Lin Daiyu insisted on going her own way, favoring the powerless princes and other princes who had no power in the Yan Kingdom. She had no choice but to send the tax-free policy to the Yan Palace. Naturally, none of these things reached Lin Daiyu.
On the desk, anyone who resigned was approved. Half a month later, Lin Daiyu issued an order to give Yan officials a large salary increase starting from the first month of next year. Although they did not explicitly say how much the increase would be, there were no more resignations immediately, and a group of beggars appeared again.
Official.
The Marquis of Dingcheng calculated the land taxes that had to be paid and fined, and actually started to sell Zhuangzi, planning to go to other countries to buy it again; it was soon bought. Many families were waiting to see, seeing that their families were weak.
They also began to sell their fields. As more people sold, the price became lower. Others were afraid that the price would be lower in the future, so they also sold. The land prices around the capital plummeted at a speed visible to the naked eye. Although the prices were low, there was no shortage of buyers.
Home.
Some buyers who want to wait for a lower price before taking possession have found that whenever land comes out, it will be bought by someone soon; the low price is mostly because the seller is frightened and lowers it. And there seem to be only a few buyers. A land dealer
I got acquainted with a buyer, so I went to ask him why he bought so much land. Can he find tenant farmers to plant it? Is he not afraid of fines and taxes? The man smiled and said, "I'll tell you the truth. I'm a clerk in the Ministry of Household Affairs, and I'm buying land."
Zhuangzi is my errand boy."
The man in the middle was shocked: "Why did the Ministry of Revenue buy so much land?"
The clerk explained: "The imperial court will treat it as public leased land. That is, the imperial court will rent it to the people for farming at a very low price - tenant farmers pay rent to the imperial court, and only need to pay about half of what others pay."
The middleman immediately said: "Wouldn't those big rent-eating households immediately have no tenant farmers?"
"That's right." The clerk winked, "So they either have to lower the rent, which will be lower than that of the imperial court, or they have to pay fines and taxes. Anyway, the imperial court's fields will be deserted for at most half a year. There will be no one to grow wheat in the spring.
, you can find someone to grow Western potatoes in the summer.”
The middleman asked: "Aren't all the tenant farmers robbed by big households?"
The clerk said: "Prime Minister Lin has sent people to the State of Qi. The rent in the State of Yan used to be much higher than that in the State of Qi. If it is lowered, many tenants from the State of Qi can be coaxed to come over." The man chuckled.
At the end of November, the Zhengshi Hall had been repaired in an urgent manner, and it was hoped that people would play and make it lively so that they could move in. Since Jia She returned to Beijing, Jia Cong went back to Rongguo Mansion every day. This evening, he returned to Lixiangyuan.
Wang Fu, the eunuch rescued from the palace, suddenly came to see him.
Wang Fu never left Beijing and had been helping Jia Huan and Shi Qiusheng. He was the one who pretended to be Mr. Wang Guowei and used his piano skills to seduce the former prince of the Yan Kingdom. The old man said: "I heard that a plaque will be hung in the political hall in a few days. Prime Minister Lin
Officially moved here to work."
"Either in a few days, or the day after tomorrow." Jia Cong said, "Uncle Fu, please come and see the excitement."
Wang Fudao: "Who did you invite to sing?"
"No opera, just hire a group of little percussion musicians from Liu Aiyun's place, set off firecrackers and that's it. It's the opening of the Yamen, not the marriage of a wife. What's wrong?"
Wang Fu sighed: "Third Master, Jiaofang Secretary, how are you going to deal with it?"
"Ouch!" Jia Cong said sheepishly, "I didn't take this into consideration. The manpower is really too tight. Or are you always in charge? Dismissal of the Jiaofang Secretary. From now on, there will be no such thing as official prostitutes in Yan State.
That's it..." Jia Cong looked at his face and said, "If you're still unwilling to do it, let Shi Qiusheng do it, or let him send someone to take care of it?"
Wang Fudao: "Don't bother Comrade Qiu Sheng. I'll take care of it myself." He paused and said, "They are both very busy. I don't feel comfortable leaving it to others. I might as well do it myself."
Jia Cong bowed to him and said, "Thank you for your help." Then he asked, "Will you always return to your real name?"
Wang Fu stood up, put his hands behind his hands and said proudly: "Okay."
Jia Cong smiled and bowed again: "Hello, Uncle Gao."
Wang Fu hadn't heard anyone call him Uncle Gao for many years, and he burst into tears. After a long time, he said: "My surname is Gao, who can save the whole family from fire and water. In addition to the happiness of the whole family, he is worthy of the ancestors of the Gao family!" So he decided to kill him!
Change your name back to Gao Mengsheng, and go to the Yamen tomorrow to apply for paperwork.
Jia Cong nodded repeatedly: "We have to completely abolish this crap thing called Leji. I am not opposed to professional prostitutes, but firstly, there cannot be official prostitutes, and secondly, there cannot be Leji. Oh, that business may seem like a small matter, but in fact it is also related to the national economy and people's livelihood.
." He spoke too quickly, and Gao Mengsheng couldn't keep up, so he asked what was going on. Jia Cong said, "It's the brothel. The brothel is the most rampant place for the spread of the disease. Regardless of whether it is a bright or dark brothel, there must be two visits a month.
Physical examination, if you are sick, you need to be treated, and if you are not sick, you can only accept customers. What do you think, Uncle Gao? Why don't you take over this job by the way after settling the matter with the Jiaofang Division?"
Gao Mengsheng thought for a while: "Jiaofangsi is everywhere, not just in the capital. If I want to take over this matter, it will never happen in three to five months. Why not ask Luo Tainiang to do it." He smiled and said, "She will help Third Master take care of it.
After nearly twenty years of service, it’s time for a promotion.”
Jia Cong rubbed the back of his head: "That's right. By the way, do you know what happened to her and Roman?"
"We got married secretly the year before last," Gao Mengsheng said, "Qiu Sheng and I even went out to have a drink."
Jia Cong smiled and clapped his hands and said: "It's such a good thing and I didn't even inform everyone. In this case, it's time to make up for the wedding."
The next day, Jia Cong went to Luo Man and asked him to make up for the wedding banquet. Luo Man laughed loudly: "I don't have time right now. Let's wait until I finish my work."
In the evening when Jia Cong returned home, Gao Mengsheng came to see him again. Jia Cong smiled and asked, "I heard that Uncle Gao borrowed a few people from Prime Minister Lin to go to the Jiaofang Department today to handle matters. Did it go well?"
"That's good." Gao Mengsheng smiled broadly, "Everyone burst into tears when they heard that the music could be removed."
Jia Cong twitched the corner of his mouth: "You always smile so happily and say that people are crying, can the world get better?" Gao Mengsheng laughed loudly. Jia Cong was also secretly happy - this was the first time he had met this old man.
Seeing him laughing so happily, I laughed with him for a while.
After finishing laughing, Gao Mengsheng said: "I came here to tell the third master something. My granddaughter said..." His face suddenly turned sad again. Jia Cong blinked. Gao Mengsheng sighed indifferently, "If only two years earlier..."
He shook his head. "It's not mine." Tears fell from his eyes.
Gao Mengsheng was originally a piano player in the Jiaofang Department. Because of his superb piano skills, he was favored by the Queen Mother and brought into the palace. He was over fifty years old when he was purified. With the help of the Rongguo Mansion, he helped him fish out his family without any effort.
However, he felt that he had no face to see people, so he thought he was dead. He was not even willing to use his real name earlier. Only now did he find out that his granddaughter had already bloomed two years ago, and she was only thirteen years old at the time.
After hearing this, Jia Cong wanted to comfort him, but after thinking about it for a long time, he realized that there was no way to comfort him. A fragile person could live with guilt and die. He could only advise: "Since the regret is over, it is probably life. Try your best not to have any other regrets in the future."
Already."
Gao Mengsheng wiped away his tears and said: "A few days ago, my granddaughter was serving two guests and heard something. Someone is secretly doing something to frame the third master for invading King Yan's backyard."
"Ha?!" Jia Cong opened his eyes wide and pointed at his nose, "Me? How old are King Yan's women? His son is several older than me!"
"Are there fewer young women in Prince Yan's palace?"
"That's right." Jia Cong thought for a while and smiled, "This is just right. Thank you, Uncle Gao. In that case, we will hold the political hall tomorrow and want to make it more lively. Can you get some people temporarily?"
"Yes!" Gao Mengsheng said, "I'll have them prepare to go now."
"It doesn't have to be complicated, just be loud." Jia Cong said, "It's loud and there are a lot of people. How about you go to the Jiaofang Department to recruit more people, and I'll pay for their acting."
"This is easy."
"Also, let them not dress up in colorful clothes." Jia Cong said, "Only use red and yellow colors, neatly, and they look like one piece."
Gao Mengsheng wondered: "Why?"
Jia Cong blinked and said: "I don't want them to do a talent show, I want all the officials and people in Beijing to see the excitement. Too many colors will distract people's attention. Red and yellow are the most eye-catching colors." Gao Mengsheng still said.
Not quite understanding, he immediately went to the Jiaofang Department to make arrangements. Jia Cong also followed him out to Xue Pan's house.
The next day, the political hall was opened and a plaque was hung. In the early morning, sixteen gong, drum and suona teams appeared all over the capital, all wearing red and yellow clothes and headscarves. They played and set off firecrackers, lest no one would watch. These are all
Under Liu Aiyun, he now has more than 30 troupes. Jia Cong rushed to Xue's house last night to expand the originally scheduled troupe of one to sixteen troupes. Most of the people were idlers.
, and the idle men had the longest tongue, so they all followed the gong and drum team to see what they were doing.
The sixteenth band of musicians attracted sixteen groups of onlookers from across the city, and gradually gathered in front of the Political Affairs Hall. In front of the Political Affairs Hall, it seemed as if a large array had been set up, and there were countless people crowded together. Both men and women were wearing red and yellow clothes.
Looking up at the headscarf, there are red and yellow, and it is difficult not to notice. Those wearing red are playing gongs and drums, and those wearing yellow are playing suona, and the sound is louder and farther away.
Suddenly three sounds of "dong dong dong" were heard, and the drum music stopped suddenly. Firecrackers were set off, and a line of large carriages came slowly along the road. After the firecrackers were set off, the carriages also stopped, but the drum music stopped playing. So many
The musicians suddenly stopped playing, causing the people who came to watch the excitement to hold their breath involuntarily. The curtain of the first carriage was opened, and a woman in official robes stepped out of it. Then, the second carriage
A young man in a python robe also got out. From the following carriages, officials, both male and female, got out one after another. The group of people walked to the gate, and two yellow gates carried out a plaque. The woman in the crimson official robe seemed to have said something
What, the people were too far away to hear. I saw two men each holding up one end of the plaque and leaping up at the same time. The people screamed. The two men worked together like swallows to hang the plaque on the lintel. Everyone cheered in unison.
, the drums played again, and two more firecrackers were set off. The officials walked to the woman who got off the car first, bowed and bowed, and then walked in together.
Now that the officials are here, there are inevitably many servants following them, and those who are watching the excitement rush over to inquire. A loud voice pointed at the plaque and said: "Did you see it? Political Hall! This is where the prime minister works.
"Everyone said "Oh——" for a long time. The loud voice said again, "Today, Prime Minister Lin and the Regent are very happy. Earlier, this place was not cleared out, and they had no place to work, so they were all handling government affairs in Prince Yan's Mansion. Now they can
alright."
Someone below asked: "They will all work here in the future, haven't they discussed it with the prince?"
He said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty is in poor health and must take good care of himself. There is a meeting in the court outside the study at the front, and the Prince can rest in peace and recuperate behind him? Of course it is not possible. From now on, you can only go to the Prince's Mansion to seek the Prince's consent for major matters, but not for small matters.
That’s it.” Only then did everyone understand and kept saying “Oh” for a long time.
After a while, the drummers dispersed one after another, and the entrance to the political hall suddenly became deserted. Those watching the excitement were reluctant to leave at first, but after waiting for a long time, there was really no movement. If you have anything good to say, go and ask the loud voice. He said: "
Gentlemen, please don't talk until dusk." When everyone heard this, it turned out that there was really no new excitement, and they all said they wanted to go back. One idle man said loudly: "There were so many people just now. I'll go home first and come back at dusk.
Take a closer look at what the senior official looks like." Everyone burst into laughter.
When the red sun set in the west, some people actually came to watch. One of the guards smiled and said: "A few have already left."
The idle man asked: "Have the prime minister and the regent left?"
"Not yet."
After a while, Jia Cong, Lin Daiyu and others also went to the Yamen one after another. Although the people looked at it from a distance, they all seemed to have seen some great excitement and talked about it. From that day on, Lin Daiyu, Jia Cong and others only went to the office every day.
Come here to go to the office.
There will no longer be rumors that Jia Congben invaded the palace with some nonsense. He won't go to Prince Yan's mansion, right? Who would have thought that Princess Yan's concubine Lou suddenly came to Rongguo's mansion and wanted to send some young princes and princesses in the backyard to
Jia Cong went to Zhuangzi in the suburbs. Jia Cong was surprised and asked her why. She said: "There are some rumors in the mansion now that the regent is not very innocent in our mansion."
Jia Cong blinked: "What's wrong with you? I stole your stuff?"
Lou said: "There are many young women in our house. Isn't the regent's wife older than you?"
Jia Cong was speechless. After a long while, he said: "This reason is too far-fetched. Besides, I haven't been to the government office since it opened."
Mr. Lou said: "But Mr. Jia has been coming here every day. For a family like ours, reputation is the most important thing."
Jia Cong frowned and looked at her for a long time, but she didn't move. Jia Cong smiled and said, "Okay." Mrs. Lou said a blessing to him.
Thinking with your toes, you know something is wrong here! Not to mention that Mr. Lou was very nervous just now. Jia Cong turned around and looked for someone to discuss, but there was no one to discuss with: Chen Ruijin has not returned to Beijing yet, Zhan Kun and Zhan Feng already have a mansion, Jia Cong
Around the next door, even Gao Mengsheng went to the Revolutionary Freemasonry - he was busy helping people from the Jiaofang Department contact night schools these days. Jia Cong stretched himself, took a few sips of tea inside, and picked up his feet.
Go to Xianguofu.
When I got to the next door, I asked, Jia Huan and his wife were not at home. Princess Lin'an, who was married to the Marquis of Xiangyang, sent a message inviting them to come to the banquet. I am afraid that not only is it going to the banquet, but the Marquis of Xiangyang also has to discuss ideas with Jia Huan. Helpless, Jia Cong
He returned to Rongguo Mansion dejectedly to disturb Jia She.
When they arrived at Rongxi Hall, the two men only exchanged three or four sentences before someone came in and said, "Your Majesty, there is someone outside looking for you."
Jia Cong asked: "Who is it?"
"He said he is Wang Dachui from Wangjia Village in the eastern suburbs."
"Pfft!" Jia Cong laughed, "Who is Wang Dachui?"
The disciple also smiled and said: "He said that the prince will not recognize him. His wife has met the prince, and it was her daughter-in-law who asked him to come to see the prince."
"Huh? Who is his wife?"
"His wife served the young mistress at Mao's Oil Shop in her early years."
Jia Cong frowned: "Why can't I remember what a messy oil workshop?"
The disciple added: "Wang Dachui said that his wife asked the regent if he still remembered Sister You?"
Jia Cong was having tea when he heard this and spit out a mouthful of tea: He still remembered the ancient name of Second Sister You, after all, it was ranked high in the original work. But Jia She said: "I seem to have heard it too.
By this name?"
"You have a really good memory," Jia Cong said, "This woman is one of the two aunts brought by Sister-in-law Zhen's family. Second sister You and third sister."
"Oh -" Jia She nodded, "I remembered it. I'm glad your second uncle accepted it."
"Not only that! This woman later got together with Brother Lian and almost caused a big incident, which made me scold her." Jia Cong rubbed his neck and thought for a long time, "Is that the little girl who followed Second Sister You? That's right.
I have an impression. Why is her man looking for me now?"