Corrupt official in the Red Chamber

Chapter 209
After a while, a table of pretty good food was placed in front of Jia Rui.

But Jia Rui looked at the food in front of him and had no intention of eating. He was thinking about how to deal with the aftermath.

When he was in the capital, Jia Rui thought it was just Gansu officials who were deceiving his superiors and others.

But as time went by, Jia Rui thought deeply about this issue and found that without the cover-up of the big bosses in the DPRK, how dare Gansu officials be so bold?

If all the officials in Gansu are killed this time according to the emperor's wishes, then I am afraid that the big shots in the court will be offended, especially those in the cabinet.

Jia Rui didn't care about other people, but the only one Jia Rui was afraid of was Shen Jian.

Of the three bachelors in the cabinet, the other two already have stains on their bodies, and the Emperor will not trust them very much.

Only Shen Jian was promoted from the official minister to the bachelor, and he was originally a confidant of the Supreme Emperor. As of now, it seems that he has no intention of rebellion.

In this way, his words also have weight in the heart of the Supreme Emperor.

This time in Gansu, the matter is so big that the other two universities may not dare to take it on. Now the only one who has the courage and ability is Shen Jian.

If this matter was really done by Shen Jian, didn't Jia Rui's actions offend Shen Jian to death?He will become Shen Jian's mortal enemy in the court.

To be honest, Jia Rui didn't want to offend Shen Jian.

When Shen Jian was still the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the two of them cooperated very well. After becoming the cabinet bachelor, Shen Jian did not offend Jia Rui. If Jia Rui interfered with Shen Jian's interests, there would really be no reconciliation in the future. Opportunity.

But if Shen Jian is tipped off now, who knows if he will instruct the people in Gansu to make any small moves?

"Uncle, the rice is cold, why don't you eat it?" Sanjie You asked when she saw Jia Rui frowning.

Jia Rui rubbed his forehead, then picked up the chopsticks and took a few casual bites, then threw the chopsticks aside again and thought about his affairs.

Sanjie You shook her head and ignored Jia Rui. She had been starving during the journey. Now was the time to have a full stomach. The rest would be discussed later.

After eating, Jia Rui and the others did not continue to rest. Instead, they rode horses or carriages and continued towards Lanzhou, Gansu.

Jia Rui didn't walk very fast along the way, with stops and starts, mainly because Jia Rui wanted to understand the people's sentiments.

That night, Jia Rui and the others missed the big town and could only rest temporarily in a small village.

In fact, this small village couldn't accommodate Jia Rui and dozens of others. Fortunately, Jia Rui paid ten taels of silver and rented his house from a local small landowner.

When the small landowner saw Yinzi, he immediately vacated his home, and then took his family to live with relatives and friends.

After Jia Rui and the others settled down, Wangcai and the other boys started cooking.

It is said that the cooking made by Wangcai and others is indeed unpalatable, and eating their food is a kind of torture for Jia Rui.

But in this simple and desolate small village, there is no cook, so we can only make do with what we have to fill our stomachs, so as not to starve.

After having an unpalatable dinner, Sanjie You began to clean up Jia Rui's room and lay out the quilt. Jia Rui had nothing to do, so he took Wangcai for a stroll in the small village.

Wandering, they walked to a wheat drying field in the center of the village.

Now that the autumn harvest has passed, the wheat field is empty, and people in the village are chatting here.

Jia Rui glanced around and saw four or five old people in their 60s and [-]s gathered together, talking and playing chess, so Jia Rui came over.

"Brother Wang, how much tax did your family pay this year?"

"A load of grain."

"It's almost the same as my home!"

An old man playing chess clattered the chess pieces in his hand, "It may be said that this year's harvest is a bumper one, but the taxes paid are more than before. After all, there is no difference from before."

The old man opposite him put the chess piece in his hand on the stone slab and said with a smile: "There is still a difference. Haven't you seen that there is no corvee yet?"

"Sooner or later."

"uncertain."

Jia Rui was listening to their conversation and couldn't help but interjected: "Old people, I hear you say that Gansu's tax revenue this year is more than before?"

"There are two more floors." An old man holding a shovel said angrily.

Jia Rui was a little surprised that this Gansu official was so greedy.

This is all about money rather than life.He actually asked for money from both the court and the people. This was not easy to hide.

The old man turned his head and looked at Jia Rui. Seeing that he was a stranger, he asked, "Are you the nobleman from the east?"

It turned out that Jia Rui and his group had entered the small village. People in the village had already spread the word, and everyone knew that the landlord's house had been rented by a nobleman.

"I am not a noble person, I am just a tea seller."

There was a trace of cunning in the old man's eyes, "Young man, you are joking. Selling tea is a hard job. You only earn so little money in total. How can you be willing to spend ten taels of silver to rent a small courtyard."

Jia Rui opened his mouth after hearing this, but was speechless.

Jia Rui also began to reflect on himself.I remember when I first traveled through time, I licked my face and begged my grandmother for a few taels of silver.

He even bought Jia Rong a jade pendant for the sake of starting capital.

But now, he has become aloof from the world, and can no longer figure out the specific value of ten taels of silver.

No wonder the little landowner moved without saying a word as soon as he heard that he had paid ten taels of silver to rent his house.

Now that I think about it, when they first crossed over, there was someone who rented their house for ten taels of silver a day, and Jia Rui was able to mobilize Jia Dairu and Mrs. Wang to move together.

In order to make the guests' stay comfortable, he would even leave servants to serve him.

Although the other party saw through it, Jia Rui still covered it up, "Let the old man see through it. I left the disciples of Shaanxi Jiedushi Huang Gun and got a job in Gansu."

"It turns out he is an official. No wonder he is so generous."

Jia Rui smiled awkwardly, "Old man, how are we in Gansu these past few years?"

It was the old man playing chess who took over the conversation and said: "What good can the common people do? Just live."

The old man holding the shovel quickly added: "My lord, don't listen to his nonsense. Our Gansu province is vast and sparsely populated. As long as you work hard, it's not a problem to have a full stomach."

Jia Rui pretended to nodded, and then suddenly asked: "Then why did I hear that there was chaos in Gansu a few years ago, and many people died in the war?"

"There's nothing we can do about it. Isn't it a sectarian dispute?" he asked, then quickly avoided, "Let's not talk about this anymore."

Jia Rui's eyes flashed. It seemed that not only the officials in Gansu were ruthless, but the sects below were also dishonest.

Otherwise, I just asked, why did I scare this old man like this?
In this remote area, the lower sects are mixed in, which is not good for the rule of the imperial court.

Jia Rui regards Gansu as his own territory. Last time he did not dare to take action because he was afraid of too much noise. This time he took advantage of the opportunity to take the military and political power of Gansu.

Then slowly sort out these local factions. In your own territory, if it is a dragon, you have to control it, if it is a tiger, you have to lie down for me.

After thinking about it, Jia Rui felt relieved and no longer worried about offending Shen Jian. Compared with Shen Jian's likes and dislikes, a province of real power was what he needed.

After feeling happy, Jia Rui returned to the small landlord's house and rested peacefully in his arms for the night.

The next day, they continued their journey. After two or three days of trekking, they finally arrived at the outskirts of Lanzhou. However, Jia Rui did not enter the city, but went to the military camp outside the city first.

The governor of Lanzhou was one of Jia Rui's subordinates, named Zhou Heng.

Zhou Heng was Huang Gun's subordinate. He was trapped by the enemy, and Jia Rui single-handedly rescued him from the rebel army.

At this point, Zhou Heng followed Huang Gun and was loyal to Jia Rui.

After suppressing the rebellion in Gansu, he was only promoted one level and transferred to Gansu as a garrison envoy.

However, as Jia Rui's power in the court became more and more stable in recent years, Jia Rui even took control of the power to review memorials, and was secretly promoted to the governor of Gansu Province by Jia Rui.

Zhou Heng was also grateful for Jia Rui's promotion, so he was cautious and conscientious in doing things, making Gansu's 5 troops more elite.

Moreover, Jia Rui also used the reason that Gansu was close to the border and added tens of thousands of horses to the 5 horses, giving it [-] cavalry.

Precisely because Zhou Heng was strict in managing the army, Jia Rui did not encounter any difficulties when he came to the gate of the camp. He handed his token to the soldier at the gate of the camp. The man did not accept Jia Rui's money and immediately went in to report.

Jia Rui didn't wait long at the gate of the camp when he heard the sound of cannon fire inside. After a while, Zhou Heng came out with all the generals in the camp.

This Zhou Heng is a soldier in his 30s. He looks ordinary, but there is determination in his eyes.

As soon as he walked out of the gate, he saw Jia Rui standing in front of the horse. He immediately trotted to Jia Rui excitedly, knelt down on one knee and raised his hands.

"The last general, Zhou Heng, goes to see the commander-in-chief."

Jia Rui smiled and helped him up, then patted his shoulder, "I haven't seen him in a few years. He is getting more and more energetic. He looks like a general."

Zhou Heng was a little embarrassed and said, "This is all taught by the commander-in-chief."

"You kid also learned how to flatter."

Zhou Heng was a little embarrassed and lowered his head.

"Okay, stop standing at the camp gate, let's go in and talk."

As he spoke, Jia Rui seemed to have returned to his own home and moved forward first.

They all wanted to lead the generals to follow, but when he saw Sister You behind Jia Rui, he took a step back and let Sister You go first.

A group of people came to the Chinese army's treasure tent. Jia Rui sat in the middle. Third Sister You was invited to the back. The generals led by Zhou Heng stood on both sides.

When Jia Rui saw the generals standing, he said, "Let me tell you the truth. The governor of Gansu issued a memorial, saying that there will be a severe drought in Gansu this year and the court will provide relief."

After hearing this, the generals below were also in an uproar.

This is impossible. These generals all have farms and properties in Gansu. How could the severe drought in Gansu be hidden from them?

(End of this chapter)