The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

In the first half of the year, the capital and the Zhili region suffered from a locust plague, and the imperial court paid a heavy price to barely quell its effects.

Even now, some of the imperial treasury's silver has been allocated to help the court overcome its difficulties.

Even so, the deficit in the Ministry of Revenue alone is as high as three million taels.

Everyone was hoping to recover their losses from this year's salt tax revenue, but instead, they were met with a harsh reality check.

At this moment, Jin Dang remembered the good qualities of Lin Ruhai.

When this official was in charge of Yangzhou, the salt tax increased every year.

If he hadn't been transferred to the capital last year, the salt tax revenue this year would probably have exceeded ten million.

It's a pity to think about it, but there's no going back.

I do want Lin Ruhai to return to Yangzhou, but it's a bit difficult to bring it up.

So, he asked Dai Quan, the chief eunuch in charge, to help him pass on the message.

If Lin Ruhai is willing to return to Yangzhou to oversee salt affairs, he will concurrently serve as the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief.

At that time, he will be the undisputed king of trolls in the entire South, the kind of person even the Governor-General of Liangjiang, who is stationed in Nanjing, will have to give him face.

Dai Quan was naturally very efficient and immediately told Jia Rong to explain the situation.

Jia Rong dared not be negligent and invited Jia Huan to the Ning Mansion to recount the matter again.

The reason for this trouble is to save face for the current emperor.

After all, Lin Ruhai was only transferred to the capital last year. If he were to be transferred to Yangzhou again this year, how would the court officials view it? It would greatly affect the emperor's reputation.

This is utter bullshit!

Upon hearing the news, Jia Huan's first reaction was that the emperor had lost his mind. He was treating Lin Ruhai like he was not human and was just exploiting him to the point of death.

This shameless tactic is no less outrageous than those modern streetlight hangers.

The retired emperor isn't completely dead yet, and Lin Ruhai's label is so obvious. If he were to jump back into that quagmire of Yangzhou, he would truly only have one way out: death.

He certainly won't care too much about it now; as long as the salt tax is sufficient, there won't be any problems.

But what would the Emperor Emeritus's men think? Their first reaction would probably be that Lin Ruhai had betrayed them, and they would use every means at their disposal to destroy him.

As for the Yangzhou salt merchants, they certainly wouldn't welcome a hardline and capable official like Lin Ruhai back.

Even if they didn't dare to go too far at first, they believed that since they were already familiar with each other, they would definitely make Lin Ruhai die of illness in office quickly. They had that kind of ability.

Isn't this forcing Lin Ruhai to die?

Jia Huan inwardly grumbled, but didn't show it on his face. He simply told Jia Rong and Jia Qiang not to get involved in this matter, as it was beyond their ability to get involved.

He returned to the Rong Mansion and told the Second Master Zheng about the matter.

Master Zheng immediately showed a solemn expression, and when Jia Huan told him about the dangers inside and all the possible things, his face turned pale with fright.

"How can things be like this now? How can things be like this?"

He said in disbelief, "Ru Hai is an absolutely loyal subject, and he has done so much for the court. How could he be treated like this?"

What does it mean to say that the imperial family is the most ruthless? Haven't you heard that, sir?

Jia Huan was speechless, and reminded him, "We should still tell Uncle Lin about the situation. No matter how unhappy we are about this, we should talk to Uncle Lin about it first and see how he reacts."

"No matter what, I will not agree to your Uncle Lin continuing his journey to Yangzhou!"

The Second Master Zheng's face was very unpleasant. He said with dissatisfaction, "There are plenty of capable officials in the court. Why are you always targeting your Uncle Lin?"

Even if the Second Master Zheng had a good temper, he couldn't stand the current emperor's actions, which were clearly bullying honest people.

Chapter 177 Shifting the Blame Eastward (Please Subscribe)

At the invitation of Master Zheng, Lin Ruhai brought Lin Daiyu to the Rong Mansion.

He first went to Rongqing Hall to pay his respects and leave Lin Daiyu there before being led by a servant to the main study.

Jia Huan stood at the door to greet him, and hurriedly stepped forward to say hello: "Uncle has arrived!"

"No need to be so polite, where is your master?"

Lin Ruhai, with a gentle smile, waved his hand and said, "Is there something urgent?"

"The master is in the study; he does indeed have urgent business to report!"

Jia Huan didn't keep them in suspense. As he led the way, he said slowly, "Master is in a very bad mood and is quite depressed!"

"Oh, it seems like this isn't good news!"

Lin Ruhai understood immediately. After exchanging a few pleasantries upon entering, he went straight to the point: "Cunzhou, what is it?"

The Second Master Zheng was somewhat embarrassed and subconsciously looked at Jia Huan.

Jia Huan didn't stand on ceremony and directly relayed the Emperor's meaning, finally saying in a deep voice, "The Emperor's actions in this matter are very unethical, and the Master is quite upset about it!"

Lin Ruhai waved his hand and laughed, "There's no need for that. With my current physical condition, I really can't shoulder such a heavy responsibility as the Salt Commissioner of Yangzhou!"

He is quite content with his current peaceful life and has little ambition left to strive for more.

Furthermore, as a core minister in the Emperor Emeritus's inner circle, he was not suitable to hold an important position before the Emperor Emeritus passed away, and could not withstand any further turmoil.

He still has a daughter to raise, wants to see her get married in a grand manner, and even wants to see his grandson born. How could he possibly sell his life to the current emperor?

"I've said it before, Uncle Lin would never agree to such a thing!"

Jia Huan clapped his hands and chuckled, "Life is good enough, and we've reached our current rank and status. There's no need to risk our lives for a better future!"

"There are plenty of capable officials in the court. What's the point of constantly focusing on Uncle Lin?"

Lin Ruhai smiled and nodded without saying a word, but the Second Master Zheng's brows remained furrowed.

Now that they've already spoken, it won't be so easy to refuse!

"Unless a suitable replacement is found, things won't end so simply!"

Lin Ruhai remained silent. He did know quite a few capable officials. Unfortunately, they were either newly risen civil officials or senior figures from certain factions. Even if they were willing to wade into the muddy waters of Yangzhou, he doubted they would easily agree in the current climate.

The south is the stronghold of the civil service. If the salt administration in Yangzhou, which is a vital source of revenue for the Ministry of Revenue, is also handed over, what would happen?

The events of the Ming Dynasty serve as a cautionary tale, and the Great Qian Emperor will certainly not easily repeat the same mistakes!

Officials from the aristocratic faction are too self-serving and are currently the main targets of crackdowns. It is unreliable for them to take over the position of Salt Commissioner of Yangzhou.

It is estimated that they must now guard against the interference of senior cabinet members, who could further strengthen the cabinet's influence and power.

In short, what appears to be merely the position of Salt Commissioner of Yangzhou has unimaginable implications.

The main point is that the requirements for the salt inspector in Yangzhou are not low these days. At the very least, he must obtain enough salt tax for the imperial court. This is no joke.

Lin Ruhai stayed in Yangzhou for five years, and the number of times he was assassinated was no less than two counts!

The salt merchants of Yangzhou were no pushovers. Their wealth led to boundless audacity, and a single misstep could result in their utter destruction—this is no exaggeration.

A careful investigation of past salt inspectors revealed that very few were able to escape unscathed.

It is extremely rare for someone like Lin Ruhai to serve five consecutive terms and still be able to go to the capital alive.

Among them, besides those who went to prison, there were also unfortunate individuals who were purged by the emperor and the court, as well as many who died suddenly in office or were even assassinated. And there were quite a few of them.

The latter two types of people who died under mysterious circumstances were almost all related to salt merchants.

However, the imperial court could not take drastic measures, as it would be a major incident if it disrupted the normal operation of the salt administration.

In addition, the powerful figures behind the salt merchants were formidable, making them not so easy to deal with.

In any case, Lin Ruhai has a deep understanding of this!

Previously, his body inexplicably began to weaken little by little, and no matter what methods he used, he could not recover, and it was even difficult to relieve the symptoms.

Could such methods be achieved, or even possessed, by salt merchants with a family history of at most a hundred years?

He even suspected that the deaths of his wife and only son were related to those salt merchants!

If it were any other business force, Lin Ruhai could have easily wiped them out, even at the risk of damaging his reputation. It wouldn't have been too difficult for him to do so.

However, when facing powerful salt merchants, one cannot act rashly without solid evidence.

Jia Huan chuckled, "Master, we actually have someone like that on our side!"

"Oh, tell me, who is it?"

Master Zheng was taken aback and asked curiously, "Why can't I figure it out?"

Lin Ruhai also became interested, as the position of Salt Commissioner of Yangzhou was quite dangerous.

"Jia Shifei!"

Jia Huan laughed and said, "This guy is very ambitious, we should give him a push!"

The Second Master Zheng was taken aback at first, then nodded in approval.

Even Lin Ruhai did not express any objection.

The main problem is that Jia Yucun has been too active in the last six months.

Perhaps it was because Jia Huan secretly provided intelligence when he was helping Master Zheng Er to collect the debt owed to the national treasury that he was able to thrive in the Censorate, and his ambitions swelled up as a result.

In the past six months or so, a number of officials have been impeached!