Jia Yujing of Red Mansion

Chapter 201 Fresh Conference

On August [-], in front of the main building of the Freemasons.

The [-]-meter-wide Zhuque Street was blocked from three sides by Chang'an County government officials, creating a large space.

Starting from Chen Shi, the invited civil and military officials began to arrive one after another.

Some of these people came to support Jia Qiong, such as members of the royal party and the four kings and eight male groups.

Some people just spend money and want to see if their money will be wasted.

Of course, there are also many people who receive invitations but do not plan to come.

For example, people from the Fujian Party will definitely not come to support Jia Qiong.

In front of the main gate of the Freemasonry Hall, civilian officials gathered together, military generals and nobles gathered together, the posture was not much different from that of the court, and they were basically all high officials of the court.

"Master Mu, you are here too."

"Jia Qiong has provided a great matchmaker for my daughter. No matter what, I have to come to support her, right?"

"Lao Huo, you have so many things going on in the capital camp, do you still have time to come over?"

"The soldiers in the Beijing camp are not easy to lead, and I don't dare to offend the Jia family now.

Besides, I paid 5 taels of silver, so I have to come and see what the company's charter is. "

"I also invested 5 taels. We don't want to make any money. Just don't lose money."

"Didn't you two princes hear that Jia Qiong made a promise with the emperor, at least five times the profit."

"Why did I hear there was ten times the profit?"

"Who did you hear?"

"It came from the palace..."

"Look, Lord Water is here too."

……

So many princes and ministers in red robes gathered here, attracting countless people to stop and watch.

At this moment, a group of royal guards escorted a carriage pulled by six horses and came slowly.

The son of heaven drives six, the princes drive five, the ministers drive four, the officials three, the scholars two, and the common people one.

This is a carriage that can only be ridden by the emperor. The people along the road may not know it, but these ministers will know at a glance that the emperor is coming.

"Oh, why is the emperor here too?"

"Master Jia is really proud of himself."

"Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and meet the driver."

When the officials at the scene saw this situation, they quickly formed a formation to greet Emperor Longqing.

There were also some informants sent by officials in the crowd. As soon as they saw the emperor coming, they hurried back to report the news.

After all, even the emperor has arrived in person, who dares to show off?

The emperor's carriage stopped in front of the Masonic Hall. Ji Hongzhang, who was following on horseback, jumped off his horse and opened the curtain. Emperor Longqing, who was dressed in casual clothes, got out of the carriage.

"I will see you, Your Majesty. My Majesty bows down to you."

"No need to be formal. I came out of the palace incognito today to attend the ceremony. Your Majesty, you don't have to be formal."

Jia Qiong stepped forward and said, "Please, Your Majesty, unveil a plaque for the business name."

"Jia Aiqing, come with me."

"Yes, I obey the order."

Amidst the sound of ritual music and firecrackers, Emperor Longqing and Jia Qiong jointly unveiled the golden signboard of Freemasonry.

The dragon and lion dance team arranged by Jia Qiong then appeared on stage, and the opening ceremony officially kicked off.

Except for Jia Qiong, no one realized how huge the Freemasons would become in the future and how far-reaching their influence would be on Dachu.

During the ceremony, many officials who had not planned to come arrived one after another, and eventually all shareholders arrived.

After the opening ceremony, the first general meeting of shareholders of the Freemasons was held immediately.

A small venue has been set up in the backyard of the Masonic Company, with a podium at the front and a shareholders' seat on the opposite side.There is a single Taishi chair at the front of the shareholders' seat, and several rows of long benches behind it.

Jia Qiong led Emperor Longqing to sit on the Grand Master's chair and asked for instructions: "Your Majesty, can you please sit down and hold the shareholders' meeting?"

Emperor Longqing waved his hand and said, "It's up to you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Jia Qiong immediately arranged for the shareholders to be seated, but not according to their official positions, but according to the number of shares.

This resulted in several cabinet bachelors being ranked behind the nobles, which made Zhang Chunyang, Luo Jin and others very dissatisfied.

However, with Emperor Longqing standing in front of him, no one dared to show his dissatisfaction.

After arranging seats for everyone, Jia Qiong asked Emperor Longqing for instructions: "Your Majesty, would you like to go on stage and say a few words?"

Emperor Longqing said: "No, I'm not prepared, so I'll just be a bystander."

Jia Qiong nodded and then motioned to host Tao Dachun to come on stage to preside over the meeting.

Tao Dachun came to the stage with a slightly nervous mood and said to everyone in the audience: "Hello shareholders, I am Tao Dachun, the host of this meeting.

The First General Meeting of the Freemasons now begins.

The first item of the general meeting of shareholders is the signing of the Masonic Shareholders Convention.

Tao Dachun said as he picked up a long scroll and read: "Article [-] of the Convention: All major decisions of the Freemasonry require the consent of more than half of the share holders before they can be implemented.

Let me explain to you that the original share capital of Freemasonry is 5308 million taels, totaling 380 shares.

Only shareholders holding more than 2690 shares agree to a major decision can this decision be implemented.

Article [-]: Does any shareholder object to this agreement?

If anyone objects, please raise your hand and state the reasons for your objection. "

As soon as Tao Dachun finished speaking, everyone began to whisper among themselves.

"This rule sounds new. Everything must be discussed by everyone."

"Jia Qiong sets such rules, isn't he making himself uncomfortable?"

"He owns [-] shares, and it's not someone else who has the final say."

"After all, there is a constraint, it's better than nothing."

Tao Dachun waited for a while and saw that no one objected, so he continued: "Okay, Article [-] of the convention has been approved by all shareholders.

Article [-] of the Convention is read below: The daily work of Freemasonry is presided over by the president, who is elected by the general meeting of shareholders.

If other shareholders are dissatisfied with the president, they can convene a shareholders' meeting. If more than half of the share holders agree, the president can be removed and another one elected.

Does anyone object? If you do, please raise your hands.

……

OK, no one objects, Article [-] of the Convention is approved by all shareholders.

Now read out Article [-] of the Convention: [-]% of the profits earned by Freemasonry shall be turned over to the internal treasury free of charge.

Anyone who objects, please raise your hand.

……

The Masonic Shareholders Convention has been approved by all shareholders and is now officially in effect. Please sign the convention together.

……

Next, proceed to the second item of the conference, to elect the first president of the Freemasonry.

Everyone can recommend candidates, and all shareholders will vote. Whoever gets more votes will be elected.

Anyone who has recommendations is free to speak. "

After Tao Dachun finished speaking, everyone looked at the emperor sitting in the front row.

Emperor Longqing smiled and said: "Haha, dear friends, don't look at me, I can't be the president of this association.

This Freemasonry was planned by Jia Aiqing, and it holds the largest shareholding, so it is naturally the best candidate. I recommend Jia Aiqing to be the president. "

(End of this chapter)