The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 322 Knowing the Law and Breaking it
The 17th day of the first lunar month, the sixth year of the Holy Dynasty.

After a long absence, Jia Rong sat on the sacred supreme throne again and accepted the worship of tens of thousands of officials.

"Greetings to His Majesty! Long live the Holy Emperor!"

"Be flat!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The Minister of Works came forward to report the matter.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Industry has already set up telegraph offices in the Imperial Palace, the Holy Palace, the Cabinet, and the Security Department. We are currently setting up telegraph offices in the four eastern provinces, Central Asia, Tianzhu, Luzon, Songjiang, Japan, and overseas."

Jia Rong has invented the telegraph through batteries and electronic technology, and it is now being promoted.

The principle of telegraph is relatively simple, mainly involving circuits, electromagnetism and coding technology.

The required materials such as copper wire, iron core, battery, etc. can be easily obtained nowadays.

Moreover, the requirements for precision machining are low and can be achieved by hand-making.

It has obvious practicality, military and commercial value and is easily accepted and promoted by society.

The telephone involves acoustics, electromagnetism and signal conversion technology, which is more complex and has not been developed yet.

Jia Rong nodded and said, "We should continue to develop airplanes, ships, trains, cars and agricultural harvesters. We should also build more schools and train more talents."

The Minister of Works replied, "As ordered! Your Majesty is wise!"

After the Minister of Works sat down, the Minister of Revenue stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the soldiers who returned triumphantly from Spain have transported the Spanish royal treasures to the Bohai Bay."

"In seven days at the latest, the fifty large sailing ships sent by the Spanish province will bring ten thousand tons of silver to Beijing as a gift, as well as gold and various rare treasures, with a total value of five hundred million taels!"

After hearing this, all the ministers said happily: "Your Majesty is wise! Long live the Holy Emperor!!"

Of course such good things should be praised.

Ten thousand tons of silver alone is equivalent to the fiscal and military expenditures of these years, not to mention that this is a gift after the expansion of territory!
Nowadays, having a lot of money is just a number, but Jia Rongwei has already found the fun of having a lot of money.

Jia Rong said with a smile: "I have received a secret report that someone has stolen my credit!"

"Send the Royal Guards to the port, and bring the scales made by the Ministry of Industry to weigh the trucks one by one. After they are weighed, they will be loaded into the warehouse and weighed again before entering the warehouse."

"If the amount is wrong, then someone must have embezzled my money."

"I will naturally not be stingy with rewards for meritorious service. After verification, each soldier transported back this time can be rewarded with 50 taels of silver, officers with 100 taels, and chief officers with 1,000 taels!"

"I believe that those who are loyal to the country are all upright and can control their own desires. However, I don't want to make things worse just in case. If there is any shortage, you can make up for it yourself. I will not pursue the matter."

"The Inspectorate and the Royal Guards will go to the port and wait for them to get off the ship and spend their money, which would be embarrassing."

All the officials bowed their heads, this matter was obvious.

It is inevitable to be greedy when handling money, especially when the escort period is as long as two or three months and the cargo is tens of thousands of tons of gold, silver and jewelry, and the distances between the ships are so great, how can the people on duty not make some for themselves.

This kind of thing is usually the default.

But if you get caught, you deserve it. Just consider it your bad luck.

Jia Rong gave some face and let him make up for it.

The fear is that the money will be spent when getting off the ship, or it may be transferred secretly.

The Inspector General asked, "Your Majesty, if the replacement is not available, what should be done?"

Jia Rong had no expression on his face, and said casually, "For those with small amounts, I will not pursue the matter. I will let these meritorious people go home to reunite with their families. For those with a shortfall of more than one thousand taels, I will interrogate them in detail, starting with the officers and generals on the ship. I don't believe they don't know."

"If you embezzle more than 10,000 taels, you will be dismissed from your post and sent home."

"If more than 100,000 taels are embezzled, the crime is death, but the rest of the people will not be implicated."

"If the embezzlement exceeds one million taels, the person will be sentenced to death, and all property will be confiscated. The men in the family will be exiled to Luzon to work as miners, and the three generations of descendants will not be allowed to go to school. The women will be sent to the Jiaofangsi. The elderly can keep one acre of thin land and one house without punishment."

One million taels is equal to 100,000 jin.

One ton is 2,000 jins, and 100,000 jins is 50 tons!

If a ship could lose 100,000 kilograms of silver, it is definitely not a problem of one person, and the highest official on the ship is definitely not innocent.

The Inspectorate and the Embroidered Uniform Guard went to investigate quickly, and together they were people from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of War to prevent some people from rebelling and escaping, or sabotaging the ships, after the truth was revealed.

Jia Rong added, "For those places where I promised to exempt taxes, I will give them money this year according to the number of males in the family. After all, the whole country is tax-free this year, which doesn't show how good my reward is to them."

"This year, the places that have made contributions will be given money according to the number of males in the household registration, with each person receiving five taels of silver. If there are girls but no boys in the family, or widows and children, two taels of silver will be given to each person to show my grace."

Everyone said in unison: "Your Majesty is benevolent and righteous!"

Jia Rong was not short of money, and soon added: "I will take some silver to share with you all, and all officials above the fifth rank will be given houses!"

"For all officials in Beijing, their children can go to school for free! The school will provide lunch at noon! I will pay for all books and stationery!"

"Anyone who has a meritorious service, regardless of whether he is an official or not, as long as he still has a meritorious service, can receive an additional five taels of silver in subsidy every month! This includes engineers, liberal arts, and military non-commissioned officers!"

"All hereditary nobles, princes, nobles, etc. can see a doctor and get medicine for free when they come to Beijing. I sympathize with the meritorious people who are away from home all year round, so I also take care of their parents, wives and children. These people can also come to Beijing to see a doctor for free, and can also go to school for free."

Jia Rong was talking to the ministers about good things when suddenly a eunuch came in from outside the door. The eunuch walked over quickly. Jia Rong frowned and asked, "What's the matter?"

The eunuch looked at Jia Rong and said carefully, "Your Majesty, I have military intelligence to report."

The ministers were all looking at this eunuch. Who would dare to provoke the Holy Dynasty now?
The Minister of War became excited. It seemed that it was time to show off his achievements again.

The left and right prime ministers looked solemn, and felt something was wrong.

Jia Rong looked at the eunuch who refused to speak, and cursed him while sitting on the high platform: "You bastard! If you have something to say, just say it! What shameful thing did I have that I want you to whisper?! Speak loudly!"

The eunuch knelt down quickly and shouted anxiously: "Your Majesty! The King of Yunnan and the King of Western Xinjiang have rebelled, saying that Your Majesty is dead and they want to go to the capital to revive the country..."

Zong Zheng, the King of Donghai and the King of Shu were all shocked! Their faces were filled with astonishment!

Are those two idiots out of their minds?

Jia Rong frowned and asked softly, "Is the news true?"

The eunuch shouted, "Your Majesty! It's absolutely true! The King of Yunnan and the King of Western Xinjiang have contacted the local chieftains. Some of them are unwilling to cause chaos, while others have taken the initiative to report it. Now fighting has broken out in Yunnan and Guizhou."

Jia Rong sighed helplessly, "This group of people is really hopeless, and their rebellion is so childish."

The young Zongzheng quickly stood up and said, "Your Majesty! I am willing to go and quell the rebellion and kill these traitors!"

The Minister of War took the initiative to say: "Your Majesty! I am willing to serve you!"

Many generals also stood up quickly.

"I am willing to fight the enemy and defeat the rebels!"

"I am willing to sacrifice my life for your majesty! I will fight bravely against the enemy!"

"I am willing to go with you!"

Regardless of whether they were members of the royal family or not, all the military generals were vying to gain merit at this time.

Even civil officials were willing to go over and deal with those royal families.

Jia Rong casually said, "Let the local garrison solve it themselves. The King of Xijiang and the King of Yunnan have committed crimes and have not repented. They have also started a war that is against the will of heaven and earth. All the participants in this incident should be killed on the spot!"

"Those who deserve to be put to death should be put to death. This is considered as giving them dignity! I order the chieftains and county magistrates in various places to kill the rebels. Those who kill the rebels will be rewarded!"

This time, Jia Rong took ruthless action against the royal bloodline.

But I'm still curious, why did those two idiots rebel?
I really can't figure out why no matter how hard I try.

Jia Rong sent people to investigate why those two idiots rebelled.

Before the results of the investigation came out, the two idiots who rebelled to support the king were suppressed by the local chieftain of the poor mountain village.

After seeing the battle report, Jia Rong suppressed his anger and waited to go to court.

"Greetings to His Majesty! Long live the Holy Emperor!"

"Be flat!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Jia Rong quickly cursed: "The chieftain of Chongqing defeated the main forces of the King of Western Xinjiang and the King of Yunnan, who claimed to have 50,000 troops, with only 3,000 women and children. Those two princes are simply idiots among idiots!"

"Don't they have brains? What are they thinking? I have at least a million troops! Do the two of them think they can march straight in and fight all the way to the capital with just those servants and scattered warriors?"

"It's an insult to the Holy Dynasty for such an idiot to be the prince!"

The princes and nobles of the royal family remained silent.

Jia Rong said angrily, "Go to school! From now on, the children of all princes must go to school and study! Increase their knowledge and brains! The same applies to my sons! Whoever does not have a good reputation in the future will not inherit the throne! Otherwise, let an idiot inherit the throne, which is embarrassing!!"

"I will establish a rule today! Military achievements do not count. Anyone who cannot complete university studies in liberal arts or science will not be allowed to inherit the hereditary throne! Regardless of age!!"

All the princes, dukes and nobles were affected this time, but they had nothing to say and did not have the courage to reason with the angry emperor.

Next, I can only find ways to educate my children and force them to study hard.

Jia Rong quickly rewarded the chieftain who suppressed the rebellion, directly made him an earl, and rewarded him with 100,000 taels of silver.

It was only after all the rewards were given out that we received the results of the investigation.

It turns out that gossip kills people...

"The Holy Emperor's daughter ascends to heaven, the capital is without a master, and the world is in great strife!"

Jia Rong looked at the newspaper from Yunnan and was speechless for a while.

These princes had no right to read the government's internal reports, yet they actually believed the tabloid rumors spread by outside businessmen.

Moreover, this news was only released in mid-August last year. Now it’s the New Year. Why is the response so slow?
"Forget it. How can I possibly know what an idiot is thinking?"

Jia Rong soon stopped thinking about this matter and started to use money to lure corrupt officials, and then arrest and punish them severely depending on his mood.

(End of this chapter)