There is another more important purpose in building the new city, that is, a certain prince no longer plans to live in the flashy Forbidden City. The lack of running water is very inconvenient, the lack of sewers is even more of a headache, and the weather is hot and there is no swimming pool to play in.
The Forbidden City looks majestic, but in fact it is just a look-alike. In this day and age, it can still fool the indigenous people of this era. However, to travelers, especially a certain prince, Western-style buildings seem to be more majestic and luxurious.
If the supporting facilities can keep up in time, living in it will be a supreme level of enjoyment. For the same cost, Yaoji is certainly willing to let the strong men build a castle-style mansion for themselves. Otherwise, hundreds of thousands of taels of silver will be a waste. Drifted.
If you design it carefully, you can really live in something similar to the prototype of the Disney castle - Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany. That would be really wonderful. Anyway, a certain prince's new residence will not be allocated by the Ministry of Household Affairs. Of course, he can build it as he wants. Here.
It would be best to build an integrated version of Neuschwanstein Castle, Schönbrunn Palace, and Versailles Palace, integrating fantasy, luxury, nobility and other elements into one. It will definitely become a masterpiece and be famous throughout the ages.
Surrounded by tall towers, exquisite reliefs are inlaid on them, and twenty thick and strong stone pillars support the front of the ancient Greek temple-like palace. It looks majestic and solemn, and people who come to see it can see it from a distance. When you arrive, you will feel a sense of reverence in your heart.
The back house is decorated with gilt, with rows of floor-to-ceiling glass windows, patterned marble square floor tiles, a crystal chandelier on the dome, and an oversized mosquito net bed in the bedroom, which can accommodate ten beauties to rest at the same time.
The beauties were all dressed in voluptuous robes, their jade bodies spread out, their eyes blurred, their flaming red lips murmuring like a lazy and charming voice, which would make a certain prince's mouth go dry and his throat dry up when he heard it. Smoke, oh my god...
There is a Western-style patterned garden in front of the main building, with parking lots on both sides, and a swimming pool and sports ground behind it. In summer, soft and fine white sand can be spread on the edge of the huge swimming pool to serve as a coastal beach, surrounded by bikini beauties.
Just thinking about it will give Yaoji an extremely crazy creative enthusiasm. He really hopes to "pop" the sketch of the Prince's Mansion as soon as possible. He can take it and look at it when he has nothing to do, and he can keep revising it. , to be improved.
Including the decoration and furnishings, such a supreme-level mansion is estimated to cost less than 500,000 taels of silver. It is better to earn more money while you are young. Otherwise, it is not considered an extremely cheap land, but a certain prince cannot even afford a house. How pitiful. ah!
The official battle had not yet begun, and the two internal and external armed gangs had not been eliminated. Most of the plans to reduce the court's annual revenue were still on paper, and he began to degenerate. If you want to become a foolish emperor, you can learn it without any teacher...
If the foolish king does not exploit the poor people, then there is nothing wrong with entertaining himself in the palace, such as the Apocalypse Tank Master of a certain prince. It is much better than a wise gentleman who is diligent and good but raises taxes again and again.
Five hundred thousand taels of silver can cover the annual expenses of 10,000 troops. If you squeeze it in elsewhere, you can satisfy a certain prince's little wish. But if it doesn't work, you will use the Forbidden City as a tourist attraction to collect tickets, hoping to scapegoat the father. Won't wake up right away.
First, they need to build a city along the mountain, and then build a new capital city. There are also matters such as the prince's residence. Zhang Guowei will be very busy in the next five years. Yao Ji is thinking about buying a Yangzhou thin horse for the chief engineer to relax. .
After checking the situation in Weng City, the soldiers of the Yongwei Battalion began to carry the corpses, going in and out, going back and forth. A certain prince saw this and said, "Killing prisoners is unlucky." Should he kill hundreds more? A profiteer comes to bring bad luck?
Money is needed to build a new city, and money is also needed to reward the three armies. It seems it is time to recruit a wave of profiteers to make a fortune!
Raising pigs for a thousand days, killing pigs for a while!
The time has come for the merchant pigs to serve the imperial court!
Just start wailing "Hum Chi" and "Hum Chi"!
"Yinhou Dongzeng of Shuntian Prefecture!"
"...I'm here!"
"Give the Founder the tax account books of the tea merchants in the capital. Anyone who sold more than 100 kilograms of tea last year but paid less than one tael in tax can be arrested immediately by the East Factory. Half an hour later, I will personally receive them in the East Palace. !”
"I obey!"
Generally, the price of good tea is only two fen per catty, and the price of ordinary tea is between five cents and one cent per catty.
Suppose a tea merchant sells one thousand catties of tea at one tael per catty, with a total income of 100 taels, and the tax payable is 3 taels, 3 taels, and 3 cents of silver.
However, the annual tea tax in Zhejiang is less than 20 taels. You can imagine how far the tea tax in the capital can be collected.
"Which Ai Qing knows about tea? Do you know how many tea merchants there are in the capital?"
Yaoji doesn't like to drink this stuff. Sour plum soup is much better than tea, unless it is top-grade tea.
"...Your Highness, I know something about this. There are more than a hundred tea merchants, large and small, in the capital!"
Xue Guoguan felt that the opportunity to express himself had come, so he volunteered to speak out. This matter should not be wrong.
"Oh? The chief assistant knows a lot about this?"
If the prospective father-in-law is an industry insider, he will be ready to tease the tea merchant in a while.
"Your Highness, I don't dare to judge for myself, it just tastes good! According to the different picking seasons, it can be divided into three grades: upper, middle and lower. Jingzhe is the top grade, Qingming is the middle grade, and Guyu is the bottom grade. There are often some in the market. 'Stealing leaves' refers to fake tea that uses Kudeng leaves as tea leaves."
Although the prince is shrewd, he is not very experienced in the world, especially about drinking tea. As a military commander, he naturally has to interpret it.
Wu Di, the second assistant, saw that Xue Guoguan, who had been silent, spoke up. He understood that this topic was not dangerous, and he also echoed: "Ordinary people live in poverty and cannot afford tea, so they use willow leaves instead, commonly known as 'stipules.' !”
When it comes to government affairs, people with little talent and knowledge dare not express their opinions easily, but when it comes to drinking tea, there is no scruple. After the first minister and the second minister have spoken one after another, other courtiers will follow up in time and echo the two ministers in a few words. words.
Yao Ji nodded and said with a meaningful smile: "What you all said is true. Drinking tea is a custom of our Ming Dynasty. From the emperor to the common people, they all respect each other. But farming is profitable, but it is the basis of the imperial tax. . Selling tea is profitable, but the imperial court has very little income. Such putting the cart before the horse is an anecdote through the ages! The amount of new tea picked in Zhejiang every year is measured in tens of thousands of jins, but the tea class only has more than ten taels. Where did the lost part go?"
Do you think I will talk to you about drinking tea?
joke!
I am only interested in the money in the pockets of tea merchants!
One million taels from the tea merchant!
The salt merchant has one million taels!
The rice merchant is one million taels!
The merchants of vinegar, wine, sugar, oil and firewood supplied one million taels!
This is four million taels, two-thirds of the cost of the new city!
The prince wanted to have a tea class, and all the courtiers were immediately speechless. If he continued talking, he would be telling the truth.
After waiting for a long time, no one dared to speak up, so Yaoji ordered: "I will meet with the tea merchant in a while. The first assistant, second assistant, and minister of household affairs can attend. The medical department will continue to treat the wounded. The imperial censor Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate Zhong Yan and Zhen Shu, the Minister of Justice, are trying the corruption case. Huang Degong, the commander-in-chief of the Yongwei Battalion, is in charge of military affairs in the capital. If anything happens, he will report it at any time. The rest will go back to their own yamen to handle government affairs. Let's disperse!"
Xue Guoguan, Wu Dong, and Li Daiwen looked at each other and cursed in their hearts. Look, didn't the money for building the new city come out?
Wu Di was thinking that if the imperial court had done this earlier, it would not have been helpless every time the border was tight except for adding three more wages. In the end, it still had no money to cause trouble.
Li Daowen felt like he was going to die again, but this time it was the turn of some businessmen. They were really asking for trouble. They spent money on themselves like water and were stingy on the court. The result was that both jade and stone were destroyed.
Once the prince takes care of him, not only his head will be lost, but his wealth will also be lost. Now the city gates are tightly closed, and even Hong Chengchou, the governor of Liaodong, needs an imperial edict before he can enter the city when he returns. Ordinary people are just daydreaming if they want to go out.
The merchants have become turtles in the urn. The prince can kill them with the help of factory guards, and confiscate the merchants' property with ease.
Because beef ramen has a special ingredient, as long as you don't get tired of eating it every day, you will want to eat it again. By the time Yaoji returns to the palace, the concubine and a certain prince's friends are already gearing up to wait for him. On the kitchen.
The main battlefield for foodies is still located in Kunning Palace. There is only one cook reserved for the prince in the east palace, but there are only four people who come to eat noodles, and one of them is just a child, even a half-year-old child. No, so this is enough.
"Sniff! Sniff! It smells so good~!"
Xue Guoguan was attracted by the rich aroma, sniffed it with his nose, and immediately sighed. As a Shaanxi person, although he likes steamed buns, eating noodles is also a must-have basic skill.
"Hmm~! The wonderful fragrance is overflowing, it's rare to have too much!"
Wu Di is from Xinghua, Yangzhou. He loves Huaiyang cuisine. Even the pasta is mainly light in taste, but his taste senses are also tethered by the fragrance. He doesn't know what seasonings the imperial chef uses to make it. Such a scent.
"Smell! I have never smelled such a strange aroma from noodle soup in my life!"
After checking again with his nose, Li Shiwen felt that if this noodle tasted good, it would be a rare delicacy.
The major corruption case has already made Li Shiwen very worried, so going to the palace to observe it can be regarded as a break in the busy schedule.
Because he was afraid of being summoned by the prince at any time, he just used oil cakes to pad his stomach at the Yamen at noon.
As soon as I smell this fragrance, my stomach starts to roar instinctively...
"My dear friends, you can rest assured, I will take care of all the hospitality you receive!"
Before summoning the tea merchants, we ate noodles. After a while, the tea merchants could digest their food. It is estimated that each of the three ministers would need two bowls to start.
In special times, you can't be extravagant. Beef ramen is delicious and cheap. Since both of you have eaten it and said it is good, you have no right to say it is not delicious.
As expected, the ancients were very good at eating food. Each of the three ministers easily finished two bowls of noodles, and the noodles were served in large bowls specially used for eating noodles.
Judging from the situation, Yaoji felt that one of them could have finished off the third bowl if he hadn't wanted to interrogate the tea merchant later. It looked like he was here just for the Overlord meal.
"Your Highness, I have sent people to capture 112 tea merchants, big and small. They are all waiting outside the palace!"
As the new governor of Dongchang, Fang Zhenghua was very efficient in his work, obviously much better than Luo Yangxing's Jinyiwei. While the three ministers were drinking tea after dinner, Dongchang's men had already captured the prey.
"Bring it in!"
Yao Ji wants to see how shameless this businessman is, and he is not ashamed of it, but proud of it.
"Cao Min is here to greet His Highness the Crown Prince! I wish His Highness a thousand years, a thousand years, a thousand years!"
Although the tea merchants were searched twice, the guards in the inner and east factories who were responsible for on-site security still did not dare to take it lightly. Because there were hundreds of tea merchants coming to the east palace, it was inevitable that there would be a mixture of good and bad people inside. We must not be careless, especially last night. Something happened inside and outside the palace this morning.
A large group of tea merchants of varying sizes bowed to me, but Yao Ji did not kill him right away. He was thinking: With tea merchants like you, let alone a thousand years old, I am afraid that I will not even live to be a hundred years old, or even half a hundred years old. Arrive? You are my talisman!
Common people and merchants generally wear melon-pipe hats or square scarves. The so-called "crown" can only be worn by nobles and officials. Otherwise, a certain local tycoon will die on his own initiative.
Guapi hat is also known as "Liuheyi unified hat", and the full name of Sifang scarf is "Sifang Pingding scarf". It is also very interesting to trace the origin...
The former is stitched with six petals, and the top of the hat can be inlaid with crystal or fragrant wood. The fabric used is satin in winter and spring, and gauze in summer and autumn, which symbolizes the dynasty concept of the six elements of heaven, earth and four directions being unified.
According to legend, the origin of the "square scarf" is that Zhejiang poet Yang Weizhen went to meet Zhu Laoliu stinky tofu. Taizu was overjoyed when he heard the name, and he immediately popularized it.
Taizu and Wan Min are so close to each other, it’s really hard to accept it!
"I am still young and don't know much about tea drinking, but I also know the 'Thirteen Pros' and 'Seven Taboos' advocated by Feng Zhenqing! You are all tea merchants, so I think you should know it well. I don't know. Who can recite it?"
Don't tell me that the tea sellers are all illiterate, then there is no need to ask, just go ahead and confiscate the house.
"..."
"Your Majesty, Cao Min can recite it!"
"Your Highness, Cao Min can also recite it!"
After a short silence, when the first person who dared to challenge appeared, the tea merchants immediately became active in order to express themselves in front of the prince. If they were not surrounded by fully armed guards, some of them would be minding their own business. stand up.
"...Let the one on my left who is wearing blue satin recite it!"
"Thank you, Your Highness, Cao Min is very lucky! The 'Thirteen Yis' are: one has nothing to do, two is a good guest, three is sitting alone, four is reciting poetry, five is waving, six is wandering, seven is sleeping, eight is waking up, nine is offering sacrifices, and ten is Jingshe, eleven understandings, twelve appreciations, thirteen literary boys! The 'seven taboos' are..."
After he finished reciting it, Yao Ji noticed the envy and jealousy in the eyes of his peers, so he asked another question: "What you said is true! Xu Cishu described the twenty-four tips for drinking tea in "Cha Shu Ming Drinking Time" Does anyone remember the details?"
Due to the increased difficulty, there were a lot fewer people answering the call this time than last time, but there were still four or five people who dared to come forward, which showed that there were not a few tea merchants who liked to write and write.
Yaoji selected one of the applicants, listened patiently, and then asked the last question: "This tea drinker pursues refreshing and enjoying himself. I don't know what you and the tea sellers pursue." Realm? The best is like water or the heart is clear?"
Xue Guoguan was really amused after hearing this. These tea merchants didn't know how to talk to the prince. It was really a hurdle every three steps and a trap every five steps. If you don't pay attention, you will definitely fall into the trap.
People are smart and can't take precautions. Without knowing it, they lead their prey into a pre-arranged trap.
Just wait and see. Unless something happens, the prince will not let you leave the palace easily...
