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On the way back to the city, Qiao'er was a little unhappy because Qin Mu said he would accompany them to Yuelu Mountain for sightseeing, but in fact he spent most of his time discussing the reconstruction of Yuelu Academy with Yang Shen, Shao Hua, Guo Jintai and others.
She was different from Yang Zhi and Dong Xiaowan. She was young and not very interested in the scenery on the mountain and the cultural landscapes such as the poems and inscriptions left by the predecessors. All she cared about was whether Qin Mu was involved. As long as Qin Mu was there, she would be happy no matter where she went, and she didn't care whether the scenery was good or not.
Now Qin Mu was busy discussing business and left her aside, which was a huge difference from her expectations before going up the mountain.
Qin Mu also noticed her change in mood, so he abandoned his horse and got in the car, "Girl, come here." Qin Mu patted the cushion beside him, and waited for Qiao'er to crawl over and sit down. Qin Mu rubbed her little head and asked, "What's wrong? Do you think I lied to you?"
"No, I'm just thinking that you haven't had a single day of rest since we left Nanjing. How tiring it must be. But I can't help you. Sir, would you like some pancakes?" The little girl looked at him eagerly, as if providing pancakes at any time was the only thing she could do for Qin Mu.
"Hahaha... ... ... .."
"Sir, please don't laugh."
"Yeah, I'm not laughing. I want to formally apologize to Qiao'er. I really wanted to take some time out to have fun with you guys today, but once we started talking about things, I forgot the time. Okay, girl, don't worry. When I go back today, I won't care even if the sky falls. Just have a good rest..."
"This is what you said, young master. After we go back, people will guard the door to the back government office and won't let anyone in. The one we hate the most is Huang Lianshan, and we must not let him in." The little girl clenched her fists, looking determined.
Qin Mu just said it casually, but he didn't expect Qiao'er to take it seriously. He felt a little embarrassed. "Well... girl, Huang Lianshan is actually a very nice person..."
"No, anyway, we can't let him into the back hall today. If he does, something will happen."
"Well, okay, if he dares to come today, I'll kick him, that's fine."
Yang Zhi took the little girl in her arms and advised, "Qiao'er, don't be like this. Business is more important. There are so many people in Huguang who are starving. If your husband delays business..."
"Ah. Sister Zhier, you don't understand. The young master said that he won't work if he doesn't rest. If the young master collapses from exhaustion, won't it delay more things?"
Qiao'er's words left Yang Zhi dumbfounded, not knowing what to say next. Qin Mu laughed and said, "Okay, Secretary Yun, my schedule from now on..."
"I'll take care of that."
Qin Mu was indeed planning to say this, but he felt something was wrong halfway through. It would be terrible if he really let this girl arrange it. But just as he was about to change his words, Qiao'er snatched the conversation away. He raised his hand and slapped her, saying viciously, "You wish. Do you have to arrange for me to be intimate with your sister Zhi'er?"
"Husband!" Yang Zhi covered her face with her sleeves and cried out softly, jumping out of the car shamelessly. Dong Xiaowan on the opposite side bit her lips, enduring with great pain. But there was still a hint of smile in her eyes.
"See, it's all your fault." Qin Mu immediately identified Yun Qiaoer as the culprit.
"Hehe..." The little girl made a face at him and didn't explain. She just threw herself on his thighs and laughed non-stop. Yang Zhi was already very embarrassed, and Qiao'er's laughter was undoubtedly worse for her. She couldn't stand it, so she stretched out her hand and pinched the little girl non-stop, "You little girl, you little girl, it's all your fault..."
"Ah, Sister Zhi'er is unreasonable too. It really proves the saying that if you are not from the same family, you will not enter the same door."
"You still said, you still said..."
Qin Mu said he would have a good rest, but when he returned to the governor's office, two old friends were already waiting there, Ma Yongzhen and Xu Yingjie. Neither of them was a stranger. In order to avoid upsetting the little girl, Qin Mu did not meet them in the second hall, but simply had someone prepare some side dishes in the back hall to entertain them.
Xu Yingjie became more and more respectful in his ceremony. Qin Mu's rapid development was far beyond his expectations. Seeing that Qin Mu's family business was growing bigger and bigger, he became less and less important to Qin Mu. Xu Yingjie was anxious, so he hurried to Changsha.
"Master Xu, please stand up. If you continue like this, we will become strangers."
"Thank you, sir." Xu Yingjie felt relieved to see that Qin Mu was as approachable as ever, and his demeanor became much more natural.
However, when he turned around, he found Ma Yongzhen bending his knees and about to kneel. He was shocked. As a general under Qin Mu, Ma Yongzhen had to kneel down, but he had just bowed. He almost slapped himself in the face...
This time Qin Mu reacted very quickly. Without waiting for Ma Yongzhen to kneel down, he quickly stepped forward to support him and said, "Brother Ma, what are you doing?"
"Sir..." Ma Yongzhen found it difficult to speak.
Qin Mu smiled and said, "I have always believed that the emperor has never issued that imperial decree. I hope that Brother Ma can also put his mind at ease. This time I summoned you to Changsha not because of the imperial decree, but because I have other plans for Brother Ma."
"Ma Yongzhen is a rough man, born in a humble family, and has rebelled against the Ming Dynasty. I am grateful to you for not abandoning me, and I am here today. Ma Yongzhen is willing to die for you. If I break this oath, heaven and earth will not tolerate it. If you have any orders, just give them. Ma Yongzhen will go through fire and water without hesitation."
Ma Yongzhen was not the kind of person who would often say such things, but after Chongzhen's imperial edict came down, he had to formally express his position.
"If I didn't believe in Brother Ma's character, I would never have entered your camp alone. Well, we haven't seen each other for a long time, let's sit down and eat while we chat."
Only Dong Xiaowan was left in the flower hall to serve wine. There were three or five home-cooked dishes on the table, which were neither rich nor too shabby. Dong Xiaowan filled the glasses for the three people and then stood quietly behind Qin Mu.
After moving his chopsticks a few times, Qin Mu spoke first: "As the saying goes, without agriculture there is no stability, and without business there is no wealth. Mr. Xu, you are here at the right time. I just happen to have something I want to trouble you with."
"It is a great honor for me that you think highly of me. It is no trouble at all. Please let me know what you want me to do."
"It's like this. I have a sum of money in my hand. If I keep it hidden, it will become dead money. I must make it flow in order to generate benefits. But I am busy with military affairs and have no time to take care of this matter. I have been thinking about it for a while and I intend to set up a department to be responsible for financial and commercial operations... Uh, the word finance, I will explain it to Mr. Xu in detail later. I intend to let Mr. Xu be the head of this department. I wonder if Mr. Xu is willing to accept the position?"
Xu Yingjie didn't expect Qin Mu to suddenly bring up such an important matter. He was surprised and delighted. He quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "The governor thinks highly of me. How can I not appreciate your kindness? I am very grateful for this. But this is a matter of great importance. I am a foolish person. If I fail to live up to your trust, wouldn't I be guilty of a grave sin? So I hope you can give me some clear instructions, otherwise I really don't know how to proceed."
"Sit down, sit down, come, let's have a drink first." Qin Mu raised his glass and drank with Xu Yingjie and Ma Yongzhen, then slowly said, "As the saying goes, the emperor has no hungry soldiers. This war is actually fought for money and food. If the court had money and food, why would it end up like this? In view of this, I have to pay attention to this matter. The financial operation I mentioned, to put it bluntly, is to let Xu Dongjia go to Jiangnan to make money."
Money-making? Xu Yingjie seemed to understand, as this was a relatively unfamiliar concept to him.
Ma Yongzhen also put down his chopsticks and listened quietly. After Qin Mu conquered Huguang, he did not continue to expand the army like others. He still maintained 100,000 troops in Huguang and 30,000 in Gannan. He just selected some strong soldiers from the captives to replace the old and weak and trained them. Unlike other Ming armies where half of them were old and weak, Qin Mu's men rarely had soldiers over 35 years old. In addition, Qin Mu worked on people's livelihood, land reform, talent training, etc., and now he came up with financial operations and trade;
Thinking of this, Ma Yongzhen couldn't help but admire Qin Mu's foresight from the bottom of his heart. Qin Mu seemed to be busy all the time, but if the things he planned could be implemented smoothly, what would the future be like
Qin Mu went on to say, "The court is so poor that it can't even pay the army, and billions of people can't even get enough food for three meals a day, but those gentry and wealthy families are living a life of luxury. They have a lot of money. If we don't get their money, no matter how hard we try, we won't get a few copper coins. Mr. Xu, don't be modest. We have known each other for a long time. I am very optimistic about your character and knowledge. If you are willing, I will hand over this department to you. This time we go to Jiangnan to get money, we are not robbing it. As long as we change the method, it will not be difficult to get the gentry and wealthy families to take out the money for us to use..."
Qin Mu's words not only made Xu Yingjie and Ma Yongzhen excited, but also Dong Xiaowan, who was standing behind him, was filled with curiosity and held her breath waiting for his next words.
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ps: Today the broken network is down again, just repaired, update delayed, sorry. Everyone who has a monthly ticket, please vote to support! (To be continued..)
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