The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 212 The Sincere Emperor

On the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, Jia Rong was in the palace eating and chatting with the emperor.

Jia Rong and the emperor used chopsticks to pick up the shredded meat and put the vegetables into the dough in their hands.

The emperor wrapped the dough and duck meat, dipped them into the noodle sauce beside, and then put them into his mouth.

Jia Rong also ate quietly. In addition to the roast duck, there were also fruit desserts, steamed dumplings and other snacks. The two of them ate enough food for at least twenty people.

The emperor said as he ate: "I didn't expect my brother to know so much about food."

Jia Rong casually said, "Only when you are full can you have the strength to work. Nowadays, the princes and nobles in the city eat at home and have no money to spend. So they let people open a few more shops in the capital and pay taxes to the emperor for the money they collect."

The emperor asked curiously, "I agree with my brother's proposal and let the Ministry of Internal Affairs open some stores. However, recently some ministers have been saying that I am competing with the people for profits. I should not act so recklessly and should focus on governing the country."

Jia Rong smiled and said, "The big problem is that there is no money. The emperor holds the money in his own hands. Whether it is fighting a war, maintaining the army and civil servants' salaries, or providing disaster relief, it all requires money."

"If the emperor doesn't compete with the people for profit, will he let those officials do it?"

"When the emperor was alive, he relied on keeping all the money in his own hands to stabilize the country, and he also left a lot of money for the emperor."

"The emperor still knows how to give money to disaster victims and military officers, but are those businessmen willing to do so? How many officials are willing to donate money for this war? Not only do they not donate money, they also want to make money!"

"These people say that the emperor should not compete with the people for profits, but in fact they are competing with each other. If the emperor does not keep a few profitable businesses in his hands, those people will take them and make black money."

The emperor nodded, "Brother, you are right. I have also thought of my father's teachings. It is about time to deal with those old men who have brought disaster to the country and the people."

Jia Rong smiled and said, "No hurry. The emperor has been on the throne for less than a year, and the court has just stabilized. Even if the south loses, it won't matter. But this time they just sent them out without taking care of the situation. If they lose the battle, it will not be good. Let's wait and see until the emperor's child is born."

When the emperor heard this, he temporarily gave up the idea of solving the recent troubles, and nodded with a smile while eating.

"Okay, stay for a while and let them have a good New Year."

Jia Rong felt that a monarchy did not affect the development and progress of science and technology.

It is true that the emperor emeritus was a good emperor, but he was a hindrance to technological progress.

Various opinions have been raised before, but the emperor rejected them all for the sake of ruling.

Cement, steel, sweet potatoes, cotton, corn, maritime trade, foreign exchanges...

The retired emperor meets the requirements of a traditional monarch better than the current emperor, and his ability to be an emperor is more than five or six times higher than the current one.

His first requirement was not to enrich the country and strengthen the people, but to maintain his rule. Anything that was not conducive to his rule would be suppressed and destroyed!

Corn and sweet potatoes can keep many people alive and increase the population quickly, but they are not conducive to governance and can easily lead to an uncontrolled population, so they are not supported.

He believed that if the people under him ate too much, they would rebel, so it was enough to have something just enough, and he would not promote corn and sweet potatoes if there was no need.

If Jia Rong had not killed so many of his relatives and important ministers by blowing up gunpowder, he would not have spent a lot of money to research this.

Be steady in your work, think carefully about everything, and proceed slowly.

The current emperor agreed to almost all of Jia Rong's proposals for his own enjoyment. Even the matter of war seemed to be a joke, just a way to vent his anger.

Of course, there is no comparison between an eighteen-year-old young emperor and a wily emperor in his thirties or forties, but perhaps he will be evaluated higher by future generations.

After dinner, the two sat on the warm kang and continued chatting.

The emperor looked at Jia Rong's hair and asked curiously, "Why is your hair shorter again?"

Jia Rong replied: "I am a monk for the emperor, so of course I must persevere."

After hearing this, the emperor quickly said, "It is no longer necessary. I am in good health now, and with my brother's medical skills, I will be fine."

Jia Rong said seriously, "It's better to be serious about this kind of thing, even if it's just for the sake of good luck. And the emperor doesn't know that it's more comfortable to sleep with short hair, and it's easier to wash your hair. There's no hair falling down to get in the way when I'm writing or working. I like short hair more and more now."

The emperor thought Jia Rong was just trying to comfort him, so he smiled and said, "In that case, let's do it this way. How is the construction of the Zhongxiao Palace going?"

Jia Rong said, "It's still under construction. I plan to have someone build a 15-meter-high building in the palace, covering an area of one acre. It will use cement and brick and stone structures to build a state building that will be warm in winter and cool in summer, and indestructible."

"If the emperor allows, we can start construction in a few days."

"Okay! Let's build one and see!" The emperor did things very quickly, without using his brain at all.

He is the kind of person who only cares about the results and not the process, and he often forgets things when he is busy. He is not like the emperor who always thinks about supervising various details.

After a while, the emperor asked, "Recently, the Ministry of War has been telling me about the war in the south and asking me what to do, but I have never fought in a war, and my father is not good at it either."

The emperor was not only not good at it, he also killed many famous generals of the royal family. Jia Rong didn't care about that.

"Your Majesty, don't worry about this. Except for a few places that suffered disasters this year, most places have good weather and good harvests. The war in the south will only cost a few million silver and a few thousand people."

"Your Majesty's benevolent rule has saved countless lives. If we lose this year, we can continue next year. As the minister said, failure is the mother of success!"

Jia Rong was extremely shameless and repeated, "Failure is the mother of success."

"It doesn't matter if you lose, as long as you gain experience and understand how to solve the problem."

"Besides, even if the south is defeated, the small countries in the east, west, south and north at least know that if they don't obey, they will be beaten. We are not weak because of our defeat. We are not afraid of this at all."

The emperor nodded, and then said sheepishly: "I am worried that if I lose, it will be embarrassing and bad for the morale of the army."

Jia Rong smiled and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry. The army fights for money. They are braver after knowing shame. Moreover, many armies in history have become more courageous after setbacks. The more defeats they suffer, the stronger the atmosphere of resistance to the enemy becomes!"

“For example, the Song Dynasty lost so much, but what it lacked was not soldiers and people’s support, but an emperor who dared to fight!”

The emperor smiled and felt relieved.

"My brother is right. I should read more history books. If we fight in the south, we will fight. It's okay if we lose. I will think about where to recruit soldiers to fight in the next few days."

The emperor has already prepared for failure, and has even given up on the group of people he sent out this year. He has no confidence in them at all, and he doesn't care if they all die.

Of course, we will still give money and agree to various kinds of support.

Jia Rong said: "We can just recruit soldiers from Huguang. As long as we pay, we will have no problem finding soldiers."

The emperor looked thoughtful and quickly said, "So money is so important. I heard from several teachers that my father collected too much tax and there were many complaints from the people. He also planned to restore the original tax law of our ancestors, which would save a lot of money."

Jia Rong laughed and said, "These people must have received money from the southern landlords, or they must have a large amount of land, so they oppose the emperor's taxation on them who are rich."

"Your Majesty, please think about this. The increase in taxes collected in recent years has not only made the national treasury more abundant, but also increased tributes from various places. Even the number of rebellions and uprisings among the people has decreased."

"If we restore the previous tax system, who will suffer, who will enjoy, and who will pocket the money?"

The emperor immediately understood what was good and what was bad.

"It seems that the Jinyi Army is still not doing enough. I plan to give the Jinyi Guard some things to do and re-establish the left and right prime ministers. What do you think, brother?"

Jia Rong knew that the emperor wanted to be lazy. He did not love work like the retired emperor. He was more like a young boy who liked riding a scooter, playing with women, and riding horses around the small palace.

"Of course you can. Now is a time of peace and prosperity. It would be good to have more people to handle the minor matters. However, it is better for the emperor to hold on to the power of the army and the finances himself."

The emperor asked Jia Rong, "Brother, are you willing to help me handle government affairs?"

Jia Rong shook his head decisively, "I really don't have time. I already have enough things to do."

The emperor saw that Jia Rong did not call himself a minister, and smiled and said, "That's true. I heard that my brother helped many women give birth."

Jia Rong knew what topics the emperor was concerned about. These were the only topics that young people were concerned about.

"Yes, childbirth is bloody and bloody. Your Majesty has never seen this, so he doesn't understand. If you see this often, you will lose interest in women."

The emperor thought about it for a moment, and soon he didn't want to think about that disgusting thing anymore, so he said directly: "I have asked people, and they say that people often die during childbirth, and neither adults nor children can be saved. It happens that my brother is a skilled doctor, so I would like to ask him to help my concubines deliver their babies when the time comes."

Jia Rong said, "That's fine, but I've also failed. I've delivered more than 50 babies recently, but I couldn't save two of them. They died right after birth."

The emperor consoled him, saying, "Life and death are determined by fate. Just do your best. In the past, many of my father's concubines died in childbirth, and he never blamed the imperial doctors. Although I have never experienced it, I know the dangers involved."

Jia Rong agreed.

After going out, Jia Rong went to visit the Queen Mother again. When the Queen Mother was massaging Jia Rong's legs, Jia Rong suddenly remembered something!
"The Emperor and I have known each other for...just over a year, I think? Why do I feel like we've known each other for a long time?"

Jia Rong touched the Queen's head, looking puzzled.

The Queen raised her head and smiled: "That's true, the master and I have only known each other for a little over a year, but it feels like we have been married for more than ten years~"

Jia Rong hugged the Queen Mother, and the Queen Mother obediently stayed close to Jia Rong and let him touch her.

Jia Rong thought about it and finally understood a truth.

Some people cannot be tamed even if you raise them for sixteen years.

Some people, after just knowing each other for a few months, become one-sided, close friends who can confide in each other for life.

(End of this chapter)