Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 66 Things you care about

If you don’t say it out loud, it’s probably because Mother Jia is partial!

Partiality? eccentric! There is also the consideration of the Jia family's interests.

The main reason to blame is Jia She and Jia Jing's failure to live up to expectations. As the heir to the title, Jia She could not establish a family, and Jia Jing chose to let himself go. It happened that Jia Zheng's wife was Wang Ziteng's sister, and the Jia family needed the help of the Wang family to support the Jia family's status.

At least until the next person who can ensure that Jia's family continues to be rich appears.

Unfortunately, Jia Mu's operation failed, Jia Zhu died young, and Jia Baoyu was a waste.

The final result was naturally that the Jia family was ruined and the family members were scattered.

Jia Zheng wanted to revive the Jia Mansion, but he didn't have the ability. Jia Lan won the Jinshi, but was unwilling to pick up the Jia Mansion and start it again.

In the mind of the traveler Jia Lian, Jia's mother is the only elder who is working hard to maintain the integrity and wealth of the Jia family.

Others are enjoying the wealthy life brought by the Jia family, but they are tearing down the family bit by bit.

This is the current situation in the Jia family. What about the entire country? This is probably the current situation.

The difference between people is sometimes greater than the difference between people and dogs. Each person has one idea, and conflicts will arise when different ideas conflict with interests.

When Emperor Chenghui mentioned Jia Mu and the Jia family, he naturally thought of his own situation.

Subconsciously brought in, and then fell into deep thought.

After thinking about it like this, I discovered the beauty of Jia Lian's suggestion. It is not difficult to analyze any problem clearly as long as it involves the relationship of interests.

Promote coinage and squeeze silver directly out of the circulation market as currency bit by bit. The seigniorage tax alone will generate long-term revenue for the national treasury. Secondly, there is the official bank of Huitong Tianxia, ​​which indirectly keeps a large amount of silver coins in the bank and also charges management fees.

Money itself has little value. When it is given the function of an equivalent exchange object in the circulation process, money becomes rights.

If the court is rich, everything can be done easily, but if the treasury is empty, the emperor will be silent.

When the Supreme Emperor secured his position, he relied on interests as a bond to tie both the military and the government together.

Today's Emperor Chenghui, once he has money in his hands, he can just repeat the same trick.

This is why the Supreme Emperor decreed when he was enthroned that he should have two million taels of silver as pension every year.

In the past, Emperor Chenghui only thought that the coin + bank model was profitable, but at this moment he completely understood it.

The seemingly chaotic situation, at this moment, has a clear and feasible plan.

Emperor Chenghui, who had a clear idea, was about to speak. When he saw Jia Lian standing over there, he remembered that he was hiding his identity and said to him with a smile: "Jia Lian, you go back first. This year's Qiu Gui, I'm waiting for your good news. "

Jia Lian did not leave immediately, but first looked at Zhang Ting'en. This move was very important and Jia Lian had thought of it beforehand.

When Zhang Ting'en saw this, he actually smiled and waved his hand: "I asked you to come here because of studying. Li Rushui came back and specifically talked to me, saying that you can go back to Qingyun Academy to study. Don't worry about Fang Shaobai and others."

After hearing this, Emperor Chenghui suddenly became interested and looked at Jia Lian's reply with a smile.

Jia Lian asked without hesitation: "What do you mean, sir?"

Zhang Ting'en said: "I have no objection to this matter. It all depends on your personal wishes."

Jia Lian smiled and said: "That's no problem. I warned those people beforehand not to mess with me. I made a mistake by fighting in the academy. I paid the price for my actions, and they should also pay the corresponding price for their actions. .”

Zhang Ting'en listened to Emperor Chenghui's reaction and found that he was very interested. He continued: "You have to think about it. There are not a few officials from Qingyun Academy."

"The Qingyun Party? It has been less than a hundred years since the Ming Dynasty was destroyed! Haha! Then stay away from them."

Jia Lian's words were extremely vicious, especially when Emperor Chenghui was present. Hearing these words, he naturally contacted the Donglin Party of the Qian Ming Dynasty.

It’s not that there are no good people in the Donglin Party, but that the vast majority of the Donglin Party forms a party for profit.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court's finances were exhausted, and the Donglin Party played a very bad role in it.

Especially in this debt settlement incident, Fang Baiyi, as an auxiliary minister left over from the Emperor Chenghui's time, had a very problematic position in the eyes of Emperor Chenghui! As an emperor who wanted to make a difference, Emperor Chenghui's dislike of Fang Baiyi reached its extreme.

Some people may think that Fang Baiyi is standing in the middle and not helping each other. In the eyes of Emperor Chenghui, this is a huge disloyalty. You don’t have to support clearing the debt, but you have to come up with a solution to the financial difficulties. It’s not just a matter of dividing your money. Please allocate internal funds.

What would such a chief assistant do? To put it harshly, Fang Baiyi's behavior was extremely bad.

Civil servants always thought that the emperor would rule from the top, and the general direction of their efforts has always been this. The reality is that whenever the emperor acts out of weakness, the country will not fare well. How ironic that two thousand years of feudal autocracy developed into the highly centralized Qing Dynasty.

"Okay, you go back. Don't be too lazy when you go to school at the Imperial College. You still have to go to class every now and then." Zhang Ting'en is taking a vaccination in advance. This student is a monster.

Jia Lian said goodbye and left. After Emperor Chenghui watched the boy leave, he asked with a smile: "I'm curious about what books Jia Lian has read? I don't believe it at all when it comes to his family history. I heard that he has a relationship with the descendants of nobles. Alienation is not the way for Duke Rong."

"I also asked Jia Lian what he meant. If the descendants of noble nobles achieve more than they do, they will fail more than they do. They should not offend and just keep a distance. However, due to their origin, they will not be tolerated by civil servants. Jia Lian said, live your life behind closed doors. In my little life, don’t worry about the wind and rain outside. I also read: Hide in the small building and become one, and don’t care about spring, summer, autumn and winter.”

Emperor Chenghui was also happy when he heard this. Judging from the process, Zhang Ting'en kept leaking the emperor's identity, and Jia Lian's words did not put the prince in front of the husband. Even if you want to leave, you must obey your husband.

"If all the nobles of this dynasty think like this, the court will have much less trouble." Emperor Chenghui couldn't help but sigh.

However, Zhang Ting'en advised: "Your Majesty, you still have to use your honors, and you cannot repeat the past mistakes."

What this says is that after the Tumubao Incident, Yu Qian, the former Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty, took charge of the 12th Regiment Battalion, which was the prelude to the military being dominated by civil servants. This was also one of the reasons why the Ming Dynasty's army had low combat effectiveness.

There is a saying on the Internet that if the Ming army is not satisfied with its pay, it will be invincible if it is fully paid. This is an exaggeration, but judging from the fundamental change in the combat effectiveness of the Ming army that surrendered to the Qing Dynasty in the late Ming Dynasty, it illustrates the misery of the Ming army soldiers in the Ming Dynasty camp. With a slight improvement in treatment and strict military laws, soldiers can fight desperately.

This dynasty has naturally learned the lessons of the previous dynasties, but again, the lesson that mankind has learned from history is that it never learns lessons. Everyone knows the truth, but people often only act based on immediate interests.

The so-called plan for eternal life is all nonsense. If you can see it for three to five years, you are a hero. If you can see it for ten or eight years, you are a hero. There are very few people who can see it for fifty years. But if there are, That is the great man of an era. There may not be one person of this caliber in five hundred years.        (PS: The words of the author’s family.)

"The national situation is difficult and I am anxious. I wish I could eliminate all the ills immediately and bring great governance to the country." Emperor Chenghui said with emotion. Although he is less than forty years old, he is worried about the current situation of the country. He wants to change but is controlled by various forces. It is too difficult. .

If Jia Lian was present and heard this, he would definitely sigh in his heart, this is the disadvantage of not learning historical materialism.

Human society has been changing, but it is only a hindsight that human society is aware of it. It is only when problems break out that they are discovered. This is why it is said that it is especially late to remedy the situation.

Zhu Yuanzhang is a typical representative who always wants to arrange everything while he is alive and implement policies once and for all.

"The top priority is to get the coinage and bank affairs in order." Emperor Chenghui still came to the conclusion that without money, anything he said was just fantasy. The emperor is not short of hungry soldiers. If you don’t have money, who will follow you? Isn’t it true that there are no idealists? Aren’t they pitifully small?

Zhang Ting'en stood up respectfully and saluted: "I obey your Majesty's will."

"After taking office tomorrow, we must take control of the Ministry of Household Affairs as soon as possible. After the beginning of spring, the war in the Western Region will advance, and there will be a big hole to burn money. Wang Ziteng used the reason that it is not suitable to enter the army in winter, and the army stayed in Dihua. The governor of Shaanxi and Gansu was impeached three times in a row The memorial impeached him for fearing the enemy and cowardly fighting. What do you think of this matter?" Emperor Chenghui changed the topic and asked about the war in the Western Regions.

"Wu Yuhui, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, is a civil servant, but he can better restrain the northwest frontier army. The food and grass for the war in the Western Regions are all supported by Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. Wu Yuhui is under great pressure." Zhang Ting'en discussed the matter and analyzed the specific situation, but did not give a clear conclusion. .

Even if Zhang Ting'en had a judgment about Wu Yuhui's motives, he could not state it clearly. He could only state the facts. The specific decision was the emperor's.

"Wu Yuhui served as governor of Shaanxi and Gansu for two years. He reported droughts every year and allowed the court to waive money and food. Before the war in the Western Regions started, I allocated one million taels of silver from my internal funds to purchase food and grass and transport it to Chang'an. I was worried that he would be under pressure to provide food and grass. .”

Emperor Chenghui's words were so sinister that Zhang Ting'en was shocked and said: "Your Majesty, the war in the Western Region should be the priority in everything. Don't act rashly until the war is over."

This was the advice of a loyal minister. Emperor Chenghui suspected that there was something wrong with the Governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, so the normal course of action would be to initiate an investigation. But whatever Zhang Tingen meant, we had to wait until the battle was over.

"In my province, it is also possible that Wang Ziteng asked for the decision-making power of the northwest provinces to fight together, which caused Wu Yuhui's dissatisfaction."

"Your Majesty, the generals on the front line know the specific situation of the war best. Remote command is absolutely not allowed."

"Do you think I am a foolish king?"

"I dare not!"

It can be seen from the exchange between the monarch and his ministers that Emperor Chenghui has been having a hard time recently.

The main threat to the north is that the Rakshasa Kingdom is causing trouble behind the scenes. Thirty years ago during the reign of the Supreme Emperor, there was a war between the two Northeastern countries. The Great Zhou Dynasty repelled the Rakshasa Kingdom's attempt to go south to the Central Plains, and later caused trouble in the Western Regions.

The imperial court's form of rule over the Western Regions was Jisi, which probably meant that local tribal leaders recognized the Zhou Dynasty as the suzerainty. The Great Zhou Dynasty gave it a name, but in fact never interfered in local affairs in the Western Regions. In the past few decades, the Western Region has been relatively stable. In the past ten years, troubles have begun to occur frequently, and there have been frequent raids in the south to clear grass and valleys. Three years ago, they directly stated that they did not recognize the Great Zhou Dynasty as the suzerain state.

Because it was too far away, the imperial court debated for more than a year before coming to a conclusion on whether to suppress the rebellion in the Western Regions.

Emperor Chenghui also had a headache. In less than a hundred years of the Zhou Dynasty, there were frequent foreign invasions in the Northeast, Western Regions, and Southwest.

In general, the threat from the small states in the southwest was just scabies, while the threat from the northwest was the major frontier problem that the Central Plains dynasty had always attached great importance to.

If Jia Lian knew Emperor Chenghui's concerns, he would definitely say that there was no need for it.

At this stage, Britain has not even conquered India, let alone coveting China.

Russia is cultivating the Black Sea outlet and is busy fighting the Russo-Turkish War.

Prussia was still a small European state, and Napoleon of France should not have been born yet.

The United States still has thirteen North American colonies.

The more I understand history, the clearer I understand what the Qing Dynasty missed.

Some popular historical sciences also boast that Kangxi knew calculus and corresponded with Western scholars.

It's of no use at all!

All Kangxi cared about was the stability of his rule, and the basis of his rule was the die-hard farmers of the Eight Banners.

Even with the pressure brought by foreign aggression, it was difficult for Jia Lian to see whether the top-down reforms of the Zhou Dynasty would take place.

Just look at Yuan Shikai to see this. During his rule in Beiyang, the central government could still give orders to the local governments.

After the tax reform, Beiyang's financial situation is not bad. If a large amount of money can be invested at that time, it may not be impossible to lay a certain scale of industrial foundation.

When it is Beiyang Group's turn to rule, the interests of Beiyang Group should be given priority.

How can national interests be as important as personal interests?

This is human nature!

How else to talk about the greatness of great people?

Jia Lian was just happy and didn't care much about the future direction of the Zhou Dynasty.

What he cares about is whether the Jia family's broken boat will sink and whether he will be drowned.

On the way back, Jia Lian was still thinking that Emperor Chenghui was really a diligent emperor. It was supposed that the court would not reopen until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, but Emperor Chenghui couldn't wait to come to Zhang Ting'en to solve the country's financial difficulties.

Thinking that there was an emperor above him, Jia Lian felt a little stressed about hugging the emperor's lap.

In short, you can't jump too much. The emperor can't take care of Emperor Chenghui and Zhang Ting'en. He can't take care of the Jia family, and he can't take care of Jia Lian?

The thighs should be hugged, but the hug should be hidden. Fortunately, Jia Lian is still young and will not attract the attention of political opponents.

Unfortunately, Jia Lian is still young and has no say in the Jia family. In fact, no one cares about what he says.

Of course, no one in the Jia family cares about this. Jia Lian doesn't care very much, as long as no one dares to think evil things about him.

Let's wait for a while. Judging from the current situation, it is definitely not a problem to take the exam.

While he was thinking wildly on the rickety carriage, when the carriage stopped, Jia Lian came back to his senses, rubbed his numb buttocks, and thought to himself: This carriage is really uncomfortable to sit in, it's a little bumpy, it's a waste of your butt. .

(End of this chapter)