Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 48 Two young masters were murdered in the downtown area and Li Weijian was popular in the capital.
In late February, there was a report from the imperial censor of the Inspectorate, saying: "...living in the capital is not easy, and the water supply is especially difficult. A middle-class family spends two gold per month, and a wealthy family and noble family often spend hundreds of gold. Based on this calculation, the capital has a hundred gold." Thousands of people, it costs 30 yuan a month to throw away money... Please ask the saint to suspend the clearing of the debts in the household department..."

The saint was shocked!Then he asked the officials about the plan, but found nothing.The saint immediately ordered King Zhongyong to take charge of water affairs, and established a new water affairs department in the inner palace to relieve the hardship of millions of people in the capital.

The next day, rumors spread that King Zhongyong had obtained advice from Jinling scholars and had found a way to relieve the situation.

What method?Without being specific, rumors spread.

Some say that the Ma River was diverted to Beijing, some said that the imperial government forcibly purchased water wells everywhere, some said that the ice harvested in winter was stored for sale at a low price in summer, and some even said that the imperial government purchased thousands of new four-wheeled carriages, driving them day and night. Carrying water from the west of Beijing to the capital.There are many kinds of them.

Rumors are flying all over the market, but in fact the dignitaries in the capital have already received solid news - the Water Affairs Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is going to open a new water company to use a new method of drilling wells to draw water for millions of people.

The waterways in various parts of the capital are either dependent on the powerful, or are originally controlled by the powerful, so they naturally know the huge profits therein.Regardless of other things, he monopolized two alleys with only one bitter well. Not to mention making money every day, he still made a lot of money every year.

Now looking at the intentions of the saint and the inner government, it is obvious that they are jealous of the income from the waterway and want to pocket it.

As a result, there were heated discussions. Some officials wrote a letter saying that the household department was empty and asked the saint to allocate internal funds to run the water affairs department.The saint stays in the middle but does not make a move.

The next day, King Zhongyong wrote a letter saying: The Ministry of Household Affairs and internal funds are empty, please raise funds to deal with water affairs.Saints praise goodness.

"Meow~"

With the gun hanging in his lap, Li Weijian put down this morning's newspaper and reached out to move Mao'er's back.Qingwen chased him in with a feather duster and said with a smile: "Fourth Master, this cat is very capable. It just caught a mouse from somewhere and ate it."

"Eh~" Li Weijian chased the cat away in disgust, pointed at the ignorant cat and said, "Give it a good bath later to avoid getting fleas."

Qingwen agreed, holding the cat in her arms and caressing it gently, "Fourth Master, are you going out later?"

Li Weijian smiled and said: "I still have errands to do, so it's better to hide at home all the time. By the way, how much money is left in the box?"

Qingwen Zhuzi was very familiar with it and would count it carefully every day. She opened her mouth and said: "There are still 73 taels and four coins left, and there are still three coins left."

"Not much." Li Weijian frowned.

Qingwen said: "Fourth Master spent 80 taels some time ago."

"Yeah." Li Weijian responded without saying more.

The statement he submitted listed in detail the method of handling water affairs, which was nothing more than recruiting new people and defeating old ones, and recruiting one faction to defeat another.The waterway was in the hands of the old nobles, and the civil servants and new nobles naturally looked at it with jealousy.After a while of pulling and pulling, and then the court will release the method of gathering capital and joint stock, the resistance to its implementation will naturally be much smaller.

Moreover, these shares are not released casually. Each family has a fixed proportion of nobles. If you want more shares, you can only buy them from Neifu, Shuntian Mansion or even Li Weijian at a high price.

The capital has gathered all the talented people from all over the world. They are all talented people. No one is stupider than the other. I am afraid that someone has already discovered the inner secret.However, on the one hand, they don’t know how to dig a new well, and on the other hand, they are not as powerful as the inner palace.

I'm afraid that many people now know that they can't stop it, and they just want to get a ride with the water company as soon as possible.

Shuidao, with this share of stock, it is really a good deal to make money by sitting on the ground, one of the best in the world!

Li Weijian went out these days to measure data at the Ministry of Industry's firearms test range outside the city. He spent the rest of his life in seclusion, waiting for the court to build momentum.Now that the situation is getting better, it's time for him to show his face.

After midnight that day, Li Weijian Shi Shiran took Wu Haiping to the outside of the city. They only lingered for two hours before returning.

As soon as the carriage and horses reached the entrance of the vegetable market, a guard with a knife blocked the way.

"Is Li Xiucai in the car in front of you? I am the guard of Prince Zhongshun. Zhou Changshi will ask Li Xiucai for a while, and then he will stay at Liuquan in front."

There is a saying in the capital that there are three residences and eight floors. The three residences are Liuquanju, Sanheju and Xianluju.In the Ming Dynasty, these three restaurants were where the rich and powerful hung out, and it was even more so in Dashun.The eighth floor is different. They were opened one after another in Dashun after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Most of them are Shandong cuisine, and only three restaurants deal with Hunan cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, and Huaiyang cuisine.

The curtain was opened, and Li Weijian quickly raised his hands to the guard and said, "Please lead the way."

"Easy to say." The guard returned his hand and turned around to lead the way.

Wu Haiping drove the carriage and followed the guard. After walking for a while, he arrived in front of a four-story restaurant.The carriage stopped and Li Weijian got out of the carriage. He saw an ancient willow in front of the building and a well under the willow.

The guard joked: "Li Xiucai doesn't know that this Liuquan residence is named after a willow and a well. It is said that Yan Song of the Ming Dynasty once asked the master for wine here, and the master exchanged the wine for a word——" He raised his hand and said He pointed out: "It is said that this plaque was left by Yan Song."

"Been taught a lesson."

Li Weijian followed the guard up to the top floor. The guard stopped and stepped aside. Li Weijian walked around the screen and entered the elegant room. He saw that Zhongshun Prince Shi Zhou An had already taken his seat here.

Li Weijian smiled and cupped his hands: "I have met Zhou Changshi."

Zhou An pointed at Li Weijian with a smile on his face, and said: "It's so hard for Fusheng to hide it from me! If he had known Fusheng's plan, why would the prince regret a mere few thousand taels of silver?"

Li Weijian said: "It's not that I want to hide it from Zhou Changshi. In fact, this statement has been submitted a long time ago. If I had said it earlier, I'm afraid it would be inappropriate."

Zhou An's smile did not change and he said: "I am wondering, Li Xiucai has always been in contact with the royal family, why don't you present the note to the prince?"

Li Weijian didn't answer and asked instead: "Is it possible that the prince can drive Shuntian Mansion? With the power of the prince's family alone, I'm afraid it will be difficult to intimidate Shuidao Xiaoxiao, right?"

"Haha——" Zhou An raised his head and laughed, raising his hand to signal: "Don't be polite when you are resurrected, please take a seat quickly."

"Thank you, Zhou Changshi." Li Weijian sat down with a smile, and a guard immediately came forward to serve tea.

Zhou An said: "It was just a joke. The prince avoids such a big thing, so how can he take it on himself? In the past few days, the prince has received the letter, met with King Zhongyong, and found out the truth in private Pay 1 taels and get a promise of [-] shares. This water business is a business of collecting money for money, and the prince feels that [-] is a bit too little.

However, I heard that those stocks will be sold out later, and the one with the highest price will get... After the resurrection, we can know how much money this stock is worth? "

Li Weijian thought for a moment and said: "Why should a long history ask questions knowingly? There are millions of people in the capital, and people eat horses and chew them. The monthly water and disposal fee costs 35 to 6 taels of silver. When the water company is laying it out, the initial cost is high, and the water supply The cost is low, but the win is in the long run. My plan estimates that it will take about 20 years for the water company to pay back the capital after it is rolled out. After these 20 years, all the profits will be in vain."

"How much does it cost to pay back in 20 years?" Zhou Anahan said: "I have to ask Fusheng, how much does the water company's construction cost?"

Li Weijian gestured with three fingers.

"300 million taels... Uh, no -" Zhou An's eyes suddenly widened: "3000 million taels?" He was anxious and said: "Does your method have to work for gods? Why is it so expensive?"

Li Weijian smiled and took a sip of tea, and said slowly: "Of course the gods can't ask for it. We can build a water tower, lay hundreds of miles of water pipes coated with Japanese lead, and build a dozen steam engines to lift water. The inner and outer cities are added to one Therefore, the throwing fee will naturally be high.”

After a pause, he added: "Moreover, the saint will release this good business passed down from generation to generation, so the saint will not suffer a loss. There is a part of filial piety in it, and I think Zhou Changshi knows it."

3000 million taels is naturally a boast. In order to ensure the actual control of the water company, the Neifu and Shuntian Prefecture must retain most of the shares. Therefore, the shares circulating on the market can nominally be sold for 1000 million taels at most.But who is Li Weijian?The reluctance to sell, hungry marketing, hype, and subsequent tactics were used one after another. It is impossible to say that these 1000 million shares can really be sold for 3000 million.And this is not a one-time deal. With stock trading, it’s not too much to find a place to open an exchange, right?

Even if there is no stamp duty, just manipulating the stock price is enough for the government to make a lot of money.

It was this series of subsequent measures that made Jinshang particularly interested in this strategy, and he even generously transferred [-]% of his shares to reward his efforts.

In the pre-Ming Dynasty, there was a crazy influx of silver from America, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Now, Japan and Folangji have successively controlled the outflow of silver. Today, the Dashun Empire is actually a silver standard, and private silver storage is at its peak.

Li Weijian only remembered the incident in general, but did not know the specific amount.In fact, according to research and statistics 300 years later, the amount of private silver in Dashun at this time was between [-] and [-] billion taels.

The capital is also the place where the world's wealth gathers. It may be difficult to raise 3000 million taels. If the goal is slightly lower, 2000 million taels will be absolutely easy.

Zhou An heard this and thought secretly.

At this time, the monthly water fee is about 36 taels. After the water company laid the water, the water price dropped and the people's water consumption increased. Can this gross income be maintained at around 20 taels?After excluding the various labor and equipment maintenance costs, a good one is 15 taels.

After 20 years, if you get back your capital, if you own 18% of the shares, this will be [-] taels of wasted money every year!

At this time, Li Weijian said again: "Furthermore, if a water company can be set up in this capital, then other places nearby can also be set up. The capital is not the only place that is short of water."

Stay!Calculated in this way, if water services are gradually laid out in various cities, won't the futures keep rising?

Zhou An collected his thoughts, the smile on his face became warmer, and said: "Resurrection is a good plan! In this case, I think the prince will definitely spend his family wealth to buy stocks. Haha... Resurrection, how did I hear that the saint rewards the merit of resurrection? Divide [-]% of the stock with you?"

"Sage, saint!" Li Weijian cupped his hands from afar.

Zhou An said with a smile: "Do you have any intention of changing hands with the stock in Susheng's hand?"

Li Weijian nodded and said, "I haven't had much money recently, and I still owe money to the pawnshop. I do have the intention to transfer it out."

"Okay, then I won't take advantage of you. How about buying 30 shares at the original price?"

Li Weijian didn't hesitate at all and nodded directly: "Okay."

Zhou An hesitated instead, wondering: "You agreed to the resurrection so easily?"

Li Weijian sighed: "To be honest with Zhou Changshi, the student came to the capital to take the autumn examination, and he will definitely pursue an official career in the future. Although this money is good, too much will be too hot. If the student encounters trouble in the future, For today’s good fortune, I don’t ask the prince to rescue me, I just ask him to say a few words of justice... Isn’t it too much?”

"Haha, okay! Fu Sheng has thought clearly." Zhou An secretly thought, thinking that Li Weijian in front of him was just a scholar, how could he have the courage to deceive Prince Zhongshun's palace?So he felt relieved and said with a smile: "Resurrection is so refreshing, I can't be too petty."

As he spoke, he glanced at the guard beside him, and the guard placed an ebony box on the table.

Zhou An opened the box, revealed the banknotes inside, and then slowly pushed it in front of Li Weijian.

"Here's 2000 taels. I'm not going to get it for now, so I'll spend it first. There's no rush to spend the money. We'll wait until the water company opens up in the future. What do you think?"

Li Weijian immediately burst into tears of gratitude and said: "Oh, Zhou Changshi's move really solved the students' urgent need."

Zhou An shook his head with a smile and said: "It's just that, after resurrection, if there is another business like this water company in the future... don't forget my prince?"

"It's natural, it must be."

At this moment, Li Weijian suddenly caught a glimpse of a group of people walking below, and then his expression changed.

"Huh?" Zhou Changshi leaned to the side and looked down, and saw several young men in bright clothes and angry horses, laughing and walking towards the distance.One of them is Jia Rong from Ningguo Mansion.

Wu Haiping had said before that Li Weijian had a disagreement with Xue Pan, Jia Rong, and Jia Qiang, and was later plotted and ambushed by him.Fortunately, Xiu Ying next to Li Weijian was very capable, otherwise she would not be able to eat and walk around.

Seeing Li Weijian's solemn expression, Zhou An nodded and summoned the guard beside him. He whispered a few words in his ear, and the guard immediately crossed his arms and took the order.

Zhou An then said: "I heard that Fusheng is not on good terms with Ningguo Mansion?"

Li Weijian smiled and said, "That's right. Nowadays, students are just poor people, and they are not welcome by others."

"Oh, Fu Sheng is just a tiger in peace now. I met Fu Sheng twice and felt that he was very friendly. Fu Sheng might as well stay here for a while, I have arranged a good show."

"what?"

Without waiting for Li Weijian to ask, Zhou An had already stood up: "In this case, I will go ahead and stay here for some food. The dishes at Liuquanju are unique and unique in the capital. Haha, farewell."

"Students send Zhou Changshi."

After sending Zhou An's gift out of the private room, Li Weijian sat down suspiciously, tilted his head and looked out the window, wondering what drama Zhou An had arranged for this week.

After a long while, I saw Jia Rong and Jia Qiang coming out of a shop and walking towards this side. Suddenly, a group of green skins surrounded them.

The leader yelled and scolded: "Sun, will you pay back the money when you enter your mother's land?"

Jia Rong's face suddenly changed: "Did you find the wrong person?"

"Bah, even if you turn into gray, Grandpa will recognize you. What does this mean? Are you not going to pay back the money today? Come on, hit me!"

"you dare!"

As soon as Jia Rong shouted, he was pulled off the horse by a big man, and fists as big as sandbags were rained down on him.Jia Qiang on the side wanted to stop him, but as soon as he stepped forward, he was hit with a black eye.

The four servants and boys who followed saw that something was wrong and quickly stepped forward to help.But where is Qingpi Dahang's opponent?As soon as they met, he was beaten and rolled on the ground.

After a while, I suddenly heard someone shouting: "The Shuntian government officials are here!"

Without saying a word, several men turned around and ran away, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Jia Rong, who was left with unhealed old injuries and new ones, cried and groaned: "The bison fucked me...how dare you! Ah...my arm is broken. Hurry, call the doctor!"

(End of this chapter)