I'm in the Red Mansion

Chapter 177 Diao Nu
In fact, Jia Cong knew from the beginning that he would not be able to hide it from his master, and his master would definitely be able to see through his selfish motives.

But for Jia Cong, these are not important. What is important is that he can persuade his master.

Jia Cong couldn't help but say, "Master, I can't hide my little thoughts from you."

"Master, since my uncle was appointed as the Imperial Salt Inspector in Yangzhou, he has lost his son and his wife. This is his only daughter. If she had not been sent to the capital early, she might not have survived."

"Now he is also suffering from chronic poison. I am afraid he may not be able to hold on for much longer."

Hearing Jia Cong say this, Kou Xiang couldn't help but sigh and said, "I know this person Ru Hai."

"Your Majesty and I are both well aware of what happened to him in Yangzhou."

"It's just that the position of Yangzhou Salt Inspector is too important. It involves the stability of Yangzhou's salt tax."

"Your Majesty, no matter how many great things you do now, they all depend on the money from the salt tax."

"If this sum of money is not stable, I am afraid it will delay your majesty's important affairs."

Jia Cong laughed and said, "Master, if my uncle were to die of poison, would it be impossible to collect the salt tax in Yangzhou?"

"My uncle is not at the end of his rope, but he is not far from it. If I continue to keep him in the Yangzhou Salt Administration, I'm afraid he will only last one or two years."

"And if he is transferred back to the capital, he should take good care of his health until he recovers."

"He also has experience in local salt administration. If he is placed in the Ministry of Revenue, will he be able to move the Ministry's purse in the future?"

Hearing what Jia Cong said, Prime Minister Kou's eyes lit up and a thoughtful look appeared on his face.

If it is true as Jia Cong said, this matter is worth discussing.

I'm afraid I won't be able to survive the next year or two if I stay in Yangzhou.

If he was transferred back to the capital and really put in the Ministry of Revenue, with Lin Ruhai's ability, he might be able to tear a hole in the iron-clad Ministry of Revenue.

The struggle in the capital was very different from the local struggles.

In local struggles, we will use every possible means. If you are powerless in official circles, then we will use all means to destroy you physically.

In the officialdom of the capital, the emphasis is on fighting without breaking up.

Everyone follows an unspoken rule, which is that no matter how they fight, they will use official methods.

Instead of resorting to such inferior means as poisoning and assassination.

Because you do it, others can do it too.

If everyone does this, it will be a mess in the end.

Of course, this is just the norm.

There are naturally exceptions in special circumstances.

But there are very few special cases.

After thinking for a while, Prime Minister Kou couldn't help but say to Jia Cong: "What you said does make sense."

"Well, when I have time, I will report this to the emperor. This matter still needs the emperor's decision."

Hearing this, Jia Cong couldn't help but said happily: "Thank you for your help, Master."

In fact, as long as Prime Minister Kou spoke up, Emperor Yonglong would most likely agree to this matter.

Not to mention that this matter is indeed beneficial to Emperor Yonglong's overall situation.

Just look at the status of Prime Minister Kou in Emperor Yonglong's heart. As long as Prime Minister Kou opens his mouth, Emperor Yonglong will not easily refuse.

After leaving Kou's house, Jia Cong did not tell Lin Daiyu immediately.

This kind of thing cannot be accomplished in a day or two.

I'm afraid it won't be done before the New Year, so we'll have to wait until after the New Year.

Time goes by day by day, and the end of the year is getting closer.

Jia Cong had some free time, but Rongguo Mansion was getting busier and busier.

Recently, Xichun has been staying in Ningguo Mansion for longer periods of time.

The relationship between Xichun and Jia Cong is getting better and better.

Now Xichun often pesters Jia Cong and asks him to teach her how to paint.

Jia Cong also began to teach her seriously, and the relationship between the brother and sister became closer.

As the end of the year approached, Jia Cong began to get busy, after all, he was the patriarch of the Jia family.

He first sent someone to the Guanglu Temple to collect the reward for the Spring Festival, which was placed in a yellow cloth bag with four large characters "Emperor's Grace Forever" on it.

On the other side there was the seal of the priest of the Ministry of Rites and another line of small characters.

It was said that Jia Yan, Duke of Ning, and Jia Yuan, Duke of Rong, bestowed a total of two fen of reward for the Eternal Spring Festival, which was converted into a certain amount of silver. On a certain day of a certain month and year, Jia Qiang of Ningguo Mansion received it in the court and it was received by a certain person, the temple secretary on duty.

A red seal is written below.

Not long after, Xue Da came in again and reported: "The head of the Wuzhuang Village in Heishan Village has arrived."

Hearing this name, Jia Cong couldn't help but think of this character.

Jia Cong said, "It's already the New Year, and he's only here now?"

As he spoke, Xue Da took the report and the accounts and quickly unfolded them.

Jia Cong looked into Xue Da's hand and saw the red petition which read:

"My village head Wu Jinxiao wishes you good health and happiness in the new year, honor and safety, promotion and salary, and all the best."

As he unfolded the list, he saw the following words: "30 large deer, 50 musk deer, and 50 goats."

"One thousand dan of regular rice, ... and livestock worth two thousand five hundred taels of silver. The outer servants shall give gifts to the brothers and sisters: two pairs of live deer, four pairs of live white rabbits, four pairs of black rabbits, two pairs of live golden pheasants, and two pairs of Western ducks."

Jia Cong ordered, "Bring him in."

Suddenly, Wu Jinxiao came in and kowtowed in the courtyard to pay his respects.

Jia Cong ordered someone to pull him up, looked at Wu Jinxiao who looked simple and honest, and said with a smile: "You are still strong."

Wu Jinxiao smiled and replied, "Thanks to you, I can still walk."

Jia Cong said, "I just looked at the list. Why is it that this year's output is much less than last year's? Moreover, these several farms only have this little output?"

Wu Jinxiao hurriedly took two steps forward and replied, "My Lord, the harvest this year is really bad. It has been raining since March and has continued until August. There has not been more than five sunny days in a row."

"In September, there was a bowl-sized hailstorm that covered an area of ​​nearly 1,300 miles, injuring tens of thousands of people, houses, livestock and food. That's why it happened. I don't dare to lie."

Jia Cong looked at Wu Jinxiao for a long while before he said, "Captain Wu, I am not as easy to fool as Brother Xianzhen. I will send people to investigate later. Tell me again, is this all you have?"

Wu Jinxiao knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "I dare not lie! Your place is pretty good! My brother is only a hundred miles away from me, but who knew it would be so different."

"He is now in charge of eight farms in the mansion, which is several times more than what I have here. This year, he only has these things, but only two or three thousand taels of silver. There is also a famine."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Well, you are tired too, so go down and rest first. It won't be too late to go back when the snow on the road has melted."

Having said that, he ordered people to take Wu Jinxiao out and treat him well, no need to worry about anything else.

Jia Zhen, this fool, almost squandered all the assets of the Jia family.

He just enjoyed himself and didn't care about anything else.

Wu Jinxiao's production decreased every year, and he had to sell his farm at any time.

There must be something wrong, we should check him out.

But it’s too late now, and we have to wait until next year.

(End of this chapter)