It is well known that both the Liu family and the Su family are very rich.
Because the families behind these two people are all in Jiangnan, and they are famous financial groups in Jiangnan.
Being rich is not a crime. Many high-ranking officials in the imperial court are backed by certain financial groups, so Liu Chengzhi and Su Liangyong have never denied that they are rich. This is also the reason why the two of them can stay afloat in the constant disputes between parties.
Being an official is nothing more than seeking power and profit. Regarding rights, the two of them do not have much pursuit. Regarding interests, the two of them will not use power for personal gain or make money without conscience.
They just want to live a stable life and wait for the day they retire and return home. Therefore, their consistent style is to follow the crowd, neither to stand out nor to lag behind.
When Yang Lian and others donated money just now, the two of them were thinking, should they be willing to do the same?
Until this moment, Lin Pingan turned his attention to himself, and the two of them suddenly felt that something was wrong, because Lin Pingan's eyes were very unpleasant.
There is obviously an intention to rip off someone.
"I'll donate 20,000 taels."
Liu Chengzhi said hurriedly
Zhu Liangyong on the side also quickly expressed his position: "I will also donate 20,000 taels."
This number was stated after they weighed it up. In fact, twenty thousand taels and fifty thousand taels didn't matter to either of them. It's just that Yang Lian and others donated ten thousand taels. It was definitely impossible for him to be much higher than these people. Otherwise, it will inevitably become the target of public criticism.
Lin Pingan nodded and sighed:
"Even so, we are still short of one hundred thousand taels of silver. What should we do?"
Wei Zhongxian's eyebrows were twisted into knots, and he was quite disdainful of Liu Chengzhi and Su Liangyong's 20,000 taels of silver each. But there was no way to force this kind of thing. You couldn't ask Jin Yiwei to put a knife on the other's neck and force them to take out the money.
He looked at a few people and let out a series of sneers.
"Many people look down on eunuchs like us, but when it comes time to contribute to the country, only eunuchs like us can take out all the coffins at once."
After saying this, he let out a long sigh, his eyes filled with disdain for everyone.
Yang Lian felt bitter in his heart. Even though he hated Wei Zhongxian deeply, he could not help but feel a little admiration for Wei Zhongxian at this time.
One is one, and two is two. In this regard, Wei Zhongxian is indeed upright and upright.
So he looked at the people who followed him again, but saw that those people's eyes were flickering and they were silent, so he could only remain silent.
There is no way, as Wei Zhongxian said, Yang Lian is a poor man. He has nothing in his life and naturally does not have much savings. Ten thousand taels of silver is already his greatest ability.
Liu Chengzhi and Su Liangyong naturally heard the sarcasm in Wei Zhongxian's words, but both of them had grown up, so they would impulsively donate more money because of these words.
Unless Lin Ping'an is already the son-in-law of the two of them, in that case, it doesn't matter if it is two or three times more, not to mention a mere one hundred thousand, just treat it as paving the way for his son-in-law.
But now it is still unclear what is going on between Lin Pingan and his daughter. How can he fully support Lin Pingan at the risk of offending others.
The room fell into silence. Lin Ping'an thought for a while and ordered the servants:
"Please quickly invite Jiang Xingzhou and others to come here."
After saying this, he sat down, picked up the tea cup in his hand and took a sip.
In fact, Lin Ping'an had a clear idea of why the four great talents asked him to be the dean of the academy.
Now that there is this opportunity, let these four people show their talents again, whether it is contributing to the country or using money to buy an official position, as long as they can achieve their wishes, it can be regarded as a little reward from Lin Ping'an to these people. .
A moment later, Jiang Xingzhou and the others hurried over. Seeing these people in the room, the four talented men were obviously a little stunned.
They had met Wei Zhongxian, Yang Lian and others before, but Liu Chengzhi and Su Liangyong were a little unfamiliar, but this was not the reason for their shock. What made them shocked was why so many people gathered together in Lin Ping'an's courtyard?
"This is Mr. Liu, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and this is Mr. Su, the Minister of the Ministry of Husbandry."
Lin Pingan pointed at Liu Chengzhi and Su Liangyong and introduced the four of them.
Jiang Xingzhou and others saluted hurriedly, and at the same time saluted Wei Zhongxian, Yang Lian and others.
"I called you here today because I need your help with something."
Lin Pingan said directly to the four of them:
"Liaodong is in urgent need of 600,000 taels of silver. The current gap is still 100,000 taels. I want you to fill this gap."
Hearing this, Jiang Xingzhou and the other four looked at each other in shock and were speechless for a moment.
"This kind of thing seems to be a major event in the DPRK. Why are you talking about it to us?"
"What does Dean Xiaolin mean by this move?"
The four of them were all people with quick minds, and they all thought of these questions in their minds almost at the same time.
Seeing the confused expressions on the four people's faces, Lin Ping'an said again:
"The Ministry of Household Affairs can only contribute 200,000 taels of silver. Wei Gong donated 100,000 taels alone. I donated 100,000 taels. Several adults also donated 100,000 taels. There is still no remaining 100,000 taels. I'm here, so I took it upon myself to call you over."
After hearing Lin Ping'an's explanation, Jiang Xingzhou and the others immediately understood what was going on, and they all laughed in their hearts at the same time:
"It turns out that Dean Xiaolin is coming to beat the autumn wind!"
One hundred thousand taels of silver is nothing to them. As long as one person can bear it, why call four of them?
"Dean Xiaolin looks down on us a little!"
The four of them immediately relaxed and were about to agree when they heard Lin Ping'an say meaningfully:
"This matter is related to the Liaodong war. If the four of you can donate generously, I think the hundreds of thousands of soldiers there will be grateful to you. If your Majesty knows about this, he will definitely be deeply gratified."
As soon as these words came out, Jiang Xingzhou and others were immediately shocked. He glanced at the other three people, bowed his hands to everyone in front of him and said:
"When the country is in trouble, every man has a responsibility. The four of us are willing to donate one hundred thousand taels of silver each to meet the needs of the court!"
When he said this, he did not ask for the consent of the other three people, because he knew that the other three people would definitely not refuse such a good thing.
As for the number of one hundred thousand taels, sprinkle it with water!
Hearing Jiang Xingzhou's words, Lin Ping'an showed a smile on his face and thought to himself:
"As expected, they are all clever guys!"
Wei Zhongxian was overjoyed. This was great. Originally, the difference was only one hundred thousand, but as soon as these four people came, there was an extra three hundred thousand taels. I guess Old Man Sun would be very happy when he found out about this.
Lin Ping'an clapped his hands and said to Yang Lian and Wei Zhongxian: "Okay, this matter is settled, but there is something I have been holding in my heart for a long time, and I won't be happy if I don't say it!"
Wei Zhongxian waved his hand and said, "Please tell me and listen."
Yang Lian and others also looked at Lin Pingan with questioning eyes.
But Lin Pingan sighed deeply first, and then continued:
"I'm young and ignorant, and don't know much about the important affairs of the court. I just have a trace of regret in my heart. If every time I encounter something like this that concerns the country, only a few of you can serve the public wholeheartedly, and the rest of the people deal with it indifferently, then it will be wrong after all. It is a drop in the bucket and unsustainable.
Therefore, I think the imperial court should select talents in an eclectic way, select those who can contribute to the imperial court at critical moments, and hire them in an exceptional manner. Only in this way can we unite as one and strengthen the national strength of the Ming Dynasty! "
After saying this, Lin Ping'an's eyes glanced at Jiang Xingzhou, and then looked at Wei Zhongxian, Yang Lian and others.
At this time, how could these old Jianghu people still not understand the meaning of Lin Ping'an's words?
This is a naked official!
Yang Lian has been honest and upright all his life. He hates buying an official position the most, but at this time he remained silent.
Because he was a little confused and powerless, the values he had always upheld in his heart seemed to be shaken a little.
Lin Ping'an is right. Most people in the court can only talk and talk, and few can really do practical things. Even the Donglin Party members, many of them are arrogant and rash. It's okay to talk about truth, but really It is almost impossible to get them to give real money to the court.
On the other hand, Wei Zhongxian...
Thinking of this, Yang Lian sighed silently in his heart, and his inner feelings were even more mixed.
He was silent for a long time, turned to look at Jiang Xingzhou and the others, and then said:
"I have heard a little bit about the talents and learning of the four of you. Now is the time for the imperial court to hire people. I hope you can do your best to serve the imperial court."
This sentence was said very calmly, as if to encourage the four young people in front of him, but everyone could hear that Yang Lian was recommending the four of them.
Jiang Xingzhou and the other four were ecstatic, and were suddenly speechless with excitement.
Wei Zhongxian raised his thumb and said with a smile: "Okay! It's really good!"
I don't know whether he was praising Yang Lian or Lin Ping'an.
Liu Chengzhi and Su Liangyong glanced at each other, their eyes narrowed. The more they looked at Lin Ping'an, the more pleasing they became.
"I only have 120,000 taels of silver, but I generously gave out 100,000 taels. This kind of magnanimity and magnanimity are definitely not found in ordinary people!"
Su Liangyong praised in his heart.
Liu Chengzhi carefully looked at the young man in front of him again, feeling that his previous understanding of Lin Pingan was too superficial.
As for today's performance, he has a certain amount of progress and retreat, and is thick-skinned. Even if he is nakedly using money to buy an official position, he does it openly. He still looks like a young man who is not familiar with the world. He is simply better than those old oil men who have been hanging around in the court for many years. Not to mention too much.
"It seems that this guy is an out-and-out human being. Yiyi does have a very good taste!"
He thought silently in his heart, a smile unconsciously forming on his lips.
