The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 3 Longkodo

Li Yan left the court and followed the crowd of civil and military officials out. After a while, the Eighth and the Ninth followed him, and the Eighth kept complaining.

"Tenth brother, what can I say about you? Why didn't you discuss this with us beforehand? Things in Jiangnan are not that easy to handle. If you rush in so nervously, you will end up causing a big mess."

"That's right, Old Ten, even Eighth Brother may not be able to handle this matter. Tell us what you think?" Old Nine asked with a worried look on his face.

Li Yan glanced at the two brothers. Normally, the three of them had the best relationship.

Li Yan knew that Old Eight would definitely be doomed in the end, but now the two of them were genuinely concerned about him, so he said, "Eighth Brother, Ninth Brother, when Fourth Brother mentioned the silver in the national treasury today, my heart skipped a beat. You also know that Eighth Brother's Ministry of Revenue had been covering up this matter before, but now because of the Yellow River flood, Fourth Brother has made such a fuss, and it is definitely impossible to cover it up."

At this point, a resentful look appeared on Lao Ba's face, as if he was very dissatisfied with Lao Si for causing trouble in his territory.

Li Yan continued, "Now the flood is here to stop us. The next step is that the emperor will definitely have to clear the treasury debt. You know, I owe more than 200,000 taels. What should I do then? I will definitely be scolded by my father. So, I want to take this opportunity to hide and get some money from the flood to fill this hole!"

"I just thought of this idea temporarily. In that situation, I couldn't discuss it with you two."

When the Eighth and Ninth Brothers heard what Li Yan said, they immediately understood.

So that’s it!
The ninth brother raised his eyebrows at the eighth brother and winked at him: "I told you, the tenth brother is not the type to do real work, he must be out to make money!"

The Eighth Brother was not relieved at all: "Tenth Brother, if you really need money, you can discuss it with us and we can find a solution together. But if you take this job and fail, how will you explain it to us?"

"Don't worry, Brother Ba. This is my first time on a mission. The Emperor knows what's going on and won't ask too much of me. As long as I can comfort the victims and avoid any major chaos, the Emperor will definitely approve of this."

Li Yan was not worried at all and looked casual.

Lao Jiu also relaxed: "That's right, Brother Ba, don't we still have the two of us? No matter what, we can't let Lao Si and the others take over this job."

"Don't worry, Tenth Brother, this is your first time on a mission, and my ninth brother and I will definitely help you. Let others see what we are capable of, so that Fourth Brother and the others won't always say that we don't do practical work!" Eighth Brother patted Li Yan comfortingly.

Li Yan thought for a moment and said, "My dear brother, you should also be careful. The treasury is empty and the emperor is furious. The Ministry of Revenue has been under my supervision these years. If you are held accountable, you will be held responsible. If I ask you to get the money you lent back, you will be in trouble. My dear brother, you should make plans early!"

Upon hearing this, Lao Ba's heart tightened and his brows furrowed. Lao Jiu was also speechless.

The three of them fell silent, walked out of the palace one by one, got on their own sedan chairs and dispersed.

After leaving the palace and sitting in a sedan chair, he walked towards home. After a while, the road was blocked. Li Yan stuck his head out of the window and saw a group of people making a fuss. It seemed that several people were surrounding a young man and pushing and shoving. Several people were arguing loudly in the middle of the road, blocking Li Yan's way. Li Yan ordered the guards: "Go and see what's going on!"

After a while, a guard came to report: "A man lost money in gambling and is arguing with the boss of the gambling den!"

Li Yan lifted the curtain and looked over from a distance.

I saw a young man wearing a washed-out robe and a hat, shouting at the top of his voice: "Boss Huang, I've been here for many years. We've been friends for so many years. I'm just borrowing two hundred taels of silver. What's so difficult about it?"

"Master Long, we are a small business here and can't stand your arrogance. I'll tell you the truth, if you have money, we welcome you, but if you don't have money, we will not receive you." Several people from the opposite side surrounded him, and one of the middle-aged men said with a sneer on his face.

The young man said indignantly, "Our Tong family is not a small family. How can we owe you a few dollars and not pay it back? Others can lend money, why can't I? I just don't have the money today, so I'll lend you two hundred taels first and pay you back tomorrow."

"Master Long, I don't mean to look down on you, but the superiors have told me not to lend you money."

"Besides, you are of noble status. If you can't pay it back, we can't do anything to you. You can only suffer in silence. Well, I still have to do business here. You should go somewhere else and have a look." After saying that, he led a group of people into the gambling den nearby.

"Nonsence."

The young man looked dejected. He patted his clothes, cursed a few words, and prepared to leave.

Li Yan seemed to have thought of something and said to the guard: "Go and ask if that man is Longkodo. If so, call him over."

After a while, the young man came to the side of the sedan chair, took off his hat, and said with a sly smile: "I was wondering who it was seeing all the commotion here? It turns out to be Master Shi. I, Xiao Duozi, am here to pay my respects to you, Master."

"Hey, Xiao Duozi, you're already an adult, but you don't have a proper business. You hang out everywhere every day, which doesn't look good to Lord Tong!" Li Yan teased with a smile.

At this time, Longkodo was not yet the powerful Longzhongtang during the Yongzheng period, but just an unhappy and down-and-out young man.

His father Tong Guogang died early, and he was sent to the frontier by his uncle Tong Guowei for training. However, he could not bear the hardship and secretly ran back. This made Tong Guowei very angry. After several negotiations, he exempted him from the crime of desertion. From then on, he never cared about him again and let him wander around.

Now Longkodo is in a situation where he has no food to eat, and is often forced to go to Tong Guowei to beg for money. Tong Guowei would help him beg for money every time because of his deceased elder brother, but he was even more disgusted with Longkodo.

Longkodo blushed and said, "Master Ten, I am now in dire straits and being bullied everywhere. Please don't make fun of me. If Master Ten doesn't mind, I will come to you for help. Please don't let Xiao Duozi come out." Of course, Li Yan would not make fun of Longkodo for no reason. He was thinking that he could not be without manpower when he went to Jiangnan. There were servants and guards in the mansion. The ones he was on good terms with were other princes. Some of them were not as good as him. He had to have two people to serve him, and they could not be without any background. The officials and wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan were the most selective.

Although Longkodo had no status in the Tong family, people outside didn't know that. They only knew that he was Tong Zhongtang's nephew, so he could raise the banner.

Thinking of this, Li Yan took the imperial sword he had just obtained, shook it in his hand, and said proudly with a look of showing off, "Xiao Duozi, do you recognize this?"

Longkodo took a quick look and took a deep breath!

Although he had never seen it before, he was familiar with the gold threads on the hilt and the golden dragon carved on the scabbard. He hurriedly said, "Oh, Master Shi, this is the emperor's royal sword. How come it is here with you?"

"I am granted the imperial sword and ordered to inspect Jiangnan. I am given the power to make decisions on the spot and handle all matters in Jiangnan!" Li Yan said with a serious face.

Longkodo knelt on the ground with a snap: "Your servant Longkodo, respectfully greets the Holy Saint!"

"Saints! Get up!"

Li Yan spoke the lines majestically.

After he finished speaking, his eyes flashed, and he looked at Longkodo with a serious face: "Little Duozi! This prince has been entrusted by the emperor, and he is busy with things. I will not chat with you. Let's meet again another day."

"Get up the sedan!"

The bearers lifted the sedan chair, waited for the guards to lead the way, and then slowly walked forward.

Longkodo was stunned in place, his eyes rolled around, and he hurriedly trotted to catch up. He waited carefully on the side, and shouted loudly for pedestrians on the road to get out of the way and not to block the Tenth Master's arrival!
Li Yan sat in the sedan chair, smiling secretly.

After a while, they arrived at the Tenth Master's residence. As soon as the sedan chair landed, Longkodo carefully opened the curtain and said with a smile: "Tenth Master, please slow down and be careful with your steps."

Li Yan looked at Longkodo who was bending over and serving carefully, and said with a smile: "Xiao Duozi, what are you doing? You didn't do any of these things!"

"It is a blessing for me that Xiao Duozi can serve the Tenth Master. Tenth Master, please go slowly and be careful of the steps." Longkodo accompanied Li Yan into the Tenth Master's mansion.

The two men entered the reception room. Longkodo immediately took the teapot from the maid, poured water for Li Yan, then carefully brought it over and handed it to Li Yan.

Li Yan took two sips, put down the cup, chuckled and said, "Xiao Duozi, if you have anything to say, just tell me. Let me make it clear first, my Tenth Master's Mansion may look big, but it has no money."

"Besides, it won't be long before the Emperor has to pay off the debt owed to the treasury. I still owe the treasury two hundred thousand taels of silver, and I don't have any money to lend you now."

'Forehead'

Longkodo, who had been smiling just now, suddenly turned pale when he heard such heavy news.

My heart started beating like a thump.
He was so nervous that he didn't care about anything else. He asked hurriedly, "Master Shi, who told you this? I haven't heard that the emperor wants to pay off the debt owed to the treasury."

Li Yan knew that Longkodo had been doing nothing all day and eating and drinking without the care of his family in the past few years. He had overdrawn all the credit in the treasury and was in debt. This news was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for him.

Li Yan's face became heavy. He recounted what happened in the court today and said at the end, "Due to the flood in Jiangnan this time, funds need to be allocated for disaster relief. The emperor just realized that the treasury is more empty than ever before. All the money in it has been borrowed by the civil and military officials in the court. He was furious and even the crown prince, my brother, and other princes and ministers were reprimanded by the emperor."

"I think it won't be long before the Emperor starts paying off the debts owed to the national treasury."

Seeing Longkodo sweating down his forehead, nervous and scared, Li Yan asked with a smile: "Why are you so concerned about this? Did you borrow money too?"

Just finished speaking!

"bang"

Longkodo knelt down and begged bitterly: "Master Shi, you must save me. I have borrowed several thousand taels from the national treasury over the past few years. If the emperor wants to recover it now, I will be forced to hang myself!"

"Oh, get up!"

"What are you doing?"

"Xiao Duozi, it's not that I don't want to save you. I just told you. I owe the national treasury two hundred thousand taels. I can't even do it myself, how can I help you?" Li Yan pulled Longkodo up, looking helpless.

(End of this chapter)