Huo Xi helped pack Mu Yan's luggage. In addition to the gifts for her and her son, there was also a box.
Inside is a box of gold tickets, all of which are of large denominations.
It's as much as one or two million taels, and this is still a gold ticket! Nowadays, one gold is worth ten silver. How much silver is this!
Huo Xi was frightened.
However, he was sent by the emperor to Huai'an and Yangzhou to investigate the salt affairs. When he came back, he actually brought back so many gold tickets? Isn't this a bit harsh?
When he saw him coming out, he raised the box in his hand and asked him where he came from. He was afraid that he would make a mistake.
Emperor Yongkang hated evil as much as he hated his enemies, so did he hit him by himself?
"Our family is not short of money, even Xiao Yu'er, Xiao Yu'er's children and grandchildren can lie down and eat without having to worry about anything."
The couple had saved a lot of money, and they really shouldn't do something that could be easily manipulated by others.
Mu Yan stretched out his long legs and sat cross-legged on the bed. He was not in a hurry to reply to her. Seeing his son waving to him, he sat next to his son and touched his head, "What are we fishermen playing at?"
"Playing with stacking towers." Xiao Yu'er hadn't seen his father for many days. He sat in his father's arms with a smile, looking up and staring at his father.
"Yeah, let daddy come and see how many floors we fishermen have built."
"It's three stories high," he pointed out with three fingers.
"So awesome."
Uh-huh, Yu'er is so powerful that he didn't even fall down. "Dad, let's ride together."
"Okay, daddy will ride with Yu'er."
Seeing that he was only playing with his son and not replying to her, Huo Xi looked at a box of golden tickets and felt anxious. She was so angry that she squeezed his thigh hard. He didn't cry out, but Huo Xi's hand hurt.
.
This guy's thighs are so tight that he can't even twist them.
Mu Yan glanced at her and said with a smile: "Are you stupid? If you don't pick the soft meat, pick over there." Are you stupid?
"Where is the softness?"
Mu Yan lowered his eyes. Huo Xi followed his gaze and punched him again in anger. He was a scoundrel and a pervert. He was on a business trip and was holding back so hard?
"Mom, let's play." Xiao Yu'er didn't understand his parents' quarrel, so he asked his mother to play with him.
Huo Xi smiled at her son and said, "Little Yu'er is playing with dad. Let's see who can ride fast and safely."
"Yuer's ride is fast and sure!"
"Okay, Yu'er is the best."
When Xiao Yu'er heard his mother praising him, he immediately fell in love with her. His serious look was exactly the same as his father's. He was focused on everything he did. This gene was passed down well.
While playing with his son, Mu Yan replied to Huo Xi, "Don't touch the golden ticket in the box. It's not from our family. I'm going to the palace tomorrow to present it to the emperor."
"Presented to the Emperor?"
Huo Xi was stunned for a moment and then thought about it, "It was presented to the emperor by salt merchants from Huai'an and Yangzhou?"
Mu Yan nodded, "Otherwise, do you really think that your husband, who is a member of the fourth rank of Jinyiwei, can collect so many golden tickets for a business trip?"
It's true that Jin Yiwei's fourth rank is the official, but who allows him to still have the status of the prince of the Duke's mansion?
Moreover, he had guarded the main hall for the emperor for several years. In the eyes of other officials, he was the emperor's ears and eyes.
Otherwise, who among the Jinyiwei faction is not a faction? Send him a fourth-rank official to investigate the salt administration?
There was a commander above him, who was a senior commander. He was not the only one with the same rank as him. There were two governors who were half a rank below him, both of whom were Emperor Yongkang's.
Eyes and ears of confidants.
He just had a status advantage.
As the heir apparent of the Duke's residence, you don't have to think about climbing up the ranks, or forming cliques and forming factions. You just have to wait a few years, and after becoming a noble, you will become a superior Duke. If you continue to join the ranks, can you still become a king with a different surname?
Think about something beautiful.
So far in the Davidic dynasty, there has been no living king with a different surname.
There are not many people who pursue the title of king after death.
Mu Yan's grandfather, Mu Ying, the former Marquis of Xining, was Taizu's first adopted son. Taizu and Empress Xiaocigao doted on Xinzhong, but it was only after his death that he was posthumously named King of Qianning.
As he was related to the royal family and was the heir to the throne, the emperor used him easily.
He has a natural advantage.
Don't worry about him forming cliques for personal gain or committing crimes, unless he doesn't want to be the heir apparent or seize the title. No one with any intelligence would do anything that would destroy his reputation or identity.
Therefore, Mu Yan has been doing most of the dirty work for the emperor these years.
Jin Yiwei's reputation is really not good.
The people were afraid, and the officials' expressions changed even more. The Jinyiwei frowned when they heard this.
After all, as long as the emperor wants to inquire about anything, Jin Yiwei can do it with one hand. If he can report the content of the couple's night conversation to the emperor word for word, how can all the officials not be afraid of resentment?
But Mu Yan had his own plans.
Jinyiwei, as the emperor's eyes and ears, works for the emperor. As a disciple of the emperor, he is promoted faster than others. Although Mu Yan does not need to consider promotion, he also realizes the benefits of having real power in his hands.
His road to the throne will not be smooth, and Xi'er's business is getting bigger and bigger, so he needs to have real power in his hands to protect her from being coveted.
He will protect his wife and children. No one can bully them.
So what if the eagles and dogs have claws and teeth, and the clear stream is shameless? The whole world is the land of the king, and within the four seas, there are no ministers of the king. The dynasty of the surname Zhu will not fall, and the only person who is loyal to his orders is the current Holy One.
Only by gaining the emperor's trust can you keep your family safe and your wife and children live in peace for the rest of their lives.
No matter how others view or treat him, they are not in his eyes or in his heart.
"Is this something that the salt merchants from the two places entrusted to you and handed over to the emperor?" Huo Xi asked.
Mu Yan nodded, "You can only protect your big wealth by giving up small wealth."
Nowadays, the three major political affairs in the south of the Yangtze River, water administration, salt administration, and river administration, are all important matters on the emperor's mind.
"Nowadays, people in the seven provinces south of the Yangtze River use salt, which comes from the Huaihe River. Salt merchants have gathered in Huai'an and Yangzhou. The salt merchants have made huge profits year after year, and wealthy businessmen have gathered here."
Huo Xi nodded. Today's salt production technology is backward and transportation is inconvenient. People can eat less and wear less, but I haven't heard of people who can't eat salt. At most, they can eat less.
But every household cannot live without salt.
Salt merchants are very profitable, and the two Huaihe rivers are the most prosperous. They are as rich as the enemy. This is not just a boast.
Throughout the dynasties, "the country's profit from boiling the sea is three-thirds, Huaidong ranks second, and the salt profit from the roads in Sichuan, Guangzhou, and Zhejiang is less than half of the Huai'an salt amount."
In the previous dynasty, "salt accounted for 80% of the national funds, and the Huaihe River alone accounted for half of the world." By this dynasty, salt tax did not account for 70% to 80% of the national tax revenue like the previous dynasty, but it still accounted for half of the total.
Can account for half.
Among the salt taxes, the Lianghuai salt tax ranks first, accounting for 60% of the national salt tax revenue.
The annual income of the national treasury is only about 30 million taels, while the annual income of salt merchants is nearly 20 million taels! The merchants' private treasury is comparable to the national treasury.
Is it true that the country is so rich?
Could Emperor Yongkang have no idea?
Especially at this critical moment when the capital is being moved and the Forbidden City in Beijing is being overhauled, the old man, the Minister of Household Affairs, often visits the emperor's study room to complain about his poverty. Could Emperor Yongkang not think about it?
"Be good, give me so much!"
Huo Xi counted the golden tickets in the box and sighed. Are the salt merchants afraid that Emperor Yongkang will raid their homes? Give the emperor some sweetness?
"It doesn't matter who you are. Your husband and I are the ones who can give you so much. Others may not have these." The proud look on his face was exactly the same as that of Xiao Yu'er.
Huo Xi turned to look at him. When did this guy become so shameless?
"What have you done?" to get so many golden tickets. Was it coercion or inducement, or did you send someone to break into the salt merchant's warehouse?