"It's not raining in the sky, so I'm digging through the mulberry soil, and I'm preparing for the house. Now I'm a servant of the people, do you dare to insult me?"
The sky in early winter is always gloomy, with thick lead-gray clouds piling up in the sky, making it feel like it is about to collapse and collapse at any time.
Although it was still noon, the entire Chang'an was shrouded in a gloomy cold air pressure. The wind was blowing from one end of the long road to the other, removing the few remaining autumn leaves on the trees on the roadside. It was blown down and flew into the sky like pieces of yellow butterflies. Some slowly swirled down and others floated towards the top of the city and towards the majestic Weiyang Palace.
As soon as Pingzhun ordered Jia Xu to leave the house, he saw the desolate scene outside the door and couldn't help but said: "It's going to snow."
"It'll be nice if it snows, so that next year will be a good year." Ling Li Jian, an insider, laughed and joked.
Jia Xu replied speciously: "It would be nice if it could be delayed for a few days."
Li Jian was keenly aware of the hint of regret in Jia Xu's tone, but he did not ask further questions. Instead, he greeted with a smile: "Jia Gong, hurry up and invite me. The country is still waiting to see you."
Jia Xu responded lightly and was about to take a step when suddenly, he asked inexplicably: "I heard that Nei Ye is good at 'Tao Dance'?"
Li Jian suddenly looked surprised and said in amazement: "That's the case. A few years ago, I served as Xiyuan Advocate and often performed the 'Tao Dance' for Emperor Xiaoling. But now there are not many old people from Luoyang in the palace. , so few people except Mu Huangmen and Dachangqiu know about this past event."
Most of the eunuchs who are able to stand out in the palace have the ability to settle down and make a living, and Li Jian is no exception. This "Tao Wu" is his ability that he deliberately kept secret.
The emperor likes calligraphy and diction, and his hobbies in singing, dancing, and performing arts are the same as those of his biological father, Emperor Xiaoling. This is no longer a secret in the court. Recently, Li Jian also plans to pick up his old skills. After getting familiar with them again, he will ask Mushun to let him work in the imperial court. If you have the opportunity to perform a piece in front of the emperor, you may be able to win the emperor's favor just like you did to please Emperor Xiaoling.
As the internal emissary, he was in charge of the internal and external edicts and notifications. Whenever the emperor summoned ministers, he would deliver the introduction. It can be said that he had an important position in communicating with China and foreign countries and liaising with the palace. Li Jian had seen all kinds of foreign ministers in the past six months. I have never seen anyone like Jia Xu who can reveal his true identity at a glance.
Moreover, this was a secret that few people knew, so how could it reach the ears of a foreign minister like Jia Xu?
Li Jian couldn't help but wonder, he narrowed his eyes and asked tentatively: "But I don't know where Mr. Jia learned about it?"
"I forgot where I heard it from, but I suddenly remembered it, so I just asked." Jia Xu made a "please" gesture, as if he didn't want to continue this topic.
Jia Xu had no intention of talking any more, and Li Jian didn't want to get to the bottom of it, so he had to ask Jia Xu to get into the prepared carriage with full of questions, and ordered people to rush to Weiyang Palace against the cold northwest wind.
The greenhouse is divided into three parts: the main hall, the auxiliary hall and the auxiliary buildings. There are two steps to the left and right of the main hall. The east step is called the 阼step, which extends from both sides of the hall for officials to ascend the hall.
There are compartments and compartments on the steps, also known as the East Hall and the West Hall, which are often used as a place for ministers to rest temporarily before being introduced by the emperor.
Under the guidance of Li Jian, Jia Xu walked up the stairs on the east side. At the door of the east hall, Li Jian turned around and said to Jia Xu, "Please wait a moment, Mr. Jia, and let me go in first to deliver the report."
After saying that, Li Jian left without looking back. Not only was he eager to report to the emperor, but he was also eager to find Mu Shun, his biggest supporter in the palace, and hoped to get some information from him.
Jia Xu stayed where he was, until he saw Li Jian's figure disappearing behind the verandah around the corner, and the smile that had been on his face disappeared.
When the Salt and Iron War began, Jia Xu was transferred from Shangshu to Pingzhunling. First, after seeking the emperor's consent, he selected dozens of people from Zhang Ji's army who were clean, capable, and familiar with the world as the backbone.
Various classes of people selected merchants and rangers as their downlines, specializing in investigation.
According to the emperor, the ostensible responsibilities of the Leveling Order are to monitor price fluctuations, market development trends, and bear the responsibility of forecasting and early warning; it is also responsible for summarizing and analyzing the situation of private grain, salt and iron, commerce, etc., and working with Da Sinong,
Officials such as the Shaofu jointly participate in formulating relevant financial and monetary policies, and can even organize emergency dispatch and transportation coordination of important supplies.
From this point of view, the Equalization Order is actually the function of equalization and equalization combined into one, similar to a certain reform commission in later generations.
But in fact, when the Peace Order was first established, its most important function was not limited to the financial and economic aspects. Its analysis and detection of large amounts of information and intelligence were the emperor's most important functions.
On the surface, it is a reform committee, but in fact it is the Bureau of Statistics. This is the functional positioning given by the emperor to the Pingzhun Prison.
With the strong support of the emperor, under the management of Jia Xu, the powerful, wealthy and well-connected Pingzhun Prison quickly expanded rapidly in just over two months, almost completely mastering the intelligence of Chang'an, and basically had eyes and ears throughout the three auxiliaries.
Major counties and cities became reliable sources of intelligence for the emperor.
Of course, when the subordinate departments of Ping Quanjian expand and their power grows, the emperor will inevitably weaken it to a certain extent. But now, the emperor still strongly supports Jia Xu in expanding his power.
Jia Xu plans others to plan for himself, and plans the past for the future. He has already foreseen that the full-fledged Pingzhun supervisor will make people fearful. Since it will be a matter of time before he is split up in the future, it is better to proactively give hints now to let others take the next step.
, to protect themselves.
The cold wind passed through the corridor, and Jia Xu no longer stood outside the door. He turned around and pushed open the door of the east hall room with his own hands.
In the center of the room is a huge bronze furnace. The copper furnace is divided into upper and lower parts. The lower part is a plate supported by three legs. The upper part is a hemispherical hollow lid that can be opened and closed. There is a lying beast on the top of the lid as a container.
handle.
The ruby-like charcoal fire burned brightly in the copper stove, emitting a blazing temperature that made the whole house feel as warm as spring.
As soon as Jia Xu entered the room, his frozen body was enveloped by the charcoal air inside. Compared with the outside, he still felt physically and mentally comfortable.
A scribe was sitting on the seat beside the stove, facing Jia Xu sideways, holding a torch and playing with the coals in the stove.
He noticed the movement when Jia Xu came in, and did not do anything rude like turning his head or neck. Instead, he was very polite. He put down the fire, turned his whole body to face Jia Xu, and greeted Jia Xu politely.
: "Why is it so late for Mr. Jia to come?"
In the Han Dynasty, all older men could be called Duke to show respect.
Jia Xu was ten years older than the other man, enough to be honored as "Jia Gong". He stood by the door, bowed to the man with a bow, and said: "Unlike Mr. Xun, who often follows the province, I am a foreign minister, so I will naturally have to go to and from Weiyang."
Take some effort.”
"Jia Gong is humble." Xun You, the attendant, stretched out his right hand to indicate the empty seat next to him.
Jia Xu happily sat down and sat with Xun You to warm himself by the fire.