The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 162 Practice
Lin Ruhai usually receives guests in two places, the first is the living room, and the second is the study. Because of the closeness of the relationship, it will be clear where he chooses the meeting place.This time, the salt envoy Si Zhangyong came to visit, and Lin Ruhai met him in the study. It can be seen that the relationship between the two is quite close.

Zhang Yongdong is the chief officer of Duzhuan Salt Envoy Department - Duzhuanshi, with a rank of third rank, one rank higher than the fourth rank of Yangzhou magistrate, and the thirteen supervisory censors of the Jin Dynasty are all of seventh rank, including the salt patrol Censor, but the position of Censor of Salt Patrol is special. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was just a temporary job, and later it evolved into a permanent position. The rank has also changed, and it is not fixed. Before an official took the post of Censor of Salt Patrol, he was assigned a certain rank.

For example, Lin Ruhai, who served as a doctor in the Ministry of Household Affairs before he became the Salt Inspector, had a rank of fifth rank, so he is still a rank five now. Although his rank is lower than that of Zhang Yitong, the transshipment envoy, he has great power and supervises local salt administration on behalf of the emperor. All officials in the Salt Envoy Department must accept his leadership and assessment, and can directly go to Tianting, which is equivalent to holding the sword of Shang Fang.

Therefore, although Zhang Tongdong had a higher official position, he was actually Lin Ruhai's subordinate. This was one of the characteristics of the Jin Dynasty's officialdom of small to large.

Zhang Dongtong had met Jia Huan when he was fishing on the boat, but when he saw Lin Ruhai calling him to the study to keep him company, he couldn't help being secretly surprised. It seemed that Lin Ruhai wanted to praise him, but then he thought, now that he has been saved With Lin Ruhai's life, it was only natural that the latter would praise him, not to mention that the two were still relatives.

After the two parties greeted each other, the guest and host took their seats. Jia Huan stood beside Lin Ruhai very politely. As a younger generation, he naturally has to have the consciousness of a younger generation.

"Brother Ruhai looks much better than usual, so congratulations!" Zhang Yongdong stroked his beard and said happily.

Lin Ruhai coughed lightly and said, "Thanks to Brother Huan, I was lucky enough to save my life, but my body and bones are not as good as before, and my energy is even worse than before. I had already asked the emperor to resign, but the emperor refused. "

Zhang Tongtong said in surprise: "As the saying goes, illness comes like a mountain falling, and illness goes away like a thread. Given time, Brother Ruhai's body will naturally recover slowly. Why are you in a hurry to resign?"

Lin Ruhai sighed and said: "I have been serving as the Yangzhou Salt Patrol Censor for nearly seven years. I have been doing my job conscientiously and with a clear conscience. However, there have been numerous attempts to impeach me recently, and I have encountered this disaster. It is better to take this opportunity to hang up my title and return." , A happy life will last forever, but the Lord will not allow it."

Zhang Dongdong advised: "Brother Ruhai, please tell me. As the saying goes, if a tree is beautiful in the forest, the wind will destroy it. If it piles up on the shore, the waves will hit it. Brother Ruhai has made outstanding achievements in recent years. The salt tax on the two beaches has been paid in full every year. Turn it in in time, everyone in the court can see it, and the emperor must know it well. No, those impeachment memorials can't touch Brother Ruhai at all, they are nothing more than the cries of cicadas and the croaking of frogs, so what do they do?"

Nowadays, the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty are basically divided into three factions. One is the old emperor's faction that supports the Supreme Emperor, the other is the new emperor's faction that supports Emperor Qian Sheng, and the third faction is called the centrist faction, which does not support anyone. If it is further divided, the centrist faction They can also be divided into fence-sitters and pragmatists.

Jia Huan has always wanted to find out which sect Lin Ruhai belongs to. Logically speaking, Lin Ruhai is the crown prince chosen by Emperor Kang Ping, and his ancestors also belong to the old nobles. In theory, he should belong to the old emperor sect. However, Lin Ruhai’s position as Yangzhou Salt Patrol Censor is in the He took office after Emperor Qian Sheng ascended the throne, and his term lasted for seven years. This shows that Emperor Qian Sheng trusted him very much, otherwise he would not be able to do what he does now.

After this period of observation, Jia Huan felt that Lin Ruhai was actually a centrist, neither siding with the Supreme Emperor Kang Ping nor Emperor Qian Sheng. In other words, he was a pragmatist among the centrists and only did practical things.

Salt tax accounts for nearly 500% of Dajin's treasury revenue, sometimes even reaching [-]%, which shows the importance of salt revenue. The Lianghuai region is the largest salt-producing area in the country, and is also the main contributor to salt tax revenue. Last year alone He paid more than [-] million taels of tax money to the national treasury.

Just imagine how important the position of Yangzhou Salt Patrol Censor is. Lin Ruhai can ensure that the salt tax is paid to the state treasury in full and timely every year. He is simply the God of Wealth. With such a qualified God of Wealth, Emperor Kang Ping and Emperor Qian Sheng naturally have a tacit understanding. The earth did not move him, but a tacit balance was formed, so Lin Ruhai could sit in this position safely for seven years.

But now, Liaodong is in a tight situation, the court's expenses are high, and money is flowing like water, so stable fiscal revenue is even more needed. Lin Ruhai's position as Yangzhou Salt Patrol Censor is naturally more stable. It is estimated that this is why people are impeaching Lin Ruhai, but Qian Sheng The emperor ignored him, and even refused to approve Lin Ruhai's resignation. This was probably the main reason.

At this time, Zhang Tongdong said with emotion: "Yuan Hongtai and I were Jinshi in the same year. Now he was defeated and martyred in Liaodong. Liaoyang and Shenyang fell, and the entire Liaodong was in the hands of the Jin people. Nurhachi is a man of great talent and great ambition. He must be Not only content with being in a corner of eastern Liaoning, but now with strong troops and horses, and the threat of consecutive victories, if they cross the river to attack western Liaoning, the defenders in western Liaoning may not be able to resist it. Once western Liaoning falls into the enemy's hands again, Nurhachi can march to Shanhaiguan and attack our Ming Dynasty. Capital.

Brother Ruhai, this is a time when life and death are at stake. Although you and I are not good at fighting on the battlefield, we have received the emperor's great grace to take charge of the salt administration of the Huaihe River. It is a day to contribute to the country and overcome the difficulties together. At this time, if you resign , wouldn’t you let down the king at the top and let the people down at the bottom? Lin Ruhai was shocked when he heard this and said, "Brother Cheng Liang's words woke up the man in his dream. I am extremely ashamed." "

Jia Huan glanced at Zhang Dongtong in surprise. This man actually had such noble feelings for his family and country. He had underestimated him before.

Zhang Tongtong stroked his beard and said: "It is said that the emperor has ordered Xiong Tingbai to be used again to plan the Liaodong strategy. Lord Xiong's strategy has always been to defend and wait for attack, which costs a lot of money. This time Yuan Hongtai was defeated and the front suffered heavy losses. A large amount of baggage was used up. Enemies, soldiers and armor need to be rebuilt, military rations need to be raised again, military pay must be prepared, and money is flowing like water. Yesterday, the Japanese officials have received an official document from the Ministry of Household Affairs. This year, each citation of salt sharpness will be increased to 20 taels, and an additional [-] citations will be issued. An additional [-] yuan will be issued in Lianghuai."

Jia Huan couldn't help but be surprised. As far as he knew, the salt tax in Dajin was about six taels per quota in the past few years, and the entire Jin Dynasty was divided into ten categories, each with a sales limit of 20 yuan of salt. The tax payable About 1200 million taels of silver.

Nowadays, the tax on salt per import has been raised to seven taels, that is, one more tael of silver per import is charged, and then the salt production is increased by 20, which is equivalent to an additional tax of 340 million taels. Tsk, tsk, this is obviously to drain the lake and kill the chicken to get the eggs. , is the imperial court really so short of money?

Moreover, the amount of salt produced in Dajin is 20 kilograms per kilogram. An increase of 6000 kilograms of salt would be 1800 million kilograms. The [-] kilograms allocated to the Lianghuai region would be [-] million kilograms. Can the salt fields in the Lianghuai region increase the production of that much salt? Even if the production capacity is sufficient, can it be sold?
Jia Huan secretly glanced at Lin Ruhai, and saw that the latter frowned, obviously very embarrassed. After a long time, he said: "The quota of [-] yuan has been increased in the Huaihe River and the Huaihe River. The output of the existing salt field is probably not enough. If a new salt field is opened, it will be boiled." There are not enough salt kitchen households, so I’m afraid this matter will have to be discussed in the long run.”

Zhang Tongdong smiled bitterly and said: "The Ministry of Household Affairs is urging us urgently. I'm afraid we won't be allowed to discuss it in the long term. The opening of a new salt farm is imminent. If there are not enough kitchen households, we will recruit farmers and refugees."

Lin Ruhai glanced at Zhang Dongtong and said, "In that case, does Brother Cheng Liang have a suitable place to build a salt farm?"

Zhang Tongdong cheered up and said: "There are actually two places, one in Yancheng County and one in Tong County."

Lin Ruhai nodded and said: "Let me think about it for two days and check it out on site before making a decision."

Zhang Tongdong readily agreed upon hearing this and chatted for a while before leaving.

Lin Ruhai took the tea and took a sip, and said with a smile: "Brother Huan, your article is very good, and you are familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics, but there are still some shortcomings in practical matters. Whether you answer the policy questions well or not, the main thing is Look at practice, my uncle is letting you get in touch with practice now, which will be of great benefit to you in making policies and topics in the future."

Jia Huan said hurriedly: "My uncle has good intentions, and Huan'er is impressed by it."

Lin Ruhai waved his hand and said, "I'm just talking about it. Well, you can follow me to inspect the salt field in the past few days, and by the way, you can also learn about the practical aspects of salt courses."

Jia Huan quickly nodded in agreement. At this time, a servant reported outside the study: "Master, Second Master Lian wants to see you."

"Well, let Brother Lian come in." Lin Ruhai said harmoniously.

(End of this chapter)