Chapter 772: Cutting Schemes to Seize the Heavenly Heart

Da Zhou Palace City, Qanyang Palace, Back Hall Warm Pavilion.

The warm and fragrant atmosphere in the pavilion seemed to be instantly covered with a hint of chill because of Guo Lin's report.

The secret memorial reported by the Shenjing file of the Zhongche Office actually involved Count Weiyuan Jia Cong.

Anything that enters the secret memorial of the Zhongche Office is a gloomy and suspicious act, which inevitably makes Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao feel awe-struck!

Jia Cong is his most esteemed young minister, talented in both civil and military affairs, capable of holding his own, and worthy of heavy use.

He also has the world-class talent for developing firearms, full of clever ideas, like an antelope hanging its horns, leaving no traces, and others cannot catch up.

The various sharp firearms he developed are even more important chips for Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao to cleanse the old forces of the nobility and control military power.

The more outstanding and promising a minister is, the higher the Emperor's expectations for him, and the more rigorous and meticulous his scrutiny of him.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao is more unwilling than anyone else to hear unfavorable words about Jia Cong, especially now that he is responsible for the construction of breech-loading guns……

The Emperor took the secret memorial presented by Guo Lin and read it carefully page by page, line by line, not only with an unclear expression on his face, but also without revealing half a trace of joy or anger.

Guo Lin saw the Emperor's expression from the corner of his eye, and his heart was also somewhat uneasy.

As the head of the Zhongche Office, Jia Cong is an important minister of the Emperor, and there are naturally many secret reports about him from the Zhongche Office.

But they are all secret records of his daily words and deeds when handling official business. Although Jia Cong is young, he has always been cautious, diligent in his work, and has no mistakes in his behavior.

Although the Zhongche Office didn't bury any dark stakes in the Count's mansion, it had several eyes and ears in the Rongguo Prefecture, and also knew roughly about Jia Cong's daily life in the mansion.

After Jia Cong gets off work daily, he mostly stays behind closed doors and rarely socializes with colleagues and old friends.

For example, before the start of the spring examination last time, he was also like this, rarely having too much contact with the outside world.

This also made the spring examination fraud case involve a wide range of people, but Jia Cong, as the top scholar of the metropolitan examination, had an eye-catching identity.

Before he entered the examination, he closed his doors to guests and had very little contact with the outside family, making him have no involvement with the fraud case.

This also once made Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao very satisfied with him, feeling that although he was young, he was meticulous in his thinking, upright in his behavior, and was a minister who made people worry-free.

Guo Lin serves the Emperor by his side every day, and naturally knows the Emperor's evaluation of Jia Cong.

Therefore, the content of this secret memorial presented by the Zhongche Office made Guo Lin somewhat surprised.

He has some private friendship with Jia Cong and knows his daily behavior well. He is somewhat puzzled about his actions at Chunhua Tower.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao finished reading the secret memorial in his hand, his expression unclear. He held the secret memorial in his hand, got up, and walked around the warm pavilion.

He asked in a low voice: "Guo Lin, the Zhongche Office is under your control. Do you think there is anything inappropriate about Jia Cong's move?"

Guo Lin said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, now that the Remnant Mongol mission has entered the capital to seek peace, although they have daily tug-of-war and disputes with the Ministry of War officials who lead the consultations."

"But out of the etiquette of peace talks between the two sides, there are often social gatherings and banquets outside of official business, and the Ministry of War will also invite colleagues from various departments to accompany them. This is a common occurrence."

"But Jia Cong did not participate in the peace talks at all, and he was not invited by the Ministry of War to attend the banquet for the mission. He drank with the mission members privately."

"This move is quite unreasonable, and Nuo Yan Taiji is one of the three leaders of the mission, the son of the Ordos tribe's Jirang Khan, and his identity is extraordinary."

"Count Weiyuan drank with him privately. Although according to the secret records of the Zhongche Office, their words and deeds were not out of line and were all ordinary topics."

"But the slave thinks that Count Weiyuan is a court official, with outstanding talent and caution. This time, his thinking is somewhat inappropriate."

"If this matter spreads, I am afraid it will attract rumors, stir up criticism, and say that Count Weiyuan has overstepped his bounds with the Remnant Mongol nobles……"

……

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao didn't commit himself after hearing Guo Lin's words, but returned to the imperial desk, opened a secret box on the table, and took out a document.

That was the secret report presented to the palace three days ago by Qian Huai, the manager of the Ministry of Works' firearm workshop.

It detailed that by sunset that day, the workshop had completed 482 breech-loading firearms, and the remaining 18 would be completed in three days.

Jia Cong had ordered him to draft the handover and inspection documents for the Ministry of War in advance, and to request additional materials for the construction of breech-loading guns from the Ministry of Works, and to build another 100 breech-loading guns before the end of the year.

The secret report detailed Jia Cong's actions and words in the workshop, every word and sentence was clear, the description was meticulous, and there was nothing to pick on.

At the end of this secret report, Qian Huai also made a special note: Observing his words and deeds, he is clean and flawless, his strange ideas are heaven-defying, and ordinary people can hardly reach them.

He handles affairs pragmatically, does not value empty forms, and understands human hearts well. Everyone in the workshop respects and obeys him.

Even though Qian Huai was an eye and ear planted by the Emperor in the workshop, responsible for secretly monitoring the workshop's dynamics and the words and deeds of the workshop's chief official Jia Cong.

But he still recognized and admired Jia Cong, which moved Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao somewhat.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao put the secret report back into the wooden box and said: "Jia Cong is young and promising, loyal to the country, and has made repeated achievements. Although this move is inappropriate, it is not enough to be disloyal."

"Although Master Liu Jing'an is somewhat stubborn and resigned from office sixteen years ago, I ascended the throne and needed old ministers to assist me, but he still claimed illness and did not come out, which disappointed me."

"But his learning and talent, looking at the world, no one can match him. I still admire this point."

"He is known as the Learning Saint of the Literary Sect. The two words Learning Saint are not something anyone can call."

"In these ten years, he closed his doors to teach disciples and created the name of the nine Jinshi of the Liu Sect. I am afraid there will be no one after him."

"Jia Cong is his most beloved closing disciple. He received Master Liu Jing'an's guidance and teachings at the age of ten and formally entered the sect at the age of twelve."

"His heart and learning are all Master Liu Jing'an's painstaking teachings."

"Otherwise, at his young age, how could he be so sophisticated in handling official affairs, even old officials of many years cannot catch up."

"I have read several of his articles for the spring examination. His heart is upright, his orthodoxy is deep, and his spirit is high. I still remember them vividly."

"What is a benevolent person? The spirit of tracing the source, the feeling of loyalty and righteousness, the act of strict caution, the courage to give up fame and go, the heart to support the world, not for the kindness of a woman, not for the endurance of a mediocre person."

"Therefore, those who are good at governing the world do not rely on the art of manipulating the world, but on the way of governing and reflecting on their own hearts. They do not just have the virtue of diligence and government, but value the heart of forgetting feelings for the benefit of the world."

"The few sentences he wrote are profound in reasoning and commendable in heart. I often ponder them in my spare time."

"If he had no thought of home and country, no way of Confucian orthodoxy, and no heart to save the world, he would never have written such articles and sentences."

"Master Liu Jing'an teaches and educates people, and in the end, he is not vulgar. I still trust the disciples he taught."

"Even if Jia Cong's behavior is somewhat inappropriate this time, with his heart and morality, he will never do anything to lose his status or humiliate the country."

"He has always been cautious and must know that this move is suspicious, but he still does it. He must have his reasons."

Guo Lin heard Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao's words and felt relieved in his heart, saying: "Your Majesty is wise. It is the slave's short-sightedness that made a mountain out of a molehill."

……

Although Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao believed that Jia Cong had no other intentions, Jia Cong was responsible for the important task of firearms, which concerned important national military affairs and could not tolerate any mistakes.

Now it was a time of confrontation between Da Zhou and the Remnant Mongols, and such a thing suddenly happened, which inevitably made Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao feel a bit of haze in his heart.

Just as the Emperor's thoughts were floating, he suddenly heard footsteps outside the hall.

Yuan Jing, the sixth-rank duty officer of Qanyang Palace, walked into the hall quickly, holding a memorial in his hand.

He walked to five steps in front of the imperial desk, knelt down and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Ceremonial Supervisor presents the direct memorial of Count Weiyuan Jia Cong, please Your Majesty's imperial review."

Guo Lin, who was on the side, heard this, and his expression was somewhat stunned. Just now, the Emperor was talking about the secret memorial. Although he said that Count Weiyuan's character was trustworthy.

But Guo Lin could still taste that the Emperor had haze in his heart because of this matter, and I am afraid it would be difficult to fade away for a while.

Unexpectedly, at this juncture, Count Weiyuan Jia Cong's memorial happened to enter the palace, which was a bit too coincidental.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao heard Yuan Jing's report, his eyes lit up slightly, as if he had realized something, and said: "Present it."

Guo Lin hurriedly took the memorial from Yuan Jing and presented it to Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao unfolded the memorial and browsed it. His originally tense face gradually relaxed, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Guo Lin peeked at the heavenly face from the side, and seeing the change in Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao's expression, he was secretly surprised.

He didn't know what was written on Count Weiyuan's memorial, but the Emperor's hidden worries and unhappiness seemed to fade away a lot.

This memorial was written by Jia Cong in the workshop this morning. Whether it was the hidden identity of the workshop manager Qian Huai or the figure outside the private room of Chunhua Tower that day.

Jia Cong could not easily ignore them. Even if his heart was only tied to national affairs, the facade work that should be done could not be left behind.

In the memorial, he detailed the reason for his acquaintance with Nuo Yan Taiji on Hanzheng Street that day, and that this person's character and wisdom were not vulgar and should be paid attention to.

Afterwards, he wrote: "Yesterday, on my way back to the city, I met Nuo Yan returning from hunting with his entourage. His words were enthusiastic, he was polite and climbed to make friends, and invited me to a banquet."

"The words mentioned the peace talks, with the Tuman tribe as the leader, and the Ordos tribe following the trend, implicitly having the idea of retreating and guarding themselves."

"I don't understand the affairs of the Remnant Mongol tribes, but I have heard of the heroic posture of the Tuman tribe's Anda Khan, whose soldiers and armor are strong, suppressing all tribes on the grassland."

"The Ordos tribe and the Yongxielun tribe are both weak in strength, becoming subjects, and being driven. Whether the idea of going south is of one heart, I don't know. This is a sign of the hidden cracks in the Remnant Mongol tribes, so I want to explore its roots, accepted the banquet, and pursued the inside story."

"However, at the first meeting, it is difficult to speak deeply when the acquaintance is shallow. Acting lightly and hurting long-term plans, I am afraid of causing the Mongol chief to be suspicious, and there will be no gain after the banquet."

"The Art of War says: The best is to attack the strategy, the middle is to attack the alliance, and the bottom is to attack the soldiers."

"Breaking the enemy's alliance, weakening the enemy's sharpness, the soldiers and horses have not moved, and they have already won thousands of troops."

"I want to remonstrate with Your Majesty to dispatch the elite of the inner office to specialize in secretly investigating this matter, whether to fight or to make peace, to seize the first opportunity and be in an invincible position……"

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao held Jia Cong's memorial and browsed it carefully twice, a faint smile appearing on his face.

He said: "I know Jia Cong's character and means well. This time, regardless of suspicion, he drank with Nuo Yan Taiji, and there must be his reasons."

"His memorial directly describes the matter to me and analyzes the pros and cons. It is quite reasonable. After all, he is concerned about national affairs and has painstaking efforts."

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao handed the memorial to Guo Lin and said: "What Jia Cong said is quite reasonable. Breaking the enemy's alliance, knowing oneself and the enemy, one hundred battles will not be dangerous."

"He said in the memorial that he met Nuo Yan Taiji, which once alarmed the Assistant Prefect of Zhen'an Prefecture. Does the Zhongche Office know about this?"

……

Guo Lin hurriedly unfolded the memorial and browsed it quickly, saying: "What Jia Cong said is true. The Shenjing file reported this matter that day."

"But this matter happened in public, there was no private act, no suspicious place, and no overstepping of behavior."

"Therefore, it was not recorded in the secret memorial of the Zhongche Office. Only because it involved the Remnant Mongol mission, it was recorded in the ordinary record document of the Zhongche Office and reported to the inventory for filing."

"The slave followed the rules. The documents outside the secret memorial were not presented to the imperial front. Please wait a moment, Your Majesty, the slave will take it and present it for Your Majesty's imperial review."

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao nodded after hearing this. This was not Guo Lin's negligence, but the rules of the Zhongche Office.

The Emperor only looked at the records of the secret memorial. The matters of the secret memorial were selected by the Zhongche Office and determined to be suspicious, overstepping, or violating the law.

Other matters were filed as ordinary records. The Emperor would not look at this part of the documents, nor was it necessary to look at them.

At the beginning, Baoyu's wild words in the inner house were clear in behavior, not suspicious, and confined to the inner house, not violating the law.

But the words insulted the Retired Emperor and the Empress Dowager, which was a great overstepping, so it was listed in the secret memorial by the Zhongche Office, making the Rongguo second branch decline from then on.

……

Guo Lin went out of the hall door, and only after a short while, he returned to the hall quickly, holding a blue-covered document.

He said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the relevant documents have been taken. It is the handwritten record of the dark stake of the Zhongche Office in Zhen'an Prefecture. Everything is detailed. Please Your Majesty's imperial review."

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao read the document and said: "Jia Cong is right. This Nuo Yan Taiji is indeed somewhat extraordinary."

"According to the details recorded in the document, this person is not arrogant or impetuous, his words are meticulous, he has a lot of city government, and he has a clear intention to make friends with Jia Cong."

Guo Lin smiled and said: "Count Weiyuan is a young hero, outstanding in character, talented in both civil and military affairs. It is not surprising that others have the heart to admire and get to know him."

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao asked: "This Nuo Yan Taiji has rarely been heard of before. Has the Zhongche Office verified the details of this person?"

Guo Lin replied: "Reporting to Your Majesty, since the Ministry of Rites received the list of the Remnant Mongol mission, the slave has sent letters to the files in Datong, Xuanfu, Ningxia, and other places."

"Collecting the details of the mission leaders and important members. Among them, the Tuman tribe's Ale Tang and the Yongxielun tribe's Gai Ertai are characters who have been roaming the grassland for many years."

"Their experience and details are easy to inquire about. Only the Ordos tribe's Nuo Yan Taiji is a character who has only appeared in the past year or two, and few people have heard of him before."

Coupled with the war preparation blockade of the Nine Passes, the secret agents of the Zhongche Office are difficult to go deep into the desert to investigate, so the knowledge of his details is limited.

This person is about fifteen or sixteen years old, just the same age as Count Weiyuan. It may be that he was young before, so he was unknown on the grassland.

It was only in the past two years that he first grew up, and coupled with the fact that he is the son of Jirang Khan, his reputation has gradually revealed.

Although the Zhongche Office cannot go deep into the desert to investigate for a while, it has collected many rumors about this person in Ningxia and Datong."

"It is said that although this person is young, he is wise and agile, proficient in Chinese, and can write Chinese characters. He has already begun to show his head among the young nobles of the Remnant Mongols."

"Although he is the son of Jirang Khan, his biological mother is a Han woman. His ability in Chinese and Chinese characters is very likely taught by his biological mother."

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao looked suspicious and said: "I heard that the Mongols are rough and barbaric, and the inheritance of the Khan position is passed from father to son."

"Except for the biological mother, the son will even accept the father's wives and concubines, but they are very cautious about the distinction between Mongol and Han bloodlines."

"Even if a Han concubine gives birth to an heir, it is rare for him to become a great climate, let alone show his head like this, and be appointed to an important position like a mission leader……"

……

Guo Lin said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, according to the customs of the Remnant Mongols, this matter is indeed somewhat strange, but it has not been verified yet."

"But Jirang Khan once had two sons, both of whom died in tribal fighting. Maybe Nuo Yan Taiji is his only heir, so he was reused."

"Regarding the identity of his biological mother, there are also many rumors in Ningxia."

"It is said that Nuo Yan Taiji's biological mother was a descendant of the fallen nobles of Da Zhou, whose family gate fell and drifted to the north, and was accepted as a concubine by Jirang Khan."

"There are also people who say that his biological mother was just an ordinary civilian woman, growing up in the villages and towns around Ningxia."

"More than ten years ago, Jirang Khan stole the pass to fight the grass valley and accidentally looted Nuo Yan Taiji's biological mother, and because she was beautiful, he accepted her as a concubine, which gave birth to Nuo Yan."

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao's eyes flickered, thoughtful, and said: "If his biological mother was just a civilian woman, then that's it."

"If she really was a descendant of some fallen noble, I am somewhat interested in who his biological mother was a descendant of."

"I will issue an edict to appoint Hanlin Academy Scholar Jia Cong as the peace talk recorder to assist Wang Shilun and Gu Yankui in handling the Remnant Mongol peace talks."

"Since Nuo Yan Taiji wants to make friends with Jia Cong, I will give him this convenience. I hope he will not let me down."

"Jia Cong has always been shrewd and meticulous. He will understand my meaning. Let him act according to the situation."

Guo Lin heard these words and was slightly shocked in his heart. Is this Jia Cong loyal to the monarch, or is he a great traitor who looks loyal?

The Zhongche Office just presented a secret memorial of his private meeting with Nuo Yan Taiji, and he seemed to know it in advance, rushing to present a direct memorial at this juncture.

He confessed his meeting with Nuo Yan Taiji to the Emperor openly and honestly, and detailed the purpose of this move.

Not only did he timely eliminate the haze in the Emperor's heart, but a memorial also won the position of peace talk recorder.

Young, acting so sophisticated and meticulous, calculating without mistakes, and watertight, he is truly a formidable young man……

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao said: "Guo Lin, Jia Cong's considerations are quite reasonable. You immediately mobilize the manpower of the Zhongche Office, either as spies or secret agents."

"Investigate whether the three major tribes of the Remnant Mongols have different calculations in their confrontation with our dynasty."

"Send elite personnel to lurk out of the pass to investigate the details of Nuo Yan Taiji's background, and report back immediately upon acquisition."

Guo Lin hurriedly replied: "The slave obeys the edict. I will let the Shenjing Zhongche Office file head arrange capable personnel to enter the Tongwen Hall to investigate today."

"Then send an 800-li fast horse to pass the message, let the Ningxia and Datong branches each draw capable personnel to go out of the pass deep into the desert to investigate Nuo Yan Taiji's affairs."

……

Shenjing City East Suburbs, Ministry of Works Firearm Workshop.

Jia Cong reported the direct memorial to the palace gate and returned to the firearm workshop.

The remaining thirteen breech-loading firearms had all been inspected and properly packed.

Manager Qian Huai handled affairs very effectively. Less than two hours after leaving the workshop, he had completed the official document docking with the Ministry of War.

And brought back two Ministry of War Armory Department officials and three Ministry of War clerks to enter the workshop to count and verify the inventory of breech-loading firearms.

After the Ministry of War completed the verification and signed and sealed, the Ministry of Works Firearm Department could formally submit a letter to Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao to report the joy of the completion of the construction.

A large group of people were either carrying gun boxes, counting quantities, or recording documents. It was a scene of enthusiasm, and everyone's heart was filled with joy.

Qian Huai also followed the requirements of the Ministry of War Armory Department officials and selected breech-loading guns from different gun boxes.

And dispatched two craftsmen to test-fire the selected guns. Loud gunshots were heard from the workshop's shooting range from time to time.

But Jia Cong didn't seem to care much about the busyness and noise around him. After working for more than half a year, he finally completed the construction of 500 breech-loading guns.

He didn't need to worry about the subsequent miscellaneous affairs. He returned to the office alone, thinking about the direct memorial sent to the palace, and what kind of feedback the Emperor would have after the imperial review.

By the time the Ministry of War officials finished the verification and counting, the sun had already set for the most part, and the western sky was covered with pink sunset clouds.

Urgent hoofbeats came from outside the workshop, and Deputy Supervisor Liu Shizhen walked quickly into Jia Cong's office.

He said: "My Lord, an imperial eunuch has come from the palace. Please go out and receive the edict immediately." (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 773 =====