Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

As for the management of "Aranya Temple", Li Bangyan also had a new idea.

The top-tier exotic women they cultivate are then used as their public selling points—the so-called "famous prostitute" approach.

He mainly earns his money through performance fees, accommodation fees, and food fees. As for whether Bodhisattva Man sleeps with the guests...

It was a free love between two people who were mutually in love, and it had nothing to do with Li Bangyan himself.

There were indeed guests who wanted to redeem the Bodhisattva from her servitude.

Li Bangyan accepted money to terminate the employment contract, but the ransom had to be substantial.

Other women of lesser rank from other ethnic groups were employed under private contracts, essentially becoming geishas kept at home.

Private employment contracts can be resold to private individuals without going through the accounts of Aranya Monastery.

As long as the price isn't ridiculously low, there's no need to worry about being suspected of bribing officials by sending beautiful women.

Li Bangyan's ultimate business goal was to create a genuine Luoyang Fanlou.

Once he had saved enough money, he bought land and started a large-scale construction project.

Moreover, it must be done in a proper manner and must fully comply with the laws of the Ming Dynasty!

.....

The official residence of the Minister of Works.

The loyal servant entered the study, first checking that no one was around, then closing the doors and windows before saying, "Sir, this month's filial piety money has arrived."

He took out a handful of Ming Dynasty banknotes, totaling more than four thousand strings of cash.

Chapter 3566 Qin Hui's Little Notebook

Qin Hui tucked the banknotes into his sleeve and instructed, "Tell them to be more discreet lately. The emperor is opening up prisons again, and someone might get implicated."

"Stay away from brothels and avoid getting involved with prostitutes!"

"Yes!" the loyal servant bowed and replied.

Qin Hui took out a few silver dollars and rewarded his loyal servant, saying, "Take these to buy wine, and remember not to make a fuss about it."

“I remember,” the loyal servant said happily.

Qin Hui had long since lost faith in the Wang family, and since he couldn't personally handle many matters, he could only rely on his servants to do things.

This loyal servant was someone he took in when he was an official in Shandong. He was intelligent, steady, and unassuming.

The concubine who bore Qin Hui a son was the niece of this loyal servant, making them very close relatives.

As soon as the loyal servant left the study, Qin Hui immediately took out the precious paper money.

He slowly counted the money, one bill at a time. Although he dared not spend it recklessly, he felt a great sense of accomplishment hiding it at home.

When he retires, he doesn't plan to stay in Beijing, but instead goes back to his hometown to buy land, build a house, and repair his ancestral graves.

They also wanted to buy many books and build a large library so that their descendants could take the imperial examinations and become officials.

Qin Hui lost his father at a young age and lived a difficult life with his mother, relying on relatives.

He lacked money while studying, so he had to work as a village school teacher to make a living.

He was short of money even after passing the imperial examination, and while he was in Kaifeng, prices in the capital city of Tokyo were soaring.

Especially with housing prices rising so ridiculously, his meager salary isn't even enough to rent a decent courtyard house.

He was sent to Shandong to be a school principal, a position he held for several years, but his salary was still not enough to make friends.

He endured his wife Wang's resentment because of money.

But there was nothing he could do, because he still had to rely on Wang's dowry to make a living.

Therefore, he needs to make money; only with money can he feel at ease.

And he also needs power; he needs to earn everyone's respect!

From the capital to the provinces, during the first ten years of Qin Hui's official career, all his colleagues and friends praised him highly.

Why is this?

Because Qin Hui was capable and efficient, friends would ask him for help with any difficult matters or official duties.

It turned out to be a perfect success!

His friends praised Qin Hui's abilities, but Qin Hui felt extremely humiliated.

He wasn't born to be someone's dog, helping people solve problems all day without taking any benefits.

He had to do this to expand his network and reputation!

After counting the thousands of strings of Ming Dynasty banknotes, Qin Hui counted them a second time.

Then, disguised himself and went out, hiring a donkey cart to head out of the city halfway.

Among the residential buildings outside the northern city wall, there was a small courtyard that even Qin Hui's loyal servant did not know about.

He kept a mistress in the courtyard, who had already given birth to a daughter for Qin Hui.

In addition, there were several maids and servants to attend to him.

There is also a study here.

There was a stack of books next to the desk, and a book box underneath the books.

Qin Hui moved the book box and books aside, revealing a stone slab with iron rings underneath.

He pulled the iron ring to move the stone slab, revealing a small pit that was waist-high.

The pit was filled with lime and charcoal to prevent moisture, and there was also a small locked box.

Open the small box; there are two ledgers and many precious notes!

Qin Hui wholeheartedly supported the imperial court's issuance of paper money, as it would allow him to easily hide large sums of money.

First, Qin Hui took out the ledger and began to record the accounts.

He was meticulous in everything he did, including embezzlement and bribery.

Every single donation, from whom it came, was meticulously recorded.

One ledger was already full before the second ledger was started.

Qin Hui was very cautious at first. It was only half a year after he was promoted to Minister of Works that he dared to secretly make money in secret.

At first, you catch very little, but it gradually increases.

Now he earns several thousand coins a month, but he's starting to complain that it's not enough.

Qin Hui carefully counted all the money in the box.

He had counted the money countless times before, but he always counted it again each time he came, thoroughly enjoying the process.

A total of over 83,000 strings of cash.

Compared to the powerful officials of the former Song Dynasty, what is this little bit of money?

Qin Hui even felt a little resentful, as former high-ranking officials of the Song Dynasty could easily amass more than this.

After he rose to power, he was still very cautious about making tens of thousands of coins, and at first he was so afraid that he couldn't sleep.

This is not fair!

Before putting the banknotes back into the box, Qin Hui held them up and took a deep breath; the smell of ink made him feel refreshed.

Is it easy for the Minister of Works to make money?

It's easy.

It's not easy.

Because this official position is too high; it only involves making decisions.

Specific matters were handled by specialists, making it difficult for Qin Hui to personally intervene.

He doesn't trust the Wang family, and even if he did, he wouldn't let them come to bail him out.

Because if he did that, the money would definitely go into his wife Wang's pocket.

He had also considered letting his elder brother Qin Zi make money, but as Qin Zi's official position grew and he was transferred to a distant post, things gradually became uncontrollable.

Qin Zi had his own ideas. They were both Jinshi graduates and were also brothers.

Partnering with Qin Zi might actually lead to conflict.

Chapter 3567 A leopard can't change its spots

Qin Hui truly dared not use the other brothers of the Qin family.

He knew those brothers' character all too well; if given the chance, something terrible would definitely happen!

If neither his own family nor his wife's family had anyone available, then he had no choice but to choose someone from outside the family.

Last year, Luoyang underwent a major renovation and construction project, with one project after another, giving Qin Hui many opportunities to exploit.

He selected a calm and collected official from the Ministry of Works to make a little money through engineering projects, and his methods were so secretive that they could not be detected by auditing the accounts.

Qin Hui dared not act recklessly in the Yellow River management project because Zhao Yuan always sent people to keep an eye on it.

However, Fengli Canal, the largest water conservancy project in Shaanxi, has been undergoing dredging and expansion in the past two years.

Qin Hui colluded with Zheng Yinian to embezzle funds from material procurement, thereby obtaining some project funds.

Both of them had been made timid by the emperor and for the time being only dared to engage in small-scale activities, mixing them into large accounts, making them equally difficult to be discovered.

He was as cautious as he could have been; otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to accumulate only tens of thousands of strings of cash over several years.

If this had happened during the Song Dynasty, Qin Hui's actions would have been considered exemplary incorruptibility!

This year, he became a little bolder; Qin Hui arranged a lucrative position for one of his trusted confidants.

He was responsible for building the national treasury warehouses outside Luoyang City—reinforcing river embankments for several miles along the river, relocating residents along the riverbanks, and constructing various warehouse facilities and city walls.

He was one of his most trusted confidants in the Ministry of Works, and there was no doubt that the quality of the river embankment, warehouses, and city walls would be guaranteed.

They're not fools. If they dared to cut corners in the construction of the national treasury, it would never pass inspection, and a bunch of people would lose their heads!

But you can still make money from it.

Qin Hui didn't intend to make too much money; he would assess the specific construction situation.

You can get three or four thousand strings of cash a month, and sometimes you can only get one or two thousand.

Of course, if the tribute money in a certain month was too little or too much, Qin Hui would also check the accounts.

He even went to the construction site in person under the pretext of supervising the project to understand the situation and prevent his subordinates from doing anything wrong behind his back.

.....

"Sigh, another natural disaster!"

Zhao Yuan found these kinds of memorials daunting and would write a single "Approved" in vermilion ink on the draft submitted by the cabinet.

Before autumn even arrived, a major earthquake struck Sichuan, damaging the plank roads in northern Sichuan.

Then came days of torrential rain, causing the water levels of the Yangtze and Han Rivers to rise sharply.

The floods had just passed when several autumn rains brought another flood.

The specific disaster reporting documents from Sichuan have only arrived now.

Disaster relief work is the responsibility of local officials, including the post-disaster repair of boardwalks and river embankments.

They are simply applying for tax breaks next year and a small amount of funding for disaster reconstruction.

After reviewing all the memorials, Zhao Yuan discovered that surprisingly none of them contained any irrelevant discussions about the earthquake.

Zhao Yuan was very satisfied with this, finally abandoning the old idea of ​​the interaction between heaven and man.

In response to this earthquake in history, Zhang Jun, who was in charge of Sichuan, even wrote a letter to Zhao Gou.

Zhao Gou was asked to personally write a prayer and then offer sacrifices and prayers in Sichuan to appease the local military and civilians. At that time, Sichuan was heavily taxed and supported by a large army, and after the earthquake, it almost led to a mutiny and a popular uprising.

Zhao Gou replied, "The torrential rain and earthquake must be caused by the heavy military presence in Shu, excessive conscription and exploitation, and the resulting great resentment among the people."

"You should just appease the people with benevolent governance; what's the use of sacrifices and prayers?"