The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Grain in Ear is a busy season for farming, also known as "busy planting" among the people. This season is the time for planting rice in the south and harvesting wheat in the north.

At this time of year in previous years, the fields in Zhili were bustling with activity. People took advantage of the good weather, rolled up their sleeves, and waved their sickles. The joy of the harvest was everywhere, and laughter filled the air.

This year is another harvest season, but there is a low and silent atmosphere in the wheat fields.

Empty ox carts and mule carts were lined up in rows on the dirt road in the fields.

A group of porters came out of the wheat field carrying freshly harvested wheat and piled the bundles on the cart.

With a "snap", the driver hit the ox's buttocks with the whip, and the ox cart full of wheat rolled heavily away.

Some runners from Daxing County Government were walking through the fields with knives on their shoulders, talking to the villagers who were harvesting wheat. The villagers just listened without saying a word.

The magistrate of Daxing County had also come. He was lying on a bamboo chair under a big tree with a big umbrella covering his head.

When the sound of horse hooves was heard, the magistrate of Daxing County immediately sat up and looked over.

A group of more than twenty riders came galloping towards this side, and the leader was Jia Lian.

The magistrate of Daxing County was startled and rushed forward to greet Jia Lian, who had stopped at the reins. He said, "Minister Jia!"

Jia Lian raised his hand: "What's going on?"

The magistrate of Daxing County smiled apologetically and said, "Don't worry, in two or three days at most, all the wheat in Daxing County will be delivered to the granary."

Jia Lian nodded, quickly glanced at the figures busy in the wheat fields, and sighed silently. The people suffer no matter how the country develops or how it develops.

Xuzhou was not only an important military town, but also the gateway for grain transported to Beijing and a necessary place for its transportation. Every year, about 15,000 grain ships passed through Xuzhou to the north, carrying as much as 4 to 5 million dan of grain.

Shui Rong captured the city of Xuzhou and not only obtained an arsenal, but also cut off the imperial grain transport and controlled the heartland of Dashun.

In this case, the strategy agreed upon by the Shangshufang would no longer work.

Emperor Yongchang convened another imperial meeting in the Shangshufang, and finally decided that the court would pay to buy all the grain in Shandong, Zhili, Shanxi and Hetao areas, including the royal family, meritorious ministers and local gentry.

In order to ensure that all grain could enter the government warehouse, local government officials had to go to the fields to purchase grain.

Of course, the people still had to keep some food for themselves. Each household had to keep three months' worth of food, and the rest had to be sold to the court.

The price of grain in the capital city soared all the way from the initial two or three cents per stone to nine cents, which is almost one tael of silver per stone. This was the price after the court executed several grain merchants who had driven up the prices.

The price of grain has stabilized temporarily, but many people have started hoarding grain again, and behind them are royal relatives and noble ministers.

Grain merchants did not dare to close their shops, but they also played tricks and limited the amount of grain they sold every day, causing people to line up in front of grain stores day and night, creating a huge mess!
The money given by the imperial court was not small, but if the government army could not defeat the White Lotus rebels, recapture Xuzhou City, and open up the Grand Canal, the grain from the south would not be able to enter the capital. At that time, the price of grain in the capital would not be controllable by the imperial court. It might directly rise to two or three taels per stone, and even money would not be able to buy grain.

At that time, it will be the ordinary people who will suffer. As for the royal family, noble ministers and local gentry, not only will they have plenty of food at home, but they will also eat differently.

To be on the safe side, the imperial court notified the Yangtze River Navy and asked them to dispatch some warships to try to transport a batch of grain to Beijing by sea.

In addition, a batch of cattle and sheep were requisitioned from outside the Great Wall. Of course, these cattle and sheep were not for the common people to eat, but were sent directly to the border army camps after entering the Great Wall to prevent food shortages.

The magistrate of Daxing County saw Jia Lian was stunned and hurriedly said with a smile: "The weather is hot, Master Jia, please dismount and rest for a while, drink a bowl of sour plum juice to cool off."

Jia Lian shook his head: "No, I still need to go to Wanping, Liangxiang and other places to have a look."

The magistrate of Daxing County took the opportunity to flatter him: "If every official in Dashun were like Minister Jia, there would be no need to worry about the country not being able to enjoy peace and order!"

Jia Lian looked at him and said, "Don't just focus on the little things that the common people have. The big guys are the gentry. Do you understand?"

The magistrate of Daxing County was embarrassed: "This."

Jia Lian frowned: "Why, someone dares to defy the court?"

Daxing County Magistrate: “They don’t dare”

Jia Lian understood that it was the royal family again. At this time, a burst of hurried horse hoof sounds came over, Jia Lian looked over and saw his trusted servant Zhao'er.

Zhao Er came closer while spurring his horse, and stopped in front of Jia Lian, and reported to him, "Second Master, the Marquis has come to the capital."

So fast?
Jia Lian was stunned for a moment and asked anxiously: "Where is he now?"

Zhao Er: "He went to the palace."

Jia Lian: "Let's go back to the capital!" He squeezed his legs together and rode his horse towards the capital.

At the foot of the imperial city, there is also a Yanshenggong Mansion on Taipusi Street.

There was a mynah bird hanging on the vine trellis in the back garden, and the current Yansheng Duke Kong Xiaoer was hushing and teasing it.

Kong Xiaoer: "Kong Qingxiang calls me daddy, Kong Qingxiang calls me daddy."

The mynah bird imitated human speech: "Kong Qingxiang calls me daddy, Kong Qingxiang calls me daddy."

Kong Xiaoer: "What a beast."

Myna: "What a beast! What a beast!"

Kong Xiaoer laughed, but felt something was wrong, and he didn't know what was wrong. He turned around, sat down on the bamboo chair, picked up the tea bowl and started drinking.

After receiving the secret letter from the third prince, Kong Xiaoer did not go to Beijing immediately, but waited until early April to go to Beijing in a low-key manner.

After arriving in the capital, Kong Xiaoer went nowhere except to the palace to meet the emperor. For half a month, the gate of the Duke of Yansheng's mansion had been closed and no one was seen.

It’s not that Kong Xiaoer doesn’t want to go out or meet those officials who want to use the Yanshenggong Mansion as a shield, nor is it that he doesn’t dare. If he were afraid, he would not have come to Beijing.

There were many Southern Pacification Office guards in casual clothes taking turns to guard Taipusi Street. They were all Kong Qingxiang's men.

He didn't want to get into trouble at this time.

There was the sound of footsteps and the old butler came over.

The old housekeeper: "Master, Li Hu is back."

"Li Hu is back!" Kong Xiaoer stood up nervously.

"Yes." The old housekeeper continued, "He has gone to the palace now."

"I'm back, I'm finally back." Kong Xiaoer was so nervous that he sounded breathless when he spoke.

The old housekeeper hesitated for a moment and said softly, "Master, it's not too late to leave now. If you really get involved, your life will be in danger!"

"Leave?" Kong Xiaoer looked at the housekeeper absentmindedly, then shook his head, "If I offend Li Hu, at most I will die alone. If I offend the Third Prince, the entire Yansheng Mansion will die."

The old housekeeper said: "The emperor has already warned those officials who were successful candidates in the imperial examination. If they continue to cause trouble at this time, it would be a crime of disobeying the emperor's order, and disobeying the emperor's order is punishable by death!"

Kong Xiaoer sighed: "It would be great if there was a way to have the best of both worlds."

The old butler's eyes flashed: "Maybe we can find a solution from the Fourth Young Master."

Kong Xiaoer lost his voice: "Kong Qingxiang?!"

Myna: "Kong Qingxiang calls me daddy, Kong Qingxiang calls me daddy."

The old butler was slightly stunned, then shook his head with a wry smile.

Kong Xiaoer coughed awkwardly, thought for a moment, and said very seriously: "You go and find out for me first." (End of this chapter)