Chapter 96 Astronomical Figures
Despite the scolding, Deng Qianqiu was quite happy.

He hoped to confiscate as much silver as possible. The more silver he confiscated, the higher the commission would be. With these commissions, this Hundred Households Office would truly stand out.

How can you do things without money?
Once you have money, many ideas can be implemented.

Although money cannot buy loyalty, it can buy many people to work hard with him!
In other words, there can be many people like Niu Shisan who can follow him to change their destiny.

In any era, changing one's destiny is a luxury.

So he hurried back to his tea table, asked Niu Shisan to get some pen and ink, and said excitedly, "I need to do a careful calculation, um... 20%..."

After a few more hours, Deng Qianqiu finally couldn't bear it anymore, but Niu Shisan and the others were still full of energy. They were like a group of sleepless old cows, always full of energy at all times.

"Keep an eye on me. Remember, follow the rules. I, the captain... well, have some important matters to deal with."

Niu Shisan's eyes were full of bloodshot, but he still stood up straight and patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Captain."

Although Deng Qianqiu was still worried, he could not bear it any longer, so he immediately called a carriage and went back to Xianliang Temple to rest.

When he got up, it was three hours later. He was woken up by the real imperial edict.

Deng Qianqiu took the decree respectfully. There was actually some meaningful content in the decree, and Deng Qianqiu couldn't help but be moved.

Your Majesty has finally been generous for once, which is a very good sign.

The eunuch announced the decree, then stepped forward and said to Deng Qianqiu with a smile: "Captain Deng, Eunuch Gao... is thinking of you."

Deng Qianqiu was surprised and asked, "Ah... May I ask...what is your relationship with Eunuch Gao?"

The eunuch smiled and said, "Eunuch Gao is our godfather."

"Oh." Deng Qianqiu nodded, indicating that he understood.

There is a custom of recognizing a father in the palace, but in fact this is not necessarily popular only in the palace. In troubled times, there are many cases of people worshipping adoptive fathers everywhere. Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, recognized many godsons.

This is because in troubled times, people's lives are in danger and no one knows what they will experience tomorrow. Relying solely on the bond of blood ties is the privilege of wealthy families. After all, they have many wives and concubines and a large population.

But for many warriors, recognizing each other as fathers and sons and forming a blood alliance with each other can help them be loyal to each other. If they die in battle, at least there will be someone to collect their bodies.

Deng Qianqiu smiled and said, "Go back and tell Eunuch Gao that I am thinking about him too. How is his injury? Oh... How pitiful! I heard that his enemies are still enjoying a good life! Just thinking about it makes me feel sorry for Eunuch Gao."

The eunuch showed a common hatred and said angrily: "Those dogs will never be let go when Eunuch Gao's injury is healed. However, Eunuch Gao heard me announce the decree, and told me to congratulate Captain Deng, and also told me to remind Captain Deng that he should hurry to the palace to thank the emperor for the decree! In the past two days, His Majesty got rid of the traitor Yuan, and heard that the Yiluansi sent good news again. His Majesty was very happy and pleased. Now is the best time to thank the emperor. Otherwise, when the joy is over, tomorrow, it is possible that something will happen again, making His Majesty unhappy."

After a pause, he said hesitantly, "Your Majesty's temperament... ahem... Captain Deng and Eunuch Gao are from the same family, so as his son, we won't be shy about it. Your Majesty's temperament is always changeable, and as a minister, you need to know how to seize the opportunity. Try your best to get more good luck and avoid bad luck."

After hearing this, Deng Qianqiu looked very educated and said, "So there are so many names for this."

The eunuch laughed and said, "Captain Deng is a minister, unlike the rest of us. We have served His Majesty our entire lives, and apart from doing our work, we have been thinking about His Majesty all our lives. You say, how bad can this eunuch Gao's reminder be?"

Deng Qianqiu nodded and said gratefully: "Okay, Eunuch Gao is loyal, so I won't be polite either. I'll give you some loyalty first."

Having said that, Deng Qianqiu took out a silver ingot from his sleeve without hesitation and stuffed it directly into the eunuch's pocket.

The eunuch accepted it happily.

Deng Qianqiu continued, "I will listen to your godfather and go to thank him right away."

So he rushed into the palace to meet the emperor.

Not long after, Zhu Yuanzhang summoned him.

Zhu Yuanzhang was sitting at his desk in the Wuying Hall, reviewing memorials with a serious expression.

Deng Qianqiu bowed obediently.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Don't say those empty polite words. I don't like to hear them."

"Oh." Deng Qianqiu responded, but then he was in a dilemma. If he didn't say these, what should he say?
Seeing him shaking his head, Zhu Yuanzhang's serious face unconsciously showed a smile, and he said, "Tell me what you think. What do you think of this centurion?"

Deng Qianqiu thought for a moment and said, "To set up a hundred households, we need people first. Right now, I don't have many people here, only ten, but people are trained slowly. In addition, I plan to select some more people in the future, but... they have to be recruited from the Five Military Commandery or the Five Cities Military Department."

"What does recruitment mean?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked with interest.

He was very confident in Deng Qianqiu's erudition and intelligence; this guy was a real deal.

However, now that he has become the real chief officer, Deng Qianqiu is still young and may not be able to do everything, but this is exactly Zhu Yuanzhang's strong point.

Zhu Yuanzhang was able to recruit talented people and manage his hundreds of thousands of troops in an orderly manner. The hundreds of millions of people under his rule were also generally stable under his governance.

Deng Qianqiu smiled and said, "Let's go through the competition first. We should always select some people who have read books. Of course, we don't want them to be really well-educated, but at least they can write and read articles."

"After the competition, there will be an interview. I will come to meet them personally and select some suitable people to fill the positions of the Hundred Households Office."

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but ask: "You are a hundred households, do you still want to hide dragons and crouching tigers?" Deng Qianqiu said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, I..."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and interrupted him: "This is also a solution, but have you ever thought that if you recruit people in this way and have such strict requirements, those who are worthy of your attention may not look down on a small lieutenant, and those who are not worthy of your attention may not meet your requirements."

Deng Qianqiu smiled widely and said, "I will give bonuses to the 100-household unit. I have thought about it. In addition to the basic salary, I will also set up full attendance awards and excellence awards. By the way, I also plan to give them meal subsidies, housing subsidies, and..."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten a fly.

Giving away money to people everywhere is a sin.

As long as people have enough food to eat...

Most importantly, this is my money!

However, Zhu Yuanzhang just hummed and did not comment.

"Your Majesty, I have many ideas that I would like to try out in this Hundred Households Office. I am not sure whether they will work or not, but Your Majesty obviously hopes that this Hundred Households Office can have some new ideas. Who knows... maybe it can be the first among the other guards in the future?"

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but sneer in his heart, you still want to be a role model, every guard and official follows your example, why should I fight for the world, I am a good man, sooner or later I will go back to thirty years ago and beg for food.

But he still had a stern face and said nothing.

What else can I say about something I promised myself? If this guy confiscates 100,000 taels of silver, it would be like he got 20,000 taels for nothing!

With twenty thousand taels, this mere hundred households had more than enough money to spend.

But Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't hold back any longer. He put down his pen and said, "I don't care about the affairs of the Hundred Households Office. If you run the Hundred Households Office well, eradicate the evil, and arrest the rebels, I will be pleased if you have made some achievements. But when it comes to governing people, you still lack some knowledge in this area. After all, you are still young. Sometimes you can learn more from others. Well... Well, you have thanked me, so you can leave now."

Rather than listening to this family talk about how they are wasting money, it is better to turn a blind eye.

Deng Qianqiu said happily: "As you wish."

He couldn't wait to leave.

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to be thinking about something.

He glanced sideways and said, "He is still young and too ignorant. How can he waste money like this?"

Ye Dang should first say with a smile: "Your Majesty is right, but... the Yiluansi... I have made a contribution this time, and last time Your Majesty said he would reward me..."

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Of course we should reward him. This time Zhou Hong has done a great job in expiating his crime by confiscating 170,000 taels of stolen silver for me. This is quite a meritorious service. I will give Zhou Hong 300 taels of silver... and the rest of the people will also be given silver."

You should also first respond: "I understand."

Zhu Yuanzhang thought of something and added: "Don't give me silver, give me banknotes."

"Here."

…………

After Deng Qianqiu left the palace, he excitedly returned to the warehouse on Qinhuai River.

"How much is it? How much is it?"

"Captain, the inventory has been basically completed. I'm afraid there are 400,000 taels of silver in the seal."

"Four hundred thousand taels..." Deng Qianqiu's body was shocked. He felt that he had been sublimated in an instant. If it was four hundred thousand, twenty percent would be...

Deng Qianqiu said happily, "So... so... we've made a fortune. Haha, 20% means 80,000 taels of silver! I said it before, if you follow me, you will definitely have a good life."

Deng Qianqiu said happily: "Quick, quick, sort out all the accounts immediately, make a list, and...is all the money sealed?"

Although Niu Shisan was exhausted, he was also very happy and said excitedly: "It's all done."

"Well done." Deng Qianqiu said, "In that case, I will go and announce the good news tomorrow!"

"Yes, we still need to be more meticulous. Follow my method to keep the accounts, and keep every entry clearly. Also... all the sealed silver must be neatly numbered. We are handling an imperial case, and we cannot make a mess of the accounts."

Niu Shisan said happily: "Okay."

All of a sudden, everyone started to get busy again.

Deng Qianqiu continued to keep an eye on the account all night, and reorganized the account book himself to make sure that there were no mistakes, and then he took the account book.

He looked at the sky and said, "It's getting late. I'll report it. You can take a break, but... you have to leave someone here to guard."

An express message was quickly delivered to the palace.

(End of this chapter)