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Chapter 176 The Emperor is Ruthless (please subscribe)

It’s almost time to pay the salt tax and silver!

This was the reply to Lin Ruhai that Mr. Zheng brought from the Lin family.

Jia Huan suddenly understood!

Damn it, I almost forgot about this!
  At this time, there were only Mr. Zheng and Jia Huan in the big study room.

Naturally, Mr. Zheng Er didn't understand the deep meaning of Lin Ruhai's words, but he instinctively felt that Lin Ruhai's words were very important, so he sent away all the diners in advance.

It is better not to let too many people know about the explanation given by the dignified second-rank official of the imperial court.

Of course, this is related to the fact that he is a court official, an instinctive and exclusive thinking.

The Qingke ministers are not officials, so why do they join in?
  "Brother Huan, what do you mean by Uncle Lin's words?"

Mr. Zheng Er spoke directly without much embarrassment.

"Master, I'm afraid the salt tax in Yangzhou will be greatly reduced this year!"

Jia Huan's face was full of confidence and he affirmed: "No, it should be the newly appointed Salt Patrol Censor and the forces behind him who panicked and had no choice but to come up with a strategy to discredit Uncle Lin!"

"I hope I can muddy the water and get through it!"

"Will the Yangzhou salt tax be greatly reduced?"

Mr. Zheng Er still didn’t understand much. He really had no idea about practical matters.

"I don't know, sir, but in the five years since Uncle Lin served as the Salt Patrol Censor, the salt tax has risen from less than five million taels before to a maximum of more than nine million taels!"

Jia Huan's eyes flashed, and he explained with a sneer: "I'm afraid that this year's Huaiyang salt tax will return to the old way. How can we not be anxious when the gap is too big?"

"You mean, the Yangzhou salt tax this year is less than [-] million?"

Mr. Zheng Er understood it and opened his eyes wide with disbelief on his face.

"It's very possible!"

Jia Huan sneered: "The gap is too big, and neither the current emperor nor the court will agree!"

"If you are not good, it will not only be as simple as being dismissed from office, but you may also be in danger of your life!"

"The master may not know that Uncle Lin's previous Yangzhou salt inspection censor basically served for one year, just because he was worried that they would be dragged into the Yangzhou salt merchants' secret collusion!"

"But it's so true. There are quite a few Yangzhou salt inspectors who were sent to prison or even beheaded in the past few years. They couldn't resist the temptation of free money!"

"What about your Uncle Lin? How come you were re-elected for five years in one go?"

Mr. Zheng Er's face turned slightly heavy and he asked, "Isn't this too abnormal?"

"It's really not normal!"

Jia Huan sighed and said quietly: "Perhaps, the current or the Supreme Emperor, seeing that he is doing so well, and the salt tax revenue is rising every year, is reluctant to transfer him!"

"But doesn't the extra salt tax every year come out of the pockets of those salt merchants?"

Mr. Zheng Er was not really stupid. He also noticed something was wrong at this time. He frowned and said, "With such a huge loss, isn't there anyone who harbors resentment towards Uncle Qin Lin?"

"how is this possible?"

Jia Huan sneered: "How old is Uncle Lin, and his body and bones are so weak?"

"Master, do you think it's Uncle Lin's own problem, or is it because of the threats he received in Yangzhou?"

Mr. Zheng Er had a look of shock on his face, his mouth opened wide and he didn't know what to say.

What did he hear? Lin Ruhai's life was in danger in Yangzhou. Are you kidding?

"That's a loss of millions of taels a year!"

Jia Huan chuckled and said: "Even in the capital, there is a possibility of violence and murder, let alone in Yangzhou where the mountains are high and the emperor is far away. The salt merchants have a lot of money!"

"Not to mention, the people who may be standing behind them are the prince and the cabinet minister!"

Mr. Zheng Er's face turned pale, and he realized that the Yangzhou salt merchant was indeed not a kind person.

At this time, he suddenly realized that Lin Ruhai had been sitting in such a dangerous position as Yangzhou Salt Patrol Censor for five years, which was simply a trap.

He didn't dare to think about anything deeper, but just like that, a layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Then your Uncle Lin is now..."

Her voice was trembling as she spoke, for fear of hearing some bad answer.

Fortunately, Jia Huan's reply made him breathe a long sigh of relief: "Sir, Uncle Lin successfully jumped out of the quagmire of Yangzhou Salt Patrol Censor last year. There is nothing to worry about now!"

"That's good, that's good!"

Mr. Zheng Er nodded repeatedly with a chuckle on his face: "As long as your Uncle Lin is fine!"

"There will definitely be no problem!"

Jia Huan smiled and said: "But you have to be careful to guard against some people jumping over the wall in a hurry!"

Mr. Zheng Er was stunned and nodded silently. After all, he is in the officialdom, so he knows the way around it.

Because Lin Ruhai did so well, his successor's life was even in danger.

Under such circumstances, the successor and the forces behind him must be extremely unhappy with Lin Ruhai.

If they were to be unlucky, they might end up dragging Lin Ruhai along with them!
  At the moment, it is just a painless impeachment, which will have little impact on Lin Ruhai.

But if the situation is urgent, it does not rule out that the other party will use extreme measures to drag Lin Ruhai to death, or make Lin Ruhai become dirty.

No, aren't the rumors in the capital just following this path?
  Seeing that Master Zheng was quite worried, Jia Huan chuckled and said, "Master, don't worry!"

"Uncle Lin understands clearly and will naturally make arrangements. We just need to wait and see quietly. It won't take long for the results to come out!"

that's the truth!
  Half a month later, Jin Jin was furious in the court and executed several officials in succession, all of whom were related to the salt policy.

Among them, the Yangzhou Salt Patrol Censor was directly thrown into prison and dismissed from his post for investigation!
  There are almost two dozen other officials implicated!
  As long as the courtiers who have some understanding of the salt policy know clearly, this is just the beginning.

Who said this incident was too noisy?
  This year, the salt tax paid by the Yangzhou Salt Patrol Censor’s Yamen was less than five million taels.

Five years before Lin Ruhai became the salt inspector, such salt tax revenue was quite normal.

But for now, it would be a slap in the face of the current emperor and the imperial court.

Last year, the salt tax revenue was more than [-] million taels, but this year it is only half of last year. You are such a fool. If you don't respond now, wouldn't you become a clay Buddha?
  Not to mention, the court still needs salt tax to subsidize the holes, which will be of great use.

As a result, the salt tax was only less than [-] million taels, which was far from what was imagined.

Today’s anger is certainly justified!
  In the first half of the year, there was a locust plague in the capital and Zhili territory. The imperial court paid a huge price to barely calm down the impact of the locust plague.

Even now, part of the internal treasury money has been used to help the court tide over the difficulties.

But that's it, the gap in the household department alone is three million taels.

They all hoped that this year's salt tax would bring some relief, but they ended up getting a bucket of cold water poured on them.

At this time, Jin Jin remembered Lin Ruhai's good fortune.

When this man was in charge of Yangzhou, the salt tax was rising every year.

If it hadn't been transferred to the capital last year, the salt tax revenue this year would have exceeded [-] million?
  I feel regretful just thinking about it, but it’s a pity that I didn’t regret taking the medicine.

Now I really want Lin Ruhai to return to Yangzhou, but it's a little hard to say it.

If not, let Dai Quan, the chief eunuch next to you, help pass on the message.

If Lin Ruhai is willing to return to Yangzhou to take charge of salt affairs, he will concurrently serve as the right deputy censor.

By then, he will be the well-deserved king of trolls in the entire south, the kind that even the governor of Liangjiang who is in Jinling will have to give face.

Dai Quan was naturally very efficient in his work and directly called Jia Rong to explain the situation.

How dare Jia Rong be negligent? He asked Jia Huan to go to Ning Mansion and explain the matter again.

The reason why it is so troublesome is because of the face of the current emperor.

After all, Lin Ruhai was transferred to the capital last year. If he was transferred to Yangzhou this year, how the courtiers would view him would greatly affect the emperor's face.

What nonsense!
  After Jia Huan heard the news, his first reaction was that he was out of his mind. He didn't treat Lin Ruhai as a human being and wanted to squeeze her to death.

This shameless method is no worse than those people who hang street lights in modern times.

The Supreme Emperor hasn't completely died yet. The label mark on Lin Ruhai's body is so obvious. If he jumps into the quagmire of Yangzhou again, there is really only a dead end.

Nowadays, he will definitely not be too concerned about it. As long as the salt tax is enough, there will be no problem.

But what would the Supreme Emperor's men think? Their first reaction was probably that Lin Ruhai had rebelled, and then they would use all kinds of means to try to kill him.

As for the Yangzhou salt merchants, they will definitely not welcome hard-line and capable officials like Lin Ruhai to come back.

Even if they didn't dare to go too far at the beginning, I believe that they, who have been familiar with each other for a long time, would definitely make Lin Ruhai die of illness quickly on duty. They still have this ability.

Isn't this forcing Lin Ruhai to die?

Jia Huan cursed in his heart, but did not show it on his face. He just told Jia Rong and Jia Qiang that they should not get involved in this matter, and it was not something they could afford to get involved with.

Turning back to Rong Mansion, he told the matter to Mr. Zheng.

Mr. Zheng Er showed a solemn expression at that time, and when Jia Huan told all the dangers and possible things inside, his face turned pale with fright.

"How can it be like this today? How can it be like this?"

He said with a look of disbelief: "Ruhai is an out-and-out loyal minister, and he has done so many things for the court, so why should he be treated like this?"

What is the most ruthless emperor's family? Master, haven't you heard of it?
  Jia Huan was speechless and reminded: "It's better to inform Uncle Lin about the situation. Even if we are unhappy about this matter, we have to tell Uncle Lin about it first and see how he reacts?"

"No matter what, I will not agree to your uncle Lin continuing to go to Yangzhou!"

Mr. Zheng Er's face was very ugly, and he said dissatisfiedly: "There are so many capable officials in the court, why do they always keep an eye on your Uncle Lin?"

Even if Mr. Zheng Er has a good temper, he can't stand the current emperor's behavior of openly bullying honest people.

(End of this chapter)