If Jia Cong had no intuitive impression of the term "rich enough to rival a country" before, then when Cao Jiugong returned to Beijing with the money copied from Shanxi, he truly understood the term "rich enough to rival a country" for the first time.
Four of the eight major Shanxi merchants, Qiao, Chang, Cao, Hou, Qu, Kang, Fan and Kong, were raided. Among them, the four Qiao, Cao, Hou and Qu families were relatively far-sighted and did not participate in collusion with other places. After giving away most of his family property and having important officials in the court as guarantee, he managed to save half of his life.
Carloads of money were being sent to the palace. Old Pixiu Wen Tongxuan's eyes were red, and he lay down at the gate of the palace as soon as he took off his official hat.
"I don't care, if you don't send half of it to the Treasury of the Ministry of Finance, you, Cao Jiugong, will have my body stepped on and taken into the palace!"
This old scoundrel...
The man carrying the money naturally did not dare to push the cart over the old minister's body, so he could only stop in front of the palace gate and wait for the official's order.
Cao Jiugong also has a toothache. This is not hundreds of thousands or millions, but tens of millions of money, enough for the court to squander for several years.
No one could believe that the eight Shanxi merchants had copied half of the money and got 26 million taels of cash. This did not include their houses, shops, silk, silk, pearls, jade and other items.
The most shocking thing is the places where these companies store their money.
Behind the rockery, in the garden, and even under the toilet are the places where they buried their money. When boxes of money were dug out, they were piled up in the courtyards of these families' deep houses.
This group of misers could still stand even after their children and grandchildren died. When the money was taken away, every one of them collapsed on the ground, fainted, fainted, and some even died directly.
Jia Cong sat down on the cash box and listened with interest to the captain of the Long Imperial Guard parroting the story about Shanxi one by one.
"More than twenty-six million taels of silver, sir. I didn't take much rest along the way, for fear that a few silver ingots would fall out if the carriage jolted."
"That's really hard work, brothers of the Dragon Guard. Don't worry, Cao Dudu will definitely give you a holiday when the money is delivered to the treasury."
Jia Cong stood on the cash box and patted the captain's shoulder, then jumped out of the car, came to Wen Tongxuan, knelt down and said, "Master Finance Minister, you can't get any money like this. I have an idea. , I wonder if the boss is willing to listen."
Wen Tongxuan immediately sat up and grabbed Jia Cong's arm: "Boy Cong, don't try to stop me, otherwise I will lie down in front of your house today."
"It's absolutely true. I guarantee that the Minister of Finance can at least get this number..."
Jia Cong showed his eight white teeth and raised a finger with a smile: "This is much more than a year's autumn tax. It is enough for the Finance Minister to live leisurely for a whole year."
Wen Tongxuan was moved. He leaned over and asked in a low voice: "What can be done? Cao Jiugong refuses to agree to the distribution of money, and His Majesty does not want to see me. The Ministry of Revenue really has no money, otherwise I would not have made such a move. The bluestone at the entrance of the palace is so hot that my butt is almost ripe..."
Jia Cong's mouth twitched. Of course the emperor doesn't want to see you. If you get some money when you see him, you will feel at ease and the emperor will feel uncomfortable for a while.
"Hurry up and tell me. If you don't tell me, I will lie down at the gate of Rongguo Mansion!"
Come on, boy, I can't afford to offend you.
"I once heard His Majesty say that the Household Department cannot live without you. The bluestone is very hot today. You are already sixty years old. You have been here in the sun for a long time. It is hot and dry. It’s normal to have a disease and beg for a skeleton.”
This old man was a disobedient person. He immediately puffed his beard and glared: "Nonsense! I'm only fifty-nine, and there are still two months until I'm six... Huh? Why do I feel dizzy..."
The Minister of Finance suddenly fainted and was taken to the Imperial Hospital. Cao Jiugong watched the singing of the old and the young from beginning to end and couldn't help but smile and shake his head.
Then he ordered his men to continue moving money into the palace. Jia Cong dug a hole for the emperor and returned to Rongguo Mansion leisurely while whistling.
The emperor often scolded Wen Tongxuan for being an old man, but in fact he was similar. The eldest brother did not laugh at the second brother, they all had the same temperament.
Most of the Shanxi merchants were wiped out, and so much money was stolen that the court could relax for almost a year.
Now that you have money, let's spend more on the Ministry of Industry.
Wen Tongxuan is an extremely qualified Minister of Household Affairs. The old man has never been stingy in the research of firearms and the construction of naval ships and warships.
Master Pardon was still leading monkeys around in South Vietnam, so Jia Cong naturally wanted to help the old man get more money from the emperor's private treasury.
Moreover, the emperor is either a coward or a poor man, so he picks and chooses every time...
"You bastard, if you turn your elbows outward, I should hang him from a tree and give him a good beating!"
Liu Heng looked at the zhezi that still smelled of ink, and the anger in his heart rushed to his forehead.
This old Pixiu has really become a spirit. He imitates others who hand him begging for bones.
Don’t you just want money?
"Come here, tell Old Man Wen that I will give him five million taels of silver. Don't embarrass yourself in the hospital and go back to the Ministry of Accounts!"
"Your Majesty, Wen Shangshu said that if he didn't have fifteen million taels, he would beg for his bones."
"What? Fifteen million taels? Why didn't he grab it?"
The emperor's liver began to hurt at the thought of having to take away so much money from his finally filled inner treasury.
"Six million, no more..."
The little eunuch was running out of breath, passing messages back and forth, and the Qinzheng Palace roared one after another.
"Seven million! Tell Wen Tongxuan not to go too far!"
"I'm going to kill this old Pixiu..."
"Eight million... If you dare to talk nonsense again, I will definitely kill him!"
Wen Tongxuan felt confident, gritted his teeth and lay in the imperial hospital wailing, and took away ten million taels of silver from the emperor's pocket.
First, he filled the silver cellar he had dug, and the old Pixiu smiled with satisfaction.
Over the years, I have been saving money like a hamster, and finally I have filled up this silver vault. Five million taels of silver, even if all the money outside was spent, with these five million as a foundation, Wen Tongxuan was confident that Daxia could survive the most difficult period.
Bang!
After the silver cellar was blocked, Wen Tongxuan looked at the boxes of silver in the Treasury of the Ministry of Revenue and waved his hand: "Go and call the people from the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War to come over. I have money. Let them report the amount to me. Make me firearms and build me sea ships. The Marquis of Rongguo is still suffering in the south. Boy Cong has helped me a lot, so I just pretended to be a public servant and benefited for my own benefit. I first dealt with the black monkeys in South Vietnam!"
Wen Tongxuan's pretending to serve the public for private purposes was actually something that the emperor and the chief minister had agreed on long ago. The Ministry of Industry had trained a large number of qualified craftsmen in the past six months. If it were not for the lack of money, the three imperial guards would have been equipped with the latest muskets and artillery.
The steady stream of silver was replaced by molten iron and cast into cylinders. The dark muzzles made Jia Cong feel happy just looking at them.
British Duke Zhang Yue selected the best 20,000 troops from the Beijing camp and formed an advance team to head south. All the existing firearms in Jingying were gathered together, and they planned to go to southern Xinjiang for a good practice. .
Now that southern Xinjiang seems to be in crisis, in fact, North Korea and China no longer regard the war in southern Xinjiang as the most urgent matter.
The main reason why the emperor did not directly send his troops south was because after discussing with the big bosses of the cabinet and the governor's office, he felt that the casualties of rushing the troops would be too great and the gain would not be worth the loss.
Anyway, the battle line has been pushed into South Vietnam, so let the Twelve Guards of the Beijing Camp come in rotation and use it as training.
Of course, Daxia's new firearms can also be continuously tested in actual combat in southern Xinjiang. After Jia Cong finished reading the letter in his hand, he couldn't help but secretly thought that these old foxes in the court were really more clever than the other.
Especially the chief assistant who proposed the training of troops in rounds. This old man weighs about a hundred pounds at most and has eight hundred and one tricks.
Dong dong dong...
"Come in."
Jia Cong originally thought it was Baoyu who was calling him to attend some kind of poetry gathering where people drank Qushui, but he didn't expect that the person coming was Yuanyang, the eldest maid next to the old lady.
"What's up?"
Yuanyang's status in the house is not low, even the old lady's favorite Baoyu calls her sister when he sees her.
However, she did not dare to show off in front of Jia Cong. She knelt down and said, "Third Master, Second Master has received an urgent message from Jinling. On the seventh day of July,
At two o'clock, the second mistress gave birth to a daughter..."
Half a month after the Chinese Valentine's Day, Jia Cong kept thinking about his brother and sister-in-law in the south and wrote three letters to Jinling in a row.
Rongxi Hall was already crowded with brothers and sisters of all sizes, and the old lady happily told Mrs. Xing whether she wanted to send more people south.
Jia Cong handed the letter to Yingchun, shook his head and said, "No need for the time being. The second brother already has enough manpower, and they live in Zhenfusi Yamen. If we send people over again, it will only cause trouble for the second brother."
The old lady thought for a moment and nodded, "Indeed, when my fifth daughter-in-law went to Jinling with Brother Yun, all the nannies and so on went with her. I think there will be no shortage of people for the time being..."
Jia Lian is a descendant of the Rongguo Mansion. Even if he only gives birth to a daughter this time, she is still the eldest daughter of the right son of the Rongguo Mansion and has a distinguished status.
In the words of the old lady, it would be normal for her to marry a prince and become his concubine in the future. Everything needed to be used had to be considered to the best. Jia Wu, the deputy commander of the soldiers who stayed behind in Rongguo Mansion, personally led the team and delivered several large carts of things to Jinling.
Not to mention gold, silver and other items among them, several uncles and aunts of the eldest sister alone had made several gold locks.
Especially Xiao Xichun, she packed a whole big box with the toys she had saved, which made everyone laugh.
Just like after all the hardships, Ning Rongjia's family finally passed the most dangerous time.
First, son-in-law Lin Ruhai had an heir, then Yuanchun gave birth to a son, and now Jia Lian and his wife, who had been married for several years without any news, had a daughter.
After hearing the news, relatives and friends came to Rongguo Mansion to congratulate one after another, which made Jia Cong, who had originally planned to study hard, a little uncomfortable.
The commotion had just subsided after several days, but before Jia Cong could catch his breath, the news that Jia Zheng had returned to Beijing to report on his work reached Rongguo Mansion.
This time, even Mr. Jing, who had always been calm, was shocked. The Zhejiang boy test fraud case was suppressed by the cabinet. People from the Third Division had already gone south to investigate, but there was no certainty.
The only good news is that this case has little to do with Jia Zheng. At most, it is a crime of poor supervision, and will be fined a salary or something.
"Brother Zheng himself sent the document and wanted to return to Beijing to report on his work. Originally, the cabinet rejected his request, but His Majesty asked Superintendent Xia to go to the cabinet and asked the Grand Prime Minister to put his seal on the edict. Moreover, the edict was passed on secretly, except for Your Majesty. Not even the elders of the cabinet or the ministers of the six ministries know about it."
Mr. Jing was also confused by the strangeness of this matter. He had studied politics for three years and not even completed it in one year. What kind of job could he describe?
Now people from the Third Division are investigating the case in Zhejiang. Even if Jia Zheng is not a person involved in the case, he should cooperate with the Third Division to investigate the child test fraud case. Why did he come back to the capital?
The old lady also knew the rules of the officialdom very well, and her second son's anomaly made her restless.
"Jing'er, go to the palace and ask about the situation. Zheng'er is not as good as you and the boss. I'm really afraid that he will cause some trouble."
"I'll go. I'll go to the palace for Uncle Jing. I don't know how many people will be unable to sleep. My grandson goes to the palace a lot, and he's very familiar with it!"
Jia Cong took over the matter, firstly because Jia Jing's goal was too big, and secondly because he was more familiar with it in the palace.
The Second Saint treated him like his own grandson (his own son), and it was not easy to inquire about something.
Jia Cong came to the palace by familiar means. He had not been in the palace for half a month since the last time he gave Lao Pixiu a deceptive idea.
He touched his aching buttocks, sighed and moved towards the entrance of Qinzheng Hall.
"Eh? Lord Soken..."
Lu Yang, the censor of Zuodu, strode over. After seeing Jia Cong lingering, he raised his eyebrows and patted him on the shoulder: "Hey, isn't this our Lord Cat? I heard that you have been suffering recently. I read the classics of saints and plan to take the exam of Xiao San Yuan next year. If you ask me, think bigger and learn from your teacher, how about taking the exam of Liu Yuan Lang?"
Jia Cong was almost shaken by the photo, and he grinned and replied: "Master Zongxian is joking, you don't know how much this kid weighs? Just give it a try, give it a try..."
"You're such a smart kid, and you're born with wisdom. It's not easy to pass the Xiao Sanyuan exam..."
Joking
After returning to joking, when the two of them came to the door of Qinzheng Hall, Lu Yang whispered in Jia Cong's ear: "Your second uncle has done something earth-shattering. You'd better be careful and be careful with His Majesty..." "
After saying that, he bowed and stood, and the little eunuch at the door was already reporting inside.
"Lu Yang, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, please see me!"
"Jia Cong, the first-class son of Ziyang County, please see me!"
Jia Zheng's current appearance shocked Jia Cong. The fair-skinned Master Zheng was now dark and thin, with no trace of elegance. Instead, his eyes were like hawks, revealing undisguised murderous intent.
Jia Cong resisted asking, and after meeting the emperor, he stood aside and waited for the emperor's lecture.
"Lu Qing, you have also read Jia Qing's secret report. The imperial examination is a great ceremony for the country to promote talents, and the boy examination is the cornerstone of the imperial examination. Now some people are even trying to hollow out the cornerstone. It is really unbelievable and eye-opening to me. The procuratorate censor of the Procuratorate in Zhejiang also became their helper. If Jia Qing hadn't been careful, he might have become a soul under the sword."
"I am guilty..."
The emperor raised his hand and interrupted Lu Yang's apology.
"Don't do this. I ordered you not to listen to these useless words. Now that Jia Qing has brought back so many clues, I order you to investigate the case closely and make sure that the Xilin Party members in the court are revealed. Cut off all the tentacles!"
Oh ~ Xilin Party!
Jia Cong finally figured out why his second uncle was in such a mess and why he was like this.
If we talk about the biggest cancer in Jiangnan, one is the local wealthy merchants and gentry headed by the Zhen family, who control the government and economy of Jiangnan.
The second is that the Xilin Party is the mainstay, and the large and small academic societies have joined together to form a powerful academic faction that can influence half of the south of the Yangtze River.
A shocking case of fraud broke out in Zhejiang's children's examination this year. To put it bluntly, the political master who landed in Zhejiang exceeded the expectations of the Xilin Party members.
Who makes Mr. Zheng a pedantic person? The emperor gave him the post of academic administration. As soon as he went to Zhejiang, he inspected the academic affairs of various prefectures and counties.
In particular, the government officials will pay close attention to the admissions for the county examination and the government examination. He retrieved the archives of children from various prefectures and counties in Zhejiang in the past three years, and at the same time inspected various places incognito.
This inspection almost made Mr. Zheng faint from anger. The talented people are not listed on the list. As long as they are related to Xilin, they can be high school scholars even if they can't write limericks.
So Mr. Huzheng paid close attention to this year's college examination arrangements. The Xilin party members originally thought that the second generation Xun, who relied on nepotism to become an academician, was a greedy and lustful person who gave away money and women.
But I don't want this delivery to be like poking Master Zheng's lungs and causing them huge trouble...
?Monthly ticket??Recommended ticket?
