All-round way to money

To say that the most prosperous place in the south of the Yangtze River, Yangzhou must be ranked very high today.Because it relies on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, transportation is developed, merchants gather, and it is a land of gold everywhere.

Chu Ran's family was sitting in a private room by the window on the second floor of the largest restaurant on Shanghang Street near the pier, admiring the bustling city life.

This restaurant is called Yunlai.It is an industry under the Daqing Commercial Bank, the one in the national chain, which also takes care of the function of collecting information.There is also an inn called Rugui, which is also the property of the Qing Dynasty Commercial Bank.That is the man who is not on the bright side, but is also operating in the dark.

This Commercial Street was only renamed Commercial Street in the past few years.In the past, the entire street here was full of large and small salt shops, but after the rectification, there were fewer salt shops.After the Daqing Commercial Bank bought the largest shop and opened it, various shops gradually opened in the surrounding area, department stores, cloth workshops, foreign goods stores, and gradually crowded the original commercial street to this side.Ordinary people are also used to saying that they go to a commercial store when shopping, and this street has also changed from the original burden street to a commercial street.

The market is very bustling, and occasionally foreigners appear, and the common people are not surprised.Most of the shops here are wholesale and retail, so there are trucks parked in front of many shops, and Liba manually pulls the carts to the wharf to transport goods. From a distance, you can see more cargo ships on the wharf, loading and unloading It looked busy, but it was not chaotic, and there were some official guests in bright orange vests maintaining order.

There are also many rickshaws on the street, some of which are not so good, just two-wheelers with hard board wooden chairs, and some are more high-end, with leather upholstery and sheds for sun and rain.Business is also good.

From time to time, people on bicycles pass by, whether they are urgent messengers or well-dressed young masters. The polarization of users is also a very interesting phenomenon.

If there is a car coming out, it will attract attention.Today, the supply of automobiles is still in short supply, and the supporting industries cannot keep up.The largest automobile factory is in Jinmen, not far from the wharf, for the convenience of transportation.Nissan also has hundreds of vehicles, but compared with the demand, it is far from enough.Just the garrisons all over the country, the military sects fought so lively for the small number of truck quotas every year.Whoever has made a little contribution, when it is time to give rewards, he must first ask for the car.Those leaked to the folks are very few. Who can have a truck that burns oil, the convenience is second to none, and the more important thing is to prove the identity of the owner.

That is to say, in the business of the Qing Dynasty Commercial Bank, the goods are transported by trucks. After all, it is the business of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and no one dares to compare with it.Then there is the department store, everyone knows that it is the business of the noble master, and almost all the back houses of the rich and powerful are connected behind it, which is even more incomparable.

Ordinary merchants either have no money, or they can't buy it if they have money.

"Next year will be fine. Songjiang's factory will be put into production this year, with a daily production capacity of [-] vehicles. Half of the output can be opened to the private sector and can also be exported. Hongzhan sent the few vehicles that were shipped to Australia the year before last. One was for the king of the Vikings, and they returned with two big ships. Tessie was looking forward to our car and was almost crazy. Those very rich nobles, how many people they sent, found connections with the prince. It's already..." The emperor muttered a few things about the car.

"Those nobles are making crazy money from our tea, sugar, and cloth ceramics. There is nowhere to spend the money. I heard from Nolan that some nobles opened gemstone mines in Africa and compared each other to throwing gold coins into the sea. "Nolan is the Spanish teacher of the college. He has just arrived in China for more than two years. He is still a French earl. He is well-known in the aristocratic circle and his family has a big business. Yongchen knows him very well and often listens to him talk about Taixi. The deeds of the nobility.

"In terms of success and enjoyment, they are still far behind." This is how the emperor commented.

Ok?

Yong Chen was very curious.

"In the past, there was a magistrate of Yangzhou. Salt merchants bribed him to make baskets of gold leaves and let him sprinkle them on the tide to watch the gold float in the waves."

what……

"Then the magistrate should die."

It was also the first time Chu Ran heard of it.

Corrupt officials are so corrupt that they will not be wronged if they die several times.

"If the salt merchants didn't have a bigger profit, they wouldn't have given such a big bribe."

When Yongchen said that, the emperor was very happy, and raised his hand to stroke the child's head.

"In the past, the salt tax in Yangzhou was 3000 million taels a year, and it was difficult to collect more than 8000% of it. Now the salt tax is [-] million taels a year, which is not a lot. Salt merchants pay more taxes than before, but very little. Some people want to save taxes by bribing officials, why?"

Hearing his father's question, Yongchen thought for a while, then looked at the freight wharf in the distance, and then looked at the commercial street, "It's because the money I earned from paying the 2000 million salt tax in the past is not as good as the 8000 million I earn now." There are many."

Yes, how simple it is.

"It's also because there are fewer corrupt officials who bully businessmen and people, and there are more honest things. As long as you pay taxes according to the rules, you can do business with peace of mind. Therefore, even if you don't earn more, you are willing to do business lightly. Team Wind It's not small." That's how Chu Ran saw it.

Yongchen thought for a while, "So, the root cause is to govern people."

Yes, it looks like a business on the surface, but it is still a person at root.

Just as he was talking, Liu Wu entered the door, and after saluting, he said, "Master Liu Yong has arrived."

Oh, let him come up then.

Qi Yong is the son of Liu Tongxun, and now he is the magistrate of Yangzhou, the world's most vacant man.

As soon as you come in, you have to kneel down and salute, but the emperor excuses you, "Weifu, don't make such nonsense. I said earlier that I won't disturb your work, why are you here?"

Don't think that if the emperor travels, no one will really know about microservices.On the surface, there are only eight people, but there are three hundred guards in the dark, if not five hundred.Wherever they went, such powerful strangers appeared. If they were not discovered, then all the inspectors, feudal officials, and Nitai officials in various places should be punished.

On the ground in Yangzhou, as a parent officer, if he doesn't know who is coming, he should go home and coax the children, don't be ashamed here.

Liu Yong was just grinning, he is not yet 30 years old here, he is still young.It's the son of the chief assistant again, the emperor's current style, holding a banquet in the garden from time to time, all the rich and powerful children can participate, it's like having a party, they all have the opportunity to perform, like him who can write and draw , has always been a man of the hour.I am very familiar with the emperor's family. "My lord, you are sympathetic. If I don't come, I will feel bad about my size."

"That's all right, all right, don't be a good boy to the master, what should you do. Don't worry, the master won't cause trouble for you, okay?"

It is one thing to show filial piety. When their family comes, people will prevent them from watching dramas and getting confused.

Originally, there were rules for everything, and things should be done according to the rules. If they participated, would they listen or not?Listen, if you engage in privileges, if the common people are dissatisfied in the future, if they don't follow the rules to express their demands normally, they will go to the capital to sue the imperial court, so how can they do their work?Don't listen, this is the emperor, the emperor doesn't listen anymore, do you want to rebel?

The emperor also knew this truth, this was not the time when the common people had no way to complain, so he opened his mouth first to promise not to add chaos to the place.

Hey, Liu Yong heaved a sigh of relief. With your words, I feel relieved.

It is difficult for him to do this job now.Originally there was news that he was going to be released to Taiyuan as the magistrate, but he was temporarily changed to Yangzhou.Outsiders looked at their father and son, a chief assistant, the number one magistrate in the world, and a prosperous official career.Who would have thought that he is being roasted on a rack right now. To others, he is the most fat job in the world, but to him, it is a real hard job. Does he dare to be greedy?Why don't you dare to play your life?Can not be done.Well done, it should be, don't you see whose son you are, what education have you received?If you can't do it well, it's over, the emperor trusts you father and son so much, why don't you do it well?

It is said that Liu Xiang is a role model for the Han people in the world, and whoever does it knows what it is like.

"I won't keep you anymore. Go ahead and tell the others what to do."

The emperor drove them away immediately.

Mr. Liu only said a few words when he entered the room, and he was kicked out after he didn't stay for 5 minutes.I wiped my sweat secretly when I went out. Thanks to my cleverness, I came here in ordinary clothes. If I wore official clothes, I guess I wouldn't even be able to enter the door of the restaurant.Go back and write to Shangguan quickly to convey the emperor's intentions, so don't come here to make trouble.Then explain to the people below that everything will be fine as usual.

The people below are obedient, everything is back to normal.

Then, the result was that the emperor's family wanted to swim in the Slender West Lake, but they couldn't get in because they built gardens in places with beautiful scenery. Even on the lake, they were not allowed to go to many places to enjoy the scenery on a rented painting boat. up.

"You guys are from other places. I don't know. Those gardens were built by the big bosses. You can't get in easily." The boatman who punted the boat heard Lan Xin say that the lake belongs to everyone, and the land belongs to the court. What is not allowed in and not allowed to see.Just explain it.

"Is the inside well built?" Yong Chen asked.

"It's emotional, last year I went to Song Garden to send fish once, and I saw it once, and the repair is almost like the palace."

After saying that, everyone laughed, but Lan Xin was a sharp talker, so she asked the old man, "Have you seen the palace before?"

The old boatman laughed loudly, "Do you still have to see it with your own eyes? The place where the emperor lives is almost like the fairy palace in the sky. There are pictures on it."

"Then how can I get in?"

"It's simple, as long as you do business with those big bosses, or are noble lords, you can get in."

"Then don't you envy those who can go in?"

Yongchen's words made the old boatman laugh, "Young master is born well, I don't know how the life of our common people is going on. What is there to envy? I have lived on this Slender West Lake all my life, little old man. In the past, a family of five, pointing to this boat, could only drink porridge twice a day. At that time, I envied those nobles who could wear gold and silver. Now, my son, wife, and grandson are all in the factory. I work in the village, my granddaughter-in-law takes care of my old wife at home, and my grandchildren all go to school, and they will be able to be a scholar in the future, and even go to the factory to do paperwork at worst. The family now eats dry food three times a day, and returns it from time to time. I can eat meat. I don’t point to my boat to live. If I want to do it, I won’t do it. If I don’t want to do it, I can find a place to fish for a day. It’s a day that I couldn’t even dream of before. Why do I go? Are you envious of others?"

Yongchen felt that he understood some truths.

This old boatman envied the nobles when he was poor.Now that I don't have to worry about eating and drinking, I won't be envious of others.When you are busy living your own life, you have no time to envy others.

"Didn't it mean that the gap is hard to fill, and people's desires will only get bigger and bigger? Why can the old boatman be so satisfied?" Yong Chen asked his father.

"That's because he had too little in the past, so he was satisfied with a little. Didn't you hear him say that his great-grandson will also be a scholar in the future?" He is not without desire.

Yongchen didn't speak, he needed time to think.

"So, people long for what they don't have. Is the prince's desire the throne?" Chu Ran also thought about it, and asked her master when the couple was left at night.

"Everyone's personality is different, their likes are different, and what they want is different. Then who knows which one wants the country, which one is for the common people, which one loves beauty but not the country, and which one He likes to have fun and doesn't want to work."

There are many princes, and the elder brothers in front are all working hard to cultivate their hobbies.

Three, four, five or six princes are all outside now, traveling abroad in a comprehensive way.

The ministers also persuaded him, the princes were all let go, their hearts grew up, their hearts became wild, what should they do in the future?

Chu Ran also asked, when Master told her that he would rather raise a pack of wolves than a pack of sheep.The former Emperor Qianlong was timid, lacking self-confidence, and did not want to delegate power. He was afraid that the prince would develop an imperial power that threatened him, so he raised a group of small sheep.He is not afraid, no matter how many wolves there are, there will always be a wolf king who leads the pack to eat meat.What's the use of having more sheep?I have never heard of a king of sheep. There is a leader of sheep, and that is also the one who leads the flock to be eaten.

He is not afraid of raising a pack of wolves, as long as he can cultivate new wolf kings, every generation will be wolf kings, and the offspring will always have meat to eat.

In the past, Lord Qianlong only thought about whether his own imperial power would be consolidated, and he thought about himself.Today's emperor thinks about the people and the country.Therefore, one is afraid of raising wolves, and the other is looking forward to raising wolves.

"Then what if our children fight?" Chu Ran asked again. They are all legitimate sons, and their identity is not bad, and they have equal opportunities. Why not fight?

The master just looked at her and smiled, "If you can't even subdue your brother, can you still expect him to subdue those wolves and tigers?"

Since the emperor and the ministers are always fighting, it is true that the ministers are only obedient?How did the powerful minister come here?Why did Jiajing not go to court for decades, and complained to the ministers?Not to mention the former dynasty, the current dynasty, Dorgon, Obai, and even Zhang Tingyu Ertai in the early years of Qianlong, which one is easy to get along with?

Chu Ran felt that he and his master were very powerful, because, "I think they are very afraid of you, and they are very obedient."

The master smiled, "That's because I know more than them. I have something that scares them. I give them greater rights and a better life."

I can make you live a good life, and I can kill you in the simplest and most brutal way, so, as long as you are not stupid, you all know that obedient obedience is the best way to maximize your benefits.

Chu Ran began to worry, "The sons don't know as much as you do, what should we do?"

Master comforted her: "You don't need to know as much as I do, as long as you know more than others, that's fine."

Oh, that's right.

Therefore, in order to know more and know more than others, the study life of the princes must be very hard.

Chu Ran silently sympathized in her heart.

The master explained her doubts, but he didn't answer Yong Chen's doubts, saying that he would let him think for himself.

After returning from the Slender West Lake to Rugui Inn, the emperor asked Liu Wu to go to the Daqing Commercial Firm to recruit the firm's manager in Yangzhou. As Prince Zhuang's nephew, the manager led him into places that ordinary people could not enter.Received the highest level of reception.All the Patriarchs came forward to entertain in person, offering delicious food and drink, and watching the good times.

They didn't ask for anything, but their attitude was true.

It's just that Prince Zhuang's nephew's family didn't even ask about their specific status, and they didn't ask for anything, so they got this treatment. Why?

"Because what they really value is the steward. Daqing Commercial Bank is their biggest supplier and customer, and they can't afford to offend them."

Oh, so is it because of status or profit?

Yongchen felt that he might have been thinking about it for a long time.

After staying in Yangzhou for half a month and shopping for half a month, Chu Ran's biggest feeling is that traveling is really tiring.You have to walk a lot, look here and there, take a boat for a while, and take a car for a while, so don't take it easy.

I haven't seen any dramatic accidents, and there are not so many people who are free enough to go shopping. Another thing, the biggest feeling in today's markets is that they are busy. Everyone is very busy, busy making money.If anyone accidentally hit someone and caused damage, he should pay for it.There was nothing to lose, and everyone apologized with a good attitude, and it was over.Everyone is busy with business, who has the time to chatter about these trivial matters.Besides, if you don't leave for a while, the street patrol will arrive, and you will be locked up if you make trouble.

Therefore, there is really nothing exciting to watch, just sightseeing.There are also many flower boats on the passenger pier, with various singing and dancing performances.The bad parts are banned, and formal performances are still allowed to exist. Now this flower boat is similar to a theater stage, and there are also female audiences.

Chu Ran can't appreciate those plays, but don't delay her from watching the dance, admiring the beautiful dance costumes and makeup.Especially famous big stars, they are quite good at dressing up.She is good at playing the piano, she can't play chess, calligraphy and painting, but she can play the piano.Let's communicate with each other.Except for the emperor who knew her level, everyone including his own son Yongchen were astonished. Could the empress know how to play the piano?

Then take a look, my lady, I can show off my inner beauty.

After leaving Yangzhou, I went all the way south along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. There were big cities on the way, so I went ashore and stopped to have a look. It was two months later that I walked all the way to Suzhou.Along the way, the officials along the coast knew everything they should know.When he arrived in Suzhou, he directly lived in the garden arranged by Gao Jin, Governor of Liangjiang.He is the father of the noble concubine Gao. He was promoted from a small steward of the House of Internal Affairs to Governor of Liangjiang all the way. He is a close friend.

The garden was borrowed from a businessman, and it was only said that it was for noble people to live in.The governor of Liangjiang personally asked to borrow it, so the status of a nobleman is average, the master can't wait to give the garden away, how dare Gao Jin ask for it.Just borrow for a few days.Now that it's too late for renovation, the owner of the house changed all the interior decorations and did a big cleaning by the way.

Living in this way is actually not much of a confinement. Although there is no restriction on movement, the scenery outside is not the original scenery.

"Forget it, it's boring, let's go back." Even Lan Xin could tell that the streets were extraordinarily clean, there were so many officers and soldiers patrolling the streets, and the voices of pedestrians were quieter than other places.Chu Ran was not blind, so he found it boring.

It's time to go back, it's almost the twelfth lunar month, and it's the Chinese New Year.After returning to Beijing, there are still many things to do.

Now the boat is fast, and if it doesn't stop halfway, it will arrive home in a few days.

Back in the palace first, the emperor is busy with political affairs.Chu Ran looks after the children first, all the little heartless ones are having a good time.When I saw their tenth brother, I just wanted a gift.Eleven is a bit older, and I know how to ask my parents and elder brothers, whether it is hard work or not.The younger ones are really fooling around.The youngest, fifteen, almost forgot his parents.There are portraits of the emperor and empress in the palace, how far is it from the real person, after a few days of getting used to it, the little thing remembered his mother.

"When I go out in the future, I must bring all the children with me." It was so troublesome, she thought about the children at home along the way, and she didn't have a good time playing. Every time she walked back and forth, the children and adults had to adapt.

"Okay, take them all. From now on, I will take your children out to play for two months every year." The master promised happily.

He is happy.This trip took almost three months, and when I came back, I found that the government was quite stable and there was no chaos.I have a bottom in my heart.Every few months, take a buffer and deal with the problematic people found this time, and then look at the rest.

The old princes in Beijing can make the emperor walk around very hard, he might look at someone, and if he said he would bring them out for you to supervise the country, he would take them out for you.Normally, I haven't even seen what the zhezi looks like a few times. You let me supervise the country?What prison do I take?I still dare not quit, let alone do more.Every day, those military cabinets are tortured, and I want to die.If you want to take care of things, if people don’t listen to you, don’t worry about it, you’ll get your stamp on everything, and you’ll be responsible if you stamp it, it’s everyone in the country, any one will lose your head, how can I be responsible ?We have to see what's going on, right?I don't understand what's going on and I think you're cheating me, should I ask?If I happen to know something that I have copied, do I have to do it too?

Torture each other.

When the emperor came back, both sides breathed a sigh of relief, the country supervisor felt that I was relieved, and don't look for me again, and it is not necessary to honor and favor me.The ministers also felt that there was no need to reason with laymen every day. The key is that when a scholar meets a soldier, it is hard to explain why.Those who can supervise the country are at least princes, and their status is enough to suppress others.You can't listen to their blind orders. If something goes wrong, the emperor will have to settle accounts with them who are knowledgeable when he comes back.Day by day, it is too difficult.

Then they all felt that the emperor was doing well.

OK?

Well, then cherish it well, and don't make him unhappy.If he is unhappy, he will walk you like a dog, and you have to be grateful.

Be honest.

Those of the younger generation will be frightened by the older generation, so they don't like to stay in Beijing.In the past, there was no purpose to leave Beijing, but now no one cares.Whoever loves to stay in the capital will be taken to the garden for exams at every turn. The emperor doesn’t know how his brain grows. .Is it okay if I don't give an errand and go out on my own?Didn't Prince Li always say that the land in Australia is huge and rich in products? I'm going to mine, can I go to Zhongdi?

They all want to run outside.

Many sheep were raised there, and many fields were acquired.The Mongolian wool business has been squeezed hard.The Mongolian and Taiwanese are so anxious, beef and mutton are not as profitable as before, so what should I do?We have to work hard on the old Maozi, and transport more of their crude oil, timber, coal, etc. back.Those things are worth more.

How great it is, how great it is for you to compete in these places.Isn't it better than fighting and killing?

Someone wants to fight?

Then let's fight, those soldiers don't know how much they are looking forward to fighting, who doesn't have vanity, is treated like a grandson every day, and there are so many good things, who doesn't want to let people see their skills.The most important thing is that people like Japanese pirates, who would not want to do such a lucrative deal, would rob him once he came.There are also those in Goguryeo who are overconfident. Come on, Korean ginseng and Korean pearls are all good things, and they are even more expensive. They prefer cheap ones.

All kinds of reasons, add up, the result is that once the emperor left the capital, the whole court was nervous and flustered, and the body and mind were even more tired.The emperor is back, but everyone is relaxed.

The mood of foreign officials is more complicated, and they are able to look forward to the emperor, because the emperor sees the problem, as long as it is not a problem of your ability, after the reprimand, he will teach you how to change it, and the promotion will be even better. quick.If you have poor abilities, worry about it. The emperor’s eyes are really poisonous. If you have problems, you can’t hide them if you want to hide them. The bottom line of corruption will be ruined.

Like it or not, starting from the 30th year of Qianlong, the emperor would take the queen and princes and princesses away for a period of time every year. At first it was a month or two. Later, the princes gradually grew up, and the older princes also traveled back. up.The first princes also started to go out to travel to different countries, and those who came back changed to supervise the country.The time that the emperor and empress leave the palace with the young princes and princesses is getting longer and longer.Three months, five months and a half years...

Until the 50th year of Qianlong, the youngest [-]th elder brother came back from traveling abroad, married and could work as a errand.The emperor simply abdicated the throne to the tenth elder brother Yongchen, and became the emperor himself, and lived in seclusion with the empress dowager.Throughout the year, I don't know where people are visiting.Some people said they had seen them in Thirteen Lines, some said they had met them in Lao Maozi's palace, and some said they had seen the Supreme Emperor and the Empress Dowager picking grapes and cotton in the west.Some people also said that they have seen the boat of the fifth princess stop by a small island full of peach blossoms in the East China Sea. The nearby fishermen said that there lived two immortals on the peach blossom island, and they even rescued the fishermen who were sunken... …

Occasionally on some important occasions, I can also see the Supreme Emperor and the Empress Dowager. They really look like middle-aged people in their 50s and [-]s, and they haven't aged much.He has never participated in political affairs. If any minister disagrees with the emperor, if he wants to talk to the emperor, he will not listen.Solve problems by yourself.

But whoever wants to dominate the family and cross the line, then you can feel the influence of the Supreme Emperor, and you can be killed with a slap.

In the many years after the abdication, the whole court rarely heard the news of the Supreme Emperor and the Empress Dowager, and they didn't even know whether they were still there.Even when the emperor gave the throne to the prince, the Supreme Emperor never showed up.

Gradually, Lord Qianlong really became a symbol in the history books.

Suddenly one day, the palace issued an obituary, saying that his wife, Emperor Qianlong, died on the same day as the Empress Dowager, and everyone in the world didn't react for a while.Qianlong's year name must have happened five or sixty years ago.Did Lord Qianlong just die?Isn't that living one hundred and twenty thirty years old?

Didn't he live to be 120 years old?Don't look at the emperor behind him and follow his path without going astray, how can you rest assured!

It's too easy to feel relieved and want to leave.If you stop the spiritual rain and release your internal energy, you will die of old age soon.

This time, the arrangement was clear and clear, and the explanation was clear before leaving.Nothing good was left behind, and it was well received.

Therefore, Chu Ran walked away with peace of mind.

Master can't lose it this time.