As a salted fish, I was forced to become the teacher of all ages

Pointing to the living area, Hua Manlou continued, "Look, apart from giving them a little idea, all I have is a house that can keep out the wind and rain, a not too high salary and some research and development. It's just a bonus after the results are produced. This is really pitiful in the eyes of people like you and me, but in their eyes, this is enough to be called a good life. And in order to live this life all the time, their hard work It’s beyond my imagination, and sometimes I even need to drive them home to rest.”

"Also, in order to live a better life, they are willing to work hard and put their heart into it, which makes Xishan's ironmaking technology continuously improved, and the value created is even higher, so..." Hua Manlou sighed: "At best, I just It’s all about giving them a head start, and there’s no point in guiding them.”

"It's... so simple?" Wen Liang found it inconceivable.

"It's that simple."

Before coming to Xishan, Wen Liang thought that Huamanlou belonged to the kind of guy who would do everything by himself - after all, he had heard that when he was in Shenjiying, he was too busy to go home, so Xishan prospered because of his hard work Sri Lanka's.

But after hearing Hua Manlou's explanation, Wen Liang felt that the truth of the matter was a bit absurd, but seeing his sincere expression, Wen Liang couldn't help but believe it, and at the same time she was slightly touched.

For a long time, Miss Wen has been looking for a way to strengthen the country. She has thought of countless ways to solve Da Zhao's stubborn illness, but after discussing with Mr. Wen Ge, these ways are either too one-sided, or too radical, and not at all. any feasibility.

But seeing the situation in Xishan today, Wen Liang suddenly felt that if the so-called "production capacity" is increased through Huamanlou's silent method of nourishing things, will the people become rich in this way, and then achieve the road to a strong country?

In addition, Hua Manlou felt that Mr. Ye could keep up with his thinking, but Wen Liang felt that it was a bit difficult for him—after all, the former was not at all as "rigorous" in explaining medical issues as Miss Baimao. , so that many things need to be digested and digested before they can be understood.

So Wen Liang hesitated after thinking for a while and said, "Mr. Qian, I have a heartless request..."

Hua Manlou said: "You and I hit it off right away, you don't have to be so polite, just say it."

Wen Liang smiled and said, "I want to come to Xishan to live here for a while, to see the power of this so-called technological improvement, I don't know..."

Hua Manlou was taken aback for a moment, then overjoyed: "Okay, come here!"

248. Treacherous and cunning

Is it okay to deliver it to your door?

For the literati of this era, taking the imperial examination route is the only way to realize self-worth. Therefore, if Huamanlou wants to pull the "elder Wen Ge's high apprentice" into his camp, the difficulty is actually very high.

Therefore, Hua Manlou's original plan was to shorten the distance between the two of them as much as possible, and after understanding the appeal of Young Master Ye, he would try to attract him to join.

Do what you like, right?

Moreover, Hua Manlou has learned about the style of old Wen Ge's work. From the point of view of the mutual market, this man really belongs to the practical group, and his political style is also a typical example of "use capable people instead of mediocre officials" , it is impossible for his disciples not to be influenced by him.

Therefore, Hua Manlou was still thinking about making fuss about other things, but who would have thought that Mr. Ye would move in directly without a strategy?

Of course, Miss Wen's family definitely needed some preparations before moving into Xishan, at least she had to bring some servants and daily necessities, and Huamanlou also had to prepare a place for her.

During this period, the matter of the abolition and restructuring of Tianjin Sanwei was also constantly fermenting.

The day after Wen Liang came to Xishan, seven censors suddenly signed a letter, saying: It is widely rumored in the capital that the three guards in Tianjin will be changed to naval forces. Shake the foundation of Great Zhao, and implore Emperor Guangxing to order a thorough investigation of this matter.

Everyone knew that this argument was pure nonsense, but Emperor Guangxing was still laughed at by these people.

After all, Emperor Guangxing forwarded the playbook of Tianjin Sanwei to the cabinet. Spread the word about the restructuring, and then test the reaction of the courtiers—that is to say, the news was spread from Emperor Guangxing.

Therefore, the letter written by these censors, on the surface, implores Emperor Guangxing to thoroughly investigate the rumors spread by Emperor Guangxing that have shaken the foundation of Emperor Guangxing's country. Failure to investigate will not be enough to anger the people, and failure to investigate will not be enough to satisfy the hearts of the people...

But is this really a farce?

otherwise.

In fact, there are three purposes for this release: first, to characterize the restructuring of Tianjin Sanwei as a matter that shakes the foundation of the Great Zhao. , and then cut off such incidents in the future; second, make things big, at least form a group of scholars who oppose the reform, and increase resistance to this matter; .

As for whether what is expressed in it is reasonable...

Who cares?

It has to be said that benevolent monarchs have always been aggrieved, because benevolence represents a certain kind of connivance to their courtiers, causing this group of people to do things across the border from time to time, so Emperor Guangxing often encountered this kind of behavior. Strange thing.

And according to the previous way of doing things, if encountering this level of resistance, Emperor Guangxing will generally put the matter on hold for a while to see how the wind blows, or initiate a court meeting with the cabinet to come up with a proper solution.

But this time, no one expected that Emperor Guangxing would directly return the memorandum that was supposed to remain unpublished, and attached four words: nonsense!

This reaction made everyone a little confused: Why didn't His Majesty follow the routine?

Just taking advantage of this stall where no one had reacted, a person from the Ministry of Accounts wrote a letter to the matter, and proposed a seemingly insignificant matter: the population of the capital increased too fast, causing many supplies to be in short supply .

Right now, everyone's eyes are on Tianjin Wei, so no one cares about this topic, and no one pays attention to it at all, but Hubu Zuo Shilang specially sent people to investigate the markets in various places in the capital, and even went to the market in person Went to Shuntian Mansion, looked at the data of previous censuses, and then posted a brochure citing the argument in the matter, and said that if there is a catastrophe near the capital, the materials stored in the capital will not be enough to last for half a month, especially food. why.

In the agriculture-oriented Chinese dynasty, hoarding food has been tireless throughout the dynasties. Even in Huamanlou's previous life, food storage was also one of the key points of the national strategy. With food in hand, there is no panic in the heart.

The Ministry of Household Affairs is the yamen that handles money and grain, and if the Minister Zuo of the Ministry of Finance said conclusively that there was a problem, then there must be a problem. Therefore, the cabinet immediately held a court meeting to let everyone discuss a strategy.

The matter here is still a normal court matter, and only the relevant people from the relevant departments are concerned about this matter, and the eyes of others are still focused on the Tianjin Navy.

The court meeting was held soon, and everyone expressed their opinions and made suggestions for the food crisis in the capital: some people said that the scale of Taicang should be expanded, some people said that the number of people traveling to and from the capital should be restricted, and some people said that farming should be encouraged and that farmers near the capital should be reduced in taxes. These suggestions all have hidden dangers or are difficult to implement, so they were rejected one by one.

In the end, Zuo Shilang, the head of the household department who put forward the topic, put forward a suggestion: "Why not choose a place near the capital to make it expand and develop, build official warehouses and open government offices, hoard what the capital lacks, digest the surplus of the capital, and complement each other?"

This suggestion can be said to be very pertinent, and everyone thinks it is feasible, so everyone turned their attention to the periphery of the capital, and then...

Tianjin Wei fell into everyone's sight.

This place is more than a hundred miles away from the capital, and it can be reached in one day by fast horse, and three days by land transportation at most, which is fast; the canals here extend in all directions, and bulk goods can enter through the river without rerouting, which is convenient.

So, is there a better location than Tianjin?

So a certain deputy in the cabinet who temporarily acted as the first assistant made a decision: "Change Tianjin as a government, move north to Zhili, and a large number of refugees enter the government. The Ministry of Households allocates 50 taels of silver. There are more than [-] official warehouses...the Ministry of Officials dispatches suitable personnel as soon as possible to serve as prefects in Tianjin..."

It is worth mentioning that, whether it was a coincidence or something, the first Tianjin prefect dispatched by the Ministry of Officials was Wen Yuming, the second son of Mr. Wen Ge.

Moreover, the government commander and the supervisor of ceremonies passed it as soon as they got it, which is a bit unbelievable - after all, the relationship between eunuchs and civil servants is not very good these days, and generally speaking, such things will get stuck For so many days...

At this point, the prosperity of Tianjin has become a foregone conclusion. After doing all this, a certain old man hid his merits and fame, and smiled at his daughter in the study: "Do you understand the intention of making Tianjin develop?"

Wen Liang thought for a while and said, "Father intends to use this to open the gap in the sea ban?"

Others don't know, but she knows: No matter how short of food the capital is, it will not be without food in a catastrophe, and it is far from building a place like an "accompanying capital".

Then you can figure it out with a little association: if Tianjin prospers, the progress of shipping at Huamanlou will undoubtedly be much faster and smoother-prosperous Tianjin will bring huge cargo throughput and labor. ...

But Elder Wen Ge shook his head and said with a smile: "It's not the old man, it's Huamanlou. At best, the old man just set up a stage for him."

Wen Liang couldn't laugh or cry when he heard the words, and what...

This was the first time she felt that her old father was really a bit cunning.

249. You were the one who joked first!

The expansion and construction of Tianjin was indeed arranged by Mr. Wen Ge, and it was indeed a bargaining chip he added to Huamanlou. Generally speaking, it means that pirates find a home for themselves before robbing...

Originally, Elder Wen Ge was still hesitant about doing this, but when Wen Liang inquired about the situation in Xishan and confirmed that Huamanlou was genuine and wanted to open the sea ban, then what doubts did Elder Wen Ge have?

So he directed and staged this incident on his own, well-founded and well-founded without arousing suspicion. He even brought his son into the game in order to cooperate with Huamanlou in the future, even the supervisory censor in Tianjin. He even planned to make some adjustments and replace his people...

It can be said that on the surface things are very simple, but in fact Wen Ge has spent all his money and spared no effort.

The funny thing is that basically no one in the DPRK and China can see the relationship between the construction of Tianjin and the ban on opening the sea. They are still relentlessly opposing the adaptation of Tianjin Sanwei...

……

On the second day of February in the 12th year of Guangxing, an uninvited guest arrived at Xishan on horseback.

The uninvited guest was very powerful, with gray hair and a dark complexion so dark that he couldn't see his fingers. After arriving, he came to Huamanlou's house with a sullen face.

Before Huamanlou happily gave the gift, this man pointed at him with nose and eyes and shouted in a low voice: "Huamanlou, how dare you cheat our family's money? Don't you think His Majesty values ​​you and us?" The family dare not touch you!"

That's right, the person who came here was Xu Dacheng, the eunuch of Dongchang Factory, the chief inspector of ceremonies.

Hearing this, Hua Manlou was stunned: "How did you say that, when did I cheat you for money?"

Xu Dacheng said with a dark face: "What did you say before the Shangyuan Festival?"

Hua Manlou said in a daze, "I said... let my companion raise a hundred thousand taels of silver and do business together?"

Speaking of this, Hua Manlou really thinks that Xu Dacheng is an honest person: When several state officials and Mr. Wen Ge mentioned it to Hua Manlou, everyone bought half of the shares of the caravan for 30 taels. It's all written clearly.

But that day after Xu Dacheng returned to the palace, he had never seen Huamanlou, but he did send the silver——saying 10 taels, he really made up 10 taels of silver, a full 110 taels of silver was quietly paid the next day It was sent to Xishan silently, but the contract has not been signed yet...

You know, Wen Ge's old money has already been received and the contract has already been received, but Eunuch Xu is simply an honest person among honest people. It has been half a month since the money was delivered, but he didn't see him come to ask.With this kind of partner, Hua Manlou wanted to cheat his money and pretend that he didn't receive it...

Therefore, I thought that Xu Dacheng was here to sign the contract today, but after hearing Hua Manlou's answer, Xu Dacheng said with a sullen face: "The money has been delivered by our family, but what are you doing these days? Not to mention Your Majesty, it is We are all waiting!"

"I... am I busy casting cannons?" Hua Manlou said with an innocent face, "Didn't I tell my companion earlier that cannons should be installed on ships, and if there were no cannons, I would meet Japanese pirates when I went out to sea... "

"That's not what our family is talking about!" Xu Dacheng blew his beard and stared: "You proposed the restructuring of Tianjin Wei. If there was no such matter, how would we talk about shipping? But after the cabinet released the news in recent days, there was an uproar in the court. , Your Majesty seems to be hesitating, but you are better off staying in Xishan and ignoring it! Hmph, let's talk about the scandal first, if things go wrong, don't think about it!"

An eunuch is an eunuch, even if it is a high-ranking eunuch, he is also an eunuch. Xu Dacheng has paid so much money and is looking forward to a bright future, but seeing that this matter seems to be changing, he is immediately anxious, and he came here in person. Supervise and urge flowers to fill the building.

Seeing his eagerness, Hua Manlou couldn't help but want to laugh: You seemed to be unwilling at the beginning, but now... well, now you have invested in a stock, and you are on top?

Hearing that Emperor Guangxing might hesitate about this matter, Hua Manlou was instantly overjoyed: "Banban means that there is too much resistance in the court, so you want me to think of a way to make this happen first?"

"Correct!"

Hua Manlou spread his hands together: "What can I do? As a fifth-rank military officer, I have no say in matters in the court. What do you think I can do?"

To be honest, Hua Manlou wished that this would not happen, as long as he couldn't change into a navy, he wouldn't have to worry about shipping. Anyway, earning money, what's so difficult about making money for the transversal people?Just tinkering with a stove is a lot of money, let alone other things?

So he likes to see this situation now, and it would be better if those civil servants mess up the matter, and how much trouble he can save by then!

But Xu Dacheng rolled his eyes and said: "Then our family doesn't care, you vowed to engage in shipping, but our family paid the money, and then our family doesn't care if the matter is successful or not, just come and ask for the money, if you don't give it... ..."

Speaking of this, Xu Dacheng originally wanted to threaten Huamanlou, but after thinking about it for a while, he was really not afraid of his threat, so he said angrily: "Our family will die here, you and your majesty will separate it!"

Hua Manlou was stunned.

This... the eunuch, the chief inspector of ceremonies, has always been called the inner minister, but why did this inner minister suddenly start to follow the path of a local ruffian?

Of course, Hua Manlou didn't believe that he would really be killed. Such a high-ranking eunuch would be very sorry for his life, but he said all this, who knows what else he can do?

Hua Manlou said dumbfoundingly: "Companion, are you reasonable? It's okay to say that I came up with some bad ideas, but the water is deep and urgent. You can't let me, a fifth-rank military officer, go against those civil servants, right? I If they were played to death by them, wouldn't the companion not get the money?"

Xu Dacheng stared at Huamanlou angrily, and said after a long time: "Then you have to find a way, let's do it!"

"what?"

listen to this...

The Minister of Internal Affairs of the Ming Dynasty and the Master of the Dongchang Factory want to help him?

When the White Lotus Sect was turned upside down before, he was not willing to cooperate with him if there was the emperor's will, but now he himself said that he wanted to do something, this...

Money can make eunuchs do things, and the ancients are not deceived by sincerity...

After figuring this out, Hua Manlou was happy: "Let me figure out a way, you handle things? That's fine, let's send Dongchang Fanzi to investigate and see who is the most opposed. When the time comes..."

"how?"

"Send it to the imperial prison for processing, and the top ten tortures will take turns..."

"This is your solution?" The blackness on Xu Dacheng's face became more intense.

"That's right, if you can't solve the problem, then solve the person who caused the problem!" Hua Manlou waved his hand: "The road is tortuous, but the future is bright, I am optimistic about you~"

Xu Dacheng was very angry at first, but after a long while, he suddenly calmed down, and he swayed and said, "Success, our family will go back to kill the Quartet. When your Majesty asks, our family will say that you took it." Anyway, His Majesty also said before, that our family cooperates with you, and you can explain it to Your Majesty yourself when the time comes!"

Hua Manlou was stunned: "Cooperation... Isn't that about the White Lotus Sect?"

Xu Dacheng smiled sullenly: "Yes, our family just said, you passed the word to Dongchang, saying that those adults are all Bailian, and our family will follow orders..."

Now Changing Hua Manlou was jumping: "Let me tell you, don't joke about this kind of thing!"

"You were the one who joked first!"

250. Is this also called negative damage?

Huamanlou is a person who is soft but not tough, so if Xu Dacheng really threatens him, then he won't compromise at all, and he might have to dig a hole to make the factory boss suffer a big fall—for example, send someone to Build a grave for Eunuch Xu's parents and ancestors to the size of the emperor's mausoleum, and bury jade seals, golden knives and other things along the way, and put a signature on the tombstone such as "filial son: Da Zhao nine thousand years old Xu Dacheng" ...

If you are in a hurry, it is not impossible to do such a shameful thing, and you can completely innovate and kill it alive.

But Xu Dacheng is not a strong person, and he knows better than anyone else the weight of Huamanlou in the heart of Emperor Guangxing, and he is counting on Huamanlou to make money, so he will not really provoke Huamanlou If you go upstairs, you can only play a rogue.

A dead eunuch with a high position and authority suddenly started to play tricks, which drove Hua Manlou a little crazy. After the corners of his mouth twitched for a while, he gave up the idea of ​​continuing to mess with him: "Okay, okay, my partner should talk about it first." , what's the situation now?"

The situation is actually the same. It is nothing more than a group of people obstructing the reform of the Sanwei system in Tianjin with all kinds of weird reasons. , and there's 'no voyage to the west'.

Before Xu Dacheng came to Xishan, someone from Tianjin county magistrate Liu even wrote a letter, expressing his strong dissatisfaction with the reform of the guards on behalf of Tianjin's military and civilians, as if the country would lose the country if it planned to build a navy. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I also participated in a book of Huamanlou...

When talking about this matter, Xu Dacheng was really gloating.

Because, although being impeached by a so-called magistrate is nothing serious, in the memorial, the magistrate scolded Hua Manlou as a slanderous and treacherous minister who harmed the country and the people, and said conclusively that the restructuring of the Navy was instigated by Hua Manlou ——The former doesn't matter, but the latter has completely exposed Huamanlou.