Changxinfang in Xuchang City is where Zuo Rong's mansion is located.
This guy's mansion doesn't look very grand from the outside, but as soon as you enter the mansion, you will even wonder if you have entered the inner garden of the palace.
His extravagant style was a habit he had developed as early as in Xuzhou. He spent money like water, otherwise he would have defected to four prefects and killed them all, just to rob their property.
But now he can live a luxurious life without robbing his family. In recent years, with the help of Lu Lin's influence, the Zuo Chamber of Commerce has replaced the Mi Family and become the richest chamber of commerce in the Han Dynasty.
Even excluding the fertilizer, sugar, glass and other businesses that Lin Mo entrusted to him, the business routes he has seized over the years can overwhelm the Zhen family. Not too much.
"Ze Rong, this is the first time I've come to your house today. I've long heard that your house is magnificent, but the thirteen members of the Zuo family have more than two hundred servants. I said you use so many Are you human?" Lin Mo, who entered the house, sat down and began to sigh.
Zuo Rong hurriedly explained with a smile: "Rumors, absolute rumors. That includes the singers I raised. If it's just the nursing home and maids, there are only a hundred or so people."
"Luxury."
In the hall, even people like Lin Mo who had seen the imperial palace and the Yuan family's mansion couldn't help but look around. The beams of golden nanmu, the plaque made of pure gold, and the floor tiles made of white marble, how rich it is. ah.
"If Sikong has anything to do, you can just send someone to summon him. Why do you have to make this trip yourself?" Zuo Rong looked at Lin Mo's greedy eyes and quickly changed the subject.
"well"
Lin Mo let out a long sigh, shook his head and said, "Nothing's wrong, I'm just worried. I'm not here to talk to Minister Zuo today about state affairs, but brother Lin Xian is here to complain to Brother Zuo."
No, I'm afraid I'm in big trouble!
Zuo Rong felt his heart sink, and his feet were shaking unconsciously.
"That's, that's the relationship between Sikong and Xiaguan. They are closer than brothers. It's Xiaguan's honor to listen to Sikong's bitterness." Ze Rong's heart was pounding.
"Your Majesty is going to build an imperial mausoleum. In the summer, the poll tax will be increased by ten yuan per person. This is a large amount of money. Brother Xian knows it. I am a refugee, so I can best understand the suffering of the people. I see the people increase their income before my eyes." Tax, I feel so sad.”
Lin Mo was complaining for the people, while Zuo Rong was settling accounts in his mind.
Excluding Jiaozhou, Yizhou and Jingzhou, the population of the ten states is almost 47 million, and ten qian per person is 470 million yuan.
After Zuo Rong simply made a calculation, although he was extremely heartbroken, he still breathed a sigh of relief. He was within the tolerance and immediately took the initiative to speak, "Although Brother Yu doesn't have much money, he can't just watch Brother Xian worry about the people's affairs. , Let’s do this, I paid this tax for the people of the world, oh no, no.”
Zuo Rong quickly waved his hand and changed his words, "My virtuous brother paid it for the people of the world, and my foolish brother paid for it on my behalf."
"How can that be done!"
Lin Mo immediately said seriously: "There are so many people in the world, do you plan to send this money to them individually? That is simply unrealistic."
ah?
Shouldn't it be enough to transfer this money directly to the inner government?
After being stunned for a moment, Zuo Rong immediately understood that what Lin Mo came here to ask for today was not just money. He wanted the people to hand over the tax to hate Liu Xie, and then he would fill the hole to earn fame.
You're all about saving face, right?
The question really arises, how to return the money? Obviously it is impossible to distribute it door to door.
Zuo Rong scratched his head and cautiously asked, "What's your clever trick, then?"
"Is there any clever trick? I've thought of a way."
Lin Mo looked at Zuo Rong and said meaningfully: "I think so. The banks of the Zuo Chamber of Commerce are all over the seven states. If you use the name of the chamber of commerce to lend tax loans to the people interest-free, you will not only be in the bank It’s within the range of your budget and at the same time it can help the people, what do you think, Brother Xian?”
Tax loan?
What a novel term.
Just by hearing the name, you will know that it is impossible to lend too much to each household, at least it will not exceed the tax they should pay, so that costs can be controlled.
At the same time, people who are really pushed to the edge by taxes will definitely come to borrow money because they do not need to pay interest. In this way, their reputation will be earned.
What a neat trick.
"What a good idea, good brother, good, good, good, good, good, I will pass on the order, and the Zuo Chamber of Commerce will fully cooperate with you, good brother!" Just a simple calculation revealed that this method obviously cost 470 million yuan.
What's more, this is a loan, so you have to pay it back even if there is no interest.
But Lin Mo still shook his head, "It's still not good. If you do this, people in the world will only recognize you as Zuo Rong, and who will remember me?"
"Then let the people below make it clear to every borrower what Lin Sikong meant?" Zuo Rong asked tentatively.
"it's useless."
Lin Mo clenched his chin and said weakly: "They turned around and went out and forgot. Even if they remembered, they would only remember the money they owed the Zuo Chamber of Commerce. Who would remember me? Unless unless"
Hearing this, Zuo Rong's face turned pale, and he had an ominous premonition.
But Lin Mo seemed to have no intention of stopping, and said with an embarrassed look on his face: "Unless this Zuo's Bank changes its name to Lin's Bank, then they will definitely know that it is my intention, what do you think?"
Oh my God, you are here to kill me today!
The Zuo Chamber of Commerce does have a lot of business, but apart from the fertilizer business that does not belong to it, the bank is the biggest profit, which can be regarded as the fundamental lifeline.
Zee Rong seemed to hear the sound of his own heart breaking, it was over, everything was over, Zee Rong even slipped from the chair to the ground and sat paralyzed, staring at Lin Mo blankly.
This is not Xuzhou Pengcheng, and today's Lin Mo is no longer the good brother he was before. Zuo Rong knows this better than anyone.
In fact, he didn't know that Lin Mo had chosen to tolerate his various irregular behaviors over the years. He also knew that sooner or later, he would bleed heavily.
But I didn't expect that it wasn't just bleeding, it was clearly a major artery.
"Dear brother, I"
"Oh, it's okay. If Brother Xian feels embarrassed, then it's Brother Fool's fault. I'll take my leave now. Zhen Mi, the head of the Zhen family, will be here later. I'll ask her to see if she can help."
Seeing Lin Mo getting up, Zuo Rong hurriedly climbed up and pulled his leg, "No, no, no, brother Yu also thinks that the name Lin's Bank is better than Zuo's Bank. I'll give it to you. Why don't I give it to you?"
"That's right."
Lin Mo sat down again with a smile and said with a smile: "Actually, this kind of thing will inevitably happen again in the future. If you just leave the bank to me, you will save the effort of communicating. How nice."
"Yes, what my dear brother said is right." Zuo Rong burst into tears.
Lin Mo felt a little distressed when he saw Zuo Rong with tears and runny nose. After helping him up, he took off the ring in his hand and waved it in front of Zuo Rong, "Do you still remember this ring?"
"Of course I remember, it was given to you by Brother Yu when Pengcheng and I first met." Zuo Rong choked with sobs.
"Yes, so many years have passed in a flash."
Lin Mo nodded, and then handed it to his hand, "From now on, if you really run into trouble, have someone bring you the wrench, and I will take care of all the big things for you."
"really?"
"A true man promises a thousand pieces of gold."
Zuo Rong immediately stopped crying, his eyes glowed, and his breathing quickened.
He could clearly grasp the weight of Lin Mo's words just now. This was equivalent to winning a gold medal for immunity from death.
But after a while, he returned it again and said with a smile: "There is no reason to take back the things you gave away. Brother Lin Xian should take it with you, so that you can always remember Brother Yu."
Lin Mo frowned, are you willing to take advantage of others?
But he reacted immediately and sneered, "Tell me what you want."
Zuo Rong coughed dryly, pondered for a moment, and said with a smile: "Brother Yu just wants to truly share the worries of the virtuous brother. Look, it's not a problem that Da Honglu's position is always vacant among the three ministers and nine ministers, right?
Brother Yu thinks that he should be competent, but I wonder if Brother Xian can."
Dahonglu, one of the Nine Qings, was mainly responsible for the exchanges between the court and vassal states, as well as border tribal affairs. At the same time, he was also in charge of the tribute affairs of various vassal states in the early Western Han Dynasty.
This position is not simple, it is equivalent to direct jurisdiction over the tribute payment of all subject countries. This subject country is not limited to foreign races and border areas, but also marquises with fiefdoms in the thirteen states of the Han Dynasty.
These people have to pay tribute twice a year. You can imagine how fat the pork is, and how much lard may be left on your hands.
Especially after the world is unified in the future, the original marquis, plus the new title of commendation to various ministries, will be a good job just thinking about it. Zuo Rong is really discerning.
"As you know, my father-in-law and I have stated that we will not interfere with His Majesty's decision regarding the positions of the Three Lords and Nine Ministers."
Lin Mo glanced at him faintly, stood up and walked out of the hall, saying as he walked: "But I will try to give your Majesty some advice. As for whether you listen or not, I don't care."
"Thank you, dear brother!" Even though Lin Mo had already walked away, Zuo Rong still did not forget to bow in that direction.
The amount of money in the Qizhou Land is an astronomical amount, and it cannot be measured in terms of money. But if he really trades these for Da Honglu, Zuo Rong feels that he will definitely not lose money.
What is he afraid of? What he is afraid of is that he will not be able to stay in the capital, especially now that the imperial examination system has been implemented, the power of the governors and prefects in various places has plummeted, and the officials in the capital are the most popular.
Thinking of this, Zuo Rong even felt that he had made a lot of money.
For Lin Mo, this matter is actually a bit embarrassing. In terms of merit, Zuo Rong is far from qualified to serve as Dahonglu. Lu Su, Xu Shu, and Pang Tong are not above him.
But when it comes to being obedient and able to do what they are told, these people are indeed not as good as Zuo Rong. Human beings, a little selfishness is nothing, just treat it as raising a Heshen.
Of course, if you push it forward, you can't just hand over the bank, but the business road must also be handed over.
On the way back, Lin Mo calculated that the Zuo family's bank plus the Zhen family's bank had completely covered the territory under his rule. The combined efforts of all the banks could well ease the conflict between the court and the people. .
At the same time, Liu Xie's current request for a tax increase can also further enhance his reputation.
When the time comes, we will integrate the business methods of the Zhen family and the Zeo family and adopt the operating model of a state-owned enterprise, so as to ensure that the court's expenses are not completely passed on to the common people.
Jiaozhou, Jiaozhi County, Longbian County.
Sun Ce was wearing battle armor and a tasseled helmet. It took him a long, long time to slowly recover from the pain of defeat and loss of his robe.
Although he is very energetic now, no matter how you look at it, he does not have the high-spiritedness he once had when he swept across Jiangdong. Inexplicable emotions seem to have settled in his eyes. He is no longer murderous, but It's a kind of loneliness.
Of course, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang were indispensable for allowing him to ease this pain.
After Wenpin went to Changsha, he and Liu Qixiao quickly agreed to an alliance based on their interests. Naturally, this news was conveyed to Sun Ce, and he readily agreed without even a moment's hesitation.
In Jiangdong, too many sons died under Lu Lin's command; in Sun Ce, too many of Paoze's brothers died in Lu Lin's confrontation.
As long as he can wash away the humiliation that weighs on his heart with blood, he can even ignore the question of how to divide the territory after success.
Han Dang and Cheng Pu reported the final preparations to Sun Ce in the council hall. If the four major families in Jiangdong are still willing to help and gather more than 10,000 naval troops, then they can have 25,000 naval troops on hand, enough to form an alliance. Show your glory.
While the three of them were discussing the details, Ding Feng ran in quickly. He was breathing heavily and looked at Sun Ce with a sad face.
"Chengyuan, what happened?" After experiencing so many things, Sun Ce has matured a lot. No matter how bad the news is, he can deal with it calmly.
At least, that's what he thought.
Ding Feng lowered his head and choked up and said: "My lord, Huang Zu led hundreds of soldiers disguised as common people and sneaked into Moling. That night, they suddenly rushed into the lord's mansion and massacred all the lord's family, including Tai Madam, Shu Bi, Ji Zuo and the young lady. No one in the family of twenty-three was spared.”
"What?"
Hearing this, Han Dang and Cheng Pu looked horrified and looked at each other before looking at Sun Ce.
There was no rage as imagined, nor was he crying uncontrollably. Sun Ce was like an ice sculpture in the cold winter, just looking straight at Ding Feng.
For a long, long time, he didn't say a word.
But the more he behaves like this, the more uncomfortable Cheng Pu and Han Dang feel. God, how much more are you going to let this child endure?
Cheng Pu took a deep breath and looked at Ding Feng, thinking it was to ask Sun Ce's doubts, "Where is Huang Zu?"
Ding Feng struggled to raise his tearful face and said, "Run away."
"We have navy patrols at so many ferries along the river. How could we allow so many of them to enter Moling City in a dignified manner?"
Han Dang also asked with scarlet eyes: "Even if you sneak in, are all the defenders in the city just for food? Are they all deaf after the massacre of the Sun family?"
Ding Feng shook his head weakly, still holding a piece of silk cloth in his hand, "I don't know, this letter was sent by Lu Xun on a fast horse, that's all it said."
Neither of them asked any more questions because they both knew it in their hearts.
No matter how disguised Huang Zu was, it was impossible for him to control the navy through layers of water, land at Moling Ferry, and finally enter Moling City, kill people, and still escape unscathed. This was something that even Lu Bu couldn't do if he came.
There is only one possibility, the support of the four major families.
They can do it, the naval force is theirs, and although there are the backbone of the Sun family in Moling City, it is absolutely not difficult for their people to let Huang Zu in.
But, what can they do if they know it? If they do this, they are obviously ready to draw a clear line with the Sun family. If they dare to do this, there must be someone behind them.
The person who came was Huang Zu. Why should he help him? It could only be because of Lu Lin.
At this moment, they all fell silent, lowered their heads, and stopped talking. In the entire council hall, only sobbing could be heard.
But Sun Ce didn't cry, he was like a statue from beginning to end.
He didn't know how long it took, but he slowly walked towards Ding Feng, helped him up, and glanced at Cheng Pu and Han Dang, "I want to be alone."
The three of them all wanted to be by Sun Ce's side, no matter how he wanted to vent his pain, rage, or hangover, they were all fine, but they were just afraid of his silent silence.
The three of them turned around and walked out. After Sun Ce closed the door of the council hall, he leaned against the door and slowly slid to the ground. He covered his face with his hands, his shoulders trembled, and slight sobs leaked out from between his fingers.
He thought of Sun Jian, who asked him to take good care of his mother, his brothers and sisters, and the family before he died.
But today, Sun Quan died in battle, and his mother, Sun Yi, Sun Kuang, and Sun Shangxiang were killed by the enemy.
No one could understand that at this moment, Sun Ce's inner world collapsed.
He imagined that it must have been very cold that night, and how helpless his younger brothers, sisters, and mother must have been in the face of Huang Zu's butcher knife.
It seemed that everyone he cared about in the world and everyone who cared about him had left him, and the feeling of loneliness beat at Jiang Dongjiro's heart like a mountain and a tsunami.
It hurts.
Dad, Mom, the kid really can’t stand it anymore.
He pulled out the sword from his waist and held the blade with his right hand. The harder he pressed, the deeper the sword edge penetrated into his palm. However, he could not feel any pain. Only the blood sliding down the sword edge confirmed that his wound was real.
Bao Jian was slowly raised, and the cold edge of the sword hung at his throat. His hands were trembling and he hesitated to make a move.
Suicide has always been the behavior of the weak. Jiangdong Little Overlord once said that even if you die, you must die on the battlefield.
But today, he seemed to want to break this oath himself, because the five words "Jiangdong Little Overlord" are no longer an honor, but a kind of irony.
The sword fell to the ground with a clang, and Sun Ce's head drooped. He never made a move. He didn't dare, because he was afraid that he would not know how to explain it when he saw his parents.
Outside the door, the three people did not leave. They burst into tears, but no sound was made.
Probably, they know that this kind of pain cannot be sympathized with, and they just hope that God can enlighten him. In the eyes of Han Dang and Cheng Pu, he is just a child.
(End of chapter)
