"What etiquette?" Gao Lingxiang waved his fan, "I am just a beggar's den here, I am not that particular. Tianlai Novelｗｗ『ｗ．⒉"
Butler Mo hurriedly said: "Master Gao has killed a villain. How can I compare with you? Don't make fun of me." After that, he hurriedly handed over the gift list and letter.
Gao Lingxiang did not open the letter, but looked at the gift list first and nodded. "Master Mo, this gift is too expensive."
The housekeeper said hurriedly: "Master Gao, what are you talking about? Our master told you when you came here. This is to congratulate you on inheriting the position of head of the Guangzhou Prefecture. This is a great happy event. Our master will take advantage of it. This little thing is just Add some joy."
As he spoke, he picked up an exquisite box with a patterned paper label and presented it to him.
"This is Australia's famous product. It's called 'South Sea cigar'. It's a rare thing. The tobacco leaves used in the bread here were originally produced in the purple bamboo forests of the South China Sea. Australians drove big iron ships and cut through the waves to get here. It only lasts a year. There are only about a hundred or so, and my husband occasionally got a few. I heard that my father-in-law likes rare Australian products the most, so if he didn’t save one, he would wrap it up and send it to his house.”
"My father-in-law is so polite, so polite." After all, Gao Lingxiang is young and is used to pursuing all kinds of Australian items. Smoking cigars is a habit I picked up a long time ago. Always cut a cigar every day. Naturally, we know that the most advanced cigars are the Nanhai cigars specially supplied by this veteran. There were several other Australian items among the gifts. Everything is valuable. Mo Rongxin has also made enough plans.
Gao Tianshi picked up a glass bottle. The glass bottle was etched with beautiful flowers of various colors, and the rim of the cup was outlined with gold wire - at first glance, it was the craftsmanship of Zizhenzhai. Not cheap.
He looked up at the sky through the cup, and casually asked: "My father-in-law spends too much money. I heard that it is not easy to collect the field rent outside recently, and it costs so much money!"
This gift is worth at least five hundred taels, which is a generous gift. It seems that my father-in-law's matter is not a big deal. Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent such a large sum of money, especially now.
The "clearing land property" campaign launched by the Guangzhou Municipal Government has been launched in several prefectures and counties around Guangzhou. Most of the land owned by the gentry in Guangzhou is concentrated in this area. This cleanup has uncovered a large number of hidden property rights. Due to problems such as land, land tax inconsistency, dedication, etc., the original rent collected has been greatly reduced.
In the more remote areas, although the Australians have not yet started to "clean up", the place is not peaceful, and the village owners either cannot collect the rent, or if they do, they lie about the poor roads and keep it in their hands without paying it. The issue of land rent has become the most worrying thing for the gentry landlords.
There are three thousand acres of land under the name of Wenlan Academy. These three thousand acres are equivalent to the private property of the directors and stewards, and two-thirds of the income is embezzled by them. As the head of the courtyard, Mo Rongxin embezzled the most. The Mo family's wealth and wealth are indispensable to Wenlan Academy's property.
The housekeeper said quickly: "We can only manage with caution. The master said that the Mo family and the Gao family are connected and share the same branch. Now the world is turbulent and the situation is unstable. It is even more important to share the same sentiment and support each other."
Gao Lingxiang nodded slightly. No matter how many old grudges he had against Mo Rongxin, what he said was on point. The Mo family needs the Gao family, so why doesn’t the Gao family need the Mo family? No matter how famous the Mo family is, they can still be considered gentlemen. He was able to speak well in front of many gentry in the city. There is much room for maneuver compared to the situation where my family is rich but humble.
He opened Mo Rongxin's letter, skipped the polite words at the beginning, and went directly to the back part.
It turns out that Xinrong's request to him was an old matter.
More than ten years ago, a scholar studying at Wenlan College was dissatisfied that the Mo family and others had long been monopolizing the college's assets and embezzling funds. He contacted a group of classmates and started a quarrel. This scholar had an elder who was an official in Beijing. He was also a scholar, and he also had the title of Li. They refused to give up and asked Mo Rongxin and others to "resign", fire a group of Mo family and Zhong family members who were originally employed in the hospital, and return the embezzled hospital property. Otherwise, they would jointly file a lawsuit with their classmates and take the lawsuit to Guangzhou Prefecture.
Students who had been bullied for a long time were also encouraged to cause trouble. There was a lot of discussion about this matter among the people. Even the prefect of Guangzhou asked people to investigate the matter and asked Mo Rongxin to "handle it well".
This scholar studied to death and took it upon himself to plead for the people. No matter how much Mo Rongxin tried to persuade him, or how many benefits he promised, he refused to take any advice and accepted death. What's more, there are many gentry families who can't stand the Mo family behind them, fanning the flames and fighting to the end to uphold justice and fight against the evil gentry.
Mo Rongxin was in trouble for a moment. The scholar who came to write cannot be bribed with money, and the scholar who came to fight has a reputation, and there are also elders of the same clan who are officials. If something happens to him, he will have to break up his family.
In a dilemma, he went to discuss with Gao Tianshi - he had colluded with the Guandi Temple people for a long time. Mo Rongxin's long-term control of the position of the academy director was related to the support of the Guandi Temple people: every time the academy re-elected Every time, Gao Tianshi would send a large number of beggars to the scene to cheer him up.
Gao Tianshi thought for a moment and agreed with a pat on his chest. On the one hand, he asked Mo Rongxin to temporarily relent, and fired a few of the teachers, stewards, and other students in the courtyard who were the most outraged by the public. The food and bedding that were originally poor were also slightly improved... He first came up with a delaying strategy. Put things off until later.
It didn't take long for the scholar to be lured into a gambling addiction. Within ten days, he lost everything. His originally well-to-do family couldn't help but ruin it. He even lost his ancestral home and owed a large amount of gambling debt. The leak in the house coincided with the rain, and within a few days, news spread that the scholar's wife and the monk had been arrested. He was ruined and impoverished. In the end, he was hanged with a rope in the academy. As soon as the leader fell, the vigor of the "Bao Mo Movement" was gone. Morong Xin followed the stick and cut and beat the snakes, suppressing the massive "Bao Mo Movement".
Naturally, this seductive gambling game and seducing women from good families were all done by professional liars among the people of Guandi Temple. Not only did he get rid of Mo Rongxin's siege in an instant, but he also completely ruined the reputation of his whole family, forcing him to commit suicide. This hand was cruel and poisonous, not only making it difficult for outsiders to catch the Mo family, but also "killing the chicken to scare the monkeys" for those in the academy who were determined to go against the Mo family. It could be said to serve multiple purposes. Mo Rongxin was impressed by Gao Tianshi's energy, so he married his son and daughter.
Unexpectedly, this old case from the past many years would be revealed again with the changes in Guangzhou city! It is said that several former classmates of the scholar jointly reported this matter to the Australian Guangzhou Municipal Government. Although nothing has been done yet, the Australians have been doing things to "reform old things and reform old things" since they arrived in Guangzhou. This matter was exposed again. If it comes out, the Australians may take advantage of this to cause trouble and take away the college's property...
In his letter, Mo Rongxin humbly asked for advice and asked him to find a way to suppress the matter. In his letter, he also reminded Gao Lingxiang that the Gao family could earn 500 taels of silver from the academy every year.
Gao Lingxiang snorted, this matter is too difficult to handle!
In the past, this was nothing, but what time is it now? The Australians had just solved a witchcraft case. If my father hadn't died in time, my whole family might have been tied up and taken to the execution ground to "behead everyone". Now it's too late for Gao Ling Xiang to pretend to be his grandson, so why would he be willing to swim in this troubled water?
Gao Lingxiang slowly straightened up and said, "My dear father-in-law is right! The world is not peaceful, and the whole family should help each other in times of trouble. However, your father-in-law's family has a great cause, and it doesn't matter even if some of them are missed in the academy; I am a tree with no roots here. On weekdays, I have to rely on the men's fingers to get by. Now the soldiers have entered the city and arrested the refugees everywhere. Go to the street and see how many people there are at this time of year. Those who dare to go to the streets to ask for a living, let alone those who are friends, will eat and drink from me. There are thousands of mouths - the soldiers of the imperial court dare to kidnap imperial envoys and kill chief officials without pay - these thousands of people, If you can't take care of anyone, you dare to come and eat me too."
These words were originally his true words, but Butler Mo regarded them as a way to take advantage of Qiao and wanted to take advantage of Mo's family. He quickly apologized and said with a smile: "What did my father-in-law say? My father-in-law said that no one can settle this matter except you! He can't forget your benefits. Besides, your third brother is also in the academy now. I heard that he Getting very close to those sour people..."
This struck a chord with Gao Lingxiang. The "fifth brother" mentioned by Butler Mo was named Gao Lingda. Only nineteen years old this year. He is the youngest son of Gao Tianshi. He was clever and eager to learn, and he read well and became a literary boy. After writing the book, he followed Mo Rongxin's path and studied at Wenlan Academy.
Gao Lingda's talent, intelligence, bearing and self-cultivation are better than those of his brothers. Although he was the youngest son of a concubine, he was quite popular among the upper echelons of the Guandi Temple. The key is that his mother Qiniang was Gao Tianshi's most favored aunt during his lifetime. Therefore, a group of powerful people from the Guandi Temple gathered around him, becoming the most powerful opponent to challenge Gao Lingxiang.
Although the brothers were suppressed now, they were not necessarily convinced. Especially Gao Lingda, it can be said that he fell short of success. It's hard to say he still has any hope. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but become slightly nervous.
He pondered for a moment and said: "You go and reply to your master. I know about this. However, this matter is very serious, so let me think about it for a few days."
When Butler Mo heard this, he quickly stood up and left.
Gao Lingxiang figured it out, it wasn't difficult at all. The people in Guandi Temple had many tricks up their sleeves. Most of the students in the academy were nerds and "young children", so it was not difficult to trick them into falling for the trick.
The only thing he had to worry about was how Australians would view him joining Wenlan Academy. Australians are not easy to deal with!
Liu Shifo'er, a big-boned man from Henan, is known as having iron-skinned bones and hob-knife meat. He is famous for being "unafraid of being beaten" and is very famous among beggars. Buhe took the money from the dental shop to bring bad luck to the Chaoshan gang, but was caught by the Australians behind the Chaoshan gang. The family, old and young, was a step too late, and no one escaped, and was confiscated by the Australians. There has been no news since then. It is said that they were captured by the Australians and sent to Hainan. The men were demoted to work as coolies, and the women were taken over by Australian soldiers. Yin Jian is not far away, so he should not offend these demons.
