Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 43 I’m better at making money

"Why, brother Lian doesn't want to have a drink to celebrate?"

In the evening, You returned to Dongfu and told Jia Zhen what had happened.

"I said I'll wait until I win the election, but I asked the old lady for some money. The old lady gave the money spent on serving the wine to Brother Lian in silver." When You said this, a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Jia Zhen understood what she meant, and sneered: "This is all the old lady has, and she doesn't know what to do with Brother Lian."

"Maybe she wants people to think she is fair?" Youshi, who understood in her heart, pretended not to understand and guessed. Jia Zhen suddenly became interested in being a teacher, shook her head and said: "No, no, brother Zilian can't take this money." , after all, he wanted it for himself. Firstly, Brother Yinzilian got the benefits alone, what do others think? The servants could have had a good meal with him, but now they don’t have it anymore. Secondly, Uncle Shen’s side I'm sure I'm going to ask Brother Lian for money, and there might be a quarrel between father and son. The third one, over there in the second room of the East Mansion."

When Youshi heard this, she made several guesses in her mind. She couldn't help but feel worried for Jia Lian. This old lady was so powerful.

Jia Lian naturally didn't expect so much, but Guixiang quietly said to Jia Lian when no one was around: "Second Master, let me buy some wine and meat later, so that all the servants in the house can have a good meal."

Jia Lian understood what she meant as soon as he heard this. Normally, these servants don't need to please them (them), but how to say this? Little people can't make things happen, but they can ruin things for you at a certain key point.

"Tomorrow you can take five hundred taels of silver and exchange them for copper coins. One hundred taels for each person, and say it was a reward from the old lady."

After hearing this explanation, Guixiang suddenly showed an admiring smile on her face and said, "Second Master can still see clearly."

"I know damn well. If you hadn't reminded me, I would have forgotten about this. In the future, I will be reminded of many such things."

Jia Lian was not arrogant either, and seemed to regard Guixiang as his own.

Guixiang was so happy that her eyebrows disappeared, she nodded frequently, rubbed her body back and forth, and actually sat directly on her lap.

Jia Lian held her down: "Don't move. I'm a little older. Even if I can do things, I can't do anything. Don't hurt your vitality. You couldn't see it when you were young. But after thirty, it becomes a decoration."

After hearing this, Guixiang's face turned red and her buttocks jumped up like a needle: "It's a sin, it's a sin."

In the evening, after sending the maid Xi'er to warm her feet, Jia Lian lay alone on the warm bed, looking up at the tent, feeling uneasy. What happened today was unexpected. The original intention was to get one or two hundred taels of silver to spend. I never thought that the old lady would play this trick, so I couldn't refuse. There are quite a lot of people in this Rongguo Mansion, both overt and covert.

But looking at the problem from Jia Lian's perspective, these are just tricks, vulnerable to absolute power.

Of course, it is necessary to take precautions to avoid capsizing in the gutter.

After the official thank-you banquet, Jia Lian naturally wanted to thank Mr. Fang and Zhang Ting'en in private. These two were the de facto teachers. Examiners are sitting teachers. If you have the opportunity to enter the officialdom in the future, you will be in the same group by default. It is a variant of cronyism.

For Jia Lian, who took the civil service route, the unspoken rules of the civil service had no effect because it was determined by his background. Even if he does not think so himself, civil servants will regard him as a member of the old powerful group.

Therefore, many things are decided when we are born, and many people will not be able to see many things in their lifetime, let alone touch them. Jia Lian's struggle is not to get rid of the mark of power on his body, but to survive in the cracks of hard work.

Let's put it this way, a deposed official from Jiayu Village could become the prefect of Jinling because he had joined the old elite group. You are the emperor, what do you think when you see such a phenomenon?
  Military power, financial power, personnel power, and voice power are the foundation for maintaining the existence of an empire.

After the old elite group has greatly eroded three of its foundations, the right to speak is a matter of smooth flow.

Guixiang asked the housekeeper to go out and exchange for a carriage of copper coins. When he came back, Man Rongguo Mansion shouted that he would give everyone wedding coins. This was the intention of his ancestors. If you want to give thanks, go and thank your ancestors.

After hearing this, Mother Jia smiled and complained: "This kid spends money in vain." The extra wrinkles at the corners of her eyes revealed her true mood, which couldn't be better. This grandson is filial.

As people get older, they become more suspicious, and Jia Mu is not surprised.

Jia Lian did not appear in front of anyone, but went out quietly early in the morning. Today, all officials had a rest, and Jia Lian went to Zhang Ting'en.

When I arrived at the place, I found out that Zhang Ting'en was sick, so I hurried to the bedside to ask for help. Zhang Ting'en caught the cold. After Jia Lian asked about the reason, he learned that the reason was that when he was wearing a debt clearance team on the street, he was poured cold water on by "passers-by". The perpetrators dispersed in a hurry, leaving behind a group of chickens. Zhang Ting'en fell ill when he came back and had to lie down for two days before his fever subsided.

"Sit far away, don't let the illness get to you." Zhang Ting'en was very satisfied with Jia Lian's attitude and felt a little guilty.

"Sickness is spread through the air, and you have to wear a mask to effectively prevent it. Later, ask the people around you to wear it too, so as not to be infected." As Jia Lian spoke, he actually took out a mask from his sleeve. It is handmade by Guixiang. The original purpose was to prevent the danger of smelly masks. Later, I found that wearing a mask is quite good when going out in winter, so I always keep one on me.

Seeing this guy actually taking out a mask and putting it on, Zhang Ting'en couldn't help but feel his heart twitch a few times, "Oh!"
  Unable to let this grandson have an easy time, Zhang Ting'en motioned to Jia Lian to help him sit up and leaned on the cushion to talk: "Two things happened yesterday. You may not believe it when I tell you."

"Speak first!" Jia Lian looked serious. The incident of Zhang Ting'en being splashed with water was already very scary, right?
  "One was reported to the Five Cities Military and Horse Division, but the person who splashed water was not caught." Zhang Ting'en spoke, his face flushed, and he was obviously excited. This is infuriating.

Jia Lian asked from a different angle: "Wait a minute, you were splashed in the inner city, and you couldn't have done that scene without dozens of people, right? This is obviously an organized act of revenge, the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division It’s not that you can’t find it, but you don’t dare to check it, right?”

Zhang Tingen breathed slowly with a red face, and waved his hands pretending not to care: "These are all trivial matters. Just yesterday, King Beijing took a group of nobles to the Imperial Mansion in the western suburbs, knelt in front of the Supreme Emperor and cried. , saying that I, a cruel official, forced debts, and the nobles had to sell their properties and barely survive, and their dignity was completely lost."

After saying this, Jia Lian immediately jumped up and could no longer sit still. He said anxiously: "Are these people going to rebel? No one in the Jia family will participate, right?" Seeing Jia Lian's anxious look, Zhang Ting'en felt comfortable and smiled. Asked: "What do you think?" "I'm a fool!" Jia Lian was immediately furious. Needless to say, his cheap friends and Jia Zhen were all gone.

After walking around in circles for a few times, Jia Lian gradually calmed down. On the surface, this was a contest between imperial power and ministerial power. In fact, this was a threat to the imperial power by the old elite group who refused to give up their vested interests.

"A group of insects are seeking death! The system designed by the Taizu of this dynasty means that the imperial power is infinite. These people dare to threaten the imperial power, what can I say?" Jia Lian said and sat back with a sigh. There is no way to save this group of people, so they can only save themselves.

Looking at Jia Lian's childish face, Zhang Ting'en couldn't help but feel guilty. When had he treated this child as an adult?

This is a child, even though he is a monster! But he took on things he shouldn't have to take on.

"Your Majesty is very conflicted now. Maybe the matter of clearing the debt will have to be stopped." Zhang Tingen's words made Jia Lian frightened and forced the emperor to stop the matter of clearing the debt. This account was recorded. No wonder Jia's house was ransacked later. .

"I can't control the affairs of the Jia family. Even if I can see clearly, I can only watch." Jia Lian couldn't help but mutter to himself. He was in a terrible mood. Years of career in the system have taught Jia Lian that those who are feared by their superiors will not be rewarded.

This guy, King Beijing, wanted to die, so he had to drag him into Jia's house.

Zhang Tingen looked at Jia Lian and said nothing. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't help with this matter.

If you want to solve the problem, you have to rely on Jia Lian himself. At least you have to take it out yourself. The reality is that it is almost impossible.

"Teacher, please tell me, if I can do something good for your majesty, will your majesty be able to show your favor and let Rongguo Mansion go in the future?" Jia Lian asked sincerely. Seeing a problem does not mean that he can solve it. Although the problem cannot be solved, then the person who created the problem must be solved. The problem is that this person cannot solve it.

The four bastards and other idiots only dared to attack Zhang Ting'en, and their methods were very despicable.

"Oh, what can you do to help His Majesty?" Zhang Ting'en asked calmly, actually wanting to see what other tricks Jia Lian could come up with. The previous coinage was already an amazing idea.

Jia Lian has thought deeply about this issue. What can he do in this world to reflect his own value.

The meaning of hugging Zhang Tingen's thigh was that he wanted to continue to deliver the message.

Don't think too much about anything else for the time being. At least the imperial examination in front of you can go smoothly. Don't be like Jia Zheng and be directly punished by the official. In that case, the ceiling is too low. Can a fifth-rank official in the capital be considered an official?
  "Make money. The court cannot operate without money. I can make money for Your Majesty without taking away too much of the current interests of others." Jia Lian is still very confident about this. He cannot guarantee anything else, but he still has this ability. of. For powerful people like Jia Fu, to put it bluntly, the old landlords are the main ones, assisting in doing some independent business within the framework of power.

"You're the only one who wants to make money and put it in your own pocket? Three years to clear the prefecture, one hundred thousand snowflakes of silver." Zhang Ting'en said mockingly, but in fact he was very much looking forward to it. After all, all the solutions he could think of were routes full of resistance.

"It is unrealistic to solve the imperial court's financial crisis within the current framework. Over the past hundred years of this dynasty, the big benefits have been divided. Some of the petty profits at the bottom have also been divided up by the private gentry. Therefore, it is impossible not to go to war. To solve the fundamental problem, going to war will inevitably lead to instability in the DPRK. Your Majesty will never accept instability in the DPRK. What should we do?"

Jia Lian's tone increased, and Zhang Ting'en was attracted. He looked at him with a half-smile, and asked, "What should I do?"

"Any means that does not affect the fundamentals of the government can only alleviate the immediate problem. My suggestion is to take a path that others have not noticed and quickly seize the majority of the benefits brought by this path. Even in the future If other forces enter the scene, they will restrain themselves out of fear of His Majesty's presence. If this road is opened, it can probably guarantee the peace of the court for a hundred years. One hundred years is the limit, no more." At the end, Jia Lian couldn't help but smile sarcastically.

"Curbing reincarnation, there is nothing to ridicule." Zhang Ting'en couldn't help but remind him that this was not a good habit.

Regarding the issue of the system, human nature and resources cannot be bypassed. Regarding resources, human nature is to eat more and occupy more.

"I don't mean to be sarcastic, I just want to say, one generation does the same thing as the other, and I won't worry about the flood after I die?" Jia Lian instinctively said this, but Zhang Ting'en could understand it. After all, in ancient mythology There was also Dayu who controlled floods.

"There have been so many dynasties throughout the ages, and no empire lasts forever. It's useless to think so much. It's better to look at the present and take it one step at a time. It would be a great thing for those who are far-sighted to create a peaceful and prosperous age for fifty years. In the prosperous Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, how powerful was the Tang Dynasty? Even the Anshi Rebellion did not slow down. Things in the world are unpredictable! "

Zhang Ting'en's emotion is not groundless. The Zhou Dynasty lasted for less than a century for three generations, and the national finances could not make ends meet. When the Supreme Emperor first ascended the throne, the national inventory was fifty million taels. When I came to the throne, the national inventory was only 50,000 taels. The salaries of officials in Beijing cannot be extended, and they have to pay from the internal treasury.

Emperor Chenghui was actually very stable. He only officially started clearing debts five years after he ascended the throne. There is nothing we can do about this. The rebellion in the Western Regions has completely exposed the country's financial problems, which can no longer be covered up, so we can only find ways to make money.

"When Li Shan was growing up during the Emperor Taizu's period, he once submitted a petition to restore the old system of the Taizu period, and divided the family into acres and acres. Guess what?"

When Zhang Ting'en asked such a question, Jia Lian immediately stood up and said: "Teacher, please stop trying to die. Paying off the debt is enough to attract people's cruelty. Are you still thinking about it? Forget it, I can't talk to you anymore. , I have to leave, otherwise I will be killed sooner or later."

Seeing Jia Lian's frightened look, Zhang Ting'en laughed and said, "Don't leave, tell me how you can make money."

Jia Lian didn't stop at all. He turned back as he continued walking out: "We can't say it now. We'll talk about it after I officially become an official."

Zhang Tingen still refused to let him go: "Can the matter of clearing the debt continue?"

Jia Lian couldn't hold it any longer. He turned around with a crying look on his face, and tears seemed to fall down the next moment: "Teacher, I'm still a child." Zhang Ting'en smiled narrowly and said, "Yes, you are still a child, so you must not Let you go."

Jia Lian sighed: "What a sin!"

(End of this chapter)