Chapter 27: The Minister Does Not Keep Secrets
Human desires are endless. Emperors possess the world but think about living forever.
Merchants who have acquired great wealth and enjoy honor and prosperity will think about how to preserve their property, especially in this era of heavy agriculture and suppression of commerce. As the lowest political status of the merchant class, this sense of crisis is even more severe.
A bloody lesson is right in front of us, the top-tier Wang family from Taiyuan has vowed to take over the Lu family, a prominent grain merchant in Daxing, which is no longer a secret among the wealthy merchants of Daxing.
Everyone looked down on the Lu family, as a thousand-year-old aristocratic family, the Wang family's power was simply too strong.
However, what happened next made everyone blind, the Lu family successfully defended against the invasion of the Taiyuan Wang family, and the most important treasure was - King Jinling.
The whole night, the Lus' house was brightly lit, with people coming and going. Everyone who heard the news came to the Lu's house, all wanting to take a close look at this life-saving charm that every merchant had been dreaming of.
"Please come in, Mr. Li Dong!"
"Hello, Chen Dongjia!"
The butler of the Lu family was busy bowing to one noble and dignified gentleman after another, these people usually came to the Lu's house, even if Lu Qi Tong personally welcomed them it wouldn't be excessive, today outside the door there was only the butler, in normal times this would be extremely rude.
But these people did not care about this and put down their gifts, hastily entering the Lu family.
"Oh, Manager Zhang."
The road manager stared at the old man in front of him with a mixture of shock and amazement, his hair was white as snow and he was dressed in luxurious attire.
The Zhang family and the Lu family are business arch-rivals. The Zhangs are an old-established merchant house, while the Lus are a rising new force in the grain trade.
The two families have been secretly plotting against each other, and it's no exaggeration to say they're sworn enemies. I didn't expect him to show up too.
"I have come here today without being invited, I don't know if the Lu family welcomes me." Zhang Guan stepped forward, taking the initiative to come forward himself, which meant he was already showing humility.
"The master of the house has given his orders, tonight whoever it is, the Lu family welcomes." The butler of the Lu family said with a bow.
"Brother Lu's noble character is indeed admirable, no wonder he can bring prosperity to the Lu family!" Zhang Guanji sighed and bowed to the Lu family before hastily entering their residence.
Zhang entered the Lu's residence, only to find that he had arrived too late. The entire Lu household was already surrounded, and every face he saw belonged to prominent figures in the business community of Daxing.
Yesterday, fifty four-wheeled horse carriages were just sold, and at least thirty of them are parked here. It can be said that wealthy merchants have gathered together.
"Gentlemen, behold! This is the Golden Edict of the Substitute King!" Lu Xin stood in the center, displaying it to the various wealthy merchants who had come to the Lu residence, but unfortunately, they were only allowed to look and not touch.
Everyone's gaze was concentrated on that golden token at that moment, and as for gold, everyone present wore it on their bodies, but they all hated its heaviness.
Nowadays, how they wish they had one just like it too! This is a talisman!
"Lu brother is really blessed with good fortune!"
A middle-aged man with a rich demeanor wearing Shu brocade said with an acid tone.
As soon as this was said, everyone's heart was like an overturned five-flavor bottle, with all sorts of emotions.
Lu Ji Tong is a personal material, which is widely recognized in the Daxing business community. However, the Lu family started late and was previously just a small merchant, only flourishing under Lu Ji Tong's hands.
In the eyes of the wealthy merchants who dominated the Silk Road, the Lu family was just a mediocre merchant, and they did not usually enter the vision of these wealthy merchants.
This small family has now achieved unprecedented success, successfully defending against the annexation of top-tier families and obtaining a token from the Crown Prince's palace, guaranteeing one safe passage.
Merchants are short of nothing but a sense of security. Throughout the ages, rulers have treated merchants like pigs, raising them to fatten them up and then slaughtering them.
Merchants not only have a low social status but also have to accept the exploitation of officials, and if they are not careful, they will be swallowed up and not even leave behind a bone.
But all of this seems about to change, and the key figure in all of this is His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince.
A young boy, yet repeatedly coming up with surprising moves, no one knows what he is thinking in his heart, and even less can guess what kind of things he will do.
Tonight, there were many people who couldn't sleep.
However, the amazing Da Wang Dian Xia in their minds also fell into trouble, maintaining the interests of merchants, but seemingly violating the implicit rules of officialdom.
In an environment where merchants are humiliated and at the mercy of others, the prince's decree allowing him to be protected once has offended too many people's interests.
Today, there were no memorials from the morning courtiers, but they flew in like snowflakes. Yang You was really helpless and had to hide in the Disaster Relief Office.
"Your Highness! Here is a new memorial!" Yao Si-lian placed a large stack of memorials on the desk.
"Hum! What a joke, others spent 100,000 yuan and can't even hear the sound of water?"
Yang You looked at the memorial with a furious expression, all of which were advising Yang You to withdraw the token.
"Yao Shiru read it out and told those people that if he also donated 100,000 guan, the king would give him a token of appointment as well." Yang You was furious.
Yao Si Lian sighed, his heart was also filled with mixed emotions. As the East Palace attendant reader, Yao Si Lian had always taken Yang You's place in handling disaster relief matters, but he knew how short of money they were now.
If it were in the past, Yao Sui would not have agreed to give any preferential treatment to businessmen. As a traditional Confucian education, merchants had no status in their eyes.
But seeing the 100,000 yuan entering the disaster relief bureau's Pan Ku, Yao Si Lian's opposing words could not be spoken.
Moreover, this golden token is not a free pass to escape death, but rather a promise to give merchants a fair chance, which doesn't seem like a big deal.
Finish today's work in three days and five days, throw all the trivial matters to Yao Siyan, just waiting to get through this day safely.
"Your Highness, it's terrible!" Wang Xi rushed in, panting for breath.
"What's going on again?!" Yang You felt like everything was going wrong for him today.
"So many people donated." Wang Xi said with a difficult swallow.
"Making a donation? That's great!" Yang You said it was good, but in fact, he already had an ominous feeling in his heart.
"Everyone who comes today must donate 100,000 yuan!"
Yang You's head was big, and the release of a token had brought about such a large number of ministers' siege. If he continued to issue it, wouldn't he himself have no peaceful days?
"What's going on?" Yang You paced back and forth anxiously.
"There's a rumor outside that His Highness, the Crown Prince, has already given his word. As long as they donate 100,000 guan, he will also issue a decree in their name." Wang Xi said with a gulp.
Yang You was shocked, he only then remembered that this was indeed what he had said not long ago, but that was his own words to shut up the officials, now how did it spread all over the city.
"Don't let me catch those big-mouthed guys."
Yang You said with a sigh of regret, at this moment he truly understood the principle that if a minister is not loyal, then the monarch will be lost.
