vstars Chapter 406 What's wrong? Do you have a grudge against money?
Chapter 406 What's wrong? Do you have a grudge against money?
Yinzhen truly lived up to his reputation as someone who trembled at the sight of his elder brother. Just a short while after his sixth brother stared at him, he already felt his scalp tingling. His mind raced for a long time, but he couldn't find a perfect excuse for himself. In the end, he simply gave up and thought, "Let it all end. I'm tired."
"Sixth Brother, as you know, I'm not very good with words. Please forgive me this time, Sixth Brother, you're a magnanimous man."
Yin Tang was Yin Zuo's younger brother whom he had watched grow up. Yin Zuo knew his character very well. He had no intention of arguing with Yin Tang in the first place. So even though Yin Tang was begging for forgiveness without much sincerity, Yin Zuo simply raised his hand and flicked his forehead twice to put an end to the matter.
"Xiao Jiu, although they say it's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature, we're already thirty years old. From now on, we need to be more careful in our words and actions. Alright, stop standing in front of me and find a place to sit down. Tell me, what brings you here today?"
Yin Tang had important business to discuss with Yin Zuo today. The reason he hadn't mentioned it earlier was simply because things had happened so suddenly that he hadn't thought of it for a moment. But now that Yin Zuo had reminded him, he suddenly felt like he had taken those two blows for nothing. No, why hadn't he thought of that earlier?
"I'd completely forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it, Sixth Brother. I actually have something to discuss with you today. You were right, Tetsuya may have gotten the position, but Japan is in dire straits because of his power struggle. I received a letter yesterday, and it's quite simple: he plans to borrow money from me in his own name..."
Yinzhuo wasn't stupid; upon hearing Yintang's words, he immediately understood. A loan in a private name meant the money wasn't intended for restoring people's livelihoods. At this critical juncture, it seemed that Zheye was probably up to some kind of trouble again.
Previously, Tetsuya was at most a businessman with the background of the Japanese imperial family. It didn't matter if Yinzhi got close to him. But now the situation is different. Tetsuya is now the emperor of Japan. Whether to lend money or not is not a decision Yinzhi can make on his own. Of course, Yinzhi can't make the decision either. So after listening to Yinzhi's explanation, he got up, pulled Yinzhi, and walked out. As for where they went, there was no need to ask. In the end, the decision would have to be made by his father.
When Yinzhuo led Yintang to Qingxi Study, it was quite lively inside. The two brothers, Yinreng and Yinzhen, the former and current crown princes, had clearly been conscripted by their father. They were sitting on either side of Kangxi's desk, each with a large stack of memorials in front of them, writing furiously. As for Kangxi, he wasn't idle either. Didn't he see the fruit and tea in front of them? They were having a hard time eating.
"Oh dear, what brings you here today? How come our Prince Zhao has time to visit this lonely old man? You haven't been to Qingxi Study for days, I thought you'd forgotten which way the door faces!"
Heh, look at what he's saying. Anyone would think he hasn't visited his father in ages. But actually, it's only been four or five days. But now is clearly not the time to seriously argue with his father about these things. Yinzhuo reached out to Yintang, and the man immediately handed over the letter Zheye had written to him. After taking it, Yinzhuo quickly walked a few steps to his father, handed the letter to Kangxi, and only after seeing that Kangxi had taken it did he turn around, pull up a chair, squeeze next to Kangxi, and pick up a piece of pastry to eat.
Although Yinzhuo's actions were casual, Kangxi's expression instantly became more serious. He had watched Yinzhuo grow up since he was a child, and Yinzhuo would never falter on matters of principle. Since Yinzhuo had handed him this letter, it must be something important.
Zheye's letter to Yintang was not long. Even though Kangxi read it carefully, he finished reading it in no time. After reading the letter, Kangxi did not rush to call Yintang over to ask him questions. Instead, he asked Yinreng and Yinzhen to stop what they were doing and handed the letter to them to read. After Yinreng and Yinzhen had read the letter, the father and his sons moved to the round table in the flower hall outside the study and sat down.
"Yinzhen, do you think we should lend this money?"
Yinzhen is now the Crown Prince, so it's perfectly reasonable to ask him first. Yinzhen thought about it for a moment, then nodded seriously.
"Your Majesty, I believe we should lend this money. Regardless of what Zheye plans to do with it, our goal is clear: to conquer Japan. What we lack most right now is time..."
The people present largely agreed with Yinzhen's answer. Yes, even if they didn't lend the money, Japan was currently in turmoil due to the power struggle, and the people were suffering. Tetsuya wouldn't dare to turn against the Qing Dynasty at this time. However, this might quickly arouse Tetsuya's vigilance and defensiveness. If that happened, their future actions in Japan would more or less be affected.
After questioning Yinreng, Yinzhen, and Yintang, Kangxi turned his attention to Yinzuo, who was wandering around the room because he was tired of sitting.
"Yinzhuo, stop wandering around and come sit here with me. I have a question for you: do you think we should lend them this money?"
Ask him? He'll definitely say yes, and not only will he lend you money, but it has to be with compound interest. You know, those Japanese devils are a bunch of spineless bastards. The more you slap them, the more they'll treat you like their father.
“Father, what kind of question is that? What, do you have a grudge against money? How can we let such a good opportunity to swindle the Japanese go to waste? Not only should we lend them the money, but we should also collect interest on interest. Father, don’t look at me like that. Didn’t you say before that these little bastards of Japan are afraid of power but don’t know how to be grateful? If that’s the case, doesn’t that mean the harder we slap them, the more obedient they will be?”
After saying all this, Yinzhuo suddenly remembered a sentence he had seen online in his previous life. The gist of it was that when dealing with people like the Japanese, you don't need to try to understand their way of thinking, because you can't understand it. Just beat them up, and they'll figure it out on their own.
Emperor Kangxi was a domineering man, and Yinzhuo's words resonated with him. After discussing it with his sons, Yintang wrote a reply to Zheye, which essentially said that the money could be lent, but in addition to paying us high interest, we also needed to give us the right to use two ports. Of course, we wouldn't use them for anything else; we would develop together and achieve common prosperity. Wasn't that the goal we set from the beginning?
"Father, why don't you guess whether Zhe will agree to our conditions after this letter is sent?"