Chapter 177: Like Father, Like Son
As soon as Song Huaigu finished speaking, the entire hall exploded in excitement.
Everyone looked at each other. Ma Sheng could not help but say, "Lord Song, how can there be such a good thing in this world? Isn"t it like money falling from the sky for nothing? Be careful, there might be traps."
Song Huaigu smiled and said, "Everyone, that is why this official has already scouted the road ahead. I didn"t believe it at first, but later on, when I heard the supervisor speak of it, I understood. The wealthy Mi Family have businesses all over the world. In this family, who doesn"t want to earn more money? Which family doesn"t have friends and family?
That is why they set this rule. After investing, regardless of whether it is money or goods, they will be allocated by the Mi Family"s caravan to the rest of the world. They will earn without touching anything. At the same time, the Mi Family will also draw a certain amount of benefits from them. After they draw out all the benefits, the rest will be ours. For wealthy merchants like them, no matter how much money they obtain, they will be able to digest it all."
"This way, the Mo family will have the biggest share of the profits, while the manager and his friends get to share the profits. Furthermore, everyone is on the same boat. Otherwise, why would they say that their business is clear and transparent?"
After hearing what he said, Ma Sheng sighed, "Originally, I thought that my Ma family had already treated us well enough. Now that I look at this Mi family, my family seems indeed a lot less magnanimous. However, I have to say that they have a strong relations.h.i.+p and can open up trade routes everywhere."
Everyone laughed. "Of course, who doesn"t know that Consort Mi is very favored by His Majesty. It"s easy to do things with someone in court."
While everyone was chatting, Ma Sheng said, "Then I"ll have to trouble Lord Song."
These people were also waiting to see if Song Huaigu would obtain his returns as promised after he had invested the 30,000 taels.
After the banquet ended, Song Huaigu returned to the back hall and saw his brother-in-law, Li Weiyi. He smiled and said, "I"ve already mentioned it to these people. After this investment is over, if there are no more problems, I can introduce these people to the manager."
At this point, Song Huaigu said, "You are quite lucky to meet such a n.o.ble. Take this 30,000 taels of silver and throw it into the caravan."
Song Huaigu took out 30,000 taels of silver from the 50,000 taels of silver Li Weiyi gave him.
Li Weiyi smiled and said, "Brother-in-law, that"s all you have to invest? You can"t miss out on this opportunity. The manager has said that you should invest more and earn more. In a few days, he will have to return to the main family to rotate. At that time, the caravan will be decided by others. The benefits can"t be taken by one person."
Song Huaigu was tempted by his suggestion.
After some thought, he asked, "Are you sure it"s reliable?"
Li Weiyi patted his chest and said, "Don"t worry, it"s definitely reliable!"
Song Huaigu clenched his teeth and said, "Then I"ll give you 50,000 taels. In addition, I"ll get someone to bring 30,000 taels of silver over! I"ll invest a total of 80,000 taels!
"Brother-in-law is generous!" Li Weiyi waited for Song Huaigu to stuff the money into his pocket before leaving.
Once Li Weiyi left, Song Huaigu felt a little uncertain.
However, on second thought, Li Weiyi was his brother-in-law after all, and this guy knew his methods very well. If he dared to lie to him, he would not have a good ending.
At night, Su Wen was sitting in the main hall of the newly built office of the Secret Shadow Guard. In front of him stood a person.
It was Luo Ning, his majestic beard still conspicuous.
Three feet of long beard floated across his chest.
Su Wen did not agree with this kind of aesthetics, in his opinion, other than Guan Yu, most people would find it strange to have such a beard.
"Young Master, that Song Huaigu has already fallen into the trap! He sent Li Weiyi to deliver 80,000 taels of silver," Luo Ning reported.
Initially, he did not think much of this young master. However, when Su Wen told him his plan, Luo Ning was shocked.
After all, this was the infamous Ponzi scheme that pointed straight at the greed of humans.
It could even be said that even though Su Wen"s technology was so advanced in his previous life, people would still be attracted by this kind of scam. As long as they kept changing the appearance of the packaging, using the hunger marketing and a sum of early profits to cheat people, there would always be people willing to believe this kind of scam.
A smile appeared on Su Wen"s face. "Have you given Li Weiyi any benefits?"
"Yes, 3,000 taels of silver!" Luo Ning said honestly.
"You did well. Give him another 2000 taels!" Su Wen instructed.
"We must return the profits quickly this time! We must make Lord Song Huaigu drop his guard as soon as possible. In addition, the next time those people invest, it will be the same. We must return the profits quickly. It doesn"t matter if we have to do this a few more times. We must control the time between seven to ten days each time. As long as they see the profits, they will rush forward like hungry wolves. Didn"t my father give me a million taels of silver? Give them a good share and don"t worry about spending money. Soon, they will obediently spit out the money they ate!"
"After that, we will extend the return period. At the same time, we will continuously collect their money and use their money to return the profits, in order to lure them into a trap."
"Yes!" Luo Ning bowed and answered. At this moment, he seemed to see a shadow of Su Changqing in this Third Young Master.
After watching Luo Ning leave, Su Wen got up and stretched his back. He walked around the empty room and did a few squats.
"Ah… I still have to work when I get home. It"s tiring being a man."
Su Wen sighed before leaving with a smile.
Nine days later, Song Huaigu was grinning from ear to ear as he looked at the 95,000 taels of silver in front of him.
The money came really quickly this time.
Li Weiyi said smugly, "What do you think, Brother-in-law? I told you that they"re all big businessmen and don"t lack our money. It"s only because I"m on good terms with Steward Luo now. Otherwise, they wouldn"t give us this chance."
"Fine, fine, fine! I didn"t waste my time grooming you." Song Huaigu smiled and said," Is what you said about getting half of the profit true?"
Li Weiyi unhappily said, "What are you saying! Of course it"s true, this is the main family"s job to take care of him. Steward Luo said that he would treat it as making friends with us, so he doesn"t even want half of it. He just said that after some time, he wants to get some official position from the Li Prefecture"s King, and he also wants to get an official position for his son. How much money is fine, I hope my brother-in-law can handle it for me."
Song Huaigu sneered in his heart. This was more like it. How could someone give out benefits for no reason?
However, he still agreed. In Li Prefecture, how easy was it now for Feng Yuanchun to apply for an official position?
As for how the applications went, as long as one had the money, the world was their oyster.
Besides, this was all in the future. When he already earned enough, what business was it of his if he failed to obtain the official position?
Su Wen and Luo Ning"s words had been carefully considered, including the words they had spoken to Song Huaigu.
In their words, both the Mi Family and their Steward required benefits, or they needed Song Huaigu"s help.
This made it more believable.
As expected, Song Huaigu did not suspect him and said directly, "Don"t worry, I will contact the other aristocratic family stewards now."
Next, Song Huaigu held another banquet and gathered all the clan stewards together to discuss this matter.
During the banquet, he said extremely proudly, "Last time, I wanted to invest 30,000 taels to try, but after being persuaded by my brother-in-law, I invested a total of eighty thousand taels. Look, in less than half a month, he sent the money back. It"s a total of 95,000 taels! In such a short time, he managed to earn so much. Everyone, this is a good opportunity."
"Good fellow!"
"Is this real or fake!"
"Lord Song is so bold!"
Everyone cried out in surprise, and their hearts involuntarily stirred.
To put it bluntly, who wouldn"t love having more money?
"Report this matter up!" Almost everyone had this thought.
As a matter of fact, Jiashan County was one of the most prosperous cities in Li Prefecture as it was a necessary route to get in and out of the entire prefecture. Therefore, all the big families basically had a steward stationed here.
Originally, at the previous banquet, everyone already had the temptation after listening to it. This time, when they saw that Song Huaigu was fine even after investing 80,000 taels of silver, they couldn"t help but feel their fingers itch to join in.
Earning money was a big deal!
Immediately after, the banquet was filled with discussions about the Mi Family"s trade caravan.
After dispersing, everyone immediately rushed back to report to their respective masters.
To be honest, if it weren"t for Song Huaigu leading the way, others might have hesitated. However, after seeing him earn money, even though they were suspicious, they couldn"t help but want to give it a try.
These families also started to invest.
After investing… they quickly received a return.
With that, the news spread. The stewards of these families all became respected figures.
There was no other reason but the fact that everyone wanted to earn as much money as they could!
The stewards and guards all joined in the tide of investing.
The more interests they obtained, the greedier they became.
Finally, a clan began to ask if they could sell their grains for them. After a discussion, the price they settled on was actually 30% higher than that of the local market!
However, the selling of grains needed time. The merchant caravan was naturally unwilling to give them a downpayment up front. After all, they were helping to sell the goods and even had to forego a transaction fee.
Their words sounded convincing, so some families believed in them and allowed this "Get-First, Pay-Later" transaction to occur..
Afterwards… Exactly a month later, the money was delivered as scheduled.
This time, the entire Li Prefecture erupted!
All the officials and powerful people wanted to invest in this.
They all hoped to sell the grain through this channel! After selling the money, they would throw it into the caravan, and the more it rolled, the more they would earn…
In the transit station, Luo Ning sought out Su Wen before saying in a deep voice, "Young Master, we can"t hold on anymore. There"s too much money! There"s also too much food. We can"t afford the returns this time!"
"How much is there?" Su Wen asked with a smile.
"There"s 30 million kilograms of grain! And more than 15 million taels of silver!"
"Haha, then we won"t return them anymore. From now on, money and grain will only enter but not leave! We will continue to absorb the money they give us. Meanwhile, the grain will be delivered to the capital and directly to His Majesty." As he spoke, Su Wen looked at Luo Ning and smiled. "As for you, prepare to run!"
"Huh?" Luo Ning"s jaw dropped.
Su Wen smiled and said, "With your current appearance, you will definitely become the target of public criticism. If you really cannot escape, it"s better for you to shave off your beard. It"s too conspicuous."
"No way! I"ve been keeping this beautiful beard for a long time!" Luo Ning immediately refused when he heard that he had to shave.
This was like when they were students. They might have had a handsome and cool hairstyle, but they would eventually be forced by the teacher to cut it into a crew cut that adhered to school regulations.
One can imagine the pain you had to go through at that time.
"I"ll give you a million taels in return!" Su Wen smiled.
For this matter, Luo Ning could be considered as the person to take the most credit. After all, it was not easy for Su Wen to step in. Thus, everything had to be done by Luo Ning.
"I… I"m not lacking in money… Third Young Master… I don"t want to cut my beard!" This 9th Grade Earth Rank expert felt as wronged like a middle school student right now.
"Then why don"t you go back to the capital?" Su Wen said, "It"s not convenient for you to stay by my side right now. When you go back, bring two million taels of silver with you. Remember, throw it on my father"s face. Use some force and tell him loudly that this Young Master is rewarding him!"
Luo Ning breathed a sigh of relief. So long as he did not need to cut his beard, everything else was negotiable.
However, to throw the money on Su Changqing"s face, he didn"t dare.
He was not a fool. He could tell that Su Wen was joking, so he agreed immediately. "Alright, Third Young Master, I will return to the capital then."
For the next few days, the "Mi Family"s trade caravan" continued to collect money.
In the end, they managed to ama.s.s a total of 27 million taels of silver!
Although this was the money that the entire Li Prefecture"s aristocratic families had gathered, it was just their floating liquid capital. From this, it could be seen just how wealthy these families were.
Su Wen still gave Luo Ning a million taels of silver as compensation.
After that, Luo Ning disappeared with the legendary Mi Family caravan.
One day. Two days. Ten days. Fifteen days….
The entire Li Prefecture fell into a state of panic.
However, this did not affect the commoners at all.
It was mainly these aristocratic families that were in panic.
There were also some middle-level stewards involved.
They had invested a lot of money this time!
At the start, everyone was still consoling each other.
But 30 days later, there were already people who could no longer sit still!
They started to visit Song Huaigu every day.
Song Huaigu was so worried that his mouth was full of ulcers and his hair had turned quite white!
"Where"s that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Li Weiyi?!"
"I don"t know. I haven"t found him yet. He probably ran away when he realized that something was wrong!"
Song Huaigu covered his mouth and let out a long sigh.
"What… what should we do?"
At this moment, in the capital, Su Changqing looked at Luo Ning, who had ruthlessly thrown the banknotes on the table in front of him. His eyes narrowed as he asked, "What do you mean by this?"
Luo Ning said with a bitter smile, "Young Master instructed me to throw this at your face, but my aim was off. Young Master says that he"s sending you some money as an act of piety."
Su Changqing picked up the banknote and looked at it carefully. He said with a smile, "Aiyo, two million taels. I actually have such a day when I receive money from that kid while I"m alive? It"s really not easy! I have to thank my son for the reward."
"Master… Young Master"s methods are too ruthless. There"s still an additional 30 million kilograms of food that I didn"t dare to bring in. They are all outside the city."
Su Changqing frowned and said, "30 million kilograms? What"s going on?"
Luo Ning quickly told Su Changqing the whole story.
After hearing the recount, Su Changqing pondered for a moment and said, "Leave this matter to me. I"ll go and see His Majesty! You go and rest."
Su Changqing thus entered the Royal Palace.
Upon seeing Emperor Zhou, he loudly said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty!"
Emperor Zhou did not know what was going on, but he was not happy at all. Instead, he said angrily, "Where is the joy coming from? I haven"t even looked for you yet to settle scores. I asked Su Wen to go to Li Prefecture to supervise the officials, but look at this good brat. He has been holding office for two months and he didn"t even manage to knock off a single official for me! He spends all his time playing with his wives and concubines only, just look at your good son! There are already people coming up to report about him!"
Su Changqing laughed loudly and said, "This is precisely the reason why this subject is congratulating Your Majesty. The conclusion of the Li Prefecture is already a matter of time!"
Emperor Zhou moved his body and sneered. "Tell me it has already been decided. If I cannot understand that, then this Emperor will punish you!"
Su Changqing smiled and said, "My son just delivered two million taels of silver and 3 million kilograms of grain! over Does Your Majesty know how these came about? Listen to me…"
Next, Su Changqing told Emperor Zhou what Su Wen had carried out in Li Prefecture.
After he finished speaking, Su Changqing smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the reason why the Li Prefecture is difficult to deal with is because these officials and n.o.ble clans are all like iron plates, so he can"t act rashly. Once they rebel, it will definitely affect the entire situation.
My son has already investigated Xue Wanjun and implicated the Ma Family, so he"s receiving great attention. If he rashly makes a move, it will definitely incite a strong resistance, and once his methods are too extreme, those people will immediately suspect that Your Majesty wants to kill them!"
"But now, with Song Huaigu leading the charge, the aristocratic clans of Li Prefecture have suffered heavy losses. With this, my son can use this matter as an excuse to investigate this matter and use Song Huaigu as a breakthrough point to deal with the rest of the Li Prefecture officials!"
"Those aristocratic families will definitely stand by and watch. In that case, the matter of Li Prefecture will be settled!"
Speaking up to this point, he said in a low voice, "It"s just that His Majesty has to send people to secretly put away the grain. Otherwise, it won"t sound good if it gets out."
After hearing Su Changqing"s words, Emperor Zhou was secretly elated!
In just a short period of time, he had earned three million kilograms of grain. It was wonderful, and he could even kill that group of Li Prefecture officials, and send a new batch of people in.
As long as he successfully completed the transition, at the very least, the ordinary soldiers and civilians of the Li Prefecture would be back under his command.
The people he would send this time were definitely reliable people.
However, he did not show it on his face at all. Instead, he pointed at Su Changqing and rebuked angrily, "Look at your good son. This method is so sinister and despicable. If someone learns it and uses it in other parts of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the effects will definitely be extremely bad!"
Su Changqing nodded and said, "That"s right. I came here precisely to discuss this matter. I feel that we can follow the example and give it a try against Yan Country!"
"Huh?" Emperor Zhou touched his chin. He felt a little good just thinking about it. He stopped talking and looked at Su Changqing, waiting for him to continue.
Su Changqing said, "I think that we can make some changes and send people to various parts of the Country of Yan. We will use private banks as a front and set a high interest rate. We will also promise to return the interest monthly. The interest will mainly target the people of Yan Country and will wantonly gather money from the people of Yan Country.
This way, our Great Zhou needs to invest less, and the risks are lower. In addition, we can carry this out subtly over a longer period of time… After we gather enough money, we will suddenly withdraw and disappear. When the Yan Country is plunged into chaos, wouldn"t it be a great opportunity for our Great Zhou to move in?"
Right after that, Su Changqing said in a solemn tone, "Also! From today onwards, the Great Zhou Monetary Authority has to be owned by the country and private companies are prohibited from opening their own banknote printing companies.
In the past, I didn"t know about this, but after Su Wen"s actions this time, I realized that money is simply a weapon that can bring chaos to the country! I can"t allow any individual to control this department anymore."
"We also need to spread the news of Su Wen"s case to the various regions. We need to make sure that the people"s authorities are on their guard and prevent people from following suit!"
"Good! As expected of Prime Minister Su! You are indeed quick-witted, I am very happy." Emperor Zhou smiled and pondered for a moment before instructing, "Then let"s do it this way. The people heading to Yan Country will be a.s.signed by Prime Minister Su.
As for the issue of the grain, I will implement a curfew for the next few days. The Royal Guards will then secretly transport it into the capital in batches."
"Su Wen, this child, I have long seen how capable he is. Look at how much trouble he has solved in such a short period of time! As for his methods… After all, like father, like son, so I can"t really blame him as well."
Su Changqing said bitterly, "Your Majesty, you"re indirectly saying that I"m a sinister person!"
"Hahaha! Minister Su is thinking too much, thinking too much!"