Chapter 1425: Faraway Water Cannot Quench Nearby Thirst

Mingrui is a brave man who is not afraid of fatigue. He has been following the officers and soldiers up the mountain in the past few days. He saw with his own eyes that gold and stones were dug out, very large gold and stones.

Shangguan Liu watched Vice General Wang and the Crown Prince enter the house, and asked Mingrui in a low voice, "Did you really find it?"

“Yes, I found it.”

It has been confirmed that what was secretly dug up by the mountain village was a branch vein, and what has been dug out now is the main vein.

Shangguan Liu clapped his hands, "We have made a difference, no, we have made a great contribution!"

Mingrui couldn't suppress the smile no matter how hard he tried, "Yeah."

The prince wanted to go up the mountain in person, but the King of Qi stopped him. Finally, the King of Qi went up the mountain in person to confirm.

The prince is young after all, and this is a gold mine. His father's ambition has never been hidden from him. There are too many places in the country where silver is needed. The silver spent on road construction alone is like running water every year, and there is also money to be spent on the renovation of dams. Even if a route is laid, there will not be much silver left in the national treasury.

Now that gold has been discovered, the national treasury will be more relaxed, and Minister Zhou must be very happy.

In the capital, the Zhou family still hired a doctor. Zhao didn't sleep all night. Although her son was safe, she was more worried. She felt unwell after breakfast.

Zhulan asked the doctor and was relieved to know that it was nothing serious. She comforted Zhao, "The assassination attempt failed this time. It will be difficult to assassinate again. Mingrui will be safer if he follows the prince."

Zhao, "Mom, I'm fine, don't worry about me."

"I understand. A mother worries about her child even when he is thousands of miles away. This is motherly love."

Zhao drank the medicine and said, "Mom, I just want to think too much."

She always thought something would happen to her son and scared herself. Every time she thought of her son gone, she wanted to go with him.

Zhulan had no way to deal with Zhao's personality, so she could only let Zhao figure it out on his own. She talked to Zhao for a while and then went back.

Zhao was ill and Mingrui did not return to Beijing, so the second wife was always worried about him and Yudie's engagement had to be postponed.

After hearing what Zhao sent her maid to tell the Liu family, Guo understood that she would not feel at ease if something happened to her son and he did not return to Beijing.

Guo asked the maid to talk to her son.

When Liu Yuanbo heard the news, he pinched the fabric in his purse. He had chosen this fabric for Zhou Yudie and was waiting to give it to Yudie after the engagement.

The young servant looked at the young master with dismay. Ever since the young master knew he was going to get engaged, anyone could see that he was very happy.

Even if the eldest son asked the young master to treat him, the young master would endure it.

The servant consoled him, "When Master Mingrui returns to the capital, he will be able to get engaged."

Liu Yuanbo, "Who knows when Zhou Mingrui will return to Beijing, eh."

Who made Zhou Mingrui his eldest brother-in-law? His eldest brother-in-law was not satisfied with him. Now that he was engaged, he didn't have to face his eldest brother-in-law's difficulties. When his eldest brother-in-law came back, Liu Yuanbo's fingertips trembled. He could think that because of his stingy personality, his eldest brother-in-law would definitely let him spend money!

Ministry of Rites, Chang Yi received five invitations. He was not from an imperial examination family, and the young masters of aristocratic families were very arrogant. They looked down on him as someone who had not experienced the imperial examination, and would never send him invitations in the past.

My eldest brother is not an official, but he has a capable son who will have a title in the future. All the letters my eldest brother receives are more popular than his.

The one who receives the most posts at home is Changzhi, who is the most knowledgeable and erudite.

There was no smile in Chang Yi's eyes, and he was not happy at all. He just took a quick look and put it aside.

Lord Liu noticed, "Are you unhappy?"

"If my son were dead, these invitations would not have been delivered to me. These people sent the invitations not because of me, but because my son had the merit of saving the prince. The most important thing is that my son is alive."

His son died. Even if Shangguan Liu and his son indirectly saved the young master who went with them, they would not appreciate it and would even say behind his back that his son was showing off.

Unfortunately, his son was lucky. Not only did he survive, but he also discovered gold. If there really is a mineral vein as his father said, his son would have made a great contribution.

Lord Liu, "The capital is always like this."

The difference between aristocratic families is actually very simple; the key point is whether it is profitable.

Chang Yi sighed twice, "To be honest, my father has the power and status he has now, but he is not only calm and self-controlled, but he also teaches us brothers not to be tempted by power. My father is really amazing."

Master Liu, "......"

No, today you are not showing off your son but your father instead?

Two days later, the prince's urgent memorial arrived in Beijing, and the emperor called Zhou Shuren to share the good news, "I listened to your advice, and indeed found the golden vein."

Zhou Shuren's eyes lit up. "How big is the gold vein reserve? How much gold can be mined?"

The emperor smiled for the first time in recent days. "The news we received is that the mineral reserves are very large and the purity is very high. The first batch of gold and stone will arrive in the capital in a few days."

Zhou Shuren turned around happily, clapped his hands and said, "Good, good."

He has lost a lot of hair for the national treasury in recent days, and now he has finally eased the treasury's money tension.

War requires money. This year the weather is abnormal and heavy rains continue in the south. An urgent letter has already been sent to Beijing. Once the south is flooded, it will cost a lot of money. Not only money, but also the loss of fertile farmland in the south. Food was very important in ancient times.

Zhou Shuren's smile faded a lot after he was happy. He had the gold, but he couldn't put all of it on the market. The grain production in the south was already decreasing, and if a large amount of silver flowed into the market, it would affect more people.

After hearing this, the emperor said, "I am so happy to see you."

These days, he heard Zhou Shuren say every day that there was no money in the treasury, and he was thinking about money every day.

However, the discovery of the gold mine was indeed a happy thing. The emperor noted the Zhou family's contribution. Although the gold mine could not be made public now, he did not forget the people who stole the gold mine.

In Huizhou Mountain Village, after confirming the gold reserves, the officers and soldiers of the village all went into the mountains, leaving only a few people in the village. They quickly wiped out all traces, and the prince also left the village.

The village returned to its former tranquility, waiting for the man who came to steal the gold to be caught.

In Qizhou, Chang Lian went to work at the government office even though his foot injury had not healed. However, due to the shortage of staff in the government office, his vacation was cancelled. A river section in Qizhou burst its dike. Although the flood did not reach the city, it caused many people to suffer. The refugees had already reached the city.

Now the rain is still falling. Some people in the prefectural city have left their homes, fearing that the river near the state capital will burst its banks. More people have closed their doors.

Chang Lian frowned. The food in Qizhou was finished this year. He pressed his brows. What the city lacked most now was medicinal materials. It rained heavily continuously. The temporary shelters were leaking. Many old people and children were sick.

Several nearby states were in danger and could not provide much medicinal materials to support Qizhou.

Chang Lian picked up his pen and wrote a report on the situation in Qizhou to the capital. Even after finishing the report, his brows were still furrowed. Qizhou was far away from the capital, and a round trip would not quench his thirst.

The prefect came back from his inspection, his official uniform soaked through.

Chang Lian hurriedly said, "Sir, go change your clothes quickly to avoid catching a cold."

The prefect was anxious. He was about to leave when a flood occurred. His luck was extremely bad. His throat was hoarse from inflammation. "I am fine. How are the statistics here?"

Chang Lian handed the statistics to the prefect and also handed over the written letter, "It's all here."

The prefect sighed after reading it, "I have some medicinal herbs at home. I will take the lead in donating them. Everyone should stop hiding them. The lives of the people are more important."

Chang Lian respected the prefect. He knew the prefect was a good prefect for the people and he had seen all his achievements over the years. "I will send someone home to sort out the herbs."

The prefect looked at Zhou Changlian with satisfaction. They had cooperated well in the past few years.