Red Mansions: My Book is Cool

Emperor Yongjia is in a good mood recently.The government was on the right track, and the power in his hands was slowly gathered.The Supreme Emperor had to abdicate because of his poor health.After giving up the supreme position, he felt unwilling. In order to make his body recover faster, he listened to the words of the Taoist priest recommended by Concubine Zhen and indulged in refining elixir every day.

Those elixirs did have a curative effect in a short period of time, and the Supreme Emperor trusted the Taoists more and more, and became more enthusiastic about alchemy.Emperor Yongjia watched coldly, neither pandering nor stopping.He privately sent someone to take this elixir and ask a hermit who he trusted very much, and the answer made him very satisfied.He just needs to wait patiently for the final result.

Lin Ming'an's cement was finally made. The Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Internal Affairs went to inspect it together. They used cement to mix and did several tests: building a house.Building walls and auxiliary roads are durable, and they are better than glutinous rice lime mortar.Measurable cost, the two are completely incomparable!Glutinous rice lime slurry, but it needs to be mixed with a large amount of glutinous rice to increase the viscosity. Glutinous rice is a precious grain, so the cost will be too high.This result made everyone present very happy, and was soon reported to Emperor Yongjia.

There is no rush to build a house, but paving the road can also wait a little longer... to build water conservancy and strengthen dams, that is imminent and cannot be delayed.Emperor Yongjia made up his mind to re-strengthen all the dykes and dams built with soil instead of stones as soon as possible, hoping to reduce disasters when the floods rise in the future.It's just that Lin Ming'an was serious about things, and asked to do a few more experiments, and wait for a period of time before putting it into use, and it must be done without any mistakes.Emperor Yongjia appreciated this caution and readily agreed.

But although the cost of cement is low, it will cost a lot to rebuild dams across the country.Emperor Yongjia ordered the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry to conduct a joint calculation—zwnj; the preliminary calculated amount made the Minister of the Ministry of Households very embarrassed, and told Emperor Yongjia that there is not so much money in the treasury at present!

Emperor Yongjia looked at the expenditure records he listed, and couldn't help but look gloomy.Does the Ministry of Accounting still have so many uncollected debts? He asked the Minister of the Ministry of Accounting how to manage it?

The Minister of the Household Department complained secretly, most of these were old debts owed by honorable ministers every year. Since Emperor Yongjia ascended the throne, the Household Department has never lent money from the treasury.How can he recover the previous debt?Without this ability and courage!

Emperor Yongjia sneered, and couldn't help thinking of his experience of collecting debts when he was still a prince and died before he was successful.He tried his best to collect debts despite his infamy, and when he first saw results, the Supreme Emperor came out to administer benevolent policies. In the end, the treasury was empty, and he couldn't get over it, so he left the mess for him to clean up.

"From today onwards, the Ministry of Households will start to collect debts!" ​​Emperor Yongjia said: "Anyone who owes debts will be no exception! If you don't pay off the debt once - you have to set a deadline and pay it back in installments. There is no cash For silver, they used land, real estate, shops, antiques, and jewelry to pay off the debt. The Ministry of Finance asked knowledgeable people to estimate the price, and also allowed the debtors to observe by themselves, and did not deliberately lower the price. It should be done fairly and beautifully, so that They have nothing to say!"

When the order came out, it was like "a spoonful of cold water was poured into a frying pan in the capital, and it suddenly stabbed"—zwnj; and exploded.

There are many people who owe the imperial debt, but each situation is different.Some just didn’t want to be isolated, and borrowed 800 taels of silver from Qian’er along with the crowd. Those people don’t worry at all, they can return it to the household department at any time; The idea is that the borrowed money is used to purchase properties and operate businesses, and there are benefits. It is not difficult to pay back at this time, and it can be paid in installments; but some borrowed money is used to maintain a luxurious life. Now, but at this moment, the foundation is hollowed out, and there are still ones that can't be released, such as Rongguo Mansion.Such people are the most frightening!

"Old lady, what should I do?" When Jia's family heard the news, they were bewildered and asked Jia's mother for advice.

"The second one, how much debt does our family have in the household department now, and how much is left in our family account?" Mother Jia asked.

"Yesterday my daughter-in-law looked at the account book, &—zwnj; owed a total of 48 taels of silver to the household department, and there was still less than 2 taels in the account. Madam said with a low eyebrow and pleasing to the eye.

"What's the matter?" Jia She jumped up and said, "When my father was alive, the family owed less than 20 taels to the household department. It was for the purpose of spending money for myself to pay for Zhou Jibing's generals, and it was also for the Supreme Emperor to keep...zwnj "It's a trick. My father told me that this money is specially set aside in our family's account, so that when the court asks for it, we can pay it back at any time. Why, now that the money is gone, we still owe so much?"

"Second daughter-in-law, my ex-wife Zhang's housekeeping was not like this! When the account book was handed over to you, it was also in good condition. Then tell me, how did you get to this point?"

Mrs. Wang replied: "Brother, in recent years, the family's expenses have increased"—zwnj; day by day"—zwnj; how many people have been added to the servants alone? But the property is slowly depleted, and it cannot be as prosperous as when my father was alive. , there are many ways to get money, "zwnj; year after year, I can only go out but not get in, so I have to borrow money from the account department to subsidize. Besides, in recent years, I have not been the housekeeper!"

"Auntie!" Wang Xifeng looked directly at Mrs. Wang angrily. She never thought that her own aunt could shift the responsibility to herself.

"Speaking of which, the Rongguo Mansion's successor is the elder brother." The corners of Madam Wang's mouth drooped: "The Ministry of Household Affairs will only talk to the elder brother if it is looking for it."

"Old lady," Jia She sternly said, "Listen to the second daughter-in-law! Do you want me to take the blame for their house? How much money did her eldest daughter cost the family? Grand View Garden, the palace's expenses, money There are so many flowers, what is the use? Can the imperial concubine have the ability to ask the emperor to give Jia Jiasong some face?"

"Brother, how can you be disrespectful to the emperor and the empress?" Jia Zheng Qiqi Ai Ai said.

"Imperial concubine?" Jia Amnesty said disdainfully, "You don't even have a serious canonization, so don't put gold on your face!"

He turned around and asked Mother Jia directly: "Old lady, how do you deal with this?"

He snorted coldly, and said threateningly: "If the court asks for a crime, I will go to the lobby to complain. Anyway, I am a person with no reputation, and I am not afraid of losing face. Otherwise, sell the Grand View Garden It's just paying off the debt. There are so many slaves and maids in the family, and it's useless to keep them. It's better to sell them, and you can pay two more money. There are also sacrifice fields and family properties, and they'll be sold together! "

"No!" Mother Jia shouted, "How can the slaves in the Grand View Garden be sold? Are you trying to let everyone in the capital know that our family is ruined? Don't even think about offering land and family property!"

"How to pay back the money owed by the household department? Don't count on me, old lady, I have no money!" Jia She asked forcefully.

Jia Mu slowed down, and said: "The emperor said so--zwnj; said, but he didn't make an order? The Supreme Emperor is still here, how can he agree to let him persecute the veterans. We have time to think about it slowly!"

"That's not a long-term solution!" Jia Amnesty retorted: "The Supreme Emperor is also old, and the account of the household department must be paid after all. What kind of business does our family have and how can we earn so much money? Who cares? , the emperor is reluctant to touch you?"

When Jia's mother heard this, her eyes suddenly froze, she stared straight at Jia She's speechless, until Jia She's heart felt hairy.

After a long time, Mother Jia murmured: "Boss, you are right! It's so rare that you said something useful!"

Jia Amnesty was upset at first, feeling that his mother underestimated him, and after hearing that, he couldn't help but ask, "Mom, how do you say that?"

"I have an idea," Mother Jia said slowly, "Our family will pass this test sooner or later, and what the boss said reminded me."

"There should be someone in our family who can turn stone into gold, run a prosperous family business, and be simple in the emperor's heart!"

Jia Zheng was stunned for a moment, thinking about it in his head, and suddenly realized: "Mother is talking about Lin Ming'an?"

"He's just like what my mother said!" Jia Zheng smiled wryly, "He has recently led people to research cement, which can be used in building houses, paving roads, and building walls. It is durable and cheap. It can replace glutinous rice and lime mortar. After all, what a job it is! It is said that the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are planning to let the workshops make a large number of them, and promised to reward the research institute in charge of him in proportion. Just this... I don't know how much money he can get! The emperor even issued a decree to reward him, it's really Jane in the emperor's heart!"

He was extremely envious, but sighed again: "It's just mother, then Lin Mingan is not from the Jia family! He, he is already a successor, and he doesn't even recognize his brother-in-law."

"Heir?" Mother Jia interrupted Jia Zheng's words and said in a cold voice, "Is there evidence for what happened many years ago? Is the evidence accurate? I heard that the old head of the Lin family who was in charge of clan affairs had a stroke suddenly, and there was no time to explain anything." I just went. The current patriarch has a feud with Lin Qing's family, and he doesn't want to see their family flourish and ride on his head, right? Our family is not as good as before, but the reputation is still there. People in Gusu don't Know the inside story. Besides, the people of Jinling have a long history in the south of the Yangtze River. Isn’t Jia Yucun still working as a parent official in Jinling? It’s also because of our help! Let them contribute outside, and have the head of the Lin family to help inside. This matter can’t be changed. Are you coming?"

She said sonorously and forcefully: "Mr. Lin didn't inherit his son, but because of fate, he was handed over to the Lin Qing's family to be raised! It was the Lin Qing's family who saw that he was smart and wanted to take him Became a son, and secretly took him to Shu! In the future, he will turn black and white in front of Lin Mingan, and separate his father-son relationship with my son-in-law!"

"It's just that Lin Ming'an didn't understand the truth in the past! If he knew the truth and refused to recognize his ancestors, he would be unfilial and disregard family ties. How could he gain a foothold in the world, let alone be an official!"

"If he is Ruhai's son, then Min'er is his aunt, Laoshen is his grandmother, and your brother is his uncle. How can grandma and uncle not be respectful and filial? How can they not care about the life and death of their parents? "

"That's right, the old lady's advice!" Jia She came back to his senses, and was immediately excited by Jia's mother's words, but then he said worriedly: "Then who will handle this matter?"

"Let Lian Er go." Jia Mu looked at Wang Xifeng, who had an ugly face and was about to speak out, sighed and said, "Lian Er is familiar with that side and knows how to handle things. He is the most suitable candidate. This At this critical moment, we can no longer shirk and haggle!"

She took a deep breath: "In the capital, you send someone to tell Butler Lin that this matter is also beneficial to his master and Yu'er. After it is done, Boss, let Lian Let’s go to the second Xijue. The emperor is dissatisfied with us, now everyone can no longer-zwnj; family members are at odds. If the Jia family falls, no one will be left alone!”

She closed her eyes wearily, and was silent for a long time: "If something goes wrong, then you all say you don't know about it, it's me-zwnj; who made it up, I'll come forward and confess my crime!"

She smiled wryly and said: "I'm old too, the emperor may not care about me. He just cares about it. At most, he will erase my imperial order and punish me to cultivate and worship the Buddha!"

"It's better than blaming you. I have lived long enough, and I have enjoyed enough blessings. I can't just watch the Jia family's building collapse in front of me, and my children and grandchildren fall down!"