In Zheng State, on the slightly deserted streets, beggars gathered in groups, looking curiously at the carriages passing through the streets.
Out of their natural fear of rich people, they shrink their bodies and pile them up in the corner with unkempt appearance. From a distance, they look like a piece of garbage that no one has cleaned up.
It's just that these people are alive, skinny and miserable, living in a world that doesn't treat them as human beings.
The passing carriage obviously violated regulations because it used four wheels and was designed with a complex shock-absorbing system.
The complex and expensive shock-absorbing system makes the carriage feel very smooth when driving on uneven roads. It is obvious that the owner of the carriage definitely has a heart for enjoyment.
In the years of war and chaos, coupled with corruption, no one cares too much about regulation. The rich dominate the world here, and they are the challengers to traditional rules and regulations.
As the carriage drove through the streets, some store clerks began to notice this majestic-looking carriage, because there were not many people here who could afford to use two horses to pull the carriage.
"I wonder if they are from a wealthy family in the royal city. They look really impressive." A waiter sighed with envy when he saw the driver on the carriage.
Just by looking at the silk and satin worn by the coachman, one can easily tell that the person sitting in the carriage must be either rich or noble.
The carriage stopped at the gate of the government palace. The servant jumped out and walked to the gate and handed his name card to the guard.
The guard at the door originally had a look of disgust on his face, but when he received the name card, he felt his palms sink. He looked closely and saw that there was a heavy gold coin hidden under the name card!
As the state of Zheng was defeated in the war against the Mirage State, suffering heavy losses and weakening its national power, there were not many people willing to bribe the guards with gold coins.
As a result, a smile immediately appeared on the disdainful face of the guard, and he even shrunk by three points and said with a smile: "Your distinguished guest will be here later."
Then he ran into the yard in three steps and two steps at a time, pretending to be doing things with money and doing his best - after all, it is not easy to earn a gold coin, and always make the patron who pays the money feel that the service is in place and the value is great.
It’s worth it.
Well, actually, if you think about it carefully, there is nothing wrong with using the word "benefactor" to describe it. Aren't they all in the service industry? It's not shabby...
Soon the guard came back and made an inviting gesture, which was called attentiveness: "Your Majesty, the City Lord has invited you."
At this time, the attendant who handed over the name card returned to the carriage and respectfully helped open the door. A middle-aged man inside finally stepped forward and stepped on the soft stool that had been cushioned by the servant in advance.
Even at the peak of the Zheng Kingdom, there were not many people who were so particular about ostentation, and most of them were concentrated in the royal city. Such seaside towns could not be seen.
The middle-aged man wore gold and silver, and every detail seemed to show off his wealth. After he got off the carriage, he looked around, then followed the guard who led the way, and walked into the obviously run-down building.
The government office.
Just looking at the missing tiles on the roof and the messy wood and stones stacked in the corners, you can tell that this place has been in disrepair and is completely dilapidated.
But it would be an injustice to say that there are no rich people in this city - no one with money would spend money to build government offices.
Didn't you see that on both sides of the government office, there are magnificent mansions with extraordinary carved beams and painted buildings, high-walled courtyards with golden roofs and red walls?
"Lord City Lord." The guard led the middle-aged man to the old man who was wearing official uniform and sitting solemnly at the head of the table. He bowed and greeted.
"Go down." The old man waved his hand gently, and the guard quickly exited the room, not forgetting to close the door tightly when leaving.
No one wants to talk to others about important matters while there is an under-rated light bulb standing next to them. So when the Lord of the City looked at the servant standing next to the middle-aged man, his eyes were very unkind.
"This is my confidant. There is nothing to avoid." The middle-aged man explained with a smile and casually threw the silk gloves on the table.
"There is no order between elders and young, no distinction between superiority and inferiority... the way to cause chaos!" The old city lord snorted, very dissatisfied with the middle-aged man's statement.
However, he also knew that he was actually not qualified to educate the middle-aged man in front of him, so after snorting, he got down to business: "This noble man you mentioned... can really do what you said.
?”
"I've said it before, Lord City Lord... As long as you dare to accept it... these are yours." After the middle-aged man finished speaking, he took out a voucher from his arms and handed it to the old City Lord.
The old city lord was stunned for a moment, and then he recognized that it was a bill, which was a bill for randomly withdrawing 100,000 gold coins from the Li family's business firm.
That’s a full 100,000 gold coins! Do you know what the concept is? Any businessman from Zheng who can come up with 100,000 gold coins is considered a “rich”.
"This is just the beginning! As long as the city lord is willing to agree to their conditions, there will be filial piety in the future." The middle-aged man smiled and pushed the note to the old city lord and promised.
His movement was very skillful, as easy as pushing a piece of white paper, but it was really a bill of 100,000 gold coins, as innocent as a child.
The old city lord swallowed his saliva. It was not that he had never seen so much money, but he had never seen such easy money!
As long as he nods in agreement, this is just a small greeting gift from the other party, and the subsequent filial piety may be more, even so much that it scares him.
"This money... is a good thing, but I'm afraid... it'll be hot to the touch." The old city owner had already put his hand on the bill and sighed nervously.
The middle-aged man burst out laughing, then took out another piece, pressed it on the table and pushed it to the old city lord: "Two hundred thousand! As long as you nod, it's yours."
"The more you behave like this, the more I dare not accept it." The old city lord did not take away his hand on the note, but said slowly.
"Okay." The middle-aged man took out three more coins from his pocket and placed them on the bills without thinking: "A total of one million gold coins! Old man... that's a lot."
The old city lord grabbed all five bills with his hands, arranged them neatly, and put them in front of him. After checking them one by one, he nodded: "Old man, this bone is only sold for such a small amount. Think about it, it's still a little bit.
It’s not worth it, but since that noble man is so sincere, I will just..."
"Stop talking so much after you get the money. Now you are like me, and from now on you will be the eagle dog under this noble man." The middle-aged man let out a sigh of relief, as if he had accomplished something big.
"Being a dog...what's wrong with that?" The old city lord kept the money close to his body and said, "Pass a message to your noble lord for me. From now on, in this Linshui City, big things will happen."
I will also settle things for him."
"Then thank you, sir." The middle-aged man nodded and stood up. After finishing the work, he left immediately, not wanting to waste any more time.
The old city lord didn't send anyone away, he just waved his hand and then sat there silently, as if thinking about something.
After walking out of the city lord's palace, the middle-aged man got into the carriage and immediately showed a humble look. He rubbed his hands and smiled and reported to the young man who had been in the carriage without getting out of the carriage: "The things that your Excellency has told you.
, it’s finally done.”
The young man in the carriage was rubbing the dandelion ring on his finger. After hearing this, he nodded: "Tomorrow I will open a porridge shop to give alms to the refugees around me. Gather all the young and strong people for me, and then let them build roads across mountains and rivers to build bridges."
…”
"Ah?" The middle-aged man looked incomprehensible, seeming to think that there was no need to pay the city lord a bribe of 1 million gold coins for such a thing.
"No matter what method you use, get me the port of Linshui City. You can spend whatever you want, there is no upper limit." The young man played with his ring and ordered without raising his head: "This afternoon, I will
After seeing the land deed and the official approval, that place will be my private property from now on... Do you understand?"
"Hey...it's a bit difficult, but as long as you have enough money, it's easy to do." The middle-aged man hesitated for a few seconds and then agreed.
"Help me find another 20,000 good people who can do the work. I want to build a dock. The price is not an issue." The young man said again: "I will give you 10 gold coins per person, and any extra will be considered as your hard work."
"Then why are you so embarrassed... Don't worry, I will take care of all these things for you within three days." When the middle-aged man heard that there was still money to be made, he immediately became energetic and said with a smile.
"Remember, I don't care what means you use... Do you understand?" The young man let go of the hand playing with the ring, raised his head and stared at the other person with his eyes.
The middle-aged man immediately promised: "Sir, don't worry! I know what to do."
He has long been familiar with the task of arresting civilian husbands to do big projects. As for the people saying that the people are not living, their families are separated and their families are destroyed, what does that have to do with him?
Anyway, if he doesn't capture these people to work, these people will probably starve to death. If he doesn't abuse these untouchables, sooner or later they will become fish on someone else's chopping block.
Anyway, who is not cheap if he dies?
As for why these people were allowed to build bridges and roads, why they were allowed to build docks... that was not something he should consider.
What doesn’t cultivation mean?
"In addition, I want to survey the map and search for mineral veins in this area of hundreds of miles. Tomorrow you ask the city lord to allocate some soldiers to protect my people." The young man made another request.
"This is all a trivial matter. Our Li family still has many connections in the local area!" The middle-aged man immediately patted his chest and assured, "Everyone should give me some face!"
"Do your best! Your Li family will definitely be much better than the Zhang family in the future... Do you understand?" The young man patted the other party's shoulder.
"Yes! Yes! I understand! I understand!" The middle-aged man immediately lowered his head excitedly.
