Mingrui is a brave man who is not afraid of fatigue. He has been following the officers and soldiers up the mountain in the past few days. He saw with his own eyes that gold and stones were dug out, very large ones.
Shangguan Liu watched Vice General Wang and the Crown Prince enter the house, and asked Mingrui in a low voice, "Did you really find it?"
“Yes, I found it.”
It has been confirmed that what was secretly dug up by the mountain village was a branch vein, and what has been dug out now is the main vein.
Shangguan Liu clapped his hands, "We made it, no, we made a great contribution!"
Mingrui couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth, "Yeah."
The prince wanted to go up the mountain in person, but the King of Qi stopped him. Finally, the King of Qi went up the mountain in person to confirm.
The prince is young after all, and this is a gold mine. His father's ambition has never been hidden from him. There are too many places in the country that need silver. The silver for road construction alone is like water every year, and there is also money for the renovation of dams. Even if a shipping route is built, there will not be much silver left in the treasury.
Now that a gold mine has been discovered, the national treasury will have more room to relax. Minister Zhou must be happy.
In the capital, the Zhou family still hired a doctor. Zhao didn't sleep all night. Although her son was safe, she was more worried and felt unwell after breakfast.
Zhulan asked the doctor and was relieved to know that it was nothing serious. She comforted Zhao, "The assassination attempt failed this time. It will be difficult to assassinate again. Mingrui will be safer with the prince."
Zhao said, "Mom, I'm fine, sorry you were worried."
"I understand. A mother worries about her child even when he is thousands of miles away. This is motherly love."
Zhao drank the medicine and said, "Mom, I just want to think more."
She always thought something would happen to her son and scared herself. Every time she thought of her son gone, she wanted to go with him.
Zhulan had no way to deal with Zhao's personality, so she told Zhao to come to terms with it herself. After talking to her for a while, she left.
Zhao was ill and Mingrui did not return to Beijing, so the second wife was always worried about him and Yudie's engagement had to be postponed.
After hearing what Zhao sent her maid to tell the Liu family, Guo understood that she would not feel at ease if something happened to her son and he did not return to Beijing.
Guo asked the maid to talk to her son.
When Liu Yuanbo heard the news, he pinched the fabric in his purse. He had chosen this fabric for Zhou Yudie, and was waiting to give it to Yudie after the engagement.
The servant boy watched the young master wilting. Ever since the young master knew he was going to get engaged, anyone could see that he was happy.
Even if the eldest son asked the young master to treat him, the young master would endure it.
The servant consoled him, "When Master Mingrui returns to the capital, he will be able to get engaged."
Liu Yuanbo, "Who knows when Zhou Mingrui will return to Beijing, hey."
Who made Zhou Mingrui his elder brother-in-law? His elder brother-in-law was not satisfied with him. Now that they were engaged, he didn't have to face his elder brother-in-law's troubles. When his elder brother-in-law came back, Liu Yuanbo's fingertips trembled. He could think that because of his stingy personality, his elder brother-in-law would definitely make him spend money!
Ministry of Rites, Chang Yi received five invitations. He was not from an imperial examination background, and the young masters of aristocratic families were very arrogant. They looked down on him as someone who had not experienced the imperial examination, and would never send him invitations before.
The eldest brother is not an official, but he has a very capable son who will be awarded a title in the future, so all the posts he receives are more popular than his.
The one who receives the most posts in the family is Changzhi, because he is the best and most knowledgeable.
There was no smile in Chang Yi's eyes, and he was not happy at all. He just took a quick look and put it aside.
Lord Liu noticed, "Are you unhappy?"
"If my son were dead, these letters would not be delivered to me. These people sent the letters not because of me, but because my son had the merit of saving the prince. The most important thing is that my son is alive."
His son died. Even if Shangguan Liu and his son indirectly saved the young master who went with them, they would not appreciate it and would even say behind his back that his son was showing off.
What a pity, his son was lucky enough not only to survive but also to discover a gold mine. If there really is a vein as his father said, his son would have made a great contribution.
Lord Liu, "The capital is like this."
The differences between aristocratic families are actually very simple; the key point is whether it is profitable.
Chang Yi clicked his tongue twice, "To be honest, my father has the power and status he has now, but he is not only calm and self-controlled, but he also teaches us brothers not to be tempted by power. My father is really amazing."
Lord Liu, "..."
No, today you are not showing off your son but your father instead
Two days later, the prince's urgent memorial arrived in Beijing, and the emperor called Zhou Shuren to share the good news, "I listened to your advice, and indeed found a gold vein."
Zhou Shuren's eyes lit up. "How big is the gold vein? How much gold can be mined?"
The emperor smiled for the first time in recent days. "The news I received is that the mineral reserves are very large and the purity is very high. The first batch of gold and stone will arrive in the capital in a few days."
Zhou Shuren turned around happily and clapped his hands, saying, "Good, good."
He has lost a lot of hair for the national treasury these days, and now the shortage of silver in the treasury has finally been alleviated.
War requires silver. This year the weather is abnormal, with continuous heavy rains in the south. An express letter has been sent to Beijing. Once the south is flooded, it will cost a considerable amount of silver. Not only silver, but also the loss of fertile farmland in the south. Food was very important in ancient times.
Zhou Shuren's smile faded a lot after he was happy. He had the gold, but he couldn't put it all on the market. The grain production in the south had already decreased, and if a large amount of silver flowed into the market, it would affect more people.
After hearing this, the emperor said, "I am just too happy."
These days, he heard Zhou Shuren say that there was no silver in the treasury, and he was thinking about silver every day.
However, discovering the gold mine was indeed a happy thing. The emperor noted the Zhou family's contribution. Although the gold mine could not be made public now, he did not forget the people who stole the gold mine.
In Huizhou Mountain Village, after confirming the gold mine reserves, the officers and soldiers of the village all went into the mountains, leaving only a few people in the village. They quickly erased all traces, and the prince also left the village.
The mountain village returned to its former tranquility, just waiting for the person who came to take the gold to be caught.
In Qizhou, Chang Lian went to work at the government office even though his foot injury had not healed. His vacation was cancelled due to the shortage of staff in the government office. A river section in Qizhou burst its dike. Although the water did not reach the city, it caused many people to suffer. The fleeing people had already reached the city.
Now the rain is still falling. Some people in the provincial capital have left with their families, fearing that the river near the state capital will also burst its banks. More people have stayed at home.
Chang Lian frowned, as the food supply in Qizhou had run out this year. He pressed his brows, saying that what the city lacked most now was medicinal materials. It was raining heavily, and the temporary shelters were leaking, causing many elderly people and children to fall ill.
Several nearby states were in danger and could not provide much medicinal materials to support Qizhou.
Chang Lian picked up his pen to write a report on the situation in Qizhou to the capital. Even after finishing the report, his brows were still furrowed. Qizhou was far away from the capital, and a trip back and forth would not quench thirst.
The prefect came back from an inspection outside with his official uniform soaked.
Chang Lian hurriedly said, "Sir, go change your clothes quickly to avoid catching a cold."
The prefect was anxious. He was about to leave when a flood occurred. His luck was extremely bad. His voice was hoarse from the inflammation. "I am fine. How are the statistics here?"
Chang Lian handed the statistics to the prefect, and then handed over the written memorial, "It's all here."
The prefect sighed after reading it, "I have some medicinal herbs at home. I will take the lead in donating them. Everyone should stop hiding them. The lives of the people are more important."
Chang Lian respected the prefect. He was a good prefect for the people. He had seen all the achievements he had made over the years. "I will send someone home to sort out the herbs."
The prefect looked at Zhou Changlian with satisfaction. They had cooperated well in recent years.