In late summer, after noon, the capital was shrouded in gloomy dark clouds, and the streets were deserted. The cool and humid wind swept away the sultry heat, and a heavy rain was about to come.
In this kind of weather, even the poor people who can't help themselves will not wander around on the streets. God knows when the heavy rain will arrive, but at this moment, countless official sedans are rushing towards Beihai from all directions, and the bearers are bumping along the way. The nobles in the sedan were moaning incessantly, and even the steward accompanying him was so tired that his tongue stuck out.
But no one dared to complain, because the person who summoned everyone was the Empress Dowager Ci'an of the East, who was now the most powerful in Beijing, and it was the first time the Empress Dowager took the initiative to summon important ministers after the New Year's meeting.
Ministers of military aircraft, ministers of the Prime Minister's Yamen, princes and nobles of the Eight Banners, leaders of the Han Dynasty... Although it is not a serious court meeting, the people gathered here are all real and powerful figures.
The two brothers, Prince Gong Yi? and Prince Chun Yi Xuan, were of course indispensable. As if they were getting better, the two sedans entered the newly renovated South Gate of Beihai almost at the same time. As soon as they ran in, the cold and humid wind from Beihai blew away. Lifted the sedan curtain.
"Do you know why we were summoned?" Yi? Asked a little knowingly.
"What else could be the reason? Isn't it the matter of His Majesty's assassination? In the past month or so, there has been no other topic of conversation in the entire Sijiu City. It is almost so noisy that the sky will collapse." Yixuan's sunken eye sockets and a pair of panda eyes illustrate his The nine-door admiral has been really busy these days.
The two of them walked side by side in silence, looking at the noisy construction site outside the sedan chair. The old willow trees, green pines and cypresses that had been transplanted from somewhere were being fixed by ropes while the eunuch was busy.
Many newly built palaces are being tiled, and craftsmen have come down from the shelves to fix the debris with ropes and oilcloths. The boats on the North Sea have returned to the port, and the strong wind has whipped up waves that crash on the white marble stone steps. La sound.
"Damn it, how much money is wasted? Why does that Fu Qing have so much money?" Yi? He twisted the beads around his neck fiercely, with vicious resentment in his eyes.
He was absolutely opposed to the project of rebuilding Beihai and Jingshan. On the one hand, he felt sorry for the money, but on the other hand, he was still afraid that the Empress Dowager Dong would gain her own power in Jingshan.
Chinese politics is very ceremonial, and many things rely on people's speculation rather than written documents in black and white like in the West.
Even though it was just a trivial matter like the Empress Dowager of the East moving the palace to Jingshan, in the eyes of discerning people, this was a political signal to separate herself from the Empress Dowager of the West, and living outside the Forbidden City was also an obvious support for the reformists within the Eight Banners.
You see, the Queen Mother of my country no longer lives in the Forbidden City. If I take the lead and break the rules, then the people below will naturally understand and look down upon those reformist ministers.
Moreover, officials and students across the country are also watching. If the Qing court does not even invite the Queen Mother of the East to return to the Forbidden City, it means that the traditional forces have lost their control over the court, and people with ulterior motives will naturally use their twisted ideas. of.
So from the beginning, they were firmly opposed to Ci'an living in Jingshan, and the lack of money in the treasury was a very reasonable excuse.
Unexpectedly, Ci'an was more shrewd and made his attitude clear. Isn't there no cash in your treasury? You give me IOUs, and then I, Ci'an, will take these IOUs and go directly to the governors of various places to ask for accounts. This is the head office.
Not to mention Yi? They were really unified. Don't say this is a joke. In the late Qing Dynasty, there was a very special situation in which the power of local governors increased greatly, and everyone had financial rights.
After the Taiping Rebellion, the local forces under the control of the Han Dynasty had become too strong. Although there were no rebels, they no longer listened to the central government financially.
Provincial lijin, that is, local commercial taxes, and provincial land taxes have never been fully paid. If you give them a 30% discount this year, you can get a 50% discount next year. The reason is very simple: local unrest, rebels. too much.
If one or two governors cannot pay the money, the court can still deal with it. But if all the governors in the world cannot pay the money, the court will also look at it. In the end, the local government owes Beijing, and then Beijing owes hundreds of officials, and finally the funds are not fully allocated and then the court will deal with it. It's a debt that can't be sorted out.
Ci'an Ming said, just tell me how much money to allocate for me. The Ministry of Works will make a budget for the project, and then let the courtiers discuss it together. If there is no objection, let the Ministry of Revenue issue me an IOU. As for how the Ai family can get these. Money, then none of you should care about it.
When the ministers of the court heard that this was feasible, let alone the issue of more money and less money, you just budgeted 10 million taels, otherwise it would be in vain if you didn't get the money.
In the end, the Ministry of Industry made a generous budget and came up with a plan of six million taels of silver, and also asked Xiang Lei to draw detailed drawings. Just looking at the beautiful scenery on the drawings, you can tell how big the future garden will be just by thinking about it. So refined.
The Ministry of Industry made a budget, the military and aircraft ministers nodded in agreement, the Queen Mothers of the two palaces used the treasures, and finally the Ministry of Revenue issued an IOU. To put it bluntly, it was topped up by the IOU from the local governor.
The Ministry of Household Affairs also worked very meticulously, and actually divided the six million taels of silver into various provinces. Among them, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong had the largest number of 500,000 taels and 500,000 taels, respectively. The eight provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, Anhui, Zhili, Shandong, Henan, and Shanxi received a total of 2.5 million taels.
As for the last two million taels, it will be shared by other poor provinces. Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, the least, only shared more than 300,000 taels. The Gansu and Shaanxi tribes are at war, so they will not bear the burden. In short, in the end, the six million taels All the money was actually divided, and it was fair that even the provinces had no objections.
The economic situation of each province is on the table. If Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong provinces can't even get out half a million silver, no one will believe it.
Just when everyone in the Beijing court was waiting to see the joke, they never expected that Mr. Fu Qing of the Prime Minister's Office, Mr. Qing, actually said that he had bought all the 600 taels of IOUs. Lotte Bank Acceptance was behind Mr. All funds raised for the Queen Mother Ci'an's Beihai Project.
This time the court was stunned. Everyone knew that Lotte Bank was Xiao Letian's property. Did this guy have a lot of money? Six million taels of silver could be paid at any time.
In the Qing Dynasty, one tael was equivalent to a Western weight of 35 grams, while a Ryukyu stamped dragon-patterned silver coin weighed 27 grams. Converted to 1 million taels of silver, it was equivalent to approximately 1.3 million Ryukyu dragon-patterned silver coins.
6 million taels of silver, that is a total of 7.8 million silver coins with dragon patterns. Such wealth shocked all the merchant gangs in the Qing Dynasty and were speechless. Shanxi Gang, Jiangsu and Zhejiang Gang, Hui merchants, Shanghai compradors, Guangdong's Thirteenth Bank Yumai... All the top businessmen in China were stunned by this handwriting.
"Xiao Letian is indeed the illegitimate son of the old Dragon King of the East China Sea. He is allowed to take possession of the treasure house of the East China Sea or something."
Amid people's doubts, Lotte Bank's bank fleet drove into Beijing in a mighty manner. The endless bank of silver cars clattered across the stone road, and the people on both sides of the road were dumbfounded.
When the boys opened the silver boxes one after another in front of the people of Sijiu City, there was a bang and everyone was dazzled by the light of the silver.
The clean, brand-new ones are all dragon-patterned silver coins. Now Ryukyu has stopped privately minting Mexican Eagle Oceans. At this time, the coins produced are nominally owned by the Ryukyu Kingdom, but the actual shares are in the hands of Xiao Letian. Dragon-patterned silver coins .
On the front is a coiled dragon, and on the back is written ninety-nine pure silver per round. The edge of the silver coin is also stamped with zigzag patterns to prevent common people from using files to steal silver slag.
The stamping process is much more beautiful than the casting process. The embossed dragon is lifelike and the handwriting on the back is extremely clear. Moreover, when you hold the center of the circle and blow it with your mouth, this silver coin can even sing.
"The silver coins with the dragon pattern of the East China Sea are so beautiful. They are all brand new... My Emperor Emperor ancestor, why is Prime Minister Xiao of the East China Sea so rich?"
"You don't know this. Donghai Xiao Letian is not a human at all... Haha, this is not a curse. Donghai Xiao Letian is the illegitimate son of the old Dragon King of Donghai... No, no, no, that's called an illegitimate dragon."
"Everyone knows that this little son is always the most favored, and the old Dragon King dotes on him the most, so he is allowed to transform into a human being and make clouds and rain as a boy who distributes wealth..."
"You northerners have never seen the world. There is a legend in our southern business circle that as long as you do business with Donghai Prime Minister Xiao, there is no reason to lose money, and you will definitely make a lot of money... That's why, that's Because the East China Sea is the territory of Lord Dragon, Xiao Letian, the little dragon, can’t get anything he wants in his own home.”
"It makes sense. What this old man said makes sense. No wonder the Prime Minister didn't want to be an official of the Qing Dynasty but went to Ryukyu to be the prime minister. It turns out that is his hometown. Naturally, this water dragon is not used to going to dry land..."
"That's right, that's right. And you see, Prime Minister Xiao's economic and military layout are all based on the sea. He has never been seen going deep into the inland. It seems that he went to Shanxi when he returned to China. I heard He said he also encountered bandits..."
"What does this mean? It means that the water dragon cannot stay away from the water. If it comes to the territory of the land dragon, it will be bullied."
A group of superstitious people talked nonsense together, but they never expected that this kind of superstitious talk spread among the people would have such a market. It spread throughout the Forty-Nine Cities in three days, and spread throughout Zhili in half a month. I believe it will not be used. Within one year, the legend of the water dragon will naturally spread throughout the country.
"No wonder, your majesty can't take anyone out. The prime minister was taken away easily when he came. And I heard that your majesty especially listened to Xiao Letian's words. As expected, only a dragon can teach a dragon."
The man who guarded the silver box and the Marines listened to these rumors. Although they sneered in their hearts, they were still very proud. Their lord was recognized as a dragon. This was a great good thing.
Although they saw some familiar figures passing through the crowd, they still wanted to believe that their adult was a dragon.
That day, Lotte Bank escorted a total of 2.5 million dragon-patterned silver coins, which shocked the entire Qing Dynasty. In the following month, cities south of the Yangtze River and north of the Yangtze River where Lotte Bank and Lotte Bank existed were all issuing something called national bonds.
Now, they were panicking. Although they couldn't understand what Letian Yangxing wanted to do, they could understand by intuition alone that there would be no loss when Xiao Letian took action.
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