Although everyone in the hall was eating and drinking, the atmosphere was strange and unusual. The voices became lower and lower, just like the students of later generations who lowered their heads and discussed quietly with the people next to them when the teacher asked someone to answer a question.
Duan Lang, the county magistrate, had no choice but to find two acquaintances to toast to Uncle Rong. When those who were named saw the expressions on the faces of others, they hid their enthusiasm and awkwardly toasted with Uncle Rong.
Jia Rong drank slowly and then heard one of the old men say with a bitter face: "Please make it clear the purpose of everyone gathering here today. Everyone is not feeling at ease while drinking this wine."
He remembered that Duan Lang had introduced this old man as the patriarch of the Chen family in Xuyi.
The Chen family is amazing. Among the major families in Xuyi County, although it is not the most populous. But the Chen family has the largest industry and is a famous silk and satin merchant in Jiangnan Province. Chen's silk not only supplies the three major weaving bureaus of Jinling, Suzhou and Hangzhou, but is also sold throughout the country along the Huaihe River and Canal, and even exported to Ryukyu, Dabazhou, Annan, Li Dynasty and other countries.
Brother Rong replied softly: "Since the old gentleman said so, we won't play charades with you anymore."
After hearing Jia Rong's voice, everyone at the same table suddenly became quiet. Seeing that the main table was quiet, people at the tables nearby also looked sideways. I just heard Uncle Rong say: "I invite everyone here today to discuss Xuyi's future development."
Everyone at the table heard this and had different expressions.
Some people laughed secretly. This imperial envoy was too young. After all, he was still building dams and gates for the Huaihe River. It is absolutely impossible to ask several big families to pay for it.
Someone was whispering to each other.
He whispered: "I guess it's the trick of setting up merit monuments again. Who among us doesn't know better than this little imperial envoy in coaxing people to donate money? These people from the imperial court only have a few tricks to come and go."
"That's right. There are several stone monuments erected in our town. What's the use? When there was a disaster in that year, we big families donated a lot of money?"
"These officials don't take any money themselves. They always expect us humble businessmen to provide money. How can it be justified? In the past, the Jia family in Jinling was a very wealthy family. It is said that they made millions of taels of silver when they were building ships in Jinling. Take out from it One hundred thousand taels is nothing."
"Have you heard about the recent events in Yangzhou? The Lin family, relatives of the Jia family, have been salt patrol censors in Yangzhou for several years. Considering that Yangzhou pays 2.5 million taels of salt every year, the salt patrol censor can only take one year. They can earn hundreds of thousands of taels. They are officials who don't know the hardships of the people. They don't pay for it themselves, and they always take care of the wealth of ordinary people like us."
The head of the Xuyi Li clan chuckled and said: "That's right, that's right. There is a member of our clan who is on duty at the Water Transport Department. He earns tens of thousands of taels of silver a year. Can these imperial envoys be worse than this? Anyway, our king The clan has no money, everyone is very poor, and the entire clan can only scrape together a thousand taels of silver."
The clan leader of the Xuyi Wang family felt envious after hearing this. He said: "Our descendants of the Li family are not up to par. Although there are many people who work in the Hedao Yamen, they have not bought much family property for the clan. Now they come to persuade me to donate money to the county government. It is really a waste of money."
Xiao Queer whispered the voices of these important figures behind Jia Rong.
The more he listened, the colder the smile on his face became. There are many wealthy people in the south of the Yangtze River, and Xuyi is located between Huai'an, Yangzhou, and Fengyang, making it a land and water transportation fortress.
Jia Rong said: "To date, the magistrate of Xuyi County has received donations totaling 3,200 taels of silver from clan leaders, clan leaders, and squires of all ethnic groups. I will calculate the amount in a few days and build a monument on the bank of the Huaihe River to let the descendants of Xuyi know each other. The gentry always has the heart of serving the people."
Brother Rong's words made the discussion below even louder. Most of them were ridiculed, and some even said disdainfully: "It's nothing more than that."
Duan Lang's face was dark. He wanted to reprimand but was afraid of offending these gentlemen. Duan Yu watched the excitement with a smile.
A guard next to him asked: "Brother Yu, aren't you worried that Brother Rong will make a fool of himself?"
Duan Yu smiled and said: "Look at how confident he is, it's strange that he can make a fool of himself. Businessmen value profits. If Brother Rong wasn't prepared to take advantage of him, how would he have called these people here?"
Jia Rong ignored the comments of the crowd below and asked the old man next to him: "How is this matter with Chen Laojue?"
Patriarch Chen chuckled twice, with deep meaning hidden in the corners of his eyes, looking at everyone and shaking his head secretly. "Since your Excellency has made a decision, how can we have any objections?"
Jia Rong nodded and said with a smile: "Mr. Chen, you are very polite. Xuyi has always been an important land and water transportation area. Managing the Huaihe River not only benefits the court, but also benefits the people of Xuyi. In the past, Xuyi was often affected by floods. With the money from the court and various ethnic groups, the people of Xuyi benefited. The days are yet to come.”
Mr. Chen heard this strangely and asked doubtfully, "Sir, do you already have the one hundred thousand taels of silver for water control?"
Uncle Rong chuckled: "The clans in Xuyi are also suffering. How can I have the nerve to ask you to contribute money again. So I thought of a way to have wealthy businessmen from Huai'an, Yangzhou and other places contribute money."
"Would they like it?"
"If you are willing, how can you not be willing?" Uncle Rong laughed loudly, allowing everyone in the hall to hear clearly. Then he said: "How can they not agree to something that can make more money? It may be far more than the one hundred thousand taels of silver Xuyi County needs."
"It's true." Everyone's faces showed disbelief.
There were also people hiding in the corner who snickered and taunted, "This imperial envoy has no choice but to comfort himself here."
Some people listened and laughed.
"Actually, it's not that we don't want to take any more money. What if the Imperial Envoy just talks to us and we donate some more money? After all, the Imperial Envoy is still a bit young and not steady in his work."
"Yes, yes, yes, although each of our families is poor, we can still afford one or two hundred taels of silver."
""
Duan Yu sneered and asked the guard next to him to sit quietly. He said, "A country man, a businessman, a bitch, only have so much vision. What are you doing with these people? Just wait and see what Brother Rong will do next."
The atmosphere among the clan chiefs and squires in Xuyi became more and more lively, and laughter filled the entire hall.
Jia Rong also smiled and asked everyone to drink more, and walked around with wine glasses from time to time. Only in this way can the guests have a great time and it will be lively.
A few squires even suggested taking advantage of the Mid-Autumn Festival to have a drinking party.
Brother Rong glanced at Duan Lang, asked his servants to serve more delicious food and wine, and called the prepared singers and dancers up to dance under the moonlight in the courtyard.
"good!"
Jia Rong drank wine and stared at the graceful figures of the dancers with her eyes. She might as well scream a few times.
The head of the Li clan frowned and said, "Something's wrong."
Chief Wang nodded. "This is so wrong."
Others also saw a problem. Now after three rounds of drinking, the imperial envoy actually kept silent about the money.
"Is it possible that he can really get one hundred thousand taels from Huai'an and Yangzhou?"
"Who will pay for it?"
"What were his exact words?"
The head of the Zhang family didn't know when he walked up to a few people and said doubtfully: "It means he can make more money."
After hearing what the head of the Zhang family said, everyone fell silent immediately, looking at each other with thoughts in their minds constantly changing.
Can you really make more money?
Jia Rong had a panoramic view of the expressions of everyone in the hall. Listening to Xiao Queer repeating the conversation of these guys, the smile on his face became even brighter. He laughed loudly and said: "This wine is a fine wine specially bought from Shaoxing. These beauties are also the most famous girls from the Twelve Bands in Yangzhou. It costs a lot of money to invite them from Yangzhou. Everyone must have a good time."
Jia Rong looked like he was not short of money, which confused everyone even more. Although they also knew that the money for drinks tonight was not related to the money raised, Jia Rong's unworried look still made them feel nervous.
Especially that sentence can make more money.
How to make money?
Xuyi is close to Huaiyang and Jinling, so many people in the county are doing business outside. The silks of the Chen family, the tea of the Wang family, and the lacquerware of the Zhang family are quite famous not only in Jiangnan, but also in Dayan.
Now I am thinking about that sentence of making more money, and I feel uncomfortable no matter how I think about it. I occasionally look at Jia Rong who is staring at the dancing girl shining, and I feel even worse.
The head of the Li family said bewilderedly: "Among the big families in Xuyi, the richest is none other than the Chen family. Our Li family only relies on rent collection and does not do business. You Zhang family and Wang family can go to the Imperial Envoy with the Chen family to ask questions. Ask, what is the way to make more money?"
Several people heard this and glanced at the head of the Li family. Although the Li family does not engage in business, they are one of the richest families in Xuyi. In addition to those who were officials in the Water Transport Ministry, the Li family also had one or two officials in Shenjing. Who dares to look down upon the Xuyi Li family?
The Wang family's tea business is not small. The head of the Wang family sighed, and the head of the Zhang family pulled him back to the main table.
When Jia Rong saw them coming, he deliberately walked away and went to the front of a group of female concubines who were playing and singing. Seeing, listening, and feeling it up close is indeed a different feeling.
Brother Rong thought about it and couldn't figure out what those guys in Shenjing were thinking. Isn't it better to raise such a group of singers and dancers than to raise a group of actors? It would be nice if the dancers wore less clothes, just like the dancers of the Li Dynasty in the previous life, their pants were as short as the thighs.
Jia Rong looked at it with great interest, while the little bird behind him was extremely dissatisfied with his bulging face. Full of resentment: The front of these dancers is not big, huh?
"pretty!"
Jia Rong didn't look like a child from a big family at all, which made everyone in the hall look at him with suspicion.
At this time, the old patriarch of the Chen family came over and said softly: "The management of the Huaihe River is related to the safety of the people of Xuyi. Sir, don't ask us to do it. If you really don't want the money, the people of Xuyi will be happy in vain."
When Jia Rong heard this, she rolled her eyes secretly. Do you also know that it is related to the safety of the people of Xuyi? No matter what, I don't want to pay.
He said: "Mr. Chen is right to be worried, but please rest assured, sir. If the money is not returned, it will be a loss for the merchants in Huaiyang and Yangzhou. They have wasted such a good opportunity."
Mr. Chen asked in confusion: "What a good opportunity?"
Jia Rong chatted with the Chen family chief, and the squires who were the heads of the Wang family, Li family, Zhang family and other families gathered around him out of curiosity. They are really curious about things that can make more money.
Uncle Rong pretended to be mysterious and said: "This matter has not been announced to the public yet, so it should be kept secret."
""
Seeing the regret on Mr. Chen's face, he chuckled and said: "If you really want to know, I can reveal a little bit. There must be some adults in the old man's family who are officials in the court, but I heard that today's relationship with King Zhongshun According to the policy of farmland, each locality can be appointed as a real official of the lower and ninth ranks according to the number of acres of land converted from drought to flood."
"this"
Jia Rong didn't wait for Mr. Chen to speak, and then said: "Of course, donating money has nothing to do with becoming an official. It's just that those who donate the most money can give priority to purchase tribute ash from heaven for use as camp fields. By next year, they can increase the number of acres of camp fields." Report to the state capital, and after verification, you can receive the court uniform."
Is this actually true?
The heads of several families fell silent after hearing this. Only they know how difficult it is to become an official from the fifth rank to the ninth rank. Although a wealthy family can spend money to donate to an official position, if there is no better way, after donating an official position, you will only have an official position but no official position.
Jia Rong chuckled, knowing that this was not enough to attract them. After all, there were only a limited number of officials in a place. This sentence is completely prepared for the Li family.
He continued: "I have specifically asked the Governor of the River and King Zhongshun to sell the naming rights of the newly built dams and gates on the Huaihe River. Any businessman or family can participate in the purchase. There is a silk merchant in Yangzhou City who is very interested in this. It is planned to spend money to buy a name for a water storage reservoir and name it Xiaojia Silk and Satin Reservoir. As a report, a monument will be built on the reservoir and the Huaihe River embankment to promote Xiaojia Silk and Satin."
"Promotion?"
"Yes, publicize it widely through stone tablets. Let all merchant ships and pedestrians passing through the Huaihe River see the advantages of Xiao's silk and satin. This tablet was erected by the imperial court and cannot be damaged or altered for ten thousand years." Brother Rong laughed.
After hearing this, Mr. Chen's eyes widened, and the heads of the families behind him were even more stunned.
Can it still be like this?
For a long time, Mr. Chen almost couldn't breathe. He knew about the Xiao family. It was said that the Xiao family had a talented servant named Lin in recent years, and he married all the Xiao family sisters. Now, under the care of that servant, the Xiao family's silk fabrics are weighing down the Chen family's silk fabrics in Xuyi.
The other people looked at Chen's old state and felt sad for the Chen family. The Xuyi section of the Huaihe River is an important place that connects the east, west, north and south. When the people from Huainan saw this monument erected by the imperial court, they were afraid that they would all choose Xiao family silk and satin.
Mr. Chen took a deep breath and calmed down. Asked: "Are all the sluices and dams along the Huaihe River for sale?"
"It's not about selling the sluice and dam. It's about exchanging donations for the naming rights of the sluice and dam. At the same time, the river governor's office, in order to express its gratitude, carved a monument on the Huaihe River sluice to advertise it."
Brother Rong laughed and took out another sluice design drawing.
Pointing to a place, he said: "This is the place where the inscriptions are engraved. All the ships passing here can see it. I am also thinking about everyone, for fear that others can't see clearly, I even thought something like, 'Silk is better from the Xiao family.'" The words "like" are engraved on the back. Not only that, in order to make all the contents more conspicuous, they must also be painted with paint that is not easily washed away by rain."
Everyone was as dumb as a chicken, and they didn't come back to their senses.
But Jia Rong said it with gusto, as if showing off. Tell them one by one the several highly targeted advertising slogans you have thought of.
only
Not one of them is from Xuyi County.
"Isn't this inappropriate?" Mr. Chen said with a bitter smile.
