Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 21 Clearing debts is not something officials do

"You are a noble son, why should you waste money to please a civil servant?"

When the money didn't arrive, Jia Lian was so angry that he endured his anger and left. When he returned home, he asked Guixiang how much money he had saved.
  Jia Lian's monthly quota of fifteen taels was only taken for one month. No matter how much he saved, Guixiang would only have five taels left on hand.

Well, it’s impossible to buy something good for Zhang Ting’en. You have to think of another way.

If you think about it carefully, you may not be able to accept gifts of gold and silver. When a student meets his teacher, it is natural for him to give gifts to suit his liking.

There was no rush about this matter. When Jia Lian went to school the next day, he asked the old concierge about Zhang Tingen's hobbies.

The old man glanced at him disdainfully and said, "Why do you like to camp at such a young age?"

This sentence made Jia Lian angry, and he immediately clasped his hands and said loudly: "Goodbye, see you later!"

The old man was happy behind him and said loudly: "Stop! Your temper is not bad, just go back and give the principal a nice drink."

After hearing this, Jia Lian turned around and said with a smile: "I'll bring you a jar too."

"Thanks, don't look back and scold the old man who drank for nothing."

Jia Lian smiled and did not take the old man's words seriously. When Jia Lian entered, a smile appeared on the old man's face. I have seen a lot of noble disciples, but Jia Lian is really uncommon.

No one knew the whereabouts of this old man. Jia Lian asked the easy-to-talk Old Master Fang, and the answer he got was that when the old Master came to teach in the academy, the old man was guarding the door. The old man has no offspring and only has one hobby: drinking.

In the afternoon math class, Jia Lian asked her husband to ask for leave. Jia Lian, who had always been the number one in math in the academy, naturally succeeded easily.

There is no shortage of good wine in Jia's house, but it is not easy to get it. If you want to save trouble, you can only ask Jia's mother.

No, it just so happened that Mrs. Wang was also present. After Jia Lian said hello, Jia's mother curiously said, "Brother Lian got off from school early today."

Jia Lian explained: "The previous class teacher, Mr. Zhang, has been promoted, and my grandson wants two jars of good wine as a gift."

Before Jia Mu could say anything, Mrs. Wang jumped in and said, "Gao Sheng, where did Gao Sheng go?"

Jia Lian then patiently explained that Zhang Ting'en was originally impeached and removed from office, but now his Majesty has appointed him as Minister of Household Affairs.

After hearing this, Mrs. Wang rolled her eyes and said, "Since you are going to give a gift, and you don't want to disgrace the Rongguo Mansion, why not prepare some more silk and silver to send together? I will ask Zhou Rui's family to accompany you."

Jia Lian wondered if Mrs. Wang had gone crazy? Too much money and no place to use it? However, she was an elder and couldn't resist, so she had to explain with a smile: "My nephew gave me two jars of good wine, Mr. Zhang can accept it, but the Jia family gave me a big gift, but Mr. Zhang can't accept it."

Mrs. Wang didn't think twice and retorted directly: "Why can't we accept it? Jia's family is losing face?"

Jia Lian felt that this woman was really brainless for actually talking about the Jia family's reputation. No wonder Jia Zheng liked Aunt Zhao.

Facing the cross-examination, Jia Lian could only respond silently, looking at Jia Mu calmly.

Mother Jia looked at Mrs. Wang with a bit more contempt in her eyes. In modern terms, is it something you don't have in mind?

"Just do what Brother Lian wants. Come here and get two jars of the best wine for Brother Lian and send them to the east cross courtyard."

Jia Mu spoke up and made the final decision without giving Mrs. Wang any more explanation. For such a grown-up person, it was just that she couldn't think clearly.

Jia Lian thanked Jia Mu and went back to the east cross courtyard to ask someone to prepare the car to go out.

Not long after, Zhou Rui brought the wine and asked again: "Is there anything else you need? My ancestors have given me orders, so please follow me."

After hearing this, Jia Lian looked at Zhou Rui with a half-smile but said nothing. Zhou Rui's face felt hot when he saw it, and he quickly left.

Guixiang asked strangely: "Second Master, is what Butler Zhou Rui said this time wrong?"

Jia Lian said calmly: "I asked for two jars of wine in front of my grandmother. Where did the other items come from? When did Zhou Rui ever care about me?"

Guixiang reacted, stamped her feet and cursed in a low voice: "This black-hearted thing, God will strike him with lightning sooner or later."

Jia Lian thought to himself, how could Zhou Rui have the courage? Isn't this what Mrs. Wang meant?

Guixiang scolded Zhou Rui that it was okay and Jia Lian could protect her. It wouldn't do to scold Mrs. Wang, so Jia Lian didn't give her an explanation.

Zhou Rui went back in disgrace, and told Mrs. Wang what had happened. Mrs. Wang couldn't help but wonder: "This little beast has only been studying for a few days, and he doesn't want to do this." Forgive a virtue. Now Jia Lian and Mrs. Wang are a little helpless, and the usual tricks are not working well. I have no choice but to endure it and wait for the opportunity.

I only brought a jar of wine with me, so Chang followed Xiao An and went out to get in the car and rushed to Zhang Tingen's residence.

I thought there would be a lot of traffic in front of Zhang's house, but I didn't expect it to be deserted. The Zhang family's place is not big, just a two-story courtyard house, with one acre of land reaching the sky. I got off the car and knocked on the side door. After waiting for a while, an old man came out. He didn't recognize Jia Lian, so he asked who it was.

Jia Lian said: "Jia Lian, I am Mr. Zhang's disciple. No, I am here to congratulate Mr. Zhang for his resurrection."

As he said this, he took the wine from Xiao An's hand and held it up to show the old man. That means I brought this little thing with me.

The old man looked carefully and said, "Wait a minute." Then he closed the door and went back to ask for instructions.

Not long after, the old man came out and opened the door and said, "Come in, there are guests at home, so it's not easy to rush into them."

"Thank you, elder." Jia Lian thanked him quickly, thinking that it would be enough to just come and meet him this time, and there was little chance of doing more.

Following the old man inside, there were two men in black standing in the main hall. Their eyes were like knives. Jia Lian felt chilled at just one glance.

The person is not in the hall, but in the study. He passes through the hall and enters the study at the end. The door of the main room is closed tightly and no family members can be seen.

In the study room, there is a middle-aged man sitting with his head down, an entourage standing solemnly on the left side, and Zhang Ting'en sitting with him on the right side. When Jia Lian saw the formation, he realized that this distinguished guest was not an ordinary person. He quickly stepped forward and spoke: "Thanks to Mr.'s earnest teachings these days, Jia Lian's degree has improved slightly. Now that Mr. has resigned, the students will give him a jar of wine to thank him."

Zhang Ting'en smiled and said nothing, and did not mean to introduce him. The middle-aged man came up and asked with a smile: "Jia Lian, the direct grandson of Rongguo Mansion, you just gave me a jar of wine to thank me. You are not sincere."

Jia Lian quickly saluted seriously and said: "When I reply to my husband, I am sincere and it doesn't matter the importance of the gift. There are many things going on in the household department, and the teacher is afraid that he will be affected. It's just that he will be affected, and he may be angry. This jar of wine will make the teacher angry." I drank it when I was there.”

The middle-aged man became interested when he heard this. He even leaned forward slightly, looked at Jia Lian and asked, "What, do you think it is difficult to be an official in the Ministry of Husband? Or do you think it is difficult to make a difference in the Ministry of Husband?"

After listening to this guy's words to sow discord, Jia Lian secretly saw Zhang Ting'en and found that the teacher was watching the play with a smile on his face. He felt infinite bitterness in his heart. He weakly clasped his hands towards Zijin City and said: "The Di newspaper said that your Majesty ordered to pay back the debt. The Minister of the Ministry of Finance cannot afford to be ill. This is because I don’t want to offend anyone. The teacher is a loyal and diligent official, and I am afraid that asking for money will offend many important people, so naturally I will not be offended."

The middle-aged man's face darkened, and he said sternly: "Why, a young boy with a yellow mouth knows how difficult it is to pay back debts? Are you here to persuade Mr. Zhang to stay out of the matter?" Jia Lian saw the man's sudden change of face, so majestic, and thought that this official is too small. , maybe a cabinet minister.

"Sir, I can't control it. As for the difficulty of collecting debts in the household department, everyone knows it. I am young and foolish, but I can't do anything."

After saying this, the middle-aged man laughed angrily, raised his finger and pointed at Jia Lian and said: "At such a young age, you have picked everything cleanly. You are so naughty as an old official."

Uh, Jia Lian thought, isn't it? In modern times, I was just a senior official, not even a ninth grader. In ancient times, I was not considered an official, at most I was a master. Aren't they just officials? Oops, this habit of mine has come out. This big shot probably has a lot of experience at the grassroots level. Besides, is the job of clearing debts something that humans can do? Alas, I regret it, I shouldn’t have come today.

"In front of Sir, I naturally have something to say and don't dare to have treacherous thoughts." Jia Lian responded respectfully.

At this time, Zhang Ting'en smiled and said: "Okay, the wine has been delivered. I'll accept it. You can go back."

Jia Lian immediately said goodbye and left, leaving the study without looking back. After the old servant led him out, the two people in the study stopped smiling. The middle-aged man sighed: "Every child knows that it is not easy for the Ministry of Revenue to recover debts, but it is a grievance." The Qing family is here, and I have no choice but to do so."

The middle-aged man is actually the current Emperor Chenghui!
  Zhang Ting'en stood up and bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, I must do the things of eating the emperor's salary and being loyal to the emperor, no matter how difficult it is. There is only one thing that I have to say beforehand."

Emperor Chenghui said: "But it doesn't hurt to talk."

Zhang Ting'en said: "I will pay you back within the time limit if you don't report it. If you don't pay, your home will be confiscated and you will be dismissed from office. Your Majesty's approval is enough."

What this means is that I will make suggestions and the emperor will agree. In layman's terms, I will take the blame and any resentment will be directed at me.

Emperor Chenghui looked moved, but hesitated to speak. He wanted to say that this was not appropriate, but it was too fragrant, so he took back his words.

Zhang Ting'en didn't say anything, but he knew very well in his heart that all the king's kindness was motivated by interests.

The traditional scholar-bureaucrat's feelings about his family and country are the driving force behind Zhang Ting'en's work, and what he pursues is leaving a name in history. Even if this thing fails, it will still leave a written record in the history books in the future.

Judging from the emperor's mentality in front of him, Zhang Ting'en felt that one day out of ten, the emperor would sell him, not to mention his head, and use his official position to appease the anger of other officials, which was very likely.

Finally, Emperor Chenghui changed the subject and said, "Jia Enhou, a prodigal, actually gave birth to a good son."

When Zhang Ting'en heard this, he felt even more certain. He was afraid of being impeached and removed from office this time, and he might not have much chance to return to the court.

At the beginning, Emperor Chenghui dismissed Li Qing with just a word from the Supreme Emperor. Zhang Tingen wrote a letter to vindicate Li Qing and stated the interests and risks of pursuing the debt. As a result, he was impeached by a large group of courtiers. Li Qing and Zhang Ting'en were dismissed one after another and went to teach in Qingyun Academy.

Now that old things are being brought up again, the reason for reviving Zhang Ting'en and Li Qing is not because of the emperor's conscience, but because the Ministry of Revenue has no money, and it is said that they can run away with mice. There was money in the inner treasury, but the emperor was reluctant to take it out. We just happened to catch up with the rebellion in the northwest, and there were barbarians in the southwest. Money was needed to fight the war, and the Ministry of Revenue couldn't come up with the money. What should we do?
  When speaking to the outside world, the emperor must always be right. This truth remains unchanged. If the ministers below are really dissatisfied with the emperor, then there must be a treacherous minister first. If the treacherous minister can't calm down the ministers even if he is captured, then the emperor will be replaced.

The word "Qingjun side" has appeared many times in history, and the most successful operation was that of Zhu Di.

When the emperor took the initiative to mention Jia Lian, Zhang Ting'en decided to tell the truth: "Jia Lian is smart and eager to learn, but his background is limited. Even if he is a high school scholar, he will need your majesty's patient training in the future. If he can win his heart, he can be like Lin Ruhai."

What does it mean? Zhang Ting'en clearly explained the idea of ​​​​training Jia Lian. This guy is a noble son. If he is really a Jinshi in the future, the literati group will definitely reject him. This is the result of the civil and military checks and balances strategy established during the Taizu period. This is determined by birth, and the only person who can change this situation is the emperor.

Aren't you a Jinshi? Well, you can become a civil servant. Among the civil servants, the only backer is the emperor.

Just like Lin Ruhai, who was born in Tanhua and became a civil servant. During the period of the Supreme Emperor, he could only take a bath in the Hanlin Academy. The first thing Emperor Chenghui did after he ascended the throne was to make Lin Ruhai a salt inspector. He devoted himself to serving the emperor as a lonely minister, guarding the salt tax money bag.

The Tian family is ruthless, and the emperor is even more ruthless.

After going out, Jia Lian got into the car angrily and asked the driver to leave as quickly as possible.

Fuck, I thought Zhang Ting'en was a big leg, but I never thought he was a curse. Just now in the house, when the middle-aged man talked about clearing debts, Jia Lian felt as if he was soaking in icy water on a cold day.

The so-called killing of parents by cutting off people's wealth and clearing debts is equivalent to robbing money from other people's pockets. Doesn't this offend all the officials in the world? What? Borrowed money from the Ministry of Accounts? Again, why should I pay back the money I received based on my ability?
  The emperor's decree was not easy to clear the debt. The money is in his pocket and if you ask him to take it out, it is no different than killing him.

Jia Lian made up his mind to stay away from Zhang Ting'en in the future and don't go to him if nothing happens.

When Jia Lian returned home, he felt sorry for the bottle of good wine. Why did he end up with such a teacher?
  Never, ever, Zhang Tingen, don’t take this job. But judging from the situation at the time, Zhang Tingen was going to take it.

That's why Jia Lian sighed. Thinking of the debt in history, Jia Lian had an even more headache. Is it too late to deny this teacher now? It's definitely too late. The master-disciple relationship has been decided, and Zhang Ting'en is also a trap.

Jia Lian had almost seen that Zhang Ting'en had offended countless people and was driven out of the capital and even dismissed from office because of his debts.

Of course, this depends on the Supreme Emperor and the current emperor. If the two reach an agreement, the debt must be cleared. Maybe Zhang Ting'en will be released as an official at most. If the current emperor wants to promote this matter alone, the worst result for Zhang Ting'en will be his death.

No matter, Jia Lian shouldn't worry about this matter.

Early the next morning, Jia Lian came to the academy, and the old man Liu who was the gatekeeper kept staring at him. Jia Lian returned to the car angrily, took a jar of wine down, and handed it to the old man. His smile was uglier than crying. In the end, I still couldn't escape, and I suffered a huge loss this time.

Old Man Liu still didn't let him go, he laughed and scolded: "Shuzi, do you really think I'm greedy for your wine?"

Jia Lian quickly apologized and said, "No, don't get me wrong. I really don't dare."

After three rounds, the old man smiled and said, "You brat, let's talk for a while?"

(End of this chapter)