Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 469 Chapter 6.40 Is there anyone more reliable than my father-in-law?
Volume VI

6.40 Is there anyone more reliable than my father-in-law?
Looking at Lin Ruhai's confused expression, Zhou Yang sighed, knowing exactly what the problem was.If it weren't for the fact that he had a daughter named Lin Daiyu, this Tanhualang would have been like countless top three people in history. He could only leave his name in the history books, and the rest of his "birth and death dates and deeds are unknown."

The Great Zhou Dynasty passed down to Guo Kai, who was regarded as the fifth emperor. In the past hundred years, the feudal dynasty has basically reached its peak period. Although various backlogged conflicts have not exploded, they have become like a powder keg. The White Lotus Sect has become a climate, and the imperial court has The annual income is gradually decreasing, local forces are gaining momentum, the army is gradually collapsing, and the imperial government is gradually being occupied by party struggles. As the saying goes, "things must be reversed at the extremes of things". If it continues to be delayed, the result will inevitably be the same as other dynasties. It only takes one spark, and no one can end up with it. It’s hard to say.

Lin Ruhai is a typical feudal scholar-official. He is from a noble family, holds a high position, has outstanding abilities and is not rigid. For example, he is not corrupt, but he does not reject "rules", but this also means that he has no influence on the entire world. The middle and lower classes lack understanding and tend to be idealistic. It is not surprising that they feel confused when they find that the problem does not match their expectations or even has a huge gap.

This is not to say that Zhou Yang is more capable and smarter than Lin Ruhai, but that he "stands on the shoulders of giants". A bunch of "laws" and other things about the development of the dynasty have been repeated over and over again in modern times. , basically everyone on the Internet knows it, but knowing it is one thing, and solving it is another. At least whether it is the Jiangnan issue or the salt policy issue, Zhou Yang can't think of anything other than a firearms tie and substitution. There is another way.

Just like a famous saying in later generations said, "The dust of history is an insurmountable mountain when it presses on anyone." When these originally "normal" problems came to Lin Ruhai, the end result was that his family was destroyed - and then he discovered , the problem is solved, the way is that the martial artist he has always looked down upon will be leveled with a firearm?

"Sir, do you think things are different from what you imagined?" Zhou Yang said with a smile. This is not surprising. Lin Ruhai has stayed in the court and high-level officials for too long, and it is normal for him to not understand the grassroots. "It's like the eight major salt merchants. In the minds of adults, 'scholars, farmers, industry and merchants' are the lowest class, so how come they have become the dominant force in Yangzhou? Why are all the court officials acting like lapdogs, protecting these profiteers? They are all talented people who came out of the cold window in the past ten years, why do they see money when they see it? Have you lost your integrity?"

"I am not pedantic. I know the major events in this world and the rules of 'bustling, profit comes and goes'. But there are many local officials in Yangzhou, most of them are on the imperial examination track. Why have they forgotten all the truth that 'wealth cannot be promiscuous'?" Lin Ruhai He smiled helplessly, "Zi Yang may not know that I was ready to risk my life to repay the king, but you wiped me out after just a few days.

I didn't think much about it at that time. The reward from the late emperor arrived. As soon as I returned to Beijing, I recommended you to your majesty. The late emperor also wanted to reuse you, but Longshou Palace, Liu Lun and Yu Chong jointly blocked it. Finally, the goal was achieved. , it was through His Highness Yongjing's nonsense that I discovered for the first time, when did the imperial court become like this? "

"Well" Zhou Yang then remembered that his promotion and appointment documents were stamped by Princess Yongjing who directly snatched the "Emperor's Treasure" from Longshou Palace. The reason was that "she chose her husband", which was indeed a bit childish. "Sir, you know that the conflict between Liu Lun and I is not just about personal grudges.

My lord, please remember that the following words have come out of my mouth and into your ears, and I will not admit a word of them when I leave home - the so-called 'civil and military battles' in the court are ultimately about interests, and this is not just a matter of money or wealth and women. , but the power of dominance and control, the control of the entire world. On the surface, it manifests not only civil and military conflicts, but also the struggle between kings and kings.

Yu Chong caused the farce on the city gate tower because he was dissatisfied with His Majesty's closeness to Wu Xun. Essentially, he didn't want to face another Emperor Wu or a powerful monarch. As long as he replaced him with any of the clan's children, the affairs in the court would be over. You can definitely take it into your own hands and create a 'standing emperor' and a 'sitting emperor' that put old wine in new bottles.

The Yu family is a wealthy family in the south of the Yangtze River and represents the interests of the gentry and landlords in the south of the Yangtze River. Although I did not participate in this inspection, I heard that the total amount of the money in the whole family exceeds 500 million taels of cash, and there are also twice that amount of real estate, land, and property. , with over a thousand people and an influence of over ten thousand, if he took control of the court, the whole of Jiangnan would be out of control for the royal family and the court. "

"." Lin Ruhai's expression kept changing. He was not stupid. How could he not know that what Zhou Yang said was the truth? He nodded slowly after a while, "Yes, I had already discovered when I was in Yangzhou that Jiangnan, which was the financial center of the Zhou Dynasty, , Salt tax has been declining year by year, and after returning to Beijing, I found that land tax is also decreasing, and commercial tax has simply collapsed."

"In any dynasty, the court's control over the world is in sync with the rise and fall of the entire dynasty." Seeing that he understood what he meant, Zhou Yang continued to explain with a smile, "And the court's control over local areas is completely in conflict with local forces. , the two are in an either/or relationship. On the surface, the most prominent manifestation is the increase or decrease in finance and taxation.

The local gentry holds land, runs business at home, and controls most of the resources in a region. If the court wants finance and taxes, it is equivalent to taking money from their pockets. This will not be easy in any way, because wealth will not disappear out of thin air. If it doesn't go into the treasury, it must go into someone's pocket.

Compared with these purely local forces, although your Excellency is also on the imperial examination and has a civil service background, it is very different. The Lin family is not a martial artist, but it is also a noble family. Its ancestral home is Suzhou, but it has already taken root in the capital. In essence, it is the same as the martial arts. There is basically no real interest in the local area, so it is natural to ignore it. "

"That's right. When I went to Yangzhou to check the salt tax under the instructions of the late emperor, I never considered profiting from it. I only thought about being loyal to your majesty and to the court." Lin Ruhai breathed a sigh of relief, "No wonder I always feel so peaceful after I come back. The adults in the court can't get along, it turns out that in their eyes, I am not one of their own."

"Who is the enemy and who is the friend? No matter how we behave or do things, these are the first questions to understand." Zhou Yang's words made Lin Ruhai's expression suddenly change. "It is very complicated to stand in court, but most of them are just trivial matters." , the most important thing that really involves major events is position and formation. Today's court is clearly divided into civil and military. It would be very cumbersome to subdivide it, but in essence, it is position based on interests. Military and military positions are based on interests. The reason why Xun "lives with the country" and is loyal to His Majesty and the royal family is because they have no local interests. Once they have, it is equally difficult to say, such as the four kings and the four frontier armies.

Your Majesty is a Heavenly Official. Although he is a civil official, he is incompatible with other people. It is time to see clearly. Your Majesty has always been close to Wu Xun. His foundation as a civil official depends entirely on the Queen Mother and the family. After Yu Chong died, the Queen Mother The second brother Li Mian was promoted to the Minister of Rites but it was not stable. The third brother Li Ji was actually in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. "

"No wonder -" Lin Ruhai breathed a long sigh of relief, "I heard a few days ago that Zhao Quan, the official of the Jinyi Military Hall, was checking the accounts of the construction of the Emperor's Mausoleum. The target should be the Ministry of Industry. He has no power and has always regarded himself as a lonely minister. I think this is His Majesty—no, it must be the arrangement of the Queen Mother, right?"

"As the junior said just now, what do you think, sir?" Zhou Yang asked with a smile.

"Yu'er and His Highness Yongjing are sisters, what can I do as a father?" A smile slowly appeared on Lin Ruhai's face, "Okay, after the happy event between you and His Highness passes in a few days, I will go to the palace to express my gratitude. When the time comes, You might as well let Yu'er follow; I'm busy with affairs here, and the beginning of the year is the time for last year's official evaluation, so I must report to His Majesty."

"It's good that you understand." Zhou Yang nodded with satisfaction - it's not that he was really loyal to the Queen Mother and Emperor Changxing, but he didn't want to be stared at by those poor people all the time. The bullshit "civilian and military are different", to put it bluntly, it's not So what happened?In the future, the royal family will not let the civil and military parties "make peace". He needs to have "one of his own" among the civil servants. As long as the interests are consistent, is there anyone more reliable than his father-in-law?

"Okay, it's almost noon, and I've also asked people to prepare a family banquet. It's probably going to take a while." Seeing that he had finished speaking, Lin Ruhai waved his hands in relief, "Yu'er and His Highness are both in the West Cross Courtyard, where we are supposed to be. I prepared it for her, but it’s a pity that she hasn’t lived in it for a few days since it was completed.”

"If you think it's appropriate, sir, it's okay to keep Sister Lin with you for a while." Zhou Yang said quickly, "Anyway, His Highness Yongjing and I will have a happy event soon, and I will definitely pick up my sister when the time comes. It is also the consistent rule to stay at this time. "

"Well, with His Highness here, Yu'er can only wear a red sedan chair and a hijab at most. What's the use of having such an extra thing?" Lin Ruhai said in a cold tone, "I'm still in good health. I can't miss him when I'm not around. You young people don't have to worry so much when you are alone, just follow Yu'er back and there is no need to spend any more time."

"In that case, I will take my leave, junior!" Zhou Yang bowed and slowly left the study.

The west courtyard garden of Lin Mansion.

"Although Sister Lin's yard is not as spacious as at home, it is more exquisite." Princess Yongjing and Lin Daiyu walked hand in hand. It was the time when spring returned, and many of the grounds in the garden were already green. "Sister has always lived in Therefore, it’s no wonder that Brother Zhou can’t put it down because he has such a smart and beautiful mind.”

"Xuan'er, you arranged for me again, what does it mean to be unable to put it down!" Lin Daiyu lightly hit a certain princess angrily, "Besides, although I grew up here, when I was in Beijing, I mostly lived in the back house with my mother, and when I went to Yangzhou to live alone Needless to say, after returning to Beijing, I followed Brother Zhou there. No matter how exquisite this courtyard is, how many days will I stay there?"

"Then, does Sister Lin want to take advantage of the opportunity to stay for a few more days, or does she want to go back and continue to make someone 'can't put it down'?" Princess Yongjing smiled, gently bit Lin Daiyu's ear and said, "Or, Sister can give it up How many days will you stay alone in Xiulou?"

"You damn hooves, how dare you arrange it like this!" Lin Daiyu's cheeks turned red in embarrassment. She immediately forgot about her dignity and began to chase a certain princess. She lost all restraint in her words, "You're talking about me. Anyway, I have lived there for a long time, too. I don’t know who is shameless, but he couldn’t help it within three days of entering the courtyard. He is obviously a noble person, but he dares to shout anything as soon as he comes into contact with someone!"

"Yeah -" Princess Yongjing couldn't bear it now, and she started to fight with someone in shame. For a while, the garden was filled with laughter like silver bells.

(End of this chapter)