For these aristocratic families, what they pursue is not the throne, but the feeling of being able to control everything from the shadows. Only in this way can the entire family continue. Even if you can become the emperor, can the royal family last for three hundred years? At most, it can only last for three hundred years. But for these aristocratic families hidden in the dark, it is different. As long as you can manage it well, it can last for thousands of years.
Xiao Yu is now the patriarch of the Lanling Xiao family, but the Lanling Xiao family is not doing very well. Rumor has it that it is a second-rate family, but in fact it is just a third-rate family. It still has a strong influence in the local area, but if it leaves Lanling, almost no one outside will know. Even in Chang'an City, it is Xiao Yu who carries the name of the Lanling Xiao family.
Take Cui Yunzhu for example. He was only the magistrate of Chang'an County, a minor official in theory. But he came from the Cui family, the most aristocratic family in the world, so who would dare to look down on him? What he said was likely to represent the Cui family's words. When Xiao Yu saw this scene, he was so envious.
The Lanling Xiao family had been strong in history, but that was more than a hundred years ago. Now they have slowly declined. The ascension of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu this time is a great opportunity for them.
It has to be said that Xiao Yu had a good vision. When Li Xiang got married, Xiao Yu wanted to push his little daughter to him. Unfortunately, Li Shimin did not want Li Xiang to marry a girl from aristocratic family. If that were the case, whether she was third-rate or first-rate, it would increase Li Xiang's strength. So Li Shimin directly blocked it, and Xiao Yu lost his first chance to rise.
But now the emergence of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu has given Xiao Yu another glimmer of hope. Coupled with the good relationship between the two sides, apart from Xiao Yu, it can be said that there is almost no one in the court who can cheer for His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu, so the two sides hit it off.
"master…"
Xiao Yu was sitting on the armchair, dreaming of the good times in the future. After His Royal Highness Prince Wu ascended the throne, the daughter of our Xiao family could become the queen, or at least the imperial concubine. Coupled with the promise of His Royal Highness Prince Wu, the day when our Lanling Xiao family would take off is just around the corner. Unfortunately, this dream was shattered by the voice of the old butler.
"What's up?"
Xiao Yu said very unhappily, it's like I was daydreaming here, and you poured a basin of cold water on me. If the old housekeeper wasn't usually efficient, Xiao Yu would have had him dragged down and beaten with twenty boards. There are not many opportunities to daydream like this, and you ruined my good day.
"Sir, the shopkeeper Liu is here and said he has something urgent to do."
When talking about this, Xiao Yu's nerves immediately became tense. In order to hide it over the years, he had entrusted all the family business to outsiders. This shopkeeper Liu was there to help him do things. In the past, Xiao Yu didn't care about this as long as he paid a certain amount of money every year. But now he has to help His Royal Highness the King of Wu to win over talents, so he has to spend more money, so Xiao Yu began to ask about business matters.
Shopkeeper Liu is an honest man, but his ability to do things is extremely limited. He can only help you maintain the business. If you want to expand it, he probably doesn't have that ability. However, Xiao Yu also knows that it is already late at night. If there is no big deal, Shopkeeper Liu will not come to him.
"Let him in."
Xiao Yu also understood one thing, that is, it is definitely not good if someone comes to the door at night. When he saw the haggard face of Manager Liu, Xiao Yu knew that it was definitely not good, and his heart skipped a beat.
"Master, something terrible has happened. We've already agreed to the loan you requested with the treasure hunters, using our shops in the capital and our farms outside the city as collateral. Tomorrow is the day to release the loan, but tonight a clerk suddenly showed up and said they're short of funds and won't approve it."
Shopkeeper Liu was extremely anxious. In the past month, he had done nothing but accompany a shopkeeper from Zhidaobao to handle this matter. Xiao Yu was in urgent need of money, and it was not a small amount, so they could not let the Chamber of Commerce know. They could only temporarily mortgage some of their properties and then take out a loan from Zhidaobao. This was also a method that merchants in the capital were best at.
Things were going very well and the date for payment had been set, but suddenly there was such a change, which made Manager Liu very anxious. Xiao Yu repeatedly reminded him that other things could be put aside, but this payment was the most urgent. His Royal Highness the King of Wu was about to go to war, and there was a gap between his subordinates and His Royal Highness the King of Wu. If they wanted to break this gap, the fastest way was to use money.
But with so many people in the army, even if each of them contributed a little, it would still be a considerable amount of money. Xiao Yu himself only had a deposit of 10,000 strings of cash. When His Royal Highness the King of Wu asked for help, Xiao Yu calculated that he could come up with 50,000 strings of cash, but 40,000 strings of cash among them needed to be mortgaged. Originally, this matter was going well, but unexpectedly, something went wrong at the critical moment.
For Li Xiang, 50,000 strings of cash was really a small sum. Not to mention him, even someone like Zhou Huairen could easily approve it. But for other people in Chang'an City, it was no small sum.
The Lanling Xiao family has a considerable annual income, about 120,000 strings of cash, but they also have to support such a large number of people, so they don't have much liquid funds to take out, and can only mortgage their assets. But if you want to get the money quickly, then your assets must be excellent. Unexpectedly, after everything was over, it got stuck at the last moment.
"Did they say why?"
If it were an ordinary business organization, Xiao Yu would have given the other party face after just sending a post. But the problem was that Zhidaobao was not an ordinary business organization. It was the business of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. It was said that the Emperor also had shares in it. Why would they give you face?
"It was just a second-class steward who came. He didn't say anything, just said he had some difficulties with the payment."
Hearing Manager Liu's words, Xiao Yu's brow furrowed so sharply that it could pinch a fly to death. This was Manager Liu's incompetence. If it were another manager, they would have been able to solve this problem, whether by using money or some other method. You can't even handle a second-level manager, and you want to manage all my business for me? Aren't you just asking for trouble? Without money at this critical moment, how can you bribe people?