The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

Needless to say, this guy hasn't sorted things out yet; it's a long and arduous road ahead.

The next day, I saw Jia Baoyu at the clan school, but he was in a very low mood.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the four bodyguards surrounding him had all been replaced.

They weren't exactly ugly, but they certainly weren't pretty at all.

It's only because Li Gui was still around that Jia Huan thought the kid had been kidnapped.

The funniest thing was that during class, the four unassuming-looking servants took turns staring intently at Jia Baoyu from the window.

Those piercing eyes and meticulous demeanor delighted Jia Huan, who knew the inside story.

It's unclear where Lady Wang found these four honest children, but they have clearly been tasked with keeping a close eye on Jia Baoyu and not giving him any chance to misbehave.

Just by looking at Jia Baoyu's utterly despondent expression, one can tell how utterly devastated he was.

But the other students felt good. Since Jia Baoyu was being watched so closely, they could listen more attentively and improve their studies, which was definitely a good thing.

During breaks, the four unassuming-looking servants surrounded Jia Baoyu like pillars, essentially preventing him from interacting with his classmates.

As for his idea of ​​going to the children's classroom to find Qin Zhong, that was simply impossible.

Tsk tsk, look, who said Madam Wang's housekeeping skills are lacking?

When she gets serious, she can easily have Jia Baoyu, this troublesome devil, completely under her thumb, giving him absolutely no chance.

Not only did Jia Huan watch the commotion all morning, but the teachers and students at the clan school also enjoyed the spectacle. They knew that Jia Baoyu would definitely behave himself for a while afterward.

This guy spent the whole morning at the clan school, and when it was time for lunch break, he couldn't wait to leave, acting as if he didn't want to stay any longer, which made people feel quite helpless.

Chapter 176 The Ruthless Emperor (Please Subscribe)

The time to pay the salt tax is approaching!

This is the message from Lin Ruhai that Master Zheng brought from the Lin family.

Jia Huan suddenly realized!

Damn, I almost forgot about that!

At this moment, only Master Zheng and his son Jia Huan were in the study.

Master Zheng Er naturally didn't understand the deeper meaning behind Lin Ruhai's words, but he instinctively felt that Lin Ruhai's words were quite important, so he sent away a group of retainers in advance.

It's best not to let too many people know the explanation given by a high-ranking official of the imperial court, especially one of the second rank.

Of course, this is related to the fact that he was a court official, an instinctive sense of exclusion.

These scholars and gentlemen aren't officials, so why are they getting involved?

"Huan-ge'er, what exactly does your Uncle Lin mean by that?"

The Second Master Zheng spoke directly, so there wasn't much awkwardness.

"Master, I'm afraid the salt tax in Yangzhou will be significantly reduced this year!"

Jia Huan, full of confidence, asserted, "It must be that the newly appointed Salt Commissioner and his backers panicked and had no choice but to resort to the desperate measure of smearing Uncle Lin!"

"Hopefully we can muddy the waters and get away with it!"

"Will the salt tax in Yangzhou be significantly reduced?"

The Second Master still didn't quite understand; he really didn't have much of a concept of practical matters.

"My lord, you may not know this, but during the five years that Uncle Lin served as the Salt Commissioner, the salt tax revenue soared from less than five million taels to a peak of over nine million taels!"

Jia Huan's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he explained with a sneer, "I'm afraid this year's Huaiyang salt tax has returned to the old ways. The difference is too great, how can we not be anxious?"

"You mean, Yangzhou's salt tax revenue this year is less than five million?"

Master Zheng understood, and then his eyes widened in disbelief.

"It's very possible!"

Jia Huan sneered, "The gap is too big; neither the current emperor nor the court will agree to it!"

"If things go wrong, it won't just be a simple matter of losing your job; it could even cost you your life!"

"Master may not know, but Uncle Lin's previous salt inspectors in Yangzhou were basically on a one-year term, precisely because we were worried that they would be dragged into collusion with the Yangzhou salt merchants!"

"Even so, quite a few salt commissioners from Yangzhou were imprisoned or even beheaded in recent years. They couldn't resist the temptation of the piles of silver!"

"Then how come your Uncle Lin was able to serve five consecutive terms?"

The Second Master's expression turned slightly grave, and he retorted, "Isn't this a bit too abnormal?"

"This is definitely not normal!"

Jia Huan sighed and said quietly, "Perhaps, the current emperor or the retired emperor sees that he is doing too well, and the annual salt tax revenue is increasing, so they are reluctant to transfer him!"

"But isn't the extra salt tax collected each year taken from the pockets of those salt merchants?"

Master Zheng wasn't truly stupid; he sensed something was amiss and frowned, saying, "With such a huge loss, aren't there any who harbor resentment towards Uncle Lin?"

"how is this possible?"

Jia Huan sneered, "How old is Uncle Lin? Is your body already so weak?"

"Does the master think the problem lies with Uncle Lin himself, or with the threat he received in Yangzhou?"

The Second Master Zheng looked utterly astonished, his mouth agape, speechless.

What did he hear? Lin Ruhai was actually in mortal danger in Yangzhou? Was he kidding?

"That's a loss of millions of taels a year!"

Jia Huan chuckled and said, "Even in the capital, murders can break out suddenly, let alone in Yangzhou, where the emperor is far away and the mountains are high. The salt merchants have plenty of money!"

"Not to mention, they might have princes and cabinet ministers standing behind them!"

Master Zheng's face turned pale. He realized that the Yangzhou salt merchants were indeed not good people.

At this moment, he suddenly realized that Lin Ruhai had been sitting in such a dangerous position as the Salt Commissioner of Yangzhou for five years, which was simply a trap.

He dared not think any deeper, but even so, a layer of cold sweat had already broken out on his forehead.

"Then what about your Uncle Lin now...?"

His voice trembled slightly as he spoke, afraid of hearing a bad answer.

Fortunately, Jia Huan's reply put him at ease: "Master, Uncle Lin successfully escaped the quagmire of being the Salt Commissioner of Yangzhou last year, so there's nothing to worry about now!"

"That's good, that's good!"

Master Zheng nodded repeatedly, a slight smile on his face: "It's good that your Uncle Lin is alright!"

There definitely won't be any problems!

Jia Huan laughed and said, "We must be careful, lest some people resort to desperate measures!"

The Second Master Zheng's heart skipped a beat, and he nodded silently.

After all, he was a man of officialdom, so he naturally understood the ins and outs of the game.

Because Lin Ruhai did such a good job, his successor was even in mortal danger.

Under such circumstances, the successor and the forces behind him must be extremely unhappy with Lin Ruhai.

If they're in trouble, they might drag Lin Ruhai down with them!

At present, it is just a mild impeachment and will not have much impact on Lin Ruhai.

However, in an emergency, it cannot be ruled out that the other party might use extreme measures to drag Lin Ruhai down with them, or to make Lin Ruhai's body dirty as well.

Isn't this exactly the pattern of gossip circulating in the capital?

Seeing that the Second Master was quite worried, Jia Huan chuckled and said, "Master, there's no need to worry!"

"Uncle Lin understands this clearly and will naturally make arrangements. We just need to observe quietly, and the results will be revealed soon!"

that's the truth!

Half a month later, the emperor flew into a rage in the court and punished several officials, all of whom were involved in the salt administration.

Among them, the salt inspector of Yangzhou was directly thrown into prison and dismissed from his post for investigation!

There were nearly twenty other officials implicated!

Any court official who had some understanding of the salt administration knew this perfectly well; this was just the beginning.

This whole thing has blown up way too much.

This year, the salt tax paid by the Yangzhou Salt Commissioner's Office was less than five million taels.

Five years before Lin Ruhai became the Salt Commissioner, such salt tax revenue would have been quite normal.

But in the present moment, that would be a blatant slap in the face to the current emperor and the court.

Last year's salt tax revenue was over nine million taels, but this year it's only half of last year's. Are you kidding me? If we don't react now, won't we just become clay idols?

Not to mention, the imperial court also needed salt taxes to cover its deficit, so it was very useful.

As a result, the salt tax revenue was less than five million taels, a far cry from what had been expected.

The anger we feel today is certainly justified!