Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 350 Forced Demolition
At that time, Tongzhou was 40 miles away from the capital and was a canal wharf. Whether it was taking the canal to Tianjin and then going to the capital, or taking the sea to Tianjin and then sending it to the capital, both of these had to go through this section of the canal to be transported to the capital, because it was extremely important.

As Li Weijian founded more than 20 factories in the capital, the related supporting industries naturally emerged in a few years. At first, they were only in the capital, but later some smart factory owners found that it seemed more convenient to open a factory in Tongzhou.

Steel and iron were ordered from Leting and transported to Tongzhou via the canal. After processing, they were sent to the capital. In addition, the land and labor in Tongzhou were cheap, so Tongzhou prospered.

Seeing factories everywhere making a fortune, how could officials in Tongzhou not be jealous? At first, they restrained themselves a little, but this year, a new governor came who was unruly. So they started to take bribes, extort money, and demand everything, and factory owners everywhere were miserable.

After discussing it, they heard that the county magistrate of Leting was very disciplined, so they all moved to Leting. But before leaving, they always wanted to vent their anger, so more than a dozen factories gathered money, went around the capital, and bribed the two censors.

So the next day, when the emperor was in the imperial palace, the censors impeached the governor of Tongzhou for corruption and extortion of gentry. The two censors made every accusation very convincing. The emperor was furious and immediately sent the censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate to investigate. If nothing unexpected happened, the governor of Tongzhou would probably lose his job.

Li Weijian heard this in the government office with a smile on his face, as if he was listening to it for fun, but in fact he was secretly alert. The factory owner was originally a gentry from various places, and he had connections with the officialdom. Now it is just a small test. Who knows, in another 20 years, the bureaucrats at all levels of Dashun will be coerced by industrial capital.

After being worried for a while, he suddenly came to his senses. He only wanted to promote the Industrial Revolution. As for what happened in the future, future generations would take care of it. Why should he worry about them?
Putting this thought aside, Ye Zhongzhi came to ask for permission again with a sad face, and still handed in the document: "Sir, there are a total of 27 shops, and they are about to expire. I really can't delay it. Please make a decision."

Li Weijian slowly flipped through the documents, leaving Ye Zhongzhi alone for a full cup of tea, before closing the document and saying, "I see that most of the shops are in disrepair over the years, no wonder they are not rented out at a high price."

Ye Zhongzhi was about to let Li Weijian take the lead, but when he heard that, he immediately held his breath and said, "Your Excellency is right."

Li Weijian smiled and said, "Since it has been in disrepair for a long time, I think it would be better to tear it down and rebuild it. This way, we can rent it out at a high price in the future."

Li Weijian didn't believe that this was an internal struggle among the prince's followers. He was afraid that one of the doctors of the Kuaiji Department and the deputy director Ye Zhongzhi must have secretly sided with the King of Jin. The prince and the King of Jin were one year apart, and he had not yet reached into the court, but had already reached into the inner court.

Li Weijian didn't want to take sides at this moment, and didn't want to offend anyone. Because I just flipped the table, don't you want to lift the lid? I'll just push the house.

Ye Zhongzhi was surprised when he heard this and said, "Your Excellency wants to tear it down and rebuild it, but where will the money come from?"

"Don't worry. I will submit a letter today, requesting that you allocate funds from the treasury to repair the shops and houses. Once the money is allocated, it will be directly handed over to the Construction Department for renovation. It will be ready for rent again in less than half a year."

"This..." Ye Zhongzhi said with a bitter face, "Since your Excellency has made the decision, I will obey your order. However, I am afraid that the revenue of the Kuaiji Division will be much less this year."

Li Weijian smiled without saying anything and served the guest tea. Ye Zhongzhi felt depressed and could only sigh and leave.

Before the court session ended that day, Li Weijian indeed sent the letter to the King of Loyalty and Bravery. Before Li Weijian could leave, a minor official came to look for him, so Li Weijian had no choice but to go to the second hall to see the King of Loyalty and Bravery.

In the second hall, the loyal and brave king frowned and tapped the documents on the table with one hand. After Li Weijian greeted him, he waved his hand casually and said, "Why are you repairing the shop?"

Li Weijian was well prepared, so he replied: "Your Highness, I have read the books and found that most of the houses and shops in the capital were built during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty. They are indeed in disrepair and cannot be rented out at a high price. Moreover, I have just discovered a method that can save half the cost of building an ordinary house, so I want to take this opportunity to put it into practice."

King Zhongyong cursed: "You are avoiding the important issue, you are a slippery one!"

Li Weijian smiled bitterly and said, "I am thin, but I am not as strong as Your Majesty."

King Zhongyong did not comment. He also knew that the Kuaiji Division was a mixed bag, half of them were followers of the crown prince, and half of them recognized the king of Jin as their leader. Li Weijian had just arrived, and it would be difficult to deal with him if he was too lenient or too harsh. It would be better to use force to defeat the cleverness and overturn the table to start over.

Because it was the loyal and brave king who had revealed this matter, he said, "Next month, the remaining shops will all expire, and a total of 43 shops will be renovated. Isn't 20,000 taels of silver a little too little?"

"My Lord, that's enough."

The loyal and brave king said, "You can add more silver if you like, but there is one thing: if the silver is not enough in the future, you are not allowed to make up for it."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I know what's going on."

Seeing that he was so confident, the King of Loyalty and Bravery said no more, and then said: "I will report this matter to the Saint, and there will be no problem." After a pause, he said: "There is one more thing. The twenty people in the first and second classes of the actual academic Jinshi exam were supposed to enter the Hanlin Academy. Now that more than a month has passed, the Saint thinks that something is wrong."

It would be strange if it could be done properly. Asking engineering students to do the work of liberal arts students, even if the engineering students have a decent foundation in Chinese, they will still not be able to adapt to the local environment because they have their own expertise.

"The Saint has consulted his ministers and is planning to split the school into two and set up a practical school. However, this matter will take a long time to plan, so the Saint plans to set up a practical school in the inner court first. Fu Sheng's practical knowledge is rare in the world, so why not take charge of this practical school as well?"

Li Weijian was immediately overjoyed and said, "I will definitely fulfill your mission!"

King Zhongyong blinked his eyes and said strangely, "Huh? In the past, you always refused to do things when I assigned you to do things. Why are you so happy this time?"

Li Weijian smiled but said nothing, so King Zhongyong waved his hand and said, "Forget it, I'm too lazy to ask about it." He then waved his hand and sent Li Weijian out.

Li Weijian felt his bones lighten when he left the inner government office. Selecting scholars of practical learning to enter the Hanlin Academy is a natural selection of the best. Half of these twenty people have their own strengths, and half have no weaknesses. If they gather together and give a little direction, it can be said that it is an academy of sciences!
Especially Xu Xing, who was obsessed with turning stones into gold. He would throw all the strange objects he got at one place, and if there was no reaction, he would burn them. If there was still no reaction, he would explode them! It is said that this guy once blew up his own room in Jinan... If he is trained well, he might become a chemical expert.

Li Weijian got on the carriage leisurely. He was not in a hurry to go home. He gave an order and the carriage went to the outer city, then turned around and entered a factory.

In the huge factory area, various materials are piled up, including iron slag from processing plants, coal slag and coal gangue collected from all over, and barrels of cement - yes, barrels of cement. There are no sealed bags nowadays, and cement will clump after a few days in ordinary sacks, so it can only be stored in iron barrels.

The manager and two master carpenters came over quickly. After greeting each other, Li Weijian asked, "Have you tried to make the cement bricks?"

The steward bowed and smiled, "My Lord, I have tried several recipes in the past few days and have figured out two. Please come over and take a look!"

Li Weijian followed the steward and the steward picked two piles of cement bricks from the piles and said excitedly, "These two things dried up in less than three days. I hit them with a hammer myself. I'm afraid they are harder than ordinary rocks."

Li Weijian walked over, picked up a brick and weighed it. He felt that it was a little lighter than ordinary blue bricks. Because the matching machines had not been built yet, the bricks were still solid. As for the hollow cement bricks, he would probably have to wait for some time.

He turned around and asked the master craftsman from the machinery factory: "How long will it take to build the matching machine?"

The master carpenter made some calculations and said confidently, "With another ten days or so, it will be finished."

Li Weijian thought about it and thought that he could ask the construction company to demolish it tomorrow. Then he would use bricks, concrete and prefabricated panels, and make the load-bearing walls thicker, saving even the beams. For beginners, he would first build a four-story shop, and then build higher when he gained experience.

In a very good mood, Li Weijian encouraged the steward with a few words, and then leisurely returned to the Earl's Mansion in the carriage.

At about 3:00 pm, Li Weijian's carriage entered the mansion from the corner gate. As soon as he entered the east courtyard, Daiyu came to meet him.

Li Weijian smiled and said, "Didn't you say that you wouldn't let your sister work?"

Daiyu smiled and said, "I feel suffocated in the room, so it's a good time to come out and get some fresh air."

In early summer, the doors and windows were wide open, so why would anyone need to let in air? Daiyu was just looking for an excuse to meet Li Weijian earlier.

The two of them walked hand in hand into the inner room, tidied themselves up a bit and sat down on the soft couch. Daiyu then said, "Second Brother Bao left early this morning."

"Oh?"

"Hongyu took a look and saw that there were six servants accompanying them, but only four maids. It looked like it was Second Brother Lian who went to see them off, and the doorman said that Second Brother Lian would be back before noon."

Li Weijian immediately thought to himself that it was obvious that Baoyu was really disgusted by everyone this time.

In fact, it was pretty much what Li Weijian thought. Before leaving, Baoyu did meet Lady Jia, and the old lady gave her some indifferent advice. Baoyu also begged to see Lady Wang, but Lady Jia said that Lady Wang was not feeling well and did not let Baoyu see her.

Afterwards, when they sent Baoyu out of the door, only Tanchun and Xichun recalled their past friendship, but their faces were somewhat awkward. Baoyu almost ruined their sisters' reputations last time, but they did not express their anger until today. The two girls could not tolerate this matter no matter how generous they were. Sister Feng was in her late period and could not go out, so only Tanchun and Xichun sent Baoyu to the Yimen Gate, and then Jia Lian urged them to hurry up, and after sending them outside the city, Jia Lian hurried back.

"Brother Lian, this is not very kind. He should at least be sent to Tongzhou." Li Weijian said with a smile.

Daiyu said, "Fourth brother, don't interrupt me. I haven't finished talking yet. After noon, Second Brother Lian also led more than a dozen people away. Sister Xing came to deliver new dishes just now, and said that she heard Sister Feng mention that Second Brother Lian was going to Ping'an Prefecture again." After pondering for a while, Daiyu couldn't help but worry, "I don't understand what's going on outside, but when the eldest master was here, he often sent Second Brother Lian to Ping'an Prefecture... Fourth brother, do you think this is appropriate?"

Li Weijian said, "Whether it is appropriate or not, I'm afraid it won't work even if we tell him." There is a pass in Ping'an Prefecture leading to the Menggu grassland. It is obvious that Jia Lian is smuggling to Menggu again.

Because of the Dzungar Khanate, the Mongols in the south of the desert submitted to the Dashun, and the Mongols in the north of the desert also ostensibly submitted to the Dashun. In fact, the Dashun was extremely wary of the Mongols, so the number of trading venues was limited, and the amount of salt, iron, gunpowder, etc. that flowed to the Mongols every year was strictly controlled. The more something is banned, the tighter it becomes. There is a saying that a man cannot become rich without unexpected wealth, and a horse cannot become fat without night grass. Jia She was greedy and despicable. When he was alive, he often sent Jia Lian to Ping'an Prefecture to do errands. In the past, Jia Lian did not know how expensive firewood and rice were, and he was just calculating every day to get money from Jia She and Feng Jieer to play around.

Now that he has inherited the title, he is afraid that he will not have enough money to spend on sensual pleasures, so he took the risk and went to Ping'an Prefecture again.

Daiyu frowned and said, "I have to remind you... Grandmother aside, Sister Feng and Brother Lian have both taken great care of me."

That's true. Jia Lian sent Daiyu to Yangzhou and didn't come back until nearly a year later. When Feng Jieer didn't know about Li Weijian's arranged marriage with Daiyu, she also took good care of Daiyu. Li Weijian originally thought that if he married Daiyu, he would just sit back and watch the Jia family fall into decline. Now he thinks that since he has got a beautiful woman, he must accept her responsibility.

Li Weijian said, "Sister, please tell my second sister-in-law later that now that the imperial court has reorganized the border troops, I'm afraid that the livelihood in Ping'an Prefecture will become more dangerous in the future."

Then he briefly explained the whole story, and Daiyu immediately said with a stern face, "We can't delay this matter any longer. If the court really makes a fuss about it, it will be a crime to confiscate our property and exterminate our clan! I'll go find Sister Feng right now!"

At that moment, they only took Zijuan and Xueyan with them and hurried to the Grand View Garden. At this time, Sister Feng had just woken up from her nap, and Ping'er was helping her wipe the sweat off her cheeks when a maid came to report that the wife of the Bo family was visiting.

Feng Jieer was too pregnant to go and meet her, so Ping Er hurried out to meet her. In a moment, Ping Er led Daiyu inside, and Feng Jieer, waving a round fan, asked with a smile, "Why is Sister Lin here?"

Daiyu looked around and said, "I came to talk to Sister Feng about something personal."

Seeing that Daiyu's smile was forced, Sister Feng quickly sent the maids and old women away, and ordered Ping'er to guard the door. She then pulled Daiyu to sit on the couch, and then she lowered her voice and asked, "Have you encountered any difficulties?"

Daiyu shook her head and said, "Sister Feng, I heard that Brother Lian went to Ping'an Prefecture today?"

"Yeah, Sister Lin also knows about it?"

Daiyu said anxiously, "I just asked my fourth brother, and he said that what Second Brother Lian did was not right." She then repeated what Li Weijian had said, and then said worriedly, "Even if we are short of money, we can't risk having our family confiscated and our clan exterminated."

Sister Feng didn't take it seriously and said with a smile, "Sister Lin, you're overthinking. Your second brother is just selling silk, cloth, salt and tea on the grassland. It takes about ten days to go back and forth, and he only makes 30% profit. Besides, this business is not just a family business. The nobles in various places have shares, and Ping'an Prefecture also needs to be managed. If the court really finds out, your second brother is just following the crowd. How big a crime can he be?"

Daiyu frowned and said, "Sister Feng, I'm afraid things are different now. Fourth brother said that the Jia family's personal soldiers were dismissed or transferred. Unless they guard the house carefully, even the smallest mistake could be taken away by someone with ulterior motives, and it could be a disaster that could devastate the world." After a pause, she continued, "Sister Feng, even if you don't consider yourself, you should consider the baby in your belly."

The last sentence finally moved Sister Feng, and she said, "Sister Lin is so concerned about you, I would be ungrateful if I didn't accept your kindness. Well, I will send someone to chase you. If you can't catch him, I won't let your second brother go to Ping'an Prefecture anymore."

After Daiyu had persuaded him, she felt somewhat relieved, and chatted with Fengjie for a while before returning to her uncle's residence.

As expected, Sister Feng sent Lai Wang and his men to chase after him. However, Lai Wang did not return until the afternoon of the next day, bringing only Jia Lian's words, saying that the trip was safe and there was no need to worry.

Before Daiyu could send someone to ask, Feng Jieer asked Ping'er to pass on the message. At this point, Daiyu sighed inwardly, but she couldn't say anything more. She just hoped that Jia Lian's trip would go smoothly.

............................................................

Xisi Archway, near Taiping Warehouse.

It was noon, and the Heyifeng Restaurant was packed with guests. The waiters holding folding fans came and went to greet the guests. Whenever a distinguished guest came, the owner would personally go out to greet him and entertain him attentively.

This restaurant has three floors and five rooms, and is located in the most prosperous area. Although it is a time of national mourning and alcohol cannot be sold, it still attracts many gourmets.

The wealthy shopkeeper had just escorted a table of guests to a private room on the second floor when a waiter suddenly came running over and said in a panic, "Shopkeeper, there are officials from the Imperial Household outside."

The shopkeeper was calm and composed, thinking: "I'll take out five hundred taels of silver from the account. I guess it's for the lease term. It's only five hundred taels for three years. If I answer correctly, it's fine."

The accountant quickly withdrew a silver note for five hundred taels. The hanger-on, who had the title of scholar, came out to negotiate with the clerk from the inner court in front of the door for a while, and then his face turned pale.

He turned around and went inside with a gloomy face, and whispered to the shopkeeper: "Shopkeeper, the Kuaiji Bureau insisted on taking back the shop."

The shopkeeper frowned and said coldly, "Are you new here? Don't you know that this is the property of Marquis Dingcheng?"

The hanger-on said, "The clerk said that the superior had issued a strict order, saying that the shop here had fallen into disrepair for a long time, and the Kuaiji Division decided to tear it down and rebuild it."

The shopkeeper looked around at the brand new walls. They were repainted during the New Year holidays, and the shop here is renovated every few years. How could it be demolished and rebuilt?

I thought so in my heart, but I couldn't say it out loud. If this shop is really rented out, I'm afraid it will cost more than 300 taels a year, not to mention the 96 taels of silver on the surface.

The shopkeeper knew that this would be a difficult situation to deal with, so he whispered, "Bring another fifty taels of loose change. Humph, the King of Hell is easier to deal with than the little devil."

This time the silver was placed in the hands of the clerk, and the shopkeeper went out to check it himself. When he got outside, he saw a clerk in black clothes pointing and arguing with an old man who looked like a craftsman.

The shopkeeper stepped forward and bowed curtly: "Excuse me, officer. I am the shopkeeper of Heyifeng. Thank you for your hard work."

The clerk was only in his early twenties, and he turned his head to look at the shopkeeper, and said stiffly, "Are you the shopkeeper? That's great. It saves me from making an extra trip. Take this letter."

As he was talking, a piece of paper was thrown over. The shopkeeper looked down and saw the words "Notice of Relocation within a Time Limit" written on it. The shopkeeper was annoyed and threw the paper to the helper beside him, stepped forward and said, "Young man, can we talk for a moment?"

The clerk blinked and shouted, "Are you planning to bribe me? Hehe, what a pity! The master has said that even if you give me a thousand taels, this shop will be demolished."

The shopkeeper's face suddenly changed, and he said, "Which lord made the comment? Doctor Wei? Oh, let's be frank, Doctor Wei has a close relationship with our mansion."

The clerk shook his head and said, "I have never seen Doctor Wei. The one who spoke was Li Boye, the assistant minister of the inner court."

Mr. Li... Li Caishen? The shopkeeper was just thinking about how to answer when he heard the clerk say, "The letter has been delivered. You must move out before 3 p.m., otherwise you will bear the consequences." He scratched his head, thought for a while and said, "Oh, there is another saying, don't say I didn't warn you! That's it, goodbye!"

The clerk turned and left. The craftsman took a closer look at the Heyifeng Restaurant and sighed, "It's a good shop, but they just demolished it... Tsk tsk, Li Caishen is really rich and willful."

In the blink of an eye, several people left, leaving the shopkeeper alone. The clerks and hangers-on were already anxious, and the former said, "Shopkeeper, you must report to the Marquis' Mansion, otherwise if they really tear it down, I'm afraid--"

The current inheritor of the title of Marquis Dingcheng is the second-class man Xie Jing, who is in charge of a brigade in the Beijing camp and holds the rank of guerrilla general, and has a very violent temper.

The shopkeeper thought about it for a moment and quickly sent someone to report to the Dingcheng Marquis' Mansion.

It happened that Xie Jing was not at home because of the drill. His wife Shen heard the message from the housekeeper and did not agree with it. Not to mention that her master still had a title and was in charge of a brigade, just the relationship between the master and the East Palace was something that a newly promoted first-class earl would not dare to provoke.

Yin just sneered and said, "I guess it's just a bluff. When the master comes back, send a letter to Jingling Bo's mansion and talk about it privately, and the matter will be over."

Shen didn't take it seriously, but unexpectedly, at the end of the afternoon, the accountant of the restaurant came in a hurry and said in a panic, "Madam, something terrible has happened. The inner court has gathered dozens of laborers to drive away all the guests, and now they are going to demolish the shop!"

"what?"

Shen was immediately annoyed and said, "I want to see who dares to demolish my shop!"

Heyifeng has an income of at least three thousand taels every year. If it is really demolished, the Dingcheng Marquis Mansion will suffer from famine!
Shen drove there in a hurry, and arrived at Xisi Pailou in just two minutes. Shen lifted the curtain of the car and looked out, and saw smoke and dust billowing ahead. The roof tiles had been blown off, and a beam had fallen in front of the door with a loud bang, stirring up countless smoke and dust.

Shen was immediately furious and shouted "My restaurant", before she could catch her breath and collapsed. The maids and old women rushed in, one fanning her, the other pinching her nose. Shen's son was even more furious, and he summoned a dozen strong servants, who rushed forward with sticks in their hands.

The Xie family member jumped up and down and shouted, "Who told you to tear it down? Stop it!"

Several minor officials shrank back and dared not step forward. Suddenly, a red-robed official walked up to Xie Jiazi in a square step, looked down at him, and said softly, "I am Li Weijian. Who are you?"

"I——" Li Weijian? Jingling Bo? Xie Jiazi suddenly lost his breath, and the curse words were stuck in his chest and he couldn't say them out.

(End of this chapter)