Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 598 It’s so cold
The Minister of Revenue still lowered his head and said, "I don't know the details! Why don't I go back and find out more and then report back!"

Emperor Chenghui glanced at Li Heng calmly, then turned to ask Jia Lian: "How much do you know?"

Jia Lian smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I don't know the details either. Isn't this all wrong? Dianjinhang is not a bank."

Emperor Chenghui looked at him meaningfully, but in his heart he was cursing: You bastard, how dare you say you know the details? Is it fun to deceive the emperor in person?

"Go back and investigate thoroughly, then report to the emperor." When Emperor Chenghui learned about the matter, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, especially Li Heng, whose shoulders dropped.

Everyone left. Jia Lian had been out for ten minutes when he was chased back. Emperor Chenghui then asked in a low voice: "Buqi has always treated me with sincerity. Why are you avoiding talking to me today?"

Jia Lian smiled but said nothing. Emperor Chenghui shook his head helplessly: "You!"

"The Royal Bank has forcibly set the maximum interest rate standard for bank loans, but it cannot stop usury among the people. I have turned a blind eye to many things, but I did not expect that they would be so bold. Am I too soft-hearted?" Emperor Chenghui looked at Jia Lian seriously and asked.

"Your Majesty, I think you have done something that has dirty your hands. I wonder what those scholars are saying about you in private. In this world, there are always two people out of ten who believe everything others say. It's better for me to bear the bad reputation."

Emperor Chenghui looked at Jia Lian silently, and after a while he said, "It's too late. I have already issued an order for the Dragon Guards to be dispatched to seal up all the money-making shops in the capital. At this moment, the express horses with the news are already on the way. In half a month at the latest, all the money-making shops from the capital to Guangzhou will be sealed up."

Jia Lian remained silent and lowered his head. Emperor Chenghui knew what he was thinking and since it was about the throne, he would definitely not interfere.

Emperor Chenghui also understood Jia Lian's intention, which was to ask the emperor not to investigate, so as not to bear the blame. But Emperor Chenghui really didn't dare to delay this matter, and he had to investigate it immediately.

A simple knock was no longer enough to reassure the emperor. The Royal Central Bank involved not only the money of the Ministry of Revenue, but also the treasury of Emperor Chenghui.

Back then, a group of foreign relatives created a hole of 10 million, which Emperor Chenghui had to work very hard to fill. Now the hole is even bigger.

"I will take my leave!" When Jia Lian bowed and said goodbye, Emperor Chenghui stopped him and said, "Wait a minute!"

Jia Lian asked, "What instructions does your Majesty have?"

Emperor Chenghui threw a gold medal over: "Take it. I will let Qiu Shian accompany you to the Nine Gates Guarding Yamen. In the name of announcing the imperial edict, all the generals will be controlled."

When Jia Lian took the gold medal, his expression was complicated and he seemed to be struggling: "Your Majesty, it would be better to let the Second Prince do it."

Emperor Chenghui waved his hand and said, "What's the difference between the second and third brothers? Just go ahead. I will allow you to do as you see fit."

Jia Lian sighed and shook his head, saying, "In that case, I request that the Shenji Town be dispatched to take charge of the gates of the inner and outer cities."

"Okay! Buqi, let me ask you, why aren't you surprised that I go back on my word?" Emperor Chenghui smiled with satisfaction.

"I don't know, and I don't want to know."

Emperor Chenghui laughed out loud: "Slippery! Go get your work done!"

For officials throughout the capital, the incident happened so suddenly that no one knew what had happened.

After the Shenji Town suddenly took action and controlled all the city gates, Jia Lian brought his guards to the Jiumen Town Guarding Yamen.

"Jia Lian, are you going to rebel?" Someone in the government office shouted loudly. Jia Lian didn't waste any words and raised the golden medal: "Everyone, lay down your weapons and wait for punishment."

Jia Lian stood at the gate with a gold medal in his hand, looking at all the people in the yamen who stood consciously in the front yard. Only after Shenji Town had completely controlled the situation did Jia Lian step into the gate.

"Everyone, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I was just following orders. Please forgive me if I have offended you."

Jia Lian was very polite in what he said, but not everyone appreciated it. However, Jia Lian really didn't care whether they appreciated it or not.

After learning that Shenji Town had raided and controlled the Nine Gates, all the ministers in the cabinet gathered in the Qianqing Palace and knelt in front of Emperor Chenghui.

Emperor Chenghui stepped forward and helped them up one by one, comforting them: "This matter has little to do with you, please stand up. You are all old, and if you kneel down and hurt your body, I will be scolded."

After Lin Ruhai stood up, he bowed and folded his hands: "In any case, the matter is led by the cabinet, and Your Majesty has only adopted the cabinet's suggestions."

Emperor Chenghui didn't say anything. He glanced at Li Qing who was keeping his head down and silent, and sighed silently in his heart. Li Qing was really not as responsible as Lin Ruhai.

At this time, Li Qing knew very well that the emperor did not say anything at the time, but directly mobilized troops to attack without giving him time to react.

No matter what, having a sharp knife like Jia Lian in hand is really useful. The three major towns outside the city probably didn't even dare to leave the military camp at this moment. At most, they sent people to ask what happened.

There were more than 10,000 people guarding the Jiumen Yamen, and they did it without saying a word. The situation was resolved by issuing an order.

This is not only due to the emperor's prestige and legitimacy, but also Jia Lian's reputation. When the two of them are combined, even if the rebels have ten courage, they dare not covet the capital.

The eunuch came in and reported: "Your Majesty, the Minister of Revenue hanged himself after returning home."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Qing knelt down again: "Your Majesty, I am guilty!"

Emperor Chenghui waved his hand. "Get up. This has nothing to do with you. You can only take a look at the central bank occasionally. If you find any clues, you dare not investigate further. It is too easy for them to join forces to deceive you."

Li Qing heaved a sigh of relief and stood up slowly. He had passed this hurdle, but the emperor's trust in him was greatly reduced. One really shouldn't be too timid.

When Jia Lian came back later to hand in the order, he saw that all the cabinet leaders were present, and he couldn't help but smile bitterly. If he had been more resolute in the previous meetings, this wouldn't have happened.

Now it’s awkward, right? Everyone thinks that the central bank is related to the emperor’s treasury, so it’s not good to speak carelessly or make random suggestions, so as not to offend others.

Being in the officialdom and occupying a high position in the cabinet, you still try not to offend anyone. You really know how to be an official. I am really convinced. After handing over the order, Jia Lian wanted to leave but couldn't. He stood aside and waited silently.

Qiu Shian came in and reported: "Your Majesty, the two princes are waiting outside."

Emperor Chenghui nodded: "Let them in."

Li Yuan and Li Heng came in one after the other and stood aside after greeting each other.

Emperor Chenghui stood up slowly, walked back and forth in front of the two men, then turned around and said, "I just don't understand. No matter which of you two ascends to the throne in the future, the wealth I have saved will be left to you. But you two are so good. I let you run the bank, but you treat money as nothing."

Li Yuan and Li Heng both knelt down, but Emperor Chenghui continued: "Since I ascended the throne, what I have been most worried about is the financial shortage of the court. I have tried every possible way to fill the national treasury and the inner treasury. But you are so good. No matter who is in charge of the central bank, you can cause big trouble for me."

The two brothers knelt, and Emperor Chenghui had no intention of letting them stand up. Instead, he turned his head and asked Jia Lian: "Buqi, tell me, what are the harms of this usury?"

Although Jia Lian didn't want to come out, he still stepped forward helplessly and said, "Your Majesty, why don't you ask the ministers to speak first? I will follow you and learn from you."

"Stop talking nonsense and tell me quickly! I haven't charged you with deceiving the emperor yet." Emperor Chenghui was just playing tricks, so Jia Lian had no choice but to agree.

"In a sense, landlords renting land to tenants and banks lending money to customers are essentially the same, both are collecting rent. I am not against collecting rent, but once the rent is too high, the enthusiasm of tenants and customers as producers will be severely hit. If it is popularized throughout the country, it will have a huge negative impact on the production of the entire country. However, the officials of the court, who doesn't have a piece of land, are naturally crooked."

Emperor Chenghui looked around and saw that all the bigwigs looked very embarrassed. After Jia Lian revealed the truth, the cabinet ministers became a little uneasy.

"Okay, let's get to the point. What exactly do you want to do?" Emperor Chenghui interrupted Jia Lian, not wanting to embarrass these cabinet ministers.

"I have said before that among the four classes of people in this world, only those who pay taxes are considered citizens. Those who do not pay taxes or even try to evade taxes are not worthy of being called citizens, or even human beings."

Lin Ruhai suddenly said, "Speak nicely, don't be sarcastic."

Jia Lian folded his hands respectfully and replied, "Yes, let's talk it over. An official who colluded with the gentry and embezzled funds for disaster relief is considered a human being? Yes, but is he worthy of being called a human being? No!"

"Okay, stop talking nonsense and get back to the point." Lin Ruhai interrupted Jia Lian again. Emperor Chenghui glanced at Lin Ruhai and said nothing. It was understandable that the father-in-law wanted to protect his son-in-law.

"Okay, my humble opinion is very simple. The court will issue laws to resolutely crack down on high land rents and usury. Land rents do not need to be higher than 20%, and interest rates cannot exceed 30% per year. Once discovered, government officials at all levels will impose severe punishments, and the court will encourage the people to report and give appropriate rewards. There is no idle land in the world, but farmers still starve to death! This bad habit that has lasted for thousands of years must be eliminated. At least let the world know that this practice is not advisable. It is harmful to the economic development of the entire country."

"That's wrong. When it comes to private lending, both parties are willing. How can the government interfere? Besides, what's wrong with keeping wealth among the people?" The person who spoke was actually Pan Jixun!
Jia Lian did not say anything bad, but smiled and asked: "Prime Minister Pan, is it better for the money to be in the hands of the court or in the hands of the people? Chongzhen has already answered the answer to this question. Chongzhen also answered another question. What will happen if the court loses control over the local areas and the government's orders are not issued outside the Forbidden City? Prime Minister Pan has read history books, so you don't need me to tell you, right?"

Pan Jixun wanted to refute, but he was speechless. Jia Lian smiled and said, "The facts are obvious! Our country is so big, and there is a huge gap between the rich and the poor in the north and the south because of different resource endowments. The court collects money through taxation and distributes it uniformly to ensure that the money is used where it should be used. Prime Minister Pan is from the north. If it weren't for the court's care in the imperial examination system, would northerners be able to beat southerners? This is not a question of IQ, it is determined by the economy. The conditions for poor people to study are not as good as those for rich people. If the southerners say, what does it have to do with me what the people in Gansu, Xinsheng, Qinghai and other places are like? What would Prime Minister Pan think? Or should the court just give up these territories directly? Wouldn't this save money? Or do the people in remote and poor places not count as human beings? They deserve it?"

"We're talking about loan sharking, why are you bringing up all this?" Li Qing couldn't help but speak up. He couldn't stand being beaten passively anymore.

"If ordinary people can't pay back the loan sharks they borrowed, what do they do? Sell themselves into slavery, run away, or live in the mountains? Prime Minister Li, I'm sure you've never seen this before, right?"

Just as Jia Lian was about to change the subject completely, Emperor Chenghui coughed and said, "Okay, let's not go so far. Let's talk about the matter at hand. The central bank and the four major banks lent money to Dianjin Bank at a low interest rate, and Dianjin Bank lent money at high interest rates. It is better to limit the case to the banking system. What do you want to say about the suicide of the Minister of Revenue?"

"This thief committed suicide out of fear of punishment." The person who spoke attracted everyone's attention. When they looked over, they realized it was Li Heng who was kneeling on the ground.

These words were like pouring a bucket of cold water on a person in the coldest days of winter. They made him feel completely cold and frozen.

Jia Lian looked at Li Heng in astonishment. Is this guy so stupid?
Emperor Chenghui opened his mouth for a while before closing it. His eyes turned cold when he looked at Li Heng, and only warmed up slightly when he turned to look at Li Yuan.

"Li Yuan, tell me." Emperor Chenghui said calmly.

Li Yuan whispered, "In my opinion, Dianjinhang can be checked! For the rest, it is better to control the scope!"

Emperor Chenghui turned around and asked everyone, "What do you think?"

Lin Ruhai said, "Your Majesty, what the Second Prince said is absolutely right! The Central Bank should also investigate, let the Dragon Guard investigate secretly."

Yue Qi said: "Your Majesty, the Nine Gates Guard Office is too important. It is better to restore it to normal as soon as possible to avoid unrest in the three towns outside the city."

Emperor Chenghui hummed and said to Jia Lian, "Buqi, take the gold medal. I will send someone to take you outside the city to pacify the three towns."

"I obey your order!" Jia Lian took the gold medal without saying a word, and walked out without any reluctance.

"Gentlemen, please take some time to investigate the Dianjin Bank incident. The Cabinet will be responsible for the follow-up investigation, and Lieutenant Long Jin will fully cooperate. As for the central bank, Lieutenant Long Jin will investigate first."

"Your Majesty, if you are going to deploy troops to blockade the capital in the future, it would be best to inform the cabinet so that we don't feel uneasy." Lin Ruhai still resisted.

Emperor Chenghui nodded and said, "I apologize to you all. Things were too urgent and I thought too much."

"We dare not!" Lin Ruhai quickly gave the emperor a way out.

After Emperor Chenghui and Lin Ruhai reached a tacit understanding, things were handled more quickly.

The cabinet did not hold grudges against the emperor for going back on his word and suddenly sending out troops to control the capital, and Emperor Chenghui did not pursue the cabinet's dereliction of duty.

As for the matter of the Dianjin Shop, the cabinet also decided to save some face for the emperor.

Even a fool can see that the matter is related to Li Heng, let alone this group of cunning people?
In fact, the most embarrassed person in the cabinet is Li Qing. Others want to distance themselves from it, but the problem is that as cabinet ministers, they will definitely take the blame together.

(End of this chapter)