Survive in the world of Red Mansions

According to what he learned from the conversation with Yao Pei, and Lin Hai's own investigation these days, Lin Hai knew before he arrived at the household department office that he, the left servant of the household department who was airborne, would definitely not have an easy life in the future.

Cao Jian, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, is an old minister of the emperor, and the concubine of Nan'an County is his sister. Although Cao Shangshu is not ignorant of the present, he does often take an attitude of obedience and disobedience to the orders of the new emperor.Zhao Wen, the right servant, was a top three Jinshi in the 12th year of Emperor Kangwen. His family was quite wealthy. Zhao Wen, a scholar, has been confessed for several generations. He was promoted to the right servant of the third rank step by step in almost 30 years from the household department. In this position, his personal ability is really mediocre. He wants to please the new emperor but not offend the emperor.

Lin Hai took office on the first day today, and first went to meet the Minister of the Book Cao Jian. Although Cao Jian was not very polite to Lin Hai's arrival, he did not make things difficult for Lin Hai. He knew that Lin Hai used to be the emperor's confidant, and now Lin Hai was transferred to The household department, as the left servant, just doesn't know whether this is the meaning of the emperor or the current meaning. Regarding Lin Hai, he still needs to wait and see.

After Lin Hai met Shangshu Cao Jian, he returned to his office, and some Yuan Lang Zhong, Yuan Wai Lang, and the principal also came to greet the new Mr. Zuo Shi Lang.

Lin Hai had just arrived at the household department, and he was completely ignorant of the work of the household department, so naturally he would not take any action.After all the people who came to meet had left, Lin Hai could finally sit down, and asked the book office below to bring over some previous paperwork.Although it is impossible to know all the work of the household department from these materials, but by reading more of these materials, at least one can have a general understanding of the situation of the household department.

Lin Hai didn't take the initiative to intervene in the work of the household department in the past few days. Although he knew something before, but now after his own understanding in the past few days, he knows a little bit more and understands a very realistic The problem is that the current emperor is very short of money.

The treasury has very little silver, and the new emperor himself is a very frugal person, but no matter how frugal the palace is from top to bottom, not to mention that the daily supplies of the emperor and his concubines must not be saved, and they dare not save.

In the past year since the fourth prince ascended the throne, although he and the emperor have maintained superficial peace, the contradiction between a new emperor who wants to take power and an emperor who is unwilling to give up his power cannot be eliminated at all. The fourth son, at the time, thought that this son would be easy to control, but now it seems that this fourth son is no less thoughtful than the other sons, he was really mistaken!

On the fifth day of Lin Hai's tenure in the household department, after the court meeting, on his way back to the household department, Lin Hai saw Dai Quan, the chief servant beside the emperor.

Lin Hai met the emperor in the Nuan Pavilion next to Qianqing Palace. Li Min was sitting behind the imperial case in a suit of ordinary clothes. After greeting the ceremony, he didn't say anything else, and directly handed the memorial in his hand to the little servant next to him. , asked to send it to Lin Hai to see, "Lin Qing, take a look at this booklet, what do you think?"

Lin Hai knew why the new emperor had to put himself in the household department when he confirmed that he was serving as the left servant of the household department years ago.The current Lord Shangshu and the former Zuo Shilang are both old ministers of the emperor, and the right servant is of average ability, and has been courting both sides of the new emperor and the emperor.If the new emperor wants to control the household department, the best way is to directly replace Lord Shangshu, but the emperor will not agree, and Shangshu Cao Jian is quite slippery, and it is difficult to find mistakes.But the Zuo servant below was not so lucky, and finally the emperor caught some sort of mistake and was transferred away.

After receiving Lin Hai's letter of resignation, the emperor took the opportunity to transfer Lin Hai back to the capital with the consent of his father, and put him in the position of the left servant of the household department.The emperor also wants to use Lin Hai to gain control of the household department. The important point is that the current treasury is really short of money. Lin Hai has indeed done a good job in the position of patrolling the salt censor for so many years. Now the emperor still has a good image of him. Putting him in the position of Zuo Shilang was unanimously agreed by the emperor and the present.

This booklet mentioned that a small-scale conflict broke out with the neighboring countries in the southwest, and some ordinary people living on the border died. The border of the Celestial Dynasty has been having some small-scale frictions with several neighboring small countries in the past few years. It is not that they do not want to be cruel. To teach these small countries a lesson, but because the treasury has no money, they dare not send troops on a large scale easily. In a large-scale war, although they know that the treasury is short of money, there is no need to show him the booklet of the Ministry of War. Remind yourself, the left servant of the household department, the treasury is out of money!

"Your Majesty, the border conflict is a matter of the Ministry of War, and the left servant of the Minister's Department should not comment in vain!"

"I'm just asking privately. Lin Qing may wish to speak freely."

"These tiny lands and barbarian countries have repeatedly offended my country, and they should fight back severely!" Lin Hai really felt that way. In modern times, a big country is always offended by the small countries around it. , You still talk about the state of etiquette every day, but unfortunately others will only think that you are weak and easy to deceive.

"Okay, what Lin Qing said is exactly what I want!" As I said earlier, Emperor Li Min has a tough character and can tolerate good plans, but being able to endure does not mean that he is willing to endure being bullied, but the reality now is that he The emperor will continue to endure.

"However, to fight back against these small neighboring countries and start a war, you cannot do without the support of money, food, weapons, etc. The current treasury is empty, and the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance has also taken office in the Ministry of Households. How do you feel?"

"The minister has looked at the account books of the Ministry of Households over the years and found that in recent years, due to a series of reasons such as floods, rain, snow, natural disasters, and wars, the annual expenditure of the treasury has increased every year, but the tax revenue has not increased. Instead, it has increased year by year. Reduced. At present, if a war is launched immediately, it is difficult to guarantee the logistics.”

According to Lin Hai's idea, these small neighboring countries that keep jumping around should be beaten hard. The beating hurts and scares. At that time, even if you don't act according to the state of etiquette, they will naturally be honest. It's a pity The reality is that the treasury is out of money, and even if we want to fight, we can't fight.

"Yeah, I'm in trouble for this, I don't know what clever plan you have?"

"The tax revenue of the Ministry of Households is reduced every year. First, the annexation of land by aristocratic families has become more and more serious, so that many common people have lost their land and have to sell themselves into slavery; In order to avoid taxes, land holders will come to rely on these scholars, and the above two points will lead to the loss of land area and the reduction of population tax."

"*Qing thinks there is any way to solve it?"

"Aristocrats from aristocratic families and famous scholars are exempted from taxes because of their acres of land, which leads to these people wantonly buying and merging land, reducing the revenue of the treasury. In order to avoid this situation, in fact, it is possible to stipulate tax-free land for each rank of knighthood, promotion of scholars, etc. Instead of unlimited tax exemption as it is now. Or change the current taxation method from tax per person to per mu of land, and implement the system of apportionment per mu.”

When the emperor heard it, he became interested, "The system of sharing a man's share with his mother? You may wish to explain it in detail."

"The system of apportioning Ding Ding into mu can make taxes more reasonable. All taxes are collected according to the number of acres of land, which has changed the original situation of uneven taxes and services brought about by the division of Ding and land..." Lin Hai will be from the end of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty to Zheng. During the Yongzheng Dynasty, Li Min was explained in detail about the reform and implementation of the system of apportionment into the mu.

Lin Hai saw that the emperor had listened to the system of sharing the land into the mu, and pondered for a long time, "What Lin Qing said is very insightful, but this is not a short-term process, and it is difficult to change the current predicament."

I don't know why Cao Xueqin made the appointment to visit relatives back then, but for many businessmen, this is definitely a good opportunity to make money.Now that the national treasury is empty, we might as well take this opportunity to propose a plan for visiting relatives, so that the emperor can make early preparations and let him be the beneficiary.

"The front and back palaces are connected. Even if the masters in the palace come from aristocratic families, it is inconvenient for them to return to their natal homes after entering the harem, which alienates blood ties. Your Majesty might as well make it easier for these nobles to return to their natal homes. After all, concubines in the harem are The respect of the nobles, the place to visit relatives should also be different from the past.

The natal families of these concubines, for the sake of their family and their concubine's face, should have established another courtyard.There will be a few more houses like this in a while, such as wood, earth, stone, brick, tile, etc., all the antique ornaments needed in other courtyards, these should all be needed, and the prices of these things will increase by one, two, or even several times, ten times. It's not surprising that it's several times. Let people make preparations before promulgating the imperial decree. The emperor might as well consider this idea of ​​the minister.Although everyone in these aristocratic families is very rich, this trick is a bit of a loss! "

After speaking, the corners of Lin Hai's mouth also curved.

After hearing this, the emperor saw Lin Hai's appearance, and felt his mood improved. Just like what Lin Hai said, the move was a bit of a loss, but if he really made such a will, these women in the harem and their families would definitely Happy.I should send people to Jiangnan to buy some building materials early to prepare, um, I also need to prepare antique calligraphy and paintings. If these are cheap to others, it is better to cheap myself.

Furthermore, raising a woman from an honorable family to a higher position happened to be according to my father's wishes, and I had to discuss it with my good father. You should also find something cheap for yourself.

When Lin Hai returned to the household department, it was almost time for lunch break. According to Lin Daiyu's aunt Yao's family, at about the same time every day, the housekeeper Lin Zhong personally arranged for people to deliver meals. It was usually very simple, one meat and two vegetables plus one soup, Just enough for Lin Hai.

There are also some restaurants and restaurants of different quality levels next to the Yamen. Many officials order food from these places for a long time, but Lin Daiyu always feels that the chefs in these places are not as hardworking as her own chefs, and her father will not be at ease when using her at home. There is no need to be afraid of others saying that these officials deliver meals from their homes, and it is not Lin Hai who is doing something special.

After Lin Hai returned to the government office, he first went to the study room to check Lin Rui's homework. Every day, he fixed a stereotyped essay, copied the Four Books and Five Classics, calligraphy, etc. Lin Hai described two inappropriate places in the stereotyped essay, and gave it to Lin Rui watched it and told him to pay attention in the future.After checking Lin Rui's homework, he also chatted with his son about what he said to the emperor today.

"Tading into mu, this was officially implemented in the Yongzheng Dynasty. It seems that this reform was not completed until the middle of the Qianlong Dynasty. Father, this tax reform was proposed by you. Treat you as an enemy?"

Lin Rui heard his father's words and said worriedly, "Is it time to change the court's tax system?"

"If I want to make meritorious service in the Ministry of Households, I have to make some achievements. This place is similar to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Agriculture is more important than commerce. Except for special taxes such as salt, tea, iron, and wine, the most important things are land tax and head tax. I read the information in the Ministry of Households for a few days, and an obvious data is that the number of acres of land is decreasing year by year, which leads to a decrease in tax revenue.

Why was it proposed in the early years of Kangxi that the number of acres paid by the state was constantly decreasing, resulting in an empty treasury, and Kangxi proposed never to increase the tax in the early years. In order to increase the revenue of the treasury, it is not Have to figure out a way?However, the official implementation will not be officially implemented until the Yongzheng Dynasty.These are all about land to solve the tax problem, which is not a good way. The most fundamental solution is to pay attention to business, so as to increase the revenue of the treasury. "

Lin Rui looked at his father rubbing his temples unconsciously, and knew that Lin Hai's work would not go smoothly when he first arrived at the household department, so he persuaded him, "Father, don't worry too much, these things can't be solved in a day or two, take your time." Slow down!"

Lin Hai suddenly remembered the family-visiting plan he proposed to the emperor today, and said to Lin Rui with a smile: "I heard the emperor cry poor today, so I proposed to him to let the concubine go back to her natal family to visit her relatives, and asked him to prepare the materials for building another courtyard early. Alas, I really want to get involved in it, but I can't make money even if I have money, so depressed!"

"You proposed to the emperor that the concubine go home to visit relatives? Then the Rongguo Mansion will be improved soon. Also, didn't you always say that the Lin family is not short of money? Why do you have to get involved? Now it is obviously the emperor. If you want to collect money through this time, why do you have to get involved?"

"Could it be that your father and I were short of money in doing business before, especially later, this is completely a sense of satisfaction, understand? Son, you used to read novels on the Internet, look at the heroes and heroines of other people. Traveling through the ancient times, those who have traveled to ancient times will move the knowledge learned in modern times to ancient times, such as burning glass, opening clubs, restaurants, raising pearls, opening jewelry shops, in short, doing whatever makes money; Speculating in land and real estate, or writing scripts, songs, etc., either becoming the boss, president, chairman, or the great god of the entertainment industry, Ruirui, are you too lazy?"

Lin Rui opened his eyes wide and was very surprised, "Father, do you still need to read these novels to masturbate? And if you travel through rebirth once, you can improve a person's IQ? And are these people too underestimated?" other people?

And dad, your son, my biggest task right now is to take the exam, to be a scholar, to raise people, to be a Jinshi, and even to be a Jinshi and younger brother, to get a number one scholar, to make a statement, I am not lazy, I go to bed early and get up early every day, ha ha! "

"I'm ambitious, I'll wait!"

Lin Hai patted Lin Rui on the head again, and scolded with a smile, "Boy, when did I read these novels? Aren't there many girls in the secretary's office? They often gather to discuss those popular things when they are free. I occasionally Listen, it’s still pretty fun.”

"By the way, Dad, didn't you say a few years ago that you would tell Mother Jia about the usury and champerty lawsuits in Rongguo Mansion that the housekeeper handed over to you? It seems like you haven't heard anything now?"

"I'm not going to say it directly. I'll let the housekeeper find a way to find someone to disclose to Jia Mu or Jia She's confidantes. Don't be in a hurry. Let them know sooner or later. But Yuan Chun will be promoted to concubine soon. In the Rongguo Mansion, the status of the old lady Jiamu will not be stable, and she will not be able to suppress Mrs. Wang if she wants to. Besides, many of those things were handled by Wang Xifeng. Misfortune for Second Grandma Lian! In the future, you and Daiyu should try not to go to Rongguo Mansion except for the New Year's Eve!"

"..." Even now, we don't want to go, okay!