Chapter 638 Emperor Chongping: This daughter of mine is not worthy of being retained in the female university.
Yangzhou Yanyuan Yamen, official hall
Not long after Jia Heng waited, he saw an elegant middle-aged man wearing a fourth-grade scarlet robe official uniform and a black gauze hat from the back hall and entered the hall.
In the Han Dynasty, there was no fixed standard for the salt inspection censors, who mostly asked questions based on their own official status. Lin Ruhai entered the official position as a first-class inspector, first in the Hanlin Academy, and later promoted to the doctor of Lantai Temple. Finally, he was sent by Emperor Chongping to inspect the salt in Lianghuai.
Lantai is also called Yushitai, which was the reputation of the people at that time for the first-level censorship of the capital procuratorate.
In other words, Lin Ruhai holds the fourth-rank title of Zuoqiandu Censor, not just the seventh-rank censor.
"Uncle Lin is always kind." Jia Heng stood up, with a warm smile on his face, looked at Lin Ruhai not far away, and greeted.
Lin Ruhai was worthy of being a top prospect in his first major, and was later recruited as his son-in-law by the Duke of Xiao Rongguo. Although he was nearly forty years old, his appearance was beautiful and charming, but his cheeks were slightly pale, and he seemed to have a sickly appearance.
Lin Ruhai was also looking at the young man in python suit opposite him at this moment. He saw that he was tall and tall, with sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes. His straight face was too young, but his expression was resolute and heroic, and his eyes seemed to be hiding a divine light.
It is easy for people to ignore their age, so they felt a certain fondness in their hearts and called out: "Zi Yu."
The two of them had exchanged letters before. Although they met for the first time, they didn't have much of an acquaintance. They exchanged pleasantries and went to the inner hall to talk. They sat down again and finished. The servants offered them tea.
Lin Ruhaiyin asked: "I saw in the newspaper the day before yesterday that the Holy Emperor has ordered Zi Yu to be the governor of the River Department. I wonder what the situation is like at Qingjiangpu in Huai'an Prefecture?"
The three roads of Huaiyang, Huaixu and Huaihai are all in the north of the Yangtze River. They have many water conservancy embankments and weirs under their jurisdiction. And Yangzhou is close to Gaoyou Lake. If something unexpected happens, it will be difficult to survive alone.
Jia Heng looked solemn and said: "We have interrogated the relevant river officials to find out the true and false status of the Nanhe River dams, gates, etc. This time we came here to mobilize soldiers from the Jiangbei Camp to go to Huaiyang and Huaixu to fight against floods and prepare for floods.
, to aid dangerous workers."
Lin Ruhai nodded and sighed: "When Sizhou was flooded, Jiangzuo was horrified. There have been some rumors in Yangzhou city recently. Although it did not lead to a big chaos, many grain merchants have heard the news and seem to be taking advantage of the repeated floods in Huaibei to stock up.
The goods are rare and the prices are high, but with you also in charge of river affairs, I feel at ease.
In the Central Plains, Jia Heng first put down a rebellion that shocked the whole country, and then wrote "Chenhe Shishu", advising the northern provinces to expand water conservancy and rectify river affairs. Each of these incidents, one by one, was known to all the officials of the Han Dynasty.
All scholars must speak out to be qualified and capable officials.
Even Zhao Mo, Du Jidong and others refused to acknowledge Jia Heng's talent, and even people in the Qi party wanted to use Jia Heng's knife to kill people.
It's just that in their eyes, the more capable an official is, the more hateful he is. He flatters the king and corrupts the imperial court... Kuang is full of civil and military officials in the dynasty. Are you the only one who is a loyal minister, a straight minister, and a wise minister? Does that show your ability?
Power is like a cake. If you get more piece of cake, I will get less piece of it.
Jia Heng put down the tea cup in his hand and said softly: "The situation is not very optimistic now. We still need some manpower and materials. All we have to do is do our best and listen to fate."
Lin Ruhai said: "Ziyu just let go and do what you want.
Jia Heng changed the subject and asked, "My uncle is here to rectify the salt affairs. Is there any progress?"
Mentioning this matter, Lin Ruhai's face became much more solemn, and sighed: "There are so many things, and I can't do anything. From last year to now, the salt merchants, the Salt Transportation Department, the Yangzhou Government Office, and the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs have been filing lawsuits.
Conclusion."
Jia Heng pondered for a moment and asked, "Did Mr. Qi Ge also arrive in Jiangnan?"
The matter of salt affairs is more difficult than that of the river, because it involves some senior officials in Nanjing, and even the palace. It can be said that even if Yang Guochang goes south personally, he may not be able to solve it, and Qi Kun will probably not be able to open up the situation if he goes south.
Lin Ruhai nodded and said: "Mr. Qi is in Jinling now, negotiating with the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs to get back the Nanjing Household Bureau's salt trigger release, and give the right to cancel it to the Salt Institute. There have been many disputes over this matter."
Jia Heng said: "This year, the northern provinces have been hit by widespread disasters. The taxes on land and grain have been exempted a lot, and troops have to be deployed in the north. The salt tax needs to be reorganized so as to enrich the national treasury and not hinder the country's plans."
The financial expenditure of the Central Plains Rebellion was to kill Wei
The two fat pigs of Zheng Liangfan filled up the area, but the extravagant wealth gained from killing pigs during the New Year can only meet urgent needs, not a steady stream of money.
With his help, the internal funds of the Ministry of Internal Affairs successively killed the Sanhe Gang and the two fat pigs of King Qi and King Zhongshun. They were quite rich and even allocated part of the money to support the soldiers and horses of the Beijing camp.
But the finances of the Ministry of Revenue are actually unsustainable. This is not a normal imperial court's financial revenue and expenditure.
Yang Guochang actually got things done. When he was in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs, the northern provinces defaulted on grain taxes due to drought, and all had different degrees of exemptions. This objectively alleviated the conflict and suppressed the southern scholars in tacit agreement with Emperor Chongping.
It is equivalent to the division of bureaucracy due to regional interests. This is also the reason why the late Ming Dynasty can survive until now compared to the parallel time and space.
Well, it's not yet time to put a final verdict on Yang Guochang.
Lin Ruhai said worriedly: "The country's finances are in dire straits. I heard Mr. Qi Ge mention it before. Generally speaking, the four words are to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. The Lianghuai salt tax can collect an additional two million taels per year, which is a long-term solution."
The Lianghuai salt tax is only the bulk of several salt fields in the Han Dynasty, there are other salt fields such as Changlu, and even well salt in Yunnan. For example, Li Wei during the Yongzheng period was especially good at catching thieves and patrolling salt. First he was the Yunnan Salt Post Road, and later he was the Bu
He served as political envoy, then as governor of Zhejiang, and later as governor of Zhili.
Jia Heng was silent for a moment, then suddenly said: "If there is still no progress, let's wait for the river affairs, and the Holy Father will send me south to Yangzhou to rectify the salt affairs.
"Ziyu, are you coming to Yangzhou?" Lin Ruhai was slightly frightened and found it difficult to express.
"Yeah, it was probably going to be a bloody storm at that time." Jia Heng's eyes narrowed slightly, and his face looked a little cold.
Suddenly I remembered Yuan Jichong, the former magistrate of Yangzhou, and asked the Jinyi Mansion to investigate. I always felt that this person was not a kind person.
Lin Ruhai pondered for a moment, looked at Jia Heng expectantly, and said, "Since Ziyu can come to Yangzhou, I think he can redefine the longitude and latitude and eliminate the long-standing disadvantages."
Whether it was him or Qi Kun, they all felt powerless in the face of the salt affairs with many entangled interests. Only the young man in front of him could do this.
Jia Heng sighed and said, "We must wait until the river affairs department is finished and the troops return to the capital. The capital camp is responsible for fighting the flood this time, so it is time to return to the capital."
The soldiers and horses in the Beijing camp have been away for a long time. Although the emperor is not suspicious, it will make the superiors and subordinates uneasy for a long time. Moreover, the soldiers are eager to return home. If they do not return for a long time, they will inevitably become resentful.
After the two of them finished talking about official matters, they began to discuss family matters. Lin Ruhai asked with concern: "How is Yu'er doing in Rongguo Mansion these years?"
Jia Heng said softly: "Sister Lin is okay. Her body was a little weak in the past, but she is much better now."
Lin Ruhai smiled and said, "I heard Yu'er mentioned in her letter before that she asked Ziyu to put a lot of thought into it and even invited the palace doctor to nurse her back to health."
Lin Yanyuan didn't think much about it, because Jia Heng already had a family, and he secretly guessed that this was probably for his own sake.
Because the reason is very simple. When he reaches Jia Heng's status, he can no longer be simply regarded as an ordinary young man, but should be regarded as the leader of the Jia clan and a minister of the Prime Minister.
Hidden meaning. Hmm·
Jia Heng said softly: "Sister Lin has always been frail, and she is alone in Beijing. She misses her family so much and is depressed. She needs to take good care of herself. My uncle also needs to take care of himself. I have gone to Jinyi Mansion to investigate secretly about the poisoning and assassination by thieves.
When I get the news, I’ll make it clear to my uncle.”
Lin Ruhai nodded and thought to himself that taking care of Daiyu was mostly due to him.
Jia Heng said: "There is one more thing that I need to explain to my uncle." Lin Ruhai was surprised when he heard this and waited patiently for what Jia Heng said.
Jia Heng pondered for a moment and said, "This is about Jia Yucun. He was dismissed from office because of the Xue family's affairs.
Lin Ruhai said: "Ziyu mentioned it in a letter before, but I didn't expect him to be such a person."
At the beginning, Jia Yucun was Daiyu's tutor, and it was Lin Ruhai who wrote a letter of recommendation for him to take up the post of Jinling. However, Lin Ruhai did not comment too much, he just expressed his attitude in person and did not take this matter to heart.
Jia Heng said slowly: "Uncle, after Jia Yucun lost his official position, he first went to work for Prince Zhongshun. Prince Zhongshun and my Jia family were not at odds with each other. My uncle also knew it. However, after Prince Zhongshun seized the title because of the imperial mausoleum incident, this Jia family
Yucun turns around again
I first surrendered to the Prince of Qi County, and now I am the chief secretary of the Prince of Qi County. The Prince of Qi County also has a lot of grudges with me."
When Lin Ruhai heard this, his face changed slightly, and there was a hint of concern in his eyes, and he asked: How come Ziyu also has a grudge against Qi Fan?"
These were secret matters that had not been mentioned in the letters before. As for the enmity between King Zhongshun and the Jia family, Lin Ruhai naturally knew about it.
Jia Heng briefly explained the previous events and said: "This matter is due to the fact that the Prince of Qi County has no clan, and the palace is well aware of it, so it is not a big deal.
When Lin Ruhai heard this, his eyes moved slightly and he fell into thinking for a moment.
No wonder he is in a high position at such an age. I am afraid that this road to success will encounter many stormy waves.
"As long as you have an idea, Ziyu." Lin Ruhai thought for a while and then said. Such an important military official does not need to mention it himself, I can't tell him...
Jia Heng then stopped mentioning King Zhongshun and said, "My uncle has been patrolling salt in Yangzhou for many years and has made great achievements. After the disadvantages of salt affairs are eliminated, he should be able to move to the capital and be listed in the ministry.
Lin Ruhai shook his head and said: "Nowadays, the salt law is changing from the old to the new, and it is almost impossible to move forward. We have to look at it again.
While the two were talking, a maid said: "Master, my concubine said that the kitchen has prepared dinner. She will come over soon and invite the master and Uncle Heng to have dinner."
Lin Ruhai smiled and greeted, "It's getting so late, so Ziyu stayed to have dinner and talk while eating."
Jia Heng did not refuse, and sat down with Lin Ruhai to eat, talked for a while, and then left Yangzhou Salt Courtyard.
And as Yong Ningbo and Zhao Mo, the cabinet scholar, came to Yangzhou for business, the news that Yong Ningbo went to Yangzhou Yanyuan Yamen to visit Lin Ruhai also spread like wildfire.
Some relationships are gradually revealed in front of everyone. Lin Ruhai of Yangzhou Salt Academy has a huge figure standing behind him.
Shenjing City, Palace Garden
As night falls, red octagonal palace lanterns light up under the majestic and magnificent palace, and the tassels sway gently in the evening breeze.
Daming Palace, side hall, inner study room
The bright floor reflected the figure of the female official and the inner prisoner. Behind the case, the middle-aged emperor wearing a yellow dragon robe frowned and was reading a memorial in his hand.
A few days had passed, and the middle-aged emperor naturally received memorials from Peng Ye, the left deputy censor in Qingjiangpu, and Jia Heng's follow-up report.
"Gao Bin, the governor of Nanhe, committed suicide out of fear of his crime. A heavy rain in Sizhou turned out all the old records of the Hedao Yamen!" Emperor Chongping put down the memorial in his hand and said coldly.
No one in the world has peace of mind. The rebellion in the Central Plains will be settled, and the Huanghuai River is flooding. It is unknown whether it will lead to floods!
The Empress of Song, who was ordering several female officials to prepare the dinner, looked slightly startled, and a look of worry appeared on her plump and graceful face.
Because Emperor Chongping had been forgetting to sleep and eat in the past few days, and was even worried about delaying the disposal of his memorial, Empress Song could only ask the female official to deliver dinner to the inner study.
"Your Majesty, didn't Ziyu go to the Hedao Yamen?" Empress Song came over lightly, her gentle and gentle brows showing concern.
"Zitong, Gao Bin, the governor of the Nanhe River, committed suicide out of fear of his crime. Most of the river officials below are full of snakes and rats. No one knows whether the embankment built by the Nanhe River was as strong as the one built by Governor Ziyu of the East River." Emperor Chongping looked solemn and said in a worried tone.
: "The river embankments in Henan are only newly built, but they can block floods. However, the Nanhe River embankments, for which the court allocates funds for work every year, collapse immediately. How do you know they are not the tip of the iceberg?"
Empress Song comforted her and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry too much. Since Ziyu is in Nanhe, there should be something done."
Emperor Chongping sighed and said, "Although Ziyu is in charge, he did not personally supervise the construction of these river embankments. If they break, natural disasters cannot be controlled by manpower."
Speaking of which, I feel a little uncomfortable. Among all the civil and military officials in the dynasty, only one of them can be used to put out fires everywhere from north to south.
He turned to look at Dai Quan, who was standing at the side, and said, "Send someone to Jinyi Mansion and the General Affairs Department to keep an eye on it. As soon as there are any memorials or secret memorials from Yong Ningbo, they will report them immediately without delay."
"My slave obeys the order." Dai Quan responded quickly, not wanting to remind Emperor Chongping that this was already the emperor.
This is the third time today that a similar order has been issued.
As soon as Dai Quan left the palace, he saw an eunuch coming quickly with a box in his hand. He felt happy and went forward to greet him. Hearing that it was Jia Heng's memorial, he took the wooden box and turned into the palace.
He happily said: "Your Majesty, Jinyi Mansion is six hundred miles away from Xuzhou as soon as possible."
Open the brocade box and take out a memorial.
Jia Heng knew that Emperor Chongping was worried about the situation in the Nanhe River. After arriving in Xuzhou, he wrote a memorial to Emperor Chongping. Then after arriving in Huai'an Mansion and rectifying the river officials, he wrote another memorial to Emperor Chongping, citing six hundred miles.
Express delivery to Shinkyo.
"Bring it here." Emperor Chongping took the memorial from Dai Quan and quickly opened it and read it. As he read the words on it, his frown gradually relaxed.
Seeing the clouds dissipating from the emperor's face, Queen Song breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Your Majesty, what did Ziyu say?"
A memorial from Ziyu is more effective than her ten or a hundred words of comfort.
Emperor Chongping's face became a little gentler, his voice became a little lighter unconsciously, and he said: "Ziyu said that it is difficult to tell whether the Huaihe River embankment is true or not. After arriving at Huai'an Mansion, he will first organize the river affairs and interrogate relevant river officials to clarify the strength and weakness of the embankments.
, due to the urgent flood situation, nearly 20,000 soldiers from the Beijing Battalion have been mobilized to Huaiyang to fight floods in Huaixu. It is also said that the rains in the northern provinces are getting lighter. As soon as the situation along the river in Kaifeng is relieved, the Beijing Battalion will be gradually mobilized to assist Huainan.
In order to control the floods, you also requested me to control the Jiangbei camp with the Emperor's Sword, and mobilized troops and horses to various embankments and weirs in the town to repair dangerous works."
Jia Heng's memorial in Xuzhou contains no nonsense and is full of practical information.
He stated to the emperor his plan to go to Qingjiangpu to rectify the river affairs, as well as his considerations on why he would do this, and secretly reported it to Emperor Chongping.
And the clear and coherent strategy is undoubtedly more able to soothe an anxious heart than the various consolation memorials that Emperor Chongping saw.
Asking questions, preparing countermeasures, and providing real-time feedback on progress gives people the impression of being reliable and convincing.
When Empress Song heard this, her beautiful face was delighted, her red lips parted lightly, her voice was like an oriole coming out of the valley, and she said with a sweet smile: "Your Majesty, I said, your Majesty, just use Ziyu to go to Qingjiangpu. He must have a comprehensive plan."
Emperor Chongping sighed and said: "I also know that he must have a strategy, but he is also trying to quell the chaos and regulate the river. He is running around on both sides. He has no leisure for a while, and there is no capable person in the court."
I really feel that the more I use it, the easier it becomes.
"Ziyu is still young, and it is time for him to develop his grand ambitions. Besides, he is also happy that His Majesty shares his worries." Empress Song said softly, with a beautiful face: "However, Ziyu is a little tired this time. Xianning yesterday
The letter that came also said that Ziyu and his fourth brother stayed at the embankment for food and accommodation some time ago, and it was quite hard for them to carry out emergency repairs."
"Well, I know about this." Emperor Chongping paused, said softly, and then asked: "Did Xianning say when he will come back?"
The Empress of the Song Dynasty suddenly couldn't help but laugh. The beauty's beautiful face was as beautiful as a peach and a plum, and it was as bright as snow and Fang Ji.
Instead, Emperor Chongping was confused for a while.
Queen Song's voice was soft and tactful as she said: "Xianning said that Chanyue also passed by, thinking of returning home with the army. Your Majesty didn't know that some time ago, Concubine Rong's sister told me about her. It's been almost a month, and she even sent a letter
All gone."
Emperor Chongping also suddenly realized it, and for a while his heart was a little complicated, and he sighed with emotion: "My daughter is not a good girl.
Some of the guilt I originally felt in my heart has faded a lot, and it is right for my son-in-law to work more hard.
"Your Majesty, let's have dinner first. There is Ziyu on the other side of the Nanhe River, so Your Majesty should not worry too much." Empress Song said softly.
Emperor Chongping nodded, and his mind settled down.