Corrupt official in the Red Chamber

Chapter 499 The first clues appear

Jia Yucun's words shocked Jia Rui, but soon a joy filled his heart.

Fortunately, Jia Rui had basic sense, so although he was happy in his heart, he reprimanded Jia Yucun very harshly.

"You bastard, the emperor is in the back hall of Yangxin Hall. If you say this, if the people in the court know about it, they will think that I am a traitor who wants to usurp the throne."

Jia Yucun, who was kneeling below, raised his head after hearing Jia Rui's words. After looking at Jia Rui, um, he said quickly:
"My lord, you deserve all the credit. Without you, the whole world would have been in chaos. If you ask me, you just claim to be long live, and no one dares to talk nonsense."

Jia Rui shook his head and said: "I am completely loyal to the late Supreme Emperor and the late Emperor. This matter cannot be discussed again in the future."

After hearing this, Jia Yucun quickly nodded in agreement, but he rolled his eyes and continued:

"My lord, the world is now in a state of peace, and it all depends on your presence. Therefore, I would like to ask my lord to join the throne of Wu, so that the world can be at peace."

This time Jia Rui did not refute, but sat there and said humbly: "I came from a humble beginning, and it was only through the promotion of the Supreme Emperor and the Emperor that I am today. I am already satisfied. How can I peek at the throne of Wu?"

Jia Yucun, who was kneeling below, was such a smart person. It sounded like Jia Rui was refusing, but there was no blame in his tone, so it was clear that Jia Rui agreed.

However, he is just making a speech alone, and some people are alone. It seems that they need to contact some courtiers to make a speech to the master, and then the master will be able to push the boat forward.

After thinking of this, Jia Yucun echoed Jia Rui with a smile on his face, and at the same time his eyes moved around, as if he was thinking of some evil idea.

Jia Rui was very happy when he saw that Jia Yucun understood what he meant.

During this period of time, Jia Rui thought that his position should be a step up, but he didn't know how to hint to the people below. Now that Jia Yucun mentioned it, Jia Rui immediately went up the steps.

After saying this, Jia Rui happily asked Jia Yucun to stand up.

"You did a good job in Jiangnan." Jia Rui praised Jia Yucun.

"When I do things for my master, I will not hesitate even to the death of my subordinates."

"Okay, if you want to say something depressing, let's talk about Jiangnan's current situation."

Although Jia Rui has been obtaining information about Jiangnan from the intelligence department, it would be good to listen to Jia Yucun's report on the spot to confirm the correctness of the information.

"Back to Master, everything is peaceful in Jiangnan now. The people are grateful to Master. Some people have even set up a longevity tablet for you at home."

Jia Rui felt proud after hearing this.

What Jia Yucun said did happen in Jiangnan, and it was not just one or two cases, but a large number of people did it.

This time, Jia Rui carried out a large-scale purge of Jiangnan's wealthy businessmen and gentry, which greatly damaged the vitality of Jiangnan's gentry.

You must know that almost 80% of the land in Jiangnan is in the hands of these wealthy families, and Jia Rui's action directly caused the death of these wealthy families, and the land they controlled was also handed over to the hands of the court. inside.

If it were an ordinary ruler of a feudal dynasty, faced with this situation, the most he could do would be to lower the price and sell the land to farmers.

But Jia Rui knew the cycle of the feudal dynasty for hundreds of years.

Therefore, he did not do this. Instead, he ordered the Ministry of Household Registration to make a register and nationalize these lands. He also ordered that these lands could not be sold under any circumstances.

After that, Jia Rui rented it to ordinary people for farming at relatively low rents. The common people were naturally overjoyed to rent land from the imperial court, because Jia Rui's land rent was half less than that of the landlords.

For the imperial court, by renting out these lands, they would not only receive a large amount of land tax every year, but also collect rent. This would provide two sources of income, which greatly supplemented the imperial government's finances.

And the people can also pay less rent, and their lives can become better, so everyone is happy.

Therefore, the people in Jiangnan remembered Jia Rui well, and many people began to rank Jia Rui for immortality, hoping that Jia Rui would live a long life and be able to rule the country.

"Hahaha, I just did some small things, there is no need for the people to be like this." Jia Rui said this, but there was a burst of pride in his tone.

"Master, I can't I agree with your statement? You have so many things to do all day long but you still care about the common people. For the sake of their livelihood, you have lowered the land rent so that the common people have a way to live. If they don't rank you for longevity and don't be grateful, then... They are all white-eyed wolves.”

The wrinkles on Jia Rui's smiling face are now widened. It seems that Jia Yucun's flattery just scratched Jia Rui's itch.

"Hahaha, I just did some small things that I should do for the people. I am a little flattered that the people repay me in this way."

After feeling happy, Jia Rui also began to change the topic, "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. You just came back. Go back and rest for a few days, and then report to the cabinet."

"I thank you, Master." Jia Yucun bowed respectfully, then saw that Jia Rui had nothing else to say, and then withdrew.

But Jia Rui himself was so happy that he even ate an extra bowl of rice at noon and was in a happy mood all day long.
After Jia Yucun left the Yangxin Hall, he did not go back to his own house, but went directly to the cabinet.

When I walked in, I saw several cabinet ministers writing furiously with their heads down.

"Everyone, Lao Jia, I'm back."

Shen Wence, who was sitting in the innermost room, heard Jia Yucun's voice and looked up. He was standing at the door with a cheerful face.

"Haha, old Jia Qian is back. Why don't you bring us gifts? If you come here empty-handed, we won't listen to you."

Shen Wence stood up while talking jokingly, walked to Jia Yucun, looked up and down, and then continued:

"Oh, I went out for a trip. Instead of losing weight, I actually gained a lot of weight. It seems like you had a good time on this wonderful trip!"

"Hahaha, the people below are all filial."

This was another cabinet bachelor. Xu Biao also came over. He said with a smile: "Master Jia has worked very hard this time. Their household department has received a large amount of money, all thanks to Master Jia's raising in Jiangnan."

Jia Yucun went to Jiangnan this time, cooperated with Jia Rui to clean up Jiangnan, and stole a large amount of money.

The amount of this silver was ten times the court's annual tax revenue, which made the court's finances unprecedentedly generous.

"Haha, they are all doing things for the Duke. I am just acting on the orders of the Duke. The credit belongs to our Duke. I just worked hard."

After the greetings were over, Jia Yucun pulled Shen Wence aside and said in a low voice: "Now the world is basically stable, and those rats hiding in the dark have been almost eliminated by our Lord. You said our Lord Should we take another step forward?”

Shen Wence's eyes lit up after hearing this, and then he thought for a long time, then nodded and said:
"It's time for our Duke to take a step forward. In this way, the cabinet is not the place to talk. You come to my house tonight and I will take care of you. Then the two of us will discuss it in detail."

After hearing this, Jia Yucun said with a smile: "That's a good feeling. I've long heard that the cook in your house is the original imperial chef. I want to taste his dishes this time."

(End of this chapter)