After returning to Wenzhao Pavilion, Zhao Hongrun laughed heartily every time he thought of this "Bolangsha Lease Certificate".
You know, at first he just wanted to cooperate with the Yuanyang King and his family, and he didn't even dare to hope to take this land into his pocket. Therefore, to put it simply, after the Bolangsha River Port is built in the future, he will at most only be the operator and own part of it.
Just rights.
However, now, there is no difference between that piece of land and that it belongs to him. In other words, he is the owner of that piece of land. There is a huge difference between owning it and managing it for others (the imperial court and Yuanyang)!
However, before Zhao Hongrun could be happy for long, he received an invitation from the clan. His second uncle, Zhao Yuanyan, invited him to come to the clan.
"The news from the clan is so well-informed..."
After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun couldn't help but muttered.
Obviously, the clan government found out that he borrowed 100,000 taels from the Ministry of Household Affairs and transported a total of 150,000 taels of silver to Yuanyang. You don't need to guess that this matter aroused the concern of his second uncle Zhao Yuanyan.
I suspect that the latter must have sent people to Yuanyang to investigate and find out what was the reason that prompted Zhao Hongrun to "give" 150,000 taels of silver to King Yuanyang.
As for whether his second uncle Zhao Yuanyan has learned about his transaction with Zhao Chengxiu, Zhao Hongrun is positive.
After all, the Zongfu is the most special government office in the Wei Dynasty. The power of the Zongwei Yu Linlang is far greater than that of the officials of the Ministry of Justice and Yushitai, although the Zongfu basically only interferes with the Ji family.
thing.
If Zhao Hongrun guessed correctly, his second uncle Zhao Yuanyan should have already learned about this matter, so he hurriedly called him over for questioning.
As for Zhao Yuanyan's attitude on this matter, Zhao Hongrun can't guess for the time being. After all, this second uncle has always been inclined towards clan harmony. He even tested his feelings about Ji's surname when Zhao Hongrun had a conflict with Zhao Chengxiu.
The attitude of the clan, therefore, Zhao Hongrun could not guarantee that the second uncle would take this side.
After all, in the final analysis, Zhao Hongrun has taken a huge advantage this time. But the problem is that this advantage comes from the branch of King Yuanyang, who is also a member of the Zhao clan with the surname Ji. To put it bluntly, it is Zhao Hongrun's infringement.
In order to protect the interests of the Ji clan of King Yuanyang, according to his second uncle Zhao Yuanyan's consistent attitude of advocating internal harmony within the Ji clan, the possibility that he would side with Zhao Hongrun is really very small.
Therefore, Zhao Hongrun was not in a hurry to go to the clan mansion to meet his second uncle Zhao Yuanyan. After all, his second uncle Zhao Yuanyan was not comparable to the same clan as Yuanyang King Zhao Wenkai who was separated by five or six generations. He was Zhao Hongrun's second uncle and was in charge of the government.
If the clan, which has a high status and great power, frowns and orders Zhao Hongrun to return the contract, Zhao Hongrun really has nothing to do.
Therefore, Zhao Hongrun had to think of a way out in advance, or in other words, find a backer who was more powerful than his second uncle Zhao Yuanyan.
There is no doubt that his father, Emperor Wei Zhao Yuanxi, is the best candidate.
As long as he can get the support of his father, Zhao Hongrun is qualified to negotiate with his second uncle Zhao Yuanyan.
Today's royal father's schedule in the palace...
Zhao Hongrun made some mental calculations and regretfully found that his father would not be going to Ningxiang Palace for dinner today.
It's no wonder, after all, for the concubines in the palace, his father couldn't be in Ningxiang Palace every night. Otherwise, even if Concubine Shen Shu had a calm temperament and didn't fight for it, it would easily arouse the jealousy of other concubines in the palace.
Therefore, Emperor Wei was always exposed to rain and dew, and only went to Ningxiang Palace once every three or five days. Moreover, because Concubine Shen Shu was always weak, after having a meal with their mother and son, she had to go to the mother-in-law of Zhao Hongrun and his sixth brother Zhao Hongzhao. Concubine Wu and noble concubine stayed at Mei Palace.
Zhao Hongrun often made fun of his father because of this matter, mocking him for "working hard day and night."
"Let's go! Go to Chui Gong Hall!"
After informing Shen Yu and other clan guards, Zhao Hongrun went straight to Chui Gong Hall.
When Zhao Hongrun arrived at Chui Gong Hall, it was around midnight. His father, Emperor Zhao Yuanxi, was reviewing memorials by the dragon table in the inner hall of Chui Gong Hall. Hearing that his son Zhao Hongrun had come, he couldn't help but be a little surprised.
"My son, I would like to pay my respects to my father."
Zhao Hongrun made a rare and formal salute. His attitude was so respectful that Emperor Wei shook his right hand, and the brush in his hand accidentally dropped a drop of ink on the memorial.
…
Emperor Wei looked at his son in astonishment and did not speak for a long time.
I have to say, he was a little frightened.
After all, how could this son, who had always been a bad person, ever salute him so politely and respectfully? In the past, when he came to Chui Gong Hall, saying "Father" was polite, but if he was in a bad mood, he might even do it in front of the three ministers in the hall. He was sarcastic and sarcastic towards me as an old man.
What happened today? The sun came out in the west?
After staring at Zhao Hongrun for a while, Emperor Wei calmly placed the brush in his hand on the inkstone, and immediately turned his attention to his son again.
As the saying goes, don't go to the Three Treasures Hall if you have nothing to do. He is very clear about the nature of his son. If there is nothing wrong, this bad son will not come to Chui Gong Hall easily.
What? Talk about the relationship between father and son with his father?
Even if a big hole was poked in the sky, Emperor Wei would not believe that such a thing would happen.
In contrast, Emperor Wei was more inclined to two other explanations: either as Lao Tzu, he had angered this scoundrel at some point, and this scoundrel came specifically to find trouble; What kind of help does he get here?
Thinking of this, Emperor Wei carefully recalled it. He felt that since the ceremony of worshiping heaven, he should have done nothing to dissatisfy this scoundrel, so there is only one explanation.
This scoundrel is here to ask for help.
This is strange...
There was a strange look on Emperor Wei's face. After all, he knew the abilities of this bad boy very well. When the ministers from the Ministry of Household Affairs jointly impeached this boy, they were resolved by this boy's machinations, and he took revenge ruthlessly. It is no exaggeration to say that no one in the six departments of the imperial court would dare to offend him, and only if he has the power to offend this son.
But from the respectful attitude of his son Zhao Hongrun, it is not difficult to guess that this matter may be extremely involved. Otherwise, Emperor Wei would not believe that his son would come to ask for help in such a "groveling" manner.
Thinking of this, Emperor Wei stood up and walked towards the outside of the palace. When he passed Zhao Hongrun, he gave him a wink: Go and talk outside the palace.
"His Majesty."
In His Highness, Zongwei Shen Yu and others saw Emperor Wei stepping out, and they all kowtowed to the ground.
"Pingshen." Emperor Wei nodded. Then he led his son Zhao Hongrun to the garden opposite Chui Gong Hall.
During this period, Shen Yu and others were hiding around, probably to prevent the conversation between father and son from being eavesdropped by a third party. This caution made Emperor Wei secretly nod.
Although Emperor Wei did not think that anyone in the palace dared to eavesdrop on his private conversations, he fully recognized the vigilance of Shen Yu and other clan guards. There must be one person from Zongwei guarding Zhao Hongrun every night, staying in His Royal Highness's dormitory for the same reason. To guard against the slightest inconvenience.
"How's it going with those candles?"
After walking to a small pond and sitting down on a rock, Emperor Wei turned to look at Zhao Hongrun.
Zhao Hongrun shrugged and said: "I have fully entrusted this matter to the Yubu and Cangbu departments for cooperation."
Emperor Wei didn't feel any surprise when he heard this. He nodded in approval and said, "You did a good job in this matter."
Indeed, Emperor Wei was very satisfied with this matter, not only because the Smelting Bureau under Zhao Hongrun had improved the production process of candles, but also because Zhao Hongrun had done a very good job in distributing benefits. No one ate alone. , but distributed the profits to the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household Affairs. This is the measure that the superiors should have and the skills they should learn to control their subordinates.
"But I heard that you ordered people to transport a large amount of iron ore from all over the country and built many furnaces outside the city. Are you planning to smelt iron?" Emperor Wei asked curiously.
Emperor Wei was still very concerned about this matter. After all, the Smelting Bureau had always been at the forefront of Wei's iron smelting technology and related to the level of Wei's iron smelting technology.
In his view, the Smelting Bureau has improved the process of producing candles. No matter how much money it makes, it is still "not doing its job properly." Fortunately, this son has not been dazzled by the huge profits and has converted the profits he made on those candles. With a large amount of ore and a large number of workshops built outside the city, it was obvious that he was preparing for a big fight. This gradually made Emperor Wei feel relieved and handed over the smelting and manufacturing bureau to his son.
"Yes, Father." Zhao Hongrun sat on a stone opposite his father and said seriously: "I think that the Smelting Bureau's original method of smelting iron embryos is too outdated and backward. I think that instead of calling the craftsmen Instead of smelting ore in several blocks, it is better to build several furnaces outside the city and smelt hundreds of stones (one stone is about one hundred kilograms) of ore at a time."
…
Emperor Wei was moved when he heard this. Of course he knew that the stone Zhao Hongrun was referring to was Su Shi. A few hundred Su Shi ore was equivalent to the weight of nearly a thousand old stones. How much should it be?
"Those furnaces just completed outside the city are for smelting iron embryos?" Emperor Wei asked with a frown.
Zhao Hongrun nodded: "Exactly!"
"..." Emperor Wei glanced at his son solemnly, and then asked doubtfully: "Since you have made up your mind, why don't you start work?"
"Because of the shortage of raw materials... Erchen has calculated that according to Erchen's method of smelting iron ore, if our Smelting Bureau starts work for half a month, it will have to stop for at least half a year."
"Insufficient ore?" Emperor Wei was happy when he heard this, shook his head and said with a smile: "Iron ore is quite abundant in our country Wei..."
"Having said that, those mineral deposits are not in Daliang. With the current water transportation capacity of Cangbu, the speed of transporting ore is not enough to support Erchen's underground furnace to smelt a large amount of iron embryos..."
it turns out……
Emperor Wei looked at his son in surprise, and after calculating for a while, he nodded slowly.
Seeing this, Zhao Hongrun lowered his voice and said: "Therefore, I intend to build two river port docks on the south and north sides of Daliang, and learn from Chu's shipbuilding technology to build some large-capacity ships first..."
This is a good thing...
Emperor Wei muttered in confusion, and then he seemed to have thought of something. He squinted his eyes and asked, "Which two pieces of land have you chosen to build a river port?"
"Xiangfu Port on the south side, and Bolangsha on the north side!"
Bolangsa?
Emperor Wei raised his eyebrows, vaguely guessing the purpose of the son in front of him. (To be continued.)