Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 465: Mutual Hints Between the Emperor and His Ministers

The identity of the Xue family as an imperial merchant is the key to this big fuss. If an imperial merchant breaks the law, he can be punished. The Xue family will accept the punishment and pay the silver to negotiate the crime. After going through the whole process, everything else should be over.

But what some officials did was really despicable.

Not only did it damage the foundation of the Xue family, but it also hurt the reputation of the royal family.

Fang Song begins with [I was shocked to hear that something had happened to the imperial merchant Xue family] and ends with [Alas, the Xue family has been destroyed, and even the royal family cannot protect them, so how about the rest? ]!

After reading it, Jia Lian clapped his hands in admiration, saying that this guy really understood the pain points of the industry!

After the memorial was submitted, Emperor Chenghui read it carefully and remained silent in thought.

The Xue family originated from a business run by Taizu. Their ancestors were trusted men around Taizu and were household slaves.

Later, Taizu showed mercy and granted him a status, which enabled him to become powerful. Now, with the status of an imperial merchant, he has become the target of slaughter, which really makes the emperor look unhappy.

Emperor Chenghui immediately summoned Ning Ke and almost threw the memorial in his face, saying in a stiff tone: "See for yourself!"

Ning Ke remained silent after reading it. Emperor Chenghui glared at him and asked, "Why don't you speak?"

Ning Ke: "I have nothing to say!"

[Huh? You don't even defend yourself? This...] Emperor Chenghui thought for a moment and felt that something was wrong.

"My dear minister, please go down first!" Emperor Chenghui did not pursue the matter further, as he still understood Ning Ke.

After Ning Ke left, Emperor Chenghui turned around and called Qiu Shian: "Go and check what's going on!"

Qiu Shian took a look at the memorial and said, "No need to investigate. If it was an official from the Ministry of Revenue, it must be those clan members who did something wrong."

The Great Zhou Dynasty did not restrict clan members from becoming officials, but among the clan members, talented people were rare. Take the Ministry of Revenue as an example. There were seven or eight clan members in the Ministry, all of whom were officials with hereditary privileges. None of them were selected through the imperial examination.

These people do not hold high positions, but they are in charge of very important matters, such as warehouses and logistics departments.

When they have nothing to do, these people make a little money to improve their family conditions, but Emperor Chenghui really doesn't see it.

Now that he has been impeached for such a dirty act of killing pigs, it is difficult to turn a blind eye.

"Go, tell King Zhongshun!"

Prince Zhongshun was also caught in an unprovoked disaster. When he came before the emperor, he was scolded by him and then the memorial was thrown in his face: "Look at the royal family you are in charge of! What have they done?"

After holding his nose and enduring tons of damage, King Zhongshun finally knew the reason. After reading it carefully, he felt helpless for a moment.

As for the royal family, no matter they are capable or not, they all want to be ostentatious in their lives. After a long time of getting used to this, it is normal to be short of money.

To be honest, apart from their status as royal family members, these people really have nothing to offer.

"After the emperor granted us a joint glass business, our lives have become much better. This matter was still the work of the Xia family, so they may not know the truth."

After regaining the Emperor Chenghui's appointment, Prince Zhongshun was extremely cautious. He still protected the royal family because he knew that the emperor also cared about them, and if they lived too badly, the emperor would lose face.

Therefore, he did not join in the cursing, nor did he shirk the responsibility, but instead he first made excuses for the royal family members.

"Is it the Xia family's problem?" Emperor Chenghui actually didn't believe his nonsense, but what could he say? Having a reason to exonerate the royal family was enough.

"That's true. After all, the money of the Xue family was given to the Xia family's daughter when she moved. The Xia family used the money to honor the royal family and for their own business."

Prince Zhongshun saw that he had felt the pulse and immediately continued to explain along this line of thought.

"A married girl is like spilled water. This kind of woman would like to empty her husband's house. She is unfaithful to her husband and is despicable." King Zhongshun added.

Emperor Chenghui hesitated for a moment and said, "Don't jump to conclusions. Go and ask first!"

Waving his hand, he dismissed Prince Zhongshun, and Emperor Chenghui was relieved. The affairs of the royal family have always been a headache, mainly because there are no outstanding talents.

The royal family did not prohibit members of the royal family from holding office, working, or doing business. Those who were within the five degrees of mourning received a monthly stipend of rice, which was already very tolerant.

But how can I put it? Maybe they are from the emperor's lineage, and they have taken away the spiritual energy of other royal families. In short, these people are useless. The Zhongshun King is good.

As an emperor, he cannot ignore the royal family, otherwise he will be criticized by the people. However, what they did was too excessive, so he cannot ignore it.

Emperor Chenghui couldn't figure out what to do with it for the time being, so he could only wait and see.

No matter what, we still have to find a way out for them.

Speaking of royal family members, Emperor Chenghui was still a little angry. When the Royal Military Academy was recruiting students, more than a dozen places were given to royal family members, but in the end, all the students who were sent there were playboys who could not endure the hard training in the military academy.

In a month, all of them ran away and only one was left. These people just said, "They have ruined the family." They are not good enough to do anything, but they are always causing trouble!
Similar situations were not isolated cases, but a large number of them. Under the arrangement of several generations of emperors, more than 70 or 80 members of the royal family were appointed to some unimportant positions in various departments, none of which were high-ranking, and the rank was only the seventh rank.

If these people could do a little better, the emperor would have the nerve to promote them or something. But in the end, not a single one of them got a promotion. Every time something went wrong, they couldn't escape.

After all, it doesn't matter, but in fact these positions all have one characteristic: they are in charge of physical things.

A while ago, when the R&D Department was targeted, there were clan members behind the scenes who were fanning the flames. To put it bluntly, the R&D Department was too suitable for clan members to run.

If it is handed over to the Ministry of Clan Affairs to run, Emperor Chenghui will not have to worry about the quality of life of the clan members for the next twenty years.

But then again, the R&D department that flourished under Jia Lian would most likely become a business for a few rich people in the hands of the royal family, and the lower-class royal family members would have a hard time getting a share of the profits.

It is precisely because he knows them too well that Emperor Chenghui does not support their actions. It is impossible for you to share a piece of fat meat after cultivating it?

After thinking it over again and again, Emperor Chenghui finally called Qiu Shian and asked him to summon Jia Lian.

When Jia Lian arrived, Emperor Chenghui got straight to the point: "You know about the several royal family members in the Ministry of Revenue who are messing with the Xue family, right?"

Jia Lian nodded: "I know!"

Emperor Chenghui nodded with satisfaction: "You are right, you have the overall situation in mind. It's just the problem of the royal family. We can't keep going like this. The military academy students have been given quotas, and there is only one candidate left. The royal family does not produce talents, this is the root of the problem. The former Ming Dynasty had a huge burden brought by the royal family. This dynasty has tried its best to avoid it, but it is still difficult to solve it once and for all."

Jia Lian understood the emperor's intention and could only comfort him first: "Your Majesty, people are different. Some are born different, and some are influenced by their parents and family environment. In my humble opinion, education should be emphasized. Whether you are a royal family member or a commoner, if you can't endure the hardship of studying in your lifetime, you will have to endure other hardships. Your Majesty should concentrate resources on education. If you do a good job of education, talents will be the source of living water."

Emperor Chenghui was a little unhappy when he heard this, and waved his hand: "That's all for the future, let's think of a way to deal with the current situation first." Jia Lian understood and nodded: "There is a way. The court will provide ships, and they will provide their own capital to go out for sea trade. Nanyang is too far away, and they don't want to take risks, so they can go to Japan and Korea. They can also go to Zhangjiakou and do some business on the grassland. If all else fails, they can go to Liaodong to buy some land, rent it to others to farm, or farm it themselves. In short, if you don't want to suffer, you can just sit at home and wait for money to fall from the sky. That's not a good thing."

Hearing that Jia Lian did not mention the trade route in Liaodong, Emperor Chenghui knew what he meant. That was the lifeline of Prince Dongping's power. If one went to Liaodong to do business, one would definitely encounter horse thieves.

"I'm thinking, whether it's outside the pass or outside the Great Wall, we should get a business license. If we operate without a license, the government can conduct a thorough investigation." Emperor Chenghui had a bad idea.

When Jia Lian heard this, he immediately stopped him and said, "Your Majesty, I understand your intention for the good of the royal family. If you do this, future generations will only blame you."

Emperor Chenghui's face turned pale and he glared at Jia Lian: "Jia Buqi, speak nicely." This was also a pain point. After all, an emperor cares about his reputation after death. Otherwise, how could he have such a long temple name?

Jia Lian was not worried at all, and explained slowly: "Your Majesty, according to your idea, the licenses will be issued in limited quantities. Well, after getting the licenses, will the royal family go out to do business? They will definitely rent them out to make money. It is so comfortable to stay at home, who is willing to go out and sleep in the open? If you are unlucky, you may encounter horse thieves and your life will be in danger. Merchants who rent licenses, how can they get their capital back? They can only cheat in their business, smuggle, evade taxes, and lose the court. What's worse, they can't operate legally, so they take risks, or become thieves or smugglers."

"Nonsense! If the court doesn't restrict licenses, merchants will stop smuggling? Tax evasion is a bad habit of merchants." Emperor Chenghui found a loophole and counterattacked Jia Lian.

Jia Lian thought to himself, you don't know the power of the approval document at a certain time. It's true that if you have the approval document and the goods, it's useless if you don't have the approval document. Many people have made a lot of money by dealing in approval documents.

"Your Majesty, you should understand what I mean. The court should not support idle people for the royal family. Otherwise, how is it different from the former Ming Dynasty?"

Emperor Chenghui's persistence was exposed by Jia Lian's words. He was so angry that he looked around for something to hit his grandson with.

Jia Lian still smiled: "Your Majesty, how about I stand closer?"

Emperor Chenghui was defeated and waved his hand, saying, "Get lost! I don't want to see your face."

Jia Lian took his leave with a smile on his face. After coming out, he couldn't help but sigh, as if he was afraid that others hadn't seen it.

The communication between the monarch and his subjects is not that simple. Does the Xue family’s affairs count?

In fact, when Emperor Chenghui promised Jia Lian the position of chief examiner of the provincial examination, Jia Lian had guessed some of the emperor's true thoughts.

After a term of chief examiner, Jia Lian would most likely be sent away to other places. No matter where he went, he would have to hand over all the affairs in the capital.

So, Jia Lian dodged the question again and again, and was finally forced to say, "The court should not support idlers for royal family members," which was the most serious answer.

Idler is a nice word, but waste is the truth.

Jia Lian doesn’t know about other things, but isn’t Baoyu in the Jia family just a waste?
What are the characteristics of waste? They have no sense of responsibility and only care about living a comfortable life.

In fact, according to the imperial system, every member of the royal family should have a sense of mission. But the reality is that they only have a bunch of useless people.

Jia Lian meant that the R&D Department could be handed over, but it could not be handed over to the royal family, otherwise it would definitely be abolished.

If that day really came, Jia Lian might give up the opportunity to be sent out, because he knew too well the changes in productivity brought about by technological progress.

Emperor Chenghui did not give any clear instructions on how to deal with the Xue family's affairs in the end.

King Zhongshun still remained unchanged in the face of ever-changing circumstances and decided to just delay it for now.

The official document from the Governor-General of Liangjiang arrived twenty days later. The punishment was extremely severe and the offender had to pay a fine of 500,000 silver dollars.

After the punishment was handed down, the Xue family was seen selling their properties everywhere in the market, and some people decided to use Xue Pan to buy them at a low price.

Unexpectedly, there was only thunder but no rain. The Xue family paid all the silver for the crime, but Xue Pan did not come out to beg for mercy to sell his property.

As soon as Xue Pan paid the silver for the crime, he filed a complaint to Shuntian Prefecture and also sent a divorce letter to the Xia family, explaining the reasons for divorcing his wife.

Xue Pan’s request was very simple: he wanted to return as much silver as he had taken away and give him compensation in the corresponding amount.

That is to say, the Xia family took away 100,000 taels from the Xue family, so they had to pay back 200,000 taels, and Xia Jingui was divorced.

How could the Xia family agree to such a request? Naturally, they fought back with all their might.

This case was taken by Shuntian Prefecture. When the prefect received the complaint, he broke out in a cold sweat, but he had no choice but to take the case.

Fortunately, Shuntian Prefecture had a backer, so the prefect immediately went to the Prince's Palace to ask for an audience with Li Yuan.

After Li Yuan's inspection tour in Shaanxi and Gansu, he became darker and thinner.

His temperament also became much calmer. After meeting the prefect and learning the details, Li Yuan simply refused: "Just sentence me as I should. Why are you looking for me?"

This is a bit unpleasant to hear. What I mean is, the court appointed you as the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, but you just push your problems to me. What use are you?

The words were unpleasant to hear, but the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture still got the message and spread it widely after he came out, revealing the original words of the Second Prince.

It can only be said that Li Yuan's cultivation is not enough, and he was tricked by the prefect. If this happened in the past, Li Yuan would definitely not mind, but now, just wait and see.

The court was opened in Shuntian Prefecture, the trial was conducted on the same day, and the verdict was made on the same day.

It has to be fast, but if it goes any slower, there will be complications.

The result was naturally that part of Xue Pan's demands were rejected, and the emperor only required the Xia family to pay 10,000 taels in compensation after returning 100,000 taels.

The Xia family counter-sued Xue Pan for divorcing his wife without reason, and the two sides confronted each other again. Finally, the prefect ruled that divorce was a family matter, and Xue Pan could divorce his wife as long as he had a suitable reason. Now looking at the actual situation, Xue Pan's reasons are sufficient. First of all, it is unfilial. Xia Jingui repeatedly contradicted Aunt Xue, which is enough reason. In addition, after Xue Pan got into trouble, Xia Jingui did not stay at home to wait, but returned to her parents' home. This is a well-known crime. After the prefect's judgment, the case can continue to appeal to the Dali Temple. It depends on the choice of the Xia family.

Of course the Xia family was not convinced. After returning, they continued to use various connections in the hope of winning the lawsuit.

However, the Xia family was soon disappointed. Not only did no one help them, but they kept receiving hints that they should just give in, otherwise the consequences would be even more serious.

After spending tens of thousands of taels of silver, the situation did not improve at all, and I only got a few relatively conscientious hints.

The Xia family was completely disappointed and did not continue to appeal. Instead, they really sold their property and paid back the money to the Xue family first.

Of course, the sale of this property was just for show. The Xia family could still come up with money, but they didn't dare to take it out directly.

It was useless to hide the truth. Later, the Xia family experienced a series of troubles and was forced to pay out hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to barely get through the difficult times. But that is another story.

On the Xue family's side, a new problem needs to be solved. That is, how to face Wang Xifeng about what Baochai promised. Who will talk to her?

(End of this chapter)