Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 394: Accounts Must Be Clear
The difficulties faced by the cabinet are actually also the difficulties faced by the emperor. The growing interest groups need more benefits to fill their appetites, and as time goes by, their appetites grow bigger and bigger.

Just look at a certain dish of lighthouse to see this! It can suck blood from the whole world, but its greed is still insatiable.

Jia Lian had read "Zizhi Tongjian" and knew that Sima Guang was going to be the emperor's teacher. He also knew why this book improved the Twenty-Four Histories.

Sima Guang wanted to teach the emperor, so he included a lot of personal opinions in Zizhi Tongjian. As one of the representatives of Confucianism, he emphasized [ritual], which is also in line with the Confucian idea of ​​emphasizing stability.

It is not to say that the Confucian idea of ​​emphasizing stability is bad. If a country wants to have a development environment, a stable social environment is a prerequisite.

Once a country falls into chaos, how can it develop?
When "stability" is combined with "conservatism", and the pursuit of stability is blindly pursued instead of trying to add fresh blood to the country, the vested interests are firmly entrenched at the top of society, and the consequences can be seen in history books. One glorious dynasty after another collapsed, and the end of each dynasty that was about to collapse was so similar.

No wonder people say that humans cannot learn from history! Human nature is like this. If the knife doesn't fall on your neck, you don't feel the pain. The main point is that what I can't see doesn't exist.

Can you expect a group of "Why not eat meat?", young dandies who have never had to worry about food and clothing, to change themselves for the fate of the country?
It's not that Jia Lian forgave the cabinet, but that the current Zhou Dynasty has not yet reached the point where the bottom-up channel is cut off. At this time, as long as the Zhou Dynasty finds a new direction of development, it can still be saved. As for how long it can last and whether the root cause has been removed, these are not issues that Jia Lian needs to consider. Any decision is a conclusion drawn based on the current actual situation.

During the Zhou Dynasty, the emperor was determined to reform and took effective actions. Although chaos occurred one after another, after each chaos, a piece of rotten meat was cut off.

Of course, the premise of all this is that the emperor's subjective desire is for change.

If it was an emperor who was greedy for pleasure and did not make progress, Jia Lian would not be so "magnanimous". Isn't it just a comparison of the worst? How can I be worse?
At the cabinet meeting, although Jia Lian still sat in the corner, he was subjected to unnecessary attention and pressure. Every cabinet minister would look at him from time to time, fearing that he would jump out and cause trouble.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly. There were no major disturbances in the selection of Sichuan personnel and the mobilization of troops. The cabinet had made a reasonable decision after careful consideration. Even sending Lin Ruhai, who had just returned from the northwest, to Sichuan to investigate the corruption case of Sichuan officials did not irritate Jia Lian. Just when Jia Lian thought he could be a spectator with peace of mind, new problems arose.

"There is no hope of collecting summer taxes in Sichuan. In order to maintain the expenses of the four armies, at least five million taels of silver are needed. At present, the Ministry of Revenue has only three million taels of silver in deposit, and the salaries of officials in Beijing have not yet been paid. The Ministry of Revenue suggests borrowing five million taels of silver from the central bank to maintain the situation in Sichuan and get through this difficult time first, and then pay it back when the summer taxes are collected." The speaker was Ning Ke, a candidate for the cabinet, and he spoke the truth, but he was not thinking about the emperor's inner treasury, but the central bank's treasury, which was more ambitious.

Jia Lian, who had been silent, suddenly raised his hand. Everyone was stunned, including Emperor Chenghui. Thinking that it was Jia Lian who suggested setting up the bank, Emperor Chenghui nodded and said, "What do you think, Mr. Jia?"

"Your Majesty, I don't have any ideas, I just want to ask Minister Ning, how does the Ministry of Revenue plan to borrow money from the bank?"

Ning Ke thought there would be a storm, but he didn't expect Jia Lian to just ask a simple question. However, this question is still very stressful. What if it doesn't suit Jia Lian's wishes, and he makes trouble again?
Although he is young, he is very effective in speaking to the emperor, which is really enviable.

Ning Ke stated the expected plan with high vigilance: "Of course, we will repay as much as we borrow. The summer taxes of various provinces will be directly deposited into the central bank, and the central bank will deduct them when the time comes."

"What about the interest?" Jia Lian's tone suddenly became stern, and Ning Ke was puzzled: "The Royal Bank of China is lending money to the Ministry of Revenue and charging interest?"

"Excuse me, Minister Ning, where does the money in the central bank's treasury come from? How does the central bank support so many officials?" Jia Lian was so angry that he laughed, without trying to hide his sarcasm.

Just as Ning Ke was about to use moral principles to pressure Jia Lian, Emperor Chenghui spoke first: "Jia Lian, please speak properly and don't be sarcastic or ridicule your colleagues."

"The central bank is positioned as a management institution, collecting management fees from private banks across the country to maintain daily expenses. At the same time, the margin collected by the central bank from private banks serves as a ballast for the reputation of private banks. Once a private bank is poorly managed and goes bankrupt, and depositors lose all their money, the central bank can use the margin to recover certain losses and avoid causing too much social unrest. Minister Ning's suggestion is like opening a hole in the dam. It's okay this time, but what about in the future? The next time the Ministry of Revenue is out of money, it borrows again. What if it can't pay it back in time? If you have no money, you go to the central bank to borrow. What do you think of the central bank? The silver vault of the Ministry of Revenue? As the Minister of Revenue, he doesn't think about improving the empty state of the treasury, and when he encounters problems, he doesn't think about increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, and waits until the silver vault of the central bank is emptied before he does anything? This minister has it too easy."

Ning Ke's face turned purple after hearing these words. He stood up and said, "Jia Lian, how could I be as you said?"

Jia Lian asked back slowly: "Why are you in such a hurry? Let's talk it over nicely! Am I wrong? According to what you said, isn't the central bank's treasury the same as the Ministry of Revenue's treasury?"

Emperor Chenghui didn't know Jia Lian's real purpose, but he could imagine what would happen if the things Jia Lian said happened. If there was a problem with the central bank's treasury, the sky would fall.

Emperor Chenghui raised his hand and knocked on the table, interrupting the angry confrontation between the two. At the same time, he felt a little headache. There really was no good solution!
"Forget it, the inner treasury will pay out five million taels of silver!" Emperor Chenghui gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

When all the ministers breathed a sigh of relief, Jia Lian immediately stood up and said, "I object!"

This time even Kong Zhao couldn't stand it anymore. Who do you think you are? Why are you talking so much? He immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I beg you to take Jia Lian out!"

No one, including Lin Ruhai, who was present at the enlarged cabinet meeting, opposed Kong Zhao's suggestion. The emperor was willing to release the inner treasury, and everyone was happy. You objected? Are you qualified?
Emperor Chenghui looked at Jia Lian, his expression also became ugly and he said: "Jia Lian, if you don't have a reasonable reason to object, I will never let you off easily!"

Well, Emperor Chenghui also felt that Jia Lian was a little too arrogant! He should be punished appropriately, with a maximum of three cups of wine as punishment, no more. If he were to drink more, he would feel bad!

Jia Lian folded his hands and said, "As far as I'm concerned, the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the national treasury. If there's not enough money, you can borrow. Whether it's from the central bank or the inner treasury, there should be a contract to decide on the repayment date and interest. If not, what's the point of having the Minister of Revenue and those officials? If there's not enough money, they can just borrow from somewhere else first, without having to pay interest, and the repayment date is uncertain. They're all fully responsible, independent departments. How can this be possible?"

After all these words, except Ning Ke, everyone else felt that what Jia Lian said made sense. Yes, why can the national treasury borrow from the central bank's treasury at any time when it is out of money, and can also spend the internal treasury. Is life in the Ministry of Revenue too easy? Everyone has a book in their mind. If the Ministry of Revenue's appropriations are not out of the treasury, it means that they have a change of heart if 10% is lost. Sometimes it can reach 30%. 10% was when Zhang Tingen was the Shangshu, and after Ning Ke took office, it returned to 30%. Everyone knows these things, but no one will say it out. Jia Lian didn't say anything about the loss, but he mentioned the interest. No matter who you borrow money from, there will always be interest, right? Is there any way in the world to borrow money without interest? Do you really think it's a rabbit? There are poverty alleviation loans.

(PS: I can get a loan of 300,000 yuan from the bank with just a bank card, and I don’t even need to pledge it. Times are changing so fast! When I wanted to open an Internet cafe, I borrowed money from the bank, begging everyone for help, but I didn’t get a single cent.)
The key point is that Jia Lian's words revealed an implicit message, that the responsibilities and powers of each department are clearly defined! How can the Ministry of Revenue be special?
Ning Ke's heart jumped up to refute, but after taking a look at everyone, he calmed down and didn't dare to speak, for fear of arousing everyone's disgust.

Even though everyone is a special member, it also depends on the situation. When the officials of the Ministry of Personnel have problems, the Ministry of Personnel will also be implicated. If the Ministry of Revenue has no money, does it have no responsibility at all?
If any department does not do its job well, it will have to take the blame!

Why can the Ministry of Revenue ask the emperor and the central bank to clean up its mess when it runs out of money?

Emperor Chenghui also understood Jia Lian's true intentions. All responsibilities are clearly defined! If there is a problem, it is convenient to hold people accountable, so that you can always find the person responsible.

"Well, the Ministry of Revenue has a lot of things to do this year, and the expenses are high. It is indeed not the Ministry of Revenue's problem that the income is not enough to cover the expenses. It is a special case, a special case. Ning Qing has his difficulties, and what Jia Qing said makes sense. So, the Ministry of Revenue will borrow 5 million taels of silver from the inner treasury. I don't want interest, but I want a clear repayment date. The money can be repaid without rushing, but the accounts must be clear."

Emperor Chenghui decisively compromised. He still admired Ning Ke. At least he was a minister who was capable and dared to do things, so he had to help him.

As for Jia Lian, he was not there to target Ning Ke, but to deal with any possible confusion.

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian clasped his hands to the emperor again and said, "Your Majesty is wise. In my humble opinion, this year's situation is indeed rather special. If the Ministry of Revenue still cannot pay back the money to the inner treasury by the end of the year, Your Majesty can make the decision to exempt it, to show your sincere love for the Ministry of Revenue and your dedication to state affairs."

Emperor Chenghui was stunned. What did that mean? He soon understood that after all the twists and turns, the good reputation belonged to the emperor, right?

Yes, this is many times more effective than simply allocating funds to fill the hole. Why didn't I think of this before?

This child is too honest and only cares about me. I really misunderstood him and wanted to punish him. I shouldn’t have done that!
The officials in the meeting room were all stunned. Whose child is this? You have plugged the loophole in the system and gained the reputation of the emperor. How can this child not be mine?

Lin Ruhai looked at Jia Lian's pig head blankly, and became more and more worried when he thought of the cabbages growing at home.

Since no one objects, let's adjourn the meeting.

The cabinet resolution came out soon. The Ministry of Revenue borrowed 5 million taels to be used in Sichuan. The Xishan Camp dispatched 5,000 troops, led by a lieutenant general. Lin Ruhai went to Sichuan to cooperate with Xia Shouzhong in investigating the Sichuan case.

That's right, the Sichuan case was identified as a corruption case. I don't know how many officials will be arrested this time. As long as Lin Ruhai can handle it smoothly, he will most likely enter the cabinet.

After this cabinet expires, Lin Ruhai must join the cabinet. Even if there are not so many vacancies, the emperor must have a place for Lin Ruhai when expanding the cabinet.

The impact of this meeting was far-reaching, especially for the Ministry of Revenue. In the future, when the treasury was out of money and there were necessary expenditures, they could not make a mess of the accounts as they did in the past.
All Jia Lian could do was to delay the time of trouble. Not to mention the benefits brought by external expansion, so many officials in Sichuan had problems, they were arrested, their homes were searched, but where was the money?
Emperor Chenghui must have known the answer in his mind, but he just didn't make it public.

Seeing hope of joining the cabinet, Lin Ruhai led his troops to Sichuan with great energy. The reinforcements for the Xishan camp were still being prepared. This would be a long-distance march, which would test the results of the army's construction.

The officials selected by the Ministry of Personnel followed Lin Ruhai and set out towards a promising and lucrative future.

The reason why I mention money prospects is that too many people died in Sichuan this time. In fact, there was no shortage of gentry. A new official must take a look after taking office. If the gentry are gone, the land will not be gone too, right?
When Jia Lian saw the list, many of whom were his peers, he couldn't help but sigh. The successive earthquakes in the officialdom in recent years really made room for a lot of up-and-coming talents.

What made Jia Zheng feel emotional was that before he left for Guangdong and Guangxi, he first sent Lin Ruhai on a long business trip.

Jia Lian also went to see them off, but did not go close. Instead, he stayed with Jia Min and Daiyu and stayed behind for the time being.

At the last moment, Lin Ruhai came to say goodbye to his wife and children, and told Jia Lian: "Please help take care of the family!"

Having said that, there was a hint of warning in his eyes.

Jia Lian…….

What have I done?
The next day, the two representatives of the British delegation finally waited for the day to meet the Emperor of Zhou.

(End of this chapter)