msmithbooks Chapter 349 Rewards
Chapter 349 Rewards
When Li Xu woke up, he found that Kou Xiao was sitting with those generals for breakfast. The breakfast in the palace was delicious but not rich. The elders all had big appetites, and they still couldn't get enough of it after eating at the table.
"I've heard that the cooks in Prince Shun's Mansion are very good at cooking. I'm lucky enough to taste it today. It's really impressive." Lu Qingqiu didn't really want to leave after this breakfast. He felt that there were still many things left unsaid. After finishing, you can stay in Shun Wang Mansion for another day.
Kou Xiao had already got up and started to see off the guests, "The generals must be exhausted too, go back and rest well, the emperor must announce you to the palace after noon."
This reminds everyone that their immediate boss is the emperor, not King Shun. Last night was a palace banquet, which was canceled early today, but it is impossible to move the state affairs of a great country to tomorrow, so no matter how big or small the official position is, there is only half a day off. In the afternoon, it was time for the emperor to start dealing with political affairs.
Whether they will be announced into the palace is not certain, but they will definitely pay attention to their movements, and it will be unreasonable to stay in the palace.
Kou Xiao sent him out of the house, and when he turned around, he saw Li Xu sitting in the dining room eating breakfast while watching the contract he signed with several generals yesterday.
When Li Xu saw Kou Xiao coming in, he joked, "It's incredible, our general can talk about business like this, these orders are enough to pay Kou's army for several years."
Although Li Xu gave them the way to do business, but in business, there is always buying and selling, so he talked with them about the sales contract by the way, as well as the several new weapons he made in his hand, which are all good things. After many years of accumulation, they can definitely afford to buy large quantities of new weapons. Of course, Li Xu will not let go of such a good opportunity to let them empty their money bags at once, and he is willing to do so.
Kou Xiao sat next to him and added vegetables to his meal, "It's all ready-made business, as long as they are not stupid, they will buy it, but I didn't tell him about the ship with General Hong in Bozhou, what is the prince?" idea?"
"Nowadays, the coast and the sea are all our Nanyue patrol sites. It's too long. It's okay if there is no war. If there are foreign enemies, it will be difficult for the Nanyue family to support the entire coastline. Therefore, this king wants to train the Bozhou army, and take half of them to be trained. The navy will supply several hundred more seagoing ships, so that Bozhou will become the largest naval base along the coast."
Kou Xiao understands that now Li Xu's eyes are fixed on Quan Dayan, not limited to one county or one county. Bozhou has a superior location. If it can develop a navy, it can take care of Yangzhou government in the south, and guard against the north in the north. Goryeo, etc., and according to Li Xu, there are more powerful enemies north of Goryeo, and they may land in Dayan's territory one day.
With 10 men in the Bozhou Army, it is not difficult to drill a navy, but the difficulty lies in the cooperation of General Hong.
"Can this matter be reported to the emperor?" Kou Xiao asked.
"Yes, the emperor mentioned the matter of shipbuilding before, and the emperor must be moved. He will definitely ask the king for the blueprint of the ship. Now that the king has taken the initiative to hand over the ship to the court and help them train sailors, the emperor will definitely agree. .”
Kou Xiao suddenly realized that the emperor's agreement should be because he wanted to train a navy. In the future, if he wanted to go to sea to find fairy islands, he would have enough guards. Otherwise, the Yulin army in the palace might not be able to withstand the strong wind and waves at sea.
"My lord thinks long-term, will the boat still be sold?"
Li Xu blinked, "Sell, Ji Hanyu wrote to say that the shipyard has never stopped building ships. If our ship supply exceeds demand, the surplus will just be sold to the Bozhou Army. The ready-made large ships can be put into use immediately. You'd be a fool not to buy it."
Kou Xiao thought, only Li Xu dared to talk about the business in such a high-sounding way, normal people would probably offer it with both hands.
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In the afternoon, the emperor did not summon a few generals, but passed Li Xu and Kou Xiao into the palace. After thinking about it all night, the emperor felt that he might have been deceived by Li Xu. There are other things, maybe it's just that Li Xu doesn't want to send them up.
After being asked a few words, Li Xu felt a little irritable in his heart. Is the emperor's mind burnt out when he thinks about immortality all the time?If there is any immortal, don't those emperors in the past know how to look for them?Who has succeeded in history?
He patiently explained to the emperor what he had seen and heard overseas, and just took the opportunity to encourage him to rebuild the Bozhou Army. You can set sail and go out to sea, and if the emperor wants to go out to sea at that time, there will be enough sailors to guard him."
The emperor was really moved. It wasn't that he wanted to go out to sea in person, but that Hong Guang was his confidant. If the Bozhou army had a sea ship, it would be able to go to sea for him to find the fairy island. His son is unreliable, and he still has a loyal friend. General.
The emperor immediately announced that General Hong would enter the palace, and informed him about the navy in front of Li Xu. General Hong had long known the strength of the Nanyue Navy, and it would be a lie to say that he was not envious. The ship was in the Bozhou Bay, and the Bozhou Army would take a close look at it every time they passed by. Hong Guang even boarded the ship to see it, and his eyes were envious for a long time.
Now when the emperor said that he wanted to train the Bozhou army to become a naval officer, he agreed without saying a word. Who would think that he has too many military skills?And you can also buy big ships, and the court will definitely pay for this part of the money.
It was a bargain, and General Hong immediately knelt down and promised: "Your Majesty, don't worry, you will be able to transform the Bozhou Army into an excellent navy in the end. With Nanyue ships, you will never be afraid of pirates again."
The emperor gave him half a year to check and accept the results. At the same time, he stabbed at Li Xu: "King Shun has already built a large ship, and it has such a scale. It really shocks the world."
Li Xu said without humility at all: "Father also knows that South Vietnam has been invaded by pirates all year round. My son started to build sea ships when he was in South Vietnam, but the technology was not mature enough, and the early sea ships could not go to sea too much. Far away, it wasn't until this year that good news came from South Vietnam. Qin Zuxin was only able to sail to the southeast area on the latest sea boat. It is said that there are many small countries there, and the weather is hot, which is very different from Dayan. As for General Hong The ship is still under construction, and it may take some time before it will be delivered."
General Hong immediately said: "No hurry, no hurry, the ship is going to sea, safety is the top priority, it is best that the prince can send a few shipwrights who know how to repair it to the young general, so as not to have to go all the way to Nanyue for repairs if there is a damaged place."
"You're right, how about this, you can rest assured that there is one craftsman for every hundred ships, they are all skilled craftsmen, and General Hong can also recruit a few craftsmen from the local area to learn from them. , after a few years there will be no shortage of shipwrights."
Both sides of this deal are very satisfied, Li Xu sold the ship to the Bozhou army at almost double the price, if the emperor was not willing to spend a lot of money this time, the imperial court would not be able to spend such a large sum of money to buy the ship.
With these few funds, Nanyue will not have to worry about financial problems in the next few years. Li Xu thought, it is time to transfer Ji Hanyu to his side to help. Although there are many officials in the court, Ji Hanyu is loyal, reliable and smart. , often one sentence can understand his intentions, put it in this big dye vat for a few years, and it will be no problem to get out of the court and into the prime minister in the future.
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After leaving the palace, Li Xu was in a good mood, hosted a banquet at Fulai Restaurant and invited all the stewards of the palace to reward them for their hard work, which surprised and moved all the stewards.
There are many stewards in the palace, spread all over Dayan, southeast and northwest, but there are also quite a few in the capital, the number of people in the queue is enough to fill the Fulai Restaurant, which is beyond Li Xu's expectation.
Now that he is in charge of the government, he seldom participates in the family's business. Except for a few senior managers, it is difficult for the rest to see him. Some people even know that they are working for the Shun Palace.
"Is that Manager Hong Liang Hong?" Someone exclaimed.
Hong Liang was not well-known in the past, and he was not outstanding among the stewards. But one day, this steward Hong was transferred to a place called a foundation. It is said that the prince personally accepted his fate, and he envied him for a while. how many people.
But afterward, this manager Hong did a few jaw-dropping things. The first thing was to recruit a few despicable black sheep, the kind that could be whipped to death if anyone was picked out. In the end, he found During that time, the common people heard the "Shunxin Escort Bureau" changed color, and they had to take a detour when they went outside the Escort Bureau, and some even poured blood on the gate of the Escort Bureau.
"Have you heard about what happened on the Mid-Autumn Festival? Was it really done by our Escort Bureau?" Someone asked in a low voice.
"Of course, even Jing Zhaoyin sent a plaque to show his appreciation. Many people have sent gifts to the Escort these days. Now that Shunxin Escort is mentioned, everyone is not so afraid."
Li Xu was sitting in the box at this time and was listening to Lei Luo talking about this matter. The so-called bodyguard bureau is actually a small company under the foundation, which is dedicated to serving Mr. Yu's donations. Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, there will be more A few missing children have been recovered, but they are few in number and not well known.
However, on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a gang of human traffickers abducted more than [-] children on the streets of the capital, both male and female, including children from wealthy families.
Every year during big festivals like Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, the streets are overcrowded. Countless children have been trafficked, and very few of them can be recovered. Otherwise, how could there be so many flower girls in flower houses everywhere?It's the same this time, the disappearance of more than [-] children just caused Jing Zhaoyin a headache all night, and then told the people below to do whatever they want. Who told them not to put their children in jail?
As for the child of the wealthy family, Jing Zhaoyin didn't take it seriously after learning about the background. He must be looking for him, but whether he can find it or not is up to fate.
The Shunxin Escort Bureau also received the news immediately. In fact, no one paid much attention to these mobsters. It was just good luck to find them the first few times.
"Where did you find him?" Li Xu asked curiously.
Seeing Hong Liang appearing, Lei Luo asked him to tell him that he did not come alone, but was followed by five thieves who could not be regarded as good citizens at first sight, everyone gasped and did not understand why Hong Liang brought them here.
Hong Liang bowed his hands to the crowd and walked upstairs. Of course he dared to bring people here because of the order of the prince. The prince said that he wanted to invite some great heroes to a banquet, and this banquet was just for the five of them.
Hong Liang walked with his head held high and his chest held high. There was no time when he was more majestic than today. When he entered the door and saw His Highness King Shun on the main seat, he put away his complacency and saluted in a proper manner.
"It's just in time. Tell me, how did you find those twenty or so children?"
Li Xu's eyes fell on those five employees, they were really good looking, none of them looked like a good thing, no wonder they were beaten with rotten eggs when they went out.
Hong Liang coughed twice, and began to tell about the experience of that night. This deed had already been told in a storybook by Mr. Yu in the Ruyi Teahouse, so he directly used the ready-made story to tell.
"That night, everyone was on guard, knowing that such a festival would inevitably lead to child kidnappers, so everyone made several guesses in advance. There are only a few types of people who will kidnap and traffic children. One is to sell people to people in need. , those who are serious children are usually bought by families who lack sons, so the targets are basically boys under the age of five, and there is another kind that are sold to brothels. These are usually girls, aged five to ten. Older ones are the best, especially those with outstanding looks and mediocre backgrounds. They can pick up customers after a few years of training. Those who are too young are difficult to raise, and those who are too big are difficult to train. Therefore, the most missing children every year are mainly these two types. .
Of course, there are exceptions. Kidnappers sometimes rely on sight. This time, a daughter of Yuanwailang's family was kidnapped. Those people want to fight, if they can sell this girl, it will be worth more than selling ten ordinary girls.
That night, Master Chen mobilized the beggars in and out of the city to stare at people along the street. These kidnappers would not leave the city immediately after robbing the children, but would definitely hide somewhere first. This place would not be too remote, so it would be inconvenient to get in and out. But it should not be too conspicuous, as it is easy to be discovered by others. Generally, they will have a fixed base in the capital, and they will have fixed contacts.
And those who know these families best are not the servants of the government office, but the beggars on the street. They go to beg along the streets in the capital. There are suddenly many people in the house.
But there can’t be only one target like this, and then everyone goes to each suspicious house to find out. These people must have dug a cellar, and it’s safest to hide in the cellar if someone snatches it, and the sound cannot be transmitted, so you have to touch the cellar It takes a little effort.
Fortunately, all of them are very skilled, and they know the situation of ordinary people committing crimes best. The thief is the most powerful. He touched several houses without anyone noticing, and no one found him. In the end, he found the place where the Tibetans... ..."
Li Xu waved to the thief. This man was about 50 or [-] years old. He had a sharp beak and gleaming eyes. He was startled by Li Xu's call. He lowered his head and moved over, then knelt in front of Li Xu and waited for his instructions.
"Are you afraid of me?" Li Xu asked.
"Yes... no, no, grass people... grass people are not afraid."
Li Xu smiled, stopped scaring him, and asked directly: "Did you really wash your hands in the golden basin? You didn't steal anything that shouldn't be taken when you entered someone's house, right?"
The thief kowtowed a few times, and replied tremblingly: "My lord, there is absolutely no villain. Although...Although sometimes I can't control it, Director Hong always guards outside every time, so he has to be searched." Let the villain go, once the villain thinks of the prince, no matter how courageous he is, he will not dare to take it."
"Very good, the king will reward you with something. Is there anything you want?" Li Xu asked generously.
Everyone didn't expect that the rewards could be chosen by themselves, the thief raised his head and glanced at Li Xu, then lowered his head and whispered, "I heard that the lord has a fist-sized luminous pearl in his hand, I wonder if I can borrow a villain to watch it for a few days?"
"Presumptuous!" Before Li Xu could speak, Hong Liang hastily stopped him, "You are crazy, you want such a big reward for a small contribution, why don't you want a mountain of gold and silver?"
Li Xu laughed loudly, "What Manager Hong said makes sense, but if it's just for you to watch for a few days, it's nothing, but how can I believe that you won't steal the orb and run away? That night pearl is priceless."
"Then... the villain will take a look at the palace, you can send someone to supervise."
"Why do you want to see that night pearl?"
"Just... curious, the villain loves treasures the most in his life, but he has no ability to buy them, so he took the road of stealing. Now that the golden basin has washed his hands, he naturally dare not steal again. If he can take a look, forget it. wish."
"Okay, since you like looking at treasures, you don't need to just look at the Ye Mingzhu, I allow you to go into the warehouse for a while, so that you can see enough."
The thief's eyes lit up in an instant, and he kowtowed three more times, "Thank you for your kindness, the lord, I will do my best in this life to reform myself!"
Li Xu waved his hand, and met several other people in turn, and gave them different rewards. The one for the swordsman was a precious sword, the one for the painter was an authentic work by a famous artist, and the one for the beggar Mr. Chen was a small dilapidated house. The house is big enough to keep out the wind and rain, and the madam is given a set of high-quality cosmetics, which is deeply loved by her.
When everyone saw these rewards, they knew that King Shun had done his homework. He knew each of them very well, and he was able to consider their preferences. He was a rare and generous employer. Since then, each of them has been the same Heart, wholeheartedly working for the Escort, after a few years, no one dared to come to the capital to traffic people, even the most famous flower houses in the capital did not dare to buy people from the traffickers, otherwise once it was found out that the flower girl was Bought from a human trafficker, there is no need to open the flower house.
And because of this incident, Mr. Yu's name spread all over the capital. Everyone knows that the Shunxin Escort Agency was funded by the money donated by Mr. Yu. He didn't even go to the government.
After Mr. Yu, Li Xu got a lot of fixed donations and developed a lot of new charity projects. This foundation became more and more famous in the capital, and later it even paid equal attention to the government, and was responsible for disaster relief across the country. Even court officials did not expect a small foundation to grow to such a scale.