Awaken Chapter 148

Kyoto, Great Wei.

Ministry of Penalty.

Cheng Lidong’s figure appeared here, holding a dossier in his hand.

His face was cold.

When the hour was almost up, he walked into the Ministry of Punishment.

He casually found a room in charge and went there.

Because Cheng Lidong’s image was somewhat unusual, he was not an ordinary citizen at first glance, and as the dawn had just been called, the crowd did not observe Cheng Lidong too much.

When they stepped into the main minister’s room.

The head priest in the room was sorting out some dossiers.

The next moment, Cheng Lidong directly placed the dossier in his hand in front of him, and then said in a calm tone.

“Give this dossier to the Minister of Penalties, I want to report the case.”

Cheng Lidong opened his mouth, his tone very calm.

The latter, however, could not help but frown.

Handing the case over to the Minister of Justice? How dare you, who are you? The Minister of Justice has a lot to deal with every day, how many things do you have to deal with every day, and here you are working for you?

The latter frowned at the thought.

Only when he didn’t wait to speak, Cheng Lidong’s voice continued to ring out.

“Let’s take a look at the dossier first, and after you’ve finished reading it, then we can talk.”

Cheng Lidong appeared incomparably calm, not making a fuss or getting angry.

The latter frowned, then took the dossier, and just after scanning the name of the dossier, his face changed.

[Cheng Lidong, Southern Yu Province, suing Xu Qingnian for privately learning a different art]

This was the name of the dossier.

Just by this name alone, the latter’s pupils dilated in fear.

A lawsuit against Xu Qingnian?

Who was Xu Qingnian?

The greatest talent of the Great Wei today.

His Majesty’s favour, the trust of the six ministries, a friend of the military generals, a man of immense talent, a man of peace.

Such a person is more dazzling than the stars, as bright as the sun.

And what about yourself? Not even dust, and as a result such a case, given to himself?

Who wouldn’t be shocked by this?

“Who is this Xu Qingnian?”

He gulped, subconsciously believing it was someone with the same name.

“Is there a second person called Xu Qingnian in Great Wei Kyoto?”

“Send this dossier to the Minister of Justice, and if the Minister of Justice accepts it, you will come to the Lai Yue Inn on North Street to find me.”

Cheng Lidong put his words here, and then reversed his body and walked towards the Ministry of Punishment beyond.

After Cheng Lidong had left.

This master could not help but look towards this dossier, he wanted to see what was in it.

But as he picked it up, he immediately realised the horror.

Whether it was true or not, the matter about Xu Qingnian had nothing to do with himself, a mere principal, and if he were to view it, he might get into trouble.

Paying the price with his life.

Thinking of this, he did not dare to move this dossier.

Instead, he got up honestly and handed the scroll to Zhang Jing, the minister of punishment.

With the end of the Taiping Poetry Festival.

Zhang Jing was in a happy mood, not to mention the fact that Great Wei had accomplished a major event, but most importantly, the Ministry of Penalty had now increased its income by 20 million taels of silver.

This sum of money could completely improve the miserable life of the Ministry of Justice.

In the future, when they travel, they won’t be able to afford to stay in a better inn.

With money to work with, people are also much more comfortable.

This is not the case, just came to the Shang Shu room, called for the left and right retainers, and then began to approve the silver.

With money, one’s voice was much louder, and the topics that one used to want to avoid when hearing them were now unnecessary.

“What? The travel expenses are only five taels of silver for one hundred miles? Raise it for me, raise it to fifteen taels, with an allowance.”

“Huh? No one wants to take on a case a thousand miles away? Announce it out, add an extra thirty taels, consider it an allowance, and another five taels of silver as spending.”

Inside the Shang Shu room.

Zhang Jing gave the order.

The body and bones were considered to be up for once.

But all this, Zhang Jing knew, had to thank Xu Qingnian.

Without Xu Qingnian, there would not be the current bravado of the Ministry of Penalty.

“Alas, why didn’t Shouren appear earlier? If he had appeared earlier, the Ministry of Punishment wouldn’t have suffered so much.”

Zhang Jing lamented in his heart.

And the left and right retainers were already smiling with spring in their faces.

“Tsk, this Shouren is really remembering his kindness, knowing to allocate funds to our Criminal Affairs Department, good, good, it’s good that I haven’t offended him.”

Feng Jianhua opened his mouth and said with a smile.

Only when he said this, Li Yuan could not help but speak out.

“What do you mean by that? Saying it as if I have offended him.”

Li Yuan was somewhat displeased.

“Offended or not, you know clearly in your heart.”

Feng Jianhua gave a light hum.

“Hmph, it’s not even Lord Shang Shu’s will, otherwise, I would be like this?”

When Li Yuan thought about this matter, he could not help but speak up and dump the pot on Zhang Jing.

Only when he said this, Zhang Jing was a little less than happy.

“Servant Li, watch what you say, when did this Shang Shu ask you to find trouble with Shou Ren? It was your own idea, I didn’t say so anyway.”

Zhang Jing certainly couldn’t take the pot at this point.

None of my business?

When he heard this, Li Yuan became angry, good man, playing this trick with me now?

Although you Zhang Jing didn’t say it, but you know what everyone did, you know it very well.

But at that moment, a voice rang out from outside.

“Lord Shang Shu, there is an urgent matter.”

As the voice rang out, Zhang Jing couldn’t help but get up.

“Is it Shouren who is here?”

A look of expectation was written all over his face.

“No, there is an urgent matter.”

The latter didn’t know what to say, so he could only say that it was urgent.

But when this was said, Zhang Jing became curious.

“Enter.”

He sat down, his face calm.

Soon, the head of the Ministry of Penalties pushed the door in, took a look at Zhang Jing and the two Servants, and bowed respectfully at that moment.

“Greetings, Minister Zhang, and Greetings to the left and right Servant Lords.”

He opened his mouth and said so.

“What is it?”

Zhang Jing frowned, still having some official authority.

Xu Qingnian was a great talent and had the capital to be arrogant, but as a Shang Shu it was impossible to be without any authority at all.

“Your Excellency, look.”

The latter handed the dossier to Zhang Jing, and the left and right retainers were all a little curious, how could the dossier be handed to Lord Shang Shu?

This is a bit out of order, isn’t it?

However, as Servants, they were able to sit in this position and had their own skills, so naturally they would not speak nonsense.

Zhang Jing took the dossier.

He looked down and took a look.

With just a glance, a trace of coldness flashed in Zhang Jing’s eyes.

In the next moment, Zhang Jing rose, and once the two retainers saw this, they also followed suit.

“Lord Shang Shu, we will go back to our official duties first.”

Feng Jianhua spoke, and then left the room together with Li Yuan.

Once the two had left the room.

Zhang Jing’s voice immediately rang out.

“Have you ever read this dossier?”

Zhang Jing asked.

“I am not responsible for this matter, so I do not dare to read it, and the seal clay of the scroll is also present.

The latter bent over and said with some trembling.

“En.”

“This matter, the matter is important, whether it is true or not, you should not get involved in it, and it has nothing to do with you.”

“Got it?”

Zhang Jing uttered, it was clearly written on this dossier that Xu Qingnian cultivated a foreign art.

This was no small matter.

If it really got big, it would deal a huge blow to Xu Qingnian.

So he had to suppress it, to the death.

Nowadays, Great Wei was shaking in the midst of a storm, and it was hard to produce such a great talent. If anything dangerous really happened, then Great Wei’s national fortune would really come to an end.

Therefore, he would not deal with this matter, even if he had to take the blame, even if it was against his conscience.

He would not let it go.

Of course, this was only the worst possible plan.

After all, he did not believe that Xu Qingnian would cultivate the foreign arts.

Thinking of this, Zhang Jing could not help but place this dossier in the inner cabinet, which he did not open.

If he opened it, it would prove that he had read it, and if he read it, he had to entertain it, he understood this reasoning.

If he didn’t open it, he could find many reasons, he didn’t have time to read it, he didn’t want to read it for the time being, after all, he was a minister, he didn’t even have this right, right?

“Old man is going to take a trip to Shouren.”

After putting the case file away, Zhang Jing intended to make a trip to see Xu Qingnian, but he soon put away the idea.

It was better to suppress it.

As the Minister of Justice himself, the fact that the other party dared to hand in this dossier was proof enough that the other party was determined to find trouble with Xu Qingnian.

If he went to Xu Qingnian himself, he was only afraid that someone was secretly watching him, and when the time came, this would be unfavourable evidence.

Zhang Jing knew more than anyone about punishment.

“Shouren, ah Shouren, who exactly have you provoked that you would want to put you to death so badly.”

Zhang Jing clenched his fist slightly.

Nowadays, he was doubly fond of Xu Qingnian, and was even willing to be the successor to point him out, it was just a pity that Xu Qingnian was now from the Ministry of Household, otherwise, he would really be willing to let Xu Qingnian become the Minister of Penalty.

And now that he learns of such a thing, Zhang Jing is angry and emotional at the same time.

At this moment.

Zhang Jing looked out of the window and the sky looked beautiful, but for some reason, he always felt that a storm was coming.

Meanwhile.

Great Wei, Kyoto.

Shouren Academy.

Cheng Lidong’s figure reappeared here.

He ignored Yang Hu and the others.

He directly found Xu Qingnian.

Xu Qingnian, who was studying the waterwheel promotion project, stopped writing.

He stood up and looked at Cheng Lidong who barged straight in.

“My lord.”

Yang Hu opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but was stopped by Xu Qingnian.

And then Cheng Lidong closed the door to his room.

Looking at Xu Qingnian.

“Lord Xu.”

“Euphemisms, Cheng will not say anything, just now Cheng went to the Ministry of Punishment and submitted a dossier.”

“If Your Excellency is willing to cooperate, this dossier will be retrieved by Cheng personally. Even if someone knows about it, Cheng believes that with your friendship with Minister Zhang, he will suppress and not release it, and will not even bother to read that dossier.”

“Your Excellency, this is the last chance.”

Cheng Lidong opened the door, with hardly any euphemism, to inform him of his intentions.

And this time, his gaze was unmistakably firm.

It was clear that this was an ultimatum.

If he agreed, both sides would cooperate and everything would be fine.

But if he did not agree, then he would simply tear his face off.

Xu Qingnian had long expected Cheng Lidong to appear.

But it was at this time that he appeared, and for a moment, Xu Qingnian figured out many things.

He did not say anything, but stood with his hands folded, quietly looking at Cheng Lidong.

“Lord Cheng, do you still remember when you were in Ping’an County.”

“You escorted me to the prison and had someone imitate the fake voice of Zhao Dafu.”

“Trying to deceive Mister Xu, only to have Mister Xu recognize it, do you know why?”

Xu Qingnian did not answer, but brought up what had happened once.

“Why?”

Cheng Lidong was a little curious, he indeed did not know why.

“Because, Mister Xu understands human hearts better than Lord Cheng.”

Xu Qingnian spoke indifferently.

And then he continued.

“Since you were in the capital of the Great Wei, when you first met me, Mou Xu was surprised that you informed Mou Xu that you had followed Yan Ru.”

“And since I knew that you had followed Yan Ru, I knew that there was no longer any possibility of cooperation between you and me.”

“They are Confucian! To cooperate with them is undoubtedly to seek skin with a tiger, and what Xu knows even more is that you …… have embarked on a path of no return.”

“Lord Cheng is now a pawn, a pawn that can be discarded at any time, and keeping you until now is only used to hinder Mou Xu.”

“Moreover, at the moment, it is not you who has come to seek Xu Mou’s cooperation, but another group of people who want to cooperate with Xu Mou.”

“Therefore, if Mou Xu cooperates with you, he is entering a deadly situation, but if Mou Xu does not cooperate with you, although he is still in a desperate situation, he at least has a chance of survival.”

“Lord Cheng, put it this way, do you understand?”

Xu Qingnian spoke.

He stated the reason why he would not cooperate with Cheng Lidong.

It was because the current Cheng Lidong was a pawn of Yan Ru, or even rather, a pawn of the group of people behind Yan Ru.

He exists to restrict himself, to put himself to death.

Cooperation is a dead end, a certain death, the equivalent of being held in check forever.

Is it possible to detour?

Yes, but such a detour would be a futile exercise.

If you don’t cooperate and the other side tears your face off, you will at least have the means to do so, or at least have a chance of survival.

Xu Qingnian did not want to become someone else’s pawn, especially the pawn of the Great Wei Palace of Literature.

Even if it means death, the choice is up to him.

But when this was said, Cheng Lidong could not help but speak up.

“Lord Xu is really clever with his words, but Cheng can indeed cooperate with Lord Xu, Cheng can betray Yan Ru and turn around and join your banner …….”

Cheng Lidong continued with the same rhetoric.

But Xu Qingnian shook his head, he sighed and looked at Cheng Lidong.

“You still don’t understand what kind of situation you are in.”

Xu Qingnian spoke out directly, interrupting the other party’s words.

It was not that Cheng Lidong was stupid, but that his obsession was so deep that he was lost in authority.

But Xu Qingnian understood that when Cheng Lidong chose to join Yan Ru’s faction, he was already dead.

Because this was an irrelevant character, a pawn, a pawn destined to be pitiful.

Cheng Lidong did not say anything, he quietly looked at Xu Qingnian.

After half a sound, Cheng Lidong spoke once more.

“What Lord Xu means is that he will never cooperate?”

He continued to ask.

“En.”

Xu Qingnian nodded his head.

Cheng Lidong also nodded, he indeed did not understand why Xu Qingnian was so arrogant, but he did not think much more.

He bowed towards Xu Qingnian and said.

“Lord Xu, if you can escape this, I respect you, Cheng.”

He said so.

After these words were said, Cheng Lidong turned around and left, and did not linger any longer.

Because things had come to this point, it was useless to talk more.

Looking at Cheng Lidong who left.

Inside the room.

Xu Qingnian also inexplicably felt some pressure.

The Great Wei Palace of Literature wanted to target itself.

They must have prepared all sorts of tactics, based on public opinion alone, Xu Qingnian actually felt the pressure and crisis ah.

“Tomorrow is His Majesty’s birthday.”

“After His Majesty’s birthday is over, I think they will make trouble.”

Even Xu Qingnian had already thought of when these people would strike.

At that moment, Xu Qingnian went to his bed, he sank his mind and communicated with Chao Ge in the Palace of Literature to break the evil.

“Brother Chao Ge!”

“Brother Broken Evil!”

Xu Qingnian called out to the two men, before telling them the story of what had happened, and his own analysis.

He did not want his fate to be in the hands of others, and there was always nothing wrong with preparing more cards.

The two of them could not help but fall into silence after learning of Xu Qingnian’s current situation.

For about half an hour.

Finally, Chao Ge’s voice rang out.

“The public opinion within you can completely block the Great Confucian of Heaven and Earth from prying eyes, but if they invite a holy weapon to check, it will be extremely troublesome.”

“But there is a way to help you get through this.”

Chao Ge said this.

Hearing these words, Xu Qingnian instantly perked up.

“Please tell me, brother.”

Xu Qingnian said.

“The solution is simple, Brother Broken Evil and I will activate the Heaven and Earth Palace of Literature for you, which can resist the might of the Sacred Weapon.”

“It’s just that nowadays, your Confucian Dao grade is not high, unless you reach the fourth grade, forcibly activating the Palace of Heaven and Earth Literature, Brother Broken Evil and I, will fall into a prolonged drowsiness.”

“When that happens, it will be up to you alone.”

Chao Ge spoke out, this was the only way he could activate the Heaven and Earth Palace of Literature, which was the first Sage’s Palace of Literature.

If he activated the power of the Palace of Literature, he could naturally suppress it in reverse, after all, the Great Wei Palace of Literature was no match for the Palace of Literature of Heaven and Earth.

The Great Sage’s Palace of Literature is the first in the world.

The only cost was that the two would have to fall into a deep sleep, and once that happened, Xu Qingnian would have to walk the road himself in the future.

“Will it have a great impact on the two of you?”

Xu Qingnian opened his mouth, and he asked so.

“That won’t be the case, it’s just that the divine power is depleted and will just fall asleep.”

“The main concern is still, the future.”

“But don’t worry, if it comes to that, no matter what, we will help you.”

“If something really goes wrong with you, we will not be any better.”

Chao Ge replied seriously.

It wouldn’t cause any impact, it would be nothing more than a slumber, just worry about Xu Qingnian encountering other crises in the future.

After understanding this point, Xu Qingnian breathed a sigh of relief, if it would bring great damage to the two of them, Xu Qingnian was really not good at speaking up.

It was only a slumber, that was fine.

It was just that the next path would have to be walked slowly by oneself.

“Many thanks to the two elder brothers!”

“If one day, if my brother can help a few brothers get out of trouble, my brother will not refuse.”

Xu Qingnian said with unparalleled seriousness.

“Thank you, my brother.”

“En, I am grateful to you, Xiandi.”

The two men gave their reply, and Xu Qingnian was completely relieved.

With the two of them helping him, Xu Qingnian wasn’t afraid of anything anymore.

However, since he had a bottom card.

Xu Qingnian also had to start thinking about some other things.

The other side had come looking for trouble this time, and he could not just fold his arms and die, he had to fight back, ruthlessly.

Previously, Minister of Rites Wang Xinzhi had made a point of telling himself not to enter the battle of schools and not to rob the readers of the Great Wei Palace of Literature.

Xu Qingnian agreed.

He did not want to provoke the Palace of Literature, but if the Palace of Literature dared to provoke himself.

Xu Qingnian didn’t mind biting into a piece of flesh from the Palace, otherwise, after this trouble, he would find another one next time.

So on and so forth, endlessly.

Thinking of this, Xu Qingnian began to ponder, thinking of the next way to deal with the situation.

One hour later.

Great Wei Palace of Literature.

The Hall of Pilgrimage.

This is a small world, in the middle of the Palace of Literature, but it is not visible to outsiders, and only great scholars can enter.

In the Hall of Pilgrimage.

An old man, his hair pale and hanging to the ground, is surrounded by a great aura of righteousness.

And in the hall.

Yan Lei, Sun Jing’an, and the two great scholars, sat quietly before the old man.

This was a great Confucian of Heaven and Earth, someone who had half a foot in the Saint realm.

It was just that he was too old, no longer able to know the destiny of Heaven and Earth, and it would be difficult for him to truly become a saint in this lifetime.

“Pengru, Xu Qingnian is still unwilling to cooperate.”

“Is the plan being followed?”

Yan Lei’s voice rang out, breaking the peace in the area.

“Does he still not agree?”

Pengru’s voice, which seemed incomparably vicissitudes, also carried a sense of powerlessness and weakness.

“En, Xu Qingnian is too cunning and is not willing to cooperate with us.”

“What should be said, the student has already asked Cheng Lidong to do so.”

Yan Lei once again confirmed.

Once this was said, Peng Ru fell into silence, again as if he had fallen into a state of lethargy.

He did not say anything for a long time.

And Sun Jing’an could not help but speak up.

“Since he was given the opportunity, he himself did not cherish it.”

“According to my meaning, it is time to except.”

Sun Jing’an’s voice rang out, and his hostility towards Xu Qingnian was extremely strong now.

Nowadays, there were many Confucian students in the Great Wei Palace of Literature who had quite an opinion of him, and he had also heard that the academy opened by Xu Qingnian had been recruiting Confucian scholars from the Great Wei Palace of Literature again.

Although it was not blatant, allowing the literati of the Great Wei Literary Palace to go to his academy was a kind of defiance of the saints.

As Sun Jing’an’s voice rang out.

Peng Ru’s voice reappeared.

“In that case, let it be as Jing’an says.”

“This matter will be handled by Jing’an, but don’t let the Great Wei Palace of Literature come forward first, and when the amba*sador from all the nations returns, hand over all the evidence to Prince Huaining.”

“He will step in first, and after that Jing An will step in again, when that time comes, I will personally make a trip to the imperial court to force out the magic demon seed in Xu Qingnian’s body.”

Peng Ru said so.

He instructed what would happen next.

“We respectfully follow Peng Ru’s advice.”

The four great Confucians nodded their heads.

Just at that moment, Sun Jing’an’s voice could not help but ring out again.

“Peng Ru, but in case, His Majesty just wants to protect Xu Qingnian, what should we do?”

Sun Jing’an asked in this way.

As soon as this was said, Yan Lei’s voice appeared.

“Impossible.”

“The matter of foreign arts is a heavenly and deadly crime, His Majesty cannot protect Xu Qingnian even if he thinks highly of her.”

Yan Lei said with conviction.

No matter who practiced the magic, if they were exposed, they would end up dead.

However, Peng Ru shook his head and said.

“No.”

“Perhaps the empress will protect him, Xu Qingnian’s talent is indeed rare in all the ages, if he sincerely submits to my Zhu Sheng lineage.”

“This Confucian will also protect him.”

“It is a pity that he wants to be our enemy.”

“He is too clever and too proud, he simply does not understand what the Great Wei Palace of Literature means, nor does he understand what the Zhu Sheng means.”

“If the Empress protects him, Xu Qingnian, it will be beneficial to us as well.”

“You must remember what the real purpose of the Wen Palace is at the moment.”

“Xu Qingnian is just a little obstacle, it won’t affect anything, do you understand?”

Peng Ru spoke again, reminding the crowd an additional sentence of what the true purpose of the Great Wei Palace of Literature was.

Once this was said, the four people also nodded their heads.

“Indeed, it is us who are being obsessive, a mere Xu Qingnian, no matter how talented he is, what can he do?”

Sun Jing’an nodded.

The next moment, Peng Ru spoke.

“All right, go.”

With a single word, the four men rose to bid farewell, and then left in turn.

After they had left.

Within the Hall of Pilgrimage, there was complete silence.

However, about a quarter of an hour later.

Peng Ru’s voice slowly sounded out.

“After Xu Qingnian’s death, your biggest obstacle is gone, stay well in Great Wei, and no matter what, you cannot betray Great Wei, unless one day, Great Wei is completely decayed.”

“Otherwise, even if we leave Great Wei, we cannot give up.”

It was as if he was talking to himself.

Within the great hall, there was no response.

Soon, it was two minutes past the eleventh hour.

With the arrival of autumn, the sky darkened a little earlier.

The great night filled the sky, devoid of stars and moonlight.

And Kyoto was ablaze with lights.

Peach Blossom Temple.

The three merchants had been waiting for a long time.

They stood outside the Peach Blossom Nunnery, waiting anxiously for Xu Qingnian.

Since the imperial court had fully agreed to the path of government business, all the merchants had gone mad. For the small merchants, priority in bidding for government business, priority in admission of their offspring to the academy, plus the possibility of being knighted.

What merchant wouldn’t pay up?

For the medium and large merchants, they wanted to become a really big chamber of commerce and right now they needed to find a big backer, and now that big backer has come in the form of the Great Wei court.

To be honest, they naturally understand the intentions of the court, but so what? Who is the real loser? Isn’t it the Grand Chamber? The court was certainly willing to support them, hoping that they would overtake the big chambers.

As for the eight major chambers of commerce, they were even more anxious.

There are only six first-ranking positions, Xu Qingnian takes one, and a few days ago Zhang Ruhui made up another 50 million taels of silver to get a first-ranking official position.

Everyone understands why this is, Zhang Ruhui is Xu Qingnian’s man, secondly, Zhang Ruhui was the first to come forward and played a good role, the truth of a thousand gold to buy a horse bone, everyone still understands.

So now there are still four positions left.

If these four positions were taken up by other chambers, it would be difficult for them.

If they get the first cla*s position, they will have the right to speak and can go to the table to negotiate. If they don’t get it, then they will wait to be slowly targeted next.

Not to say that they will lose them outright, but they certainly won’t feel too good.

It was also at this point.

Xu Qingnian’s figure, which was slow to appear.

“Lord Xu, Lord Xu.”

“Lord Xu, you’re here.”

“Lord Xu, I haven’t seen you for a few days, you’ve become much more handsome again.”

The representatives of the three merchants came quickly, their faces piled with smiles, a completely different attitude from the previous days.

“You are all welcome.”

Xu Qingnian slightly arched his hand, and then, accompanied by the three merchants, walked into the elegant pavilion in the Meditation Banquet.

The meal was already prepared and slightly cold.

The representative of the Jin merchants spoke at once, “Someone, change another table of dishes, make it hot.”

He opened his mouth, wealthy and full of energy.

“No need, just deal with a couple of random bites.”

Xu Qingnian didn’t want to waste, plus the dishes weren’t particularly cold.

After letting the crowd sit down, the three merchants immediately got up and smiled with their gla*ses of wine.

“Lord Xu, we have really offended a lot the other day, I hope Lord Xu will never be angry.”

“Yes, Lord Xu, you are the genius of the Great Wei of the ages, we are just mere mortals, if there was anything we did wrong the other day, I hope your Excellency will bear with me, bear with me.”

“Yes, yes, yes, Your Excellency is more than accommodating.”

The three of them got up, first towards Xu Qingnian and directly just punished themselves with three cups.

A few days ago, their attitude was not like this at all, and they were purely indifferent to Xu Qingnian.

What they didn’t expect was that the court would issue such a decree, and that all the civil and military officials would agree to it.

Xu Qingnian is now, to put it mildly, the president of the World Chamber of Commerce.

Whether or not they could make a lot of money in the future, half of it would have to depend on Xu Qingnian’s face.

“You’re all welcome, Xu doesn’t want to drink today, so I won’t drink.”

“There is no need for you all to do so, today when you come over, Xu Mou has important matters to attend to and intends to leave once he has made himself clear.”

To deal with the three merchants, Xu Qingnian did not intend to use conventional means, now it was the other party that was asking for help, so the stance that should be put up still had to be put up.

“Okay, you speak, we’ll listen.”

“Yes, yes, yes, whatever Lord Xu says, we will listen.”

“Lord Xu, please speak.”

The three were incredibly well-behaved, not daring to have any complaints.

Looking at the three of them like this.

Xu Qingnian was also direct.

“At the moment, there are still four places available for the First Grade position, and the eight major merchants have all applied, the three of you are late in applying.”

“In theory, priority should be given to the remaining five merchants.”

Xu Qingnian paused when he said this.

And the three people’s faces changed slightly, understanding the meaning of Xu Qingnian’s words.

As for coming first, everyone had come together, and it was not up to Xu Qingnian to say whether they were late or not.

“My lord, in terms of reason, it is indeed true, but we are loyal to Great Wei and are willing to dedicate the rest of our lives to it.”

“I also hope that Your Excellency …… be considerate of the fact that we have had a one-sided relationship and be accommodating.”

As the representative of the Jin merchants spoke, he secretly handed over a stack of silver tickets.

One was ten thousand taels of silver, a thick stack of at least thirty.

Three hundred thousand taels as a meeting gift, it was really atmospheric.

But Xu Qingnian smiled faintly and pushed it back, saying.

“In terms of reason, it is definitely not possible.”

“But nowadays, the Great Wei Waterwheel Project is in dire need of materials, so it’s not like I can’t reconcile it with Xu.”

“How about offering goods in exchange for silver?”

Xu Qingnian said.

As Xu Qingnian spoke, the three merchants were not surprised, but had a feeling that they had already expected this.

“Dare I ask your Excellency, how can I offset the price?”

The representative of the Huizhou merchants asked in a loud voice.

“Simple, give the silver taels directly, I think the other five merchants are not satisfied either.”

“But if we let you increase the price, we are afraid of causing malicious competition. Great Wei started the road of merchants and officials, and what we are trying to do is to make profits together, so that you can earn silver at the same time.”

“And also allows the people’s livelihood of Great Wei to develop, so a waterwheel Xu Mou will be calculated at 10,000 taels of silver, you at 3,000 taels a piece, against the cost of admission, how about it?”

Xu Qingnian smiled slightly and said.

But as soon as these words were said, the three merchants’ faces changed dramatically.

Three thousand taels for one? Normally, one was eight thousand five hundred taels, they had a profit, and after deducting all the profit, the cost price would be more than four thousand taels of silver.

Three thousand taels would mean that they would have to pay themselves a thousand taels in.

In that case, Xu Qingnian was paying 30,000,000 taels of silver for 10,000 water carts.

This was really a good calculation.

“Alright, since the three of you are not too willing, then I will take my leave.”

Xu Qingnian saw that the three were still hesitating, so he couldn’t help but get up, intending to leave.

Anyway, the other party was now begging him, so what was he afraid of?

Once this was said, the three people could not help but open their mouths in a hurry.

“Lord Xu, wait a moment, wait a moment, we will now have a discussion with the clan chief to discuss the matter.”

The three of them spoke in a hurry.

This price, they could not make the decision, they had to ask for instructions from above.

“How long will it take?”

Xu Qingnian asked.

“Within an hour!”

The three replied.

“No, a quarter of an hour.”

Xu Qingnian pressed the time to a quarter of an hour, an hour was too long.

“Okay, Lord Xu wait a moment.”

The Jin merchant representative was also a ruthless man, and got up and left straight away, using something like a messenger charm to make enquiries.

The remaining two followed suit.

Inside the elegant pavilion, Xu Qingnian was left alone.

It was about a quarter of an hour or so.

The three of them returned as promised.

“Lord Xu, we agree!”

The three looked a little meaty as they said.

Promised down.

“Good, words are no proof, so sign and pledge.”

Xu Qingnian took out the voucher word, saying it was useless, it had to be signed and pledged, if you turned back, with this thing in place, you would have to give it even if you didn’t.

“OK!”

They scanned the voucher and soon found something wrong.

It was written on the voucher that they would bear the cost of the transport.

Well, it was just a matter of adding more costs, so they were screwed.

The three of them signed and signed with some resignation.

After they had signed and signed.

Xu Qingnian was satisfied and put it away.

“Congratulations to the three of you.”

“But there’s one more thing that I forgot to mention.”

“From now on, the water cart material, as a tribute to the Great Wei Imperial Family, the three of you are so atmospheric, so I will also give you some benefits.”

“How about a bite price, four thousand taels of silver a piece, to be provided to Great Wei for a long time?”

Xu Qingnian said with a smile.

The three merchants’ faces changed, he did not expect Xu Qingnian to keep a hand.

First he waited for them to sign and pledge, and then he came back to screw them.

“Your Excellency, this won’t do, four thousand taels of silver, we’ll lose our money.”

“This is even counting the canal fee in it, even if we have a big family business, we can’t carry it.”

“My lord, if that is the case, we would rather not have it.”

The three of them spoke in unison. If you say it’s a loss, then it’s a loss, just once as a friendship, as an entrance fee.

Even if they were rich, they would not be able to afford it.

“Alright, then I will fight for you again, four thousand five hundred silver taels for one rack, and give an extra five hundred silver taels partly for the transport fee, and another part to the local people, to produce related materials.”

“If this price is not agreeable, then simply forget it, the entrance fee will be paid as usual, and this official position will be lost.”

Four thousand taels of silver was indeed a bit too much, and Xu Qingnian was only casually talking about it.

Five thousand taels was what Xu Qingnian had calculated.

The cost was about three thousand eight hundred and nine hundred, including the transportation fee it would be four thousand taels, plus the loss issue, that would be about four thousand five hundred taels.

The remaining five hundred taels would be the merchant’s profit.

It was certainly not much, after all, how much would it really amount to if it was divided among the layers?

But at least it’s not a loss.

It would not be difficult to make a small profit and sell more.

Xu Qingnian is calculating, but not to the extent of not giving the other side a way out, more or less, it’s just not right.

Indeed, when they heard Xu Qingnian’s new price, the three merchants’ faces eased a little.

It was just that they still wanted to keep fighting.

Unfortunately, Xu Qingnian indeed did not have time to delay with them, he still had to catch the next venue ah.

“If you agree, sign this note and have it sent to Shouren Academy.”

“If you do not agree, there is no need to send it, but what you said before cannot be less.”

Xu Qingnian was clearly eating up these guys.

Now that the chess game had been formed, it was up to the eight merchants to decide whether they wanted to be the pawns or the chess-bearers.

Anyway, no matter what, he or she would not lose out.

If they really don’t give it, one’s objective has been achieved, 10,000 water carts and 30,000,000 taels of silver, already a bloody profit.

If they agreed to do business for a long time, there would be no further problems.

The three merchants’ faces did not look too good.

But Xu Qingnian had already left.

After Xu Qingnian had left, the three men’s faces turned ugly.

“Humph! This Xu Qingnian …… is really for the country and the people.”

The Jin merchant representative hammered the table fiercely, but the next moment, Xu Qingnian suddenly returned.

With four eyes facing each other, the Jin merchant representative’s words turned, and he himself didn’t expect himself to react so quickly.

“I’m back to get some things, so the three of you take your time to chat.”

Xu Qingnian didn’t mind them saying bad things about him behind his back, but was rather afraid that this group of people would say good things about him.

After taking the things, Xu Qingnian went straight away.

He came and went quickly, less than half an hour before and after.

Looking at Xu Qingnian who left, the three merchants did not dare to say anything else, they could only feel emotions in their hearts.

About two quarters of an hour later.

Xu Qingnian appeared in another tavern.

The figures of the five merchants appeared, they had been waiting for Xu Qingnian.

Only the five merchants had not offended Xu Qingnian and spoke with unparalleled enthusiasm, without the slightest embarra*sment.

Xu Qingnian also cooperated with the five merchants in eating and drinking.

The main reason for going to see the three merchants was the water truck materials, while for the five merchants, Xu Qingnian wanted to pull in.

Especially the last four merchants, don’t they want to surpa*s the Jin merchants and become the number one merchant?

Therefore, Xu Qingnian was very open and drank freely with the people.

Furthermore, the people sent by the five merchants were not old men, but people who were actually in power in the Chamber of Commerce, the kind of people who could make decisions.

After the drink.

Xu Qingnian also made it clear that there was only one position left for the first rank.

Xu Qingnian intended to give it to the fourth ranked Chamber of Commerce.

Once this was said, everyone’s faces became a little embarra*sed, after all, everyone wanted this first-ranked position.

Only, after Xu Qingnian immediately said the position of inspection envoy, the remaining four merchants instantly became active.

The ranking was the same, but they had the responsibility of inspection and supervision.

When this was said, the four merchants who ranked last became excited.

Although he was not the one in charge, this inspection supervision had a lot more flavour.

The rest of the four merchants raised their cups and thanked Xu Qingnian in various ways, and they also looked incredibly excited.

They understood Xu Qingnian’s meaning.

They wanted to draw them in to suppress the big chambers of commerce in front of them.

Although they knew they were being used.

But so what?

As long as they could go up, what did it matter to them if others died or not?

Of course Xu Qingnian also made it very clear that the responsibility of inspecting and supervising was also to be within the rules.

At the same time, the first-ranking officials also have the right to impeach the inspectors.

We all supervised each other, so that no one would be unhappy.

After all, having an extra inspector was a bit of a disadvantage.

But mutual checks and balances, this is fine.

To put it bluntly, it is still within the rules, if you really do something wrong, even if people do not have the responsibility of inspection, they will still find you in trouble.

The matter of the eight major chambers of commerce was completely resolved by Xu Qingnian.

The silver taels will also be sent to the Ministry of Finance before September 1st.

It was late into the night.

Xu Qingnian returned to the Shouren Academy.

He made a pot of tea for himself.

Alone, he looked at the moonlight.

Tomorrow is the 30th of August.

His Majesty’s birthday is coming up.

Once the birthday is over, I am afraid that the greatest crisis will come.

He took a sip of tea.

Xu Qingnian stood under the moonlight.

He looked at the sky.

Inexplicably, he had a feeling that the mountain rain was coming to fill the building.