[R18] Will drink wine – “About Wine” Chapter 221 [English]

Chapter 213 Changes in the Situation

Liang Miaoshan did not wear an official robe, but wore an old sheepskin jacket over his cross-neck shirt, and wore a pair of green cloth shoes on his feet.He is completely opposite to the “Master Chongshen” in the market rumors. He has a short beard and a square face. His skin is tanned because he is traveling all day long.The hands don’t look like they’re holding a pen, but they look like they’re carrying a hoe.When he stood under the lantern at the inn to greet Kong Qiu and Cen Yu, Cen Yu almost mistook him for a handyman.

“Why does Chongshen look like this?” Cen Yu said in shock.

Liang Miaoshan led them upstairs, and after they sat down, he said: “It’s a long story, but if you two adults are willing to come, I will never regret it!” He said, bowing to Xue Xiuzhuo, “Your Excellency saved me from fire and water today. This kindness will be unforgettable by me!”

Xue Xiuzhuo wiped his hands with the hot handkerchief in the room, sat on the edge and said: “The matter is urgent. You should discuss it with the two teachers in detail first.”

“What’s the matter?” Kong Qiu looked at Liang Miaoshan, “count the days, you should arrive in Qandu the day after tomorrow.”

“We’re pressing hard from behind, so we don’t dare to delay on the way to the official position. To be honest, my lord, I’m dressed like this to hide from others.” Liang Miaoshan took out the account book from his arms and gently placed it in Cen Yu’s hand, “My lord has been supervising the accounts of the household department all year round. I have seen this kind of account book before, please save me.”

Cen Yu opened the account book, looked at it for a long time, and said hesitantly: “Isn’t this the account book that Tuncheng submitted to the Ministry of Revenue at the beginning of the year?”

“Yes, it is the account book of Marquis Helian of Trent City. At the beginning of the year, it was handed over to the Ministry of Revenue along with the other seven cities for review, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate assisted the inspection. There was no problem in sorting out the details of their taxes and expenditures.” When Liang Miaoshan said this, he took out another account book from his arms, “This one was rearranged by the lower officials in recent days.”

After reading the beginning, Cen Yu’s expression changed and he asked Liang Miaoshan: “How did you sort out this account?”

Liang Miaoshan looked solemn, collected his thoughts for a moment, and said: “The Queen Mother drafted a decree a few months ago. Pan Shilang wanted to serve as assistant to Dali Temple to check the accounts of Dan City. However, he was in Juexi at the time and was still in Yongcheng with Mr. Jiang to review the salt tax of thirteen cities.”

Within a few days, Liang Haoshan received a greeting card from Juexi’s Grain Controller at the inn. He was nowhere to be seen when he was on an errand, but the Grain Controller took the opportunity to leave a “small gift” for Liang Haoshan. When Liang Haoshan opened it, he found that it was gold.

“Juexi is connected by water to Dicheng and Hezhou. The Duliangdao is in charge of grain services and water transportation between them. It is a good job. However, because Xianguan is in the Chief Secretary of Juexi and has the chief envoy Jiang\Prime Minister Qingshan, he dare not alert the enemy.”

The position of Supervisor of Liangdao is similar to Liang Miaoshan’s position, except that he does not have as much power as he holds both places, but he has considerable influence on Juexi.Liang Miaoshan did not dare to alert the enemy because he suspected that this person had come to pay bribes at the behest of Jiang Qingshan.

Liang Miaoshan is very cautious. It is not easy for him to get ahead, so he is extremely careful when walking in officialdom.He wanted to be a capable minister, but also wanted to ensure his life. Juexi was Jiang\Qingshan’s territory. If he immediately filed a memorial to impeach the grain supervisor, he might not be able to get out of Juexi before he was detained.In addition, Shan Xiande opened a warehouse to release grain for four years, and his responsibility shocked the government and the public. He was loved by all the thirteen cities in Juexi. Based on this alone, Liang Miaoshan had no chance of winning against he, not to mention that everyone with a discerning eye knew that Jiang Qingshan was Xue Xiuzhuo’s sword.

“Xiaoguan was tossing and turning in the inn. Naturally, he couldn’t collect the gold, but he was worried about burying trouble if he went back rashly.” Liang Miaoshan said this and glanced at Xue Xiuzhuo. “What’s more, Mr. Jiang has a clear name. Xiaguan has been working with him for a long time, and he has some understanding of his personality. Therefore, Xiaguan simply summoned the grain supervisor.”

This was a dangerous move for the army. Liang Miaoshan, who did not dare to move, had to find his traces from this breakthrough. At least he had to figure out whether the person standing behind the Duliang Road was Jiang Qingshan.

“The Duliangdao handles water transportation and taxation in thirteen cities. It is not difficult to get money,” Kong Qiu said, “but the censor under the Procuratorate is also trying to find the account. The origin of the ship is clear, how can he hide it?”

“This is where the official was confused,” Liang Miaoshan said. “The official pretended not to dare and asked the grain inspector to take the gold back. He then told me that the gold was very clean and was not in Juexi’s account.”

“He is in charge of water transportation. Since it is not something on Juexi’s account,” Cen Yuan opened the account book, “then…”

Something from Dicheng or Hezhou.

“Yan Heru from Hezhou is a cunning and profiteer. Last year, he inspected the water transportation of Hezhou. HeHe has paid bribes, but he has a lot of money and does not need to take risks to transfer money from the internal accounts of the imperial court.” Liang Miaoshan was even more careful when talking about Dicheng, “The current state capital of Dicheng is the side house of the Zhenhua family, which is very favored by the Queen Mother.In the past few years, the official performance has been excellent.

Bribery means getting things done, especially when sitting in Liang Miaoshan’s position.He originally thought that Du Liang Dao was from Jiang Qingshan and came to pay bribes for the Juexi salt tax that he was inspecting at that time, but he soon realized that it was not the case. Since the gold was not something on Juexi’s account, it meant that there was someone else behind Du Liang Dao. This person could only be an important member of a family close to Dicheng.

Liang Piaoshan was determined not to talk about the Dicheng Hua family, because it was the Queen Mother’s family. When Hua Siqian fell, the Hua Mansion that was seized by the court was only Hua Siqian’s mansion. Within a year, the Queen Mother made a comeback, and now she is in charge of government affairs. Even though Liang Piaoshan was full of courage, he did not dare to bite the Queen Mother.

But as long as Liang Miaoshan thinks about everything, he can understand what the gold is for.At that time, the Queen Mother issued a decree asking Liang Miaoshan to follow Dali Temple to inspect the fields in Dancheng. Who was the most panicked about this matter?Pan’s family in Dancheng was the most panicked.

Cen Yu had already understood at this point that after such a big detour, it was actually Marquis Helian who bribed Liang Miaoshan with the help of the Superintendent of Grain Road in order to protect the Pan family.Princess Zhaoyue, daughter of Marquis Helian, married Pan’s son, and he’s concubine was pointed out to Hua’s daughter. Only he was the most suitable, but this move was really not clever.

Pan Lin was kind to Liang Miaoshan for promoting him. This kind of kindness was originally inspired by Xiao Chiye, but later it was really because Liang Miaoshan was capable and Pan Lin was willing to let him take the lead.Even if Liang Miaoshan is a little selfish, he must think twice about Dancheng for this favor. This is something he cannot refuse.But now it’s better. Marquis Helian sent someone to bribe him. As long as Liang Miaoshan didn’t report the matter to the court, he would be repaying Pan Lin’s kindness to him. As for the subsequent audit of Dancheng’s accounts, he would no longer have any burden.

Not only that, Liang Miaoshan also secretly re-examined the account books of the eight cities based on this bribe, and then repeatedly checked the account books of the Fei family in Tuncheng, Helianhou.The so-called money that cannot be found in the books actually means that when ships or caravans pass through the domestic checkpoints, the family will set up invisible checkpoints in their own city.In order to cross the border, merchants could only pay double the price to the family for private taxes.Later, people like Yan Heru appeared and wanted to get back the money they had taken out, so they took over the Xi family’s position and began to resell the copper and iron salt in the territory on behalf of aristocratic families and these local officials, bypassing tariffs, and the small mutual market in Dunzhou was established.

Cen Yu reopened the ledger compiled by Liang Miaoshan and felt dizzy looking at the amount of money.They have been entangled with the aristocratic family in Qiandu over the years. In order to audit the accounts, they have destroyed many capable ministers and generals. The two account books of Hua Siqian and Pan Rugui recovered by Hai Liangyi during the Xiande period are just the tip of the iceberg!

Although the Yongyi Zhongxing was short-lived, the tax system left to various places was the largest part of the national treasury’s annual revenue.Dazhou Neng has rapidly declined in just over ten years. It is all tied up in bad debts and has been hollowed out. All the money has flowed into the pockets of aristocratic families.

Cen Yu couldn’t sit still, and his hand holding the account book was shaking.

In addition to taxes and money, there was also land. Cen Yu didn’t even have to calculate it carefully, he could already imagine how big the outflow was.

“In the year of Xiande, Libei sent troops and there was no military pay. Xiao Jiming could only rely on the little food from the Libei military camp to rush south to fight against the border cavalry.” Cen Yu breathed rapidly and turned the page with trembling hands. “At that time, there was no military pay in Qidong., Lu Guangbai took Qi Zhuyin’s dowry and went north to rescue him. In these years, Qi Shiyu lost all his land to the garrison.In the first year of Tianchen, the Qing Mouse tribe attacked the gate of Bian County, and Lu Guangbai’s soldiers were so hungry that they were eating yellow sand at the gate!”

Every time, every time.

The generals from the north and the south entered the capital just to ask for money. Qi Zhuyin was forced to hang out with the gangsters who gave away tiger skin money in Qudu. Lu Guangbai could not even see Emperor Xiande during the Xiande year.How many people died during the drought in Juexi?□□shan gritted his teeth and opened a warehouse to put grain, while his eighty-year-old mother still had to weave cloth to pay off her debts.The six states of Zhongbo were helpless and empty. Zhou Gui, Luo Mu, Huo Qing and others were forced to lie low in front of the bandits.

This is how poor Hube is crying.

With resentment between his teeth, Cen Yu threw the account book on the table and said: “The private lands occupied by the eight cities have not been included in it. This is all blood money…” When he said this, his voice choked up, “Old Ge has pursued me to that point… The country will be destroyed every year of Xiande… Can we save it? We can’t save it!”

The room fell into silence, and Liang Miaoshan lowered his head and said nothing. “He is a duckweed without roots and bottom. If you want to explore deeper, you must have a big tree to rely on.”He first communicated with Jiang Qingshan, and was received by Xue Xiuzhuo, and then met Kong Qiu and Cen Yu.He didn’t accept the gold from Marquis Helian, but it was useless just to keep it in his hands. Someone had to be a guarantee, otherwise he would die if he didn’t make false accounts according to Marquis Helian’s wishes when he arrived in Dan City, and even Pan Lin couldn’t guarantee him.

The kerchief Xue Xiuzhuo put aside was cold. He said: “I should avoid suspicion about this matter, but it involves the safety of Chongshen and the field investigation of Dancheng, so I can only discuss it with the two teachers here.” He poured a cup of tea for each of Cen Yu and Kong Qiu. “I heard the news of troops in Qidong today, I think the Ministry of Revenue must have another excuse. The bad debts everywhere are mixed together, which will delay the spring plowing and Qidong’s military supplies.”

Kong Qiu was quite wary of Xue Xiuzhuo. Xue Xiuzhuo played too dangerous a role in the matter of becoming the crown prince, and relied on the scandal of the Imperial College to squeeze out the officials from humble families. Now that the practical school was in full swing, Kong Qiu felt unhappy.Relying on his intuition after serving in the Ministry of Justice for many years, he determined that Xue Xiuzhuo would never be at a loss, so he said: “You must have summoned us here not just to look at the account books.”

“One thing is discussed, one thing is done.” Xue Xiuzhuo changed his title to Kong Qiu. “Yuan Fu did not question the commander-in-chief’s use of the Qing Mouse Division when discussing the matter at Mingli Hall. He presumably agreed to it. However, due to the empty treasury, the Ministry of Revenue was indeed unable to bear the expenditure of military salaries, so there was no detailed discussion with the Queen Mother.”

“That’s right,” Kong Qiu was more calm than Hai Liangyi was at that time. “The commander-in-chief is sending troops to the Qing Mouse Division at this moment. It seems to be to separate the foreign troubles from the North, but in fact it is to clear away the foreign troubles from the Great Zhou Dynasty. Amul’s ambition is too ambitious, and there will be no eggs left in the nest. To help Li Bei now is to help the Great Zhou Dynasty.”

Xue Xiuzhuo took out a foldout from his sleeve, pushed it to Kong Qiu’s hand, and said, “This is the rough calculation of Qidong Army’s salary expenditure that I just made. Long-distance troops are not as cheap as garrisoning border counties in previous years. The consumption of grain trucks can eat up the entire territory of Baima Prefecture last year.”

Kong Qiu looked at the fold and said: “Part of the money was spent on disaster relief last year. Now that spring is approaching, whether spring plowing can be implemented smoothly in the eight cities is also a big problem. If the family refuses to return the people’s fields and pay the land tax, the cabinet will not be able to approve the commander’s request for sending troops. No matter how clear your calculations are, it will be useless.”

“I have an idea,” Xue Xiuzhuo looked at Kong Qiu, “This time the Qidong army’s salary can be borne by the Xue family.”

As soon as these words came out, not only Kong Qiu and Cen Yu, but also Liang Miaoshan were stunned.

As we all know, the Xue family in Quancheng has been in a weak state as early as the previous generation. The legitimate son Xue Xiuyi is a fake noble and is coaxed by charlatans and swindlers all day long to owe money. In our family, only one Xue Xiuzhuo can still stand in the court. How can the Xue family have money?

Suddenly an idea flashed in Liang Miaoshan’s mind, and he thought of Shen Zechuan, and then he thought of Xi Hongxuan.

Kong Qiu looked at Xue Xiuzhuo in shock and doubt, and said: “For such a large amount, even if I write you an IOU as the chief minister of the cabinet, I may not be able to pay it back.”

“Yuan Fu doesn’t need to give me an IOU for this money,” Xue Xiuzhuo poured a cup of tea for Kong Qiu and said seriously: “I just ask Yuan Fu to work with me to inspect the field tax in the eight cities.”

The lantern outside the inn swayed, and the wind blew the broken notices on the walkway.The faint sound of Sheng music on Donglong Street in Qudu passed through the long road of the post station, was blocked by the palace wall, and disappeared among the double eaves.Li Jianting sat beside the couch inside the palace wall, thinking of his past amidst the sound of the clanging iron horse.

Feng Quan was lowering the curtains for Li Jianting when he suddenly heard the prince ask: “Are you wearing earrings?”

Li Jianting’s shoulders and arms were soaked in black hair, and she looked at the deep dormitory, as if she was answering for Fengquan, or for herself.

“I hate earrings,” she said, turning his eyes to Fengquan like Emperor Guangcheng, smiling slowly in the dimness, “Wearing them is like a domestic animal, ready to be slaughtered.”