Zhao Ji had his own ideas. He turned to Wang Fu and the others and said, "As you all heard, the Taishang Laojun's alchemy furnace needs repairs. Each of you should donate 10,000 taels of gold."
Cai Jing, Wang Fu, Li Bangyan, Tong Guan and others looked at each other in confusion.
Their family was rich, and quite a bit of it, but taking out 12,000 taels of gold at once was really painful.
No one's money comes from the wind.
Everyone present was in a high position of power and had made a lot of money by taking advantage of their position. However, no matter how much money there was, it was their own.
The emperor made empty promises and asked for 12,000 taels of gold. He treated them as his own treasury.
Seeing that they were silent, Zhao Ji's face gradually darkened.
This is a fundraising campaign for Taishang Laojun, but these ministers are not happy about it. It's so infuriating.
I have given you what you have today. If you don’t know what’s good for you, just wait and see.
At this time, a man stepped out from the crowd, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to pay 20,000 taels of gold."
Zhang Shixun looked at the man and found him unfamiliar, as he had never seen him before.
"Oh! It is Zhu Jie who can share my worries." Zhao Ji grabbed his hand.
The other ministers looked at Zhu Jie and wanted to kill him.
You thief! With you taking the lead, how can we survive?
If he didn't join in the donation, believe it or not, the emperor would demote him tomorrow. If he joined in the donation, that would be 10,000 taels of gold.
Cai Jing observed his expression and knew he couldn't escape, so he took two shaky steps forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have accumulated some wealth over the years. If we pool our resources, we can come up with 10,000 taels of gold. I will donate it."
Seeing this, Wang Fu and others had no choice but to donate as well.
Each is ten thousand taels.
Zhao Ji stroked his beard and smiled, "My dear ministers, you are all my good subjects. I believe that after receiving your donations, Taishang Laojun will definitely bless you."
When Zhang Shixun heard this, he almost laughed out loud.
I have never heard of the Jade Emperor bestowing blessings.
Although all the ministers present donated money, there was still a shortfall of 50,000 taels.
Prince Pu said, "I can donate five thousand taels, on the condition that I can watch the Three Kingdoms with you."
"Okay." Zhao Ji agreed readily.
The third floor is quite large, so not only can it accommodate one more person, but even thirty or fifty more people would not be a problem.
Zhao Ji asked Liang Shicheng, "How much do we still need to keep the Dao?"
"We still need 45,000 taels." Liang Shicheng had just donated 10,000 taels, and he was feeling anxious. He glanced at Zhang Shixun and suggested, "Your Majesty, others can also donate."
The meaning was obvious, and everyone present knew that he was planning to target Zhang Shixun.
Zhang Shixun turned a deaf ear to him and thought to himself: You want to take advantage of me? Just wait and see how I deal with you.
Zhao Ji rolled his eyes and asked Zhang Shixun, "Is it limited to ten people at a time for paying for the trip down to the third floor?"
"That's right."
"Can you please make an exception and let a few more people in?" Zhao Ji had a very careful calculation. He planned to act as a middleman and sell a few more places. In this way, 200,000 gold would be enough.
Zhang Shixun said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. It's not that I'm unwilling to be flexible, but the Heavenly Officials won't allow it. If there are more than ten at a time, no one will be able to watch."
Zhao Ji had no choice but to give up and turned to ask Liang Shicheng: "How many vacancies do we have?"
"There are three left."
"It sold for 45,000."
"this……"
Liang Shicheng was at a loss. Where could he sell it?
Zhang Shixun clapped his hands and laughed, "Your Majesty is very wise. 150,000 taels of gold bought a ticket to watch the Three Kingdoms with you. If the news gets out, those wealthy merchants will definitely rush to buy it."
He only mentioned wealthy businessmen, but did not mention royal relatives.
Liang Shicheng was at his wit's end, and seeing him say that, he was happy to take advantage of the situation. "Shixun, how about you take care of this?"
Zhang Shixun ignored him and said to Zhao Ji, "Sir, if you can write down the details of the matter and post it at the entrance of the restaurant, I believe the remaining 150,000 yuan can be raised quickly."
"What were you thinking about the official calligraphy being posted on the door?" Liang Shicheng pointed at Zhang Shixun's nose and said sharply, "I knew you weren't a good person."
Before he finished speaking, a peacock fluttered over from the windowsill, grabbed Liang Shicheng's fu hat with its two claws, flew back to the windowsill, and with a few strokes, it carved a few holes in the fu hat. Then it shook its head and the tattered fu hat flew down the stairs.
Liang Shicheng was shocked and bowed to Kong Que again.
He is a fairy messenger and a divine bird, and we cannot afford to offend him.
Zhang Shixun said with a smile: "Prime Minister Liang, it is a divine bird that can distinguish between good and evil people."
The meaning is very clear, you, Liang Shicheng, are a bad person.
Zhao Ji hesitated for a long time, and finally sighed and said, "Bring me the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone."
The news that the emperor was looking for fundraisers spread like wildfire and soon spread throughout the capital.
More and more people come to Tianshang Renjian to see the official calligraphy.
In an instant, people flocked to the restaurant like a tide, blocking the Imperial Street.
Someone pointed at the second-floor window and shouted, "Look, there's a big bird over there."
"Oh! It's a really big bird."
"That looks like a phoenix."
"Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. That's a peacock. It should have flown from the south."
"It didn't fly from the south. I heard it was a fairy messenger from heaven, coming to find Zhang Tianshi."
…
The onlookers were talking at once, saying all sorts of things, and the more they talked, the more mysterious it became.
Some say it's a pet kept by Taishang Laojun; some say it's a fairy messenger, responsible for delivering messages; others say it's a fairy friend of Zhang Tianshi...
The peacock flew away, leaving behind a sentence: Three days later, he would go to the square in front of Xuande Tower to get the gold.
Zhao Ji sat in the private room on the second floor with a restless mind, guarding a table full of delicious food but without any appetite at all.
He looked up at the peacock preening its feathers and asked Liang Shicheng, "Shoudao, do you think anyone will pledge donations?"
Liang Shicheng sighed and said, "It's difficult! Too difficult."
When night fell, still no one came to pledge donations.
Zhao Ji looked at several trusted ministers and thought to himself: If it doesn't work, I'll let these people pool together to make up the remaining 45,000 taels.
At this moment, Prince Yun and Gao Yanei arrived.
"Father, Gao Chengzong and I went to Jieshen and told the wealthy businessmen there about your father's fundraising."
Zhao Ji's eyes lit up: "Is there anyone willing to donate?"
"Yes!" Prince Yun nodded, "They donated 50,000 taels, but..."
"What?"
"These fifty thousand taels were pooled by more than ten people."
"This..." Zhao Ji was in a dilemma. "Third brother, there are only three spots here. They..."
"Father, please listen to me." Prince Yun smiled and said, "These wealthy merchants said they can take turns coming, and only three people can come every day."
"Hey! That's a good idea. I think it's feasible."
Seeing that he agreed, Prince Yun pointed at Gao Yanei and said, "Chengzong has already brought those people here, and they are waiting for news from the emperor downstairs."
"Yeah! I won't see these businessmen anymore. You can just go down and deal with them."
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