind to it."
"Of course, but don't worry, it's not over yet. You may be even more angry after you listen to the following, and those are not done by humans." Seeing Shen Cha's eyes widened. , Jin Jing sneered and said, "The head of the family at that time had a half-brother. It is said that he was very honest at first, but I don't know how he got together with that uncle's sons and started doing it. They make a living by buying and selling officials. Every time they sell an official position, a large sum of gold will be put into their account." He sighed softly, "The price is related to the size of the official position, a small one is one hundred taels of gold, a large one is a hundred taels of gold. There are thousands of taels of gold, but for those farmers whose land has been seized by them, ten taels of silver is a sky-high price, and they have to sell their sons and daughters to pay it back."
"The rich have endless fields, and the poor have no place to stand." Shen Cha said with a calm face, "When Taizu rebelled against the previous dynasty, he used this banner. I dare not say that there are no such people in Daxia now, but at least You won't be so arrogant and blatant like the previous dynasty." She looked at Jin Jing, "These are all punishable, aren't they?"
"But according to the laws at that time, it was not possible to ransack the house, let alone bring down the entire family." Jin Jing clapped her hands, "There is another reason why the collapse happened so quickly, which is that it cannot be done. There’s a reason to speak.”
"It's indescribable. In these transactions and dealings above, there is one party that cannot be named, right?"
"Smart, Xiaocha is smart. One point will reveal the truth." Jin Jing nodded, "Think about it, if they buy and sell officials, there must be official vacancies. Although the Jin family also has a place in the court, but if they want To do this kind of business of buying and selling officials, there must be a channel. Their channel was the third prince of the emperor at that time. You also know that the competition for the throne in the previous dynasty was very fierce. They wanted to win people's hearts and get the support of the courtiers. I need to spend a huge amount of money, and apart from the filial piety of my disciples, the main source of this money is this kind of secret business."
"In government affairs controlled by big clans, it is indeed easier to buy and sell official positions, because basically no one from a poor family will become an official, so those who occupy these official positions are the children of famous families, and these people are the least short of money." Shen Tea Dian Nodding, "This is to find various ways to send gold to the princes who have taken over the throne. As for whether they can be good officials, no one cares."
"That's right!" Jin Jing frowned slightly and saw a few guards over there in the vegetable field accidentally stepping on a hole dug by others and falling.
He fell down and shook his head helplessly, "You all should be careful. Before you retreat, be sure to pay attention to whether there are any holes behind you. And those who have dug out boxes, please fill in the holes."
"Yes, you should be careful." Shen Cha nodded and said to Merlin, "You come out first, lift all these boxes out, and then fill in all the holes that have been dug."
"Yes!" Merlin nodded, "Boss, did Ning Cheng say how many boxes were buried in total?"
"Let me take a look." Shen Cha took out the picture from his waist and glanced at it briefly, "Twenty-one boxes, click on them. How many have been dug out so far?"
"Seventeen." Merlin and the two guards moved out all the large and small boxes that had been excavated. Looking at the pit inside, she thought for a while and said, "You guys go find a car. Let's go first." Load all these boxes into the car, and I will slowly dig out the rest myself.”
The guards nodded, leaving a few people to look at the box, while four others ran back to find a carriage and prepared to pull the box over.
Shen Cha pulled Jin Jing and stood aside again, and the two continued their previous chat.
"So, the Jin family got involved in the prince's succession, but the prince they supported had completely lost the possibility of ascending to the throne. Therefore, everything they had done was revealed, and his supporters fell. . Although this family did not do it, in order to eradicate the root cause, the entire Jin family ceased to exist."
"Absolutely!" Jin Jing nodded, "So, the Jin family never rose again, mainly because they didn't have the idea or the effort. Later, you also know what happened to me and Miaomiao, and we didn't want to It's related to this kind of thing. Fortunately, Uncle Shen, Aunt Shen, Uncle Xue, Aunt Xue, and Master Huilan accepted us, otherwise we wouldn't be able to live so well, right?"
"That's good. People like Ning who think about dividing the world equally every day really don't know what they are going to face."
"So, I think it's ridiculous. We share the world equally with the emperor. It sounds nice and seems to be highly respected by the emperor, but in fact, there is no trust at all." Seeing the surprise on Shen Cha's face, Jin Jing sighed, "Do you think the previous emperor trusted the big family headed by Wang Xie? No. Do you think the affairs of the Jin family, especially the buying and selling of official positions, were so secretive? How did they get discovered? Three It’s impossible for the prince to say that, after all, he can’t cut off this source of wealth, but who did it?”
"The former emperor's spy?"
"Correct answer!" Jin Jing snapped her fingers, "I have never had any trust. It was entirely because I had to rely on these powerful families. I was forced to do nothing about it. In addition, this rule was set by the ancestors. It is clearly stipulated that future generations cannot destroy it. Therefore, even if they want to get rid of these big clans, they have no way. However, it is indeed because of these big clans that the previous dynasty has survived for more than two hundred years. If it were not for the support of those big clans, they would not even be able to get rid of them. I can’t survive even fifty years.”
"That's true." Shen Cha nodded, "In other words, the previous emperor had spies in all major families and important branches?"
"Well!" Jin Jing sighed, "Some were planted by them, some were bribed by them. Once they feel that the time has come, or they are threatened, they start to ask these informants to provide some incriminating evidence that they have collected in daily life, and then... Revealed bit by bit. From the innocuous behaviors at the beginning to the shocking transactions, they will eventually be made public. Just like what happened to our family, everyone knows that it is the Jin family who is buying and selling official positions. He is a criminal who has brought disaster to the country and the people, but what he doesn’t know is that the person behind it is the third prince.”
"Then what happened to the third prince?"
"There was no way he could compete for the throne, but he still spent his life carefree and well-fed."
Shen Cha didn't know what to say, so he could only pat Jin Jing gently to show his comfort.
"I'm fine, it didn't happen to me. I can't feel the despair, nor can I feel the feeling of being betrayed and abandoned." Jin Jing shrugged, "However, until now, I still feel that what a scholar , What a warrior, as long as you live a happy life, that's fine. What about leaving a name in history, etc. are far away from me, and I don't care much about it.
care. "
"That's good enough." Shen Cha tugged on Jin Jing's sleeve, "Brother Xiaojing, Miaomiao and us. As long as we have us, we have a home, right?"
"That's right. As long as you are all here, our home will be here."
As soon as he finished saying this, he heard Merlin say something, and then saw her waving towards them.
"Boss, Brother Xiaojing, come and see what's in this box!"
