Gao Zhao was sweating profusely and returned to the mansion with a gloomy face.

Sweating like rain is caused by heat, and a gloomy face is caused by sadness.

There was a famine in Wuchuan Town, and there was no harvest from tens of thousands of hectares. The emperor ordered the nearby Hengshuo prefectures to open warehouses to adjust the supply. Unexpectedly, the official documents from the imperial court were not sent to the prefectures, and documents about the grain shortage of several prefectures in Shanxi were delivered first.

Imperial court?

It turns out that drought is not only affecting Wuchuan, but also the crops in several states near Hetao.

We do have grain. The weather in Guanzhong has been good this year, and the harvests in several places east of Hedong are also quite good. But grain alone is not enough. It has to be transported thousands of miles, which is a huge expense.

There was no money in the treasury, so the emperor was so anxious that he came up with the idea of ​​​​taking meritorious examinations for all officials after the fall?

The so-called merit examination means that officials above the county magistrate are inspected every three years, and those who are capable are promoted and those who are mediocre are demoted. The emperor prepared a new gourd to put the old wine, just like the scholars selected in the examination, and wanted Gao Zhao to publicly ask for bribes.

But this time he was an official, which was very different from a scholar. It was impossible to dismiss the emperor with just three melons and two dates.

Yuan Ke made it clear that he would accept heavy gifts.

The problem is that this emperor cannot do anything after receiving money. It is tantamount to asking Gao Zhao to offend all the officials, Xianbei nobles, gentry and other powerful people to death. How can Gao Zhao dare to agree?

But he had done countless dirty things to the emperor, and he was already riding a tiger, so how could Yuan Ke allow him to refuse?

Gao Zhaoyu was heartbroken, and he firmly believed the last words of the foreign scholar Geng Yan: If this continues, Gao Shouwen will not only die without a burial place, but may also have his bones crushed and ashes scattered!

……

As soon as he sat down in the hall, Gao Zhan came to greet him. Seeing that the youngest son's eyes were blurred, as if he had just been woken up after being drunk, Gao Zhao asked absently: "So, has Li Chengzhi been here?"
p>

"I've been here. My son had a few drinks with him..."

More than just a drink?

Li Chengzhi said he was too humble to be drunk, but his physique was there. Even if he just relied on penetration, he could knock down four or five Gao Zhan. He was unconscious, but Li Chengzhi didn't even blush. He even stood on his feet.

Shi Shiran walked out of Gao Mansion without any stumbling...

"What did you talk about?"

"Oh..." Gao Zhan tilted his head and thought for a while, "We just talked about the examination, selection and appointment, and talked about a few profitable businesses... Oh, Li Chengzhi also asked his son, saying that his father had

What do you like?"

Gao Zhao couldn't help but sneered: You've only been in the capital for a few days, and you already want to see me?

Just wait!

"You really don't do your job properly. You don't select good officials, so why are you talking about the way of a merchant?" Gao Zhao scolded him coldly.

"My son also thinks it's strange!" Gao Zhan echoed, "I asked him if he had a special position, subconsciously if I needed to help him accommodate him, but Li Chengzhi said no. He also said that it doesn't matter what grade he is in.

You can be a high-ranking official, and your salary can be as much or as little as you like. As long as you have some leisure time..."

"Fart...it's like mud that can't hold up the wall. Didn't Bao'er say that he has the ambition to reach the clouds?"

Hearing his son put the words to his lips, Li Chengzhi didn't know whether he was pretending to be deaf or dumb, or pretending to be noble, but he said no?

With such a arrogant and arrogant temperament, it is a dream to marry the daughter of my Gao family!

Gao Zhao immediately became angry and said with a cold smile, "Want to have some leisure time? Okay, then I will give you the most leisurely title..."

Gao Zhan shrank his neck in fear and secretly mourned for Li Chengzhi: The most leisurely official? His father wouldn't drive Li Chengzhi to Mang Mountain to guard the imperial mausoleum, would he?

There is nothing more relaxing than this...

"What happens next?" Gao Zhao snorted coldly, picked up the wine cup and took a sip.

"Then we talked about making money... Oh, I guess Li Chengzhi couldn't bear the restraint and didn't want to live in Li Shiliang's house for a long time, so he wanted to move out. But the housing prices in the capital were too high, so he wanted to make some money first..."
p>

Halfway through, Gao Zhan's face was filled with surprise, as if he found it extremely unbelievable: "He also asked his son if he wanted to do it with him if there was a business that could earn him tens of thousands of dollars a month."

With a "pop" sound, the sip of wine Gao Zhao had just taken into his mouth immediately spurted out. Fortunately, he avoided it, otherwise he would have sprayed it all over Gao Zhan's face.

"Ahem...how much?" Gao Zhao was stunned and asked blankly: "Did you hear wrongly? Li Chengzhi should have said "wen" instead of "gold"?

One gold (copper) is one hundred and fifty Wen. In a good year, one Wen can buy two catties of millet. Ten thousand gold is equivalent to three million catties of millet, which is equivalent to twenty-five thousand stone...

Pay monthly income?

Gao's farm has nearly 10,000 acres, how much interest does it earn per year?

Gao Zhao had a weird look on his face: "Is it possible that he is short of money and wants to ask you for help?"

"My son thought so at first, but when I asked him how long he needed my investment, he said that he didn't need to contribute money. He only needed to sell what he produced, and he would give me half of the profit..."

Gao Zhan was also full of surprise, "He also said that this is not a businessman's move to charge low and sell high, but to produce and sell by oneself, so it is not considered a humble business! I asked him again what it was, but he didn't say anything, just said

After I agree, I will let my son know..."

Self-produced and sold?

Does he want to forge a knife?

Gao Zhao's heart moved and he glanced at the door involuntarily.

There is a horizontal sword hanging there, which Gao Meng paid filial piety to him. It is said that it was forged by Li Chengzhi.

Didn't it mean that Li Chengzhi only had a thousand kilograms of meteorite iron, which he had used up long ago? Did he also keep some secretly?

If you have such a treasure, it is really not a lie to earn ten thousand gold a month.

Ten thousand gold is almost enough to transport ten thousand stones of grain from Hedong to Jin...

Gao Zhao was about to be cornered by the emperor. He couldn't hear the word "money" the most. His heart immediately moved and he said in a deep voice: "Promise him. If Li Chengzhi doesn't get the money, or can't find a venue for a while, he won't be able to buy the equipment."

You can help me with the materials..."

"Ah?"

Gao Zhan was stunned. He never expected that his father would agree so simply: "Business... is business a lowly profession?"

"I'm not enlightened! Then what Li Chengzhi said is that this is self-produced and sold, what kind of business is it? Farmers sell grain and rice, herdsmen sell horses and sheep, weavers sell silk, etc., is it considered a lowly business?

If you look at Wang Yuanyong of Yingchuan, Wang Yuanchen of Hejian, Wang Yuanyue of Ruyang, Wang Yuanji of Jiangyang, etc., which one of them would not take advantage of the opportunity to make a profit when the business is profitable? It can be seen that His Majesty has said something to the court?"

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Gao Zhao scolded him and then snorted, "Whether it's a cheap business depends on who is doing it?"

Gao Zhan was speechless after being scolded. If he thought about it carefully, it really was just like that.

Not to mention the other three, Yuan Yong is almost obsessed with money, and there is nothing he dares not to sell. It can be seen that the emperor has said half a sentence?

Just as he was suspicious, he saw Gao Zhao staring blankly at the knife. Gao Zhan suddenly realized: So Li Chengzhi wanted to forge the knife?

This is a white knife that can cut through iron like clay. You didn’t even get one yourself?

Haha, you are blessed!

You must let Li Chengzhi give himself a beating first...

Gao Zhan resigned and left the study happily.

If he hadn't been relying on his identity, he would have wanted to run to Li Chengzhi now and ask for answers...

……

Forged knife?

What are you dreaming about?

He would not expose anything that was of great concern, such as metallurgical forging, gunpowder, etc. Even if he was given such an official title, he would definitely only be a foreigner.

So Li Chengzhi really didn't take this appointment seriously, he just wanted to fool around for a year and a half and find a way to transfer him back to Guanzhong, or even Hexi.

Luoyang is at most a springboard for him, for example, to get to know more high-ranking officials and celebrities, so as to pave the way for the future.

The next step is to find ways to make money, do her job as a wet nurse, and purchase and transport as many materials as possible to Hexi to help Li Song and Li Liang gain a foothold as soon as possible. After surviving the most difficult two or three years, Li Song

Li Liang can feed himself back.

Of course, officials still need to be promoted, for example to the fourth or fifth rank, and then they can be promoted to other places. At worst, they will be the governor of a county, or even become a governor.

However, promotion does not require real skills, such as gunpowder and the like. With a lot of poems and songs, plus a few artifacts such as pulleys and unicycles that can benefit the country and the people, it should not be difficult to be promoted to the third or fourth rank in three or four years.

Difficult.

Therefore, the most important thing right now is to make money...

Li Chengzhi was not sure whether Gao Zhan would be tempted or whether Gao Zhao would agree, but he still had to do what he had to do.

After leaving Gaofu, he first returned to Jingle Temple to find Li Xie and asked him how the rent of the house was going.

"Master, how can anyone be so fast?" Li Xie complained bitterly, "I visited five or six houses in a row for half a day. Either the house was too small, or it was located in a busy city, extremely noisy, and the price was extremely expensive...

This servant has gained a lot of experience, but outside Guocheng, a one-acre courtyard costs thousands of gold a year? In Jingzhou, it is enough to buy twenty acres of mulberry fields..."

Li Chengzhi knew as soon as he heard this that this old man was reluctant to give up money.

Li Xie was kind-hearted, and Li Chengzhi would not be angry. He just felt that it would be unfair to use it. If it were replaced by Li Liang, I am afraid that the house would have been rented by now.
To be continued...