Yang Xi went directly to the villa where Bao Qinniang lived - Jiang'an Xiaozhu.
In the past few days since traveling here, Mr. Bao has been visiting him in his yard. This is his first time here.
Compared with the wealth and luxury inside and outside Zhao Wang's palace, the style of Jiang'an Xiaozhu is surprisingly simple.
A green bamboo forest sways in the wind.
A small bluestone bridge with gurgling water under the bridge.
A half-meter-high bamboo fence goes around and there are several thatched huts with black tiles and white walls.
It’s like a Jiangnan folk house that has been relocated as a whole!
Wanyan Kang stood in the courtyard and was in a state of wonder for a long time.
Until Mrs. Bao opened the door of the hut and came over with a face full of affection: "Kang'er, why are you so stunned that you don't come into the house?"
Only then did he take a deep breath and said softly: "Mom, it's nothing. I was thinking about disaster relief, and I was lost in thought for a moment."
"It's hot outside, so I went with my mother to the Buddhist hall to sit and talk."
Mrs. Bao looked Wanyan Kang up and down, and when she saw nothing strange, she took his hand, like holding a five or six-year-old child, and walked into the simply furnished Buddhist hall.
In Bao's heart, he may always be a child.
Mrs. Bao first cleaned her hands, went to burn incense in front of the Buddhist niche, and after worshiping reverently, she sat down on the bamboo stool and then ordered her maid Cui'er to get herbal tea.
"Kang'er, before your body has fully recovered, you have arranged disaster relief at Anguo Temple again. After two days of exhaustion, my mother is a little worried. I would like to ask the imperial doctor to come again and help you diagnose your pulse."
"Mom, I'm in great shape. I eat deliciously. I'm as strong as a cow. I'd better not bother the doctor."
Wan Yankang deliberately said something naughty and got up to do a few squats.
The original intention was to show Mr. Bao that he was healthy, but unexpectedly, he seemed to use too much force, and the innermost leg strap broke.
The smile on his face froze, and he sat down awkwardly.
"Is everything really okay?" Mr. Bao laughed and scolded: "You kid, you are just messing around!"
"What are you trying to cover up? Mom heard the noise. Is it because the belt of the shank is broken? I'll let Cui'er sew it up for you later."
"It doesn't matter!"
Wanyan Kang laughed dryly and quickly changed the subject: "Mom, the disaster relief situation at Anguo Temple is pretty good. There are grains stored in the temple and the grains brought by Chixi. It can last for several months. But now we still need to find a way to raise food quickly.
."
"but……"
Wan Yankang suddenly felt very bad when he thought of the outrageously high grain prices in Zhongdu.
"These grain dealers in the city are so disgusting that they have banded together to drive up the market price, and they actually sold it for a pound of rice!"
"So expensive?"
Mr. Bao suddenly looked worried: "What should we do? Your father is not in Zhongdu, what should we do?"
This time it was Wanyan Kang's turn to be surprised: "Father is not in Zhongdu?"
"I was ordered to leave Beijing this morning to inspect the Mongol tribe outside Zhangjiakou. I left in a hurry... By the way, your father also left you a letter."
Wanyan Kang felt disappointed.
He was not anxious to see this cheap man, but wanted to ask the Jin Kingdom's court's attitude towards disaster relief face to face. Of course, the more important thing was the killer and the man behind it, who had to find out.
Mr. Bao handed over a letter from King Zhao Wanyanhong.
Wanyan Kang opened it and started to look at it carefully.
This letter is a bit long, a thick stack of paper, probably less than 2,000 words, and contains a lot of information.
Except for the dozens of words at the beginning praising Wan Yankang for his disaster relief efforts at Anguo Temple, Wan Yanhong repeatedly emphasized two points in the rest of the article.
Regarding the killer, full preparations have been made and people have been arranged to conduct a secret investigation. Wan Yankang is told not to act rashly for the time being. He will wait until he returns to Beijing to discuss everything.
In this paragraph, he used at least seven or eight words of advice such as "remember, remember, remember".
The second one is about disaster relief food.
Wanyanhong briefly mentioned the difficulties faced by the imperial court.
It's just that the various states have limited grain storage in Changping warehouses and are mobilizing grain from Henan and Shandong to Beijing. However, there are still some disputes between North Korea and China over disaster relief.
Basically consistent with what Chi Xi said.
At the same time, he said that he had raised a batch of grain through different channels, and just asked the housekeeper Jian Yong.
Interestingly, Wanyanhong was a little vague when it came to subsequent food preparations and only mentioned the names of two people.
He said to the effect that if necessary, he could find these two people to find a solution.
The old lady of the Pusan family.
The emperor's fourth daughter, Princess Wanyan Hulan of Qi Kingdom.
…
A tall, thin middle-aged man came in a hurry.
This man has a blue shirt and a green crown, and a white and moist face.
Entering the Buddhist hall, he bowed and said, "Jian Yong pays homage to the princess and the young prince!"
Mr. Bao smiled: "Mr. Jian, there is no need to be polite...Kang'er, if you have anything to say, just say it."
Jian Yong's identity was the great steward of the palace, but because he was a failed scholar and was a scholar, people in the palace called him Mr. Jian, or Mr. Jian Da.
Wanyan Kang stood up and clasped his fists. Jian Yong quickly ducked to avoid him. How could he dare to accept the courtesy of his young master?
The young prince suddenly became so polite. Jian Yong couldn't help but think of some recent private discussions among the servants in the family about "the young prince's personality was very different after his illness", and thought to himself, is this true?
Wanyan Kang did not hesitate and said directly: "Mr. Jian, my father said that a batch of grain has been raised, but I don't know..."
"My young prince, this batch of grain has been prepared by my subordinates and is ready for your transportation at any time."
Wanyan Kang looked forward to it and asked, "How many are there?"
"400 stones."
Wanyan said loudly.
It was less than he expected, and he guessed it was related to the current food shortage in Zhongdu and the lack of time.
He lowered his head and thought about it for a while, and decided to transport this batch of grain to Anguo Temple first as a precaution.
After all, he was raising food in the city, so there was great uncertainty in terms of time.
Thinking of this, he nodded slightly to Jian Yong and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Jian, please immediately send someone to Anguo Temple to inform Chi Xi and ask him to take people back to the city to escort this batch of grain. Of course, come and see me first when you come back."
"promise!"
Jian Yong accepted the order and went to order his subordinates to summon him.
Not long after, he returned and saw the mother and son chatting animatedly, so he waited quietly aside.
Wanyan Kang caught a glimpse of him and suddenly asked: "Mr. Jian, how is the financial resources of the house?"
Jian Yong was shocked.
Although his young prince usually spends money like water, he never cares about the internal affairs of the palace. He was very surprised when he suddenly asked about the financial situation of the palace.
Jian Yong hesitated for a moment and then said: "Little Prince, my subordinates will go get the account books and report them one by one."
Wanyan Kang shook his head and smiled: "Mr. Jian, I don't want to check the accounts, but I want to know how much liquidity the government can use...that is, spare money."
After a pause, he added with a smile: "I was just asking casually."
Although Wanyan Kang said, "I'm just asking casually," Jian Yong immediately became wary: Could the young master be acting like a monster again?
But he still didn't dare to lie and answered truthfully: "Except for other things, there are about five thousand guan stored in the warehouse in the mansion alone. I need to ask the accountant for the specific number. But there are a lot of daily expenses in the mansion. If we really need to use them, at most
You can come up with seven or eight hundred strings."
In other words, on the surface, the working capital of Prince Zhao's Palace was 5,000 guan in a short period of time, which supported the daily operations of the Palace.
As for the long term, it will definitely be more than this. After all, the palace has a steady stream of income.
Wanyan Kang pondered for a moment.
Then he said: "Mr. Jian, in addition to cash, do the government's finances also have other reserves such as gold and silver?"
In fact, these words are completely redundant. As the most powerful royal prince in the Jin Kingdom, the wealth accumulation of Prince Zhao's family can be imagined.
At the same time, Wan Yankang also knew that his words were somewhat abrupt, but he was in a hurry to raise food and did not care whether Jian Yong would become suspicious.
As expected, Jian Yong's expression changed slightly.
However, when he saw Wanyan Kang staring at him with a smile on his face, he lowered his head slightly and said: "Young prince, there is gold, silver, silk, jewelry, etc. in the house... However, the internal treasury reserves must not be touched lightly.
Expenses and withdrawals must have the prince’s flying seal and handwriting.”
Then he cautiously added: "This subordinate has no right to withdraw the treasures from the inner treasury!"
Wanyan Kang could only laugh.
He knew that as a young prince, it was okay for him to withdraw hundreds of dollars from the palace for expenses, whether it was for disaster relief or for food, drink and fun.
However, it is absolutely impossible to use the gold and silver reserves in the inner treasury without the permission of King Zhao.
He didn't have much hope in the first place, but he just casually tested Jian Yong based on the principle of hitting the target with dates and without dates.
But what’s wrong with asking?
As the legal heir of Prince Zhao's Palace and the young head of the family, isn't it natural for him to have some understanding of the basic financial situation of the Palace?