From the Red Mansion, you can travel through the world of martial arts

Chapter 104 Soft Persimmon

"The salt business involves a wide range of people. From officials in Lianghuai to salt workers in the salt factories, everyone benefits from it. The eight major salt merchants have supported the salt gangs and connected with countless martial artists. If their interests are damaged, I'm afraid they will not let it go..."

Lin Ruhai nodded slowly. He was very pleased to see that although Jia Wei was young, he had both martial arts skills and strategy.

Lin Ruhai sighed and said, "These are just a little tricky, but good will prevail over evil, and they can be solved in the end. What I am most worried about is that the price of salt will soar, and the people will not be able to eat salt. If there is a civil uprising, it will be a disaster..."

Then he asked, "Wenhe, what do you and the Imperial Commissioner think about the method of rectifying the salt business?"

Jia Wei knew the specific implementation methods that Lin Ruhai asked about, but he didn't think much about it. After all, how to reform the salt administration was something the imperial envoy should consider.

Doing two jobs for one salary is not only thankless, but also makes people hate you for taking over the main job.

If you kill the salt merchants, they will naturally regard you as an enemy; if you steal the credit of the imperial envoy, the imperial envoy will also curse you.

He pondered for a moment and said, "It is the duty of the imperial envoy to rectify the Lianghuai salt business. I don't want to interfere, so I didn't ask any further questions.

"Your Majesty sent me to accompany you in order to get some money and grain from the salt merchants. Right now, the nine borders are in turmoil, the treasury is empty, and money is needed everywhere. This is the most important thing..."

Lin Ruhai was inevitably disappointed when he heard this. He entered the officialdom as a top scholar in the imperial examination, first entered the Hanlin Academy, and later was promoted to a doctor in the Lantai Temple. He has been working in the Salt Transport Office since then, wasting half his life. Naturally, he wanted to see the salt business prosper and be prosperous.

Jia Wei continued, "I know very little about the salt business, and my understanding is very superficial... The salt business has great potential. If it is well managed, it will not be a problem to increase two or three million taels of silver every year. As for the specific reform method, I am afraid it will fall on the salt permit."

Lin Ruhai's mind was moved, and he asked, "Could it be that Wenhe meant to reduce the quota?"

The salt permit is a certificate issued by the government, and any salt without a certificate is private salt.

The Han Dynasty implemented the salt system, and merchants holding salt permits were divided into ten groups according to regions. Each group had 200,000 salt permits, and each permit was equivalent to 300 kilograms of salt.

But now each pull weighs more than 350 kilograms.

This is because when the retired emperor was in power, he traveled to the south of the Yangtze River many times. The salt merchants in the south of the Yangtze River raised funds to build a palace and gardens for him to receive him. In addition to exempting local taxes, the retired emperor also gave him "extra money" as a reward.

He added ten kilograms at a time, and after several times it reached more than three hundred and fifty kilograms.

According to the Han Dynasty's policy of "helping merchants and relieving taxes", the added salt "was not included in the original cost, so that they could benefit forever". This was freeloading.

The salt merchants made a lot of money from this, but of course the wool came from the sheep. The increase in taxes saved the salt merchants costs, but also resulted in a large amount of "untaxed salt".

At the same time, the exploitation of porters was aggravated, because the salt field porters were paid by the number of tonnes rather than by weight.

Jia Wei shook his head slowly: "The effect of reducing the tax is minimal. The Lianghuai salt administration is deeply rooted in the system. If we want to rectify it, we must reform it and use thundering means to cut it off at one stroke."

Lin Ruhai and the salt merchants were sworn enemies, so Jia Wei was not afraid of the news getting out, so he said directly:
"The key is to reduce the distribution links. Today, the salt permits are issued and written off by the Jinling Ministry of Revenue, but the six ministries of Jinling have long been corrupted and are in cahoots with the salt merchants. I think we should first take back this right and hand it over to the Shenjing Ministry of Revenue or the Salt Bureau."

Lin Ruhai agreed with this. He had been in the salt business for a long time and naturally knew the problems involved.

"But this is only a temporary solution. If we want to solve the root cause, we have to take drastic measures." Jia Wei said, "Change the salt voucher to a salt ticket. No matter who you are, as long as you pay taxes according to the regulations, you can use the ticket to get salt and sell it in the salt trading area. This will break the monopoly of salt merchants..."

Lin Ruhai was stunned. Jia Wei's words were tantamount to digging into the lifeblood of the salt merchants. If this were to get out, it would surely cause a bloody storm!
However, if we follow this method to rectify the salt business, it seems to be feasible...

When Lin Ruhai looked at Jia Wei again, his eyes were full of admiration. Jia Wei was really humble. He knew the problems of the salt administration and could come up with innovative solutions. This showed not only strategy, but also great talent in government affairs!

Suddenly Lin Ruhai felt a little regretful. It was a pity that Jia Wei chose to take the military examination. If he had taken the imperial examination and become an official, his future would have been limitless!
Jia Wei smiled and said, "I am just talking on paper. I am sorry to make you laugh at me, uncle. The specific way to rectify the salt business depends on the imperial envoy's advice.

"I must first solve His Majesty's urgent needs and do my own job well...Excuse me, uncle, among the eight salt merchants, which one is a soft persimmon? Which one is suitable to be used for a knife?"

He would definitely pick on the weak ones. Jia Wei was too lazy to conduct a thorough investigation to find any evidence against them, so he went straight to Lin Ruhai for advice.

Lin Ruhai had been fighting against the salt merchants for so many years, so he must be well aware of everything and might even have evidence of the salt merchants' crimes in his hands.

Lin Ruhai thought for a moment and said slowly: "Jiang family..."

When Jia Wei left the main room, he met Daiyu's gentle gaze. Ding Baiying was also standing beside Daiyu at this time.

"Second brother, thank you for your hard work..."

Jia Wei was indeed very painstaking and laborious in removing the poison from Lin Ruhai. When he was done, his face was covered in sweat, and Daiyu saw it all.

Before this, Lin Ruhai was in critical condition and the family had already begun preparing for his funeral. But after Jia Wei's diagnosis and treatment, his complexion actually improved a lot and there were signs that he would recover from the serious illness.

Jia Wei smiled and said, "I call you sister, so I can't just stand by and watch... But how are you going to repay me for saving my father?"

Daiyu naturally knew that Jia Wei was not asking for repayment, but was teasing her. She recalled the night when she encountered bandits and Jia Wei rescued her, and then she remembered Xueyan's words "I will pledge myself to you..."

Daiyu was a little flustered, her fair face flushed, her lips moved but she didn't know how to answer, she said coquettishly, "Second Brother is not a good person."

Just as Jia Wei was about to speak, he heard a commotion coming from the front yard. He looked in the direction of the sound and heard a woman scolding a servant in extremely vulgar language.

He was still confused. The Lin family had a long tradition of poetry and literature. Even Lin Ruhai's concubines should be well-mannered. He looked at Daiyu again. Her face was a little gloomy and seemed a little sad. But she just sighed and was very helpless.

Just as Jia Yu was about to ask, he heard Zijuan say, "Second Master Yu, someone has come from my hometown in Suzhou to be adopted by you as your heir. This is my brother's mother..."

Zijuan looked at Daiyu again, seeming to want to say something but stopping herself.

Jia Wei understood that Lin Ruhai's expression earlier meant that he should have been prepared in advance.

In this world, if a man dies and there is no filial son to smash a pot for him, and no incense and offerings during festivals, he will be called a wandering ghost.

Lin Ruhai had no children, so he could only adopt a child from the same clan. This was normal, and Daiyu had to be grateful to him.

The woman in the front yard cursed vigorously, saying that the Lin family had no descendants and would have to rely on her son in the future. In the end, she even pointed at the locust tree and cursed the mulberry tree, saying how bad Daiyu's mother Jia Min was...

Jia Yu looked at Daiyu, who said with tears in her eyes: "I'm sorry to have made a fool of myself, but now that my father has recovered, there's nothing else to worry about..."

Jia Wei wanted to make fun of Daiyu. He was usually very good at dealing with his brothers and sisters, but now he was helpless against this shrew.

But then he thought that Lin Ruhai was seriously ill and Daiyu had no mother or brothers to help her. Seeing her pitiful appearance, Jia Wei couldn't help but feel distressed.

Jia Wei said in a deep voice: "Since he is adopted, why should his biological parents stay here? Could it be that he wants to take over our family property? Zijuan, lead the way."

Zijuan let out a sigh, somewhat delighted.

When Jia Wei left the front yard, the woman was cursing happily, but when she saw Jia Wei, who was dressed in official uniform and had an extraordinary demeanor, coming out, she stopped talking for a moment.

Jia Wei glanced at her coldly, and without further ado, summoned two Jinyiwei.

"Catch this shrew, give her twenty taels of silver as travel expenses, and send her back to her hometown in Suzhou."

The woman asked anxiously, "Which government office are you from? Why do you care about our Lin family's affairs?"

"Who are you to dare to speak to me like that? Slap me in the face!"

The Jinyiwei slapped the woman several times, and she was stunned. Seeing Jia Wei waving his hand, he quickly dragged the woman away...

Jia Wei looked at Zijuan and said, "You go with me, bring my son back, and find a nanny to take care of him first. When Uncle Lin gets better, we can see what he will do."

Lin Ruhai was in poor health, and even if Jia Wei cured him, it would only take five or six years at most.

I still need an heir. Instead of looking for one later, I might as well raise this child for a few years. I'll have some feelings for him...

Zijuan responded and followed quickly.

Jia Wei returned to the yard again. Daiyu was still standing there, looking at him blankly, with tears in her eyes.

Jia Wei naturally knew how to make up for it, and said, "Sister Lin, if you have trouble handling these things in the future, just let the maid tell me and I will make the arrangements. The same is true after you return to Shenjing. If Sister Lin is wronged in the West Mansion, don't cry alone, I will support you."

Daiyu looked at Jia Wei with a pursed mouth, muttering, "What kind of injustice could I possibly endure..." But she couldn't hold back her tears.

When Jia Wei saw Daiyu crying, he laughed instead. He was really a tearful man.

He couldn't help but reach out his hand and wipe the tears from Daiyu's face. Both of them were stunned for a moment!
This little face is so tender! So smooth! So soft...

How could Second Brother be like this...

Daiyu turned around and ran away in shame. Jia Wei said behind her: "Sister Lin, I'm going back first. I'll come to see you tomorrow."

Finally, Jia Wei looked at Ding Baiying. Ding Baiying responded coldly and looked away. She was about to leave, but Jia Wei held her hand.

Jia Wei coughed lightly. He felt a little embarrassed to flirt with girls in front of his concubine.

After all, the way he played with her was to get on the bus first and buy the ticket later. Now he is with Daiyu and is in pure love again. It is completely understandable that she feels jealous...

Fortunately, Ding Baiying is a kind-hearted person, unlike that crazy woman Li Mochou, so Jia Wei is still very confident in her.

Jia Wei held Ding Baiying's hand and said seriously, "You stay in the Salt Transport Office for a few days. I will feel more at ease with you by Sister Lin's side."

But Ding Baiying's words ruined his plan.

"Don't worry, I'm not that inconsiderate. Master, just enjoy your time with that beautiful Taoist nun..."

Huh? Is my intention so obvious?
"No, how can you slander someone's innocence for no reason!"

(End of this chapter)