pertwk Chapter 1507 Still Needs to Find Him
Chapter 1507 Still Needs to Find Him
Chapter 1507 Still Needs to Find Him
"How many are there?" He Lingchuan flicked his finger on the mirror. "There are dozens of buyers for Youhu Villa, and fifteen of them are on the list of officials involved in the expansion of East Lake."
"Ah? No, no, I checked."
"You also need to compare the relatives of the officials. For example, the Gu family bought the second row of the first phase of Youhu Jingshe, and the official Huang Shilu on the Tianshui expansion list is the son-in-law of the Gu family; the Lao family also bought the Youhu Jingshe, and Qi Shuan's younger brother Qi Shuhuan is on the Tianshui City expansion list. Although the official is not a high-ranking official, it is a good thing to be on the list."
Mirror suddenly realized: "The officials and nobles who bought Youhu Villa, their 'loyalty' has finally been rewarded!"
"Now you know why these people are trying so hard to buy Youhu Villa, right?" He Lingchuan said with a smile, "In this way, most of the officials in the royal court will stand firmly behind King Yao. So far, Qingyang has lost this game miserably."
"If King Yao does this, there will be no consequences?"
"How could there not be any? They are extremely toxic." He Lingchuan said, "Let's not talk about anything else. Since these people who are on both lists spent a lot of money to join the expansion team, do you think they will be able to act honestly in the future?"
Mirror understood and laughed: "No, definitely not. If I were them, I would definitely make back double the money I donated!"
"So, this was destined to be a corruption project from the beginning. It is still unknown what the project will look like in the end, but the holes that will be left behind will definitely be shocking." He Lingchuan smiled, "King Yao may not be aware of this, but the situation looks good on the surface, and he doesn't have the energy to think about it anymore."
……
Countless people moved the beads of their abacus, and two days passed quickly.
In these twenty hours, He Lingchuan was summoned to meet the emperor five times.
Even King Yao felt a little embarrassed, as he was not in charge of this project, but he summoned He Lingchuan more times than he summoned officials involved in the project!
There was no way, King Yao and You Rongzhi had too many questions to ask him. Although the plan for Tianshui's eastward expansion was completed in a short period of time, it was full of difficulties when it was put into practice!
The essence of He Lingchuan's suggestion lies in the word "fast".
If you want the people to pay, this major project must not be done slowly. The slower the government moves, the less anxious the people will be, thinking that the higher-ups have returned to their old ways.
If they are not in a hurry, King Yao and the national treasury will not be able to collect money.
However, launching such a major project is like the giant rhino chariot of Yao State, which requires extremely strong power to pull the first few steps.
At this time, Wang Dongxing, who was in his fifties, suddenly developed an acute illness and fell ill.
His illness was rapidly deteriorating, and it was difficult for You Rongzhi to be left alone to lead such a big project.
The eastward expansion plan had just taken its first step and encountered difficulties when the project was approved.
After more than 20 hours, even the first substantial step was dragging on, which was not in line with the original intention. You Rongzhi had no choice but to go to the palace to find King Yao.
King Yao's face wasn't looking good either: "Are the hundreds of officials under you all just eating for free?" They can't even get such a project done?
He didn't want He Xiao to interfere.
"It's not that it can't be started, but the speed is far slower than expected." You Rongzhi had to say shamelessly, "This plan was originally contributed by He Xiao. You always summoned He Xiao to the palace to offer advice and suggestions, so why not..."
The ideas are all other people's. Don't you always seek advice from them?
That night, an imperial decree was delivered to Yongquan Villa:
King Yao appointed He Xiao as the senior official in charge of the Tianshui expansion project.
The Soul Mirror pouted when it heard this: "It's just an empty title?"
This was obviously a post created for a person, and He Lingchuan was not given any real power. The so-called "discussion" meant that King Yao and You Rongzhi would consult He Lingchuan whenever they had something to discuss.
In other words, if he wanted to offer advice and suggestions as a consultant, the king would summon him to do so.
But he has neither decision-making power nor command power and can only give people "suggestions".
"This old guy is guarding against you while trying to drain you out at the same time!" The Soul-Catching Mirror couldn't help but curse King Yao for being so cruel that he wanted the horse to run away but also didn't want the horse to eat grass.
He Lingchuan was not angry at all: "Then he has to be able to defend himself."
Hollow out? Let's wait and see who hollows out whom in the end.
Early the next morning, He Lingchuan did not wait to be summoned and went to find You Rongzhi to discuss the eastward expansion project openly.
“Although this is a huge project with many aspects to deal with, roughly speaking, as long as Mr. You pays attention to the four aspects of funds, materials, manpower and progress, the project can be put into operation quickly.”
You Rongzhi nodded: "The project has just started. The so-called 'progress' depends on the coordination of the first three items."
Only when the first three are in place can progress be accelerated.
However, "materials" and "labor" depend to a large extent on "funds". The national treasury is still stretched to its limits and cannot allocate so much budget for the eastward expansion project.
A large sum of money was allocated a few days ago to support Bisha.
Yao State had done many large projects in the past, but they were notoriously inefficient. For example, it took five years to build a canal more than 20 miles long, and the temple of Miaozhantian took two and a half years to complete.
The expansion of Tianshui City has been in preparation for so many years, but construction has been delayed because King Yao was worried about the inefficiency.
Now he began to complain that the pie that He Lingchuan had painted for him was round and beautiful, but in actual operation, the efficiency returned to its original level, and even the first step of starting was not easy.
This made him very upset.
So he simply pulled He Lingchuan in as well, to see clearly whether this guy was just good at talking big or could really get things done.
"Building roads and bridges is relatively easy, just recruit corvée labor. But building buildings, walls, and towers requires fine carving, so you need experienced craftsmen, the more the better. And there are all kinds of materials, and if you want them to arrive quickly, you have to spend money."
He Lingchuan smiled and said, "Da Yao has a prosperous trade, especially in Tianshui City. Experienced craftsmen have joined teams and rarely work alone. For example, the team leader who built Youhu Villa can easily lead a team of 400 to 500 people, and can also coordinate materials on his own. The new city is too big. I see that Lord You's plan has divided the new city into several areas, each of which is managed by a special team. Isn't this very scientific... very reasonable? What's the problem?"
Yao State has a long history and is experienced in large-scale projects. In the past, when building dams, roads, and temples, they often used complete teams and divided the construction into sections.
These are all very mature construction plans, far ahead of other places in Shanjin. In He Lingchuan's view, these teams are the contractors, the so-called Party B.
The team leader also revealed that behind these teams, big and small, there are actually nobles and wealthy businessmen. For example, he himself is backed by the Gu family.
Tianshui City has a long history, and the powerful and wealthy will get involved in all money-making businesses.
"It's the same old problem, money." Materials cost money, construction costs money, and the first step to start the project requires money. "The king asked them to pay first and promised to pay it back within three months with a 10% increase in the price, but they still dragged their feet."
Obviously, Yao Wang also knew that the forces behind these construction parties had plenty of money. As long as everyone contributed a little money, the project could start immediately.
But enthusiasm cannot be forced, not even from Yao Wang.
"The world is bustling with people, all for profit. Your Majesty's idea is very good, and we need to be more aggressive." He Lingchuan rubbed his thumb and index and middle fingers together a few times, making a gesture of giving money, "Pay back double within three months!"
You Rongzhi was shocked: "Double it!"
In the history of Yao State, the government has never offered such high interest rates!
"How can we speed up without paying huge profits? Isn't progress the most important thing right now?" He Lingchuan advised him, "If we can't speed up in the early stages, who will be willing to pay for it when they see that there is no follow-up? On the other hand, as long as the new city is built smoothly, why worry about not having money to deposit later?"
You Rongzhi went to the palace to discuss with King Yao.
Finally, the King of Yao made the final decision: Any contractor who advances the payment for materials and labor will be repaid within four months with a 50% increase in the price by the national treasury!
King Yao still felt sorry for the money, so unlike He Lingchuan, he chose a compromise plan.
He Lingchuan just smiled when he heard this, as expected.
This move really worked. As soon as King Yao opened his mouth, the work teams, materials and workers immediately came to the site. After the leading meeting was held, the project started right away.
The voucher that Yao Ting issued to the contractor was a "redeem note" with the amount and date written on it and a Qinghong seal. No matter who it was, they could take it to the official to redeem the amount on the note after four months.
The most convenient thing is that this thing can be transferred.
The problems of funding, materials and manpower have been solved for the time being, and the progress has increased rapidly.
The Soul-Catching Mirror was indignant: "That old man Yao Wang asked you to work for nothing, and you really beat him up?"
"Why not?" He Lingchuan said with a smile, "He thinks that if he doesn't give me an official position, I will have no real power. Let him think so."
The mirror was puzzled: "What actually happened?"
"The difficulty of Tianshui's eastward expansion does not lie in its launch." He Lingchuan said slowly, "Its most dangerous part will only become apparent after it is launched! Yao Nation dares to undertake this project now, which is overestimating its own capabilities!"
At this moment, Wanqi Liang rushed in and reported:
"My lord, there are a large number of palace guards outside!"
He looked tense, ready to strike at any moment.
He Lingchuan was also a little surprised, but smiled and said, "It's okay, I'll be fine."
He walked out of Yongquan Villa and saw that the person who came was actually Zhao Song, with nearly a thousand people following him, all dressed as guards.
He Lingchuan often goes in and out of the palace now, and he recognizes at a glance that everyone here seems to be the palace guards.
"Brother Zhao, what is this?"
Zhao Song took out a handwritten letter and said solemnly: "Island Master He has worked hard, and the king has specially ordered me to lead 900 guards to take care of Island Master He's safety!"
He Lingchuan suddenly realized and thanked him repeatedly.
King Yao actually sent him a guard team of 900 people!
The Soul Mirror groaned in his arms: "How considerate! Hey, King Yao is afraid that you will run away with the money, right?"
He Lingchuan had several million yuan in project funds in his pocket, and it would take more than three months to pay the balance to King Yao. It would be strange for King Yao to feel at ease with such a large sum of money in He Lingchuan's hands!
Therefore, this guard of 900 people is nominally for protection, but in fact for surveillance, to ensure that He Lingchuan cannot escape from King Yao's nose without permission.