Moma Liangshan

Chapter 79 Destiny's Mandate, Further Assistance

Gao Qiu panicked and said, "We have served His Majesty diligently all these years, without the slightest slackening. His Majesty is a man who cherishes old friendships; he shouldn't act this way!" Cai Jing smiled helplessly and said, "In the imperial family, has there ever been true affection? Of the dozens of concubines in the palace, which one didn't serve His Majesty more diligently than you and I? Yet, who can maintain His Majesty's favor forever?" Gao Qiu recalled that he was just a lowly servant who, by chance, met Zhao Ji when he was still Prince Rui, and thus gained his current prestige. He said, "We are His Majesty's subjects, while those concubines are his wives. How can we be compared?" Cai Jing said, "Even now, do you still want to hide things from me?" Gao Qiu quickly shook his head and said, "While I cannot be considered a close friend of the Grand Tutor, he is the head of the civil officials, and I am the head of the military officials. There may have been some friction between us, but it has never been anything major." The contradiction. Gao Qiu had no intention of being hypocritical! With Gao Qiu's statement, Cai Jing felt less apprehensive and said, "Frankly speaking, neither of us is truly capable. How did you become second only to the emperor? Has the Grand Commandant considered this?" Gao Qiu pondered for a moment and said, "This empire belongs to the emperor. Whoever the emperor chooses to promote will rise rapidly!" Cai Jing couldn't hide his resentment and said, "Now that the emperor is going to promote Wang Hao, shouldn't he also rise to prominence?" Gao Qiu said, "Since Wang Hao came to Dongjing, he has been at odds with both of us. Moreover, he is four or five years younger than the crown prince. If he were to enter the central government, the Cai and Gao families would likely decline completely!" Cai Jing said, "News has come from the palace that the empress is preparing to betroth Princess Roufu to Wang Hao." Gao Qiu was not very clear about palace affairs, and with Emperor Huizong having many children, he truly did not know who this Princess Roufu was.

Seeing Gao Qiu's bewildered expression, Cai Jing explained, "Princess Roufu, Zhao Duofu, whose childhood name is Huanhuan, is ten years old this year. Consort Yi Su, née Wang, is a close friend of Empress Wang, and Princess Roufu has always been treated as her own daughter by Empress Wang. How could the Grand Commandant not see the deeper meaning behind betrothing Princess Roufu to Wang Hao?" Gao Qiu did not answer Cai Jing directly, but instead said, "Empress Zheng, Consort Yi Su, Li Shishi—Wang Hao's connections with the Emperor now surpass those of you and me!" Cai Jing said with a melancholy tone, "Wang Hao is no ordinary person, and he enjoys the Emperor's deep trust..." "The current situation is unfavorable to both of us. Excessively suppressing Wang Hao might only alienate the Emperor. Therefore, I believe we must adjust our strategy and take a more roundabout approach!" Cai Jing asked. "How can we take a roundabout approach? Please enlighten me, Grand Tutor!" Cai Jing replied, "Since the Emperor wants to cultivate another confidant by his side, we might as well grant his wish and allow Wang Hao to succeed!" Gao Qiu frowned and said, "Give Wang Hao his success? Grand Tutor, are you unaware that official positions in the capital are limited, and there are already far more monks than porridge! If we allow Wang Hao to grow unchecked, what will become of the people around us?"

Cai Jing smiled mysteriously and said, "His Majesty is determined to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, so he sent Wang Hao to take Jiaozhou, build a seaport, and construct warships, hoping to form an alliance with the Jurchens by sea and attack the Liao Kingdom from both sides. Since that's the case, why don't we lend Wang Hao a hand so that he can set sail as soon as possible, land in Liaodong, and leave this Tokyo City completely?" Gao Qiu suddenly understood and continued, "If Wang Hao fails, we have all sorts of ways to deal with him. If Wang Hao succeeds, Liaodong will be an exclave, and he will be in charge of all affairs, big and small, and still won't be able to return to Tokyo." Cai Jing said, "As long as Wang Hao is not in Tokyo, whether he rises to prominence or is in dire straits, it will have no impact on us!" Gao Qiu beamed and said, "Grand Tutor Cai has been able to stand firm in this court for twenty years without being defeated, and there's a reason for that. I admire you!" Cai Jing laughed and said, "Not every opponent needs to be eliminated. When the strength is evenly matched, we can shake hands and make peace, and from then on, we'll keep to ourselves!"

Inside the palace, Emperor Huizong summoned Empress Zheng and Consort Su, saying, "Have you heard about what happened at Fanlou yesterday?" Empress Zheng replied, "My sister and I are inside the palace; we wouldn't know about what happened outside so quickly!" Huizong looked at Eunuch Chen, who understood and took out two silver notes, handing one to Empress Zheng and the other to Consort Su. Empress Zheng and Consort Su looked at the silver notes with surprise in their eyes. Emperor Huizong slowly explained, "This is the imperial treasury's receipt, totaling 280,000 strings of cash." Consort Su said, "My sister manages the harem and has many expenses. It's fine for Your Majesty to give her 180,000 strings, but I am a leisurely person; taking 100,000 strings would be unreasonable!" Emperor Huizong laughed loudly and said, "These 280,000 strings are all Huanhuan's dowry. You two can discuss how to prepare them!" Consort Su was even more incredulous, saying, "Huanhuan is only ten years old; she won't be able to marry for at least five more years. Besides, 280,000 strings is too much!" Emperor Huizong said, "You are Huanhuan's birth mother; 100,000 strings are yours; I and..." "Each of you, Empress, will receive 90,000 strings of cash, all in your possession, totaling 180,000 strings." The Empress hesitated several times before finally speaking, "It's not that I'm jealous, but when Jin Nu married, her dowry totaled less than 100,000 strings. Huan Huan, this 280,000 strings is truly too much!" Consort Su quickly added, "Jin Nu is the legitimate daughter of the Queen!" Emperor Huizong, watching the two deferring to each other, smiled and said, "This 280,000 strings was presented to me by Wang Hao. As her future father-in-law, I can't really take my son-in-law's money!" The Empress said, "Forgive my impertinence, but I wonder why Wang Hao presented this 280,000 strings to Your Majesty?"

Emperor Huizong said, "Yesterday, Fanlou held a total of eight auctions. Wang Hao set a rule beforehand that the starting price for each subsequent auction would be the closing price of the previous auction, making the closing price of the first auction extremely important. To support Wang Hao, I had Eunuch Chen bid once." Looking at the astonished Empress Zheng and Consort Su, Huizong continued, "Wang Hao is a very interesting person. He asked for my help and dared to offer me a reward. I found it amusing and granted his request. After the auction, I sent Eunuch Chen to bring back the 280,000 strings of cash that was due to him to the palace." Hearing that it was Wang Hao's money, the two women relaxed their previous restraint. Empress Zheng said, "In that case, I will keep it safe for now!" The Emperor said, "To be frank, the palace hasn't been particularly well-off these past few years. All of Huanhuan's future wedding expenses, including the renovation of the Prince Consort's residence, will be included in this 280,000 strings of cash!" Empress Zheng glanced at Consort Su and said, "Renovating the residence won't cost too much; 40,000 to 50,000 strings of cash will suffice!" Consort Su said, "Thank you for your trouble, sister!" The Emperor suddenly said, "The Empress has met Wang Hao, but my beloved consort hasn't. I'll host a banquet in the Imperial Garden in three days and invite Huan'er and Jin Nu to come and examine whether this Wang Hao is worthy of Huanhuan." Empress Zheng said, "Your Majesty..." "Now that you mention it, I really miss Huan'er and Jin Nu. It's been over two months since I last saw those two children!" Consort Su said. "Huan Huan has always been a bit mischievous. If he finds out we're hosting Wang Hao's banquet in the Imperial Garden, he'll definitely insist on coming!" Emperor Huizong said, "It's just a family banquet. Huan Huan can come if she wants!" Consort Su said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!" Empress Zheng looked at Emperor Huizong and said softly, "Wang Hao doesn't have any relatives in Dongjing. I've heard he and Miss Shishi are as close as siblings. Why don't we invite Miss Shishi as well? What do you think, Your Majesty?" Empress Zheng was kind and virtuous, and Emperor Huizong smiled knowingly, saying, "I'll leave this matter to the Empress!" Empress Wang said, "Your Majesty, I obey!"

In any case, Wang Hao could never have imagined that the situation would change so drastically after the Fanlou auction. Looking at the more than three million strings of cash before him, Wang Hao pondered his conversation with Emperor Huizong repeatedly. After a long while, he finally had a personal attendant deliver an invitation.

The next day, at the elegant Fanlou Pavilion, Boss Han arrived as promised. Wang Hao said, "I first met Boss Han in Yuncheng County, didn't I?" Boss Han replied, "I run a restaurant in Yuncheng County, employing a cook who used to be an apprentice at Fanlou. I call myself 'Little Fanlou,' just trying to make a living! Later, I met you, sir, and came to Tokyo because of Eight Immortals Wine. Thinking back, you were just a country bumpkin back then, but in less than two years, you've become a powerful figure in Tokyo." Wang Hao said, "I used to be troubled by my lack of funds, but now I'm struggling to make a decision because I have too much money. If I were to ask you to work for me, would you be willing, Boss Han?" Boss Han said, "I'm a businessman; I'm not suited for officialdom, but I'm certainly good at business!" Wang Hao said, "I want to use these three million strings of cash as capital to establish a money exchange. Would you be willing to be its manager?" A money exchange is not something you can easily attempt without sufficient strength and background. Boss Han suddenly recalled his conversation with Master Li a few days ago and said, "If you trust me, young master, I, Han Shu, am willing to serve you." Wang Hao said, "Our bank is approved by the Emperor, and its future operating philosophy will be beyond your expectations. A college is being built in Jiaozhou, and I will temporarily open a course specifically to train the bank's employees. Your current task is to hire two employees and two managers who are familiar with bank operations and send them to Jiaozhou. Then, select thirty eligible young men in Jiaozhou, carefully train them, and in six months to a year, they will be ready to serve us. At that time, I will provide two million strings of cash as capital to establish a bank. The bank will first open branches in Tokyo, Chang'an, Luoyang, Daming Prefecture, Jinan Prefecture, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Mingzhou. After six months, branches will be opened in the western and northern border cities. Please believe me, in ten years, we will have branches in every county and prefecture in the country!" Han Shu was a smart and ambitious man. His intuition told him that joining Wang Hao's ranks would definitely give him a bright future.