Chapter 1484

You Rongzhi smiled and said, "This is actually a small project; the first phase only has twelve villas in total. Which of the palaces handled by the Construction Office is not harder to build than this? As long as the materials are all here and we add more manpower, it won't be difficult to finish within half a year."

The residences in Tianshui City are different from those elsewhere; the lines are thick, heavy, and simple, and they use a lot of stone, so they don't require overly complex carvings.

King Yao glanced at him and suddenly smiled: "Minister You, you are too impatient."

It was rare for You Rongzhi to look embarrassed: "The King already knows."

King Yao stroked his beard and said: "Why go to such expense? Sigh, among all the civil and military officials in the court, only you don't need to buy a villa to show your loyalty."

You Rongzhi blushed; it was a flush of excitement: "My King, your wisdom is as clear as autumn water!"

King Yao picked up his brush and wrote rapidly: "That's enough. I have already seen the plan for the second phase of the Youhu Villa, and I will approve it now. You shall oversee this process; continue to let the various departments cooperate and get it approved as soon as possible."

Every villa sold is a pledge of allegiance.

For him, of course, the more pledges of allegiance, the better.

Moreover, this move must be quick. Who knows if Qingyang has any countermeasures once he reacts? You Rongzhi responded in a resonant voice: "Yes!"

After he took his leave, King Yao looked at his retreating back and let out a long breath.

The old palace servant Qiu Long behind him smiled and said: "Master You is also full of energy."

"Him?" King Yao snorted, "He rushed here today, but he actually only wanted me to know that although he didn't buy a lakeside villa in the first phase, he has already reserved a front-row spot in the second phase. So his loyalty to me is absolutely no less than that of the Qing Prince's Mansion, the Yuwen family, and Bai Tan."

Qiu Long nodded: "It seems that is the case."

When the monarch speaks, he only needs to echo him.

King Yao's eyes were half-closed: "Then tell me, why didn't he get a front-row spot in the first phase, but instead Bai Tan got it first?"

"This..."

"This You Rongzhi is wise but indecisive, not as resolute as Bai Tan." Speaking of this, King Yao remembered the last time he summoned these two ministers to discuss the death of Xue Zongwu; You Rongzhi always said the evidence was incomplete, while Bai Tan immediately pointed the finger of suspicion at Qingyang.

King Yao had one sentence he didn't say out loud:

In dealing with the Qingyang Regent, my most capable minister is not even as good as a foreign merchant.

"Sigh, foreign merchants are more capable after all."

Qiu Long added: "The funds in the box have been checked and are correct."

King Yao gave a hum.

Qiu Long then added: "My King, He Xiao has raked in quite a lot of money by selling this batch of villas."

King Yao looked at the list in his hand and said magnanimously: "He only got a hundred thousand taels or so. Let him be; don't let this fellow think that I am too stingy to give him even this little bit of money."

"Yes."

King Yao glanced at the old palace servant, knowing that this loyal old slave wanted to say that since the minister is showing loyalty to him, this money should have been his.

Yet it was snatched away by the foreign merchant surnamed He.

"Just consider it me spending money to buy an idea from him. Tell me, how much is an idea that can deal with Qingyang worth?"

King Yao was still very proud that such a small amount of money could make such talent work for him.

"This..." The old palace servant was stumped, "Priceless. My King is wise! It's just a pity that the final payment will have to wait another four months."

King Yao raised his cup and drank some water to moisten his throat: "Actually, it doesn't necessarily need to take that long; it's just that He Xiao is worried about his safety in Tianshui City, so he came up with this method to ensure his peace."

King Yao's money is still with He Xiao, so he will be more concerned about his safety. Otherwise, if He Xiao dies, the money promised to King Yao will also be gone.

This is an insurance policy He Xiao gave himself; after all, the one he is going to offend is the Qingyang Regent.

"My King is clear-sighted; He Xiao's little schemes cannot escape my King's discerning eyes!"

The old palace servant did give King Yao a reminder. He picked up the list on the table again and looked at it twice, his heart stirred, and he called Zhao Pan in and said: "Tell He Xiao to report the second phase along with the selling price."

For the first phase approval, the various departments only reviewed Yangshan's qualifications, materials, blueprints, etc., but did not control the price of the villas.

The Qing Prince's Mansion went through dozens of rounds of fierce bidding at the auction and bought the first villa at a high price of 38,000; who would have thought this was not the price ceiling at all. In order to grab the last lakeside villa in the first phase, Bai Tan bid 50,000 taels in one breath.

The second and third rows, whose locations were far less good, were later able to sell for 20,000 to 30,000 taels.

No matter how slow King Yao was, he discovered that the price of Youhu Villa was rising rapidly.

The reason is simple, nothing more than the four words "supply does not meet demand."

Then, with the demonstration effect of the first phase, could the second phase of the villa sell poorly or be met with a cold reception? Impossible; the price will only rise with the tide.

King Yao said in a low voice: "A land price of 1,000 taels, heh."

When he sold the south bank of Youhu for 1,000 taels, he just wanted to give the Qingyang Regent a little embarrassment. That place is in the suburbs, and although the scenery is good, the land is basically worthless.

Who knew He Xiao would come up with so many tricks, and the effect would be remarkably good.

A land price of 1,000 taels is indeed too little.

"Yes!" Zhao Pan responded, and then added: "He Xiao also begged the King to send more guards to Youhu Villa. He is worried that someone will attack the construction team."

King Yao gave a hum: "This worry is somewhat reasonable; I will send two teams to guard the south bank for him."

Youhu Villa is about to be bustling with activity; will the Qingyang Regent stand by and watch? King Yao doesn't believe it.

He Xiao is indeed meticulous, but he must rely on King Yao's power to get things done in Tianshui City.

"Is there anything else?"

"He Xiao is preparing to buy property in Tianshui City and asked Fan Shuang to help."

If the Yangshan Society wants to dig for gold in the Yao Nation and expand its business and connections in the Yao Nation, of course, it will engage in normal commercial activities. King Yao nodded: "You may go."

At this time, a palace servant came to report:

"Envoy Liang requests an audience!"

King Yao knew very well that Envoy Liang was here because of the Qian Xiaohao case.

Over the past year or two, his relationship with the temple has been slightly tense, and he thinks Envoy Liang must have slandered him quite a bit to the Goddess. But King Yao also has his own difficulties; the national treasury is empty and expenditures exceed income, and even maintaining those hundreds of temples is a struggle, let alone building new ones.

King Yao took a deep breath, sat up straight, and said: "Proclaim him!"

At night, Tianshui City remained prosperous.

Bai Tan was on his way home from the Ministry of Justice, and Ding'an Street was the only way to go.

This old street is next to the main thoroughfare, lined with shops, and it is bustling from sunrise.

But it also has the shortcomings of many old streets in Tianshui City: it is too narrow.

Such a busy street can only accommodate two carriages side by side, especially after the old tree intersection, there is a section ten zhang long that only allows a single carriage to pass. For the sake of this street, the Land Office specially set up a "roadway soldier" post, stationing a few people here specifically to direct traffic.