The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 656 Growing Corruption
Emperor Qiansheng returned to the inner palace with a cold and stern expression. All the palace servants remained silent, fearing they might incur his wrath at this moment. Shi Dayong, with a fawning smile, said, "Your Majesty, I heard that the West Garden is almost finished with its renovations. With the afternoon sun shining so brightly, why don't we take a stroll there?"

Emperor Qiansheng pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Very well!"

Located west of the Forbidden City, Xiyuan was the largest royal garden in Beijing, with mountains and water, including Taiye Pond. After Emperor Kangping abdicated, he lived in seclusion in Xiyuan. Later, his restoration failed, and he set himself on fire in the Jingxin Hall of Xiyuan. After that, Emperor Qiansheng ordered the renovation of Xiyuan. Almost all the original palaces were demolished and rebuilt, which cost a huge amount of money. Many court officials strongly opposed it, but Emperor Qiansheng turned a deaf ear and continued to do as he pleased.

Emperor Qiansheng's actions provoked strong dissatisfaction among a group of students from the Imperial Academy. These passionate scholars jointly submitted a memorial accusing Emperor Qiansheng of becoming increasingly arrogant and extravagant since the death of the retired emperor, indulging in pleasure, and engaging in large-scale construction projects and wasteful spending. In response, Emperor Qiansheng simply wrote a dismissive comment on the memorial: "All expenses are paid from the imperial treasury; what does it have to do with you?"

The inner treasury is the emperor's private treasury. In other words, it means: I'm spending my own money, I haven't touched a single penny of the national treasury, so what's it to you!
Emperor Qiansheng's reply immediately caused an uproar throughout the court, as if a hornet's nest had been stirred up. As the saying goes, "Scholars die for their principles, warriors die in battle," and those students of the Imperial Academy were in the prime of their lives, fearless and unafraid of tigers. They submitted their memorials indignantly, their words fierce and scathing, denouncing Emperor Qiansheng and pointing out that the silver in Emperor Qiansheng's treasury was all the hard-earned money of the people, extorted from all over the country by mining supervisors and tax collectors.

Gradually, the students turned their attention to Shi Dayong, the director of the Eastern Depot, accusing the eunuch faction of ruining the country and demanding his immediate arrest and the recall of mining supervisors and tax collectors throughout the country. This move resonated throughout the country and gained considerable momentum.

Shi Dayong was both shocked and frightened. He hurriedly apologized to Emperor Qiansheng, crying and pleading for forgiveness. The latter supported Shi Dayong for two reasons: first, to check the civil official group, and second, because Shi Dayong was good at making money. How could he possibly cripple himself? So he was furious and ordered the arrest or demotion of the students and the officials who led the riot. Several people were even beaten to death in court before the incident was finally suppressed.

From then on, Emperor Qiansheng not only did not punish Shi Dayong, but also favored him even more. This was because there were signs that the Donglin Party was stirring up trouble behind this political incident, which further solidified Emperor Qiansheng's idea of ​​"controlling the outside with the inside" and relying on eunuchs to check the civil official group, especially the Donglin faction.

Ironically, back then, Emperor Qiansheng relied on the civil official group represented by the Donglin Party to fight against the retired emperor. Now that he has secured the throne, he has begun to cultivate the power of eunuchs to deal with the Donglin faction. Truly, times have changed!

Getting back to the main point, when Emperor Qiansheng arrived at the Western Garden, he saw the brand-new palaces and buildings rising from the ground, magnificent and beautiful. His originally bad mood improved greatly, and he praised Shi Dayong. Jia Yucun, the director of the Construction Department of the Ministry of Works who was in charge of supervising the construction of the Western Garden, was also commended for this.

It is worth mentioning that Jia Yucun, this traitor, was originally implicated by Wang Ziteng and had been dismissed from his post. Later, he managed to get back on the good side of Shi Dayong and was reinstated as an assistant minister in the Ministry of Works. Now he has been promoted to a senior minister in the Ministry of Works, in charge of the Construction Department, and his official position is now on par with Jia Zheng.

It must be said that Jia Yucun, this double agent, is indeed adept at scheming and taking shortcuts. He has experienced many ups and downs without suffering any damage. He is very successful in the officialdom, which is incomparable to someone like Jia Zheng, who has mediocre political talent.

After Emperor Qiansheng returned to the warm pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation after touring the Western Garden, he continued to review the mountain of memorials, but his mood quickly soured again. These memorials from local officials were either reporting disasters and requesting tax reductions, or accusing local mining supervisors and tax officials of wrongdoing and exploiting the people to the bone.

For example, many parts of Henan and Hebei suffered from severe drought, with no rain falling for most of last year. Local officials requested a year-long tax exemption and opened granaries to provide relief to the victims. Meanwhile, the Guangdong and Guangxi regions experienced severe flooding, with dozens of townships and counties requesting tax exemptions from the imperial court. Furthermore, many parts of Shanxi and Shaanxi suffered from locust plagues, resulting in a complete crop failure in the second half of last year, leaving the people starving.

The more Emperor Qiansheng read, the more displeased he became. He simply put all the reports of disasters aside, and those accusing mining supervisors and tax officials of exploiting the people were completely shelved.

It is said that when Emperor Qiansheng first ascended the throne, he was quite diligent in governing and caring for the people. He was also open-minded and receptive to advice. However, after he was freed from the constraints of the retired emperor, he gradually became arrogant and self-willed. In particular, after he thwarted the retired emperor's conspiracy to restore the throne, Emperor Qiansheng not only became selfish and suspicious, but also began to pursue pleasure, expand his harem, and engage in large-scale construction projects, spending money like water. For example, this year's Lantern Festival was an unprecedentedly grand lantern festival, costing a staggering 500,000 taels of silver.

To maintain his extravagant lifestyle, Emperor Qiansheng naturally had to find ways to make money, and Shi Dayong was now his money bag. All the money amassed by mining supervisors and tax collectors across the country was turned over to the imperial treasury. Therefore, when local officials reported that mining supervisors and tax collectors were exploiting the people, Emperor Qiansheng was unwilling to believe it, and even if he did, he would not cut off his own source of income.

Shi Dayong was not only the director of the Eastern Depot, but also the chief eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial. He was responsible for delivering the memorials drafted by the Grand Secretariat to Emperor Qiansheng's desk. After Emperor Qiansheng reviewed them, they were sent back to the Grand Secretariat for implementation. Therefore, he knew the contents of the memorials. He would write down which official impeached him in a small notebook and then seek opportunities to retaliate. He would not stop until he had ruined the other party's family. As a result, there were far fewer officials who dared to directly impeach Shi Dayong.

Meanwhile, Shi Dayong was serving at the emperor's desk. Seeing that Emperor Qiansheng had kept the memorials reporting on the mining supervisors and tax officials in the palace without issuing them, he was extremely pleased. He quickly offered a cup of ginseng tea and said with a fawning smile, "Your Majesty works hard for the country and is busy with many affairs every day. You must take good care of your health. Have a cup of ginseng tea and rest."

Emperor Qiansheng rubbed his temples, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and coldly rebuked, "These incompetent local officials are always asking the court to exempt them from taxes, but they don't realize that if taxes aren't collected, what will my army spend? And where will their salaries come from?"

Shi Dayong nodded and bowed in agreement, saying, "It is indeed outrageous. Paying taxes to farmers is a matter of course. This old servant believes that these cunning officials and people are just trying to evade taxes under the pretext of natural disasters. Compared to the previous dynasty, our dynasty's taxes are already low, yet they are still not satisfied."

Emperor Qiansheng's heart stirred. He tossed the memorials reporting disasters and tax reductions to Shi Dayong and ordered, "Send people to the local area to verify secretly. If anyone is found to have lied about the disaster situation, punish them severely!" Shi Dayong was secretly delighted and quickly agreed. Among these local officials who reported the disasters were some who had impeached him. He had been thinking about how to retaliate, and now this was his chance.
Emperor Qiansheng yawned and said indifferently, "That's enough for today, I'm going to rest now!"

Shi Dayong hurriedly asked, "Where did His Majesty travel today?"

"Shaohua Palace," Emperor Qiansheng said without hesitation.

Consort Li of Shaohua Palace is a newly acquired concubine. She is young and beautiful and skilled in singing and dancing. Emperor Qiansheng has been quite infatuated with her lately. However, when he saw Daiyu and Baochai during his farewell ceremony today, Emperor Qiansheng felt that Consort Li was not so amazing in comparison. It is a pity that he has already ordered these two women to be married off to Hami. Otherwise, he would definitely have taken them into the harem to enjoy.

"By the way, where is Princess Kangle now?" Emperor Qiansheng suddenly asked.

Shi Dayong replied, "Your Majesty, Princess Kangle is staying at Liangxiang Post Station tonight."

Emperor Qiansheng nodded and said calmly, "Is Jia Huan any more obedient?"

Shi Dayong replied, "There was quite a commotion when I went to the princess's residence to pick up Princess Kangle today."

Emperor Qiansheng's gaze turned slightly cold as he asked, "How is it?"

"It turns out that the Xue family girl has a congenital illness that requires a pill called Cold Fragrance Pill when she has an attack. Coincidentally, she recently had an attack, but Duan Yong confiscated the pill. Jia Huan stood up for Xue Baochai and made a scene with Duan Yong. To avoid delaying the auspicious time, Duan Yong gave him the pill. Hehe, it seems that Jia Huan really has a special relationship with Xue Baochai, but he also defied the imperial decree for the sake of a woman surnamed Lin... Ahem, this old servant has spoken out of turn!"

Emperor Qiansheng, with a stern face and a hint of sarcasm, said, "He's quite the romantic. Duan Yong should keep a close eye on him. If Jia Huan does anything improper, kill him without mercy!"

"Yes!" Shi Dayong quickly agreed. He actually hoped that Jia Huan would cause some trouble on this trip, so as to eliminate future problems.

Jia Huan is indeed a rare talent, but compared to him, Emperor Qiansheng is obviously more concerned about his own reputation. Jia Huan dared to disobey the imperial decree and must be severely punished. This time, sending Jia Huan as the marriage envoy is both Emperor Qiansheng's punishment of Jia Huan and a test of his obedience.

If Jia Huan honestly sends Lin Daiyu to Hami for a political marriage, Emperor Qiansheng will continue to rely on him. However, if Jia Huan dares to do anything improper on the way to the wedding, Emperor Qiansheng will not hesitate to eliminate him.

…………

It is said that there has been a fixed route from the capital of the Great Jin Dynasty to Hami since ancient times, known as the Silk Road. Envoys and merchants traveling between the East and West would generally follow this route, not only because the road conditions were better, but also because it was safer.

First, starting from the capital, one travels to Baoding, then south along the eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains to Anyang, crosses the Yellow River to Luoyang, and then crosses Tongguan Pass to Xi'an. From Xi'an, one travels along the Pingliang Line to Lanzhou, traversing the Hexi Corridor to Jiayuguan Pass. Once past Jiayuguan Pass, one leaves the territory of the Great Jin Dynasty. The journey from Jiayuguan Pass to Hami is over 600 kilometers, making the total distance approximately 3300 kilometers. This typically takes three to four months for merchants and travelers, assuming everything goes smoothly. In case of severe weather or unforeseen events, the journey could potentially take up to six months.

In other words, a round trip from the capital of the Jin Dynasty to Hami would take at least seven or eight months, or even nearly a year.

After resting for one night at Liangxiang Post Station, Jia Huan and the others escorted Lin Daiyu southward the next morning. They traveled day and night for half a month before finally entering Henan Province and arriving at the Yellow River ferry near Jiaozuo.

(End of this chapter)