The bear child of the Red Chamber, Jia Cong

I don't know what day it is today, many students appeared on the street, some from Tsinghua Women's School, some from Jian'an Polytechnic, and some from the Jia clan school.The young people set up a long table to tell passers-by that there will be a total solar eclipse at noon, explain what the total solar eclipse is, and give them simple schematic diagrams.In many shops, the clerks also explain this to the customers.The fans of Yihong Yard told the guests who came to have tea and wine that it will be dark for a while around [-]:[-] noon today, which is very interesting.Even some idlers and hooligans in the city proudly walk around the streets, lest others will not know that they know that a solar eclipse is an ordinary celestial phenomenon, just like the rising and setting of the sun, and has nothing to do with the tengu.

Zhao Cheng, the commander of the Wucheng Army and Horse Division, captured Monk Hua from Wanshou Temple who had committed adultery with Duke Xian's father's concubine. Hearing the Dharma, he did not take him back to the yamen, but sent him to Xian Guo's mansion halfway. Big steward.The steward thanked Zhao Cheng, and a carriage pulled Wenfa away.After a while, I brought the hearing of the Dharma to the political affairs hall.

Hearing the Dharma, he wondered, "Why did you bring the poor monk here?"

The steward said: "Although there is a signboard of Zhengshitang here, not long ago it was the yamen of Jinyiwei."

Hearing the law, he snorted, "Such a small matter of adultery is going to alarm Jin Yiwei?"

The steward smiled and said, "It's a trivial matter to commit adultery by one person, but it's not a trivial matter to have greened half of the capital."

Hearing the Fa, he was startled, and suddenly smiled: "So that's the case. The poor monk still thinks that the poor monk has always had good luck, so why do he have bad luck when it's important?"

The steward led the hearing of the Dharma and turned a few corners in the political affairs hall to enter a quiet small hall, where I saw Feng Ziying and a young man sitting opposite each other and drinking tea.Seeing them coming in, the man said with a smile: "It's so fast." The steward invited the Dharma to sit down, and he also pulled a chair and sat down.

Hearing the Dharma, he saw that the young man was sitting at the head, and he was wearing a python robe. He thought for a moment and asked, "This must be the regent?"

"Yeah." The man nodded, "I'm Jia Cong. When you came here, did you see the students of the total solar eclipse on the road?"

Hearing the Dharma, he said: "The poor monk has been in the car, and he didn't see any students." He thought for a while, "I heard someone shouting on the side of the road, 'There is a total solar eclipse every year, and it is in a different place every year.' This is nonsense. .”

"It's true." Jia Cong said, "The places where you can see a total solar eclipse are different every year, and most of them are in foreign countries and ocean areas. This year it just happened to be in the capital of our country."

Hearing the Fa, he said: "I once went to Princess Jian'an's school to attend a heliocentric course in astronomy. Although it sounds reasonable, ordinary people would not believe it."

Jia Cong said with a smile: "The important thing right now is not to believe, but to know. The source of fear is the unknown. When will the total solar eclipse start, when will it get darker, when will it be completely dark, how long will it be dark, when will it begin When these things have been known in advance and verified one by one, even if you don’t believe what others tell you, you will not be afraid. The students have prepared glass slides with ink, and let everyone see for themselves when the time comes. Well, after all, seeing is believing. And this kind of new thinking is easy for young people to accept, and I planned to use more young people." Nai took a sip of tea, "Anyway, there will be no more public anger. The people are busy talking to others. Debating whether the heliocentric theory is true or not, how can I have time to be angry?"

Hearing Fa heaved a long sigh, he asked for a while, "Since he knows the tricks of the impoverished, why didn't the Regent just let the Imperial Forest Army pass? Why should he publicize his family's ugliness?"

Jia Cong also let out a long sigh: "Because we searched for two days and thought about it for two days, but we still haven't guessed what is the use of you cleaning up the rice in the suburbs of Beijing. The total solar eclipse can only be used to guide public opinion, and cannot harm the essence. Food is the foundation of the country. The foundation. Because I don’t know your strategy, and I’m afraid of scaring the snakes, if you break the pots and damage the food, wouldn’t the people suffer?”

Hearing the law, he was stunned for a moment, then suddenly asked: "Will the Regent decide?"

"No." Jia Cong said, "I'm not good at divination either."

Hearing the Dharma, he didn't believe it: "With just a few words from the princess, you can find the poor monk in just two days?"

"Of course it's not just based on her words." Jia Cong smiled, "In fact, you have a lot of loopholes. If you don't check, you won't know. Once you check, they will all come out. For example, if you go to the suburbs to collect rice, the price is so high. For example, Yuan Yaofen was suddenly willing to rent the Chang'an Theater; for example, the fourth son of Yan Wang's family became domineering for no reason; I value Qin Tianjian—couldn’t he carefully craft a plausible excuse? For another example, General Zhao Changsong, who usually doesn’t drink at all, suddenly got half-drunk and said he was happy.”

Hearing the law, he was shocked: "General Zhao, how did you know that!"

Jia Cong smiled and said: "You told me." Nai took another sip of tea and said kindly, "Zhao Changsong is the admiral of the Shenji Camp, and besides Sun Shaozu, he should be the most important general in Beijing. Mother and wife believe in Buddhism, There are also four or five concubines, but he is mostly in the camp and rarely goes home, and those women stay alone all year round. Unless you are the confidant of King Yan, I can't think of any reason why you should not move his backyard."

Hearing the law, he was stunned: "This...what if you make a mistake?"

"This alone is not enough to deduce." Jia Cong said, "plus his recent performance. After King Yan's 'serious illness', he was restless, and when King Yan abolished his son, he kept silent. No matter how you look at it, it seems like a guess. It’s not true when I got to Prince Yan’s mansion. I was suddenly happy for no reason in the past two months. Then I was so happy that I drank wine last night, so it can be concluded.”

Hearing the Dharma for a long time, he said, "You...you actually placed a spy beside General Zhao..."

"That's not true. We only discovered him this morning. He had already returned to the camp, and we arrested his concubine for interrogation." Jia Cong smiled and said, "When a man is happy and when he is not happy, his concubine Clearest. He's dead, by the way."

Wenfa stood up: "What?!"

Jia Cong sighed: "I don't want to either. He has great prestige in the army, and his subordinates love to listen to him, and his conduct is not flawed—unlike Sun Shaozu. He is in charge of Shenjiying! If he is Yan Wang's confidant, the danger is too great. I will have a headache if I cooperate with your father, Mr. Lu, at a critical moment."

"How did you kill it?"

"Poison." Jia Cong said, "Send masters to sneak into his barracks, try to lure his soldiers away, and throw the poison into his kettle."

Hearing the law, he stumbled: "It's a pity!" Jia Cong spread his hands.Wenfa laughed and said, "It's a pity that you made a mistake. Zhao Changsong is as cunning as a fox. He secretly voted for Prince Yizhong, but no one knew about it; he immediately changed to the Supreme Emperor; after the world was divided, he changed to King Yan."

"Oh." Jia Cong said, "That's his son." Hearing the law, he was taken aback.Jia Cong said with a smile, "Two months ago he was happy and told my concubine that his cold-tempered second son suddenly said something quite sensible; last night it was also the second master of the Zhao family who accompanied his father to drink. We can't take it Guess which one of these gentlemen belongs to you, or both." Hearing the law, his face suddenly turned pale.

The steward stood up and said, "I'll find someone to kill Zhao Laoer."

"Thanks for your hard work."

Wenfa sneered and said, "Second Master Zhao is not so easy to kill."

The steward walked around and said: "Send your apprentice to invite him, just say that you have something urgent to discuss with him." Hearing the law, the handsome face became even more ugly.The steward walked to the door and turned around again, "By the way, guess how we found Yuan Yaofen?"

Hearing Fa was startled: "Yes, it's not uncommon for a famous actor to set up a theater. Why do you suspect him?"

"It was your apprentice who told his concubine, and his concubine told us."

Hearing the Dharma, he was stunned: "The poor monk never told any of his disciples about Master Yuan's identity."

"Well, we also guess that your apprentice may have made a mistake. If you have broken your sleeves, you don't need to wear a cuckold yourself, just order your subordinates to do it." Jia Cong said, "It's just that you are a half-cuckold A romantic monk in the capital often hides in the house with a well-known Dao Madan so that no one can disturb him. What would your disciple think? Gossip is like flowing water, and you can't stop it. His mistress told him about the romantic affairs in his mansion, and he couldn't help it I will talk about the love affair in your temple. Master, there are always two sides to a coin~~"

Hearing the Dharma, he nodded: "This is a miscalculation of the poor monk." He asked again, "How did the regent find the poor monk? In the early years of Wanshou Temple, ordinary people could not enter, and in recent years, they have been quite wealthy pilgrims." I just came here. The poor monk collects food in the countryside, and those common people don’t know the poor monk.”

Jia Cong proudly said: "You may not believe me when you tell me. Someone under you carelessly said something bad about me, and the people thought you were suspicious, so they came to me to complain."

Hearing the law, he immediately said: "Impossible! The regent has just arrived, and it is obvious that he is deceiving the king with his ministers. He will definitely not win the hearts of the people."

"What is it about the king and the minister? Ordinary people don't care that much." Jia Cong said seriously, "But they know that the female minister Lin Daiyu was appointed by the king. If I make a mistake, will Lin be lost? Master, who is the emperor? Who is the heir and who is he, and how much does he have to do with the people? As soon as Prime Minister Lin came to Beijing, he was exempted from corvee and greatly reduced land taxes. There are many, not to mention businessmen, I wish they could follow the strategy of the south in the country of Yan."

Wenfa sneered and said, "Where are the scholars?"

Jia Cong shrugged: "The number of people is too small and the fighting power is too weak, so it can be ignored. If the literati had the ability, the king of Yan would not have been able to go to the stage at all. Besides, they would not dare. From Prince Yizhong to the Supreme Emperor to the four generals who disrupted the capital, and then To the king of Yan, to the king of Yan who abolished the crown prince twice, it took only thirty years to pinch his fingers. The people who are in charge of each family have experienced this, and they are all timid. The brave Prince Yizhong died at that time. Another group died when Fang Xiong occupied the capital, and a group left in despair after seeing the world fall apart, helpless. How much is left in the capital? Talking about Confucian scholars, even the minds of ordinary people have been smoothed."

Hearing the Dharma in silence for a long time, he sighed: "It's a good court, but it was destroyed from the inside."

Jia Cong suddenly remembered what Tanchun said in the original book, and sighed: "My third sister said, whether it's the court or the big family, if you come in from outside, you can't kill them for a while. This is what the ancients said 'hundred feet' Insects, dead but not stiff.' You have to commit suicide from the inside, and then you will be completely defeated."

Hearing the law, he was surprised: "This is what your third sister said? Jia Zheng's concubine?"

Jia Cong also wondered: "You even know my third sister?"

Hearing the law, he said with a smile: "I heard that sister Ling is an official in the Taiwan government, and there are many women in the backyards who admire her."

"Huh? Envious? Don't you look down on me?"

"It's just that I don't like it in my mouth." Wenfa said, "I'm envious in my heart."

Jia Cong clapped his hands and smiled: "I see. Let me tell you, it is impossible to internalize values ​​so thoroughly. By the way, where is your father?"

Hearing the Dharma, he smiled and said, "The Buddha said, don't say it."

Jia Cong shrugged: "Forget it. Since you are willing to expose so many confidants hidden in the market to scare the people, isn't it just to borrow people's power? I know you don't have much force. Brother Feng, I'll leave it to you. I'll see you next door." See Master Yao."

Feng Ziying sat by the side all the time, nodded when she heard the words: "Okay." Jia Cong went out.

The total solar eclipse has already begun for more than half an hour, and there is a long queue in front of the popular science desks on the street. The idlers all want to use the ink-stained glass to see that the sun and the moon seem to be missing a piece.

Zhao Changsong's second son led a few confidants and followed a monk out of the barracks, ran across three streets, and turned a corner.The monk suddenly reined in the reins: "Oh!" He pointed to the front, "Look, Master Zhao!" Second Master Zhao also reined in his horse and took a closer look. There was a small restaurant not far ahead, and a banner was hung on the restaurant. It reads: Hello, General Zhao Changsong.Second Master Zhao squinted his eyes and was about to speak when he heard a "bang" from a cold gun, and Second Master Zhao fell off his horse.The monks and soldiers were shocked.The guards rushed to the restaurant to search, and God couldn't care about such trivial things as the solar eclipse.

Not long after Zhao Erye left the barracks, a small official sent by the Ministry of War came to Shenji Camp, and smiled and told the soldiers guarding the gate: "The small official was ordered to come to check whether everyone's daily money is enough. Pay the soldiers more."

The soldier was overjoyed: "I heard that all the soldiers in the Taiwan government are rich."

The little official said: "Taiwan's business is more prosperous than Yan's, and the magistrate is rich, so the military pay is very high. It will take about two or three years for Yan to catch up with them."

The soldier suddenly laughed: "Twenty-three years work very quickly!"

At the same time, all the battalions of the Royal Forest Army received a letter of increasing their salaries.In the past few months, the Royal Forest Army has seen that their counterparts from the south are richer than themselves, and they are envious in their hearts.Then the camp was full of joy.

At two quarters noon, the total solar eclipse arrived as scheduled.The people in the capital looked up at the bustle one after another, and all held up the ink-painted glass.After a while, a line of golden edges appeared in the sky.There was a cry of surprise on the ground: "Oh-oh--"

After the end of time, the sky has become much clearer, and the crowds in the streets and alleys have not dispersed.Suddenly someone shouted on Zhongting Avenue: "It's not good! The good porridge turned blue!" Everyone hurriedly gathered around.It turned out to be a guy from a well-established porridge shop.The person panicked and said that he just went to the back kitchen to check that the porridge, which was white before the solar eclipse, turned blue after the solar eclipse!

The people were in an uproar.Someone hurriedly said: "Hurry up! Go ask the female teachers of Tsinghua Women's School!"

The female students were still at the intersection, and two of them came over immediately upon hearing this.One of them took a look at the porridge that had turned blue, and said seriously, "Starch turns blue when it meets iodine. Did your boss offend some green forest thief? Someone probably wants to take advantage of the total solar eclipse to destroy your porridge shop business. Don't worry." Afraid, not witchcraft, just chemistry."