Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

"Tell me in detail how these losses came about." Jia Cong said.

"Yes. Take Jiangxi as an example. When collecting grain, they had to levy a certain percentage of the grain tax as an additional fee for rice consumption.

The collected rice was divided into two parts: one was the regular consumption of the grain transport, which was four dou per stone; the other was the light consumption of the grain transport in exchange for rice in silver, which was three dou and six liters per stone.

In addition, we have to collect the rice consumption for conversion, which is 4 dou per shi. This means we have to collect more than one shi per shi, and there are also various taxes." Lu Chengan said.

"What are the taxes?" Jia Cong asked.

"For example, monthly rations. Monthly rations are the food rations for the troops. Travel rations are the expenses for transporting the rations.

The government said that grain transport was "military labor on behalf of the people", so the transport army should be sent to the land with grain transport. Half of the monthly grain and travel grain should be collected in cash, and the other half should be converted into silver and given to the transport army. "

"There are also subsidies, which provide silver and rice for the transportation and other expenses of the troops. The names of the "supplements" vary from place to place. Nanjing is called "Cao Zeng", Zhejiang is called "Cao Jie", and Shandong is called "Run Hao".

Some gave silver, some gave rice, which was collectively called "gift silver and rice". The amount varied from province to province. In Jiangxi, three dou of rice and three cents of silver were given for every dan of rice, and one dou and three liters of rice were given for consumption.

"There is also the grain tax, which is used to pay for the transportation of grain to the army and the office expenses of the prefectures and counties. The standards vary from province to province, and some provinces collect grain in silver, some in rice, or both.

Jiangxi collected one dou of grain for each dan of grain transported to the capital. In addition, it also collected warehouse fees as the cost of building and repairing warehouses in the province and counties. A total of seven cents of silver was collected for each dan of grain transported to the capital.

"There is also water-travel silver, which is used as the cost of hiring vehicles and boats for prefectures and counties. For every dan of grain, an additional 100 wen of water-travel silver will be levied. For prefectures and counties with grain of more than 1,000 dan, in addition to the original amount of levied silver as the water-travel silver and an additional 3% of the water-travel silver for every 100 miles, an additional 5 fen of water-travel silver will be added for every dan."

"In addition, there are 'cross-river rice', 'mat fees' and so on." Lu Cheng'an said all in one breath with grief and indignation, waiting for Jia Cong's instructions.

Jia Cong was dumbfounded. He had never thought that such a huge amount of taxes would be added to a mere one stone of grain. No wonder the people had such a hard time. He asked, "Anything else?"

"Yes, but the above is only the quota for collection. When paying grain, there are also problems such as 'kicking the bucket and splashing the tip' and 'catching pigs and flying the bucket'. The people are suffering terribly."

"I know 'kick the goblet and soak the tip', but what does 'catch the pig and fly the goblet' mean?" Jia Cong asked.

“When the grain was collected, four or five shi of grain had already been collected and packed into bags, but the officials took one bag at random and put it into the warehouse, but did not record it in the accounts, and asked the people to pay another bag.

Every four or five dan of grain, one dan was captured, which was called "catching pigs"; "flying hu" means that the hu was overfilled but not put down. Every time more than ten hu of grain were measured, the officials ordered people to carry away the hu filled with grain and bring another empty hu. The people had to pay another hu of grain.

Jia Cong was silent for a long time, then gritted his teeth and said, "I originally thought that the grain transport business would be clean after the corruption and theft was cleared, but I never expected that the corruption would be so severe. It is simply insane and outrageous! Write a petition and I will have my own opinion."

"The student has already written it, please have a look, Your Highness." Lu Cheng'an hurriedly took out a petition from his pocket and presented it to him.

Jia Cong waved his hand and said, "Don't leave the capital these days. Be ready to be summoned at any time. If you are innocent, I will restore your honor. Xianglian give him some silver and take him away."

"Yes. Thank you for your grace, Your Highness." Lu Cheng'an, with tears streaming down his face, kowtowed twice and followed Liu Xianglian.

Pang Chao looked at the petition, shook his head and sighed, "I also heard about the serious corruption in the Southern Province in the past, and I thought it was just officials extorting money from the transport workers, but I didn't expect it to get to this point."

Jia Cong said bitterly, "It seems that I have 'wrongly blamed' Chen Jun before. He has worked for many years to get 10 million shi of grain, while the local and grain transport offices consume more than 10 million shi every year. If I don't kill him, how can I thank the world?"

Pang Chao said: "Your Majesty, we have to kill some people, but killing alone will not help.

The drawbacks of canal transportation have been pointed out by people in every dynasty, but it is difficult to reverse the situation as it is too late. We must not rush for quick results, otherwise chaos will inevitably occur.

Apart from local officials and water transport offices, there were more than a million people who made their living from the Grand Canal.
The porters, porters, boatmen, shipwrights, and canal gangs, as well as the towns, taverns, inns, and brothels on both sides of the canal, at least affect the livelihoods of millions of people and must be carefully considered. "

Jia Cong took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and said, "Then what should we do?"

Pang Chao said: "About ten years ago, Hongze Lake burst and transportation was blocked. Someone made a bold attempt to transport more than 1.6 million shi of grain from the five prefectures of Suzhou, Songshan, Changzhou, Zhenjiang and Taizhou by sea instead of by river, which actually achieved amazing results.

Thousands of ships carrying 1.6 million dan of rice arrived in Tianjin in a flash, without losing a single person or boat. The freight cost per 100 dan was only tens of gold, which was several times cheaper than river transportation. The merchant ships returned empty, and could carry beans to the south, making the round trip worthwhile, and everyone was very excited.

"Great! What a good idea! The ocean is vast, why must we squeeze that small canal? Who has such courage?" Jia Cong praised.

Pang Chao smiled and said, "This person is also an old acquaintance of the prince."

"Who?"

"Gu Tao, then the Governor-General of Liangjiang."

Jia Cong laughed and said, "I didn't expect that Gu Shang would have such achievements in his career. I thought he was relying on the money I made from the salt law to support his career."

Pang Chao shook his head and smiled, "Duan Zhun, Gu Tao, Huo Peng, Dong Yi and others are all talented people that the late emperor has been searching for for many years. They are definitely not ordinary people."

Jia Cong nodded and said, "Since sea transportation has such advantages, why hasn't the court made it a regular practice?"

Pang Chao said: "It's because this canal is too important. If the court suddenly says it is no longer needed, it will cut off their livelihoods and cause civil unrest. How can we deal with the millions of people on the canal causing unrest?
Moreover, if river transport was abolished, how would the officials of the Caoyun Yamen and the eight provinces make money? They would definitely secretly add fuel to the fire, and finally cause a disaster, forcing the court to continue to use river transport.

Therefore, although the late emperor knew that sea transportation was very good, for the sake of safety, he still said that sea transportation was only a temporary measure and never used it again. "

Jia Cong felt it was a difficult situation when he heard this. Even Emperor Xifeng did not dare to touch this hard bone. It was obvious that this stubborn person was a powder keg that would explode if touched.

The beggars on the canal are all poor fellows. Unlike the gentry who have homes and businesses, they dare not rebel easily. If their livelihood is cut off, they will surely gather together and become bandits.

The 120,000 grain transport troops had lost their resources. Not to mention asking them to fight the bandits, it would be good enough if they did not become bandits themselves. By then, several provinces in the south of the Yangtze River would surely be in ruins.

Thinking of this, Jia Cong calmed down and said, "Sir, this is very true. This matter is of great importance and needs to be considered carefully."

Pang Chao pondered and said, "I have only a vague understanding of the grain transport issue. We can use this case as an opportunity to order Gu Zhongtang to investigate the shortcomings of grain transport that Lu Sheng mentioned, and Your Majesty can then make appropriate arrangements."

"Okay." Jia Cong nodded, picked up the red pen and wrote on the petition:
The grain transport is related to the suffering of hundreds of millions of people. Today, the people are exhausted, but the heavy taxes still exist. I am very confused. I order Gu Zhongtang to order the governors of the relevant departments to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the grain transport business and report it as soon as possible.

Wen Youfang personally delivered the petition to the Grand Council. When the ministers learned that someone had filed an "imperial petition" with Jia Cong, they did not dare to neglect it and came forward to read it.

Seeing that the matter involved corruption in the transport system, and seeing Jia Cong's red comments, everyone looked at Gu Tao with different expressions. Sometimes, when it comes to troublesome matters, the superiors will not reveal their intentions too clearly, so as not to lose the opportunity to turn things around. One only needs to see who he lets handle it to figure out his true intentions.

Everyone knows that Gu Tao was the first person in the world to open up the sea transportation of grain. Now that Prince Jing has specifically asked him to investigate the matter, is there any need to explain his intention?

Duan Zhun said, "Since Prince Jing has personally appointed the general, this matter will be in the hands of Gu Zhongtang. If there is anything you need our assistance in, please feel free to ask."

Jiang Feng, Feng Yuan and others all nodded in agreement. Gu Tao knew that this matter was not simple, so he did not refuse and said generously: "Don't worry, Prime Minister, I will do my best to live up to the king's order."

Feng Yuan came over and whispered, "Old Gu, it seems that the prince wants to get rid of the corruption in the transport system. Can you handle this?"

Gu Tao said in a deep voice: "This matter benefits the country and the people, how can I be timid? Hey, the memorial I wrote back then, I didn't expect it to be put to good use today."

Feng Yuan smiled and said, "What a courage! If you don't take charge of such an important matter, who else can take the responsibility? This shows that the prince has a keen eye."

Gu Tao smiled and said, "I will die with no regrets if I am able to be valued by the prince."

He wrote on the petition: "The Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple should re-examine the case of Lu Cheng'an. The Censorate should quickly send censors to inspect the provinces and investigate the advantages and disadvantages of grain transport and report to them. There must be no mistakes."

The clerk next to him hurriedly took the petition and went down to copy it and forward it.
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Ever since Jia Cong took the lead in returning the stolen money, Chen Jun had no choice but to grit his teeth and dig out the gold, silver and winter melons in the cellar to pay compensation. For the remaining part, he had to order people to transport it from the clan as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the three-month deadline was exceeded, who knew what Jia Cong would do?
Seeing this, other corrupt officials hurriedly sold their fields and land, valuable jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings to pay off their debts, and for a while they all became rich.

If the amount was really insufficient, they would borrow from various places. After all, it was always easy to borrow money from officials, and money shops and bill shops also liked to deal with officials the most.

No one dared to take the chance and think that they would not be investigated. In this avalanche of corruption cases, if one was investigated, a whole group of cases would be investigated. Everyone knew that colleagues would never have the "guts" to refuse to confess, so it would be safer to return the stolen money honestly. As long as the official position was still there, they could get it back sooner or later.

Three months passed quickly. Looking at the mountains of gold and silver in the Ministry of Revenue, Feng Yuan was so happy that he couldn't stop grinning. He laughed and said, "Prince Jing is indeed worthy of being the best money-maker in the world. You should all learn from him. You keep complaining about being poor. As long as you have the ability, you will have a lot of money again, right?"

All the officials of the Ministry of Revenue smiled bitterly and nodded in agreement. What the hell is there to learn! It’s all our official fat!
"How much did the national treasury receive from investigating this case?" Feng Yuan asked.

"My Lord, a total of 14,723,965 taels of stolen silver have been recovered, as well as 290,000 mu of fertile farmland and 363 houses and shops in the capital as collateral," said Heng Zhou, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

Feng Yuan nodded with satisfaction and said, "We must be careful in estimating the value of the land and houses used as collateral. If we overestimate them, wouldn't the national treasury suffer? It will also be difficult to explain to the prince, after all, this time the prince has returned all the stolen money."

Heng Zhou hurriedly said, "Don't worry, Prime Minister Feng. The valuation of all the land and houses is 20% to 30% lower than the market price. The three judicial departments have also issued bills. Even if there are problems, it can't be blamed on our Ministry of Revenue."

"That's good." Feng Yuan nodded and asked, "Have you refunded all the money from Uncle Chen?"

"Chen Guojiu returned a total of more than 9.86 million taels, which is consistent with the figures found by the three departments and the Jinyiwei."

Feng Yuan nodded and smiled, "Only Prince Jing is impartial and just, and can control the powerful people.

Brother Heng, although the prince killed two of your brothers from the New Party, looking at the grand occasion today, you have nothing to say, right?"

Heng Zhou knew that Feng Yuan was referring to the night of the palace coup, so he nodded and said, "Prime Minister Feng is right. Your Highness is a man of great talent and vision, and I sincerely admire him."

Even those members of the New Party who hated Jia Cong had to admit that Jia Cong was not just thinking about himself, but often prioritized the interests of the country.

Just like the current grain tax corruption case, Jia Cong refused to return a single cent, so who could do anything to him?
"That's it. With the prince as the stabilizer, there will be no distinction between the new party and the old party in the court in the future. The state affairs are difficult and the people have a hard time. We must work together." Feng Yuan said with a smile.

"What Zhongtang said is absolutely right."

"By the way, there is a wedding in the prince's mansion today. Have you received the invitation?" Feng Yuan said.

"Got it. I'll go there after I get off work." Heng Zhou said.

Feng Yuan smiled and said, "Your Highness is really enviable. He kills people with a sword when he is awake and sleeps on the lap of a beauty when he is drunk. It's nothing more than that."

Heng Zhou laughed softly and said, "I heard that among the new concubines who entered the palace, there are female knights from the Jianghu, daughters of guilty ministers, and outsiders."

Feng Yuan sneered: "Doesn't this just prove that the prince has grasped the essence of the saints?"

"Please give me some advice, Master."

"That is why the wise man treats everyone equally, and is devoted to the near while advocating the far." Feng Yuan said with a smile.

"Zhongtang is well-informed and has a good memory. I admire him."

Heng Zhou was a little unconvinced, and continued, "Among the people who entered the palace tonight, there is a concubine named Qin, who was originally the wife of Jia Rong, the criminal of Ning State. According to seniority, she is the wife of the prince's nephew. There are also two princesses, Li and You, who are the wives of the prince's cousin and brother. I wonder if the prime minister has any opinions?"

Feng Yuan laughed and said, "This is the essence of the Saint Sect. Your Highness has put his knowledge into practice, is slow to speak but quick to act, and is truly a role model for our generation."

Heng Zhou frowned, secretly cursing him for being shameless, and said, "I am ignorant. When did the Holy Sect have the meaning of marrying a widowed sister-in-law? I hope the Lord can enlighten me."

Feng Yuan smiled and said, "Xunzi said, 'Select the virtuous and good, promote loyalty and respect, promote filial piety and brotherhood, take in orphans and widows, and help the poor.' This is the benevolent policy of the sages. Isn't your majesty's policy of 'taking in orphans and widows'?"

Heng Zhou was speechless and could only curse in his heart, "How shameless!" Xunzi asked you to take your widowed sister-in-law into your room and enjoy her? No wonder the Taoist said that Jia Feng was loyal and faithful, and the country was seriously ill.

"Let's go. The prince told me to go there early." Feng Yuan smiled and waved his hand, then left leisurely.

At the same time as Feng Yuan, Duan Zhun, Gu Tao, Jiang Feng and other key ministers arrived at Prince Jing's Mansion. It was still early for dinner, and it was obvious that they had other important matters to discuss.

Chen Ji was not among them. Everyone knew that Jia Cong was marginalizing him, so no one mentioned it or asked about it.

In the outer study, Jia Cong sat down with everyone and exchanged a few words. When he learned that all the stolen money had been recovered, he said with satisfaction: "The three judicial departments handled this case well. The relevant people have been promoted one level. As for the officials who committed the crime...

What I meant was that we should arrest a few officials of high rank and with serious crimes and execute them to appease the public anger. Those below them should be dismissed from office, those below them should be demoted but retained, and those with minor crimes should be fined one year's salary.

Please consider it carefully, I have a lot of things to do at home and I don't have time to take care of them."

Duan Zhun nodded and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, this is not difficult."

Jia Cong smiled and invited everyone to have tea, and then asked: "Gu Zhongtang, how is the investigation of the water transport corruption case going?"

Gu Tao said hurriedly: "I was just about to report to the prince that after checking, the Jiangxi Juren Lu Chengan's complaint was true and he was indeed wronged. I have ordered the Jiangxi Province to restore his Juren title and return his property.

In addition, the issue of grain transport malpractices has been investigated by the inspector and the censor, and I have prepared a memorial based on my experience in handling grain transport affairs. I would like to ask Your Majesty to review it." As he spoke, he took out a memorial from his sleeve and presented it to him.

Jia Cong took the heavy memorial and praised, "It seems that Gu Zhongtang has put a lot of effort into this matter. I am afraid it will take me a whole day to read this memorial."

Gu Tao sighed, "I have been reading and working on this for ten years before I came up with this. Your Majesty, please correct me." (End of this chapter)