Zhao Wenhua arrived in Tai'an City, Jinan Prefecture the day before yesterday. He rested for a day yesterday and still had no intention of leaving today.
After officials from Jinan Prefecture learned that Zhao Wenhua was temporarily staying in Tai'an City, they went to Zhao Wenhua's residence one after another to pay him a visit.
Of course, no one who came to pay their respects came empty-handed.
At the beginning, there were also people who wanted to take the noble route for the purpose of gaining fame, and came to meet Zhao Wenhua empty-handed. However, let alone meeting Zhao Wenhua, he couldn't even get past the doorman. Seeing that he came with empty hands and an empty gift list, the doorman simply said that he was too busy to meet with people from the Beggars' Gang, and sent him away like a beggar. He was left in disgrace, and was so embarrassed that he wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
This was a sign of the times. After this incident, no one dared to take the lofty route anymore. All officials from Jinan Prefecture who came to pay a visit to Zhao Wenhua brought generous, valuable and expensive gifts.
If someone is truly a noble person, he would not come to pay a visit to Zhao Wenhua. After all, it is not mandatory.
Zhao Wenhua met with officials of all ranks from Jinan Prefecture in his temporary official residence during the day, and then closed the door to count silver at night. The amount of gold, silver and jewelry he received that day was so countless that he had to count them until the late night. Zhao Wenhua's hands cramped from counting the silver, and in the end he could only sit on the couch, grinning from ear to ear.
He collected tens of thousands of taels of silver in just one day, and valuable calligraphy and paintings, antiques and treasures numbered several times more than that.
It's not like there are no people who flatter him in the capital, and it's not like there are no people who send him gifts, but there has never been such an endless stream of gifts, like a flood. In the capital, there are only people who send gifts to his godfather's house in an endless stream.
Haha, I finally feel the happiness of Donglou.
Northern Zhili and Shanxi were too close to the capital, so Zhao Wenhua was relatively honest in these two places and did not accept gifts lavishly. After arriving in Shandong, Zhao Wenhua gradually let go of his hands and feet, especially since Jinan Prefecture was the seat of Shandong Provincial Government and the most fertile place in Shandong Province, so Zhao Wenhua completely let go of his hands and feet.
Zhao Wenhua stayed in Tai'an for two days and met with the officials from Jinan Prefecture. He had no intention of leaving, but instead summoned together all the officials, big and small, who had come to pay him a visit on the third day.
"I have been ordered to offer sacrifices to the sea. I know that my responsibility is heavier than Mount Tai, and I have never dared to slack off for a single day. In order to carry out the imperial mission of offering sacrifices to the sea, I have worked day and night, racked my brains, and devoted all my energy, just to do the imperial mission better."
Zhao Wenhua sat high up in the main seat, stroking the teacup in his right hand, and spoke with a serious look on his face.
"Mr. Zhao is loyal to the country and works diligently. This is admirable. He is truly a role model for us."
All the officials in Jinan Prefecture spoke with admiration, although they were of course extremely disdainful in their hearts.
What do you mean by getting up early and sleeping late, working so hard, just to do the imperial mission better?! This is really nonsense. You accept gifts during the day and count money at night. How can you spend any effort on doing the imperial mission? You are such a liar!
Zhao Wenhua smiled and waved his hands, and continued: "Haha, you gentlemen are too kind. Loyalty to the emperor and patriotism are our duties, and we do not deserve your praise. I called you here today to better carry out the imperial mission of the sea sacrifice."
A group of officials from Jinan Prefecture could not help but look confused and complain in their hearts, "What you said is too fake, you went to Jiangnan to offer sacrifices to the sea, and we are in Shandong, two places that are completely unrelated, how can you summon our Shandong officials in the name of offering sacrifices to the sea, isn't this too ridiculous?"
"I wonder what advice you have for me, sir?" The officials of Jinan Prefecture asked in confusion at first, and then said, "But if you can use us, we are willing to serve you at our utmost."
"Thank you, my Lords. Actually, you don't need to do anything, just pass on my message."
Zhao Wenhua smiled slightly and said softly that he was very satisfied with the tactful statements of the officials in Jinan Prefecture.
"Pass a message?" The officials of Jinan Prefecture were a little confused. What message should be passed? What does it have to do with your sea sacrifice
"Yes, that's the message. As the saying goes, if you want to do your work well, you must first sharpen your tools. The first thing to use for sea sacrifice is the offerings. I've heard that Tai'an's gold-edged sandalwood, Binzhou's paper money, Laiwu's silk and other offerings are very famous and often effective. I also ask you gentlemen to invite the wealthy merchants under your jurisdiction to come. They are knowledgeable and I will ask them about the local candles, incense, paper money, silk and other offerings, and compare them with those in other places, so as to offer the best offerings for sea sacrifice." Zhao Wenhua nodded with a smile and stated his purpose.
Invite all the wealthy merchants under your rule to come...
The officials of Jinan Prefecture looked at each other and immediately understood Zhao Wenhua's purpose. He was not satisfied with accepting gifts from officials and wanted to continue accepting gifts from wealthy businessmen. He really had to work day and night and rack his brains to receive gifts!
"Your Excellency has a sincere sense of responsibility. We will convey your intentions to the wealthy merchants under your rule, and work together to help you complete the imperial mission."
A number of officials in Jinan Prefecture spoke up to express their opinions, and they all secretly criticized Zhao Wenhua for being greedy.
"Good, thank you all for your help." Zhao Wenhua bowed to express his gratitude.
All the officials of Jinan Prefecture naturally bowed in return. After leaving, they immediately summoned the wealthy businessmen under their jurisdiction and conveyed Zhao Wenhua's intention to them. These wealthy businessmen all responded enthusiastically.
Soon, first the local wealthy merchants in Tai'an City came to pay a visit to Zhao Wenhua, and then wealthy merchants from all over Jinan Prefecture also came to pay a visit one after another.
These wealthy businessmen were very rich but also very vulgar. When they came to pay their respects to Zhao Wenhua, they brought cartloads of gifts.
Zhao Wenhua also accepts no one. As long as you dare to bring it to me, I will accept it. I will accept as much as you bring.
What? You mean bribery?!
Don't talk nonsense. Those wealthy businessmen brought samples of sacrificial offerings for the sea sacrifice. They were for Lord Zhao Wenhua to compare the quality of the sacrificial offerings. If you continue to spread rumors about bribery, that would be slander and defamation. Be careful of going to jail.
These wealthy businessmen were really rich, much richer than the officials. The gifts of gold, silver, jewelry and other gifts they sent filled up several rooms of the temporary mansion, making Zhao Wenhua so happy that he couldn't stop smiling until he went to bed.
Of course, these wealthy businessmen came with joy and left with satisfaction.
Lord Zhao asked them about the offerings, praised them for their righteous act of helping with the sea sacrifice, and asked them if they had any outstanding children. If they did, they should not hide them. The Tongshi and Xiangshi examinations were coming up, and they should all try their skills and stand out as soon as possible to serve the court. Lord Zhao emphasized that he would not bend the law for personal gain, and everything would depend on their own abilities. However, before leaving, he casually said to them that Zhao Yu, the examiner of the Xiangshi examination in Jinan Prefecture, was his good friend in the same subject, and they had a special relationship. He was a fair examiner, and he believed that he would be able to select talents impartially in the imperial examinations.
Everything is self-explanatory, how could the wealthy businessmen not understand it? (To be continued)