Chapter 1: The Miserable Transmigration

  Li Dongyang, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, and what he said made Cao Yuan and Liang Cuo stunned.

  Whenever Jiang Xia was mentioned, Li Dongyang would inevitably have an attitude that it was not enough to stabilize the country without this person. However, now Li Dongyang shook his head and said: "Before I couldn't understand how His Majesty thought of a solution to the drought in Henan and the military salary for the border generals. Now I understand, this method is probably what Jiang Xia taught His Majesty. This person has extremely clever ideas, and it's not entirely impossible that he might become a talented individual if properly guided."

  "Teacher, do you agree with Jiang Xia's approach? Using official positions to exchange for silver?" Cao Yuan looked at Li Dongyang in surprise and asked, his face filled with incredulity.

  Li Dongyang looked at Cao Yuan and asked in return, "Apart from this, Wen Qing, do you have any other way to make up the 300,000 taels of disaster relief silver?"

  Wenqing is Cao Yuan's courtesy name, and when Li Dongyang asked him this way, he was suddenly tongue-tied.

  Li Dongyang said, "Granting a third-grade title, having a title but no substance, is just an empty name. Not even the salary is issued, can this be considered an official position? Exchanging twenty empty titles for 300,000 taels of disaster relief silver to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of disaster victims, this deal is a surefire profit. I didn't expect that Jiang Xia would come up with such a plan, really clever calculation. Now I'm actually interested in him, if he can truly perfectly resolve this matter, I think I should find an opportunity to meet him."

  Jiang Xia had never met Li Dongyang before, but he didn't know that they had already clashed secretly many times. From the initial "kill or be killed" to the current change, Jiang Xia was completely unaware of all this. He is now very busy, focusing on preparing for the charity gala.

  Although the charity gala has not officially started, it has already been a great success. The people of Shuntian Prefecture have donated a total of over 800,000 taels of silver. Then there is the sale of invitations to the charity gala, which has also sold over 900,000 taels of white silver. Adding these together, the relief funds now already have 1,800,000 taels of silver.

  Tonight is the charity gala, and Jiang Xia has turned the entire venue into a scene similar to a dinner auction. Fortunately, the Xiangyang Mountain Villa is large enough, otherwise it would be difficult to find a venue that can accommodate nearly a thousand people at the same time.

  As night began to fall, all the wealthy merchants who could make it came to Xiangyang Mountain Villa. This time Xiangyang Mountain Villa is on fire, and Jiang Xia can basically predict that in the next year, the popularity of Xiangyang Mountain Villa will at least double or even triple its membership.

  The banquet began with a performance, followed by several eloquent speakers who took the stage to speak tearfully about the severe situation of the drought in Henan and the misery of the disaster victims, asking the wealthy merchants to donate generously. Then, an official from the Imperial Censorate came on stage to read out the imperial edict, which was unsigned but stated that he was granted the title of General Zhao Yong with a ceremonial uniform and jade belt, making him a third-rank military officer.

  After finishing reading the imperial edict, the host announced the start of donations. Zhu Houzhao, who was sitting in the side hall with Jiang Xia, felt a little nervous and couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Big brother, will this trick really work?" Zhu Houzhao thought to himself: "If it doesn't work, he'll lose all face in front of those seven grand secretaries."

  "Rest assured, just watch and see."

  This time, the donation does not require everyone to pay in cash or treasure. The wealthy merchants only need to say how much they will donate, and the person responsible for recording it will record it, have the merchant sign and confirm, and then send someone to collect the silver at their doorstep.

  A blackboard was prepared on the stage, and more than a dozen recorders waited there with special chalk made by Jiang Xia. The reporter shouted: "Mr. Zhang Dongjian donated 1,000 taels." "Mr. Wang Wuxu donated 3,000 taels." "Mr. Wu Heng donated..."

  Everyone is competing for the top 20, but those who didn't make it to the top 20 also have to pay out their promised donations. Zhu Houzhao was initially counting on his fingers over there, "One thousand two plus three thousand two plus seven thousand two..."

  When Zhu Houzhao finally heard that someone had donated directly to "50,000 taels", "80,000 taels", Zhu Houzhao didn't count anymore. He muttered and sighed: "So much silver, so much silver..."

  The charity gala lasted for more than two hours, and after it ended, the top 20 people were awarded titles: the top five were granted the title of Third-Class General Zhao Yong, the next ten were Fourth-Class, and the remaining five were Fifth-Class. As for who received which title, Zhu Houzhao and Jiang Xia didn't have the energy to care about it anymore. After the gala dispersed, the person in charge of recording began to calculate the total amount of donations. Without calculating, they wouldn't know; after calculating, they got a shock.

  This time the donation was as much as 620,000 taels of white silver, and now Jiang Xia and others have already received 180,000 taels, adding up to 800,000 taels of silver.

  800,000 taels? Zhu Houzhao's pale face suddenly turned bright red, he had never experienced such excitement in his life. The Henan disaster relief only needed 300,000 taels, and the border guard silver only needed 400,000 taels. This means that this time, solving two problems not only didn't spend a single penny from the national treasury, but also earned more than 100,000 taels of silver.

  "It's too amazing, it's too amazing!" Zhu Houzhao excitedly grabbed Jiang Xia's shoulder and shook it non-stop, he was so excited that he had already started to speak incoherently.

  Jiang Xia patted Zhu Houzhao's hand, as the leader of Qianmen, he had made countless deals and swindled a huge amount of money. So Jiang Xia didn't feel excited at all, he comforted Zhu Houzhao saying: "Eight hundred thousand taels is not a lot of silver, go back and tell your uncle to ask Jin Yiwei to send three hundred people to collect the silver from each household."

  "I understand, I understand." Zhu Houzhao nodded continuously.

  Liu Jin and Zhang Yong, standing behind Zhu Houzhao, exchanged a glance with each other. Both of them saw a thick color of surprise and envy in the eyes of the other. The surprise was that Jiang Xia could unexpectedly help Zhu Houzhao collect so much silver on his own, and the envy was that Jiang Xia had achieved such great merit, and his position in the emperor's heart would inevitably rise another step.

  Although Jiang Xia did not have any official position, he relied on his current relationship with the emperor and his place in the emperor's heart. Even Liu Jin and Zhang Yong did not dare to underestimate Jiang Xia.

  The two of them looked at Jiang Xia together, with a hint of fervor in their eyes.

  It's a must! He must be pulled into his own camp! The two of them secretly made up their minds.

  The next day, it was time for early morning again.

  Zhu Houzhao got up very early, and the officials came to pay their respects. After performing a ritual of one kneel and three knocks, Zhu Houzhao ordered everyone to rise. The officials stood up, and Zhu Houzhao immediately announced the results of his fundraising efforts for disaster relief.

  The achievement of more than 800,000 taels of silver was revealed, and the officials were immediately stunned. Even Li Dongyang was slightly dazed, he had expected that Jiang Xia's method would successfully raise 300,000 taels of silver, but he did not expect the final result to far exceed his estimate.

  800,000 taels. Once this batch of silver is stored, and the autumn taxes are collected, the national treasury will be replenished. Li Dongyang, who had been in charge of the Ministry of Revenue for many years, suddenly felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. Since Zhu Houzhao ascended to the throne, he built the Leopard House, repaired the imperial gardens, and indulged in extravagance and waste. Adding to this were several natural disasters and border wars, which had depleted the small amount of silver that had been saved during the Hongzhi era. The Ministry of Revenue had always been struggling to make ends meet, but now it was finally relieved.

  Led by Li Dongyang, all officials knelt down and paid homage: "Your Majesty is wise and sacred, may you live for ten thousand years, ten thousand years, and forever."

  "Good!" Zhu Houzhao shouted loudly, then burst into hearty laughter: "Hahaha..."

  Early in the morning, Zhu Houzhao took Liu Jin and Zhang Yong to Xiangyang Mountain Villa. In the carriage, Zhu Houzhao sighed with a worried face: "This time, my brother helped me solve such a big problem and made such a great achievement, but I have nothing to reward him with, it's really embarrassing."

  "Your Majesty, if it weren't for your help, Jiang Xia wouldn't be where he is today. So, it's only natural that he helps you in return." Liu Jin said.

  Zhu Houzhao shook his head and said with great certainty: "No, with the elder brother's intelligence and talent, even without my help, he would have risen to prominence and enjoyed wealth and honor. I really want to find an opportunity to reveal my identity to him, but once revealed, I'm afraid his attitude towards me will change. Forget it, let's not think about this matter for now, we'll discuss it later. Liu Jin, have you investigated the background of the assassin who tried to kill the elder brother?"

  Liu Jin's face solidified, and he said with a somewhat solemn expression: "I'll report back to the Emperor, I have some clues, but there is no concrete evidence, so I dare not speak nonsense."

  "Is there a clue?" Zhu Houzhao slightly narrowed his eyes, and a cold glint flashed in them. "Speak your mind, whether right or wrong, I won't blame you."

  Liu Jin nodded and said: "Yes, after the slaves investigated, they found that one person was most suspicious. This person is Li Shoufu's personal bodyguard, Jun Yang."

  Upon hearing Liu Jin's response, Zhu Houzhao didn't appear surprised. He took a deep breath and nodded slightly: "As I thought, the person with both motive and ability to assassinate Jiang Xia is probably only Taifu."

  "Alright, there's no need to investigate this matter further. Instruct Zhong Bin to protect Big Brother well and not let him suffer any more harm."

  "Yes." Liu Jin replied.

  Arriving at the Xianyao Villa, Zhu Houzhao met Jiang Xia in the casino. Jiang Xia was dominating the 21-point betting table, and upon seeing Zhu Houzhao, he immediately withdrew from the game. Zhu Houzhao burst out laughing: "Big brother, this time I really owe you one!"

  Jiang Xia shook his head and said, "You've come at the right time, I just happened to have something to ask you. Hurry up and find your uncle, tell him to pay close attention to the situation in Henan. If my guess is correct, after the drought in Henan passes, a more severe locust plague will break out soon. The harm caused by this locust plague is different from that of the drought, locusts are living creatures, and I'm afraid the surrounding areas of Henan will all be affected."

  Zhu Houzhao looked at Jiang Xia with some doubt, and asked hesitantly: "Elder...brother, why are you so certain? Are you a living god who can predict the future?"