Chapter 1037: The Source of Evil

Although the Cao family and his group came early, the streets outside the Examination Institute were already crowded, and they were all chariots and horses that sent scholars to the death.

Seeing this, Cao Yong picked a free place and asked the person to stop the carriage. He and Cao Song and Cao Feng came to the scene on foot and walked to see Tianyou. Two servants followed them with bamboo baskets.

Seeing that Tianyou looked bad, Cao Yong whispered: "It takes three days for a fight, don't worry. If you are tired, go to the room and have a nap."

Tianyou nodded, bid farewell to his father and two uncles, and personally picked up the bamboo basket and lined up to enter the venue.

Cao Song was going to the palace to be on duty, and Hang Seng also wanted to go to the palace to study with his uncle and nephew, and rode his horse to the palace together. Cao Yong and Cao Fu brothers sent the children back to the mansion and then went to the yamen together.

When they were about to go to the Ministry of Revenue, Cao Yong continued to go east, Cao Feng was going south, and the two brothers went to the yamen.

When he arrived at the Ministry of Revenue, Cao Yong asked someone to ask if the Thirteenth Prince had arrived.

He originally wanted to wait a few days to investigate the sales of opium in the capital and write a serious memorable memorial. Then, thinking that the opium is profitable, besides the Ninth Prince, there are other powerful people involved in this matter. Why did he make such a thankless limelight? He still quietly told the Thirteenth Prince that it would be better to implement it in words.

As soon as the news came from the Li family, Cao Yong, who was the nephew, had to ask a question even if he wanted to stand by and watch. Because Gao said that he was also a family member of the Li family, Xiangyu, and the granddaughter of the Li family.

After a while, I heard that the thirteenth prince had arrived.

Cao Yong stood up, went to the central hall, and asked someone to report.

The Thirteenth Prince heard his voice and called him in.

He was not surprised that Cao Yong came over and said, "The Li family's case is almost done, I think you can't sit still."

Cao Yong was a little embarrassed and said, "I want to bother Thirteenth Master again."

The Thirteenth Prince said, "If you don't come to look for me, I will still complain that you are out of sight." As he spoke, he pointed to a chair and asked Cao Yong to sit down and talk, "Li Xu and his son have been taken to the capital. In ten days and half a month, they can arrive in the capital. Please comfort her more and ask her to rest assured and not worry too much."

Cao Yong hesitated for a moment and said, "Thirteenth Master, look at the emperor's meaning, how will you deal with the Li family? You also know that my grandmother Gao, with her great niece and granddaughter, is now living in my family."

The Thirteenth Prince stood up, walked a few steps, and said, "Cao Yong, I don't have much to say to you, I just want to talk to you. Gao has the kindness of raising the Lingtang, and the emperor always has to keep a little decent. She is also Li Xu's relative, not a humble relative. Even if the Li family is not, it should not be implicated in Gao. As for Li Xu's granddaughter, he is a humble relative, and he is on the list of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so he must have a "small choice".

This result was as expected by Cao Yong.

But in front of the Thirteenth Prince, he still showed some gratitude and said, "The emperor is kind, and the prince is also worried."

The Thirteenth Prince shook his head and said, "It's nothing. According to my original intention, I wanted to help Li Zhizai deal with it, not for the side, but just to protect the decentness of the old ministers of the previous emperor... But this case involves some reasons in the early years, and the emperor has annoyed him... There are still shortcomings. If you work in the Ministry of Revenue, you should also know the emperor's embarrassment..."

Cao Yong sighed and said, "I know, it's not easy for the emperor, so many people are watching..."

If you don’t use these foreign officials who have lost power as a raft, how can you rectify the administration and enrich the national treasury? The treasury has no money, and the emperor is afraid that he will be unsure.

The Thirteenth Prince picked up a note from the document and handed it to Cao Yong.

Cao Yong stood up and took it with both hands to read it. It was Li Wei's reply to the official affairs, and Yongzheng gave it to the Thirteenth Prince for handling.

"The salt tax has been sharply reduced!" Cao Yong looked roughly and whispered.

The Thirteenth Prince nodded and said, "This is exactly what we are talking about. The salt well was opened a few more mouthfuls than in the early years, and the salt tax was produced, but the salt tax was only less and there was no increase. Why is this? It's just that there are more and more corrupt officials, and more and more greedy people. Li Zhizao was involved in the old royal affairs in his early years, and in the past few years he was greedy for salt taxes and silver. No matter how the emperor judged him, he would not be wronged."

This was explained to Cao Yong for a special trip, but he was afraid that he would be afraid of it and randomly guess the intention.

Cao Yong couldn't say that he didn't mind Li Xu's sentence, so he had to distract himself and said, "Your Majesty, there is something that makes people alert. Opium in the capital is spreading. In the past, it only had opium in medicine shops, but now it has been seen in other shops."

The Thirteenth Prince knew the harm of opium and frowned and said, "Yes, many people don't know the harm and regard it as a good thing. Some days ago, someone was filial to our concubine. I have mentioned it with the emperor that the emperor is asking people to investigate. The number of opium imported by Guangdong customs is a certain number. With such a spreading speed, there are a large number of smuggled opium behind it."

Although there are still more than a hundred years before the Opium War, Cao Yong could not stand by and watch the impact of opium on the Chinese.

The UK used the "East India Company" to dump opium into China in order to reverse the unfavorable situation of the trade deficit with China and export silver from China.

Although there is nothing to criticize between countries, this method is actually a shady and shady.

Cao Yong did not have the ability to change the world, nor did he have the ability to turn stones into gold, which turned China, a major agricultural power into a wall of iron, but he fought against the historical collision of industrial emperors.

All he can do is to "treat the person's body with his own way" to "prevent problems before they happen."

"Thirteenth Master, I have heard that there are opium cultivation in Yunnan," said Cao Yong.

It seems that the Thirteenth Prince is really concerned about this matter and knows it, saying: "It was found since the end of the Ming Dynasty, but it was just planting medicinal materials, and the number was not large. I don't know what it is now, but it is not only a robbery of grain and land, but it is also a root of disaster. It is really not enough, there is only a ban."

Cao Yong said: "Thirteenth Master, as far as I know, this opium is imported, a box of 120 kilograms, but it costs 500 taels of silver, and a kilogram of silver. A few years ago, when I went to Guangzhou, I saw a planted earth tobacco. In southern Yunnan, one acre of poppy can make more than two kilograms of opium paste. If it were grain production, a syr of rice yielded a mu of rice would be only three cents to one qian of silver. If it were to plant poppy, 50% of the heavy taxes would be collected, and 4 taels of silver would be collected per mu of land, which is dozens of times the tax of ordinary land. If one million acres were opened, the tax-controlled silver would increase the income of four million taels of silver in a year."

Listening to Cao Yong's talk, the Thirteenth Prince still listened with relish at first, but then changed his face and said in confusion: "Cao Yong, is opium a disaster or you told me, why do you think of it again? I know that the Ministry of Revenue has a tight silver, but you can't come up with such a way! This is drinking poison to quench thirst!"

"Thirteenth Master, I have not changed my opinion. This opium is still a disaster. It's just that it's better to be dispersed than to be dispersed, and it's better to be dispersed from the inside than to be dispersed from the outside!" Cao Yong said seriously.

The Thirteenth Prince knew the elegant intention when he heard this. He thought for a while and said with a smile: "I know you are not a fool. But this is not a matter of one sentence. He not only knows that it is a disaster, but also spreads to other countries. In the end, it is not bright enough and loses the national body."

"Thirteenth Master, after being addicted to opium, he is a useless person. If all the people in the junggar Mongolia smoke opium, they would not have made trouble in Western Xinjiang for many years; if Russian subjects smoke opium, they would no longer be able to show off their power in the northern Xinjiang. They can still use local tobacco to supply domestic medicinal supplies and cut off the import of opium from the East India Company, and they can save much money inside and outside." Cao Yong continued to persuade.

This idea has been around for a long time, but it has not been formed in the early years.

Now it seems that opium is like a sharp blade. If used well, it can also benefit the country and the people. Naturally, the impact on the people's livelihood and economics of other countries is not what Cao Yong is concerned about.

The Thirteenth Prince's eyes were already lit, and he said, "The East India Company belongs to the United Kingdom. When they know that opium is not a good thing, they smuggled and trafficked in the Qing Dynasty, they should let them suffer their own losses!"

Now, Britain is beginning to colonize and expand. If it weren't for the time being, it would have been thinking about China long ago. Even so, they did not stop and occupied Hong Kong more than a hundred years later.

There is also Portugal, which occupies China's Macau, exposing China's South China Sea to the present of these European wolves. If China hadn't been too large, with a large population, and its economic development was not much behind the world, they would have been bitten to the ground long ago.

"Yes, prince, maybe if you use opium well, you can resist the enemy outside the country and destroy the enemy in the bud." Cao Yong said with a smile.

The Thirteenth Prince was very happy and said, "That's right."

Looking at his appearance, he couldn't wait to go to the imperial front and without saying much to Cao Yong, he hurried out of the yamen.

Cao Yong returned to his own room in Dongtang, sat behind the desk, took the teacup and used it, and the turbid air in his heart also dissipated a lot.

Li Wei happened to be in Yunnan and the treasury was short of money. Yongzheng would probably adopt this "suggestion".

The country is rich and the people are strong, and the people are strong and the country is rich. These two points complement each other...

*

Hall of Heart, East Warm Pavilion.

After listening to the description of the Thirteenth Prince, Yongzheng's mouth had already been bent.

He is the emperor, not a gentleman. He uses opium to weaken the enemy. Although the means are not bright enough, as long as it has a useful effect.

"Cao Yong can spread from opium, but when he thinks of exporting opium, his mind is very active!" He smiled and praised.

Then the Thirteenth Prince said, "I want to say that he was frightened by the emperor's successive grace, and he tried his best to think about how to repay the emperor's kindness. Otherwise, he would not have known the news of the spread of opium, so he came up with such a way to deal with it."

When talking about this, Yongzheng remembered the decree he had issued before and summoned the Sixteenth Prince to come over and asked about Li's maid and the man and woman.

The Sixteenth Prince sorted out the roster yesterday and was about to ask for an order today. When he saw Yongzheng ask a question, he respectfully entered the roster.

Yongzheng took it over and saw that the ten palace ladies were all selected to enter the palace last year. After learning the rules for a year, they had not assigned responsibilities. They chose ordinary women from the Baoyi family who had no official positions. The men and women from the six households were confiscated into the Baoyi banner for punishment and were not very resentful because they were given to their subordinates.

The ten palace maids all have parents and brothers in the Internal Affairs Office. Most of the men and women from the six households also have clan members and relatives in the Internal Affairs Office.

Yongzheng looked at the Sixteenth Prince with a smile, and said with a little deeper meaning, "Just follow this book to give it to others."

The sixteenth prince suddenly realized that he had not realized it and bowed to receive the order.

Back at the Office of the Internal Affairs, the Sixteenth Prince asked someone to mention all of these people in a booklet.

This large number of people passed by was already a big trouble for the Cao family.

The sixteenth prince was unwilling to cause trouble for Cao Yong, so he avoided asking them to pack their luggage by themselves, so he avoided the things he had to carry. The clothes from the palace were replaced when they arrived at the Cao family.

Although the booklet says ten palace maids and six men and women, it actually includes the minor children of these six men and women, and there are eleven people. In this way, the total population of the Cao family is thirty-three.
Chapter completed!