Red Mansion: After being expelled from the family, I was granted the title of Marquis of Mobei

Chapter 20 Chaos in Lianghuai
After hearing this, Jia She began to have doubts in his heart.

"That's not the case. It's not like Eunuch Dai hasn't seen me before. Should I avoid him?"

Jia Zhen said with a hint of helplessness.

"That's what Eunuch Dai asked for. I can't do anything about it."

Jia She said after hesitating for a moment.

"Brother Zhen, you don't want to..."

Before Jia She finished speaking, Jia Zhen waved his hand and said.

"Uncle She, if you say so, then we won't talk about it anymore."

"Well, you should ask someone else for help on this matter."

"You also know Eunuch Dai, so just go find him yourself."

"So that I don't end up working for nothing and you worry about me getting a kickback."

Jia She waved his hands repeatedly and said.

"Brother Zhen, look at you, you're so anxious again. I was just joking."

"With the relationship between us, how can I not trust you?"

"Okay, I'll leave it to you. You take care of this matter."

"Here's a banknote, forty thousand taels in total. Just give it to Eunuch Dai when the time comes."

"I'll leave Yuanchun's affairs to you."

"If Yuanchun could become a concubine in the palace, it would be of great benefit to both our East and West Palaces."

In fact, Mrs. Jia originally gave 60,000 taels of silver notes to Jia She, and Jia She directly deducted 20,000 taels of silver as a kickback.

Why was he worried that Jia Zhen was taking kickbacks by telling Dai Quan about things behind his back? Because he knew very well that if he did so, he would definitely take kickbacks.

However, seeing that Jia Zhen was about to give up, Jia She naturally hurried to appease him.

He believed that after his warning, Jia Zhen would no longer take kickbacks.

Well, Jia She wasn't sure actually, but as long as Jia Zhen didn't do anything too outrageous, such as meeting and splitting it in half, or just taking 20,000 taels of silver directly, then it shouldn't be a big problem.

After hearing what Jia She said, Jia Zhen nodded slightly, took the banknote and said.

"That's right, we are all family, how can I cheat our own people?"

"Uncle She, leave this matter to me, you can rest assured, there will definitely be no mistakes."

After chatting and drinking for a while, Jia Zhen saw Jia She off.

After seeing Jia She off, Jia Zhen returned to his study and counted out ten thousand taels of silver from the silver bills Jia She gave him and put them into his own small treasury.

Jia Zhen put the remaining 30,000 taels of silver notes into an exquisite brocade box, intending to give it to Eunuch Dai when he returned.

It's impossible not to take kickbacks. I only took 10,000 taels out of 40,000 taels as a kickback from you, so you can just be happy with it.

When you ask someone to do something for you, you will inevitably give the middleman some benefits.

After settling down, Jia Zhen happily left the study and arranged for someone to send a letter to the palace to see when Eunuch Dai would be free to come out.

Just as Jia Zhen left the study, a dark shadow slipped into the study.

The next day, in the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Yongping looked at a report from Jiangnan and couldn't help but frown.

This memorial was submitted by Lin Ruhai, the doctor of Lantai Temple and the Imperial Censor of Salt.

Lin Ruhai was the son-in-law of the Rongguo Mansion and married Jia Min, the youngest daughter of Mrs. Jia.

He himself was a top scholar in the imperial examination and came from a family of officials.

He had both background and ability, so he was already a second-rank official in his early thirties.

Lin Ruhai was a doctor at the Lantai Temple and also served as the Imperial Censor of Salt.

Lan Tai was similar to the Secretariat, serving the emperor directly.

This official position itself was invented by Cao Xueqin, but it can probably be compared to the position of Grand Censor.

The Grand Censor is equivalent to the Secretary-General of the central government. He also serves as an inspector general independent of the administrative system and is a second-rank official.

(PS: Lin Ruhai is an important character in the later period, so it is necessary to spend some time to explain him. There are many opinions on the Internet that Lin Ruhai, the doctor of Lantai Temple, is probably a fourth-rank official. The author does not agree with this view.)
(We can use Jia Yucun as a reference. Jia Yucun was just a Jinshi, and was dismissed from his post for corruption and bribery. However, after Lin Ruhai recommended Jia Yucun to the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Yucun soon took office in Jinling and became the prefect of the fourth rank.)
(Later, with the support of Rongguo Mansion and the founding heroes, Jia Yucun rose rapidly to the position of Counselor of the Grand Marshal of the Military Affairs Council, a high and powerful position.)
(Jia Yucun was just an outsider, and his only achievement was a Jinshi.)
(Lin Ruhai is the son-in-law of the Rongguo Mansion, a true member of the family. He is also a third-place winner in the imperial examination, and his family has been nobles for generations, so he must have a foundation in the court.)
(He had been married to Jia Min for at least ten years. If he said that he was still only a fourth-rank official after more than ten years, it would be too much of a disdain for the value of Lin Ruhai's third-place honor and the influence of the founding fathers of the Rongguo Mansion.)
(Of course, some people would say that Jia Zheng is the legitimate son of the second generation of the Rongguo Mansion, and is only a fifth-rank official.)
(This point cannot be generalized, my dear friends. You should know that there is a contempt chain in the officialdom. Jia Zheng was appointed to office by patronage, and he is the type of person that the civil officials look down upon the most.)
(Even if Rongguo Mansion was a founding father, it would not dare to operate Jia Zheng under the watchful eyes of a group of civil servants.)
(Furthermore, Jia Zheng's abilities were mediocre and he was not qualified for a high position.)
(People like Lin Ruhai, who came from an orthodox imperial examination background and ranked first, were naturally at the top of the pyramid of contempt among the entire civil service group.)
(So ​​comparing Jia Zheng and Lin Ruhai is a complete insult to Lin Ruhai.)
Although Emperor Yongping did not like the founding fathers faction, he still looked up to Lin Ruhai.

Apart from anything else, Lin Ruhai's personal abilities are very outstanding.

Moreover, he was not the kind of person who only cared about party disputes and ignored the overall situation of the court.

During his tenure, he did not blindly favor the interests of the founding fathers' faction, but tried to take into account all aspects as much as possible.

Therefore, after Emperor Yongping ascended the throne, he was one of the very few officials who continued to be valued. He was ordered to serve as the Imperial Censor of the Lianghuai Salt Administration and investigate the salt affairs in the south of the Yangtze River.

After Lin Ruhai took office, he also actively dealt with the malpractices in the Lianghuai salt administration and investigated and punished those illegal salt merchants and officials.

However, just recently, Lin Ruhai discovered that some people were planning to organize riots and intended to use force to resist the salt administration rectification.

Therefore, Lin Ruhai asked Emperor Yongping whether to slow down the pace to avoid exacerbating the conflict, or to resolutely carry out the task of rectifying the salt administration.

After reading the memorial, Emperor Yongping felt a surge of distress in his heart.

He never imagined that these people were so bold as to use force to resist the court's salt administration rectification.

Needless to say, there must be some people in the court fanning the flames behind this.

A group of salt merchants and officials from Lianghuai alone would definitely not be able to make such a big move. There must be someone supporting them behind the scenes.

Similar methods have appeared before. At that time, Emperor Yongping usually made compromises in order to stabilize the court.

(End of this chapter)