Chapter 224: The Funeral of Ling's Father and Mother
All women, whether slaves or concubines, were sent to the refugee camp and started to obtain the status of civilians in the border town by doing basic work.
And all those officials were sent to do hard labor! And this matter was recorded in detail, sent to Chang'an, and then spread throughout the country.
There shall be no brothels, music halls, or gambling houses in border towns. Prostitutes and concubines are not allowed. Women are strictly prohibited from engaging in prostitution, and public officials are strictly prohibited from having sex with prostitutes.
At the beginning, these officials were just like those who were sent to the refugee camps. They were unwilling to accept their grievances, contacted their colleagues, and clamored to meet His Majesty.
Throughout history, I have never heard of an official being sent to hard labor for hosting a banquet! Moreover, in Daxia, except for the border towns, I have never heard of officials being punished by hard labor!
Let me, an official appointed by the imperial court, carry mud and stones with a bunch of mud-legged people. Isn't this just exhausting us to death? Jin Sui really ordered Cheng Yu: "The louder you shout, the harder the work. The one who shouts the loudest will be activated as the 2.0 version of Huotiqi."
"Hotiqi version 2.0? May I ask Miss Ling, what does this mean?"
"Work like an ox or a horse, pull the plow and plow the fields!"
Cheng Yu laughed, thought about it and said, "But if you do this, the officials will lose their reputation. I'm afraid they will take revenge in the future."
Jin Sui snorted, "How can I be afraid of their revenge? I know what you are worried about. The pens of the literati have plenty of ways to deal with a woman like me."
But I have more experience in controlling public opinion! Jin Sui held his chin up and thought, "The Lower Yuan Festival is coming soon, which is the day to worship ancestors, but the ancestors of our border town are not buried here.
How about this? Hold a grand ceremony to commemorate the soldiers in the Martyrs Cemetery, sing praises of their achievements in the battle to defend the border town, and write their deeds into operas to spread.
"While all the border towns were holding memorial ceremonies, the officials in Chang'an were drinking, having fun, singing and dancing. Let's see which is more powerful, their pens or the people's saliva!"
Jinsui not only had to use public opinion, but also had to thoroughly label these officials as typical criminals, so that everyone coming from Chang'an would know that anyone who dared to visit prostitutes in Chang'an would be severely punished, no matter whether they were high-ranking officials or powerful people! Gambling houses and brothels were the easiest to influence people. As long as they existed, even the most determined soldiers would be influenced by the people around them to have some fun after a while.
Especially in other states during this era, gambling houses and brothels were still legal. Even if some people were not allowed to go there openly, they could still go there for fun in secret.
Therefore, we must take a one-size-fits-all approach, investigate and deal with them strictly, and use the most severe measures to stop them in their infancy from the very beginning.
Jin Sui sneered, "The officials in Chang'an really know how to make trouble for me! Three groups came, two groups are causing trouble.
How about this, Lord Cheng, you lead people to compile a "Code of Conduct for Public Officials" and teach it to every official who has just arrived in the border town.
Those things are normal in Chang'an, but absolutely not allowed in the border town. What kind of violations of laws and disciplines will be punished, all written clearly.
The most important thing is to tell them that if they commit a crime in Chang'an, they can find a way to get a lighter sentence. But it is absolutely impossible in the border town! If you don't want to go to the refugee camp to eat and live with the refugees, or go to the hard labor camp to work with the captured criminals, just go and try! Don't think that I can only punish and not kill! Your Majesty killed people in Chang'an and blood flowed like a river, and I can kill people in the border town just as well!"
Soon, the fourth batch of officials arrived. On the first day, there was no banquet. Instead, everyone was given a red book to teach them three days of lessons! They were told to remember the ethics of officials in the border town.
There were still exams to be taken. Those who failed continued to attend classes, while those who passed were taken to visit refugee camps, hard labor camps, the firing of gunpowder at the base, and the reclaimed fields...
Write a report every day, no less than 5,000 words. No need for military training, run around everywhere every day, definitely walk more than 10,000 steps.
Not only officials needed training, but their families did too. Their training was much simpler. All the men went to the military camp for training, and the women were sent to Chen Yunniang to listen to the experiences of the former wives of officials in the academy.
No matter what official position you hold, Border Town will not collapse without you. Jin Sui feels that Border Town can still develop well even without her.
So even if some officials clamored that they had an important responsibility and had to take up their posts as soon as possible, Jin Sui calmly said, "Those who fail the assessment must continue to study! Don't worry, no matter how important your position is, it can't be as important as His Majesty's? His Majesty hasn't come yet, why are you in such a hurry?"
Even the old censor was the same, but he still had some conscience towards Jinsui and gave them cars, but they still had to visit all parts of the border town and give reports.
She understood that the censor was someone who found faults, whether it was the emperor or the officials, or various policies. I'll give you one chance, find ten mistakes every day, if you can't find any, you won't pass the assessment...
The officials in Chang'an complained privately, wondering why His Majesty let this "crazy woman" manage the border city and gave her so much power? Li Heng was finally useful. His role was to tell the officials about the crazy things Miss Ling had done in the past when they were about to collapse.
Then he comforted her: "Comparatively speaking, Miss Ling's temper is much better! You just listen to her arrangements. It's just writing a policy paper. We have been writing for the imperial examination for so many years. What's wrong with writing again?"
If there are still some who are stubborn and refuse to change their ways, Li Heng can only pull Jiang Nansheng over and ask him to show his scar. Then even the most stubborn ones will behave themselves.
And the official with a broken finger, his presence is even more useful. As long as he stretches out his hand, even if the officials are cursing Jinsui in their hearts, they have to lower their voices for fear of being heard by this "crazy woman".
They came to the border town in advance because His Majesty was killing like crazy in Chang'an, and they were afraid that he might be accidentally infected. Unexpectedly, coming to the border town would be another kind of torture! It will be difficult to get along in the officialdom in the future! At the end of October, Grandpa Ling and Jin'an came back with the coffins of Ling's father and mother. They walked so slowly on the road because they were carrying the coffins.
In addition, Grandpa Ling also "incorporated" several small Taoist temples in Luocheng, and nearly a hundred Taoists came to the border town.
The funeral of Ling's father and mother was not grand. Only three members of the Ling family and some old officials and old friends from the border town were present. Jin Sui did not allow any of the new officials from Chang'an to attend.
The couple was buried in the same grave, Jin'an and Jinsui carried the coffin, and Grandpa Ling personally carved a tombstone for his son and daughter-in-law.
After the funeral, Grandpa Ling insisted on not returning to the Ling Mansion, saying that the Ling Mansion should be given to the court as soon as possible to plan the capital, and our family would live in the Taoist temple.
Of course, Jinsui has to live in Ling Mansion due to his position.
The Taoist temple was only one-third completed, and the living quarters were very simple, so Jinsui disagreed. During this trip to Chang'an, Grandpa lost a lot of weight and his hair turned completely white.
She also wanted to nourish Grandpa's body, how could she not live together? Grandpa Ling sighed and said, "I just want to accompany your father. Alas, I am not a good father. I have never been with him since he was a child.
As for Jin'an, it is the duty of a filial son to observe mourning. We are not building a shed and living in a simple house in front of your parents' grave. This Taoist temple has many people and the accommodation is not bad.
Don't keep trying, just let us stay here until the full 57th day!"
The fifth seven days is thirty-five days, by which time the Taoist temple will be half completed, and grandpa will not leave.
Jin Sui stopped trying to persuade him and moved in with Grandpa Jin An. As for the affairs in the city, with Cheng Yu around, she would go back to the palace every day to meet with officials.
When it comes to guarding his parents' graves, Jin'an is much more pious than her.
During the trip to Chang'an, the child seemed to have grown a lot taller and looked like a grown man.
Although his eyes were full of sadness, Jinsui could see the calmness that belonged to a child, instead of the heavy responsibilities that only adults had as before.
The burial of his parents also put Jin'an to rest.
The siblings often sat in front of the grave for a long time. Jin'an knelt, but Jinsui always pulled him to sit: "Don't worry, Dad and Mom won't be angry because we didn't kneel for a long time! They are very happy that we sit here to accompany them. You are still growing, kneeling for a long time will hurt your legs, which is not conducive to martial arts practice."
The Taoist temple was very lively, but the cemetery was very quiet. The brother and sister leaned against each other, silently looking at the tombstone or the clouds. When Jin'an cried, Jinsui turned his head away and pretended not to see it.
After he finished crying, she gave him tissues and energy bars.
“You can’t eat meat.”
"This is vegetarian! It only has sugar and vertical fruit. Eat some, or your heart and mouth will be bitter. Really, at your young age, how can you be more decadent than grandpa?"
Jinan whispered, "It would be great if my parents were still alive! They would be very happy in the border town."
Jin Sui rubbed his head: "Then let's live well for our parents! By the way, has father's case been investigated?"
Jin An nodded and said, "Your Majesty personally conducted the investigation. My father noticed that a group of bandits hid horses and weapons in the mountains of the county under his jurisdiction. After he reported it, the higher-ups did not allow him to investigate.
But the bandits kidnapped the girl, and my father was so angry that he personally led the yamen runners to investigate and reported the matter to the Jingzhao Prefecture again.
It happened that His Majesty was inspecting Jingzhao Prefecture at that time. When he heard about this case, he sent troops to assist the county in suppressing the bandits. However, no one knew at that time that these were not mountain bandits at all, but troops hidden by Prince Yu's party.
It was because this matter was exposed that Prince Yu's party took the risky step of framing His Majesty for treason. And my father knew nothing about it, so he was labeled as His Majesty's accomplice by Prince Yu's party..."
Jin Sui sighed softly. She herself had never met Ling's father, and the original owner had not spent much time with him. But looking at Grandpa Ling's character, it was not difficult to guess that Ling's father was also a gentleman.
But he is just a minor official with no backing. A person like this is in the tiger and wolf den of the capital, and any big shot can beat you to death if he shows his claws.
Like Ling's father and Wei Zhubo, they obviously did nothing wrong, they were just doing their job. But in the battle for the throne, even if you don't stand on the side and do your job, you will become a stumbling block for others.
After Jinan finished speaking, he suddenly whispered, "Sister, I don't want to study for the imperial examination, and I don't want to be an official."
Jin Sui was startled. This was Grandpa's wish. She said softly, "In the future, officials in the border town will be different from those in Chang'an."
Jinan shook his head: "Officials are the worst kind of people. I don't want to become a bad person like that."
Jinsui laughed. I just said you were mature, why are you saying such childish things again?
"So what do you want to do? Tell me. As long as you are determined, I will support you in whatever you do!"
Jin An clenched his fist and said, "I want to join the army and become a general who specializes in killing treacherous officials like Brother Han Xing!"
Jin Sui: ... Han Xing, can't you avoid my brother when you kill people? Also, shouldn't children be terrified when seeing someone being killed? How come you're addicted?
"Being a military commander is also being an official!"
"That's different!"
"Okay, then you can talk to Grandpa yourself. But I tell you, being a military commander also requires studying! Do you know why your elder brother Han Xing can be the sword in the hand of His Majesty, while your elder brother Hei Hu can only chase after the Hu people?"
Jin An shook his head: "Why? Isn't it Brother Black Tiger who wanted to chase him away?"
Jin Sui smiled and said, "Because Brother Hei Hu doesn't understand the art of war! He can only chase the foreign enemies like a wolf chasing a rabbit. But Brother Han Xing has read a lot and knows the art of war. He can not only kill the foreign enemies, but also eliminate the traitors!"
"There was also a general who was very good at kung fu but didn't read. Do you know what he became in the end?"
Jin An's eyes were full of curiosity: "What has it become?"
Jinsui pointed at the Taoist priest in the distance and said, "He has become a Taoist priest!"
Jin An was very curious: "How is it possible? How can a military commander become a Taoist priest? He is not a rich and powerful person with nothing to do."
Jinsui laughed softly. If others saw the brother and sister laughing in front of their parents' grave, they would definitely say that they were unfilial.
"Are there many powerful people in Chang'an who are Taoist priests?"
Jinan nodded: "Not only are there men, there are also many female Taoist priests. They are all powerful and noble people. Grandpa said that they are not considered to be practicing Taoism, and they pollute the purity of Taoism."
Jinsui nodded. This fits the stereotype of Chang'an very well. It has become a trend for the powerful and wealthy there to practice Taoism. After all, to practice Buddhism one has to shave one's head and there are many strict rules.
You can do whatever you want to practice Taoism by saying "follow the natural way" or "follow your heart". The good Sanqing Taoism has been tainted by them. Men only want to practice longevity and aphrodisiac pills.
Women just want to give themselves an extra identity. Generally, female Taoist nuns are widows. They can marry higher if they practice Taoism. It is also a speechless trend.
No wonder Gu Changxiao didn't want to change Chang'an City, but moved the capital to Border City! The evil winds of a thousand years are too difficult to correct, so it's better to leave those evil winds in Chang'an and come to Border City to reshape the clean and righteous way.
At this time, Jin'an asked: "Which general became a Taoist priest?"
Jinsui first told him about Liuyun’s glorious deeds, the most powerful secret guard beside Gu Changxiao, who spared half of the enemies in Beijiang with one blow and bewitched the Princess of Beijiang so much that she called him Master.
He is a military commander who is more trusted by His Majesty than Han Xing. If he works hard in the army, it will be a matter of time before he is granted a title. But for some reason, he can't figure it out and insists on becoming a Taoist priest and worshipping my grandfather as his master! It's all because of his lack of education!
This is what happens when a general has little education. What will happen when a noble family has little education? Yan Wugui is the best example. His elder brother Yun Changan is highly valued by His Majesty. He has little education and is deceived by me all day long...
Jin Sui successfully fooled Jin An, "So, whether I want to join the army or become the Marquis of Yanshan, I have to study more?"
Jin Sui nodded heavily: "That's right! Sister supports you to learn martial arts and join the army, but you can't do without studying."
The little brother was successfully scared. This kid is very wise. He even brings books with him when guarding the grave. If he meets Jinsui who can't understand what he is reading, he will give him a lesson.
In the blink of an eye, it was winter and it was snowing in the border town, but Gu Changxiao had not yet set off.
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