Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 74: Tianwei Seafood
Wu Chengjian made a very standard "thousand" and the "old prince" laughed. Wu Chengjian stood up again and took a closer look at the other person's face. He found that he was not very old, about fifty years old, well-fed and looked quite healthy.
"Sit down." The old prince pointed to the chair next to him and sat on the bed. "Did you recognize Er Luoli?"
Wu Chengjian bowed slightly and said, "After the meeting with the Emperor, the Emperor called out Eunuch E's name."
The old prince laughed and said, "When you said you could see the emperor, we didn't really believe it. But unexpectedly, not only did you see the emperor, but you also got Elder Zhu to speak well of you. That's really rare. Now that Jian is in the emperor's heart, he doesn't need guys like us anymore."
Wu Chengjian knew why the other party summoned him today. He was worried that he might be demoted. He smiled and said, "I am not a favorite minister. Even if I win the favor of the emperor, how many days can I stay in Beijing? I have to go back to Guangdong. From the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the Guangdong Customs, I will have to rely on you all for your care in the future."
The old prince's expression eased a little, and he continued, "Although you promised nine million that day to buy an opportunity to see the emperor, we didn't actually do anything about this matter. Now that your Majesty has seen it, the three million is just a concession from us, and the remaining six hundred is not worth mentioning."
He said this with a pleasant expression and seemed to be sincere. If he had been someone with a less broad mind and courage, and had really saved the promise of six million, he would have fallen into a trap.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the second son of Tao Zhugong committed a crime in the State of Chu. The eldest son, following his father's order, offered Zhuang Sheng a thousand gold coins to rescue him. Zhuang Sheng accepted the thousand gold coins and persuaded the King of Chu. The King of Chu issued a general amnesty across the country, and Tao Zhugong's second son was also included in the pardon. The eldest son thought that the king had pardoned Zhuang Sheng for no good reason, so he took back the thousand gold coins from Zhuang Sheng. Zhuang Sheng went back to persuade the King of Chu, and the King of Chu revised the pardon order, but did not pardon Tao Zhugong's second son, so he killed him.
Wu Chengjian, however, was a spendthrift. He smiled and said, "It's only six million. Your Majesty, why should you be so polite to me? Don't worry. When Heshen falls, all the restrictions on Wu will be lifted and I will pay you the full six million."
The old prince smiled even more and continued, "There were nine nobles you saw that day. Two of them have recently violated the law and are now imprisoned in the clan house. Another one has some connection with Heshen. If something happens in the future, I'm afraid something unexpected will happen. You don't have to give them the money."
Wu Chengjian said sternly, "Six million was promised that day. Even if a few people are missing, six million is still six million. How to divide the extra money is up to His Majesty. It has nothing to do with me."
The old prince laughed loudly: "Good, good! Hao Guan is indeed a wonderful person!"
Wu Chengjian said, "Your Majesty, I am too proud of your praise. I do not deserve it."
The old prince waved his hand and said, "Your official position was granted by the Emperor. You don't need to call yourself a villain anymore."
Wu Chengjian smiled, stood up and saluted: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."
The old prince met Wu Chengjian today just because of the few words he had just said. Although every word was a trap, fortunately Wu Chengjian's answers were all satisfactory. Now that he had finished speaking, he wanted to serve tea and see him off.
Wu Chengjian suddenly said, "I have something to ask of you, Lord. I am sorry for the offence. Can I ask Your Majesty for another favor?"
The old prince paused as his hand touched the teacup and said, "Speak."
Wu Chengjian said, "I am a person who cannot sit still. I have been idle in the capital for too long and my thigh muscles have grown back. If there is a chance, could Your Majesty give me a job?"
"Oh?" The old prince was a little surprised: "You still want to serve?"
In the Qing Dynasty, officials and vacancies were separated. Officials were just official positions, while vacancies were real positions. The former was a qualification, while the latter had real power.
Wu Chengjian said, "I don't dare to dream of a formal vacancy in the imperial court, but if there are some temporary errands in Beijing before I return to Guangdong, it would be good for me to work hard."
The old prince's eyes flickered, as if he had thought of something.
Wu Chengjian asked, "Can I borrow some paper and pen?"
This room was actually a study. Because he had received so much money from Wu Chengjian and was eager to see what he had up his sleeve, the old prince showed him some leniency and nodded in agreement. From past experience, the medicine that this Cantonese had up his sleeve was very valuable.
Wu Chengjian walked to the desk, ground ink, spread out paper, picked up the pen and started writing. Each item was a list. He wrote very quickly and wrote twenty or thirty items in one go, and then presented it to the old prince.
After seeing it, the old prince was stunned and asked, "What is this?"
Wu Chengjian pointed to one of the lines and said, "This is a business principle. If it falls into the hands of others, it is worthless. If it falls into my hands..." He pointed to the number at the end of the line and said, "This is the number for one year."
The old prince was surprised. This was the number for this one item. If the following twenty or thirty items were added together... then the millions of taels of silver he had collected before would be nothing! You have to know that this is not a one-time deal! According to Wu Chengjian, it is a "one-year" number!
The skin at the corners of his mouth twitched and he could not help shouting, "These... trade routes? Where are they? Where are they!" He became anxious. If he could swallow these "trade routes" by eating these words, he could eat this piece of rice paper in front of Wu Chengjian.
Wu Chengjian said, "There's more to it than that. If I were to finish writing, I could write at least another thirty pages."
The faint sound of rice paper being crumpled into a ball was heard in the study. The old prince held the ball of paper, his eyes red, and stared at Wu Chengjian. Wu Chengjian did not avoid him. The two looked at each other, and the old prince was finally sure that he was not joking.
"You..." He felt his throat dry up and asked the same question again: "Where are these 'things'?"
"It is in the Qing Dynasty." Wu Chengjian said, "It's just that if it's not the right person, it won't be used, and if it's not the right person, it won't have the money."
The old prince stared at Wu Chengjian: "Can you get it? Get the money?"
Wu Chengjian said: "Of course I can get it. I can get the business and the money, but I don't dare to take it. I don't dare to take it. "
The old prince shouted anxiously, "Why!" Faced with so much money, he didn't even care about his dignity and demeanor.
Wu Chengjian said, "It's too much. I can't eat it. Not to mention me, you can't eat it all by yourself...Your Majesty, you understand."
The old prince pondered for a while, then unfolded the crumpled paper. Some of the words were blurred because the ink had not dried yet. But those numbers, even though blurred, were like shovels, prying into the old prince's heart.
If there were so much every year, and there were thirty pages... he really couldn't finish it all by himself - even if he called the other five people, they still couldn't finish it!
"Really...are there so many?" His voice was still trembling.
Wu Chengjian said: "It will only be more, not less - and it is money that comes every year. But... Your Majesty, I can earn this money, but I can't cover it."
"Can't protect it?" The old prince slammed the table and shouted, "You don't have to worry about this. When the time comes, just do your job well."
Wu Chengjian was overjoyed, smiled, and said, "Yes, sir."
Although he still rode in the sedan chair after leaving the palace, the old prince was afraid that Wu Chengjian would get cold in the heavy snow outside, so he asked someone to check whether there was a heater in the sedan chair and whether there was enough charcoal in the heater. He also personally took out a fur coat worth thousands of gold and gave it to Wu Chengjian. Seeing that Wu Chengjian's belt was not fastened properly, he tied it for him personally and sent him out of the study.
The mighty servant who brought Wu Chengjian here stared with eyes wide open, and could not think of what happened in the study room. Why did the situation change drastically after Wu Chengjian went in? When he was talking to Wu Chengjian, he could not help but bend his waist even lower.
Wu Chengjian took a sedan chair and returned to the Guangdong Guild Hall. It was already dark when he entered the door. Suddenly, footsteps were heard and teams of soldiers were urgently mobilized. The mighty servant changed his expression and said, "Is it martial law? Officer Hao, go back quickly and don't come out unless necessary." He also left in a hurry.
The back door of the guild hall was closed. The moment it was finally closed, Wu Chengjian saw soldiers running hurriedly.
He flicked the snowflakes and returned to the main room of Taoyuan. There, a copper hot pot was boiling. Zhou Yijin, Wu Qi, and Wu Xiaojiu were preparing to cook the meat, leaving the seat opposite the door empty.
Wu Chengjian said: "Wu Qi is back."
Wu Qi shouted happily, "Hao Guan, Hao Guan!" He had just entered the city during the day and was rushing back to the Guangdong Guild Hall when he happened to meet Wu Chengjian going out.
Zhou Yijin pointed at the hot pot and said, "Let's have some hot pot to drive away the cold and also to welcome Wu Qi. You have long legs. You came just as we were about to put food down."
Wu Chengjian called Wu Xiaojiu: "Call Tietou Junba back as well. Let's eat together."
Wu Xiaojiu agreed and ran to the east wall to imitate the call of a partridge.
Zhou Yijin asked, "Is everything going smoothly?"
"Well," Wu Chengjian said, "I just walked in when I heard that martial law was being declared outside."
At this time, Tietou Junba climbed over the wall and came in. He brushed off the snowflakes before entering the house. Wu Chengjian distributed chopsticks to everyone, rinsed a few pieces of meat, and poured wine for everyone. He said: "The most difficult days are over. During this period, Wu Chengjian relied on your support and finally made it through. The day for us to return to Guangdong is not far away. We Guangdong people are not used to the weather in Beijing, but if we don’t come here, we don’t know the majesty of heaven. If we don’t know the majesty of heaven, we can’t cover the wealth of the ocean!"
He raised his glass and said, "I hope we don't have to come to this place again. I hope everyone will have a smooth and peaceful life in the future. Cheers!"
Everyone raised their glasses together: "Toast to victory!"
That night, the capital was under martial law and the Forbidden City was in mourning. On the next day, the bells of temples and palaces in the city rang 30,000 times.
Then everyone in the world knew: Emperor Qianlong had passed away.
