Chapter 40 Dear Fujin Lao Si is indeed outstanding
The results of the strict interrogation of Ling Pu were more serious than Kangxi had expected.
In the early years outside the Great Wall and before the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, our ancestors made their fortune by doing business in the horse market.
After establishing a family business, Emperor Taizu never gave up his business. After all, it was impossible to conquer the world by just burning, killing and looting. He would always need financial support.
After entering the Shanhai Pass, the Imperial Household Department was established and these businesses were incorporated into the department to contribute to the filling of the emperor's private treasury.
The main tax revenue for the Qing treasury came from land tax and salt tax.
The business of the Imperial Household Department does not involve this, but rather the rare treasures from the birthplace of the three northeastern provinces that the emperor regards as his ancestral land. No one else can touch them, and only people appointed by the emperor can use them to do business.
All the money obtained was deposited into his private treasury.
This is a forbidden area that even the prince cannot touch.
The prince did it. He directly asked Ling Pu to send someone to do it. But the prince did not admit it, and cried bitterly, saying that he knew nothing, and that it was Ling Pu who made the decision on his own, and it was the subordinates who made the decision on their own to show filial piety to him, the crown prince.
How could Kangxi believe it? Ling Pu was a slave after all. Without anyone's orders, would he dare to do such a big thing?
Kangxi didn't understand. He was not the kind of person who would be harsh on the prince. Why did the prince spend money so lavishly?
But if you think about it, you will understand that what the prince needs to do is to win over the ministers, which requires money. He wants to help Cao Yin make up for his losses. Without the support of these businesses, where would he get millions of taels of silver?
Kangxi was ill, and everyone was not ignorant of saying too many faults about the prince.
Kangxi investigated the prince in a shadowy manner, and his attitude was unclear. No one dared to express their opinion. After all, to the outside world, the emperor still doted on the prince. Everyone was afraid that if they said something wrong, they would not be able to bring down the prince, but would be punished by the prince in the future.
Kangxi executed Ling Pu and his gang and replaced the head of the Imperial Household Department.
The Crown Prince was confined to Yuqing Palace. The most urgent matter now was the deficit in salt tax in Lianghuai.
The fourth one's side.
During these days, the documents Kangxi read most often were Cao Yin's secret memorials recording his private accounts and Yinzhen's memorials.
The fourth child is indeed outstanding and has abilities in all aspects.
That thunderous and powerful force is even more powerful than when he was young.
He wrote in the memorial how to trace the losses, how to improve the plan, how to deal with the aftermath, and how to deal with it. The losses from the Lianghuai salt tax were a big deal, but the fourth brother's plan was well organized and obviously well thought out.
Kangxi read it and thought it was not bad, in fact it was very good. If he were to come, Kangxi would definitely adopt this plan.
Previously, the deficit to be repaid was three or four hundred thousand taels of silver, but now it was the deficit of three or four million taels of silver included in Cao Yin’s private accounts that had to be repaid.
Yinzhen said that if he was given two years, everything would be settled properly.
He actually wanted to take root in Jiangnan for two years and was willing to make such sacrifices.
He even remembered what he had promised himself. The rice seeds sent from Jiangnan could not be planted in the second half. The fourth brother even said in a memorial that when he came back, he would plant for a full year to apologize and would grow food for his father the emperor with his own hands.
Kangxi thought that although the Fourth Prince was not at home, the rice seeds were being carefully taken care of by the Thirteenth Prince. Even at this time of year, other princes did not dare to go out casually, but the Thirteenth Prince went to farm on time.
In fact, Kangxi admired it very much in his heart.
Just because the prince is not making progress, we can't expect everyone else to not make progress either, right?
Lao Shisan said that they would definitely be able to grow it by next year’s harvest time.
Let’s talk about the fourth brother.
The pride and tenacity of the fourth child still made him miss him. Kangxi couldn't help but think that this child was raised by Xiaoyi, so he still had some of Xiaoyi's temper.
"Grind the ink." Kangxi made up his mind.
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Cao Yin and Yinzhen submitted their memorials separately, but there was no news for more than half a month. Cao Yin was unable to eat or sleep well and was restless every day, while Yinzhen was calm and composed.
Both of them were waiting, but seeing Cao Yin like this, Yinzhen couldn't help but say a few words.
"Lord Cao, please take care of yourself."
Yinzhen said, "No matter what the emperor decides, if Lord Cao really gets sick from worrying too much, he will be unable to move. If there is an imperial decree to arrest someone, Lord Cao will go to the capital in shackles, and before anyone can take action, Lord Cao will die of illness."
Cao Yin smiled bitterly. Of course he could hear that the Fourth Prince was mocking him.
Cao Yin said, "I don't dare to get seriously ill. Please rest assured, Fourth Prince."
Yinzhen said, "Even if he didn't get seriously ill, everyone outside could see Lord Cao's condition and said that I was the one who forced him to be like this. If he really died of illness, it was also because of me, the Fourth Prince."
What could Cao Yin say? He could only smile bitterly.
Fortunately, the emperor's edict finally arrived, and Cao Yin did not become ill from worry.
It is meant for two people, so of course two people should watch it together.
Ever since Cao Yin's private accounts were exposed, Cao Yin no longer dared and could not hide. He had to stand up and take responsibility for everything together with the Fourth Prince.
Those who have been hiding with him must also stand up.
Cao Yin has been thinking over this for the past half month, and there are only two possible outcomes: either the emperor is determined to continue to collect the money, or he sticks to the original intention and only collects the previous number of more than 300,000, and slowly deals with the rest.
But Cao Yin thought about it carefully and felt that the emperor would not let it go.
He revealed everything in a secret memorial, but in fact he was inclined to hope that the emperor would get to the bottom of the matter.
Before he took over the stall in Jiangnan, he was just a guard beside the emperor.
Cao Yin knew from a young age that he was the emperor's slave and he was the most loyal because he almost grew up with the emperor.
Is there anything that is not safest to let your confidants do it?
In order to win back the hearts of the scholars in Jiangnan and to spy on the intelligence in Jiangnan, the emperor sent him here to serve as an official, allowing him to make friends with the literati and become a close friend and confidant of the scholars here.
Why did we let him come? Because he is suitable and because he can do a good job.
No one is more suitable than him.
Cao Yin was actually very conflicted. He had been studying and working since he was young. He was actually very capable, otherwise he would not have been able to take on such a job and would not have been able to achieve the level he has now.
But after spending a long time in contact with these people, the self-proclaimed scholar's heart began to stir, and he always wanted to do something for the world and the country.
He not only said it, but also hoped to do it. However, his stage was set by the emperor, and he had no say in what he could do and what he could not do.
Those ideals and that passion can only be buried deep in the heart.
Being a slave to the emperor alone was enough for him, and he did not want to be a slave to the crown prince or the eighth prince. He, Cao Yin, was only one and could not be broken up, nor could he serve so many people.
I don’t want to be liquidated in the future.
As for the promises of the crown prince and the Eighth Prince, they were too far away, and Cao Yin did not want to pay attention to them. Who knew that after becoming their slave, he would be abandoned or buried alive?
Designation rarely ends well.
Cao Yin's life has not been easy, and he doesn't want to make it more difficult for himself.
Even if he had the intention of serving the Qing Dynasty, the loss of three or four million taels of silver was not entirely his fault.
The prosperity and chaos of Jiangnan should have been rectified long ago.
Based on his understanding of the emperor, even if the emperor would be hesitant, the final outcome would be that he would pursue the matter to the end.
After all, one of the emperor's ambitions when he was young was to rectify the Qing Dynasty's administration.
After a person has gone through the sedimentation of time, unless he has suffered a major blow, his youthful ambitions will only become more mature with the polishing of time, and will not disappear.
As expected, the Emperor's order to him and the Fourth Prince was to pursue the matter to the end.
"After thinking about the past and the future, I still intend to collect the money. I will follow the Fourth Prince's advice and collect the money immediately. You will report all matters in detail and give the Fourth Prince the power to act at his discretion."
Kangxi wrote in his edict that they should pursue the debt to the end and not miss a single cent, and should act in accordance with the laws of the Qing Dynasty. With Kangxi's support, they should just go for it.
Cao Yin later cried when he saw this, and tears streamed down his face: "The emperor is willing to use the treasury to cover the loss."
Kangxi said that if the plan could not be implemented in the end, a portion of the silver in the inner treasury could be used as a loan, and the money could be replenished later.
This was also the reason why Kangxi, out of pity for his old ministers, was able to ease the situation.
Yinzhen said expressionlessly: "How can Lord Cao feel comfortable taking the money from the emperor's private vault?"
Cao Yin was stunned. He, he really couldn't feel comfortable either.
Yinzhen smiled slightly, and seeing that Cao Yin seemed a little uneasy, he stopped talking.
What he was going to say next would scare Cao Yin, so he decided to wait until Lord Cao was calmer before saying it.
In fact, what Yinzhen was thinking about was the treasury silver.
The emperor did not actually use much of the imperial treasury's silver during his several southern tours. He told outsiders that he did use some of the silver, but in fact it was silver that Cao Yin had managed to raise on his own.
This amount of silver was also included in the private account of three or four million taels.
Kangxi said that he was using the money from the inner treasury to cover the loss, but in fact he was paying off his own debts. But Kangxi refused to say it clearly.
Yinzhen wanted the emperor's father to acknowledge it. He wanted the money from the inner treasury, and he also wanted the emperor's father to return the money from the southern tour. This was probably too much of a "great betrayal" and "treason", so Yinzhen didn't tell Cao Yin about it now, for fear of scaring Lord Cao.
But Lord Cao will know it later.
No matter what, Cao Yin felt much more at ease after receiving Kangxi's order.
Now that the future work direction was determined, Cao Yin felt relieved and focused more on the Fourth Beile in front of him.
The Fourth Prince is smart and capable, and has much of the emperor's style when he was young, but he is more unkind than the emperor. For the officials in the court, this is naturally not a good thing.
But for the people, it seems to be a good thing.
The Crown Prince has been in trouble frequently, and the Emperor cannot bear to touch him now, but there will definitely be many conflicts between father and son in the future. Just look at the Eighth Prince who is ready to make a move, and you will know that many people are thinking about seizing the throne.
The Fourth Beile had risen suddenly before, and he was even unwilling to hide his incompetence. He was determined to be better than the Crown Prince and was not afraid to confront the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince even attacked the Fourth Beile.
Could it be that the Fourth Prince also has the ambition to seize the throne?
Cao Yin could only think about this thought now. It was absolutely impossible for him to ask it out loud.
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The disturbances in the officialdom would not affect the people, but when the salt merchants were dragged into such a major event as the pursuit of deficits, it would be difficult for them not to know about it.
Not to mention the pursuit of deficits, which was a disguised way of telling the people that the court was going to start cleaning up the corrupt officials and parasites in Jiangnan.
The people in Jiangnan live a more affluent life. Except for the gentry, officials and businessmen, people who have nothing to do with this matter are actually paying attention to it. There are still many people who have a mentality of having fun.
Everyone is wondering, are they really going to clean up the corrupt officials or are they just going through the motions?
Can this young Fourth Prince, Lord Cao Yin, the emperor's confidant, a good friend of the salt merchants, and a close confidant of the gentry, really accomplish this?
The mentality of the upper and lower classes is different.
No one came to test Yu Yan anymore. The Cao and Li families were quiet. No women from official families came to send invitations to invite Si Fu Jin to a banquet.
They were all as quiet as chickens because their men were going to be investigated by Yinzhen.
Yuyan was also happy not to go out.
Just because she doesn't go out doesn't mean Yuyan has nothing to do.
She was staying here quietly with no one looking for her, but the doors of the Prince's Mansion and Jingcheng Garden in the capital were all broken down.
After Li moved back to Prince's Mansion with everyone from Jingcheng Garden, people still came to visit her every day.
I want to invite Li to a banquet.
Some wanted to invite the eldest and second princesses to go out for fun, and some even invited the second and third princes to go out for fun. They were all young people from different families, but their intentions were obvious at a glance.
Li knew that the matter was of great importance and did not dare to make a decision on her own, so she wrote a letter to ask Fu Jin for advice.
Yuyan wrote back, telling the Li family that everyone should stay indoors, and that everyone in the Fourth Prince's Mansion should live a peaceful and quiet life, and not be used as a tool to test the Prince.
Li was still very obedient. In fact, she did not dare to make decisions rashly. Her family status was not high and she could not control anything. Now she had no intention of seizing power. She just wanted to stay in the house quietly and take care of her children.
The children’s health has not been good to begin with, and now is the time of changing seasons. If they are not careful, they may get sick, which can easily lead to their death.
The eldest prince is a lesson learned from the past, and Li doesn’t want this to happen.
Li was able to suppress the people in the mansion, so naturally everyone in Beile's mansion, from top to bottom, lived a quiet life according to Yuyan's instructions.
"Seeing that you are bored at home all day, this is not a long-term solution. The weather has been very good recently. I will take you out for a walk tomorrow to relax and cheer you up."
At night, Yinzhen hugged Yuyan and said.
The time of Yinzhen's return was uncertain, but he was reluctant to sleep in a separate room from Yuyan, so the two of them stayed together.
Yuyan was used to it. Sometimes she was snuggled into the quilt in the early morning, sometimes she was wrapped in a hot embrace late at night, and sometimes she got up, and Yinzhen would come back after staying up all night and hold her to sleep again.
She was annoyed that he stayed up late and nagged too much, but this gentleman refused to listen and kept kissing her until she was dizzy and speechless, and then he held her and fell asleep together.
It's a rare occasion that I got home and went to bed at ten o'clock tonight.
He was so busy, but still took care of her physical and mental health. Yuyan was really touched.
"If I just want to take a walk around, I can go there by myself. Why should I bother Lord Beile? Lord Beile has important things to do."
Yinzhen smiled and kissed her hair: "I want to take you to a good place. I have to go and relax after arguing with those people all day long. Otherwise, I will be too rude and irritable if I scold people every day. This is not good."
Yinzhen is in a bad mood every day and wants to live a few more decades.
Only by being with dear Fu Jin can he regain his good mood.
Besides, isn't it true that pleasing Fu Jin is not a serious matter?