"You're back now? Didn't you enjoy the banquet?"
After the pulse diagnosis and treatment by Xiao Fengchun, the famous doctor from Jinling who arrived today, Lin Ruhai's spirit has obviously improved a lot. At this time, she is sitting on the bed leaning on the big pillow, and her skinny face looks much better than yesterday.
Jia Lian's face looks good and he is in a good mood, but he is just a little tired.
After giving the gift to my uncle, he said:
"The banquet is naturally good, but it is too extravagant and is really outrageous."
Lin Ruhai was quite satisfied with Jia Lian's answer - this is a man who tells the truth and knows how to tell the truth, and he can be taught.
Jia Lian sent everyone else out and then said to Lin Ruhai:
"Please tell me, uncle, what is a 'tail-burning feast'?"
Lin Ruhai twirled his beard and said:
"This kind of banquet was popular in Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty. It was a banquet for entertaining relatives, friends and colleagues when scholars were appointed or officials were promoted."
"Then why is the banquet called 'Shaowei'? It's really indecent."
"Indecent?" Lin Ruhai took a deep look at Jia Lian, "There are three theories about the origin of this name.
First, in order for a carp to jump over the Dragon Gate, its tail must be burned off by heavenly fire before it can transform into a real dragon;
Secondly, it is said that when a new sheep enters the flock, its old tail must be burnt before it can be accepted by the flock;
Third, when the tiger beast turns into a human, its tail cannot be hidden, so its tail must be burned off.
These three statements are already very 'elegant'."
Jia Lian nodded, suddenly enlightened.
Sure enough, I guessed it right, this is an invitation party "please join our group".
The Lianghuai Salt Administration and the Lianghuai Salt Merchants have long been colluding together and working together.
Fortunately, I was alert, chatting and laughing, picking up whatever they said, and throwing away whatever they picked up, saying everything, but actually saying nothing.
The doorways, officialdom, shopping malls, and workplaces are all the same.
This practice was the same hundreds of years ago, and it will still be the same hundreds of years later.
.
Jia Lian poured himself a bowl of tea, ate it all in one go, frowned and said:
"I just arrived in Yangzhou and they got the message.
Today, he tried to win me over in a big way, but Mr. Yan Zhengzhen himself did not want to come forward rashly, so he sent his nephew Zhen Lian to try with me, and I pushed him back with laughter."
Lin Ruhai couldn't help but admire:
It is said that this Jia Lian is a famous womanizer, and it is said that he cannot do without such things even in a single night.
But now in Yangzhou, a city full of brothels and fireworks, especially where the eight major salt merchants come together to gather top-notch sex, he is able to control things like a rock, and he is really a master of big things!
No wonder the emperor was able to pick him out from all the younger generations among the four princes and eight princes!
Lin Ruhai asked Jia Lian to sit beside her bed. Jia Lian hesitated and said it was not etiquette. Lin Ruhai laughed and said:
"Just the two of us, please sit over here and let's talk a little bit about each other."
Jia Lian then leaned forward and sat down by the bed.
.
"Have you met Jiang Chunsheng today?"
"I've seen it. He is indeed a Confucian businessman, with a steady and elegant manner. No wonder the Supreme Emperor has a common friendship with him."
This man is a gentleman with an elegant appearance, but behind the scenes he instigated people to assassinate Lin Ruhai in such a secretive and vicious way. Just thinking about it makes people shudder.
So Jia Lian also asked directly:
"What's the big deal between him and his uncle that he wants to send Mo Xiang to harm people?"
Lin Ruhai liked Jia Lian even more when she saw it, and smiled and said:
"I might as well just tell you.
Jiang Chunsheng has been the general merchant of Huaihe and Huaihe Rivers for nearly 20 years, leading no fewer than a thousand small salt merchants from Huizhou, Shanxi, Qin, and Hunan.
He killed me because of those people."
.
It turns out that since taking office, Lin Ruhai has carefully investigated the Lianghuai Salt Affairs and discovered a shocking corruption case.
Zhen Huan served in the Lianghuai Salt Administration for ten years and once petitioned the Supreme Emperor, saying that the population of the six provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, and Henan in the Lianghuai Salt Region increased dramatically, and the demand for salt also increased accordingly.
The total amount of some salt imports is far from meeting the demand. Therefore, they want to sell more salt by "paying salt imports in advance".
Let the salt merchants use the price of "three taels of silver per imported salt" to advance the import bills for the second year, and use these "permits" to sell salt in advance. At that time, the normal price of salt imports was one tael of silver, which was
In other words, Lianghuai Salt Administration can earn three times the tax money by using this pre-sold salt.
After calculation, the income from advance salt import should be as high as more than 10.9 million taels of silver.
But the problem is that since the Emperor ascended the throne, the imperial court has never received this income in its actual income.
All this money was collected into the treasury of the Lianghuai Salt Administration.
Most of them were given to the Supreme Emperor by his former ministers in private offerings or by purchasing tributes over the years; the other small part was embezzled by the Lianghuai Salt Administration and salt merchants.
The Supreme Emperor received extra money, so he naturally protected his old ministers, and no one dared to ask.
But the current emperor's money bag has been ripped out of a big hole.
.
More than 10 million taels of silver is considered a major corruption case, but it is not an astronomical figure.
The surprising thing about this case is that it involves the Supreme Emperor. This makes the matter difficult to handle.
Lin Ruhai shook his head and sighed:
"Behind the Zhen family and other old ministers is the Supreme Emperor. As long as the Supreme Emperor is around, they will be stable.
But those salt merchants, big and small, were more frightened than these old officials with backing.
Jiang Chunsheng wanted to put me to death for the sake of them and the salt merchants, in order to suppress this matter and prevent it from being exposed to the world."
Jia Lian already understood most of it in his heart: "My uncle should have reported the truth to the emperor in detail, right?"
"Exactly. How dare I keep it a secret and not report such a major case of collapse?
Revenue from the salt administration is the top priority for the state treasury. If the salt administration is in chaos, the country will be in chaos.
What's more, behind this matter is the issue of the ministers' alignment between the Supreme Emperor and the current emperor. These old ministers did this to make the Supreme Emperor happy, but they undermined the foundation of the country."
.
Jia Lian knew clearly that since the emperor already knew about such serious corruption cases, he could actually send an imperial envoy to conduct a thorough investigation. After that, he would behead those who should be chopped, kill those who should be killed, arrest those who should be arrested, and confiscate the homes of those who should be.
Make additional payments when necessary, and refund when necessary.
But the emperor didn't want to fall out with the Supreme Emperor. Perhaps, he also didn't want to make the Supreme Emperor lose face, his father would be embarrassed, and his son would be disgraced. After all, people who are emperors have a good reputation, and they are afraid that they will not look good when they are written down in the history books.
Therefore, the emperor hoped that these veteran ministers could consciously correct their mistakes, make up for their shortcomings, reflect deeply on themselves, and stand up again.
The idea of subduing the enemy without fighting is a good one.
But is it okay to seek skin from a tiger?
You tell the murderer:
"Come on, be good, put on the handcuffs yourself, get into the police car by yourself, lock the door by yourself, drive to the shooting range by yourself, put the gun to your head by yourself, press the trigger by yourself, and then bury yourself by yourself. Be careful, don't
Get blood all over the floor, so that the sweeper will not have to bother mopping the floor."
Was it an angel you shot?
.
Seeing that Jia Lian kept his head down and said nothing, Lin Ruhai put his thin hand on Jia Lian's shoulder: