Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 599 Don’t underestimate the ancients
Some conflicts are inevitable and cannot be resolved during this period.

The Zhou Empire at this stage had no concept of modern economy, and everything that Jia Lian forcibly pushed forward was actually just an attachment embedded in this era.

The first priority pursued by the rulers of the Great Unified Chinese Empire is always stability. They hope that the world will remain unchanged, or change more slowly. As for themselves, they will not make any changes.

Emperor Chenghui's way of handling the matter did not seem strange at all to Jia Lian. Perhaps it was the same no matter who sat on the throne, both in ancient and modern times.

Emperor Chenghui is just the patriarch of the family. If the children make mistakes, he should be beaten, scolded and taught. That’s all, nothing more.

Jia Lian didn't really care how the emperor handled the situation, he only cared about the outcome. Even during the entire process, Jia Lian actively avoided the core of the conflict.

For the emperor, the new things that Jia Lian came up with were enough as long as they could solve the problem. This was typical pragmatism.

As for whether the emperor saw the potential threat in Jia Lian, of course he did. Do you really think the emperor is a fool?
The key is that the emperor is old and he dare not do anything reckless. Ten years ago, if Jia Lian was as threatening as he is now, the emperor would definitely suppress him.

To put it bluntly, the emperor could only believe that Jia Lian would not have any rebellious intentions.

After much investigation, the final result of the investigation of Dianjinhang was that it was illegal operation and unsecured loans, and then there was nothing more. The private usury is not a question of whether it can be regulated, but whether it will be regulated at all. Jia Lian saw it very clearly, and he also tried hard, but it didn't work. At least at the official level, it didn't work.

In any case, the closure of Dianjin Bank did have some positive effects, but it did not cause too much waves.

After a few days of delay, Emperor Chenghui continued his summer vacation, but this time it seemed very different. Emperor Chenghui brought troops from Xishan, Nanyuan, and Tongzhou, and appointed Yue Qi as the commander-in-chief to protect the emperor's summer vacation. Before leaving, Emperor Chenghui made the following arrangements: Li Heng would study at home for half a year, and Li Yuan would be the supervisor of the state and lead the nine gates to guard and command.

As for Jia Lian, as soon as Emperor Chenghui left, he announced that he was ill and was recuperating at home.

This matter soon reached the attention of Emperor Chenghui. In front of Yue Qi who came to pay his respects, Emperor Chenghui laughed and said, "This Jia Buqi!" No one knew what he meant.

Yue Qi originally thought that he would gradually be put on the wrong side of the world, but unexpectedly, he was suddenly reused by the emperor, which was really a pleasant surprise.

Yue Qi, who was a smart man, immediately figured out the key to the matter. At this moment, he could feel the emperor's confidence that he had everything under control, and he also felt the weight of himself as a balancing force.

Who are they checking and balancing? Don’t you understand? My father-in-law is the chief minister of the cabinet, and my son-in-law is…

In other words, Jia Lian did not touch the military power on a daily basis, otherwise how could the emperor sleep well? In view of Jia Lian's influence in the army, Yue Qi was reused.

"Mr. Yue, Niu Jizon is no longer able to succeed him, so I recommend Chen Rui to take over as the Prime Minister of the Navy Yamen. If the Ministry of War has no objection, you can bring it up at the cabinet meeting. In addition, you may recommend suitable candidates for the commanders and assistant commanders of the three major camps in the Beijing camp. I still trust Mr. Yue, so don't think too much." After Emperor Chenghui sat down, he closed his eyes and spoke slowly as if he was talking to himself.

Yue Qi immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty has trusted me so much that I will never be able to repay your grace."

Emperor Chenghui did not express his opinion immediately, but seemed to be asleep. Yue Qi did not dare to move, and knelt quietly waiting. In addition to the emperor and his ministers, Qiu Shian was the only one left fanning the side.

The scene was so quiet that only the sound of breathing could be heard. After a while, Emperor Chenghui said calmly, "General Feng of Shenji Town is one of the descendants of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes. Do you want to replace him with someone else?"

Yue Qi's heart trembled violently after hearing this. He fell forward and whispered, "Whether to change or not is entirely up to your Majesty."

Emperor Chenghui seemed to have just noticed that Yue Qi was kneeling, and he sat up and raised his hand to pretend to support him: "Stand up! Well, then I won't change."

After Yue Qi left, Emperor Chenghui said to Qiu Shian, "I didn't realize that the third brother was so generous."

Qiu Shian whispered, "Although we have not found any evidence that the Third Prince has had private dealings with Yue Qi, the Saint must be on guard."

Emperor Chenghui stood up, Qiu Shian reached out to help him, and Emperor Chenghui went out and took a walk under the moonlight, not saying a word. After walking for half an hour, he was sweating all over, stopped and looked back and said, "So what if we have contact? As long as I am here, Yue Qi can only behave. I just feel a little sorry for Buqi, as he still has his heart set on the good of the court. I am not as energetic as before, and I am not willing to take risks."

"Saint, thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the emperor. Jia Gong can understand the emperor's heart, so he claimed to be sick and stayed at home."

After hearing this, Emperor Chenghui waved his hand and walked back. He kept thinking about a question in his mind: if Li Heng succeeded to the throne, could Li Yuan survive? And vice versa?

Emperor Chenghui had no answer, but he had few options left. What Li Heng did this time greatly disappointed Emperor Chenghui.

This is not a matter of poking a hole, but a hole in the sky. Fortunately, it was discovered early and no major problems occurred. Otherwise, Emperor Chenghui would not have the heart to escape the summer heat.

"Just hold on to the money from the four major private banks and let them worry for a while. I really don't know who gave them the courage to interfere in the affairs of the royal family."

Qiu Shian still answered very objectively after hearing this: "Saint, the four major banks may not want to get involved, but they may not dare to refuse."

Emperor Chenghui did not doubt that Qiu Shian was speaking for the four major banks. He smiled and shook his head: "I don't care about these. Anyway, they have interfered and they should be punished. These people are too bold. If we don't give them a beating, they will turn the tables."

The next day, Emperor Chenghui convened a meeting of cabinet ministers. Yue Qi stood up and spoke, and he became famous.

On the other hand, Lin Ruhai was criticized by Emperor Chenghui, who implied that the cabinet was too indulgent towards the four major private banks.

Lin Ruhai admitted the mistakes made in the cabinet's work with a pinch of his nose, and the matter was over.

Back in the cabinet office, Lin Ruhai called all the cabinet ministers to discuss how to strengthen supervision of the four major banks.

What Li Heng did was no secret, and the ministers knew it a long time ago, but the problem was that the emperor's punishment for Li Heng was very light. In fact, similar things are not without precedent. Wasn't Li Yuan thrown into Southeast Asia and almost didn't come back? Now it's Li Heng's turn, and the emperor's punishment is so light, how can it be justified?

"The central bank is responsible for supervising the four major private banks. We can consider separating it and establishing an independent agency to supervise all banks and money houses in the world, including the central bank. In short, we can't let this disorder continue." Lin Ruhai was not a pushover. He had already prepared and came up with a solution. He had communicated with the emperor in advance. When Emperor Chenghui saw this solution, he knew it was from Jia Lian's hand.

The new agency has supervisory power from the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Household Department. It used to be a joint supervisory body, but now it is exclusive.

The Ministry of Revenue, whose power had been taken away, was of course not happy about the emergence of this new institution. However, the Ministry of Revenue was currently leaderless, the Shangshu had committed suicide, and the emperor was not in a hurry to fill a new one. Instead, he came to escape the summer heat.

Although the cabinet is anxious, it cannot be anxious. It is so strange.

"The key is to see what the attitude of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is!" Li Qing had to come out and express his position. He had been too passive recently. To be honest, he underestimated the matter of the gold bank. Li Qing really regretted it in his heart. He ignored the fact that Li Heng could borrow money from the central bank and the four major banks. This was not just a matter of borrowing money. It had further seriously threatened the emperor. Don't say that financial power is not military power. The next step after having financial power is military power.

Lin Ruhai looked at him with an indifferent look and said calmly, "There is one more thing. Let's discuss the new minister. Death is the greatest thing. The cabinet needs to give an opinion on how to deal with the afterlife."

"It's normal to feel depressed due to excessive pressure!" Fang Song suddenly interjected.

Yue Qi, who had been very glorious before, sat quietly, closed his eyes and never spoke a word.

Pan Jixun coughed and asked, "Can it be considered a death from illness?"

Yue Qi opened his eyes wide after hearing this. He didn't expect you to be such a Pan Jixun.

"The news has spread throughout the capital a long time ago. It's too much to tell lies with open eyes. It's better not to let it go!" Li Qing quickly added.

"The Minister of Revenue is so depressed, there must be an explanation, right?" Fang Song expressed his concern implicitly.

"Go back and think of a solution. First, approve the motion of the cabinet officials to supervise the banking institutions in the future, and mention the personnel of the new minister. The Ministry of Revenue is the money bag, and it cannot be without a minister for a day." Lin Ruhai hinted, and if there is no explanation, go back and think of a way to make up an explanation. In short, Li Heng must not be involved. This bastard is greedy for the credit of following the dragon, and dragged everyone into the water.

After Lin Ruhai made the decision, the matter was settled.

Jia Lian did not choose to stay at home, but went out of the city and came to Mantou Temple. Although Miaoyu was a useless person, seeing her always made people feel calmer.

However, Miaoyu didn't want to see Jia Lian, and said with a bit of disgust: "Master Jia, why do you come here for no reason? I am a woman who follows Daifa to practice. The Xuanzhen Temple not far away is good. Why don't you live there? Isn't it just to recuperate? It's all about recuperation."

Jia Lian laughed heartily and said, "Let's just borrow the pavilion in the mountains to stay for a few days. Don't worry, I won't go into the nunnery unless it's necessary."

Miaoyu said hypocritically: "Forget it, there are many mosquitoes in the mountains, don't let them bite you."

Jia Lian smiled and waved his hands: "Forget it, staying overnight in a nunnery is not a good reputation. I will go back to Jia's farm to spend the night."

Well, Jia Lian did the same thing last time. He stayed in the pavilion in the back mountain during the day, chatting with Miaoyu, and went back to the farm at the foot of the mountain to spend the night.

We should still avoid suspicion when we should.

In the pavilion, Miaoyu sat down to make tea and said lightly, "That old nun is a dirty thing. Lord Jia should still take care of her."

Jia Lian laughed and said, "She is just greedy for money. Just give her a few words of warning."

Miaoyu sighed and said, "I'm talking about Xuanzhen Temple. Do you really not care about it, sir?"

Jia Lian couldn't help but smile awkwardly, but he didn't say anything. He really had nothing to say.

Jia Rong, this bastard, bribed the old nun with money and asked her to move around in the backyards of some wealthy families in the capital. He also got some female relatives to go to Xuanzhen Temple to practice Buddhism on his behalf, and had a lot of fun.

Jia Lian has investigated the matter. It was a consensual thing, and the men in the family didn't care. So is it Jia Lian's turn to take care of it?
Just like You Erjie in the original novel, Jia Lian and Jia Zhen are fighting for the trough. This is an old tradition in the East Palace, and they can't control it, nor do they want to control it.

After drinking the tea made by Miaoyu, Jia Lian stood up and said goodbye. Instead of returning to the farm, he went straight home.

The reason I returned to my home in the capital was naturally because something had happened.

Emperor Chenghui never took Jia Lian with him when he went out for summer vacation. Recently, new rumors about this have emerged in the capital.

If it were just gossip, it would be fine, but recently someone directly hinted in the newspaper that a certain senior official had never been taken by His Majesty to escape the summer heat, which shows that he had fallen out of favor.

Jia Lian didn't care about just this one thing, but for another thing, Jia Lian had to return to the capital to deal with it.

Jia Rong and Ni Er came to the south of the city together. Jia Lian did not return to the Jia Mansion, but lived in the house of the You sisters.

"Second Master, the private stock trading in the capital has been getting more and more serious recently. Today, someone went to the Dali Temple to file a complaint, saying that he was cheated out of 100,000 yuan with fake stocks. This is a serious matter, so I have to bother you."

Ni Er reported carefully, and Jia Lian turned to look at Jia Rong, wanting to see what he had to say.

"What I found out is this: someone used fake stocks to defraud several merchants from Jiangnan. They didn't have enough cash on hand, so they borrowed money from Dianjin Shop at high interest rates. Wasn't the loan due soon? Although Dianjin Shop was closed down, Long Jinwei took the IOU to collect the money, so they had to sell the stocks to pay back the money, and then they found out that the stocks they had were fake."

Jia Rong further explained the whole story.

Jia Lian frowned as he listened: "Wait a minute, where do people trade stocks privately? Also, what are the rules at the Dali Temple?"

Speaking of the Dali Temple, Jia Rong shook his head in disdain: "Forget about hoping that the Dali Temple can investigate this case. I guess the liar has already run away. The world is so big, where can I find him?"

Ni Er further added: "The private stock trading happened in the south of the city. There are so many merchants there that many people bought stocks and took the money to the bank for mortgage. Similar things happened in the branches of the four major banks in Beijing. The dividends of the stocks are still waiting, but the prices are always rising. Many people are willing to pay high prices for stocks with cash. When the four major banks saw this situation, they simply agreed to build a house in the east of the city to provide a place for private stock trading, and they charged some tea money."

Jia Lian was stunned when he heard this. He glared at Ni Er and said, "Why didn't you report this earlier when it happened?"

Ni Er knew something was wrong and quickly looked at Jia Rong.

Jia Rong smiled and said, "It's not Ni Er's fault. He told me about it a long time ago. I think we can wait and see. Don't we have a batch of stocks in hand? I think I can make some money from them."

Jia Lian understood. After this bastard knew about the matter, he not only did not report it, but also secretly fanned the flames and sold the stocks in his hands at a high price.

We really can't underestimate the ancients, as they even set up their own stock exchanges.

(End of this chapter)