20demayo Chapter 176 A man with money is a hero, a man without money is nothing.
Chapter 176 A man with money is a hero, a man without money is nothing.
Regardless of who is cooperating with whom, the primary task for this entire plan to proceed smoothly is to raise money. And where will this money come from? Naturally, it will come from the wealthy merchants and gentry of Lincheng. But it's not easy to get people to give away their wealth for nothing. However, Yinzhuo is not too worried about this, since this business is his fourth brother's specialty. Although his fourth brother is not yet the ruthless emperor who confiscated property in history, he thinks this small matter will not be difficult for him.
"Magistrate Sun, go and find me a few people who are familiar with the area around Lincheng. Fourth Brother, I want to take some people out of the city for a stroll later. We need to choose a place to build dugouts, we can't just dig them at the city gate."
As soon as Yinzhuo said this, he was rewarded with a big potsticker by his fourth brother. How could our Prince Zhao be willing to be beaten for no reason? He covered the back of his head and glared at his fourth brother.
"Fourth Brother, why did you hit me?"
Why should I hit you? Why did you have to come to me and act stupid? Yinzhen glanced at Yinzuo, who was full of resentment, and felt that he hadn't hit him hard enough. He raised his hand and hit him on the forehead again.
"Akshan, Hatu, you two keep a close eye on your master. No one is allowed to leave the city without my order. Magistrate Sun, the selection of the dugout's location is in your hands. Also, compile a list of wealthy merchants and gentry in the surrounding city and send it to me tomorrow in my name..."
Yinzhu was initially indignant after being slapped twice by his brother, but he wasn't stupid. Combining this with Yinzhen's words that he was not allowed to leave the city, Yinzhu quickly understood why he had been slapped.
"Fourth Brother, you're really something. You meant well, worried I'd get into trouble taking people out of the city, but why couldn't you just talk things out? You had to start hitting me right away. You didn't learn this bad habit from anyone. It's only because I'm so smart that I understand immediately. If it were Ninth Brother or Fourteenth Brother, they'd probably be arguing with you like this. Didn't I tell you before? Communication is very important. Many misunderstandings arise from a lack of communication..."
When Yinzhen heard Yinzuo's rambling, he couldn't help but want to hit him again. Look at what he said, as if you hadn't been arguing with me before. And do you think you would listen properly if I spoke nicely?
"You still have the nerve to say that? Every time I try to talk to you nicely, when have you ever listened? Only by hitting you hard like this can you learn your lesson."
Magistrate Sun was extremely efficient. Before long, he delivered the list of wealthy merchants and gentry to Yinzhen. Yinzhen discussed the list with Magistrate Sun, selected a few, and then sent someone with his visiting card to invite them.
Since arriving in Lincheng, even though Yinzuo lived next door to Yinzhen, the two brothers didn't see each other for several days. It wasn't because Yinzhen was too busy to come back, but mainly because their schedules were different. Yinzuo knew his fourth brother was busy, so he simply didn't bother him. Every day, he either led his guards around the city to inspect the disaster situation or gathered with the Ministry of Works to study the blueprints for the dugout. His requirements were very simple: to accomplish the most with the least amount of money.
To be fair, Yinzhen really did have some skills. On the fifth day after arriving in Lincheng, Yinzu got up in the morning, dressed himself, and stepped out of his bedroom to see Yinzhen waiting for him in the flower hall, along with several large boxes of silver ingots on the ground!
"The money has been delivered to you, and Magistrate Sun has also chosen a location. If there are no problems on your end, we can start construction at any time."
Now that everything is ready, Yinzhuo, the favorable wind, cannot fail at this time. As the saying goes, money can make the devil turn the millstone. Now that Yinzhuo has money, it is not difficult for him to get the disaster victims outside the city to work for him. As soon as the recruitment notice of ten coins a day was posted, several thousand disaster victims were gathered in just two days.
"Magistrate Sun, have your men divide the disaster victims you've recruited these past few days into groups of ten, and then have them go to the nearby villages and towns to find any abandoned houses collapsed by the heavy snow, tiles, wood, tarpaulins—basically anything they think might be useful—and collect it all. After that, have someone go and haul those things to the site you've chosen beforehand to build the dugouts..."
Yinzhuo's current priority is two words: speed and economy. The abandoned houses collapsed by the heavy snow can undoubtedly meet both of his requirements. As the saying goes, many hands make light work. In just two or three days, the treasure-hunting team collected a large amount of materials. Before Magistrate Sun sent people to bring these things back, Yinzhuo had already taken people from the Ministry of Works to conduct an on-site survey. When they returned, they adjusted the previous blueprints. As soon as Magistrate Sun's supplies arrived, he could start working immediately.
The most difficult step in building the dugouts was digging the pits, but fortunately, there were many strong laborers recruited from among the disaster victims. As long as the tools were available, this small task was not a problem. Yinzhuo divided everyone into two groups: one group went out to continue collecting materials, and the other group stayed behind to regroup and build the dugouts according to the process. This busy work lasted until New Year's Eve.
"Alas, it's a pity that we can't go to pay our respects to our father and grandmother tomorrow, the first day of the Lunar New Year. We've been away for so long, I'm starting to miss them."
Upon hearing Yinzuo's words, Yinzhen paused in his act of picking up food, looked up at Yinzuo sitting opposite him, and said with a smile, "I tease you."
"That's a pity. You can't go and pay your respects to the Khan and the Empress Dowager. You'll probably lose a lot of money this year."
"Isn't that right? Otherwise, could I say it's a pity? I really lost out this year..." Seeing Yinzhuo's disappointed look, Yinzhen couldn't help but laugh. He put down his chopsticks, got up, went to the table next to him, picked up a bulging purse, and handed it to Yinzhuo.
"Look at your pathetic self, it's just a little silver. Fourth Brother will make up for it for you. Here, take it."
Yinzhen has witnessed firsthand what it means to be greedy for money. Good heavens, just a second ago he was heartbroken and dejected, but as soon as he got his hands on the purse, he immediately beamed with joy. What else could this be but greed for money?
"Sixth brother, are you sure you're thinking about Father and Grandmother? I think you're thinking about the money in their hands. Should your fourth brother get you a mirror so you can take a good look at yourself? We're practically obsessed with money."
Look, look, didn't I already say that you should see through things but not say them? Besides, what I'm mainly thinking about is people, and money is just a side thing, isn't it? And you probably haven't heard that saying? A man with money is a hero, a man without money is nothing. Money is a bastard, but it looks really good.