The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 545: Observation of Government in Wenhua Palace

On this day, Jia Huan went to work at the Hanlin Academy as usual, but was notified to attend the noon court in Wenhua Hall to observe the government affairs.

The court meetings of the Jin Dynasty can be divided into grand court meetings and regular court meetings, and regular court meetings are further divided into morning court meetings and noon court meetings. The morning court meetings are held at the Fengtian Gate, and are called "Imperial Court Hearings". During the morning court meetings, the emperor usually only listens to the reports from ministers, but the real issues are dealt with during the noon court meetings. If there are thorny issues, a court meeting will be held to discuss them specifically, such as deciding on candidates for important positions, which is also called court recommendation.

Although Jia Huan is a newly crowned top scholar, he is not currently qualified to attend the noon court. Of course, it would be a different matter if he attended the court as an observer as a newly crowned Jinshi.

The noon court was usually held in the Wenhua Hall, about half an hour after lunch, so after lunch, Jia Huan rushed to the Wenhua Hall, only to find that not only him, but also more than 20 new scholars including Liu Tongsheng, Liu Yi, Huang Cong, and Zhang Pu had come.

Since it was the first time to attend the noon court, everyone was nervous and excited. They just nodded to each other and lined up outside the hall waiting. Those standing in the front were the bigwigs among the civil and military officials, and they all had serious expressions. Jia Huan and other newcomers were even more afraid to even breathe.

Finally, the time came. Officials entered the Wenhua Hall one after another and stood in two groups, civil and military. The scholars who were watching the government stood behind the civil officials. So this time Jia Huan stood behind old man Zheng again, and the distance was even closer. His raised butt was right within reach. If he was kicked from behind, he would surely be crushed to death.

Let's get back to the point. After Emperor Qiansheng ascended the throne, all the ministers finished their kowtows and stood up. The eunuch on duty stepped forward and cracked a whip, shouting sharply: "If you have a petition, please submit. If you don't, please leave the court."

As soon as he finished speaking, an official stepped out and said, "I have a memorial to this effect."

Jia Huan recognized him at a glance. This man was none other than Jiao Fang, the Censor-in-Chief whom he had met in Yangzhou. He was a member of the Donglin Party and had now been transferred back to Beijing to serve as Assistant Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, a position of fourth rank, which could be considered a high promotion.

Emperor Qiansheng said calmly: "Play it."

Jiao Fang said, "Since Lord Shi retired due to illness, the cabinet has been vacant for nearly a year, so I dare to recommend Mr. Zhao, a Hanlin scholar, to fill the vacancy."

As soon as this was said, officials from the Donglin Party stood up one after another to express their support.

Emperor Qiansheng nodded, looked at Zhao Mingcheng, the leader of the Donglin Party, and said, "Everyone recommends Zhao Aiqing to join the cabinet. What do you think, Zhao Aiqing?"

Zhao Mingcheng quickly stepped out and politely declined, saying, "I am a humble official with limited knowledge and talent. How dare I sit in the cabinet? Please, Your Majesty, choose someone else who is more capable."

Ever since Emperor Qiansheng threatened Zhao Mingcheng with his ranking in the palace examination, he has been much more low-key recently and has declined to join the cabinet three times in a row.

Emperor Qiansheng frowned and said calmly, "My dear Zhao, you are too modest. I think there is no one more suitable than you. Let's do this. Don't refuse again. From today on, Zhao's family will be promoted to Grand Secretary of Huagai Palace and officially join the cabinet to participate in the affairs of the cabinet."

Zhao Mingcheng was secretly delighted and immediately knelt down and kowtowed: "I obey your order. Thank you!"

Emperor Qiansheng nodded and said, "Lord Zhao, please stand up. Who else has something else to report?"

Although the power of the old imperial faction has been disintegrated, Emperor Qiansheng still has to rely on the power of the Donglin Party headed by Zhao Mingcheng. This time, allowing Zhao Mingcheng to join the cabinet is obviously intended to appease him, a typical case of giving someone a sweet reward after giving him a stick.

At this time, another official stepped forward and said, "I have a memorial to the emperor."

"Liu Qing's family should report to us first." Emperor Qiansheng said calmly.

This Liu Qing is Liu Yi's father, Liu Qing, courtesy name Mu Bai, currently serving as a Langzhong in the Ministry of Revenue. He was a Jinshi in the early years of Kangping, about 40 years old, and his face is about 50% similar to Liu Yi, with long flowing beard and gentle manner.

Since Jia Huan joined the Hanlin Academy, he had met Liu's father once. They chatted for a few minutes. This man was well-spoken and knowledgeable. He was worthy of being born in a scholarly family. No wonder he cultivated such a talented person like his senior brother Liu Yi.

Let's get back to the point. Liu Qing stepped out and said, "Liaodong is under pressure now. We have deployed 200,000 soldiers and the military expenditure is huge. Last year, many parts of the country suffered from disasters and poor harvests. The coast was also plundered by pirates. Therefore, the treasury expenditure is more urgent this year. Therefore, I implore you to increase industrial and commercial taxes in the Jiangnan area to cope with the financial shortage."

"I object." As soon as Liu Qing finished speaking, the newly appointed Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Xie Qian, immediately stepped forward and refuted him sternly: "Since Jiangnan suffered from pirates last year, why are you levying additional taxes on industry and commerce? Isn't this adding insult to injury and draining the pond to catch fish?" Ever since the fall of the Minister of Revenue Shi Yuqi, the Donglin faction has controlled the Ministry of Revenue, the purse. Not only the Minister of Revenue, but even the left and right vice ministers were replaced by Donglin party members. Now the newly appointed Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Xie Qian, is a member of the Donglin party.

As mentioned in the previous article, most of the Donglin Party members were from Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas. They all had family businesses to a greater or lesser extent and had a huge chain of interests in Jiangnan. Liu Qing proposed to levy taxes on Jiangnan's industry and commerce, but the Donglin Party members naturally disagreed, so there was a lot of opposition for a while.

Liu Qing was a man of integrity and outspokenness. He did not back down just because Xie Qian was his immediate superior. He responded generously, "Last year's pirate disaster mainly affected the salt fields and the people in several coastal counties. It had little impact on prosperous places like Yangzhou, Jinling, Suzhou, and Hangzhou. In addition, the industry and commerce in the Jiangnan area were well developed, and the local merchants and gentry made a lot of money. Even if a 10% tax increase was imposed, it would not be unsustainable."

"Lord Liu is wrong. As the saying goes, when trade prospers, all industries will prosper. If we increase taxes on industry and commerce, prices will inevitably soar, which will seriously affect people's livelihood and may even cause civil unrest. We should be extremely cautious. It is better to increase the salt tax." Jiao Fang, the Chief Censor of the Censorate, stepped forward again and joined the siege of Liu Qing.

Liu Qing said angrily, "Master Jiao is exaggerating too much. Besides, the salt tax was raised last year. If it is raised again this year, the common people won't even be able to afford salt. Are you afraid of causing a civil uprising?"

"Lord Liu is absolutely right. We cannot raise the salt tax any further." Qi Qin, the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, stepped forward to support Liu Qing.

The Liu and Qi families were old friends and almost became married. Liu Yi and Miss Qi Wanruo were childhood sweethearts, but unfortunately the latter was chosen and sent to Hami to marry, and eventually died in a foreign country.

Liu Qing and Qi Qin were not from the Donglin faction, but they had the same political ideas and were old friends, so naturally they had a very close friendship. It was only natural for Qi Qin to come forward to support Liu Qing at this time.

Next, Liu Qing and Qi Qin teamed up to have a verbal battle with the Donglin Party members. They argued with each other, their faces flushed, saliva flying, and they almost rolled up their sleeves to fight. Jia Huan and other new scholars were stunned. Liu Yi's face turned redder. In his mind, the image of his father Liu Qing had always been gentle and elegant, but at this moment, his hair and beard stood on end, and he even swore in excitement, which almost destroyed classmate Liu's world view.

Seeing that the argument was going on, Emperor Qiansheng on the throne became obviously impatient and snorted coldly. The Wenhua Hall, which had been noisy, suddenly became quiet.

Emperor Qiansheng glanced gloomily, his eyes fell on the cabinet chief Li Biao, and said calmly: "Mr. Li, do you think we should increase industrial and commercial taxes?"

Li Biao, the chief minister of the cabinet, was originally from the line of the retired emperor. Although he gained the position of chief minister of the cabinet by switching sides at the last minute, he knew that he could not gain the trust of Emperor Qiansheng. In addition, the Donglin Party headed by Zhao Mingcheng was powerful, so he did not dare to offend them. He considered and said, "Increasing taxes is only a stopgap measure, just like trying to stop a boiling pot by adding more water. It only treats the symptoms but not the root cause."

Emperor Qiansheng exclaimed, "Does Lord Li have a plan to solve the problem?"

Li Biao said: "The national treasury is tight because of the long-term deployment of 200,000 troops in Liaodong and the massive construction projects, which are naturally costly."

Emperor Qiansheng frowned and said, "What good plan does Lord Li have? Do you want me to withdraw the 200,000 troops back to the interior of the Great Wall and hand over the land outside the Great Wall to the Jiannu?"

Li Biao said hurriedly, "No, no, the art of war is about luck, and speed is the most important thing. Xiong Tingbai has 200,000 soldiers, but he was afraid to fight for a long time. Instead, he built fortresses and cleared the fields, and built fortresses, which led to rising military expenditures every year. The waste is astonishing. I think Xiong Tingbai is not qualified for the post of governor of Liaodong. He wasted the opportunity to fight and wasted the national treasury. He is suspected of holding his own troops. He should be transferred back to the capital to be punished, and another capable person should be sent to lead the army to resist the enemy."

When these words were spoken, all the officials present gasped. If it was about wasting opportunities and being afraid to fight, that was a problem of personal ability, but Li Biao accused Xiong Tingbai of having his own troops and being self-reliant, which clearly showed that he wanted to put Xiong Tingbai to death. What kind of grudge was that?
Jia Huan's heart skipped a beat. Although the Great Jin Dynasty was not the Great Ming Dynasty, the current situation was similar to that of the late Ming Dynasty. He didn't know whether this Xiong Tingbai was the same person as Xiong Tingbi of the late Ming Dynasty, but he thought they were similar.

Because the strategy adopted by Xiong Tingbi in the late Ming Dynasty was exactly the same as that of Xiong Tingbai in the current Jin Dynasty, and both were quite effective and successfully resisted the powerful cavalry of the Qing Dynasty. If Xiong Tingbi was given enough time and money, he could advance step by step and build Diaobao to Shenyang, and Nurhaci would be unable to do anything about it. I am afraid that the history of the late Ming Dynasty would have to be rewritten.

Unfortunately, there are no "ifs" in this world. The financial resources of the late Ming Dynasty could not support Xiong Tingbi's strategic consumption, and he could only die in regret in the end. Now the financial situation of the Great Jin Dynasty is obviously much better than that of the late Ming Dynasty. If Emperor Qiansheng had not been confused, it might have been possible for him to slowly block and strangle the Qing Dynasty.

Let's get back to the topic. After Li Biao proposed to dismiss Xiong Tingbai, he immediately received a warm response from the Donglin officials. On the one hand, they did not want to increase industrial and commercial taxes. On the other hand, Xiong Tingbai was not a member of the Donglin Party and he had 200,000 troops under his command outside. This made people feel uneasy. They had to get rid of him and replace him with their own people to feel at ease.

Emperor Qiansheng was obviously tempted. Xiong Tingbai spent too much money, which made him, the emperor, feel distressed. Moreover, if the major concern in the Northeast was not eliminated, his throne would be unstable. With Xiong Tingbai being so conservative, how could he eliminate the major concern of the Jiannu? He had to cut the Gordian knot quickly.

Emperor Qiansheng hesitated for a moment, and finally made up his mind. He said calmly: "If that's the case, then remove Xiong Tingbai and transfer him back to the capital to be punished!"

Jia Huan couldn't help but frowning, thinking to himself, "It's over!"

(End of this chapter)