Survive in the world of Red Mansions

The Fourth Prince was sitting in a private room near the window in the Zuixiao Building, and he opened the window a little, just in time to see the pedestrians passing by below.At this moment, I saw the carriage with the logo of the Lin family stop, and a middle-aged man in a robe got out of the carriage with a seven or eight-year-old boy in his arms. Seeing this, the Fourth Prince thought of the news from Yangzhou, It seems true that Lin Hai loves this son very much. The people who just got out of the car are Lin Hai and his son.

"Father, I can get out of the car by myself without your hugging!" Lin Rui couldn't help complaining again when Lin Hai got out of the car in his arms.

"Who told you to be a little Douding now? If you don't take advantage of your father, I can still hug you. If you want to hug me a few more times, you won't be able to hug me anymore! What? I'm sorry, brat, how old are you now? , what are you embarrassed about?"

"I don't want to talk to you, an old man!"

"..." I'm only a little over 40, well, it's the golden age of a man!Lin Hai couldn't help complaining secretly.

As soon as Lin Hai entered the Zuixiao Tower, a man who looked like a shopkeeper came over, made a gesture of invitation to Lin Hai, and said:

"Master Lin, my master is waiting up there, please come with me, Mr. Lin!"

"Thank you shopkeeper, let's lead the way!"

Lin Hai led Lin Rui, and followed the man in front to the third floor. The shopkeeper stopped in a private room with two guards standing in front of a door.

"Master Lin, please!" He knocked on the door twice and retreated.

Lin Hai and his son stood in front of the door, and just about to raise their hands to push the door, the door of the private room opened from the inside.Situ Jing looked at Lin Hai standing outside, and said, "Master Lin, please!"

Lin Hai looked at the people sitting inside, and his guess was correct. The one sitting next to the window wearing a crimson dark-patterned python robe was the Fourth Prince Li Min. Lin Hai led Lin Rui into the private room, and the door behind him followed him. closed.

"Chen Lin Ruhai pays homage to Your Highness!"

"The boy pays homage to His Highness!"

"Master Lin, please sit down. This is your young master, it's the first time we meet," while speaking, he took off a jade pendant from his waist and put it in Lin Rui's hand, "I didn't prepare anything else, this Count it as a meeting ceremony!"

"Your Highness, this is too precious..."

"Take the gadget and play with it!"

Lin Rui wanted to complain, did these ancient people hang a jade pendant on their waist every day just to give it away?Lin Hai nodded to Lin Rui, motioning his son to accept the jade pendant.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

"Master Lin, my king summoned you temporarily, didn't you delay Mr. Lin's business?"

"His Royal Highness was able to take the time to summon the minister, it is Ru Hai's luck! Here, Ru Hai first congratulates His Highness for becoming a great treasure."

The Fourth Prince nodded with a smile and continued to ask:

"How is Lin Qing recovering from the wound she was assassinated in Zhenjiang Mansion last time?"

"Last time, thanks to the desperate protection of those guards, the minister was spared, and the wound has fully healed."

"Years ago, the salt administration in Jiangnan was fluctuating. How is the situation now?"

Lin Hai explained the matter of Jiangnan's salt administration to the fourth prince in detail, and put forward some opinions on the issue of salt transfer from other places to Zhenjiang Prefecture last time, as well as the future salt administration affairs.

After listening to Lin Hai's report on Jiangnan's salt administration, the Fourth Prince nodded in praise, "It's great that Lin Qing has been bothering about the Lianghuai salt administration all these years!"

"I really can't bear His Highness's praise. This is all a matter of the minister's duty, and it should be so."

Just finished talking about the salt administration, Lin Hai thought that this meeting should be over, but the fourth prince suddenly changed the subject,

"Lin Qing hasn't visited the Rongguo Mansion, the mother's home of Mrs. Xian, when she came to Beijing this time, right?"

"Yes, but I have already sent a greeting card to my uncle, and I plan to visit tomorrow."

The fourth prince Li Min was sure that when he saw Lin Hai mentioning his uncle, the corners of his mouth curved upwards, but it didn't seem like he was happy to meet tomorrow, as if he was reading a joke, maybe he was mistaken? !But send a post to the eldest brother, Rongguo Mansion has always been the second room to the outside world, so if you do this now, isn't this Lin Hai doing it on purpose?

"What does Lin Qing think of your Yuejia Rongguo Mansion?" Li Min couldn't help asking when he saw what Lin Hai had done just now.

"It's really inconvenient for Ru Hai to talk about the matter of Chen Yue's family."

It's really hard for Lin Hai to say, almost everyone knows about Rongguo Mansion, but it's really inappropriate for him, as the son-in-law of Rong Mansion, to criticize it now.

"Actually, this king is not only asking about the Rongguo Mansion, but also about other honorable families. Lin Qing may wish to share your opinion."

"In this way, I will talk about my personal opinion. Many noble families in Beijing are similar to my Yue family. They are either loyal ministers who founded the country, or descendants of famous generals. My dynasty has been passed down for many years, and now the descendants of the honorable family are basically Without inheriting the glory of their ancestors, many younger generations in the family do not think about making progress, and do not want to be loyal to the country and fulfill their responsibilities for the people. However, because of the hereditary titles, the royal estate and the royal salary awarded by the court, they can still live a luxurious life. Life.

At the same time, relying on the power in their hands, they plundered and plundered and exploited huge profits. These noble and wealthy families have always been intertwined. Quite helpless. "

There are not many four kings and eight princes who hold real power at present, but because these noble and wealthy families have always been relatives of each other, their roots are intertwined, and their interests are the same, and through the resources in their hands, they support some children from poor families who rely on them to become officials. Not a small force.Just like Jia Yucun in the past, through the relationship of the Jia family, he obtained the post of Yin of Shuntian Mansion.

In the struggle for imperial power in the past few years, all the four kings and eight princes participated in the battle except for a very small number of two. Among the first prince, the first prince and the third prince, each had his own investment, or even just like the Rongguo Mansion. Seeking success from the dragon, investing on both sides.

Li Min now thinks of his father, who treats these honorable families preferentially these years, maybe there is a kindness of his father, but is there also a part of the imperial power that is controlled by these honorable families, as a last resort?It is impossible to allow this situation to exist for a long time after I ascend the throne, so how should I do it well?

Lin Hai continued to talk about the current situation of the honorable family and how to solve this problem in the following time.The fourth prince's interest seemed to be getting better and better, and then he talked about the disadvantages of taxation in the Ministry of Households. Until Lin Hai left, the fourth prince's interest remained high.

After Lin Hai left, the Fourth Prince Li Min said to Situ Jing: "Mr. Situ, what do you think of Lin Ruhai?"

Situ Jing could see from just now that His Highness already had the heart to promote Lin Ruhai, and now that he heard the above conversation, this kind of thinking should be even stronger.

"The prince should have a conclusion, right? Lin Ruhai is a capable minister!"

Situ Jing looked out of the window and just saw Lin Hai holding his son into the car, he couldn't help but said, "It's said that you have a son but not a grandson. It seems that Lin Ruhai really dotes on this son."

Li Min also saw this scene, and couldn't help but nodded. It's no wonder that when they wooed Lin Ruhai a few years ago, they were able to open up the situation from his son and daughter.Maybe before this, Lin Hai also had plans to choose between several princes, and this can't be blamed for Lin Hai's thoughts in this regard. After all, his father's age is there, but he can easily win Lin Hai, so he has to say that he The time point was chosen just right, and the entry point was also chosen well.

As soon as he returned to Lin's house and sat down, Lin Rui couldn't wait to ask, "Father, why did you..."

Lin Hai couldn't help smiling wryly, looked at Lin Rui, and replied, "Do you think Dad talked too much today? I also feel that there is no other better way. Today, I talked a lot with the fourth prince about the salt policy. I I feel that the Fourth Prince is hesitating about whether to transfer me back to the capital. Maybe my perception is wrong, but this rare opportunity to meet should not be wasted. Li Min must make up his mind to transfer me back to the capital. I thought there was no other way Speaking of other aspects, it happened that Li Min mentioned Rongguo Mansion, so he took advantage of the opportunity to talk about other things.

Although I have only followed him in the past few years, I have always done well in the position of Yanzheng, and I am not greedy or robbed, and part of the gifts I received have been handed over. No matter how good he is, he can do so well Well, why not just put me in this position? "

"Father, you said so much today to make the fourth prince feel that you can do well in other positions, and that you can do better in other positions.

play a bigger role?Let the fourth prince think that you are worthy of being transferred back to the capital, just because he is hesitating now, dad, you want to increase the weight in the fourth prince's heart? "

Lin Hai couldn't help giving Lin Rui a thumbs up, "Not bad!"

"Father, will what you said to the Rongguo Mansion make the Fourth Prince feel that you have treated your relatives too much?" Lin Rui asked worriedly.

"No, I didn't specifically judge the Rongguo Mansion. What's the point? As for those noble families, I believe that Li Min, the emperor who is about to ascend the throne, is as clear as I am. These aristocratic families do it.

"Then will the emperor treat you as a knife to get rid of these honorable families when you return to the capital?"

"Rui'er's worry is not unreasonable, but how can it be so easy for the emperor to get rid of these aristocratic families? When you read the book Dream of the Red Chamber, you have a lot of guesses. Regarding Yuanchun's family visit, the reasons for removing the obvious are listed by those experts and professors." A series of reasons, which one do you think is more reliable?"

"It's 'I can't bear to be separated for many years', this is the reason given by the emperor, but the emperor is obviously not a benevolent person, so it must not be the case inside, is it really a way to eliminate these honorable families? It costs a lot of money to build a family home, just like the Jia family. This noble family has a lot of wealth and is not rich. If you want money, you must try your best, so it will be easy to leak and have loopholes. , it is easy to be misunderstood by the emperor, take it step by step slowly, and it can always be cleared!"

"Ruirui, just like what you said just now, otherwise the emperor would not have thought of some way to save his relatives. Could it be that he really felt sorry for these concubines? Obviously impossible! Then only the reason you said is more reliable."

"Then the emperor's trick is quite damaging! By the way, later generations say that the Grand View Garden was built by the property of the Lin family. Do you think it is possible?"

"It's hard to say! If it's possible from my position as the inspector of salt and censor, the position of Yanzheng is easy to make money. A lot, plus the dowry of several generations of mistresses of the Lin family, this is also very impressive, but it was not mentioned above.

There are too many guesses, yes or no, don't bother with it now.Anyway, when the Jia family builds a provincial hospital, we just need to give a gift for the sake of relatives. The money is in my pocket, can they still grab it? "

"That's right, you are here now! Rongguo Mansion will come to borrow money at the most, whether to borrow or not, how much we will give is up to us. Like you said, it is impossible for them to come and grab it!"

"It's unnecessary to worry about these things now. I'm going to Jia's house tomorrow, so let's talk about it! You go and ask Lin An to inform someone to prepare the meal. It's been a long time since I wasted brain cells like this. I'm going to bed early today."

"why me?"

"Who made you my son?"

"Didn't you say you should respect the old and love the young?!"

"Stinky boy, it's only a few steps away, can you stop being so lazy?"

"..."