"Come, Guirong, I've met your Uncle Ziying,..." Jia Lian's face was full of satisfaction and pride. The black fox leg coat he was wearing must have been newly purchased, as well as this purple silk silk jacket. It makes this guy's talent stand out exceptionally well.
"Guirong has met uncle." Wu Nong said softly, but he had a Suzhou-Hangzhou accent. He had a good-looking face, thin eyebrows and red lips, and eyes like paint. He was indeed pretty, and with his delicate and delicate appearance, he guessed that This Jia Lian is in trouble.
Feng Ziying just cupped her hands and nodded.
Jia Lian didn't care either. This concubine secretly adopted from outside was actually equivalent to an outer concubine. If she wanted to become a formal concubine, she would have to be brought back to the palace.
It was not that he had never thought about Wang Xifeng's difficulty, but he did lack some ability to resist when faced with the deep affection of a beautiful woman. Moreover, under Wang Xifeng's long-term strength, the gentle and charming figure revealed by this woman really made him Inextricable.
After toasting with a glass of wine, the woman returned to the side room, and Feng Ziying muttered: "Brother Lian, are you serious?"
"Why, brother Keng, you are allowed to live outside two by two, and your second brother Lian can't even accept this one?" Jia Lian complained half-seriously, "You don't have the temperament of your second sister-in-law. I don’t know, the second brother has been depressed in the house for a long time. It’s hard to relax when he comes out, so please don’t cause trouble for the second brother, okay?”
The last sentence had a hint of pleading in it. Feng Ziying couldn't help but sigh and couldn't say more.
"But brother Keng, although the second brother Guirong accepted it, it's still a bit weird." Jia Lian and Feng Ziying sat on the kang across from the lacquered gold table, with two pillows stuffed behind their backs.
"Oh?" Feng Ziying asked nonchalantly, "What kind of weird method?"
"Second brother only found out about this later, which made him feel a little uneasy. However, he thought that you were doing something big. As long as he knew the whole story, he would naturally have a way to deal with it, so he calmed down." Jia Lian spoke quickly. Slow down, "Second brother, I had nothing to do, so I accidentally went to the Wutong Garden to have wine and listen to a show. Later, I went more often, and gradually became familiar with it, and someone led me to the Tassel Garden next door... "
Feng Ziying's expression remained unchanged. In fact, he had already noticed some problems before, but Jia Lian was not in a good mood.
With the level of that girl just now, even in Shou Mali, Yangzhou, it is definitely considered a good thing. If she doesn't have one or two thousand taels of silver, I'm afraid she won't be able to get it.
Jia Lian came out of the capital just in case, and brought only 800 taels of silver. Although there was not much consumption along the way, it was almost the same here in Lin Ruhai, but there were always expenses.
Whether it was such an unexpected concubine or raising a concubine, the cost would be at least several thousand taels, and even the expenses during this period of time had to be calculated. Could it be that Lin Ruhai could pay for him?
Obviously impossible.
Yangzhou is not as good as Jinling. If Jia Lian can still borrow money, there must be some problems.
But it seems that Jia Lian is not stupid and is aware of the problems inside, which makes Feng Ziying feel slightly better.
"...I didn't know it before, but this girl Guirong comes from an innocent family, but she was sold into poverty when she was young. Since I like her, I naturally have to think about how to last. I've also asked if she has such a talent. Two or three thousand taels can't be bought, but I can't afford so much money..."
Jia Lian rambled on, and Feng Ziying understood that someone was buying and giving away land to win over Jia Lian, or to please Jia Lian.
But what is there about Jia Lian that is worthy of being courted by outsiders? Its goal is self-evident.
"Ziying, your second brother has not had much ability in his life, and he is also a loser in the house. Lian Ping'er is my wife in name, but Sister Feng has never let me get involved in her marriage in the past few years. You said that I, the eldest son of the Rongguo Mansion, should be a peer in the future, isn't it a bit aggrieved?"
After drinking a few glasses of wine, Jia Lian's face began to turn blue, and he began to speak more and more, "...after that, when her mother said she wanted to redeem Guirong, she swore and swore not to do so, which made your second brother panic. Later, he asked for three thousand five hundred taels of silver, but how could your second brother get it? Until a certain day..."
"..."
There is no doubt that someone is eyeing her relationship with the Jia family, and has even figured out the relationship between herself and Lin Ruhai. Feng Ziying is not surprised.
If he came to Yangzhou to transport salt in these two Huaidus, he would stay too long and come in and out too many times, which would definitely attract the attention of interested people.
This yamen is not a place where needles cannot penetrate and water cannot penetrate. If you think of some ways and spend some money, you can find countless ways to get the information you want.
But I didn't expect that the other party would actually take a curveball approach to save the country, starting with Jia Lian.
It can be seen from this posture that they have no hidden meanings and are not afraid to let others know their existence.
Jia Lian can honestly tell herself that Feng Ziying is still very satisfied, and don't "confess" until the secret is revealed in the end, which will hurt her feelings.
It is estimated that Jia Lian actually has a rough understanding. He knows that he is here for Feng Ziying. He is just a bridge. If he can help introduce or say a few nice words, he will achieve his goal.
Looking at it this way, the person who took action was really not simple, which made Feng Ziying a little interested.
When I came to Yangzhou this time, I came here for people from all walks of life, and had only one purpose, money.
Chai Ke returned to Beijing and specially summoned Feng Ziying for two talks, discussing the current predicament in Western Xinjiang.
It is very difficult to replenish food and grass, and transportation consumption is too great.
There is now very little money left by the imperial court during the counter-rebellion. This also includes the expenses of the entire Gansu and Ningxia towns. Now there is even more consumption in Shazhou. The next step is to prepare for the recovery of Hami's food and salary supplies, so he The right minister of the Ministry of War and the governor of the three sides could not sit still.
But now the Ministry of Revenue really has no money, and it is probably difficult to count on the emperor's internal treasury.
Chai Ke still knew something about the situation. This emperor was not a miser. In fact, the Supreme Emperor did not leave him any foundation, and he also had to hold on to the income from the Lianghuai Salt Service, which was why the current difficulties were so difficult.
Before leaving, Emperor Yonglong, Ye Xianggao, Qi Yongtai and even Zheng Jizhi, Guan Yingzhen and others all summoned him in turn.
The purpose of Emperor Yonglong, Ye Xianggao and Zheng Jizhi was not Yinzhuang. The urgency of reality forced them to focus on the issue of the franchise fee that could be collected immediately. They hoped that Zhongshu Ke could come up with a corresponding strategy immediately.
Even when Feng Ziying went south this time, she could take action and contact the maritime merchants who were interested in participating first, so that they could have an idea in their minds. It would be best to go to Beijing immediately to discuss the issue of paying the charter fee. The court was waiting for the money to make an emergency response.
As for the debt issue, everyone knows that it cannot be solved at once. We must first evaluate the future sea tax revenue before we can talk about the debt issue.
Qi Yongtai paid great attention to the bank during his summons. This may be related to Feng Ziying's detailed introduction to the future operation model of the bank and its support for the industry. Feng Ziying focused on the need to support some industries related to the national economy and people's livelihood in the north. For example, in the iron smelting industry, the north has certain conditions and advantages, but this requires major investment in technical improvement.
Steelmaking may be the only industry that can promote the northern part of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Feng Ziying roughly knows the evolution of some steelmaking processes, but for him, he only knows a vague process improvement. How to do it specifically? They are ignorant, and this must ultimately be implemented by the craftsmen engaged in this industry.
The demand for steel is huge no matter what era it is. Military demand alone can make this industry flourish and develop continuously. From armor to cold weapons to hot weapons, everything is inseparable from massive quantities of steel. of steel, and with the development of the shipbuilding industry, the demand for steel will also grow.
The steel industry has always been an industry that requires huge investment, especially when faced with the need to constantly try to break through old processes and innovate new ones, this investment may be even greater.
Feng Ziying also specifically reminded Qi Yongtai of this point, but it is obvious that Qi Yongtai doesn't care much about this. An industry that can boost the northern economy is enough to overcome any existing difficulties, and it was mentioned by Feng Ziying, his proud disciple. Come out, Qi Yongtai believes that it will definitely be valuable.
Feng Ziying didn't expect that his teacher was so confident in him now, but he could also understand Qi Yongtai's pressure.
As the current leader of the Northern Scholars, he can only imagine the pressure he feels as he watches the economic development in Jiangnan getting better and better.
The strategy of opening up the sea seems to have some support for the north, but in fact everyone knows that once the strategy of opening up the sea is really fully liberalized, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Zhejiang and South Zhili will get the biggest dividend. Trade and the development of ancillary industries that it may bring will widen the gap between the south and the north. How can this realistic sense of urgency not make Qi Yongtai feel even more pressure?
But the development of every industry depends on the support of capital, especially industries like steel, which are money-burning industries from ancient times to the present.
The conversation between Chai Ke and Feng Ziying was also very simple. They wanted to raise as much money as possible. Xijiang couldn't bear it anymore. I'm afraid it was the same with Liaodong and Xuanda. In one sentence, they wanted to raise as much money as possible in a short time, no matter what they took. Which way.
Therefore, Feng Ziying's original idea of using her free time to run the bank first according to her own established path was no longer possible. She could only concentrate on a few things.
Since it has high hopes, the imperial court will naturally give enough power. The Metropolitan Procuratorate, Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate and even Long Jinwei have been ordered to fully cooperate with Feng Ziying's work.
This is almost like holding Shang Fang's sword, but Feng Ziying also knows that this kind of Shang Fang's sword is most effective when it is hung in the air.
