Uncle Lai in the Red Chamber

Chapter 201
The next day, early morning.

However, the emperor has not yet arrived at the Jinluan Palace.

But Emperor Zhenglong didn't get up late and delayed going to court.

At this time, he was in the Daming Palace.

"Father! They have embezzled millions of taels of silver from the Ministry of Industry over the years. They even dared to get their hands on the money used to build my father's mausoleum. This shows that they are very determined!"

The Supreme Emperor touched his forehead. There were all the witnesses and physical evidence, and the Emperor dared to bring the person here. There was no way he could lie.

He has been in a high position for a long time, so he naturally knows that when the water is clear, there will be no fish, but it is another matter if he is greedy for money to build the tomb.

However, most of the corrupt officials on the list are veterans whom he single-handedly promoted, as well as his own grandson. If he is really punished strictly, how will he be able to control the government in the future.

Looking at Qin Ye lying on the ground, he suppressed the anger in his heart.

"Put this person in jail first and keep him under strict supervision!"

After Qin Ye was taken away, he waved his hands and said feebly: "This case involves a lot of things. If there is a large-scale investigation, the government may be unstable. Let them return the dirty money within a time limit!"

Emperor Zhenglong hurriedly said: "Father Emperor Mingjian! This is just the tip of the iceberg. These years they have dominated military affairs, paid for them, drank their blood, and deceived their superiors and inferiors. It may be a hundred times worse than this. Now that Xiyi is staring at them, no matter how indulgent they are... Go down, I'm afraid you're not far from disaster! Father!"

A flash of light flashed in the eyes of the Supreme Emperor, and he said in a deep voice: "Let's do this first. Now that the army is still fighting with Xiyi in Qianxiang Kingdom, the overall situation is still the most important thing!"

Emperor Zhenglong was overjoyed. He had never thought that he could be beaten to death with a stick. After all, there were many people involved in the case, and they were all close associates of the Supreme Emperor.

And if the Supreme Emperor can say that we should do this first, then the goal at this stage can be said to be overfulfilled.

As long as a seed is planted in the heart of the Supreme Emperor, when the news of the Qianxiang Kingdom's defeat comes back, it will naturally confirm his statement.

At that time, as long as the Supreme Emperor wants Daxia's kingdom, he will have to make a choice.

Afterwards, the Jinluan Hall once again welcomed the two saints, and the Supreme Emperor threw the account book onto the hall.

He said sharply: "Look at the good deeds you have done in the Ministry of Construction! I have a lot of trust in you, and this is how you repay me? Those who have passed it on will have one month to hand over all the dirty money."

Then he looked at Emperor Zhenglong and said, "It's up to you to arrange this matter. I'll ask Dai Quan to cooperate in supervising this matter!"

"My son obeys the order!"

Although it seems that he is being treated lightly, this is the first time that the Supreme Emperor has stood up for Emperor Zhenglong since he succeeded to the throne.

Those involved were even more silent.

After that, the entire court began a vigorous anti-corruption campaign. The State-owned Department is a place where money gathers, and it is no exception.

Lai Shangrong even held several good meetings with the State-Owned Department for three consecutive days.

On this day, Lai Shangrong, who had just finished a meeting with several factories outside the city, returned home.

Jia Zhen, who had been waiting for a long time, nodded and leaned over.

Jia Zhen was a person involved in the case. Since she did not serve in the court, Dai Quan personally came to the door to make an announcement.

In the past few days, he was counting the warehouses, calculating the shortfall, and selling off the fields near the capital.

After all calculations, there is still a shortfall of 3 taels of silver.

Although Jia Zhen, as a non-staff member, has only been allocated more than 20 taels these years, and the Ningguo Mansion has a big business, and it can be squeezed together, but the deadline for the Supreme Emperor is only one month, and there are still a few villages that are too far away from the capital to sell off. There was no time.

In addition, the scale involved this time was large, and there were many people selling off their property, so the price was naturally discounted. "Shang Rong! See if you can do me a favor. I'll lend you 5 taels of silver from my brother first. When the rents of several farms in the north are collected during the Chinese New Year, my brother can pay it back!"

Lai Shangrong wondered: "Originally, we are relatives, and these tens of thousands of taels of silver are not a big deal. But brother Zhen should know that the money for the cement factory will be settled in two months, and it cost a lot to take in a concubine last month. Now we don't have to pay a lot of money." We say 5 taels, but even 1 taels, brothers can’t afford it!”

Then he asked doubtfully: "It's only 5 taels of silver. Can Xifu still get it?"

Of course Lai Shangrong is not without money. Last year alone, he earned more than 10 taels from glass, soap, and cement factories.

Jia Zhen said helplessly: "To be honest, brother, I did all that to avoid my second uncle. How can I still have the nerve to see him now, let alone ask to borrow money!"

This is an exaggeration. Although Jia Zheng was excluded, Jia Zhen got a share of the pie through nepotism and had no say in the distribution of benefits.

Moreover, because of this, Jia Zheng escaped, so there was no shame in meeting him.

Just because Ningguo Mansion has been emptied out this time, only Zhuangzi in the north is left. The rent for a year is no more than ten thousand taels at most, which is not even enough for the food in the mansion, so there is no money left to repay the debt.

So he wanted to borrow it, but he had no intention of paying it back.

That is to say, Lai Shangrong refused to borrow because he was afraid that the amount borrowed was too large, otherwise he would not have only lied about a deficit of 2 taels.

"Brother, please think of a way. Your soap factory is booming. See if you can tell Uncle Guo to advance some money!"

"Brother Zhen, how come you don't ask for ready-made relatives, and instead ask your younger brother to ask for help from outsiders? Uncle Tian Guo has always wanted to take my shares. I'm going to ask him for an advance of money. Why don't I stick my head out to be slaughtered by others?" !”

"Ready-made relatives? Shangrong, you mean Wenlong?"

"Hehehe! Who else could it be besides him?"

Lai Shangrong then patted his chest and said, "Brother Zhen, don't worry, my business here is always running smoothly. You've wiped out your family fortune all at once. If you have any difficulties in the future, I will never refuse if you can help me!"

His move can be described as killing two birds with one stone.

Although he didn't see that Jia Zhen had any intention of borrowing money without repaying it, he was very clear about the difficulty of transitioning from luxury to frugality.

Although Jia Zhen is short of money, tens of thousands of taels of silver are not enough to make her desperate.

Now Qin Ye probably has no hope and can only rely on himself, so he may not be willing to let Qin Keqing out until Jia Zhen is desperate.

It is difficult to switch from extravagance to frugality. Now that I have emptied my family fortune and sold several properties in the suburbs, Ningguo Mansion will definitely be unable to make ends meet in the future.

Only by letting Jia Zhen experience the difficulty of having no money and then using inducements can we get twice the result with half the effort.

A penny is too much for a heroic man, let alone Jia Zhen.

How many loves have overturned in the face of money, let alone a situation like Jia Zhen's?

And the reason why he encouraged Jia Zhen to borrow money from Xue Pan has another meaning.

The biggest fear in doing business is that the capital chain is broken. It's hard to say how much cash the Xue family has on hand, but any less means more danger.

Moreover, it is conceivable that Jia Zhen's money will not be enough in the short term, which will give more room for maneuver.

One thing Feng Ziying was right about was that the Xue family was just a merchant in the Household Department, and only with this status could they take action.

If things go wrong again in the business, what else will the Xue family have to be proud of?
With Xue Baochai's realistic character, I believe it won't be difficult for her to compromise.

(End of this chapter)