Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 36 A Fool’s Thoughts

Jia Lian looked at him expressionlessly, amplifying the power of silence. Li Heng was so embarrassed by what he saw that he didn't say anything anymore. He lowered his head to eat his food, but he had no idea how the food tasted.

The eyes of the little eunuch waiting next to him were full of anger, and he would pounce on him and bite him just for a look from Li Heng.

Guixiang beside Jia Lian was trembling. She had seen the third prince in front of her before. The second master is so fierce! Every move makes your heart beat faster and your legs tighten. Hey, I have to wipe my body again when I get back.

Jia Lian put down his chopsticks and drank a cup of warm tea. After putting down the cup, he said calmly: "It's a good idea to keep a certain distance between you and me."

"I didn't understand what I said yesterday when I went back." Li Heng felt unhappy and spoke in a muffled voice.

Jia Lian sneered, and when the veins on Li Heng's forehead were twitching in excitement, he said unhurriedly: "Growing up in a deep palace since childhood, it's strange for you to open your mouth when you put on your clothes, reach out for food, you have to figure it out. "

"Huh, you're talking like you know everything." Li Heng was really unconvinced. The two of them were of the same age, so how could they be willing to admit defeat?
  "Of course I don't know everything, but I really know a little bit about money." Jia Lian's tone did not waver.

"I'd like to hear the details!" Li Heng played a little trick and quickly took the words.

Jia Lian smiled again, his eyes seemed to see through it, and he waited until Li Heng clenched his fists angrily before speaking: "A whip law in the middle and late Ming Dynasty established silver as the main currency. The scattered silver collected by local taxes needs to be Recasting it into gold and silver, the fire consumption produced in this process occurs every year, and it is not transparent. The local officials say how much it is. Of course, this is a small problem!"

Li Heng listened with a confused look on his face, he didn't understand, he didn't understand at all, what is Huo Hua? Why opacity is a minor issue.

I know you can't understand, but I also know that you will write it all down, at least the chamberlain around you will write it down.

Thinking of this, Jia Lian turned away from the chamberlain behind Li Heng. This man seemed to be standing with his hands down, but in fact his ears were perked up.

"It is not enough to just raise the problem, you must also find the root of the problem and propose a solution. What is the root of the problem? Back to the beginning when silver was the officially recognized currency in national circulation. It was not the imperial court but the local gentry who really controlled silver. , mainly the southern gentry. The court in the previous Ming Dynasty had no money, and there was nothing they could do to deal with these local gentry. At the beginning of this dynasty, this problem was solved to a certain extent, but it was only a symptomatic treatment. To cure the root cause, the problem must be solved at the root, that is Coinage."

Looking at the chamberlain who had begun to sweat on his forehead, and then at Li Heng whose eyes were dull and his pupils were dilated, Jia Lian sighed leisurely and said: "It's really difficult for you." As he said this, he reached out and took out a bottle from his sleeve. Throwing a pamphlet to him: "I wrote this overnight. Take it back and read it slowly. It doesn't matter if you don't understand. You can ask someone you think understands."

The importance of currency to a country cannot be overstated. There are many reasons why ancient China did not pay enough attention to the importance of currency. The main reasons are that when collecting taxes, most of them are in kind, and the top-down lack of attention to finance.

This pamphlet is the result of Jia Lian's careful consideration. Jia Lian in other industries will definitely not be able to do it. Many theories and cognitions in modern society were cut off to fit the shoes in ancient times. If you want others to accept them, you are committing suicide. Only finance is different. Even Jia Lian only knows a little bit about it. For people of this era, this little bit of knowledge is also the result of refinement.

Starting from this angle, entering the emperor's vision and leaving a good impression, this is Jia Lian's plan. The biggest problem of the Jia family is that their destiny is not in their own hands. The four princes and eight princes, a powerful group, are destined to be disintegrated and divided. Judging from the results of the novel, the royal family still leaves room for this. This kind of leeway is not kindness, but fear of the death of rabbits and sorrow of foxes.

So don’t have any illusions about the emperor! For the sake of that throne, the bloodshed of killing even close relatives is written in the history books. How dare you, an outsider, have any illusions? Accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger. The tiger wants to eat people.

Jia Lian's purpose is very clear, to find an important field that will take a long time to play a role, and to have an irreplaceable role in this field. Compared with figures in history, He Shen is a more suitable person to emulate. Of course, it is enough to imitate Heshen's financial management skills, but it is not advisable to seize power and wealth without restraint.

I am useful, and I still have a reasonable amount of leverage in the emperor's hands. Even if I am liquidated, I will not die.

Well, that's it, just live in peace and prosperity for the rest of your life. What, you mean future generations? Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings!

Jia Lian didn't know whether such a plan would work, but he just thought he could give it a try. Because it’s not risky!
  The next day, in the Qianqing Palace, the diligent Emperor Chenghui approved the memorial for an hour before he got up and moved around. Suddenly he slapped his forehead and said: "I'm so busy that I'm dizzy. Come, summon King Zhongshun and Zhang Shilang."

Emperor Taizu of the Great Zhou Dynasty reformed the court meeting system. There was a large court meeting on the first and last day of each month, and a small court meeting every tenth day. Officials of third rank and above held discussions in the Wenhua Hall to report and summarize recent major domestic events.

During the period of the Supreme Emperor, the Xiaochao Meeting was adjusted, and only cabinet ministers, six ministries and nine ministers were eligible to attend.

After Emperor Chenghui ascended the throne, he had a new habit of frequently summoning his trusted ministers in Qianqing Palace.

The obese King Zhongshun came one step out of breath and bowed forty-five degrees while cupping his hands. This was the understanding of the king in daily life, and kneeling was a great gift that was only used at the beginning of the court meeting.

Zhang Ting'en followed with a steady pace. After seeing the courtesy, he smiled and said: "Your Majesty is calling for you. Is there something urgent?"

The implication is that I have a lot of things to do and I have to rush back to deal with them.

Emperor Chenghui didn't care about the meaning of his words. How should I put it? When I like to trust you, I can indulge you in your randomness. When I am suspicious of you, these casualties are a crime. Once anyone or anything reaches the stage of "discussing the heart", basically nothing is good in the eyes of the emperor. When it comes to talking about the mind, the most classic case in ancient times is "it's not necessary", and the recent classic case is "putting aside the initial facts."

"Well, let's take a look at this first." Emperor Chenghui threw a pamphlet to Zhang Ting'en, which made King Zhongshun's eyes flash with jealousy. It was obviously me who came first.

Zhang Ting'en didn't talk nonsense. He took the pamphlet and opened it to read. King Zhongshun quickly stood to the side and followed.

Not to mention the content in the brochure, the font is really familiar, mainly because I have seen it a lot. At this time, Zhang Ting'en's heart twitched several times, and he calmed down after seeing clearly the title "Introduction to Currency". It was not a treasonous content.

"Why are they all in vernacular?" King Zhongshun muttered, and Emperor Chenghui on the throne said calmly: "It should be written in vernacular to take care of people who don't understand, for fear that they won't understand."  Li Heng was not present, but was present There will definitely be complaints about “I can’t understand even the spoken language”.

Jia Lian would probably say very rudely: You, an inexperienced person, just can’t understand it.

Zhang Tingen, who has worked in the Ministry of Household Affairs for a long time, can naturally understand it. Some of the previous conceptual content, such as "waiting for exchange items" are not difficult to understand. It is not difficult to understand that "baochao" is defined as "credit currency".

The key part of the pamphlet is unfolded later. It provides a conclusive definition of the part about silver becoming a currency in circulation - the imperial court voluntarily gave up the right to define currency, essentially giving up the seigniorage, which resulted in the interests of the imperial court. The loss of economic power also resulted in the surrender of the right to speak in the economy. The Jiangnan gentry, who had mastered a large amount of silver, ordered the court to put a ban on it.

When watching the end, Zhang Ting'en was sweating like rain on his forehead. If this content were spread, Jia Lian would not be killed. Isn't this kid a little too courageous?

"Who wrote this?" King Zhongshun's legs trembled when he saw it, wishing he had never appeared.

Emperor Chenghui looked at him nonchalantly: "Why do you ask?"

King Zhongshun supported Zhang Ting'en's shoulders to prevent him from kneeling down. His legs were trembling and he smiled reluctantly: "I just asked casually."

"Well, I got it, don't ask again." After Emperor Chenghui said this, King Zhongshun breathed a sigh of relief. It was so scary.

Zhang Tingen didn't have that intention, so he continued to watch the second part, Zhe Se and Huo Hao.

Local officials have too much power, and they all have the final say on color and fire. They are seriously opaque and corrupt, which greatly increases the court's expenses. Collusion between local officials and gentry is almost a certain result. In the end, the people at the bottom who are the main source of tax for the lower court are the people at the bottom. This further aggravated the imperial court's financial difficulties.

Finally, we returned to currency, which is what the pamphlet emphasized, using court decrees to clarify the right to mint and regain the lost seigniorage. There is also a very fatal saying in this meeting: "Harming the officials and gentry while enriching the court will definitely arouse unanimous opposition from above and below."

Zhang Tingen's heart almost jumped out of his chest, and he cursed secretly in his heart: Grandson, you really dare to write.

After finally reading it, Zhang Ting'en, who was shaking all over, put the pamphlet back on the desk tremblingly, took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat, gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, I think it is necessary to mint silver coins and clarify it with laws. The uniqueness of the right to coin coins is a great virtue. However, if you want to implement it, you need to proceed step by step."

Even though he knew who wrote it, Zhang Ting'en didn't dare to name it. Wasn't it because King Zhongshun was also present?
  Compared with Zhang Ting'en's matter-of-fact discussion, King Zhongshun spoke from a smarter angle: "Your Majesty, state affairs are heavy and we need to take care of our bodies."

Emperor Chenghui was not as excited as when he got the brochure last night. When he read the brochure last night, he didn't sleep well all night, and his eyes were still dark. However, Emperor Chenghui ignored King Zhongshun's words, and flattery also had to be based on the occasion. Last night, every time I thought about how much of the court's money had been stolen by officials and gentry in the past hundred years, Emperor Chenghui almost had a heart attack. Emperor Chenghui subjectively believed that the officials and gentry must be pretending to be confused.

Why do you think so? How could it be a fourteen-year-old child's turn to discover such a big thing? The conclusion is naturally that the officials and gentry are unanimous in deceiving the saints in the face of huge interests. Do you think Emperor Chenghui is angry? No wonder Huo Hao returned to the public during the Taizu period, but was canceled after the Supreme Emperor ascended the throne. The reason for the cancellation was simple. Taizu died suddenly, the Emperor ascended the throne in a hurry, and the throne was unstable.

I deliberately browsed through the daily notes last night and found the original record, "The government and the public unanimously praised it", which was a record of credit for the abolition of fire consumption. There are not many words, but the matter is big. Well, Jia Lian is a very smart boy and cannot bring up Huo Hao again, so we should change the method. While minting silver coins, private minting of silver coins is strictly prohibited. Violators will be punished for treason.

However, this guy was still a little naive and did not take into account the officials' resistance after losing a large amount of income. This was a huge loophole. Emperor Chenghui added something in the pamphlet, [New items can be added to compensate officials at all levels to maintain integrity. 】

The meaning of this sentence is that no one who is poor can become an official. Emperor Chenghui knew very well that if officials were too poor, they would become corrupt. As for the losses of the local gentry, Emperor Chenghui did not care. The purpose of minting coins was to regain the interests of the imperial court. If there is a local backlash, officials can be ordered to suppress it.

"Your Majesty, this matter needs to be postponed until the Beijing camp is stabilized before it can be launched." Zhang Ting'en closed another loophole with one sentence.

Doesn't Jia Lian know about these loopholes? Of course I did. This is his experience. You have thought of things that your superiors did not think of and come up with solutions. Is this a good thing? This is definitely not a good thing. You have to let your superiors see that your idea is right, but there are many aspects that are not considered carefully and there are many serious consequences in implementation.

In layman's terms, in official circles, as a subordinate, you can never act more capable than your superiors. In the Zhou Dynasty, the emperor must be the wisest and most correct. As a minister, a fool will surely gain something after all his considerations.

It's not that His Majesty is unsage, but that the traitorous ministers below have deceived His Majesty and blocked the communication of information between superiors and subordinates. Therefore, as a minister, Jia Lian has the opportunity to report such a little thing because of His Majesty's sage. His majesty, the Ming Dynasty, knew the arrival of autumn when a leaf fell, and he keenly discovered many shortcomings in the reports of his minister Jia Lian.

Therefore, Emperor Chenghui's mood was a roller coaster last night. After discovering that there were huge loopholes in Jia Lian's pamphlet, he felt very relieved. He is still a child, no matter how evil he is, he still has many shortcomings in experience.

Feel comfortable, otherwise you wouldn't have slept last night.

King Zhongshun keenly seized another opportunity to flatter him: "What Mr. Zhang said is polite, but Your Majesty has already made a holy decision to exchange the Beijing camp for the border troops. On the one hand, it can avoid the disaster of the feudal town, and on the other hand, it can relieve the difficulty of not losing the capital camp." .”

Zhang Ting'en couldn't help but feel annoyed after hearing this. You have to say this, isn't it just flattering? This scholar is an ancestor!

"After the Beijing camp suppressed the rebellion, it took advantage of the situation to clean up the powerful forces in the border areas, so that the border town could not leave the feudal town for ten years. The border troops used their military exploits to fill the Beijing camp. The interests of the old and new nobles were irreconcilable, and the imperial court was in the middle. Your Majesty planned strategies and stabilized the internal and external affairs. This is This is why Your Majesty is so wise."

Emperor Chenghui tried hard to be reserved, but his back molars were exposed.

(End of this chapter)