And the royal family's financial and military strength are far beyond Xujiazhuang's rivals.
Lie flat.
The only way before Zhu Youjian was to lie down.
I even had to hypnotize and convince myself like Ah Q: What the civil servants said should be right. Xujiazhuang's expansion limit should stop at the South Zhili area. It is impossible to continue to expand, because the rest is not profitable.
Xujiazhuang looked down upon the useless areas and did not want to increase the burden. At least fourteen pieces of land in the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty were still in the hands of the imperial court, so the losses were not very great.
Including the land south of the Yangtze River in Southern Zhili, Xujiazhuang only controls one-third of the most fertile area, and still has two-thirds of the less fertile territory in the hands of the imperial court, which means that most of Southern Zhili has not been lost.
So don’t be too worried and anxious. Xujiazhuang is a business force that only wants to make money. It is impossible to meet the welfare needs of so many people. If it continues to expand wildly, maybe Xujiazhuang will rebel and cause internal chaos and collapse without a fight.
.
I just comforted myself and felt a little better.
Zhu Youjian decided and admitted that he had to move his bottom line further this time and could only acquiesce in Xujiazhuang's round of expansion.
but!
He still has several conditions.
Xu Jiazhuang must nod to agree to the conditions, otherwise even if he acquiesces to Xu Jiazhuang's expansion, the alliance between the two parties will be seriously broken. No matter what cooperation there is in the future, if Xu Jiazhuang asks for help from the royal family, Zhu Youjian will never cooperate.
, it is impossible to help! Instead, it will cause trouble, ruin things in Xujiazhuang, become a troublemaker, and ruin some good things.
So the next morning, he canceled the morning court, not wanting to see those ministers again, but sent someone to summon Qichunnian into the palace. In Dongnuan Pavilion, he first expressed his strong dissatisfaction with Xujiazhuang's move to expand the village, and his words were extremely harsh.
!Like a storm, giving people the feeling of a showdown.
"but!"
Zhu Youjian changed his words again, and said with a gentle expression: "The Xu family is an ally of the royal family, an important partner who has cooperated for many years, and also the future in-laws of his children. For the sake of these, I endured it this time.
I have to put the overall situation first and let Xujiazhuang go. However, Xujiazhuang must make up for the loss of the royal family. Xu Yuan must agree to the several conditions I have here! Otherwise, the relationship between the royal family and Xujiazhuang will be greatly damaged and seriously damaged.
If both parties trust each other, the consequences will be unimaginable, Xujiazhuang will never be able to bear it, I am not kidding!"
"Uh, what's the condition?" Qichunnian's eyes twitched, feeling that the emperor in front of him was influenced by someone, and he didn't make any progress in other aspects. Only in terms of bragging and bluffing, his level has improved a lot.
.
"You take a look at this list first."
Zhu Youjian took out a list from the sleeve of his uniform, handed it to Qichunnian, and said: "I deeply hate the hundreds of Jiangnan officials above, these traitors to the imperial court! They are all two-faced.
Those who sit on the fence and even murder ordinary people's lives are just to get into Xujiazhuang... I hope you will refuse these officials to join and not accept them as members of Xujiazhuang. These self-interested people are of no use to Xujiazhuang.
, will only try their best to become giant rats and eat holes in Xujiazhuang from the inside. They are of no value to Xujiazhuang and will only harm Xujiazhuang’s interests."
revenge.
Zhu Youjian wanted to take ferocious revenge on those Ming officials who wanted to defect to Xujiazhuang, in order to prove that he was a small-minded emperor and could not accept the betrayal of traitors. At the same time, he also served as a warning to other officials to deter other officials from thinking about changing jobs.
, as a warning to others!
This was also used to maintain the majesty of the imperial power and let the officials behind them understand the consequences of betrayal: that is, there would be no place for them either in Xujiazhuang or in the Ming Dynasty.
"...Your Majesty, I can only guarantee that those officials who murder ordinary people will not be allowed to join Xujiazhuang. I can't make decisions about the others. I have to ask the owner of the village for instructions."
Qichunnian thought for a while and said.
"Then please hurry up and ask for instructions. Don't keep me waiting too long."
Zhu Youjian shook his head, and then continued to make his request.
The second condition is that the sacred land in the south of the Yangtze River has been occupied by Xujiazhuang's thousands of new manors, which has occupied countless land. This will definitely lead to a significant reduction in the court's fiscal revenue. Therefore, it is necessary to make up for this loss and require Xujiazhuang to provide financial support to the royal family.
The requirement is to increase from 13 million silver dollars per year (an increase of 1 million last year) to 37 million. This requirement is not excessive at all. It is just a compensation of 20,000 silver dollars per year for each manor, of which 10,000 is agricultural tax and the other 10,000.
With the business tax capitation and Xu's management capabilities, the income generated by each manor will be more than 2 million per year in the future? He only charges 1%.
"My conditions are extremely reasonable and not excessive at all. Xujiazhuang will definitely agree to it, right?" Zhu You asked.
"I find it difficult to agree."
Qichunnian said in embarrassment: "Financial support will be increased by 24 million. This is not a small amount. You must know that the cash income of the imperial court a few years ago was only four to five million. Giving one or two million to Your Majesty is a huge sum of money.
Now he is asking for ten or twenty million at every turn. The silver coins in our Xujiazhuang did not fall from the sky. If Madam finds out, she will refuse immediately."
"Didn't I ask you to ask Xu Yuan what he meant? Maybe Xu Yuan thinks it's okay and agrees right away? Anyway, just ask Xu Yuan for his opinion, and don't ask that Fang Qingyan."
Zhu Youjian said that in fact, his bottom line is that it must be increased to at least 25 million. It would be best if it could be increased to 30 million. 30 million is the number he is most looking forward to.
"That's...okay."
Qichunnian said, murmuring in his heart that it might be better if the owner of the village was not here. Zhu Youjian was like a lion again and needed his wife to pour some cold water on him.
Zhu Youjian then made three more requests one after another.
That is to say, let Xujiazhuang sign a "Guarantee Non-Expansion Agreement", requiring a guarantee that no further expansion will be allowed in the Ming Dynasty. After this round of expansion is completed, no manor can be built, no piece of land can be occupied, and no Ming citizen can
Absorb, if you violate the agreement, you will have to pay tens of billions of silver dollars in compensation, accept severe punishment, take responsibility for deliberately damaging relations with the royal family, and even take the initiative to provoke a war.
It is also necessary to allocate ten mines in Shanxi or overseas and hand them over to the royal family for management to consolidate the relationship with the royal family.
"Finally, I originally owed two favors to Xu Yuan, but at the beginning of the year, I turned from opposing to supporting the railway construction, so I canceled out one favor. This time Xujiazhuang went on a large-scale expansion, and I still maintained great restraint.
, I chose to acquiesce, so now I don’t owe Xu Yuan any favors. On the contrary, this matter can be worth at least three favors. Xu Yuan owes me two favors. If I encounter any difficulties in the future, I must ask him for help.
Help me twice unconditionally, otherwise you will be ungrateful!"
After listening to these words of Zhu Youjian.
Qichunnian couldn't stand it anymore, and his eyes almost rolled out of his head. He felt that the emperor was getting more and more showy. His head must be broken. He was still stuck in the past thinking of imperial power being supreme and he could not keep up with the development of the times.
, all he said was like babble in his sleep, without considering whether it was reasonable or not, and whether others could listen to it.
However, he would not say these complaints in his heart to his face, otherwise it would ruin Zhu Youjian's face and arouse his anger. Maybe he would be ordered to kill him, because some of the emperor's thoughts and performances were in his mind.
His eyes looked like a psychopath with brain problems.
"Your Majesty, I don't dare to make any of your requests. I have to ask the superiors for instructions. I will give you an answer tomorrow at the earliest." Qichunnian said.
"There's no need to be in such a hurry. You can give me an answer the day after tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. But there's one thing. You can only ask for instructions from the owner of the village, Xu Yuan, and you can't ask others for instructions. You know? Otherwise, I won't be able to forgive you if you ruin my business!"
At this time, Zhu Youjian's IQ was extremely online again. Perhaps he knew very well in his heart that it would be great if two or three of his five requests were granted, and a discount would have to be given. But what if? What if?
Xu Yuan, more generous and confused than he thought, agreed with a wave of his hand? This possibility cannot be ruled out. It would even be better if the emperor's wife could be sent to negotiate face to face. The success rate would be increased by at least 50%.
Alas, it’s a pity that the emperor’s sister-in-law is too traditional and aloof, and is unwilling to make big sacrifices for the royal family. Otherwise, who knows how many benefits Xu Yuan would take the initiative to offer?
"Yes, I will ask the owner of the village for instructions."
Qichunnian nodded, but glanced at his mouth inadvertently, and said to himself: It's a beautiful idea, but I won't let you get what you want. You must ask Madam for permission.
…
Leave the palace.
Return to your residence.
In the afternoon, Qichunnian sorted out the contents of a telegram and asked the dispatcher to send Emperor Zhu Youjian's five demands to Harbor City, and specifically requested that the importance of the telegram be lowered. In this way, the telegram would not be
It will be sent directly to the desk in the study room of the village owner Xu Yuan, but will be handed over to the rotating consul for processing first. If the consul feels that it cannot be handled, he will ask his wife for instructions. If his wife Fang Qingyan cannot handle it, he will put it on Xu Yuan's desk.
Far in front.
However, God's calculations are not as good as those of man.
This time it seemed as if God was on the side of Emperor Zhu Youjian.
Over at Harbor City, Mrs. Fang Qingyan took a group of close friends and boarded a fully loaded 5,000-ton luxury passenger ship to go out to sea to relax and travel these past few days.
And Xu Yuan happened to be in Baibao these two days.
As a result, the consul Yang Zhongyuan, who did not dare to make a decision privately, had no choice but to take the telegram to Xu Yuan's study office and ask him how to reply to Emperor Zhu Youjian's many requests?
Xu Yuan took the telegram, read the terms above, and couldn't help shaking his head and laughing: "Zhu Youjian is almost thirty this year, why does he feel more innocent than a three-year-old child? He clearly wants to get it while standing.
Rice, and I am so confident, as if I owe him a lot and must ask for something from him? I am so ignorant and unable to see the reality at all. I really overestimate him."
"That's right, Mr. Zhuangzhu, almost none of the five items above is reasonable. If you reject them all, let the emperor wash his face with cold water and sober up."
Yang Zhongyuan nodded in agreement. It seemed that his worries were unnecessary. The owner of the village was not easily deceived, nor could he be so generous as to agree to these ridiculous and unreasonable conditions, because normal people would decisively refuse.
"It's not appropriate to reject them all. Our emperor is not only good-looking, but also has a very strong self-esteem, and his personality is also very easily excited. If you stimulate him too much and lead to a stalemate in the relationship, that is not appropriate. Our Tianxiatong Bank
, banknotes will be issued and promoted soon, which requires the endorsement and cooperation of the royal family... In this way, he can agree to a small part of his several requests, make a small amount of concessions, and give him a step down. He seems to be
The lion opens his mouth, but what he needs most is just a step."
Xu Yuan analyzed.
"Sir, Lord Villa, it seems that you know the emperor's character very well, but we cannot make too many concessions, otherwise he will push his limits, take it for granted, and even make unreasonable demands and make unreasonable troubles. This must be avoided at all costs."
Yang Zhong walked far away, sighing in his heart: The owner of the village has softened his heart, and his good-heartedness has recurred, especially when facing the royal family, this is an old habit.
"Don't worry, I already have a response plan, and I won't give him the illusion that he can take advantage easily."
Xu Yuandao picked up the pen and immediately wrote a telegram in reply to Qichun Nian.