Red Mansion, Ningfu Scholarly Family

Chapter 101: If the people are satisfied, how can the ruler be dissatisfied?

……

Before we know it, the June rainy season is about to pass and the weather is gradually getting cooler.

Jia Rong was not sure about other places, but there was basically no rain in the entire Kyoto area, and the planting of winter wheat in the north would inevitably be greatly affected.

"The harvests have not been good in the past two years, so reselling grain will definitely make money."

"But the most profitable thing is to buy rice from the Kingdom of Nanyue. It's only two hundred coins per stone, and they are all top-quality fragrant rice. But the journey is long and the cost is too high. It would be great if we could transport it by sea." Xue Ke's tone was full of regret, as if there was a mountain of gold in front of him that he could only look at but not dig.

Jia Rong didn't have any good solution for the moment. The imperial court was out of money. Without money, it could not build warships or train the navy. It could not defeat the Japanese pirates at sea, and it dared not go to sea. In the end, it could not make any money. It had become a vicious cycle.

"You can't get fat in one bite. Let's do a good job in Shandong first, and then we can worry about foreign affairs."

Xue Ke nodded solemnly: "Don't worry, brother, I know!"

"Oh right! There's one thing!"

Jia Rong suddenly smiled and looked at Xue Ke.

Xue Ke felt uneasy when he was stared at: "Brother, what's the matter?"

Jia Rong laughed softly and said, "Tell me honestly, has your family ever secretly gone out to sea to do business?"

The imperial court closing the sea is one thing, but faced with the lucrative smuggling business, which businessman can resist being tempted?
Just like the imperial court prohibits forming cliques for personal gain, who would listen? Ye Xiang, who was powerful in the court, and his grandfather Jia Jing, who didn't have many cliques?
Xue Ke scratched his head awkwardly and whispered, "I didn't dare to hide it from my eldest brother, so I used my connections to secretly go out twice without telling the coastal defense. I was lucky once and made some money, but the other time I encountered dozens of Japanese pirates and had a bloody battle. Most of my guards died before I escaped, and I almost lost everything."

Jia Rong smiled and patted Xue Ke on the shoulder: "As long as there is a way, it's fine. When you come back from Shandong, we will discuss it in detail."

Xue Ke's eyes lit up.

"I listen to big brother!"

"How long will it take for Shandong to be completed?"

"Half a year is about right. I'll try to get back before the New Year. I'll leave Sister Baoqin to my aunt and brother to take care of her."

"Don't worry, we will take good care of your sister!" Jia Rong said seriously.

"Thank you, brother."

"..."

"Brother Rong, brother."

for a while.

Xue Baoqin ran over with brisk steps, holding her red Xiangshui tassel skirt in one hand.

Xue Ke hurriedly stepped forward and said with a stern face: "Can you calm down? This is the Duke's Mansion. You must listen to your aunt and Brother Rong at home. You are not allowed to..."

Xue Baoqin quietly stuck out her tongue and said, "Brother, stop nagging me. I know everything. Brother Rong, let's go quickly."

The two of them went to the dock to see Xue Ke off.

The carriage had already been waiting at the second gate. Just as they were about to get on, Ruhua suddenly ran over and panted, "Master Rong, the young lady wants you to come over. She said there's something very important going on."

Jia Rong: “…”

What important thing could it be?
The most important thing for aunts is to play!
In Xichun's small courtyard, two aunts were playing on the swings.

The skirt flutters gently.

Seeing Jia Rong coming, Lin Daiyu immediately got off the Qianqiu carriage, held her temples, and stood very upright.

Xichun was still swinging on the swing without caring about her image, and asked with a smile: "Rong'er, when will you start school?"

Jia Rong waved his fan and smiled, "School starts the day after tomorrow, and I'll go to the Imperial College tomorrow."

"Want to go out for a walk tonight?"

"Didn't we agree to go out on August 15th?"

Lin Daiyu chuckled and said, "I told you, my nephew doesn't want to take our aunt out, he just wants to take his sister out to play."

Jia Rong said seriously: "We are not going there for fun!"

Xichun pouted and said, "If Baoqin can go, why can't we go?"

Jia Rong: "She is going to see her brother off."

Xichun: "Then let's go and see our nephew Xue Ke off."

Jia Rong was helpless.

"Okay then, little aunts, get in the car quickly."

Fortunately, the carriage at Ningguo Mansion was spacious enough.

"Hehe, good!" Xichun immediately jumped off the swing and pulled Lin Daiyu, saying, "Sister Lin, let's go!"

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "My nephew seems to be reluctant. Is he annoyed by the interruptions of the aunts?"

Xichun smiled and said, "He is willing to be disturbed."

Lin Daiyu smiled and said, "That's good."

……

Cabinet Office.

The four cabinet ministers, the six ministers and vice ministers, the chief censor of the Supreme Court, and other high-ranking officials of the court were all present.

"Everyone, this year is not a good year again."

"There's a severe drought in Shandong, there's an insect plague in Shaanxi, the Huai River burst its banks and flooded two counties... There are seven or eight major events, plus the military pay for the nine frontiers and the coastal defense in the south of the Yangtze River. All of these require money!"

After Ye Xiang finished speaking, his brows were frowned, and he looked worried about the country and the people.

Wen Ting, the deputy minister of the cabinet, sighed and asked, "How much silver is left in the Ministry of Revenue?"

Liu Yan, the Minister of Revenue, said: "Including this year's tax revenue, the total is less than two million taels."

Wu Nan frowned and asked, "Why is it only this much? What can it do with it?"

"Humph!"

Liu Yan sneered, "This is all I have to make up for last year's deficit of 8 million. If you don't believe me, you can come to the Ministry of Revenue to check the accounts in person!"

"I can't do the work of the Ministry of Revenue anymore. I will resign to the emperor later! Whoever is capable can do it!" Everyone was shocked and tried to persuade him: "Master Liu, calm down. The Ministry of Revenue can't do without you!"

Liu Yan said coldly: "I have to leave. I am already seventy-five years old and I am even more powerless recently. My lords, please stop persuading me. I have made up my mind!"

Ye Xiang smiled and advised: "I am already over seventy years old this year, and I am still helping the emperor. Sir Liu, please don't speak lightly!"

Liu Yan continued to sneer, "You are you, I am me. To be frank, the deficit of the Ministry of Revenue is getting bigger every year. I don't want to take the blame! While we can still check the accounts clearly, please find someone else!"

"Lord Liu, this is serious. This is serious."

"The economy has been bad in recent years, and everyone knows that. When the economy gets better next year, won't the deficit be made up?"

"yes……"

Everyone advised.

"What a fart!"

Liu Yan lost his temper on the spot!
"I said the same thing last year. Now you are making a fuss about spending money you didn't earn before you started. I'm sorry I won't keep you company!"

After saying that, he slammed the door and left!

Everyone was speechless for a while.

Ye Xiang frowned, then smiled and said, "Old Liu probably didn't get enough rest last night. Let's continue. What I mean is that we should all sign our names together and ask the Emperor to allocate one million taels of silver from the treasury, plus one and a half million taels from the Ministry of Revenue, for a total of two and a half million taels of disaster relief, so that we can get through this year's natural disaster together."

"As for the silver for the nine frontiers and coastal defense..." Ye Xiang looked at Jia Jing and said with a smile, "Would you mind waiting for a few more months until the tax silver comes in after autumn and then make up for it?"

Jia Jing took a sip of tea and smiled faintly: "I wrote about it some time ago. The tribes in the northwest have made unusual movements and seem to be planning to unite and march south. If there is any accident due to the delay in military pay, will Prime Minister Ye be responsible?"

Prime Minister Ye said sternly, "The four of us in the cabinet have signed, and the Ministry of War has also signed. For the sake of the people affected by the disaster in the three provinces, how about we take the risk and take responsibility together?"

At this point, Jia Jing naturally nodded, but he said seriously: "Last time, the military pay was delayed for several months, and someone from below came to me and said that there were low-level officers causing trouble. This time, the pay must be delayed for no more than two months, and the military pay must be paid in full, otherwise I dare not say anything."

Ye Xiang nodded: "Okay, I will make it up within two months."

"One more thing." Jia Jing added, "I am still worried about the Nine Borders. I promoted Wang Ziteng, the governor of the Beijing Camp, to the commander of the Nine Provinces and asked him to inspect the borders. If there are any problems, we can prepare in advance."

Ye Xiang knew that Wang Ziteng had fallen out with the Jia family, so he nodded and smiled, "This is a mature and prudent move. We will sign it together and send it to the Imperial Household Department. I think the emperor will approve it."

"..."

Imperial Palace, Imperial Study Room.

The emperor almost overturned the table when he looked at the book signed by everyone!
"I only received a small amount of money from my treasury, and they are already eyeing it!"

"This is really unreasonable!"

Dai Quan hurriedly served the tea and said with a cautious smile, "Saint Emperor, please calm down. I think you are all thinking about the country."

"Shit!"

The emperor became even angrier and sneered, "Don't think I'm old and confused. I'm just using the country as an excuse. If you really want to protect the country, you should think of ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure instead of staring at my treasury every day!"

Dai Quan smiled slightly and said, "The Holy Emperor is wise. The court has been in deficit for the past few years. It seems that what Prime Minister Ye said, 'Hidden wealth among the people, who can be short of money if the people are well-off', is not quite appropriate."

"Oh?"

The emperor raised his eyes to Dai Quan and asked, "Do you mean we should increase taxes?"

Dai Quan was frightened and knelt on the ground, kowtowed and said, "I dare not, I am guilty."

The emperor waved his hand calmly.

"Get up, I know the suffering of the people."

"Tax increases should not be made unless absolutely necessary."

"Go tell the cabinet that I can only give 300,000 taels, and let the emperor give 200,000 taels, leaving them with 500,000 taels. Let the cabinet figure out the rest!"

"According to the decree..."

Dai Quan bowed and accepted the order.

At this time, a young eunuch hurried over, knelt on the ground and reported: "Holy Emperor, the Minister of Revenue Liu Yan has just handed in his resignation letter."

The emperor opened the book and took a look, then immediately rubbed his temples with his hands due to a headache.

half an hour.

"Let him in."

After a while, Liu Yan, hunched over, walked into the hall step by step.

"I pay my respects to the Holy Emperor."

"My dear, please excuse me. Come, please take a seat."

A young eunuch hurriedly brought up the embroidered cushion.

Liu Yan thanked him and took his seat.

"Forgive me for being old, confused and incompetent. I can no longer help the Holy Emperor."

The Emperor smiled and said, "You are old, and so am I. We have been king and subject for more than 20 years, right?"

Liu Yan heard the concern in the words of the retired emperor, and said with tears in his eyes: "It's been exactly twenty-two years!"

"Twenty-two years!"

The Emperor sighed, "The court was not so difficult in the past few years. It's all my fault for squandering too much money during my trips to the south of the Yangtze River."

Liu Yan stood up and said, "How can you blame the Holy Emperor? It's our incompetence. We can't help the Holy Emperor, and we can't save the people from danger. We are guilty!"

"Sit down, sit down!"

The emperor smiled and said, "Today there is no monarch or subject, only you and me, let's talk about what's in our hearts."

"All of you old ministers were brought here by me. Old Ye, Old Jia, and Old Wu are all my right-hand men."

"They are all still strong and healthy. Why are you in such a hurry? I will leave first and then you can go. No one will stop me."

"Your Majesty, wuwu..."

(End of this chapter)