The news from within the imperial court.
Almost instantly, the news spread throughout Great Wei’s Kyoto.
The people began to talk about it in various ways.
“Letting a merchant become an official? Isn’t that a travesty of the world? It’s impossible!”
“Yes, these merchants, they are all people-eaters, if they become officials, we the people will suffer even more.”
“Resolutely impossible, a businessman becoming an official is a no-no thing, we absolutely cannot agree.”
“And major academies give priority to admissions? What about the descendants of poor people like us?”
“Yes, the major academies have priority in admissions, that’s a no-no.”
“I don’t know who came up with such a bad idea.”
“I guess it was the Ministry of the Household that came up with it?”
“Lord Xu is in full charge, didn’t Lord Xu come up with it?”
“I didn’t expect Lord Xu to collude with merchants?”
The first reaction of the people was to say no. They already hated merchants, and now they were giving them official positions, so they were definitely not happy.
So they were extremely opposed to the idea, and even investigated who had come up with the bad idea.
Some people secretly said that Xu Qingnian was the one who promoted the idea, and all sorts of rhythms were brought up, trying to get the people to insult Xu Qingnian.
But as soon as the words were said, the people immediately came back to their senses.
“You F**king fart, this can’t be promoted by Lord Xu.”
“That’s right, how could it be promoted by Lord Xu, what Lord Xu hates most is these merchants.”
“Yes, yes, there is absolutely no way that Lord Xu did this.”
The people simply did not believe that it was promoted by Xu Qingnian.
But the next moment, after the announcement was posted, it sat down the matter that Lord Xu Qingnian was mainly responsible.
“You see, I said it was Xu Qingnian, right?”
“Yes, it’s Xu Qingnian.”
“I never thought he would collude with a businessman.”
Someone spoke up and accused Xu Qingnian.
Only immediately the people’s voices rang out again.
“You F**king fart, Lord Xu is taking the blame, how could he possibly do such a thing, you guys are really stupid, Lord Xu has offended so many people, this matter is obviously a dark hand that wants to take advantage of the opportunity to mess with Lord Xu.”
“Gentlemen, don’t be fooled, we all know what kind of person Lord Xu is.”
Some people shouted out in support of Xu Qingnian, and such comments instantly received ma*sive support.
“That’s right, that’s right, Lord Xu can’t be such a person.”
“That’s right, Lord Xu is a clean official, how could he possibly do such a thing.”
“I was wondering why no one has bothered Lord Xu after all the things he has done and offended so many people, but it turns out that they are waiting for Lord Xu here.”
“Gentlemen, let’s not be fooled, let’s wait and see what happens first, I feel that it’s someone who wants to take this opportunity to make us hate Lord Xu, let’s speak from our conscience, Lord Xu is dedicated to the people, would he harm us common people?”
“Yes, let’s talk about this waterwheel project, I made a special trip to Nan Yu Province, there were many barren fields in Nan Yu Province, now all of them are being used, there is plenty of water, now Lord Xu wants to produce in large quantities, but there are treacherous officials who don’t want to see our Great Wei prosper and have collusion with the enemy, we can’t fall for it.”
“Support Lord Xu, don’t talk nonsense, ask yourself, how many great scholars have made speeches for the people? If we misunderstand Lord Xu and fall for it, we will all be sinners.”
What has to be said is that Xu Qingnian’s public opinion in Kyoto is simply overwhelming. As long as it is something that Xu Qingnian does, the people support and believe it unconditionally, but if someone slanders Lord Xu, they will definitely not allow it.
Anyone who says that Lord Xu is bad is trying to harm Xu Qingnian.
For a while, some people in the shadows had mixed feelings. They wanted to carry Xu Qingnian’s rhythm and make the people spit on him, but they found that it didn’t work at all.
As soon as you say one bad thing about Xu Qingnian, a group of people will immediately come after you.
How else can you play? There is no way out.
And the people’s debate basically fell into a deadly cycle.
The incident appeared
Is it Xu Qingnian.
Yes or no?
No? Then they will be scolded to death.
Yes? You’re lying, you have a problem. Come on, people, this guy dares to insult me, Lord Xu. People, catch this guy and send him to the Ministry of Justice, how dare he slander an official of the court.
Those were the two results.
Many hearts were tired, usually spreading rumours and carrying rhythms without any pressure at all.
But when it came to spreading rumours about Xu Qingnian, everyone was dumbfounded, and they didn’t even take up any work that was Xu Qingnian’s. It wasn’t that they weren’t bold enough, but mainly because these people would really take people away.
Who could stand up to this?
And at the same time.
In the capital of Wei, many voices were heard.
Inside the secret room.
The three of them were sitting in the secret room. The King of West China had already gone back, he was a va*sal king and could not stay in Kyoto for long.
“Xu Qingnian is really stupid, to open up an official road for merchants, trying to sell officials to earn silver, when why is someone like him hailed as a great talent of the ages? Even a three-year-old child couldn’t come up with such an idea, right? What’s even more ridiculous is that the dim-witted ruler actually agreed to it, ridiculous.”
“En, Xu Qingnian sold officials to earn silver to make up for the lack of silver for the water cart project, the fact that the faint ruler agreed to it is proof enough that she is a faint ruler.”
Two people opened their mouths and took turns to sneer.
But Prince Huai Ning did not laugh, but frowned and said.
“This faint ruler would rather sell her officials than promote the water chariot project, are you and the others still not alert?”
Prince Huaining said so.
His mind was still on the water chariot project, the Great Wei Dynasty, starting a thousand ancient wonders, openly selling officials to merchants, if this were to get out, it would be a disgrace.
The empress was not stupid, but she was determined to do so, which proved that the empress cared deeply about this water chariot project.
If not, she would not have done so.
Selling officials? When Wei was poorer, when Emperor Wu lost the Northern Expedition and the country was poor, he did not even think of selling officials.
The empress actually agreed to do so, even though she said that she would not give power to merchants, but in the end it was still a sale of officials.
What’s more, the empress allowed the descendants of merchants to be given priority in admission to major academies, which could have caused public anger.
The people were already suffering, hoping to raise a descendant who could turn over a new leaf by studying, but it turned out that the descendants of merchants were given priority in admission to the major academies, which had limited places for students.
If you then give such priority, how can the people not be angry?
“King Huai Ning, we all understand what you are saying, but the problem is, once this matter becomes a reality, there is no telling how many merchants in the world will be willing to give money, can’t afford to give 10,000,000 taels, can’t afford to return 10,000 taels? How can this be stopped?”
“Yes, this waterwheel project is almost a sure thing for the Faint King, what can we do? Is it hard to stop her?”
“The sale of officials is a good thing for us to do, as it involves the kingdom and even shakes the foundation of the country.”
The two men were somewhat curious and looked at Prince Huaining.
It wasn’t that they didn’t understand, but they had learned that the waterwheel project did help Great Wei, but so what? Now that the empress was openly selling officials, what could they do?
Stop it, you say, but how? The Empress of Wei has made a mistake of her own accord, and you can’t possibly remind her of it, can you?
Then what have they become?
We want to rebel against the empress, and we want her to be stupid, but now she is making mistakes of her own accord, and you want to remind her of them.
The two replied in this way, and Prince Huaining could not help but ponder.
Indeed, the most troublesome thing about the water cart is now the issue of silver, but the Great Wei empress has done a stupid thing to sell the officials.
To the civil and military officials, this was not a good thing.
But to them, it was a good thing.
They didn’t want to stop it.
But if they didn’t stop it, the water chariot project would inevitably be implemented. It was a dilemma, and they had a headache.
Prince Huining was silent.
He glanced at the two men and knew in an instant what they were thinking inside.
It was clear that they were desperate for something to happen to the empress and take this wrong move.
But he understood better than anyone that the water chariot project could never be implemented, so there was no way he would let the empress make this move.
Although he wished it in his heart, he did not wish it to be this time, nor did he wish it to be because of this reason.
It was just that he did not continue to speak.
The reason was also very simple, because the six ministries could not possibly agree, nor could the military generals.
In a word, on what grounds would they agree? To allow merchants to have official positions? Would they be able to stand it? Could the military generals stand it?
Especially the Confucian students of the Great Wei Palace of Literature, to be honest, there are already not enough places in the academy every year, but to give priority to these merchants’ descendants? Isn’t that a travesty of the world?
The imperial examinations themselves are strictly forbidden, and this kind of back-door dealings are even more impossible.
Would those great scholars agree to this? If they did, would they still dare to call themselves great scholars?
Therefore, he did not make a sound, because this matter was simply impossible, and he did not panic at all.
Even if Xu Qingnian stepped in, what could be done?
No matter how good the relationship was, it was impossible to get the civil and military officials, including the Confucian ministers of Great Wei, to agree honestly.
What would you agree to?
Thinking of this, Prince Huaining spoke up.
“All right, in that case, let’s do so and wait and see what happens.”
A matter that was impossible to implement, there was no need for him to waste time, he got up and left straight away.
The remaining two nodded and said nothing more as they gradually left.
And Great Wei Kyoto.
The officials who had already returned were talking, the six ministers were still staying inside the palace, they were the example of all the officials in the world and could not possibly leave.
Some of the state princes also stayed, and only a few returned to give news.
The powerful nobles of Great Wei also frowned a little this time.
They knew that Great Wei was facing a lot of troubles and that His Majesty wanted to promote the waterwheel project.
But the question is, there is no need for this, is there? Buying and selling officials? If word of this gets out, how can the Wei court still behave in the future?
The people of the country were discussing this matter and were extremely resistant.
The powerful and wealthy were all having a hard time with this matter.
The empress’ attitude was obvious and too decisive, and the attitude of the hundred officials was also obvious, they just didn’t agree.
It can be said that a shocking wave is about to occur, and there may even be bloodshed in the Great Wei dynasty.
If the empress was still bent on having her own way, someone would certainly splatter blood and die to force her to do so.
If such a thing were to happen, it would be a huge stain on the Empress’ reign.
Yet.
For the merchants of the world, especially the eight great merchants, there was even more uproar when they heard the news again.
The terms offered by the court were too tempting.
Within the Jin merchant clan.
Dozens of clan elders as well as the great merchants from all over the world all gathered.
They rushed back to the clan as fast as they could, not hesitating to use something like the Immortal Dao Teleportation Formation, just to get back the first time.
Inside the meeting hall.
An old man stood with a dragon head walking stick, he was cloaked in a powerful aura like a lion.
“Greetings to the clan chief!”
“Greetings, Patriarch!”
The people who entered the synagogue bowed deeply towards the old man, who was the Jin merchant patriarch, and it could be said that the entire Jin merchant, basically, listened to him and had absolute control.
After the twenty-seventh person had entered, the old man spoke up.
“Half an hour ago, news came from the capital of Great Wei that His Majesty had opened up the road of official business and granted merchants official status.”
“You should have known about this on the road, right?”
The patriarch spoke, not looking particularly excited or agitated, but rather incomparably calm.
“We are aware of it.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Patriarch, what do you plan to do about it?”
The crowd nodded, while somewhat curious to ask the patriarch how he planned to do so.
“The court gives official positions, something that has never happened in the past or in the present.”
“If it were just to give some false name, it would not matter, but this time, I see through to its root.”
“His Majesty is trying to consolidate the world’s chambers of commerce, from now on there will be no such thing as the eight great merchants, there will only be one Great Wei Chamber of Commerce, and when that happens, many things will be up to the court, and we will not be able to do as we please.”
The patriarch of the Jin merchants was very clever, he knew in an instant that this was a means to consolidate the chambers of commerce in the world, where it was just as simple as a lack of silver.
When this was said, the crowd couldn’t help but frown, they were the great chiefs of the various regions as well as several clan elders, all of them were human beings, and they figured out the problem in an instant.
“If that’s the case, then we should probably not get involved.”
“Yes, we are not under the control of the court now, but if we join this Great Wei Chamber of Commerce, we will have to listen to the court in the future, and put a yoke on ourselves for no reason, isn’t that asking for trouble?”
“En, that’s what I think too, it’s better not to get involved, and I don’t need these benefits.”
The crowd spoke up, not jumping in and avoiding it since they knew it was a pit.
However the Jin Shang patriarch shook his head as he sighed and said.
“If we could avoid it and stay away, I wouldn’t have let you come.”
“This is a yang plot, a heavenly yang plot.”
“This is not a move against us, the eight merchants, but against all the merchants in the world, we, the eight merchants, are so rich that we do not need these small favours from Wei.”
“But the merchants of the world need it, just the priority of admission to the academies everywhere is enough to make countless small merchants join.”
“And all the cooperation of the officials everywhere will be given priority to them to facilitate their business, and I am afraid that in a few years’ time, all these small merchants will earn a lot of silver.”
“But these are not problems, even if they are given official positions and titles, they are not problems, the problem is if all the merchants in the world join the Great Wei Chamber of Commerce.”
“Then the Great Wei Chamber of Commerce would be the number one chamber of commerce, and the eight major merchants combined could at most counterbalance each other 50/50, but there is a fatal problem.”
“Once any of the eight major merchants are edicted over, the blow to us will be fatal, don’t you understand?”
He spoke out, analysing the whole matter.
Yes, the favours given by the imperial court, what with the preference for doing business, the preference for admission to the academy, and the official status as well as the titles.
All these things were very vain in the eyes of the eight great merchants, to say the least.
They could earn silver without the court’s help, and they could hire teachers from the four academies to teach their descendants without the court’s asking.
What do they need this for? The head of a Jin merchant family is no better than a count? A marquis?
This is obviously impossible.
What really made him feel in crisis was that the balance had been upset.
The eight big merchants occupy half of the country, and all the small merchants gathered can also occupy half of the country. If everyone resisted that would be fine, it would only be a little conflict in business, but at least one would be free.
But if one of the eight major merchants is edict over, what, pray tell?
“Patriarch, as the same eight merchants, it is logical that they should share the same hatred and be able to understand this, right? How come they are willing to join the government merchants?”
Someone frowned and could not help saying this.
But when the words came out, the patriarch snorted coldly.
“Foolish, merchants go for profit, it is their nature, they are indeed unwilling to accept the imperial edict, but if the court says, help them to annex us, do you think they will agree?”
“Find the eighth and seventh ranked chambers of commerce and ask them to annex the six above them, making them the first and second chambers of commerce, do you think they would be willing?”
The Jin merchant patriarch spoke directly and spoke out in rebuke.
The latter shut up as soon as he heard this.
As for the others, their faces also turned ugly.
It was true that the eight merchants could resist the World Chamber of Commerce, but the problem was that you couldn’t afford for others to surrender, and it wasn’t impossible for a piggy banker to cooperate with the imperial court and annex themselves once they had made their move.
After all, the person who knows them best must be the enemy.
The eight merchants all know what nasty things each other have done, and if they really want to tear each other up, with the court backing them up, how could they not be able to do it?
When the time came, once it became a climate, it would be the end of the line for them.
“Then what does the clan chief mean?”
A clan elder spoke up, frowning and inquiring.
“I have already drafted two letters, one to the remaining seven merchants, telling them to wait and see what happens and not to join the Great Wei Chamber of Commerce for now, whether they listen or not is up to them.”
“The second letter has been sent to Xu Qingnian, we Jin merchants must join, and I have already prepared 10,000,000 taels of silver to buy my grandson a first rank position.”
“Since he joined the Great Wei Chamber of Commerce, he must have a seat, six positions, leaving out Xu Qingnian, there are still five positions left, which means there are three major chambers of commerce that will be kicked out no matter what.”
“As long as we occupy a seat, although we are being held back, we are just going from one pit into another, although Xu Qingnian is arrogant, he understands the situation, he wouldn’t dare to take the knife to us lightly.”
“Otherwise, how would the merchants of the world view him? And we can take advantage of the opportunity and take the initiative, and when the time comes, this Great Wei Chamber of Commerce will most likely become our Jin merchant’s chamber.”
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, there is a possibility that we may encounter a crisis, but there is also a possibility that the Chamber of Commerce of Jin will truly become the number one merchant in the world.”
“What are your opinions, gentlemen?”
The Jin merchant patriarch gave a lengthy analysis, stating his thoughts.
He wanted to join the Great Wei Chamber of Commerce, not only to join the Great Wei Chamber of Commerce, but also to take the first rank position.
He was looking at the long term, this Great Wei Chamber of Commerce would inevitably cause an influx of merchants from all over the world, and by taking the First Grade position himself, he would have the qualifications to negotiate.
If he could get to the table, everything would be fine, it would just be a roundabout way to get someone else.
But if we lose this opportunity and let other chambers take a seat, it will be even more troublesome.
Five seats, eight major chambers of commerce.
This alone makes people want to move.
It was at this moment that several voices sounded outside.
“Report, the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce has sent a letter!”
“Report, a letter from the Su Lin Chamber of Commerce!”
“Report, a letter from the Hui’an Chamber of Commerce!”
As the voices rang out, someone soon brought in the correspondence.
The Jin merchant patriarch opened the epistle, and with just a glance, his face changed.
The crowd was somewhat curious and could not help but look at the Jin Merchant Patriarch, but they did not dare to ask him directly.
“These guys, their guess is really the same as the old man’s.”
“They told us to hold steady, not to join the Great Wei Chamber of Commerce, and to wait and see what happens.”
“I’m only afraid they’ve gone to look for Xu Qingnian by now, D*mn it.”
He threw the letter on the ground, not even looking at the remaining two letters.
Which one of those who could make it into the Chamber of Commerce was not cunning? Which one of them is not well thought out? While you are calculating others, they are actually already calculating you.
“All right, this is how the matter is settled, no matter what, there must be a first-rate merchant official, a Jin merchant.”
He spoke out, setting the target and saying no more.
And at this moment.
Great Wei Kyoto.
In the Shouren Academy.
Chen Xinghe dragged a sandbag towards Xu Qingnian’s room, his face red with effort, simply because what was inside it was too heavy.
“Senior brother! Senior brother!”
Chen Xinghe’s voice caused Xu Qingnian to go out.
Seeing Chen Xinghe like this, he couldn’t help but be curious.
“Senior brother, what is this thing?”
Xu Qingnian got curious.
“How should I know? Wasn’t I at the Taiping Poetry Festival yesterday? There was a woman who suddenly approached me, saying she knew you and asked me to give these to you.”
“So I shipped them back, you should count them quickly, I’m exhausted.”
Chen Xinghe didn’t know what this was, it was when the Taiping Poetry Meeting broke up, there was a masked woman who gave herself this bag of things, saying that she must pa*s it on to Xu Qingnian.
After saying that, she left without saying anything else.
Chen Xinghe, who did not understand the situation, then dragged these things back hard.
“Let me see.”
Xu Qingnian was really a little curious.
He opened the sand bag.
Several items instantly appeared in his eyes.
An oval-shaped golden stone, a bright green and huge tree block, a purple jade stone with a dark and lightless body, a jade box, and a pale golden bag.
What the hell is this?
“Senior brother, check if it’s your stuff, if not, you’ll let Yang Hu throw it away later, senior brother I’m exhausted, I’ll go rest first or I won’t be able to carry it.”
Chen Xinghe didn’t care if it was Xu Qingnian’s stuff or not.
If it was, Xu Qingnian would take it herself, if not, let Yang Hu lose it, he had to go back and rest.
“Senior brother, go rest.”
Xu Qingnian nodded, and then casually mentioned it with his hand, and picked up the things in here.
After picking up these things, Xu Qingnian directly closed the door of the room.
Before Xu Qingnian could say anything, the voice of the Dan Shen Ancient Scripture rang out.
“Heavenly Meteorite Gold! Sixth-grade Spiritual Wood Heart, Ten Thousand Year Purple Jade Marrow, Yin Underworld Sand, and I also feel the Burning Valley Spiritual Flame.”
“I really haven’t misjudged anyone, you’ve found the medicinal ingredients for the Seventh Grade Realm Breaking Pill so quickly, not bad, not bad.”
Dan Shen Gu Jing’s excited voice rang out.
However, Xu Qingnian was shocked.
This was actually the ingredients for a Seventh Grade Realm Breaking Pill?
That couldn’t be right?
He looked carefully and it did correspond.
Meteorite gold, for example, was so sturdy that he couldn’t even shake a single bit by using his own internal qi, and there was also the Spirit Wood Heart, which made him feel pleasure by touching an inexplicable energy surging into his body.
“Who sent me these things?”
“Does anyone know that the Dan Shen Ancient Scripture is in my hands again?”
“Is it the White Cloth Sect?”
Xu Qingnian frowned as he instantly sensed a crisis.
The Dan Shen Ancient Scripture was a Martial Emperor’s Relic Treasure, if someone knew that he had obtained it, wouldn’t that be ……. The first thing that happened was that he was in trouble.
Xu Qingnian was the first to lock onto the White Clothes Sect.
But soon he frowned and shook his head.
It couldn’t be the White-clothed Sect, if it was the White-clothed Sect, why would they need to be like this? Furthermore, how did they know the recipe for the Realm Breaking Pill?
Wait!
Suddenly, Xu Qingnian thought of a possibility.
It was even said to be the only possibility.
“That immortal cultivator?”
Xu Qingnian remembered, the secret of the Dan recipe was something she had only told one person, the woman in the Yantian Book.
But Xu Qingnian had purely babbled about it, not even thinking that the other party would really find it for herself.
This was really, really easy to find.
For a moment, Xu Qingnian was inexplicably crying and laughing.
This was a completely unintentional attempt to find the willow.
“To be able to gather all these materials in just under a month’s time, this person’s identity is only terrifying.”
“I lied to her, if she finds out, I guess it will be troublesome, no, no, I can’t have any contact with this woman.”
“In case there is really contact and it is revealed to be a scam, I guess it will be trouble.”
“Let’s wait until I become a great Confucian later and then go to the door to apologise.”
Xu Qingnian really didn’t mean it, he was purely joking, if the other party was willing to help himself, it was naturally best, if not, it didn’t matter.
But unexpectedly, the other party had gathered the ingredients for the Seventh Grade Realm Breaking Pill in less than a month’s time.
There was some helplessness, and some tears and laughter.
But what I have to say is that it is actually quite cool.
Wasn’t this a free pick-me-up?
“Senior Dan Shen, how can I give you these things?”
With all the items in hand, Xu Qingnian did not pretend and directly opened his mouth to ask the Dan God Ancient Scripture.
“I’ll take them myself.”
The Dan God Ancient Scripture was excited, instantly rising dozens of times in size, before gathering a suction force and directly inhaling all of these items into its body.
“Little friend, in seven days old me will give you the Realm Breaking Pill, wait.”
The Dan God’s Ancient Scripture, which had been sucked out along with the sandbag, instantly reverted to a small furnace, standing on the desk without any hint of brilliance, just like an ordinary ornamental item.
Seven days later, seventh grade?
Ness ah.
Regarding the martial realm, Xu Qingnian had actually been somewhat despondent, after all, the Great Wei court was so busy with the East and the West that he had no time to cultivate himself, especially after the martial dao was suppressed by the Confucian dao.
It had become even more difficult to cultivate.
The demonic seed in his body was stirring, like a sword hanging over his head, making it difficult for him to sleep and eat.
Naturally, Xu Qingnian wished that he could break through the realm sooner.
Not to mention more, raising it to the fourth rank would be satisfactory. The fourth rank of martial arts is basically an invincible existence in the Great Wei, and then raising the Confucianism to the fourth rank of the Great Confucian of Heaven and Earth.
The world will be rampantly dominated.
Unless it is a First Grade Great Demon, or a First Grade Great Devil, otherwise, whoever comes will die.
And just at that moment.
A human figure came quickly.
It was the figure of Li Shouming.
“Teacher, some people outside, claiming to be representatives of the Jin, Hui and Gan merchants, have sent some of this, saying that they would like you to look through it.”
Li Shouming walked quickly and presented a stack of scrolls to Xu Qingnian.
He was now a disciple of the Heart School, so naturally he had to come to the school hall when he had nothing to do, to help Xu Qingnian when he had something to do, or to deal with something of his own if he had nothing to do, enlightenment and the like.
“Good.”
Xu Qingnian took the scrolls.
There were eight copies in total.
They were the application dossiers sent by the eight major merchants.
Completely filled out, and all willing to pay 10,000,000 taels of silver for a first-rank official position.
Ah …… This.
Xu Qingnian smacked his lips a little.
He knew that the Eight Great Merchants definitely guessed that they were digging another hole, and digging a big one at that.
It was reasonable to say that the eight great merchants could not have submitted their application dossiers so quickly, at the very least they would have to wait for the world’s chambers of commerce to join one after another and they would have some panic before choosing to join, right?
How come they all came together at the same time?
Looking at the dossier on the table, Xu Qingnian fell into deep thought.
Soon Xu Qingnian figured it out.
“This group of merchants, ah, they really are wary of each other.”
“Heh, but this is good, it saves us the trouble, it’s better than expected.”
Xu Qingnian figured out the reason for this.
Wasn’t it just that the eight merchants were wary of themselves?
According to Xu Qingnian’s plan, the eight major merchants would wait until January or February and find that all the merchants had joined before they felt the crisis.
But what they didn’t expect was that the eight merchants were just sharp enough to know that it was a pit, but they also knew that those who ended up in the pit would be the unluckiest.
“Shouming, return the dossiers of the Hui merchants, Gan merchants, and Jin merchants, and say that they are late, and don’t answer the remaining five merchants for now, just say that you will give them an answer in a couple of days.”
Xu Qingnian opened his mouth, there were only six first grade official positions.
One for himself, and one for Zhang Ruhui for sure, as for the remaining four, not to say all of them are his own people, but at least two of them have to support him, right?
Otherwise, wouldn’t he be a bare-bones commander?
There is no need to hang them out to dry.
The fact that these people had already sent in their applications in less than an hour after His Majesty’s decree was issued was proof enough that they all wanted to join.
Right now, Xu Qingnian’s idea was how to earn 80,000,000 taels of silver with a limit of four positions.
En.
Four positions to earn 80,000,000 taels of silver, not one less, one less is 10,000,000 taels of silver less.
Who would be willing to part with this?
The reason for setting up six was to create a sense of crisis and also to worry that the eight merchants would not move, fearing that they would not be able to fill the people for a while, but now it seems that he was overly worried.
If he had known the overall situation of the eight merchants, Xu Qingnian might have set up three positions to make them even more nervous.
As for how to make 80,000,000 taels of silver from four positions, Xu Qingnian naturally had a way.
“Good, teacher, the student will go there now.”
Taking the application dossier of the three Jin merchants, Li Shouming left at a fast pace.
And soon, the representatives of the Jin, Hui and Gan merchants were almost the first to pa*s the message back.
As for the remaining five merchants, they were also the first to pa*s on the news, but they were in a very good mood for no other reason than that there were three less competitors after all.
It was at this point.
One by one, officials appeared, carrying a large number of boxes, one after another, to the Shouren Academy.
These were the officials from the Ministry of Penalty.
“Lord Xu, these are the application dossiers submitted by the merchants of Kyoto.”
The official from the Ministry of Justice spoke up and informed Xu Qingnian what these were.
And Xu Qingnian nodded.
“Shouming, go to the Household Ministry and have someone from the Household Ministry come and clear the amount of the application dossiers.”
Xu Qingnian instructed directly.
If his own disciple didn’t order it, what was the point of keeping it? To serve him?
“Fine!”
Li Shouming was indifferent, he was happy every moment since the establishment of his words, especially yesterday at the poetry meeting of the Taiping, he was even more viciously out of breath, he could not say it again.
He was so happy that he couldn’t say any more. He was willing to do whatever Xu Qingnian asked him to do.
But after Li Shouming left, a figure walked into the Shouren Academy.
It was the figure of Zhang Ruhui.
When he found out that he had been made a second-ranking official merchant and given a baronetcy, Zhang Ruhui could be said to be thrilled to tears.
Although it was not the first rank as Xu Qingnian had said.
But the second rank was enough.
A second rank!
In the past and present, in all the generations of the Great Wei, how many people could become second-ranking officials?
In Kyoto, this was an official of the highest rank.
Naturally, Zhang Ru would be the first to come and thank Xu Qingnian.
“Hyung-dee!”
“Hyung-dee!”
“Please accept my brother’s obeisance.”
Zhang Ruhui walked straight into Xu Qingnian’s room and bowed deeply towards him, his body trembling with excitement.
Seeing Zhang Ruhui coming.
Xu Qingnian could not help but smile.
“You are welcome, elder brother.”
“This is what brother deserves, it has nothing too much to do with my humble brother.”
Xu Qingnian laughed.
Without Xu Qingnian, he would never have been able to donate 10 million taels of silver, and he would never have become a second rank official.
“You are very kind, my brother will remember this kindness.”
Zhang Ruhui was so excited that he could not say anything else, so he could only say these words.
But Xu Qingnian’s voice rang out.
“Magnanimous Brother, my humble brother would like to ask you, is the Second Grade Magnanimous Brother satisfied?”
Xu Qingnian asked.
Subconsciously, Zhang Ruhui was about to say that he was satisfied, but the next moment, he froze, because he heard another meaning of Xu Qingnian’s words.
“What does Xiandi mean?”
Xu Qingnian was not euphemistic and spoke directly.
“Donate another 50 million taels of silver for the First Grade position, counting you in. The eight great merchants have already applied, but my brother has not agreed for the time being.”
“These people are outsiders after all, sage brother, if this Great Wei Chamber of Commerce joins the eight great merchants, sage brother should know what this first rank means, add an additional 50 million taels and help my brother with one more thing.”
“The First Grade position is given to Brother Xian.”
Xu Qingnian spoke seriously.
Others ten million taels of silver, Zhang Ruhui he could give a discount, but not too low, too low would not work, 60% discount was the limit, after all, the remaining five positions were completely wanted.
One is 10,000,000 taels of silver.
Xu Qingnian would not have done this if he had not wanted to draw in his own people, as well as get Zhang Ruhui to do one thing for him.
“Many thanks to Xiandi, please rest a*sured that from now on, if Xiandi needs to use my brother in any way, just ask.”
Zhang Ruhui was not stupid, since Xu Qingnian was so direct, he was also generous.
He agreed directly.
The eight major merchants were all going to join, and this alone would definitely make the Great Wei government and merchants a success, and what was the concept of occupying the first rank?
It was to have the right to speak, and it would be impossible not to be prosperous by then. As for adding another 50 million taels, it was perfectly reasonable.
Other people pay 10,000,000 taels, and he saves 40 million taels, a saving is a profit.
How could he not agree?
As for Xu Qingnian asking himself to do something, let alone one thing, he would do all ten things.
“Fine!”
“Brother Xian, you can go back now and prepare the silver taels, and then write an application dossier and submit it to my brother.”
“At the same time, take out ten million taels to acquire the main counties of Great Wei, all bookstores, including printing workshops, in a month or so, I have great use for it, of course if it’s more than ten million taels, more than that brother will advance first, my brother will not let my brother lose money.”
Xu Qingnian opened his mouth, and he asked Zhang Ruhui to take care of this matter.
The acquisition of the bookstore was in addition to the printing workshop.
It is not uncommon to find bookstores, but there are not many of them, and the same goes for printing workshops, which are generally provided for the use of readers. 10 million taels is enough to acquire more than half of the bookstores and printing workshops in the Great Wei.
It’s not much in itself.
“OK, no matter how much, my brother will do it all, as for the loss or not, my brother is out of sight, from now on, as much as my brother has, Xiandi will have.”
Zhang Ruhui did not even ask Xu Qingnian what he wanted to do, he directly agreed to do it.
He did not want to get involved in the benefits, but he still wanted to be clean as an official.
“Then my brother will go now.”
Zhang Ruhui did not say much and left directly to go and do something for Xu Qingnian.
“Take your time.”
Xu Qingnian nodded his head.
Zhang Ruhui immediately moved to leave.
After Zhang Ruhui had left.
Xu Qingnian finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It was because the Sword of the People’s Heart was about to be cast.
Once the casting was successful.
What kind of bullSh*t Prince Huaining.
What bullSh*t va*sal kings from all over the world.
What bullSh*t Great Wei Palace of Literature.
It was estimated that even the empress would have to yield to him by then.
Of course, this is only Xu Qingnian’s own distortion, if this really happens, he will be in danger.
So it was.
Little by little, time pa*sed.
In the court of the Great Wei.
Many officials were still sitting dead in the hall.
Outside, the people were still cursing and swearing, trying to find out who had come up with the bad idea.
Yet inside the Shouren Academy, one box after another was brought in.
The officials of the Ministry of the Treasury are working overtime to clear them again.
The Peaceful Poetry Society is breaking up today, but because of this incident, it will be postponed for a few days.
After all, the court is in an uproar, so what do you care about the Peace Poetry Society?
Some of the talented scholars from the ten kingdoms wanted to leave Wei and thought about going back.
But the Ministry of War wouldn’t let them, and Xu Qingnian had given the order, so they couldn’t leave.
This time, the Ten Kingdoms’ talents were a bit depressed.
They wanted to say a few words, but they didn’t dare.
He could only hide in his residence and find some friends to spout off on his own.
Late at night, the eight merchants sent people to invite Xu Qingnian to the banquet, but Xu Qingnian refused one by one, especially the three merchants of Jin Gan Hui, and directly did not see them, while the remaining five merchants at least said that they would see you next time.
The other five merchants at least said they would see you next time.
The following day.
Shouren Academy.
Just after the Ministry of Finance had finished clearing all the applicants in the capital.
I thought I could go home and rest.
As a result, another box of application dossiers appeared.
They were applications from dozens of cities and towns around Kyoto.
Once again, the Household Department began to work overtime.
And on this day, His Majesty did not attend court, and the hundred officials sat all day, very weak, but the empress did not care at all.
It also made the hundred officials even angrier.
The day pa*sed quickly again.
But it was the Ministry of the Household that suffered the most, for while they counted the money, the Ministry of Penalties sent application dossiers by the boxful.
When did officials from all over the world become so efficient?
It was only after some careful enquiry that I learnt that it was not the officials who brought them in, but the merchants from all over the world who paid for them to be sent to them.
The merchants were afraid that if they came late, they wouldn’t get it.
In the end, Xu Qingnian had to ask everyone in the Household Department to come and settle the accounts, but the Minister of the Household Department was struggling with the Empress anyway and could not care less.
The biggest official in the Ministry of Household was now Xu Qingnian.
But it was useless even if all the Household Department came, with three shifts, it was not enough at all.
The boxes were piled up one by one like a mountain.
Li Shouming brought in a group of scholars who, after learning the art of arithmetic, were able to start calculating the next day, although the calculations were slow and had to be repeated several times, but it still greatly reduced the pressure anyway.
And so it went.
Five days in a row.
The empress’ birthday was postponed by a few days.
During these five days, the empress did not attend court.
The civil and military officials could not stand it any longer, so they went on a hunger strike and sat in the hall, and some of them even howled and tried to die in the hall.
But they were stopped by the guards and sent straight back to their residences, telling each other that they were going to die at home, and then there was no and after.
After all, if you die in the Golden Palace, at least you can be considered a thousand years old, how bad it is to die at home, especially when you see your wife, children and two old people, who wants to die.
Finally.
Two more days pa*sed.
The boxes were finally not sent by the dozens and dozens like before, the number was reduced by 70% to 80%, most of them were merchants from more remote places.
But the application volumes were piling up like mountains, and two extra places were requisitioned for the case storage.
This day.
The civil and military officials finally went back.
They just couldn’t take it anymore.
At the same time, they also knew one thing.
The empress was playing for real this time, there was no point in being stubborn like this, at least they had to see His Majesty, right?
Plus, the country had so many things to deal with.
We should go back first and wait until we see His Majesty.
Anyway, this matter can be voided at any time, as long as the money is not confiscated, everything is fine.
Thinking of this, everyone left.
Some people took the lead and left, especially the six ministers who left in droves, and everyone knew better than to continue to stay here is completely silly to wait.
But this time, the civil and military officials were furious.
They were really angry.
The six ministers’ faces were as black as charcoal.
The military generals also had ugly looks on their faces.
This was an extremely rare scene in Great Wei.
There was something about the civil and military officials that made them all feel the same way.
They were really angry.
No joking at all.
Even as he was about to leave the palace, Chen Zhengru even left a message.
“The way of government and business! Do not set a precedent!”
“Otherwise, the Great Wei Dynasty will be in jeopardy!”
Chen Zhengru was serious, and from this point on it proved.
He was dead!
Neither could he, allowing the Empress to open up the way of government and business.
And his voice, too, reached the Empress’ ears.
Outside the Palace of the Raising of the Heart.
The Empress looked at the azure sky.
Her face was expressionless.
But the next moment, her eyes, fell on the north.
That was the direction of the Shouren Academy.
Beyond the palace.
The Minister of the Six Ministries went back for the time being, to deal with official business first.
Gu Yan was silent.
He walked to the Ministry of the Household.
He had wanted to send someone to call Xu Qingnian to come.
But when he arrived at the Household Ministry, he was shocked to find that.
There was not a single person in the Household Department.
This left him a little confused.
There was no one at all?
Where had they all gone?
I didn’t eat or drink for seven days in the Golden Palace, and you all went to relax?
Good man.
You guys are really crazy, crazy, crazy.
Gu Yan was already angry, but now he exploded.
He went to inquire and learned that the entire Household Department had been transferred to Shouren Academy by Xu Qingnian.
Now, the fire got even bigger.
This Xu Qingnian really had a face, he thought he could come up with some kind of solution?
He thought he could come up with something, but he never thought of a solution like this.
The reason is that when everyone went back today, they looked at themselves oddly.
Now the Ministry of Finance has been transferred out of the country, not to deal with state affairs?
What’s the point of going to Shouren Academy?
What a nonsense! Nonsense! Nonsense!
Gu Yan was furious.
This time he was really angry.
He walked towards the Shouren Academy in a furious manner.
Although he valued Xu Qingnian, he could not let Xu Qingnian be so reckless.
The way of government and business? How dare you think of that?
I, Gu Yan, will not agree to this even if I die.
Xu Qingnian, you have really gone too far.
This is too much!
Great Wei is after all Great Wei.
The imperial court is still the imperial court.
Do you think that Xu Qingnian is so great just because you have some talent?
Can you do whatever you want just because you have some talent?
Today, I must rebuke you Xu Qingnian and scold you to wake you up, so that you know that the Great Wei court is not something you can do.
Gu Yan roared in his heart, and was certain that he would never agree to the government and businessmen knowing this.
Not even in death could you agree!
Death! All! No! No way! No way! Yes! Yes!
So it was.
Gu Yan’s pace was extremely fast and furious.
A quarter of an hour’s time.
He arrived at the Shouren Academy.
Sure enough, the entire Household Department was somewhere not knowing what they were accounting for again.
There was also a group of readers.
“Greetings, Shang Shu Gu.”
One by one, the entire Household Department shouted when they saw that Shang Shu Gu had arrived.
“Humph! Do you still have me as a Shang Shu in your eyes?”
“Let’s see how I will clean you up later.”
Gu Yan spoke coldly.
He was very angry.
“Where is Xu Shouren?”
Gu Yan also ignored the gang and directly searched for Xu Qingnian.
He soon found Xu Qingnian in his room, not knowing what he was writing.
At that moment, Gu Yan pushed open the door of the room with force and came directly in front of Xu Qingnian, an old face flushed with anger.
“Xu Shouren!”
“Do you know what you are doing?”
“You are too ……”
Gu Yan roared in anger, his voice so loud that it was heard both inside and outside.
He was truly angry, otherwise he would not have been so.
But just as Gu Yan was halfway through his scolding, Xu Qingnian threw a thick stack of bills in front of Gu Yan and said.
“Shang Shu Gu, don’t curse yet, read it before you speak.”
Xu Qingnian was slightly tired, he had calculated the total bill for five days and finally came up with about 70% of the amount.
The remaining thirty percent, one after another, would be cleared this month.
Gu Yan, however, frowned, but he did not scold, let’s see first.
He wanted to see what kind of tricks Xu Qingnian could play again.
Soon, Gu Yan turned his gaze to the bill.
When the first glance fell.
Gu Yan’s entire person ……
just froze in place.
All the anger.
In this moment.
Instantly …… disappeared.
Replaced by ……. Shock.
