novelSusiti Chapter 36 Entrustment
Chapter 36 Entrustment
"Hahaha, my dear son-in-law, my dear son-in-law, what brings you, a favorite of the Imperial Guard, to visit a nobody like me today?"
Inside the Han residence, just as Madam Liu went to find Han Ling'er, Wang Jun also took the initiative to approach Han Tong.
Han Tong's current official position is Grand Secretary, but it is a purely sinecure. He plans to retire in Luoyang after a short time. During the Five Dynasties and early Song Dynasty, retired elderly people all went to Luoyang, including the parents of some younger high-ranking military officers. Han Tong will have to go there sooner or later.
Naturally, he was also unwilling to go to the government office. He himself knew that he was quite annoying. Although Wang Jun also lived in the Han residence on weekdays,
However, the Han family residence was quite large, and the three of them had a semi-independent courtyard. The two of them rarely saw each other. Wang Jun was also genuinely busy, so Han Tong was quite surprised to see Wang Jun come specifically to find him.
"There are indeed two things I need to discuss with my father-in-law."
Why are we being so hesitant with each other? Tell me, what is it?
"Firstly, I was ordered by the Second King to stockpile a large amount of grain, amounting to over two hundred thousand bushels. Currently, we are simultaneously providing disaster relief and appropriately releasing the grain to subsidize expenses. The Emperor has issued an edict that anyone who hoards grain for profit will be executed without mercy."
"Now, grain prices in Kaifeng are soaring, and the people are impoverished. It's hard to feel at ease making this money, yet I dare not refuse the Second Prince's 'kind offer.' I'm caught in a dilemma. What do you think I should do, Father-in-law?"
That's right, Wang Jun couldn't come up with a good solution after thinking about it for several days, so he simply decided to come and find Han Tong.
Having known him for so long, he naturally no longer believed the historical conclusion that Han Tong was a brute. As the saying goes, everyone has their own expertise. Although Han Tong was a military man, he had also spent half his life in the officialdom. From a common soldier to the Grand Secretary, he must have a certain amount of wisdom and might be able to give him some guidance.
Han Tong was also taken aback. Of course he knew that Wang Jun was hoarding and speculating, but he pretended not to know, since it was a matter that could cost him his head. He never expected that Wang Jun would actually ask him about it.
So nonchalant?
"You just said there were two things, right? What's your second thing?"
The second thing is that I want to transfer the brick and tile workshop to my brother-in-law.
"Wei'er? Give it to him? Why? Is it because the Second King ordered you to hoard goods for speculation?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Jun smiled wryly: "That's not it. The brick and tile factories in Tongjifang have almost exhausted their development potential. After all, firing tiles and making bricks requires burning coal and consuming mud, and now that the sky is high over there, they've run out of mud."
To be honest, almost all the mud the workshop is collecting now is waste soil, piled up into several large mountains inside the factory, but none of it is usable.
Upon hearing this, Han Tong couldn't help but burst out laughing, shook his head, and cursed, "What kind of mess has the Second King made?"
Of course, not just any mud will do for making bricks; it must be clay, which is the mud on the surface of the ground, at most one or two meters below the surface. The mud below that is called rammed earth.
Once the clay is scraped clean, it's gone. It takes several years for the rammed earth to regenerate into clay and be exposed on the surface.
Wang Jun had a clear understanding of the process of collecting and burning mud. When he first distributed lunches, he intended to benefit the villagers, mainly focusing on the local people of Tongjifang. That is, until Zhao Guangyi got involved...
He now provides meals every day, but most of the mud he collects is waste mud, rammed earth. Although the waste mud can lower the price, the meals still need to be provided. In other words, it's a pure loss. Making those refugees dig mud is just to give them something to do; the mud itself is almost worthless.
He would have gone bankrupt long ago if he hadn't hoarded and secretly sold grain.
"So, father-in-law, what I mean is, I'm handing this workshop over to my brother-in-law, but we won't be operating it in Tongjifang anymore. I'll have him take the old workers from the factory to another place, or even just to Luoyang."
Father-in-law, within a few years, Luoyang will definitely see large-scale construction. Red bricks are one aspect, but the key demand will be huge for glazed tiles.
"Is there going to be major construction in Luoyang?" Han Tong immediately became alert. "Why would there be major construction in Luoyang?"
"There are dozens of military commanders in the world, don't you think that's too many, Father-in-law? You're also going to Luoyang, Father-in-law, so you can help your brother-in-law out. His situation... is indeed not suitable for entering officialdom."
But with your help, making more money and building a network for self-protection shouldn't be too difficult.
"What will happen to the brick and tile workshops in Tongjifang?"
"Let's do something else. Lu'er and I are both busy now and have no interest in this. We originally built this brick and tile factory to bring good fortune to my father-in-law. Now, it's time to retire gracefully. Keeping this workshop will only invite trouble."
"Um."
Han Tong nodded, and at the same time fell into deep thought.
He could also see that a large part of the reason why Wang Jun didn't want the workshop was because most of the so-called old workers were his people, and his son-in-law had high aspirations and didn't want to be controlled by him.
However, these things no longer matter. With the fall of the Great Zhou and the founding of the Great Song in recent times, he has come to understand many things. He has no ambition, and his son is not up to par. In the second half of his life, he will only seek self-preservation and wealth.
After thinking for a moment, Han Tong asked him:
"Good son-in-law, I know that you and your son have a clear understanding of the general trend of the world. Whether you truly understand destiny or are just good at analysis, it doesn't matter. Tell me the truth, can Zhao Kuangyin's Song Dynasty last long?"
Wang Jun nodded: "It can indeed last a long time. The world has been in turmoil for a century, to the point where everyone is tired of war, even warriors are weary of changing the world again."
"Father-in-law, since the founding of the Great Song Dynasty, markets have not been closed, cities have not been massacred, and markets have not been raided. Most civil officials have been retained in their posts, and at least up to this point, no military commander has raised an army against the Song. Isn't this enough to show that the Great Song Dynasty is a new era that builds on the past and opens up the future?"
Zhao Guangmei deeply resented the soldiers' extortion of money in the middle of the night, but for most people of that era, the fact that Zhao Kuangyin could control the army to this extent, at least during the day there were no bandits openly robbing or killing people, was already a sign of a prosperous era.
The ancients had very low standards for a prosperous era, and those who came after the Five Dynasties had even lower standards.
In fact, Han Tong himself had been able to sense this recently. The reason he still asked Wang Jun was simply to get confirmation. He didn't necessarily really believe that Wang Jun could read fate.
"Will Zhao Guangyi be the crown prince, and even continue the Song Dynasty?"
Wang Jun nodded again.
Han Tong: "Since he is the crown prince, we have to take him seriously. If you release the grain now or refuse to promote his name, you will only displease him. It is difficult for you to go against his wishes. If you can't do it openly, it's best not to do it secretly either."
"The best solution is to have external forces intervene, one that Zhao Guangyi would find hard to refuse, and one that would also make him hesitant, to help you."
"In this world, where is there any external force that even the two great kings must be wary of?"
"There are still many. Leave this to me, I'll help you figure out a solution. As for the brick and tile factory..."
Han Tong lowered his head and thought for a moment, then made up his mind and said, "I'll submit my resignation in the next few days, take the family's savings and go to Luoyang to retire. I'll take Wei'er with me."
I won't refuse your kindness. When the time comes, you can teach him how to make glazed tiles, and the workers in the brick and tile workshop will all follow him. However, I heard that glazed tiles require a certain kind of chemical solution..."
Wang Jun quickly replied, "I personally refined that medicine. I will refine it for my brother-in-law every month and send it to Luoyang. If he wants to learn, I am willing to teach him."
Han Tong nodded: "Okay, I heard you want to build another house in Tongjifang? Why go through all that trouble? After I leave, this house will be empty. Zhao Kuangyin is quite decent; he's given us such a big house. It will be our private property from now on. You can live there after I leave."
"Huh? This..."
"I know you don't want people to say you're a live-in son-in-law, but this mansion is just sitting empty anyway. Here's what we'll do: after I leave, you can change the name of this plaque from 'Han Mansion' to 'Wang Mansion'."
Consider this house a sale to you, in exchange for your brick and tile factory. You have to make sure Wei'er's factory in Luoyang can get off the ground.
"I know my son well. He... isn't really stupid. It's just that he was born with a disability and can't enter officialdom. I was also too busy in the past and didn't pay enough attention to him, which made him a bit sensitive and insecure. He always wants to show off, but he's not a bad person at heart."
"From now on, I won't be able to live much longer, and I don't have many years left to live. You must take good care of him. If he does something foolish in the future and does something that will offend you, I hope that you, my dear son-in-law, will forgive him for my sake and for the sake of your family."
Without waiting for Wang Jun's refusal, Han Tong gave a few more instructions to his steward. Soon after, a dozen or so guards arrived, and Han Tong introduced them to Wang Jun one by one, saying:
"These are all old buddies who have been with me for at least ten years. I took the older ones with me, but these younger ones are for you to be your personal guards."