Red Mansion Royal Cat

Chapter 272 Inadvertently planting willows and willows

Hong Shixing is the chairman of the Yanzhou Chamber of Commerce, and he has an unrivaled reputation in the four prefectures and eighteen counties of Yanzhou.

The Hong family may not be the richest in Yanzhou, but they are definitely the most prestigious.Hong Shixing, who was famous for his career, served as the county magistrate for more than [-] years in Ziyang County, where the government is located, and officially retired when he knew his destiny.

His sons Hong Teng and Hong Jiao passed the Jinshi examinations in the 41st year of Zhaowu and the [-]nd year of Yuanyou respectively.

This afternoon, Jia Cong, the deputy envoy of the imperial envoy, posted a post to entertain the gentry and wealthy businessmen in the city.

Immediately after receiving the invitation, the celebrities in Fucheng basically gathered in the Hong family compound.Except for Yan's family who were really not suitable for the banquet, like the Qu family and Qin's family with backers behind them, the rest were worried that this banquet would be a grand banquet.

In the end, it was Hong Shixing who knew a lot about the officials in the court, so he didn't have the guts to refuse Jia Cong's invitation, and he also persuaded those who wanted to follow the Fengqu family and the Qin family.

Every month he can receive the palace report from the imperial court. He thinks he knows better than other people in Yanzhou Mansion what kind of person the imperial cat Jia Cong is.

To fight against this young master is to fight against the Rongguo Mansion, more directly, it is to fight against His Majesty the Emperor.

Not to mention that there are noble people behind the composer and the piano frame, no matter how expensive they are, can they be more expensive than His Majesty the Emperor?

It's a pity that basically all the food in Yanzhou Prefecture has been...

Alas, wanting to please but unable to raise food!

The more you think about it, the more regretful you become. Hong Shixing, who is good at observing words and expressions, saw Jia Cong's gradually stern expression, and hurriedly explained: "My lord doesn't know something. It's not that we don't want to help the court. It's really powerless. Yanzhou Mansion The food has always been controlled by the Qu family and the Qin family, even the output of our family is only enough for our own use. The grain shops in the entire Yanzhou Prefecture only have the two surnames Qu and Qin!"

"Yes, yes, we are also powerless. The court is short of food. I would like to donate two hundred shi. No matter how many people are in my family, I will starve."

"Xiaomin is also willing to help with all his strength. Apart from leaving enough for the family, Xiaomin is willing to donate all the remaining food to the adults... Oh, no, it is dedicated to the court."

"I...I...my family has no food. If I raise money, I still have a lot. The most important thing my family lacks is money..."

Ok?
The person who spoke was a chubby middle-aged man with a simple and honest face. Seeing that everyone was offering food loyally, he blushed anxiously.

Jia Cong raised his hand to press down, and asked the man, "This is..."

The chubby middle-aged man was a little flattered when he saw Jia Cong's gaze turned to him, talking to him.

"My lord, Xiaomin Guo Lindong, my family is in the ceramics business."

ceramics?

"My lord, the Guo family has fired porcelain and pottery for generations. Since the founding of the country, it has been the only imperial merchant family in Shandong."

Hong Shixing's introduction made Jia Cong look at this seemingly simple and honest fat man with admiration, no wonder he dared to say that the most important thing in his family was money, he really did not lack money.

Since there is no shortage of money, then...

Jia Cong coughed twice, his face became more serious.

He let out a long sigh: "Actually, the bank treasury of Yanzhou Mansion was basically emptied by corrupt officials. The prince just went to the court and asked the Ministry of Households to transfer the bank urgently. But you all know that the roads are blocked by heavy snow and the canals are all blocked. frozen..."

"It's okay, my lord, you can leave the matter of money to Xiaomin!"

When Guo Lindong heard that he wanted money, not only did he not resist at all, but instead slapped his chest.

Jia Cong looked surprised, when did businessmen have such high sentiments?
"Mr. Guo, what I lack is not hundreds or thousands of taels... Mr. Lu, how much taels do you need for calculation?"

Lu Xiaozu cupped his hands and replied: "The officials below estimate that the minimum should not be less than 50 taels of silver."

hiss!
Hong Shixing didn't mind, he just frowned slightly, and the others took a deep breath, 50 taels, 1 taels for each of them must be enough.

On the contrary, the smile on Guo Lindong's face became even wider, and he even took out a stack of bank notes from his sleeve.

I saw Guo Lindong striding forward, handing over the bank note with both hands: "My lord, this is a 10 taels of bank note. I came here in a hurry today, so Xiaomin brought this. After Xiaomin returns later, I will give you another 40 taels." Two over here. If 50 is not enough, Xiaomin can make up another 50!"

hiss!
This time, even Hong Shixing took a deep breath. Everyone knew that the Guo family was rich, but they didn't expect it to be so rich.

Raising your hand is 50, not enough and...

Jia Cong was shocked by Guo Lindong's generosity. After the soldiers presented the bank notes, there was a thick stack of bank notes, with a minimum denomination of 1000 taels.

"Guo Yuanwai..."

Guo Lindong clasped his hands and explained: "My father said that the prince and his lord entertained the gentry in the city to raise food and silver. My family doesn't have any food, but there is no shortage of silver. My father's leg is bad, so he asked Xiaomin to give the money to into the hands of the grown-ups."

"The loyalty of the Guo family, I have written it down. When I return to Beijing in the future, I will definitely report the loyalty of the Guo family to His Majesty."

Jia Cong didn't hesitate either, he nodded in return and handed the bank note to Lu Xiaozu who was behind him.And he gave Guo Lindong a promise: "Of course, this money is borrowed from the imperial court. As soon as the money from the Ministry of Accounting arrives, I will order someone to send it to your house..."

Guo Lindong backed down for a while, saying that Guo's family was favored by the emperor, and the money should be donated to the court for disaster relief and bandit suppression.

Jia Cong solemnly rejected his proposal. Relief and suppression of bandits is the duty of the court. Using the Guo family's money to do these things can indeed save the court a lot of money, but it will reduce the prestige of the court among the people.

Not much food was raised, but Guo Lindong's heroic act solved Jia Cong's money problem, which was considered unintentional.

Hong Shixing and others raised a total of more than 3000 shi of grain. Guo Lindong also chimed in and said that they really didn't have much grain, and that Yanzhou's grain was almost controlled by Qu and Qin.

Fortunately, Jia Shixi moved quickly, and the army went straight to the grain shops of Qu and Qin in the city, not counting the Zhuangzi outside the city. The grain in the city alone was as high as more than 1 shi of grain, which was regarded as an urgent need.

Jia Cong breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the news, and he raised his teacup to thank everyone.

Hong Shixing raised his glass to return the gift, and said to Jia Cong: "I just discussed it with you. Although we can't help the court with the food problem, we can still provide some money and manpower to help the court relieve the disaster and suppress the bandits."

Then, he got up and whispered in Jia Cong's ear: "My lord, the daughter of the Qu family has married to Qufu, and there is a son of the Qin family who is the son-in-law of Qi Cifu of the cabinet. If you want to raise food, you might as well check this Over the past few years, the properties of the Qu family and the Qin family have changed..."

"So that's the case. No wonder the Qu family and the Qin family are so arrogant."

A gleam of light flashed in Jia Cong's eyes, this Hong Shixing deserved to be the county magistrate for more than [-] years, and he pointed out the background of these two families and their problems to Jia Cong in one sentence.

Land...

It seems that there is a big problem with the property of these two families!
……

Jia Cong originally thought that this food-raising banquet would be difficult, but he didn't expect it to be so smooth and simple.

Although the grain was only raised over [-] shi, plus the [-] shi promised by the Yan family, the total was less than half of the preset amount.

But the silver problem was solved. Except for Guo Lindong, who was number one on the list, Hong Shixing and other Yanzhou gentry and rich merchants submitted a list, and the amount of silver donated was written after each person's name.

Lu Xiaozu couldn't close his mouth with a smile. After the calculation was completed, he ran to the study and told Liu Ke and Jia Cong: "My lord, my lord, not counting the silver note given by the Guo family, the total is 11 taels. The people in Yanzhou City are so generous, they donated at least 500 taels of silver."

Liu Ke took a look at the account book, and was also shocked by the feats of Yanzhou gentry and wealthy businessmen. He sighed: "Before the snow disaster in Gyeonggi, the fourth brother proposed to donate to the court, and the total amount raised was less than 3 taels of silver. It is impossible for people in Yanzhou city He knows loyalty better than the civil and military men in the capital."

Lu Xiaozu blushed, and murmured: "Your official also knows loyalty...Your official donated two months' salary...You're poor, I'm still renting an official residence."

"I didn't tell you!"

Liu Ke glanced at Lu Xiaozu, there were not many people in the household department who were not stingy, and all of them were very stingy like the old Pixiu.

Jia Cong smoothed things over, returned the ledger to Lu Xiaozu, and said: "Mr. Lu is an upright official. If he can donate two months' salary, he is a loyal minister. Please, Mr. Lu, make a list of the loyal people who donated money and food today. Come out, post and announce, and ask people to engrave a monument and write a biography."

Lu Xiaozu's eyes flashed brightly, he cupped his hands and said: "Your Excellency has a good idea, I will arrange it right away."

dong dong dong...

The guards of the royal residence knocked on the door and came in, clasped their fists and reported: "My lord, there is a man named Guo Lindong outside the government office, who has brought more than ten carriages, saying he is here to deliver money."

……

Because of the banditry in Yanzhou, the access control in Yanzhou is much stricter than before.

On the second day after the imperial envoy was stationed in the government office, a large number of refugees caused by natural and man-made disasters began to gather in the Fucheng of Yanzhou.

Under the porridge shed built outside the city wall, the steaming hot porridge made the victims who struggled to make it to Fucheng shed tears.

Maybe they had relatives by their side when they set off, but there were bandits and it was freezing cold, maybe they were the only ones who could survive outside the porridge shed.

Liu Ke stood on the tower, looking at the north of Yanzhou City.

The line of refugees stretched very long, and there was no end to it.

"How many people have been affected by the disaster? I'm afraid the food you got yesterday won't last for a few days."

Jia Cong on the side nodded. The total amount of food was less than [-] shi. If it was just the soldiers and civilians in the city, they could last for ten days and a half months.

But looking at the more and more victims gathered under the porridge shed, Jia Cong only made a rough estimate, and he could see that the situation was much worse than he expected.

"My lord, my lord, I don't know if I should say something or not."

Liu Ke turned his head and glanced at the simple-minded Guo Lindong, restrained his irritability and nodded: "Speak."

After Guo Lindong brought the money to the government office last night, he said that his father, who was a member of the household department, Wailang Sanjie, kicked him out of the house and asked him to follow behind the imperial envoy to help the court suppress bandits and relieve disasters.

When the thieves are wiped out and the victims are settled, let him go home.

So Guo Lindong lived in the government office, helping Lu Xiaozu raise money and food, check accounts, and organize people to set up a porridge shed...

I have to say, even though this is a simple and honest fat man, he is really good at doing these things. The manpower sent by Hong Shixing and others to help, under his command, made no mistakes at all, which can be regarded as a great help to Lu Xiaozu.

I only heard Guo Lindong say: "I dare not say anything about other places. The people in Yanzhou are still very familiar with the situation. It is said that the prince and the elders came to Yanzhou for only two days. Not to mention that so many disaster victims gathered on the second day the prince arrived in Yanzhou. This is not normal."

"So, someone did it on purpose!"

Of course, Liu Ke and Jia Cong were also aware of this problem, but no matter what the reason was, the victims had to find a way to relieve the disaster when they heard the news of the imperial envoy's visit to Yanzhou.

Jia Cong couldn't help but smiled wryly: "No matter what the reason is, the imperial court can't leave the victims alone."

Guo Lindong quickly shook his head and replied: "Of course Xiaomin doesn't mean to ignore the victims. Xiaomin has an immature suggestion. It's better to classify the victims. The young and strong go to the old, weak and young to dredge rivers and build city defenses. It is far away from the important places of the Fucheng. The old and weak women live next to the Fucheng and are supported by the imperial court."

Relief for work?

It coincided with Jia Cong's idea, it is true that more and more disaster victims gathered under the city wall of Fucheng, and no one can guarantee whether there will be bandits from the White Lotus Sect among them, and it would be too much for them to gather outside the city like this. Dangerous.

Liu Ke turned his gaze to Jia Cong and asked Jia Cong's opinion.

Jia Cong nodded and said: "Guo Yuanwai is right. We can't let the disaster victims gather outside the Fucheng like this, and we can't let them idle. If they are idle, they will easily cause problems. You can recruit craftsmen in the name of the court to clear the way. It’s okay to build rivers or build city defenses to separate the victims. It’s best to provide some wages while providing food, so that the victims have hope for the future.”

Hearing that Jia Cong agreed with his proposal, Guo Lindong was overjoyed.

His father asked him to donate both money and energy, just because he wanted him to show his face in front of the nobles for appreciation.

"Xiaomin also thinks the same way. It is best to be able to pay wages, and not all of them. Only half of the work period will be paid. The rest will be temporarily stored in the government and will be distributed when everything is safe and secure."

After a little thought, Liu Ke understood what Jia Cong and Guo Lindong meant, and a smile appeared on his face.

There will always be a solution to the food problem. Once the resettlement of refugees outside Yanzhou City is resolved, most of the pressure on Fucheng will be relieved.

He smiled and patted Guo Lindong's shoulder: "Guo Lindong, you are very good!"

"This is what Xiaomin should do..."

"As an imperial envoy, this king now appoints you as the imperial envoy Xingyuan Counselor. Let's tentatively decide the seventh grade. You will be responsible for the resettlement of the disaster victims outside the city."

Liu Ke beckoned to call his personal guard commander, and said: "You go and arrange a team of personal soldiers for Counselor Guo, and obey Counselor Guo's orders. These days, people who really do things are often made things difficult, and the people below If it makes things difficult for you, you can send someone to tell this king, and this king will use the Son of Heaven Sword to kill him!"

……

When Guo Lindong offered silver yesterday, many people still didn't understand why the Guo family was so stupid. Could it really be a loan if the court said it was a loan?When will the people in the government spit out the meat they eat?

But the next day, Guo Lindong was awarded the seventh rank by King Zhongshun, who was the imperial envoy, and he was ordered to resettle the victims outside the city. In the future, after Yanzhou is stabilized, it will be a great achievement. He may be promoted to a higher level and become a real court official. up.

Hong Shixing slapped his thigh, feeling boundless regret in his heart.

Old man Guo is really old and cunning, why didn't he think of this?
His eldest son, Hong Teng, only passed the Jinshi examination, and he is still serving as magistrate of a small state in the southwest, which has no hope of promotion.

The second son, Hong Jiao, was also born as a Jinshi like his wife. He served two terms as the county magistrate, but had no hope of resigning and returning to his hometown. Now he takes care of the family business by himself.

To walk the road of officialdom, one must either be exceptionally talented, or become a nobleman. Aren't the two in the government office right now noblemen?
"Come on, go and call Jiaoer here!"

"Go back to Master, Second Master has gone to Yan's house to visit Mrs. Yan."

Hong Shixing responded with a hum, alas, he was confused.

Yan Hui was seriously ill, so he sent his second son to visit him early this morning with an old Liaodong ginseng plant. After hearing what happened to Guo Lindong, he even forgot it in a hurry.

Forget it, or do it yourself!

"Go and ask Madam to take 5000 taels of silver notes, prepare the car, and go to the government office!"

The Hong family is no more royal merchant than the Guo family. The family sounds rich, but in fact they don't have a lot of cash.

Jia Cong looked at the bank note that Hong Shixing handed over, and asked in surprise: "What is this old man doing? Didn't Yuanwai just donate 5000 taels of silver yesterday?"

Hong Shixing got up, bowed his hands to the north, and said plausibly: "The sage is above, Hong has been an official in Yanzhou for 20 years by the emperor's grace. Now Yanzhou is suffering from natural and man-made disasters, and the people are displaced. How can Hong be left behind. Today Hong I’m here to ask your lord for orders, and I ask you to agree to give Hong a certain position to repay his hometown!”

Monthly ticket recommendation ticket

　Thank you Juventus fans for the reward!

　　Let’s stop here today and continue tomorrow.

　　good night!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)