The Red Mansions

Chapter 127 Going back to Cixi, Tuolin Ruhai helps Xiangling find relatives

The ancients believed that salt is necessary to establish a country.

Whoever controls the salt owns wealth and power.

Therefore, throughout the dynasties, the imperial court attached great importance to the salt industry.

National wealth, salt is half of the profit, and the imperial court passed the control of salt.

In addition to the implementation of the mouth-based salt supply policy, there are also policies such as nano medium salt, Nama medium salt, Namo medium salt, Nabu medium salt and Natie medium salt as supplements.

As long as merchants paid rice, horses, cloth and other materials needed by the country, they could receive salt and sell it.

The status of salt is even equivalent to currency, and salt can be paid as salary.

At the beginning of the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Minghe Farm Salt Department was set up in Minghe Township, Cixi, which was subordinate to the Shaoning Branch of Zhejiang Salt Transport.

Minghe Salt Field is located on the south bank of Hangzhou Bay, at the estuary of the Qiantang River, at the northern foot of the Cuiping Mountain hill, and at the south of Dagutang. Because the Salt Field Office is located in Minghe Township, it is called Minghe Salt Field.

Minghe Township.

Jia Yun accompanied Wen Junshou, Lin Ruhai, Wen Kunlin and other officials in ordinary clothes, walking in Minghe Town.

White walls, black tiles, and blue stone roads make up this simple town.

There are many houses in the town, and various stone bridges are erected in the river, forming a typical Jiangnan water town artistic conception of "small bridges, flowing water, and people".

Minghe is an industrial town mainly producing salt, and salt has become the largest commodity in the town's commercial activities.

Minghe is divided into three functional areas because of salt production:

The Salt Farm Office, which manages salt affairs, is in the management area, and the raw factory area provides the necessary sites for salt cooking, salt drying, salt storage and other technical processes, while the residential area mainly gathers salt farmers.

Minghe is built by the lake. Walking on the street paved with bluestone slabs, on the right is a clear small river that runs through the entire township. There are several black-covered boats moored on the river, exuding an antique flavor.

There are people coming and going on the street, which is very lively.

In the twelfth lunar month of winter, the weather is cold, but it still can't resist the enthusiastic salt merchants from all walks of life to come to buy salt.

When a merchant buys salt, he must ask the shipping company to issue a bill, called a bill of lading, a bill of limitation, or a leather ticket. With this kind of bill, he will go to the scene to buy salt.

Yanyin is a certificate issued by the government to merchants to collect, transport and sell salt after the merchants have paid the price of salt and taxes.

The Minghe Farm diverts salt from Henghe Yantou, Lianghuba, Cao'e River, and Dongguan River to the Shaoxing Approval Office for 380 miles to complete the formalities, and transfer it to the various roads on the river for marketing, twice a year.

Each cited example is equipped with 280 jin.

It is also introduced that the commercial salt was transported to Qianqing, Sanjiang, Dongjiang, Cao'e, Jinshan, Shiyan, Minghe, Chuanchang, Dasong, Yuquan, Qingquan, Longtou and other places, and was introduced into the field alone.

Minghe is limited to 25 days for appearance, and Yin is limited to 75 days. If the inland river is dry, the limit for sea transportation is [-] days.

Go straight along the street, and you will find the Salt Department Office of Minghechang.

The Salt Department has an ambassador as the chief officer, and deputy envoys and other officials under it. They are all officials who have not entered the ranks, but they have great power. It is a proper and rich job to be in charge of salt farms, salt wells, salt production, and salt tax collection.

The Office of the Salt Department is not inferior to the county government, and it is even more magnificent. There are three middle halls, the left and right are the ear rooms, the back is the official house, and the back is the Paishe, and the outside is the gate. , Xiacang, ancient kiln and other places.

Jia Yun walked behind the crowd, and he was accompanying him on the inspection. Even if the Minghe Salt Field was in Cixi, it was not under his control, so he didn't come forward.

"Have the people sent to Yiwu left?" Jia Yun whispered to Jia Wenlin beside her.

Early this morning, Cixi held a grand welcome ceremony outside the city in order to welcome the governor's inspection.

Later, as soon as the ceremony was over, Jia Yun was called by Wen Junshou to accompany her, so regarding the matter of going to Yiwu to recruit and form a patrol camp, Jia Yun left it to Jia Wenlin to arrange people.

Jia Wenlin nodded and said: "To be on the safe side, my subordinates sent six people there, and went to the county government to call ten servants to accompany them. It is estimated that they are almost out of Cixi by now."

Jia Yun warned: "I'm going to be busy recently, you should pay close attention to this matter, and strive to actually set up the patrol camp within the year."

"To be honest, I don't like any of those people in the inspection department. I'm afraid it's not prudent to entrust them with anything."

Jia Wenlin hesitated and said: "Master, my subordinates are a little confused. There are not enough people in our clan. Why do we have to go to Yiwu to recruit people?"

Jia Yun rolled his eyes at him and said, "I'm in a hurry to hire people now. If you can fly back to the capital and get me the clansmen, then I won't go to Yiwu to recruit people!"

"Hehe..." Jia Wenlin suddenly smiled, feeling that she had asked an idiotic question.

Seeing that he understood, Jia Yun murmured: "Don't underestimate the miners and farmers in Yiwu. They are famous for being able to endure hardships. With a little training, they can become elites."

"However, after the next year, we still have to transfer [-] clan members from the capital to join the patrolling camp, and form a hundred-household establishment with the newly recruited people."

There are ten people in charge of each small flag, and there are 11 people in total including Xiaoqi himself.

Each general banner manages five small flags, and there are a total of 56 people including the general banner itself.

There is one person per hundred households, and 110 sergeants, including two general banners, and each general banner governs five small banners.

Jia Wenlin was silent for a moment, and asked in confusion: "Twenty people were transferred from the capital, plus the new recruits, wouldn't there be 120 people? How to arrange more people? Join the personal guards?"

"All of them are included in the patrol camp. I have my own use, and you will understand when the time comes." Jia Yun shook her head.

In this era, since the technology of hot weapons was quite mature, the imperial court's ban on private soldiers focused on firearms, and cold weapons for civilian use were not within the scope of control. (Refer to the policy after Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty)
Even the law has released the ban on crossbows. This is probably because the current crossbows pose limited threats to firearms.

The reason why Jia Yun dared to form a private soldier so blatantly was because he was the deputy magistrate and had the right to expand the inspection department according to actual needs.

The rampant pirates during this period just gave him the opportunity to form a private army, and the patrol battalion he formed was established in the name of the county government, and the food and grass were also used by the county government.

When Jia Yun is about to leave in the future, the soldiers of the patrolling battalion will transform into his servants and take them away, killing two birds with one stone.

Of course, he can only form a private army equivalent to that of a hundred households.

If there are more, we will have to wait for other officials to become more senior, perhaps with military ranks, before we can expand the team.

While the two were talking, Wen Junshou led the inspection team into the Salt Division and walked around, and then asked the ambassador to take them to the salt field for on-site inspection.

The salt of Minghe is produced in the sea.

Huainan is fried with salt, and Huaibei is dried with salt.

The stove is used for frying salt, and the stove is made of mud, and there is a ventilation hole next to it, and there is no chimney.

The stove houses have wooden frames and earthen walls, the roof is covered with grass, the fire door is opened in front, and the windows are not opened.

Consuming a catty of firewood can only produce a catty of salt.

There are five or six people in each stove and six or seven laborers.

There are a lot of stoves, like chickens and ducks being boiled.

Some were blinded by fireworks when they were fifteen or sixteen years old.

The production of salt industry requires the cooperation of several households, which is called "the method of gathering together for public frying".

Jia Yun and his group came to the saltworks, looking around, there was a vast expanse of grass in the distance, smoke from the stove nearby, and the people in the stove scraped the mud and sucked the brine, as if they were pecking.

Looking at the diced salt, Jia Yun murmured softly, "The diced salt is really bitter!"

Lin Ruhai next to him nodded his head and said: "The suffering of salt production is not only the heavy labor, but also the burden of tyrannical government, the government's excessive taxation of salt people."

"Oh, my lord, we people represent the government." Jia Yun laughed dryly.

Lin Ruhai shook his head, sighed, and remained silent.

Jia Yun glanced at him and stopped chewing.

The living conditions of the salt workers in Minghe Saltworks are not only the epitome of all the saltworks in Dazhou, but also the life of the people at the bottom of the whole Dazhou.

For the salt in front of him, Jia Yun actually has a lot of ways to make them live a better life, such as improving the means of salt production, improving the work efficiency of the salt, and increasing their income.

As a chef in her previous life, Jia Yun had a detailed understanding of many table salts from all over the world, including foreign countries. Not only did she know where the salt was delicious, but she also knew how to improve the efficiency, output and quality of salt production.

He even had a fairly in-depth understanding of the ancient salt administration.

After reading the mansion newspaper and some materials in the county government office, combined with the actual situation, he has a clear understanding of the current problems faced by the Dazhou Salt Administration and knows the direction of reform.

But having said that, the current Jia Yun has no control over the salt farms, and he doesn't want to make money by selling salt for the time being, so there is no profit to be gained, even if the salt in front of him is really pitiful, he will not open his mouth to meddle in the matter.

As for Lin Ruhai, who was the censor of Yangzhou patrolling salt, he definitely wanted to give money to the new emperor, but it was just money.

Although he has great power right now, he can't change anything, after all, he hasn't even cleaned up his mess.

In the saltworks.

A group of pampered people scurry around, looking here and there.

Several senior officials sighed from time to time, opening their eyes and talking nonsense, wanting to increase the income of salt workers and improve their living conditions, and also said that they would reform the salt administration, increase the taxation of the treasury, and crack down on illegal salt trafficking gangs...

After the matter was over, it was Wen Junshou who wanted to save face and proposed to provide relief to the people in the kitchen and distribute one tael of silver per dime for the winter.

At noon, after having a luxurious lunch, Wen Junshou left Cixi.

Before leaving, he learned that Jia Yun was going to set up a patrol battalion, and he specifically told Jia Yun to train an elite army seriously, maybe it would be useful at that time.

It can be seen that Wen Junshou was really scared by the pirates this time. It is estimated that even the memorial requesting the imperial court to vigorously eradicate the pirates has been sent out long ago.

From Minghe back to Cixi City, Jia Yun didn't go back to the county government office, but took Lin Ruhai back to the house directly.

As soon as Meiren and Liren heard the movement, they smiled happily and came out to greet them.

They were all young diners, and they hadn't seen each other for a few days. Meiren and Liren both looked at Jia Yun, with spring waves in their eyes, and the water was almost seeping out.

At this moment, Xue Pan also rushed out of the room. He wanted to howl loudly, but when he saw Lin Ruhai behind him, his expression was startled, and he hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

Jia Yun brought Lin Ruhai to the tea room to drink tea, and ordered Meiren and Liren to decorate the guest room. As for the guards brought by Lin Ruhai, Jia Wenlin was responsible for arranging them.

in the tea room.

After Jia Yun poured tea for Lin Ruhai, she smiled and said, "The charming woman just now was Jia Baoyu's maid, and she is very familiar with Miss Lin, and she and Zijuan are even called sisters, so they have a very good relationship."

"Mei Ren is a girl I know." Lin Ruhai smiled while pinching his beard:
"However, the last time I saw her was many years ago. I met her when I visited my mother-in-law after returning to Beijing. At that time, she was just a little girl. I didn't expect so many years to pass!"

Xue Pan interjected, "How long can uncle stay in Cixi?"

"What, what's the matter?" Lin Ruhai glanced at him and asked.

Xue Pan smiled, shook his head and said, "It's nothing important, I just want to invite uncle to host me."

Lin Ruhai laughed out loud, amused by Xue Pan's straightforwardness, so he agreed and said:
"The old man will probably stay in Cixi for a few days, you can invite the host anytime."

Speaking of which, Lin Ruhai seldom interacted with relatives these years.

Although Xue Pan and him are relatives, they are still far away, but no matter how far they are, they are still relatives.

Lin Ruhai used to hear that Xue Pan was a mess and incompetent, but today he only got along with him for a while, and found that the rumors of the world were wrong.

Although Xue Pan said he had no skills, he was straightforward, and Lin Ruhai felt it.

To put it bluntly, when getting along with this kind of person, you don't have to worry about intrigue, and you don't need to be too defensive. You can get along with him very easily.

Seeing that Lin Ruhai had really agreed to invite him to be the host, Xue Pan happily said, "That's great, it's better to hit the sun than to choose a day. I'll go to Chunfeng Tower tonight..."

Jia Yun interrupted him with a wave of her hand and scolded: "Don't talk nonsense, there are many people and things are complicated there, you can make trouble, but adults must pay attention to safety!"

Xue Pan choked for a moment, looked at him eagerly, and asked, "Brother-in-law, tell me, where would it be best to ask my uncle to host me?"

"Let's just stay at home. You go to the restaurant and buy a table of good noodles and bring them home. Ningbo is a bit weird these days, so let's not be careless." Jia Yun said in a deep voice.

Lin Ruhai knew that those pirates had remembered his and Jia Yun's looks.

Don't be afraid of [-], just be afraid of what happens.

So he also nodded and said: "Zizheng is right, the host can be invited anywhere, and the family can eat and drink freely."

Although Xue Pan felt that there was not as much excitement in the Spring Breeze Building at home, Jia Yun and Lin Ruhai said so, but they stopped being stubborn.

When he finished reporting, Lin Ruhai asked Jia Yun, "Seeing him like this, will you keep him with you from now on?"

"Well, my mother-in-law Qian Dingling told me that I was afraid that he would be harmed by a traitor, so I let him follow me." Jia Yun took a sip of tea, nodded and replied.

Lin Ruhai shook his head and sighed: "It's a pity, if he is a little more shrewd, he can be your right-hand man."

After a pause, he said with a smile, "Old man often hears that he is arrogant. The strange thing is, he really admires you."

Jia Yun shook her head and said, "It's not that I'm convinced, it's that he was frightened."

"Oh? He's not afraid of anything, how can he be scared?" Lin Ruhai asked curiously.

Jia Yun pondered for a moment, and then told about Xue Pan being turned into a living dead by Jia Yucun, but concealed the possible involvement of Jia's family in order to avoid Lin Ruhai feeling that she was sowing discord.

Lin Ruhai was shocked when he heard this, and said in disbelief: "Then Jia Shifei's character is so low? I thought he was a benevolent gentleman, but I was mistaken!"

Jia Yun sneered and said, "Jia Yucun is not muddle-headed and doesn't distinguish between right and wrong. On the contrary, he is too clear, knowing the truth but judging the case indiscriminately. This is his abomination."

At the same time, Jia Yun was a little suspicious of Lin Ruhai's way of looking at people. He didn't know if he really didn't know Jia Yucun's character, or if he didn't know.

But it's hard to be sure about this matter. It is said that people know their faces but they don't know their hearts. I heard that Jia Yucun's face is quite majestic and upright...

"In this way, Jia Shifei is really a person who is greedy for profit, and at the same time he is also a very deep, scheming, ruthless, and very good at acting." Lin Ruhai sighed.

After a pause, he blamed himself: "It seems that the old man recommended him to find his brother-in-law and let him become the magistrate of Yingtian. I'm afraid this is a bad move!"

"My lord, you don't have to feel guilty. Everyone has mistakes." Jia Yun persuaded, "By the way, will your lord go back to your hometown this year?"

Lin Ruhai is from Gusu, and Xiangling is also from Gusu.

Lin Ruhai nodded and said, "I want to go back. At the end of every year, I will go back to Gusu to worship my ancestors."

"Does your lord know that there is a ten-mile street outside Changmen?" Jia Yun asked.

Lin Ruhai smiled and said, "Don't Zizheng know that Changmen is the west gate of Gusu City, leading to Huqiu. Anyone who is a little familiar with Gusu will know it."

He asked curiously: "Zi is inquiring about the name of this place, but is there someone you know there?"

"That's not true, but it has something to do with a maid in my family." Jia Yun shook her head and replied.

Then he told in detail what Xue Pan had ordered his servants to beat to death, and then said: "The girl was finally named Xiangling by Baochai, and she became her dowry maid."

"Because she was trafficked since she was a child, her temper was suppressed and she was timid and honest. She is pitiful, so if she still has relatives, the younger generation would like to help her and reunite her with them."

Lin Ruhai sighed and said: "I didn't expect Xue Pan to get involved in a lawsuit and involve so many things. If Zi was not talking about it today, I would have thought I was listening to someone's story."

Then he said to Jia Yun: "There is no need to arrange for people to search for this matter. The old man still has some connections on the ground in Gusu. I will write a letter later and send people back to Suzhou to look for it. I believe it is better than you to send people to look for it." Much easier."

"Haha, thank you for your help. By the way, I also heard that Grandpa Xiangling's family is in Daru Prefecture. This can be regarded as a direction to find people." Jia Yun said with a smile.

Lin Ruhai nodded and said, "Okay, knowing so much information, I believe it will be much easier to find the relatives of Xiangling's child."

While talking, Meiren knocked on the door and came in, saying that hot water was ready, and asked the two to take a bath and change clothes.

After taking a bath and changing clothes, Xue Pan's meal came back, so the three of them went to the living room to sit down to eat and drink.

When Xue Pan heard that Jia Yun asked Lin Ruhai to help Xiangling find her relatives, he said with some heartache:

"At the beginning, I was beaten to death for Xiangling, but in the end, my sister said that I was cheap for my brother-in-law. If I had known, I wouldn't have fought with others, and I wouldn't have gotten into a lawsuit!"

Jia Yun sneered and said: "You have one less maid, and I have to take one less test for your sake. Who of us will lose and who will gain?"

"Zizheng won't take part in the examination next year?" Lin Ruhai was surprised, and then he suddenly said: "Oh, yes, now Zizheng wants to participate, the road is blocked by heavy snow, and there is no time!"

(End of this chapter)