After hearing that the imperial court was determined to cut off Qin's military expenses and use internal funds, the princes immediately felt uncomfortable.
Especially King Qi, as the second eldest son, has been sensible for many years and obviously has a thorough understanding of politics.
Using the court's money and using the emperor's money are two different things.
For the sake of the vassal and his son, the emperor allowed the continuous requisition of money and grain, and the internal funds were the emperor's private money, so naturally it was not as happy as before.
King Qi sighed: "These civil servants have really sharp noses. Even if they are promoted to ministers, they won't need these two years. We can wait until our vassal state is established!"
"Father has always been frugal, but this has happened to me."
As his own son, of course he understood the emperor's greed for money. Otherwise, how could he have allowed the Ministry of Internal Affairs to do business at such a high risk?
You must know that in the past dynasties, the emperor could only build some royal houses. It was the first time that he did business openly and honestly.
There was no way, Chongzhen was so poor that the emperor and the courtiers were afraid of poverty.
When summing up the experience of the previous dynasty, lack of money was the key reason.
Sure enough, as expected, within two days, the emperor summoned King Qi and told him about the incident.
The emperor said bluntly: "Although the internal funds have made a lot of money in recent years, you also have many brothers and sisters. If nothing else, the prince got married in the twelfth lunar month, and the internal funds used 500,000 yuan, and the Ministry of Household Affairs also paid 500,000 yuan. .”
"The Qin State has only a little over one million yuan so far, and your Qi State only has one hundred thousand yuan. If this continues, your brothers will become feudal lords. The expenses are not small, so you must be careful with your money..."
King Qi bowed to listen, clasping his hands and feeling quite uncomfortable.
Good guy, the Qin State is about to be completed, so it is easy to save money, but my Qi State has just started, how can I save?
"Father, I have received news from Qi State that Linzi City now has tens of thousands of people, which is no less than the capital of the imperial court."
The King of Qi said sincerely: "If this continues, it will not take two or three years to be self-sufficient without any internal funds."
"Recruiting immigrants, building cities and conquests, which one is free of charge?" Zhu Yixi certainly understood his son's struggle and reluctance, and he said casually:
"I'll be honest with you, if I spend another 400,000 yuan at most, the internal funds won't be enough."
Four hundred thousand——
When the people of Qi heard this, they were shocked and inexplicable.
Immediately, there was another burst of sadness.
The Qin State of the eldest son has sent troops and money, and will fight Hue and Thang Long next. Another million yuan is certain.
And he, the second oldest, has nothing, only five hundred thousand yuan in total.
This partiality is too serious!
Swallowing the bitterness, King Qi was silent for a while.
Zhu Yixi glanced at him and got a rough idea of his thoughts.
But there is no way, the bonus period is there, and it will really be gone after it passes.
After thinking for a moment, the emperor sighed: "That's all, this is also bad for you."
"In this case, I allow you to recruit 100,000 people in the country, as long as you can get people to agree and not force you."
"Besides, I also give you a thousand personal guards of the royal palace, which can be regarded as a help!"
When King Qi heard this, his face looked better.
You know, King Qin failed to recruit people and had no bodyguards. This was considered a compensation for him.
But this is far from enough.
King Qi wanted to open his mouth, but was stopped by the emperor: "Everything is fair. Compared with your brothers, you and King Qin are better off."
King Qi thought about it, and it was indeed true.
I am afraid that the treatment of my younger brothers will plummet in the future.
Speaking of this, the emperor casually said: "If it is difficult to recruit people at home, you can go to Qin and try."
"Annan is densely populated and there are many poor people. As long as you are willing to spend money, you won't have to worry about recruiting people."
As a place rich in human resources, Annan also has the custom of continuing the family lineage, and it is relatively poor and is the most suitable for immigrants.
King Qi was overjoyed when he heard this.
The island where Qi is located is vast
, there are towering trees as far as the eye can see, but the most lacking thing is the population.
Needless to say, domestic immigrants will leave their hometown only if they really can no longer survive, so the number of domestic immigrants is not optimistic.
Once Qi gets the support of a populous country like Annan, it will not be too convenient.
As for whether his eldest brother, King Qin, agreed, let alone, let alone brotherhood, just say that once the emperor opens his mouth, who dares to violate it?
King Qi agreed. Before leaving, he hesitated for a long time and then said: "Thank you, Father——"
Seeing that he was about to leave, Zhu Yixi sighed in her heart and said, "That's all, I'll give you some more advice!"
"It can be considered as setting an example for your younger brothers."
"Thank you, my dear father, for your advice."
Zhu Yixi said in a deep voice: "I will send someone to contact those big businessmen and tell them about the loan."
"You can borrow foreign debts in the name of Qi State, and you can pay them back one by one when Dingkou of Qi State becomes prosperous."
"This -" King Qi hesitated: "Father, it would be inappropriate to borrow money from this group of businessmen."
"What's so awkward?" The emperor said dissatisfied: "Did you know that if you can borrow money, your Qi State will be able to take shape as soon as possible, so that the balance of payments can be balanced..."
Hearing this, King Qi dared not speak, so he could only agree.
Issuing bonds is equivalent to guaranteeing the future income of Qi State, thereby raising funds for development, which is a good thing for Qi State.
After all, the development of a country must depend on population, and population migration cannot be supported without money.
A few days later, businessmen from local business groups such as Shanxi merchants, Hui merchants, salt merchants, and Shaanxi merchants were invited by the King of Qi to attend the party.
After talking about the situation of Qi State, King Qi said bluntly: "As long as there is more money, Qi State will be able to develop rapidly. Spices, wood, grain, etc. will be the main export commodities..."
"So, this loan totals three hundred thousand yuan, one thousand yuan per chapter, limited to five years, and the annual interest is five percent (five percent)."
Three hundred thousand, plus the interest of 5% per year, the interest is 75,000.
Among the private sector, this can be said to be an extremely low interest rate, or it can be said to be impossible to borrow at all.
The merchants understood this and enthusiastically made purchases.
Three hundred thousand yuan and three hundred bonds were sold out in less than a quarter of an hour.
For these businessmen, it is very worthwhile to buy the favor of the emperor and the king of Qi with a few thousand taels.
But the King of Qi rarely took advantage of such an opportunity and issued a substantive invitation to businessmen buying bonds:
Go to Qi State as a guest.
Moreover, King Qi also gave him a special privilege: he allowed creditors to send one of their sons as a bodyguard to the palace.
Obviously, this bond not only has interest, but is also an excellent opportunity to get close to the King of Qi.
Businessmen were greatly moved.
Although Lu Buwei’s rare items have been around for more than two thousand years, who doesn’t want to invest in politics?
In the past, the biggest investment of businessmen was in those poor scholars. As for the promotion of talents, they could just apologize to themselves.
Nowadays, investing in a country is much better than investing in talented people.
Seeing that the merchants were tempted, the King of Qi simply made a big deal and tricked the merchants into buying land in Qi State. The price was cheap and there was no purchase limit.
If you buy too much, you will be given an official position.
This situation aroused great heated discussion in the capital, and public opinion was greatly moved.
The trend of impeachment between the government and the opposition is rising.
But in the end, they were all suppressed by the emperor.
As long as the King of Qi doesn't sell Qi, all this will be worth it.
At this time, Yu Chenglong finally learned about his appointment and dismissal from the Ministry of Personnel:
Suiyuan, the prefect of Jiuyuan Prefecture.
After all, he took advantage.
Because in the past, in order to take care of the poor border provinces, the emperor specially promoted his officials by half a level.
In other words, although he was a fourth-rank official when he was appointed magistrate, he enjoyed the treatment of a third-rank official.
Even if it is a flat relocation, it will be based on the third grade
standards, not the fourth grade.
This is also to ensure that there is no shortage of capable officials on the border.
Jiuyuan Fuju is very close to Shanxi. Before taking office, Yu Chenglong asked for leave from the court and planned to go home for a visit.
After all, it has been nearly ten years since he left his hometown.
Shanxi, Yongning Prefecture, Taiyuan.
The closer he got to the countryside, the more nervous he became.
When I arrived at the mansion, I was in a daze with surprise.
Yu Chenglong felt unbelievable when he saw this rich stone pillar in front of him and the house guarded by noble slaves. It turned out to be his own house.
The money he has sent back over the years can at best make his family rich, but it is absolutely impossible.
"Are you the master?"
An old servant from the past recognized him.
In a blink of an eye, the family is reunited.
Asked why the house came to this point?
The old wife sighed: "When you became a colleague, people in the county would come and go, saying they were your colleagues..."
"Later, my family was already wealthy. The gifts sent by your colleagues over the years were enough to cover the expenses. You sent the money to renovate the ancestral home."
Yu Chenglong sighed and looked at the names on the gift list. Most of them were colleagues who were sent abroad for the provincial examination.
A cursory look shows that most people are still lingering on the post of county magistrate, tossing back and forth without being able to turn over.
The most outstanding one is actually just a person in the sixth department of the government.
And the doctor at the Ministry of Industry that he was serving at that time turned out to be the most outstanding person, how could he not be dealt with?
The next day, he wandered around the countryside, looking at his former hometown and feeling emotional in his heart.
Speaking a local dialect, no one doubted his identity.
I saw that the clothes of the people in the countryside were almost the same. They were all wearing ragged cotton-padded jackets, and their dark faces seemed to be impossible to clean.
Suddenly, crowds began to gather, which aroused Yu Chenglong's interest.
He walked in a hurry, squeezed into the crowd, and finally learned the whole story.
It turned out that a certain businessman in the town lent money, and the annual interest rate exceeded 30%, reaching 50%.
Someone was in a hurry for money and borrowed it, but regretted it after a few months and immediately filed a lawsuit, saying that he violated the law.
Then, the village elders began to gather and conduct public reviews.
Next to the ancestral hall, three tables stand side by side.
The person sitting in the middle is the township chief, a forty-year-old man, full of energy. He is responsible for the taxation and corvee affairs of the township; on the left is the township elder, who is in his sixties and is a well-known just man in the town.
Sitting on the right is a rural policeman carrying a knife. He is muscular and majestic. There is a scar on his face, which makes him even more majestic. He is responsible for the security of the entire township.
Seeing more and more people gathering, the township chief coughed and said, "This is Wang Laosan suing Yang Chaogui from my hometown. Since we are from the same township, we don't have to go to the county government office to honor the eldest sir in Nao Nao County. We are the only ones here today." Under trial."
The old village elder took charge of the situation and asked: "Wang San, why are you suing Yang Chaogui?"
"I sued Yang Chaogui for lending money, and the interest rate was as high as 50%. My family was completely destitute. In order to save my mother, I had no choice but to borrow money from him. Later I learned that he had violated the law..."
Wang San told it in detail.
Yang Chaogui said angrily: "You kid, your mother was so sick that she was about to die and asked me to borrow money for treatment. Now you want to regret it and sue me. You are really a white-eyed wolf."
The onlookers nodded.
But Wang Er didn't take it seriously and raised his head and said: "The court rules state that the annual interest rate cannot exceed 30%. If you break the law, I will naturally sue you——"
The village elder sighed: "That's right, Yang Chaogui, haven't you read the newspaper? Reduce rent and interest, and violators will be punished."
Yang Chaogui lowered his head helplessly.
Wang Er raised his head proudly.
"According to the rules, Yang Chaogui violated the law. There is no need to repay the money Wang Er owes him. Moreover, Yang Chaogui will have to suffer thirty punishments to serve as a warning to others."
Soon, two big men suppressed him and placed him on a wooden chair. The sticks kept falling, and blood and flesh flew everywhere.
Afterwards, the village elders continued to interrogate the case in public.
There are all kinds of trivial things, petty crimes, fights, countless fights.
When Yu Chenglong saw it, he was filled with emotions.
Others echoed: "On every first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, the village elders have to come out to uphold justice. They are very busy——"
Reducing rent and interest rates is a national policy of the imperial court and a major policy implemented by the emperor. It has been popularized in newspapers for many years and has caused a lot of controversy among the people.
But no one dared to violate it.
Yu Chenglong stroked his beard and felt relieved.
These village elders are quite qualified.
After the incident, everyone was about to disperse, but suddenly the township chief stopped everyone:
"The imperial court is planning to build a national highway from Taiyuan to Suiyuan. If you want to go, just tell me as much as you can, and I will report it to the Yamen..."
"Food included, forty coppers a day, it will take about a year and a half to practice. If you have a lot of young men in your family, you can sign up..."
At this time, Suiyuan, Jiuyuan Prefecture.
As a city south of Yinshan Mountain, Jiuyuan Mansion is not only the political center of Suiyuan, but also the economic center.
After registering as households, a large number of herdsmen are keen to come to Jiuyuan to work, purchase goods, and sell cattle and sheep.
According to statistics, during the more than ten years of peace in Suiyuan, the pastures were completely divided, which greatly reduced civil disputes.
At the same time, the implementation of silage led to a large increase in feed for cattle and sheep, and the herdsmen settled down, but it also caused the population to continue to multiply and gather in cities.
Suiyuan Provincial Government roughly estimates that the population of Suiyuan has expanded from 300,000 in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China to over 500,000 today, a population that has almost doubled.
In this case, just in case, the governor of Suiyuan reported to the court and decided to learn from Chahar and hold the Naadam Conference to select talents to join the army or enter Beijing.
From this, from Chahar, Suiyuan, to the vast Monan region, the Naadam Conference and the masked imperial examination will be held to attract elites and maintain social stability.
After staying at home for a few days, I hurried to Jiuyuan Mansion without having time to worry too much.
On the way, Yu Chenglong hurriedly hurriedly hurriedly arrived at Jiuyuan.
As the capital city, Jiuyuan was very large, gathering tens of thousands of people, and there were countless Mongolians coming and going.
