Shaanxi is a poor place, and you won’t be able to make much money by becoming an official there. Xu Jiufu knew this very well, so he immediately gave up the idea of making money to repay his original capital. Besides, his family was not short of money, so he couldn’t afford the monthly salary. A salary of twenty or thirty taels.
The only hope is to follow Zuo Maodi, serve him well, try to leave a good impression on the governor, and then find an opportunity to be transferred to the south, especially to serve as an official in his hometown, then even if he has not suffered in vain these past few years .
Although he was targeted by the prince, it was good to think about it. From now on, he would be the appointed Jinshi, and he would also be a disciple of Zuo Maodi. Even if there was no public apprenticeship, it was actually like that, no matter who he was. You have to give yourself three points of thin noodles.
There should be more than a few of these students who rushed to serve in the northwest. I am afraid that I am the only one left to receive such treatment. This is a great honor. How many people want to worship, but they still can't find this way. In the future, they can get it. Just cherish it.
"You are really fat and thoughtful!"
Although this vegetable pig is kneeling on the ground to listen to orders, his eyes are constantly rolling in his sockets. Eyes are the windows to the soul, and you can tell the character of this guy at a glance.
If Zuo Maodi is not properly disciplined, he will make a lot of money in a few years, and then turn into a pig waiting to be cut.
"...The students... never dare to disobey... His Highness's Holy Order!"
After being directly exposed by the prince, Xu Jiufu became completely honest and simply lay on the ground, not daring to get up.
"What you should consider is how to be a good official and an upright official, instead of thinking about being a high official or a corrupt official all day long! Because only by being a good official and an upright official can you gain a long life, and being a corrupt official requires your life. Forget about the greasy fat meat, it’s just right to light a sky lantern!”
The prince's continuous threats made Zuo Maodi feel funny when he heard them. If he continued to threaten like this, the student would be at a loss in the end and would be left with fear in his heart.
Other officials of the imperial court were sitting on chairs watching the excitement, and they were also eagerly anticipating in their hearts what kind of appearance this student in front of him would be transformed into by Zuo Maodi in a few years. Maybe he would be beheaded before then. .
"The living members will definitely remember His Highness's Holy Instructions and work hard until death!"
If he had to choose between being exhausted to death due to busy government affairs, or being burned alive with sky lanterns, no matter how lazy or stupid Xu Jiufu was, he would choose the former. The latter was not something that ordinary people could enjoy.
Seeing that he had finished talking, Zuo Maodi stood up and bowed his hands in salute, saying: "Your Majesty, please be at ease. I will discipline this person well. If he has bad intentions and violates the rules, I will punish him severely!"
Although this boy has some bad qualities of a gentry's son, he is not stupid in his mind. If he takes him back to give him some advice, he might actually be a good candidate for an official position. Since the prince is interested in this, he can just stay with him and become an apprentice.
Yaoji stopped wasting time on this fat man, and gave the governor Shaanxi face: "That's good, then I'll have to worry about it. I'll be happy for you, even though Shaanxi is thousands of miles away, I can't help you." The palace can still get secret information at any time, so you have to take care of it. If you do well, someone will promote you. If you do poorly, someone will kill you! From now on, those with the highest scores in the annual palace examination will be given priority to fill the vacancies in the northwest, and there are many talented people among them. Shaanxi is the most important thing for the imperial court to stabilize the overall situation. If you serve in Shaanxi, you will be dismissed from your post and investigated, not to mention guarding and stealing, even if you are eating and waiting for death. I have said so much, and I have made you subordinate to Zuo Aiqing. I am pointing out a road to the sky for you. Follow my instructions and walk well. No matter how high you go, you will not be thrown to death. Otherwise, I will not allow some moths who do not obey my orders to come to this palace. If you step on a paved road that misses the mark, you will be shattered to pieces.”
Two hundred officials were replenished for Shaanxi every year for five or six years in a row. Thousands of officials were stationed in various places. Coupled with a large number of newly formed Qin troops, and wages, money, food and grass were distributed on time, it was enough to ensure that the imperial court had absolute control over Shaanxi. Controlled.
As long as Shaanxi is stabilized, there will be no chaos in the northwest or even the north, and the money and grain distributed by the imperial court to Shaanxi every year will not be in vain, and the Yanchang Oilfield, Shenfu Coalfield, and gold mines in various places can ensure continued mining. .
Under this situation, Shaanxi will be able to achieve self-sufficiency in less than five years. Although its grain production capacity is limited and needs to continue to be transported from the south, it can be offset by oil and gold. After the accounts are written off, Shaanxi will The financial situation can be greatly improved.
The imperial court used silver and grain to exchange for the oil and gold produced in Shaanxi. The oil was purchased as much as it was dug out. A barrel of oil cost five taels of silver, and two hundred thousand barrels equaled one million taels.
Shaanxi can keep 40% of the gold quota, turn it over to the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the remaining 20% belongs to the prince. Ten tons of gold are mined every year, and if Shaanxi Province retains four tons of it, it can earn another one million taels.
From oil and gold mines alone, excluding taxes and fees from agriculture and commerce, Shaanxi's local treasury can have two million taels of silver. The money spent on coal can be used to offset the cost of mining oil fields and gold mines.
In the past, the imperial court's annual allocation to Shaanxi was much lower than this. If it can achieve such a high annual income, coupled with the two million taels of silver given by the prince as a gift from Jinkou, Zuo Maodi is very confident that within five years , completely eliminate the Shaanxi Rebellion.
"No one will dare to disobey His Highness's Holy Orders even if they die!"
Xu Jiufu, who was about to be frightened to the point of incontinence, finally left with a mixture of sadness and joy. It was lucky that the prince did not hold him accountable, but he was going to serve in a bitter and cold place, and he had to follow Zuo Mao, who was an honest and strict official. Third, thinking about it makes me feel a little hesitant and anxious.
"Wu Zong, Wu Aiqing, Du Yinxi, Du Aiqing, after excluding the students who bribed the examiners, all the top three hundred in the palace examination will be filled, Shaanxi. It is up to you two to decide this matter. The officials will be responsible for the approval. Once done, Then he made a backup of the newly appointed officials' information and handed all the backup to Zuo Aiqing for management. This is an order from the palace. Anyone who refuses to take office will be disobedient and disrespectful. After the house is confiscated, he will be demoted to a common minister. If he takes office in Shaanxi after Regardless of the number of people or their background, Zuo Aiqing can kill them first and then report them. If they are local officials, they will be assessed based on the five items of security, bandit suppression, economy, integrity, and governance. Each year's political performance The full score is fifty points, and thirty points is the passing line. If there is no special reason, if you fail for two consecutive years, you must be warned. If you fail for three consecutive years, you will be dismissed immediately. Otherwise, you can be promoted and appointed."
Don’t you candidates all have your own calculations?
Just right!
I will take you all to a quiet place and fix it up.
Those who are disobedient will never be able to breathe again, let alone go back to their hometown!
I spent two million taels of silver on Shaanxi, and I didn't ask you to divide the money with tears in your eyes.
Whoever dares to share money that shouldn’t be shared, I will divide their bodies!
"Your Highness is wise, and I am deeply grateful. I will do my best to govern Shaanxi!"
The prince's arrangement in this way means that this year's palace examination is specifically for Shaanxi to fill vacancies. As the governor of Shaanxi, Zuo Maodi was of course very moved. This solved his urgent need and got a group of young talents to bring them to the northwest. , you can do it with ease.
"For this batch of students, this palace examination is only the first one. After arriving in Shaanxi, it will be the second examination! If you don't do well in the first exam, you can retake it. If you don't do well in the second exam, it will be minor. Losing one's job and being demoted, and more importantly, one's body and head are missing. I believe this is like a big wave, and all that can be left behind in the end is gold!"
The students still didn't want to go at first, but after the imperial edict was issued, they didn't dare not go.
It was only when they arrived that they discovered that Shaanxi, which was famous for its poverty, actually had the priceless "Three Treasures".
A big deal worth millions of taels of silver is right in front of them, and they won't be happy to let them go back then.
The "Three Treasures of Shaanxi" can draw away the souls of many people. It is only bigger than the salt cake of Lianghuai.
I am afraid that less than half of these three hundred people will survive. Many people who think they are smart will capsize and drown in the northwest.
The palace examination is an exercise, and after taking office, it is a practical test, and you use your own head to test your own quality.
For the "gold" found out, a certain prince would naturally reward him with silver.
And for those "sands" who want to make money, the only way to make money is to work in the underworld...
A guy like Chen Zhilin, who has had swollen cheeks just two years after taking office, would have already been on the road to hell if he hadn't been rewarded for reporting.
The guys from Donglin, Fushe, and Jishe were still thinking of adding sand to the palace examination, hoping that one day they could make a comeback, which would be a good time for all the undercover agents they sent to go to Shaanxi to "experience".
Especially those who prefer to line their own pockets and want to oppose government decrees, let Zuo Maodi have a plan to "snap" them out scientifically and rationally, causing certain interest groups to lose their money.
Shaanxi is a filter for selecting talents, filtering out all the bugs and undercover agents, leaving only people who can be used with confidence.
Those guys with evil intentions would not have expected that a certain prince would play like this, and a designated "entertainment venue" was specially arranged for them. Not only did they have to play, but they also had to play according to the rules of a certain prince. If they violated the rules, they would be "snapped" "Snap" off.
It's too late to refuse. A certain prince's big ship is not something you can get on or off if you want. You need to pass various examinations to get on the ship, and you need to hand over all your belongings to get off the ship!
No one forced you to get on the ship at the beginning, didn't you all want to get your money back as soon as possible?
There happens to be a gambling game where the two sides can bet against each other.
If you win the bet, you will be able to escape unscathed.
If you lose, then you are willing to admit defeat.
There are factory guards responsible for security work, and these gamblers can't help but accept it!
When he heard the word "gold", Zuo Maodi felt a lot of emotion in his heart.
Previously, the prince pointed out the locations of many gold mines, which made him very optimistic about the prospects of Shaanxi.
But the prince just said a few words and wanted to take away 20% of the mining share. This is when the lion opened his mouth.
Zuo Maodi was very dissatisfied with this, and was worried that the prince would change his mind to private mining, so he had no choice but to agree directly.
But after he calmed down and thought about it for a few days, Zuo Maodi was able to accept the result calmly.
In terms of the share of the gold mine, Hubu accounted for 40%, Shaanxi accounted for 40%, both were the big ones, and the prince only had one-fifth. The price in exchange was not too high.
It is understandable that he gave the "Three Treasures of Shaanxi" that could help Wanmin, but only took "this little benefit" in the end. In comparison, what the prince wanted was already insignificant.
The emperor would not occupy so much, but he didn't even know the location of the gold mine. If he could mine gold worth one million taels of silver a year, that would really solve a big problem.
The gold mine is an object that no matter who sees it, is coveted. Now that the prince oversees the country and has the prince's protection, it can be regarded as a talisman. Those villains who covet this thing will also be afraid of it.
Zuo Maodi also made rough calculations in his spare time. As long as Shaanxi's annual income reaches two million taels of silver for three consecutive years, the endless changes in various places will be calmed down.
The final analysis of Minbian was that the people had no money, no land, no food, no food to eat and nothing else to satisfy their hunger, so the only way to go was to rebuild.
But as long as the work-for-relief policy is implemented in Shaanxi and the people are provided with oil and coal mining, the successive civil wars will disappear.
If the government has money and can implement the government decrees, Shaanxi will be fine, and the northwest will naturally be much more stable. The court can concentrate on exterminating the rogue bandits, and then mobilize troops to resist the invasion of Donglu.
All problems focus on money, so Zuo Maodi must find ways to increase local fiscal revenue. Two million taels is an ideal amount, and 1.5 million taels is also acceptable, but the minimum annual amount cannot be less than one million taels.
Whether he can fulfill his promise in front of the prince depends on the situation of mining and oil production, and these students who have completed the palace examination will be one of the main forces in managing various places.
"Your Highness, I beg you to set up another detention facility. It is really difficult for the Metropolitan Procuratorate to detain so many suspects!"
There are a lot of palace examination results and candidate files to sort out, but Wu Zong and Du Yinxi are not the busiest people yet, because Zhong Qian, the censor of Zuodu, is already very worried.
Due to the military pay embezzlement case, the Metropolitan Procuratorate has long been overcrowded. The situation in the Criminal Department and Dali Temple is similar, and a new batch of suspects have just been born in the imperial examination.
There were more than 200 people from the Ministry of Personnel, the Imperial Academy, and the Hanlin Academy, plus the candidates who sent money, and they had to be taken into custody, not counting the family members of the officials.
"I would like to reconsider what Mr. Zhong said. There are currently too many suspects and family members involved in the case, which has exceeded the capacity of the Sanfa Division. I hope His Highness will judge them."
If you are lucky enough to enter the prison of Sanfasi for a visit, you will find that it is less like a prison and more like a crowded market. There are already so many suspects and their families that they are almost out of the prison. If this continues, we will implement He was detained in the open air.
At first, families were kept in one or several cells. Later, it was discovered that there were too many prisoners and it was unscientific to hold them in this way, so men and women were separated into separate cells.
The problem that followed was that a certain moth found that the moth that had bitten him was also locked up with him. When the jailer was not prepared, the two moths started a large-scale fight in the cell...
Most of the prisoners were civil servants, but only a few took action to solve the problem. Most of them stretched their necks and cursed each other, and the contents were all kinds of things. Even the ancestors of the previous dynasty were greeted.
"Well... then some of the suspects will be moved to the nearby noble residence for detention!"
Yaoji originally wanted the factory guards to share some of the pressure, but then he thought about it, these two departments will also fill in people, and the cells are not enough, so he can only use some free places. Anyway, those places are idle. Idle.
The rich merchants in the city, except for the "Queen's Dung Beetle", will be fished out and bled one by one. There are not many rich people left. The plan to auction the noble mansion is probably shelved for the time being, which is tantamount to destroying the city. In his own hands.
Now that the luxury houses have become unsalable, there is no need to rush to cash out. Even if they cannot be sold, it does not matter. They can be used to reward meritorious officials in the future. If they are divided into twenty or thirty houses, most of the inventory will probably be cleared. .
The remaining mansions can be developed into high-end hotels and nightclubs, specially used for the consumption of dignitaries who are not short of money. It seems that this project also has great market potential. If it is run properly, it should not be a problem to earn a hundred thousand taels a year.
For a high official like Zuo Maodi, if he returns to Beijing to report on his duties, staying in an inn would be too shabby, so staying in a hotel would be just right, especially if a hotel is specially set up to receive court officials.
Only by making them feel at home can they work better for a certain prince. When their physical strength recovers, they can go to the nightclub next to them to enjoy it, or simply provide some services in the hotel.
All expenses can be reimbursed at the etiquette department. If they don't spend their own money, few people will refuse this kind of enjoyment. After enjoying the five-star service, many people will rush to pay for it even if they spend their own money.
It's the same as beef ramen. I'll let you eat a few bowls for free first. When you get addicted to it, you will inadvertently become a loyal customer of the ramen restaurant. As long as you get relevant information, you will take the initiative to visit.
Those suspects were extremely close to their family members. They could avoid the death penalty but could not escape the life crime. Soon they would be sent to Shandong to mine. Maybe Hong Chengchou, a first-class official, could be a free escort for a certain prince.
If the Beijing camp is almost wiped out, sending troops to escort them can be regarded as an excuse.
No matter what the situation is, let’s kill Liu Zeqing first, lest he become the second Liu Liangzuo.
I hope I can take advantage of the shortage of water transportation to catch him, otherwise I will have to find another way...
