The news of the discovery of coal spread throughout the capital as if it had wings.
Some people may still be doubtful, but County Magistrate Zhou sent someone to check it out personally.
According to later gossip, when I heard that Magistrate Zhou learned from his subordinates that the place where coal was found was in a barren mountain that Han Du bought from him, he was so angry that he threw away his most beloved teacup.
After smashing it, he beat and scolded Han Du for being a shameless villain and greedy person. Then he rushed to write a self-defense memorial to the court as if he could not wait.
Han Du turned a deaf ear to the waves of turmoil surrounding coal in the capital. He spent all day in the banknote bureau, firing lime step by step, and his ultimate goal, firing cement.
Everything is peaceful here in Handu, but some people are getting angry.
The news of the discovery of coal in Yingtian Mansion caused an uproar. After Lao Zhu got the news immediately, he sent people to investigate. The result made Lao Zhu happy and angry.
Fortunately, there is indeed coal, and it seems that there are quite a lot of reserves.
Lao Zhu is an emperor who climbed up from the bottom, and he knows deeply how much the people spend on firewood every year.
As the saying goes, "Seven things to do before opening the door: firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea."
You can see clearly that firewood is ranked first, even before rice.
As an emperor who always cared about the people, Lao Zhu naturally knew what charcoal meant to people's lives.
But what makes Lao Zhu angry is that this coal mine is not owned by the government, but privately owned.
Just before the discovery of charcoal, this barren mountain was sold to a private person, which means that the charcoal has nothing to do with the imperial court, unless Lao Zhu wants to break the rules he established himself.
Lao Zhu, who was full of anger, first summoned Xue Xiang, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and scolded him. He scolded him that the corpse was a plain meal, and that he hadn't discovered anything hidden under his nose for so many years, so he was the first to get there.
The gray-haired old man couldn't lift his head after being scolded by Lao Zhu, so he could only kneel on the ground to apologize.
Mao Xiang was still standing quietly in the shadow, looking at Xue Xiang who was kneeling on the ground, a trace of bloodthirsty light flashed in his eyes. But this light was fleeting and disappeared quickly.
Mao Xiang did not dare to add insult to injury now, because he had a premonition that this time he might be like "the mud Buddha crossing the river, and he would not be able to save himself." How could he dare to speak out and attract the emperor's attention.
But there are some things that he can't avoid if he wants to.
Sure enough, after Lao Zhu scolded Xue Xiang, he paused for a moment and suddenly shouted angrily, "Mao Xiang!"
Mao Xiang walked straight out of the shadows, lowered his head and came to Xue Xiang's side. He knelt down straight and became brothers in distress with Xue Xiang. "I know your guilt, I know."
After a long time, Lao Zhu finally said slowly, "What? Apart from acknowledging your guilt, don't you have anything else to say?"
The words fell lightly, but the weight on Mao Xiang's body was heavier than Mount Tai.
Big beads of sweat instantly covered Mao Xiang's forehead, and he scrambled for the ground with his head, waiting for Lao Zhu's decision.
Just when the fear in Mao Xiang's heart was getting stronger and stronger, Lao Zhu finally spoke, "In view of your past achievements, I will spare you this time. Go and bring the Jurong County Magistrate to me. If there is another
If something goes wrong, be careful and you will end up with your head on the ground."
When Mao Xiang heard this, he felt as if he had been granted amnesty. "I obey the order," he got up and left Fengtian Hall to arrest the county magistrate.
"Father, no." At this moment, the prince came in from outside the palace with a memorial in his hand.
Zhu Biao came to the imperial case and held the memorial in his hand to Lao Zhu with both hands, "Father, this is the self-examination memorial of Jurong County Magistrate. The coal-making incident was not his fault. On the contrary, he acted impartially and above ordinary standards."
He sold the barren mountain to Han Du for several times the price, so he is considered a capable official, please don't punish him."
Lao Zhu opened the memorial, glanced at it several times, and then finished reading the memorial.
He casually threw the memorial on the imperial court, "There is nothing wrong with selling the barren mountain at several times the price, but this does not rule out that he conspired with Han Du in advance and deliberately sold the coal to Han Du. If he had colluded with Han Du in advance,
Then he still cannot escape responsibility."
"Father," Zhu Biao couldn't help but his tone became a little more serious when he saw that his father was still reluctant to the county magistrate.
"Father, Han Du has just been released from prison. He has only been in office for a few days. It is impossible for him to collude with the county magistrate." After speaking, Zhu Biao turned to Mao Xiang and asked, "Principal Inspector Mao, may I ask Han Du
Is there any suspicion of collusion with the county magistrate?"
Mao Xiang was shot while lying on the ground, but he had to answer Zhu Biao.
Mao Xiang glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang secretly and said with difficulty, "Back to Your Highness, according to the information I have, these two people are indeed not there. But if there is something about these two people that I don't know about, then, then, I
I can’t guarantee that…”
Lao Zhu, Zhu Biao, and Mao Xiang couldn't afford to offend each other, so they could only say some ambiguous words.
But even so, his words were enough for Zhu Biao.
"Father, I see you thousands of miles away, please don't punish good ministers without guilt."
Lao Zhu originally asked Mao Xiang to arrest the county magistrate, which was a decision he made out of anger.
Now that the prince was here and wanted to stop him, Lao Zhu couldn't take it out on the county magistrate anymore and waved Xue Xiang and Mao Xiang to leave.
"The county magistrate is right, but what about Han Du? He actually dared to buy the barren mountain that produces coal. What did he want to do? I thought he was a talent in vain, but I didn't expect that he was also a treacherous person. Go,
Summon Han Du to me."
When Old Zhu took one look at him, the old eunuch became excited all over. He quickly went out and arranged for someone to summon Han Du.
Zhu Biao did not stop Lao Zhu from summoning Han Du, and he could not stop him.
In this turmoil, the most important people are Han Du and the county magistrate. Since the county magistrate is not wrong, Han Du cannot escape suspicion. Who makes him the biggest profiteer in this incident?
Although Zhu Biao admires Han Du's deep understanding of Baoqian and thinks he is a rare talent, he cannot protect Han Du endlessly. All he can do now is wait here and wait until
When Lao Zhu was angry, he was able to save Han Du's life in time.
Han Du was holed up in a banknote bureau outside the city.
By the time Han Du felt the Fengtian Temple without stopping, more than an hour had passed.
For more than an hour, Lao Zhu, who had always been diligent, never reviewed a memorial or said a word to Zhu Biao, which shows how strong the anger in Lao Zhu's heart was.
"Your Majesty, Han Du, pays homage to the Emperor, and pays homage to His Highness the Crown Prince." Han Du came over sweating profusely, barely breathing, and could only forcefully control his breathing to avoid being rude.
Being disrespectful to the emperor is a serious crime.
"Get up." Lao Zhu spoke softly, as if the wind was calm.
But Han Du heard from this sentence the meaning of tranquility before the storm.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Han Du stood up cautiously. He caught a glimpse of His Highness from the corner of his eye and saw him winking at him.
"I heard that you got rich?" Lao Zhu asked casually, as if he was chatting with Handula.
Although Lao Zhu's tone was calm, Han Du saw a red tint in Lao Zhu's eyes, as if he had pinkeye.
Lao Zhu just had pink eye, and he was jealous of Shi Tan's wealth. If it weren't for his jealousy, why would he be so angry that he scolded Xue Xiang and Mao Xiang?
"How can I get rich? I'm so poor that I'm almost begging for food. Your Majesty, you also know that my whole family was imprisoned and my house was sealed up once. If it hadn't been for Your Majesty's mercy, I would have been dead by now. But my family is...
It was completely robbed, and now even the expenses of my family are still supported by my sister’s dowry.”
Since Han Du understood that Lao Zhu had pink eye, the matter was simple. It was nothing more than giving him a portion of the benefits.
Besides, Han Du never intended to swallow all the coal in one gulp. He didn't have such a big appetite, let alone such a hard background.
Give up most of the interests and recruit Lao Zhu as his backer, and then he can safely pocket his own interests. This is the kingly way.
Otherwise, let alone Lao Zhu, even County Magistrate Zhou would have a hundred ways to make his hugely profitable industry go bankrupt.
If not for this level of consideration, how would Han Du dare to trap County Magistrate Zhou to death?
"Oh? I didn't expect that you still remember that it was my mercy that allowed you to take advantage of the crime and make meritorious service. That's right." Although Lao Zhu said that Han Du was good, the cold wind coming out from between his teeth still did not decrease at all.
"Your Majesty, I am a man who knows how to repay kindness." Han Du said righteously, "So I decided to hand over 90% of the coal mine I bought to Your Majesty. I am not asking the Emperor for the 10% of the coal mine, but I am just asking for 10% of the coal mine.
Charcoal needs to be used in the process of making treasure banknotes, please be aware of this, Your Majesty."
After saying that, Han Du held the purchased land deed in his hand and presented it to Lao Zhu.
10% is enough to feed the Han family.
Lao Zhu, who was sitting high on the throne, didn't hear the second half of the shout at all. He was shocked by Han Du's willingness to offer 90% of the coal mine.
"What did you say? Are you willing to give me 90%? Are you right?"
Zhu Biao was sitting on a chair, looking at Han Du in disbelief.
When Han Du originally bought all the coal mines, he gave Zhu Biao the impression that "this person is talented, but he is just a little greedy."
Can you not be greedy? Buying a coal mine at the same price as a barren mountain is a huge profit.
As for Han Du, he was lucky. He bought the barren mountain first and then happened to discover the coal mine under the mountain.
This possibility is not impossible, but it is so small that it is almost impossible to happen.
Zhu Biao still wanted to believe that Han Du knew in advance that there was a coal mine under the barren mountain through some unknown means.
Otherwise, there are so many barren mountains around the capital, why didn't Handu buy them? But he just bought those ones?
How many seats?
Zhu Biao suddenly realized that the place where coal was found was one of the barren mountains. Now it seems that there may be coal mines under several other barren mountains.