Nan'an County Prince's Mansion
Prince Nan'an returned from the military plane with a somewhat unsightly expression on his face. Facing the concerned eyes of Liu Fang and others, he said: "Yesterday, my son sent a letter of resignation to the palace through the General Affairs Department and resigned from the post of Jiedu Envoy of the Beijing Camp. "
Liu Fang didn't react for a moment and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, isn't this good? My resignation as the military governor of the capital shows that I am a thief with a guilty conscience."
The Prince of Nan'an County looked at Liu Fang, with a hint of sinisterness in his eyes, and said, "This makes him appear to be upright and upright, but it makes other people look like they are treating a gentleman with a villain's heart!"
Liu Fang's complexion changed slightly, and now she realized that there was still this layer.
At this moment, a servant from outside came to report that Shi Guangzhu asked to see the Prince of Nan'an County.
As soon as Shi Guangzhu entered the hall, he looked solemn and said: "Shibo, an acquaintance of the Department of General Affairs said that the Duke of Wei first submitted a resignation letter, but His Majesty did not agree not to say it, and also copied the memorial and approved it to the palace. Ministers."
"How do you say this?" Prince Nan'an frowned and asked in a low voice.
Shi Guangzhu's eyes were complicated and he said: "The Holy Lord has approved that I don't doubt my son-in-law. Why does my son-in-law need to resign?"
How important is this? These two sentences will go down in history books in the future.
When the Prince of Nan'an County heard this, his face became more and more ugly. His heart sank and he sat down slumped: "Sister-in-law, weng, we are really close."
Liu Fang also had a look of anger on her face and said: "It is these kind of relatives who are the most dangerous. Once they become disobedient, they will be banned from entering and leaving the palace as if they were in their own garden. This will endanger the emperor's palace and the country."
Prince Nan'an suddenly had a deep look in his eyes, a gloomy face, and said in a low voice: "We have acted too hastily. Now is the time when the child is most favored, and any words will cause rebellion in the palace."
There was fear on Liu Fang's face, and she lowered her voice and said, "Your Majesty, what should we do now? The memorial has been handed over."
Prince Nan'an opened his mouth and was about to say something.
Suddenly, at this moment, a servant entered the hall and said with a joyful face: "Your Majesty, the angel is here."
Prince Nan'an's expression suddenly changed, and he said softly: "What are the angels doing here?"
Others also looked at each other.
"The father-in-law sent two carts of melons, saying they were gifts from the palace." The servant said.
The prince of Nan'an County felt his heart tremble, and there was a hint of suspicion in his eyes.
The palace sent melons to him, and again at this juncture, it was obviously not encouragement or praise, but a slap.
…
…
Ningguo Mansion
The night was low, the moon and stars were sparse, it was early summer, and the heat enveloped the entire Ningrong Mansion. Many maids and nuns were already waving cattail fans in the cool and windy areas to enjoy the cool air.
Jia Heng sent Dai Quan away and returned to the hall. He raised his head and saw Chen Xiao. He met the questioning gaze and whispered, "Let's go into the study and talk."
In the study, the girl sat at the desk and asked, "Didn't he ask for your memorial?"
"Read it yourself." Jia Heng put the memorial aside, picked up the teapot on the desk, and poured himself two cups of tea.
Chen Xiao picked up the memorial and looked at it, his eyes slightly cold, and he ridiculed: "He has become more and more sophisticated in his power skills."
Jia Heng: "..."
However, it is not wrong to say that. Through this marriage between father-in-law and son-in-law, it can be said that he has not only won over him, but also encouraged him to a certain extent.
Subtext: "I know that you are suspicious of you, but I do not doubt you. I only hope that you will be modest and prudent, and guard against arrogance and impetuosity."
In other words, Jia Heng himself must have a sense of boundaries and cannot raise his tail.
Jia Heng put down the memorial, was silent for a moment, and said with emotion: "The emperor has been in power for many years, and his power skills have reached a very high level."
Chen Xiao said coldly: "However, I just asked someone to inquire. The palace gave two carts of watermelons to the Prince of Nan'an County. I don't know what it means?"
Jia Heng frowned slightly and said, "Watermelon?"
Chen Xiao sneered: "Apparently I found out about the quarrel with you, so I rewarded you with watermelon and told me to shut up."
"Not necessarily. Maybe the watermelon has many children, but Princess Wei still has no children, and this is used to beat the prince of Nan'an?" Jia Heng said casually and took a sip of tea.
In fact, in this scenario, the key is not the reward, the reward is just a beating.
Stop hiding, I know it's you, so you'd better be calm and honest.
Chen Xiao glanced at the young man, a hint of ridicule flashed at the corner of his mouth, and said coldly: "Do you want to be the Guanyin again?"
Jia Heng: "???"
What kind of talk is this about sending children to Guanyin?
He felt that Xiaoxiao must have peeked at his play with Miaoyu in the Cuicui Temple last night, because Xiaoxiao was bored at home and must have secretly watched what he was doing.
"Don't worry about these. Why did Yan Hong, the Imperial Imperial College priest, target you? It seems that he found more than half of the censors." Chen Xiao frowned and said coldly.
Jia Heng picked up the tea cup and took a sip, and said: "This person is Mr. Hange's brother-in-law. It is said that he had no enmity with me before. If it is said that the Zhejiang Party is causing trouble, Zhao Mo, Cen Weishan and others have many prejudices against me."
At the beginning, he also had a relationship with Han Hui, the son of Mr. Hange. However, as he was involved in military affairs and his father was the chief minister of the cabinet, he gradually lost contact to avoid suspicion.
Chen Xiao said: "You were granted the title of Duke at a young age, and your talents are not limited to military affairs. Some of these people are worried that you will monopolize power and suppress your power."
Thinking of the person in front of me, he has been involved in military affairs, river affairs, salt administration, and even agricultural administration, and has made many achievements in the past few years.
It is also normal for officials in the court to be afraid.
It can be said that this is the reason why Emperor Chongping kept talking about Jia Ziyu and almost left Lin Ruhai speechless.
Such a useful son-in-law, if he does not rebel, is really suitable for charging into battle. Moreover, Jia Heng is respectful in his work and does not have the domineering attitude of a young general.
Now the civil servants are alienated and Wu Xun is disgusted, which is exactly what Emperor Chongping wants.
Such high moral character and high respect made Emperor Chongping have trouble sleeping and eating.
Jia Heng sighed softly and said, "The palace uses me, and I can't hide my clumsiness."
The past two years have indeed been tiring, like a fire captain. Of course, my title has been as high as a rocket, and I have become a confidante...
Chen Xiaoqing's eyes were filled with coldness, and he said sarcastically: "Since the middle of last year, he has not been in good health. He is fine now. When he is on the sickbed, he will definitely be afraid of you."
"We'll talk about it then." Jia Heng said with a chuckle, reaching out and pulling the girl in the green skirt into his arms, and said, "Xiaoxiao, let me hug her."
"Why are you hugging me, you kid?" Chen Xiao's pure and beautiful cheeks turned red with embarrassment. She gently pushed away Jia Heng's dishonest hand and said in a clear voice: "I have something to tell you. This year, on the third day of the year, At the Spring Trial at the end of the month, something strange happened."
"What's weird?" Jia Heng asked in surprise.
"The scholars from the south almost take all the first and second places, and the imperial palace chooses Hanlin and Shuji scholars to be 78 out of 10." Chen Xiao said softly.
Jia Heng gently stroked the big snow pear, feeling the richness flowing out from his fingers. He put it close to the girl's ear and said warmly: "Isn't Yijia selected by the palace? It shouldn't be the case."
Chen Xiao pushed away the young man's hand that was making the snowman, and said with an embarrassed look on his face: "This time, several academicians decided to recommend the candidate and reported it to the palace. The man in the palace was worried about the matter, but he didn't study it in detail. "
Jia Heng frowned, was silent for a moment, and asked, "Do you suspect there is fraud in this year's scientific examination?"
The scientific expedition in the 16th year of Chongping was actually affected by some border wars. It was almost postponed from mid-March to early April. Finally, the news of the border victory came and it was successfully held.
Chen Xiaodao: "You can check it out. The examiner for this subject is Zhao Mo, a bachelor of the cabinet and minister of the Ministry of Justice. The deputy examiner is Fang Huan, the minister of the Ministry of Rites. The co-examiners are Liu Zheng, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, and various Hanlin bachelors."
In fact, she has other sources of information, which can almost confirm that there is indeed a fraud case in this imperial examination.
Jia Heng suddenly asked: "What is the current rank of Han Ge's son?"
Chen Xiao said softly: "The top two names have been selected as Shujishi."
Jia Heng frowned and said slowly: "Zhao Mo has a good official reputation and should not be involved in the scientific examination fraud case."
When I was in Yangzhou, I also had some contact with Zhao Mo. His political integrity was acceptable, and he was a cabinet bachelor and didn't have much motivation to participate in any academic fraud case.
Chen Xiao said in a clear voice: "Zhao Mo is a cabinet minister. He may think highly of himself and be more self-sufficient, but it's hard to say for others. I have also heard people mention it in the past two days. It seems that he will leak some questions in one test paper, but the scope of the leak is not large." It’s big, so it’s very secretive.”
"Release the matter?" Jia Heng's eyes narrowed for a moment, and he said in a clear voice: "In this case, I will have someone secretly investigate how this matter was exposed."
If he is too active in this matter, he will be suspected of partisanship, which will not help him create a lonely and non-party persona.
But this is undoubtedly an opportunity to suppress the reputation of the Zhejiang Party.
Since Han Huang became the chief minister of the Zhejiang Party, there have been two ministers in the cabinet, and the Ministry of Rites has become the headquarters of the Zhejiang Party.
"I'll just make arrangements next." Chen Xiaoqing's eyes flashed and she whispered.
Jia Heng took Chen Xiao's hand and asked softly: "Xiaoxiao, where did you investigate from?"
Xiaoxiao obviously has other sources of information, but is this to vent his anger?
Chen Xiao held Jia Heng's hand and said in a cold voice, "Don't worry about it."
Jia Heng looked at the girl steadily and said softly: "Xiaoxiao, when will you stop hiding this from me?"
Chen Xiao snorted softly and was about to speak when he saw the soft breath approaching his lips. His heart skipped a beat and he quickly gently touched the young man's shoulder.
As time passed, the slender fingers straightened and bent, and the clothes they held became wrinkled.
Chen Xiaoxiu raised her neck, her cheeks as red as a cloud, and supported the young man who was eating a snow pear.
Just when Jia Heng and Chen Xiao were hugging each other tenderly, a nun outside said: "Master, Master Lin is here."
After the interview, Lin Ruhai had a quick dinner and came to Ningguo Mansion as soon as possible. Firstly, she visited Jia Heng, and secondly, she met her daughter Daiyu.
Jia Heng looked at Chen Xiao, who was blushing and arranging his clothes, and said warmly, "I'll go greet you."
When the father-in-law came, he couldn't sit in the house.
Jia Heng ordered the maid to go to the Grand View Garden in the backyard to inform Daiyu, while he quickly walked towards the hall.
Ning Guo Mansion, in the front hall——
Lin Ruhai sat on the chair next to the small table, lowering her head to sip tea. The candlelight illuminated her elegant face, and her eyes were filled with thoughts.
"Uncle." At this time, Jia Heng entered the hall and called to Lin Ruhai.
A smile appeared on Lin Ruhai's face, she stood up to greet him and said, "Zi Yu."
When we parted ways in Taiyuan, the young man in front of me was still a first-class marquis. Now that we have reunited with our old friends, he is already a third-class Duke of Wei. Moreover, the emperor in the palace also granted marriage to the princess of Xianning and Qinghe.
Jia Heng said: "Uncle, sit down and talk. Sister Lin will be here soon."
Mentioning Daiyu, Lin Ruhai had a strange look in her eyes and said, "Is Yu'er okay these days?"
I can't explain how I feel. The young man in front of me is provocative, but he is too provocative. In the future, Yu'er will serve the same husband as the princess and the princess. Will she be wronged after they get married?
Jia Heng smiled and said: "Sister Lin, everything is fine. She even said she is thinking about my uncle these days."
Weng and son-in-law were chatting. After a while, the maid came into the hall and said, "Miss Lin is here."
While he was talking, the sound of jingling bells sounded, and Daiyu entered the hall accompanied by maids such as Zijuan and Xiren.
Daiyu looked at Lin Ruhai, her starry eyes gradually becoming foggy, and said in a trembling voice, "Daddy."
"Yu'er." Lin Ruhai stood up and laughed softly: "I came back from Taiyuan and came to see you."
It is obvious that Daiyu's height and figure are much better than at the beginning of the year, her complexion is rosy, and she has no symptoms of cough.
Well, maybe Ziyu took good care of her?
This thought flashed through Lin Ruhai's heart, and then disappeared.
Daiyu asked with concern: "Dad, when you come back this time, you shouldn't go to Taiyuan, right?"
Lin Ruhai said: "The palace has assigned me to promote the planting of sweet potatoes. I will go to Taiyuan to have a look at that time."
Daiyu blinked her starry eyes and said, "Sweet potato?"
"There is a severe drought in the northern provinces this year. The palace has issued several orders to local officials to plant sweet potatoes to cope with the famine. This product has a higher yield," Lin Ruhai explained.
Daiyu nodded, her face thoughtful.
Jia Heng said: "The weather this year is a bit abnormal. It rained twice in the past few days. The entire north has been in drought for several months. Drought and locust plagues often go hand in hand. This year, the northern provinces are expected to have bad harvests again. "
Coincidentally, it rained only two days after he came back.
Lin Ruhai said: "Earlier in the palace, the Holy Father mentioned this matter. How do you think Ziyu should solve it?"
Jia Heng said: "We can only collect grain to prepare for shortages and grow some drought-resistant crops. In addition, we can dig rivers and build water conservancy projects to alleviate the drought."
Even future generations with advanced technology have no good way to deal with such large-scale droughts or floods.
"Uncle, are you all ready in Taiyuan?" Jia Heng asked instead.
Lin Ruhai nodded and said: "All the money and grain have been checked and the grain in the treasury has been put into the warehouse. This is a timely rain."
Jia Heng nodded, knowing what Lin Ruhai meant. These rice grains could just make up for this year's poor harvest and alleviate the famine.
Lin Ruhai said: "In fact, the imperial treasury revenue has not been very large in recent years. There is almost no grain tax in the north, and it can barely survive only by relying on Jiangnan and Bashu. However, it has greatly improved in recent years. Customs duties and salt taxes have made up for it. If it were not for the internal funds to help with emergencies, the court could hardly make ends meet. It is said that although Lai Ziyu has used troops frequently in recent years, it has not consumed a lot of national funds, and it has also increased a lot of revenue for the national treasury."
At the last mention, Lin Ruhai also had some admiration in his eyes.
As Lin Ruhai took over the government affairs of the Household Department and sorted out the situation of the Household Department in the past few years, the more he discovered how much hidden work Jia Heng had done in the past two years.
During the Chongping years of Chen Han, there were continuous natural disasters. The reason why it was able to survive was that in addition to the strong family background and internal pressure in the early days, Southeast and Sichuan could barely provide blood transfusions to the central government.
But it has reached the end of the war, officials and frontier troops are in arrears with pay, the administration is corrupt, and the army is weak.
Originally, the chaos in the Central Plains was the straw that broke the camel's back, but it turned out to be the battle for Jia Heng's rise and the beginning of the ZTE.
In the next two years, the financial situation improved significantly. The salary arrears to officials and generals were gradually replenished. The Chen and Han court still had the energy to fight a victory and reshape the central authority's prestige.
If we look into the details of the reason, it turns out that Jia Heng helped to inspect the property of many corrupt officials, and ordered the generals to correct corruption, recover deficits, and increase revenue and reduce expenditure.
At the same time, the salt production was reformed, sea trade was opened, and open source was continuously opened. Through a whole set of combined punches, a patient who was suffering from serious illness was saved bit by bit.
He organized military affairs and eliminated redundant troops. Everywhere he went, Jia Heng kept almost everyone from the clan, merchants, and corrupt officials, cutting off the root causes, and then used military victories to suppress dissent.
As for Emperor Chongping, he only had to sit in the Daming Palace and watch Jia Heng charge into battle, and then he would be granted the title of Duke and marry his daughter.
Perhaps Jia Heng has not yet thoroughly sorted out his experiences in the past two years, but Emperor Chongping, as a bystander, had a deep understanding of it, which is why he resolutely refused when Jia Heng Shangshu resigned as the commander of the Beijing Camp.
Because Emperor Chongping, who had gone through the turbulent changes in imperial power, had a sharper understanding than Jia Heng, the change of leadership in the Jingying Festival only caused his own authority to be shaken.
It is almost impossible to find a minister as useful as Jia Heng.
Jia Heng pondered and said: "It was unsustainable to raid homes before and kill pigs to celebrate the New Year. But there will always be a time when all the pigs are killed, so we still have to expand our financial resources and exercise restraint. Some things we couldn't do before, we can start trying now." .”
After this great victory, many major issues that we wanted to solve but could not solve in the past can be solved, but the innovation has also entered the deep water area.
Gao Zhongping obviously also realized that after the victory, the central authority would become stronger, and he was ready to use this trend to implement innovative strategies.
Lin Ruhai nodded and said: "It is good to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, but we must also be careful not to use up all the money and use it like sand."
Jia Heng said: "Northern Xinjiang can reduce some military expenditures, but in order to consolidate border defense, if we increase and decrease, the reduction will be limited."
The towns of Xuanda, Jizhen, and Beiping all paid their troops in real terms, so the expenditure on national funds did not decrease much. On the contrary, there was less military pay on credit, and the national treasury spent more every year.
Of course, the defense level has also been greatly improved.
"The local provincial army can be abolished appropriately." Lin Ruhai said.
Jia Heng nodded and said: "That's what I have in mind. The Military Aircraft Department has also been working on this matter recently. We should start with Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi and other places first, and then the southern provinces to eliminate redundant troops."
"As for the source of income," Jia Heng pondered for a moment, his eyes flashed, and said: "As for tariffs, pirates have been causing trouble recently, plundering trade routes, and there are even more treacherous merchants evading taxes, especially in Zhejiang and other places. The King of Beijing visited the country the day before yesterday The memorandum mentioned the plan to clear out the bandits entrenched on the islands in the seas of Zhoushan, and hoped that the Jiangnan Navy would cooperate. I thought that when I waited until Jiangnan, the naval commanders would take care of the matter together, especially Jilong Mountain. It has become a den for bandits and bandits, so it can be cleared out as soon as possible."
In fact, this was a scrap left over from dealing with Duduo and the North Korean Navy last time. This time, the pirates were completely eliminated and Jilong Mountain was recaptured, serving as a bridgehead for Chen and Han to control maritime trade.
Lin Ruhai nodded and said: "The pirates need to be wiped out. Customs is now widely established in the three southeastern provinces. The Ministry of Revenue is asking whether it can collect customs taxes and transfer them to the national treasury for unified transfer. Shanghai Customs collected 80 customs fees in the first half of last year. More than ten thousand taels."
Jia Heng said: "Previously, Guangzhou Customs had to withhold tax money to support the navy, so it was an expedient measure. For example, in the customs of the three southeastern provinces, the tax revenue can be coordinated by the Ministry of Household Affairs."
Daiyu looked at the two people who were having a "Standing Meeting" in the hall, blinked her starry eyes, picked up the tea cup and took a sip, and listened quietly to the conversation between Weng and her son-in-law.
Lin Ruhai nodded and asked: "Nowadays, the northern provinces are suffering from severe drought, which is almost spreading to the south. The imperial court is spending huge amounts of money. Gao Zhongping is clearing acres of land in the south of the Yangtze River in order to increase income. Does Ziyu think it is feasible?"
Jia Heng thought for a while and said: "It's still a bit too hasty now. The matter of clearing the land can be slowed down first. Others are like a whip method. The fire is returned to the public, so we can try it first."
The south of the Yangtze River is an important land for grain taxation, and the gentry gathers widely, so the methods should not be too harsh.
The disaster situation in the entire north is so serious that even if you want to buy rice, you have to have a place to buy it.
Of course, the imperial court had just won a big victory, which may have given Gao Zhongping some confidence.
Lin Ruhai said: "During the time when Ziyu was supervising the army in the north, there were a lot of controversies between the DPRK and China, but the war has not yet been decided, and the DPRK is still restraining its disputes."
Jia Heng said: "I mentioned this to the Holy One the day before yesterday. A whipping method originated from the previous Ming Dynasty. It also has many disadvantages. It should be tried together with the currency system reform."
Gao Zhongping was not considered radical yet. He divided the land between the peasants and the gentry, and the officials and gentry all paid for it. This was the real thing that stirred up the hornet's nest of the bureaucracy.
But no matter what, according to Huang Zongxi's Law, any tax reform will have accumulated harm.
(End of chapter)
