Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 111 (New Year’s greetings to everyone, I wish you all a fortune in the New Year)

Seeing his brother-in-law being beaten to a pulp, Zhang Ting'en decided to take advantage of him. Looking back at his wife, Mrs. Zhang Wu was very satisfied with the effect of today's auditing class. She came out with a smile, grabbed Wu Anzhong's ears, and pulled him away directly. .

Wu Anzhong was able to make a decent exit. He pretended to resist for a while and then resigned obediently.

After going out, Wu Anzhong rubbed his ears and complained: "Sister, please save some face for me."

Zhang Wu sneered: "Do you still have any face to speak of? How about I send you back and continue to fight against Jia Lian?"

Wu Anzhong suddenly fell silent. He never wanted to face what happened just now.

Seeing her brother's expression ugly, Mrs. Zhang Wu sighed and said, "Your brother-in-law and Jia Lian are usually together, and they talk about things in the court. I asked you to stay and listen, so that you can gain some knowledge. I know. Let’s take a look at how people in the imperial court do things, and what are the things in private that cannot be explained to outsiders. It’s a pity that I think highly of you. I thought that after reading a few books and traveling all over the world, there is nothing you don’t understand. Dare to be right with others. Are you really a scholar who can know the affairs of the world without going out? Zhuge Liang knew three parts of the world before he was born in a cottage. That is because he set out from Langya to escape the war and arrived in Jingzhou. What he saw and heard along the way made him know the real people's sentiments. National conditions.”

These words are not Zhang Wu's own opinions, but what Zhang Ting'en said privately when talking about Wu Anzhong. It is about Wu Anzhong who was successful as a young man and thought that although the world was big, he could go anywhere. Little did they know that a person like him, who had never seen the world and was traveling alone, could make people go crazy and make meat buns on any pier by the canal.

"Don't compare yourself with Jia Lian. He has a family background and has been in contact with the top dignitaries since he was a child. With a little effort, he can see more than you. Furthermore, your brother-in-law said that although Jia Lian was born He is rich, but he is a person who can stoop down and look at the living conditions of the people at the bottom. This is a monster, and we will not compare with the monster."

Outside the study, Mrs. Zhang Wu was taking the opportunity to educate her younger brother, but the conversation between the master and the apprentice in the study suddenly disappeared.

Neither of them wanted to talk. Zhang Ting'en went directly to the recliner, squinting his eyes and wondering what he was thinking. Jia Lian did not sit upright, but sat on the chair, leaning on the back of the chair in a daze, wandering around the world.

Jia Lian nodded: "It is not easy for an emperor to want to do something. People around him, around him, and around him are all vested interests. This dynasty has lasted for three generations, and internal interests have been divided up. If you want to make a fuss internally, you will definitely It was opposed by everyone. As far as this dynasty is concerned, the population in the north has dropped sharply after the war, and the situation is better. In some places in the south, taxes have been owed for many years. No matter how hard the court tries to collect them, they just can't collect them."

Zhang Ting'en was not afraid of what his wife would hear, and said to Jia Lian directly: "Your Majesty, it's difficult!"

Zhang Ting'en was stunned by these words. After hearing this, Mrs. Zhang Wu was reluctant to leave. She stayed behind Zhang Ting'en and raised her hands to rub his temples. She knew that her husband must have a headache now.

"You said that if you want to develop in a good direction now, you must think of ways to do it externally. I want to ask, is there no way to do it internally?" Zhang Ting'en still seemed unwilling to give up.

Jia Lian couldn't help but laugh: "Teacher, how can this be said in anger? This is the truth! You come from a poor family, how come you have 180 acres of land at home? Otherwise you can't afford to support a person who is not engaged in production. It costs a lot of money to be a scholar. Did your family situation improve quickly after you won the imperial examination? Now that you are in a high position, does the letter from your family tell you that you are surrounded by good people, who speak nicely, do things beautifully, and do things you never expected? The local officials have mentioned that your family has thought of it and done it first."

Zhang Tingen frowned after hearing this: "Don't say angry words!"

As long as local officials are willing to cooperate with the local gangsters, who wouldn't leave with a lot of money?

Three years to clear the magistrate, one hundred thousand snowflakes and silver!

"Is there really no way to improve internally? I'm so unwilling!" Zhang Ting'en sighed melancholy.

Anyone who has read a little bit of history books knows that Wang Anshi's reform and Zhang Juzheng's reform had big problems in the execution of the former. All the reforms went out of shape. The latter's reform started with the examination law, which made it difficult for officials to make a living. Both reforms alleviated the court's financial problems to a certain extent, but the consequences of the reforms accelerated the decline of the regime.

Until Mrs. Zhang Wu came in with her maid carrying tea and snacks, the master and the apprentice sat upright.

After any country has experienced long-term social stability, conservative forces will definitely become the most powerful force.

More ruthless and capable officials, such as Sun Chuanting, can be treated obediently by the local gentry. The vast majority of officials are lazy in administration. If they can be lazy, they will be lazy. Anyway, they serve in one place for one short term, two longer terms, and then they are transferred. Isn't it more satisfying to live comfortably for a few years than to work exhaustingly against the landlords and gentry?

If the Zhang family is like this, how many officials are there in the capital? How many officials are there in each province? Even if the situation of the official's family is not as exaggerated as that of the Zhang family, it must be cared for by local officials to a certain extent. When the power of local gentry has developed to a certain extent, all major affairs of local officials are inseparable from their cooperation.

After Confucianism became the mainstream, many jokes were made. When the ancient-advocating sect was in power, they imagined that the world would be unified in three generations. Then Wang Mang was brought in to restore the well-field system, and the country was in a mess.

PS: Let me make a digression. The so-called street stall literature idea that Wang Mang is a time traveler can be dismissed. Wang Mang was introduced by the retro-retrospective faction and wanted to restore the so-called Zhou rites, which had nothing to do with time travellers.

Jia Lian didn't want to say anything else. Zhang Ting'en actually understood everything, but he just couldn't escape the trouble of finding the direction of his personal struggle.

Both changes have the same purpose, to make money for the court. So let me ask you, will the country sages happily dig into their pockets?

The outcome is preordained and the cost is passed on.

Jia Lian couldn't help but sneer after hearing this: "Of course there is a way, kill some, bleed some, and replace some. No matter how tough those people are, just don't talk nonsense to them, just ask them directly, do they really think they are members of the imperial court?" Isn’t the knife fast?”

"The easiest way to divert internal conflicts is to create an external enemy, and this enemy is very rich. If you rob this enemy, everyone can live a good life, and there will be hope for life. The lower the people are, the more they need it. See the hope of living and that life will get better. Once people lose hope of survival and have nothing to lose, they will definitely take risks."

Jia Lian's current identity and status can only make such inductive suggestions. At the same time, it is also thanks to the teacher in front of me that he has the opportunity to make suggestions. Otherwise, if you go through formal channels, it will really be like ordinary people venting their dissatisfaction on the Internet. They feel refreshed after venting, but in the end they vent their loneliness.

What Zhang Ting'en admires about Jia Lian is that he is not conservative in his thinking and can always jump out of the shackles of existing knowledge. He may seem unconstrained and deviant, but upon careful consideration, he is actually very maneuverable. "Now the imperial court has a port open to the outside world. You can make money by staying at home. No one wants to go out and take risks."

Zhang Tingen gave a reason that is closest to the truth. Whether it is domestic businessmen or the court, this is the idea.

In this era of foreign trade, the Zhou Dynasty had an absolute surplus, and tea and porcelain were completely exclusive businesses.

"Foreigners are all barbarians. This is how the so-called knowledgeable people of this dynasty see it. It has been almost two hundred years since Europa started the Age of Discovery. It has brought back huge amounts of wealth to Europe through colonization. In order to compete for colonies within Europa, it has been two hundred years. War continued during the period, giving birth to a world-wide maritime power, England. If we continue to uphold the mentality of a kingdom in heaven, the foreigners' strong ships and guns will hit the door sooner or later. It is unreasonable to reason with them, because in this world, Truth only lies within the range of a cannon.”

Jia Lian said slowly, not in a hurry. After all, he would definitely not see that day. It would be best if he could change. If he could not change, he would continue to express his opinions through newspapers. He did not need the recognition of the moment. There would really be something in the future. Then one day, someone will always remember what he said.

In fact, in the capital's newspapers, there are many writers who satirize Jia Lian's introduction to Europe, and there is no shortage of fans.

Let’s understand the value of the four words “Heavenly Kingdom”.

Literally, all the surrounding countries were on their knees!

Jia Lian knew very well that no matter how loud he shouted, no one would believe it.

How to do it? Then don't just talk, make some real moves.

For example, regarding the scam mentioned earlier, are there any gold mines overseas?

It really does exist, but it's a little too far away. Even if the imperial court knew about it, it might not be tempted.

But this country has a population of over 100 million and is almost 200 million. There will always be people who are willing to take risks. At this time, all it takes is a gentle push from the court officials, and if someone takes the first step, the next thing will be much easier to handle.

"What you are talking about is too far away for now. The issue that His Majesty is most concerned about right now is to solve the problem within the imperial court. The first is the issue of money. After the minting of silver coins is started, it is expected that within three to five years, the problem of the imperial court's insufficient income will be greatly alleviated. The second is the issue of money. Regarding the issue of the Jingying camp, with Wang Ziteng, you have to build a good relationship from now on. The military leaders on the Liaodong side still recognize the Jia family's accounts. If the Jia family does not have outstanding figures in the future and this generation of old people is gone, the relationship will fade. Okay. Aren’t you the one who got ahead of yourself?"

Zhang Ting'en was able to speak to this extent, and Jia Lian's originally relaxed mentality became tense. The Jia family was able to send out two Jiedushi envoys in the capital camp, relying on the proud and powerful generals of Liaodong. Suppressing foreign races, fighting back against foreign enemies, and making great achievements in battle, one family and two masters deserve the title. The suppression during the Taishang Queen period was certainly one of the reasons for the decline of the Jia family, but the real reason was that there were no successors.

Zhang Ting'en pointed this out very clearly, implicitly hinting to Jia Lian that during this special period when two generations of emperors were entangled, the value of the four major families headed by the Jia family was actually magnified. In the field of military generals, there will be a Wang Ziteng, and in the field of civil servants, it is foreseeable that it will be Jia Lian. So how do you view the four major families from the emperor's perspective?

Faced with such words, Jia Lian gave the answer without hesitation: "The Jia family has a group of people who are loyal to His Majesty."

Zhang Ting'en said this with a smile. He didn't know what others were thinking. Jia Lian had expressed his feelings. Whoever becomes the emperor will be my final choice. Now that Emperor Chenghui is on the throne, what else is there to say?

You will know that this is the truth as soon as you hear it, and it clearly explains the Jia family's original way of survival. Very convincing!

"Your Majesty and I have discussed it. The Ministry of Revenue will join hands with the clan government to launch the Royal Central Bank. It is tentatively planned to set up headquarters in Jingshi, Jinling, Guangzhou, and Ningbo to achieve global connectivity. This idea came from you, and there are only a few Talent knows. If you can hold a large amount of funds in your hands through a bank, it will be something you can’t even imagine.”

Zhang Tingen's words revealed the fact that neither Emperor Chenghui nor he was very sure, and they really just had a try mentality.

"Rules are very important. Your Majesty must formulate a clear system. The first rule is that no matter who becomes the emperor, he cannot use the bank as a piggy bank. Those who have no money can ask for it from the bank. If you do this, there will be great distance in the world. The beacon fire is not far away."

This sentence once again silenced Zhang Ting'en. Rules are made by people. Which person in power is willing to abide by the rules? Isn’t it always possible to do whatever feels good and saves trouble?

"With the credibility of the imperial court as a guarantee, will there still be problems?" When Zhang Ting'en asked the question, the answer was already given.

"When the country is in trouble, for example, there is a rebellion somewhere, the court has no military spending, but there is money in the bank, how can your majesty turn a blind eye and not be moved at all? Once power cannot be turned into money, what can those in power still do? What fun is there? Just ask the teacher, which majesty can be willing to do so?"

Zhang Tingen thought for a long time before asking softly: "Do you have any safer way?"

Jia Lian was actually talking about this issue before, casually speaking, he is not from the financial system. Besides, the financial circles in modern society are all about playing with other people's money, and everyone's heart is said to be incapable of looking at it.

"Operation and supervision must be separated, and cannot be one family, otherwise this matter will not go well, and it is destined to break the sky. I secretly believe that the central bank of the imperial court is only responsible for issuing silver coins and supervising, and the branches in various places are overseen by officials and merchants. They are responsible for supervision. Officials of the central bank can only serve one term in a branch. Officials of the central bank can only serve one term. Once the banking industry loses supervision, the consequences will be chaos. "

No matter what, Jia Lian must take it seriously. Jiaozi appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty, and there were also treasure notes in the Ming Dynasty, but they were all ruined. Jia Lian knew that once the current bank's profits were huge, it would definitely be coveted by countless people. Under the background of the absolute power of the imperial power, it would be destroyed sooner or later. Again, I might not be able to see it at that time.

Another thing is that if it can really push the Zhou Dynasty towards the sea and give birth to a powerful group represented by commercial interests, and the bank is destroyed by the royal family in the future, it may not be a bad thing for this country and the nation. .

But by then, for ordinary people, it will really be a doomsday-like scene.

However, hasn’t human society always been like this?

(End of this chapter)