"Hongrun, you are too presumptuous!" Emperor Wei shouted in a deep voice.
There was no way, in this case, he had to come forward and scold Zhao Hongrun.
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Zhao Hongrun rolled his eyes and said calmly: "Is this the first day that your father has met your son?"
Emperor Wei opened his mouth, but was speechless by Zhao Hongrun's words.
He had to admit that his eighth son had never been a well-behaved son. He smashed Youzhi Palace, ruined the ornamental objects in the imperial garden, and even sneaked back to the palace after conquering the Chu Kingdom in order to laugh at his father in person.
If he counted all these crimes in detail, Emperor Wei suspected that he would be angered to death by this scoundrel.
Shaking his head secretly, Emperor Wei asked: "Hongrun, what do you want?"
His words stunned everyone present. They did not expect that Emperor Wei would not be the first to reprimand and punish this arrogant boy in this situation. Instead, he asked the latter what he wanted in an almost helpless tone.
But when they thought about it, they suddenly realized: After all, they are father and son!
"Ten million taels of silver!" Zhao Hongrun raised his right hand with one finger in his poor sitting posture.
Under the unbelievable looks of everyone in the hall, Emperor Wei frowned and thought for a moment, then turned to look at his great uncle.
What does this mean?
Grand uncle almost blurted out the words in his mind.
He secretly said to himself, Zhao Yuansi, Zhao Yuansi, you are not planning to side with your arrogant son, are you?
However, Emperor Wei only glanced at his great-uncle Zhao Tairu for a moment. Seeing that the latter's face was as dark as water and showed no expression, he quickly turned back to Zhao Hongrun, shook his head and said: "Hongrun, the Zongfu can't come up with anything."
Ten million taels of silver, how about this, this money will be allocated from the treasury?"
I actually compromised with my son?
Everyone present looked at this scene in disbelief.
But having said that, as long as this matter can be solved, it doesn't matter to them.
It's a pity that Zhao Hongrun didn't intend to let them get their wish. After hearing this, he said calmly: "Father, the money from the national treasury is used to stabilize the country and benefit all the people. As the king of Wei, I am afraid that if I use power for personal gain, I will not be allowed to do so."
The six million citizens of the Wei Dynasty are convinced."
The implication was that he refused to accept the money from the Ministry of Revenue and must make the Zongfu come up with the money.
Seeing this, the third uncle who had just recovered his breath pointed at Zhao Hongrun and cursed: "Junior, do you intend to embarrass the clan and go against the clan?!"
"It's embarrassing for the clan, what do you say?" Zhao Hongrun turned to look at the third uncle and said lightly: "Does the third uncle think that the money in the treasury can be used by the Ji Zhao family at will? As long as the third uncle orders it,
If you are big enough and can do it, I will allow the Ministry of Revenue to reimburse the clan for this expense!"
"I..." The third uncle's face turned red and he was speechless for a while.
How could he dare to nod and admit such a thing? Although his Ji Zhao clan had actually taken advantage of the country in the past, how could he put such a thing on the table?
There is no doubt that as long as he dares to nod, once Zhao Hongrun spreads this matter, he will immediately be despised by the six million people of Wei State. In the true sense, he will never be able to wash away this stigma.
.
Seeing that his third uncle was speechless, Zhao Hongrun curled his lips and snorted coldly, saying mockingly: "Since you can't do it, why do you interrupt? Just stay there!"
After saying that, he turned to look at Emperor Wei, got ahead of him, and said seriously: "Father, you see, my third uncle also thinks this is inappropriate."
How did you figure it out?
Emperor Wei opened his mouth and glanced at his third uncle who was once again clutching his chest as if in pain. He couldn't help but sympathize with this uncle.
Then, Emperor Wei once again made a suggestion.
"Then... let's consider it as a temporary loan from the treasury to the clan..."
After saying that, Emperor Wei glanced at Zhao Hongrun and added: "Including interest."
A look of displeasure flashed across Zhao Hongrun's face, and he said sternly: "Father, the Ministry of Revenue may still have some money left, but I am planning to cooperate with the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works to open up the Three Rivers. During this period, I will spend tens of millions, and in return
It's more than ten times... The interest mentioned by the father cannot exceed the ten times of profit, right? Or is it true that the father is actually quite evil and wants to ask the clan to repay 10 million taels of silver to the Ministry of Revenue in the future?
"
This scoundrel hates me too...
Emperor Wei secretly smiled bitterly. He knew his son very well. As soon as he heard what Zhao Hongrun said, he knew that this scoundrel was going to put the blame on him.
This is not a good thing. After all, this son has always hurt his heart and lungs. If he intends to retaliate, Emperor Wei is worried that he will probably vomit blood from this boy.
Thinking of this, Emperor Wei said in a deep voice: "Hongrun, the clan can't come up with ten million taels of silver, so it's useless for you to force..."
"If you don't have money, you can sell your property." Interrupting Emperor Wei's words, Zhao Hongrun pointed to the elegant decorations and furnishings around the hall, and said lightly: "Father, look at these sandalwood furniture and bronze lampposts.
It can be sold...Father, please rest assured that I will never embarrass the clan, and even, for the sake of kindness, I will buy it at the market price, even if it is as small as...every brick!"
Is this son... going to demolish the clan?
Everyone in the hall looked horrified.
At this time, Zhao Hongrun's second uncle, Zhao Yuanyan, couldn't help it anymore and frowned and said: "Hongrun, the Zongfu is the face of my Zhao family, surnamed Ji. Is it possible that you want to demolish it?"
"Face?" Zhao Hongrun snorted softly and said calmly: "So there is such a thing? I thought that some old people were relying on their old age to bully the small ones, trying to force me to acquiesce in their harm to the public and personal interests. They had already lost all their money.
It’s over!”
"Presumptuous!" Zhao Yuanyan scolded.
But other than scolding him for being presumptuous, he couldn't think of anything to refute. After all, this matter was originally unjustifiable on the Zongfu's side.
So, he opened his mouth for a long time, but in the end he said nothing more.
But Emperor Wei frowned and said: "Hongrun, you can't do anything absolutely..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Hongrun said with a smile: "No, no, no, father, this is killing the chicken to scare the monkey."
Kill the chicken to scare the monkey? Who is the chicken and who is the monkey?
Except for the two brothers Zhao Yuancai, the emperor of Wei, and Zhao Yuanyan, Zongzheng Zongzheng, everyone in the hall looked ugly and looked at Zhao Hongrun talking there.
"Father, I think that the existence of the Zongfu may make my father feel a lot of discomfort, right? This time the Zongfu has lost its reason, this is a God-given opportunity! I thought that I would take advantage of this opportunity to vigorously weaken the
Zongfu, it’s best to break his spine and make it difficult for him to stand up!”
...Smelly boy!
Emperor Wei stared at Zhao Hongrun with wide eyes and cursed in his heart.
He said in his heart: Indeed, this is a good opportunity to weaken the clan, but you told me in private! What do you mean by exposing this matter in front of everyone?
Suddenly, when he thought about it, Emperor Wei's complexion became even worse.
Because he suddenly realized that it was impossible for Zhao Hongrun to make such a mistake. The only explanation was that he did it on purpose.
He said these words deliberately to drive a wedge between him and the clan.
No, after hearing these words, the four elders of the clan, the great uncle, the third uncle, the cousin uncle, and the younger uncle, including the current Zongzheng Zhao Yuanyan, all glanced at Emperor Wei in unison after hearing these words, with quite strange expressions.
Bastard! You dare to plot against your father?
Emperor Wei glared at Zhao Hongrun hatefully, his expression as if he had swallowed a bug, feeling awkward and disgusted.
Because Zhao Hongrun was right. This time was indeed a great opportunity to weaken the clan. In fact, he had already started making plans in his mind.
But the problem was that Zhao Hongrun was telling the truth right now, forcing him to stand by his son's side, and he felt like he was being led by his son.
This feeling is very uncomfortable.
But Emperor Wei didn't want to miss this opportunity against his will.
"Father, isn't this feeling unpleasant?"
At this time, Zhao Hongrun said softly.
Maybe others didn't understand, but Emperor Wei did.
At this time, great-uncle Zhao Tairu took a deep look at Emperor Wei and said, "Come on! Even if we sell off our property, we will give you ten million taels of silver!"
What?
Including Zhao Hongrun, everyone in the hall looked at Zhao Tairu, the great uncle, with astonishment.
During this period, Emperor Wei could vaguely feel that the look in Zhao Tairu's eyes when he looked at him was no longer the same as usual.
...I knew that nothing good would happen if I got involved!
Emperor Wei cursed secretly, knowing that he was resented by this elder.
Sure enough, after his great uncle Zhao Tairu said those words, he did not look at Emperor Wei again, but said to Zhao Hongrun: "Hongrun, this is something my clan has done before, so what happened during this period, I don't want to be with you."
You care about it, and as you said, I collected ten million taels of silver as compensation for you... Are you satisfied?"
…
Zhao Hongrun looked at his great-uncle in surprise, nodded slowly, and said calmly: "It's not bad."
Seeing this, the great-uncle sat back down on crutches and said in a deep voice: "In that case, let's start discussing the opening of Sanchuan now!"
"..." A strange color flashed in Zhao Hongrun's eyes when he heard this.
This old guy... his eyes are sharp enough.
Zhao Hongrun couldn't help but be a little surprised.
He did not expect that the great uncle's palace was so deep. After discovering that Emperor Wei was not on the side of the clan, he immediately agreed to the huge compensation requested by Zhao Hongrun.
This means that according to the rules, Zhao Hongrun can no longer use the clan's previous behavior as an excuse.
And will the clan suffer any losses?
If nothing else happens, if the Zongfu can make Zhao Hongrun give in and open the Three Rivers to the royal families, public families, and nobles in the Wei Kingdom, those royal families, public families, and nobles will be happy to contribute 10 million taels of silver to the Zongfu.
After all, the aristocratic class occupies the vast majority of the financial resources of the Wei State. How can it be considered a big deal to the entire class if it is only 10 million taels?
This old thing...
After taking a deep look at the cold-faced great-uncle Zhao Tairu, Zhao Hongrun frowned.
Because he realized that his plan to use the Zongfu to avoid discussing the Sanchuan matter with the royal family had been ruined before it was implemented.