The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

The Second Master nodded in satisfaction, pointed to a chair in the study, and gestured, "Sit down and let's talk!"

Jia Huan was somewhat flattered to have a chair to sit in the study, which showed that Master Zheng really valued him and that he wasn't just guessing.

Sitting next to him was none other than Jia Lian.

No one knows when, but Jia Lian somehow managed to sneak into Master Zheng's study.

"You little punk, you've got guts!"

Jia Lian smiled slightly, showing considerable goodwill, and joked, "If I ever get messed up, you can't just stand by and do nothing!"

"Hehe, Brother Lian is joking!"

Jia Huan ignored the question and said leisurely, "If even Brother Lian has been wronged, this matter is definitely not going to be small!"

"At that time, the government will definitely step in to support me, so I estimate that the role I can play will be limited!"

That was half true and half false, but he was still quite serious about it.

"You boy!"

Jia Lian did not show any disappointment. He would have felt uneasy if Jia Huan had agreed immediately.

What a joke, their relationship isn't at that level yet.

It's more likely that Cong-ge'er stepped in to help!

A thought struck Jia Lian, and he pondered whether he should invest a little bit of resources in Cong-ge'er as a form of advance insurance.

If Jia Huan knew what this fellow was thinking, he would definitely have spoken up and encouraged him.

Ideally, Jia Lian could get the method for strengthening the body of the Jia family ancestors from Master She.

At this moment, Master Zheng Er began to get down to business, and his words immediately delighted Jia Huan.

"Lian-ge'er, and Huan-ge'er, I plan to suggest to the Emperor that we collect the outstanding silver from the national treasury!"

Despite having been mentally prepared, Jia Lian still couldn't help but have a drastic change in expression, and said with a wry smile, "Second Uncle, shouldn't we reconsider?"

This is a really big deal; he's worried about the future of the Rong family and himself.

"What are you still considering? If you don't seize this opportunity to gain our trust and goodwill now, when will you?"

Chapter 122 A Single Stone Creates a Thousand Waves (Please Subscribe)

The sudden arrival of a memorial caused an uproar throughout the imperial court.

All the court officials were stunned by the contents of the memorial.

Even the retired emperor was alarmed and remained silent for a moment.

The memorial was very simple, stating that the imperial court was currently facing a severe financial crisis, and that large amounts of money and grain were needed throughout the Great Qian Dynasty to stabilize the situation.

However, the imperial court was slow to provide sufficient funds and supplies, which caused the local situation to worsen.

Then, the memorial clearly stated that the court had a huge sum of money that no one had noticed, namely, a national treasury debt of tens of millions of taels.

Therefore, the memorial concluded by stating that, for the sake of the stability of the country, the emperor should send someone to settle the outstanding debts!

One stone caused a thousand waves!

The officials in the imperial court were stunned, and they all began to denounce the contents of the memorial, believing that it showed no compassion for the struggling officials at the bottom of society.

Without the help of government loans to make a living, some low-ranking officials' families might really starve to death!

That would be a huge joke; the Great Qian Dynasty would lose all face.

The cabinet leaders were only making minor comments about the lives of lower-level officials, and the opposition was not particularly strong.

Those who reacted most strongly were the imperial relatives, nobles, and high-ranking officials!

They were all speaking passionately and vehemently, some even red-faced and shouting that the person who wrote such a memorial was a traitor to the country.

There's no way around it; the bulk of the national treasury's debts are owed to them!

Though outwardly solemn, inwardly they are overjoyed!

He had long wanted to collect the debts owed to the national treasury, but the retired emperor had previously restrained him, so he couldn't speak up rashly.

Moreover, if you bring this up, you'll offend most of the court officials and the imperial relatives. Without the courage to burn your bridges, bringing it up is tantamount to courting death!

The current emperor had hinted to his trusted subordinates before, but none of them responded, leaving him with no other option. He couldn't force people to take risks, could he? What about his reputation?

Although the current emperor is not so obsessed with his posthumous reputation, he also has no intention of deliberately smearing himself.

But to everyone's surprise, Jia Zheng, whom I had always thought was an honest man, actually dared to submit such a memorial!

Of course, he wanted to spread the contents of the memorial as soon as possible and express his eagerness.

Sure enough, high-ranking officials of the third rank and above in the imperial court reacted immediately, which led to the current extremely fierce opposition.

Of course, while trying to find all sorts of excuses to stop it, one can't help but wonder, why would Jia Zheng suddenly submit such a memorial? Has he lost his mind?

This court assembly, naturally, did not reach any conclusions.

However, most of the court officials sensed from the current emperor's attitude that things were not so simple.

Didn't you see? The Emperor Emeritus hasn't uttered a sound the whole time; it seems to imply tacit approval!

This won't do! We must stop them from even starting to demand payment of the national treasury's debts!

Lord Zheng Er naturally knew that his memorial would cause a huge uproar.

He felt a little uneasy, so he made up an excuse to ask for leave and went back home, where he stayed in the study to wait for news.

Jia Huan was also in the main study at this time. This was the follow-up benefit of his previous "standing up for his father". He had become one of the core advisors of the main study.

Besides, he was the one who brought this up beforehand, so naturally I had to be there to help come up with ideas.

Unlike the Second Master Zheng, who was somewhat apprehensive at the last minute, he was confident and prepared.

Since making the suggestion, I have already planned the follow-up. I still need the help of those emotional guys, otherwise it will be difficult for Master Zheng to make a tough decision.

"Is it really okay?"

The Second Master paced around in the study for an unknown amount of time before finally getting tired and sitting down. He subconsciously asked another question.

Why add the word "again"? Because this is the ninth time he's asked about this today.

"Don't worry, sir, there won't be any problems!"

Jia Huan, however, was not annoyed and comforted him, saying, "Our goal is very clear: Master's official position must reach a certain level to avoid a repeat of the previous embarrassment!"

"If they really provide strong support now, we have ways to deal with it!"

"Didn't we audit the accounts of the manor before? As long as the debts of the Ning and Rong manors are paid up, that will be a large sum of money!"

When Jia Huan said this, he himself felt very strange.

Originally, I thought the story of the Rong family owing money, which often appeared in Dream of the Red Chamber fanfiction, was just a fabrication.

Upon careful calculation, they were surprised to find that there really was a debt, and the amount was quite substantial, amounting to a staggering 800,000 taels at the Rong Mansion!

The Ning family's case was even more outrageous, reaching a staggering 1.2 million taels!

When Jia Huan first found out, he was also shocked!

There is no such plot in the original novel of Dream of the Red Chamber.

Jia Huan guessed that the Jia family in the capital was not finished just because the Emperor Emeritus had recently passed away.

Before the emperor could even resort to such measures, the Ning and Rong mansions collapsed.

In short, the investigation into the national treasury's outstanding debts surprised both him and the Second Master Zheng.

I don't understand. The mansion should never be short of money. How could they have borrowed 800,000 taels from the national treasury?

At Jia Huan's urging, Master Zheng reluctantly went to the old lady to ask about the reason. Even if the old lady hadn't been involved in these matters, she must have known something about them.

Sure enough, after pondering for a long time, the old lady recalled some past events and finally revealed the answer.

In the early days of the People's Republic of China, there was a severe shortage of silver everywhere!

Of course, according to the old lady, the founding nobles certainly didn't lack any.

After all, they were the victors who quelled the rebellion, and the spoils they amassed privately alone amounted to an astonishing sum.

Private property is private property, and it cannot be confused with the silver in the national treasury.

The Rongguo Mansion itself had considerable expenses, mainly because the Rongguo Duke had a large number of personal guards who all needed to be supported by the mansion. Where would they find extra money to spend on other things?

As for the national treasury's debt, it arose during the reign of the retired emperor.

This person enjoys taking risks. Because he lived in Nanjing for a period of time in his childhood, coupled with the special economic status of the South, he particularly likes to travel to the Jiangnan region.

Each time the emperor goes out on a mission, it costs at least several million taels of silver. If you add up the hidden expenses, it probably wouldn't be enough to cover five million taels.

Then, the Rong family, whose ancestral home was in Jinling, had the honor of receiving the emperor once, and borrowed 800,000 taels of silver from the national treasury as expenses for the reception, never even thinking of repaying it.

The logic is simple: the money was all spent on receiving the emperor, so why should the Rong family pay it back?

The situation was similar at the Ning family's residence. As the clan head's lineage, their expenses were even greater; the reception for the emperor that time cost a staggering 1.2 million taels of silver, all borrowed from the national treasury.

It wasn't that they didn't have the money to receive the emperor. At that time, the Ning and Rong mansions were at their peak, and all their industries were thriving. How could they not have come up with several million taels of silver?

To reiterate, all the money is spent on entertaining the emperor, so why should private individuals have to pay for it?