Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 876: Fishing in the Middle
Song Qin looked at Ai Cui provocatively, and then said to Zhu Su: "I am a chieftain appointed by the Ming Dynasty. It is my duty to share the worries of the court. I don't want anything."

"Besides, the imperial court wants to open a market in Guizhou, which will also be convenient for us chieftains. How can we be so shameless as to use such a small matter to ask for benefits from the imperial court?"

He looked honest, but he really pissed off Ai Cui, who was standing beside him. Ai Cui couldn't help but secretly hate this old rival: "Why did this old man suddenly become so generous? It would be fine if he pretended to be a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, but why did he put me on the fire?"

It turned out that Ai Cui and Mrs. Shezi agreed to be the first to offer the land for building the city to Zhu Su, but in fact they had another consideration: they thought that if they were more proactive in responding to the Ming Dynasty's request, they could not only win the Ming Dynasty's favor, but also use the situation to gain some benefits for Shuixi in this new city, such as a share of the future market, partial control over the new city, and so on.

Yesterday, Ai Cui had already expressed this idea to Zhu Su in private. Now Song Qin suddenly went crazy and even said that he would be upright and not take a penny... Isn't this disgusting?

Comparing the two, what would His Royal Highness Prince Zhou think of himself?
Ai Cui was still thinking about how to repair it. On the other side, Zhu Su was overjoyed. He couldn't help but stand up and walk forward to Song Qin, saying, "Lord Song is so wise and righteous. I really respect him..."

"The Song family is so loyal, so naturally, the Ming Dynasty will not treat them unfairly." Zhu Su lowered his head and thought for a while, then suddenly raised his head and said, "This king is willing to agree to the Song family. In the future, the Song family will have a place in this new city. The market and merchants in the new city can be handed over to the Song family for management. The Song family can send people to the new city to serve as tax officials and take the responsibility of transporting tax silver. The city will also build a literary academy and a martial arts academy, and the Song family can send their children to study in the academy. In the future, this king will report to my father and allow the provincial examination to be held in the new city..."

This series of favorable conditions stunned Song Qin. Before Song Qin had time to be overjoyed, Ai Cui, whose face changed drastically, exclaimed: "No, Your Highness, you can't do this!"

Song Qin's face, which was full of joy, suddenly darkened. Zhu Su was also puzzled and turned around and asked, "Oh? Master Ai Cui, why not?"

Ai Cui was stunned. Just now, he had only subconsciously tried to stop them. He was the first one to decide to donate the land. How could he be willing to let the Song family take advantage? But of course, this reason could not be made public. After racking his brains, he stammered and said a reason: "This... well, this is not in line with the system. If this is the case, is this city built for the court or for the Song family?"

"Your Highness, you want to easily grant an official position to me for just a piece of wasteland... I think this is unacceptable, unacceptable..."

Shunyuan City has a special geographical location, so it can't be considered a "wasteland", but Zhu Su still thought about it seriously. After a while, he slowly spoke in the midst of the exchange of glances between Ai Cui and Song Qin, which was almost about to spark sparks: "Well, what Chieftain Ai Cui said is indeed honest advice."

"As a prince, I really shouldn't give away my country's most valuable treasure so easily. Even if I report this to my father, he won't agree just for this reason."

"Haha, I was too careless. Let's put this matter aside for now. Tusi Songqin, I will explain your contribution to the land and ask the emperor to reward you as appropriate."

"...Thank you, Your Highness." What else could Song Qin say? He could only respond in a muffled voice, and as he leaned over, he glared at Ai Cui fiercely.

Ai Cui snorted coldly and looked away.

Although there was some unhappiness between the two chieftains, for Zhu Su, the site for the new city had been finalized without any disturbance. Zhu Su personally sent Ai Cui and Song Qin out of the gate, and then returned to his own tent again.

In the king's tent, Xie Jin was already waiting inside. Just now, Xie Jin had been standing behind Zhu Su and had heard the entire conversation between Zhu Su and the two chieftains.

"Your Highness." Xie Jin lifted the curtain for Zhu Su, but his face showed an eagerness that he could not understand Zhu Su. "Your Highness, do you really want to hand over the management and taxation rights of the market to the chieftain? If so, wouldn't we be doing the chieftain a favor by building a city? Please think twice..."

Zhu Su glanced at him, sat down at the table and poured himself a bowl of cold tea, saying, "How could you be doing this for the chieftain? Aren't the prefects and soldiers in the city all from my court? The chieftain only taught them to manage taxation and public security. This place is not like Lianzhou. Lianzhou at least has a provincial capital under the jurisdiction of the court. Although the city is small, it is still a foothold where we can exert our power."

"And this place... do you think that if we build a city, the various tribes in the mountains here will willingly listen to the words of the Han officials?"

Xie Jin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.

"It is absolutely impossible to gain a foothold here without the help of the chieftain." Zhu Su put down his teacup and said, "Besides, the roads in the mountains are difficult to travel, and it is not easy to recruit corvée workers. If we don't recruit the chieftain, I'm afraid we may not be able to build this city."

"But taxation is a major national issue, how can it be controlled by just one person? If the chieftains use it to enrich themselves and strengthen themselves..." Xie Jin hesitated.

"Taxation matters are indeed not appropriate for the chieftain to handle. But the question is, if not the chieftain, who can collect taxes from these mountain people?" Zhu Su said.

"This is their territory. If they are not allowed to collect taxes, the chieftains will naturally find ways to set up their own tax stations to collect taxes privately. In the past, the dynasties had never collected taxes here. Even if they did, they mostly relied on extortion..."

"Letting chieftains serve as tax collectors is just giving them a title to do what they are already doing. The court can also get a share of their profits. The court can also appoint temporary officials to intervene in supervision and control to a certain extent. This is a beneficial thing."

"But, of course, we can't let the Song family dominate alone." Zhu Su touched his chin. "I originally planned to let the chieftains of Shuixi and Shuidong share this responsibility."

"But for now, let's not tell Ai Cui yet... let him panic for a few days and arouse his desire to compete with the Song family."

"Only in this way, with us mediating, will they devote all their efforts to building the city."

"Yes." Xie Jin was deeply impressed. After thinking for a while, he asked again, "Your Highness, will these two people do what you think?"

"What if they fail to understand and instead unite against the enemy..."

"No." Zhu Su smiled. "They both have a good wife."

"If a wife is virtuous, her husband will not suffer misfortune. The ancients were not wrong."

Zhu Su sighed sincerely.

(End of this chapter)