Soon after the emperor issued a decree on the opening of the port, he proposed the construction of a north-south straight road in the court, and ordered the household department to liquidate the national treasury of silver. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Of course, there are naturally some people who oppose the construction of straight roads, and one of the most important reasons for opposition is that the imperial court has no money.

In the years since the emperor ascended the throne, he built water conservancy, dredged canals, and in the event of a disaster, there was a tax reduction and exemption, and the silver of the household came in from the left pocket, and in the blink of an eye the emperor came out of the right pocket, and the household did not have any silver at all.

The emperor's attitude is the same as when the port was opened, let you quarrel first, anyway, I will repair it in the end.

And at this moment, the patriarch of the richest Zhuang family in Jiangnan, Uncle Zhuang entered Beijing with his wife and eldest son.

Although the dealer has business in the capital over the years, and the second master Zhuang is in the capital, the base camp of the dealer is in the south of the Yangtze River after all, and the dealer has not yet entered Beijing with such a great momentum as this time.

In the Zhaoyang Palace.

Yu Yu said to Wu: "I heard that when Uncle Zhuang entered Beijing, he was followed by ten carriages, and the wheels of the carriages crushed the road, and the Zhuang family invited the largest Zhenfeng Dart Bureau in Jiangnan to escort them to Beijing. ”

Wu said: "Nonsense, even if you have silver, you won't take it back to Beijing so openly, are they waiting to be robbed?" ”

Jade said, "But what is so heavy that the wheels of the carriage can be sunk?" The dealer can't transport ten carts of stones into Beijing. ”

Wu's eyes sank and frowned, but his face couldn't help but worry.

She refused to let the queen and the crown prince take the lead.

Wu said: "Let people stare at Changkun Palace again and pay attention to the queen's movements." ”

Jade Dao is.

On the third day of Uncle Zhuang's entry into Beijing, Lin Yan summoned Mrs. Zhuang, and when Mrs. Zhuang came out of Changkun Palace, her face was happy for a while and sad for a while.

Then Lin Yan summoned Mrs. Zhuang and Mrs. Zhuang several times, and also rewarded the two wives of the Zhuang family.

And the Wu family's side finally bought off a close person next to Mrs. Zhuang, and found out that the dealer was indeed ready to offer silver, but not one million taels, but three million taels, and the dealer not only planned to give it himself, but also prepared to persuade other businessmen in Jiangnan to donate silver together, at least another five million taels of silver, and Uncle Zhuang would leave to return to Jiangnan after a while to persuade him.

The queen will also persuade the prince to go to Jiangnan with Uncle Zhuang to lobby other businessmen, and if the matter can be done, then this credit will be shared by His Royal Highness the Prince.

And the queen also promised that if the dealer can really do this, she will ask the emperor for an official and a half-position for the dealer, and several businesses in the harem will also be handed over to the dealer.

After listening to the Duchess of Xuanguo, Wu clenched his hands tightly into a fist, and finally said to the Duchess of Xuanguo: "Since the Zhuang family can offer silver, then the Wu family will also offer, they will give three million taels, and our family will give eight million taels." ”

Duchess Xuanguo was shocked: "Niangniang, this matter still needs to be considered in the long run. Eight million taels is not a small amount, if you really want to give it, half of the net worth of the Xuanguo Mansion will be gone, which is a nerve-wracking thing. ”

If, as said at the beginning, the dealer is ready to offer one million taels, and the Wu family is going to offer two million taels, then it is easy to say, but eight million taels, whether it is the Duchess of Xuanguo or the Duke of Xuanguo, they must hesitate.

Wu said: "Mother, what does the Wu family always do with that bit of silver, if the prince is allowed to ascend the throne, a decree will go down, and I don't know whose money it will become." What is the most important thing now, the most important thing is the second prince. As long as the second prince can ascend the throne in the future, the Wu family has nothing to want. ”

Duchess Xuanguo frowned, her face still hesitant.

Duchess Xuanguo continued: "In my opinion, if the dealer and the prince want to persuade other merchants to offer silver, they may not be able to persuade them. The silver in people's pockets is not so easy for people to give away for nothing. ”

Wu said: "What if the dealer succeeds? Mother, don't forget, behind the dealer is the crown prince. What if the crown prince promised that after he ascended the throne, he would give benefits to those merchants? Will they be tempted? The banker's family background is not as good as the Xuanguo Mansion, and the banker family and the Lin family are just in-laws, and everyone is willing to come out to help the prince gamble. The Wu family is the second prince's relatives, and they are not as bold as the Zhuang family! ”

Duchess Xuanguo sighed, frowned, and then said, "The courtiers go back and discuss with Grandpa Guo." ”

The Wu family was a little dissatisfied with the attitude of the Duchess of Xuanguo, and said in a somewhat bad tone: "Mother go back and talk to your father, you must understand that if Jing'er can ascend the throne in the future, the Wu family is the Son of Heaven, how can the power and wealth be less than the Wu family, it is the Lin family, and you can only look at the face of the Wu family." The Wu family has spent so much energy on Jing'er, and now that Jing'er has finally gained a foothold in the court, and with fame, she can compete with the prince, is it possible that her mother and father plan to fall short. ”

And on the other side, the Xuanguo Mansion.

The second prince is also persuading the Duke of Xuanguo and the prince of Xuanguo to offer silver.

The second prince said to Xuanguo: "Grandfather, if I have no chance to be the prince at all, I will not open this mouth to my grandfather and uncle." But my father obviously hasn't completely given up on me, and he has taken me seriously, even if I and the prince are in court, and I have not been partial to the prince. I have finally established a reputation and foundation in the court, should my grandfather and I give up? ”

The second prince has also figured it out over the years, when the Jiang family secretly told the prince that he had a bad idea of the queen, and the mother even wanted to calculate the prince and the queen with this, but the queen was cunning and let the queen and the prince escape, but the mother was punished.

Although Jiang Jieyu wanted to borrow a knife to kill people, this matter may not be caught in the wind, and the father is afraid that he will also have a knot, and because of the prince's disobedience to his father a few years ago, I am afraid that he will also leave a gap for the prince, otherwise he would not have seen his father favoritism to the prince all these years. Whether it was his competition with the crown prince or his cultivation of connections in the court, his father adopted a state of acquiescence.

Xuan Guogong pondered, and after a while, he said, "Eight million taels is not a small amount. ”

The second prince smiled and said, "Grandfather is afraid that after I ascend the throne, you won't be able to earn back the eight million taels?" ”

Xuanguo said fairly: "The second prince is sure that he will be able to ascend the throne in the future?" ”

The second prince said: "If my grandfather doesn't help me, I must not be able to, and if my grandfather helps me, I will be sure." ”

Xuanguo said fairly: "The minister still needs to think again." ”

The second prince stood up and said, "Then my grandfather will think about it, but I hope my grandfather won't think about it for too long." When the dealer really collected the five million taels and dedicated them to his father first, the daylily was cold. ”

People will only remember the first person who did the same thing, and the second person who did the same thing will be left behind.

The second prince said goodbye to the Duke of Xuanguo and the prince of Xuanguo, walked a few steps to the door, thought of something, turned around again, and said: "I promised my grandfather before that it would be expedient for me to marry the daughter of the Gan family in the future, and if I can succeed to the throne one day, I will make the daughter of the Wu family the queen and make the Gan family a concubine." At that time, the Wu family will not only be the outer family of the Son of Heaven, but also the descendants. ”

After speaking, he smiled at Xuanguo Gong and Xuanguo Gongzi with a smile, and then left.

After the second prince left, Xuanguo Gong asked Xuanguo Gongshizi, "What do you think?" ”

The prince of Xuanguo said: "My son thinks that what the second prince said is reasonable, and our Wu family has finally assisted the second prince to get to this point, and there is no reason to give up." What's more, our Wu family and the crown prince have formed an enmity, and the prince is really allowed to succeed to the throne, where is there still a good life for our Wu family. ”

Xuan Guogong closed his eyes, still contemplating.

The prince of Xuanguo called again: "Father......"

Xuan Guogong opened his eyes, and finally said: "Let people go to the dealer and the Lin family to inquire carefully, so as not to deceive them." The Lin family has always been very cunning. After a pause, he said, "In addition, let the branches of the Wu family in various places carefully settle and see how much silver can be gathered." ”

The prince of Xuanguo also suggested: "We can also learn from the dealer and persuade other businessmen with good relations to also offer silver." What the prince can promise to others, the second prince can also promise. ”

Xuan Guogong nodded.

Seeing him, Xuanguo nodded, saluted and retired, and then went to do the affairs of Xuanguo's bus agent. (To be continued.) )