"Ding Shiliu, take people to search the backyard of the government office and ask the government officials to cooperate. If anyone doesn't cooperate, there is no need to be polite."
Gu Chengyu glanced at the yamen servant and warned him.
This person is the head of the yamen's squad. As long as this person is frightened, the junior yamen below will naturally obey this person's orders.
"Yes, sir!" Ding Shiliu's eyes lit up. This search for evidence was a good job!
As long as it's not excessive and you only take one or two things, the adults won't ask anything about it.
The merchants and three officials in the room all had pale faces, their faces were trembling with shock and confusion.
Seeing that Li Taihang was taken away, Chief Xia knew that his visit today was in vain. Therefore, he stood up and prepared to leave.
What happened here, he had to go back and send a message to the Chief Assistant as soon as possible, so that the Chief Assistant could think of something and transfer Mr. Gu back to the capital as soon as possible.
As for Min Feng, Clan Chief Xia did not intend to interfere. He was originally dissatisfied with Min Feng's use of Xia's resources, but now that Min Feng was trapped in a cocoon, he would not wade into this muddy water.
If Min Feng commits a crime, his chief minister will have to worry about it. He is not an official of the imperial court and has no right to interfere in this matter.
Besides, it was useless for him to plead for Min Feng. Would Gu Chengyu betray his face?
"Mr. Gu, I didn't expect that Mr. Li would make such a big mistake. He really can't be judged by his appearance. But right now, my lord has something important to do, so please allow me to retire first. I will be the host someday and will do my best to serve as a landlord. Sir, can you
It will definitely be appreciated!"
Gu Chengyu raised his eyebrows and said in surprise, "Clan Chief Xia, why do you have to leave as soon as I come? I and Clan Chief Xia hit it off right away. Just when I was about to have a drink with Clan Chief Xia, Clan Chief Xia asked to say goodbye. This is not possible!"
Chief Xia frowned. Did Gu Chengyu still plan to ask them to donate money?
After arresting Li Taihang, you actually want to use Li Taihang's territory to coerce everyone into donating money?
The businessmen present had already left their seats, but Gu Chengyu rejected Clan Leader Xia so thoroughly that they had no choice but to give up their thoughts and leave as soon as possible.
Just sitting like this, I felt uneasy in my heart. I was afraid that Gu Chengyu would find out their faults and would like to eat their bones and suck their marrow, leaving them not even a copper coin.
"Mr. Gu's words are serious. I saw that Mr. Gu was busy with official duties, so I said goodbye. Mr. Gu is famous and I have admired him for a long time. It is a blessing to finally meet him in person today!"
Patriarch Xia had no choice but to sit down again and blurt out a few words for the occasion, and at the same time glanced at the anxious people in the hall.
"Clan Chief Xia is overly flattering. In fact, the reason why I came here today is not entirely because of Li Taixing's bribery. I originally wanted to find an auspicious day to entertain you all, but it was better to choose a day that coincided with the sun, so I simply borrowed Mr. Li's treasured land for use.
"
Chief Xia knew that he might not be able to leave this side hall if he didn't get any money today.
It was clear that Gu Chengyu was here to ask for money. They were wealthy in Jiangnan, and the court officials were very jealous of them.
If decentralized officials can take up posts in Jiangnan, it will definitely be a good job.
Take the position of prefect as an example, for officials who are not too greedy, once the three-year term is up, not to mention one hundred thousand snowflakes, but five or six thousand taels, that's not a big deal.
As the chief auxiliary of our family, it is indeed unreasonable for them not to donate money, but Chief Xia did not intend to let Gu Chengyu get the money so easily.
There was news from Ying Nan Mansion that Xia Hongji donated a full fifty thousand taels of silver.
As soon as he heard the news, he almost ran to Hang Tianfu and cursed Xia Hongji for being a pig-brained person.
This is fifty thousand taels! Even though the Xia family has a great business, they can't help but squander it like this!
But no matter what, after agreeing, the Xia family cannot afford to lose face if they regret it.
After all, Xia Hongji is a branch of the Xia family, and the person sent to Hangtian Mansion to handle business represents their Xia family.
A pair of people came out of the capital gate in a mighty manner and galloped along the official road. The ten large iron-wrapped boxes in the middle of the procession were very eye-catching.
"Qingquan!" A deep male voice sounded from inside the carriage, and a man in black clothes immediately rode up to the carriage.
He lowered his head and asked in a deep voice, "Sir, what are your orders?"
"Call the head of this escort agency over here!"
"Yes!" Qingquan responded and drove his horse forward.
The man in the carriage closed his eyes and leaned against the back wall of the carriage, Gu Chengyu! I gave you an advantage last time, and you have to make up for it this time.
This time he kept a close eye on Gu Chengyu, not believing that he would not benefit from it. The corner of the man's mouth rose, and he couldn't help but look forward to this trip to the south of the Yangtze River.
"Sir, the money donated by the merchants this time has been calculated, and it totals 218,000 taels!" Ming Mo handed the account book to Gu Chengyu and asked Gu Chengyu to take a look.
Gu Chengyu nodded, took the account book, glanced at it briefly, and then threw the account book on the desk.
He felt at ease when Ming Mo was doing things. There were only entries in the accounts, no expenses, and there was no way to falsify the accounts.
Although the river embankment in Yingnan Mansion is still intact and does not need to be reinforced for the time being, Gu Chengyu has other plans.
Yingnan Prefecture is on the upper reaches of the Tianya River, and there are particularly many tributaries flowing into it. Gu Chengyu plans to cut off part of the tributaries and redirect them to reduce the burden on the river embankment downstream.
Moreover, Yingnan Mansion was one of the important tea-producing areas in the Dayan Dynasty, and there were countless merchants coming and going. In such a prosperous area, it was indeed very difficult to travel just by the Tianya River.
Because Jiangnan was also the granary of the Dayan Dynasty, and Jiangnan's silk and porcelain were also very famous.
Not to mention that Sunan Prefecture, which is close to Yingnan Prefecture, is also dotted with several large and small salt farms. You can imagine how wealthy Jiangnan is.
Gu Chengyu clicked his tongue twice, no wonder those officials who were decentralized were all thinking hard and wanted to get here in Jiangnan.
In such a prosperous place, you can make a lot of money in just one year, let alone three years.
It is a pity that the imperial court did not fully utilize the advantages of Jiangnan and other places in these years, resulting in an empty imperial treasury and merchants did not receive much benefit.
Although it is close to the Tianya River, merchants usually travel by water, but it is very inconvenient for merchants in the north to travel.
Gu Chengyu's idea was to repair the official road from the north to Jiangnan, which would be more conducive to the economic development of Jiangnan.
In fact, the truth is very simple. If you don’t invest, where will the income come from? If you want to be rich, build roads first. This is an eternal truth.
Of course, this is not a small amount. It may cost millions of taels. How can the court get millions of taels now?
So Gu Chengyu's plan was to practice part of it first and then practice it later when he had the chance.
The victims of the disaster need to be accommodated anyway. Doing nothing every day will easily lead to troubles. It is better to arrange the labor of those young and middle-aged people to build roads.
Work-for-relief has always been a good way to settle disaster victims. The victims can not only fill their bellies, but also get some money.
If you use money to buy food, the old, weak, women and children in that family will not go hungry.