Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 32 Jun En is uncomfortable
  Is it really just a casual comment? Just listen to it, don't take it seriously.

A eunuch came in to announce that the two princes had arrived. Emperor Chenghui let in.

Emperor Chenghui had five princes, two of whom were adults (16 years old). The eldest prince was not a legitimate son, while the second prince was a legitimate son.

The two of them entered side by side. Logically speaking, the second prince should be half a step behind. Isn't this the direct descendant? How can we fall behind?
  "The treasury is empty and I intend to clear the debt. It is difficult for ordinary ministers to suppress the ministers. Who do you two think can sit in the household department and provide support for Mr. Zhang?" Emperor Chenghui did not appoint him directly, but sought the opinions of the two princes.

In his heart, he still hoped that the two princes could step forward and share their worries for the king and father. But it didn't say that the prince would be sent to take charge.

This is very interesting. Is this a test for the two princes?
  Zhang Tingen lowered his head like a statue. He would rather plug his ears if possible.

The two princes did not answer, but chose to remain silent.

Zhang Ting'en stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, please allow me to avoid you."

Emperor Chenghui nodded, and Zhang Ting'en quickly exited the study, leaving only the father and son in the room.

Wiping the sweat from his head, Zhang Ting'en felt helpless. This emperor was really difficult to serve.

How should I put it, Emperor Chenghui often makes some seemingly random actions, but he is also very kind to you when he needs you.

This time Zhang Ting'en was ill. Seeing that he only had an old servant by his side, he sent a chamberlain and two maids to serve him.

You just have to accept this!

Zhang Tingen is willing to be a lonely minister, and he is also willing to offend others, but there is a prerequisite: he can get things done.

The arrears were left behind by the Supreme Emperor, and Zhang Ting'en was impeached and removed from office by the imperial censor because he asked for the debts to be cleared.

I feel relieved to come back this time, and I really want to accomplish this. Emperor Chenghui asked him to serve as the Minister of the Ministry of Households and be responsible for clearing debts. As a result, as soon as he started, the public was excited, the Ministry of Households made all kinds of difficulties, and the censor continued to impeach.

Regarding the specific issues of how to implement it, who should go first and who should start from where, Zhang Tingen also has ideas.

But when it comes to execution, how to execute it? People come to your door to ask for money and they say they have no money. You can take whatever the family likes.

This is difficult to do. You can’t just raid your house, right? Not without that authority.

Each person who owes money has his or her own circumstances. One size does not fit all!
  That's why he went to Emperor Chenghui and asked Mingfa to pay back the money within a time limit. This is justified.

Only when legitimate problems are solved can it be specific to everyone.

Zhang Ting'en knew one thing. In order to raise military expenses, the emperor withdrew a large sum of money from the inner treasury.

After more than two seconds, the two princes came out. Zhang Tingen hurriedly greeted them. The two ducked their heads to avoid looking at each other. They nodded quickly and walked away.

The chamberlain invited Zhang Ting'en in. Emperor Chenghui in the study was leaning on his chair, looking very tired.

Emperor Chenghui moved when he heard the noise, but did not sit up straight. Zhang Tingen stood opposite silently and waited for dozens of seconds before Emperor Chenghui sat upright. He looked at him and said: "The two princes are trying to persuade me. There is no need to rush into clearing debts.”

Feeling the deep disappointment of Emperor Chenghui, Zhang Tingen really didn't know how to deal with it. After all, it involved the prince, so he should keep silent.

"My original intention was for one of the two princes to be in charge of the Household Affairs Bureau, but now it seems I have no choice but to give up. I'll take care of him if he comes."

With a flourish, Emperor Chenghui wrote quickly and quickly wrote an imperial edict. After printing, he handed it to the eunuch beside him and said, "Send it to the cabinet."

After the eunuch left, Emperor Chenghui said to Zhang Ting'en: "It's June now. I will give the princes, nobles and ministers who owe money half a year to prepare. I will pay back half of it before the year and all of it in June next year. Well, let's take a look at the year first. Who are the people who didn’t pay back their money before?”

He said this with gnashing of teeth, which showed that Emperor Chenghui was really angry.

"Your Majesty, I think it is better to wait until the affairs in the Western Regions are over and the border troops enter Beijing to replenish the capital camp before making any plans."

Zhang Ting'en immediately entered the state of a minister who considers the emperor. Whenever the emperor makes a decision, he just picks up the pieces and fills in the gaps. This priority must be clear. He just didn't understand it before, so he was taken down by the Supreme Emperor. How can you force the emperor to make a decision?

"What I love you said is absolutely true. I originally thought that your sharpness is no longer what it used to be. However, I am very relieved to hear that your sharpness is still there."

Zhang Tingen thanked him repeatedly. He knew that there was no way out. Emperor Chenghui wanted to change the status quo and needed ministers to charge forward. He could only be a pawn crossing the river, advancing or retreating. As long as he could realize his ambition, he could accept any result.

There were many problems in the Zhou Dynasty, and the most important thing Emperor Chenghui paid most was financial problems. To secure the throne, the military power must first be resolved, and the first one to bear the brunt is the Beijing camp. The so-called royal family group of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes has a great influence on the army. The representative figure they introduced was Wang Ziteng, and Wang Ziteng stepped into two different boats.

Taking advantage of the rebellion in the Western Regions, Emperor Chenghui sent Wang Ziteng to quell the rebellion. After the rebellion was over, he left the Beijing camp behind and recruited border troops to replenish the capital camp. This is the first step. The next step is to get money. Without money, how can we appease the Beijing camp guarding the border and resettle the border troops entering Beijing?
  The current situation of the Zhou Dynasty can be summed up in one sentence: there are many places where money is needed, but the growth of fiscal revenue cannot keep up with the speed of spending. Let's put it this way, during the reign of the Supreme Emperor, the largest expenditure of internal funds was on gardening. After Emperor Chenghui came to the throne, the largest expenditure of internal funds was to subsidize the state treasury for disaster relief and counterinsurgency.

There are many ways to spend money, but the Emperor's annual pension of five million taels is fixed at three million taels from internal funds. The two million taels per year from the Ministry of Household Affairs have been withheld for two years. Why, there is no money.

The bulk of the income from internal funds is from the Municipal Shipping Department. The five ports of the Great Zhou Dynasty were engaged in trade and could collect taxes of 15 million taels per year. Internal funds received 50%, the Ministry of Household Affairs received 30%, and other operating expenses and local interceptions took away 20%. become.

There seems to be a lot of money, but in the past three years, there have been floods in the south and drought in the north, and natural disasters have continued. Now there is a rebellion in the Western Region. In order to collect military expenses for half a year, the Ministry of Revenue has spent five million and internal funds have spent two million. There will be at least 5 million taels of expenses in the second half of the year. The military expenditure for counterinsurgency in one year is 12 million. This does not include the cost of being unable to quell the rebellion in one year. How much money will be spent depends on the battle on the front line.

Sensing Emperor Chenghui's disappointment in the two princes, Zhang Ting'en could only silently remember that he could not say a word about this matter. It might not matter if he said it now, but in the future he might be accused of alienating the Tian family. Personal life and death is a small matter, and the family will be unlucky, and even the whole family will be unlucky.

Naturally, Jia Lian didn't know that he almost got the job of accompanying the third prince as a reader. Otherwise, I won’t be able to sleep at night. Now he can only study with peace of mind. As for Zhang Ting'en, Jia Lian actually does not regret what he said or did.

Whether it is the Supreme Emperor or the current Emperor Chenghui, they all have a common goal, which is to suppress the nobles of the palace. Otherwise, King Zhongshun could make a big fuss about the actor Jiang Yuhan? Does Jia Zheng still seem to have no temper?

Under this background, if you want to preserve the Jia family, you must make changes. How to change? You can't just use the previous resources to make changes, right? Doesn't that mean adding insult to injury? The bigger the turnaround officer is, the faster he will die. The only way to squeeze into the imperial party's camp is through Zhang Ting'en's relationship. At that time, even if he becomes an errand boy, even if Jia's house is ransacked, Jia Lian will be fine personally.

As for the Jia family, just copy it. There are two men in the same family. If you don't commit suicide, how can you die?

The tacit agreement reached by Jia Daishan and the Supreme Emperor before his death was not followed by his successors Jia She and Jia Zheng. What tacit understanding? Jia's family was transferred to a civilian position and gave up his influence in the military. The marriage between Jia Zheng and the Wang family, and the marriage between Jia Lian and the Wang family, are all manifestations of this broken tacit understanding.

Judging from the current time, Jia Lian still has more than ten years to go before the Jia family can go to the Yuanchun wedding ceremony.

Therefore, it takes the shortest time to gain actual control of the Jia family, and then gain control of the Jia family and reverse the Jia family's style. That's the best outcome, if you can't do that, pick yourself out.

After the above metaphor was revealed, the Zhou Dynasty was shaken up and down. A time limit was given for clearing the debt, half of which was paid in half a year and paid off within one year.

This period is really not that long for those officials who have been in debt for more than ten or even twenty years.

But for the officials who scraped together the money to repay the debt, time was short.

In the Hall of Rongxi, Jia She and Jia Zheng rarely sat together. Jia Zhu and Jia Lian, as representatives of the next generation, were also called to the scene. Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Xing were not even qualified to attend the family meeting hosted by Jia Mu, so they could only wait in the corridor outside.

"Your Majesty made the above metaphor, the money in the Rongguo Mansion was borrowed by Daishan. Everyone borrowed it at that time, and Daishan couldn't do it without borrowing. Doesn't it look like you are rich if you don't borrow? Now that the emperor has asked you to pay back the money, Gongzhong We can pay it back if we take out all the family assets. Let's discuss what to do." Jia's mother sat at the top, showing her status as the elder in the family.

Four-year-old Jia Baoyu sat aside and twisted her body, looking quite agitated. Jia Zheng's eyes swept over and calmed down slightly.

"How much money did father borrow in total?" Jia Zheng asked the specific number first. Jia She pricked up his ears after hearing this. He was really jealous of this money and was wondering if he could take this opportunity to get some money to spend. .

Theoretically speaking, Jia She, who inherited the title, is the subject of the repayment this time, but what should I say? Didn't he move east across the courtyard? If the money is not available, Jia She will definitely not agree. How much should be paid is important. If the money has passed through Jia She's hands, is there anything better? This is just like the meat that the butcher handles, it must be oily.

"A total of 50,000 taels were borrowed. Not counting the salaries of the two of you, the family's current annual income is only 5,000 taels." Jia's mother knows this matter best. There are records in the Ministry of Household Affairs, so we can't rely on this.

Jia Mu is making a point. Jia She and Jia Zheng receive their own salaries. Jia She's first-rank general's salary is higher, and Jia She's fifth-rank official's salary is lower, but he maintains retainers, and the money goes to the public account.

This matter is very delicate. If you look at it from another angle, isn’t it that if you receive less money from the official position, then you should make up for it by receiving money from the public servants to support your retainers?

Jia Lian watched silently from the sidelines, watching the three elders' roundabout game.

Therefore, Jia Zheng seems to be rigid and upright, but in fact he is unwilling to suffer.

The root cause of the troubles in the family is Jia Mu, who makes no distinction between young and old. She is in the middle, trying to make ends meet.

When he heard the figure of fifty thousand taels, Jia She's eyes lit up. With so much money passing through, how could he be able to save tens of thousands taels for himself?
  "Since I received the title, my family has to pay back the money, so the money should be handed over to me." Jia She directly skipped the topic of whether and when to pay back, and entered the process of giving the money to me.

Jia Zheng seemed calm, but in fact he glanced at Jia She with dissatisfaction and said calmly: "It's not just Jia's family who owes money, the Ningguo family next door, among the four kings and eight princes, who doesn't owe money? I thought it was better to discuss it with the big guys. For a moment. In short, the Jia family cannot take the lead."

When Jia She heard this, his face immediately fell, and he groaned angrily, but could not refute.

In Jia Lian's opinion, the game between the two brothers was too low-level. Jia She was unabashedly greedy and tried to conceal the truth. Jia Zheng tried his best to express a meaning tactfully. The money still did not pass through Jia She's hands, but the expression was not tactful.

According to Jia Lian's intention, it is better to make it clear, "Brother, everyone knows your nature, money cannot come into your hands." If you really say this, the effect will be better, this kind of rhythm of refusing to welcome. , which cannot solve the problem at all. Jia She wouldn't move out if he had to maintain the relationship between brothers and sisters. Couldn't Jia Zheng give in? Is Jia Zheng really afraid of Mrs. Wang?

The thing is obvious. As long as Jia Zheng moves out of Rongxi Hall, many problems in Rongguo Mansion can be sorted out. Even if Jia's mother stopped him, Jia Zheng insisted on moving, which was actually a legitimate thing.

Jia Lian, who was focused on watching the show, couldn't help but despise the brothers, but his face showed no expression at all, and he played the role of a backdrop very professionally.

Jia Mu did not let Jia Lian go, and said to Jia Lian: "Brother Lian, how many times have you been to your teacher's office? Do you have any news?"

Jia Lian felt slightly disgusted after hearing this. You know exactly how many times I have been there, right? Jia Zheng and Jia She also looked over, wanting to hear if Jia Lian had gained anything here.

No matter what he was thinking, a smile appeared on Jia Lian's face, and he hugged his mother before speaking: "To my grandmother, my grandson is just a child. Mr. Zhang didn't tell his grandson this, he just gave some advice on writing skills."

Jia Zheng said: "Brother Lian, you might as well walk around more in the future, make some insinuations, and ask for some news."

Jia Lian was stunned. These words actually came from Jia Zheng's mouth, which completely subverted his understanding.

Jia She immediately said angrily: "Where are you going? You are not allowed to go. The two memorials before and after that guy have offended everyone. Others can't afford to hide from Zhang Ting'en, but you actually let Brother Lian come over. What are your intentions?"

Jia She took this opportunity to get angry, just because he wanted to take advantage of the next topic.

Jia Zheng knew that he had made a mistake, and when he was about to defend himself, Jia Zhu on the side showed him well what "Jia Zheng also has a good son" means. Jia Zhu smiled and said: "Grandma, uncle, and father, Ningrong and Ningrong are one family. Brother Zhen is still the clan leader. In my opinion, if we want to discuss this matter, we cannot do without Brother Zhen."

In one sentence, the topic jumped from the West Mansion to the East Mansion, and Jia She still had nothing to say.

Jia Lian thought to himself: Jia Zhu is not simple either!

(End of this chapter)