The Heavens Begin with Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 80 The Big Plan Begins

Prince Zhongshun has been very depressed in recent months.

What was originally a good job was ruined by the arrogant manager, who pushed the people who had originally wanted to join him to the opposite side.

If it were just that it would be fine, but who would have thought that the guy named Zhan Niansi would be so successful in business.

As the liquor business became more prosperous, the potential losses to the court increased.

Although his royal brother never blamed him for anything, he became more and more uneasy. It would be more reassuring if he was severely scolded by his royal brother!
He didn't know if it was because he had a guilty conscience, but he always felt that his royal brother seemed to be distancing himself from him. Even the eunuchs in the palace seemed to have some profound meaning in their fawning smiles to him.

This won't work!
We must find a way to regain the emperor's favor!
But what to do?

Prince Zhongshun walked back and forth in his own garden with his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed, and he sighed constantly. The beautiful scenery in the garden could not make him relax.

"Your Majesty, I think that the person who tied the bell must be the one who can untie it."

Seeing that her prince had become increasingly worried in recent days, the princess began to give him some advice.

"What do you mean?" Prince Zhongshun asked hurriedly.

The princess smiled and replied:
"All the officials in this court are just the same kind of people, they are all fickle-minded, and I think the merchants should be the same."

"I think that Zhan is just a businessman. As long as we give him enough benefits, he will come over."

Prince Zhongshun shook his head and sighed:

"If it were that simple, the four princes and eight dukes can also give the benefits I can give. The benefits I can't give will require my brother to ask for it. So how can I win him over?"

When the princess heard this, she laughed so hard that she shook with laughter. She covered her mouth with her handkerchief and smiled without showing her teeth, looking like a lady from a noble family.

"Your Highness, this person is confused."

"The benefit that Zhan wants may not necessarily be gold or silver."

"Since he had intended to join the imperial court before, he must be a man with a clear vision and know the general trend of the times."

"Just look at the 'paying taxes to curry favor with the superiors' trick he pulled out before, and then look at how he immediately divided the wine business among the various families after he switched sides to the Four Kings and Eight Dukes. You can tell that in his mind, gold and silver are second, and safety is first!"

"From what I think, he was probably afraid of the prince. After beating the butler, he was worried that the prince would retaliate against him in the future, so he turned to the four princes and eight dukes as quickly as possible."

"This Mr. Zhan is an extremely smart man. He knows what to do to live a better life!"

"If the prince gave him a chance, made his attitude clear, and was willing to let bygones be bygones, would you still be afraid that he wouldn't surrender?"

Prince Zhongshun lowered his head and thought carefully, and felt that it made a lot of sense, so he nodded and praised:

"The princess is indeed very knowledgeable!"

"Then how should I express my attitude?"

"It's very simple. The prince only needs to beat up the steward who did the bad thing that day, expel him from the mansion, and then have someone pass the news to Zhan Nian Si. There is no need to worry that he will not understand the meaning of it."

After hearing this, Prince Zhongshun frowned again and smacked his lips and said:

"He is just a steward. I don't care. But doing this seems to damage my reputation. It is not right. It is not right."

After hearing this, the princess rolled her eyes at him unhappily, "Which is more important, face or the emperor's favor?"

"Of course the Holy Favor is important, but... face is also important!"

Prince Zhongshun drooled, hugged the princess into his arms, and begged softly:

"Princess, you are so smart and capable. Please help me think of a solution."

The princess pinched his waist in a reproachful manner, sneered and raised her head and said:

"I heard that Mr. Zhan is quite lustful. There are many beauties in the prince's mansion, so he gave him two. This attitude is clear enough, isn't it?"

Seeing the princess getting jealous, Prince Zhongshun hurriedly smiled and said:
"If the princess sees something she doesn't like, she can just drive it out. There's no need to give it away."

"The people in the Ning and Rong mansions are so shameless that they sent their wives' relatives to Zhan Niansi as concubines. We can't compete with them in sending daughters!"

"It's not that we don't have any candidates, it's just that they are relatives of our family, and they are not ordinary people. That Zhan guy is not worthy at all!"

"Hmph!" The princess glanced at him, but didn't say anything about his little thoughts. She also changed the subject gently. "If that's the case, then find someone to investigate whether there is any discord between him and the four princes and eight dukes' families. I don't believe that they are really as close as a family!"

"Hmm... there really is one!" Prince Zhongshun frowned and thought about it, and he really remembered, "Zhan Niansi seems to have always wanted to do something with the four kings and eight dukes, but it seems that the initial investment is too much, and the families are unwilling to do so, and they keep dragging him down."

"Yes!" The princess clapped her hands and said with a smile, "I said that the people of the four princes and eight dukes are short-sighted and can't accomplish anything great. They will definitely have conflicts with people like Zhan Niansi who have great ambitions."

"Since they are unwilling to do it, then the prince should just bypass them and cooperate with Zhan Nian Si."

"If possible, let Zhan Nian Si use the method of 'paying taxes to curry favor with the superiors' again!"

"By then, whether this business makes money or not, and whether the tax is as much as the liquor business, will be secondary. The most important thing is to let the emperor see that our palace has been working hard for the court."

After hearing this, Prince Zhongshun was overjoyed and shouted, "Good princess, you are truly a good wife!" He then opened his arms, picked up the princess, and strode towards the bedroom.

The next day, the unfortunate steward had his legs broken and was thrown out of Prince Zhongshun's Palace on the grounds that he "used the name of the palace to do evil things outside." Then someone rushed to deliver this news to Zhan Ershisi's ears, and intentionally or unintentionally conveyed Prince Zhongshun's interest in his grand plan.

This is truly a godsend!

Without saying a word, Zhan Ershisi prepared a valuable gift and went to pay a visit to Prince Zhongshun's palace. Naturally, he was warmly received by Prince Zhongshun and was entertained with a banquet.

Both parties had what they needed, and they hit it off immediately, as if nothing in the past had ever happened. They sat together, drank till the glasses were dry, talked and laughed, and chatted about everything under the sun, having a very happy time.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Prince Zhongshun asked about the details of the big plan. Master Zhan took out the huge blueprint he carried with him and unfolded it to show him.

He put a lot of thought into this blueprint and tried to sell it to many people, but when others looked at the huge complex of buildings on the map, they became intimidated and backed off. As for the expected huge profits, they were skeptical and were unwilling to invest heavily.

Having considered these issues, Zhan Ershisi often adjusted the tone of his lobbying. Now, facing Prince Zhongshun and the emperor behind him, he naturally had to change the focus of his lobbying.

For the Four Kings and Eight Dukes, they only care about money and do not consider any other factors. This is also an important reason why his big plan always fails.

But for Jin Shang, the most important thing is not just money!

Zhan Ershisi was already familiar with the information and data on the map, and immediately introduced it to Prince Zhongshun:

"Your Majesty, this is my grand plan, called 'Jockey Club'!"

"The core of this Jockey Club is the racecourse and the polo field!"

"As the name suggests, it is a place for horse racing and playing polo."

"The power of war horses is a national treasure, but the government's horse policy has been failing year after year and is declining. Why?"

"The imperial court's horse policy was originally very good, but when it came to local implementation, whoever raised horses suffered losses. The imperial court could not get good horses, and the horse breeders ended up going bankrupt and still could not pay for the losses."

"It would take a whole day to list all the disadvantages, but in short, it is just unprofitable!"

"But if we establish this horse club, the winner of this horse race will not only be able to win prize money, but also use the winning horse for breeding in the future, making a profit of at least a hundred times."

"With this benefit, are you still worried that the rich man won't raise horses?"

"If nothing else, at least in terms of horse administration, it can greatly reduce the burden on the court."

“And there are more benefits.”

"I heard that the North has suffered from drought and floods this year. Many people have been displaced and are now heading to the capital."

"If we want to build this Jockey Club, we will need a lot of manpower and material resources, at least tens of thousands of strong laborers. We can completely use work-for-relief to prevent these refugees from suffering."

"And after the Jockey Club is established, such a large area will definitely require a large number of people to maintain it on a daily basis. I wonder how many refugees can be resettled."

"As long as the refugees have jobs and food to eat, we don't have to worry about them causing chaos."

"Also, this horse race can not only test horses, but also conduct various off-site gambling competitions. Once more people come, all kinds of livelihoods can gather here."

"Inns, teahouses, wine shops, casinos, brothels, whorehouses... and a series of other places are all gathered in this area within a few miles. There are all kinds of food, drink, entertainment and entertainment here. As long as people bring money in, they can stay here forever. They can have whatever they want and don't need to leave until they spend all their money."

"At that time, this place will be a money-spending place. The commission and taxes collected every month will be a considerable amount, which can definitely fill up the national treasury."

These words made Prince Zhongshun's heart beat fast.

Compared with the bright prospects mentioned by Zhan 24 later, he cared more about the "horse policy", "work-for-relief", "tax collection" and "resettlement of refugees" mentioned by Zhan 24 earlier.

This is what the court really cares about!

If Zhan Ershisi's plan can really achieve all of this, he will probably be able to stand out in front of his royal brother!

As for gold and silver, what are they?
As long as he can hold on to the throne and retain the emperor's favor, why would he worry about no one giving him money to spend?
"it is good!"

"Great!"

Prince Zhongshun's face was filled with surprise and he clapped his hands in admiration.

He never expected that Zhan 24 could bring him such a big surprise.

However, he couldn't agree to this matter rashly. After all, he dared to agree to "collect taxes" or something like that, but things like "horse policy", "work-for-relief" and "resettlement of refugees" were not what he, as a prince, should do. He had to get permission from his royal brother before he could do it.

Otherwise, if someone reported him as "self-serving and scheming against his will", he wouldn't be able to explain himself clearly.

This is also an important reason why the four kings and eight dukes only care about money and ignore other factors.

It’s not that I’m not envious, it’s that I really don’t dare to touch it!
After figuring it out, Prince Zhongshun personally filled up Zhan Ershi's glasses, raised his glass with a smile and exclaimed:
"It's a pity that Mr. Zhan, who is so talented, is just a businessman!"

"It was all that damned slave who caused trouble outside and almost ruined the relationship between me and the master!"

"I will make a promise to you, sir. If this Jockey Club can really do what you said, I will definitely recommend you to an official position in front of my brother."

Zhan Ershi smiled and declined:
"I appreciate your kindness, Your Highness. But I am used to being lazy and I really can't get used to the hard work of being a waiter every day. Being a businessman is more suitable for me."

Prince Zhongshun thought that he was being polite and refused several times before he was sure that he really didn't want to be an official. So he just kept the matter in his heart and would find a way to repay him later.

After the guests and hosts had a great time, Zhan Ershi said goodbye and left. Before leaving, he held Prince Zhongshun's hand and repeatedly warned him:

"Your Highness, please remember that this Jockey Club must be led by you and hosted by the people. If the government gets involved, I'm afraid that all good things will be ruined, and in the end, you still won't be able to collect much money."

"And there is another advantage to a privately-run Jockey Club, which is that it will not attract criticism. Otherwise, when the Jockey Club makes money in the future, someone will definitely attack the court for competing with the people for profits."

Prince Zhongshun also knew how greedy people in official circles were, so he nodded in agreement, bid farewell to Zhan Twenty-four, and then went straight to the palace to see the emperor with the drawings.

To determine whether this was true or not, and whether it could achieve the effect that Zhan 5 had said, he would have to go to the palace and ask the emperor to find professionals to verify it. Zhan was not worried at all. Apart from anything else, the Hong Kong Jockey Club alone would be able to pay tens of billions of taxes a year, accounting for about % of all taxes in the city.

This is the proportion in the future when all industries flourish. If it were the current situation, the total amount of this tax might be reduced a lot, but the proportion would definitely increase significantly.

Especially in the capital, there are too many wealthy people, but most of them do not pay taxes. If all consumption places in the Jockey Club are collectively taxed, I am afraid that the taxes collected here will be more than the taxes of the two capitals and thirteen provinces combined.

By then, the Jockey Club will become a hot commodity, and all the officials and upstarts who are tied together because of it will have to owe him a favor. Even if the kings and eight dukes want to take revenge on him, they will have to think carefully.

Zhan Ershisi rode back to the mansion on horseback. As soon as he got home, he received news from Baochai that Tanchun had already made an appointment and was waiting for him to meet her in a designated courtyard.

After hearing this good news, Zhan Ershisi was immediately cheered up and immediately mounted his horse and rushed over there.

The yard here was prepared by Xue Pan. It is not very big, but it is secluded and there is no need to worry about being discovered by outsiders.

Master Zhan dismounted in front of the door, went up to knock, and saw Lvliu coming over to open the door with a smile.

"Master, Miss Tanchun is talking to the lady in the inner room. This time she brought two maids with her, Shishu and Cuimo. Master, please enjoy them slowly."

Master Zhan threw the reins to her and strode into the room.

"Haha... I passed by the door and saw that the carriage looked familiar, so I came in to take a look. Sure enough, it was Sister Tanchun who was here."

Seeing Mr. Zhan coming in, Tanchun blushed, glanced at Baochai, and was then pulled up by Baochai to greet him.

"Master, you have good eyesight. You recognized it at a glance. I made an appointment with Sister Tanchun to go out for fun. I felt a little tired when I got here, so I rested here for a while."

It was the first time that Tanchun had such a private meeting with someone in public, and she was still a little nervous. She just bowed with a blushing face, letting Baochai start first, and then came over to greet them generously.

The three of them pretended to be ignorant and talked a lot of gossip. Baochai gently poked Tanchun, and Tanchun smiled and asked:

"Brother Zhan reeks of alcohol, did he go out for a social event?"

"Oh, I just came back from Prince Zhongshun's residence and discussed some business with him."

"I see that Brother Zhan seems to be sleepy. The maid next to me has learned how to massage to relieve fatigue. If Brother Zhan doesn't mind, how about letting her give you a massage?"

Mr. Zhan then pretended to refuse:
"Shishu is the maidservant of my virtuous sister, how can this be done?"

Tanchun laughed and said angrily:

"Brother Zhan, why are you still being so polite to me?"

"It's just to relax the body, what's wrong with that?"

Seeing Tanchun's enthusiasm, Mr. Zhan couldn't resist her kindness and agreed.

Tanchun then pulled the maid over and asked her to take Master Zhan to the backyard for a bath and massage, while she and Baochai continued to "chat" in the front yard.

Before coming, the secretary had already received Tanchun's instructions and was willing to do so, so she lowered her head and blushed as she went to the backyard.

Lvliu and others had already arranged everything. When they saw them coming in, they got a bathtub, helped Master Zhan to take a bath, and then laid him on the bed. They then took their maid out to dress up.

Mr. Zhan waited patiently for about half a minute, then he heard the door open, the crisp sound of high heels, and a pretty young lady came to the bed.

Just looking at the wet hair, the rosy face, the delicate skin, and the tight OL suit, Mr. Zhan suddenly felt as if he was back in a foot massage parlor and his sexual desire was aroused.

It was the first time for Shishu to wear such revealing clothes. She felt dizzy and walked to the bed tremblingly. She bowed slightly and asked:

"Master, would you like me to give you a good massage?"

Master Zhan smacked his lips and said disdainfully:
"What you said is wrong. You should say, Boss, do you want to work overtime?"

Shishu was a little confused, but still repeated the question obediently:
"Boss, do you want to overtime?"

“That’s just right!”

Master Zhan was overjoyed. He jumped up from the bed, hugged the secretary in his arms and pressed her down on the bed.

Although she knew the final result would be like this, Shishu thought that she would have to massage him first, then flirt with him, and finally develop to that point. However, she did not expect that Master Zhan would be so direct and want to eat her right away. She could not help but panic, and while she stretched out her hand to push Master Zhan's chest away, she subconsciously said:

"Master, I haven't given you a massage yet!"

"Haha... wait till I teach you how to massage!"

Master Zhan laughed and stretched out a pair of magic hands, and began to demonstrate massage to Shi Shu. He rubbed Shi Shu until her whole body turned pink and her blood was boiling. Then he transformed into a big bad wolf and swallowed the little white rabbit in one gulp.

He was feasting on the meal here, while in the front yard Baochai and Tanchun were chatting more and more absent-mindedly.

Both of them knew what was going on in the backyard, so they had no time to pay attention to other things. The fact that they could barely chat there was already a lot of concentration.

He drank the tea over and over again until all the tea flavor was gone. He did not see Master Zhan come out from the backyard, and even when Green Willow went to the backyard, there was no sign of return.

Although Baochai had some physical contact with Master Zhan, they had never really fought each other, so she didn't really know much about Master Zhan's fighting ability. Even when she heard some rumors from Hongye, Lvliu and others, she just thought they were flattering her master and didn't take them seriously.

And Tanchun had no chance to witness Mr. Zhan's durability.

Both of them were from big families, so they were not completely ignorant of matters between men and women. They knew that normally it would only take a cup of tea or two to be over. But until now, the two had not come out yet, so they were surprised and worried that something might have happened in the backyard.

However, thinking that there was Lvliu guarding the backyard, if anything really happened, she would definitely come and report it, so he sat down patiently again.

After chatting for a while, Tanchun finally lost her patience. She looked at the sky which was already beginning to darken, and worried that she would be too late to return home, so she pretended to complain:

"Shishu is really something. She is so slow in doing things. But I asked her to help Brother Zhan relax, but she never came back."

"Cui Mo, go to the backyard and take a look. Don't tell me that this little girl is being lazy and has gone to sleep somewhere."

"It's getting dark, it's about time for us to go back."

Cui Mo certainly knew what was going on behind the scenes. After hearing this, her face turned red, and she lowered her head to accept the task and went to the backyard.

She hurried to the backyard, and from a distance she could hear the soft and beautiful moans of the maid coming from the room, which made her blush.

After entering the backyard, she looked around but could not see the green willow.

Cui Mo didn't dare to enter the house. She stopped at the door, knocked gently, and whispered:
"Shishu, it's getting late today, we should go back home, please move faster on your 'massage'."

Then he heard the secretary's intermittent words coming out from inside the door, "Master... the boss has added another hour, it really can't be done any faster!"

After she finished speaking, her moans immediately became faster, one after another, and she couldn't stop at all.

Cui Mo was curious, so she stuck out her tongue and made a small hole in the window paper. She peeked inside and saw three figures stacked on top of each other, doing this and that. She was immediately frightened and her face turned red and her heart beat fast. She didn't dare to look anymore and ran back to the front yard.

After seeing her young lady, Cui Mo's face turned red. After hesitating for a long time, she chose her words carefully:

"The secretary said that Master Zhan's muscles and bones are too hard to massage. It will probably take a while before the massage is finished."

"Also, Sister Lvliu is also helping Shishu with the massage."

The two girls immediately realized what was going on and their faces turned red. They changed the subject and continued to "chat".

After a long time, when it was almost dark, Master Zhan came out from the backyard in high spirits. He smiled and bowed to Tanchun, thanking her:

"Thank you for waiting here for so long, sister Tanchun. The secretary's cooking skills are so good that I fell asleep without realizing it, so it took a long time. Please forgive me."

Tanchun just pretended not to know and returned the greeting with a red face:

"If Brother Zhan likes it, then I can ask the servant to give him a massage more often in the future. We are all family members, so why would we say thank you?"

While the three of them were talking in the front yard, Cui Mo hurried to the backyard and saw that Lvliu had already gotten up and was washing herself in the bathtub used by Master Zhan, while Shishu was slumped on the bed, his soul flying away, not wanting to move at all.

She hurried forward and simply helped the maid to clean up, then helped the weak maid to get into the carriage outside the door, and then went into the room and winked at Tanchun.

When Tanchun knew that the matter was settled, she stood up and said goodbye. She and Baochai went out hand in hand, got into the car, and went straight back to Rongguo Mansion.

After entering her own courtyard, she asked about the maid half out of curiosity and half out of concern.

"Shishu, why did it take you so long to serve the master today? Wasn't it going smoothly?"

The secretary hadn't yet digested what she had learned today, so she stood there with her legs crossed and replied shyly:

"It was quite smooth, but the master was too healthy, and I could not bear the beating alone. Later, it was Sister Lvliu who helped me, and I finally endured it. Next time, I am afraid that Sister Cui Mo will have to help."

"If you get married in the future, it would be best if you let me accompany you in your wedding night. Otherwise, I'm afraid you won't be able to endure the hardship."

After hearing this, Tanchun was surprised and happy. She said nothing and just turned to look at Cui Mo.

Cui Mo had already been in love, and without Tanchun asking, she shyly lowered her head and agreed:
"I will follow the young lady's instructions."

The matter was thus settled, and we just had to wait for Baochai to invite us next time.

However, Prince Zhongshun took the blueprint into the palace and explained the details to the emperor, who was also quite surprised.

"I never thought that Zhan Niansi, a mere businessman, could look at things from the perspective of a prime minister. That's really remarkable."

"It's a pity that he didn't come from a legitimate imperial examination background, so his future achievements in officialdom will be limited."

"He must have known this in his heart, so he didn't want to be an official, he just wanted to be rich and powerful."

"Since he has such a heart, I will not be stingy with my reward. What if I promise him a lifetime of wealth and honor?"

"Shouzhong, go find someone from the Ministry of Works to look at this blueprint and figure out how likely it is to succeed. If it can really be used, ask the Ministry of Works to select a site outside the city and recruit people to build it."

Prince Zhongshun remembered Zhan Ershisi's reminder and hurried forward to bow.

"Brother, Zhan Niansi and I have specifically reminded you that places like horse racing and gambling cannot be built by the court, otherwise it will surely attract criticism."

"There are many corrupt officials in the government. If they were to build it, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to collect the final taxes."

"Zhan Niansi's idea is that my younger brother should take the lead and find some of our own people who have some money to build it, so that it can be regarded as a folk organization."

"When the time comes, if it succeeds, it will be because the court has good management. If it fails, it will not involve my brother the emperor."

After the emperor heard this, his brows twitched, he thought for a moment, then slowly nodded and praised:

"This Zhan Nian Si is really a thoughtful person. It's rare, rare!"

"Then we won't go through the manual department, and we'll have someone else check the drawings. Once they pass, you'll be in charge."

"As for the reward for Zhan Niansi, we will discuss it later after seeing how his method turns out."

(End of this chapter)