Xu Zhiqiong asked Hong Zhenji to drag out various officials from Shenlin City and torture them.
Hong Zhenji waved his hands repeatedly and said: "If I really do this, how will I be able to gain a foothold in the court in the future?
I'd better go discuss it with the ministers. The Lord God will give me ten days to collect as much as I can. If not, I'll make up for it myself."
Xu Zhiqiong smiled and said: "How do you find compensation?"
"I have my own savings."
Xu Zhiqiong said: "These days, I have carefully studied your official system of Qiancheng. If I remember correctly, the salary of Qiancheng is not that much. The prince's annual salary is only more than 300 taels, including subsidies.
, barely five hundred taels."
"I still have a place to eat."
"You don't have much food. For an ordinary prince, the most you can have is 300 taels of food per year. Together with the salary, it's just over 800 taels.
How long will it take you to collect five million taels of silver without eating or drinking? You really have collected this silver, where did it come from, and how do you explain it to the Lord God?"
King Shu frowned and said: "It's not all up to me to raise money myself. Officials from various ministries can also raise some."
Xu Zhiqiong nodded: "Since King Shu has his own ideas, there is no need to discuss it with me. Ten days is not long or short. King Shu, please take your time to make arrangements. Xu will wait for your news."
Grand Master Kong picked up the wine glass and said, "Kong is poor and his greetings are not good enough. I hope your highness will take care of me."
"When will I be able to recover?" Niu Yuxian sighed, "I felt something was wrong that night. There was a bulging lump in my mouth and I kept pouring it down my throat. I knew it was a jade bead, but I was too greedy. If I had known it was like this, I should have spit it out.
Some."
Niu Yuxian lowered his voice and said: "Actually, I shouldn't tell you this. This is the secret of the Moh family. The so-called jade beads are the merits of our Moh family.
Going to the Taibao Mansion again, Taibao Qiao Zhengming rummaged through the boxes and raised a hundred taels.
"Move your left foot again."
…
After leaving the Grand Master's Mansion, Hong Zhenji got on the sedan chair and threw the wooden box aside.
After walking for more than half an hour, Niu Yuxian was tired and sat in the yard to rest.
Xu Zhiqiong stepped forward to comfort him: "Brother, don't be upset. It's a good thing to be promoted to the fifth rank. You are considered a high-level cultivator. In our Daxuan, there are only a few fifth-rank Mohists in the Mohist family. When your body and bones recover, you will be a rare person."
.”
After saying that, Grand Master Kong went to the bedroom, tidied up for a while, and presented a wooden box to Hong Zhenji: "Qiancheng and Tunu are friends, but for the sake of good relations between the two tribes, Kong is willing to spend all his wealth to repay
Holy grace!”
Hong Zhenji opened the wooden box and saw that there were more than fifty taels of silver and some jewelry inside.
The Qiancheng official system is almost the same as that of Daxuan in terms of rank and order, except that its salary is far lower than that of Daxuan.
"You're confused, brother, you shouldn't have eaten so much at one time, spit out some and save it for next time!"
This banquet was arranged in a rather simple way, with four dishes, two meat and two vegetarian, and a jar of wine, which was not wine, but sorghum newly brewed this year.
Hong Zhenji gritted his teeth and went to the Taifu's residence. Taifu Liao Chunzu's mother was seriously ill and he was looking for medical advice. He was still short of money and managed to raise eighty taels.
Master Kong’s expression was upright and his eyes were slightly red: “Kong received the divine grace from the divine king and even if he was shattered to pieces, his mere talents are not worth mentioning!”
"This jewelry..."
Grand Master Kong responded with tears in his eyes: "This is the duty of a minister. Your Highness has over-praised you."
Naturally, Hong Zhenji couldn't find fault with this kind of thing. The food and wine were poor, so he could only swallow them with difficulty.
etc!
If you don't cry about poverty anymore, let's discuss business and see how much money you can donate.
Upon hearing that King Shu had arrived, Master Kong held a banquet to invite him.
Without exerting any strength on his left foot, Niu Yuxian stumbled and fell to the ground.
The Grand Master is one of the three ministers, a first-rank official, and his identity and status have reached the level of a highly respected minister.
After being a Grand Master for so many years, he only had savings of one thousand three hundred taels? Hong Zhenji naturally didn't believe it.
If a Mohist cultivator builds high-quality instruments and is appreciated by the Patriarch, the Patriarch will give jade beads to the cultivator afterwards and send them to the mouth of the cultivator. If the cultivator swallows the jade beads, his cultivation level will increase."
"He, he puts it directly into his mouth..." Niu Yuxian thought this question was a bit strange.
He believed that he was a good talker, but he didn't expect that Master Kong was even better than him!
It’s not that he didn’t have any savings, he donated them all! He donated them all!
This is no nonsense. In the silver donation book to Qizhou last year, Grand Master Kong indeed donated 1,300 taels, and it was recorded every stroke.
Hong Zhenji was sitting in his mansion, comparing the two numbers repeatedly, his facial features gradually becoming distorted.
In Yuyao Palace, Xu Zhiqiong was learning to walk with Niu Yuxian.
After saying that, Hong Zhenji was about to drink the wine when he heard Master Kong sigh and say: "I'm not afraid of His Highness's jokes. Kong's home-cooked meals are not so luxurious.
A bowl of white porridge in the morning, a bowl of rice in the afternoon, and two pancakes with home-pickled wild vegetables in the evening are enough."
"What do you mean by jade beads?" Xu Zhiqiong asked.
I have said it here, and you have to express it to some extent.
Hong Zhenji put down his wine glass and ate his glass of sorghum wine, as if he owed a big favor.
Five million taels and more than seven hundred taels...
The sum total of this banquet and banquet does not exceed three hundred coins.
But he didn't believe that there was nothing he could do. Master Kong lived frugally and saved nothing but his salary. There was no income other than salary. Master Kong had no income at all.
The two of them raised their glasses at the same time and drank it all in one gulp. Tears fell down their cheeks at the same speed as each drop they drank.
"The white one, should it be put directly into your mouth?"
Niu Yuxian took a step with his right foot.
Hong Zhenji had no choice but to talk about raising money to pay tribute to Tu Nu.
If you dare to cry about poverty again, you will slander the imperial court.
In two full days, Hong Zhenji raised a total of more than 700 taels of silver.
Eat jade beads?
This is very similar to eating golden beans!
Could it be Golden Beans?
Could it be that the merits of the Mohist family are the same as those of the judge?
Xu Zhiqiong asked in a low voice: "What color are those jade beads?"
Grand Master Kong was a pro-Tu sect, and King Shu was a pro-Xuan sect. They had little contact with each other, but they didn't expect that the first time King Shu came to visit, Grand Master Kong's banquet would be so shabby.
This matter needs to be discussed with Xu Zhiqiong.
Looking at the wooden box, Hong Zhenji's hands felt heavy and his heart felt heavy.
This sounds like a human saying!
Old thief, wait until this matter is over, and I will settle the score with you again!
Niu Yuxian lowered his head and said, "Didn't the commander tell you?"
Hong Zhenji smiled and said: "Where, where, eating this home-cooked meal, I feel friendly."
"This is a major matter related to the rise and fall of the country. If the imperial court had not really encountered difficulties, I would never have spoken to the Grand Master."
"Master Kong, that's not the case," Hong Zhenji said with a displeased look on his face. You have to pay attention to your identity when you cry. "You are a high-ranking official in the court, but you can barely have enough food and clothing? It seems that the court is really
I’ve treated you badly!”
The mouth is crooked and cannot be closed tightly!
Niu Yuxian was angry and dropped the bowl on the ground.
He said with tears in his eyes: "All the ministers in the court are like the Grand Master, and thousands of rivers and mountains will be prosperous from generation to generation!"
"Brother, step up with your right foot."
The three ministers raised a total of more than 300 taels of silver. Hong Zhenji went to six ministers. Some donated fifty taels, and some donated seventy taels. The most exaggerated one was Zhou Jinxiu, the minister of household affairs. In front of Hong Zhenji, he gave away his cotton-padded clothes.
That's it, a total of thirty taels were raised.
Grand Master Kong sighed and said: "Kong's annual salary is more than one hundred taels. Including subsidies, it is nearly two hundred taels. If we only talk about food and drink expenses, including good wine and meat for a meal, how much can Kong eat?"
"Your Highness, please don't make fun of me," Grand Master Kong sighed, "This is Zhuo Jing's dowry. Zhuo Jing followed me and suffered a lifetime of hardships. He didn't dress up properly when he was young. Now that he's grown up this year, these jewelry are also useful."
Not available."
This is not quite the same as the judge's golden beans, at least the color is different.
For a first-grade official, if eating becomes a problem, it is off the mark.
"tell me what?"
The second-ranking minister was forced to sell clothes, and Hong Zhenji burst into tears.
These words contained a warning, which indirectly blocked Master Kong's mouth.
Hong Zhenji went to the residence of Grand Master Kong Zhongshen that day.
Hong Zhenji nodded and said: "Since the Grand Master is so frugal, he must have saved a lot over the years."
He was directly promoted from the lower level of the sixth level to the lower level of the fifth level. When Niu Yuxian woke up, his whole person looked like this.
But Kong is not a person who enjoys happiness. When he was young, his father was very strict in his discipline. He was used to eating simple food. A bowl of brown rice was enough to satisfy his hunger. If there was too much meat and fish, his body would not be able to bear it."
"White."
Hong Zhenji was stunned for a long time.
Xu Zhiqiong handed him a bowl of tea, and Niu Yuxian took a sip, half of which leaked from his mouth.
Master Kong nodded and said, "I have a lot of savings. Kong's ancestral home is Qizhou. Last year, there was a locust plague in Qizhou, which cut the entire state's harvest by half. The imperial court raised money for disaster relief. Kong donated one thousand three hundred taels. After serving as an official for many years,
With this little savings, even though Kong has a clear mind, he can't watch the elders in his hometown suffer."
Niu Yuxian shook his head and said: "I can't keep it. If you don't eat the jade beads, they will lose their effectiveness in half an hour. It's hard to earn merit, and I really can't bear it. I know I can't eat anymore, but I still swallow it. I don't expect the ancestor to give it to me."
So much!”
Xu Zhiqiong was very curious and wanted to ask a few more questions, but he heard Chang Decai calling urgently in his ear: "Master, it's bad, Madam and Miss Hong are fighting."
How could the two of them fight?
"What happened?"
"It's about money. Miss Hong asked for money, but Madam didn't give it. The two of them were fighting in Zhonglang Courtyard!"