Volume 1: Mission in Danger Chapter 28: Lu Guanhuan asked: Who is in charge?
Cai Qinghua said: "Lu Guanhuan first made his fortune by following the connections of the former Guangzhou general. After that, he relied on Changlin as his backer."
Changlin was the previous Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi. Zhu Gui laughed when he heard this and said, "It seems that the Thirteen Hongs are not controlled by Jishan alone. But now that Changlin is gone, Lu Guanhuan will be unstable, right?"
Cai Qinghua said: "Although Changlin is gone, his old subordinates are still here. Besides, Changlin was only transferred to Fujian and Zhejiang, not dismissed. His remaining influence will be enough to protect Lu Guanhuan for one or two years. However, he should also find a new support."
Zhu Gui immediately understood the hint from his trusted advisor and asked, "What is this person's character like in the business world? Does he have a bad reputation for committing crimes?"
"No." Cai Qinghua said, "This man is very good at business and has a reputation as a chivalrous businessman in the market. He was able to join Changlin not by flattery, but by accomplishing several practical things for Changlin, which is beneficial to Changlin's governance."
"If that's the case," Zhu Gui said, "you can give him two more tasks to do."
Cai Qinghua smiled and said, "If so, Lu Guanhuan will definitely be grateful, and the owner will be able to intervene in the affairs of the Thirteen Hongs."
Zhu Gui smiled and said, "I am not seeking power, but things here cannot be done without power and money..."
In the meeting room of the Thirteen Hongs, Wu Chengjian was just guessing that the third thing was the key, and sure enough, he heard the general merchant Cai Shiwen say: "Last year, the Yongding River was flooded, the water overflowed and the dike collapsed, and the victims were everywhere. Although the Holy Son of Heaven is in power, there will be droughts and floods but no starvation. However, as subjects of the Qing Dynasty, how can we not share the country's hard work and the emperor's worries? Therefore, Cai believes that since we have received the emperor's grace, it is time to open our pockets at this time. It will relieve the worries of the emperor and father, serve the country and the people, and accumulate good karma for ourselves. Of course, this is also the intention of the superiors..."
Wu Chengjian thought to himself: "The previous ones are all nonsense, but this last sentence is the key."
Cai Shiwen was talking nonstop when he was suddenly interrupted by someone: "Wait a minute!"
Wu Chengjian followed the crowd's gaze and saw that the person who spoke was Lu Guanhuan, who was the last of the four major families.
Lu Guanhuan started from scratch and built a trading company from scratch, and under his leadership he directly squeezed into the four major families. He was a smart and capable person, and with his own abilities, he actually accomplished several difficult tasks for the previous Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Changlin, and thus gained Changlin's trust. Although the Guangdong Customs Supervisor Jishan did not like him, he could do nothing about it.
But after Chang Lin was transferred away, Lu Guanhuan's momentum suddenly weakened by five points. Since he entered the door, he has been hunching his back - although he is still half a head taller than Ye Dalin next to him. At this moment, he suddenly spoke, straightened his back, and the whole person was like an iron tower. Although he is not young, his voice is still louder than most young and middle-aged people.
Wu Chengjian then recalled that when his elder brother Wu Chengjun first came to the meeting, old man Wu specifically called both of his brothers over to impart his experience. At that time, he said: If a superior asks for money, let it go for small amounts, but ask for large amounts clearly.
This Ninth Concubine's birthday gift is just a small amount of money, so it's okay to give it away. But disaster relief is a bottomless pit, so it's probably going to be a large amount of money, so we have to ask for details about the large amount.
Among the Thirteen Hongs, the merchants were also divided into big and small. The four big families were big, Pan, Yi, Liang, Yang, and Ma were small, and Wu and Ye were in between. Therefore, among the eleven merchants, there was the term "four big families", and there was also a division between the upper six and the lower five. The big merchants each had their own mountaintops, while the small merchants relied on the mountains for support.
Although it was Lu Guanhuan who spoke at this time, Liang, Yang and Ma all leaned their heads out and squinted their eyes, which was completely different from their drowsy looks just now. It was obvious that what Lu Guanhuan wanted to say was what they all wanted to ask.
Then Lu Guanhuan said, "Mr. Cai, I am a humble man, but I want to ask you two questions. First, which flood in Yongding River do you mean?"
Cai Shiwen said: "Of course it was the great flood last year."
Lu Guanhuan asked, "How many major floods did the Yongding River have last year?"
Cai Shiwen frowned. Xie Yuanli, who was sitting in the second chair to his right, said, "How many more floods do you want? One flood is enough for the country and the people. Old Lu, when you say this, do you wish that my Qing Dynasty would suffer more disasters?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Guanhuan quickly stood up and kowtowed to the north. Then he stood up and said, "Mr. Xie, please don't slander me. If I, Lu Guanhuan, had had even the slightest thought of this, I would have suffered an unexpected disaster in my life and died without a burial place!" Then he said to Cai Shiwen, "Mr. Cai, I asked this question because I want to confirm which flood disaster it was. But the one at the turn of summer and autumn last year?"
Cai Shiwen said: "Yes, that's the one."
Lu Guanhuan said, "If it was that flood, I remember that the Holy Emperor had already issued an imperial decree to let the Ministry of Revenue allocate funds, Heshen and Your Excellency were in charge of disaster relief, and all parties donated money enthusiastically. At that time, our Thirteen Hongs also obeyed the emperor's orders and cared about the people, and donated a considerable amount of money. Later, fortunately, the Holy Emperor was favored by heaven, and Heshen and Your Excellency made good arrangements. Within a month or two, the flood was over. The Emperor also issued an imperial decree to commend Heshen and Your Excellency for their good arrangements. I asked someone to copy a copy of the court report on this matter at that time, and it is still kept at home. Do you need Lu to have someone take it for Your Excellency Cai to review?"
Cai Shiwen was always serious, and the people in Xiguan called him Blackhead behind his back. His face suddenly darkened. Before he could say anything, Xie Yuanli snorted, "Old Lu, what do you mean by saying these words?"
Lu Guanhuan chuckled and said, "I don't mean anything, but I just don't understand. The Holy Emperor has already issued an imperial decree and settled the flood case. Why do you want us to help? Share your worries? Repay the country? Protect the people?"
Xie Yuanli shouted, "Old Lu, are you trying to slander Mr. Cai for making money by making false claims?"
Cai Shiwen immediately said to his fellow travelers, "I swear here that I did not make up a story to get money. This is indeed the intention of the superiors. If this is false, or if I, Cai, embezzled a penny, I, Cai Shiwen, will be struck by lightning and die miserably."
His oath was so fierce and resolute that it stunned many people.
However, Wu Chengjian was not among these people. He was still fanning himself with a smile, watching the show.
As expected, Lu Guanhuan said, "If that's the case, I would like to ask you another question: which 'superior' is this that Mr. Cai is talking about?"
Many people looked at Lu Guanhuan when he was speaking, but Wu Chengjian was the only one who listened to Lu Guanhuan's words, but stared at Cai Shiwen without blinking. As he expected, after hearing this question, Cai Shiwen's originally dark face suddenly became extremely gloomy, and even had a bit of ferocity for a moment - Wu Chengjian knew that Lu Guanhuan's question had hit the opponent's vital point.
Why is it the key point? Cai Shiwen just said a lot of things that were not bad, but he was vague about who ordered the money. Wu Chengjian thought: "It seems that there is no official document or imperial decree for this matter, otherwise Cai Shiwen would have taken it out long ago. The other party can't follow the rules, so there may be some chances for this matter. I don't know if Old Lu can handle it."
Cai Shiwen did not answer for a moment. Lu Guanhuan bowed to the north and said, "General Merchant, this 'superior' is the Holy Son of Heaven? Is there an imperial decree? If there is an imperial decree, please bring out the incense table and we will receive it. As long as it is the will of His Majesty, I will definitely serve the country and share the worries of the emperor and father even if I lose everything."
All the insurers said, "That's right, that's right."
Wu Chengjian also said: " That's right , that's right."
Cai Shiwen was forced into a corner and had no choice but to say, "There is no imperial decree."
Lu Guanhuan said: "Then is there any oral order? If it is an oral order, please ask the eunuch who can deliver the oral order, or any of the eunuchs who can show up, and we will accept the oral order."
All the guarantors said, "That's right, that's right."
Wu Chengjian also said: "That's right, that's right."
Cai Shiwen was forced to say, "There is no oral order."
Lu Guanhuan said, "If there is no oral order... Mr. Cai, who is the boss you just mentioned?"
In the back garden of the Bao Shang Council, a Manchu lord in civilian clothes was playing with birds. A man with a pigtail ran up to him and half-knelt, saying, "Master."
The Manchu master didn't even turn his head and continued to tease the bird: "Have you finished talking about the previous matter?"
The servant said, "My Lord, Mr. Cai was interrupted by Lu Guanhuan."
The little stick that was used to tease the bird stopped, and the Manchu master tilted his head slightly.
Today's matter is actually of great importance, but precisely because of its importance, he has to treat it with caution. If Cai Shiwen can solve it in a few words, that would of course be best. However, if not, there will be trouble next.
The servant said hurriedly, "This servant is really bold. I will drag him out and beat him to death."
However, he immediately noticed that his master did not mean to acquiesce. He just stood up halfway and knelt down again.
"master?"
The Manchu master snorted and said, "I heard that Lu Guanhuan took over the Panyu incident?"
"The Panyu incident? Ah! Yes, yes."
The Manchu master said, "That incident was a mess left by Changlin. The people in the governor's office turned a blind eye and did nothing. They left it to old man Zhu on purpose. If the matter ends badly, old man Zhu will not be affected by it, but he will be disgusted and laughed at. In the future, when he governs Guangdong, few people will listen to him."
"Yes, I heard that this old man Zhu opposed Lord He in every way when he was in the capital. Now that he has come to Guangdong, I am afraid he will not be of any benefit to us bannermen. If old man Zhu gets into trouble because of this, we will be laughed at in Banner City for ten days and a half months. But Lu Guanhuan dared to take this matter and ruined the mood of our bannermen... Master, I understand. I will go out and ask someone to drag Lu Guanhuan out and beat him to death!"
Before he stood up, the Manchu master had turned around. He had a mustache on his lips and a smooth chin. His face was well-maintained, but his eyes were as chilling as an eagle's.
