Chapter 418: The Road to Becoming Rich Enough to Rival a Nation
outside the house.

The Matou Town Water Post has now been taken over by Zhu Qi and Liu Wan's men.

Li Youzi, the prefect of Huai'an who had ordered troops to be mobilized, rushed back and stayed in a room with Wang Ting, the governor of the grain transport system.

It seems that these two people should stay in the water post.

Wang Qian, who was driven out of the house, looked back at the house indignantly, and then glanced with resentment at the Jinyiwei and the imperial guards who were walking around in the water station.

In the perception of young people.

These soldiers are naturally inferior to others.

But he was the son of an official, and he wanted to pass the imperial examinations and rise through the court like his father.

With dissatisfaction in his heart, Wang Qian walked with his hands in his pockets to the carriage of the White Lotus rebels that had been parked in the water post, and sat down in front of the door, leaning against it.

Gudong.

A muffled sound came from the carriage.

Wang Qian was so frightened that he trembled and fell directly from the carriage to the ground.

Subsequently.

He saw an armored general coming out of the carriage.

Liu Wan looked at Wang Qian who was sitting on the ground, and his eyes shifted.

Without waiting for Wang Qian to open his mouth, he started cursing.

Liu Wan waved his finger at Zhu Qi who was giving instructions in the courtyard and said, "Do you know who that person is?"

Wang Qian originally wanted to curse Liu Wan for scaring him, but Liu Wan spoke first.

He looked in the direction of the other person's finger with some curiosity.

"Jinyiwei?"

Zhu Qi's Feiyu costume and Embroidered Spring Sword are easy to recognize.

Liu Wan nodded, then sat in the front of the car and reached out to pull Wang Qian up.

Then he leaned close to Wang Qian's ear and whispered, "It's true that he is a member of the Jinyiwei, but do you know what he does in the Jinyiwei?"

Wang Qian shook his head.

Liu Wan chuckled: "He has been staying in the Imperial Prison in Beijing. You know the Imperial Prison, nine out of ten people who go in can't get out, and the other one will rot in there."

As he spoke, Liu Wan's eyes were secretly looking at Wang Qian.

The young man's throat moved and his expression turned a little ugly.

Liu Wan smiled in his heart, suppressed his contempt and sarcasm, and continued with a smile: "He had been in the imperial prison from the beginning. I heard that he was the best interrogator in the Jinyiwei Beizhenfu Division. When he interrogates, he will never ask for a confession first, but will torture the prisoner several times first. Such as..."

Looking at the young man next to him who had been arrogant since the beginning of the day, his face became more and more nervous.

Liu Wan quickened his pace and gestured with his hands: "They have a method of punishment. First they strip off all your clothes, and then use a knife to cut open your chest... Yes, yes, right here!"

While saying this, Liu Wan did not forget to gesture towards Wang Qian's chest.

Wang Qian swallowed again.

Liu Wan continued, "They have a way to keep a person alive and unconscious. Once your chest is cut open, they will be able to see your internal organs, especially your fist-sized heart, beating thump ...

As he spoke, Liu Wan suddenly grabbed Wang Qian's hand, clenched it into a fist, and hit it on his chest.

He narrowed his eyes and smiled: "Yes! He said a few days ago that this person's heart is about the same size as his fist. Your heart is not small. If I could see it, it would definitely be beating very fast..."

Finished speaking.

Liu Wan did not forget to let out a chuckle with his hoarse voice.

Wang Qian felt unwell.

When Liu Wan said that his heart was pounding, his whole body was covered with goosebumps and he screamed subconsciously.

Then he jumped off the carriage in a panic, stared at Zhu Qi who was walking slowly towards him with horror on his face, and fled out of the water station trembling all over.

Zhu Qi walked over and frowned at Wang Qian who ran out of the water post. He raised an eyebrow at Liu Wan and turned over to sit in the carriage.

"What's wrong with this guy?"

Liu Wan smiled cheerfully and immediately forgot about the slander he had just done to Zhu Qi and to scare Wang Qian.

He moved his mouth and said, "He must have done something illegal. Seeing you in your Feiyu suit and your iron-faced and impartial appearance, he was frightened and ran away."

Zhu Qi poked his head out and glanced outside the water station.

Then he spat on the ground.

Then he folded his arms and bowed to Liu Wan with his elbow.

"Let's talk business. Although it was said that the White Lotus Sect was responsible for the assassination of guest Yan today, our whereabouts must have been leaked by someone in the government."

Liu Wan narrowed his eyes: "My military order is to protect the guests with all your strength."

Zhu Qi nodded and said, "I know, I know. I am here to tell you that I will ask Qi Dazhu to take some people away from the team and quietly inquire about the situation. Before the guests enter Nanjing City, we will also find out the situation there in advance."

Liu Wan hummed, "I understand what you mean. Don't worry, even without you, what happened today will never happen again. Even if all our people in the Beijing camp die, we will protect our guests and bring them back to Beijing safely!"

The Jinyiwei would have to send some people out to secretly investigate the situation in various places, and the defensive strength of the team would inevitably be weakened. This was why Zhu Qi came to talk to me.

Seeing Liu Wanyan's eloquent speech.

Zhu Qi then breathed a sigh of relief, smiled and patted Liu Wan's shoulder.

"When we get settled in Nanjing, I'll treat you to a drink!"

"Then you must prepare silver. Our brothers in the Beijing camp are all very generous."

"Make sure you all crawl under the table!"

"..."

……

inside the house.

After Yan Shaoting said that he would point out a way for Zhang Xialing and others to become truly rich enough to rival a country, he closed his mouth, picked up the teacup, and sipped the tea carefully.

But Zhang Xialing frowned and kept pondering.

Although they were always in Shanxi, they never missed any news from the imperial court.

In recent years, the court has undergone rapid changes, and the money, grain and goods in the Ministry of Revenue's warehouse have piled up like mountains.

According to discussions within the Shanxi Jin Party, all these changes were basically caused by Yan Shaoting.

No matter how the internal struggles in the court change, the amounts of money, grain and taxes are real and will not lie.

Especially for the Jin Party, their sensitivity to financial and grain accounts is not comparable to that of ordinary people.

Good at doing business and being an official.

This enabled the Jin Party to see the changes in the court in the capital more clearly from Shanxi, far away from the imperial court.

Even though the Ming Dynasty seems to be in war and disasters everywhere, which leads to constant disputes in the court.

But in the final analysis, the imperial court is also the one who makes a living.

For the head of a household, life is nothing more than money and food.

Now that the imperial court has money, no matter how difficult the task or how complicated the struggle is, it will become insignificant.

The changes in the imperial court in recent years are visible to the naked eye.

Zhang Xialing and the others knew better how big a role Yan Shaoting played in this. It was precisely because of this that he was able to gain unanimous approval from all families when he went south to catch up with Yan Shaoting, and was able to make concessions to Yan Shaoting on most matters.

This is also why when Yan Shaoting mentioned the Hedong Salt Lake, a gold mine that had been held by the Jin Party for nearly two hundred years, Zhang Xialing took the initiative to think of giving up part of the interests to Yan Shaoting.

Because Yan Shaoting was exactly as what was said in Beijing.

It’s the God of Wealth!
just now.

The God of Wealth said he would show them a way to become truly wealthy enough to rival a country.

to be frank.

Zhang Xialing was moved.

It would be fake if you were not moved.

Could the path pointed out by the Ming Dynasty God of Wealth, who is praised by everyone, be false?

Unless the court's annual revenue of tens of millions is all fake accounts!
No one can go against money.

but.

Zhang Xialing was still hesitant and wavering.

The Zhang family in Shanxi has been doing business for generations, and they know one thing best.

The greater the benefits, the greater the risks.

The road to becoming rich enough to rival a country, in other words, is probably the risk of death and extinction of the clan. Especially since this sentence was spoken by a core figure of the Yan Party.

Zhang Xialing swore.

Even Wang Qian could figure it out using his asshole.

Once he agreed, he and the entire Shanxi Jin Party behind him would probably be dragged into the turbulent court struggle.

Faced with Zhang Xialing who was hesitant and hadn't spoken for a long time, Yan Shaoting just drank tea with a smile and waited for the other party's final choice.

words.

He has already said it.

Whether to accept or not depends entirely on how courageous Zhang Xialing, the person sent by the Jin Party to meet him, is.

But even if the Jin Party doesn’t have the courage, it doesn’t matter.

The Ming Dynasty was very big.

It is so big that he has enough options besides the Jin Party.

Just as a figure was swaying outside the house.

Zhang Xialing finally made some kind of decision in secret.

He stood up with a wry smile on his face and bowed to Yan Shaoting.

"The guest was not even thirty years old, but at the age of twenty he was already in the imperial court, wearing a red robe, serving as an imperial envoy to the south of the Yangtze River, and was deeply favored by the emperor."

"Although there are some people in my clan who have entered the government, looking at the government and the public, I am afraid there are no other people with the talent and ability like you."

At this time, Zhang Xialing put away his previous deliberate flattery, his face became upright and his tone was serious.

He said: "Xia Ling knows that the road the guest mentioned is bound to be magnificent, but also has undercurrents. However, the guest is willing to ask such a question with his precious body. If Zhang Xia Ling still refuses and hesitates, he will be tactless."

After telling what he was thinking.

Zhang Xialing put away his arms and said with a smile: "Although Xialing cannot make all the decisions for the Shanxi families, I will make an agreement with the guests today. But even if the guests release Xialing, Xialing can swear that even if the Shanxi families are suspicious and hesitant, the Zhang family of Puzhou will definitely use the guests' flags as a sign and go wherever the guests point!"

Bet!

At this moment, Zhang Xialing put the entire Zhang family of Puzhou, Shanxi on the gambling table.

He bet that the Zhang family would never suffer any loss if they followed Yan Shaoting.

Even if there is no profit, you will definitely gain the favor and benefits of the Yan family afterwards.

Make the final decision.

Zhang Xialing's arms hidden under his robe began to tremble slightly.

This time, I gambled too much.

Even until now, I still don't know what the road to becoming rich enough to rival a country that Yan Shaoting was talking about is.

but.

Under Zhang Xialing's gaze, a smile gradually appeared on Yan Shaoting's face.

Yan Shaoting finally got an answer and took out a piece of paper from his sleeve with a smile on his face.

He spread the papers out on the table beside him.

Then he waved to Zhang Xialing.

Zhang Xialing walked forward curiously and looked down at the paper.

It turned out to be a very detailed feng shui map!
Zhang Xialing raised his eyebrows: "This is..."

However, this divination seemed a little unfamiliar to him, and he had no idea where Ming Dynasty was.

Yan Shaoting placed his finger on it, then slowly moved to a flat area next to the water.

"here."

"Five thousand acres of flat water town will belong to the Zhang family of Puzhou from today onwards."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xialing was shocked and his eyebrows twitched violently.

Five thousand acres of land!

He never thought that he would get 5,000 acres of land from Yan Shaoting immediately after he bet the entire Puzhou Zhang family on the gambling table.

Looking at the direction pointed by Yan Shaoting in the feng shui.

There is a river running through the middle of the five thousand acres of land, and countless waterways on both sides can be used to irrigate the surrounding land.

This is first-rate, high-quality water for irrigating the fields.

I originally thought that the Zhang family would have to pay a huge price to follow the Yan family in exchange for that wealth, but I didn't expect that without doing anything, they would get 5,000 acres of excellent irrigated land for free.

Zhang Xialing's face was filled with confusion and hesitation: "Guest...this...this...this...how can we do this..."

Although he said so.

But Zhang Xialing's fingers hidden under his sleeves kept moving.

He was obviously moved.

Just when he was about to refuse.

Yan Shaoting took out another piece of paper from his sleeve.

This piece of paper is no longer a feng shui divining document, but a contract.

Zhang Xialing took a closer look.

The deed was clearly stamped with the seals of the Navy Office, the Tax and Military Office, and Yan Shaoting's private seal.

The general meaning is that the 5,000 acres of land covered by this deed are indeed used by the Yan family or Yan Shaoting, and the navy and the tax and military offices can guarantee it.

But soon.

Zhang Xialing looked puzzled.

because.

If it is a land deed, it should be stamped by the prefecture or county where the land is located.

When this doubt arises.

Yan Shaoting spoke at the right time: "As Brother Zhang thought, this piece of land is not in the country, but in the southern coastal area of ​​the Khmer Kingdom in Southeast Asia (Angkor Dynasty-Cambodia). The Yan family has invested a lot of manpower overseas in the past two years. This piece of land and the surrounding land were purchased by the Yan family. Now it is a garrison of the navy in Southeast Asia. The navy is the guarantor, and the tax office sets the tax."

The navy went forward to fight and seize the territory.

The Tax and Military Office formulated taxes and collected levies.

This was basically the plan for going overseas that Yan Shaoting could think of at the moment, which could be implemented and would later gain the approval and support of the court.

As long as the imperial court received tax silver from the tax and military offices, there would basically be no room for blame.

As for land ownership?

As long as the imperial army does not actually go there and does not continue to send officials to serve, the ownership of the land will naturally not belong to the imperial court for the time being.

Listening to Yan Shaoting's explanation.

Zhang Xialing looked relieved.

It turned out to be similar to what I guessed.

So……

He looked up at Yan Shaoting with a smile on his face: "The road to wealth that the guest mentioned is probably related to this piece of land."

As he spoke, Zhang Xialing had been thinking in his mind for no reason: if the imperial court did not send troops, but they paid to recruit hired men, equipped them with armor and weapons, how much land could they conquer? And how much output could be obtained from these lands?

Yan Shaoting nodded honestly: "Brother Zhang's guess is correct, but you can regret it now. But if Brother Zhang can really make the decision for the Zhang family today, then in the future, wherever the navy warships go, the Yan family can share the local benefits with the Zhang family of Puzhou."

"Since the guest has said this, the Zhang family will have no regrets and will follow the guest's steps in the future."

Zhang Xialing looked happy.

Where did the court get the tens of millions of additional annual revenue in recent years?

Zhang Xialing knew it very well.

However, after the imperial court opened up the sea, most of the benefits were taken by the southeast.

Their Jin Party is located in the Nine Borders, far away from the sea. Even if they have some ideas, it will be difficult for them to get involved in the fat piece of sea development due to past inertia and resistance from the southeast.

Now Yan Shaoting has publicly stated that he can take the Zhang family out to sea.

The benefits and profits can be imagined.

If I haven't forgotten, what Yan Shaoting said just now was that the naval warships stationed in this Cambodian country are all Yan family's territory!
What does this mean?
Whenever he thought of this question, Zhang Xialing couldn't help but tremble in his heart.

But he still smiled and said, "But I still have a doubt. I wonder if the guest can help me solve it?"

…………

Monthly PassMonthly Pass
(End of this chapter)