"Not appropriate?" Brother Rong straightened his face and snorted lightly: "I work for the imperial court and serve today. If the imperial court issues policies, we will implement them. The imperial court is also worried about the people. For the sake of Huai'an, Yangzhou and Fengyang are not protected by the Huaihe River. Now that some people are willing to donate money to control the water, we cannot let those who donate money feel cold."
There is actually a shitty person donating money now. Jia Rong only learned yesterday that the donation in Xuyi County was unsuccessful, so he called people over today and had no time to contact businessmen in Huaiyang and Huaiyang.
He said this just because he wanted to get these stingy rich people to donate more money. Seeing the uneasy look on Mr. Chen's face, Jia Rong continued: "The imperial court has always been fair. In the past, the salt merchants in Yangzhou donated nearly one million taels for military supplies, but the imperial court relaxed the number of kilograms of salt that can be imported. This principle can be used It’s no different for river water conservancy.”
The head of the Wang family finally couldn't help complaining: "The dam and gate construction this time are all within our territory of Fengyang Xuyi. How can we let the businessmen of Huai'an and Yangzhou get an advantage?"
At other points, after hearing someone say this at the beginning, they all nodded their heads, complaining and complaining.
Their family also has a business, but now they let merchants from other places place advertisements at their doorsteps. How can they go back to the family to explain? Being a clan leader is to stand up for the interests of the family and strive for the greatest benefits that the clan can obtain as much as possible.
The head of the Li clan said solemnly: "I think my Li family is a family of farming and studying. It is my duty to build water conservancy for my hometown. Why do I need outsiders to intervene?"
Do you know what to say now? I don’t know who said it before, but it’s not easy for a clan to scrape together hundreds of taels of silver.
Jia Rong grinned secretly. He stood up and said with a slow smile: "Masters, please don't be impatient. What's the point of having kind people from other places donate money? I have also heard that Xuyi has suffered from disasters for many years, and even though you are a wealthy family, you can't raise much." Two silver coins. I also think about the major clans in Xuyi. I don’t need to pay any money, but I can also enjoy the peace after water control."
""
Everyone was cursing in their hearts, who knew you would do this? If they knew there was such a trick, they would definitely buy the naming rights of various locks and dams first.
If we really do what Jia Rong said just now, those in the family business will suffer big losses. Li, who claims to be a family of farming and studying, is also jealous of this benefit. The Li family was closer to the court than the other families, and they were more aware of the benefits of official positions in the Water Conservancy Camp. Yingtian was an important reform measure taken by Emperor Xiande, and was managed by Prince Zhongshun as Prime Minister and Bachelor of Science Shu Bole as Assistant Manager.
As long as you enter the Water Conservancy Yingtian Mansion, whether you are transferred to the Sixth Department or to a lower place in the future, it will never be a marginal official position.
The head of the Li family said: "Although the Li family is not rich, they can still scrape together ten or twenty thousand taels of silver."
Jia Rong laughed after hearing this.
Good guy, it seems like this guy was the one who said he could get at most one thousand taels of silver, but now he can get one to twenty thousand taels of silver. Brother Rong said: "It's useless for Patriarch Li to be anxious now. All the water conservancy projects in the Huaihe River section in Xuyi County have been booked."
"All booked?"
Brother Rong nodded: "Yes, it's all booked."
"Are you running out of room?"
Jia Rong shook his head slightly and said with a wry smile: "King Zhongshun once ordered that such things that benefit the people will naturally give priority to the local area. But the price offered by the merchants in Huaiyang and Yangtze is really unacceptable."
After being stunned for a long time, Mr. Chen stood up with his crutches, his head tilted, and his old face was painful. He asked, "I dare to ask, your Majesty the Imperial Envoy, how can such matters be calculated by the amount of money?"
"Old sir, don't be anxious." Jia Rong sighed, with a look of helplessness on his face, and said, "I have no other choice." After asking the Cheng and Magistrate of Xuyi County, they both said that it was difficult for every poor family in Xuyi to raise money. We have no choice but to seek help from other wealthy merchants. We cannot wait to control the floods in the Huaihe River, let alone wait. The sooner we raise money, the sooner we can save the people of Xuyi from the threat of floods in the Huaihe River."
Jia Rong stood up for justice, but the others couldn't say anything else. It's just that these patriarchs and squires feel aggrieved, extremely aggrieved.
A great opportunity passed before your eyes!
Depressing.
At the right time, the little Que'er behind Jia Rong said: "For the sake of the patriarchs' dedication to serving the people, why don't you think of a way to give up one or two places?"
After hearing Xiao Queer's words, everyone who was originally disappointed suddenly felt hopeful again.
But all she heard was Jia Rong said: "Wherever there are still places, they are all booked."
"That" Xiao Que'er hesitated for a moment, with an innocent and silly face, and pouted: "Didn't the uncle leave two places for the Xue family in Jinling?"
Jia Rong's face was shocked and she quickly covered Xiao Que'er's mouth. He smiled awkwardly and explained to everyone: "Nothing, this girl had her head caught in the door when she was a child, so she is a bit stupid. Don't believe him."
But when he said this, the dry smile on his face made people even more suspicious.
The head of the Li clan sneered and said, "Your Majesty, please don't use your power for personal gain."
The head of the Wang family also followed up and said: "Do we in the Wang family have people who are serving as servants in the Hedao Yamen? If you use your power for personal gain, we will definitely report it to the Governor of Hedao and King Zhongshun."
Jia Rong turned his head and glared at the little maid, and said with a helpless smile: "I just remembered that there are still two dams that have not yet been decided. But those two dams are fortresses, and one is at the entrance of the Huaihe River to Hongze Lake. One is the gate connecting Hongze Lake to three rivers. These two places account for more than 50% of the money."
Sixty percent means that these two places will cost at least five to sixty thousand taels of silver.
The Li family chief secretly gritted his teeth and said: "Please give me, the imperial envoy, five days to wait. Our Li family wants the gate of Hongze Lake."
Mr. Chen chuckled and said, "Just as the imperial envoy said, floods are merciless and time waits for no one. With thirty thousand taels of silver, the Chen family's silk satin fixed the gate connecting Hongze Lake to the Three Rivers and Gaoyou Lake."
What a guy, he took thirty thousand taels of silver without blinking an eye.
Really rich.
Brother Rong suddenly felt very disappointed. He originally thought that the tens of thousands taels from Ningguo Mansion would be considered rich enough. As a result, a family from a small county town in Jiangnan Province was able to take out thirty thousand taels casually.
Sure enough, there are many rich people in Jiangnan.
However, judging by the expressions of the people present, no other family besides the Chen family could afford thirty thousand taels. Jia Rong hesitated for a moment, thinking about how to let other people compete.
But Old Chen couldn't wait to say: "Sign the document now, and tomorrow I will ask the younger members of the clan to send the money."
So heroic and refreshing.
Jia Rong also had to give a thumbs up secretly, this old man still has courage. They say that old people are smart and young people are reckless, but after seeing what he saw today, this may not necessarily be true.
Brother Rong glared at Que'er and said deliberately: "Look at the good things you have done, why don't you get pen and paper?"
After hearing this, Mr. Chen had a strange look in his eyes. How could an old and sophisticated person fail to hear that there was something special in these words, but Mr. Chen didn't say anything. When the maid Qiao'er came over with a pen and paper, Mr. Chen gave Jia Rong a thoughtful look and sighed softly: "The younger generation is scary."
Jia Rong reminded: "Once you make a written commitment, you can never go back on it. Mr. Chen must think clearly."
Mr. Chen nodded lightly and immediately wrote down the receipt.
Make two copies, sign and seal, all in one go.
In this way, Chen Laofang breathed a sigh of relief and said with relief: "Thank you, Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy."
When the others saw that the Chen family had bought the naming rights for a place, their eyes were hot and their hearts were even more anxious. I quickly asked about the remaining place
"It's so boring."
The other three major families and the squires from other families crowded together, like hundreds of ducks gathering in one place. There were creaking and chattering, and the whole Yamen was noisy.
Duan Yu heard this and knew that everything was going well, so he withdrew with peace of mind. The other two guards saw this and hurried out. Duan Lang and others who stayed behind were still accompanying Jia Rong in the back hall.
"Brother Rong's methods are really clever."
"No wonder the capital city is spreading rumors that he is a swindler. Alas, I have seen it today. He clearly tricked those people, yet people still feel grateful to him."
Duan Yu said: "You are all wrong. Do you really think those squire clan leaders understand anything? They want to make money. In fact, it has nothing to do with Brother Rong. Because they know that they can only engrave their Xuyi on the locks and dams on the Huaihe River. The county's property must be bought with money, otherwise Brother Rong would really go to Yangzhou and place advertisements for foreign merchants on several dams and locks on the Huaihe River, which would be a serious blow to these big families."
Just like what Duan Yu said. Brother Rong didn't really want to trick them, otherwise he wouldn't have used inducements, but coercion.
Finally, the place where the Huaihe River flows into Hongze Lake was finally captured by the Li family with 20,000 taels. Although their family is not engaged in business, they are very interested in camp affairs.
As a result, half of the one hundred thousand taels has been reached.
Jia Rong met more than a dozen squires and clan leaders in the hall, and the remaining positions were not enough for them. He smiled bitterly and said: "It's all my fault. Tomorrow, I will talk to the businessmen in Huaiyang and ask them to give up all the places in the back. But even so"
"The one with the highest price will get it," the Zhang family, who made lacquerware, shouted.
Although the Zhang family is not as good as the Chen family in terms of financial resources, it is comparable to the Wang family among the four major families. Other families are simply not enough to see here.
The Wang family heard this and supported it.
Of course Jia Rong supports it. Auction is my favorite thing. He sent everyone out because it was too late today, and asked Duan Lang, "Why are you looking so sad?"
Duan Lang worried: "Will King Zhongshun blame you for doing this?"
Jia Rong smiled and said: "You will be blamed by the superiors if you can't get money. Don't worry, no one will blame the court for benefiting the people."
"But"
Duan Lang wanted to say something else, but was stopped by Jia Rong. "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."
Brother Rong knew in his heart that if there were any violations, Duan Yu would definitely stop it. This was also the reason why King Zhongshun kept Duan Yu with Jia Rong, to prevent this guy from doing anything shocking.
Duan Lang returned sadly.
Jia Rong returned to her room, and Xiaoqueer immediately turned shy. Showing two small tiger teeth in his mouth, he smiled and said: "How is Que'er doing today?"
Brother Rong drank a lot of wine. Hearing this girl come to please him, he forced a smile and said: "Very good, great. I'm sleepy. You can go out."
Little Que'er's face turned red with embarrassment, and she whispered, "Since Que'er has done well, I should give Que'er some rewards."
"Huh?" Jia Rong yawned and asked in confusion: "What reward?"
Que'er grabbed the corners of his clothes with both hands and twisted them, and said shyly: "This is what uncle loves to do most."
My favorite thing to do is, of course, Jia Rong was stunned and hummed: "Get out quickly, what are you thinking about?"
""
After the little girl was kicked out, Jia Rong felt relieved. Being cared about by such a fourteen-year-old girl makes my heart really tired. Alas, I hummed a few words in my heart: Don't let vanity get in your way, this big bowl of prison food is also very expensive.
The auction date is set for three days.
Many people came to the county government office in Xuyi County that day, but Jia Rong did not show up again. Fifty thousand taels of silver have been settled, and Duan Lang still can't handle the rest, then he really has misjudged the person. Moreover, Jia Rong set the lowest price for various ship locks and dams to ensure that the auction proceeds would not be less than 50,000 taels.
Unexpectedly, on the day of the auction, Jia Rong, who was resting in the room, suddenly heard rumors from outside.
"The fight started!"
"What started the fight?"
"Several squires in Xuyi County started fighting."
"what happened?"
"It's not like those people were trying to trick someone. They actually negotiated a low price and wanted to get the naming rights of several dams and locks for free, and then divide them among themselves."
After hearing this, Jia Rong couldn't help laughing and said: "Since I wanted to buy the naming rights at a low price, why did we start fighting again? Are you still fighting now?"
"After being pulled away by the county government patrol, Duan Lang showed off his power, saying that if anyone dared to cause trouble again, he would be convicted of contempt of court." Duan Yu chuckled, "This idiot still has some backbone, but he still has some guts. It’s considered to have suppressed everyone.”
Brother Rong yelled and asked, "Why did they fight?"
"These bitches calculated well. After hearing that there was a secret bid for the lowest price, they actually thought of several companies to join forces to bid together. But when they heard that only one family could be displayed in the lock, they made a fuss again. There was a fuss between several families. I was so angry. I actually raised the price of the last gate to more than 10,000 taels."
More than 20,000 taels, Jia Rong said happily: "Isn't it true that the total amount raised this time far exceeds 100,000 taels?"
Duan Yu said: "One hundred and twenty thousand and four hundred taels."
Jia Rong said with a smile: "Now that I have raised 120,000 taels of silver, I will be very happy when it reaches the Thirteenth Master. Brother Yu must carefully supervise the people in the Hedao Yamen to prevent corruption."
Duan Yu frowned and asked, "Brother Rong, what do you mean?"
"The Xuyi matter has been decided for the time being. The Thirteenth Master has also handed over an errand." Jia Rong was secretly happy. Although he handed over a cement prescription to the palace, it was difficult for the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to build a cement kiln for the time being. Jiangnan The province and Gyeonggi Province cannot wait. He said: "Nowadays, there is a huge demand for cement in the northern and southern provinces. Master Thirteen urged us to go to Jinling to quickly build a cement kiln."
Duan Yu said with envy: "When can we be like you, able to go around doing errands and having fun?"
"There is no such thing as a happy person. I am the real hard-working person. I can't even rest for half a day." Jia Rong shook his head and said. But I was secretly happy in my heart: Xiao Baochai, your uncle is going to Jinling.
