Chapter 417 Yu Qingyi's surprise and distress

Ma Rong's arrival was just a small episode. How long will the old emperor live? Yang Zhengshan was powerless to do anything.

After Ma Rong left, Yang Zhengshan returned to the General's Mansion and took out the three yellow plums.

Judging from the appearance, this is a fruit that is slightly larger than an ordinary plum. There seems to be a layer of weak fluorescence on it, but it is not obvious.

Yang Zhengshan hesitated for a while with the three yellow plums.

He didn't know whether he could break through to the innate realm by using this three yellow plum. With his current cultivation, it would only take a day or two to break through to the innate realm.

It is possible to break through at any time, or it may take months or even years to wait.

He needs an opportunity to break through the innate gate, or when the innate true qi in his body is strong enough, he will naturally open the innate gate.

The three yellow plums may allow him to break through, or it may not be of much use to him.

Before taking it, everything is unknown.

Yang Zhengshan thought about it and thought it would be better to wait and see.

Perhaps it won't be long before he can break through the Xiantian realm by himself, and he doesn't need to take this three yellow plum at all. In this way, he can give this three yellow plum to Yu Qingyi.

He decided to wait for three months. If he didn't break through within three months, he would take the three yellow plum. If he broke through within three months, it would be just right that Yu Qingyi would be back by then, so he would give this three yellow plum to Yu Qingyi.

After making the decision, Yang Zhengshan put the three yellow plums into the Lingquan space and began to deal with the official business of the General's Mansion.

In the study, Yang Zhengshan looked at the official documents one by one, and his head was two big.

All of them require silver!

All the six lieutenants were included, and even Yang Mingzhi wrote to the General's Mansion to request money and food.

Well, Yang Mingzhi's reason was very sufficient, to buy a ship.

It was Yang Zhengshan's idea to develop maritime trade in Fuzhou City, but how could maritime trade be developed without money to buy ships?

Look, the pit he dug himself had to fill in the end.

Yang Zhengshan flipped through more than a dozen official documents in a row, and each one was asking for money.

It would be fine if the six lieutenant generals came, but even the Dusi Yamen, the Provincial Administration and the Provincial Surveillance Department came to him to ask for money.

Damn it!

This is really shameless.

Well, although Yang Zhengshan and Pang Tang have already divided the work, in fact, the General's Office is the highest office in Chongshan Town, in charge of all military and political affairs in Chongshan Town.

The Governor's Office is the same as the General's Office. In fact, the two offices have overlapping powers in many aspects.

But it is reasonable for the Dusi Yamen, the Provincial Administration and the Provincial Surveillance Department to ask the General's Office for money and food.

Yang Zhengshan estimated that there must be Pang Tang's instructions.

The General's Office at least has some money and food, but the Governor's Office is really poor, and Pang Tang has been troubled by money and food during this period.

Yang Zhengshan put down the official document and rubbed his eyebrows secretly.

The glass workshop can definitely make money, but it takes time. It will take at least three months to increase the manufacturing scale.

But now the general's mansion has no money and food available.

Eight hundred thousand silvers seem to be a lot, but it is just a drop in the bucket for the entire Chongshan Town. It is not enough for the selection of soldiers in the town's standard camp, let alone other things.

So he must get a sum of money as soon as possible.

Ask the court for silver?

It's useless.

The court will not give money to Chongshan Town now. The reason is very simple. There are many places in Darong that need silver more than Chongshan Town, such as Liaoxi, Beiyuan Town, and the southwestern provinces.

As for thinking of other ways to make money, it will not be rewarded in a short time.

Yang Zhengshan thought about it and said helplessly: "It seems that I can only borrow!"

In the past, Yang Zhengshan held a business conference in Tenglongwei, which attracted many merchants to Tenglongwei, and now Yang Zhengshan is going to hold a loan conference in Chongshan Town.

That's right, he wants to borrow money from merchants, or issue bonds.

This operation is unprecedented in Dayong. Yang Zhengshan doesn't know whether he will cause trouble by doing this, but he can't care so much now.

Compared with the current problem, other problems can be dealt with later.

After making up his mind, Yang Zhengshan immediately sent invitations to merchants in Chongshan Town and Liaodong, inviting merchants to Chongshan Pass for a banquet.

Just as Yang Zhengshan was preparing for the loan meeting, Yu Qingyi, Yang Mingcheng and Lin Zhan and his party came to Kyoto.

Sitting in the carriage, looking at the prosperous Kyoto, Yu Qingyi couldn't help showing a novel look.

Although she had been in the rivers and lakes before, she had never been to Kyoto.

The most prosperous place she has been to is probably Jizhou.

Compared with Kyoto, Jizhou can only be regarded as a small place.

And when Yu Qingyi came to Jing'an Marquis Mansion, she was even more surprised.

"Is this our Marquis' Mansion?" Yu Qingyi got off the carriage and looked at the six-door gate of Jing'an Marquis' Mansion.

According to the rules of Darong, the mansion of the Marquis has three main doors, with beams, brackets, and eaves painted in colors, doors and windows painted with black paint, and gold-painted animal faces and tin rings on the doors.

The three main doors are six doors, the main door is the highest, nearly ten feet high, and the side doors are slightly lower. There are three gatehouses, which are majestic and grand.

Although the mansion in Chongshanguan also hangs the plaque of the Marquis' Mansion, it is actually the backyard of the government office. The regulations of the mansion are built according to the rank of the general, so it is a few centimeters shorter than the mansion of the Marquis.

"To answer the Marquis's wife, this is our Marquis' Mansion." Lu Shou stood beside Yu Qingyi and said with a smile on his face.

Then Yu Qingyi straightened her dress and entered the Marquis' Mansion.

As for how big the mansion is, it is not that big, covering only more than 50 mu.

In fact, according to the regulations of Darong, the city where the king lives is nine li, the city where the duke lives is only three li, and the city where the earl lives is only one or two li.

This "li" refers to the circumference of the mansion.

If the circumference of the mansion of the duke is three li, then the largest area is almost close to 200 mu.

If it is outside the capital, it is naturally no problem to build such a large mansion, but in the capital, it is impossible to build such a large mansion.

Most of the mansions of dukes in the capital are between 30 mu and 50 mu. The Jing'an Marquis's mansion is so large, but it still takes advantage of the Wuxin Marquis's mansion.

Because the Wuxin Marquis's mansion was the former Xin Guogong, the specifications were built according to the Duke's mansion, so it is much larger than other marquis' mansions.

After Yu Qingyi entered the mansion, looking at the pavilions and towers with carved beams and painted buildings and the garden rockery with a scene at every step, it was quite like Liu Laolao entering the Grand View Garden.

The group wandered around the mansion for more than an hour before arriving at the main hall.

"Has the master arranged the courtyards for each room?"

In the hall, Yu Qingyi asked Lu Shou.

Lu Shou smiled and said, "To answer Madam, the master had already arranged it before leaving Kyoto. The master lives in the Wutong Courtyard in the east wing."

After saying that, he bowed to Yang Mingcheng.

The overall layout of the mansion can be divided into four parts. The first part is the front yard. After entering the mansion gate, there is the ceremonial gate. Between the mansion gate and the ceremonial gate, there are two courtyards on the east and west sides, which can be used as offices for male members of the family. There are also many houses behind the courtyards, which can be used as schools, guest houses, etc.

After entering the ceremonial gate, it is the main hall of the mansion. There are warm rooms, tea rooms, and study rooms on both sides of the main hall. There is also a large lotus pond behind the main hall.

The main hall is the most important part of the front yard and the face of the mansion, so it is decorated most luxuriously.

The second part is to enter the inner ceremonial gate along the central axis, which is the main courtyard. The main courtyard is divided into three parts: front, middle and back. The front is the main hall, the middle is the bedroom, and the back is a large garden with rockery, flowing water, pavilions, and small courtyards.

The bedroom in the middle is naturally where the marquis and his wife live. As for the small courtyards in the garden, they are arranged for the marquis' concubines.

Unfortunately, Yang Zhengshan does not have any concubines, so these small courtyards are not very useful.

The third part is the east and west cross courtyards. The east and west cross courtyards are not just two courtyards, but are subdivided into more than a dozen courtyards, each with different sizes and scenery.

The Wutong Courtyard mentioned by Lu Shou is the best and largest courtyard in the east and west cross courtyards. As the eldest son, Yang Mingcheng naturally has to live in the best courtyard.

The fourth part is the back mountain. Yes, there are mountains in the marquis's mansion, or two.

I don't know if there are mountains, but there is also a river. This river extends from the moat of the inner city of Kyoto and flows through more than 30 mansions of all sizes.

There is an ancestral temple on the back mountain, surrounded by mountains and water, with a Buddhist hall, a quiet room, and a temple.

Behind the main courtyard is the ancestral temple, and the east-west cross courtyard actually occupies part of the back mountain.

The whole mansion is built with mountains and water pavilions, and the waterside pavilions are staggered. The overall layout is a perfect match, and it blends well with the mountains and water.

This is why Yu Qingyi was so surprised and surprised before.

Since Yang Zhengshan has allocated the courtyards of each room, Yu Qingyi no longer asks, but just asks Yang Mingcheng and others to clean up first.

"Mother, let's go clean up first, and come back to help mother with housework later!" Wang happily pulled Yang Mingcheng and Yang Chengye away.

Lin Zhan also has a separate courtyard here, and Lu Shou asked a servant to take them to live in the courtyard first.

After everyone left, Yu Qingyi asked Lu Shou again, "How much money is left in the mansion?"

"Uh!" Lu Shou lowered his head in embarrassment, "To answer Madam, there is less than a thousand taels of silver in the mansion!"

Yu Qingyi was stunned, "Why is it so little? Didn't the Marquis leave ten thousand taels before leaving Beijing?"

"Madam, I have no choice. The Marquis asked me to buy furniture when he left, but this mansion is so big, and the furniture needed is really too much." Lu Shou said with a sad face.

I swear to God, he really didn't take a penny.

The monthly salary given to servants by the Yang family has always been very generous, and as long as they work hard, the Yang family treats servants very kindly.

Therefore, the servants are loyal to the Yang family, fearing that they will be sent out of the mansion if they do something wrong by accident.

Lu Shou still has a wife, children and parents in the Yang family. All the old and young are servants of the Yang family. Naturally, he will not let a family of more than a dozen people fall apart for a little bit of petty profit.

Yu Qingyi thought about the size of the mansion and shook her head with some lack of interest, "Forget it, Qingxia, give Manager Lu another 10,000 taels of silver."

Qingxia heard this and immediately went to the inner hall to get a stack of silver notes and handed them to Lu Shou.

"During this period, you go find a few pawnbrokers to add some servants to the mansion. You should know the rules of the mansion, so I won't say much." Yu Qingyi said.

"Yes, I know everything! Madam, don't worry." Lu Shou responded quickly.

The Yang family has several conditions for buying servants. The first is that they must be from the same family, preferably with both old and young. The second is that they must have a clean background, whether they are from a criminal official or a merchant, they must have a clean background. The third is that they are down-to-earth and hardworking. Those who are sneaky and cunning are not wanted, and those who are not clean are sold directly.

The Yang family has bought a lot of servants over the years. Now, there are about 800 servants in the Yang family, of which there are about 300 in the Marquis' Mansion in Chongshan Pass, and the rest are responsible for the Yang family's industries outside.

But now it seems that these 800 servants are definitely not enough. Such a large Marquis' Mansion, just for daily management, probably needs 200 to 300 people.

If the Yang family moved in, it would probably take 600 to 700 people.

When Lu Shou went out to do business, Yu Qingyi looked at the gorgeous hall and couldn't help sighing, "Although this Marquis' Mansion is good, I'm afraid it will cost a lot of money in the future!"

It cost more than 10,000 taels of silver just to buy furniture. This is also the fault of the people in the Ministry of Revenue. If they want to confiscate the house, they can confiscate the house, but why did they move away even the furniture.

"What are you afraid of, Madam? We are not without money!" Qingxia said with a smile.

She is Yu Qingyi's accountant, and she knows how much money Yu Qingyi has.

"Our money is not blown by the wind. I estimate that such a large mansion will cost at least 20,000 taels of silver a year." Yu Qingyi said a little depressed.

In the past, the Yang family had a lot of expenses, including food, clothing, housing, transportation, servants' monthly wages, etc., which cost almost 10,000 taels of silver a year. Now that they have this mansion and add some servants, it is estimated that 20,000 taels will not be enough.

The expenses have doubled in an instant, and Yu Qingyi is very distressed.

Before, Yu Qingyi was surprised by the Marquis' Mansion, but now she is only distressed.

"Didn't His Majesty give 8,000 acres of land? With 8,000 acres of land, it can offset some daily expenses!" Qingxia said.

Yu Qingyi nodded, "Fortunately, there are 8,000 acres of land, otherwise the income of our mansion would not be enough!"

Now the Yang family has many industries, but the Yang family is not a merchant. Most of the industries are fields and shops, and the income mainly comes from collecting rent.

When they were in Anyuan City, the Yang family still had a horse farm, but when they were in Tenglong Guard, Yang Zhengshan did not take the horse farm as the private property of the Yang family, but gave it to the Guard Office.

The income of the horse farm in Anyuan City also dropped sharply because Yang Zhengshan could not provide spiritual spring water.

So the income of the Yang family was not very much, and the annual income was only about 20,000 silver.

If there were no 8,000 acres of land granted, the Yang family would probably have to live a tight life in the future, and basically there would be no money saved.

Of course, this is not counting the silver in Yang Zhengshan's hands. You should know that there are almost one million taels of silver stored in the spiritual spring space. If this money is taken out, it will be enough for the Yang family to spend for decades.

Therefore, Yang Zhengshan never felt that the Yang family was short of silver, and Yu Qingyi didn't know that Yang Zhengshan had so much silver in his hands, so she felt that the income of the Yang family was a little low.

If she knew that Yang Zhengshan had his own small treasury, I don't know how she would feel!