Uncle Lai in the Red Chamber

Chapter 444 Two-pronged approach
The next day.

After the morning court, Lai Shangrong passed by Tongzhen and came to the imperial study.

After the ceremony, he went straight to the point: "Your Majesty! I made a good decision last night and placed the princess in the Provincial Courtyard of Rongguo Mansion!"

Last night, he discovered that he actually won the title of Princess Beijing, and he really planned to take it as his own.

However, it was impossible to express this idea directly to the emperor, so he thought of deceiving Lin Daiyu.

Only by considering it from the emperor's perspective and making him feel that doing so is beneficial to him can he possibly assist himself.

Wang Han and Ma Chao were worthy of being the emperor's personal bodyguards, and they had a very thorough understanding of the emperor's thoughts.

Emperor Zhenglong just said "oh" indifferently.

Lai Shangrong hurriedly explained: "After all, the empress is the grand-niece of the dowager empress. If she rashly lives in Wei Chen's home, she may cause criticism in the court. It happens that an old acquaintance of Wei Chen's concubine was a monk in the Jade Emperor Temple..."

He recounted the relationship between Miaoyu and Princess Beijing, and how he was placed in Caocui Temple after being implicated and imprisoned.

Then he said: "People's words are scary. The princess will be less criticized by the outside world under the pretext of looking for old friends. Moreover, since it is necessary to thoroughly investigate the Zhen family's concealment of stolen money, it will inevitably embarrass the emperor. If the law is not ruthless, she will still Let him pray for blessings and atone for his sins in the nunnery, so that His Majesty will be benevolent and filial!"

Speaking of this, Lai Shangrong knelt down and apologized: "I have presumed the holy will without authorization, please punish me!"

Emperor Zhenglong had originally considered gossiping, but since Lai Shangrong had such a bad reputation, he had to take the blame.

Now, Lai Shangrong's proposal provides a new idea.

He smiled and said: "My dear, your loyalty is commendable, what's the crime?"

Lai Shangrong did not stand up, but said with a slight embarrassment: "I actually have selfish motives! Yesterday, I discovered that the princess has not consummated the marriage yet!"

Emperor Zhenglong was obviously stunned, and then a strange expression appeared on his face.

I almost blurted out, it’s weird that you’ve been tossing for so long and can’t come out...

It's just that as an emperor, it's impossible to show cowardice, let alone expose one's shortcomings.

He could only pretend to be confused and said: "This... is impossible!"

"I also found it unbelievable, so I asked the princess again last night. Only after I was sure did I dare to report it to the emperor!"

Emperor Zhenglong originally thought it was just a misunderstanding, but he didn't expect it to be true.

Combined with Lai Shangrong's previous proposal, we also have a new view on his purpose.

He said in a deep voice: "Is it because of this reason that you presume to speculate on the Holy Will?"

Lai Shangrong secretly thought, it is true that he is with you like a tiger. Just now he was enjoying the romance, but suddenly there are signs of falling out.

"I have selfish motives, but my loyalty can be seen from the sun and the moon. Please be aware of it, Your Majesty!"

The reason why Lai Shangrong dared to reveal his selfishness was not because he acted recklessly.

Forging iron requires waiting while the iron is hot. This unlucky fate was also arranged by the emperor himself. If the time passed and the emperor asked for this favor again, it might not have any effect.

But what happened just yesterday, the emperor was already in the wrong, and he had the ability to investigate the case, so he would not let himself down.

"Get up!"

Emperor Zhenglong just wanted to beat him. He was not afraid of his subjects asking for anything. Having no desires or requests meant that it was difficult to reward him, which was not conducive to equalizing kindness and power.

Since ancient times, rewards have been nothing more than money, power, and sex. Compared with the first two, sex is undoubtedly the cheapest.

What's more, this was the result of the emperor's own assist.

"This time, most of the military department has been abolished, and it is difficult to replenish the manpower. Annan's plan to send troops has been delayed for a long time, and there is no need to delay.

I will leave this matter to the Security Department. If you can handle the matter well, I will satisfy your selfishness! "

Lai Shangrong is young and already in the second rank of officialdom. Rewards need to be given carefully to avoid a situation where there is no reward.

Although the situation was caused by the emperor himself, and sex was the cheapest reward, after all, the name of the princess was attached.This also gave the emperor the right to whet his appetite.

Moreover, after this incident, Emperor Zhenglong also had more doubts about the Ministry of War, which he already did not trust.

If there wasn't a trustworthy divine machine battalion, he wouldn't have been able to disarm the Dragon Guards so smoothly.

Rather than letting the Ministry of War expand its influence, it would be better to put Lai Shangrong in charge, who is loyal and has high aspirations.

Moreover, these new recruits are only trained near the capital and will be sent overseas later, which is not enough to affect the balance in the capital and surrounding areas.

Lai Shangrong did not expect such an unexpected surprise. For the emperor, this was a task, but for him, it was a dream.

While receiving the order to thank her, she secretly said that she is indeed a princess, and her blessings are indeed profound. It seems that she will have to praise her again in the evening.

However, it is not yet time to disband the government. If we want it to last long, we must seize the time to implement the expansion of the security department, send troops to Annan as soon as possible, and achieve results.

The military system of the Great Xia Dynasty was also based on that of the previous dynasty, and it adopted three systems of world soldiers, conscription and recruitment in parallel.

The so-called Shibing refers to military households who have been soldiers for generations. Such soldiers inherit their father's legacy from son to son.

Military conscription falls under the category of corvee service. For example, in areas where there is military unrest, there will be temporary warnings. Rich households who do not want to apply can still purchase quotas.

These two disadvantages are not small. One is to eat and wait for death, and the other is to be forced to have no choice.

Recruiting soldiers is different from both of them. It can be said that it is a two-way choice between you and me. The combat effectiveness and morale are also higher. The Qi Family Army that modern people are familiar with is recruiting soldiers.

However, the cost of recruiting soldiers is no more than the first two, and it is very difficult to popularize it. Currently, in the Great Xia Dynasty, only the generals' personal soldiers can use the recruited soldiers.

Fortunately, the state-owned Si family has a great cause, and Lai Shangrong plans to implement the strategy of supporting war with war overseas. As long as he captures a few coal and iron mines, there will be no shortage of money to support troops, so he does not worry about the cost.

In addition to high subjective initiative, the recruited soldiers also have the advantage of high loyalty.

As the saying goes, soldiers eat food, pay and work hard. Who they take orders from depends more on who pays them.

This is also the main reason why generals choose to recruit soldiers as personal soldiers.

In ancient times, people's family burdens were heavier, and poor people had more brothers and sisters than in modern times.

Therefore, as long as proper resettlement and compensation are provided, there are many people who are willing to work hard.

Lai Shangrong also has specific plans for this.

Needless to say, there is no need to mention the pension work. The placement of injured and elderly people is also a top priority.

Fortunately, Lai Shangrong still has a state-owned company in his hands. With the process of industrialization, the development zone will inevitably expand in size and even develop new areas.

In terms of public security management, he does not intend to use the old system, but will free up these positions for retired soldiers.

In ancient times, most local governments adopted the model in which squires, clansmen and officials assisted county officials in governance.

These officials often inherited their father's business, colluding with local gentry and wealthy families, bullying men, dominating women, and annexing land.

The interests in this area are too great, and he is currently unable to do so. He is unable to comprehensively implement local public security management, so he can only start from a small start.

It happened that the orphans under his command had completed their training. By the time the recruitment was over, the task of transporting firearms had also been completed, so they were directly incorporated into the establishment for training.

After arranging the tasks one after another, it was time to leave the office.

Lai Shangrong got on the carriage and returned home. He changed into casual clothes and rushed to Caocui'an without having time to eat.

In the nunnery, one arm was holding Princess Beijing and the other was holding Miaoyu.

They both laid down in front of the Buddhist altar, but turned around and searched for a long time, but found nothing.

Then he feigned anger towards Miaoyu and said: "You put away the Jianzhi you used yesterday? Without it, how can I do both? Why don't you find it for me quickly!"

…………

(End of this chapter)