Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 65 Positioning yourself

There is a big court meeting on the eighth day of the lunar month, which is also the rule set by Taizu. After the morning, I spent the whole morning busy and continued my vacation in the afternoon. Officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty had a holiday on the ninth and twelfth days every month, so they practiced six days a month, which was quite enjoyable. The New Year is even more enjoyable, except for the half-day court meeting on the eighth day of the lunar month, and I don’t resume work until the 16th day of the lunar month.

The great court meeting on the eighth day of the lunar month was not peaceful, or it could be said that the dust had settled. The chief minister of Xin's cabinet was born. The previous Minister of Rites, Kong Zhao, was not a descendant of a saint, but his ancestral home was Hebei.

As expected, Zhang Ting'en was promoted to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the candidate for the Minister of Rites was vacant. Li Qing, the right minister, took charge of the work of the Ministry of Rites.

On this day, Jia Lian was studying at home in the morning, and was summoned by Zhang Ting'en in the afternoon.

After meeting, Zhang Ting'en asked: "Do you really not want to go back to Qingyun Academy to study?"

Is this another trial? Jia Lian didn't like this indirect way of speaking, saying half the words and leaving the other half.

He immediately showed a helpless smile and said: "Sir, why go around in circles? You and I, master and disciple, are grasshoppers on a rope!"

This metaphor made Zhang Tingen look angry. Can a dead child speak?

Before Zhang Tingen could retaliate, someone laughed loudly at the door of the study: "Hahaha, it's better to come early than to come by chance."

When Jia Lian saw the person, he knew him. He had seen him in the study last time. He quickly stood up and hugged his hands: "I have met the prince."

It stands to reason that Jia Lian should have met the four princes and eight princes. However, Jia Lian was young in the past, but now he can come out to be a facade, but he does not want to have too much involvement with these people. Therefore, I just guessed that the person in front of me was King Zhongshun. It's the one in the novel that because of a sweat scarf, Jia Zheng was humiliated by King Zhongshun's steward, and Baoyu was beaten half to death.

Jia Lian did not feel that Baoyu's beating was unjust. On the contrary, he felt that the beating was good. A good rich man should not be a idle man. Not only does he have so many women at home, but he also has to settle accounts carefully with Qin Zhong in bed, and likes to compete with others in swordplay. Of course, all the men in the Jia family have their own problems. In the novel, Jia Lian is surrounded by a boy who is prone to anger, and Jia Jing is also messing around in Xuanzhen Temple (Leng Zixing comments).

How to describe this phenomenon? It can be found in any era! However, in ancient times, being upright and aboveboard was considered to be elegance.

Let's put it this way, in the original work, Wang Xifeng didn't care about Jia Lian looking for a handsome boy, but he couldn't stand Duer girls.

When the visitor faced Jia Lian, his usual attitude was neither far nor close. He just nodded slightly and accepted Jia Lian's greetings. When Zhang Ting'en greeted him with courtesy, the visitor responded politely: "No courtesy!"

Zhang Ting'en quickly stood up and gave up his seat. The "Prince" sat down unceremoniously, took out a pile of silver coins from his sleeves, placed them on the desk and said, "Master Shangshu, look at this."

Jia Lian didn't care that he was ignored and stood beside Zhang Ting'en with a smile.

Zhang Ting'en took out a silver coin, turned around and handed it to Jia Lian: "Take a look."

Jia Lian took the silver coin without politeness and looked at it carefully. The surface of the silver coin was smooth and there were jagged edges. At first glance, it was a product of stamping technology. One side of the silver coin has the words "Dragon Yuan" and a dragon pattern, and the other side has the words "One Liang". The workmanship cannot be compared with modern industrial products, but it is much better than the casting process.

How should I put it? You really can’t underestimate the ancients. They can make it for you just by giving a rough idea, and it can be produced at high volumes.

"Yes, currency is the foundation of national finance and must not be in the hands of others. In the previous Ming Dynasty, Zhang Juzheng implemented a whipping method. It was convenient. Not to mention giving up the seigniorage, it gave the gentry a means to exploit the people in an open and honest manner. Officials are also prone to corruption. This has caused disasters to this day. It is a blessing for the country that Your Majesty can change this bad governance."

Jia Lian was used to showing off, but when Emperor Chenghui heard it, it was something else, so he asked: "The foundation of finance?"

"Returning to the prince, money cannot be eaten or drunk. It is essentially an exchange item of equal value. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, commerce was developed, and the country's coinage was insufficient. In addition, there was a custom of hiding money among the people. The surrounding small countries also used Ming copper coins as currency, which caused domestic problems. There is insufficient currency in circulation, so gold and silver are used as currency among the people. A whip law legally certifies the legality of silver currency. Silver exists in large quantities among the people through foreign trade. There are many disadvantages in using it directly as currency. This approach is not advisable. .”

Emperor Chenghui had learned about it from Zhang Ting'en before, but he still wanted to hear what Jia Lian, the instigator, did in person, so he asked.

"Nowadays, the imperial court mints silver coins and uses laws and regulations to protect the silver coins. There are many things going on. What can we do?"

Jia Lian became anxious when he heard this. This matter was too big and he had to strengthen his confidence, otherwise he would definitely give up halfway.

"There must be many opponents. This matter should not be rushed, but should be slowed down. Set a time limit of three to five years. After the period, the private sector can no longer use silver for transactions. Officials will have less firepower and can increase their salaries. The real resistance comes from the private gentry. , they are the party whose interests suffer the most. As for the merchants, large transactions can be done through banks, and they are allowed to trade directly with silver. If this happens for three to five years, the court's income will definitely increase significantly."

Zhang Tingen suddenly asked: "The Central Bank is led by the Ministry of Accounts. How should the clan respond to the rebound?"

When Jia Lian heard this, he suddenly asked a seemingly irrelevant question: "How strong is the imperial navy?"

Emperor Chenghui frowned and said, "Why did you involve the navy?"

Jia Lian waved his hand decisively to retort: ​​"The relationship is great, and the navy is strong. This can bring the maritime trade of surrounding countries into management. Private maritime merchants must register and pay a fee to receive a license before they can go to sea to do business. Only when the navy is strong can we Combat smuggling. You can even go to various parts of Southeast Asia to protect the legal operations of our country's maritime merchants, guard the key sea route Malacca, and collect rent from the ground. It can be seen that the sea-going license can be used as part of the clan's welfare, allowing the clan government to come forward and buy ships to go to sea. Do business and generate income for the clan government. The current practice of opening five shipping companies seems to be safe, but in fact it gives away the greatest benefits to others. "

When the navy was mentioned, Emperor Chenghui looked solemn and immediately waved his hand to change the subject: "Don't mention this matter, we will discuss it later."

Zhang Ting'en also followed Emperor Chenghui's words and said: "The imperial court's biggest enemy is in the north now, so let's slow down the naval affairs for now."

When Jia Lian heard this, he thought, come on, the navy is in a mess, and it is possible that it cannot even defeat the sea route.

This is nothing new. The Central Plains Dynasty has a vast territory and poses little threat from the sea. The main threat has always been from the north.

The same is true in real history. If it weren't for the powerful ships and cannons of foreigners, the Qing Dynasty would not have paid much attention to the development of its navy. I was afraid of being beaten, so I thought of building a navy, and finally let Japan destroy the navy. It's really hard to describe. The reason why the Qing Dynasty is criticized by contemporary people is that it is so bad in modern times that even a small country like Japan can sit on its head and shit.

Unacceptable, unacceptable, unacceptable.

When Jia Lian heard what the two of them said, he immediately twisted his mouth, not hiding his disdain.

Emperor Chenghui was annoyed when he saw this, and glared coldly: "Why, do you think the navy is in a hurry?"

After hearing this, Jia Lian replied simply: "Nonsense, the Westerners have traveled thousands of miles to come in ships, which shows the huge benefits. As time goes by, the navies of Western countries will inevitably develop greatly, leaving me far behind. This dynasty There are thousands of miles of sea territory, and if we don’t pay attention to the development of the navy at the moment, in the future the Westerners will probably use their strong ships and cannons to come and rob us openly. By then, will we have to adopt the maritime ban policy again and abandon the coast?"

Zhang Ting'en became anxious when he heard Jia Lian's words, and immediately yelled: "Shut up! It's extremely rude!"

Jia Lian was very unconvinced and had a bitter expression. He looked young and energetic, but in fact it was Jia Lian's intention. If you want to hug the emperor's lap, you have to take strong medicine, otherwise who would know you are a little shrimp.

Emperor Chenghui waved his hand magnanimously, not feeling dissatisfied at all. Instead, he showed an enthusiastic expression, his eyes flashed with brilliance, and asked: "Will this be attacked and compete with the people for profit?"

"Competing with the people? What a big joke. Who are the people? From the perspective of the country, the main group of people who pay taxes to the country is the people. Who is the main group of people who pay taxes in this dynasty? They are the lowest level of society. The yeoman farmers are the tenants of the landlord's family. These people bear the heaviest burden of the dynasty, but their lives are not as good as cattle and horses. If things go on like this, they will rebel when they cannot survive."

One sentence silenced both of the people present!

This is the truth. The problem is that the truth hurts too much!

The reason is very simple, everyone understands it!

The difficulty is that you clearly know what is going on and what to do is the right thing to do, but you often fail to implement it.

This is not a matter of reason, this is a matter of human nature.

As a powerful person, he will definitely protect his children.

As an emperor? Why doesn't the emperor do some good things that benefit the country and the people?

I can't see it, and I don't have the ability to control the overall situation. In short, the specific situation will be analyzed and treated in detail.

Returning to Emperor Chenghui in front of us, what is his specific situation?

What are the specific circumstances of the coinage + banking system proposed by Jia Lian, and the investment in maritime trade with the clan as the specific goal?

After a moment of silence, Emperor Chenghui broke the silence: "The overall situation now is the Western Region, followed by minting and bank preparations. As for the Navy, we can select candidates first, and it is not a bad idea to make some attempts. Jia Lian, you are very good."

Emperor Chenghui was tempted.

Zhang Ting'en was not very surprised by this result. The reason was very simple. Although there was resistance to Jia Lian's suggestion, it would not reach the level of uproar. For example, if the clan intervenes in maritime trade, who supports it and who opposes it?

The clan will definitely support it, and even those who want to get involved in the sea trade circle will also support it if it doesn't involve their own interests. Opposing vested interests are mainly concentrated on the southeastern coast. This gave Emperor Chenghui room to unite the majority of people and attack a small group of vested interests.

Back to the matter of minting coins, this is another specific situation.

Legally speaking, the state has the right to mint coins. This is something that the emperor can do even if there is opposition.

The difference is that the strength of the opposition is not as strong as that of Qingqian, who wants to promote collective opposition from the powerful and the civil servants will not cooperate. The Supreme Emperor was still behind to add fuel to the flames and gave Emperor Chenghui a big bag.

Jia Lian was praised, but he didn't have any proud thoughts. If he wanted to hug the emperor's thigh, he still needed to position himself accurately to ensure his own safety. The first thing Jia Lian thought of was He Shen. This was a bad fate for Qianlong's favorites because they were raised as pigs.

Jia Lian cannot make the same mistake as He Shen, so he is positioned as a minister who makes money for the emperor but cannot be raised like a pig. To be more specific, it is to learn from Heshen but not follow Heshen’s route. It is still a line based on the premise that it will not attract too much opposition and will not cause too much impact on the interests of the people at the bottom.

He Shen's "atonement silver" operation, in Jia Lian's opinion, was simply out of his mind to the extreme.

The most important thing is that Heshen is not only a favored minister, but also a powerful minister. This is not an option to escape unscathed.

To put it simply, it means that the emperor can't live without him, but he won't be afraid of him.

To live a life of wealth and wealth comfortably is the decision Jia Lian made based on the current reality.

What? Rebellion, social reform?

What kind of joke did you start with?

Jia Lian is not the kind of character who takes the world as his own responsibility, nor is he an idealist who pursues his own path.

How difficult is it to change society?

Taking the Qing Dynasty as an example, it took a full 1841 years from the Opium War in 1949 to to complete the road to social change.

In this regard, under the premise of huge external pressure, domestic people of insight worked hard, fought successively, and sacrificed countless people with lofty ideals to achieve the goal.

Given the current situation of the Zhou Dynasty, if you want to engage in social change, failure and death are inevitable.

This is not a question of education level. With the level of popularization of education in modern society, how many people at the bottom of society are still defending the interests of capital.

Jia Lian didn't care at all where the Zhou Dynasty would go in the future. He only cared about whether he could be prosperous and wealthy throughout his life.

Compared with other powerful people, Jia Lian has a slightly higher moral bottom line at best.

Zhang Ting'en finally found an opportunity to answer: "Brother Lian does have an idea! It's too late for me!"

Emperor Chenghui smiled and shook his head: "Oh..., Zhang Shangshu is humbled. Now the government is in chaos. It's a headache to deal with the situation. How can I think of anything else."

Jia Lian immediately smiled and complimented: "The prince and your husband are in the middle. As the saying goes, they don't know the true face of Mount Lu just because they are in this mountain."

This sentence turned Emperor Chenghui's mind around, and he asked with a smile on his face: "Since you are concerned about the situation of the court, don't you know what you have to say?" Jia Lian had a stiff smile on his face at that time, and thought to himself: This is what I can say. of?

Zhang Ting'en also trembled in his heart, and said to himself: Your Majesty's words are difficult to deal with. Don't think that he is ill and speculative.

The key point is that Zhang Ting'en can't speak at this time, and opening his mouth will only be a disservice.

Jia Lian couldn't help but answer. Fortunately, he was very skilled in fooling his superiors, so he said without thinking: "You really think highly of me. I don't even understand the affairs in the Rongguo Mansion, let alone the affairs in the court?"

Emperor Chenghui was very happy to hear this sentence. It was really the truth, so he smiled and shook his head and said: "That's right, the old lady of the Jia family, I won't say it anymore, I won't say it anymore."

(End of this chapter)