Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Jia Cong laughed dryly and said, "No, no, I'll read it first." With his level of classical Chinese, it would be good enough if he could understand 60% to 70% of it, let alone make any changes.

He stammered, "Previously, Jiangxi Juren Lu Cheng'an sued local officials for illegally collecting grain taxes. Now, I am following the order of the Regent to investigate the pros and cons of the grain tax and make a report.

However, the transportation business has become a heavy burden, just like a doctor treating a long-term illness: it is easy to diagnose the disease but difficult to prescribe the medicine.

In other words, he only wanted to ensure the peace between officials and the people. As for the grain transport, the grain households sent grain to the prefectures and counties, and the prefectures and counties exchanged it for transport workers. The transport workers led the transport in the south and delivered it in the north. There were also dams and warehouse operators along the way to control their strengths and weaknesses, so problems often occurred one after another, and it was difficult to improve the situation on its own.

As for the root of the problem, the north and south also have different opinions. The north says that the south is that the prefectures and counties collect excessive taxes, which leads to extortion of transport workers, and the extortion of transport workers leads to punishment everywhere.

However, they use the south to talk about the north, and say that since the transport workers have been punished, how can they not extort money, and since the prefectures and counties have been extorted, how can they not collect excessive fees? They always make sarcastic remarks and rarely put themselves in the other person's shoes.

So officials compete with the people, people compete with officials, and officials compete with each other according to their duties and responsibilities, and there is no lack of competition..."

Jia Cong finished reading a page with great effort, feeling overwhelmed because there were no punctuation marks and he did not understand them. Many sentences were not broken where they should be, and were broken where they should not be. If it were not for the profound knowledge of Pang Chao, Duan Zhun, Jiang Feng and others, they would probably be confused and not know what he was saying.

Feng Yuan smiled considerately and said, "This article is very long. It must be hard for Your Majesty to read it. Why don't you let me read it myself?"

Jia Cong hurriedly handed the memorial to everyone, curled his lips and said, "This is full of densely packed words, how can we read it?"

Duan Zhun smiled and said, "Your Majesty, aren't all books and articles in the world like this?"

Jia Cong laughed and said, "This is ridiculous! I have invented something that can benefit future generations. Please take a look." After that, he handed a newly printed copy of "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" from the bookshelf to Duan Zhun.

Duan Zhun flipped it open and said curiously, "This is..."

Feng Yuan came over to take a look and said with a smile, "This is the prince's masterpiece. I have already bought a set. It is really wonderful. You must see it."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "This story is fine, please take a look at the printing format."

"From left to right, from top to bottom, printed horizontally." Duan Zhun asked, "What do these strange symbols mean?"

Jia Cong said, "Everyone, human eyes are horizontal, so why do we have to write vertically? Isn't it against the laws of nature? Isn't it easier to read horizontally?"

Feng Yuan said hurriedly: "It is indeed more relaxing and does not tire the eyes."

"Look at these symbols again. They are called punctuation marks, just like the circles and dots you use when marking articles. They are mainly used to break up sentences to avoid ambiguity." Jia Cong explained the use of punctuation marks in detail.

Everyone was amazed and praised: "Your Highness has a brilliant idea. We admire you."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Do you think it's okay?"

People have been dealing with words all their lives and can distinguish between good and bad. They all say: "Although it may be difficult to get used to it at first, it can really benefit the world, especially for children who are just beginning to learn, so that they don't swallow it whole."

Jia Cong said: "Then please promote this method. From now on, all books and texts in the world will be written in this way.

First, we will change the documents in the court, and quickly promulgate it to the whole country. The same rule will also be applied to the next spring and autumn examinations. If there are old stubborn people who cling to the old ways and refuse to change, they will all be dismissed and demoted. "

Everyone nodded in approval.

Soon, everyone passed Bi Gutao's memorial around and looked at Jia Cong.

Jia Cong looked at Pang Chao in bewilderment, coughed dryly, and said, "I won't read the memorial. If you have any opinions, please feel free to speak up."

Pang Chao said: "Gu Zhongtang's memorial said that there are six major drawbacks in the grain transport administration."

Jia Cong hurriedly asked: "Which six disadvantages?"

“The river transportation route is long and obstructed, and we must wait for the flood season before we can travel unimpeded. However, there are still some delays in exchange, and many people cannot return in the same year.

Therefore, there are things like dismantling and selling boat planks, which makes boat owners afraid of this. They find it very difficult to find a boat, and it will take a year to go back and forth. The water fee will be expensive, and they are afraid that everyone will hesitate to go, which will force them to be exhausted. This is the first difficulty.

Today, the Grand Canal is shallow at every turn, so small boats are often used. There is also the danger of the Yangtze River and Dongting Lake to the north and south of Hunan. A small boat of 200 tons is dangerous when traveling thousands of miles through huge waves, wind, high temperatures and humidity.

During the flood season, the crossing point of the Yellow River was vast and boundless. The ships of Chu Province had to take long and winding roads with unknown dangers. If there were any carelessness, who would be held responsible? This was the second difficulty.

In the past, when military ships were transporting goods, they were responsible for the transportation of goods. Now that civilian ships are transporting goods, they need to be escorted. If there are too many commissioners, the funds will be limited. If there are too few people, it will be difficult to take care of them. The servants and boat owners can all cheat and embezzle, so there is no need to communicate with the warehouse officials. Only then can such tricks be used. There is really no good way to guard against long-distance transportation. The third difficulty is.

The province of Chu has suffered from drought and floods for years, and the price of rice is high, and it rises every spring. The rice in Hubei is not enough to feed the people of this province for a year. Hunan is a rice-producing area, but in recent years, each stone of rice costs about 2,000 yuan. The heavy tax on grain transport has caused the price of rice to rise sharply, and the people are suffering. It is unimaginable. Although it is a prosperous era, the people's food cannot be taken lightly. The fourth difficulty is.

The loss of grain transport was huge, and the rice transportation fees collected from the south and north of the Yangtze River had not been approved. In addition, the cost of escorting and exchanging rice, and the cost of extorting and replacing ships during the winter floods, totaled no less than five taels per dan. Compared with the price of one tael and three coins, if 100,000 dan of rice were transported, there would be more than three hundred thousand yuan of uncollected money. It could not be imposed on the people, nor could it be held accountable to the government. The ministers of the ministry would not allow reimbursement, and the officials of the frontier region had no way to compensate. The fifth difficulty was this.

The people's fields and the roads are incompatible. If there is no rain for ten days, the people want to open the culverts for irrigation, but the government must close the culverts to keep the boats, so the case of digging the dike arises.

As for the closure of rivers, we must divert springs from other places to the river to solve the urgent problem. And the water conservancy of the people's fields will also be diverted to the river, and farming will become even more difficult.

As the canal was about to overflow, officials had to release floodwaters to protect the embankment. Women and children lay on the dam head, crying and begging for relief. The officials had no choice but to open the dam in the middle of the night, and the fields of the people under the embankment were immediately flooded.

The rivers in the eastern border are dredged at any time under the orders of the governor-general. The local officials are not necessarily unscrupulous. The reason why they are dredged and silted up frequently is that the harm caused by the Yellow River transportation is particularly serious.

The silt in front has not been completely removed, and the next wave of luck has already come in a row. The difference in height makes it difficult to cross the river. So I know it is not a good idea to borrow the Yellow River, but I have no other way to float it. I also try to go against the current and force it to stay within my range, so all the money I have spent on repairing the river is wasted. This is the sixth difficulty. "

After Pang Chao finished speaking, he knew that Jia Cong had a weak foundation in literature and history, so he explained it in detail again and said, "These six major drawbacks can be summarized as follows:

The journey is long and dangerous, and good and bad luck are hard to predict; the wind is high and the waves are rough, and good and bad luck are hard to predict; the boatmen and boatmen cheat and steal; the grain collection is excessive, and the people are exhausted; the local government is helpless because the price is insufficient; the people's fields are all vying for water conservancy. "

After listening carefully, Jia Cong felt his scalp tingling. He thought it was a simple case of officials oppressing the people and levying heavy taxes, but he didn't expect it to be so complicated. This was just a brief summary. If he investigated it seriously, he would probably have to study this issue alone for a year.

Yin sighed, "The first few are fine, but the last one is something I have never heard of and never dreamed of. The farmland and the canal are both in conflict and harmful to each other. Just for this one reason, the river transportation must be changed!"

Gu Tao said: "Your Majesty is right. If there is a drought, the people will secretly dig the river bank to divert water for irrigation in order to survive.

In this case, the canal would be shallow and dry, and the grain transport would be greatly affected. The river officials could only bring water from other places into the river to ensure the grain transport. In this way, the people in other places would lose their water resources to the canal, and the cost would also be greatly increased.

If there is flood water, in order to protect the river embankment, the only option is to release the flood water, which will inevitably flood large tracts of farmland and cause the people to suffer.

What's worse, if the river near the Yellow River dries up, the only way to save it is to divert water from the Yellow River, but the Yellow River is full of silt, which can easily cause the river to become clogged. If the silt accumulated this year has not been cleared, the next year's grain transport ships will arrive and they will have to borrow water from the Yellow River again. Even if the court invests millions of silver every year to repair the river, it will still be blocked from time to time, and it will be intermittent, over and over again, wasting money and grain.

Jia Cong slapped his thigh and said, "What Prime Minister Gu said is right. Previously, I only worried about the officials and porters exploiting the people, but I didn't expect that repairing the river would also be a huge expense. No wonder we have to spend a lot of money every year to repair the river. It turns out that in addition to the Yellow River, the Grand Canal is also a big expense.

Damn it, it's blocked and then cleared, isn't it all a waste of money? Shipping! It must be shipped by sea! I would rather the canal boat capsize at sea than have thousands of ships crowding the river, how stupid! "

Feng Yuan said: "Your Highness is right. Lord Gu once conducted a sea transport without losing a single person or boat. As for the so-called high winds and rough waves at sea, I think it is just a rumor."

Gu Tao said, "What Feng Zhongtang said is true. All sea routes are near the sea. No matter how strong the wind and waves are, they are limited and have a certain period. Moreover, the hull of the ship is large and stable. As long as you don't load too much and avoid the windy and wavey season, it will be very stable."

Jia Cong nodded and said, "I know a thing or two about this. The Wan Guo Trading Company often sails on the sea, and I haven't heard of many ships capsizing. I still make a lot of money. Shipping by sea is dangerous and cannot be trusted."

Duan Zhun said: "The benefits of sea transportation are well known to everyone, but the reason why it is difficult to implement it suddenly is that the canal transportation involves a lot of things, and the interests of all parties are involved. It is complicated and entangled, and one move can affect the whole body. We need to think of a safe way, otherwise there will be chaos."

Jia Cong said: "I have discussed this matter with Mr. Pang. It is nothing more than stirring up the vested interest groups. It is more difficult to touch the interests than to touch the soul. I know this very well."

"It is harder to touch interests than to touch the soul?" Jiang Feng chewed it over twice and praised: "This is a brilliant and thought-provoking statement. I wonder who said this?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "I forgot too. No matter who said it, we only recognize the truth."

Guan Pu said, "I wonder what tricks the prince has?"

Jia Cong thought for a moment and said, "One person's plan is short but two people's plan is long. Let's publish this memorial in the court newspaper tomorrow and let the officials in the court discuss it and see if there is any good solution.

By the way, quickly summon the Governor of the Canal Transport, the Governor of the Rivers, and other officials from the various provinces to report to the capital, and I will listen to their ideas."

"Yes."

"Everyone, it's getting late, let's go to the wedding banquet." Jia Cong said with a smile.

"Congratulations, Your Highness, on your marriage." Everyone laughed.

Feng Yuan smiled and said, "All the beauties in the world are within the prince's grasp. It's really enviable."

Jia Cong patted Feng Yuan's belly and laughed, "Brother Zhengfang, this is what they call those who are capable should do more work."

Feng Yuan's expression changed, and he quickly explained: "My abilities are all for the country, not for a woman."

Everyone smiled obscenely, after all, a man is young until he dies.

Those invited to the banquet in the palace today are all important ministers above the third rank and nobles above the rank of Marquis of Wu. Those below them will not receive an invitation unless they have special relationships, and some of them happen to have special relationships.

Jia Cong spoke a few polite words to the grand secretaries and important generals at the chief table, then stood up and went to each table to propose a toast. Everyone raised their glasses respectfully in response.

Suddenly, he saw an old friend at the table, so he said with a smile, "Old Xu, since you have been transferred to the capital, why don't you come to see me?"

Xu Qing said hurriedly, "Your Highness, please forgive me. I just came to Beijing to take over the Lianghuai Salt Administration a few days ago. Now that the Commerce Department has just been established, there are so many things to deal with that I dare not neglect it. I have been busy for more than two months before I can finally relax a little. I also know that Your Highness is very busy with government affairs and has so many things to do every day. I dare not come to bother you for no reason. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

Jia Cong said with a smile, "We are old friends, why are you being polite? Feel free to come if you want to. If it weren't for your advice back then, how could I have married Miss Zhen today? So, I owe you a favor."

Xu Qing smiled and said, "A thousand miles of fate brings lovers together. This is the fate of the prince and Miss Zhen. I dare not take credit for it."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Even if we are destined to be together, we still need the help of a matchmaker, right? The Commerce Department has a heavy responsibility, and I can only leave it to you so that I can rest assured."

Xu Qing was flattered and kept expressing his humility.

Jia Cong drank a glass of wine with everyone and then turned to his table.

Seeing this, those who were sitting at the table no longer dared to look down on this fat fifth-rank doctor, and secretly thought that it was a good thing that they did not look down on him just now, otherwise it would have been terrible.

Unexpectedly, this person turned out to be the prince's good friend. He was busy and attentive to Xu Qing, persuading him to drink and talking, and hinting at their relationship.

Xu Qing answered all the questions with a smile, without any mistakes. He was humble and polite, like the Maitreya Buddha who would not offend anyone, without any arrogance at all.

People couldn't figure out his relationship with Jia Cong, so they valued him even more.

There were no officials at the other table. Instead, there were children of aristocratic families such as Wang Wei, Niu Dabao, Liu Fang's son Liu Mao, Hou Xiaokang's son Hou Yong, and Jia Baoyu, Jia Lian, Jia Jia and others.

Jia Cong saw a young man with powdered face and rouge-like lips sitting next to Baoyu, so he asked with a smile: "Baoyu, are you used to the academy? How are your studies going?"

Zhen Baoyu was a little embarrassed, and hurriedly stood up and said, "My Lord, I am doing very well in the academy, and now I have been admitted."

Jia Cong nodded and said, "Okay, it's not easy to pass the imperial examination in the capital, so try to get three top honors. Let me tell you a secret, the writing format for the next autumn exam will be greatly changed, so you should prepare early."

"What changes?" Zhen Baoyu asked hurriedly.

Jia Cong laughed and said, "Go buy a set of my books and you'll know after reading them." After that, he patted him on the shoulder and turned to another table.

The table was occupied by the elderly relatives of the mansion, and Jia Zheng was in the company.

"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you." Seeing Jia Cong coming, Li Shouzhong hurriedly stood up and said.

Jia Cong smiled and nodded, touching his nose, not knowing how to address her. Now that Li Wan had been accepted into his room, and in front of Jia Zheng, he felt a little embarrassed, so he said vaguely, "Uncle, how are you these days?"

"Thanks to Your Majesty, everything is fine." Li Shouzhong sighed, "If it weren't for Your Majesty's rescue, I would have died in the factory prison."

When Jia Cong heard him mention this, he thought of Li Wan's request and said hurriedly, "Since you have survived a great disaster, you will surely have good fortune in the future. Well, I will take good care of you, sister Wan, so don't worry."

As she spoke, she glanced at Jia Zheng with a guilty conscience. Seeing that he looked normal and didn't seem to care about her daughter-in-law, it seemed that the old lady had already greeted him. So she smiled and toasted him with a glass of wine, saying, "Have fun, sir."

Jia Zheng smiled and said, "Brother Cong, go and do your own thing. Don't worry about us."

Jia Cong left with a smile on his face, not wanting to entertain these old men, so he ordered Jia Lian and the others to accompany him, apologized, and went back to the bridal chamber. (End of this chapter)