Chapter 405: Promoted to Governor
At this time, Lu Songli was of course unaware of the feelings of Ji Wuyin and his servant. She was making the final calculations in her mind.
They earned 900,000 dan of grain in Nanyang this time. Calculating based on market prices, the 500,000 dan shipped back to Liaodong County was calculated at 160 wen per dou, and the 400,000 dan left in Luoyang was calculated at 100 wen per dou. This equated to a profit of 1.2 million taels of silver, minus the 400,000 taels paid to the Cao Gang and the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce's operating expenses. After all, the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce had deployed a large number of personnel, and they all needed to eat.
She only collected 200,000 taels of silver as an operating fee.
In the end, Lu Songli decided to take out 600,000 taels of silver as dividends.
She had just calculated it when her subordinates came to report that Lan Bingrong and others had arrived one after another.
Liaodong Chamber of Commerce Building, second floor meeting room
Lan Bingrong, Geng Yuan and eight others had already arrived. When they saw that Lu Songli had not come yet, they couldn't help but start whispering to each other.
"I don't know why we were called here this time."
"It should be a good thing."
"I heard that Manager Wu took a team from the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce to Luoyang."
"Yesterday, the docks at Fang County and An City were filled with grain transport ships from the Cao Gang."
"I also heard that the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce and the Ji family business have joined forces to stir up trouble in Nanyang, killing people everywhere and even overthrowing the local grain merchants."
Upon hearing this, everyone was amazed.
It was at this time that Lu Songli came in.
She looked around and smiled, "Are you all here?"
"Yes, President Lu has called us, how can we not come?"
"Okay, enough nonsense, I'll get straight to the point. You've probably all heard that our Liaodong Chamber of Commerce made a fortune in Nanyang. I won't go into the details. I called you here to settle your money and your dividends."
Lu Songli's words made everyone present feel uneasy.
Lu Songli revealed to them that the amount of funds involved in this transaction was five million taels, and their Liaodong forces accounted for three million.
Of the three million taels, the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce contributed one and a half million taels, she raised one and a half million taels from Lan Bingrong, Geng Yuan and others, Qin Heng contributed two hundred thousand taels on behalf of the Qin family, and she and Qin Sheng took one hundred thousand taels to make up the total.
Now, their Liaodong forces have been allocated materials worth 1.2 million taels, and after deducting costs, they have made a net profit of 600,000 taels.
This means that for every 10,000 taels of capital invested, the dividend will be 2,000 taels.
After the calculation was clear, Lu Songli had the silver brought over and settled the bill on the spot.
Geng Yuan was a little confused when he received the silver. He invested 100,000 taels, and in two months, he only got 20,000 taels? This deal was too easy, wasn't it?
He glanced at Lan Bingrong next to him. This guy invested 150,000 taels and got 30,000 taels, which was more than him. He was jealous.
They took risks with their investment, but the returns were substantial. If they had lent the 100,000 taels to the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce, they would have only earned 6,000 taels in interest in a year. Now, in just two months, they've already earned 20,000 taels.
After all the silver was distributed, Lu Songli asked, "Is everyone confirmed that everything is correct?"
"President Lu, we've checked everything, and there's not a single mistake."
Lu Songli nodded, "That's good. That's all for this phase. You can go back now."
"President Lu, next time the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce is short of funds, just tell us directly. Others may not know, but I, Geng, will definitely donate generously." Geng Yuan immediately expressed his loyalty.
Others also said, "Yes, President Lu, if you want money, don't hesitate to come to us."
They discovered that there was meat to be had by following the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce.
Next time, if there is such an opportunity again, they will definitely hit wherever they are pointed without any hesitation.
Seeing how enthusiastic they were, Lu Songli smiled and said, "Okay, I'll come back to you next time if I don't have enough money."
The next day, the imperial edict finally arrived, announcing that Lü Desheng was promoted to the position of Governor of Pingzhou for his merits.
What followed was the imperial edict deposing Shi Tao.
At this time, an incense table had already been set up in the backyard of the Liaodong County Magistrate's Mansion.
The eunuch who had come to announce the decree was reading aloud: "By the Will of Heaven and the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: Since ancient times, sages and wise men have governed the country with the assistance of talented individuals. Here is a capable minister, Lü Desheng, a man of both talent and virtue, with exceptional abilities and practical application. During his tenure, he has diligently governed the country, relieved the emperor of his worries, offered advice on Nanyang, and made contributions to the country and earned the trust of the people. He is truly a rare and capable minister. Now, by the will of Heaven, I hereby reward him. Effective immediately, I appoint him as the Governor of Pingzhou! I express my sincere gratitude!"
The Lu family shouted in unison, "Long live our emperor!"
After Lu Desheng received the imperial edict, he exchanged a few words with the father-in-law who delivered the edict, and left the rest to his eldest son and the steward Chen.
Lu Zhiyuan and Chen Zongguan together led the group of people who came to deliver the imperial edict to rest.
Lu Songli smiled and congratulated her father, "Dad, congratulations--" When the angel came, she was already on duty, so she went to receive the imperial edict together.
Lu Desheng smiled reservedly, "I'm happy for you."
Humph, now he is the biggest man in the whole Pingzhou. No one dares to let him go out on a rainy day, right?
Besides, no one in Pingzhou would dare to make him bow down to them anymore, right? Humph——
Jiang ignored the father and son and announced a happy occasion. The servants would receive double their monthly wages. Then, she ordered the servants to set off a few firecrackers at the gate and to scatter a small basket of copper coins. Whoever picked up one would keep it, sharing in the good news.
It was also at this time that the common people learned that their Lord Lu had been promoted. They were delighted from the bottom of their hearts, and sincere congratulations came out of their mouths. The atmosphere was lively and festive.
Jiangzhou, Linchuan County
Xie Bai found Xie Zhan and handed him a letter, "Master, something bad has happened."
Xie Zhan: "Why are you so panicked?"
"Master, please read the letter. I can't explain it clearly." He was a little exhausted from traveling all the way.
The letter was written by Zuo Anmin, and it stated that Zhang Xian had requested merit for Lü Desheng, and the emperor, after considering it, actually agreed. The imperial edict appointing Lü Desheng as the governor of Pingzhou had already been dispatched. Along with it was an imperial edict deposing Shi Tao.
The letter was delivered to the South, but Xie Zhan was not there at the time. The matter was of great importance. Xie Bai had just returned from escorting a batch of grain, so he took the letter and went straight to Linchuan County without caring about anything else.
After reading the letter, Xie Zhan felt that he needed to calm down.
He walked out the door. Dusk was falling and the late autumn night wind brought a hint of chill. His mind became clearer and clearer.
It was foreseeable that Lü Songli would take Pingzhou. After all, Liaodong County was too small, which restricted their development.
He has been wondering recently when and how the other party will expand its territory.
In his opinion, it would be difficult for Lu Songli to take over Pingzhou since Shi Tao, the governor who had been in office for ten years, was like a nail in the coffin.
However, no one expected that Lu Songli would take a two-pronged approach, and his appetite was so big that he swallowed up the entire Pingzhou territory in one go.
What he didn't expect was that Zhang Xian was actually willing to give up this tremendous credit. It seemed that the relationship between Lu's father and daughter and Zhang Xian was even stronger than he expected.
What surprised him most was Shi Tao's capsize.
Shi Tao was a man of mediocre ability, but he was incredibly loyal to the Song family. It was precisely because of this that the late emperor allowed him to remain in the position of Governor of Pingzhou.
He always felt that Shi Tao would not fail.
After all, he doesn't have the ability, but can't he be loyal?
A person can reach a high position just by being loyal. No matter what, this person will always be covered with the guise of loyalty, right?
What Xie Zhan couldn't understand was that Shi Tao had done a great job over the years, hadn't he?
Now, who will tell him what Shi Tao did that Song Mo could not tolerate him?
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