Nanshan Street in Red River Valley City is a gathering place for the rich and powerful.

The Red River Valley is bisected by a wide Brisbane River, with a bustling old city on the south bank and a new city with towering buildings on the north bank, forming the jigsaw puzzle of this modern metropolis.

Nanshan Street is located in the southernmost part of the old city on the south bank, where the continuous Hongshan mountain range is like a high wall that encircles the old city.

In the metropolis of the Red River Valley, there are more and more high-rise buildings, and there are very few private residences that cover a large area, and single-family houses are already the most high-end residences.

Most of the real top aristocrats live around Nanshan Street, which is a street that winds along the mountain, around Nanshan Street and at the foot of Red Mountain, there are countless mansions, manors, castles and luxurious palaces, and the tall trees faintly see the cornices and arches, which are magnificent.

Perhaps behind a certain manor is a mountain col, hiding another vast world, unknown to ordinary people.

Black, silver or white crown cars can be seen everywhere on the streets here, and the lowest-end ones are also Xinghui cars, which can only be used as subordinates to run errands and buy grocery cars.

According to the imperial court etiquette;

When the princes came of age, they were given mansions by His Majesty, the Duke's Palace of Palawan, and the Duke of Wright's Castle are all located here, and nine of the eleven imperial counts' residences are located here, in addition to dozens of viscount estates, castles, and hundreds of baronial mansions, all gathered here.

The top nobles lived on the south side of the street, and the average nobles lived on the north side of the street, and they were clearly separated from each other.

Lieutenant General Duan Qirui's mansion is located on the north side of Nanshan Street, which is a Chinese-style mansion covering 2.77 acres, with a small pond in the front and back yards, a winding covered bridge, and an elegant environment, which is a private property that he purchased at a cost of 47,500 gold dollars.

On the opposite side of the residence of Lieutenant General Duan Qirui, across Nanshan Street, is the residence of Admiral Li Xuanzhu, the first-class Earl of Zhengyuan, which is a noble mansion given by His Majesty, covering an area of about 18.6 acres, extending to the back halfway up the mountainside, this kind of top mansion cannot be bought with money, which is enough to show its noble status.

Not far ahead, is the Duke's Palace of Palawan, which is the residence given by His Majesty to the eldest prince Li Siyuan, for him to leave the palace as an independent residence when he becomes an adult.

Not only Nanshan Street, but also the entire Red River Valley metropolis and even the territory directly under the royal family, the rights and interests of land disposal belong to the royal family, and Nanshan Street is just a microcosm, showing the strength of the royal capital.

Among the subordinate institutions of the royal family, the royal secretariat is the central brain of daily government affairs, which is closely connected with various government departments, has no administrative power, has the right to supervise, has no personnel power and has the right to make suggestions, and is a powerful weapon for His Majesty to control and supervise the huge administrative body.

The Imperial Attendant and the Imperial Janissary formed the second armed force independent of the Imperial Army, and directly obeyed His Majesty's orders, and the war to conquer the Luzon Islands in the previous years was completed by the Imperial Praetorian Guard.

The Imperial Household Office is the department in charge of internal affairs and logistics, such as the army, tax police, administrative and service personnel under the royal family, their management and salary are financed by internal affairs expenditure, procurement of materials, construction of palaces, temporary supervision of shareholding enterprises, expenditure of eagle schools and charitable hospitals, collection of social housing rental, land auction income, etc., playing the dual role of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Logistics.

There is no construction department in the royal house, there is no manufacturing office, all the required items are purchased from the outside world, and there are no eunuchs in the empire but there are palace maids, female officials, and palace maids are all selected from good families over 15 years old and handsome women, generally enter the palace for 5 years, and there is a monthly salary, and the period can be applied for female officials, and those who fail the list are brought back to the marriage match by the original owner's family.

Therefore, the Imperial Secretariat is a place where elites gather, and the Imperial Cabinet is an institution that the children of the nobility want to enter.

There is nothing else, the status here is high, the affairs are idle, the income is rich, the income is guaranteed by drought and flood, and you can also come into contact with all kinds of Yanhuan fat and thin beautiful palace maids, wouldn't it be beautiful to marry one and go home.

If you want to say whether the imperial family has money, just look at the Finance Bureau under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which has 7 departments.

The first is the Department of Taxation, which is subordinate to the tax bureau and the tax police of the royal territory, and the taxes collected in the direct territories of the royal family are hundreds of millions of gold oceans in a year, and the specific amount is top secret, and outsiders have no way of knowing.

The second is the royal family fund, which controls the equity of major enterprises invested by the royal family at home and abroad, with a value of hundreds of millions of gold oceans, and some people even speculate that it has reached more than 1 billion gold oceans.

The third is the Property Division, which belongs to the Royal Family and the income from the lease and operation of buildings, land, pastures, and plantations.

The annual land auction is hosted by the Property Division, which attracts hundreds of real estate companies in the empire to compete for it, because it is the only way for private real estate companies to obtain land for development within the direct territory of the royal family.

The income from land auctions in mainland Australia alone (within the direct territory of the royal family) is close to 20 million gold oceans a year, which is more than enough to cover the huge military expenses for the conquest of the Luzon Islands.

Now the government has also learned this trick, and has carried out extensive land auction development in Sydney, Melbourne, Qingdao, Ballarat, Linyi, Cairns and other cities, and the annual equity is as high as more than 6 million gold oceans, which is one of the important sources of income for the imperial treasury.

The fourth is the Audit Division, which audits the various revenues and expenditures of the royal family, the audit of the departure of the heads of relevant departments, the audit of large-scale development projects, the audit of military expenditures, the audit of R&D projects, etc., which is an important supervisory department.

The fifth is the Accounting Department, the Imperial Guard, the administrative staff under the Imperial Family, the personnel dispatched by factories and mining enterprises, and charitable and other expenditures, all kinds of secret expenses and necessary palace construction, real estate development, urban construction and other expenses, all of which are audited by the Accounting Department on a monthly basis and allocated to the accounts.

The relevant funds are generally transferred to the bank account, and the two lines of income and expenditure are strictly implemented, and they are not hindered by each other.

The sixth is the Personnel Department, which is responsible for the huge financial department talent selection, evaluation, job promotion, job transfer and other matters, with great powers and responsibilities.

The seventh is the Logistics Division, which is responsible for the logistics work of the departments under the Finance Bureau, such as the Property Rights Department to hold a large-scale spring real estate auction, and the relevant personnel, venues, accommodation arrangements, venue layout, venue security and other matters need to be contacted by the Logistics Department for support.

The purchase of vehicles, office equipment, property, etc., all need to be applied through the Logistics Division, and the Taxation Department will set up a new tax bureau, and the relevant personnel recruitment, office space arrangement, funding application, and vehicle and firearms configuration need to go through the Logistics Division.

Don't look at the huge income of hundreds of millions of gold oceans collected by the tax department every year, but it is just a hand-over wealth, and after collecting it, it will enter the royal exclusive account of the bank, and they themselves have no right to spend it.

You can spend as much as you want, just pay for it yourself.

For example, if an official of the tax department dislikes his chair as uncomfortable, he can spend money on a luxurious palace sofa chair, but the things enter the tax department and cannot be taken away when he leaves.

Because the original chair is gone, what do you let the next official sit on?

It's not ......

Li Xiaozu encountered such an annoyance, he had just taken office as the head of the traffic section of the logistics department, and when he walked into the office, he Jiacai, the former head of the unit, moved the chair away, and there was no place to sit behind the desk, what should I do?

It really gave him a problem, this matter is not big, it is not small.

The Logistics Department is almost the busiest department of the Finance Bureau, with a myriad of things, and it is very busy every day in the dark, and it is very good to train people here, and it is common to go out early and return late.

As the main office facility, chairs are indispensable.

There is a "Logistics Division" hot stamping on the back of each chair, and the 17 staff members of the Transportation Unit will also engrave the words "Traffic Unit" under the hot stamping to avoid confusion with other departments.

Li Xiaozu can type an application report, and after the approval of the leaders of the logistics department, bring a chair from home, otherwise he will not be able to pass through the guard guard at the door.

But in this way, it seems that he is weak, and he does not dare to speak up when he is bullied, and he has fallen into the prestige of the first-class Zhengyuan Earl's Mansion.

But it is also very troublesome to find He Jiacai, Li Xiaozu has been in the logistics department for more than a year, and he knows that He Jiacai is a good match, not to mention short-tempered, he is quite domineering, and he is a headache everywhere.

He Jiacai is the son of Viscount He Shoutian, ranked fourth, known as "He Laosi", and those who compliment him will shout "Fourth Master".

Because of the poor performance in the traffic group, he was sent to the service group as a deputy team leader, the service group is a large group, there are 9 deputy team leaders, there are more than 120 employees, and the internal subdivision is divided into 9 teams, and the deputy team leader leads a team.

The original team leader went to the service team to be the deputy team leader, and it was clear that it was a demotion punishment, and if he didn't pass this year's evaluation, he might be swept away, which made the unruly He Jiacai how could he endure it?

Li Xiaozu looked for it, and the two sides would definitely have a conflict, which was something that could be imagined with his heels.

"Brother Xiao, this guy He Laosi is not authentic, he has to move the chairs he brought from his family, isn't this a clear call?" Dong Er, a staff member of the traffic group, stepped forward, with a look of righteous indignation, rolled up his sleeves and said; "Send a message, let's go and move the chair back."

"Since Team Leader He has moved away, I'm afraid he won't return it easily."

"That's not up to him, in terms of status, you are the son of the Earl's Mansion, the leader of our traffic group, He Laosi is just a son of the Viscount's Mansion, and he is a little worse than the boss, crushing this grandson in minutes. Matter-of-factly, why did the chairs of our traffic group move to the service group? There is no such saying. ”

"Forget it, it's just a trivial matter, and you can't make a big move." Li Xiaozu is a person with a clear mind, although he is young but old-fashioned, he waved his hand and said indifferently; "Team Leader He's heart is on fire, now is not the time to talk about this, I'd better make a report and apply for it, bring a chair from home, and it won't take much trouble."

After speaking

He took out a form from the table and filled it out, and the dragon flew and danced overnight, and then took the completed form and went to the leader of the logistics department for approval.

It's late afternoon at work

Li Xiaozu followed the flow of people from work to the outer square, where several rows of crown cars of various colors were parked, and the driver, Uncle Quan, opened the rear door respectfully; "Young Master, please get in the car."

"Well, it's hard work Uncle Quan."

Li Xiaozu threw the leather briefcase in his hand into the back seat of the car, twisted his somewhat sore waist, and was about to sit in the car when he heard a shout from behind; "Big brother, wait for me."

Li Xiaozu turned his head and saw that it was Duan Changjiang rushing over with a trot, and he couldn't help but smile on his face.

Duan Changjiang is the eldest son of Duan Qirui's uncle, his mother is Li Xiaozu's aunt, the two are aunts and cousins, and they move very closely, plus the two were born in the same year, and the relationship has been very good since childhood.

Li Xiaozu is in the big month, so Duan Changjiang has to shout "big brother".

Duan Changjiang served in the property rights department, and he was also a small deputy team leader, with a low position but a wide range of management, mainly property rights in Manila and surrounding cities in the Luzon Islands, all of which were under the responsibility of his team.

"Big brother, I heard that He Laosi's grandson stumbled on you, I was angry and exploded my lungs, ran over and quarreled with that grandson, scolded him so much that he spurted blood, and gave you a bad breath." Duan Changjiang is also a master who refuses to suffer, with a straightforward personality, but he is a little frizzy.

Li Xiaozu frowned a little when he heard this, but the matter had already been done, not to mention that Duan Changjiang was also standing up for himself, so he patted his arm and said; "Get in the car, what's the car talking about."

"Okay."

The two got into the car, and the black crown sedan with the family logo slid lightly out of the parking lot and headed in the direction of the Nanshan Street mansion.

The sedan drove onto the road, and the scenery receded all the way.

"Big brother, He Laosi's grandson said that I was "a dog with a mouse and a nosy", and I said a word; "You He Lao Si is also worth the money of a chair", the seven orifices were smoking, and I almost fainted with anger, hahahaha......"

Speaking of happy places, Duan Changjiang couldn't help laughing.

Li Xiaozu also laughed out loud when he heard it, and his heart was extremely happy, but he instructed Duan Changjiang; "Yangtze River, we are doing things in the Internal Affairs Office, we can't all rely on our own temperament, the water here is deep. This is the only case, and it will never happen next time. ”

"Big brother, if you want me to say that you are too cautious, when will we be afraid of those civil officials?"

"It's not a question of whether you're afraid or not, it's a question of whether it's worth it." Li Xiaozu smiled lightly and carefully explained to his cousin, who was the same year;

"In the public school, there are places where the powerful and famous people gather, and it is inevitable that there will be trivial friction between each other, and everything has to compete for a high head, so when will it be a game?

Jia Yan asked me to wait for the Ministry of Internal Affairs to experience errands, but I didn't want us to fight for these gimmicks, which undoubtedly deviated from the original intention.

You and I were originally born in hardship, fortunately appreciated by His Majesty, after the struggle of birth and death to have today's glory, we must cherish the feathers, and be cautious in words and deeds.

If this kind of thing is introduced into the house, it will inevitably cause the family to dislike it, so let's just steal the fun of this matter, don't show it off, let alone tell the younger siblings to know, they don't have a doorkeeper on their lips, and they will know it when they go out and close the house. ”

"Okay, listen to you." Duan Changjiang's expression was a little excited.

This kind of highlight moment of the mouth spraying magnates, I can't take it out and brag about it, there is always a feeling of brocade night walking, it's a pity.

The two had a very close relationship, and Li Xiaozu knew what he was thinking about, so he diverted the topic and asked; "Changjiang, you have been on an errand these days, what are you doing interesting...... Tell me about it? ”

"Interesting thing......" Duan Changjiang thought for a moment and clapped his hands and said; Brother, don't say it, it's really ...... Viscount Toranomon, you know, right? ”

"Nonsense, Somali legend, how I don't know."

"It's him, these days to our Property Division to do business."

"Viscount Humen is doing business in your Property Division?" Li Xiaozu was immediately aroused by this topic, the property department is in charge of the imperial property, and it has little to do with these overseas nobles, and the two have almost no intersection.

Thinking of Duan Changjiang's department, Li Xiaozu suddenly had a thought in his heart, and guessed and said; "Could it be...... Did he want to develop in the Luzon Islands? ”

"I guessed wrong, but I didn't get far from guessing."

"Okay, don't sell it, let's talk about it, it's a big deal, I'll invite you to Dasanyuan Restaurant for a good drink."

"Hey...... Then I'll have to invite a few Arab belly dancers to cheer up, and I'll have to find a few white Russian ladies to accompany me. ”

"These Arab belly dancers are not all sold from Somalia, the Viscount of Humen is the main master, you picked up sesame seeds and lost watermelons, how stupid!"

"Big brother, just ask if you are willing to invite your brother to this meal."

"It's a piece of cake, don't look at my father's strict control over me, Jiaci is often rewarded, your eldest brother is rich, just let it go."

"Hahaha...... Promptitude. Duan Changjiang stretched out his thumb and praised it, and then said proudly;

"This Viscount of Humen is also a big deal, and he wants to buy 500,000 acres of mountain and woodland in the north of Manila, in Legazpi, where there are three mountains, two rivers and five fields, which is a good place.

Roads and railways are being built to reach Manila's port all the way to the port of Manila.

It is said that the Viscount of Humen bought such a large piece of land in order to find a second economic development growth point for Humen, that is, the tobacco industry.

The area has been repeatedly investigated by experts, and the sunshine, precipitation and large areas of fertile land are suitable for the growth of high-quality tobacco seedlings, and the development of large-scale tobacco plantations is very suitable. ”

"500,000 acres of tobacco plantations, isn't that too much of an exaggeration?"

"Big brother, it's not what you imagined, 500,000 acres of land minus 3 points of mountains and 2 points of water, and then remove some river valley and beach land, and the real development of no more than 200,000 acres, who has the ability to develop such a large area of plantations at once?

Usually hundreds of acres, thousands of acres of private plantations are slowly developed, and Viscount Humen is ready to concentrate on these plots, and then attract some capital from the Somali region and local capital to invest in the development of tobacco plantations, maybe 100, maybe 500 private plantations.

He mainly opened tobacco stations to purchase, and then sent them to cigarette factories for production, made finished cigarettes and shipped them to Somalia for sale, mainly in Europe and North Africa, but also in Mozambique and South Africa, which belonged to the empire, and generally did not participate in the market competition in South Asia. ”

As soon as Duan Changjiang said this, Li Xiaozu understood, but he was still shocked by the courage of the Viscount of Humen.

Not to mention 500,000 acres, even 50,000 acres is a big number, so how much tobacco does it have to produce?

Thus

Viscount Humen is really very courageous, far from being comparable to others.