Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 584

One stone stirs up a thousand waves.

Although it is said that there are three fires for a new official to take office, no one would have thought that Cao Yong would make such a big commotion when he first arrived at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Since Da Cao Yong was in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, everyone in the Ministry of Internal Affairs has also paid attention to him, and the officers under him are also busy studying his resume after he became an official.

This is the current atmosphere in the officialdom. Before the chief official arrives, the subordinates usually know everything about the official's resume and family status.

Among other things, for the sake of "three festivals and two longevity", the birthdays of the chief official and the official's wife must be known, otherwise the filial piety will be delayed, wouldn't it be impolite?
Not to mention that Cao Yong's wife is a big princess in Prince Chun's mansion, and her status is noble and difficult to reach.

Cao Yong came to Beijing in 48. Except for one and a half years in Yizhou, Shandong, he was a Beijing official for the rest of the time, including the Ministry of Households, Taipu Temple, and the Ministry of War.

No matter whether it is the officials of the six departments or the officials of the Taipu Temple, Cao Yong's behavior is just one word, that is "ping".

That's right, it is "flat".

Steady, peaceful, ordinary, plain.

Even if Cao Jiazi's reputation as a "tea boy" in his early years was more widespread, Cao Yong's mediocrity over the years has made the elites in the capital gradually forget these things.

Even if Cao Yong was promoted to be the director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs this time, no one would have thought that he would be able to make any changes.

In the words of the elders, the house of internal affairs is deep.

If you want to say how deep and dark it is inside, you can only feel it, but you can't express it in words.

Although most of the officials under the Ministry of Internal Affairs are dressed in the three banners and have low status.However, it is true that they are slaves, but they are the emperor's slaves.

In addition to being the emperor's servants, behind them, there are more or less shadows of other clan dignitaries.

Even the current princes like elder brother sixteen and elder seventeen, who are in charge of the House of Internal Affairs, would not act rashly.

There is a difference between superiority and inferiority, but ants kill elephants more often, and they can affect the whole body with one move. This is the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

"Cao Yong, are you crazy? What are you doing..." Elder Sixteen strode into the inner hall of the Yamen of the House of Internal Affairs, frowning, with a serious look on his face. When he saw Cao Yong, he couldn't help raising his voice.

There happened to be a pen post from the Accounting Department to send Cao Yong the accounts of the past few years. He was taken aback by the high voice of the sixteenth elder brother, and when he missed, he almost scattered the stack of accounts he was holding in his hand.

Only then did Elder Sixteen realize that there was an outsider, and he immediately closed his mouth, his brows still frowning.

Holding the account in the post style, he bent down and saluted the sixteenth elder brother.

Brother Sixteen pursed his lips tightly, and waved his hand at the pen stick casually.

Then the postman got up, sent the accounts he was holding to Cao Yong's desk, and reported back: "My lord, except for the accounts of 47 and 51 that were incomplete due to water and insects, the accounts of other years after 45 years are incomplete. The accounts are all here."

The Accounting Department is a department that manages the cashiers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and is responsible for every income and expenditure.

Such an organization doesn't even know how to keep its account books, so how many people will believe it if it is "watered by moths"?

The missing two-year accounts happened to be the year when Kangxi abolished the crown prince twice.

Cao Yong knew it well, nodded, and sent the pen post down.

Brother Sixteen stayed here for a while, and his mood gradually calmed down.

There were only the two of them left in the room, Elder Sixteen pondered for a moment, and said: "Fu Ruo, you have never been a reckless person, why are you like this this time? Even if you want to do something, or want to be the emperor You have to think carefully about your worries. Even if you hold all the expensive yamen of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in your hands, at most you can only save a few coins. What can they be used for? It’s decent, but it’s a meritorious service.”

When Cao Yong heard the words, he didn't answer immediately, but took a blue and white teacup, picked up the kettle on the small stove in the corner, and made a cup of tea for Brother Sixteen.

Brother Sixteen saw that Cao Yong was calm and relaxed, so he couldn't help being a little annoyed. He took the tea and said, "Humph, hum, it's up to you to see what kind of good tea you have here, and offer it up." He said, He looked at the color of the tea soup, but couldn't help being startled.

The tea soup of this good tea is either bright red, bright yellow, or green.The tea soup in front of him was something that Elder Sixteen had never seen before.

The color is slightly darker than that of boiled water, slightly yellow, and it is not bright to look at.

"Could it be the good tea made by Fu Ruo?" Elder Sixteen brought the tea soup to his mouth with some surprise, took a sip, but couldn't help frowning.

Brother Sixteen endured it, opened his mouth to drink, and finished the remaining tea soup, revealing the residual tea at the bottom of the cup.

Brother Sixteen poked it twice with his fingers, and it was full of broken tea stems.

"Where did you buy it? It's not someone who has no color, let me show you off? Which slave is going to die?" Thinking of this possibility, Brother Sixteen couldn't help getting angry, stood up with a "thump", and asked.

Cao Yong had already pointed to the tea in the teacup, and said: "The sixteenth master, please be safe and don't be impatient. I am the chief steward appointed by the emperor. No matter whether he is convinced or not, who of them would dare to despise the holy will? People who love tea in the capital A lot, one or two good teas, ten taels of gold is also available. However, the prices of tea used in ordinary people's homes are different. This tea is the cheapest tea that can be bought in the capital, 24 yuan per catty, One or two pennies and a half."

Sixteenth elder brother was a little puzzled, thought for a while, and said, "What is the meaning of Furuo's purchase by the Ministry of Internal Affairs? Even if the price of this tea is cheap, it is impossible for the court to purchase it. Besides, apart from tributes from various places Tea, the House of Internal Affairs also has its own tea house, this tea..." At this point, he couldn't help but widen his eyes, and said, "Could it be that Fu Ruo is thinking about the tea ceremony outside the mouth?"

Cao Yong nodded: "In the past two years, I have often traveled to Mongolia. Whether it is Mongolian princes and nobles or ordinary herdsmen, this tea is indispensable. If they don't drink tea to dilute it, they will eat meat and milk all day long. , I couldn’t stand it anymore. This catty of tea bricks is only twenty or thirty yuan in the cheapest place in Guanli, but outside the mouth, it can be exchanged for two sheep, and three or four yuan can be exchanged for a horse. Price The difference is a hundred times. This is still the naturalization side, if you go further north, the price will be even higher. When it is shipped to Oros, the price will double again."

The out-of-mouth tea quotes and salt quotes are all distributed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and those who control them are all well-established families.

This is an out-and-out imperial merchant. Since the 28th year of Kangxi, there has been a tea ceremony naturalized to Eros, and it has gradually matured in these years.

Brother Sixteen's expression changed when he heard the price difference of hundreds of times, but then he thought about the interest disputes involved, but he couldn't help worrying about Cao Yong.

"The tea invitations that are distributed every year are tossed and turned, but those few companies have backers behind them. If Fu Ruo wants to move this, I am afraid that he will have a rival. You should think carefully, this is not a matter of offending one or two families. "The sixteenth elder brother said.

Cao Yong took out a very delicately carved pineapple box from the drawer of the case, and said, "Master Sixteen, look at this again." Saying this, he sent it to Elder Sixteen.

Elder Sixteen reached out to pick it up, and opened it to see that the inside was covered with red velvet, on which were neatly stacked a row of paper rolls that were palm-length and finger-thin.

I took one and looked at it, and there was thinly cut shredded tobacco in it.

"This?" Brother Sixteen was puzzled.

Cao Yong said with a smile: "Cigarettes, the box is just for fooling people, I think the princes and nobles who came to Eros should like this."

Elder Brother Shiliu has seen this shredded tobacco, but he has never heard of this thing.

He took one and put it under his nose to smell, but it was a faint fragrance.

Cao Yong looked at the hand-rolled cigarettes and couldn't help feeling a little proud.

During the half month of recuperation, he was thinking about ways to make money.After much deliberation, this money is still the most among the folks.Don't talk about others, just talk about the Cheng family he visited in Yangzhou.As a representative of the salt merchants, although it cannot be said that the world is rich, there are some wealthy parties.

The imperial merchants under the House of Internal Affairs include Huai merchants and Shanxi merchants.

Whether it is Huai merchants or Shanxi merchants, one thing is the same, that is, family origin, and family wealth is tight.

What better way to raise money than to get money from them?
Elder Sixteen closed the cigarette case and stopped asking questions. He pulled up a chair and sat down. He looked at Cao Yong and said, "Look at what you're proud of. You came up with this in the past ten months? What else is there?" , Hurry up and finish the show."

Cao Yong laughed twice, and took out two brocade boxes, which were opened sixteen years ago, and inside were pearls of various colors.

"When the tea is transported out of the mouth, the price is doubled by a hundred times, but the chayin is only equal to the tea, or twice as much. This time the Ministry of Internal Affairs is bidding for the procurement, and this tea is the big bid. This The price of tea bricks is [-] to [-] yuan a catty, and the tea price is initially determined to be [-] times that. Bidding is open to the imperial merchants under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the price will be awarded. If the bidding fails, the cigarette exclusive sales will continue to bid , and finally pearls." Cao Yong said.

In the past two years, the price of pearls has dropped due to the massive listing of cultured pearls.The production of high-quality beads is limited, and the impact is better. The price of ordinary beads has indeed dropped by more than ten times.

Elder Sixteen's eyes couldn't help but shine a little. Looking at Cao Yong, he stretched out his thumb: "I'm afraid that you will be forced into a mess by Huang Ama. You know it in your heart and you will be the last... This excitement, I will be with Ten Seven is to participate in the joint..."

Elder Sixteen had no intention of big positions, and he didn't value money very much. Half of them took the initiative to participate in the cooperation because they wanted to hear the excitement and want to see and see. On the other hand, they wanted to share risks and responsibilities for Cao Yong.

Cao Yong knew it well, but he was extremely fortunate.

Fortunately, I was a reading companion of sixteen elder brothers in my early years, and I didn't do other people's...

*
Suzhou, Weaving Mansion, Study Room.

Li Xu frowned, looked at the brocade box spread out on the desk, stroked his beard, and said, "It's still so few? What's the situation of other bead factories?"

Opposite is the son of the Li family, Wan Dafu, who was Li Ding's long-term follower in the early years, and later went to Jiangning to work as the steward of the pearl farm.

"My lord, I have pushed people around to ask about it. The few people who photographed the pearl were all raising pearls. In the past two years, beads have been on the market, and now the market price has plummeted. I haven't heard of any The matter of not producing beads, our side is still the same as last year." Wan Dafu bowed and said, "Master, could it be that Master Cao's Biao played something... When the second master was alive, speaking of that one, he felt that he was right. The Li family has some plans."

Hearing about Li Ding, Li Xu's face became even more ugly.

It has been more than two years since his son passed away. As a father, he doesn't even know the cause of his son's death.

However, Li Xu didn't believe that the Cao family plotted against the Li family.

The bead field was taken by the merchant Yang's family. At that time, the Li family hadn't joined.Even if Cao Yong wants to plot against the Li family, it is impossible to prepare for such a long time.

Cao Yong's promotion to the post of Minister of Internal Affairs has been made public in the official residence newspaper.

Even with Cao Yin, there was a gap in his heart, especially on Li Xu's side.

Although he has the title of Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs and is an official position of the second rank, he is not as powerful as the head of the internal affairs office of the third rank.

Thinking of the rising momentum of the Cao family, Li Xu couldn't help touching his forehead, unable to tell whether he was happy or angry.He coughed, straightened his face, and said to Wan Dafu: "Misfortune comes from the mouth, what kind of tricks and schemes, don't be careless in front of others from now on, or be careful not to deal with it according to family law."

"Yes." Wan Dafu bowed in response, and said, "Master, there is one more thing. The widow of the Yang family, Yang Baishi, with her stepson, is raking around, trying to take back the Bihe Building and Zhuchang."

It is not only Yang Bai's family who is thinking about Bihelou in Jiangning, but also the Bai family.

Because the only daughter of the Yang family was their daughter-in-law, the Bai family wanted to end the business even though Bai Er had died "immediately".There was already a fuss before, and I was finally frightened.

Li Xu didn't hear so many things that he didn't expect, so he couldn't bear to listen to these trivial matters of mother-in-law and mother-in-law.

He gave Wan Dafu a sideways look, and said to you: "How to live more and more roundabout? Let's talk about such a trivial matter. Tired or not, I'm tired of looking at you if the master is not tired."

"Master, the aunt's house in Jiangning has moved, and other officials have also changed drastically. There are also some tough people behind the Bai family." Fang Dafu said hesitantly: "Master, if you want peace, this Yang Bai family and her stepson But it’s not easy to stay.”

Li Xu nodded upon hearing this, and casually ordered: "No matter how you deal with it, it should be clean and tidy."

*
Beijing, Xicheng, Cao Mansion, Lan Yuan.

Mrs. Li was confinement and was taking supplements every day, her whole face looked flushed, and she was much younger.

Changsheng was in the package, with a fair and tender face, waving his small arms, not knowing where to exert his strength.

Sitting on the edge of the kang, Mrs. Li held Changsheng in her arms, but she couldn't get enough of it.

At this moment, footsteps were heard, and a maid, Xiuying, came in.

"Ma'am, Miss Dong is here." Xiu Ying reported.

Mrs. Li nodded, looked at her son again, and then reluctantly put down the swaddling baby, and let her take her to Dongnuange to recuperate.

The visitor has been ushered into the house by Xiu Ying, and when he sees Li Shi, he bows down.

Although she is a court lady, she is a servant in front of the imperial court, and Mrs. Li dare not trust her.

She avoided it sideways, got up and walked in front of Suxin, pulled her to the bed and said, "Speaking of which, I met your mother too. It was when I went to Beijing last time, um, in the 48th year of Kangxi. thing."

Su Xin sat on the edge of the kang, but she still kept her eyebrows down and said nothing.

Seeing her appearance, Mrs. Li felt a little embarrassed.

I really don't understand the meaning of the palace. Is it possible that people like them are still qualified to use people in front of the imperial court.What kind of thing is this? It's neither a guest nor a servant...

*
Done, I can sleep peacefully tonight.Whispered, begging for a monthly ticket and a recommended ticket with the cheek. . (*^__^*)
(End of this chapter)