Qing Yao

Chapter 432 Sir, I'm your classmate.

"."

Zhao An was a little confused. He knew that Si Shazi was a vampire, even more greedy than Heshen, with nothing but money on his mind. But surely he wouldn't disregard his identity and ask for money directly.

The normal procedure would be for him, the junior Golden Core cultivator, to offer it voluntarily, and for the Nascent Soul senior, the Four Fools, to feign reluctance before reluctantly accepting it, with the senior and junior supposed to get along harmoniously during the process.

What kind of Nascent Soul expert would directly solicit bribes from a junior member of their own sect? That's just too much.
This is too good, this is too blessed for Chang'an!

He was inwardly cursing, but dared not show it on his face. He had to put on a frightened look, frantically rummaging in his sleeve pocket while forcing a smile and saying, "This servant is new to the capital and does not know the rules. I was only concerned with kowtowing and paying my respects to Your Excellency and forgot that this is a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it, Your Excellency, as a good omen for the princes and princesses in Your Excellency's household."

No sooner had he finished speaking than two silver notes, each worth five thousand taels, were presented to Fu Chang'an.

"Please accept this with pleasure, of course I will. You've come all this way, I can't possibly offend anyone but you, Fu Lu Shou."

Fu Chang'an accepted the money without hesitation, and his smile became even brighter when he saw that it was two bills worth five thousand taels each.

He casually tossed the silver note aside and pointed at Zhao An, who looked rather reserved, saying, "Sit, sit. What are you doing standing there?"

“There is no seat for a servant in front of the Grand Master.”

That being said, Zhao An still carefully placed half of his buttocks on the chair.

"Ah."

Fu Chang'an was clearly in a great mood. He picked up a piece of candied fruit from the table and popped it into his mouth. "By the way, about your matter of acting governor, An Dali told me when he came back. He thought that you, as a servant, were quite shrewd in handling affairs, and that it wasn't quite legitimate for you to always be doing things under the title of acting governor. So he mentioned it to Grand Secretary He, and the Ministry of Personnel will handle it for you after the Lantern Festival."

The matter of being promoted from acting to official status had already been revealed by Heshen, but that didn't stop Zhao An from excitedly getting up and kowtowing to the Fourth Fool.

"Your Excellency's kindness in nurturing me is as high as heaven and as deep as earth! Your humble servant... Your humble servant..."

Zhao An was so excited that he was somewhat incoherent, but his basic skills were quite solid.

This must have been very enjoyable for Fu Chang'an. After all, who wouldn't like the feeling of being able to control someone's future with just a word?
Who wouldn't enjoy it!

"Get up."

Fu Chang'an smiled and gestured with his hand. After Zhao An sat down again, he said with a smile, "Are you still thinking about the extra 250,000 taels that were deducted? Don't keep grumbling about that money. Do you know how much of a bargain you got?"

Having said that, he picked up the loan contract that had just been signed on the table and tapped it lightly. "In this world, whether it's being an official or borrowing money, there are rules to follow. What's that saying again? Without rules, there can be no order. Zhao Youlu, let me tell you the truth, your substantive post as Governor of Anhui is worth this much according to the market rate!"

Fu Chang'an held up three fingers. "Three hundred thousand taels, no less! Even with this much, many people are holding silver notes but still can't find a way to get in! I'll only take two hundred and fifty thousand taels from you, not a single extra penny from beginning to end."

"This 250,000 taels is a discount I gave you because we're family. Tell me, is 250,000 taels too much for me? Do you resent it?"

"Not much, not much!"

Zhao An peeked at the ground like a chick pecking at rice, "Not much, not at all! Your Excellency has gone to great lengths for me, and I am filled with gratitude and a desire to repay you. I would never dare to utter a single complaint!"

"Hey, that's right!"

Fu Chang'an chuckled, "I just like dealing with sensible people. It's not that I'm incapable of dealing with those roundabout ways, it's that I disdain doing them. Don't worry, the Ministry of Personnel's documents will be issued after the Lantern Festival. Just relax and wait to become the Governor of Anhui!"

Zhao An expressed his gratitude again, hesitated for a moment, and then said softly, "Your Excellency, what about the memorial I submitted to the court before the New Year?"

Fu Chang'an said "Oh": "Please proceed with the temporary donation?"

Zhao An nodded hurriedly and said, "To be honest, Your Excellency, Anhui is poor and has a weak foundation. Under the current circumstances, the provincial treasury is really unable to support us. I had no choice but to come up with this expedient measure."

“I know a little about the situation in Anhui. Asking for donations is one way to help.”

Fu Chang'an spoke slowly and deliberately, "Ultimately, this matter still needs to be discussed and verified by our Ministry of Revenue. However, there are some key points involved..."

He looked at Zhao An meaningfully.

Zhao An felt a chill run down his spine, knowing that the four fools were trying to get a share of the pie again. Helplessly, he said, "It all depends on Your Excellency's decision. If it succeeds, everyone in Anhui will be grateful for Your Excellency's great kindness!"

Fu Chang'an wanted exactly to hear that, so he immediately made a decision: "Leave the matter to me, but I want this amount after the donations, whether gold, silver, rice, or grain, are converted into cash."

He simply held up two fingers and waved them in front of Zhao An.

Zhao An tentatively asked, "Twenty percent?"

"Correct!"

Fu Chang'an grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth, looking like a hungry wolf eyeing a piece of meat. "That's right, 20%! Don't worry, this money isn't just mine. I have to smooth things over with the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel. You can't be so smart as to not understand that, can you?"

"understand!"

He said he understood, but in his heart, a thousand mythical beasts of the grasslands were galloping through his mind.

Two percent?

Those four idiots are blacker than charcoal!
Originally, Zhao An intended to use 20% to pay loan interest, but not only did the four idiots deduct the loan interest, they also demanded that he contribute 20% of his donation income. They were no longer a Nascent Soul stage Grand Councilor, but rather a bloodsucking leech sitting next to the Golden Palace!

The question is, does he dare to refuse?
Without the approval of Fu Chang'an, the Grand Councilor in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, the matter of donating money would never have been approved.

Zhao An is in dire need of money more than anyone else right now.

Anhui needs money for post-disaster reconstruction, for vigorously developing industry and commerce, for mining and steel mills, for large-scale road repairs, for military industry development, and for organizing local militias and training a new army.
Although some military funding could be obtained from Heshen, the overall development and construction of Anhui was a bottomless pit. Relying solely on Anhui's tax revenue and financial means to completely revitalize the province was simply wishful thinking.

Currently, the Anhui provincial treasury still owes grain merchants more than three million taels of silver. Although this loan has been financialized through Xianfeng Bank, turning from physical goods into banknotes, as long as Zhao An's banknotes have credibility and as long as Zhao An still wants to build the largest bank in Liangjiang, he will have to provide grain merchants with these three million taels of silver at any time.

The economic pressure is immense.

Saying no now would immediately offend Fu Chang'an. Forget about the governorship becoming official or temporary donations; this bastard would probably even make things difficult for the normal retention of taxes.

Weighing the pros and cons takes only a moment.

Zhao An directly stated, "You idiots, it's only right that you take 20% of the profits. On behalf of the 20 million people of Anhui, I thank you and your ancestors for eight generations."

Having achieved his goal and made a fortune out of thin air, Fu Chang'an was in high spirits. He looked at Zhao An with admiration, said a few more meaningless words, and then picked up his teacup, clearly indicating that he wanted to see his guest out.

There's no need for any written agreement for a 20% deal, and Zhao An wouldn't dare to use two ledgers to fool him.

The junior officials in the Ministry of Revenue who were in charge of auditing knew everything. They could send a working group to Anhui without even having to investigate the entire province. They could just pick one or two counties and find out how much corruption was involved in the donations in Anhui.

Zhao An tactfully got up to take his leave. After walking out of the magnificent gate of the Fu Mansion, the humble smile on his face vanished instantly, replaced by an icy coldness.

Walking ahead without saying a word, Xu Lin behind him could clearly feel the oppressive aura emanating from Shao Jun, but dared not ask any questions.

As they approached the carriage, Zhao An glanced back at the Fu Chang'an family's mansion complex and whispered to Xu Lin, "Remember this house. In the future, you'll lead the troops to ransack this bastard's house. Don't let a single brick, tile, door, or doorway be left untouched!"

"it is good!"

Xu Lin dared to raid even the Forbidden City, so what was raiding the home of a Grand Councilor? Far from being surprised, he was filled with excitement.

Pooh!
Just wait, you and your son will get what's coming to you!
After taking a deep breath, Zhao An put on a professional smile again, walked to the carriage, and instructed Cao Cheng to take him to the home of Su Ling'a, the Minister of Personnel.

It's still early, so I can wish a few more big shots a Happy New Year today.

Su Ling'a, the Minister of Personnel, was the father-in-law of He Shen's younger brother, He Lin. He was originally a low-ranking official who was not successful. He was almost sixty years old and was still a deputy director in the Ministry of Personnel.

However, Lord Su was fortunate to have two beautiful daughters. One became the wife of Guotai, the former governor of Shandong, and the other became the wife of Fengshen Yimian, the son of Helin.

Thanks to this connection, Su Ling'a, whose fortunes turned around in her later years, rose from a section chief to the Minister of Personnel, becoming the head of the Qing Dynasty's personnel department. Truly, her father's status rose with his daughter's.

Well, Su Shi was very polite to Zhao An, this rising star. After all, he had seen Zhao An's performance at the New Year's Eve party and knew that Heshen had deliberately promoted Zhao An.

Why talk about work during the New Year? After accepting the five thousand taels of silver from Zhao An, Minister Su stroked his beard and offered a few platitudes before concluding the meeting.

Next was Shu Chang, the Minister of Works. He looked like an old scholar, didn't talk much, and had a very gentle attitude. He pretended to care about the water conservancy situation in Anhui and hinted that if the Ministry of Works had suitable project funds, they could give some preference to Anhui.

In other words, Lord Zhao, you need to submit a memorial to the court reporting the engineering projects, right?

It doesn't matter if they're fabricated, since the Grand Council and the Grand Secretary have the final say, and the Ministry of Works is under his control.

The Ministry of Works will allocate 600,000 taels of the one million tael project funds to you; that's pure profit.

Don't worry, Minister Shu won't send anyone to check whether your project in Anhui has started or what the progress is like.

He is a reasonable person.

Zhao Anxin understood and also presented five thousand taels of silver.

Shu Butang declined briefly but then accepted the gift, and even offered Zhao An a cup of tea, which was a great honor.

The following day, the third day of the Lunar New Year, I went to pay New Year's visits to several other important figures, and the New Year's gift was always five thousand taels.

These officials were very welcoming to Zhao An's visit. After all, a young second-rank official who was favored by the emperor and trusted by the Grand Secretary had a promising future and might one day be on equal footing with them.

After going around in circles, Zhao An felt that although he had spent tens of thousands of taels of silver, apart from getting a fly in Fu Chang'an's place, all his investments were worthwhile.

In his eyes, the core members of the entire Heshen faction, at least on the surface, presented a harmonious picture of "unity, cooperation, and common prosperity."

The only thing these people don't realize is that once the old master passes away, everyone will suffer the consequences.

All the important people had gone, and Zhao An wasn't familiar with the others. After several days of running around, he was exhausted, so he decided to stay at the examination hall and rest.

On the morning of the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Zhao An was awakened from his sleep by a series of urgent knocks on the door. Then he heard Yang Xiaoshuan excitedly saying outside the door, "Brother An, a lot of officials have come to wish you a Happy New Year!"

Are you wishing me a Happy New Year?

Zhao An sat up abruptly, quickly put on his clothes, and pushed open the door to look down at the lobby. There were indeed dozens of officials waiting there to wish him a Happy New Year.

"Who are these people?"

Zhao An was a little confused.

Xiao Shuan hurriedly whispered, "Brother An, some of these people say they're from Anhui, and some say they're from Jiangsu. They're all officials in Beijing."

"Oh."

Zhao An suddenly realized that as the governor of Anhui, any Anhui official in Beijing should at least pay a New Year's visit to their local governor to strengthen their relationship.

The same logic applies to officials from Jiangsu; after all, Lord Zhao's ancestral home is Jiangsu.

It must have been the news of the New Year's Eve party and the old man's family banquet that made the officials of the two provinces realize that a big shot had emerged from their "hometown." If they didn't come to make a name for themselves now, when would they?

In officialdom, there are always more people who add flowers to brocade than those who offer charcoal in the snow.

Having figured this out, Zhao An's spirits lifted, and the fatigue of the past few days vanished.

This is not only an opportunity to get acquainted with officials from Anhui and Jiangsu provinces in Beijing, but also a good opportunity to receive gifts.

We can't all come empty-handed, can we?
It's Chinese New Year, are you looking for a beating?!
He quickly instructed Xiao Shuan to have the steward Qian Wen serve tea and snacks to the guests, making sure these officials in the capital felt Lord Zhao's hospitality.

To present his best image, he specially changed into a brand-new official robe, put on a pair of glasses and a peacock feather, and went downstairs with a beaming smile.

"Lord Zhao has come down!"

Someone shouted, and suddenly the lobby downstairs was filled with all sorts of auspicious greetings.

Flattery and sycophancy were incessant.

"Please, everyone, have a seat."

As Zhao An descended the stairs, he repeatedly returned the greeting with clasped hands, displaying neither arrogance nor arrogance, while maintaining a certain distance, fully demonstrating the demeanor befitting a promising frontier official.

The officials certainly knew the proper etiquette; after kowtowing, exchanging pleasantries, and saying all the right things, they would prepare a small gift to express their gratitude. Some would offer silver notes directly, while others would present some valuable gifts. These small matters were all handled by Qian Wen, the person in charge.

Of course, the visitor's name, organization, and contact address must be registered.

Zhao An glanced at the group of officials in the hall and estimated that there were about fifty or sixty people, mostly from Jiangsu and fewer from Anhui, roughly a 40/60 split.

The highest-ranking official was a physician of the fourth rank, who lived not far from Zhao An's hometown, in Taizhou.

His official career is not going well. At fifty years old, he is still only a deputy director-general. Without a powerful figure to help him, he will never be able to enter a ministry in this lifetime.

Zhao An's demeanor in dealing with people, honed over time, was impeccable. A few words from him could elicit uproarious laughter and spark endless imagination among the officials involved.

His gaze seemed to deliberately fall on a certain official, his face showing admiration, and he would nod slightly from time to time, making the official's heart surge with excitement, regretting that he had only given one hundred taels.

The atmosphere wasn't just lively, it was extremely lively.

Among the crowd, an official dressed in a seventh-rank official robe and looking to be around thirty years old finally had Zhao An's gaze turn to him with a friendly expression.

Having finally gotten his chance, he quickly said, "This humble servant, Wang Wannian, is fortunate to be born in the same year as Your Excellency. I was also a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the Wanshou Enke (extra imperial examination) of the fifty-fifth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, and I am currently working in the Ministry of Justice!"

吆？
Are there classmates here?
"So it's you, Brother Nian!"

Zhao An's smile widened, and he was almost ready to grab Wang's hand and say, "I've missed you so much!"

Those who passed the imperial examination in the same year were like classmates in their graduating class. No matter how high their official rank was, they still had to address each other as elder brother or younger brother. Any classmate who dared to treat a classmate with the status of an official would be scolded.

Of course, those of lower rank still need to be self-aware.

Wang Nian, ever the self-aware one, addressed him as "Sir" and then presented a beautifully bound booklet he had been holding with both hands: "Sir, you are truly the most outstanding among my classmates from the Gengxu year, the number one! I also greatly admire you, and I have a request that I humbly hope you will grant!"

"Brother Wang, if you need my help, please tell me."

Zhao An subconsciously took the beautifully crafted booklet from Wang, assuming it contained either a large sum of money or a gift list.

Unexpectedly, Wang smiled broadly and said, "This is my treasured copy of the 'Generation Record of Fellow Graduates of the Gengxu Examination.' I humbly request to exchange it with you, sir, so that I may admire your demeanor from time to time and perhaps even absorb some of your good fortune and official aura, which will also inspire me to strive for excellence!"

"."

Yearbook?
Zhao An looked down at the booklet in his hand and saw that it was indeed some kind of record of classmates.

Everyone was envious of Wang Wannian for being a fellow graduate of the imperial examination with Lord Zhao, and they were also jealous of Wang Wannian's ability to curry favor. In officialdom, exchanging degrees was a particularly high form of flattery, not only elevating Zhao An to the position of "model of fellow graduates," but also publicly confirming and strengthening their relationship as fellow graduates of the same year as Zhao An, and incidentally raising their own status.

It's like the deputy township head having the honor of exchanging business cards with the top official from the province at a city-level conference.

Yes, that's quite a lot of effort put into it.

Ok?
Why does Lord Zhao's expression look a little unnatural?
(End of this chapter)