Chapter 351 Jia Rong: It’s time to serve the country!

……

Daming Palace, Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The one sitting here now is the six-year-old Fourth Prince, and serving next to him is the old Prime Minister Dai Quan who escaped death.

It turned out that after he was thrown out that night, he fell on the ground pretending to be dead, so he escaped. But he did not dare to go back to the emperor afterwards. It happened that Jia Jing needed someone to control the fourth prince, so he volunteered to come to the Yangxin Palace and stayed with him for twelve hours a day, serving him personally.

“Your Highness, what do you want to play today? Do you want to call all the palace maids outside to play hide-and-seek?”

“Okay, okay, I like hide and seek.”

The fourth prince clapped his hands and said.

“Haha.”

Dai Quan smiled and waved his hand outside. Immediately, more than a dozen beautiful little palace maids filed in and started to play with the little prince.

……

Ningguo Mansion, study.

“How are the preparations going?”

“Your Majesty, everything is ready.”

“Well, let’s get started!”

At the end of May, several censors from the Censorate suddenly impeached Sun Zhaomin for corruption and abuse of power.

Sun Zhaomin angrily scolded Jia Jing in the court: “You are a traitor, you framed a loyal official, you will not die a good death!”

“Okay, okay!” Jia Jing sneered, “Come here, go and search his house. If you can’t find any money, I will apologize to you in public!”

“Jia Jing, on what basis do you raid the homes of high-ranking officials of the imperial court without any evidence?” The Minister of Personnel Liu Zhiyi stepped forward and said with a sneer.

“That’s right, Jia Jing, do you think you can cover the sky with one hand?” Li Huaimin, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, pointed at Jia Jing angrily: “I accuse Jia Jing of the crime of disrespect!”

“I accuse Jia Jing of making friends with the border troops and plotting something bad!”

“I impeach Jia Jing for forming a clique for personal gain, taking bribes and perverting the law…”

At one time, many people stood up to criticize Jia Jing.

The Fourth Prince, who was sitting on the throne, looked bewildered, not understanding why everyone suddenly started quarreling when everything was fine just now.

Dai Quan smiled slightly and whispered something in the Fourth Prince’s ear. The Fourth Prince nodded and said with a little adult look, “There is a saying that those who are innocent are innocent. I also believe that Lord Sun is an honest official. In this case, why not let the people from the East Factory investigate so that Lord Sun can be cleared of all charges.”

The Fourth Prince’s words surprised everyone.

This guy actually spoke up for the traitor who imprisoned his father. Is he crazy?

Especially Sun Zhaomin.

Although he has not been very greedy in recent years, as the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, a position second only to the Heavenly Official, how could his family be without money?
There are still hundreds of thousands of silver coins.

What if it was copied out… wouldn’t I be ruined?

“Your Highness, you must not believe the words of the treacherous ministers!” Sun Zhaomin cried out sadly, looking heartbroken.

Dai Quan smiled slightly and continued to whisper a few words into the little prince’s ear. The little prince nodded obediently and said seriously, “Don’t worry, Lord Sun. I just wanted to prove your innocence. I never listened to anyone. I believe you are innocent.”

“Someone, go to Lord Sun’s house and check it out immediately. Remember not to disturb Lord Sun’s family.”

“Yes!”

The Dongchang guards who had been prepared at the door quickly agreed and ran out to search the house.

In less than half an hour, a guard from the East Factory came running over and reported, “Your Highness, we have already found 80,000 taels of silver, 15,000 taels of gold, 1,000 rolls of silk, 10,000 acres of land deeds, antiques and paintings… We are still searching.”

“Haha, what an honest official you are!” Jia Jing clapped his hands and laughed, “It’s really a bargain for you to be an official in Nanyang. It would be more appropriate for you to go to the prison of the East Factory.”

Liu Yizhi, the Minister of Personnel, winked at Sun Zhaomin, who immediately understood what was going on and stood up from the ground with a righteous look on his face: “If you want to accuse someone, you can always find a pretext. Jia Jing, you called a deer a horse and framed an honest person. You will not die well!”

Jia Jing was too lazy to talk nonsense and sneered, “Sun Zhaomin is corrupt and commits heinous crimes. The East Factory will confiscate his property and exile his entire family to Southeast Asia!”

“Liu Yizhi, the Minister of Personnel, is suspected of shielding the perpetrators. He will be fined for half a year and allowed to return home to reflect on his actions.”

“The evidence is irrefutable that Li Huaimin, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, formed a clique for personal gain and was sent to Liaobei to serve as a county magistrate.”

“Minister of Rites…”

Jia Jing named four or five people in a row, all of whom had just jumped out to impeach him.

The fourth prince waved his hand and said, “Okay!”

For a time, all the officials in the court were in a panic and dared not speak out.

……

“I’ll resign now!”

“Yes, treacherous ministers are in power, the government is in chaos, and the country is on the verge of collapse. There is no point staying in such a court.”

At the end of June, a large number of resignation letters were handed in, even the Minister of Revenue Liu Yan resigned.

However, Jia Jing was not moved at all. He followed the procedure and tried to persuade them several times, but they all agreed.

The resignation of nearly a hundred officials certainly had a huge impact on the court, but the court has never lacked talented officials.

Jia Jing recruited the two most recent batches of Jinshi with clean backgrounds to come to the capital and promoted them specially.

Among them, Xie Jiwen served as Langzhong of the Ministry of Rites.

Ye Mengshu was appointed as Langzhong of the Ministry of Revenue.

Song Yu, who was studying hard at home, was also recruited to Beijing and temporarily studied in the Ministry of Justice.

As for the eldest son and junior minister Jia Rong…

Of course, it was to enjoy the romance, compose poetry, drink and have fun with my aunts, and I was so happy that I didn’t want to leave.

“Don’t stay idle at home all day. The court is in need of talents right now. Serving the country is the greatest filial piety. Your father knows this in his grave.”

“Tomorrow you will go to Xiangguo Temple and ask the abbot there to hold a water and land ceremony. After that, you will be out of mourning.”

Jia Rong had no objection and said seriously, “I wonder why the court needs me? I will do my best until my death.”

Jia Jing smiled and said, “The Minister of Revenue Liu Yan has resigned from my post. I don’t want to ask him for help, so you have to go to the Ministry of Revenue and support me.”

“Don’t worry, Master.”

If it were somewhere else, it would be hard to say, and you might even get bullied, but in the Ministry of Revenue, you are the boss.

The one who manages the money is the boss!
Of course, the prerequisite is that you have to have money. Otherwise, if the treasury is empty, you will be worried to death, let alone becoming a boss.

“Well, go down and get ready.”

After arranging things, Jia Jing started to drive people away. He was too busy now and had no time to chat with Jia Rong.

“Master, I have one more thing.”

Jia Rong was a little shy and hesitated to speak.

“What’s the matter?” Jia Jing asked puzzledly.

Jia Rong said, “Now that the mourning period is over, my grandson’s marriage…”

Jia Jing: “…”

“Ahem, it’s like this.” Jia Rong explained hurriedly: “I went to the Ministry of Revenue. If I were still a young boy, people would inevitably look down on me. Having a family makes me feel safe.”

Jia Jing thought for a moment and said, “Then let’s do this. I will write a letter to Ru Hai and move up your marriage by two years.”

……

On the second day, Prince Ning’s palace went to Xiangguo Temple with a large procession. The old monk served Jia Rong as if he were his own father, and everything was naturally handled properly.

This went on for seven days.

After the mourning period, Jia Rong went straight to the Ministry of Revenue.

The Minister of Revenue Liu Yan has resigned, but the handover has not been completed yet, so he has not left yet.

One of the two Shirou is old and doesn’t take care of much, and the other is vacant.

After Jia Rong came, the power of the Ministry of Revenue naturally fell into his hands.

Liu Yan handed over the accounts in a hurry and said helplessly, “It’s not that I’m hypocritical and don’t want to serve the country. It’s just that I’ve been exhausted in the past few years. Now I just want to return to the garden, raise a few chickens, plant a few plots of land, pick chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, and leisurely see the southern mountains…”

Jia Rong nodded and said with a smile: “Master Liu, don’t blame yourself. There is a saying that goes ‘there is no high or low in work, only different divisions of labor’. Who says that living in seclusion in the countryside raising chickens and farming is not serving the country?”

Liu Yan was stunned for a moment, then he clasped his hands and said, “Please teach me. I have lived for sixty years in vain, but I am still not as good as you.”

Jia Rong replied, “I just said it casually. When Lord Liu comes to Beijing someday, please come to the Ministry of Revenue and we can have a drink and chat happily.”

“sure.”

Liu Yan left.

He left three million taels of silver to the Ministry of Revenue.

The old man had spent most of his life as an official in the Ministry of Revenue. The three million was the result of half his life’s hard work and did not leave Jia Rong with an empty shell.

……

Things started to go wrong on Jia Rong’s first day in office.

“During the Dragon Boat Festival, the Huaihe River flooded, and countless fertile fields on both sides of the river were submerged. The prefect requested the court to allocate funds to help the victims.” Zhao Zhushi, the director of the Ministry of Revenue who was in charge of the two Huai Rivers, said seriously beside Jia Rong.

“Oh.” Jia Rong smiled slightly: “Let me see the book he handed over.” “Sir, please take a look.”

Manager Zhao handed over the notebook.

Jia Rong read it carefully from beginning to end and said, “I know about this matter. Come back to me in two days and I will give you an answer.”

“Then that will trouble you, sir.”

Manager Zhao smiled and retreated.

As soon as Zhao Zhushi left, Sun Zhushi, who was in charge of Shanxi’s taxation, came over and said with a smile, “Shanxi has suffered from a locust plague this year, and the people in several prefectures have almost no harvest. The prefect requests a one-year tax exemption.”

Jia Rong asked, “Which mansions?”

The person in charge said casually: “Lüliang, Datong, Shuofu.”

“Bring the notebook.”

“Please have a look, sir.”

Jia Rong read the book carefully, handed it back and said with a smile, “Come back to me in two days and I’ll give you an answer.”

A little while later, the head of the Hanlin Academy, Lord Jiang, arrived and said with an expression as if he owed him money: “The two rows of houses in the Hanlin Academy are old and dilapidated, and there are several more that need to be repaired. Lord Liu, the head of the academy, asked the Ministry of Revenue to allocate 10,000 taels to us.”

Jia Rong played with the brush in his hand and said with a half-smile, “This is not easy to handle.”

Grants can certainly be allocated to repair dilapidated buildings, but what is the attitude? Is it the tone of asking for money?

Lord Jiang was displeased when he saw Jia Rong’s indifference, but his years of official cultivation were still good, so he managed not to lose his temper.

At this time, another person in charge came in.

It was Zhou, the Director of the Ministry of Rites.

Manager Zhou is a fat man who usually keeps a low profile and basically doesn’t bother anyone, let alone Jia Rong, the new official with a powerful backstage. But today, the Left Assistant Minister went crazy and insisted that he come to the Ministry of Revenue to get money, so he had no choice but to come.

“I am Zhou Yeqing, a doctor in the Ministry of Rites. Nice to meet you, Lord Jia.”

“Mr. Zhou, you are too polite.” Jia Rong smiled and said, “I wonder why Mr. Zhou came to the Ministry of Revenue?”

Zhou Yeqing lowered his head and said somewhat embarrassedly: “The Imperial Examination is coming soon, but the Imperial Examination Hall has been in disrepair for many years. Many rooms are leaking and drafty. Can the Ministry of Revenue pay for repairs…?”

In fact, he didn’t have much hope at all. The court had too many places to spend money, and the treasury was very empty. How could there be spare money to repair the Imperial Academy? When Lord Liu Yan was here, he had refused more than once or twice.

Jia Rong nodded and said, “That’s true. The quality of the Imperial Examination Hall is related to the reputation of the court, and it is also related to whether the examinees can make good use of what they have learned. It should be repaired.”

“How much is your budget?”

“what?”

Zhou Yeqing was stunned for a moment.

They had no idea it would work, and of course they had no budget…

“Five… thirty thousand taels will be enough.”

Zhou Yeqing said casually.

Jia Rong said seriously, “The treasury is in a tight spot right now. Thirty thousand taels is too much. I’ll give you ten thousand taels. I’ll write you a note later and you can go to the treasury to get the money.”

“Huh? Really?”

Is this the approval?
Zhou Yeqing didn’t quite believe his ears, especially the iconic sentence at the beginning of Jia Rong’s speech: The national treasury is tight now…

“What? Too little?”

Jia Rong paused as he was writing on the note.

“Ah, haha, quite a lot, quite a lot.”

Zhou Yeqing hurriedly said with a smile.

“Then go ahead.”

Jia Rong stamped his seal on the note and handed it to Zhou, the owner.

Manager Zhou took it carefully and held it in both hands as if he was holding his own mother.

Ten thousand taels of silver, now it’s in my hands!
Just as Director Zhou left, before Lord Jiang from the Hanlin Academy could speak again, another person came in.

It was Yang Shaoqing from the Honglu Temple.

“Young Lord, I am here on Lord Pei’s orders to collect this month’s food allowance. It has been half a year since the food allowance for our Honglu Temple was increased. Young Lord, can you please give me some convenience this time?”

Jia Rong felt very comfortable with the young ministers calling him that. He smiled and asked, “How much more?”

When Yang Shaoqing heard that there was a chance, his eyes lit up immediately. He stretched out his hand to gesture and smiled: “Is it feasible to increase the monthly salary by 500 taels?”

This matter was raised no less than ten times when Liu Yan was here, but Liu Yan simply ignored him.

“Five hundred is a bit too much, how about two hundred?”

“OK, OK!”

Yang Shaoqing was delighted and had no objection.

Two hundred taels a month, that would have been two thousand taels a year ago!

The food has been upgraded by two levels.

There’s even a little bit left…

Jia Rong wrote the note and stamped it with his seal.

“Go to the warehouse and get it.”

Is this enough?

When did I ask the Ministry of Revenue for money? It took me half a day to get it back and forth. When was it so easy?

For a moment, Yang Shaoqing was unable to react.

“Any thing else?”

Jia Rong asked doubtfully.

“Ah, no, no.”

“Thank you, young Lord.”

Yang Shaoqing held the note in both hands and went to collect the money happily.

Lord Jiang next to him couldn’t bear it any longer.

Others can get the money easily, why is it not possible for him?
Lord Jiang is not a fool. As a Jinshi, he quickly realized that his attitude was wrong!

I’m here to ask for money, whether I give it to you or not depends on your mood…

“Young Lord, our Hanlin Academy’s building really needs to be renovated. Do you think you could give us some convenience?” Lord Jiang had an unnatural smile on his old face.

Indeed, it was really humiliating for him, a great scholar in the Hanlin Academy, to smile humbly.

This was something he had never thought of before.

But as the saying goes, a penny can make a hero fall, not to mention that I asked for ten thousand taels, so it doesn’t seem too much to smile along.

Seeing Lord Jiang’s attitude change 180 degrees, Jia Rong smiled and said, “Lord Jiang is right. It seems that the Hanlin Academy building does need to be repaired, but 10,000 taels is a bit too much. I will give you 4,000 taels first. If it is not repaired, come back and tell me.”

Lord Jiang had not originally expected to get ten thousand taels, and even if it was four thousand taels, he could not believe it when he came.

Their Hanlin Academy is a government agency with little money!

When have you ever seen four thousand taels?

“Okay, thank you for your hard work, young master.”

“You’re welcome. We all work for the court. How can it be hard?”

“Yes Yes.”

Lord Jiang nodded indecisively, no longer showing his previous arrogance.

“Young Lord, I have something else to ask…”

“What?” Jia Rong asked.

Lord Jiang said embarrassedly: “The food in the Hanlin Academy has also been reduced a lot in the past two years. Everyone says that they are not full…”

Jia Rong said sternly, “How can we let you serve the court on an empty stomach? How about giving the Hanlin Academy an extra two hundred taels per month?”

Lord Jiang said gratefully: “Thank you, young minister.”

Jia Rong: “No, no.”

After handling official business for the whole morning, fewer people came in the afternoon.

Ye Mengshu quietly entered Jia Rong’s room and said admiringly, “Shunzhi, you are amazing!”

Jia Rong asked him to sit down, took a sip of tea and said, “How am I so great?”

Ye Mengshu smiled and said, “When Li Tangguan was here, he liked to talk nonsense with people. He could only handle one or two things a day at most. You have accomplished more in this morning than he has in a month.”

“It’s just that…almost 100,000 taels of silver have been spent this morning, not including the disaster relief in the two provinces. I’m worried that the Ministry of Revenue can’t afford your spending.”

……

(End of this chapter)