In ancient times, there were no bulldozers, no excavators, and no booms, and the work was all based on manpower, at most simple primitive tools, such as pulleys and wheelbarrows. However, the wisdom of the ancients should not be underestimated, especially carpentry, which is really breathtaking, from the skeleton of pillars and beams to the stool and coffee table, without the use of a nail, but strong and durable.

After sending away the Tatar envoy Chilu Buhua, Xu Jin became his rich idler again, and his daily work was to go around the construction site opposite the house a few times to understand the progress of the project, and his greatest interest was to watch the carpenters work, which was an eye-opener these days.

However, the disadvantages of pure manual work are also obvious, that is, the efficiency is too low, Xu Jin estimates that the Wuding Marquis Mansion will be renovated, at least by the end of next year, not to mention anything else, just the lotus lake that Princess Yongfu asked to dig will take half a year, because to introduce living water from the Jinshui River, digging a culvert is a big project.

Now it is the winter moon of the fifth year of Jiajing, and there is still a month to go before the New Year, and the temperature is even colder, but today's sunshine is very good, Jiajing and Xu Jin, who are dressed in casual clothes, are wandering in the mansion of the Marquis of Wuding, and hundreds of workers nearby are busy in full swing.

The house was built for Princess Yongfu, and the work was personally supervised by the Yasukuni Gong, and the wages were two percent higher than those in the market, so the workers naturally worked hard to dig the lotus lake before the Chinese New Year.

The big boss Jiajing inspected the construction site, and then fully affirmed the work of Xu Jin, the contractor, and generously paid for the workers to eat out of his own pocket.

After the big boss of Jiajing finished adding food to the workers, he then went to the Yasukuni Mansion opposite to add food to himself, and Xie Xiaowan prepared spicy haggis and various sumptuous dishes.

Jiajing was like a starving ghost reincarnated, and he was heartily plucked for a while. After the meal, Xu Jin and Jiajing Junchen chatted while strolling around in the courtyard. At present, the national strength of the Ming Dynasty is thriving, the four borders are peaceful, and only a small civil uprising has occurred in Guangxi, so the current small life in Jiajing is very comfortable.

"Xu Qing, what is the total budget of the project?" Jiajing asked with a toothpick.

"I'm afraid I want 30,000 taels of silver, Lord Qin only approved 5,000 taels of silver for the ministers, and the remaining 25,000 taels have to be asked for by the emperor." Xu Jindao.

Jiajing immediately gave a thumbs up, and said with an exaggerated expression: "Tsk, Xu Qing, you are so powerful, you can actually persuade Qin Jin, the iron rooster, to allocate five thousand taels of silver, which is amazing." How can this be reasonable, I asked him to allocate some money to repair Jingren Palace a few days ago, but this bastard refused to live or die, and persuaded me to be frugal and keep the house, so angry that I almost wanted to remove him. ”

Xu Jin said with a smile: "Lord Qin is the head of the household department, and all departments across the country have asked him for silver, so he naturally has to be careful about everything and live within his means. This country belongs to the emperor, the money of the treasury is used well, and if it is used correctly, the country can have long-term peace and stability. Therefore, the stricter the Lord Qin's control and the more he picks the door, the more full the treasury will be, which is extremely beneficial to the country and the emperor. ”

Jiajing nodded and said: "That's the reason, but I'm still unhappy, it's obviously my silver, but I can't use it, what kind of truth is this?" ”

"Doesn't the emperor still have an inner treasury, as far as the minister knows, the emperor has also saved a lot of private money in the past two years, and the tariffs of the city, salt rui, and the profits of the Ming silver number, all of which are returned to the inner treasury, plus the imperial villages, carriage and horse dealers, the stumbling industry, the glass business, etc., the emperor's annual income is probably quite considerable." Xu Jin pointed his finger and said.

Jiajing smiled when he heard this, raised a finger triumphantly, and then glanced left and right like a thief, and then said in a low voice: "I made almost a million taels of silver last year. ”

Xu Jin secretly said badly, although the carriage and horse shop is very profitable now, but the bulk of Jiajing's income is probably still the salt tax, shameless, as the emperor, he actually competes with the people for profit, your uncle, the minister despises you!

Jiajing said sneakily: "Shh, Xu Qing must not spread the word, otherwise those sours should be noisy again, Qin Jin's iron rooster estimates that it will not be granted to me in the future, wealth must not be exposed, wealth must not be exposed!" ”

Xu Jin rubbed his chin and said, "Your Majesty, it seems that the minister's budget was wrong just now, and the project cost at least 50,000 taels of silver, that is to say, you have to give the minister 45,000 taels." ”

"What? Roll your turtle and duck eggs, think of black silver, and dream. Jiajing glanced at Xu Jin with disdain and said, "I only give 20,000 taels, plus the 5,000 taels approved by Qin Jin, it is 25,000 taels, and you can pay the remaining 5,000 taels yourself." ”

Xu Jin couldn't help but have black lines on his head: "Your Majesty, this is unreasonable, why should the minister take five thousand taels of silver?" ”

"Why? Just because it was a house for Yongfujian, I still put up 20,000 taels of silver, and in the end, it wasn't cheaper for you! Jiajing secretly wondered, but said differently: "Sister Xiaowan is also Yongfu's sister, as a brother-in-law, can't you contribute 5,000 taels to Yongfu's house?" ”

Xu Jin was speechless for a moment, and Jiajing said with a smile when he saw this: "It's decided." ”

Xu Jin smiled bitterly: "Why does the minister think that the emperor is more iron rooster than Lord Qin?" And shameless. ”

Jiajing was not angry, and said with a smile: "I didn't learn from Xu Qing yet......

Jiajing suddenly froze, looking at Xu Jin with a strange expression, he suddenly thought, according to his logic just now, if Yongfu marries Xu Jin, should he call him brother-in-law or husband? If you marry Zhi'er, will you call Xu Jin's brother-in-law or brother-in-law?

Xu Jinna knew Jiajing's second-hand brain circuit at the moment, touched his face inexplicably, and teased: "Why is the emperor staring at the minister, is it because he is jealous that the minister is more handsome than you?" ”

Jiajing made a retching expression and changed the topic: "Does Xu Qing think Da Lai Xun will agree to your conditions?" ”

Xu Jin shook his head and said lightly: "It's unlikely, even if Da Zhixun agrees, the tribal lords under him won't agree, it's too difficult to let them spit it out if they eat it." ”

Jiajing frowned and said, "Then why does Xu Qing still mention this condition?" ”

"It's normal to spread the price on the ground and pay back the money on the ground!" Xu Jin shrugged his shoulders and said: "Of these three conditions, if Tatar Xun agrees to one, it means that he really can't resist it, and then I can consider sending troops, after all, the threat of my answer is even greater." ”

Jiajing pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "It makes sense, how long does Xu Qing think Da Zhixun can hold on?" ”

Xu Jin shook his head and said: "The minister doesn't know, let's wait until the end of the New Year, anyway, don't worry, now is a good time for me to recuperate, fighting a war is a very money-burning thing, if the treasury is emptied, Lord Qin should be anxious again." ”

Jiajing's eyes flashed and said: "I think that it is time for Xu Qing to use the chess pieces that Xu Qing laid out outside the plug, my promise is still valid, as long as she makes great achievements, I will not be responsible for the past, but it is absolutely impossible to restore her true identity." ”

Xu Jin nodded solemnly and said, "The minister has thanked the emperor for the grace of Xin'er on behalf of Xin'er, presumably Xin'er doesn't care about this identity." ”

Jiajing sneered, and suddenly said with a little annoyance: "Xu Qing, I think you have too many women, and you are not allowed to pick up girls again without my permission in the future, otherwise I will consider making you the eunuch of the master of ceremonies." ”

The word "pickled girl" was naturally learned from Xu Jin.

Xu Jin almost fell headlong and said curtly: "Your Majesty, the minister is really not interested in this position. ”

"It's best if you're not interested!" Jiajing flicked his sleeves, walked with his head held high, and said secretly, my brother-in-law is not so easy to be, there are already so many women, if you continue to soak, where will you leave my own sister?

After a few steps forward, Jiajing suddenly woke up again, stopped and said: "By the way, before the Ministry of History, Shangshu Fang Xianfu suggested that Yu Dayou be transferred back, and I considered the importance of the Strait of Malacca, so I didn't agree, but recently I heard the news that Yu Dayou's mother Yang died, if Yu Dadian didn't dismiss Ding Wei, it really can't be said, what does Xu Qing think?" ”

Xu Jin's original intention was that the term of office of the capital protector was five years, after all, the road was far away, and it took more than half a year to come and go, if it was changed every three years, the ass was not hot and had to leave, where was there still time to do things, however, Yu Dayou's mother died, and if he was not allowed to come back to guard filial piety, it would indeed be against human ethics.

"Now that Malacca City has stabilized, it is all possible to transfer Yu Dayou back, but the person who takes over must have enough ability." Xu Jin pondered for a moment before replying.

Jiajing nodded and said, "Does Xu Qing have a suitable candidate?" ”

Xu Jin shook his head: "The minister has no suitable candidate to recommend, and the emperor can make the cabinet push." ”

Just kidding, Xu Jin just let go of power to avoid suspicion, and Yu Dayou is from his command, and the reason why he is now recommended to be replaced is probably to weaken his influence in the army, at this time, even if he has a suitable candidate, he can't recommend it to the emperor, so as not to attract suspicion!

Hearing this, Jiajing said disappointedly: "Okay! ”

The two of them chatted in the courtyard for a while, and then went back to the study to study the Tatar map for half an hour, and then Jiajing left the Xu Mansion and went back to the palace.

Three days later, the results of the court push came out, and Chen Yu, the Marquis of Taining, would take over the position of the protector of the Nanyang Metropolitan Protector, and at the same time recall the original Protector Yu Dayou, and the position would be arranged separately.

When Xu Jin learned that the result of the delay was actually Chen Yu, the Marquis of Taining, he couldn't help but shake his head, this person is a straw bag, even Qiu Luan is much stronger than him. However, at present, the Ming Naval Division is unprecedentedly strong, and the Westerners dare not start the war lightly, plus the Ming Dynasty is now open to the sea and trade, and the Westerners have money to make, at least for ten or eight years, as long as Chen Yu himself does not die, there should be no problem in guarding Malacca City.

Time flies like a white horse, and the moon is now in the eyes, the snow is falling over the capital, and the snow has long been covered outside the Great Wall, and the lonely Cangtou River has a thick layer of ice......

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