Chapter 195
Chapter 195
At the end of the fourth year of Yongkang, the atmosphere in the court was tense.
Ever since Ji Yuan returned to Beijing, the royal family has never stopped targeting Ji Yuan.
But no matter how much they struggle, Ji Yuan still has the final say on the rubber issue.
When all the affairs of the Rubber Bureau were moved to the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Revenue, the Rubber Bureau of the Imperial Household Department completely became a thing of the past.
The royal family members in the Imperial Household Department looked like they wanted to eat someone.
But the officials from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue were very excited.
The Ministry of Industry took away the data, but the data was incomplete, so we would probably have to create the files and redo them ourselves.
What the Ministry of Revenue took away was the tax situation of the Rubber Bureau.
This part is even more confusing, but also more important.
Ji Yuan t looked at the account books and said to the officials of the Ministry of Revenue, "We need to check this carefully."
When Ji Yuan said this, he was speaking in front of the grandson of Duke Zhao, that is, to the former head of the Rubber Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The other person's expression changed, as if he had thought of something.
But they have checked the account books many times, how could there be any mistakes?
No matter how capable Ji Yuan is, can he really reach into the Ministry of Revenue?
The Minister of Revenue thought to himself, Ji Yuan cannot reach here, but that doesn’t mean I will let this matter go easily.
The Minister of Revenue, Wen Daxueshi, said to his subordinates, "No wonder when the Rubber Department came back, Minister Ji asked the Ministry of Revenue to go with him."
If the Ministry of Industry wanted to seize power, it could have simply said that after they had sorted out the Rubber Department, they would transfer the tax revenue to the Ministry of Revenue.
This is also in line with the process.
But Ji Yuan immediately asked the Ministry of Revenue to go with him.
Let the Ministry of Revenue check the tax revenue of the Rubber Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Actually, it doesn’t matter whether you check it or not.
After all, that is the account of their internal treasury.
It is not convenient for them, the foreign officials, to conduct investigations.
The royal family also took advantage of this omission and felt safe and secure.
You, the outsiders, really have no right to interfere in our affairs.
But these two people are not included among these foreign officials.
One is Prime Minister Li, whose health is getting worse and worse and he basically no longer takes care of things.
After the Rubber Division was successfully transferred, he stayed at home even less frequently and rarely even attended the morning court sessions.
The other one is the Minister of Revenue, Grand Secretary Wen.
The people whom the emperor has relied on since he was in the palace are his true confidants.
It was not convenient for other foreign officials to intervene, but it was convenient for him.
By the time the royal family realized what was happening, these messy account books had already been sorted out by the Ministry of Revenue and reported to the emperor personally by Minister Wen.
During this period, Ji Yuan and the Minister of Industry, Lord Hong, were setting up the Steam Department and the Rubber Department.
The two departments are so important that even the crown prince personally takes charge of them.
The main thing was the steamship, which really attracted the prince.
Unlike before, Ji Yuan now has a very good relationship with the prince.
The prince also told his men: "It really is useful to help him when he is in trouble."
In the prince's heart, Ji Yuan is already one of his own, a member of the prince's party.
This seems to be correct?
Anyway, Ji Yuan did not refute.
The Ministry of Industry is stepping up its processing of the two departments and strives to issue the decree before the New Year.
From now on, all steam engines and rubber in the world will be under the jurisdiction of this place.
Not only that, the internal publications of the project produced before the era also became the internal publications of the Ministry of Industry.
In the future, all advanced inventions in the world can be registered on it so that engineers and scientists in Tianqi can see them and share their knowledge with each other.
The busier they are.
The jokes on the royal side became more and more ridiculous.
It seems that Ji Yuan took action, but it also seems that he did not.
Anyway, the families of Duke Zhao and Duke Chen were turned upside down.
All he did was to hand over the account book of the Rubber Department of the Imperial Household Department to the Ministry of Revenue, and he also gave a number, which was his estimated rubber tax revenue.
As it turned out, the numbers he gave were not far from the actual numbers.
Even the Minister of Revenue found it unbelievable.
It is really the most suitable person for Ji Yuan to be the head of the Rubber Department.
Yes, all rubber production places in the world come from his hands.
However, the actual figures given by Ji Yuan are very different from those given by the Rubber Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
At this point we need to talk about the distribution of tax revenues from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The twenty-five government offices of the Imperial Household Department are all the emperor’s private property and are naturally his retainers.
Naturally, the revenue there also belongs to the emperor.
These retainers help the emperor manage his property and can get a share of it.
However, no matter how it is divided, the largest share should belong to the emperor.
Otherwise, why would the emperor attach so much importance to the profits from rubber?
In fact, the emperor knew that his retainers were not honest, but considering the relatively decent annual income, he basically did not care.
As I said, who doesn't want to be greedy? Just don't be too greedy.
The problem now is that not only are they greedy, they are also greedy a lot.
There were so many that when the Minister of Revenue personally handed the documents to the emperor, the emperor was furious.
The emperor, who was 39 years old this year and in his prime, was so angry that he called the imperial physician. This shows how huge the amount of money he embezzled was.
Although it is an internal matter of the royal family, it is not easy to make it public.
The prince told the truth: "The inner treasury should have collected 80% originally, but 70% is fine."
"This time, we discovered that the Dukes took 80% of the money, and only 20% was given to the Emperor."
But that 20% profit is nearly several million taels of silver.
So the emperor didn't suspect anything.
"Father is very angry, but also a little distressed." The prince said, looking at Ji Yuan.
His father also said: "No wonder you are so obsessed with the Rubber Department. It turns out that you can earn millions of taels of silver a year."
"Yes, that's good."
The emperor was indeed anxious and distressed.
If he had known there was so much silver, he would have probably deducted more of the taxes from the Rubber Department this year.
But it's too late.
It’s all because of these rubbish, they are more likely to cause trouble than to do anything good.
The emperor was so angry that he took medicine and then stood up and started cursing again.
Real money.
Who wouldn’t feel sad?
The prince was quite gloating, but he also had another intention, which was to let Ji Yuan let it go.
The matter is almost over, give him some face.
In fact, it was the royal relatives who came to ask for peace.
As soon as Ji Yuan made a slight move, they started complaining and asked him to stop trying.
This matter has not yet come to pass.
It’s already a complete victory for the era.
No matter what conspiracy or dirty tricks they have, it is useless.
Ji Yuan stands on morality and justice.
Make all conspiracies look shameful.
What?
Take action against Ji Yuan secretly?
Are you afraid that you won't die fast enough?
Based on Ji Yuan’s current reputation, who would dare to touch him?
It seems that there is no other choice except to make peace.
The prince is the best choice among them.
The prince himself is willing to do this and mediate, and the royal family will also remember his kindness.
However, he was quite unconfident in front of Ji Yuan and was not sure whether Ji Yuan would listen to him.
Unexpectedly, Ji Yuan nodded: "Since Your Highness has said so, then this matter ends here."
The prince looked surprised.
look!
Ji Yuan is indeed his subject!
Ji Yuan then asked, "Speaking of which, was the Third Prince involved in this matter?"
Third brother?
What does it have to do with him?
"For some things, it is better to prepare for a rainy day."
The prince fell into deep thought. After returning to the Prince's Mansion from the Ministry of Works, he kept thinking about Ji Yuan's words.
Is the third brother involved?
He doesn't know.
He was away at war for two years, and the third brother did participate in politics.
The third child, who is two years younger than him, should not pose any threat to him, right?
The prince thought so in his heart, but when his father asked him how to deal with the Duke's corruption, the prince said: "I heard that the third brother was also involved in the account. Can you tell me what the reason is?"
The taxation of the Rubber Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs involves a wide range of people.
It can be said that no one in the entire royal family was spared.
The prince is better. He has been out during the two years when he made the most money. He seems innocent in this matter.
But the situation is not necessarily the same for the second princess, the third prince, and the fourth prince.
Especially the third prince who has already participated in politics, the proportion of his expenditure is extremely large.
The prince naturally did not want to punish his younger brothers and sisters, but subconsciously wanted to see his father's attitude.
The emperor frowned and looked at the prince disapprovingly: "That's your brother."
Even within the royal family, there are differences in closeness and distance.
Can it be the same for your own children?
The prince felt a little uncomfortable and didn't know what to say.
When he returned home, he found that the third brother was waiting for him.
"Brother, Father, Father asked me to come and apologize for your crime."
The prince looked at his third brother with red eyes, and then looked at his third brother who was already eighteen years old. It seemed that he had grown into a young man, a young man like him.
The prince tried to suppress his anger, but when his third brother cried and begged for forgiveness, he could no longer bear it and turned back to the palace.
When the news reached Ji Yuan, it was that the prince and the emperor had a big fight.
The prince's meaning was simple. It was obviously just a casual remark, so why did he tell his third brother and make him cry and apologize, as if he had to do something.
There is only one meaning behind the words.
Father!
Why are you so partial to my third brother!
The prince went to and from the palace many times in one day, and the emperor would be unhappy if he was left alone.
It is said that the quarrel between the two sides caused everyone to kneel down inside and outside the Qinzheng Hall.
But the third prince was still outside asking for a meeting, being very polite.
This quarrel also completely exposed the issue of greed for money within the royal family.
At the end of the fourth year in Yongkang, it became the talk of the streets in Beijing.
Every tea stall was discussing this matter.
"They are the ones who accuse Lord Ji of being greedy for money, right?"
"Yeah, that's them, judging others by their own standards."
"It seems that they have embezzled several million taels of silver, which should have been put into the national treasury."
"So what if it's put into the national treasury? What does it have to do with us ordinary people?"
After he finished speaking, the man drank the wine in the glass and felt the surroundings become quiet.
"you do not know?"
"After these silver and money were transferred to the Ministry of Revenue, they have been used for people's livelihood."
"Haven't you seen the houses outside the capital? They are being repaired and patched up. They have been repaired vigorously this year."
"And there are more people giving out porridge. The poorhouse has given more money. Don't you know that?"
ah?
There is also this matter.
"The Ministry of Industry has also given us a plan to build a road, a cement road!"
"Construction will begin in the spring of next year, and the Ministry of Revenue has also reserved a budget!"
ah?
Are these all the money collected from the Rubber Bureau’s taxes?
If this money had been given to the national treasury earlier, wouldn't they have had concrete roads long ago?
Who says it’s not!
If this money has nothing to do with me, then it's fine.
Now that I am actually using it around me, it is definitely different from the past.
The people who used to curse the royal family now curse even more fiercely.
But there is one person here who is different from the others.
That is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
"His Royal Highness's request for severe punishment of those who embezzled money was rejected."
"That's why he was left out!"
The prince wants to severely punish those people?
But those people are royal relatives. Can the prince bear with them?
It seems that the prince is also a future wise ruler who is dedicated to serving the people!
It’s such a good thing to have such a prince in the court!
After this was said, ordinary people and young officials did not think there was anything wrong.
Some elderly officials seemed to have extracted a memory from their minds.
Many years ago.
The current emperor also had such an experience when he was still the crown prince.
The late emperor was furious about this, and began to suppress the crown prince from then on.
Decades passed.
Everything has changed.
It seems nothing has changed.
Many people looked over again.
The emperor in his prime and the prince in his youth.
It seems like we are back to square one.
Not to mention the ministers, even the emperor and the crown prince were aware of this problem.
Their choice, naturally, was to be nice and tell everyone right away that they were different as father and son.
They also think so in their hearts.
How could they be as confused as those before them.
But when you calm down, what everyone is thinking is another matter.
This farce also completely put the Rubber Company's business on hold.
The two dukes were stripped of their official positions and remained idle at home.
Most of the talented children in the family were sent out, and there were no more leisurely and lucrative positions for them.
After the New Year, many people will go to wherever they want outside and will never cause any trouble again.
As for the third prince, he seemed to have been forgotten.
It is impossible to forget.
Cui Wei, an official close to the crown prince, said: "During the family banquet in the palace, the crown prince and the third prince did not say a word."
The Crown Prince's mother and the Third Prince's mother also had many conflicts.
The former dynasty pretended to be harmonious, but the harem did not need to do so.
Cui Wei looked at Lord Ji meaningfully and whispered, "The prince said privately that you asked him to prepare for a rainy day, and that was right."
At this moment, we are at Ji Yuan’s home.
During the Chinese New Year, Ji Yuan's home was basically filled with his close friends. The fact that Cui Wei could come over showed his position.
It seems that these words were spoken in private and will not be spread to other places.
Ji Yuan nodded: "Yes, we need to prepare for many things in advance."
This matter will come to light sooner or later, and it is definitely better to come to light sooner rather than later.
The prince thought he had secured his position, but he didn't realize that his father also thought so.
Thinking of the torture his father had suffered over the years, the prince could no longer sit still.
He didn't want to be the second emperor, not at all.
But he just asked his father to severely punish the third brother, but was directly rejected and even had a quarrel.
Could it be that the emperor is confused too?
Does he also want to learn from Grandpa Huang?
During the New Year's Day in the fourth year of Yongkang, the atmosphere in the palace and among the people were completely different.
People are still happy. The price of charcoal has dropped this year, and two steam factories have been opened around the capital. Everyone is planning to go to work at the beginning of the new year.
We definitely need a union. With a union, everyone's salary is guaranteed.
This has become a routine. If a factory does not have a trade union, people will always feel that there is something wrong.
It is also a common practice that factories pay high wages.
From Suzhou to Jiangnan, and then to Dianzhou Prefecture, which factory is not like this?
If there is a black-hearted factory, their steam engines will be in danger.
I don't know when the custom of smashing steam engines started.
It seems to have started with the Miners Association?
As long as they treated the workers badly, everyone would secretly smash the steam engine.
No matter how well protected it is, it is not difficult to destroy a steam engine.
And it's hard to catch people.
Over time, a routine will emerge.
You have a plan, but I have a ladder.
No one is afraid at all!
Not to mention, the current steam engine company is in the hands of Lord Ji, who issued the factory union standards years ago.
These are all established practices and no one dares to refute them.
If we refute it, no trade union in the world will agree.
Today, trade unions have penetrated into every street and alley of Tianqi State.
From the 42nd year of Huayuan to the end of the 4th year of Yongkang this year, a full six years have passed, which is enough time for it to grow and develop.
Civilian trade unions have formed spontaneous organizations.
Smart workers will choose a lifestyle that is more suitable for them, and Ji Yuan has no doubt about this.
However, the influence of these unions varies from place to place.
In areas like the border areas of Tianqi State, the power is even stronger.
In Dianzhou Prefecture, Suzhou and Guangdong, trade unions have a greater say. I heard that in some places, they can already sit down and negotiate with the government.
But in a city like Beijing, it can only be a low-key civilian organization.
But it doesn’t matter, it’s just a matter of time.
Another year has passed and time seems to have flown by very quickly.
In the new year, everything will have a new beginning.
On the eighth day of the first lunar month, the first day of court, all civil and military officials paid homage to the emperor. It was obvious to the naked eye that the relationship between the emperor and the prince had not yet eased.
I heard that the third prince would replace Duke Chen and work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Not only that, the third prince has very close contacts with the Wang family, which has been very popular recently.
All of this seemed to have touched upon the prince's sensitive spot, and he had argued with the emperor many times.
At the age of 21, the prince, who had been doing everything smoothly for him and could even get away with killing important officials in the court, finally encountered his real problem.
But what does this have to do with the era?
He is really busy now.
The Ministry of Industry officially began to produce steamships and steam locomotives.
Ji Yuan also gave the steamboat to the angry prince at the right time and advised him: "Your Highness's martial arts are extraordinary, and the world has known about it. Instead of being angry, you might as well do something else to let the world know your ability."
What Ji Yuan said sounded correct.
Like trying to reconcile.
He also advised the prince to do some real work.
It doesn’t matter if others say this, but it seems like there’s nothing wrong with Ji Yuan saying this.
Because the rubber tire is in his hands and has already been made.
This black tire is very wear-resistant and it is estimated that it will be promoted throughout the Tianqi country in less than half a year.
The carriage with tires has tripled its carrying capacity, and the entire Tianqi country's freight industry will benefit from it.
There is no need to mention the praise for Ji Yuan from all walks of life.
He handed the blueprint of the steamship to the prince and said, "If this is made, the speed of shipping will increase by at least ten times."
"Wouldn't it be more useful?"
When Ji Yuan's words reached the prince's ears, they took on another meaning.
What does it matter if the emperor trusts the third prince? As long as you do better than the third prince, isn’t that enough?
As long as you prove your ability, no one can shake your position.
Not even my father can do that.
The prince naturally did not say the last sentence, but the meaning was already very clear.
Ji Yuan’s eyes were firm, as if they could give people endless energy.
It should be right to listen to Ji Yuan, right?
That’s what Epoch did.
His prestige in Dianzhou Prefecture is simply unmatched.
If my prestige in Tianqi Kingdom could reach that level, perhaps I would not be afraid of anything.
Thinking of the trust and love that everyone had for Ji Yuan when he was in Dianzhou Prefecture, the prince couldn't help but envy him.
Ji Yuan seemed to know what the other party was thinking, and said with a smile: “Your Highness, you can do it too.”
As long as he is there, we can definitely do it.
The prince thought of something and couldn't help but hold Ji Yuan's hand: "When you succeed, you will definitely be the most meritorious official in the court and my chief minister!"
Ji Yuan smiled and nodded, then withdrew his hand.
The court suddenly discovered that the crown prince no longer made trouble with the emperor and no longer paid attention to the third prince.
He is doing something else.
He said he wanted to study steamships, like the Ji Yuan, to change the transportation mode of Tianqi Kingdom.
The era has changed the mode of land transportation and has attracted worldwide attention.
He can change shipping! Water transportation!
The steam engine is his goal!
Today's steamship research is actually not particularly difficult.
After all, the application of steam engines in Tianqi has become increasingly mature, and steam engines have been built in various places. In places like Guangdong, which is close to the sea, there are even prototypes of steamships.
Now with the Crown Prince's full support, it would take almost no effort and results would soon be seen.
The emperor did not say much about the prince's change.
But there is still an indescribable discomfort in the relationship between the royal father and son.
The third prince even got his wish and worked in the Imperial Household Department.
The relationship between him and the prince has become visibly bad.
In the harem, the fight between the Queen and the Third Prince's mother was visible to the naked eye.
Ji Yuan had heard that both sides were obviously really angry.
This is a fight for the throne, not a game of house.
What is even more surprising is that the emperor actually defended the third prince and his mother.
The prince was furious. Everyone around him advised him to be patient, but he simply couldn't bear it and had a bigger quarrel with the emperor.
These quarrels reached the ears of Prime Minister Li.
Prime Minister Li, who is about to retire this year, is already 75 years old.
Regardless of whether he is allowed to leave at the age of 75 as the late emperor said, the time has come.
After listening to those things, Prime Minister Li closed his eyes again, not knowing what to say.
After a long time, Li Shoufu slowly said: "Ji Yuan, let Ji Yuan come over."
At night, Ji Yuan was invited to the Li family.
Everyone in the Li family was on high alert, and it seemed that all the important people in the clan had arrived.
Ji Yuan's heart sank, as if he understood something.
The people following him were also stunned.
This is?
It’s not even the end of the first lunar month yet, and the weather is still a bit cold.
Ji Yuan stepped on the snow and took a deep breath.
When Prime Minister Li saw him coming, he stretched out his hand, and when he looked at Ji Yuan, his expression was filled with indescribable sadness.
He seemed to realize something, but felt it was unlikely.
Because he didn't think it was necessary.
The emperor and the prince are not very good, but they are not ridiculous either.
As long as there is a loyal emperor to assist, Tianqi will be safe.
But he was becoming more and more confused about what Ji Yuan had done.
This is not because Prime Minister Li is not smart enough, he is too smart. As an old fox who has been in the court for decades, how could he not see anything unusual?
Not to mention, he has already left the court and can see things from an outsider's perspective.
But he didn't know how the future would develop.
No one can describe what he has not seen.
Even Prime Minister Li can’t do it.
So he was just confused and didn't say much.
After asking everyone to leave, Prime Minister Li asked the doubts in his mind.
The voice of Prime Minister Li almost came from his throat, and it was so low that only Ji Yuan could hear it.
Ji Yuan shook his head at him.
No.
He will not rebel.
He didn't want to be emperor either.
If he became emperor, what would be the difference between him and the royal family?
Even if he could remain true to himself, what about his family, his "royal family"?
So he won't.
He will just lead everyone in another direction.
When Li Shoufu saw Ji Yuan shaking his head, he became even more confused, and finally said, "I will pursue this path."
Be eager to pursue this path.
Focus on your own path.
These were the last words spoken by 75-year-old Prime Minister Li.
He didn't know what Ji Yuan was going to do.
But he knew that as long as Ji Yuan worked hard on this cause, the Tianqi Kingdom would not be changed beyond recognition.
This is a trust and also an expectation.
But surprisingly, it was the same as what Master Zhao from Anji Village in Jianmeng Mansion said.
Be eager to pursue this path.
This is what Master Zhao told Ji Yuan before he left the village.
Both of them were scholars, but one ended up being just a scholar in a village private school, while the other was a prime minister who served three emperors.
In the end, they were saying the same thing again.
Ji Yuan looked at the imperial doctors who rushed in, then looked at the Li family members shaking their heads at each other, and realized again that Prime Minister Li was gone.
As for Prime Minister Li, his feelings are also complicated.
But if it weren't for him, the Tianqi Kingdom would probably have fallen apart during the time of the previous emperor.
This is a scholar-official worthy of respect and a loyal minister who is a model of his own.
However, he never told anyone about his suspicion of another minister, and only asked Ji Yuan for the answer before his death.
What he asked was whether Ji Yuan wanted to be emperor.
Ji Yuan shook his head.
He doesn't want to be emperor.
He wanted there to be no more emperors in this world.
At least there was no emperor with real power.
At least he would not destroy a family, a child prodigy, or a canal at will.
That's what he wanted to do.
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