Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 65 A Big Reward
There was silence in the room for a long time. The nine nobles looked at each other, and then the six of them cast their eyes on the three people in the middle, obviously wanting these three to make the decision.
The daylight coming through the glazed skylight was growing dimmer and dimmer, and the old prince's expression could no longer be seen. But no one rang the bell to light the lamps.
Suddenly, the old man coughed and said, "People should not be too greedy. I think it is better to stop here."
A few low sighs were heard among the nobles.
The old eunuch said, "Wu Chengjian, although my family has not been in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in recent years, our children and grandchildren are still in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. We have heard a lot about what you have done in recent years. Although you are not a bannerman, you are really an important person. Although you said that the more than three million taels are a gift for us, we are not so shameless that we really do nothing and embezzle the money. How about this, we make a decision and let you leave the city and go home."
He turned to the two princes and said, "What do you think, my Lords?"
The old prince looked at the gold and silver on the ground and hesitated for a long time, but finally he hummed and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you."
The old man said, "Go ahead, Wu Chengjian, we will ensure you a safe journey."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "There is no need to leave the city and return to Guangdong. Since you are unwilling to do this business, Wu Chengjian will find another way."
The Sixth Master shouted, "You ungrateful thing! The old man promised you a life, what else do you want?"
Wu Chengjian sneered, "What good will it do me to go home? If I go back like this, it will take at least half a year, or at most a year, and the Wu family will still die. In that case, why did I come to Beijing? Using three million taels to buy the lives of my Wu family for a year is a big loss. It would be better to give it directly to you nobles, so that I, Wu Chengjian, can be generous in this city."
After he finished speaking, he bowed to everyone, turned around and left without stopping.
The nine people sitting there looked at each other in bewilderment. Just as Wu Chengjian walked to the door, the young prince couldn't help but shouted, "Wait!"
The old eunuch shouted, "...Little Prince..." He almost called out the little prince's real name, but he held it back when it was on his lips.
Wu Chengjian turned around and asked, "What do you want, young prince?"
The young prince groaned and said, "Come back."
Wu Chengjian took a few steps forward and came to the pile of gold and silver again. The dim light of the sky shone on his face again, making people see that he really had no fear, but also no respect.
The young prince asked, "What exactly do you want us to do?"
The old eunuch said, "Young prince, it is useless to listen to such things." The gift for meeting was three million taels, and the money to be paid later would be even more. With such a high reward, it must be a dangerous matter, so he was unwilling to take the risk.
The young prince said, "What's the point of listening? It's up to us to agree or not. Right, Uncle Wang?"
The old prince thought about it, looked at the gold and silver again, and finally couldn't bear to part with them. He nodded and said, "That's right."
The young prince said, "Wu Chengjian, go ahead and speak."
Seeing that he couldn't stop it, the old man could only sigh.
Wu Chengjian said: "It's not that complicated, nor dangerous. You don't have to worry."
The old man said, "Hmm?"
Then Wu Chengjian said, "I am so bold, I just want to ask to see the emperor."
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the room was shocked. Sixth Master shouted angrily, "How dare you! How dare you!"
The prince also shouted: "What a shameless, ungrateful dog slave!"
Except for the two princes and the old eunuch, other nobles also scolded him - how could a mere commoner, a businessman, actually want to see the emperor, that was truly the greatest absurdity in the world!
At this time, the eunuch remained calm. He waited until everyone had finished scolding him before asking, "Why do you want to see the emperor?"
Wu Chengjian said: "The Wu family adhered to the situation and surrendered to Heshen. This is known to the world. When the emperor takes power, sooner or later, there will be a day of reckoning. Therefore, as long as the He family mark on Wu is not washed off, his life will be hanging at any time, whether he is in Beijing or Guangzhou. And to wash off this mark, it is not enough to make a few changes in the official files. It must be washed away in the emperor's heart. Only then can it be truly washed away. Therefore, the only way for my Wu family to survive is to make the emperor believe that I am not Heshen's man."
The old man sneered: "The tone of your words is even louder than when you boasted about Guangzhou's wealth just now! The emperor's heart is like heaven, how can it be changed by an ordinary person! Not to mention changing it, even making presumptuous guesses is a capital crime!"
"How dare I guess the emperor's intentions!" Wu Chengjian said, "I just want a chance to tell the emperor what I really feel. After I tell the emperor what I really feel, I will have no regrets no matter what happens."
The old man pondered.
But the old prince had already waved his hand: "This can't be done. Go away!"
At such a delicate moment, to push an inexplicable person in front of Emperor Jiaqing, and let him reveal his true identity and talk to him, this is a taboo! Once Emperor Jiaqing gets angry and investigates thoroughly, everyone in this room will be in trouble! Or if the emperor in the palace finds out, things will be even worse.
Wu Chengjian said, "You don't need to do anything about this matter. I will find another way. All I want is tacit approval."
Among the nine nobles, four or five of them exclaimed, "Are you saying that without our help, you can see the Emperor?"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "If you don't nod, I definitely won't have any chance. But if you nod, then I'll have a little chance. This matter will not have anything to do with you from beginning to end."
This made it very clear that the nine people in the room were all closely connected to the imperial family and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and secretly controlled unpredictable power. Otherwise, how could they have resisted Heshen's secret orders? Without their tacit consent, even if Wu Chengjian had a thousand abilities, he would not be able to meet the emperor. But on the contrary, if they just let them tacitly consent to Wu Chengjian's actions, it would be a piece of cake for them.
The nine people looked at the room full of glittering gold and silver, and thought that what they were going to do was not difficult. For a moment, they were all unable to make a decision - on one side it was an easy task, and on the other side was the temptation of millions of gold and silver - among the nine nobles, five or six were eager to respond, but they did not dare to speak out, and they all looked at the three people in the middle.
The eunuch asked Wu Chengjian, "What do you want to say to the emperor?"
Wu Chengjian said: "I have already said it just now, it is nothing more than a confession of my true feelings."
The old man didn't believe it, but since he got the same answer twice, he didn't ask a third time and just asked, "So how do you plan to meet?"
Wu Chengjian said: "If you agree, Wu Chengjian will naturally greet you. If you don't agree, it's useless for me to say anything."
The old man thought about it and finally felt that this matter sounded easy, but it was hard to say that there were no hidden worries. He was a very cautious person. No matter how much money he had, how much could he, a eunuch, spend? He was about to refuse, but heard the old prince said: "How much can you pay?" If the young prince was the least cunning among the nine people, then the old prince was the most greedy.
The corners of Wu Chengjian's mouth lifted up slightly, which was his first real smile since he entered the sect. Then he lowered his head, knelt down and said, "Wu is willing to give everything he has to serve you all."
"Give it all..." The old prince chuckled twice: "How much money do you have left?"
Wu Chengjian said, "Sixth Master and this Beile Lord, two hundred thousand taels each. Four nobles, three hundred thousand taels. Two princes and this eunuch, five hundred thousand taels - how about that?"
No one expected that he could come up with another three million. Adding it to the previous amount, he would have made a huge fortune.
The young prince smiled and said, "You gave us this amount as a gift just now, and now you are asking us to do something for you, is it still this amount?"
Wu Chengjian said: "It's like climbing a mountain. Meeting you is like climbing a thousand feet high. This is the most difficult part. Now we are close to the top. Meeting you is just one more step."
The old man had already said, "No, Sixth Prince, please have someone see the guests off." Then he picked up the teacup and drank tea.
Wu Chengjian said: "Then, can we double it?"
Everyone was shocked. If it doubled, the total would be six million taels. Except for the two princes, everyone was tempted.
The old man sipped his tea, obviously refusing to agree.
Wu Chengjian said: "Then, how about doubling it?"
The old man who was about to swallow the water almost lost his breath. He spat out the tea and cursed, "You kid, you are talking nonsense. Have you ever calculated how much twice the amount is?"
Wu Chengjian said: "More than nine million, probably... that's all I have. If it's more, I don't have it."
"Nine million... nine million..." the young prince muttered, "A Guangdong merchant actually has a net worth of nine million taels? No, no, add the original several million, it's more than ten million taels! Are the merchants of our Qing Dynasty so rich?" Suddenly he said, "Then what are we? If not counting this kid's filial piety, I can't even take out two or three hundred thousand!"
The other nobles were either silent or had anger in their eyes, and they all had mixed feelings in their hearts.
The old prince said: "So... you really still have nine million?" Thinking of this number, his breathing became a little heavier.
Wu Chengjian said: "There is no more in Beijing. There may be some in Guangzhou. In order to protect the lives of the whole family, Wu Chengjian is willing to go bankrupt!"
"Losing everything in your family..." The old man spat out the tea leaves that were blocking his throat and said slowly, "Hao Guan, if you really do this, you will... have nothing."
"Having nothing is better than having all my family members die." Wu Chengjian said, "But if you are still not satisfied, then I can do nothing. I will go back and wait for death. As for the Wu family's money, just wait for it to be confiscated by the government and divided up by the officials below."
After hearing the last sentence, the seven or eight people in the room frowned.
That's right, if Wu Chengjian's property was really confiscated, his family property would definitely be eaten up to the point where there would be nothing left, and in the end even what was confiscated into the national treasury might not be the majority - everyone in the room had seen this kind of property confiscation before - although in order to keep their mouths shut, the people below would also offer some cold tributes, but what they could get would be at most tens of thousands or a hundred thousand, which is a hundred times the difference from nine hundred million or more!
This money... should have originally been ours!
——This is the common feeling of everyone in the room. Yes, since Wu Chengjian has already said that he wants to make a contribution, the nobles in the room will regard the money as their own.
The old prince looked at the gold and silver in the house, and then thought about the huge wealth behind it that was several times more than that. Even though he was a prince, his mouth suddenly became dry and he slapped the armrest: "Okay! Bring all the money and I will allow you to see the emperor!"
The old man was surprised.
Wu Chengjian said, "If you are willing to grant me this favor, my family should be able to raise another two to three million in cash. The rest will have to wait."
"Wait?" The old prince asked unhappily, "Wait for what?"
"Wait until Heshen falls from power." Wu Chengjian said, "Many of my businesses are under the watch of Heshen. If he doesn't fall from power, my businesses will remain untouched."
Seven or eight nobles all frowned, they didn't expect it to be so troublesome.
If it was just now, when everyone had not yet been tempted, they would have listened to the eunuch and hardened their hearts to drive Wu Chengjian away. But now that they have been relieved, they heard that they have to wait, and there will be changes if they wait. It would be too troublesome to swallow Wu Chengjian at this time, but they are reluctant to let him go.
The old prince said irritably: "Then wait until he falls, and then come to us!"
Wu Chengjian said: "By that time, it will be meaningless to meet the emperor. Since the prince is unwilling, I will find another way." After saying this, he kowtowed and was about to leave.
He walked to the door without any intention of staying. The old prince shouted angrily, "Come back!" When Wu Chengjian turned around, he shouted angrily, "How dare you go back on your word in front of me! Do you know that if I say one word now, you will be chopped into meat sauce and fed to dogs!"
Wu Chengjian said, "I can't do anything about it. What I said is the truth. Three million can still be raised in Guangzhou, but the other six million will have to wait . Even if the prince chops me into meat sauce and feeds it to the dogs, I can't make money out of thin air."
The old prince was furious, but if he really killed Wu Chengjian, he would not get the three million he said he could get in Guangzhou now, and the six million he might get "in the future". Killing him was just to vent his momentary hatred, but how could a momentary hatred be worth a million gold and silver?
The old prince patted the armrest: "What do you say?"
A noble said, "This is not difficult for us. First, get the three million, and then allow him to see the emperor. As for the future, we will talk about it later."
Another nobleman said, "Yes, I don't think he can escape from our grasp."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Where can I escape to in this great Qing Dynasty? If I don't owe you guys a debt, it's like an old man hanging himself because he thinks his life is too long. Am I sorry?"
The old prince looked at the eunuch. Seeing that all eight people had been persuaded, the eunuch sighed and said, "Since everyone has decided... let's do it this way."
"But..." He looked at Wu Chengjian and said, "Hao Guan, you are willing to take a gamble and throw away your entire fortune for this, are you really willing to do that?"
"I'm not willing to accept it, but there's nothing I can do about it, right?" Wu Chengjian smiled slightly. "If I lose my life, my money and property will still go to someone else. But as long as Wu Chengjian is still alive, I can get back the mere tens of millions."
The little prince laughed out loud: "You are bragging again."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "If you don't believe me, why not spare my life to see what happens next? Three years later, I will give you another 9 million. What do you think?"
