After the case, Lao Zhu also kept his promise and re-titled himself Marquis of Zhenhai on the grounds that Han Du had made great contributions.
When the announcement came that he would be re-ennobled, his father and mother, including An Qing, couldn't help but rejoice. Han Du, on the other hand, seemed to have a mediocre reaction and just accepted the imperial edict with a smile.
My mother's reaction was even greater. She directly gave rewards to all the servants in the family, and even thought of holding a big feast outside the mansion to celebrate!
Han Du frowned when he heard this, and went to Piao Piao to give up Liu's idea. "Mom, just give some rewards to the people in the house. As for setting up the running water mat, let's forget about it. Mother, don't you know why the emperor just chopped off so many people's heads?"
Mrs. Liu was suddenly shocked. Indeed, so many people had been killed in the capital just now. It was not the right time to celebrate, so she had to give up.
One day, Zhu Biao summoned Han Du into the East Palace on the grounds that Han Jingyun missed Han Du.
Han Du did indeed see Han Jingyun when he entered the East Palace, but he only saw her white eyes. Apparently, she wasn't thinking about herself at all.
Zhu Biao just made an excuse to let himself come.
As soon as we met and sat down, Handu Tea hadn't even taken a sip.
Zhu Biao said seriously: "I decided to ask my father for instructions to increase the salaries of all officials."
Just add as much as you like, it has little to do with you anyway. Han Du reached out and picked up a piece of pastry indifferently and stuffed it into his mouth. He is the fifth-rank Shibo Si Tiju and concurrently serves as the Jiaofang Si Tiju, and he is also the Marquis of Zhenhai.
But in all these years, have I ever seen the salary that Lao Zhu paid to me? As long as he stayed in the capital, Lao Zhu would always find an excuse to deduct all his salary. Even if he goes to sea by himself, these salaries will not fall into his hands.
"I want you to report this matter." Zhu Biao looked at Han Du with burning eyes.
Han Du was shocked when he heard this. The pastry in his mouth was stuck in his throat before he could even bite it.
"Woooooo~"
Han Du's face suddenly turned red from suppressing his emotions. He covered his neck with one hand and wanted to get tea with the other.
Han Jingyun was shocked when he saw Han Du's actions. He quickly picked up the tea and drank it directly for Han Du.
The slightly hot tea entered his throat, and Han Du quickly realized that the pastry suddenly became soft and dispersed under the moistening water, and finally melted in the water and flowed down.
Han Du felt much better and drank two large cups of tea before letting out a long growl. Just because of Zhu Biao's words, he almost got stuck in the pastry just now.
"Why me?" Han Du felt very aggrieved. "I don't rely on salary to make a living. Whoever needs a salary increase should go and report."
Zhu Biao sighed helplessly, "You don't rely on salary for a living, but do you know how many officials in the world rely on salary for a living? Not to mention others, just six departments alone, do you know how many there are? Hundreds Official salaries are too low. Do you know how many officials there are in the capital alone who have no place to stand under their feet and no roof over their heads?"
Han Du pondered for a moment, looked at Zhu Biao doubtfully, and asked, "How does your Highness know?"
Zhu Biao let out a long sigh and said softly, "The day before I..."
It turned out that when Zhu Biao finished handling government affairs the day before yesterday, he went to the Sixth Department on a whim. It stands to reason that at this time, the officials of the six ministries had already returned to their respective homes, but he saw there was still a glimmer of light inside the household ministry. Out of curiosity, Zhu Biao walked in. But I saw an official sitting in front of the table. There was a simple dish on the table, and it seemed that he was preparing to eat.
Seeing Zhu Biao walking in, the official was shocked and immediately bowed down.
Zhu Biao glanced at the food on the table, frowned, and waved his hand to let him get up.
Pointing to the food on the table, he asked, "Why are you preparing to eat in the Yamen if you haven't gone back so late?"
"Your Majesty, I have no place to go." The official replied hesitantly.
Zhu Biao was stunned when he heard this. How could there be no place to go? At this moment, his peripheral vision suddenly caught a glimpse of a quilt tucked away in the corner.
He immediately reacted and asked in surprise: "Do you live here?"
"Yes, your Majesty..." It seemed a little difficult to say. The official only said half of what he said and then couldn't say any more.
"What happened to you? Why do you live in the Yamen?" Zhu Biao asked.
Facing His Highness the Crown Prince's questioning, the official had no choice but to tell the truth: "I dare not deceive Your Highness. The house rented by me was taken back by the master's family three days ago. I had nowhere to go, so I had to move to this Yamen." inside."
"Why did you take it back?" Zhu Biao asked again.
The official lowered his head, and there were some words that he really couldn't say. However, faced with His Highness the Crown Prince's questioning, he had to answer. He said very embarrassedly: "Because Xiaguan cannot afford to rent the house, the owner's family naturally does not want Xiaguan to continue living there."
"Why can't you pay?" Zhu Biao didn't believe it.
Seeing that he was being questioned like this, the official had no choice but to go all out and said directly: "In the past few years, renting a house in Xiaguan only cost one yuan per month, but in the past few years, the price of renting a house in Beijing has skyrocketed. Now the house where Xiaguan once lived costs only one month. Three guan. The lower official is promoted to the eighth rank and has a monthly salary of 5 guan. If it costs three guan just to rent a house, then the xiaguan will not have enough to eat every month. The xiaguan really cannot afford it, so he has to live in this yamen. coming."
The official smiled bitterly and comforted himself: "In fact, it's okay to live here. In this way, Xianguan can save three guan of money every month, and ask someone to take it back to pull a few feet of cloth and make some clothes for the child... ..."
...
Han Du felt sad when he heard what Zhu Biao said and cried when he saw it. But Han Du stretched out his ring finger and picked his ears, as if Zhu Biao's words had made his ears calluses.
Han Du suddenly heard Zhu Biao's voice disappear, and thought he had finally finished rambling. He couldn't help but put down his fingers and raised his head with a happy face, just in time to meet Zhu Biao's somewhat angry face.
Seeing that Zhu Biao had caught him, Han Du did not admit his mistake, but complained: "The salary is from the emperor, what does it have to do with me? Your Highness should tell the emperor these words."
Zhu Biao also knew that this matter was indeed related to Han Du. The anger on his face disappeared and he sighed and said: "I never thought that the life of an official would be so difficult. Why do you think the rent for this house has increased?" It’s so fast? It’s only been a few years, and it’s gone from consistent to triple.”
Han Du lowered his eyes and said nothing, trying to avoid Zhu Biao.
But Zhu Biao looked straight at Han Du. After waiting for a moment without responding, he asked: "Han Du, what do you think?"
Seeing that he couldn't escape, Han Du had no choice but to laugh and sighed: "In the past few years, apart from rice and briquettes, what has not increased in price in the capital? Especially houses. In the past, you could buy one in the outer city for more than a thousand guan. It’s a pretty good house. But now even a house in a remote location won’t even let you look at it if you don’t have 4,000 yuan. The price of houses has increased so much, so it’s not surprising that the price of renting a house has increased.”
Zhu Biao also sighed with eyes full, "Originally I just thought that food was the biggest expense in life, but I never thought that just renting a house can cost three thousand dollars a month."
Han Du immediately smiled and said, "Since the Royal Grain Industry has stabilized food prices, although the price of rice has had some fluctuations in recent years, it has not been significant. And after planting red potatoes and potatoes in large areas, the people will not be able to There’s a shortage of food.”
"People have food to eat, so they should be wealthy, but why is renting a house so expensive?" Zhu Biao asked puzzled.
Han Du nodded immediately after hearing this. Well, these two questions are actually related to a certain extent.
He opened his mouth and said, "It is because we have become rich that the price of renting a house will rise. Not only food, but also sea trade has become popular in recent years. How many people have made a fortune through sea trade? Your Highness should know, right?"
Zhu Biao nodded.
Han Du continued: "The capital is prosperous, a place that everyone yearns for. Once people have money, they naturally want to settle in the capital. Those who have made a fortune from maritime trade will naturally buy houses in the capital. Buy. When there are more people, prices will inevitably rise.”
"I see." Zhu Biao nodded repeatedly, then suddenly looked at Han Du and said, "So, it's you who caused the increase in rental prices in the capital? After all, you see, you started the sea trade."
Damn it... I am really sitting at home, and the pot comes from the sky. I am indeed leading the sea trade, but I don’t let those who make money buy houses in the capital! After they make money, how can they control what they want to buy?
Han Du suddenly sneered and said: "If His Highness thinks this is because of sea trade, it is not too late to ban the sea now."
"This..." Zhu Biao was speechless. After smiling awkwardly, he said, "That's what I said. I never thought about banning the sea."
Forbidden sea? What a joke. Now the annual income of the Shipping Department exceeds 15 million guan, and the father's inner treasury's income from the tribute from the overseas governor's palace exceeds 40 million guan.
If anyone proposed banning the sea, everyone from the emperor to the officials would not agree. Even if he, the prince, proposed it, he would definitely be opposed by everyone.
Han Du couldn't help but smile when he saw that Zhu Biao didn't dare to mention the Forbidden Sea.
Ever since he broke the ban on the sea, he has been carefully protecting the development of sea trade. Now, Haimao has finally become a giant tree. It no longer needs its own care and can withstand the storm on its own.
After thinking about it seriously, Han Du finally shook his head and said: "If His Highness wants to propose to the Emperor to increase the salary of hundreds of officials, it is best for His Highness to say this, and it can only be said by His Highness."
Zhu Biao naturally knew this. The reason why he came to Han Du today was because he wanted Han Du to help him think of a solution. After all, Han Du has always been resourceful.
But he didn't expect that Han Du would still refuse to agree at this time.
"Do you want to stand by and watch?"
Han Du shook his head, "That's not the case, but I feel that increasing the official salary is something that is beneficial to all officials. We cannot let the officials stay out of the matter, we must let them fight for it themselves."
