Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

One person said, "It's clear that the young master comes from a wealthy family. I heard that Prince Jing has issued a death order that the government is not allowed to impose taxes on ordinary people. If any gentry dares to resist the law,... click." As he spoke, he wiped his neck.

Jia Cong said: "I have heard of this. This will at least reduce the burden on the common people."

"The burden on civilians has been reduced, but people like me can't survive. The new law only stipulates five cents of silver per acre of land, but it doesn't matter whether it is fertile land or poor land, or whether it is a disaster year or a good year. If there is a famine, how can we pay the tax?" A scholar shook his head.

Jia Cong frowned and said, "Brother, what you said is very true. Since you have discovered such a malpractice, why don't you appeal to the government? If it can be reported to the court, it can be corrected."

"Why didn't you tell me? Hey, young master, you don't know the morals of local officials. You know that this law has a huge loophole, but you pretend not to know.

Firstly, they can collect more taxes; secondly, they are afraid that raising objections will offend the higher-ups and lead to the loss of their jobs, so they simply prefer to do less.
Thirdly, they are probably waiting for things to get out of hand, and then they can go back to their old ways, and then they can just arbitrarily assign the responsibility, isn't that good?"

Jia Cong's face darkened. These officials were really abominable. They wanted to put him on the fire. It seemed that they were carrying out his orders to the letter, but in fact they were just going with the flow and trying to ruin a good policy.

Yin said angrily: "The Ministry of Revenue is a bunch of idiots, they only want to make more money, they know there are loopholes in this method but still refuse to correct it!"

The scholar next to him said, "Sir, be careful with your words. Although the officials in the Ministry of Revenue know the drawbacks of this method, how dare they touch the tiger's beard of Prince Jing? Cao Cao can only kill Lü Bushe - it's a mistake to make the best of it."

Jia Cong was about to speak but stopped. It turned out that the root of the problem was that his authority was too great, causing the officials below to not dare to point out their mistakes even though they knew they were wrong. He could not help but sigh and said, "From this point of view, the king is very blinded!"

"You are right, young master. His Royal Highness Prince Jing's original intention was good, but unfortunately he was a little too eager for success. In this world, no matter what good measures the court has, they will have to be changed when they are implemented in the local areas. Although there are benefits, there are also harms."

"Fortunately, Prince Jing is not an arrogant, self-willed old stubborn. As the saying goes, no one is perfect. There is no perfect way in the world. Some minor flaws can be corrected. As long as the general direction is correct, it's fine." Jia Cong said with a smile.

Several people sighed and said, "Young Master is right, but how can Prince Jing know these things when he sits high in the Ninth Heaven?"

Xiangyun, Zhen Yuan and others covered their mouths and chuckled when they heard this, and looked at Jia Cong.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Don't worry, gentlemen. I am familiar with the steward of Prince Jing's Mansion. I will ask him to pass on the message."

Several people were overjoyed and hurriedly bowed and said, "Such a young master is truly a Buddha to all families. We will use tea instead of wine to toast you."

"How dare I?" Jia Cong raised his glass slightly in response and said with a smile.

The young scholar suddenly turned his head and looked over. His sharp eyes swept over Jia Cong and the four girls. After a moment's thought, he looked at the several "servants" beside him who were looking at him with eagle-like eyes and wolf-like looks. His heart moved a little and he was about to speak.

Suddenly, a fat man came upstairs, walked to the young man's table, sat down, and said with a smile: "Brother, thanks to your method, my restaurant is alive again."

The young scholar turned around and said with a smile: "Brother, if you manage the business well, you will naturally turn losses into profits."

"No, no, if it weren't for your wonderful idea, I would have sold the restaurant long ago."

Xiangyun's eyes rolled around and she smiled softly, "Brother Cong, that man seems to be well versed in business. We don't have a restaurant yet, so why don't we open a big restaurant?"

Jia Cong glanced at the man and said with a smile, "How much money does the restaurant make? Forget it. I am a man of honor after all, so I won't compete with the people for profit."

Xiangyun smiled and said, "Why don't we open a teahouse and talk about the book you edited."

Jia Cong thought about it and said with a smile: "This reminds me that I was very cautious before and kept those books secret from others. What should I be afraid of now?
Sharing happiness is better than enjoying it alone. Let’s have it printed under the Feng brand and sell it around the world, and we can earn some royalties.”

Xiangyun clapped her hands and said, "I'll tell Sister Bao when I get home."

Zhen Yuan said with some envy: "With those books published, you, Sister Yun, will be remembered for generations to come."

Xiangyun smiled shyly and glanced at Jia Cong.

Jia Cong laughed and said, "What's the big deal? Does fate think I've run out of ideas? I'll tell you a new story when you get married."

Zhen Yuan's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "Brother Cong, can I ghostwrite?"

"Of course you can. Yuan'er is a famous talented woman in Jiangnan and is no weaker than others." Jia Cong said with a smile.

Zhen Yuan was very happy to get his affirmation and smiled.

Yu Qianning said hurriedly: "I want to write too."

"You?" Jia Cong teased her deliberately, "There is no reward for writing for me."

Yu Qianning snorted, "Stingy, I'll just work for free."

"But I always tell stories at home, and you..." Jia Cong asked.

Yu Qianning smiled mysteriously and said, "This young master has his own ideas."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "It's up to you."

As he was speaking, the young man next to him suddenly came over, bowed deeply, and said, "Sir, I greet you."

Jia Cong raised his eyes slightly and said, "Do you recognize me?"

The young man smiled and said, "We can get to know each other after just a few words, right?"

Jia Cong also laughed. Someone actually came to talk to him. The personal soldiers next to him came over and wanted to drive the young man away, but Jia Cong waved his hand to stop them.

"What advice do you have, sir?"

"I dare not. I just heard you say that you are familiar with the steward of Prince Jing's Mansion. I also know people in Prince Jing's Mansion, so I am presumptuous to disturb you."

"Oh? Who do you know, sir?" Jia Cong looked him up and down.

The young man whispered, "Mr. Pang, the chief official of the palace."

"Hmm? You are..." Jia Cong suddenly remembered the talent recommended by Pang Chao, and his face lit up with joy.

"I am Pang Ban, a student, and I am honored to meet you, sir." said the young man.

Jia Cong was overjoyed and said, "I have been waiting for you for a long time, please take a seat."

Xiangyun hurriedly stood up and sat down with Jia Cong, and Pang Ban hurriedly moved a chair over and sat down.

"Since you have arrived in the capital, why don't you show up and keep me waiting?"

Pang Ban bowed and said, "I have just arrived and I am unfamiliar with the place and people, so I stayed here for a few days so that I can answer some questions when you ask me."

Xiangyun also knew that Pang Chao had a nephew coming, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "How did you recognize him, sir?"

Pang Ban laughed and said, "Except for you, which young man in the capital has such a majestic and arrogant demeanor?

Although I have no intention of showing it, the tip of the needle is immediately exposed when it is in the bag. How can I hide my heroic spirit? In this world today, the only one who can be called a hero is you, my son."

All the women covered their mouths and laughed, what a flatterer.

Jia Cong pointed at him and said with a smile: "You are quite good at talking."

“Students will only tell the truth.”

"What ideas did you give that man to revive his restaurant?" Jia Cong asked casually.

Pang Ban glanced back and said with a smile, "It's not worth mentioning. He was my classmate when I was young. He recently came to the capital to inherit the family business. He owns a restaurant. For some reason, the customers gradually sparsely populated and it was dying. So I wrote to the student and asked him to think of a solution. I asked him to exempt the monthly salary of the storekeeper, cook, waiter, groom and others, and replace it with a profit dividend. We agreed to give one-third of the restaurant's net profit to everyone every month, and it really improved a lot."

"Very good, it is truly good only when everyone is well. This will motivate everyone to work hard." Jia Cong clapped his hands and praised.

"That's true. After the first month, the remuneration received by everyone is several to dozens of times higher than before. How can they not work hard?" Pang Ban said.

Xiangyun asked curiously, "Is it that simple?"

Pang Ban nodded and said, "The truth is simple. If students and classmates don't understand how to run a restaurant, who can understand it? It must be the experienced shopkeepers, cooks, waiters, etc. who understand the minds of diners.

Instead of laymen giving advice to experts, it is better to let the experts figure it out for themselves: Is it because the food is not tasty? Is it because the price is too high? Is it because the decoration is old? Or is it because there is no entertainment?

There is always a reason why business is bad. If we find out the reason and correct it, won’t it be better? "

Jia Cong clapped his hands and smiled, "Sir, you are a man of great talent. As the Art of War says, there will always be brave men when there is a big reward.

Often when store business is bad, the owner's favorite thing to do is to lay off employees and cut salaries, but they don't know that this will only shake the morale of the employees. If the morale of the employees is broken, how can they be sharp? Most of them end up in a dismal way. "

Pang Ban said, "Sir, what you said is absolutely right. When business is not going well, the boss does not know the reason and does not ask for the truth. Instead, he takes action against his own people. This is really absurd."

"Sir, what do you think we should do if we want to do business, especially big business?" Jia Cong asked.

Pang Ban smiled and said, “The ancients have already figured out the way of business. It is nothing more than taking what others discard and giving what others take. In summer, we invest in leather, in winter, in silk, in drought, in boats, in flood, in carts, in preparation for shortages.

If you want to grow money, take the lower grains; if you want to grow stone buckets, take the upper seeds. Be optimistic about the changes of the times and follow the trend like a beast or a bird of prey.

In managing production, it is just like the strategies of Yi Yin and Lu Shang, the use of troops by Sun Wu, and the implementation of laws by Shang Yang.

If you can eat less, control your desires, save on clothing, and share the joys and sorrows with your servants, then everything you do will be successful. "

Seeing Yu Qianning, Zhen Yuan and others nodding their heads, Jia Cong pretended to be enlightened and praised: "Listening to your words is better than reading for ten years."

Although he didn't quite understand this theory, it didn't stop him from expressing his appreciation.

"My lord, you are too kind. The principle is simple and there is nothing mysterious about it. Take it as the art of war. The key to its application lies in one's heart. My lord is a famous general in the world, so you must know this principle well." Pang Ban said humbly.

"That's true. It's fate that I meet Shi Gong today. Come with me back to see Mr. Pang."

Jia Cong smiled and nodded. As for the art of war, any martial arts candidate could memorize a lot of it, but that didn't mean everyone could become a famous general. A true famous general wouldn't necessarily memorize any art of war.

"Yes."

Jia Cong stood up and led the women downstairs first. Pang Ban followed closely behind. Then, dozens of plainclothes guards stood up from all directions and followed them downstairs.

"Huh? Why is Brother Zhang sweating so much?" the scholar at the table next to him asked curiously.

Zhang's teeth chattered as he said in a trembling voice, "Just now I seemed to hear that foreigner calling the gentleman in fancy clothes... a famous general in the world..."

"What?!" Everyone was shocked. Is there such a young and handsome "famous general" in the world? There is probably only one person.

Thinking of this, everyone swallowed their saliva with a gulp.

"We didn't say anything just now, did we?" someone whispered.

"You said that Prince Jing's method would incite a popular uprising."

"You said meat eaters are vulgar."

"You said Prince Jing was eager for success." Zhang Sheng repeated what everyone said with a bitter face.

"..." Everyone was also frightened and hurried to comfort each other: "Don't worry, don't worry. If it is really that person, let's be fair and just. He may not care about us little characters, right? It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter."

"Yes, yes. I heard that the gentleman is quite magnanimous and has great literary talent. How could he embarrass us scholars?"

"That's right. We are scholars, and there is no crime in speaking."

Jia Cong first sent Zhen Yuan and others home, and then took Pang Ban back home.

Pang Chao and his nephew were naturally happy when they met each other.

After the greetings, Jia Cong said, "Mr. Pang, I intend to appoint Shi Gong as the official in charge of the business department of the royal palace. What do you think?"

Pang Chao twirled his beard and said, "Your Majesty is indeed very kind to me, but Shi Gong has just arrived and has not done anything. How can he convince the public? Chao thinks that we should first let him be a clerk to see how effective he is. If he is indeed qualified, we can then appoint him to a new position."

Pang Ban stood beside him with his hands clasped, looking respectful, and had no objection.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "As you wish, sir. I will ask you to be a clerk first and supervise the military industry and other matters.

You can build a factory first, and then start production after the first batch of machinery and equipment arrives.

I mean, all industries will be temporarily located in Liaodong, where there is no shortage of coal and iron mines, and sea transportation is also convenient. As for the capital, I will first allocate 5 million taels from the military budget to you. "

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. I will obey your orders and live up to your trust." Pang Ban bowed.

Jia Cong nodded and said, "I will have someone give you all the information about Liaodong, or you can ask the Imperial Guards to provide it.

As for the people under you... Lingsu, let Baochai, Fengjie and the others draw up a list of recommendations to see if there are any capable people in our family or in the families of our old friends.

If you have suitable personnel, you can recruit them yourself. In short, I will leave this matter entirely to you. I will allow you to act according to your own discretion and make decisions without prior notice. Set up various industries as soon as possible and ensure that the output and quality are not inferior to those of the Western Barbarians. "

"Yes." Pang Ban said in a deep voice, feeling inexplicably moved. He did not expect that Jia Cong would give him such great trust when they met for the first time. Although the position of the historian was low, the power to execute first and report later was very important. After all, it was five million taels of silver.

"I have also set up some military industries in Jinling and Lingnan. Later, a group of skilled managers and craftsmen will arrive in Beijing with the equipment. They will all be under your command."

"As the ancients said, a gentleman will die for his confidant. Ban is trusted by the prince and I am willing to serve him until death." Pang Ban bowed.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Don't be polite. I don't trust you, but I trust Mr. Pang's vision. I always don't employ people I doubt, and I don't doubt people I employ. Just go ahead and do it. As long as you don't lose my pants, it's no big deal."

Pang Ban said with a smile: "If you want to compensate the prince for his pants, I will definitely compensate for my head first."

Jia Cong smiled at Pang Chao and said, "Your nephew has been in the business world for many years. He is capable and sharp. He will become a great man."

Pang Chao waved his hand and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, please don't indulge him. If he is useless, I hope you can find another wise man as soon as possible."

Jia Cong laughed and said, "As the saying goes, a tiger father will have a dog son. You are my phoenix chick, how can your nephew be any worse than me?"

While they were chatting and laughing, they suddenly heard a personal soldier come to report that Jia Lian wanted to see him.

Jia Cong was stunned. Why did Jia Lian come to see him? So he ordered him to come.

Jia Lian came in hurriedly and blurted out, "Third brother, go and have a look! Pan'er has been arrested!"

"Huh?!" (End of this chapter)