Urgent 800 Li, a letter from the capital!
Hearing this shocking news, Qiongzhou Prefecture Magistrate Yuan Chongli immediately stood up and walked towards Ma Ningyuan.
"Are you sure it's Xiang Wang Zhu Bai?"
Ma Ningyuan nodded and said firmly,""That's right, it's Xiang Wang Zhu Bai!"
"Impossible!"
Qiongzhou Prefecture Magistrate Yuan Chongli waved his hand and frowned,""Xiang Wang is the most favored by His Majesty and the Empress, how could they let him come to a place like Qiongzhou?”
Ma Ningyuan, who was standing at the side, muttered softly,""I heard that…"
"Heard what?"
" I heard that His Highness Xiang King sneaked out…"
When Yuan Chongli, the magistrate of Qiongzhou, heard this, he was stunned.
then
The two of them fell silent.
"Lord Prefect, what should we do now?”
Ma Ningyuan broke the silence.
Yuan Chongli, who had been silent all this while, frowned." How are we going to settle down when His Highness comes? This is a big problem."
" Qiongzhou didn't plan to build a mansion…"
Ma Ningyuan nodded and pursed his lips. After a long time, he said,""Why don't we arrange for His Highness's men to be stationed at the Qiongzhou government yamen first?”
"Hmm…"
Magistrate Yuan Chongli expressed his approval and added,"However, the matter of the Imperial Residence has to be carried out quickly!”
Ma Ningyuan, who was standing at the side, looked embarrassed." The silver in our treasury to maintain our daily life is rather tight. This Prince's mansion…"
Yuan Chongli sighed and said,"Then think of a way to borrow it!"”
"Your Highness has become a vassal since you came to our Qiongzhou. We can't afford anything else, but we have to arrange a mansion for your Highness!”
Magistrate Yuan Chongli was very grateful to the incoming King Qiong Zhu Bai.
Back in the capital, Yuan Chongli was framed by Hu Weiyong.
The grass on Yuan Chongli's grave was probably already three feet tall.
How could it be the turn of today's Qiongzhou Prefecture Magistrate Yuan Chongli?
therefore
When he learned that Zhu Bai was going to Fan Qiong Province, Yuan Chongli was both happy and worried.
He was happy that he could find an opportunity to repay Zhu Bai for pleading for mercy and saving his life.
The worry was that Qiongzhou was too poor.
His Royal Highness Zhu Bai coming here to be King Qiong was probably really going to be a 'poor' king.
After hearing the words of Qiongzhou Prefecture Magistrate Yuan Chongli, Tongzhi Ma Ningyuan looked at Yuan Chongli with an extremely unfamiliar gaze.
"Lord Prefect, you already know that there's no money to borrow in Qiongzhou…"
As Ma Ningyuan spoke, he reminded her softly,"" Since ancient times, the vassal kings have always been vassals. The construction of the royal residence is a huge expense. This money has always been allocated by the imperial court. How can we pay for it…"
Yuan Chongli naturally understood what Ma Ningyuan meant.
However, Yuan Chongli was not in a hurry to speak. He only stared at Ma Ningyuan with a pair of hale and hearty eyes.
Ma Ningyuan felt uncomfortable.
then
Jingzhou Prefecture Magistrate Yuan Chongli slowly opened his mouth and spoke in a tone that allowed no one to question him,"If Qiongzhou doesn't have money, go to Guangdong and Guangxi to borrow!"
"Bring my magistrate's seal as a guarantee and go to Guangdong and Guangxi to borrow money!”
"But…"
Ma Ningyuan looked troubled because he understood.
With Qiongzhou's strength, if they wanted to borrow money from Guangdong and Guangxi, they would not only have to look at people's faces, but they would also be looked down upon.
Not to mention borrowing money, even if he went to Guangdong and Guangxi to borrow grain, he would still be looked down upon by many people on the way back and forth.
If he couldn't repay the borrowed grain, he could still use dried fish to pay off the debt.
However, if he couldn't repay the loan, it wouldn't be that easy.
and
How much did he borrow this time?
The construction of the Imperial Residence was not something that could be settled with just a few hundred or a thousand taels of silver.
Last year, the magistrate's office in Qiongzhou was dilapidated and wanted to be repaired.
However, he had no money and could only go to the Guangzhou government to borrow money.
He had originally planned to borrow five thousand taels of silver, but in the end, he only got eight hundred taels.
Moreover, he didn't know when he would be able to return the 800 taels this year.
Now, Lord Prefect wanted him to borrow money again. Wasn't this forcing him to a dead end?
Yuan Chongli and his assistant Ma Ningyuan had been together for more than three years. Looking at Ma Ningyuan's current embarrassment, how could Yuan Chongli not know what he was thinking?
"Sigh…"
Yuan Chongli sighed and waved his hand."Forget it, forget it. You can go down first. We'll make plans for this matter in the future.”
"Yes, sir!"
Ma Ningyuan nodded his head heavily and replied,"Yes."
Then, he left the Prefect's office.
Seeing Ma Ningyuan gradually disappear from his sight, Qiongzhou Prefecture Magistrate Yuan Chongli sighed heavily and sat back in front of the case alone.
However, Yuan Chongli was not in the mood to deal with official documents.
He pressed his hands against his ears, which had some white strands at his temples, and thought hard.
A single coin could not defeat a hero. Even a fourth-rank official in the imperial court would have to face difficulties for money.
Just as Yuan Chongli was deep in thought, hurried footsteps came from outside the hall.
looked up
There was a person standing at the entrance of the hall.
Mantis legs, wasp waist!
Flying Fish Robe, Embroidered Spring Saber!
Seeing this, Yuan Chongli immediately stood up and cupped his hands."What brings the Embroidered Uniform Guards here?”
The Brocade Guard strode into the Prefect's office and took out a secret letter from his waist.
"Lord Yuan, His Majesty has an urgent edict to convey for 800 li!”
Jingzhou Prefecture Magistrate Yuan Chongli extended his hands respectfully and received the secret letter.
"Milord, please rest for a moment. I will send someone to arrange a banquet to welcome Milord!”
The Jinyiwei who delivered the letter had a determined expression on his face. He said indifferently,"No need, I still have to rush back to report. Your Excellency should spend more time on His Highness King Qiong.”
Yuan Chongli nodded repeatedly and replied,"That's what I should do…"
after saying that
The Jinyiwei who sent the message left without looking back.
Magistrate Yuan Chongli, who had stayed in the hall, quickly returned to his seat.
He took out a small knife from the drawer and carefully tore open the wax sealing the letter.
Yuan Chongli took out the letter. Inside the envelope was a banknote worth two hundred thousand taels.
The letter was written by Emperor Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang.
Yuan Chongli already knew what was going on even before he saw it.
He was basking in the glory of Zhu Bai, the King of Qiong, who was about to arrive. That was why he was able to get Emperor Hongwu to personally write a secret letter and send it 800 miles away.
When he read the letter, Magistrate Yuan Chongli's hands trembled.
Zhu Yuanzhang's meaning was very simple.
Qiongzhou is a poor place. Our precious son came to be a vassal king to experience life. As a local official, you have to take good care of him and not let him suffer.
This money is not for you, but for you to use to build Qiongzhou.
After reading the secret letter, Yuan Chongli smiled.
Having been in the officialdom for many years, he naturally understood Zhu Yuanzhang's true intentions.
This 200,000 taels of silver was not a small amount, but to use it to build Jingzhou, it was really a drop in the bucket.
This money naturally had to be spent where it should be spent.
Where should I spend it?
Naturally, it was the mansion that had yet to be built!
Yuan Chongli held the 200,000 silver note with both hands, his slightly weathered face brimming with an uncontrollable smile.
PS：
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Bang bang bang! (Kowtow)
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