Red Mansion, Ningfu Scholarly Family

Chapter 183 Baochai: Or a Prince

……

"I heard that Rong'er and Miss Lin are engaged?" Aunt Xue suddenly asked again.

Baochai nodded slightly and said "hmm".

Aunt Xue was speechless for a moment.

Didn't they say that Rong Ge'er wouldn't be arranged to marry for the time being? Why did they suddenly decide without any announcement?

Isn't Baochai a step late?

"Miss Lin, it's okay!"

Aunt Xue suddenly understood and smiled.

Given Baochai's status and the burden of her brother, it is unlikely for her to be the mistress of Ningguo Mansion. She can only submit to being the second wife.

The Ningguo Mansion is a wealthy and powerful family, so being the second branch is not a disadvantage. It's just that there is no title to inherit. As long as you study hard, you can still make a name for yourself.

Besides, Miss Lin and he had played together since childhood, so it was easier for the two of them to get along with each other.

"Mom, Baoqin is also going to get engaged."

Baochai said one more sentence.

Aunt Xue was stunned.

"Baoqin is getting engaged? Whose family?"

Baochai said, "It's Rong'er too."

Aunt Xue: "..."

"Are you serious!?"

"Ah."

Baochai nodded heavily.

Aunt Xue suddenly felt like the sky was falling.

late!

Totally too late!

What should Baochai do?
If I had known earlier, she would have gone with Jia Jingding first!

"Okay, okay, your second uncle is really a capable man. He is willing to send Baoqin to Ningguo Mansion as a second wife!" Aunt Xue said half enviously and half sarcastically.

"But don't envy Baoqin!" Aunt Xue comforted Baochai, "Although your aunt is useless, Baoyu is still the legitimate son of the second branch of the Rong Mansion, and he has the old lady to help him. As long as he studies hard in the future, he will have no worries about his future."

"And if your sister Yuanchun's affair comes to fruition, wouldn't Baoyu's status rise even higher? The second wife of Rongguo Mansion is not much worse than the second wife of Ningguo Mansion."

Baochai shook her head quickly after hearing this: "Mom, my daughter is still young and doesn't want to think about these things. I am willing to stay with you forever."

The second branch of Rongguo Mansion sounds good, but with the current situation of the first and second branches being like fire and water, when the old lady passes away in the future, no one knows where the second branch will move to. It is possible that they will live in a broken cave.

As for Baoyu...she thought she had some insight into people. If the Jia family was regarded as a country, the heirs could be divided into three categories.

Rong Ge'er, who loves reading, is enterprising and cares about national affairs, is undoubtedly the leader of the revival.

People like Jia Lian, although they have not achieved much, can still take charge of some family affairs and become a king who maintains the status quo.

Baoyu, who only knows how to eat, drink, and have fun, and is sad about the passing of time, is undoubtedly a king who will lose his country.

If she had any choice, she would not choose Baoyu.

"My son," Aunt Xue said anxiously, "How can you not miss it? You know the current situation of our family. Your father has long passed away, and your brother is useless. If you don't find a suitable family quickly, won't we, an orphan girl and a widow, be eaten by others?"

Then he lamented, "Although I live here now, it's not legitimate, but I don't dare to move out. It would be better if you got engaged."

Baochai said, "It could be even worse."

"Mom, think about the relationship between the second wife and the first wife." Baochai reminded.

Aunt Xue fell silent for a moment.

Under the old lady's manipulation, the first and second wives in Rongguo Mansion have become enemies, fighting to the death, and there is no possibility of reconciliation.

If Baochai married into the second wife's family, she would certainly be ostracized by the first wife's family, and even... Aunt Xue couldn't help but shudder and frowned, saying, "What should we do? Or you can also..."

"Mom, no."

This time, before Aunt Xue finished speaking, Baochai shook her head decisively.

At this point, if she gets involved without knowing the consequences, not only will she be disliked by everyone, but she might also become estranged from Baoqin.

It's also good to be a sister-in-law and assist Baoqin.

With Rong'er's abilities, he might even become a king in the future. Baoqin is simple-minded, so how can she gain a foothold among Jia Rong's wives and concubines?
Only when sisters work together can they stand firm.

"Aren't you going to invite a host, mom? I've gone to the East Palace to invite people." Seeing that her mother wanted to say something, Baochai quickly changed the subject.

Aunt Xue waved her hand.

"go Go."

……

Daxia had two capitals and thirteen provinces, and the territory was vast. There were countless big and small things happening every day. As a cabinet minister, Jia Jing was naturally very busy. Sometimes he couldn't even go home at night and had to stay in the side hall of the cabinet to rest.

Jia Jing came home late again tonight.

Japanese pirates frequently invade the southeast, and Lin Ruhai is making intensive arrangements in the Huaibei and Lianghuai areas. Jia Jing needs full cooperation from the court, especially in terms of military pay, which must be adequate.

But the emperor obviously didn't want to start a war, especially something that cost so much money!
He just wants to collect money now.

Build the Ascension Pavilion...

"Minister Jia, the salt tax reform has gradually been put on the right track. What are your plans next?" The retired emperor changed the subject and talked about the commercial tax reform. It was obvious that he did not want to continue the topic of fighting the Japanese pirates.

Jia Jing saluted and said, "I am working on the reform of the other heavy commercial taxes such as tea tax, silk, cloth, etc., but it will take some time."

"it is good!"

The Emperor clapped his hands and laughed, "Just focus on this matter. As for the Japanese pirates in Lianghuai, I will send more people to assist Lord Lin!"

Having said this, Jia Jing no longer insisted.

"Sir, obey the order."

After returning home in the evening, Jia Jing immediately summoned several of his advisers, including Jia Rong, and asked in a deep voice, "Do you have any other ideas about the commercial tax reform?"

Jia Rong was stunned for a moment.

Hasn't the master been talking about the suppression of Japanese pirates recently? Why did he suddenly turn to commercial tax reform?

The others were obviously also confused. Zhuge Lan stood up first and said, "Sir, we have not considered the reform of commercial tax for the time being. Haven't we been discussing the elimination of Japanese pirates recently? As long as the Japanese pirates are eliminated, Lianghuai will be stable, business will prosper, and commercial tax will naturally flourish."

Jia Jing waved his hand: "The emperor does not want to continue to make any more efforts to eliminate the Japanese pirates. It is estimated that he will soon send an imperial envoy to Jiangnan to replace Lin Ruhai, continue to close the sea, and adopt a defensive strategy."

Everyone was shocked.

Ouyang Chi's face was not looking good, and he said in a cold voice: "If the emperor is like this, then all our preparations will be in vain, and Lord Lin's efforts will be wasted!"

"Cough cough!"

Nangong Lu coughed lightly and said, "Brother Ouyang, please be careful with your words. We should do as the emperor arranges."

Jia Jing nodded and said, "Mr. Nangong is right. I think the emperor has his considerations. As subjects, we just need to follow his orders."

"Mr. Zhuge."

"My subordinate is here."

"You will set off for Jiangnan tomorrow morning and explain the situation here to Ruhai so that he can be prepared in advance." Zhuge Lan bowed.

"I obey my orders."

Jia Jing nodded, then looked at Jia Rong and said, "Rong brother."

Jia Rong stood up and saluted.

"Master."

Jia Jing smiled and said, "It was you who invented honeycomb briquettes, and the salt tax was also your idea. What do you think about the reform of other commercial tax items?"

Everyone immediately looked at Jia Rong.

As for Jia Jing, the successor, people no longer admire him, but respect him.

The same respect as for Jia Jing.

Needless to say as for his studies, Jia Rong's current writing level almost surpasses everyone present, so passing the imperial examination is almost a foregone conclusion.

He is also modest and prudent, and has a wide range of interests in national, family and world affairs, and often has outstanding insights.

Jia Rong said sternly, "In all dynasties, any reform will encounter great resistance, and most of them will even end in failure. Why is that?"

Everyone knew that Jia Rong would definitely have something to say later, so no one interrupted him.

Sure enough, Jia Rong paused and continued, "Some time ago, I consulted many historical books and made careful statistics on this aspect. I found that most of the reasons for the failure of reforms are due to the desire for quick success and instant benefits. The reforms involved too many aspects and violated the interests of too many people. In addition, they were eager to achieve results, so they encountered great resistance in the later stages, and some of them ended in failure or all their previous efforts were wasted."

"In my humble opinion, we should continue to consolidate the successful salt tax reform and not expand the reform to affect the interests of more people, so as to avoid a huge backlash and failure."

"Well said, young master!"

Nangong Lu couldn't help but applaud.

"It is much better to spend ten years reforming one or two good things for the country and the people, and to continue to implement them, than to spend one year reforming ten things and then fail in the end!"

Zhuge Lan stroked his beard and smiled: "Although the eldest master is young, when it comes to maturity and prudentness, we are no match for him!"

Dongfang Zi looked at Jia Jing and said with a smile: "Old sir, I think the eldest son will be 'a young phoenix with a clearer voice than an old phoenix' in the future."

Jia Jing was very happy about everyone's high evaluation of Jia Rong. Indeed, only with a qualified successor can people have the confidence to follow him wholeheartedly.

However, Jia Jing still looked very serious and stopped everyone, saying, "Stop praising him. If you continue praising him, I won't be able to suppress him."

After that, he turned to Jia Rong and said, "Although what you said makes some sense, I am loyal to my emperor. Since the emperor has given me the order, I, as a minister, should do my best to share his worries. Do you have any good ideas on the reform of commercial taxes?"

Jia Rong knew when to stop and said decisively, "No more."

Zhuge Lan and others stood up to speak for Jia Rong. "The eldest master has offered two strategies, both of which are of great benefit to the country. Compared with him, we are just sitting there doing nothing. We are really ashamed."

Jia Jing waved his hand: "You don't have to do this, I don't mean to scold him, Rong brother, please sit down."

What Jia Rong did was indeed impeccable. Even if he wanted to exercise the authority of a strict father on behalf of Jia Zhen, he would not be able to do so.

Next, everyone continued to discuss the commercial tax reform, but it turned into how to fool the emperor and get away with it.

After all, given Jia Jing's current status and position, he no longer needs to make any great contributions to the country. He only needs to follow the steps and he can easily sit on the position of prime minister and become the most powerful official in the country.

Even adding more achievements may not necessarily be a good thing.

Zhuge Lan soon came up with an idea. Basically, he was talking about the raw silk transaction tax in Jiangnan on the surface, but in fact he did nothing and shirked his responsibilities because the resistance was too great.

After all, the raw silk industry involves a wide range of areas and is the core interest of the gentry in Jiangnan. It is second only to land taxes and cannot be achieved overnight. Not to mention others, even the Zhen family in Jiangnan is not something that the emperor can easily touch.

After the agreement, everyone dispersed.

Jia Rong stayed.

Jia Jing waved his hand and smiled, "You should go back and rest as well. Don't be too tired."

Jia Rong actually stayed behind for something. He personally went forward to pour a cup of tea for Jia Jing and said, "I want to talk to you about things in the south."

"What's going on in the south?" Jia Jing took a sip of tea and asked in confusion, "What's going on in the south?"

Jia Rong smiled and said, "This is a bit long, why don't we order some wine so that we can drink and chat here."

Jia Jing raised his hand and said with a smile: "Good boy, do you want to drink? It won't delay your school tomorrow, right?"

Jia Rong said, "I just took an exam, so I'm going to take a two-day break."

Jia Jing smiled and said, "That's fine. Go get some wine and food so we can have a good chat tonight."

After a while, the food and wine were served.

There is a waning moon hanging high outside the window, and a cool breeze is blowing.

The grandparents sat under the window. Two candles were lit on the windowsill, emitting a soft light.

There were no servants to serve, so Jia Rong poured the wine himself.

The grandparents and grandchildren drank two cups first.

Jia Jing smiled and said, "Tell me what you want. Grandfather will definitely help you if it satisfies you."

With his current position of power, there is almost nothing he cannot do as long as Jia Rong does not do anything outrageous.

Even if Jia Rong said that he fell in love with the Queen's daughter, Fenghuangnu, he could do it. As for whether Lin Ruhai would get angry because of this, that was Jia Rong's business.

However, Jia Jing was obviously overthinking it. Jia Rong didn't even know that the Queen had a daughter. The reason why he was having a drink with Jia Jing tonight was because he had just heard that Lin Ruhai might be transferred back to Kyoto.

Once Lin Ruhai returned to Beijing, the Lianghuai navy might belong to someone else, and his dream of taking over the Dutch East India Company would ultimately fail.

Must take advantage of now!
"Master, do you know where Jiao Da and the others are going?" Jia Rong said after finishing his drink.

When Jia Jing heard this, he immediately felt relieved.

He was afraid that Jia Rong really liked Fenghuang Girl.

"You wrote to me last time saying that we were promoting the power of Great Xia in Southeast Asia. Was it you who did it?" Jia Jing said with a smile.

"Yes!"

Jia Rong said sincerely: "Our Great Xia has always been a country of etiquette and has always maintained friendly relations with the vassal states in Southeast Asia. It is hateful that the Western Maozi did not even say hello and expanded wantonly in Southeast Asia. Even many countries including Luzon were invaded by them. I really can't stand it..."

"Okay, I understand."

Jia Jing waved his hand, indicating that Jia Rong didn't need to say more.

No matter how high-sounding the words are, they are nothing more than making money.

He can understand.

Even he has some shady businesses.

In the future, Jia Rong will inherit the Ningguo Mansion. To support a large family, he naturally needs to have his own channels to make money. Relying on the court salary is not enough, and robbing the Westerners is at least better than eating the fat of his own people.

Besides, it is true that Westerners are rich. When they come to our territory, they should pay some money to buy safety.

"Just tell me what you want."

"I suspect that the Dutch East India Company has taken in those salt merchants." Jia Rong said bluntly.

Jia Jing smiled slightly.

Understood!
"Easy to say."

"It just so happens that the emperor wants to close the sea, so the navy of Lianghuai is not needed for the time being. It is reasonable to send it out to capture the imperial criminals."

I believe that the Emperor will be very happy to hear the news about the salt merchants.

……

(End of this chapter)