Chapter 100: I heard that this country is rich in wealth

"Haiqing, go to Lesen and get five thousand taels of silver as funding. Let him know that you have set up a secret investigation department. He will immediately have unlimited power, and he will feel at ease doing this."

Hai Qing's eyes were filled with excitement. "What Intelligence Bureau Investigation Division? I think it's the Jinyiwei East Factory. I knew that sooner or later you would let me do the work of the East Factory. In the future, when you become the emperor, I will be your eunuch in charge of the East Factory."

"Do you want me to confer you the title of Nine Thousand Years Old? Wei Zhongxian's fate was not good."

"Hehe, if I can become the ninth prince, it would be worth dying for. Wei Zhongxian didn't rebel, did he? So, the Intelligence Department has great power, and the Investigation Department that monitors them has even greater power. They must use someone like me who has been cleansed, so that they won't have any disloyalty to you, second brother."

Shao Quanzhong waved his hand and told Haiqing to do what he was supposed to do. The more he spoke, the more outrageous it became. However, if there really came such a day in the future, would it still be necessary to use eunuchs in the imperial palace?
It was the first time that Wenxiu followed Shao Quanzhong and listened to him handling military and government affairs. She found that his subordinates were extremely bold and dared to say anything, which made her terrified.

Am I marrying a traitor?
However, Brother Shao is the best fighter in the world. He can kill the King of Shi with only 1,000 men. Now he has more than 10,000 men. Isn't he invincible? Can he succeed in the rebellion?

Zhao Kuangyin, who sent his mother to the capital for thousands of miles, was crowned emperor in those days. Brother Shao sent me home for thousands of miles. Am I really destined to be the empress?
Seeing Wenxiu's absent-minded look, Shao Quanzhong laughed, "If you follow me, you can be the mother of the country even if you are not the empress. There is no need to be so scared. It's not a big deal. Let's go find a godfather!"

"Won't it disturb him if we go there so late?"

"I have to go even if it means disturbing you. There are more than 10,000 soldiers in my camp, and I only have 3,000 taels of silver. If I don't get the money quickly, my fellow villagers will rebel."

It’s so late and Master Qiao is still awake.

It is April in the world and the scenery is picturesque. It is such a beautiful night and it is the perfect time to recite poems and compose essays. How can we waste time sleeping?

I'm busy with government affairs during the day, and as a famous figure in the country, I have to party at night.

Inside the west gate of Hailing City, at Xiaoxiang Cliff, 1,600 peach trees are in full bloom. The governor held a peach forest banquet here to celebrate his new home.

Shao Quanzhong was the prefect. With just one order, he could requisition more than ten acres of land around Shaojiawei as a military camp. After all, Shaojiawei was outside the city.

Mr. Qiao is the governor, and he can build a garden in an area of more than ten acres in the city...

The peach grove was the original landscape of Gu's house, and the newly enclosed garden will take one or two years to build.

"In late spring, five or six men in hats and six or seven boys bathe in the Yi River, enjoy the breeze at the Wu Yu Temple, and sing on their way home. This is the joy of a saint. Lord Qiao is in charge of the Jiangning Provincial Government. The government is in order and the people are harmonious. All the abandoned things are being revived. You should all drink this wine together to congratulate Lord Qiao!"

Lord Wu was too worried to come because of the unrest at home. The one who took the lead in bringing wine this time was Zhu Baoshan, whose courtesy name was Chucai, and he was also a famous scholar in Taizhou who was both an excellent poet and painter.

Originally, Jiang Chunlin, the great talent, was invited. He was about to arrive at the door when he was intercepted by his friend Le Yunong.

Originally, the great scholar Jiang was unwilling to miss this grand occasion of reciting poems and composing essays to display his talent. However, when Scholar Le whispered a few words to him, he was extremely reluctant but resolutely followed Scholar Le and left.

The gatekeeper only vaguely heard something like "a monthly salary of one hundred taels, and three hundred taels of public funds", and "ten thousand taels of silver to spend on the brothel"...

For a talented scholar whose only remaining possession is his gown and who relies on various gatherings of elegant people for food, there is no choice but to bow to vulgar things.

When Shao Quanzhong brought Wenxiu to Xiaoxiang Cliff, the banquet was reaching its climax.

Although there was no full moon in the sky, fireworks bloomed in the sky, which was very beautiful. The fireworks even formed a poem by Du Fu, "The sound of the water clock at five o'clock in the morning urges the arrow of dawn." Each word was as big as a bucket and floated in the air for a long time before dispersing.

Shao Quanzhong sighed, "We Taizhou people are so damn smart that we can make such exquisite fireworks. With this kind of intelligence, Xiu'er, you can easily hire enough workers who can operate the more than 100 machine tools you bought."

The gatekeeper saw that it was the young master and his wife who came. Since they were family members, Shao Quanzhong walked in without notifying them. Inside, Master Qiao was heard commenting on the poems written by everyone, "This time in our elegant gathering, Hailing's bamboo poems have added new pieces, and each piece is a masterpiece."

"How can it compare to the elegance of Mr. Qiao's recitation of the Eight Views of Hailing?"

This is Zhu Baoshan flattering someone.

Mr. Qiao laughed out loud. "Kang Boshan's two lines, 'The farmer said to people, flowers are not as fragrant as manure,' use the word manure in poetry, which is quite good, and full of sympathy for farmers. It's the first time in history that this has happened."

"Lord Qiao governs with the people in mind, so he has such insight."

"And Chu Cai, these two lines of yours, 'The fireworks are too desolate in my eyes, Huainan is blessed with a small Yangzhou', describe the prosperity of our Taizhou. It's a pity that Brother Chu Cai, who was appointed as the magistrate of Chenghai, will leave soon. Our Taizhou has lost a great poet."

"Isn't it all thanks to Lord Qiao's recommendation? Jin Changfu's poem says, 'I heard that this country is rich in wealth, with fields at the south gate and salt at the north gate'. Lord Qiao came to Taizhou, and only then did merchants gather in Taizhou, and the tax revenue was the highest in Jiangsu and Central Jiangsu. The people all benefited from Lord Qiao's grace."

Qiao Songnian twirled his beard and smiled, "Today is a grand event. Mr. Bingshu should write a preface for it so that it can be passed down to future generations."

Veteran celebrity Li Zhaozeng smiled and nodded in agreement.

Taizhou is a place with rich cultural heritage and many famous people. Qiao Songnian felt that being an official here was a great joy in life.

When he looked up, he suddenly saw Shao Quanzhong and his wife standing in the corner. They had obviously been waiting for a long time and they didn't dare to disturb his interest.

"Yuting, are you here? Come and sit. Don't write poetry today. The petals are falling all over the place. If you write a poem like the red peach blossoms are all over the ground, it will ruin the scenery."

Shao Quanzhong kowtowed, "I bow to my godfather."

Wenxiu performed the kneeling ceremony and stepped aside.

Qiao Songnian twisted his beard with his hand, "Yuting, you are busy and you don't come for nothing. Did you go to Shanghai and spend all your money? Let's make this clear first. Your father has to consider the livelihood of the people in Taizhou and cannot take money from them anymore."

Shao Quanzhong smiled and said, "How can that be possible? I have bought an English steam frigate and built a naval academy in Zhenjiang. I would like to invite you to inspect it."

"Then I have to go. Zhenjiang is where you became famous. It will be much safer to cross the Yangtze River with warships as escort. The Huai Army has the courage to buy foreign warships. Yuting, your insight is comparable to Lin Wenzhong."

"Warships need coal, and the Hailing Arsenal I built earlier needs iron. I want to build a 'Xuzhou Liguoyi Coal and Iron Mining Company' in Xuzhou, and I need your permission."

"This is my duty as a father. To open a coal mine or an iron mine, we need to report to the imperial court. It's not a big problem. I will help you apply for it tomorrow - wait!"

Qiao Songnian thought for a moment, "You went to Shanghai to buy guns and warships, and today you bought cannons, and you also want to open a mine. Is your little money enough?"

Shao Quanzhong chuckled, "Just now I heard everyone composing poems, and they all said that we in Hailing are rich. We have so many wealthy businessmen in Hailing, how can the child be short of money?"

Qiao Songnian frowned, "You can't think of robbing these rich families."

"I have a way to make them give me the money willingly."

(End of this chapter)

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