Chapter 10: Dragging the Emperor into the Water
Xu Da rushed to the county office with a heavy heart. He needed to gather all the intelligence and report it to Li Fan. It was beyond his ability now, so he had to seek Li Fan’s help. Li Fan was lounging in his rocking chair, enjoying grapes peeled by Xu Miaoyun.
Having transmigrated three years ago, Li Fan, the top scholar, had big plans. However, he suddenly awakened the Corrupt Official Assistance System. Points could be earned by embezzling gold and silver. One tael of silver equaled one point. With 100,000 points, one could obtain a snowflake silver chest. If one could find a way, more could be gained. Thus, he refused Zhu Yuanzhang’s appointment and came to Fengyang.
After three years of effort, he transformed Fengyang, making it a different place. Building roads, setting up checkpoints, distributing loans, and constructing the imperial tomb were all profitable. He had accumulated over 90,000 points and only needed to work a bit harder to open a gold chest, hoping for good items.
Seeing his daughter serving Li Fan, Xu Da sighed. Women matured quickly, and perhaps it was time to discuss their marriage. He approached and coughed lightly.
Xu Miaoyun had noticed her father’s arrival and inquired softly, “Daddy, you’re back. Have the merchants expressed their intentions to purchase?”
Xu Da lay back comfortably on the adjacent empty chaise lounge, rocking gently. “Most of them want to buy, but some are still on the fence, neither committing nor refusing. It’s puzzling.”
Handing Li Fan a grape she had just peeled, wiping the juice from his mouth with a handkerchief, Xu Miaoyun said without hesitation, “It’s quite simple. Those people are most concerned about the imperial city. Even with your endorsement, some still have doubts. Now we need other bigwigs to come forward and show support.”
Spitting out the grape seeds, Li Fan lamented, “If only the emperor would issue a decree directly, things would be much easier. Alas, what a pity. Otherwise, the transaction price could easily double!”
Xu Da was worried about how to explain to Li Fan, but hearing his words, he seized the opportunity and said urgently, “Just now, a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard came to report. The emperor already knows about our auctioning of the imperial city!”
He paused, watching Li Fan continue to eat grapes.
“Somehow, aren’t you worried about involving that person?” Xu Da asked curiously.
After feeding Li Fan a grape, Xu Miaoyun said casually, “Auctioning the imperial city is such a big deal. How could the emperor not know? Besides, we never intended to conceal it from the beginning. Now we’re just trying to persuade the emperor.”
Xu Da stood still, unsure of what to say. Although he was considered a prominent figure in the Ming Dynasty, compared to his own daughter, he felt inferior. Not to mention compared to Li Fan, who was one step ahead and could see ten steps ahead. It was better not to play coy.
“The emperor has issued a decree. He can allow us to sell the imperial city, but we must give him ten million taels!” Xu Da finally spoke up.
Hearing the emperor’s request, Xu Miaoyun breathed a sigh of relief. At first, she was worried that the emperor would not agree. Unexpectedly, without her persuasion, he took the initiative to propose conditions. She couldn’t help but admire Li Fan even more. He not only solved her father’s problem with the Northern Expedition funds but also provided a steady stream of funds to the Wei Duke’s mansion. Such ability made her unable to help but love him!
Upon hearing Xu Da’s words, Li Fan pondered for a moment. No one in this world would remain indifferent to twenty million taels of silver, especially not a poor guy like Zhu Yuanzhang. He was typical nouveau riche who suddenly became emperor and had no idea how to govern the country, leading the Ming Dynasty into chaos.
Although the Ming Dynasty was now on the rise, it was still struggling to make ends meet. The Ministry of Revenue had no surplus funds; otherwise, they wouldn’t struggle to raise funds for the Northern Expedition. When the emperor heard that selling the imperial city could fetch twenty million taels of silver, he would definitely not sit still.
Li Fan had thought the emperor would make an outrageous demand. Fortunately, he only asked for ten million taels. As long as the emperor issued the decree to sell the imperial city, the wealthy families would definitely step in, driving up the prices of all the courtyards. Ten million taels was just a drop in the bucket. It was equivalent to buying insurance. However, Li Fan couldn’t just give it to Zhu Yuanzhang so easily.
He said directly, “We can give His Majesty twelve million taels, but it can’t be given all at once. It must be given in installments: sixty thousand taels per year, paid off in twenty years!”
Xu Da immediately understood what Li Fan meant. This auction would definitely not be able to generate much actual silver. Most of it would be borrowed from the money shops. Even if all the money shops in the Ming Dynasty were combined, it would be impossible to come up with so much silver.
Everything was just empty promises, relying on the prestige of the Wei Duke’s mansion and the county government to make the merchants believe. And now, with the emperor’s involvement, it would be even more convincing. This money was like a declaration of war on the emperor.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Li Fan was really bold. He dared to play with the emperor. Wasn’t he afraid of death?
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