The sun is shining and the sky is clear. Lin Yuan is sitting in the official office, sitting on the chair of the master, with a cup of hot tea by his hand. Since he arrived in Taizhou, the tea he can drink is finally no longer inferior tea slag. The official office is where Lin Yuan has lived until now. The biggest mansion.
"It's all down?" Lin Yuan turned around and asked.
Chen Bosong took a sip of tea, and the tea was scalding. He almost knocked over the teacup and burned his tongue. He didn't speak, pretended to be calm, nodded and said, "Yeah."
Lin Yuan instructed the yamen next to him, "Let them come in."
The food and drinks are all ready, in the courtyard behind the yamen, the open-air meal is served by chefs from several large hotels.
Zhao Pinghou is a small businessman. He was originally just a hawker walking around the streets. Later, he made a little money and started to be a businessman. He has his own caravan. He was originally a businessman in Suzhou and Hangzhou. It’s not too much, and if you have a big heart, you naturally want to do a big job.
He heard that many businessmen came to Taizhou. After thinking about it, he also chose to follow.
Taizhou is not under the control of the imperial court now. He is here to sell it now. If he can get in touch with Taizhou in the future, Taizhou has a new owner and naturally needs more things. He can eat meat first, and then If you come later, you can only have soup.
When he first started, he was also uneasy. After all, he had never dealt with the rebels. When he came, he was completely surging with blood.
When I really walked into Taizhou City Gate, I felt terrified and trembling.
"I've been in business for so many years, and this is the first time I've been treated like this." The middle-aged man sitting next to him wore a huge jade wrench in his hand, and with a smile on his face, he said to Zhao Pinghou, "I used to do business, but if When it comes to the imperial court, when you don’t bow your head to be a grandson, you have to send money out, and sometimes you can’t even hear the echo.”
Zhao Pinghou didn't do business with the court, so he didn't know the key, so he asked, "How much does the court want?"
The man said: "In the early days, only 30% of the tax was paid. Later, it was 50%. In recent years, 80% dare to speak."
Zhao Pinghou was taken aback and stuttered, "Eighty percent?"
The man smiled and said, "And there is filial piety, sir, there is no need for filial piety?"
Zhao Pinghou swallowed, frightened.
Businessmen make money, but it is also hard work. How much effort does it take to negotiate business
For a small businessman like Zhao Pinghou, he usually pays 50% of the tax, and half of the tax is left, so he can live on.
Eighty percent? It's better than going home and farming.
Zhao Pinghou was sitting on the chair. These people were all businessmen. After entering the city, they were brought over and the goods were impounded. Zhao Pinghou was anxious, but found that except him, everyone else had a calm expression and was talking to the people next to him. Chatting and laughing when it comes to speculation.
After all, he hasn't experienced much, so Zhao Pinghou asked the people next to him: "We are all being held up, don't you worry? If they kill us, that thing..."
The people next to him were stunned, obviously amused by Zhao Pinghou's words, and couldn't help but chuckle: "Little brother, if people are greedy for something from us, our heads will fall before we enter the city, and we are told to wait here. Eat and drink and wait?"
Zhao Pinghou still didn't understand, so he looked at the other side.
That person probably also felt that a sincere person like Zhao Pinghou was not suitable for business, and he looked at him with a bit of pity. He didn't know whether it was pity for him thinking too much and being too timid, or pity for him being too stupid.
"You don't have to worry, just wait." The man said, "I've been traveling all over the world for so many years, and I've seen everyone. Now that I'm here, feel at ease."
While he was talking, a man walked in outside. This man was wearing a dark robe, with a smile on his face, and he was old. No matter how he looked, he didn't seem to live for a few years. Stand up, knowing this is up to see them.
Song Shizhao is also the first time he has dealt with businessmen. He is not a serious scholar. He was educated in anti-Yuan Dynasty and Song Dynasty. He has no stereotyped prejudice against businessmen. Now Lin Yuan asked him to entertain these businessmen, and he did not refuse, after all. Lin Yuan asked him to do it, and that was to give him a chance. Only when he seized this opportunity and proved his ability would he be reused in the future.
In life, one has to do something. He wasted the first half of his life, but now that he is old and has few years to live, he naturally has to seize every opportunity.
It is also good for Lin Yuan to know about Song Shizhao's ability.
"Everyone." Song Shizhao bowed.
The crowd also hurriedly bowed.
Song Shizhao smiled and said, "Song is not talented, but a business manager."
Everyone doesn't know what a business manager is. Now Taizhou is not good at this. Unlike the official position outside, he often opens his mouth and doesn't know how to call someone, but Zhao Ping shouted: "Director Song!"
Song Shizhao smiled again: "Everyone is tired all the way. My lord said that it is convenient for you to do it, and it is convenient for each of you, so I asked you to come and have fun, and then come with me. The backyard has prepared meals and prepared a good wine."
Someone said, "Why should Director Song be so polite? I'll just follow Director Song."
Song Shizhao led them through the garden, and along the way, he saw the servants who came and went lightly, but they were in a hurry when they didn't see them.
Zhao Pinghou considered himself someone who had seen the world, and it was the first time he had seen such a well-behaved servant.
I can't say the rules, but for all servants, being honest and obedient is the first thing, but it is rare to be so obedient between actions.
It seems that it is not a servant... but a soldier.
Song Shizhao also saw the eyes of the merchants on the servants, and said: "These are people brought from other places. Our lord said that there are no rules and there are no rules. Everything must be done with rules."
The merchants responded quickly: "It's natural, we also have the rules of doing business."
After they walked through the corridor, they came to the backyard. The round table was full, wine and cold dishes were placed on the table, and the hot dishes were served only when people were seated.
These are the housekeeping skills of the cooks, in order to stand out in front of Lin Yuan. If they do well and are watched by the people above, their worth will also rise.
Lin Yuan also discovered that although there are no stars now, there is a star effect.
For example, tributes, things dedicated to the emperor, can often be sold at sky-high prices among the people. This is the star effect.
Although he is not the emperor, he is also the head of Taizhou. There are many people who are chasing after him and vying for the person or thing he has praised.
Hearing that the merchants had all passed, Lin Yuan brought Chen Bosong there.
As soon as he arrived, the businessmen stood up in a hurry, their eyes were vicious, and at first glance they knew that Lin Yuan was the current head of the family in Taizhou. After being held for a while, I almost had the illusion that I was a Bodhisattva who saved suffering and life.
"Everyone came from a long way, I can only prepare a little wine and talk about my feelings." Lin Yuan drank a glass himself as soon as he finished speaking. These wines are all rice wines, and the degree of alcohol is not high. He drank the wine, and the people below naturally couldn't move, and they all drank the wine glass.
Lin Yuan said with a smile, "We don't talk about business at the wine table, everyone eat well, let's talk after the wine table."
Everyone promises.
However, after Lin Yuan was seated, there were still many people who came to toast, and they just said a few words, the main purpose was to make Lin Yuan have an impression of himself.
"I often hear that Nan Bodhisattva treats people like sons and is born with the heart of a bodhisattva. He is a person that everyone expects." He was a middle-aged man in his early forties, but he was born very well, with thick eyebrows and big eyes. If he was younger, it is estimated that He is also a romantic person, but despite his age, his eyes are beautiful, and when he looks at people, he always makes people think that he is a little deeper.
Lin Yuan picked up the wine glass with a smile on the corner of his mouth: "I don't know what to call it?"
The man said, "My surname is Xie, Xie Zichang."
Lin Yuan: "Thank you, Young Master."
Xie Zichang added: "I have heard about the name of Nan Bodhisattva in my hometown, and I longed for it, so I came here in a hurry. I would like to serve you."
This is showing loyalty.
He also said: "Although I have nothing special, but I have some worthless things in my hand. They are all useless things. If I offer them to you, Nan Bodhisattva, I am afraid that they will be unusable."
Lin Yuan waited for him to finish his polite words before asking, "I don't know what it is?"
Xie Zichang said, "It's just some salt."
Xie Zichang said the price again.
Lin Yuan was stunned, this is simply a free gift, at this price, it is estimated that even Xie Zichang's travel expenses are not enough.
To put it bluntly, the first time I came here was to submit a certificate. These businessmen are so skilled, how could they make money the first time? Maybe they didn't expect to make money in the first five times.
This is for investment, looking at long-term benefits.
Many of them came to Taizhou, and when they saw what Taizhou looked like today, they were all ready to join Lin Yuan.
For them, business is actually a matter of putting their heads on their belts. To make money, they naturally have to be able to take risks.
Nowadays, there are constant backlashes all over the world, but with the exception of the Red Turbans, most of them are thunder and rain, and if they gather a hundred people, they dare to be king.
If they can choose their backers as soon as possible, they can also get the benefits earlier.
After the banquet, Lin Yuan still handed the merchants over to Song Shizhao and asked Song Shizhao to talk.
After Song Shizhao talked, he sent someone to tell Lin Yuan that one of the merchants did not come to do business.
It was here to help Lin Yuan.
- That is, "funding" Lin Yuan, making political "investment".
Quite far Shen Wansan subsidized Zhu Yuanzhang.
Lin Yuan was really surprised now.
Did he attract Shen Wansan
I don't know what Shen Wansan is doing now. According to history, he should be in Suzhou now.
In history, Shen Wansan was forced to help Zhu Yuanzhang.
At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang attacked the city of Suzhou, and Zhang Shicheng held on to it for eight months. It was because of the support of the wealthy households in Suzhou. As the head of the wealthy households, Shen Wansan naturally contributed the most money and effort. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang exiled Shen Wansan for this reason.
Lin Yuan could also understand, and even felt that Zhu Yuanzhang just exiled him and didn't dismember him, which was considered kindness.
Probably after standing in a high position for a long time, Lin Yuan felt that he seemed to be able to understand the "tyrants" in history more and more.
And why emperors need to have a minister by their side.
The usefulness of Ning Chen is great. If he wants to deal with someone, but cannot find a good reason to convince the public, Ning Chen is useful.
Then the courtiers became more and more angry with Nechen, and he only needed to cut off Nechen.
At that time, he was still a pure and innocent white lotus flower, and all the charges were for Ning Chen to bear.
Lin Yuan took a sip of tea, and while waiting for Song Shizhao to bring someone over, his mind diverged.
He is also increasingly understanding politicians, and ministers colluding.
Sometimes when the monarch is strong and the minister is weak, the court is the monarch's word hall.
But sometimes the courtiers also want to turn over to be masters, collude with each other, and press on the king's head.
As long as you press on, the courtiers are the masters. If you gamble, maybe you will be able to reach the pinnacle of life
What I didn't understand before, seems to understand now.
Lin Yuan thought, if he was a courtier and a tyrant in his head, maybe he would have to find a way to form a gang, and the emperor would be afraid, and his life would be better.
After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, people from outside came in.
The person who was brought in by Song Shizhao was not young, forty or fifty years old, but he was well maintained, and he felt rich and noble at first glance.
The rich always look younger than the poor.
This person's name is Zhou Fu, who is from Huizhou. As soon as he saw Lin Yuan, he immediately bowed respectfully, and Lin Yuan personally helped him up.
Zhou Fu's eyes are not big, commonly known as thief eyebrows and rat eyes, but because he is fat, he can still give people a sense of honesty and caution. Only then did I know that the rumors were inconsistent, but I think Nan Bodhisattva is born with kindness and kindness.
Lin Yuan almost laughed when he heard the word Yushu Linfeng.
He remembered the jingles in the TV series, and some plays.
However, Lin Yuan still smiled and said, "Master Zhou doesn't need to praise me. If there is anything, just say it directly."
Zhou Fu climbed up the pole: "Zhou knows that Nan Bodhisattva is a straightforward person who speaks quickly, but now Zhou sees the situation and realizes that it is not easy for the people. There is only one place in Taizhou, where the people live and work in peace and contentment. Thinking it was in the heaven and the earth, Zhou thought to do his best for Nan Bodhisattva, and let more people live such a life."
The second came over with tea cups at both ends, and tested the temperature with the back of his hands before putting them in Zhou Fu's hand.
Zhou Fu hurriedly said, "Where do you dare to bother little brother?"
He was stunned and looked at Lin Yuan. He hadn't experienced much, and he didn't know the official accents of these businessmen.
Lin Yuan gave him a wink, and he quickly left.
Lin Yuan asked Zhou Fu, "I wonder what's going on in Huizhou now?"
Zhou Fu said: "In recent years, it has become more and more difficult. Every year I owe it, but there are many taxes. The people are farming but they can't eat enough, and the people are not living. If this is not the case, Zhou will not leave his hometown. If you can live on, you won’t leave your hometown.”
Lin Yuan asked again, "I wonder how Master Zhou can help me?"
The smile on Zhou Fu's face became a little more sincere: "Where is the South Bodhisattva, how can it be said that Zhou helped you, Zhou filial piety to you, and you will have to support you in the future, but if Zhou has it, you In a word, but if you don't obey, Zhou will not be a human being."
Lin Yuan nodded, he had to hold it and not be too kind to others.
This is very particular. When you are close, others think you are fooling yourself, and you are too high, and others dare not talk to you.
Sometimes when you look at a person, you just want to hear what he has to say.
Lin Yuan rushed to Zhou Fu and said, "I naturally can't refuse Master Zhou's intentions. You stay here first, and if you have anything to do, just tell the servants."
Zhou Fu quickly thanked him with sincerity and sincerity.
In the end, when Zhou Fu was led out by Erliang, he even wanted to kowtow to Lin Yuan, but was stopped by Lin Yuan.
In fact, Lin Yuan has never believed that people have servility, not so much servility as it is habit.
Some people are servants from birth. They have been taught since childhood that they are loyal to their masters. They are brainwashed day after day, year after year. Everyone around them thinks and does it. Naturally, they will be convinced that they are not suspect.
Just like when he was in junior high school, all the boys in the class would play online games after school. Every day they talked about a game, and he would try it out and integrate into the group.
Humans are group animals, and this cannot be changed.
"What did he bring?" Lin Yuan asked Song Shizhao.
Song Shizhao sat under Lin Yuan with a smile on his face. He was obviously in a good mood. It was the first time he did something like this, and he was flattered by a group of people. , and some saltpeter sulphur or something."
Lin Yuan understood, all saltpeter and sulfur are raw materials for making gunpowder. Zhou Fu's move really scratched his itch.
Sure enough, there are smart people everywhere, it just depends on whether these people are willing to spend their minds on themselves.
"Then accept it." Lin Yuan said, "I don't think Zhou Fu is an idle person. You can ask someone you trust to get in touch with him and send him some work after a while."
Song Shizhao nodded, as for what work? A businessman, of course, asked him to go out to do business.
Money can never be too much. Now paper money is useless, or copper plates are used—this thing is also not very valuable. The most valuable things are gold and silver nowadays.
The current market is like that.
One piece of silver used to be able to exchange for a thousand copper plates, but now it can be exchanged for more than 1,300.
There is not much copper in the copper plate, and it is common to break into several pieces when it is dropped on the ground.
In fact, Lin Yuan also knew the benefits of banknotes, but to implement banknotes, he needed a sound market and anti-counterfeiting printing methods.
Now there is neither of these two, naturally gold and silver are better.
Song Shizhao asked Lin Yuan, "Do you think Zhou Fu is credible?"
Lin Yuan shook his head: "There are useful methods whether they are credible or not. Now there are only useful and useless people."
Song Shizhao was stunned for a moment and replied, "The owner said yes."
Now the people under Lin Yuan's former hands call him the owner in person. As for the title of the lord, they are called from outside.
Lin Yuan heard that the lord was a little awkward, and thought about letting them call him the governor
However, the province is an administrative unit, and there is no document given by the imperial court, so it is strange to call it out, and it has never been changed.
When Song Shizhao left, Chen Bosong walked in and said to Lin Yuan, "It's time for the medicine, take off your pants."
Lin Yuan nodded. Sure enough, he took off his trousers quickly. The abrasion on his thigh has not healed. He has been taking medicine for a while. At first, he was given two taels. Recently, Chen Bosong came to help when he was free.
"Your flesh is too tender." Chen Bosong said while dipping the ointment on it carefully, "I've never grinded it like this before."
Lin Yuan grinned and said, "You have rough skin and thick flesh, can I compare with you?"
Chen Baisong patted Lin Yuan's butt, saw the flesh shaking twice, and smiled, "I'm rough and thick, I can't compare to you."
Lin Yuan: "You are obviously envious and jealous."
Chen Baisong hooked his lips and smiled, and did not continue to bullshit with Lin Yuan.
After wiping off the medicine, he had to hang it to dry first, and he couldn't put on his pants immediately. Lin Yuan only felt that his butt was too cold, so he turned his head and asked Chen Bosong, "How is Yanmin's practice now?"
Those are his soldiers.
Chen Bosong raised his eyebrows and said, "I thought you didn't ask."
Lin Yuan cleared his throat: "Do you have an opinion on me?"
Chen Bosong: "Naturally not."
Lin Yuan and Chen Baisong are getting along more and more naturally now, without the unfamiliarity and restraint at the beginning, it seems that they have returned to the days when the original owner and Chen Baisong were in their hometown, and they can chat and joke together. Practice, otherwise it will be us who will be beaten."
Chen Baisong sat aside and glanced at Lin Yuan's bare buttocks. He couldn't help laughing. After laughing, he felt bad and said, "It's the old way to practice well. The best practice in each class is rewarded. All of them are reckless."
Lin Yuan: "That's how it should be."
Lin Yuan closed his eyes and said, "The court has no energy to deal with us now. If we don't take this opportunity to grow and develop, when the court has the energy, we won't even have the ability to protect ourselves."
Chen Bosong's expression became solemn, and he said to Lin Yuan, "I can reassure you, I have not let them relax for a moment, and I will not let them relax."
Lin Yuan said: "It is still necessary to combine work and rest."
Chen Baisong looked at Lin Yuan and didn't quite understand it.
Lin Yuan waved his hand and said, "It's time to rest when it's time to rest."
Chen Bosong continued to look at Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan: "... Anyway, don't be too tired, tell them to take a breath."
Chen Bosong: "Understood."
Now the weapons in the arsenal have changed a lot. Lin Yuan found a few blacksmiths before and told them about the crossbow, that is, an ordinary crossbow, not a Zhuge crossbow, it does not need to be so big, but compared to ordinary The bow and arrow have a longer range and lower requirements for the shooter. The blacksmiths have heard of it, and this thing is also available today.
It is because the cost is too high, so it is not promoted.
Now Lin Yuan doesn't care about the cost, he just asks them to try it out first, and mass-produce it as long as it can be made.
The cost is big, but it still has to be there.
After all, archers are very rare, and both wrist strength and eyesight are indispensable.
Not everyone can be an archer.
It's just that the crossbow is different, the requirements for the shooter are the lowest, and the lethality and range are much stronger than ordinary bows and arrows.
Since Lin Yuan came up with this idea, he naturally didn't hit the south wall and didn't look back.
As long as it can be done, it must be done.
He wants people, and he also wants weapons.
Lin Yuan felt that he was really getting more and more greedy.