Daming: I can’t kill such a greedy prince-in-law?

Chapter 574: Scrape the silver, play the villain (Please subscribe!!)
I don’t know whether Zhu Yuanzhang was expressing his true feelings or just acting.

As he spoke, he was completely immersed in sadness.

"Those old brothers of ours really suffered a lot with us back then! Thinking back to those difficult times, I feel deeply moved!"

"Now that the Ming Dynasty has been established, they should of course live a good life. However, the Ming Dynasty still needs to develop. Otherwise, the people will not be able to live well and will rebel like us in the past. If the Ming Dynasty is gone, then will our good life also be gone?"

"To be honest, I really don't want to look for my brother at this time."

Zhu Yuanzhang even shed a few tears as he spoke, but Ouyang Lun suspected that these were the saliva that Zhu Yuanzhang wiped away with his hands when he covered his face.

"Ouyang Lun! We beg you, if we really need to raise funds from civil and military officials, could you spare our old brothers from Huaixi for our sake?" Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Ouyang Lun and asked "with utmost sincerity".

Ouyang Lun didn't know Zhu Yuanzhang's tactics yet, it was obvious that he was trying to play tricks on him!
Old Zhu, you are in trouble too.

It was obviously you who wanted to extort money from the Huaixi Party, but you wanted me to play the villain.

In fact, Ouyang Lun just made this suggestion just to pass the ball to Zhu Yuanzhang, and let Zhu Yuanzhang decide whether to raise funds from civil and military officials, especially the wealthy Huaixi Party. As a result, Zhu Yuanzhang, the old fox, played a trick for a long time and kicked the ball back.

"Your Majesty, I admire the relationship between you and your old brothers. However, the country is facing important events right now. If we consider the relationship between brothers and affect the national plan, it would be a case of losing the big picture for the small one!"

"In addition, if the Huaixi officials are exempted from the responsibility of raising funds, what about the other officials? They will definitely be dissatisfied!"

"Of course, the world belongs to your Majesty and His Majesty the Emperor. This matter will ultimately be handed over to you two for decision. I am only an executor. I dare not take the initiative!"

After Ouyang Lun finished speaking, he immediately stopped talking, and the whole person seemed to have fallen silent.

Forehead.
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard Ouyang Lun's words, he almost cursed.

Ouyang Lun is so cunning.

Zhu Yuanzhang originally wanted to pass the ball to Ouyang Lun, but now Li Shanchang and several ministers were looking at him eagerly. If he continued to pass the ball, it would be embarrassing. And seeing that Ouyang Lun had his head down, he would definitely not respond to him anymore, so he had to make the decision himself.

"Ahem, after thinking about it carefully, I think what Ouyang Lun said is right. If we only exempt the old brothers from Huaixi, other officials will definitely have objections, which is not conducive to the unity within the court." After saying that, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Shanchang, "Shanchang, the old brothers from Huaixi will not have any objections, right? They can understand my painstaking efforts, right?"

Cough
Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Li Shanchang really wanted to say immediately, "I have an objection! We Huaixi Party are unwilling to raise funds!"

But I can only think about this in my heart.

Li Shanchang knew very well that Zhu Yuanzhang had said so much, and even if he really refused, it would not change Zhu Yuanzhang's decision, and it might even cause Zhu Yuanzhang to bear a grudge against him. The Huaixi Party would be greeted with a series of revenges.

Li Shanchang also knew that many of the Huaixi Party officials had dirty accounts, and these dirty accounts were all recorded in Zhu Yuanzhang's little notebook. If Zhu Yuanzhang was really angered, who knows how many people would pay the price for it!

So he couldn't refuse. Besides, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't give him the chance to refuse!

But this money cannot be donated in vain!
Thinking of this, Li Shanchang immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty and the Emperor, please rest assured that the Huaixi people will always be the most loyal to your Majesty and the Emperor. As long as your Majesty and the Emperor need it, we are willing to donate all our wealth to help your Majesty and the Emperor build the Beijing-Ping Railway!"

"Haha, good!" Zhu Yuanzhang nodded with a smile, "As expected of you, you are my trusted adviser. I knew you would support me!"

"However, how can we ask our old brothers from Huaixi to donate all their wealth? As for how much money to raise, let the project department calculate it. We only have one request, and that is fairness and justice!! No favoritism towards any party!"

"Did you hear that, Ouyang Lun?"

"I obey your order!" Ouyang Lun bowed.

"Your Majesty, I have something else to say!" Li Shanchang seized the opportunity and spoke quickly.

"Haha, Shanshang, what's the matter? Tell me. But you are not going to regret it, are you?!" Zhu Yuanzhang asked with a smile.

"How could I go back on my word about supporting the Emperor and His Majesty! If I were not old, I would even be willing to carry a hoe to build the railway!" Li Shanchang said righteously, "What I want to say is that since the civil and military officials are asked to raise funds, shouldn't they be given shares according to the proportion of the funds raised? If there is a loss, then it is a loss. Just consider it as a minister's support for His Majesty and the Emperor, and a contribution to the development of the Ming Dynasty. If there is money in the future, it can be regarded as a kind of welfare for the ministers, and they can share some dividends, which will give everyone something to think about!"

"Well," Zhu Yuanzhang heard what Li Shanchang said, and then turned to look at Ouyang Lun and asked, "Ouyang Lun, what do you think about this?"

"Of course. Even if Lord Li didn't say it, I would do it. The civil and military officials are willing to work together with Your Majesty and the Emperor, and work together for the bright future of the Ming Dynasty. Isn't this the best state?"

"The civil and military officials have paid real money, so of course we have to give them shares, otherwise it would be like robbery!" Ouyang Lun nodded.

"In that case, let's do it this way!" Since Ouyang Lun is the media, then Zhu Yuanzhang himself has no problem with it.

"Your Majesty, I have another suggestion!" Li Shanchang spoke again.

"Li Shanchang, you are getting more and more demanding!" Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and his tone became gloomy.

"Your Majesty, this time I am not making a request, but I want to apply to Your Majesty!" Li Shanchang said hurriedly.

"Application? What application?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked puzzledly.

"I cannot control other officials, but I am quite prestigious among the officials in Huaixi, and I understand the loyalty of the Huaixi people to Your Majesty and the Emperor. Since we have already participated in the fundraising and will also receive shares, we would like to apply to join the construction of the Beijing-Pingcheng Railway!"

"If the railway is repaired and profitable, we can also share the profits!"

"Your servants are not as knowledgeable as Prince Consort Ouyang, so we can't help with design and exploration, but we Huaixi people have plenty of strength. When the time comes, the work of building the railway can be handed over to us Huaixi people! There are also some raw materials to supply! We Huaixi people can do it too!"

"Your Majesty, please grant me your blessing!"

Ho!
Good guy!
This is an attempt to extend their influence into the Beijing-Pingcheng Railway!
I have to say that Li Shanchang is really shrewd, otherwise he would have suffered any loss.

It is understandable that if someone makes some contribution but you don't give them any benefit, it is not bullying, but too much bullying.

Therefore, when Zhu Yuanzhang heard Li Shanchang's suggestion, he was a little embarrassed. According to the previous plan, the Beijing-Pingcheng Railway was to be fully handed over to Ouyang Lun, and the Huaixi Party and other court forces were not allowed to interfere.

I had already refused once last time during the morning court session.

But now that Li Shanchang brought up the matter again under the pretext of fundraising, neither Zhu Biao nor Zhu Yuanzhang could refuse.

Zhu Yuanzhang turned his head and looked at Ouyang Lun. This time Zhu Yuanzhang did not say anything, but communicated with Ouyang Lun with his eyes, as if to say, Ouyang Lun, you have caused this mess, you should solve it yourself!

Zhu Yuanzhang naturally had his own understanding of why he thought this way. After all, if it weren't for you, Ouyang Lun, proposing to find officials to raise funds, and specifically mentioning the Huaixi Party, Li Shanchang wouldn't have mentioned this matter. So it's up to you, Ouyang Lun, to solve it!

Ouyang Lun received the look from Zhu Yuanzhang and started to complain in his heart.

Girl!

When it comes to shamelessness, you, Old Zhu, are unmatched.

Please understand clearly, we are working with you, Old Zhu, to find a solution!

Before, you had to come up with the plan and find the talents yourself, as well as the money. Okay, we'll find a way for you, but now you have to convince them.

It seems that you, Zhu Yuanzhang, don’t want to come up with anything!
Calling you a freeloader master is definitely a compliment to you.

But since you, Li Shanchang, want to intervene, you have to pay a price first.

Ouyang Lun cupped his hands and said, "In reply to the Retired Emperor, if the Huaixi disciples join us, I will naturally support them with both hands. After all, Lord Li just said that they are willing to pay their all to support the Retired Emperor and His Majesty the Emperor."

Having said this, Ouyang Lun deliberately paused, then looked at Li Shanchang with a smile.

This scared Li Shanchang. He did say that he was willing to give up all his wealth, but it was just talk and he didn't take it seriously at all!
Ouyang Lun, now that you say that, do you really want to do this?

Li Shanchang was sure that Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao would not do this, but he was not sure whether Ouyang Lun would do this.

Just when Li Shanchang was about to say something, Ouyang Lun spoke again: "Don't be nervous, Lord Li. I am not the kind of person who doesn't care about friendship. I can't take away all the wealth of the Huaixi disciples!"

call--

Hearing Ouyang Lun's words, Li Shanchang couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

But Ouyang Lun's next words made Li Shanchang nervous again.

"Although we won't take away all your wealth, the funding gap for building the railway is indeed quite large. If we only take a symbolic amount, it won't solve the actual problem at all!"

"I am deeply impressed by Lord Li and the Huaixi disciples' support for the court!"

"I also believe that the Huaixi disciples sincerely support the Beijing-Ping Railway! I believe that Lord Li and the Huaixi disciples will not regard money as important. After all, the Emperor and His Majesty have treated them well!"

Ouyang Lun is also a veteran actor. When he said these words, his voice was full of emotion. Both his tone and expression were more like Zhu Yuanzhang than his performance.

My scalp goes tingling when I hear the name Li Shanchang!
If Li Shanchang didn't know clearly what kind of person Ouyang Lun was, he would probably be moved by what Ouyang Lun said!

And from what Ouyang Lun said, it seems like he's going to make the Huaixi disciples bleed heavily!
If Ouyang Lun really allowed to make a lot of money from the Huaixi youth, then Li Shanchang would probably be scolded to death by many of them, which would be a huge blow to his prestige within the Huaixi Party.

But it's obviously too late to regret now.

The retired emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and the emperor Zhu Biao were both looking at Li Shanchang at this time!
After hearing what Ouyang Lun said, Zhu Yuanzhang's mouth corners immediately rose. If he had not considered the feelings and face of Li Shanchang and several Huaixi Party officials, Zhu Yuanzhang would have applauded.

Ouyang Lun is really good at speaking with a sharp tongue!

It is simply art.

What a treacherous person!

Originally, Zhu Yuanzhang was quite uncomfortable because of the 9.9 billion funds, but after Ouyang Lun's operation, especially when the idea of ​​asking civil and military officials to raise funds came out, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly felt that things were looking up.

Most of the world's wealth is concentrated in the hands of these officials and wealthy people, and the Huaixi Party controls the largest share of wealth.

If he could mobilize this large sum of money, Zhu Yuanzhang would naturally be extremely happy.

Zhu Yuanzhang quickly gave Ouyang Lun another look, the meaning was also very simple: Ouyang Lun, don't stop, keep going! We are still waiting for you to get the real money out of the Huaixi Party!
Ouyang Lun rolled his eyes inwardly, and then continued, "Lord Li is a founding hero of our Ming Dynasty, and a veteran of two dynasties. He helped the retired emperor solve problems, worked hard for your majesty, and worked hard for the people of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Now we are making great contributions to the railway construction of Ming Dynasty!"

"So loyal, so great. He is simply a role model for all civil and military officials, comparable to Prime Minister Zhuge who devoted himself to the country until his death in the late Han Dynasty!!"

"I admire you so much!!"

Hearing this, Li Shanchang felt quite comfortable, but after hearing Ouyang Lun's next words, Li Shanchang immediately felt uncomfortable.

"As for how to raise funds, I just thought of a way!"

"We need to raise enough funds and ensure fairness. I think the fundraising plan should be based on the officials' own wealth, divided into categories below 100,000, above 100,000 and below 1 million, and above 1 million!"

"For those below 100,000, 500 taels of silver per person, depending on the number of people in the family!"

"Above 100,000 and below 1 million, according to the number of people in the family, 1,000 taels of silver per person!"

"More than one million, five thousand taels per person according to the number of people in the family!"

"Such a funding gap will not be a problem. I think Lord Li will definitely not reject such a plan!"

After hearing Ouyang Lun's plan, Li Shanchang and several Huaixi Party officials just stood there in a daze, as if petrified.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang and his son Zhu Biao looked at Ouyang Lun in shock after hearing this.

What the hell!

Ouyang Lun, you are not just skimming off a thin layer of oil. You are trying to squeeze it dry all at once!

Each person receives 500 taels of silver. If there are more than a dozen people in a family, that would be several thousand taels of silver. Even more outrageous would be if the family was an official with a fortune of one million. Each person would receive 5,000 taels of silver, so he would have to take out half of his fortune!
ruthless!
It's so cruel.

(End of this chapter)