The Red Mansions

Chapter 771 Jia Heng: Then you won't be able to be a queen...

Zhoushan waters
An island that is twenty miles long and as long as a gourd is located in the vast sea. On the white waves and the endless blue sea, dozens of ships with high masts are densely docked on the shore, and on the island that is overgrown with trees and thorns Put up a tent.

Duoduo stood in the open space in front of the building, looking at the seagulls that flew by from time to time in the sky, and the sea breeze slapped his face with a bit of salty smell.

After seven or eight days, the prince's complexion became more rosy, especially when he heard the natural sound of waves and seagulls flapping their wings, he felt a rare peace of mind.

The previous reflections on the defeat in the war came to my mind, reckless and rash, if not, they would not have been humiliated again and again, and Su and Tai would not have died.

Doduo closed his eyes slightly, only feeling a dull pain in his heart.

Holding the knife, Deng Biao walked up to him and asked, "Master, it's very windy here, let's rest in the tent."

"Where did he go?" Duoduo asked, staring at Deng Biao.

Deng Biao said: "The day before yesterday, Li Daoshun prepared fresh water and supplies for the report sent by Feige. He has already set off from Jeolla Province in the past two days and is moving at full speed. If there are no accidents, he should be able to arrive in one and a half months."

Duduo's tiger eyes were shining brightly, he pondered for a moment, and said: "The army is coming, and the military supplies need to be replenished. Before that, we need to find an island to garrison the supplies. What does the Fang family say?"

The Fang family is a group of smuggling forces active in Dachen Island. It is supported by the clan of Taizhou Prefecture and has friendship with local officials in Zhejiang Province. Provide supplies and earn interest.

Deng Biao said: "People from the Fang family inquired about our fleet and heard that it came from the south of the Yangtze River. They were a little suspicious, but they didn't ask too much. But if it's renting an island, it might not be easy."

Duoduo pondered and said: "Let the people from the Four Seas Gang and the Nujiao Gang talk about it first. We will not reveal our identities. When the army arrives, we will cook the cooked rice."

"Master, the boats and sailors of the Capital Division of Zhejiang Province will always find us. If we send troops to clear up in advance, our army will be trapped here." Deng Biao said in a low voice.

Previously, when Jia Heng was rectifying the military affairs of the Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps, he had already written to the Governor of Zhejiang Province, and sent boats and sailors to search for the traces of Duoduo and other captives along the coast. Jin Yi asked.

Duoduo thought for a moment, and said: "The boat navy in Zhejiang Province has been out of battle for a long time, and they will not take the initiative to attack rashly. Besides, their combat power is far inferior to that of the Jiangnan Daying Navy in the Battle of Haimen. If they really want to fight, they will fight. And crash."

Not everyone is a sailor of the Jiangbei camp, nor is everyone a military minister like Jia Heng.

Deng Biao pondered and said: "Master, it would be great if we can take down the land of Dongfan. If we can take Jilong Mountain and occupy it with tigers, it will be easy to counterattack Chen Han's coast."

During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Great Han Dynasty, he attacked the pirates and the descendants of the Ming clan who were entrenched in the bay.

"Dongfan Island is isolated overseas, and the supply of fresh water and food and fodder is insufficient. This matter needs to be discussed in the long run." Duoduo thought for a while, and said in a deep voice.

Just wait another month and a half, and the new and old hatred will wipe out his shame.

"My lord, Master Yan calls you over to discuss matters." At this time, a young man came running from a distance, he was the little novice from the Calabash Temple.

Duoduo nodded, and accompanied by Deng Biao, he walked towards the largest tent.

……

……

Jinling, Ningguofu
In the courtyard where Daiyu lived, the afternoon sun shone softly and quietly on the wing room, reflecting several beautiful shadows on the screen.

Zhen Xue sat on the embroidered pier with a dignified posture, her face was light, and Youshi was talking on the side. Both of them were wearing plain skirts, and there were no jewelry around them. They were as elegant as chrysanthemums.

It's just that the charm between Zhen Xuewanli's eyebrows and eyes has not faded, and Xueni's cheeks are also dizzy.

You Shi looked at Zhen Xue, who was full of charming charm between her eyebrows and eyes, and said softly: "Princess, when will you return to Beijing?"

Zhen Xue said softly, "I plan to stay here for a while."

Saying that, she looked at Youshi with her bright eyes, and asked, "Where is Sister-in-law You?"

Youshi said softly: "My younger sister wrote me a letter saying that when Uncle Heng returns to Beijing, he will return to Beijing with him. I am still thinking about whether to go back."

I want to go back, but I don’t want to go back. What do I do when I go back?

Zhen Xuedao: "Sister-in-law You doesn't know anyone here. If she can return to the capital to serve the old lady, it will be easier for her sister-in-law in Beijing to take care of her. Besides, sister-in-law You's two younger sisters and the old lady are not all in Beijing. , should go back."

"What the princess said is true." Youshi said softly.

In the inner room, Daiyu held Zhenxi's hand and asked softly: "Sister Xi'er is not feeling well, why is her face so red?"

In fact, Zhenxi is older of the two of them, but Daiyu thinks she is much more mature than the innocent girl in front of her, with dazed eyes sometimes appearing in her ignorant eyes, and from Jia Heng's point of view, she is a sister-in-law. Zhen Xi should also call her sister.

Zhen Xi quickly said, "Sister Lin, I'm fine."

She still couldn't help recalling the breath that made her faint before, and she couldn't help but feel ashamed.

At this time, Zijuan and Xiren brought teacups filled with fragrant tea, and handed them to sisters Zhenxi, Li Wen and Li Qi.

Daiyu's starry eyes were thoughtful, and she said softly: "I just heard from the princess that sister Xi'er will stay in the mansion for a few days?"

Zhen Xi was in a state of confusion, with a handkerchief twisted in her hand. Hearing this, she nodded her head and said, "Yes, Sister Lin, I've been bothering you for the past few days."

"It's good to live here." Daiyu said softly, but she felt that it was not easy in her heart.

A girl who has not left the court is not like Li Wen and Li Qi. Because she is Li Wan's cousin, living in Ningguo Mansion in the name of a family friend is actually somewhat nondescript.

In the study room, the lazy afternoon sun shines on the jagged rockery in the courtyard, with many mountains and mountains.

Jia Heng and Zhen Qing hugged each other, enjoying a moment of tranquility in the afternoon. The two came to the window and looked at the grass in the courtyard from the raised window. This undoubtedly made Zhen Qingfang feel ashamed and angry, mixed with shame. The stock is abnormal, which makes the beauty unable to hold on to herself.

Jia Heng hugged Zhen Qing, whose body was limp into a ball of mud, and said in his ear, "Qing'er."

Zhen Qing's beautiful eyes seemed to be unopened, with sweat on her temples, she said in a trembling voice, "Zi Yu, I'm... a bad woman."

It was clearly just now when Zhen Qing was confused and infatuated, under Jia Heng's questioning, Zhen Qing narrated the words in the letter.

Jia Heng was silent for a moment, then said: "You have done a lot for him, and even if it wasn't for him, the Zhen family might not have declined."

Zhen Qing sighed faintly, the original feeling of guilt in her heart seemed to have eased a lot, she lost her gaze for a moment, and said faintly: "Zi Yu, if I had married you back then..."

Jia Heng smiled, seeing something inexplicable in his eyes, and said: "Then you won't be able to be a queen."

Zhen Qing's phoenix eyes under her willow-leaf eyebrows were absent-minded for a moment, as if thinking of some possibility, she pursed her pink lips, which were as moist as rose petals, and said in a low voice: "There are some things, maybe."

If she married him, she would definitely help him get to that point. He is now in charge of the Jiangnan Jiangbei camp and the Beijing camp. Maybe that day will come.

Jia Heng: "..."

What exactly does Zhen Qing want to do?What made her have such a rebellious idea?

"When you got married, how old was I?" Jia Heng said softly, took Zhen Qing's plain hand, and said: "Okay, it's almost done, don't make people suspicious."

Jia Heng helped Zhen Qing to the bed, tidied Zhen Qing's clothes, and asked softly: "During this time, I have been busy with business and salt affairs, so I don't have much time. How long have you been in Jinling?"

Zhen Qing sighed, and said: "After the old lady left, everything at home was complicated. I want to settle things here before returning to the capital."

Jia Heng nodded and said, "That's also good."

Zhen Qing raised her beautiful eyes and said softly: "Then sister Xi'er is here with you."

Jia Heng got up to pour tea, handed Zhen Qing a cup, and said, "I'm going to Gusu in two days."

I promised to go to Gusu about Daiyu and Miaoyu earlier.

"Going to Suzhou?" Zhen Qing asked with shining eyes, "Then when will you come back?"

"Maybe just stay for two or three days." Jia Heng took a sip of tea and said, "Then, go to Guangdong for business."

"What are you doing there?" Zhen Qing asked in surprise.

"Military secrets, what are you asking about?" Jia Heng spoke softly, walked up to the smoked cage, lowered his head to add ice cream and sandalwood, but his mind was extraordinarily clear, thinking about Jiangnan in his heart.

The eight major salt merchants have already gone to four, and the rest is to copy and inspect the goods and register them. As for the other four, there is no rush.

In terms of military affairs, he was also on the right track, and he was finally able to breathe a little easier. He went to Gusu to do a private matter, and went to Haojing to have a look.

Zhen Qing looked at the young man's frowning brows, walked closer, glimpsed some books on the desk out of the corner of her eye, her eyes moved slightly, looked at the young man, and said: "You have been busy with business during this time, this looks It’s salt work, and it’s military work.”

I don't know what is recorded in this book, um, I want to read it, but I am afraid that this bastard will make a face of her.

But Jia Heng approached to pick up a book, took Zhen Qing's plain hand, and said softly: "Read it if you want, you are a woman who aspires to become the empress of the Han Dynasty."

In fact, it was not a secret, and by the way, a pot of cold water was poured on Zhen Qing to wake her up.

Zhen Qing listened to the young man's banter, and the charming eyes under her beautiful eyebrows flowed with anger. She reached out to pick up the book, flipped through it, and read the words on it. How much money, there is no secret.

"Here's another book, the false payment by the officials of the Ministry of War, from the military administration to the generals, it's almost rotten. Even if you let you control such a military force before, what can you do?" Jia Heng picked up the book. , Pass it to Zhen Qing.

Zhen Qingxiu frowned, seeing evil spirit on her flushed red jade face, she said coldly: "These generals are greedy, they really deserve to be killed!"

"Such a soldier who is greedy for life and afraid of death, even if you become a queen one day, the shame of Jingkang will be a lesson for the past when foreigners invade." Jia Heng looked at the bright and moving beauty behind Jingyu, and said slowly.

However, he felt that with Zhen Qing's temperament, she must commit suicide, and would not end up as fierce as those queens and princesses of the Zhao family. In fact, Zhen Qing's heart was just a bit vicious, but she was actually very violent in her bones.

I'm afraid he is the only one who can see a part or two of the madness between the bed and curtain.

Zhen Qing's delicate body trembled slightly, her beautiful eyes moistened slightly, she raised her eyes to look at the boy.

Jia Heng said: "Actually, your Zhen family is not one of them. Leading the Jinling Tirenyuan and supervising the three major weaving bureaus, the deficit is not much worse than the tens of thousands of soldiers in the south of the Yangtze River wasting money and food."

Zhen Qing put down the book and was silent for a moment.

Jia Heng looked at Zhen Qing who pursed her lips and said in a low voice: "Back then, the Zhenhai Division died in the first battle. How many Zhenhai Divisions do you think there are in the world? Even if you are the mother of the world, can you solve these problems?"

Zhen Qing walked to Jia Heng's side, hugged Jia Heng from behind, and said foolishly: "Isn't there still you? You can help me solve it in the future."

As long as she joins forces with him, the great man will be rejuvenated and a prosperous world will be ushered in.

Jia Heng turned to look at Li Ren, feeling speechless for a moment.

In fact, after being together for a long time, he can now vaguely guess what Zhen Qing is thinking in her heart. This woman's desire for the position of queen is hopeless.

Jia Heng said softly: "Okay, it's getting late, you should go back."

"Yeah." Zhen Qing answered nonchalantly, her beautiful eyes looked at the young man affectionately, her eyes full of reluctance: "Then my sister and I went back, Xinxin and Xi'er stayed with you, After another day, my sister and I will come to pick up Xinxin."

With gentle eyes, Jia Heng stretched out his hand to pinch the beauty's pink face, nodded and said, "Go."

After Zhen Qing and Zhen Xue were sent away, the sky was dark and gloomy, and lanterns had been hung inside and outside the house.

Under Qingwen's service, Jia Heng left the wing room after taking a bath, stood at the end of the corridor, and looked up at the sky where the drizzle was falling again.

Chen Ling walked over slowly, looked at the young man looking up at the sky with his hands behind his back, and asked, "What are you doing standing here?"

Jia Heng whispered: "Look at the sky, I don't know when the rain will stop."

As he said that, he turned to look at Chen Xiao, and said, "I watched the wind all day and didn't go to rest, why are you here now?"

Chen Xiao: "..."

"Dinner is ready, let's go and eat." The girl's clear eyes reflected the slightly lonely figure of the boy, and her voice remained clear.

Qingzhi is deliberately teasing herself again.

Jia Heng's eyes flickered, and he asked, "You cook it yourself?"

Chen Xiao has been too busy helping Jia Heng with military affairs these days, so she doesn't cook much.

Catching the light in the boy's eyes, the girl's originally depressed mood subconsciously brightened up, and said: "My hands were itchy for a while, so I cooked a few dishes."

Jia Heng smiled and said, "Then I'll have to taste it later."

With that said, he went to the backyard with Chen Xiao.

At this moment, Zhen Qing and Zhen Xue left the Zhen family, but Zhen Xi and Shui Xin were left behind. Daiyu made Zheng, Li Wen, and Li Qi gather around a table and waited for a while.

"Brother Heng." Daiyu stood up and called, her starry eyes shining brightly.

Shui Xin stretched out Bai Shengsheng's little hand, and said in a crisp and crisp voice, "Godfather, hug me."

Godfather has the smell of mother and aunt, every time he hugs godfather, it seems to be hugged by aunt and mother.

Jia Heng looked at Shui Xin with a smile, and asked, "Xin Xin, have you washed your hands yet?"

"I washed it, Aunt Xiren did it for me." Shui Xinnuo said.

In a word, Xi Ren's cheeks were slightly flushed, and his shrewd eyebrows and eyes were rarely filled with a simple smile.

Daiyu looked at the father and daughter who were talking, and said, "Brother Heng, I told Shui Xin to stay here for a few more days, and it won't be too late for Wangfei to pick her up in a few days."

The Zhen family had just had a funeral, and there was a sad atmosphere everywhere. It would be better for the children to change their environment.

Jia Heng said softly: "It's just right, I have nothing to do recently, I still want to take her to play, let's go to Gusu in a few days."

When Daiyu heard this, she was delighted to see her pretty face, and said in surprise, "Brother Heng, are you done with your work?"

Going to Gusu to pay homage to my mother was something Brother Heng had promised her before he came to Jiangnan.

"I'm so busy. The ancients said that there is heaven, and there are Suzhou and Hangzhou. When we arrive in Suzhou, my sister will take us to see it." Jia Heng said softly.

While talking, Jia Heng's eyes fell on the face of Zhen Xi who was beside Daiyu. The little girl's eyes were bright and clear, she was staring at Jia Heng, but she blushed immediately and lowered her head. He didn't dare to look at Jia Heng at all.

……

……

The next day, there was another light rain in Jinling, and the eaves and ridges of the Ningguo Mansion with vermilion eaves, green eaves, blue bricks and black tiles were washed bright as a mirror, and the light can be seen.

It's just that the sky is still gloomy, and Jia Heng came down to the Household Yamen with a large number of guards from the Jinyi Mansion.

Tan Jie, the left servant of the household department, had led the officials of the household department to wait for a long time, and led Jia Heng into the official hall with a smile on his face.

At this moment, the official hall was full of people, including Qi Kun, the cabinet minister, Lin Ruhai, the inspector of Yanyan, and the remaining four general merchants in Yangzhou.

As for the transshipment department of the Huaihe River and Huaihe River, a governor of the experience department was also sent to attend as a non-voting observer, because relatively high-ranking officials, such as the magistrate, deputy envoy, and judge, were all involved in the case and were still locked up in the prison of Jinyi Mansion. Get caught.

In addition, the deputy envoys of Huai'an, Tongzhou, and Taizhou divisions also sat down on nanmu chairs. When they saw Jia Heng entering the official hall, they all stood up to greet Jia Heng and bowed their hands in salute, but they all looked uneasy.

Jia Heng nodded towards the officials of the third division, his eyes were inexplicable.

Following the investigation of the Lianghuai Salt Case, the three sub-divisional deputy envoys were also involved in the case. After the meeting, they may still be arrested and questioned.

Qi Kun looked at the young man on the opposite side, and bowed his hands, his eyes were a bit complicated. He was a bachelor when he first entered the cabinet, and he was promoted to the crown prince and Taifu, and the person in front of him was the crown prince and Taibao.

Qi Kun asked: "Uncle Yongning, now all the officials are here, what proposals does Uncle Yongning have, you might as well speak in detail."

As soon as this remark came out, all the officials in the government hall looked at Jia Heng. The matter of salt affairs had been brewing for a long time, and it was time to implement it.

Jia Heng sat down, pondered and said: "The system of specialized merchants leading the shore has lasted for decades since the founding of the country. The two Huaihe Rivers have been in service until today. The floating fees are increasing day by day, the cost is getting heavier, the price of salt is getting higher and higher, and private salt is gradually increasing. Sheng, the salt tax has been greatly reduced over the years, and it is almost unsustainable. Since the first year of Chongping, the salt transportation department has a deficit of more than 2000 million taels. With unscrupulous merchants, but making tens of millions of profits, how can it last long with official funds to help private individuals?"

To put it bluntly, the special merchants lead the shore system, which is equivalent to letting the salt merchants earn all the salt profits. Then the common people can't afford high-priced salt, and the flood of private salt intensifies. There is no salt tax.

Qi Kun was silent for a moment, then said: "What's your opinion, Uncle Yongning?"

Although Jia Heng's words are fierce, they are also commonplace topics. The long-standing abuses in the salt industry need to be rectified urgently, but how to rectify them?

At this time, Lin Ruhai also looked at the young man, his elegant face was calm and unwavering.

Jia Heng pondered for a moment, then said: "I think that the Salt Transportation Department should be reorganized, the capital should be determined by the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and staff should be assigned to supervise the taxation. When paying taxes, salt can be collected with a ticket and sold to the area where the salt is sold, but the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs have adjusted the total amount of salt imports and salt prices in the salt area, which is intended to reduce floating fees. "

It is to break the monopoly of individual salt merchants on the salt industry, so that salt can be maintained at a price that is almost the same as that of private salt, but at the same time, it is necessary to prevent excessive shipments and high sales, flooding the entire market.

As soon as this remark came out, Wang Shouqi's complexion changed drastically. His hands and feet were almost cold, and everyone could sell salt by ticket. Wouldn't the foundation of Yangzhou's century-old salt industry be cut off from then on?

(End of this chapter)