When Qi Hongxin heard this, he nodded and said, "That's fine."
Under the guidance of Su Ziji, we moved to the lobby. It was the busiest time for picking up treasury and depositing money. It was divided into ten desks and staff from multiple yamen were assigned to work.
"Shi Yunwei." A clerk at a table called out the list. The names of those who called for money outside would be written down.
Listening to the shouting, a middle-aged man stepped forward in agreement.
Qi Hongxin took a look and saw that the middle-aged man was wearing a brown robe, which was half new but not old. He did not look like a country squire. After a slight hesitation, he listened to Su Ziji whisper: "This is the person Shi Yunwei brought."
Qi Hongxin immediately understood that it was impossible for the squires to bring hundreds of taels of silver themselves. They must have brought their attendants or housekeepers. When he saw the middle-aged man shouting, a young man came over with a box and put it on the table. superior.
When the clerk opened it, there were pieces of silver cake inside.
Probably because he was used to seeing it, there were people around the clerk who were specifically checking the fineness of the silver, and someone was weighing it, and soon they shouted: "The fineness is ninety-eight, and it weighs three hundred and one liang."
The clerk said, recorded it in the book, and shouted: "Miao Shaolan!"
"The villain is here!" Another long follower followed, and saw that every time someone shouted, someone would come to the registration table with a bunch of white money. After the clerk checked it, it was of good quality and had enough silver. After registering him, another clerk will write one to five notes according to the amount of money to be paid, crumble it into a ball, and stuff it into the box.
And handfuls of silver were put into wooden boxes and arranged. Qi Hongxin watched as one, two, three... he almost lost count of how many wooden boxes were quickly filled, sealed, and heavily packed. Lift into the back.
This was originally the place where taxes were paid in the past, and the corridor at the back was connected to the bank.
Without following him to the bank, Qi Hongxin felt his heart beat faster and his breathing suddenly became difficult as he watched the wooden boxes filled with silver being carried away one after another.
Especially when my legs were sore from standing, more than a thousand people finally paid the money. The clerk went outside and shouted several times, but no one came in. The official, who had been busy all the time, was rubbing his neck and looking up. When they arrived, the two adults, the magistrate and Fu Cheng, who were standing in the corner and were dressed in civilian clothes, hurriedly stepped forward and saluted.
"This money... in total, how much has been credited to the account?" Qi Hongxin asked in a dry voice.
The official didn't know how nervous the prefect in front of him was. He only saw the cold expression of the decisive prefect, and his heart skipped a beat. He was afraid that he had done something wrong, so he immediately replied: "Mr. Prefect , a total of two hundred and seventy-eight thousand six hundred and forty-one liang and eight cents of silver were recorded!"
Two hundred and seventy thousand taels?
Two hundred and seventy thousand taels!
Two hundred and seventy thousand taels! !
Although it had been expected, thousands of gentry, each paying one hundred taels, would amount to more than 100,000 taels. Drawing twice would be 200,000 taels, and drawing three times would be 300,000 taels.
But when he heard this number, Qi Hongxin suddenly felt like the world was spinning. The strength that had been supporting him immediately relaxed as soon as the answer entered his ears and heart. He could no longer stand steadily and was about to collapse to the ground.
Holding his chest, Qi Hongxin even felt that he could hardly breathe.
Two hundred and seventy thousand taels!
He never dreamed that he could get such a large sum of money just by selling the thirty-seven confiscated small mines!
Including the cash collected not long ago, the inventory has exceeded 300,000 taels!
The water management yamen had to promise when he pressed for payment, saying that he would be able to repay the 170,000 taels of silver he owed before the end of the year.
This means that at least half of the deficit can be repaid this year. Although the remaining 200,000 taels are still a lot, compared with the previous 700,000 taels, the pressure has been greatly reduced.
"Master Prefect!" The boss who reported the accounts was startled.
Su Ziji hurriedly stopped him from calling someone: "My lord is just excited for the moment. Please ask someone to serve you tea."
"Yes!" Fortunately, Lord Fu Cheng was here. The master was grateful and hurriedly served tea.
Su Ziji and the soldiers who were secretly protecting Qi Hongxin helped him sit on a chair not far away.
At this time, someone served the tea. Qi Hongxin took two sips of tea, and his pounding heart slowly returned to normal, and the dizziness caused by the coexistence of surprise and fright also eased.
Qi Hongxin couldn't help but look at Su Ziji. He couldn't help but understand that Su Ziji took the lead in this matter. With such ability...
"Your Majesty, please approve the lottery." Before Qi Hongxin could think about it, Su Ziji respectfully asked for instructions again.
The previous payment has been completed, so we can't just wait for it.
Thousands of paper balls were stuffed into a large box, mixed together, taken out, stirred in public, and then placed in an open place to reassure those who paid.
Qi Hongxin could only stop his thoughts and said to the boss who was waiting for his instructions: "You have done a good job in this matter. Prepare to ask those people to draw lots. Make sure to maintain order and not cause chaos."
"Don't worry, sir. I have asked the county captain to send a hundred county soldiers to maintain order." Su Ziji said with a smile.
This preparation is quite sufficient, Qi Hongxin thought to himself.
But he still has some concerns about the next draw.
Although the money has been put into the treasury, it is impossible for him to let people spit out the money no matter whether there is no trouble outside or not, but if the trouble goes too far and causes a civil uprising, this is not what Qi Hongxin wants to see.
"The lot has been drawn. When your name is called, go up to the stage and draw the lot." A temporary high platform has been set up in the square. The boss went out and stood on the high platform to announce that it was time to draw the lot.
Just like before, Qi Hongxin and Su Ziji were still standing in the corner, watching the process of drawing lots.
"Cheng Fulai, Hongping County, Shun'an Prefecture, draws the lottery once!"
"Wan Youdong, Qinghe County, Shun'an Prefecture, drew the lottery three times!"
"Zheng Feng, Baili County, Jianghua Prefecture, drew the lottery twice!"
…………
One after another, after their names were called, they came up and put their hands in through the round hole at the top of the box. Because they could not see with their eyes, they could only touch by feel. They found the one they wanted among thousands of paper balls. It depends on your luck.
Anyway, everyone who went up had a solemn expression and held their breath, as if they were doing some kind of sacred thing.
You can dawdle as long as you can.
It wasn't until a clerk urged him that he would hesitate to take out his hand, often holding a ball of paper in his hand.
"I didn't win!" Then another person who touched the lot opened the ball of paper. There was only "one hundred taels" and an unfamiliar name inside. He sighed and walked away with a little dejection.
Although people who have not touched the mining rights feel a little sad for the one or two hundred taels of silver they spent in vain, but think about it, this lottery has been said from the beginning to bet on one's own luck.
If you can't touch it, you can't touch it. Anyway, the number of people who can really touch it is only thirty-seven. Most people are like themselves and just give their money to the government. These people comfort themselves in their hearts.
This is already the eleventh person to come up and touch the lot. So far, no one has been able to touch the mining rights.
The crowd below suddenly became a little commotion, not because they were regretful, but because they were gradually doubting whether they could get the mining rights.