The Six Arts of the Gentleman in the Bright Moon of Qin Dynasty

Chapter 686: Qi’s Corruption Methods [Subscription*Monthly Ticket Request]

"The Prime Minister of Qi State is a retainer of my Yan family!" Yan Xiu continued to explain.

"?" Gongsun Linglong and Ge Yang were even more shocked.

This is not just a general title. It means that his direct superior is the Yan family, not the State of Qi. If the State of Qi and the Yan family have orders, the orders of the Yan family must be obeyed first.

As we all know, among the six ministers of Zhou Dynasty, the chief one was the Prime Minister, who was also the king's steward and in charge of the country's finances.

Therefore, in general, the prime minister is also a retainer of the royal family or a royal relative.

But now, the Prime Minister of Qi is actually a retainer of the Yan family. This is quite intriguing. Is it the Yan family that is the king of Qi, or is it Tian Jian?

"Surprised?" Yan Xiu knew that this was hard to believe, but the Yan family did it.

Therefore, this also shows the weakness of Qi State.

Even the national treasury was no longer under the king’s control.

"King Jian of Qi is different from other kings of Qi. He will really kill his relatives. In order to kill them, he is willing to pay anything and do anything." Yan Xiu said helplessly.

The Yan Zi lineage helped King Jian of Qi to kill the previous head of the Qi royal family, and then they got the position of prime minister and took control of the finances of Qi.

And it wasn't just them, many Qi nobles also obtained the status of doctor and minister because of this.

In Qi, as long as you can make King Jian of Qi kill the relatives of Tian clan with justification, then promotion to a higher position is a piece of cake, and you can choose any official or hereditary noble.

Until now, these local nobles of Qi State have not figured out what King Jian of Qi was trying to do, or what the Tian clan did to King Jian of Qi that made him so ruthless in killing them.

In short, when the king and queen were still alive, there were still some benevolent and ambitious people in Qi who wanted to be loyal to the king and serve the country, and wanted to make Qi rise again.

However, after the king passed away, King Jian of Qi took over the government. In the Qi court, some retired and returned to their hometowns, and some retired and returned to the countryside. There was almost no loyal minister who truly wanted to contribute to the Qi state.

Especially after King Jian of Qi took power, the contradiction between the King of Qi and the royal family became increasingly acute. Both sides tried every possible means to defeat the other, making Qi a paradise for corrupt officials.

Judging from the current battle situation, Prince Jian of Qi has the upper hand, and the royal family does not even dare to elect a chief.

"What's the point?" Gongsun Linglong and Ge Yang knew that there was a serious internal struggle between the King of Qi and the Tian clan, but they did not expect that even an important position like the Prime Minister would be given to an outsider.

"Yeah, what's the point? Not only you are curious, as people from Qi, we are actually more curious!" Yan Xiu spread her hands.

As people of Qi, they certainly thought about serving their country.

But faced with such a great king and royal family, they really have no way to serve their country, and then they can only choose to blend in with the world and become evil.

"Let's not talk about this for now, let's continue to talk about how to send this 100,000 betrothal gift to the famous family!" Yan Xiu waved her hand and withdrew her thoughts.

"Where does the famous family collect this money and grain?" Yan Xiu asked.

"Anywhere?" Ge Yang was curious.

"Anywhere is fine. If we collect it at the Beiye Royal Court, that will be more convenient. It will be directly escorted to the Beiye Royal Court along with the commission to be delivered to Bingzhou. When we get there, we will find a way to separate out the excess money and grain and hand it over to the famous family." Yan Xiu gave an affirmative answer.

"Can it be sent to Handan?" Ge Yang thought for a moment and then spoke.

Although most of the elite members of the famous families developed in Bingzhou, their ancestral home was still in Handan.

"Handan is good. Handan, Daliang, and Xinzheng are among the largest cities at present, and their trade is also the most developed. It is not a problem to send 100,000 yuan in money and food." Yan Xiu was relieved. "Uncle, why do you feel relieved that we chose Handan?" Gongsun Linglong asked directly.

"Escorting 100,000 grains would cost a lot on the road. Even if we have to escort 100,000 grains from Linzi to Handan, the actual cost might be more than 200,000," Yan Xiu explained.

Gongsun Linglong and Ge Yang nodded. The transportation of food and fodder often consumes more on the road, not to mention sending it from Linzi to Handan.

"So, we will exchange for 100,000 grains and fodders worth the same in Linzi, and for the scarce necessities in Handan. Once in Handan, we will use these necessities that are easy to store and transport to turn them back into the items you need in Handan."

"This way, not only will there be no loss, but we will also make a profit!"

Gongsun Linglong and Ge Yang were amazed. It was no wonder that Qi was a country famous for its merchants, and anyone could master the art of business.

And judging from what Yan Xiu meant, this was the simplest way to explain it that was easiest for them to understand.

"Do you know why it is recognized throughout the world that corrupt officials are rampant in Qi, but the laws of Qi have not been able to kill many pests?" Yan Xiu thought about it and also wanted the two of them to gain some experience in Qi.

In terms of political means, Qi may not be as good as Bingzhou, but in terms of business means, of the total business volume in the world, Qi accounts for twelve, and the princes of the world owe Qi two.

Therefore, Yan Xiu was somewhat worried that Bingzhou would suffer some losses in the negotiations between Qi and Bingzhou.

After all, it is somewhat unrealistic to transport hundreds of thousands of stones of grain and fodder from Qi to Bingzhou, and most of it is probably for cash.

"Appreciate further details!"

Yan Xiu simply picked up the pen and wrote a few words on the white paper in front of the table, wrote her own name, and stamped her own private seal.

"This calligraphy is now worth five hundred gold!"

"Ah?" Gongsun Linglong and Ge Yang were puzzled.

They admitted that Yan Xiu's calligraphy was good, but it was not so good that a single piece of paper was worth five hundred gold.

"The original value of the paper was not low, but with my words on it, the paper lost its use value and became worthless. However, with my seal on it, it is worth five hundred gold!" Yan Xiu looked at the two of them and said seriously.

"So that's it!" Gongsun Linglong reacted.

Neither paper nor words are valuable; what is valuable is the person who wrote them.

As one of the great Confucianists, talking about money and things is too humiliating, but calligraphy and painting are elegant, so using money to buy Yan Xiu's calligraphy and paintings is equivalent to getting a promise from Yan Xiu.

As for how much this promise is worth, it depends on what you want Yan Xiu to do for you.

This was one of the most common methods of corruption used by officials in the State of Qi.

Therefore, even if you know that the other party is corrupt, you cannot find any evidence.

After all, the calligraphy of Lü Buwei, a mere merchant, could be worth a thousand gold coins per word. Could it be that the calligraphy of these culturally-infused scholars was not as good as that of a merchant?
My love for something is priceless. Should the government intervene to determine how much people are willing to spend to buy this calligraphy or painting?

In addition to this, there are also gifts of houses, fields, and women, but they will not be recorded in the name of the other party. The ownership is in the hands of other people, but the right to use is in the hands of those in power.

Yan Xiu introduced the various corruption methods of Qi State to Gongsun Linglong and Ge Yang, which shocked them both.

(End of this chapter)