Chapter 888: Distribution
Chapter 888 -891: Distribution
Gu Wenheng looked at the endless line and said to Vice Minister Li, “I’ll leave this to you. Remember to keep a close eye on things for me.
“Make sure to have someone write up another notice. The daily exhibition time shouldn’t exceed five hours. Once it gets dark, it’s not good for people to view the exhibits anyway.
“If anyone causes trouble, don’t hold back. Just ask the garrison commander here for help. They will report it directly to the palace.”
Having considered every detail, Gu Wenheng ignored the ministers who were still standing around watching. Flanked by the officials of the Ministry of Revenue, he left the palace gates.
“Look at how arrogant he is,” Xu Yangguang said through gritted teeth. The Xu Family had pulled a lot of strings for the position of Minister of Revenue. He thought it was already in the bag, but to his surprise, it was snatched away by Gu Wenheng.
How long had it been? This man had already secured his position, and even the Holy Emperor favored him. He thought this event would be another chance to finally bring this man down, but surprisingly, Gu Wenheng was quite lucky…
Mao Bingyan stroked his beard. “This man is highly talented. With him serving as the Minister of Revenue, is there still any worry that the National Treasury will be empty?”
“Lord Mao,” Yu Ligao said with a smile. “You can’t just say things like that casually. It just so happens that the palace has put some new items on display. Why don’t we go take another look?”
Mao Bingyan quickly shook his head. “I won’t be joining you. Although it’s just one Silver Tael per trip, it adds up, and that shouldn’t be underestimated.
“I still have a large family to feed. It’s better to save this Silver.”
Although his two sons were capable and had also entered the court as officials, he had many descendants, and many were at the age of marriage. He dared not squander money lightly.
“Then I will be going…” Mr. Yu said.
“Go on, go on,” Mao Bingyan added just as Yu Ligao was about to leave. “Remember to scout out some rare items and broaden my horizons later.”
Yu Ligao turned back and pointed at him. “Aren’t you afraid that I’ll arbitrarily raise the price and demand a higher viewing fee?”
“As long as Mr. Yu is happy, I will definitely pay a visit to your home,” Mao Bingyan replied.
“You old geezer, you sure know how to scheme,” Yu Ligao said. “When the time comes, you’ll eat and drink at my home, and I’ll still be the one losing out.”
“Lord Yu, let’s leave some things unsaid,” Mao Bingyan said. “It’s settled then. I will eagerly await your good news.”
Yu Ligao ignored him, pulled out one Silver Tael from his chest pocket, and followed the crowd inside.
Just walking this one lap completely opened Yu Ligao’s eyes.
Guarded by a group of sword-wielding soldiers, everyone moved forward slowly and orderly.
Just as they had seen yesterday, a eunuch stood beside each display cabinet.
“Please take a look at this Jade Guanyin. Supreme Emperor…” Whenever someone showed interest and stopped to look, a dedicated attendant would step forward to carefully explain the item.
He listened to the attendant speak with confidence and ease, even going so far as to describe this Jade Guanyin as the mascot of the Grand Imperial Study Room.
Yu Ligao was speechless. If he remembered correctly, this should have been a gift from a Little Prince for the Supreme Emperor’s birthday a few years ago.
Standing on his tiptoes to glance at the price tag, Yu Ligao took a sharp breath. Gu Wenheng was truly bold; one look at the price tag showed it was a full ten percent higher than the market rate.
He remembered the Holy Emperor saying before that they should try to sell at normal prices. What kind of play was this now?
As he moved forward with the line, he quickly realized that many of the items he had seen yesterday had been replaced. If nothing unexpected had happened, they had likely all been sold.
Yu Ligao fell silent in thought.
If one wanted to see all the collections in Emperor Qi’s several treasuries, how many laps would they have to walk in a single day to admire them all?
He took another sharp breath. He was already thinking this way and acting on it—so what about everyone else?
Thinking of the endless line outside before he came in, he didn’t even need to do the math to guess that Gu Wenheng had once again put himself in an invincible position.
As long as the others weren’t blind, they could all see it too, but no one was willing to admit it.
Standing in front of the treasury, Hua Shunming watched the items decrease one by one. He was so excited that he almost jumped for joy, completely disregarding his imperial image.
However, this was only in his mind. To outsiders, he remained as expressionless as ever.
“Imperial Father, Mr. Gu truly has an excellent strategy. In less than a day, it has already yielded such results. I believe it won’t be long before these treasuries are completely emptied.” Hua Zhang was unable to hide his expression as the corners of his mouth turned up.
“I didn’t expect the problem I’ve agonized over for years to be solved by him just like this,” Hua Shunming said. Although he loved collecting, having too many things was troublesome.
He couldn’t bear to give them away as rewards, but if he priced them to sell, they wouldn’t fetch a good amount. Don’t think he didn’t know—those aristocratic families had been eyeing his collection for a long time, hoping to pick up a bargain. Now, thanks to Gu Wenheng’s scheme, many people were struggling to maintain their composure.
“There’s also an extra harvest,” Hua Zhang said, smiling at Hua Shunming.
“Does the Emperor have other ideas?” Hua Shunming asked.
“Imperial Father is wise. I was thinking, since Imperial Father has already dedicated your private treasury to the people, shouldn’t this entry silver…”
“If the Emperor is confident you can get this Silver back from Gu Wenheng, then that’s your own capability,” Hua Shunming replied.
Seeing Hua Shunming’s posture, as if he was ready to wash his hands of the matter, Hua Zhang was dumbfounded. “…Imperial Father, after all, this Silver Tael was earned because of your private treasury. Do you not know the approximate amount?”
Hua Zhang guessed that Hua Shunming didn’t know; otherwise, he wouldn’t be so calm.
He decided to give his Imperial Father a surprise. “According to the reports from the garrison commander, just today alone, nearly ten thousand people have entered…”
The day wasn’t even over yet, so the ensuing numbers could easily be predicted. With this Silver, his empty private treasury could finally be replenished.
“So what?” Hua Shunming said. “I have already given my imperial word that this revenue will be used for the people. Do you think that can be changed?”
“…But after all…” Hua Zhang hesitated.
“Emperor, you now hold the sea trade and the Golden Road that Gu Wenheng presented to you. Manage them well, and in time, they will become another trump card for you,” Hua Shunming said.
Although the Emperor technically owned all the wealth under heaven, he didn’t have to hoard everything for himself.
At this moment, Hua Shunming had completely forgotten his actions from his earlier years, when he wanted to claim absolutely everything for himself.
When the father and son brought up this topic, they felt a bit guilty toward Gu Wenheng. Huajia’s private treasury only existed because of Gu Wenheng.
“We should reward him again later. Gu Wenheng handled this matter beautifully, so the Emperor shouldn’t be too stingy,” Hua Shunming said.
Hua Zhang fell speechless. He thought, “Imperial Father, are you sure you’re talking about me?”
“I just conferred the title of Earl on his second son and rewarded him with a mansion. Wouldn’t it be too much to reward him again?” Hua Zhang was afraid of over-rewarding, leaving nothing else to give in the future.
Hua Shunming remained silent.
Gu Wenheng was unaware of the private discussion between the father and son. At this time, he was busy in the Ministry of Revenue, keeping an eye on the gold, Silver, and account books being sent over.
Gu Wenheng took one look at the account book and immediately ordered everyone to work. “Set aside the Silver Tael from the sold treasures, and tally it separately from the viewing revenue Silver. Make sure everything is clearly separated. From now on, handle it with this same allocation every day.”