Dream of the Red Chamber: I can see the hidden labels of the beauties.

Upon hearing Emperor Jing'an inquire about the situation of the Dragon Guard, Xia Shouzhong understood that the emperor was asking about Jia Can's reorganization efforts, and bowed in response:

"Your Majesty, this old servant has sent people to inquire and found out that Jia Can has been getting up very early these past few days. Every day before dawn, he has already arrived at the Longfu Guard Office to take his duty and report for duty. He has also declared that anyone who does not report for duty on time within three days will be dismissed from the list."

"Judging by the timeline, today seems to be the deadline set by Jia Can."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Jing'an frowned:

"Yi Xian submitted a secret memorial to me, saying the same thing, and it clearly belittled Jia Can. Although he didn't say it explicitly, the implication was that Jia Can was reckless, arrogant, and reckless."

"It is also said that Jia Can will submit a memorial to remove all those nominal officials from their posts and recover the salaries they have received over the years, in order to reduce the burden on the court."

Xia Shouzhong frowned upon hearing this, pondered for a moment, and then shook his head, saying:

"Your Majesty, based on my two encounters with Jia Can, he shouldn't be so reckless and arrogant..."

Xia Shouzhong wanted to say that Yi Xian had made a false report, but he didn't say it out loud. After all, Yi Xian was personally selected by Emperor Jing'an, and the facts he had inquired about were indeed true.

Emperor Jing'an continued:

"It seems I overestimated Jia Can. He is still young. Even if he is patient and has some shrewdness and strategy, the officialdom is too complicated. I need to consider who to send south to take over Lin Hai's post."

Xia Shouzhong's eyes twitched. He vaguely felt that this matter was probably not so simple. Although he had only met Jia Can twice, every time Jia Can gave him the feeling of being wise but foolish and mature and steady.

However, Xia Shouzhong was ultimately an outsider with limited information, so he could only choose to observe for the time being and did not rush to offer any advice.

Then Emperor Jing'an continued:

"Speaking of which, Jia Can's idea is quite good. It's exactly what I've always wanted to do but haven't been able to. In every military camp, there are countless generals who are just nominally receiving salaries without actually working. These people are parasites on the court, and I wish I could clean them all out!"

Xia Shouzhong said:

"Your Majesty, this is perfect. Let's do as Jia Can suggests this time and see how these nobles will react. This will give Your Majesty some insight so that you can address the problem accordingly in the future."

Emperor Jing'an's eyes flashed, and he nodded slightly:

"Hmm, that's feasible. Yi Xian said in his secret memorial that all of this was Jia Can's idea. In the end, those nobles will only hate Jia Can. It can be considered as making good use of his last bit of value."

"It's a pity that I thought he was really capable, but I didn't expect him to be just a hothead. Sigh..."

As he spoke, Emperor Jing'an shook his head.

Xia Shouzhong bowed his back, lowered his eyes, and moved his lips, but ultimately said nothing more.

……

Soon, the decree was issued, and all the noble sons of the Longfu Guard who were nominally receiving salaries without actually working were removed from the list, and they were also required to pay back the salaries they had received for the previous ten years.

Three days ago, Jia Can took office and announced his new post. He also ordered people to come to the yamen to sign in, and those who did not come would be dismissed. These sons of noble families scoffed at this and continued to eat and drink as usual, ignoring Jia Can's words.

In their eyes, the practice of receiving salaries without actually working has a long history. Their fathers did it, so naturally it would be the same for them. They simply did not believe that the court would actually remove them from the list.

Some even scornfully said that Jia Can, a newly risen junior, had become arrogant and didn't know his own worth after being favored and granted an official position by the emperor.

But to their utter surprise, the imperial decree was actually issued that day, and it was even personally approved by Emperor Jing'an.

For a moment, many noble sons were dumbfounded. They did not understand why Emperor Jing'an would support Jia Can in doing this.

The practice of receiving salaries without actually working is already an open secret. Does Emperor Jing'an really intend to weaken the power of the Xun Gui faction?

These people dared not openly defy the imperial court, but secretly they could not swallow their anger and thus plotted to bring down Jia Can.

Emperor Jing'an supports Jia Can, right? Then they'll remove Jia Can from power, give Emperor Jing'an a good slap in the face, and make him understand that they will not easily let anyone who dares to touch their interests.

One of them was a nominal noble son named Feng Ziying, the eldest son of the Divine Martial General's Mansion, who had a long-standing friendship with the Ningguo Mansion and the Jia family.

Feng Ziying was also deeply angry about this matter, but due to the long-standing friendship between the two families, he still personally went to ask Jia Can what exactly happened.

Side hall.

When Jia Can entered, he saw Feng Ziying sitting in a chair, his face gloomy and his expression extremely unpleasant. Knowing full well what was going on, Jia Can politely bowed and said:

"It's a rare treat to have Brother Feng visit. He's a seldom seen."

Feng Ziying looked at him coldly:

"Jia Can, a few days ago, my family heard that you were appointed as the commander of the Dragon Guard, so we specially sent someone to bring gifts to congratulate you. We thought that with your help, I could also benefit from your position in the Dragon Guard."

"But you, without any mercy, not only dismissed me from the Dragon Guard, but also demanded the return of ten years' worth of unpaid wages?"

Jia Can feigned surprise, and after a long pause, he said:

"Brother Feng, please calm down and listen to me. As you know, this is my first time serving as an official in the court, and I am completely ignorant of many government affairs. Fortunately, His Majesty took pity on me and arranged a capable deputy to assist me."

"These past two or three days, I have been sitting in the office as usual, trying to familiarize myself with the many things about the Dragon Guard. As for what you mentioned about being removed from the list and having my property confiscated, I really know nothing about it."

Feng Ziying believed most of what he said, finding it reasonable, well-founded, and sincere. However, she still asked with doubt:

"You really didn't know about this?"

Jia Can nodded solemnly:

"I truly had no idea. As you know, Brother, I'm young and naive, a newcomer here. I didn't even know how many Dragon Guards there were. How could I possibly do something so radical?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Ziying became even more convinced, and frowned:

"If it wasn't you, Brother Can, who was responsible?"

Jia Can raised an eyebrow slightly, pretending to ponder, and after a moment said:

"Because I am not familiar with government affairs, most of the affairs of the Dragon Guard are now handled by Yi Xian, the commander appointed by the Emperor. I think he is probably the one behind this."

Feng Ziying was startled upon hearing this, realizing something. Her expression turned extremely serious as she looked at Jia Can and asked:

"Was the newly appointed Deputy Commander appointed by His Majesty?"

Jia Can nodded: "Yes, this is what Yi Xian said himself. He said that His Majesty was afraid that I did not understand military and political affairs, so he specially appointed him to serve as the Deputy Commander of Longfu Guard to assist me in governing. These days, he has been handling the affairs of Longfu Guard. I haven't had a chance to ask about them yet."

"I never expected that he would do such an unjust thing, relying on His Majesty's favor. Brother Feng, don't worry, now that I know, I will immediately write to His Majesty to explain the situation on your behalf, and at least keep your official positions in the Longfu Guard!"

Seeing his indignant expression and his confident demeanor, Feng Ziying completely believed him.

After all, what he knew was almost the same as what Jia Can said. More importantly, this decree was personally approved by Emperor Jing'an, and Jia Can was not a trusted minister of the emperor. Why would Emperor Jing'an support him so much?

After much thought, there is only one possibility: Yi Xian is merely a pawn of Emperor Jing'an, whose purpose is not only to sideline Jia Can, but also to use this opportunity to test the bottom line of the Xun Gui faction.

Rather than saying it was Yi Xian's initiative, it would be more accurate to say that Emperor Jing'an wanted to do it, but was merely using Yi Xian as a tool.