Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 810 Scholarship Program Launched!
That evening, Xia Lin naturally honored Wang Shichong with dinner, but Wang Shichong's aggressive manner made Xia Lin somewhat displeased. However, Wang Shichong did not care about such things. He was indeed an old fox, and he used the rules to try to pull Xia Lin onto his side.

Now Xia Lin is faced with a dilemma: refusing Wang Shichong's gift is tantamount to denying Zhuo Heng's status and contributions. The matter of apprenticeship is a very important thing, whether in the past, present, or future. If a person is not recognized by his own sect, he will commit suicide to uphold his principles.

If Xia Lin accepts the old fox's gift, it would be tantamount to announcing to the world that Xia Lin and Wang Shichong are on the same side. Wang Shichong, this cunning old fox who can play both sides, has finally found a strong and reliable patron.

Neither of these things was what Xia Lin wanted. He didn't want the rumors outside to hurt Zhuo Heng's feelings, or even drive him to his death because of public opinion. Nor did he want to collude with Wang Shichong like this, because if word got out, things would be really hard to explain.

"That old dog is so vicious." Xia Lin started to lose his temper after returning home: "He doesn't even spare his own son."

"It's not that he's not letting Zhuo Heng off the hook; that's just how he is—he wants to play both sides. It's been his behavior for years."

Da Yun, who was sitting next to Xia Lin wearing glasses and checking Jia Ye's travelogue about the wilderness, said after hearing Xia Lin's words, "That's how these wealthy families do things. They will do everything they can to make their family shine. Of course, they won't let go of such a good opportunity. Zhuo Heng is a good kid, but his father is Wang Shichong."

"What good idea do you have?" Xia Lin turned his head to look at Da Yun: "Judging from your confident expression, you must have a plan already?"

Yes. But I don't want to say.

Xia Lin sneered: "You're still putting on airs."

Douya raised an eyebrow but remained silent. She was truly composed. As a prince who could usurp a country, the Dugu family's composure was on full display.

"Tell me your conditions."

“Take out a box and distribute it among your spring, summer, autumn and winter.”

"What do you mean by spring, summer, autumn, and winter?"

"Spring Peach, Narcissus, Autumn Lotus, and Winter Maiden. Of course, there are also my two newly acquired concubines. You're concerned about the affairs of the world, so you can't expect me to pay for domestic affairs, can you?"

"I can't take it!"

"I didn't say you'd take it, I'll take it." Bean Sprout chuckled. "But you, Commander Xia, don't seem like a wealthy person. How do you plan to repay me?"

"This house is yours as collateral!"

"Oh dear, this lousy place cost only three hundred taels when I bought it back then. Even if it were in a better location now, it would only be worth three thousand taels at most. Let me tell you, Wang Shichong sent over ninety-nine boxes, each of which is conservatively estimated to be worth one hundred thousand taels. Nine million nine hundred thousand taels to buy your leg to cling to—that's five years' worth of the people's hard-earned money in Xuzhou. You want to exchange three thousand taels for one hundred thousand taels? You've scared this cunning merchant to tears."

After hearing this, Xia Lin scratched his head and said, "What do you want! Speak!"

"Me? I want the development rights to a railway. I want to build my own railway and operate it myself."

"make a deal."

Xia Lin agreed without hesitation, and Da Yun was startled by his quick agreement, so he looked up at him and asked, "You agreed?"

"I agreed." Xia Lin spread his hands. "I thought you wanted a ready-made railway from me. Turns out you want to develop one yourself?"

"Correct."

"Then please." Xia Lin chuckled. "A gentleman's word is as good as his bond. If you go back on your word, don't blame me for being impolite."

Oh no! Something's fishy going on!
Although Douya didn't know where the trick was, based on her understanding of Xia Lin, there was definitely something wrong here.

"Let me think twice."

Seeing the appearance of the bean sprout, Xia Lin did not give him a chance to think: "The railway to Chang'an is yours. I will also provide all the supporting personnel and professionals. You just need to build it."

This old woman always thinks that preventing her from participating in the railway is harming her. The reason why the railway is not allowed to be privately owned is because it has a lot of sunk costs. It's definitely not as simple as it seems on the surface. No matter how much you pay to operate a railway that has already been built, it's still considered embezzlement of state-owned assets.

But if some boss were to build and operate his own railway, everyone would welcome him. Why? Because while the railway itself might be operated by the boss, the development along its route is not entirely up to him.

Now that bean sprouts have a path to heaven but choose not to take it, they've barged right into hell. Well then, let's see how much money the Dugu family has to burn.

My darling, the vast mountains await you. As the saying goes, once you enter the world of civil engineering, it's like entering a deep sea; from then on, we're strangers.

"No, you tricked me!" Bean Sprout suddenly slammed her hand on the table and stood up. "I'll take it! You almost fooled me. We'll sign the contract tomorrow!"

Xia Lin pursed his lips and remained silent, but Douyazi grabbed his collar and shook him, saying, "Didn't you hear me? A person cannot break their word!"

"Fine!" Xia Lin frowned and said impatiently, "I'll sign it!"

"Then you won't regret it."

Looking at Douya's confident demeanor and hearing the smugness in her voice, Xia Lin remained silent, only silently sighing in his heart, "I hope you won't regret it later."

After receiving Xia Lin's approval, Douyazi revealed her terms of exchange. She crossed her arms and said, "I'll convert all the gifts I gave you into cash and then set up a special fund for them through a public announcement."

"Special fund?"

"A fund?" Bean Sprout's eyes darted around. "Yes, it's a fund. This money is rolled into an account for business, to run the kind of business that's guaranteed to make a profit. It can be slow, but it can't lose money. Then, the annual profits are used to reward outstanding students and provide loans to poor students. These loans are interest-free and can be repaid within five years after graduation. Interest is only charged after five years."

“Five years is too long, three years.” Xia Lin was silent for a moment before speaking, “Hmm, that is indeed a good idea.” “This way, the money will circulate. Firstly, it will keep you from touching these hot potatoes. Secondly, it will also reduce the resentment of those who give things. Thirdly, the benefits that the students receive are given by the government and the imperial court, so it will prevent these people from forming cliques and engaging in corruption.”

Xia Lin glanced at Douyazi sideways. He was truly a master at playing with money. His thinking was incredibly advanced; it was a very mature template for student aid, student loans, and scholarships.

"Then tell me what a sure-fire way to make money is."

“Mining.” Bean Sprout tapped the table. “Mining is a sure thing. It may be slow, but it’s guaranteed to make money. Invest in new mines, monopolize high-end minerals. Aren’t copper, iron, gold, and silver already in the hands of the imperial court? Just invest.”

"good idea."

Xia Lin stepped forward and kissed Douyazi, who dodged back, asking, "What are you doing?"

"Shouldn't I give you a reward?"

"Wait a minute...the child isn't asleep yet!"

"Why worry about all that? Just keep your voice down."

After a while, as the old couple's lips were churning with desire, Bean Sprout said in a weak, trembling voice, "If we put it in any further, we'll have a third one..."

"Give birth."

The next day, people from the Dugu and Tang families' businesses came together to tally the value of the goods. All the gifts, when added together, amounted to nearly 15 million taels of silver, a truly staggering sum. Keep in mind that this was just a congratulatory gift for Xia Lin's enthronement as a king.

No wonder people say that a clean prefect can earn 100,000 taels of silver in three years, and it's also no wonder that feudal dynasties were so corrupt and decadent at the end of their reigns.

It's really terrible.

Xia Lin acted swiftly, displaying the total value of all the gifts in a public list, announcing the uses of the money, and even inviting everyone to check the movement of each sum.

This is undoubtedly a response to all the gifts, and a perfect solution to all the problems that are currently troubling Xia Lin.

Next, he wrote separate letters to both San Niang and Tuoba Jing, declining their bestowals. He also made this public, thus making Xia Lin the first person in history to openly defy the imperial court and refuse an imperial decree.

Normally, someone would jump out and say that Xia Lin had rebellious intentions, but when his refusal reached the court, everyone had an expression of "I told you this wouldn't work, look how good it is now." Even the most stubborn old scholars agreed with Xia Lin's approach.

Only Emperor Jingtai looked at the Xin Zhile with the four big characters "You're crazy" written on it, and then said to Old Zhang, who was drinking tea with him, "You really guessed right, he really will scold me."

Old Zhang rolled his eyes: "He's probably run into some trouble lately, otherwise he should be here right now, pointing his finger at His Majesty and cursing him for three hours straight."

“That won’t do. I am the emperor of a country, and I have a sense of honor.” Emperor Jingtai pondered for a moment: “Then I’ll stir up some more trouble for him.”

"you……"

"What if I suggest that Gyeonggi Province, with its insufficient surplus grain, send it to disaster relief? This winter has seen numerous wind and snow disasters. Yeongnam Province has experienced a once-in-a-millennium snow disaster; shouldn't Gangnam Province step in?"

“That’s a possibility.” Old Zhang stroked his stubble and smacked his lips. “I think giving him only Lingnan is too lenient. Let’s give him Henan Province as well.”

“Zhang Aiqing, you don’t intend to let him go either.”

"Ah, those who are capable should do more work."

Emperor Jingtai chuckled, then suddenly asked, "Eh? Why didn't he mention the expansion into the Western Regions?"

"avoid arousing suspicion."

"Oh, right, right, we really need to avoid suspicion here. If people find out that we're surrounded by other people, wouldn't they be terrified?" Emperor Jingtai slapped his thigh and said, "It's you after all, Minister Zhang. You really understand him."

"No, I think disaster relief is too simple for him." Old Zhang took a deep breath of the cold air, his face showing both fear that his brother was suffering and fear that his brother was driving a Land Rover: "I think..."

"Don't think that way..."

"No, no, no." Old Zhang waved his finger and said, "The Western Regions are such a big place. If we only take over the six kingdoms, wouldn't that be a bit too little? Zhuo Heng is still too young. He might not be able to handle the territory of forty prefectures. We need an old fox to take charge. Only with this old fox in charge can we prevent the Li Tang from stealing our advantage."

"you!"

Emperor Jingtai was shocked by his words, and goosebumps rose on his skin: "You're too greedy!"

"The Western Regions are vast. If we don't take control of that place, how can we face our descendants? Besides, Your Majesty, don't you want to see the great banner of our Central Plains planted on the banks of the Natulao River before you die? Wherever the roads are built, the flag of our great China will fly there!"

"The Danube, right? Daosheng was referring to the Danube."

"It doesn't sound good. From today onwards, it will be called the Dolo River."

"You have an accent, so be it, it doesn't even sound good." Emperor Jingtai raised his hand. "How about this, don't let him go for now. We'll announce the reduction of the power of the vassal states at the Grand Court Meeting. I'm a little uneasy without him here. And about the Western Regions... let's go there after the New Year and persuade him in person. Otherwise, if he says the letter is lost, then the letter is lost. Actually, I know in my heart that this is a bit cruel to him. He really hasn't had a proper rest these years, and he's spent little time with his family. Let's talk about it some more."

(End of this chapter)