Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 247

All we can say is that in the era of hereditary rule, governing officials is too difficult, and one has to rely on personal integrity rather than institutional and systematic governance.

Jia Lian did not mention the three uncles of the Zhou family, but Emperor Chenghui was successfully led astray.

"It's time to give those people in the Ministry of Revenue a hard time." Emperor Chenghui muttered to himself. If it were any other official, he would probably pretend to be deaf and dumb, but Jia Lian's character was to serve the emperor with sincerity, and he refuted very bluntly: "Your Majesty, it's hard to be an official in the capital, especially an upright one. Let's not talk about other things, the food and clothing of the whole family, the socializing between colleagues, for example, the sixth-rank official, with a monthly salary of 70 taels, it's not difficult to support a family, but it's difficult to maintain the dignity of an official. A banquet between colleagues, a table of food, at least 10 taels, if you invite two sisters, it will be 30 taels."

"Will you die if you don't socialize?" Emperor Chenghui was also very rude. The two of them sounded like they were arguing, not like a conversation between an emperor and his subjects.

"You are the king, everything you said is right." Jia Lian spread his hands and retreated tactically, but with a sarcastic tone.

Although Emperor Chenghui was dissatisfied, he was not angry. Because he did not solve the problem, he looked like he had a headache. He raised his hand and tapped his head lightly. After turning around a few times, he asked, "Do you have a solution?"

"Your Majesty, I think we should first analyze the cause of the problem. When a sum of money is approved and leaves the Ministry of Revenue, depending on the specific situation, it is probably 90% to 70% of it. The Ministry of Revenue gets a piece of the pie first, and then the rest of the people lose it. This kind of situation is even more serious when it comes to disaster relief. There is a saying that goes, 'officials have two mouths. You have to feed the officials first before you can take care of the victims.'"

These words made Emperor Chenghui silent. He didn't know when the ugly rules of the former Ming Dynasty revived and became more and more serious. No matter how much money you have, it is inevitable that you will be plundered. It is not considered excessive to eat empty salaries in the capital. After all, an official's monthly salary is only a few dollars, and the appropriation is the bulk.

Take Pan Jixun's memorial on river repair as an example. The court allocated 1 million taels, but he only got 500,000 taels. Pan Jixun was prudent. When he assigned laborers, he did not pay them. Instead, he personally arranged for people to purchase food and find people to cook on the construction site. He was afraid that the people below would be too cruel and embezzle the food subsidies for the laborers.

Because of the precautions, there will be enough money to repair the river.

To prevent the people below from doing anything, Pan Jixun personally went to the construction site and ate and lived on the river bank. Even so, he still couldn't avoid any problems. They were just minor problems, so he had to turn a blind eye. It's okay as long as it doesn't delay the main work.

"We can't just leave it alone, can we?" Emperor Chenghui still wanted to rectify the administration of officials. After all, he was an emperor with ideas and wanted to do something.

"I think we should do two things at the same time. Now that the finances are relaxed, we can give certain job subsidies to different positions. I don't know the specific operation, so I won't talk about it. Secondly, we should crack down on corruption and impose strict laws and punishments. Set up a few examples, kill those who should be killed, sentence those who should be sentenced, and don't be lenient. Of course, this is a matter for the future, and we can only hold off for the time being."

What Jia Lian said was still to remind Emperor Chenghui that the time was not ripe.

The emperor is still here, so take it easy. This cannot be said openly, it can only be hinted at. Otherwise, Jia Lian will have to send a few people down to deal with the R&D department.

Emperor Chenghui was still quite firm in his opinion and shook his head: "It's right to slow down a bit, but we can't be soft on things that have already been discovered, especially the R&D department. Write something up and I'll make something of it."

Jia Lian could only nod and agree helplessly: "I will write it when I get back."

"Don't go back, just write here." Emperor Chenghui was not in a hurry, but Wu Yuhui's case had been too much of a fuss recently, and he was too focused on it. He needed something else to divert his attention. Otherwise, why would he kick Jia Lian back to the R&D Department? He knew that this kid would not tolerate any sand in his eyes, and he would definitely clean up the mess.

What else can Jia Lian do? He just deals with the matter at hand. He clearly states the facts and the handling. The current stage is to dismiss them. He also clearly states that several heads of three departments colluded to eat empty salaries. The emperor wants to punish people, so he writes some concrete facts to prevent him from being long-winded again.

Sure enough, after reading it, Emperor Chenghui nodded with satisfaction and said, "We will discuss this matter at the cabinet meeting tomorrow. You can come too."

Jia Lian was silent for a while before he asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, just a discussion?"

Emperor Chenghui did not pretend to be profound this time, and said calmly: "It's just a breeze, nothing can be accomplished overnight."

Jia Lian finally breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good."

After leaving the palace, Jia Lian suddenly realized a problem. The retired emperor was about to celebrate his birthday, and Emperor Chenghui brought up such a big or small matter to discuss it in the cabinet. This was not just a rumor, but a warning to scare the emperor.

Damn, you are such a filthy person playing politics! I almost didn't react.

After Jia Lian left for a while, Emperor Chenghui finally realized: "Alas, I was led astray by that kid!"

I had originally planned on doing something good, to control this guy and make him beg me to speak to the Queen, but I never expected that I would be led astray.

"You brat, you are so slippery!" Emperor Chenghui could only sigh with regret, but he didn't care too much.

Emperor Chenghui just used this kind of joke between the monarch and his subjects to embellish the story. With so many things to deal with every day, he should relax. From Emperor Chenghui's point of view, Jia Lian has a good grasp of the general direction of politics because of his family background, but he is far from mature in details and methods. Just because he brought his family generals to attack the door of King Zhongshun, Emperor Chenghui concluded that he was still young and got carried away easily. This time was the same. He didn't see my plan from beginning to end. He still needs to practice.

In the past, Emperor Chenghui envied Zhang Tingen for having a good student, and now he also enjoys this feeling, but his method is different from Zhang Tingen's. Zhang Tingen is more about teaching by words and deeds, while Emperor Chenghui keeps setting traps for this kid and making him face various things.

The complacent Emperor Chenghui went to Yuanchun first, but was stopped by a palace maid before he even entered the door.

"Your Majesty, the nobleman said that she is not pretty now and it is not suitable to pollute your eyes."

Emperor Chenghui was very upset after hearing this. Yuanchun learned this trick from Concubine Li. It was an old trick, but it was effective.

Who is Lady Li? There is a beauty in the north, so beautiful that she can overwhelm the whole country.

"Okay, then I'm leaving. Tell Yuanchun to take care of herself." Emperor Chenghui did not leave immediately. He gave a few instructions before leaving.

When the maid came back to report, she couldn't help but ask, "My Lord, why didn't you let His Majesty in?"

Yuanchun didn't answer, but rolled her eyes: "If you don't understand, read more books and use your brain more."

Yuanchun is now on high alert, as anything can happen in the harem. Having a child is different from not having a child.

How hated she was to be pregnant and still take over the emperor. Besides, Emperor Chenghui was not gentle at all, even rough. If he was in the mood, should he continue or not?

So, after revealing her pregnancy, Yuanchun found an excuse to stop the person and minimize the risk.

Emperor Chenghui did not look for another woman, but went directly to Kunning Palace. Empress Zhou also advised him helplessly.

"Your Majesty, you are the ruler of a country. It is your responsibility to treat all the beauties in your harem equally. You cannot always come to me."

Emperor Chenghui didn't listen. No matter how hard other women flattered him, they couldn't get along as easily as Empress Zhou and Yuanchun. After all, these two women never asked for anything. If they were given something, they would take it. If they were not given something, they would not take it. The emperor had a hard time. How could he have the energy to deal with so many requests?

"I'm just here to sit for a while. I'll go back to the study to rest later." Emperor Chenghui sat down with a big horse and a golden sword, leaning back with a relaxed body. Empress Zhou chatted with him, and soon the topic turned to Jia Lian. Emperor Chenghui deliberately took the lead, so what he said was very natural: "The people in the R&D Department are too unreasonable, so I have no choice but to let Jia Lian deal with them."

Queen Zhou was completely confused by what she heard, but she judged that it would definitely not be aimless.

After dinner, Emperor Chenghui left as expected and went back to his study to recuperate. If a person is really tired, he will not be able to get excited about anything. Emperor Chenghui has been under too much pressure recently, so there is no way he can think of anything romantic.

Queen Zhou was worried and did not sleep well that night, so she sent someone to call Li Heng into the palace early.

Dejected Li Heng met Queen Zhou and saluted lazily, completely losing his former spirit.

Empress Zhou saw that he looked unhappy, so she asked with concern: "What's wrong? If you feel unwell, you should see the imperial physician."

Li Heng waved his hands: "I'm not sick, I just pissed off my grandpa and uncles."

After hearing this, Queen Zhou's face suddenly changed and she said, "Tell me in detail."

After Li Heng finished his story, Empress Zhou stamped her feet in anger and said, "Why didn't you tell me yesterday? It's too late now."

Li Heng was confused and said, "Isn't it because you are afraid of upsetting the mother? I thought, I should find them another job and pay them more, so that they can be persuaded. After all, they are elders, so we should give them some face."

Empress Zhou was so angry that she raised her hand and tapped Li Heng's forehead fiercely and said, "Have you forgotten about the Zhongshun Palace? With Jia Lian's temper, he won't listen to nice words. How can he be indulged? You should go to the Research and Development Department and wait for him. Don't let him go too far."

After sending Li Heng away, Queen Zhou asked Eunuch Sun to come over and tell him to go to the Zhou family and tell them: [Is the Zhou family short of food or clothes? Is it because you want to reduce the salary? Could it be that your father is dissatisfied with his daughter's comfortable life in the palace?]

This may seem like a small matter, but once someone holds on to it, it becomes a huge matter.

Queen Zhou, who was well versed in palace fighting, was highly sensitive to this.

Li Heng's attempt was in vain because Jia Lian had entered the palace and was now yawning and looking listless in the recording booth.

Last night, Jia Lian stayed in Guixiang's courtyard. Guixiang, who was obsessed with having a child, would not let Jia Lian rest and kept making trouble until very late. At first, Jia Lian was more proactive, but later it was Guixiang who took the initiative.

When he got up in the morning, Jia Lian closed his eyes and let Guixiang play with him.

It's all because the meeting was held in the morning. Couldn't it be held in the afternoon? Jia Lian complained all the way and was yawning when he arrived.

Image, is this thing comfortable as if you were taking a nap?
It was too early. The emperor and the ministers had not arrived yet, so Jia Lian simply took a nap on the table.

Knock, knock, knock! Someone knocked on the table. Jia Lian looked up and saw that it was Li Sanjiang. He stood up and clasped his hands in greeting: "Greetings, Lord Li!"

Li Sanjiang patted his shoulder with a kind look and said, "Young man, be restrained. Your body belongs to you."

After being teased, Jia Lian smiled helplessly and thanked him. Li Chi, who came in later, was also very nice to Jia Lian, smiling and nodding in return. Guo Yan was even more so, he said a few words to him affectionately, the past grudges were nothing, now they were in the same boat.

Kong Zhao and Liang Daoyuan have always been the same, neither hot nor cold, and have a normal attitude.

At the beginning of the meeting, Emperor Chenghui directly called on Jia Lian: "Jia Lian, stand up and talk about the R&D Department."

Everyone had a copy of the report from the R&D Department in front of them, and they had read it before the meeting started. It was explained that this was the main topic of the meeting, so as not to waste time going back and thinking about it in advance.

Jia Lian repeated it again, and only sat back down after he had deepened his impression of it.

Now that the Ministry of Revenue has no Shangshu, Li Sanjiang, who is interested in competing for this position, immediately asked: "Jia Lian, how do you plan to deal with the remaining eight officials who refuse to resign voluntarily, as well as the officials involved in the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Imperial Household Department?"

Jia Lian stood up and saluted before speaking: "Lord Li thinks highly of me. The eight people who have not been paid for anything will definitely be dismissed. It is not difficult to deal with the matter of an official document. The officials of various departments are not within my responsibility. I can only report and wait for the result."

Li Sanjiang got the answer and did not plan to continue the pursuit. After all, this matter was really difficult to handle, and if he were in his place, he would have wanted to keep things peaceful.

But some people were still adding fuel to the fire. For example, Li Chi asked, "There are too many old customs and practices. The older generation is more stable and lacks the courage to take risks. Jia Lian is young, so why not share your thoughts?"

Jia Lian stared at Li Chi in amazement, almost asking him, "How did you manage to make such a high-sounding statement about someone else's mischief?" If I hadn't known that you were the former Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, I would have believed your lies.

What does it mean? Wang Ziteng has the information channel, and Li Chi is very happy to receive money. Many things are suppressed by him.

For example, opium smuggling was banned by the imperial court, but it was ineffective in Guangdong.

Why? The profit of shipping a box of goods from India to the port is at least 20 times. Due to the inaction of local officials, the scale of smuggling has not decreased but increased.

Jia Lian suggested to Wang Ziteng that in order to quickly get into the role and grasp the overall situation, he should cut this first, and be merciless. It doesn't matter if he offends people, anyway, he doesn't plan to return to Beijing before the two generations of emperors decide the winner. Being pressed into the position of Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, it is not a problem to serve for two terms or even longer. If you want to make money, you still have to have this position. Not to mention, Wang Ziteng is still thinking about Annan Hou.

Jia Lian had given Prince Teng many suggestions, and he came to the conclusion that if Li Chi and Li Sanjiang, the two cabinet ministers, did something bad, it would be a huge case. The two of them had received a lot of support, and that was not for nothing, but was earned through countless benefits.

Come to think of it, there are thirteen governors-general in the world, and the richest one is the Governor-General of the Grand Canal, followed by the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

Spending a lot of money in exchange for support is the most reasonable explanation. You should know that when Taizu went north to fight, grain was not only transported by canal, but also by sea. After Taizu left, it was changed to single canal transportation. What is canal grain? It is the premise for the millions of people in the capital to eat. As long as the canal grain is controlled, no emperor will easily change the canal transportation. The millions of Caogong's food and clothing depend on it is just a bullshit. The meaning behind this sentence is the officials along the canal, and the distribution of interests from top to bottom.

Jia Lian naturally played dumb for Li Chi's trick: "What you said is too profound. I don't understand."

Guo Yan laughed unkindly: "Puff!"

Li Chi looked embarrassed because his other colleagues were looking at him with gloating eyes.

(End of this chapter)