The bear child of the Red Chamber, Jia Cong

In early October, Lin Daiyu returned to the capital with her father, uncle and son.It has been 15 years since she fled because she did not want to be a princess in her early years.That day and night, they fled in a hurry from the tunnel, and now they brought back a neat and tidy musketeer team. When they entered the city, they felt like showing off their might.When I returned to Lin's mansion, I saw that the inside was well-organized, and even the flowers and trees had been pruned.As Jia Huan said, you can move in with your bags, so Nai laughed and praised him a few words.

When Jia Amnesty returned to Rongguo Mansion, the main house was ready for him.Jia Sheli stood on the Rongxi Hall and looked up at the plaque, holding his beard with one hand and holding the other behind his back in a daze.After a long time, he breathed a sigh of relief: "I don't live in this house until I'm old." Two lines of tears ooze from the corners of his eyes.Nai ordered Lixiangyuan to be cleaned up for Jia Cong.

Jia Cong laughed and said, "Is the garden also organized?"

Jia She glared at him: "Do you want me to take care of these trivial matters?"

"Yes, yes, it's my son's fault!"

The next day, the regent Jia Cong led the young prince to Lin's mansion to deliver the prime minister's seal. The journey was very lively, and the people along the way came out and stretched their necks to watch.I thought there would be stubborn Confucian scholars blocking the car and making trouble, but the road was so smooth.Lin Hai sighed: "Those pedantic ones left more than ten years ago."

Lin Daiyu saw that Xiao Shizi was still an ignorant child, and felt a little pity for him, so she let him play with her son.Lin Qu is about the same age as Xiao Shizi, and he carries many novelty toys with him.This child is generous, and on the way back to Beijing, there were no children to play with him, so he took out the toys all at once to play with Xiaoshizi.

The people around Lin Qu took out an extremely thick carpet and spread it on the lobby of the Lin Mansion.Lin Hai, Jia Cong, Daiyu and others were sitting and talking, while the two children were playing on the carpet.Xiao Shizi is only three years old, and he is also a playful age.There are no rules in Qu'er's family.Nai immediately threw away the tears of his mother's wet nurse who woke up early, and rolled all over the ground together with Lin Qu.The wet nurse was very anxious, but she didn't dare to disturb her.For some reason, the two children fought for some reason.Lin Daiyu ran over with a smile: "Stop making trouble, let's have some snacks!" They immediately put aside their fight and gathered around the snack plate.After the snacks were finished, the two children had long forgotten about the previous fight, and then rolled all over the floor.

Since the imperial court no longer had a prime minister since the Hongwu year of the Ming Dynasty, and there was no prime minister's office in this dynasty, Jia Cong set up a political affairs hall in accordance with the Tang system.And the yamen of Zhengshitang is going to be the original clan mansion.Lin Hai was shocked when he heard this: "How can you lords agree?"

Jia Cong smiled wryly: "Uncle, we overestimated their cooperation."

Ever since the kings left the capital, the clan's mansion was useless.King Yan didn't even bother to support the little sages and empress dowagers in the palace, let alone the clan mansion?Those descendants of the Situ family who have been defeated have long since been unable to receive the silver rice provided by the court.When Jia Cong went to investigate the terrain, the gate of the clan mansion was locked, only a corner door was opened, and four eunuchs were left inside to clean the courtyard.

The sixth part is not much better.The Ministry of War has been completely closed, the Ministry of Rites has been largely abandoned, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Officials have become Yan State, and the role of the Ministry of Households is that people from other countries often come to check the files.Only the Ministry of Punishment is still very active, and the arrest warrants sent by various countries to other countries have to go out from the Ministry of Punishment; other than that, it is only trying the case of Yan State.Although the rest of Zhan's government, capital, procuratorate, etc. are still there, they only take care of Yan's affairs.

When Jia Cong saw this, he sent several soldiers to take off the plaque of the clan mansion and send it to the back warehouse to lock it. He asked people to count things, repair the house, and made another plaque for the government affairs hall.This matter has been going on for a long time, but no one knows about it—the road in front of the clan's mansion is not walked at all.

Lin Hai felt disappointed after hearing this for a long time, and asked, "Is there another place to house the Zhengshitang?"

Jia Cong spread his hands and said, "The Forbidden City is to the north, the Ministry of Officials is to the south, the Ministry of War is to the west, and the Tianjie Street is to the east. Just tell me, where is the security. Or use the Jinyiwei Yamen as an envoy?"

Lin Hai nodded and said, "Okay."

Jia Cong was taken aback: "Huh?" He really didn't expect the old man to agree.

Lin Haidao: "Because no one knows, hang up the sign of the clan's mansion first. Now is not the time for you to turn against the princes of the various families."

Lin Daiyu also said: "The yamen of Jinyiwei is very good."

Lin Haidao: "The clan's mansion is not big, now it's just you who ordered people to repair the house. Then clean up the plaque and hang it back." Seeing that both of them said so, Jia Cong had to agree.Lin Hai frowned again and said, "It's all right if you're a fool, and Yizhi doesn't persuade you? That old man Zhan Feng also agrees?"

Jia Cong pursed his lips, and said in a low voice: "I think this matter is too small, and they are too busy, so I didn't tell them." Both Lin Hai and Lin Daiyu were startled, and looked at each other.Jia Cong thought he was going to be scolded, but the father and daughter just sighed softly, looking at Jia Cong as if they were looking at the confused version of Jia Baoyu in the early years.Jia Cong made them feel uncomfortable, they might as well be scolded.

Regardless of the bumps and fatigue on the road, Lin Daiyu first went to Jinyiwei Yamen to have a look, and she was quite satisfied.So they sent people to rush to repair and clean up.After resting for two days, she first went to work in Prince Yan's Mansion.

The first thing after Prime Minister Lin took office was to reduce land taxes and exempt corvee.The agricultural tax will be reduced by [-]% of the original rate, and [-]% will be exempted; corvee will be completely exempted.As soon as this order came out, the whole country was in an uproar.The peasants immediately cheered, saying that Lin Xiangye is the lower realm of Guanyin Bodhisattva; while the court officials all shook their heads, saying that the youngest daughter did not understand government affairs.Unexpectedly, a few days later, Lin Daiyu issued a second decree: From next spring, those who do not cultivate barren land will be fined twenty times the land tax.In other words, those who have land but do not plant it have to pay six times the previous land tax.As soon as this article came out, many merchants complained.Most of them buy land in the suburbs of Beijing and rent it out to tenants.Since the Yan Kingdom had Dongying Yan and North America, many tenants had immigrated, so there were still many uncultivated wastelands.

As the saying goes, there are three fires for a new official to take office.I've already put two of them on, so the third one should naturally be heated up.At the end of October, Lin Daiyu, Prime Minister of the State of Yan, issued a third decree at the Palace of the Prince of Yan: except for all land tax exemptions.Those who obtain fame and fame are not exempt from tax, court officials are not exempt from tax, dukes and marquises are not exempt from tax, and princes of various families are naturally not exempt from tax.Regardless of whether it is the Yanwang Mansion, Lin Mansion, Rongguo Mansion or other families, all must pay land tax according to the law.The Kingdom of Yan is near the capital, and I don't know how much land has been occupied by the powerful.Due to the separation of the kings, the princes and their cronies all emigrated to other countries, but Zhuangzi was still in the country of Yan.In the past, most of the farms were rented out to tenants or their own slaves. In recent years, many slaves escaped from the gold rush in North America, and many fields were left unused.

Now it's amazing.In the early morning of the next day, the special envoys sent by the princes of various countries and the princes and princes themselves crowded the lobby of Prince Yan's mansion, all wanting to seek an explanation from Xiangye Lin.After waiting for half a day, no one came out, and everyone started shouting.Then they heard someone beating the gong three times, and everyone took a closer look, and a pretty woman in red came out from behind the screen.The woman said loudly: "Everyone, don't be anxious, the people from the Duke of Zhiguo and the Marquis of Xiangyang haven't come yet."

Before the words fell, someone shouted outside: "The Duke of Zhiguo has arrived~~"

The woman said: "It's just time to wait in Xiangyang." Nai smiled and turned back inside.Seeing her being so generous, everyone felt a little guilty: Could it be that this woman surnamed Lin already has a countermeasure?

Not long after, the Marquis of Xiangyang also came.A voice came from behind the screen: "Prime Minister Lin is here~~" All the nobles in the hall looked towards the screen.I saw a woman in a crimson official robe pacing out.Everyone was secretly surprised: This woman is so majestic!But she saw that there was only one woman with her, the one who came out to speak just now; the rest were all men.There are four Confucian scholars and eight personal guards; the personal guards are all wearing dark green military uniforms and carrying muskets on their backs.

Lin Daiyu came out to take a look, walked to the main seat and sat down, said with a smile: "I'm very busy, so I don't want to go around in circles. You are here because of the policy of exempting the land tax from the truth?"

Boling Marquis Shi Nai claimed to be her elder, and said first, "That's right. From ancient times to the present, it has never been heard of."

Lin Daiyu took out a small fire gun from her bosom and put it on the desk: "Such a small fire gun, has Master Shi heard of it before?" Shi Nai suddenly felt the murderous aura coming towards his face, and couldn't help taking two steps back.Lin Daiyu glanced down and said sternly, "How many fields in the kingdom of Yan are in the hands of the prince's mansion, the prince's mansion and the marquis's mansion, I won't tell you the truth, everyone knows it well. It doesn't matter if you are not satisfied with the truth. In the whole country, only Yan China is exempt from taxation, and other countries are also exempt. You just need to sell the fields in Beijing and buy them in other countries.” Without waiting for others to answer, she slapped her desk, “Dear special envoys, please return My lord, don't you want to stand and talk without hurting your back. Let these people all go to your country to occupy the land without paying taxes?" After saying that, she got up and wanted to leave.

The next person got anxious and shouted, "How many mu of land is there for an ordinary student?"

Lin Daiyu said leisurely: "Isn't it true? How many acres of land is there for an ordinary student's family? It's a drop in the ocean. Even the Palace of the Prince of Yan pays taxes according to the law."

The special envoy of the King of Shu shouted, "Is this Aunt Lin's idea or King Yan's?"

Lin Daiyu said: "Naturally, it is the truth's idea."

"Will King Yan agree?"

Lin Daiyu laughed and said, "Why doesn't your lord agree? If you were King Yan, would you agree?"

The woman in red said from the side: "Nine years ago, an adult raised this proposal. The prince wanted to agree, but he had no choice but to give it up for the time being after all the civil and military life and death. I mentioned it twice later, but it didn't work." Nai Yan smiled and said, "Men are more preoccupied than women."

A Confucian scholar beside Lin Daiyu said: "It's about everyone's property, how can we not care about it?"

Another said: "My lord is soft-hearted after all, and I can't bear to refute the face of so many people."

The woman in red said: "It's just that I'm afraid of provoking public anger."

Shi Nai said loudly, "Isn't Prime Minister Lin afraid of provoking public anger?"

Lin Daiyu smiled slightly: "Don't be afraid. The big deal is that all the officials of the Yan State will resign and not work. The Yan State is just such a big idea that it doesn't need too many officials. The truth is that there are too many. Whoever wants to resign can just hand in the papers. " Looking at the special envoy of the King of Shu, he said, "Do you want your lord to issue a notice? Welcome to the prince's mansion to go to the Shu Kingdom to buy a large amount of land, and the Shu Kingdom will exempt the land tax." The Shu King's special envoy was dumb.Of course, the Kingdom of Shu is not willing to give tax exemptions to so many people!How much tax will be reduced... Lin Daiyu looked at the special envoys of other countries again, "how? Which prince is willing to publish the list?" All the special envoys looked at each other in dismay.Lin Daiyu looked down the hall for two times with her hands behind her back, she couldn't help but smile, and walked away.

There was silence in the hall for a long time, and the special envoy of King Qin suddenly said: "Could it be... this matter is simply King Yan's own idea..."

The Marquis of Dingcheng said decisively: "No. If the prince has this intention, can he wait until today?" Naiheng said, "After a while, the scholar-bureaucrats will leave the country of Yan and go to other places. There is no one available in the country of Yan. I think she can How long will it last?"

Unexpectedly, the woman in red came back just now, and looked at him with a sweet smile: "This Marquis, just rest assured. Our Prime Minister has already prepared. At least double the salary of court officials." She looked at you again. Special envoy, "Of course, other countries can also increase salaries for officials. Let's just see whether they care more about exempting land tax or more about increasing salaries."

There was an uproar and discussions in the hall.It is the big households who suffer from the exemption of land tax, and the ordinary officials who benefit from the increase of salary.In this world, there are fewer big families, more officials, and more ordinary people.Lin Daiyu's three tricks were to cut down the prince's mansion, distribute some of the benefits to scholars and common people, and take the majority of the treasury of Yan State.

The woman in red was listening quietly.This woman is Jia Jinjiang, Director of the Archives Department of Xianda Jiala Government.Jia Cong transferred her to the capital, and before she officially took up the post, she first worked as an assistant to Lin Daiyu.Xu Ying from the Qing Dynasty once said that Qingwen is also the shadow of Daiyu.There must be some tacit understanding between the two of them doing things together.

Hearing that the crowd dispersed, Jin Jiangfang returned to the study and told Lin Daiyu and others about the discussions.Jia Cong laughed first: "These guys didn't think of an idea at all."

Lin Daiyu gave him a sideways glance: "You mustn't remind me."

Jia Cong spread his hands: "I'm not crazy? What should I do to remind them?"

Jin Jiang hurriedly asked: "What's the idea?"

Jia Cong said: "Since ancient times, there have been two benefits to obtaining fame and fame: tax exemption and being an official. Now our Lord Lin has removed the tax exemption; being an official does not necessarily depend on the imperial examination as the threshold, but can rely on high salary to make a living. The two imperial examinations This benefit will be gone in Yan Country."

Jin Jiang came to a sudden: "Prime Minister, this is... to rectify Confucianism's monopoly on officialdom under the guise of collecting taxes from princely mansions."

Jia Cong stretched out two thumbs: "I hit the spot!"

Lin Daiyu nodded: "Confucian children are really suitable for officials, and most of our officials in the future will be mainly Confucian scholars. It's just that the monopoly must no longer exist. Otherwise, the prestige of great Confucianists will still overshadow the imperial court, just like a weak stem and a strong branch."

Zhan Kun clapped his hands and said admiringly, "I didn't expect this to come up. No wonder Jia Cong didn't give me the prime minister's seal."

Jia Cong rolled his eyes: "Isn't Pingzhang the deputy prime minister?"

"That's also vice."

"The grand master is what you want. Besides, Lin Xiangye has the cheat of Lin Hai's old minister, do you have it?" Jia Cong crossed his arms and said, "Your old man can only open the cheat of the intelligence system for you, and he didn't do it. I have been a high official in the imperial court. Being an official is a skill, okay?"

"Okay." Lin Daiyu glanced at everyone, "Who will go if there is a hard job?"

Several people asked in unison: "What?"

"Land census." Lin Daiyu said, "Find out how much arable land there is in Yan, so I can calculate how much tax I can get every year." Nai sighed, "When will Jia Tanchun return to Beijing? Send a telegram to tell her to hurry up." At this point, the Minister of the Household Department in Beijing is suffocating me."