Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 535: Audit

The general meaning of the imperial edict is as follows: Pang Zijun, the governor of Jiangnan, the prefects of Songjiang and Zhenjiang, are incompetent and are dismissed. The general of Jiangnan, the garrisons of Wusongkou and Jiangyin, are derelict in their duties and are dismissed. Jia Lian, the censor, is inspecting Jiangnan on behalf of the emperor and is allowed to act at his own discretion. No matter whether they are civil or military officials, those below the third rank will be executed first and then reported to the emperor.

The angry Emperor Chenghui did not go crazy, nor did he wave a sharp blade called "Jia Lian" and slash around. Instead, he gave all officials the most basic decency.

The reason for doing so is very simple. You worked hard and entered the court to become an official. If you didn't get any special treatment, would you be happy? Would you feel dissatisfied with the court and the emperor?

Of course, there are people who don't know what's good for them, and these people are abnormal. Normal people actually know that the imperial edict of Emperor Chenghui was approved by the cabinet, which means that the emperor has not willfully exercised the highest power. What is the willful exercise of the highest power? For example, Chongzhen killed Yuan Chonghuan because he was furious and willfully exercised the highest power. The evil in his heart was vented, but from then on, the Liaodong military group only listened to orders and not announcements. In other words, without solving the problem of warlordization in Liaodong, Chongzhen killed Yuan Chonghuan, the only person who could mobilize the Liaodong army.

Although he remained rational, Emperor Chenghui conveyed severe threats to the officials and gentry in the south of the Yangtze River through his actions.

Because of a memorial submitted by Jia Lian, six officials were fired at once, including the governor, the highest official in a province, and the highest-ranking military official.

It doesn't matter whether the dismissed officials are convinced or not, because the imperial edict has been passed by the cabinet and it is already a fact.

After receiving the imperial edict, Pang Zijun still asked unconvincedly: "I think I have been quite diligent during my tenure, and I have basically completed the tasks assigned by the court. I am stupid and incompetent, please teach me, Imperial Envoy!"

What does it mean? I accept the reality that I was dismissed after failing in the internal struggle of the court, but I absolutely refuse to admit the charge of stupidity and incompetence.

If you argue verbally at this time, what you say at the scene may play a role in the future and add a bit of tragic color to yourself.

After this trick was used, the general who was also dismissed had an expectant glimmer in his eyes. If Pang Zijun could save his reputation, he could do it too.

Although Jia Lian was not prepared, this level of self-defense is really not worth mentioning.

"I have a set of data here. In the past three years, the volume of exports from Jiangnan Province through the Guangzhou port has doubled. I would like to ask former Governor Pang, how much has the commercial tax in Jiangnan Province increased? If I am not mistaken, the commercial tax in Jiangnan Province has not increased in the past three years. It is the same as it was when you took office three years ago. This is for foreign exports, which can be verified. There is no way to check the goods sold domestically because you have not done any relevant statistics since you took office. Saying that you are stupid and incompetent is a sign of mercy from His Majesty and the Cabinet. According to me, the Jiangnan officials colluded with the gentry to oppose the court and poisoned Prime Minister Sun, which is tantamount to treason." Jia Lian used the plainest language to say the most vicious words.

Pang Zijun was sweating profusely after hearing this, and tried to defend himself: "Since I took office, I have been working diligently. Even if I have no merits, I have worked hard."

"Jia led his fleet into the Yangtze River and rushed forward without anyone daring to stop him. As the military and political chief of a province, Pang dares to say that he has no responsibility? There is no clear evidence that someone harmed Prime Minister Sun's stroke. The cause of death of the two followers is so absurd, but you dare not investigate it. Are you afraid of trouble or something else? You are still not convinced by being called incompetent. If Jia was the governor of Jiangnan, I could make all the big merchants and so-called folk celebrities in Jiangnan kneel outside the door and beg me to show mercy and not kill people in the case of Prime Minister Sun's stroke. At that time, I won't talk about implementing the land-based tax system, and adding a little commercial tax will be easy. Forget it, I won't waste my breath on a piece of trash, and you can go down."

Pang Zijun, who was sweating all over, withdrew, but the matter was not over yet. Jia Lian smiled and turned to Sun Huazhen and asked, "Prime Minister Sun, shall I continue?"

Sun Huazhen clasped his hands towards Jia Lian and said, "You are the imperial envoy, how can I have any say in your opinion?"

From beginning to end, Jia Lian, as an imperial envoy, showed great respect for Sun Huazhen.

According to the imperial physician's diagnosis, Sun Huazhen would not be able to walk on his own in the future, but he would have no problem sitting. Fortunately, he did not become incontinent and his brain was not affected too much, otherwise it would be really troublesome.

The imperial physician was unsure about the extent of the recovery, so it all depended on God's will.

Jia Lian turned to face the three officials and started to attack: "In the past, the inspection teams only touched upon the problem briefly and did not touch upon the root of the problem. Alas, you are just unlucky. Your Majesty has transferred me back from Nanyang to investigate corruption in the Jiangnan officialdom. Since you three are here, you should stay and wait for the results of the inspection."

You know what, Pang Zijun, who had a dejected look just now, suddenly perked up after hearing what Jia Lian said. So, I'm not the only one who's going to be unlucky?

When the three envoys heard these words, except for the governor, the other two felt dizzy and fainted on the ground.

Even the governor who was still able to stand still was shaking with trembling legs, and said tremblingly: "My Lord, how can you say corruption?"

Jia Lian laughed and said, "Master Mi, eating a little more, taking a little more, even entertaining colleagues and local gentry, and inviting prostitutes to the banquet can all be considered work needs. In my opinion, as long as the money in the treasury is not more than one thousand taels, it is considered corruption. If there is collusion with gentry every year, the taxes that should be borne by the gentry are passed on to the people, which is considered corruption. Taxes that should be collected from the people are not collected because of the corruption of officials, which is considered embezzlement. Colluding with gentry to collect taxes under various pretexts and then divide the accounts, forcing the people to sell their children, once discovered, it is considered a serious crime. In short, spending some money from the treasury while in office is not a big deal, and I am still very understanding of your difficulties."

After hearing Jia Lian's sentencing criteria, the governor's face turned pale. There was no doubt that he had done at least part of it.

Next, Jia Lian issued a series of orders. The first battalion of Shenji Town stayed in Jinling to supervise and rectify the garrison in Jinling and the surrounding areas. The second battalion went to Jiangyin to rectify the garrison and the fortress defense. The third battalion rectified the garrison and the fortress defense. Wei Da went to Zhenjiang and Songjiang to convey the order to dismiss the two prefects. Jia Lian personally led the guards to Suzhou to check the accounts of the three departments and the Suzhou prefect. Sun Huazhen stayed in Jinling and commanded the auditors sent from the capital to check the accounts of the governor's office and the one prefecture and two counties in Jinling.

In a nutshell, it would be fine if the imperial envoy Jia Lian didn't come, but since he has come, he will conduct a thorough audit.

After arranging the tasks, Jia Lian and Sun Huazhen jointly issued an official document to all departments and officials at all levels in the province, meaning that Jia Lian was ordered to check the accounts, and the officials could only wish for the best. If you have the ability, you can balance the accounts so that even the professionals can't find any problems.

It's not that Jia Lian looked down on the accountants employed by officials. Modern accounting methods are really a dimensionality reduction attack for people today. The people transferred by Jia Lian are all accountants trained by him. These young people are all graduates of technical schools, and their family backgrounds are all craftsmen and military guards. Jia Lian gave them a chance to learn skills and have the opportunity to become officials in the future. There is no problem with their loyalty.

"Finally, there is one more thing. Since you are all here, whether you have been dismissed or are under investigation, you must stay. After this imperial envoy's inspection tour of Jiangnan is over, the guilty will be sentenced and the innocent will return home."

After saying this, Jia Lian smiled and looked at the five provincial officials present. Well, the Jinling prefect is not considered a chief official.

Everyone looked at each other, no one was the first to come out. Everyone had a terrible thought in their mind. Jia Lian had transferred the Shenji Town, a team he had brought up. With his temper, if there was a real disturbance, he would probably kill people. Just because these people didn't make trouble didn't mean they wouldn't incite the people to make trouble. Unfortunately, Jia Lian had already prepared for it. Since these officials had come, not only were they detained, but also their followers.

All officials were locked up in a courtyard, and each official was allowed to leave one attendant to serve him. Jia Lian had done his utmost.

Unfortunately, some people really don't know what's good for them.

At night, when Jia Lian was talking with Sun Huazhen to understand the general situation of the entire Jiangnan region, three gunshots suddenly rang out in the quiet night, and the sound was heard far away.

Sun Huazhen was interrupted when he was talking about a case of cheating in a county examination. He looked up at the door.

Jia Lian stood up and said, "Junior will go and take a look." Well, when the two of them were in private, Jia Lian called himself the junior, showing full respect.

After leaving the master bedroom, when Jia Lian came out, Fan Ping immediately came forward and said, "Sir, the gunshots came from the west."

"Let's go and take a look." Jia Lian didn't say much and walked quickly on the path in the backyard.

After a while, soldiers with torches were seen. Zhuzi had already arrived at the scene. When he saw Jia Lian coming, he immediately stepped forward and said, "Master, someone climbed over the wall to go out. The patrol team discovered him and shouted out warnings but did not stop. The patrol team shot him dead." Jia Lian did not say anything. He stepped forward to look at the person who climbed over the wall. He was a strong man in his thirties. He had been shot three times in the back and was dead.

"Your shooting skills are pretty good! There are guards outside, don't you know how to leave them alive? What a bunch of idiots!" Jia Lian cursed in a low voice in anger.

Zhuzi still explained it very realistically: "The Qinhuai River is just a few steps away. It would be hard to catch someone who is good at swimming if they dive into it."

Jia Lian did not continue to be angry: "Let the people from the Governor's Office come to identify him, and then see if the officials' entourage are there?"

The gunshots alarmed everyone. Six officials came out of the yard where the officials were imprisoned. They stood in the yard and wanted to go out, but were stopped by the guards at the door.

Although the officials were very angry, the guards did not tolerate it and pointed their bayonets at them: "Back off!" It seemed that if they dared to rush forward, they would be stabbed, so everyone backed off. It is better for reasonable people to be timid in the face of unreasonable violence.

Sun Huazhen's housekeeper came quickly. After looking at the body on the ground, he said with a bitter face: "It was a cook in the kitchen. The master has forbidden him to go out these days. Today, the officials were detained. Someone is worried."

"Go and find out whether the cook has delivered meals to the officials today." Jia Lian gave instructions, and the housekeeper hurried away and came back after a while.

"He delivered dinner to the detained adults today."

After hearing this, Jia Lian could not help but sneer. He walked towards the courtyard where the officials were detained. When he arrived at the door and took a look, he saw that all the officials in the courtyard had stood up, with anxious expressions on their faces.

"Everyone, a cook who was delivering dinner to you climbed over the wall and escaped. He was discovered by the patrol team and shot dead. It can be confirmed that there was collusion between insiders and outsiders to pass on information. Whoever wants to pass the information outside, please stand up yourself, and don't wait until Jia finds out, otherwise the consequences will be serious." Jia Lian threatened directly, but unfortunately, none of the officials admitted it, and of course they didn't make any excuses. They all had an expression that said, "It's none of my business."

They are all veteran actors, so Jia Lian didn’t expect to find out right away. He smiled and said, “Don’t admit it, fine, stay here.”

After returning to Sun Huazhen and explaining what happened, Sun Huazhen sighed and said, "I still overestimated the bottom line of these officials and gentry."

Old Sun's words were implicit, but Jia Lian could understand them. If there was something wrong with the cook, that was a big problem. You know, everything Old Sun ate and drank had passed through the cook's hands.

According to the housekeeper, this cook had been with Sun Huazhen for more than ten years, and he was actually bribed. Now the housekeeper is still trying to find some clues from the servants there.

If you think about it carefully, three people who have been around Sun Huazhen for many years have already met with misfortune. It would be even more heartbreaking if it was Jia Lian.

Jia Lian comforted her with a few words. Sun Huazhen was also tired, so she lay down to rest. Jia Lian said goodbye and left.

The next day, after Jia Lian and Sun Huazhen again discussed how to act, he and Wei Da led their troops to set off. This time they did not take a boat, but took the official road to Zhenjiang, left two groups of troops, rested for a night, and then went to Suzhou.

Wei Da conveyed the imperial edict, and the prefect of Zhenjiang was detained and guarded by Long Jinwei. One battalion of the second regiment went to Jiangyin, and the rest of the people stayed in Zhenjiang and cooperated with relevant personnel to check the accounts.

Shortly after Jia Lian set off, Wei Da went to Songjiang Prefecture under the escort of the third battalion.

When he arrived in Suzhou, Jia Lian went straight to the Sansi Yamen, read the imperial edict to the officials, and began to check the accounts. At the same time, he sent troops to detain the Suzhou prefect and sent people to check the accounts of Suzhou.

The large-scale auditing operation initiated by Jia Lian in Suzhou caused a violent reaction. The officials and gentry below did not dare to show their teeth to Jia Lian, and some so-called local celebrities even took the initiative to visit him. Jia Lian closed the door and refused to see visitors, and focused on the auditing. Jiangnan looked very quiet, but in fact, undercurrents were surging.

Countless letters were sent to the capital with only one purpose: to get rid of Jia Lian, the living ancestor, as soon as possible and stop checking the accounts.

After the news spread, officials from all over the country also submitted memorials, all of which were aimed at conducting a major audit of Jiangnan. The tone of their reports was basically similar, emphasizing the following issues.

The inspection team has the right to check the accounts, but Jia Lian should not have detained the officials of the three departments. Secondly, the autumn tax is being collected, and Jiangnan is a tax-intensive area. Such a mess in the officialdom will delay the collection of taxes. Finally, it is necessary to emphasize the dignity of officials. If Jia Lian does this, where is the dignity of officials? And how can we guarantee that Jia Lian will not abuse his power for personal gain and attack his political enemies? If officials from so many provinces in the world follow Jia Lian's approach, everyone will be in danger and lose their focus on government affairs. The impact on this year's tax revenue is small, but unrest in some places is a big deal.

The officials in the capital did not make much movement. A few imperial censors submitted memorials to the emperor, and their arguments were similar to those of the local officials.

In short, we cannot allow Jia Lian to act recklessly. Your Majesty is a benevolent and wise monarch who has always been sympathetic to the people. If we allow Jia Lian to act recklessly, all officials in the world will feel disheartened.

The bosses of various departments in the capital city were not in the mood to run around and shout, because the capital city was also checking the accounts. And the first to be checked were the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Imperial Clan, and the Royal Bank.

The emperor also said that the royal accounts should be checked first, and after that, it would be decided whether to check the accounts of other departments depending on the circumstances.

For a time, all the bigwigs were silent. Really scared! Sun Huazhen's matter completely angered Emperor Chenghui. At this time, the higher the level, the less willing they were to offend the emperor.

It was already night in the capital city. Emperor Chenghui was having his meal under the lamp, with Qiu Shian serving him carefully beside him.

Some time ago, after Sun Huazhen suffered a stroke, Emperor Chenghui's appetite became much worse. Not only did he eat one bowl of rice less every day than before, he also rarely picked up dishes.

Qiu Shian was extremely anxious, and Queen Zhou was also anxious. They tried many ways, but failed to improve the emperor's appetite.

Seeing that the emperor was so thin that his eye sockets were sunken, Jia Lian sent a memorial requesting to return to the capital to report on his work. After reading it, Emperor Chenghui's appetite was stimulated.

Recently, my appetite has returned and is better than before. I can even eat half a bowl of rice more.

Regarding this matter, Qiu Shian could only sigh secretly that Jia Lian was truly the most capable minister under His Majesty's command. Whenever the Emperor was concerned about something, he would feel at ease using him.

Just as he put down his chopsticks, Queen Zhou and Yuanchun came in together.

Emperor Chenghui stood up and asked the two to sit down and drink tea and talk together.

After chatting for a while, Empress Zhou gave Yuanchun a look, and Yuanchun whispered, "Your Majesty, the royal family members outside Xihua Gate have been kneeling for a whole day. Do you want to let them go back?"

Emperor Chenghui glanced at Yuanchun and saw that she lowered her head to avoid him. He said calmly, "They want to see me, so do I have to see them? Do you want me to give up the throne to them? If you don't see them and keep kneeling, you are trying to frame me and force me to abdicate."

Queen Zhou knew that this was directed at her, so she smiled and explained, "I am still worried that it will damage your majesty's reputation for kindness. After all, they are members of the royal family, so we should meet and make things clear. The royal family members requested to see the emperor, and the third brother did stop them. Didn't he stop them?"

Emperor Chenghui lowered his head to drink tea and asked, "Has the third son entered the palace?"

The Queen said, "He is waiting outside. He said he came to plead guilty."

"Okay, you two can go back first." Emperor Chenghui waved his hand, and Queen Zhou and Yuanchun bowed and left.

After Qiu Shian sent it out, he let Li Heng in.

"Third brother, have you found out something?" Emperor Chenghui looked at Li Heng, who had a bitter face, and his heart sank slightly.

Li Heng nodded with difficulty: "Father, the bad debts we have found so far are as high as 10 million yuan, and we have only been investigating for two days."

Emperor Chenghui nodded expressionlessly: "I knew that if the matter wasn't so serious, they wouldn't have knelt outside for so long. Tell me, how many people are involved?"

"So far, there are a total of 18 royal family members and 6 maternal relatives. Some of them have borrowed money and cannot pay it back, or they have acted as guarantors for others. Some of them are bank employees and have approved loans for others. On the Queen Mother's side, there are three uncles, who together have borrowed 3 million taels. Almost every noble family in the capital has borrowed some money. Looking at the accounts, they have all used their houses and land as collateral, and the value is much higher. What I am worried about is that if they really cannot pay it back when it is due, it is easy to take back the land, but they can't be kicked out of the house and sleep on the streets, right? They are all nobles!"

(End of this chapter)