"Master Hou, I have lost again!"

He Ruhui respectfully admitted defeat and played three consecutive games of chess. He Ruhui was still determined to defeat Xue Poye at the beginning, but when he actually fought, he realized that Sir Xue's chess ability was not at all inferior to his own, and was even higher than his own.

, three consecutive sets had the same ending.

It is said that Go is a strange game, and those who are good at it will definitely be quite powerful when it comes to intrigue.

Xue Poye's chess skills were naturally not superb or even top-notch, but in the eyes of He Ruhui, since he could beat him, the way of conspiracy must be better than his, so from the bottom of his heart, he was

Added a bit of caution and caution.

Xue Poye put down the chess pieces and looked out the window. He saw that the sky outside was starting to get dark. These three games of chess had already consumed a lot of time.

A cautious voice came from outside the door: "Sir, sixty-three of the one hundred and seventy-four merchants have already raised donations."

He Ruhui stood up in a hurry, went over to take the booklet, and presented it to Xue Poye.

Xue Poye reached out and took it, opened it, and saw that it was full of names, and the amount was also written in detail after the name. Most of them were a few hundred taels of silver, and occasionally there were a thousand taels of silver, but there was a Suzhou

The merchant donated 8,000 taels, which was considered the largest donation.

Xue Poye saw that the name did not belong to the Qiao family, but a businessman named Huang, so he pointed to the name and said: "This man has some meaning, he understands my intention, and these eight thousand taels can be regarded as his understanding of the current situation.

After a pause, he asked: "Master He, your roster was divided into levels earlier. What level does this person belong to?"

He Ruhui hurriedly walked to the desk, took the book again, flipped through it for a while, and finally said: "Sir, this is a porcelain merchant. He is considered the number one person in Suzhou. He is also very generous and has a good reputation in Suzhou.

"

Xue Poye touched his nose leisurely and asked: "How much should he donate?"

He Ruhui thought for a while and said slowly: "The Lu family donated fifty thousand, so he must donate at least fifteen thousand taels!"

"Fifteen thousand taels?"

Don’t forget to tell him that if he donates this money, it will be recorded in the household records and his tax will be reduced by half within three years.”

He Ruhui said hurriedly: "I understand!" and slowly retreated.

"There has to be something sweet." Xue Poye looked at He Ruhui's back and said to himself.

…

The sky is getting darker and the temperature is getting lower. Some weak-willed businessmen have already donated money and even started to persuade the businessmen around them to donate money quickly.

After all, the imperial court is reaching out for money and cannot resist.

However, although businessmen are the most profitable people in the world, they are also the most stingy with money. Suddenly they have to spend tens of thousands of taels of silver, which is unacceptable no matter what, so many people are still persisting, hoping to pass.

Insisted that the court charge less.

The officials carried up the lampposts and lanterns, and the yard suddenly became a lot brighter.

Although the courtyard is bright, the hearts of the merchants are even more gloomy. Look at this situation, the minister wants everyone to spend the night in this courtyard. Thinking about the long cold night and the miserable people, many people are already terrified.

Nan Huaiwu, who had been sitting quietly, finally stood up, walked to the accountant, took out a stack of banknotes from his arms, and said in a voice that everyone could hear but was not very loud: "Hangzhou, Xue Poye.

, twenty thousand taels!”

There was a commotion.

In fact, although Xue's company now has the potential to become the leader of Hangzhou's business community, this is only in terms of appearance. In terms of real wealth, Xue's company, which has been operating for only half a year, has limited funds and must be compared to the big players in Hangzhou.

This 20,000 taels is considered a real big deal, reaching the limit.

In fact, although part of this money was spent from the accounting office of Xue's enterprise, most of it was obtained from Hangzhou officials' filial piety to Xue Poye, and was now donated.

This not only solved the problem of bribery, but also made Xue's company more famous. Without these filial piety, Xue Poye would not have been able to come up with 20,000 taels of silver at once.

Nan Huaiwu seemed very low-key. After donating the money, he sat back down.

Just a moment later, a Yulin guard came over, hugged Nan Huaiwu, and said respectfully: "Mr. Nan, it's freezing cold, you have devoted your whole life to the court, and the minister appreciates your loyalty to Da Chu.

My love, I want you to go down and rest first."

Nan Huaiwu stood up and clasped his fists politely, and someone immediately shouted: "Wait a minute, didn't you say that you can't leave even after donating the money? Why should I stay in the cold after donating the money, but Nan Huaiwu can leave?"

It was Lin Tao who donated a couple of silver.

Yu Linwei didn't even look back and said very straightforwardly: "Leave? Then it depends on whether you are loyal to the imperial court or not."

Everyone understands this. The so-called "loyalty or not" depends on the amount of money you donate. If you Lin Tao donates one tael of silver, it is unfaithful. If Nan Huai donates 20,000 taels, then he is loyal.

.

So no one spoke anymore, and everyone truly understood that the minister was playing rogue tricks. It looked like he was inviting a banquet, and he didn't use swords or guns, but in fact he put everyone in a cage.

Bleed some blood, then starve in the cage.

…

…

Mr. Accountant finally brought good news to Xue Poye. These businessmen could no longer pretend and even began to ask Mr. Accountant how much they should donate to meet the target.

So the trained accounting gentlemen used a very lazy tone and tactfully and sincerely reminded the merchants of the minimum amount they should donate according to the notes on the roster.

The merchants were filled with resentment and scolded the imperial court and Xue Poye. However, in front of the accountant, some of them hesitantly took out the money they should donate. The accountant shouted

Their names and the amount of donations made their hearts sting.

"Sir, one hundred and seventeen people have donated, and the total amount of donations is 3,448,000 taels!" Mr. Accountant handed the account book to He Ruhui, and handed it to Xue Poye via He Ruhui.

Xue Poye leaned on the chair and read through it. A faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he said softly: "It seems that they have understood a lot." Suddenly he shook his head and sighed: "It's just that there are still some people who don't understand things too much.

Well, most of the merchants in Yangzhou didn’t donate.”

He Ruhui came closer and said: "Master Hou, the merchants in Yangzhou all act based on the Fang family's face. Fang Xiaohu has not done anything yet. Even if those people below him want to donate, they have to think about the consequences."

"***." A curse word popped out of Xue Poye's mouth and he sneered: "I expected there would be nails, but I didn't expect this nail to be so hard and interesting." He waved his hand and said, "Go ahead and donate the amount of silver."

, brought them to the main hall for a banquet, and asked Mrs. Fang to prepare whatever they wanted to eat. Even if they wanted a woman to sleep with them, she would find them for them. Those who didn't donate money, hey, let them continue to spend it.

"

Yu Linwei agreed and immediately went down to make arrangements.

Xue Poye said to He Ruhui again: "Master He, since this nail is so hard, it seems that I have to grind it myself." After a pause, he said: "Please go to the side hall for dinner, Master He. You can accompany me."

, As for Mr. Fang, hey, invite him here, I want to have a drink with him."

He Ruhui rolled his eyes and quickly understood what Lord Xue meant.

Drinking to the point of drinking may be true, but as for "Yan Huan", it can only be that Mr. Xue is "happy" and Mr. Fang is "unhappy".

He Ruhui was a smart man. He smiled knowingly and immediately went to kiss Fang Xiaohu in person. He was still thinking about what method the Marquis would use to make Fang Xiaohu submit. This Fang Xiaohu was not an easy master to deal with.

There were several plates of side dishes and two pots of fine wine. The lights were lit in the room, but the lights were not bright. Xue Poye seemed to have deliberately created this atmosphere. The elegant hall was very dark, but also very warm.

When Fang Xiaohu stepped into the elegant hall, he immediately saw a young man in official uniform sitting on a comfortable chair, playing with a wine cup in his hand, looking very interested.

Under the illumination of the lights, Fang Xiaohu discovered that this young official was extremely handsome, with fair skin, and wearing an official uniform, he had an aura of calmness and authority.

"The common people have seen you, sir!" Fang Xiaohu knelt down on the ground, his voice seemed to be respectful, but inside he was extremely resentful.

Businessmen are classified as untouchables, and this is the reason. No matter how much wealth you have, no matter how famous you are in the state capital, and no matter how influential you are in the business world, when you see the officials of the court, you can only act like

They lay on the ground like turtles and grandsons, showing the gap in status between the two.

Xue Poye raised his brows, stood up and clasped his fists, saying: "Master Fang, I've been waiting for a long time. I'm really sorry. I'm busy with official duties, and I don't have a clue until now. I'm rude and disrespectful. Come on, come on. It's freezing cold today. Let Master Fang

It's really my fault to be cold outside. Here are some fine wines and dishes to warm you up." After saying that, he went up to help Fang Xiaohu up, looking very friendly.

Fang Xiaohu secretly cursed in his heart: "What a pretentious guy." However, he had to admire Xue Poye for being so wise at such a young age. He thanked him with a grateful expression: "What did you say, sir? Your official business is more important, Fang Xiaohu still has to do it."

It really bothers you, sir."

Xue Poye took Fang Xiaohu to sit down at the table, poured the wine politely, and said softly: "This time, I followed the emperor's order and came to Jiangnan to raise donations. I heard in Kyoto that Mr. Fang is a wealthy man in Jiangnan.

, I am not longing for him, I have wanted to visit you for a long time, but due to my busy work schedule, I have never had time. I am really happy to meet Mr. Fang today. Mr. Fang established his family business and made great contributions to the business flow of our country.

, I really should be grateful.”

Fang Xiaohu smiled faintly, cupped his hands and said, "You're welcome, sir. I just do some business to support my family. As for being called Jiangnan's rich, it's just a fallacy. I hope you won't believe it."

Xue Poye waved his hand and said: "Master Fang is so humble. Before I left, I really made some inquiries. Even many officials in Kyoto knew about the Fang family's financial situation in Jiangnan. I heard that Zhan Shifutang

Yuan Ling Fang Yifei, Mr. Fang, is the eldest son of Mr. Fang. In this way, Mr. Fang is still my senior."

Fang Xiaohu's eyelids twitched and he said calmly: "I don't dare!" In his heart, he really didn't want to say these half-yin and half-yang words to this sinister minister. He glanced at Xue Poye and said: "My lord asked the grassroots to come, I don't know.

Any advice?”

"Where is that!"

"Thank me?" Fang Xiaohu was stunned and became alert, wondering what Xue Poye wanted.

Xue Poye raised his glass and said, "Mr. Fang, let me toast you!" He drank it all in one gulp, and then he looked at Fang Xiaohu with a smile on his face. The look in his eyes was indescribably kind, but Fang Xiaohu took it from Xue Poye's.

There was cunning in the depths of his eyes. He was well-informed and had experienced countless problems and dealt with countless situations in his life. However, in this weird elegant hall, he trembled slightly for no reason.

If the other party is a scheming old guy, Fang Xiaohu may not be afraid, but such a cunning young man with a hidden smile makes Fang Xiaohu feel a little depressed, as if something is blocking his chest, and it is actually a little difficult to breathe.

Fang Xiaohu frowned slightly and drank the wine, but it was as hard to swallow as if he was jealous.
To be continued...